What a wonderful penultimate week of the year this has been. I said in my comms last week how excited I was to be looking ahead and planning for September, and this has certainly been a week where we have done a lot of that. Two big events in this process took place yesterday: Moving Up Day and Meet the Teacher. Alongside this, we also finalised the recruitment of three new members of staff.
I started Moving Up Day and, later, summarised the same message at our Meet the Teacher event by speaking about rowing. It may surprise you to know that I am not actually an experienced rower. My knowledge is based mainly on the success of Sir Steve Redgrave and a time when rowing was, by some distance, our best chance of an Olympic medal. However, having seen a photograph earlier in the week, it got me thinking about the fact that rowers spend their whole careers never seeing what comes next.
I spoke to the children about the fact that they have trained for this, they trust each other and they have studied the course, but they still have to take a gamble every time they take to the water. Looking back at the water they have already rowed through is safer; they know it, they have done it. It would be far easier to stop and enjoy the view and reflect on all the hard work they have put in. But that’s not how rowing works.
Much like life, it is good to look back on where we have been with pride, but it is even more important to keep driving forwards; to keep taking risks and keep venturing into the unknown. Only then do we truly learn what we are capable of and discover what else is out there.
On Moving Up Day, the children did exactly that. They moved out of their comfort zones and towards the unknown. They took risks, worked as part of a team, trusted each other and, as a result, experienced pride, enjoyment and progress. Thursday was a good day, and I went home feeling more excited about September than ever before. Thank you to all of you who attended the evening event. The feedback was really positive, and I am delighted that you enjoyed the evening.
Our recruitment for September 2026 is now complete, and I wrote to Year 3 families earlier in the week to inform them that we have appointed Andy Gould and Helen Griffiths as our two new Year 4 teachers.
Mr Andy Gould joins us with over 15 years of teaching experience across both the UK and international independent school sectors. He is currently based at Braeburn Nanyuki School in Kenya, where he serves as Upper Key Stage 2 Lead and has extensive experience teaching Years 4 and 6. He was a massive hit with the children on Thursday, and we are really excited to welcome him to the team; even though he claimed his favourite drink was milk!
Mrs Helen Griffiths brings a wealth of experience from St Mary’s School, Hampstead, where she has taught and supported children across Key Stage 2 for many years. Helen is known for creating nurturing, inclusive and highly engaging classroom environments where children’s wellbeing sits at the heart of learning. With a background in Psychology, a Mathematics specialism and experience as a Maths Lead, she combines strong academic expectations with a warm, relational approach that helps children develop confidence, resilience and a genuine love of learning. She could not be more Pennthorpe, and she will bring so much to our school in September.
I am also delighted to announce that Kat Davies will be joining us as our new Head of Forest School from September. This is the first time we have ever had a standalone Head of Forest School, and it is a clear demonstration not only of our commitment to increasing the number of specialist staff at Pennthorpe, but also of the importance we place on this subject within the future of our school.
Kat has eight years’ Forest School experience and has previously worked as Forest School Lead at Our Lady of Sion School in Worthing and Rudgwick Primary School. Kat blew us away at interview, and her passion for education, outdoor learning and the development of skills in children was phenomenal. I am very much looking forward to her being part of the next chapter of our journey.
Thank you to all those who responded to my invitation to be part of the Parent Strategic Development Plan Meeting, which I can now confirm will take place on Friday 24 July from 10.00am to 1.00pm. Please do email me if you did not sign up but would now like to attend, and I will add you to the list. We currently have 12 parents from across the school attending, and the plan is to share some of the key elements of the SDP with you, talk through my vision and invite your thoughts from a parent perspective.
As we approach the end of the academic year, children will begin to bring things home from today. After such a busy year, there are many projects, models, books, kits and resources to return home. To avoid everything arriving on the final day, teachers will begin handing these out over the next five days, so your children may need a little extra space in the boot at pick-up!
I am going to keep this message shorter than usual as I look forward to speaking to many of you in person, either at the Year 1–8 Prize Giving tomorrow, at the EYFS Prize Giving next week, or both!
So, have a wonderful weekend, enjoy the sunshine and, for those contemplating how to manage the England v Mexico game at 1.00am on Monday morning with your children, I will give you my honest take. World Cups do not come around very often. Get to bed early, set the alarm and enjoy watching us hopefully make some history. Sure, we might all be slightly tired the next day, but it might be coming home, and nobody wants to miss that!
