At St. Margaret’s we are proud of our achievements as a school, from the success of our children both inside and outside of the classroom, to the range of activities and events we take part in and celebrate throughout the school year from Nursery to Year 6.
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Year 6 are Proud of their Learning Journeys
26th April 2023Every year our Year 6 pupils achieve such excellent outcomes, and this year is no exception. Their achievements have resulted in a fantastic range of Grammar school and Independent school offers including a very impressive 27 scholarships. These outstanding results are a tribute to the ability and hard work of our pupils, and the dedication of our amazing staff. At St. Margaret's we aim to
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Positive Parents
25th April 2023We were delighted once again by the positive responses to our annual Voice of the Parent survey where the overwhelming responses were extremely positive, with parents telling us how happy both their children and they are with every aspect of the school and nursery. What we're doing well..... Our People Are Incredible The leadership, teaching and professional team show an unwavering commitment, warmth and energy.
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Spotlight: Modern Foreign Languages
31st January 2023Our MFL teacher, Madame Oakley, is passionate about teaching French and Spanish to all our pupils. Here, she explains how she tailors her teaching programme for each age group, from our 2 year olds in Nursery up to 11 years old, making sure they are ready for senior school. Bonjour! My name is Madame Oakley and I am the French and Spanish teacher at St
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St Margaret's Bear's NASA Adventure
12th December 2022During British Science Week back in March, we welcomed Sian Cleaver from NASA’s Artemis Programme. Sian, who is Year 1 pupil, Theo's Aunt, is an Industrial Manager for the Orion European Service Module – which is the part of the Artemis rocket that carries the astronauts supplies. Sian enjoyed her time at St Margaret’s, working with the pupils on their egg rover lander experiments, so
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ISA National Swimming Finals
6th December 2022Huge well done to Carter, Year 5 and Louis, Year 6 for representing St Margaret's Prep and Team ISA East Anglia at the ISA National Swimming Finals on Saturday 3rd December. Having won their heats at the regionals in October, they travelled to the Olympics pool at the London Aquatics Centre where they competed as part of relay teams for their Year groups, made of
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Charity of the Year Announced
5th December 2022We are pleased to announce that our school charity of the year is Unicef. Following a long process of carefully researching charities that are supporting current causes, the House Captains presented their ideas to all children and teachers in their House. Following this, the shortlisted charities were picked by lolly stick, leaving the four contenders: British Red Cross – Nugent – presented by Delilah and
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School of the Year Winners!
16th November 2022We are all so proud to have won 'School of the Year' at the Cognita 'O'wards. The gala awards ceremony took place during Cognita's European Leadership Conference, with around 80 schools in attendance from the UK and Europe. The judges took into consideration a combination of our positive voice of the parent and voice of the employee results, along with our ‘excellent’ ISI rating and
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Prep4Sport U11's Challenge Cup Football Tournament
27th October 2022Report by Sports Captains Harry and Louis Most of the team travelled the 3 ½ hours with their parents, to the Hilton at St George’s Park, Burton-on-Trent on the Friday night. It heavily rained the whole way and we arrived late; we were tired but also really excited. St. George’s Park is England football team’s training ground and is also home of the Football Association
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NSEA Bronze Medallists
12th September 2022Mr Lunn's Report: During the summer, our show jumping team have been hard at work preparing for the National Schools Equestrian Association (NSEA) National Championships. Both parents and children made the trip to the All-England showground at Hickstead on the 22nd of August to set up camp. We qualified for this show throughout the year at regional qualifiers and regional championships where we have competed consistently
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Introducing Miss Dack
24th August 2022We're really excited to have Miss Chloe Dack join us in September to teach sports across the whole school and to be a Year 6 form tutor. Job title: Games & Year 6 teacher Where did you work before, what did you teach? Previously I was a Sports Graduate and then completed my PGCE in Primary PE at Bancroft's Prep School. Why did you decide
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Introducing Miss Guilfoyle-Smith
24th August 2022We're delighted to welcome Miss Cariad Guilfoyle-Smith to the Nursery team this September. She has always wanted to work with children and we think think she'll have a great time looking after our youngest pupils! Job title: Nursery Practitioner Where did you work before? Hedingham Castle Why did you decide to become a nursery practitioner? Having 8 younger siblings, I’ve always been around children and
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ISA Athletics Nationals Medal Success!
14th June 2022On Monday 13th June 5 athletes and their families made the long trip to Manchester for the annual National Athletics Finals. The children had to qualify for this at the regional qualifiers last month by winning their races or events against the rest of East Anglia. With the 5 competitors being successful in the regionals they would now represent East Anglia in the event and
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Introducing Miss Zoe Harlington
13th June 2022We are delighted to welcome Miss Zoe Harlington to the St Margaret's Family today. Due to the popularity of our Nursery, and our promise to ensure high quality individual care for each child, we have expanded the Nursery Team and are delighted that Zoe has joined us. She has extensive experience in Nursery and Reception settings and working with children both in the UK and
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Football Tournament Champions
25th May 2022On Friday 21st May, for the first time, St Margaret’s were able to take three football teams to St Joseph’s College for an U10/11s boys and girls football tournament. The PE Department have been working with the boys’ teams in lessons and at club across the year and have been working with the girls’ team in lunchtime clubs this term where they showed a real
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ISA National Triathlon Team Success
17th May 2022On Friday 13th May, four children, along with their families, made the trip to Ipswich High School for the National Triathlon. At this competition the children came up against schools from all over the country, as well as strong club and county competitors. The children competed in the TriStar2 competition, which was made up of a 200m swim, 3km cycle and a 1.8km run. The
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ISA Tag Rugby Tournament Match Report
3rd May 2022St Margaret’s pupils attended the ISA Tag Rugby tournament at Woodlands school on Thursday 28th April, we were to compete against 4 schools to battle it out for a place in the final. 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 for scoring 4 tries in the fixture and finally 1 point for a losing team if they were only 1 try behind
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Amazing Achievements by Year 6
21st April 2022We are incredibly proud of our 2021/22 Year 6 pupils who have stepped up to the challenges of the last few years of prep school life, they've pushed themselves academically as well as developing their talents in extra-curricular activities, they've taken on their prefect roles with pride and have generally been great role models for the younger pupils. We are delighted to announce that the
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Positive Parent Feedback
29th March 2022Once again we have been overwhelmed by the positive responses to our annual Voice of the Parent survey. 66% or our parent body completed the survey and we are delighted that the huge majority of them told us how happy both their children and they are with every aspect of the school and nursery. More than a school, we're a family “The children love the
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Shooting for the Stars during Science Week
24th March 2022For British Science Week (11-20 March), we welcomed a very special visitor from NASA’s Artemis Programme. Sian Cleaver, who grew up in Chelmsford and now lives in Germany working for Airbus, is an Industrial Manager for the Orion European Service Module. Her team builds the service module which will carry the crew’s supplies on NASA’s Orion spacecraft: the spacecraft used in the Artemis missions taking
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ISA Cross Country National Championships Results
24th March 2022We're incredibly proud of our six pupils who qualified for the ISA National Cross Country Championship and travelled to Nottinghamshire to represent St. Margaret's and the East Anglia region. Saturday 19th March was a bright sunny day at Worksop College and there was a great atmosphere at the event as our children were cheered on by their families and Mrs Moss and Mrs Blackburne. Results:
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Work for Homework in aid of Ukraine
21st March 2022Following an assembly where we learned more about the crisis in the Ukraine and all about the different charities that are helping, Mrs Moss set a school-wide 'work for homework' challenge. Instead of doing their usual 20-30 mins homework each evening, the children were to discuss with their parents what chores they could do and negotiate a rate for the chores. They then decided how
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Double Win at U9s Hockey Tournament
21st March 2022On Thursday 10th March, some of our Year 3 and 4 children took part in the annual Littlegarth Hockey tournament. This year we have particularly strong U9 hockey teams and we were very excited to get to the tournament and see what our A and B teams could do up against many other local prep schools. The A team was made up of Euan, Bear,
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Equestrian Team Success
22nd February 2022Well done to the five budding showjumpers who went to Beechwood Equestrian Centre for the regional qualifiers on Thursday 10th February. Hara-Leyani, Charlie, Angus, Francesca and Jack achieved Team 1st place! There was also much success in the individual events: Individual Francesca - 1st Jack - 2nd Angus - 3rd Charlie 50cm - 3rd 60cm- 2nd 70cm- 1st Best under 6 Angus - 1st We
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ISA Eastern Region Cross Country Championships Results
22nd February 2022On Friday 11th February, we took 22 pupils from across years 3 to 6 to Finborough School for the ISA Eastern Region Cross Country Championships. Everyone did extremely well, for most it was their first ever cross country event, and it was a big event, with 20 schools taking part. Each race had approximately 85-100 runners. Huge well done to the Year 5/6 Girls team
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Sporting Successes
2nd February 2022Following a two year break in competitive sports fixtures due to the covid pandemic, we were delighted to return back to the pitches, courts and pools at the start of this academic year. We have been super impressed with all our teams' commitment, determination and teamwork. In just one term we have celebrated so many successes and achievements. ISA Regional swimming- 5 competitors ISA National
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Meet Mrs Lyndie Gladen
5th January 2022Job title: Reception teacher Where did you work before? I have been a primary teacher for 14 years. Before becoming a teacher, I worked in a hospital supporting medical secretaries in the Ophthalmology department. Why did you decide to become a teacher? Being a teacher has been a lifelong goal from when I was a little girl. I always enjoyed school and had wonderful primary
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Introducing Miss Heather
5th January 2022Miss Mairyn Heather joined us for a few days before the festive break and the Nursery children love her already! We're delighted to have as part of the St Margaret's family. Job title: Nursery Practitioner Where did you work before? Before starting at St Margaret’s I had been working part time in a plumbing and heating office, however before that I have worked in education
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Introducing Ms Clare Hornabrook
4th January 2022We're delighted to welcome Mrs Hornabrook to the Nursery team. Job title: Nursery Practitioner Where did you work before? I was a Learning Support Assistant at John Ray Junior school, supporting a boy in year 6 who is type 1 diabetic. Why did you decide to become a Nursery Practitioner? Growing up I was an only child, so I looked forward to family gatherings with
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Celebrating an Excellent Inspection Outcome
25th November 2021“Pupils show respect and are inclusive of everyone in the school community. Those new to the school commented on how easy it is to settle in quickly due to the very welcoming behaviour that is prevalent.” ISI, 2021 We are very proud and delighted to announce that we have achieved the highest rating of ‘excellent’ following our latest inspection. The Inspectorate of Schools (ISI) report,
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Global Well Day 2021
7th October 2021For this year's Global Be Well Day, the whole school enjoyed activities to help them be active, creative and relaxed. After some fun school dances on the playground to get everyone warmed up and ready for the day, we took a nature ramble around our local countryside to find leaves, twigs and other materials for the art project. The pupils were then put into mixed
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Fundraising ChariTea Party
28th September 2021At the start of every academic year, one of the first jobs for our newly appointed Heads of School is to arrange a fundraising event for MacMillan Cancer Support. This was the first year since the COVID pandemic that were able to invite parents in to school to attend the event. Isla, Oliver and William (with some help from their parents) organised an Afternoon Tea
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ISA Awards 2021
21st September 2021We are delighted to announce that we are finalists and have also been highly commended in the prestigious 2021 ISA Awards. ISA Award for Outstanding Sport (Large School) - Finalist We have been shortlisted for the hard work of the Sports Department for the 2020/21 academic year, which included online learning during the second lockdown and teaching in year group bubbles. Despite the COVID-related restrictions
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Introducing our new Nursery Practitioners
14th September 2021We're delighted to have two new team members in the Nursery - Mrs Jennifer Kerby is looking after our Butterflies and Mrs Clare Wood is working with our Caterpillars. Mrs Jennifer Kerby Where did you work before? I haven't been in a nursery for a long time! I have been a private nanny for the past 6 years, all over the UK and the world. My
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Introducing Year 1 teacher, Miss Sweeting
5th August 2021We are looking forward to Miss Johanna Sweeting joining the St. Margaret's Family in September as a Year 1 form teacher. Miss Sweeting came into school before the summer holidays to meet everyone and we took the opportunity to quiz her to find out more about her! Where did you work before? I have spent the last 15 years teaching in a rural village school
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Lights, Camera, Action! Year 6 Leavers Film
22nd July 2021Due to COVID- restrictions, our Year 6 leavers had missed out on so many 'rights of passage' including a traditional Speech Day and the end of year musical theatre production, for which our year 6 pupils would audition for the major roles. Our pupils feed 16 secondary schools and the end of Summer production is an emotionally charged performance and greatly anticipated event before they
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Ending the Year on a High
6th July 2021Despite the June 21st 'Freedom Day' being pushed back, we still managed to ensure that our pupils finished the academic year on a high. Mrs Moss and the team worked hard to make sure that end of term activities and rites of passage for our Year 6 leavers could go ahead, albeit adapted to follow COVID safety regulations. Sports Day - Friday 25th June We
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Charity Day Stars
30th June 2021On Wednesday 30th June, we enjoyed a fun-filled Charity Day, with activities including volleyball, boules, frisbee football, design a wand, yoga, Giant Jenga limbo, Lego, bubble disco, sandcastle building, fancy dress photo booth, pebble painting and lots more! Phew! Well done to Mrs Lunn and Knight House Captains, Noa and Sebastian for organising such a fantastic day! The day started with a reminder of what
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Meet Mr Gareth Sanders
21st June 2021Where did you work before? I worked at The Gilberd School in Colchester teaching KS3 and 4 PE along with some experience with KS3 Science, I also taught some Dance. Prior to this I lectured on Sport Science courses at West Suffolk College. Why did you decide to become a teacher? I believe that all young people deserve a great education. Originally studying sports coaching,
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Introducing Mr Jared Lunn
21st June 2021Where did you work before? I worked at St Thomas More School in Southend-on-Sea, teaching PE, Science, STEM and Duke of Edinburgh. Why did you decide to become a teacher? After a very positive experience at school myself, as well as growing up with brilliant sporting role models, at the age of 16 I began coaching at a local primary school. Whilst working at that
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Meet our new Head of Early Years
21st June 2021When did you join St. Margaret’s? I have now been at St Margaret’s for four years. I started in Year 3 where I worked for three years and have spent the last year teaching Year 1. Before joining St Margaret’s I worked at a British international school in Dubai. Why did you decide to become a teacher? I have always loved working with children. During
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Healthy Eating Week: Meet our chef
16th June 2021It is Healthy Eating Week, and we thought it a good opportunity to properly introduce our very own chef, Justin Di-Marco. Justin works for our school caterer, Thomas Franks Ltd and started working at St. Margaret’s in November 2017. Justin is also dad to Monty, who is in Reception. What did you do before working here? I am a classically trained chef, having attended catering
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Engineering Day
15th June 2021Year 5 and Year 6 spent Monday 14th June 2021 working on an Engineering Project designed by a team from the Engineering Department at the University of Cambridge. They watched video presentations to introduce them to the environmental challenges that will face engineers in the future and were introduced to different bridge designs. The children completed written work that was submitted as part of their
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Anti-Bullying Ambassadors Appointed
5th May 2021At St. Margaret’s we believe that a happy child is a successful child and we are serious about providing a safe, caring, kind and friendly environment for all the St. Margaret’s family. As well as being awarded a Gold Award from the All Together programme by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, being a Stonewall School Champion, running a Girls on Board Programme and being a Halo School,
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Praise from our Parents
18th March 2021We are delighted with the positive responses to our recent Voice of the Parent annual survey. The huge majority of the 128 parents that completed it told us how happy both their children and they were with every aspect of the school. Caring, friendly and nurturing environment “It’s not just the high standard of education, it’s all the extra bits too which makes for happy
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A bright future for Year 6
15th March 2021We are incredibly proud of our 2020/21 Year 6 cohort for their resilience and hard work during the most challenging time of their academic lives. Not only have they had to deal with two lockdown's forcing them to undertake online learning at home. They have also had to adapt to a new way of life back at school, including keeping to year bubbles, no school
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Meet our Deputy Head
5th March 2021We are delighted that Mrs Charlotte Mackle is taking the post of Deputy Head. Mrs Mackle joined in 2003 and has been a member of our Leadership Team for four years as Head of Prep. She currently teachers Year 5 and is our Head of Maths too.
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Proud to be a Halo School
1st March 2021Introducing the Halo Code We are excited to announce that St. Margaret's has adopted The Halo Code, the UK's first Black hair code, the UK's first Black hair code. No Black staff or students should have to change their natural or protective hairstyle in order to thrive at our school. We hope that the Halo Code will move us one step closer to a world
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Our Story: 75 Years of St. Margaret's
4th February 2021This National Storytelling Week, we are thinking about the stories of St. Margaret's over the 75 years since it was founded in 1946. We hope to celebrate across this 75th anniversary year by sharing stories, memories and pictures from former pupils and staff. But where better place to start the story of St. Margaret's, than with the timeline of the school and its Headteachers! 1946
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Music & Drama Education Awards Nomination
1st February 2021We are delighted to announce that our Director of Performances, Mrs Claudia Gray, has been shortlisted in the 2021 Music & Drama Education Awards. Mrs Gray, is nominated for the Drama Inspiration Award for writing and directing the Year 6 leavers film, 'Our story of resilience'. The Music & Drama Education Awards are being celebrated with an extra special virtual ceremony on the 24th March
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Successful transition back to Online Teaching & Learning
7th January 2021As we enter another lockdown, we have transitioned back to our Online Teaching and Learning Programme for all school aged children, using online learning platforms Tapestry and Seesaw and Microsoft Teams for live face-to-face teaching. Designed around the St. Margaret’s curriculum, our children continue to receive the high-level programme of study that they would be working to when in school. Our online teaching provision was
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Meet Nursery Practitioners Miss Jamil & Miss Fraser
4th January 2021Miss Sophie Jamil When did you join St. Margaret’s? I joined in January 2021, but I was a pupil myself from 2001 – 2009! What did you do before? I graduated from Oxford Brookes University in 2020 with a Sociology degree, and I was also a nursery assistant for several different nurseries in Oxford. I also currently run my own small earring business, “Love Minimal”. Why did
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Introducing new teacher, Mr Perkins
4th January 2021Job title: Graduate Sports Assistant When did you join St. Margaret’s? 1st January 2021 What did you do before? I was at Suffolk New College, where I completed my PGCE Teacher Training. Why did you decide to become a
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Helping local disadvantaged families
30th November 2020Every Autumn, for Harvest Festival we collect donations for the Braintree Area Foodbank. This year, more than ever, donations were vital for local families and we are very proud of our St Margaret's Family for generously donating 177.26kg of much needed food and household goods. We have also been collecting for the Foodbank during November as part of their Reverse Advent Calendar fundraiser, with donations
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Thinking outside the box to help disadvantaged children
30th November 2020We have once again teamed up with the Halstead Rotary Club to make sure disadvantaged children get a Christmas present this year, through their annual shoebox appeal. Our families packed boxes with gifts for children, babies and adults to make sure even some of the most disadvantaged people in Europe get a present this Christmas. Our families and staff donated an amazing 84 filled boxes
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Introducing new teacher, Mrs Rutter
13th August 2020Job title: Prep Teacher When did you join St Margaret’s? August 2020 Where did you work before and what did you do? I worked at Herington House Preparatory School as the Form 1 teacher and was also the lead for Maths and English. I also coached their Netball team. Why did you decide to become a teacher? I love the fact that working with children
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Meet the Head - Mrs Carolyn Moss
7th August 2020When did you join St. Margaret’s? I started as a part-time Y6 maths teacher in September 2004 and was given the Y4 class in September 2005. One of the first pupils in through my classroom door was Imogen Blackburne, Mrs Blackburne's eldest daughter, and this was at a time when Mrs Blackburne didn't work at St Mags! Where did you work before and what did
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Headteacher Appointment Announced
7th August 2020I am delighted to confirm the appointment of Mrs Carolyn Moss as Headteacher of St Margaret’s Preparatory School with immediate effect. At this most testing of times for the country, Mrs Moss has provided superb leadership to the school community as it has responded admirably to the unprecedented challenges presented by recent events. This has been reflected in the extremely positive response of both children
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Parents Praise Return to School
1st July 2020The whole team at St Margaret's has worked hard to ensure the smooth and safe return to school for ALL our year groups and we are delighted with the positive comments we have received from our parents. "I could not have wished for a better return to school. This pandemic has made it clear that St Margaret's really is a family oriented school. They
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Online Teaching & Learning - Getting it right
21st May 2020Back in March, we were able to react to the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic sprung upon schools. We carefully and meticulously planned our online teaching and learning programme, making every effort to ensure that our pupils are still getting an excellent education. We are successfully delivering the Summer Term curriculum as planned. A school day timetable is being followed and classes are led by
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Introducing new teacher, Miss Jessica Wiggins
21st April 2020Job title: Year 4 Teacher When did you join St. Margaret’s? April 2020 Where did you work before and what did you do (if not teaching)? My last job was as KS2 Phase Leader, Maths Coordinator and Year 6 teacher at Gosfield School. Why did you decide to become a teacher? I ran a kid’s club on a holiday camp one summer and realised how
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Our Story
5th February 2020In 1961 the school was sold to W.A. Lindsey Coulbourn MBE, B.Sc. (Econ) and continued as a co-educational day school for children from 4 – 11 years of age with more than 100 pupils. Boys, reaching a sufficiently high standard, could remain at the school until 12 or 13 to take scholarship or Common Entrance examinations. In April 1988 Mr. Coulbourn retired and the school
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Global Be Well Day at St Margaret’s
11th September 2019On Friday 27th September, St Margaret’s will join over 45,000 children and young people around the world to mark Global Be Well Day, a worldwide event led by Cognita, our worldwide family of over 70 schools. All children will be taking part in activities designed to expand their and parents’ understanding of wellbeing during the day. In the run up, on Thursday 26th September, parents
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It's a write off!
17th June 2019In a world of keyboards, good handwriting is still a highly-valued skill that should be nurtured and celebrated. And at St Margaret's we have two reasons to celebrate having won two awards in the national ISA Handwriting competition. Sylvia G was the winner of Year 3-4 Girls; whilst Sophie C was highly commended in Year 5-6 Girls. Congratulations, super work!
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We’re a new SuperCamps venue for 2019!
5th June 2019Book by 24th June and get 10% off!* These fun, multi-activity sessions for children aged 4-12 are more than just childcare, with messy play, games, art, crafts and sport, plus great partnerships like LEGO© building challenges and Teddy Bear Mountain for teddy designing. With a host of activities organised each day, children are all treated as individuals and can participate as much as they
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Nursery and Reception get hands-on with some amazing creatures
21st May 2019What a super morning getting to meet some fascinating animals brought along by Lottie from Wild Science. Nursery and Reception children were very excited to high-five a tarantula, hold a tree frog, pet a water dragon, stroke a giant millipede and tickle the tummy of an albino hedgehog. Plus there were lots of cuddles with Lottie’s lop-eared rabbit and guinea pigs. We learned about the
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Year 6 were flying high at PGL
14th May 2019Last week saw our brave Year 6 pupils and staff literally take to the air at PGL Bawdsey Manor in Suffolk. Facing their fears and participating in breath-taking activities like abseiling, zipwire and a giant swing controlled by your classmates, Year 6 literally had to risk it all with leaps of faith and stepping out into the dark. And there was a fair amount of
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'Disco Lab' proves a hit with St Margaret's pupils
29th April 2019The Discovery Lab was officially opened on Friday 26th April at St Margaret’s Preparatory School in Gosfield. It was funded by St Margaret’s Parent Association through a variety of events from bake sales to quiz nights, family bingo and a summer ball. Pupils were invited to name the facility and design a logo. The winning entry by John Gacho Lopez in Year 4 has been made into a professional sign
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Christmas Holiday Homework
18th December 2018Holiday Homework! We are delighted that the whole school is having some really useful and fun holiday homework for the Christmas break and it's a homework that can be done anywhere. Each child is being asked to: undertake some litter picking, and supply a photo of them doing it somewhere special to them. This ties in with our charity for the year, which is
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Essex Uni Writing Competition 2018
6th December 2018Essex University recently held a Creative Writing Competition with children’s author James Campbell (BoyFace and The Funny Life of Pets) on the lookout to find the next generation of talented authors and illustrators from across Essex. The competition was open to Key Stage 1 and 2, and was designed to inspire children from across Essex to delve deep into their imaginations! The theme this
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Sporting Superstars!
3rd December 2018For a small independent school St. Margaret’s Prep School has achieved some remarkable sporting results in the last couple of weeks. On Thursday 22nd November a team of Year 6 girls represented the school at the Independent Schools Association National Hockey Tournament at Lea Valley Olympic Park. Conceding only one goal throughout all of their matches, the girls eventually finished 6th of 16 schools. Wednesday
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Girls on Board
20th November 2018Girls on Board is an approach which helps girls, their parents and their teachers to understand the complexities and dynamics of girl friendships. The language, methods and ideas empower girls to solve their own friendship problems and recognises that they are usually the only ones who can. By empowering girls to find their own solutions, parents need worry less, schools can focus more on the curriculum
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The Parents' Association Christmas Fair
16th November 2018Dylan, in Year 5, was sitting at a desk in 'late waiters' while his mother was helping to set up and run a stall at the Parents' Association Christmas Fair on Wednesday 14th November. Unprompted he decided to write down what he saw, and we thought that this was just too brilliant not to share with our school community: 'The listening black, bare skeletons stand
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Creative writing - My Robot - by Maya E (4C)
2nd October 2018We are delighted to share an example of some fabulous creative writing: My Robot Story It was a cold, wet, miserable day and nine year old Alex was tired of doing her boring homework (she says it’s too easy for her!). Alex decided to build a robot to do all her homework for her. She builds a huge, monstrous robot and decided to call it
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Mrs Easton's Trip to Guatemala
11th September 2018I was fortunate this summer to go on a “trip of a lifetime” to Guatemala In a small group, we travelled around the country with the UK’s only Maya archaeologist, Dr Diane Davies, as our leader. From Diane and her many friends, we learnt about how the Maya live today and how the ancient Maya lived. This involved getting up at 4.00 am, walking through
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Celebrating two National Athletics Champions!
29th June 2018St Margaret’s are absolutely delighted to have two National Athletics Champions this year! Skyla Lawrence in Year 6 became the Year 6 Girls’ Long Jump Champion (4.01 metres), and Roberta Dines in Year 5 became the Year 5 Girls’ High Jump Champion (1.25 metres) at the Independent Schools Association National Finals in Birmingham on Wednesday 19th June The children were all representing East Anglia at
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Ava and Orla, fundraising for St. Clare
3rd May 2018Ava and Orla Brobyn wanted to do something to help raise money for St Clare Hospice based in Hastingwood, Essex, who have been doing so much to support their family since their father, Conor, was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. The girls, both pupils at St. Margaret's, asked if they could sell items from the charity at school to raise funds. With the support
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ISA Eastern Region U11 Netball
1st February 2018Eleven girls from Year 5 & 6 travelled to the ISA Eastern Regional Junior Netball Competition at Alleyn Court School in Southend on Wednesday 31st January. The games were quick-fire and strongly contested but St. Margaret's managed to win all five of their preliminary matches to set up a semi-final match against the host school, Alleyn Court, which they won to send them through to
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Work for Homework
7th December 2017As part of our PSHEE syllabus we look at economic factors of modern life, teaching the children about money, the world of work and taxation in an age appropriate way. We decided to build upon this by asking all parents and children to undertake a Work for Homework initiative that would give the children the opportunity to discuss some of these key ideas in a real-world setting.
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Year 2 Trip to RAF Hendon
2nd October 2017On Wednesday, Year 2 went to RAF Hendon (Luca P). It was a very long journey to get to RAF Hendon and the bus was very bumpy (Pandora). I sat next to Tia and we looked at the cars – they were so small. I called them mini cars! (Esme) We went in the massive building in RAF Hendon. It was magnificent! (Evie) The
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New Nursery - Now Open!
17th May 2017The new Nursery, which has been designed by Charles Tashima Architecture, London, will compliment the existing school buildings, the main part of which is a listed, 18th Century former Coach House and stable block. The new building will replace two smaller existing nursery rooms creating one large open plan classroom. Careful planning and design means there will be a larger footprint and the purpose designed
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Our Charity Day Tuesday 4th April, 2017 for Tusk
29th March 2017In the Autumn Term every child in the school was given a chance to vote for the charity that we will support this year - an important opportunity for the children to experience democracy in action! After a very strong representation from all our our house captains, each putting forward a case as to why their chosen charity should receive our support, it was an
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U10A New Hall Netball Tournament - Friday 10th March
13th March 2017The New Hall Netball tournament is notorious for its high standards of Netball and today was no exception. St. Margaret's were drawn in Pool A and faced our first opponent, New Hall 'A' team. As always the first game is always a little scrappy. Both teams were still warming up [...]
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St. Margaret's Art Exhibition 2017
9th March 2017We know that the standard of art at St. Margaret's is pretty special - now here is your chance to come along and take a good look at some of the brilliant work. 3rd - 5th April in the Library and the Gallery - at either end of the school [...]
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Safer Internet Day 2017
13th February 2017On Friday 10th February we celebrated Safer Internet Day with an afternoon of assemblies and activities throughout the whole school, aimed at promoting safe, responsible and respectful behaviour online. Our ICT prefects delivered a whole- school assembly on E Safety and then we split into our forms to get involved [...]
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Our Christmas gift in 2016
14th December 2016Instead of giving the children a small gift this year, we have decided to put that money into something different that we thought the children would approve of. We are working with Ethiopiahope, to sponsor two children, a four year old girl, Tigust, and a four year old boy, Yohanas, [...]
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Christmas Carols at Gosfield Hall
7th December 2016Gosfield Hall Wedding Venue host a wonderful Christmas Lunch for the elderly in Gosfield village each year. This year 72 of our children were invited to sing for them after their meal. The children arrived early, and were treated to a fantastic ‘Hogwarts’ style lunch all seated at a very [...]
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Our Charity for 2016-2017 is Tusk
30th November 2016Drum roll please..... After an overwhelming vote in their favour, our charity of the year this year is Tusk.... Congratulations to Rolfe, our Green House, and their Captains, Muiris and Miya, for putting together such a strong case. Congratulations to all of the other houses for their brilliant research and [...]
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Sofia's super swim
28th November 2016Sofia A, a current Year 6 pupil, recently participated in an astonishing swimming challenge for her swimming club. Sofia swims for Halstead Swimming Club, and they were all recently challenged to participate in a twelve hour, overnight, swim to raise funds for the club, and also for the East Anglian [...]
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Let's talk about the weather!
25th November 2016The weather In these dark and blustery days, the Reception classes have been learning about the weather. It’s something we take for granted that a child can identify what the day is like, is it hot or cold? But surprisingly this is a subject which can really get children thinking [...]
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Cut Hedge Cross Country Trophy 2016
25th November 2016Defending Champions St. Margaret’s faced some tough competition at this year’s Cut Hedge Trophy. First up it was the Girls to race, consisting of an A Team from Years 5/6 and a B Team from Years 3/4. Great running in the early part of the race saw Lauren MP, Sofia [...]
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Forest School arrives at St. Margaret's!
18th November 2016Working in partnership with Sue Harrison from Branching Out-Woods, the school is introducing Forest School for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 students from January 2017. The Forest School approach originated from Scandinavia where children spend most of their time in the outdoors and the learning is child-led; following the [...]
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St. Margaret's Young Sailors
17th October 2016Imogen P, aged 10, in Year 6 has been invited to join the National Sailing East Zone Optimist squad. This is an incredible achievement and is the culmination of 18 months of dedicated training and competing in all weathers and conditions all over the country. Imogen, and Year 6 classmate [...]
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Scott - Top of the Essex Leaderboard!
4th October 2016Scott, who is in Year 6, was selected to play for Essex just over a year ago. He has had success in both the 9 & Under and now in the 10 & Under categories. We are delighted to announce that he has just been presented with a medal [...]
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National Championships at Hickstead
29th September 2016The Sunshine Tour is a national equestrian competition for amateur riders. Qualifying competitions took place across all disciplines throughout the year, culminating in the National Championships, which are held at Hickstead - England’s most famous showground. Throughout 2016 Lauren, Isabelle, Helene and Sophia, some of the members of our Equestrian [...]
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Our new chef, Kezie English
14th September 2016Welcome to Kezie English who has joined the team at St. Margaret's as the new chef. Kezie has three young children, but prior to having a family she worked in London within contract catering at companies including RBS and Ernst & Young. Her claim to fame was working at Channel [...]
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Essex Air Ambulance - Final total
12th September 2016It has become a tradition that the children at St. Margaret's choose which is going to be the Charity that we support each year. The process starts with a house meeting run by the House Captains. Each of the four houses then elects a charity to support and presents that [...]
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Outstanding results at the ISA Regional Athletics
17th June 2016We are very proud of all the athletes who competed at Garon’s Park on Monday 10th June in the ISA Regional Athletics competition. We did extraordinarily well and won a new school record of 25 medals, with 8 children qualifying for the National Finals in Birmingham on 29th June! [...]
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Gemma's Farm visit to The Nursery at St. Margaret's
8th June 2016Nursery and Transition are too little to take out on school visits so the next best thing is to bring the farm into school to see them! A picnic lunch in the orchard was a perfect ending to the ‘day out’. The Early Years play area was transformed into a [...]
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St. Margaret's vs Felsted U11B 'Ashes' tournament
27th May 2016Wednesday 25th May saw the deciding match in the Felsted vs St Margarets’ Under 11 B “Ashes”. The three match series has been a tradition for a number of years now with a magnificent trophy on offer and, having lost the first and won the second game, the title was [...]
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Proud to be 'Essex Boys'
23rd May 2016St. Margaret's are delighted to announce that we now have two of our Prep School boys who have been selected to represent Essex. Scott B (5M) has been competing for the Essex 10U Boys Tennis Squad since last summer and now Freddie K (also from 5M) has been selected for [...]
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Stella's 'Ace' Story
20th April 2016For the second year running one of the pupils from Yr. 6 at St. Margaret's has made it through the first round of the Chris Evans Breakfast Show's 500 Words Competition. Last year Isobel M-F, who was then in Year 5, made it through the first round, and this year [...]