This week, Copthorne Prep was delighted to host the second round of the Primary Cup Chess Competition, welcoming teams from Ardingly College, Blackboys, and Lancing Hove. Our pupils competed in Group F, which proved to be an exceptionally competitive pool of talented young players.

Across three intense rounds of play, our children demonstrated superb focus, strategic thinking, and resilience. We are thrilled to share that Copthorne Prep finished top of the group, scoring an impressive 10 points out of a possible 12, securing our place in the finals later this year at Ardingly College.

Every Copthorne pupil who took part should feel extremely proud of their contribution. Their teamwork, concentration, and sportsmanship were noted throughout the morning, and it was wonderful to see them supporting one another in between rounds.

We are very much looking forward to seeing our team represent Copthorne Prep in the Primary Cup Final at Ardingly College later this year. It promises to be another exciting stage of competition, and we have every confidence that our pupils will continue to shine.

A huge congratulations to all the children involved – we are incredibly proud of you. We look forward to sharing more chess successes with you soon!

Our family-friendly transport network for pupils includes those stepping up to our senior school at Caterham. The Copthorne-Caterham route allows families to drop and collect current Copthorne Prep and Caterham pupils here at Copthorne in one go: Caterham School pupils then hop on the 25-minute shuttle to get to school and the same in reverse at the end of the school day back to meet their family at Copthorne. Find out more during Caterham School Early Offer presentations, Senior School Guidance meetings or ask directly at Reception. 

Community and families are central to school life at Copthorne and an ethos of partnership to improve educational opportunities for all is one that we share with the Caterham Family of Schools. Copthorne Prep continues to build partnerships with local schools within the community and it was a pleasure to support Baldwin’s Hill Primary School this week with transport to the Gravetye Estate where they had the opportunity to spend some time outdoors, learning all about the woods and the wildlife within it. They also created some wonderful art and poetry inspired by nature. Smiling happy children is what our school is about!

If you would like to know about the partnership work within our Family click here

Each Friday, pupils bring home a Quick Skills focus to practise over the week. This may include key number facts or a specific skill, and the aim is to help children build fluency and increase their speed, reducing cognitive load so they can apply their maths confidently in lessons. Our Year 2 pupils have now begun learning their times tables, and Mrs Warwick and Miss Penn are delighted with the fantastic progress they have already made—their speed and confidence are really growing!

Each weekly handout includes “Top Tips” that offer practical ideas to strengthen children’s understanding as well as their fluency. We always encourage the “little and often” approach, and a regular daily time to rehearse the Quick Facts can be enormously helpful. Aadwita advised, “Use flashcards to help,” whilst Sadie and Kiara felt that “Songs really help us learn my times tables”

Pupils also complete a short weekly quiz on their Quick Facts. Quiz results are placed in homework folders so that both parents and children can clearly see how their confidence and accuracy are developing week by week.

At Copthorne Prep, we recognise that all children learn differently, and we celebrate the variety of strategies they use. In Quick Skills, we reward effort, perseverance, and individual progress—not just perfect scores. This approach builds resilience, confidence, and strong study habits that support children throughout their learning. Our Year 6 pupils are already experiencing success, mastering key conversions so they can switch between measurements with impressive speed!

This week, Copthorne Prep School felt just a little more magical than usual. As our pupils arrived dressed as their favourite fairy‑tale characters, the corridors came alive with capes, crowns, woodland creatures and brave heroes. There is something wonderfully uplifting about seeing children step into the shoes of the characters they adore, and this World Book Day reminded us just how special that experience can be.

Reading has always been at the heart of what we value at Copthorne. It is not just about decoding words on a page; it’s about opening doors to imagination, to confidence, and to understanding the world in deeper, kinder ways. Fairy tales, in particular, play such an important role in this. They give children a safe way to explore big feelings and big ideas: courage, fairness, friendship, perseverance, and the belief that challenges can be overcome. Their familiar patterns, rich language and gentle rhythms help build strong readers, while their magic sparks something that goes far beyond the page.

Even though fairy tales naturally capture the imagination of our younger pupils, they are just as meaningful for our older children too. As they grow, our pupils start to return to these well‑known stories with fresh eyes, noticing layers they might never have spotted before – the themes, the messages, the clever storytelling choices. Fairy tales give them a gentle, familiar way to practise thinking more deeply, to explore characters and motives, and to recognise how stories are shaped. All of this builds the foundations they need for more advanced reading and writing later on. And perhaps most importantly, fairy tales remind our older pupils that imagination does not disappear as you get older; creativity, wonder and curiosity are things we should all hold on to.

Throughout the day, it was wonderful to see pupils not only embracing the fun of dressing up but also sharing books, discussing characters and discovering new stories to explore. Their enthusiasm reminded us why fostering a strong reading culture is so important and why World Book Day continues to be such a treasured event in our community.

As the glitter settles and the costumes are tucked away, we hope the magic lingers. May the love of stories continue to guide our pupils, chapter after chapter, long after World Book Day is over.

As part of our Wellbeing Week activities, Year 1 been exploring new movement breaks inspired by classical music. This week, the children listened to Vivaldi’s “Spring” (Let’s be honest we would all like to see a little bit of spring!) and used their fingers to trace, glide, and move along to the rhythm of the music. These gentle, mindful movements have helped everyone stay focused, calm, and connected to the music in a fun and creative way.

The children have loved this new sensory approach, and we’re excited to take it a step further by introducing scarves next! Using scarves will allow for bigger, more expressive movements—perfect for capturing the energy and elegance of classical pieces.

We can’t wait to see how the children respond as we continue to explore music, movement, and wellbeing together.

Last Friday, we celebrated NSPCC Number Day in true Copthorne style! Children were invited to come dressed as Times Table Rockstars or in any outfit celebrating numbers, and—unsurprisingly for pupils who love maths—everyone rose to the challenge brilliantly. Copthorne pupils are known for their fantastic sense of fun, and their creativity shone through in the wonderful range of costumes on display. Throughout the day, children took part in lively times‑table games, number songs and even a few dances, all while learning about how their donations help support other children in need. Our current fundraising total stands at £81, and it’s not too late to add to this should you wish. Thank you for your continued support.

The Year 5s spent a wonderful morning at the Bigwood Estate. The children enjoyed learning about the different types of ladybirds and where they can be found hibernating in woodland. The children had the opportunity to explore the wooded areas around the estate where they discovered newts and different types of fungi such as the jelly eared fungus and the Turkey Tail fungus.

They also met some new calves that form part of the Riggit Galloway herd, a rare breed of cows.  Farmer David was constantly on hand to answer the children’s questions which were many and thought provoking!