Dear Parents and Friends of the School

I very much hope you enjoyed a restful half term break. I know many of you need to work through the school holidays, so I do hope you were able to find the opportunity for at least some quality time with your children. 

It doesn't take long to get back in the swing of things here in school and it has been a busy old week, with lots of highlights along the way. It has been nice to see a good number of parents coming in each morning to quiz with their child on their reading books, which is such an important part of learning for primary aged children. 

The children particularly enjoyed an entertaining assembly from Mr du Toit, the headteacher from Princethorpe College, who came to spend some time with us on Wednesday morning. His theme was ‘listening’, and with some fun audience participation built in, he made lots of nice, clear points for the children to think about. His theme fits in with our School Promise of the week as well, which is ‘we are calm and sensible’. I have been around the classes this week taking pictures of the children hard at work or lining up sensibly in the corridor or in the lunchroom, and I shared these in assembly this morning to reinforce the message (see photo gallery). 

After school this evening, we have the Bingo Night organised by the Friends of Crescent. It is great to see that we are already fully booked for this event and I am sure it will be a big success. We are using some of the funds that are raised to go towards the Barnaby Friendship Garden that will be put together in the Easter holiday. I am especially pleased that so many of the Year 6 children are involved in fund raising activities on the evening, and they will rightfully be proud of their contribution to their friend’s project. 

As I write this newsletter, it's a foggy start to the day but I hear that blue skies are promised later on. Let's hope we get some of those over the weekend as well. 

Have a great weekend everyone, 

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

Dear Parents,

This communication contains all of the key information you need to know about how homework is managed in the school. I hope you find the information here helpful. 

I wanted to bring this all together in one place for you to look at and understand exactly how this is organised in the school and what your expectations will be as the children move from year to year.

Homework remains an important part of school life and learning for the children, at the same time, we recognise it has to take its place alongside the other demands on children’s out of school time. The programme that we have for homework hopefully reflects the right balance, providing opportunities to extend and reinforce the learning in the classroom, and also to be prepared and ready for the next lesson in that subject. 

Whilst we welcome parents involvement in completing homework tasks with their children, this is often a lovely way to share the school experience in the family home, we recognise this is not always possible and children should be able to complete their homework independently if required.

In today's Courier you will find another useful link to the half termly document known as ‘How to support your child at home’. I hope that reading these together will put you fully in the picture in regard to academic plans for the half term ahead.

Purpose of Homework Tasks 

The purpose is to:

• encourage pupils to develop skills, confidence and motivation to study effectively on their own.
• consolidate and reinforce skills and understanding developed at school.
• extend school learning, e.g. by additional research or reading.
• provide an opportunity for parents or guardians to be involved in the student’s learning.

DfE Guidance:

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

All pupils in Years 3-6 will be playing cricket in their Games lessons in the Trinity Term and we are hoping to have some cricket fixtures. For those who would like to wear the kit we offer a cricket shirt, trousers and sleeveless slipover which can be ordered here. The cricket kit is not compulsory.  

Please note the uniform shop stock very little cricket kit so it may not be available if you do not order it.

We have some samples of the cricket trousers and shirts in the school office. Please drop into the office to have a look/try on anytime from 8.15am.  Orders need to be placed by Friday 6 March.

Summer Dresses can also be ordered here. These will be worn after Easter with blazers and white socks. As children grow quite quickly, please check the length as dresses should be on or below the knee.  Please order by end of March for delivery before Easter.

Crescent School

The deadline for the acceptance of places for September 2025 Year 7 entry to Princethorpe College is fast approaching.

Parents wishing to accept their child's offered place are reminded that they need to send their signed Confirmation of Acceptance Form and £400 deposit back to Mrs Catherine Rogers, the Registrar, by Tuesday 4 March 2025 please, to secure their child’s place.

Over the last few weeks, a high number of acceptances have come in and the College has told us that it is looking to be a tremendous Year Group. Please be aware that Princethorpe College only guarantees places that are accepted by the above deadline date.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to get in touch with Mrs Rogers and Miss Newborough, their friendly Admissions Team. They can be contacted on 01926 634201 or 297 respectively or you can email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

Children are invited to create a drawing or painting inspired by the beloved character Peter Rabbit.  

Please see the cover photo for more details.

All entries to be handed into the school office or emailed in by 24 March 2025.

Crescent School will be celebrating World Book Day on Thursday 6 March 2025.  

This year, the World Book Day campaign theme is Read My Way. 

Our Plans:

Read My Way House Competition 
Children are invited to enter artwork, photographs, videos, stories or anything else they can think of on the theme of Read My Way. Entries should showcase and celebrate where, when and why children love to read. The more creative, the better! 

Each entry will be awarded 5 house points and there will be book-related prizes for a few entries in each house that really stand out. Entries should be uploaded on Seesaw – each child should now be part of a Seesaw class for their House.  The competition will run from 28 February to the 7 March.  

Green Team Book Swap 
From Monday 3 to Friday 7 March a second hand book swap will be set up in the Science room. Quite simply, children can bring an old book from home and swap it for another one! If they can’t see anything they want on the day, they can take an IOU and come back later in the week. The book swap will be available in the Science room during 1^st lunch sitting each day and then in the library throughout Friday lunch time, run by Library Club.  

Classroom Activities 
For World Book Day itself, form tutors have selected a favourite book for their class to explore through a range of activities throughout the day. Books include The Lost Spells, Quick, Let’s Get Out Of Here!, Tuesday, Peace Train and The Gruffalo. We’ll be creating a World Book Day corridor display to follow – keep an eye out for this alongside other photographs from the day in the Courier! 

Ms Clark
Head of English

Over winter, the Forest School resources storage was taken advantage of by some furry visitors. Whilst I love that we have helped nature during the cold weather, it does mean that my wool is now unable to be used during the sessions!  If anyone has any old balls of wool, no matter how big or small, that they are willing to donate then I would love them. It is amazing to see how creative the children can be with a sticks and wool, and it is a favourite outdoor craft for many of the children.

If you think you may be able to help, then please send the wool in with your child to give to me or drop it in at reception.

Thank you.

Mrs Dowling
Forest School Lead

Weekly Calendar 

There is no Musical Theatre or STEM Club afterschool on Monday.

Weekly Calendar 3 March 2025

After School

Provision can be booked through My School Portal selecting the sessions you require. If you require your child to have tea, please ensure bookings are made by 10.00am each day.  

MySchoolPortal

Crescent School

Please click below to view the lunch menu for next school week, children are able to have either the Main or Vegetarian option. 

Lunch Menu - 4 March 2025

Crescent School

Please see below to view the music lesson timetable:

Music lessons - 3 March 2005

The music lesson timetable will be published in the Courier every Friday. Please note the following:

• The timetable changes every week. Lessons are rotated as we try to avoid children missing the same lesson each week, though sometimes this is unavoidable if there are trips, matches and events to work around. If a teacher teaches on more than one day, your child's lesson could be on any of those days. Lessons in bold type are in fixed slots and therefore do not rotate, though, again, on occasions we may have to swap them around to avoid clashes with events.
• The music staff will always try to reschedule lessons missed because of a school event, however lessons missed because of illness or not having an instrument in school cannot be made up.
• If you know your child is not going to be in school for their lesson for any reason, please do let me know as early as possible and I will try to work around it, though this cannot be guaranteed.
• Lessons before school and during lunchtime are prioritised to Year 5 pupils now and Year 6 lessons have moved to being during class time.
• Half a term's (ie five lessons) notice is required to stop having lessons, or payment of half a term's fees in lieu of notice.

Please send all enquiries about music lessons to me juliebarnes@crescentschool.co.uk rather than the individual music teachers.

Mrs Barnes
Director of Music

Please find below a link to view this term’s Crescent School calendar. We hope that you will find it a useful aide memoir when planning school events and activities into your busy schedules. There is plenty to look forward to, including lots of fixtures and the end of term Spring Concert.

Please note the following additions this term:

• Thursday 20 March - Year 2 Spring Performance to Parents
• Wednesday 26 March - ABRSM Exams will now take place on this date

CS Lent Term Calendar 2025

Crescent School

Crescent School is delighted to have passed an Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) Inspection with the school judged to have fully met the standards in every area following a visit in December 2024.

The report, which has just been published, follows a new framework which examines standards relating to five key areas:

• leadership and management and governance
• the quality of education, training and recreation
• pupils’ physical and mental health and emotional well being
• pupils’ social and economic education and contribution to society
• safeguarding

As well as fully meeting all the standards, Crescent School has been judged as having ‘a significant strength’ regarding its ‘inclusive and highly effective focus and provision with regard to PE, sport and healthy living’, which the report details ‘impacts positively on pupils’ performance in class’ and ‘has a very positive impact on pupils’ self-confidence and self-esteem'.  Fewer than ten per cent of schools inspected by the ISI across the UK achieve a coveted ‘significant strength’ recognition.

A team of three inspectors visited the school over three days; they observed lessons and scrutinised pupils’ work. During their rigorous inspection, they spoke with pupils, teachers, senior staff and the Chair of Trustees. Inspectors observed extra-curricular activities, attended assemblies and scrutinised the premises and documentation and records provided by the school. In addition, they reviewed all the responses of parents, pupils and staff to pre-inspection questionnaires.

Other key highlights recognised by the report include:

• Leaders and staff model the school’s core values of kindness, tolerance and respect so that pupils reflect these in their behaviour.
• The school provides a broad and engaging curriculum that covers all required areas and a wide range of subjects, including art, design technology, music, drama, Latin and modern foreign languages.
• Teaching staff create a purposeful and calm learning environment.
• Well planned teaching utilises a variety of strategies to develop pupils’ ability to think for themselves and enable them to make good progress.
• Pupils work collaboratively to support each other and treat each other with respect.
• The recreational activities on offer allow pupils to follow their interests and develop their knowledge, skills and confidence in areas such as sport, music, drama, cookery and chess.

Headmaster, Joe Thackway, comments “We are delighted to have achieved a full clean bill of health from the ISI. The report is a really positive endorsement of everything we do here at Crescent School and reflects a huge team effort. The report shows that we are delivering on our commitment to providing our pupils with an outstanding all-round education, instilling in our children life-long learning skills while fostering the qualities of kindness, tolerance and mutual respect.”

Mr Thackway continues, “It is particularly pleasing to have our PE, Sport and Healthy Living provision recognised as a significant strength of the school, as this undoubtedly has a long-term positive impact on our pupils lives both inside and outside the classroom. My thanks go to the outstanding staff here at Crescent, our wonderful pupils and hugely supportive parent body; all of whom have played a part in this successful inspection.”

Foundation Principal, Ed Hester, added, “As a Foundation we are committed to making our schools environments where every child can thrive, both academically and personally and it is affirming to have this recognised by the ISI. A huge well done to Joe and all the team at Crescent School.”  

A copy of the report is available to read here and will shortly be available on the ISI’s website.

The ISI is the Government-approved body responsible for the inspection of independent schools. 

Crescent School will be welcoming a new member of staff next academic year when Jo Westlake joins us as Director of Music. Mrs Westlake will take over from our longstanding Director of Music, Mrs Barnes, who back in January announced her intention to retire at the end of this school year. 

The recruitment process to choose Mrs Barnes' replacement was rigorous and we interviewed a number of candidates. We are delighted that Mrs Westlake has accepted the role.

Jo brings a wealth of experience, having spent over two decades working in education. She studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She has worked as Director of Music and piano teacher at Packwood Haugh Prep School in Shropshire, at Maidwell Hall Prep School in Northamptonshire and further afield in South East Asia at Rugby School Thailand. She has also taught piano both privately and at several independent schools in Scotland and in West Sussex. 

Headmaster, Joe Thackway, comments, “We are delighted that Jo has accepted the position of Director of Music. Music is such a strength here at Crescent School, both as a taught subject and in our co-curricular provision. The teaching of music remains one of our key commitments to the children’s education as we know strong Music provision develops well-rounded, creative and emotionally intelligent children. I know you will welcome Jo onto the school teaching team when she arrives.”

Mr du Toit, the Headmaster at Princethorpe College, visited Crescent School on Wednesday morning. He led an assembly for the whole school that reflected on the skill of listening. He spoke to pupils in Afrikaans to emphasise the importance of understanding when listening and then roped in our Assembly Monitors to show how letting others talk is key to listening. The children engaged brilliantly with his messages.

Mr du Toit then spent time with Year 6 talking to the children to allay any concerns the youngsters might have about their upcoming transition on to senior school. Year 6 had plenty of questions for him on a whole range of topics, from how form time and the lesson timetable works, and how would they find their way round their new school, to what co-curricular choices they might have, and perhaps most importantly, what were school lunches really like. It was all good reassurance for them as they begin to look forward to life after Crescent School. 

Many thanks to Mr du Toit for visiting us this week.

We have had plenty of good feedback on the new school newsletter but a number of parents have told us that they missed the one page overview. So in response to that feedback we have now introduced a new index page.

The new index can be found at the bottom of the pop out menu accessed through the 'hamburger' menu button. There is also a direct link to it from the welcome message on the newsletter homepage. 

This change should make the newsletter easier to navigate if you were missing the old overview.

Please do get in touch with the school office if you have any questions on or need any assistance with the school newsletter.

Much is known about dyslexia but often there is much less awareness of dyscalculia. The aim of Dyscalculia Day is to raise awareness and bring attention to the challenges faced by people with dyscalculia, provide educational resources, and promote understanding in schools, homes and workplaces. It aims to increase awareness, reduce stigma, and advocate for better support and accommodations for people with dyscalculia.

People with dyscalculia may struggle with number sense, arithmetic, understanding patterns, dealing with money and telling the time.

If this is something that you'd like to learn more about, the link below provides plenty of information.

https://dyscalculianetwork.com/primary/

Mrs Yates
SENDCo

Monday 3 March 2025

Children in Yellow House can wear one item of yellow clothing with their unform on St Davids Day.

Crescent School 

Monday 3 March 2025 - 4.00pm to 6.00pm

Thursday 7 March 2025 6.00pm - 8.00pm

We are looking forward to meeting with parents from Years 5 and 6 this week. This is your opportunity to meet with your child's form tutor/specialist teachers to discuss their academic progress. 

Parking will be available on the Playground.

Mr Thackway

Headmaster

For World Book Day this year (Thursday 6 March) we will not be dressing up but will be celebrating it in school with classroom activities. For further details, please read tonight's article in the Courier:

- The Courier

Ms Clark
Head of English

Dear Parents

As mentioned previously, on Monday 10 March at 4.00pm Mrs Stapleton and I will be hosting a workshop event for parents.

This will feature a presentation and opportunities to talk through our approach to Zones of Regulation whereby children learn to recognise their feelings and emotions and build positive strategies around how to deal with them.  As always, we believe that common and consistent language approaches at home and in school benefits all children.  

Please note this event is aimed at parents only, so please book your child(ren) into Afterschool if you require care (free of charge):

Wellbeing/Zones of regulation - Workshop for Parents

Mr Webb and Mrs Stapleton
Pastoral Lead/Wellbeing Lead

Thursday 13 April 2024 - 10.30am to 12.30pm

As part of the launch of the 2026 Admissions Cycle, the College's Spring Open Morning will give prospective families a chance to visit the school on a normal working day, with Year 8 and 9 pupils acting as tour guides. The Leadership and Admissions Teams will be available to answer any questions visitors might have. Light refreshments will be available.

All are welcome, please book your place by clicking here.

Entrance Examinations Day for September 2026 entry will take place on Saturday 8 November 2025 from 9.30am to 3.30pm. The deadline for registrations, scholarship and bursary applications is Friday 26 September 2025.

Limited places are also still available for entry to the College in September 2025 in current Years 7 to 10, and a Spring Entrance Exams Session will take place, after the Open Morning on Friday 21 March.

For further information please contact the Admissions Team on 01926 643201/297 or email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

Saturday 15 March - 10.00am to 12.00pm

We are holding our Spring Open Morning on Saturday 15 March. This is a great opportunity for prospective families considering Crescent School to have a look around and get a feel for the school. There will also be opportunities to see sport and music in action, speak to pupils, key members of staff and to meet Mr Thackway, Headmaster.

The school will have two Reception Classes in September 2025 and we are still accepting registrations for the last few places.

To find out more and to book your visit to Crescent School visit our website here.

Applications for places in the current Reception to Year 6 are treated on an individual basis as there are limited places. Please get in touch with our Registrar, Mrs Becky Witcomb, at admissions@crescentschool.co.uk, regarding availability for September 2025.  To find out more about mid-year and mid-term admissions click here. 

We are now also taking registrations for September 2026 entry to Reception and Year 3. 

Team Super Sports are back at Princethorpe College during the Easter Holidays with an action-packed three weeks for children aged 5 to 16 years. From Monday 7 April to Friday 25 April (excluding bank holidays), the Holiday Camps will run from 8.00am to 5.00pm.

Children aged 7 to 16 can choose from a variety of sports to create their own personalised sports camp! For our younger campers (ages 5 to 7), along with sport we’ve got arts, crafts, and dance activities to keep them engaged and having a blast!

Why Team Super Sports? They’re experts in sport and multi-activity holiday camps, providing top-level coaching for all abilities.

Click here to visit the Team Super Sports website to secure your child’s spot.

Camps are priced at £38 per day. Book before Sunday 16 March to receive an extra 10% off for early booking!

Sibling discounts and flexible booking options available!

The Tale of Peter Rabbit​
Wednesday 9 April - 2.30pm and 4.00pm and Thursday 10 April - 2.30pm and  4.00pm

As part of the Foundation's drive to increase non-fee income, our Commercial Enterprise Team are delighted to be hosting LOL Theatre Company's lovingly adapted production of The Tale of Peter Rabbit in The Clarkson Theatre in the run up to Easter.

When young Peter Rabbit disobeys his mother and enters the forbidden garden belonging to Mr McGreggor, he indulges himself with lettuce, green beans and radishes, however he soon starts to feel sick and goes in search of some parsley to soothe his stomach ache. Who does he encounter when he ventures further into the vegetable patch? None other than Mr McGreggor himself! After a frantic chase, he loses his clothes and his sense of direction. Will Peter Rabbit escape Mr McGreggor's clutches and return home unharmed? More importantly, will he learn his lesson and listen to his mother's warnings next time? Let's hope so!

This 45-minute family friendly production is based on the classic short story by Beatrix Potter and teaches about the importance of listening to warnings, doing the right thing and facing the consequences of your actions. Recommended for ages 4 and above.

This enchanting theatre show brings Beatrix Potter’s beloved characters to life!

Tickets

• Adult ticket - £10
• Child ticket - £5
• Under 4s go FREE

Click here to book your seats.

It is only the first week back after half term, and there are already lots of full Junior da Vinci awards to tell you about, reflecting the children's hard work.

• MingYi, Maxi, Matthew, Samuel and Nora in 6W, and James in 2E all gain their badges in Art.
• Jahnavi in 4W and Ria in 4C gain theirs in Science, and
• Kiran in 5F gains hers in RE.
• Ella, Esme, Amber and Lilah in 5F all gain theirs in English.
• Alex in 2E gains his in Maths.

Well done all.

Mrs Symons 
JDV Lead

Congratulations to the following children for achieving their reading awards this week:

• 500K Words – Oore (3SS)
• Word Millionaires – Juliette (3SS), Catherine (4C) and Toni (6W)
• Double Millionaire – Aria (5F)
• Quadruple Millionaire – Nora (6W)

Keep up the excellent reading.

Mrs Nelson
Teaching Assistant

Word Wizards

The pupils achieving the highest word count from successfully quizzing this week, are:

• 3LS Hazel
• 3SS Juliette
• 4C Alice
• 4W Joshua
• 5F Lilah
• 6W Alex W

Top Quizzers 

The pupils who have quizzed on the most books successfully or made a noticeable improvement in quizzing scores this week are:

• 3LS Zachary
• 3SS Daniel
• 4C Penelope
• 4W Kiki
• 5F Seren
• 6W Nora

Mrs Nelson
Teaching Assistant

This week's 100K Word Superstars are:

• Olivia-Rose (3LS)
• Lara and Nishaan (3SS)

Well done.

Mrs Nelson
Teaching Assistant

A really important part of life in Pre-Prep is building a love of reading. We are developing the children's phonics skills, reading fluency, expression, style and comprehension. Each week we select two readers from each class who have stood out to us as demonstrating one or more of these skills or who have made really great progress over the previous few weeks. It's a lovely way for the children to know that we recognise and celebrate their success.

This week's reading superstars are:

• Reception - Isabella and Frank
• Year 1 - Isaac and Sanvika
• Year 2 - Gene and Sofia

Mrs Emery
Head of KS1 and Class 2E Form Teacher

It is always an exciting time for the children when they gain their pen licence, enabling them to make the move from writing in pencil to pen. For this rite of passage, the children have to show that they can write neatly and consistently in cursive, joined handwriting in all of their work, not just handwriting tasks.

This week the following children have earnt their pen licences. Well done on always using neat and consistently-sized, cursive writing in everything you do!

• Ava
• Locan
• Tara

Mrs Stapleton
Class 3SS Form Tutor

Garage and Gigs are the most important games to show your progress. Pupils  reaching landmark % for JdVs for Maths Practice this week:

• Ashleen 3SS completed 24% of the training course.
• Sarima 3LS completed 72% and then 100% of the training course.

Battle Results - 12 - 26 February 2025 between Y1-6 (average score per class member):

• 1st 3SS 426
• 2nd 1Q 220
• 3rd 3LS 115

Most valuable players in the whole competition:

• 1st Sanvika 1Q
• 2nd Isabel 3SS
• 3rd Nishaan 3SS

Well done, 3SS! 🏆

Most improved speedsters in the studio are:

3SS

• Ashleen - Headliner!
• Locan - Rock Star!
• Isabel - Rock Star!

New battle between all classes 26 February - 5 March 2025.

Please note only the children should play on their account or it influences the level appropriate to them.

Art Frizzmeister 
Deputy Head

Artists of the Week are:

• Henry 6W - A carefully composed landscape
• Edward M 6W - A beautifully observed landscape painting
• Nora 6W - Lovely colourful landscape study
• Matthew 6W - A carefully painted version of a David Hockney landscape
• Maya 6W - Lovely mix of colours and good understanding of perspective
• Sam 6W - Well observed colour study of a David Hockney painting
• Jonelle 3SS - Excellently planned out portrait
• Max 6W - Beautifully presented landscape colour study
• Erica 2E - Carefully observed sketches of a horse model from different angles
• Emily 2E - Skilful use of ovals to help with the proportions of an animal
• James 2E - Excellent understanding of the shape, pattern and texture of different animals
• Harry 2E - Carefully observed animal models
• Keevie 3LS - Beautiful use of shading to add contrast
• Isla 3LS - Lovely shading to show light and shadow

Mrs Thackway
Head of Art

Some of the things the children have been learning...

We have set sail with our new ‘Pirates’ topic and enjoyed imaginary play aboard our class pirate ship. We have been counting treasure coins and created individual maps of the classroom.

In Maths we have been practically exploring ways to make 10.

We have revised tall letters in handwriting – focussing on a clear ‘swoosh’ and flick in entry and exit strokes.

In Phonics, our sound this week has been or. The children have matched words and pictures, written captions and played games to secure their learning. 

Some of the things the children will be learning in the weeks to come...

We will be helping ‘Mrs Pirate’ write her shopping list.

We will be investigating number bonds to 10. 

We will be writing addition and subtraction sentences relating to one more and one less.                                   

How to help your child at home...

Encourage children to write shopping lists. Talk about the features of this style of writing. 

Practise simple addition and subtraction, making connections to number bonds.

Continue to practise daily reading - please remember to record in the reading record. 

What’s going on next half term/ notices/information...

The children have been a pleasure to work with this week and made my return to work so enjoyable – thank you for your support with this.

Mrs Pullen
Reception Class Teacher

Last half term Reception pupils started learning the French for a variety of ice-cream flavours. Here they are with their very own glace à la fraise with sprinkles made using coloured card and colourful gem stickers.

Mrs Day
Reception MFL Teacher

Reception have been working with percussion instruments, learning their names and how to play them.

They tried to find at least two different ways to play each instrument and then used them to create a winter soundscape by making sounds to represent the cold wind, snow falling and ice crunching.

Mrs Barnes
Head of Music

This week in Maths, Year 1 have been busy practising their counting skills by learning to count in 2s, 5s, and 10s.

To make learning fun and hands-on, we used pairs of shoes to help us count in 2s, spotting the pattern as we grouped them together. The children have really enjoyed these activities and are becoming more confident in recognising number patterns. Keep practising at home by counting everyday objects in 2s, 5s, and 10s!

Miss Quirke
Year 1 Maths Teacher

In Year 1 Construction Club, the children have been enhancing their creativity skills by using LEGO, blocks, and den-building materials! Each session is filled with hands-on fun as children design, stack, and construct everything from towering castles to secret hideouts. Through teamwork and problem-solving, they develop fine motor skills, spatial awareness, and confidence in bringing their ideas to life all whilst having lots of fun!

Miss Quirke
Year 1 Form Teacher

Year 1 had a spooktacular time at their Monster Phonics Party!

They joined Red A, Green Froggy, Yellow I, and all their monster friends for a fun-filled celebration packed with games, music, and dancing after a fun week of learning. It was a monstrously good time, full of laughter and learning!

Miss Quirke
Year 1 Form Teacher

Keeping spelling practice fresh is really important to maintain interest and memory for children. Today we practised our spellings by making the words out of playdough – spelling practice, hand muscle strengthening and fun all rolled into one. One of the children said, ‘best phonics lesson ever!’ Sometimes in the rush to get through spelling practice it can be easy to forget that things that are more fun are more memorable.

What different ways can you practise spellings at home each week?  Don’t forget, all Year 2 children have a login for Spellzone where weekly spellings can be practised via a range of different IT games.  

Mrs Emery
Year 2 English Teacher

Class 2E had fun modelling their clay animals. They tried hard to look at the shape and how the animals stand. When they finished modelling the basic shape, they enjoyed adding the texture and detail. Next lesson, the children are going to paint them and I think they are going to look amazing.

Mrs Thackway
Year 2 Art Teacher

On cold mornings, you may be inclined to keep your engine running to keep warm while you sit in your car outside school. The Green Team would ask you to consider the impact that idling your engine has on the air quality, health of our pupils and climate change.

Here is a link to an RAC web page that contains more information and explains why engine idling is so harmful.

Engine idling - why it's so harmful and what's being done | RAC Drive

Thank you

The Green Team

Year 5 and 6 pupils battled the cold and very muddy conditions of Hart Field on Monday 10 February, hoping to gain a place at the County Finals on Saturday 15 March.  There was some fantastic running from all students, all applying their knowledge of pace running from fitness lessons well.  They will be out for their second race next Tuesday at Binley Woods for another tough course.  The top eight finishers will secure places at the County finals.  

Top finishers – Amber 3^rd, Roisin 8^th, Kian 6^th, Thomas 9th and Tomisin 11th 

Wednesday 26 February saw the Year 4 cross country runners take on the fields of Bilton Junior School and Rugby High School, in another well attended and challenging race.  For some this was their first experience of competitive cross country running, all pupils did themselves proud with Joshua winning the boys race in a battle to line resulting in a photo finish.  

Again top eight finishers will be invited to the County Finals on Saturday 15 March. We are still awaiting final results for this race.  

Great work to all involved and good luck in your next races.   

Mrs McCollin
Head of PE and Games

Crescent U11s 'A'

Crescent 'A's approached their triangular tournament with real determination and skill, winning their first game 2-0 against The Elms. The whole side moved the ball superbly, completely dominating possession and forcing the opposition back deep into their own half. Player of the match was Aryaan for his flawless positional play. The 'A's then continued their fine form with a 1-0 victory over hosts Bilton Grange. Crescent again dominated the ball and the pitch in a much shortened match, Matthew was player of the match for his fantastic passing game.

Crescent U11s 'B'

Crescent 'B's flew out of the blocks in their match, sweeping aside The Elms 'B's with a comprehensive 8-0 victory. Alex B was player of the match for his excellent attacking wing play, stretching the opposition defence. The 'B's then found themselves up against much tougher opposition in BG, but played superbly as a team to secure a 0-0 draw. Zac and Max were joint players of the match for their stalwart and determined defending.

Crescent U11s 'C'

Crescent 'C's continued the Elms clean sweep with a fantastic team effort, securing a 2-0 win against the opposition 'C' side through goals from Patrick and Theo Mc. Player of the match was Alex W for his excellent control and dribbling on the ball. Unfortunately Crescent were unable to repeat this against a very strong BG side, losing 4-0 in their final match despite some ferocious tackling and brave defence. Player of the match was Theo Mc for his superb all-round game.

Mr Adkins, Mrs Dowling and Mr Nelson

Crescent welcomed King Henry VIII Year 6 Netball teams on Wednesday 26 February for fixtures against our U11 and U10 teams. 

U11 - Continuing their winning streak from the ISA Midlands tournament earlier in the month the U11 girls dominated the play, moving the ball effectively to our attacking circle and Sophia who was on fire, scoring a total of 10 goals in the match. The whole team worked well together utilising the space and showing fantastic footwork. With further goals from Roisin and Ming Yi.

Final score was 13-0 

Player of the Match - Sophia 

U10 - All 14 pupils played fantastically, with all girls applying the knowledge of 'clearing out and driving forward' effectively to be able to use the space and move the ball quickly in to our attacking circle.  In defence we anticipated play well and made fantastic interceptions making it difficult for the opposing team to score.   

Final score - 7-2 win 

POM - Esme  

Fantastic play from everyone involved. 

Mrs McCollin and Ms Clarke 

Click here to view the term dates for 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Crescent School

Please see below for useful school contact information:

Uniform can be ordered here:

Uniform Order Form

Please note the following items are stocked in the School Office and can be added to your account. Do pop in to collect any items.

• Winter hats
• Scarves
• Gloves
• Ties
• Swimming hats
• Sports socks
• Hair bands
• Hair scrunchies
• Hair clips
• Sun hats
• Music group badges - Choir, Orchestra, String and Brass 

School Uniform Shop 
Tel: 01926 634272
Email: uniform@princethorpe.co.uk

We regularly recruit for a variety of roles, please do share news of the vacancies with interested friends and family. Current vacancies include:

Princethorpe College

• Teacher of Business Studies
• Teacher of MFL
• Graduate Teaching Assistant
• Graduate Sports Coach

Full details and information on how to apply are available on the Foundation website here:

www.princethorpe.co.uk/join-us

Should you know anyone who might be interested in these posts, please do share this information with them.

Please click on the link below which provides information regarding areas of the curriculum where you may be able to help your child at home.

• Class 1Q Lent term 2025
• Class 2E Lent Term 2025
• Class 3LS Lent Term 2025
• Class 3SS Lent Term 2025
• Class 4C Lent Term 2025
• Class 4W Lent Term 2025
• Class 5F Lent Term 2025
• Class 6W Lent Term 2025

Ms Forth
Deputy Head - Curriculum