Dear Parents and Friends of the School

The Easter holidays have arrived and we can look back on a vibrant and purposeful Spring Term with a great deal of pride. The children have studied, they have played, sung, run, danced, swam, acted, listened, learnt and laughed. These are their childhood days and, in school, none are wasted. I know that lots of children have exciting plans for the holidays and they can also count themselves fortunate to have such caring and dedicated parents. 

This fits in nicely with my message in the Easter service yesterday which was based on the Welsh saying of St David, "Gwnewch y pethau bychain". As I expect you already know, this means, I believe, ‘the little things matter’. Along with Mrs Dewes and some Year 6 drama experts, we thought of some of the little things that we could do over the Easter break to make home life that little bit easier and show kindness and thoughtfulness towards the other people in the household. You can let me know if the children meet their target. 

The service itself was a real triumph and the quality of the singing was commented on by many guests as well as members of staff. Not only did the children sing beautifully, the Year 5 children, who take the lead on these occasions, acted out the story of the Passion with great clarity and economy of expression. We have some budding performers in that group, and I couldn't help thinking what a magnificent Year 6 they will make.  

The singing was indeed beautiful, and I have to announce today that we will shortly say farewell to our current Director of Music, Jo Westlake, at the end of this academic year. Although her stay with us has been short, we have all been impressed with the impact that she has had. You can read in a nice article elsewhere in the newsletter about Jo's replacement, Molly Lawes, who will start with us in September and has all the skills and attributes she could possibly need to pick up the baton from Jo and run with it. Music is a real strength of this school, and I know that it is in safe hands, both this year and next.  

We are looking forward to the Barnaby Bear Football Tournament on Friday 24 April and I would just like to gently remind any parents who would like their children to play on that day to respond to the form that you can find a link to both here and in a separate article later on in this newsletter. 

I do hope you have some quality down-time built into your plans for the next three weeks. I know that so many working parents find it difficult to make all the arrangements that are required for the holidays and all of the inputs into your children's safe keeping and well-being are appreciated by us and by them. Mandy and I have deliberately not planned very much this holiday and we are hoping for some quiet days of doing our own thing, which can't be underestimated. 

Whatever you do have planned, on behalf of the school, I wish you all a very happy Easter. 

With my very best wishes.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

We have been asked by the School Aged Immunisation Service (SAIS) to share information regarding the recent Meningitis outbreak in Kent.

Please see the this letter for further information.

Crescent School

Hopefully the weather will be getting warmer for the start of Trinity Term, please ensure children have their Crescent School sun hat in school and sun cream (to apply themselves). 

Crescent sun hats can be purchased from the school office.

Crescent School

Weekly Calendar 

Weekly Calendar - 20 April 2026

After School

Provision for your child can be booked via My School Portal by selecting the sessions you require. 

If you would like your child to have tea, please ensure that bookings are completed by 10.00am on the day required.

Thank you for your cooperation.

MySchoolPortal

Crescent School

Please click on the link below for the lunch menu:

Lunch Menu - 20 April 2026

Crescent School

Below is the timetable for Instrumental Lessons for the first week after the Easter holidays:

Instrumental timetable 20 April

Mrs Westlake
Head of Music

Below is a link to view Trinity Term's calendar.  You will have received a copy of this via email.

Crescent School Trinity Term Calendar 2026

Where possible, we will avoid making alterations or additions to the published calendar. However, should any unavoidable changes arise, we will notify you via electronic communication or through the weekly Courier. 

Crescent School

Our Year 2 pupils explored the importance of self-worth and friendship in their end of Lent Term production. They took us on a journey into the world of the Wemmicks, where we met Punchinello, Lucia and Eli the woodcarver.

You Are Special is based on the book by Max Lucado. It tells the story of a set of wooden dolls called Wemmicks who spend their days giving each other stickers – stars for being good and dots for doing bad things. As the story unfolds, the Wemmicks learn that you are loved and wanted for who you are and that it doesn’t matter what others think.

Lots of hard work had gone into learning the songs, memorising their lines and planning the production. On the day, Year 2 performed brilliantly and there were plenty of fabulous singing performances by individuals and the whole cast.

Your Are Special was a really lovely story of community and belonging which resonated so well with our Crescent School Promise. 
 

We are pleased to introduce you to Molly Lawes who will be joining Crescent School in September to lead on music. Miss Lawes will be taking over from Mrs Westlake who is moving on to pursue other musical interests after a very productive year here at Crescent.

After studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Molly pursued a career in music working with the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain for six years. After a spell at One Little Independent Records, she moved into teaching and has since worked for a number of schools, including being Director of Music at two different Independent and Prep schools. Most recently, Molly has been working as a music teacher in the Loughborough Schools Foundation, working across all age ranges and skill levels.

Molly has plenty of experience of running choirs, bands and orchestras as well as in singing. She comes to us with glowing references and we are delighted that such a vibrant music enthusiast is joining us. She is clearly dedicated to music and passionate about inspiring a love of music in young people. She is looking forward to guiding the children here at Crescent on their musical journey.

We held our annual fundraiser for BWENGU on Wednesday afternoon. Our Year 4 pupils created, organised and ran lots of fun games and competitions for pupils to enter and play.

Winners of various competitions and games were:

Guess the Singers: Eve 5F

Complete the Face: Arike RC

Guess the Pony's name: Biscuit by Juliette 4M

Beat the Goalie: Joshua 5C

Guess the name of the Pug: Rosey by Annabelle 1K

Find the Golden Sweet: Louie 3S

Guess the Penguin name: Peanut by Iris 4S

Guess the Bunny name: Blossom by Ella 6W

Pin the tail on the donkey: Summer 4M

Guess the Sweets in the Jar: 406: Finley RC (405) Xander 2E (407)

Best Master Darts Score: Alex 3S

Guess the Teacher: Mason (2E)

Thank you for your support with a charity that Crescent has a long relationship with. We hope everyone enjoyed all the fun! 

Ms Forth

Deputy Head

We are delighted to be supporting our local bookshop, Hunt's Bookshop, by hosting a book fair from Tuesday 28 to Thursday 30 April. The fair will be open from 8.15am to 8.45am each morning and 3.45pm to 5.00pm after school.

We are only able to run this event with the help of volunteers. If any parents are able to offer their time, please get in touch by email:

sarahwebb@crescentschool.co.uk

Thank you for your support.

Mrs Webb
Assistant Head

The Green Team worked with the Reception classes on Wednesday morning to develop plans to get the school’s pollinator bed buzzing. The team want to encourage more pollinating insects into the school grounds and enlisted Reception to help them. They met with the Reception children in first period and began by explaining why pollinating insects are important. They then went outside to inspect the school’s pollinator bed before working together to come up with ideas. We look forward to bringing their plans to fruition after the Easter holidays.

As part of their preparation for secondary school transition, we will be taking the Year 5 class to our Foundation senior school, Princethorpe College on Tuesday 21 April for a ‘Step Up To Secondary School’ Taster Day.

The dedicated Taster Day will begin at 9.30am with the children transported to the College by minibus. Pupils will experience a variety of classroom sessions, a tour of the school and a question and answers session with current pupils. Break and lunch will be provided and there is no charge for the day.

At the end of the afternoon, parents are invited to a Parents’ Information Session and optional tour of the school. The session will commence at 4.15pm and finish at approximately 5.30pm for those who would like a tour. Light refreshments will be served. Grove du Toit, Princethorpe’s Headmaster, along with other key members of staff, will be on hand to talk to you about the College, its ethos and vision and to answer any further questions you might have about the admissions process for Foundation pupils who are now able to take advantage of the Early Offer Scheme. See here.

For those parents who are unable to attend the Parents’ Information Session, your child will be transported back to school for 3.30pm. Children whose parents are collecting them from Princethorpe will have an extra lesson before their parents arrive.

This event is well timed to give pupils and parents a good feel for the College before the registration deadline for the Early Offer Scheme on Tuesday 5 May. Early offers will be made to Foundation pupils on Friday 19 June as appropriate.

If you have any queries regarding the Early Offer Scheme please feel free to contact the College’s friendly Admissions Team, Catherine Rogers, Registrar, and Georgia Newborough, Assistant Registrar, on 01926 634201/297 or email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk

Team Super Sports are back for the Easter holidays at Princethorpe College with three action-packed weeks for children aged 5 to 16 years. From Monday 30 March to Friday 17 April, excluding Easter Weekend, their 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 the younger campers (ages 5 to 7), along with sport there is 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.

Sibling discounts and flexible booking options available!

Thursday 23 April 2026

Children in Red House can wear one item of red clothing with their school uniform on Thursday 23 April 2026 for St George's Day.

Crescent School Office

Friday 24 April 2026 - 4.30pm to 6.30pm

We are all looking forward to this year's Barnaby Bear Football Tournament. It is a chance to remember Barnaby in a fun way each year. 

This year's tournament is planned for Friday 24 April and will run from 4.30pm  to 6.30pm. This year we are combining it with our Past Pupil Matches and it is open to all children in Years 5 and 6 and Year 7 past pupils. Everyone is welcome. 

We will decide on the exact format of the tournament closer to the time, and it will depend to some extent on the number of children who register. There are trophies on offer for the winning teams and a sporty version of Barnaby Bear to be won by the overall winners. The children will take part in house teams.

Please complete the form below by Sunday 12 April to let us know if you would like your child to take part in the tournament and if any parents would like to be involved, either refereeing or coaching one of the teams.

Parents are also welcome to come and spectate, or simply to collect their children from the field at 6.30pm.

The Barnaby Football Tournament 2026 – Fill in form

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

To receive a Junior da Vinci  award, a pupil must earn merits in all three areas - Creativity, Practice and Mastery within the same subject. Once achieved, they are awarded a badge in assembly.

This week's full Junior da Vinci students are:

Well done to you all.

Ms Forth
Deputy Head

We were delighted, in our final Celebration Assembly of the term, to award our Promise Badges. They are very special and are awarded at the end of each term to one child in Pre-Prep (PP) and one child in the Upper School (US) for each of the three promise strands: Good Friends, Good Learners and Good Citizens.

The children listed below have embodied the qualities of the promise this term and can wear their new badges with pride.

PP

• Arhat (RP) is a Good Learner: trying so hard in all that he is asked to do.
• Carter(1K) is a Good Friend: thoughtful and helpful to others when needed.
• Max (2E) is a Good Citizen: a positive, helpful and hard working attitude to all aspects of school life.

US

• Sofia L-S (3S) is a Good Friend: always positive, happy and checking in on everyone.
• Emily O (4S) is a Good Citizen: outstanding contribution to our Year 4 Bwengu Projects Malawi charity work.
• Aria (6W) is a Good Learner: outstanding in all areas.

Mr Webb
Assistant Head

In our Assembly this afternoon, we awarded School Promise certificates to recognise the children’s excellent behaviour as Good Friends, Good Learners or Good Citizens. 

Well done to:

• RC - Albert and Arike
• RP - Chimdi and Olivia
• 1K - Anna and Carter
• 2E - Parker and Sanvika
• 3S - Mikael and Ruby
• 4M - Isabel and Jed
• 4S - Elijah and Sarima
• 5C - Dudley and Nellie
• 5F - Finn and Oliver
• 6W - Gloria and Nimeeta

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

In our Celebration Assembly, the house point winners for each class were rewarded with a book token.  Congratulations to the following children:

House Point Cup Winners

All house points earned from lessons, good conduct, house competitions, interhouse sports, Pompoms, JdVs, and a fairness equation to account for the different numbers of pupils in each house include. The results are:

Congratulations to Red House.

Ms Forth
Deputy Head

Thank you to all the brilliant entries for our Eco Easter House Competition. It was great to see how creative we can be with recycled materials. They were very hard to judge, but I’m pleased to share that Anna and Maia were runners up and Ashleen took first prize with her cardboard Easter scene.

Mrs Pullen
House Leader

Remember - Garage and Gigs are the best places to show how much you’re improving. Keep practising and keep rocking!

JdV Maths Practice Award

Big congratulations to:

• Hermione (5C) who completed 72% of her training course - amazing work!
• Sophia (5C) for completing 100% of her training course - brilliant!

🥁 Battle Results (18 - 25 March, Y2–Y6)

Average score per player

🥇 1st – 2E: 61
🥈 2nd – 4M: 42
🥉 3rd – 4S: 21

Top Rock Stars (Most Valuable Players):

1. Gabriel (2E)
2. Ashleen (4M)
3. Arielle (4S)

🏆Huge congratulations, 2E - champions of the week! 

⚡ Speedster Superstars!

This week’s most improved studio players are:

• 4S

  Emily O - Breakthrough Artist!

No battle over the Easter Holidays - keep garage and gigging for those JdVs.

🤘 Keep calm and ROCK ON! 🎸

Art Frizzmeister 
Deputy Head

This week's reading superstars are:

• Hazel who has read 500,000 words
• Alex who has read 1,000,000 words
• Lucas who has read 2,000,000 words

Well done!

Mrs Calder
Teaching Assistant

Word Wizards

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

• 3S - Aydin
• 4M - Josiah
• 4S - Alex
• 5C - Florence
• 5F - Alice
• 6W - Aria

Top Quizzers 

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

• 3S - Sofia
• 4M - Charlotte
• 4S - Vihaan
• 5C - Luisa
• 5F - Klara
• 6W - Seren

Mrs Calder
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:

• RC - Arike and Erin
• RP - Krish and Lyra
• Year 1 - Kaya and Layla
• Year 2 - Isaac and Xander

Mrs Emery
Head of KS1 and Class 2E Form Teacher

The lunchtime supervisors decided that you are this half term's recipients of Top Table invitations for your good conduct, good manners and respect for others during lunchtimes:

Thank you to:

• Eddie
• Emilia
• Gabriel
• Mason
• Maya
• Zara

Bryony Forth
Deputy Head - Academic

Year 3 enjoyed an amazing trip to the Oxford Museum of Natural History on Wednesday. They became 'rock detectives' and loved handling the amazing rocks, gems and fossils. Pupils became expert in finding different types of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and sketched their favourite fossils.

Mrs Johnson
Head of Science and DT

Class 4M and 4S have been learning about Cubism and have created expressive portraits inspired by Picasso. The children have skilfully blended colours with patterns and lines to bring emotional depth to their unique, multi-angled masterpieces.

Mrs Thackway
Head of Art

In Year 4, we have been reading our final story from our African Tales unit - a tale all about friendship. The children explored the themes of kindness, cooperation, and what it truly means to be a good friend.

After reflecting on the qualities they value most, the class created their own 'Friendship Recipes'. These imaginative pieces included thoughtful ingredients such as a spoonful of trust, a sprinkle of laughter, and a big scoop of kindness.

The results were creative, heart-warming and showed how the children understand the importance of being a good friend.

Mrs Messenger 
Year 4 English Teacher

In Art, 5C and 5F have used their memory and imagination and have illustrated their favourite rooms. The children have carefully chosen objects that represent their unique personalities and life stories. This week, the children have scaled up their designs and transferred them onto fabric. Next, they are going to add a mix of colours and varied textures to create visually striking mixed-media art pieces.

Mrs Thackway
Head of Art

This week we have been naming and categorising triangles according to length of sides, size of angles and lines of symmetry. Some of us created a classification key to sort a set of triangles and name them.

Ms Forth
Year 5 Maths Teacher

As part of their unit in Computing on film editing, 5F and 5C worked industriously and creatively in groups to create the most amazing final movie projects. Not only did they plan, script, act and film the whole thing, they then used their new skills to cut and trim their film, adding amazing effects like sounds, filters, slow motion, wipes and fades! 

To see these Oscar winning productions, possibly the first ever movies from the next generation of Spielbergs and Christopher Nolans, go to Seesaw for all the film links and enjoy!

Mr Adkins
Head of Digital Learning

Year 6 have been carefully enlarging and sketching their landscape compositions, using coloured washes to build volume and depth. They are now moving into the experimental phase, exploring different brush techniques and paint qualities to add rich, tactile texture to their work.

Mrs Thackway
Head of Art

Year 6 take on a range of roles and responsibilities each term. Working in their houses, they serve as the Duty Team, the Pupil Team, or the Eco Team. The children collaborate, listen to one another and work together to create the new rotas for the upcoming term.

Mrs Webb
Year 6 Form Tutor

Last week, Year 6 joined online historians from Burlington House and Westminster Abbey to learn about great scientists as part of British Science Week. The Linnean Society of London is located in Burlington House and holds the world's oldest active biological society. It maintains and protects the extensive botanical, zoological and library collections of Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778), including 14,000 plant specimens. To learn how Carl Linnaeus classified plants and animals, Year 6 created a classification table using different types of sweets. They also used the same format for naming the sweets such as 'fruitus pastilous' and 'chocolius eggus'. 

Mrs Johnson
Head of Science and DT

The Green Team will be hosting a plant/vegetable/fruit/seedling/flower swap as part of the Friends of Crescent Summer Fête on Friday 19 June 2026. 

This will take place at the front of school and will be open to the school community and the wider Bilton community. If you are a keen grower or would like a growing challenge this Spring, then get your green fingers going and your seed and plants growing as we would love you to bring your plants and produce to swap. 

Thank you

The Green Team

It is often said that you can really judge a sportsperson or team on how they respond and react when things don't go their way... and based on this, our U11 Football Team really are a force to be reckoned with, particularly considering they did it at the ISA Nationals at the home of English football!

After losing their first two incredibly even games by a single goal, drawing their third when they hit the post seven times, then being robbed out of a deserved victory in the 4^th game by the strangest refereeing decision you could imagine, you could forgive any side for letting their heads drop and losing faith.

Our Crescent superstars however did the exact opposite, bouncing back, supporting each other and playing some of the best football you could hope to see. The rocky/unlucky start to the tournament was followed by two hard-fought wins to finish 4^th in their group, qualifying for the Plate (2nd tier) in the afternoon.

Again some sides might be a little daunted by having to play teams in the top 16 of the country, but our fearless footballers rose beautifully to the challenge, playing better and better football with each passing game. This led to three wins out of three in the Plate qualifying, before a superbly entertaining extra time victory in the final, taking home not only the Plate trophy, but also claiming the spot as the 9^th best Prep side in the whole country, a new school record!

Special mentions for Amber and Theo who scored vital goals, Josh for his excellent drive, Thomas and Alfie who were both solid and dependable in defence, and the formidable Tomisin in midfield, who now holds the record for hitting the post more times in an ISA than anyone else on the planet! Our undoubted player of the tournament however was Kian for his superlative all-round play and stunning goal-scoring. Our entire Games department could not be more proud of our brilliant squad of stars!

Mr Adkins & Mrs Calder

Our Outdoor Learning Programme includes a mixture of Forest School activities, orienteering, team-building and leadership skills. Each session is fully planned and structured to promote collaboration, resilience and creative problem-solving - all while giving pupils the opportunity to enjoy learning outdoors during the warmer months.

To ensure all pupils can take part safely and comfortably, please send your child to school with the following items which will be used for Forest School or Outdoor Learning each week:

• A long-sleeved T-shirt
• Long bottoms (joggers or leggings are ideal)
• A change of trainers/walking shoes and socks
• A pair of waterproof gloves for practical activities
• Their school coat or a suitable waterproof coat

All items should be placed in a named bag that can remain on your child’s peg for the term. Please make sure all clothing is clearly labelled with your child’s name.

Our Outdoor Leaning programme is full of fun, challenge, and adventure as we take learning beyond the classroom!

Mrs McCollin
Head of PE and Games

Crescent School pupils delivered excellent performances at the National Primary Schools Athletics Championships held on Saturday 21 March at Stoneleigh Park.

Competing in highly competitive and impressively large fields, with athletes representing counties from across the country, both pupils rose brilliantly to the challenge of performing on a national stage.

• Joshua finished 50th out of 199 competitors, an incredible result in such a strong field.
• Isabel achieved an excellent 67th place out of 129, showcasing determination and superb athletic ability.

These are fantastic achievements, reflecting pupils' talent and hard work and their commitment to competing.

A huge well done to both athletes.

Mrs McCollin
Head of PE and Games

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

Registrar

• 01788 523851
• Email: admissions@crescentschool.co.uk

Princethorpe College General Office

• 01926 634200
• Email: post@princethorpe.co.uk

Bills, Fees and Online Payment

• 01926 634273
• Email: georginamalin@princethorpe.co.uk

Website:  www.crescentschool.co.uk

• Facebook: @cres.school
• Instagram: @crescentschoolrugby

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 

Contact details for the School Uniform Shop are:
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:

Crescent School

• Classroom Teacher – Year 3 (Maternity cover)

Princethorpe College 

• Learning Support Assistant (with Autism specialism)

Little Crackers

• Nursery Assistant

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.