The St
Andrew’s Prep Monday Choir will be joining Tenors Unlimited, the ‘Rat Pack of
Opera’ www.tenorsunlimited.com at
the Royal Hippodrome Theatre, Eastbourne, on Friday 18^th March 8pm.

This is the third time that St Andrew’s Prep has
shared the stage with the internationally acclaimed trio.  On the first
occasion, St Andrew’s Prep defeated 11 primary age choirs in a
county-wide competition to accompany the singers.  The children performed
so well that they were invited back to join the group again last year.

The
choir is led and conducted by the school’s Director of Music, Ali
Wicks. She says, “It’s a privilege to be working with Tenors Unlimited again.  They are
lovely, enthusiastic musicians
and are very generous with their time and encouragement for the children. 
Naturally, we are delighted that the group want us to sing alongside them again
and it will be an experience the children will never
forget.” 

Tenors
Unlimited – Scott Ciscon, Paul Martin and Jem Sharples – have entertained
audiences throughout the world. They have performed alongside such notables as
Sting, Lionel Ritchie, Beyoncé, Hayley Westenra, Simply Red and the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra to name a few.  Using talents honed in their
previous solo careers in opera and theatre, they bring their own blend of wit,
charm and vocal arrangements to their performances.

For
more information about the show and to book tickets, visit http://www.royalhippodrome.com

St Andrew’s Prep’s esteemed Catering Manager, Ted Baldwin, was put through his paces last week when he ‘made good’ on his auction offer to cook a three course meal in the comfort of the winning bidder’s home.

The van der Meer family made the clinching bid at the Friends of St Andrew’s Summer Ball, the proceeds of which have already been made to the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Kate van der Meer said, “Ted cooked up a very special meal which everyone will remember and we were able to give some money for a truly worthwhile cause. It was a great evening.”

Many thanks to Holroyd Howe and KD Butchers who kindly made donations towards the food costs and to our very special chef, Ted.

This week, Year 5 had a terrific trip to Chichester Cathedral to take part in a ‘Be a Historian for the day’ workshop. They worked in groups of six and enjoyed looking at a wide variety of artefacts using clues about them to work out where they would fit on a timeline. This activity fitted in well with the evidence based work the children are currently working on in History. After lunch we walked over to The Novium Museum (site of the original Roman Bath House) to focus on activities relating to the history of Chichester since the Roman invasion of Britain.

With screen and gaming dependency a hot topic in the news, St Andrew’s Prep invited world-renowned Dr Aric Sigman, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and regular TV documentary writer and presenter on children’s health, to address to pupils, parents and staff this week.

Dr Sigman spoke about extensive research which has confirmed that overuse of recreational electronic gadgets could affect school performance, physical and mental health together with social skills and relationships.

Dr Sigman warned parents they should be aware of the influence their own screen usage could have on their sons and daughters and suggested that children should have access to, on average, no more than two hours maximum recreational screen media a day. He continued that if controls were not put in place, it is possible that some children of today could spend up to a quarter of their lives in front of screens. Dr Sigman advocated no screens should be allowed in children’s bedrooms and at least a half hour gap to be set between screen usage and bed time.

Pupils were especially interested to hear that screen time can result in up to two hours longer spent on homework because of the distractions electronic media can present.

In a drive to forge ever-increasing links with the local community, St Andrew’s Prep invited parents and staff from local schools Eastbourne College, Cavendish, Ocklynge, Hankham and Ripe Nursery to the talks.

The sports hall building works have continued despite the cold, damp miserable weather. 

In the weeks before Christmas, the framework was completed and this was quickly followed by the concrete base being laid. Into the early weeks of 2016, sections within the building are beginning to take shape with the roof now complete and the inner walls going up. By early March it is anticipated that the building will be water tight and the project remains on schedule to be complete in summer 2016.

Many congratulations to Year 8 pupil Daisy Noton who is one of six flautists across England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales to be offered a place in the Main Orchestra of the National Children’s Orchestra following rigorous auditions last October.

Daisy will take part in various courses through the year around the country and will have the honour of playing in three public concerts, at the Colston Hall in Bristol, at Preston Guildhall and at the Barbican, London. 

Daisy has been placed in the orchestra a year above her age group and will therefore have the opportunity to audition once again next year. 

Daisy will also be playing in the National Children’s Orchestra London Senior Regional Orchestra which rehearses once a month at The Royal Albert Hall, culminating in a public concert in November.

Thirty nine lucky Year 6 children journeyed to the Lyceum Theatre, London on Wednesday to see the musical, The Lion King. 

From the moment the curtain went up, the children were transfixed by the colourful sets and costumes, the amazing puppetry and the wonderful songs by Sir Tim Rice and Elton John. They especially loved the way the characters came to life – singing and dancing on the revolving set. 

After the show the children were privileged to go backstage to meet ‘Scar’ and ‘Mufasa’ from the cast and asked a few questions about their role in the show and their careers as performers. 

The trip was a precursor to the children’s own upcoming production of the same play later in the term and they came away totally inspired.

Ahead of the Christmas break, St Andrew’s Prep staff and pupils joined together with family and friends for two carol services. The first was held for the pre-prep and nursery in the school’s 120 year old chapel and later in the morning the prep school united at St John’s Church for a moving festive service led by Rev’d Giles Carpenter.

The pre-prep and nursery carol service was staged with a tableau from the nativity scene, posed beautifully by children from across the age groups in pre-prep. Parents were seen to reach for their handkerchiefs as the children performed beautifully and sang lustily and beamed back at the congregation.

Later in the morning, the prep school children walked up to St John’s church for their own carols and lessons service. Headmaster, Gareth Jones, gave a warm welcome and wished everyone a happy yuletide before Arthur Lewis led the singing with his Once in Royal David’s City solo. Further traditional carols including See Amid the Winter’s Snow, Away in a Manger and We Three Kings were interspersed with performances of The Colours of Christmas by Rutter, The Christ Child is Born by Emerson and Candlelight Carol by Mold which were sung by the various choirs of the school.

Music and choral singing is a major strength of St Andrew’s Prep and this was so evident from the arrangements heard at these services. Thank you to everyone who helped to organise the services, in particular our Director of Music, Mrs Wicks, and Assistant Director of Music, Miss Eldridge, who arranged the beautiful musical performances and to Mr Shouksmith for playing the organ.

It has been a heart-warming week of fabulous festive fun for our children, parents and staff here at St Andrew’s Prep.

After weeks of meticulous song, dance and line-delivery rehearsals as well as painstaking stage-setting and costume assembly, the children from Nursery to Year 4 finally took to the stage to deliver their fabulous traditional nativity tales with a twist. 

From The Midwife Crisis to The Naughty Nativity, each year group delivered lines and songs with zeal and gusto to their delighted audiences. Many congratulations to all those involved.