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Dear Parents

It’s been another jam-packed fortnight and we’ve had the pleasure of welcoming parents into school for ‘Book Looks’, a second-hand uniform sale, the Book Fair and to speak at our International Women’s Day assembly this morning. I’m so grateful to parents and staff for supporting these events and making the school feel alive – full of energy and possibility. Thank you.

A special mention to Mrs Fuller, Miss Carpanen and Dr Simpson for speaking so passionately this morning. Their talks were personable, relatable and inspiring to boys and staff alike. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful community!

Kind regards

Gemma Anderson (Mrs)

Headteacher

Next Thursday, we will be opening our classrooms to show prospective families teaching and learning in action at Homefield. Please do spread the word to families, friends and neighbours!

Current parents are very welcome to join us and see some of the lessons and activities our boys enjoy each day.

Time: 9.30–10.15am (school tour)

Date: Thursday, 12th March

Please RSVP if you would like to attend. We would be delighted to welcome you: https://shorturl.at/IK4uJ

What a fantastic World Book Day celebration at Homefield!

Highlights included taking part in The Great Big World Book Day Virtual Quiz , a wonderful author visit from Mrs Vanee Apooligum, author of ‘The Flying Dodo’, who delivered an engaging session for our Lower School boys, and a colourful World Book Day parade, with plenty of cheers for the boys wearing the most creative costumes.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the day so memorable.

Many thanks to all the parents who supported our Book Fair this week. It was wonderful to see such enthusiasm for reading and to have so many families visiting and browsing the fantastic range of books on offer. Thanks to your support, the fair generated sales of £1,250.99, which means the school has received £688.04 in commission to spend on new titles for the LRC. This will assist us to refresh our shelves, ensuring the boys have access to a wide and inspiring selection of books.

We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our school librarians, whose help and organisation were invaluable in ensuring the event ran so smoothly.

This week in Nursery, we began our new topic, “Vegetables and Growing.” The boys have been learning about a variety of fruits and vegetables while exploring them through fun, hands-on activities. Using real fruit and vegetables, the boys experimented with printing by dipping them in paint and pressing them onto paper to create colourful patterns and pictures. The activity provided a wonderful sensory experience and encouraged the boys to observe the different shapes and textures of the foods they were using.

The boys have also enjoyed getting their hands dirty while planting carrot seeds. They carefully filled their pots with soil, planted the tiny seeds, and watered them, learning about what plants need to grow. We are hoping the seeds will begin to sprout soon! Once they are ready, the boys will be able to take their pots home and continue caring for their carrots, watching them grow over time.

Reception have been continuing their learning about our special friends in phonics. The boys enjoyed a very interactive lesson while learning the ‘ea’ sound. They even made their very own cup of tea! To make the experience extra memorable, they had a biscuit to dunk too! An activity that puts our school learning into real world context!

In Literacy, the boys have been exploring fiction and non-fiction, learning to understand the difference between what is real and what is pretend. They took part in a range of engaging activities, including a fun sorting task where they categorised toys into real-life roles, such as a policeman, and pretend characters, such as a dragon. Fantastic learning all round!

If your son is over 5 years old and you would like him to receive milk at school, please register with Cool Milk via https://coolmilk.com/parents/. Fund your son’s account before 5.00pm on Tuesday to start receiving milk the following week.

Cool Milk is the UK's leading school milk supplier, partnering with schools, nurseries and local authorities to delivery fresh, chilled semi-skimmed milk directly to schools. They manage the entire administrative process, providing free milk for children under five and subsidised milk for children aged five or older.

Will you fall into line; walk the line; make a beeline; be on the line or in line; or be out of line; or maybe down the line?

Line is a fundamental element of art, acting as the foundation for drawing and painting by defining shapes, creating structure, and guiding the viewer's eye. Lines convey emotion, suggest movement, and add texture or depth through varied, expressive Mari-making and strokes. They are used to outline forms, create patterns, and establish spatial relationships in both 2D and 3D compositions.

Whatever you choose in Art: Follow the Line! Just like our long line of Years 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 boys, who contributed to our art class display, who all fantastically underlined this point!

Last Friday, Rudy and Brendan (Year 8) proudly represented Homefield in the inaugural IAPS Debating Competition, a national event bringing together the best young debaters from independent prep schools.

Debating the motion, “This House believes that modern infrastructure should take priority over preserving all historical sites,” they presented challenging, thoughtful, and compelling arguments to the judges. In recognition of their excellent performance, they were awarded The Plate — a fantastic achievement in such a competitive field.

Huge congratulations to both students on this outstanding success!

Last Friday, we were delighted to welcome back our 1971 alumnus, Mr Ken Cole, who revisited Homefield to share his journey with the boys.

Ken reflected on how a teacher first sparked his interest in geology when he was just nine years old, an interest that has stayed with him for nearly 60 years.

As he shared: “Homefield and Mr Laurence Jones gave me that and I remain forever grateful.”

Supporting friendships

In childhood, friendships can change quickly. Small fallouts, shifting groups and worries about fitting in are common.

Helping your son name what's tricky, rather than stepping in too quickly, supports problem-solving and confidence.

Thursday 12th March 2026 @ 7.00pm

Homefield is delighted to welcome PAPAYA (Parents Against Phone Addiction in Young Adults) for an important and engaging parent talk, during the Spring term.

This workshop, “Let’s Talk About Our Kids & Their Tech,” is particularly relevant for parents of children in Year 5 upwards.

PAPAYA Talks offers a safe, non-judgmental space for parents to explore the challenges of screen time, smartphones, and social media. The session provides:

Clear, research-backed insights on children’s mental health and digital habits
Practical strategies for managing tech use at home
Guidance on setting healthy digital boundaries
Open and honest discussion (adults only)

PAPAYA works closely with the national Smartphone Free Childhood campaign, a growing movement uniting families, schools and communities who want to give children more space to grow, learn and thrive free from addictive algorithms.

Our Guest Speaker, Jennifer Powers, has sent through the following video, which may be of interest to parents: https://youtube.com/shorts/SYtLOockoCA?feature=share

Jennifer was the Guest Speaker on Sky News last week: https://youtu.be/xbSm1qlqPHo

Booking: Please click https://shorturl.at/UrSbb to reserve your place online.

Exciting news is emerging about the boys’ charitable efforts in support of the The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. It has been fantastic to hear about the different challenges, initiatives and fundraising ideas already underway. We would love to hear even more, so please encourage boys to post what they are doing in the House Charity Teams tile and share their progress.

Already, just six boys in the school have raised over £1,000 for this incredible cause. That is a brilliant achievement and shows what is possible. If more boys get involved and share their ideas, the potential impact for The Royal Marsden is truly enormous.

Heroic Hikers - The Marsden March

The following boys have signed up to take part in the 5-mile route of The Marsden March on 10th May, raising funds for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity: Kylesh (4H), Freddie (4H), Andrew (4H), Patrick (4H), Tise (4H), Philip E (4H), Philip P (4S), Noah (4S), Alex (1H) and William P (4H).

The Marsden March is the charity’s flagship fundraising event, bringing together thousands of walkers to support life-saving treatment and pioneering research that benefits cancer patients across the UK and around the world.

Good luck to all the boys taking part!

Well done to the following boys:

Lions: Rufus for incredible improvement with his handwriting and Boseon for participating in all activities and having a real ‘good go’ at answering questions about his learning.

Tigers: Caleb for excellent effort in phonics and writing and Zayan for super effort and progress in phonics and writing.

1H: Adam for consistently demonstrating the Homefield Value of endeavour and Aryan for excellent effort, enthusiasm and participation in science when learning about forces.

2H: David for showing endeavour and resilience in every maths lesson this week and Shrey for a fantastic animal portrait in wax resist and ink during art.

2S: Rian for effort in maths with non-unit fractions and Tarin for super contributions in English in both shared and individual writing.

3H: Freddie for excellent work in Geography and History. Showing great lesson engagement and participation and Andy for his outstanding efforts in maths, consistently striving to challenge himself.

3S: Rishaan for excellent work in English with creative writing. Showing great lesson engagement and participation and Nolan for exemplary behaviour, showing thoughtful manners and truly embodying the Homefield value of respect.

4H: Andrey or his positive attitude towards humanities lessons, always very engaged in discussions and Tise for his resilience in humanities lessons and making thoughtful contributions to class discussions.

4S: Evan for his engagement in science lessons and producing great pieces of homework and Alan for his positive attitude in English lessons, in particular his hard word with comprehension tasks.

5H: Harin for engagement in geography and Remo for showing positivity and resilience in all lessons.

5S: Bhavnish for being a great role model, Yahia for asking meaningful questions and Jaiden for focus and dedication in English.

6H: Aun for making good decisions and Ryan for his sensible approach to school life.

6S: Ayaan for making good decisions and Lucas for engagement in STEAM lessons.

8MMC: Brendan and Rudy for their success representing Homefield at the IAPS Debating Competition.

Summer Schools 2026

Find Your Academic Adventure this Summer

We are pleased to share that the The Debate Chamber has opened registration for their 2026 Summer Schools, offering an excellent range of academic enrichment courses for students aged 11+.

The Debate Chamber provides engaging, discussion-based programmes led by specialist tutors in subjects such as Law, Medicine, Maths, Philosophy, Diplomacy, Debating and Creative Writing. These small-group courses delivered online and in person are designed to stretch able and curious learners, helping them develop confidence, critical thinking and problem-solving skills in a supportive and inspiring environment.

Parents can find full details and book directly via the Debate Chamber website.

Summer Schools for 11-14s | Debate Chamber

SIGN UP for the open evening at 7.30pm on Sunday 1st March 2026, for further details on what courses are available.

Hockey

Year 3 Hockey vs Ewell Castle

On Tuesday 3rd March, our Year 3 boys played at home for an exciting fixture against Ewell Castle School. For many of the boys, this was another important step in their hockey journey, and they represented the school with great enthusiasm and spirit.

From the first whistle, the boys showed tremendous energy and eagerness to get involved. We spoke beforehand about spreading out, keeping our sticks low, and being brave in the tackle, and it was pleasing to see these messages put into action straight away.

Bertie opened the scoring with a determined run into the attacking area, finishing confidently to give the team an early lead. His second goal followed shortly afterwards, the result of excellent persistence and a willingness to follow up on a loose ball. Both finishes showed growing confidence in front of goal.

Joshua added a third with a well-taken strike after some excellent teamwork in the build-up. It was particularly encouraging to see the boys beginning to look for a pass and to bring one another into the game, rather than trying to do everything individually.

Equally impressive was the effort shown in defence, with several brave tackles and strong clearances helping to keep the opposition at bay. Most importantly, the boys demonstrated superb teamwork, encouragement of one another, and excellent sportsmanship throughout.

Year 8 Hockey vs Kingswood House

On Monday 2nd March, our Year 8 boys travelled to face a well-drilled side from Kingswood House in what proved to be an entertaining and competitive fixture.

The boys began the match with real intent, moving the ball confidently through midfield and pressing high from the outset. Our early pressure was rewarded when Karol opened the scoring with a composed finish following a well-worked passage of play down the right flank. Rudy scored the second goal which came shortly before half-time, a sharp strike taken early that caught the opposition defence on the back foot and gave us a deserved lead.

Kingswood House responded strongly after half-time, applying sustained pressure and testing our defensive resolve. Credit must go to our back line and goalkeeper Ian, who showed excellent organisation and composure under pressure. The boys demonstrated growing maturity in their game management, keeping their shape and communicating effectively.

Rudy extended our lead midway through the second half with a clinical finish after driving into the circle with determination. It was a goal that reflected the team’s collective effort and willingness to support one another in attack.

Overall, this was a very pleasing performance. The standard of passing and off-the-ball movement continues to improve, and the boys’ work rate and sportsmanship were exemplary throughout.

We look forward to building on this momentum in our upcoming fixtures.

We are so proud of Oviyan in Year 1, Kookaburra’s youngest sponsored player in their history since 1890!

Over half term, he visited their factory where Rob, the head bat maker, created a custom bat just for him. This is usually reserved for top England professionals and international players. A fantastic experience for a young cricket star!

He also had the opportunity to take part in two days training at Lords where he was coached by MCC Head Coach, Ajmal Shahzad, ex England player.

It’s been a busy week at the club as we’ve been working behind the scenes getting things organised for ‘Little Orchard Nursery’ – lots of exciting times ahead! Should you wish to learn more about Little Orchard, please contact:

Little Orchard Nursery Phone: 020 212 7312 opt 8

Email: info@littleorchardnursery.co.uk

Website: www.orchardchildcare.co.uk

Yesterday was an especially fun day as a host of wonderful Book Week characters arrived at the club after school. The costumes were fantastic, and the boys thoroughly enjoyed sharing details about their favourite characters.

Throughout the week, the boys have also been busy getting creative—designing book covers for their own stories and inventing characters of their own. They also enjoyed a short visit to the LRC, where they spent time exploring and sharing books together. It has been a really lovely and imaginative week at the club.

Keeping Our Boys Safe at Drop-Off and Collection

At Homefield, the safety of our boys is, and always will be, our highest priority. The start and end of the school day are particularly busy times, especially during afternoon dismissal when boys are boarding minibuses for their journeys home while families are leaving the site on foot. This naturally creates a high level of activity on the drive and surrounding roads.

To ensure that dismissal remains calm, orderly and safe for all, we are unable to facilitate vehicle pick-up within the school drive at the end of the day. Keeping this area clear significantly reduces risk and allows boys to depart safely.

We are fortunate to have free, unrestricted parking available in the surrounding side roads, just a short walk from the school. We kindly ask all parents to make use of these spaces and to allow a few extra minutes at collection time. In addition, please be mindful of our neighbours by not blocking dropped kerbs or parking in private, resident-only spaces. Parking wardens regularly operate in the area at the beginning and end of the school day, so we encourage families to park legally and, where possible, to park a little further away and walk.

Thank you, as always, for your continued understanding and cooperation in helping us maintain positive relationships within our community and, most importantly, in keeping every Homefield boy safe.