Godstowe Preparatory School | News Feed

“A Glorified Sleepover”

2012-02-21T00:00:00

Godstowe parent Anna Pasternak and her daughter, Daisy, have featured in a Daily Telegraph article about the benefits of boarding at Godstowe.

Mrs Pasternak says, “When I come to collect Daisy it takes her forever because all the big girls are hugging her; she feels adored... her boarding house at Godstowe isn’t a surrogate home – it doesn’t replace anything – but it’s a wonderful addition to her life.”

To read a pdf of the article please click here.

Scholarships so far...

2012-02-20T00:00:00

I am delighted to tell you that once again pupils have excelled themselves and, although I do not have full details as yet, I can confirm that Wycombe Abbey has announced six awards to Godstowe girls in their recent scholarship exams – details to follow. We have also had a number of other notable successes and I look forward to detailing these soon. In the meantime, congratulations to each and every one of them.

School OPEN as usual

2012-02-10T00:00:00

Friday 10th February ... School is OPEN as usual.

HOWEVER, conditions are very slippery on Shrubbery Road - out of our control at such short notice.

Once again, parking will be difficult this morning, so KISS & DROP as much as possible please!

Clearly, the more car sharing the better to avoid unnecessary traffic getting stuck in the school grounds!

See you later

Godstowe quads graduate from Warwick University

2012-01-24T00:00:00

The 23-year-old Ogunsanya quadruplets, originally from Nigeria, graduated from Warwick University with Masters Degrees. The two girls, Toks and Temi Ogunsanya, attended Godstowe between 1996 and 2002 and were boarders in Walker House.

This was a big celebration for the quads who were handed their well-deserved degrees from the same university on the same day, and four have landed jobs in the City already. Toks graduated with an MEng in manufacturing and engineering whilst Temi and her brothers all gained an MSC in management from Warwick Business School.

Toks is due to start working for RBS in London later this year and Temi, who interned at Santander over the summer, has been offered a permanent position with the bank. Both girls were leading lights in Warwick University’s lacrosse club - they obviously got off to a good start at Godstowe!

Photograph courtesy of Warwick University

Crazy Hair Day!

2012-01-16T00:00:00

Well done on a spectacular array of ridiculous hairstyles which arrived at school on Crazy Hair Day in aid of Mencap. Many parents and quite a few staff had hairdos to be proud of. However, I would like to disassociate myself completely from the other outrageous characters in the photograph above. I was trying to be sensible until they came along. Mine is not a wig, it's a full transplant. Worryingly some of the girls think it suits me. It does occur to me that no-one will ever be able to take the Bursar seriously again...

'Nicky's Family'

2011-11-14T00:00:00

Last week nineteen of our girls stood on stage in front of a packed audience to sing Drops of Love for Sir Nicholas Winton, whose work and life was celebrated in the premiere of the documentary of his life at the BAFTA Cinema at 195 Picadilly.

The film was highly charged with emotion and we felt privileged to be asked to attend this very prestigious event. Thanks go to the girls and Mr Bonner, Mrs Lake and Mrs Burton-Phillips for all the work they have done to assist the production team in making of the film in which Godstowe featured prominently. Our attendance was a complete surprise to Sir Nicholas Winton. We will be issuing a more detailed press release so that you can learn more about Sir Nicholas and his film, 'Nicky’s Family'. Click here to see a short trailer of the film.

Lacrosse Success

2011-10-04T00:00:00

The Godstowe U12A and U13A lacrosse teams had an action-packed weekend with matches against both St. Bart’s, Newbury and St. Andrew’s Schools on Saturday, and the Berkhamsted Tournament on Sunday.

The U12As won against St. Bart’s 17-0 and against St. Andrew’s 8-1. Player of the match was Olivia Thomas. The U13As won against St. Bart’s 9-1 and against St. Andrew’s 14-1. Player of the match was Sofie Svanikier.

On Sunday both teams played brilliantly: The U12As also played superbly, losing only one game to finish overall runners up of the U12s. Players of the tournament were Olivia Thomas, Eden Hudson and Rachel Kemp. The U13s played 10 games throughout the day and finished in fourth place overall out of 24 teams, losing only two games and beating the eventual U13 winners. Players of the tournament were Ella Cockman, Larissa Robertson and Annabelle Turner.

David Gainer nominated for ‘Best Head’ Award

2011-09-13T00:00:00

On the 12th September the prestigious Tatler Schools Guide Awards were held at the Dorchester. We were delighted when it was announced that out of over 500 prep school heads in the UK, our headmaster David Gainer was one of the only five to be nominated for ‘Best Head of a Prep School’ award. This represents not only an accolade from the editors of the Schools Guide, but also from David’s peers who were asked to nominate a head for the award.

The Tatler Schools Guide is an annual supplement to the October issue of the main magazine and schools are chosen for entry according to their own criteria and not because the entry has been paid for. (The only other publication to do this is ‘The Good Schools Guide’). This year 116 prep schools were chosen to be in the guide.

Godstowe's entry in the Guide says, ‘...non-selective it may be, but Godstowe girls have a selection of top senior schools at their feet – Wycombe Abbey, Downe House, Cheltenham Ladies et al...’, and ‘Mr G has utterly transformed the boarding and ethos of the school’.

To see the entry in full, please go to the Inspections and Testimonials page of the Godstowe Website.

Summer Building Works

2011-09-08T00:00:00

Over the summer, Godstowe has been a very busy place - the construction of the spacious new Art Room extension was carried out on time and under budget - our thanks go to David Rees of DCR Construction, father of Maria in the Middles.

The new tennis and netball courts on the Lower Field have been completed but we need dry weather before they can be painted and lined. You will notice all sorts of other improvements around the school, including the new covered play area at Nursery and the new steps on the top field. Having been used as the main route for lorries building the new courts, we have had to lay new turf on the top field which will take about four weeks to bed down.

Fantastic CE Results!

2011-06-17T00:00:00

Fabulous news. Many congratulations to each and every Common Entrance candidate on successfully and impressively succeeding in their recent examinations for senior school. I am so pleased for them all. They fully deserve their success and I would like to thank them and all of their peers in the Fourths for their outstanding attitudes and levels of application when preparing for their finals. I must also pay tribute to all of the staff for their significant contributions and to the parents for support of all the girls. Well done!

Friends of Godstowe Extraordinary General Meeting

2011-06-07T00:00:00

The Extraordinary General Meeting of the Friends of Godstowe took place on Monday 20th June and we are pleased to announce that the proposed constitution was adopted and trustees appointed.

We now have in place, for the forthcoming year, a new team, led by Katharine Hersee (mum of Elodie, Form II, Daisy, Kindergarten, and Hal, Nursery). She will be supported by Caroline Purdom (Sarah in Beginners), Rod Annable (Grace in Fourths and Olivia in Lowers), Rebecca Burton (Honor in Middles and Patrick in Beginners), James Jason (Jessica in Beginners, Oliver in Transition and Samantha in Lowers), Tara Leaver (Charlotte in Uppers and Abbie in Form II) with Mrs Buckland representing the school.

The Trustees will be responsible for ensuring that the objectives and rules of the charity are met, working alongside a wider team who will plan and run the various events and initiatives.

Art Exhibition Triumph

2011-05-27T00:00:00

Wonderful, impressive, spectacular, outstanding. Just some of the superlatives muttered by people enjoying the Art Exhibition and Fashion Show, and I couldn’t agree more. My sincere thanks to all of the exhibitors and to Mrs Sloggett, Mrs Goss and Miss Mushtaq in particular for their creativity and hard work preparing for the event.

The Open Day and Art Exhibition was very busy - and we showed more than 20 sets of parents around the school and I should stress once more how complimentary they always are about their tour guides. Well done girls. The school was filled with exhibitions, displays and experiments which were enjoyed by those wandering around.

Godstowe Voted top by Tatlers Schools

2011-02-16T00:00:00

The Tatler Schools Guide 2011 features Godstowe as one of the top 230 Prep and Public Schools in the UK.

The Guide says that 'this is a school that is going from strength to strength,' and continues, 'the girls are winning vast numbers of scholarships, exhibitions and awards – and, remarkably, Godstowe really is fervently non-selective.'

Here is the entry in full:
"Godstowe has become something of a treasure, a British institution by default as it is one of the last all-girls’ preparatory boarding schools in the country. Despite being one of a dying breed, this is a school that is going from strength to strength. Under well-liked head David Gainer, pupil numbers have shot up from 260 to a positively bulging 380 in just four years. And facilities on the slightly scruffy site are improving dramatically as well, with a £2 million development plan that will see the construction of a new indoor sports hall, refurbishment of an existing gym into a dedicated theatre and drama space, and new all-weather tennis courts. The girls are winning vast numbers of scholarships, exhibitions and awards – and, remarkably, Godstowe really is fervently non-selective. It’s not all heads in books, though. In the past year these jet-setters have racked up a lacrosse tour of America’s East Coast, a music visit to Prague and a ski trip to Lake Tahoe in California which culminated in a few days’ shopping in San Francisco."