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!

Excitement is mounting as we await the landing of a little star dust at Copthorne Prep in the form of Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE, space scientist, educator, author and TV presenter for a special, out of this world, Space Day on Monday 16 March.

During the afternoon, Maggie will be visiting Prep pupils in the science labs for some stellar studies as well as dropping into Pre-Prep assembly for some cosmic conversations. An energetic and engaging speaker, Maggie will be giving a talk to parents and pupils in the Sports Hall at the end of the day and we warmly invite you to attend. Please complete this form to book your seats Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock Talk Monday 16 March – Fill out form or scan the QR code

Maggie was the 2025 lecturer for the renowned Christmas Lectures from the Royal Institution. You can find out more about Maggie here

This week in Year 3 Global, the children were set an exciting challenge to name over 40 animals found in the rainforest. Using books and their iPads, they carefully identified each creature from pictures. Some species proved particularly tricky—especially the many different butterflies! Throughout the activity, the children demonstrated excellent resilience and teamwork, supporting one another to rise to the challenge.

Copthorne Prep is delighted to announce a new partnership with Moon Hall School who will open a new satellite operation, ‘Moon Hall Copthorne’, for children aged 7 to 11, located within the 55-acre Copthorne Prep campus on the Surrey/Sussex border.

Copthorne Prep will continue to operate and thrive as a growing prep school within the award-winning Caterham Family of Schools, with no changes to Copthorne Prep’s sought after educational provision, its admissions or current operation. 

Moon Hall’s satellite school on the extensive Copthorne Prep campus will accept its first pupils in September 2026 and builds on Moon Hall Reigate’s internationally recognised excellence in providing mainstream education for children with dyslexia.  

Moon Hall Copthorne is a direct response to the lack of mainstream dyslexia education across London and the South East. This addition provides much needed provision for families across a wider geographic area and will provide the same first-class provision as Moon Hall Reigate, including the full national curriculum taught by teachers trained in how dyslexic learners learn best. 

Moon Hall Copthorne will have a separate dedicated base within the extensive Copthorne campus, complete with its own classrooms, parking and access. Pupils will receive Moon Hall’s specialist teaching and nurturing support while benefiting from being part of the wider life and community at Copthorne Prep. Moon Hall Copthorne pupils will enjoy access to Copthorne’s impressive site, including outdoor learning spaces, sports grounds, performing arts facilities, swimming pool, and specialist teaching rooms. 

Kylie McGregor, Head of Copthorne Prep, added, “We are delighted to welcome Moon Hall as partners on our large campus. This partnership will bring additional expertise into our wider school community with partners who share our values of excellence in education and ensuring young people can reach their full potential. Above all, it enables Copthorne Prep and Moon Hall pupils to learn, play, and thrive, and opens up additional co-curricular opportunities for both organisations.” 

Michelle Catterson, Executive Head of Moon Hall, said, “The launch of Moon Hall at Copthorne marks an exciting milestone. We are extending our reach while staying true to our ethos: providing children with a strong mainstream education delivered by specialists who understand dyslexia and know how to unlock their potential.” 

This collaboration strengthens Copthorne Prep’s position as a dynamic, academically ambitious school within the Caterham Family of Schools, enhancing and not changing its core identity. The partnership represents a progressive model benefitting pupils from both schools and broadening educational opportunities in the region. 

For Moon Hall families, the new site provides an additional option that mirrors the high-quality provision at Moon Hall Reigate, forming part of Moon Hall’s wider growth journey; which includes the Moon Hall Assessment Centre (mhac) in the UK and the Cairo Assessment and Learning Centre; Egypt’s first provision of its kind, demonstrating Moon Hall’s commitment to shaping the future of dyslexia education. 

As a recognised leader in Dyslexia Specialist education, Moon Hall enters this partnership with Copthorne Prep from a position of strength. Together, both communities look forward to building a shared-site model that is innovative, integrated and full of opportunity reflecting the growth, ambition, and expertise that each community brings to this exciting collaboration. 

Admissions for Moon Hall Copthorne are now open for the first intake in September 2026. Open Morning dates will be announced shortly. All enquiries should be directed to Moon Hall’s Admissions Registrar, Mrs Michelle Payne.  Further information is available here

Last week, our Year 6 pupils rolled up their sleeves and turned into brilliant bakers as they made homemade apple pies , completely from scratch!

The children learned how to make their own pastry using the rubbing-in method, before carefully rolling it out and lining a pie dish like true professionals. They then prepared the delicious apple filling, practising their knife skills by using the claw grip to safely cut the apples.

Once everything was assembled, the pies were baked in the oven, filling the room with an amazing smell! It was hard to wait until the pies were cool enough to tuck in and taste their efforts!

Our half‑termly Maths Investigation Day once again brought the school to life with excitement, curiosity, and plenty of problem‑solving. Each activity was carefully planned to show pupils how maths connects to the real world, while developing the reasoning, collaboration, and resilience that we value so highly at Copthorne Prep. Reception began by tackling practical problem‑solving challenges with dinosaurs, while Year 1 became shape‑detecting superheroes, investigating 2D and 3D shapes through a lively superhero‑themed challenge. Year 4 dived into fast‑paced number puzzles that stretched their logic, boosted their fluency, and had them racing to spot patterns and justify their thinking.

Year 3 linked their investigations to their rainforest topic, working on The Three Monkeys problem—using drawings, counters, and teamwork to explore different solutions. Year 2 explored a polar‑explorer‑themed puzzle, encouraging them to consider possibilities, ask questions, and reason through a range of answers.

In Years 5 and 6, pupils explored ratio and proportion through a very special Copthorne connection: our historic stained‑glass window commemorating Dr Edward Wilson, a member of Captain Scott’s Antarctic expedition and brother‑in‑law to our school’s founder, Bernard Rendall. This legacy inspired rich mathematical discussion, and some pupils even designed their own symmetrical stained‑glass windows representing our Copthorne learning powers.

It was a wonderful day of curiosity, creativity, and mathematical thinking across the school.