Category: Upper School

25th June 18

Year 6 produced some highly amusing and dramatic moments in their performance of Camelot.

The children have been working extremely hard on their rehearsals, and all their efforts have been rewarded. Everyone agreed that their singing, acting and dancing was on par with Broadway! The cast left their audience in awe at this tremendous achievement. Well done to Year 6 and their fabulous teachers for an amazing show.

14th June 18

We would like to congratulate all six girls who qualified to participate in the IAPS National Swimming Finals 2018. Over 5,000 children had tried to qualify for finals day and only the top 20 swimmers in each age group in every stroke were invited back. Finton House School was represented by a team of one Year 6 and five Year 5 children who all swam incredibly well on the day. With over 3000 spectators at the Aquatic Centre, the excitement and atmosphere was infectious as the girls got prepared for their races!

Issy, our Year 6 record swimmer, qualified for the 50metres backstroke and impressed us with a new personal best time. The standard of the races were so high this year that Issy just missed the podium, but she still achieved an incredible 5th place. We also had 3 individual qualifiers: India (25 metres backstroke), Sophia (25metre freestyle) and Emily (25 metres breaststroke). Well done to Emily who finished her race as 9th in the country. India and Emily made it through to the final where India produced an amazing swim with a new school record of 17.25 (just beating Issy’s silver medal performance last year of 17.35). The Finton crowd cheered excitedly when it was announced that India won the silver medal. What an achievement!

The U10 medley relay team consisting of Freya, Emily, India and Sophia just missed out on the medals finishing 5th in the country. In the freestyle relay the team comprising of Hannah, India, Emily and Sophia stormed into the lead going into the last leg and incredibly Sophia managed to hang on a couple of hundredths of seconds. GOLD MEDAL for the mighty Finton – which makes these girls the Number 1 under 10 freestyle relay prep swimming team in the country!

What a brilliant performance by all our individual swimmers and teams! We are very proud of them all.

We would like to thank our supporters on the day who came down to the Aquatic Centre to cheer our girls on. The children really appreciated seeing so many teachers there to support them.

Thank you must also go to our PE Department and all supporting staff who did an exceptional job in preparing the competitors for the finals and helping out on the day.

The full list of results from the IAPS National Swimming Finals 2018 are available to download here.

26th February 18

Did you know that more than 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in our oceans every year?

Upper School pupils at Finton House listened to a thought-provoking assembly about the environmental impact of plastic waste in our oceans. Jo Ruxton, who is a founder of the Plastic Oceans Foundation, stressed the importance of spreading awareness of the issues amongst our youngest generation.

“We should never underestimate the harmful impact waste can have on the oceans and its habitants.”  Miss Jo went on to tell the children that plastic pieces can be found broken up in tiny pieces in the ocean which are then consumed by marine animals and release toxic chemicals in their bodies. As an example she highlighted that a shocking 90% of all seabirds are found to have plastic in their stomachs, since mother birds think the shining small pieces of plastic are squid and feed it to their babies.

Not only does this harm the marine animals but it is very much a concern for human health as well. For example, we eat fish without realising that those toxic plastic pieces also enter our bodies.

Jo made sure that the children are aware that it is never too late to make a difference by changing our daily habits to protect our environment. Avoiding the purchase of packaged vegetables at the supermarkets, drinking tap water instead of bottled water and recycling plastic are only some of the things every single one of us can do to live responsibly.

At the end of the presentation, the children were not only deeply touched by the fate of many sea animals who have sustained injuries because of plastic pieces in the ocean, but also realised how much our daily actions can impact the planet’s environment.

5th February 18

After a very busy week of practising ‘Friends Forever’ in Sign Language, our pupils finally got the chance to perform it in the playground and at Trinity Road Chapel to an excited audience which included Sign2Sing Chief Executive James Watson-O’Neill and members of the Sign2Sing fundraising team.

Sign2sing is in its 8th year, helping fund projects that improve the lives of vulnerable deaf children and adults by helping them access help and advice on the things that matter to them in Sign Language. Imagine living in a world where you cannot communicate with the people around you, from your doctor to someone in a shop. That’s what the world is like for many deaf people. Deaf people can often feel isolated, unable to access information and advice that can help them live happy and healthy lives. Something hearing people take for granted.

5th December 17

26th September 17

A celebration of the crops, fruit and vegetables grown on our land

This year the harvest festival assemblies for the Upper and Lower School were held by Pastor Stuart from Trinity Chapel. The celebration commenced with a harvest song, followed by Pastor Stuart’s engaging stories about Jesus and the importance of appreciating the quality of our food, and thanking all those who provide it and bring it to us.

He referred to a passage from the Bible where Jesus said: “I am the bread of life – Those who come to me will never be hungry.” Pastor Stuart went on to tell the children that Jesus only had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish to feed thousands of people, but he thanked God for the food and made a lot out of a little and was able to feed everyone. The moral of the story is that at harvest time, when we have an array of food, we should share with our community to give to the less fortunate.

And that’s exactly what we did at Finton House!

Thank you to all the families who brought in produce. This will be delivered to the Wandsworth Food Bank on Thursday.

At the end of the Upper School Assembly, Emilia S. shared her family’s story and explained why the Harvest Festival is so important to her family and other farmers:

“Harvest is important to farmers because it is when their crop becomes ripe. This means it is ready to eat.Harvest is important to my parents and grandparents because together they own a farm in Hampshire and all year work hard to plan what to grow, when to plant it and hope that the weather is good.Harvest is important to everyone in the world as it can mean the difference between people having food on the table and going hungry.”

What a beautiful speech by such a young girl who truly understood the value of celebrating the Harvest Festival.

18th July 17

Looking back on their seven years at Finton House School, Year 6 prepared their final speeches for Prize Day 2017. What was for many pupils a nerve-wracking but very memorable experience, gave great pleasure to parents and staff who proudly watched their youngsters present on stage. It was a great opportunity for Year 6 pupils to reflect on their time at Finton and leave their final message, before embarking on the exciting journey to senior school. They presented beautifully in front of the large audience at Wandsworth Civic Suite and all of them have made us very proud. Below are some of the speeches:

	Thomas: All the staff at Finton have given me masses of valuable advice. They have taught me how to be more resilient when needed. All the staff work tremendously hard and support us, which we all appreciate.
	Madeleine: I still remember the very first moment I walked into Finton House and feeling the warmth and friendliness all around me. The teachers were there to support me then and have continued to do so whenever I have needed it.
	Dylan: As a member of the Pupil Council, I have learned that it is always a good idea to be open to other people’s opinions. You should respect what they say and do even if you don’t always agree with them.
	Ella: I will never forget how Finton has helped me learn the importance of helping other people, not just thinking about myself. I have treasured every moment of the last seven years and I hope that my new friendships will be as strong as those I have made here.