March 27th

Week in Pictures

DT Rotary Festival “Twenty four DT pupils from Years 8 to 11 took part in the DT Rotary Tournament last week, competing against several local schools. Their challenge was to design and build a motor powered vehicle capable of pushing rubble through a PVC pipe. Students in Years 10 and 11 faced an additional task: engineering their vehicle to reverse back down the pipe once the rubble was cleared.

This was a demanding brief that required creativity, problem solving and teamwork, and our students rose to the occasion brilliantly. Four of our teams earned second and third place medals within their age categories, an achievement they should be incredibly proud of.

It was a fun, inspiring and action packed day, showcasing the talent and determination of our DT pupils.” Mrs Skelton

Music - Spring Recital Series “Over the course of two weeks, the Music Department presented a remarkable series of four recitals, each one a celebration of dedication, musical growth, and the joy of performance. The PAC was filled at every event, with a wonderfully supportive audience of parents, friends, family members, and grandparents, whose enthusiasm added real warmth to the occasion.

Across the series, there were an impressive eighty three performances, showcasing a wide range of ages from Years 1 to 11, instruments, and musical styles. Every pupil approached their performance with professionalism, musicality, and admirable composure. Whether they were stepping onto the concert platform for the very first time or building on previous recital experience, each performer contributed to an atmosphere of encouragement, achievement, and a genuine love for music making.

A heartfelt thank you goes to our dedicated Visiting Music Teachers, whose careful preparation, commitment, and support were evident in every performance. Their presence at the recitals and their ongoing encouragement play a vital role in nurturing the Ballard pupils’ confidence and musical development ,

Holding this programme of recitals in the Spring Term remains an important part of musical life at Ballard. Not only does it provide valuable preparation for ABRSM exams at the end of term, but it also offers pupils the essential experience of performing a solo in the PAC in a supportive environment where they can practise and refine the skills that reach far beyond music itself. Confidence, organisation, presentation, teamwork, preparation, and consistent practice all come to life on the concert platform, helping Ballard’s young musicians grow into poised, capable individuals .

Congratulations to every performer on a wonderful fortnight of music making!” Mr P.

Science Festival - Project Curiosity For the theme of this year's British Science Week, we ran our own "Curiosity Competition".

This was a competition for all year groups, from our youngest pupils in Pre Prep all the way to our Year 11 pupils at the top of our senior school.

The brief was: "find something you are curious about and then explain how it works". The entries were amazing!

One of the standouts was a working model of engine pistons created by Will S (Year 9). Our other winners were Bea T (Year 6) for her ‘Wizard of Oz’ themed tornado project; Myka H -A (Year 6), whose model explained how fossils are made and the different stages of fossilisation , and Frankie W (Year 7) for her working lung model.

STEM @ Ballard

Reception Up in Space “As the final part of our space topic the Reception Class at Ballard School will have their name included on an SD card that will fly around the moon on board the Artimis space mission.” Mrs Edwards

Year 4 Star Wars Adventure “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... A small band of Year 4 rebels have been working to overthrow the Empire by creating exciting space themed pencil cases, ensuring boring designs are vanquished forever. Led by Jedi Knight Mr Elliott, these rebels have been learning how to use hammer and nails, and the creative technique of decoupage to bring life and vibrancy to the galaxy. Often under the watchful eye of Darth Cornwell and his Year 10 spies, these Year 4s have ensured victory for the Rebellion.” Mr Elliott

Floating Challenge “Year 5 was set the challenge of building a boat that could float and hold as much weight as possible. They had to use their knowledge of water resistance and upthrust to help them. The only things they were allowed to use were two paper straws, an aluminium foil rectangle and 20 cm of Sellotape. They then had great fun testing their creations in a small aquarium. The winning one held over 500 g. and little did they know the straws and Sellotape were just red herrings!” Mrs Greaves

Year 7 Cookery “Our Year 7 pupils enjoyed an exciting and rewarding baking lesson as they completed their first fully independent cook in school. Working under time pressure and using equipment that was new to many of them, pupils produced a range of beautifully made cupcakes and cakes, demonstrating growing confidence and resilience in the kitchen.

This practical session helped them build key skills such as accurate weighing, safe use of equipment, and understanding the function of ingredients in baking. We were incredibly impressed by the creativity and quality of their finished products, with highlights including Biscoff cakes, Confetti Cake, and a wonderfully vibrant Red Velvet cake.

It was a fantastic introduction to independent cooking, and the pupils should be very proud of their achievements.”

Miss Clarke

Jellycat Club “Pupils have produced some amazing Jellycat inspired lights. They have had the chance to experience all the CAD and CAM opportunities Ballard has to offer, including laser cutting and 3D printing their Jellycat lamp tops. The outcomes are fantastic. Well done, girls!” Mr Cornwell.

This popular club will be back in the summer term.

Arts @ Ballard

Festival Success Huge congratulations to Year 9 pupil, Elsie, who competed in the New Milton Music Festival on Saturday and she was awarded a 1st place gold, with a distinction in her class, playing the oboe. She was also invited to play at the Gala Concert. Well done, Elsie.

Expressive Arts “Pupils have been exploring creative devising work linked to their production of Mary Poppins, travelling to magical lands through via the chimney pots of London’s rooftops.” Mrs Gray

Dragon Eyes “Year 3 had great fun creating their dragon and dinosaur inspired clay eyes. Pupils explored a range of textures and techniques to imprint patterns into the clay, helping them achieve the effect of realistic scales.

They also selected their own colour schemes, using the colour wheel to learn about analogous colours and how these can work harmoniously together. To enhance their designs further, they added accents of complementary colours, giving each eye a striking and vibrant finish.” Miss Jackson

Physical Theatre “Year 10 GCSE Drama pupils have been exploring physical theatre practitioners Steven Berkoff and Frantic Assembly as part of their course. In the pictures below, pupils are experimenting with scenes from The Trial, a surrealist piece, and the more light hearted Chair duet, where they added Trestle masks.” Mrs O’Connor White.

You may watch a video here.

Sport @ Ballard

Cricket Training Our Year 7 girls and boys squads enjoyed a sunny training session, focusing on key bowling and fielding fundamentals. Pupils worked on position, run ups, and target bowling drills to build accuracy. In fielding, they practised catches, clean pickups, and qu ick returns.

A great start to the season with plenty of energy and improving technique on show.

Life @ Ballard

Reception Spring Flowers “It has taken lots of folding, cutting, scrunching and rolling, alongside listening and following instructions, for the Reception class to create this colourful display of spring flowers.” Mrs Edwards

Year 7s inspired by their Favourite Costumes in French “To celebrate the recent World Book Day, some of our Year 7 pupils had their photo taken and wrote about their costumes in French,” Mrs Thomas.

Skydive Wishing our intrepid skydivers all the very best for this Saturday as they take to the skies for a wonderful cause.

Richard Whiting, Donna Wellock, Becky Roberts, Graham Pope and his son Robert Pope are raising funds for Young Lives vs Cancer in honour of Finlay Guppy.

They said, “We are really excited… about landing.”

You can donate to this amazing fundraiser here.

Year 3 Forest School Year 3 had a fantastic time in Forest School this week. They climbed in trees, hid in dens and played their own version of tag in beautiful sunshine. To see more of the photos, please refer to our Bulletin email.