Head’s Welcome – Mrs Owen, Head of Prep
What a wonderful World Book Day! Every pupil in the Prep School looked amazing, whether they were dressed as a book character or wore their comfy clothes ready to curl up with a good book. Upper Prep gathered in the Hall in the morning so we could all admire each other’s outfits, and Lower Prep did the same in the afternoon.
We were also visited by approximately 200 pupils from local Primary Schools who were all taking part in our Community Reading Challenge – Home Starts with a Story. Alongside our Year 1 and 2 pupils, they took part in a range of activities centred around the book ‘What Shape is a Home’, written by Joey Baillon and illustrated by Sophie Freestone. Both the author and illustrator led activities, along with Chris Potter from the Hope Centre. It was a wonderful day and a lovely opportunity for children from different schools to work together creatively and understand what goes into writing a book.
In Upper Prep, Mrs Bowler and Mrs Josh arranged a wide range of activities for the pupils, from rapping to designing cartoons and a very competitive book quiz! As we continue this National Year of Reading, I hope the day inspired our pupils to read more and perhaps indulge in other creative writing themselves.
This morning, the week was rounded off nicely with an amazing assembly from 4AS all about reading! The pupils encouraged us to find the magic in books, to be taken on a journey and to have new adventures. It was lovely to hear about the books that were childhood favourites of their parents, bringing back many memories of stories that I remember reading too. Thank you so much to 4AS, Mrs Stevens and Mrs Freeman for bringing our week to such a lovely conclusion. I hope you all enjoy some reading time over the weekend.
Reception Update – Katie Mason, Reception Teacher and Early Years Lead
It has been a very busy few weeks since we returned to school after the February half term. We kicked off with a wonderful trip to the Castle Theatre to see a performance of The Tiger Who Came to Tea. It was so much fun, and we all enjoyed the story and the songs! We used the story as our Drawing Club focus too, and the writing results have been fantastic.
Our topic this term is ‘Growing’, and we already planted some bean seeds as well as chitting some potatoes. The children have been observing the beans closely as the roots and shoots start to appear. The potatoes have been a little slower but are starting to change and will be ready to plant in some compost soon. We will also be planting some flower seeds in our outdoor area as well as a sunflower seed for each child to plant and take home. The children have been thinking about how they have grown too, and we have looked at photos of them as babies and toddlers. We have had a lot of fun trying to guess who the babies are, including the adults!
In phonics, the children have been reading longer words and words with double letters in. As an extra challenge, there is now an expectation for writing sentences once a week in phonics sessions, which is proving tricky but not unachievable. We are excited to see how the children rise to these new challenges and continue to impress us with their phonics and writing skills.
In Maths, we have started to explore the composition of 9 and 10 and have begun to delve deeper into how they could be made up and broken down.
It is a very busy and relatively short term, but Mrs Mason, Miss Herbert, Miss Pentelow and Mrs Hill never cease to be amazed and proud of the individual achievements of each and every one of the children.
Charity Update Lent Term – Catherine Waite, Charity Co-ordinator
Firstly, a huge thanks must go to Mrs Garlick and the Year 5 pupils for running the Charity Cake Break in February whilst I was away on my sabbatical. The event raised an impressive £299.50! This puts our total fundraising, so far, to over £1,600. Thank you, everyone.
Diary dates for this half term:
March 17th – Break The Rules Day (Upper Prep) and Topsy-Turvy Day (Lower Prep) – more information to follow
Upper and Lower Prep Easter Egg Raffle – to be drawn in the last week of the term
Tickets will be on sale for £1 each (maximum of 5 tickets per child) from form tutors during the week beginning 16th March.
Please, can I also ask for donations of Easter eggs as prizes from all Prep School pupils? The more eggs we collect, the more prizes we can give out. Please support this hugely popular event!
Working Together to Keep Young People Safe
This month’s newsletter explores how children can use YouTube and YouTube Kids safely, while also informing parents and carers about the potential risks to be aware of.
It also revisits a previous topic on AI, taking a closer look at the UK’s new law designed to protect children from indecent AI content.
Read the full safeguarding newsletter for this month here.
Key Calendared Events for the Next Two Weeks
Monday 9th March
- Year 4 Big Bubble Theatre Company
Tuesday 10th March
- Year 1 Toy Workshop trip to Abington Park Museum
- Years 3-6 Swimming Gala (Parents invited) (13:30-16:00)
Wednesday 11th March
- Nursery-Year 2 Form Tutor Parents’ Evening (16:00-18:30)
Thursday 12th March
- Year 3 Maths Challenge
- Year 5 trip to Foxton Locks 09:00 16:00
- Nursery-Year 2 Form Tutor Parents’ Evening (16:00-18:30)
- WPSA Years 3-4 Pupils’ Disco (16:00-17:30)
- WPSA Years 5-6 Pupils’ Disco (18:00-19:30)
Friday 13th March
- Reception Assembly for our Fabulous Families (09:30-10:30)
Monday 16th March
- Governors visit to Prep School
- Spring Concert (19:00)
Tuesday 17th March
- Nursery-Year 2 Topsy Turvy Day for charity
- Years 3-6 Break the Rules Day for charity
- Year 2 Play ‘The Bee Musical’ – Performance (Parents invited) (14:00)
- 4CW Parents’ Evening – Form Tutor (16:30-19:30)
Wednesday 18th March
- Year 2 Play ‘The Bee Musical’ – Performance (Parents invited) (09:30)
Thursday 19th March
- Nursery trip to Mini Meadows
- Years 2-6 M&M Theatrical Productions – Alice In Wonderland
- Year 6 Parents’ Evening – Subject Teachers (16:30-19:30)
Friday 20th March
- 4CW Assembly (Parents invited) (08:25)
- Year 2 Visit to Cambridge Botanic Gardens
- Years 3-6 Team Photographs
- Last day of Prep School (Nursery-Year 6) Co-Curricular Activities
To view the most up-to-date calendar information, please log onto Firefly – click here. https://www.wellingboroughschoolcalendar.org/week.aspx?ID=1171
Please log onto the Sports Calendar for up-to-date timings, team sheets and all other weekday fixtures information – click here. http://www.wellingboroughschoolsports.org/
Junior Star Easter Camp – Book Now!
Join us at Wellingborough School this Easter for an action-packed holiday camp that your kids will love!
- Mon 30th March – Thu 2nd April 2026
- Children in Reception to Year 6.
- £40 per day, with a 5% sibling discount.
Click here for more information.
To book your place, click here.
Whole School Open Day – Tomorrow
Join us this Saturday, 7th March, from 9am, to explore Wellingborough Prep, Senior and Sixth Form.
You will be able to meet with our specialist subject teachers and explore our facilities and nurturing environment. While gaining a better understanding of what makes a Wellingborough education so special.
If you haven’t confirmed your place yet, click here to do so.
Additionally, if you are aware of families looking for school places in September, please share with them this link.
Stay Connected
To see more of what’s happening at Wellingborough School, follow us on social media here.
You can also explore upcoming events and activities on our Events Page here.
Wellingborough School Business Directory
Please find the Business Directory at the following link: https://wellingboroughschool.org/community/business-directory/
