Reception have been working hard to develop their athletics skills ahead of Sports Day. The children have been encouraged to think about ‘winning’ in a different light. We have discussed not only the usual view where the winner is the first person across the finish line but also how winning can look different to each person depending on what their goals are. The aim this week was for the children to choose events that they felt they needed to practise in order to be the best that they could be. Watching the children demonstrate independence in their ability to make their own decisions, I was impressed with their recall of teaching points and how they worked together to take turns, create running races, and ensure everyone stayed safe during the throwing events.

Jess Oecken, Head of Pre-Prep Sport

Year 1 visited Chithurst monastery to gain an understanding of the daily practices and lifestyle of Buddhists. As part of their studies on different world religions, the children heard some inspiring stories and were amazed to see how the monks lived in their West Sussex retreat. Many children cited hearing the monks chanting as a big highlight of the day as they found their inner peace and calmed their bodies, while the importance of karma and gaining happiness by forgiving others proved to be excellent discussion points.

Hannah Feery, Year 1 Class Teacher

In maths this week, Year 2 were tasked with using a number square to support their learning of adding together two two-digit numbers that would bridge into the next whole ten. The children displayed excellent understanding of the different methods available to them to succeed in their challenges, namely decoding, number squares, partitioning and bar models. The outcome of the test was incredibly positive as all the children could confidently recall their prior learning and further consolidated their ability to tackle worded addition and subtraction problems.

Charlie Millsom, Year 2 Class Teacher

Year 3 this week embarked on a mission to save Petersfield from becoming a concrete jungle. Constantly thwarted by evil scientist Dr Ivor Plott, who was thrown off the local council and, in an act of revenge, planted a devastating device somewhere in the locale aimed at ruining all the town’s excellent environmental work, Year 3 had to solve clues relating to the East Hampshire town’s rich history in order to earn a code which could deactivate Dr Plott’s dastardly device. The clues guided the intrepid spies to find Dragon House, a 16^th Century building which now houses a dental practice, an ancient sign showing walkers and carriages how far it is to Portsmouth, and the location of a flint arrowhead dug up by archaeologists. Not only did the Year 3 detectives use their Morse code skills and alphabetical ordering to solve the clues, they took on board vital instruction and demonstrated exactly what they are capable of when they work together.

Rosie Statham, Head of Year 3

Year 5 historians this week wound the clock back to the time of the Vikings. The children dug deep into the rich Viking history, considering their beliefs, myths and religions and discovering fascinating facts about their gods and goddesses which sparked intelligent and informed discussion in the classroom. The children took it in turns to highlight and read out interesting Viking-related facts; boosting their confidence in public speaking while giving their classmates the opportunity to jot down crucial notes which they can use in future lessons on one of history’s most captivating and colourful periods.

Robert Grech, Year 5 History Teacher

Adventurous Year 6 had a fantastic residential trip to Ironbridge, actively participating in a variety of learning activities in this historic Shropshire village which is widely cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. The children especially enjoyed rafting down the River Severn, demonstrating just how effective they can be when they work as a team, and learning about the area’s rich industrial heritage as they brought their history and geography studies to life. They rounded off a brilliant educational trip by paying a visit to Stratford-upon-Avon, the home of William Shakespeare, whose work the children study in English. Year 6’s positive attitude, enthusiasm and engagement throughout was fantastic, making the trip a resounding success.

Simon Gunn, Year 6 Class Teacher

The seconds secured an impressive 66-run win against Edgeborough thanks to a solid all-round display. Underpinned by good knocks from Bryn E, Jack H and Gus B in the middle order, Highfield ended their 20 overs on 124-6. With a competitive score on the board and ball in hand, the bowlers immediately put pressure on the Edgeborough batsmen, with Wilf W getting both openers out early. This set the tone for the rest of the innings as Highfield skittled out Edgeborough for just 58 runs.

Oli Backhouse, 2nd XI Cricket Coach

It’s fair to say that 26-6 from five overs is a terrible start to any cricket match, but that was the situation facing Highfield early in their game against visitors Edgeborough. However, the steady head of Ollie G, who hit a brilliant 34, and a late flourish from Jorge L enabled the fourth XI to post a commendable score of 107 runs off their 20 overs. Edgeborough knocked off the required runs to secure the win, but it was a lot closer than it looked like being in the early stages. The game was played in tremendous spirit throughout, with several Highfield players fielding for the opposition in a show of great sportsmanship.

Richard Dunn, 4th XI Cricket Coach

Highfield fifths were on the wrong end of a close result, losing by just 11 runs to visitors Edgeborough in a fascinating game. With Highfield fielding first, Edgeborough were restricted to 89-5 off their 15 overs as Alex S bowled a tidy spell, Max G did a great job behind the stumps and Caelan M was a constant source of encouragement to his teammates in the field. In reply, Highfield showed good technique and composure with the bat but ultimately fell just short on 78-5 from their allotted overs.

Michael Chapman, 5th XI Cricket Coach

With the dust only just settling on their Common Entrance exams, rehearsals have begun in earnest for Year 8’s grand end-of-term production, School of Rock. Today saw the first read through of the whole script, with the children discovering their vital roles in the story. With an exhilarating trip next week to Wales in their sights, Year 8 will return to a transformed sports hall and the stage will be set for rehearsals to continue apace ahead of their dramatic swansong.

Sarah Baird, Head of Drama