11 March 2024

15 March 2024

Dear Parents

The penultimate week of the Spring Term has continued at such a pace, with many celebrations and occasions across school.

Easter Services

Earlier this week, we gathered the Junior School together for the Easter Service held at St Mary's Church in Wallingford. It was a wonderful experience and the children were well-behaved and attentive throughout the service. The performances by the Junior Chamber Choir and Key Stage One were exceptional, showcasing their brilliant musical abilities. As always, I was incredibly proud of our Junior pupil speakers, who spoke with clarity and eloquence. On Tuesday, Key Stage 3 pupils attended St. Mary's Church and once again, there were some brilliant musical performances and readings. We are very grateful to have had the opportunity to visit St Mary’s Church and come together to acknowledge such a significant event on the religious calendar. Both services felt very meaningful and provided our pupils with the opportunity to reflect on the significance of Easter.

Year 5 and 6 Open Classroom

This week, it was the turn of Year 5 and 6 to throw open the doors of their classrooms to their parents. The excitement was palpable, as the pupils proudly guided their parents through their workbooks. In our opinion, your children have every right to be proud of such exquisite work. Walking through any of our Junior classrooms is like a voyage of discovery into one of the many topics the children are working on. It was a real pleasure to be able to share this with parents and we thank you all for coming.

Mystery at Magpie Manor - Year 3 and 4 Show

The Year 3 and 4 Show was a spectacular event, with three performances showcasing the incredible talents of the pupils. The level of dedication and hard work put in by everyone was truly amazing, and it shone through in each performance. The personality traits of each character were brilliantly executed, bringing the show to life with a huge amount of humour that was truly delightful. The music and dancing were equally impressive, with the audience being treated to a wonderful display of talent and creativity. It was clear that Year 3 and 4 had put in a lot of effort in rehearsing for the show, and even more apparent was the enjoyment they expressed in performing it. We were captivated from start to finish and applaud all our pupils for creating such a magnificent production! Please click here to see the stars of ‘Mystery at Magpie Manor’!

King Lear

The English and Drama department have enjoyed an enriching term of theatre trips with KS4 and KS5 pupils. Earlier this month, they watched Frantic Assembly's 'Metamorphosis' at the Lyric in Hammersmith which was a visually captivating take on Kafka's tale. Yesterday evening, they saw Yael Farber's 'King Lear' with Danny Sapani (of Black Panther fame) in the title role. Described as 'supremely moving' in the National Press, and 'one of the best Shakespeare productions we've ever seen' by our English teachers, it truly was Shakespeare at its finest. Well done to all those pupils for their super company and intelligent appreciation of this production, eye-gouging and all!

Comic Relief

We were overjoyed with the influx of some very impressive home bakes yesterday for the Gateaux Gamble in aid of Comic Relief. It was a huge success and we hope the lucky winners enjoyed sharing cakes at home last night. Today, the sea of usual blue uniform has been replaced with many vibrant shades of red, as we celebrate Red Nose Day! The Fun Run at lunch time was a brilliant event, made even better by the Spring sunshine. Our pupils created an atmosphere of positivity, encouragement and fun and had a great time in the process! Thank you to all our families who have made a donation.

With best wishes
Dr James Raymond
Head