Week ending 30 June

Dear Parents

I hope you are all well.

Prior to being at Sevenoaks Prep I worked in senior schools; I remember the build-up to getting my GCSE
and A-Level students ready for their exams and then waving them off on study leave sometime in May.
After this, the schools felt like strange places with so many students not on site. I have been reminded of
this recently having visited three of our destination schools and finding so many classrooms empty!

Prep schools are somewhat different – the summer term gets busier and busier, with so many trips, visits
and events happening. Over the past two weeks we have enjoyed a wonderful STEAM Day, Pre-Prep Open
morning, Sports Day, Nursery and Kindergarten Sports Day and Grand Prix, the Year 6 PGL residential, the
music concert, Pre-Prep and Years 3 and 4 drama productions, and Year 8’s first aid training day to name
but a few. Between now and the end of term we will enjoy the House Drama Competition, Year 2 Camp
Day, Year 6 Camp Night and Year 5 will have a wonderful adventure on their residential trip to Wantage.
With so much going on, I want to take this opportunity to thank the staff for their tireless work in arranging
these activities. I also wanted to thank you all for your ongoing support and for helping to make it such a
rewarding year for the pupils.

If I do not get to see you before the end of term, may I wish you all a happy summer and I hope that you
are able to find some time away from busy lives to enjoy some sunshine, be it in the UK or further afield.

Best wishes

Luke Harrison

Dear Parents,

I must start my newsletter with the amazing performances that we saw on
Wednesday. Each show was utterly incredible and I was so proud of each and every child who got up on the
stage, sang their heart out and remembered all of their stage positions and lines. Well done everyone!

I have listened to some feedback this week regarding the timings of our shows. We fully appreciate how
challenging it can be to attend school events if you are a working parent. Many of the staff are full-time
working parents too and so we empathise with the complexities involved, especially in the summer term
when there are lots of events on. We understand that parents prefer Fridays for show days and in the future
we can endeavour to place shows on these days. However, as well as the Pre-Prep shows there are a
number of other performances on across the school and each performance is held in the sports hall. This
places great demand on the calendar and availability of the hall. This summer, Years 3 and 4 are also
performing a summer event, there is a Prep Music Concert and we also need time to prepare the hall for our
Prize Giving and Leavers’ Service. I hope this goes some way to explain how challenging it can be and that
we do try our very best. Hopefully, you will have seen just how much the children enjoyed performing for
you and they absolutely love having you there to support them.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support with providing costumes and assisting the
staff with props or scenery. Without your help and support, this would not have been possible and each year
I love the way in which we all come together as a Prep community to ensure we put on some fantastic
productions.

Finally, I want to thank my fantastic staff for their efforts and dedication to the children. There are a few
very tired teachers this week but the staffroom was full of elation and smiles this morning as they proudly
spoke about the children’s performances. As I said at the end of the Year 2 Summer Show, the staff have
the ability to turn my thoughts and visions with them in early discussions into a reality and not only do they
manage it but they do it with excellence and always with smiles on their faces.

What a fabulous community we have. Pupils, parents, staff and governors have come together this week to
celebrate the children and it is just wonderful. I feel very proud to be a part of this special Prep Family.

Next week, we have a number of calendar events. Please do use the Portal for dates and also refer to the
calendar for the final two weeks of term that was sent earlier this week.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing many of you at our events next week.

Best wishes

Helen Cook