Private School News

Staines Prep Pupils Take to the Slopes

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.

Famous Inventor Fuels Interest for Young Scientists at Staines Prep

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

Staines Prep Catwalk Kids Strike A Pose to Raise Money

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.

Staines Winners in Create & Wait Portrait Competition

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.

Circus Workshop Excites Young Scientists at Staines Prep School

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.