Science Day

In a through school we are able to remove the pressure of Common Entrance and look to broaden the experience of every student which will undoubtedly lead to better performance in core academics in addition to a
mature and comprehensive understanding of the world outside the school environment. This has been nowhere more evident than in our consistently impressive science results over the last few years which I feel strongly are
enhanced by the natural science and sustainability context our children experience. If you are feeling scientific there is a wonderful science open day at the Royal Holloway on the 25th February which is a free event for
families that I would warmly recommend for a super hands on experience.

Christmas at Hurst Lodge

The run up to Christmas has started.  On Friday we are holding a Christmas fair in the studios, starting at 2:45pm. The fair will consist of various stalls, such as Santa’s Grotto, lucky dip, hit the reindeer and a raffle. Also there will be refreshments and food. All of the money made on the day will be donated to charity.

The parties have been planned and the decorations are up.

The Pre Prep Christmas Play ‘Are We Nearly There Yet?’ and “The Three Kings” which is the Kindergarten production will also be held on Friday 9th December.

The Christmas Carol Service will be held at Sunningdale Church on Wednesday 14th December. 

New York Charity Race

Congratulations to James of Year 2 who travelled to NYC to raise money for charity. He ran a 5km dash/run (3.1 miles) in 41 minutes 23 seconds. This was an event that took place as part of marathon weekend. James-Tobias raised £285.00 for ‘Get Kids Going’, a charity that provides wheelchairs to children and young adults so that they can also take part in sporting events and some have become Paralympian winners.

This charity is also now introducing ‘Get Kidz Dancing’ - a scheme that will offer help to children and young adults who may need wheelchairs to dance.

Pupils attend a Charity Dinner at Pennyhill Park

During November 3 past pupils, Stephanie Powter, Lara Hutt and Melissa Bergquist were invited to attend a ‘thank you’ dinner by the Children with Special Needs Foundation.

As part of their Young Enterprise scheme they had raised £1400 for the charity.  They had held a fashion show, baked and sold cakes, sold chocolate covered strawberries and helped run the Christmas fair. 

The Charity which is based locally in Chobham provides extra support for all children who have special disabilities and their money was very gratefully received.

The dinner was fantastic.  Pennyhill park is an amazing Hotel and Spa and we arrived to a champagne reception.  The host for the evening was Eagle radios morning presenter Peter Gordon and the girls enjoyed a photo with Radio 2’s morning presenter Chris Evans.

During the evening we heard from a parent whose son had benefited from special equipment for her severely Autistic son. We also heard from some very disabled children who were given the trip of a life time to Florida. It made it raising the money real and put our lives into perspective.



All in one week

We have had a natural science theme just before the half term break with our Early Years starting us off on Monday with a fabulous assembly. It was lovely to see so many parents there and the children delivered their lines and performed their poem wonderfully. The Geographers had a very constructive field trip on Tuesday which was followed by the delicious roast dinner with parents on Wednesday to launch our Food for Life programme. With visits from Rasher the pig and Buttercup the cow, children making sausages and learning about milking on Thursday and our Key Stage One children arriving back in school smelling rather smoky after toasting marshmallows in the fire pit.  Another busy few weeks lie ahead with Christmas on the horizon.

The new school year is well under way

After a seemingly long summer break the school is now well into the Autumn Term although the weather is enabling summer activities to be continued at this time.  There has been a number of changes in the management of the school. 

Hurst Lodge School, Ascot, is delighted to announce the arrival of our new Headmistress, Mrs Kate Leiper. Kate brings to Hurst Lodge a wealth of experience at some of the country’s leading independent schools and has a real passion for education. Kate says, “I am very excited about coming to Hurst Lodge, which attracted me from the start with its warm, welcoming atmosphere and I am greatly looking forward to help to build on the school’s recent wonderful inspection reports and superb examination results to take Hurst Lodge into the next phase of development.” Kate will be working alongside Vicky Smit, Principal and a Director of the school.  

There have already been a number of events.  Our first Open Day was a huge success with a very high attendance of prospective students and parents.  During the very first week we had a Maths Day which was designed by the Maths Department to encourage the use of logic and reasoning whilst enhancing and challenging the children’s mathematical ability in a fun way.

“MURDER AT HURST LODGE” was a mathematical murder mystery whodunit based on the game Cluedo where a most gruesome murder had taken place at Hurst Lodge School which left the Police completely baffled until the pupils of Hurst Lodge took control of the murder scene and solved the crime. 

They had to obtain as many clues as possible by answering maths questions. They then had to analyse the clues to find out which staff member had committed the murder. Stainer was the first house to identify the evil perpetrator as none other than Deputy Head, Mr. McCoy.

YOU’RE FIRED! – The Hurst Lodge version of the popular TV show The Apprentice.

The pupils had to come up with a unique business model and present their ideas to the Board which decided which houses were fired and which house was hired. Following a unique presentation and good business reasoning, the house

which was hired was Stainer. They presented a business plan to host a Halloween Fete where money raised would be donated to a charitable cause.  The students had to consider where and how to market the event, what activities would be successful and balance this against costs.

Other activities consisted of worksheets which challenged the pupils to use their numeracy skills. They had fifteen minutes to complete each worksheet and gain as many points as possible for their houses. The winner, once again, was Stainer.

The pupils enjoyed the day and all three houses worked extremely hard

to make this event a huge success.

The end of the Summer Term

As usual the end of the Summer Term was a very busy time for everyone.  The School Show, Sports Day, Inter House swimming and rounders competitions, as well as the Art Exhibition and continuing with a normal school timetable ensured that neither staff, pupils nor parents (!!!) had a moment's peace.

The term finished with Prize Giving Day.  This is the highlight of the year when pupils are presented with certificates, prizes and cups to mark their achievements throughout the academic year.

We are now in the middle of the school holidays and no doubt the students of Hurst Lodge are spread around the world.

Next week sees the arrival of the exam results and the waiting for years 11, 12 and 13 will be over. 

We look forward to another successful year in 2011/2012