Beachburian Platinum Edition 2022

The

Beachburian

“ Be the best version of yourself ”

From the Headmaster...

Welcome to the 2022 Platinum Jubilee edition of ‘The Beachburian’, Beachborough school’s annual Yearbook. Our annual publication showcases the achievements and successes of all our children, from Nursery to Form VIII, throughout the year.

As I come to the end of my fourth year, as Beachborough’s Headmaster, I find myself looking back at this remarkable year with great pride.

Following the mandated lockdowns of schools, during the COVID pandemic, Beachborough has now returned to normal, and our children, staff and parents have all felt the tremendous benefit and welcome return of Beachborough life. The energy, spirit, camaraderie and ‘can do’ attitude of your children at Beachborough continues to shine through, like a beacon of light, even during times of great challenge.

What Beachborough offers children is quite hard to capture in words, but easy to show in reality. Visitors to the school always comment on the warm, caring, atmosphere of the school and the ‘sparkle’ and ‘happiness’ our children display.

Many words describe the past twelve months, my favourite three are, energy, innovation, and adaptability. Our children and our school are a brilliant example of ‘bounce back’… we have definitely done that!

Beachborough School – ‘Be the BEST version of yourself’

The learning opportunities your children receive at Beachborough are provided by an extremely professional, caring, dedicated and highly committed team of teaching, support, and administrative staff. I thank them all for the hard work, care, and guidance they provide your children.

The team have supported your children after two lockdowns. They have embraced many new ideas and have continued to cope with gentle change and new challenges this year.

They are passionate about our core belief of ensuring that every child at Beachborough should be the ‘best version of themselves’ in all that they do.

I hope you enjoy flicking through the pages of our Yearbook, as you enjoy the memories from another very exciting year at Beachborough school.

Christian Pritchard Headmaster

Roll of Honour

We must congratulate each and every pupil in Form VIII as every child has gained entry into their senior school of choice. This is the culmination of years of hard work and we are very proud of them all.

2022 SCHOLARS

EILIDH A. Repton Art Exhibition

DARCEY B. Akeley Wood Highest Level Gold Scholarship for Performing Arts

GRETA B. Stowe Roxburgh Scholarship Art Exhibition

EDMUND C. Stowe Design Scholarship

MABLE E. Bloxham Music Scholarship

IMOGEN G. Stowe Sports Scholarship Rugby Sports Scholarship Repton Sports Scholarship

CHARLOTTE G. Bloxham Art Scholarship

BRIDGET H. Bloxham Headmaster’s Award Art, Drama, Music

EDDIE H. Stowe Sports Scholarship

TALLULAH H. Stowe Roxburgh Scholarship Academic Scholarship Sports Scholarship

GEORGE H. Bloxham DT Scholarship

SOPHIE J. Bloxham Art Exhibition

HANA K. Stowe Drama Exhibition Bloxham Drama Exhibition

JESSE M. Stowe Sports Exhibition WILLIAM M. Bloxham DT Exhibition

ALICE M. Shrewsbury Academic Scholarship Drama Scholarship

SOPHIE R. Stowe Roxburgh Scholarship

FREDERIC T. Millfield Product Design Scholarship Sports Scholarship for Hockey

EDWARD V. Sibford Art Scholarship

Boardman Highlights

The end of 2021-2022 academic year gave us an opportunity to reflect upon a full year in school, with no interruptions. Hooray! It really has flown by though, and the saying ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ is truly apt in this instance.

Highlights of my week are certainly times spent with the children, and this year I have been lucky enough to spend two afternoons each week in our Early Years classrooms, an afternoon teaching Art in FIV, whilst also having the pleasure of accompanying all the children on their residential trips. Sofa Time continues to be a real hit with the children in PP1, PP2, FIII and FIV, although I think it is the promise of a tasty treat that the children love best! Monday morning assemblies are a super opportunity to all come together, focus on a theme, celebrate achievements and enjoy a good old sing song. What better way to kick start the week?!

Reflections of the past year……

It only seems like a few weeks ago that FIII were off on their Bushcraft adventure, sleeping under canvas in our woodland village in the depths of the Northamptonshire countryside. The children wowed us with their resilience, curiosity, independence, and empathy skills, all of which really come into play on a school trip such as this.

Next it was PP2’s turn…..a sleepover in school was planned for our youngest children who venture out on an overnight adventure. This prepared them well for Woodrow, where again they did

themselves proud and they got stuck into all the activities on offer. Prior to this year, our PP2 children’s last full uninterrupted year in the classroom was when they were in Kindergarten and with limited opportunities for sleepovers over recent years, they certainly demonstrated determination, compassion, self-belief, team work and coping skills in copious amounts.

And finally, our FIV children set off on their twonight adventure to Longridge where they were able to have a go at both water and land-based activities. For some, this was an opportunity to overcome fears or have a go at something new, supported by friends and teachers. Courage, trust, perseverance, motivation, and coping skills were all observed in abundance. It was also an opportunity for the children to celebrate their time in the Boardman as their FIV year came to a close.

In addition to these overnight experiences, the Boardman children have enjoyed numerous workshops, day trips, Forest School lessons, performances, boarding nights, Club events and sporting opportunities, all of which complement the academic teaching and learning which takes place daily. You can read more about these in this year’s edition of The Beachburian.

So, all in all it has been a year where we have been able to return to some degree of normality, however one cannot underestimate the impact that Covid has had on our children and us as adults. Everyone has demonstrated remarkable character over the past 12 months that is for sure!

“Crisis doesn’t create character, it reveals it.”

But what is character? What does it mean? Put simply, character is a set of personal traits or dispositions that produce emotions, inform motivation and guide how we behave. These might include self-belief, motivation, persistence, self-control, and coping skills, which help us bounce back after a disappointment or setback, along with virtues like compassion, curiosity, civility and determination.

These virtues and character traits have never been more important as our young people steer their way through post pandemic times. Resilience can provide children with the strength to navigate through the adversity; compassion can create a culture of understanding and empathy for how others have been affected.

“The current circumstances have affected modern society in ways that were unimaginable in the past, but the role that strong character can play in our ability to respond in a wise and compassionate way, remains the same.”

All at Beachborough work consciously and conscientiously to make it a place where children from the age of two and a half are able to acquire the character virtues that lead to success in school and university, in work and life beyond. Children are encouraged to decide wisely about the kind of person they wish to become and to learn to make positive choices about their behaviour.

Our intellectual characteristics underpin our school’s ethos and culture and have certainly helped to positively galvanise our school community over the past year. In addition, our extensive and rich co-curricular provision provide opportunities for our pupils to reflect upon and understand how their character is being forged through the experience.

“The development of good character has been recognised since ancient times as crucial for people and society to flourish.”

To help our children develop good character, we endeavour to be good role models, encourage empathy and seeing things from a different perspective, take the time to say thank you and help children to understand consequences. Through our rich and exciting creative curriculum, we focus on teaching pupils to be their best selves, to take pride in their work, and to be positive members of the school, and their wider communities.

We want to create children who thrive on challenge, love learning, respect each other and have attributes that will ensure that they will be valued members of our society.

Not that I’m at all biased, however I firmly believe that we are successful in our mission to do just that. Proof is in the pudding and all, so to end my article this year, here are some thoughts from the children:

Respect is: An attitude of caring for others with dignity and kindness, even if you are feeling annoyed or frustrated.

Taking others’ thoughts and ideas into account. Speaking with politeness and acting with courtesy.

Looking after people’s property. Following the rules of your family or school. Listening to others.

Courage is: Being brave. Trying new things even if we feel afraid of doing them.

Facing our fears. Being strong on the inside so we can be the best that we can be.

Standing up for something that you believe is right….sometimes this is daunting or perhaps a bit scary!

Without courage: People would miss out on trying new things. You can’t achieve your goals. We would not challenge or bring about change. Your life won’t be as good as it could be. Society would never change.

Parents, may I take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support, we are super proud of all your children, they really are a pleasure to be with every day and are a real credit to themselves, Beachborough and you, their parents. We wish our FIV children all the very best as they embark on their next chapter in the Manor House and look forward to welcoming everyone back in September for another successful year ahead. For those families and staff members who are leaving us this summer we wish you all the very best for the future.

Carolyn Sharps

Nursery and Kindergarten

Once upon a time at Beachborough School, there was a class of amazing children.

They loved learning, having adventures and of course, storytelling. They adventured inside and outside; in the forest and on wellie wanders; in the theatre and in the Sports Hall. No challenge was too big because they were a team.

Team Nursery and Kindergarten, thank you for taking us on your adventures... and as we like to say in class, let’s see what happened!

Zoe Pritchard

Nursery & Kindergarten Sports Day

Reception

The Reception teachers could not be prouder of their children this year. Across the classes, the children have demonstrated a remarkable unity, showing great compassion for each other and sharing in each others’ celebrations, whether they be birthdays, achievements in the classroom or new babies at home!

Across the classes, the children have demonstrated a remarkable unity, showing great compassion for each other and sharing in each others’ celebrations, whether they be birthdays, achievements in the classroom or new babies at home!

During our first term together, we spent a long time getting to really know each other, talking about our families, creating family trees and of course sharing photos of our favourite toys! We learnt about the importance of looking after our bodies, our teeth and our emotions. We also spent time considering what makes a good friend, setting ourselves up for a really fun year!

The end of the Autumn term culminated in our Christmas Nativity. This is always a very special event for the children involved, but as the first performance that parents have attended for a couple of years, this was a particularly moving show that will stay with the teachers for a long time. The mood of the show was of course helped by the participation of our marvellous parents, adorning their festive hats and glasses!

A real highlight of our year was our Spring term Pirates topic, during which time we learnt about how pirates lived, where they may have travelled to and course how they did (or did not!) look after themselves! This topic concluded with our fabulous Pirates Day when everyone looked fantastic! We climbed aboard our ship ‘The Reception Raiders’ and explored the Beachborough Oceans. Making our own snacks and fighting for the defence of our vessel, we had quite the adventurous day! Our second trip of the Spring term was to Buckingham Library where we experienced what it was like to be a Librarian. At the Buckingham Library we experienced what it was like to be a librarian and explored the different genres of books available to us and how to find them. Although our ‘Spring’ picnic was cut somewhat short by snow, we had a lovely time exploring Evenley Woods, spotting a wide variety of fauna and flora. It was also a treat to come back to school and finish our packed lunches in the classroom!

The final summer term has demonstrated to us just what a journey the children have been on through their time in Reception. As we began our topic of Transport, we held a number of in-depth and mature discussions that really demonstrated the extent of our children’s knowledge, understanding and curiosity. This demonstrated to us how ready the children were to begin more independent work, and they began to use a range of sources to find the answers to questions they had asked. Looking at transport through time particularly triggered our children’s interests, and what a surprise it was to learn that not everything in life was actually black and white and as it is shown in historic photos….!

Mrs Sumner and Miss Cooper have had the most wonderful year and would like to thank our lovely children for making it such a treat to come to school each day.

Charlotte Cooper and Tanya Sumner

Early Years Play: Nativity

Pre-Prep 1

The beginning of the year saw the Pre-Prep 1 classes transformed into a woodland ready for our topic on ‘Tall Trees that Reach the Sky’.

Frequent visits to the woods to identify the different trees and learn about their life cycles made the topic very real, and the children quickly became experts on spotting deciduous and evergreen trees. In Science they explored materials and made super sensory boards that they kindly gifted to the children in the Kindergarten.

‘The Big Book Bash’ with its Book Café, DEAR Time and Art activities, really inspired the children to pick up and enjoy stories with their friends. For many of the children, this was a springboard into the world of imagination, discovery and independent reading.

Dressed in factory clothing, the children went back to 1950 in the Spring Term. Clocking in at 8.30am and working a days shift in the ‘Vintage Toy Factory’, they discovered and compared toys from the past and the present. The Quality Control Inspector and Factory Owner came round to check that they were working hard on the factory floor and keeping up the required high standards with new toy designs. They finished the topic by spending the day at Banbury Museum exploring, drawing and playing with a variety of old toys and dressing up in Victorian costumes.

After half term the children took to the sky and explored the history of flight and famous aviators. The children were amazed to see how planes have changed since the Wright Brothers first prototype. At the end of the term the children performed an assembly based on their learning for their parents. They presented a variety of facts about flight and aviators, performed songs and recited the whole story of ‘Emma Jane’s Aeroplane’. A great achievement!

To commemorate the Jubilee, over the Summer Term the children learnt about Queen Elizabeth, her family and the Commonwealth. In English, they discovered the Queen had lost her hat, and followed clues through the woods in the hope of finding it for her. Despite a long, and at times, perilous adventure, the hat had come to land safely in a lilac bush at the edge of the car park! It was wrapped up and posted back to the Queen with a letter from all of the PrePrep 1 children, wishing her a wonderful Jubilee year. Back in the classroom the children enjoyed designing hats and handbags for the Queen to wear to important events. After discovering the vital role the Queen fulfils, the children explored two commonwealth countries. Ms Sharps talked about her adventures in India and Tona’s parents

shared what is it like to live in Nigeria. They tasted foods and discovered a little of their culture and traditions.

The children have had an amazing year and the Pre-Prep 1 staff have thoroughly enjoyed watching them grow and develop.

Rowe and Verity Sanders

Aimee

Pre-Prep 2

What a year for PP2! With an actionpacked start, we have explored so many topics...

We started off the year reminiscing about the summer holidays with a trip to Costa Del Beachborough for our first topic of Coastlines. Luckily, the weather was on our side and the addition of an ice cream van made for a perfect day! The children worked hard to create a postcard to send to friends and family and went on to compare seaside holidays past and present, noticing the differences between location, activities and clothing.

Our interest in History was further piqued when we returned to 1666 to recreate the Great Fire of London in Pudding Lane. The children showed off their STEAM skills recreating Tudor Houses from cardboard boxes, only to watch their hard work go up in flames! They noted the cause of the fire was not only the bakery but the style of building and layout of the streets which caused the terrible blaze. They set up their own apothecary, writing recipes and making posies to

protect them from the plague, foraging in the forest for ingredients.

Next, PP2 travelled around the world! With some help from our fantastic Beachborough community we were able to visit each of the 7 continents with talks from parents. Thank you so much for your fun and interesting talks as well as sharing some delicacies with us! The final term in PP2 has seen the children experience their first residential at Woodrow High House. To help prepare for this experience, the children spent the night at school, for Bananas in Pyjamas, the first sleepover for many. They were lucky to enough to have a story and hot chocolate with Mr. Pritchard and got at least a few hours’ of sleep unlike the teachers! The independence they showed overnight stood them in great stead for Woodrow where the instructors commented on their perseverance and collaboration as true Beachburians. The children have certainly made the most of their time in the Pre-Prep and are eager to continue their Beachborough adventure into Form III.

Ella Keen and Anya Thomas

Pre-Prep 2 Woodrow Residential

The intrepid travellers of PP2 returned after a fantastic residential at Woodrow in May.

The children conquered their fears participating in activities like Low Ropes where they had to clamber across an obstacle course using their teamwork skills to support them getting across.

As true Beachburians, they were most at home out in the forest cooking their own popcorn over an open fire as part of their Bushcraft activity. Their collaboration and communication skills were put to the test during Nightline where they were blindfolded and had to communicate with one another about upcoming hazards! As an onlooker, the children worked brilliantly in all the activities, a testament to their friendship and collaboration as a year group. The staff were very proud of all the children who really challenged themselves to go out of their comfort zone, whether that was staying away from home or a fear of heights!

Ella Keen and Anya Thomas

Pre-Prep Nativity

Form III

What an incredible year it has been in Form III!

With an adventurous start, we immersed ourself in nature during our Bushcraft trip, then explored the human and physical Geography of the UK, discovered the exhilarating history of the Ancient Egyptians and Romans and finally took a trip to the rainforest to bring The Jungle Book to life.

To start the Autumn Term, with their sleeping bags at the ready, Form III stepped off the coach into a nature lovers’ dream, learning important survival skills and building their teamwork and collaboration skills. They learnt how to make fire to cook their own food and what was required to construct a successful shelter for a night in the

wild. An action packed evening followed with stories and marshmallows around the campfire, before settling down with their friends under canvas for the night.

The Spring term brought great positivity and renewed enthusiasm for learning as the children returned to school with bundles of energy. Having worked extremely hard exploring the Ancient Egyptians and artistically recreating their various artifacts, the children were keen to reignite their friendships and plough full steam ahead into our rather riveting Roman Day where we made our own coins, shields and Colosseums

and even learnt a little Latin! This then led into some amazing learning opportunities centered around our key text of Romans on the Rampage.

Introducing our topic about rainforests and plants, we journeyed to the Living Rainforest to experience the fantastic array of animals and plants that thrive there. They then applied this knowledge to create observational drawings and explain how many species are able to adapt to their environments. This half term also enabled us to showcase our theatrical and dramatic prowess during our Form III assembly, highlighting our spectacular year.

Writing this article, we can confidently say that Form III have been a true delight to teach and have demonstrated such incredible maturity and responsibility across all of their subjects, embedding skills that will be built on in years to come. Well done Form III - what an incredibly successful and memorable year for all!

Lisa Southwick, Danielle Hyde and Will Broadbent

Form III Bushcraft Residential

The coach was filled with excited voices, as our Form III children ventured out on their Bushcraft residential trip, their first ever overnight stay organised by school.

Following a walk down a long track in Boughton Woods, we discovered our new home…..a large tented village in the middle of the woods! Our accommodation consisted of bell tents, an open-sided yurt, an open-air kitchen and a few porta-loos! We could see that there were not going to be any home comforts for our two-day, one-night stay!

The children immersed themselves in all the activities, ranging from fire lighting to camouflage, such fun when you can smother your teacher’s faces with mud! Shelter building, trap making, nature walks and toasting marshmallows on the fire were amongst the other activities on offer, all of which enabled the

children to establish new friendships and get to know their new teachers.

Throughout our stay the children demonstrated all of the Beachborough characteristics, whilst having fun and learning new skills. They embraced the opportunity of sleeping under canvas with their friends and demonstrated care and support towards each other, which was noticed by the camp staff. We are immensely proud of each and every one of them, particularly as this was their first residential experience post the Covid lockdowns.

Lisa Southwick, Danielle Hyde and Will Broadbent

Form IV

What a relief it has been to have had an uninterrupted year at school. The children have thrived and made the most of all the opportunities on offer. We have seen them grow and mature with their infectious enthusiasm for everything they do.

This year’s cohort have a bucket full of energy, creativity and spark and we know that they are ready and raring to begin their journey in the Manor House.

The Autumn term began with our topic on Ancient Egyptians. We leapt straight into English lessons with our book, Cinderella of the Nile and the children amazed us with their writing skills and ideas. We immersed ourselves further with Mr Jackson’s embalming workshop where the children learnt how to prepare a body for the Egyptian after-life, with much ‘oohing and aahing’. As part of art lessons, the children replicated themselves as Egyptian Pharoahs. In the second half of the term, we moved across the Atlantic to study the U.S.A. The children enjoyed learning about all the states, capital cities, National Parks and diverse geographical features. Alongside this, we read ‘The Matchstick Diary’ which introduced the idea of immigration to the children and stimulated lots of questions and interesting ideas. The whole school was able to collect on the front lawn for Remembrance Day this year, and at the same time, the children were writing moving monologues in English, as part of their study of the poem, Where the Poppies Now Grow.

We started 2022 by studying the Tudors, complemented by our visit to Holdenby House where the children learnt Tudor dancing, cooking and etiquette as well as combat skills. With the relaxing of Covid restrictions, we enjoyed

getting out and about beyond the realms of the classroom. The children enjoyed researching the Tudor galleons and the developments in mapping during that era. For the second half of term, we absorbed ourselves in the book ‘Little Vixen Street’, where the children were able to use their creativity by writing their own mystery stories.

Our final term has seen the children develop at a rapid rate. Our topics on the Maya and South America have allowed the children to further develop their research skills and become familiar with a faraway destination. A highlight of the term was a visit from Dr Dianne Davies, who is the UK’s only Maya expert. Her knowledge was extensive and she shared many interesting stories and intriguing facts about this ancient civilisation. This term was packed with activities including our production of An Inspector Calls, as well as our residential trip to Longridge near Marlow. The children’s experience at the outdoor adventure camp allowed them to show skills that we do not necessarily see in school and allowed them to push their resilience to the full, with great success.

It is all too easy to forget where the children started back in September and what they have achieved through their time in Form IV. Life in Form IV, let alone Beachborough, is very busy and the children have achieved a great deal! The children should be very proud of all their achievements, just as we are, and remind themselves of these when they face adversity, challenges and new experiences in Form V. They are ready to step up into the Manor House and embrace all aspects of Form V. Thank you for all your efforts, enthusiasm and can-do attitude which has made this year a very special one for all of us. We wish you all the very best of luck on the next step in your learning journey. Don’t be strangers next year, we are always here should you need us.

Mark Jackson, Suzie Johnson, Sara McNamara

Form IV Residential

In June, FIV ventured off to Longridge Activity Centre near Marlow. After unpacking and setting up camp we had lunch and got stuck into our first activity.

Land activities were the order of the day with crate stacking, giant swing and laser tag being the firm favourites! We celebrated Magnus’ birthday and then it was time for bed. After a somewhat early start the next morning, we began our water activities. Stand up paddle boarding, canoeing and raft building were enjoyed by all with most children and teachers ending up a tad wet! There were lots of tired children and by 9pm(ish) everyone was fast asleep.

Full of energy after a good nights sleep, everyone was excited for Thursday’s activities. Packing, a visit to the shop and dragon boating were scheduled and didn’t disappoint. We were super impressed with how the children conducted themselves.....they demonstrated lots of resilience, perseverance, empathy, team work and bucket loads of positive energy. They were an absolute delight to spend time with and we are incredibly proud of them all. What a fabulous celebration of the children’s time in the Boardman. Thank you FIV!

Carolyn Sharps

Form IV Production

During the second half of the Summer Term, the Form IV children delighted their parents and the children from the Boardman with their production of ‘An Inspector Calls.’

The children worked extremely hard to learn their lines and songs for the show and this really showed with their perfect performance. Within the play, there were sinister inspectors played by Magnus I, Erin K and Ariana M who all took on the role extremely well, delivering their lines with confidence and menace! The children also played well-known teachers in the school, parents and pupils, and each one delivered their lines beautifully and made us very proud. A big thank you to Mrs Chatfield who supported the children with the songs from the show; the singing was amazing, and every child seemed to have a blast! Well done Form IV, you were amazing- next stop the West End!!

Mark Jackson, Suzie Johnson, Sara McNamara

The Forest School

Throughout the year, Autumn through to Summer, the Forest School provides a vibrant and ever-changing colour palette that nurtures the mind, body and soul of our children.

From structured activities that support the academic curriculum to child-led play, they have:

• breathed fresh air listened to birdsong smelt the wildflowers

• felt the sunshine on their faces run freely with their friends picked dandelions

• gazed at passing clouds thrown fallen leaves in the air

• squeezed mud between their fingers splashed in puddles

Here are just a few short stories from Forest School this year...

Nursery & Kindergarten

We love nothing more than getting suited and booted for Forest School. Each time we go, we start our fun adventure by practising the Forest School rules, including the big run and joining and leaving the log circle safely. Our visits this year have included visiting the little woods where we have roasted marshmallows on the open fire and re-enacted some of our favourite stories. Our imaginative skills have been put to good use when we’ve been choosing natural materials to make soup and potions! We’ve thoroughly enjoyed exploring the wider environment when we’ve visited the big woods. Our confidence and independence have grown and we can balance and walk along the tree trunks really well now. One of the many things we have learnt about the woods, is that we must respect nature and tread carefully so that we can all enjoy the beautiful snow drops.

Reception

Visiting the forest school each week gives us a chance to explore our natural environment, play with our friends and develop our gross motor skills in a large open space where we can climb, carry, push, pull, crawl, squeeze, slide and stand.

At times this year, we have used the forest as a place to cement our Maths skills; searching for 2D shapes, finding pairs of numbers to five and comparing sizes, weights and capacities.

At other times it has extended our literacy and creativity, providing the setting for a story, or the home of a character. It has also been a place where we can discuss the changes we notice through the seasons and share observations about growth, sunlight and weather. Most importantly however, it has been a place where our curiosity can go on a boundless journey and our friends become valuable colleagues in the pursuit of our joint forest ventures.

Pre-Prep 1 & 2

No matter what the weather, we pull on our Forest School kit and race out to have fun outdoors. Over the winter we explored tracking, leaving arrows and pebble signs for each other and chased paper kites across the fields on very windy days. We’ve made journey sticks with autumn leaves, made homes for woodland animals and chalked snails onto the paths. We really enjoyed weaving with wildflowers and grass and planting bulbs for Mother’s Day. In the Forest School we took apart the old bug hotel and recycled natural materials and plant pots to build a new and inviting bug hotel that we are very proud of. As the Summer months warmed our days, we enjoyed cooking camp donuts on the campfire!

Form III & IV

Over the winter, we explored different ways to measure traps and worked hard on our worm charming techniques. We scoured the woods for unusual animal tracks and set traps to catch the unpredictable beasts in the darkest, deepest part of the woods. As the lighter evenings lit up the woods, we worked together to build and test natural beds for comfort, warmth and entertainment value. We were very pleased with our sturdy pig pens that managed to enclose a very angry pig. With buddy burners we have cooked pancakes by torch light, and cooked breakfast over the open fire. Bake Off, came to the woods in April and the dark chocolate with vanilla and caramel glaze was a clear winner. We all agreed that the ‘Wild Beasty Assault Course’ with its badgers’ tunnels, hedgehogs beds and spiders webs was the best fun!

Verity Sanders

Form V

Form V have been a dream to support and guide in the Manor House this year. They are a wonderful team with a love of life, learning and demonstrate an incredible ‘can do’ attitude.

We have learnt many skills and knowledge around the Manor House this year as well as from listening and watching one another. Our year group gatherings have been a special moment in time in which we celebrated little wins as well as the stumbles. We have learnt to recognise that sometimes the stumbles can be the most valuable lessons.

One of the highlights of the year has to be our year group trip to York. This was a triumph for

the children as well as an important milestone on their Beachborough journey. After some incredibly unsettled years due to the pandemic, the children fully embraced the wonderful city of York and soaked up every inch of what it had to offer.

There are too many magical moments to mention here but here comes a few! The Jorvik centre was a sensory explosion for the children as they embarked on a journey through time, the smells are possibly still lingering!

The hostel we stayed in will always bring a smile to our faces and the delicious food was a hit, especially the macaroni cheese! The boat trip was a peaceful experience and a chance to sit back and listen to some York history, who knew that York is considered the UK’s most haunted city? Spooky!

On return from the trip, the children appeared to have grown in maturity and resilience and there was certainly a sense of pride and accomplishment on their faces!

Thank you for a wonderful year Form Vlll, you really are true superstars!

Chantelle Harrison

Form V York Trip

As we set off on Monday, the Old Library was filled with butterflies in tummies and lots of excitement!

We had a great journey and the children looked simply awestruck as we approached the incredible sight that is York Minster.

The stained-glass windows were every colour of the rainbow and we even managed to hunt dragons hidden throughout the Minster walls and windows.

Many of us decided to accept the mammoth challenge of climbing the Minster tower and after some serious huffing and puffing we reached the top and all agreed the view was definitely worth it!

The Shambles didn’t disappoint, and the traditional sweet shop was a little hard to bypass! The hostel we stayed at was excellent and the food was plentiful and delicious. I have never seen so many platefuls of Mac and Cheese disappear so quickly on the first evening, not to mention the chocolate cake on evening two!

Day two was full of Viking wonders. Our senses were ignited at the Jorvik centre and some of us still can’t quite get the smell of the Viking loo out of our noses!

We enjoyed being archaeologists at the ‘Dig’ and discovered treasures and artefacts through the ages.

Chantelle Harrison

Form VI

Don’t cry because it’s over… smile because it happened.” And, wow, we have a lot to smile about!

Form VI children have had a truly magical year together. They have demonstrated what it means to be true Beachburians, showing kindness, empathy, respect, and collaboration. Our ‘Star Board’ has been a wonderful way to celebrate the many successes seen throughout the year and to highlight examples of exemplary behaviour. One of our favourite treats had to be the giant game of ‘Hide and Seek’ in the Manor House!

This year, in our assemblies, we followed a valuesbased approach, with each month focusing on a different value. Trust, peace, resilience and integrity are just a few examples of the values we have explored together. It has been wonderful to see the children engage with each one, sharing their stories, expressing their thoughts, and even dressing up as scientists!

As this academic year ended, we said goodbye to many of our fantastic Form VI children, who will be missed dearly. However, we said ‘farewell’ with happy hearts, as we know they will head off on their new adventures, ready to shine, with that bright, Beachborough sparkle. It’s been a positive and memorable year for Form VI. So, we will try our best not to cry because it’s over but, instead, look back fondly on the incredible journey we have had together, and smile.

Ruth Andrew

Form VI CTI Day

Form VII

What an amazing year! From Romeo and Juliet, to a sleepless night following Alton Towers, it has certainly not been a year to forget in Form VII. Firstly, a big thank you to each and every student in the Form as they have made me feel so welcome every day. I am definitely going to miss my daily interactions with such an amazing group of young people and the positivity they have brought to my daily life.

On our first day as a year group, with a very nervous new Year Group Coordinator, I challenged the children to a quiz about their tutors, with the aim of showing we were slightly more ‘normal’ than they may first have expected. I think it was fair to say that there was a few intakes of breath as the students were let into the world of some pretty astonishing moments from the lives of our staff. A sneak peek at some of the questions from that day!

• Which member of staff was an extra in Harry Potter?

Who named their dog after a Chelsea football player?

Who was almost arrested as a child? Who travelled around Greece on a motorbike?

The enthusiasm and personalities of the children came out that day and I have been fortunate enough to see them truly flourish as the year has progressed.

The true brilliance of Form VII began to shine when we came together to start our Form assembly, exploring the life and times of Aaron Phipps! As I nervously pitched the idea of a ‘normal’ man from the New Forest to them one morning, with the added idea of singing Miley Cyrus (a theme to my year), I expected a rather lukewarm response. However, as I came to realise, Form VII are always up for a challenge and always up to give anything a go with a smile on their faces. The assembly went flawlessly, with ‘it’s the climb’ blaring out of the Whybrow for all of Westbury to hear.

Such moments will live long in my memory, but Christmas 2021 was when they showed, once again, their kindness and empathetic nature. As it was Ruby’s final day at Beachborough, every child created a guard of honour as we sung ‘Ruby Ruby Ruby’ by the Kaiser Chiefs. A memory for Ruby to treasure and something I was immensely proud of the year group for.

As the children may have told you, I am prone to the odd quirky idea. One of which amounted in each child being given a single Lego brick, with the expectation this should be looked after to showcase their organisation and independence. The picture below shows which students have managed to guard their Lego brick since November last year. If any rogue Lego blocks are found in Beachborough households, I can only apologise!

What seemed so innocent and simple to the Form was something that gave me goosebumps. With no instruction, as a Form, they created their own conga line, dancing up a storm along the front terrace in their hats for Wear a Hat day. It was just another example of a great group of individuals coming together as a team.

A fitting end to our year together was the Form VII trip to Alton Towers; a chance to celebrate our year together whilst pushing our limits! Always wanting to see children push themselves out of their comfort zone, I was delighted that every child went on a ride, all with tales of enjoyment to take home.

When we returned to school, the children were offered free time and it once again showed us how they have matured. As tutors, we took a step back and watched as the form enjoyed themselves playing cricket, eating pizza and just enjoying the company of each other.

Although it has only been a short time, I can honestly say that every child in the Form has left a mark on me. They are in an amazing position to lead the school in Form VIII and I cannot wait to hear about their success as they grow. I am incredibly proud of each and every one of you and I hope you will always take the message ‘Take inspiration from everyone around you’ on your journey through life.

Tamlyn Goodrich

Please scan the QR code to read and hear about some of our memories from the year!

Form VIII

It seems incredible you are ready to go already! It seems seconds since our first assembly when I told you about the amazing year you would have and the special experiences that you would be able enjoy. At that time, I challenged you to be the best you could be, and you have risen to that challenge over and over again.

Education is not a destination it is a journey. Form VIII has only been a small part of that journey. We hope that you have left Beachborough with special memories that make you smile whenever you think of your time with us. Whether it be a school trip, dressing up for charity, Sports’ Day, performing in a show or listening to an inspirational speaker, our aim

has always been to give you the best quality education alongside a range of experiences that will prepare you well for life. We hope that you take what you learned with us and use it to shape your future. Remember to always aspire to great things. Set yourself the highest bar and work hard to achieve your goals. There will always be times when life tries to knock you off course and slow you down, try to not let the knocks stop you from realising your dreams.

Of course, school is about more than exams and lessons. We know that many of you have made friends that you will have for the rest of your life and built relationships that have shaped you and how you see the world. We know it hasn’t always been plain sailing! Some of you spent a lot of time in Mrs Blithe’s room, falling out and making up again but, you’ve made it now and have grown into responsible young adults. We hope we always supported you to make wise choices, treat people with respect and to be kind towards each other. As you move on to new chapters in your life, some of those friendships will thrive and others will drift as you make new friends at senior school, work or university but you will always remember the relationships you formed at Beachborough.

Remember, that you have always made us proud. Your teachers have always enjoyed teaching you, they talk about how switched on you were as a

year group and how you were going to ‘smash’ all previous results and how right they were with the number of scholarships achieved!

Finally, we want to wish you all the very best for the future. Please keep in touch and let us know what you are doing. It is always wonderful to hear about the success stories of Old Beachburians and to feel that sense of pride that we might have helped you to achieve something great. Remember, as long as you can look yourself in the mirror and say you have done your best, no one can ask more than that.

Susi Blithe

Form VIII Leavers’ Dinner

Form VIII Leavers’ Residential

Forms III-VIII Sports Day

TEDWhat a difference a year makes! Especially when you get to spend all of it in the workshop. Back to some semblance of normality has, I think, been the best thing about this year and the children have loved getting back into the swing of making things in our Ted Suite.

As always, it’s an absolute pleasure to welcome Form III into the building for the first time for their lessons. They have all had a terrific year and as usual we don’t hang about, and they were very quickly using the electric saw and pillar drills to create 3 different types of boats in the Autumn term and a rainforest themed cam mechanism toy in the Summer. Their Spring term saw them mastering CAD for the first time to make their beautiful Roman influenced Noughts and Crosses boards, and they are in great shape to now progress up to Form IV.

Making paper is a messy business but someone’s got to do it and Form IV loved it! To tie in with their Egyptian studies, they not only created the paper but first of all had to create the frames otherwise known as the deckle and mould. We even managed some Christmas cards at the end of the project as well. The Spring Term saw them catching up on learning CAD and making some mini LED lights with Mandala etched inserts and we then continued the cross curricular links in Summer with a bit of Ancient Maya weaving. Again they had to create the loom first, which was laser cut, but then once the weaving began, there was no stopping them.

Not to be outdone by our younger learners, our Manor house children have also made some brilliant products this year. One of my current favourite projects is the torch project for Form V. One small, soldered circuit board – over 50 different, unique, crazy and creative designs! I was gutted that they all wanted to take them home straight away so we couldn’t put them on display. That’s the problem with making cool

stuff, the children do actually want to use them! Their mandala lights were also very successful, consolidating their soldering skills, and the Summer term has seen us dabbling in a bit of photography courtesy of Mr Knowles (who is an incredible photographer) and playing around with filter effects and learning a bit of Adobe Lightroom too.

I think it’s really vital that the majority of our projects are based around making useful items. Not only does this give our children a focus, we often stipulate that they must think about who they are making this for, but it also makes it far more meaningful, and the joy of giving someone something that you have made, specifically for them, is very special. Our Form VI desk tidies were a case in point this year with many parents receiving a tailor-made desk tidy on Christmas morning. However, there are also times where we just need to brush up on skills or take a look at a specific discipline and then Form VI architecture project, focussing on Le Corbusier and the influence he had on modern architecture resulted in some stunning models based on the Villa Savoye.

I love coming across new techniques or processes that I can share with the children or adapt for a new project, and the living hinge was one such illustration. Take a piece of 6mm plywood and ask the children to bend it. Obviously, no chance. But by putting a series of lines in a specific pattern using the laser cutter, the wood can bend completely over. We used this to then create a “book box” and with a bit a Photoshop thrown in for the front cover, and some woodwork for the box inside, the finished product was terrific.

The living hinge wooden book box is also a great example of how one project can incorporate many different skills – again something that I’m pretty keen on. Whether it’s a mixture of CAD and more traditional woodworking skills or electronics and textiles, it keeps it fresh for the curriculum and can also produce some really creative results.

Our Form VII and VIII’s have had a particularly tough time with the lockdowns so it has been a bit of a catch-up year for them on the skills front. Our soap making project is looking like becoming a firm favourite for the Autumn term and the Form VII Solar Power Garden light inspired by the Bauhaus movement was also another example where many skills were incorporated into one project. Their Summer term saw them brushing up on their technical drawing and woodwork techniques with some fantastic Bauhaus Bee Boxes too. Form VIII made pizza cutters for the first time as well as some very dynamic acrylic lamps and they should all be very proud of what they have achieved this year.

Another group who should be very proud of themselves are our scholars. This year has seen more success for 4 of our children with George H., Freddie T. and Ned C. all being awarded technology and design scholarships to their senior schools and Will M. awarded an exhibition as well. Our scholarship program continues to grow year on year which is exactly what we need to address the shortage of engineers in this country.

Encouraging our children to love this subject is actually not very hard as we do have so many resources available to us in our workshop which naturally makes it very exciting. It’s our pleasure to share this with children from our wider community and our CTI day this year was a huge success. With over 120 Form VI children both from our own year group and from visiting primary schools, spending the whole day immersed in the world of bikes was really an honour to be part of. From BMX skills, to computerised gears to generating smoothies by exercise and creating pedalling automatons, the camaraderie amongst all the groups was magical.

We have also managed some trips this year both to the Design Museum and to both Malvern School and Uppingham to take part in their design events and it’s great to be back and able to take part in these events again. My thanks to these schools for welcoming us.

We have also welcomed some wonderful guest speakers to Beachborough as part of our brand new TED Talks Program. This has been a very well attended event from the outset and will certainly continue as the children get to hear about all the

great jobs in design, technology, and industry that they could go on to do. My thanks again to all our speakers. From flying in the Red Arrows, to working in Formula 1 and running your own Greenpower race team, they have all been totally inspirational to our pupils.

Another big change has been the addition of a long-needed technician. We welcomed Mrs Oram up to the Manor House in September after many years’ experience helping our younger learners in the Boardman. Totally thrown in the deep end with all that we do, Mrs Oram has certainly become a laser cutting aficionado this year and my thanks goes to her for all her support in the department. A department that is not just the two of us. I’m also very fortunate to work with both Mrs Smith and Mr Knowles who help out with Form VII and VIII lessons, and also Miss Carpenter who started to sneak into our Form VIII lessons earlier this year having studied this subject at Uni. I don’t know what I would do without all of them! Another lovely year completed in the TED suite. Thank you.

Hodgkinson

Cam

Computing

Computing continues to provide an engaging and futuristic curriculum which encourages our pupils to develop an interest in, and the skills required, to use the technology around them. Lessons are hands on and enhance resilience, aiming to engage, enthuse and develop problem solving skills to open our pupils’ eyes to the digital world.

Computing underpins the digital world our pupils live in, as technology continues to develop, and is also at the core of new developments and the careers our pupils will be seeking. They need to be equipped with the skills to solve problems in technology which do not yet exist. Whether it’s using the phone in their pocket or launching rockets into space, Computing and technology are at the heart of our pupil’s world and to meet that need this year has seen the exciting launch of our TED talks.

All our talks have been fascinating, a huge thank you to Gary Foote, CIO at Haas F1 Team. Mike Ling talking about his amazing career in the aviation industry, including when he was in the Royal Air Force and flew with the Red Arrows and David Cullimore, Head of Innovation at ProDrive Ventures. It was great to see so many of our children attend these talks and ask so many pertinent questions too!

Form VI also enjoyed a fabulous CTI day. Pupils were split into teams to take part in a carousel of engaging and informative sessions, all centred around this year’s theme of Pedal Power, Bike Engineering, and Innovation.

Form V enjoyed a fantastic trip to Bletchley Park. Taking part in an interactive workshop, in which pupils used practical problem solving and team working skills as they began to understand the scale of the task faced by Bletchley Park’s codebreakers during World War Two. Followed by a guided tour around the outside of the buildings, providing opportunity for us to delve deeper into the story of Bletchley Park and the process of sending, intercepting, and decrypting coded messages.

Susi Blithe

Science

With uncertainties associated with COVID diminishing, there was no holding us back in September.

The Form VIII had a splendid overdue Wetlands day and the weather was just perfect. The Form VIII CE clinics started up again along with early morning Scholar sessions and whilst, understandably warranting a small groan, they undoubtedly helped with all 4 pupils securing the awards they had worked so hard for.

We managed to squeeze in a visit from Zoolab, allowing the Form VI and VIII pupils to see and handle animals demonstrating unusual adaptations. The Form VIII were treated to their first visit to Stowe Schools Science department with an afternoon of Chemistry, challenges and prizes to be won. All were quick to don their Stowe lab coats and without exception worked with focus, interest and energy.

With changes to the new ISEB Science CE syllabus, it was a time for reflection on our Schemes of Work. It is reassuring to see the ISEB placing greater emphasis on the investigative element of Science, an element we have always championed at Beachborough. We continue to prioritise the practical skills, investing in a plethora of practical equipment, keeping our lessons, fresh, exciting and innovative.

The start of the spring term brought about worldwide news reports of the James Webb telescope, but we too had our own launch, at Beachborough, of our new Astronomy Club. With Mr Aldworth taking the lead on this project, an enthusiastic and keen group of budding astronomers were treated to some splendid evenings star gazing. We learnt about how telescopes worked, their manual operation and about the constellations above us. With the

lighter nights creeping in the club was short lived, but its popularity means it’s sure to return in the Autumn term.

With the Spring synonymous with Science week, Form VII were able to participate in a National Science competition run by Shrewsbury school, Form VIII viewed online lectures by Warwick University and Form V were introduced to the Swab and Send scheme run by Dr Roberts at Liverpool University, a scheme we have now supported for the third year running and a truly invaluable project for the future. The school had a special mention on the University Swab and Send facebook page with several swabs showing

potential antibiotic properties. The children were keen to learn of the results, with highlights being an interesting lack of microbes on the brass dining hall bell ( triggering discussion of the properties of brass ). There were also a number of isolated colonies that Dr Roberts intended to investigate further for their antibacterial activity against E coli, MRSA and M Luteus and we await with bated breath for further news on these.

The Form VI CTI day quickly followed on from Science week and whilst requiring much planning and newly created resources, the children enjoyed testing the frictional properties of a range of bike tyres on different surfaces. Seeing the collaboration and conversations between the children from different schools was uplifting. Pupils shared their expertise, with some confident in using newton meters whilst others were keen to demonstrate their mathematical skills in calculating means and ranges. They pooled results, speculated, predicted and questioned the readings obtained. It was a wonderful day with the activity enabling the children to dovetail their understanding of bikes and information gleaned from the external speakers with the ‘hands on’ element of Science and the mathematical skills associated. A great success.

With the summer term hot on the heels and a Platinum Jubilee to fit in, we still managed a Wetlands Day / Stowe Science afternoon for Form VII and also took the opportunity to make use of our newly purchased Data Loggers to supplement those borrowed from Stowe School.

The year has passed like a whirlwind and whilst we sadly had to say goodbye to Dr Aston her contributions will not be forgotten, with her cookie mining practical well established in the Energy Resources Scheme of work. In her place we welcome Mr Luke Ireland who will join us in September and will bring his own level of energy and passion to the department. With lots of senior school practical science experience under his belt he will undoubtedly make an excellent addition to the team.

Lisa Smith

Maths

Here at Beachborough we are committed to changing perceptions about mathematics. Historically viewed by many as rigid, logical and yes, even boring, we aim to engage and highlight the creativity and sheer wonder and delight this subject can provide.

From our Early Years onwards, learning through play and investigation has continued to be our focus throughout the year. With multiple paths possible to solve many problems, exploration deepens understanding and moves lessons away from rote memorisation of formulas, to fostering a culture of curiosity and growth mindset in our pupils.

All of our young mathematicians have enjoyed: exciting and varied activities; opportunities to learn and use mathematical language in their discussions; collaborating with their peers of all abilities and learning about the practical and very important application of maths in their everyday life, with cross-curricular links being strongly promoted.

Whist the outcome of a maths calculation is either right or wrong, our older mathematicians have also been working on adapting to the concept that the outcome is actually the least important aspect; the skills and understanding needed to get to that point are much more significant.

Our teachers have produced creative and stimulating lessons, peppered with references to the historical origins of many concepts that are thousands of years old but still hold true today, together with new learning concepts such as bar modelling, all of which ensure our pupils have received a rich, entertaining and engaging maths curriculum.

Karen Berrington

EnglishHow fantastic to be back in the classroom! We began the year with a crack-down on handwriting. Too many months behind a screen and without a pen had meant a backwards step for some – but it didn’t take long for the muscle memory to kick in and we were back where we should be.

With poetry the main focus of the Christmas term, the Beachborough Club Poetry Competition was, once again, a resounding success. Mrs. Sophie Rickner, our guest judge from nearby Stowe school, was hugely complimentary of our finalists. In recent years, the finalists have gone on to challenge themselves by entering the ‘National Poetry by Heart’ competition, and 2021 was no different. Although we didn’t quite take podium places this year, we were awarded four ‘Commended’ certificates (Ben H., VI; Isla C.B., VI; Harry B., VII) and two prestigious ‘Highly Commended’ certificates (William A., VI and a Form VII (AH) choral group) and so we were delighted. A visit from the celebrated filmmaker, explorer and author, Matt Dickinson was a highlight of our World Book Day celebrations. His fascinating talk, accompanied by some incredible photographs and real-life footage, took us on a phenomenal adventure up Everest. Matt is someone who has lived, and is living, life to the full. It is by inviting such inspirational speakers to Beachborough that we truly open the minds of our children, and I can safely say that the race to be the first Beachburian to scale Everest is on!

We absolutely loved the production of “The Tempest” by The Young Shakespeare Company in March. It was a marvellous interpretation of the play, with the four young actors bringing it vividly to life. At times we, the audience, were

asked to create such dramatic scenes as the storm that wrecks Prospero’s boat (and what a noise we made) and the magical banquet, with which the spirits of the island trick Prospero’s enemies - just brilliant! We can’t wait for the next one.

The Easter holidays were chosen for the ‘Beachborough 500’ – our annual creative writing competition, and the lucky winners enjoyed a really wonderful trip to Oxford to watch the hysterical play, ‘Gangsta Granny’ at the New Theatre.

I can’t wait to see what next year brings!

Anna Howard

Geography

As the world has started to open up, so have Beachburians’ horizons, as they have enjoyed a packed curriculum in geography. Barack Obama stated that ‘the study of geography is about understanding the complexity of our world’ and that it’s about helping to ‘bridge divides and bring people together’. Watching the pupils working collaboratively and challenging their own perceptions, this certainly rings true at Beachborough.

Children in Form V have travelled the world in geography, from the UK’s rivers and mountain ranges to the deserts and savannahs of Africa. Along the way, they have honed their Ordnance Survey map skills, making their own maps of the woodland and using compasses to navigate, and they have learnt about development indicators, considering the link between GDP per capita and the Human Development Index. Working successfully in groups, they have created academic posters on the future of transport,

focusing upon their own self-selected topics ranging from flying cars to transporting animals using air travel.

Form VI started the year with a bang, as they studied their tectonics unit; they made plate boundaries out of Oreos, as they found out how each type of plate boundary forms earthquakes or volcanoes. As they moved onto their meteorology topic, they made models of the water cycle and explored microclimates around

the school site; by analysing the data, they decided where they would place a new picnic bench. We are blessed with many aesthetic options!

Children learnt about rivers and coasts in Form VII, learning fieldwork skills as they investigated the Great Ouse on site. They used modelling clay to form river and coastal features and they found innovative ways to remember the types of erosion, such as through short films or dramas. In their economy unit, they debated the benefits and costs of HS2, which brought out some strong views, as you can imagine!

Form VIII children also debated complex issues in our demography topic, as they considered the perils of overpopulation. They learnt about site factors, migration and settlement types, and they worked hard on their personal projects. They worked incredibly hard when revising for their final examination, and can all be proud of what they have achieved.

Voyagers’ Club members delved deeper into the subject in their Thursday evening session, as they entered national geography competitions. They set up and ran an engaging assembly for all pupils in Forms III – VIII, challenging the school’s locational knowledge. As I watched the sea of hands shoot up to answer which flag or which country was displayed, I was proud to note the huge number of capable geographers at Beachborough.

Exarheas

Katie

History

To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.” - Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman statesman and philosopher of the first century BCE

The study of History this year at Beachborough has been very much preparing the children to be able to move beyond their childhood to understand the world of the past. This year we have adopted a new approach to teaching History to Forms III-VI, with a more chronological order of studies.

Forms V and VI have been studying the Middle Ages with topics on Medieval conquest, social, political and religious topics. Form V also had a residential visit to York to enhance their understanding of this time period and put their knowledge and understanding into context.

Form VII have explored the Tudors, focusing on the influence of the different Tudor monarchs and how their characters changed over time. Form VIII have studied the early Stuarts focussing on the English Civil Wars. They have also had

the opportunity to show in-depth knowledge and understanding in their individual research projects, which have been on a wide range of subject areas, including those that are not typically studied at Beachborough.

I hope that the teaching and learning of History at Beachborough is the start of a life-long interest that will enable Beachburians to aspire to the idea of C.V. Wedgewood when she wrote: ‘An educated man should know everything about something and something about everything’.

Michael Sanders

Classics

This year we have continued to meet the demands of learning an ancient language and enjoy the wonderful world that the Romans inhabited.

Form VIII have battled on through to meet all our high expectations after three grueling years of Latin. Alice M and Tallulah H deserve a special recognition for their Herculean efforts to conquer the scholarship paper, so well done girls and I really hope you continue with your classical studies at your senior schools. A well done to all of the other Form VIIIs who stepped up to the challenge and really impressed in their final exam.

The Form VII’s have worked brilliantly all year, especially on the tedious but entirely necessary class tests! They have also enjoyed delving into Greek mythology and learning about the heroic, and somewhat foolish, deeds of the early Roman legends. They should look forward to more exciting times ahead with the introduction of the new classical civilisation syllabus.

It is hard to believe that back in September I had 42 nervous looking Form VI’s enter the Quad with this odd thing called ‘Classics’ on their timetable. However, from the moment they met our friend Minimus the mouse and the whole Vindolanda family, I knew they were going to enjoy it! With welcoming Minimus into the classroom, it has allowed the language to come to life and for the children to see the vast amount of connections Latin holds with our own and other Romance languages. They have also thoroughly enjoyed learning about life in Roman Britain. We also had a marvelous time reenacting a Roman feast, complete with dormice dipped in honey and rotten fish sauce!

There have been challenges and competitions for the children along the way and a special mention to the Form VI badge winners for their huge efforts to learn their vocabulary. We have also taken part in the annual Mythology Competition again, which is run by the Primary Latin Project. Fingers crossed for some positive results after Noah H’s superb performance last year.

The Classics department marches on and looks forward to more exciting things ahead next year.

Jemima Cox

Food Tech

Having been handed the mantle of food tech this year, it was always going to be a hard act to follow after Mrs Green. Luckily there were three things going in my favour. One - I love food! Two – I knew the children loved the subject. Three there was a terrific team of food tech teachers including the ubiquitous Mrs Zimmerman.

Our little kitchen tucked away in the Manor House has been home to food tech for many years. The well painted cupboards date back from goodness knows when (N.B must ask Mr Sanders) and our 4 old cookers have seen many ingredients. In fact I worked out that this year alone over 4700 dishes will have been created in this space, which is pretty remarkable.

Our biggest issue is always time, but it really is all hands to the deck every lesson and the children are superb at mucking in and working as a team to get their recipes completed and the place left ready for the next group, learning some vital life skills along the way.

We have already amassed a vast bank of recipes that really ensure that the children are progressing through a huge variety of kitchen

skills and knowledge and there are some firm favourites such as mars bar mousse, pancakes and banoffee pie that will always stay on the menu for sure. However, it’s also good to mix things up a bit and with the help of all the food tech teachers, it really has been great fun to plan some new things this year too.

We have changed the way our recipes are laid out, with a bit more information and theory incorporated onto the sheets as well as added information around the food tech kitchen. With the hour zooming by each lesson, we hope that this injects a little bit more theory into our very well-loved practical lessons.

A particular cooking highlight was the chocolate spread Christmas tree with its cleverly twisted branches and layers of chocolate and puff pastry.

Another was cheese week where we not only rustled up some delicious cheese-based recipes, but also had a cheese tasting at the end of each lesson. The Mexican Chilli cheese was a surprise hit, as was Sage Derby. It was also a chance for our children to try the vegan options such as the smoked and cream cheese both of which are highly recommended.

One of my favourite weeks was pasta week. We managed to borrow and buy several pasta machines (lots lurking in teachers kitchen cupboards, next to their fondue sets) and we set about making our own tagliatelle from scratch. The children absolutely loved it and the racks of delicate ribbons of egg pasta that we dried after each lesson really turned out well. Chinese week was also great fun with many children taking part in the chopstick challenge and Form III and IV also devised their own smoothie drinks from scratch which were seriously delicious. They even included some spinach and kale!

The summer term saw the Platinum Jubilee Pudding competition take place for Form III –VIII. In keeping with the National competition by Fortnum and Mason, the children were set the challenge of designing a pudding fit for a queen with the winning entries for each club being served up on our lunch menu. What a wonderful array of sweet treats we had and the four of us including Angela Zimmerman, Zoe Pritchard and our Head chef Neil McCluskey had a tough job (but someone’s got to do it) tasting all the entries.

As we move towards a more sustainable future, I’m very much looking forward to incorporating more local foods and produce onto our menu here at Beachborough, as well as developing our new kitchen space which is being meticulously planned as I write. This is a subject which encompasses so many great skills and I’m pleased to say it will be on the menu for many more years to come. My thanks go to the amazing food tech team including Sally Gross, Becky Moffatt, Erica Oram, Vicki Little and of course our MasterChef, Angela Zimmerman.

Cam Hodgkinson

Modern Foreign Languages

Enfin une année entière en classe, por fin un año completo en clase at last a full year in the classroom! There is no better place and no better way to learn and to practise a foreign language than by being exposed to it and use it to communicate with real people, and this is exactly what our students have done all through the year, in both French and Spanish.

From PP1 with Miss O’Brien all the way up to Form VIII, our young linguists have enjoyed lively lessons that have equipped them with a wide range of vocabulary, useful structures and also some challenging yet important, Mrs Howard will agree, grammatical knowledge. We have witnessed very reserved children gradually getting more and more confident and blossoming through their use of French and Spanish.

A small group of Form VII who were previously in the Learning Zone during Spanish lessons, have had the opportunity to resume the language under the guidance of Mr Knowles, who has enjoyed teaching them Spanish after living in South America a few years ago.

We have talked about where we live, what our school is like, which subjects we like… or don’t - all very confidential, senstive matters that will not leave the classroom! Not forgetting about Sports, a topic close to Mr Usher’s heart! Form VIII also delivered a brilliant assembly in January, topped by Hana’s amazing performance of “Le Tourbillon de la Vie,” a song originally sung by French actress Jeanne Moreau and made even more popular thanks to Vanessa Paradis’ tribute to her. But above all, we have had a lot of fun and have learnt a lot about foreign cultures.

After four years without a trip, a residential abroad will take place again next Academic year. This time, in June 2023, Form VI will have the opportunity to spend a week in France, in a land full of culture, amazing landmarks and History:

Normandy. Yes, they will be finding out where Britain gets its greatness from!

A huge well done to all our linguists and to all the MFL staff at Beachborough for their continuous hard work, dedication and passion.

Nicolas Perronnet

Learning Zone

The Learning Zone is first and foremost about the wonderful children who we support and encourage every day, and as I reach the end of my first year as Head of Learning Success, I particularly want to celebrate each and every one of them. They have been the heroes of what the Learning Zone has achieved this year and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with each and every one of them.

Results and data tell you some things but equally important to me are the qualitative measures such as the sense of community that has been promoted this year and the atmosphere we experience within the department. What I have seen throughout this year is young people who have brought positivity, commitment and enthusiasm to all aspects of their learning during one of our weekly ‘Link’ meetings, within class or at playtime. Of course, there have been off days borne out of frustration at new twists, setbacks or the loss of specific opportunitieswho hasn’t had these moments at some point in the last year - but the Learning Zone children have bounced back and stepped up to the next challenge bringing their boundless energy, smiles and humour to enliven the Learning Zone classrooms and corridors. It is this response which fills me with such pride. I would like to thank them all for the example they set and reiterate my team’s commitment to keeping a watchful eye on them going forward, ready to offer our encouragement, support and a listening ear whenever it is needed.

Special thanks and best wishes for the future go to my two Learning Zone Ambassadors, Mable E. and Elodie M. who both move on to their senior schools having led and supported me with fervour throughout this year. Both girls have been recognised as true ambassadors of the department, not only embodying the values of the Learning Zone but also through the huge positive contribution they have made to school life. Thank you for all you have done – what a team you have been! As we look forward to

September, I am confident that our new Form VIIIs will be able to continue in ‘The Learning Zone Way’ with great confidence; leading and supporting children in the younger years and encouraging them to be proud of themselves and their individuality.

Highlights of the year include our first Neurodiversity Celebration Week. This gave us the opportunity to remind the Beachborough community that no matter what our differences and challenges, everyone also has their own strengths and talents. We looked at the stories of many famous people who are neurodiverse and talked about the importance of recognising and respecting that we do not all learn the same way and that we should never be made to feel like an outsider because of our differences. It was with great admiration that I was able to listen to many of the Learning Zone children speak openly about their own superpowers. This has continued this term with several children speaking in assemblies – continuing to raise awareness and encouraging everyone to think about and celebrate the positives for themselves.

The ‘Link’ meetings have also proved a success. Having time set aside each week for children to come together in a relaxed and supportive environment, to share successes and to build a community together has been wonderful. We have enjoyed listening to the children’s highlights, laughed alongside them at funny incidents that have happened and lifted the chins of those who needed a boost. It has also allowed our older pupils to act as mentors, to

be a friendly face, offer a listening ear and act as role models to the younger children within the department. Thank you to all the Form VIIIs for their support with this.

What can I say on behalf of every member of the Learning Zone staff, with regard to your children? They have taught us what optimism really is, how to live a little better in the positives of the now and how to persevere and reach for

the stars. An often overused adjective in the modern world – amazing is most definitely the appropriate description of the ways in which the Learning Zone children have managed to thrive throughout the past year. I am truly proud of each and every one of them; they are what makes the department so special.

Dowson

Louise

Music

It’s been a happy, exciting and successful year in the Music Department with 100% success with scholarships and awards to Senior schools.

Congratulations to Mable E. who has been awarded a full music scholarship to Bloxham, to Sophie R. and Tallulah H. who were both successful in achieving a Roxburgh Scholarship to Stowe and to Bridget H. who was awarded a Headmaster’s Scholarship to Bloxham. These musicians have been part of concerts and performances at Beachborough for many years and this is a wonderful culmination of many years’ work.

ABRSM and Trinity Music exam sessions have taken place each term and we have had a lovely set of results, ranging from Prep tests to Grade 5. 40 children took music exams this year and we are delighted with the standard achieved.

It has been an incredibly exciting first year for me at Beachborough and everyone has been so welcoming and friendly. Miss Anzonie Carpenter, a music graduate, joined us in September 2021 and she has been stalwart part of the department, from leading PP2 string carousel to redesigning the entire music displays with her incredible graphic design talent. She has a wonderful rapport with the children and has had a hugely positive impact helping me and I will miss her greatly as she moves on to join the working world! We thank Anzonie for all her help and enthusiasm over the last year and wish her every success in her future career.

Our music team is inspirational. I always judge the strength of a music teacher by whether I would want to learn with them and if I had the time, I would happily have lessons with all of them. Their kindness, dedication, professionalism, and sense of humour keeps me going and I look forward to working with them each day. I have always said that being a music teacher is a gift – you get to do what you love all day, every day and being surrounded by such brilliant musicians make me feels incredibly fortunate. The children benefit greatly from their expertise, and they create wonderful opportunities and high standards for all who learn with them. The amazing 164 music lessons a week speaks for itself, and the 17 music groups including, three choirs, 2 flute groups, a clarinet and saxophone group, brass group, string group, orchestra, 4 guitar groups, enable a wide range of children from Forms III to VIII to explore ensemble playing and singing and develop skills which carry over into all aspects of life. Every child who has individual lessons through school has had the opportunity to perform in a teatime concert and each term our groups have delighted us all in the Festive Spring and Summer Concerts.

Chamber Choir also played an important role in our Carol Services. They sang beautifully and were the backbone to our end of term celebrations. There is something rather special about singing as a group, especially at Christmas and I have thoroughly enjoyed working our choirs and orchestra this year.

We have exciting plans in place to redesign the music room over the summer holiday to include computers and midi keyboards to further enhance arrangement and composition work for Forms III – VIII and to create a more exciting learning environment. A new interactive whiteboard will allow students to feel fully part of each music session and broaden their understanding across the subject.

In the Autumn term, Form VI put on a spectacular performance of ‘Alice in Wonderland’. It was an incredibly vibrant and energetic performance, and we were all so proud of them. The acting, dance and singing was superb and their teamwork outstanding.

Our Summer Term sees the return on Club Music and the buzz around the music department was sensational. Seeing children from Forms III to VIII working together to create their own arrangements and perform as soloists was inspiring and Miss Carpenter and I had so much fun during the heats. We welcomed Stephen Williams, Director of Music at Shrewsbury School for our Final and he thoroughly enjoyed meeting our performers. Club Shout, a slightly altered version of Club Singing was led this year by our Form VIIIs. It was a brilliant leadership challenge where Club leaders taught a song to their Club and performed it to Jonathan Kingston, from Stowe School. I have known Jonathan from a long time and could see that he was thrilled by each Club’s hard work.

My final thanks go to Holly Purefoy, for her neverending positivity and fun, the smashing music team and the school staff who continue to put up with noise from us musicians!

Annie Chatfield

ArtIt goes without saying that it was daunting to take up the reins of one of the most well-established and successful departments of the school.

Mr Southwick was a Beachborough legend and so, with caution, I have tried to step into his shoes. It has been nothing but a delight from the very first lesson with Form VI on that first day of the academic year. The Art Department not only boasts the two best classrooms in the school but also the space in which the children completely relax and explore their creativity. Having written a whole new curriculum we launched into the year with gusto!

Form V spent the autumn developing their collage skills as they explored the colourful world of Henri Matisse. Their cut-outs now proudly adorn the corridors of the Manor House, but it was their collaborative efforts on the large scale cut-outs that brought the most amount of joy. To coincide with their Geography curriculum they then jumped into the pattern filled world of African art. We embellished the big five with pattern, designed and printed tribal masks and finally created some really effective silhouette pictures that explored the rules of light and perspective. Form V have been a delight to teach this year because of their sheer enthusiasm to try new and exciting skills. They should look forward to developing these further up the school.

I might be a little biased, as I am a Form VI tutor, but it is always a joy to teach a Form VI class. They are not only hard-working but a creative and talented group of artists. They seemed a little put out that they weren’t going to be eating the sweetie or chocolate that they used for their Pop Art project, but nonetheless managed to produce some vibrant and really fun pieces that

now hang on the red stairs. It is always important to study the work of famous artists, but even more so, those that are British and still alive.

David Hockney was our focus in the Spring term and Form VI rose to the challenge to produce some spectacular paintings of their journey from school to home. Their entry into Form VII, come September, will also bring the challenges for potential scholars, so I wish them good luck with this.

Form VII lessons bookend the week and have been really fun this year, as we have navigated our way through portraiture and perspective. They have impressed with their perseverance and resilience, especially when working on canvases of one of their heroes. Their work has taken centre stage around the Manor House and they should all look forward to building

on their creativity next year. A special mention must go to Flora E. for being the overall winner of the logo competition, which was set by Brackley Foodbank. A brilliant achievement and something to be very proud of. Good luck to our potential scholars who I have no doubt will shine forth in their preparations for their scholarships next year.

Finally, we have covered all manner of mediums and styles in Form VIII this year. They brought their self-portraits to life by taking on the style of Roy Lichtenstein, became textile designers and print makers with our William Morris inspired project and finally have spent the last few weeks making reflective pieces to represent self and identity. I can’t fault the commitment and hard work of our 10 scholars this year. They have been fantastic and should all be proud of their achievements and the accolades some now hold. They have set a seriously high benchmark for talent and promise to be one of the most rivalled year groups we have ever had, so well done. I wish the whole of the Form VIII the very best with their move to future schools and will look forward to hearing news of their artistic endeavours.

Art Club has also continued to flourish this year with fun and colourful projects. We await to hear the results from our entry to the Royal Academy Young Artists Competition but regardless of whether they get chosen, it was a fantastic opportunity to be involved in a competition at a national level.

The art at Beachborough sits so proudly upon the corridors and walls. However, none of it could be achieved without the tireless work and support of our very own Art Fairy, Sarah Flint. I can’t thank you enough.

As I step aside and take a pause from the role, I can reflect back on the most enjoyable year seeing the department go from strength to strength. I will look forward to returning to the wonderful Art Room and seeing what the children have been up to. Keep having fun everyone!

Jemima Cox

Alice in Wonderland

A huge congratulations to Form VI for impressing audiences with their performance of ‘Alice in Wonderland’.

Wonderful singing, highly energetic dance moves and impressive acting wowed everyone fortunate to attend. With their fantastic characterisation, they transported their audiences ‘down the rabbit hole’, taking them on a journey – with Alice – to the most exciting and unique parts of the imagination.

From the very sassy ‘Flowers of the Golden Afternoon’ to the pinecone munching, quirky Mad Hatter and companions, the children showed brilliant characterisation and produced a show that was highly entertaining throughout. Form VI children worked tirelessly to bring every element together and should feel immensely proud of how well they worked as a strong cast.

Ruth Andrew

Romeo and Juliet

Form VII had the absolute thrill of performing Shakespeare’s wellknown and much-loved tragedy, Romeo and Juliet.

It was a hugely entertaining evening, which saw two contrasting productions of Romeo and Juliet take to the stage of the Whybrow theatre, with two casts.

First, we had a more modern take on this Shakespearean classic, with colourful wigs and vibrant dance moves. This was shortly followed by a more traditional version of the tragic love story, accompanied by Elizabethan costume and music.

Both casts hugely impressed their audience and took them on the gripping journey of the two ‘star cross’d lovers’.”

“

Both casts hugely impressed their audience and took them on the gripping journey of the two ‘star cross’d lovers’: Romeo and Juliet. A massive congratulations to everyone who performed, as well as to our Form VIII directors (who also starred with cameo roles). Form VII should be incredibly proud of the effort they put into the evening: learning stage combat moves, complex characterisation and some rather complicated language. Well done!

Ruth Andrew

Form VIII Variety Performance

On Tuesday 14th June, Form VIII gave their final, collective performance, in the Whybrow, at Beachborough.

It was a delightful evening with a plethora of acts, showcasing the immense and diverse talents of our young people.

The evening was woven together by our wonderfully charismatic hosts, Fergus A., Freddie T. and Ben C. The audience of parents, friends and Beachborough staff were continually treated to a wide variety of acts, such as an exhilarating blindfolded dance (by Darcey B. and Mable E.), a well-edited and fascinating clip showing 3D printing (Henry S.) and a poignant shadow display from a large number of our very creative

Form VIIIs. There was also some wonderful audience participation; all the volunteers showed enthusiasm and good humour as they engaged with the array of tasks given to them.

Congratulations and thank you, Form VIII, for all your hard work in helping to create such a memorable evening. We wish you all the best in your new schools, where we are sure your talents will continue to be both appreciated and celebrated.

Ruth Andrew

Form V Showcase

On Thursday 23rd June, Form V treated their audience to an evening of pure entertainment, as they took them on a journey through their year of Drama.

A mime artist (Edgar P.) had stolen important scripts that were needed for the showcase, so children had to use their improvisation and teamwork skills, and continue with the show, regardless. They opened up a giant book (believed to be where the mime artist was hiding) and embarked on a journey; each chapter focused on a different area of Drama, such as sportsmanship, improvisation and devising. We saw some brilliant re-enactments of some famous examples of sportsmanship from Tyler B., Gethin P., George H. and William S., as well as excellent improvisation skills from Kitty M., Jack J., Lily V., Mary P. and Harry R-W., who collaborated to create a car onstage.

The children engaged impeccably with their audience and there were many opportunities to take part in the action! Grace T. and Edward C. did a fantastic job of teaching some enthusiastic audience members one of the cast’s devised games, and it was highly amusing to see them running around the stage like chickens!

Ultimately, the mime artist was found, but it was soon realised that he had taken the scripts on purpose. As put, so brilliantly, by Griff T.: with all the skills acquired in lessons, they could do it on their own! And wow, did they impress. From the highly memorable ‘Cricket-Mic’ advert to thought-tracking at the beach, the whole of Form V demonstrated what it meant to be a team, a cast. They should be incredibly proud of themselves for all the effort they gave and for producing such a highly-entertaining showcase. It really was an extravaganza!

Ruth Andrew

Sport

How refreshing that after a two year hiatus due to Covid-19, the school was able to operate a full sporting programme throughout the whole of the 2021-22 academic year!

There were periods of time in 2019-20 and 202021 where competitive sport had to be placed on the “backburner”. The country dealt with the pandemic and online learning became part of the pupils’ day to day schedule. Thankfully, this has become more of a distant memory, this year as once again, the pupils at Beachborough dined out on the wealth of opportunities afforded to them and were able to visit all of those neighbouring schools on our circuit on a weekly basis. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the children for all for their individual and collective improvement and the success that they have both made and had over the course of the last 10 months.

The year provided a number of memorable moments, a number of which you will read about in due course, but it would be remiss of me not to mention a few in this introductory report:

• In March, Beachborough competed at the National Preparatory Schools Cross Country Championships with Joshua S. stealing the show by winning the U11 boys race. What made this even more remarkable was the fact that Joshua S. was competing a year up and his efforts, along with Lucas C. and Ethan T-L., gave the U11 boys a 3rd place finish in the overall team standings.

In June, Sophie J., Finley N., Gabriel F., Herbie G., Harvey W-J. and Isaac W. qualified for the IAPS National Swimming Championships, either in an individual race or as part of a relay quartet. They all then had the

opportunity to compete at the iconic London Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park.

In July, Eilidh A., Eddie H. and Lottie R. competed at the National Prep Schools Athletics Championships in Nuneaton, having been successful at the East Area Regionals in Bedford. Both Eddie H. and Lottie R. ran personal PB’s in their respective 1500 metres races – no better stage to do that!

Our current Form VIII pupils will be leaving Beachborough to embark on the next step in their school careers. Beachborough is all

that some of this cohort have ever known but a change will allow them the opportunity to impress a new set of teachers and coaches, who will take them on the next phase of their sporting journey. Beachborough has hopefully given them a solid grounding as well as experiences and memories which they can take with them to their senior school. As a year group, Form VIII have achieved much in the time that they have been here and a bright futures await them all.

At the other end of the scale, our Form IIIs have been exposed to their first taste of competitive sporting action this year. A daunting experience for some, but they have embraced the

opportunities which have come their way and passed all of the challenges presented to them with “flying colours”. Well done Form III!

My enormous thanks to everyone: pupils, staff, groundsmen, catering department and parents. You have all played your part in making this school year extremely fruitful and enjoyable. A comprehensive review of the sporting year now follows with a detailed look at each of the different sports.

Mark Usher

Athletics

Athletics has continued to go from strength to strength at Beachborough, with every year group participating in a wide range of track and field events as part of their PE curriculum. Outside of lessons, there has been a huge interest in coming along to the track to train at various lunchtimes.

Our first meeting of the season was an evening one in early May hosted by Spratton Hall, and just a week and a half after term started. It was a wonderful opportunity for our athletes to line up in a competitive environment and we were rewarded with some impressive performances, including some from our younger members of the team in the shape of Lucas C. and Florence H..

At the Stowe Prep Schools’ meeting a week later, we faced tough competition from some larger schools, namely Caldicott, The Dragon and Summer Fields. However, this was the time to rise to the challenge and achieve some personal bests and our pupils certainly did that with our girls’ teams, Juniors (Form V), Colts (Forms VI and

VII) and Open (Form VIII), all finished in the top three in the team standings with our Junior Boys also performing creditably to finish 3rd.

Another local meeting was held at Winchester House, although torrential rain put a stop to some events in the latter part of the afternoon.

As in previous years, our eagerly awaited journey to the Bedford International Athletics Stadium for the IAPS Regionals did not disappoint. It was a great opportunity to compete at such a large scale event, and the 10 Beachborough athletes did themselves, and the school, proud as they rubbed shoulders with some elite competitors. Impressive performances were witnessed both on the track, and in field events,

and the camaraderie of our squad was second to none. Not only did we leave with a handful of exceptional personal bests and positionings, but three of our athletes were selected to represent the East Region at the Nationals. Eddie H. started proceedings by winning the U14 boys 1500 metres with Lottie R. running equally impressively to finish 2nd in her U13 girls 1500 metre race to also qualify. The endurance duo were then joined by Eilidh A., who has continued to improve hugely week on week, who registered some impressive throws in the U14 girls javelin competition to make it through to the Nationals.

Although there was no direct qualifier for these age groups at their respective Regional competition, 12 of our Forms IV and V pupils travelled over to Cambridge on a hot Tuesday afternoon in June. Again, our pupils acquitted themselves superbly with our relay teams all making their finals. Both Lucas C. in the U11 boys’ high jump and Alex H. in both his 55 metres hurdles and 75 metres races, finished inside the top 3 in their events.

The Nationals themselves took place in the last week of term at the Pingles Stadium in Nuneaton. An unusual destination for an event of this magnitude due to the fact that the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham was being primed for the imminent Commonwealth Games. First up was Eddie H. in his 1500m race, one of 16 athletes in his event striving for glory. He ran a very composed race, keeping on the heels of the leaders for the majority of it and at one point, looked as though a medal was in his grasp. He tired ever so slightly towards the end but a 7th place finish in a new PB of 4.46.4 was a superb effort.

Ten minutes later, Lottie R. took to the start line for her 1500 metre event. She dominated the field from the gun and was leading at the half way stage. Despite a few girls passing her towards the back end of the race, Lottie R. clocked a huge PB of 5.12.2 to finish the season on a really high note. Last but by no means not least, Eilidh A. measured her run up for the U14 girls’ javelin. Unfortunately, her first two throws

landed invalidly, however this was rectified on her third and final throw where she showed determination to witness a raised white flag. Eilidh A. has only been throwing the javelin for a short time, though her willingness to learn and improve has enabled her to achieve great things this season. We have every confidence that Eilidh A. will go on to achieve success next season at Repton.

Our thanks must go to Freddie T. and Sophie R., as athletics captains, for leading their teams this term. We wish them every success as they move to their senior schools, and we hope they continue to enjoy future success in track and field. Next season, we welcome Jack D. and Rose P. into the same roles, and we have no doubt that they too will be excellent ambassadors for the sport.

Mark Usher

Boys Cricket

U10

If endeavour, motivation, and desire to win actually won matches we would have trounced every opponent we played this term. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case, but I was delighted to end the term on a morale boosting win over Ashfold.

After our first two matches were washed out, we headed to Stowe full of pent-up eagerness. Kit S. captained and did a terrific job in the middle organising both the field and the bowlers. Unfortunately we didn’t win any of the four matches, but there were some great performances from Tyler B., Harry R-W. and Isaac W.. Kit S. was awarded Player of the Match for his attitude and dedication throughout the day.

Our next cricket festival was at St. Edwards. We played two matches and again sadly lost both. My mantra of ‘straight ball, straight bat’ was never more necessary to have been listened to - wickets fell as a result and lessons were learnt from this match. Jake T. was the Player of the Match for this occasion for his quiet steely determination in the field, saving runs a plenty.

And so it was onto our final match, hosting Ashfold and we batted first. Lessons were learnt, shots were played appropriately, and we came out great victors! Isaac was the Player of the Match as his batting to set up the victory was so nice to watch. It was the win they’d deserved for all their effort this term. A fitting way to end the season on a high. Well done for never giving up!

Nick Blithe

U11A

As always with Form VI, positivity and encouragement were what powered the team through to a very successful season, despite a tricky start losing to St Hugh’s. The boys took a lot from the performance, understanding how one wicket can change the course of a game.

In our second fixture, the boys were set a challenging total of 112. Thomas W. and George

H. put on a 100 partnership, with Thomas W. recording his maiden half century. This left Herbie G. to come and strike the remaining 3 runs off his first ball. An excellent performance that built the confidence of the group.

On to the biggest challenge of the season, MK Prep, who scored a formidable 128. Strong hitting from Harvey W-J., Jackson T., Thomas W. and Will E. allowed us to finish just 17 runs shy of our target. As a team, this was the point where we realised, we have the capability of beating anyone if we believe in our ability. At the derby with Winchester House, we were restricted to 66 runs on a wet wicket. Exceptional bowling from Ellie S. contributed to a tough batting day for the Winchester boys. However, after losing two early wickets, it was left to Ollie L., Thomas W. and Harvey W-J. to secure victory by 6 wickets. The good form continued for the group against Ashfold, recording a 9-wicket victory, Herbie G. with his maiden 5 wicket haul and Tom H. scoring an unbeaten 30.

As a unit, I am so impressed with the attitude and desire to improve from every child. I hope to see them all progress in the future.

Tamlyn Goodrich

U11B

Although a tricky season for the boys in regards to results, each and every member of the squad has improved their hard ball cricket. A particular mention must go to Lawrie S. and Harrison B. for leading the team with confidence and enthusiasm, something Mr Elcoat was

exceptionally proud of. In addition, Dylan R., Peter C. and Jonty M. have played in both the A and B squads, showing the depth across the Form Vis.

I would also like to say a big well done to Jack M., whose bowling has improved quite dramatically as the season has gone on, impressing in fixtures and club cricket.

Tamlyn Goodrich 3rd XI

At opening fixture of the cricket season, a pairs game ensued against St Hugh’s under very difficult conditions, however, spirits were not dampened by the weather. A good display in the field and a strong last over from William H. saw St Hugh’s held to a total of 108. Beachborough set about the chase with vigour and enthusiasm and everyone played their part with the bat to leave us sitting on 112 runs and a win!

What followed was an epic match against Maidwell Hall that finished with a two-run difference after 40 overs. Some strong fielding from Jack B. partnership between Henry S. and Leo B. and bowling from Finley N. pinned back the opposition.

A mixed game against Spratton Hall saw Alice M., Rose P. and Emily H. join the fold for this game. Top scorer and Man of the Match, Emily H. did a great job in keeping the run rate ticking over against some very good bowling. Alice M. took a wicket with her first ball of the game to apply some early pressure, backed up with some excellent bowling from the other end by Joe P.. Spratton Hall reached the winning total with a

few overs to spare but the moment of the match had to go to Finley N. for his fielding and direct hit of the wickets, achieving a fabulous run out.

Next was an excellent afternoon of cricket against Winchester House. Each pair had three overs to face and were aiming to score as many runs as possible to finish as the top scoring pair. A very impressive and aggressive display from both Sammy H. and Theo G. saw them reach 15 runs off 18 balls, making them the standout partnership on the day. In the field, Joshua H. bowled and backed up his teammates extremely well, earning him Player of the Match.

At last, a warm sunny day from start to finish, with cricket against Swanbourne on everyone’s mind. Swanbourne posted a reasonable score of 114 for 4. The ball of the day came from Leo B., with his first ball of his first over being, quite simply, an unplayable delivery. Logan F. took the wicket of a batsman who was scoring well, with some lovely shots played from William H., Joshua H. and Jack B.. Beachborough fell short but knew they had done themselves proud and played well.

Simon Preece

2nd XI

The 2nd XI were a young side who grew in stature as the season wore on. Despite defeats in each of the games in the first half of term to strong teams from St Hugh’s, Maidwell Hall and Spratton Hall, there were signs of optimism with Zac B.’s bowling, Gregor S.’s and Imogen G.’s batting. This earned Gregor S. a call up to the 1st XI and Imogen G. two consecutive Player of the Match awards.

The second half of the season began very positively as the team emerged victorious against Winchester House, thanks to an unbeaten partnership between Fergus A. and King S.. This was followed up the next week with a comprehensive victory over Swanbourne House, very much adhering to the old adage of “you wait ages for a bus before two come along at once!”.

A final fixture against Bruern Abbey resulted in a narrow loss, despite Gregor S. batting all the way through the team’s innings.

As the stats suggest, the 2nd XI improved greatly throughout the season and were enjoyable to coach. Those boys in Form VII returning in September 2022 should look to target a place in the 1st team!

Mark Usher

1st XI

The 1st XI began their season on a warm, Wednesday afternoon in early May but were blown away by a powerful St Hugh’s team who, after posting a healthy score of 160-4 off their allotted 20 overs, proceeded to bowl us out for only 23 to complete a comprehensive win. A tough day at the office but the only way was up from here!

A two week hiatus before the following fixture against Maidwell Hall due to wet weather gave us a chance as a team to work on a number of the basics and we certainly made it count. The team came out rejuvenated against Maidwell. Bowling the opposition out for 42 was better than we

could have hoped for, or even expected, but was down to a disciplined bowling performance led by Harry B. with his 4-9 and Rufus S.’s 3-10. Eilidh A.. in her first game for the team and playing on the same side as her twin brother, also chipped in with 2 wickets. Our reply to this small total wasn’t without its alarms but captain, Jesse M., led from the front with an unbeaten 20 as we managed to claim a 5 wicket win in the end.

This would prove to be the main highlight of the season as losses against Spratton Hall, Winchester House and Swanbourne House, despite some fine individual moments – Eddie H.’s batting at Spratton and Ben C.’s catch at Swanbourne – were tough to take.

Whilst the Form VIII’s were away on their residential trip to Wales, the Form VII’s were split into two sides – U12A and U12B – for matches against Ashfold. Harry B. had a fine individual game, playing some lovely fluent drives in contributing 22 with the bat to the U12A’s total of 75-5 off 20 overs, which proved insufficient as Ashfold passed our score for the loss of 5 wickets.

The final game of the season was a really enjoyable one against Bruern Abbey. Their county player batted beautifully, in scoring 59, to set the platform for their competitive total of 139-6 with Samuel B. leading the way with the ball, only conceding 10 runs off his 4 overs and picking up a well deserved wicket in the process.

He also weighed in with 24 with the bat and with good contributions from Fergus A. and Jesse M., we were always in the game but ultimately fell 27 runs short.

Despite the results not always going in our favour, the players should be commended for maintaining their morale throughout the season. Cricket is a game in which you have to heavily invest much time and effort in order to really improve and it is to their immense credit, that the pupils’ skills and game awareness came on enormously. They would have learnt many lessons, which they can use to help them in their cricketing journeys moving forward.

Jesse M. was fully deserving of his cricket colours, leading the side with aplomb whilst the other boys and Eilidh A., who played for the 1st XI this season, can also be rightly proud of their efforts.

Mark Usher

Girls’ Cricket

U10

Our season for the A team opened with an invitation to the festival at St. Edward’s School. This was a great opportunity to play a few matches, despite dodging some heavy showers. We came away having enjoyed the experience and with a mixed bag of results. Clearly the weather was worse towards the west, as unfortunately the B team fixture at St. Hugh’s was abandoned.

We enjoyed hosting Quinton House on a hot summer’s afternoon, resulting in a victory for the A team and a loss for the B’s. Our well-deserved Players of the Match were Lily V. and Lyla S-H., who both displayed some great skills and made excellent catches during their respective games.

The A team had an excellent win against Bilton Grange by over 60 runs, thanks to some superb batting beyond the boundary. Mary P. and Evie W. were selected as stand-out players for their efforts in both batting and fielding.

Unfortunately, it was a loss for the B team, however Charley N. really stepped up and showed her skills.

Another win for the A’s against Ashfold was the result of some impressive bowling from each and every member of the team. Hard work in lessons had really paid off, with a minimal amount of invalid or wide balls being delivered. The girls looked for every opportunity to bat into spaces, and they worked tirelessly on their running between the stumps, making the most of every opportunity to add to the scoresheet. ‘Team Florence’ showed great skills and both Florence T. and Florence H. were chosen as outstanding players.

All our U10 girls played against one opposition team for our final match against The Grove. Some careful rotations enabled everyone to bat, bowl and field and we were delighted to win by an impressive 102 runs.

Confidence has soared as the season has progressed. We are extremely proud of how far the girls have come in developing their cricketing skills, and we were thrilled to nominate Charley N. as ‘most improved player’ this term.

Vicki

U11

Little

This cricket season has been fantastic, and we have thoroughly enjoyed coaching the U11 girls. The weather has unfortunately not always been on our side this season, with several Wednesdays having rain, resulting in matches being cancelled. However, despite the disappointment of matches being interrupted, this never dampened the girls’ spirits or determination to improve their skills.

The first match for the A team was against St. Hugh’s, who were a well-organised, excellent team, and whilst Beachborough put in some great batting, the score was a heavy defeat by 110 runs. This did not deter the girls; they just took it as motivation and worked even harder.

The next match against Milton Keynes Prep was a close game, with some fantastic bowling on display from the Beachborough girls, and the result was close with a narrow loss of just 13 runs. The following week saw Winchester House come across to Beachborough but unfortunately this game had to be abandoned after just 12 overs due to thunderstorms!

Stowe School then invited us and Winchester House to try hard ball cricket, which included playing a training match. This was an amazing opportunity to play in a great venue and have some expert coaching. The girls’ attitude and effort were outstanding.. It was great to see all the girls improve in both their confidence and bowling. The hard ball match saw this group truly rise to the occasion, they batted and bowled incredibly well with several of the girls taking multiple wickets.

The penultimate game this season was against Ashfold, and this was a game where a new school record for the number of balls lost to the river and hedgerow was made! The game was

incredibly competitive, and the teams were evenly matched but due to the unforeseen circumstance of Ashfold having to leave early, the game had to finish before all the girls had played the full innings. However, due to Beachborough’s incredible bowling and willingness to score runs, the game resulted in a well-earned win based on run rate and number of wickets taken.

The last game of the season was played against The Grove on a sunny afternoon and the girls bowled incredibly well, minimising the number of runs when fielding yet seized every opportunity to score runs when they had their chance at the batting crease. The match ended in a win of 30 runs.

For the B team, this season has been anything but predictable. With cancelled matches and rain offs, the girls have been superstars in keeping their spirits high and their enthusiasm strong. Initially, the team faced losses in their first matches but as ever, they held their heads high showing gracefulness in defeat and sportsmanship in congratulating the opposing team.

As the season continued and the girls combined training sessions saw vast improvements in their bowling techniques and their batting ability, and their matches became more closely fought and well-matched. The starting losses against St Hugh’s of 26 runs became a narrower loss against MK Prep by just 13 runs and it was a great positive to end their season when they had a win against Ashfold by 6 runs.

It was testament to the girls’ efforts that towards the end of the season, the B team saw a greater number of high scoring batting due to their increased risk taking and an increased number of attempts at catching in the field.

Watching the U11 girls play during the last season has made us feel incredibly proud of all the effort, time, and hard work each of them has put into cricket. Thank you to you all for a wonderful cricket season!

Sarah James and Ellen Hughes

U13A

This cricket season, we had a number of firsts for the girls building on the previous year. The first season the girls played hard ball ‘proper’ rules cricket; the first year Beachborough fielded six complete mixed senior teams for a Wednesday fixture; and the first year the girls have worn the Beachborough cricket whites as part of their normal games uniform.

The senior girls have come a long way with regards to hard ball cricket, with an increase in their drive, their confidence and ability. Other schools are now finally following suit and this year we had a number of hard ball games against strong opposition.

Eilidh A. was one of the strongest players so we decided at the beginning of the season that she and any others who were able should play mixed cricket to push them to reach their potential. Eilidh A. earned her place on the 1st XI, returning to play with the girls only once. Mable E. and Imogen G. also showed potential so were selected to play with the 2nd XI most weeks.

When playing Swanbourne House, despite great performances from Greta B., Emily H. and Rose P., the girls lost against a strong Swanbourne batting side. We also fielded six complete mixed teams against Spratton Hall with the girls playing extremely well.

The last game of the season was while the Form VIII girls were away on their residential trip so we fielded a complete U12 side of Form VII girls.

This was due to be a hard ball pairs game but upon arrival we were asked to play incrediball. The girls were disappointed but went on to win by 14 runs with great performances from Emily H., Rose P. and Lottie R.. There have been huge improvements this year and it has been wonderful to watch them grow in confidence on the cricket field, hopefully they can continue on from their successes next year.

Sarah Greasley

U13B

The U13B Girls’ Cricket team had a highly successful and impressive season, this summer term. Most noteworthy must be the unbelievable batting by Emma M., sending the ball bouncing over the boundary at almost every opportunity and Flora E. for her amazing fielding skills, making several catches and delivering some brilliant bowling, to the opposition.

Amy O’Brien

U13 Cavaliers and Tigers

Whilst the Cavaliers and Tigers have only had a handful of games this season due to the introduction of the hard ball and mixing of the girls in with the boys 1st XI, 2nd XI and 3rd XI, it can be said that both teams have remained unbeaten. Hurray!

Both won away at St Hugh’s in their first game of the season with the St Hugh’s coach complimenting their standard of bowling as a team. There were some fast bowls from Penny H. and great strikes from Hana K., who was the only player to strike a ‘6’ in the match from either

team. Flora E.’s fielding and communication when batting certainly helped the Tigers secure a win.

After a few weeks of games sessions, with greater priority given to batting, having spent much time developing the bowling, we were facing Spratton Hall. There was some slick bowling in the Tigers game from Sophie J. who bowled a maiden over. Tilly L. , Claire B. and Isobel all took wickets with some accurate throws, and Aniya R. had some solid batting and quickly ran up the number of runs achieved. It was a delight to see the Greaves sisters in the same match playing at their best with several wickets taken by Lottie G. and a superb catch from Emily G.. It was no surprise that the overall result was a win by 27 runs and the Cavaliers had an equally strong game.

The season ended for the Cavaliers with their best win yet against Winchester House with a 48 run win was secured. What a great way to end the summer term!

Lisa Smith

Cross Country

Once again, cross country has been one of the most successful sporting areas for Beachborough this academic year. Our pupils have had the opportunity to train around our wonderful school grounds, under the watchful eye of Mr Goodrich and Mr Usher, completing perimeter runs, off site courses or interval and fartlek sessions to boost their aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels.

Unfortunately, the annual St Hugh’s Relays which usually kickstart the season in early November, had to be cancelled. In fact, we ran out of luck in the Autumn Term as our own cross country event, the Beachborough Run, which traditionally takes place just before we break up for Christmas, had to be postponed after monsoon type weather closed in on the day of the event!

Thankfully, we were able to reschedule the Beachborough Run for a glorious winter’s afternoon in January, offering our runners a chance to make use of home advantage. Pride of

place in the event went to Eddie H. for finishing 1st in the U13 boys’ race, which enabled the team to finish 2nd overall behind The Dragon School. In fact, there was perfect symmetry amongst all of our age group teams with our U11 boys also finishing 2nd and our two girls’ teams, U11’s and U13’s, both ending up 3rd overall.

Successful meetings at Spratton Hall, in a relays competition in which both of our boys’ teams – U13’s and U11’s – won their age group categories, and at Maidwell Hall, where it was the turn of the U11 girls to taste victory, sandwiched the prestigious National Prep Schools Championships at Malvern College in March. As you might expect for a competition of this scale, it attracts a large number of competitors with nearly 50 schools in attendance this year. The highlight of the Nationals came in the U11 boys’ race where Joshua S. ran the race of his life to claim victory in an amazing time of 10 minutes flat. The fact that he is a year young puts the magnitude of his achievement into perspective

and it helped the boys in that team to a magnificent 3rd placed team position overall. Strong individual performances from Lottie R., 26th in the U13 girls’ event, and Eddie H. and captain Will M., 6th and 16th respectively in the U13 boys’ race, ensured that it was a memorable day for Beachborough and one which will live long in the memory.

With pupils in Forms III and IV showing some considerable promise in their club cross country event and the likes of Ralf B., Thomas G. and Alex H. all having the opportunity to represent the school at Maidwell Hall, running up two year groups, the future looks bright! Whilst not for the faint hearted, the number of pupils who have attended training sessions on a weekly basis has provided much cause for optimism and I look forward to what lies in store in 2022-23.

Mark Usher

Football

U10

The season began with four matches on the fixture list, and out of all these games, we were only really outclassed once with our C team finding it tough going against Ashfold’s B team..

The A team had a successful season, winning two and drawing two of their four matches. Every match was closely fought with two 1-1 draws against Spratton Hall and Chandlings, where arguably we were the better side in each but didn’t take our chances, and an exciting end to end game with Ashfold, where we fought back to win 4-3. Even the first match against Akeley Wood, in which we won 4-1, flattered us somewhat as a few goalkeeping errors, and some clinical finishing from Kit S. in particular, made all the difference.

The U10B’s football team also had a fruitful time of it on the pitch. The team started and finished the season in some style in beating Akeley Wood 6-0 and Chandlings 10-0. A tight 0-0 draw against Ashfold and an unfortunate 3-2 defeat to Spratton Hall completed their season in which much progress was made, and players such as Ben H. and Bertie M. also had the opportunity to play in the A team.

A cohort of willing boys went out each week with a smile on their face and put in some memorable performances for the U10C team. The first competitive game against Akeley Wood saw Timothy A. run the show which allowed the rest of the boys to grow in confidence around him. They all played well and a 3-0 win was an excellent start to the season.

A narrow loss away at Spratton Hall with 1-0 and a challenging game against Ashfold’s U10B team sandwiched the Akeley Wood match and the final one of the season against Chandlings. The boys put in another energetic display and were

rewarded with a fine 2-2 draw. This game was evidence of how far the boys had progressed in their footballing skills and teamwork and provided a fitting way to finish the first half of the Spring Term.

Usher

Mark

U11A

What. A. Season. An undefeated season for the boys, where they played a high energy, attacking and respectful style of football, all whilst supporting one another. It was certainly a delight watching the passing and fluid nature of their attacking endeavours.

Our fixtures started with an away fixture at Akeley Wood where the boys came out with a 5-3 victory. Jackson T. and Harvey W-J. performed brilliantly as a defensive pair. It was a fixture that built the boys confidence, knowing they had the ability to push on. Finishing was not such a problem in our second fixture as we claimed victory 10-0 over Maidwell Hall. Exceptional finishing from Ethan T-L. was a highlight of another strong performance. Two more victories followed against Spratton Hall 5-0 and Ashfold 10-2., with George H., Herbie G. and Joshua S. all contributing outstanding performances for the team.

The final two fixtures of the season were against Chandlings and MK Prep, who would give us our biggest challenge of the campaign. With a 1-0 lead and a dominant display, the final kick of the game came from a corner on the MK right. Unfortunately, a mix up in our defence saw the ball sneak into the near corner. For most youth teams, such disappointment may have knocked the confidence of the team. However, these Beachborough boys were not going to allow that moment to define their season.

A hard fought 3-2 victory against Chandlings was a fitting way for the season to finish, with Tom H. and Gabriel F. performing exceptionally in a real team performance.

The boys will be a great asset to the Beachborough 1st XI next season where I hope to hear about them continuing their fast, free flowing attacking nature.

Tamyln Goodrich

U11B

If there was ever an example of a team improving over time it was this one! Following an unprepared trip to Akeley Wood where we lost

4-1 in our first game, the task ahead was then blatantly obvious.

The boys worked hard during the next weeks and their endeavours proved worthwhile as they won their second game. This proved to be the start of their resurgence! From nowhere however, at 5-1 down, they rallied and scored for fun for a period of the second half. Goal after goal flew in and a determined mindset flooded the team - we ended up winning 7-6! Will, Jonty and Freddie all contributed well in midfield pushing the ball forward and helping the defence.

Seven goals in a match clearly wasn’t enough for the boys and the next game saw us run out 9-0 against Spratton Hall. Our defending became more organised and assured with Peter and Dylan comprehending their roles at the back, whilst Ernie established himself well in goal.

Not content with the nine goal win, the boys had an epic 13-0 win at Ashfold a week later. The boys all played with confidence, moving away

into space, running with the ball, and moving up and down the pitch. Not one boy stood still, all working together. Harrison B. had his first match in goal and barring one heart in mouth moment did tremendously well. It would be lovely to see him continue with the gloves next year.

A potentially tricky fixture the following week, with the visit of MK Prep, a well-known footballing school. Unphased or unaware, the boys stuck about their task and triumphed 2-0. A solid performance and a fitting end to a fabulous term of football for the boys.

In their five matches the boys conceded 10 goals, but scored 32 altogether, with Ollie L. and Lucas G. with 7 each, followed by Thomas W. (6), Will E. (5), Gruff E. (4) and Ernie E. (3) being lead scorers.

All credit must go to the boys for their application, effort, and enthusiasm to improve each week. They were outstanding to teach as a group, and well done all of you on an exceptionally ameliorate term!

Nick Blithe

U11C

A season of development, enjoyment and enthusiasm from the C team this season. Every member of the team gave their all during fixtures and games lessons, constantly striving to improve and taking feedback from staff.

The first fixture of the season saw the boys held to a goalless draw against Akeley Wood. The second fixture of the campaign saw the boys take on Maidwell Hall in a tense contest. With the score at 0-0, a roar erupted as Jack

M. scored his first ever goal! The boys coming out with a 1-0 victory was proof of how strong the Beachborough community is amongst our pupils. Harrison L-J. kept his second clean sheet as he continued to grow into his position of goalkeeper. Another win followed with a 3-1 victory over Spratton Hall.

This led to the last game of the season where the boys took on Chandlings B team. This was a step up in opposition but that did not stop the boys in their determination. Despite a 3-0 loss, the boys covered themselves in glory with a fine display.

A really positive season of football from the squad and one they can look back on fondly!

Tamlyn Goodrich

2nd XI & 3rd XI

The 2nd XI matched the playing record of the 1st XI, winning two of their four matches. The highlight of the season was undoubtedly overcoming The Dragon in their first game 2-1, with Zac B. scoring both goals. As a result of a fine individual performance for the team in that victory away at The Dragon, King S. was quickly promoted to the 1st team, where he acquitted himself well for the rest of the season. Jude H. is a promising goalkeeper in the making and has a bright future in the game whilst Leo B., Zac and Joseph P. enjoyed the chance of playing for the 1st team in their final game of the season, gaining valuable experience for next year.

Due to the fact that at various points in the second half of term, we were without a number of boys for a host of different reasons, our 3rd XI only played one match. This was a close game

against The Dragon, in which Joe R. had a fine individual game, but ultimately we fell to a 2-1 defeat. The boys joined the 2nd team squad for matches against Ashfold and Bruern Abbey, giving them further opportunities to represent the school.

Mark Usher

1st XI

After a curtailed season in 2020 and then not having one at all in 2021, it was a welcome reintroduction to our sporting programme to fulfil each of our Senior football fixtures in 2022.

The 11-a-side format is different to what many of the boys have experienced moving up through the school with space at a premium and the need for a player’s first touch to be precise. Therefore, our sessions leading up to the start of the season focused on the technical aspects of the game, challenging each player to improve their composure on the ball and enjoying the responsibility of possession. Playing out from the back was encouraged and in doing so, the players had to be brave and take risks at times, very much adhering to the modern day approach.

The Dragon looked a daunting task on paper for our first game. However, despite falling 2-0 behind early on, we were rewarded for a much brighter second half, in which Will M. scored a sumptuous goal from outside the box with his right foot. Suddenly, the boys had belief and Joe S.’s positioning at a corner distracted their goalkeeper and led to an equaliser. This stirred The Dragon into life and a well worked third goal gave them a narrow 3-2 win.

A high scoring game against Pitsford in awful weather conditions resulted in our first win (7-2) in what was a confident display from the team. The morale boosting victory was achieved by scoring some well taken goals whilst Fergus A., in the heart of the defence, and Dan M., in goal, gave us solidity and limited some talented players amongst the opposition’s ranks to just the two goals.

A pulsating game to Ashfold ended in a hard fought 1-0 win with Samuel B. scoring the only goal of the game in the first half. As was the case in the previous two matches, the boys really battled for each other, with Harry B. outstanding at the back, and this meant that we kept our first clean sheet of the season.

The team was really starting to gel at this point as we approached our final match at Bruern Abbey. Once again, we contributed to another excellent game of football but on a smaller and tighter pitch, we just took too many touches at times and didn’t quite move the ball quickly enough. Eddie H.’s penalty cancelled out their opening goal but Bruern scored the winner not long after, which meant we finished the season on a slightly disappointing note in terms of the result.

A playing record of 2 wins and 2 narrow defeats from our 4 matches are commendable stats to back up an enjoyable and fulfilling season in which both Eddie H. and Jesse M. were awarded their Colours. Also well done to Samuel B. who took part in the Gothia Cup in Sweden this past summer after his selection for the Prep Schools Lions U13 squad.

Usher

Mark

Boys’ Hockey

U10A

‘The A team goes unbeaten all season’. Three games, a festival, scoring 10 goals and only conceding 2. All members of the team can feel very proud of their achievements this year.

Winchester House were up first and a strong defence from Jacob S. and a brace from captain Kit S. brought home a very comfortable win. It is always nice to kick off the season with a win and the team were straight into a strong style of play.

Next up was a festival at St Edward’s school, where the boys demonstrated an excellent team spirit throughout all 9 games played. Although no games were lost, too many draws saw us placed in fourth overall, which on reflection, is outstanding for a team who had only been playing hockey together for a couple of weeks.

We went one up against Ashfold, but a very late goal saw us hold on to a one all draw. Some excellent play from Spencer C., Tyler B. and William S. saw the team pressuring Ashfold relentlessly until the very end.

Lastly, a visit to Chandlings saw another consistent performance from Jake T. and a dominant Player of the Match performance from Harry R-W., to seal a 2-1 victory.

A fabulous season, not just because of the results, but the players’ application during lessons, matches and their overall attitude. It has been a real pleasure working with all the boys this term.

Simon Preece

U10B

The season started with a fabulous win of 6-0 against Winchester House - what a way to start the term! In all our matches, we won two, lost one (1-0 against Bilton Grange) and drew one.

Our top scorer this term was Tim A. with three goals, closely followed by Ed C. with two and the Will B., Will S. and Ben H. scored one each. Rory J. and Will S. progressed into the A team with some fine performances, while Gethin P. and Jon R. remained solid in defence. Archer F. and Jack worked hard in the midfield engine room, helping the defence and getting the ball forward for the forwards. In goal Jake T. and Edgar P. both saved plenty of shots and remained solid under pressure. Well done boys!

Nick Blithe

U10C

Playing three matches this term, the Cs certainly showed great spirit and enthusiasm throughout their games.

A soaking, cold afternoon at Bilton Grange greeted us for our first match of the term, where we won 1-0. Jack scored for the Cs that day and from then on played up in the Bs.

Overall, that was their only victory of the term, as they lost 5-0 to Ashfold. James K. and Jake K. were stoic in goal and they both improved over the term. Against Chandlings, they finished with a last second equaliser scored by Charlie L., earning the boys a solid 1-1 draw. For some this was their last ever hockey match for Beachborough as John W. and Jake W. went back to the US over the summer.

Blithe

U11A

The U11 IAPS Regional Hockey Championships were held before the U11 season had even started. Despite not having played a lot of hockey, they won their first two games 1-0 against St John’s and The Beacon, and drew their third game against Cranford House. This meant that they entered the Cup competition where they played Cheltenham College in the quarter final and drew 1-1 in normal time but sadly lost 1-0 in golden goal time. This was a huge blow for the

boys, they were all very disappointed but the staff couldn’t have been prouder of their efforts, resilience, maturity and their overall attitude during the day.

After half term, the team got off to a good start and drew 2-2 with Winchester House despite being the better team and having most of the possession. They then went on to beat Swanbournse house with an impressive 6-0 win.

At the Stowe Prep Schools Hockey Tournament, the boys had seven matches in total, drawing 0-0 with Beacon, Ashfold, Moulsford, Swanbourne House, winning two 1-0 against Winchester House and The Dragon and losing one 2-0 against Old Buckenham Hall.

Sadly, our goalkeeper Joshua S. sustained a knee injury and was unable to finish the season. This was a huge blow as Joshua S. had been playing extremely well in goal. Gabriel F. was pulled up to play in the A team to replace Joshua S..

In the next match, they faced Ashfold who had a very strong hockey team. Despite best efforts and fabulous tackles in defence, Beachborough lost 5-2. The last two matches of the season were against Bilton Grange and Chandlings and saw the boys fight hard but concede both games.

All the boys played so well, improved their hockey skills, always worked hard in matches and in training, listened to feedback, put in 100% effort and had great team spirit - they should all be congratulated for a good season.

Isaac W. is an exciting prospect for next year earning his place in the A team amongst boys a year older than him. We look forward to seeing him and Joshua S. return to U11 hockey next season.

Sarah Greasley

U11B

Their first match was against a strong Winchester House team and despite some great play lost 4-0 with valiant efforts. Their next match was against Swanbourne House which

Nick

Beachborough dominated to win 5-0. Player of the Match Jackson T. played extremely well and showed his ability to drive forward into the opposition defensive circle with the ball. Their next opponents were Ashfold and despite putting up a fight and playing well, Ashfold managed to score a goal in the last minute to win 2-1. The boys played two games against Bilton Grange with a 2-1 win and a 3-1 loss In their last match of the season, they achieved a 2-0 win against Chandlings.

Overall, the season was a great success with many of the players experiencing their first match, quickly learning new skills and coming together to play some truly great hockey. They all worked hard and impressed the coaches with their attitude. Well done boys!

Sarah Greasley

4th team

The fourth team had fantastic individual performances across each game, but teamwork was the real winner for this group. Three wins on the bounce delivered confidence and allowed each boy to play with freedom and creativity.

Winchester House were dispatched first, and with powerful play from Logan F. in defence, the opposition had no chance of breaking through, and Henry S. in goal was the rock who inspired the level of play across the whole team.

William H.’s goal against Spratton Hall secured the win and his title of top scorer for the season. Momentum was building and the boys were having fun as Ashfold arrived for a 4-2 thriller. Lastly, Maidwell Hall was the only defeat of the

season in what was a very tight game. All in all a good season!

Simon Preece

3rd team

They had a mixed season of results but I think it would be fair to say that certain scores didn’t quite reflect the individual and team performances. A slow start against Winchester House saw us 2 goals down very quickly, but something to build on for the rest of the season.

A bounce back performance against Spratton Hall finished in a 2-2 draw. Ned C. and Gregor S. were dominant in every aspect of their play.

The same level of tenacity was evident from the starting whistle against Ashfold with Rory B. in attack, and Joe S. had his best game of the season. A 4-2 win was sealed following some key saves late in the game from Jude H.

A tough game against Maidwell Hall saw another defeat but Mr Consistent, Harry B., delivered one final top-level performance to inspire the team.

Simon Preece

2nd team

The boys started the season off with a 4-1 win over The Grove. Their next match was different entirely with the boys having to defend against a strong Winchester House team, and despite a valiant team effort to keep their strong attack out, lost 7-0. Next up, the boys played Spratton Hall who had multiple strong teams which meant the boys played three games on the same day and lost all three, 7-0, 4-0 and 4-2. Their next two games were against Ashfold and Maidwell Hall which they lost 5-1 and 1-0.

The boys worked hard, showed resilience, stayed positive and gave their all, and the staff were very proud of them all. The stand out performances of the short season were from goalkeeper Dan M., Joseph P., Rufus S. and Noah H.. Well done boys!

Sarah Greasley

1st team

The boy’s hockey season is only half a term and very short so the fixtures came thick and fast for the boys. The first match against The Grove in Milton Keynes was a huge 9-0 success. The next match was against local rivals Winchester House and this proved to be a very tense and tight match but in the end Beachborough lost 3-1 with Eddie H. in goal and Jesse M. in defence playing extremely well. Next up, was Spratton Hall where our 1st team played both their 1st and 2nd team, and drew and won their respective games. Ashfold were the next opposition and the boys played brilliantly to win 2-1 before their final fixture against Maidwell Hall which they lost 2-1.

In February, the boys travelled to Cheltenham Collage for the IAPS Regional Championships.

In the group stages, they played Bromsgrove, Clayesmore and Monkton, who were very strong and they played very well to draw against Bromsgrove but had losses against Clayesmore and Monkton. They went through to the plate competition round robin and won their game against Arnold House and faced St Hugh’s in the next round. This was a very tense and tight game which saw Beachborough with a lot of the possession. The game was drawn with St Hugh’s progressing to the final on count back. The boys were disappointed but worked so hard and played well as a team.

The boys went to the Stowe Annual Prep Schools’ tournament in March. In the group stage, they won three of their games 1-0 against New College, Ashfold and Swanbourne House and subsequently went through to the cup competition. They fought hard but lost 2-0 to a very good Moulsford side.

Eddie H. cemented himself as a very strong goalkeeper and made some utterly brilliant saves throughout the season. Jesse M. was regularly the strongest player on the pitch, scuppered many a forward with his strong tackle, and has great ability to read the game and distribute the ball. Freddie T. proved to be a very adept captain, involved in team selection, game tactics and showed a real passion for his hockey. All three boys deserved their Hockey Colours.

Will M. scored numerous goals this season but also improved steadily each and every game; his speed combined with his work ethic proved too much for many a defender.

Sarah Greasley

Girls’ Hockey

U10

Having not participated in a hockey fixture since Form III, it was a welcome relief to be able to meet up with local schools to play competitive matches again. Our first match was a short drive away and a local derby against Winchester House School. The sun shone brightly and although the ball was end-to-end throughout, the win unfortunately didn’t go our way. In the A team, Isabella W. was a well-deserved ‘player of the match’ for some outstanding saves; a particularly impressive performance considering her lack of experience as a goalkeeper. In the B team, the girls drew after an end-to-end match, with Amelia V. being recognised for her great contributions.

We enjoyed hosting Ashfold at home and the girls rotated positions so that they all took turns to play in defence. Kitty M. must be mentioned for her relentless work up and down the pitch, both in attack and defending play, and Sienna W. scored two great goals which resulted in a draw overall. Unfortunately, it was a loss for the B’s, however the girls collaborated well. Florence H. demonstrated her versatility against St. Hugh’s when she proved to be a strong defender, stopping the ball on many occasions and driving it up the pitch and Amelia V. made some superb saves in goal. In the B team match, Stella B. made some excellent tackles and Grace T. showed some determination on the ball.

A slightly larger squad, requiring a series of rotations, met Bilton Grange at Stowe School. Despite some good individual performances, we finished second having struggled somewhat with adapting to the width of the pitch. Although not winning our matches, once again, Amelia V. must be mentioned for some great saves in goal.

Finally, we visited Akeley Wood for an unexpected last game of the season where

conditions were far from ideal. Hands were bitterly cold and the driving rain was difficult to contend with, though we persevered and Kitty M. scored a fantastic goal from the edge of the ‘D’ in our A team match, and Lily P. stood out for her excellent positioning on the pitch. In our second game, Abigail C. stepped up and played some of her best hockey of the season. Sadly, our opposition ended up victorious in both matches. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with the girls over the course of the term, and they will be able to drill down on their positioning, and further develop their skills on the pitch next season.

Vicki Little

U11

The U11 girls have been an absolute pleasure to coach this season and it has been exciting watching them develop both individually as players and collectively as a team. All the girls have a fantastic attitude; show a willingness to try new roles, whether that be in goal or outfield,

but above all the girls have all shown diligence towards improving their own skills.

The season has been successful in so many ways for both teams, although there have been a variety of results, with some excellent wins; some close and hard-fought battles and defeats. The season started with an array of hockey tournaments at Stowe, Bloxham and St. Edwards, which gave the girls invaluable match play and lots of opportunities to apply their skills at the start of the season. The A team then had wins against Maidwell Hall (2-0); Ashfold (1-0) and Swanbourne House (2-1). They lost narrowly to Bilton Grange (0-1) in an exciting game consisting of end-to-end action with some excellent defending on display. The A team also lost to St. Hugh’s (0-2) but showed great perseverance throughout.

This hockey season also saw the A team have their first experience of an IAPS competition. This competition consists of a group stage round robin with the top two finishing teams

progressing into a cup competition, whilst the next two teams go into a plate competition, with the other remaining teams finishing playing after the group stage. The high standard of competition, although tough, saw the girls finish with one win, one draw and one loss, which meant they didn’t progress further this year. However, whilst the results may not have been what the girls had hoped for, it has given them valuable experience of what to expect next year.

The B team grew in both confidence and skill as they progressed through the season. Several players were completely new or had limited hockey experience before this year, so their learning and skills rose astronomically.

The B team had wins against Chandlings (3-0) and Swanbourne House (5-0) and again had a fantastic game against Bilton Grange where they held them to a 0-0 draw. The B team lost against Winchester House, Ashfold and St. Hugh’s.

The hockey season ended with the opportunity for the U11’s to play in the first Girls’ Football tournament, hosted by Chandlings. It was a very cold, blustery, and wet afternoon but this did not dampen the girls’ attitude or spirits in giving their best efforts. Whilst there were no official scores kept, the girls scored plenty of goals and it was great to see them relishing the opportunity to play a different sport.

Miss Hughes and I are immensely proud of all the girls, they have all shown great progress this season. The girls’ supportive attitude towards each other, and their graciousness towards their

opponents are what set this group of players apart and it has been a privilege to coach them all this year. Well done girls!

Sarah James U13A

The U13A Hockey girls were raring to get back to post-Covid fixtures when they started back in September. Only three of the girls play outside of school for hockey clubs so were a relatively inexperienced team.

Their first matches were in the Stowe tournament on 13th September which was a tough start to the hockey season but the girl’s impressed me with their resilience and work ethic. They drew most of their games but struggled to score goals at the other end with Sophie R. putting in a fabulous performance in goal. The tournament was a great start to get the girls working together as a team.

Their first real fixture was later that same week against local rivals Winchester House and it turned out to be a very close contest in the end drawing 1-1; Sophie R. in goal kept them in the game with some terrific saves and Eilidh A. ran a tight defence.

The IAPS Regional tournament was quite early in the Season on 29th September at St Edwards School in Oxford. In the group stages, Beachborough won their first game 2-1 against Ashfold and then lost three close matches 1-0 against Winchester House, 1-0 against Crosfields and 1-0 against St Andrew’s Prep. As a result, they

went through to the plate competition where they faced Ashfold again in the semi-finals and drew 1-1 in normal time. This meant it went to penalty strokes which sadly, Beachborough lost to place fourth. The girls should be very proud of themselves for some courageous play in tough games against well drilled opposition.

The week after IAPS, the girls played Swanbourne House and won 1-0 with Imogen G. and Tallulah H. playing particularly well that week. The rest of the season saw some great play with huge efforts in defence from our girls but losses against St Hugh’s, Ashfold, Bilton Grange and Spratton Hall.

The standout performances of the season were from Imogen G., Eilidh A. and Sophie R. who all received hockey colours for their efforts. There were some very promising Form VII players, Grace B., Rose P. and Lottie R. who will hopefully build on their great improvements in the 2022 season.

Sarah Greasley

U13B

The U13B team had thrilling season of hockey and collaborated extremely well, during games practises and matches. Emily H. performed extremely well in goal, growing more confident each week. Emily H. was frequently aided by Philippa H. and Emma M. who worked tirelessly to help protect the goal and get the ball back up the wing, to their attacking teammates. Fantastic goals were scored, or assisted, by Vivien W., Sophie N. and Daisy E..

Amy O’Brien

U13 Cavaliers

The Hockey season started with an early game for the Cavaliers against Winchester House. With the Form VII and VIII only having had a few training sessions together, there was uncertainty regarding what might be the outcome of the match. However, with Tilly L., Sophie J. and Emily G. all working well together in defence, we formed a tight team and even a ball to the foot did not deter Emily G. from continued play. After several drives forward we were certainly

deserving of a goal and it was both Violet H. and Hana K. that delivered, with Hana K.’s powerful strike across the D bringing a warranted beam to her face. Ruby O’B-H. worked hard as the goalkeeper saving several balls and was quick to move out of the goal to meet the ball. With a final score line being a 3-1 win, the coach journey home was a buzz of enthusiasm and positivity for the season ahead. Leading on from our early win, the Cavaliers revisited Winchester House for a festival. Whilst we secured an impressive win against the Dragon, we unfortunately conceded to St Hughes and just missed out on a place in the semi-finals. Both Philippa H. and Sophie J. were a credit to the team and it was encouraging to see the Form VII showing their potential with a great goal from Grace and a lot of energy from Rose. The rest of season saw a cancelled match by Maidwell Hall after a Covid outbreak then losses to St Hughes, Bilton Grange and Spratton Hall. A mixed season which started amazingly, but still some work to be done on our finishes.

Lisa Smith

Junior Sport

The U8A rugby team continued to develop through the term, with some spirited performances against some good tag rugby playing schools, winning four of our six matches. The team was well equipped with fast runners, all collaborating well to support each other in tagging the opposition. The boys clearly loved every minute which certainly helped and it what it’s all about! Well done chaps.

Football

During the football season, 3 matches were played and we enjoyed a strong win against Swanbourne, with 3 goals to nil.

We unfortunately lost to Chandlings and Winchester House, but only by 1 goal each time. The boys thoroughly enjoyed representing the school, whether at Beachborough or away.

The U8A boys were a much better team than their three draws, one defeat and one solitary victory over Winchester House with 7-0, would suggest. There was a healthy gap between the penultimate match and the final game which found the boys creating space, passing to others and running with the ball at the opponent –demonstrating everything we had practised in the intervening weeks. It was great to watch and a pity frankly to blow the final whistle! Top scorer this year was Reid C. with five goals.

U8 Boys Rugby

In rugby, out of the 5 matches they played, they took home no less than 3 victories. All of the boys made really good progress and gave maximum effort in the games and it was enjoyable witnessing some natural talent as well as very promising players in the making.

Their preliminary games were not lacking effort or enthusiasm, and here is a group of boys who clearly love their football and I hope their potential is realised. Well done boys on an improving season!

U8 Girls Hockey

The Form III girls were very excited to start their first hockey term in September, most of them had never picked up a hockey stick before. Mrs Little and Mrs Greasley were both very impressed with how quickly and how hard they worked to master the basic stick and ball skills. They were very keen to play and were not afraid to tackle.

The first matches were against Ashfold School. Beachborough’s B team drew 2-2 but the A team lost 5-0. The score does not represent how well the girls played; they had plenty of possession but just could not score.

The next matches were against local rivals Winchester House. The A team lost 4-2 and the B team lost 2-0, but Sophie C. and Ayla O. fought hard to keep a strong opposition out. The combined B/C team won their game 1-0

with Chloe G. voted Player of the Match for some lovely play tackling well and clearing the ball out.

The next set of matches were against Chandlings who put out three strong teams. Beachborough lost all three games but the girls showed great spirit and resilience.

Over the term, the girls progressed so much, they started to trust each other and hold their positions on the pitch, the tackling was nothing short of magnificent at time.

Netball

This has been the first year of playing England Netball’s new format of ‘Bee Netball’. The game has been stripped back to focus on the fundamental basics of netball, without the complications of positionings and restricted areas of play.

Our opening matches were against Swanbourne House. Scores were not kept as it was more of a coaching format, however some super goals were scored. It was a fun and perfect introduction to the game.

The first away match was against Ashfold where we met some close contests, and our attacking and defending skills were put to the test.

Two teams showed outstanding play against The Grove. Having had plenty of shooting practice leading up to this match, confidence was high, we enjoyed two good wins and almost everyone had success on the scoring front.

We travelled to Chandlings to play in four mixed ability teams and again triumphed with three

wins. By now, the girls had shown great strength in moving into space when attacking, making it difficult for the opposition to stay with them.

Finally, we hosted Winchester House for our last game of the season and we drew one match and won two. Spirits were high and the girls worked hard to put their skills into practice on court.

There is a lot of talent in this age group and we have no doubt that these girls will go on to achieve great netball success in the future; they are definitely a team to look out for.

U8 Mixed Cricket

The Form III children all took to cricket amazingly well this Summer with some natural cricketers. Quite a few had never played before but all made huge progress over the term, in their batting, bowling, fielding and all round knowledge.

We fielded five teams against Spratton Hall for the first fixture, with the Hurricanes, Typhoons

and Cyclones winning, and the Tornadoes and Wildfires unfortunately losing.

Next up, the girls played against Chandlings, and our three teams played four games between them, winning two and losing two.

Ashfold could only field two teams so our Hurricanes and Tornadoes played them, with Jamie S. putting in a fine performance for the Hurricanes but lost by 5 runs in a close game. The Tornadoes won by 4 runs in another close game.

The next block of fixtures were against Winchester House who had three teams. The Hurricanes won by 18 runs with Eva P. playing particularly well. The Tornadoes lost by 3 runs and the Cyclones won by 37 runs.

The Grove were the next school to play us but they brought four mixed U8/U9 teams, therefore we did the same and combined our Form III and IV pupils. Of the four matches played, Beachborough won three!

The final set of fixtures were against Swanbourne House. The Hurricanes lost by 11 runs, the Tornadoes lost by 7 runs with Bruce G. bowling and batting well, the Cyclones who won by 21 runs and the Wildfire lost by 6 runs.

What a fabulous start to their cricketing journey and a great season was had by all. You made all the staff very proud – well done!

U9 Boys Rugby

The rugby season was a different affair to normal as this is usually the stage when contact and the art of tackling is introduced. However, due to the pandemic and the fact that so much rugby has been missed, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) stipulated that age groups were required to play to the rules of the year below until the end of December. This meant that our school matches were either tag or touch games; a frustration undoubtedly for some boys who were primed and ready to tackle but nonetheless, it gave this age group an opportunity to fine tune their handling, passing and evasion skills.

The U9A team were a dynamic and talented bunch, who never knew when they were beaten. Pleasing wins against Swanbourne House, Ashfold, MCS Oxford, Winchester House and Spratton Hall boosted confidence and we also won three and drew our other match at the Ashfold festival. However, it was arguably the two matches which we drew, against Chandlings and Milton Keynes Prep, which were the standout matches of the season. When both teams have gone “hammer and tongs” against each other,

leaving nothing on the pitch and demonstrating resolute defence and incisive attacking play, it leaves such positive reflections and memories.

The B team also enjoyed their fair share of success, defeating Swanbourne House, MCS, Oxford, Chandlings, Winchester House, Spratton Hall and MK Prep with only Ashfold defeating them. Of course, it is not just about the results at this level and it was pleasing to see so much improvement being made as the camaraderie amongst this group of boys.

Mr Knowles’ squad enjoyed a number of successes in their rugby fixtures as well. They began with victory at the start of the year against Ashfold, thanks to great running from Drew M. and Jonah T.. This became a common theme throughout their matches and having athletic pupils that could travel well with the ball in hand always helped to put the team on the front foot. The team went almost all season without losing and were always competitive thanks to a great team spirit.

space in wide areas. The future is very promising for this age group as they move up.

Once Spring arrived, Mr Knowles’ squad were accustomed to each other’s strengths and weaknesses, intrinsically knowing (at times) where they would be on the field. With some super performances in goal, and excellent defending, we rarely lost. The highlight has to be an absolutely epic long-range goal from Henry K., topping off a super season.

Football

After a fruitful rugby season, the U9s also showed that they were talented footballers as well. With many of the boys playing and excelling with their football outside school, some at academy level, the season promised much and very much delivered too. The only real blot on the A team’s copybook was a slightly below par performance at the St Hugh’s festival. A 0-0 draw against Spratton Hall was, as the score line suggests, a very tightly contested game.

The boys were very receptive to the coaching and responded well to the message of trying to play out from the back and attempting to exploit

Hockey

The U9s also managed one hockey fixture in the Spring Term facing MCS. Even though our opponents had been playing all term, the boys weren’t overawed at all as we more than matched them in all four games.

U9 Girls

Hockey

The U9 girls have been a pleasure to teach this season, they are enthusiastic, willing to learn and have maintained a positive approach to hockey despite suffering some heavy defeats. The girls have all tried hard and have shown good improvement in their individual stick skills and ball control. They must all continue to work on developing their positional and spatial awareness, but this will improve as they continue to play more hockey.

We have been impressed with the girls’ team spirit and how supportive they have been with one another. Their perseverance both individually and collectively has been excellent.

Well Done Girls!

Beachborough teams played, and the teams finished as Winners, Second Place and 4th which was a fantastic achievement.

It has been a brilliant season with all the girls making excellent progress in the development of their netball skills. We have been impressed and thoroughly enjoyed coaching the U9’s this term. We hope that they will continue to enjoy netball as they move onto 5-aside next year. Well done!

Netball

This term saw the girls learn and play the new BEE Netball. The philosophy of this game is to develop BEEliefs of being proud of their efforts; being fair; friendly and involving everyone who wants to play; being strong; always giving their best efforts; working together and being themselves.

The season has involved matches for all the girls and they have played as Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Robins. The season was extremely positive with wins for every team against Chandlings and several wins recorded against The Grove, Winchester House and Maidwell Hall. The girls all initially found finding space on the court challenging but as they played more games and became familiar with the format, their confidence grew and they all developed better timing. The girls in this year group have been incredibly supportive of one another and have shown both resilience, perseverance and risen to every challenge. This season concluded with a netball festival at St. Hugh’s where three

U9 Mixed Cricket

We fielded mixed sex teams in all of our interschool cricket fixtures in the Summer Term. The pairs format at this level, allows the boys and girls the opportunity to have a go at all three elements of the game. It is something that the pupils relish as they know in each fixture that their turn will eventually come to bat, bowl and field.

Therefore, in practice sessions this term, our focus has been on giving the pupils the tools to be able to perform in a match situation. We have repeatedly refined skills, which has led to improved confidence and decision making.

Bowling has been a specific area of focus with the pupils given the target of keeping their arm straight and transferring the energy from their action towards the batsman so that the ball only bounces a maximum of twice.

In batting, the U9s have shown greater confidence to attack the ball, which has resulted in boundaries being scored or giving the pair in the middle a chance to run. Communication with their partner about when to run has been encouraged so that the players are more decisive and fewer risks are taken.

The pupils have played across four teams throughout the season – the Jets, Spitfires, Concordes and Cessnas - with notable victories over Spratton Hall, Ashfold, Winchester House, The Grove and Swanbourne House, bringing an end to a highly satisfactory year on the whole.

Mark Usher, Sarah Greasley, Sarah James, Nick Blithe, Vicki Little

Netball

U10

This has been the first year of adapting to England Netball’s new 5 a-side format, with the aim to develop all-round netballers, rather than specialising in limited positions on court.

The teams travelled to Spratton Hall in high spirits for their first match of the season. Despite competing against a handful of taller and older girls amongst the opposition, the A team worked hard on court and improved as the game progressed. Sadly, they were unlucky not to get some of their shots in and the match resulted in a loss. Charley N. must be mentioned for receiving Player of the Match from both the opposition and the coach, after showing true grit and determination. There were wins for both the B and C teams, with some incredibly impressive shooting from Beth J., and no goals conceded.

We enjoyed hosting Winchester House and Akeley Wood for triangular matches. Unfortunately, the A team narrowly lost their first match, but won their second. The B team had great victories against both schools and neither the As nor Bs conceded goals against Winchester House.

With confidence and skills growing week on week, the matches against Swanbourne House spoke volumes. The A team dominated from the very first whistle, demonstrating superb moving into space on the attack, and were then rewarded with an excellent 8-0 win. On the other court, it was an even bigger result as Beachborough showed great collaboration to win 12-0.

Chandlings proved to be a tough match for the As, with some strong play from the opposition. However, the girls definitely raised their game and showed resilience in what was quite a

physical contest. The game was end to end, though Chandlings took the win with some very impressive shooting. It was a different story for the B team who dominated from start to finish, making the game look easy. The final score was an incredible 15-0 with some accurate shooting from Beth J. and great play by Evie W.. The C team fought a much closer contest, but still achieved a win.

Maidwell Hall hosted us on an extremely windy day, and the girls were up against an older cohort. It was not to be and we lost both of our games, but returned ready to reflect and refocus.

A trip to Ashfold reinstalled confidence for the As, coming away with a huge win and no goals

conceded. The B team ended up with a draw which reflected the end-to-end game.

The A team were invited to play in a festival at St. Edward’s. The girls should be praised for their perseverance and resilience in extremely challenging weather conditions, as they battled some close games. Two of the three matches were end-to-end and only lost by one goal.

Our last fixture of the season was a trip away, at Bilton Grange.The A team were beaten by a strong opposition, who capitalised by keeping their girls in their strongest positions. As a contrast, the Bs enjoyed a good win having played superbly.. It was a small loss for the C team, with some notable play by Mary P. and Amelia V..

The girls have been an absolute delight to coach this season and they have worked tirelessly to develop their skills and improve their game.

Vicki Little

U11

This season of netball saw the entrance of a new version of the game: Bee Netball. With the reduction of the team to just five players on each side, this meant each girl’s role was vital to the whole team’s success. Needless to say, throughout this season, the girls regularly rose to the challenge of this new game style and made us proud. They brought determination, versatility and excellent effort to each training session and their weekly matches. As coaches, we saw huge improvements in every girl’s ability to play

in varied positions, as regular rotations saw the advancement of both their attack and defence skills, and also, their shooting skills. With

A huge congratulations goes to the U11A squad, who started the season with a winning performance at the Winchester House netball tournament. This laid the foundations for an exciting season ahead, where the girls had to ensure they maintained their focus and determination to improve their skills and match play, in preparation for the IAPS tournament

towards the end of the season. Out of the seven matches they played, they won five but more importantly, they demonstrated their greatest growth when defeated twice in the season.

The highlight of the term was when the girls displayed brilliant netball skills at the IAPS tournament. Playing tirelessly, the girls showed great movement on court, excellent defending of the goal and accuracy with shooting, taking them through to the semi-finals. In the end, we narrowly lost to qualify for the Nationals, however, all the players were at their best in every match.

For the B and C teams, the season has been a rollercoaster ride of varied scores with some tense, closely fought matches. The season began with matches against Spratton Hall and Winchester House. Although the girls came away with losses, their skills of teamwork and communication were strengthened and even in defeat, showed great sportsmanship.

With training, diligent focus and perseverance, the girls’ next set of matches were successes. The B team won against Swanbourne House (7 – 1), Chandlings (8 – 5) and Ashfold (7 – 2). Equally, despite a miserable and chilly afternoon, the C team played brilliantly and achieved wins against Chandlings in their two matches of the day, winning (5 – 1) and then, continuing to another win (3 – 1). Although the season ended with defeat by Bilton Grange, the B and C teams capitalised on all their weeks of training and ensured that they battled closely and, in the end, the losses were narrow ones for both teams.

Overall, the season of Bee Netball has taught all the girls to be versatile on the court and enabled every player to make progress. Many of the girls will hopefully have been inspired to take their netball skills to new courts at new clubs outside of Beachborough. As coaches, we are so pleased with the development we have seen. Their progress has been impressive, setting them up for the transition into the game of 7-a-side netball in Form VII.

Sally Gross and Ellen Hughes

U13A

The U13A’s had an even season with 3 wins, 3 losses and a draw, yet the results do not reflect the remarkable growth this team made.

Their first game was against Spratton Hall who were an excellent team with fabulous shooters, giving our defensive team a difficult afternoon. Regardless of the score and how tough the game was physically, the Beachborough girls held their heads high and dug deep, continuing to work hard and find their own opportunities to score. The match ended with a loss and a final score of 7-31 and one player with broken fingers! Although the result was disappointing, the sportsmanship and teamwork, I had witnessed demonstrated that this group were so much more than the result. On that day they were beaten by a truly better team, and they rightly felt disappointed, but what could they achieve now going forward? The girls accepted this challenge with gusto and were led from the front by the Netball Captain Tallulah H. who did a fantastic job in leading the team. She has confidently run warm ups/drill practices, played in any position required and her encouragement and support of all players regardless of team they play in, has shown her true leadership.

The next game was at Winchester House and the match started evenly before the home side made less handling errors and it was a second loss for Beachborough 9-21. Despite the loss, they met the targets I set the team at the start. They scored more goals than the last game, and if the game was a loss, they were to reduce the deficit from the Spratton Hall match.

IAPS is often seen as the pinnacle of the sporting calendar for a sports season. However, with the regional qualification rounds being so early in the season and being unable to change venues, injuries alongside the clash of senior school scholarship days meant several of the team would be unavailable to play, so the very difficult decision for everyone involved was to withdraw the team. The girls were upset, but I was impressed by how maturely they accepted the decision and refocussed on having the best season, and to their credit they came

back fighting with Swanbourne House being the unfortunate recipients. We played them at home in round 1 and the U13A team won convincingly giving the whole team a muchneeded confidence boost. The same team would travel away to play Swanbourne for round 2 the following week and this time the girls showed the same great team spirit, a greater awareness on court but most of all displayed a quiet confidence on the court with every player making great interceptions and challenging for every ball. The final score was a win 11-4.

The next game was played on a very wet Wednesday meaning the match was inside the sports hall. The Grove arrived and the girls seemed to panic after seeing the opposing team’s physical size but netball is about playing to your strengths. The girls took to the court, the match was even but quite physical and it ended in a well-deserved draw.

The following week saw us welcome Ashfold and this game was outstanding. Everything the girls had learnt and practised seem to come together from shooting to set plays and the final score ended in a triumphant win of 24-6. The final game of the season was against Bilton Grange and unfortunately whilst the girls put in a gallant effort, the result was a loss of 20-11.

This U13A team has scored an incredible 71 goals this term. Every player in the squad has shown improvement whether that be in tactical awareness; positional understanding or game fundamentals and they should all be rightly proud of this netball season. It has been a privilege to coach all the U13’s this season, and I hope that all the girls continue to enjoy and play netball as they progress onto their senior schools. Thank you, girls, for all your hard work and very best of luck! Well done.

Sarah James

U13B

The U13B Netball team played exceptionally well against tough competition and made substantial progress with their skills each week. A special mention must go to Greta B. and Bridget H.

who captained the team brilliantly on several occasions and worked heroically, particularly in the centre third, moving quickly and effectively, up and down the court as well as advising and supporting their teammates brilliantly.

Amy O’Brien

U13 Cavaliers

The netball season showed much promise for the Cavaliers with an early win against Spratton Hall. The season progressed with a closely fought game at Winchester House which resulted in Beachborough defeated by only one goal. This was a frustration, but it was noted how much energy and skill was brought to the game, and Violet H.’s shooting skills did not go unnoticed by the opposition. The following week, they were clearly on a mission to win and a journey to Swanbourne House was fruitful and resulted in a 10-0 win. The rest of the season followed with a narrow loss to Bilton Grange and a win against the Grove.

Darcey B. provided great pace and agility for the team as Centre. Aniya R. became more aware of her players positioning on the court and used this to intercept balls. Hana K. was versatile and had some excellent games in which she put so much of practice into play. A great season for the Cavaliers. The girls should feel proud!

Lisa Smith

U13 Tigers

The U13 Tigers achieved great success against oppositions in the Spring term, only losing one fixture, Winchester House 6-4. The girls worked together wonderfully and really found their groove, after a couple weeks of games practices. Most remarkable was Penny H.’s and Lottie R.’s super speedy movements across the court and Jemima L.’s amazing shooting skills in our final match against Bilton Grange, which ended in a 4 all draw.

Amy O’Brien

Boys’ Rugby

U10

The word that best describes the U10A rugby team is IMPROVEMENT! The team found their rhythm and played some highly entertaining and determined rugby.

Without playing in specific ‘positions’ the boys quickly learnt to spread out in a line across the pitch. Great tackling enabled their team mates to receive the ball and run through our opponents for plenty of tries throughout the term.

The Stowe festival in September was a fine barometer of what we could come to expect and by the time we arrived at St Edwards in November, the difference was clear for all to see. Finishing 3rd overall was not to be sniffed at and this achievement was solely down to the boy’s enthusiasm, effort and desire to better themselves during their lessons.

In other matches, the boys played eight and won six in all, a tremendous achievement and one I hope they can build upon this next year.

Each boy shows great potential to be a rather marvellous rugby player both in the short and long term. I wish them all the very best!

Nick Blithe

U11A

The annual Under 11 Prep Schools festival at Bloxham kicked off the season on the first Sunday of the Autumn Term. The festival allowed the U11A squad the chance to test themselves against some good opposition whilst also enabling myself as a coach to try out some combinations in terms of where the boys liked to play and the roles they could carry out.

We used the Bloxham festival as a solid platform from which we could build on from. The next fixture against Chandlings saw a see-saw battle ending in a satisfactory 45 all draw.

The Abingdon Prep match the following week resulted in a convincing 50-15 win.

Just as the team was really starting to gel and hit their straps, we hit a few speed bumps and the resilience and mental strength of the boys would be challenged. The first of these occurred at the Stowe festival, where despite playing some good rugby, we lost all four of our matches. In the next games after the Stowe festival, where despite going down twice in the game injured, Herbie G. found the inner strength to score a try in the last moments to salvage a draw against The Dragon.

During the Milton Keynes Prep game, our backs were very much against the wall, facing a strong side and finding it difficult to cope with their physicality. We battled hard, with Gabriel F. proving to be the catalyst for an improved second half showing, which so nearly resulted in what would have been a deserved draw. Next was a clinical victory over Winchester House in a game refereed by a member of staff from Rugby School, who left suitably impressed by what he saw from us. We also played well over at Maidwell Hall to record another emphatic win, whilst although losing to St Hugh’s for the

third time that term, having played them at the festivals, the match was the closest of them all!

For me though, the highlight of the second half of the term, and arguably the whole season, was seeing the team compete at the IAPS festival held at Ratcliffe College - something clicked that day! Despite defeat in their opening game, the boys executed the game plan in the shortened matches to perfection. The result was five wins out of the seven in which we played opposition who we don’t tend to play on our local circuit.

The boys gave their all throughout the term, overcoming all of the obstacles and challenges that were put in front of them. We didn’t win every game but we were certainly competitive and battle hardened in every one. A few individuals really stood out with Gabriel F., Herbie G. and Tom H. fully deserving of their Colours whilst Lucas G. and Jackson T. were the two most improved players and integral to our success.

Mark Usher

U11B

Our first game of November saw us draw to Winchester House in 45-45-point barn stormer. We took an early lead, but Winchester slowly played their way back into the game. A hattrick of tries from Ethan T-L. and some fabulous turnover play from Ernie E., saw us dominate play in the second half but we were never able to stretch away from Winchester House.

With the team in high spirits, we played St Hugh’s, and the handling skills of the team on the day were first class. A standout performance from Harvey W-J., which saw some graceful

running, ferocious tackling and two excellent solo tries, helped secure a hard fought 30-30 draw.

Bruern Abbey was to be a tough test, with the boys pitting their skills against Bruern’s A team, going toe-to-toe, try for try in the first half. Oliver L. and Harrison L-J. didn’t stop running and tackled their hearts out, leaving the game nicely poised at half time 20 apiece. We scored an early try in the second half to take the lead. However, three runaway tries from Bruern saw them take a lead and this could not be clawed back. Although a loss was suffered, the collectiveness and passion demonstrated, meant that every player on the team left field with their heads held high.

The last game of the season was against Bilton Grange. What a titanic performance from William A. to round off a very good season for an improving player. Again, the togetherness of the team was evident during every second, supporting each other in both attack and defence. The boys were determined to finish the season strongly with a 70-55 point victory.

Simon Preece

U11C

A highly competitive game against St Hugh’s with strong all-round performances ensured we were competitive throughout. Although pipped in the end by a couple of tries, the team left the field smiling and proud of how they had played. The next game was against Bruern Abbey’s A team, in what was a very, very tough game. A heavy defeat turned out to probably be the highlight of the season, with every player giving every ounce of their effort without exception. The one try scored was celebrated vigorously as a

triumphant symbol of the effort the boys had put into the performance.

Bilton Grange brought a happy end to the rugby fixtures, with some very good rugby played and a drawn game result. Whether win, lose or draw, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing young people walking off the field with smiles on their faces. A fantastic end to the season!

Simon Preece

U12A

The Under 12s rugby programme was expertly put together by Stephen Woodhead (Woody), from Northampton Saints, giving the boys the opportunity for professional standard coaching and feedback throughout the season. Their results became frustrating for the boys, not starting fixtures with the right intensity and all too often trailing in the second half. However, second half performances always resulted in closer contests than results would suggest, as seen in the first fixture of the season against Abingdon Prep. Abingdon took the win (55-10) but were held to only two tries in the second half.

In the second fixture of the season, the boys showed much more intensity in the tackle, but were unable to mount any attacking pressure. A strong performance by Samuel B. was not enough to stop another loss, but improvements had been made, and Woody identified a need to play more creatively with the ball in hand.

After a week of attacking drills focussing on the offload, Pitsford were our next opponents where the team were able to utilise everything they had learned, winning comfortably (85-15).

Impressive performances in the middle of the season from Rufus S., Dan M. and Harry B. led to an improved pattern of play. They continued to build on knowledge imparted by Woody and this improvement culminated in a tense and fantastic performance against Winchester House securing a nail-biting (35-30) victory.

Although results may not have suggested a successful season, they have shown a respectful manner, the ability to listen and improve.

Tamlyn Goodrich

U12B

A season of improved technique, confidence, and respect from the Under 12s B team. Every member of the squad improved throughout, delivering excellent results and performances that, at times, even shocked themselves.

The first fixture of the season showed the boys they had the ability to perform successfully throughout the season and out tackle, and out battle, Abingdon Prep. Jack B. ran a hattrick of tries - his pace and power was untouchable on the day as the boys took a 72-25 win.

Victories were to become a norm as they continued their impressive start to the season with a 70-60 victory over Ashfold. A further victory against St Hugh’s led to the Bilton Grange fixture and the opportunity of an undefeated contact season. However, a strong Bilton Grange team, were just too good winning 60-20.

The improvements each boy made this season were a credit to them.

Tamlyn Goodrich

U13

Even though we did lose boys to injury or absence at various points, the team became a tight knit bunch. According to Mark Satterthwatte from Northampton Saints, the boys were a pleasure to coach, really engaging themselves in training and had a competitive streak which served them on the pitch.

A summary of the season is provided below:

Abingdon Prep U13B - Won 45-15

An excellent start to the season with Freddie T. scoring three tries and Ben C. and Gregor S. two each. Strong running and support kept the scoreboard turning over throughout the match.

Swanbourne House - Lost 25-45

The team came up against a strong side who exploited the space we afforded them. At times, we let our heads drop after conceding a few tries in quick succession but Beachborough fought back hard towards the end with Eddie H., King S. and Freddie T. being our stand out performers.

Pitsford – Won 100-10

Beachborough dominated the game from start to finish and against inexperienced opposition, the team were able to win with relative ease. Fast line speed in defence and good interplay with ball in hand gave many scoring opportunities.

Spratton Hall U13B - Won 50-20

The tackling and our speed at rucks made all the difference as we were able to make a number of turnovers, resulting in good possession. Will M. enjoyed his best game of the season, leading the

tackle count whilst Freddie had a hattrick of tries with Eddie H. and King S. also scoring twice each.

Winchester House - Lost 10-50

Conceding directly from the first kick off put the team on the back foot straight away and we never fully recovered from that. We gave a good side too much space by being hesitant, although we could have scored further tries ourselves but were either tackled in touch or in one situation, the ball was dropped on the try line.

St Hugh’s U13B - Won 35-10

A good team performance, bouncing back well after the previous game. King S. was given man of the match for his strong and direct running, keeping the ball safe in contact whilst Edward V. improved his understanding of the offside line to remain onside more often than not.

Bruern Abbey - Lost 35-65

A tough game against a much more physically developed side who took advantage of our lack of structure in defence, especially in the first half. A much improved second half, in which we had the upper hand, allowed us to execute our game plan and score a number of unanswered tries. Henry S. had his best game for the school, stopping a couple of certain tries for the opposition by grounding the ball first.

Bilton Grange – Lost 5-55

The season finished against another physically imposing opposition. Beachborough struggled to get out of their own half and gain possession or territory. The team worked hard and fought to the end against a stronger and faster side.

Usher

Mark

Girls’ Rugby

Girl’s Rugby is one of the sports that we are trying to establish at Beachborough. Throughout the Spring term, all girls from Form III to Form VIII had some form of rugby coaching either from Mr Blithe in PE lessons (Forms III and IV) or from Northampton Saints coaches who came in once a week and school staff (Forms V-VIII).

The girls were entered into the U13 Girls Sibford School 7s tournament which is hosted by Northampton Saints. This is a full contact tournament therefore there was a lot for the girls to learn. Quite a few girls stood out straight away as players who did not mind the contact and enjoyed getting muddy. Every Friday, I am sure parents did not thank us for the state of their kit, as sometimes, the girls were unrecognisable

after training and completely caked in mud! It is clear that our girls have watched a lot of rugby and have just been waiting for an opportunity to try it. They trained hard, ran well with the ball in hand and took to contact with impressive determination.

On the 23rd March, a team of ten Form VII and VIII girls went to Sibford making Beachborough

history as the first school girl’s rugby team. Grace B.., one of Form VII girls, was picked as captain for the tournament as she showed straight away a tactical rugby brain and strong leadership qualities. The team was made up of Grace B., Eilidh A., Mable E., Daisy E., Bunny H., Emily H., Bridget H., Penny H., Kaleigh L., Elodie M. and Lottie R. which is a 50:50 Form VII/VIII split, hopefully this bodes well for next year too.

There were four pool games to start, the first against Akeley Wood, which they won 19-15, the second against a very good Cheltenham which they lost 26-5, the third against the Royal Latin which they won 22-10 and fourth against Sibford A which they lost 15-10. This put us through to the plate competition, where we played Sibford B in

the semi-final and won 15-5. The final of the plate was against Bablake who were a very drilled and determined side. Our girls fought hard and despite some very brave performances lost 10-5 in what was a tight and tough game.

The tournament was a huge success for Beachborough, the girl’s made us very proud and should be congratulated on an impressive performance. A lot of the players we faced play outside of school in rugby clubs; none of our girls had ever played before. Stand out tackling performances were from Eilidh A., Lottie R., Emily H. and Grace B.. Watch this space for more exciting girl’s rugby fixtures and tournaments.

Sarah Greasley

Swimming

We also have swimmers who train at Brackley pool on a Monday night for Beachborough Sharks, the school swim team. This year the swimmers from both swimming clubs and Beachborough Sharks all performed brilliantly and made Mrs Greasley and Miss James very proud.

On St Patrick’s Day, a team of 28 swimmers travelled by coach to Stamford. Thanks to roadworks en route and a diversion to the junior school pool, a 28 strong team of swimmers arrived at the IAPS Regional Swimming Championships with just enough time for a 10 minute warm up and then get ready to race. The team spirit shown on poolside from every swimmer was incredible with the oldest children supporting and cheering for the youngest and vice versa. There were some fabulous swims, particularly from those swimmers racing up a year: Isla R.; Isaac W.; Lottie R.; Joseph P.; Rufus S. and Eva P. who swam two years up.

Once regionals finish, there is a long wait until all the other regional competitions in the country take place. IAPS usually release the results during the Easter holidays but a number of swimmers asked every day if the results were in. This year, we had four boys qualify for the U11 Medley Relay and three swimmers qualify in their individual 50m races. We also had two girls who both swam up an age group qualify in 22nd place, therefore as only the top twenty qualify, they were both placed as reserves. Nobody pulled out of Nationals so unfortunately neither Lottie R. or Isla R. got to swim at the next stage.

The IAPS National Swimming Championships were held on 11th June at the National Aquatic Centre in London which is where the 2012 Olympics were held. It is a very impressive pool and such a great experience for all the qualifiers. First up, was the relays and the Beachborough U11 Boys team swam two seconds faster than their entry time of 1:19.57 minutes to finish 17th in the country in a time of 1:17.81 minutes. Isaac W. started the relay off on the Backstroke leg, Harvey W-J. swam the Breaststroke next, then Gabriel F. swam the Butterfly and finally Herbie G. finished the relay off on the Frontcrawl leg.

Beachborough has a number of swimmers who swim outside of school for swimming clubs, who give up their evenings and early mornings to train regularly and their weekends to compete in galas.

Gabriel F. was up again for his individual U11 Boys 50m Backstroke race. Gabriel swam 40.66 to qualify, a 38.95 in the heats which qualified him for the final in 10th place. In the final, he swam 38.36 seconds to finish 7th overall, a personal best time of over two seconds from his entry time.

Finley N. qualified for the U12 50m Breaststroke in a time of 44.87 seconds. In the heats he swam a huge personal best time of 41.58 to qualify 10th into the final. Finley came 9th in the final with a great swim in 41.87 seconds.

The girls races were in the afternoon and Sophie J. qualified for the U13 Girl’s 50m Freestyle in 4th with a time of 30.91 seconds. In the heats, Sophie swam a personal best time of 29.42 to make it to the final seeded in 4th place. Sophie swam another personal best time in the final in a time of 29.35 coming fourth and missing out on a medal by 0.01 seconds.

What an amazing day with wonderful swims from all 6 swimmers, they flew the Beachborough flag with pride.

Swanbourne House very kindly invited us to their Team Gala on Thursday 12th May. In this type of gala, points are awarded for finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The hosts, Swanbourne had two teams, Beachborough had one team made up of 20 swimmers and Ashfold also had one team. There were other events going on at school, therefore we had to bring a young and relatively inexperienced team with many swimmers swimming up an age group or even two age groups. Despite this, Beachborough won the gala with 117 points, the Swanbourne A team finished on 108 points, Ashfold on 92 points and the Swanbourne B team on 45 points. There were so many impressive swims but particular mention must go to Beth J. and Isla R. for swimming up multiple age groups. There were a number of children swimming in their first ever gala: Jamie S., Archie T., Julia M., Bertie T., Bonnie H., Abigail J. and Kaleigh L. and they all really impressed Mrs Greasley and Miss James. Beachborough had a great team spirit with all team members supporting and cheering for each other and much excitement on poolside.

Sarah Greasley

Tennis

Whilst tennis fixtures are played in the Summer Term of each academic year, the various age group squads that we have, each receive a 45 minute session every week at lunchtimes throughout all three terms.

Trials take place in September, for Forms V to VIII, and then the squads are set to allow the pupils an opportunity to be coached in small groups to work on their all round game and court tactics and strategies.

This year, tennis matches were arranged with Maidwell Hall, The Dragon and Winchester House whilst Paul Valentine also ran an internal school tournament at Beachborough, for both our U11 and U13 boys and girls. Our U13’s found the going tough against Maidwell Hall with the U11 boys’ quartet of George H., Tom H., Jackson T. and Gethin P., proving to be a little more successful.

The Dragon fixture allowed us to play a huge number of our U13 players in the squad in a mixed doubles format, which was warmly embraced by the players. Although we came off second best in this match too, there were a number of close games and some impressive individual performances from the likes of Tilly L. and Jo R. in particular.

The final fixture of the season against our local neighbours, Winchester House, was a very close contest in both age groups. Our U11 boys and girls tasted success in a number of their matches with Thomas G. in Form IV enjoying his first outing for the school, playing up a couple of years. Our U13’s showed their skills and tenacity out on the court too, despite the blustery conditions, and managed to defeat some of the opposition’s pairs too, even though Winchester House were the overall winners on the night.

Despite the results in all three fixtures not always going in our favour, the players have shown a

commendable attitude to self-improvement and developed their individual games, and court awareness in doubles, as the season has worn on. Mable E. and Eddie H. have been dependable captains and will hopefully go on to play more tennis at both Bloxham and Stowe respectively. They hand the baton on to Rose P. and Joe R., as appointed tennis captains for 2022-23, and I am confident they will lead from the front, pushing Beachborough’s tennis on further.

Mark Usher

Triathlon

Well after a crazy 2 years of covid, we are back at full strength and the club continues to grow and enter new territory. As part of the club’s evolution as an independent affiliated club in 2019, in 2021 we became Beachborough & Brackley Triathlon club and as part of this in 2022 we also became a Swim Club – Brackley Swim Club, hence the name change.

We have trained right through the year, come rain or shine . Our Saturday morning land training sessions are at Beachborough with great facilities being offered by the school from the woods being used as our very own cyclecross/ running course, the fields on sunny days to the use of the sports hall when it’s raining outside or just too cold! In the sports hall the club uses it’s 30 turbo trainers for a great spinning session or

CrossFit workout session all in a fun environment where the kids work hard but leave with smiles on their faces and wanting to come back the following week.

Our swim sessions have grown incredibly too and now we hire the whole pool each time we train, we also have a fabulous team of coaches to support all our swimmers of all abilities and we

continue to attract swimmers from other swim clubs and across the county who want to try triathlons!

The race season got under way in April and runs though to the end of July, with a number of athletes being selected for south central or the IRC’s. They then travel up north in August for the final race which is also a sea swim, and the club hopes to have a number of triathletes who will be selected for this. During the race season, the club has had a number of podium finishes across a number of categories in pretty much every race we have entered and our members have travelled the length of the country, south coast right up to Leeds to compete on the same course as the Pros in the WTCS in their pursuit of the sport. Well done team!

It was great to have the Beachborough & Brackley Triathlon back at Stowe this year: after a 2 year absence and despite numbers being down from past years, we had a fantastic day. We had great weather on our side and the enthusiasm and energy from all the children who took part was fantastic. I want to give a big shout out to our very own Beachborough children. Some children were already members, some competing for the first time and some wanting another go after the fun they had at Oundle! You were all amazing!

After not having a Triathlon captain from Beachborough in 2021, we are delighted to have Noah H. as Triathlon captain from September

2022. In the past year, Noah has shown his dedication and support to the club, training every week, travelling the country to compete, and even attending events where he wasn’t competing due to injury to support his fellow triathletes. We wish him all the best in his new role and know he will be a great role model.

Triathlon is always fun but when you have such a great group of enthusiastic, determined, and talented children, it’s such a privilege for the coaches to support, develop and drive triathlon forward at Beachborough. For the children of Beachborough what better environment could tri club be for them? A place where they are having fun, where they get fit and become healthier, learning multisport’s with their friends and the opportunity to make new friends from within the community!

I would like to thank everyone who has supported the triathlon club over the last 12 months, without you we wouldn’t have such an amazing, growing club! I would also like to thank Stowe School for allowing us to host our Triathlon. We will be back again next year, so put the 18th June 2023 in your diary. A big thanks to Beachborough school & staff for all of their support, not only at the triathlon but also allowing us to use their incredible facilities every Saturday. Thank you to the parents for ferrying your children to all the training sessions, however the biggest thank you goes to all the children who make Beachborough & Brackley Triathlon Club such a special place. Thank you all!

York Harris

Equestrian

The 2021/2022 season has been a fruitful one for the Beachborough equestrian team. With lockdown finally over and covid protocols gradually lifted, the team could really show their talent and enthusiasm for the sport.

Equestrian team captains for the season were Bunny H. and Daisy E.. With 18 riders registered as members, we had a very strong team of experienced riders with some new younger members joining for their first year.

With no cancellations to the calendar, it was a full on year with the team totting up 18 wins in a row, overall they amassed 31 wins and 72 placings. At only one competition did Beachborough not come back with a win. All team members pushed themselves out of their comfort zones to step up a level, if not two, over the season.

Beachborough Eventer Challenge

The Beachborough Eventer Challenge was held at Dallas Burston on Easter Monday, a super venue for a very testing competition. Organised by Sally Burnell with the help of Lloyd Hunt and his team at LandS Eventing, the event was enthusiastically supported by Mr Pritchard, Mr Preece and Mrs Blithe. we saw a huge turn out of entries. This didn’t stop the Beachborough team showing their best and winning their trophies back, along with a lot of Easter eggs.

With both team wins in the 70/75cm and 80/85cm, and some super individual results, we gained two more team and three individual qualifications for the Hickstead National Championships.

The results were as follows:

70/75cm

Team: 1st - Edward C., Bridget H., Bunny H., Daisy E 3rd - Edward C., Flora E., Gracie C., Jemima L. Individual: 2nd - Daisy E., 6th and 10th - Edward C.

80/85cm

Team: 1st -Bunny H., Grace B., Gracie C., William H. 4th -Bridget H., Grace B., Gracie C., Jemima L.

Individual: 2nd - William H., 4th - Gracie C., 10thGrace B.

90/95cm

Individual: 10th - William H.

NSEA Grass Roots Championships at Hickstead – August 2021

In August a small team headed to Hickstead for the Showjumping Grassroots championship, this had been qualified for the previous season. We won the 60cm category, with the team consisting of Bridget H., Grace B. and Jemima L.. Individually, Bridget Harper won the class and Grace Browne placed 3rd.

A win in the 70cm then followed, with riders Bridget H., Bunny H., Daisy E. and Jemima L.. Bridget was successful again with 3rd and 4th places, individually.

Daisy E. won an open class and William H. won the Silver Feet 70cm championships individually.

Keysoe National Jumping Championships

Four riders qualified for Keysoe. Edward C. and Gracie C. both rode beautifully in the “Jumping With Style” Eventing Championships, where they judge 50% on how they ride and 50% on jumping and time faults.

Bridget H. and William H. both competed in the 70cm Show Jumping Championships and both rode lovely rounds. William H. had a call up for a place on the central team in the Nations Cup final that weekend, and his consistency over the year had earned William a spot on the team, they went on to finish 3rd.

Bloxham Eventer Challenge Series

The Bloxham Eventer Challenge Series held at Aston Le Walls Eventing Centre is a four part series with points won added up at the end for the final. Beachborough won all the team 70cm and 80cm classes bar one throughout the series, which put them in a very strong position to win the final with plenty in hand.

The championship results were an unbelievable achievement by all the children, with Bunny H. completing a double in the 65cm with a win as individual and as a team member with Flora E., Gracie C., and Jemima L.. Edward C., Grace B. and Bridget H. placed 2nd as a team. Individually, Grace B. placed 4th and Jemima L. placed 6th.

Bunny went on to win the 80cm jointly with William H. who also completed a double with a team win as well, with Grace B., Gracie C. and Jemima L.. Individually, Gracie C. placed 4th and Jemima L. placed 6th.

Country Qualifiers and Championship

The team upped the level of competition and competed in Show Jumping County Qualifiers, which is the next stage. It is highly competitive and the team didn’t disappoint.

The team won the first class with Jemima L., Grace B. and Bridget H. in the team.

The next class Beachborough placed 1st and 2nd. The winning team consisting of Jemima L., Grace B. and William H., and second place to Grace B., William H., Bridget H. and Bunny H.. Grace B. also won the class as an individual.

These are fantastic results for their step up. The winning teams and riders had qualified for the county championship in May at Hickstead.

May 2022

The team, consisting of Bunny H., Bridget H., Grace B. and Jemima L., went to Hickstead with high hopes for the 70cm class. This competition was made up of the best show jumping teams from each county. They all rode very competitively to win their class. The next class team of Bridget H., Grace B., Jemima L. and William H. followed up with a 4th place in the 80cm class. Grace B. also secured a win in the County championship. A great way to finish the weekend.

Hickstead Eventing Championships

This was the same weekend as the County Show jumping, so a busy few days for all riders, ponies and parents.

As always the team sprint in the Beachborough camp was high, and this year the sun shone, travel on the M25 was easy and all the riders whose ambitions were to qualify for the prestigious champs had done so, we had a full team.

At the championships the fences go up in height and the course is designed to really test the horse and rider, it requires bold confident riding.

With a huge turn out of 32 teams in the 70/75cm class, Edward C., Daisy E., Jemima L. and William H., rode 4 accurately timed rounds to come 2nd - a fantastic achievement against the best teams across the country. Bridget H., Bunny H., Edward C. and Gracie C. also came a very respectable 13th. Jemima L. held the top spot for most of the day and came so close until the very last rider. Jemima finished 2nd individually from 157 riders.

The entries for 80/85cm championship was even higher with 46 teams and 222 individuals. We had two teams finish a very competitive 14thBridget H., Bunny H., Gracie C., William H. - and 18th - Grace B., Gracie C., Jemima L. and William H.. Gracie C. also finished 9th individually, and the top 10 had not even 2 seconds between them.

Schools Equestrian Games

The schools equestrian games is an eventing series held on grass throughout the spring and summer months. The competition is made up of dressage, show jumping and cross country, and is a test of obedience, accuracy, speed and endurance.

This spring Gracie C., Edward C., Bridget H. and Bunny H. have all been out competing. Gracie C. has had success with a win at Aston Le Walls and some good placing including a 2nd at Swalcliffe Park and has qualified both her ponies for the championships in October.

Dressage Outside Beachborough

Although these aren’t school competitions, Violet H. has had an incredible run of success in the dressage field which should be noted. Violet has been competing in open company against adults and not only winning qualify competitions, Violet has in fact gone on win at Regional and National Level Championships.

Alana West

Co-Curricular

The Co-Curricular programme is an integral part of the all-round education that is at the heart of the Beachborough experience. In all that they do, we encourage our pupils to use the skills of ‘ACE’ learning (Active, Creative, Exploratory) and our seven identified ‘Intellectual Characteristics’, to be the best that they can be outside of the classroom too. We are very proud of the wide range of co-curricular activities on offer and how the children have embraced new challenges as well as developing existing skills.

Pre-Prep

Each week there are many sports activities going on in the Boardman. Coach George gives out ‘Player of the Week’ to deserving children and it is so lovely to see their enthusiasm and commitment to their sporting activities. Children in the Pre-Prep have worked very hard for their Gerry and Ginger Dance Awards in Ballet and Modern Dance classes. The Yoga Club have completed a Cosmic Kids Yoga Quest and the Wellbeing Club were shooting water pistols, disco dancing, finger and feet painting, den building and making wooden spoon puppets. There were so many more challenges to be discovered in Lego, Origami, Beading, Photography and Talk Clubs this year too.

Boardman Form III & IV

During the winter months, the Spy Club were busy with a number of different activities to train the children to become secret spy agents. Making the most of the classroom, field and woods, they enjoyed finger printing and surveillance activities, code breaking, laser maze, escape and evasion games, and crossing a minefield using different objects such as ropes, buckets, bamboo sticks and other equipment. around the school too. The Form III and IV Modern Dance class have been performing some amazing lifts and are to be congratulated on their collaboration to produce such exciting and dynamic performances. The singing coming from the weekly Hits Squad sessions is a delight to listen to, they are a big, enthusiastic group and clearly love to sing together. Our Engineering club have worked on a number of projects developing their cutting and building techniques which involved a lot of problem solving.

Manor House

The Heraldry Club created amazing Medieval and Saxon wooden shields. They began their project with a wooden template that they had to construct and glue together. Once they had developed their design, the wood was covered with papier mâche, the front with bright colours and the back with a wood effect. They took an impressive piece of work home at the end of term.

The Art Club has been a hive of activity this year with multiple projects going on. The scholars have spent the majority of the year focused on perfecting their portfolios but also joining in with the projects too. They have worked on printing techniques and practised using lino tools to create prints of insects. Also, they looked at the work of David Hockney and tried their hand at replicating one of his colourful landscapes. The spring term saw them creating individual pieces for the Royal Academy Young Artists Competition. 3D doodlebugs have kept us busy in the summer term and everyone has enjoyed creating some vibrant patterns to adorn the bugs.

The Young Enterprise Club have had a magnificent year and so far, have raised over £1,200 for Mary’s Meals and Lumos. The year kicked off with a spooky twist as Harry, Rosie and Edward helped to organise the ‘Great Beachborough Pumpkin Hunt’. We were staggered by the numbers of attendance and had over 220 visits from members of the Westbury community as well as some surrounding villages. We even made the press and featured in the local news! The event was such a success that we now intend on making it an annual event.

Next came our Christmas Lucky Dip! It was a

roaring success and the Teddy Tombola in the Spring Term, saw many cuddly friends finding new homes! Our most recent charity fundraiser involved selling the sunflower seeds in aid of raising money for the children of Ukraine during their time of turmoil. We look forward to the next event and continue to surprise ourselves with original and thoughtful ideas to raise money for Charity.

The Reasoning Club on Tuesday evenings has been a mixture of becoming familiar with the types of questions that arise in verbal and non-verbal reasoning assessments alongside playing games and puzzles involving strategy and thought. The club have enjoyed playing word games like hangman and knock out tournaments of Connect 4. Sometimes they work out tangrams as well as helping and offering each other advice when working in their reasoning books.

The Sports Hall is busy each evening with different sporting opportunities including Badminton, Circuit Training, Indoor Games, Cricket, Basketball and Dodgeball. Over the course of the Spring Term, the athletics group worked tirelessly at improving all aspects of their athletic fitness, especially their explosive leg power. Using flexibility bands, the students were able to build muscle and flexibility in the hope of positive results during the athletic season. The attitude and energy showed from each child was tremendous and have allowed each of the children to make improved performances across all athletics events.

The warm summer evenings brought a revival of traditional Beachborough Wide Games from the past five decades. The children have had great fun, racing across the Island Pitch to avoid being caught in ‘Long Ball’. Much delight was to be heard as they kicked rugby balls at a dustbin in the hilarious and pointless game of ‘Rugby Golf.’ All around the grounds, children were challenged to avoid the ‘Stalkers’ and reach different bases. In the woods, teams battled to ‘Capture the Flag’ using strategies and tactics to befuddle and defeat the opposition.

LAMDA

For those that took part in the Milton Keynes Arts Festival, it was a fantastic opportunity to showcase their drama skills in front of an audience. They represented the school really well and brought home a super haul of medals. The children all said that they found the event challenging and inspirational. In school, 108 children have entered LAMDA examinations in the summer term and will no doubt, do very, very well.

Gymnastics

The gymnasts have been working hard to develop their skills in both Pre-Prep and Squad sessions and have made fantastic progress across the terms. Pre-Prep sessions are all about developing a strong foundation of quality basic skills on the floor and then performing some of these on benches, movement tables and off spring boards. Many of the Squad gymnasts have moved onto much trickier skills and have really impressed Mrs Smith-Childs with their courage when trying things for the first time. Lots of them are working towards backward walkovers and handsprings off the vault. Well done all!

Judo and Karate

Many children across the school have taken part in and achieved one or two levels of Grading in Judo and Karate this year. The Judo Club is thriving, and it is wonderful to watch the empathy and kindness between Pre-Prep, Boardman and Manor House children as they support each other to grow in confidence and technique.

Verity Sanders

The Beachborough Racing Team

After two years of disruption, Motorsport UK has enabled all races to resume as normal this season and this also applies to our Goblin series.

As a consequence, the new team of Form V and VI boys and girls, had no previous race experience when we set off to Gloucestershire on 21st May for our first event of the year. We had practised a lot on the netball courts, both slalom and drag, as well as racing against each other. There were some fierce competition at the venue where about 15 cars were involved. But thanks to all the hard work we had put in, it was clear that the Beachborough Racing Team was a step above the competition.

But we had also brought our new secret weapon. Alongside Arty Abby and Merry Mary, Funky Phoebe was having her race debut, having completed just a quick check on the Thursday before the race, and our jaws had dropped when we realized how fast it was. The other teams’ jaws also dropped when they understood how quick it was! The team raced superbly to collect a 1-2 finish overall with Funky Phoebe leading Arty Abby to victory. A huge thank you to the extraordinary people who made this possible.

On Sunday 10th July, we headed back to Goodwood Motor Circuit for the annual Gathering of Goblin. The Beachborough Racing Team did very well against 61 other cars and a tough course! They came 3rd in slalom, 2nd in drag, 2nd in the Over 12 race and 1st on the lap of Champions!

Goblin has become a major part of Beachborough and we have welcomed, trained and raced with quite a big number of children now. Hopefully, the experience will have inspired some future vocation. But this would simply not be possible without the expertise, dedication and passion of Simon Williams, who has been working with the team for the last three years, and of course to Paul Eastman, who has led the program since the beginning in 2016. To both of them, a huge thank you. And to all the children who are attended and raced this year, well done and congratulations!

Nicolas Perronnet

Quizzing

Every year Beachborough hosts a rather popular Club General Knowledge competition that bestows kudos to a well-deserved winning team.

But this year we took quizzing to a whole new level and entered the ‘Quiz Club’ National Key Stage Two Championship – the largest interschools competition in the whole of the UK! We thought it would be fun, if nothing else, to test out the quality of random information we know, as well as our knowledge, speed and dexterity against others.

Quizzing has moved a long way forward since the days of paper anagrams and catchphrases though! Two Beachborough teams used a unique platform that linked personal quizzing devices to not only the quizmaster but also other teams - what better way to showcase our ability in a live scoring event from the comfort of our own classroom. And showcase it we certainly did!

In the Southern area heat, both of our teams performed magnificently. Out of 165 schools, our teams were positioned in 10th and 17th place, respectively. The Form III and IV team: Max W., Juliet W., Ariana M. and Zach L-W. qualified automatically for the National Semi Final. The Form V and VI team: Isla C-B., Freddie H., Jake K. and Abigail C. narrowly missed out by only one place.

In the National Semi Final, Beachborough’s Form III and IV Team achieved a respectable top 65 position. With very little margin of difference between such an elite field of quizzers, on any other day our team could well have reached the final. Congratulations to both teams and all the pupils that took part - what amazing collaboration and demonstration of encyclopaedia-like knowledge they all had.

Next year Beachborough will most definitely be entering the 2022-2023 Championships. Mr Knowles will have the privilege of running a weekly or fortnightly club in order to practise for the first area heat in January. If you feel that this kind of club or event is your cup of tea, then listen out for announcements in assembly in September for how to get involved. Pop those thinking caps on over the Summer holidays so that you know everything there is to possibly know about everything!

Tom Knowles

Whole School Trip to Giffords Circus

Enrichment Week

Wellbeing

It’s been another busy year for myself, as part of the Pastoral Team here at Beachborough, supporting all of our children, staff and parent’s wellbeing and mental health.

The children have continued to be supported with 1:1 sessions and small groups for support with understanding anxiety & worry, transitions, resilience, social skills/friendship, bereavement and loss and boosting self esteem. I offer this support to all pupils in school and, as a qualified counsellor, I can also include 1:1 counselling sessions in school.

I have supported parents by offering help, advice, a listening ear and support with strategies to use at home with their child which builds on the strategies and techniques already used in class.

We promoted and supported another wonderful Children’s Mental Health Week in February, and this year Mr Pritchard has led wonderful assemblies promoting the importance of Mental Health and sleep, dance and singing.

We continue to offer weekly Wellbeing sessions as part of the curriculum which are an important time for tutors to get to know their tutee’s really well in small, supportive, fun sessions where they enjoy time together to celebrate successes and positives but also deliver planned sessions on subjects such as reflection, problem solving, asking for help, self care techniques, resilience and also understanding mental and physical health. Wellbeing is embedded and celebrated in all areas of Beachborough school life and are valuable life skills to enable the children to flourish and thrive.

I have really enjoyed getting to know Claire B., Vivien W. and Emma M. our Wellbeing Ambassadors who have run an assembly on how to ask for help in the Boardman as part of Children’s Mental Health Week and contributed to the school newsletter with really helpful wellbeing ideas and suggestions. I will continue to work with the Ambassadors to promote wellbeing at Beachborough.

The School Council has worked really hard this year and has enabled some very useful pupil voice feedback especially on ideas for play areas.

Haig

Katrina

Medical

A sunny Monday morning in February brought together nurses and matrons from three counties to Beachborough for a forum meetingit was nice to get back to some sort of normality! After a few kind words from the Headmaster the forum got under way. Our Guest speaker, Mrs Clare Thomas, led a very interactive session on talking to parents, which challenged a few of us when it was time for the role play. It was a great opportunity for both new and experienced nurses in independent schools to share a wealth of knowledge over lunch. Some of the nurses came and had a look at our medical room, they loved it. Schools that attended were Bedford School, Cokethorpe, Thornton College, Oxford High School, Rugby School, Wellingborough, Stowe, Swanbourne and Beachborough. A good time was had by all, and a big thank you to Selles Medical for sponsoring the event.

We had another busy but rewarding year in the Medical Centre!

Every year on the 12th of May, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world to honour the contributions that nurses make to society.

We visited our Nursery and Kindergarten children to combine celebrating International Nurses Day and their topic about people who help us. We read the children a Florence Nightingale story, before teaching and demonstrating what we do as Nurses, and what equipment we use. Mr Boardman even volunteered to have his arm put in a sling!

We also presented the Boardman children with an assembly all about International Nurses Day. We educated the children on the different types of nurses and some famous nurses throughout history.

Boarding

Amidst the excitement and conviviality, we welcomed Alex and Jamie our two new chap gaps, who joined us for the 2021-2022 academic year. Another welcome was extended to Mr Preece who not only joined Beachborough as Deputy Head in October but also the boarding team. He has proved to be a real asset to the team.

Our Senior Boarders have been on hand to help out and lead the way this year, we thank Eilidh A., Sophie N., Ben C. and Fergus A. for their efforts.

The first Friday night of the new academic year combined two pulse racing activities. In the Whybrow we had Nerf gun wars and in the sports hall, we had zorbing! Both activities proving to be great fun and certainly not for the feint hearted!

The second Friday night was a much more sedate affair – Christmas film night, which turned the top of the red stairs into a cinema complex, with different films for the differing age groups being shown in various locations. A great success, with jim jams, snuggly blankets and popcorn, what more could you ask for on a cold winter’s eve?!

For the regular boarders the following Friday was the Kites Christmas party! We all ventured up to, and were welcomed into, the Village Hall singing carols, accompanied by the ukulele band, prior to the switching on of the Christmas lights. Unbeknownst to the boarders it didn’t end there… awaiting them in the sports hall back at Beachborough was a huge inflatable assault course which spanned the length of the hall! A great surprise for them all!

Our Spring term Friday night special was a Harry Potter themed evening – we all dressed up as witches and wizards and a magician entertained us all whilst the children watched their hero of the night on the big screen.

The Formal dinner for Forms VII and VIII went tremendously well – everybody in their finery and looking wonderful for the pre-dinner photos. The ensuing dinner and disco afterwards was a great hit with everybody grooving the night away.

The Summer term’s Friday night offering was laser tag in the woods, which was great fun. We also obviously had the Form VIII Leavers Ball and our now famous end of term water fight party –water pistols and sponges were at the ready, and no one stayed dry!

We were delighted to fully re-open Kites Boarding house back in September! The dorms and corridors of this great boarding house once again resonating with children’s laughter and excitement!

BUT it’s not all about Friday nights, we have enjoyed a wide range of activities throughout the year in Kites. The new paths have proved a hit with our skateboarders! The dry summer evenings thus far have seen many a boarder whizzing down the tarmac with big smiles on their faces. It’s proved so popular that we have had to order extra skateboards! The Form III and IVs enjoyed their first Kites trip out to the Banbury bowling alley. We weren’t sure how it would be received but it went brilliantly! All the children and staff had a great time, with many strikes being had. Having recently passed his Archery instructors course Mr Blithe is keen to resurrect Archery at Beachborough. We have had our inaugural session, and we look forward to many more this summer. Its so wonderful to be outside again for boarding, the children enjoying the grounds unabated, making the most of the cricket nets and the astro turf too!

We said goodbye to Callie and Rachel our last Australian Gappies at the end of the Autumn term. They were great Gappies, and we were grateful for their efforts throughout this particularly unprecedented year.

This year we have celebrated many different cultures in Kites including Diwali and Chinese New Year. For the latter we were lucky enough to have a mother of two of our boarders Mrs Dowdeswell come in a cook dumplings for us –they were delicious! The boarder’s loved making them and subsequently eating them!

It’s been a busy year again in Kites as has been documented but, this isn’t possible without the dedication of the staff that help to run the boarding house. Our Gappies and Matron work tirelessly to ensure the children have the best possible time and for that we thank them.

As our fourth year drew to a close, we wondered where that time had gone, and we looked forward to the coming year and all the memories we’ll make.

Susi and Nick Blithe

From our Senior Boarders

Boarding is a community, its somewhere we can feel safe amongst friends. Kites is like a second home, filled with joy, friendship, excitement, and love. It is a place where imagination can grow.

Our boarding parents (Mr and Mrs Blithe) are always there for us and our gappies always make us happy, from making the best toasties to playing with us in the cricket nets. During activities, spending time with our boarding community is a great way to connect with each other, whether it’s playing manhunt or relaxing on the sofas whilst watching a movie collectively.

Friday night boarding is a big part of kites which allows people to enjoy an exciting experience. Activities range from a Harry Potter night to the amazing water fight at the end of the summer term.

Looking back on our boarding years, it has provided us with a lifetime of fun, friends, and memories. Boarding has meant a lot to us over the past few years and has prepared us for our future Senior Schools.

We are so grateful for the opportunity to board at this incredible school and will always remember these amazing memories we have made in Kites.

Sophie N., Eilidh A., Ben C. and Fergus A.

Charity

There is no doubt that Beachborough children, staff and parents continue to be superb fundraisers. This year has been packed with amazing events, creating wonderful memories and thousands of pounds for many different charities: The British Legion, Young Minds, The Brackley Food Bank, Children In Need, Sign2Sing, Brain Tumour Research, Lumos Ukraine Emergency Appeal, Restless Development, Children’s Air Ambulance and Mary’s Meals.

Our fundraising helps local charities, national charities and global charities. This means that our love and support help those in need who are close by, as well as reaching out to others around the world.

As you read through this report, you will be reminded of all the fabulous, original fundraising ideas and events that have taken place, as well as - dotted throughout the year - the return of some of our favourite Beachborough charity traditions.

This year, the Beachborough Community has raised over £30,000.

Autumn Term

In September, to start our fundraising and to continue supporting our school charity - Mary’s Meals – a group of Form VII pupils and staff abseiled down the tower of St Mary Magdalen Church in the centre of Oxford. Determined, fearless, smiling and supporting each other the group raised an astonishing £2,544 – enough funds to feed 160 pupils out of the 752 pupils enrolled at our sponsored school, Nthola Primary, in Malawi.

To celebrate harvest and to help others, we held a club competition to collect non-perishable foods (packaged in our club colours) to donate to Brackley Food Bank.

In October, pupils and staff were invited to wear yellow to support the charity - a charity that supports young people with any form of mental health issue so that they never feel alone. The charity works hard to ensure that young people receive the support they need, as well as helping them to build their resilience to overcome any difficulties they may face.

To celebrate World Porridge Day, we invited children to send in photographs of their delicious bowls of porridge; helping us to connect with and reflect on the needs of our pupils at our sponsored school in Malawi.

In November, we wore ‘spots to raise lots’ to support the charity, Children in Need. Our MUFTI Day raised £1,110.

And, the Christmas Bazaar Charity Raffle raised £2,145, in aid of Mary’s Meals – enough money to feed 135 pupils at our sponsored school. We were also able to help other hungry children, around the world, due to the ‘double the love’ campaign.

Spring Term

In February, we saw the return of two favourite charity activities: Sign2Sing and SPLASHTASTIC 2022.

The whole school learnt the words and the signs to the song, ‘Together.’ Pupils and staff practised in preparation for a very special whole school assembly; a chance to come together and reflect on what it would be like to be deaf - how would we feel if we were unable to hear the things around us? Trying to empathise what it would be like; how would we cope if we were unable to communicate easily with our friends?

Back at Towcester Leisure Centre, a recordbreaking 189 swimmers splashed, floated, swam, slid down the flume, scrabbled over the giant inflatable and jumped the waves – raising £945 at our biggest Beachborough Pool Party so far!

To support families in Ukraine, in March, we launched the ‘Sunflower for Peace’ campaign. An emergency appeal set up by the charity, Lumos, which promised to send 100% of funds donated to help children in Ukraine. Thousands of children were suddenly at risk of displacement and family separation. Emergency food, hygiene and medical kits were urgently needed as well as money to help support foster carers. Beachborough pupils responded by selling sunflower seeds (the national flower of Ukraine). Each bag contained 4 seeds representing: HOPE, LOVE, PEACE and LIGHT - for a brighter, safer future.

In April, the sun shone for our whole school hat parade and giant cake sale. Our fundraising day, in aid of the charity Brain Tumour Research, involved the whole school wearing their fabulous hat creations, baking and bringing in cakes, wearing special hat badges and making donations by remembering to ‘chuck it’ in the decorated ‘Wear A Hat Day’ buckets! What a tremendous total: £1,868.

Summer Term

In May, we took part in the Schools Triathlon. An event organised by the global charity, Restless Development. This charity works hard to help young people around the world connect with each other and tackle challenges with the view to creating a better world. The charity is committed to supporting young people to become leaders in their communities; when problems are identified they are encouraged to find solutions and then supported to help make changes – inspiring.

Beachborough entered the most teams: 36 teams made up from 146 Beachborough competitors. Before the event, teams were committed to gathering sponsorship; during the event, teams were committed to giving their best effort and now after the event, the result is an incredible £17,310 raised.

Fun, energy, cheering, smiles, sunshine and medals – what an amazing fundraising day and what an impact this money will make around the world. Three quarters of the money donated to the charity, Restless Development and £4140 (which equals to 260 pupils fed for a whole year) donated to our school charity, Mary’s Meals.

In June, we held another whole school charity event - our magnificent PRE-LOVED PLAZA. An idea inspired by the Manor House Enrichment Week’s theme of ‘recycling.’ Weeks of sorting and organising led to an array of pre-loved items to sell on to new loving homes. What an event! Led by The Young Enterprise Club and some fabulous volunteers from every year group in the Manor House – we raised an incredible £880. It was a chance to show our support for the local Children’s Air Ambulance and for Mary’s Meals.

There is not a month that goes by (hardly a week) where we are not congratulating, celebrating, and being inspired by outstanding fundraising at Beachborough. Our pupils are dedicated to helping others. They are caring; motivated; full of energy; happy to help; original with their ideas and infectious smiles; team players and learning that – however small –together we can do great things.

This year, we have supported over ten charities and raised tens of thousands of pounds.

Thank you Beachborough for your neverending support with all our charity events. Your generosity is a sign of LOVE. Thank you for sharing and thank you for caring.

Sally Gross

Beachborough Friends

What an incredible year it has been!

Fireworks Night

On the 5th November and with the weather on our side, the school once again came together to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night with a superb bonfire and fireworks display. The event was a sell out with the more than 700 tickets sold and attendees being treated to a choice of hot food, mulled wine and hot chocolate. As Beachborough tradition dictates, the bonfire was lit by the youngest child in Form III before an incredible firework display which only seems to get better and better each year. The event was a resounding success as always providing an opportunity for Beachborough families and staff to come together while also raising over £1,700 for Beachborough’s chosen charities. We are looking forward to seeing you all there again next year.

Christmas Bazaar

On a deep & crisp & even morning in November the famous Christmas Bazaar took place. Suz Widdowson created a Kids Winter Wonderland with Christmas themed activities that kept the kids entertained whilst the grown ups shopped. Santa’s Grotto was beautifully dressed by our fabulous American community, thanks to Jason, Kendall, Erin & Team. A special mention should go to Jacqui and Michi for looking after Santa and managing the endless rush of children desperate to see the big man!

The Sports Hall and Whybrow Theatre were buzzing with over 70 local businesses selling their gifts & wares to enthusiastic shoppers. Visitors enjoyed our new food court area situated

The role of Beachborough Friends is, in the main part, to organise social events to enhance the school community. We have a lot of fun along the way, as well as raising money for charity and supporting the school.

on the terrace. Hot food, mulled wine coffee and cakes were served whilst the Beachborough choir sung carols which made it a truly festive atmosphere. Thanks go to all volunteers who helped with the set up, the set down, and everything in between - we couldn’t have done it without you.

Sticking with the Christmas theme, massive thanks to Victoria Sillett who for years has run our Charity Christmas Card fundraiser and to Nick Aldworth who researched and ran with our Christmas Bauble fundraiser at the 11th hour.

90s Disco and Quiz

It was third time lucky for this event having had to be postponed twice. However, unwilling to give up the event went ahead finally and fun was had by all. Highlights were the photo booth and Mr Pritchard as quiz master extraordinaire. So much effort was put in for costumes and it was wonderful to see everyone letting their hair down.

Beachborough Ball

This long awaited event took place on Saturday 2nd July with a Great Gatsby theme. Wonderful food, bottles of bubbles flowing and dancing into the early hours, it really was a night to remember and we had an amazing team working on bringing it all together. Trish had a vision for the decor and pulled it off in a way that exceeded all expectations. Nadine Robarts and Rebecca Alp did a fantastic job of securing sponsorship and producing the beautiful programme for the night, a momento that I will be holding on to. It felt like the perfect way to end the school year and to end my term as Chair of Beachborough Friends.

I have greatly enjoyed my time as Chair and will be sad to leave. Thank you to Charlotte Goode for staying on as treasurer. We do not at time of print have final figures but it would seem Beachborough Friends has raised approximately £25,000 this year which is an incredible achievement and something we can all be proud of. Jacqui Bell and Faye Tennant will be taking on the joint role of Chair and I wish them all of the luck even though they do not need it!!

Jen Tomlins

In the Summer we attended Beachborough for our final term before setting off on our new adventures to our senior schools. To say we have mixed emotions is an understatement. We know that we speak for all of Form VIII when we say, that on the one hand, we’re ready to leave – excited (and perhaps a little nervous) at the thought of a new term at a new school with new friends. But, we’re ready for the challenges that lie ahead for us. Nevertheless, there’s also a sense of sadness as we say goodbye to the people and places that have been so important to us and close a door on Beachborough.

Memories are funny things. When we thought back over our years at Beachborough. Some memories really did just seem like only yesterday. I (Alice) can clearly remember walking into Nursery for first time, clinging to my dad’s leg and refusing to let go.

And, I (Fergus) can remember the great day I earnt my pen license, a reward for my much improved handwriting. I still have it somewhere. Yet, on the other hand, sometimes it seems that Beachborough has been part of our life forever.

Beachborough hasn’t just been a part of our life, it has been our life. Orson Scott Card, the American author of the brilliant ‘Ender’s

A Message from the...

Head Boy & Head Girl

Game’ once said that ‘Every person is defined by the community she belongs to’. From the moment we stepped through the doors, the Beachborough community welcomed us – a community made up of not just staff, but everyone. From the administrative team, like the wonderful Mrs. Shannon, whose cheery smile has welcomed us every morning, to our amazing cleaners, like Sam, who has always has time to say hello. From the kitchen staff with their epic Christmas lunches to the groundsmen, who have kept our school grounds so beautiful.

In Form VIII, we feel that one member of the Beachborough community stands head and shoulders above the rest and he’s not a teacher (sorry!) - it’s Mr. Gilder. Quite simply, he’s a legend. There isn’t a day that goes past when he doesn’t ask how we are or doesn’t stop to pass the time of day. Mr. Gilder, you are a truly brilliant role model, we’d like to thank you for your immense kindness towards us.

Our journey through Beachborough has not been plain sailing and we hit choppy waters when, to misquote JK Rowling, ‘the virus that shall not be named’ hit our shores in 2020. However, looking back on those extraordinary months, it seems that perhaps our community grew even stronger. Through the

wonders of ‘Teams’ we laughed, we learnt, and we lived our strange new world – ‘together apart’. That was a phrase often banded about at that time but for Beachborough it couldn’t have been more apt.

We’d like to pass on a message for the Beachborough children who will return in September. Although you may not know it now, you are in an inspiring place. We both know that it’s been a privilege to grow up at Beachborough.

Never forget that your parents are giving you something brilliant, and don’t forget to say thank you!

The time has come for us to hand over our badges to next year’s Head Boy and Head Girl, Rufus S. and Grace B. as they step into our shoes. We wish them the best of luck for next year.

Alice M. and Fergus A.

A Message from the...

Chair of Governors

A warm welcome to you all. I must express my great pleasure and joy in seeing so many of you at the Leavers’ Service and Prize Giving last term, and how grateful I am for this return to a level of normality. It is extremely heartening to finally celebrate in person after the uncertainty and continuous change of the recent past.

Although over the last couple of years, our whole community has been tested to the limit, and for many the ramifications of this period have left its impact. I must commend the whole community for finding great depths of resilience, but particularly commend the Beachborough staff on their commitment, through innovation and adaptation, in working to support our children as they move through the effects of the last two years.

As a Governing body we continue to support improvements within the school. Projects include the extensive restoration and new planting on the front terrace, the work on restoring the Ouse waterway under the bridge and the addition of new pathways, providing not only better access to different areas of the school but a much loved karting track for the boarders. Internal works include the installation of a new digital composition suite in the music department, and regular upgrading of internal parts of the school. We have also added the ‘after school hub’

to support wrap around care. I am most excited to share that Christian Pritchard and myself are working together to develop a digital Alumni program, to ensure that we stay connected as a community, whilst Beachburians continue their educational journey and beyond.

The shadow of Covid remains with us and we find that we need to be adaptable in supporting the whole Beachborough community as we navigate our way through unchartered waters. As ever, the excellent Beachborough staff rise to this challenge and in all areas support our children in every conceivable way.

On behalf of the whole Governing Body, I thank them for their extraordinary endeavours and specifically wish to thank Christian Pritchard, and the Senior management team for navigating this ever-changing landscape. We have a very special staff body, and I would like to thank each and every member of the staff for their outstanding commitment to the school, also for their

resilience through these continuing challenging times, but, most importantly for keeping the Beachborough pupils at the heart of all that they do.

I also wish to add my thanks to those Staff who are leaving us this year. For some of you, Beachborough has been a large part of your career, and for some a short sojourn on the way to other career opportunities. We wish you well, ask you to remain in touch, and on behalf of the whole community, reiterate that you will be fondly remembered by both your colleagues and pupils.

Finally, I would like to thank our parent community for the incredible support shown to

the School throughout, yet another turbulent year, and thank my fellow Governors for their extraordinary commitment and dedication to a very special school.

The strength of the Beachborough community continues to shine through, always putting the welfare of our children at the heart of our actions, even in the most complex and testing of circumstances.

I hope you enjoyed a relaxing summer and I am looking forward to seeing many more of you, in person, in School.

Sue Barrett

Staff Goodbyes

At the end of the 2021-2022 academic year we said goodbye to the following staff:

Lisa Southwick | Boardman Teacher

After 26 remarkable years, Mrs Lisa Southwick is retiring from Beachborough at the end of the year. Lisa has been an invaluable member of the Beachborough team and has worked tirelessly during her tenure at the school to help and support our children, our parents, and the staff. Lisa will be missed greatly, but we wish her every happiness and success in her retirement, as she now finds new pursuits to explore, and gains a little more time for her family and herself, which is well deserved.

Becky Moffat | Maths Teacher

Becky and her family are re-locating to Lancashire as they start a new adventure and chapter in this beautiful part of the country. A hugely important member of the Maths department, Becky has helped lay those important foundations for hundreds of our young mathematicians over her 11 years at Beachborough. Becky has been a tremendous asset to Beachborough and a wonderful colleague to work with and we wish her and her family every success in their new and exciting adventure.

Tamlyn Goodrich | Manor House Teacher, Year Group Coordinator & Club Leader

After a short tenure at Beachborough, Tamlyn and Danielle are relocating back to Thailand to teach abroad. Tamlyn has contributed so much to Beachborough during his time, teaching multiple subjects,, as well as being Form VII Coordinator and Head of Chappell this last year. In the PE and Games Department, he’s been excellent value, delivering high quality rugby, football, hockey, cricket, gymnastics, HRF, basketball, OAA, badminton, and athletics sessions. The children have really thrived under his guidance as he’s promoted their individual development ahead of trying to win every game. We wish him all the best for the future as he continues his teaching adventure.

Danielle Hyde | Boardman Teacher

Danielle and Tamyln joined Beachborough in the height of Covid, and threw herself into Beachborough life. Danielle is an inspirational teacher and is just a joy to observe in the classroom. She quickly gained the respect of children, parents and staff alike. We wish Danielle all the very best as she moves to Thailand to embark on the next exciting chapter of her teaching career.

Will Broadbent | Boardman Teacher

Despite only working at Beachborough for a year, Will has certainly made an impact on the children and staff over the past 12 months. He has proved himself to be an outstanding teacher and has been a valuable addition to the Boardman team. We are going to miss him next year and we wish him all the very best at his new school in September – they are very lucky to have him.

Maxine Stirrat | Learning Support Assistant

Maxine is retiring from Beachborough and has been a superb member of the learning support team at Beachborough. Maxine will be fondly missed as she starts her retirement and enjoys other life opportunities. We thank her for her tremendous contribution to the school during her tenure.

Alison Westcott | Learning Support Assistant

Alison has been at Beachborough for 10 years, and the care and professionalism she shows to the children she cares and supports on a daily basis is something else. Her patience, kindness, fun games, time for every child and support for all is always present Her hard work, understanding of SEND children and loveliness will be sorely missed at Beachborough.

Ellie Howard | Learning Support Assistant

Ellie is moving on to new and exciting positions following her short tenure at Beachborough. She has thoroughly enjoyed her time with us and is excited about her future, building on the skills and experience gained with us. We wish Ellie continued happiness and success.

Lorna Robinson | Teaching Assistant

Lorna’s calm and positive manner has been evident throughout her year at Beachborough. The relationships that Lorna has built with the children and staff have been wonderful to see. We wish her luck as she continues her journey into teaching at Winchester University.

Anzonie Carpenter | Music Graduate

Anzonie impressed us from the moment she came for interview until the final day. She has a great sense of humour, has built amazing relationships with children and staff and blossomed this year in so many ways. We will miss her and hope one day she realises that she could be a brilliant teacher.

Alex Elcoat, Maddy Hopson, Katie Lee & Maddie Wightman | GAP Students

We also say goodbye to our current GAP students as they reach the end of their tenure at the school. They all head off to new adventures following their time at Beachborough, and we thank them all for their hard work during their time with us and for helping our children.

To Finish...

Thank you for reading the 2021-2022 Platinum edition of the Beachburian. I hope you have enjoyed reflecting back on another remarkable year. As you can see from the stories, articles and news contained within its pages, the ‘Magic of Beachborough’ is back in abundance, especially after the COVID pandemic!

I would like to close this edition of the Beachburian by saying another tremendous thank you to the children, staff and parents that make our school such a happy, energetic, and vibrant place to be part of. Beachborough has a tremendous ‘authenticity’ about what it does. There is a tangible buzz of excitement in the air every day.

The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) rates Beachborough as ‘Excellent in All Areas’. If you haven’t visited us, do pop in to experience the magic of Beachborough for yourself; you are always assured of a very warm ‘Beachborough’ welcome!

Christian Pritchard

In loving memory of

Queen Elizabeth II

April 1926 - September 2022