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Beacon Life Highlights | Summer Term 2023

Fielding the Future OUR BEACON BOYS HAVE BOWLED US OVER IN ALL THEY ACHIEVE. WRAPPING UP THE YEAR WITH A BUSY TERM INCLUDING CORONATION CELEBRATIONS, OUTSTANDING MUSICAL PERFORMANCES, SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS AND MORE...

WELCOME

Headmaster's Welcome It has been another momentous year, marking 90 years of the School’s history; The Beacon Express Train continues to speed its way through yet more stations and junctions on its never ending journey of development to ensure that every boy enjoys the very best that a prep school education can offer. Just when you might have thought that, having achieved success through official inspections and lengthy waiting lists and registrations, the School might sit back for a few years and consolidate, The Beacon has pushed on yet further. There is always a buzz about our School and, as in previous years, visitors always acknowledge the energy and enthusiasm that exudes from every classroom, corridor and outside area of our premises. The boys give us a constant sense of pride with their eagerness to get involved in everything, their desire to improve, their ability to make us laugh and, most of all, their confidence to be themselves. Our parents have also continued to give us a level of support that a Headmaster and staff can usually only dream about. The fellowship, generosity and appreciation that we, as a School, enjoy from our parents is immensely appreciated; there is a clear sense of unity that we are all working towards the same aim and enjoy being part of our School. And the Staff? What a magnificent group of characters and professionals they are. This is a great place to work and we all enjoy each other’s company and learn from one another, with so much excellent practice exhibited around the School, in every aspect of

our activities on a daily basis. We say goodbye to a number of colleagues this year, none more high profile that Mr James Skea who is retiring after 23 years at The Beacon. His legacy of detailed school logistics, attention to the safety of our entire community, sport for all and keeping the welfare of every Beacon Boy at the heart of everything is endemic at this School, and ensures that his impact will live on ad infinitum into the future. Thank you James, you will always be regarded as one The Beacon’s closest friends.

"The Beacon Express Train continues to speed its way through yet more stations and junctions on its never ending journey of development to ensure that every boy enjoys the very best that a prep school education can offer" - Nick Baker, Headmaster

Best wishes, Nick Baker, Headmaster

SUMMER 2023 | THE BEACON BULLETIN

Contents

Issue 6 | Summer 2023

News 06 Anniversary Celebrations The Beacon reaches its 90th year 08 Speech Day Years 4-8 celebrate in the Wycombe Swan 10 Coronation of King Charles III Exciting activities to mark the big event

Be Inspired

Be Kind

Be Creative

Be Challenged

00 Beacon Life: Be Inspired - Hospitality Highlights at Pluma - Year 2 Engage in WW2 - WW2 Topic - Visiting Authors - TeamGB Paralympian Visit - Let’s Talk Politics - RMS Girls & Beacon Boys Reunite - Go Green, Breathe Clean

20 Beacon Parents’ Society Exciting community events, generous donations & how to get involved

28 Masters in the Kitchen The return of our renowned MasterCook Competition

34 Sporting Highlights Sporting News across the Summer Term

22 The Beacon Cup of Kindness Boys proudly rewarded for acts of kindness 22 Charity at The Beacon Charity news and outstanding sum raised

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30 Beacon Life: Be Creative - A Taste of Mexico - Cells – The Nucleus of Life - Bespoke Metal Making - Abstract Artwork - Nursery get Creative

38 Beacon Life: Be Challenged - BBC Young Reporters - The Beacon Chess Champions - Merchant Taylors’ School Science Challenge - UKMT Maths Challenges - Understanding the Human Body

The Beacon Chesham Bois, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, HP6 5PF Registered Charity number: 309911

Upcoming Open Events Open Morning Saturday 30 September, 09:00-12:00

Admissions admissions@beaconschool.co.uk 01494 432764

Private Visits and Tours To book a private tour please email admissions@beaconschool.co.uk

14 Be Confident

Be Adventurous

Be Prepared

Be Together

42 Step into the Spotlight - School of Rock - Musician of the Year - A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Instrumental Concert - Beacon Bard of the Year - Beacon Voices Choral Concert - Pre-Prep Summer Informal Concert - LAMDA Success - Headmaster for the Day

50 The Great Outdoors Boys enjoy an array of sessions outside the classroom

56 Beacon Life: Be Prepared - Managing Money - Open Morning - Beacon Entrepreneurs - Kids MBA Founder Visit - The Beacon Podcast - Sparking Excellence with Future Sparks - Guide to Senior Schools Evening - Top Leavers Tips - Green Fingers - DELF - First Aid Awareness

62 Beacon Life: Be Together - Board Games Café - Eddystone Victory - Sing and Sign Collaboration - Story-telling - The BeaconX

52 T errific Trips From Windmill Hill to Cornwall our boys travel the country on School Trips

Acknowledgments The Beacon Bulletin would like to thank: Kerry Inch, Marketing Manager Laura Marshall, Senior Marketing Assistant Eleanor Geddes, Marketing & Social Media Assistant Charlotte Buswell, Head of Development Kathryn Grudgings, PA to the Headmaster The Beacon Bulletin, Summer Term 2023. All rights reserved.

Old Beaconians Please send all your news and Old Beaconian queries to: alumni@beaconschool.co.uk 01494 736172

64 Alumni News News from our Beacon Alumni Community

Look out for the flame icon for further information on our website, beaconschool.co.uk

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BE INSPIRED

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NEWS

90 YEARS

Anniversary Celebrations It is a momentous year this year, as The Beacon reaches its 90th Anniversary, being founded in 1933.

To mark this milestone, we were delighted to host an Alumni Reunion Party for almost 200 people, welcoming former Beacon boys, parents, staff and Headmasters back to the school. The sun shone, the drinks flowed and our catering team once again pulled out the stops to provide a fabulous afternoon tea. Our Years 7 and 8 boys gave our guests a tour of the school, which was a lovely touch since many whom attended had not been back to the school in several years.

These celebrations were coupled with a fond farewell to Mr James Skea, our Senior Master who taught many alumni pupils in attendance when he joined the school as Director of Sport. James is now in retirement after 23 years of valuable service to The Beacon. Best wishes to James. We created a short video to reflect on The Beacon with footage highlighting Beacon Life in the early 1970s versus today. View 90th Anniversary video

Top: Interim Headmaster Mr Detre, Previous Headmaster Mr Phelps and Current Headmaster Mr Baker. Above: Mr Skea chatting to former pupils

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Speech Day During the final week of the Summer Term, we welcomed our Beacon Community to the Wycombe Swan Theatre to celebrate our annual Speech Day event for Years 4-8.

This year has seen an overwhelming number of successes and oustanding achievements. It is also a special year, marking The Beacon’s 90th anniversary. We were thrilled to celebrate with our Beacon Community, returning to the Wycombe Swan Theatre to reflect upon the highlights of the past year together. Speech Day was also an opportunity to say a final farewell to our Year 6 and Year 8 leavers as well as some extremely valued staff members,

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one of whom has been an instrumental part of the Senior Leadership Team at the school after 23 years of devoted service. We all wished James Skea, our Senior Master, very best wishes for his retirement.

Read the full story and view images. See it in action and watch our reel.

NEWS

"Speech Day was a celebration of achievements as well as an opportunity to say a final farewell to our Year 6 and Year 8 leavers along with some extremely valued staff members."

Merchant Taylors' School (Major Academic Scholarship, Music Scholarship, Drama Scholarship)

Berkhamsted (Sports Scholarship, Drama Scholarship, Drama Exhibition)

Scholarship Success A huge congratulations to our Year 8 and Year 6 leavers on being awarded an incredible range of scholarships and exhibitions to leading independent Senior Schools, including Merchant Taylors’ School, Shiplake and Rugby School. It is wonderful to see the high level of year on year successes maintained at The Beacon, with some boys receiving multiple scholarships. A huge congratulations to the following boys who were offered scholarships and exhibitions: School of Rock performance

YEAR 7 ENTRY Rory C and Toby R

Shiplake (All Rounder Academic Scholarship, 2 x Academic Scholarships, 2 x Performing Arts Scholarships, Drama Scholarship)

Rugby (Academic, Performing Arts and Music Scholarships)

Marlborough College (DT Scholarship)

YEAR 9 ENTRY Milan A, Noah B, Sebby C, Nick D, Padraig H, Freddie K, Cyrus N-J, Romir P, Johnny P, Freddie S, Theo T, Max T, Arthur W

Bloxham School (Drama Scholarship)

Read the full story and view images.

Bradfield (Drama Scholarship)

View Destination Schools over 5 years.

Oundle (The Oundle Scholarship)

Thorpe House (Sports Scholarship)

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Coronation of King Charles III To mark the Coronation of King Charles III, our Union Jack flag was proudly hoisted up the pole and our Beacon Community engaged in a range of exciting patriotic activities across the school in the week running up to the big event. The celebrations kicked off with a royally good and informative Assembly about the coronation tradition and history, finishing off with everyone standing to sing the National Anthem with our Head of Music on the organ. There were themed lessons involving coronation arts and crafts, acting as Royals in Drama and British baking in Cooking & Nutrition. Our Beacon boys and staff enjoyed a celebratory lunch on the Friday in the Dining Hall, which had been accessorised splendidly with red, white and blue flags, table décor and cupcakes to enjoy! It was a wonderful week. God save the King!

Read the news story and view images.

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NEWS

"A royally good and informative Assembly about the coronation tradition and history, finishing off with everyone standing to sing the National Anthem with our Head of Music on the organ."

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Be Inspired

Beacon Life Hospitality Highlights at Pluma A group of our cooking-enthusiastic boys in Year 8 were privileged to be invited by Charlie Baxter, Co-Founder of Pluma in Amersham, to tour his award-winning restaurant and gain an insight into the running of his very successful business. Charlie gave our boys an overview of the everyday operations that Pluma has to go through to ensure everything is prepared for a high standard of service. Read the full story and view images. Watch the reel.

Year 2 Engage in WW2 Our Year 2 boys experienced an immersive World War Two Day to support their learning of the topic. Boys and teachers came into school in WW2 attire, which set the scene for 1939. There were some brilliant costumes, including fighter pilots, soldiers, evacuees and wartime school boys. The boys enjoyed an insightful WW2 talk in Assembly, followed by different themed activities throughout the day. Read the full story and view images. Watch the reel.

WW2 Topic On the lead up to their themed day, they participated in multiple activities including writing poems and learning about gas masks. Class 2G also created and shaded WW2 tank artwork. They watched a tutorial on how to draw them and then took time to put their newly learned creative skills to the test.

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Visiting Authors How to Grow a Dragon Our boys in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 had a visit from the very talented author, Rachel Morrisroe, who has a newly released book called 'How to Grow a Dragon'. During her visit, Rachel read her new story to our boys and went through a tutorial on how they could draw their very own dragon! The author event was topped off with a one-to-one book signing.

Above and Left: Rachel Morrisroe chats to the boys

How to Train a Dragon We welcomed Cressida Cowell to The Beacon, author and illustrator of the hugely popular 'How to Train your Dragon' and 'Wizards of Once' children’s series. A passionate campaigner for children’s literacy and with the power of imagination, Cressida captivated her audience of boys in Years 3 – 6 with tales of her childhood holidays on a remote Scottish island, explaining that being off-grid allowed her to let loose with great freedom to explore her environment and let her mind run wild. Read the full story and view images. Above: Cressida Cowell during her book signing

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Beacon Life TeamGB Paralympian Visit TeamGB Paralympic Tennis Player, Jordanne Whiley MBE, is known for winning an outstanding array of medals as well as being a 12-time Grand Slam champion winning her singles Grand Slam at the 2015 US Open. She is an excellent role model for people all over the world. We were delighted to welcome Jordanne to The Beacon to give a talk in Assembly to our boys in Years 3-8. She discussed the highlights of her career and explained how ecstatic she was to win a silver medal in the Woman’s Tennis Singles in Tokyo 2020. She also talked about her experience of playing in the London 2012 Paralympics. It was a privilege to have such a talented athlete visit The Beacon to tell us her story and inspire our boys. Read the full story and view images.

TeamGB Paralympian inspires our boys with her personal story

Local MP, Sarah Green, talks Politics

Let’s Talk Politics The Beacon welcomed Sarah Green, our local MP who represents the Liberal Democrats for Chesham and Amersham. Sarah campaigns for the government to create a new agency that is dedicated to tackling online crime. She spoke to our Year 7 boys about her career path and how she became an MP. It was very insightful and helped raise awareness of political issues and current affairs.

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RMS Girls & Beacon Boys Reunite We were thrilled to collaborate, once again, with the Royal Masonic School for a morning of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) activities. A group of our boys headed off to join the girls in lessons at RMS, whilst a group of the RMS girls enjoyed lessons with our boys at The Beacon. There were scientific investigations and experiments, Maths puzzles and challenges, as well as some computer work on coding. It was a great educational team building exercise. The boys and girls also had some recreational fun at break-time and enjoyed sharing lunch together. Read the full story and view images. View our reel on Instagram. RMS girl working with a Beacon boy

"There were scientific investigations and experiments, Maths puzzles and challenges, as well as some computer work on coding. It was a great educational team building exercise."

The Beacon Eco Council

Go Green, Breathe Clean Members of The Beacon Eco Council encouraged drivers to turn off their engines at afternoon pick-up time in the School House Car Park. The purpose of their action was to make parents and carers aware of the levels of nitrous oxide being emitted by their stationary cars.

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Beacon Parents’ Society

Happy Campers The sun shone brightly yet again for the annual BPS Camp Night and the ice cream van did a roaring trade! The children scaled the climbing wall, took part in archery, climbed a 'boulder traverse' and enjoyed mini golf. The BBQ dinner was devoured by hungry hordes and marshmallows were toasted on the bonfire. It was a great event and our Beacon Community raised a fantastic £1,569 for the BPS fundraising.

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White Tie & Tiara Ball The inaugural BPS Ball was another a great success, with a ticket sell out soon after release and a staggering amount of £7,755 raised in total that will be invested into continued education and well-being for our Beacon boys. The White Tie and Tiara Ball was held at the wonderful Mansion House at the De Vere Latimer Estate. Our Beacon Community dressed fabulously in dinner jackets and evening gowns for an evening of great food, company and of course lots of dancing!

GET INVOLVED WITH THE BPS The Beacon is fortunate to have a very active parents association called The Beacon Parents’ Society, or BPS, which organise a multitude of fun activities and social events for both parents and boys throughout the year, whilst also raising funds for the school and local charities. The BPS Committee meets twice a term and has parent representatives who volunteer. If you would like to come and join please contact our BPS co-chairs, Octavia Orchard and Emma Ife for more information, on bps@ beaconschool.co.uk. They would love to hear from you!

"The inaugural BPS Ball was another a great success, with a ticket sell out soon after release and a staggering amount of £7,755 raised in total."

Generous Donations We would like to say an enormous thank you to our fabulous Beacon Parents’ Society who funded two new table tennis tables for our boys to enjoy over the Summer Term. The tables, which are located on the Top AstroTurf, have gone down a storm, with boys queuing up to play in break times! We would also like to express our gratitude for the mannequin in Mr Walker’s Classics Room, which is being used to display the full-size suit of Roman armour and shield, also funded by the BPS. Our boys have named this 'Marcus Scipio Ambulator'!

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The Beacon Cup of Kindness Beacon boys strive towards being awarded the Kindness Cup, an accolade that Mr Baker introduced on starting at The Beacon. "It has been lovely to read the nominations for acts of kindness that our boys have shown over the term. A huge well done to all the boys who have won The Kindness Cup so far." - Nick Baker, Headmaster

The Beacon Cup of Kindness continues to be sought after each week. Teachers and boys nominate pupils who have shown exceptional kindness to their peers or to someone in The Beacon Community. Mr Baker then selects a boy from the nominations each week, announcing them in Assembly and awarding the cup filled with sweet treats. Congratulations to the following boys who were awarded The Beacon Cup of Kindness over the Summer Term: Dhilan D (Year 8) Alex B (Year 6) James P (Year 6) Vihaan O (Year 3) Nikita V (Year 5) Freddie W (Year 5) Henry L (Year 4) Edward B (Year 2) Xander A (Year 4) Max D (Year 8)

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The Beacon raised over

£13K

Charity at The Beacon

2022/23

The Beacon Community came together to support many charities. We thank everyone for their support.

Buckinghamshire Mind

Give it your Max

Ruth Strauss Foundation

Max D (Year 8) kindly initiated a charity fundraising for Buckinghamshire Mind as part of his reign in being ‘Headmaster for the Day’, allowing Beacon pupils to wear non-uniform for the day for a small donation to the charirty. The total raised was a fantastic £1,056.00 of which every penny will go directly to support mental health in the local area, providing trusted mental health services.

Vega H (Year 5) encouraged our Beacon boys to give up pre-loved tennis rackets for Give It Your Max charity, part of the Wimbledon Tennis Foundation. The charity works to enhance the lives of disadvantaged children through the game of tennis by running breakfast clubs & tennis in schools, recycling and rehoming unloved or unwanted rackets. Vega arranged for collection boxes to be sited around the school.

We hosted a cricket event on Willsfield, with a competitive 'Parents vs Staff' T20 match as well as a softball cricket match of 'Dads vs Lads' and 'Mums vs Sons' to fundraise for the Ruth Strauss Foundation, a charity set up by Sir Andrew Strauss, former England Captain and husband to Ruth. An overwhelming £3,100 was raised for this brilliant cause with everyone wearing #RedforRuth. The charity provides support to patients and families along with funding research for rare lung cancers.

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UNHCR Read for Refugees

Ihezie Foundation

Beacon Boys' Fundraising

During the end of the Summer Term, our Beacon boys took part in a charity readathon to raise awareness of Refugee Week. They were invited to ‘Read for good’ by participating in the School Library Association's fundraiser, which encourages reading whilst also raising money for an important cause. In total, our boys raised £318 with the sponsored read in aid of the UN Refugee Agency (UK for UNHRC) which will support refugees worldwide.

Our dedication to education goes beyond our local community. The Beacon donated another van load of books to the Ihezie Foundation over the Summer Term, which equated to 380kg. in weight! The Ihezie Foundation help provide educational resources to underprivileged children in Nigeria.

Zach completed a 24-hour read-athon over the Easter holiday. He raised a fantastic £342 for the British Dyslexia Association as part of the Beacon Sparks initiative. Thomas F in Year 5, walked up Snowdon and raised £344 for Cancer Research UK. Well done, Thomas!

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MasterCook 2023 Charlie Baxter, Co-Founder at award-winning restaurant; Pluma with the finalists

Masters in the Kitchen

This year was an exceptional year for our MasterCook Competition 2023, with more boys than ever taking part! The standard of cooking was outstanding across all years.

We welcomed back Charlie Baxter, Co-Founder at award-winning restaurant; Pluma in Amersham, to adjudicate our Year 4 cook-offs. He had a tough decision picking the three top place winners among the wealth of restaurant-worthy dishes. Congratulations to Armaan S (1st place), Dhruv P (2nd place) and James B–A (3rd place). Laurie Gear, Chef Patron of MICHELINstarred restaurant, Artichoke in Amersham, also came back to The Beacon to support and judge the finals of our Middle School competition. He deliberated for some time to select the winners and made his final decision based on the overall balance of the menu and presentation as a whole. Congratulations to Nico A (Year 5) for coming 1st overall, John R (Year 6) a very close 2nd and 3rd place was awarded to Cameron O (Year 6). Our Upper School competition was carried out in the Spring Term. View Middle School Competition News Story. View Middle School Final Reel on Instagram.

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COME DINE WITH US Following the success of our MasterCook Competitions, we were excited to launch a brandnew initiative in Cooking and Nutrition to showcase the skills learnt and culinary talent of our boys; The Beacon ‘Come Dine With Us’ event.

MasterCook Competition 2023 Cookbook

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A group of our Year 8 boys teamed up to devise a delectable menu including canapés, starters, mains and desserts for 18 special guests, comprising of Nick Baker (Headmaster), Nikki Olhausen (Lead Director of Studies), the boys’ parents as well as Laurie Gear (Patron Chef of MICHELINstarred restaurant, The Artichoke). Our boys worked brilliantly as a restaurant team, supporting each other when needed.

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Read the full story and view more images.

MasterC terCook ook202 20233 Mas

MasterCook 2023 Cookbook, bursting with the delectable recipes created by our budding chefs who won this year's competition at The Beacon. View the Cookbook.

MasterCookk Ma Co tionn etitio mpeti Comp 20 23 2023

View the reel on Instagram.

CO OK OK BO BO OK OK CO MASTERCOOK MASTERCOOK

COMPETIT ION

2023

Laurie Gear, Chef Patron of MICHELIN-starred restaurant; Artichoke with our boys

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Beacon Life A Taste of Mexico Some of our Year 5 boys took part in a Mexican Street Food lesson in Cooking and Nutrition. The boys prepared a delicious salsa with black beans, lime, chilli, coriander, peppers, chipotle oil and spring onions. They then had the opportunity to create their own authentic tacos, which is a firm favourite. The highlight of the lesson was wearing sombreros whilst listening to Mexican music and the opportunity to taste what they had made.

Cells – The Nucleus of Life To complete the Year 6 Science course at The Beacon, our boys were tasked to research and then make a model of a specialised cell. They certainly rose to this challenge by producing imaginative models utilising everything from Lego to papier-mâché to electronics.

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Year 6 specialist cells models

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NURSERY GET CREATIVE In the Little Beacons cheerful hubbub, our boys become culinary artists, shaping dough into biscuits, as well as making mini-pizzas with a sprinkle of cheese and personalised toppings on each one. With paintbrushes they fill blank canvases with vibrant strokes. Every day is filled with creativity for our boys.

Bespoke Metal Making Our Year 6 boys were excited to use the laser cutter in DT to cut the moulds they had designed, using the app called 'TechSoft Design'. They put their custom mould between two other pieces of wood and melted the

metal 'pewter' using a gas flame and a ladle. Once melted, they poured the molten pewter into the mould. Our boys were delighted with their bespoke metal designs, finishing them off by carefully sanding and polishing.

Abstract Artwork Our Year 7 boys have been researching the artwork of the German expressionist period and looking at woodblock prints in order to inspire their lino designs. The effects were very eye-catching!

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Sporting Highlights

Early Years boys have fun during Sports Day

Sports Day The Summer Term meant it was time for our eagerly awaited annual Sports Day events. There was a huge amount of excitement with plenty of sunshine to help. Competing against Houses, our boys took part in an array of activities suited to each Year Group. The events were outstanding with all our boys giving 100% effort throughout. Throughout the day the boys participated in a range of events: javelin throws, shot put, leaps in long and high jumps, tug-of-war, running races, hurdles, and exhilarating relay sprints. The younger boys engaged in long jumps, tackled obstacle courses, and sprint races. A day of diverse events and fantastic sportsmanship.

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Sports Stars In the recent term, our enthusiastic Reception and Nursery boys have achieved remarkable progress in PE and swimming lessons. Throughout this period, they've demonstrated growing confidence and skill development. In PE classes, the focus was on introducing various athletics events, such as running, jumping, and throwing. The boys enthusiastically participated, showcasing their talents during Sports Day. Their healthy competitive spirit was evident as they displayed determination and newfound abilities. After Sports Day, the boys honed their ball skills, refining hand-

eye coordination and spatial awareness through engaging drills. This groundwork will serve them well in future sports activities. In the swimming pool, the Reception and Nursery boys made remarkable strides. They refined their kicking technique and gained confidence using a float on both their front and back. Some even achieved the milestone of swimming unaided, showcasing mastery of arm movements alongside kicking skills. Throughout both PE and swimming, these boys have embraced challenges with enthusiasm and dedication.

"Boys have achieved remarkable progress in PE and swimming lessons. Throughout this period, they've demonstrated growing confidence and skill development.'

View Years 3-8 Sports Day News Story. View Pre-Prep Sports Day News Story. View Sports Day 2023 Reel.

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Full Swing A team of our Year 8 golfers went to Chartridge Park Golf Club to play against Lockers Park School. It was a great win for The Beacon in our first golf match of the season. Some impressive scoring by the boys with the highlight being Max D chipping in for a birdie on the 12th hole.

U11A National Final Cricket Qualifier Our U11A cricket team qualified for the National Final 8-a-side cricket match after winning the English School Cricket Association East Region qualifier. All of the boys performed brilliantly.

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IAPS National Swimming Finals Our Beacon boys competed in the IAPS National Finals at the London Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park. The U11 Medley Relay, comprising of Toby R, Filippos A, Joel J and Xander B came 7th in the country winning their heat.

Xander B competed in the U11 50m backstroke, qualifying for the final. Xander won 1st place! He held his own through to the end of the race and was able to leave the Olympic Park a National Champion! An amazing achievement given the number of boys who entered across the country.

"He held his own through to the end of the race and was able to leave the Olympic Park a National Champion!"

Junior Schools Swim League Our Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 swim squads attended a number of galas at various schools to compete in the Junior Schools’ Swimming League. They represented our school superbly and showed their competitiveness throughout the course of the year. The Beacon were the most successful squad with 20 winner's medals picked up in the Finals and we also won the League Cups in both Year 5 and Year 6 for the very first time. A massive well done to all the winners!

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Beacon Life BBC Young Reporters Our Year 8 boys acted as roving reporters as part of the BBC Young Reporter initiative, which was developed to aid young people in content creation skills whilst having an insight into current affairs. They worked in pairs to plan, research and write news stories about hot topics they found interesting, relating to current world news topics.

Read the full story and view images.

Merchant Taylors’ School Science Challenge

The Beacon Chess Champions

EPSCA National Final

CCS National Final

Six of our Lower School chessenthusiastic boys took part in the English Primary Schools Chess Association (EPSCA) Final in London, achieving a superb 8th position out of 600 schools competing nationwide. A fantastic achievement! Well done to Neel L (Year 3), Jimmy C (Year 3), Shaan B (Year 3), Arjun S (Year 3), Lucas F (Year 3), Alex Y (Year 4).

A group of our Years 3-6 boys took part in the CCS National Final and came 2nd out of 200 schools nationwide, missing 1st place by only 1 point! Well done to Shaan B (Year 3), Lucas F (Year 3), Isaac K (Year 3), Neel L (Year 3), Jimmy C (Year 3), Alex Y (Year 4), Nisaja D (Year 5), Theo K (Year 5), Thomas F (Year 5), Thomas H (Year 5), Shay N (Year 5), Lithum A (Year 6), Alex B (Year 6), Harris L (Year 6).

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A team of intrepid scientists at The Beacon had the opportunity to take part in the Merchant Taylors' School Science Challenge. They faced tasks in chemistry, physics and biology that tested their scientific knowledge and challenged their practical skills and teamwork. They did brilliantly, coming second by only one point! Congratulations to Anton V, Teddy O, Guy B and Tom T.

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UKMT Maths Challenges Congratulations to all our boys who took part in the United Kingdom Mathematical Trust Junior Maths Challenges achieving extremely impressive results. The highest performers from the UKMT Junior Maths Challenge nationwide were invited to participate in the UKMT Junior Olympiad and Junior Kangaroo Challenge.

mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems. Our boys did exceptionally well and were awarded 47 Gold certificates, 19 Silver certificates and 43 Bronze certificates in the Summer Term. Harris L and Alex T were also awarded badges for being ‘Best in School’.

UKMT Junior Maths Challenge

UKMT Junior Olympiad

The Junior Mathematical Challenge is a 60-minute, multiple-choice challenge that was carried out over the Spring Term open to pupils in Year 8 and below. It encourages

The UKMT Junior Olympiad is a follow on from the UKMT Junior Maths Challenge, by invitation only. It is a two-hour Challenge consisting of 16 problems. An impressive distinction

went to Milan A. Merits went to Alex T and Shay N and qualifications went to Kevin Z and Harris L.

UKMT Junior Kangaroo Challenge The UKMT Junior Kangaroo Challenge is also a follow on from the UKMT Junior Maths Challenge, with a select number of mathematicians being invited to participate, based on a qualifying score. It is a 60-minute, multiple-choice challenge consisting of 25 problems. We were excited that our Beacon Mathematicians achieved 4 Merits and 13 Qualifications in this challenge over the Summer Term. Merits went to Edward A, Austin L, Jack D and Anuansh A.

Understanding the Human Body Year 8 studied the human body and the various systems involved in keeping us alive. They had the opportunity to get a first-hand look at the heart and gain a better understanding of its place in the circulatory system. They dissected sheep’s hearts to see the chambers, valves, veins and arteries that it comprises of.

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Step into the Spotlight Throughout the Summer Term, we rocked the Spinney Theatre with our Year 8 production of School of Rock, saw some superb talent perform in The Beacon Musician of the Year and Beacon Bard of the Year competitions and enjoyed some dazzling concerts.

School of Rock Our Beacon Community were blown away by our spectacular performances of ‘School of Rock’; three rocking shows put on over three consecutive evenings by our Year 8 boys and the Performing Arts team. The production was full of humour, singing, fantastic live musical instruments and even fireworks! The pyrotechnic display and musical talent showcased was thrilling. There was an immense amount of preparation involved throughout the Summer Term to ensure the show was performed to such an outstanding standard. Everyone involved should be extremely proud of themselves. Read the full story and view images.

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Musician of the Year Our annual Musician of the Year event was outstanding yet again, with our finalists from a tough audition selection process of boys in Years 6-8 performing to compete for the accolade and trophy. Congratulations to Romy P (Year 8) for winning the Musician of the Year 2023 award. The judge of the event described Romy as the standout performance. His rendition, playing and singing, of Coldplay’s ‘The Scientist’, along with a delicate and incredibly atmospheric piano piece ‘Distant Star in the Stillness’, was fantastic.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Our Year 7 boys had an exciting workshop with 'West End in Schools'. Their workshop was based around the play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by William Shakespeare, in line with their learning of the topic in English lessons. The boys took part in an engaging session working on different techniques to explore the language in a new active way.

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Instrumental Concert Our Summer Term Instrumental Concerts held in the Spinney Theatre are always a big hit. This year, we had a participation of over 80 players from Years 3-8 in our guitar ensembles, training and main orchestra, brass band and rock band. It was an evening of excitement and fun, but most of all, showcasing outstanding young musicians and musicianship.

"It was an evening of excitement and fun, but most of all, showcasing outstanding young musicians and musicianship."

Beacon Bard of the Year Our budding actors from Years 6-8 also took part in the annual Beacon Bard of the Year competition and their live acting performances were extremely impressive. We were delighted to welcome our guest adjudicator, Adam Cross (Head of Drama at Harrow School) to select a winner from the acting skills showcased at the final event. Congratulations to Sam K (Year 7) who won the Beacon Bard of the Year 2023 award for playing Romeo with his 'banished' speech from Romeo & Juliet.

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Beacon Voices Choral Concert We hosted a wonderful Beacon Voices Choral Concert for our Beacon families in the Spinney Theatre. Lower School, Middle School and Upper School Beacon Voices all performed, singing a variety of songs, including popular songs from Mary Poppins, songs with matching sign language, the well-known hit 'Count on Me' by Bruno Mars, and the world-wide smash hit 'We Will Rock You' by Queen!

Pre-Prep Summer Informal Concert Our Pre-Prep Summer Informal Concert involved Mini Strings Cellists and Violinists, Year 1 and 2 Little Voices and some super instrumental/singing solos from our Year 2 boys. The event showcased some very professional performances at such a young age!

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LAMDA Success Over the Spring Term our LAMDA tuition pupils sat a set of exams and the results announced over the Summer Term were remarkable with a 100% distinction rate! 11% of which were high distinctions achieving a score of over 90 out of 100! A huge congratulations to our LAMDA boys.

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Max chats with Chef Dino in The Beacon kitchen

Headmaster for the Day The auction at the BPS ‘White Tie and Tiara Ball’ offered a Beacon boy the opportunity to become ‘Headmaster for the Day’. Max D (Year 8) enjoyed a well-rounded headship experience, where he was able to see a different side to The Beacon and make a few important leadership decisions. His day started off by giving a presentation to our whole school in Assembly, followed by a tight

schedule of meetings with different departments around the school. He had to complete various tasks such as testing state-of-the-art VR kit and writing copy for the weekly Lighthouse newsletter. Mr D’s day finished off with afternoon tea in the Headmaster’s office, where he handed back the reins to Mr Baker!

"I thoroughly enjoyed my day as Headmaster. My favourite part was the virtual reality demo playing Table Tennis through VR goggles." - Max D

Read the full story and view images.

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The Great Outdoors An Outdoor Classroom Our Year 2 boys were excited to search for appropriate sticks to use to toast their marshmallows in Outdoor Learning lessons over the Summer Term. They were careful when choosing to ensure that their hands were not going to be too close to the fire. They learnt important safety measures with open fires and thoroughly enjoyed eating the melting marshmallows.

Fun Fire Making Our Year 5 boys had the opportunity to show off their fire-lighting and cooking skills in their Outdoor Learning sessions. They practised using the skills learned in previous years to prepare and eat a delicious meal in the woods. Extra kudos was given to those boys who cooked for the staff too!

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A Bug's Life Our Little Beacon boys investigate the outdoors weekly on their Welly Walks. They particularly enjoy searching for different minibeasts. The boys were excited to fine snails, woodlice, flies and worms in their Summer Term sessions! The Little Beacons also enjoyed eating their snack in the sunshine on Willsfield, istening to the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Our Reception Blue boys also partook in a minibeast hunt, taking care to keep their eyes and ears peeled for any tiny creatures hiding in the undergrowth or flying past. The boys found some worms, millipedes, ants and woodlice and were very careful not to disturb their habitats.

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Terrific Trips

Willow Farm Trip

Whipsnade Zoo Trip

Our Nursery and Reception boys learnt all about farm animals and the excitement reached unparalleled heights when they went on an unforgettable day trip to Willows Farm! The boys went to the animal barn and confidently fed donkeys, sheep, goats, cows and alpacas. They particularly enjoyed snuggling up with the adorable, long-haired guinea pigs.

Our Year 1 boys went on a day trip to Whipsnade Zoo, which is the largest wildlife conservation park in the UK. They spent their time exploring the zoo and learning all about different animals.

Read the full story and view images.

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RAF Hendon Trip

Longridge Park Trip

Windmill Hill

Our Year 2 boys were very excited about their trip to RAF Hendon, which gave the boys an immersive and interactive experience allowing them to have a glimpse into the rich history and significance of the Royal Air Force. The boys witnessed interactive displays and exhibits to help deepen their understanding of the war’s impact on society.

Our boys in Year 4 had an actionpacked two days at Longridge Activity Centre in Marlow. They took part in climbing activities, team challenges, raft building, stand-up paddle boarding and experienced water orbs! It was their first residential trip at The Beacon, enjoying a night away with their friends, sleeping in a tent. The boys had a fantastic time!

Our Year 5 boys were ready and raring to depart for their Residential Trip to PGL at Windmill Hill. The boys had a packed schedule of fun and challenging activities over the three days, including Abseiling, Raft Building, Orienteering, ProblemSolving Games, Zipwire, Archery, Jacobs Ladder, and All Aboard (Climbing-based activity).

Read the full story and view images.

Newquay Trip

North of England Trip

Cornwall Trip

Our Year 6 boys went on a journey down to the lovely seaside town of Newquay for their Residential Trip. They took part in an array of activities including Beach Games, Swimming, Kayaking, Giant Paddle Boarding and Coasteering. They also enjoyed a day at a Theme Park. The highlight of the trip was definitely learning to Surf and Bodyboard.

Our Year 7 boys embarked on an ambitious exploration of some of the most historic and scenic landscapes of northern England, taking in Durham, Bamburgh Castle, Lindisfarne, Hadrian’s Wall and the Lake District in just five action-packed days. The trip ran smoothly and everyone had a fantastic time.

Our Year 8 boys enjoyed their final Residential Trip in Cornwall. The sun shone and the temperature was perfect for all their activities. These included the traditional beach fare of Coasteering from the rugged cliffs around Newquay and Surfing at Great Western Beach. Evenings consisted of Beach Games, such as Beach Cricket, Football and Volleyball. It was a super trip and a fitting sendoff for the boys!

Read the full story and view images.

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Beacon Life Managing Money Our Year 3 boys learnt all about managing money. They were tasked with role-playing as shopkeepers and customers. The aim of this activity was to help Year 3 understand the value of items and to develop their Maths skills by calculating the change required in return.

Open Morning Welcome The Beacon was buzzing in May when we welcomed prospective families to explore the school at our Open Morning. The sun was shining and our Years 7 and 8 boys did a fantastic job as tour guides. The event was very well attended with over 100 visitors who received an informative talk from Nick Baker and got to see The Beacon in action, meeting teachers along the way. Our next Open Morning is on Saturday 30 September 2023. Pre-booked appointments required.

Year 7 and 8 boys touring parents

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Winning Team 'All Within One' with the panel of parent judges.

The Beacon Entrepreneurs In the Summer Term, our Year 8 boys participated in a brand-new initiative; The KidsMBA, which equips young people around the world with the skills needed to succeed in business. To prepare for the final ‘Shark Tank’ scenario, our Year 8 boys enjoyed learning different informative modules, all about business, including Customer Service, Pricing, Marketing, Finance and Accountancy. Read the full story and view images.

Kids MBA Founder Visit We were thrilled to welcome Old Beaconcian, Professor Mark Watson Gandy, back to The Beacon. Mark spoke to our Year 8 boys about the KidsMBA programme that he founded, which equips young people around the world with the skills needed to succeed in business. The KidsMBA is an added asset to our Year 8 Leavers' Programme, successfully integrated for our boys in the Summer Term 2023.

The ‘Shark Tank’ challenge replicated TV’s ‘Dragon’s Den’ in style. Our boys were tasked with deciding upon and presenting their business start-up ideas in front of a panel of four parents acting as judges. The winning team was ‘All Within One’ which was based on the idea of sustainability and supporting local businesses, all under one roof. Congratulations to Sebby C, Ishaan N, Zac S, Freddie S and Charlie SW.

THE BEACON PODCAST

Beaconverse is the ultimate podcast for all things school and education-related. With engaging discussions and interviews, our podcast explores an array of different topics to inspire listeners. In our latest episode, we welcomed our Head of Upper School with two Year 8 boys to discuss our newly introduced initiative, KidsMBA. Visit our website, search Spotify or ask Alexa for Beaconverse to give it a listen! NEXT PODCAST: Headmaster & Head Boys

Listen to Beaconverse

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Beacon Life Sparking Excellence with Future Sparks Throughout the year, our Middle School boys worked hard on achieving different tasks in our newly launched Future Sparks Programme. The Summer Term meant that results were recorded and The Beacon Future Sparks certificates and medals were awarded. This is the first year of the programme for Year 5 and Year 6 boys at The Beacon and it was a huge success! The Beacon Future Sparks Programme is designed to give our boys the tools to develop their interpersonal skills, challenging them with tasks that are tailored to encourage growth. Congratulations to all our boys who put an enormous amount of effort into this programme. Many of our boys went above and beyond, from initiating the opportunity to become mascots at a GB Hockey match against India to building their own bug hotel that was donated to the Butterfly Hospice in High Wycombe.

Top Tips for our Leavers Guide to Senior Schools Evening We were delighted to host a Senior Schools Information Evening aimed at Year 5 parents to go through the Senior School application process: what happens during an application, what schools you can apply to, and what we do to prepare your son. The event was well attended and very informative. 58

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We invited back three former Beacon boys to give a presentation and field questions on their top tips for secondary school. Nick A (OB '21), Alfie C (OB '21) and Marco F (OB '19) spoke excellently about their time at The Beacon, giving some great advice to our current Year 8 cohort. The boys had the opportunity to ask the questions that teachers and parents are unable to answer.

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Green Fingers Our Nursery boys were busy harvesting their crops over the Summer Term. They carefully dug up carrots and onions they had been eager to see since planting. The boys found the different sized and shaped carrots extremely amusing!

First Aid Awareness Our Year 8 boys had a very informative First Aid session as part of their Leavers’ Programme, learning all about CPR and what to do in different emergency situations.

DELF The Beacon is a DELF (Diplôme d'Études en Langue Française) examination centre for French language exams. DELF exams – the diplomas set by the French government to acknowledge the proficiency of the French language overseas – were held at the school in May and June 2023 and we are delighted to announce that our most linguistically-able boys in Years 4-8 all achieved excellent results, with William L in Year 6 scoring an overwhelming 98%! SUMMER 2023 | THE BEACON BULLETIN

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Beacon Life Board Games Café Our boys in Years 3 to 8 had a great time enjoying their lunch break playing games outside of school. A Little Street Kitchen in Amersham allowed exclusive access to our Beacon boys so that they could enjoy their break-time learning new board games that were kindly donated by the BPS. This was a fantastic opportunity for them to socialise, have fun, learn new games and make friends. We hope to continue this activity in the Autumn Term! View reel on Instagram.

Eddystone Victory At the end of the Summer Term, our boys in Eddystone earned the House Treat and enjoyed an afternoon of bowling to celebrate their success. Eddystone pipped Cromer (who won the year overall) to the post for the term, accumulating extra House points in Sports Day and other events. The boys enjoyed an afternoon out of school bowling together, whilst also enjoying the chance to watch the teachers compete against each other!

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Sing and Sign Collaboration Our Beacon Little Voices and Lower School Beacon Voices were joined by Year 2 girls and boys from Coleshill Primary School and some Year 3 girls from Heatherton School. Mrs Voneshen led a sing and sign workshop where everyone learnt a song together with matching sign language. It was such a brilliant experience to share music together and to develop sign language awareness. View reel on Instagram.

Story-telling Our Year 3 and Year 4 boys saw the end of their story-writing project in the Summer Term. Following on from an interview that our Year 4 boys did with our Year 3 boys, they worked hard in English to write and publish their own adventure stories. The enthusiasm to write their own story from scratch was wonderful. The stories were then shared with our Year 3 boys on Willsfield which resulted in a lot of positive comments from all boys.

We were excited to announce the launch of The BeaconX over the Summer Term. BeaconX offers online courses run by a group of our expert teachers, empowering pupils to take a love for learning to new heights. The first course launched in August 2023, which was an intensive summer holiday course designed for Year 5 girls and boys, focussing on Maths, English and Study Skills. The course ran over 4 consecutive days with evening recaps the following week. Coming Next: The BeaconX ISEB Intensive Course, which is design for Year 6 pupils running over the Autumn Half Term. Find out more and book.

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Rory pictured with LAMDA Beacon boys

Alumni News Huge thanks to Professor Mark Watson-Gandy CStJ KSG (OB 197580) who returned to The Beacon in May. Mark gave a captivating talk to our Year 8 boys about the KidsMBA programme that he founded, which equips young people around the world with the skills needed to succeed in business. The boys went on to develop their own business startup ideas, which they then pitched to a panel of parent judges, similar to TV’s Dragon Den. We’d also like to thank Nick A (OB 2014-21), Alfie C (OB 2012-21) and Marco F (OB 2013-19) who stopped by The Beacon in June to chat to our Year 8 boys about life at senior school. They prepared some brilliant presentations and passed on advice that will stand our recent leavers in good stead as they settle into their

new schools this term. Finally, many thanks to Rory G (OB 2010-20) who recently returned from Harrow, where he is a Drama Scholar, to help Beacon boys with their LAMDA classes and Performing Arts. It was great to have you back! Mark Watson-Gandy CStJ KSG

The Beacon Pathway We are enormously grateful to all the families and individuals who generously sponsored a brick in our new Beacon Pathway. You helped us to raise £20,000 for the Headmaster’s Bursary Fund and other projects that will help to enhance the educational experience of our boys. Thank you! The pathway, which was commissioned to mark The Beacon’s 90th anniversary this year, was completed over the summer and looks fabulous! If you haven’t already seen it, we look forward to showing it to you soon!

Nick, Alfie and Marco

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The Beacon | Chesham Bois | Amersham | Buckinghamshire | HP6 5PF

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