ℯNEWS November, 21 2025
The cold weather has arrived to accompany the winter wonderland in the park; a few flakes of snow were even spotted falling outside by our excited senior classes on Wednesday afternoon. Therefore, it is definitely time for all of our pupils to wear their warmest winter uniforms; these include the navy blue duffle coat, bottle green logo fleece scarf and hat, and bottle green or navy blue gloves. If children are wearing their duffle coat they do not have to also wear their blazer but it can be a second layer on very cold days if wanted. Please make sure all items - including both gloves are clearly labelled.
3-in-1 jackets should have the fleece layer attached and both parts should be named in a clearly visible location such as at the neck. We will ask pupils who are missing their fleece linings to bring them in for Monday morning; they will be needed for playtime in the park in the afternoon.
The children should also have, at least, a spare pair of socks in their green games bag (which hangs on their peg) in case they get wet feet in the park.
Roadworks
You may already have noticed that the square has succumbed to the Cycle Superhighway plans; the school has been communicating with the construction company, FM Conway, who have been very considerate in avoiding “breaking ground” during morning lessons. Work directly outside the school door is not expected to begin until after we have broken up for the winter break, for which we are grateful; however, it is likely to cause some difficulty for parents driving or parking outside the school for the time being. Unfortunately, try as we have, this is out of our hands. Please make sure when dropping children off by car that you respect the stopping / parking restrictions in operation in order to maintain the highest degree of safety for our pupils.
Junior Christmas Play and Senior Choir Performance
Preparations are underway for the upcoming Junior Play and Senior Choir performances and we would be grateful if you could let us know whether your family would like to order a recording of the event. As in previous years, we have arranged for a professional videographer to film the performance, and copies will be available to purchase. Please email the school office for further information.
Form 5 Trip to Halcyon London International School Literary Festival - Tuesday 25th November
The Halcyon school is hosting a Literary Festival 25th - 27th November. We have been invited to attend with our Form Five pupils and they will be meeting an author and taking part in a writing workshop on Tuesday morning.
Book Fair in collaboration with Daunt Books - Wednesday, 26 November
On Wednesday, we will be holding our annual book fair in collaboration with Daunt Books. There will be a fantastic selection of children’s books available for parents to browse and buy before school or after school. The children will also get the opportunity to browse the selection during the day with their classes.
Form 5 and 6 Trip to Francis Holland School, Regent’s Park - Thursday 27 November
We are delighted to have been invited by FHRP to watch the matinee performance of their Senior Drama students in Romeo & Juliet, their annual flagship production, next Thursday afternoon. A wonderful treat and potential inspiration for our pupils; some of whom are sitting the 11+ entry to join this highly well-regarded girls’ senior school in the future. Children in Forms Five and Six should wear their smartest winter uniform on the day rather than Games kit.
Virtual Coffee Morning with Mrs Hampton and co-heads of English, Mrs Wells and Mrs Walsh -Thursday 27th November at 10:30am
Continuing with our school-wide curriculum development to enhance reading and comprehension; co-heads of department, Mrs Wells and Mrs Walsh, will be joining Mrs Hampton for a virtual coffee morning on shared reading next Thursday at 10:30am. We highly recommend that parents across all school ages drop in to gain some really useful tips on deepening the reading experience with their children. We know that children who are active readers and enjoy reading make stronger academic progress; this is a skill that can always be improved, and the better the reader, the better the comprehension. Of course, this links to all aspects of learning, including problem-solving and the wider curriculum.
Anti-Bullying Week
This week in the PSHE Jigsaw Lessons, the children had lots of interesting discussions about how to recognise bullying and how to speak out about it. The children took on the power of Good Challenge by finding different ways to show kindness to others this week. They took a deep dive into how words can be just as harmful as physical bullying and who to talk to about their concerns. As part of the Anti-Bullying Week, the children were asked to participate in the Odd Socks Day, to raise awareness of bullying and to promote kindness and acceptance. By wearing mismatched socks, it celebrated uniqueness and individuality.
General Knowledge Quiz
On Wednesday morning , four pupils took part in the opening round of a prestigious national General Knowledge competition pitting their General Knowledge against pupils from 46 different schools. Captain Atia from Form 6 was joined by Alexander from Form 5 and Ari and Nikita from Form 4 and 3 respectively. This tournament is organised by Quiz Club and involves thirty challenging questions which must be answered under time pressure. Questions ranged from the names of dinosaurs to identifying the music of Mozart. When the final scores were added up, we amassed over 1000 points, but sadly missed out on making the semi finals. The team performed brilliantly!
Form Five Assembly
CHS was whisked back in time this morning as a number of Ancient Greek Gods paid a visit to the school to be interviewed by a series of journalists.
We discovered all about their family and some of the bizarre behaviours of their parents. We learnt of their special powers and were relieved that we did not make Poseidon angry as he mentioned his power to flood the streets of London.
We had a calming rendition of the Four Seasons by the Form Five musicians with descant and treble recorders, double bass and clarinet.
Congratulations to all the children for their hard work in preparing and performing a really informative and entertaining assembly and enormous thanks to Mrs Walsh (form 5) and Ms Hannent (recorders) for their outstanding teaching.
Form Six Senior School Exams
Our pupils in Form Six will be sitting the ISEB online 11+ assessments in school next Tuesday and Wednesday morning. This will be followed on Tuesday 2nd December with the online Consortium exams. We are confident that the children will achieve their best results; they have all worked incredibly hard towards this goal, and I am sure we can speak for the whole school community when we wish them the very best of luck!
ISI Inspection
The school has been full this week with a team of four inspectors from the Independent Schools Inspectorate; they have visited classrooms, looked at the children’s work, scrutinised curricula, observed lessons across the school and in all areas of learning, and interviewed teachers and children to gain a full and complete picture of what life is like at CHS. A timely and very valuable resource for some of our senior pupils, as children from Forms Four to Six have been interviewed by the inspectors, all of whom are headteachers or retired leaders of independent schools themselves. What a wonderful practice for our Form Six pupils ahead of their 11+ interviews!
A huge thank you to all parents, children and staff who completed the questionnaires sent out by the Inspectorate. ISI will be sharing their full report with the school in a few weeks’ time, possibly after the end of term; we will circulate it to the whole school community shortly after that, once we have been authorised by ISI to do so.
Until then; we would like to say how proud we have been of our pupils, who have been a wonderful reflection of the school ethos of kindness, supportive of one another throughout, and have truly demonstrated their community spirit.
House Points
Clifton = 1713 Sussex = 1699
Parents Fundraising Committee
Marylebone’s Women’s Project
On Friday, 5 December, the Parents' Fundraising Committee will be collecting canned goods and women's clothing for donation to the Marylebone Women's Project. Please drop off your donations between 8:30am - 9 am outside the school.
Bake Sale
On Thursday, 11 December, there will be a Bake Sale after the Junior Play and Senior Choir concert. Last year's bake sale was a great success. Please drop off your baked goods at the start of the concert, and include a list of all ingredients (no allergens please; NO NUTS and SESAME). More information to come.
Artwork of the week
Maryeva, in Form Two, for a fantastic parakeet sculpture inspired by the work of Henri Matisse. Brilliant use of painted papers to create beautiful feathers, well done Maryeva!
Upcoming Dates for Your Diary
November
25th Daunt Book Fair
25th F5 Literacy Workshop at Halcyon School
27th Virtual Coffee Morning with Mrs Hampton and co-heads of English Mrs Wells & Mrs Walsh
27th F5 & 6 visit to Francis Holland School -Romeo & Juliet play
December
3rd F6 OPEN DANCE - Parents welcome (further details to follow)
4th Christmas Collection for The Marylebone Project
5th F2 & F3 OPEN SWIM - Parents welcome (further details to follow)
5th A selection of Senior pupils to Penfold Community Hub
11th Carol Concert & Junior Play, 2.30pm (further details to follow)
12th End of term (midday finish)
