EDUCATION NEWS

The latest from schools across the county and beyond

That’s entertainment

Independent day and boarding school in Bushey, St Margaret’s, hosted a week-long Arts Festival in celebration of music, art and theatre across the entire school community recently. Pupils across all year groups were treated to a whole week, off timetable, to enjoy an array of theatrical performances and music and dance workshops and taster sessions, as well as visits from special guest speakers and performers from the arts sector.

Showcasing the diverse range of talent at the Hertfordshire school, pupils at St Margaret’s were lucky enough to watch a piano recital by award-winning pianists Lara Melda (winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2010) and her sister Melis Azra, as part of an Earthquake Relief Recital to raise money for Turkey and Syria. A group of Year 10 pupils also performed a variety of classic, comedic and naturalistic monologues to a live audience, and the school’s Year 9 and 10 cohort also gave a playful portrayal of traditional ‘cautionary tales’ to parents. stmargarets-school.org.uk

Summery outlook

Heathfield School, Ascot – an independent secondary boarding and day school for girls aged 11-18, rated ‘Excellent’ across all areas by the Independent Schools Inspectorate – is delighted to welcome John Endean as its new Director of Summer Courses. With over 35 years’ experience in planning and delivering top-class holiday activities and learning, and with the last 16 years spent at other prestigious independent schools, John is passionate about providing the best possible experiences, adventures and academics for all the girls attending Heathfield’s Summer Camp and Summer School. Commenting on his new appointment, John says: “I’m extremely excited – I can’t wait for summer school

Healthy education

St George’s School Windsor Castle, a pioneering prep school for children aged three to 13, has been named the winner of the ‘Creating a Mentally Healthier Workplace Award’ from the Health In Education Association (hieda). The award recognises a school which has shown a proactive and open approach to mental wellbeing and continued support and development of mental health for all. For St George’s this has included opening a Wellbeing Hub, embedding the MindUp mindfulness programme with daily ‘brain breaks’ from Kindergarten upwards, training Year 8 student volunteers to be Peer Listeners, and holding wellbeing walks with Olive, the school dog. The school also learned they had been shortlisted in the Independent Pre Prep School of the Year category at the Independent Schools of the Year Awards. stgwindsor.org to start! Heathfield has been running extremely successful summer courses for over 40 years, and I aim to continue to build on this great tradition. The summer courses bring the girls together to live, socialise and study in Heathfield’s stunning 36 acre grounds, in a positive and enjoyable meeting of cultures. For many of the attendees, this will be one of the highlights of their young lives.” heathfieldschool.net