Dear Parents,
With just two weeks left of the Autumn term the festive spirit is here and excitement is building at St Edward's! This week has been full of Nativity rehearsals as all the Pre-Prep children practise their lines and songs and get their costumes ready for next week, along with the sound of Christmas songs from classrooms around the school in preparation for the choir singing at The Oracle shopping centre and our upcoming Carol Service.
There is so much to look forward to and celebrate and you can find all the details in the calendar reminder section below. In addition to these events where we connect with our parent community, the children will also be enjoying a number of activities with their classmates and Houses. The most exciting is Thursday 12 December, where we will have our amazing Christmas Lunch from Chef Linda, class parties and the children can come to school wearing Christmas jumpers. As well as this festive fun, in the final week there will be special treats for the winning class and wining House when the points totals for this term have been counted.
On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of accompanying Year 1 and Year 2 on a trip to the Watermill Theatre in Newbury to watch a brand-new musical performance of Pinocchio. The experience was truly remarkable. We were seated just metres away from the actors, allowing us to enjoy a fully immersive experience. The production featured beautifully crafted puppets, impressive singing, outstanding acting and a range of clever and memorable special effects that added a touch of magic to the show.
2025/2026 Term Dates: These are now available on the website via the link below. A reminder of the new Parent Portal password: t1Lehurst*R0ad.
Finally, a note for Nursery parents to say that a communication was sent out yesterday with details of how our new room is progressing and updates on changes in funding, hours and fees next year.
Calendar Reminders
Here are the key dates coming up until the end of term.
- Touch Rugby Fixtures: Wednesday 4 December - Y5 & 6 vs Reddam House (away), Friday 6 December - Y3 & 4 vs Reddam House, St Neots and Brockhurst (away at Reddam).
- Nativity: Tuesday 3 December, 2.30pm and Thursday 5 December at 9.15am.
- Celebration Assembly: Friday 6 December - the final one of the term, where we award House point badges and sports colours and find out who the winning House of the term is.
- FREDs Mince Pie Mixer: Friday 6 December, 3.45pm - see below for more details.
- Prep Choir at The Oracle: Tuesday 10 December, 2.30pm, outside the H&M store. See below for more details.
- Christmas Day at St Edward's: Thursday 12 December - Your child is welcome to come to school wearing a Christmas Jumper. Please bring £1 to support us in raising money for the local Refugee Support Group this festive season.
- Carol Service: Friday 13 December, 11am at All Saints Church on Brownlow Road. Full details below.
Important Update on VAT for Clubs Next Term
We would like to inform you that VAT will be chargeable on certain clubs taking place next term. This applies specifically to instructor-led clubs where children are learning specific skills. Examples include sports clubs with instructors, art clubs focused on teaching artistic techniques, coding clubs, martial arts and similar skill-based activities.
Next week, we will be sending out a list of clubs available for the new term, along with the adjusted pricing. Please note that some clubs may have higher fees due to this VAT inclusion. Thank you for your understanding, and we appreciate your support.
Carols at the Oracle
On Tuesday 10 December at 2.30pm the Prep Choir will be singing carols at the Oracle shopping centre, as we have done in previous year. We will transport all the children via our minibuses and you are welcome to join us there, outside H&M, to watch. This is a lovely chance for us to showcase our choir and a great opportunity for them to sing in public. We are expecting to take children back to school but you are welcome to take them home straight from the event if you are coming to watch. We look forward to seeing you there.
The St Edward's Prep Carol Service
I am delighted to invite you to the final event of the Autumn Term at St Edward's Prep, our annual Carol Service on Friday 13 December. We are looking forward to coming together as a community to celebrate our pupils as they perform a variety of festive pieces, as well as marking the occasion of Christmas and singing some traditional carols together. Please note that the school will be closed following the event, so please make arrangements for your child to travel home afterwards. I hope to see you there.
Year 3 & 4 Residential Update: Action Required
We are happy to share the full details of next year's exciting residential trip for Years 3 and 4. Follow the link below to read the letter from our trip leaders, to complete the trip form and to view the recording and slides from yesterday's information evening.
Years 5 & 6 Atom Learning Assessments
Next week pupils in Years 5 and 6 will be sitting some assessments on Atom Learning, covering arithmetic, mathematical reasoning, reading skills, grammar, punctuation and vocabulary. These will be completed online on the pupils' devices so please ensure they are charged each evening and that they have their chargers and headphones with them as usual. Some of the assessments will be available online for a few days but we ask that the children do not do these at home.
Atom Learning have also put together some free resources to support you on your 11+ journey. These include practice materials, webinars and tools for parents to help at home. You can check them out below. I hope they are useful.
Year 5 Resources:
- Parent FAQs
- Parents' guide to the ISEB
- Free 11+ worksheets
- 11+ vocabulary list
- When to start 11+ prep
- Balancing family life and 11+ preparation webinar
Year 6 Resources:
Drum Lessons Available
If your child is interested in trying drum lessons with Mr Scott, he has some lesson slots available on Fridays. To register your interest and find out more, please contact him directly on j-p-scott@hotmail.com. This is a great opportunity to try something new and take advantage of the specialist tuition on offer.
Maths Challenge Competition Winners
Thank you again to everyone who submitted entries to the recent Maths Challenge Competition for Maths Week. It was wonderful to receive so many fantastic entries. Well done to the winners in the following categories - it was a difficult task to choose! Each will receive ten House points each and had their names mentioned in this morning's Celebration Assembly.
- Pre-Prep: Rohan Sudhersan - a wonderful video entry involving Rohan presenting an exciting number trick.
- Years 3 & 4: Shourya Safal Sable - an incredibly detailed football Maths problem involving FIFA football teams in the 2028 World Cup.
- Years 5 & 6: Afolabi Ajayi - a fun Maths problem involving Douglas Buchanan's colourful ties and different combinations of possibilities.
Holiday Club: One Week Left to Book
Don't forget that booking is open for this year's Christmas Holiday Club, which will run from Monday 16 to Friday 20 December.
Click below to book your place and if you have any questions, please get in touch on holiday-club@stedwardsprep.com. Booking will close on Sunday 8 December.
A Festive Celebration
A reminder that next Friday you are invited to join us at the end of the school day for some festive refreshments at the FREDs Mince Pie Mixer. From 3.45pm we'll be serving mince pies and other treats in the hall and would love to see you there.
Donate your pre-loved Christmas jumpers and books: We plan to have a selection of Christmas jumpers and books for sale during the event to raise funds for FREDs. If you have any that you would like to donate, please drop them off at the school office.
Have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing lots of you next week at our Nativity performances and Mince Pie Mixer.
Best wishes,
Jonathan