Abercorn School Alumni

Welcome to Abercorn! 🎙️

This first episode of the Welcome to Abercorn Podcast hears from Headmaster, Mr Chris Hammond, who discusses what makes Abercorn so unique. From our recent expansion into Senior School and new premises to valuable work around Diversity, Equality and Inclusion, this is a perfect introduction for anyone considering Abercorn School.

Hear the episode:

#01 - Welcome to Discover Abercorn — Abercorn School In this first episode we talk to Headmaster, Chris Hammond about our approach to teaching, and daily life at Abercorn.

Can you help GGlobal's Make Some Noisewith Upper School? 🏊

The Abercorn Gators swim team recently completed their swimathon in support of GGlobal's Make Some Noise This charity improves the lives of disadvantaged people by working with small charities across the UK. They believe everyone deserves to feel safe, feel well, feel included and prepared, and focus on the areas of greatest need in communities across the UK.

It was a fantastic effort from all the swimmers. They supported each other very well while counting each other’s lengths, as they took it in turn to swim in two separate groups. The 16 swimmers swam 435 lengths of the 30m pool - almost 13km in total! Well done, Team!

While the swimathon has been completed, the fundraising still continues. We will keep the JustGiving page open for more donations for a little longer. The swim team appreciates every contribution that has been made and hopes that we can raise even more for this worthy cause.

Here is the link to the fundraising page: http://ow.ly/BXn550NyRi9.

Have you met our founder?

Founded in 1987 by Mrs Andrea Greystoke, Abercorn School remains a family led school with pupils at the heart of every decision.

Born and raised in New York and San Francisco, Andrea was educated at Radcliffe College, Harvard University, The University of California, Berkeley and King’s College, London where she pursued undergraduate and graduate studies in Mathematics.

Andrea became the first woman teacher at St. Paul’s Boys’ School and then again at King’s College School in London. She also spent a year as an investment analyst with Quilter, Hilton, and Goodison. She temporarily left the workforce to have her six children but returned to education with her first major school project, the foundation of Abercorn School at its early years building in St. John’s Wood in 1987.

Andrea’s belief that children are at the heart of the school underpins Abercorn’s values to this day and both guides decision making and informs the quality of relationships between the school and its families. Being a family run school itself, this unique perspective has resulted in the schools growth from its initial site to include stunning listed buildings at 38 Portland Place near Regents Park and the site of the former Mission Church, 60 Paddington Street.

Given Andrea’s extensive knowledge of both the US and the UK school systems and her belief in the benefits of a British style education Andrea founded The British International School of New York in 2006 on Manhattan’s East River. BIS-NY as it is affectionately known, has now grown also to become one of the leading international schools in New York City, selected by the Good Schools Guide (International) and with a track record of successful, happy, children just like it’s sister school Abercorn.

What wonderful sounds of music we've heard this term!

At Abercorn, learning stretches across subjects and beyond the classroom, and pupils connect their knowledge and interest to beautiful effects. This Spring Term is the perfect example!

Year 6 have explored the 12-bar Blues genre, learning about the Great Depression and the origins of Blues as they experimented with the structure, lyrics and scale of the Blues. Pupils particularly enjoyed exploring the emotions of this genre by playing with melody and major and minor scales to emote different feelings.

Listening and Appraising have been the focus for Years 7 to 9, and pupils have examined pieces of Music, exploring their own responses as well as the theory and history surrounding each piece.

Pupils have also enjoyed great success in Clarinet as they prepare for their medal exams next term - we know their hard work will pay off!

Term finished with the Spring Concert, from which we share a few photos!

Read our update from Senior School music here: https://www.abercornschool.com/journal/senior-24032023

What a show! Last week we finished the term with our Spring Concert, where our musicians, soloists, Upper and Senior School choirs, and LAMDA performers took to the stage to showcase our wide range of talents at Abercorn.
Read the full Senior School update here:

Senior School Weekly Blog — Abercorn School Find out what has been happening at Senior School this week.

After an exciting STEAM week, celebrating music and performing arts has been lovely, with a Spring Concert on Tuesday and a musical-themed assembly. Seeing the pupils showcase their talents and achievements has made us very proud!
Congratulations to O'Connor house, our winning house this term!

Find out what each year group has been up to in Ms Casey's full update here:

Upper School Weekly Blog — Abercorn School Find out what we have been learning in Upper School this week.

Many things make the heart swell.

This week, Abercorn has been treated to the Senior Spring Concert and the Year 2 Play. Both were equally brilliant in different ways – the pupils’ musicality, volume and clarity all shone through. It is oh so important to provide our children with opportunities to perform in front of others. There are a variety of tests in schools, but challenging oneself to stand up in front of between 10, 20, and 100 people takes a great deal of bravery, perseverance and character – bravo, all around.

Read Mr Hammond's full update here:

Focusing on the heart — Abercorn School A word from the Headmaster of Abercorn School, Mr Hammond

Have you heard the Abercorn Podcast yet?

Enjoy the first episode with Headmaster, Chris Hammond now!

https://www.abercornschool.com/journal/introducing-the-abercorn-podcast

What happens when an owl, a chinchilla, and a python (to name but a few!) visit Nursery School?
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It's not a joke, but everyone had a lot of fun! Enjoy the many creative ways Lower School pupils enjoyed STEAM week in their lively weekly update.

http://ow.ly/J8FL50NmNB5

Do you remember STEAM week when you were at Abercorn?

Did you build bridges? Make die with 3D printers? Look at the link between magic & science? That's what Senior School pupils did last week!

We'd love to know your favourite memories of STEAM week and subjects at Abercorn!

Senior School Weekly Blog — Abercorn School Find out what has been happening at Senior School this week.

Introducing Discover Abercorn - our new podcast!

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This behind-the-scenes podcast will hear from many voices across our school. Each provides an insight into a much-loved area of life at Abercorn.

Follow on the platform of your choice, share feedback and enjoy episodes here:

Introducing the Abercorn Podcast! — Abercorn School Today we launch our very own Podcast! A fun, deep dive into life at Abercorn sharing insights into the areas that make our school so very special.

We were delighted to welcome Steve Antony to Lower School last week. Steve has written and illustrated many books including 'Please, Mr Panda' and 'The Queen's Hat'.

The children were very excited to meet one of their favourite authors and were able to draw their very own Mr Panda from his beloved book series.

Author visits are a real treat for our youngest readers and writers, they came away from the visit enthused about writing their own stories. Thank you, Mr Antony for a lovely visit!