This year's art exhibition formed an integral part of our Jubilee Celebrations and was also enjoyed by many visitors on Open Day. The range and quality of the work on display was commented on by many, with the annual exhibition providing a unique opportunity to view art work from our youngest pupils right up to that of A Level art and photography students.

A level art pieces drew inspiration from music, natural forms, windows and faeries, whilst A level photography work was based on themes of machinery and industry or position and identity. 23 students had GCSE work on show, with themes including decoration, 'text and image' and Japan. Other senior school work included entries for the Hellenic Society's Schools' Art Competition, a number of mixed media pieces and drawings that explored proportion and form.

For my Good Shepherd Appeal stall, I chose to make jewellery and place mats for people around my neighbourhood. I try my best for every single one and at the moment it is my hobby. Lots of people have bought things so I've been very busy. I've raises lots of money and the Good Shepherd Appeal does a lot of good work.

Gabzy, 3B

Our fundraising for this year’s Good Shepherd Appeal on behalf of the Catholic Chidlren’s Society reached its climax on the last Friday of term. At lunchtime, the prep school joined the senior school for a simple, frugal lunch of bread, cheese and fruit. Later on in the day, the Welsford Hall was transformed as the Upper Prep set out the stalls for their businesses, which had been in preparation throughout Lent. Staff, parents and younger pupils were hugely impressed by the variety of business ideas that the children had come up with, with sweetie kebabs, cakes baked to order and chocolate fountains attracting particular interest.

Early years and KS1 enjoyed some exciting Easter activities on Tuesday.

The day started with an egg rolling competition in Reception, where the children rolled their hard boiled eggs across the playground, trying to get their egg to land nearest to the Easter egg target. Hannah and Maddie were victorious, but all the children enjoyed the challenge and lots of interesting techniques arose!

The Easter Bunny had been hard at work in the woods, and all year groups enjoyed searching for the Easter eggs, which he had thoughtfully left behind. This was certainly the highlight of the day for many, and we had some very vigilant Easter egg hunters! The eggs came in all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes, and were found in some unusual places! Fortunately we were very thorough and every class ended up with a sizeable collection to share out.

Equipped with little more than dowel, elastic bands, teamwork and wonderful imagination, Upper Prep classes took part in a brace of architecture workshops on Thursday. Year 5 and 6 revised recent work on 3D shape as they were taken on a journey from single struts through tripods, tetrahedrons and Wallis trusses to their own designs of cantilevered and beam bridges. Later in the day, Year 3 and 4 designed and built their own shelters, making the best possible use of the human and physical resources to hand.

The IV Form with Mrs Ashley-Brian, Miss Challiss and Mrs Seanor experienced another exciting event at the Birmingham NEC 2007 Clothes Show. It was a fantastic exhibition of colour and design with the shopping an enjoyable bonus. Ziggy from Big Brother entertained the crowds while they waited for the main event. The Catwalk show itself was introduced and presented by Gok Wan, who invited the audience to admire the cutting edge of fashion. Form IV shopped until they dropped and returned to school tired but contented with their bargains.

The early years department has been very busy over the last few weeks and with the run up to Christmas, it is one of our most exciting times! Nativity Play rehearsals are well underway and with several art attack sessions planned over the next few weeks, the children will have plenty of opportunities to explore the true story of Christmas through large scale paintings, models and collages.

Environmental day was great fun for all and the children enjoyed a range of activities including woodland walks, junk modelling and learning how to be environmentally friendly. Reception children made a fantastic outdoor collage using natural resources, whilst Nursery and Pre prep worked in groups to build models from recycled materials.

Early years have been enjoying the late Autumn sunshine and making the most of opportunities to explore the outdoors! Last Friday Nursery, Pre prep and Reception joined together for an afternoon of creativity and fun, when we had an art attack based on our theme of ‘Harvest’. The children particularly enjoyed getting messy, and made a range of pictures and collages for our seasonal display. Great fun was had by all!

Last week, Reception enjoyed learning about The Little Red Hen and a week of fun activities culminated in them acting out the story to KS1 for our weekly assembly in the chapel. The importance of being kind and helpful was a key theme, and they enjoyed making their own bread at the end of the week.