School Bell St Philips Catholic
Published Spring 2022 by Lucy Horne Headteacher
St Philip's Catholic Primary School
SPRING is arriving and with it comes the hope of new beginnings. As we begin the season of Spring, I would like to share with you some of the highlights of the late Autumn Term and the beginning of the Spring Term which we have particularly enjoyed.
We are delighted that the children are once again able to enjoy trips with their classmates. Reception Class went on their first school outing to see the Beauty and the Beast pantomime in December. They enjoyed watching this Christmas classic and took part fully in the ‘He’s behind you!’ parts! The coach journey and day out will be the first of many they go on at St Philip’s, but the first time is always extra exciting!
As part of their topic ‘Storms and Shipwrecks’, Year 6 visited SeaCity in Southampton where they enjoyed the Titanic exhibition, trying their hand at stoking the ship’s boilers and steering along the Solent. Year 4 have been to Fishbourne Roman Palace this term. Always a favourite destination for pupils, the workshops help the children bring their lessons about ancient history to life and what they have discovered, stays with them when they return to the classroom
We are also looking forward to the recommencement of sports competitions this term. Having been gifted new sports kits by Oscar Romero High School recently, our Year 4 girls won their football tournament back in November and we were ready for many more successes. Unfortunately, most fixtures had to be cancelled towards the end of last term, however we have football tournaments, cross-country meets and gymnastics competitions all planned for the coming months,
which teams across the school are preparing for. Our Year 2 team attended a festival in late January and won all of their matches. For them, this was their first sporting event outside of school and against other local schools. Year 4 girls team have their finals for the County in February. Our Cross country runners and teams will represent the county too in February in a final which will be held at Windlesham House.
Chichester Festival Theatre has been once again working with Year 6; the children gain so much from working with the drama and scriptwriting teams from the theatre and we are very fortunate to have this resource come in to school offering their expertise.
Every term we reward the most improved or most consistent readers from each class in memory of one of our former Reading Buddies, Mrs 
Sherlock. From the fund generously set up by her husband, our star readers each receive a lovely hardback book to cherish. Last term they were all presented with the latest publications by authors such as JK Rowling and David Walliams. In January, we had a book fair in school. Each child was able to look through the cases of books and then put one or two titles on a wish list to take home. Many children were lucky enough to have a book bought for them and read at home. The commission from the sales is given to the school and we use it to replenish our stock in the library.
Despite the recent chilly weather, the children have been enjoying the latest addition to our playground. This term the Wendy house, basketball hoops, goal posts, trim trail and climbing frame have been joined by the new obstacle equipment: Adventure Island! This was chosen by the School Council and the funding was taken from our Sport Premium ringfenced money which is given by the government to make children more active in school.
Our Year 6 School Councillors decided that they would like to raise funds to help the Friends (our PTA) who haven’t been able to hold any events for the last two years. They wrote a letter to parents asking for donations and managed to drum up some fantastic prizes. The raffle raised a wonderful total of £3,100 which will be used for events, trips and special visitors to benefit all of the children. To that end, in February we welcomed Zoolab in to school. They brought a number of exotic animals primarily to compliment Year 3’s ‘Rainforest’ topic, but they also visited the other year groups so that all the children could share in the experience. Children learned about the animals and their habitats, and in some cases were even able to handle them.
Year 6 were delighted to receive letters from their pen pals in France. They have been corresponding with their French pen pals for the last two years; they have even written some phrases in French, putting into practice what they have been learning in class. As a school who has the award of ‘International Schools’, we have languages high on our agenda. Year 5 have a pen pal link to Spain and many of the classes research the wider world in their Geography lessons.
Finally, we had an Ofsted Inspection in mid-December which saw us maintain our ‘Good’ rating. The feedback was very complimentary about all areas of school life. The report commented on how engaged and focused our children are, and that they were keen to talk about how much they enjoy school, as well how kind the staff are – one child said that, “teachers are so kind and all the children try hard to be like them.” Behaviour was ‘strong’, as was provision for all abilities, including for children with additional needs. Governance and accountability were commended strengths, as was the quality of education provided. The inspector saw that the children have a good start in Reception and that this builds all the way through the school. We already know all of these things about our school, of course, but it is lovely to have outside validation, and for external people to see how super our school is. The report can be read in full on our school website https://www.stphilipsarundel.org.uk/
