A Word from our Head Girl and Head Boy

Each year, the Head Girl and Head Boy play an important role in the life of the school. They serve as role models for our younger pupils, act as ambassadors, and support the practical functioning of the school in a variety of ways. Our current Head Girl and Boy, Emilie and Silas, have been very busy since first taking their post, serving at the Leaver’s Service, helping to run activities at the Year 7 induction afternoon, and giving a tour of the Senior School and speaking about their experiences during the Information Evening for Year 5 and 6 parents. During the October Open Morning, Emilie and Silas also gave speeches to prospective parents and served as guides along with the other Student Council members. They are also part of the Senior Council and meet with the Deputy Head regularly.

Head Girl Emilie

I was delighted to be chosen as Head Girl this year, which has given me the chance to give back to my school which I have been part of over the last twelve years. This term, I have hugely enjoyed running a football club for those in the Junior school, enabling me to share my passion with others. Heritage has really helped me see the joy that small year groups give, where I am able to get to know those who are not so close to me in age, which is really precious. As well as playing football in my spare time, I also love playing my violin and reading. I hope that in the rest of my final year at Heritage, I will be able to help sustain the atmosphere of community we have in our school in which all pupils are able to flourish.

Head Boy Silas

I feel hugely privileged to be Head Boy this academic year and to serve my school through this role. Having joined Heritage in Upper Prep, I have really appreciated the opportunity to participate in the diverse range of sports offered to Infants, Juniors and Seniors. Exposure to a variety of team sports has allowed me to develop as a team player as well as an individual athlete. It’s been amazing leading the Senior Running Club with the Deputy Head and having such a nice group of runners from across the year groups, watching them improve as athletes, as well as getting to know them. In addition to running, I enjoy table tennis, chess and Art. I am interested in how things work, particularly those relating to the physical sciences. I hope to study Engineering at university and perhaps contribute to making our world greener.

An Inspiring Author’s Visit

This morning, author Ben Harris paid an inspiring visit to our Infants and Juniors. Our youngest pupils were enthralled with his picture book The Christmas Swallow, a beautiful retelling of the Christmas story from the viewpoint of a swallow. And our pupils in Year 5 and 6 put their knowledge of classical languages to the test  asMr Harris read from his Latin translation of Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo. It was lovely to see the pupils so engaged and asking lots of questions, as Mr Harris took advantage of the opportunity to speak to them in a very relatable way about the use of perspective in storytelling, Latin conjugation, and much more. Copies of both of his books can be found on most online booksellers’ websites.

Year 6 Create an Enchanted Evening with A Midsummer Night’s Dream

At the beginning of Year 6’s recent performance of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there are two important reminders for the audience. First, that love doesn’t run smoothly. And second, that this play is a comedy. And so the stage was set for the remainder of the production; a madcap exploration of enchantment and folly that marked Year 6’s first foray into bringing Shakespeare to the stage. In addition to the familiar story of the chaos and confusion of love, there were some wonderfully unexpected moments as well, including the mischievous Puck as a Mission: Impossible-type spy, and a sword fight scene set to the Rocky III theme music. The pupils’ enjoyment of the material was evident, with Mr Fletcher noting in his concluding remarks that ‘it was good to see them entering into the comedy and slinging insults at one another.’ (Take note pupils, this will probably be the first and last time that Mr Fletcher approves of such a thing.) Bravo to the class for their excellent performances, to Mrs Watkins for her hard work in preparing and directing them, and special thanks to Mrs Eldridge for stepping in to run the lighting at the last moment. Each of the pupils and teachers involved worked together to create a delightfully fun evening. 

Upper Prep’s Trip Through History

Upper Prep pupils delivered an oh-so-interesting class assembly this morning, giving us a whirlwind peek into all of the things that they have been learning about in History lessons. From the War of the Roses, to King Henry VIII and his many wives, to the reign of Elizabeth I, it’s remarkable to see how much has been covered so far this term. One of the unique features of the Heritage curriculum is its chronological study of History, which helps pupils begin to see for themselves the progression of human society, and history becomes a captivating story to remember for a lifetime. An amazing job done by each of the pupils in giving us such a fascinating and educational presentation.

Year 8 Delights Audience with Performance of The Tempest

Nearly 400 years to the day since the publication of William Shakespeare’s First Folio, Year 8 gave a brilliant performance of his famous play The Tempest to a packed house at Panton Hall. As Mrs Burden noted, this is Shakespeare’s most musical play and in keeping with the playwright, who used popular songs of his day, the Year 8 pupils used songs by Madonna, Taylor Swift, Stormzy and Nat King Cole in this production, adapted to beautifully help tell the story.

Prospero, the true Duke of Milan, has been overthrown in a conspiracy and set adrift to die but instead came ashore on a magical island. In the play we see what happens when he is faced with the choice to exact revenge or forgive his enemies. The pupils not only learned the difficult dialogue impeccably well—an impressive feat on its own—but did so with expressive and perceptive acting, captivating musical performances, including stunning solos, and production elements that kept even the children in the audience entertained. There were so many brilliant moments, from hilarious scenes between the very tipsy Trinculo and Stefano with the crocodile-like beast Caliban to a very moving adaptation of Stormzy’s gospel song ‘Blinded by Your Grace’ which underpinned the idea of the beauty and power of forgiveness, and many more in between.

Congratulations to Year 8 for this tremendous conclusion to their weeks of hard work, to Mrs Burden whose exuberant direction inspired each of the pupils to give their best performances, to Mrs Lowe for her beautiful musical direction, and Miss Innes for the wonderful lighting that helped the stage come alive.