It was another very busy Open Morning last Monday and our many visitors were very complimentary about all of our pupils and staff. Our Year 8 pupils were superb guides and every pupil in the year group has now led a tour for visitors on one of the Open Mornings of the year. Last Monday set a record in terms of the numbers of visitors and it is wonderful that so many families are showing an interest in sending their children to us. For next September, Years 4, 7 and 8 now have waiting lists but there are some places immediately available in other year groups.
As our current parents, I want you to know, however, that we will not compromise on our offer of small class sizes. The average across the whole of the Prep School is currently around 16 pupils per form and, in classes which have slightly higher than that number, we monitor very carefully to ensure that all of the pupils are making the very good progress which we all want to see. Should any parents ever have any concerns whatsoever about the academic attainment or progress of their child, we are always more than happy to discuss this with them at any stage of the term.
We are all very proud of our eight Year 8 pupils who walked 16 miles last Saturday, finding their own way across the countryside in the Exmoor Challenge. We are giving the children excellent opportunities in the different year groups, and I have today started the process to recruit one of our existing staff to the newly created role of ‘Head of Outdoor Education’. This will help us put into reality our vision of a rewarding and enjoyable ladder of opportunities, increasing in challenge year on year, for the boys and girls as they move through the Pre-Prep and the Prep. On entering the Senior School, we would like lots of our children to be wanting to get involved with CCF, Duke of Edinburgh and Ten Tors, having already developed the skills, experience and confidence to be able to take these exciting challenges in their stride.
It was lovely to see a good number of parents in attendance at our recent House Swimming Galas, and to see them joining in with the good-natured partisan support loudly given to each of our four Houses. Every child swam in at least one event, thereby enjoying the thrill of being roared on by their peers and making a valuable contribution for their House.
Finally for this week, and still on the subject of good natured House rivalry, please do check your diaries and do whatever you can to be available to attend our Prep School Sports Day, which is taking place on Friday 24th May. There is a letter which has been sent to parents giving details of the event. I look forward to seeing you there for a great day!
Mr Andrew Edwards
Headmaster TPS
