It was perfect blue skies for St Andrew’s Day as the whole school, from Nursery to Year 8, joined together for fun, laughter and celebrations of the school’s namesake. The Pre-Prep hat parade kicked off the proceedings. The children were applauded as they paraded down the Long Asphalt in their amazing millinery-ware. The hats included themes as diverse as flowers in watering cans, gingerbread houses, sweets shops, the Eiffel tower and a cake stand and, of course, the St Andrew’s flag.

With Christmas fast approaching, St Andrew’s Prep has worked very hard to gather its ‘Love in a Box’ collection to send off to less privileged children in Eastern Europe. Nearly 150 boxes were loaded into the transportation van and the boxes will be presented to the children on Christmas day.

The Brownies visited Eastbourne Fire Station last week and were kindly hosted by the firefighters of Red Watch. The children climbed on the fire engines, asked lots of questions and played with the foam hoses.

St Andrew’s has had more success in hockey with the U10 girls winning the St Andrew’s Prep mini- tournament last week and the U11 team narrowly missing out on becoming title-winner in the final. Both teams played excellent hockey and displayed determination and confidence throughout the day. Congratulations to all girls that took part. 

Nine dancers were invited to a Rambert Contemporary Dance Workshop for Prep schools at Eastbourne College which included classes and practical work on contemporary technique and repertoire. The dancers choreographed short routines which were then turned into a wonderful showpiece for parents to watch. Well done to all who took part.

Many congratulations to the girls of the Under 13 XI Hockey team who have won a place in the County finals after a nail-biting semi-final match against Burgess Hill for Girls yesterday. The team scored the winning goal in the final minute of extra time.

Reception tried their hand at cooking this afternoon, baking delicious courgette cakes. The recipe introduced some of the children to new ingredients which were all mixed together before baking. The children even walked across the road to the supermarket to pick up the supplies. How very grown up!

The St Andrew's Prep fireworks party was a triumph last night with fun stalls in the gym providing a welcome warm up for the main event. Hot chocolate and mulled wine kept spectators warm as they watched the breathtaking display under clear starry skies. Many, many thanks to the Friends of St Andrew's for all their hard work.

Eighteen girls from Years 7 and 8 have returned from a fabulous sports tour on the island of Jersey. The tour comprised hockey and netball games against schools and clubs from England and Jersey which were extremely competitive and of a very high standard. Matches were played across the island and included one staged in a fort.

Congratulations to the Hockey B team which won its competition and to the A team which reached the finals undefeated but was sadly beaten by a very strong team in the final. The netball team was also very successful and was lucky enough to play against a phenomenally strong ‘Jersey Select’ side which proved to be an invaluable experience.