The Beacon Bulletin: Autumn Term 2021

Bulletin Beacon Life Highlights | Autumn Term

Lights, Camera, Action!

OUR AUTUMN TERM WAS OUTSTANDING. ACTION-PACKED WITH PRODUCTIONS, CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES, COMMUNITY SUPPORT INITIATIVES, SPORTS MATCHES AND SUPERB ACHIEVEMENTS.

WELCOME

Headmaster's Welcome I am thrilled to welcome you to The Beacon Bulletin, our brand new digital termly magazine, which will give you the highlights of each term, and a wonderful insight into life at The Beacon.

The Autumn term was exceptional, and I am incredibly proud of what our Beacon Community has achieved. We were extremely busy with the grand opening of our new Nursery welcoming our Little Beacon boys, as well as our new joiners across the school. We saw some fantastic performances, academic and sporting achievements.

Our Beacon boys settled in to the term and their new Year groups superbly, which I hope you agree is reflected in our highlights. The Beacon wouldn’t be the remarkable school it is without our wonderful staff who work tirelessly to ensure our boys are receiving the best education possible. In light of this, I would like to take this opportunity to say an enormous thank you to all the Teachers and staff for your amazing work over the term. With COVID still very much disrupting school life, you have done a fantastic job to adapt to the challenges we have faced.

I would also like to extend out a huge thank you to the Beacon Parents’ Society who organised ‘sell-out’ events during the term to fundraise for the school and our charity partners. Your hard work and efforts do not go unnoticed. A rounders match, Quiz Night and the Christmas Fair all went down a storm, with a staggering £6,465 being raised at the Christmas Fair alone. And the ‘Be Kind’ sweatshirts are a great initiative to fundraise yet keep the ethos of The Beacon alive. I wear mine with pride.

Over the Autumn term we had a focus on philanthropy, and I am delighted to announce that our Beacon Community raised over £3,500 for a variety of great causes including Movember, AntiBullying Alliance, Save the Children, Poppy Appeal and the NSPCC. We also supported The Chiltern Foodbank, The Chiltern Toy Bank and Rotary Christmas Shoe Boxes with a range of gift donations. Thank you to everyone who donated to these amazing charities; it is very much appreciated.

I hope you enjoy discovering our Autumn term highlights in our first issue of The Beacon Bulletin. Thank you to our Marketing Team for putting together this excellent magazine.

I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year.

Best wishes, Will Phelps, Headmaster

And finally, I am extremely grateful to our outstanding Governing body for their devotion to The Beacon, and for their careful and thoughtful guidance throughout the term.

"It is my great pleasure to launch our termly magazine, The Beacon Bulletin.

What a fantastic way to showcase some of the amazing things we have done at The Beacon over each term" - Will Phelps, Headmaster

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Contents

Issue 1 | Autumn 2021

08 Be Inspired

Be Kind

Be Creative

Be Challenged

08 The Element of Surprise An electrifying term in Science

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22 Culinary Arts A sizzling start in Cooking & Nutrition

10 Beacon Life: Be Inspired -Beaconverse -National Teachers' Day -Rainbow on The Quad -Kyla represents Team GB

16 The Beacon Flame A symbol of kindness from Mr Phelps

24 Think. Create. Innovate.

Design Technology crafting

30 Sport For All A term of rugby, cross country, hockey, swimming and football

18 The Gift of Giving Fundraising initiatives

26 Creative Masterpieces Channelling creativity

Community Kindness The Beacon Parents' Society (BPS)

The Beacon Chesham Bois, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, HP6 5PF Registered Charity number: 309911 Admissions admissions@beaconschool.co.uk 01494 432764

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36 Beacon Life: Be Challenged -Maths Challenge -Information Technology -Geography -Modern Foreign Languages

Upcoming Open Events Thursday 10 February 2022, 19:00 Friday 18 March 2022, 09:00-12:00 Friday 6 May, 09:00-12:00 REGISTER NOW Private Visits and Tours To book a private tour please email admissions@beaconschool.co.uk

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48 Be Confident

Be Adventurous

Be Prepared

Be Together

40 It's Showtime Year 6 'My Son Pinocchio JR' performances

48 Little Beacons The opening of our new Nursery

54 Beacon Life: Be Prepared -Senior Schools' evening -Upper Schools' evening -September Open Morning -Taster Days -New prospectus launch

58 Together We Learn Experiential learning through themed and poignant days

42 Don't Stop the Music Starting the term on a high note in Music 44 Beacon Life: Be Confident -The Balloon Debate -Councillor boys -Head Boy Team -Christmas Nativities

50 Beacon Life: Be Adventurous -Welly Walk Wednesdays -Blenheim Woods -Hazard Alley -Battlefields

Acknowledgments The Beacon Bulletin would like to thank: Kerry Inch, Marketing Manager Laura Marshall, Senior Marketing Assistant Claire Aylard, Marketing Assistant Charlotte Buswell, Head of Development Nikki Olhausen, Director of Studies

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

62 Alumni News A round up from our Beacon Alumni Community 63 Open Events Register for one of our upcoming Open Events

Follow Us

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

The Beacon Bulletin, Autumn Term 2021.

All rights reserved.

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IN A WORLD OF TARGETS AND ASSESSMENTS, WE ARE DETERMINED TO KEEP THE LOVE OF LEARNING AND DISCOVERY BURNING BRIGHTLY IN ALL OUR BOYS.

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Year 7 popcorn experiment

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The Element of Surprise

Our boys continue to learn through engaging and surprising practical experiments from melting compounds to making circuits.

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Science | An Electrifying Term Our Science department started the Autumn term off with a bang, bringing Science to life with fascinating experiments and investigations.

Teachers challenged our boys to think creatively, providing brand new topics and goals within their Science lessons, adjusting tasks according to the Year group.

Our Lower School boys experimented with different materials to ascertain the best method to make their own teabags to learning about electricity and scientific symbols, drawing circuit diagrams and creating their own circuits connecting to light bulbs.

Our Middle School boys learnt about sound and the solar system. They were challenged to see how far they could set off a paper rocket using basic materials and air.

Upper School studied practical theory and carried out a popcorn experiment as well as oxygen and the cold finger experiment.

The Science department was well and truly electrifying over the Autumn term!

Above: Year 3 bubble experiment

Read our Science News Story

"Our boys improved their practical skills excellently. All tests and investigations were completed successfully.

We are excited about the Spring term, especially in Year 7 as we we will study space and learn about the imminent launch of the James Webb space telescope" - Mr Edward Tenison, Head of Upper School Above: Year 4 chocolate experiment

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BE INSPIRED

Be Inspired

Beacon Life An exciting start to the school academic year saw the launch of our new Podcast, Beaconverse. The topics are intended to give educational insight and inspiration into Beacon Life. We also celebrated our amazing Teachers, and our Teaching Assistant, Kyla, who inspired us all by represting Team GB.

The Beacon Podcast, Beaconverse In celebration of National Podcast Day, we were thrilled to launch our very own school podcast: Beaconverse.

Our first episode was streamed in September. In this episode, our topic was Maths, covering the various competitions that were taking place, and our newly installed state-of-the-art Maths Hub. October followed with a Halloween Special in which Year 3 completed a spooky quiz. There was also a spine-chilling reading from our new Librarian, Mr Joe Brown.

A huge thank you to everyone who took part!

Follow us on social media for updates on new episodes coming soon. Available on Buzzsprout & Spotify.

Listen to our Beaconverse Podcast.

National Teachers' Day In October, we celebrated National Teachers’ Day. We are extremely grateful to have such amazing and admirable Teachers here at The Beacon. Your dedication and expertise is invaluable.

Many of our boys showed appreciation of their Teachers by writing some wonderful heart-warming words accompanied with personal drawings, all of which were presented as a surprise in celebration of the day.

Thank you to our inspiring and nurturing Teaching Team!

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Somewhere Over the Rainbow Rainbows are widely understood to symbolise hope, good luck, new beginnings, promise, equality, communication and peace. At The Beacon, our aim is to nurture and inspire boys to fulfill their individual potential in all aspects of life to achieve their hopes and dreams.

It was lovely to see such a beautiful shot taken from the Quad. This is the heart of The Beacon that features the original 17th century barns still used today. The Quad was lit wonderfully by the spectrums of light.

Photo credit: Mrs Ensor, Head of Medical Centre

Read about the history of The Beacon.

Kyla Represents Great Britain A huge congratulations to one of our inspirational Teaching Assistants, Kyla, for once again being selected to represent Great Britain with her teammates following on from their success at the World Championships.

Kyla attended the Acrobatic Gymnastics European Championships from 23 September - 3 October 2021 in Italy where her team got through to the dynamic finals and then placed 8th in Europe.

Kyla said, "My experience at the European Championships was amazing. To have been selected to represent Great Britain after all the setbacks from Covid was just fantastic."

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Be Kind KINDNESS REMAINS AT THE HEART OF THE BEACON ON A DAILY BASIS. OUR CORE MESSAGE OF 'BE KIND, BE KIND, BE KIND' IS A SIMPLE, YET STRONGLYSUPPORTED SCHOOL ETHOS.

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Community Kindness Thank you to The Beacon Parents’ Society for arranging a host of wonderful events this term, and for your continued support to the school.

We are also extremely appreciative of the support received by our Beacon Community.

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BE KIND School motto merchandise available from the shop

Reception Buddy Bench

Over the Autumn term, our Beacon Parents’ Society have been remarkably busy, organising numerous ‘sell out’ events, raising a tremendous amount of money to support The Beacon and our charity partners; YoungMinds and Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity.

We were overwhelmed by the fabulous items the BPS funded that will really add value to Beacon Life. We were gifted with a ‘Buddy Bench’ for our new Nursery among other great furniture pieces for our Early Years department.

In addition, we recieved a brand-new school Harp, new basketball hoops and backboards for the AstroTurf, new cookery equipment as well as a makeover to The Spinney Theatre. The BPS also contributed to our state-of-the-art interactive Maths Hub. All of which are a huge asset directly benefitting our boys.

We are extremely grateful for the hard work our BPS Co-Chairs, Emma and Octavia, have put into the events to make them such a success. Our Beacon Community enjoyed rounders on Willsfield, a Quiz Night and a Christmas Fair. Alongside these events, the BPS set up an intiative to source, design and sell 100s of ‘Be Kind’ sweatshirts to help fundraise.

For the Christmas Fair alone, a staggering £6,465 was raised. Thank you to everyone involved. This is fantastic!

Boy plays the Harp kindly donated by the BPS.

Interactive Maths hub.

#kindnessstartswithone "We are so grateful for the support of the parents at all the BPS events thus far. To our delight, they have been exceedingly well attended and often sold out!

The School needed its community events to allow both parents and boys to socialise once again. This thriving school community is generous with both time and contributions and it’s exciting to be able to continue planning events for 2022 whilst raising funds for the School and our chosen charities. Thank you!” - Emma & Octavia, The Beacon Parents' Society Co-Chairs Emma and Octavia, Co-Chairs of the BPS.

BPS Christmas Fair.

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BE KIND Being a great friend • Always kind to me • Always looks after people when having a hard time at school • He looked out for me and helped me • Always kind, generous and funny • I’m new here and he became my first best friend • He always helps when I’m stuck on something • He holds the door open for everyone • Always asking if I need help • He’s a really kind person • Always makes me smile when we are sad • For always opening the door and holding it • Always playing with me on break time • Always kind

I’m new

here and he became my first best friend • He always helps when I’m stuck on something • He holds the door open for everyone • Always asking if I need help • He’s a really kind person • Always makes me smile when we are sad • For always opening the door and holding it • Always playing with me on break time • If I’m stuck he always helps me • If I’m in the playground with no one to play with he’ll play with me • Being kind to me all the time • Whenever I’m upset he asks me what’s wrong and plays with me

The Beacon Flame The Beacon Flame badge is a symbol of true acts of kindness; only awarded to a person who has been nominated by another member of the community, approved and presented by Mr Phelps.

The Beacon Flame is the most sought-after badge here at The Beacon. It is an accreditation of kindness, generosity and thoughtfulness. It underpins the values of the school and what we strive to achieve among our Beacon Community.

Our Beacon boys have been nominating peers and staff members who they believe are kind, considerate and helpful.

We are thrilled to have been able to award so many Beacon Flames over the last few months.

Set up by our Headmaster, Will Phelps, the initiative successfully highlights such valuable traits, and we are delighted that our Beacon boys are actively encouraging each other to adhere to these and be kind. We are extremely proud that our boys are learning and growing up to be chivalrous young men.

“He is generous, altruistic, and he helps me cheer up when I feel downhearted. He always helps me if I get stuck on a tricky question” Beacon Boy, Flame nomination

Huge congratulations to everyone who has received a flame over the Autumn term.

Wear it with pride!

Being a great friend • Someone kind to talk to • Always kind to me • Always looks after people when having a hard time at school • He looked out for me and helped me • Always kind, generous and funny • I’m new here and he became my first best friend • He always helps when I’m stuck on something • He holds the door open for everyone • Always asking if I need help • He’s a really kind person • Always makes me smile when we are sad • For always opening the door and holding it • Always playing with me on break time

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He is kind to me all the time • Whenever I’m upset he asks me what’s wrong and plays with me • If someone is hurt he helps them to matron • He always helps and is always kind • Always being kind helpful holding the doors, always being polite and being an amazing friend • He is generous, altruistic, he helps me cheer up when I feel downhearted, he always helps me if I get stuck on a tricky question • He is a true friend and always gives a helping hand when you need one • Being a great friend • Always kind to me

BE KIND

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Rotary Shoebox Scheme November

Charities Supported

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BE KIND

Movember

Remembrance Day

Harvest Festival

Children in Need

November

November

October

November

The Gift of Giving From Harvest and Movember to Christmas jumper day and anti-bullying week, our boys, staff and parents have all been involved in fundraising a staggering amount of money in our Autumn term.

Over the last few months at The Beacon, we have been doing our part to give back to the community and charity partners.

Our Beacon Community raised an incredible amount of over £3,500, which will go directly towards helping adults and children all over the UK and around the world.

Read our News Story to find out more.

MasterCook Competition 2021

COOKBOOK

Anti-Bullying Week

Christmas Jumper Day

Chiltern Toy Bank

November

December

November

The Beacon Cookbook Available to Buy

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CREATIVITY IS MORE THAN JUST BEING DIFFERENT. MAKING THE SIMPLE, AWESOMELY SIMPLE - THAT IS CREATIVITY.

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Culinary Arts The start to the academic year got off to a sizzling start with our boys cooking delectable dishes, learning food safety and knife skills as well as being aware of conscious cuisine.

Over the Autumn term, our boys have been cooking up a storm in the kitchen.

Our budding chefs have grown in confidence and substantially improved their cooking skills. They have been learning about different flavours and spices, and how to enhance a dish with different ingredients.

Above: Beacon boy learning oven safety Right: Year 5 boys making kebabs Below: Year 4 learnt how to cook raw fish

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We have also reflected on how all of the lovely produce in our Kitchen Garden has grown, putting the freshly grown ingredients to good use in our Cooking and Nutrition dishes.

Read our News Story.

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Planting in our kitchen garden

Year 4 boys learn to make flatbreads

Knife Skills

Year 8 boys perform the taste test

SUSTAINABLE COOKING

“I’m a happy and keen cook, so the fact my 2 boys are loving their Cooking & Nutrition lessons is just magic. Hunter now helps prep veggies for Sunday roasts, and Orlando is hoovering up his weekly dinner made in lessons. Thank you for inspiring them both, I’m incredibly grateful” - Beacon Parent

Sustainability remains at the forefront of our minds. We not only have meat free Mondays in our Dining Hall but the boys have also been looking at ways of making more conscious choices when it comes to cooking. They have been making sustainable, healthy, plant-based meals and discussing why plant-based, protein alternatives have less of an impact on our environment than meat.

In Cooking & Nutrition we are also making efforts towards sourcing organic meats, fish and vegetables.

Read our News Story.

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BE CREATIVE

Think.

Create.

Innovate.

Using resistant materials, our boys have learnt new skills and worked hard to create puzzles, sweet bowls, boxes and pinball games.

Our Beacon boys are continuously learning new skills in Design & Technology. Over the Autumn term, they worked with resistant materials, wood, metal and plastic. They worked hard using hand tools and also learnt to use a few new machines, including more advanced CAD/CAM. From Left to Right: Top: Mr Van Rooyen teaching the boys, Year 6 boy crafting his sweet bowl, finished sweet bowl.

Bottom: Year 4 boy using the scroll saw machine, completed Puzzle Box by Year 5 boy with double sided puzzles cut on laser cutter and engraved top, Beacon boy prepares the wood for a box.

Year 4 boys are now able make a twisted key fob from acrylic plastic, and now know how to use a coping saw or scroll saw machine to cut out shapes from thin board. They also made an A5 sized puzzle and a small box to hold the pieces.

Year 5 worked very hard on a small wooden box holding six different puzzles, whilst Year 6 completed the creation of colourful sweet bowls. They learnt to use different types of plastic (no single use plastic) and processes.

Year 7 are at an advanced stage crafting their novelty boxes and Year 8 are working hard to complete their own pinball games.

All our Beacon boys did an amazing job and their creations demonstrate this. Our boys have worked on some challenging projects and should be proud of the results.

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Creative Masterpieces Across all Year groups, our boys have channelled their creative side, bringing colour and fun to the classroom, creating some fabulous, creative masterpieces.

The start to the academic year has seen the love of learning flourish in Art classes across all years at The Beacon. Early years had fun still-life painting, experimenting with clay and making an array of wonderful crafts and pictures, working both independently and together.

Year 4 boys sculpted and decorated clay skulls (pictured) having been inspired by the Mexican festival 'The Day of the Dead'. They really enjoyed making their characterful and colourful creations!

Meanwhile, Year 5 worked on large scale collaborative paintings, where they created their vision of popular culture through Art, based on the Pop-Art movement.

Year 6 had lots of fun working on their Graffiti Art Project. They thoroughly enjoyed spray painting their canvas with layers of colours using stencils. It has been great to watch the boys throwing themselves into this

Year 5 Pop Art Painting

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creative activity. They learnt how to take risks with their work and make Art with an element of spontaneity and fun!

Year 7 created lanterns from willow and tissue paper.

They worked collaboratively to form strong 3D structures from the materials.

Year 8 developed their drawing skills by using a range of media to practice drawing their own portrait. Our boys should be very proud of their highly skilled work which showed a huge amount of care and attention to detail.

All in all, a productive and creative Autumn term in Art, with many new images, colours and shapes filling the creative space in our Art room!

Read our News Story.

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Right: Year 4 Art, 'Day of the Dead' clay skulls.

Below Left: Year 7 Art sculpting.

Below Right: Reception boy painting in his still-life class.

Bottom: Year 6 boys enjoying spray painting.

Winner, Luca, Year 1

HALLOWEEN FUN

We challenged the boys to a pumpkin carving competition over the Autumn half term. Thank you for all the superb spooky entries, we were overwhelmed by the talent. Our haunted house of judges had such a tough decision picking three witchy winners! Well done all!

Winner, Dino, Year 6 Winner, Zaid, Year 3

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WE BELIEVE PLAYING SPORT PROMOTES POSITIVE SELFESTEEM AND CONFIDENCE, HELPING OUR BOYS TO BUILD STRENGTH IN PERSEVERANCE, RESILIENCE, TEAMWORK AND LEADERSHIP. FROM RUGBY TO CROSS COUNTRY TO SWIMMING, OUR BOYS ENJOY A RANGE OF ACTIVITIES.

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Sport For All Our ethos at The Beacon is 'Sport For All', and it forms an important part of School life. At every level, our boys are coached and encouraged to develop a love for Sport which will last a lifetime.

Over the Autumn term, Sport was go, go, go!

As we entered the winter season, rugby, football, hockey and cross country were the chosen sports. Our boys set off in their kit, eager to start playing and learning something new in their Games lessons.

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Rugby Our boys were extremely excited to get stuck in and start playing matches against other schools.

Our Early Years boys got to grips with handling a rugby ball very well, practising their passing and catching skills whilst moving with the ball.

Competitive fixtures began early in the Autumn term, and our older boys had roaring success with many of our matches!

Keep up the good work, boys!

“Our Beacon boys enjoyed visiting other schools and playing competitively. I am proud of the sportsmanship and teamwork" - Mr David Robinson, Director of Sport

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Cross Country In September, our boys took part in the English Schools Cross Country Run, where they performed brilliantly and won the regional round-up for their age!

In addition, our boys have been involved in various cross country races during the Autumn term, and successfully completed their races in harsh, muddy conditions.

Hockey Our boys enjoyed learning and improving their hockey skills on the AstroTurf during their PE lessons.

They learnt important rules and techniques from our expert Teachers and will continue to enjoy this Sport throughout the academic year.

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Swimming Boys from Nursery all the way up to Year 8 enjoyed our heated swimming pool throughout the Autumn term.

Our younger boys have been learning to become confident in the water, while our older boys have been perfecting their front, back and breaststrokes.

“Our younger boys have been learning to become confident in the water" - Mr Ryan Steward,

Head of Pre-Prep

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Football Football has been a hit with the boys during the Autumn term! They have been excelling in their PE lessons, honing in on their skills in preparation for their away games against other schools!

Well done to Year 8 who performed brilliantly during their game at Bishop's Stortford, winning the IAPS Plate, after a successful penalty shootout!

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Be Challenged

Beacon Life We seek to inspire and challenge the boys to achieve their full potential. The Beacon promotes the highest standards of academic achievement through consistently excellent teaching and learning.

Maths Challenge During the Autumn term, our boys took part in the annual Maths World Cup Competition with Years 3 to 6 participating.

They were set into teams and tasked with solving different mathematical problems. The boys really enjoyed the problem-solving element of the challenge and working as a team to figure out the solutions. The competition also involved getting the boys to move with different exercises inbetween Mathematics. In addition, the challenge also introduced mindfulness, asking the boys to take a moment between problems and doing structured breathing techniques.

The boys all did an amazing job and really got into the spirit of the game.

Information Technology

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Pre-Prep worked hard on developing their ICT skills. They used Purple Mash Software to paint pictures and create their own greeting cards by combining text and images. They also created their own animations as well as learning how to use email.

Year 5 and 6 created PowerPoint presentations using hyperlinks about a country of their choice.

They used research skills to learn about their country and created slides about culture, food, tourist attractions, interesting facts as well as a slide of their choice.

Year 3 developed their ICT skills by typing and formatting text as well as inserting images from the internet into their document. They also used Discovery Education Coding to develop block coding skills.

Year 7 completed a range of tasks in the Python Programming language.

They worked in groups to plan a school leavers' party. They used a range of the Microsoft Office Software including PowerPoint, Publisher and Excel.

Year 4 used Microsoft Word and Publisher. They created their own posters and tickets for a theatre production of their choice as well as using Hour of Code Block Coding.

During the Spring term, our boys will look forward to developing coding skills using block coding, HTML and Python as well as learning about the importance of E-Safety.

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Geography Our Geography department has been erupting with excitement! The boys explored volcanoes and constructed their own models as well as learning about Ordnance Survey Map skills.

Having practised their skills during the first half of the Autumn term, they were challenged with finding 6 figure numbers during a competitive game with their classmates. They also had fun learning about the importance of field sketching during their Outdoor Learning lessons.

Our Beacon boys did excellently, well done to all!

“The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning”

Modern Foreign Languages The Modern Foreign Languages department was thriving over the Autumn term. Our boys showed a huge amount of enthusiasm during their lessons and the dedication of our specialist language Teachers was greatly appreciated.

We are delighted to have expanded our learning into our Early Years department. Our younger Beacon boys love their weekly visit from Miss Mateo Fernandez and her Spanish puppet.

Years 1, 2 and 3 were very excited to learn Italian as part of their International Studies Programme.

Year 4 had their first taster term of French and Spanish, which was thoroughly enjoyed.

Boys in Years 5 and 6 continued their studies of French and Spanish and progressed excellently in their lessons.

Year 7 have embarked on their PSB Curriculum and Year 8 have been covering material at a fast pace and learning very well.

A big well done to all the boys!

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STRIVING TO DO ONE’S BEST AND MAKING AN EFFORT, DESPITE DIFFICULTIES OR FEARS, BUILDING RESILIENCE AND SELF-CONFIDENCE.

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It's Showtime Welcoming back parents for the first time in two years was such a pleasure. Our Year 6 boys put on a truly fantastic performance of ‘My Son Pinocchio JR’.

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Our Year 6 boys were split into two casts, both of which put on an outstanding performance of 'My Son Pinocchio JR'.

The Pinocchio production was a fabulous end to another busy term and a wonderful way to get us fired up for the festive season. Our boys worked incredibly hard to put this show together and enjoyed performing to the first live audience that we've had the pleasure of welcoming in The Spinney Theatre at The Beacon for two years!

“This brings our success rate to... well... 100%” - Blue Fairy

We are proud that Team Pinocchio pulled together fabulously - Year 6 pupils, staff and parents - to deliver a superb performance, highlighting just how lucky we are to have such a robust and supportive Beacon Community!

Our Year 6 boys demonstrated teamwork, commitment and resilience whilst engaging in the process running up to the performance dates and we were thrilled to receive so many messages of support and thanks.

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Don't Stop The Music "Sing your way to a happy life" is a firm motto in the Performing Arts department. The Beacon is passionate about Drama and Music. We believe it helps express emotions and build confidence.

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Music is an integral and valued part of School life from Nursery upwards, and this area continues to grow in strength every year.

Our Beacon boys across the School put a huge amount of energy and enthusiam in both Music and Drama over the Autumn term, with Harvest Festivals, Nativities, and Christmas Concerts. including performances from The Beacon 'Mini Strings' and 'Little Voices' groups.

Music lessons developed sound and rhythm skills using an exciting variety of instruments, from egg shakers, orchestral instruments to chime bars and boomwhackers. The BPS kindly funded a new school Harp, which enables us to add another string to The Beacon range of instruments available to our boys.

Our Year 3 boys excelled in composing their own Music to match film characters, learning about different elements of Music. Year 4 boys learnt to conduct 4 and 3 beat patterns as well as composing Music inspired by orchestral pieces.

Our older boys got us into the festive spirit rehearsing and singing Christmas songs for our annual Carol Concert. This was performed excellently in front of a well-attended, live-streamed audience this year, hosted by Reverend Phil Nightingale from St Mary's Church, Chesham.

The Autumn term certainly finished on a high note with Year 6 boys performing outstanding musical numbers in 'My Son Pinocchio JR'.

To top it off, fantastic results were achieved by our boys who took ABRSM Music exams.

Well done to all our Beacon boys and our Performing Arts Team who worked tirelessly to deliver so many productions and events over the Autumn term!

“I am very proud of the hard work and enthusiasm our boys put in to their Music lessons over the Autumn term. Great start to the year, boys” - Mrs Kathryn Filippides, Head of Music Top above: Year 1 playing the xylophone.

Bottom above: A Little Beacon enjoying the noise of a rain stick.

Left: Year 2 practising their trombone technique.

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BE CONFIDENT

Be Confident

Beacon Life We encourage each boy to perform to the best of his ability – in the classroom, on the playing fields, in Music and Drama and the Creative Arts. There are several opportunities for boys to develop confidence and work as a team to prepare them for the future.

The Balloon Debate

Councillor Boys

October

October Onwards

Our Year 6 boys participated in a Balloon Debate. They worked on persuasive writing techniques and speeches in their English lessons. Each boy subsequently cast a vote in preparation for the final.

Congratulations to our newly elected School Council boys!

The Council comprises of a group of boys from Year 3 to Year 8, and the following boys were appointed: Jeevan L, Christopher D, Josh S, George L, Theo M, Ben F, Henry O, Henry L, Noah B, Sean T and Maanav M.

There were a huge range of characters represented from Gandhi to Roald Dahl, and a very high quality of speeches from all finalists. The winners of their 'balloon' heat were: Harry W, Jaden W, Tristan D and Michael C. Well done, boys, it was an impressive event!

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We are excited to announce that the School's Eco-Council is also back up and running, a group of boys from Year 3 to Year 8. We can't wait to hear their plans!

BE CONFIDENT

Head Boy Team

Christmas Nativities

September Onwards

December

The Autumn term is when our new Year 8 Head Boy Team commence their tenure. We are thrilled to introduce George (Head Boy), Felix and Ed (Deputy Head Boys) into their new role at The Beacon.

Our Little Beacons, Reception and Year 1 boys had a wonderful time performing in their Nativities, and it was such a delight to welcome families to The Spinney Theatre to watch their boys in the spotlight.

The team aim to make this year as fun as possible for everyone. This quote by George sums up the attitude they would like everyone to bring to school: “Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.”

Our boys did a tremendous job learning their lines and lyrics for the Early Years 'Humph the Camel' and Year 1 performance of 'The Angel Who Nearly Missed it All'.

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THERE IS NO BETTER WAY TO BRING LEARNING TO LIFE THAN WITH A HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE. DURING THE AUTUMN TERM OUR BOYS ENJOYED EXPLORING THE WOODS, LEARNING ABOUT THE BATTLEFIELDS, DEVELOPING NEW SKILLS IN OUR CLUBS AND MUCH MORE...

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Group of boys BE XXXXXXXXX enjoying the outdoor shop.

Little Beacons Nursery We were excited to celebrate the opening of our brand new Nursery, Little Beacons, in September. It was a joy to welcome boys aged 3 to 4 years to The Beacon, and to watch them settle into our refurbished and freshly kitted-out Oakway building so quickly.

Nursery boy explores the classroom on his first day.

The Autumn term saw our Little Beacon boys enjoy their large outdoor play area, which features a wooden climbing frame, construction zone, a large sandpit, brightly-coloured ride-on toys and trikes, a mini stage and puppet show zone, a shop, plus numerous outdoor toys and a spacious area in which to run around with their new friends. They also enjoyed weekly Outdoor Learning adventures in our beautiful woodland areas surrounding the school, where we are teaching the boys to develop a love and respect for nature and the world around them.

Little Beacons experienced a host of activities indoors too, including circle time, stories, cooking, arts, crafts, messy play, numbers, shapes, Phonics

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BE ADVENTUROUS

Working together to paint rangoli patterns.

Captain America learns his numbers.

Nursery boys enjoying their swimming lessons.

Enjoying cooking lessons.

and weekly Modern Foreign Language sessions.

During their Games lessons, they have been taught key elements of ball sports, practised agility, balance and co-ordination, as well as taking to the swimming pool with a splash!

Over the Autumn term, we saw their confidence grow during their Music, movement and singing lessons, ending the term with a fantastic showdown performing their Christmas Production of 'Humph the Camel' alongside our Reception boys in December.

Little Beacons

Making bee sounds using kazoos.

View Prospectus online

Creating prictures of fireworks in November

We are thrilled to have had such a successful launch and fabulous first term for our Little Beacon boys!

Little Beacons Nursery is open Monday to Friday during term times. We can also offer our Little Beacons wrap-around care from 07:30 until 18:00. For more information or to book a tour please contact Pippa Pearson on admissions@beaconschool.co.uk or call on 01494 432764.

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Be Adventurous

Beacon Life Welly Walk Wednesdays Little Beacons / Weekly

With over 16 acres to explore each week, our Little Beacons enjoy wrapping up and venturing outside. As Autumn approached they had fun crunching through the leaves and learning about nature.

We learnt about different trees and plants as well as identifying if they are male or female. We also made friends with Mr and Mrs Squirrel who get cosy and less active in Winter.

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BE ADVENTUROUS

Blenheim Woods Trip Year 7 / September Our Year 7 boys had the pleasure of visiting Blenheim Woods for an adventurepacked 2-day trip full of activities. This included shelter building, fire lighting, cooking, team challenges and various games. The sun came out just in time for them, so they got to enjoy the outdoors in the sunshine.

The boys had a fun time getting to know one another better whilst navigating some challenging and different situations.

Read more about the trip.

Hazard Alley Year 4 / October In conjunction with learning about 'How to Keep Safe' in their lessons, Year 4 ventured off to the Hazard Alley Safety Centre to continue their learning. This is an interactive safety village where children are shown how they can stay safe, understand risks and avoid accidents, all of which is demonstrated through powerful experiential learning.

Read more about the trip.

Battlefields Year 8 / October As part of the Battlefields event, Year 8 ventured into London on an enlightening day trip visiting the Imperial War Museum. The boys focused on discovering the WW1 Gallery and The Ashcroft Gallery, which showcases the world's largest collection of Victoria Crosses and a significant collection of George Crosses.

The trip was a fascinating educational experience. Our boys particularly enjoyed reading the truly inspirational stories featured at the museum.

Read more about the trip.

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WE STRIVE TO INSPIRE AND ENLIGHTEN OUR BOYS THROUGHOUT THEIR JOURNEY AT THE BEACON. FROM THE VERY FIRST STEPS IN INITIAL LEARNING TO EXAMINATION SUCCESS, OUR PRIORITY IS TO ENSURE SOUND ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT WITHIN A HAPPY AND STIMULATING COMMUNITY.

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Be Prepared

Beacon Life Beacon boys leave us as mature, confident and kind young men, fully prepared for their future steps in education and adult life.

Our Upper School boys are given greater responsibility and independence in making decisions and are encouraged to mentor younger boys and act as role models. Year 7 and 8 boys undergo a specialist programme to fully prepare them for Senior School and beyond.

Senior Schools’ Evening In October, we welcomed over 25 Senior Schools to The Beacon for an Information Evening, giving our Beacon families the opportunity to explore potential Senior School options for their son.

We had representatives attending from Eton, Berkhamsted, Haileybury and Merchant Taylors’, amongst others from various locations around the UK, all of whom set up stands in our Sports Hall, displaying information on what their school or college has to offer.

It was a fantastic opportunity for parents and boys to network and speak to the school representatives directly.

There were also various Senior School presentations scheduled throughout the evening that families could attend.

Upper Schools' Evening In November, we hosted a virtual Upper School Information Evening to give families an overview of Beacon Life in our Upper School (Years 7 and 8), including information about our curriculum, trips, Sports, Creative Arts and extra-curricular opportunities available.

We covered our enriching, crosscurricular programme which broadens our boys’ horizons in preparation for entry into Senior Schools. There were also details on our destination schools at Year 9 and the application process.

The event was well-attended, finishing with a live Q&A with our key Upper School staff.

View our video on our website.

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September Open Morning We were delighted to welcome prospective families once again for tours of The Beacon at our Autumn Open Morning on Saturday 25 September.

It was lovely to meet everyone and have the opportunity to showcase what The Beacon has to offer.

Find out more about the event.

UPCOMING OPEN EVENTS

Thursday 10 February 2022, 19:00 Friday 18 March 2022, 09:00 – 12:00 Friday 6 May, 09:00 – 12:00

NEW PROSPECTUS LAUNCH We were thrilled to launch our new 20212022 prospectus in the Autumn Term.

As September saw the opening of our Little Beacons Nursery, we also developed a dedicated prospectus for our Nursery.

For more information, contact: admissions@beaconschool.co.uk We welcome you to The Beacon

Taster Days Our Taster Days at The Beacon are a fantastic way to introduce registered boys to life at the school. It is an opportunity to meet Teachers and fellow pupils, by participating in a range of exciting activities and exploring the school facilities and environment.

T R A D I T I O N A L VA LU E S

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C O N T E M P O R A R Y E D U C AT I O N

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View Main Prospectus.

WORLD-CL ASS EXPERIENCE

View Nursery Prospectus.

We offer Taster Days throughout the year, providing an interactive fun day for prospective boys, including a snack at breaktime and a delicious nutritious lunch in our Dining Hall.

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Be Together THE BEACON IS DEDICATED TO INSTILLING CORE LEARNING SKILLS IN OUR BOYS. WORKING COLLABORATIVELY AS A TEAM IS A VITAL PART OF SCHOOL LIFE.

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Together we Learn Experiential learning is a highlight at The Beacon. We actively bring topics to life across the school and within different lessons via interactive, engaging learning techniques.

Around The World Day Year 1 / November Our Year 1 boys explored different places around the globe during their ‘International Day’. This was celebrated by dressing in the colours of their chosen flag.

The day was fun-packed with tasks, challenges and other activities relating to travel. Each boy began the day by creating their own passport to start their trip of exploring 6 different countries around the world, from classroom to classroom.

On visiting each country, the boys engaged in interactive learning about that country.

From creating their own Mardi Gras masks to African-style necklaces, the boys celebrated the end of their day of travelling with some well-earned themed treats.

Find out more about the day.

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BE TOGETHER

Ancient Egyptian Day Year 3 / November On Monday 15 November, Year 3 were transported to Ancient Egypt!

To mark the occasion, they dressed up in Egyptian outfits in preparation for an interactive day of learning.

The day started with creative activities making ancient artifacts, moulding clay Shabti dolls, mummifying peg dolls, engraving bronze plaques and creating ostrich feather fans used by the Pharaohs to keep cool in the hot Egyptian sun.

There was a special visit from an expert Egyptologist, who gave an amazing talk, highlighting various interesting facts about Ancient Egypt.

To finish the day off, our Year 3 classes played a special Egyptian version of ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ with questions customised to what they had learned throughout the day.

Find out more about the day.

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World War 11 Day Year 5 / November

Our Year 5 boys went back in time to learn about World War II. Everyone made such a great effort getting into costume - Winston Churchill, Wardens, and Soldiers.

On arrival to their classrooms, our boys were given ration books and informed about the importance of them during the war. They were then split into different army camps for the day and given tasks in order to win the war.

Activities included creation of air raid shelters using scraps of cardboard, parachute testing for Spitfire pilots, using old materials and buttons to sew rag dolls replicating the type of toys children had during the war, and gas

"Our boys had a wonderful day and said their favourite part was having their ration card stamped at lunch time" - Mrs Hannah

Macdonald, Director of Studies

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mask box-making, ready for evacuation.

At lunch time, the boys headed to the Dining Hall to collect their rations for the day. Our chefs tailored the menu to the World War II theme serving Meatloaf and Rock Cakes.

Our boys very much enjoyed getting into character for the day to obtain a greater understanding of World War II. Find out more about the day.

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Remembrance Day Year 8 / November This years’ Remembrance Service was hosted by our Year 8 Boys. The service began with a few words from our Head Boy, George C. followed by a wonderful hymn sung by our Year 8 Beacon Voices, ‘Abide with me‘.

Throughout the service, our Year 8 boys read aloud poems they had written in their English lessons, as well as a dedication to the relatives of boys, whereby they stated their relative's rank and their relationship to them.

Our Headmaster said some emotional words before we heard from Ian Lynch who played ‘The Last Post’ and ‘The Reveille‘ on the trumpet.

Maxi J gave an outstanding performance singing ‘In Flanders Fields’ during a solo performance.

The 2 minute silence took place at 11:00, at which point we paid our respects to the men and women who have lost their lives fighting in wars for this country.

Keeping Yourself Safe Day All Years / September Beacon boys from Nursery through to Year 8 experienced a wide range of interesting, fun and engaging talks from a variety of external speakers, giving some helpful advice on different ways to keep safe.

We were lucky to have representatives from the NSPCC, Dara Nasr (MD Twitter UK), Allison Watts (Bucks CC), First Aid Workshop from NDA and an online meeting with the Amersham Fire Station, who all gave their expert insight into practical lessons on keeping yourself safe, whether that be on the Sports field, playground, out and about, at home and online.

Find out more about the day.

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Alumni News A very warm welcome to the newest members of our Beacon Alumni Community. We hope our 2021 Leavers have all had a great first term starting at their new schools. Enormous thanks to all of our 2021 leaving families who generously donated almost £5,000 towards our Leavers’ Bursary Appeal.

Thanks to their support, one very bright and deserving boy of limited financial means has been able to take up his place at The Beacon this term.

Huge congratulations to Dan Eckersley (OB 2009-14) who recently joined the London Wasps Rugby team. We enjoyed watching Dan’s debut match against Newcastle earlier this term.

Congratulations also to Maxim Garrett (OB 2013-20) who has made the Wasps Rugby Academy.

Harry Petrie (OB 2007 – 16) has been selected to represent England’s Under 19 Men’s cricket team, and gave a fantastic performance in their recent six-match one-day series against the West Indies. A tremendous achievement!

The Premiere have recently released their debut single Where I Wanna Be. It’s a brilliant first song for front man and lead vocalist LJay Yarroll (OB 2008-14), guitarist Jack Chesney (OB Dan Eckersley, London Wasps Rugby team

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2006-16), drummer William Finch (OB 2010-16) and bassist Ben Shardlow. You can listen to their new single on both Spotify and Apple Music.

Enormous thanks to everyone who has been helping us with our Big Beacon Alumni Hunt. If you have any friends or relatives who attended The Beacon, please do take a look at our list of ‘lost’ alumni here and kindly let us know if you can help put us in touch with anyone.

"Huge congratulations to Dan Eckersley, who recently joined the London Wasps Rugby team" - Mrs Charlotte Buswell, Head of Development Follow our alumni social channels:

We are delighted to announce that Mr Thomas’s retirement party and our Old Boys’ Reunion will take place at The Beacon on Saturday 2 July 2022. Further details to be announced shortly - watch this space!

Harry Petrie, selected to represent England U19's Cricket team

The Premiere, having released their debut single

OPEN EVENTS WE ARE DELIGHTED TO BE HOSTING OPEN EVENTS ON:

THURSDAY 10 FEBRUARY VIRTUAL OPEN EVENING 19:00 FRIDAY 18 MARCH OPEN MORNING 09:00 - 12:00 REGISTER ON OUR WEBSITE

PRIVATE TOURS ALSO AVAILABLE TO BOOK A PERSONALISED VISIT, PLEASE EMAIL ADMISSIONS@BEACONSCHOOL.CO.UK OR CALL ON 01494 432764 The Beacon | Chesham Bois | Amersham | Buckinghamshire | HP6 5PF

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

01494 432764 | admissions@beaconschool.co.uk | beaconschool.co.uk