Preps and Juniors Concert: Simon Mayor and Hilary James

Posted: 20th October 2017

Miss Westley tells us about the Prep and Junior School’s visit from musical entertainers Simon Mayor and Hilary James on Thursday 19th October, a great way to end Junior Assessment Week:

“On Thursday afternoon the girls enjoyed a lively afternoon of music presented by Hilary James and Simon Mayor. Everybody sang along to lots of funny songs with silly actions including ‘gobble gobble gobble’ and ‘a flock of fat flamingos.’ The girls were also introduced to the mandolin, mandobass, banjo and a bodiless violin, and listened to some fabulous guitar, violin and double bass music. Well done girls, for hosting the duo with such enthusiasm!”

The girls also had the opportunity to ask some questions, such as ‘how many strings does a mandolin have?’

Simon explained that you can tell by the tuning pegs – there are 8 strings doubled up – he showed the girls that if you play one note on one string on the mandolin, the sound won’t travel very far. To solve this, mandolin players have to play lots of little notes as fast as they can to achieve the sound of one long notes, which is called ‘tremolo’.

‘How long did it take you to learn?’

“I am still learning” said Mr Mayor. He didn’t take up mandolin until after he had learnt to play the guitar – and before that he played the ukulele (which is much easier for your fingers).

Why is it called a mandolin?

It is from the Italian word ‘mandola’, and means ‘little mandola’.

The girls then tried to guess the name of an enormous instrument – it was not a cello, but a mandobass, the largest and least common of the mandolin family! The girls can even tell you what a violin sound like without its hollow body attached! They also learned why the violin can be a bit squeaky when you first start playing – it happens when you don’t move the bow smoothly enough, and also because there are no marks on a violin to show you where your fingers go – so the notes are not very easy to find at first.

Everyone then thoroughly enjoyed guessing what type of farm animal noise was being played on the violin (“CHICKENS!”), heard a woodpecker and seagulls, and learned what a violin bow is made from!

This inspirational concert was a musically delightful way to end this half term!

Categories: Junior Prep Whole School
Strengthening Our Community: The Return of Boys to our Preps and Pre-Preps

We are excited to share that, from September 2026, boys will begin moving up from our Nursery into Reception, marking the gradual reintroduction of boys into our Prep and Pre-Prep School.

This step reflects growing interest from families who value our strong holistic ethos and unique grounds and setting and would like their sons and daughters to share their educational journey together.

At St Augustine’s, our strong sense of community, academic excellence, and deep care for each individual child remain at the heart of everything we do. This is a natural evolution of our school rather than a change to who we are, building on our strengths and allowing us to offer the same joyful, inspiring education to even more children.

Interested in learning more about our school?
Join us for one of our upcoming Open Days! You can book your visit via the Admissions section of our website.

  • Prep & Pre-Preps Open Day – School in Action (Nursery to Year 6)
    Tuesday, 23rd September
    10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

  • Senior School Open Day (Year 7 and above)
    Saturday, 20th September
    10:00 AM – 12:00 PM