Year 6 pupils at Crosfields delighted parents and children with their musical version of the life of Horatio Nelson at a Performing Arts evening held in the school theatre on Thursday 27^th February.

Every member of the year group took part, with rousing year group choral works including ‘The Shark’, ‘The Sea’ and ‘Song of the Whale’.   The Recorder group gave a popular rendition of ‘What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor’ and the Chamber Choir excelled in their singing of ‘Follow the Heron’.   The costumes were wonderful and there were some impressive acting displays.

Director Serena Wansey commented:

“This was a wonderful opportunity for every single member of Year 6 to perform on stage – singing, acting and playing instruments.   It was a fabulous musical evening and I thank all the staff, parents and pupils for their hard work behind the scenes to ensure it was such a success.”

Boys and girls from 23 schools across the county took part in a ‘tag’ rugby festival on Friday 26th February, hosted by Crosfields.  This is the 4th year that the school has held the event and is now a firm fixture in the local schools Spring Term sporting calendar.  A record number of players took part this year with 44 teams – 24 boys’ teams and 20 girls’ – and over 440 children competing.

The competition was a ’round robin’ event with every team receiving a certificate and rugby ball at the end of the afternoon from Crosfields’ Deputy Headmaster Simon Dinsdale.  London Irish’s community department supported the day and the children were also thrilled by the arrival of London Irish mascot ‘Digger’ the Irish wolfhound who signed autographs, posed for photographs and helped give out the certificates.

Simon Dinsdale, Deputy Headmaster at Crosfields, commented:

“We were rather concerned about the weather this year, but fortunately the rain held off and we were treated to some fantastic rugby from these young players.  There were some nailbiting matches and there was a great atmosphere with genuine enthusiasm for the game from everyone taking part.    My thanks go to London Irish for their continued support of this popular event and also to the PE and games staff at Crosfields for once again co-ordinating the large numbers of children and ensuring that the day was such a success.”

Schools taking part this year were:  Ascot Heath Junior, Beechwood Primary, Bradfield C of E Primary, Burghfield St Mary’s Primary, Caversham Primary, Churchend Primary, Colleton Primary, Coombes Junior, Crosfields, Downsway Primary, Emmer Green Primary, Farley Hill Primary, Garland Junior, Meadow Vale Primary, Mortimer St Mary’s Junior, Oaklands Junior, Oakley Junior, Pangbourne Primary, St Mary’s Primary, Shiplake C of E Primary, Springfield Primary, Whitegrove Primary and Winnersh Primary.

Crosfields has been hosting sports events for primary schools since 1995.  The next ‘fixture’ will be an inter-schools cross country competition taking place on Tuesday 30th March at 2pm.

Pupils in the Reception classes at Crosfields were thrilled with a visit by ‘Ivy’ the golden Labrador retriever from the local branch of the Guide Dogs for the Blind today.

Ivy was accompanied by her trainer, Carole Arrowsmith, who told the children how Ivy has been taught to help blind and partially blind people with everyday life, including crossing the road, going shopping, getting onto buses and avoiding any dangerous situations.

Pupils were given information sheets and workbooks to use in their classroom studies after the visit and all of the children were allowed to give Ivy a special pat at the end of the talk!

Mrs Janey McDowell, Head of the Pre-Prep department at Crosfields, said:

 “This was an excellent way for the children to learn about how Guide Dogs help others.     Many thanks to Mrs Arrowsmith for visiting us today and helping us all to understand what an important role the charity plays in the community.”

Crosfields’ girls have been enjoying playing hockey on the new Astroturf surface this term and have already had some exciting matches, notching up some impressive results.  Among the highlights, the U9s beat St Mary’s, Henley 10-0; the U8s A squad won 2-1 against Lambrook School, with the B team only just losing 1-0 in the final minutes of their game; and while the U10s lost 1-0 to St Neot’s,  there were some great hockey skills on display.   Well done girls!

Pupils at Crosfields have been helping the Haiti appeal through a number of fundraising efforts.  Boys and girls in Nursery through to Year 4 gave a donation to come to school dressed as ‘emergency services’ and a cake sale was held during break time.

Those dressed up joined on the school quadrangle to help spell out the letters ‘Haiti’.   Over £3,000 has already been raised – a fantastic sum of money.

Jonathan Wansey, Headmaster, said:  “The children have been very keen to learn about the events in Haiti and we have been incorporating it into our classroom work.  There has been great enthusiasm for the fundraising efforts and I am delighted that we have been able to raise such a magnificent amount.  Many thanks to all the staff, parents and pupils for their support and generosity.”

Nursery to Year 4 pupils and staff spell out 'Haiti' on the school quadrangle

As part of their Religious Studies curriculum,  Year 8 pupils from Crosfields were invited to visit the Royal Memorial Chapel within the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on Friday 29^th January.  

Entry to the academy is strictly by invitation only so it was a great experience and privilege for the children.  The Chapel was completed in the early twentieth century as stands as a memorial to army officers killed in the line of duty since the First World War.  The group was given an extensive tour learning not only about churches, but also the kind of occasions which take place there, including the beginning and end of term services where the Chapel is filled with over 1,100 people. 

Two Crosfields pupils were given the additional honour of the opportunity to play the Chapel’s huge organ.  Todd Harris and Rohin Dale are both very talented musicians and it was a wonderful chance for them to play such a fantastic instrument.

The Academy also allowed the pupils to visit some of the historical areas of Old College, founded in 1812, and learned a little about life as an Army officer then and now.   The boys were very relieved to learn that these days they would not be expected to go into battle at their age (12 and 13), unlike their forebears of two hundred years previously! 

Jonathan Wansey, Headmaster, commented:

“This was a wonderful experience for our Year 8 students.  One of the advantages of staying at Crosfields until Year 8 is that in the final two years we provide a variety of visits and trips such as this to give pupils a sense of the world and the careers and opportunities open to them as a prelude to their senior school education.   I thank all the staff involved in making such a memorable trip possible.”

Three talented swimmers from Crosfields School, Shinfield, took part in the Tilehurst Club Championships on Saturday 28th November at Central pool.  All competed in the10yrs and under age group and scooped no less than 8 medals between them!   Joseph Ruffle and Ben Dinsdale achieved a bronze medal each and Jamie Cadwallader claimed one gold, four silver and one bronze.

Mrs Gillian Dinsdale, swimming coach at Crosfields, said:  “All three boys have been part of our successful Crosfields ‘learn to swim’ programme from the age of 5 yrs old and are now part of our swimming team which regularly takes part in galas against other schools.  They have all trained very hard and I am delighted they have achieved such success at club level.”

Crosfields pupils have all been out enjoying the snow during the first days of the Spring Term and you can see from these pictures that there is still a huge amount to play with across the site!

Pupils across the school have been enjoying the excitement of the weeks before Christmas.  The Pre-Prep children have been very busy performing wonderful Christmas plays, with Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 all acting and singing in their own productions.   The Junior School held a lovely Christmas concert with a variety of festive music and drama, while Year 2 were thrilled with a visit to the Camberley Theatre to see Dick Whittington.

The annual carol service in the chapel of Wellington College ended another extremely successful and happy year at Crosfields.  We wish all our staff, parents and pupils a very Merry Christmas!