The Beacon Bulletin Spring Term 2024

Books A Buzz About

A BUZZY TERM CELEBRATING OUR FESTIVAL OF WORDS TO MARK WORLD BOOK DAY, ENJOYING EASTER ACTIVITIES, SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCES ON STAGE AND TRIPS OF A LIFETIME.

Headmaster’s Welcome

Another ‘non-stop’ Beacon term to reflect on and celebrate. January, February and March are usually associated with bleak weather, short days and a post-Christmas lull but none of these appeared to dampen the spirits of the boys or the enthusiasm of our staff. With our Cricket Team to South Africa and Ski Team to Italy, we competed internationally, as well as racking up a record number of goals in our domestic football season. Year 4 took us away from the winter weather to the Caribbean with their superb performance of ‘Pirates of the Curry Bean’ as Years 7 and 8 produced a whole range of international cuisine in their impressive MasterCook showcase. March brought my birthday and, to coincide with our annual ‘Festival of Words’, the launching of ‘Beacon Birthday Books’. And to finish, of course, our charming and endlessly creative Pre-Prep boys with their Easter Bonnet Parade.

As productive and enjoyable as a Spring Term can be – always plenty going on at The Beacon.

Nick Baker Headmaster

"As productive and

enjoyable as a Spring Term can be – always plenty going on at The Beacon."

- Nick Baker, Headmaster

Year 4 perform 'Pirates of the Curry Bean'

Be Inspired

08 Festival of Words

- World Book Day

- Gothic Tales

- Laura Mucha Author Visit

- Jim Smith Author Visit

10 STEM Week

A week of fun and challenging activities across the school

12 Beacon Life: Be Inspired

- A Mysterious Egg

- PSB Talk About Digital Strategy for the AI Era

- Impressive Handwriting

- Early Years' French

- Viking Day

- Mini Grey Author Visit

- Mr Jelly

- Castle Day

Be Kind

18 The Beacon Parents’ Society

- Easter Bake Sale - Quiz Night

20 The Beacon Cup of Kindness Celebtaing our boys' random acts of kindness

22 Charity at The Beacon Our community came together to support a variety of charities

24 Welfare & Wellbeing The work we do within the school to support our boys

Be Creative

28 Beacon Life: Be Creative

- Printmaking

- Library Paintings

- Ice and Snow

- Chinese New Year

- Mystical World of Witches

- Italian Speciality

- Bridge & Claw Technique

- Upper School MasterCook 2024

- Pewter Casting

- DT Tournament

Be Challenged

34 Sports Highlights

- County Cross-Country Championships

- National Cross-Country Championships

- Claires Court Football Festival

- Football Techniques

- IAPS U11 Hockey Finals

- Sportsmen of the Week

38 Beacon Life: Be Challenged

- Shiplake Maths Challenge

- St John’s Beaumont Maths Challenge

- Universal Indicators

- Bunsen Burner Licences

- We Love Letters

- Bee-bots

Open Morning Saturday 28 September 2024 REGISTER NOW

To

Be Confident

42 The Show Must Go On Our Beacon Boys have worked hard in every challenge they've faced showing great confidence

44 Pirates of The Curry Bean A showstopping performance by Year 4

46 Beacon Life: Be Confident - Victorian Waxworks - Snow White - Macbeth Workshop

Be Adventurous

50 Out and About The boys take many adventures outside of the classroom

Prepared

Beacon Life: Be Prepared - One-to-one Devices Launch - Internet Safety Day - Upper School Enrichment Programme

Be Together

58 Beacon Life: Be Togther - Easter Hat Parade - Familiar Faces

- Storytelling

- School Council - Holocaust Memorial Day

- Welcoming Families

- House Quiz - Reading Buddies

- Teddy Bears' Picnic

62 Alumni News

Acknowledgements

The Beacon Bulletin would like to thank:

Kerry Inch, Marketing Manager

Laura Marshall, Senior Marketing Assistant

Ellie Geddes, Marketing & Social Media Assistant

Charlotte Buswell, Head of Development

Kathryn Grudgings, PA to Headmaster

The Beacon Bulletin, Spring Term 2024. All rights reserved. Old Beaconians

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

Be Inspired

Festival of Words

In celebration of World Book Day, we launched our Festival of Words for the second year running! The 7-day event ran from Thursday 29 February to Friday 8 March and was packed with a series of fun and engaging literature-related initiatives to create a ‘buzz about books’ across the school. These included competitions, arts and crafts, storytelling and reading, performing arts, multi-media activities and creative writing.

Read the full news story and view images

View our reel.

Gothic Tales

Year 7 had a visit from the Redheart Theatre Company to perform Gothic Tales. Seated in the Old Barn, they had the pleasure of watching an actor perform dramatizations of two short stories - very enthusiastically! They were based on ‘The Red Room’ by H G Wells and ‘The Tell Tale Heart’ by Edgar Allen Poe. It was extremely well-performed. The actor was very talented, acting out many characters, in addition to managing the sound and stage lighting.

Beacon boys in wonderfuly creative hats depicting their favourite book

Author and poet Laura Mucha started our Festival of Words 2024 with an explosion of energy. Her presentation to the whole school covered her own personal journey from city lawyer to poet, the ins and outs of the painstaking publishing process and joys of partnering with organisations such as The British Museum and the Natural History Museum.

View more images online and read the news story.

On World Book Day, Jim Smith presented to Years 3 to 8 all about his award-winning Barry Loser series. Jim spoke through his books and ran a drawing tutorial of the main character of his book. He explained to the boys the importance to create a cartoon that has a stand-out feature, as this is how his readers remember the character. In his case, his character has a very large nose!

Laura Mucha Author Visit

Jim Smith Author Visit

STEM Week

STEM Week at The Beacon kicked off to a fascinating start. We welcomed The Happy Puzzle Company, witnessed an exciting Science demonstration and our boys put their technical skills to the test, among other fun and challenging activities across the school.

Read the full news story and view images

View our reel.

Far Left: Boys watch their eggs take the drop challenge in their baskets

Above: Year 4 build a tower out of dried spaghetti

Left: Year 1 boys enjoy a workshop with The Happy Puzzle Company

National Pi Day

A highlight for most Beacon boys during STEM Week was seeing their teachers being pi'ed on National Pi Day. By memorising lots of digits of pi, the boys who memorised the most, had the chance to choose a teacher to pi(e) in the face.

There was also a very informative and inspiring STEM Roadshow event for families to watch, where exciting experiments were performed. Members of staff from the Oundle School and Imperial College London partnered to put on an evening themed ‘From the Moon to Mars’

Mr Tenison performs an experiment in The Quad

Thrilled boys who have 'pi-ed' their teachers and Headmaster!

Beacon Life Be Inspired

A Mysterious Egg

As part of Year 1’s Castle topic, the boys found a large and mysterious egg in class. They were intrigued and offered many ideas about what sort of animal or bird had laid it. They looked at all the clues, the strange nesting materials, the burnt wood, and the enormous egg. Whilst the boys were in Assembly, the egg cracked open, much to their excitement! The afternoon was spent writing a recount of where the animal had gone and what it could have been. The boys thought it might have been a dragon!

PSB Talk About Digital Strategy for the AI Era

The Beacon hosted a Pre-Senior Baccalaureate (PSB) Computing Meeting for our Upper School boys. These meetings provide an opportunity for teachers from other PSB schools to get together and share best practice. It was a great pleasure to welcome Laura Knight, Director of Digital Learning at Berkhamsted School, to deliver a keynote talk on Reimagining your Digital Strategy for the AI Era.

Impressive Handwriting

Our boys in Years 2-7 were set the challenge of writing out a poem in their very best handwriting. Each Year Group had a different literary masterpiece to inspire them. An engraved fountain pen was awarded to the winner, runner-up and highly commended boy in each Year Group. It was difficult to judge with over 100 entries! Congratulations to the following boys:

Year 2

Winner: Max M

Runner up: Joe K Highly commended: Dhani M

Year 3

Winner: Peter C

Runner up: Jack G Highly commended: Neo D and Teddy N

Year 4

Winner: Jimmy C

Runner up: Harry H Highly commended: Christopher S

Year 5

Winner: Niam P

Runner up: Jeevan L Highly commended: Aarav R

Year 6

Winner: Avi M

Runner up: Rocco G Highly commended: Henry B

Year 7

Winner: Berik I

Miam Miam!

In France, La Chandeleur takes place on February 2nd every year (40 days after Christmas). The crêpe-making process is also surrounded by superstition. Tradition dictates that the chef should toss the crêpes while holding the pan in their right hand and a gold coin in their left.

A successful crêpe toss is said to bring good luck and prosperity, but if your crêpe ends up on the floor... it might not be your year!

Reception boys had so much fun decorating their own crêpe and learning different fruits and parts of the face in French along the way.

Beacon Life Be Inspired

On the last day before half term, our Year 4 boys became Vikings for the day. The boys truly embraced their inner Norse spirit and took on the roles of Viking craftsmen and warriors.

The immersive learning experience provided a range of Viking-themed activities that our boys could participate in throughout the day.

Read the full news story and view images View our reel

Viking Day

Mr Jelly

Throughout the Spring Term, our boys in Nursery and Reception enjoyed their topic based around the Mr Men stories. Each week they’d discuss their personalities and characteristics which underpinned a host of activities that spread across the week.

During Mr Jelly week, the boys got creative and made bubbly paint to create wobbly paintings. They mixed paint with water and a little bit of washing up liquid. They then stirred it carefully and used straws to blow lots of paint bubbles!

Mini Grey Author Visit

Reception and Year 1 boys had a preEaster treat with a visit from author and illustrator Mini Grey. Using 'The Last Wolf', her quirky take on the traditional Red Riding Hood fairytale, she guided the boys through designs of their own wolves, showed them how to make 'mini sticky books' and demonstrated how it's sometimes easier to turn the story-writing process upside down and draw first, then write later.

Castle Day

Year 1 and 2 had a fantastic Medieval Day. They completed a range of activities including candle pot-making and creating arrow finger guards for their archery practice.

The afternoon was spent learning new skills to perform to the medieval village. They had a group of jesters performing some acts and some boys entertained the teachers with their jousting routine. A great day was had by all!

Be Kind

The Beacon Parents’ Society

Easter Bake Sale

Once again, The Beacon boys rose to the BPS Easter Cupcake Competition challenge. 76 boys entered and produced an amazing 467 beautifully decorated cupcakes! Mrs Rowland and Mr Baker had the difficult job of choosing a winner and runner-up from each Year Group with prizes presented in the Final Assembly.

The cupcakes were then sold the following day so that our boys could end the term with a sweet treat. The BPS raised £624 from this event, which will also go towards the cutting-edge Cooking & Nutrition room refurbishment. Thank you to parents and boys for your support.

"The BPS raised £624 from this event, which will also go towards the cutting-edge Cooking & Nutrition room refurbishment."

Thank you to all Beacon parents, staff (and boys!) for their involvement in the BPS Quiz Night. There was a great atmosphere in the Spinney Theatre with 160 ‘contestants’ battling it out to be crowned champions for 2024. Quiz Master, Mr Baker, and his trusty sidekick, Mr Langley hosted the event. The event raised a fantastic £3,876.56 towards the planned refurbishment of The Beacon’s Cooking & Nutrition Room. Huge thanks also to our wonderful parent chefs for the incredible array of puddings that were auctioned on the night, and to the boys who helped make this year’s Quiz such an enjoyable and memorable event.

QUIZ NIGHT

The Beacon Cup of Kindness

Beacon boys strive towards being awarded the Kindness Cup which is presented by Mr Baker each week in Assembly.

Congratulations to the following boys who have showed outstanding acts of kindness.

Week 15: Casper A (Year 6)

Week 16: Oliver F (Year 7)

Week 17: Aaron F (Year 3)

Week 19: Zac W (Year 6)

Week 20: Leo McC (Year 6)

Week 22: Jahnu M (Year 7)

Week 23: Elliot R (Year 7)

Week 24: Zayn M (Year 5)

Charity at The Beacon

We held a non-uniform day during Children’s Mental Health Week to raise funds for Buckinghamshire Mind. Thank you to all the families who kindly donated. We raised a staggering £1,482!

Buckinghamshire Mind were incredibly grateful. Every penny donated goes towards supporting the mental health charity to reach as many local people as possible.

As part of our Festival of Words celebration, our Beacon Community donated books to the Iheize Foundation; a charity that collects and donates books to UK primary schools, and also to schools across Africa.

Thank you to everyone who supported this initiative, we donated over 400g of books to the charity!

Henry L, Grayson W and Wiliam MS in Year 8 worked very hard as a team to organise and run a fundraiser for the Chiltern Foodbank. The boys phoned the foodbank, organised dates, wrote to parents, promoted the initiative in Assembly and helped with the collection of the items.

In total, The Beacon donated 300.8kg of valuable items for The Chiltern Food Bank. Great work, boys!

Buckinghamshire Mind

Iheize Foundation

Chiltern Food Bank

In aid of Red Nose Day, to raise money for Comic Relief, our Beacon boys came into school in as much red as possible!

The Beacon raised a grand total of £1,424. Thank you to everyone for your support.

Comic Relief – Red to Toe

Welfare Wellbeing &

The welfare and wellbeing of our Beacon boys is of utmost importance. We are dedicated to delivering a strong physical, emotional, social and mental wellbeing provision at The Beacon.

• We recognise that pastoral care is pivotal to academic and intellectual development.

• There is a dedicated team and 'all staff' commitment to providing our boys with a supportive and safe environment.

• Our school values are embedded into school life daily.

Read the full news story and view images

Our Counsellor, Sandy Drury, working with a boy

Children’s Mental Health Week

Our Beacon boys were provided with the opportunity to be involved in some thought-provoking and insightful workshops in light of Children's Mental Health Week. The Beacon welcomed Buckinghamshire Mind and The British Red Cross to speak with different Year Groups. Mrs Drury, our Wellbeing Coach and Counsellor, also held workshops and sessions with some of our younger boys.

THE BEACON PODCAST

WELLBEING AT THE BEACON

In episode 17, we welcomed our Wellbeing Coach and Counsellor, Mrs Sandy Drury, to discuss the importance of promoting a positive mental health culture at The Beacon. Sandy gives insight into her role and talks about how we embed wellbeing into Beacon life.

THE BEACON PARENTS’ SOCIETY

In episode 18, we were delighted to welcome the Co-Chairs of our Beacon Parents’ Society to discuss everything the BPS Committee involves, from organising exciting events for our Beacon Community to enjoy to fundraising and planning new school development projects.

Listen to Beaconverse.

British Red Cross Event

Be Creative

Beacon Life Be Creative

Art

Printmaking Workshops

Year 7 took part in various printmaking sessions with visiting artist Zoë Duncan. The boys collaborated to create a collagraph koi carp. Each boy made a plate using collage materials. They printed their section then joined all the pieces together to form the collaborative image of the fish.

Library Space Transformation

Emre B and Adrian T devoted their afterschool Art Club sessions to creating a stunning triptych to help transform the Library's Eyrie space into a calm, quiet reading room for the truly dedicated reader. They took Van Gogh's painting 'Starry Night' and the newly painted walls as their inspiration - they are now delighted to see their work installed in its new space.

Year 7 participate in a printmaking workshop

Emre B and Adrian T created a wonderful artwork inspired by Van Gogh

Ice and Snow

Year 1 boys learned about Lands of Ice and Snow throughout the Spring Term. In their Art lessons they enjoyed using their imagination and creativity to make their own polar scene using different collage materials.

Chinese New Year

To mark Chinese New Year, the Reception boys learnt that in China, the Jade Emperor decided there should be a way of measuring time. On his birthday, he told the animals that there was to be a swimming race. The first 12 animals across the fastflowing river would be the winners and they would each have a year of the zodiac named after them.

This year, it is the Year of the Dragon and the boys created some lovely artwork to reflect this.

William B in Reception works on his Chinese New Year creation

"He told the animals that there was to be a swimming race. The first 12 animals across the fast-flowing river would be the winners and they would each have a year of the zodiac named after them."

English

Mystical World of Witches

Year 5 embarked on a magical journey, delving into the enchanting realm of poetry, unravelling the mystique of witches in a captivating event known as 'Poetry Wallpapering'. This unique and immersive experience was intricately linked to the study of supernatural themes in Shakespeare's timeless masterpiece, 'Macbeth'. By exploring their emotional response to the poems, our boys engaged in thought-provoking discussions that explored the role of witches, fate and the consequences of tampering with the supernatural.

Beacon Life Be Creative

Cooking&Nutrition

Italian Speciality

Year 8 worked hard in a Cooking & Nutrition lesson to create the wellknown Italian favourite: Spaghetti Bolognese. The finished result looked and smelt delicious. Well done, boys!

Bridge & Claw Technique

Our Cooking and Nutrition room displayed a colourful range of vegetables that the Year 4 boys carefully chopped up and seasoned.

They spent the Spring Term mastering the bridge and claw technique to ensure they prepare vegetables in the safest possible way. All the boys enjoyed boiling their ratatouille on the hob. Brilliant concentration and recipe following from everyone!

Year 4 make a delicious ratatouille

Upper School MasterCook 2024

A round of applause to our Beacon Chefs for their culinary creations in our MasterCook Competition. Congratulations to the finalists and to the winners.

1st - Nikolay A

2nd - Alex C

3rd - Rufus T

Charlie Baxter, Co-Founder of award-winning Pluma Restaurant in Amersham, kindly supported and adjudicated the final. He told us that it was an extremely difficult decision to select the winners as all the dishes were of such a high calibre. Well done to all our boys!

Design & Technology

Pewter Casting

Year 6 were thrilled to take part in pewter casting in one of their Design and Technology lessons. They melted the metal with Mr Van Rooyen into their bespoke shaped mould, which they cut with the laser cutter. A very exciting lesson for everyone!

DT Tournament

Boys from Years 5-8 took part in the Rotary DT Tournament at Chiltern Hills Academy, competing against several other local schools.

Everyone worked hard in their teams on a challenging task with limited time. In the afternoon, the competing creations were put to the test in front of the judges. All our boys did exceptionally well and showcased the talent we have here at The Beacon.

A huge congratulations to our Year 6 team who won their category.

Read the full news story and view images

View our reel

Above: The high standard of food made by our Upper School MasterCook finalists

Left: Charlie Baxter, Co-Founder of Pluma with our Beacon finalists

Be Challenged

Sports Highlights

County Cross-Country Championships

The boys performed brilliantly in winning the Country Cross-Country Team Championships held at Stowe. In the Year 5 and Year 6 boys’ race, George O finished in 3rd place, Barney G was placed 4th and Benny G was placed 15th.

Sam W was the first in the Year 5 race, James M was 4th, Ollie F was in 6th place and William L-S finished in 10th place.

In the Year 7 race, Finlay F finished 5th and Eeshan K finished 22nd out of a field of nearly 100 runners.

In the junior boys’ race, which comprised of runners from both Years 8 and 9, Logan G finished in 5th place overall but he was the first Year 8 runner home. This was a tremendous achievement.

Reported by Mr Winter

National Cross-Country Championships

Year 5 Beacon boys represented the Bucks Swans County Team at the National Championship hosted at Prestwold Hall, Leicestershire – William L-S, Sam W, James M and Ollie F competed.

In Year 6, George O finished 30th and Barney G both finished in the 80.

In Year 7, there is a great picture of Finley F and Charlie C looking very refreshed after a tough race. Superb effort! Well done, boys, in very tough conditions.

Reported by Mr Winter

Claires Court Football festival

Our U10 B1 team took part in the Claires Court Football Festival. The Beacon boys showed bravery and courage to step up and take their penalties in what was a very tense atmosphere. There was a goal, then a save. A save, then a goal. It was incredibly close, that all seven players in the squad, including goal keepers, had to take a penalty. It was down to the last penalty and a brilliant block from James meant that we were the Cup Winners! A brilliant achievement, well done to all boys involved.

Read the full news story and view images

Sports Highlights

Football Techniques

The Spring Term saw Reception boys develop their football skills. They worked on possession and were tasked with a variety of challenges to control and dribble the ball. They also improved their passing skills and worked on shooting; a firm favourite all round!

IAPS U11 Hockey Finals

Cheltenham College hosted the IAPS U11 hockey finals, and The Beacon School were proudly present amongst the glittering array of sporting prep schools.

The Beacon had done brilliantly to qualify and the boys played some great hockey along the way; dominating possession and territory in many matches.

“In the dust of defeat as well as the laurels of victory, there is glory to be found if one has done his best.” I couldn’t put it any better. Well done, all!

Squad – Seb S, Henry M, Finn R, Hugo C, George O, Hunter O, James G, Archie KG, Harry A.

Reported by Mr Williams

Congratulations to our Sportsmen of the Week!

Week 16: Ben U (Year 5)

Week 17: Philip A (Year7)

Week 18: Jude J (Year 6)

Week 19: Freddie M (Year 4)

Week 20: Jeevan L (Year 5)

Week 21: Xander T-O (Year 4)

Week 22: Emre B (Year 8)

Week 23: Ezra B (Year 3)

Beacon Life Be Challenged

Shiplake Maths Challenge

A group of our Year 4 Mathematicians were taken to Shiplake College to compete in a Maths Challenge against twelve other schools. The boys had a great system in place to achieve the best they could with each part of the challenge. They had two small groups working on one part of the round and then one boy checking their answers.

The challenge consisted of several parts, including a relay, construction with spaghetti and team challenges. Right up until the last round, The Beacon boys were in the lead, closely followed by another school in the competition. They were positive and ready for the final round… the relay. It was an incredibly close competition, and The Beacon were thrilled to secure a very commendable 2nd place.

"The Beacon were thrilled to secure a very commendable 2nd place. Our Beacon boys did us proud with their excellent sportsmanship, behaviour and drive to showcase their mathematical skill."

St

John’s Beaumont Maths Challenge

We were delighted to take part in the St John’s Beaumont annual Maths Challenge. There were 35 teams in total that competed in three fun rounds, including ‘Find the Figure’, ‘Countdown’ and ‘The Big Event’; which involved a lot of running! One of our teams of Year 6 boys finished joint 3rd place and another made it to the top 10. It was a great effort from all the boys.

Universal Indicators

In Science, Year 6 were tasked with making and testing an indicator from red cabbage. This also involved practising a variety of experimental techniques: grinding, boiling using a Bunsen burner and filtering.

Exciting news from our Year 5 class! Over the Spring Term, they became Bunsen Burner pros, mastering safe usage, setting up equipment, and earning their Bunsen Licences. They put their skills to the test by heating water, observing the magic of bubbles and steam at 100 degrees Celsius. A handson triumph that goes beyond boiling water – it's a step towards scientific understanding. Well done, boys!

WE LOVE LETTERS

Our Little Beacons made big steps throughout the Spring Term focusing on their phonics. They correctly identified words that began with each letter of the week, they thought of more words and then tried to form the letter with great concentration.

BEE-BOTS

In Maths, our Reception boys used positional language to describe where objects are in relation to each other. To reinforce their learning of directional language, the boys had the opportunity to program the Bee-Bots with a series of simple instructions to move backwards, forwards, left and right. They were also set a challenge of trying to work out how many steps their Bee-Bot would need to make it get from one side of the classroom to the other. This process encouraged collaboration (one of the new words the boys learnt!) as well as trial and error.

They also enjoyed sticking things onto a treasure map, following a specific set of instructions.

Our Year 5 boys become Bunsen Burner pros

Bunsen Burner Licences

Be Confident

The Show Must Go On

Throughout their Music and Performing Arts Lessons, our Beacon Boys have worked hard in every challenge they've faced, showing great confidence

Our Year 8 boys have enjoyed their Music lessons with Mr Leutfeld, our Director of Music. They continued to practise playing the bass guitar.

The boys then went into the Music Tech Room to electronically recreate these sounds using Soundtrap, a music software to help make famous basslines like 'Seven Nation Army'.

Year 4 have been working on creating drum loops in Music during the Spring Term. After composing their own rhythms, they recorded them using a virtual drum kit on GarageBand. Great focus and amazing ideas from Year 4!

Year 8 presented their findings on the historical and social context behind the novel 'Of Mice and Men'. All the boys put together brilliant presentations and spoke well in front of their class. 'A' for effort boys, well done!

Music Tech Baseline Sounds

Recording Rhythm Mice and Men

For the final 'Show and Tell' of the first half of the Spring Term, our Year 2 boys brought their 'Lands of Fire and Ice' items into school. The boys shared their stories and spoke very well in front of their peers. Well done, boys!

During the Spring Term, boys from Years 1 to 4 took part in Class Concerts in their Music lessons. Each group included a variety of musicians playing different instruments. All the boys introduced their pieces with confidence and played with skill.

The Pre-Prep Spring Informal Concert was a resounding success, filled with vibrant energy and remarkable talent. The boys took centre stage to showcase their musical abilities through solo and ensemble performances, as well as a wonderful choral performance from Little Voices.

Each young musician brought their unique flair and passion to the stage, captivating the audience with their skill and enthusiasm.

Show and Tell

Class Concerts

Pre-Prep Spring Concert

Pirates of the Curry Bean

Showtime

Our Beacon Community were awe-struck with the outstanding ‘Pirates of the Curry Bean’ performances put on by our Year 4 boys. Well done to all the boys for showcasing their talent and professionalism on stage - the hard work definitely paid off! A huge thank you to the Performing Arts Team for all their time and effort.

"Well done to all the boys for showcasing their talent and professionalism on stage - the hard work definitely paid off!"

Beacon Life Be Confident

Victorian Waxworks

Year 7 boys practised their skills of persuasion in English lessons ready for their Victorian Waxworks event. They researched the famous Victorian they had been assigned, then they wrote and delivered a speech arguing their right to remain in the waxworks museum instead of being melted down for a more contemporary figure e.g. Taylor Swift or Harry Styles! They

created information plaques too, which supported their deliveries. Great fun was had by all, the speeches were of a very high quality and the boys revised some very important skills at the same time!

Characters ranged from Thomas Cook to Queen Victoria – a huge range of influential and memorable individuals were represented.

"They wrote and delivered a speech arguing their right to remain in the waxworks museum instead of being melted down for a more contemporary figure."

Snow White

During Drama, Reception looked at the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. After reading the story, the boys had fun exploring and acting the various roles from the story.

Macbeth Workshop

Year 5 boys had lots of fun participating in Macbeth workshops with 'West End in Schools'. They explored the plot and themes of the play through playing upbeat games, creating freeze frames from the story and practising Shakespearean dialogue. A great day was had by all!

Reception boy acts out one of the Dwarfs, Sleepy

Be Adventurous

Out

and About

The Beacon strives to support the boys learning through many opportunities. During the Spring Term they enjoyed many adventures outside of the classroom

A magnificent adventure! Our boys in Years 7 and 8 had a wonderful time on their Cricket Tour in South Africa. In addition to playing cricket and watching the T20 final, they have had an incredible experience getting up close to the wildlife.

Read the full news story and view images

Our IAPS Ski Tournament team had a fantastic week on the slopes in Italy. There were some superb achievements with The Beacon being awarded one gold medal in the Under 11 Plate race and a bronze medal in the Under 12 Plate race!

View our reel.

Read the full news story and view images

Cricket Tour to South Africa IAPS Ski Trip

Starting Fires with Flint

During the first week of the Easter break, a group of 50 Beacon boys in Years 5-8 embarked upon an exciting week-long Ski Trip to Les Menuires, in the famous Three Valleys in France. As the sun emerged, the boys eagerly embraced the opportunity and made the most of every moment.

Read the full story and view images

Shelter-Building

Our Year 4 boys enjoyed teamwork and shelter-building activities in their Outdoor Learning lessons, using the A-frame and square lashing techniques. The boys had fun getting some fresh air and developing new skills.

Year 3 visited the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford to complement their learning on Ancient Egypt. In addition to exploring the many artefacts (including an entire Egyptian shrine and several mummies) the boys got to hold genuine 3000-year-old pieces of history whilst trying to guess what the items were and how they were used.

To enrich their understanding of The Tudors, Year 5 went on a trip to Ufton Court Tudor Manor which was an unforgettable journey through history. From exploring the beautiful grounds and house to playing detectives and identifying Tudor features and priest holes, the boys immersed themselves in the rich tapestry of the Tudor era.

The boys engaged in traditional skills workshops, such as creating fire, weaving wattle walls, and spinning wool which provided hands-on experiences that brought history to life. The highlight of the day was the Tudor court experience, where Year 5 assumed roles as judges, jailors, witnesses and defendants.

Throughout the Spring Term, Year 3 had a brilliant time in their Outdoor Learning lessons, being taught how to start a fire using flint and steel. The boys demonstrated excellent perseverance and teamwork with this challenging task and most of the boys managed to set the cotton wool alight.

A Spring in their Step

Little Beacons always enjoy their weekly welly walk and as spring approached the children looked for worms and snails. In February, one of their walks saw them having a wonderful time digging in the soil and exploring under wooden logs to find more minibeasts. They were very pleased to see some signs that spring was on its way, noticing the snowdrops and daffodils beginning to grow and buds forming on the trees.

In line with their Mr Men topic, Reception boys tried to walk silently like Mr Quiet on one of their walks but found it quite tricky on the crunchy leaves. Their favourite part was definitely seeing how loud they could be!

The Beacon Ski Trip

Ufton Court Tudor Manor

Ashmolean Museum

Be Prepared

Beacon Life Be Prepared

One-to-one Devices

Year 7 had an exciting day taking part in one-to-one device training. Our brand-new programme launched at the beginning of the Spring Term, meaning Year 7 now use devices for all subjects.

This gives our boys a fantastic opportunity to further enhance their Beacon education by familiarising themselves with digital technology and software on a day-to-day basis.

Internet Safety Day

Various year groups were involved in a series of informative and engaging sessions led by Mr Porter, Head of Computing and Innovation. Our boys learned all about the importance of online safety and how to navigate their way around the digital world responsibly.

Upper School Enrichment Programme

The Beacon Upper School Enrichment Programme is a comprehensive and informative introduction to essential topics outside of the curriculum, specifically tailored for boys in Years 7 and 8.

Read the full news story and view images

Be Together

Beacon Life Be Together

Easter Hat Parade

Our Pre-Prep boys worked hard at home to make wonderfully creative hats to celebrate Easter. They then had the opportunity to take part in our annual parade putting them proudly on display for their loved ones who were invited to the school for the event.

Familiar Faces Storytelling

Various Beacon staff members across the school read to our Pre-Prep boys in bespoke storytelling sessions that allowed our younger boys to become familiar with different members of The Beacon Community, from admin staff to senior management.

Above: Year 1 boys parading their hats

Right: Nursery boy proudly wearing his creative Easter hat

School Council

Our Beacon boys voted in their classes on a book or a game, which was presented to them as a gift from the school, as initiated by The Beacon School Council. The boys enjoyed sharing the new stories and playing the new games with their classmates.

Holocaust Memorial Day

Boys in Years 6-8 gathered in the Spinney Theatre to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. Among other thought-provoking talks, Helen Compton (former School Office staff member at The Beacon) visited the school to share her mother’s stories and experiences as a Bergen-Belsen survivor.

Read the full news story and view images

Beacon Life Be Together

Welcoming Families

Our classroom doors opened to parents and carers of Years 3 and 4. The boys proudly presented their work and discussed the new things they have learnt. Another successful event here at The Beacon!

House Quiz

To finish off the Spring Term in style, each of The Beacon Houses went head-to-head in our annual General Knowledge Quiz. Three boys from each House were previously selected for their rounded knowledge on subjects such as Geography, History, popular culture and more. They did incredibly well; answering a range of challenging questions in front of the Lower, Middle and Upper School. For the majority of the quiz, the scores remained nail-bitingly close, but Portland managed to take the lead and win the trophy to a deafening round of applause.

Portland

Alex A

James G

Sam K

Eddystone

Thomas R

Hunter O

Dexter R

Cromer

Kit R

Sebbi T

Charlie G

Trinity

Thomas S

Oliver M

Elliot R

Reading Buddies

Our Year 4 boys built their confidence through a Reading Buddies initiative. The boys had sessions where they read a book to an Upper School boy, who supported them where needed. This helped the younger boys to get to know others around the school, whilst improving their literacy.

Thank you to our Year 7 and Year 8 boys for giving up their time to help Year 4.

Teddy Bears' Picnic

Little Beacons were thrilled to host a Teddy Bears' picnic at the end of the Spring Term with their favourite cuddly toys! There were many lovely bears welcomed to the classroom (as well as Headmaster, Mr Baker, who joined the picnic with a Beacon bear!) It was a wonderful celebration where everyone enjoyed eating delicious chocolate cookies!

Beacon Boys welcome their teddies to the classroom for the day!

Alumni News

We are beyond thrilled to have received a copy of former Headmaster Hugh Davies Jones’ personal memoirs. This fascinating account documents thirty-one years of incredible change at The Beacon, both under Hugh’s leadership (1972-1984) and that of his father-in-law, Pip Masters (19531972) before him. It was during this time that many of the buildings that remain at the heart of the school were bought, renovated or built - often with the help of Beacon pupils and their families - and the school values and standards that we hold high today were set and instilled.

Hugh’s writings also recall many former pupils, families and members of staff from his time at The Beacon and before, and are accompanied by a number of previously unseen archival images.

Enormous thanks to Hugh for collating and sharing his memories on this remarkable chapter of The Beacon's history. We hope you enjoy reading his memoirs as much as we did!

Read Former Headmaster Hugh Davies Jones’ Memoirs

Enormous congratulations to Jed Thirkettle (OB 2003-13) who was named Fundraiser of the Year at the President’s Awards in February! Jed, who was diagnosed with Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy whilst at The Beacon, received the award after completing a 24-hour gym workout to mark his 24th birthday last year. The event raised over £20,000 for Muscular Dystrophy UK. Jed has been a long-standing spokesperson for the charity, sharing his experience to help raise both awareness and funds.

Many thanks to Sam Peters (OB 200311) who came back to The Beacon in March to speak to our Year 7 and 8 boys about his journey since leaving The Beacon and his work for the DP World Tour and Ryder Cup. Sam gave a fascinating talk on the importance of pursuing your passions and dreams, seizing opportunities and not being afraid to change your mind.

Nicholas Sudbury (OB 1963-69) has published a new book. Vir in Via is a travel guidebook to the modern city of Rome, but with an ancient twist: it brings together a contemporary city walking guide with a traditional archaeological survey. There are detailed itineraries for all the familiar tourist tracks as well as several lesserknown areas of Rome, taking in the city's numerous churches, Roman baths, towers, catacombs, fountains, talking statues and with tips on where to locate the very best ice-creams! Published by Bradt Guides, Vir in Via is available in all good bookshops.

VOID, a short film produced by Luis Yarroll (OB 2008-14), has won the Honourable Mention for Best Animated Short at the recent Future of Film Awards. Many congratulations to Luis and his team.

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Hugh Davies Jones

Sam Peters

Nicholas Sudbury - Vir In Via

Jed Thirkettle

Luis Yarroll Void