A TYPICAL PRE-PREP DAY AT PILGRIMS’

No two days are ever quite the same in Pre-Prep. Chicks hatching from eggs in an incubator, a Lego workshop challenge, a day building sandcastles on the beach, a tea party for grandparents, or a performance of the nativity – there is always something a little bit different and exciting happening. 

Drop Off – Lessons – Lunch and playtime – Sit Down – Afternoon Lessons – Commoners – Pilgrims’ After School Care 

Drop Off  

Pre-Prep opens at 0815, but your son can arrive at 0715 to join our Breakfast Club where he’ll tuck into a healthy breakfast with his friends.  When the school day starts games and activities are already laid out in the classrooms.  As your son settles in to start his day, there is time for you to have a chick chat with his teacher before saying goodbye.   

Lessons  

Teaching in the morning usually concentrates on the core subjects of maths and literacy, including phonics, creative writing, grammar, speaking and listening. There are two teaching sessions with a mid-morning break for a snack, plenty of outdoor play and creative fun with friends.  Some boys head straight to the role play corner to chef up a pretend lunch for everyone, others clamber on the adventure playground, play football or share a book on a bench with friends. 

Lunch and Playtime  

Lunch is a sociable time with lot of chatter between boys and teachers. It’s also a chance to make healthy eating the norm and to perfect those all important table manners.  Meals are prepared daily by our specially trained school chefs.      

Sit Down  

After lunch, it’s playtime again and what we call ‘Sit Down’, a quiet part of the day when boys relax and read or enjoy a story being read to the whole class, often with our therapy dog bear close by for pats and cuddles.   

Afternoon Lessons  

Fully refreshed, the boys enjoy their afternoon activities.  These include practical cross-curricular lessons with science, art, history, geography, ICT and music, forming the bedrock of topic-based learning.   

PE and Sport are taught by specialist teachers and our outdoor curriculum is led by our specially trained Forest School Leader, Fiona Walker. 

At the end of the day we take a moment to pause, review the day and enjoy a story together.  

This brings the day to a close at 3.45pm. 

WRAPAROUND CARE

THE PILGRIMS’ PREP SCHOOL DAY

Drop Off

Prep boys arrive at 0800 (anything after 0810 must be recorded as late) in time for registration at 0815.  Please note there’s no Saturday school for year 3. The whole of prep has assembly every Monday in our beautiful and ancient Pilgrim’s Hall.  On other days, smaller groups meet.  Choristers and Quiristers have choir practice some days and most boarders have instrument practice.     

Lessons  

Morning teaching usually consists of two lessons before break and two after. Your son has a timetable he can share with you so you know what he’s doing when. We start lessons slightly earlier on Wednesdays to fit them in before sport takes over in the afternoon with matches at school or away against other preps.     

 

Lunch and ‘Sit down’

Lunch is a very sociable time at Pilgrims’.  Healthy food made by our specially trained chefs is served by a teacher at the head of the table. Your son will be with his set and boys of all ages. There’s always a hot meal and pudding as well as a salad bar and fresh fruit every day.   

Lunch is followed by ‘Sit Down’.   A chance to take a breath and read.  Your son can relax on cushions or a bean bag to enjoy a book or be read to with the whole class.  Reading is in the Pilgrims’ DNA.   

Games

We have skills training sessions or a sport-based activity every afternoon, plus PE, swimming in our outdoor pool (or the indoor pool at Winchester College), sailing, rowing as well as plenty of other opportunities throughout the week and matches on Wednesdays.  We encourage everyone to try the wide range of sports on offer so they can find the one they really enjoy.   

Music Practice

The whole school fills with the sound of boys in choir practice and the rehearsals of our many ensembles and the school orchestra, all busy preparing for concerts and school services. Boys pop up all over to practise for their instrumental lesson – with over 250 lessons each week, that’s a lot of practising!    

Match Days 

Years 4-8 play matches nearly every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon. Every boy gets the chance to play in a team.  Year 3 have a separate fixtures list and Forest School on Wednesdays with Lower Prep boys who are not in a match that day.       

Commoners

Lessons end at 4.40pm, but your son will probably want to stay for  ‘Commoners’, the name Pilgrims’ has used for decades for its after-school clubs.  We have nearly 50  running each week and the offerings change every term. This is the time when Choristers and Quiristers transform from schoolboys to professional singer, heading over to the Cathedral or Winchester College Chapel for Evensong.   

Boarding Time     

Having had fun at a Commoner, boarders then have some free time before tea.  They do homework together or use the time for music practice. Both are supervised.  Then it’s time for fun and free time with nearly 100 other boys.  Quiet time in the dorms, playing board games or with Lego helps them settle. Then there’s time to read in bed before lights out.