The Autumn term has been as busy as ever in the Pre-prep and Nursery and the last few weeks have been filled with Christmas cheer and festive fun. Our recent Christmas craft day was full of glue, glitter and excited chatter and the children made some beautiful decorations to take home.

I’ve also enjoyed my first Taunton Pre-Prep productions – and what a treat they were! I was so proud of all the children, performing confidently to a packed Centenary Hall. ‘Hey Ewe!’, according to one parent, was one of the best Nativities they’d seen, and any pre-show nerves were soon forgotten once the performances got underway. Nursery 4 and Reception’s performance was equally magical. Huge thanks go to Mrs Simmonds and Mr Baker for working so hard with the children to make it all possible.

Reflecting on this term’s achievements, I am particularly impressed with our newly formed Pre-Prep School Council. This term’s focus was ‘food and fun’, looking at after-school snacks and possible playground development. The children proposed some sensible changes which we’ve already taken forward – bite-sized pieces of cake and savoury snacks like cucumber and hummus are now on the menu and proving very popular. The school council was also invited to meet Mr Johnson and the Heads of Senior School to talk about their roles and what they wanted to achieve. I was so impressed by their confidence, explaining their thoughts and ideas to improve the school.

Our Nursery rooms look wonderful at this time of year and Nursery 4 took great pride in showing me the tree they decorated themselves. Who knew you could fit so many decorations on one tree! It has also been wonderful to see our other Nursery rooms getting into the festive spirit with tinsel sensory time in Nursery 1 and letters to Father Christmas from Nursery 3. Nursery 2 have also been enjoying more of the great outdoors, playing with leaves in the Nursery woods.

Perhaps the most exciting development in Nursery is the relocation of Nursery 3 and Nursery 1. All building work is now complete and our nursery team will be hard at work over the Christmas break to ensure your children come back to wonderful new spaces in the New Year. Nursery 3 in particular are looking forward to having direct access into our woods. 

While I have only spent a term at Taunton School, I already feel completely at home and part of our wonderful community. Many thanks to all our families for their continued support and engagement. I hope you all an enjoyable Christmas break and look forward to welcoming the children back in 2024.    

Becky Lewis 

Head of Pre-Prep and Nursery