SCHOOL NEWS

ActiveKids

Levelling up the cricket playing field at Spratton Hall

SPRATTON HALL IS proud to be one of the first schools to offer mixed cricket teams across their whole prep school (children aged 8-13). Until 2021 their sporting offering was divided, with different sports for boys and girls. The school made cricket the main summer sport for girls in the summer of 2018, which was so well received, they have created 25 mixed teams this year.

Parents have whole-heartedly embraced this change, and support for all teams has been fantastic this season. The school’s commitment to cricket and sporting success has been an important factor in their recognition by the Cricketer magazine, as one of the Top 50 Cricketing Prep Schools, for three years running.

National Teaching Award for Steph the Chef

WITHAM HALL’S VERY own Steph the Chef has been awarded the 2022 Pearson National Teaching Award for the ‘Unsung Hero.’ Steph is much loved by pupils, parents and staff alike and this is a fitting accolade for the leader of the Witham Hall Catering Team.

Entrepreneurial Oakhamians

OAKHAM SCHOOL ENTREPRENEURS have been selling products to staff and pupils as part of a new business-led activity set up in memory of a former student.

Year 12 pupils created businesses, came up with ideas for a product to sell and then marketed it to the school ahead of the marketplace event. They then set up stalls on the school grounds in their teams and sold their chosen products to their audience.

The stalls included jewellery, fidget spinner pens and sticky ceiling balls, all of which were very popular with their target market.

The pupils taking part in the activity had all studied the newly-launched Freddie Groome Enterprise Challenge, which pays homage to late Old Oakhamian Freddie (’13) and was set up in his memory after his death in 2020.

As a lover of all things business, Freddie’s family, along with his former classmates, wanted Freddie’s legacy to live on at the school and have funded the project to give pupils the opportunity to thrive in the world of enterprise. Over the past academic year, pupils have developed their business-building skills by learning how to prepare, develop and review their own business ideas.

Throughout the scheme, pupils demonstrated a range of enterprising skills including teamwork, leadership and innovation. The course will now finish with a review of the success and profit of each business.

Oakham’s athletics success

OAKHAM SCHOOL ATHLETES competed in the County Championships at Saffron Lane in Leicester recently, winning 31 medals, 21 of which were gold, eight silver and two bronze.

Highlights include earning gold in the Senior Girls’, Inter Girls’ and the Junior Girls’ relays, with the Inters leading the way to the finish, just 10m ahead of the Senior Girls. Oakham School’s head girl Izzy Skelton, who progressed to the semi-finals in the 400m, as a senior in the British Indoor Athletics Championships, has handed the baton on and left an incredible team of athletes in her wake.

Meanwhile, Lower School athletes also impressed at the IAPS Athletics Championships held at Bedford Stadium recently. One pupil won gold in the U13 Girls 100m and another got silver in the U14 girls’ hurdles, leading to selection for the East Area IAPS at the Nuneaton National Championships.

Stamford gymnastic gains

STAMFORD DID WELL at the Midlands Independent Schools’ Gymnastics Championships. Held at the Junior School, the U9 Advanced, U11 Advanced and the Stamford School team all came second with the U7s, U8s, U10s Advanced, and the Senior A and B teams coming in first place. Stamford hosted the MISGA (Midlands Independent Schools Gymnastics Association) championships recently and achieved several gold and silver medals in both team and individual events in all age groups.

Cricket at Lords

STAMFORD GIRLS’ U13 cricket team had a wonderful experience when they competed in the Indoor National Final at Lords Cricket Ground, where they came 4th out of five teams on the day. A whopping 944 teams started off in the competition.

Witham Hall Scholarship Success

WITHAM HALL IS proud to celebrate the 2022 Leavers who have secured an extraordinary 18 Scholarship awards to senior schools out of a cohort of 39 leavers. Between the Year 8 pupils and one Year 6 pupil there were scholarships for art, sport, all rounders, drama and academic.

Witham Hall Leavers this year have passed Common Entrance and entrance exams to a number of schools including Ampleforth, Downe House, Gresham’s, Millfield, Milton Abbey, Oakham, Oundle, Rugby, Stamford and Uppingham.