Flipping Fantastic Fun for the Whole School

Our Pancake Races are an important tradition at King’s Hawford and take place on the closest Tuesday to Shrove Tuesday. They are another whole-school event which showcases the truly special community that exists here. Despite the grey skies, pupils were in high spirits as they descended upon the hard surface. This year things were flipped on their head, as we started the races with our Prep pupils.

First up were the Year Three boys, who got proceedings off to a thrilling start! Pupils from Year One upwards ran the same course, which involved a short sprint to the first corner, where pupils had to pop on a woolly hat; they then headed to the second corner, where they were required to flip their pancakes once. Following this it was across to the third corner for two flips before racing to the final corner for three flips, a quick hat removal and a dash for the finish line. All of this was completed brandishing a frying pan and a sustainable pancake!

The brilliant thing about our pancake races is that the emphasis is very much on having fun! Athletic ability and running talent are not a prerequisite to being a King’s Hawford Pancake Race Champion; the focus is more on resilience. With so many factors at play, the chances are that things will go wrong. Pancakes will inevitably fall on the floor and need retrieving, pancakes will stick to pans to thwart any flipping, and woolly hats will prove troublesome to put on whilst juggling a frying pan in the heat of the moment. Therefore resilience was needed in bucket-loads.

Central to the whole event is the wonderful King’s Hawford spirit. Pupils cheered and chanted, showing wonderful support for their friends and peers. Staff members were on hand to observe proceedings and ensure they went without a hitch.

After the Prep Races, it was the turn of our Kindergarten and Pre-Prep pupils. For some of the tiniest Hawfordians in KG1 and KG2, this was their very first taste of a whole-school event. With plenty of encouragement from the older children in Pre-Prep, plus the support of the Kindergarten staff, every Kindergarten pupil took part. As the morning progressed, we worked our way through every year group within the School.

The event wouldn’t be complete without a staff race, and luckily Mr Marsland, Mr George and Mr Roberts were all great sports! Mr Marsland’s competitive nature saw him edge out Mr George to take the crown in the staff race.

Congratulations to our pupil winners for their fine achievement! Keep your eyes fixed on our social channels for video highlights of the event.