Abingdon Prep News September 2023 • No. 34 SPORTS DAY 2023
2 Abingdon Prep • September 2023 I always love looking through the photos in APS News and remembering how much has been packed into the past few months. It has been a brilliant term full of trips, both day and residential, with our Year 6s learning new Bushcraft skills in Blenheim Woods, our Year 8s creating fantastic memories with their watersports activity trip to Poole, and our youngest pupils having such a great day out exploring Cotswold Wildlife Park. We have had our new building open for a whole year now and the children have benefited enormously from the new facilities with some fantastically creative Design and Technology projects being produced, alongside amazing work in the Art Department. The new library has been a hive of activity too with reading being at the heart of school life, alongside numerous chess games, comics and Beyblades clubs too. Our summer concerts were a chance for all the children to perform to their parents and grandparents with Pre-Prep following a jungle theme whilst our Year 3 to 8s performed songs from a variety of musical eras, from classical up to more modern day pop and rock classics. Our Sports Day this year saw no less than 10 school records being broken, some of which, I suspect, may last for a very long time. It was lovely to see all the pupils participating and performing admirably for their respective houses. As always, it is sad to have to say goodbye this summer to our Year 8s, many of whom have been with us since Reception, but we wish them all the very best as they prepare to start their senior schools in September. I know they will take with them great memories of their time at APS, the friendships they have made and all the opportunities they have taken whilst at school. I hope that all of you enjoy the summer holidays. Best wishes Craig FROM THE HEADMASTER The Headmaster, Craig Williams, reviews the summer term at Abingdon Prep. NEWS SCHOOL COUNCIL When the School Council first met in the summer term, much was discussed, but initially we reviewed the contribution of the School Council to life at APS over the last couple of years. This was then presented to the pupils by Richard in a Whole School Assembly. When questioned on what benefits the Presenting prizes after the Year 8 Walk Summer Concert School Council had given the school, the pupils were quick to recall many new projects such as basketball hoops, new clubs (dodgeball, Beyblades and comic club), changes to the menus and a whole host of other ideas. There was also a competition announced to design a new poster for the Listening Service that is open to the whole school. HOUSE MERIT CUP With a magnificent tally of 16353 points, this year’s House Merit Cup was won by UNICORN
abingdon.org.uk/prep 3 NEWS This June saw two more partnership events with Wootton Primary School. Firstly, pupils from Years 5 and 6 have been using some of our electricity equipment so that they can do practical work. They joined us in the lab to investigate how the current flow changes when we change the length of wire we are using. Pupils made fantastic predictions, carried out the experiment and drew conclusions. They were then able to apply this understanding to variable resistors and their use in dimmer switches. A huge thanks to Wootton pupils and staff for joining us for such an enjoyable afternoon. APS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WOOTTON PRIMARY Pre-Prep were very busy learning about our new king and queen, King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Each class made different crowns which were proudly worn to their assembly. Year 1 also painted some wonderful portraits of King Charles. The whole school celebrated too with a BBQ, with crowned cupcakes for pudding! CELEBRATING THE CORONATION Wootton Primary School also kindly invited us to take part in their celebration of the Arts. As part of this, two Year 8 pupils from APS showed their Arts Award portfolios, and a third played music on the cello and piano. The Wootton pupils listened intently as they spoke about their work and played music. We were then treated to two songs of collective singing from the whole of the school. During one song, the pupils also signed the words and in the other, we enjoyed a very tricky rap. The experience as described by one Year 8 was incredibly wholesome and left us all with very full hearts. Year 8 enjoyed a super afternoon of activities at Abingdon School. This included a Science practical looking at the biochemistry of glucose, where they were able to use chromatography to extract pigments from leaves, and measure the energy content in a starch pellet by setting fire to it in a fume cupboard. Then it was on to English where the pupils spent time writing poems, and finally they played football and completed a quiz all about Abingdon School with the sixth form peer support leads, some of whom were at Abingdon Prep themselves. YEAR 8 MASTERCLASSES
4 Abingdon Prep • September 2023 Our Year 8 students had a fantastic time on their leavers’ trip to Poole, Dorset, continuing to develop their knowledge, understanding, resilience and teamwork skills over the course of the week. Activities included orienteering, archery, code-breaking and climbing on land, and raft-building, SUPs and canoeing in the water. The glorious weather and idyllic surroundings truly made this a trip to remember! TRIPS YEAR 8 POOLE RESIDENTIAL YEAR 8 HIKE THE RIDGEWAY YEAR 5 VISIT NELSON’S FLAGSHIP On the penultimate day of term, Year 8 took to the Ridgeway in the sunshine for a final outing together, returning for more fun and games at the pavilion where house T-shirts were signed as mementoes of their time at APS. Year 5’s day trip to the Royal Navy’s Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth is always a highlight of the year. Exploring Admiral Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory, at close quarters really showed the pupils what life was like in Nelson’s navy that they had been studying.
abingdon.org.uk/prep 5 TRIPS It was an action packed few days as Year 6 got back to basics with an authentic outdoor experience at their Bushcraft residential trip in Blenheim Woods. Team building and survival skills were top of the agenda and the children learned first aid skills; how to build water tight shelters; build traps and camouflage themselves. They also had a lot of fun cooking their own burgers and toasting marshmallows on the open fires they had built. A great few days, building on existing friendships (and establishing new ones), having fun and creating life-long memories. YEAR 6 AT BUSHCRAFT Since Covid, camping out overnight at School has become a tradition in the APS summer programme. Year 5 got a small taste of what they can expect at Bushcraft in Year 6, but eating inside and with access to facilities! First task: put up the tents, with help from Year 8. Then it was fun all the way, from orienteering and woodland crafts with Nick, campfire singing with Sean, more crafts with Katy, yoga with Louise, and plenty of games on the field. A huge thank you to all the staff who helped, but especially Numa who ended up being the main port of call in the night! SENIOR CHOIR ENTERTAIN In June, the Senior Choir, directed by Sean, headed out to give a concert to the retired residents of Richmond Village at Letcombe Regis, near Wantage. The pupils sang a variety of songs old and new to entertain the appreciative audience, and there were instrumental solos too. After the short concert, the pupils were able to meet the residents for a chat. We hope this can become a regular event. YEAR 5 CAMP OUT AT SCHOOL
6 Abingdon Prep • September 2023 As part of their topic on Ancient Egypt, Year 3 visited the Ashmolean Museum. The pupils became detectives for the day, hunting for evidence to discover what life in Egypt would have been like thousands of years ago! They even had the chance to hold some original artefacts including an axe and a mirror. IN AND OUT What a fantastic week our Year 7s had on their residential trip to Normandy, where they were based at the Château du Baffy, between Bayeux and Caen, an ideal location to take in all the attractions the area had to offer. The pupils were up early on Day 2 to visit a caramel factory, where they sampled some delicious sweet treats; a bakery where they made their own bread; and a distillery, where they learned about the process of making cider and were able to try the fresh apple juice. On Day 3, they visited the UNESCO World Heritage site of Mont-Saint-Michel, where VERSE SPEAKING FINAL The final of the Verse Speaking Competition followed the class heats, in which every pupil in Years 3-6 had recited a poem they had learned by heart. Class winners were chosen to go forward to the final, where we welcomed Ben Phillips, Head of Drama at Abingdon School to be the judge. YEAR 7 VISIT NORMANDY the pupils observed a Mass taking placeand took in the amazing views from the abbey. There was light relief in the afternoon at a local water park where the children had a whale of a time! On the last day, our Year 7s added to their historical knowledge by visiting the WWII D-Day landing site and an American cemetery. They also stepped back to the 11th century and the conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy by visiting the 70 metre long Bayeux Tapestry. Everyone – staff and pupils alike – had a really fantastic trip. YEAR 3 EXPLORE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN HISTORY AT THE CARAMEL FACTORY French Day began at assembly when Russell, Head of French gave a fascinating introduction to the art, literature and food of France. Years 1 to 4, wearing blue, white and red, then enjoyed the Café Français, taking it in turns to be customers or waiters at the café and ordering food from the menu they had learned in their lessons. Elizabeth was very impressed with how FRENCH DAY hard the children tried to use only French! In the afternoon, Pre-Prep continued the French theme, participating in a carousel of activities that included some very competitive games of Lotto (Bingo in French!) and creating their own pointillist pictures of the Eiffel Tower in the style of Seurat. A French story-time completed the day where they listened to the story of Cendrillon (Cinderella) by Charles Perrault.
abingdon.org.uk/prep 7 IN SCHOOL PARENT CAREERS AFTERNOON In June, parents of APS pupils were invited to join Year 8 to discuss their careers and field questions in our annual Parent Careers Afternoon. It was a great success, largely due to the willingness of parents from an exciting spectrum of careers giving up an afternoon to share their experiences. It was a very successful event and the feedback from the Year 8 pupils was extremely positive. CREST CREST is a series of science awards run by the British Science Association, to encourage young scientists and engineers. The Bronze Award is aimed at 11+ years and participants devise a project, which they research, experiment, write-up and present to attain their award, typically spending 10 hours on the work. 8R all take part after their exams, plus Rebecca’s Friday CREST Club for Years 7-8. As the culmination of their projects, the pupils put on an exhibition of their work, to which parents were invited, who asked them some suitably tricky questions! The effect of salt and yeast in bread baking Skateboard design The effect of different fertilisers on cress Year 7 has been studying 1066 in their History lessons including making models of Motte and Bailey castles. They brought in their finished projects and displayed them in the library for everyone to see. YEAR 7 - NORMAN CASTLES It had been several months since our gardening club planted their potatoes and it was finally time to harvest their spuds. The children took them home to enjoy with their families. Boiled, mashed, baked or fried, they were absolutely delicious….! SPUD-U-LICIOUS! YEAR 7 OWL PELLET DISSECTION After learning about the anatomy of the human skeleton it was time for Year 7 to apply their knowledge to other animals, and there is no better way than by dissecting an owl pellet. These are regurgitated bone and fur from Barn Owls, which can contain up to three rodent skeletons. This particular batch of pellets came from the Idle Valley Nature reserve in North Nottinghamshire. Pupils in Year 3 and 4 swimming club have been working on their water safety skills ready for the summer. They pretended to fall off a boat and floated on their backs in their PJs. SWIMMING IN PYJAMAS
8 Abingdon Prep • September 2023 YOUNG ART OXFORD ART AND DT Congratulations to the 30 successful artists who gained a place to exhibit their artwork as a part of the Young Art Oxford Exhibition 2023, held at the Newman Rooms in Oxford. This year’s theme was ‘Power’. With over 3000 entries from children across Oxfordshire the competition was tricky, however we hope the pupils will all enjoy seeing their artwork on show within the wider community. Thank you to everyone who entered and helped us raise over £300 for Great Ormond Street Hospital. Year 7 Pinboards ... and coat hook racks Year 6 Pencil holders Year 4 Machine-sewed Beach Huts Year 5 Hammer Art Year 3 taught Year 2 ! Year 4 Bridges THE TERM IN DT Year 5 really enjoyed making pizzas with Sodexo’s chef from Abingdon School, better still was eating the finished product! Year 5 Pizzas Year 8 Boat Race
abingdon.org.uk/prep 9 MUSIC AND PRE-PREP In the last week of term, we returned to the Amey Theatre for our Summer Concert. It would be Director of Music, Sean’s, last. The varied concert programme was based around music from stage and screen, and featured singing performances from each year group, our Junior and Senior Choirs, and some of our instrumental groups. The children all sang with gusto and commitment to bring the songs alive, often accompanied by actions, as in Year 3 and 4’s Accentuate the Positive. The Summer Concert is also the time when we showcase our young musicians who are moving on from APS, stepping into the limelight for a solo spot. Piano, violin, flute, cello and some Metallica on the electric guitar featured in some superb individual performances, dazzling all with their skill and musicality. The evening closed with a whole-school performance of Refuge by Howard Goodall. A huge thank you goes all the staff who helped to make the concert such a success, especially Lenka and our VMTs, including Ilya who stood in as accompanist at short notice. SUMMER CONCERT AT THE AMEY THEATRE PRE-PREP INTERNATIONAL DAY Pre-Prep launched into an exploration of rainforests and jungles in our world which culminated in an international celebration. The children travelled from Brazil to Peru and across the oceans to South Africa, trying foods, exploring the crafts, listening to the music and dancing to the beats.
10 Abingdon Prep • September 2023 PRE-PREP To finish their ‘Down in the Jungle’ topic, Reception and Year 1 had a fun packed day at the Cotswold Wildlife Park. The children spotted animals beginning with every letter of the alphabet, enjoyed train rides, munched on picnics, met park keepers and rounded the day off with a delicious ice cream. They particularly enjoyed seeing the young rhinos charging in for their lunch and were fascinated to learn about animal adaptations, such as penguins’ blushing beaks (to help them stay cool) and meerkats’ built-in sunglasses. COTSWOLD WILDLIFE PARK YEAR 2 AT THE EARTH TRUST First the children went into the woods to explore and set up camp, where the Pre Prep’s theme of the rainforest seemed very real when the heavens opened and it rained for twenty minutes! The clouds soon passed and glorious blue skies appeared again in time for lunch, before tackling an uphill hike and taking in the beautiful views at the top! The children also had a fun time going down the hill - in a variety of styles! After a few games, snacks and stories, it was soon time to say farewell to the woods and return to school. BIKE DAY After a safety talk and cycle helmet check, Reception and Year 1 children were off on their bikes, honing their control skills around a course of cones requiring focus, agility and balance! Earlier in the term, Reception visited Countryfile presenter Adam Henson’s farm where they could get up close to pet many animals. COTSWOLD FARM PARK In Science, the children in Years 1 and 2 looked at flowers and what all the different parts are called, calling for close observation, dissection and drawing. FLOWERS IN SCIENCE COOKING FOR THE COOKS Reception rewarded our fabulous catering team by cooking Pirate Pasties for them.
abingdon.org.uk/prep 11 PRE-PREP SPORTS DAY PRE-PREP PRE-PREP SUMMER CONCERT AND TEDDY BEARS PICNIC Our Pre-Prep pupils enjoyed a carousel of running, jumping and throwing events and finished the afternoon with an exciting house relay competition. It was wonderful to see the children trying their best and so many smiling faces, even before the ice lollies came out! Pre-Prep travelled around the rainforests of the world as they sang songs from The Jungle Book for their Summer Concert. Reception were brightly dressed parrots, Year 1 were llamas from Peru, and Year 2 After the concert, our Pre-Prep families joined us on the Mound for our Teddy Bears’ picnic. It was a marvellous way to relax and spend time together with everyone near the end of a busy and exciting term. showed off the beautiful tie-dyed T-shirts they made. A selection of intrepid explorers also performed some amazing solos and our Sensational Singers had the audience tapping their toes and joining in with a jungle classic from the past.
12 Abingdon Prep • September 2023 SPORT We have enjoyed an action packed term of sport with pupils competing in cricket, tennis, athletics, triathlon, swimming and biathlon. It was also fantastic to be able to host a number of partnership and Foundation sports events for the first time. The annual house swimming galas and sports days were a huge success with a number of school records being broken. CRICKET: The 1st XI have had a successful season culminating in a tour to Cambridge, playing in the P4S Big Bash Competition. It was an excellent way for many of the Year 8 pupils to finish their cricketing careers at APS with the chance to play at Fenner’s, the home of Cambridge University Cricket Club, whilst also enjoying a formal dinner and experiencing a night in University accommodation. The U11 and U10 sides continue to show a lot of promise with some superb team performances and individual achievements this season. This season we also saw our first Foundation fixture, with pupils from Abingdon School and APS combining to make two sides that faced the Dragon in two exciting matches. PARTNERSHIPS: It was a privilege to be able to welcome over 100 Year 2 primary school pupils to APS to enjoy a morning of cricket skills whilst being coached by staff and older pupils from across the Foundation. PLAYER PATHWAYS: Pupils continue to excel in a number of sports. Congratulations to Toby for reaching the ranking of 5th in the national squash standings, Arthur for attending a GB triathlon training camp, and Adhiraj, Oliver, Orlando, George, Wills, Jed, Max, Arthur, Paddy and Joseph for their involvement in SUMMER SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS the Oxfordshire Cricket pathway. In athletics, pupils competed brilliantly at the English Schools Track and Field Cup competition to win the County round. At the Mercia Championships, James ran a blistering time of 2.23 for the U13 800m, and Arthur ran an equally impressive time of 2.35 in the U12 800m, as well as jumping 4.05m in the long jump. Special mention must go to Toju, Jamie, Becket, Adam, Leone, Josh P, Monty, Joe, Wills and Huck for breaking school records at Sports Day. SWIMMING: Congratulations must be extended to the swimming team (Satoshi, Leo, Vincent, Josh and Leone) who competed in the National Championships at the London Aquatics Centre. Only the top 20 fastest swimmers across the country were eligible to compete in each discipline and Leone finished with a bronze medal in the 50m freestyle, a tremendous achievement. TENNIS: Pupils from U10-U13 have shown great progress and enjoyed tournaments at MCS, Moulsford, Radley and New College, playing on a variety of surfaces from hard to grass courts. WATER POLO: This summer saw the first water polo session take place at the senior school pool. Pupils were put through their paces by head coach Dan Mason and members of the senior team. We look forward to seeing how their cup campaign goes next year. A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this summer term one full of sporting opportunities and experiences for the pupils. We look forward to welcoming you all back to the rugby touchline this autumn. Elliot Birkbeck Malvern Cross Country The P4S Big Bash, Cambridge Partnerships Cricket Skills Event
abingdon.org.uk/prep 13 SPORT SPORTS DAY The last Saturday in June saw Years 3-8 gather at a sun-drenched Tilsley Park, taking advantage of the fantastic athletic facilities available there. There were some tremendous performances both on the track and in the field with numerous school records broken. The race to secure the most number of house points at the end of the competition was fierce and 3 houses were separated by just 8 points. Congratulations to everyone involved and well done to Unicorn who were crowned the winners. (Photos by Daniel Cook Photography.)
14 Abingdon Prep • September 2023 SPORTS SPORTS AWARDS The following awards were made at the School Prize Giving and the Cups and Colours Assembly: Prior Cup for Sportsplayer of the Year: Matt Anderson Cup for Cricket: Paddy APS Athletics Award: Jamie APS Basketball Award: Thomas and Noah APS Cross-Country Award: George M APS Football Award: Freddie J APS Hockey Award: Xavier APS Swimming Award: Laurie and Paul APS Table Tennis Award: Zayaan APS Tennis Award: Dawson Belvedere Shield for Rugby: Laurie Cricket All-Rounder Cup: Matt Junior Sportsplayer of the Year: Oliver and Leone Junior Young Blades Fencing Award: Aaron Full and half junior and senior colours and individual awards were presented for summer term sports. In cricket, awards were made to each year for ‘Most Improved Player’, ‘Player of the Year’ and ‘Clubman of the Year’. Awards were also given for junior and senior tennis and junior and senior ‘Athlete of the Year’.
abingdon.org.uk/prep 15 Destinations: Abingdon School (33) Harrow (1) Magdalen College (1) PRIZE GIVING AND FAREWELLS YEAR 8 SPECIAL AWARDS AND SUBJECT PRIZES Special Awards: The Governors’ Prize - for Cooperation and Kindness: Arun The Savin Cup - for academic achievement in the AP+ exams: Michael The Abingdon Award - for most outstanding academic results: Finn and Matteo Peer Cup - chosen by Y8: Ishaan Vaux Cup - for personal progress: George C APS All Rounder Award: Paul Subject Prizes and Awards: The Music Award: Xavier The Drama Award: Freddie Debating & Public Speaking Award: Stanley Chess Award: Toby Art: Lee and James Computing: Charlie and Arthur Drama: Zayaan, Barnaby and Arthur DT: George C, Ted and Oskar English: Toju French: Freddie H Geography: George M and Arun History: Matthew, Barnaby and Huck Latin: Toju Maths: Ishaan, Sammy, Michael and Finn Music: Lee, Rhys and Finn PSHCE: Noah and Oli R.E.: Arun Science: Matteo, Michael, George M and James YEAR 8 LEAVERS Destinations: Abingdon (33); Harrow (1); MCS (1)
16 Abingdon School • April 2023 ABINGDON NEWS BOATCLUB NATIONAL SCHOOLS REGATTA MATHEMATICALLY MINDED FINAL SOLO CONCERT PLATFORM On 9 May, the final solo concert platform of the year was hosted. It was a splendid occasion with some exceptionally memorable performances including David Hrushkovski performing Mozart’s Concerto for Clarinet, KV 622, complete with string quartet; Laurence Peverall demonstrated his technical prowess on the trumpet, playing a movement from Arutiunian’s Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra. The concert concluded with fireworks, as Ryan Ng performed Ravel’s Tzigane - a suitably joyous way of concluding the series. Congratulations to all musicians who performed this year. Abingdon has been awarded 1st place (UK Seniors) in the prestigious Náboj international mathematical competition, which brings together some of the brightest young mathematical minds from around the world. Designed to challenge students’ mathematical abilities and to foster a love for mathematics, it provides an excellent opportunity for students to showcase their talents and meet likeminded individuals from around the globe. This is the 2nd consecutive year that Abingdon has been awarded 1st place - a testament to the exceptional teaching at Abingdon and the talent of our students. Over half term, 90 students attended the National Schools Regatta at the 2012 Olympic course at Eton Dorney. The J16 and senior crews showed great attitude and raced hard with the J16Bs making the A final and the J16A, 1st and 2nd VIII racing competitively in the B finals in fiercely competitive events. Each of our J14 and J15 A and B crews qualified for the top finals of their event to secure spots in the top 6 in the country - a feat only achieved by one other school! The J14 A and B Octos finished 4th, narrowly missing out on medals. The highlight of the day was a nailbiting final in the J15B event, which saw Abingdon and Radley surging to the finish line locked together neck and neck. At the line Abingdon supporters were convinced they were ahead, Radley supporters were convinced it was them. A joint Gold medal was awarded in a dead heat to both worthy crews and national champions. Both the J14 C and J15 C crews also performed brilliantly to make the B final and finish in the top 12 in the country.
abingdon.org.uk 17 ABINGDON NEWS THE GREAT OUTOORS In June, 8 of our 4th Year students successfully completed their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) canoeing assessment on the River Medway. The group, who completed their training in May, braved the intense heat as they made their way from Tonbridge to Allington Lock, skilfully manoeuvring through the exciting canoe shoots along the river. The students’ resilience and teamwork shone through and their ability to navigate the unpredictable nature of the river exemplified their commitment, a testament to their unwavering spirit and determination to overcome challenges in pursuit of personal growth and achievement. A TASTE OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND On a sunny Sunday in May, a group of 20 boarders visited the historic Warwick Castle. As well as the castle itself, there was the opportunity to see a falconry display, practise archery and visit the town of Warwick. Everyone had a lovely time. The culmination of 5 months work by a larger team at school, 3 A Level Computer Science students attended the 2023 Student Robotics competition held at the University of Southampton over the Easter holidays. Each of the 30 competing teams was given a Robot 'brain' by organisers 'Student Robotics' and then challenged to design, build, programme and test a robot which would collect and transport cubes. The team found day one challenging as they came to terms with the activity of robots from the other schools in the arena. However, after analysing video taken of the other teams, and adapting the coding of their own robot, Abingdon developed a successful counter strategy which resulted in a significant and impressive improvement on day two, resulting in Abingdon coming 2nd overall. Peter Willis, Head of Computer Science, said: "I am very proud of our students who demonstrated their skill in engineering, their adaptivity and excellent teamwork in this prestigious competition." STUDENT ROBOTICS Holocaust survivor, Henry Schachter, visited Abingdon in June to give a talk to 4th Year history students. He brought the atrocities of the Holocaust to light by providing a general overview of the persecution of the Jews but he also shared his own personal and very tragic story - from being smuggled across the German border and having to go into hiding; to having to change his identity and be put into foster care; to losing his own parents who died in the labour camps and being reunited after the war with his uncle. The students were left with a far deeper understanding of the barbarism of the Nazi regime. HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR TALK
18 Abingdon Prep • September 2023 PEOPLE - FOND FAREWELLS ANNE PARKER As many of us know, Anne’s mind thinks in numbers, patterns and geometric shapes, such is her keen interest in Maths. It is only fitting that this farewell starts with some key numbers. Anne has been a Maths teacher at our school for nearly 21 years. In her 1st year, she already had 1 son at the school with her 2nd son just starting. After volunteering in the library, she became a Maths teacher and after her 5th year of being here, took on her own form. 13 years ago I had the great pleasure of starting to work alongside Anne in the Maths department and over the years got to know her as a colleague and friend. As part of her charity fundraising, she started the ever popular APS Bake-Off 8 years ago. If all the pupils she had taught Maths since being here were to sit in our hall, we would need one 3 times its size just to fit them in. Here are all those numbers: 21,1,1,2,5,13,8,3 If we rearrange them, they form the Fibonacci sequence which is rather special. It appears all around us from sunflower seed patterns, the platelets on pineapples, waves in the sea, shells on a beach and even in space. We see the effects of the sequence all around us without it really shouting loudly that it is there. Anne’s impact on this school over her time here is very similar - what she has achieved has affected many lives both in and out of school, but she herself, remains firmly in the wings, preferring to allow the pupils or colleagues to take the spotlight. As Head of Maths, she has steered the department through various changes of staff over the years and diligently and patiently guided all through various initiatives. From Maths challenges to estimation activities, Anne has helped support and nurture all mathematical abilities. Her creativity has come to the fore through the excellent work she has done as Charities Coordinator, helping the school raise over £80,000 for various local charities. Whether you have dressed as dogs, placed silver coins, swum as far as you can, baked your showstopper or donated clothing, Anne has ensured that you have all had fun whilst remembering the very important message of thinking of others. As a form teacher, Anne has supported so many over the years whether in daily school life or through more challenging times and does so quietly and discreetly. She has helped pupils on a range of trips from the recent Rockley visit to many years of trying to tame her competitive edge when engaging in inter-class Laserquest. As a colleague, Anne is greatly respected by all - calm, kind, caring, wise and someone who supports others when they need it. Anne - thank you so much for all you have done and we wish you all the very best over the coming years. We will miss you greatly. Rachel Pairman RICHARD CAMPBELL Numa started at Abingdon Prep in January 2023 and has been a huge asset to the staff room. She has been involved in absolutely everything we have done at school in the past two terms and has worked tirelessly for the staff and for the pupils. She is talented in many ways, not only managing to coach all our sports on the games field and in PE lessons but also equally helpful in the classroom and on various school trips. Whether it be tossing pancakes on Shrove Tuesday or playing her guitar in assembly and in concerts, she will be greatly missed as she has become a cult figure amongst the pupils in a short space of time. We wish her all the very best at Bristol University where she will be studying medicine from October. Richard Sutton NUMA SHAH From being a friendly presence in the car park first thing in the morning, to the daily rounds of putting tables and chairs out, away, repeat... Richard has been great company during his time with us as our porter. He retired from being a coach driver to take up this job, but will now spend (cough) more time on the golf course. We will all miss Richard: for his chat, his baking and especially his dreadful puns!
abingdon.org.uk/prep 19 NATASHA WATSON SEAN FITZPATRICK modestly plays down). The children have experienced a diverse range of music, including classical, musical theatre, folk and rap. There has been something for everyone, from Pre-Prep through to our oldest pupils. His boundless energy and infectious enthusiasm has made every music lesson and singing practice so much fun. I have certainly enjoyed working with Sean. We have all loved the fun warm up exercises and, of course, the Freddie Mercury impressions! I am sorry that the teaching profession will Sean joined Abingdon Prep in January 2020. I remember it well as, less than three months later, we were in lockdown. I thought, how on earth is he going to teach music online? Not only did he manage to do this, he even continued the whole school singing assemblies and performance platforms. Sean’s energy, enthusiasm and positivity were evident from the very start. Sean’s passion for music shines through in every lesson and he tries to instil it in everyone he teaches. He has an incredible technical knowledge of singing, and amazing keyboard skills (which he lose such an amazing teacher, but wish him the best of luck in his new venture with Prancing Properties. Lenka Sowter Natasha joined Abingdon Prep along with Russell and I back in 2018, and in that time she has become a close colleague and friend. It is clear that Natasha has passion and drive for all elements of English and Drama. I remember early on a very heated discussion about spelling and, trust me, there have been a few more since then. In my opinion, Natasha portrays the traits that we look for in our pupils: she is kind, works hard and gets involved. As a scientist, you’ll understand that I can’t make such a statement without evidence. Natasha is kind: When Year 7 had a mock court day before lockdown, she was happy to act as an alcoholic who had been accused of stealing a bottle of wine, turning in a star performance. She will always be on hand to do make-up for events too. Natasha works hard: In the time she has been at APS there have been many productions, including Shakespeare playlets in Year 6 and the huge Senior Section plays and musicals. Section staff support these, but this is nothing in comparison to the hard work and effort required to manage the casting, directing and producing involved. Alongside managing a core subject like English this shows the insurmountable effort Natasha has made in her time at APS. Natasha gets involved: From dressing up on World Book Day and leading assemblies to supporting pupils during the long jump at Sports Day, Natasha is always happy to get involved with any activity pupils are doing. She finds ways to creatively teach English, whether this be the ‘film in a day’ school or ‘Victorian Waxworks’. This is in addition to her unrelenting efforts to work with our youngest pupils in Pre-Prep to engage them with writing. On a personal note, I will always remember fondly our Year 7 trip to Stratford last year, and how much time she spent googling local places we could visit so that we could give them a fun end of year trip in light of not going to France. There is a good reason why we ended up going to the birthplace of Shakespeare. Natasha loves teaching and pupils love being taught by her. She will be greatly missed by all at APS. Rebecca Schwarz
20 Abingdon Prep • September 2023 AbingdonPrep News is the newsletter of Abingdon Preparatory School, Josca’s House, Kingston Road, Oxford OX13 5NX Tel: 01865 391570 www.abingdon.org.uk/prep Editor: Annabel Gaskell Abingdon School is a company limited by guarantee Registered in England and Wales Company No. 3625063. Registered Office: Abingdon School, Park Road, Abingdon, OX14 1DE Registered Charity No. 1071298 CHARITIES AND PEOPLE Pre-Prep have proved to be super charity fundraisers this term. In May, they raised £742 during their sponsored read, which will go to the Oxford Food Hub. In addition, during the last week of term, Reception held a craft sale and Year 1 sold the herbs they had grown raising a further £162, also for the Food Hub. £902 is a huge total. Pretty good charity work for half a term from only 33 children and families! PRE-PREP SPONSORED READ AND CRAFT SALE This has been another really successful fundraising year, in which we have supported a variety of different charities. As the Ukraine situation escalated, pupils and parents responded with generous donations of sleeping bags, clothes and food. Our sponsored swim helped support the Red Cross appeal after the Turkish/Syrian earthquake, raising in excess of £2000 from over 1500 lengths of the 25m Abingdon School pool, an amazing achievement from our young swimmers. Our other school events, including the return of the popular Great APS Bake Off and the Pre-Prep sponsored read and craft stall all helped to support the Oxfordshire charities, The Food Hub and Soundabout. The children came up with some exciting events to raise money for their chosen house charities too - including sponge throwing at teachers, a penalty shootout, tuck shop and tombola. Thank you for all your kind and generous support. Anne Parker CHARITIES ROUND-UP GRIFFIN PENALTY SHOOT-OUT BAKE-OFF - THE JUDGES! JUNIOR FINAL SENIOR FINAL SPONSORED SWIM We are extremely grateful to the families of our departing Year 8 students for their generous and unique leavers’ gift. They commissioned a driftwood unicorn, complete with a golden horn, sculpted by a Scottish artist. A stone plinth will follow, but the sculpture is already attracting attention on our garden island at the front of the building. THANK YOU! YEAR 8 LEAVERS’ GIFT
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