Summer 2024 Highlights

This term, as all our terms are, has been action-packed: Numbers Day, Shakespeare Day, Careers Week, chess competitions, sports days, trips, The Bannister Mile, Third Generation Day, Sports Day, Orchestra Day, Bikeability, Children’s Parliament and High School the Musical, plus numerous guest speakers to name but a few. 

We have much to celebrate and to be proud about. Our Reception class, for example, who gained their Bronze, Silver and Gold Award in the RSPB Wild Challenge. They also raised money for the World Wildlife Fund, engaging the whole school in their efforts. 

High School Musical was a great success, with the children performing on three evenings at Lancing College Theatre. The pupils embraced their roles and brought their characters to life with passion and authenticity, and their support for each other demonstrated the true spirit of teamwork. Alongside this our Drama pupils who sat their LAMDA examinations walked away with 65 distinctions! 

Chess this year has gone from strength to strength. There have been two very busy and active clubs and we have participated, and been successful, in several competitions. 

We are tremendously proud of our pupils who applied themselves in the Townsend Warner History competition this year; they all came within the top 210 in the country which is a superb result, and one pupil came within the top 50.

Our Year 7 and 8 pupils performed in a smugglers’ folk opera ‘Beware the Mackerel Sky’ at Lancing College Chapel, an event hosted by the Bernardi Music Group in association with the Yehudi Menuhin School bringing together school choirs, community choirs, a large string orchestra and professional opera singers and this musical spectacular with over 400 performers. 

Our scholars this year have been exceptional and to win the top Academic Scholarship to Lancing College again was simply wonderful. Many congratulations to our determined and very highly motivated pupils. In total, pupils were awarded four Academic Scholarships (including the top Academic scholarship), five Drama Scholarships, three Sports Scholarships, one Headmaster’s Award and one Ken Shearwood All-Rounder Award to Lancing College. One pupil received a Louise Humann Scholarship to Our Lady of Sion School.

Alongside the pupils, this term we celebrated our EYFS team who were awarded the status of Bronze Winner in the National Teaching Awards, and I was very flattered to receive an award from the Pearson National Teaching Awards.  

Our Third Generation Day this year could really have had no other theme than a big birthday party to celebrate LPW’s 10th year. The children arrived at school to find a big top on their field filled with everything that comes along with a fun circus and a good birthday party. Our children from Nursery to Year 8 had a very special day and one we hope that they will tell their grandchildren about (the aim of the annual day). 

There have been numerous trips throughout the year groups and two residential trips: two days and a night at Lodge Hill where the pupils participated in a host of activities from sno-tubing to wall climbing to shelter building, and a trip to Sestriere, Italy, skiing for 5 days. 

LPW is a vibrant, brilliant and special place to be. We are a strong community, a family, and as we say goodbye to our Year 8 pupils, who are heading onto their next adventure, we know that they will keep LPW and our three school aims with them on their journey: to Love Learning, to Be Kind and to Go Out into the World and Do Good. We feel very proud of them, and all our pupils, we wish them a very happy summer break and are already looking forward to 2024/2025!