13th March 2026

From learning about astronauts, meteorites and volcanoes to discovering how cheese is made, curiosity was certainly sparked throughout the week. Mrs Pettifer led the Assembly on Monday with a fascinating talk to mark International Women's Day, in which she spoke about a number of amazing women from the world of sports through to academia who have led the way in their particular fields. On Thursday, our Science Fair in the lab gave Prep pupils the chance to showcase a variety of cleverly designed experiments and inventions, delighting both their peers and parents. Thank you to those parents who came in to share their expertise with the children – each session was absolutely fascinating.

It was also Henley Youth Festival Week, and pupils enjoyed a number of activities linked to this year’s theme of Amazing Animals. Last Sunday we hosted the Music Makers concert, in which it was wonderful to hear a number of our children performing. Highlights of the week included an energetic African dance workshop for Years 1 to 4 and a performance of What You Will by the Globe Players for Years 5 and 6. You will be able to read more about STEAM Week and our involvement in the Henley Youth Festival, in next week’s newsletter.

There was plenty of sporting success too. On Wednesday, the U11 boys stormed to victory in matches against St Mary’s Prep and St Edward’s, while the U10 and U11 girls performed strongly in their netball fixtures against Cranford House and Sherfield. You can read the full match reports here.

To round off an exciting week, we also welcomed a number of prospective families through our Big Blue Door for our Spring Open Morning today, which fittingly reflected our STEAM theme of curiosity. As ever, the children were wonderful ambassadors for the school, and enjoyed engaging with the parents, who were most impressed with their confidence and enthusiasm.

 

Performing Arts

A huge congratulations to the Year 3 pupils, who gave two fantastic performances of The Wizard of Oz on Wednesday, and to the Little Singers and Musical Theatre Club for their delightful performance of The Gingerbread Man on Thursday. The shows were thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. My thanks go to Mrs Light, Mr Dwinell and all the other staff involved for all the hard work they put into bringing these productions to life. Finally, well done to everyone who auditioned for the Prep performance of Sister Act today. Mrs Light will announce the parts ahead of the Easter holidays.

 

House Music

Our attention now turns to the Prep House Music Concert, which will take place at Henley Town Hall next week (Tuesday 17th March). Parents of Prep pupils should have received a letter earlier this week with details about outfits and please can we remind parents that we expect all Prep children to attend in order to perform in support of their House. It is a fabulous evening and a real highlight of the year, which I hope Prep parents will be keen to join us for!

 

Year 6 Success

Congratulations to Charlotte who has attained the level for entrance to Grammar school. She is one of the six children who applied for 11+ Grammar entrance, all of whom have been successful in achieving the level required. 

 

Easter Eggs

Next week we will begin our annual collection of Easter eggs for the Henley Foodbank, with the aim of ensuring that every child in Henley receives an Easter treat this year. Please bring in your donations from Monday. Collection tables will be placed in the hallway and just inside Courtney’s Gate. All donations will be delivered to NOMAD at the D2 Centre on Friday 27^th March. Let’s see if we can beat last year’s total of 160 eggs!

 

Comic Relief

Next Friday, 22^nd March, is Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day. We are aware that some parents have been asked to provide a number of costumes recently, so we’re keeping it simple again this year by asking children to wear school uniform with red accessories in exchange for a £1 or £2 donation. Children are welcome to wear red noses into school if they have them. Please do not bring cash on the day, instead we ask that you donate using this link: www.justgiving.com/page/rupert-house-school-4

 

FoRH Ball

I’m looking forward to seeing many of you at the FoRH Ball tomorrow evening. Mrs Hegarty and Ms Hudson have done a fantastic job putting together an impressive list of silent auction prizes, with all proceeds going to support The Chiltern Centre. Ahead of the event, please do take a moment to look through the prize list HERE. If you are unable to attend the Ball but would still like to take part in the auction, you are very welcome to place a bid in advance. Please contact Mrs Hegarty on 07940 254348 to do so. A sincere thank you to all the parents who have kindly donated or arranged prizes. Your generosity is greatly appreciated, and I am confident that together we will raise a significant amount for charity.

 

Dogs

We kindly ask parents and carers to be mindful when bringing dogs on the school run. Recently, we have had a few incidents where barking and fouling have caused disturbance, which has been upsetting for our neighbours and has resulted in complaints. If dogs are brought to drop-off or pick-up, they must be kept under close control at all times and should not cause disruption to others. We would also like to remind parents not to arrive at Courtneys Gate before 8:15am please, as this helps us keep noise and disturbance for our neighbours to a minimum.

Next week is another busy week with trips for Years 3, 4 and 5, the Year 2 Football Festival on Tuesday and Red Nose Day on Friday. Please keep a eye on the parent portal for information about upcoming events.

Best wishes,

Nick Armitage