The impressive sum is an accumulation of over seven years of dedicated fund-raising with valued help from parents, pupils and staff members. Every event has played its part in contributing to the minibus fund – from the Summer and Christmas Fayres, to sports’ days, fireworks evenings and drama productions, to one-off raffles and plant and cake sales.

Adding to the final total were funds from this year’s Summer Fayre, held on Saturday 12 June, which raised a cool £2,500. With a Wild, Wild West theme, guests were treated to more than 30 stalls and an array of activities to suit everyone’s tastes. They ranged from panning for gold to horseshoe throwing, barn dancing to a fancy dress parade.

The annual summer term event was opened by Clint Theophilus, Chairman of the school’s fund-raising body, Friends of Staines Prep, who also presented Headmaster Mr Peter Roberts with the grand cheque for £24,000.

Mr Roberts said: “I am overwhelmed by the efforts made by all those involved in raising this huge sum. The minibus will be a real asset to the whole school, providing pupils with many more field trip opportunities, in keeping with our new Staines Prep Challenge Award scheme.

He continued: “We are already putting it to good use and it was particularly useful on the recent Year 6 Field Trip to the Peak District.”

Photo: left to right:
Pauline Shilston, Mark Pilkington, Jenny Field-King, Viv King, Headmaster Mr Peter Roberts, Emma Poole, Johanna Pursey, Pat Ndebele, Helen Pearson – proudly showing off new minibus and cheque for £24,000

Pupils at Staines Prep witnessed the wonder of the natural world during science lessons this week. Studies of animal life-cycles culminated in the emergence of several beautiful creatures which charmed and amazed the children.

Year 1 pupils were thrilled to see the newly hatched chicks, whose eggs they had been observing for the last three weeks in their incubator. Both have been fondly named Poppy and Pansy.

Head of Lower School Mrs Williams said “The chicks have toured the Lower School to the delight of all the children. Many of the parents have been for a visit and it has been a wonderful opportunity for the children to experience new life and growth first hand.”

Meanwhile, Year 4 pupils went out into the school’s environmental area to release painted lady butterflies. The children had followed their development from tiny caterpillars through to chrysalises, until they finally emerged as fully-grown adult butterflies.

Science teacher Derek Heath said “This has been a wonderful last few weeks. It’s a joy to see the children working out in the fresh air and building up a real interest and respect for creatures who they previously may not have even noticed.”

Photo: Simran Sohal aged 8 releasing a Painted Lady butterfly

More than 200 past and present pupils, current and former staff members, parents and governors attended a weekend of celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of Staines Prep.

They shared memories and paid tribute to the school at festivities that began on Friday 7th May with a picnic on the lawn, highlighted by a balloon release.

The main event, an ‘open house’ on Saturday 8th, began with a delicious buffet luncheon prepared by Chartwells and followed with a welcoming address from Chairman of Governors Mike Bannister and Headmaster Peter Roberts.

Guests were later invited to tour the school while enjoying this rare opportunity to catch up with old friends and colleagues. An impressive display of photographs and memorabilia spanning the 75 years brought back many fond memories.

Among the guests was the much-respected, former Headmaster Peter Monger who flew in from Canada to attend the event. Mr Monger began his career as a teacher at the school in 1972. He served as headmaster from 1988 to 1998 before returning to teaching until his retirement in 2002.

Headmaster Peter Roberts, said: “It was wonderful to see so many generations of the Staines Prep family gathering together to share their stories. It was clear everyone had a great affection for the school and it was good for them to see how things have continued to develop since they were last here.”

Staines Preparatory School was founded in 1935 by Mr Burges and Miss Hanson, who later married. Miss Hanson was a well respected local figure and County Councillor for many years.

The scheduled opening of the school was delayed for two days, until Wednesday 8th May 1935, because Miss Hanson received a special invitation to attend the 6th May Silver Jubilee of King George V.

Originally Staines Prep was a boys’ school. When it opened there were just eleven pupils. It started to accept girls during World War II. It is now the longest-standing, co-educational, independent school in the area.

In 1987 Mrs Burges set up the Staines Preparatory School Trust to secure the school’s future. Today Staines Prep sees high numbers of grammar school entries and has a strong sporting tradition.

On Wednesday 12th May, Year 4 pupils from Staines Prep visited the Verulamium Museum at St Albans as part of their History topic, ‘Invaders and Settlers’.

Verulamium was reportedly one of the largest towns in Roman Britain. The museum houses an interesting array of Roman finds excavated from the site, including some magnificent mosaics.

When they arrived at St Albans, pupils and teachers headed for the mosaic house to view the hypocaust, originally an under-floor heating space. The children enjoyed exploring the museum and completed their treasure hunt worksheets enthusiastically.

They had an opportunity to get close to artefacts during a handling session led by one of the museum’s curators. During this session the children examined items from Roman homes, including building materials, fragments of mosaics and pottery, as well as some more unusual objects such as ear scoops.

The Headmaster, Peter Roberts, said: “The school is proud of its regular programme of trips and visits designed to complement the curriculum. It reinforces what is learnt in the classroom in a fun and informative way.”

Photo l to r: Zulfiquar Lodhi (9), Megan Graham (8), Sam Hase (9) and Aviraj Riar (9) discovering first hand the intricate detail of Roman mosaics.

The second Spelthorne Junior Chess Championships took place at Staines Prep on Saturday 13 March. The competition, which was open to all children living or attending school in Spelthorne, is part of an initiative led by Mike Basman (organiser of the British Land UK Chess Challenge) and local organiser Dr Noel Stewart.

The tournament comprises three age categories, U9 (9 year olds), U11 (11 year olds) and U14 (14 year olds). It puts contenders through five rounds to find a champion in each group.

The Spelthorne event attracted entrants from eight different schools. Alex Leeks of Staines Prep won the U9 competition with straight victories. Sam Hase, also of Staines Prep, was runner-up in the group.

Sam Freeth (Halliford School) won all his U14 games, with Lyndon Kindred-Robinson (Hampton School) finishing second in this category.

The U11 competition was the most fiercely contested. After many close matches, the fifth round proved to be the decider. Ritansh Kathuria (Kingston Grammar School Preparatory Form) clinched victory, with Angelo Umashangar as runner up

All competitors received a Certificate of Participation. Those who won at least three of their games were also awarded a rosette. The winners were presented with their trophies by Councillor Malcolm Royer, who was pleased to see chess being played so enthusiastically in the borough.

Photo(L-R): Alex Leeks(9 yrs), Malcolm Royer(Councillor), Samuel Freeth(12 years) – former pupil, Ritansh Kathuria(11 years) – former pupil, Dr Noel Stewart(local organiser)

Over 350 children from Staines Prep took part in a sponsored ‘Exercise to Music’ event on Friday 5 March, to help raise funds for Sport Relief 2010.

In the past, each House at Staines Prep has supported its own local charity through various fundraising activities. However, this year for the first time all four Houses came together in aid of the UK charity.

Pupils swapped formal shirts and ties for comfy sports gear, cranked up the music and got moving and grooving to a series of three aerobic routines. Both the tennis court and the main playground had to be used to accommodate everyone.

Deputy Head Mr. Amiss said: “We are extremely proud of all the children, not only did they raise funds which will help to change the lives of those less fortunate, but they are also helping to support the national drive for health and fitness in young people.”

Despite heavy snowfall and reports of thousands of school closures across the country, it was business as usual for Staines Prep. With only one day of the new term lost due to bad weather, staff and pupils continued to fulfil a full timetable of studies.

Year 6 pupils not only braved the elements to attend school, but last Thursday made it safely all the way to central London for a much anticipated visit to the Science and Natural History Museums.

Having negotiated icy pavements and coped with Underground problems, the children spent the morning absorbed in the wonders of our natural world. They got up close and personal with life-sized dinosaurs and used a ‘Creepy Crawly’ exhibit to enjoy an intriguing insight into the lives of insects.

The afternoon was all about exploration and discovery. Pupils and staff experienced science and technology at first-hand, taking part in 50 interactive exhibits. Everyone was then treated to a science show entitled ‘Stronger by Design – Structures’. As part of the show they participated in a series of exciting demonstrations, including sitting on a chair of nails. All walked away in complete amazement before wrapping up on their return journey home.

Headmaster Peter Roberts said: “We wanted to give children continuity and didn’t want to cause disappointment by having to cancel excursions. We were also aware many parents would have difficulties finding alternative childcare if the school was closed. So a huge effort was made by staff, parents and pupils to keep the school running as normally and safely as possible during the recent challenging weather conditions.

“The children were certainly glad to be at school, particularly at playtimes. It was great to see them working together to make snowmen and snow sculptures – even if I had to dodge a snowball or two!”

Photo:Staines Prep in the Snow Image (left to right): Lydia Dev (age 8), Theano Atalianis (age 8), Lucy Roberts (age) enjoying the snow

Pupils at Staines Preparatory School were proud and honoured to welcome The Mayor of Spelthorne, Councillor Caroline Spencer, to their school for a special guided tour on Tuesday 8th December.

Councillor Caroline Spencer, who was elected Mayor in May 2009, began her visit in the School Hall. After voicing her approval of how smart the children were, she was entertained by the School Choir who sang a selection of traditional Christmas songs.

The Mayor then gave a short address on the roles and responsibilities of her position. She stressed the importance of providing cohesion between the Council and the various bodies and organisations within the Borough of Spelthorne. Her young audience learnt the significance of communication skills and working together to achieve successful goals. The morning ended with a full guided tour of the school led by prefects from Year 6.

Deputy Headmaster, Malcolm Amiss said: “We feel very privileged to have received a visit from the Mayor. The children were fascinated by her talk and I hope she was able to see at firsthand the optimism she has inspired in them. They are, after all, the next generation and the ones who will carry on conserving and enhancing communities within the Borough of Spelthorne.”

Photo: L-R Head Boy Toby Whitaker (age 11), Mayor of Spelthorne Caroline Spencer and Prefect Natalie McNeill (age 11).

“The aim of this school is to teach community-led, socially-inspired leadership. Pupils are to follow, as well as to lead, and serve as well as be served. It’s a school for budding Mandelas rather than multi-millionaires.”

Staines Preparatory School, in Staines, Middlesex has been awarded their gold award by the Woodland Trust for getting involved in green activities including tree planting, reducing carbon emissions and recycling.

The new initiative launched this year by the Woodland Trust offers schools the opportunity to bring the great outdoors, the wonderful world of wildlife and green issues into the classroom with a range of resources and a new award scheme.

The Green Tree Schools Award scheme rewards schools every time they participate in inspirational learning events, projects or initiatives provided by the Woodland Trust. Schools win this award for participating in green activities, which include tree planting, reducing carbon emissions and recycling. Staines Preparatory School has planted new trees in their school grounds and the children have grown trees from seeds, as well as recycling Christmas cards, visiting a woodland, reducing their carbon emissions and joining in various other Woodland Trust activities.

Karen Letten, schools development officer, said: “The scheme promotes a range of opportunities, each designed to stimulate a child’s imagination and sustain their interest in nature. The achievements of the school are recognised through an awards scheme in which they receive points for taking part in activities. As they reach milestones within the project they will receive bronze, silver and finally an attractive wooden plaque which acknowledges they’ve achieved the environmental accolade of a gold award.”

Staines Prep science teacher Derek Heath said “we are very grateful to the Woodland Trust for their support and would recommend their excellent website to all who are interested in teaching children about woodland habitats. It is great to see the children actively involved in a project which will go on growing for many decades to come and to see their pride in being given a gold award for their efforts”.
To take part schools simply register at www.naturedetectives.org.uk/award and can start earning points immediately. These are a few of the many different ways to do this:

• Participate in a tree planting event
• Receive free trees for your school grounds
• Recycle Christmas cards, mobile phones or inkjet cartridges with the Woodland Trust
• Reduce CO2 emissions
• Register with Nature Detectives
• Join the Ancient Tree Hunt

Karen continues: “This is pick ‘n’ mix conservation. Teachers and children choose from a range of activities to suit their interest and priorities at any given moment.

“Schools embark on a real journey of discovery with us and, along the way, will also be working toward achieving other recognised environmental awards such as Eco Schools.”

The Woodland Trust’s learning team provides a range of resources for both primary and secondary schools. Most activities are available free of charge and further details can be found at www.naturedetectives.org.uk

Create & Wait, the free educational children’s web gallery, created by Staines Preparatory School teacher Claire Eastaugh, has announced the proud winners of its poetry competition, which was centred on the theme ‘Changes’.

The site’s sixth successful competition since its launch in 2007, drew entries from throughout the local area from budding young poets bursting with rhyme. It was judged by children’s author Timothy Knapman. Timothy is the author of the successful ‘Mungo’ books and lives in Weybridge.

Timothy, who set the creatively challenging theme, was impressed with all the children’s writing. “Narrowing the entries down was no easy task,” he said. “There were many wonderful flashes of brilliance and insight and I hope it will encourage them to keep writing poetry.”

Six talented winners were selected from Years 3-6. Each received a hand-written certificate signed by Timothy as their prize and their pieces of work are on display on the English Gallery at www.createandwait.com.

The winners from Staines were Daniel Fellows (age 10) and Madeleine Henson (age 10) from Year 6, Anushka Naidu (age 10) and Sophia Ali-Burdon (age 9) from Year 5. Year 4’s winner was Anthony Davies (age and the winner from Year 3 was Avi Tripathi (age 7).

The next Create & Wait competition is a unique challenge, calling for young inventors to get involved in an exciting design competition. Entrants are being asked to invent and design something around the theme ‘Fast and Furious’ – from fast cars to funky fashion. The competition will be judged by accomplished inventor, Trevor Baylis OBE. Entry is free to children in Years 3-6 from all schools. The closing date is February 12th 2010.

Entries from local primary schoolchildren are particularly welcome and instructions on how to enter may be found on the website.

Photo: Pictured with her signed certificate is Year 5 winner of the Create & Wait online children’s poetry competition, Sophia Ali-Burdon (age 9).

A celebration of twenty years of fundraising by The Friends of Staines Prep School took place on Tuesday 29 September at the school in Gresham Road, Staines, where past and present governors joined committee members and new parents from Nursery and Reception groups for a party.

A new logo was unveiled and was proudly displayed on a commemorative birthday cake. Everyone enjoyed a glass of wine with delicious hot food provided by parents Rakesh and Renu Patel of The Horizon Club restaurant.

In the past ten years alone, The Friends’ events – from fireworks and quiz nights, to fashion shows and seasonal fairs – have raised over £212,000 for the benefit of children at the school. The fund raising efforts have already provided playground equipment, a school mini-bus, sound and lighting equipment for the school hall, an educational environmental area and many books for the school library.

Chair of The Friends charitable organisation Clint Theophilus presented plans to inspire everyone to join in and help make a difference in the year ahead and commented, “We are extremely thankful for the generous support of all our parents and friends who have dedicated their time and effort in providing their own expertise in making these events happen. Our new Fun(d) raising logo emphasises our aim of ensuring that everyone has fun along the way.”

The Friends of Staines Prep School was set up in 1989 and the committee is comprised of a group of volunteer parents and members of the school community who come together to fundraise by organising a range of social and fundraising events. Many people, who were committee members years ago, still help out in a number of ways today.

Photo: Members of SPS Friends at the 20th anniversary party, from left to right: Sue Roberts (Class Teacher and wife to Head), Peter Roberts (Headmaster), Johanna Pursey, Clint Theophilus (Chair of The Friends of SPS), Diane Barker (Former Chair),Anna Dearsley, Viv King, Helen Williams (Former Chair), Helen Pearson, Rachelle Revell, Jenny Field-King

Pupils from Staines Prep School attended an action packed afternoon at the British Airways Community Learning Centre in Harmondsworth on 14th September, where Spelthorne Borough Council community safety officers had set up a series of challenging activities to raise safety awareness amongst pupils.

The twenty-five Year 6 pupils who took part in the annual Junior Citizen scheme run by the council learned how to cope in many emergency situations. Workshops covered fires, rail safety, contacting the emergency services, how to help a person who had fallen into deep water and dealing with unconscious casualties, as well as how to stay safe online.

Deputy Head Malcolm Amiss said, “The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and will no doubt benefit from the experience, which will stand them in good stead should an emergency ever arise.”

Photo(l to r): Staines Prep Year 6 pupils Aran Aulakh(10),Drew Patterson (10)and Devina Shah(10)learned from Spelthorne Borough Council community safety officers how to help someone who has fallen into water.

Staines Prep School’s Year 6 this week transformed the John Crook Theatre at Halliford School, Shepperton, for a musical horror-crime drama, the Dracula Rock Show by Malcolm Sircom.

In two performances on 7th and 8th July, Dracula was summoned from his one hundred year sleep by his night creatures, the zombies and vampires, rumbling with discontent. Up on the surface, Inspector Shirley Holmes and her police squad foiled a devious scam planned by master criminal and Holmes’ arch enemy, the evil Professor Moriarty.

The cast comprised all 55 members of Year 6, with 18 lead characters and roles for the remainder as zombies, vampires, criminals and police. Months of work went into the production following auditions held in February for the main parts of Dracula, Moriarty, Shirley Holmes, Quasimodo and Mrs Peterson, housekeeper.

Staines Prep School music teacher Karen Tudor-Owen co-directed the performance with Deputy Head Malcolm Amiss. School Registrar Natasha Tait’s husband Graham, a sound engineer, provided realistic sound effects – from doorbells to footsteps, thunder and lightning along with parent Steve Durrell who provided professional sound and lights on both nights.

Mr Amiss said, “The cast and crew have been working extremely hard to ensure a polished performance and we were delighted with the support from everyone who came.”

Picture: left to right at front- Vampires Saima Islania (11), Tom Rozee (11) and Jack-Spencer- Jones (11)

A miniature wildlife sanctuary, providing a haven for all kinds of creatures from insects to frogs and foxes, was officially opened on Saturday (20th June) by Mike Bannister, Chairman of Governors of Staines Prep School.

The school’s new Environmental Area is the brainchild of science teacher Derek Heath. Where once there was a pile of builder’s rubble, wood and nettles in a corner of the Staines Prep School grounds in Gresham Road, there is now a shady copse with two ponds bursting with life. Damsel flies in shades of blue dart through the air and scores of young frogs take their first steps on dry land.

Science teacher at the Gresham Road school, Derek Heath said, “The pupils, teachers and parents have all helped to make this super transformation take place with financial and technical support from the ‘Friends of Staines Prep’.

The children in all year groups will be visiting the area to broaden their science curriculum as well as pursuing extra-curricular activities such as bird watching and nature study. ‘Friends of Staines Prep’ is the fund raising charity which helps to raise money to support extra activities alongside the School’s varied curriculum.

Photo: Dipping the pond for wildlife at the new Staines Prep School Environmental Area: (left to right) Frederick Thompson (10), Derek Heath (Science Teacher), Bilal Khaleel (10), Gaurav Vashisht (11), Oscar Theophilis (7) and Lexi Whitehead (7).

Children’s web gallery Create & Wait, the brainchild of Staines Prep teacher Claire Eastaugh, has announced the winners of its latest art competition, ‘Dynamic and Deadly Dinosaurs’ and the launch of a free to enter poetry competition.

The original idea for the science themed competition was dreamt up and finally judged by a group of pupils themselves. Children were invited to create dinosaur pictures from their imagination and with that challenge came many new species, from a Stand-upasaur and a Hedgehogamite to a colourful Mixosauras.

Each year group winner received a certificate and model dinosaur as their prize and their pictures, and those of the runner-up entrants are now displayed in the Science gallery at www.createandwait.com. Three Staines Prep School pupils Aman Bhutani (8), Francesca Mitchell (9) and Caragh Murphy-Collinson (11) were among the winners, taking first prize in Year 3, 4 and 6 categories.

“Creativity abounded with numerous fabulous creatures and clever names invented by the children who entered,” said Claire.

The next competition is now open for entries, with plenty of time for children to get creative over the summer holidays and beyond. A poetry competition with the theme ‘Changes’, has been set by the bestselling children’s author Timothy Knapman. Timothy was very impressed with the site and said “The children’s work is excellent and it really is a terrific idea to have a web gallery with all the work on show.” Entry is free to children in Years 3-6 and Claire wants to actively encourage entries from all schools in the area. The closing date is October 24th 2009.

Photo: Pictured with their model dinosaur prizes and certificates are Year group winners of the Create & Wait online children’s gallery competition are Staines Prep School pupils (from left to right): Caragh Murphy-Collinson (11) (Year 6), Aman Bhutani (8) (Year 3), Francesca Mitchell (9) (Year 4).

Acclaimed as ‘the best littlest circus in the world’, the star attraction at Staines Prep School’s Summer Fayre in Gresham Road, Saturday 20th June, will be Fred’s Flying Circus in its little big top, 50 foot tent.

Master of Ceremonies and performer Fred Delius will officially open the event at 12.30 and the fun goes on around numerous stalls and side shows until 4.30pm.

Two circus performances, at 1pm and 3pm, promise to provide a delightful melange of juggling, unicycling, trapeze, magic, dance, illusions, clowning around and even a spot from Henry the Mind Reading Dog.

Mill Cottage Farm will be bringing their mobile animal entourage with plenty of lambs, goat kids, piglets, rabbits guinea pigs, chickens, ducks and turkeys for visitors to interact with. Families can enjoy other outdoor attractions including an inflatable slide and a giant tea cups ride

Other activities taking place inside and outside will include a tombola, face painting, book and craft stalls, with plenty of refreshments to sustain visitors who have worked up a thirst playing Beat the Goalie or aiming for the coconut shy or teachers in the stocks. The winner of a grand prize draw will take home a fantastic Nintendo DSI.

The event is organised by Friends of Staines Prep to raise money to support extra activities alongside the School’s varied curriculum. Entry to the Fayre is free for children and £1 for adults. Tickets for the circus (including entry to the Fayre) are expected to be much in demand, costing £4 for children and £6 for adults, available in advance and on the gate, if not sold out.

For more information about the Summer Fayre or to buy tickets for the circus, call 01784 450909.

Ancient crocks, skulls and clothing brought Roman Britain to life for Staines Prep School’s Year 4 pupils, staff and parents last week, on a day out at the Verulamium Museum in St Albans.

The children enjoyed exploring the museum’s fascinating array of Roman finds excavated from the area, including some magnificent mosaics.

Highlights of the trip were the opportunities to dress up as Roman civilians and to get close to artefacts during a handling session led by one of the museum’s archaeologists. The children keenly investigated items from Roman homes including building materials, fragments of mosaic and pottery, as well as some more unusual objects such as ear spoons.

Maths teacher Rachel Walden said, “The children have been studying Invaders and Settlers in their history class, so the trip to what was one of the largest towns in Roman Britain was a fantastic way to find out how people lived back then.”

Photo:William Hart (9 yrs) and Avneet Dhandee (9 yrs) prepare to dine like the Romans.

Science lessons at Staines Prep this week revealed nature’s living, breathing wonders to pupils looking into the life-cycle of animals, culminating in the hatching of several beautiful creatures.

Year 1 children at the Gresham Road school were thrilled to see the newly hatched chick whose egg they had been observing for the last three weeks in its incubator, fondly named Rocky.

Year 4 pupils went out into the school’s environmental area to release painted lady butterflies that they had looked after from tiny caterpillars through to chrysalises until their final emergence.

Science teacher Derek Heath said “It has been a great experience for all of us. The care that the children have taken when observing these animals has been delightful to see. In these technological times, it’s great to put things in perspective by looking at what goes on in the natural world.”

For further information about Staines Prep School, please visit the website www.stainesprep.co.uk , contact the Registrar on 01784 450909 or email registrar@stainesprep.co.uk.

Fourteen pupils represented Staines Prep School as part of the annual ‘Semaine Européenne’ in Spelthorne’s French twin town Melun, from the 3rd to 11th May with Claire Eastaugh, French co-ordinator at the school and Deputy Headmaster Malcolm Amiss.

The week in Melun is a European project which coincides with the commemoration of the end of the second World War, VE day, on May 8th.

The Year 5 Pupils attended a French school for two days, visited Paris for a day and worked on the theme of this year’s project, ‘La Musique,’ which culminated in a concert involving all the children in a Melun Theatre. An exhibition was also held to show work on the theme from each country – Germany, France, Italy, Spain, England, Slovenia, Poland and Greece.

Chief executive of Spelthorne Council Roberto Tambino and Mayor Simon Bhadye and his wife Candy were also present during the week, attending the ceremony, visiting the centre where the children stayed, and the show.

Ms Eastaugh said, “The children had a wonderful time, practising their French, Spanish and Italian amongst other languages and exchanging addresses with their European counterparts. The week is a wonderful opportunity to remind us of the importance of cultural exchanges and of solidarity with our European neighbours.”

Picture: Pupils from Staines Prep celebrate VE Day outside the Town Hall at Melun, Spelthorne’s twin town:

Left to right: Staines Prep School (SPS) Governor Bob Davies and his wife, Cathy Davies, SPS French Coordinator Claire Eastaugh, Mrs & Mr Roberto Tambini (chief executive of Spelthorne Borough Council), Mayoress and Mayor of Spelthorne Candy and Simon Bhadye.

The Staines Prep ski trip to Morgins, home town of Swiss World Cup skier Didier Défago, winner of the major Downhill Races in Wengen and Kitzbühel in January, was a resounding success with all fourteen pupils having a memorable week at the beginning of April.

The beginners’ group developed from the nursery slopes to ski as far afield as Les Crosets and down La Foilleuse, the main run into the village of Morgins. The advanced group enjoyed developing their skills on red, black and controlled off-piste slopes.

All of the children, from Years 4 to 6, felt a tremendous sense of achievement and are looking forward to returning to the slopes as soon as they can.

Headmaster Peter Roberts said: “It is great to be able to provide these sorts of opportunities for the children and see how quickly they progress. It was a wonderful trip.”

PHOTO: The beginners’ group(L to R):Jack Spencer-Jones, Thomas Spencer-Jones, Nicholas Barker, Cameron Ashbrook, instructor Thomas Griffiths, Natalie McNeill, Daniel Mays, Aran Aulakh, Robert Mays, Megan Edwards.

A famous inventor, an airline pilot and a physics expert joined in with talented pupils to celebrate National Science and Engineering Week (6-15 March) at Staines Prep School by presenting a series of fascinating events and hands-on demonstrations.

Stewart Coulter, head of physics at nearby Hampton School, launched the week with stunning photographic images and a riveting talk on Solar Eclipses and Space and the ongoing search for evidence of extraterrestrial life.

A highlight of the week came with a visit from Trevor Baylis OBE, inventor of the clockwork radio, who recounted the story of how he became an inventor and talked about individuals whose inventions have lead to great improvements in the quality of everyone’s life. Afterwards, he chatted to some young constructors about their various electricity and magnetism projects, which were later displayed to their parents and other pupils.

Outside, the playground of the co-educational independent school in Gresham Road was buzzing when some of the older pupils put on a range of activities to entertain the younger ones, from fizz-pop rocket launches to clever magnetic tricks.

Former Concorde pilot Mike Bannister, chairman of the school’s governors, launched and awarded prizes at a paper glider competition, in which the children were challenged to design and fly a paper glider for the furthest distance or longest time in the air.

Headmaster Peter Roberts said, “National Science and Engineering Week provides a superb focus to engage all our pupils in an enjoyable and educational experience, which also shows them how science benefits their everyday lives.”

Photo: Trevor Baylis & Staines pupils – Omar Abdel-Halim, 10yrs, Trevor Baylis, Devina Shah, 9yrs, Hugo Schuler, 9yrs, Madeleine Henson, 10yrs & Nicholas Barker, 10yrs

While London last week celebrated its annual international Fashion Week, sixty children from Staines Prep School were strutting down their own catwalk on Saturday afternoon (28 February).

With just an hour or so to prepare the children had learned how to “walk the walk” to model clothes from and with the help of Kids on the Catwalk, a company dedicated to helping schools to raise money through fashion shows.

With some cool moves and poses, they entertained parents, pupils and friends with a great show. The school received both a percentage of the value of clothes sold, and the proceeds from the ticket sales.

Clint Theophilus from the school’s fund raising body Friends of Staines Prep said, “The children had great fun taking part and the event raised over £500 from the sale of clothes to go towards the purchase of a minibus for the school, which we are aiming to fund this year.”

Pictured at the Staines Prep Kids on the Catwalk show: (Left to right) – Imogen Dent 8yrs, Ariane Thomas 9yrs & Manini Gangal 8yrs.

Three pupils at Staines Prep School are the proud winners of the ‘Portraits of People’ competition held by online children’s gallery Create & Wait.

The Winter competition, which drew entries from junior school pupils from Staines and beyond, was judged by Tess Barnes, a local well-known professional artist whose recent exhibition featured portraits of Carol Vorderman and Jacqueline Wilson. Tess wrote comments for each of the many pieces of work entered and the final winners received a framed version of their work as a prize with a special certificate handwritten and signed by her.

One winner was selected in each year group between 3 and 6. The winners from Staines were Arjan Grewal (age 10) from Year 6 with a self portrait, 8 year old Rohan Bancil from Year 3 and the Year 5 and overall winner Daniel Fellows (age 9) with a colourful self portrait. Dominic Wills from Cambridge won the Year 4 category with a portrait of his Uncle Chris.

Create & Wait founder Claire Eastaugh, Languages and PSHE co-ordinator at Staines Prep School, started the web gallery in December 2007 because she was inspired by the creativity of the children there, and wanted to give them and pupils from other junior schools the chance to show their work.

“At the moment the greatest participation is still from the Staines Prep pupils, but we’d really welcome new work from schools throughout the local area and beyond, “says Claire. “Being online gives the chance for the whole world to be involved in the fun!”

The winning portraits and others can be seen now on the galleries at www.createandwait.com. The next competition at Create & Wait is ‘Dynamic and Deadly Dinosaurs’, which is now open to Years 3-6. Entry is free and the work will be judged after the deadline of May 22nd 2009. Details of the competition can be found on the website.

Photo: Proud overall winner of the Create & Wait online children’s gallery competition Daniel Fellows (age 9), a pupil at Staines Prep School, with his self portrait.

Children at Staines Prep learnt in their science class this week that pushing, pulling and balancing were not simply childhood antics. Instead of taking a ringside view, Year 1 class members got well and truly stuck in when the circus came to town with science in mind.

The class enjoyed a lively investigative workshop based on a colourful circus theme that demonstrated the concept of forces. Sponsored by Shell Education Services, the fun, hands-on workshop was aimed at inspiring the children to develop scientific skills that they might use in the future.

The boys and girls soon got to grips with balancing clowns and spinning, pulling and rolling objects as they learnt about everything from the effects of gravity to magnetic forces.

“The workshop encourages children to explore and question science in a practical way and to engage with the excitement of science,” said Shell Education Services workshop leader Mike Reed.

Head of Staines Prep Lower School Mrs Sue Williams said, “Everyone enjoyed a stimulating and well-organised workshop. The concepts covered supported our own work on forces and the children were motivated and enthusiastic throughout the day.”

Photo: Rohan Beeharie (6) learns about balance and the effects of gravity.