Weekly Bulletin 2nd October 2026

What a great week! We’ve been blessed with continuing warm weather, despite the calendar ticking over into October, and this has certainly helped with outdoor activities, breaktimes and trips.

Indeed, Year 3 enjoyed a super trip to Ufton Court on Thursday, a new venue for TPS near Reading which focuses on outdoor learning and educational experiences linked to historical topics. For Year 3, this meant exploring the world of the ancient Egyptians, with workshops focusing on sarcophagi and mummification. I gather everyone had a wonderful time, including taking part in a full Egyptian funeral procession!

Meanwhile, earlier in the week it was Year 6’s turn to travel, this time to Heatham House in Twickenham to take part in the Junior Citizen programme. The children explored various aspects of safety and responsibility as they begin to enjoy greater independence and freedom to travel. Workshops included guidance from the Fire Brigade and the RNLI on water safety, particularly relevant given our proximity to the Thames, alongside advice on travelling safely by public transport. I know that the children really enjoyed the sessions and will have learnt a great deal from the experience.

Linked to the theme of safety, the school conducted a lockdown exercise on Tuesday, allowing the community to practise the actions we would take should a potential danger require staff and children to remain safely inside the school buildings. While exercises of this nature might seem extreme, it is important that we have clear procedures in place for a critical incident and that staff and children are able to respond calmly and with confidence.

Finally, the children have been preparing with great enthusiasm for our Harvest Festival Service at St Mary’s Church next week on Wednesday 7th October. We would be delighted to see TPS families join us for this special event, which begins at 9.30 a.m. Donations would be very welcome at school on Tuesday 6^th  or Wednesday 7^th  October, with this year’s nominated charity being the Hygiene Bank. Please see below for details of the products we would particularly welcome.

Oliver Barrett, Headmaster

October

All up to date events information can be found on MSP

• Pupils will come to school as normal and will be accompanied to the church by TPS staff.
• Arrival at the church from 9am – the service itself will last for about 45 minutes from 9.30am.
• All friends and families of the School are welcome to join us.

Harvest Festival Uniform Notes:

• All pupils are to come to school in full uniform and school shoes, including blazers
• Pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 who usually come in sports kits on a Wednesday are to come to school in full uniform, including blazers and school shoes – but bring trainers in their bags for PE
• Pupils in Years 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, who usually come in sports kits on Wednesdays, are to come to school in full uniform, including blazers and must please bring their sports kit and footwear to change into.

Donations: 

Please drop donated items at school on the morning of Tuesday 6^th or Wednesday 7^th October. Please see the items for women, men, children and babies required by the Hygiene Bank, Hampton charity listed below:

• Shampoo for children – URGENTLY NEEDED
• Shampoo for adults – URGENTLY NEEDED
• Shower Gel – URGENTLY NEEDED
• Deodorant for men & women – URGENTLY NEEDED
• Toothbrushes – URGENTLY NEEDED
• Toothpaste
• Period Products
• Nappies
• Baby Wipes

New, unopened and unused toiletries only please!

There will also be a retiring collection of cash at the Church – just in case you’d like to donate to the Hygiene Bank, Hampton charity that way.

To mark World Mental Health Day, on Friday 9^th October, pupils may come to school in their own clothes with a yellow theme in line with the Young Minds ‘Hello Yellow – wear it loud, wear it proud for young people’s mental health’ campaign. Monies raised will go to the Young Minds charity.

We ask that a £2 donation is made for pupils to take part, with the charge applied to school bills. Should you wish to opt-out of the event and the donation, please complete the Charity Donation Form on My School Portal.

TPS term dates for NEXT academic year, September 2027 – July 2028 are now published and available for your reference on our website: https://twickenhamprep.org.uk/term-dates/

Of course you will also find the previously published dates there for this current academic year, September 2026 – July 2027.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind parents of the process with regard to a request for term-time pupil leave. It is not school policy to grant leave for pupils in any year group to miss days of school for anything other than exceptional circumstances. School holiday dates are published very far in advance so that holidays can be booked early and within the generous timescale. Holidays outside of the school holiday periods are not condoned as the expectation is for all pupils to attend school during term time. Any request for exceptional pupil leave during term-time should be sent directly to the Headmaster in writing via email: head@twickenhamprep.co.uk, must be made well in advance and would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

We aim to sell everything for £1. Homemade or shop bought all very welcome.

If you can volunteer from 2:30-4:30, please let us know by emailing pc@twickenhamprep.co.uk.

My School Portal is a great school-to-parent communication system.
Here you will find the latest events, which can be synced with your electronic calendar, weekly menus and copies of all letters sent home.

Below are important notices from two key departments which are updated weekly:

Pre-Prep — messages from Mrs Barnes including club collection
Click Here (will start next week)

Safeguarding & Wellbeing messages from our Designated Safeguarding Team
Click Here (will start next week)

School Meals week commencing: 5th October Menu Week 3