Michael Hall Blog Feed - School Life

Basketball Season Summary

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:27:45 GMT

Another wonderful and vibrant year of basketball at Michael Hall.

Eurythmy Festival 2026

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 13:42:13 GMT

Classes 3–8 shared a glimpse into the work they have been doing in their Eurythmy lessons this year.

Class 3AD's play Peter's Old House

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 08:23:02 GMT

Class 3AD were delighted to present their play, Peter's Old House, adapted from Elsa Beskow's book. The children worked as a harmonious team to choose their own music, gestures, songs, dancing, and set design; making their vision of the story come to life. Each child conquered a personal challenge, growing in themselves and within their class, sharing a hopeful tale with their community.
Anna Dill
Class Teacher

Easter Gardens in Saplings

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 10:35:39 GMT

At our recent Parents’ Evening, we explored the deeper pedagogical intention behind crafting in our toddler group. At this young age (2–4 years), the focus is not on producing polished artwork. Instead, we turn our attention to the richness of the experience itself. Crafting becomes a living, relational activity that invites presence, warmth, and connection.

Class 7JC Physiology Main Lesson

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 10:41:33 GMT

Class 7JC have been studying physiology in Main Lesson and have been looking at the circulatory system. Here are some drawings of the heart.

Early Childhood Childrens Forest Project

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 12:27:15 GMT

Our Kindergarten children have recently had the exciting opportunity to participate in the Children's Forest project which has been a truly magical experience for us all. The Children's Forest is a movement to support children and their communities to reconnect with nature and plant forests for the future generations, run by a dedicated team of people with a shared passion to restore healthy relationships with nature and one another, for the future of all species.

Class 7RG Play 'Flight'

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 19:59:40 GMT

Class 7 performed their play Flight which was based on Cirque du Solei and involved two scientists going through their thought processes and experiments to eventually come up with a flying machine.

Classes 5 Bikeability

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 09:45:29 GMT

Classes 5 had the wonderful opportunity to do the Bikeability cycling proficiency course a few weeks ago. For most of the week they were blessed with beautiful golden sunshine.

Class 4VK Play 'The Apples of Immortality'

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 12:57:24 GMT

Class 4VK performed their Norse Myth play 'The Apples of Immortality' beautifully. The play clearly told the story about how the Aesir recovered their precious apples of immortality after the cheeky Loki stole them. The class enjoyed all aspects of doing their play which was full of music, singing, dancing and movement.

Vanessa King
Class 4 Teacher

Class 12 Reflections Main Lesson

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 10:54:06 GMT

Last week, as part of Class 12's Reflections Main Lesson, the Class 12 pupils had the opportunity to spend some time in the place where the journey begins, in Early Childhood. The students joined the children of Saplings and Kindergarten for part of their morning, creating a beautiful moment of connection between the youngest and the oldest members of our school.

Class 5EN's Trip to the British Museum

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 10:21:21 GMT

A few weeks ago, Class 5EN visited the British Museum in London. The children particularly enjoyed the Ancient Mesopotamian section where they found the 'Royal Game of Ur' which they had drawn and played in class and the original 'Flood Stone', a clay tablet which they had learnt about in their recent Mesopotamian class play.

Oak Tree Kindergarten

Fri, 6 Mar 2026 12:16:27 GMT

This week Early Childhood was blessed with a generous gift of beautiful willow, which has been lovingly shaped into small willow houses for each of our spaces, including our ‘Parent and Child’ garden. Yesterday, a kind parent in the school joined us in Oak Tree Kindergarten to build one of the houses together with the children.

Class 12 Animal Farm

Fri, 6 Mar 2026 10:12:09 GMT

Following the Class 12 production of Animal Farm last week, here are some highlights from the students as they reflect on their experience of bringing the play to life.

Class 12 British Biology Olympiad

Fri, 6 Mar 2026 12:17:33 GMT

We are incredibly proud to share that our Class 12 A Level Biology students recently took part in the British Biology Olympiad, a prestigious national competition that challenges students to apply their biological knowledge and problem-solving skills to unfamiliar and demanding contexts.

Pancake fun!

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 13:25:40 GMT

Before half term, our Lower and Middle School came together for some joyful pancake races ahead of Pancake Day this week

Moments like these — simple, fun, shared — are such an important part of school life.

Bringing different age groups together builds confidence, connection and a strong sense of community.

A wonderful way to head into the break…

Class 4AH Play: Beowulf

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 13:14:03 GMT

Class 4AH performed their play 'Beowulf', a story based on the Old English poem about a Nordic hero saving the world from monsters.

Class 8EF Ski Trip

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:07:35 GMT

Class 8EF had a wonderful time on their ski trip to Flaine in France last month!

UCPA Flaine | Affordable all-inclusive adventure

Class 3VG 'Noah and the Flood'

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:07:51 GMT

Class 3 VG have enjoyed working on their play, Noah and the Flood.

Victoria Greenacre
Class 3 Teacher

Gym Department Update

Fri, 6 Feb 2026 09:18:56 GMT

It has been a purple patch for Michael Hall team sports with victories last week from our U14 and U18 teams against Lingfield and Ardingly respectively. The U18 team put their hard training into practice, communicating well in defence, rebounding hard and creating some strong attacking plays. We are looking forward to the culmination of the season next month (12th March) at Bedes School when East and West Sussex League teams come together in a tournament to play for the cup. Michael Hall are currently 3^rd in the East side pool and will play the West Sussex 2^nd ranking school in the Quarter Finals.

In volleyball, our U18 and U16 teams both won strong victories against Sackville School last Wednesday showing strong team play, powerful serves and spiking prowess. The players are encouraging and sporting in their approach, with more senior students coaching and encouraging newer players. Many Thanks to the scoring angels and balcony fan club

Class 11 Main Lesson: From Renaissance to Modern History

Thu, 5 Feb 2026 11:49:37 GMT

Our Class 11 students have brought history to life by building models of iconic structures—from St Peter’s Basilica to the Chrysler Building and Taipei 101. These projects showcase creativity, craft skills, and a hands-on way to explore architecture across the ages.

Marco Piotti
History Teacher

Early Childhood Candlemas

Tue, 3 Feb 2026 13:50:50 GMT

'If Candlemas Day be fair and bright

Winter will take another flight.

If Candlemas Day be cloud and rain,

Winter is gone and will not come again.'

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Thu, 5 Feb 2026 08:37:49 GMT

Class 5EN performed their Mesopotamian play, The Epic of Gilgamesh last week. As a whole class, they had worked on their gestures, the spoken choruses, their singing and the backdrop. Individually, they learned their lines and created beautiful music, and showed real commitment to their acting. The play came together in a richly coloured final performance to a full audience of parents and pupils.

The Tempest by Class 8MR

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 09:47:33 GMT

Class 8MR culminated their eight years of drama work with a wonderful performance of Shakespeare’s The Tempest last weekend.

The actors brought out their very best, delivering a confident and engaging production, made all the more special by the generous support of the wider teaching staff and parent community. Together, this collaboration created a truly magical theatrical experience.

Marianne Romeo, Class 8 Teacher

Class 7RG Creative Writing Main Lesson

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 09:04:16 GMT

This Main Lesson is a writing workshop where the content is the moods of soul: wish, wonder and surprise.

Class 7RG Cirque Du Soleil

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 09:13:49 GMT

Class 7RG had a surprise outing to Cirque du Soleil at the Albert Hall this term during their creative writing main lesson block.

Rover Design Challenge

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 13:09:42 GMT

Class 11 students have recently completed a two week Rover Design Main Lesson. Working in teams, students designed and built remote controlled rovers that needed to navigate rough terrain, cross water, race against each other, and tow weighted trailers. The project culminated in a competition morning where students put their rovers through all four challenges.

Throughout the project, students worked through the complete design process from initial research and sketching through to prototyping and final construction. Teams investigated buoyancy methods, tested different drive systems, and made improvements based on their testing results. The final rovers showed a good range of solutions, with teams developing different approaches to the amphibious requirements and creating distinctive visual designs. During the competition, we assessed the rovers on technical performance, design quality, build standards and appearance. Students demonstrated good driving skills as they navigated the rough terrain course, completed the speed trials and attempted the difficult towing challenge.

Happy Birthday Michael Hall! Our alumni share their memories and messages

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 10:21:46 GMT

As part of our centenary year, we invited alumni to share what Michael Hall has meant to them.

What they sent back were memories of friendship and freedom, inspiring teachers and lifelong bonds, muddy shoes and main lessons, music echoing through the Long Room, school plays and Italy trips, kindness in hard moments, courage found, creativity nurtured, and a deep sense of belonging.

Today, on our 101st birthday, we share their words with gratitude – a reminder that the heart of a school lives on long after the school days themselves!

Blackboard Drawings

Fri, 9 Jan 2026 11:37:07 GMT

A look back at last year’s blackboard drawings, showcasing the creativity and care our teachers bring into the classroom.

Class 12 Carols

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 13:02:11 GMT

Class 12 Carol singing for the staff in the mansion

The Shepherds Play

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 12:11:03 GMT

A much-loved Michael Hall tradition, the Shepherds Play, performed by our teachers, was offered as a humorous end-of-term gift to our students and wider community. A great way to mark the end of term. Have a wonderful Christmas break!

Advent Festival of Music

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 09:59:24 GMT

Thank you so much for being part of our Advent Festival of Music on Friday evening. It was a truly special occasion and a beautiful way to mark the Advent season together as a school community.

Class 7 Main Lesson Work

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:37:54 GMT

Class 7 are at the beginning of the birth of the intellect where they start to 'look out into the world' and explore. At this age they can reason, can form strong critical judgements and are beginning to have objectivity. They are just starting to be able to distance their feelings from their judgements. In this we teach them about the world they live in and try to help them view the world from different perspectives.

Advent Spiral

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:27:00 GMT

On the second Advent Sunday, children from classes 1 and 2 came together to share with us a beautiful play, singing while walking the spiral made of freshly cut foliage.

Christmas Writing Competition

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:10:30 GMT

Students in the Lower, Middle and Upper School came together for an exciting competition.

Spanish

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:36:40 GMT

Spanish work from Classes 3AD and 7 this term

Class 11 Trip

Fri, 5 Dec 2025 11:12:45 GMT

The Class 11 English group went to London to see 'The Importance of Being Earnest' starring Olly Alexander, Stephen Fry and Hugh Dennis. The play was endlessly entertaining and has given students a wonderful experience of live theatre and an interesting interpretation of the play they are studying in class.

Ruth Scott
English Teacher

Winter at Michael Hall

Fri, 5 Dec 2025 10:15:58 GMT

Our grounds have transformed into a winter wonderland this morning, revealing a quieter kind of beauty across our fields, woods, and pathways. The frost-tipped trees and soft winter light bring a calm stillness to the site, offering us all moments of wonder and connection with the changing seasons and capturing the magic of Michael Hall in winter ❄️

The Snow Queen Eurythmy

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 09:46:18 GMT

Watching Class 12 take part in this year’s Eurythmy production of The Snow Queen has been a stand out moment of their final year. Seeing them on stage alongside Class 3 brought a wonderful sense of scale and warmth to the story, and it was only in the full flow of rehearsals that the richness of this collaboration truly revealed itself. As the students worked through the journey of Kay and Gerda, I could see how each scene, the goblins, the reindeer, the ravens asked for its own gesture quality and atmosphere, and how thoughtfully the class rose to that task. The inclusion of the shadow puppet screen added a striking visual layer, allowing key moments to unfold with a dreamlike quality behind the illuminated cloth.

The Advent Fair

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 09:47:30 GMT

This year Class 4 parents focused on warmth and community as their theme and certainly it takes a community to hold such a wonderful event with something for everybody to enjoy.

Table Tennis Tournament

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 09:38:32 GMT

The Middle school have been enjoying the annual table tennis tournament which has been held over the last few weeks. There has been some wonderful support throughout the games and we had some really close matches.

U15 Girls Basketball

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 13:22:45 GMT

The winning streak continues as the U15 Girls Basketball team triumphed in the 2^nd leg against Ardingly College in a nail-biting Away game. It was 25-25 after the third quarter. Michael Hall kept their cool under pressure and were titanic in defence, earning a strong victory with a final score of 35-29. Well done team!

Arthur Dyer
Gym and games Teacher

Early Childhood Martinmas

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 08:27:54 GMT

As dusk descended and the first stars shimmered above, our Early Childhood community, Parent & Child, Saplings and Kindergarten groups, gathered with our lanterns glowing bright. Together we walked a candle-lit path through the woods and across the school grounds, our lanterns and songs lighting our way in the darkness.

Bharatanatyam Dance Comes to Michael Hall

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 08:54:06 GMT

On Friday, Classes 5EN and 5TG were treated to a full day of workshops on Bharatanatyam, a traditional Southern Indian dance form.

Class 5 Mandala Magic

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 12:12:07 GMT

Our two class 5s showed so much creativity and manual dexterity as they learnt to create mandalas during their Ancient India main lesson, without the use of compasses or rulers. They also created colourful mandalas with what they could find outdoors.

Thomas Godber
Class 5 Teacher

Classes 7 Trip to Herstmonceux Observatory and Science Centre

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 10:37:39 GMT

As part of the astronomy main lesson, Classes 7 visited the observatory. They got to do lots of experiments, learnt how to operate a robotic arm as they would on the space station, and use and learn about the telescopes. As the day turned to night we kept our fingers crossed that the sky would remain clear and then we were able to use a 135 year old telescope to see Saturn, its rings and its moons. The classes took great interest in the centre and pupils were overheard saying,' I was worried about my lip salve but the stars puts things into perspective' , 'each main lesson helps me look out into the World', ' seeing Saturn was amazing, its not just dots in the sky but something so much more' , 'the experiments were really engaging, especially the robotic arm.'

Rachel Gatehouse
Class 7 Teacher

Volleyball Update

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 11:08:23 GMT

We have had our first seasonal volleyball fixtures at U16 and U18 level against local rivals : Sackville. The games were played in good spirits and the sporting atmosphere was strong. It was a double victory for Michael hall in both games (U16- 25-16, 18-25, 25-14) (U18- 25-15,25-15,25-13). Special congratulations to our class 9ers- Alma, Otto, Liam and Sazzy on their winning debut.

Arthur Dyer
Gym and Games Teacher

Class 7 Synchronicity

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 10:37:14 GMT

Classes 7 worked together to create this beautiful movement piece exploring synchrony and connection. Entirely composed and choreographed by the class, they performed it at our Lower and Middle School Festival before half term.

Singing and moving as one strengthens a deep sense of belonging and wellbeing — especially valuable during this stage of adolescence, when feeling part of a community truly matters.

James Caffrey
Class 7 Teacher

Lower and Middle School Festival

Fri, 7 Nov 2025 11:19:09 GMT

I would like to extend my thanks to all staff who prepared and supported the pupils in the Lower and Middle School Festival before half term. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the range of work that was presented, and I am sure the parents loved it too.

Class 8MR Meteorology Main Lesson

Tue, 4 Nov 2025 10:31:32 GMT

As part of their Meteorology main lesson, class 8MR have been studying what exactly weather is made of.

Class 10 Main Lesson on Ancient and Medieval History

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 14:35:16 GMT

Class 10 have created some projects as part of their Main Lesson on Ancient and Mediaeval History.