Outings and Events

Aberdovey October 2021

Covid, covid and more covid was never going to stop us from going to Aberdovey. We boarded the bus and made our way to Wales. Everyone was really excited and apprehensive at the same time, as we didn’t know what to expect. After a four hour drive with a stop enroute, we got there. The centre was next to a picturesque estuary and the sun was beaming down on us.

We were allocated our teams and shown to our rooms. I was in a group called Tenzing (named after the Sherpa who accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary to first climb Mount Everest), which was epic. We got changed into our swimming things and a t-shirt, and did an activity called ‘jog and dip’ – it’s in the title; run to the estuary for ten minutes and then jump into it. Yes, it was as cold as it sounds, but all good fun.

The food was fabulous with a lot of choice. My favourite night was Thursday night as we had spaghetti bolognaise and jelly, which was delicious. Breakfast was scrambled eggs and bacon or a boiled egg. Toast and cereal was always on offer. Every day we had a packed lunch and were able to choose what we wanted which was so brilliant.

The highlight of the trip was the camping night, where we slept on Cader Idris Mountain in tents. We cooked ration packs on gas camping stoves and chatted under the stars.

We started the week uncertain, but came back as confident as ever, wanting more!

Kasper, Year 7

Our Visit to Chedworth

We jumped into the BPS mini buses and travelled along the Fosse Way to see a Roman villa. Sam was our guide. Did you know that archaeologists believe that the owner was a rich Celt? The villa was discovered by a gamekeeper in the Victorian times. He sent his dog after his ferret and tesserae were unearthed. I liked seeing the latrine. We learned that they used sponges on sticks. The kitchen had an oven like a pizza oven, and they ate roast dormice and snails. We also saw the private bath. It was a great day and I hope to go again.

Lorcan, Year 3

Above and Beyond Morning with Bart Gee

In February, as part of our Above and Beyond programme, children in Years 5 to 8 spent an inspiring morning with motivational speaker Bart Gee. Bart was born with a rare physical disability called Arthrogryposis which means that he has weak muscles and stiff joints. After Bart was born, doctors said he would never walk and may not even have the strength to be able to sit up independently. Bart started to walk when he was 3 years old, and has learned to drive, play the piano and has participated in multiple triathlons for charity.

Bart spoke to the children about how, to him, words like ‘difficult’ and ‘hard’ meant ‘possible’, and encouraged the children to think the same when they faced challenging situations.

The children partook in a number workshops throughout the morning designed to challenge their perceptions of ‘difficult’ and ‘hard’, including orienteering, a long distance relay, building marble runs, working through puzzles in an escape room, programming LED lights and learning to write in the same way that Bart does.

It was a motivating morning ‘breaking limits’, and the children will hopefully embrace situations with a new mindset in the future.

SL

House Declamations Competition 2022

All children in Years 3 to 8 entered our House Declamations competition. They chose and learned a poem from the Poetry by Heart collection, which they then recited to their class. Year 3 and 4 Form Teachers and Years 5 to 8 English teachers selected our finalists and Mrs Poll, a former member of the Beaudesert English Department, adjudicated our finals. We heard a lovely variety of poetry from writers including John Masefield, Philip Larkin, Edward Lear and Walter de la Mare. Congratulations to all the finalists who spoke with poise and understanding. The winners were: M Keay (Year 3) ‘The Potatoes My Dad Cooks’ by Joanne Limburg T Settle (Year 4) ‘My Brother Bert’ by Ted Hughes R Awbery (Year 5) ‘Something Told the Wild Geese’ by Rachel Field L Goodman (Year 6) ‘The Trees’ by Philip Larkin M Breitmeyer (Year 7) ‘Jabberwocky’ by Lewis Carroll H Hodson (Year 8) ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen

Well done to all the children.

English Department

Wilderness Centre

It was my first school trip… and I loved it. I had so much fun! We were split into four groups. My group’s first task was to build a huge catapult using wooden planks and rope. When we had finished, we fired some teddy bears into an open field. My teddy bear flew almost the length of a tennis court. Next, we did some teamwork challenges. I went with my group and did a low-ropes challenge. Then we did some orienteering. Our

Cornwall

Just after the week of Common Entrance, we were lucky enough to go to Polzeath in Cornwall, where we had a lot of opportunities to do tonnes of exciting activities such as kayaking, coasteering, surfing, Masterchef and a coastal walk.

Scarlett C, Year 8

Kayaking and Coasteering

It took a long time to get ready, firstly getting into our kit, then travelling to the beach. After getting ready, we had a quick tutorial on how to paddle and steer efficiently, after that we went on our way. It was not a race and there was no pressure to go fast, we were all put into groups of two. We stopped a few times on the way and splashed around, giving our arms a break. Just before we went back to our starting point, they gave us a hot chocolate and some biscuits as a snack. When we got back to the beach we had a long break, took our gear off and had our lunch before going coasteering.

In my opinion, the most enjoyable part of the trip, after the kayaking, and lunch, total amount of points was 552 points. The final task was to drop eggs from the roof of the building. We spent our points on materials to stop the eggs from cracking. Amazingly, all of our eggs survived the agonising fall! Then most of us fell asleep on the way home. I really enjoyed the trip and learnt that teamwork, kindness and friendship helps you become a better person.

Sam, Year 4

was the coasteering. There was a lot of gear: wetsuits, wetshorts, wetboots, helmets and a buoyancy aid. We got into the water after a short walk and then split into two groups. We scrambled across the rock faces and started jumping off from different heights before swimming around in the cold sea. The final jump was approximately 30 feet tall. It was quite scary and, once I had jumped, it felt like I was in the air forever, but it was very fun and gave me a boost of adrenaline. It was the most fun I had in Cornwall.

Edward W, Year 8

Masterchef

We were given £10 to spend at the Spar in Polzeath. My caravan attempted to make fajitas but that was a fail as we didn’t buy enough chicken fillets, so we could only have one piece of chicken per wrap! So we resorted to Pot Noodles and rice pudding… We also made the judges a pot of tea but by the time the teachers (the judges) had come, the tea was cold and the chicken went hard.

Tinks, Year 8

Surfing

One of the highlights of the Cornwall trip was surfing. We learnt the steps to stand up and had many competitions, my favourite of which was on our last day. We divided into groups and had a competition on who could do the best tricks. My group did not do very well but it was definitely a close match. For my favourite trick, you had to sit cross-legged, having caught a wave, then you had to lie down, get up and sit cross-legged again. The ‘dancing part’ was an extra part me and Paddy liked to do; you stand on your board after sitting and do as many 180s as you can.

Hugo H, Year 8

Going for Green

This year saw the School get involved with the largest educational programme on the planet; the Eco-schools initiative. The aim is to empower young people all over the world to drive change and improve environmental awareness in their school and local communities. There has never been a more important time for schools to lead in all aspects of sustainability and for children to know they can make a difference.

As a student-led programme, we formed an Eco-Club in the Pre-Prep and a committee of keen children from Years 3 to 8 in the Prep School. We conducted an Environmental Review to see how the School was doing across ten topics, and then had the tricky task of deciding which three topics we would work on this year. Biodiversity, waste and litter were the areas where there were lots of energy and ideas.

Eco-Club got to work finding out about all their favourite meals to try and combat food waste, and spread the word about why a clean plate is good for you and the environment. They also made sure some cake didn’t go to waste. The Prep School team baked some cakes (there is a theme here!), and gathered seeds and plants from the school community for a fantastic fundraiser which funded bat and bird boxes, along with a donation to the World Wildlife Fund. The DT Scholars also made some bird boxes for the grounds from wood from the School. We then made sure the grounds were safe for wildlife with some summer litter picks!

It is fantastic to be able to say all this effort has paid off and we have been awarded Eco-school status! No time to rest though, as the new term approaches, the process starts all over again. We will build upon our successes, and know there is still so much more we can do to reduce our impact alongside embedding care for nature and the environment in our curriculum and ethos. GW

Equestrian Report

It has been one of the busiest years to date for the Beaudesert Equestrian Team and, as the 2021-2022 season draws to a close, I would like to say ‘thank you’ to those who have competed for us over the year and who will be going on to pastures new in September. Tinks and Isla R have been stalwarts of the team since they were in Year 3, Jemima not long after and, more recently, Esme and Indigo G have been wonderful additions to the squad.

The season started with a fabulous win for the 80cm team at the Cheltenham Ladies’ Show Jumping weekend at Rectory Farm, qualifying them for the NSEA Championships at Keysoe. Eleonora and Rufus B were also placed in the top three of the 70cm and 80cm classes, qualifying them as individuals, and we had teams qualify for the Grassroots and Plate Championships which were held in December.

The winning streak continued and at the Dean Close Arena Eventing competition at the end of October, our 70cm team came second and the 80cm team once again took the top spot along with the top three individual placings going to Iris W, Rufus B and Ottilie, qualifying both teams and individuals for the Hickstead Championships in May.

Throughout the Autumn and Spring Terms, teams competed at Rectory Farm for the Pinewood JwS, West Wilts for the Dauntsey’s SJ, Kings Bromyard for the Grassroots Championships at which Amelie L came 5th in the 50cm, Keysoe for the NSEA Championships at which we came Team 7th and Ottilie de R was 6th individually, both of which were amazing, and numerous other outings to Allen’s Hill, Rectory and West Wilts at which we always came home with a wonderful number of placings.

The start of the Summer Term saw our biggest number of children competing to date, with 42 entries for Rendcomb’s Show Jumping Competition. We came home with team and individual placings in every class from the 40cm to the 90cm. In Half Term, the Arena Eventing squad headed to Hickstead for the Championships and all rode brilliantly, gaining a wealth of experience and memories from their trip. We were not placed, but there were some wonderful clears over a very long, big, technical course.

The Dean Close and The Elms competitions in June brought out lots of our Grassroots jumpers, starting off their journey within the team, and we finished off the year with our annual Beaudesert Horse Show which was a great success, with 45 ponies and 39 children competing against and supporting each other at Rectory Farm; always one of my favourite days of the year.

The last thing for me to say is a huge ‘thank you’ to all the parents for their continued support and efforts when it comes to getting the children and ponies to the shows; there have been some very long days and journeys, and it is really appreciated.

JDS

French Trip

Bonjour! Year 7 were lucky enough to have a week away in Normandy. The trip started off with a bus ride to Portsmouth to board a ferry which took us to Caen. We arrived at a hostel in Bernières-sur-Mer at around 10pm.

On Day Two, we were all given ten euros to spend in Courseulles-sur-Mer (at the market), which was extremely chaotic as the whole street was flooded with excited and confused Beaudesertians. After, we went to a World War Two cemetery, where we paid our respects to many French, Canadian, English, and German soldiers. We all went around in threes or fours to find certain soldier’s graves that the staff had researched about. Next (as it was D-Day week), we went to Arromanches (D-Day landings) where Mr Curr gave us an excellent lesson on the events of D-Day and we watched a film in the 360 degree cinema about the soldiers.

The next day, we took a trip to Mont Saint-Michel. It took a long time to get there but it was absolutely worth it for all the amazing shops and beautiful views. We were all given twenty euros to spend on souvenirs and also told to buy a postcard and stamp so that we could write in French to our families about our experience. We all bought such weird and wonderful gifts to bring back home and I’m sure all the families were grateful (and maybe a bit confused, I know my family were).

On Thursday, we all took a trip to a French school where we were put into groups with three Beaudesert children and two French children. Everyone was super nice and friendly, and I think everyone had an exciting time connecting with the pupils. After we visited the school, we went to see some goats on a French goat farm. The farmer’s name was Tony Leblanc, and he was very nice and talked to us in French a lot to help us speak more French and expand our learning of the language. We all fed the goats and bonded with them, then we tried milking them. It was so fun. Then we got back onto the coach and headed to the crêperie, which was our last treat before heading back on the ferry the next day, and sailing away back to home sweet home.

Iris A, Year 7

Olympic Hockey Skills Session

This year our Sports Department welcomed three members of the men’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Great British hockey team for a Q&A and hockey skills masterclass with girls and boys in Years 3 to 8.

Chris Griffiths (Forward), Liam Ansell (Forward), and Rupert Shipperley (Midfielder/Forward) spoke to the children in Years 5 to 8 about their experiences at the Tokyo 2020 Games. They explained what it was like to play at an international level, how they prepared, and how they felt about their final match against India in the quarter-finals.

The children were eager to ask questions about what the Olympic Village was like and what the squad had been doing since they returned. Each of the Olympic players then led hockey skills workshops with different age groups.

Chris and Liam, both bronze medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, led sessions focussing on attacking skills, shooting techniques and stick skills. Rupert, captain of the Welsh hockey team, worked with the players on movement with passing, and one-on-one attacking and defending.

All of the children had a wonderful afternoon and a few were lucky enough to get their sticks signed by the players.

SL

Trip to Pitt Rivers Museum and Museum of Natural History

Egyptian Day

On a sunny morning on the first week of term, the Year 8s set off to Oxford for the Natural History and Pitt Rivers museums. We are currently studying Haida totem poles in art and we are going to be making some of our own. Haida totem poles originate from Native North American history, so we went to familiarise ourselves with their tribal art and culture. We also visited the Museum of Natural History to examine a variety taxidermy and dinosaur skeletons. One of the best parts of the day was sketching the animals. I sketched an Albatross. I tried to include the intricate feathers of the bird which was challenging but a lot of fun. After lunch we then entered the Pitt Rivers museum and were immediately greeted by a huge totem pole that looked about 50 feet tall. We were treated to a talk of Haida art by one of the museum’s curators. We learnt about how British colonialists had stolen the totem pole and many Haida artefacts. We then practised sketching the Haida art in the museum. I drew parts of the totem pole. It was very complex and it featured many creatures like eagles, frogs, monkeys and bears. My favourite part of the totem pole were the watchers on top. They were humans that were supposed to look out to sea to look out for invaders. My favourite part of the trip was the Museum of Natural History because I love animals, and I saw creatures that were entirely new to me. The museum trip helped me acquaint myself with Haida artistic style that I find very vibrant, with bright primary colours which draw the eye. Some of the animals at the Museum of Natural History inspired me to include them on my totem pole design. What a great day out. Our first trip out since Year 5!

Rafe H, Year 8

We had a complete day of history! Dr Worrall set up some boards and we discovered facts about Ancient Egypt. I found out that the last Pharaoh was Cleopatra and the first pyramid was the Great Pyramid. Next, we read hieroglyphs and then we played an Egyptian game. I loved it! After lunch, there was a mummification table. I thought that Dr Worrall was going to mummify me! But soon I knew that she was not going to. She had a doll called Jeff. Issy and Margaret washed Jeff. Then Dr Worrall took a hook and stuck it up Jeff’s nose and mushed up his brain. Next, she took the organs out and put them in Canopic jars. Finally, we played a hunting game. There was a hippo, and a crocodile that scored twenty points. My team won! We had such a good day. My favourite moment of all was the mummification because it was so funny! Immy, Year 3

Year 8 trip to Devon

After a brief delay due to covid testing, five buses headed south down the motorway to Devon. After a quick pit stop at Taunton and a further hour’s drive, we arrived at Haytor on Dartmoor. The weather was glorious; the view from the top was breathtaking. We enthusiastically tucked into our packed lunches of rolls, crisps and fruit on the top of the tor before heading off to Plymouth to look around the National Marine Aquarium.

We arrived at Battisborough House in time to see its wonderful location looking out over the sea before the sun set. After an excellent supper of pizza and chips with plenty of salad, everyone settled down to a good night’s sleep. The fire alarm before breakfast made sure everyone was there on time. A ‘Full English’ set us up for the day. We headed off to Dartmoor – this time to Princetown. We walked a mile or so up to a tor where we did some scrambling on some of the lower rocks before finding a suitable place out of the cool breeze for our lunches. We had an appointment with HM Prison, Dartmoor. Their museum was full of memorabilia and the guides, who were ‘prion warders’, had plenty of stories; some amusing and others shocking. Another hearty supper was followed by a General Knowledge House Quiz; Mr Burns did a fine job as compère. Again, everyone was keen to get into their beds after a day on the moor.

We did not have to rise as early as Lawrence, the dairy farmer, who showed us around the farm. It was an enthralling insight for many of the group who had not been to a dairy farm and seen how they operate. It turned out to be a cross-curricular exercise: the Science Department got excited about how they used heat transfer to cool the milk and warm the water to wash the parlour; the Maths Department had to work out percentages and profit margins, and the Geography Department looked at the climate of Britain and found out why Devon is so well suited to dairy farming. The highlight of many was to taste the award winning Surfing Cow ice creams, with varieties ranging from Devon Dairy Choc Chip to Rum and Raisin.

In the afternoon, we headed off to Mothecombe Beach, and after a while hunting for crabs in the rock pools or playing rugby on the beach, they were set a House Challenge of building the best sandcastles. Awards were given for the best design, best artistic flare, best use of resources and the overall winner. After dark, Spotlight was played before heading up to the dormitories for a good sleep knowing we had a busy day ahead of us.

After another delay, we set off up to Yeovilton to The Fleet Air Arm Museum. Time was not on our side, we could have spent all day in the four hangars but sadly, we had a fraction of the time. It is amazing how quickly the Age of Flight developed; 50 years after the Wright brothers flew, men were on the moon.

We jumped into the minibuses and headed for home. Four days, three nights and plenty of food later we arrived back at School. A big thank you for everyone who was involved, supporting the trip and making it all possible.

JSSM

Year 6 Trip to Chepstow and Tintern Abbey

Aberdovey June 2022

On the penultimate day of the Summer Term, the Year 6s were taken to Chepstow to visit the castle and then after a short drive, a walk around the ruins of Tintern Abbey.

We arrived in good time and were very fortunate to see a display of weapons and armour. The children loved being able to pick up and handle the weapons as well as putting on chainmail and helmets.

We wandered around the castle, quickly understanding the strategic position the castle holds on the cliffs above the River Wye. The features that had been studied in lessons were pointed out; round towers, portcullis groves, murder holes, arrow loops and the Great Hall.

After our packed lunch, we moved onto Tintern. The old monastery is situated in a tranquil setting further up the valley from Chepstow. The Year 6s were free to

The Year 8s returned to school in high spirits following an exciting (if much delayed!) trip to Snowdonia National Park with the Outward-Bound Trust. Based in a secluded part of Wales around the Dovey River, the students participated in many tasks designed to help with character building and team communication. During the course of the week, the students were encouraged to partake in a number of challenging activities to find a deeper awareness of themselves and their abilities.

These activities included raft building along the estuary, abseiling, and an overnight hike through Snowdonia National Park, where students had to climb Tarrenhendre, one of the mountain peaks along Snowdonia, and then spent the night in tents by a mountain lake.

Some of the us also took part in the Jacob’s Ladder challenge where we climbed up a series of suspended logs and our fellow wander in the grounds of the Abbey and find out information on how the monks lived their lives and the building in which the community existed. The trip was finished off, on this very hot day, with a refreshing ice cream before heading back to School.

JSSM

climbers had to assist us in order for everyone to make it to the top.

The best part of the week for many of the group was definitely the team sailing on the estuary in a nine-man cutter boat. Each participant had their own individual role to play on the boat so the entire crew could sail smoothly and safely. This without a doubt made our week. After both teams started an informal race; both worked their hardest to win in this friendly competition.

I felt that this week was a great success for all, as we all returned from Wales more confident and happy than we were before. Perhaps this trip will help us all as we start our senior school careers. Thank you to all the instructors and teachers that made this week happen.

Rafe H, Year 8