Sevenoaks Prep School

On Friday we were delighted to welcome George Gregan back to The Prep. During the morning, George worked with pupils across different year groups before lending his support to teams competing in our annual U11 Oldroyd 7s Rugby Tournament in the afternoon.

George is one of the most respected figures in rugby. A World Cup winner with Australia, he earned 139 international caps, played a central role in the iconic 1999 and 2003 World Cup finals, and captained The Wallabies on 59 occasions.

Pupils in Years 3-6 spent time with him, learning from his expertise and inspiring them. Thank you, George, for your time - our pupils gained enormously from your insight, experience and enthusiasm.

We were thrilled to welcome Sophy Henn to our school.

Author and illustrator of the fantastic ‘Happy Hills’ comic books, as well as numerous other wonderful picture books, Sophy shared her creative process with the children. From the initial idea of a character, to concept sketches and the evolution of ideas before reaching the final design; we were amazed by how much effort goes into creating a book.

Sophy spent time creating a new character for her story with the children and also showed them a step by step guide to drawing some of her characters. It was a fun filled and informative session, with some of the children taking home signed copies of her books too.

Thank you Sophy!

Year 1 have had a wonderful start to their new topic, Castles and Dragons. They stepped back in time to visit the brilliant Hever Castle, where they explored its features and discovered which significant historical figures once lived there. They were fascinated by the castle’s structure, especially the moat and drawbridge!

They learnt about some of the attacking devices used in the past, such as catapults, and even made their own using wooden spoons and lolly sticks. Back at school, they drew and labelled their own castles.

They can’t wait to keep exploring this exciting topic!

The first years of secondary education are crucial; pupils should thrive in an environment where they feel challenged, nurtured and respected - and The Prep is the perfect place for this to happen. In Years 7 and 8, pupils are treated as young adults and we provide them with opportunities for responsibility and leadership; when it is time to move on, they do so as confident and self-reliant young adults, equipped to meet the challenges and change that senior school brings.

Our existing pupils love welcoming new joiners and our carefully designed programme ensures a perfect balance of academic rigour and enriching extra-curricular opportunities At this stage of the School, pupils benefit from subject specialists with experience in GCSE, A Level and IB teaching. Our staff understand exactly where children need to be - both academically and personally – by the end of Year 8 so they can thrive in the years ahead.

We take great pride in seeing our pupils transition to a wide range of top schools including Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Caterham, knowing they leave us confident, well-prepared and ready to make their mark.

Find out why Years 7 & 8 at The Prep could be the right choice for your child by contacting [email protected] – we would be delighted to arrange a personalised tour or a meeting with the Headmaster.

This term’s Raspberry Pi Club has been a huge success, giving pupils an exciting introduction to computing, coding and digital creativity.

Led by two of our senior pupils, the club has created a brilliant peer‑led environment where younger learners have grown in confidence and developed valuable technical skills. From exploring the basics of Python to experimenting with physical computing and designing their own interactive projects, pupils have embraced every challenge with enthusiasm. The leadership shown by our older students has been exceptional - guiding sessions with maturity, supporting younger pupils patiently and helping to create a welcoming space where digital skills can thrive.

The club has quickly become a weekly highlight for our budding programmers!

Last week, Reception were enthusiastically taking on independent maths challenges. They were invited to write their own number sentences and match numerals to their corresponding written number words.

With growing confidence, the children explored number formation and began creating simple addition sentences. They carefully recorded their thinking, paying attention to number order and correct numeral formation.

Alongside this, they worked on matching numerals to written words, strengthening their understanding that numbers can be represented in different ways.

Throughout the activity, the children demonstrated persistence, concentration, and a willingness to challenge themselves. Many showed pride in checking their work independently and supporting peers who needed encouragement.

Well done Reception!

We have had the most wonderful time celebrating World Book Day this year and the children’s costumes were fantastic.

We began with a whole‑school assembly featuring visiting poet Simon Mole, who captivated pupils with his new poem anthology 'Poetry Pizza'. The Pre‑Prep choir performed their wonderfully wiggly song Bookworm, and pupils loved the Year 6 vs teachers Julia Donaldson rap battle — and yes, the teachers triumphed!

We were also delighted to welcome visiting author Megan Hopkins, creator of the Starminster series, who led inspiring storytelling sessions with Years 3–6.

In Pre‑Prep, children dived into The Big Draw, showing off some brilliant artistic flair, before sharing stories with their reading buddies. Simon Mole also spent time with Years 1 and 2, plus a special visit to Reception, who are currently enjoying his book A First Book of Dinosaurs.

Across the school, pupils enjoyed a huge range of book‑themed adventures: an online draw‑along with Cressida Cowell, the lively Booky & Footy quiz, paper‑making, striking blackout book art, debates on books vs films, and an exciting challenge where Years 5 and 6 competed against AI to see who could produce the most vivid and descriptive writing. Year 3 created book reviews and cover designs while children explored our newest titles through a buzzing library scavenger hunt.

Thank you to everyone who helped make it such a brilliant day.

A huge thank you to all the families who joined us for our Open Morning today.

We were delighted to welcome so many visitors, it was a pleasure to meet you all and to share a glimpse of life at The Prep.

We hope you found the morning both informative and enjoyable - from the talks and tours, to discovering more about our rigorous curriculum, specialist teaching, beautiful grounds and strong sense of community. We hope a particular highlight was meeting our pupils, with Year 8 pupils guiding some of the tours and sharing their own experiences of life at the school.

We are sorry if you were not able to attend this Open Morning. If you would like to arrange a personal tour, or if you came along and would like to return for another visit, we would be delighted to welcome you - please contact [email protected]

Last Friday, our U10A rugby team headed to the Sutton Valence Rugby Festival and produced a fantastic morning of rugby. They played matches against Solefields, Somerhill, Sutton Valence and Dulwich Cranbrook, topping their group and returning home with the trophy!

They drew their first game, but their determination saw them build momentum throughout the day, winning all their remaining matches. They finished with an outstanding performance — not losing a single tackle, forcing multiple turnovers at the ruck, offloading brilliantly under pressure and showing superb camaraderie throughout. It was their best display of the season so far and we are incredibly proud of the boys.

A huge thank you to Sutton Valence for hosting such a brilliant event.

With St David's Day taking place this weekend, our Nursery children embraced a wonderfully free and expressive painting activity, taking inspiration from the bright daffodils of St David’s Day and the promise of spring.

Using a large, shared canvas on our round table, the children imagined the daffodils blooming before them, exploring colour, space and movement with joyful freedom. This open‑ended activity encouraged them to experiment with broad brushstrokes, fine details and thoughtful choices about composition — all while developing their fine motor skills and artistic confidence.

With splashes of yellow, swirls of green stems and a sprinkle of glitter for extra magic, their collaborative artwork has blossomed into a beautiful display piece.

We are so proud of their creativity, independence and enthusiasm — it truly reflects the inspiring, child‑led learning that sits at the heart of our Nursery at The Prep.

To launch their exciting new Fantastic Mr Fox literacy topic, Year 2 brought in their favourite Roald Dahl books, ready to dive into the weird and wonderful world of Dahl’s extraordinary imagination.

They journeyed to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, designing their own bespoke Wonka Bars and creating eye‑catching packaging to showcase their delicious inventions. Inspired by The BFG, the children also created beautiful dreamcatchers, capturing the magic and mystery of Sophie’s dream‑filled adventures.

The class explored the iconic illustration style of Quentin Blake, practising expressive line work before sketching their own mischievous portraits of The Enormous Crocodile getting up to no good.

It was a wonderful start to the topic, sparking real excitement for their literary adventure ahead.