Reflecting on another great year
The 2018/2019 school year was another busy one at Pilgrims. Here, Headteacher Mrs Webster reflects on some of her favourite moments.
An award shortlisting, a school dog and another successful sport’s day – this school year has been packed full of great moments which make me proud of everyone here at Pilgrims School.
One of my best moments was introducing Jake the puppy to the children for the first time when he was just three months old. The children were so welcoming and quiet in the assembly, as Jake was getting used to his first day at school.
Jake joined us in February 2018 and over the last year he has become a massive part of school life. He greets the pupils and their parents at the school gate in the mornings and is always visiting the children in their classrooms. It’s been great seeing how Jake has helped the children to express themselves and watching the relationships they have formed with him. They love to tell him all about their day!
In June we received the exciting news that we have been shortlisted in the Independent Pre-Prep School of the Year category in the Independent School of the Year Awards 2019! This is a fantastic achievement for us as we work hard to make Pilgrims the best Pre-Prep it can be to ensure that we are giving our pupils the best possible start in their education. I am incredibly proud of everyone at Pilgrims and I am looking forward to receiving the results in October!
We are extremely lucky to have such wonderful outdoor facilities, so we decided to take some of our lessons outside last term. This gave the children the opportunity to learn more about the wildlife in our pond and they even had the chance to make butterfly catchers in the sun! It was wonderful to see the smiles on the pupils’ faces as they found their first frog!
Christmas 2018 was lots of fun too. We all enjoyed taking part in a range of festive activities, including a Christmas advent calendar quiz, a staff pantomime, Christmas crafts and enjoying a tasty Christmas dinner in the dining hall. The pupils even met Father Christmas at our elf event. Four of our Kindergarten pupils travelled to St Paul’s Church to decorate a tree as part of their Christmas tree festival. Christmas is always a fun time of year and I love enjoying the festive season with everyone at Pilgrims.
World Book Day in March was an excuse for the pupils to dress up – and what fantastic costumes we had! My favourite part was seeing the Year 2 pupils read to the younger children. Everyone had lots of fun and enjoyed some great books.
The summer term finished with sports day – an event that everyone looks forward to. This year some of the older children from Bedford Modern came along to help us out. It was encouraging to see how past pupils have grown up and watch them help our younger children with their races.
The last week of term is always a busy and emotional one. We had to say goodbye to another fantastic group of Year 2s as they move onto the next step in their education. It’s been great to watch them grow during their time at Pilgrims; they have become more confident and learnt new skills each year, and we will miss them!
Every now and again I’m lucky enough to receive a picture or a written note from the pupils and this really does brighten my day. I have had some wonderful drawings of Jake and some wonderful letters from pupils telling me what they have been up to during the school holidays. I keep them all and I love taking them home at the end of the year!
Being a Headteacher is a very rewarding job and I can’t wait to see what the next school year has in store. I hope everyone has a great summer and I look forward to welcoming you back in September.
