A leading independent prep school in Somerset, offering excellence in education for 2-13 year olds
A very warm welcome back to all our staff today! In the run up to the start of term next week, we are delighted to share our latest review in the Tatler Schools Guide 2021, which is hot off the press. It begins: “It’s love at first sight for prospective families visiting Perrott Hill, wowed by its ‘majestic’ setting in pastoral Somerset as well as the ‘enthusiastic, engaging, funny and polite’ pupils who show them around – ‘they were everything I wanted my child to become,’ one parent remarked. PH pupils enjoy ‘a proper childhood’ with plenty of outdoor learning, sport for all, a designated drop-in ‘Tinker’ lab for creative experimentation, and a club for every interest imaginable (pinhole photograph, anyone?).” Many thanks to all at Tatler for conveying the spirit of Perrott Hill so eloquently, and we look forward to welcoming our pupils back to school next week. Let’s do this!
In honour of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary, and in celebration of our music making during lockdown, we are thrilled to share this magnificent virtual arrangement of ‘Ode to Joy’, recorded by 78 Perrott pupils and staff during lockdown. Hats off to our extraordinary Director of Music, Mr Shortman, along with our entire music department and talented team of staff – and a special mention to technical genius, Mr Andrews, for his work on the video. What an incredible achievement and something that will stay with our pupils for many years to come!
Earlier this year, Perrott Hill was selected as one of only a handful of prep schools across the country to appear in a new IAPS and ITN Productions collaboration, ‘Prepping for the Future’. Designed to showcase the very best of what a prep school education can offer in today’s ever-changing world, the film crew spent a day with us to find out what makes Perrott Hill – as a small and family-oriented prep school with a breadth of excellence across all areas – so special. We are delighted to share the footage with you and can’t wait for the launch. Proud to be Perrott.
Very well done to our wonderful Year 2 children, who impressed Ms Williams, Miss Fussell and Ms Skiverton so much this term (and across the year) that they were ALL awarded the Head of Pre-Prep Cup at their end-of-term Prize Giving ceremony! We are very proud of you, Year 2, and know you’ll make the most of all the Prep has to offer in September.
Years 5, 6 and 7 took part in our annual Latin Play Competition at the end of term, presided over by the brilliant Mrs Cashmore, Head of Classics at King’s College Taunton. Mr Patrick was delighted with the quality of the performances, with special mention going to our newest pupils who threw themselves into the challenge with gusto. After a run-down of her highlights, Mrs Cashmore awarded first prizes to ‘Lost Athena’ (Year 5), ‘The Battle of Marathon’ (Year 6), and ‘The Mystery of the Stolen Amphora’ (Year 7). Benfacti, omnes – and well done.
Year 8 started their final week with a spot of ‘day camping’ at school, with prizes for the fastest and best tents; very well done to winners Elvie and Amy-Charlotte. Mrs Layfield and Mrs Palmer’s group packed an all-important camera with them so were able to share these lovely pics on their return – that’s what we call planning! On Wednesday, both groups took part in a challenging and thought-provoking workshop with Alice Sims from Amnesty International. Alice did an amazing interactive presentation on human rights before discussing the loss of identity you feel when you become a refugee. She then challenged the groups to think about which three items they would grab if they had to flee from their homes; she said most refugees choose their house keys as they assume they will be able to go back, although the majority do not. Finally, she talked to the children about how we can welcome refugees into our society. Thank you, Alice, and all at Amnesty for the important work you do.
Congratulations to Year 5 pupil, Rosie, for her success in the Canford Creative Writing Competition. Rosie’s story, ‘Hidden Hero’, was awarded Highly Commended in an extremely strong field, with the judges praising the imaginative and ambitious entries across the board. Many thanks to all at Canford for an exciting programme of competitions and workshops this term and very well done to Rosie and all the children who took part.
The scores are in and the winning House from this year’s virtual sports day is… Quantocks! Very well done to you all and a special mention to Tommy (Year 7), Sam (Year 4), and Daisie (Year 3), for a superb set of individual scores. Many thanks to our wonderful Director of Sport, Mr Sheldon, for all his hard work in the run up to this event and throughout the year – and, of course, to our brilliant parents and staff for their help in motivating and organising the children. Full results: 1st Quantocks, 2nd Mendips, 3rd Brendons, 4th Blackdowns.
Year 2 have been studying famous people and looking at how the different views and attitudes of people in the past have shaped our world today. They particularly enjoyed learning about political activist and suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, before having a go at writing their own speeches about women’s rights. The resulting work, which includes the lines ‘We are women, we can do anything’ and ‘We all deserve to be the same,’ is outstanding. Well done, Year 2; Ms Williams and Mrs Skiverton are extremely impressed!
Our Nursery children have been reading ‘The Rainbow Fish’ in class and loved stopping in the Rose Garden to look at the fish. As part of their literacy work, the children also made robot masks and then used their ‘robot’ voices to sound out and spell items in the classroom, such as p.e.n and b.o.x. Our biggest thanks to Miss Fussell, Miss Hand and Mr Shortman, along with Miss Becky and Miss Sarah who are supporting from home.
