We are very proud of our schoolwide culture of “stretch and challenge” at St Christopher’s, nurturing opportunities for those with particular talents to engage at a very high level. This week, with Upper School exams now completed, I want to focus on academic matters. I am very proud to report that two of our Year 7 pupils made it through to the second round of the prestigious Townsend Warner History Prize! The competition, which began in 1885 sees around 1000 entries each year, with schools selecting pupils to take part in a fearsome general historical knowledge paper. We featured examples from the first round paper back in January. Pupils with the top scores are then invited to sit the second round, which is an even more challenging list of essay topics and quotations to put into context. I am delighted to say that Ishan in 7F placed in the top 100 Prep School Historians in the UK for round one, and that Ruby in 7F placed an incredible 44th. This is an exceptional achievement for Ruby, but perhaps not surprising as she made the second round last year when she was in Year 6!
We also sent a team to the IAPS Debating Pairs competition in Eastbourne, where motions included “This House believes AI does more harm than good”. I am delighted to report that we came second! Debating is part of life in the Upper School, with other motions discussed this week being “This House believes that animal rights are equal to human rights” and “This House would make it illegal for children to purchase fast food without an adult present”. It is more important than ever that our pupils learn to construct logical arguments and to disagree with one another respectfully. These are skills that they will carry with them into the future.
This was also Mock Exam week for Year 8, ahead of their final exams for their senior schools in May, and the chance to achieve Academic Scholarships. A glance at the revision materials that teachers shared with our pupils shows reference to resources aimed at GCSE students elsewhere, stretch and challenge indeed. Our Year 8s have been answering questions on Shakespeare; factorising fully without expanding (2x – 1)2 – (4x + 3)2; and tackling grammatical conundrums such as “Nous avons ________ (prendre) le bus pour aller au musée”. As well as factual knowledge and mathematical and linguistic ability, our children are challenged to think about moral issues and the nature of the world around them. In the RS & Philosophy exam, the question “Can we know anything with absolute certainty?” saw answers referencing Plato’s Allegory of the Cave alongside the concepts of Fake News and AI generated content.
As ever, Form Tutors and subject teachers have guided the children through the best approach to examinations. From balancing revision with moments of mindfulness, to the importance of breakfast and screen-free bedtimes, St Christopher’s children have both the knowledge and skills to give the very best of themselves in exams and assessments. Our results for placing children at their chosen senior schools speak for themselves.
Beyond academia, we are also celebrating great sporting success this week! Our 1st Netball squad came 4th in the SISNA tournament, but our Team of the Week (and perhaps term and year) are our U12 Rugby 7s team who won the Snell Cup.
Finally this week, let me draw your attention to the items below. Our latest podcast is now available, and an article about St Christopher’s features on the website of our local charity, Rockinghorse.
Ms Elizabeth Lyle, Head