the year 2014

2013-14

Our main strength at Cheltenham Prep is the people who make up its purposeful and caring

community.

Contents

Any school magazine can only hope to offer a flavour of the past year, rather than trying to detail every event. In reading this edition of “The Year”, I do hope that the atmosphere of renewed purpose and direction becomes apparent. In my first year as the Headmaster of Cheltenham College Prep, I have witnessed so much energy, kindness, drive, consideration and esprit de corps, that one cannot but conclude that the whole school community is moving in one direction - forward!

Jonathan Whybrow Headmaster

Reflections from the Study

Captains of SportsCaptains of Athletics Max Williams

Izzy Kemp

Captain of Cricket Max Williams

Captain of Boys’ Hockey Max Pemberton

Captain of Girls’ Hockey Mollie Lyle

Captain of Netball Olivia Mitchell

Captain of Rounders Catherine Abraham

Captain of Rugby Alexander Sharam

Captain of Rugby 7s Jonnie Gunn

Captain of Skiing Olivia Mitchell

Captains of Swimming Robbie Carson

Poppy Pearey

Captain of Polo Kaela Wilson

Captain of Tennis Kaela Wilson

Captain of Clay Shooting Ben Southall

Heads of Extra-CurricularHead Girl Romilly Bodington

Head Boy James Wheeler

Head of Boarding Boris Pustoshinskiy

Leader of the Orchestra Ellie Davies

Head Chorister Izzy Kemp

Heads of HousesAthens Alastair Llewellen Palmer

Corinth Phoebe Barnes

Persia Olivia Mitchell

Rome Catherine Abraham

Sparta Mollie Lyle

Troy Alexander Sharam

Positions of Responsibility

Academic 2Pastoral 3Boarding House 4Houses 7Kingfishers 14Lower School 22Middle and Upper School subject overview

English 26Science 28Maths 30History 32Classics 34Religious Studies 35Geography 36Modern Foreign Languages 38Craft, Design and Technology 40Drama 42Music 44Art 46Coach House 48Charity Tennis 59Sport 60Clubs and Activities 76Middle School 88Upper School 89Chapel and Charities 90Friends of The Prep 92The Cheltonian Association 94Prizes and Awards 96Year 8 Pupils 100Pupils 102Headmaster's Prize Giving Address 104

2 The Year Cheltenham College Preparatory School

AcademicThe Prep continues to provide pupils with breadth and depth of learning opportunities.

Many parents would marvel at the range of opportunities and learning experiences presented to pupils every day if they had the chance to shadow their son or daughter.

A Year 5 pupil may spend a day moving from a double Craft Design Technology lesson, toa swimming lesson, then on to German using iPads; the afternoon might then bring

them Drama followed by a talk with a Buddhist monk in Religious Studies; finally they may go on to experimenting with Bunsen burners in double Science.

The children soon learn to cope with this variety and to embrace all the challenges provided to them. Of course English and Maths remain at the core of our curriculum, providing the foundation and skills needed across departments.

It is of great importance that teachers at The Prep strive to get the very best from all pupils and this means ensuring that children achieve their best in formal examinations. The 11+ exams in January resulted in three full academic scholarships for Prep pupils and four further academic exhibitions. Two pupils also received recognition for outstanding attainment in one of the four scholarship papers. The 13+ exams in the Spring Term brought success too, with one Prep pupil winning the top academic award - the Lord James Hereford scholarship - for gaining the top overall marks in all subjects. Three further pupils were awarded All-Rounder Scholarships, with academic attainment a key

element in earning this accolade. The Common Entrance examinations in June also saw success, with Prep pupils gaining prizes from College for the top marks in Spanish and Chemistry. Importantly other pupils, who may not have gained awards, achieved well, demonstrated the progress they have made at the school and were delighted with many of the grades recorded on their certificates.

Good teachers are always striving to make progress in their own professional lives as well as helping pupils move up their own personal ladder. The culture of learning from each other has continued with Learning Lunches and opportunities to gain new ideas by observing each other in ‘Open Door’ weeks and more formal peer observations. Our focus has been on differentiating effectively to ensure all children feel supported and appropriately challenged, whatever their ability level. This focus has moved into our lesson planning and has meant that we

are getting better and better at knowing exactly where the children are in their learning and how we can move them onwards. Tracking pupils’ progress is a vital element in allowing staff to differentiate effectively and enables them to help pupils achieve. Our systems have been refined and improved this year and staff can pinpoint exactly how to help pupils improve.

V. Jenkins

Cheltenham College Preparatory School The Year 3

Pastoral Pastoral care remains very much at the forefront of all that happens within The Prep.

The quality of communication in the triangular relationship between home, school and the pupils themselves is crucial to their success. Having established a good rapport not just with their peers but also with their tutors, the children are all the more likely to embrace the full

range of opportunities on offer at the school with a sense of tenacity and confidence.

From a pastoral perspective, the past year has perhaps been most notable for the embedding of the children’s voice within the wider decision-making processes of the school. The School Council now affords a wide range of pupils the chance to comment on and develop ideas that we are putting forward to improve the school itself. Thanks to their input, the school has revised its Anti-Bullying Policy, so that the language used is meaningful to all pupils, and the Council has also been instrumental in helping to choose the school’s nominated charity for the coming academic year. In addition, we have a range of new equipment for the playground that has been chosen (and enjoyed) by the pupils themselves. Perhaps most importantly, School Council has also been able to revise ‘bun and drink’ options at break times! Given that membership of the Council has been rotated, lots of pupils have been able to see the school’s decision-making processes first-hand and, just as importantly, understand the need for compromise and debate.

At a wider level, we have also sought out the pupils’ views on a range of issues. Years 8, 6

and 4 contributed to a county-wide online survey that explored their experience of and attitudes towards bullying. The feedback we receive by comparison with other schools will be of great interest in continuing to help and protect our children. We have also introduced talks to parents on children’s safety online during

Parents’ Evenings and an Upper School pupil questionnaire that covers all aspects of their life at school; again the feedback we receive will help us to be sure that we are offering the best possible support to each and every child.

N. Jenkins


Boarding at The PrepNo-one can prepare you for the frenzied activity and minute-to-minute fun-packed action of House Parenting. We have spent our first year in the Boarding House in a whirlwind of activities, laughter and hilarity. Our enthusiastic team of Resident Tutors and Matrons (eagerly assisted by our longstanding Boarders) has taught us so much about how the Boarding House ticks and helped us to keep our Boarding family working, living and playing together in harmony. It’s been a wonderful year and hard to choose highlights, as there have been countless great moments. We have enjoyed a staggering amount of terrific activities, including picnics at the Lido, Mountain Boarding, trips to Gifford’s Circus, a sight-seeing tour to London, a visit to Bristol Zoo, water slides and barbecues on the lawn. Bob and I think we

have the best job in the world and particularly enjoy our living room on Saturday nights with masses of Boarders in pyjamas curled up with our dogs Meg and Bertie, tucking into popcorn and watching a film. Here are some highlights from the Boarders this year:

R. Wells and F. Wells

’For me, the Boarding house became part of my family of friends - the younger Boarders are like brothers and sisters, as well as staff like mums and dads.’

‘Alton Towers was really fun - some of the rides looked scary, but when you rode them it was really fun. My favourite ride was the Sonic.’‘The Matrons are really nice and they take care of us all the time, but it is always really sad when the Gappies have to leave.’

‘Boarding gives you an opportunity to meet different people of different year groups, to get to know them better and to find many friends.’


‘It was brilliant to have a taster of horse-riding one weekend and we got the full experience as we got to clean the horses as well as ride them. I really liked the riding - it was one of my favourite activities.’

‘I think my favourite trip was the Mystery Tour to London, because we just had such a packed full and fun day, and I loved going on the London Eye.’

‘My highlight of the year has been the great activities we do - one of my favourites was paintballing and I also like going down to Bath Road with my friends.’


houses image page


Athens After winning the overall House Competition at the end of the previous Summer Term, we started off the year with the pride and excitement of having Athenian Red diaries. A great confidence boost for the jam-packed year to come…

Shrieks of “Go Camos!” and “Get them Black Caps!” were some of the phrases that could be heard booming across the school grounds one sunny September Sunday. It was Athens’ first House event of the year and we played an enormously enjoyable and surprisingly competitive game of Laser Tag. A couple of weeks later this was followed by the Athens V Persia ‘Qurry’ night, a quiz and curry-fest that is becoming a popular fixture in both Mrs Miles’s and Miss Anderes’s social calendars! After a number of quiz rounds aimed at parents and pupils alike (not to mention second and

third portions of curry) Athens was relieved to retain the Qurry trophy for another year.

Along with a number of new pupils, we were delighted to welcome Miss Gooch into our House this year. There have been some fabulous moments during our Friday morning assemblies, including Miss Gooch’s highly entertaining Tower Building activity. How high can you build upwards with wine gums, cocktail sticks and bundles of team work? Pretty high it seems! The pupils were also treated to an activity, devised, organised and judged by our Head of House; each group attempting to create the most effective vessel to hold water, using just paper and sellotape. Very soggy, but lots of fun.

Yet again Athens has had plenty of sporting and musical success, with individual and team wins in the Music Competitions, Cross-country,

Cross-country Relays and Triathlon. We came second in the school Swimming Gala and also had a nail-bitingly close Spelling Bee, where we pipped Persia to it and came away with a tremendous first place! Sports Day yet again brought a host of triumphs, with Middle School Athenians very dominant on the track. The whole morning was a close fought battle and we were delighted to come a very close overall second, missing out on the top spot by just a couple of points.

The year was rounded off beautifully by a ‘Summer’ Hog Roast, where not even the torrential rain could dampen the spirits of the Athenian children and parents who had gathered to celebrate another successful year.

J. Miles


Persia I always find it difficult to look back over a busy year and separate the events that went on from term to term. As always the House social events, competitions and all-important House places merge into one and it is usually by looking at the photographs, that I place them into some sort of timeline. There is no way of sugar-coating our positions this year and they began with a very disappointing 5th place. Sporting competitions aside, Lower School and Middle School put on an excellent show, with perhaps Upper School needing to put in a few extra pluses overall. It has been a long time since I have seen orange so low on the listings! We fared slightly better in the Spring Term, rising to 3rd. The final term saw us finish in 6th place.

We have had two super social gatherings this year, both with Athens. The bi-annual Qurry

evening, held as a fundraiser for WellChild, saw seven heated rounds ranging from popular culture to adverts from the past. The catering team prepared a wonderful curry and a fabulous evening resulted in 2nd place and a handing over of the Quizmeister trophy to the House in red! Our second event was a lot wetter, unfortunately, and saw us having a soggy Hog Roast in the grounds on a Sunday afternoon in June. Our two Houses got together to produce a wonderful array of salads and puddings to go along with the hogs.The planned tug-of-war had to be postponed to the last House meeting of term.

On the sporting field we did not fare too badly and we achieved more success here, with several second places in many events. The House Bake-off needed a few more entries, so hopefully next year we’ll see more budding Mary Berrys and Paul Hollywoods coming out of the woodwork. Our team did very well in the House Spelling Bee and we were really only defeated by hirachy, hyrarchy, hierarchy!

It has not necessarily been our best year, academically, but I feel we have worked well together as a House, which is really what we aim to be. A House that works well and plays well together, where the Year 8s know the Year 3s and talk to them and where everyone feels part of the whole. I would like to thank all the staff, and parents, who have supported the children and myself, and I would like to thank the Year 8s who have led by example and especially to our super Head of House, who has supported every event we have done, even sending along her mum, when she has been abroad skiing!

On a sad note, we also said goodbye to Mr Kim Parsley who has been a Persian longer than even myself. Over the years he has supported me without fail and I was very grateful to him for taking over the role of Housemaster during my sabbatical.

Go Persia!

D. Anderes

Cheltenham College Preparatory School The Year 9Cheltenham College Preparatory School The Year 9

Corinth The Corinth and Troy House barbecue at the start of the Autumn Term was nearly a washout, but thanks to a dry spell with some sunshine, the day was saved and we had a great time outside on the first team pitches. The two Houses joined and took part in football, rounders, throwing games and a physical challenge. The evening was finished off with a meal and a chance to chat and make new friends at the start of the academic year.

Soon after we had a ‘tasty’ House meeting with all sorts of Fair Trade chocolate. One of our House staff gave a talk on how the chocolate was made, and why Fair Trade is important. Our Head of House also organised a Treasure Hunt, which finished with an obstacle course.

The House matches in the Summer Term saw Corinth come 1st in the Upper School girls’ hockey. We have not won this title in a long

time and there was much celebrating this achievement. The rugby was well fought, but much harder for us, and despite a valiant effort, we did not manage a place in the top three. At the end of term we were delighted to see Corinth taking 1st place in Lower School for effort and pluses.

The girls fought hard in the House netball in the Spring Term, but we again found this difficult. This was also the case with the Swimming Gala. We managed some first places, but not enough to get us a good position overall. House hockey was also challenging. The boys played really well, and it came down to penalty flicks for 3rd position. However, we missed one flick and so had to settle for 4th place. Cross-country was better for us and we managed 3rd overall, thanks to our Middle School runners coming 2nd!

For our House song we chose ‘Fly Me To The Moon’. This was a good song because it was easy to learn and sing, but therein lay the challenge. We sang well on the day, with good group

interplay, pitching and accuracy, but not well enough to get us into the top three. However, soon after we came 1st in the House Bake-off, with some winning cakes being made.

In the Summer Term we managed 4th in the boys’ Middle School cricket and 5th in Upper School. The girls in Middle School were 4th overall in tennis and rounders, and we came 2nd in the Upper School tennis, which was a real achievement. At the end of term was the joint House barbecue with Rome, which involved fun, games and a treasure hunt, and the House Spelling Bee in which we came 4th. Finally, on Sports Day I was impressed with all the effort that went into both the field and track events, and the support everyone gave each other.

R. Woodbridge.


Rome Rome House welcomed our Year 3 pupils by hosting a Fun Swim session for all House members in Lower School. Everyone had lots of fun falling (or being pushed) off the inflatable dragon and then we had drinks and cakes, and a chance to get to know one another.

This was followed by our main House event of the term, our House Dinner. Since we had won the House competition the term before, we decided to celebrate and have a party theme. We played some ice-breaker games in the hall to start with; everyone had a sticker on their back with the name of a character on it, and they had to ask questions to find out who they were. During the meal, we had a highest tower building competition and balloon making, and ended with some dancing. In the main sporting competitions of the term, hockey and rugby, both our boys and girls came 2nd overall, which was a commendable achievement.

The highlight for the Spring Term was winning the House Music Competition and we had a large

number of pupils competing in the individual events. For the House Singing Competition, we were fortunate to be allocated the House song “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing”, which had a great rhythm. We had an outing to the Gloucester Climbing Centre, with almost every pupil from Year 3 to Year 8 attending, and improving their bouldering and climbing skills. Sport was a real strength for us this term. We won the House Swimming championships, marginally pipping Persia in the final race to come top. Our girls in Lower School won the netball and we had strong performances in the cross-country, and the new Triathlon event.

The Summer Term is always a time for barbecues and this year we held ours jointly with Corinth House. It was a day of showers, but luckily the rain held off for long enough for the pupils to take part in a treasure hunt (with edible prizes!), play some Danish longball, and of course enjoy some lovely puddings made by families from Rome House. Personally, the event that causes most excitement, and raises my competitive

drive, is the House Spelling Bee. Who would think that spelling could create such emotion and excitement? Playing to retain the winning title this year, we kept our House jingle of “Who let the dogs out”, primed our strongest spellers and wrote like demons to beat our competitors. Unfortunately, we did not win the event this year, but did come an admirable 3rd. Does “quantitative” really have that many vowels?

Only when it comes to writing such a report, does one realise how much we have undertaken in one year. We have flicked a hockey ball, ridden bikes in our swimsuits, created animals from balloons, danced a strip the willow, rummaged in a scavenger hunt, been taken back in time on history tour, and most of all had incredible fun together.

I wish to thank all Romans for their continued support, and to wish Mr Maddock a long and happy retirement.

S. Gilmour


Sparta Having taken the reins of Sparta House from Mr Wells I was thrilled at the warm reception I was afforded by its members.

House sport was a rollercoaster ride as there were Houses with better athletes who represented higher echelon teams within the school. Pragmatically, I was unbothered by results – I was more encouraged by commitment and enthusiasm. To see the Middle School rugby team finish 2nd was impressive; to see the Upper School team fight for their House, never giving up and never arguing when things were not going their way, was humbling. It is never too late to learn from children. The girls showed the same commitment. In Middle School, the girls moved from a 4th place finish in hockey to a 1st place position in House netball. I still remember how excited they were running across to tell me the good news! The Upper School girls showed the same improvement rising from 5th in hockey to 2nd place in netball. The Swimming Gala saw us come 4th.

In the Spring Term it was the Spartan biannual dinner! The House decided on an Italian theme with pizza and an ice cream factory to follow. Again, literally everyone in the House attended. We had a mummy wrapping competition arranged by Mr Baker in the Assembly Hall, to begin with, followed by food and fun – the fun being in the form of a box of party games on each table. As the term progressed Sparta drew their House song: ‘The Bare Necessities’. This to me exemplified the Spartan spirit, for on the day the children sang their hearts out to gain 2nd place to Troy’s West End production.

The Lower School children performed well in their mixed House sport events, showing great determination against the odds. It is important for children of this age to learn to participate and I was never short of volunteers to perform for their House.

When the children returned for the Summer Term they immediately embarked on a trip to Drayton Manor. Whilst their Housemaster was willing to enjoy the sedate, genteel rides such as the teacups, he was often cajoled into joining the pupils on some of the more aggressive rides, from which he is still recovering! Whilst other Houses stayed in classrooms during meetings, we ventured outside. For me the House is an area where the children from different sections should blend and socialise; where girls and boys mix seamlessly. Therefore we would often engage in games to bring the different age groups together as one.

Sparta have had a really great year; we can look people in the eye and say that our House is a safe and happy environment that promotes

camaraderie and fosters a strong bond between all members of the House.

Go Sparta!!

M. Dawson

‘In Sparta it is all about timing your run! We

rose from 6th place in the Winter Term to 5th by

Spring, only to emerge in 1st place by the final Term.

Never give up! Never surrender to defeat! - just like the Spartans of old!!’


Troy When I took over the reigns as Housemistress of Troy two years ago, it was with a distinct purpose of building the members of the House into a strong team. Every term we have had a theme to work with that encourages this. In the first term we were ‘Building Strong Foundations’, in the Spring we were ‘Proud of our Achievements’ and in the final term of the year we wanted to make sure that we would all ‘Participate and Join in’. We are so lucky to have such creative House staff that generate some great team games and competitions, treasure hunts and unusual activities that encourage the pupils to put these ideas into practice. For example, one recent House Assembly started off completely in Norwegian, to the amazement of pupils and staff alike.

The House members have had a very strong sense of team and identity this year and have made a huge effort to take part and do their best in all the House competitions. It has been a pleasure to see the enthusiasm and competitive spirit from so many. Equally, I have been impressed by the perseverance and

determination of others. We have had some major achievements this year; first in the rugby, Lower School and Upper School cross-country, Lower School hockey and Upper School netball. And of course we were delighted to be placed first in the House Singing Competition, an event we haven’t won for many years. I am so proud of all our efforts.

One of the things that makes Troy a special House to be in is the fact that everyone really does try to participate and join in. The events that we have run this year began with our Welcome Games and Barbecue with Corinth House back in September and ensured the year started on a high note. We joined with Sparta House for our Christmas Carols and Mince Pies Party this year. After some very rousing carols had been sung, our parents enjoyed the mulled wine and mince pies, whilst our Trojans seemed to want to see how much chocolate from the chocolate fountain they could consume. For our Easter activity, we once again invited our younger House members to come and decorate some Easter treats. The Summer Term saw our Troy House Dinner. Based loosely on a Mediterranean Summer theme, our Trojans did justice to a fantastic menu, certainly very little food saw its way back to the kitchens. Followed

by some fun and games in the hall, our Trojans went home very happy, having had a go at everything from ‘Tin Can Alley‘ to ‘Pin the Tail on the Trojan Horse’!

The highlight of our year has been winning the House Competition in the Spring Term and spending the Summer Term with our green diary of victory. This was our proudest moment and was truly deserved by the Trojan pupils. I know that our pupils feel that much of this success is owed to our wonderful House staff, who continually work hard to create the activities, make all the House events work, support in competitions, provide a listening ear and words of wisdom and always encourage everyone to be the best they can be. It has been a wonderful year of achievement for Troy House and I feel very privileged to be Housemistress of this hard working, talented and tenacious group of pupils.

A. Grieves


House CompetitionsThis year, each House has wholeheartedly competed in a range of academic,

non-academic and sporting challenges to endeavour to receive the coveted House ‘colour’ on pupil organisers for the following term, along with the accolade of being

a participant in their Houses’ success. The array of competitions on offer means that every child can find a way to contribute and participate in House events. Again, this year, no one House dominated the Leaderboard, showing that there

is always everything to play for!

Autumn 2013

House PointsAthens 74.5

Rome 70.0

Troy 69.0

Corinth 68.5

Persia 66.5

Sparta 59.5

Spring 2014

House PointsTroy 133.5

Rome 120.0

Persia 115.0

Athens 114.5

Sparta 113.5

Corinth 103.5

Summer 2014

House PointsSparta 87.0

Rome 84.0

Athens 80.5

Troy 79.5

Corinth 79.0

Persia 73.0


Welcome to KingfishersWhat a busy year we have had in Kingfishers! The children have worked hard and

enjoyed themselves whilst working towards their own personal goals. The next few pages will give you an idea of the types of activities in which they have been involved.

Our most notable event was the marking of the 21st year of Kingfishers with a party and showcase of Art and Music. It gave the children the opportunity to show their parents, not only their talents in

these areas, but also their classwork and progress across the curriculum.

Kingfishers bounced and face-painted their way through the afternoon, our party atmosphere continued in the Assembly Hall with a chance

to chat with present and previous staff and also some special ‘grown-up’ Kingfishers, who managed to make time in their busy schedules to come back and visit us.


Art Exhibition

Our parents joined us for lunch on several occasions

this year. The children were pleased to use their times-tables plates and show how independent they are at lunchtime.


Activities and SportTo complement classroom learning, we have expanded our co-curricular programme to include new lunchtime clubs for Foundation Stage and activities after school for Years 1

and 2, such as Drama, Chess, Forest School, Italian Club and Challenge Club.

In Kookaburra Club this year the children have participated in puzzle nights, arts and crafts, baking and team games.

Kingfishers have enjoyed their sports this year and there have been many opportunities for the children to show their progress. Sports Day was a fun mix of traditional and competitive races, enjoyed by pupils, parents and staff.


Welcome to Foundation StageChildren in both the Cottage and Reception have enjoyed outings to Forest School this

year, going on an exciting Bear Hunt and inviting their parents to join them. They received our reindeer visitors well and were pleased to feed them. Children from the

Cottage took part in Morris Dancing and carried out a sponsored walk for our charity WellChild. Reception classes went on a visit to Slimbridge, went to Chapel to witness

awedding and melted hearts with their Mothers’ Day assembly.


Welcome to Years 1 and 2Children in Years 1 and 2 have taken part in a range of fun and interesting topics this year. The topics for Year 1 have been Pirates, the Rainforest and Space. We

have sailed the seven seas with Black Beard and Long John Silver; we undertook an expedition to the Amazon Forest School; sadly the planned rocket launch was hit by technical difficulties! Visits to the Cotswold Farm Park and the Literature Festival

have rounded off a busy and productive year.

Hockey and cricket tournaments and termly Chess Competitions constitute some of the events that have occupied Year 2 this year. We led the Nativity with panache, travelled the world with Barnaby Bear and the visit to @Bristol complemented their electrifying Science topic. In Forest School we learned practically about forces.

R. Buttress


Welcome to Year 3Over FarmYear 3 had an interesting time at Over Farm learning about the process of growing plants for consumption. We ate asparagus that had travelled zero food miles.

Fashion ShowPupils showcased their Egyptian crafts that they had created during Art lessons on the catwalk.

Egyptian TheatreWe were visited by the Daylight Theatre Company, who performed a play called ‘The Pharoah’s Son’, and some of the pupils even got starring roles!


Roman DayIt was toga fun all round, while we feasted on dormice and other traditional Roman foods, and made shields and helmets.

Learning about the environmentYear 3 has been thinking about recycling in Geography and visited the land-fill site to learn about what happens to our rubbish. At the Science festival we were amazed to learn how we could save the planet in just 50 minutes!


Welcome to Year 4During this second year within Lower School, our Year 4 pupils become more independent and take more responsibility for their own learning, to be true role models for the Year 3s. The curriculum continues to be busy and diverse, allowing the children to build upon strengths, identifying their preferred learning styles. Have a look at the photos showing the pupils enjoying a wealth of activities on offer throughout the year.

D. Isaachsen

EnrichmentUsing our History and Craft Design Technology skills the children made an Anglo-Saxon village with a collection of inhabitants.

Friendship FridayA small group of Year 4 children spent time one Friday afternoon cooking delicious treats for all Lower School pupils to enjoy. They had the opportunity to chat through personal successes, share any worries or concerns and enjoy baking with friends.

India DayThe children were taught a traditional Indian stick dance which they performed to the parents. They also made chapatis and ate them with curry.

Literature FestivalWith the Literature Festival on our doorstep, the children enjoyed listening to humorous stories from Tony Robinson, including: Weird World of Romans and Egyptians.

Monks and MonasteriesYear 4 visited Gloucester Cathedral to experience a day in the life of a monk.

Reading around the WorldReading became a main focus in the first term as we travelled around the globe picking up air miles as we went.


Roald Dahl DayThe children were inspired on Roald Dahl Day, listening to extracts from his books and creating their own wonderful adventures.

Viking DayA trip to the depths of Worcestershire saw the children learning to behave like little vandals!

ScienceThe children had a light bulb moment whilst creating quiz boards and burglar alarms. They also enjoyed exploring the grounds for different habitats.


EnglishLiterature FestivalThere was something for everyone at this year’s Literature Festival: Julia Donaldson and Fran Parnell excited Kingfishers with time focused on singing, performance and illustration, as well as an invitation to travel the world with monster stories; Lower School were whisked away on a weird and wonderful tour of history with Tony Robinson; Middle School encountered squabbling goblins, dwarfs, cloud-maidens and swamp monsters in Philip Reeve’s world of magical creatures; and Patrick Ness educated our Upper School pupils about how to fill writing with our own inspirations, passions and people to make it come alive.

R. Humphrey

The Spelling Bee buzzed into town!During the Summer Term Cheltenham College staged its second Spelling Bee with contestants from Years 3 to 8 taking part. Every House turned out to cheer on their contestants and there were some very tense moments. For a while it looked like Corinth was going to steal the show, but the other Houses fought valiantly and managed to close the lead. There was everything to play for right up to the final round when the entire House teams played head to head against each other. Mr Dawson did a wonderful job as host to keep the crowd on the edge of their seats, until finally the champions were announced- Athens! Well done to all who took part in this nerve-wracking, but exciting event. Bee seeing you all next year at the Spelling Bee!

A. Forward-Davies

National Poetry DayWe created a storm this year to celebrate National Poetry Day’s theme of ‘water’. Pupils were invited to write their own words, phrases and poetry on the theme of all things wet; some arresting examples followed and one from Year 8 is published below:

Fisherman

A heavy bank hangs, full of menace; then

rolls steadily. Soundless stillness follows

as the terrible black bowl shrouds the light.

Sudden, monstrous waves leap at sodden nets

unleashing a swirling mass of water.

The tempest beats – smashes – torments – calling

opaque rain sheets and frenzied, rearing gusts

R. Humphrey


World Book DayEveryone at The Prep took part in World Book Day 2014 in the Spring Term. As you would expect, it was a characterful celebration with a whole school dress up, led by an extraordinary Headmaster (or mistress?) who arrived as Miss Trunchbull. The school Library hosted a number of competitions including ‘Extreme Reading’ (home photographs of pupils reading in extraordinary places, displayed for all to see) and, new for this year, ‘In Their Shoes’ – a competition which asked pupils to represent a character by decorating a shoe. In addition, Upper School pupils retold well-known stories in the style of Kevin Crossley-Holland and produced their own versions of ‘The Pied Piper’, ‘Hansel and Gretel’ and ‘The Ugly Duckling’, among others, for younger readers in the library.

R. Humphrey

Young Writers’ DayWe were proud to host Cheltenham’s Young Writers’ Day in connection with the Literature Festival again this year. Fleur Hitchcock treated some of our Year 6 pupils, along with children from other local schools, to a story-writing

workshop. Over the course of the day, the children worked in groups to develop original story ideas; all wrote highly original stories which were published on our website.

R. Humphrey

Slavery & Industrial BritainThis year, early exam finishers broadened their socio-historic horizons with a trip to the Black Country Museum and Liverpool’s Slavery Museum. The work which followed was pupil-led, with each individual choosing their own area of study; an example of this work in English follows:

Slavery shackled their hills and valleys

as an ominous fog grows a place dark,

hanging, creeping, swirling thickly, seething,

gaining, groping, choking and blinding. It

smeared and stained their rich ebony skin; the

familiar world stumbled as eyes were

covered in a protracted game of Blind

Man’s Buff.

The Zong held fast to Africa’s

harbour, its sturdy tugs at the pier be-

traying a greedy hunger to swallow

blank faces into its belly. Beneath

impenetrable timber - stolen from

faraway forests - waves

crash

leer

lick

smack

and tumble while

rows of blank faces pale and heave. Sweat and

salt punch nostrils - an Atlantic assault

on tinned bodies bound for soul sales.

Then

Olaudahs became Gustavs, Adams, Bills,

and women stripped of children lost love.

Now

shackles quietly rattle in the hands

of eleven-year-old Tamil girls who

sew sequins on t-shirts. Now slavery

lurks in our high streets - hanging, buttoning

and twinkling as sequins do, blinding us.

We model the slavery, guilt developing

unknown as cancer yet permitted

like an unknown atrocity.

R. Humphrey


ScienceImmediately as the Common Entrance exams finished, the whole of Year 8 made their annual excursion to Imperial Gardens and the Cheltenham Science Festival, where two events were attended – It Doesn’t Add Up, and the Discover Zone. With a delightful picnic taken between each event, the post exam experiences could not have got off to a better start. The first event gave a number of examples of maths, numbers and science used in everyday life, while the latter event allowed for two hours of ‘hands-on’ activity, where the pupils from The Prep were able to browse at their leisure the many stalls and exhibits from national companies and research bodies.

A few comments from the pupils follow –

I learnt...

‘that the surface sea current in the south by Antarctic is faster than other places as there is less land to impede the flow.’

‘that the tool that is used to dig up very hard rock is made with diamonds.‘

‘that there are twelve different personality types, three different eye colours and five different hair colours and types.’

‘that you could programme robots with a sensor so they could follow your movements.’

‘that they use 3-D printers to create a piece of titanium which fits into the skull after you have a piece cut out (e.g brain tumour).’

‘how popcorn is made, and that when the corn is moist it does not ‘pop’.’

‘how to make flour.’

‘that when you are drilling at the earth when you get to a hard rock if you go too fast the drill will break.’

‘that bridges can help to keep banks from bursting and keep the earth on the edge of a river from being eroded away.’

‘that a toaster uses up more energy watts than an LCD TV.’

‘that turbine engines and jet engines will be made of a type of crystal to avoid metal getting ‘fatigued’ as quickly.’

‘that a nuclear power station can power over two million homes.’

‘that GCHQ has over 5,000 workers.’

‘that diamonds are harder than rock.’

‘that juggling has something to do with Maths and has a method.’

‘that some people can taste things and others can’t because of our genes.’

‘that there are three types of carbon: graphite, diamond, coal.’

‘that fruit and humans are able to conduct electricity.’

‘about the wind and wave patterns of the ocean throughout the past 10 years; that winds are strongest towards the bottom of the equator and this causes high velocity waves, winds and hurricanes.’

‘how to crack a safe in record breaking time - I did it in 12 seconds and the record was 17 seconds.’


Amate AnimaliaThe loose translation of Amate Animalia is ‘love the animals’. It is a self-funding charity set up about 12 years ago, which advertises itself as ‘Exotic Animal Rescue’ – it tries to conserve wild, endangered and exotic species. It takes in animals in the same way that cat and dog refuges do, but with a difference. It will accept

illegal and mistreated animals found or given up, and care for them.

Years 5, 6, 7 and 8 had separate presentations which involved a number of the current ‘in mates’ of the charity – a chameleon and its mate, a skunk, a Burmese python and a tegu. The brief history of each of the animals was given, including how they are found, their

characteristics and behaviour, and how they are caught, poached and trafficked, and current methods of conservation. The boys and girls were privileged to handle these live animals and had a most informative insight into their lives, adaptation and natural environments.

K. Parsley


Maths This year the Maths Department has had a varied and interesting time. All the pupils have had the chance to represent their Houses ‘mathematically’. Every exeat and half term the pupils have had to answer a selection of problems, each correct answer was a point for their House.

Early in the year we hosted a ‘Number Dayz’ event – an NSPCC event to raise money for children who are not able to go to school. All the pupils took part in different events and came to school wearing some sort of number.

Every year we host the DCB Eagle competitions for Years 4 and 5. This year nearly sixty schools and two hundred children took part in an array of challenges as a team. The afternoons are always greatly received. Our Year 8 pupils helped as guides and markers and did a great job; they were also fantastic ambassadors for the school.

At the start of the year we introduced a new piece of software – MyMaths, used by College

Maths students, to everyone in Years 6, 7 and 8. Pupils can use it for fun and in their own free time, they can revise from it, access lessons, and staff can set specific tasks to individual pupils. It is a great tool and something used regularly to bolster the rich and varied Maths curriculum.

In November most of Years 5 and 6 took part in the Primary Maths Challenge, a national competition for Year 5 and 6 pupils. We received four gold certificates, six silvers and ten bronzes.

In March Andrew Jeffrey (a Maths magician, author and radio presenter) visited the school, he performed ‘Mathsmagic’ shows to every pupil from Reception to Year 8. He was a fantastic entertainer and very informative. His shows were enjoyed by everyone who saw him.

In an effort to constantly change the approach to Maths and the way it is taught and accessed, Miss Masood and Dr Gilmour organised a Middle School Maths Challenge. Pupils from Years 5 and 6 took part in mixed ability groups. It was a great event that highlighted not only the best parts of

Maths, but also of the Middle School pupils who showed a great ability to solve problems and work as a group.

Each year we enter two UKMT events (United Kingdom Mathematics Trust): the team event and the individual event. In the team event we entered our two best Year 8 pupils with two Year 9 pupils from College. It is a great opportunity for them to experience some higher level Maths in a competitive environment and also meet College Maths teachers and pupils. The individual event is an exam paper style challenge sat by Set 1 pupils in Years 7 and 8, then marked at Leeds University. This year we achieved three Golds, seven Silvers and five Bronzes. The Gold certificates were all won by Year 7 pupils.

As part of the Year 8 Post Examination Programme, the College Maths Department organised a Maths Challenge for all of them to take part in. It was a huge amount of fun.

C. Murray


HistoryClassroom teaching is varied in style and use of equipment and facilities, but the intention is to interest, inspire and encourage the children to develop enthusiasm for the subject. Getting out of the classroom is a key element of teaching, introducing the children to different voices and experiences that help develop their abilities and knowledge. Below are accounts of trips and experiences in Years 5 to 8 showing elements of history teaching within the school.

Year 8 Post Exam Group trip to Black Country Museum and International Slavery MuseumThis was a new venture shared between Religious Studies, English, Geography and History departments. The intention – a cross-curricular approach to show how life and beliefs had changed for people over the time span that Britain became “Great”. What were the moral guidelines? Did economic advantage outweigh awareness that slavery was wrong? Were people racist, or did they not even think about it? Combining the museums with an overnight stop in a Youth Hostel proved a great combination and the students were then given a “free” rein to explore a topic of interest. Research was undertaken, students became experts in their “field” and they were then asked to present their findings. Topics were wide and varied, including the Industrial Revolution, medical provision, treatment of animals within society, racism and segregation in the USA, Rastafarianism, Voodoo and Slave music. The concept of presentation was daunting, but superb knowledge was on display and pupils used a variety of methods

to interest their audience. Mrs Humphrey, Mrs Conner and myself were most impressed with their hard work and efforts.

Common Entrance pupils at the Black Country Museum Their focus was the industrial heritage and social conditions faced by Victorians. We explored drift mining, saw a chain-maker at work, visited various houses from the relatively affluent Brass-maker’s house to the lowly back-to-back, experienced a lesson in the Victorian school and realised the horrors of the lime kilns and the risk of injury in a rolling mill.

Year 7 London TripThe Globe Theatre was visited, and pupils experienced drama workshops before enjoying an evening performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. After staying at the London School of Economics, they continued to Hampton Court where they were introduced to Young Henry and the ‘sport of kings’. Walking in the corridors of Hampton Court, meeting a re-enactor dressed as Henry, and seeing the Great Hall as Henry would have seen it, is a great introduction to the Tudor topic.

Year 6 – Chepstow CastleNot the warmest day, but a valuable experience, which brought about a culmination of studies on castle development. Chepstow has four clearly defined stages of development and the pupils became history detectives as they unravelled the past. Mr Hicks of the History Squad accompanied us dressed as a medieval archer and gave the pupils a great insight into life and conditions of the time.

Year 5 – World War Two studiesMr Hicks in another guise, this time in dual roles as a Schutzstaffel (SS) officer contrasted with a British soldier to help the pupils understand how the war came about. The Home Front was then explored through wartime cookery. A large number of parents and a grandparent helped the pupils cook genuine wartime food. High on vegetables, low on meat and other rationed goods and very limited in terms of colour – everything seemed green or brown – but a valuable experience in showing that good nutritious food can be made from humble ingredients, and that people had to pitch in to work together at this time.

D. Maddock


Classics It has been a busy and productive year in Classics, with all areas of the curriculum in Latin, Classical Civilisation and Greek being covered, as well as some work on archaeology and Egyptology. Our aims are to educate each child and give them a taste and love of the Ancient World in all its aspects.

From an academic viewpoint, we now have a number of pupils from Years 5 to 8 studying Classical Greek. The pupils have mastered the alphabet and are moving onto more complex

work. Year 8 in particular has enjoyed reciting the alphabet as quickly as possible around school, to the bafflement of the wider school community.

Year 7 enjoyed their trip to the Roman Bath earlier in the year. This gave the pupils the chance to see first hand what had been covered in class: the different pools, the hypocaust (heating) system and finally the Great Bath itself. This survives almost intact, and with the steam rising upwards on a cold November day, was a memorable sight. The water itself is bright green, due to the algae, and some of the braver pupils enjoyed tasting it.

Years 5 and 6 had a talk delivered by Ben Harris, the translator of ‘The Gruffalo Latin Edition’. They learned all the different words and adjectives used in writing the book, and enjoyed seeing the beautiful art work and descriptive phrases in another language.

Within the curriculum, the focus has been on teaching and learning and ensuring the pupils have the best experience in the classroom. Year 5 covered work on dinner parties, Roman Britain and slavery, whilst Year 6 continued their classical education with more complex language work and different aspects of Greek Mythology. We also enjoyed looking at the Roman army and trying on different parts of the armour, as well as the obligatory work on the horrors of being a gladiator in the amphitheatre.

In Upper School, we welcomed lots of new Year 7s with different amounts of Latin experience: they enjoyed their topic work on Odysseus and the Cyclops, and Greek Heroes, as well as working on their language skills as we look to honing those skills for Year 8. I have been delighted with their work and enthusiasm for the subject.

The Post Exam Group, in Year 8, covered a variety of topics, including attempting some really challenging work in preparation for their exams. They too had the opportunity to learn some Greek and read stories in the original languages, to give them a taste of the ‘real thing’ in preparation for Year 9 and beyond, as they take the next step of their education.

In conclusion, it has been a fulfilling and ambitious year within the Department. I look forward very much to leading the Department next year, and aiming high academically for all the pupils who study Classics at The Prep.

S. Reid


Religious Studies In the Autumn Term Year 4 enjoyed a Hindu experience day. They had the opportunity to cook and taste curries. They also learnt various traditional dances.

In January Year 5 had the chance to explore the Orthodox Jewish Synagogue in the centre of Cheltenham. The children were separated into girls and boys and had to sit on the correct side of the Temple. They had a talk from the Rabbi who sang the Torah to the pupils. They were then able to ask questions. They learnt that the present congregation is just under 100 and includes people from as far as Scotland. They then returned to school and had a talk by a practising member of the Jewish faith. She told them in detail about the festivals and how these are practised by ordinary Jewish families. She also explained to the children how her husband had converted to Judaism and what he needed to do in order to become a Jew. The highlight for many of the pupils was to be able to try some traditional kosher food.


Geography In November Year 5 visited Cheltenham High Street and took part in their first fieldwork project. They were investigating whether the public felt that the High Street should be closed to traffic and what impact this would have. They wrote their own surveys and with encouragement the majority had the courage to try these out on members of the public. When they returned to school they analysed their data. They enjoyed their introduction to basic fieldwork.

Year 8 Post Exam Groups explored Leckhampton Hill and with Mr Penny, Head of Geography at Cheltenham College, carried out an investigation into the effect altitude has on temperature and wind speed. They enjoyed recording their results and learnt a few valuable lessons such as a thermometer is affected when it is carried in an inside pocket.

In the Spring Term Year 3 were studying their local area in Cheltenham. They took a trip to the Bath Road and looked at land use and the different shops. It was an opportunity for them to take a closer look at their own area.

In March Year 6 took a trip to Weston as part of their work on coasts. They carried out fieldwork looking at wave velocity, coastal defences and practised some basic map skills. They then looked at the town of Weston and carried out a land use survey.

In April Year 7 had the opportunity to take part in a survey being carried out by University College, Worcester in sustainability in schools. They had the opportunity to analyse their own school and assess its “green factor”!

During Activity Week Years 4 and 5 spent the morning with the Rainforest Roadshow and had a fascinating insight into this area of the world.

They were able to have a few close encounters with the local wildlife.

In June Year 5 visited Hayden Water Treatment Plant and had a rare glimpse into sewage. It did change the viewpoints of many of the children and proved not too much for those with a sensitive stomach.

Year 3 also tested how sensitive their noses were when in the Summer Term they visited the local landfill centre and recycling plant. Even the large amounts of airspray failed to protect the children.

C. Connor


Modern Foreign LanguagesThere are so many good reasons for learning a modern foreign language. We are all interested in meeting people and finding out about someone else, their life, their habits and customs – what makes them tick. Through Modern Foreign Languages, we encourage a fascination for European countries, their people, their culture and geography. We set pupils from The Prep on a firm path towards some exciting career possibilities in an ever-changing world. We also believe that the learning of a language is a compelling intellectual puzzle; why language works the way it does and how it links with English. The training of the mind to look for patterns, create links and ask questions is of paramount importance.

We have been able to make some promising changes to create a curriculum that ensures continuity and progression in the subject.

In Middle and Upper School we introduced new textbooks for French and Spanish. In addition, we

have subscribed to Linguascope – an interactive language website that enables all pupils to practise their MFL at differentiated levels through games and tests from home and at school.

The 26th September was the European Day of Languages. We celebrated with quizzes about famous multilingual superstars around the school grounds, and in lessons we learned to distinguish between the different European languages that we heard on YouTube. At lunchtime the catering department treated us to an array of different European foods. Pupils gratefully thanked the catering staff in a variety of different European languages for their pizza, paella and pommes à la dauphinoise.

In the MFL Department, we strongly believe that pupils should be given the opportunity to use their languages for real purposes and in Year 6, our pupils visit Normandy to do just that. Every day, they had to converse with the locals at the markets, charcuteries and pâtisseries in order to buy ingredients for their pique-nique. By the end of the trip the pupils had also perfected their ice cream flavour vocabulary! Equally, the

trip provided countless cross-curricular lessons in History, Art and Geography since pupils visited several World War 2 battle sites and museums, saw the Bayeux tapestry, looked at rock formations in Etretat and sketched the same scene that Monet had drawn over 150 years ago.

After their exams, our Scholars were given different projects, which would benefit not only their own linguistic ability, but also that of Lower School. In just six weeks the Scholars had learned enough German to be able to perform two short fairy tales in the target language to their younger peers. Some Scholars also translated their favourite children’s books into French and illustrated them.

Not simply content with the progress we have made thus far, we will see increased curriculum time in Kingfishers from next year and the ability to specialise in either French or Spanish from Year 6. Lunchtime ‘catch up’ clinics will also be available for new pupils entering the school with either no or little knowledge of their chosen modern foreign language.

L. Gooch


Craft, Design and TechnologyOver the year, the Craft Design Technology Department has continued to keep hundreds of children busy in lesson times, and to promote extra-curricular activities, particularly for our Boarding pupils.

Most pupils begin their introduction to this subject in Year 3 as part of their ‘enrichment’ programme. This year, the project-work has been largely History-linked and it has been fun to produce group dioramas, such as a model of Athens Harbour, as well as more individually

based work. Some outstanding miniature Egyptian mummies were made earlier in the year.

Alongside the work done with ‘resistant materials’, other Lower School groups worked with textiles, producing some lovely woven fabric mats, and with food, where Mrs Upton supervised a programme of cookery lessons. Year 4, also under the title of ‘enrichment’, received some more formal carpentry tuition where wooden pencil boxes were made. These are often kept by the pupils for years afterwards, and I spoke to a Fifth Form pupil at College who still

uses hers! In addition to this, a cross-curricular link with Science yielded some very original work where small model habitats were made inside a frame, illustrating as always how varied and diverse are the ideas generated by young minds in response to a suitably open-ended design brief.

Our Year 5s have commenced their Middle School course with some old-fashioned carpentry, where they were required to design and make a wooden bookend. For several pupils this was their first excursion into a more thorough standard of preparatory drawing, and some excellent designs were included as first additions to their new folders. Having completed these they were shown how heat can mould plastic so that a ball-bearing game could be made inside the plastic dome formed. Another completely different material was used in their next project, where textile techniques were introduced in support of the production of a soft toy.

Year 6 pupils commenced the Autumn Term with an investigation into cranks and cams, and how they are used to make small mechanisms. Again the diversity of outcome was very wide, and several weeks later I was marking a huge variety of mechanical figures, flying machines, and even a car which travelled to and fro along a see-saw when a crank-handle was turned. As an ‘antidote’ to this somewhat lengthy project the children were given some smaller projects which were very popular and included acrylic clocks, pencil holders and small torches. The latter provided a


useful introduction to printed circuit work and the standard of soldering produced by our ten year olds was almost universally excellent.

After a course of lessons to develop their perspective drawing skills, the Year 7s used those skills to design a wooden ‘musical money box’. Essentially a carpentry project, there was also plenty of leeway in the methods of personalising their projects to complement the electronic musical inserts provided. Some very diverse and original responses were also generated out of the next brief, which was to produce an acrylic case for a small ‘rainbow lamp’, which all pupils constructed during an electronics lesson. Recent work on a project based on photograph frames really impressed me, with a number of Headmaster’s Commendations received for the attractively conceived and well-executed

work produced. It is good to look back over a complete CDT course and reflect that the same children turning out such professional looking results were taking their first steps in the subject only four years earlier.

Year 8 pupils have used the wonderful Design Technology facilities at College, where they received a thorough drawing course from Mr. Cutts and Mr. McKegney, before embarking on a series of projects which culminated in the ever-popular music amplifiers. Here a printed circuit was prepared and equipped by the pupils themselves, before being fitted into a wooden case based on a ‘retro design’.

Two pupils entered the Design Technology scholarship examinations last February.

This involved an advanced and thorough

approach to the production of a prescribed project. This year, ‘bedroom storage’ was the brief set. One pupil produced an imaginative ‘gaming chair’, which included the obligatory storage inside the arms and under the seat, whilst another produced a very professional looking shelving unit for the storage of games equipment. Both boys were rewarded with exhibitions for their dedication and effort.

J. Baker


Drama - AcademicDrama at The Prep is a programme of learning through fun, practical tasks that aim to increase confidence and deliver a well-rounded knowledge and experience of all things ‘dramatic’. Weekly lessons are taught up to the end of Year 6 and in Upper School there are opportunities to continue drama skills and interests through extra-curricular activities and performances.

Teamwork and improvisation is the basis of discovering and honing drama techniques. Our work encompasses acting, clear speech, exploration of social issues, backstage and technical opportunities and a discovery of theatre through the ages.

Lower School also includes producing a pantomime at Christmas. There are visits to professional theatre productions and a half-day workshop by the London-based Young Shakespeare Company.

Middle School Drama builds on the basic skills already learned and has recently included further Shakespeare studies, puppetry, stage fighting techniques and sword skills as well as a staged play. This year the whole year group performed ‘Alice in Wonderland’. For those interested there is the opportunity, in Year 6, to be a part of the school play with Years 7 and 8; 2014 was a widely acclaimed production of the musical ‘Oliver’.

Middle School also has a Young Shakespeare Company drama workshop.

Year 7 begins with a residential experience in London that includes a tour, drama workshop and performance of a play at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

Year 8 pupils who are particularly interested in drama have the opportunity to be part of the national Shakespeare Schools Festival and to perform an abridged Shakespeare play in a professional theatre with all its technical help and support. It is a fabulous project that The Prep has been involved in for the past eight years and is a wonderful experience for those who have a passion for drama.

There is a clear emphasis on educating pupils to understand all the elements that come together to form a production and many opportunities for those interested in costumes, lights, sound, stage-management and special effects. The sound and light, technical teams and crew for all our productions are run solely by the pupils, with teacher supervision should they need support.

From this year, LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art) courses and examinations will be available at The Prep, that will further extend those pupils wishing to take or continue professional qualifications in drama.

J. Douglas

Drama Productions



MusicIt has been another jam-packed year for the Music Department. Our goal is to make music as inclusive as possible, whilst still providing plenty of opportunities for the most able. This starts in the classroom, and our facilities in Lake House are constantly evolving and being upgraded. Our music technology room, complete with iMacs and keyboards is utilised for general class music in Years 5 to 8, alongside a multitude of percussion and other instruments. If the pupils enjoy class music, then my hope is that they might be enthused to take it up outside the classroom too. Class music remains one of my primary focuses here at The Prep, and we cover topics as varied as Mozart and the Classical Period, Rap and Beat-Boxing, Tudor Music, Programme Music, music composed for the story of Romeo & Juliet, Form and Structure and much, much more!

Our ensembles have had as busy a year as ever, performing in our Christmas Concert (complete

with tinsel on instruments, Santa hats and the 1st XV playing the hand-bells!) and our end of year Summer Concert (finishing with a performance of ‘Match of the Day’ to celebrate the World Cup!). We have held our usual round of Informal Pupils’ Concerts throughout each half-term, and our choirs have provided music for each of our weekly Chapel services. In addition, both the Junior and Chapel Choirs joined with the adult choral society and singers from College to perform in the Choral Concert in Chapel during the Spring Term. In a varied programme, the main item was a piece called ‘The Reluctant Dragon’ which had comic solo parts for Dr Peterken (St. George), Mr Byrne (The Dragon), our very own Head Chorister (The Boy), and Mr Whybrow (The Narrator). This was not an event to forget.

We have held two workshops during the year as well. One, a junk percussion workshop for Year 6 (hitting long, tuned bits of drainpipe to make ensemble pieces), and the other, a Rap and Beat-Boxing workshop for Year 8. The latter, run by two professionals from London (whose work can be found on iTunes and soundtracks

for commercials on TV), was captivating for the pupils and feeds into work they completed in the Summer Term during class music.

As usual, we have run termly ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) exams, and have achieved considerable success throughout the year. Our team of 16 visiting music staff continues to work hard with all of our pupils learning instruments, and the effects are clear from our exam results. My thanks go to all the staff in the department for the crucial help and support they provide to our pupils of all ages learning music. In particular, I would like to thank Anthony McNaught and Sue Mills, who have been teaching class music to Kingfishers and Lower School for the last three years. In September, we will welcome our new Assistant Director of Music (Miss Georgina Jones) who will take on all class teaching from Kingfishers to Year 4.

K. Perona-Wright


ArtDuring the year, we have covered an array of genres and mediums, paint, print and ceramics to name a few.

For inspiration, Mr Baker and I took a trip of artists to The Harry Potter Studios which helped to fire the imagination.

The second annual “Arts Alive” exhibition took place in the Spring Term, where Drama, Music and Art is showcased in an informal live event presenting work by our 13+ Scholars.

Hosting a Print Workshop for local schools and exhibiting alongside print makers, and participation in the SATIPS National Arts Exhibition has ensured that the Art Department at The Prep has enjoyed a fulfilling and creative year.

Coach HouseCoach House provides a range of support from Years 3 to 8, including individual and group lessons for literacy, maths, revision skills for Upper School pupils, plus some laptop support as required. We teach in a fun, multisensory way, whenever possible, to promote effective learning. The photographs show some highlights from this year. World Book Day provided opportunity for some excellent costumes!

The Coach House has two fulltime staff plus a dedicated team of part-time Learning Support Workers who support pupils in-class.

G. Barrett


Pupil Achievement and Learning Skills (PALS) Tutorial Programme Pupils follow a structured tutorial programme, which includes instruction on handwriting, thinking skills, revision and personal achievement. Many lessons teach skills such as mind-mapping, emotional intelligence and listening skills, which are all vital skills for life.

Year 5 learnt about the key skills of listening and note-taking as well as how to create mind-maps, which will be an invaluable tool to aid their future revision. Year 6 worked hard to create some excellent Plague Projects. This

taught them how to do research and how to construct the different sections of a project. Year 6 also learnt about de Bono Six Thinking Hats as a way of looking at a problem from different perspectives.

The focus for Upper School PALS was on developing their revision skills to help them in their exam preparation. Year 7 learnt how to be organised for exams, the importance of memory for revision, and they prepared index cards and mind-maps. Year 8 learnt about building personal confidence, developing

emotional intelligence, setting goals for life and stress management, as well as further developing their study skills.

The whole school, including many Kingfisher pupils, entered the annual SATIPS (Support & Training in Prep Schools) National Handwriting Competition, with some excellent entries being produced. The photographs show some of the highlights from this year across the school in PALS.

G. Barrett



EALOur children who are learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) settled quickly into school life. Throughout this year all EAL students have made good progress in their spoken and written language and have actively participated in many activities at The Prep. There have been many good achievements in all areas of school life for our EAL pupils; many have gained awards for being the most improved in sporting and academic areas of the curriculum.

Some of our EAL students delivered a cookery lesson in their first language to our English speaking children; this provided an opportunity for English speaking children to experience how our EAL students feel when they first arrive at The Prep. Those children who attended the cookery lesson stated how difficult it was initially to understand what the lesson was about; but how the visual aids used during the lesson quickly helped them to understand what was being taught. They felt that they had gained an insight into how difficult it must be to listen to a lesson not using your first language, so would try to use different techniques to help all their EAL friends to understand what was happening around them.

The photographs illustrate some of the activities that our EAL children have been involved in during last year.

B. Williams


Handwriting Club in Coach House

Handwriting Club runs in the morning and is a fun activity that aims to develop the fine motor skills required for writing. The activities vary from practising the shapes necessary for handwriting, to cutting, sticking and colouring, using a variety of mediums. This may involve making themed items, which are displayed in Coach House. The children and the staff thoroughly enjoy these activities, and the laughter ringing out so early in the morning, is evidence of this.

Handwriting Club is run by Learning Support Workers: Mrs McDowell, Mrs Hawkins and Mrs Goodman.

G. Barrett


Stretch and Challenge in Kingfishers

Throughout this year, Kingfishers have been working really hard on their problem solving and thinking skills.

In the Autumn Term, the first Puzzle Morning was introduced, where children from Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 were mixed together and encouraged to play various puzzle games that would challenge them. They had to engage their brains by solving Maths word puzzles; Sudukos and anagrams, and pupils even had a go at following instructions to make origami models, in which some proved quite complex! There were also other games, which required careful thought and memory to win, for example the classic “Guess Who?” and “Hit the Hat”.

Following the success of this, in the Spring Term, a similar activity was introduced where children had to work co-operatively, during the “Board Game Morning”, which meant bringing in their favourite game from home and explaining it to their friends in order to play it effectively. Some of the more classic games were very popular, such as Monopoly, Chess and Connect 4, but there were a range of games on offer that all the children thoroughly enjoyed both learning and teaching. During this term, the children also took part in a National Handwriting Competition,

where they copied a poem or sentence in their best handwriting.

Throughout the whole year, Kingfishers have enjoyed teaming up and competing against Lower School in the Chess Challenge. This has been repeated throughout each term and continues to be enjoyable and memorable.

R. Buttress

All children in Lower School are given opportunities to be challenged at their ability during lessons. The Stretch and Challenge sessions allow staff to identify children who are either working at a level significantly above the rest of their class or who have a real passion for a subject.

The Heads of both Maths and English have spent time each term with a group of children, encouraging lateral thinking and group work within their subject. Likewise six children were asked to create a ‘Welcome to Lower School’ DVD which is sent to all prospective parents. The children spent a day, planning, recording and editing their work.

Children excelling in sport have also had individual time with Senior coaches to work on improving their specific skills.

It’s wonderful to see children develop both academically and socially through these sessions.

D. Isaachsen


Stretch and Challenge in Middle School

Our Middle School teachers are continually on the look out within their lessons for those pupils who can take on and benefit from an extra challenge to their skills and thought processes; stretching activities are regularly planned into the lessons.

Opportunities are also offered in Drama and Music for pupils to try something new or to demonstrate their talents and hone their skills. This was clearly in evidence with the school production of ‘Oliver’, where budding actors and singers took key parts, also the Middle School drama production for Year 5 of ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Every Year 6 pupil had the chance to experience the amazing ‘Polyphones Workshop’, a musical experience not to be forgotten.

Regular clubs are attended by many children. Middle School Art Club enables our artists to try out new and creative experiences, whilst the Maths Puzzle and Philosophy for Children clubs have encouraged our mathematicians and philosophers into many different ways of thinking and questioning.

In addition a number of one-off events have been organised. The Gloucestershire Printing Cooperative visited our art room and several pupils spent an enjoyable day, together with children from five different Primary Schools, learning a variety of new print techniques.

A number of our Year 6 pupils who are particularly interested in literary techniques were given the chance to attend a ‘Writers Day’ with the author Fleur Hitchcock. Acting as hosts to the Inter School Maths Challenge, six of our mathematicians in Year 5 went forward to represent us at this event in

a range of timed challenges. Not only did they act as amazing hosts and ambassadors, they put their thinking skills to the test, persevering with the problems set.

A. Grieves

Upper School Stretch & Challenge Activities, Academic Year 2013 - 2014Within Upper School we have introduced a Lecture Series to broaden the pupils’ knowledge in a range of topics. In the Autumn Term we were fortunate to have an informal lecture from the Neurosurgeon and Old Cheltonian, Mr Chris Adams. Not only did Mr Adams provide us with detailed information on brain surgery, he also inspired us with his own personal experiences; informing us that although he had dyslexia, he was able to use strategies to help him learn which enabled him gain a place at Cambridge University to study medicine.

In the Spring Term we were delighted to have the opportunity to listen to a talk on Astronomy by a Nuclear Physicist, Dr McEllin from EDF Energy. He showed us how to calculate the distances between the stars and planets, about how much energy stars put out and the Big Bang. This was clearly an interesting topic, as Dr McEllin barely had time to answer all the questions that our pupils asked!

G. Barrett


Science & CDT with a Bang!The Prep hosted the Cheltenham Festival Young Scientists’ DayOn Friday 6 June, The Prep hosted the annual Cheltenham Festival Young Scientists’ Day, where Year 5 and 6 pupils from five local primary schools joined with Prep pupils to experience some hands-on science and technology. The chemistry sessions started with a bang with Mrs Flanagan demonstrating various explosive reactions, including her ever-popular setting her arms on fire! Very dramatic – one not to be tried at home! This was followed by the pupils learning how to create different colours of paint. In biology, pupils learnt about the importance of penicillin and the vital role it plays in treating serious diseases. Much fun was had in CDT where the pupils built their own rocket cars. The only casualty of the day was a window at the far end of the corridor used for testing the rocket cars – clearly they were more powerful than expected! For many visiting pupils this was the first opportunity they had to visit Science laboratories, light a Bunsen burner, use specialist science apparatus or use a saw and glue gun – so lots of new learning experiences.

At the end of the day, the children were treated to a brief talk and demonstration by Professor Andrea Sella, of University College London, followed by an enormous cake in the shape of a tank crossing a First World War battlefield complete with trench, chocolate boards and ladders! It was delicious! As the photographs show, lots of fun and lots of learning took place. Definitely a day the young scientists won’t forget.

G. Barrett

"I want to do more science!"

"I enjoyed chemistry because we mixed different chemicals and saw a teacher set her hands on fire."

"It was a thousand times better than school!"


Year 7 Independent Learning Project

This year saw the launch of our inaugural Independent Learning Project for all Year 6 pupils entering into Year 7. Over the summer holiday they were tasked with preparing a personal project on the theme of ‘Dream Island’. The results were outstanding, as shown in the photographs. The entries included a papier mache parrot, edible islands, an island designed on Minecraft, powerpoints, written essays, and a video recording. In addition, many pupils had put lots of effort in to make huge models of their dream islands. The entries were displayed to the school and parents, and prize-winners selected and rewarded.

G. Barrett

Christian the Lion Day 11 June 2013 – A Roaring Success!

John Rendall’s talk to Years 1 to 8, plus parents and staff, was a great success. We heard the amazing and true story of how John had looked after Christian when he was a cub. The story was very moving, especially seeing the YouTube clip of their reunion after a year and it touched many of our hearts.

The pupils responded brilliantly to the challenge of sports, stripes, animal or safari mufti – as the photographs show. Over £800 was raised for the George Adamson Wildlife Preservation Trust, which is instrumental in protecting endangered Rhinos and African Wild Dogs in its work in Kenya, as well as building classrooms as part of its outreach programme and helping to rehabilitate Kora to become a National Park. John

is a trustee of this Trust and is passionate about wildlife conservation.

John thoroughly enjoyed his visit to us, he said:

“Christian’s story is such a positive one and to look at those young faces brimming with interest and excitement is a wonderful experience.”

G. Barrett



Parents and Pupil Charity Tennis Tournament 2014

In excess of £250 was raised for ‘WellChild’ at this year’s Parent and Pupil Tennis Tournament. Every year we have more entries, more brother/sister combinations playing (despite the title of the tournament!), standards are higher and the competition becomes more fierce.

Two pools of thirteen couples played in round–robin style in the morning, to establish two top couples to play a cross–over semi-final – this might have meant that the final was a replay of an earlier match!

We were facing a South Africa versus America final! At 6-6 and two changes of end, it was anyone’s match to win. Consistent serving and great volleying from a Year 6 girl pushed her and Dad into the lead, at which point they became more confident, showing that they were the Number 1 couple winning 15-7.

Thank you to the immense support from both Day and Boarding pupils, parents and pseudo–parents, siblings, staff and catering who contributed to a truly family, fun event.

J. Upton


Girls’ SportHockey2013 was a good year for our girls’ hockey teams. The highlight was undoubtedly the U11 team finishing as runners-up in the National IAPS Finals. After winning their regional competition, they went on to the Nationals held at Bishops Stortford College in Hertfordshire, where they really showed their class, comfortably winning their group then steadily progressing through the quarter-finals and semi-finals. Unfortunately St George’s Weybridge was just one step too far in the final, but to be in the top two teams in the whole country is certainly a very impressive accolade.

In domestic competition, this U11A team has completed the school hockey season unbeaten, with some very impressive scorelines. Huge congratulations to the girls involved in this great success. The first team has also had a successful season, improving steadily as the games have gone on. This was a team of dedicated, determined and very hard working girls, who finished the season in a much stronger position than where they started, thanks to finally finding their scoring touch. They also performed very well at the regional IAPS tournament and were dealt a harsh blow when a penalty stroke competition stopped them progressing to the finals. Their record in the competition though, of three wins, one draw and only one loss, should be commended. The second and third teams had their most successful seasons for a good few years, with both teams recording wins in more than 60% of their matches and losing very few. In the fourth team, we are very proud that our girls who were completely new to hockey have been guided and supported by their teammates throughout the season and are now all competent hockey players, who finished the season with some well-deserved good results.

In Middle School, although the U11A team were often in the limelight, it did not go unnoticed how steady, consistent and committed our other teams were, with players in both Years 5 and 6 constantly pushing for places in the A teams, never giving up and as a result, coming out of their matches with some well-earned wins and hard-fought draws. The U11B team completed the season with two convincing wins in a row, a highlight in the U10A team was a high scoring victory over St Edward’s, and the U10Bs won six of their nine matches; well done Middle School, keep up the good work. More fixtures were arranged for Lower School than in previous years and the girls responded positively and enthusiastically to this. Both the U8 and U9 teams picked up skills very quickly and now have a very good understanding of formations. The extra match practice has done them the world of good and if their impressive attitude continues, the future looks very bright. I am already looking forward to the next hockey season. Thank you very much to all staff who gave up their time to coach a team and who all went above and beyond the call of duty. Our teams would not have run so successfully without you and I am very grateful.

S. Ramsay

Netball The first team played with great conviction and got off to a great start, winning their first three matches.

The weather intervened to really disrupt the fixture list, but coming from behind to defeat the formidable St Hugh’s really gave them confidence for the IAPS at Millfield. They certainly started well with wins over Dean Close and Prior Park. Opposition parents and coaches agreed that they gave Millfield their best game of the day, playing strong, physical netball, but unfortunately they could not get the win and

did not progress to the National Finals. They were disappointed not to fulfill their considerable potential on the day, however they set an outstanding example throughout, with the right balance of aggression and sportsmanship at all times. They completed their domestic season with only two defeats and the competition for places in the team remained high in Upper School throughout the season. It has been a pleasure to coach the girls. Their willingness to listen, adapt and play with determination has been outstanding and they have shown enormous skill in their matches.

The U13B team completed an unbeaten season and achieved some particularly high scorelines along the way, and the U12A team, although frustrated at times by the fact they were quite a “small” team, which seemed to work against them, played with incredible pace and is definitely a team to watch out for next year. Moving from U13 and U12 in Upper School to combined teams next year will definitely prove to be interesting and competitive. Our U11A team was again in the spotlight after their regional IAPS competition, when they managed to qualify for the National Finals held at Rodean School in Brighton. This was the first time (that anyone can remember) that Cheltenham has qualified for National Finals in Netball. It was a huge, very high profile event in a beautiful setting right on the seafront. Thirty-two teams were involved in the U11 competition and the girls faced some very tough opposition. They did not get off to


the best start in the very short matches, but their fighting spirit and determination shone through and they began to grind out better results as the day went on. Although they did not progress beyond the group stages, they finished on a high and were incredibly proud to have got so far. The fact that the majority of the girls were also in the hockey team that finished as runner-up in the National Finals this year, really does highlight the talent we have in Middle School.

In Lower School, the netball is also looking bright. Many of our Year 3s had attended pre-season in the Autumn Term and this certainly paid off as the U8 team, many of whom were completely new to netball, also completed an unbeaten season. They gelled together beautifully and played some excellent netball at a standard that was probably beyond their years. Well done to all of our girls who played netball this year; everyone showed real team spirit and commitment regardless of which team they were in, we achieved some fantastic results across the board and most importantly the girls had fun doing it.

V. Jenkins and S. Ramsay

Tennis, Rounders and CricketDuring the Summer Term the girls were offered a plethora of sporting opportunities. In Lower School, rounders was the major game and the girls’ skills noticeably improved throughout the term. They played in matches, at festivals, and picked up some good results. As part of our tennis development plan however, they also gave over one of their Games sessions to tennis practice and this was very popular. So much so; that when we also offered it as an after school club, it was massively oversubscribed with Lower School girls and boys, a very positive sign for the growth of tennis at The Prep. Look out for a Lower School tennis festival next year.

In Middle and Upper School our girls were very busy with both tennis and rounders fixtures

almost every week. Our Year 6 girls had an unbeaten tennis season and Year 5 and Upper School girls really progressed throughout the course of their fixtures. Given their very limited previous experience of tennis, the teams finished in a very strong position and should be commended for their hard work and speedy development. Tennis and rounders results were very varied, which is to be expected when their time is being split between the two, but most importantly, the Summer Term was about experience and enjoyment and we definitely achieved this.

On top of these major games being played on Wednesday and Saturday, we also found time to form a girls’ cricket team, who played in a number of fixtures and tournaments. This team had to run as an after school activity and so the girls, who ranged from Years 6-8 should be commended for their commitment. They came second in the Lady Taverners before convincingly winning the Gloucestershire Kwik Cricket Tournament, an event which The Prep actually hosted and where our girls were an absolute credit to the school, displaying excellent sportsmanship and teamwork. It has been a very busy sporting term and I must again thank staff for the huge amount of extra time and

effort they put into their teams. Girls’ Sport is an exciting place to be at the moment with so many enthusiastic staff helping to drive it forward.

S. Ramsay


Boys’ SportRugby The first season of rugby at the school was certainly one of success. Although the teams did not match the statistical success of the previous season, there was plenty of success in development and performance.

The first fifteen again provided boys and staff to the Gloucester Academy and won some famous victories against much larger schools. Hard fought victories against the likes of the Dragon and Monmouth showed that once again this school punched well above its weight category. The Upper School boys across the board played very well and had strong wins against the likes of St Hugh’s and Blundell’s, showing that coaching was not focused on the elite, but ensured opportunities were available to all. Dan Murphy, the Gloucester prop forward, came on the coaching staff for the term – but instead of focusing on the first fifteen, devoted his time

to all the teams, teaching safe scrummaging technique, building the confidence of the lower teams and extending the challenges applied to the higher teams.

Middle School was without doubt a slow burner. The season began with some heavy losses as the boys found their feet, but suddenly exploded into life. An outstanding win over Clifton College was followed up with a huge win over Dean Close and the season was proven to be a success. More is expected of these boys over the next few years, as there was plenty of talent on show.

Lower School saw the first year of Wednesday matches for Year 4s and it was a great success. The accelerated learning had massive benefits as the A team went through festivals unbeaten and more importantly the U9C team came within one game of an unbeaten season. The U8s, like the Colts, were also slow burners but came to life as the season ran on and showed great progress. 2013 also saw the start of Year 2 Games,

as the U7s charged onto the fields on a Friday afternoon. There is a great deal of talent in this bunch and we look forward to watching their development.

The sevens season was also a great success. Although we did not win any tournaments, we made great progress in all of them and won great plaudits on the circuit for our style of play. We pushed the National Champions, Millfield, very close in two tournaments and won our group at Rosslyn Park, only to fall to a very strong Caldicott team in the last thirty-two.

D. Simpson

Hockey The hockey season here at The Prep was a real rollercoaster of a season. The boys worked very hard on their skills all season and of particular pride was the way new boys to the school were taught hockey and quickly progressed – showing how much focus there is on individual development here at the school. Of particular note was how well the teams functioned as a seven rather than an eleven, which is the way many Prep Schools are moving. Great wins over Pinewood at all levels and battling draws against the Dragon and Colston’s showed grit and determination at all ability levels. The representation of Cheltenham Prep boys in the county and district squads shows the talent at the school.

The Colts season was one of frustration. When they clicked as a team, they were outstanding,


with wins over Bilton Grange at Colts A and the Colts C winning a great triangular over Richard Pate’s and Magdalen College. However at other times things just didn’t come together. The Colts year groups will come good, there is plenty of talent and they will gel into a strong team.

The U8s and U9s made great strides at the beginning of their hockey careers. Good wins over Dean Close and Downs Wraxall at these ages show the benefit of training with the College hockey professionals. This year also saw the first time we ran Year 2 hockey Games lessons, which culminated in a Year 2 internal festival. The future is bright.

D. Simpson

Cricket This cricket season began with a real back to basics attitude; before the Summer Term had even begun, the annual pre-season training camp in Spain had hardened the Upper School boys and we had our first round draw in the county cup. The season began with a clear focus on the basics of cricket and this continued through all sessions with great effect. The first eleven had a great run in the county cup and this was followed by some outstanding results in the regular season, including wins over Dean Close, Beaudesert and St John’s. The other Upper School teams have shown strong performances such as the third eleven win over Clifton and the Wanderers win over Dean Close.

The Colts have had a good season with plenty of great talent coming through for the future. The Colts A put in strong performances, including a very narrow defeat to the Cardiff District team. Of particular note has been the improvement in basic fielding skills amongst the Colts C and D teams, the back to basics approach is paying huge dividends.

Of particular note has been the progress in the lower ages. Spring Term saw the Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4 Saturday morning Cricket Club. Well attended, this provided the perfect springboard to the strong summer. The Year 2s have continued to play on Saturday mornings, along with Friday afternoons, in order to continue to build the basics. The Year 3s have improved their bowling immensely and the Year 4s have become three very tidy cricket sides.

At The Prep the history of cricket is very strong, the current ability is very pleasing, but it is the future that continues to excite.

D. Simpson


FootballThis was the first time competitive football had been played at the school for many a year and the boys threw themselves into it with the enthusiasm and passion we know all our boys approach life with.

The Upper School boys had a tough first outing against Clifton and the Elms, two established footballing schools, however the real talent was on show at the House Football. The boys really grew during the tournament and there was some fine football being played towards the end.

The Middle School boys, having more of a background in football, took to the game very quickly. Great wins over Beaudesert from the U10s signalled that football was here to stay at the school.

The Lower School boys had good games with St Hugh’s and tournaments at Beaudesert and showed enthusiasm and no little skill. The exposure to football at a young age will ensure we are better prepared in future years.

Football has not been introduced to lessen the hockey programme here at the school, it is simply following our belief that at this young age the boys should be playing as many different sports as possible, until they reach a point when commitments and life in general means they will have to specialize. With this belief in mind we will approach the football season with enjoyment as the most important factor.

R. Hall


SwimmingWhen I arrived at The Prep I inherited a very committed swim squad full of pupils very passionate about swimming and I was delighted to be a part of this and be involved in its development. For this year I decided to pilot an “open” squad where anyone could attend and this certainly served to confirm my initial opinion that there was a huge demand for swimming by both pupils and parents. Although the exact format and the running of swim squad will change for next year, as a result of my observations and analysis this year, you can be assured that the passion and enthusiasm for swimming will not be lost and if anything the sport will be even further developed. Swimming has been an excellent example of our commitment to co-education.

Over the course of the Autumn and Spring Terms we had in the region of one hundred boys and girls who regularly represented the school in various friendly galas. Results were varied; some wins, some losses, some very close, some not so close, but all the time, our swimmers gave their all and continued to push themselves. We also took a large number of swimmers to the IAPS Regional Competition which, although a steep learning curve, was a very valuable experience for our young swimmers. From this, one of our Year 8 girls qualified for the National Finals where she finished fifteenth in the 50m Freestyle.

This year, The Prep has strengthened its links with Gloucester City Swim Club and through the club we can now offer early morning swim

sessions and the number of pupils who have taken up this opportunity is very encouraging. Back in February we ran what was a major highlight of the House Challenge – our Inter-House Swimming Gala. Every single pupil from Years 3-8 played their part and swam for their House in a number of races. The atmosphere on the packed poolside was excitable, one of friendly competition, and at times very tense. The results remained very close right up until the final House relay. The event was an excellent

display of the quality of most of our children’s swimming ability. More information about the structure of swim squad will be sent out in due course, but in the meantime I would like to thank all parents, pupils and staff for their support of our swimming programme both curricular and extra-curricular.

S. Ramsay


Sports Teams


Triathlon The final day of the Spring Term witnessed a ‘first’ for Cheltenham College Prep: a school Triathlon. The first aim of this event was to give the children a taste of competing in a very different type of sport than usual. The second aim was to raise money and awareness for the school charity, WellChild.

Lower School children kicked off the afternoon with a nail-bitingly close Aquathlon. The children all started together and ran one lap of the school grounds and went immediately into the pool. Quick changing was key and meant an earlier entry into the water to tussle it out over six lengths! There was a photo finish at the end with two boys both claiming the Lower School Aquathlon crown.

Middle and Upper School took part in a full Triathlon. At 08.30 on the day of the race the main field was turned into a very professional looking transition area; 162 bikes were all neatly

lined up on the racks and ready for action. Nearly the entirety of Middle and Upper School children signed up to take part and an admirable cross-section of the staff were brilliant sports and also got stuck into the competition. The race consisted of a six-length swim, three laps of the school grounds on the bike and a final lap of running. The starts were staggered and each competitor was timed over the total distance.

The appearance of the charity mascots, as well as the raffles, hot dogs, pumping music and crowd of spectators, all gave the afternoon a fabulous carnival feel. It really was special to see each and every child (and member of staff) gritting their teeth and working their hardest to rise to the challenge. Everyone found it tough, but all seemed to cross the line with a sense of elation that they had completed the course! A total of £2,146 was raised on the day for WellChild.

J. Miles

Spain sports trip

70 Cheltenham College Preparatory School The Year

SPORTS DAYMiddle and Upper School


SPORTS DAYkingfishers and lower School



Clubs and Activities

CircusSkills

During the Autumn Term, Lower School pupils were able to opt to participate in a Circus Skills Club. This was very well attended with much fun to be had: scarf juggling, ball juggling, ring juggling, club juggling, diabloing, devil sticking, plate spinning and much more were enjoyed. Some pupils enjoyed planning and practising routines, and then performing to the rest of the club, whilst others

were determined to build their speed and balance using the go-pedal carts. A highlight and finale for many was attempting to ride the unicycles. Overall, the club was a great success, with the pupils learning new skills and understanding the many benefits of taking part in Circus Skills.

A.Theedom

Philosophy for ChildrenPhilosophy for Children is about thinking skills and developing the confidence to explore new ideas. It has been led by the interest of the small group of children taking part. We have played a range of games to develop lateral thinking. We have also learnt the importance of working as a team if we are going to achieve our goals. The sessions have primarily been an opportunity to have fun and enjoy playing a range of games and activities, with the chance to mix and talk to children from a range of year groups.

C. Conner


Cookery ClubI like food, so what better activity is there than to cook it, and if I can teach some young cooks to love food too, then even better! We started simply, with a basic sponge mixture to make fairy cakes, but once the children had started to understand how to measure accurately, then we became more adventurous. We started to develop a series of recipes with pastry. The children learned how to rub the fat into the flour – clean palms please! Fingers only! Chicken and leek pasties (using leeks, as they are easier for the novice to chop than onions), crumble (also teaching them therefore how to peel and chop the base ingredient of apples) and quiche followed in quick succession.

We then switched our attention to some cakes. Again the weighing out is rather crucial, so experience was gained by cooking a Victoria Sponge, muffins, scones and cookies, before we finished the term with a pizza, making our own sauce and choosing the toppings to add to the yeast dough that, due to time constraints, the kitchens had made for us.

The second term showed us being more adventurous, with the children making proper meals, like cannelloni, meatballs in tomato sauce and pasta bake, which they took home in containers to finish for their tea. These were interspersed with a lovely Lemon Drizzle, a Marble Cake and to finish off the year a cheesecake.

Did they do well? Yes! Could they be a bit messy – absolutely! Occasionally the preparation area looked like a disaster zone, but they learned a lot and were becoming confident enough towards the end to need relatively little intervention from Mrs Barrett and myself. Thanks to Mrs Barrett, the

kitchen staff and especially Chef Julie who was always on the Monday rota, but did not let any interventions from us faze her!

D. Maddock

Equestrian ClubThis was the first year that we had run the Equestrian Club and we welcomed riders of all abilities, from complete novices to pupils with their own ponies.

Riding with children of similar abilities, it has been evident the progress made across the year. As our novices quickly progressed through

walking and trotting on a lead rein to riding on their own, many soon became confident with getting their ponies to canter. Whilst some found steering to be quite a challenge in the early stages, they are now able to trot ponies across trotting poles and even have a little jump over the crossed poles. Our more experienced riders worked on knowing whether they were rising correctly at trot, improving their canter and jumping approaches and position.

Much of the lesson takes place in the large outdoor school and in good light and weather it was possible for the more experienced riders to ride and jump in the spacious field. Coupled with learning about pony care, our riders have had a brilliant year gaining a better understanding of how to tack up, muck out and ride their ponies.

A. Grieves


Clay Pigeon ShootingDuring the Autumn Term, this activity was held on Thursday evenings after school. A small group of Upper School pupils were taken to Chatcombe Park, where they were met by professional shooting instructors. Over the course of about an hour they were given a variety of different moving targets at which to aim. These ‘clay pigeons’ are catapulted from various angles, mimicking the flight of a passing pigeon; or at ground level, the path of a bolting rabbit.

Having received their introductory tuition in the safe use and handling of shotguns, the pupils had their developing skills challenged, and were presented with some fast, paired clays, requiring

the use of both barrels of their guns to be used in rapid succession. Some pupils tasted enormous success and satisfaction in what is a completely new sport for some of them, and it is a tantalising point for conjecture whether we have, in this recently introduced activity, sown the seeds of something which will become a lifetime passion, or result in the eventual appearance of some national shooting champions.

J. Baker

Everything Alice ClubThe girls at Everything Alice Club have had a fantastic time this year. We have been looking at different events and characters within the story of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to see what we would like to use for our craft

club. We settled on two sewing projects: a wall hanging showing the White Rabbit, a playing card and a bottle of shrinking potion, and another focusing on the suits of cards.

Our first project (the wall hanging) was a bit of a challenge as some of the sewing on the Rabbit’s ears was quite fiddly. One particularly accident-prone member of our club even managed to stitch her rabbit to her jumper at one stage! Fortunately we were able to disentangle her. We then decided that our second project would be bunting and, fortunately, this time nobody found themselves in too much of a pickle. Everyone worked really hard on our projects and we think that they look fabulous decorating our bedrooms- we hope you agree!

A. Forward-Davies

Street DanceStreet Dance was offered to Lower School for the first time this year. Taken by professional dancer, Miss Tominey, a group of 20 took to the dance floor on a Tuesday after school. The majority of the group were girls, but there were some boys who also enjoyed participating. Warm-ups, routines and new cool moves were all the order of the day! We learnt to dance in time to the music, work as a team and express ourselves. It culminated in a short dance display to an interested audience.

"I have enjoyed learning the helicopter move."

"It has been good to learn to do new moves. I practised at home and was able to use the moves at my sister’s party."

"Sharing our own new ideas in warm-up has been great."


Maths Puzzle ClubWe welcomed a mixture of enthusiastic pupils from across both Years 5 and 6 to the club this year.

All our pupils worked together, supporting and encouraging each other, whether they were investigating individual activities, working in pairs or playing in groups.

We worked our way through a range of ‘Impuzzables’ where everyone was keen to master the different levels of challenge from ‘OK Orange’ to ‘Baffling Blue’. Another challenge included our ‘Reptangles’, learning through play all about and how to create some amazing 3D shapes, including the wonderful Truncated Octahedron. However one of our absolute favourite games was the lateral thinking game ‘Thought Exchange’. Regularly chosen by the group, pupils would choose to play as pairs or individually in this fast thinking game, where they were challenged by each other to think in different ways, working out sequences and codes, using memory recall, testing their visual perception, processing information at speed and thinking laterally about different topics.

Full of fun and some great learning at the same time, the pupils loved the opportunity to explore mathematics in different ways.

A. Grieves

Grow Your Own CashThe aim of this activity is to promote pupils’ entrepreneurial skills and to raise money for charity. To achieve this the pupils needed to be committed, willing to offer ideas, and creative.

Our group began in September with £6 (£1 for each member of the group). At this stage we did not know whether we would stick at it for one term, two terms or the entire year, but plans were discussed on how we could make our first profit and ‘grow’ our £6 to something more.

It was decided that a second-hand book sale (with added tasty homemade cakes to lure in the punters) would be a good platform. Amazingly we ended this event with £110.93 in the coffers, thanks to the donations of books and generous spending of the parents at exeat.

Flushed with this success, the group began to explore products they may be able to sell and events we could plan for the future. A half term tuck shop was decided upon and a visit to the Cash and Carry was

arranged to buy the required boxes of sour strawberries, lollipops and cola bottles. This event was a real hit and our next count of cash showed we had grown our original amount to £217.77. Tuck was a clear winner for all pupils from Kngfishers to the parents (!) so a second sale went ahead in the Spring Term. Our profit had now multiplied to £283.03.

Splat the Rat, Guess the Number of Sherbert Straws, more cakes and more second-hand books were available at the stall with an addition: WellChild charity bands bought by the group to sell at a profit to children, staff and parents alike. The day was a real success and left our final profit at £364.04. The group should feel really proud of the money they have raised and the time they have invested to make their cash grow. We hope to be back next year!

V. Jenkins


Gymnastics Club This year Gymnastics Club was open to everyone from Year 3 to Year 8. We were lucky enough to have use of the Sports Hall, and as such we were able to utilise the larger gymnastic equipment such as the vaults, ropes and trampette. The club was incredibly popular with around 30 girls and boys attending on a Friday evening throughout the Autumn and Spring Terms.

The aim of the club was to develop the children’s basic skill and floor work as well as teaching them how to vault. Each gymnast was given the opportunity to work towards a British Gymnastics

‘Core Skills’ Badge, which many embarked upon with great gusto. It was also a pleasure to witness the delight of a child with no previous vaulting

experience, learning to master the ‘headspring’ and ‘long straddle’ over the box.

J. Miles

Model Boat ClubThis ever-popular club has met, with enormous popularity, virtually every week for the last 28 years and it has continued to attract practically-minded children in this, its final year.

In 1986 Cheltenham College Junior School, as it was then, was a school for boys only and our first meetings were vastly oversubscribed. The boys arrived after school on a Tuesday and were given individual jobs on some large-scale models, which we developed as a group over the months until the wonderful moment when we could all go to the school lake and launch a warship, and operate it under radio control.

Fuelled by the double enthusiasms of both my interest in naval history and the boys’ new-found interest in the emergent subject of CDT, a vibrant and productive activity was established which ultimately produced a small fleet of wartime warships, including what I suspect is one of the largest models ever built: H.M.S. ‘Hood’, a fifteen foot scale model of the famous battle cruiser.

The current activity, still under the old name, retains vestiges of the old club, with a small group working with the school boats. Increasingly however, several pupils have worked on their own models whilst a greater number of children have individual CDT projects under way, which

are now as many and diverse as the facilities which have engendered them. This year, a very busy activity met weekly to continue with the production of a motor boat, and a submarine, both radio-controlled; some bookshelves, some string puppets, some cushions made on a sewing-machine, some model vehicles and a large variety of other individual projects. So, whilst the old fleet gradually sinks into retirement, alongside the CDT master who oversaw it all, the activity has remained as vibrant as ever.

J. Baker


British Schools Biathlon CompetitionThis year, seven committed athletes entered this National Competition, which began with the regional time trials in Solihull. Here they met a host of other budding Biathletes from a huge variety of schools and had to compete in a timed pool swim, followed by a track run of either 800m or 1600m depending on their age. It was a classic South Birmingham October day and the weather conditions were positively torrid! Despite this, they all performed brilliantly and I was proud to see each of them cross the line, very wet but elated. Two pupils did so well that they earned a place in the National Finals, which were held in the newly-opened Olympic Park in April.

National Finals day was a fantastic experience for both of them with 150-200 competitors in each age group. Our Year 6 pupil did exceptionally well to come 15th overall and our Year 7 pupil gained a personal best in points. Well done to both of them for their commitment to the sport.

J. Miles

Fencing Fencing is a multifaceted discipline, which provides a workout for the body and mind. Taught by an experienced fencing instructor (Mr. Rees), this sport has been part of many different cultures throughout history and teaches the crucial skills of blade work, footwork and tactics. This new club has been very successful having only started this year; some of our young fencers have achieved their level 1 Epee certificates without any previous experience, which is a great achievement!

Polo Polo is run by Mrs. Styler, who is a very experienced Polo instructor and the member of staff responsible for running Polo at College too. Polo is a very popular sport seen as ‘the sport of kings’. The club (open to Lower, Middle and Upper School) teaches the rules of the game, proper horsemanship and playing skills. Pupils of different abilities have enjoyed taking part, and various tournaments have taken place throughout the year.

K. Perona-Wright


Karate Club A current parent of the school (Mr. Dominic Campbell Black) holds a black belt in Karate, and kindly offered to run a club so he can use his knowledge and experience to encourage the benefits of Karate amongst the children. This club delivers a balance of life skills, such as self-defence, fitness energy and workout and character development through practised techniques involving the entire body. It has been fantastic to see these children develop during the course of the year at this new skill!

Archery Club Archery is a great sport for encouraging mental and physical health and fitness. Mr Griffin is a highly experienced county coach, and promotes the importance of safety whilst combining mental and physical attributes to good effect in order to develop focus, flexibility and attention. This club not only directs the focus and concentration, but has offered the children opportunity to gain their Archery GB progress awards. An exciting start for a new club at The Prep.

Chess Club

This club has been an exciting way for the pupils to train their brains to increase creativity and memory. Mr Hatvany is an experienced chess player, who teaches the pupils moves, openings and strategies. Chess is not only a challenging skill, which improves IQ, but it teaches core life skills. This club will also provide opportunities to compete in national competitions with various other schools in due course.

K. Perona-Wright

Badminton Club

There has been an ever-increasing participation of enthusiastic badminton players joining this club on Monday evenings. The club is open to all pupils, from Year 5 to 8, for all levels of experience, from complete beginner to club player. The aim is to allow pupils to experience a new sport that they may not have had the opportunity to play before, or to develop a keener interest in a sport that can be played at all levels in future life. The club has been run in a very relaxed fashion, with the pupils having input into the activities planned. There have been self-organised matches, a variety of fun games, doubles and singles play and also some informal coaching for our newer players. The year ended with a mini doubles tournament.

S. Gilmour


Water SportsThe Water Sports option in the Summer Term provides a great opportunity to do something different on Wednesday afternoons. This activity takes place near Cirencester at the South Cerney Outdoor Education Centre, in the Cotswold Waterpark. Six pupils from Years 7 and 8 opted for the paddleboat sessions, which included kayaking and Canadian canoeing. The boys worked their way through different levels of proficiency, aided by a professionally qualified instructor called John, and everyone made good progress gaining new completed logbook levels.

The weather was good this year, and everyone enjoyed learning new skills.

R. Woodbridge


Skiing Ski Activity has been a huge success this year, allowing pupils from Year 1 to Year 8 to hone and develop their skills. We have been lucky to have some very good coaching and instruction from the staff at the Gloucester Ski Centre.

The ski season started very well with one team qualifying for the National Finals in Norwich – the girls U14.

The weekend of the ESSKIA National Finals was good; after a long journey across nearly the entire width of the country we settled into our hotel, relaxed in the pool and had a hearty

meal – preparing ourselves for an intense skiing session against some of the best skiers in the country the following day. All the girls skied very well and could not have performed any better; they all skied clear runs and improved their times on each run.

The School Ski Competition took on a new format this year, having previously been a House competition, it was felt that there was not a proportionate representation of skiers in each of the Houses, so a decision was made to make it a school competition. There were four sections: Kingfishers, Lower School, Middle School and Upper School, who all competed in a round-robin style competition. It was a hugely successful event with more than 40 skiers taking

part. The skiers raced on a dual slalom course, head to head against their peers. The event was well supported by parents, despite the cold conditions. All the competitors thoroughly deserved their burger, chips and hot chocolate afterwards. A big thank you to Mrs Upton, Mrs Conner, Mr McDougall and Miss Parkes for all their help.

This year we had three skiers taking part in some form of representative skiing, one of whom was selected based on their performance at the ESSKIA National Finals.

C. Murray


Scouts48th Cheltenham Scouts Celebrate 100 YearsThis has been a full and exciting year of scouting activities for the 48th Cheltenham Scouts as we celebrate our 100th year of scouting.

This year has seen the renovation of the Scout Hut, giving us a fabulous new space to hold our meetings and we even have some heating for those cold, winter evenings. Skip appointed the first troop Senior Patrol Leader, who has shown himself to be a fantastic support to the leaders and has taken on leading games at our meetings and helping organise jobs and activities on camp.

We welcomed a number of new scouts in September who have worked hard to learn their promises and were invested by Pat Hopes, our District Commissioner, in the Autumn Term. Many of our existing scouts have earned new badges, including the Fitness Challenge badge, Camp Cook and various badges for overnight camping. Some of our more experienced scouts have gained their Expedition, Adventure or Outdoor Challenge badges and are well on their way to attaining their Chief Scout award.

J. Godding (Assistant Scout Leader)

J. Buxton and G. Neale (Scout Helpers)

Guernsey 2014One of the highlights of our year was our wonderful camping trip to Guernsey during the summer Half Term. At 05:00 on the Monday of Half Term we all set off aboard the minibus for Guernsey via the fast catamaran from Poole.

We were met at St. Peters Port by Mr and Mrs Walton, who guided us through the maze of tiny, narrow streets and out to the north west edge of the island to the Scout camp. Events through the week included:

• a hiking trip along the coast practising map reading and orienteering skills (stopping en route for the obligatory ice cream)

• a swim in the sea – Year 5 girls were first in the sea, Year 7 boys claimed the deepest paddling prize

• high ropes and crate stacking challenge

• canoeing including some fun capsizing

• indoor climbing

• campfire with singing, jokes and toasting marshmallows

• a ‘Masterchef’ cooking demonstration from our troop cooking expert

• visit to a WW2 German hospital

Martin ‘Skip’ Adams, Scout leader


Middle School Activity Week 2014

Year 5Year 5 enthusiastically threw themselves into Activity Week 2014 here at The Prep. What did we do? We investigated animal habitats in the rainforest; we discussed Hinduism with Daxa, a local lady from Northern India; we made movies together and put on a mini film show for our parents; and finally, we trekked around Hayden Water Treatment Plant retracing the process of purifying our water.

Our Activity Week ended with a cultural tour around Cheltenham Art Gallery, before a picnic lunch in the park and a cool, refreshing swim in our local outdoor pool. The children and teachers worked and played hard this week, it was rewarding, stimulating, informative and fun!

D. Bond


Upper School Activity Week 2014

Year 7 Trip to @Bristol Science CentreTo enhance their Science Curriculum, Year 7 spent a day at @Bristol Science Centre. The pupils participated in a workshop “Atoms to Astrophysics”, where they learned about the structure of the atom, charge, and electrical and magnetic fields. Some of the group had their hair stand on end by being charged by a Van de Graaff generator, and observed the heat in their arteries using an infra-red camera.

They had a session in the planetarium, where they learned more about astronomy, and observed the various constellations that they themselves could view with a basic telescope or binoculars. There was of course plenty of time to try out the huge range of hands-on experiments that the centre has on offer; observing the pattern of dry ice as it is dropped on water, creating convection currents, weighing a brain, and pumping water by running round a “hamster wheel”, to name but a few. This centre improves year on year, and hopefully inspires some of our pupils to consider a career in science or technology.

S. Gilmour

Bude 2014Having arrived on the Cornish coast to breathtaking views and blistering sunshine, Year 8 looked forward to a week of getting outdoors. By midweek, pupils had already experienced a range of water-based activities: they went canoeing on the local canal to improve their teamwork skills; they braved the waves at Bude’s bay equipped with wetsuits, bodyboards, surfboards and plenty of courage; and they loved the kayaking at the end of the trip. With the British weather on our side, it was be a splashing end to the week!

Between their watery activities, time was being spent in the mud. This included mountain-boarding and biking (for which even the forty-five minute walk along the valley was a challenge!). They also got an inside look into the building in which they stayed, by caving… Not only was it a thrilling adventure, but it also gave them an opportunity to overcome their fears. Another new experience around their lodgings was abseiling – surprisingly new to many of them, but all were very keen to try it out. They loved the adrenalin rush as they conquered the building’s lofty heights.

Tired as we were at the end of each day, the evenings proved to be a lot of fun: a ‘Just Dance’ party got everyone moving; ‘Map Out’ showed them the interesting sites of Bude; five-a-side got

many of them on the pitch; and everyone looked forward to the disco evening to finish the week.

S. Reid

Chapel 2014Chapel provides a welcome break and sanctuary in a magnificent building for reflection in the busy life of The Prep. Weekly services, mainly led by our Chaplains, The Revd Dr Dunning and The Revd Samuel, seek to involve pupils from all sections of the school, and get them thinking about the Christian message and what is important in life to build a firm

foundation.

Stories from both the Old and New Testaments are brought alive and made relevant for today, with audience questions and answers, role play, illustrations, readings led by Year 8s and prayers led by a different House each week. In addition to the weekly services, Sunday services were held to celebrate particular events, such as Harvest, Advent and of course Christmas. In our Harvest

service and for the second year running, a large amount of non-perishable food was donated by pupils, which went to a local project called ‘The Garage’ to feed the homeless and those less fortunate. The Chapel Choir also plays a huge role in our services and consistently sings to a very high standard, providing a key role in our collective worship.

R. Woodbridge



CharitiesThe charity of the year at The Prep has been WellChild, the National Charity for sick children, based here in Cheltenham, but supporting nurses throughout the UK. Over the year we have held several events ranging from small individual activities to the large school-based occasions.

The Autumn Term saw the creation of the recipe book, with entries being offered by all parts of the School, from Kingfishers to staff. Recipes ranged from the basic to the creative and included an entry from one of the beneficiaries of a WellChild courage award, Johnathan He. Huge thanks goes to the ladies of the Admin Staff and a small posse of colleagues, who spent a long evening working out the various machines needed to put the book together. Other events held this term included the Santa Fun Run, ably supported by various

sized red-coated participants, the Cake Stall, the Book Stall, the Persian and Athenian Qurry Night and the Tuck Shop.

The Spring Term had two main events, which focused our fundraising minds. The Friends of the Prep had a wonderful Chinese New Year evening, which enabled many of us to dress up, eat excellent Chinese food and participate in both Dragon dancing and martial arts. At the end of the term we carried out the inaugural Triathlon, and Aquathlon for Lower School, which involved members of the whole school community, with catering staff, teaching staff and virtually all the children participating, in a very gruelling event in horrendously cold conditions. A total of over 300 participants swam, cycled and ran. Brrrr!

The Summer Term saw the youngest members of our community doing their bit too, with a lovely sponsored walk on the wild side with their Dads

on Father’s Day. It also saw the children in the ‘Grow your own Cash’ Club, developing their original £6 into a sum around £350, simply by ploughing profits back into the business and the Year 8 newspapers outdoing Fleet Street! The term culminated in the Summer Fête. Again the Friends of The Prep were instrumental in organising the day, backed up by several of the children, who had come up with ideas for their own stalls. We were pleased to welcome members of WellChild as special guests.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their involvement with fundraising this year. A tremendous effort by all enabled us to present a cheque for £7,510 to Colin Dyer, the Chief Executive of WellChild, at Parents’ Day.

D. Anderes WellChild supporter and volunteer


Friends of The PrepMy name is Rachel Edwards and I am the Chair for the Friends of The Prep (FOTP). I have been a parent at the school for twenty-one years, so I know the school very well indeed. The FOTP is a committee of volunteers who put together the social events for The Prep to raise funds for its chosen charity for the year. This money is raised by putting on events such as a Santa Fun Run, a Triathlon, a Chinese New

Year party complete with dancing dragon, and our big school fête.

Last year we raised £3,000 for the Watershed group, ‘Riding for the Disabled Association’, which is a small local group based in Coates, and the money we raised built a tarmac strip of track and a wooden ramp and mounting block. This year our chosen charity was WellChild and the final amount is £7,510! We also put on a pantomime trip in the Christmas holidays and an Easter egg hunt for the children.

As well as arranging the social events, the FOTP reps are there to welcome new parents at the various coffee mornings, drinks receptions, and open mornings.

I look forward to the next year as the Chair of the Friends of The Prep and meeting you all at the various events.

R. Edwards

The Cheltonian Association & Society

The Cheltonian Association and Society has an ever-growing

network of over 8,000 members across 80 countries. All those

with an association to College are automatically members.

We endeavour to organise events that appeal to all sections of our audience and hope to welcome you at one of

our events in the future!

We also have a networking group on LinkedIn

cheltonianassociation&society group, please do join us and if you are

able to offer careers advice or work experience we would be very grateful

if you could get in touch.

Cheltonian Association& Society

Cheltenham CollegeBath Road

CheltenhamGloucestershire

GL53 7LD

Contact Details:Tel: 01242 265694

Email: [email protected]

Contact:Christiane Dickens, Development Director

Rebecca Creed, Association ManagerMalcolm Sloan, OC Administrator



Prizes and Awards11+ Scholarship & Exhibition Awards September 2014 Entry

Academic Anna Forde Cheltenham Prep Scholarship

Frederick Merrett St Lawrence Primary Scholarship

Rebecca Todd Cheltenham Prep Scholarship

Anabelle Wells Cheltenham Prep Scholarship

Laura Arnott Cheltenham Prep Exhibition

William Bradley Cheltenham Prep Exhibition

Finn Dawson Cheltenham Prep Exhibition

Holly Ellis Melrose, Guernsey Exhibition

George Hardy Cheltenham Prep Exhibition

Peter Marstrand Cheltenham Prep 11+Award

Matilda Parsley Cheltenham Prep 11+ Award

Art Rebecca Cook Cheltenham Prep Exhibition

Hannah Mansell-King Grangefield Exhibition

Design & Technology Proud Amornthien Cheltenham Prep Exhibition

Joseph Murphy Temple Guiting Primary Exhibition

Franek Szymanski Cheltenham Prep Exhibition

Music George Hardy Cheltenham Prep Exhibition

Charles Hellens Cheltenham Prep Exhibition

Noah Short Churchdown Primary Exhibition

Isabella Reid Cheltenham Prep Free Tuition

Sport Zac Beim Cheltenham Prep Scholarship

Freya Coull Airthrie School Scholarship

Olivia Freer Cheltenham Prep Scholarship

Monty Graveney Cheltenham Prep Scholarship

Scarlett Jinks Cheltenham Prep Scholarship

William Naish Minchinhampton Primary Scholarship

Rebecca Todd Cheltenham Prep Scholarship

Felicity Townend Cheltenham Prep Scholarship

Anabelle Wells Cheltenham Prep Scholarship

Sport continued…Charles Anton-Smith Cheltenham Prep Exhibition

Finn Dawson Cheltenham Prep Exhibition

Louis Dessalles Airthrie School Exhibition

Frederick Merrett St Lawrence Primary Exhibition

Joseph Efthymiou Charlton Kings Junior 11+ Award

13+ Awards – Academic, Art, DT, Drama, Music & All Round September 2014 Entry

Academic Eleanor Davies Cheltenham Prep Lord James of

Hereford Scholarship

(Top Academic Performance overall)

Art Romilly Bodington Cheltenham Prep Exhibition

Design & Technology Benjamin Southall Cheltenham Prep 11+ Exhibition

Drama See All Round

Music (Awarded in February)

Eleanor Davies Cheltenham Prep Scholarship

Gemma Taylor Baggs Cheltenham Prep Exhibition


ALL ROUND AWARDS Constituent elementsRobert Caesar Cheltenham Prep Academic Scholarship

Music Exhibition DT Exhibition

Isabelle Kemp Cheltenham Prep Scholarship Academic Exhibition Art Scholarship Choral Exhibition

Charles Meecham-Jones Cheltenham Prep Scholarship Academic Scholarship Music Exhibition/Drama Contributor

Max Pemberton Cheltenham Prep Scholarship Drama Exhibition Sport Exhibition

Phoebe Barnes Cheltenham Prep Exhibition Art Exhibition Sport Exhibition

13+ Sport Scholarships – OffersSeptember 2014 Entry

ScholarshipMaya Jeveons Cheltenham Prep

Olivia Mitchell Cheltenham Prep

Alexander Sharam Cheltenham Prep

Jonathan Gunn Cheltenham Prep

ExhibitionPhoebe Barnes Cheltenham Prep

Romilly Bodington Cheltenham Prep

Charlotte Renaud Cheltenham Prep

Mollie Lyle Cheltenham Prep

Oliver Isherwood Cheltenham Prep

Alistair Llewellen Palmer Cheltenham Prep

Max Pemberton Cheltenham Prep


End of Year Academic Prizes Prizes for Years 3 – 7

Excellence in EnglishYear 3 Grace Adams

Year 4 Lily Brown

Year 5 Laura Bingham

Year 6 Rebecca Todd

Year 7 Megan Message

Excellence in MathematicsYear 3 Oscar Isaachsen

Year 4 Finn Merheim-Kealy

Year 5 Rory Maddinson

Year 6 Anna Forde

Year 7 Maja Matschey

Excellence in BiologyYear 5 Ian Chakravarti

Year 6 George Hardy

Year 7 Duncan Pinchen

Excellence in ChemistryYear 5 Finlay Hurst

Year 6 Finn Dawson

Year 7 Tucker Young

Excellence in PhysicsYear 5 Minette Tombleson

Year 6 Anabelle Wells

Year 7 Sophie Morton

Excellence in ScienceYear 3 Finn Keatinge

Year 4 Ben Barltrop

Excellence in Modern Foreign LanguagesYear 3 Izzy Anton-Smith

Year 4 Alice Bradley

Year 5 Tatty Anton-Smith

Year 6 Laura Arnott

Year 7 Beth Jenkins (French)

Year 7 Allison Fuerst (Spanish)

Excellence in LatinYear 5 Ella McCombie

Year 6 Matilda Parsley

Year 7 Benjamin Norman

Excellence in HistoryYear 3 George Trafford

Year 4 Archie McNeill

Year 5 David Noble

Year 6 Charles Hellens

Year 7 Charlotte Maddinson

Excellence in GeographyYear 3 Meredith Aylott

Year 4 Harry Dawson

Year 5 Isabella Isaachsen

Year 6 William Bradley

Year 7 Jenny Carson

Excellence in Religious StudiesYear 3 Kamila Aldongar

Year 4 William Dutton

Year 5 Dorothea Peterken

Year 6 Lara Pearson

Year 7 Sebastian Blake

Excellence in ArtYear 3 Alice Wheatley

Year 4 Ed Carter

Year 5 Helena Keatinge

Year 6 Rebecca Cook

Year 7 Archie Garbutt

Excellence in CDTYear 3 Noah Campbell Black

Year 4 Claudie MacInnes

Year 5 Oliver Callon Hine

Year 6 Franek Szymanski

Year 7 Jago MacInnes

Excellence in DramaYear 3 Autumn Conner

Year 4 Eva de Quincey Adams

Year 5 Georgina Hamer

Year 6 Isabella England

Year 7 Harry Lyle

Excellence in ICTYear 3 Tom Shaw

Year 4 Jasper Norman

Year 5 Ashley Tan

Year 6 Peter Marstrand


Outstanding MusicianYear 3 Violet Bailey

Year 4 George Bailey

Year 5 Kiera Ferchland-Howe

Year 7 Louis Hillman-Cooper

Most Promising MusicianYear 3 Martha Llewellen Palmer

Year 4 Charlie Keene

Year 5 William Henry

Year 6 Thomas Buxton

Year 7 Yuriko Fukuda

Heads of SchoolJenny Carson

Edward Ferris

Prizes for Students in Year 8Catherine Abraham Excellence in French

Ben Anton-Smith Common Entrance pass

Phoebe Barnes All-Round Award, Excellence in Art

Santiago Benedit Commitment to French and Physics Most Improved Hockey Player (Boys)

Annabella Bifulco Commitment to Biology

Romilly Bodington Award in Sport and Art Hockey Player of the Year (Girls)

James Burden Excellence in Chemistry Boarder of the Term (Boys)

Rob Caesar All-Round Award, Outstanding Percussion

Christian Campbell Common Entrance pass

Robbie Carson Commitment in Mathematics Technical Excellence in Drama

Thomas Creed Common Entrance pass

Ellie Davies Academic Award, Music Award Excellence in Mathematics and Physics Andrew Swaite Beethoven Award for Orchestra

Théa Davies

Sumaya Dowling- Oliver Roberts Memorial Award for Fellowship Membrado Boarder of the Term (Girls)

Victoria Edwards Nikos Malandrinos Trophy

Harvey Edwards Common Entrance pass

Parker Frandsen Common Entrance pass

Ollie Frisby Common Entrance pass

Matthew Fuerst Common Entrance pass

TJ Gittins Commitment in Physical Education

Jonnie Gunn Azim Noorani Cricketer of the Year Cup Sports Award

Nicholas Hill Coach House Cup for Endeavour

Oliver Isherwood Commitment in Religious Studies Sports Award

Maya Jeveons Excellence in Latin

Parker Joly Commitment in Drama

Oscar Keene Excellence in English

Izzy Kemp All-Round Award Excellence in History Benji Shine Award for Creativity and Innovation in Art Alexander Edwards Cup for Excellence as a Chorister Stovoid Cup for School Life and Leadership

Olivia Ladkin Friends of The Prep Post-Common Entrance Award

Alastair Llewellen Commitment in Chemistry and Boys’ Rugby Palmer Hockey Player of the Year (Boys)

Ian Baillie Memorial Award for Boys’ Sport

Mollie Lyle Sports Award Rounders Player of the Year (Girls)

Tom Maber-Jones Common Entrance pass

Yasmin Mayes Commitment in Latin

Charlie Meecham- All-Round Award, Jones Excellence in Biology

Andrew Swaite Britten Cup for General Musicianship

Olivia Mitchell Sports Award Excellence in Physical Education Netball Player of the Year Victrix Ludorum Prize for Contribution to Girls’ Sport

Georgia Mitchell Commitment in English

Lamar Moller Common Entrance pass

Alexandra Noble Common Entrance pass

Regan O’Toole Common Entrance pass

Kaelan O’Toole Commitment in Spanish Most Improved Rounders Player

Max Pemberton All-Round Award Acting Excellence in Drama

Valeriya Popeta English as an Additional Language Prize

Milly Potter External Drama Award

Boris Pustoshinskiy Common Entrance pass

Charlotte Renaud All-Round Award, Excellence in Geography Tennis Player of the Year

Alex Sharam Sports Award Commitment in Geography

Edward Shaw Common Entrance pass (highest score in Spanish)

Ben Southall Excellence in CDT Most Improved Rugby Player

Tom Styler Common Entrance pass

Lucas Tanir Commitment in History

Gemma Taylor Music Award Baggs Excellence in Religious Studies

Andrew Swaite Bach Award for Choral Endeavour

Kyle Villanueva Common Entrance pass (returning to United States)

James Wheeler Excellence in Spanish

Max Williams Common Entrance pass

Kaela Wilson Common Entrance pass


Year 8 Leavers


Destinations of Year 8 Leavers

Cheltenham College 44

Cheltenham Ladies’ College 4

Wellington College 1

The King’s School, Gloucester 1

Malvern College 1

Marlborough College 1

Malvern St. James 1

Tonbridge School 1

Harrow 1

British Council School Madrid 1

Relocating abroad (school as yet undecided) 2


List of PupilsCatherine Abraham 8JGrace Adams 3EJoshua Adams RGJamie Alcock 5CKamila Aldongar 3EZhangir Aldongar 1BDameli Aldongar KCProud Amornthien 6AFinlay Anderson KCBen Anton-Smith 8RCharles Anton-Smith 6LIzzy Anton-Smith 3STatty Anton-Smith 5PMagdalen Archer 1BTheo Archer KCLaura Arnott 6LSteffan Axen 8WKristian Axen 5PCeleste Aylott 5PMeredith Aylott 3SJocasta Aylott KCGeorge Bailey 4TViolet Bailey 3EJemima Bailey RBSammy Baines 5PBen Barltrop 4TPhoebe Barnes 8WTabitha Barnes 7HZac Beim 6MSantiago Benedit 8HBertie Bennett 1BTeddy Bennett 3SJavier Berrow 5FBeatriz Berrow 2BAnnabella Bifulco 8RGabby Bifulco 5PGennaro Bifulco RCLaura Bingham 5CFreddie Birch KCAva Blackhurst RBSebastian Blake 7DRomilly Bodington 8HUliana Bogdasarova 4ALily Bond 4TGeorgina Boyce 1DWilliam Bradley 6AAlice Bradley 4SCaitlin Brister 6LMax Brown 5CLily Brown 4SPiers Brown 6ADelilah Brown 1DHarrison Brown KCJames Burden 8JSeb Burden 6MEddie Buttress 5CWill Buttress 7GThomas Buxton 6MSebastian Bynorth KCRob Caesar 8WCharlie Callon Hine 7DOliver Callon Hine 5CMax Callon Hine 2SChristian Campbell 8WNoah Campbell Black 3EMonty Campbell Black RB

Sofia-Maria Capelastegui 5CJenny Carson 7DRobbie Carson 8WAnnie Carter 5FEd Carter 4AIan Chakravarti 5FHarry Checketts 1DWei Keat Chong 7GOphelia Christensen 3SFelix Christensen 4TEva Colbourne 3SMaya Colbourne 1BAutumn Conner 3SRebecca Cook 6AEvie Cook 5FKitty Corbyn KCMaria Cowing 5CRonan Cowing 3EThomas Creed 8HImogen Creed 6LEd Critchley 2BEmma Critchley RCJack Cunningham 7GLily Cutts 7GEmmiline Cyphus-Hocken 1BPeter Cyphus-Hocken KCOctavia D’Orazi RBWilliam Davey 4SEllie Davies 8REdward Davies KCThea Davies 8JHannah Davies 1DFinn Dawson 6LMonty Dawson 4THarry Dawson 4AAlice Dawson 2BMorgan Dawson KCEva de Quincey Adams 4STom de Quincey Adams 2SDaisy de Quincey Adams KCVivien Devillers 7GSumaya Dowling-Membrado 8WFionnuala Dowling-Membrado 6MKitty Dunkerton 3EMatilda Dunkerton Bennett 7GWilliam Dutton 4TJames Dutton 1BVictoria Edwards 8JHarvey Edwards 8RToby Ellis 2SAydin Emirali RCAdam Emirali 2SIsabella England 6ACarina Enright KCJack Evans RGOliver Evans KCHector Evans 1DTobias Evans KCSimon Evlyn-Bufton 5PBryn Fair 7HSydney Fairs 3EEmily Faulkner KCDevan Feinberg RGEthan Feinson 3SKiera Ferchland-Howe 5CEdward Ferris 7G

Mathilde Fibiger RGFranchesca Flexer RBAnna Forde 6LParker Frandsen 8JGrace Frandsen 4TAva Frandsen 2BOlivia Freer 6LJames French 5COllie Frisby 8RAllison Fuerst 7DMatthew Fuerst 8HYuriko Fukuda 7HArchie Garbutt 7GTJ Gittins 8HCole Gittins 7HIke Gittins 1DAngelica Gledhill 4ASofya Glukhovskaya 6LAnnaliese Goff 6AMonty Graveney 6MFergus Gray 7GSophia Griffin 1DScarlett Griffin KCLily Griffiths RCJonnie Gunn 8JMaja Hague 4ALibby Hall 5FMagnus Hall 2SFreddie Hall 1BGeorgina Hamer 5CHarry Hamer 5FGeorge Hardy 6LPavneet Harrar 2STanvee Harrar KCJules Hazeldine 1DCharles Hellens 6AWilliam Henry 5CThomas Hesketh 4AEme Hesketh 1DNicholas Hill 8WLouis Hillman-Cooper 7DEdward Hitchins 7DAmelia Hounam-Brooker 2SEmer Hughes 6AAbigail Hulett 4SFinlay Hurst 5FIsabella Isaachsen 5FOscar Isaachsen 3SOliver Isherwood 8HRory Jenkins 5PBeth Jenkins 7DMaya Jeveons 8RInes Jeveons 6MAleki Jeveons 3ELois Jeveons 1DHarry Jinks 7HScarlett Jinks 6MParker Joly 8HJackson Joly 5PHelena Keatinge 5PFinn Keatinge 3SHarriet Keen 2SElizabeth Keen KCOscar Keene 8JCharlie Keene 4AIzzy Kemp 8R


Charlotte Kirkham 7GOlivia Ladkin 8JHugo Ladkin 5PThomas Lait 3SEdward Lait 2BHattie Lait RCOscar Lait KCVictoria Larsen 6MVictor Larsen 3EZara Leach 2BTula Leach 2SHelaina Lenden 4SGeorge Leon 1BEdward Leon RBViolet Leon KCAlastair Llewellen Palmer 8JMartha Llewellen Palmer 3SThomas Llewellyn KCJack Logan 5PClova Logan 4TEmily Lopez 3EJaylynn Lopez 1BMollie Lyle 8WHarry Lyle 7GTom Maber-Jones 8RJago MacInnes 7GClaudie MacInnes 4TGeorgie Maclaren 7HCharlotte Maddinson 7DRory Maddinson 5COscar Mann 2BTed Mann RCAlvaro Marco 8RAmalie Marhaug 6AIsabelle Marriott 1BPeter Marstrand 6MCharles Martin 1BThomas Martin-Harrington 3EMaja Matschey 7HIsabella Mawdesley-Thomas 2SSebastian Mawdesley-Thomas RCFlora Maxwell KCBilly Mayes 6MYasmin Mayes 8HSophia McCarthy RBElla McCombie 5PAlexander McCombie 2BOllie McGrath 4AArchie McNeill 4STed McQuitty KCCharles Meecham-Jones 8RSarah Meisel 3SFinn Merheim-Kealy 4SMegan Message 7GIsabella Mills 5FHarry Mills 3SCharles Mills 2SGeorge Mills RCOlivia Mitchell 8RGeorgia Mitchell 8HLamar Moller 8RNoor Montacer-Shilvock 4AMaximus Morris 7DSophie Morton 7GRyan Navaei RBMia Naylor 7DTheodore Nelson 3ERaif Nelson 1BDavid Noble 5FHarry Noble 2BAlexandra Noble 8RBenjamin Norman 7D

Jasper Norman 4AOwen O’Brien 5PTom O’Bryan 7DWilliam O’Connor RBZak O’Sullivan 4SRegan O’Toole 8RKaelan O’Toole 8WRui Palmer 4SVasco Palmer 3ESavannah Palmer 1BRobyn Parks 2BMatilda Parsley 6MPoppy Pearey 8WLara Pearson 6LHarry Pearson 2BSivert Pedersen 6MMilo Pelissier 8JMax Pemberton 8WJemima Penny RCJasper Penny KCDorothea Peterken 5PThomas Peterken 2SFrancesca Pinchard 6ADuncan Pinchen 7GMaximilian Pini 7HMaxim Pioli DeCam 2SValeriya Popeta 8HMilly Potter 8WBoris Pustoshinskiy 8RJemima Rees 7DIsabella Reid 6AJamie Reid 4TCharlotte Renaud 8JBen Richards 2BHarry Richardson 2SJoey Richardson RBArthur Robinson 3EPaulina Rodriguez 1BNatalia Rodriguez KCFrankie Russell 7HFifi Russell 5FJames Ryder 5CAbdelrahman Sallam 2BFarida Sallam KCDaniela Samodurova 8JOliver Schallamach 6AJacob Schmidt 7HDylan Schmidt 4SHunter Schmidt 1DFreddie Scott 7HAlexander Sharam 8HMiya Shave KCEdward Shaw 8HTom Shaw 3SNicole Shen 4AMax Shortt 4TEloise Shortt 1DSofiia Shulzhenko 2BMikhail Shulzhenko KCCraig Simpson 1DRory Simpson KCIzabella Sneyd 4TJakob Sneyd 2BBen Southall 8HRory Southall 6LWilliam Speke 5FThomas Styler 8WMaja Szymanska RGFranek Szymanski 6LJoseph Tagg 4AIsaac Tagg 4SAshley Mei Lynn Tan 5C

Lucas Tanir 8HAustin Taroey 5CHenry Tarrant 7GGemma Taylor Baggs 8JRebecca Todd 6MMinette Tombleson 5FFelicity Townend 6AGeorge Trafford 3EKyle Villanueva 8JIsabella Villanueva 5PAlice Waley-Cohen 1DIola Waley-Cohen KCMax Walker RGFlorence Walker 1DJasmine Walker KCEvie Ward RGSophia Ward KCFelix Warr 2SMichael Warr RBAlfie Watkins 6AMiles Watkins 7DPoppy Watkins 3EOliver Watkins 1DHenry Watkinson 1BAmelia Weale 4SOliver Weale RCLeonard Weidhofer KCAnabelle Wells 6MWilliam Westlake 7HAlice Wheatley 3SJay Wheatley 3EFlo Wheatley RGJames Wheeler 8WJack Wheeler 5FEthan Wheeler 5FJoaquin Wheeler 1BEsteban Wheeler KCIsabella Whitelocks RGCharles Whitney 3SHarry Whitney RGAbbie Whybrow 7DPoppy Wilcox 7GFelix Williams 5PTheo Williams 6LMartha Williams 2BMax Williams 8WArchie Wills 2BKaela Wilson 8HPhina Wilson 6MEthan Winters 2SGwener Wood 1BFreddie Young 2BTucker Young 7HSarah Young 3SLawrence Young RBAndre Zamora 6ANastya Zinoveva 4T


Headmaster’s Prize Giving Address

The giving of prizes at such a formal occasion as Parents’ Day is a celebration of pupil achievement throughout the academic year. It is important though, that this does not devalue the efforts of all those children who do not receive anything at this time. However, recognising that life is competitive and that effort and ability is rewarded is a life lesson for our pupils.

All of the children here have already won many prizes; they have been born safely into a developed country, free from persecution, famine and conflict. They have been born to loving parents. These same parents have decided to invest heavily in education, not just in terms of money but also in terms of interest, support and involvement. You will be pleased to know that your investment is well managed and that the Council has agreed to embark on a multi million pound programme of investment. A virtual rebuilding of the Science block, improvements and additions to the Sports Hall, including the relaying of both Astros, will allow refurbishment and reconfiguration of the Prep School. Kingfishers, including the Cottage, under one roof with bespoke storage and changing facilities, our own Science facilities, modernised Design Technology and Computing facilities and refurbished classrooms offering clear progression are all part of these exciting plans.

We work together in a community which will not tolerate bigotry from any culture or creed. Nor will it tolerate chauvinism; co-education is the heart of what we do. Children at The Prep work in a school which is free from class prejudice. Some pupils board, at a school where the care is of the highest standard, and I congratulate Mr and Mrs Wells on their achievement in passing this term’s inspection with flying colours. The children here will be able to contribute to the future of the

school. Mrs Wells’ work with the School Council has already reaped rewards with their decision to provide more equipment for the playground and their role in choosing next year’s school charity.

The children work in a school where the whole child is valued. The academic achievements of this year’s Year 8, all of whom gained entry to the senior school of their choice with 20 gaining awards, is admirable and evidence of the academic rigour that is demanded of our pupils. In order to further improve these academic standards, next year’s timetable has been constructed to allow Mrs Buttress, Mrs Isaachsen and Mrs Jenkins to conduct regular observations of lessons.

Children work in a school which is recognised and respected locally.

Please rejoice when I tell you that members of the public are very quick to voice their admiration of the general behaviour of your children whilst under Cheltenham College Prep colours. The children are surrounded by adults who work hard for them and my thanks go to all of the staff for their hard work this year and for their support for me on my arrival. I would like to record my special thanks to Noll and Vicky Jenkins for their hard work and support this year.

Unfortunately, several members of staff leave this year. Gemma Crane moves to Beaudesert School to continue her teaching in the Early Years, whilst Tracy Hayling and Sara Boulton leave to spend more time with their families. Patricia McDowell retires, Alexandra Forward-Davies becomes the Head of English at St. Edward’s Preparatory School and Luci Roskilly embarks on a new stage in her career by founding a School search and guardianship business. Mr Parsley plans to gain further experience with ISI and to take up the earlier than expected opportunity of training for Reporting Inspector.

Fiona Busbridge, Derek Maddock and John Baker

all retire this term. Their combined years of service to Cheltenham College easily tops the hundred mark. Their impact on so many children is immeasurable. They represent true schoolmasters and mistresses whose contribution has stretched beyond the classroom, who were developing the whole child long before the phrase ‘extra-curricular’ was coined. I know that you will wish to join me in wishing them all a very happy retirement, although knowing them as we all do, I am sure that we will see them at school in the future in some guise or another. Thank you all.

One of the greatest prizes is that children work in a school that provides a wide variety of opportunities for all children. Six major dramatic productions have ensured that all children have had the opportunity to tread the boards and as many sporting fixtures as possible have been organised. Trips have been varied, concerts have been inclusive and challenging, the highlights being the Autumn and Summer Concerts and the Choral Society performance of “The Reluctant Dragon”. Some children have fed pigs and chickens, some have worked in clay, others have re-enacted the English Civil War on the playing fields; life is undoubtedly varied.

Your children are educated in a spiritually aware environment and are educated to think beyond materialism and belongings. Chapel and morning assemblies are an essential part of our school week. Children are made aware of those less fortunate than themselves. This year the School’s efforts for charity have targeted WellChild and we happily presented Mr Colin Dyer - Chief Executive of WellChild with a cheque for £7,510.31 which the school has raised throughout this academic year.

If education is the flourishing of humanity then The Prep will be at the forefront. This first rate school will not stand still, and will always value the efforts of all.

J. Whybrow

At Cheltenham Prep, we seek to identify

and unlock talent and passions in and outside

the classroom.

Cheltenham College Preparatory School Thirlestaine Road Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL53 7AB

Tel: +44 (0) 1242 522 697 Fax: +44 (0) 1242 265 620 Email: [email protected] www.cheltenhamcollege.org

Registered Charity No. 311720

the year 2014

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