Our Year 3, 4 and 5 boys have been sitting exams this week, and I wanted to take a moment to say a word or two about what that means and perhaps more importantly, what it doesn’t mean!
First and foremost, we take the assessment of all our pupils’ efforts, progress and outcomes from the Kindergarten to Year 6 seriously here, from our planned yet informal assessments taking place on a frequent basis in almost every lesson right through to this point in the year when some boys in the Prep sit some actual exams. We always have. When a boy in the Prep sits down to do his best in an exam, that matters to us, and we pay close attention to what the results tell us about how he is getting on. Every mark sheet tells a story, and we scrutinise them carefully and shall be considering what the boys’ results from this week reveal.
The other function arising from the boys having sat exams this week is something hopefully rather more lasting: the simple experience of sitting a slightly more formally organised set of assessments has all sorts of positive associated consequences in addition to the results alone. Learning to read a question carefully. Managing one’s time. Holding one’s nerve a little. These are skills worth practising, and the earlier the boys begin to develop them, I believe, the better because the opportunities to sit exams will, I can assure you, come around again thick and fast once the boys progress to senior school.
As the boys move into Year 7 (known at Hampton as ‘First Year’) and progress beyond, the stakes do, of course, rise. That is the nature of things. But a boy who has already learned to approach an exam with a degree of composure and self-belief at his Prep is far better placed in my opinion when those higher-stakes moments do arrive later on.
So well done to all the boys who sat their papers this week. We are certainly very proud of the effort we have seen!
Headmaster
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Prep
News from Mr Salt - Head of Sport
At Hampton Prep we play two different formats of cricket, each requiring a slightly different skill set and tactical approach. Pairs cricket ensures every player bowls the same number of overs and bats for the same number of balls, while in Years 5 and 6, the A and B teams also experience the senior format, where players bat for as long as they can and wickets truly matter. Learning to adapt between these formats is an important part of the boys’ cricketing development.
Read moreNews from Year 6
Year 6 pupils enjoyed a visit to the Allianz Stadium, where they explored the behind the scenes of one of the most famous rugby stadiums in the world. One of the highlights of the day was entering the empty stadium and taking their place in the presidential seats, giving the boys the opportunity to appreciate the incredible scale of the iconic venue. Looking out across the pitch, pupils imagined the excitement of a packed match day and experienced the stadium from a player’s perspective.
Read moreNews from Mr Hitchen-Hoy
Year 4 set off on their residential trip to Grittleton Adventures with excitement levels soaring. Set within beautiful countryside near Chippenham and enjoying the fine weather, the centre provided three memorable days of adventure, challenge and fun. For many of the boys, this was another important step in their journey towards greater independence, and they embraced every moment with enthusiasm and positivity.
Read morePre-Prep
A Word from Mrs Murphy
Year 1 had a wonderful and enriching visit to Winchester Science Museum this week, where curiosity, exploration and hands-on learning were brought to life. The children engaged enthusiastically with the exhibits, deepening their understanding of the world around them while demonstrating exemplary behaviour throughout. This week we have been exploring the rich diversity of people across our planet, as well as the many different types of houses in which they live. Mr Smith’s thought-provoking assembly yesterday about New Zealand and its Māori creation story had us totally spellbound. It has been a joy to see all the children making thoughtful connections between their learning in school and the wider world, developing both their knowledge and their sense of global awareness.
Read moreKindergarten
It has been a truly marvellous week in Kindergarten as we explored the exciting world of superheroes. Before our adventures began, we revisited our class Superhero Rules and agreed that these would help keep us safe throughout Superhero Week. We enjoyed reading the Supertatocollection by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet, cheering as Supertato bravely rescued the vegetables from the mischievous Evil Pea — and celebrating when the villain was finally returned to the freezer.
Read moreReception
Reception have been enjoying our topic, ‘Water’, learning all about rivers, streams and ponds. We have taken a closer look at the life cycle of a frog and loved exploring the different stages in sequence, from frogspawn to tadpole and finally to frog.
Read moreYear 1
In English, we wrote short sentences using our new phonics sounds of soft g and soft c. I read some fantastic sentences, with some children even managing to include more than one soft c/g word in their writing! It has been lovely to see their growing confidence and creativity. In maths, we continued our work on fractions, this week focusing on quarters. This was a tricky new concept, but the children worked incredibly hard and did very well recognising and finding 1/4 in shapes and quantities.
Read moreYear 2
In mathematics, we have concluded our exploration of fractions by recognising three-quarters (three lots of ¼). The children were able to find three-quarters of a set of objects or a number. They also used their knowledge of unit fractions and non-unit fractions to start to count in fractions up to a whole, focusing on halves, thirds and quarters. Next week, halves and quarters will be put to good use when tackling TIME!
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