Uncategorized | Heritage

Senior Camp: Return to Normality

By Mr Jonathon Bell, Former Heritage Parent/Volunteer

The Senior school spent the week before the half-term break at the fabulous Bragger’s Wood scout campsite in the New Forest surrounded by rhododendron bushes in full flower, baby ponies and other wildlife. And what a tremendous relief it was to be back to normal after two years of having our camp routine affected to one degree or another by the pandemic.

Hopefully by now parents will have been regaled with stories of cooking pizza from scratch in a wood fired oven, crab fishing (including record catches of 108 crabs by the Year 9s), cycling, hiking, and watersports. They may even have taught the parents the odd song about Pirates or Yellow Birds.

The camp is an essential part of your child’s education. In five days friendships strengthen, resilience and good humour grow, and seeds of interest in new activities are sown. Through participation in the DofE children develop things to put on their curriculum vitae in the future which will strengthen their applications for both University and future employment. And most importantly, we all have a great time.The thing that makes the camp special though, is the fact that whilst we use specialist providers for the adventurous activities the bulk of the programme is delivered by staff and volunteer parents. Huge thanks go to Mrs Atkinson, Mr Bayley, Mr Bell, Mrs Bruce, Mr Buchanan, Mr Burden, Mr Fletcher, Mr Seth Fletcher, Mrs Hulett, Mr Hulett, Mrs Lowe, Mr Pitcher, Miss Rogers, and Mrs Scarlata. Please let us know if you want to be involved next year!

View our Senior Camp photo gallery

Year 9 Trip to Westminster

Yesterday, Year 9 took an exciting trip to London to find out about the history, heritage and work of the UK Parliament. During their visit, they toured Westminster Hall, St Stephen’s Hall, the Central Lobby and the House of Commons.

The group were also able to meet Daniel Zeichner, the Labour MP for Cambridge (pictured here). Four of the pupils readily took up the invitation to quiz him on Labour policies.

What a valuable experience and educational day for our pupils!

Introducing the New Senior School Student Leadership Team

Congratulations to the new Senior School Student Leadership Team which includes Head Boy Calum, Head Girl Livia, and Prefects Ilias, Jonathan, Emma and Madeleine.

Each member of the team will serve as important role models for our younger pupils and will act as ambassadors for the school. They have already been very active in helping us prepare for our Open Morning that was held on 14th May and, along with other pupil volunteers, helped guide our visitors throughout the school during the event.

Spotlight on Community Sport

Year 9 pupil Emilie is a dedicated community footballer, training three days a week with the Histon Hornets U14 Squad and Cambridge United PDC.

On Saturday, 14th May the Hornets advanced to the final of the Cambridgeshire Women’s and Girls league Cup at Newmarket Football Club, where they faced Leverington Sports Youth U14 Girls in an incredibly exciting, close, and demanding match.

Unfortunately the result wasn’t as the girls had hoped – with the final score resulting in 2-0 to their opponents – but they performed exceptionally well and deserve recognition for their determination throughout the entire season.

Photo Credit: Aspire Cambridge

How Infants Benefit from Shorter School Days

As the saying goes, ‘you never have a second chance to make a first impression.’ And our children’s first impressions of school can have a lasting impact on their enjoyment of learning.

Learning is effortful, and it is particularly hard work for young children who are not only accumulating lots of new background knowledge but who must also get used to the routines and expectations of the classroom. As they assimilate to this new setting, children need plenty of time for rest and for unstructured play (which is also essential for the development of their executive function).

With this understanding in mind, the school week at Heritage includes an early finish on three days for Lower Prep and one for Upper Prep. This allows for plenty of high quality learning but also helps to mitigate the problems of too much, too soon.

Taking advantage of a recent early finish on a Wednesday, some of our Upper Prep pupils enjoyed a trip with their parents to the Fitzwilliam Museum to check out the Hockney’s Eye exhibition. The children enjoyed studying and carefully copying the landscapes, followed by hot chocolate in the cafe.

Our relaxed Stay and Play sessions with Miss Cage present an equally valuable opportunity for children to simply play with their friends, get outside, or join in on fun activities like junk modelling or planting bulbs in the Panton Hall garden.

Either way, children have a chance to recharge their batteries, ready for the next full day of learning ahead.