Family

Constantin Lunge, aged 14

Sherborne International

Constantin began learning card magic during the pandemic, when he was unable to meet friends due to Germany’s strict national lockdown. Since teaching himself a few basic card tricks, his reputation in his local community has grown and he is somewhat of a local star!

Due to the popularity of his magic skills amongst his school friends, Constantin has been inspired to expand his repertoire of card tricks; he recently graduated from Cardistry (the performance art of card flourishing) and has moved on to master technical card routines. He is also a skilled ring and coin magician but has found that card tricks – like those you might see performed by a street artist – are the most enjoyed by himself and his audiences. Constantin has even put his card tricks to practice by organising and performing in two shows at his school in Hamburg, Helene Lange Gymnasium, including one raising 300€ for Ukraine!

Constantin and his beloved pack of cards have spent the summer at Sherborne International, entertaining his classmates and the staff with his talents at every possible moment between lessons, trips and activities. A boy with a creative and magical flare, Constantin’s favourite subject at school is Science which he’s enjoyed studying at Sherborne International. He hopes to one day become an architect or work in the medical field.

Constantin has now returned to school in Hamburg where he plans to continue broadening his magical horizons with more challenging card tricks and routines. Next stop Germany’s Got Talent?

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Image: Dave Shaw

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Family

Children’s Book Review Ava Oosterwijk, aged 7, Leweston Prep

Ten Delicious Teachers by Ross Montgomery, illustrated by Sarah Warburton

(Walker Books Ltd) £7.99 Sherborne Times reader offer price of £5.99 from Winstone’s Books

Ten Delicious Teachers is a rhyming story about ten teachers who all miss the last bus home from school. They decide to take a shortcut through the dark, gloomy forest to walk home, but they don’t know that there are ten naughty monsters hiding there.

I think this book will be enjoyed by pre-school children as it is a fun counting story and the pictures of the monsters are funny and colourful. It’s also a good story to read by yourself. My favourite part of the story is when Miss Hunter shouts at the monsters and teaches them some manners! I give this book 5 stars out of 5 because it’s a funny story and the drawings are amazing and I won’t get bored of reading it.

Celebrating 10 Years as Sherborne’s Independent Bookseller 2012-2022 8 Cheap Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3PX www.winstonebooks.co.uk Tel: 01935 816 128

AT THE TABLE Michela Chiappa SECRET GARDEN MUFFINS

These little muffins are a delicious, healthy snack and the perfect lunchbox filler. With hidden apple and zucchini, they’re great for giving your little ones greens and goodness without them even knowing it! They freeze well too.

Prep: 15 mins Cooking: 20 mins Difficulty: easy Serves: 6

Ingredients 1 medium zucchini, grated 1 apple, grated 125g plain flour ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon salt (optional) 1 teaspoon bicarb of soda 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled 4 tablespoons honey or maple syrup 1 large egg, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method 1 Preheat oven to 180°C 2 Combine all the dry ingredients – flour, cinnamon, salt, and bicarb of soda in a mixing bowl. 3 Stir in the butter, honey, egg, and vanilla extract until just barely combined. 4 Stir in the grated zucchini and apple. 5 Lightly grease a muffin tray and fill each cup. 6 Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean. 7 Remove once golden and place on a wire rack until cool.

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TheChiappaSisters thechiappas.com

Baby at the Table: A 3-Step Guide to Weaning the Italian Way (Michael Joseph) £16.99. Sherborne Times reader offer price of £14.99 from Winstone’s Books

Simply Italian: Cooking at Home with the Chiappa Sisters (Michael Joseph) £22 (hardcover). Sherborne Times reader offer price of £20 from Winstone’s Books

POSTURE MATTERS

Emma Rhys Thomas, Director/Instructor, Art of Confidence

Looking through some old photographs I came upon the most beautiful upright seated posture of my son at three years old, totally unsupported. I also have a photograph of my nephew at the age of fourteen slumped with a handheld games console seemingly unable to support himself without elbows on knees. When did the mantra ‘sit up straight’ fail?

As parents, we are bombarded with advice on how to parent our children and what really matters. The ‘should do this’, the ‘must have’, the ‘essential’: the implication being, without which, your child is deprived and disadvantaged. Such pressure can be overwhelming. Without wanting to add to this barrage (which may sound a little like ‘I don’t mean to be rude but…’) I’d like to shout about posture, to reach all children with the good posture message, which will have to start with parenting. So here I have the opportunity to persuade you that posture matters…and here is the postscript, sorry for the contradiction: What you should do as parents is lead by example!

‘The message from all corners of science is coming through loud and clear: this is no time to be sitting around.’ Caroline Williams

Mother nature does a fabulous job of creating beautiful bodies through baby and child development stages. From the c-curve that we are born with, all the right curves for all the right functions develop; space for our spinal nerve function, ability to stand against gravity, weight-bearing and efficient use of our amazing biomechanical system. We learn about our environment through sensory exploration and we adapt. We move, we feel, we think. Yet we do not maintain well what mother nature started, ignoring the importance of this basic primary element of ourselves. Our adaptations, heading towards sedentary lifestyles with hours of inactivity, are distortions of what nature intended. Bad posture? That’s a problem worth solving.

Attending to posture brings wellbeing of mind and body. Attending to posture teaches the mind what the body instinctively knows. Our all too comfortable lifestyles have masked the fact that it is a vital communication channel to the brain. The brain feeds on sensory information, information provided by the body. Body + Brain = Mind state.

Vital then, that we address it at an early age, avoiding the ‘if only’ moment in later years when poor

FreshSplash/iStock

posture is a lifetime habit.

Posture is more than standing up straight. It is a preparedness for action and reaction. Good posture is a full body workout developing and maintaining core strength and fine-tuning deep stabilising musculature throughout the body. Posture is embedded with attitude, an unconscious vocabulary. It is hard to think before you speak with your body as reactions are so fast.

‘Thought is reflected in muscle behaviour’ Elizabeth Langford

I have a theory, informed through professional experience and observation. After more riffling through the old photographs, I came across my boys playing rugby and was reminded of the injuries they incurred. My theory is that if good posture had been practiced throughout their young childhood then, when it came to being selected for higher intensity coaching and conditioning for some very physical demands, they would have been better prepared. When young teens are talent-spotted for sport and the coaching demand dramatically increases, problems of weak deep stabilisers become apparent through recurring injuries.

Habits of old would once have developed and easily engaged the deep postural stabilisers all day long, such as; children walking to school, those children being required to ‘stand up straight’ in line, marching to assembly, deportment classes, the frequent seated meal times with no question of elbows on the table or leaning back in the chair, and less screen time (the options were just not there). It is not being suggested that the reintroduction of the ‘sit up straight’ rule book is the simple solution, society has changed and progressed, and anyway the tension created by forcing a military-type stance is excessive and cannot easily be maintained. Having said that, it is interesting (a useful discussion topic at the very least) to look at how some of the seemingly old-fashioned discipline advocated by Katharine Birbalsingh, founder of the Michaela Community School in Wembley, is directly related to good posture.

Perhaps all that has happened is a loss of attending to posture, which gladly is returning with a focus on how important good upright postures are for selfesteem, confidence, and healthy functioning.

Practice is important. Consider the fact that a tennis forehand is only perfected after some 10,000 repetitions and accomplished pianists never need to search the keyboard. These are learned and practiced moves becoming second nature through many hours of practice. Good posture needs to be second nature. The great thing about practising posture is that the many hours between awake and asleep can all be utilised.

So apart from leading by example, what can be done without a large stick and a carrot?

Encourage children to become aware and curious about how they stand up. Get them to use their imagination… •If all their joints were tennis balls how would they all relate to each other? (Where are your body parts?) •What keeps them apart (the spaces on the inside) and what stabilises them? •Encourage thinking about dynamic posture, the shapes and space. What shape do you make? (Make it bigger.) •What space do you take up? (Take up a little more.)

Observe how the body expresses the mood and attitude in your child and get them to notice this too. It is my opinion that it will be the most important relationship in their lives. We all end up with the body we practice.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT SCHOOL

Ian Bartle, Headteacher, Sherborne Primary

Choosing the right school for your child can be one of the most important decisions a parent or carer makes. I have met literally thousands of adults dealing with this dilemma in life and so wish to offer some thoughts and advice on this subject.

My experience is obviously within the primary school field and my comments are aimed as such. Most parents and carers I have met deliberating this conundrum are either planning the future education for their 4-year-old (the start of the primary school journey), have moved to a new area and are looking for a suitable school or sometimes, things aren’t going as expected at their existing school and are looking for a change to make things better.

Firstly, let’s start with the really good news… there are multiple schools within the Sherborne and surrounding areas and to my knowledge, all are very good schools (this is also Ofsted’s opinion - the national regulatory body which monitors schools on behalf of the government). Whether you choose the private or public sector, your child will be part of a good local educational establishment.

However, this can also make parental choices more challenging. When presented with so many positive options you have to consider the various factors to finalise one of life’s most important decisions.

Hopefully, my points below will offer some insight to help you in choosing the future school for your child or children. My first comment is that you know your child best! You have nurtured and loved them throughout their life so far and as such are aware of their attributes, potential and needs. This is the best guide to knowing who and what will support your child.

The first port of call in choosing a school is outside information. There are a variety of resources such as Ofsted inspection reports, the school’s website and

(most importantly) the views of existing parents/ carers. Ofsted usually visits each school every 4 years, although this timescale has fluctuated radically over the last few years due to the pandemic, lack of inspectors and constant changes to government policy. When reading the school’s latest report, it is important to note the date of the report. As with everything, things can change over time and any report over two years old might not give an up-to-date assessment of the school’s position. Linked to the Ofsted report is a website called Parent View (parentview.ofsted.gov.uk) – this is a brief survey taken by Ofsted of the existing parents/carers of a school during the inspection period. This can be very informative and give the reader a feel for a school. It is always worth noting the number of participants giving feedback as sometimes the vocal minority can influence opinions, as can be true of many things in life!

The school’s website can also be a treasure trove of information. You can learn about the school’s ethos, values and the logistics of the establishment, such as policies, uniform, staffing, class structure as well as see photographs of recent events and activities. This can open up useful questions and conversation for when you decide to visit the school in person.

Other parents/carers and the wider community can be a much valued (and possibly the best) source of information. They tend to give unfiltered, honest opinions and provide opportunities to ask those questions you may not feel comfortable asking of the school! However, be wary of social media as many use this as a platform to simply vent their frustrations and is one which most schools do not consider an appropriate forum.

In many ways, the most important piece of advice would be to ensure that you visit the schools of your choice. I would strongly recommend booking an appointment with the headteacher. I would also suggest the tour is during the usual school day. Most schools can put on ‘Open Days’ with lots of fanfare, however, I always feel that the parent/carer prefers to see what an ordinary day looks like. During the tour I would recommend that you look out for the following: •Do the children look engaged in their learning? •Do the staff greet you as a visitor and make you feel welcome? •Are the displays vibrant and reflect a ‘fun and creative’ (as well as all-encompassing, and varied) curriculum? •Look at the children’s work. Is the presentation of a good standard? Do the children care about its quality? •Finally, try and gauge the ‘feel’ of the school. Is this a happy place where your child will thrive?

Another advantage locally is that we are blessed with both small and large schools. Which is better for your child? I get asked this question a lot. The answer lies within your tour. Which ‘feels’ right for you and your child? Many also ask whether to take your child when visiting a school. This depends on your child and how they might react on such visits. If they are just going to distract you during the visit, then don’t, but otherwise, it is very a good idea for them to also get a feel for the school and understand the geography of their potential new place of learning.

Lastly, please remember that you might need more than one visit to a school, an email to clarify a question or a chat on the phone. Once again, this is such an important decision, everyone wants to get it right!

THE RETURN TO EDEN

Natalie Bone, Head of Sherborne Prep

New school uniform, school shoes and pencil cases at the ready, the great emergence from long lazy days and the excitement of reconnection with school friends: for many September remains the principal time in the year of the great reset as the hope and excitement of new starts.

Many of us who have moved to this beautiful part of the world may well recall those first experiences of Sherborne and the breathtaking beauty of the surrounding countryside. My most vivid memories of that time in the 90s were of the subtle change in season at the start of September as I walked the dogs in the early morning autumnal mist. At that time I was not working in education and it made me yearn for that same spark of hope for new beginnings and great things to be achieved that I had experienced in my younger years.

School days, once we are grown, are a distant memory of blissful existence with the luxury of no responsibility, no financial pressure and a glut of holiday time poorly under-appreciated until we begin our journey into work and the more usual few weeks of liberty each year. What speaks loudest now as a head teacher is the great sigh of relief from parents for the children’s return to school after the seemingly endless holidays attempting to keep the children entertained!

As the anticipation of being a year older and in a new school year draws closer, the return to school can present worries and these have certainly been exaggerated because of complicated modern lives, increased reliance on digital environments and their lack of understanding about the importance of interactions away from screens, let alone the events of recent times. Allowing time to process and reflect, and also take in the beauty around us is how we were designed by our clever maker. We are forced through multiple gear changes every day and some children aren’t really sure what they feel at high-pressure times of change. A world like this can be damaging to the soul, and we must live wisely in return, and teach our children to do the same.

There is much we can do to support, and as is often the case, it can be surprisingly simple adjustments which can have a big impact. Our response to worries that children express can be a powerful tool to acknowledge, address and equip children to handle anxieties, building a useful toolkit for them to use in their lives. I know we would like to make everything better, but we must resist the urge to respond with statements such as ‘oh don’t worry about that’ or ‘everything will be fine’. These dismiss the validity of these feelings and leave no room for children to explore the genuinely worrying issues they have. Instead, the best response is to ask questions which will demonstrate your genuine interest and care. Questions like ‘what are you worried about?’, ‘why does that make you feel worried?’, ‘can you describe how you are feeling?’, have powerful reach into the child and their responses are often remarkably astute. This can guide you to select an appropriate life experience or relevant memory to use to help them understand that forgetting their trainers for sport isn’t really a big deal, or if they get lost they can ask someone for help and hopefully they will be happy to help!

Thankfully, our teachers, the wonderful breed that they are, have been skilfully preparing for the children’s return. Time to learn, think, create, achieve and play are vital for our tender young ones, and as a parent, I am still so grateful for the partnering in parenting that school provided for my two.

Children may still need time to adapt from the very different school holiday experience and they may find things such as getting into the routine a few days beforehand, meeting up with school friends, practising packing their school bag and trying on the school uniform helpful. For the creatives out there, collaging, with an image of the family at the centre and pictures or words about the new school year added around it is good, or a ‘feelings tree’, with worries or fears written on each leaf for discussion, can also be helpful.

As for the teachers, it may be that Eden has to wait for the next school holiday…

Images: Dave Shaw and Sophie Revell

SUMMER AT SHERBORNE INTERNATIONAL

Dave Shaw, Director of Short Courses

Sitting proudly at the top of Sherborne is the Sherborne International campus. The classrooms that hosted students from all over the world for over 30 years have been silent since 2021 as students were no longer able to travel and the beautifully decorated rooms and superb facilities have lain empty. ‘What of Sherborne International..?’ locals asked and ‘What does its future hold..?’ many wondered.

Speak to former staff or students and they are likely to tell you about the unique place that the School (or more likely ‘College’) held in their lives, the great pride they hold for what they achieved during their time here, and the sadness they felt when the students had to return home.

Well, Sherborne International is back! This summer saw the return of Summer School students and our international visitors were wowed once again by the warmth of the welcome they received from all in our wonderful local community.

The original Sherborne International Summer Course was one of the first of its kind in the UK – students would attend the course with the principal aim of improving the fluency and accuracy of their spoken and written English. That philosophy is still a key tenet of the course today, with students in lessons between 9am and 3pm most days. However, the programme has been expanded to now include sports, excursions, educational field trips and a wide gamut of evening activities (including ‘It’s a Knockout’ and Old School Discos!). Students who attend Sherborne International

Summer Courses sign up for the concept that they are going to work hard and play hard, in equal measures!

The route to re-opening the courses has not come without its challenges; the crisis in Ukraine, the increased cost of living, the UK’s relationship with Europe, issues with the airline industry and of course the ongoing COVID-19 risk all threatened to reshape the various models that were put forward. Through a lot of hard work, dedication, co-ordination and co-operation, children from 28 nations gathered in Greenfield Hall between 27th June and 24th August and the site was once again, alive with the hubbub of excited anticipation of a ‘Sherborne Summer’ course.

One of the fears that remained was how the students would acclimatise to mixing with children who may have had different experiences over the last couple of years. Those concerns soon vanished as the early arrivals helped greet new students like long-lost family and as their Sherborne Summer flashed past, the tears of sadness from those ‘first to leave’ students was evidence once again that the friends and memories our students made at Sherborne would last them for the rest of their life.

Aside from the record UK temperatures (cold to some, who still felt the need to wear their jumpers!), Sherborne highlights suggested by students so far have included sampling the sorbet at Ecco Gelato, enjoying pizza at Tamburinos (with true Italian approval) and various treats from Oliver’s – with each student suitably funnelling their pocket money into the Sherborne’s high street!

The future of Sherborne International beyond the summer is very exciting, with a reworked Easter Course next on the programme – which for the first time will be open to applications from both British and international students, with residential and day student options. With a more academic feel, the key aims will be to increase the knowledge and exam confidence of students preparing for GCSE, IGCSE or A-Level exams.

With a full year’s preparation, the expectation is that by the summer of 2023 student numbers will return to that of pre-pandemic times, which will give us the opportunity to further explore new and inventive ways to immerse new generations of international teenagers into the delights of Sherborne and our stunning location in Dorset.

sherborne-international.org

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