School News
Elmhurst joins IAPS
We are delighted that Elmhurst School for Boys has joined the Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools. At the IAPS council meeting on November 29th 2011 Elmhurst was unanimously voted into membership of the oldest association of prep schools in the UK.
‘Elmhurst’s membership of IAPS recognises the fact that Elmhurst has become one of the elite prep schools in the country,’ commented Henry Wickham, Principal. ‘Our boys achieve extraordinary results in both their academic and their extra-curricular pursuits. We are extremely pleased to be joining an association which will help the boys develop their abilities and skills through greater training opportunities and through access to more nationwide competitions.’
Elmhurst will remain a member of the Independent Schools’ Association, a smaller body which covers schools of all age-ranges. Within the ISA Elmhurst has had huge success in sporting competitions, winning the football national finals, the cricket national finals and several national swimming medals, to name but a few achievements in recent years.
9th January 2012
The whole of swim squad went to Crystal Palace; we swam in the fifty metre pool. When we arrived it was quite chilly. But we still wanted to swim in the colossal pool.
The temperature in the pool was reasonably warm. After swimming a length, we were all exhausted and realised the difference between twenty-five metres and fifty metres!! However, after a few lengths we started to get used to the length of the pool. We did our warm up, then we began to do relays.
Before our swim, we saw (on the way in) the Great Britain handball team. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get an autograph!
We all enjoyed the experience of swimming in a fifty metre pool. Thanks to Mr South, Mrs Prior and Mrs Lazell.
By Christopher Perera and Jatan Hunjan 6S
Newsletter Entry
Entrance Examinations
From around the Spring Term of 2011, we have been preparing for the entrance examinations hoping to get into a good school in Year Seven. Yes, booster sessions in Maths and English for 11+ students started way back in February 2011. So far some of Year Six have sat the following:
- Wallington County Grammar School.
- Wilson’s Grammar School
- Tiffin’s Grammar School
- Sutton Grammar
- St.Olaves
We boys have really tried our best and as a result some have already passed. Tirelessly, we work our hands to sticks, for these assessments!! We do appreciate, however, the support we get from both our parents and staff from Elmhurst; we could not do it without their help.
Next term some of us will be sitting schools such as Whitgift, Trinity, Caterham and Royal Russell.
All boys have to be quiet at all times in the examination hall (as quiet as mice really); this is quite exciting (we’re not often THAT quiet!) but they are a great experience.
By Sasi-dave Sooriyakumaran & Devyan Kanani 6S
ISA Swimming
On Saturday Mrs Prior led a team of 12 boys to the ISA London Regional Gala, held at Trinity School.
12 boys took part, 5 making their debut in the school team.
4 boys won places in the London South team and they will now go forward to represent the region in the National Finals, held in Coventry.
Mihir Shah FC relay for Year 5; Clement Li Raphael Medlay relay Yr 6 and FC relay Yr 6; Taran Riley-Patel BS Individual event Yr 4.
This is a fantastic achievement, wll done to all the boys.
4th October 2011
Save the Date!
Friday 21st October 2011 at 7.30pm
Gala Dinner to Celebrate 75 Years at Roseneath
Guest Speaker: bestselling novelist Sophie Kinsella
In 1936 Elmhurst School transferred from St Peter’s Road Croydon to its current site on South Park Hill Road. To celebrate this important event, which was crucial in the development of Elmhurst into the well-established and renowned school it is today, we are holding a Gala Dinner at school. We are delighted that the guest speaker will be international bestselling novelist Sophie Kinsella, creator of the Shopaholic series of novels, who has a close association with the school! This is particularly appropriate given Elmhurst’s comic novel heritage: both PG Wodehouse and Tom Sharpe are old boys of the school.
We expect this to be a hugely enjoyable evening and we invite all current parents, ex-parents, staff and old boys (over 18s) to attend.
Further information about purchasing tickets will be available shortly.
15/09/11
ELMHURST SCHOOL FOR BOYS INSPECTION REPORT
Elmhurst School pupils' academic and other achievements are excellent, say independent schools inspectors. According to the report published this week by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, the pupils are 'accomplished in academic work and highly successful in competitive entry to senior schools.'
Elmhurst School for Boys, which was founded in 1869 and numbers PG Wodehouse amongst its old boys, is particularly praised for pupils' personal qualities, which are described as 'excellent'.
'In difficult times such as these it is very important that children understand the importance of teamwork, doing one's best and having a positive attitude,' commented Head Charles South. 'Our teachers have high expectations of the boys, which leads to them making strong progress and achieving outstanding results.'
Of the seven main judgements in the report, Elmhurst was rated 'excellent' in four and 'good' in three, with Early Years provision rated as providing outstanding outcomes. A particular strength was judged to be the pupils' personal development, which in every regard was considered excellent. 'As a result the school is highly successful in meeting its aims of encouraging hard work, good manners, honesty and consideration for others.'
Over the summer holidays, Elmhurst has spent a sum well into six figures on improving facilities for the new school year, including new classrooms and a revamped outdoor play area. Record numbers have joined this September's Reception intake.
The inspection report makes four suggestions for improvement, relating to reporting to parents, further monitoring of middle management and transfer of information within the school. 'We have taken on board the report's recommendations and have already taken steps to make the suggested improvements,' said Charles South. 'Overall we are very happy and looking forward to an exciting new year at Elmhurst.'
Note on the Independent Schools' Inspection System
The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) arranges and carries out the inspection of any school which wishes to be accredited by the Independent Schools Council (ISC), thus enabling its head to become a member of one of the ISC's affiliated associations of schools. The ISI also inspects every school whose head is already a member of one of these associations.
The ISI inspects schools according to a standard framework for inspection which it has laid down for the purposes of ensuring that standards are maintained and that the school complies with relevant legal requirements. This framework has been agreed with the DCSF and they have recognised the ISI as the body responsible for the regular inspection of schools in England which are affiliated to the ISC.
For the full copy of the report, please contact Carole or Paula at the school office on 020 8688 0661.
13/09/11
Elmhurst School topped off one of their finest years of sport winning The ISA National Cricket Championship in Nottingham last Wednesday
Teams from all over the country converged on Highfields School in Newark.
Elmhurst played three games during the day.
- Their first game saw Elmhurst beat The Grove from Milton Keynes by 32 runs, Elmhurst scoring 104 for 3 off 12 overs (Nicholas Baxter Brand scoring 32), Grove were bowled out for 78.
- Their second game saw Elmhurst crush Highfields School by 76 runs, Elmhurst scoring 116 for 2 off 12 overs (Ayaaz Razvi scoring 37), Highfields were bowled out for 40.
- Finally in their third game Elmhurst beat Hytherope School from Cirencester, Hytherope only scoring 48 off their allotted 12 overs largely thanks to some disciplined bowling from Clement Li Raphael and Raza Ali which saw only a couple of runs scored in a four over spell in the middle of Hytherope's innings. Nick Baxter Brand and Parth Gundi ensured we passed the target with ease and in doing so made sure of another national title for Elmhurst.
I would also add this has been a remarkable year for Elmhurst rarely matched in its 140 year history.
Football:
- Individual League Champions in the Croydon League Competition
- Winners of the Croydon Cup
- ISA 5-a-side Regional Runners Up
- ISA 5-a-side National Semi Finalists
Swimming:
- Overall placed third in ISA Regional Championships (including boys, girls and co-ed schools)
- 2 individual ISA National finalists...both gaining Bronze medals...Malachi Goldson and Mihir Shah.
Athletics:
- Winners of the ISA Regional Finals.
- Year 4 Silver Medal .Cricket Ball throwing..Adam Ali
- Year 5 Bronze Sprint Medal..60 metres..Meiki Hemans
- Year 5 Gold High Jump Medal..Aaron Ibe
Cricket:
- ISA National Cricket Champions
Not a bad haul for a school of our size. We are very proud of all the boys' achievements.
Mr South 05/07/11
ISA Regional Athletics Meeting at Norman Park, Bromley 8th June 2011
Mr Svarovsky and Mr Kelly took 21 boys from year groups 4, 5 and 6 to represent Elmhurst in the annual London South ISA Athletics meeting at Norman Park. Selection had not been easy as many boys had impressed during our trials in PE and Games lessons after the Easter holidays.
This year we were one of 17 schools, competing in sprint events, middle distance running, relays, long jump, high jump and cricket ball throwing.
After last year’s respectable 4th position in the boys section, we were hopeful that this year we could improve our overall position with a notch or two…or even 3!
The boys competed exceptionally well, held their nerve and gave everything for the blue and red colours of Elmhurst. At lunch time, when most of the preliminary heats/events were completed, we had 8 Elmhurst boys making it into the afternoon finals. Great achievement!
Here are the results of some of the outstanding performances by Elmhurst boys in the finals:
In the track events, Aaron Ibe came 3rd in his 600m race for year 5. Femi Olajiga finished 2nd in the 60m sprint final for year 4. Malachi Goldson came 2nd in both 80m and 150m sprints for year 6. Our year 4 and year 6 sprint relay teams both came 2nd in their finals. Clement Li-Raphael jumped his personal best to achieve a 2nd place in the year 5 long jump competition.
Adam Ali won the cricket ball competition for year 4 with an impressive throw of 35.56m.
Aaron Ibe smashed the Elmhurst school record by jumping 1.45m winning the year 5 high jumping competition with ease. Superb achievement!
Meikhi Hemans won a double gold; first winning a close 75m sprint final and then only a half hour later cruising to victory in the 150m race. He recorded a personal best in both races. Amazing effort!
At the end of the afternoon, our year 5 sprint relay team (Meikhi Hemans, Clemence Li-Raphael, David Gboyega and Shananthan Kalaichelvan) recorded the fastest time of the day in their final.
When all races/events had come to an end and all points had been counted, we were all waiting eagerly with anticipation for the announcement of this year’s overall result; The winners of the 2011 ISA London South Athletics meeting are: Elmhurst!
The Elmhurst Athletics team:
Year 4: F Olajiga, M Shah, J Bond, A Ali, T Wilcox, A-R Yaqub
Year 5: M Hemans, C Li-Raphael, S Dolor, A Ibe, B Clarke, D Giffin, D Gboyega, S Kalaichelvan
Year 6: M Goldson, A Jacobs, K Alexander, A Watson, P Gundi, D Koko, Andrew Watson
09/06/11
Friday 6th May saw the Elmhurst Year 5 team take Gold Medal first place in the Maths Olympiad competition at Royal Russell. With a field of 20 schools, the Elmhurst boys were up against it... but in the end their biggest challenge was how to lift the huge cup!
Royal Wedding playground party
Gill Packer from NSPCC gave a talk to the boys in assembly on Friday 21st January. Gill presented ‘buddy’, a soft toy designed to help encourage children to tell adults if they are unhappy or suffering bullying or cruelty.
Snow comes to Elmhurst!
Leap for Elmhurst in Sunday Times list of top Prep Schools