This Week at Edge Grove

The summer term is a firm favourite of mine. It is the finale of the academic year, a time to showcase all that we have achieved, make use of our beautiful grounds and continue to build cherished and enduring memories. 

I am thrilled to have finally stepped into the role of Assistant Head (Junior), and I feel privileged to work with such a wonderful, dedicated team of professionals who have the children at the heart of everything they do. The pupils returned with beaming smiles and an obvious zest for life, a true testament to the wonderful staff team. 

Visiting lessons is always a highlight during the week. Storytime with Nursery on a Friday is a special time, and this week they were keen to tell me all about their new focus text, The Snail and the Whale. Reception children impressed us with their spelling of animal names and their excellent drawing skills. Year 1 have shown themselves to be particularly adept when it comes to neat handwriting and sentence structure. Year 2 did an excellent job of re-enacting “George and the Dragon” complete with some rather ‘threatening’ looking handmade props. 

I believe that we are in for some beautiful weather next week so we will have a chance to make full use of our beautiful grounds. I wish you all a restful weekend.

Mrs Wynne
Assistant Head (Junior Department)

Nursery

We have already had a busy start to the summer term! The children have settled back into their routines brilliantly, and it has been fabulous to hear all their holiday news. 

We have been reading The Snail and the Whale and have enjoyed sequencing the story, remembering the key elements. The snail certainly had a wonderful adventure! We created our own snails and hope to take them on their very own adventures! 

In maths, we have been recapping our understanding of time and have put our musical talents to use by singing songs to remind us about the days of the week and the months of the year.

Reception

Wow, what a first week back! Although the children have only been back three days, it feels like they have never been away. They settled back into school life instantly and have been working harder than ever. We’ve been reading the story ‘Elmer and the Stranger’ and looking at the different animals in the story, getting us ready for our trip to the zoo next week. In maths, we have been revisiting some of our prior learning, and we have been so impressed with the children’s understanding of numbers. It is lovely to watch their progress, and we know that they will continue to flourish.

Year 1

What a fabulous first three days of learning we have had! The Year 1 children returned to school this week looking taller, more confident and with the biggest smiles! We loved hearing all about their Easter holiday adventures.

The pupils have been enthralled with our new history topic of Elizabeth I. “Powerful, kind, integrity, strong, brave and determined” were some of the words the children thought a monarch should be. We enjoyed decorating our crowns with these wonderful adjectives.

‘Anna and Otis’ by Maisie Paradise Shearring has been a big hit in our English lessons. It is a story all about an unlikely friendship between a girl and a snake. The children have enjoyed learning the story map for this text and empathising with Otis as he tries to fit in. 

The battle of the bands has started on TTRockstars between all three Year 1 classes. Remember to keep practising and earning your class coins by showing your knowledge of the 2, 5 and 10 times tables.

Swimming began this week and the children impressed us with their determination and bravery. We hope this will be a highlight of their week as the sun begins to visit!

Year 2 

Our young learners have been captivated by the enchanting tale of “George and the Dragon.” The children have sequenced the story and tackled comprehension questions with enthusiasm. This hard work has culminated in a delightful performance, where the children showcased their understanding using home-made props. It really helped bring the story to life!

In maths, our focus has been on deepening the children’s understanding of fractions. We’ve been exploring fractions of shapes and quantities, using pictorial methods and multiplication facts to aid learning. The pupils have shown great progress in grasping these fundamental concepts.

We are thrilled to introduce our new science topic: living things. The children have embarked on their journey of discovering how to categorise things as living, dead, or never having been alive. A special mention to MRS GREN, who helps us remember the seven characteristics of living things: Movement, Respiration, Sensitivity, Growth, Reproduction, Excretion, and Nutrition!

Dear Parents,

What a glorious Easter break we received. It was a joy to experience so many ‘bluebird’ days, to use skiing parlance. No skiing for me this holiday, but I did celebrate my birthday – less Forever 21, but rather Suddenly 42! I took my two boys to the Science Museum and enjoyed the superb Wonderlab, and History of Video Games exhibition, where I discovered the wonders of science and that the Nintendo 64 games I played as a child are now museum artefacts!

I hope you all have had a restful break. If last term was a marathon, this term will feel like a sprint as the weeks fly by into the summer season. We have so much to look forward to, not least the re-opening of the swimming pool, Enrichment Week of residentials and workshops, High School Musical, and preparations for the next academic year. I’m on the lookout for the first-ever 1000 House Point recipients as we hurtle through the final nine weeks of the academic year; the race is on!

Mr Thorne
Assistant Head (Middle Department)

Mrs Fox writes…

It has been a short but super week, and 3W marched straight into our Roman topic. In both English and History, we have begun exploring the Romans through our engaging cross-curricular text, Revolt Against the Romans by Tony Bradman.

In Science, we have started investigating soil, and the class is looking forward to the exciting hands-on experiments planned for the coming weeks. In Computing, pupils have been developing their coding skills using Scratch, learning how to build lines of code and experiment with different graphics. I have been very impressed by their creativity and confidence — I am sure they will be showing me new shortcuts in no time!

It has also been wonderful to hear all about everyone’s Easter adventures. If children would like to bring something in for Show and Tell, they are very welcome to do so. Aari gave a fantastic presentation on the ammonite fossils he excavated from the Jurassic Coast — a brilliant start to the term!

Miss Corin writes…

Welcome back, I hope you all had a fantastic break and feel well rested. Although this week has been a short one, Class 3C has made a wonderful start on their new topics for this term. It has been delightful to see the children return from the break with a strong appetite for learning.

In English, we have begun reading Revolt Against the Romans by Tony Bradman. Although we have only completed one chapter thus far, it has sparked numerous questions from the children regarding what life was like during the Roman period. To deepen our understanding, we worked collaboratively in groups to explore various aspects of Roman life, fostering both critical thinking and teamwork skills.

The excitement among the children has been palpable, particularly with the return of lunchtime activities. Many were particularly enthusiastic about rejoining the gardening club with Mrs Green, eager to see the progress of the seeds planted prior to the break. It is heartening to witness their engagement with nature.

As we embark on this summer term, we are looking forward to a jam-packed schedule filled with exciting activities and events that will further enhance the children’s learning experience.

Mrs Senghani writes…

What an exciting eventful week it has been in 3S this week. What may have been a 3 day week has been jam packed with inspiring learning experiences and exciting stories from the Easter holidays. Shreyas told us about his exciting holiday to Italy, and drew a beautiful picture of the landscape he explored. 

As we look forward to the summer term, we have a lot of excitement to look forward to, be it the warmer weather, sporting fixtures, enrichment week activities and camping with friends or speech day. The children are in for even more excitement within the classrooms too.

In English this week we started looking at Revolt Against the Romans by Tony Bradman. This will also cross over as the students learn about the Romans in History lessons too. The students have shown great interest in the Romans, as well as hearing about the Romans bones being found on BBC news.

In science we will be investigating soils and rocks, and have a very exciting experiment coming up next week where the children will go over to the science lab, and investigate different samples and their properties.

I look forward to working with your children for the summer term, and exploring new adventures and learning together. 

Mrs Warnes writes…

‘Mrs Warnes, it is our last term in Year 4!’ 

As we embark on the final term of our Year 4 journey, excitement abounds in Mrs Warnes’ class! The first day back was filled with energy, as 4W realised just how close they are to becoming Year 5 pupils. I have been thoroughly impressed by their exemplary behaviour and positive learning attitudes this week; indeed, their eagerness to participate, along with the thoughtful questions and answers they offered, reflects the mindset expected of Year 5 students.

Last term, all Year 4 learners have been creatively inspired by the enchanting book “Tell Me a Dragon” by Jackie Morris. In response, they crafted their own captivating dragon-inspired poems. We celebrated their creativity by binding these works into individual books for each child.

I have been in contact with Jackie Morris, who was not only impressed with our poems but also requested a copy of our Year 4 book. To add to the excitement, she sent us a lovely postcard! And during the Easter holiday, Mrs Broadis met Jackie Morris, who mentioned that she was already aware of our talented Year 4 writers. How wonderful it is to receive such encouragement from an established author!

Mr Russell writes:

A very warm welcome back to school to all our wonderful pupils in 5R after what sounds like a truly adventurous Easter break! It has been lovely to hear about the diverse and exciting activities the children enjoyed, with tales of trips to India, the sunny shores of Barbados, the vast landscapes of America, and many other fascinating destinations. I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable time.

Upon their return, the children enthusiastically embarked on a creative project, capturing eight of their favourite memories from the break in the form of short comic strips. We are very much looking forward to seeing the final artwork and displaying these visual narratives in the classroom for everyone to enjoy.

This week in Form Time, 5R engaged in a thought-provoking TED Ed talk exploring some of the many unanswered questions about our world. This sparked an enjoyable and insightful debate amongst the children, as they shared their beliefs and perspectives on the mysteries of our planet and the intriguing possibility of life beyond it.

As we embark on this final term in Year 5, I am delighted to have 5R back in the classroom and am eager to make this last term a memorable and successful one for them.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend ahead.

Mrs Toniolo writes:

It has been a short but action-packed week in 5T as we begin the summer term with energy and enthusiasm. Our first games session back featured some exciting athletics trials, where everyone rose to the challenge and demonstrated our fortnightly value of confidence. From sprints to high jumps, it was a wonderful way to start the term.

It has also been a pleasure hearing all about some of our Easter break adventures. Ved M shared fascinating stories from his trip to Cairo, while Edith enjoyed a skiing holiday, including a funny moment when her little brother became stranded on the red slope. Joshua R told us how lovely it was to meet Hridhaan in Abu Dhabi, and we all enjoyed hearing about the great football rescue mission over the hedge.

We look forward to a term full of learning, laughter, and many more confident moments.

Mrs Allen writes:

Welcome back!

I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable break. It has been an absolute delight hearing from 5A about their holiday adventures through their comic strip designs; from snorkelling in the Maldives, hiking in Scotland, jumping into freshwater lakes in the Lake District, to simply enjoying quality time with family. It is a wonderful reminder that it is often the little things that mean the most – something we reflected on during form time. The little big things!

Although it has been a short week, it has certainly been a sweet one, and has been lovely to see the children return refreshed and ready to tackle the final stretch of Year 5. We’ve been talking about how we can embrace the summer term with renewed focus, energy, and excitement – especially with so many brilliant events to look forward to!

I am greatly looking forward to a superb (and hopefully sunny!) summer term.

We’ve seen this graphic before, but I shared it once again with pupil’s in this morning’s assembly as we celebrated the impact of words, reading and books.

I attended the conference of the Federation of Children’s Book Groups this Easter hosted by Haberdasher’s in Monmouth Wales and met with authors, poets and illustrators, returning to Edge Grove with a range of beautiful, dedicated books for children to read across the school, funded by income from book sales.

I shared with children that the highlight was meeting poet and author-illustrator, Jackie Morris, renowned for her beautiful (and very expensive!) artwork. I am now delighted to share that we now have our own Jackie Morris original at Edge Grove; she was so impressed with the poetry of Year 4 children that she painted a special dragon for us in a large format copy of her book, Tell Me a Dragon.

As we head into the summer term my message remains the same – reading for pleasure is essential for academic success and more importantly, wellbeing. Children learned from Book Trust’s recent report just how much good that reading books can do, with real-life books promoting empathy, social development and self awareness; comedy promoting relaxation and a positive mood; fantasy and adventure improving resilience and problem solving; and nonfiction encouraging curiosity and independent exploration. 

If you ever need recommendations or support with how to support your child, please reach out!

Mrs Broadis
Head of English

It has been lovely to welcome everyone back to the department this week! An exciting summer term awaits and we certainly are Getting Our Heads in the Game!

It is hard to believe that in just three weeks, our Edge Grove 2025 Musical — will have taken to the stage! We are incredibly excited to share this show with you and to build on the energy and anticipation over the coming weeks.

Production week at Edge Grove is always a special time in the school calendar, and this year promises to be no exception. 

Please get your diaries out (and if you haven’t already) please save the dates for our many upcoming summer term events.

Aside from rehearsing… What else have we been up to in the department?

Year 3 have been having great fun learning how to play the recorder and developing their musical skills whilst Year 4 have stepped into the shoes of news reporters, exploring all the skills and techniques involved in broadcast journalism.

Year 5 have been building on their music technology skills, while Year 6 are deepening their understanding of music theory in preparation for senior school.

Meanwhile, Year 7 have been working collaboratively on ensemble pieces and developing their confidence with scripted work. Year 8 have been diving into Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers, sparking thoughtful discussions and offering a taste of what GCSE Drama might look like for those considering it in the future. 

Here’s to another very special summer Term!

Mrs Allen
Director of Drama

Team sheets Location

Following recent parental feedback, we’ve made it easier to access our weekly team sheets.

When you open the Edge Grove app, simply click on the Sports tab located in the top right corner. This will take you directly to the team sheets for the current week.

We hope this update makes it quicker and more convenient to find this important information each week.

Edge Grove Athletics Trials – A Wonderful Afternoon in St Albans

We are delighted to share the success of the recent athletics trials held at the St Albans athletics track in the fabulous Verulamium park, where pupils from Years 5 to 8 took part in an action-packed afternoon of sporting challenges and achievements.

The children enthusiastically participated in a range of field and track events, including high jump, long jump, triple jump, javelin, shot put, cricket ball throw, and various running races. It was fantastic to see so many pupils trying new events, improving their techniques, and proudly beating their personal bests.

What stood out just as much as their individual performances was the spirit of support and encouragement that filled the afternoon. Pupils cheered each other on, shared advice, and celebrated each other’s efforts—demonstrating the strong sense of teamwork and positivity we value so highly at Edge Grove.

We are very grateful to all the staff who helped make the event such a success, and a special thank you goes to Miss Evans for her outstanding organisation and dedication. It was a memorable afternoon of growth, confidence-building, and fun for all involved.

Thank you for your continued support, and well done to all our young athletes!

U13 Cricket County Cup

Hi de hi!

Summer is here – well you wouldn’t know it looking outside as currently it’s raining and pretty dreary.  However, let’s not allow that to get us down for the Summer Term is full of exciting House competitions and events to get our teeth into!

The next term is full of Sports Days, Swimming Galas, athletics tournaments, triathlons, cricket matches… the Sport Department is really bowling me over here:  I’m stumped as to how they can do it all!  I’m certain that joke left you creasing.  No?  Ok…

We also have so much to celebrate: Edge Grove is turning 90.  You wouldn’t know it to look at her: I’d not put her a day over 50.  The Friends of Edge Grove are organising an amazing event on Saturday 7th June to celebrate, including camping in our grounds – it’s going to be in tents!  Moreover, we have our annual Speech Day, High School Musical, leavers’ parties… I can’t keep track of it all.

Here’s to another fantastic term at Edge Grove!

Mr Evans
Head of Houses
Director of Music
Slightly Taller Than The Average Bear

As our Year 6 pupils move into the final phases of their chosen senior schools’ admissions processes, parents with pupils in lower year groups may be starting to think more about the journey that they and their child will be embarking on in the not too distant future. If your child is in Year 5 or below and you would like to meet to discuss their academic profile and next steps, please book an appointment via Mrs Thomas, Head’s PA on futureschools@edgegrove.com 

The Future Schools Presentation to Parents is now available to view on the Future School Documents section of the app.

INFORMATION FROM SENIOR SCHOOLS

ABINGDON SCHOOL

Abingdon Senior School will start to welcome girls to our First Year (Year 7) and Sixth Form from September 2026. We will therefore welcome girls at the 13+ stage in 2028.  

We have a number of events for prospective families running throughout the course of this term and next – all of which can be booked online via this link.

ABBOT’S HILL SCHOOL

13+ Scholarship Opportunities

We have recently launched some new Scholarship opportunities. Scholarships will be available in the following areas:

Sport
Music
Drama
Art+Design

Enquiries to  https://www.abbotshill.herts.sch.uk/scholarships/ or email admissions@abbotshill.herts.sch.uk

AMPLEFORTH COLLEGE

Our next Open Morning is on Saturday 10th May 2025 10am – 1:30pm. Registration for this event can be found here.

CHANNING SCHOOL

Summer Term “school-in-action” Open Mornings – Attendance is by booking tickets in advance, at the following links:

Thursday 24 April (9am – 11am)

Tuesday 24 June (9am – 11am)

Here are the Channing 11+ (2026) key dates for your diary:

11+ Application Deadline: Friday 7 November 2025

Bursary and Music Scholarship Application Deadline: Friday 7 November 2025

Channing offers both bursaries and Scholarships for Year 7.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at admissions@channing.co.uk if we can be of further assistance.

CITY OF LONDON SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

11+ Admissions Brochure

 For more information and to book, visit www.clsg.org.uk

FRAMLINGHAM COLLEGE

Framlingham College Senior School invites you to explore the exceptional opportunities for pupils in Year 9 -13.

Open Morning – Saturday 26th April

HAILEYBURY

We are always happy to welcome any interested families to come and visit us; this can be done in a number of ways:

• Families can book onto one of our Open Events. Please encourage prospective families to book their place via the School’s website. 
• Contact the Admissions department (admissions7to9@haileybury.com / 01992 706353 ) to arrange an individual family visit during term time.

Once a family has decided to proceed with an application to Haileybury, we encourage them to register with us by completing our online Registration Form.

JOHN LYON SCHOOL

Admissions Brochure

To book a School in Action Open Morning please contact admissions@johnlyon.org

KING’S CANTERBURY

Open Morning Saturday 17 May

There will be displays and exhibitions of life at King’s all around the school.

The link to sign up is:

https://www.kings-school.co.uk/admissions/senior-kings/register-for-an-open-morning/

THE LEYS

Information on small group visits can be found here and, in addition, we’re always pleased to discuss the possibility of a private visit with families too.

MILL HILL

Visit Our School | Senior Admissions North London | Mill Hill

PANGBOURNE COLLEGE

We are only a few weeks away from our Open Morning on Saturday 26 April, and we would be delighted to invite any parents from your school who are interested in finding out more about Pangbourne College. 

The Open Morning will include a welcome talk from the Head, and a guided tour of the College, led by our Sixth Form students. The tour is an opportunity to see our stunning 230 acre campus and visit the many subject departments, who will have a range of exciting activities taking place throughout the morning.

Registration for the event can be made via our website pangbourne.com/visit

QUEENSWOOD 

We are holding our final Open Morning of this academic year on Saturday 10 May. Please use this  booking link.

Families will have the chance to tour Queenswood, hear from our Principal, meet pupils and staff, ask any admissions questions and take part in lots of fun educational activities. Of course, no visit to ‘Q’ would be complete without sampling our legendary food – brunch will be served in the Dining Room from 11.30am.

RADLEY COLLEGE – 2026 ENTRY INFORMATION

All the details of our Open Days can be found on our website here. 

We have a number of Open Days on Saturdays throughout the year where we will host up to 70 families for talks, tours of the school and lunch – please see the Key Dates on the portal. Further details, including a booking form, can also be found on our website here. 

RMS – PRIVATE TOUR OF RMS FOR GIRLS – Contact Admissions to book a tour

 Do not hesitate to contact our friendly Admissions Team who will happily arrange a private tour of the School at a time convenient for you.
Please contact admissions@rmsforgirls.com 

SHREWSBURY SCHOOL

We are always delighted to welcome families to our Open Days, when they can get a sense of our beautiful campus site.  Each Open Day starts with a presentation from the Headmaster and other senior staff, followed by a Q&A session with pupils.  Families visit one of our houses and then enjoy a school tour with pupils, followed by lunch.  Open Days & School Tours | Shrewsbury School

The Director of Admissions, Martin Cropper (mc@shrewsbury.org.uk), is always pleased to talk to parents and to offer advice on our Admissions process.  We welcome applications for September 2026 onwards, and a small number of places for September 2025 have recently become available.

SOUTH WEST HERTS CONSORTIUM – Secondary Transfer 2026

This year, registration for the tests spans a period of almost ten weeks, from Tuesday 1st April to Friday 6th June 2025. As previously, no late registrations will be accepted. If a parent has extenuating circumstances for failing to register for the tests, this may be cited as part of an appeal to an independent panel at a secondary transfer appeal hearing.

The Test Administration Team can be contacted via email only at info@swhertsschools.org.uk. There is no facility to telephone.

Key testing dates can be found in the image at the bottom of this section.

TONBRIDGE SCHOOL

The School has numerous Open Mornings taking place. These are a great opportunity for families to discover what a Tonbridge education can offer their son, as well as the chance to meet boys and staff.

Come along and find out what makes us the top boys’ boarding school in the country as well as the best boys’ school in the South-East, as ranked by The Sunday Times’ Parent Power table.

Book your place using this link.

UPPINGHAM SCHOOL

Uppingham’s Visiting Days Families can sign up to attend via our website or contact Sarah Heading (sch@uppingham.co.uk). 

A Message From Tooled Up:

Dear parents and carers,

We hope that you and your families are settling into the new summer term. We are writing as we wanted to remind you that our school subscribes to Tooled Up Education. 

This gives you privileged access to an online platform packed full of resources, podcasts, webinars, activities and practical advice to help support you in all matters to do with parenting and family life.

Here are two quick resources highlighting how you can make the most of your Tooled Up membership.

• 10 Things About Tooled Up Parent Benefit Sheet  – this is attached to the email
  
• Tooled Up Tour Video Link – this is a 5 minute video walk through of the platform, showing you how to navigate its features

If you have already signed up for an account: simply click this link to access

To register for your free account now: click Create my Tooled Up Account, enter your email address and our unique school PIN (available from the school office).

To view the platform on your phone: click this link or scan the QR code with your phone camera. 

If you have any question, please just click on the ‘Support’ button on the website and one of the Tooled Up team will be happy to assist you.