Yarm Preparatory School Issue 509

Friday 2nd September 2016

Head’s Message . . . A very warm welcome to the start of another academic year! It has

been lovely to feel the school return to full capacity this week as we get set for action of many kinds over

the course of the term. I always admire the energy and conviction our pupils display in the first few days

of a new year, they bound through the school gates keen to embrace the next steps in their Yarm Prep

journey. Schools are meant to be vibrant places that pulsate with the hum of learning and discovery; the

last two days have served to reflect this and have set us up for a super term. It is great to be back!

At the start of each term we like to encourage all pupils to identify some aims and goals they wish to

achieve during the course of the term and record them in their pupil diaries. In setting these targets we

hope to empower all pupils to be reflective and ambitious in their school life. Please do discuss these

targets with your child and encourage them to work hard towards them.

I look forward to seeing many parents next week at our Information Evenings which present a great

opportunity to meet Form Teachers and other members of staff to learn about the year ahead. Each year

group brings fresh expectations and routines which will be shared during the course of the evening; it is

also an opportunity to ask any questions that you may have.

Bill Sawyer @HeadPrepYarm

Head’s Challenge: Dee Septor, the famous magician, claimed to be able to throw a ping-pong ball so that

it would go a short distance, come to a complete stop, and then reverse itself. How did he perform this

trick?

Visit the Prep School Pages:-

www.yarmschool.org

Music Results

We were so proud of the children when ABRSM exam results came in. Theory exams taken included Grades 1-5 and we were thrilled to receive 3 Distinctions, 2 Merits and 3 Passes. Special mention must be made to our out-going Y6s, who received Passes and Merits at Grade 5 Theory - an incredible achievement at such a young age and to Kitty Brown (98%), Paddy Winters (97%) and Chloe Porter (95%) who achieved super Distinctions. Practical exams taken ranged from Prep Test to Grade 5, and with 10 Passes, 11 Merits and 8 Distinctions, there is much to celebrate already! If your child took an external music exam, please could you send in their certificate so that it can be awarded and for their photo to go on the Music Wall of Fame. Well done children, and here's to another super year of music making.

Mrs H Craven

Yarm at the Gigafinal We had numerous stars in action at the annual UK Chess Challenge Manchester Gigafinal. Gigafinals, traditionally featuring several hundred players, are extremely tough events and act as a showcase of chess talent from all across the country. We had players representing Yarm in sections ranging from Under-7 to Under-14, making it our best turn out yet. There are no easy games at Gigafinals and scoring even half a point out of six represents a notable achievement. Aryan Nalawade scored 1.5/6 in the Under-7s and Ajay Selvan notched up 2.5/6 in the Under-8s. Yusuf Syed played excellent chess in the Under-9 section and scored a very impressive 4/6. We had three players in the Under-10 section. Ammar Soni and Gaurav Kannan scored 3.5/6 and 2.5/6 respectively, while Keya Shah - one of a large number of Yarm players to make their Gigafinal debuts - scored 1.5/6. We had more players in the Under-11 section than any other. Ihsaan Mahmood scored a massive 5/6 to finish third in the tournament, which is easily one of the best-ever performances by a Yarm player. Edward Adams wasn’t far behind, on 3.5/6. Jake Meager (2.5/6) and Shish Nair (1/6) also battled well all day. Meanwhile, two Senior School boys were also in action. Abhinav Ramisetty scored a fine 3.5/6 in the Under-12 section and Adam David Lim Wright did very well to score 2/6 in the Under-14s. The chess season still wasn’t over, as Ihsaan had qualified for the Challengers section of the Terafinal (the very last stage of the UK Chess Challenge!). Here, up again against much higher rated opposition, Ihsaan finished in a tie for 26th place. A fabulous achievement! Even though our extremely successful group of (old )Year 6s have now left the Prep School, we are still anticipating a very successful new year of chess. Our young stars undoubtedly have big shoes to fill but they definitely are ready for the challenge.

Sean Marsh

Welcome to the Prep School

This term we welcome four new members of staff, all joining the Prep School.

(Left to Right)

Mr Paul Underwood joins us as Head of Boys Games, Mr Chris Simpson joins us as a Year 4

Form Tutor, Miss Aoife Ni Chaoilte joins us as a Year 3 Form Tutor and Miss Chloe Redhead

joins us as a Graduate Assistant.

Holiday School The Holiday School not only offers essential childcare for our busy parents, but also a chance for our pupils to meet up with school friends and make new ones too.

Whether your child is with us for one day or for longer, the programme of care we offer will be fresh and tailor-made to specifically appeal to the age, interest and ability of your child and most im-portantly it is led and organised by Yarm Preparatory School staff.

Helped, this year, by some amazingly hot and sunny weather in the initial week, the 3 weeks of Sum-mer Holiday School were once again action-packed and a great success. Every day all the children left the school site to try out new activities aimed at building self-confidence – and naturally have lots of fun too!

Whether quad biking across rough terrain near Hartlepool, trying wakeboarding for the first time with an impromptu BBQ thrown in for good measure, abseiling and rock climbing at the Wainstones, surfing at Saltburn, learning brush craft skills or going underground at Stump Cross Caverns, the chil-dren were encouraged to take risks, learn new skills and also celebrate the absolutely stunning and diverse area we are so lucky to live in.

Mr J Grundmann

Another year of stunning public examination results At A level we celebrated a record A* rate of 28%. We not only broke our record but we also had the highest A* rate for all state and HMC schools in the North of England! To put this figure into context, the North East average A* rate was just 6.6%. In this bumper year, well over half of all exams sat (57%) achieved an A*-A grade and 13% of the year group achieved 3 or more A* grades.

Another record was set this year when 12 pupils secured offers of places to study a wide range of subjects at the highly selective Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Twenty-one pupils gained places at prestigious medical, dentistry and veterinary schools around the country – yet another school record!

At GCSE level, the A* rate at GCSE level was 37% A*. This is astonishing compared to the national average of 7% and 5% for the North East. An impressive 14 pupils achieved 10 or more A* grades. Over two-thirds of all exams sat resulted in an A* or A grade.

A Level Results 2016

GCSE Results 2016

Yarm School North East National Average

Percentage of A* grades 27.6% 6.6% 8.1%

Percentage of A*-A grades 56.8% 22.1% 25.8%

Percentage of A*-B grades 80.7% 48.8% 52.9%

Yarm School North East National Average

Percentage of A* grades 37% 4.9% 6.5%

Percentage of A*-A grades 66.1% 17.3% 20.5%

Percentage of A*-B grades 85% 38.5% 41.9%

Early Finish on Friday 16 September 2016

Please note that on Friday, 16th September 2016 the school will be closing early. Pre-

Prep pupils will finish at 3.15pm and Prep pupils will finish at 3.30pm.

This is to accommodate the Senior School Prize Giving and ensure that congestion around

the school site is eased.

There is no After School Care available on these days.

School coaches will run as normal.

Thank you for your co-operation in this regard.

2016/2017 TERM DATES

Autumn Term, 2016 INSET 1 Tuesday, 30th August 2016 INSET 2 Wednesday, 31st August 2016 Pupils return Thursday, 1st September 2016 ½ term begins Friday, 14th October 2016 (after school) Pupils return Monday, 31st October 2016 Finish Thursday, 15th December 2016 (after school) INSET 3 Friday, 16th December 2016

Spring Term, 2017 Pupils return Wednesday, 4th January 2017 ½ term begins Friday, 10th February 2017 (after school) Pupils return Monday, 20th February 2017 Finish Wednesday, 29th March 2017 (after school)

Summer Term, 2017 Pupils return Thursday, 20th April 2017 Bank Holiday Monday, 1st May 2017 ½ term begins Thursday, 25th May 2017 (after school) INSET 4 Friday, 26th May 2017 Pupils return Monday, 5th June 2017 Finish Thursday, 6th July 2017 (after Senior School Prize Giving)

Mon 5-Sep Year 6 Level Bikeability training this week (all week)

Parent Information Evening—Year 3 & 4—7pm

Tue 6-Sep Parent Information Evening—Year 5 & 6—7pm

Tempest Individual photographs

OPRO mouthguard fittings

Thur 8-Sep Parent Information Evening - Pre-Prep—7pm

Liz Million visiting the Pre-Prep

Fri 9-Sep Year 5 Robinwood residential—Meeting for parents (4pm; Dining hall) CANCELLED

NSPCC Stay Safe assemblies

Mon 12-Sep Clubs and Activities begin

Fri 16-Sep Year 5 trip to Robinwood departs (return 18th September)

Mon 19-Sep Year 3 Maths Information Afternoon for parents (4-5pm)

Next Week:

Parent Handbook

The updated copy of the

Parent Handbook is

available to view and

download from the

school website by

following this link:

http://bit.ly/2bFheju

(Please note the capital letter).

Paper copies will be going out to all new families and families with children in Year 3.

Mr Stone

Term Card

All children should have brought home the Autumn term card by now. If you have not received one, please ask Miss O’Hara. Any changes to events will be outlined on this page of the newsletter every week, as well as the online calendar, which can be found here:

http://www.yarmcalendar.org/week.aspx

Mr Stone

Photographs

Tempest will be in on Tuesday to take individual photographs of all Prep School children (as well as sibling photographs if you have requested this). Please may we ask that the children come into school looking smart and in the correct school uniform? Proofs will be with you as soon as possible.

Please note that sibling photos begin at 8.30am.

Mr Stone

Late

If your child is late to school in the morning, please ensure they report to Miss O’Hara in the Prep office first, before going on to their classroom.

Mr Stone

Year 6 Bikes

Year 6 will be taking part in their level 2 Bikeability training next week. Bikes will need to be left at school all week, as they will be taking part in daily sessions.

Mr Stone