Grandparents go back to school at Barrow Hills

Children at Barrow Hills School welcomed their grandparents back to the classroom this week, after the School hosted its inaugural Grandparents’ Day – an initiative dreamt up by the School Council (made up of elected representatives from Years 3 to 8).

From Pre-Prep right through to Upper Prep, all the children took great pride in introducing their much-loved grandparents to the special Barrow Hills environment. Visitors first attended an assembly in the Chapel, during which members of the School Council spoke of their favourite aspects of school life at Barrow Hills. Highlights included the exciting residential trips, fun-packed play-time, exhilarating sports match afternoons, preferred academic subjects and predictably, the delicious lunches! A short talk was delivered by the Deputy Head (Pastoral), Mr Paul Crisell who is himself a former Barrow Hills pupil.

Children then escorted their grandparents on a short tour of the School, spending time in their respective classrooms and engaging in various activities. This involved grandparents’ drawing an eclectic mix of questions out of a hat – ranging from ‘what did you eat at school?’ (the Brawn response was met with disgust), to teaching the older generation new IT skills. 

The younger children drew pictures of their grandparents and performed a selection of nursery rhymes. This was followed by some healthy competition in the quiz – questions ranging from “where is the Eyjafjallajökull volcano”, to naming left-handed members of staff at Barrow Hills. 

The session was of course rounded off with a sumptuous cream tea, with music provided by the children from a repertoire spanning songs from various productions.

For some grandparents, this was their first foray into the School and the event has been heralded a great success, offering these important family members an opportunity to witness how Barrow Hills is preparing their cherished grandchildren for greater things.

Comments from attendees included:

‘It was very special to be shown round by Charlie and he is so enthusiastic and a joy.’

‘I had a lovely time and what a happy school.’

And one grandparent wrote to his two grandchildren:

‘We thoroughly enjoyed Grandparents' Day at Barrow Hills today. Thank you so much for guiding us around the school and showing us where everything goes on. You certainly are well catered for with every activity. While we went to very good school, we don't remember having all the facilities you enjoy. We have two very lucky granddaughters.’

The event was co-ordinated by Mrs Madelon Burnett, Head of Girls Sport, who leads the School Council. Mrs Burnett said: “It was a real pleasure to meet so many grandparents – over 200 attended – who all play such an influential role in our children’s lives. It was wonderful to see the children’s joy as they proudly showed their grandparents around the School and introduced them to all their friends, making them feel very much part of the Barrow Hills family.”