Dear Parents and Carers,

In this week’s assemblies, the children learnt about how strong a bee’s hexagonal cells are in a hive. Physicists have proven that honeycomb is an amazingly resilient structure – and we talked about being a school where we look after one another, being stronger together. I saw this in action as part of the wonderful Year 6 trip to Preston Montford. They’ve been having such a brilliant week and it was hard to drag myself away on Wednesday evening! I loved seeing how kind they all were to each other, as well as how cheerfully confident and embracing of every opportunity.

Perhaps it was because it was my final visit, or perhaps the children were even more joyful than ever, but I was so proud to be part of such a great community. They proved that our school values of living life in all its fullness, of seeing heaven in the moment, of having a zest for learning, and of showing respectful care to others really does impact the children’s lives…as well as the headteacher’s! I came home so glad to have been part of something so wonderful.

The children will be arriving home later today and I know they’ll have plenty of tales to tell, as well as being rather tired! I certainly enjoyed being back in my own bed – huge thanks to the staff who were there all week, on call 24/7, and giving every ounce of energy so that the children had a memorable trip!

I’m excited to let you know that the school has just heard that our application for the 2023-24 Platinum School Games Award was successful! This is a national scheme that rewards schools for their commitment to the development of competition across the school and into the community – we are delighted to have been recognised for our success! I am especially grateful to Laura Sutton, our sports coordinator, for her absolute commitment to providing sporting opportunities for all, as well as to the children who always compete so enthusiastically, and especially to our Year 6 sports-crew whose pupil leadership was part of the bid. I’m sure that Vicky (our new headteacher) will be astonished to see how full a calendar the sports team puts together. It’s a busy few weeks ahead with District Sports on Tuesday, and our own school Sports Day on July 4th (with PD races at 9am, Y3 and Y4 races at 10.30, and Y5 and Y6 races at 1.30, before the final tug-of-war and results at the end of the day).

Healthy Week for the Pewley children has been a real success – with Year 6 away, they’ve had more space to be outside, and have enjoyed playing a whole range of different sports including circus skills, dance, tennis and football. It was also lovely for the group of Y6 children who didn’t go to Shropshire as they’ve been great at running activities for their younger peers. Also this week, we welcomed the new cohort of Year 3 children here for a visit. Obviously this was much more significant for those children coming from our other feeder schools – the Pewley children are already well and truly settled on the HT site!

Meanwhile, at Pewley, it’s a relief to be able to welcome contractors onto site for the ceiling repairs; the electricians have already stripped out the cabling ready to replace the lights and allow the builders access to fix the ceiling. It’s such great news that things have finally started!

Enjoy the long weekend – remember that school is closed for our midsummer break on Monday!

With much love, Clare

Thought of the week: Bee strong – When have you had to be strong inside? “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.”

Whole School

Monday 24 June – School closed for the Mid Summer Holiday.

If your child attends after-school clubs, do check the notices below by clicking on the junior or infant section.

Summer Holiday Clubs – please see below (in Other notices) details of the Christ Church Summer Holiday Club (24-26 July) and the Guildford URC & St Nicolas Church Holiday Club (29 July – 2 August).