Ashley Manor Prep School

Another fantastic day on the Year 6 France Residential!☀️

After a morning spent learning about the historic town of Vézelay and creating beautiful mosaics, the children headed out to explore one of France's most picturesque hilltop destinations.

The pupils completed a town trail, practised their French while ordering ice creams, and followed the famous pilgrimage route up to the stunning Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine. They were incredibly respectful throughout the visit and showed great curiosity about the town's rich history.

In the evening, the children enjoyed a delicious meal at a local restaurant, where they represented Ashley Manor wonderfully with their excellent manners and growing confidence in speaking French, before coming back to watch the football at MCF.

With sunshine, culture, creativity and plenty of smiles, it has been another memorable day in France. We are incredibly proud of how the children are embracing every opportunity and making the most of this special experience.

It was a wonderful afternoon on Tuesday in Pre-Prep as we welcomed grandparents to school for a very special visit. After spending time together in the playground, the children proudly performed songs, poems and drama they have been learning through assemblies, hymn practice and for the Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts. Everyone then enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea in the Seedling and grandparents had the chance to look through the children's beautiful work. Those whose grandparents couldn't join us still took great pride in performing, enjoyed the tasty treats and were very much part of the joyful occasion.

Year 5 began painting the glaze onto their Aztec inspired tiles this week. Choosing to use a limited colour palate they added 3 layers of glaze, brushing it onto their clay using various sized brushes to ensure they picked out the important details. 🎨🖌

Recently in Pre-School Ash, the children had a wonderful visit from one of the mum's, who shared some fascinating information about Japan! She pointed out Japan on a map and taught them some key phrases, including greetings like “hello” and “thank you,” as well as counting to three.

The children also learnt about what makes Japan special, from popular characters in shows to origami and delicious foods. She even brought along some origami for the children to explore!

They then took part in a fun activity matching features to faces, where one friend closed their eyes while others guided them to place the pieces correctly. They also enjoyed a game of origami sumo wrestling, trying to get their friends’ origami characters out of the circle!🇯🇵

🌤️ Day 2 in Burgundy – complete! 🇫🇷

Tuesday really was a game of two halves – much like the weather! The morning was filled with lessons and games revisiting our circus skills from Monday, followed by some very competitive rounds of pétanque and outdoor team challenges. Watching the children follow instructions in French provided plenty of laughs!

After a picnic lunch, the temperature climbed to 31°C and it was time for our much-anticipated kayaking adventure 🚣☀️

With lower river levels making things more challenging, the children showed incredible determination and teamwork. Every single child completed the course, helping one another over gravel banks and out of the occasional tree tangle along the way. The laughter and encouragement throughout the afternoon made us incredibly proud.

After dinner, a lively game of Lotto rounded off a fantastic (and very tiring!) day.

Last week, Pre-School Laurel dove into the theme of 'Saving the Seas,' inspired by their reading of the wonderful book 'Somebody Swallowed Stanley'. The children became real-life eco-heroes as they rescued toy sea creatures from 'rubbish' and discussed how they can protect their blue planet from plastic pollution. Our learning was packed with hands-on fun, from exploring textures by stamping real seashells into playdough to playing an exciting pirate ship rhyming coin game. They even brought literacy to life with a 'Fishing for Phonics' game, where the children used magnetic rods to catch letter-sound fish.🐟🎣

A fantastic Non‑Verbal Reasoning session for Year 5 last week! The children explored a variety of 2D nets, investigating which ones could successfully fold into a 3D cube. Their teamwork, reasoning, and attention to detail were outstanding!

Year 2 enjoyed learning about Sir Ernest Shackleton and his Antarctic adventures. The children worked hard plotting his endurance journey map using coordinates.🐧🇦🇶

Waking up to the cockerel crowing and glorious sun was a pleasure today. On our first day of the immersion residential we have tasted regional specialities, from cakes to sweeties and had a ‘Burgundy Bake-off’ competition. Even getting to eat our apple cakes for tea.
In the afternoon we learned to be circus entertainers. Trying many different skills.
We had an absolutely super day filled with activities. The evening actively was a timed puzzle competition. Roll on day two!

Well done to our Year 6 tennis teams who competed in a friendly tournament at The Richard Pate School. An exciting afternoon of tennis saw players raising their game with confidence and flair. Improved shot selection, stronger rallies, and determined performances made for an enjoyable afternoon.