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Our Pre-Prep children, along with Years 3 and 4, have been busy in the Forest School barn mixing their own reindeer food. They added a teaspoon of hot chilli for Rudolph’s bright red nose before packing everything up to take home and scatter on lawns and windowsills on Christmas Eve. Pre-Prep also posted their letters to Father Christmas in the red post box, so they have every angle covered.😀 #thedownsmalvern #independentschool #reindeerfood #festivefun #FestiveFun #colwall #herefordshire #malvern #worcestershire #forestschool

Our Under 11 and Under 12 rugby teams took part in the Malvern College Border Shield Festival this week, held alongside the annual Border Shield fixture, which this year saw Malvern College face Hereford Cathedral School. The festival, staged at Sixways Stadium, home to the Worcester Warriors, gave our teams a superb opportunity to experience rugby in a Championship setting. Across a high number of competitive matches against a wide range of schools, pupils were challenged by different styles of play and levels of opposition, which is so important in supporting their development in decision-making and match awareness. It was a valuable experience for our rugby teams, well done to all who played! #thedownsmalvern #independentschool #malverncollege #bordershield #rugby #worcesterwarriors #teambuilding

Our Pre-Prep children delivered another superb Nativity this evening with their performance of The Angel Who Nearly Missed It All. In front of a packed Memo Hall, they presented a delightful production full of confident acting, clear singing and plenty of festive sparkle. It was wonderful to see them enjoying every moment on stage and experiences like this play such an important part in building confidence and self-belief. Congratulations to all of the children for a wonderful performance and thank you to parents for supporting them. A final thank you to our brilliant Pre-Prep team for guiding the cast so well once again. #thedownsmalvern #independentschool #nativity #ChristmasCheer #colwall #herefordshire #malvern #worcestershire

On Saturday evening, our Year 5 and 6 pupils joined forces with the Colwall Community Choir to deliver a wonderful Wassail concert! The programme, drawn from Alexander L’Estrange’s Wassail! Carols of Comfort and Joy, was directed by our Head of Creative Arts, Lesley Hunter, and featured superb performances throughout. A special highlight was a piano solo from George B in Year 8, alongside a beautiful violin duet from Lizzie and Beccy in Year 5, all supported by a live folk ensemble. A joyful evening of music and community spirit at The Downs Malvern. #thedownsmalvern #independentschool #colwall #herefordshire #malvern #worcestershire #CommunityEvent #wassail

We are delighted to report that some fantastic TDM Art successes were announced last week! In the Three Counties Christmas Card Competition, Arabella S (Year 6) won the junior age category. Her design will now be printed as the official Three Counties Agricultural Society Christmas Card for 2025, alongside the senior category winner. This is a remarkable achievement in a competition promoted across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Well done, Arabella! In the Colwall Rotary “Nature” Art Competition, held at The Elms School, Beatrice D (Year 4) won the Key Stage 2 category with Joshua M receiving runner up. Ida B (Year 7) won the Key Stage 3 category and Anna-Jean E (Year 7) was runner up. Charlotte S and Felix W (both Year 5) also received special mentions. More than 120 entries were submitted by pupils up to age 12 from local schools, and judging was completed by Rotary Club members and professional artists Felicity Robinson, Marie Thérèse King and Andrew Findlay. The artists have kindly donated workshop vouchers to our prize winners. Congratulations to all our young artists. We are very proud of you.🎨✨ #thedownsmalvern #youngartists #threecounties #herefordshire #gloucestershire #worcestershire #youngtalent

Congratulations to Old Downian Jess, who is thriving at Malvern College! Jess has recently been recognised as a role model for excelling across so many areas of school life. She was an outstanding pupil here at The Downs, shining in the spotlight, flourishing in the classroom and giving her all on the sports pitch. Well done, Jess. We are proud to see how you are growing, achieving and continuing to inspire others. Today’s explorers, tomorrow’s role models. #explorer #rolemodel #thedownsmalvern #malverncollege #independentschool #malvern #worcestershire

Our Girls’ 1st and 2nd Teams, along with our U11 A and B squads, took on Winterfold this afternoon at Malvern College, making full use of the brilliant all-weather pitch. Despite the cold, the girls soon warmed up as the matches got underway, with some superb end-to-end football on show. The low winter sunshine made visibility challenging at times but didn’t slow the pace or the competitiveness. A fantastic effort from all teams, well done! #thedownsmalvern #independentschool #malverncollege #girlsfootball #malvern #worcestershire #teamspirit

On Friday, our pupils in Years 3 and 4 threw themselves into some early Christmas creativity! From glittering Christmas tree decorations to party hats, snowflakes, colourful paper chains and beautifully designed cards, the classrooms were buzzing with festive cheer. It was a real pleasure to welcome our delightful Year 3 pupils into the Year 4 classrooms for an afternoon of collaboration. #thedownsmalvern #independentschool #christmascrafts #prepschool #PrepSchool #colwall #malvern #herefordshire

Our Years 7 and 8 pupils enjoyed their third Fun Night of the term, this time with a hands-on sushi experience! After supper, where everyone had the chance to sample a variety of sushi, our Head Chef, Steve, gave a brilliant demonstration on how to roll the perfect sushi. The pupils then put their skills to the test, creating, comparing and most importantly eating their finished pieces.🍣 #thedownsmalvern #independentschool #sushiroll #CulinaryExplorers #culinaryexplorers #japan #ukboardingschool

Our Pre-Prep pupils enjoyed a special Thanksgiving assembly, led by our Admissions Manager, Mrs Williams yesterday. Originally from Pennsylvania, she introduced the children to the history and meaning of Thanksgiving, from the story of the Pilgrims and Native Americans to how families across the United States celebrate today. The pupils chatted about the things they are thankful for, explored traditional Thanksgiving foods and even learnt about the Presidential turkey pardon. To finish, everyone created their own colourful “hand turkeys”, writing something they were grateful for on each finger. Thank you to Mrs Williams for such an engaging and enjoyable assembly. The children loved every moment! #thedownsmalvern #independentschool #thanksgiving #Thanksgiving #specialguest #history #gratitude #tdmexplorers

Many thanks to Mr Jansen, the Education Officer from Severn Trent Water, who gave a fascinating, interactive assembly on Friday about UK water consumption and the power of waste in producing methane and ultimately generating energy. After the assembly, which also saw our volunteer Eco-Team pupils dressed as different members of the Severn Trent team, Mr Jansen delivered a fantastic workshop to our Year 4 cohort. A huge thank you to Mr Jansen and Severn Trent Water for passing on such an important message and for educating us all about the importance of saving water!💧 #thedownsmalvern #independentschool #severntrentwater #ecoteam #EcoTeam

Last week, our U11A and U11B girls headed to Dyson Perrins for the ESFA Primary Schools Football Competition – their first tournament and a brilliant opportunity to test themselves against local schools. The A team went unbeaten through the rounds and only missed out on the next stage after a narrow 1–0 loss in the final. Our B team also impressed with determined performances and a well-earned goal against tough opposition. A fantastic effort from every player, who showed real grit and energy throughout the afternoon despite the frosty conditions. A superb start to their football journey.⚽ #thedownsmalvern #independentschool #girlsfootball #competition

Last week we welcomed nine schools from across Herefordshire and Worcestershire for our annual Year 6 Maths Challenge! Pupils worked in mixed-school teams, giving them the chance to collaborate with new faces and tackle challenges together. They took on a STEM-themed engineering ice-breaker, some seriously tricky puzzles including KenKen, and our popular Maths Relay. A big thank you to all the schools and teachers who joined us, and well done to our winning teams.🏆Tremendous effort was evident from every pupil and we loved having you with us! #thedownsmalvern #independentschool #STEM #stem #mathschallenge #collaboration #herefordshire #worcestershire #malvern #colwall

To coincide with the Great Malvern Christmas Lights Switch On this weekend, pupils from The Downs Malvern and Malvern College have created beautiful decorations for our joint Christmas tree in Malvern Priory.🎄 Decorations include fingerprint Christmas trees and Reindeer by our Early Years children, as well as twine and wool tree cookies created by Pre-Prep pupils in Forest School lessons. Pupils from the College and TDM upcycled old uniforms into vibrant tinsel and handmade decorations and in Art lessons, the children painted DLR-inspired steam railway trains and carriages. Foundation Year pupils from the College also designed decorations to celebrate Old Malvernians. Mr Mellor worked his magic once again and, with the help of the pupils, created a beautifully painted diorama of The Downs Malvern and the Downs Light Railway, with carriages filled with different subjects. The tree celebrates three major anniversaries in 2025: 125 years of The Downs Malvern, 160 years of Malvern College and 100 years of the Downs Light Railway. Thank you to all pupils and staff involved, and we encourage you to visit Malvern Priory to see the wonderful community Christmas trees.✨❄️🎄 For more information, please visit: https://www.visitthemalverns.org/event/great-malvern-christmas-lights-switch-on-2025/ #thedownsmalvern #malverncollege #christmastreefestival #malvernpriory #worcester

A huge thank you to Mr and Mrs Jeanes who came to our Assembly on Monday morning to talk to the children all about the amazing work the Teams4U charity does, delivering shoeboxes to families in Romania, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and Bosnia. Once again, our TDM families made a record number of shoeboxes and donated winter coats and boots that will be taken out to these Eastern European countries in December. The children asked some interesting questions, and we were able to see photos of some children in Romania wearing obsolete TDM uniform, including coats and jumpers that had been donated last year. It is not too late to help! Due to popular demand, we are extending the deadline and Mr Jeanes will pop back again on Thursday 27th November, so please do fill a shoebox or visit: https://teams4u.com/shoebox-appeal/ for other ways in which you can donate or help out. Donations of coats and boots are always welcome too. Thank you to our wonderful school community for their continued support of the T4U charity.🙏 #thedownsmalvern #teams4u #Charity @teams4ucharity

Congratulations to gymnast Coco, who recently won the South West North Classic Challenge, competing against pupils from more than 12 clubs. She delivered a superb all-round performance, taking 1st on beam, 2nd on floor and 1st overall, earning the title of South West 2013 Copper Champion! In case you were wondering, 2013 refers to the age group not the year. This success follows her team competition in Newport, where the team finished third and Coco achieved the top floor score out of more than 30 Copper-level gymnasts. Tremendous commitment, focus and determination. Well done, Coco! 👏✨ #thedownsmalvern #independentschool #gymnastics #youngtalent