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Prep School Headmaster's Bulletin

Mr John Milne, the Headmaster of Clifton College Preparatory School, writes a regular newsletter about the "the Pre"...

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Issue 4

In 1895, Prep School Housemaster A.T.Martin (who took over from the Reverend Hartnell) wrote, “The school went home four days early to restore its ‘average vitality’ having suffered considerably from influenza.” There is no doubt that the Exeat this weekend is a very welcome break given the illnesses and tiredness that has prevailed this past week. Let’s hope that our vitality is similarly restored!

This past week

• Oliver Smart spoke very well in assembly last Tuesday on the subject of wildlife and highlighted the importance of developing a passion in life. His pictures were quite remarkable for an amateur enthusiast and the pupils were hooked on every word and image.
• Home Clothes Day last Friday in aid of Barnardo’s was also a success and my compliments go to the pupils who were very sensible in their approach to this non-uniform day, as well as very generous in their time and effort on the baking front in raising a large sum of money for this worthy cause.
• Anti-Bullying has been the focus of assemblies this week and the pupils have been reminded of the importance to all religions of the Golden Rule. Please do ask them about this concept and reinforce whenever possible.
• The cast of the play has been ensconced in the Redgrave Theatre this week and we are all looking forward to seeing Smike performed on 27th, 28th and 29th November.
• Rugby comes to an end for the boys this week and their focus will now turn to Football until the first Exeat in the Lent term. Congratulations go to the 2nd XV who have managed to go the entire season undefeated - a remarkable feat. Well done to all the boys and their coach, Mr Hall, for such an impressive performance.
• Hockey: our U11 and U13 Girls’ Hockey teams recently competed in the County Championships with admirable results. The U13s finished 3rd, having lost only one game, but it was the mighty U11s who clinched the championships and secured a place at the West Finals. Well done to both sets of girls for such excellent performances.

B.B and the Coronation Cup

Clifton College’s brand new third generation pitch at Beggar’s Bush was finally opened by the Prep School Footballers on the 7th November when they defeated Cheddar Grove (5-2) in the Coronation Cup. Well done to the U11 team for such an excellent performance; the boys will discover their next opponents in the next week or so.

Remembrance Service

The Pre’s Remembrance Service was well attended on Saturday, 8th November. A moving and fitting service, I thought that the pupils behaved impeccably throughout and it was good to see so many parents and family members in attendance; thank you for your support.

Parents

We hosted a very successful Parents’ Internet Safety talk last Saturday which was well attended, with over thirty parents joining us in Room 17. Annabel Tall, web engineer and school parent, gave a very informative talk on how we can help to protect our children from the dangers of the Internet. The handout is available for you to download. We have been hosting this event for three years now and it continues to be invaluable for many parents. More details of the next session will appear in the Preview in the New Year. Additionally, in January there will be a hard-hitting look at Internet Safety - led by Alan Jervis of CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) – that all parents are welcome to attend. Mr McComas and I have already had the benefits of attending one of Mr Jervis’ extremely enlightening sessions– more details to follow.

Year 3 parents will be coming to the Pre on 4th December to meet Housemasters and Housemistresses and I’m looking forward to welcoming them.

There will be a Headmaster’s Ceilidh on Saturday, February 7th in BSK in aid of Children’s Hospice South-West. More details will follow shortly but it promises to be a thoroughly entertaining evening.

Year 8 Sports Scholarships

Well done to all those who took part in the recent 13+ Sports Scholarships to the Upper School – the following pupils received awards for their excellence:

• Anna Sibley
• Oliver James
• Julian Mogg
• Freddie Oldfield
• Dylan Trenouth
• George West

Overall, our Pre pupils gained fifty percent of the awards made which is testament to the strong coaching that the pupils receive at the school, as well as to the opportunities on offer throughout the year; well done!

I hope that you have a very enjoyable Exeat.

Sincerely,

John Milne

20 November 2008

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