ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION PREP & PRE-PREP • AUTUMN / WINTER 2019
ABSOLUTELY
AU T U M N • W I N T E R 2 01 9
P &EP E PR -PR E PR
SOLO STUDY The debate on homework
Book
SMART
Pony Mad
Schools for mini equestrians
EXCLUSIVE SUPPLEMEN T Brought to you by Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School
ZEST.LONDON
READING SPECIAL AUTUMN'S NEW TITLES
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The world can be a noisy place. That’s why children at St James practise ‘stillness’ and pause before and after every lesson. We see them calm down, refocus and head off to their next class buzzing with renewed energy.
For parents, peace of mind comes from knowing your child will thrive academically and creatively in a warm, happy environment. Our pupils get great results. They just don’t get stressed about it. Please get in touch today to find out more about us or to arrange a visit.
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Our new nursery is now open. Call 020 7348 1793 or email admissions@stjamesprep.org.uk to join one of our weekly tours
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AU T U M N • W I N T E R 2 0 1 9
CO N T E N TS upfront
12 WHAT'S ON
Fun family events for autumn
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14 SCHOOL NEWS
Out and about in the world of education
18 SOLO STUDY
What is the right age to start homework and should children get it at all? By Carly Glendinning
25 LANGUAGE LOW-DOWN How should childcare professionals introduce children to a second language?
pre-Prep
33 WHAT WE WEAR
Knighton House School on why they've ditched school uniform in favour of dungarees
37 PLAY BALL
The Head of PE and Games at St Nicholas Preparatory School on the joy of sport
38 THE WORLD OF WORK Beaudesert Park School on teaching younger children about careers
Prep
42 PONY MAD
P.E. lessons no longer just consist of cold afternoons on the hockey pitch, says Zoë Delmer-Best
47 STEM'S THE WORD
CENTRE SECTION Exclusive Supplement Brought to you by Prince's Gardens Preparatory School
James Allen's Prepartory School on encouraging girls in STEM subjects
59 COUNTRY LIFE
Why rural schools are the escape children need, says the Headmaster of Pitsford School
60 TESTING TIMES
The Founder of At The School Gates on the emergence of a whole new sector 4
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E D U C AT I O N P R E P & P R E P R E P
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ACTING EDITOR
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Carly Glendinning EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Pendle Harte
EDITOR I A L A SSISTA N T
Abbie Schofield
EDITOR I A L IN TER N
Zoë Delmer-Best
GROUP A DV ERTISING M A NAGER
Nicola Owens
GROUP SA L ES DIR ECTOR
Craig Davies
SPECI A L IST CONSULTA N T
Andy Mabbitt
COMMERCI A L DIR ECTOR
Leah Day
A RT DIR ECTOR
Pawel Kuba
SENIOR DESIGNER
Mike Roberts
MID-W EIGHT DESIGNER
Rebecca Noonan
M A R K ETING M A NAGER
Lucie Pearce
FINA NCE DIR ECTOR
Jerrie Koleci DIR ECTOR S
Greg Hughes, Alexandra Hunter, James Fuschillo PUBL ISHING DIR ECTOR
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Sherif Shaltout
For advertising enquiries please call 020 7704 0588 or email: andy.mabbitt@zest-media.com
ZEST MEDIA PUBLICATIONS LTD
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Au t u m n b o o k s
66 TOP AUTUMN BOOKS
Andrea Reece rounds up autumn's new reads to excite readers of all tastes
74 OLIVER JEFFERS Q&A
The much-loved children's author and illustrator on his new book
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Zest Media Publications Ltd. cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited submissions, manuscripts and photographs. While every care is taken, prices and details are subject to change and Zest Media Publications Ltd. take no responsibility for omissions or errors. We reserve the right to publish and edit any letters. All rights reserved.
ABSOLUTELY-EDUCATION.CO.UK
80 NADIYA HUSSAIN Q&A
The Great British Bake Off winner on anxiety and her debut children's book
S c h o o l’ s O u t
93 SHROPSHIRE
Pendle Harte goes glamping near Shrewsbury
94 ACTION HERO
The Wye Valley is the perfect family getaway, says Amanda Constance
F R O N T C OV E R St Dunstan's College is a co-educational independent school for ages 3-18 stdunstans.org.uk
AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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IS YOUR CHILD FUTURE READY? > CREATIVITY & CODING CAMPS FOR CHILDREN AGES 5-12+
CON T R IBU TOR S
Dr Lisa Freedman Journalist and education consultant
Dr Lisa Freedman, BA, MA, PhD, is an experienced education consultant and analyst, who writes regularly about English education in the national press. She talks about pre-testing on page 60.
> OCTOBER HALF-TERM 21ST OCT - 1ST NOV SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP Code + Innovation > WINTER HOLIDAYS 16TH - 20TH DECEMBER 30TH DEC - 3RD JAN > BOOK NOW
Helen Peters Author
Helen Peters is a London-based author and former English and Drama teacher. She writes about the inspiration behind her new book, Anna at War, on page 85.
Sophie Anderson Author
Having previously worked as a geologist and Science teacher, author Sophie Anderson is passionate about the importance of children exploring nature. She writes about her book, The Girl Who Speaks Bear, and ‘rewilding’ children on page 70.
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e m Co ! ed ew ov r n m ou ve in ha s e tu W visi d an
BELGRAVIA
ho e m
Come and visit our exceptional prep school in our brand new buildings on Eccleston Square! Boys and Girls Nursery 2 - 4 Prep 4 - 11
www.eatonsquareschool.com/belgravia/
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FROM THE
EDITOR
H
omework is a topic that can polarise parents and teachers alike. A key theme of our autumn issue, traditionalists often take the view that it helps to consolidate skills that have been taught in the classroom. But nightly battles (that end with parents picking up the pencil to get it done) leave others questioning when is the right age for children to start, if at all. On page 18, we find out that the research as to whether it benefits preparatory school children is somewhat inconclusive. What is clear, however, is the importance of reading outside the classroom. That brings me nicely to our second theme for this issue: books. Turn to page 88 to read our interview with one of the world’s best-loved children’s book authors and illustrators, Oliver Jeffers. Also hoping to inspire young readers is winner of The Great British Bake Off 2015, Nadiya Hussain. We talk to her about her debut children’s book, My Monster and Me on page 94. And finally, we round up the best new titles for sparking their imaginations on page 80. Perfect for under-thecovers reading now the nights are drawing in.
CA R LY G L E N D I N N I N G Ac ti n g Ed i to r
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North Bridge House
ion New locat
Pre-Prep & y r e s r u N pstead West Ham
Opening Sept 2020
Book an open day at northbridgehouse.com/open or call 020 7428 1520
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NURSERY HAMPSTEAD
PRE-PREP HAMPSTEAD
2 - 5 YEARS
5 - 7 YEARS
PREP SCHOOL REGENT’S PARK 7 - 13 YEARS
TUESDAYS THROUGHOUT
FRIDAYS THROUGHOUT
FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER
OCTOBER - DECEMBER
OCTOBER - DECEMBER
FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER
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Up Front
S H O U LD P R E P P U P I L S H AV E H O M E WO R K? p . 1 8 • L A N G UAG E LOW- D OW N p . 2 5
TWO YOUNG GYMNASTS AT ST NICHOLAS PREP SCHOOL
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W H AT ’S O N Autumn and winter activity highlights
Me... From Friday 29 November Little Angel Theatre The world is a very big place, especially for a tiny baby penguin who is just finding her feet. Me… is the theatre adaptation of the much-loved children’s story by Emma Dodd showing at Little Angel Theatre in North London.
littleangeltheatre.com
EDITOR’S PICK
Where’s Wally?
THE BIG MUSEUM HUNT
19-27 October • London Transport Museum
To celebrate the release of the new ‘Where’s Wally?’ book, Double Trouble at the Museum, families can explore, discover and play as they hunt for Wally around the London Transport Museum this October. Pick up your Mission Map from the Family Station and follow the fun and unexpected activities and puzzles. ltmuseum.co.uk 12
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Ref lections on Nature Until 27 October Kew Gardens
You can still catch the contemporary glass artist Chihuly’s showcase at Kew Gardens until late October with a specially illustrated, colourful and engaging trail to take children around the garden.
kew.org
E D U C AT I O N P R E P & P R E P R E P
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Up Front
EVENTS
CHRISTMAS EVENTS AND MUSIC
STORYTELLING Until 20 November Royal Albert Hall Paul Rubinstein and Samantha Sutherland are delivering a series of sessions for children up to four years old, aiming to engage and encourage interaction between parents and their little ones using musical instruments, singing, movement and stories.
royalalberthall.com
Festive activities for all the family
DINO SNORES FO R K I D S
7 December Natural History Museum This sleepover is an opportunity for children aged seven to 11 to explore the Museum after dark whilst taking part in fun, educational activities – all with a festive touch. nhm.ac.uk
W I NTE R WO N D E R L A N D
From 21 November Hyde Park Wrap up warm because the Bavarian-themed Christmas fair returns to Hyde Park for another winter featuring rides, market stalls and festive treats, plus an ice rink and circus shows. hydeparkwinterwonderland.com
WEEKENDS AT
WETLANDS Until 31 December Wetlands Centre
n Saturdays and Sundays families can visit the Wetlands Centre, Barnes, and experience a number of animal-based activities such as feeding the birds, pond dipping and birdwatching. wwt.org.uk
O
Children’s Book FESTIVAL 2019 16-17 November Knole Park, Kent oin iconic children’s writers and illustrators including Jacqueline Wilson, Sarah McIntyre and 2019 Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell at Knole Park for the Children’s Book Festival. nationaltrust.org.uk/knole
J
A N AU D I E N C E W ITH FATH E R C H R I STM A S
14-21 December Kenwood House, Hampstead Heath Meet the legend himself at Kenwood House this December as Father Christmas tells festive tales amidst the yuletide decorations. english-heritage.org.uk
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SCHOO L N EWS Top Story
S E A S T H E DAY Pupils at Taunton Prep School have become the youngest team to complete a relay swim across the Channel. Having started their rigorous training schedule in September 2018, the team of 12-yearolds completed the 22-mile crossing in under 13 hours. Braving rough seas, the team swam overnight to raise money for The Neonatal Unit at Musgrove Park Hospital.
NEW HEAD Cumnor House in Sussex has announced Fergus Llewellyn as the new Headmaster with effect from July 2020. Fergus is currently the Headmaster of the renowned St Andrew's Prep School, Turi, Kenya, where he has been since August 2015. The Board set out to find a candidate with the expertise, experience and empathy to sustain the Cumnor ethos, but equipped to introduce changes which will ensure that Cumnor pupils are prepared for the future.
FA I T H I N ENGINEERING St Faiths, Cambridge, has opened a ÂŁ2 million STEM centre called The Hub. Pupils from the age of seven can expect to spend one hour per week studying engineering, encouraging the development of lateral thinking skills. The school wants to dispel the myth that engineering is just a hard hat on a building site.
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2020 Vision
R O W YO U R B OAT
Winchester House has launched its new 2020 vision with Mastery Mornings for Years 7 and 8. These inspiring workshops are an opportunity for children to master a craft and work with experts in a particular field. For the Year 8s there is an academic focus whilst Year 7s receive an introduction to new skills and experiences.
Students at Lambrook School put on their explorer hats and spent a week canoeing around the Stora Lee Lake, Sweden to raise money for the Teenage Wilderness Trust. Camping during the nights and canoeing an average of 9 kilometres a day, the students finessed their survival skills and team work, collecting firewood and cooking for themselves throughout the trip.
G R E E K DAY Pupils at St Dunstan’s College Junior School celebrated their annual Greek Day in September. Year 5 pupils took part in a range of activities and lessons throughout the day learning about the rise and fall of Ancient Greece. Pupils got to try on armour from the times including shields and Greek helmets. The day ended with a playful battle re-enactment.
E D U C AT I O N P R E P & P R E P R E P
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Up Front
NEWS
Fast Food The Royal Society for Public Health has released a report calling for a ban on fast food shops and billboard advertisements within a five minute walk of schools. Two thirds of members of the public asked agreed with the prospect of a ban.
NURSERY NEWS Annette Elstob has started as the new Head of Rolfe’s Nursery School, the Ofsted ‘outstanding’ Notting Hill nursery. Miss Elstob completed her PGCE in Primary education, with a specialist focus on Early Years, at the University of East London, Stratford.
More suppor t
UNIFORM COSTS
Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman has said more needs to be done to support pupils transitioning from primary to secondary school. According to a new report, some pupils risk falling behind due to the emotional challenges faced when leaving small-community primary schools.
A report in The Times revealed that the average uniform for children attending prep school is over £1000. At one school in Chelsea, dressing a girl costs nearly £1,300 according to the newspaper. However not all independent schools had these prices - one school in Hampstead requires a yellow shirt retailing for £9.50.
Science Stars Felsted Prep School pupils have won the chance to name a star after four groups from Years 7 and 8 won awards in the Chelmsford Schools Science and Engineering Competition. They were presented with the Anglia Ruskin University Award after gaining a sweep of titles for their innovative projects. The front runner for the name of the star is ‘Felsted Prep Super Star’.
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PICTURE YOURSELF AT
James Allen’s Preparatory School
PORTR AIT OF A JAGS GIR L
PORTR AIT OF A JAGS GIR L
Enthusiastic karate student, budding skier, gymnast…. and humane.
Committed ecologist, charity co-ordinator, cellist.. and humane.
LEADING INDEPENDENT GIRLS’ SCHOOL 4–11 YEARS OPEN MORNING SAT 5 OCTOBER (NO NEED TO BOOK)
FIND OUT MORE AT WWW.JAGS.ORG.UK JAMES ALLEN’S GIRLS’ SCHOOL 144 EAST DULWICH GROVE, LONDON, SE22 8TE | 020 8693 0374
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10/06/2019 07/06/2019 12:08 17:43
Up Front
NEWS
P L AY O N
NEW APPOINTMENT Barrow Hills School has appointed Sarah Poyntz as their new Director of Teaching and Learning. Sarah will be working with the new Head Philip Oldroyd to review the best practice for learning and teaching across the whole school from nursery right up to Year 8. Sarah, her husband and Labrador puppy Django live locally in Aldershot.
Cheam School has announced that its recently established Foundation is now funding its first dedicated Music Bursary for a child aged 8-13. The Cheam Foundation was launched in 2019 in order to offer life-changing bursaries to as wide a crosssection of children as possible. The launch of the Foundation was a significant moment in the history of Cheam, as the school looks to both expand its bursary provision and support the ongoing development of the school’s facilities.
D I S COV E RY CENTRE S PAC E D O U T A new app has launched which allows children to take an educational trip to space through augmented reality. AR-kid: Space is an immersive app which teaches kids about space with the help of a robot guide called ‘Cosmo’ - children can even walk virtually on the moon. The Co-founder of AR-kid: Space, Bruno Samper, said, “If we can combine education with technology we can make screentime more positive.”
The British Museum and Samsung have reopened the award-winning Samsung Digital Discovery Centre (SDDC) after a significant upgrade, and announced a new digital learning programme that brings together museums and technology. The Virtual Visits programme means schools that are unable to visit the Museum can still experience the collections, and the expert staff, via live steam.
Top Story
S AV I N G L I V E S Trials of first aid lessons will start in English schools this month with the classes becoming compulsory in 2020. Children will be taught basic skills such as how to make a phone call to the emergency services and how to put someone in a recovery position. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the new health curriculum would give every child "the chance to learn life-saving skills".
TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT HEALTHY EATING IS AS IMPORTANT AS TEACHING THEM ENGLISH AND MATHS The Great British Bake Off’s Prue Leith
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S OLO STUDY
What is the right age to start homework and should children be doing it at all?
A L L I M AG E S F E R M L I V I N G
Wo r d s C A R LY G L E N D I N N I N G
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Up Front
homework
H
omework can be an emotive subject. For some, that feeling of Sunday night dread (when you’d left it to the last possible moment) never properly leaves us. Still creeping up in waves of panic like an irrational fear, or returning to us in nightmares. For others, one too many excuses about peckish dogs brings back memories sparking guilt or regret. When our own children start school, the nightmares can quickly turn into nightly battles that often end with us picking up the pencil in order to get it done. Attention spans are short after a long day at school and homework takes time away from family life. In this country homework commonly starts in reception, taking the form of reading. From Year 1 and into Year 2, children are usually expected to complete one to two tasks per week. But parents are questioning if this is too early and ultimately if homework is necessary at all. It’s a hot topic at the moment due to a new framework that was introduced in the state system in September. Ofsted has said its inspectors will not assess how homework is being done because schools should decide whether or not they set it for their students. This marks a huge departure in the inspection regime, which previously looked at homework as part of the way it approached the teaching, learning, and assessment of children. Independent schools are of course free to set their own policies about homework and the approach is varied. Queen’s Gate Junior School in South Kensington takes the view that homework can be of value, if it’s set in a constructive way. Mr James Denchfield, director of the school says: “It befalls good schools not only
“FOR SOME , T H AT FEELI NG OF S UNDAY NI G H T DREAD ( W H EN YOU ' D LEFT IT TO T H E LAST P OS S I BLE MOMENT ) NEVER P ROP ERLY LEAVE S U S” to teach well but also to nurture essential learning skills, such as independence, selfmotivation and retention of information,” he continues “homework is at its most beneficial when it asks pupils not just to review what they have learnt but to understand why they have learnt it, as they make the leap from specific task to general rule. Well-conceived, purposeful tasks, which draw on pupils’ creativity and demand lateral thinking are the most satisfying to undertake and are the ones which leave the greatest impression in children’s minds.” The King Alfred School in Golders Green, north-west London takes a more progressive stance.
Head of Lower School, Karen Thomas says: “At The King Alfred School we’ve chosen not to set homework for our Lower School students in order to remove undue pressure for our children and their families. Using enquiry as our main pedagogical approach we create enough exciting opportunities in the school day to trigger their curiosity and open the door to learning both in and out of school. We like to keep parents fully informed as to what is happening in the classrooms in order to enable rich conversations at home. Our oldest students have home learning projects in order to prepare them for their transition to the Upper School which is AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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Up Front
“O FST E D' S 2 01 8 R E PO RT STAT ED T H AT HO M E WO R K I S A ' H U G E ST RE S S ' FOR FA M I L I E S I N T H E U K”
something they themselves requested.” Ofsted’s 2018 report stated that homework is a “huge stress” for families in the UK. Of the parents they collected feedback from, a third felt that it is not helpful for primary school-age children – an opinion that was at the centre of a high profile Twitter debate at the end of 2018. The fray in question started when comedian Rob Delany wrote: “Why do they give seven-year-olds so much homework in the UK and how do I stop this?” Football presenter Gary Lineker typed back, agreeing that children “should be allowed to play and enjoy home life with their
parents without the divisiveness of work they have plenty of time to do at school.” However, Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan weighed in with the opposite opinion. He wrote: “As a nation, we’re falling so far behind educational standards of countries like China, it’s embarrassing.” The consensus around the world is indeed varied. In Finland, a country that consistently tops global education rankings, children start school at age seven and the homework they receive is minimal, and in some schools, they don’t get any at all. In the New York private system (a city famed for being enslaved to
homework
the rat race) homework also starts much later. Most schools begin with play-based learning, only bringing homework into the equation at third or fourth grade. But this is not the case in other highpressured societies. Having previously taught in London, Sophie Helsby is a Grade 1 teacher in an independent school on the outskirts of Tokyo. She feels that the parents in Japan put too much focus on their child’s future success. She says: “In the school I work in, we have to set homework weekly. The parents actually want it and they always ask for more,” she continues, “we do enough at school to support their learning and we want kids to come to school energised and well-rested. I always tell parents that their children need time at home to relax and play, but they don’t really understand that here.” Academic results are of course a huge factor for parents when they are looking for a school that will be best suited for their child. But thought about whether homework contributes to higher success rates for younger children tends to vary. A 2001 meta-study by the National Foundation for Educational Research concluded that there was “a positive relationship between time spent and outcomes at secondary level” but “evidence at primary level is inconsistent”. Conor Heaven, a former teacher and Digital Learning Leader at TT Education argues that while homework can have “zero impact”, there’s a difference between homework and home learning. He says: “even from the youngest ages, the one most important thing that should happen every week without fail is reading,” he continues “there are primary schools that have got rid of homework completely. They have seen that they don’t gain any value from it, but reading absolutely would still carry on in this scenario.” Like or loathe the idea of homework, one thing for sure is the importance of books for young learners. Not only does it help with language acquisition and literacy skills, but it expands children’s imaginations and their understanding of the world. And bedtime stories may just be the antidote to those nightmares about hungry dogs. AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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Eaton House Schools has a rich traditional heritage coupled with a modern outlook. We offer a nurturing pathway for both boys and girls within separate schools to some of the top academic London day and boarding schools across the country and our pupils win many scholarships. Our main entry points are at 3+, 4+, 7+, 8+ and 11+ years.
With personalised teaching and wellbeing at its core, pupils blossom academically and emotionally at the right pace for each child, growing into confident, rounded, intelligent and inquisitive young people. This adds up to the promise of a superb education for your child.
Come and visit us and discover for yourself what makes us so special.
Belgravia | Clapham
020 3917 5050 | sfeilding@eatonhouseschools.com | www.eatonhouseschools.com
Book an open day on www.eatonhouseschools.com
EATON HOUSE SCHOOLS Celebrating 120 years of excellence
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Up Front
H O M E WO R K
Get in the K N O W Conor Heaven talks about ZingiTT, a new digital platform to help parents engage in their child’s education Wo r d s ZOË DELMER- BEST
A
s many parents will know, homework can sometimes feel like an insurmountable challenge. From practising the arts of tactical persuasion to being an on-tap thesaurus or calculator, prep can often result in all parties feeling frustrated and confused. It’s not unusual to find parents up late at night, scrolling through forums, searching for advice from others battling on the homework front. ZingiTT have created an online platform designed to help parents be one step ahead of their child’s schooling. The concept of ZingiTT was born after the widely successful TT Education group won the 2018 School Improvement Provider of the Year award. Deciding to put their expertise to good use, the team created ZingiTT to provide parents and caregivers with informative videos and guides to help them get involved with their child’s education. Conor Heaven, digital learning leader at TT Education, explains, “Parental engagement has proven to be absolutely critical in a child’s education. That doesn’t mean that the parents have to be experts, they just need to help raise the aspirations of the child in relation to education and school. It helps the child appreciate school more, meaning they are more likely to succeed in life.” Primary education is a topic Conor and his team are passionate about as many are parents of young children. They wanted to create something that was easily accessible but not time-consuming. “The last thing many working parents need is their child coming home from school asking, ‘Mummy what’s an adverbial' or 'what’s a subordinating conjunction?’ What we want to do, no matter what the background of the parent, is to empower and enable all
parents to help their children at home.” Homework can be a hot topic among parents and educators. Many parents often prefer to leave a child’s education to the professionals to avoid oversaturation of learning. One the other hand, there are parents who are over-involved in their child’s learning, questioning the teacher’s abilities and curriculum at every opportunity due to lack of confidence in the education system. Some could argue that educational guides for parents encourage every experience to be an unnecessary learning opportunity for their child. Conor Heaven clarifies that ZingiTT isn’t about micromanaging education: “It’s to help any parent who is not confident with what their child is coming home with.” ZingiTT strives to give parents a sound understanding of their child’s progression, no matter what side of the debate they stand on. ZingiTT have created a platform hosting informative videos in bite-sized chunks,
which is constantly being updated using the feedback from a 70-strong focus group of parents. The information is condensed so videos can be watched in the time it takes to make a cup of tea. Since its launch in February 2019, ZingiTT has produced over 120 videos covering subjects such as Maths, Science and Phonics. ZingiTT can also help parents who suspect their child has special educational needs, advising how to access help and get a diagnosis. Not only is ZingiTT a useful resource for parents; schools use the platform as a way to communicate with parents, advising them which videos to watch to keep informed of their child’s learning progress.
WE WANT TO EMPOWER AND ENABLE ALL PARENTS TO BE ABLE TO HELP THEIR CHILDREN AT HOME
ZINGITT IS A DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR PARENTS
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3 to 18 years old
Juniors Open Morning Come and see what we have to offer and how we prepare your child for learning
31 Jan 2020, 9.30am to 12.30pm We would love to meet you. Just call the Registrar on 01604 880306 or email registrar@pitsfordschool.com
• • • • •
Set in 30 acres of beautiful grounds Small class sizes where every child is known Students interact more with their teachers and peers, allowing for a more individual approach to learning Facilities include a multi-million pound School building and new state-of-the-art Sports Centre Every pupil will thrive at our wonderful School and life beyond www.pitsfordschool.com
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Upfront
bilingualism
employability. Not only that, but for young children learning languages comes naturally and spontaneously. Researchers agree that there is a critical window up to age seven, beyond which our aptitude declines markedly.
AN IMMERSIVE APPROACH
The low-down on
L A N G UAG E S How should childcare professionals introduce children to a second language, or support those whose home language is not English?
E
ight percent of the total population of England and Wales speak a main language other than English, according to the 2011 census – the greatest numbers speaking Polish, Punjabi and Urdu. Huge numbers of children are growing up in homes where English is not the only language spoken. The 2011 census also showed that 19 percent of the population in Wales spoke Welsh. The evidence is clear that learning more than one language from a young age can be enormously advantageous, resulting in improved working memory, self-control and mental flexibility, a lower rate of diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, and greater
Seeing her daughter, then aged three, become fluent in just a few months while attending Spanish pre-schools abroad was part of what inspired Lianne Moseley to start Spanish/English bilingual childcare business Bonitots. Within months of opening in 2015, she had a two-year waiting list and has now set up a nursery. But it is not only Spanish-speaking families who seek her out – half of her children come from homes where only English is spoken, or another language. Lianne has also worked with children for whom Spanish is a third language, and even recalls one child who spoke four languages fluently – English, Spanish, Flemish and Mandarin – “moving effortlessly between them”. She has created an “immersive” bilingual setting where most transactional interactions and play activities are in Spanish. “But we do specific activities in English,” she explains. “Partly because we have a duty to support the child’s majority language as well, but also because of the EYFS stipulations for school readiness in England, and because all assessments need to be in English. “All phonics teaching is in English for example, and I teach piano lessons in English so the children have the English vocabulary to continue music lessons elsewhere.” Home support is essential too, and Lianne works closely with parents, for example sharing key words their children are learning.
MISCONCEPTIONS While the children clearly take it in their stride, misconceptions prevail, says Lianne – that a child’s language development will be held back by learning more than one language. “Our experience, and this is borne out by studies, is that bilingual AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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or trilingual children have more words than monolingual children. Language is one of the strongest areas for all our children and that is because of, not in spite of, their bilingualism. For the children all I see are the benefits.”
CELEBRATING DIFFERENCE Sue Smith of Sweet Peas Childcare in Ely, Cambridgeshire, marks 20 years as a childminder this year, and has cared for a number of children with English as an additional language, but has never found they struggle more to settle. As with all children, she says, “It depends on their disposition and how they’ve been parented.” Her approach is to actively seek information from the parents about their culture, beliefs and family connections. She learns key words in a child’s home language. Sue says: “We celebrate where they come from, what makes them different, and make them feel valued for who they are.” She keeps her instructions in English simple and combines them with gestures, such as arms outstretched. “Sometimes there is a language barrier with the parents as well,” Sue adds. “But it’s important to find a way
WE CELEBRATE WHERE THEY COME FROM, WHAT MAKES THEM DIFFERENT, AND MAKE THEM FEEL VALUED
to communicate, because if you can’t form a relationship and have that partnership, it isn’t going to work.”
BILINGUAL WALES While bilingualism remains unusual in most of the UK, in Wales it is far more commonplace, supported by the government’s Welsh language Cymraeg 2050 strategy, which aims to have a million Welsh speakers by 2050, and includes a programme
bilingualism
to support and expand Welsh-medium childcare provision. Dwynwen Thomas is a childminder based in Nefyn in North Wales. She has cared for children who are Welsh-speaking, English-speaking and those growing up with both languages at home. “I get them to come into it gradually and begin by saying something in Welsh and then translating it into English so they get to hear both languages,” she explains. “I don’t want them to feel alienated because they don’t understand – I want them to feel involved. If they’re not happy they’re not going to be learning either.” She adds: “Introducing bilingualism to children at a very early age actually enhances their learning in my experience.” While Dwynwen says in order to “get on in the world” children must have both languages, beginning with Welsh is important, both for practical and cultural reasons. She says: “It’s your home language it’s something that connects you with your roots and something that you build on throughout your life.”
SOWING THE SEEDS For all its benefits, bilingualism is not something the majority of childcare providers can offer, nor is it something the vast majority of parents will expect – but it is still worth considering. Anna Neville, CEO and founder of Kidslingo, which teaches French and Spanish to 12,000 children aged 0 to 11 each week, believes it can “sow the seeds for a love of languages”. She says: “We want to instil in them that languages are something to be embraced, so they can take that on later in their education and their lives.”. From offering immersive programmes and weekly classes, to learning a few words in a child’s first language, how childcare professionals approach languages in their settings is vital in supporting the language-learning potential of the children in their care; get it right and they can tap into a multitude of advantages that will endure for the rest of their lives. pacey.org.uk AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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‘ Enjoying childhood and realising our imagination.’ “My favourite thing about Dallington School is that the teachers and students are very friendly and positive, there is a brilliant atmosphere in the classroom” - Johan “I think Dallington teaches you in a way no other school does and I really enjoy that” - Alex Dallington is a family-run co-educational independent school, with a nursery, in the heart of London.
Personal tours each day of the week, except Wednesday. Next Open Evening: Thursday 3rd October 2019 from 6 to 8 pm
Headteacher: Maria Blake Proprietor and Founder: Mogg Hercules MBE Email: hercules@dallingtonschool.co.uk Phone: 020 7251 2284 www.dallingtonschool.co.uk USE.indd 1
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HEAD
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without stress The Head of Bassett House on supporting every child, no matter their academic ability
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t is widely acknowledged that each child should be encouraged and given every opportunity to reach their full potential at school: however, it is crucial to consider how this is to be achieved. I believe that it is important for all children to develop an inner core of confidence at school by developing skills and achieving success in a range of different areas. Some children are naturally academic so success for them will be gaining places and scholarships at some of the most prestigious and academically selective schools in the country. At Bassett House, a number of our children achieve this goal each year. For others, it means their strengths in the arts or sport are recognised, or their social and
PHILIPPA CAWTHORNE WITH STUDENTS
entrepreneurial flair is valued. The only non-negotiable as far as we are concerned is that a child is challenged, and in turn aspires to attain their absolute ‘personal best’ in every sphere. A child who feels a measure of achievement will feel confident and be able to build on this but we must guard against making children fear failure. At Bassett House we promote a growth mindset and the children know that they are not allowed to say that they can’t do something but rather that they can’t do it yet. Children are also taught that F.A.I.L. stands for First Attempt In Learning and we encourage them to take risks in and out of the classroom. Teachers also take on challenges, from learning an instrument to balloon model making,
“Children thrive when they are stretched but do not perform well when they are under excess pressure”
TA L K I N G
PHILIPPA CAWTHORNE Headmistress Bassett House School
Upfront
OPINION
to inspire children and show them that new learning doesn’t come easily. Success is often measured by the school a child gets into. What may be the best school for one child would not suit another and to think too early about these choices before the child has had a chance to develop is a recipe for disaster and disappointment. All of our candidates are given a long period of familiarisation and feedback in the run up to exam season, practising and perfecting techniques, allowing them to improve upon their best efforts. Failures big and small are celebrated as vital steps on the road to success. Growth is recognised wherever it is found, effort is praised, and in the end, the examination achievements of each child are viewed with pride. Children thrive when they are stretched but do not perform well when they are under excess pressure. A ‘no pain, no gain’ approach in order to win the prize of a prestigious senior school place can make adults feel justified in exerting pressure on a child, relegating emotional and mental wellbeing until after the exams are over. At Bassett House, we pride ourselves on flatly opposing the pressure - our approach is founded on our faith in our children and on our investment in them as whole beings. Bassett House School has this year been shortlisted for the Times Educational Supplement 'Healthy school of the year' award for the many new initiatives that have been introduced to ensure the positive mental health and wellbeing of the staff and children. A strong mind is needed to support knowledge and our children grow to be robust, resourceful and adaptable young people. It is the high-quality pastoral and intellectual investment for our children that leads to their success and most importantly, their happiness. AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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MOULSFORD PREP SCHOOL TAKES LEARNING OUTDOORS
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THE JOY OF DUNGAREES
What we WEAR, How we LEARN Enclothed Cognition and The Dungaree W o r d s C H A R L O T T E W E A T H E R LY
o mention is made of dungarees in John Carl Flugel’s 1930s article ‘The Psychology of Clothes’ published in issue 18 of International Psycho-analytical Library. Much is made of how particular items of clothing "serve the motives of decoration, modesty, and protection", but nothing about the dungaree. That we undergo profound psychological changes when we put on specific clothes has long been known, although it is only quite recently that the concept has been given its own name. ‘Enclothed Cognition’ (H Adam, AD Galinsky – Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2012) was created to describe "the systematic influence that clothes have on the wearer’s psychological processes", but with the caveat that the influence of clothes depends on wearing them as well as their symbolic meaning. In the deep past (the 17th century to be precise) dungarees were squarely in the category of workwear; of a cheap, coarse, thick cotton, either blue or white, they were originally worn by the very poor in India. In the boom years of 19th century American expansion, they reappeared as the go-to attire AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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DUNGAREES ARE FOR GIRLS WHO HAVE NO TIME FOR FUSSING ABOUT THE LENGTH OF THEIR SKIRT
of railroad and construction workers, savvy pioneers looking to get ahead and get rich. Not so in 2019 - dungarees (and their cool sister the jumpsuit) feature in fashionable and celebrity wardrobes because they are so versatile. According to fashion blog Love Thirty, they are particularly great when you don’t know what the weather is going to do (a full-time job for the British) allowing for plenty of layering and showing off your marvellous knitwear. What the blog fails to mention is that dungarees are the go-to attire for modern girls totally focused on their learning. Too busy being optimistic in the classroom and collaborating with their peers, dungarees are for girls who have no time for fussing about the length of their skirt. Enclothed Cognition is not a new branch of psychoanalysis but revealed within it is our complex relationship with
ACTIVITIES MADE EASY IN DUNGAREES
what we wear and how clothes influence our psychological processes, including how we learn. What we have known since around 1965 is that when they are red and worn by girls at Knighton House school, wearing dungarees means great attitudes to learning and better learning altogether. So why and how do dungarees promote better learning? You might as well ask how many ideas a girl in red dungarees can come up with for an international STEM challenge prize-winning idea (lots, and winning one) for they are legion: • Pond dipping and exploring habitats is easy (Science lessons) • No fuss about changing when lessons move outside (the outdoor classroom) • Accepting difference is commonplace; no one else wears dungarees and we dare to be different (PSHEE) • They have proper-sized pockets, room for at least two good books (reading for pleasure) • Experiments for measuring and calculating speed are realistic (Science and Maths)
UNIFORMS
• Instruments such as the cello are accessible (Music) • No one is excited by the thought of writing ‘Ode to My Grey School Skirt’, but ‘Ode to My Red Dungarees’ is another story; just as an aside, in studies about the influence of colour on learning, red is said to encourage creativity (English) • The Battle of Hastings (and other famous fights) can be re-enacted authentically (History) • You get stress-free Biology – no problems being in messy locations identifying invertebrates (Science) • Running up hills and generally yomping in fields to study microclimates is easy (Geography) • Every type of chemistry experiment is possible: no fiddling with lab coats (Science) • Games of 40-40 in dungarees develop our competitive edge (Sport) • Girls are less self-critical and more confident (attitudes to learning) • Practising our jumping (a.k.a. pony jumps in the Greenwood) means we have some of the best scores in athletics competitions (Games) Encompassing other philosophies about education, the list could go on. Rousseau for example, although not a documented advocate of dungarees, was very keen on children interacting with their environment rather than simply drawing knowledge from books - how better than in a pair of red dungarees? Practically, wearing dungarees in our rural environment just makes sense. When you need to leap a fence to catch a runaway pony or you fancy picking a Russet apple from the orchard for your breaktime snack, dungarees make it a blush-free exercise, modesty guaranteed. Knighton House school has a solutionseeking mindset. In the case of our iconic ‘everyday’ uniform, (we have a further uniform for out of school events) it was a simple choice based on the principle of how girls could be supported to get the most out of their learning; and lo, behold, the red dungaree.
C H A R LOT T E W E AT H E R LY Assistant Head Knighton House School AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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Play BALL The Head of PE and Games at St Nicholas Preparatory School on the joy of sport
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have been fortunate to experience a lot of sport throughout my life, from professional sport to recreational activities. Teaching primary school pupils at St Nicholas Prep reminds PE teachers like me of what it was like to be young and how we developed our skills. Whilst the training sessions, after-school clubs and PE lessons were all-important, it was the little things that really helped me to develop my coordination and confidence. I remember my parents giving me three small juggling balls to play with when we were on holiday one year. I practised every day until I could conquer the art of juggling all three at once, and then continued this daily practice until the age of 15 or so. Impressive or not, all that practice significantly developed my coordination, control and patience – the confidence that CHALLENGING I gained as a YOURSELF result was huge. All this must PHYSICALLY AT have been A YOUNG AGE rather annoying DEVELOPS OVERALL for my parents, who endured the CONFIDENCE constant juggling and the football being kicked against a wall in the back garden. Yet they knew that I loved sports, and thankfully they could see the benefits in my determination, for example my handwriting improved and using a knife and fork became easier. We should not underestimate
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DAN WOOD WITH SPORTY ST NICHOLAS STUDENTS
3 THINGS FOR PARENTS TO REMEMBER You can never start sports too early – dexterity becomes coordination, then confidence • Balance on-screen activities with good old-fashioned analogue play • Join in with that game of catch or kick-around – it’s good for you, too!
the positive impact that sport has on us, not only in terms of physical fitness, but also in supporting everyday life and bringing us joy. However much children love screens and electronic games, it is important to remember that challenging yourself physically at a young age develops overall confidence. Mastering a simple skill like catching enables a child to then move on to explore more difficult competences. I see this regularly in PE lessons with primary pupils, where even the smallest physical achievement can bring huge smiles to their faces. DA N WO O D Head of PE and Games St Nicholas Preparatory School
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O PI N I O N
The World of WORK The Head of Personal Development at Beaudesert Park School on teaching younger children about careers
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eaudesert might not be a senior school, but the children here are still quietly encouraged to consider the different ways that people make a living, and to start to develop skills which will prepare them for the world of work. It is gently introduced in PrePrep, then ramps up as the children move up through the school. In nursery and reception, it all starts with role play. From doctors to garden centre staff, the children don’t need much encouragement to get into character. One of the teaching topics in Pre-Prep is ‘People Who Help Us’, and we often welcome relevant visitors such as a police officer, or a medic. Visitors are a brilliant way of engaging children of all ages. The younger children find it easy to relate to what a dentist or a beekeeper does for a living, but once they’ve moved up into Prep, then children can grapple with more complex and flexible career paths. Our popular annual ‘World of Work’ event sees a broad range of speakers coming in to shed light on a host of different jobs. We’ve had explorers, surgeons, dot-com trailblazers, renewable energy entrepreneurs, a vicar and a charity luminary, to name just a few of our past visitors. ‘Economic wellbeing’ forms part of our PSHE curriculum. Older children have dedicated sessions in which they learn not just about how business works and being employable, but also about workplace factors such as
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the gender pay gap. We have a 'Dragons’ Den Challenge Day' and have just launched the Young Enterprise Tenner Challenge. Learning about how us grown-ups make our money can be fun, but childhood is precious and should be protected, especially at this Prep school stage. There’s a balance to be struck between preparing children for the future and encouraging them to relish the all-important business of being a child for as long as possible. Here at Beaudesert, we like to think we get that balance right.
WE NEED A BALANCE BETWEEN PREPARING CHILDREN FOR THE FUTURE AND ENCOURAGING THEM TO RELISH BEING A CHILD
L AU R I E R O B I N S O N Head Of Personal Development Beaudesert Park School
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VICTORY FOR ST NICHOLAS' FOOTBALL CLUB
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Long gone are the days when P.E. lessons consisted of cold afternoons playing hockey on a muddy pitch‌ Wo r d s ZO Ë D E L M E R - B E S T
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s a traditional sport, horse riding not only promises a whole host of benefits for physical fitness but can also help improve cognitive ability and hone skills such as problem-solving and strategising. Equestrian departments often encourage children to learn all the aspects of horsemanship, teaching the invaluable lesson of responsibility. Aside from a child aspiring to become an Olympic equestrian, cultivating a love of horses can come with many rewards as riding can be a fantastic motivational tool for nursing enthusiasm and developing ambition. Here is our list of the top UK equestrian schools that any horse-obsessed child would sell their soul to attend.
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tonar will likely be the first school that comes to mind when talking about schools with stabling. Having recently transitioned from a girls-only school to being fully coeducational, Stonar is a great option for any child who is passionate about riding. Instructed under the expert eye of Darrell Scaife, students have access to some of the best training in the UK. Darrell’s knowledgeable team sets the standard high with expert instruction - their philosophy is that whatever a rider wishes to achieve, they must primarily learn the fundamentals, a correct position and have a well-trained, happy horse. Being fiercely competitive, Stonar students have plenty of opportunities to compete at internal and external events, regularly producing victories on a national scale. The facilities at Stonar are set on an 80-acre campus in the stunning West Wiltshire countryside. Students are welcome to bring their own pony with them on livery, or alternatively they can loan one of the specially selected school ponies. The livery and equestrian facilities at Stonar are second to none, comprising of 65 stables, indoor and outdoor schools and a cross-country schooling course designed by international course designer David Evans.
ABBOTSHOLM PREP SCHOOL
Staffordshire, Derbyshire Borders
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bbotsholm is the perfect choice for students who are passionate about the countryside activities rural life has to offer. With its own 70-acre working farm, equestrian centre and country estate, pupils from PrePrep through to Sixth Form have the opportunity to participate in an extensive programme of sports, outdoor education, agriculture and equine activities at this coeducational boarding school. The equestrian centre is nestled in the heart of the school grounds (it is not uncommon to find pupils passing by the stables between lessons to
HORSE RIDING
give the horses a quick pat and a treat). Boasting plenty of livery spaces, children are encouraged to bring their own pony to board at Abbotsholm. For those who do not have their own, the equestrian centre has plenty of school ponies for students to ride. The school horses are carefully selected by the expert team and are regularly schooled by staff to ensure they are trained correctly to the aids. Lessons and coaching is designed to cater for a range of students and abilities from complete beginners and those who wish to ride purely for pleasure to the more serious competitor. With a generous all-weather arena and its own Pony Club, Abbotsholm provides its students with a well-rounded intoduction to all equine activities.
R I D I N G CAN BE A FA N TAST I C M OT I VATI ONAL TO O L FO R NU RS I NG E N T H U SI A S M AND D E V E LOP I NG A M BI T I ON
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HORSE RIDING
KILGRASTON JUNIOR SCHOOL Perthshire
S ST U DENTS AND T H EI R H ORS E S CAN ENJOY ACC E S S TO A LONG LI ST OF FAC I LI T I E S
MILLFIELD PREP SCHOOL
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ith facilities that would rival any Olympic park, Millfield does not cut corners on investing in its equestrian students. Offering vastly varying opportunities from Polo to Eventing, Millfield is arguably one of the best coeducational schools for equestrian excellence. Children and their ponies can enjoy access to a long list of facilities including a 64m x 44m indoor school, a 70m x 50m outdoor school, stabling for 53 horses, a six horse walker, three warm water wash bays and staff resident on site, providing 24 hour care. That’s not to mention the impressive cross-country course,
designed by Adrian Ditcham (2012 London Olympic Course Designer), which is updated each year in preparation for the annual affiliated British Eventing competition, attracting over 600 nationwide competitors. With almost 30 full time staff, including 12 qualified coaches and a host of outside contacts, students have the chance to gain knowledge from professionals at the top of the industry. Coaching at Millfield is varied and encourages students to push their sporting potential. Alongside accessing tuition from the 12 BHS qualified permanent instructors, pupils often attend lessons from discipline specific guest trainers. As a school that is known for producing professional athletes, students can expect to receive plenty of practice in their chosen discipline.
et in the idyllic backdrop of rural Perthshire, Kilgraston is the only school in Scotland with equestrian facilities on campus, giving girls the opportunity to ride regularly on-site as an extra-curricular activity. Whether aspiring to ride for the school team or having never ridden before, Kilgraston offers equestrian opportunities for riders of any level, providing a string of 25 horses and ponies to suit all abilities. Under the expert eye of Rachael MacLean, lessons take place daily after school and at weekends in their generous 60x40m floodlit arena. Rachael is a BHS registered instructor, UKCC Level 2 equestrian instructor and has been coaching riding for over 13 years. At Kilgraston the emphasis is on progression, variety and fun, aiming to boost confidence in the more nervous riders and pushing the more experienced riders to progress further. Firmly believing in quality, not quantity, lesson numbers are restricted to ensure a high level of tuition and riding school ponies are hand-picked for their excellent temperaments. All levels are catered for, from beginners to competitive riders, with sessions tailored according to the abilities of each pupil.
KILGRASTEN SCHOOL
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Independent day and boarding school for boys aged 4-13
Independent day and boarding school for boys aged 4-13
“Pupils are extremely polite, caring, enthusiastic, respectful and exceptionally well behaved.” ISI report
“Pupils are extremely polite, caring, enthusiastic, respectful and exceptionally well behaved.” ISI report
Getting the Best out of Boys To attend an Open Day or to arrange an individual visit, please contact us: admissions@moulsford.com • 01491 651438 • www.moulsford.com Moulsford Preparatory School, Moulsford-on-Thames, Oxon, OX10 9HR
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O PI N I O N
Stem’s the WORD Felna Fox, teacher of Design and Technology at James Allen’s Preparatory School on encouraging girls in STEM subjects
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TEM subjects are the backbone of our world. From the economy to our general wellbeing, we are wholly dependent on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The world as we know it could not exist without these subjects. Not only are there millions of unfilled vacancies within the sector every year, but women and minorities are grossly under-represented too. Our hope is that by teaching STEM in the classroom as well as educating parents and teachers of the importance of STEM, we should help improve engagement and participation in later educational and professional years. Design and Technology is taught throughout James Allen’s Prep School, building confidence, creativity and skills in
Wo r d s F E L N A F OX
our pupils by encouraging them to consider problems that other people may face, as well as developing solutions. In the process, our pupils cultivate decision-making skills, effective communication skills and practical skills to broaden their minds. Within the last five years, we have embarked on a whole-school STEM initiative to ensure our girls develop these skills and receive a balanced and relevant education. Annually, the school hosts Design Week, during which each girl works with engineering professionals from diverse sectors to develop their competition entry for the Primary Engineers’ London Special Leaders Award (LSLA), a national engineering competition. Our 2019 Year 4 trophy winner, Maya, designed a ‘smart sticker plaster’ for diabetic
WE HAVE EMBARKED ON A WHOLE SCHOOL STEM INITIATIVE
A JAMES ALLEN'S STUDENT ENJOYING A DT LESSON
children that warns them of dropping blood sugar levels as well as alerting their parents using a phone app. Dalia, in Year 3, also won a trophy for her idea of electricitygenerating pads in cycle paths. The pads would collect the energy from the moving bike and absorb it into the grid to produce green energy. Maya also received this year’s Siemens Prize and was declared ‘Overall Winner’ of the London Region. We deliver a weekly DT and computing STEM club where the girls develop an understanding of mechanical engineering using a simple series of circuits to automate their products. In the club, pupils have learned how to use LEGO WeDo and Crumble, creating and programming various creatures and vehicles using sensors to conquer challenging obstacle courses. Last year, our school undertook a huge development project in building a new Community Music Centre with an auditorium seating almost 500 people, as well as 15 practice rooms and music teaching rooms. Seizing this opportunity, the Prep School delivered an architectural masterclass for girls from Year 3 to Year 13, offering an opportunity to shadow the architectural stages of the development on site. In its final stages, the programme provided an opportunity for our girls to participate in the design process by designing the school playground. Pupils were also able to share their experiences and their final playground design to the wider school community in an assembly and were delighted to see their ideas realised a few months later. F E L N A F OX Teacher of Design and Technology James Allen’s Preparatory School
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IF THE BOYS ARE NOT LOOKEDAFTER, THEY CANNOT PERFORM
A CARING COMMUNITY IS CENTRAL TO MERCHISTON
Well TAUGHT Why wellbeing is the foundation of Merchiston Castle School
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hankfully, the ‘old school’ boarding environment, where pastoral care was not traditionally at the top of the list of priorities, no longer relates to modern boarding in the UK. Over recent years, many schools from academic hothouses to the performing arts specialists have placed significant investment in creating nurturing and supportive environments. Jonathan Anderson, Headmaster at Merchiston, says, “At Merchiston we provide a caring community for all
our boys, We cannot be the safe and happy school we strive for without everyone within the community feeling healthy, included, nurtured, respected, valued and supported. Wellbeing underpins all aspects of Merchiston. If the boys are not looked-after, they cannot perform.” For families, selecting a school with an effective commitment to pupil wellbeing is critical, particularly for families from outside the UK. After all, we want to give our children a strong mental health foundation and the building blocks to become lifelong learners. In the early years of childhood,
and especially through the junior years of education, a child’s achievement in learning is closely linked to health and wellbeing. The intellectual, emotional, physical and social elements of a pupil’s life should not be observed in isolation. At Merchiston, we understand that what happens in one area will affect what happens in others. Our pupils thrive because our teachers are invested in them, and in turn, students trust them. All staff in a school, from the kitchen porters to the Head, should have a responsibility to listen to and promote a pupil’s voice. As our junior school is linked with our senior school, our pupils also benefit from the ‘big brother’ scheme in which senior pupils mentor their younger counterparts. We also encourage a strong partnership between home and school, welcoming families to many of our events throughout the year and encouraging regular contact with our House staff. A piece of advice for parents during school open days: look out for pupils who seem happy and engaged, and convey a ‘can-do’ attitude. T R AC E Y G R AY External Relations Manager Merchiston Castle School
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36 Upper Mall Hammersmith London W6 9TA
7+ ENTRY
Academically selective Bursaries available up to 100% of fees
To book a place on an open morning, please contact the Registrar T 020 7993 0061 E registrar@latymerprep.org www.latymerprep.org LATYMER.indd 1
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P R E P A R E D. f o r
E V E R Y T H I N G
EXPLORE OUR NEW SCHOOL
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Prepared. To grow somewhere new.
Our new preparatory school opens in September 2020 Prince’s Gardens is a new independent preparatory school, in the heart of Kensington, for children aged 3 - 11 years. It will be a school where every one of our pupils is prepared to step out into the world with confidence, assurance and an open, inquisitive mind. To think for themselves whilst exploring their ideas and creativity. To develop not just all-round academic excellence, but the all important strength of character essential for success in our fast changing world.
To reserve your place at our next open event visit princesgardensprep.co.uk 2
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E D U C AT I O N P R E P & P R E PPrince’s REP
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Prepared for everything.
Gardens Preparatory School, 10-13 Prince’s Gardens, London SW7 1ND
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in partnership with
Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School princesgardensprep.co.uk
We're going on a bear hunt p.8
Welcome
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STEM for the future p.14
rince’s Gardens is an exceptional new preparatory school for children aged from 3 to 11 years old. The school opens its doors in September 2020 and offers a world-class education in a prime central London location. Cultural treasures on our doorstep include Exhibition Road, home to wonderful museums that we visit regularly to engage young minds and foster a love of learning. We offer a nurturing and inclusive environment where children enjoy playtimes in our secluded garden, and nature watch in Hyde Park. Through our extensive enrichment programme and community-focused activities, we encourage our pupils to broaden their horizons, develop a global mindset and understand the value of empathy, collaboration and team working. We work in close partnership with parents to ensure that children develop the self-belief, independence and resilience to thrive. As a member of the Cognita Schools Group, Prince's Gardens is part of a diverse yet connected network of worldwide schools. We are proud to share a common purpose, which is to deliver a rounded education that goes beyond grades. Our school’s guiding values, underpinning everything we do, are: delivering academic excellence, developing character and nurturing a global perspective. This special publication gives insights into what makes us unique, how we deliver teaching and learning and why we believe we offer the most inspiring and innovative preparatory school environment in central London. We look forward to welcoming you to our beautiful new school.
Mrs Alison Melrose Headmistress BA (Hons) Ed QTS Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School
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Building Character At Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School academic excellence is just one strand of an approach that seeks to build character and give young people a global perspective, says Headmistress Mrs Alison Melrose
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he curriculum at Prince’s Gardens is designed to provide an allround education, and implicit in that is developing children’s character, says Headmistress Mrs Alison Melrose. This is a three-pronged approach. “We encourage academic excellence through the curriculum and cutting-edge facilities; we foster a global outlook by enabling collaborations between our pupils and the world outside the school gate; and we work with each child to develop their resilience. All these elements are an essential part of character development.”
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
The curriculum at Prince’s Gardens gives pupils agency, with teaching designed to ensure pupils understand and reflect on their own knowledge – a process known as metacognition. Mrs Melrose says: “We teach pupils how to learn rather than simply 4
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teaching to test.” Acquiring knowledge is usually easy for curious young minds but learning how to learn means developing an extra ‘muscle’ – an ability to look back at what you have achieved so far. “A reflective learner is one who asks: ‘how did that go?’ and ‘how do I feel?’, but also ‘how do I do better next time’. What we encourage is resilient learners who take responsibility for their learning.” Here, the school’s location is a huge asset. Pupils explore and engage in sciences and the arts at the great museums on Exhibition Road and then take things further in their Connected Classrooms and in the Maker Space. “Our facilities and proximity to wonderful museums foster self-directed and personalised learning, with our teachers acting as guides,” says Alison Melrose. While the school’s ‘make and do’ learning spaces – rather like the incubators that have become so vital to technology startups – are a perfect place to build knowledge for future careers, Prince’s Gardens also
“We teach pupils how to learn rather than simply teaching to test”
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factor in giving children a global mindset.” Access to the great outdoors is another part of character development and there is a comprehensive programme of exciting residential trips from Year 2 onwards. Mrs Melrose says that children sleeping in tents face other challenges – getting wet, getting dirty – and for some this is completely outside their comfort zone. “They also learn about cooking their own food, supporting each other, being selfreliant and having empathy for others.”
RESILIENCE AND INDIVIDUALITY
sees them as a place to teach skills for life. “We teach children about the importance of collaboration and team working, as well as communication and presentation skills.” The challenge of preparing children for future jobs that haven’t been invented yet is often discussed by educators, but Mrs Melrose is certain that some hallmarks of a prep school education will be just as important – if not more important in a relentlessly digital age. “It is vital to teach children the traditional life skills – how to present yourself well, look people in the eye and shake their hand.”
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
A well-rounded education teaches children to look beyond their own environment.
“Local community is vital, which is why the school’s enrichment programme has a focus on stepping up to challenges. We do this in multiple ways, such as fundraising, a school eco-council and other similar communityfocused activities,” says Mrs Melrose. “Within the school, enrichment develops individual and group skills and interests – be it through chess club, debating society or sport.” Prince’s Gardens’ cutting-edge digital resources are also a means to connect to the wider world, including global schools in the Cognita family (there are 70 plus across Europe, South America and Asia). “Understanding other cultures and people is vital and our facilities and connections enable us to share experiences and perspectives – an important
Tenacity and resilience are a crucial part of character development, and the earliest lessons provide vital foundations for lifelong well-being. “Prep school years are a crucial age – you are, in effect, setting children up for life,” says Mrs Melrose. She believes that nearly all children will face challenges at some point in their school career. “Most will hit a buffer at some stage. Maybe children who shone at the start suddenly get overtaken, and this tests them. This is why it’s important to build a love of learning and a resilience of character that will see you through.” Then there is the experience of moving on post 11+ and discovering that you are, as she puts it: “a small fish in a big pond again.” Building up children’s reserves of strength helps them navigate change and the unfamiliar landscape of a new environment. During the key prep-school years, children learn about industry – the importance of working hard and the value of work for its own sake. At Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School there is also focus on overcoming children’s natural fear of getting things wrong. “Fear of failure curbs children’s creativity and stifles their ability to learn,” says Mrs Melrose. “Our role is to find out how each child learns. We work to overcome any hurdles they face, help them to achieve and give them the confidence and resources they need to succeed.” AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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Visitors at The Natural History Museum
Opening minds
The combination of exceptional teaching and facilities and a dynamic location – with the riches of London’s great museums on the doorstep – set Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School apart
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rince’s Gardens Preparatory School has a highly focused approach to maximising both its superb central London location, and its exceptional school facilities in order to bring learning to life and inspire pupils to make connections between different subjects. “There is always emphasis on developing children’s learning and focusing their thinking on practical applications in real life,” says Deputy Headmistress Samantha Gibbon. Thanks to its location, the school has the unique advantage of being able to go for short and highly-focused visits to world-renowned learning institutions, including the Science Museum, Natural History Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) – all of which are a few minute's walk away. These visits are designed to inspire further self-guided learning and also maximise children’s concentration time.
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in partnership with
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“The Maker Space is designed so that children can develop creative projects using both the latest and more traditional technologies”
Visits are integrated into the curriculum from Nursery up to Year 6 – with each trip linked directly to current learning – and may last as little as 30 minutes. This makes visiting museums a natural part of pupils’ approach to acquiring new knowledge and ideas. “At the start of a topic, the museum visits are introduced, and are referred back to as each project or theme unfolds,” says Mrs Gibbon. Following this, pupils take the ideas further using Prince’s Gardens’ specialist facilities. For instance, a visit to a William Morris exhibit at the V&A may then be used as springboard for art and design projects, including 3D designs, virtual reality and filmmaking projects. Similarly, a visit to an early seaplane at the Science Museum can be the starting point for considering gravity and aerodynamics before developing modelling skills. Easy access to Hyde Park, as well as the treasures in the Natural History Museum, offers countless opportunities to consider biodiversity, ecology and life sciences. Learning is always reflected upon. As projects evolve there are opportunities to work in more detail in collaborative group projects, thereby allowing the children to expand upon their knowledge by taking themes further. It is always important to reflect and review the outcome of the learning journey, providing pupils the time to evaluate and share what has been
Prince's Gardens Maker Space, their exciting learning zone for children
achieved. The opportunity to revisit the museum where the learning journey began at any time during the process adds an extra and dynamic element to acquiring knowledge.
WO R L D - C L ASS FAC I L I T I E S
The curriculum is designed to fire children’s enthusiasm for learning, and to enable guided, self-directed and collaborative learning. The school’s Maker Space is an exciting learning zone designed so that children can develop creative projects using both the latest and more traditional technologies. The Library is there to both inspire a love of reading and give children the opportunity to explore a whole host of media. Books (of the paper, audio and e-book variety) are in the mix, of course, along with listening stations, mobile technologies and collaboration zones so that children have the option for quiet time or discussion time. Connected Classrooms are spaces to learn as a class or join forces with other schools. These inspire pupils to share and consider subjects or themes through other eyes. These facilities give children every opportunity to find their own passions and enthusiasms. “Whether a child is a budding da Vinci or Madonna, Einstein or Marie Curie we pride ourselves in being able to spot and nurture their talents” says Mrs Gibbon.
B E I N G P R E PA R E D
The focus is on being prepared for everything, and that means a strong emphasis on an academic curriculum that is not only rich and varied, but also instils high standards and fires children’s imagination and ambition to succeed in any path they may choose. The school provides rigorous preparation for the 11+, supporting pupils and their parents and helping to ensure a successful transition to Senior level. “We help guide parents and children through the process to ensure that every child goes on to a school in which they will continue to thrive,” adds Mrs Gibbon. Prince’s Gardens prepares children for their future – and this is why the focus is not only on giving pupils the best teaching, facilities and learning opportunities, but also the transferable skills and global outlook needed to thrive in tomorrow’s world. Above all, the school works to ensure pupils enjoy childhood, forging friendships and growing in confidence and self-belief. “We nurture a strong sense of community and family, an environment where children feel that they belong,” says Mrs Gibbon. The dynamic House system fosters friendly inter-house events, while competitions – from poetry and sport to art and singing – give every child the opportunity to shine in and out of the classroom. AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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We’re going on a
BEAR HUNT What better way to explore the wonderful gardens at Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School than by recreating the bear hunt from the beloved children’s story by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury
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“We’re going on a bear hunt. We’re going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day! We’re not scared.”
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t Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School the expansive garden is a treasured nature resource that is enjoyed throughout the year for lessons, at playtimes – and even for bear hunts. Big enough for proper exploring missions, the garden means that Pre-Prep children at the school can experience truly imaginative group play as they act out the children’s book We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Created by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, this classic adventure is a favourite of Nursery and Pre-Prep classes at the school. Equipped with special tracking binoculars and sturdy shoes – as required on any serious expedition – brave young explorers ‘swishy swashy’ their way through the long grass as they attempt to track down the elusive bear. And if the bear is not in residence on this particular day, then there’s always the chance of spotting him next time.
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, was first published by Walker Books in 1989 and remains one of the most treasured children’s stories. jointhebearhunt.com
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Making music memories
Making music gives children memories for the rest of their lives, says Head of Music Mark Batten
I Teaching to inspire Four department heads at Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School discuss what inspires them, and how the curriculum they teach brings learning to life for their pupils
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hope that the positive experiences of making music are the memories that children will carry with them. Certainly, I can still vividly recall every piece of music I sang or played at school. Children are naturally curious, so it’s important to give them the opportunity to try as many instruments as possible. Our pupils will have the opportunity to learn violin in Years 1 and 2 and the recorder in Years 3 and 4. This extends to wind instruments in Year 5 and then brass in Year 6. They also have the opportunity to be introduced to rock and pop styles via the ukulele and drumming. A lot has been written about how playing an instrument benefits the brain. However, I prefer to focus on directly observable benefits, such as co-ordination and fine motor skills. Learning to read music notation also supports literacy and numeracy. I try to encourage children to reflect on what can be achieved by working together. Whilst most people appreciate the educational value of this in sport, we don’t always acknowledge it in music. Composer Paul Hindemith wrote that, ‘People who make music together cannot be enemies, at least not while the music lasts’. I think that’s a great lesson to teach to children.”
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Maths is beautiful Engaging children with Maths is about showing them the excitement of working things out for themselves, says Head of Mathematics Melanie Lewis
Storytelling and self-expression
Storytelling engages children, teaches empathy and builds a love of the written and spoken word, says Head of English Gary White
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eaching English always starts with storytelling and it is amazing to see the delight and self-expression that quality texts generate, even for very young children. When you ask children to learn a poem and perform it amazing things can happen. Some of our pupils have even learned and performed Shakespeare sonnets. All these things help build a love of language. Grammar understanding comes most naturally through textual study, and also through games. Creativity and ideas can be scaffolded – we call this ‘magpieing’ – and it’s a process where you take ideas and develop them to make them your own. We use story-maps to help children build a narrative and develop their planning skills. Great children’s literature tackles the big issues – friendship, loss, displacement – and enables children to process things in their own lives in a safe way. Stories, and especially those told in the first person, allow children to experience being someone else. This helps with emotional development and empathy as they discover what life is like for other people.”
Sport is for everyone
Children of every ability can access the lifelong benefits of sport and physical activity, says Head of PE Dan Wood
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remember all my PE teachers. They gave me so many opportunities, even in sports I wasn’t good at, and this inspired me to go into teaching. Our curriculum is designed so every pupil can access and enjoy sport – and all abilities get equal attention. We offer an exciting variety, plus clubs and enrichment opportunities. It’s really important to expose children to new games, especially when they are young, and they love learning rules. We have a huge advantage, thanks to our superb facilities, including a sports hall and gym. We offer swimming every Friday and football, rugby and athletics in Hyde Park. We also have our huge back garden. These facilities ensure consistency of sports lessons throughout the year, whatever the weather. In sport everyone fails, but outside a classroom setting children don’t perceive failure in the same way. They learn that the very best athletes have failed many times on the way to achieving and that teaches important lessons about the value of persistence and practice – sport helps build resilience.”
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aths is beautiful, but not abstract, so it is important to make the connection with other things children see around them. I love teaching the Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Ratio. I show children how it is found in nature – in pine cones, DNA, flowers. Even very young children are attuned to symmetry and patterns. While I always loved Maths, I tell children that it’s OK to be scared of a subject because you think it’s hard or you won’t like it, but then we will work on it together. In my classroom we repeat a refrain: ‘I’m a mathematician’. Children love chanting this when we solve a problem. To stop children focusing simply on right or wrong, I often give the question and the answer – this removes fear. Then children work out the steps in between. What they discover is that there may be multiple ways to get to that answer. Sometimes, to my delight, they find a way I hadn’t thought about. This is the beautiful thing about Maths – we may develop our own methods, but it is a universal language.”
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Green learning From learning through play and meditation to live science, Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School uses its wonderful garden to support children’s learning and build understanding of the natural world
A The expansive and enclosed garden gives pupils a safe space for outdoor play
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ccess to two wonderful green spaces is central to daily life at Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School. The expansive and enclosed garden is a rare treasure for central London and gives pupils a safe space for creative outdoor play, for active learning, for quiet time and for letting off steam in the fresh air. In addition to the school garden, Prince’s Gardens pupils enjoy one of London’s great outdoor environments – Hyde Park – the largest of London’s Royal Parks and extending to some 350 acres. Located just across the road from the school, the park is utilised for sports and athletics by older children. For Nursery and Early Years classes, the school garden promotes children’s development by enabling them to explore the great outdoors in all seasons of the year using creative play and games. Encouraging young children to embrace physically active play helps them to learn about the ever-changing environment and gives them the opportunity to use their whole body and develop their gross motor skills. It can meet their multisensory needs and promotes significant
The garden allows children to play outside all seasons of the year
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The garden is the ideal place to build on classroom learning
“ The school’s expansive and enclosed garden is a rare treasure for central London”
health and well-being benefits. Whether it is messy play, creative play or role play, it is an essential part of learning. Daily ‘garden time’ is part of school life at Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School for all pupils and, as the children grow, so their exploration of this muchloved outside space develops. The garden becomes a place for building on classroom learning – whether it’s observing wildlife and learning about ecology for science classes or looking for patterns and symmetry in plants to support maths teaching. It is also wellused for sports and team games, as well as enjoyable enrichment activities such as school clubs and meditation sessions. Garden time isn’t all about organised activities. Simply splashing around in wellies on a rainy day or reading an adventure story under the canopy of a tree can be every bit as beneficial to children’s sense of well-being and belonging – offering them a familiar, tranquil and relaxing space. AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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STEM
for the future Head of Science Douglas Napolitano-Cremin explains why STEM subjects – taught in exciting and innovative ways – are core to the curriculum at Prince’s Gardens
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e all know that science and technology are critical to future careers, but these are also core subjects that have huge benefits for young children, harnessing their natural curiosity about the world around them and developing other key skills, says Head of Science at Prince’s Gardens, Douglas Napolitano-Cremin. The school's approach is to bring STEM subjects to life. “Our brains have limited capacity to take on new knowledge when it’s delivered in classroom settings. It is the whizzes and bangs that we remember from our early science lessons. These are the things that inspire us to ask the really big questions, the ‘how and why did that happen?’ questions,” says Mr Napolitano-Cremin. While the foundational knowledge pupils need is, of course, core to
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curriculum design, Prince’s Gardens is inspiring next-generation scientists by offering outstanding resources and innovative teaching approaches. Here, the school’s location is key. With world-class museums on the doorstep, pupils have the opportunity to build their knowledge and enthusiasm through live science experiences. “We want our pupils to not be afraid to enter museums, to want to find out more and to ask questions, so visits are a core part of our lesson planning, with the benefits lasting long after the lesson has finished.” Opportunities to kick-off a project with a visit to places such as the Science Museum brings the topic to life. Back at school, pupils take experiments further via the school’s Maker Space. These cutting-edge science and technology zones are also an opportunity to invite specialists and scientists in and undertake activities with pupils that enrich learning further. Mr Napolitano-Cremin firmly believes that we are all born scientists, which
is why it is important to tap into this natural curiosity early. “If you think about the process of learning to walk and talk children are using scientific methods – making mistakes and then adapting their approach. This is what teaching science also fuels, our instinctive desire to experiment.” Science and technology teaching is designed to inspire children to take their learning further and, says Mr Napolitano-Cremin, teaches children skills and approaches that are vital for life and future careers. “Science teaches children to approach problems and challenges in an analytical and reasoned way – and to constantly ask questions.” While their resources are worldclass, the magic part of the mix are the responses. Mr Napolitano-Cremin says that the most inspiring thing when you teach children science is their sense of wonder. “You are spending all day with people who are interested in everything about the world around them. Their sheer enthusiasm is very uplifting.”
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“Science teaches children to approach problems and challenges in an analytical and reasoned way”
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Prepared. For the challenge.
What better proving ground for your child, than a school committed to enriching every step of their journey of self discovery? To meticulously prepare them for their 11+ exams, whilst providing them with specialist teaching in languages, art, drama and science. So they approach the next chapter with courage and confidence.
Scholarships Scholarships are available to pupils who achieve outstanding results in our 7+ and 8+ assessments. To apply, please contact the admissions team on 020 7591 4620 or email admissions@princesgardensprep.co.uk or visit princesgardensprep.co.uk
Prepared for everything.
Prince’s Gardens Preparatory School, 10-13 Prince’s Gardens, London SW7 1ND
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HEAD
Moving ON UP
David Price, Headmaster at The Mall School, on the move to 11+
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n April 2017, I announced to parents at The Mall School that we were going to phase out Years 7 and 8 and that after 2020 all boys in the school would leave the school at the end of Year 6. It was a bold move, given our record of success in preparing boys for their Common Entrance exams and securing 13+ places for them at the top London boys’ day schools. However, we felt that it was the right move to enable us to maintain our strong record of success in securing senior school places for our pupils. The offers that our first cohort of 11+ leavers received in March 2019 proved that we were right to question the relevance of 13+ provision in London prep schools. The decision to move to an 11+ exit
THE MALL SCHOOL STUDENTS
came after we commissioned several pieces of research using independent consultants including interviews with the Heads of the senior schools our boys traditionally went to at 13+ about the future of Common Entrance and transfer at 11+. This revealed that senior schools were experiencing an increase in demand for 11+ places, driven largely by parents’ preferences. In response, the supply of 11+ places had increased, with a corresponding decrease in the number of 13+ places, most notably at King’s College School, Wimbledon with the opening of their new Lower School in 2016. It was our view that this trend would only continue and over time most senior day schools will move towards 11+ as their main point
“We felt it was right to move to enable us to maintain our strong record of success”
Prep
TALK I N G
DAVID PRICE Headmaster
The Mall School
OPINION
of entry. With 11+ offers this year from St Paul’s Juniors, Westminster Under and King’s College, we are confident that our brightest boys can still go on to all the schools they used to join at 13+. In recent years, I had begun to feel there were increasingly limited 13+ options for the boys in our school who were not suited to the highly academic senior schools. We are not a selective school for boys joining us in reception and moving to 11+ has meant they have a wider number of schools to choose from. We have had to make minor adjustments to our curriculum to prepare the boys for 11+, with more focus on verbal and non-verbal reasoning and we have introduced personal development sessions to help the boys manage the demands of the 11+ process. There is still plenty of focus on sport, music and the arts. There has been much in the media about the future of independent schools, and prep schools in particular. Schools must adapt to meet the demands of their markets, while maintaining the best interests of their pupils. Our bold move has certainly paid off.
A PUPIL AT ST CHRISTINA'S
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Prep
INSIDER
Breath of FRESH AIR Moulsford Prep is encouraging outdoor learning with their Forest School Wo r d s C H R I S S Y M O N D S
fires, roasting marshmallows, den building, knot tying, wood cutting, whittling, making bows and arrows and drinking hot chocolate are all part of the delights the boys enjoy, not to mention wplaying with Bosun, the Forest School dog. The boys learn to climb trees safely and manage their own risk on the rope BEING OUTSIDE swing. They build their SHOULD NOT JUST skills in cooperation, BE RESERVED communication, problem solving and leadership. FOR SPORTING The activities they pursue PURSUITS foster self-confidence, resilience and perseverance. In an age when climate change and protecting the world in which we live are top of the agenda, learning outdoors gives children the chance to gain knowledge of the environment and sustainable living. There are naturally huge mental The Moulsford Extra-Curricular health benefits, especially for children Activities programme is a vital and pre-teens. The pressures of part of school life, from kayaking teenage life mean that children are and paddle boarding on the river sometimes in a rush to grow up to photography and gardening. but the power of being able to cut At Moulsford there’s something for loose and simply be a child again everyone with the aim of finding that should not be underestimated; the elusive activity that ignites a spark in great outdoors truly enables this. every child beyond the classroom. One of the boys’ favourite activities is Forest School, with each boy having the opportunity to explore and learn outdoors (including an overnight camp for our Year 8 boys) during their time at Moulsford. Our Pre-Prep boys visit Forest School weekly in their year groups. The woods at our two Forest School sites are about more than just C H R I S SY M O N D S fun. Forest School enables the boys to immerse themselves in open-ended Director of Activities Moulsford Prep learning opportunities. Lighting INTO THE WOODS AT FOREST SCHOOL
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ore and more schools are appreciating the benefits of outdoor learning and realising the value of getting children outside. Children don’t always learn best in a classroom environment and offering practical learning in nature can help keep children stimulated and physically active. At Moulsford Prep School we place enormous value on our boys being able to spend as much time as possible in the fresh air, both at work and at play. We are fortunate to have plenty of outside space and we encourage staff to use it at every opportunity, in any lesson. Being outside should not just be reserved for sporting pursuits.
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WA L L PA P E R WA L L PA P E R
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Prep
N E WS
New HORIZONS
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North Bridge House announces the opening of a nursery and pre-prep in West Hampstead
s North Bridge House celebrates its 80th anniversary this academic year, the school is looking forward to expanding to include a sixth campus and a new provision for families in West Hampstead in September 2020. North Bridge House Nursery and PrePrep West Hampstead will mirror the school’s well-established co-educational, mixed ability provision in existence across Hampstead, Islington and Regent’s Park. Headteacher Christine McLelland will oversee all three lower schools and aims for them to share the same balance of happiness and success, with excellent academic results, led by qualified teachers
who are subject specialists and experts in EYFS and KS1 in every year group. “We follow an individual and holistic approach to children’s development, which means that the progress made in one area will positively impact on other areas,” says Mrs McLelland. By the time North Bridge House (NBH) children reach reception, they are often writing independently and last summer, 46 per cent of pupils were performing in the top 4 per cent of the country for literacy. Academic progress is enhanced at NBH by Philosophy for Children (P4C), a powerful approach to teaching and learning that boosts children’s reasoning, social skills and overall attainment. Reading and writing are further developed through speaking and listening activities, which are part and parcel of the musically
rich curriculum. “Music is essential to the children’s personal development as it encourages confidence and growth of character,” says Mrs McLelland. As well as their timetabled music lessons, NBH Nursery pupils enjoy music and movement classes, drama workshops and extracurricular LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) lessons. A child’s development is very much a personal journey: children develop at different rates and learn in different ways, particularly in the early years of education. Outdoor learning, school trips and extracurricular activities are fundamental to child development and academic progress at NBH Nursery and Pre-Prep. “School pets also add enormous value to our community,” says Mrs McLelland. “At NBH Pre-Prep we have three bantam hens, each named and very much loved by the children. They have been fantastic for the social and emotional development of the children. We very much look forward to rearing some new pets at NBH West Hampstead.” NBH West Hampstead will also join the annual tradition of being transformed into MUSIC IS ESSENTIAL a petting zoo for the day, TO THE CHILDREN'S welcoming a family run PERSONAL farm with an impressive menagerie of educational DEVELOPMENT helpers for the children to touch and learn about.
N O R T H B R I D G E H O U S E N U R S E RY AND PRE- PREP WEST HAMPSTEAD A NORTH BRIDGE HOUSE PUPIL
Opening September 2020. Enquiries: 020 7428 1520. Register your interest: admissionsenquiries@northbridgehouse.com
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Chiswick & Bedford Park Preparatory School Independent Co-educational School for girls aged 3-11 and boys aged 3-7 PRIORY HOUSE, PRIORY AVENUE, LONDON W4 1TX cbppschool.co.uk
The school is well known for its friendly, nurturing atmosphere and excellent entrance examination results for boys at 7+ and girls at 11+ The school has thriving drama, art and music departments with a wide range of sports and extra-curricular activities. Pupils develop personal qualities of confidence, creativity and respect for others, in preparation for the challenges and opportunities of the modern world. “Pupils’ personal development and welfare are outstanding. They leave the school well prepared for the next stage of their education.” Ofsted September 2017
To arrange a tour please call the School Office on: 020 8994 1804. Tours are arranged on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
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Prep
FOCUS
Optimal SINGLE SEX Is there a third way between single sex and coeducational learning? Eaton House The Manor operates a 'one site two schools' system
O
ne of the fundamental decisions for parents is between co-ed and single sex education. There are many benefits to single sex education, not least the fact that boys and girls tend to develop and mature at different rates. There is also an argument to say that boys can be more expressive around their peers and girls less plagued with gender stereotyping when they are educated in single sex schools. It helps that both girls' and boys’ schools are free to develop their curriculums with the sex that they are teaching in mind. Girls who are educated separately tend to be confident and strong, believing that nothing is beyond them. At Eaton House Schools, which only educates children in single sex schools outside the nurseries, girls have won 33 Academic, Art, Music, Drama and Sports scholarships in the last three years. They are actively encouraged to express their opinions using challenging, open-ended questions. This system allows Eaton House girls to construct a belief system that stands the test of time. Notwithstanding these benefits, parents sometimes wonder if co-ed is somehow more reflective of society. Yet when they visit Eaton House The Manor Girls’ School they are often won over by the experience. This is because we offer an ‘optimal’ single sex education at our 1.5 acre site. It is optimal because boys and girls are educated in separate schools by separate Heads but come together for important activities such as after-school clubs, drama and certain trips. Parents benefit from the ease of one drop-off and a co-ed nursery. The ‘one site two schools’ approach allows boys and girls to give their siblings and friends a wave in passing between classes or on Clapham Common. It works
Wo r d s O L I V E R S N O W B A L L
EATON HOUSE THE MANOR PUPILS
tremendously well, as in a friendly, familyorientated area like Clapham, boys and girls socialise after hours. One Eaton House The Manor girl who has benefitted from this system is Lottie, aged 10, who has two brothers in the Manor Prep, Tom, 13, and Oliver, 12. A handful of girls chose to join 15 boys to put on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ for the school’s Shakespeare Project and Lottie really enjoyed herself, as she was cast as Hermia. Her brother Tom was also cast as a lead character. Another is Celia, 10, who is off to a boarding school with an active Model United Nations (MUN), who was happy to take part in after-school MUN with boys, especially as she is interested in the key debate topic of climate change. She enjoyed the camaraderie
PARENTS BENEFIT FROM THE EASE OF ONE DROPOFF AND A CO-ED NURSERY
of the group and always felt treated as an equal. The team was evenly balanced, with around 5 girls to 3 boys. And Georgia, 7, went off to a Hilltop Adventure Camp. She has no brothers and was amused to discover that some of the girls were braver on the high ropes and better at archery. She made new friends and afterwards they had a reunion dinner. In my eyes, that's a pretty good result. O L I V E R S N OW B A L L Headmaster Eaton House The Manor Girls' School eatonhouseschools.com
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Prep
PARTNERSHIP
PRIORITISING THE INDIVIDUAL HAPPINESS OF EACH PUPIL IS THE ROCK UPON WHICH EDUCATION IS BUILT
Country
LIFE
Rural schools are the oasis that children need in today’s busy world, says the Headmaster of Pitsford School W o r d s D R C R A I G WA L K E R
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rural school setting, such as Pitsford School in Northamptonshire, provides children with freedom and respite in their journey through childhood. That doesn’t mean that they are cut off from the outside world or in some way held back. On the contrary, open green spaces provide the children with the freedom to run, play, partake in sport and experience a love of learning in the great outdoors. Fast broadband, updated teaching
techniques and ICT classes ensure that the outside world is never far away, but the pressure which so often comes with growing up can be managed to allow children to develop their communication and social skills in a balanced way, alongside their own academic brilliance. Here at Pitsford, we prioritise physical engagement with learning, taking advantage of the vast spaces outside school buildings to let children experience hands-on learning in the great outdoors. We’ve never been frightened of children getting dirty after a
busy day and believe that this interaction and learning has a big impact on their happiness and mental health. Undoubtedly it will pay dividends for years to come. Prioritising the individual happiness of each pupil is the rock upon which education is built; it is a key defining feature of this rural school environment. Friendships of substance and permanence are developed through interaction and active learning, and that happens best when children have the space, and time, to be children. This foundation is further strengthened by a greater access to teacher time and smaller peer groups. These can help to build and consolidate the precious friendships which can be the difference between a happy and thriving child and one who feels disengaged with education from a young age. So, just as an oasis provides water and shelter to help the traveller gain strength and energy on their journey, so does rural schooling. It provides the space and freedom to explore, create and learn in a way that engenders a greater resilience and self-belief as they continue through life.
D R C R A I G WA L K E R Headmaster, Pitsford School pitsfordschool.com
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Testing
TIMES
The Founder of At the School Gates on the emergence of a whole new sector Wo r d s L I S A F R E E D M A N
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hen JCT Jennings arrived at his prep school aged 10 years, 2 months and 3 days, all he had to worry about was whether he was allowed to wear his vest for games or play conkers in the Assembly Hall. But Anthony Buckeridge’s fictional hero lived in the 1950s. Today he’d already have missed the deadline to register for pre-testing. Pre-testing, the system of early examination and interview intended to sort out who’s going to which public school, now generally takes place at the beginning of Year 6. Many prep-school headmasters are concerned that this make-or-break trial can distort the rhythm of what once was a rather more cloudless youth. "The current regime has to be managed carefully or it can skew the whole prepschool experience," says Tom Burden, Headmaster of The Pilgrims’ School in Winchester, which sends about half its pupils onto Winchester and Eton. "The challenge is to make the education we provide sufficiently exciting for childhood not to be defined by testing." Until fairly recently, most senior boarding schools admitted pupils primarily on the basis of Common Entrance, the broadranging set of examinations sat in the
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summer term of Year 8. In 2001, however, Eton, looking for an un-coachable means to edit its lengthy applicant list, introduced a computerised aptitude test, which boys sat in the academic year in which they turned eleven. Since then, most public schools have instituted something along similar lines. "Schools like Eton did have to manage numbers," says Martin Harris, Headmaster of Cheam School, a co-educational prep school in Berkshire. "Others, you feel, decided to do it because they thought, 'we don’t do that, so we’d better'." Nowadays, most of the leading public schools have adopted the ‘ISEB Common Pre-Test’, a multiple-choice online assessment, which gauges competence in English and Maths alongside IQ (in the form of Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning). The tests last just two and half hours and most pupils sit them in the comfort of their prep school, but it’s not the tests themselves which cause distress, but their inconclusive outcome. "Some boys, of course, have a measure of success and get offers from several schools," says Tom Bunbury, Headmaster of Papplewick Prep School in Ascot, currently Tatler magazine’s UK Prep School of the Year. "But large numbers of boys have to cope with failure or uncertainty as they’re put on a waiting list. They’re often not clear about where they’re going until Year 8, which is not helpful for the children
whose confidence we’re trying to build." The reason for this ongoing ambiguity is that those with several offers are often willing to pay multiple deposits to defer making a final decision, an approach Bunbury views with some sympathy. "If you consider parents ultimately have to pay the best part of £200,000 in fees, risking £1,500 to £2,000 is rather good insurance." However, most heads agree that the
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STUDENTS PREPARING FOR PRE-TESTS
current mode of selection, while working to the benefit of the most able, does not necessarily do justice to every child. "Though we’ve found the ISEB Pre-Test pretty reliable," says Burden, "it’s more problematic for the late developers. It can be dangerous to pigeonhole boys early on." Secondary schools are, of course, aware of this pitfall, and some, such as Harrow and Wellington College, specifically hold back places to offer in Years 7 and 8, carefully liaising with prep schools to monitor progress. "I’ve been really impressed by the way senior schools keep in touch," says Burden. "You do, of course, have to provide evidence that scores have surged." Most prep schools have been forced to adapt curriculum in response to pretesting requirements. Some merely insert an extra ‘club’ to address the dull-butdemanding hoops of Verbal and NonVerbal Reasoning. For others, such as Papplewick, it's timetable preparation. "We
MOST PREP SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN FORCED TO ADAPT THEIR CURRICULUM IN RESPONSE TO PRE-TESTING REQUIREMENTS
do three periods a week for four terms," says Bunbury. "Specific preparation also helps improve the middle-ground boys." Then there’s the interview. "The interview is a tough old thing," says Bunbury, of a process which nowadays can go well beyond 'what’s your favourite book?'. Papplewick does not coach for the interview, relying instead on their well-rounded curriculum, and heads agree that the rich prep school formula of games, music and extra-curricular involvement is still appreciated by judges. "They may want to know that applicants have the skills to cope academically, but they’re looking for
PRE-TESTING
the whole package," says Burden. A further negative of a testing system carried out two years prior to the end of schooling is the impact it can have on motivation. "Secondary schools complain about unconditional offers at university, so there’s a huge irony here," says Martin Harris, who believes Common Entrance occurred at just the right moment. "Common Entrance is a little bit of stress at the pinnacle of your education. It makes you ready for your senior school, rather than having a huge spike in stress when you should just be enjoying yourself." If pre-testing is not the right answer, what’s the solution? Some feel the system could be streamlined to make it less intrusive. Others, believe an earlier deadline for parental commitment – say, Christmas of Year 8 – would clarify stressful ambiguity. No one, however, imagines change will occur any time soon. "There’s no great will to collaborate," says Bunbury. "We’re stuck with it and have to make the best of it."
DR . LISA FREEDMAN MD, Education Consultancy attheschoolgates.co.uk
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S An exciting future St Dunstan’s College Junior School is committed to equipping pupils with academic and social skills for life
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t Dunstan’s College Junior School is a happy, kind and safe place. The school, which pupils can join at nursery, is at a very exciting time in its history with a new building and state-of-the-art facilities just around the corner, as well as the continuous development of a rich, broad and engaging curriculum. Pupils from nursery to Year 6 are encouraged and challenged to achieve their academic potential whilst taking advantage of the broad co-curricular programme that is in place for pupils to find activities that they can enjoy and in which they can hopefully excel. “We pride ourselves on our motto, Albam Exorna, meaning ‘to adorn the white’, to write our own path from the very beginning of our school journey,” says Alex Murphy, Deputy Head Academic at the Junior School. “This is exemplified in our cocurricular programme which we have named after one of the school’s first visionary Headmasters, Rev Forder, where pupils are able to choose from a wide variety of activities (over
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Partnership
T H E P H YS I CA L A N D M E N TA L W E L L B E I N G OF ALL CHILDREN IN O U R CA R E I S A LSO P R O M OT E D T H R O U G H O U R W E L L N E S S C E N T RE 120 across the Junior School), such as a STEM Club, Junior School Journalists, debating, philosophy, current affairs, calligraphy, yoga, code breakers, LAMDA or chess to name but a few.” “I like the Forder Programme because you can choose your activities at least twice a week. It is really special that we use lesson time to learn a completely new hobby,” says one Junior pupil. “We truly believe in the pupils extending their skills, interests and talents beyond the standard taught curriculum that we have built it into our school day,” Alex adds. “By developing the whole child and encouraging them to engage in such a vast range of social, academic, community-based and wellbeingbased activities, we hope that pupils leave St Dunstan’s as individuals, young adults with experience of and exposure to hobbies, sports and interests that they may have otherwise not experienced.” This idea is reinforced in the Junior School in the way in which pupils complete homework. The older pupils are expected to complete English and Maths homework on a weekly basis, but they are also given an opportunity and a choice to engage with our enrichment activities. These are tasks linked to what children are studying in the curriculum at the time that they can choose to complete at home, allowing children to explore more in-depth topics and subjects that interest them as an individual. The Junior School’s Skills for Life programme is part of our Year 1 to Year 6 curriculum and teaches
children a range of knowledge and skills linked to personal, social, health and economic development that can be applied to their life both in and outside of school. This includes helping pupils to understand emotions and changes they may go through as they mature, how to stay safe online and when using social media and the principles of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child. The physical and mental wellbeing of all children in our care is also promoted through our Wellness Centre, where we have the college nurse, college chaplain and a counsellor available on site to support each child. Alex says: “As a school, it is paramount that we not only deliver a thoroughly robust curriculum with high expectations, but also that children are given the opportunity to explore a range of topics, subjects and interests that excite and motivate them to promote a true love of lifelong learning.”
Each year, the Junior School also takes part in the college-wide St Dunstan’s Festival. The two-week event enables pupils to engage in a huge variety of activities and performances involving not only the college but also the wider community. The events covered are diverse and continue to grow each year. In the Junior School, workshops run throughout the day, a number of which parents can attend and get involved in with their child. In the past, these have included baking, learning about the earth and planets in an astrodome and a Design Technology workshop. During the festival, the Junior School concert and Year 6 production take place at the Catford Broadway Theatre.
To find out more about St Dunstan’s College Junior School, please visit stdunstans.org.uk or get in touch with Admissions via admissions@sdmail.org.uk or 020 8516 7200. Main entry points are Nursery, Reception and Year 3 (although occasional places to come up in other years from time to time). The school hosts regular open mornings and tours for prospective parents.
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Autumn books R E W I LD I N G C H I LD R E N p .70 • A N I N T E RV I E W W I T H N A D I YA H U S SA I N p . 8 0
INVISIBLE IN A BRIGHT LIGHT, SALLY GARDNER, ZEPHYR, £10.99
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TOP AUTUMN M U ST READ 5+
This autumn offers great new reads, from established authors and rising stars alike. Lovereading4kids Reviews Editor Andrea Reece chooses the top ten books to excite readers of all tastes. Wo r d s A N D R E A R E E C E
JASMINE
ROBERTSON
MOUSE AND MOLE b y Joyce Dunbar and James Mayhew GRAFFEG, £12 .99
F
irst published in 1993 but out of print for almost 20 years, it is wonderful to see this new edition of Mouse and Mole stories by award-winning author and illustrator team Joyce Dunbar and James Mayhew. Gentle and full of humour, the stories focus on the relationship and everyday adventures of best friends Mouse, who is calm and sensible, and the more impulsive Mole. They are perfect to either read aloud or for newly independent readers to enjoy on their own.
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10+
Invisible in a Bright Light by Sally Gardner Z E PHY R, £10.99
Carnegie Medal winner Sally Gardner has a rare ability to build worlds that are rich, strange and totally unique to her. Her new novel, Invisible in a Bright Light, is a kind of fairy story and it mixes a quest narrative into settings that are magical many times over – snowy 19th century Copenhagen, its glorious opera house, an enchanted undersea cavern. At its heart are a group of young people with the courage to defeat evil and make things right. It’s a story that all readers will respond to and will enthral you from beginning to end.
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9+ 4+
Books
The Extraordinary Life of Katherine Johnson
r e vi e ws
b y Devika Jina PUF F IN , £6.99
Katherine Johnson’s calculations for NASA helped put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon. In Barack Obama’s words, she was “a pioneer who broke the barriers of race and gender, showing generations of young people that everyone can excel in math and science, and reach for the stars.” Her life is recounted in this short but information-packed biography, The Extraordinary Life of Katherine Johnson by Devika Jina. It’s inspiring stuff and the book has frequent illustrations, diagrams and information boxes. This is part of a well-thought-out new series with other subjects including Stephen Hawking.
Editor's pick
7+
THE MAGIC PLACE
TOP MARKS FOR MURDER
b y Chris Wormell
PUFFIN, £6.99
b y Robin Stevens
I
DAVID FICKLING BOOKS , £11.99
Best known for his illustration work, this is Chris Wormell’s first book as an author. The Magic Place is a wonderfully atmospheric melodrama about a young orphan girl desperate to escape her Aunt Vermilia and Uncle Rufus, who are both Dahlesque in their villainy. Wormell’s illustrations are delightfully monstrous and the book evokes Dickens's bleak metropolis in this tale of good and evil.
THE IRON MAN b y Ted Hughes FABER & FABER, £9.99
Every child should know The Iron Man by Ted Hughes and his strange, compelling, fairy-tale adventure feels more relevant today than it ever has. This new edition is illustrated by Chris Mould and his Iron Man is spectacular – huge, frightening, but also vulnerable and expressive. Mould captures all the humour of Hughes’s story as well as the mystery, and he is equal to the big themes the story presents, creating unforgettable images for this unforgettable fable.
f the young readers in your life haven’t come across this excellent 1930s-set crime series yet, they’re really missing out. After various adventures, schoolgirl detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are back at the boarding school they love in Top Marks for Murder by Robin Stevens. But before you can say ‘Agatha Christie’, a dormmate claims to have witnessed a murder, with sudden death striking at the heart of Deepdean School. Scrupulously researched, carefully plotted and as good on friendships and family relationships as it is on clues and red herrings, this is top quality reading. AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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CUMNOR HOUSE CUMNOR HOUSE SUSSEX SUSSEX NUR SERY, PRE- PREP & PREP S CHO OL
NURSERY, PRE-PREP & PREP SCHOOL
Open Morning
Friday September 27th Open Morning “A magical Friday 13thenvironment March 2020 for our child to flourish”
Building Character Growing Imagination Building Character Growing Imagination
CUMNOR PARENT
“A magical environment To book your place or to arrange a private for our child to flourish” visit, contact: registrar@cumnor.co.uk C U M N O R PA R E N T
Danehill | Haywards Heath | RH17 7HT | 01825 www.cumnor.co.uk 792006 To book your place or to arrange a private
visit, contact: registrar@cumnor.co.uk Danehill | Haywards Heath | RH17 7HT www.cumnor.co.uk | 01825 792006
CHS.indd 1
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Sylvia’s Happy Childcare is homebased nursery in Queen’s Park. Our aims are to provide outstanding Early Years Education for children through creative hands-on play and learning experiences in a stimulating, safe and relaxed environment. We want children to feel excited about learning and aim to give them a positive first experience of life.
We are open 50 weeks of the year including school holidays
Monday to Friday from 8:00am - 6:00pm To arrange an appointment to view our nursery or for more information please don’t hesitate to contact us.
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T: 0208 9602 217 M: 07908 667 509 05/02/2019 11:37
19/09/2019 18:15
Books
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14+
Snowflake, AZ b y Marcus Sedgwick ZEPHYR, £12 .99
Set in a community of people forced to live apart from the rest of society, and prompted in part by his own experience of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Marcus Sedgwick’s new book, Snowflake AZ, examines what it means to be well. From that starting point, it tackles bigger themes such as the health of our planet, the unseen dangers that may be threatening us all. Told in flashback, it intrigues from its bleak opening page and is chilling in its deadpan delivery. This is a typically thoughtful, intelligent and challenging YA novel from one of our finest writers.
8+
M U ST READ
DR MAGGIE’S GRAND TOUR OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
8+
MIDNIGHT FEASTS
b y Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock
T
b y A.F. Harrold
BOXE R BOOKS , £12 .9 9
BLOOMSBURY, £10.90
Contrary to popular opinion, children love poetry and this is a very tasty collection indeed. In Midnight Feasts, poet A. F. Harrold has gathered poems on nearly every kind of food from favourite poets alongside Katy Riddell’s illustrations. It features Ian McMillan on soup followed by Christopher Reid on salad, and Caroline Bird ponders the humble turnip. A book to dip into, share and return to again and again. Delicious!
5+
THE MISADVENTURES OF FREDERICK b y Ben Manley T WO HOOTS , £12 .99
Perfectly told and beautifully illustrated, The Misadventures of Frederick by Ben Manley is a clever, engaging picture book that is recounted almost entirely through letters. Frederick lives a solitary, indoor life in his grand house reading, drawing and watching television - his mother prefers he stays in. Emily sends him a series of invitations via paper planes, asking him to come out to play. One day he accepts - and what fun they have! This is great story about making friends and the joys of outdoor play, and readers will love the final twist too.
he Sky at Night presenter Dr Maggie AderinPocock (MBE) was bitten by the space bug as a kid and does an excellent job of passing on her passion in this inspiring book, Dr Maggie’s Grand Tour of the Solar System. She encourages us to copy Einstein in his ‘thought experiments’ and follow her on an imagined journey through space to the very edge of the Solar System. The book features amazing NASA photos alongside full-colour illustrations and is packed with up-to-date information presented in blocks of text or via charts and diagrams. It does exactly what non-fiction books should, answering all the questions readers will have, while inspiring them to future journeys of discovery. AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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Wildness, wonder and
WISDOM The author of The Girl Who Speaks Bear on the importance of outdoor adventures for children Wo r d s S O P H I E A N D E R S O N
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Books
FOCUS
SOPHIE ANDERSON GREW UP WITH THE GREAT OUTDOORS
M LOOK DEEP INTO NATURE, AND THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING BETTER
y childhood was spent building dens, climbing trees, exploring the woods behind our family home, rockpooling on the beaches of the Gower peninsula and splashing in the waves. I loved being outdoors; exploring, discovering, and using the whole wide world as the setting for my make-believe stories and games. A sloping field was a Roman Amphitheatre, the roaring winds were the clashes of gladiators and lions. A deep cave in Caswell Bay was a gateway to the underworld, echoing with the whispers of long dead souls. A patch of boggy ground was where the Gloop Man lived, his eyes watching from every bubble in the mud. School often felt like a cage, but I did enjoy the lessons that taught me something about the natural world. I studied Biology and Geology at sixth form and at university, then worked as an exploration Geologist for several years before moving into secondary school teaching. As a science teacher, I wanted to share my love of the natural world with children. I ran lunchtime clubs, created wildlife gardens, organised trips to woodlands and beaches, took children pond dipping and bird watching in local parks. Most of the schools I taught at were in cities, and I was shocked that many of the children had never seen frogspawn or tadpoles, or starfish in rockpools, and had never held soil in their hands. They didn’t know the names of blackbirds or buttercups. Some pupils thought the blue whales I showed them on a David Attenborough documentary were CGI graphics. Watching the wonder in these children grow as they were given the opportunity to explore and discover more about the natural world was incredible. Their curiosity blossomed and they became calmer and more focused. They learned so much, not only about the world, but about each other, and about themselves. They perfectly illustrated one of my favourite quotes: “look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better” by Albert Einstein. When my husband and I started a family, we decided early on to raise our children surrounded by the natural world, and give them to opportunity to explore it as much as possible. We moved to the Lake District, and spent every spare moment walking and canoeing with our children.
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St. Nicholas Preparatory School an outstanding education for boys and girls up to Year 6
020 7225 1277 www.stnicholasprep.co.uk 23 Prince’s Gate | South Kensington | SW7 1PT
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Books
FOCUS
SOPHIE TAKES INSPIRATION FROM NATURE
THE HOUSE WITH CHICKEN LEGS, USBORNE, £6.99
As our children have grown older, we have armed them with walkietalkies and allowed them more freedom to explore alone. Their natural curiosity has led them to endless discoveries: sycamore seeds that fly like helicopters, tiny ermine caterpillars that cover whole trees with silk webs, caddisfly larvae that build cocoons from shiny grains of sand, and newborn fawns that lie quietly in grass while their mothers drink from bubbling streams. The whole wide world has become the setting for their make-believe stories too. The mossy rocks are sleeping trolls that awake to dance
THE GIRL WHO SPEAKS BEAR, £6.99, USBORNE
at night. The plunge pools are where freshwater kraken play hide and seek with giant toads. A fallen log is a boat, and a train, and a plane. And there be dragons high in the mountains. They have developed a deep love and respect for the natural world, and it has inspired endless creativity. I am also inspired by the natural world, and I love trying to capture something of its beauty in my writing. Jackie Morris, in her winner’s speech at the Carnegie & Kate Greenway Awards, said (of ‘The Lost Words’, the beautiful and timely book she created with Robert Macfarlane): “At the heart of our book was a desire to refocus the minds, eyes, hearts of children on the awesome, glorious beauty of the natural world which humans are a tiny part.” Although the stories I write are fiction and fantasy, I feel the same way. In The Girl Who Speaks Bear, I think of the forest itself as a character I wanted to introduce to readers. I wanted them to see and feel something of its beauty, and perhaps be inspired to go and discover some of its wonders for themselves. In the words of Socrates: “wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” I believe we need both to make ourselves, our society and our world a better place.
AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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BOY WITH A
Paintbrush
Absolutely meets Oliver Jeffers to discuss the process behind his new book, The Fate of Fausto Wo r d s P E N D L E H A R T E
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liver Jeffers is having a year off. Having crammed two years’ work into 12 months, and with a new book just out, he’s earned a rest. The plan is to travel with his wife and two children before his elder son is due to start school near their home in Brooklyn, and so far they have made it to the UK, where I meet him on the 17th floor of the News Building, looking slightly wearied by the tight interview schedule set by his people at Harper Collins. He’s a stylish, neat dresser and a fast talker in his Belfast accent. Although he’s known as a writer of children’s books – and a prolific one – Jeffers is primarily a fine artist. His first book, How to Catch a Star, was his final year project at the University of Ulster, and his new book The Fate of Fausto is an experiment in manual lithography, a new medium for Jeffers. “I’ve definitely got my feet in two different camps,” he admits. “The fine art did start before the books, but my work is all about storytelling and using words and pictures.”
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interview
OLIVER JEFFERS AND SON AT IDEM PARIS
THE BOY AND THE PENGUIN HUGGING MUST BE ONE OF THE MOST SATISFYING LITERARY MOMENTS EVER
Anyone who has ever dragged their tired voice through another daft bedtime story as their dinner gets cold downstairs will know that the quality of children’s books is varied. Many are delightful, beautifully illustrated and full of character, while others – however much they might appeal to your four yearold – offer nothing by way of engagement for adults. And some, at the other end of the spectrum, stand out for being nothing short of magical. Oliver Jeffers’ many books are all firmly in the latter camp. His are gentle, quiet and quirky stories, mostly image-led, featuring intrepid children that do things like take themselves off to the South Pole or the moon on missions of their
own undertaking. The logic of the stories is childlike and charming, and there’s an unpredictability to them that makes them unusual. Jeffers doesn’t necessarily agree. “I’ve always thought there was a fine line between predictability and satisfaction. If it’s too unpredictable then it’s not a satisfying story,” he says. But who would predict a plot development where a penguin ‘looking sad’ inspires a small boy to row across the atlantic? And yet the image of the boy and the penguin hugging at the end of Lost and Found must be one of the most satisfying literary moments ever. “I try to let the pictures do the lion’s share of the storytelling,” says Jeffers. He says he’s always been an artist. “The question isn’t ‘when did you become an artist?’ – it’s really ‘when did you stop?’ Everybody
makes art, the trick is just keeping doing it. Kids make great art but at a certain point you become self-aware and very selfconscious and that starts to get in the way of expression. I managed to retain that, so it’s not that I ever decided to become an artist – I just kept going.” In his final year studying art in Belfast, he put together his first picture book – “sort of by accident: a book was a wonderful way of using words
AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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EDUCATION EDUCATION - THE GREATEST THE GREATEST GIFTGIFT THE SOUTH THEWEST’S SOUTH ONLY WEST’S STEAM ONLY STEAM AND INNOVATION AND INNOVATION CENTRE CENTRE Small classSmall sizes,class high sizes, staff pupil high ratio staff -pupil Specialist ratio -teaching Specialist teaching Bright, spacious Bright,and spacious bespoke and classrooms bespoke classrooms A diverse range A diverse of co-curricular range of co-curricular activities available activities available Inspirational Inspirational music, drama music, and drama creative and arts creative arts Boarding from Boarding age 7 from with a age nurturing 7 with afamily nurturing atmosphere family atmosphere Offering ‘wrap Offering around ‘wrap care’ around and flcare’ exi boarding and flexi boarding
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I N D EPEN D EN T DAY S CH O O L FO R G I RL S AG ED 4 TO 18 I N S OU T H K ENSI N G TO N Queen’s Gate offers girls a warm, supportive environment where individuality is nurtured, academic standards are high and a broad-based curriculum ensures a well-rounded education.
Junior School At-home Receptions AUTUMN 2019 Tuesday 17 September Friday 27 September Thursday 3 October Tuesday 12 November Wednesday 20 November Our At-home Receptions begin at 9.15 am Book at www.queensgate.org.uk/jsopenevents Queen’s Gate Junior School, 125–126 Queen’s Gate, London SW7 5LJ registrar@queensgate.org.uk · 020 7594 4982
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Books
interview
SKETCHES FOR THE FATE OF FAUSTO
and pictures to make a story” – which became his first published work, How to Catch a Star. He made the book pretty much in its entirety and set to getting it published as soon as he graduated; it was snapped up immediately. “I put a lot of time and care into how it was presented and who to send it to; two days later I got calls.
This was before he had any children of his own. What was it that made him think in this credibly childlike way without them? “I wasn’t trying to think in a childlike way. I was just trying to think in simple terms and get to the core of something,” he says. In Jeffers’ books – and particularly with The Fate of Fausto – you might think that the pictures precede the story, because they are so fundamental, and the words so sparce. Not so, he tells me. “There’s no set formula. Often I think about how something will sound at the same time as wondering how it will look.” But then, he says, his last two books were written in their entirety before he’d even thought of putting pictures to them. The new book, which presents in hardback like a collector’s piece, with marbled endpapers, a muted colour palette and a surprising bright pink binding under the dust jacket, is a brief but deep tale of man attempting – and failing – to tame the natural world. It seems darker and more symbolic than his other works. “Really? Some people say it’s a comedy. It divides people. I AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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was surprised – some people think it’s hilarious and other people think it’s grim.” The Fate of Fausto has been a huge project because it’s accompanied by lithographs, all of which Jeffers created manually in what he describes as “a steep learning curve.” He had a “very rudimentary” understanding of the process before he went to the famed Idem Studio in Paris with the idea of producing a whole book in lithography. What he soon learnt was that it was going to be harder than he thought. “Because there’s a very clear lack of control. You’re making something that you’re committed to, with an idea of what might happen in four or five hours time that you can’t go back on. It’s not like you can start again. I’d liken it to painting with a four-hour time delay and a lot of variables.” He wouldn’t do it again. “You’re working backwards and upside down and back to front. I tried to limit the mistakes that could be made so that’s why the book is quite sparce.” The results, however, are impressive and intensely beautiful. Art prints of many of the pages are available for sale. So what’s next? After the year off, of course. “Last time someone asked me that, I told them ‘more of the same but bigger and slower’,” he smiles. We’ll look forward to that. The Fate of Fausto by Oliver Jeffers is published by Harper Collins
I'D LIKEN LITHOGRAPHY TO PAINTING WITH A FOUR-HOUR TIME DELAY AND LOTS OF VARIABLES
FROM THE FATE OF FAUSTO
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CHS_COMBINED_Absolutely_Education_Autumn_Winter_PO_B2712_190x115mm.pdf
Girls School Open Day 2nd October Boys School Open Day 11th October
An independent day school for children aged from 2 to 13 years
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Est. 1931
Cumnor House School
cumnorhouse.com
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WO R RY MONSTER Nadiya Hussain on writing her first children’s picture book, aimed at helping children with anxiety I n t e r v i e w C A R LY G L E N D I N N I N G
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he says her feet “haven’t touched the ground” since winning the sixth series of The Great British Bake Off in 2015. One of the show’s greatest successes, Nadiya Hussain has presented TV shows, written columns for leading newspapers, and published more than a few cookery books. But now the mum-of-three is focusing on a very personal project. My Monster and Me is her first children’s picture book with illustrations by the talented Ella Bailey. Having suffered from panic disorder for as long as she can remember, Hussain wanted to help children who might be going through something similar and give parents the tools they need to talk about worries and anxiety. The Great British Bake Off star was the subject of a one-off BBC documentary earlier this year in which she talked frankly about her experiences with anxiety.
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Aired as part of the BBC’s Mental Health Season, Nadiya: Anxiety and Me followed Hussain as she visited schools to see what teachers do to help pupils who are suffering from similar problems. As part of the documentary, Hussain also talked to experts at King’s College London in the hope of learning how she could prevent anxiety being passed down to her children. But it was the frank and honest discussion about her own experiences with anxiety and panic attacks in a cognitive behavioural session that earned her the most praise. Hussain revealed how the condition – which had not been formally diagnosed before she took part in the documentary – had seen her pile an enormous amount of pressure on herself and had even been the cause of lost friends. Stemming from childhood bullying and serious health problems in her family, she described it as “a monster” she struggled to control. Hussain’s new children’s book is a heartfelt tale about a little boy whose worry monster follows him everywhere. Inspired by her own experiences, it’s penned in the hope that no child who reads it will have to suffer in silence – as she did. Absolutely caught up with her to find out more.
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Pre-Prep Books Forest Interview S chool
“I T 'S PEN N ED I N TH E H OP E TH AT N O C HI L D W H O RE A DS I T W I L L HAVE TO S U F F E R I N S I L E N C E ” AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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“Conclusive proof that all-girls education from an early age can be simply brilliant.” The Good Schools Guide 2018
The Study is a leading prep school situated in the heart of Wimbledon Village. We identify and nurture each girl’s unique academic, creative and sporting skills in a caring and supportive community.
For further details and to book a school visit, contact Jane Davis on 020 8947 6969 www.thestudyprep.co.uk Registered Charity No. 271012
We welcome enquires about our scheme of assistance with fees for girls aged 7+. Preparatory School for girls aged four to eleven
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Q Have you always loved storytelling and did you always want to write a children’s book? A Writing is one of my very first loves – it’s the way I express myself and it’s something I’ve always loved doing. When I was about seven I wrote a poem that won a national competition and that was it, I got really into reading and writing in a big way and I’ve been doing it ever since; reading, writing, lots of poetry. I express myself in writing quite a lot although I never had a diary as a child, it was always make-believe and stories. I’ve written recipe books with stories and I love writing for children, so it’s been exciting to work on my first picture book. Q My Monster and Me has such an important theme. What sparked the idea? A I’ve struggled with anxiety since I was a child. I’ve always thought of that anxiety as my monster. Some days the monster shouts in my face and no matter where I turn, he keeps shouting. Other days he’s behind me and will tap me on the shoulder throughout the day so I can’t totally ignore him. Some days he’s small enough to put into my pocket. He’s
“I WANTED TO SHARE MY STORY WITH YOUNG READERS AND THEIR FAMILIES SO THEY KNOW THEY ARE NOT ALONE” always there though. I wanted to share my story with young readers and their families so they know they are not alone and can learn the power of sharing your worries. Q We love the story and the illustrations. How did you come to work with Ella Bailey? A My publishers suggested Ella as the illustrator and I’m so glad they did, I LOVE her illustrations – she really got the message of the book. Q What sort of stories do you read at home with your own children? And do they have any favourites? A David Walliams is a god in our house; there is nothing the man can do wrong. They absolutely love him and cannot get enough of his books. And my kids are really odd because they really like cookbooks! Q We have to ask, are you watching this year’s Great British Bake Off? What do you think so far?
Interview
A I’m watching GBBO but always on catch up so I can fast forward through the adverts. Who has time for four tea breaks?! Q And finally, what’s the most amazing thing that’s come out of going on the show? A When I finished Bake Off, I thought that was it! I’d fly under the radar and I’ll just go back home and go back to normal life and actually I’ve done quite the opposite. I have been so busy since, my feet haven’t touched the ground. I don’t know if I can still call myself a stay at home mum any more. It feels like I am still one – but with the added bonus of doing the most amazing job. I don’t have a title but when anyone asks my kids “What does mummy do?” they always respond with “She lives her dreams”. So that has to be the best thing to have come out of going on the show.
MY MONSTER AND ME Published by Hachette Children's Group Out this autumn nadiyahussain.com AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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A Great Life... A Great Beginning Saint Christina’s School Co-educational Prep School for girls and boys aged 3 - 11
Our main Open Mornings take place in October and March. Please visit our website or contact Michelle Hamilton on 0207 722 8784 to book your place. 25 St Edmund's Terrace, St John's Wood, London NW8 7PY Email: office@saintchristinas.org.uk Tel: 0207 722 8784 www.saintchristinas.org.uk
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Books
ANNA AT WAR
Girl on
THE TRAIN Rodean School features as a major inspiration for new book Anna at War Wo r d s H E L E N P E T E R S
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y new novel, Anna at War, came into being in a different way from my previous books. Following the publication of Evie’s Ghost, my editor asked me if I would like to write another historical novel. So I found myself in the interesting and slightly daunting position of choosing any period of history, anywhere in the world, in which to set my next story. The autumn term at Roedean was about to start and I was preparing to teach autobiographical writing to my Year 7 English class. As part of my preparation, I re-read Anne Frank’s diary, which I had last read as a teenager. Anne’s fierce and questioning intelligence, and her courageous, optimistic spirit struck me forcibly, and I began to wonder whether I could create a heroine with that kind of character. A couple of weeks later, a woman in her 90s introduced herself to my husband after the school’s Founders’ Day service. She had travelled from her home in America to express her gratitude to the school that had taken her AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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Developing curious minds A non-selective school nurturing happy, confident, inquisitive children ◆
“An excellent school ... a strong all-rounder ” (Muddy Stilettos 2019) ◆
Day, flexible and weekly boarding available High Street, Brackley Tel 01280 702483 www.winchester-house.org Pre-prep and preparatory school on the Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire borders
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RODEAN HAD TAKEN HER IN AS A JEWISH REFUGEE FROM NAZIOCCUPIED EUROPE ON THE EVE OF WORLD WAR TWO in as a Jewish refugee from Nazioccupied Europe on the eve of World War Two. She described how her father, just before he put her on the train, had cut off her long plaits, hoping that if she could pass as a boy she might be safer on the journey. “I travelled all the way to England,” she said, “with my pigtails in my pockets.” This story, and the poignancy of that image, really struck me. I started to think about creating a character who travels to England as a refugee from Nazi Germany. I began to research the Kindertransport, the coordinated rescue effort that brought ten thousand children, mainly Jewish, from Nazi-occupied Europe to safety in England. A few months later, while I was immersed in the memoirs of Kindertransportees, my husband received a wonderful letter from another woman in her 90s, now living in New York, who wanted to express her gratitude to the school for taking her in as a Jewish refugee from Germany in 1939. She had just seen the film Dunkirk, and wrote that the film "had allowed me the
HELEN PETERS
opportunity once again to think back on the brave individuals I saw on the sea from my dorm room during my treasured time as a Roedean girl." Her daughter had persuaded her that, at the age of 95, she should set down in writing "the incredible impact Roedean had on my life". Lotte (not her real name) was born in Frankfurt in 1922. Her terrible experience of growing up as a Jewish child in Hitler’s Germany culminated in the horror of Kristallnacht, when her father was arrested and taken to Buchenwald. When he was released a few weeks later, her parents "finally had to come to the realisation that we had to leave Germany". With the assistance of a British Quaker minister, William Bellows, who had travelled to Germany to try to save some young people, Lotte was awarded a full scholarship to Roedean and her travel to Brighton was arranged. Lotte wrote of how the "remarkable" Headmistress, Emmeline Tanner, "showed such concern for the terrorized young innocent girl who arrived in Brighton… The opportunity offered to me by Roedean not only saved my life, but afforded me the ability to make the transition to a new culture and environment. Through the generosity of the Roedean family, I was treated as every other young lady being given every comfort and resource of the paying students." Lotte ended her letter by saying that she was able "to imbue in my daughter and granddaughter the quest for
ANNA AT WAR
ANNA AT WAR BY HELEN PETERS, NOSY CROW, £6.99 NOSYCROW.COM
continued reflection and learning that was inspired in me during my days at Roedean." Sadly, Lotte died recently, just before her 97th birthday. My letter telling her how her letter had helped to inspire Anna at War arrived a month too late for her to read it, but I was very moved to receive a lovely reply from her daughter, who wrote: "Mom’s earliest memories outside her family were filled with the most negative of human interactions. Thus, the care and compassion extended to her by the Roedean community was truly a new experience for Mom and allowed her to finally witness the good of humanity… May the girls be proud of their school that acted so nobly during a difficult period in history." In Anna at War, Anna faces enormous challenges and suffers terrible tragedy, but she is able to go on because of the kindness and generosity she receives at key points in her life. At least eight Jewish refugees were given scholarships to Roedean in the late 1930s, and I know many other boarding schools also took in Jewish refugees at this time. As Lotte’s story shows, the decision to award a full scholarship to a child in need can be truly transformative. AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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Robin STEVENS The author reveals how her years at Cheltenham Ladies’ College inspired the popular Murder Most Unladylike novels
Where did you go to school and when? I went to Cheltenham Ladies’ College from 2001 to 2006. What sort of school was it? An immensely posh all-girls’ boarding school – I usually explain it as being a cross between Malory Towers and Hogwarts (without the magic). Did you love it or hate it? I had, and still have, complicated feelings about it. I got a fantastic education there, and made friends I’m still very close to today. It also lives on in my mind as Deepdean School for Girls, the fictional (and far more murderous) boarding school I send my schoolgirl detectives Daisy and Hazel to. But with my American accent I never quite felt that I fitted in, and I sometimes felt stifled by the routine of boarding school life. I’m a very restless, curious person and I spent my time there desperate to get out and see the world – which is ironic, since my life now is all about remembering my school years. What was your favourite subject or activity there? Unsurprisingly, English. I had some incredible teachers who saw that I loved writing and pushed me to be better at it. 88
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Who was your favourite – or most influential - teacher? I dedicated my first book, Murder Most Unladylike, to my two English teachers Miss Silk and Mrs Sanderson. I adored them both – they were very different, but equally brilliant and kind, entirely unlike the awful teachers who are the suspects in Murder Most Unladylike. Where was your favourite place at school – what did you do there? Cheltenham Ladies’ is full of astonishingly beautiful places but I think my happiest memories come from my boarding houses. There were a lot of ways in which boarding school was disappointingly unlike an Enid Blyton book, but the experience of living with my school friends really was like an endless sleepover. Just spending time with them was the most fun I had at school. Daisy and Hazel’s dorm mates Kitty, Beanie and Lavinia have become a big part of my series, and they’re crucial to my newest book, Top Marks for Murder. What beliefs do you think that particular school instilled in you? To be proud of my intelligence and to be unafraid to take up space in the world. What was your proudest achievement? My friends and I spent weeks planning and filming our own version of Dracula, complete with special effects. Sadly the video itself has been lost to history, but it was the pinnacle of our school experience – alas, there were no murder mysteries for us to solve in real life. What was the most trouble you got into? I was generally a good girl (Hazel, my polite, kind-hearted narrator, is based on me in that respect), but I did once get into quite a lot of trouble for being part of an end of year prank in which different girls had to jump up and sit back down again whenever they heard a particular word being spoken in assembly. Most people gave up halfway through out of sheer embarrassment, but I kept going all the way to the end. What is your most vivid memory of your time there? The utter despair of playing hockey in the rain, followed by the total joy of going back to house and eating nine slices of toast in a row.
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MY SCHOOL DAYS IN FIVE WORDS? FRIENDSHIP BUT SADLY NO MURDERS
Were you too cool for school? Never in my entire life have I been too cool for anything. Would you send your own children there? If I have a kid I don’t think I’ll choose to send them to boarding school – but since I was the one who asked my own parents to go, I don’t really know. I suspect my child would have their own ideas about this. Do you think going to a single-sex school altered your view of the world? I have a real fascination with how women interact in female-only spaces, and how female friendships form and change – it’s something I spent many years observing at Cheltenham, and it’s the basis for Daisy and Hazel’s strong friendship, which is itself the heart of my series. Going to a co-educational university (Warwick) was a real contrast, and brought the uniqueness of my school experience home to me. How did it influence the rest of your life and career? Cheltenham really left its mark on my imagination – I wanted to write about my school experiences, and that book became Murder Most Unladylike. Five years after it was first published, I’m still writing about Daisy and Hazel’s adventures, and I’ve just sent them back to the fictional version of Cheltenham for the third time – I can definitely say that my career wouldn’t exist without my school.
What is your relationship with your old school now? I go back quite regularly, and have a good relationship with the principal and staff. It’s wonderful to feel that they’re still supporting me. What other influences did you have in your younger life? My parents were very supportive. They really encouraged me to read and write, to have the courage of my convictions, to love learning and to speak up when I saw injustices. I was also very influenced by the world views of writers like Terry Pratchett, Eva Ibbotson and Diana Wynne Jones, which became part of my own morality. Did your interest in creative writing start at school? I think it started even before I went to school: I was telling stories as soon as I could talk, and writing them down the moment I learned to write. But school was very influential, and I’ve definitely been lucky in the teachers and school librarians who have encouraged me over the years.
What was the first story you ever wrote? The first story I ever remember writing down was about a unicorn who was adopted (I was six). The first murder mystery I ever wrote was about a couple who were murdered by every single one of their house guests at different points over the same weekend (I was 14, and it was pretty clear by then that I’d found my passion in life). You are a Guest Curator for the Schools Programme at the Cheltenham Literary Festival. What does that involve? I want to introduce festivalgoers to mystery authors and books I enjoy. The mystery genre is something I’m so passionate about, and I love the way each author can approach the same basic ideas in absolutely unique ways. What are you writing about now? More in my series. I’ve got so many ideas for stories in Hazel and Daisy’s world, and I’m currently working on another adventure starring my two favourite detectives and their friends. How would you sum up your school days in five words? Friendship but sadly no murders. AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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School’s Out FA M I LY G L A M P I N G I N S H R O P S H I R E p . 93 • S CO OT I N G TO S C H O O L p . 9 8
AN ACTIVE FAMILY ADVENTURE IN THE WYE VALLEY
AUTUMN • WINTER 2019
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ONE OF A KIND… Lyndhurst House Prep and Pre-Prep School for Boys. Make an appointment to come and visit our school today.
LYNDHURST HOUSE
Preparatory and Pre-Preparatory School 24 Lyndhurst Gardens, Hampstead, London NW3 5NW Telephone: 0207 435 4936 Email: office@lyndhursthouse.co.uk www.lyndhursthouse.co.uk
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Travel
UK GETAWAY
L O V E 2 S TAY
Shropshire Wo r d s P E N D L E H A R T E
Kayaking and paddleboarding
WHAT TO DO
O
THE SITE
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ust outside Shrewsbury, this is an activity park with a small field dedicated to glamping and designed to appeal to families with small children. It’s completely safe for tots to roam about, there’s a large and exciting playground, plus its eco credentials are pretty solid. Activities include watersports, archery, assault courses, swimming, football, den-building, baking and crafts. There’s a cinema tent with daily family screenings and a cafe too.
THE AREA
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ronbridge Gorge in Shropshire is a World Heritage Site at the heart of the Industrial Revolution and home to no less than 10 museums on site; the River Severn offers lots of scope for canoeing and kayak adventures and the
surrounding countryside is green and lush. Shrewsbury itself is nearby with its appealing riverside pubs and interesting covered market.
ACCOMMODATION
W
e are staying in what they call a Glamping Tent – though don’t think that means camping. It only classifies as a tent because some of its structure is canvas – but inside there is not only electricity and plumbing, but also central heating. So we have a fully equipped bathroom
“CALLING IT A TENT IS LIKE CALLING CLARIDGES A HOSTEL” with a vast walk-in shower, a kitchen with a six-burner hob, double oven and dishwasher, a large television and wifi as well as a wood-burning stove, lots of radiators and underfloor heating. There are fluffy bathrobes for everyone and our own personal hot tub outside. Calling it a tent is like calling Claridges a hostel.
n site there are lots of options. First there’s the largest natural swimming pool in Europe that is in public use. It has no chemicals and is filtered by an adjacent water garden. There’s also a sandy artificial beach with a heated lagoon area, which is essentially a lovely paddling pool and sandpit for tots. And for older kids, the small lake offers an extensive timetable of watersports including stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking and zorbing, all of which are instructor-led. This means that adults can take advantage of the gym and spa while their children are gaining new skills. For a family of four to stay in a glamping safari lodge at Love2Stay with use of park amenities, prices start at £420 for 3 nights or £1,260 for 7 nights in low season, rising to £780 for 3 nights or £1,820 for 7 nights in high season. Instructor-led activities are extra. The park is open all year. love2stay.co.uk
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Forest of Dean
T Action
HEROES
An energetic break in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley is the perfect family getaway Wo r d s A M A N D A C O N S TA N C E
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he Forest of Dean is one of the surviving ancient woodlands of England. Once used exclusively as a royal hunting ground by the Tudor kings, the modern forest is now part of Gloucestershire, sitting between the rivers Severn and Wye. Made up of 42 square miles of mixed woodland – particularly oak, beech and sweet chestnut, the Forest of Dean is now home to wild boar and was the setting for much of the final instalment of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books.
STAY
We stayed at the Tudor Farmhouse hotel in Clearwell. Formerly a working farm, it has been converted into a boutique hotel by Hari and Colin Fell who bought the cluster of farmhouses and surrounding 14 acres of grassland in 2003. The welcome signs of an upscaled hotel are in evidence – roll-top baths, Bramley bath products, waffle gowns, Farrow and Ball neutrals, Nespresso coffee machines and super-fast Wifi. But each room has been created with such individual character –
E D U C AT I O N P R E P & P R E P R E P
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School's Out
TRAVEL
THE ANCIENT WOODLAND OF PUZZLEWOOD
PLAY
flashes of exposed stonework, ancient beams and tartan wool blankets – that it is both unstuffy and stylish. We had two bedrooms across the corridor from each other – the children’s room included a hidden nook with exposed beams and a tucked-away bunk bed. Just the sort of place you want to sleep when you are eight years old. And our bed was one of the most comfortable we have ever slept in. The restaurant at the Tudor Farmhouse is something of a foodie destination. The head chef is committed to using local and seasonal ingredients, most are sourced within a 20-mile radius. We found it a little bit too ‘fine dining’ for us; our 15-year-old was aghast at a goat’s cheese mousse and the service was a little rough around the edges but the Wye Asparagus with truffled duck yolk emulsion was memorable, as was watching the sunset as a family from the gardens after dinner.
ALL THREE CHILDREN WERE UTTERLY FEARLESS AND LOVED IT
AN ADRENALINE RUSH AT CANNOP CYCLE CENTRE
There is masses to do in the Forest of Dean from wild swimming to wild boar safaris. Five minutes from the hotel is Puzzlewood, an ancient woodland of strange rock formations, secret caves and ancient trees. It is an extraordinary, magical place – so no surprises it has been used as a film location for everything from Dr Who to Merlin to Star Wars, but sadly its popularity meant it was rather overcrowded, which killed the mystery and magic somewhat. We far preferred mountain biking at the Cannop Cycle Centre. At this woodland cycle centre, you can hire well-maintained, good-quality mountain bikes and set off into the Forest on a number of well-marked trails. Like skiing, each trail is marked for difficulty. I was keen to do the Green 11-mile Family Trail but was roundly outvoted, so we set off on the seven-mile Blue Verderer’s Trail. This is a fast-flowing single-track trail which to the uninitiated and unfit (me) was extremely challenging and very bumpy. It included a very long hill climb (exhausting), switch backs, and big berms – that’s a banked corner apparently – and a steep undulating descent known as the Dragon’s Tail. There were even several alternative Red sections which our 15-year-old could bomb down. At times I feared for my life and my cardiac function. It was proper heart-racing thigh-trembling exercise, in other words, totally brilliant and all three children were utterly fearless and loved it. Highly recommended.
THE STYLISH LODGINGS AT TUDOR FARMHOUSE
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SUGARLOAF COTTAGE IS A RESTORED 17TH CENTURY TOWN HOUSE ADJACENT TO THE MAIN HOTEL BUILDING - PERFECT FOR FAMILIES
THE ANGEL HOTEL IN ABERGAVENNY
VIEWS OF THE WYE VALLEY
Wye Valley
T
he Wye Valley is known for its limestone gorges, caves and dense native woodland. The designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty stretches from just south of Hereford to Chepstow. When the Normans conquered the area in the 11th century they built castles in Monmouth and Chepstow; in the 12th century, Cistercian monks founded Tintern Abbey, an outstanding example of Gothic architecture later immortalised by William Wordsworth.
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STAY
We stayed at the Angel Hotel in the centre of Abergavenny. Built as a coaching inn in 1829, it has a gorgeous Georgian façade, the main doors opening right on to the pavement in the town centre. Although traditional in feel, the Angel is still very much the centre of town life and felt buzzy and busy. We were staying in a ‘cottage’ close the hotel. I had images of a wooden chalet in the hotel grounds; in fact Sugarloaf Cottage is a restored 17th century town house, adjacent to the main hotel building. It is perfect for families, with a modern kitchen and sitting
room area and two large ensuite bedrooms with views of the Sugarloaf Mountain on the first and second floors. Most importantly, from the children’s point of view, there were vast TV screens on every wall. The cottage isn’t set up for selfcatering, but why would you want to when you can eat at the hotel, or visit their very own bakery, just a few feet away from our front door. There you can buy amazing sourdough bread and grab yourself a proper coffee in the morning. Abergavenny is a very foodie place, with its very own foodie festival and the evidence of good gluttony was everywhere from local independents to great gastropubs. The Walnut Tree, the hotel’s sister restaurant is a renowned, Michelin decorated restaurant. We ate in the Oak Room at the Angel Hotel itself. My hopes weren’t high, due to the rather stiff décor of the dining room, but we were all bowled over by the superb food. Particularly memorable was the Korean-glazed woodland pork belly with prawns, pak choi and sticky coconut rice but two of our children with eyes bigger than their stomachs ordered the dry-aged Welsh beef ribeye with char-grilled chips and béarnaise sauce. It was, without doubt, the best steak I have ever eaten.
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LIZ KNIGHT
School's Out
TRAVEL
PLAY
There is an endless array of family activities in the Wye Valley area. The week we visited, the Hay Book Festival was on in nearby Hay-on-Wye. We opted for a walk-up Sugarloaf mountain instead. It’s a glorious walk on a clear track that led us upwards through fields dotted with sheep and dark, ancient woodland. We also went canoeing on the River Wye, guided by Paul Marshall who runs Inspire2Adventure, an outdoor activity company based in Monmouth. He’s basically the Bear Grylls of the Wye Valley. We set off in three canoes, seven miles upstream from Monmouth and paddled back downstream past the famous rocky outcrop of Symonds Yat and through a very mild stretch of rapids. Paul was brilliant, an encyclopaedia on the area and a natural with the children. Our eight-year-old was unsure at first and wanted to be with his mum and dad, but by the end of the trip he was paddling away in Paul’s canoe, racing us to the finish line. It was hard work, especially when the wind was in our faces, but well worth it. And for some stretches it was just us, the water and surrounding trees. Blissful. I have always wanted to go foraging so my greatest treat was to spend our last afternoon with Liz Knight from Forage Fine Foods. Liz is both a forager and a cook and we had a fascinating time with her. I imagined she would show us all sorts of exotic plants, but we simply wandered down a farm track with views across to
Contact
Offa’s Dyke and she introduced us to the wild and wonderful things that so-called weeds can do. Nettles, plantain, cow parsley, hogweed (its very similar cousin), burdock root, clover… the list was endless. Knight involved the children at every stage, trying out tastes and smells, the curious pineapple weed that smells, well, just like pineapple, the sweet flower that tastes like peas. Knight has cooking suggestions as well; stir-fried burdock root and roasted plantain leaf were just two we tried at home. And like a proper medicine woman of rural myth, Knight knows an endless array of medicinal uses for much of these plants that we ignore on a daily basis. Who knew that stinging nettle seeds can help balance your adrenal glands, that plantain is good for the gut and IBS, that cleavers – that’s goose grass to you and me – cleanses toxins from the body. Even pollen from pine trees can be used as a natural alternative to HRT. The next family trip might well be a week of foraging and cooking with Liz Knight in her idyllic home. With maybe just the odd bit of hair-raising mountain biking thrown in.
Fancy your own adventure? Tudor Farmhouse, High Street, Clearwell, Gloucestershire, GL16 8JS. Rooms from £130 (two sharing) or from £149 (four sharing a family room) on a B&B basis. Book via tudorfarmhousehotel.co.uk; 01594 833046 Rooms at The Angel Hotel Abergavenny are available from £95 (two sharing, B&B basis) or from £216 (four sharing one cottage, self-catering basis). Book via angelabergavenny.com; 01873 857121 Mountain bikes are available to hire at Pedalabikeaway from £15 (half a day) or £19 (whole day) per child and £20 (half day) and £27 (whole day) per adult. Book via pedalabikeaway.co.uk; 01594 729000 Inspire 2 Adventure offer half-day guided ‘open canoe’ sessions from £30 per child and from £40 per adult. Available for those aged 8+. Book via inspire2adventure.com; 01600 891515 The Family Assault Course activity with Forest of Dean Adventure costs from £10 per person (adult and child) per hour. Book via forestofdeanadventure.co.uk; 07584 710202 Liz Knight offers group foraging sessions from £65 per person, running from 10-2pm, or families car hire Liz privately (10 guests max) from £175 for 2.5 hours or from £375 per whole day. Book via foragefinefoods.com; 01873 860347 wyedeantourism.co.uk
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School’s Out
S COOTING
Scoot Away Scooting to school is not only better for children’s health and the environment – it improves concentration and confidence too B y C A R LY G L E N D I N N I N G
BUILDING CONFIDENCE Scooting is an easier alternative to cycling, making it perfect for boosting confidence levels. Every child riding a scooter will need to learn to make decisions quickly – when to slow down, when to turn, when to stop, and how to steer without falling over. Allowing your child to make their own way to school (under your supervision, of course) gives them a feeling of independence that they will take into the classroom.
POSITIVE FEELINGS IMAGE CREDIT: MICRO SCOOTERS MAXI DELUXE MINT, £129.95 MICRO-SCOOTERS.CO.UK
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ow many times have you shouted, “we’re going to be late, get into the car!” before school? Here’s why getting them to scoot on the commute could be a refreshing change, and not only because it will elicit a lot less whining and moaning.
GETTING ACTIVE Scooting to school is an easy way to build exercise into the start of the day and is a fun way to stay healthy. Mastering the skills of steering, kicking, balancing, and braking simultaneously works wonders for coordination and builds core muscles. Scooting also helps to hone gross and fine motor skills. If you’re looking for guidance, a good place to start is Micro Scooters’ Play for Life campaign that aims to support children in building confidence in their physical ability. And don’t forget to buy a helmet. 98
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UPPING ENERGY Being active before class also releases endorphins that improve concentration, boost energy, and help children stay alert and ready to learn. A study in Denmark showed that pupils who had an active means of travel, such as scooting, displayed heightened concentration for up to four hours longer than those who were driven to school.
SAVING THE PLANET Scooting is eco-friendly! Scooters don’t emit exhaust fumes and are much healthier than coming to school by car, especially if you are able to avoid busy and polluted roads. The more children that scoot to school, the less congestion there will be around the school gates – which in turn means less traffic danger and much cleaner air for the school environment.
Scooting is fun and it builds some extra bonding time into your day before everyone starts their busy schedules. If children enjoy the journey to school, they are much more likely to have positive feelings towards being there.
TH E MO RE C H I LDRE N TH AT SCO OT TO SC H O OL , TH E LE SS CO NGESTI ON TH ERE W I LL BE ARO UND THE SC H O O L GAT ES, W H I C H I N TURN ME ANS LESS TRAF F I C DANG ER
E D U C AT I O N P R E P & P R E P R E P
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The school you’d choose if you were a child
Leading co-ed prep school Open days Friday 4 October and Friday 27 March bassetths.org.uk
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LONDON W10
19/09/2019 13:59