Harvest Festival

On Monday at our whole school assembly, we were delighted to welcome back for the final time, Major Cordner from the Salvation Army. Major Cordner has been a regular visitor to St Faith’s at the celebration of the Harvest Festival and is shortly to be posted overseas to continue his work in the United States of America. We were also joined for the service by our Foundation Chaplain, Reverend Coleman, who led us in our prayers, readings and hymns.

The Salvation Army undertakes crucial work in Cambridge and further afield with a range of initiatives for those in need. Following the assembly, all of the food items generously donated by our families were distributed to vulnerable members of our local community.

During the assembly, we considered the origin of the word ‘harvest’, being derived from the Anglo-Saxon word haerfest, meaning “Autumn”, and marking the time when crops are gathering in ahead of winter. We also remembered Makukhanye School, our partner school in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa, visited by a number of our older pupils earlier this year. There, they have been growing vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, bell peppers and cabbage, to contribute to the nutritious meals provided for the children.

‘Welcome to Early Years’

On Monday evening, we invited our new Reception parents to a presentation about the first year at St Faith’s for their children. This included details about the structure of the day and how literacy, numeracy and writing are taught, as well as an explanation of the way in which our 8 Learning Habits are woven into the curriculum throughout the school. Core to the St Faith’s curriculum, these Learning Habits underpin each pupil’s development, and their relevance becomes increasingly clear to the children as they grow into independent learners. All the slides from the evening are available via MSP (MySchoolPortal), so if you were unable to attend in person, or want to remind yourselves of the topics demonstrated, you will be able to review them here.

Pre Prep Super STEM After-school Activity

The children had great fun making and exploring bubble mixture in this very popular activity. They learnt that bubbles are made of a very thin sheet of soapy water called a soap film. Molecules of soap line up on the inside surface and the outside surface, and trap water molecules in-between. The reason they pop is because the water eventually evaporates, or perhaps because it has some help from a person who likes popping bubbles!

Reception Play Session and Pop-in and Play

It is always a pleasure to meet the young children who are interested in joining our Reception class next year. As you will already be aware, our ‘assessments’ are very gentle sessions. We aim for children to feel relaxed and happy in the St Faith’s environment, which we recognise might be their very first visit to a school. Our aim is that prospective parents are inspired and reassured about the very important decision relating to their choice of school.

For families with children of Pre Prep age considering applying to St Faith’s, we have also introduced ‘Pop-in and Play’ sessions. These informal sessions offer an opportunity to come into the school, to meet with the Early Years team and spend some time in the Reception classrooms and playground. This term they take place on 17th October and 14th November and can be booked at Admissions – St Faith’s Cambridge (stfaiths.co.uk).

Year 3 visit Egyptian Galleries

3L and 3B, and their teachers, were particularly thankful for a dry and sunny day on Thursday, as they walked to the Fitzwilliam Museum to visit the Ancient Egyptian galleries. They were fascinated by all the treasures they have there and learnt lots from the museum experts as they pointed out details we would otherwise have missed. The children were exceptionally well behaved: listening well, joining in with amazing Egyptian knowledge and asking some great questions. They even taught the museum curator some facts about Egyptian farming!

Year 6 Humanities

This week, Year 6 have been learning about rivers and how they shape the land. An Oxbow lake is a free-standing body of water in a U-shape, that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off. To consolidate their understanding of how this happens, the pupils enjoyed demonstrating the different stages of the formation of this feature using playdough. They also wrote captions to show what each stage revealed.

Year 6 English

Staying with Year 6, in English, the pupils are enjoying writing letters, imagining they have been evacuated to Devon. The name ‘Ashburton Hall’, in the heart of our school, is in recognition of the kindness of the people of Ashburton in Devon, and their care for the St Faith’s community evacuated there in World War II. The children have been reading ‘Letters from the Lighthouse’ together and are practising their skills of empathy – considering children from the past who were sent away from home for their own safety. This has led to some fascinating conversations about how it might have felt, and the new things they could have experienced. Year 4 have also been working on their letter writing skills – comparing the style of formal and informal letters.

Year 7 English

In last week’s newsletter, we reported that Year7 pupils were investigating poetic devices used in poetry. One class explored Pie Corbett’s poem, ’City Jungle’. Using this poem as a springboard, they wrote their own poems about wonderful attractions in Cambridge. I do hope you enjoy this further selection of Year 7 poems.

Poems

In the Classrooms

In lessons this week the children in Year 7 were learning about the digestive system in Science and enjoyed an energetic and uplifting Music lesson playing pan drums. In Spanish, Year 5 have been continuing to expand their vocabulary, with the challenge this week being to talk about the contents of a school pencil case. Staying with Year 5, magnetism and polarity has been the topic of study for our budding scientists. Many of you might also have seen Year 3 pursuing their botanical interests this week, studying the different species of trees around our beautiful campus.

U13 Girls’ Hockey County Cup

Congratulations to the U13 Girls’ Hockey Team who won 6 games at the County Cup on Monday and now qualify for the East Regional Finals following their top two finish. The girls gained lots of valuable experience which they can use to propel them to future successes in the IAPS and East Regionals later in the term.

U10 Boys’ Rugby

The U10 boys travelled to Oundle School on Wednesday and enjoyed a great day of rugby. Excellent teamwork in defence, working hard for each other and much improved attacking skills throughout the day, with many of the boys scoring tries. They boys should be proud of themselves; they were in good spirits throughout the day, and they were a delight to watch.

‘Unofficial’ Hockey County Cup

For the first time at this age group, the Perse Prep school recently hosted an ‘unofficial’ Hockey County cup for U10 girls. This tournament gave all the teams an invaluable opportunity to experience the pressure and excitement of performing in a completely different format to their Wednesday fixtures. Our girls played six games, drawing 4 and losing 2. A great day out with valuable lessons learnt for all involved!

Year 7 and 8 Charity Tuck Shop

The children are already working hard to raise money for their chosen charities this year. Although they have not yet finalised the charities for which they are going to fundraise, their enthusiasm for these important social outreach activities is evident. We wish all the pupils and staff well in their charity commitments and endeavour this year.

SFPA News

The St Faith’s Parent Association, also known as the SFPA, is very excited to announce that the Fireworks tickets will be on sale on TODAY, the 4th October at 7.30pm. Please note that tickets will be sold on a first come first served basis, with a waiting list being set up once the maximum allocation is reached. This highly enjoyable visual spectacle will take place at St Faith’s this year on Friday 8th November.

South Africa Trip 2026

May I please remind parents that the deadline for signing up for next year’s trip to our partner school, Makukhanye School in South Africa is Friday, 11th October. This trip is planned for our current Years 6 and 7. If you would like to see some pictures of our most recent visit, which took place during the 2024 Easter holiday, you can see posts from last year’s trip on X, @StFaithsSA.

And Finally….

On Sunday, some of our pupils will be competing in Cambridgeshire Chess League fixtures. We wish them the best of luck and look forward to hearing the results.

Whether you are participating in the Cambridge Town & Gown on Sunday, or simply looking forward to some Rest & Relaxation, I wish you all a happy weekend.

With all best wishes,

Crispin Hyde-Dunn