Head’s Welcome – Mrs Owen, Head of Prep
We have enjoyed so many events this week, before we finish for the half-term holiday. We began with a wonderful Teatime Recital in the Chapel on Monday, where a number of Prep and Senior pupils performed confidently and with musicality. I would like to thank them and their teachers in the music department for treating us to such a lovely event. On Tuesday, I was privileged to attend the Endeavour & Duke of Edinburgh Awards evening in Senior School. Seeing our pupils receive their Endeavour badges for the awards they achieved during the course of last year gave me a great sense of pride, as I know how hard they worked to achieve them. It is also great to see so many current Year 5 and 6 pupils taking part in Endeavour this year – they will be attending the awards evening this time next year too. On Wednesday, Year 3 parents had the opportunity to come into school for the IPC topic Exit Point for ‘Temples, Tombs and Treasures’, and it was wonderful to see them all getting stuck into activities in the classrooms with their children. I hope this brought the topic to life for them, and they could see how much the pupils have enjoyed themselves over the past few weeks.
Following on from Steve Hill, our chaplain, speaking about Diwali in Upper and Lower Prep, and a Diwali story from Miss Herbert in her storytime for Lower Prep earlier in the week, we were delighted to welcome two Lower Prep parents into school with their Diwali activities for all the Lower Prep pupils. The children had an absolutely brilliant time, and I must say a huge thank you to Mrs Patel and Mrs Modha for all the care, time and preparation that they had put in to make the morning such a success.
As I write, we have not yet had the final event of the week, our Year 3 and 4 girls’ rugby takeover on Friday afternoon. This will involve all our girls in those year groups (with the boys having a hockey taster session at the same time) as well as pupils from several local primary schools. I am sure everyone will have a lovely time, and the weather forecast looks to be in our favour too!
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a relaxing and enjoyable half-term holiday, whether you are staying at home or travelling further afield. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Monday, 3rd November, refreshed and ready for the second half of term.
Year 1 Update – Louise Gillard Teacher of Year 1
Hedgehogs have thoroughly enjoyed exploring our new IPC topic, “Who Am I?” This topic has given the children the opportunity to think about what makes each of us special and unique. One of the highlights was our Guess Who? game, where the children brought in baby and toddler photographs and had great fun trying to work out who was who. There was lots of laughter, careful observation, and some impressive detective work as the children compared clues and features to make their guesses!
In English, the children have been working on their “Marvellous Me” writing. They have talked about themselves, their families, and their favourite things and have recorded their ideas through pictures and sentences. The children are growing in confidence when using their phonics to write independently and are developing pride in their written work.
The children also learnt how to create an observational drawing of their face, using mirrors to look closely at details such as eye colour, hair shape, and facial features. They demonstrated great concentration and care in their artwork, producing detailed self-portraits.
In addition, the class explored the work of the famous artist Pablo Picasso, learning about his distinctive abstract style and the way he used colour and shape to express emotion. Inspired by his work, the children created their own imaginative and colourful portraits, each one showing a wonderful sense of creativity and individuality. The finished pieces made a striking display in our classroom!
Prep Nurture Programme – Chelsea Buswell, Wellbeing Manager
What a start to the year. The Wellbeing team have been busy delivering our new Nurture Programme across the prep school.
This newly developed curriculum is structured around four key strands, each offering a unique and age-appropriate approach to supporting children’s emotional development:
Nurture Through Nature: Outdoor activities foster emotional regulation, mindfulness, and connection through nature-based experiences.
Year 3 have been exploring different types of exercise and how this is good for our bodies and minds.
Year 4 have been mindful in the outdoors, taking notice of their surroundings, going on mindfulness walks, and learning nature-based breathing and meditations.
Nurturing Our Minds: Taught lessons help children understand emotions, build self-esteem, and develop empathy.
Nursery and Reception have been learning about the zones of regulation and what they can do to help them in each of the zones.
Years 5 and 6 have started exploring themes such as resilience, challenging negative thoughts, managing big feelings, and sadness.
Nurturing Our Bodies: Pupils learn how physical health habits like sleep, nutrition, and movement support mental wellbeing.
Nurture Stories: Carefully chosen stories guide children in exploring emotions and relationships through bibliotherapy.
Years 1 and 2 have been reading the story ‘Happiness is…’ and engaging with activities exploring the things that make them happy, drawing pictures, doing role plays and doing a show and tell.
Prep Club Cross Country – Alistair Palfrey, Prep Head of Sport
Last week, the Prep Club Cross Country made an exciting return to the club event calendar. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 tackled a 2km course, while those in Years 3 and 4 completed a 1.5km route. Every participant demonstrated outstanding resilience and determination, striving to earn the maximum points for their club.
Year 5/6 Boys Race Top 3
- 1st Teddy
- 2nd Arlie
- 3rd Monty
Year 5/6 Girls Race Top 3
- 1st Pippa
- 2nd Fei Fei
- 3rd Rosie
Year 3&4 Boys Race Top 3
- 1st Toby
- 2nd Henry
- 3rd Archie
Year 3&4 Girls Race Top 3
- 1st Florence
- 2nd Georgia
- 3rd Sukie
Overall House Positions
- 1st – Wolves
- 2nd – Bears
- 3rd – Panthers
- 4th – Jaguars
- 5th – Lions
- 6th – Tigers
Congratulations to all the pupils in the Prep School for their fantastic effort and enthusiasm! Congratulations to Wolves on their victory!
Prep Rugby and Hockey Results – Alistair Palfrey, Prep Head of Sport
Wednesday saw a great set of fixtures against Akeley Wood and BGI, with impressive effort and teamwork shown across all teams.
U11A Rugby continued their strong form, beating BGI U11B 6–0 and Akeley Wood U11A 5–2, showing excellent progress and teamwork.
U10A Rugby also performed brilliantly, securing a 9–4 win over BGI U10A with some outstanding attacking play.
In hockey, both U11B and U11C faced tough opposition from Akeley Wood. The U11B narrowly lost 2–3 to their A team, while the U11C showed determination despite a 0–4 defeat against Akeley Wood’s B team.
A special mention goes to all the hockey players for their effort and resilience against strong opponents and to the rugby teams for translating their recent training into a superb performance on the pitch.
Prep Charity Update – Mrs Waite, Charity Coordinator
Following four fabulous charity presentations on Friday, the Upper Prep pupils voted for the charity of their choice. I am delighted to announce that ‘Animals in Need’ received the majority of votes and will be our prep school charity for this academic year. I look forward to working with the committee to organise a range of exciting fundraising events.
Working Together to Keep Our Young People Safe – Safeguarding Newsletter
Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots – such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and others are becoming more common in everyday life. While these tools can be useful and fun, it’s important for parents to understand how they work, the potential risks and how to keep children safe.
Read the full safeguarding newsletter for this month here.
Key Calendared Events for the next two weeks
Monday 3rd November
- Term begins (08:25)
- Year 4 How Humans Work with Mr Chauhan, Dr Naik, Dr Kaur and the School Nurse
Tuesday 4th November
- Year 6 trip to Coventry Transport Museum
Thursday 6th November
- Year 5 Maths Challenge Laxton Junior School
Friday 7th November
- Year 4 talk from Mrs Aneta Wawrentowicz about Sleep
Monday 10th November
- Year 6 Primary Maths Challenge – in lessons
Tuesday 11th November
- School Remembrance (11:00)
Wednesday 12th November
- Year 3 Trip to Irchester Country Park
Thursday 13th November
- Kindness Day UK
Friday 14th November
- Year 2 Remembrance Assembly (Parents invited) (09:15)
To view the most up-to-date calendar information, please log onto Firefly – click here.
WSSPA Christmas Wreath Making Evening – Last Chance to Book!
Our Christmas wreath-making evening is coming up on Thursday, 27th November, at 7pm. Join us for getting in the Christmas spirit while making a wreath for your door.
See below for examples of previous years:
ABA Week Fancy Dress Theme 2025
On the second week back after half term, our brand-new Antibullying Ambassadors for 2025-2026 will be hosting ABA week. They are raring to go and cannot wait to share all the super-exciting activities they have lined up to make this special week a roaring success. Following on from last year’s brilliantly inventive ‘Letters A and B’ fancy dress day, this year the theme is ‘Superheroes’. Come as your favourite hero from books, comics or television; alternatively, make up a brand-new superhero of your own! There will be prizes for the best and most inventive costumes. This event will take place on Thursday, 13th of November.
We can’t wait to see all your outstanding outfits!
Creative Voices Against Racism
Dear all,
As part of our upcoming assemblies on racism, we invite all staff and students to contribute by writing a spoken word poem or narrative that explores the topic of ‘Racism’.
Please send your entries to Mrs Pehlay at skp@wellingboroughschool.org by Wednesday, 5th November 2025.
Prizes will be awarded for the most creative submissions!
Selected pieces may be featured in our assembly on Monday, 17th November 2025.
Let your voice be heard. We look forward to reading your powerful words.
Sporty Scholars Camp at Wellingborough School – Book Now for Half-Term!
Sporty Scholars will be running a multi-activity and sport camp here at Wellingborough School from Monday 27th October until Friday 31st October. This camp is for children aged 4-14.
For more information, click here.
To book your place, please visit: Sporty Scholars at Wellingborough School
Stay Connected
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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/
