Francis Holland Preparatory School

Ms Laura Rodgers has been appointed as the next Head of from January 2027. Ms Rodgers joins us from where she has spent the last five years on the Senior Leadership Team as Deputy Head Academic and, for the last year, as Senior Deputy. She is widely admired for her caring approach, academic ambition and visible, engaged leadership.

Ms Rodgers has a strong background in girls’ education and a deep understanding of London schools. Prior to her time at Glendower, she was Head of Year 6 and Future Schools at . Her academic background includes a LLB (Hons) Law from Newcastle University, a PGCE in Primary Education from Oxford Brookes University and a Master’s in Educational Leadership and Management from the University of Buckingham. She is also a governor at Bousfield Primary School.

Ms Rodgers commented, “I am absolutely delighted to be joining Francis Holland Preparatory School. It will be a huge privilege to lead such an incredible school community and I am very much looking forward to getting to know all of the staff, families and, most importantly, the creative, curious and courageous girls. I am honoured to be building upon the exceptional legacy of Suzy Dixon and look forward to working closely with Alexandra Haydon, the Senior Leadership Team, teachers, governors and the wider Francis Holland Schools Trust community over the coming months.”

We would like to offer Mrs Dixon heartfelt thanks for her commitment, energy and exemplary leadership and we very much look forward to introducing Ms Rodgers to our current parents, as well as those who will be joining the Francis Holland Preparatory School in September.

🥳🎂🎉 145th SCHOOL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS 🎉🎂🥳

Today, over 900 Francis Holland Sloane Square and Francis Holland Prep pupils and staff have gathered to celebrate 145 glorious years since our schools were founded by Canon Francis Holland in 1881. 🤩

The morning began with our annual School Birthday Service, which took place for the in the beautiful St Luke’s Church, Sydney Street. The congregation was a shimmering sea of yellow, with our Francis Holland Prep girls sporting intricate hairstyles decorated with School Birthday daffodils for all to admire. Led by our Chaplain, Revd. van der Hart, our School Birthday Service featured readings by our Head Girls, Prep and Senior pupils, performances by our Prep, Lower and Senior School Choirs and, of course, a spirited rendition of our school anthem, ‘Except the Lord build the house’. ⛪ 🌼

While our Prep pupils showcased a multitude of skills in our talent show, Senior School pupils enjoyed our ceremonial School Birthday Cake cutting in the playground by Mrs Haydon and an exuberant rendition of ‘Happy Birthday, Dear FHS!’, followed by delicious School Birthday cupcakes for every pupil and member of staff. Festivities at the Sloane Square concluded with a nail-biting Staff vs Student Netball Match (our students reclaiming their title with a final score of 14-12!) and, of course, our legendary annual School Birthday karaoke. 🧁🤹‍♀️🏀🎤

Another fabulous School Birthday, signalling our five year countdown to our landmark 150th School Birthday in 2031! Thank you so much to all involved in making the day such a sensational celebration of 145 years of Francis Holland girls dreaming fiercely and achieving extraordinary things. ✨

📚 𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓓𝓪𝔂 📚

Our costume parade, always a highlight of the year, was a joy to see, with pupils and staff bringing their favourite book characters to life. So much care and creativity had clearly gone into every costume.

Reading lies at the heart of FHP, and this special week has been a chance to celebrate stories, books and the many ways they bring our community together. 📖✨

Last Wednesday, our Year 4 and 5 pupils were delighted to welcome their parents to Manresa Road for a very special breakfast. 🥞☕🩵

Our Deputy Head Staffing, Mrs Amin reports:

‘The smell of pancakes and bacon filled the Dining Hall as the parents of girls in Year 4 and Year 5 arrived for their Charity Breakfast event. Before the girls arrived, the parents were shown a presentation from School in a Bag, this year’s school charity, and were given an update about our current fundraising totals.

Due to some healthy competition, the challenge was set to try and beat the total raised at the previous breakfast. Thanks to the enormous generosity of our parents, we raised a whopping £3,000! This is enough to buy another 120 school bags! Combined with the total raised at our previous breakfast, we now have enough money to buy another 202 bags for our next packing day in the Summer Term.

Our current fundraising total sits at just over £8,000, with more fundraising events to come over the next term and a half. Can we hit £10,000 this academic year?!’

Thank you to everybody who contributed to this wonderful event. We look forward to seeing our partnership with School in a Bag continue to flourish as we enter the second half of this academic year. 🎒🙌

✨On Tuesday, the whole school came together to celebrate our 𝓕𝓪𝓷𝓷𝔂 𝓓𝓪𝓿𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝓜𝓾𝓼𝓲𝓬 𝓕𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓿𝓪𝓵 winners at the winners’ concert! ✨

Named after F***y Davies — a trailblazing British pianist and teacher who taught at Francis Holland in the 1880s. This festival honours her legacy of bold musicianship and passion.

🎻 Please swipe across to view a snippet of each performance. 🎹

👏 So much talent on one stage! 👏

This afternoon, our Year 5 pupils and buddies in Reception and Year 3 jointly wrote letters to children supported by our wonderful partner charity for this year, . ✨✍️✨

The girls so enjoyed working together on their letters and developing every one of their 8 Cs of Compassion, Communication, Curiosity, Commitment, Confidence, Communication, Creativity and Collaboration in the process, as well as making new friends in other year groups. 🩵

Every pupil at FHP will contribute to this lovely initiative, which will result in 126 thoughtful letters to be shared with vulnerable children supported by School in a Bag. 💌🎒🙌

The weather outside may be frightful, but we are having a delightful day in the classroom at FHP! Highlights have included a Reception phonics lesson, a Year 4 Geography lesson, a Year 5 spelling bee and so much more. 🙋‍♀️📝 🐝

At Francis Holland Prep, we recognise the integral importance of the early years of our pupils’ education, and we aim to foster a lifelong love of learning by sparking their innate curiosity with a broad, balanced and engaging curriculum. FHP girls thrive on creative, thought-provoking learning from teachers who develop their natural curiosity, enabling them to flourish both academically and socially. Our curriculum is designed to offer academic stretch and challenge to every girl, with dynamic, inspirational lessons that build strong foundations of knowledge and understanding through a variety of pedagogical practices. 💭💡

Girls are encouraged to be brave and have a go, no matter how great the challenges before them. They become motivated to discover their own learning strategies and passions. They learn to debate with gusto, reflect on the world around them with empathy, solve problems creatively and appreciate the bigger picture. 🌍🩵

We may be only two weeks into the Spring Term, but we have already enjoyed three fabulous local trips…

🎇 Year 3 Trip to The Firework Maker’s Daughter
🦖 Year 4 Trip to the Natural History Museum
🎭 Year 6 Trip to the Globe Theatre

Our incredible location in the heart of Chelsea offers a myriad of benefits to our pupils and staff, including weekly trips to renowned galleries, theatres and museums which help inspire our pupils’ natural curiosity and encourage the development of a lifelong love of learning. 💡

As well as these wonderful opportunities, our metropolitan outlook instils a unique resilience, dexterity and maturity our pupils which works in unique harmony with our traditional values of love, hope and courage. 🩵

This ensures that pupils leave us in Year 6 ready to embrace their senior school journey, whether they go on to one of the two Francis Holland Senior Schools, and or other leading London independent schools or boarding schools. 👩‍🎓

Introducing our wonderful Deputy Team! 🙌

From left to right, the team have told us a bit more about what they are most excited about in their new roles….

Miss Elizabeth McLaughlin, Deputy Head Pastoral

“Hello! My name is Miss McLaughlin - though the girls will know me as Miss Mac - your new Deputy Head Pastoral. My role will focus on ensuring that girls at Francis Holland Prep feel safe, valued, and resilient so they can flourish as happy, successful learners. Having experience with children from 18 months through to KS3, I am here for every stage of the learning and personal development journey. Away from school, my spare time is filled with music and dance, trips to the theatre, and the lifelong pursuit of the perfect place for tea and cake - all recommendations welcome!”

Mr Andrew Hart, Deputy Head Academic

“As the Prep moves into the Spring Term, there is a palpable sense of energy across the school! Our academic calendar is brimming with highlights, including the immersive celebrations of World Book Week and Science Week, alongside an exciting trip to the Globe Theatre that will bring Shakespeare’s world to life. Competitive spirit will also be high as we host the Morison Verse Poetry Competition, designed to challenge the girls’ oracy, as they learn poems they love to share with others, and the F***y Davies Music Competition, which showcases our girls’ exceptional artistry.”

Mrs Jennie Amin, Deputy Head Staffing

“FHP is a very special place, and it has been lovely to see lots of familiar faces, and meet new faces, over the last few days. This year, my Deputy role has changed slightly and has become more staffing focused. I will be continuing to work with our trainee teachers and ECTs, supporting staff with their professional development, leading our induction process and helping plan our staff INSET sessions. I am taking the lead with our maths curriculum and will also be looking after our Charity provision, as well as working closely with the Prep School Parents’ Association.”

Swipe to see our Deputy Team enjoying the treehouse in the old Chelsea Library! 🪾📚🤩

A fabulous first day of the Spring Term at FHP - great to see the girls braving the elements with signature Francis Holland spirit! 🥶❄️🙌

We could not be more excited for everything to come this term, from spectacular Gym & Dance Displays featuring every pupil in the school to our joint 145th School Birthday celebrations with . 💃🏼🤸‍♀️🎂

Our 4+ assessments have also begun today and it has been a joy to meet some of the youngest prospective members of our FHP community. Best of luck to all our wonderful 4+ candidates! 🩵