News from Head of Prep

Last Friday, I was lucky enough to accompany a group of girls who attend our weekly Chess club, to a match against girls from Warwick Prep School. It was an incredible afternoon of chess with both schools playing some fantastic matches. But what was all the more special, was to see an all female competition. Chess is a ruthlessly competitive, male-dominated sport.  Girls often receive less support to pursue highly competitive, 'hyper-specialized' activities like sport. Chess and Mathematics are deeply linked, both requiring mental agility and spatial reasoning. Fortunately, the joy of EHS Prep is that there are boundaries to hold our girls back. There is no one to tell them that a particular path might not be available to them. We actively encourage our girls to pursue whichever path they wish to follow. And in doing so, we encourage independence and risk-taking.

This week has been challenging due to the unprecedented temperatures that we have all found ourselves facing. The girls (and staff) have been incredibly resilient and the nature of our school building has meant that, on the whole, the weather (inside at least) has been manageable. The girls have continued to work hard and to stretch and challenge themselves and there has been some super work taking place in every corner of the school.

We know that reading is the key to unlocking learning and in the National Year of Reading, it was wonderful to see so many families joining us for the Scholastic Book Fair after school this week. Developing a love of reading is such a life skill and I am hugely grateful to Miss Howarth for masterminding the whole event and really helping to raise the profile of reading.

Tuesday saw a wonderful assembly, led by Miss Deacon and girls from History Club. 'Almost' lifesize models of Stonehenge were present for an highly informative assembly inspired by the Summer Solstice which took place on Sunday. Miss Deacon's love of History is infectious and it was clear from the enthusiasm of the girls that she has certainly inspired them this year.

With only a couple of weeks left until the long Summer break, I continue to be delighted by our girls eagerness to learn, their eagerness to immerse themselves in their learning, their eagerness to ask questions and their eagerness to be the best they can possibly be. They know that they are not bound by stereotypes and so, with this mindset, I cannot wait to see what they achieve next.

Wishing you a peaceful weekend.

Mrs N Hobson

Head of Preparatory School