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Life at LPH was once again alive with its customary bustle and buzz, and the activity around the place is a joy to behold. It’s been good to see our pupils venturing out from school this term – from the Pre-School visiting the Lancing Farm for the first time in many months, Reception marvelling at the exotic beasts in the nearby Butterfly Farm, Year 1 exploring the prehistoric exhibits of the Booth Museum to Year 2 having a fabulous time at Wilderness Woods putting their Forest School skills into action.
The Prep children have gone a little further afield, from Year 3 visiting Drusillas to older pupils in Year 7 investigating climate change and the impact of waste at an exhibition and workshop at the London Design Museum and Year 8 going on an art trip to the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill as part of this term’s mask-making project.
Sport is also firmly back on our agenda and we have been encouraging our teams to become co-ed wherever possible, with players chosen on merit rather than solely by gender. So we have had boys playing netball and girls playing tag rugby! Our Boys’ U11 team took part in the Brighton Small Schools competition, complete with a girl player in the squad, and won the competition overall. For the first time this year, we also entered the Girls’ competition and we were thrilled that they won that title too. We have this term played more tournaments and fixtures against other schools, with some outstanding wins along the way. What has been clear that is that LPH competitive spirit continues to burn brightly, as does the high standard of sportsmanship, which has been remarked upon by many staff from opponent schools. We have a talented group of tennis players who are playing at increasingly high levels in county and national tennis and we were immensely flattered to be nominated for the 2022 Tennis Sussex School of the Year award and even more delighted to win the accolade. This is all testament to how our hardworking sports staff help to nurture and develop sporting talent at LPH.
World Book Day brought all manner of joyful dressing up as ever and the children enjoyed playing the Reading Bingo Challenge to earn Pride (for the Pre-Prep) and House (for the Prep) points. This was alongside the NEAF Readathon, where the school’s target to read 5,000 pages within a week more than doubled its total and raised funds to support St George’s School in Ethiopia, to improve their children’s library and access to books. We marked International Women’s Day with an assembly delivered by a small group of Year 4 girls who raised money through selling the badges they had made for Women for Women International, a charity supporting women in Afghanistan.
In school, we also have children whose families are being impacted by the events in Ukraine. We are encouraging the children to ask questions when they have them and to talk about what is happening in the news with sensitivity, thoughtfulness and respect. There has been a real desire from the children to do something to help those in need, and Reception put forward a Blue & Gold Mufti Day to raise money for the Lewisham Polish Centre, which is delivering essential goods to refugees arriving at the Polish border. The Year 7 children organised a sponsored overnight sleep at school, with no electronic devices and minimal home comforts, with suitable adult supervision.
We encourage the children at LPH to look beyond the bounds of school and to consider what is happening in the wider world. They do so with empathy and care, and we are proud of them for their determination to make a difference where they can. Our thanks to all parents, families and friends who support and encourage them in their charitable giving.
Kirsty Keep
Head Mistress