Abberley Adventures - July 2021

ABBERLEY
1
ADVENTURES
ISSUE 7 | JULY 2021
Dear Parents,
Wow. What a year it has been!
As I said during my end of term speeches to parents of our Pre-Prep and Prep School children, I am enormously grateful for the loyalty and support you have shown throughout what has been a very challenging year. Thank you! You have coped superbly with the challenges of covid as well as supporting new initiatives that have been brought in this year. Thank you also for supporting me during my first year as Headmaster. Tessa and I, and our children, love the school and already feel very settled here. Abberley Hall is a tremendously exciting place to be at the moment with a huge sense of progress and forward momentum whilst at the same time maintaining a dedication to protect and cherish the traditions that make the school such a wonderful and special place for children to learn and to experience the magic of childhood.
As I said, I was visited by a 94 year-old lady, Sue Goddard, a few weeks ago, She is the daughter of Gilbert Ashton, who was Headmaster from 1921 to 1961 and she grew up at the school. She said that ‘Abberley Hall is a very special place and once you have known the school it gets into your blood and never leaves you’. Abberley Hall will continue to affect people in this way and it will continue to provide a unique experience to our pupils and parents whilst also embracing the very best that a modern prep school education can offer. With substantial investment in the school from Malvern College, the benefits of which will be seen over the next few years, I am certain that the school is not only in safe hands but that it will reach new heights of excellence. We will, of course, continue to prepare our pupils for whichever senior school is right for them. Our partnership with Malvern College brings us huge strength but we remain an independent prep school with our own unique flavour.
The second half of the Summer term saw an incredible amount packed in to just four weeks. Our senior children returned to complete Common Entrance exams and we were delighted that, as expected, they all won places at their first choice of senior school. The whole school then enjoyed a busy programme of trips, activities, projects and some very exciting events towards the end of term. We were lucky to have got through the entire year without any cases of covid amongst staff or pupils and I was delighted that we managed to hold most of our planned end of term events in some form or another.
The term ended with a huge feeling of positivity ‘across the board’ as pupils, parents and staff reflected on what a successful year we have all had despite the many challenges. We are now working hard to ensure that everything is ready for the start of term on Thursday 2nd September. Details about activities, boarding, pre-season sports training and other final details will come to you in August. In the meantime, I hope you all have a very well-deserved and much-needed Summer break.
Best wishes,
Jonnie Besley
Headmaster
IN THIS ISSUE
Covid Update 2 Life in the Pre-Prep 2 Co-Curricular Week 3 Academic 4 Spor t 5 Outdoor Ed 6 Boarding 7 Music 8 Drama 8 Leavers 2021 9 Head Boy and Head Girl 9 Staff 9 School Bus 10 Autumn Term 2021 10 Instagram 11 Happy Holidays 12