Dear Parents and Friends of the School

At the end of the Pre-Prep sports day on Thursday it occurred to me that every single planned sports event this term has gone ahead without delay or cancellation. That is quite unusual, maybe close to unique, and it certainly makes life easier for us here, and I suspect for you as parents and for your planning. 

Sports day itself was beautifully organised, and it was great to see every single child taking part to the very best of their ability. The children cheered each other on and waited patiently for their turn, when they got the chance they ran their hearts out and threw and jumped with the same enthusiasm. Many thanks to the large audience of parents who came along to support on the day as well as the children from Year 6 who made such excellent track officials.  

A highlight, not only of the week, but of the year has to be the Year 6 production of Romeo and Juliet. The first performance was to a wide-eyed pupil audience on Monday and then to parents and guests on Tuesday evening. The standard of the production, as well as all of the dancing, singing and acting was quite astounding. Every now and again I had to pinch myself and remember that this was a Year 6 school production, not the West End. 

For those who can remember, the ending to the play is just too excruciating and I felt the usual sense of sheer frustration that why, just this once, couldn’t the two star crossed lovers find a way of ending up in each other’s arms, and not dead? It didn’t happen of course, it couldn’t, not even in a primary school version of the play. It is a play that certainly deserves its moniker as Shakespeare's only tragedy. 

The Welcome Evening yesterday was well attended and once again thank you for those who came along in support and to find out about next year's plans. For those unable to attend I will be circulating a version of my own PowerPoint for you to watch at home, perhaps on a particularly bad night for the television. 

Welcome Evening followed on from move-up morning, when it is always great to see the children relishing the prospect of taking another stride forward in their school careers and moving up the ladder as they do so. Next week the focus will be very much on our Year 6 leavers and we wish them every success and hope their last four days here at Crescent will be a fitting ending to their time with us. 

If you're planning to get over to the Princethorpe Summer Fest on Sunday, I hope you have a great time, and whatever else you might be doing this weekend I hope you have a good one with plenty of rest and relaxation firmly built in at the centre of it. 

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

Next week children will need a named carrier bag/reusable bag to take their belongings home.  Please can this be sent in on Monday.

Thank you

Crescent School

We are now on the final few days of Year 6.

Please send a large 'shopper' type bag in on Monday as we start to send all of their books and belongings home.

On Wednesday the children should be wearing games kit as normal. On Thursday they can wear a white T-shirt/sports shirt for the morning over their uniform that can be signed by their peers and staff. They must ensure they use pens that do not come through onto their uniform (they do need to provide their own) as we like them to look smart for their Leavers' Service in the afternoon.

Mrs Webb
Class 6W Form Teacher

Co-curricular clubs ended today, Friday 27 June, with the exception of the clubs below:

Monday 30 June

• All Star Arts and Crafts - 3.45pm to 4.30pm

Tuesday 1 July

• All Star Multi Dance - 3.45pm to 4.30pm

After this date, if you require After School care please make sure you book this in advance through My School Portal so we can ensure correct staff ratios.

Clubs choices for next term will go live during August, look out for the email from the School Office. 

Mrs Webb
Assistant Head

Please can you have a look around home over the weekend for any library/school books that you may have and then return them to school. Please check under beds, on bookcases and in bags as it does make a big difference to our school stocks.

Thank you.

Mrs Calder
Head Librarian

Weekly Calendar 

Weekly Calendar 30 June 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 week. 

Lunch Menu - 30 June 2025

Crescent School

Please see below to view the music lesson timetable:

Music lessons - 30 June 2025

Mrs Barnes
Director of Music

Crescent’s Year 6 were simply magnificent this week when they performed Shakespeare’s classic, Romeo and Juliet. In their final end-of-school production, they superbly portrayed the tragic tale of romance between two young Italians from feuding families. Their rendition just wowed their parents and teachers.

On the big night pupils were nervous but excited having really enjoyed their dress rehearsal in front of the school last week.

The children had worked incredibly hard with Drama teacher, Lizzie Woolfenden, and Director of Music, Julie Barnes, to prepare the special performance and the talented cast rose admirably to the challenge.

It was clear the audience really enjoyed the show, their thunderous applause a testament to yet another super example of the school’s broad provision for the arts.

Headmaster, Joe Thackway said, "Huge congratulations to all the cast for learning their lines so well and delivering them with meaning, expression and great timing, what a multi-talented group of young people they all are."

Many thanks to all the staff and parents who helped with the production.

A valued and important tradition here at Crescent School is for the Year 6 children to buddy with a Reception child to help them through their first year at school. It’s part of what makes Crescent such a nurturing environment where every child can flourish.

Our Year 6s have enjoyed supporting their Reception buddies across the year, helping them settle into school life and developing their sense of belonging. This week, as we headed towards the end of the school year, Year 6 enjoyed a farewell picnic with Reception out on the school field to celebrate their time together.

Our buddy system is a positive experience for all involved, encouraging kindness and cooperation and providing strong foundations for a supportive and connected school community.

Yesterday afternoon, we invited parents into school for our annual Open Book Afternoon. Parents always enjoy the school’s Open Corridor sessions when they have the chance to look at the displays around school but Open Book Afternoon offers the opportunity to get a much deeper insight into the children’s learning. It’s a fantastic opportunity for the children too, who are always so very proud to share their endeavours and just how much they have achieved across the year. We were delighted that so many of you were able to join us. Thank you for all the positive feedback and for your continuing support.

Year 1 enjoyed a Mini Brass taster session this week. It’s always a popular activity and the children had great fun finding out about brass instruments and playing the hose-a-phones! Mrs Fisher has been running Mini Brass Club for Year 2s for a few years now and it is a great introduction to future musical opportunities in the school. Many of our talented brass players first picked up their instruments in Mini Brass. Details of how to sign up for Mini Brass will be sent home to parents.

On Wednesday, we had our ‘Move up Morning’ and the children spent time in their new classrooms with their new teachers and teaching assistants. We also welcomed our new Reception children to school (one class on Tuesday and one on Wednesday) so they could meet their teachers and classmates for September. It was lovely to see everyone's faces full of smiles and expectation at the start of their exciting school journey.

'Move up Morning' allows staff to answer questions, allay fears and ease the transition on to the children’s next steps and there is always much excitement for the future bubbling around school.

Those children progressing on to Princethorpe for Year 7 spent the day over there getting to know their new surroundings, while our remaining Year 6s became honorary Year 7s for the morning here at Crescent School.

Sunday 29 June 2024 - 11.00am to 7.00pm

Join us for an unforgettable day building on the success of the PTA's Summer Fête and Motoring Festival!

View and download the Summer Fest programme here and get ready to immerse yourself in a vibrant celebration featuring:

• Live Music
• Performances from local groups
• Stunning Vintage Car Display
• Craft and Beauty stalls selling lots of amazing products
• Exquisite Art Exhibition
• Fun-filled Activities, Games and Crafts for all ages!

And that's not all! 

For £10 enjoy an array of large-scale inflatables and games at the PTA Fun Zone! 

Don't miss out on this spectacular event - bring your friends and family for a day of entertainment, creativity and delicious treats!

Entry is £5 per car to be paid on the day. To get your tickets click here. 

With thanks to our generous sponsor, Carter and King.

Monday 30 June 2024 - 2.30pm to 3.30pm

All the musicians in the Upper School have been working hard preparing for our Summer Concert. Choir, Orchestra, Brass Group, Flute Groups, Wacky Music (a recording will be shown), a Guitar Group and soloists from Year 6 will perform for your delectation and delight. 

Doors open at 2.15pm with refreshments in the Library. The playground will be open for parking from 2.00pm.

Booking has now closed, please contact the school office.

Mrs Barnes
Director of Music

Tuesday 1 July 2025 – 9.00am to 9.45am

Pre-Prep are starring in their very own Summer Concert on Tuesday 1 July. All classes in Pre-Prep and Mini Brass (a recording will be shown) will be very excited to show you what they have been learning in Music. 

Refreshments will be served in the library from 8.45am.

Booking has now closed, please contact the school office.

Mrs Barnes
Director of Music

Thursday 3 July 2025 - 2.00pm to 3.30pm

Crescent School would like to invite the parents and families of Year 6 to join us for the Leavers' Service of the Class of 2025 on Thursday 3 July between 2.00pm and 3.45pm.

You are welcome to join us for light refreshments on the school field at 2.00pm, followed by a service in the school hall which involves the presentation of Leavers' Books and a book from the school.  Alongside this, Year 6 and myself will share memories interspersed with musical interludes from this talented class.

Please indicate how many of your family will be joining us so we can cater accordingly. There are up to four tickets available per family:

Year 6 - Leavers' Celebration Service for Parents and Families

We hope you will be able to join us.

Mrs Webb
Year 6 Form Teacher

Dear Year 5 Parents

As you will no doubt be aware, the local authority 11+ exams for entry into Year 7 in 2025 are scheduled to take place on 13 and 14 September 2025. Registration for the exam has already opened on the Warwickshire.gov website.

With this in mind, we would like to invite this year’s Year 5 children in for two days of Pre-Season Brain Training Sessions on Thursday 28 August and Friday 29 August 2025. The sessions will run from 9.00am until 12.45pm each day. These sessions are entirely optional and are designed to prepare the children primarily for the grammar school exams, but also for any other entrance exams they may take later in the term. 

The children will spend each morning with their familiar Crescent teachers, including Ms Forth, Mrs Webb, Ms Clark and Mr Adkins, getting them back into gear and ready for their exams. Each day there will be taught sessions focusing on the four strands of the 11+; verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, Maths and English comprehension. Needless to say, these skills will also be useful for their Princethorpe exams on Saturday 8 November, as well as any other independent school exams they may be entered for.

Children will be expected to arrive in school smartly dressed with a mid-morning snack. They do not need to wear school uniform. These sessions will be in addition to the revision packs that we send home at the end of the Summer Term. I am pleased to say that there will be no charge for attendance.

Best wishes 

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

Team Super Sports Camps are back this Summer! The camps will be held at Princethorpe College from Monday 7 July until Friday 22 August, the Holiday Camps will run from 8.00am to 5.00pm.

Summer Holiday Camp at Princethorpe College:

📆 Monday 7 July - Friday 22 August

⏰ Drop off 8.00am to 9.00am / Pick up 4.00pm to 5.00pm

😁 Ages 5-16

🏅 Rugby / Football / Gymnastics / Netball / Tennis / Cricket / Hockey - Children choose their sports!

Check out this video of the Super Sports Camp at Princethorpe to see what they get up to. 

Camps are priced at £38 per day. 

Sibling discounts and flexible booking options available!

Click here to book your Team Super Sports camps.

Sunday 14 September 2025 - 2.00pm to 5.00pm

Princethorpe will be holding its annual Open Afternoon on Sunday 14 September from 2.00pm to 5.00pm. All are welcome to visit the College and for younger visitors, there will be many fun subject related activities organised by the departments.

The Headmaster will address visitors during the afternoon and refreshments will be available. 

Click here to book your place.

Our final JdV's of the year have been awarded to the following children. Congratulations to those who have received their JDV badge this week.  

Keep up the good work.

Ms Forth
Deputy Head

Our final reading awards of the year go to:

• Ashleen (3SS) - word milionaire
• Alice (4C) - octuple milionaire
• Jahnavi (4W) - word millionaire
• Lilah (5F) - triple millionaire

Amazing reading.

Mrs Nelson
Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Word Wizards

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

• 3LS Ire
• 3SS Ashleen
• 4C Penelope
• 4W Hermoine
• 5F Esme
• 6W Patrick

Top Quizzers 

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

• 3LS Charlotte
• 3SS Hannah
• 4C Alice
• 4W Florence
• 5F Lilah
• 6W MingYi

Whole Year Champions

We also have certificates for our Whole Year Champions:

• Crescent Word Wizard, having read over 8 million words this year is Alice (4C)
• Quizzer of the Year, having successfully quizzed on 112 books is Nora (6W)

Mrs Nelson
Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Battle Results 18 - 25 June 2025 (Y1 - 6 average score per class member)

• 1st 3SS 449
• 2nd 1Q 157
• 3rd 5F 17

Most valuable players in the whole competition:

• 1st Max 1Q
• 2nd Daniel 3SS
• 3rd Locan 3SS

Well done, 3SS! 🏆

Most improved speedsters in the studio are:

3SS

• Daniel - Rock Hero! average 0.98 seconds per correct answer consistently.
• Josiah - Rock Legend!
• Locan - Rock Legend!
• Jonelle - Headliner!

5F 

• Lilah - Support Act!

All playing counts for next week's battle but not jamming.

Art Frizzmeister 
Deputy Head

Congratulations to this week's Artist of the Week in Upper School:

• Zoe 4W - Imaginative design for chair sculpture  
• MingYi 6W - A striking Pop Art style self-portrait
• Aryaan 6W - Beautifully presented Pop Art self-portrait
• Nora 6W - Beautifully painted self-portrait
• Matthew 6W - A fun and eye-catching self-portrait 

Mrs Thackway
Head of Art

Congratulations to this week's Artists of the Week in Pre-Prep.

• Erica 2E - A fun and colourful picture
• Emily 2E - Excellent use of watercolour to show reflection
• Carwyn 2E - Super expressive picture
• Austin 2E - A fun and colourful illustration 

Mrs Thackway
Head of Art

3LS have worked hard on learning their times tables this year. We rounded this off by practising them using a mosaic picture with a range of times table calculations to solve. The answer we got showed us which colour to choose, and then we coloured the square in. All of that maths and colouring soon showed us a picture. There was a lot of collaborative learning and also lots of fun.

Mrs Symons
Year 3 Maths Teacher

Alongside our reading and writing objectives using the story of the Hodgeheg by Dick King-Smith, our children have been conducting some home learning about our spiky friends and here is a sample of the many hedgehog themed cakes and biscuits produced.

Alongside these were more information based projects including pom-pom and clay sculpture hedgehogs, fact based PowerPoints and fact files, and even a sturdy hedgehog house which is now situated in the school grounds to see if we can encourage our neighbouring hogs!

Mrs Stapleton
Year 3 Form Teacher

Class 3SS enjoyed adding their own percussion sounds to the song Goblins a-gogo from the Viking Saga Songs series.

Mrs Barnes
Head of Music

Year 3 were tasked with designing food for an artic explorer in their DT lesson.

They had to consider the carbohydrates, proteins and fat content the explorer might require and the challenges of storage and preparation of their chosen food. The class decided that flapjacks were a good choice and they will be making their product later this week. 

Mrs Johnson
Head of Science and DT

4C have been turning their recently written short narratives inspired by The Wild Robot  into stop motion films this week. Each group has a part of the story to retell, then each part will be edited together into one film. We have had to use plenty of patience and resilience! Keep an eye out on Seesaw for the finished product. 

Miss Clark
Year 4 Teacher

4W have been learning about stop motion and have been creating their own stop motion video. They used their speaking and listening skills to work together to produce a video telling the story of A Cat Called Waverley by Debi Gliori.

Using drama, they created a short play to ensure their group all understood the story, then they wrote a story board. Afterwards, they created all the small pieces they needed in order to move their characters. Their team work has been exceptional and they have used their English skills to add time adverbials to their videos. It has been a lovely project to end the year and we are looking forward to watching them back.

Mrs Woolfenden
Year 4 Teacher

Year 4 were treated to an expert bread making session in their DT lesson courtesy of our very own Olive Catering Chef, Dawn. Everyone enjoyed mixing the dough ingredients together and then learning how to knead the dough correctly. Once the dough had proved they remodelled their dough and finally baked their bread! 

Mrs Johnson
Head of DT and Science

Pupils in 5F have been researching and designing futuristic buildings. They have looked at the designs of great architects from across the world and through the ages. 

Last Friday, they enjoyed a visit from Stephen George Architects in Leicester who taught them about sustainable materials and their carbon count. Inspired by their research pupils have now started to create models of their unique futuristic building, each with a specific purpose. 

Mrs Johnson
Head of Science and DT

6W decided to use part of their bake sale money towards a treat. On a hot Tuesday afternoon we all ran around Laser Quest, seeing who the best shot was. It was a great afternoon; they worked as individuals and in teams and everyone had great fun. 

Mrs Webb
Year 6 Teacher

After working hard on designing and creating boats from recycled materials in their Design & Technology lessons, Year 6 went to the lake known as Switzerland at Princethorpe College to test the buoyancy of their vessels. The majority of the boats floated and a good few travelled a fair distance. Only one of the boats made a graceful back flip before having to be rescued by the super helpful Mr Knowles, who was on hand to launch and retrieve the crafts.     

Mrs Johnson
Head of Science and DT

Pupils at Crescent School took part in a litter-pick on Tuesday as part of the school’s Year 6 Community Week. They went out into the local Bilton area and collected rubbish from the Recreation Ground, Main Street and St Mark’s Church areas, helping to make the streets around their school cleaner and greener.

The event was led by the school’s Green Team and was part of a series of planned sustainability activities the school has been undertaking on Waste this school year.

Armed with gloves, bags, litter pickers and determined to make a difference, Mrs Johnson, Mrs Webb, the Year 6 pupils and pupils from the schools Green Team fanned out across the community picking up litter as they went. Together they enthusiastically collected two bin bags of rubbish, making a visible difference to the area and demonstrating the power of community action.

The litter-pick not only served as a practical activity but also as a valuable educational experience highlighting the impact of littering on wildlife, ecosystems and the community.

Green Team Lead, Jacqui Johnson, said, "We’re incredibly proud of our pupils for taking part in the community litter-pick. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to learn about environmental responsibility in a hands-on way."

This latest two bags of litter means that pupils have now met their 10 bag pledge to Keep Britain Tidy made for the Great Big School Clean 2025 campaign.

Over the last couple of weeks, all of the pupils in KS2 took part in the third ever Princethorpe Foundation Typing Competition, a chance for pupils at both Crescent School and Crackley Hall to test their typing speed and skills against not just their class mates, but against all the children across the whole Foundation! During their Computing lesson they carried out several ‘5 Minute Typing Challenges’ designed to measure just how much they were able to type in 5 minutes. This tested their typing speed in WPM (words per minute) and also their overall typing accuracy. Certificates and prizes were given out to fastest typists in each class, each year across the schools and to the overall fastest typists in the PC family. This year's winners were all from Crescent School, with the overall trophy going to Sophia in 6W, who recorded a fantastic 55 wpm, just 4 wpm off the Foundation record!

Fastest Typist in the Foundation - Year 3

• 1^st - Daniel - 19 wpm
• 2^nd - Tara - 16 wpm
• 3^rd - Locan - 15 wpm

Fastest Typist in the Foundation - Year 4

• 1^st - Penny - 36 wpm
• 2^nd - Charlie D - 29 wpm
• 3^rd - Zoe - 27 wpm

Fastest Typist in the Foundation - Year 5

• 1^st - Isabella, Aria - 34 wpm
• 2^nd - Alfie - 33 wpm
• 3^rd - Tomisin - 31 wpm

Fastest Typist in the Foundation - Year 6

• 1^st - Sophia  - 55 wpm
• 2^nd - Matthew  - 39 wpm
• 3^rd - MingYi  - 36 wpm

Fastest Typist in the Foundation - Overall

• 1^st - Sophia  - 55 wpm
• 2^nd - Matthew  - 39 wpm
• Joint 3^rd - Penny, MingYi  - 36 wpm

The winning house this year were... Blue House!

Well done to everyone who took part, get practising now for next year's competition!

Mr Adkins
Head of Digital Learning

Crescent took part in the Rugby And East Warwickshire Primary Athletics at The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Track on Friday 20 June. Pupils from Years 4–6 competed in the High Jump, Long Jump, Throw, 75m Sprint, 600m and team relays.

Crescent School’s young athletes delivered a phenomenal performance, showcasing talent, determination and team spirit across a wide range of events.

Year 4 Highlights

The Year 4 team set the tone with a series of dominant performances:

• Feranmi sprinted to gold and leapt to another gold in the long jump.
• Joshua J proved unstoppable, claiming gold in both the 600m and the howler throw.
• Kiki O added to the medal tally with gold in the sprint and silver in the howler throw.
• Penelope P and Finn C showed great endurance, earning silver and bronze respectively in the 600m.
• Max G-H rounded off the Year 4 success with a bronze in the howler throw.

Year 5 Highlights

Year 5 continued the medal streak with strong performances across track and field:

• Kian G led the charge with gold in the 600m and bronze in the high jump.
• Amber M ran a determined race to secure silver in the 600m.
• Thomas earned silver in the long jump
• Tomisin impressed with a silver in the 75m sprint and bronze in the howler throw.
• Ava L claimed silver in the long jump and reached the sprint final.
• Lilah W added another silver in the howler throw.

Year 6 Highlight

• Roisin represented Year 6 with pride, earning a silver in the high jump.

A Day to Remember

With a total of 22 medals across all year groups, Crescent athletes demonstrated not only their athletic ability but also their sportsmanship and team spirit. Congratulations to all competitors - you’ve made the school incredibly proud!

With thanks to Mrs Dowling, Mrs Calder, Mrs Chang and Mr Nelson 

Mrs McCollin 
Head of PE and Games

Our U9's gave a truly fantastic account of themselves both on and off the pitch at the Midlands ISA Cricket Tournament at Duffield CC in Derbyshire, demonstrating all of our Crescent sporting values superbly from start to finish. The young cricketers played fantastically as a team, cheering each other on throughout, enthusiastically applauding opposition play, showing resilience and growth in defeat, as well as determination and humility in victory. 

The team began the day with two strong wins and a very narrow 2 run defeat, finishing second in their group and qualifying for the trophy competition. Crescent then peaked in their afternoon semi-final with a fantastic 50 run victory over St Wystans, batting and bowling superbly. Unfortunately they were unable to repeat their heroics in the final, and despite a strong comeback, lost by 19 runs to a talented Highclare side. This meant 2^nd place in the trophy, and a strong 5^th place overall finish out of 12 teams. 

Our player of the tournament was Uma for her excellent captaincy and play throughout, with special mentions to Josh and Max for their powerful batting and outstanding fielding.

Mr Adkins & Mrs Calder

Thank you to all who came along to the fete last Friday - we hope you had a great time and enjoyed the new games and the pizza van?!

And an extra big thank you to all committee members and parent helpers for your time and commitment preparing and on the day. It can’t happen without you. 

The pennies are still being counted but we believe we’ve had a bumper fundraising event thank you all. More to come later on projects we’d like to fund. 

Thank you to FoC committee members Mary and Ash Beecham who leave with the Y6s, your support and organising has been amazing for many years.

That’s it for this year. Enjoy the summer holidays. September will be here soon enough and we’ll be back planning lots of fun events for you to get involved with  - making memories, supporting charity and strengthening our community! 

Louisa and the FoC

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

Crescent School

• After School Assistant

Little Crackers

• Nursery Manager

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 see below for useful school contact information:

Crescent School Office

01788 521595

Email: admin@crescentschool.co.uk

Postal address: Crescent School, Bawnmore Road, Bilton, Rugby CV22 7QH

After School Club

01788 523850

Bills, Fees and Online Payment

01926 634273

Email: georginamalin@princethorpe.co.uk

Registrar

01788 523851

Email: admissions@crescentschool.co.uk

Princethorpe College General Office

01926 634200

Email: post@princethorpe.co.uk

website:  www.crescentschool.co.uk

x:    @CrescentSchRug

facebook: @cres.school

instagram: @crescentschoolrugby

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

Crescent School

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