Spanish Trip

In June twenty-three girls from Years 9 and 10 flew down to Andalusia for a six-day study tour in Almuñécar in the province of Granada. Girls opted for the 'real deal' and stayed with Spanish host families. They also attended four intensive Spanish lessons per day with local language school staff, as well as going on fantastic excursions to Nerja and its caves and, of course, the stunning Alhambra Palace in Granada. Girls also greatly enjoyed the opportunities to explore the local market and relax on the sub-tropical beaches.

One of the exciting challenges for the team of six Year 10 girls who made it through to the final week of the Farlington Apprentice 2010, was dressing the window of a popular store, One Forty, located in Cranleigh. The girls chose a patriotic red, white and blue theme and had great fun putting together an eye-catching display. Further challenges in their week included a visit to local radio station, Radio Mercury, to devise, script and record their own commercial and the planning of an advertising campaign for the local newspaper, the West Sussex County Times.

Winner of the title, Georgie Hamp, said "I have gained a massive amount from the whole experience and had the opportunity to participate in activities that I wouldn't normally be involved in."

Charity Walk for the Whole School

The warmer turn to the weather was extremely welcome at Farlington, when the whole school participated in a Charity Walk on the afternoon of Friday 14th May. In the Senior School girls, staff, parents and four-legged friends set off enthusiastically on a 5k circular walk between Farlington and Slinfold. For the girls in Year 11 this was their last day before going on study leave and traditionally they come in fancy dress. There were some wonderfully inventive costumes including an orange, a dice and bananas in pyjamas, all of whom completed their walk in full costume! Each house had chosen a charity to support – Cancer Research, Reach International, Springboard and Bliss – and the house which raises the most will be presented with the Charity trophy.

Flapper

Farlington’s Prep School recently staged a dazzling production set in the 1920’s and entitled ‘Flapper!’With the programme listing song titles like “Ev’rybody Charleston”, “The Roaring   Twenties” and “It Has To Be Jazz” the audience was expecting foot-tapping and heart-lifting musical fun – and certainly got it! Farlington Prep delivered an evening of high-kicking, high octane, high quality entertainment.

      This “madcap musical comedy tribute to the 1920’s” proved the perfect vehicle for exhibiting the talents of Yrs 6 and 5 to their full advantage. First-class acting came from the many character parts with the girls not only giving their characters individual idiosyncrasies but also reacting and interacting with total conviction.

      The many chorus numbers were performed with a real pizzazz that won the hearty applause of the audience. The excellent “Dijja Ever” was one of the musical hits of the evening, combining witty lyrics and catchy tunes, and again the timing of the songs was impeccable.

      The sound was terrific but then “Flapper” was also a feast for the eyes: a very effective Art Deco set had been created by the Prep School staff and the girls’ wonderfully colourful and stylish costumes were stunning.

World Book Day

World Book Day at Farlington Prep. School is always an extremely popular event, with everyone dressing up as characters from their favourite books, including all members of staff.   Year 4 started the day off in style with their assembly on … BOOKS! Some girls from the class read a piece from their chosen book and asked the audience to guess their character – they were not short of enthusiastic responses! The class then acted a short drama on how a book gets to be published … from the author’s initial inspiration, to being selected by a publisher, and from there on to the marketing and distribution of the finished publication. Finally the girls acted out how a good book can nourish the soul and feed the brain, in almost the same way that food nourishes the body.

     Farlington is fortunate to have its own author of children’s books as one of their teachers. As part of Book Week, Ruth Young ran workshops for all Prep. pupils, during which she read extracts from her recently published Aunty Marmalade. The younger children discussed the characters and how they imagined them to look and then made drawings and wrote their own ideas about the story. With the older girls, Ruth gave them tips on how to improve their writing by ‘showing’ and not ‘telling’ their story, and ways of achieving more ‘visual’ creative writing to engage the reader.

It was sheer delight to be transported back in time to the days of jolly hockey sticks and simply dreadful deeds undertaken by beastly girls in the name of honour! The play is a superb send up of the old fashioned boarding schools of the1930s which are a world away from their modern day equivalent. The enthusiasm and spirit of all the players made for an uplifting and entertaining evening of japes, jokes and heroic and dastardly doings. The cast was superbly led by Ali Burton as dynamic Daisy and Jessica Stritch as the frightfully posh headmistress. The rest of the cast was alternated on subsequent nights so that as many girls as possible could revel in the performance. The voices and accents were perfect for the time and also slightly ‘over the top’ which further heightened the comedic effect. The direction of Mr Stephen Buckman obviously played a large part in this vocal accuracy. The girls negotiated the plot well and the hockey match in the second act was particularly skillfully directed by Mr Raymond Gabbard. The set was simple but effective in displaying the faded grandeur and Judith Browne should be applauded for her major contribution. The evening was a joyous celebration of team spirit and showcased all the girls' talents magnificently. Jubliate!

Julia Martin

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Ceramics Workshop

GCSE art students enjoyed a day's workshop given by visiting artist,

Carolyn Genders. Long before the invention of the potter's wheel, hands

alone pinched and coiled pots into shape and Carolyn is well-known for

her skilful hand-crafted ceramic pots and distinctive use of surface

decoration. During the workshop she explained her own influences and inspirations and introduced students to ways of working using different

themes. The girls watched as she demonstrated her technique for coiling pots and the various methods for their decoration, and then used these

skills to create their own designs.

Science Fair

Girls in Year 6 enjoyed a visit to Surrey University as part of their Science Fair. They participated in three busy workshops in the morning involving: rocket making out of balloons, sticky tape and paper; origami, which would tax any mathematician; and experiments with liquid wax culminating in a rainbow-coloured candle.

Three Peaks Outdoor Pursuits

Year 8 enjoyed an action-packed day at Three Peaks Outdoor Pursuits

in Farnham. The girls were divided into three groups and took part in a range of exciting activities, including archery, low and high ropes, commando tasks and quad biking. This last activity proved extremely popular with the girls and the general concensus was that they would love to return and do it all over again.

Arena Pursuits, Flimwell

Year 7 girls enjoyed a fun-filled, sunny activity day at Arena Pursuits, Flimwell. The girls took part in a variety of challenging activities, including corssing a 'mine field', building a 'racing car', orienteering, designing and making a 'sea-worthy' raft and going at top speed through an assault course. Every girls had to work as part of a team and all teams managed to complete all the activities successfully, although there were quite a few soggy track suits and trainers by the end of the day!