Education | ED03 | Summer 2016

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The latest news from schools across Kent, Sussex and Surrey
Battle Abbey Prep School
grow seeds from space
Pupils at Battle Abbey Prep School are
preparing to become space biologists
and embark on a voyage of discovery
by growing seeds that have
been into space.
In September, 2kg of rocket
seeds were flown to the International
Space Station (ISS) on Soyuz 44S
where they spent several months in
microgravity, under the watchful eye
of Tim Peake, before returning to
Earth in March 2016. The seeds have
been sent as part of Rocket Science,
an educational project launched
by the RHS Campaign for School
Gardening and the UK Space Agency.
Battle Abbey Prep received a packet
Satnav for schools
Head Teacher in your Pocket: The
Essential Guide to your Prep School
Journey by Merinda D’Aprano
Choosing a school and navigating
your way through the prep school years
can be a challenging and confusing
time. Society and the media often
of 100 seeds from space, which they will
grow alongside seeds that haven’t been
to space and measure the differences
over seven weeks. The pupils won’t
know which seed packet contains
which seeds until all results have been
collected by the RHS Campaign
for School Gardening and analysed
by professional biostatisticians.
The out-of-this-world,
nationwide science experiment
will enable the children to think
more about how we could preserve
human life on another planet in the
future, what astronauts need to survive
long-term missions in space and the
difficulties surrounding growing
fresh food in challenging climates.
Rachel Wilks, Battle Abbey Prep
School Science Teacher says: “We
are very excited to be taking part in
Rocket Science. This experiment is a
fantastic way of teaching our pupils
to think more scientifically and share
their findings with the other scientists.
We are particularly delighted to be
taking part in this nationwide project
during the time that Tim Peake is
representing the United Kingdom on
the International Space Station.”
place much emphasis on academic and
instant results and less attention to the
pastoral development of the whole child.
Merinda D’Aprano, Head of Notre
Dame Prep School, has over 25 years’
experience teaching in the independent
sector. Miss D’Aprano began writing
an educational blog a couple of years
ago in response to questions parents
asked throughout their child’s prep
school journey. The blog became a
book, and joining ranks with Elizabeth
O’Shea, a leading parenting expert, they
have written a comprehensive guide
to navigating the prep school years
both educationally and pastorally.
Head Teacher in your Pocket: The
Essential Guide to your Prep School
Journey by Merinda D’Aprano
is priced at £10.00 and available
from Amazon bookstore.
Mayfield’s very own
leading lady debuts in
new West End ballet
Lily O’Regan, a Year 9 pupil at
Mayfield School, saw off 600 dancers
aged between 9-16 to be cast as
the leading lady, Dearest, in the
adaptation of Little Lord Fauntleroy
at the Sadler’s Wells Peacock Theatre
in the West End of London.
Rehearsals for The London’s
Children’s Ballet production took
four and a half months and played
for four nights, receiving rave reviews.
The premiere, 21st April, was the
Queen’s birthday and the National
Anthem played before the show, with
a host of celebrities attending.
Lily also had the pleasure of dancing
on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch with
other members of the company.
She said: “London Children’s
Ballet is an indescribable experience
and one that I will treasure for the rest
of my life. Being on stage is the best
feeling and I loved playing Dearest.”
Friedrich Nietzsche said: “Dancing
in all its forms cannot be excluded from
the curriculum of all noble education”
and teachers from Mayfield School
in East Sussex would tend to agree.
Pupils at the all-girls school have
benefited from a dance curriculum
for many years, with plenty of
opportunity to dance inside and
outside the school day. The school
regularly sends dance troupes to local
festivals and competitions, and come
January, the girls spend hours each
week in the studio in the build-up to
the annual Mayfield Dance Show.
7 www.wealdentimes.co.uk