From Chris Wilson, Head of Prep School
14th November 2025
Dear Parents,
“Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it. Right is right even if no one is doing it”
St Augustine
The importance of continuing to educate the children in how to be outstanding and upstanding individuals has been a central theme of anti-bullying week this week, with the slogan of being a ‘power for good’ intrinsic across assemblies, wellbeing sessions and tutor time.
The week started with Odd Socks Day, with the difference of socks linked to the fact that we are all unique and different in our own way, but that we should all respect and embrace each other’s differences.
Tuesday brought a moment of reflection for our community as we paused during the day to commemorate Remembrance Day, a chance for us all to remember those who have fallen to protect those freedoms that we all enjoy today. The Dawn Service at Court was atmospheric, with the sun rising behind the Senior Sports Hall providing a fitting backdrop to the service, before the Prep School came together to pay their respects and mark the two minutes silence at 11.00am.
The Primary Maths Challenge took place this week, a worldwide competition that challenges and stretches the very best mathematicians across Year 5 and 6 through a myriad of questions that test all manner of mathematical knowledge.
Our sporting community has been busy this last week as well, with a wonderful swimming gala and tennis event last weekend, before some touch rugby fixtures this week. The College also played host to the JSAC Cross Country event on Wednesday morning, with a number of our runners performing very well indeed.
Today Year 3 enjoyed a colourful India Day, delving into all aspects of Indian culture, from national dress to tea tasting.
Year 7 were given some Mental Health First Aid training as part of their wider education on how to deal with and manage their own Mental Health as well as support their friends and peers as well.
Our boarding children headed off this morning for a bonding trip to Sibu for the weekend, where they will be engaging in all manner of activities. I know that they will be full of stories on their return.
However, the tail end of this week has been marked by the superb Year 5 and 6 production of ‘A Hint of Snow White’, bringing to life in a new form the story of Snow White. It never gets tiring to see the huge fun, enjoyment, engagement and maturing acting skills that are on display, with everyone in the audience finding a little aspect of the play to mark as their favourite, a sure sign of a wonderful performance from all members of the cast.
Well done to everyone within our community for making the last week as successful as it was and I hope you all manage to have a relaxing weekend.
With best wishes,
Chris Wilson
Head of Prep School
Message from Mr Bullock, Deputy Head of Prep Academic
Prep Learning Showcase, 20th November
Just a gentle reminder from last week’s announcement, you are invited to our Learning Showcase on the afternoon of Thursday, 20th November. This is a valuable opportunity for your child to show you their different workbooks so you can see the progress they have made so far this term. The Learning Showcase provides a chance for you to celebrate their achievements, gain insight into their daily learning, and understand the skills they are developing in class. Through seeing all their work, you can better understand the topics they are exploring, the effort they are putting into their studies, and any areas where you can further support them. We hope this experience will spark meaningful conversations with your child about their learning journey, encourage them to take pride in their work and strengthen the home-school partnership that is so vital.
Please complete the form using this link to state whether or not you are attending and which session (between 1.15pm and 3.30pm) you will attend. After this, your child(ren) may return home with you immediately following the visit, and enjoy the longer Exeat weekend.
Message from Mr Rodman, Head of Year 4
Headphones required for next week assessment and Online Safety and Group Chats
Next week, Year 4 pupils will be completing a series of assessments using their iPads. To support them in doing their best, we kindly ask that each child brings a set of headphones to school, with them every day next week, as the assessments are scheduled at various times across all classes.
On a separate note, we have recently become aware of some concerns regarding group chats on iPads among Year 4 students. As part of our ongoing focus on online safety, we have reminded the children not to participate in large group chats, particularly those including individuals they do not know personally. We have also encouraged them to leave any chats of a non-constructive or inappropriate nature.
We kindly ask parents to monitor the messaging and chat functions at home to ensure an additional level of safety. If you wish to adjust chat settings but require assistance, our IT Department will be happy to provide guidance.
Message from Mrs Selvaraj, Head of Prep Outreach
Christmas Fair Terrarium Project – Call for Donations & Outreach Christmas Shoebox Appeal
As part of our Christmas Fair, we are launching a special Terrarium Project to promote a sustainable ecosystem while raising funds for our school’s Outreach initiative to support the less fortunate in our local community during this festive season. A Year 6 pupil, has come up with a wonderful idea for this project, and we would love your support. We kindly ask for donations of glass jars, glass containers, glass pots, clear glass bowls, candle jars, or any other clean glass items suitable for making terrariums. The terrariums will be made in different sizes, and all funds raised will go directly to Outreach. We warmly invite pupils, staff, and parents to support this great project for a great cause.
In addition, following last week’s announcement, Prep Outreach is encouraging our pupils and staff to participate in the Christmas Shoebox Appeal for underprivileged children in our local community. Last year, we collected a total of 465 shoeboxes in the whole school and distributed them to seven underprivileged charity homes and centres. Pupils are invited to wrap a shoebox in Christmas paper (ensuring the lid is wrapped separately) and fill it with items from the following categories: Arts and crafts, Personal Hygiene, Toys, Clothing and accessories, and ‘Wow’ items. Please refer to the included list for guidance on what to include and items to avoid. As a kind request, please provide empty shoeboxes if you have any too. Completed shoeboxes can be brought to school from Monday, 17th November, until Friday, 28th November. Remember to include a labelled note indicating the appropriate age group and gender of the intended recipient. Prep pupils, kindly deliver these to the Outreach room and Pre-Prep children, please deliver them to Pre-Prep Reception. Thank you in advance to those who can contribute to this appeal.
Message from Miss Prentice, Head of Prep Sports
Prep Sport Update
It has been a busy couple of weeks for sport, with plenty of fixtures, tournaments, and events taking place across the Prep School. Looking ahead, we have several exciting House events coming up.
On Tuesday, 18th November, pupils will compete in the House Matches:
- Year 7 & 8 Girls’ Touch and Boys’ Football in the morning (8:30am–10:00am)
- Year 5 & 6 Girls’ Touch and Boys’ Football in the afternoon (2:40pm–4:15pm)
Following this, our House Cross Country events will take place:
- Year 7 & 8 on Tuesday, 2nd December (8:30am–10:00am),
- Year 5 & 6 later that day (2:40pm–4:15pm)
- Year 3 & 4 on Wednesday, 3rd December (8:30am–10:00am).
Pupils will need to wear their House tops for all events, and for football, boys must have shin pads.
We warmly encourage parents to come along and show their support.
A Message from Mrs Cassidy and the Pre-Prep Team
The official run-up to the festive season has officially begun as Nursery and Reception begin rehearsing in earnest for their Nativity show. I can’t wait! Every year I genuinely believe that it can’t get any more gorgeous, and every year the talented EYFS team proves me wrong.
The children were very excited on Monday, when I announced the sighting of ‘fairy doors’ around the school. I have received many reports of sightings since then and it is amazing how the children’s imaginations are sparked by a simple idea. The girls from Iskandar House have been placing these doors around school, so maybe look out! A little bit of magic before Christmas …
Anti-bullying Week and Remembrance have both added some serious issues for the children to consider. Mrs Gamaroff taught the children how to say ‘STOP’ to someone if they are being unkind, and they enjoyed a very special playtime with bubbles, which reminded them of the anti-bullying theme for this year; ‘Power for Good’.
Mr Cassidy led an incredibly moving remembrance service on Tuesday, both one at Dawn and a Prep Service for the children with two-minute silence at 11.00am. The poppies made by Pre-Prep children looked magnificent and added a really poignant feel to the event, so thank you so much for your help.
A bit of colour and spice was added to the end of the week with Year 3’s India Day today. From tea tasting to making Mango lassis and ‘junk modelling’ the Taj Mahal, Year 3 were having a lot of fun engaging with their new learning topic. From Ancient Egypt to India – there is never a dull moment in Year 3.