West Hill Park School

Scholarship Awards 2012

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:52:28 PST

Safer Internet Day 2012

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:11:53 PST

Safer Internet Day is organised by Insafe each year in February to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world.

This year, Safer Internet Day (SID) will take place on Tuesday 7 February 2012 and will be centred around the theme Connecting generations and educating each other, with the slogan: "Discover the digital world together... safely!"

Mr Adam will be taking an Internet Safety Day assembly for pupils on Tuesday 7th February as well as talking about internet safety in his ICT lessons.

There will be a presentation for parents on Thursday 9th February at 7:00pm in the Old Library.

Pond Design Exhibition

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:49:19 PST

Below are just some of the fantastic designs for the new school pond created by pupils from the Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School.

Pupils Designing School Pond

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:43:44 PST

Through the development of a school pond we aim to extend our outdoor facilities, creating a safe and stimulating resource for learning which again will be open to schools and nurseries in the wider community. Funding has been raised by parents at a Pre-Prep Spring Fayre, a donation from the Friends of West Hill Park association and £3,000 from a successful Fareham and Hampshire councils Community Action Team Funding application.
A very important aspect of this project is to fully involve the pupils, incorporating their ideas into the plans. Every child in the school has been working on individual, group or class projects during our recent Pond Design Fortnight and the resulting designs will be on display in school.
Pupils have already made a head start on some of the furniture by building benches out of wood from the woodland area. Grace Rowe, 13, who helped make the benches, said: ‘It’s going to be brilliant area where we can explore wildlife as well as enjoy the outdoors.’
Hamish Cameron-Eveleigh, nine, has designed a model with a rowing boat in the 12m by 9m pond and a shed for people to take shelter. He said: ‘I want the area to be used all year round.’
Eleanor Parry, 10, came up with the idea of a gazebo with decking leading out into the centre of the pond. She said: ‘It would be nice to walk across the pond and explore all the wildlife. ‘I’m so pleased we’ve had an input – I hope other schools like it!’
Emma Simpson, 10, made a computer illustration of the pond with a drawbridge across it and an island in the middle for ducks to sit on. She explained: ‘I wanted to be able to pull up the bridge so foxes wouldn’t get to the ducks at night! ‘This pond means so much to us. It will increase our wildlife and our opportunities to learn from it.’
Alastair Ramsay, headmaster, said: ‘The children will be using the facility so we thought it made sense for them to have a say in what it looks like and give them ownership of it. ‘The ideas I’ve seen so far are fantastic. We’re looking forward to opening it up for the whole community to enjoy.’ Building works are due to start in Easter.

Wonderland at West Hill Park

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:38:21 PST

Lewis Carroll’s literary classics Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass unfolded to spellbound audiences on the 8^th, 9^th and 10^th December at West Hill Park School.

Alice (Phoebe Devonshire) deserves the highest praise, not just for her exquisite diction and realistically quaint portrayal of the Victorian Alice, but for the herculean task of memorising ‘such quantities’ of words. Gabriella Heathcote made a convincing and endearing White Rabbit and the Queen of Hearts (Rosanna Verdon-Roe) was satisfyingly maniacal.

There were so many beautifully crafted cameo roles that it is impossible to name every single thespian. Suffice it to say that a host of favourite scenes and characters sprang to life as the nonsense alternately bewildered and charmed; we met the elegant Cheshire Cat (Maleah Stewart), the hippyesque Caterpillar (Emily Johnson), the ridiculous Duchess (Ellie Double), the zany Cook (Hilary Vulliamy), the droll Gryphon (Hugo Marshall), the lugubrious Mock Turtle (Isa Surran), the ‘geeky’ King of Hearts (Alec Damley-Jones), the egregious Frog Footman (Joseph Gowers) and the obnoxious son of Father William (Jessica Blunn). Moreover, we laughed at the comedic antics of the Mad Hatter (Christopher Hurren), March Hare (Laurie Gardner) and the Dormouse (Madeline Pendle).

Act Two brought a darker note as the Old Man (Bailey Barnes) exhorted the Son (Liam Saw) to beware the Jabberwock (Owen Pastides). However, the liveliness of Tweedledum (Nick Jonas) and Tweedledee (Jonathan Kyd), the buffoonery of the White Knight (Hugo Wybourne), the eccentricity of the White Queen (Megan Truscott) and the muddle-headedness of the White King (Alex Lower) prevented the darkness from overpowering the action.

Both Acts were further enhanced by the excellent enunciation of Oliver Wright (Lewis Carroll), Charlotte Given (Prima) and Daisy Cameron-Eveleigh (Secunda) and the beautifully melodious ‘Alice’ choir (Years 5 and 6) who encapsulated the play by floating us back to reality at the end of the ‘golden afternoon’.

The entire show was a tour de force. The scenery (ex-pupil Jess Ringelberg) reproduced Tenniel’s illustrations but, at the same time, gave them an inspired twist, and the costumes (created by gifted and incredibly dedicated parents) would have done credit to a West End production.

This was an extremely difficult play to stage and the young actors from Years 7 and 8 should be congratulated for rising so brilliantly to the many challenges and for delivering such an intelligent, entertaining and visually spectacular performance.

Year 2 In Alfie's Den

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:47:52 PST

Year 2 had great fun in Alfie’s Den. First they learnt how to walk the stealthy fox walk. Mrs. Harris and Mrs. Hall, blindfolded and armed with water pistols, laid in wait trying to hear the children stalking up on them. Afterwards the children put their tree knowledge to use collecting wood that is safe to burn. Under Mrs.Rosling and Mrs. Beardsall guidance they used the wood to lay and set alight the campfire. After a delicious lunch of sausages cooked over our open fire there was the fun of washing up outdoors. Our energy restored we were ready to set about our group activities. Led by Mr. Ramsay and his daughter some of the children learnt how to tie a range of knots. Their concentration was palpable! Mrs. Harris and Mrs Beardsall helped another group to create a natural object map which was used to locate where useful woodland items are. Finally Mrs. Raymond’s and Mrs. Wilson’s group created bowls made from natural leaves. To end with we sat around the dying embers of the fire sharing our most treasured memories of the day. It is wonderful to see how over time the children’s outdoor skills are developing and above all what tremendous pleasure they get from being in Alfie’s Den.

Year 2 Visit HMS Victory

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:42:25 PST

Back in September, Year 2 enjoyed going back in time exploring life on board Nelson’s ship H.M.S. Victory. We admired Nelson’s office and found the very spot where Nelson was shot. Later we learnt about the hammocks, cannons and ships biscuits, which luckily we didn’t get to try as we didn’t want to eat bugs! It was very exciting imagining events during The Battle of Trafalgar and following the ships tactics. We also found time to explore several museums, make a copy of Nelson’s signature and saw many models showing the different battles. The children were a credit to the school through their behaviour, enthusiasm and knowledge.

Heads of School & Prefects

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:30:11 PST

Mr Ramsay is delighted to announce that Christopher Hurren has been appointed Head Boy and Phoebe Devonshire, Head Girl. The two of them will be supported in the first instance by a small team of Prefects, Rufus Briggs, Alec Damley-Jones, Toby Hett, and Rosanna Verdon-Roe. All six should be congratulated on this achievement.

Tea for Year 2

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 10:08:46 PST

The year 2 hosted their parents at a delicious farewell to the Pre-Prep tea party. The children made scrumptious banana cakes which were proudly displayed on the cake stands alongside scones and cakes provided by the school kitchen. The children helped to lay up the tables with crisp white cloths, vases of home grown flowers and plates of carefully arranged sandwiches. The final touch was dishes of radishes that the children had grown themselves. The children proved to be excellent hosts and after seating their parents passed around the sandwiches and made polite conversation. The afternoon was rounded off with a communal sing song of two of our favourite songs, namely ‘The Paint Box Song’ and ‘One More Step Along the Road I Go.’

Blackbeard Look Out!

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 10:01:06 PST

The world of the high seas was brought alive in the Pre-Prep department’s recent production of ‘Blackbeard.’ A ship loaded with convicts and sailors bound for Botany Bay falters in a storm and they are welcomed aboard a passing ship. Little do they know that it is a pirate ship. Will they escape the pirates and be able to live forever on the dream island that the local islanders tell them about? On board the pirate ship Blackbeard is having trouble with his wife Molly. Will he be able to find her diamonds for her birthday? All the children joined in enthusiastically with the singing and dancing in this colourful production which also included some outstanding acting performances by the year 2 pupils.

Wessex Athletics - Results

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:51:57 PST

Results from the Junior and Senior Wessex Athletics Competitions held recently, congratulations to all who took part, our teams achieved some superb results.

Junior Wessex

Girls

· Lucy Walters U9 75m 3rd

· Ellie Sproul U9 200m 1st

· Poppy Wright U10 Long Jump 2nd

· Molly Thompson U10 High Jump 2nd

· Georgia Harding U11 Rounders Ball Throw 3rd

BOYS

· Charlie Walters U11 Cricket Ball Throw 1st

Senior Wessex

Girls

· Sophia Wybourne U13 100m 3^rd

· Maleah Stewart U12 Long Jump 2^nd

· Sophia Wybourne U13 Shot 1^st

Boys

· Harrison Fry U12 100m 3^rd

· Harrison Fry U12 200m 3^rd

· Gordon Stone U12 Discus 3^rd

· Flynn Luxton U13 Javelin 1^st

· Oliver Perrin U14 Shot 1^st

The Archant Good Schools Show

Fri, 27 May 2011 12:52:07 PST

The Archant Good Schools Show held at London Olympia in September showcases the UK’s top independent schools. West Hill Park will have a stand there.

Tom Parker-Bowles will be presenting awards to schools in various categories which can be voted for by parents. If you would like to vote for our school please visit the Archant Good Schools Show website http://www.thearchantgoodschoolsshow.co.uk/ and click on the ‘Vote for the best’ link. You do not need to register or apply for tickets to nominate our school.

Oliver Wright 90 Not out

Mon, 23 May 2011 09:43:52 PST

Oliver put together another fantastic innings during a cricket match against Stroud. In an innings of 75 delivers, that included 15 boundaries, Oliver made his way – near faultlessly – to an extremely impressive total of 90 not out. On this display, clearly that golden ‘3' figure number is clearly well within reach!

National Swimming Success

Mon, 23 May 2011 09:35:06 PST

Grace Rowe and Sophia Wybourne, from West Hill Park School, achieved at the very highest level in this year's IAPS National Swimming Competition. Following regional rounds of over 3600 swimmers, Grace and Sophia qualified for the National Finals at the K2 Centre in Crawley. After qualifying well in the heats, in the 50m Backstroke final, Grace won silver – with the event winner breaking a 13 year standing record – and Sophia took Gold in the 50m Breaststroke final. A phenomenal achievement by both girls and just reward for their efforts. Following her win in the pool, Sophia now has the prestige of currently holding 2 National titles - for swimming and athletics.

Search Museum Trip

Fri, 20 May 2011 16:39:20 PST

Year One had a wonderful morning at the Search Museum in Gosport, finding out about the Fifties for our History topic. We took part in activities such as laying the table for tea, shopping, dressing up and doing the washing. We all felt as though we had stepped back in time by the end of our visit.

Pre-Prep Spring Fayre

Fri, 20 May 2011 16:25:03 PST

The Nursery and Pre-Prep Spring Fayre was once again a delightful event thanks to the support given by the parents, children and staff. A special thank you goes to the parents who helped to organise it and to those who helped on the day. In total we raised £811 which is almost double last year's total. The money is going towards purchasing additional items for Alfie's Den, the charity Ragalla Aid through which we support the education of two children attending a nursery school in Sri Lanka and finally the establishment of a pond in the school grounds which all pupils at West Hill will be able to use and enjoy.

Royal Wedding Celebrations

Thu, 05 May 2011 13:25:15 PST

West Hill Park celebrated the Royal Wedding along with the rest of the country. Staff and pupils watched the service from Westminster Abbey on a large screen in the Jubilee Hall joining in with the hymns.

Pre-Prep and Nursery pupils dressed for the celebration as princes, princesses or in patriotic red, white and blue. Even members of staff came dressed in their finest wedding attire.

After the service the whole school enjoyed a street party under bunting especially made for the occasion. Over 500 metres of bunting was completed by the children as an inter-house competition. Everyone enjoyed the traditional street party fare including Royal Wedding cupcakes.

The day was a great success and one which the pupils will remember for years to come.

Dell Competition Entry

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:04:50 PST

Three of our Year 8 pupils have made a short film for entry into the Dell Connect Your Classroom competition. Emma Khoury, Ed Lee and Freddy Mardlin have been working hard on their entry. The winning school will receive upto £25,000 worth of Dell equipment. You can help our school by visiting the Dell website, viewing the film and clicking the 'like' button. The film with the most votes will win.

Please click here to view the film and help with our entry!

Youth Speaks Success

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 10:00:03 PST

Year 1 Visit Southampton Art Gallery

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:20:43 PST

This term Year1 visited the Art Gallery in Southampton. During a tour of the museum we were told the story of Perseus. This was in the form of enormous dramatic paintings, which the children found enthralling. A clay workshop followed where the children made 'Medusa' heads complete with snakes for hair. They were able to hone their previously learnt clay skills but they were also introduced to more and varied techniques. The resulting models were fabulous. The children are now keen to find out more about Greek myths and legends.