Weekly Newsletter

Friday 12th December 2025

Below you will find this week’s newsletter organised into drop-down menus:

Junior Department News

What a fantastic way to finish the term! Our Junior pupils’ Christmas performances were absolutely delightful, and it was a joy to see their confidence glowing on stage as they embraced and shared this wonderful, creative side. A heartfelt thank you to everyone whose hard work made these shows such a success.

Our Christmas lunch was equally spectacular, complete with Santa himself and his trusty Elf! Santa even helped carry some of the dinners for the children! A very big thank you to Gary and the entire catering team for creating such a fantastic festive spread.

We rounded off the week with a special nativity assembly, where pupils helped bring this precious story to life through actions and character roles. The donkeys and sheep were particularly impressive!

I’d like to reflect on a few highlights from our Autumn term. One of the most significant has been welcoming our Nursery back into the heart of the Junior Department. Their presence brings genuine warmth to our school community and further enriches our already outstanding EYFS provision.

Our bespoke Edge Grove curriculum continues to challenge our pupils, enabling them to work significantly beyond age-related expectations. It is particularly impressive that every one of our Year 6 pupils is reading at or above their chronological age, with 50% achieving reading ages of 15 and above. I’m looking forward to seeing all the completed holiday reading and phonics challenges (on Google Classroom). Reading plays a vital role in supporting both well-being and academic development.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a relaxing break. We look forward to welcoming you back next term.

Mrs Wynne
Assistant Head (Junior)


Nursery

The last week of Term 1 in Nursery has been filled with festive fun and joyful excitement! The children shone brightly during their performance of Whoops-a-Daisy Angel, showing confidence, enthusiasm, and plenty of smiles. Pyjama Day brought extra cosiness to the classroom, and Festive Jumper Day, topped off with a delicious Christmas lunch, made the week feel wonderfully magical. Throughout it all, the children have continued to be engaged, inquisitive, and eager to explore every activity that came their way.

We are incredibly proud of how much they have grown, learned, and achieved during their very first term in Nursery. Their curiosity and cheerful spirits have made our classroom a truly special place. As we wrap up this festive week, we would like to wish all our children and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We can’t wait to see what exciting adventures await in Term 2.


Reception News

We can’t believe we’ve already reached the end of term! This week has been a whirlwind of nativities, Christmas cheer, festive songs and fun-filled activities. We are incredibly proud of the children’s wonderful performance in Whoops-a-Daisy Angel, where they truly shone—showcasing their growing confidence, brilliant acting and fantastic singing skills. Paddington Pyjama Day was also a huge success, with the children enjoying a variety of bear-themed activities before settling down to watch the much-loved Paddington movie to end the day.

We also had a fantastic time sharing Christmas lunch together. The children loved sitting with their friends, pulling crackers, wearing their festive hats and enjoying a delicious meal. It was a lovely moment of togetherness and celebration, and a highlight of our festive week.

We are already looking forward to returning in January and continuing the children’s learning and development as they prepare for the exciting transition to Year 1.

As we reach the Christmas break, we couldn’t be prouder of everything the children have achieved this term. Their enthusiasm, resilience and hard work have been a joy to see, and each child has made fantastic progress. We hope all our families enjoy a magical Christmas and a wonderful New Year.


Year 1 News

Christmas cheer has been bursting from every corner of Edge Grove this week, especially in Year 1! We have spent our final days of term diving headfirst into the festive spirit. In maths, the children became Santa’s secret helpers, cracking the code to unlock his barn and rescue the reindeer. Over in English, things got very competitive during our Christmas Spelling Bee!

Tuesday brought one of our most favourite and cosy events of the year: Bedtime Story Day. From magical dreamcatchers to mysterious potion bottles, as well as stories told by a whole cast of wonderful characters, it truly felt like stepping into a winter fairy tale.

But the 2 shining stars of the week were, without a doubt, the Nativity performances on Thursday. Despite such a busy week, the children performed with incredible energy, singing and dancing their hearts out. We could not have been more proud.

A huge and sparkly congratulations to Year 1. You have been absolutely fabulous this term and we have loved getting to know each and every one of you. Have a wonderful break and we cannot wait to see you again in 2026!

 


Year 2 News

What a wonderful and festive end to a busy first term in Year 2! A huge well done to all the children for their brilliant Nativity performance. They sang beautifully, and we were so proud of how confidently and expressively they delivered their lines. It was a joy to watch, and we hope you agree that their hard work truly shone through.

In maths this week, the children have been exploring 2D and 3D shapes. They have been learning not only to identify different shapes, but also to describe their properties using vocabulary such as sides, faces, and vertices. We even ventured off on a tangent (if you’ll pardon the pun!) and found ourselves in a lively debate about which shapes have parallel lines—and why. Their thoughtful questions also led us to compare regular and irregular shapes. Such wonderful curiosity on display!

The children have worked incredibly hard this term, so we treated them to a festive surprise, and it was very well received! They loved decorating their own gingerbread men, and we can assure you they were absolutely delicious. The children certainly made light work of enjoying their creations!

We hope you all enjoy a well-deserved rest over the holidays. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Middle Department News

As we come to the end of a very full and rewarding term, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all our parents and families for your continued support. Your encouragement, communication, and partnership make such a positive difference to the children’s learning and wellbeing, and we are truly grateful. It has been a pleasure to see the pupils grow in confidence, curiosity, and independence over the past weeks.

As we head into the festive break, I hope the holiday period brings you the chance to rest, spend time with loved ones, and enjoy the traditions that are special to your family. Whether you celebrate Christmas or simply welcome a well earned pause, I wish you all a peaceful, happy, and restorative break.

Mrs Hodge
Deputy Head Academic


Year 3 – Miss Kyriacou, Miss Corin, Miss Lundrigan

As we reach the end of a busy and productive term, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support. The pupils have worked with enthusiasm, resilience, and increasing independence and we are incredibly proud of the progress they have made both academically and personally.

This week, our pupils have been focusing on the features of both informal and formal letters. Encouraged by the spirit of the holidays, they crafted charming letters to Father Christmas, where they talked about our naughty, cheeky classroom elves and the playful mess they have created in the classroom this week.

Our journey through time continues as we move from the Bronze Age to the Stone Age in our ongoing fact files. The children are deeply engaged and eager to uncover more about these fascinating periods.

The subject of volcanoes has captivated our pupils. They are curious explorers, learning all about these geological wonders and understanding the impact they have on our world.

This week, we have been sharpening our verbal reasoning and non-verbal skills. The activities have been both fun and challenging, encouraging critical thinking and problem-solving.

As we prepare for the start of the spring term, we kindly ask that all children return to school with the full set of stationery they need for their learning. Ensuring that pupils are equipped with the appropriate resources helps them to work confidently and independently from the very first day of term.

As we break for the holiday period, we wish all our families a restful and enjoyable Christmas. We hope you have the opportunity to relax, celebrate, and spend quality time together. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

We look forward to welcoming the children back refreshed and ready for a new term of learning and opportunities in the new year.


Year 4 – Mrs Futerill, Mrs Warnes

Year 4 has concluded another week brimming with creative expression, historical insights, and some seriously sharp thinking. We are incredibly proud of the enthusiasm the children have shown across all areas of the curriculum.

Our English writing project reached a successful conclusion as the students proudly drafted and polished their own original fables. They expertly incorporated animal characters and ensured every story delivered a clear, concise moral for the reader. We look forward to seeing these wonderful lessons in print!

In Geography, our work on Early Settlements continued by investigating the foundations of human civilisation. We focused on the advanced city planning of the Indus Valley and the agricultural innovations of Mesopotamia, helping the children understand how geography dictated the success of these ancient societies.

History brought us face-to-face with the dramatic start of the Viking Age: the infamous raid on Lindisfarne in 793 AD. We explored the devastating attack on the wealthy, yet undefended, Holy Island monastery off the coast of Northumbria. This event, where Viking longships plundered sacred treasures and attacked the monastic community , sent shockwaves across Europe. What captivated the students most was the moral debate surrounding the raid, as they keenly discussed whether the Viking action constituted cruel theft or simply justifiable spoils of war. 

Finally, our reasoning sessions took a fascinating and festive turn by exploring the strong link between spatial awareness and arts and crafts. The children were challenged with complex reasoning problems that required advanced visualisation skills: imagining a piece of paper being folded multiple times, cut with various shapes, and then predicting its appearance when unfolded. This exercise is superb for developing the ability to mentally manipulate objects! As a fun, practical application, and a start to our Christmas festivities, we used these new skills to create intricate and beautiful paper snowflakes. 


Year 5 – Mr Russell and Mrs O’Brien

As the term draws to a close, we wanted to extend our sincere thanks for the wonderful support and help you have given us throughout this first term. The children have made an excellent start to the academic year, and we are truly having so much fun being their form tutors!

This final week has been filled with plenty of Christmas cheer, including festive fun like Christmas quizzes, digital Christmas card making, and a very colourful Christmas jumper day!

Here are just a few of the many highlights from the children’s final week before the Christmas break:

Adam and Sienna really enjoyed Art this week, where they were able to try out using a glue gun as well as recycling old books to make impressive Christmas trees! Lily enjoyed tucking into her special Christmas dinner. We were very grateful to the Catering department for putting on such an enjoyable treat for the children. Tamsin was delighted to perform an array of Christmas songs as part of our choirs who travelled to Battlers Green for a special Christmas performance. Iyanu also enjoyed a performance this week as she was entertained by the excellent nativity performances put on by our Junior department. We finished the term off in sport with our competitive, but sporting, Inter-house football and hockey tournaments. Monty and Ava really enjoyed this and are eagerly looking forward to hearing how their respective houses got on! Alex got into the Christmas spirit in his music lessons, playing different Christmas songs on his guitar, such as Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. A special congratulations to Alice, who achieved a fantastic gold disk in her after-school M-tech club!

It has been a truly great term. We wish you and your family a lovely Christmas and New Year celebration. We look forward to welcoming the children back in January, refreshed and ready for the next term!


Year 6 – Mrs Allen, Mr Kay, Dr Moradi

Wow – we made it! Autumn Term complete! 

I couldn’t be prouder of everything your children, our Year 6s have accomplished. They have grown academically, personally, and pastorally, and we are very much looking forward to celebrating them tomorrow with some well-deserved end-of-term fun and festivity.

This week has been filled with joyful moments. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Inter-House Football on Wednesday; the teamwork, sportsmanship, and enthusiasm on display were wonderful to see. It was also a pleasure hearing our pupils sing so beautifully at the Battlers Green choir performance and sharing a delicious Christmas lunch with them afterwards which added an extra touch of seasonal cheer.

We’ve begun to hear news of senior school offers coming through, including some impressive scholarship awards. We will celebrate these achievements in our Celebration Assembly tomorrow, and you’ll read more about them nexy term.

I wish you and your families a happy, restful, and peaceful break. Please do encourage the children to enjoy some proper downtime over the holidays with plenty of special family moments (and as little screen time as possible)!

Have a wonderful holiday, and thank you for your ongoing support.

Senior News

Thank you Seniors for bringing such joy to these last few weeks of term. Your energy and enthusiasm coupled with a healthy amount of fun has been wonderful to share with you. Enjoy the festive break and see you in January!

Miss Senior

Academic Update

Festive Reading

By Mrs Jane Broadis, Head of English and Future Schools Curriculum

I cannot stress enough the importance of reading in your children’s lives. Children who read for pleasure regularly, who listen to books and who read with an adult, are the children who make the most progress, and are the children who are the most academically successful.  Why? Because reading lies at the heart of the curriculum which is accessed with most ease by children with the widest vocabulary and with the broadest foundations of knowledge on which to build new learning. 

Vocabulary, which is required for self-expression, is acquired by encountering new words, and both fiction and non-fiction books are fantastic sources of new words. However, it is only when children read with an adult that they can ask the meaning of a word that they do not understand. Without their adult ‘human dictionary’ to help them, they will either gloss over an unfamiliar word, or give it meaning which may be inaccurate, and the opportunity to learn its definition is sadly missed.

This is why I work hard to keep our libraries filled with newly published, exciting books, and why Mrs Volioti constantly recommend books to your children in assemblies and library lessons. Mrs Volioti has put together some seasonal recommendations here:

Holiday Book Recommendations

As an English Department we always recommend holiday reading which underpins learning in the term ahead, and introduces themes and ideas that the children will encounter in their next class novel.  

Children have these holiday recommendations on their Google classrooms. I strongly recommend each child reads regularly this holiday:

Holiday Reading December 2025

Junior Department – JD Festive Reading Challenge 

Year 3 – Titanic Reading

Year 4 – Dragon Reading

Year 5 – own book choice and an optional book to read and judge. (In the New Year we are studying Narrative Poetry. I recommend Brian Bilston’s poetry book on the Festive Recommendations.)

Year 6 – Discrimination and Injustice Reading

Seniors – Politics and Satire

 

Library Holiday Book Recommendations

Please click below to view Mrs Volioti’s Holiday Book Recommendations:

Holiday Book Recommendations

 

Ignite Academic - Ted-Style Talks

Over this term, pupils in Ignite Academic have stepped into the spotlight to deliver their very own TED-Style Talks. These were short, powerful presentations designed to share an idea worth spreading and to encourage students to inspire, inform or challenge their audience. Each pupil, working either individually or in a pair, chose a topic they truly cared about and created a 3 to 5 minute talk that showcased their curiosity, creativity and growing confidence.

The Theatre was filled with excitement as our young speakers explored big questions and meaningful ideas. Some of the standout titles included Why do we create imaginary boundaries?, How Does Kindness Change the World?, Why is charity important?, and Why Is LEGO Better Than Screens? These topics reminded everyone of the wide range of passions within our school community and highlighted how thoughtful and reflective our pupils can be.

To support their message, students used image-based slides with simple, clear visuals. Since no writing was allowed on the slides, the pupils had to rely on strong storytelling, eye contact and a well-planned structure. This encouraged them to focus on the heart of their message and to think carefully about what they wanted the audience to remember. Many pupils researched professional TED speakers online to learn how to open with impact, build suspense or share a personal story that captured attention immediately.

This project was not just about presenting on stage. It was an opportunity for pupils to develop important future-ready skills such as public speaking, research, storytelling, creative thinking and self-belief. Many discovered that they were far more capable and confident than they originally thought. Watching classmates speak on topics they loved also created a supportive atmosphere where everyone felt proud of each other’s progress.

Every pupil who took part deserves congratulations. Standing on a stage and sharing a personal idea takes real courage and commitment. A special well done goes to the winners in the four award categories:

Most Inspiring Idea: How will AI change the world? by Aarin 

Best Storytelling: Why should people like Nigeria? by Tireni and Motunrayo 

Best Research: Why is the ocean drowning? by Torin 

Best Delivery: What if humans found a cure for cancer? by Alex and Eashan

Their talks were outstanding, memorable and engaging, and they were proudly showcased in the Ignite Celebration Assembly.

The 2025 Ignite Academic TED-Style Talks have shown the power of giving young people a platform to express their thinking. When pupils speak with passion and purpose, their ideas can truly spark inspiration.

Future Schools Information

Future Schools Update 

Mrs Broadis, Head of Future Schools Curriculum

Senior School Success!

It is always a delight when offers start to arrive for our pupils from Senior Schools. In the past week we have heard of a number of successes:

100% success for 4 applicants to RMS – one Drama and one Sport Scholarship

100% success for 4 applicants to Queenswood School – two places with Sports Scholarships

100% success for our applicant to Haileybury with Music Exhibition

100% success for our applicant to Downe House

100% success for 3 applicants to Berkhamsted Senior Boys

Round 2 Invitations

Our two applicants to Harrow have been invited to sit the Harrow Test in the new year.

Our applicant to Wetherby School has been invited for interview in the new year.

Four Year 6 pupils have been recalled to sit the Academic Scholarship at St Margaret’s in the new year.

Three Year 6 pupils have been invited to sit Round 2 papers at Belmont, Mill Hill. 

Senior schools do not always inform us of offers made, so we ask that parents email Future Schools so we can congratulate your brilliant children! 

When are other senior school offers made?

St Margaret’s – no later than first week of February

13th Feb HABS Girls and Boys

13th Feb STAHs

13th Feb Aldenham

13th Feb St Albans

13th Feb Merchant Taylor’s

13th Feb Belmont, Mill Hill

2nd March Hertfordshire Secondary Transfer Allocation Day

Important Dates in the New Year

We wish the best to all our pupils taking assessments in the New Year before school begins:

  • St Albans School 5th/6th Jan
  • Belmont Mill Hill 5th Jan
  • St Margaret’s Drama/Academic Scholarship Assessment 6th Jan
  • STAHs 11+ Assessment Day 6th Jan

Everything you need to know about Quest Admissions

What are senior schools looking for at interview? 

Schools appreciate pupils who display confidence, character and curiosity. Not every child has to be an extrovert, but it is helpful for a quieter child to demonstrate secure self-knowledge. Frequent questions at interview are, ‘How would your friends describe you?’ ‘What are your strengths?’ ‘What is something you need to work on?’ ‘What are you reading?’ ‘Who is your favourite author?’ ‘What do you enjoy at school?’ ‘Why do you want to come here?’ ‘If we only had one place, why should we offer it to you?’

Those families with children preparing for interview may also like to discuss some quirky questions over the break. These are all questions that Edge Grove pupils have faced in interviews since September:

If someone spent time with you, how would you like to be described by them?

If you could solve one problem the world faces, what would it be and why?

Is it better to be right, or kind?

If you were headteacher for a day at your school, what would you change and why?

If you were deserted on an island what one thing would you like?

If you opened a locked door in this school, what might you expect to find behind it? 

If you had all the paperclips in the world, what would you do with them?

Senior schools like to see imaginative and agile thinking – there are no right answers to questions like these; they provide an opportunity for children to showcase their ability to think, reason and share wider learning.

Additionally, you could also play ‘Just a minute’ where your child needs to talk about a subject for a minute. In this way  a child learns the importance of talking for a reasonable period of time and drawing in wider information so answers have depth and detail.

Speak for a minute…

  • on why you like (favourite subject/favourite sport)
  • on the last book you read – plot, characters, why it was good.
  • on an issue from the news that has caught your attention.
  • on the three values in life that you think are the most important.
  • and justify why maths is more useful than English (or vice versa).

It is important that children do not over rehearse or learn answers to interview questions; Senior schools do not appreciate a child who robotically regurgitates learned responses. Rather children should go into an interview with an understanding of what it is they would like to share, and then find opportunities to weave information about themselves into the answers to the questions they are asked. 

Year 5 Future School Meetings

We encourage all Year 5 parents who have not yet booked a Future School meeting to book with Mr Stanley and Mrs Hodge for early in the new year, to share some preliminary thoughts about senior school education; please email Future Schools.

I would ask all 11+/13+ parents to keep us informed of interview, scholarship and final assessment dates by emailing both Future Schools and the School Office. This way we can ensure our systems are in place to support children to the best of our ability, so they can go out brimming with well-placed confidence and character! 

Below is a list of those senior schools which Edge Grove families have chosen in the last four years, with links to Admissions pages.

Independent Schools

Abbot’s Hill

Aldenham

Belmont/Mill Hill

Berkhamsted

City of London School

HABS Boys

HABS Girls

Haileybury

Immanuel College

John Lyon

Merchant Taylors’ School

North London Collegiate School

Queenswood

Royal Masonic School

Sherrardswood

St Albans

St Albans High School for Girls

St Columba’s

St Helen’s 

St Margaret’s

St Paul’s 

UCS Hampstead

Wycombe Abbey

 

13+ Boarding Schools & Colleges

Bede’s

Charterhouse

Cheltenham Ladies’ College

Eton

Harrow

Marlborough

Wellington College

State Schools

Dame Alice Owen’s School

JFS

Henrietta Barnett School

Queen Elizabeth’s School

St Albans Girls’ School 

Herts SW Consortium Schools (Registration for Secondary Transfer for September 2026 is now closed. No late registrations will be accepted.)

 

Performing Arts News

There isn’t much more that can be said about how fantastic each and every pupil has been over the past few weeks. We are both so proud of what we have all achieved together and we can’t wait for more fun to come in the Performing Arts department in Spring and Summer term! Well done all. Now for a well-deserved break!

Mr Evans and Mrs Allen
Director of Music and Director of Drama

Art News

Mini Ceramics Exhibition

Thank you to everyone who attended the mini ceramics exhibition yesterday. It was such a magical display of our pupils’ work over the past term and I hope it has inspired even more creativity to come!

Have a lovely Christmas break!

Miss Turner
Head of Art

House News

Chat GPT, please write a hilarious Houses newsletter for me to sum up the term:

🎄 THE GREAT HOUSES NEWSLETTER — End-of-Term Edition 🎄
(Now 20% more festive and 80% more sleep-deprived)

Dear Students, Staff, and anyone still powered by mince pies alone,

As we knee-slide­ gracefully into the end of term, it’s time for a quick tour of what the mighty Houses of Gills, Sarnesfield, Hedgerows, Stratton, and Churchills have been up to. Spoiler: a lot. Possibly too much. Mr Evans has officially declared himself “totally Christmassed out,” and after this term’s chaos, nobody is surprised. Someone please knit him a blanket and let him hibernate until February.

🏠 House Assemblies:

A shockingly successful burst of team spirit!
Our House assemblies brought together students bursting with pride, enthusiasm, and—on one memorable occasion—screaming. A LOT of screaming. These gatherings proved that nothing unites a House like cheering loudly enough to be heard three postcodes away. A brilliant bit of team building, everyone!

👑 House Captains:

Heroes. Legends. Clipboard enthusiasts.
A huge round of applause for our House Captains, who have been outstanding all term. They rallied the troops, organised activities, kept spirits high, and maintained a level of calm that suggests they may be robots. Their hard work has not gone unnoticed—your Houses salute you!

🎅 The Great Christmas Quiz:

Knowledge levels: Frightening.
This year’s Christmas Quiz was an intellectual showdown of epic proportions. Students demonstrated excellent knowledge on everything from festive facts to questions that even Google would raise an eyebrow at. The competitiveness was intense, the energy was electric, and the answers were… occasionally creative. Well done to everyone who took part, particularly the Gills teaching staff…

😂 Joke of the Week Corner 😂

This week’s top-tier wordplay goes to Harry in Sarnesfield:

The word queue is a funny one. It is just the letter ‘q’ with a bunch of silent letters waiting in line.

🏆 And the Winning House Is…

nobody knows yet.
At the time of writing, the leaderboard is still tighter than Mrs Allens’ schedule in December. The grand announcement will take place during Friday’s assembly, so prepare your Houses for either triumphant celebration or heroic graciousness. (Practise your “Oh well, next time!” faces just in case.)

🥞 Coming Next Term: Pancakes & Glory

Just when you thought the excitement was over, next term brings Pancake Day, which means only one thing: competitive flipping. And many more House competitions are lined up, ready for you to sink your teeth into—figuratively, please. Pancakes are the only acceptable edible sports equipment.

🎉 Final Thoughts

It’s been a brilliant term full of teamwork, achievement, laughter, and the faint smell of tinsel. Enjoy the break, recharge your House spirit, and please… let Mr Evans nap.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Mr Evans
Head of Houses
Director of Music
Asleep


Joke of the Week Entries

There’s a snowman who always laughs when you call him.What is his name? Oh laugh.
Q. Did you hear the rumour about the butter?

A. You better not spread it!

Why did the dad put sugar on his pillow?

He wanted to have sweet dreams!

doctor:it seems you have a sickness

patient:whats the cure?

doctor: thats a 80s rock band but lets get back to your sickness

I asked my dog two minus two.

He said nothing.

Elevator jokes are said to work on many levels.
Why didn’t the skeletons fight

Because they didn’t have the guts to!!!!

What do you call a dog magician ?

A labracadabrador!

Knock knock

Who’s there?

Alpaca

Alpaca who?

Alpaca suitcase and you load the car!

Why did the student eat his homework?

Because the teacher said it was a piece of cake!

Why are strawberries rocking because they JAM
Where will you find Friday before Thursday? A dictionary.
What did the skull say to the other skull when they bumped into each you could have given me a heads up.
Mr Evans… just kidding. This is my joke: I was bowling a cricket ball and I was wondering why it was getting bigger, then it hit me. Also, this is Aiden Khani’s just in case he did not fill the form he commented on it : How does a scientist freshen his breath?..With experi-mints.
Why did the snowman go to the supermarket?

To pick his nose.

Question: What do you call a bear with no teeth?

Answer: A gummy bear!

 

Sports News

What an incredible term it has been in the Sports Department. All the way back in September, the pool was open and buzzing with excitement as children from Years 3–8 enjoyed their swimming lessons during PE, while our youngest pupils in Nursery began developing their fundamental movement skills.

During Games, we have continued to build on our tradition of excellence, with fantastic success on both the hockey and football pitches. The Colts Hockey team completed an outstanding undefeated season, and our Senior pupils played their final football matches for Edge Grove with great determination and pride. Their leadership has been a real highlight of the term, from Isaac assisting with Year 1 Games lessons, to Noah consistently offering guidance to younger pupils on skills and technique.

We were also delighted to welcome Mr Saunt in September. He has quickly become part of the furniture, in the best possible way! His enthusiasm, energy, and positive attitude have been a breath of fresh air for both staff and pupils, and he has already made a hugely valuable contribution to the department.

It has truly been a memorable term, and we look forward to building on this momentum in the new year.

 

Tooled Up

Good sleep is essential to a child’s growth, wellbeing and happiness. It supports brain development, regulates emotions and allows the body to rest and repair.

As parents, we know bedtimes can be challenging! After a busy day, when children crave extra screen time or parents long for some quality family time, it can be hard to establish the kind of calm environment that encourages good sleep.

At Tooled Up, we understand the pressures modern families face and how tricky it can be to prioritise sleep when life is action packed. That’s why we’re passionate about supporting families to help children get the rest they need to flourish.

It’s important to know how much sleep your child needs at each stage of development. Understanding the basics can help you identify whether challenges are temporary or something more serious. Our webinar Sleep – The Building Blocks of Health and Happiness explores the vital role of rest, signs of insufficient sleep in younger children and how to support healthy sleep habits at every age.

Polly Revaliente, co-founder of The Sleep Project, joins us in Ask the Sleep Experts: Q&A where she answers practical questions from parents about the challenges of sleep and bedtimes. This webinar covers a range of topics including the impact of sleep on behaviour, how to handle nightmares, managing electronics in the bedroom, and much more.

In this webinar Rest and Reset: The Crucial Link Between Sleep and Mental Health in Teens, find out more about the link between sleep and mental health in adolescents. This resource explores how quality sleep contributes to cognitive function and wellbeing in teenagers, and includes advice on how to guide them towards a more balanced and healthier lifestyle.