From Graham Malcolm, Interim Executive Head
Having prepared for a Compliance Inspection last week, you are no doubt aware that we had a call from ISI, on Monday, to inform us that the school was to undergo the inspection on Wednesday and Thursday this week. For the staff who have been working towards this for months, there was a mixture of relief that we could show how good we are and anxiety that everything would be okay.
Often, there is a mis-understanding about a Compliance Inspection, as it can be confused with an Educational Quality Inspection. Independent schools are inspected every three years, with Compliance and Educational Quality inspections alternating.
The focussed Compliance Inspection looks at the requirements of the statutory framework for education, as published by the Department for Education, and decides if the school is meeting expectations.
Inspectors review in detail paperwork, logs, registers, communications, complaints and other records. They also privately interview staff, parents, Governors and pupils, as well as reviewing the parent, pupil and staff questionnaires.
Areas inspected include:
• Quality of education provided
• Welfare, health & safety of pupils
• Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils
• Premises and accommodation
• Suitability of staff & governors
• Provision of information
• Manner in which complaints are handled
• Quality of leadership & management
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the staff and Governors for their contribution to the inspection, particularly the Senior Leadership Team of the school and those staff directly involved in meeting inspectors. I would also like to thank the huge number of parents who replied to the questionnaire.
A focussed Compliance Inspection is a pass or fail judgement by inspectors and there are no grades. A full report will be sent to the school in 5-6 weeks, when we will hear if we have passed and remain compliant. All parents will receive a copy of the report and it will be posted on our website. In the meantime, we are very hopeful of a good result!
I wish you all an enjoyable and relaxing weekend, particularly the staff!
Graham Malcolm
BEd, MA (IAPS)
From the Acting Co-Heads
Team work makes the dream work! We would like to extend a huge thank you to the entire St Michael’s community who have all worked incredibly hard this week during our inspection. There have been many long hours worked, double and triple checks made, questions asked, discussions held and paperwork readied. The feeling across the school has been of commitment, because we are all so proud of St Michael’s and want to make sure that can be recognised through the formal process of inspection. We look forward to the report but it was excellent to hear that the inspectors could see and feel the strong sense of belief that the staff and the pupils have in St Michael’s.
We are currently in the process of seeing our Year 6 scholarship applicants giving their all to the practical and academic assessments. We are very proud of the children for putting themselves forward and entering into a challenging and rigorous process. Feeling the balance of anticipation, nerves and determination to succeed is an excellent experience and, regardless of the result, will help their preparation for future events. In our introductory session this morning we talked about the qualities of resilience, respect, leadership, co-operation, openness to learning and positivity. I was impressed with the engagement of every child and would like to congratulate them for taking on this challenge.
The theme of challenge was also reinforced in an inspiring assembly this morning led with an infectious energy by the writer, film-maker and adventurer Matt Dickinson. Matt asked us all to raise our hands if we have a crazy goal in life and it was exciting to see a huge amount of hands shoot up in the audience. His advice to the children and staff was to hold onto that goal, make a plan and stick with it! I hope this sparks some brilliant conversations at home this weekend about goals in life and aiming big. As Mr Bridges would say, if your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough!
Mrs Bridges and Mr Wiseman
News from Pre-Prep
• Fri 31st Jan Year 2 parents – Maths workshop 8.45-9.30am
• Fri 7th Jan Year 1 parents Maths workshop 8.45-9.30am
• Fri 28th Feb Reception parents Maths workshop 8.45-9.30am
Another busy week at St Michael’s, the highlight being our Compliance inspection. My thanks go to all the staff who have gone the extra mile in the last few weeks to ensure everything at school was top notch.
I know some parents may have thought they had missed a concert for Chinese New Year but this is a celebration we do in school with the children only, so you haven’t missed out! Thank you to Mrs Ravayeh for a Chinese musical story with Year 1. Kindergarten were also lucky to have two Chinese parents in who explained to the children all about the Year of the Rat. They bought in dumplings and seaweed for the children to try.
It has been good to hear questions from your class reps in the last couple of weeks. I know they have been getting back to you all. I am concerned to hear that some parents think playtime is a problem. Please let me reassure you that children are having happy playtimes in the garden and if any of you would like to come and watch for a while please get in touch.
Please see the dates above or our calendar for the Maths workshops for parents of children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. These will be held on Friday mornings after drop-off. If you would like to know a little more about how we are teaching your children, please pop in to the dining room on the relevant date.
As a reminder, please ensure children’s long hair is tied back during the school day. This is for safety reasons as well as reducing the likelihood of spreading head lice.
Overheard: Are these the chat up lines of the next generation?
Child A: Soooo, what do you do at the weekend?
Child B: Stuff
Child A: Soooo, what do you do in your spare time?
Child B: More stuff
Have a lovely weekend,
Zerrin Leech
On this week’s Message Board
Please log into our Parents’ Portal and click into the Message Board to see new important information as follows:
- Choir rehearsal tracks
- New 1:1 slots for Speech and Drama available with Mrs Woods
On this week’s Community Events page
Please log into our Parents’ Portal and click into the Community Events page to see important community information.
News stories
Our news stories can be found by clicking “News” and “Latest News” on our website. To see our latest articles please click here
Pre-Prep Awards

Gold Stars
Aadhya S for beautiful writing and a fantastic effort with her phonics
Theia H for wonderful phonics and writing
Sophia E for excellent addition with a hundred square
Jonas S for beautiful sentence writing
Siena L for brilliant listening during music
Theo B for being a ray of sunshine in the class
Louisa S for working hard at being a kind friend
Adam O for working hard to improve his cursive handwriting
Iris L for working hard when adding two numbers together by counting on from the largest number
Charlie C for a beautiful fantasy home picture done with pastels
Hans Emil P for super number bond work
Abigail S for reading with lovely expression
Charlie M for working hard on his handwriting
Cole D for always having a smile on his face even when things get tricky
Elizabeth A for being a great friend, always extremely helpful and polite
Eliza M for listening carefully and working hard on writing a historic Polar Explorer Survival Kit
Amelia N for mastering the art of pointillism in her artwork
100 House Points
William P
Adam J
House Points Cup
Dover House with a total of 116 points
Jake collected the Cup on behalf of Dover House
Times Tables Certificates
Gold: Jake L
Music Awards
17th January – Music Practice Cup was awarded to: Jake L
Music Practice Cup: Ruaridh O
Music Practice Award: Adam J
Star Violinist Cup: Kayla K
Music and Celebration Assemblies
We heard some beautiful performances in our music and celebration assemblies. Well done, everyone!
News from Prep
Headteacher’s Stars
M Pape |
For learning all times tables and division facts |
R Romero |
For completing your entire maths home learning booklet accurately, in addition to normal homework |
ABRSM Exam Results
N Ogle |
Piano |
Prep test |
Pass |
C Zheng |
Singing |
Prep test |
Pass |
D Macedo |
Percussion |
1 |
Merit |
G Wall |
Percussion |
1 |
Merit |
L Poracchia |
Percussion |
1 |
Merit |
N Staples |
Singing |
2 |
Pass |
E Hudson |
Singing |
2 |
Merit |
L Poracchia |
Singing |
3 |
Merit |
E Newton |
Singing |
3 |
Merit |
O Scott |
Descant recorder |
3 |
Merit |
J Pathiwill |
Singing |
3 |
Merit |
L Shi |
Singing |
3 |
Merit |
S Bendle |
Singing |
3 |
Distinction |
T Neville |
Singing |
4 |
Pass |
A Scott |
Singing |
4 |
Merit |
O Crane |
Singing |
4 |
Merit |
Sports News & Players of the Match
Match reports and Players of the Match can also be found in the News section of SOCS. Please log in to see the nominations or click this link: http://www.stmichaelsprepsport.co.uk/News.asp?Id=982.
Players of the Match, week commencing 20th January 2020
Team |
Name |
Given for: – |
U13 Rugby |
F Smith |
For strong running with the ball and for scoring 2 tries |
U12 |
The whole team |
For great rucking and scoring tries |
U11 A |
S Ward |
For excellent tackling and attitude |
U11 B |
T Anglin |
For good all-round play |
U10 A |
L Bowen |
For solid defence and understanding attacking lines |
U10 B |
E Short |
For great tackling |
U9 A |
S Taylor |
For direct running and solid tackling |
U9 B |
T Warren & J West |
For great attacking play |
U8 A |
W Pennington Legh |
For great support running |
U8 B |
S Jalan |
For good running with the ball in hand |
U8 C |
H Haaxman |
For great team work |
|
|
|
U13 A Netball |
A Mourgue D’Algue
E Ward |
Voted for by the opposition
For great driving towards the ball in the centre court |
U13 B |
A Moore
F Arduino |
Voted for by the opposition
For amazing marking and making great interceptions |
U13 C |
F Griffin
L Shi |
Voted for by the opposition
For great work in the circle |
U11 A |
V Medlen |
For great shooting |
U11 B |
E Harrison
C Prongué |
Voted for by the opposition
For excellent centre court play |
U11 C |
F Merralls |
For aggressive and enthusiastic midcourt play |
U10 A |
A Stevens |
For great defending |
U10 B |
A Ravalli |
Voted by opposition for good all-round play |
U10 C |
No Match |
|
U9 A |
M Pape |
For good all-round play and voted for by the opposition |
U9 B |
A Brown
M Elliott |
Voted for by the opposition
For great attacking play |
U9 C |
K Rutherford |
Voted for by the opposition |
U8 A |
C Selvey-Clinton
E Julio |
Voted for by the opposition
For being a very versatile player |
U8 B |
G Cheetham |
Voted for by the opposition for good all-round play |
U8 C |
E Moriarty
B Ravalli |
Voted for by the opposition
For making some great interceptions |
Senior School Open Days, Scholarships and Events
These can now be found on our Senior School page.
Upcoming events include Oakwood Park Grammar School, St Olave’s Grammar School and Skinners’ School.
Rose Hill School Future Schools’ Evening
Rose Hill School (Coniston Avenue, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN4 9SY; Telephone: 01892-525591) are holding a Future Schools’ Evening on Tuesday 28th January from 7pm. They would be delighted to welcome any St Michael’s parents, who would like to join them.
Over twenty independent secondary schools will be in attendance, including Tonbridge School, Sevenoaks School, Bede’s, Bethany School and Hurstpierpoint College.
Please register in advance with clare.rowton@rosehillschool.co.uk