ASHBROOKE HOUSE SCHOOL

REPORT ON SCHOOL YEAR 2006/07

 

This report was presented at the Annual Prize Giving held at Rookery Manor, Edingworth on Wednesday 4^th July 2007 at 6.30pm.  Mrs Caroline Bateson, Headteacher of Redland high School, Bristol presented the prizes.

 

 

This has been my fourth year as Headteacher at Ashbrooke House.  During this time it has been satisfying to see the school develop successfully on a broad front, not least in its roll.  In September there were 98 pupils and we ended the year with 110.

 

I’m often asked where children go after Year 6.  This year out of 9 leavers four took up places in the independent sector – two boys to Bristol Cathedral School, one to Bristol Grammar and one girl to Redland High, leaving 5 children moving on to state secondary schools.  Two are going to Churchill, one to Priory, one to Broadoak and one boy is moving away to Chippenham.   We congratulate Ryan Elkins on gaining a sports scholarship to Bristol Cathedral School.  The school has continued its policy of thoroughly preparing children for both avenues of secondary education.

 

We have also followed a policy of broadly keeping in line with National Curriculum and have continued to prepare children for the national SATS held in May, beside independent school entry examinations usually held in January.  The results of assessments at age seven went home with the end of year reports and the Key Stage 2 SATS results arrived yesterday.  I can safely say that the staff and I are delighted with the overall performance of all the children.

 

Eight classes existed this year.  A separate Year 6 class was created in September and we welcomed Lindsay Ducker as the teacher of that class.

 

Zoe Stevens went on maternity leave at the end of February and Mandy Rice took over as Nursery Leader.  Benjamin James Stevens was born on March 13^th, the first baby to be born to a member of staff for 10 years!  This week we welcomed Zoe back and from September she will be sharing the nursery leader role with many Rice.

 

The staff of a school are its most valuable resource and I wish to thank the Ashbrooke staff for their dedicated efforts and loyal support.  All have worked to provide your children with a really first class education.

 

Fund raising events started on a high this year with a very successful sponsored bounce.  Everyone joined in with great enthusiasm as you can see although some managed a sneaky sit down to build up their strength before it was their turn!

We held our Harvest Festival at Clarence Park Baptist Church in October and the whole school took part in a production of “Harvest Song”.  For many families in Eastern Europe it is a struggle to survive the harsh winter months worrying each day where the next meal for the children will come form.

 

As our harvest outreach for 2007 we supported a charity called “Harvest for the Hungry” sending food boxes to some of the poorest families.  Many of the children asked if they could still fill the shoe boxes with gifts for Operation Christmas Child so this year we asked everyone to bring in just one gift to fill a class box.  We were able to send off twenty boxes as many of you filled up a box at home and brought it in.  It is nice to know that the children at Ashbrooke get as much pleasure out of giving gifts as receiving.

 

On November 17^th we joined with the rest of the country in raising money for Children in Need.  The children had a great day and looked brilliant in their various yellow and red outfits.  With money raised from a toy and cake stall we were able to send £275 to the appeal.

 

Christmas was soon upon us (it starts early at Ashbrooke – although not quite as early as the shops).  In late November the choir sang in the Sovereign Centre to the late night shoppers.  This has become an annual event greatly enjoyed by the children (although I think a visit to McDonalds between performances may have something to do with it!)

 

The highlight of the Autumn Term is always the Christmas productions and I believe they get better every year.

 

The lower school performance of Ralph the Reindeer was excellent and much enhanced by our state of the art Santa sleigh designed and made for us by a Year 1 parent Paul Feller.

 

Upper school put on two equally good performances the next day of “Tinsel and Tea Towels” which tells the story of the visit of two Ofsted inspectors to a school during rehearsals for the Christmas play.  Little did we know at the time how apt this production was going to be.

 

 

The week of productions ended with the children’s turn to be entertained by the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School as they performed their lively Nativity play – a brilliant performance enjoyed as much by the adults as the children.

 

Christmas is not just about entertainment though.  A lot of our time as parents is taken up with the buying and provision of meals. So I’m sure it was a welcome relief when the children from Upper school came home with the Christmas cake already made and decorated.

 

The Autumn term ended with our customary PTA Carols by Candlelight and the Harmony Plus band played outside for us on what was a fine dry night.

 

Two days into the Spring Term we were informed that we were to have an Ofsted inspection the following week.  Although we had had several nursery inspections before, this was our first whole school inspection and inevitably we were picked up on various areas that needed updating and revising.  But we also received some very positive feedback from them particularly for the standard of education and teaching which was classed as good and outstanding, as was the children’s behaviour and attitude to work.  These are always very stressful visits and I would like to thank both my staff and the children for their sterling efforts in promoting Ashbrooke as a happy hardworking school.

 

Over the Christmas period we collected $550 for the “Luhimba roject” which supports the remote and poor village of Luhimba in Tanzania, East Africa.  Paul Temple the project leader (who is the ex-head of Banwell School) came to an assembly to share with us how this money would be spent to improve the quality of life of the villagers.  He brought African clothes and musical instruments to show us and taught us several Tanzanian songs and greetings.

 

One of the favourite fund raising days for the children is of course Comic Relief or Red Nose Day which this year was entitled “The Big One”.  Everyone had to dress red or big or both.  Of course you always get one or two people who have to go to extremes!  Upper school staged their own X factor (the standard of which was very high so watch out Simon Cowell!)   Of course days like this are always a good excuse to have another cake sale at break time.

 

Parent interviews were brought forward this year to the end of the Spring term.  On the same evening we hosted an exhibition of the children’s artwork in the school hall and I’m sure many of you have now got these mini masterpieces hung in prominent places in your homes.

 

The Spring term ended with an Easter bonnet or hat competition.  The standard of this was exceptionally high – and I was just glad I did not have the impossible task of judging.

 

The Easter holiday was memorable for the endless days of sunshine we enjoyed – the Summer had come early and according to the forecasters was here to stay.  Or was it?  If you were to ask the staff at Ashbrooke – what did our summer terms activities have in common with the Glastonbury festival?  I think the reply would be RAIN, RAIN AND MORE RAIN!  Although perhaps not accompanied by quite so much mud.  But whatever the weather – nothing could dampen the enthusiasm and enjoyment of the children as they took part in the various planned activities.

 

Early in May classes 5 and 6 went on their activity week to Hill House near Bridgewater and experienced the thrills of kayaking, rock climbing, high ropes, archery and caving.  Everyone who went agreed they had a brilliant week – despite the weather – with many of the children surprising themselves – and even more so their parents – with what they achieved.  In light of this Mr and Mrs Mills have donated a trophy to be given tonight to the child who showed outstanding effort during the activity week.

 

I suppose when it’s pouring with rain and you’re already soaked to the skin, it doesn’t really matter too much if your raft falls apart on entering the water.  Some people took the saying ‘having a mud math’ a little too literally.  This was taken before the raft got anywhere near the water.  In the evenings the group enjoyed a visit to Sedgemoor Splash, ten-pin bowling, a disco and an awards evening.

 

Our summer fayre took on a Victorian theme this year with many staff and PTA members dressing up for the occasion.  There were some amazing costumes in the fancy dress competition and many of the children decorated a Victorian swimsuit to go on a bottle.  Over £1200 was raised which will go towards updating and adding to the outdoor play equipment.  The weather was kinder to us – for apart from a brief shower the day stayed fine and even sunny at times.

 

The rain came back to defeat us on Sports day.  For the first time ever the Upper School sports had to be abandoned halfway through and had to be finished the following week.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sports ground empty so quickly as that afternoon.  This year Forresters were the winning house.  Ryan Elkins won the Victor Ludorum cup for the boy with the most points and Grace Sodzi won the Victrix Ludorum for the girl with the highest points.  Nursery and Reception sports day also was affected by heavy rain and had to be postponed until the following week.  Daniel Nasiri won the Reception Sports Award.

 

During the Autumn and Spring terms Ellenborough Park was once again used for games by classes 3 – 6 and after school in the summer coaching was organised by Somerset County Cricket Club Centre of Excellence.  Swimming at Hutton Moor occupied the games lesson during the summer term and a mini gala ended the sessions last Friday with Adam Elkins winning the junior trophy and Grace Sodzi winning the senior trophy.

 

Music and drama plays an important part in the curriculum at Ashbrooke House.  All of the children have spent the last year making music in various forms.  All of the upper school learn to play the recorder and a lot of children are members of the choir and orchestra.  Many of the children have lessons in speech and drama, violin and piano and take lessons out of school.  We therefore felt it would be nice to hold an end of year concert to share with parents what the children have achieved over the past year.  I think you will all agree it was a resounding success and something which must become an annual event.

 

 A large number of our children entered the Junior Arts Festival.  Children were also entered for examinations in speech and drama and piano.  In September there will be vacancies for children in classes 2 – 6 in all these activities.  Our aim is to provide your children with as wide a range of experiences as possible.

 

Monday June 25^th was the wettest June day on record for 100 years, with flash floods all over the country.  That was the day we chose for our school trip to Tropiquaria.  But every cloud has a silver lining.  Because of the weather other schools had cancelled their visits so we were the only ones there and the staff had organised a timetable of indoor activities to compensate.  Many children and some brave staff enjoyed the thrill of a snake wrapped around their neck and many little hands were tickled by a tarantula. 

 

I believe that the staff and I are fulfilling your expectations and providing the type of education you want for your child.  We aim to fully meet the particular needs of each child and the relatively small size classes ensure that we have the best opportunity of doing so.  We hope to identify needs quickly and respond accordingly.  There is no change in a class of 12 to 18 to be forgotten or overlooked.  Every child can be closely observed and set the appropriate task to ensure that progress is made.

 

We hope all our leavers remember happy times at Ashbrooke and recognise that they are now better prepared to face the next stage of their educational journey.  We wish all who leave the very best and for those who return in September we promise another exciting and stimulating year.

 

In a little while we will take the opportunity to congratulate your children who have worked so hard throughout this school year in gaining the awards you see spread before us.