Year 4 Class Assembly: Lessons in Perseverance

During their class assembly this Monday, Year 4 pupils talked about perseverance—that very important character trait that helps us keep trying at something even when things are difficult. 

Showing the importance of not giving up, the pupils acted out a scene using Aesop’s Fable ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’, imagining what would have happened if the Tortoise didn’t even try to race the hare. His only mistake would have been letting his fear prevent him from trying. The children then demonstrated how, in the actual story, the Tortoise slowly and steadily persevered to win the race over the much faster Hare. 

Then the class talked about some real-life examples of perseverance that included Sir Isaac Newton who struggled at school but, propelled by curiosity, kept going, and now will forever be remembered for his work on gravity, motion, colour, light and calculus. Ludwig Van Beethoven became one of the most well-known classical composers despite being told by his music teacher that he was hopeless at composing! And did you know that J.K. Rowling sent her first Harry Potter book to 6 different publishers before it was finally accepted? Now, more than 400 million copies of her books have been sold around the world. Inventor Thomas Edison endured failure after failure before his inventions worked. In the same way, the Wright brothers, whom the pupils have been studying in class, found success in aviation because of their persistence in overcoming failure. 

These inspiring stories of perseverance have helped the Year 4 pupils to think about how they are going to persevere at some of the things they like but find challenging. A very encouraging and helpful message to start the week!  Thank you and well done to Year 4.

WWI Battlefields Trip: A Pupil Reflects

Pupils in Years 9-11 traveled to northern France and Belgium to immerse themselves in World War I history and practice their French language skills. Year 10 pupil Maxim writes about his experience on the trip:

I was among the forty-two people present on the 2023 Battlefields Trip to Belgium and France. The organisers of the trip managed to fit in a very great deal, and it was fearfully interesting to see the landscape and the trenches gouged into it. 

The first day we rose before the break of day and wended our way down to the sea, under it, and out into France on the other side. We stopped first in the town of Poperinge, in Flanders, where we visited Talbot House, a charming old soldiers’ club at which men spent time between being shot at and shelled in the trenches. It was fascinating to be able to get a sort of sense of what it was to be a soldier in the Great War —I mean to say, we all know about the bombs and rats and varyingly competent commanders and things, but at this place they have gardens and music and all that sort, which is much nicer. And hats off to the designers of the exhibition. It was incredibly well done and you almost began to feel as if you were one of them. 

Over the rest of the trip we roamed up and down the Lines from the Somme to the Sea, seeing dozens of solemn cemeteries and memorials, trenches on all sides, and an ingenious tunnel by which thousands of soldiers were able to pop up right in the middle of the German positions. I was fond of the peacefulness of the memorials —particularly Tyne Cot, with its dark yew trees, its lavender and red roses blooming along the rows of white headstones. It did make one consider the nobility of fighting and risking death for the sake of one’s comrades, values, and country, and the sheer number of names gave pause for thought—“Here was a royal fellowship of death,” as Shakespeare’s Henry V says after Agincourt. The Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres, at which I and two of my schoolmates laid a wreath, was moving also—may it be continued as long as our nation lasts, and may we in England never forget the untold millions who fought and died for what they hoped would be a better world, nor cease to defend what they sacrificed themselves for. 

‘Take up our quarrel with the foe: 

To you from failing hands we throw 

The torch; be yours to hold it high. 

If ye break faith with us who die 

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow 

In Flanders fields.’

-Maxim, Year 10

Pupils Experience History Firsthand During WWI Battlefields Trip

Last week, pupils in Years 9-11 traveled to northern France and Belgium to immerse themselves in World War I history and practice their French language skills. During their three-day trip the pupils, along with Mr Burden, History teachers Mrs Roland and Mrs Wren, and French teacher Mme Austin, visited some of the most significant battlefield sites, museums, and memorials of the First World War. 

Each of the many places visited, based in the Ypres Salient and Somme regions, helped pupils develop greater understanding of the significance of the events that they have learned about in their History lessons, the enormity of the suffering, and the bravery of so many. There were plenty of opportunities for reflection, including visits to memorials and cemeteries for both Allied and German soldiers, and the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate—a tribute to the thousands of soldiers of all nationalities who gave their lives on the battlefields around Ypres. 

The realities of military strategy and the difficulties of battle were brought to life with stops at battle sites, trenches, and bunkers including those at Sanctuary Wood, Arras, and Vimy Ridge. Visits to museums, including the Flanders Field Museum and Passchendaele Museum, gave the pupils an opportunity to go deeper into the history of the time period with interactive exhibitions.

And of course there were plenty of lighter moments as well with evening entertainment in French, visits to a local chocolate shop and meals out at area restaurants. We are sure the pupils will remember their experience for a long time to come.

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Heritage pupils in Years 9-11 spent three days visiting WWI battlefied sites and museums.

Spotlight on Enrichment: Learning about the Tudors

With Tudor dances, dressing-up, and crafts that included Tudor Roses made of clay, orange pomanders and lutes constructed from tissue boxes, Upper Prep experienced history in a whole new way during this enrichment session.

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Heritage Upper Prep pupils spent an afternoon living like Tudors

In a recent assembly, Seniors heard from Mr Barry Griffiths, Community Engagement Officer for Jimmy’s Cambridge

Seniors Hear About Homelessness

During this morning’s assembly Seniors heard from Mr Barry Griffiths, Community Engagement Officer for Jimmy’s Cambridge, a community-based charity providing both support and housing to people who are rough sleeping.  

The organisation began as a small shelter on East Road, and grew into a 24-hour service that provides housing to those who need it through 25 rooms, 10 supported houses and 26 modular homes. They also offer several different additional forms of practical support to help individuals on their journey toward independent living.

Mr Griffiths, who himself spent a period of time sleeping rough, spoke to the pupils about the factors that might contribute to homelessness; including the breakdown of family relationships, addiction, domestic violence, mental illness and more. The issue of homelessness extends beyond those who are sleeping rough, and also includes those who have been displaced from their homes and are depending on friends or other temporary housing. 

Jimmy’s provides 10,000 cooked meals each year to those they support; meals that provide opportunities for the staff to hear individual stories and experiences, and to build trust among a population who otherwise might have difficulty opening up to others. 

Heritage families can support the work of Jimmy’s by bringing in non-perishable food items or other household items into school over the next week. But, as Mr Griffith encouraged the pupils to remember, even more important than the items being donated are the thoughts and goodwill behind them toward those who are struggling.