Welcome Back

We are so pleased to welcome 93 Infant and Junior pupils back into school today.  There may have been some nerves on arrival at the various entry points after such a long break, but these quickly dissipated once classes were reunited and settled back into their various classroom routines.

Staff have done an amazing logistical exercise working out how to move the children in their bubbles, around the school and the playground, with all the necessary safety measures in place.

Mr Fletcher, the Headmaster says ‘We are so pleased to be able to welcome back more pupils today, to see them constructively engaged in lessons and to hear lots of noise from the playground! I want to thank our parents for their support throughout the lockdown and, now, as it starts to lift – adapting to so much change and embracing new systems to keep us all safe.’

We are still providing our Learning at Home curriculum for those who cannot attend school, and for our Senior School, but we very much hope that we will be able to welcome them back too, in the not too distant future.

 

The Great Moth Challenge

The Nature Challenge’s continue, and this past week, involved using a sheet, a torch and a washing line to create a light trap, to see how many moths and varieties of moth you could attract in one evening.  We received some wonderful photographs and pictures carefully identified and labelled.   Thank you to all those who took part.

 

Philosophical, Critical & Creative Thinkers

Further to the cancellation of all public exams, Heritage has created a bespoke online programme of further study for our Y11 leavers.  With a shift in focus now to their A levels, the aim of the programme, (which started this week) is to help prepare pupils as independent thinkers. 

In addition to subject specific classes there are whole class sessions on ‘Thinking Philosophically, Critically and Creatively’. 

In addition to our senior school staff, Mr Fletcher and Dr Polly Ha will be delivering these sessions.  We are particularly grateful to Dr Ha for her contribution as she leads two seminars on Thinking Creatively.  Dr Ha has taught at the Universities of Cambridge, Southern California, and East Anglia. She has also developed and taught ‘New Smart Life’ seminars to secondary students across the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. She is an award winning academic, the author and editor of four volumes, and has a particular interest in studying ‘Rapid Historical Change’.

We hope that this course will provide a stimulating end to Year 11, inspite of all the interruptions they have so bravely had to overcome.

(The photograph shown was taken prior to lockdown.)

Nature Photography Challenge

With nature giving us her very best during this lock down, pupils were asked as their 3rd Nature Challenge to capture a stunning photograph of a flower or a tree, either from the garden or on their daily walk.  We received so many beautiful pictures a few of which are shown below. Many congratulations to all our budding photographers.

 

 

School Open for Lower Prep, Upper Prep & Year 6

We were so pleased to welcome 37 more pupils back to school today in addition to our Key Worker Children. We now have 9 pupils in Lower Prep with Mrs Lee and Miss Cage, 10 pupils in Upper Prep with Mrs Carter and Miss Carter and 18 pupils in Year 6 with Mrs Parkinson.

Pupils are being looked after in  ‘bubbles’, (with Key Worker Children in their own bubble, working from the Year 2 and Year 4 classroom’s.) With a staggered start time at the beginning of the day, the bubbles are well spaced out as they move through the building, in the classrooms and the playground. Year 6 are divided into two bubbles, (the girls and the boys) and are working from The Hall. Each bubble has their own allocated play equipment which is disinfected after use.

Mr Fletcher says’

“We are pleased there has been such a strong response from parents of pupils in LP, UP and Y6. It is great to have more pupils back on site and to see so many happy and familiar faces! We are confident in the safety measures we have in place.”