The Surbiton High School Podcast

In this episode we take you inside our Main Hall where every day starts with an assembly. At Surbiton we deliver assemblies that are led by our core values of Community, Courage, Creativity, Respect and Inquisitiveness, which every year group attends once a week. Each week a different member of the Senior Leadership Team shares a ten minute reflection on something relevant either for the time of y...

Surbiton Copes Days – otherwise known as SCOPE Days – are days where the entire school is taken off timetable for half a day to focus on PSHE and RSE, as well as team-building in forms groups, and generally building and reinforcing positive relationships in the school community. Guest speakers are brought in from outside of school to talk about difficult topics like drugs, assault, homeless, socia...

Some children are confident, others are shy; some extroverted, others introverted. But what do you do to make sure a quiet child is getting the most out of their educational environment? What do you do as a parent if you are an extrovert and your child isn’t? Or vice versa? In this episode, Louise McCabe Arnold and Tracey Chong (the Heads of Surbiton Girls’ Prep and Boys’ Prep, respectively) share...

In this episode we give you a look at Christmas celebrations at Surbiton High School: the traditional, the social and the charitable. This episode includes an interview with Principal Rebecca Glover, interviews with Y7s about decorating their form rooms and Sixth Formers running the charity hot chocolate and karaoke event for students in the main hall. Go to 6.30 mins to hear Rebecca’s Christmas m...

Led by Stuart Bird, Surbiton Outreach is the department in the school that makes sure we are living up to one of our key values: community. Over the years, Stuart has created educational programmes with neighbouring schools, including student mentoring, adult education lectures, arranging talks and lending out science resources to local schools. Each year Stuart arranges ‘Soul in the Community’ wh...

Known throughout the UK as the foremost programme for introducing young people to the great outdoors, the DofE programme at Surbiton takes hundreds of students on a dozen expeditions each year. In today’s episode, we talk with Graham Johnson, Head of Duke of Edinburgh and Outdoor Education, who tells us that it’s about much, much more than just hiking boots, gaiters and flasks of hot tea.

“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world .” – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Literacy is access to knowledge. Getting your child into reading in an enthusiastic, but non-pushy way is the key to starting their education career. In this episode, Louise and Tracey (the Heads of Surbiton Girls’ Prep and Boys’ Prep, respectively) share their thoughts on reading strategies with young children.

In this episode we take you behind the scenes at Legally Blonde to show you the hard work and talent that has gone into producing Surbiton High School’s 2022 musical. Listen to the band rehearsing and hear interviews with the musical director, Petina Morris, and a number of students in the cast and crew. Oh my God, you guys! Just one week to go!

In this episode we give you an insight into all the hard work that has gone into making this year’s musical, Legally Blonde, a huge success. Tickets are still available at the following address. https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/surbiton-high-school-presents-legally-blonde-the-musical/new-wimbledon-theatre/

The years we spend in education in our youth are miniscule when compared to the 30-40 years we spend working and building our careers in adulthood. However, education forms the foundation for all future development. At Surbiton High, the Careers Department work with students from Year 7-13 to ensure that students are exposed to opportunities and supported every step of the way in their career jour...

Bonjour, bienvenue, willkommen to the Surbiton High School Podcast. In this episode we celebrate the European Week of Languages with a range of international cuisines from our canteen and students singing Euro pop hits in multi-lingual karaoke. Later on in the episode, we shine a light on the incredible work done by our Modern Foreign Languages Department, led by the enormously talented and passio...

Books are magical things that communicate experiences and bring people together. In a corner of the library, surrounded by hardbacks, paper backs and cups of tea, for 10 years Ms Huntley and Mr Humphreys have been bringing students together for an hour each week to talk about novels, non-fiction, poetry and plays with students from Year 7 to Year 13 – and even some Old Girls who come back every no...

According to a tremendous amount of research from a range of education academics such as Carol Dweck and Angela Duckworth, grit and resilience are two of the most important virtues that impact educational development. So, how do we build a sense of grit and resilience in our own children. In this episode, Louise and Tracey (the Heads of Surbiton Girls’ Prep and Boys’ Prep, respectively) share thei...

From Eric Carle’s ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ to Julia Donaldson’s ‘Room on the Broom’, picture books are one of the most formative and magical experiences in a child’s educational development. In this episode, Louise and Tracey (the Heads of Surbiton Girls’ Prep and Boys’ Prep, respectively) share their love of picture books and their thoughts on it’s importance as a cornerstone of language and...

An education that is narrow provides limited opportunities. At Surbiton High, we believe that a broad education provides the full spectrum of opportunities. That is why we run over 150 clubs (co-curricular societies) at lunchtimes and after school, with everything from ‘Intro to Archaeology’ and ‘Beginners Italian’ to the full range of sports: hockey, football, netball, etc. In this episode we tak...

Bereavement can be one of the most difficult topics to cover with your child. Following the passing of Her Majesty The Queen, your children may be filled with questions about death. In this episode, Louise and Tracey (the Heads of Surbiton Girls’ Prep and Boys’ Prep, respectively) draw on their combined experience of talking to pupils, parents and colleagues about death, and share their thoughts o...

The first episode in our 'Talking Heads' series featuring Tracey Chong & Louise McCabe-Arnold (the Heads of Surbiton Girls’ Prep and Boys’ Prep, respectively). Starting a new year in primary school is a big thing. Starting a new chapter of your life in Reception is even bigger. In this episode, Louise and Tracey share their thoughts on the best ways to prepare children for their first year of...

Starting a new academic year is an opportunity for a fresh start and to turn over a new leaf. In this episode, Principal Rebecca Glover gives her insight into the best way to start a new school year, whether you’re in Y7 or Y13, and shares her thoughts about the year ahead (2022-23).