Brentwood Preparatory School Incipe 2017-18

Brentwood School Preparatory 14 Governors, ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls and honoured guests. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this Prize Giving ceremony, one of the major events of the School year; an event in which we come together as a community to reflect, to recognise achievement, and to look ahead to the future. Not every pupil can receive a prize here today but we do hope that everyone feels valued, that they have had many moments to shine throughout the year and that all pupils have the aspiration and necessary growth mindset that drives them to be on this stage next year. We regularly receive news from past Prep pupils and they all comment on the happy experience and the fantastic start they received within the caring environment which we all hold dear. I believe that these intrinsic qualities are as evident in the Prep today as they have ever been. Another perspective of the Prep comes from the many prospective parents who visit. They often comment upon the high standard of teaching and learning they witness but the most popular topic of conversation revolves around the happy atmosphere and commitment to the all round education. We hold firm that education should not be a nine to five sedentary experience and it can be argued that spending a week in a Cotswolds forest, doing the leap of faith or hunting for fungi are as educationally enriching as any classroom based activity. As our Year Six pupils prepare to leave us we wish them all well as they embark on the next phase of their education. For those who leave the school they become Old Brentwoods and they belong to a distinguished group. For the fifty or more pupils who make their way to Brentwood Senior School, we will see them carrying their entire school life on their backs in September and I do hope that they stop to say ‘hello’ to the teachers who worked so hard to make their time in the Prep so enjoyable and rewarding. The best piece of advice I can give to them are the words of Theodore Roosevelt, ‘Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground’. Extract from the Headmaster’s Prize Giving speech Prize Giving