Head of Junior School’s Blog

Christmas Celebrations As usual in any Prep School, the run up to the last day with Christmas celebrations have been very busy. For us it started a few months ago with preparations and rehearsals for both choir and for EYFS and KS1 for their wonderful nativity ‘Hey Ewe’. We also…

I really enjoyed attending the Instow Cross Country event with all the Junior School pupils yesterday at Bideford College playing fields.  Part of that was being able to chat to the children as we walked them across and back, but it was also seeing them all taking part in such…

In today’s assembly I asked the pupil’s to think about how oak trees can live for over a thousand years; and so if an old oak tree could talk, what might it be able to tell us about how the world has changed in that time. I have always loved…

I love Pancake Day! A real chance to show off my cooking skills to the children. To some extent, the mere spectacle of the Headmaster making a mess with flour, eggs and milk to make batter, and then sending pancakes flying around the Assembly Hall , with the ever present…

  In assembly, on Monday we talked about the tortoise and the hare – how sometimes slow and steady is a better approach than rushing to the end and allowing complacency to get in the way of attention to detail.     It’s a conundrum I’ve come across a lot…

It’s such fun to see the children wearing their Silly Socks, their Terrific Tights or their Terrible Ties (mostly supplied by the dads, who might feel a little hurt to have their favourite ties described like that). It’s all for a good cause, The North Devon Hospice, who are holding…

On Wednesday in the Key Stage 2 Assembly, Miss Wilson discussed with the children what it is to be a good friend. I’ve asked many different children this same question many times over the years and you fairly consistently get similar answers which are along the lines that friends should…

There’s an awful lot of superstition that goes with a date like today’s.  I remember very vividly when I first became aware of the superstition. I was aged seven and along with my best friend I was given the responsibility of cleaning out the cage containing our class stick insects.…

A Happy New Year to everyone. It is lovely to see the pupils back in school – there does come a point during the break when I think we all realise it is time to get back to a normal routine, and whilst the shock of the early starts might…

Congratulations to Mrs Thorne and the choir for a super performance on Monday evening at the Methodist Church Christmas Concert.  Their performance and behaviour were excellent and a credit to the school and their parents. The end of term and Christmas approach rapidly – the Christmas trees are up, the…

We started the week in the Junior School by talking about how we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover; in other words, when something happens we need to take time to find out what is really going on and not just jump to conclusions based on our first impressions. …

This week has been anti-bullying week.  On Monday we began with an assembly about what bullying is and what it is not.  We talked about bullying being intentionally negative, persistent and related to some imbalance of power in a relationship; age, physical size, or position. We also talked about what…

  After over 11 years with the school, my secretary and the beating heart of the Junior School office, Mrs Melanie King, has been appointed to an exciting new role with the NHS and so will be leaving us. I know how hard Mel works to smooth the operation of…

It was lovely to welcome all the children back this week after the lovely half-term break and what a busy week we have had. It was a great pleasure being able to introduce Pete Last, the new Headmaster of Kingsley School, to some of you on Monday evening and he…

There is a definite chill in the air – summer has passed and autumn is definitely here. I have been spending my weekends juicing surplus apples on my new apple press – wonderful therapy and very satisfying and this year certainly seems to have been a bumper year for apples.…

A very sad week for all of us in the school and my thanks to all of you who have expressed your support for Gabriella and her family at this very sad time. We will continue to do all we can to support them. I was delighted to present Elise…

We had a lovely sports festival on Monday with St.Petrocs, with all the Year 3 and Year 4 pupils from both schools working together in mixed teams trying out a variety of sporting tasks and challenges.  Well done to all our pupils who took part and it was a joy…

Two weeks into term and we’re settling well into the routines of school life. The fantastic weather this week has helped and I am pleased to see how hard the children are working. Great start everyone! And with the publication of the ISI Inspection report we can now celebrate the…

It has been a great pleasure meeting all the pupils properly this week and starting to get to know them better. I was amazed by how many birthdays from over the summer holidays we had to celebrate yesterday in Celebration Assembly. I have also been impressed by how responsive the…

First of all a very warm welcome to everyone. Whilst it has been a long summer break, it seems to have gone by in flash. I have only been here a few days, yet I already feel part of the Junior School, and this reflects the warmth of the welcome…