Newsletter

24 May 2024

It has been another super purposeful half-term at Feltonfleet. This past two weeks has seen lots of outdoor learning, Come & See Swim sessions, a visit to the Natural History Museum, Pre-Prep Parents’ Evenings, Cricket fixtures, Informal Coffee Concerns featuring sax, clarinet, piano and guitar players, and a brilliant Instrumental Gala showcasing performances from the excellent music ensembles that meet weekly to practise and play.

It’s so encouraging seeing the growth in confidence and self-esteem exhibited by our Pre-Prep and Lower School pupils. Their eagerness to share their learning experiences and articulate what they have enjoyed and the progress they are making is always so refreshing and encouraging. Feltonfleet pupils have so much energy and character and I also love that pupils of all ages frequently poke their head into my office or wave through the windows to say hello and ask me about my day, even when I’m in a meeting!

This morning we gathered as a community to celebrate the record breaking achievement of our Year 8 pupils who secured an incredible 32 senior school scholarships, including 8 academic scholarships to leading schools. We are extremely proud of all our pupils who embarked on a scholarship programme, including those who narrowly missed out. The process and experience often yield the most significant personal growth and academic learning.

In recognition of this accomplishment, we organised a community Ice Cream Celebration and welcomed Mr Rocky on site. It was lovely to gather everyone together on the main campus from Nursery to Year 8 to celebrate together.

I also want to express my sincere gratitude for your continued patience and support during the challenging period of the roadworks. Please be assured it will all be worth it in the end with a much improved road layout and new school entrance. I wish you and your families a restful and enjoyable break before we begin the exciting final half term.

In our We Belong podcast this week, we talk with one of our Year 7 pupils, Amani F.

Amani speaks openly about her heritage, her religion and how she celebrates her culture.

In the course of our discussion, she explores the journey she has been on so far in developing her sense of identity and tells us how her confidence has grown, so that she feels increasingly able to express herself and reflect who she really is.

Amani shares how she has been made to feel through unthinking or deliberate comments or behaviour targeted towards her. She explains what constitutes a microaggression and explores what might lead someone to make a comment which is directed at someone else’s protected characteristics.

You will hear how she deals with others’ ignorance or unkindness, with her clarity of mature thought and articulation of her views showing us that the key to change is education.

Thank you, Amani, for being willing to share your ongoing personal story with us, which you do with such eloquence and strength.

We apologise for the sound quality of parts of this episode. Amani is very clear throughout, Miss Marland and Mrs Sieczko are increasingly not so clear. We are making technical adjustments to our equipment in order to improve the listeners’ future experience.

If you would like to listen to previous episodes of the We Belong podcast, please use the links below.

#FeltonfleetWhereIndividualsReallyMatter

This week has seen the Year 8 pupils meeting with members of the Senior Leadership Team to discuss their PSPQ extended essay in a viva interview held to add weight to the overall assessment of this significant final year project. We have enjoyed meeting with the pupils individually and spending some quality time finding out about what they have learned from the research process, and their insights gained. The pupils spoke with great enthusiasm and confidence, expressing their satisfaction of completing the project and reflecting on the challenges along the way, gaining a greater understanding of working independently, managing time and meeting deadlines.

Pupils begin the Spring term thinking about topics that interest them, They then select one of these to take forward and devise a question that can be investigated as a discursive essay. We look at how to select suitable resources, being aware of bias, opinion and reliability. They learn how to reference and compile a bibliography, and how to carry out a survey using Google Forms. Pupils are expected to investigate, analyse, evaluate and express their own ideas. The project is conducted entirely at school and the final outcome is an iBook complete with a video review, reflecting on the process and the project as a whole. The learning experience is so valuable for the next stage of their educational journey.

#FeltonfleetDestination13

Our Pre-Prep day begins with the larks when our first Early Birds arrive in the Calvi House nest. A lovely soft start to the day welcomes the children with stories and cuddles for those who need a gentle awakening. As more friends join us, Breakfast begins and we all tuck into croissants, toast, cereal and fruit with games in the garden as others arrive before registration.

At the other end of the day, our Owls children stay and play with friends across the Pre-Prep year groups or in their chosen clubs. Pupils staying for supper join the boarders in the Dining Room, where they dine with the Owls team at the end of the day. From dawn until dusk, the learning and laughter continues to flow through the Pre-Prep where the children are nurtured by familiar staff members for every minute of their day.

In Pre-Prep we follow the principles of Friedrich Froebel - founding father of the first ever Kindergarten - which translates to a ‘garden for children’. Froebel’s words ring true through the principle of ‘Engagement with Nature’, in a quote - The child should experience nature ‘in all its aspects – form, energy, substance, sound and colour’. (Froebel in Lilley 1967:148).

This term, the children in Nursery and Reception have been learning about the life cycle of the butterfly, with Nursery children nurturing their own cycle of metamorphosis. In RE we linked the learning to the story of Bilal and the Butterfly, to appreciate the creation of all the colours of the natural world.

#FeltonfleetPrePrep

Marvellous Maths!

Pupils in the Lower School have enjoyed a range of ‘hands on’ activities over the last few weeks as they have been focussing on the topics of time, money and shape.

In Year 3, pupils have been learning to read hours and minutes accurately, using analogue teaching clocks as well as fun, interactive games on iPads. Feeling increasingly confident in their time telling, Year 4 pupils have been challenged with digital and analogue problems in lessons and have realised the important real life benefits in getting to grips with reading clocks!

In one maths set, pupils created ‘shops,’ which their friends ‘visited’ to ‘buy’ items such as sweets, sports equipment and video games. This challenged them to mentally calculate totals and work out change. Another fun activity was the ‘shape hunt’ around school, where pupils were tasked with identifying triangles, quadrilaterals and other polygons, which they then had to describe the properties of, using accurate technical vocabulary.

It has been lovely to see all the pupils engage so well in their Maths lessons recently, clearly relishing the chance to apply maths to real life scenarios and practical activities.

#FeltonfleetYear3

#FeltonfleetYear4

Improvisation: a staff meeting

This past week, Year 6 pupils were welcomed outside the Ashbee theatre by Mr Fellingham: “Head of Fellinghamfleet School, Cobham''. The “Staff” then entered the Ashbee Theatre and completed an INSET at the beginning of the 2035 Autumn term!

Each “Teacher” then met up with their working groups and set targets for that coming year; presenting them to the rest of the faculty and uploading them to Seesaw for the governor and bursar approval.

This activity was all part of a larger topic of improvisation this term in Drama. Year 6 have worked on a topic of “Skin” and developed the skills of saying ‘Yes..and…’, finding the ‘truth’ and having a ‘purpose’/message across an improvisation. So far groups have produced 5 separate pieces on 5 different skin themed stimuli.

For this particular activity, however, pupils were told back in April that they would be greeted in character at “some point” during the term! It could be a pirate welcoming their crew to a ship, a parent welcoming guests into a party or an alien introducing themselves to the local people having just crash-landed. Whenever this happened, pupils were told to attempt to go along with this in-role improvisation without any discussion, planning or questioning.

Year 6 responded exceptionally well and not only managed to create an unprepared 55 minute, continuous piece of believable drama that resembled many a staff INSET (coffee cups and scrawled note-taking included), but they also thought of such interesting and mature ideas for school targets at “Felinghamfleet School” that we are actually sharing these with our real staff at Feltonfleet to discuss with prefects and other department members!

#FeltonfleetPerformingArts

#FeltonfleetYear6

As the Year 8 pupils approach their all important end of year PSB Latin assessment, we have been finding more creative ways to revise vocabulary and grammar. Gone are the days of simply learning by rote and chanting repeatedly! This week Year 8 played the game ‘Hop Off!’. In teams of six they studied a Latin story, quizzed each other, then attempted different questions based on the story to earn points for their team. But beware the ‘Hop Off’ card, which eliminates half of your teams’ points! All the pupils worked hard, some challenging themselves with some really tricky 10-point questions, but in the end it was Team C who were victorious!

Helen Marsh

#FeltonfleetLanguages

#FeltonfleetYear8

When shall we three meet again?

Their exams over, Year 8 scholars are now dipping into Macbeth. Below is a film made by pupils Charlie H, Charlie M, Will T and Sam H, showing them having fun making their own witches spells!

Coffee Concerts

Over the last fortnight, we enjoyed three wonderful concerts featuring students of Mr Maunder (guitar), Mrs Howden (piano) and Mr Fryer (saxophone & clarinet). Beginners performed alongside more advanced players, and everyone performed confidently to an appreciative audience of parents and friends.

Thank you to all Feltonfleet families who were able to come and support our young musicians.

Chris Andrews

#FeltonfleetPerformingArts

Book Fair

On Friday afternoon the whole school from nursery to Year 8 were able to enjoy the book fair that was put on for them at school pick up. There were lots of happy children with their new books, and happy librarians with funds raised for the school libraries.

Book Recommendations

One of the Year 4 English groups spent some of their library time writing book recommendations, some of which are below.

Francesca Kinghorn & Emma Burnside

#FeltonfleetLiteracy

Congratulations to Poppy Q (6ARi)

tennis

Having lost to Amesbury at the back end of last term, the U13s had all to play for in their triangular against RGS and Reed’s. This match was split over two different dates, due to being heavily rain-affected. Having lost both rubbers on the first date before the rain came in, it looked like being a tall order to win either of the matches. However, as always, the Feltonfleet spirit and fight took over and we managed to get the win over Reed’s before narrowly losing out to RGS. Unbelievable tenacity and resilience from the boys. It may not be enough to see us through to the Surrey Schools League Finals day, but we couldn’t be prouder of the team. (D. Greve, H. Macey, M. Greve and O. Wilcox).

Our U9 boys' tennis team had a memorable afternoon competing in the Surrey Schools League against Amesbury A and Amesbury B. Playing on the astro during a long, hot day, they showcased exceptional young talent. The highlight of the afternoon came down to two championship tie breaks: Christopher and Roshan triumphed over Amesbury A, while George and Rory narrowly lost to Amesbury B. This resulted in an exciting prep school draw for the entire fixture, highlighting the team's determination and skill. We will wait to see the final results of the SSL and whether the boys will be invited to the Finals afternoon at St George’s.

Swimming

We’re delighted to share Sophie’s great achievement at a swim meet in Crawley last weekend. She swam PB’s in every race and won her first Level 1 meet medal - bronze for 50m Backstroke.Sophie’s sprint events are also improving and she was very pleased with the result, it was definitely her best swim meet in a long time. Congratulations Sophie!

Sailing

Harry also won his sailing club trophy for the best cadet for the year at Desborough Sailing club. Well done Harry!

IAPS Triathalon

Aldro 8 Athletics

On Friday 17 May, Feltonfleet athletes from Year 4 to Year 8 made their way to Guildford Spectrum for a wonderful afternoon of athletics. The pupils were focused and diligent from the start, demonstrating great courage and resilience in the hurdles, sprints and middle distance track events. These were all fiercely contested to the last metre and there were great performances from Aisha, Jay, Benji, and Elizabeth in the 1200m and 1500m. There were also some amazing performances in the field events by Oliver and Aisha in the high jump, with Aisha setting a PB. Benji also mastered the triple jump and went on to win the event on his debut. The Year 4 pupils need a special mention as this was their first major competition and they all excelled.

RESTLESS DEVELOPMENT TRIATHLON

Some of our pupils took part int the Knight Frank Schools Triathlon over the last two weekends to raise money for Restless Development. One of the largest mass-participation sporting charity events, aimed particularly at young people in the UK, this event helps thousands of young people around the world to transform their communities through better access to health, education and life skills. It’s also a lot of fun!

In teams of 4, pupils complete 3 sports in a relay format, allowing each team member to swim, cycle and run before crossing the finish line as a team. In the Years 3 - 4 category, an impressive 20 teams were entered by Feltonfleet pupils, 15 teams in the Years 5 - 6 age group, and 6 teams representing Years 7 - 8.

Special mention go to the following teams:

• Brilliant Booming Bouncing Bananas (Hugo H, Seb M, Rory D & George P) who came in fourth out of 123 teams in the Year 3 - 4 age group
• Giggling Sloths (Henny, Thomas B, Charlie & Oli B) who came in third place out of 104 teams in the Year 5 - 6 age group
• Turbo Jet Washers (Alex W, Charlie MA, Sam H & Harry H) who topped the leader board in the Years 7 - 8 category!
  

girls’ sport round up

Our girls' cricket teams have had an eventful and competitive season. The U11s secured three impressive victories against Surbiton, while the U9 Grey team triumphed over Downsend. The 1st XI showed great determination in a narrow loss to Epsom College by just 5 runs, and our 2nds to 4ths teams faced Thomas' Clapham with enthusiasm. The U10s enjoyed a productive afternoon with Surbiton, winning two out of four matches. Additionally, the U11A team showcased their skills at a softball festival at St George's on Saturday morning, demonstrating power with the bat and precision with the ball. Despite a challenging match against a talented Cranleigh side, where the 1st XI were bowled out for 56, they made a commendable comeback in the field by taking 5 wickets, though they ultimately came in second. The girls’ performances reflect their hard work and passion for the game.

Our Year 3 girls had their first cricket fixture this week. They shared their thoughts on the experience below.

#FeltonfleetSport

BOYS’ SPORT

The past 2 weeks have been nothing different from the boys. All pupils have taken part in cricket and have been superb.

Our U8s had a fantastic first fixture Vs Shrewsbury house. All our boys represented Feltonfleet brilliantly and was a really enjoyable afternoon. Our U9s completed 2 wins and a loss over at downsend for a highly competitive afternoon and then visited Parkside for a cleansweep of victories. This is also the first time we’ve ever fielded 2 hardball teams in the Lower School, so a huge well done to those boys!

The U10s gained vengeance for the U9s and completed 3 wins from 3 against Downsend, the U10Bs also took on and overturned Hall Grove U10A team! Some amazing talent in this year group for sure! Our U11s saw off St. George’s Weybridge with 2 wins from 3. Our U11A team also qualified for the regional semi-finals of the Geoff Richard Cup, as well as the next round of the Verney Cup (against St. George’s Weybridge) and will play RGS Prep in the Semi-Final of the Surrey Prep Schools cup. Exciting times ahead!

Onto the seniors, where we saw our first upset of the season, with our 1-4th teams losing to Epsom College. The boys picked themselves up to win all but 1 of 6 senior matches against Downsend (I see a trend here!). It was a similar story when facing Hall Grove, our 1st team boys had a convincing victory. Our 3rd team boys put in a phenomenal effort vs Hall Grove 2nds to only just lose.

Looking ahead after half-term, we have a full block of 6 teams vs Rokeby, as well as our first team will face St John’s Leatherhead in the next round of the Watchyn Evans Cup (quarter final) and have Cranmore in the Prep Schools Cup Semi-final.

Andrew Rishton

#FeltonfleetSport

2024 has proved to be an exceptional year for securing senior school scholarships. For our Year 8 pupils, it has been a record breaking year with 32 scholarships awarded. Our Year 6 pupils have also been successfully awarded 5 senior school scholarships. Massive congratulations to all these pupils who truly deserve this prestigious recognition for all their hard work, commitment and talents.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all our pupils who were scholarship candidates this year, including those who narrowly missed out. The maturity, determination, and talent each of you demonstrated in stepping forward and preparing for the assessments is truly commendable. The entire Feltonfleet community is incredibly proud of you all.

#FeltonfleetDestination13

Last week, our House Captains led house assemblies focused on the theme of kindness. They explored the profound impact that acts of kindness can have, emphasising how a single kind gesture can set off a positive chain reaction, influencing many others. To reinforce the importance of kindness within our school community, we are excited to announce that House Points awarded for acts of kindness will be worth double this term. We hope this initiative will inspire our pupils to continue to cultivate a compassionate and supportive environment for everyone.

The posters below give more information on our Kindness Stone competition and our House T-Shirt challenge.

#FeltonfleetWellbeingAndCommunity

Pre-Prep

Matilda H (1For) - For courage and progress in swimming.

Lower School

Sienna B (4MSm) - For a great first half term at Feltonfleet, getting stuck in to everything on offer and taking new challenges in her stride.

Middle School

Charlotte LA (5NKa) - For her positive outlook and for always being kind and generous to those around her.

Upper School

Oscar W (7BDa) - Oscar is always looking for ways to improve. He is conciencious in his work and repectful towards all others. .

#FeltonfleetCharacterAndCulture

#FeltonfleetPeopleAndCommunity

Please send your news, or any feedback, to marketing@feltonfleet.co.uk.