Life at Somerhill Magazine

Life at Somerhill Lent 2 | March 2026

We grow amazing people

Our new Headteacher, Rhian Thornton, has spent time at Somerhill this half-term meeting pupils, staff and parents.

We grow amazing people

Welcome to Life at Somerhill

We are delighted that Rhian Thornton will be starting at Somerhill as our new Headteacher when we return after the Easter break. Rhian brings over thirty years of experience in education, having led both co-educational and single-sex schools in Surrey and Berkshire. For the past nine years, she has been Head of Upton House School in Windsor, where she has helped transform it into a thriving, forward-thinking school known for its strengths in technology, sport and the arts. Rhian describes headship as a “great privilege”, and it is clear her passion for children, learning, and community shines through in everything she does: “Excellence everywhere, happy children, high academic standards and a strong sense of community are at the heart of my leadership,” says Rhian. “Somerhill is clearly an incredible school with many strengths and a wonderful community. I am so looking forward to growing and leading the school in partnership with parents, staff and governors; ensuring every pupil thrives and creates special memories along the way.” During her visits to Somerhill, Rhian has already spent time getting to know our children, teachers, and governors, and she and her family look forward to joining our community.

“It has been a pleasure meeting so many of Somerhill’s wonderful pupils and staff,” she says. “My husband, three children, two dogs and I are very much looking forward to becoming part of Somerhill life.”

We grow amazing people

Debating duo impress at Dulwich! Huge congratulations to Charlie and Marcus, our Somerhill debating duo, who came second at the IAPS Regional Debating Competition held at Dulwich Cranbrook! The judges praised their logical arguments, persuasive delivery, and impressive ability to think calmly under pressure.

We are incredibly proud of them.

Over 500 runners took on our wet and muddy parkland course

Over 500 runners took on our wet, muddy and challenging parkland course on Tuesday 24 February. th

With standout performances from Hudson (3rd, U11 girls) and Joshua (2nd, U11 boys), our boys’ team finished second overall, while our girls were crowned overall winners! A huge thank you to everyone who helped prepare our pupils, set up the course and run the event. Once again, our pupils showed fantastic strength, spirit and resilience out on the parkland course.

On Friday 27th February, our U10A and U10B teams enjoyed a fantastic afternoon of rugby at the Sutton Valence Festival! U10 boys shine at Sutton Valance! Our U10A team were on brilliant form, showcasing outstanding tackling, excellent rucking and some fast, skilful attacking play to secure a superb second‑place finish. Our U10B team, faced many schools’ A teams, demonstrating tremendous team spirit, courage and togetherness. They claimed a well‑earned win and competed brilliantly against strong opposition.

With just a couple of weeks left of the season, it was wonderful to see both teams thriving in a festival environment and representing Somerhill so proudly.

Our Year 6 Teatime Concert last week was a wonderful celebration of music and confidence! Year 6 Teatime Concert Pupils performed to a packed room of parents, staff and family members, showcasing an impressive variety of talent. From singing and piano to saxophone, flute, viola, cello and more, our young musicians shared everything they have been working on this term.

Somerhill Saplings

This term, our Somerhill Saplings have enjoyed a truly magical season of outdoor learning, creativity and discovery. From cooking pancakes over the fire and experimenting with wet felting to create beautiful flowers, to exploring Spring through nature hunts across our parkland, the children have embraced every opportunity to learn through hands‑on experiences.

They have deepened their understanding of the natural world by learning about birds, following the incredible journeys of swallows using a globe, building bird boxes with real tools and caring for our feathered friends by filling feeders. Stories such as ‘An Egg Is Quiet’ and ‘The Girl with the Bird’s Nest Hair’ inspired thoughtful discussions, imaginative play and creative projects including dyed eggs and life‑sized nests.

Somerhill enjoyed a fantastic weekend at the National Prep Schools’ Cross Country Championships, with our pupils showing incredible courage, resilience and true Somerhill spirit across all races. U11 girls – National Champions! A stunning team performance secured 1st place out of 52 schools, with brilliantly consistent finishing throughout the squad. U11 boys – Outstanding determination After a dramatic start and a couple of painful setbacks, our boys battled on with real grit to finish strong. U13 boys – Top‑half finish A competitive run saw the team place 14th out of 32, including a superb top‑20 individual finish. A huge thank you to our supportive families and to Mrs Bowers for the early‑morning XC Club training that kept spirits high through mud, rain and darkness! Above all, a huge well done to all our runners - we could not be prouder! National Prep Schools’ Cross Country Championships

World Book Day 2026!

What a fantastic World Book Day we had at Somerhill this half-term!

Our pre-prep children kicked off celebrations with our joyful 'Book Day Boogie', followed by a colourful costume parade. They also enjoyed a visit from award‑winning author Teresa Heapy, who inspired the children with her wonderful stories. Meanwhile, our prep pupils were treated to author sessions and workshops with Frances Hardinge, Lindsay Galvin, and illustrator Pete Williamson, sparking imagination and a love of storytelling. A special moment saw our pre-prep pupils sharing reading time in the woods with our Year 7 & 8 boys; a perfect blend of nature, community, and the joy of books.

World Book Day at Somerhill continues to remind us how powerful stories can be in bringing our school community together.

Pre-Prep Story Squad

To mark World Book Day, we were proud to share our latest Pre-Prep Story Squad adventure! This half-term’s story starter was 'a magical library book', and we have our second fantastic story, written and beautifully read by Cleo...

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Somerhill Eco Explorers ♻️

Our Somerhill Eco Explorers were out on a litter survey this week and were delighted to find very little rubbish. Everything they did find was fully biodegradable. Along the way, they enjoyed a beautiful display of spring flowers, spotted a green woodpecker, a tree bumblebee and many other birds. A wonderful afternoon celebrating nature and caring for our school grounds.

Art at Somerhill!

Art has flourished across Somerhill this term, with pupils exploring a wide range of materials, techniques and ideas. Year 7 deepened their understanding of identity through a visit to the National Portrait Gallery and developed dynamic reduction lino prints inspired by Futurism. Year 8 completed an impressive portraiture project, producing highly individual final pieces influenced by artists such as Freud, Bacon and Hockney. Further down the school, creativity has been equally strong, as Year 4 combined Hundertwasser‑inspired paintings with imaginative ceramic buildings, and Year 5 explored bold digital compositions influenced by Michael Craig‑Martin. Year 6 have been developing expressive animal paintings, and Year 3 have been building playful alien sculptures, soon to be brought fully to life with added detail and character.

Reggie gets a new water bowl! Our brilliant Pre‑Prep School Council decided that our school dog, Reggie, needed his very own water bowl for his pre-prep visits! During one of their weekly meetings, pupils put their ‘internet shopping’ skills to the test and carefully chose the perfect bowl just for him. Reggie is very pleased with their choice and is excited for his next visit!

We grow amazing people

Somerhill Maths Race

The Somerhill Maths Race returned for 2026, with 12 schools battling the clock in a fast‑paced problem‑solving challenge. We are also incredibly proud of our Year 8 mathematicians, who achieved outstanding results in the Intermediate Maths Challenge, a competition usually aimed at Years 9–11. Our senior pupils earned three silver and four bronze awards in this demanding test of high‑level reasoning and problem‑solving. A fantastic celebration of mathematical talent and teamwork across our community!

Year 6 musicians visit Eastbourne College

A group of our Year 6 instrumentalists enjoyed a wonderful day at Eastbourne College for their Orchestra Day, joining young musicians from other schools for an inspiring day of music-making. After rehearsing six pieces in just one day, the pupils performed them to an exceptional standard in the final concert, with three Somerhill musicians even stepping forward for solos.

What an incredible rugby season we have had at Somerhill! With 22 teams playing 149 fixtures, our pupils showed brilliant commitment, resilience and teamwork throughout the term, with some pretty impressive stats to boot: Rugby season comes to an end

Played: 149 Won: 87 Drew: 15 Lost: 47

Tries scored: 1072 Tries conceded: 843 Win ratio: 58.4%

A huge 201 pupils were selected 1,833 times, with each boy averaging 8–11 matches; a fantastic level of participation and passion for the sport. Special Mentions must go to: Top Team: U13C (undefeated, winning 7/7, scoring 68 and conceding just 19. Well played, Mr Williams!). Toughest Defence: U9D (conceding an average of only 3.3 tries per game. Best Attacking Side: U9A (an impressive 77 tries in just 9 games).

The season came to a close this week, with our house rugby:

1st - Ashmore (15 pts, 2 age-group wins) 2nd - Marques (14 pts, 2 age-group wins) 3rd - Hudson (14 pts, 1 age-group win) 4th - Nicolson (7 pts)

Another fantastic season full of grit, sportsmanship and Somerhill spirit. Well done to every pupil and coach involved!

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British Science Week at Somerhill! Year 3 ventured outside for shadow investigations, making predictions and carrying out fair tests (even with limited sunshine!). Year 5 put their bubble‑making skills to the test, discovering which soap makes the best bubbles. They even became mini‑teachers, leading the Year 2 Science Club through simple circuits and switch exploration. Year 6 explored how different liquids affect gummy bears, comparing height and mass before and after their colourful experiments. While Years 7 & 8 tackled a challenging pool investigation, working together to prove how mass affects whether different‑sized floats sink and gathering reliable data along the way. Families also enjoyed our Year 7 Art in Science Exhibition, open all week with a special viewing on Wednesday 11th March. A wonderful celebration of curiosity, teamwork and scientific discovery at Somerhill!

We grow amazing people

Dino bubbles in Year 1! In Year 1, learning has been brought to life through a series of imaginative, hands‑on activities linked to their dinosaur topic. The children enjoyed creating colourful bubble art to represent dinosaur scales and worked collaboratively in pairs to design dinosaur feet using tissue boxes. In class, they investigated what dinosaurs ate, encouraging curiosity and scientific thinking. Alongside this creative work, pupils have also been developing key maths skills, learning about measurement and time using analogue clocks and challenging themselves further by matching these to digital times.

We grow amazing people

Netball season round-up!

With over 80 matches played and a fantastic 59% win rate, our netball season has come to an end. Our girls have shown brilliant teamwork, determination and Somerhill spirit from start to finish.

A huge well done to our U11C, U10A and U10D teams, who went unbeaten all term – an incredible achievement!

House Netball results: 1st – Grasmere 2nd – Coniston 3rd – Ullswater 4th – Windermere

Our Year 6 girls rounded off their Somerhill netball journey with the much‑anticipated Staff vs Pupils match (the toughest fixture of the year, according to the staff). The girls showcased impressive skill, composure, and superior footwork, and despite a few questionable tactics from the staff team, the pupils took a well‑deserved win!

A fantastic end to another season of netball at Somerhill!

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Somerhill win the Civic Challenge!

Our Somerhill Advanced Flute Group has won the Civic Challenge Bowl for Best Woodwind/Brass Ensemble at the Tunbridge Wells Arts Festival for the second year running! Congratulations also to Evo, who has been awarded the F. Wilson Cup for Best Strings Player (Years 5–6). And Heidi, who proudly collected the Flute Ensemble Cup. Both awards were presented by the Mayor of Tunbridge Wells.

Congratulations to all our young musicians!

First Lego League ™️

This half-term, two of our teams competed in the regional finals of the First LEGO League!

With 17 teams taking part, the competition was strong, and we are incredibly proud of how both teams performed throughout the day. Pupils confidently presented their innovation projects, responding thoughtfully to questions from a panel of experts, before putting their robot design and programming skills to the test at the mission tables.

A fantastic achievement and a great experience for all involved!

House Swimming Galas Our House Swimming Galas made a big splash last week, as pupils from all houses showed fantastic enthusiasm, participation and sportsmanship, cheering one another on and setting some outstanding new records.

A huge congratulations to our record‑breakers:

Kieran (Hudson): new U13 records in 25m freestyle (13.90), backstroke (16.90) and breaststroke (17.59) Rex (Hudson): new U9 record in 25m butterfly (17.93)

Year group results:

Year 3 Boys: Ashmore 85 | Nicholson 56 | Marques 53 | Hudson 46 Girls: Ullswater 61 | Coniston 36 | Windermere 35 | Grasmere 28 Year 4 Boys: Hudson 76 | Nicolson 64 | Marques 59 | Ashmore 51 Girls: Coniston 70 | Windermere 52 | Ullswater 51 | Grasmere 47 Year 5 Boys: Ashmore 104 | Marques 78 | Nicolson 66 | Hudson 51 Girls: Coniston 85 | Windermere 60 | Grasmere 58 | Ullswater 47 Year 6 Boys: Ashmore 117 | Marques 83 | Nicolson 78 | Hudson 50 Girls: Grasmere 76 | Coniston 55 | Windermere 52 | Ullswater 27

Years 7 & 8 Hudson 109 | Nicolson 89 | Ashmore 61 | Marques 52

Overall results: Ashmore (boys) Coniston (girls)

Well done to everybody who took part!

We grow amazing people

Pre-Prep Charity Movie Night

Our annual Pre-Prep Charity Movie Night was another fantastic success, as families gathered in the Mansion Hall on Friday 13 March. The children relaxed together while enjoying a screening of Migration, complete with popcorn, sweets and cupcakes. th All funds raised from the evening have been donated to Folly Wildlife Rescue. A big thank you to everybody for supporting this wonderful charity.

Year 2 visit Riverhill Himalayan Gardens

Our Year 2 children had a fantastic time exploring Riverhill Himalayan Gardens on Tuesday 17 March. From a hands‑on growing tour learning about plants, pollinators and the importance of nature, to weaving through the maze, building woodland dens and hunting for Yeti money. th

It was a day full of discovery, laughter and imagination!

Drama at Somerhill! This half term has been a vibrant and creative one for drama at Somerhill. Our Year 7 boys took part in an exhilarating ‘Play in Two Days’ workshop, working with Andrew Cleaver from Konflux Theatre to write, rehearse and perform an original piece in just 48 hours, culminating in a joyful evening performance for parents and families. Meanwhile, our Year 4 pupils showcased their imagination and confidence through a series of devised drama sketches, performing their own plays to parents and family members in the Mansion Hall. From laughter and creativity to teamwork and confidence on stage, it has been a wonderful celebration of drama across the school.

Lyla takes the crown!

Our Year 6 girls have had some fantastic maths lessons this half-term, including using Cuisenaire Rods to explore algebra in a hands‑on way.

With no instructions given, the challenge was to 'break into' the problem using their own strategies and reasoning. A special well done to Lyla, who was crowned 'Maths Queen' for her brilliant pictorial methods and impressive mathematical understanding.

Going out with a bang!

Somerhill rounded off the cross country season in style with a brilliant win at the Dulwich Relays! A superb team effort in the relay format, with a special shout‑out to Raffy, Josh and Hudson, who earned individual medals for the fastest times in their age groups.

Well done, everyone!

Year 6 have been bringing Macbeth to life - rap battle style! Our Year 6 pupils have been exploring the witches from Macbeth; remixing their iconic spell into an original rap inspired by Gangsta’s Paradise Taking on the roles of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo and Duncan, the girls wrote and performed their own rap responses. The lesson ended with an energetic rap‑battle performance that had the room buzzing!

We are so proud of their creativity, teamwork and brilliant performances.

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Lady Macbeth: Ok, ok, ok, ok

This is about my least favorite man who made me the queen, But he didn’t know that I wasn’t too keen, He was sneaky and quick he got the deed done fast, But little did he know that it would not last. Now listen Macbeth, Macbeth listen to me, You fled like a bird; you scared of a bee? You coward, you liar I thought you’d loved me forever You thoughts are cruel and you’re just a beheader But now I’m gone, I’m going, I’m going far away I’ve made my mark as queen I’m not here to stay.

QUEEN OUT!!!

Lord Macbeth: My turn!

I want to hear you listen to this crazy story, About this mental man who’d do anything for glory, I’m the only man who knows what happened that night, So, you better listen carefully, it will give you a fright, He was cool and handsome and had an awesome wife, But he’s not scared of some little murder in life, He’s king, he’s cool, he’s a big success, Yeah, you heard me right he’s the best of the best, So, if you’ve got a complaint about any of that, Then be ready to have your cat be killed on that mat.

MIC DROP *BOOM*

Football Fiestas! ⚽️ We were delighted to host our annual 'Football Fiestas' alongside Holmewood House and Rose Hill, giving every girl in Years 3–6 the chance to take part in a tournament. With around 900 girls from local prep schools playing across the three venues over two days, it was a fantastic way to round off the Lent term. Despite not playing regular football fixtures, our girls showed brilliant skill, teamwork and tactical understanding, putting into practice everything they have learnt in lessons this half-term.

A huge well done to the following teams who came away with medals:

U10B – Winners U10D – Winners U8C – Winners U10C – Runners‑up U11D – Runners‑up

Well played, girls!

National Hockey Finals

Our U11 boys showed fantastic determination and character at the National Hockey Finals at Repton. Facing some of the strongest teams in the country, they secured one win, one draw and four close defeats; results that only tell part of the story. Their resilience stood out, with the team battling to the final whistle in every match. Simply reaching the National Finals is a fantastic achievement, and they represented Somerhill with maturity, teamwork and real spirit. Well done, boys! A huge thank you to our supportive parents and to Miss Payne for guiding the team brilliantly.

Red Nose Review! On Friday 20th March, Somerhill was awash with red noses, laughter and generosity as we came together to support Comic Relief. The day began with the sale of red noses and a pre‑prep assembly, where our Reception pupils sang beautifully, and Mrs McKnight had everyone smiling with some of the children’s favourite jokes. In the evening, it was wonderful to welcome so many parents and families to our Red Nose Review, with over 40 acts taking to the stage. From singing and dancing to magic tricks and stand‑up comedy, the performances were full of confidence and creativity.

Thanks to the incredible support of our community, we raised an amazing £1,889 for Comic Relief.

Easter Trail! A huge thank you to everybody who attended our Easter Trail event on Sunday 22 March. nd Nearly 400 pupils, parents, and families joined us at Somerhill. They explored the grounds, looking for clues and chocolate, and enjoyed hundreds of Easter themed cupcakes, cookies, and brownies freshly baked by our fantastic catering team. Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success, with over £600 raised for Sustain Foodbank!

Life at Somerhill | Lent Term | March 2026 We grow amazing people