March 3rd 2022
Books, Authors and Bananas
Chris Bradford – Samurai Swords, shades and water pistols…
What a way to kick off the first day back at school! Boys in Years 6 and 8 were treated to a highly interactive session with Chris Bradford in which they learnt about body guarding techniques. Have you ever heard of a Close Box Formation? No, us neither. An Arrowhead Formation? Which is best for protecting your celebrity and why? Well, now we have the inside intel we think that we may just change career… Or maybe we’ll just hire the boys that practised it with Chris in the theatre.
Chris explained how he came to be an author and how he had undergone an intensive body guarding course, as well as how he had trained in several martial arts, in part so that he could write with authority. He acted out excerpts from his books, standing as a bodyguard to one boy before shooting him (and the front 4 or 5 rows) with a water pistol.
A quick change out of cool iron-man shades and into a Samurai warrior’s outfit and Chris was ready to bedazzle Years 5 and 7 with exploits from his book series, “The Young Samurai”. With the help of a Samurai sword and some willing victims, Chris demonstrated some fighting moves and how to creep cat-like in the style of a Samurai or Ninja.
Who ever knew that boys would beg to be chosen to take part in an activity that promised a level of pain? A sea of waving hands and barely-suppressed desperation was testament to the fact that they just didn’t care about the possibility of being hurt. They all just wanted their moment on the stage.
Chris spent a morning with the school, finishing over lunchtime with a half hour session on story-writing with a few of the boys. He is a very popular author-speaker in schools, travelling the world to talk about his books and the inspiration behind them. Now we can see why.
The Big Read
The ever-popular Big Read took place in the theatre on Wednesday, with the boys from Years 3 to 8 having the opportunity to read together in the theatre whilst relaxing on beanbags, cushions and duvets! It was lovely for the staff to be able to enjoy spending some time quietly reading with the boys too.
Bananagrams
This week, the annual Bananagrams Final took place for Years 3 to 6 run by Mrs Scriven and Mr Smart. Having played the preliminary rounds in lessons and semi-finals in break time, the wordsmith warriors took to the fray in a friendly yet competitive manner. Following an intense burst of word creation (as well as some words that are yet to reach the OED!) the year group winners were reached. Congratulations to Gabriel E (Year 3), Ollie J (Year 4), Sam A (Year 5), Sam G (Year 6). After another successful competition, played in a great spirit by all, the only change for the future may be that the Bananagrams final is not played on Wednesday, but on a Sundae...!
Book Swap – Bobcats to Year 4
Oh, my goodness! We love a good Book Swap!
The excitement among the boys was palpable. Whether it’s finding a book that really takes their fancy or pointing out to a friend the book that they had brought in, the event has some magical moments. Our absolute favourite bits, though, are seeing boys crammed on to a sofa together reading the books, or listening to them discussing the books together, helping each other to choose a book based on their own reading experiences.
It really is a very worthwhile activity. Mrs Rees would like to thank all of the parents and boys who brought books in to take part in the Book Swap. Here’s to a similar event next year, perhaps to be held in the new library over in the Pre-Prep building…
“Onwards and upwards”, as somebody somewhere once said in a book…
