A leading independent prep school in Somerset, offering excellence in education for 2-13 year olds
Calling all Old Perrott Hillians! If you haven’t yet signed up to receive our termly Review magazine and other occasional news and invites, you can do so via Libby Kind on oph@perrotthill.com. Libby is aiming to build our network of OPHs over the coming months and we’d love to hear from you. Former parents and staff members are very welcome too, of course, and please share with anyone else you know who’d like to join our club.
Some of our Year 3 boys boarded for the first time on Friday night and, judging by their smiles, we’d say it was a success! They had great fun painting personalised mugs with the rest of the boarders, courtesy of the brilliant Lizzie from Pot Doodles in Yeovil, before settling down for some hot chocolate and games.
It was a pleasure to welcome our friends from Feltonfleet School this weekend, to play our annual Remembrance fixtures and to celebrate the strong bond between our schools. During the Second World War in 1940, the staff and pupils of Feltonfleet School were evacuated to what was then the North Perrott Manor where they stayed for the duration of the war. Following their return to Surrey in 1946, one of the Feltonfleet teachers, Mr Bill Grundy, along with his wife Nora, returned to the manor and Perrott Hill Prep School was born. Alongside our hockey fixtures on Saturday morning, the children also competed in The Haddock Cup, a cross country race named after the late John Haddock who was one of the Feltonfleet pupils who spent the war years in North Perrott and remained a regular visitor until his death in 2018. Very well done to all the pupils from both schools for coming together this weekend with such joy and pride, and an extra special thank you to those families who played host. Proud to be Perrott.
Scholarship Day is coming up on Thursday 2nd February! We offer 9+ and 11+ scholarships to children who can demonstrate significant potential in one or more areas of school life. If your child is currently in Years 4 or 6 and you’d like more information about scholarships or a chat about the process, please contact Scarlett on admissions@perrotthill.com / 01460 72051. Please feel free to share if there’s anyone you know who might be interested in finding out more.
Years 3-8 came together for a special Remembrance Service in St Martin’s Church this morning to pause and give thanks to those who sacrificed their lives for us. Many thanks to Reverend Lt Colonel Robin Richardson for leading the service, to our Senior Choir and Orchestra for their beautiful rendition of ‘Verleigh uns Frieden (Grant us Peace)’ and to our Head of School, Prefects and staff for their readings and prayers. A special thank you to former Perrott parent and author, Stewart Binns, who gave a moving address about the long-lasting effects of war and the lessons he hopes our young people, as the future generations, can learn from them. He also spoke about what remembrance means to him; thank you, Stewart. Our Pre-Prep children gathered for their own assembly this morning where they talked about what remembrance is and the meanings behind the different coloured poppies. They were commended for their exemplary behaviour while every child laid their own poppy. Lest we forget.
The Year 3 girls had great fun at their very first Loft Night on Friday! After spending time in the art room with Mrs Palmer and making gingerbread with Mrs Shaw, the girls settled down to watch Tom and Jerry in The Loft with tuck. Their summer term lessons in bed-making stood them in good stead for the morning as they helped to change the sheets before heading off to our Saturday morning sports club with Mr Butterworth. Big smiles all round!
Very well done to Henry in Year 8, who has been awarded the first scholarship of the year – a Sport Scholarship to Blundell’s. “Henry is a fantastic all-round sportsman who brings agility and power to every match” says Director of Sport, Mr Sheldon. “He is particularly strong on the rugby field and is one to watch on Sports Day. I am really pleased for him and know he will be an asset to Blundell’s.” Great work, Henry.
The Greatest Showman-themed fireworks event on Saturday was a roaring success with a spectacular display and a record turn-out! Thank you to everyone who came along; we know it was extremely busy and your patience with the queues was very much appreciated. The bonfire procession was led by Year 8 pupils with Scots piper, Andrew Cranfield, while parents were entertained by the brilliant King’s Bruton Groove Ensemble, who were joined by Perrott musicians for two superb performances of ‘Ek Se’ and ‘Watermelon Man’. Very well done to all the pupils involved, including OPH Sebastian on the trombone! Our biggest thanks go to all the volunteers from the Friends of Perrott Hill and the North Perrott Cricket Club who co-hosted the event, to our Year 4 pupils who helped to run the games tent, and to everyone involved in the run up.
Just before half term, we hosted a corker of a lecture for Years 3-8 by none other than actor extraordinaire, James Purefoy. James spoke to the children about his 40-year career, which has included more than 250 hours of television, 32 feature films, 33 plays, nine radio plays, seven short films, three commercials and one pop video. He talked about how he got into acting, told some hilarious stories about stunts gone wrong and gave tips on overcoming stage fright. He then let pupils handle his prized props, took them on a whistlestop tour of the world in accents and got the whole Theatre singing a sea shanty to tie in with his latest film, ‘Fisherman’s Friends: One and All’. Thank you, James, it was a real treat.
