The school was blessed with perfect walking conditions on Saturday 5 September when the Mayor of Eastbourne, Councillor Janet Coles, set off approximately 400 children, parents, staff and friends of the school on the school’s long-standing annual sponsored walk across the beautiful South Downs National Park.

The walk provides an opportunity for participants to welcome new children and parents to the school and to catch up with friends after the busy summer holidays but it also raises much needed sponsorship money for two important charities.

Each year, the Rotary Club of Eastbourne Sovereign Harbour, which kindly marshals the route, nominates two charities. The beneficiaries of the 2015 walk are Send a Cow which provides livestock and training in natural organic farming practices alongside courses conflict resolution in Africa and Canine Partners which assists people with disabilities to enjoy a greater independence and a better quality of life through the provision of specially trained dogs. This year it is anticipated that the school will raise over £3,000 for these worthy causes.

Our thanks to the Major, the Rotary Club of Eastbourne Sovereign Harbour and all participants for taking part.

Under blue skies, the children returned to school after the long summer holidays and the first day was rounded off perfectly with the Back to School Tea Party.

Kindly organised and hosted by the Friends of St Andrew’s, the whole school gathered to welcome new pupils and parents and to catch up with those they hadn’t seen over the holidays. Progress on the building of the new sports hall was the hot topic of conversation over tasty strawberry and cream scones and slices of Victoria sponge.

We wish all our parents and pupils an exciting, action-packed and innovative year full of fun and opportunities.

Speech Day took place on a glorious summer’s day and we were delighted to welcome the Chairman of the Eastbourne College Charity Council, General Sir Kevin O’Donoghue KCB CBE as our guest speaker. Sir Kevin is an Old Eastbournian and spent much of his working life in the army where, as a General, he became Chief of Defence Logistics and later Materiel. He is currently a dynamic Chairman of the SSAFA (the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association). Sir Kevin kindly presented cups and prizes to the children before delivering an inspirational speech about the importance of following a passion or interest and taking up such opportunities offered at school.  A tasty buffet picnic followed on the fields afterwards.

The following is a review written by Jane Bathard-Smith, a current parent of St Andrew’s with children in the Junior and Middle Departments.

I’ve been to a lot of school productions. In sixteen years of teaching and with three children of my own, my word I’ve been to a lot of school productions. I’ll admit that I’ve been guilty of getting a little ‘school-production weary’. Until this year. If one thing has blasted me out of a school-production-weariness it’s been the productions put on by St. Andrew’s since September. And with a final blast as if to confirm (with a defiant thump of a fist) that this is something we do damnably well: this term’s end of year show, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has left us all in awe of what children are capable of when given opportunities like this one, under the direction of people like these.

A pretty bold move to tackle this quintessential British classic. Most children know it inside out; many parents might have been in it themselves. Poor Mrs Wicks and Mrs Veitch will possibly have it etched into their brains throughout the summer. These are songs we all know.
So first, one question: how did they make this show seem as fresh as if it was its first airing?
What made this show special was not the deft professionalism of the band. It wasn’t the slickness of the stage direction or the cleverly crafted set. It wasn’t the cacophony of the colourful costuming. And it wasn’t the pure-toned voices of every single one of the children. It wasn’t the outstandingly crisp (and smile-laden) choreography.

Then what was it?

Of course it was all of these things, and more besides. But from where I was sitting (way back at the back) what hurled itself out louder than anything else was the unalloyed enjoyment radiating out of every child every moment that they were on the stage. These children knew they were in the midst of something special. They knew what a great show they and their teachers had worked so hard to produce. They knew that (as well as scarlet and black and ochre and peach and ruby and olive and violet and fawn and lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve and cream and crimson and silver and rose and azure and lemon and russet and grey and purple and white and pink and orange and blue) they had gold in their hands. They’d made it their own. And they were proud of it. Rightly so. Their inherent professionalism (astonishing for a troupe so young) ensured that they were touched neither by complacency nor arrogance. Roles were sustained entirely – no shrewd grins or grimaces were exchanged; there was no eye-contact on stage that was not character-to-character. Those children from Years 7 and 8 were not there – they were absolutely the roles they’d adopted. They lived that show from start to finish.

Just one other thing struck me. Out of a cast of over thirty, while some children inevitably had fewer lines or less stage-time, there was a profound sense of equality. Every member of that chorus shone just as brightly as the named roles, and they pulled the audience’s attention just as determinedly.

In sum [and cue today’s ear-worm – with apologies] Never… in my whole career… have I encountered this before: a school production in which every child shone. Every child shimmied, smiled and actually acted their way through the show, from beginning to end without pause. Mrs Veitch’s question to Mrs Wicks in the programme will be echoed by us all… What are you going to do next year?

St Andrew’s Prep is delighted to announce that it has achieved the highest possible descriptor rating in each category of its recent Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) report.  The report rates the school as ‘excellent’ throughout with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) receiving the ‘outstanding’ rating that can be applied to this section only.

The full list of categories on which the school was scrutinized and awarded top marks is: the quality of the pupils’ achievements and learning; the contribution of curricular and extra-curricular provision; the contribution of teaching; the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils; the contribution of arrangements for pastoral care; the contribution of arrangements for welfare, health and safety; the quality of boarding; the quality of governance; and the quality of leadership and management, including links with parents, carers and guardians.

The rigorous inspection process, which included interviews with pupils and staff, lesson observations, parent and pupil questionnaires and an examination of pupils’ class work, led to the six-strong inspection team reporting that, ‘Pupils of all ages and abilities are highly successful in their learning and personal development and the school meets its aims most effectively. The pupils’ excellent standards of achievement in academic work are promoted well by a wide and exciting range of extra-curricular and co-curricular activities. Pupils are confident and independent.’ The report also talks of the school’s highly effective measures for both pastoral care and welfare, health and safety which supports the pupils’ personal development and points out, ‘The pupils’ spiritual development is strong; they have an excellent sense of morality and an outstanding social awareness.’ 

In addition to these accolades, the quality of leadership and management of the school was praised by the inspectors who said, ‘Leadership throughout the school is excellent. The strong and collaborative management style supports the pupils’ high levels of achievement and personal development.’ Of the high quality teaching, the report said, ‘This teaching demonstrates quick pace, a range of activities and high expectations which foster high levels of application in the pupils.’ 

The effectiveness of EYFS at the school was awarded the maximum four ‘Outstanding’ grades and inspectors remarked that, ‘Exemplary teaching strategies and timely support and intervention ensure that all children make excellent progress relative to their starting points and are ready to move on to the next stage of learning.’ 

Headmaster, Simon Severino said, “It is most satisfying to receive such positive external validation of what we strive to offer the children on a daily basis so I am delighted for our pupils, teachers and support staff who work so hard to make this a very special school. While I am delighted with the report, I also recognise that there can be no room for complacency. Yes, we enjoy the lovely compliments that the report offers but we will also endeavour to build upon these high standards.”

Full report available on: https://www.standrewsprep.co.uk/Inspection-reports.

Year 8 pupil, Aimee Wood claimed the silver medal positon in the Under 13 Girls’ category of the National Prep Schools’ IAPS Triathlon held at Dulwich Prep School, Cranbrook last week.

Competing under strict British Triathlon rules and up against very strong competition Aimee, in only her second triathlon, fended off challenges from schoolgirls across the country in the swim, bike and run event to claim her medal.

Five other pupils from St Andrew’s also participated in the inaugural competition – gaining two top twenty finishes and three top ten finishes.

St Andrew’s Prep triathlon coach, Jill Garbett said, “Triathlon for youngsters is growing in popularity, so this is a major achievement for the St Andrew’s team. Their levels of commitment and fitness are to be congratulated and admired.”

The recent Friends of St
Andrew’s Prep Great Gatsby Ball held at
the elegant Cavendish Hotel has made an astonishing £16,700 profit.  The monies will be split between the Teenage
Cancer Trust and projects at St Andrew’s to support the children’s wider
education. 

Around 170 guests enjoyed a champagne
reception in the Art Deco style hall on arrival, with former St Andrew’s Prep
pupil and Britain’s Got Talent star Sam Jones entertaining them with his close
up magic, before guests were invited through to the beautifully decorated banqueting
hall.

Once the gathering was seated,
Jade McShane from the Teenage Cancer Trust spoke passionately about the expert
treatment and support the charity offers young people diagnosed with cancer;  trying to bring some normality to a very difficult life
experience while ensuring that they don’t face the illness in isolation.

During the sumptuous three
course dinner, 80 golden envelopes containing prizes kindly donated by local
businesses were bought at the tables.

A live auction, hosted by
ex-England cricketer, Ed Giddins, raised £9,950 and featured an amazing 5* Dubai Golf Holiday for seven nights including,
flights, transfers and tickets for the World
Race to Dubai Tour Championships golf event plus rounds of golf at two of the top
clubs in the UAE all generously donated by Golf
Dubai Plus.  A silent auction also raised funds.

Afterwards,
guests danced to live music provided by Wild Honey and made use of the feather boa and hat
props in the Gatsby photo booth.

St Andrew’s Prep parents and Ball Committee
Chairmen Catherine Fellows and Kirsty Perkinson said, “We have been overwhelmed by the support of our sponsors:
Park Lane Property Group, Manor Creative and Artis Vin and the generosity
of nearly 100 local businesses.  Their support, together with the time and
effort of the many volunteers who worked so hard to get the event off the
ground and, of course, the ball attendees, has raised a phenomenal amount of
money.. We’re enormously grateful.” 

The Summer Serenade showcases the musical talents of children in Years 3 to 8 at St Andrew’s Prep and is the climax of the school’s busy musical year.

As always, the gym was packed with family supporters, teachers and governors all keen to hear the variety of musical genres from the groups performing. Ensembles included the school orchestra, wind band, a Year 8 string ensemble, a number of choirs including the Senior Chamber Choir, two drumming groups, a rock band, a Year 4 recorder group and a very large Suzuki Strings group.

These ensembles were interspersed with some mesmerising solo vocal and instrumental performances by the five Year 8 musicians who gained music scholarships to their onward schools. It was a most enjoyable and entertaining evening and well-demonstrated the breadth and depth of talent amongst the St Andrew’s Prep pupils.

St Andrew’s Prep celebrated a significant date in its 138-year history as the building of a new multi-million pound Sports Hall development got underway.

On Tuesday, some of those closely linked with the project ‘broke ground’ on the much-anticipated development which will include a sports hall, dance studio, offices and changing rooms as well as the re-surfacing and re-fencing of the existing tennis and netball courts.

Simon Severino, Headmaster said, “Once delivered next summer, this project will undoubtedly elevate St Andrew’s provision for sport to new heights and enhance our curricular and co-curricular delivery to the whole school community.”

Mr Severino was joined at the ground-breaking by Stephen Henderson-Reid, Facilities Bursar at St Andrew’s Prep and Chris Browne, Bob Sims and Jonathan Sargeant of Chris Browne Contractors.