Prep Head’s Welcome
It is a wonderful feeling to sit here and write to you about a Prep School year that was uninterrupted, full of extraordinary activities and learning, and that was experienced by all of the children, together.
Assemblies, Chapel services, drama and music productions, trips, sports fixtures and, of course, proper match teas, all returned. The Prep school halls were full of laughter throughout the Autumn, Spring and Summer Terms. I could spend many pages telling you about all that has happened this year, but for our prep parents in particular I do not need to, as you were there; in the audience, on the side lines and often around the school too.
Congratulations to our Year 8s who leave The Prep with 41 Scholarships and Awards and a set of Common Entrance scores that rivals any of those achieved in past years. Despite disrupted schooling since they were in Year 5, they have thrived and made the most of all the opportunities on offer to them. I was delighted to see them enjoying the post-Common Entrance programme and wish them all every success in their next steps, whether at College or elsewhere.
The Lion King was one of our (fantastic!) productions this year and the ‘Circle of Life’ continues at The Prep, with changes taking place and a new influx of Nursery and Reception children due to join us in September.
The new Nursery School building is due to be completed shortly and will provide a fantastic home for our youngest children. Demand for places has been high and we expect it to increase even further once parents are inside the building and grounds and really understand what it will offer their children.
The new changing facilities at the Sports Centre are coming along well and will make a huge difference to day- to-day school life. As well as an easier changing experience for our pupils that are swimming, the dry-changing areas will likely be the envy of other local schools and, we hope, enable us to become the venue of choice for local prep school competitions.
Much has changed for the better this year. However, one thing remains constant. Our outstanding staff have continued to inspire and change the course of many young lives. My thanks must go to them for their continued efforts to make our school the very best that it can be.
We are all excited about the future, proud of what we have achieved and look forward to doing it all even better next year!
Mr Tom O’Sullivan
Head, Cheltenham Prep