To All Parents. 25 March Dear Parents

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1 To All Parents 25 March 2016 Dear Parents In my first letter to you as Chair of Governors I take great pleasure in reflecting on the success of the year since last April and in looking ahead to the future. One of the joys of being a Governor at The Manor is that we are all invited in to lunch with a group of Year 6 girls followed by a tour of the school: it gives us a wonderful insight into the school to see it from the children's point of view. What struck us all is how wonderfully happy, courteous and good-natured the children are here and how much they relish the excitement of being here and enjoy the wide range of activities on offer. Academically, this has been a quite outstanding year with the Year 6 girls collecting no less than 24 scholarships and awards to senior schools, 14 for academic successes and the others across a range of areas including Art, Drama, Music and Sport. 33 gained entry to St. Helen's and all the girls who applied to Headington and Oxford High gained places there. In the case of each and every girl, we were thrilled with their results and that they all achieved entry to an excellent school of their choice. Our boys did splendidly too, all gaining places at either Magdalen College Junior School or Moulsford Preparatory School. The extremely articulate nature of our pupils is proven by their great successes in public speaking events: our Year 6 team of speakers won the Sir Winston Churchill Public Speaking Competition at Blenheim Palace against a great many other Oxfordshire schools - this was the third time our name has been on the trophy since the competition's inception in Other Year 6 girls were runners-up in the Demosthenes Public Speaking Competition at Bradfield College, where our girls were asked to entertain the audience in the manner of an after-dinner speaker - no mean feat for any of us! Equally important in the development of these skills is of course our focus on drama and anyone who saw our Early Years Nativity Plays or the Year 2 play Crown Competition Chaos!, or last week's spectacular Year 4 production of The Three Little Pigs knows in what brilliant shape our drama is. What so many parents observed last Friday is that everybody gets a real character part no one is just chorus or a tree: democratic drama is central to what we offer at The Manor. In music there was the most impressive Carol Service that any of us can remember, as well as many brilliant concerts at all levels of the school with everyone being given a chance to perform; the recent Manor concert was quite superb. The school s development of our own on-site Forest School, Culture Day, Forensics Day, participation in the Young Art Oxford competition and Oxfordshire Artweeks, and assemblies given by explorers - about rowing across the Atlantic or running in the Sahara Desert - all combine to help give the children a great sense of excitement. On the sporting front, we are delighted that our whole year group fixtures are developing well and that everyone in Year 4 and above is regularly given the chance to have the sheer fun of participating in school matches against other schools. We are also thrilled that our U-11 Netball

2 Team came third in the country in the IAPS netball championship for the second year in a row. Our Cross Country runners are exceptionally gutsy and are unquestionably the pre-eminent school team in the region. Our pupils won the IAPS regional hockey tournament in 2015 and won the County tournament in 2015 and In national terms, The Manor really makes its sporting mark: the school was the 2015 winner of the Schools Biathlon Championships and also British Champions at the British Biathlon Championships held at London s Olympic Park. Last summer one of our pupils became National Champion in the 100 M Sprint and Long Jump in the National Prep School Athletics Championships. The Manor team was the overall winner in the Freestyle Relay at the ESSA National Championships in I do not use the word excitement lightly when I think of the electricity produced by all these events! As Governors we are very pleased to see how much the school is involved in the outside world. In terms of community events it was wonderful to see our Middle School Choir singing in a local care home at Christmas and joining with other local schools as part of the Abingdon Passion Play this Easter. We look forward to a major sporting event with local primary schools to be held at The Manor next term. In addition, the children and their parents contribute enthusiastically to a great variety of charities, ranging from Abingdon Bridge and Blue Skye Thinking to KEEN, a charity for the disabled in Oxford that we are helping via a Sponsored Walk next term. The Early Years Toddle Waddle for Meningitis UK made a great impact earlier this term. None of this would be possible without the hard work and dedication shown by Piers Heyworth and all the staff, and I am sure you will join me in thanking them. We also greatly appreciate the thriving level of parental involvement in the school, particularly through FOTM, whose dynamism and inventiveness mean that we all benefit from such events as the biennial Ball, the Fireworks Evening, the Quiz Night, what I'm sure will be a brilliant outside production of The Mikado next term, as well as all the events organised by the Class Representatives. The Early Years open Music and PE sessions also help to consolidate the sense of partnership between parents and the school. Following Piers Heyworth's letter to you in November last year regarding the long-term building strategy for The Manor, I am very pleased to tell you that our pre-application meetings with the Vale of White Horse Council have been progressing well: we have been discussing with them our long-term building strategy, including plans for a dedicated Sports Hall, and we hope to submit a full planning application within the next couple of months. As you know, the school is on green belt land - this creates a set of additional challenges and uncertainties when applying for any type of planning permission, but we will be sure to update you as we progress. The Board of Governors is always aware of the financial pressures faced by parents and gives great consideration to the level of fees for the following academic year. We aim to select a fee level that preserves the excellence of teaching and resources that you expect for your children at The Manor whilst maintaining affordability. 2015/16 was the first year in which all costs relating to whole year group non-residential trips out of school, as well as the costs of visits to the school for example by theatre companies and external speakers, were included in the fees, and this will of course continue into the future. Please see the attached sheet for details. Thank you very much for your continuing support for the school. I wish you all a very Happy Easter. Yours sincerely Shaun Forrestal Chair of Governors

3 SCHOOL FEES: September August 2017 Registration: Registration fee 60 Acceptance deposit 600 Fees per term (payable in advance): Pre-Nursery Nursery Reception Years 1 & 2 4,300 Years 3 & 4 4,500 Years 5 & 6 4,800 Optional Extras: Individual Learning Support 30 (per half hour) Clubs (per session) 1 hour session ¾ hour session 8.25 ½ hour session 5.50 RAD Ballet (per term) Nursery (20 minutes) Other year groups (30 minutes) Out of Hours Care (per session) Breakfast Club (7.30am 8.00am) 5.50 Early Birds (8.00am 8.30am) No charge Extended Day (4.00pm to 4.45pm) 7.00 Extended Day (4.45pm to 5.30pm) 7.00 Extended Day (5.30pm to 6.00pm) 7.00 Late pick up charge (after 6pm) (per half hour) If a pupil in Year 1/2 attends Extended Day after a club, the period up to 4.45pm will not be charged; after this time the usual rates will be charged. If a pupil in Years 3 to 6 attends Extended Day after a club the period up to 5.30pm will not be charged; after this time the usual rates will be charged. Music Instrument hire violins (per term) Instrument hire all others (per term) Individual music lessons * (10 lessons) (* Individual music lessons are contracted directly between the Visiting Music Teacher and parents. A separate account is sent out termly and parents are asked to settle these direct with the Teacher)

4 Early Years - Pre-Nursery, Nursery and Reception Fees Children can join the Pre-Nursery the term after their second birthday and can join the Nursery from the September after their third birthday. In the Pre-Nursery children are expected to attend a minimum of 2 sessions, and in the Nursery children will be required to attend a minimum of 4 sessions, of which 3 must be mornings, up to a maximum of 10 sessions (full time). With Early Years Funding For those pupils who are entitled to Early Years Funding (and subject to the school receiving the funding). Fees are per term. Pre-Nursery Morning Morning (incl. lunch) Full Day (8.30am 12pm) (8.30am 1pm) (8.30am 3.30pm) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Nursery Morning (incl. lunch) Full Day (8.30am 1pm) (8.30am 3.30pm) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Reception (Children are expected to attend school full-time) 2,857 Without Early Years Funding For those pupils who are not entitled to Early Years Funding. Fees are per term. Pre-Nursery Morning Morning (incl. lunch) Full Day (8.30am-12pm) (8.30am-1pm) (8.30am-3.30pm) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Nursery Morning (incl. lunch) Full Day (8.30am 1pm) (8.30pm pm) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Reception (Children are expected to attend school full-time) 3,930

5 REGISTRATION AND ACCEPTANCE FEES Registration fees are non-returnable. When a place has been offered, an acceptance deposit is payable on signature of the Acceptance Form which outlines the full terms and conditions. This deposit is repaid by deduction from the final school account at the end of your child s last term at The Manor but is non-returnable if a child is withdrawn after acceptance. TERMLY TUITION FEES Fees currently include all books, lunches, most equipment, educational day visits and the pupil personal accident scheme. Overnight educational visits, extra optional school activities, certain musical items and specific additional educational support are not included and appear as disbursements on the termly fee accounts. Fees are payable before the first day of each term unless otherwise agreed by separate contractual arrangements and our preferred method of payment is Direct Debit or, if applicable, by Childcare Vouchers. If you wish to pay by an alternative method please contact the Bursary. There is no charge for payment by Direct Debit. Please note that payment by Direct Debit is not available in conjunction with Childcare Vouchers. Please note that cash cannot be received for payment of fees. At the school s discretion we sometimes accept payment of a particular school term s fees by 4 instalments during that term. This scheme is known as the Termly Instalment Scheme. Payment of fees by instalment under the Termly Instalment Scheme must be made by Direct Debit. If you would like further information on the Termly Instalment Scheme, please contact the Bursary. We regret that a charge of 7 is made for every reminder letter or statement sent out for payments not received by the first day of term (unless otherwise agreed by separate contractual arrangement), and that interest is also charged on late payments. Returned cheques or Direct Debits are also charged for at a rate of No deduction is made for absence, but there is an insurance scheme available to cover loss of school time through illness. If a pupil is to be withdrawn, the school must be notified in writing before the first day of term of the pupil's last full term at school or a full term's fees will be charged in lieu. PUPILS PERSONAL ACCIDENT INSURANCE AND OTHER SCHEMES The school provides the Marsh Pupils Personal Accident Insurance Scheme for each child in the school for the duration of the pupil s time in the school at no extra cost, as it is included in the fees. You are able to opt for, at an additional charge, the other schemes offered - Denplan, Fees Refund Scheme and BUPA. Please contact the Bursary Office if you would like further information on any of these schemes.