APS News No.25

12 July 2020 ABINGDON PREP NEWS Joe Bradley I can’t quite remember the day I arrived at Abingdon Prep, or Josca’s as it was known back then, but I do remember how I felt. I joined in Reception as the second smallest boy in the entire school (a fact I was very proud of) and I really felt it. The front of School loomed like a castle, the Big Adventure an imposing extension of its battlements. Terrifying giants in Year 8 played Five-Square in the playground, a complex game which required a level of skill beyond my comprehension. Even the stairs into Pre-Prep posed a physical challenge. Well, many bonfire nights, Christmas bazaars and sports days later, I look back on Abingdon Prep with very different eyes. Visiting Pre-Prep as a representative of the senior school the steps had shrunk a fair bit, and I couldn’t look at them without fond memories of the gentle teaching and the hours of fun spent there. Looking at the Big Adventure I remember the games of cops and robbers played within its walls, which stood as the beginnings of friendships I still have to this day. Although the Year 8s may still seem like a different breed sometimes, when I recall my time at that stage I remember the culmination of many years of inspiring and inclusive teaching, preparing me very well for entry into the senior school. Abingdon Prep holds a special place in my heart because it encourages kids to discover and develop their interests in a huge variety of subjects, whether it be in academics, sports, or the arts. And on top of this, it’s a home to many happy memories and formative experiences that I know I’ll hold on to for the rest of my life. And now: Joe left Abingdon Prep to join Abingdon as the Mercers’ Scholar and threw himself into music and the Film Unit there. He directed several award-winning short films including a documentary about what it feels like to be deaf. Through the Music department he achieved Grade 8 with distinction in both Cello and Piano and performed the first movement of Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the school orchestra. As a prefect in his final year he took 5 A-levels and is looking to study Medicine at Trinity Hall Cambridge. Time flies – looking back at Abingdon Prep by Roger Owen, Head of the Senior Section Time flies - an often over-used saying but apt as we ask two Abingdon School sixth formers who are leaving school this year to reflect on their time at Abingdon Prep. It really does seem like yesterday that they were sitting on the carpet in Reception listening to stories, racing up and down the Big Adventure, practising for the end of term concert and sitting Common Entrance. We wish them all the best as they move on. “ ” Joe and David at Abingdon picking up an Abingdon Film Unit award. Joe mid-chemistry practical Joe at the Prep School.