The Buzz

Summer 2024

Sophie F - Editor Extraordinaire

Hi I’m Sophie,

I decided to join the Buzz almost 3 years ago because I loved writing and enjoyed reading the buzz at the end of each term- and being a part of the Buzz was just so much fun I decided to carry on. Apart from writing articles, I enjoy drama, singing and sports (definitely not swimming or cricket though). This term, the Buzz is focusing on our beautiful school environment and my favourite place in the school to spend break time is the copse, the quad or the tennis courts.

Henry B - Legacy Editor

Hi I’m Henry. I joined the Buzz because I love English and I saw how much fun my sister and brother had doing this amazing club. Some of the things I like to do in my spare time are playing rugby, guitar and skiing in the French Alps. In this edition of the Buzz we are focussing on our beautiful school environment! My favourite place in our school is the cricket nets on top pitch in the summer!

Amber M - Keen new journalist

Hi, I’m Amber

I joined the Buzz because I love writing and I wanted to find out a bit more about the school and the staff . Outside of school, I enjoy playing football and drawing. In this edition of The Buzz we are focussing on our beautiful school. My favourite part of the school is the copse.

Georgia M - Returning editor

Hi, I’m Georgia,

I decided to join the Buzz because I love to read and write and also research new things. You will normally find me riding, sailing or doing something creative. I love playing tennis at break times and do lots of dance in extra-curricular activities. I am really looking forward to interviewing the people who help around school!

Hugh H-R - Part time journalist

Hi I’m Hugh and I’m a part time member of the Buzz. I love creative writing so I thought I’d try the Buzz to improve my Non-Fiction writing. In my spare time I like to play with Rubik’s cubes and the piano (although not at the same time). This edition we are focusing on our beautiful environment and my favourite place in the whole school is the five aside.

Twiglet - Mascot and muse

Twiglet is Charlie and Marnie's dog who regularly features as mascot on the side of the pitch and in The Buzz. She is very keen on presenting competitions, being adored during sporting fixtures and sporting sensational outfits.

Our Marvellous Matrons by Freddy N

What would we do without our team of matrons? They work non-stop to help keep us fit, healthy and happy. They are always there with a smile if we are feeling under the weather. Not only do they deal with injuries and medical conditions, they also prepare medical kits for matches and trips and even help the boarders do their washing. We thought it would be fun to find out more about them!

Penny

Penny’s favourite part of her job is working with children, but she sometimes finds it difficult to do lots of different things at the same time!

Did you know, she used to work in a monkey rescue in Africa; she used to play the drums; and if she had one wish, it would be to have the ability to heal people and have an endless supply of chocolate!

Mel

Did you know that in Mel's free time, she enjoys paddle boarding and being by the sea. She has even swam with turtles! She shared that her favourite part of her job is helping others and if she had one wish, it would be for the world to be happy.

Rebecca

Rebecca’s favourite part of her job is talking and looking after pupils. However, did you know, before joining Cranleigh as a matron, Rebecca worked for a breaking company. In her free time she enjoys riding horses and being outside.

Our gorgeous environment - Cranleigh Prep School

by Henry B

We at Cranleigh school are so lucky to be exposed to such a lush green environment. Not only do we get to learn new things in our fully equipped labs and classrooms, we also have amazing cricket, hockey, rugby, football pitches in a truly beautiful setting. In addition to this, we have some incredible grounds keepers to roll the pitches, line the fields, and keep everything as pristine as they always are. The flower beds around the school are always blooming with colour and we are surrounded by a huge number of beautiful trees. It would be hard to find a more stunning setting for a school.

This wouldn't be possible without a huge team of people who work tirelessly to achieve what we have mentioned. We would like to send out a massive thanks to: Marcus Bierton, Denis Bloomfield, Nicki Bloomfield, Luan Botha, Damian Buckman, Andrew Burke, Charles Cumming, Martyn Gray, Andrew Hall, Steven Hewitt, Lee Kelsey, Sean Kelsey, Daniel Margetts, Alexander Shayler, Wayne Stevens, Richard Tidy and Stuart Whittington.

So next time, when you realise how beautiful our school is and how privileged we are to go here, and you see a grounds keeper working, say hello, thank them and tell them what a great job they're doing.

Next up in the Buzz appreciation spotlight will be the magnificent maintenance crew. Be sure to read Autumn’s update next academic year. Have a great summer and see you in September.

Videos created by Mr Stroud, Alex Tolley and Max Jewell-Smith

Competition time is here... did you play 'Whose Shoes?'

We created a competition where you had to match up the teachers (well, mostly teachers) with their shoes. How well do you know your members of staff? Click on Twiglet to find out more.

Fun, Friends, Freedom!

We are very lucky to embark on residential trips each year we are at Cranleigh Prep. Read some of the entertaining highlights written by our young editors.

Form 4 PGL written by Evie M

Can you imagine yourself sitting on a seat, 45 feet in the air and then being released to swing through the air? This is just one of the fun things Form 4 did on our residential trip at PGL.

We travelled to PGL in Hindhead and had 3 days of fun activities. These are just some of the activities that we did:

Jacobs ladder

Working as part of a group, we had to make it to the top of a giant ladder made of ropes and wooden rungs. It was a fun challenge and we had to support and rely on each to get to the top.

The swing

Imagine yourself strapped with a harness to a metal pole, feeling the anticipation build as you're slowly lifted higher into the sky by ropes. Then, suddenly you're released into the air, soaring through the sky like a bird! With each swing, you go higher, making you feel like you're on top of the world.

Orienteering

Orienteering is like going on a huge treasure hunt in the outdoors. You're given a map that shows all sorts of places in the forest. You have to find your way from one point to another using only your map and your sense of direction and we had to work our way back to camp after.

Archery

Archery tag was really fun because you get to aim at a target and dodge arrows from the other team, it was a challenging, but definitely one of my favourite sports.

Fencing

It’s fun and a little challenging. You have to be quick with your hands and feet, and have fast decision making.

There were 4 or 5 of us to each room. We all had some time at the end of the day to do whatever we wanted in the dorm. It had a lovely shower and was very comfortable.

The meals were delicious with lots of different options. My favourite was the chicken burger and a toffee apple muffin.

The staff were really nice and helpful. The trip was great and it was probably the best trip I have been on, I would definitely go there again! It was a good way to get to know each other outside of school, and support and encourage each other and try to overcome obstacles.

Form 3 Head to Mill on the Brue!

Written by Leonie S

On Monday 18th March, Form 3 set off for three adventurous days at Mill on the Brue, Somerset for their residential trip!

After traipsing off the coach with all of their luggage, the boys and girls separated off to their different buildings where they were staying for the next two nights.

Straight away, they were launched into an afternoon of activities which included: bush craft, canoeing, crate stacking, low ropes, assault courses and the notorious zip wire which happened to be the second longest of its kind in the UK when it was built!

Returning to their dorms to unpack, muddy, exhausted but truly exhilarated, Form 3 picked their bunks for the night and headed off to supper - a delicious meal of burgers! That evening, they also gathered together to drink some hot chocolate! Mill on the Brue have a competition between schools as to who can produce the least food waste each meal. In true CPS style, Form 3 rose to the challenge and gobbled up each bite set before them. The residential site also prides themselves in growing their vegetables and using locally sourced ingredients.

The second day consisted of a vast menu of continued activities which also included a mini-Olympics! Some groups even went on a night walk and played a giant game of crazy-tag in the fields behind the site.

That evening, they sang songs around the camp-fire and practised for what was then, the upcoming House singing competition with their own rendition of ‘Waterloo’ by ABBA.

A thoroughly tired but positive bunch of pupils returned on the coach the following day having learned lots of new skills and made many memories of their time away.

By Leonie S

Portsmouth Docks

By Arthur H-R

The trip was a chance for us to see Tudor warships such as HMS Warrior and Victory. It helped us learn about our future topics and informed us of the battles, successes and tragedies of past naval adventures. Furthermore, it was a great way to learn about how old navy events have shaped the modern world. In preparation for our future topics, we learnt about the admirals that led our armies to their obvious successes, expanding the territory and power of the English Navy.

Our first stop was HMS Warrior where we learnt about the classes of people on a ship and what they did that set them apart from the others. We learnt how to fire a cannon and how to brace yourself for the impact which also lead us to another point of our naval success as we had the fastest cannons meaning we had superiority when firing and reloading before our opponents, taking just under a minute.

The sailing trip for
Form 4 this year was a wonderful experience. We had a thrilling and exciting time at Rockley. My favourite part was on the second day when the water was calm and smooth, and the sun beamed down on our backs as we enjoyed the calm breeze.

The dorms were filled with fun and the beds were comfortable and cosy in our warm sleeping bags. Breakfast was a delight to wake up from a long and hard day of sailing. On the first day, the waters were rough and difficult to traverse, but it was a great way to train us and give everyone experience for the future. Me and George Swayne were on the smallest boat and everything was fine until the boat stopped turning because we did not have enough speed to change direction; this caused a capsize! It was super fun as we both clung on to the top, but slowly fell like a cinematic movie.

We are sailing.....

again!

Orlando H

Watch all the best bits here. With thanks to Mr Stroud for putting together such a great video of our adventures.

The Tri - ing Hard to Raise Money by Amber M

The Triathlon!

What is Restless Development?

Restless development is a charity that supports the collective power of young leaders to create a better world. Restless development considers the welfare and protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults to be an organisational imperative with primacy over the success of programmes or strategic objectives. Originally, Restless Development was a training course to become a teacher in India or Zimbabwe.

What is the triathlon?

The triathlon is an event series organised by restless development aimed at children aged 7 to 13. This year, the triathlon is being held at Cranleigh School.

What are the distances for the triathlon?

The distances for the triathlon are 50 metres swimming, 600 metres running and 1000 metres cycling.

What is it like taking part in the triathlon?

Taking part in the triathlon is incredibly enjoyable and it feels great that, by taking part in the triathlon, you also supporting restless development. Roughly 800 children took part in the 2024 triathlon. The atmosphere was buzzing especially at the swimming pool where the cheers ricocheted off the walls, but in all of the events the support was brilliant and it was impossible to give up with so much applause. Some were even interviewed afterwards and given sweets.

Check out the videos below to see what a triathlon looks like at Cranleigh and what all that fundraising money goes on to do. Well done to everyone who took part and hopefully this will inspire others to do it next year!

Lucy Strange visited Cranleigh Prep three times this year as our Patron of Reading 2023-24.

She came once a term to inspire us to write and carried out workshops, debates and introduced us to her illustrator, Katie Hickey.

Lucy kindly agreed to be interviewed by Lucy L and Piper D.

Click below to see photos of the events and to listen to the interview where she discusses her favourite books, what inspires her writing and why a second career is a good idea!

Lucy Strange - Patron of Reading 2023-2024 by Henry B

Lucy Strange Bio

by Lucy Strange's publisher

Bestselling children’s author Lucy Strange lives in the heart of the Kent Downs with her partner and their little boy. Her novels for children include The Secret of Nightingale Wood (Waterstones Book of the Month) and Our Castle by the Sea (Independent Booksellers’ Book of the Month, The Times Book of the Week, nominated for the Carnegie Medal, and shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020). Lucy’s new book The Ghost of Gosswater is a gothic adventure set in the Lake District at the turn of the century and will be published by Chicken House in October 2020.

Lucy’s novels have been published all over the world, including America, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia, Iran and Hungary, with a fully illustrated Russian edition of The Secret of Nightingale Wood recently released and a Mandarin translation on its way soon. Lucy narrates the audiobook versions of her novels for both the UK and the US, winning a 2019 Audie Award in New York and being shortlisted for their 2020 Middle Grade Award.

Lucy’s second novel, Our Castle by the Sea, is set on the Kent coast during the Second World War. It ties in beautifully with Year 6 World War Two schemes of work and is a project supported by Arts Council England due to its powerful, contemporary themes. Extracts from Lucy’s books are available on the Chicken House website and there are links to teaching resources on Lucy’s website - lucystrange.org

With a background in both acting and secondary school teaching, Lucy is an engaging speaker and is confident in front of audiences of all ages. She is regularly booked for both individual and panel events at literature festivals, from the prestigious Cheltenham Literature Festival and the Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature in Dubai, to the Wealden Literary Festival in Kent. She leads workshops on creative writing for both children and adults and is Writer in Residence at Kent College, Canterbury. Lucy visits schools across the country to talk to young readers about her stories, about reading, researching, writing and editing books, about life as an author and her journey from being a young bookworm to a published writer.

Form 5 Residential by Georgia M

Think of yourself in the middle of the New Forest, living in an 130 year old house, doing fun activities every day, and having the time of your life! That basically sums up what this residential was!

It took around 2 hours to travel in the coach, but it was worth it! We were all split into our groups and dorms, then the fun began!

Paddle Boarding- If you love to have fun splashing your friends, capsizing the boards and spending time in the sun and on water, then this is the activity for you! Our favourite moment was definitely when we were able to tip others boards over and then had to go and search for everyone's paddles!

We played a fun game called world domination where you choose a country and if you tapped someone’s paddle board, you would do rock paper scissors to decide if you were growing your team or losing and joining the opponent’s team. The country North Korea won. We also got to jump in at the end. James Scott was pushing his paddle board with his hands like a propeller.

Abseiling - The most fun part of this was definitely doing the jumps going down the wooden wall! Even though it was terrifying leaning back over the edge with only a piece of rope holding you up, it was great once you got into the rhythm of it and could lower yourselves down with ease.

Tree top trail - This was amazing because it was a bit like doing a GO-APE course up in the trees as well as having a brilliant time climbing around with all our friends! The moment that we laughed most was when we couldn't reach the net at the end of the zip-lines so we had to grab onto the wire and pull ourselves up!

Farewell to the GAPs by Amber M

Thank you to the brilliant GAPs that helped out at CPS this year. They have been an amazing support at everything from behind the scenes to helping coach sports and taking the register. It has been great to get to know them better. They have been so helpful and kind this year, it wouldn’t have been the same without them.

Good luck to Charlie as he moves on to Newcastle University, reading International Business and French. Farewell also to Jonah as he goes on to Leeds university to read Politics and Economics. Wishing Rhys good luck as he leaves to go to Liverpool University where he will read Microbiology and Immunology. Last but not least, we wish good luck to Ellie as she joins Exeter University to read Biology.

Thank you so much Charlie, Jonah, Rhys and Ellie. We cannot thank you enough for your help this year.

Spotlight on a club. This term: Copse Club by Hugh H-R

Copse Club is a super cool after school club where you get to learn special skills that you can use in the wild outdoors and embrace the nature. In Copse Club we learn how to look after our beautiful world and how to have fun in it as well. We have done all sorts of activities such as roasting marshmallows alongside learning important fire skills. We have also undertaken litter picking, hide and seek, bug hunts, camouflaging ourselves, identifying trees from their leaves, flower pressing, making magic potions, picking elderflower and making cordial and much more.

We even designed our own emblem for Copse Club and voted on the best one. Our thanks to Mr Brewer who used the laser cutter to emblazon our slices of wood to make pendants to show we are all part of the same crew. By learning more about nature in the Copse, we hope to make the world a better place.

Farewell to CPS from the Head Boy

I joined Cranleigh in Form 1 having moved from Newton Prep in London. The move was daunting- Cranleigh was massively bigger, livelier, and certainly much busier than my previous school. My anxieties were alleviated by Mrs Diacono and her lovely classroom. That was a place of refuge for all us little ones.

Sitting here now, with my Common Entrance results nestled between my fingers, I can honestly say that Cranleigh has been my home for the last six years. It is here that I have made some of my best friends, have enjoyed the outstanding facilities with staff who work tirelessly to help us be the best people we can be, and where I have been able to be myself and excel.

The journey has not always been an easy one, with struggles in subjects that I found quite challenging, but with determination and unwavering support from my teachers, I can sit here today and feel immensely proud of what I have achieved.

My advice is: throw yourself into everything; don’t hold back and try new things because you will never know what you will end up liking.

by Jake L Head Boy

Farewell to CPS from the Head Girl

When I first joined Cranleigh in Form 3, Covid hit and I was forced to stay at home. The only advantage was being able to eat in class!

However, since that day, I can honestly say that my journey in the Prep School has been truly brilliant. I have persevered with my activities and enjoyed many opportunities that have come my way, with the support of so many teachers that I will never forget. Along the way, I have made life-long friends and memories that will stay with me forever.

Life at school can be tough sometimes. Workload increases and more responsibility comes your way, but it also comes with reward. A great feeling when that revision pays off, or that sporting skills is mastered. The fun you can have with a little more freedom, and privileges of being the leaders in the school.

My advice to you, is to say yes to everything; try everything once; dream and hold your head up high - then maybe your journey through the Prep School will be as memorable as mine.

by Matilda F Head Girl

School's out for Summer!

But what's next? What can we do if we need a bit of inspiration on how to while away those long summer days. Here are some ideas from Mrs Groocock and Mrs Fenton.

Summer Reading Challenge from Mrs Fenton

Can you get 5 in a row? Can you complete 2 rows?

Can you even get them all? Have a play on Mrs Fenton's Summer Reading Bingo!

Here is an exciting opportunity from Mrs Fenton to keep you reading all summer long.

Free First News online all summer!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

First News is the leading source of news and news-based learning for children. It is age-appropriate (aimed at 7 to 14 year olds but accessible for all ages), impartial and helps keep kids reading and developing their critical literacy skills.

We love using First News in the classroom and are thrilled to offer all Cranleigh Preparatory School students a free First News digital subscription over the summer holidays. It’s packed with fun and educational content that will keep minds active and entertained all summer long.

First News digital is available via an app and includes:

Daily news stories which children can read, listen and react to. These include reports on the Euros, the Summer Olympics, and the upcoming general election.
The latest issue of the newspaper and many past issues
Weekly polls to vote on
The latest episodes of Sky Kids FYI weekly news show
Fun puzzles and games: great for improving vocabulary
Tips & Talking points for parents and carers to help you talk about tricky topics with your children

Click here for our school's unique access link: https://subscribe.firstnews.co.uk/summer-reading-2024/?fn=DQG5TLH6

From,

Mrs Fenton

Ideas that enrich you but DON'T involve screens

Mrs Groocock says:

Here are some suggestions for activities you can do this Summer. Record the ones you do and produce a poster, mood board, digital record. Present this to your Form teacher at the beginning of term and receive carrots. We hope you enjoy this challenge and look forward to seeing what you do.

You can find more ideas on the VLE under Summer Enrichment.

Find the full list of ideas below:

thewordsearch.com/puzzle/7242995/summer-fun/#google_vignette

Click on the link and enjoy doing this crossword created by Amber M and Georgia M.

Have a wonderful summer everyone from Twiglet and all those at The Buzz!

Twiglet's outfit is inspired by each of the house colours in honor of Sports Day. Congratulations to Clubs for winning the Lower School Sports Day and to Hearts for winning the Senior Sports Day and for being the overall winners.

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