Pre Prep Assemblies

Our youngest pupils are settling impressively into the rhythm of life at St Faith’s. The Pre Prep participated in two assemblies this week – one on Wednesday and one on Friday. The Pre Prep children always enjoy the opportunities that assemblies give them to come together as a group and to celebrate their successes and achievements, as well as recognising special individual occasions such as birthdays.

In the Classrooms

I have enjoyed visiting a range of lessons this week, with all the children keenly engaged with their work. In the Pre Prep, the Year 1 pupils have been practising their writing and expanding their vocabulary as they have been working on descriptions of themselves. Meanwhile the Foundation children have been enjoying their first PE lessons, including various activities with bean bags. Our budding Year 4 scientists have been learning about exoskeletons and endoskeletons, whilst Year 5 have been examining the meniscus of different liquids and learning to measure liquid volumes. In their Art studies, Year 6 have been exploring the different ways in which artists display the seasons – particularly appropriate as we head into the beautiful autumn season. The mathematics studies of Year 7 have continued with further examination of decimals and division, whilst Year 8 have been undertaking a range of assessments as they embark on their final year here at St Faith’s.

New School Website

Next Tuesday we will be launching our eagerly awaited new website. It will be available at the same address as our current website (www.stfaiths.co.uk) and we look forward to receiving your comments and feedback. This new resource for our community is the result of many months of work and we hope you enjoy the new site. We are very grateful to the parents who took part in the early focus groups, to our pupils who appeared in the new videos and photographs, to the staff who took part in the market research and scrutinised content, and of course to the marketing and admissions team, who managed and delivered the project overall. It was a real team effort, and we look forward to using the website to keep our whole community – past, present and future – up to date with events at school.

Bridge the Gap

Last Sunday, several of our staff took part in the ‘Bridge the Gap’ walk, in support of Arthur Rank Hospice (which is also a chosen school charity) and Romsey Mill. The event has become a significant one in the Cambridge calendar, with more than 1900 walkers taking part and so far, this year’s event has raised over £33,000 from registrations. This Sunday, it will be the turn of some of our keen staff runners who are taking part in the annual ‘Chariots of Fire’ event. Members of several St Faith’s families will also be taking part and I wish everyone a very enjoyable run.

Eco-Schools and ‘Dr Bike’ Workshop for Pupils’ Bikes

During the summer, we were delighted that our Eco-Schools Green Flag was once again awarded with Distinction. Sustainability is an ongoing priority for our school community, and this includes encouraging and supporting pupils and staff who live close to school to choose cycling as their main mode of daily transport. As part of this initiative, pupils can take advantage of a free bike mini service once a term, courtesy of ‘Dr Bike’, who were on site this Tuesday. Places are offered on a first come, first served, basis, so it is advisable to book early for their next visit.

SFPA Coffee Mornings

This week we continued our series of parent coffee mornings, with some bumper attendances. On Monday morning, parents in Years 7 & 8 joined us in Tom’s Garden for a hot drink, a pastry and some lively conversation. As well as being introduced to the SFPA represntatives for their year and hearing about all the events taking place in the Michaelmas term, Mrs Parker, our Head of PSHCE also delivered a very informative short talk about the PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education) curriculum. On Wednesday parents in Years 3 & 4 joined us, followed by Foundation parents on Friday, and next Tuesday I look forward to meeting parents of pupils in Year 5 & 6. These coffee mornings are planned so that they follow seamlessly on from the breakfast club for the relevant year group – please do also consider joining us for breakfast club if you have not yet done so.

Rugby and Football

House rugby matches for the Year 6-8 boys have been in full swing this week, as well as football matches for Years 4 and 5 against Stephen Perse and The Perse Prep respectively. Parents are most welcome to spectate at these matches, so do please join us if you are able to.

U11A Girls’ Hockey

Mrs Shaw writes

“The U11A girls’ team travelled to Framlingham today for a start of season tournament. They played some excellent hockey throughout the day, working their socks off, getting through to the final and finishing second out of 16 schools. They should be very proud of themselves and their team performance”.

Open Morning in November

As we look forward to the term ahead, our next Open Morning event will be held on Wednesday, 6 November. Predominantly for families who wish to join St Faith’s in Years 3-7 in September 2025, we will also welcome families who are looking ahead to a 2026, or even 2027 entry. Please do invite friends and colleagues who are interested in considering our St Faith’s community – they can sign-up via our website, www.stfaiths.co.uk. Places are being snapped up quickly, so early registration is recommended.

And Finally….

Whether you are taking part in this Sunday’s annual Chariots of Fire event, supporting en route, or perhaps simply “running” errands after a busy week, I wish you all a very happy weekend.

With all best wishes,

Crispin Hyde-Dunn