July 2024 Lower School Newsletter

THE 

LOWER 

SCHOOL 

Summer Term 2024 

Welcome 

And just like that another year has ended 

and we bid farewell to our wonderful 

Second Form and look forward to the First 

Form moving up a year and taking on more 

responsibility as they help the new boys 

settle in and find their feet. 

We hope you enjoy reading about the First 

Form’s adventurous escapades in Pen 

Arthur and the opportunities and activities 

enjoyed by both First and Second Form 

boys during Enrichment Week, culminating 

in a tense and highly charged Sports Day. 

As a Lower School team, we are so proud 

of the boys and their achievements both in 

the classroom, musically, dramatically and 

in the sporting world and especially of the 

kind and caring boys that they are growing 

into. We have been impressed by the 

breadth of their charitable initiatives, 

the support they offer each other and the 

energy they have brought to the Lower 

School. 

A special thank you to our amazing Lower 

School Leaders who have wowed us with 

their professionalism, their industry and 

their innovative ideas- you have been a 

pleasure to work with. 

We look forward to welcoming the boys 

back in September and wish you all a 

pleasant summer and a well-deserved 

holiday. 

Mrs Victoria Ginsburg 

Deputy Head of 

Lower School 

The Lower School Leaders for next year

THE LOWER SCHOOL 

SUMMER TERM 2024 

PEN ARTHUR 

CAVING 

Caving was a fun experience that everyone 

looked forward to. When the time came, 

we were well equipped and everything was 

explained to us. The cave was huge with 

lots of areas to explore and we enjoyed all 

the different manoeuvres we had to make 

to experience the cave. We learnt a lot, 

and it was interesting to see how the caves 

were formed. The tight and big areas made 

exploration more exciting! 

Seb, First Form



WATERFALL WALK 

The waterfall walk was so fun, as we were not 

only walking to the waterfall to see it, but we 

were allowed to walk behind it too! The views 

along the way were beautiful; we walked 

through a ford, saw mini waterfalls, a few 

animals (cows, sheep, and horses) and we 

saw the river that led to the waterfall itself. 

By the time we reached the centre, I had 

walked 23,000 steps and felt extremely tired. 

I was incredibly happy once I had eaten lunch 

and I had lots of fun afterwards!



KAYAKING AND CANOEING 

One of the many activities we did at Pen 

Arthur was Kayaking and Canoeing. It was 

very enjoyable. We took turns with Kayaks 

and Canoes, traversing the river and 

attacking harsh currents. We also took part in 

challenges, seeing how we could balance and 

who didn’t get capsized. It was great fun! 

Nathan, First Form



CARREG CENNAN CASTLE 

We arrived at the castle and luckily it was a 

hot summer’s day. We took in the view of the 

magnificent ruins and soaked up the history 

of this ancient fortress. We then clambered 

up the steep hill surrounding the castle to 

take a group photo in a small hole - it was 

quite a squeeze! Next, we explored the ruins 

of the castle before descending into the cave 

below. 

After visiting the cave, we came back to 

the surface and it was scorching hot! We 

returned to the gift shop to try some 

authentic Welsh ice-cream (which was very 

nice!). 

Theo, First Form



BEACH DAY 

When we arrived at the beach, we found a 

place to put our things in preparation for our 

day at the beach. The sea was about three 

miles away, so some people went off to try to 

reach it while others stayed back and buried 

their friends in the sand. We enjoyed multiple 

competitions such as sandcastle building and 

a game of catch. 

Hudson, First Form



EVENINGS AT PEN ARTHUR 

Evenings at Pen Arthur meant time for pupils 

to play board games and card games, as 

well as a chance to talk to each other. One 

evening we did Pen Arthur’s Got Talent, a 

longstanding tradition, where four groups 

battled it out to be the winner through a 

talent performance. In the end, the Hawks 

won with a mixture of things. 

Euan, First Form 

FUN IN THE DORMS 

One of the most memorable parts of my time in 

Pen Arthur was having a blast with my friends 

in the dorms! We played card games, chatted 

and held competitions with sweets on the line! 

Tension was high given the value of the prizes. 

We had so much fun! 

Luke, First Form



ENRICHMENT WEEK 

HAMPTON COURT PALACE 

We began our morning by visiting the kitchen 

of Hampton Court Palace, learning many 

intriguing facts about it. We learnt there 

were many rooms in the Great Kitchen, each 

made for a specific purpose, and that nearly 

800 meals would be prepared per day there. 

We then had a tour, learning about the 

clothing of people from the Tudor period and 

how each ruler from the Tudor Dynasty had 

a unique fashion style. We also learnt about 

trading during the Elizabethan period. At the 

end of the day we visited a maze which we 

completed in under five minutes! 

Heng, Second Form



NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE 

The Space Centre was an amazing and 

interesting trip. There were many areas 

providing an in-depth dive into space travel 

and how it has progressed. Some features 

included a rock from the moon and the UK’s 

largest planetarium! We ended the trip with a 

visit to the Planetarium and we then travelled 

home. 

Hamish, First Form 

Hamish, First Form



BHAKTIVEDANTA MANOR 

The trip to Bhaktivedanta Manor was 

memorable, beginning with a detailed 

discourse on Hinduism. The cow cart 

ride and feeding session were delightful, 

followed by a reverent shrine visit. The 

traditional lunch was hearty, and the gift 

shop’s offerings, including face painting, were 

enjoyable. The trip was enlightening and I 

hope to return one day! 

Arjun, Second Form 

LOCAL PLACES OF WORSHIP 

The Mosque was where we were taught the 

meaning of Islam followed by an opportunity 

to ask a variety of questions. Entering the 

Synagogue, we were taught about respect 

in Judaism and the Torah. Inside the Church, 

the First Form learnt about the history of the 

church, followed by a brief tour. 

Terry, First Form



PSHEE DAY: TEAM BUILDING, CONFLICT 

RESOLUTION AND PUBLIC SPEAKING 

We started our morning with some fun 

exercises with the Herts Young Homeless 

charity. During the first two periods of the 

day, we were coached on how to resolve and 

act in arguments. Moving on to the next part 

of the day, we had an inspirational talk about 

anxiety and used public speaking to help us 

get better at managing tricky situations. At 

the end of the day we did some exciting team 

building exercises testing our collaboration 

and mental skills. 

Ewan, Second Form



CHARITY 

On this morning, First and Second Form 

participated in two charity activities; litter 

picking in the Abbey Orchard and creating 

an activity booklet for the elderly, which the 

School will be sending off to several care 

homes. Each Form took turns litter picking 

and using computer rooms to create puzzles, 

crosswords, wordsearches and more for our 

activity booklets. 

Reuben, Second Form



MARKETING DAY 

For Marketing Day, we designed our own 

personalised product in groups. First, 

we thought of a punchy tagline for the 

advertising. Then we brainstormed ideas for 

our product and did some initial sketches. 

Our team created a product called ‘Farai’- a 

technological filter, with multiple flavours to 

try, and an accompanying app. The app tells 

you if there are any harmful chemicals in 

your water and how to extract them to make 

the cleanest water possible. In the afternoon, 

eight groups presented their products to the 

judges and discussed the target audience. 

The judges then decided on a winner. 

Yusuf, First Form



THE JUNGLE BOOK 

Last month’s double performance of Jungle Book by 

our Lower School Drama Club was a real treat! 

Replete with modern music leitmotifs and a flaming 

‘red flowers’, our pupils brought humour and 

passion to their performance of Rudyard Kipling’s 

famous short stories.


THE LOWER SCHOOL



INTERFORM CHALLENGE 

The Interform Challenge started with a BBQ 

lunch and then going outside (or staying 

inside for the quiz) to play rounders, rugby, 

or to watch your friends play. I played 

rounders which 1.3 won. After the rounders 

and rugby had finished, we started some 

other activities. First was the egg and spoon 

race followed by the three-legged race 

which I participated in. Then the donut 

eating competition, which was very funny 

to watch! The overall champions were 1.2, 

although 1.1 was close behind. 

Jack, First Form 

1 July marked the start of Enrichment 

week, and it rounded off with the Interform 

Challenge, which consists of all the Lower 

School forms competing in a variety of 

competitions: rounders, rugby, quiz, threelegged 

races, egg and spoon races, and 

the best of all – donut-eating! All the forms 

battled it out for the bragging rights title of 

‘the best form.’ Despite our form, 2.2, coming 

last, we still had endless fun. Congratulations 

2.3! 

Elliott, Second Form

St Albans School 

Abbey Gateway, St Albans, AL3 4HB 

www.st-albans.herts.sch.uk

July 2024 Lower School Newsletter

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?