Back to School

It’s been an exciting week, with lots of chatter and laughter, as we welcomed more pupils back to school, alongside our continuing key worker provision.

Ahead of the return of Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils, the site team were busy moving furniture, installing signage and implementing one-way systems; teachers were preparing for face-to-face lessons, whilst continuing guided home learning; and the pastoral team shared some advice for parents to help manage their daughters’ emotional well-being for the transition.

Colourful balloons greeted the ‘bubbles’ of girls as they arrived on Monday: Year 1 girls moved into new classrooms with well-spaced desks and seating, while Year 6 were welcomed to the seven-storey Senior School site, enjoying playtimes on the netball court, rooftop terrace and Sixth Form garden. On Fridays, they will now enjoy a full day of outdoor learning and PE at our 4-acre sports ground.

On Wednesday, our youngest pupils from Reception bounded back to the Junior School – some visibly taller since March – swiftly adapting to the ‘new normal’ of school life.  In form time they shared their lockdown adventures (from badger watching to boat building) and enjoyed a Show and Tell, where girls at school and at home joined together for a virtual get together.

Ms Spencer commented: “The social distancing routines have been adopted with ease and the sense of fun is palpable. Those continuing with our guided home learning programme are producing such excellent work and they are very much in our thoughts; we miss them very much and look forward to the day that we can all join together again as a community.” 

Pupils still at home continue to thrive on our guided home learning programme, which includes screen-free enrichment days. The girls have produced creative works, inspired by the art of Henri Rousseau and Georges Seurat; written riveting myths; researched Ancient Greeks; and applied their knowledge of calculating areas, ratio and proportion to design ideal rooms, draw local maps and bake delicious cakes – although everyone is missing Ellen’s schools lunches.