A leading independent prep school in Somerset, offering excellence in education for 2-13 year olds
Year 7 enjoyed a brilliant history trip to Corfe Castle, Dorset last week, as part of the new Common Entrance syllabus. They learnt about what life was like in medieval times and how people lived and worked in a castle. They also heard about the history of Corfe Castle and how it has been developed and used in different ways over time. Many thanks to Mr Finch and all the staff at Corfe Castle for a brilliant day of learning.
Lambing was the order of the day in April as our Young Farmers paid a visit to North Buckham Farm near Mosterton at the invitation of James Vickery. North Buckham is part of the Chedington estate and James and Head Shepherd, Marcus, gave the children a fascinating tour of the sheep pens which allowed them the opportunity to handle the orphan lambs and to see Marcus’s splendid sheep dog, Wren, in action. Our biggest thanks to you both!
We are delighted to announce that Perrott Hill has been named as a finalist for the ‘Originality in Teaching Music and the Arts’ award at the inaugural Muddy Stilettos Best Schools Awards 2022. This is in recognition of the outstanding work and dedication of our music and art departments, led by Mr Shortman and Mrs Palmer. From lockdown projects and exhibitions to virtual performances and our recent community orchestral morning, these are two members of staff who consistently go above and beyond to support and inspire our pupils, and who thoroughly deserve the spotlight. Head to the Muddy Stilettos website (https://muddystilettos.co.uk/best-schools-awards/results/) to see the full list of finalists and highly commended schools. We are honoured to be nestled among them.
It’s been a brilliant start to the summer term for our boarders. The Year 8 boys took over the Loft on Friday for some fun and games, Toby celebrated his birthday with cake all round, and pupils in Years 3-8 enjoyed a top trip to Longleat with Mr and Mrs Layfield. Huge thanks to our boarding team for a great first week back.
To celebrate World Maths Day from Mathletics last month, Years 4-8 took part in the world’s largest online maths competition. They had to answer twenty different one-minute mental arithmetic questions and could challenge their classmates, the computer or other children from around the world. Great fun! This week, certificates were handed out for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each class, with the following pupils being awarded the top spot: Elsa (8C, not pictured), Henry C (7B), Seth (6C), Max (5B), Freddie (5LC) and Harry (4H). Very well done to you all; Mrs Crane is very proud!
Our Nursery children have been busy planting their new mini vegetable garden this week, as part of their topic work on growth and change. They will be checking in on their vegetables each week and hopefully getting to eat them by the end of term! Many thanks to Miss Becky and Miss Jo for a brilliant afternoon of outdoor learning.
Hot off the press! We are very excited to announce that Perrott Hill has been named as one of three finalists in the Supporting Junior Boarders category at this year’s BSA (Boarding Schools’ Association) Supporting Excellence Awards. Says Head of Boarding, Mrs Layfield: “We are delighted to sit alongside some of the biggest and best schools in the country on the BSA shortlist – it is high praise indeed. We have worked hard this year to strengthen our homely, supportive and fun boarding environment and to develop a new programme of weekend activities. This is a fitting tribute to the incredible work of our talented and dedicated boarding team.” Fingers crossed for the awards ceremony next month!
Welcome back, everyone. The Headmaster’s Assembly this week featured a whistlestop tour of the Easter story via food – bread and wine, simnel cakes, hot cross buns and Easter eggs, which are eaten as a symbol of hope and new life. On that note, we’re looking forward to the start of our new summer term activities programme, featuring Tinker Club, Speech and Drama, Comic Club, Pinhole Photography, Swimming and Round the World Cookery to name a few. It’s good to be back!
To celebrate Pi Day (3.14), pupils took part in a range of fun activities with Mrs Crane (did you know that 3.14 spells PIE in the mirror? Us neither!). Shout out to our amazing catering team for a delicious lunch (pie, of course), and congratulations to Euan who won Mrs Crane’s break-time challenge by reciting an impressive 82 digits of pi from memory. Wow! Many thanks to Mrs Crane for spreading some Pi-based joy throughout school.
Friday’s House Poetry Recitations Competition saw pupils in Years 1-8 battle it out for the coveted House Poetry Cup. Following a bevy of standout individual performances and some excellent House recitations, Brendons reigned victorious overall (although were pipped to the post in the House performance by Mendips’ brilliant and original rendition of ‘I’ll Be There For You’ by David Crane and Marta Kauffman). Huge congratulations to all the pupils who took part, with a special mention to EYFS for their brilliant pirate song and to Year 5 for entertaining the audience with French and Latin poems, too! Our biggest thanks go to guest judge, Louise Troup from Sherborne Girls, our Head of English, Mrs Byrne, and our amazing House staff for their unswerving inspiration and support.
