EVERSFIELDPreparatory School, Solihull

what’s inside

review

Headmaster’s message

Great Success

11+Results and Scholarship Success

Early Years

Pre-Prep

Upper School

Charity Appeal for House of Joy

Sport

Music

Upper School Production, Bugsy Malone

Eversfield School Association

Valete et Salvete

2015

/16

Great

Headmaster’sForewordWelcome to the latest edition of the EversfieldReview. Each year it becomes more difficult toremember all of the achievements and excitingexperiences that have happened during the threeterms. Not due to the onset of old age and mindloss but simply because the list grows and grows.There are so many great things that happen atEversfield. Pupils remember the events that holdmore meaning for them, some they will recall scoresof years later, prompted by a question, an image, asmell or by seeing their own children at school. Forparents the memories will be of different moments,when they remember the pride, joy and sometimessadness that accompanied the occasion.

The years our children are at prep school, thoseprimary years from three to eleven, are the mostimportant in developing personality and learninghabits and for shaping their lives and expectations.Parents have so much involvement during this time,then gradually, and sometimes reluctantly, theyreleasing their influence to allow individuality andindependence to grow. As a result of this we alwaysremember this period and think of it as some of thebest days of our lives.

I hope that they are some of the best days and thatthe pictures and comments in this review willcapture some of the moments and trigger memoriesof others not recalled here, for years to come.

Robert A Yates

Headmaster

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Success

This academic year has seen huge improvements in thefacilities at Eversfield and therefore in the opportunities thatwe are able to offer our children. The most notable of thesewas the John Shaw Sports and Performing Arts Buildingwhich was officially opened in May by the Right ReverendDavid Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham. This amazing centreincludes an indoor heated swimming pool and has enhancedthe curriculum across all the year groups. Swimming nowtakes place throughout the School year and with greateraccess to a pool our Swimming Gala Team are winning moreraces and School records are being broken. The new sportshall has extended the range of activities available to pupils,including three marked badminton courts, and extremeweather wreaks less havoc to the timetable than in previousyears. New lighting rigs, sound systems and seating havegreatly enhanced all productions. The space provided by thenew hall has enabled the whole School to gather in comfortand welcomed the wider School community including parentsand Alumni to join in celebrations. As the Bishop said in hisblessing may the ‘gifts of rest and recreation refresh andinspire….in a place where spirits are renewed, and mindsand bodies are strengthened’.

The garden designed by the EcoCommittee has been planted and twoapples trees have settled happily into theirnew location. We look forward to whenthey are mature enough to bear fruit. Wehave harvested courgettes and potatoesand served the produce in the DiningRoom. The committee would like to say amassive thank you to all the parents andfriends who have kindly donated towardsthe Eco Garden project. We have hadsome extremely generous offers, fromplants and water butts to pots and tools.One Nursery parent has very kindlypurchased a large greenhouse for us,which meant that we were able to takewhole classes across to take part in ourgardening projects. Thank you for all thedonations and the offers of help.

John Harris, the story teller, came to visitus as part of World Book Day. The childrenwere highly entertained by his energeticand enthralling narratives and hisinteresting twist on well-known fairy tales.We also had a visit from a French storyteller who proceeded to tell the childrenstories en français, without a word ofEnglish. By utilising a blonde wig and threebear masks the children immediatelyunderstood that Boucles d’or et les TroisOurs was the story of Goldilocks and theThree Bears and by anticipating phrasessuch as ce trés chaud and cette chaise estparfaite they rapidly expanded theirvocabulary.

Upper School children attended the KESChess Tournament and achieved animpressive haul including not only fivesilver medals, but also a gold one!

In March the U10 Rugby team took part inthe finals of the National Schools RugbyTournament at Epsom College. This is thefirst time that Eversfield has beenrepresented in a competition of this level.In the initial group stage they won three oftheir four matches and drew the fourth. A2-1 win against Chesham Prep secured

their place in the semi-finals where theymet Ludgrove School. The team continuedto make tackle after tackle and producedsome fantastic runs with the ball. At fulltime the score was 1 all and the gamewent to sudden death. At this pointEversfield were knocked out whenLudgrove scored the deciding try. MrSliney, Director of Sport said that he hadan ‘immense sense of pride for the boys’achievements and their well-earned placeas the third best team nationally’.Congratulations to the whole team; MontyAdlington, Benjamin Bryan, Tom Denton,Jack Gallagher, George Hastings, Duy Ma,Noah MacLean, George Maddy, HarryPemberton and Oliver Rees.

In the last edition of the Eversfield Reviewwe shared the news that Mimi Parr hadbeen selected out of hundreds ofapplicants to join The Royal Ballet’s JuniorAssociate Programme and that we werelooking forward to following her dancecareer. Well we did not have to wait long;Mimi took to the stage during theChristmas season joining the chorus inThe Royal Ballet’s production of TheNutcracker. Congratulations Mimi!

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11+ We congratulate our Form 6 Leavers who have completed a successful final yearand the end of their Eversfield journey. Some have been with us since Nursery andothers have joined as recently as Form 4. All can be justifiably proud of theirindividual achievements. 29 of our year group sat for competitive 11+ examinationsand shared between them 71 offers and 8 scholarships recognising academic abilityand outstanding talent in art. We wish all our leavers continued success in theirfuture schools.

Examination Results

BABLAKE SCHOOLBen HarrisElliot HenrickAlfie HuntJyotika Yerraguntla

BROMSGROVE SCHOOLRodrigo Acero CuñadoNiamh O’DonnellAishani Sinha

EDGBASTON HIGH SCHOOLFOR GIRLSUmayah Hanif (AcademicScholarship)Jemima Hunt

KING EDWARD VI ASTONSCHOOL FOR BOYS - GRAMMAR SCHOOLYusuf Khan

KING EDWARD VI CAMP HILLSCHOOL FOR BOYS - GRAMMAR SCHOOLManveer Singh

KING EDWARD VI CAMP HILLSCHOOL FOR GIRLS - GRAMMARSCHOOLUmayah Hanif

KING EDWARD VI FIVE WAYSSCHOOL - GRAMMAR SCHOOLRaza ButtVedant Sanas

KING EDWARD VI HIGHSCHOOL FOR GIRLSUmayah HanifJyotika Yerraguntla

KING EDWARD’S SCHOOLAun Ali (Academic Scholarship)Atieth AtthiRaza ButtArnav DubeyBen HarrisYusuf KhanVedant SanasManveer Singh

KING’S HIGH SCHOOLDaisy ComerfordLily DentonJemima HuntAmelia KaneNiamh O’DonnellMimi Parr (Art & DesignScholarship)Aishani Sinha

THE KINGSLEY SCHOOLDaisy ComerfordLily DentonAmelia Kane

PRINCETHORPE COLLEGEHarry ClementsElliot HenrickJacob Mills (AcademicScholarship)Niamh O’DonnellJoseph Tennant

PRIORY SCHOOLHaris Khan (AcademicScholarship)

QUEEN MARY’S GRAMMARSCHOOLArnav Dubey

SOLIHULL SCHOOLRodrigo Acero CuñadoAun Ali (Academic Scholarship)Atieth AtthiMatthew BurdRaza ButtArnav DubeyBen HarrisAlfie HuntJacob MillsJacob YatesJyotika Yerraguntla

SUTTON COLDFIELDGRAMMAR SCHOOL FOR GIRLSJyotika Yerraguntla

ST MARTIN’S SCHOOL Daisy ComerfordLily DentonLauren Jones-BrownAmelia KaneEmma MorganNiamh O’DonnellMimi Parr

WARWICK SCHOOLRodrigo Acero CuñadoAun Ali (Academic Scholarship)Matthew BurdRaza ButtArnav DubeyBen HarrisAlfie HuntConnor McCleaveJacob MillsVedant Sanas (AcademicScholarship)Jacob Yates

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Early YearsAs the first pupils to use the new indoor pool Reception had a fantastic time with theirswimming teachers who got in the water too, encouraging the children to build their confidence.The children were able to show off their new skills in the Reception Swimming Gala.

Each child in Reception was paired with achild in Form 6 in Eversfield’s BuddyScheme. Introductions were made at thebeginning of the Michaelmas Term andwe saw friendships continue to growthroughout the year. The two year groupsjoined together at various times duringthe School year and Form 6 pupilsregularly visited their buddies inReception. Unfortunately the weatherhampered the traditional end of yearBuddies’ Picnic in the park, but MrRobbins compered a fun afternoon ofactivities and games in the gym instead.Lots of laughter and shouts of excitementwere to be heard as the children allcheered each other on.

In the Michaelmas Term, Reception had avisit from a storyteller who told thechildren the story of ‘Funnybones’ by AAhlberg. They acted out parts of the story,repeating phrases and learning songs.Everyone was very excited to be anarchaeologist, searching for bones andputting them together to make the correctskeleton. The children found it very funnyas the wrong legs, tails and heads wereattached to the wrong bodies, makingsome very comical animals.

As the term drew to a close the childrenworked hard at their rehearsals for theChristmas Nativity Play, ‘A Miracle inTown’. The Nativity took place in the newJohn Shaw Building giving the childrenmuch more space than in previous years.

Mrs Sliney, Eversfield’s Subject Leader ofScience, invited Kindergarten, Nurseryand Reception to attend a special Easterthemed Science Workshop in the LentTerm as part of Science Week. Sheshowed them how to pick up paper eggshapes with balloons, find eggs insawdust with the help of a magnet anddiscover the hidden colours fordecorating eggs. The children also learnthow strong eggs are by standing on awhole box of them without anybreakages. Eggggstraordinary!

Mummies were invited to a specialMother’s Day Assembly, during which thechildren sang songs and recited poems.Afterwards they were presented withcards, certificates and posies of flowers.Thank you to everyone who joined us forthis special event.

Nursery and Kindergarten childrenattended the ‘Move and Grove’ NoteletsConcert at the CBSO Centre in

Birmingham during the Lent Term. Thechildren all had a wonderful time at thisinteractive event and, as the namesuggests, moving and grooving to thetunes.

With Easter fast approaching the childrenhad a visit from the Easter Bunny whohad previously been corresponding withthe children for several weeks and wasvery impressed with their handwritingskills.

Further trips throughout the year includedvisits by Reception to the ParkridgeCentre in Brueton Park and UmbersladeFarm, where Mrs Hynes is sure sherecognised our very own chick Tweety inthe chicken coup! Nursery andKindergarten also visited Ash End HouseFarm.

Fathers’ Day was celebrated with aworking breakfast for children andDaddies. Croissants, brioche and juicewas followed by a sing song. The eventcontinued along a sporting theme; theDaddies were presented with medals for‘#1 Dad’ in preparation for the RioOlympics and a trophy resembling UEFAEuropean Nations cup.

The children in Form 1 learnt about toysfrom the past during the MichaelmasTerm. To support their learning, they hada workshop provided by WarwickMuseum, where they had the opportunityto play with old toys and to discover howthey work. In the Lent Term Form 1 visitedTamworth Castle, where they found outwhat it was like to live in a castle inmedieval times. Some children dressedup as the Lord and Lady and one childwas lucky enough to try on a full suit ofarmour! As part of their work on Homes inthe Summer Term, the children visitedAvoncroft Museum in Bromsgrove. Here,there was a chance to see buildings fromdifferent periods in history, including a tollhouse and a prefab. The children alsohad a go at making their own wall out ofwattle and daub, as well as clay bricks,which were made with the use of a mouldor shaped by hand.

The children in Form 2 have enjoyedvisitors to their classroom, as well as visitsoutside school this year. In theMichaelmas Term, the children learntabout holidays at the seaside in the pastand enjoyed a workshop which tookthem on a journey through the decades,enabling them to discover how holidayshave changed over time or, in somecases, have stayed the same. After

Christmas the focus changed to FamousPeople. During a workshop on FlorenceNightingale, the children had theopportunity to get into character as if theywere working at the hospital in Scutari, orwere a wounded patient from thebattlefields of the Crimea. In the SummerTerm, as part of their topic on Transport,Form 2 children enjoyed a visit toBewdley Museum. Not only did they havean exciting ride on the Severn ValleyRailway, they also had a walk by the sideof the river before they visited themuseum itself to make clay coracles andexplore colourful canal art.

During the Lent Term, many children fromPre Prep took part in an Art Competitionin support of our charity, House of Joy.We were all extremely impressed with thestandard of work produced, particularlyby Rupert Dowler of Form 2, a finalist, andby Freya White of Form 1, the winner inthe Lower School category.

Children in Form 2 enjoyed visitingBrookvale Day Centre in Olton, wherethey entertained everyone with concertsincluding instrumental solos and songs.During the visit in October, the childrenarrived bearing Harvest gifts and, atChristmas, they performed a shortenedversion of the Christmas play.

Our Christmas play this year, involving allthe children in Form 1 and Form 2, wasentitled Jesus’ Christmas Party. It told thestory of an innkeeper whose sleep wasconstantly interrupted by a stream of veryimportant visitors. This was the first timethe children had performed in the newJohn Shaw Building, and they all rose tothe occasion magnificently.

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We have reached the end of another interesting and enjoyable year in Pre-Prep. The Staff have been delighted to have such hardworking children toteach, all of whom bring so much to their lessons.

Pre-Prep

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During April Form 4 enjoyed DramaWeek, studying different play styles.Everyone worked hard to learn their linesand perfect their stage presence. Theweek concluded with a performanceenjoyed by both staff and parentsincluding not one or two, but sevenindividual short plays! The children’s hardwork was apparent in the quality of theproduction and they should all be veryproud of their achievements.

Form 5 were set with a task akin to thoseseen on the television series TheApprentice. Mrs Beech and Mrs Rehman(mother of Mahira and Ishan) asked thechildren to design a product ‘that hadsomething to do with animals’. Their pitchhad to include a brand logo, packagingand a television commercial.Coincidentally both teams picked dogaccessories. Deciding between the twowas very hard as considerable thoughtand effort had obviously been put intoboth presentations, but a winner had tobe determined. This was declared to bethe girls’ Crystal Collars who wererewarded with a visit to Pirlo’s DessertLounge in Birmingham. Congratulationsto all the children who worked so hard toput together their presentations and ahuge thank you to Mrs Rehman for all the

support that she gave the children andespecially for organising the sweet treatfor the winning team!

Chef Bill Farnsworth visited Form 6 andasked the children to consider the effectof food on their senses. The crunchyoutside of a baguette was compared toits soft inside. The four taste areas of thetongue (sour, sweet, bitter and salt) werediscussed and tests were then carried outto see which foods were tasted in whichareas. Next the children considered theirpreconceptions regarding taste. Pink jelly,usually associated with strawberry,proved to be vanilla. Likewise, yellow jelly,usually associated with lemon, proved tobe peppermint. Finally volunteers werechallenged to guess the fruit whilstwearing a blindfold. The enjoyableafternoon left everyone thinking about thefood that we eat and assumptionsregarding its taste because of the way itlooks or feels.

Both Form 5 and 6 enjoyed residentialtrips this year. Form 5 travelled to SouthWales for a Geography field trip to studyrivers in the landscape. Nobody got toowet and the warm sunshine put a smileon everyone’s face. Form 6 travelled toFrance where they put their French togood use. They visited various sites

commemorating World War I and sawtunnels and trenches. They visited aboulangerie to make bread andcroissants and even tried snails to eat,although this had a mixed reception.

This year’s House Verse and ProseCompetition was as competitive as ever.A selection of poems was provided by MrHastings and the children wereencouraged to learn one by heart andrecite it during their English lesson. Eachform scored the performances the heardand those with the highest score wentthrough to the final. These finalists put ona very entertaining performance withsome very energetic and humorousrenditions. Everyone also took part in theComposition section of the competitionby completing a choice of writing tasks, ashortlist of which were judged on the day.Entrants were also encouraged for thethird part of the competition, handwriting,where all the entries earned points fortheir house. Mrs Wyatt from WarwickSchool joined us as our guest judge forthe afternoon and was amazed by thequality of the entrants across all threedisciplines. Congratulations to all ourfinalists and to Angles who finished theafternoon as winners of the House Verseand Prose Cup.

Forms 3 to 6 have all had a very busy year. In addition to their normaltimetable a wide range of extra activities have taken place both insideand outside School. These have included Art and Science workshops, aMaths Challenge, Scuba Diving, Shakespeare Week, the CosmicClassroom, Space Camp and trips to the Big Bang Fair, Warwick Castle,and Selly Manor to name but a few. Thank you to all the staff who havestriven, not only to make lessons interesting and exciting, but also fortaking the children outside the normal classroom environment andshowing them how the various subjects are relevant to the real world.

Upper School

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Charity Appeal 2015-2016 This year we chose to support House of Joy through our annual charity

drive. This school, based approximately 50km outside the Ugandan capitalof Kampala, started in 2005 with 56 children and now has over 400 on itsroll. The organisation is committed to sustainability and in an attempt toresolve the limited access to food and water has recently constructed aborehole and assisted with the construction of a second, thereby providingthe local community with clean water and boosting its economy bypurchasing local materials and employing a Ugandan workforce.

With Eversfield’s support House of Joywill get closer to achieving their goals ofimproving their pupils’ diets, developingthe use of solar energy to expand theavailability of fresh water, supportingtraining to enable the local community tomaximise their land use and incomegeneration and to provide a secondaryschool.

The fundraising started at HarvestFestival when, as has become somethingof a tradition, the Headmaster proceededto give £5 to every child in Form 6. Heasked them to invest it wisely and, as inthe story of the talents from the Bible,return more than the initial sum to thecharity pot. They rose to the challengeraising a staggering £1269 throughvarious activities including car washing,cooking and craft sales.

This year the charity badge wasdesigned by Jacob Yates. Pupils andstaff purchased badges and wore themto show support for such a worthy cause.This raised a further £243.

Every year we are proud to see howmotivated the children are to support theSchool charity and how inspired theirfundraising ideas are. Freya Bottrill,

Claudia Bottrill, Poppy Coley, Edith Frost,Hannah Perry and friends took part in acharity mud run. Jacob Mills and BenHarris held an apple sale and a group ofchildren from 2HM put on a circusextravaganza. Many thanks to everyonewho organised their own events addingto the School’s fundraising efforts.

Towards the end of the Michaelmas Term,with Christmas fast approaching, theSenior Choir took some festive cheer toPoplar Arcade in Solihull. Their carollingadded a further £188 to the charity pot.Non-uniform days also added funds tothe ever increasing total raised.

In the Lent Term Mrs Beech organised anArt competition. Early Years wereencouraged to produce a piece of artwork based on the theme ‘Springtime’.They selected their own materials andproduced some wonderful creations. ForPre Prep and Upper School the nature ofthe competition changed and consistedof four rounds. In the first round entrantswere asked to create somethinginfluenced by their favourite artist, in thesecond they were asked for art in a boxand in the third round a piece reflecting‘Action Art’. In the fourth and final round,finalists from Forms 1 and 2, Forms 3 and

4 and Forms 5 and 6 were invited tospend the day with Fran Richley, aprofessional motorsport artist and alsothe Chairman of House of Joy. Thechildren were judged on their pencil skillsand the pieces that they produced in hisworkshop. Congratulations to all ourfinalists, but especially the winners FreyaWhite, Katie Skinner and Mimi Parr. Thisevent raised a staggering £818 for Houseof Joy, a large percentage of which camefrom the Art Exhibition arranged by MrsBeech during which the pieces of workentered in the competition were sold inexchange for donations to House of Joy.

In the second week of June Eversfieldheld a Charity Week and a wide range ofevents took place. Charity breakfastswere enjoyed by pupils and staff alike.Well done to the members of the SchoolCouncil who worked so hard taking in allthe orders and ensuring that there wereenough bacon and sausage baps on theday! Further cake sales were held byForm 1 and Form 4 and proved to bevery popular at morning break. Theseevents combined raised a further £1388.On the Thursday evening the new JohnShaw Building was the venue for aCharity Concert which included the debut

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performance by the EversfieldCommunity Choir. The Little Big Bandfrom Warwick School also joined us forthe evening. Their repertoire includeduplifting pieces that only served toincrease the light hearted, carnivalatmosphere. We would also like to thanksoloists Dan Buxton and Sam Young,both old boys and accomplishedmusicians, who joined the performers onstage.

On Friday the sun shone and conditionswere perfect for the Sponsored SportsCharity Afternoon. The whole school tookto the grounds completing a number oflaps of the playing fields. Receptionadded a mini assault course to theirprogramme and Forms 1 to 6 addedcircuit training and a swim. It waswonderful to see everyone cometogether to support House of Joy;especially touching to watch was thecaring Eversfield ethos as older pupilsencouraged and supported the youngerchildren.

The final event of the week was a CharityCamping Night. Pupils were joined bytheir Dads or Grandads for a mass campout on the school fields raising a massive£665.

In addition to all the fundraising eventsthat have taken place this year, MissShipley’s Lower School Knitting Club(with the support of staff and parents whocontributed knitted squares) managed tomake several snuggly blankets which willhelp keep the pupils at House of Joywarm at night.

Eversfield’s fundraising efforts came toan end for this academic year with thepresentation of a cheque by Jacob Mills,Chairman of the School Council, to Lindaand Fran Richley of House of Joy. Thefinal figure of £13,447 exceeded allexpectations and was a new fundraisingrecord for School. Our School Councilhave worked incredibly hard tocoordinate a wide variety of activities insupport of this Ugandan school anddeserve recognition for all their efforts.

Over the years Eversfield has supportedmany charities and we are proud of thechildren’s continuing endeavours to helpthose less fortunate than themselves.Year after year our pupils rise to thechallenge and, with the encouragementof staff, family and friends, are able tosignificantly improve the lives of others.We would like to thank everyone who hassupported this year’s fundraising efforts.

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The Summer Term, with more than its fair share of inclementweather, saw the cancellation of many sports fixtures.Luckily the sun did shine for each and every Sports Daygiving all year groups the opportunity to compete, earnpoints for their houses and, for the older children, strive forindividual awards.

SportThe Lower School Sports took place on apleasant afternoon before Half Term, withevery child taking part. While there wereindividual cup winners, it was wonderfulto see the children focused on gainingpoints for their house. Angles were thefinal victors despite a very close run eventwith the scores neck and neck for most ofthe afternoon. Form 1 and 2 then turnedtheir attention to their House RoundersMatch. Form 1 Saxons won, but theAngles prevailed in Form 2. When thepoints were combined the Pre-PrepHouse Rounders Cup was awarded toAngles.

The Pre-Prep children got the HouseSwimming Gala season underway thissummer taking part in a variety of events.Some of the children swam widths acrossthe pool, but a good majority completedlengths. Again all the children wereworking to accumulate points for theirhouse, as well as for individual swimmingcups. Saxons slowly fought back againstAngles initial lead to finish triumphant.

Following the success of last year’sUpper School Sports the event was onceagain held at the Norman Green Athleticstrack. The field events had already takenplace at School and Angles thereforebegan with a very slight lead which theyextended over the course of the afternoontaking an even tighter grip on the trophy.

The Saxons were unable to make up thedifference and the Upper School Sportscup was awarded to the Angles. Thechildren certainly rose to the occasionwith a total of seven new School records!

The Form 6 children then took part in theTug of War contest which is determinedby the best of three pulls. Havingconsidered their tactics the Angles optedfor size and power in their first two pulls.This approach clearly paid off as theytook an unassailable 2-0 lead. The thirdand final pull gave the Saxons anopportunity to repair their injured prideleaving with their heads held high. Thefinal score was 2-1 to Angles who werepresented with the shield.

The final trophy up for grabs was theHouse Relay Shield. The unique format ofthis race sees every child from Form 3 to6 take part, as two teams from eachhouse pass the baton on again and againaround the track. The Saxons took anearly lead which they successfullyextended throughout the race coming inboth first and second. Those watchingwere in no doubt that the trophybelonged to Saxons.

This year the Upper School SwimmingGala was split into two events, one forForms 3 and 4 and the other for Forms 5and 6. At the end of the Form 3 and 4gala, there were two new school recordsbroken and the Angles had a healthy 17point lead. The Form 5 and 6 gala startedwell for the Saxons who quickly started toeat into the point difference. By the finalraces they were ahead and cementedtheir victory with success in both the relayevents, finally winning by seven points. Afurther seven School records werebroken during the course of theafternoon.

During the Summer Term the girlsfocused on Rounders. Form 3 wereintroduced to the full rules for the firsttime, using them successfully in smallmatches. Unfortunately the two fixturesscheduled against other schools werecancelled due to rain, but everyoneplayed in the Junior House Matchalongside the Form 4 girls, which thisyear saw Angles victorious.

Forms 4 and 5 have been working hard toimprove their throwing and catching skillsand gain a fuller understanding of thegame. A few matches took place despitethe weather and these taught the girls theimportance of teamwork. They soonrealised that a match may be won byefficient fielding and that effective gameplay is about more than hitting the ball. Awin against Blue Coat School produced asuccessful end to the season.

Both year groups took part in a RoundersTournament hosted by The Croft. Form 5played extremely well as a team, withexceptional fielding, finishing in thirdplace. Congratulations to the team and aspecial mention to Mihika Handa whowas described by one of her team mateson the day as being ‘on fire’! Form 4 alsoplayed well together, coping well withsome last minute team changes andadapting their game accordingly. Thegirls did not manage to reach the finalson this occasion, but showed flexibilityand ability to work well as a team. Welldone Form 4.

Like all other year groups, Form 6 girlswere at the mercy of the weather and sawmany of their matches cancelled. Evenso, notable performances were made byJyotika Yerraguntla, Mimi Parr and LaurenJones-Brown. The timing of the HouseMatch was also affected by poor weather,but was finally shoe-horned in to a fine

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morning in the last week of term. Form 5 and6 joined together to enjoy Form 6’s lastgames activity at Eversfield and celebrate aSaxons victory.

On a sunny Sunday morning in May, a teamof Form 5 and 6 girls took part in theWarwickshire Hi 5 Netball Tournament.Despite being down at half time, themotivated team focussed on some excellentpassing and managed to draw their firstmatch. As the tournament progressed thegirls showed good teamwork playing welltogether with commitment and a positiveattitude. Out of nineteen teams, the girlsachieved a fantastic 10th place. EvaChurchill and Mimi Parr deserve a specialmention for their endurance and great play.

Sadly the Form 6 Cricket season wasdecimated by the weather and only twoscheduled fixtures took place. The first ofthese, against Blue Coat, saw Eversfield fieldwell, successfully limiting their opposition’sscore. Unfortunately a rapid succession ofwickets when batting left the last twobatsmen with too much to make up, leavingBlue Coat School victorious. The only othermatch saw the team play King Henry’s athome. An impressive batting score includeda fantastic performance by the opening pairwho managed 59 runs before Elliot Henrickwas retired 30 not out and Aun Ali wascaught on 29. King Henry’s batted after teawhere Jacob Mills sensationally took fourvery quick wickets and Elliot Henrick afurther three. Ignoring the threat of rain andthe rumble of thunder in the distance theteam bowled King Henry’s out in just over 11overs. A marvellous victory and all roundperformance.

Two House Matches were played at seniorlevel. Both were comfortably won by Angleswho were crowned Senior House CricketChampions.

Having started the season so positively, itwas a shame that Form 5’s fixtures werecancelled due to the adverse weather. Of thematches that did take place wins wererecorded against Blue Coat and Hallfield.Congratulations to all players, especiallyGeorge Maddy who stood out as aconsistent performer when batting andwicket keeping. His 50 against Bablake wasa wonderful innings, encompassing excellentshot selection and a patient approach.

Despite the weather’s best efforts a numberof Form 4’s scheduled fixtures did take placethis term. The boys improved with eachgame, increasing their team skills andcommunication. The Form 4 House Matchtook place at the end of term. Saxons,having won the toss, elected to bat first. Theyachieved a good run total and by managingto keep the Angle score down ensured thatthey won by a margin of 36 runs. Incomplete contrast, during the Form 3 HouseMatch, the Angles put the Saxons in to batand kept their score down by taking somequick wickets. Once in bat, the Anglessurpassed the Saxon score and continued toadd runs winning by 31. When the scoreswere added together the Saxons had anoverall victory by 5 runs!

With a limited number of fixtures available forForm 3 and the constant poor weather, onlyone match was played this term. This match,against King Henry’s, was won withcontributions from all team members. MrSliney is excited by the level of play shownby this group of boys, a number of whomalready play outside School and showsignificant potential for future success.

This year four Eversfield pupils have playedcricket for Warwickshire. George Maddy andHolly Whitfield have joined the U10s atCounty level and Elliot Henrick and Aun AliU11s District. Congratulations!

HOUSE COMPETITIONS

Summer Term ColoursAnglesAun Ali – CricketHaris Khan - SwimmingJacob Mills – CricketMimi Parr - RoundersJoseph Tennant - Cricket

SaxonsElliot Henrick – CricketAlfie Hunt – Cricket, SwimmingJemima Hunt – SwimmingLauren Jones-Brown - RoundersJacob Yates – CricketJyotika Yerraguntla – Rounders

House CompetitionsMichaelmas TermPre-Prep Netball – AnglesJunior and Senior Rugby – SaxonsJunior and Senior Netball – Saxons

Lent TermPre-Prep Football – AnglesJunior Football – SaxonsSenior Football – SaxonsJunior Netball – AnglesSenior Football – Saxons

Summer TermPre-Prep Rounders – AnglesJunior Rounders – AnglesSenior Rounders – SaxonsJunior Cricket – SaxonsSenior Cricket – AnglesLower School Sports – AnglesUpper School Sports – AnglesPre-Prep Swimming – SaxonsUpper School Swimming - Saxons

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Music With over 120 individual music lessonstaking place each week at Eversfieldthere is plenty of talent from which toform musical groups. This year we haveenjoyed performances from Beginner,Junior and Senior Strings, String Trio,Beginner, Junior and Senior GuitarEnsembles, Guitar Trio, Junior, Seniorand Chamber Choirs, Wind Band and,Eversfield’s new percussion ensemble,Beat It. Mr Spall invited a group of hispupils to form this new group playingtraditional pieces that he has rearrangedinto two or three different parts, therebymaking them accessible to all. Thesegroups have not only entertainedaudiences at various School concertsincluding Carols at Eversfield, the SpringConcert and Open Afternoon, but theyhave also delighted people at Brookvale,Marie Curie Hospice and SolihullHospital. In addition to this Miss Griggscontinues to organise the popularMusical Moments concerts allowingchildren to build their confidence whilstperforming within an informal,supportive environment.

This year 65 children were entered formusic examinations at a range of levelsfrom Prep to Grade 5. The whole varietyof instruments played at Eversfield wasrepresented including Singing, Piano,Drums, Strings, Brass and Wind.Congratulations to everyone who sawthe benefits of their hard work andpractice, but especially those who wereawarded a Distinction including OscarBarnes, Daisy Parr, Leonardo Sica,Connor McCleave, Duy Ma (Drums andGuitar) and Alexander Scott who scoredfull marks for his sight reading!

In January Miss Griggs, Mrs Buxton, MrsSliney and Mr Hastings took Form 5 tothe LG Arena to join the Young VoicesChoir, performing in the largest concertseries in the world. The children hadbeen working hard for weeks to

memorise the words to all the songsand practising their dance moves.Everyone was looking forward to thisfantastic event and joining the choir withthousands of other children. Therehearsals began after lunch and thechildren were joined by BeatboxCollective, Tom Billington and sopranoLaura Wright. These three, very different,artists performed with the children,producing a programme thatencompassed a wide range of musicalstyles and facilitating a lively andthoroughly enjoyable eveningperformance.

The House Music Competition tookplace in the Michaelmas Term. Childrenwho play a musical instrument wereinvited to audition for the opportunity toperform on the day of the competition.The two House Choirs, one for Anglesand one for Saxons, set about learningtheir words and polishing theirperformances, both hoping that theywould outshine their competitor on theday. Mr Stephen Perrins, former MusicalDirector at Solihull School, kindly joinedus as adjudicator. He was veryimpressed by all the soloists’performances and by the quality of themusic that was enjoyed throughout theafternoon. However, a competitionneeds a winner and when the pointswere added up it was discovered howhard fought the competition had beenas Saxons were finally declared thevictors by a narrow margin of only 2points. Congratulations to everybodywho took part!

This year Miss Griggs introduced Form1 to the violin or cello during four weeksof group tuition under the guidance oftwo peripatetic teachers. The childrenwere loaned instruments so that theycould experience for themselves what itis like to have music lessons in School,with the responsibility of practising and

caring appropriately for their instrument.Everyone thoroughly enjoyed theopportunity and judging by the progressthey made in only a few weeks we canlook forward to some fantasticperformances as these buddingmusicians move through School.

The Spring Concert took place at theend of the Lent Term giving all the UpperSchool musical groups the opportunityto perform; entertaining the widerSchool community and showcasingtheir musical talents. The wholeaudience, including the members ofEversfield’s Alumni, were amazed by thehigh standard of music that wasincluded in the programme and theconfident performances. Beat It madetheir debut performance playing anarrangement of March the Seven. OscarBarnes and George Hastings deserve aspecial mention for their piano duet, asdo the three soloists from the evening;James Lake (flute), Duy Ma (guitar) andMimi Parr (violin).

At the beginning of this academic yearMiss Griggs invited staff and parents tojoin her in a new venture, the EversfieldCommunity Choir. The choir was formedfrom a group of enthusiastic singers,some of whom had never sung in achoir before. Following a year ofpreparation and rehearsals and underthe guidance of Miss Griggs theyamazed the audience with their singingat the Charity Concert held in support ofHouse of Joy.

We would like to thank our peripateticstaff for all their hard work and effort.They help the children prepare for theirexaminations and the high standard ofmusic heard at all the concerts is due inno small part to the care, support andinspiration that they provide.

Music continues to be a large part of life at Eversfield and is enjoyedat many levels and in a wide variety of ways. With so manyopportunities available there is something for everybody includingchoirs, individual lessons, concerts, workshops and ABRSMexaminations.

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Bugsy Malone was this year’s UpperSchool Production. This 1976musical film is very loosely basedon events in New York City andChicago during Prohibition,specifically, the exploits ofgangsters like Al Capone. It is afantastic play to put on because itgives the children the opportunity todo some heavyweight, seriousacting whilst at the same timeenjoying the pratfalls, pie-fights andpandemonium.

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The conflict is set in 1920's Americagripped by Prohibition. Fat Sam'sbusiness interests are beingsystematically raided by Dandy Dan'sgangsters with their superior splurgeguns. Bugsy Malone, the maincharacter, begins as a bystander, apenniless boxing promoter who is downon his luck. A desperate Fat Sam recruitsBugsy to help him. Bugsy's love interestis Blousey Brown, a shy but ambitiousgirl desperate to be a film star inHollywood. During a mugging, Bugsy isrescued by Leroy Smith, who becomesBugsy's unofficial sidekick. Bugsy andLeroy discover the location of thewarehouse where the splurge guns arebeing kept. They succeed in storming itand seizing the guns. Having equalized

the balance of power, Fat Sam istriumphant. However, in the final scene,Dandy Dan and his henchmen, armedwith splurge guns, raid Fat Sam'sspeakeasy and a shootout ensues,during which everyone is "splurged".

Congratulations to Emma Morgan, thewinner of this year’s Drama Cup, for heraccomplished performance of Blousey.Her pose, particularly during theemotional solos, wowed the audience.The Cup for Best Supporting Actor wasawarded to Matthew Burd for his role asthe, literally, larger than life character FatSam. Loui Hutton worked hard in his roleas Bugsy Malone, successfullyperfecting an American accent. Thenormally unassuming Jemima Huntdeserves recognition for her portrayal of

the flirtatious, sassy Tallulah and a finalmention goes to Atieth Atthi and YusufKhan for their depiction of the comicduo, Smolsky and O’Dreary.

Putting on a production of this scale isalways challenging, especially when, asin the case of Bugsy Malone, the songsare not only demandingly complex, butrequire elaborate co-ordinated danceroutines. However, this year’s Form 6rose to the challenge with enthusiasm,revelling in the slap stick humour of thescript and showing great dedicationduring rehearsals. Unfortunately, it is notpossible to mention every member of thecast by name, but the outstandingperformances were a result of all theirhard work. Well done everyone!

Upper School Production

Bugsy Malone

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Eversfield School AssociationThe Eversfield School Association (ESA) is open to all parents with a

child attending School. Throughout the year it organises a widerange of events and activities for children and the School Community.The focus is not only on fundraising, but also providing theopportunity for parents to gather socially.

The ESA have had yet another busyyear, organising a wide assortment ofevents. This year’s Disco was held asSchool broke up for the October HalfTerm break and the theme was ‘PyjamaParty’. I am sure that a few teddy bearsalso joined in the fun. Everyone had awonderful time and we would like tothank Julie Jones and Tracy O’Connorwithout whose hard work the eventwould not have been so enormouslysuccessful.

The ESA Quiz took place in the Gymduring the Michaelmas Term and saw ahost of teams tasked by theknowledgeable Mr Robbins. Everyoneenjoyed their hot ‘chip supper’ as theygave aching brains a chance to rest.The committee would like to thank MrRobbins who produced a set ofquestions to challenge the greatestmastermind and put a considerableamount of time into organising theevening.

One of the largest and most enjoyableevents organised by the ESA is theChristmas Fayre and, as in previousyears, School was full of festive cheer.Pupils visited the Mums and Dads stallduring the morning and selected theirgifts. These were taken home towards

the end of term so that they could behidden away and given to parents onChristmas morning. Also during themorning, Early Years were able to visitFather Christmas who kindly stayed inhis Grotto through the afternoon so thathe could meet other children visitingthe Fayre. Thank you to the ladies fromthe office who took on the difficult jobof judging the Lucky Dip boxes, someof which had been magicallytransformed with lots of imaginationinto the most wonderful Christmascreations. The merriment continuedinto the afternoon. Face painting andthe Tombola proved to be very popularas were the other events includingbauble decorating, Wii games andnumerous other stalls. The ChristmasFayre requires a significant amount ofplanning and organisation and thecommittee would like to thank everyoneinvolved, but especially ClaireCummins and her team. A funafternoon enjoyed by all was due to thetime and effort that they put into thepreparations prior to the event andorganisation on the day.

The final event of the year was theSummer Fun Day, another event whichrequires considerable planning.

Thankfully we did not suffer the sameextreme weather conditions as theprevious year and the afternoon’sevents took place without the need forstorm proof clothing. A huge thankyouto everyone involved, the stall holders,volunteers and particularly ChloeSouthall and Sat Virdee for ensuringthat the afternoon went smoothly.

Please keep an eye out for forthcomingevents including Ladies Night, theSchool Disco, Christmas Fayre and, in2017, the ESA Ball.

School would like to express their greatthanks to the ESA committee especiallyTracy O’Connor and Cheryl Pidler(Chair), Julie Jones and Chloe Southall(Vice Chair), Sobia Dodhy (Secretary),Claire Cummins and Sat Virdee (ViceSecretary), Maryam Patel (Treasurer)and Deborah Yardley (Vice Treasurer).All of whom deserve accolades for alltheir hard work and dedication over theyear. It is only with their support that theschool community is able to enjoy therange of events and raise the vitalfunds to ensure that our childrencontinue to benefit from the excellentresources and facilities at Eversfield.

EVERSFIELDPreparatory School, Solihull

Valeteet Salvete

During the Michaelmas term wewelcomed Mrs Helen Gibbs and MrsLyndsey McGoldrick as members ofthe Admin Team. We congratulate MrsBurnett, previously Miss Sweeney, onher marriage during the Easterholidays. Our very best wishes go alsoto Mrs Heather Baldwin on the safearrival of baby Avery. At thecommencement of Mrs Baldwin’smaternity leave we welcomed MmeCeline Dommart who, in addition toteaching French and Spanish, has

introduced the children to German.

At the end of the Summer Term we saidfarewell to our Catering Manager, MrsYvonne Scott. Mrs Scott retires fromEversfield after 15 years as a memberof the Kitchen staff. She will be greatlymissed in the Dining Room, as will herdelicious cakes and biscuits. She hasmany plans for her retirement whichinclude moving out of the area andgetting married. We wish her the verybest for the future.

Mrs Anne Brown has also steppeddown at the end of the academic yearafter 9 years as Finance Manager. Wewish her bon voyage as she devotesmore time to her extensive travels andwe look forward to welcoming hersuccessor, Mr John Southwick, to theFinance Department. After 14 years ofteaching Chess at Eversfield we saygoodbye to Mr Nick Thomas.

Eversfield Preparatory School, Warwick Road, Solihull, B91 1AT 0121 705 0354 | www.eversfield.co.uk | enquiries@eversfield.co.uk Registered Charity No. 528966

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