Schools news

44 Schools

Bury Primary School

What a fantastic event held here at school on a chil- ly Saturday evening. Thank you to everyone who came along and joined us for the first ever Wassail here at school. Mr Gatrell did a fantastic job, ably supported by FOBS of course who did an excellent job with the food, drink and lighting. Mr Gatrell has already asked me to book it in again for next year and is looking to get even more musical entertainment involved! He has been to see me and has booked in some music –Saturday 16th January 2021 3pm –6pm. What was really pleasing to see was that the event brought in not just families from school, but also some of our villagers and people from further afield. We were joined by one of Bury’s Parish Councillors,

St James Coldwaltham

Artist in residence

The children at St James’ School have been fortunate enough to have Janet Steele, a ceramic artist, work with them on a number of projects this term. Firstly the children worked with clay to help them refine their skills and then they designed and created a new school mosaic which will shortly take pride of place at the school entrance.

‘I have enjoyed letting my artistic side just run free when I was doing this project,’ said Sam, Year 5 ‘The mosaic looks just so wonderful. I am amazed at how quickly It has come together’, said Harry, also year 5. Once the mosaic has been completed, all the children will begin Pupil working with clay people from just down the road and a lot of families and staff from school –all in all this made for an excellent community atmosphere. We had singing from local folk group, Duck Pond Sailors, a traditional Mummer’s Play performed by SDFS Tipteerers, singing and dancing of traditional songs from the children of Bury and our very own apple tree blessing from Fr Peter. Of course there was also mulled apple juice and cider, and warm food to keep the cold at bay, all wonderfully prepared and set up in our new outdoor classrooms. Mr Moore, Headteacher www.bury.w-sussex.sch.uk

work on a giant ceramic artwork which will display the school’s values in the entrance lobby of the school. There are then future plans to create giant art pieces which will adorn the school hall which has recently been decorated.

Pupils creating new school mosaic

This is just one aspect of the school’s work where the children work together; being a small school, there are many occasions where the children work collaboratively on projects. Jon Gilbert, headteacher.

For more information call 01798 872196 or visit www.st-james-coldwaltham.w-sussex.sch.uk.

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We were delighted to welcome the Kent Surrey Sussex Air Ambulance who have been chosen by the school Council as a charity we wish to support. Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) Air Ambulance is charity funded and the school have been collecting empty crisp packets which KSS can recycle and receive money in return. We were privileged to have someone from the charity come and speak to the children on to explain the essential and lifesaving services they provide. The children were quite shocked to learn it costs over £14 million pounds a year to keep this service running. £10 million of this is raised by charitable donation. Throughout this term we hope to be conducting money-raising activities to support KSS Air Ambulance, so keep those crisp packets coming in! St Mary’s Pulborough

Pupils learning about recycling by KSS Air Ambulance

One of our most popular visitors is Kevin from ‘Hawking About’ –this year our year 3 children were lucky enough to spend some time with some of his birds of prey - a tawny owl, a barn owl, a kestrel and a peregrine falcon. Some of the children were brave enough to hold the birds, while others were chosen by the birds as perches! Kevin told the children about the lifestyles of the birds - how they hunt, what they eat, where they live and how they fly. He had also brought some owl pellets so the children could have a look through them to see if they could find the bones of any small animals that had been eaten by the owls. The children were amazed by the speed at which the falcon and kestrel flew, even though they were in the hall! Mrs S Copus, Headteacher Please call the school office on 01798 872007 or visit st-marys-pulborough.w-sussex.sch.uk for any more information. Year 3 - Hawking About

46 Schools

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Whether you’re looking for a day nursery, boarding school or sixth form, finding the school that is right for your child means lots of homework for parents. For most parents the school search starts with a browse through websites. Educational marketing is highly professional these days so be prepared for buildings that look like country house hotels, acres of playing fields, perpetual sunshine, high-tech laboratories, professional standard theatres and many, many grand pianos. After a while you may start to feel as though you have been assaulted, in the nicest possible way, by a combination of Downton Abbey, Enid Blyton, Child Genius and the Olympics. Some parents try reverse engineering to help them choose a school, starting with top universities and working backwards. They identify schools that send a large proportion of leavers to Oxbridge or Ivy League colleges and then register their child at linked or ‘feeder’ preps. It’s not uncommon for spreadsheets to be drawn up with every detail of a child’s educational future specified. Of course there’s nothing wrong with forward planning, but where’s the contingency? The plan B? After all, the baby whose future is being mapped out so meticulously may not have got the Oxbridge memo. Parents’ educational experience, good or bad, will be hugely influential on any decision. Try writing down the things you liked and disliked most about the schools you attended and then think about these in the context of what you want for your child. You also need to think about whether you want co-ed or single sex education, any religious preferences and, for day schools, chapter and verse on bus routes and realistic travel times. Look beyond league tables Many parents say they don’t want their child to go to an academic ‘hot house’. What they want is for their Choosing the best school for your child Advice from Janita Gray at The Good Schools Guide

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child to enjoy learning in an unpressurised environment. Oh, and by the way, they also want their child to get in to Oxford. Good Schools Guide advice is to ignore league tables and look at trends in exam results over a few years. If most of the children are getting A/A* with only a few Cs and Ds, think about how the child who got the C might feel. Open days An open day is often the first contact parents have with a school in which they are seriously interested. There’s no substitute for setting foot in a school –you may find that a place that looks perfect on paper just ‘feels’ wrong and you shouldn’t ignore this. Try and attend the head’s talk. Prep school heads have your child’s future in their hands –you’re paying them to know your child, advise on the best senior schools and, if necessary, intervene on your child’s behalf if an entrance exam doesn’t go to plan. In senior schools the head may be more of a figure head and most of your day to day dealings will be with tutors or housemasters, but the leadership of the school is still key to its ethos. If you’re considering boarding for your child make sure you get a good look round. The norm is cabin beds, shared rooms until GCSEs, empty noticeboards in boys’ dorms and lots of bunting in girls’ dorms. Ask how many children stay in school after matches on Saturday. If nearly everyone else is going home it’s not much fun to be left behind –even if the school does lay on trips.

Findon Vale School New age kurling

Over the last couple of weeks we have hosted 2 new age kurling competitions here at Vale School. New age kurling is a sport specifically designed for people with special educational needs and is played between two teams. It involves rolling ‘stones’ towards a target and then whoever is closest to the centre of the target wins! This competition allows children who might not normally be involved in other sporting events to participate and potentially win a medal and a trophy, which they get to keep until the next kurling competition. The KS1 (Years 1 and 2) competition saw a total of 18 teams competing, 2 of which were from Vale

If you think you’ve found the perfect school then get yourself in the system as early as you can. Make sure you visit, register and pay the deposit in good time –for popular schools that can be several years in advance. You also need a back-up school (but don’t tell your child that this is what you’re calling it). You should also be prepared for change. A new head or move from single sex to co-ed can have profound effects. And last but by no means least, there’s your child. He or she may turn out to have very different plans from the ones you have drawn up.

For more information, advice and school reviews visit: www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk

and the rest from other local schools in the surrounding area. There were 16 teams participating the KS2 (Years 3 - 6) competition which were also from schools all over the area, Vale school again had 2 teams competing in this, one of which came 3rd and received bronze medals! All of our teams did incredibly well considering some of the children had only played kurling a couple of times previously and had never played it competitively against other schools, so this was a great opportunity for them. The children also all received a sticker and a certificate which will be presented in our celebration assembly. All of the children had so much fun and made lots of new friends from lots of different schools! Half term 2020 Monday 25th - Friday 29th May 2020 Monday 26th - Friday 30th October 2020 Inset day Monday 20th July 2020 Please call the school office on 01903 872322 or visit www.valeschool.org for any more information.