CRANLEIGH PREPARATORY SCHOOL
E
H
T
B UZZ
By the pupils. For the Community.
LENT TERM 2015
Get inspired,
read a book
By Alessandra J, 5B
Cranleigh Prep’s School’s celebration of World Book Day is always a highlight of the school calendar and this year was no
exception. Learning about “books to inspire me” was the theme of this year’s event and inspired we were!
This year we were lucky enough to have TWO authors come to speak to us. Andy Mulligan, author of Trash and ‘Author in
Residence’ at Cranleigh School, inspired us with his fabulous book about a dumpsite boy and made us all dream of writing a
Hollywood blockbuster, as the movie based on the book is sure to be. Paul Geraghty, author of 20 picture books, inspired us
with his amazingly funny stories and beautiful illustrations. How many of us can remember the name of the snake, whose surname was Johnson? As is an annual tradition at CPS, Mrs Fenton prepared a quiz for each form on World Book Day. This was
based on the pupils’ knowledge of books and their characters, proving tricky for even the keenest of bookworms. Mrs Fenton
explained, “The point of this quiz was to prove that the movies were made from the book, not the other way round.”
Not willing to be outdone by Andy Mulligan’s talk of the “big
screen,” the staff at school joined in with the day, starring in a
video of their own. In the film, they read bits from books that
inspire them and told us why. Motivated by all the talk about
books, pupils then all got started writing our own future best
seller. Who knows? Maybe the next Harry Potter?
Abc - Spelling Bee!
By Ambrose W, 5F
On Monday the 9 of March, during World Book Day, the First CPS Spelling
Bee took place in the Wyatt Hall. Confident spellers in Forms One to Five took
part in a three-round competition, with overall points adding to the house points
total at the end of the term.
th
In the first round, each of the competitors had 30 seconds to answer as many
‘Red words’ as possible. Lara S, in Form 2, said she “enjoyed the Spelling Bee
and particularly loved the red word test,” which she said was easy.
The second-round was built up of a ‘Where did this word originate from?’ The
purpose of this round was to work out which language a particular word was
from. We learned, for example, that the word caffeine has German origins from
‘kaffee’ meaning coffee, as well as a French link with ‘caféine.’ This round
proved to be the most difficult, as there were many obscure answers.
The third and final round involved random words being called out and each
house representative in their year group would have to spell the word out loud.
Well done to everyone who took part and congratulations to the ‘Spades
Spellers’ who won the competition.
T HE B UZZ
P AGE 2
AN INTERVIEW WITH…. THE MATRONS
By Amelie L-P, 6Ha
From left to right: Matron Browning, Finch, Beever, Chitty and Thompson.
I interviewed all the Matrons: Matrons Beever, Chitty, Finch, Browning and Thompson. Our Matrons are all ‘oh so lovely’
and I wanted to find out more about the wonderful work that they do for us.
1. How long have you all worked here?
6.What is the funniest excuse for something?
Matron Beever has worked here for 14 years. Matron Chitty,
Finch and Browning have worked here 5 years and Matron
Thompson has worked here for the longest - for 16 years!
Matron Finch said that a boy ran up the stairs to say he broke
his leg! Matron Browning said that once someone forgot their
team shirt and their excuse was that they left it on their private
jet after a weekend trip to Monaco!
2. What was the worst injury you have had to deal
with?
7.What is the funniest thing a Matron has ever done?
Matron Chitty had to deal with a sliced shin which sounds pretty nasty! They all also said that ‘all the sick is awful’ and makes
them feel sick too. Matron Finch had to deal with Joss T’s broken arm; she got to go in the ambulance with him!
Apparently, Matron Beever went “cart wheeling down the corridor wearing a swimming hat!” Now that would have been
funny! Also, most of the Matrons said that Matron Finch was
hilarious in the recent foam party.
3. What is your favourite time of day?
8. Who is the strictest matron?
Matron Thompson’s favourite time of day is when she puts all
the boarders to bed. Matron Browning likes mornings as she
gets tired in the evenings when she works here.
All the Matrons said that every Matron “has their moment,”
especially when people do not label their clothes!
4.What days do you work?
Matron Chitty works Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.
Matron Beever works all week. Matron Thompson works here
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Matron Finch
works here every day except Tuesday, and Matron Browning
works here Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.
5.Which Form do you prefer?
Matron Finch, Beever and Chitty all said Forms 1 and 6 as they
like to “nurture them” in Form 1 and see how they turn out in
Form 6. Matron Thompson also said Form 6 was her favourite.
9.When do you get the most children up to see you?
Many of the Matrons said that they get the most children up to
see them just before house cross country and they make up
excuses to get off of running the long painful race.
10. How can you tell if a child is ‘faking?’
Matron Beever said “very, very, very easily,”and Matron Finch
said she knows who ‘the regulars are ‘and she knows how to
distract them so she knows whether they are faking! Matron
Thompson said she can not tell because some of us are very
convincing actors!
LENT 2015
P AGE 3
South African Adventures
During the Christmas holiday, 31pupils
from Form 6 went on the best holiday
they could wish for... to South Africa.
By Charles H and Henry M, 6Ho
On the 11th December, full of excitement, we set off to Heathrow Airport for
a 10 hour journey to Johannesburg. Upon
arrival, and after a long delay at Johannesburg Airport, we set of to Cape Town,
where we soon settled into our bungalows. This was to be the first base for the
next week. During this time we had the
time of our lives: we surfed, climbed
Table Mountain, wake boarded, mountain biked, shopped, swam with penguins, sun bathed and enjoyed all the
beach activities available. Sleeping in
groups of five pupils per bungalow was
great fun. We all loved having the freedom of living in our own shared houses.
Loving the domesticity, some of the boys
even took to washing and ironing their
own clothes! Everyday, we ate at the
Beachcomber Bistro for breakfast and
dinner, except for our last night, where
we ate at the ‘posher’ part of the restaurant (The Galley), as a special treat.
We even had desserts that were
‘generously funded’ by anyone who was
late or left their clothes lying around.
Sjambok,’ Charlie P and Piers V hit a
rock and capsized. Charlie caught his leg
After a week of being at the beach, we set between the boat and the rock and
off on an eight-hour journey to Namibia. needed to be assisted by the river
Crossing the border was slow, as we had guides. Finally the boat cracked and
to stop at the control for about an hour, Charlie was freed. He was whisked
to complete lots of forms. Once released, away to hospital and spent the next few
we set off on the coach (which looked
days at base camp recuperating. The
like it was eight hundred years old) and
next day, we faced the Sjambok, the
arrived twenty minutes later at Base
biggest rapid on the river; this time,
Camp. We started our evening with a
happily, no-one capsized.
delicious steak meal before settling down
After a relaxing fourth day paddling,
under the stars; what a fantastic way to
spend our first night in Namibia! Break- we arrived back at base camp, exhausted
but having had the time of our lives.
fast started the following morning at 8
a.m. and this was the last chance to pur- Our journey back to England started at
chase food before our 4-day river adven- 4a.m. was a very early start for us all.
ture.
We slept for most of the return journey
On Day 1, we set off down the river and and at 7.00 a.m. the next day, we arexperienced many rapids and rocks. That rived back at Heathrow Airport.
night, we again slept on the floor under
It was the end of a unforgettable trip.
the stars.
Thank you to Mr & Mrs Storey, Mr &
It was on the afternoon of the second day, Mrs Manning, Mr Halstead and our partragedy struck! While going down ‘Baby ents!
OUR NEW GAPS
Our new gaps this year are Miss Jade
Von Holdt and Mr Andries du Toit
from South Africa, and Miss Lilli Bennett and Mr Ed Berry from Australia.
They are all enjoying getting to know
everyone, especially the boarders. Miss
Jade really enjoys ‘Movie night’ and
Miss Lilli enjoys ‘tuck’ and Food Tech
lessons.
Mr Andy really enjoys a ‘Full English
breakfast’ on a Friday and Mr Ed enjoys
supervising games on the Astro, so that
he can join in!
T HE B UZZ
P AGE 4
Boarding
Fun this
term
By Amelie L-P, 6Ha
This term the boarders have had
two really exciting activities to
participate in.
Firstly, we all went caving at Sayers Croft. We were split in to 4
groups and each group went attended on a Thursday evening for
their activities session. Some people were really scared that it would
tight and claustrophobic, but it was
really fun wandering around the
caves which were made from plastic.
Also, we had Boarders have got talent which was really
good fun! Nearly every boarder performed; from singing and dancing as well as poetry, jokes and music. Ezra
M ‘wowed’ us all with his knowledge of gems, but in
the end it was Rye E who won the show, singing Let It
Go from the film Frozen.
Mr Reader swoops across to CPS!
Recently Matthew W, Charlie P and Joshua M interviewed Mr Reader, Head of Cranleigh School as they were intrigued to find
out more about his interest in Ornithology (Bird watching).
Mr Reader’s fascination with Ornithology began when he was nine years old. He joined the Young Ornithology Club and
with this received magazines about birds. He was hooked from then on. The Nuthatch, a bird with brightly coloured plumage, an interesting shaped bill and a piping call is Mr Reader’s favourite bird. On the subject of unusual birds, he found the
Secretary bird the most extraordinary. It has long legs like a Crane, the body of an Eagle, a huge crest on its head, which
makes it look rather evil, and it hunts along the ground. If you like Birds of Prey, Mr Reader is a trustee of the Hawk and
Owl Trust which he recommended all eager birdwatchers to join.
Identifying birdsong takes lots of practice, but Mr Reader can recognise forty. He explained that birdsong is more tuneful
than a bird’s call of two to three notes. A single cheap is used as a warning to other birds and the bird will often fly low. His
particular favourite birdsong is the ‘harmonic Robin.’
To help see which bird is flying above (on the wing), he looks at the silhouette of the bird. He notices if it has a rounded or
square shape tail and questions whether it is the right time of year and likely environment to spot the type of bird. Finally if
you are unable to work out which bird it is, he suggested downloading an RSPB App onto the Ipad, which also helps give
more information, as well as listening to the birdsong.
Places Mr Reader recommends to bird watch locally are:
Behind the Woodland Gym and Gatley’s Pond at the Cranleigh School; Winterfold, where you can spot Nightjars; Sydney
woods in Alfold, and Horsham, where Red Kites are often seen.
Other super places in Britain worth visiting around the coast which delightful for ornithologists are: Chichester Harbour where Egrets can be
seen; Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire; Wales and Farne Island in
Northumberland.
For those who wish to bird watch, he suggests you try looking in trees,
woodland and hedgerows.
You can always look in your garden where you may see: Blue tits, Great
tits, Coal tits, Robin, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Sparrows, Magpies,
Wood pigeons and Doves. Also, to encourage birds to visit your garden,
try hanging feeders in the garden, but watch out for squirrels!
Thank you to Mr Reader for giving up your time to come and chat to us.
P AGE 5
LENT 2015
An update on Abu Dhabi by Head, Brendan Law
By Hebe B, 6S and Freya J, 6Ho
Recently, we interviewed Mr Brendan Law who is currently
Headmaster at Cranleigh Abu Dhabi. Mr Law used to be Head
of Westbourne House School, who we often play sporting
events against. We asked Mr Law why he was currently visiting
the UK. He explained that he was in the UK because he was
interviewing new teachers, as he is currently in the process of
increasing the number of staff in Abu Dhabi. He is hoping to
raise the population of the school from seven hundred and five,
to one thousand by September 2015! We then went on to ask
him about the differences between the two schools. He explained that in Abu Dhabi, between the children, there are 48
different nationalities, whereas it’s a lot less culturally diverse
at Cranleigh UK.
He then went on to explain the different houses in Cranleigh
Abu Dhabi. The house names are comprised of Arabic names
(Zaeem, Sadeeq, Al Sharaf, Etihad) He also said that Cranleigh
UK has boarding whereas Abu Dhabi is still in the process of
developing the boarding structure. Mr Law told us that he is
expanding the school and planning to build 52 new apartments
for staff accommodation.
When we asked Mr Law what his favourite thing about
Cranleigh was, he replied straight away that it was homely and very friendly. If Mr Law had one thing to change
about Cranleigh Abu Dhabi, it would be not having any
building delays when developing the superb school.
Many pupils are interested if there will be any exchanges
between the two schools. Mr Law remarked that there
would definitely be exchanges, and maybe some joint
sporting tours. They are in the process of discussing the
The conversation turned to food and we asked Mr Law what his matter. Mr Law made it very clear that anyone on holiday
favourite dish was at Cranleigh Abu Dhabi. He told us that the in Abu Dhabi is very welcome to visit and he would love
to see more Cranleigh UK pupils visiting soon.
caterers there make “sensational Lebanese food.”
A Tasty Talk for Form 3
By Matilda B, Felicity B, and Izzy J, 3ZB
Martial Arts Master
By Charles H, 6Ho
On Sunday 8th of
March, Jack B was
awarded his Korean
martial art Choi
Kwang Do blackbelt.
This term we had a visit from Mrs Marshall and we learnt all
about chocolate; how it is made; where the different cocoa
beans come from; fair trade for the farmers; the percentage
of cocoa in the chocolate and, most importantly, how to
taste chocolate properly.
We found out that the farmers often don’t get enough money for what they do. By buying Fair-trade chocolate,we help
to support the farmers. With more money, they would be
able to buy more clothes and shoes, improve their houses
and send their children to school.
After four years of
dedication and hard
work every Friday
evening and on Sundays, he took his
hour and a half grading exam. He passed
with flying colours
and is now working
towards his next belt,
the black belt with a
yellow stripe.
T HE B UZZ
P AGE 6
Form Four practise their
journalistic skills
By Freddie M, 4C
Form 4 have been showcasing their writing talent
by producing newspaper articles.
We began by researching our chosen topic and
what a diverse bunch we are! The subjects chosen
ranged from ‘Ebola’ to ‘Politics’ and from
‘Charlie Hebdo’ to ‘Obesity.’ Once we were
armed with our facts , we collated our information into an article on a computer program
called Publisher; a clever program which allows
you to create realistic newspaper articles.
We really enjoyed the whole process and were
thrilled with the finished articles. Mr Carne was
very impressed with the overall standard but was
quick to point out that the article focusing on
obesity was not based on him!
I think there is a lot of talent in Form 4 and we
have many budding journalists in our midst.
Watch this space!
The budding musicians of Cranleigh prep school
By Ella J, 6Ho and Hebe B, 6S
National Choristers and National Musicians
Cranleigh have had high musical success in the last
term with Francesca D, Jack C, Kate W, Ella Wand
Heather A securing places in the National Children’s
Choir, Kate W gaining a place in the National Youth
Girls’ Choir and Jasmine D getting into the National
Children’s Wind Sinfonia.
Furthermore, Fleur M triumphed at the Arun Young
Musicians Festival. After successfully completing the
first round of the festival on 1st November, Fleur was
invited to perform at the Gala Finals Concert. As a result of her stunning performance, she was awarded the
Paul Blackwell Trophy for Young Vocalists (12 years
and under).
Continuing with the success of singing throughout the
school Cranleigh Prep School Chamber Choir sang in a
charity concert at St Nicholas’s Church and in London
at the Brandenburg Choral Festival, receiving lots of
praise and many compliments.
Inter-house Music Competitions
Over the course of three weeks many people in the school
took part in the inter house music competition. Students
went through the heats in their music lessons and the best
were selected for one of four finals. These were the four
finals and the results:
Woodwind and Brass House Music Final: Jasmine D
(Senior Woodwind), William G (Senior Brass), Lottie W
(Junior Woodwind and Brass).
Vocal House Music Final: Ella W (Junior Singing), Ben
M (Form 5 Singing) and Maya M (Form 6 Singing).
Strings and Guitar House Music Final: Katherine E
(Junior Strings), Noah C (Senior Strings) and Richard C
(Guitar).
Piano and Percussion House Music Final: Jemima P
(Percussion), Kate W (Senior Piano), Edward T (Junior
Piano).
Teachers, parents and students all agreed that the level of
music was incredibly high with everyone having an amazing ability to stand in front of their peers to sing or perform. Hopefully, the level at which pupils were performing will continue to impress!
LENT 2015
P AGE 7
Form 1 Rainforest Poetry
Frog
Golden staring eyes as round as a sphere,
Webbed feet climbing onto a tree,
Pitted green skin as if it were a small
lime,
Gently smiling mouth
with its wet tongue lurking inside.
By Emily W
Bee
Delicate glossy wing
flapping,
Hairy legs like a
bush,
Lined curved eye similar to soot,
Fluffy coat as soft as a pillow.
By Archie H
How are you going to discover what Form 2 have been doing in Computing?
Form 2 have been introduced to coding in their Computing lessons this term. They have been challenged to design, create and
publish their apps. If you have a QR reader app on your smartphone or tablet device, you can scan these QR codes to see them
work.
A QR code (Quick response code) is a two-dimensional barcode. It is a machine-readable optical label, that contains information about the item to which it is attached.
Can you pop all three
balloons?
By Mattie W, 2S
Can you move the shark
and gobble up the
octopuses?
By Sasha P, 2R
Can you move the snake
to gobble up the eggs?
By Rory G, 2S
Can you use the keys to
move the spaceship
around the snow maze?
By Evie M, 2S
T HE B UZZ
P AGE 8
House Cross Country
By Freya J , 6Ho
On the 30th of January, House Cross Country
took place. All the houses were out battling in
the mud to try and win house points. There was a
minute silence at the beginning of the race to
remember Austin Neve. Many parents braved the
cold weather to support the event and we were
grateful for their support.
Lower School set of first to run their 1km race.
The older years were very supportive and
cheered them on throughout the race.
While the Lower School children went to the
Keppie Area and enjoyed a cup of tomato soup
the middle forms where lining up. Everyone in
the Middle School was buzzing. Many were heard
saying they ‘needed the toilet’ and where ‘tired
already’! It was very tense race once again!
Finally, the Upper School piled into the starting
lines. When the horn was pressed a surge of children sprinted out and started the mammoth 3km.
Many complaints where heard but everyone
pulled through. A huge thank you for Mr Manning for organising it; I am sure everyone enjoyed
it really!
The top 6 runners in each year then represented
the school at the Eagle House Cross Country,
where the U13 boys and U11 girls came 1st in
their age groups and the U13 girls came 2nd. CPS
had many great individual results. Well done!
Horse Riders Jump
For Joy
By Zoe B, 6Ha and Lila M, 6W
The riders did themselves proud at the Nationals, with one team taking the silver position and the other team with the bronze. The Mini
Arena Eventing team also finished with a bronze position. Their Novice and Intermediate counterparts made the final line-up of the top
eight teams. Lila M took sixth place individually in the mini event.
Will M, Freddie M, Issy H and Jess E are going to be a force to be
reckoned within the Mini Team, even though they just missed out in
placing in the Nationals this time
round. Katie L, Jess E, Amy Sand
Lila M took second place for the
A team in the Novice Competition and Lila also took a seventh
place individually.
Swimming success
By Maya M, 6Ho and Max F, 6S
An exciting start to our term was the Guildford & District Championships in January, and here we came together as a whole team
with Cranleigh Senior School. This year CPS took a young team
from 7yrs –U13yrs and many swam ‘up a year.’ A special well
done to James M who swam up 2 years! Here we won the Overall
Mixed Schools Championships Shield; the title was last taken by CPS 14
years ago. The U10 Girls also won the Overall Girls U10’s Trophy,
the U11 Girls who came 3rd and lastly the U11 Boys placed overall
2nd.
Our second gala in February was against one of our main IAPS
competitors, Feltonfleet, who we beat 212 to 134. CPS won 26
races out 27, a fine achievement.
Next, we took a young CPS team the Surrey Individual Championships. This event involved the CPS Middle and Senior school and
Cranleigh School Seniors. Swimmers over the age of 12 had to
swim 100m races. The big test came when we hosted the IAPS Preliminary Regional Rounds, where 6 other schools attended with
100 children participating. The results will be released at the end of
March for those who have qualified for the Finals on 9th May.
Coming up soon is the Independent Schools Bath Cup; Schools Biathlon Championships (at the Olympic Aquatic Centre) and our last
away gala against Highfield. We couldn’t have managed our success
this term without some exceptional swimming from our younger
squad. However, we must thank the team as a whole for all their
enormous efforts and a special thank you to our U13’s for setting
such an inspirational example of “hard work equals great success.”
Swimmers who won the Mixed Schools Championship Shield
‘The Buzz’ is printed on recycled paper