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
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