From 9th to 13th February, Norwich High Prep School was transformed into a hub of high-stakes intrigue and creative daring for this year’s Winter Arts Festival (WAF). With the theme ‘Mission Impossible,’ the week challenged our pupils to step outside their comfort zones, embrace their inner ‘Rita Resilience’, and work together to crack codes and conquer new skills.

The adventure began with an exciting opening assembly where each year group was presented with a mysterious wrapped box, bound in red chains and secured by multiple padlocks. To unlock the treasures within, the girls discovered they would have to complete a series of top-secret missions across the week to earn the necessary codes and keys.

Throughout the week, we welcomed a number of amazing special guests, who joined us to share their passions with our pupils and teach them some amazing new skills.

• Breakdancing: On Monday, Kelly Ludgrove (aka KelFX) helped everyone find their groove with breakdancing workshops for pupils in Year 2 and above.
• Magic: There was magic in the air on Tuesday as magician ‘Steve the Tricky Twister’ led a mind blowing whole school assembly, featuring mystery, laughter and balloon modelling. Every class from Nursery to Year 6 then got to take part in hands-on magic workshops, learning secret skills to impress their friends and family!
• Circus Skills: On Wednesday we welcomed guests from the Oak Circus Centre, where performers wowed the girls with juggling, acrobatics and hoop skills in assembly before teaching them the tricks of the trade throughout the day.
• Dance: At the end of the week, Miss Lili-Mae choreographed an incredible Mission Impossible-themed dance routine, with students showing off their moves in assembly on Friday. We can’t wait to see the final polished version at the Summer Concert!

To unlock those stubborn padlocks, classes had to demonstrate speed, skill and nerves of steel:

• The Skill Mission: The skill mission was all about balloon twisting. Each girl had to make her own dog and each class had to make three additional animals to complete the challenge. It was quite a squeaky process but once they got the hang of it every class succeeded.
• The Physical Mission: The library was transformed into a high-security vault using red wool and bells. Pupils had to navigate the ‘lasers’ with stealth and teamwork. Each member of the class had a turn and then the ones who rang the least number of bells were selected to work as a team to get through the maze with no more than 8 bells sounding.
• The Language Mission: Using their language skills, our special agents had to work out the clues to the top secret puzzle. Even the padlock code was given in a different language!
• The Speed Mission: The Speed Mission saw younger years mastering stacks while older girls perfected the Pitch Perfect “Cup Song.”
• The Creative Mission: For most year groups, the Creative Mission was to create bees for our new display in the Albemarle entrance. The girls were amazing at learning a range of bee making skills and soon a whole hive of different bees began to swarm into Mrs Roberts’ room.
• The Mystery Mission: A special escape room challenge required intense collaboration (and perhaps a few sneaky hints from teachers!) to break out in time.

The festival reached its climax on Friday with a magical afternoon of Quidditch! The PE department introduced the school to land-based Quidditch in lessons throughout the week, leading to a spirited whole-school tournament. Complete with Harry Potter accessories and fierce House competition, it was the perfect end to an unforgettable week.

While the timetable was far from “conventional,” the lessons in resilience and teamwork were invaluable. As the girls arrived breathlessly at office doors to claim their hard-earned codes, it was clear that this was one mission they were more than happy to accept.