Weekly Newsletter

We move into our final week of term next week, and I can’t quite believe how quickly the time has flown. The Junior Department has been its usual hive of energy, with learning taking on a wonderfully creative dimension. From making human number lines in Nursery as the children learn to recognise and order numbers, to Reception taking on the role of narrators while retelling The Gingerbread Man and decorating their own gingerbread creations, time in our Early Years has been as special as always. Year 1 immersed themselves fully in the story of Mr Big by Ed Vere, taking turns hot-seating the character himself. Year 2 continue to impress with their English skills, tackling some rather challenging comprehension questions this week, including making inferences with confidence. 

I look forward to seeing many of you at our very own ‘Edge Grove End’ performances. Who needs a trip to the West End when we have the incredibly talented Junior Department right here!.

Wishing you a restful weekend.

Mrs Wynne
Assistant Head (Junior)

Nursery

Nursery this week has been filled with all things festive, from getting creative with arts and crafts to feeding Santa using our maths and fine-motor skills. The children have enjoyed exploring a range of festive colours and recognising numbers in different settings. Our story of the week has been The Polar Express, which the children loved, especially imagining their own magical journey to the North Pole. In Forest School the children enjoyed hammering nails and exploring the different textures around them. The highlight of the week has undoubtedly been our rehearsals in the theatre; the children have done so well and, as always, made us incredibly proud.

Reception News

This week, we really have got into the festive spirit with our literacy focus ‘The Gingerbread Man’.  The children were completely captivated by the adventures of the runaway biscuit, and they especially enjoyed creating their very own ‘Wanted’ posters to help track him down. In maths, we continued to strengthen our understanding of early addition. The children explored different resources, including tens frames, to help them combine groups and talk about number sentences.

One of the highlights of the week had to be decorating our very own gingerbread men! The classroom was filled with excitement (and a delicious smell) as the children carefully iced their creations. All the while, we’ve also been very busy practising for our wonderful Nativity, which takes place next week. The children are doing brilliantly learning their songs and actions—you’re in for a real treat!

Year 1 News

What a wonderfully sparkly week it has been in Year 1! The children have been busy little Christmas elves, adding the final festive touches to their Nativity performance. It is looking truly magical! 

They have also spent time consolidating all of their learning in both maths and English from across the term — phew! In maths, we have been unwrapping our learning about 2D and 3D shapes and giving our addition and subtraction skills a merry little recap. In English, we have been polishing up our punctuation: shiny capital letters, twinkly full stops and all, while also sharpening our comprehension skills like reading-ready reindeers.

Science has been shining brightly too! We have been exploring light and learning all about transparent, translucent and opaque. Why not ask your child to name some festive objects for each one? You might discover a transparent bauble, a translucent snowflake or even an opaque present under the tree!

Year 2 News

As we approach the end of a very busy and productive term, we wanted to share some of the wonderful learning and experiences taking place across the classroom.

In English, the children have been exploring formal and informal letter-writing, developing a strong understanding of tone, purpose, and audience. One of the highlights has been their incredibly thoughtful and imaginative “letters home from the trenches”, inspired by our history work. The maturity and empathy shown in their writing have been truly impressive.

The festive season has certainly made its presence known, and our school hall has been filled with rehearsals, rehearsals, rehearsals! The children have thrown themselves wholeheartedly into their nativity practices, demonstrating teamwork, confidence, and a great sense of fun. They have absolutely thrived under the stage spotlight, and we cannot wait for you to see just how brilliantly they perform when the big day arrives.

In maths, we have been revisiting and strengthening our understanding of addition and subtraction, providing opportunities to apply these skills with increasing accuracy and independence. We have also introduced shape, exploring properties, vocabulary, and how shapes appear in the world around us.

It has been a joy to see how enthusiastically the children have approached every challenge and how much progress they continue to make. Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support.

What a wonderful week it has been, started by the truly joyful Winterfest. It was such a pleasure to see so many families there, and I was especially delighted that the children came over to visit the sheep, cattle and donkey and even enjoyed a sit in the tractor (along with a few enthusiastic dads!). Their excitement and curiosity were a highlight of the day, and it was lovely to share those moments with them.

As we move into the final stretch of this busy term, I want to wish you all a lovely weekend. I hope it brings some rest and festive warmth before we head into the final week of term.

Mrs Hodge
Deputy Head Academic

Year 3 – Miss Kyriacou, Miss Corin, Miss Lundrigan

As we come to the end of such a busy term, we would like to extend a big well done to all the children for their hard work and enthusiasm. It’s been a joy to see how much they have grown and achieved. With Christmas fast approaching, our school is buzzing with festive cheer. The children have been working like elves, creating beautiful decorations to make our classrooms look magical for the season. It’s truly heart-warming to see their creativity and teamwork in action.

In our TPR lessons, we continue to explore the Nativity story. The children have enjoyed making Christmas angels and puppets, which they have used to retell this special story, deepening their understanding in a fun and engaging way.

In English, our focus has been on spelling patterns, where we have explored a variety of suffixes and prefixes. We’ve also been honing our handwriting skills to ensure clarity and precision.

In History, the children have created fascinating fact files about the Bronze Age, and we are now embarking on an exciting journey into the Iron Age.

Our maths lessons have concentrated on reasoning and problem-solving questions, with a special emphasis on the operations of addition and subtraction.

We would like to express our gratitude to those who attended Winter Fest on Saturday. It was wonderful to see the Edge Grove community come together to celebrate, and it truly showcased the pride we all have in our school.

Year 4 – Mrs Futerill, Mrs Warnes

The Year 4 pupils have settled straight back into their normal routines after the wonderful pantomime, with a full timetable of assessments and the continuation of their usual lessons. 

In maths, we are continuing our investigation into fractions and exploring how to convert mixed numbers into improper fractions. It was a lovely moment when the children realised that this is one of the reasons why it is important to know their times tables facts.

In English, the children completed some assessments and then leapt into writing their own fables featuring two lively characters, Pigeon and Squirrel. We focused on using fronted adverbials and inverted commas accurately. 

In history, 4W had a brilliant discussion about why the Vikings began to raid England. We explored the attacks on Lindisfarne and learned the meanings of “monks”, “priory”, and “raids”. We also began to wonder how the Saxons might have viewed the Vikings, and whether this was entirely fair.

In geography, we started looking at the Ignite Task 4 – Early Settlements. All year 4 students have been incredibly engaged in this project and immediately began identifying the early settlements they will be researching. It has been wonderful to see all students eagerly immerse themselves in their work and explore their chosen topics with such enthusiasm.

Building on our previous learning about circuits, we have now moved on to exploring conductors and insulators. Who knew that sea salt is a conductor? The students had a variety of materials to test and sort, and, as always, excellent scientific discussion was taking place throughout the lessons. Many exciting discoveries were made, and it has been wonderful to see the children so curious and engaged in their investigations.

We cannot believe how quickly this term has flown by, and everyone is already counting the days until the end of the autumn term (especially Mrs Warnes, who will be heading off to visit her family in South Africa and is very excited for some sunny skies and plenty of biltong!).

Year 5 – Mr Russell and Mrs O’Brien

This week in Year 5…

In PSHE this week, we tackled the topic of risk-taking. The class held thoughtful discussions exploring the idea that not all risks are negative; sometimes, carefully calculated risks are necessary for growth and progress. The children debated various scenarios and successfully placed them on a “risk continuum.” They also did a fantastic job of highlighting the dangers associated with certain risks and provided genuinely well-thought-out advice on how to navigate challenging situations safely.

Our highlight this week was undoubtedly our trip to Queenswood School for their performance of Animal Farm. The children were thoroughly impressed with the professional quality of the production and the excellent performances delivered by the Queenswood students, who truly brought the story to life.

Following the trip, the class was buzzing with analysis. Here is Alice’s report from the trip: 

On Tuesday, Year Five went on an exciting trip to Queenswood to see their newest theatre production, Animal Farm. As Year Five walked into the theatre they noticed that the theatre set looked like a barn. The costumes and makeup  were really impressive and life-like and the acting skills were stunning. I personally was very impressed by Napoleon who betrayed his comrades. It was a very inspiring trip and all of Year Five learnt a lot.

By Alice B 

Wolf also loved the show, in particular connecting with one of the main characters, Snowball. He found it very interesting that the story does not end on a happy note – an enjoyable and thought-provoking change from the usual narratives that Wolf likes to read and watch!

On Thursday, we enjoyed a fun change of pace with an online House Assembly quiz hosted by Head of House, Mr. Evans. The format was a lot of fun, and we really enjoyed this new, competitive way of competing for house points and demonstrating our general knowledge.

Other highlights from the children this week are:

Teddy was delighted to finally put his hard work to fruition by competing in the Ignite Ted Talk challenge. Both he, and all other Ignite pupils, have been working diligently over the past few weeks to perfect their speeches, and we look forward to hearing the winners announced in our celebration assembly this week!

Ava has enjoyed her time in DT this week as she began the initial stages of crafting a wooden, handmade keychain.

Adam found it really fun when his English class created tea-stained letters in the style of Michael’s from Kensuke’s Island and put them into a bottle to creatively recreate the classic “message in a bottle” literary moment.

We look forward to enjoying the final week of term next week and getting involved in all the final week festivities have to offer.

Have a great weekend!

Year 6 – Mrs Allen, Mr Kay, Dr Moradi

This Week in Year 6…

As we head into the final week of term, Year 6 have continued to impress us with their enthusiasm, teamwork, and festive spirit. It has been a wonderfully busy week filled with activity, learning, reflection, and plenty of Christmas cheer.

I must begin by mentioning our very own Kaiya, who once again led us through an inspirational assembly on Wednesday as we marked International Day of Disability Awareness. She spoke proudly about how disability has led to ability and she truly is an inspiration to us all. Our pupils sat and listened in awe to her strength of character, her resilience, and her unwavering determination to never give up.

On the House front, we enjoyed a very interactive House Assembly on Thursday (thank you Mr Evans!), which brought the school together in brilliant, competitive quizzing spirits. Pupils tested their knowledge of everything from festive traditions to general knowledge, with a healthy dose of competitive fun thrown in. Year 6 rose to the challenge with great humour and collaboration. A huge congratulations to Gills House for their fantastic win!

Sport has also been a big feature of the week. Our pupils took part in Pre-Season Training Games, including Rugby fixtures against Beechwood Park, where teamwork and resilience shone through. There was also Netball training, all of which provided valuable opportunities for skill-building and sportsmanship.

In addition to the physical challenges, our Year 6 Academic Ignite pupils stretched their intellectual muscles with their TED-Ed-style talks. These were truly impressive, with pupils speaking clearly, confidently, and passionately on a range of self-chosen topics. Their ability to articulate ideas and engage an audience continues to develop, and Mrs Allen was very impressed by what she managed to see!

Alongside these highlights, we have continued our ongoing discussions about screen time, digital wellbeing, and the potential drawbacks of being involved in large or unmanaged group chats. These conversations remain an important part of helping pupils navigate their online environments safely and thoughtfully. For more detail, please do refer to Mrs Allen’s letter sent last week.

As we approach the final days of term, excitement is building. We very much look forward to welcoming you this evening for our Carol Service, a cherished moment in the school calendar and a festive way to begin winding down for the holidays.

Wishing all our families a restful and happy lead-up to the end of term.

Next week will be the big reveal for the Winter Fair – stay tuned!  For the last two weeks, the focus was on the pupils marketing their entrepreneur products in anticipation of WinterFest, so this week, let’s look at the other activities the Seniors have been doing around the same time.

In Form Time, the focus was on teamwork, collaboration and perspective.  In randomly assigned pairs, one pupil had to wear their blindfold.  Once all blindfolds were on, a prompt was revealed such as a house or a cat, and blindfolded pupils had to draw it on their whiteboard, guided by their partner.  Have a look at the photos below:

Afterwards, the Seniors reflected on the challenge, and words such as: perspective, listening, team work, patience, understanding, collaboration, helping others featured heavily in their discussion.

For Mr. Stanley’s ‘Kindness Wall’ challenge, Seniors wrote kind messages to each other cards, and distributed themselves to support the Year 5 and 6 Form Teachers as they joined Mrs. Wright’s virtual kindness assembly.

Grayson reminded us that “winter brings beautiful contrasts” with his lovely photograph of the bright red among the green below, and, as Champion of Grounds and Garden, plans to challenge the rest of the School into finding their own natural contrasts.

Highlights of the Week:

Joe & Aiden: Playing rugby with Mr. Stanley on the Astro at break.  He could throw the ball across the whole Astro!

Alex: Winning the Best Delivery Award in the Ignite Ted Talk presentations with Eashan!  I am looking forward to performing it in assembly. 

Reuben: Helping out at Forest School!

Leandro: Playing my first ever badminton match for Edge Grove and winning my match with Blake!

Blake: Woman in Black artwork in English with a cup of tea while everyone except for a few others were at an event.  I love the imagery in the book and so it is really fun to draw things from the novel.  (Miss Senior: Our Art Champion Blake is exceptional at blending words and images!)

Senior of the Week:

This week, staff were looking out for those Seniors singing loudly and proudly in assembly.  Whilst Mr. Evans, Mrs. Allen and I are particularly pleased this year with all of the Seniors participating in the morning singing and modelling unity to the younger pupils, Max truly stood out this week.  Well done, Max, for really leading by example with lovely, confident singing: it was an encouragement to those around you for whom singing may not come naturally.  

Progress Tests

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

This week, children from Year 3 to Seniors have been sitting their end-of-term online tests in English: the NGRT in reading and the NGST in spelling, and the newly introduced ‘NGMT’ in maths.

These snapshot tests provide us with valuable data that works alongside our teacher assessments and help us to track pupil progress. They also give you as parents, an indication of how your child is performing against the national backdrop. You will often see broad alignment between the CAT scores your child achieved in September in the Verbal and Quantitative batteries and their performance in English and maths.

An algorithm created by GL assessment gives each child a ‘Standard Age Score’ or SAS.

GL explain: 

A Standard Age Score converts a pupil’s raw score to a standardised score which takes into account the pupil’s age in years and months and gives an indication of how the pupil is performing relative to a national sample of pupils of the same age. The average score is 100. A higher score is above average and a lower score is below average. The SAS is key to benchmarking and tracking progress and is the fairest way to compare performance of different pupils within a year group or across a year group.

This distribution curve from GL Assessment shows the percentage of children falling in each range.

We can see that 50% of children fall in the average range of 90-110, and 25% of children fall each side of this range to be below average (<90) or above average (>110)  The GL SAS scale ranges from 60-140. A score outside of this range is seen in less than 1% of the population.

As staff, we look for progress over the academic year. Just as children’s physical growth would not produce a neat, predictable straight line, their learning does not always show term-on-term increases. It is inevitable that results fluctuate, and it is not uncommon to see a child’s Standard Age Score dip from one term to the next, as their chronological age outstrips their rate of academic maturation. This does not mean they are ‘doing worse’. Scores can shift for many reasons; there are natural variations in performance which reflect a child’s mindset on a particular day, and the simple fact that children mature and develop at different rates, particularly with fresh challenges in the first term of a new academic year.

As Heads of Department, Mrs O’Brien and I analyse all results, investigate anomalies, and work with colleagues to ensure the curriculum meets the needs of all children. Our SEND department identifies and works with those children who need support, and IGNITE opportunities are offered to all children who enjoy academic stretch and challenge. We pride ourselves on ensuring that all children have the right academic diet to help them grow. 

At the same time, we recognise that termly tests present a real challenge to those children who face barriers to learning. We are always mindful that the results of testing remain a narrow reflection of all that a child achieves at Edge Grove. The reason I love watching shows, sporting events, music platforms and pupil-led assemblies, and seeing children take on leadership responsibilities across the school, is because our rich programme of learning gives all children an opportunity to find themselves and be valued for the skills and talents they bring to the life of the school. 

When reports are published next week with your child’s results, first of all talk them through with your child, and then, if you have queries, please reach out to your child’s teacher. 

Mrs Hodge, Mrs O’Brien and I can be contacted on our school email addresses.

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

Holiday Book Recommendations

Future Schools Update 

Mrs Broadis, Head of Future Schools Curriculum

The majority of senior school entrance tests have now been taken and we are into the exciting period which involves Round Two call-backs, further short written assessments, group tasks and interviews. It is always a delight to be part of the team that crafts pupil references which highlight the many strengths and talents of our Edge Grove pupils. 

At Edge Grove we believe in supporting parents in finding the perfect school for each child, and we have already sent references to this wide range of schools in the last month:

• Abbot’s Hill
• Aldenham
• Berkhamsted
• Downe House
• Eton College
• Haileybury
• Harrow
• Monkton Combe School
• MTS
• Queenswood
• Radley College
• RMS
• St Albans
• St Columba’s College
• St Margaret’s
• STAHS
• Wetherby
• Wycombe Abbey

What are senior schools looking for at interview? 

I would say 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?’

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. 

Congratulations

I am delighted to share that we have received notification that a number of our Year 6 pupils have been invited to sit Academic Scholarship papers. 

Additionally, all four of our applicants to the Royal Masonic School have been offered places – excellent and well done!

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! 

Important Dates

We wish the best to all our pupils taking the St Albans School assessment on January 5th or 6th, before the Spring Term begins. 

Everything you need to know about Quest Admissions

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.)

Are you worried about your child’s eating habits? We have provided a range of useful resources to help you understand and support your child’s diet and eating habits:

1. Magnificent Munchers

Magnificent Munchers work with children from 2-16 years of age. We offer both individual and group food therapy sessions tailored to meet your child’s specific needs. We work with parents/carers helping them understand the steps to eating process by working at their child’s pace. With our high staff ratio and specialist therapy knowledge we aim to help children learn to explore a wider variety of tastes and textures and become happy social eaters.

2. Hertfordshire.gov Online Workshops

How do I get my child to eat better?

A 1 hour bitesize workshop. No matter how restrictive your child’s diet is, there are things you can do to help. This workshop will be delivered online on Zoom on Thursday 4th Dec 2025, 10-11am.

Understanding ARFID webinar

Practical guidance for parents and carers on ARFID. This workshop will be delivered via Microsoft Teams on Wednesday, 3 December, 6:00pm. Tickets from £7

3. Beezee Families

An award-winning healthy lifestyle programme for families.

We (Mr Evans and Mrs Allen) are both thoroughly exhausted, yet incredibly happy and proud teachers. Year 4 was astounding last week (OH YES THEY WERE!) and the Pantomime was a ball!

Year 3 sang a stunning series of Christmas songs on Saturday afternoon at Winterfest. Sadly the weather was not our friend, and our outdoor performance was ushered inside to the Sports Hall where the acoustics are not the greatest, but despite the adversity, Year 3 performed brilliantly, singing and dancing their way through the season. Who’s got a beard that’s long and white…?

This week we have been getting ready for the Junior Department Nativities, with sheep, frankincense, stars and angels flying everywhere! We’re looking forward to sharing Whoops-a-Daisy Angel, and the Big, Little Nativity with you all next week on Tuesday and Thursday.

We also held our first Junior Platform in the Junior Hall, filled with pretty piano playing and one singing surprise. The Junior pupils performed admirably and for many it was their first outing as musicians in front of an audience. It was truly an excellent way to start a Tuesday morning.

But that’s not enough for the Performing Arts Department: we held a LAMDA Platform in the theatre on Tuesday morning too, filled with vivacious vocal projection, outstanding oracy and stunning stage presence on display. We are very excited about our upcoming actors and actresses across the school!

But wait, there’s more. At the time of this newsletter being published, we will be in the middle of our Carol Service in the Apthorp, with both Chamber Choir and Chorus Choir leading traditional congregational carols, spreading the message of Christmas to our school community.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas..!

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

Creativity is Flourishing!

It has been an incredibly busy and inspiring week in the Art Studio, with pupils across all year groups producing fantastic work, exploring new materials, and getting delightfully messy. Our focus this week has ranged from historical texture to modern printmaking!

• Year 2: We have seen remarkable inventiveness from Year 2 as they channelled their inner Roald Dahl. The pupils have been busy crafting spectacular, 3D trees based on the famous landscape featured in their class novel, The Twits. The results are wonderfully wild and scrunchy!
• Year 3: Year 3 has been bridging the gap between History and Art by creating some truly fantastic Stone Age Paintings. This was a brilliant cross-curricular link to their area of study, where they focused on using naturalistic, simple lines and dry media (charcoal and pastels) to achieve the rugged texture of authentic cave art.
• Year 4: The Year 4 artists have been immersed in the world of Cubism, adding the finishing touches to the composition of their fantastic Picasso Self-Portraits. We finally got the paints out this week, making a lovely, colorful mess as they applied bold, expressive colors to their dynamic portraits.

Both Year 5 and Year 6 have spent the week creating different kinds of prints, mastering the technical process of transferring an image.

• Year 5: These pupils have been creating stunning under the sea-inspired prints, taking inspiration from the beautiful colors and forms captured by artist Amy Cundall. They explored various techniques, focusing primarily on foam printing to achieve vibrant underwater scenes.
• Year 6: Our Year 6 artists have been exploring more expressive techniques. Their dramatic Monoprints have been inspired by the powerful, emotive work of German artist Käthe Kollwitz, allowing them to focus on tone and human emotion in their compositions.
•  Seniors have been finishing off their perspective drawings inspired by Stephen Wiltshire. These have challenged the boys over the past few weeks and I am so proud of their perseverance!

Around the School

Keep a close eye on the frames and display boards around school! We are gradually updating them with fresh, exciting pieces that have been created in the Art Studio this year.

Mini Ceramics Exhibition – Thursday 11th December!

We warmly invite you to join us for a special Mini Ceramics Exhibition in the Art Department.

• What: A display of the fantastic ceramic houses created by pupils this term.
• When: Thursday, December 11th
• Time: During the Afternoon Pick-up time

Please do pop in with your children to celebrate their wonderful three-dimensional achievements!

Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la… hi…

Christmas is here, choirs are carolling, nativities are rehearsing, pantomimes are pantoing, Houses are assembling, points are being processed, and I am crawling to the end of term… standard.

In a change of scheduling, the Photo of the Week and Joke of the Week competitions have been rolled over to next week for a big bumper edition at the end of term assembly where I will also be announcing the winning House with the most points this term!

This Thursday we had our final House Assembly of 2025, with my good self hosting a virtual Christmas Quiz from my office. It was all going swimmingly until my internet connection froze, but after 20 questions (and a lot of screaming from Hedgerows in particular… remind me to either move my office or where their assembly is held), Gills were crowned the victors! Some of the questions were certainly challenging… does anyone else know what a Joulupukki is or who originally sang last Christmas? (Shudder… sometimes you’re just having a normal day and then WHAM!)

House points have been awarded for the quiz results as follows:

I look forward to seeing many of you at the Carol Service on Friday and I hope you have an excellent weekend.

Mr Evans

Head of Houses
Director of Music
The Grinch

We have had another fantastically busy week in the Sports Department. Our U10 and U11 teams enjoyed their rugby pre-season fixtures, while all age groups took part in pre-season rugby and netball training. Unfortunately Inter-House Hockey for our Year 3 and 4 pupils had to be postponed due to the weather.

With just one week left of term, we look forward to welcoming parents on Wednesday to watch the Colts Inter-House Football and Hockey matches.

Edge Grove Seniors Table Tennis and Badminton vs York House (Home 01st December 2025)

The Edge Grove Seniors hosted York House School on Monday afternoon for a highly competitive and enjoyable racket sports fixture. Both schools arrived with great enthusiasm, setting the tone for an excellent afternoon of sport. In the badminton, matches were exceptionally close throughout. Players on both sides demonstrated impressive control, agility, and tactical awareness. After a series of tightly contested games, neither school could quite pull ahead, resulting in a well-deserved 8–8 draw. The table tennis fixture followed a similar pattern of competitive spirit and high-quality play. The Edge Grove A team secured a strong overall win, showcasing sharp reactions and skilful shot placement. The B team put in a valiant effort, with several closely fought rallies, but ultimately fell short against a well-drilled York House side. Across both sports, pupils displayed excellent racket and bat skills, great sportsmanship, and commendable teamwork. It was a pleasure for Edge Grove to host such an exciting and good-natured fixture, and both schools can be proud of their performances.

Edge Grove Colts A vs Beechwood Park 

Edge Grove 1- 8 Beechwood Park 

The Colts A squad kicked off their pre-season preparations with a challenging warm-up game that provided exactly what the coaches were hoping for: a real test of skills, decision-making, and early-term fitness. Although the scoreboard didn’t fall in Edge Grove’s favour, the match was full of valuable learning moments and plenty of individual brilliance.

From the first whistle, the boys showed huge commitment in defence. Tommy set the tone early with a series of outstanding tackles and powerful carries that continually pushed the team forward. His hard work was rewarded with Edge Grove’s only try of the match, finishing a brilliant individual effort that lifted the whole side.

In the kicking department, Hunter and Jack were superb. Their excellent cross field tactical kicking relieved pressure, gained territory, and provided structure in moments when the team needed it most. Their composure under pressure is a promising sign for the season ahead.

A special mention must go to Cooper, who delivered an all-round great performance. His work rate, support play, and calm decision-making made him standout throughout the game.

While there is plenty to celebrate, the match also gave the squad a clear picture of what to work on before the rugby term begins. Improving handling under pressure, maintaining defensive shape, and sharpening breakdown skills will be key focus areas in the coming weeks.

Overall, it was a tough but hugely valuable warm-up fixture, full of effort, spirit, and glimpses of real quality. With continued hard work, the Colts A look set for an exciting and competitive term ahead.

Under 11 Rugby B vs Beechwood Park – Match Report

The Under 11 Rugby B team enjoyed a fantastic training fixture against Beechwood Park, providing an excellent opportunity for all players to further develop their skills in a competitive yet supportive environment.

For several boys, this was a brand-new experience. Chimdi, playing his very first game of rugby, was outstanding, showing real courage, enthusiasm, and rapid improvement throughout the afternoon. Itai produced some brilliant moments, including a number of strong tackles and powerful carries that pushed the team forward. Toran excelled both in the scrum and with ball in hand, consistently challenging the opposition and breaking through their defensive line.

Luke and Ben were relentlessly active around the breakdown, arriving at almost every ruck and even securing possession on several occasions through sheer determination.

Overall, it was an incredibly positive performance from the whole squad. The boys represented Edge Grove with great energy, teamwork, and commitment, and should be proud of their continued progress.

Under 11 Rugby C vs Beechwood Park – Match Report

The Edge Grove Under 11 Touch Rugby squad kicked off their rugby preparations with a highly valuable training fixture against Beechwood Park. The focus of the session was firmly on transitioning the boys back into the pace and flow of the oval ball game following a long and successful football season.

The team was led by Captain Garv, who managed the on-field strategies with maturity. The team received excellent vocal and motivational support from Pranay and Aman, whose positive energy proved invaluable in keeping spirits high throughout the four quarters of play.

The training fixture provided an excellent platform for individuals to shine and work on specific skills. There were moments where Joshua and Aahil found their sprinting boots, showcasing remarkable pace and running strength with the ball in hand. 

Defensively, Arhaan and Avi took responsibility for the crucial fullback position, demonstrating commitment to improving their defensive positioning and structure. 

The most pleasing element of the day was the evident improvement across the quarters. Initially, the boys were shaking off some rust, but as the game developed, the passing became slicker and the running lines with the ball became noticeably more dangerous and direct. 

This was a highly useful and thoroughly enjoyable pre-season run-out for the U11 Touch Rugby team. The boys showed excellent attitude, took instruction well, and demonstrated a clear desire to develop their game. Well done, boys.

Edge Grove U10 Rugby A, B and C training at Beechwood Park

The A, B and C teams travelled to Beechwood Park School for a valuable pre-season training afternoon. Instead of formal fixtures, the focus was on a series of conditioned games designed to develop core skills, decision making and teamwork in a realistic but supportive environment. Across all three squads, the boys showed excellent energy and a willingness to learn. As the session progressed, noticeable improvements emerged in handling, support play and defensive organisation. Perhaps most importantly, the players’ confidence grew steadily throughout the afternoon, with many stepping up to take on greater responsibility within their teams. The session provided a strong foundation on which to build, and the collective progress was encouraging for both players and coaches. With this positive start, we look forward to returning after Christmas ready to push on into what promises to be a strong and exciting season ahead.

On 3rd December every year we observe International Day of Persons with Disabilities, a time to reaffirm our commitment to inclusion, accessibility and dignity for all. This day challenges us to look beyond stereotypes and barriers, and to nurture environments where every child can thrive.

How can we nurture kindness, inclusivity and awareness in our children? A good start is to discuss differences openly and positively.

With younger children, have age-appropriate chats about body diversity and connect these conversations to people in their lives. Books for Children by Disabled Authors offers authentic perspectives and helps children see disability as a natural part of life. While not all of the books focus on this theme, they illustrate that disabled people are active participants and contributors in all areas of society and that having a disability doesn’t define a person’s interests or talents.

Strength through Adversity is a great webinar to watch and perhaps share with older children. It showcases the story of Darren Edwards, a disabled adventurer who overcame adversity and demonstrates how disability does not limit potential.

If you are a parent of siblings of children with a disability, listen to Siblings of Children with Neurodevelopmental or Intellectual Disabilities. This podcast explores the unique experience of these siblings and discusses meaningful strategies families and schools can deploy to help support and foster meaningful sibling relationships.