With the onset of the Summer Term, spring arrived at St Augustine’s Priory, bringing with it the birth of lambs and ducklings and the celebratory joy of the Easter Season. A major event in the life of the nation was the Coronation of King Charles III which we were delighted to celebrate. Here is a selection of some of the events we enjoyed at St Augustine’s Priory during the first half of the Summer Term 2023.
Community and Faith Life: Examples from across the school.
Friday 5th May was Year 11’s final day before they embarked on their study leave and GCSE examinations. The Chapel was filled with families and staff who joined Year 11 in their very thoughtfully prepared Thanksgiving Liturgy. The students presented the readings and prayers, and the themes of thankfulness and joy were clearly brought out. As Rachel read in the opening prayer, ‘God, our Father, our life is blessed with many good gifts. Make us truly thankful for the gifts of our own personalities, for the gift of people who guide us and help us to grow, especially the teachers in our school. May we be your presence in the world in how we relate to others, and in all we say and do.’ After the liturgy, everyone enjoyed refreshments. This was a fitting way to celebrate all our wonderful Year 11.
Year 5 held their Retreat on Tuesday 16th May. Jesus gave us ‘The Great Mandatum’ at the Last Supper: ‘I give you a new commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you’ and Year 5 explored this during their Retreat. During the first part of the day, the pupils learnt about serving others and, as part of this, washed each other’s feet, as Jesus did for his disciples. During the latter part of the day the pupils discovered the different ways of praying, such as meditation and contemplative prayer, and the different types of prayer: thanksgiving, asking, praise and sorrow. Jesus gave a template of how to pray in the Our Father and Year 5 composed prayers using this model. Their Retreat was so valuable in enabling Year 5 to learn how to make space for God in their lives.
The Priory Farm.
The grounds at St Augustine’s Priory were arrayed in their Spring finery in May and, on Tuesday 16th May, we were delighted to welcome visitors to the Priory Farm from the Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls. Ms Fraser, our new Farm Manager, was on hand to introduce our guests to our chickens, ducks and sheep and spoke about the Priory Farm, how it operates and how to care for the animals. The pupils from Ellen Wilkinson fed the chickens and were lucky enough to come at a time when our new lambs were springing about, enjoying the sunshine!
Year 9 production: ‘Grease’.
In the first week back after the Easter holidays, Year 9’s production of ‘Grease’ amazed and delighted all who saw it! The cast entertained the audience with energetic, polished performances and displayed wonderful comic timing in their portrayal of life at Rydell High. Everyone involved, both backstage and onstage delivered a magnificent production.
The entire year group was involved and the handover of casts between Acts 1 and 2 was achieved smoothly and efficiently. All the teams involved, from design, sound, lighting and wardrobe to the talented musicians, delivered a show that oozed professionalism. Congratulations to everyone involved on a superb evening’s entertainment.
The Coronation.
There was a hive of activity around the Coronation at St Augustine’s Priory. One of the most memorable events was the Coronation Assembly held on Wednesday 3rd May for the Preps. At the heart of the Coronation is a religious service and this Assembly sought to deepen our pupils’ understanding of this centuries’ old occasion.
Year 6 Student Councillors took on the roles of the King, Queen Consort, Archbishop of Canterbury and Dean of Westminster and fulfilled their respective roles with great dignity and solemnity. At each stage, Miss Keane explained and clarified what was happening and our Preps were well informed to appreciate all that happened on Coronation Day as King Charles III was Anointed and Crowned at Westminster Abbey.
The Preps didn’t stop with an Assembly; they made mugs, portraits of the King and the whole school enjoyed a delicious coronation lunch.
Year 1 and 2 visit Odds Farm.
One of the highlights of the Summer Term for Years 1 and 2 was definitely the traditional visit to Odds Farm. On Tuesday 2nd May, both years went to Odds Farm Park near High Wycombe, where they learnt about all the animals, their habitats, lifecycles and also had the opportunity to meet many of the animals there.
Mrs Costello commented, ‘Years 1 and 2 had a fabulous trip to Odds Farm on 2nd May. They bottle fed kid goats, handfed sheep and goats, fed the pigs, went on a tractor ride and stroked rabbits!’ The girls are now very knowledgeable about the running of a farm, which will only help them in the future when it comes to assisting on our own Priory Farm!
Festival of Learning.
Tuesday 2nd May saw the inaugural St Augustine’s Priory Festival of Learning, an evening celebrating our students’ outstanding pursuits of academia. Pupils and their families enjoyed refreshments and spoke to students who presented their work in a Hall filled with an academic showcase of displays, including our Year 13’s Art and Music achievements, volunteering, Stretch and Challenge, the Mary Tredway Award, and Travel Scholarships.
The culmination of the evening was a keynote lecture from our guest speaker, Ms Amanda Davies, sports anchor for CNN International. Ms Davies gave an inspirational talk on her career to date, giving insights to current students on the fields of global sport and media. She also conveyed career advice for the many students interested in careers in journalism. One of our students said, ‘Ms Davies was so inspiring, she is an amazing role model and has given me so many ideas about my future career.’
