8 Abingdon Prep • September 2024 AROUND SCHOOL Year 6 pupils were tasked with researching a Great Life from history as part of their English topic on the art of rhetoric. The debating form for this task was a balloon debate in which the speakers needed to persuade the audience as to why they should keep their place in the balloon and not be thrown into the sea (to shed weight). Pupils had to prepare a speech VERSE SPEAKING FINAL The Verse Speaking Competition final followed the class heats, in which every pupil in Years 3-6 had recited a poem they had learned by heart. Class winners went forward to the final, where we welcomed Ben Phillips, from Abingdon School to be the judge once again. YEAR 6 BALLOON DEBATE that gave a voice to the achievements of their character and the finalists were required to perform this to the Middle Section. Many great lives were considered but the overall winners were Graydon (Nelson Mandela) and Noe (Antonie van Leeuwenhoek). The standard of the speeches was excellent and all finalists performed admirably, receiving medals and prizes for their effort. LANGUAGES TASTER SESSIONS INTERNATIONAL WEEK Year 8 pupils were given the opportunity to try the variety of languages – German, Mandarin and Spanish – which they might wish to opt for in Year 9 at their senior schools. We are grateful to Regina, Yi and Alex from the Abingdon School MFL Department for providing them with a dynamic and purposeful taster in their respective languages. International Week included an opportunity for Year 3 and 4 children to taste breads from different countries. These included Scwarzbrot; croissants, pain au chocolat and brioche; and pitta with hummus - the latter being a favourite for many! EMPIRE WINDRUSH In Geography, exploring population and migration, Year 7 looked at the legacy of the Empire Windrush and the ‘Windrush Generation’, which saw half a million Commonwealth citizens settle in Britain from 1948 onwards. The pupils made models of the ship, and leaflets that potential migrants might have been given. In their Forest School sessions this term, Year 3 used dice to decide things to collect. They then made arrangements of their finds. FOREST SCHOOL
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