Pre Prep Mini London Marathon
This week, the Prep Prep have been learning about the benefits of keeping fit. The aim of the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools is to encourage children to be active and to understand the importance of exercise for physical and mental health. Children were invited to run, jog, walk, or wheel 2.6 miles / 26 minutes through the week, completing the Mini Marathon this Friday.
WWF-UK (the World Wide Fund for Nature) has become the inaugural charity partner of the TCS Mini London Marathon and the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools. Since the London Marathon started in 1981, its participants have raised more than £1 billion for many good causes. The Pre Prep is supporting Anthony Nolan and DKMS, two charities very close to the heart of our Pre Prep community.
DKMS is an international charity dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and blood disorders. Anthony Nolan saves and improves the lives of people with blood cancer and blood disorders, by:
- making lifesaving connections between patients and incredible strangers, ready to donate their stem cells;
- funding ground-breaking research that could transform the future for more patients;
- providing the best experience for every patient before, during and after transplant.
Thank you to all those who have supported our Pre Prep fundraising efforts. We also invite you to explore the work of these charities further, to consider registering as a donor, and to make an online donation should you wish to via the Anthony Nolan website or the DKMS website.
Pre Prep Open Morning
Continuing with news from the Pre Prep, on Thursday morning, we welcomed over 35 families to our Pre Prep Open Morning for parents of registered and potential pupils for 2025 onwards. We were delighted to speak about the ‘tailored education’ offered at St Faith’s and we shared with prospective families the key aspects of our Early Years provision. Families were then toured around the school by our Year 8 House Captains, and the feedback about the tour guides was outstanding! Thank you to everyone involved for being such excellent ambassadors for our school.
New Equality, Diversity and Inclusion statement for our Foundation
Colleagues have worked together to produce our new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) statement, which incorporates the views of the whole school community, most notably the voice of our pupils.
The Leys and St Faith’s Foundation recognises and values all individuals as equal. We want every member of our school communities to feel safe and that they belong. Our aim is for everyone to feel that they are treated equitably and supported to reach their full potential.
On Monday, Mrs Davies spoke to the children about what this statement means and why it is so important to our whole Community.
At the end of last year, we carried out EDI surveys amongst our Year 3-8 pupils and the results were encouraging.
- Equality: 90% pupils agree or strongly agree that St Faith’s recognises that pupils have different strengths and needs and helps everyone to do the best they can;
- Diversity: 84% pupils agree or strongly agree that they feel differences are respected at St Faith’s;
- Inclusion: 90% pupils agree or strongly agree that they feel valued, respected and included at St Faith’s.
We remain committed to celebrating diversity and difference through the curriculum and are delighted when pupils want to share their own experiences with us and make suggestions in support of our EDI initiatives.
Global Litter Pick
Over the Easter holidays, many children have been thinking about the environment and joined in the St Faith’s Global Litter Pick – Google My Maps. Well done and thank you to children who have picked up pieces of litter and helped clean up wherever they have been – whether that is Cambridge or London, the beaches of Mexico and Colombia or the mountains of Canada. Thank you all for doing your bit to make a difference.
Do you want to join in? Please email your photo to: eco@stfaiths.co.uk. There’s no need to write a message, but please remember to include the location (name and class is also helpful). If children would like to borrow a litter picker (or 2) for a weekend, please email eco@stfaiths.co.uk.
Latham Charity Challenge
This week it was Latham’s turn to raise funds for their chosen charity, Emmaeus. There was a real anticipation at break times and pupils were challenged to use their skill and judgment to win prizes. One of the challenges was to throw hoops over cones – the ones furthest away gaining you the most points. Prizes were awarded according to their overall points tally. We look forward to sharing with you next week how much money was raised. Well done to Latham House for organising the events and to all pupils for supporting them.
Modern Languages Carousel
Our Year 8s have begun the summer term exploring a variety of languages. If you were to step into the Edenfield building during the week, you would hear the usual Latin, French and Spanish being spoken, but now too elements of German, Greek, Mandarin, Arabic and Italian, plus studies into Spanish culture and classical civilisation. The building is buzzing with excitement at this unique opportunity to explore new alphabets and vocabulary!
National Schools Gymnastics Finals 2024
Last weekend, 14 gymnasts from St Faith’s travelled to Stoke-on Trent to represent the East of England at National Schools Gym. Gymnasts qualified in Boys’ Under 14 Tumbling, Boys’ Under 14 Sports Acrobatics, Girls’ Under 11 Sports Acrobatics, Boys’ Under 11 Floor and Vault and Boys’ Under 14 Floor and Vault.
On Saturday we were delighted that one of our pupils took 5th place in a very strong tumbling competition where the field numbered twelve in total. In a thrilling and very tight Sports Acrobatics competition two of our boys squeezed artfully into bronze medal position and a young but highly competent Under 11 boys’ team captured silver medals. The Under 11 team comprised two Year 5 and three Year 4 pupils.
On Sunday, we witnessed our first ever female Acrobats participate in the National finals of the Women’s pairs events. Not only did two of our pupils make history as our regional representatives, but it is the first time that a female pair from St Faith’s has ever won any colour medal at our regional competition. The girls finished 8th in a very strong field and their scores reflected the fact that they were definitely in the mix and acquitted themselves admirably.
The end of the day saw the fiercest of contests for our Under 14 boys. It needs to be highlighted that the Under 14 age group encompasses boys from Year 7, 8 and 9 and St Faith’s can only field competitors from Years 7 and 8. The favourites and last year’s winners, The Royal Grammar School, Newcastle Upon Tyne set a high standard in the first round and it quickly became apparent that they were the team to beat. Our team was made up of 1 Year 7 and 5 Year 8 pupils. The team cohesion was admirable and it is interesting to remember that all boys started competing for St Faith’s as members of the Under 7 team in Year 2. They have stayed loyal to the sport and to their team for seven years.
The final result was in our favour with Cooper’s Coburn and Company finishing 3rd, RGS Newcastle 2nd and St Faith’s in 1st place and National Champions (by the narrowest margin of 0.3).
A moment for celebration but an opportunity to be grateful to the boys for their efforts and their parents for their unwavering support.
Thanks must also go to Mrs North, Miss Butler and Mr North for their dedication and coaching over many years, as well as to Mr Johnson and Mr Mageean for accompanying the group on their weekend of competition.
This weekend, our attention turns to table tennis! Good luck to our table tennis teams competing this weekend at Edge Grove school in the U11 and U13 Boys’ and Girls’ IAPS Table Tennis Championships.
SFPA Coffee Mornings
We have greatly enjoyed a number of parent coffee mornings this week. It was a pleasure to see Year 7 & 8 parents on Monday, followed by Years 3 & 4 on Wednesday. For our Year 8 parents, this was their final coffee morning, so also quite a poignant moment.
During these very popular coffee mornings, members of the SFPA committee shared news about some of the exciting events that are coming up this term, most notably the SFPA International Day, scheduled to take place on Friday, 24th May. The Committee are still looking for volunteers to host 3-4 more tables to support the event going ahead, so please do contact sfpa@stfaiths.co.uk if you would like to host a particular country. Please be assured that you do not necessarily need to come from the chosen country, but just to be enthusiastic about sharing your knowledge of that country and culture.
On the final Saturday of the summer term, June 29th, the ever-popular SFPA summer party will be in full swing. This year the festivities will take place at King’s College and tickets go on sale shortly. This always proves to be a highlight of the social calendar!
Old Fidelian (OF) Committee Meeting
The OF committee meets at the beginning of each term to plan the social calendar of events for our OF community. We hope to see many of you at some, or all of our events. We enjoyed catching up at this term’s meeting on Tuesday. This term’s calendar includes the Old Fidelians v Parents v Staff Netball and Tennis matches on the 11th of June, and a football evening on the 21st of June. Finally, on Friday, 6th September, we will host our OF BBQ, and anyone who was a pupil at St Faith’s is warmly invited to attend. Please do see Old Fidelian Events on our website for a full listing of forthcoming events and email marketing@stfaiths.co.uk if you would like to attend.
In September, the school will be launching its new website and we are very keen to update the OF section of the site. With that in mind, if you have an interesting story to tell, or happy memories to share about your time at St Faith’s, or would be willing to tell us what you have been doing since leaving St Faith’s, we would really love to hear from you at marketing@stfaiths.co.uk.
And Finally….
The Year 8 pupils are in fine voice preparing for their musical performance of ‘We Will Rock You’ just before half-term. Judging by the photos of their latest rehearsals, they are really enjoying the experience as much as we are looking forward to their performance!
With all best wishes,
Dr Crispin Hyde-Dunn
