Author: India Gammon

5th November 21

On Tuesday 2nd November, Finton House hosted its annual U8 Football Tournament on Trinity Fields.

The sun was shining down on Trinity Fields as Finton House prepared to face The Roche School, Rutherford House, Eaton House The Manor, Chepstow House and Broomwood Hall in a series of 6-a-side football matches. The tournament, organised by Mr Anthony Dalton (Head of Games), is the first football tournament Finton has hosted since before lockdown. Mr Anthony has been at Finton for 24 years and, during that time, has organised around 100 of these tournaments; you can watch a mid-match interview with him conducted by our School Reporters on our Instagram here.

Mr Anthony said, “The A team met Rutherford House in a nail-biting thriller of a final, with both teams undefeated until that point. At the last moment, Rutherford snatched the victory as they scored three goals in as many minutes. It was a great afternoon filled with friendly competition and a wonderful atmosphere.”

Finton House is looking forward to hosting its next football tournament on Monday 22nd November, which will see Year 4 compete against ten other schools on Trinity Fields.

5th November 21

Year 1 had a visit from a range of exotic animals on Thursday, including boa constrictors, an armadillo and a five month old skunk!

The workshop, which forms part of the Year 1 science topic on living things, was tremendously popular with both pupils and staff alike. Oreo and Friends is an organisation that aims to raise awareness about exotic animals, and Year 1 met some rescues and were able to stroke or hold them. They met a number of different animals, including a tenrec (looks like a hedgehog but is native to Madagascar), an armadillo, a tarantula called Charlotte and a five month old skunk.

To see some more photos, visit our Instagram page.

20th October 21

Miss Lindsay completed her 100th marathon on Sunday 3 October 2021, which she ran in aid of the Sally Walker Bursary fund.

Miss Lindsay, who is a Teaching Assistant and swimming teacher at Finton House, ran her first ever marathon in London in 2003 – the marathon in which Paula Radcliffe broke the world record – which she finished in a time of 3:49:18. On 3rd October she completed her 100th marathon (and second ever virtual marathon) in a time of 4:08:28, starting and ending the race at Finton House. Finton families were able to follow her progress via the School Instagram, and a group of supporters greeted her at the finish line.

The Sally Walker Bursary fund is a cause close to our hearts. It was launched in 2007 in memory of Sally Walker, beloved Headmistress of Finton from 2002-2005 and former Head of SEN. The fund supports means-tested bursaries of up to 100% for children aged 7 and above. These bursaries, available each year, are for those who would benefit most from a Finton education but whose family would not otherwise be able to afford one.  To find out more about the Sally Walker Bursary please click here.

20th October 21

Thomson held its annual charity event, Crazy Hair Day, on Friday 15 October 2021.

We’re fairly certain that anyone who caught sight of our pupils lined up outside the School gates on Friday morning must have done a double take. Thomson, one of Finton’s four Houses, holds its legendary Crazy Hair Day each year in aid of their chosen charity which, this year, is Duty to Care; Duty to Care is a wonderful organisation that provides support to NHS workers.

The theme of this year’s event was ‘heroes’ – and the fact that not all of them wear capes. Once again, the Finton community outdid itself both in amazing spirit and creativity whilst raising money for a very worthy cause.

To see some photos, visit @fintonhouseschool on Instagram.

20th October 21

With the return of sporting fixtures against other schools, our budding young footballers have enjoyed a very exciting half term on the football field. The Year 3 boys were victorious at Woodcote House as they won the Captain Snow tournament; our Year 5 team (pictured) were champions at the Prep4Sport competition and our Year 6 team were Plate champions at Epsom College.

Head of Games, Mr Anthony, said “What a way to round off the first half of term! Mr Dan and I are so proud of all of the effort the boys have put in, and it’s great to see that hard work pay off.”

To keep up to date with Finton’s sporting fixtures, be sure to follow our Twitter.

20th October 21

Our annual Saturday Open Morning, the fir5st in-person event we have held for prospective parents since before Covid-19, was a huge success this year. Prospective families were welcomed by members of our Senior Leadership team and offered tours around the school by current staff, pupils and parents, and Mr Ben, our Head, held talks in the gym. There were a variety of activities on offer for children to get involved in, including playground games, badge making, science experiments and more! Mr Alan, our Head Chef, put on a lovely spread of homemade snacks and delicious drinks.

No matter your child’s year of entry, we believe that our Saturday Open Morning is a unique chance to meet all of our staff and have a good look around our wonderful facilities. Whilst our next Open Morning is set to be in October 2022, we are offering private tours with our Head of Admissions or Head of Marketing, which include meeting Mr Ben and having an opportunity to ask any questions you may have. Navigate to the Admissions tab for more information and to discover why Finton House is one of the most sought after prep schools in South West London.

Bursaries are available for Year 3 entry in September 2022, with applications closing at the beginning of March 2022. Click on the link below for further information…

7th February 20

We explored the latest innovation in VR technology this morning. Thank you to Mr Ruparel, governor and parent at Finton House, for a fascinating assembly about 360º immersive photography. It was captivating to listen to his talk about bringing virtual reality to the remote refugee camp Kakuma in Kenya. In a mission to enable children in the camp to experience a ‘school trip’ to the National Gallery, the 360º camera was used to show engaging gallery workshops to the children. The children described the experience with only three letters ‘WOW’, which pretty much describes how they must have felt when experiencing virtual reality first hand. Referring to this term’s Finton Goal, Mr Ruparel went on to highlight that technology makes communication happen instantly all around the world.

7th February 20

A wonderful occasion, the Poetry Celebration and Sign2Sing performance was an absolute success. Thank you to all families for their generous donations towards Sign Health Charity. Your support for this worthwhile cause is much appreciated.

Sophie, School Reporter writes: “On Monday morning the whole school assembled in Trinity Road Chapel for the poetry celebration and the sign 2 sing performance. After Mr Ben’s speech, it was time for the first half of the poetry winners to recite their poems to the school; they were all very funny! After a while, we had a break from the poems, and the choir sang the song “Stand by Me”. There was a loud round of applause, followed by the second round of poetry winners. My favourite recital was William Ryan’s: ‘There was an old lady who swallowed a fly’. We finished with our Sign2Sing song ‘Joining hands today’.”

31st January 20

“Poetry week was jazzed up by our visiting poet Joseph Coelho! He started his assembly off by talking about a useful method that he uses called MORERAPS, which stands for M-metaphor, O-onomatopoeia, R-rythm, E-emotion, R-repetition, A-alliteration, P-personification, S-simile. Then he read from some of his books and poems. Apparently he even has a poem that’s an hour-long! He explained that he writes novels, poems, non-fiction, fiction and picture books.

Later on the School Reporters, well two of us, had the opportunity to interview him. When asked what advice he has for future writers, he replied that he recommends always carrying a notebook for ideas, getting into the habit of observing what is around us and asking lots of questions. Joseph told us that science and non-fiction museums had a big influence on his writing, but he also got inspired by lots of other poets and writers, like Michael Rosen. We asked what he would do if he felt uninspired and how he gets his creativity flowing. He recommended to do something completely different and to take your mind off writing with for example gardening, watching a documentary or cooking. Lastly, he explained that the whole process of writing a book can take around 2 years.

We enjoyed the assembly and especially loved interviewing him.”
By School Reporters Sicily and Rosie (Year 6)

10th December 19

The Reception Nativity at Trinity Road Chapel is a much-anticipated highlight in the busy Finton calendar. George and Sarah, the Prefects, congratulated the children for a superb performance: “What a wonderful start to the festive season! We both remember when we did the Nativity in Reception, six years ago… We know how daunting it is to stand up there and perform in front of all these people, so you did really well. Our favourite songs were ‘Angels Singing’ and ‘Please Stop Knocking’ – they were catchy and joyful. As well as wonderful singing, all of you did superb acting – well done. Special thanks go to all the staff involved – all the Reception staff for putting the play together, Miss Emma and especially Miss Maria for teaching the children all the brilliant songs. Also, thanks to the parents for putting together the excellent costumes. All in all, we think that it was a phenomenal performance!”