Lockdown Enrichment

CUPCAKE WEEK

Berkley Barnicoat

Sammy Hughes Edward Page

Hayden Grattan Freddie Barnes Joe Willard

Oliver Surley

Chris Gentry Ashwin Curtis

EUROPEAN WEEK

Major Grewal

Xavier Clark

Isaac West

Lockdown Enrichment

FINAL WEEK

Ashwin Curtis

Oliver Featherstone Joseph Edwards

Matthew & Evan Byrne

ROGER BANNISTER ONE MILE VIRTUAL CHALLENGE

Our Prep boys have an excellent history of success in running events, and we are delighted to say that this has continued this term. Just before we broke for the half-term break, the boys competed in the ‘Roger Bannister One Mile Challenge’ with great success.

The event, which gave boys (and their parents) the chance to race virtually against St Anthony’s Prep and Hereward House, proved highly popular, with 35 Bedford Prep boys taking part in the one-mile challenge. When the results were published, there was even more to celebrate as our U13s and U11s dominated the leader boards.

In the U13 competition, Isaac Raddan (Y7) took fi rst place, with Sam Barnes (Y8) in second place. While in the U11 competition, we had three boys in amongst the top four places. Berkley Barnicoat (Y6) took the top spot with Oliver Featherstone (Y5) in third place and Ollie Jackson (Y6) in joint fourth. Our congratulations go to them and all the boys who took part. Congratulations also go to Isaac’s dad, who fi nished in second place in the parent and staff competition and, most importantly, many thanks to St Anthony’s Prep for kindly organising the virtual event.

Samuel Parrish

HALF TERM FAMILY MOUNTAIN (STAIR) CLIMB CHALLENGE

Have fun, increase the amount of activity you do a day, and help your health…take the Mountain (Stair) Climb Challenge.

It is hard to keep track of the total number of individual steps you take in a day (some may have devices which do!), so instead record the number of fl ights of stairs you climbed. There are 15 steps in an average fl ight of stairs. Up = 1 fl ight & down = 1 fl ight

The challenge is to climb a mountain in a week by totalling the amount of fl ights of stairs your family can climb in that time span. Below is a table with numbers already calculated for you:

Virtual Mountain No of Steps No of fl ights Slieve Donard, Northern Ireland 5,390 360 Scafell Pike, England 6,180 412 Mount Snowdon, Wales 7,120 475 Ben Nevis, Scotland 8,810 587

Sixteen families entered the competition, with mountains climbed ranging from Slieve Donard to Ben Nevis from the above list

The Willard family went somewhat higher by climbing more fl ights of stairs and calculating that they managed to climb Kitt Peak (USA). However, they were bested by the Dunn family who, by using the whole week and putting in an amazing last day, managed to get to the top of Mont Blanc (France).

Lockdown Enrichment

THE BEDFORD SCHOOL BIRDWATCH 2021

The second lockdown did not dishearten our young boys’ enthusiasm for completing the great Birdwatch from the RSPB. All year groups were invited to join a virtual club and share which birds they observe in their gardens. The event ran on the set dates of 29th to 31st January. Many boys enjoyed preparing and setting up bird feeders whilst familiarising themselves with the different common garden birds.

CAREFUL COLOURING CLUB 2020-21

Careful Colouring Club began in the autumn term, and quickly became a fi rm favourite with many boys in Year 3&4. This lunchtime club was intended as a little ‘oasis’ for the boys to take time away from their busy schedules, listen to some soothing music, and ‘lose themselves’ as they enjoyed focusing on colouring their pictures carefully.

The club continued to be a big hit during our period of remote learning, and a number of boys from across the year groups submitted images of their fi nished pictures each week. There was a wide range of weekly themes for the pictures, such as space, under the sea, British wildlife, Winter, Egypt and Pirates. Well done to all boys who participated this year. The CCC will be back!

VIRTUAL ENSEMBLES

In the Spring Term we were desperate to give the boys the feeling of making music with one another, despite the environment we found ourselves in not making that possible in the traditional sense.

The woodwind, brass and percussion players in the prep school were offered the opportunity to learn a part for ‘Funky town’ and asked to practise and then record themselves on video playing along to a recording of the piece using headphones.

This is, in some ways, a more diffi cult task than rehearsing together for a live concert given there is no room for error with a pre-recorded track and very little professional input.

The boys, needless to say, did brilliantly well and we were thoroughly impressed with the performances we received. All the pupils who took part had clearly spent a great amount of time preparing their individual parts and their efforts paid off with a fun and energetic fi nal edit published in the Summer Term.

We can’t wait to perform ‘Funky town’ live to parents, family and friends once such occasions can once again be part of the calendar. Well done to everyone involved! and reminded me that at Bedford School we really do provide musical opportunities for boys all the way from Y3 up to Y13.

If you missed any of the concerts you can go onto the school’s YouTube Channel and catch up: Bedford School Music Playlist

ESSENTIAL HISTORY

During the remote learning period in the Spring Term ‘Essential History’ was set up. This was introduced to allow the boys a chance to learn about and share work that we do not have time to cover in the school curriculum. It was fantastic to see so many boys contribute and there was a real range of topics, as well as ways in which work was presented. A few examples are a model of the Titanic, Minecraft creations of castles, Lego animations of the Aztecs and the Ice Age, a presentation about 2020, an essay about Harriet Tubman on the day of the US election and many more

BEDFORD PREP SCHOOL CLASSICAL SOCIETY

This year we decided to create a Bedford Prep School Classical Society, following the successful model of the Classical Society in place in the Upper School.

The Bedford Prep School Classical Society was launched online in January 2021. The dedicated page on Google Classroom immediately attracted 52 students from Year 6 to Year 8, all eager to share knowledge and opinions about Greek and Roman culture.

The online space has been fi lled with presentations and comments from the boys. It has been impressive to witness the curiosity of our boys in action! They completed independent research on various topics. Ancient Greek religion has proven to be very popular alongside with the stories of Greek heroes for Year 6. The boys enjoyed exploring these topics covered in lessons at a new level of depth and showed a great passion for it.

At the same time, the Bedford Prep School Classical society has seen some amazing project about topics not covered in lessons at all, from Punic wars to Greek philosophy! It has been a great experience to witness the talent of our boys achieving such great results.

ONLINE MUSIC CONCERTS DURING LOCKDOWN

Inspired by our former Musician in Residence Andrew Groom (who did some amazing online concerts in the fi rst lockdown), we decided to organise a series of online concerts, giving boys across the whole school the opportunity to send in recordings of themselves performing. We were inundated with recordings and so were able to create four different concert programmes with all of the material that was sent in. Some of the sixth-form boys volunteered to introduce the recordings, which varied from complete beginners to very experienced performers. It was a truly ‘whole-school’ enterprise

MIND, BODY AND SOUL COLLAPSE DAY

During the lockdown period, all Prep School boys took part in a Mind, Body and Soul wholeschool curriculum collapse day - activities and tasks including bridge design and building; an online cookery class; fi tness sessions, as well as art and music sessions. Boys were encouraged to be creative and spend time away from the screen.

Lockdown Enrichment

MATHS LOCKDOWN SUCCESSES

Another successful term within the Maths Department with all boys demonstrating “endeavour”.

YEAR 3 Two boys demonstrated excellent commitment to their Maths this term and received a Maths Commendation for their hard work. Joseph Parsonage and Guy Jones both completed the entire Numbots programme during lockdown. Guy then went on to revisit every level again to ensure he achieved 3 stars on each game (the top achievement!). Such excellent self-refl ection and drive is very impressive from such a young boy. I believe he has also now also completed the entire TT RockStar Programme. Exciting times to see such Maths Superstars coming through the school. Huge congratulations to them both and also well done to the other Year 3 and 4 who continued to work hard on their Maths this term.

YEAR 5 AND 6 Well done to Chris Gentry, Alexander Gibson, Khushal Pattni for working hard to complete the Maths Calendars available as part of enrichment. All boys demonstrated an excellent level of Maths and worked hard to demonstrate their methods and reasoning.

YEAR 7 AND 8 Again, a special mention to the following boys demonstrated true commitment to the weekly challenge – The Daily Rigour – an online maths newspaper. Current and relatable Maths problems.

Aryan Sophanal Thomas Mahony Eesa Jamil

These boys showed excellent problem-solving skills.

ONLINE POETRY COMPETITION

Writing your own poem takes a combination of imagination, creativity, and an understanding of writing skills. The online poetry competition set out to give the boys an opportunity to explore all these elements; and each boy was given feedback each week from our ‘guest judge’ and an opportunity to understand the fundamental tools needed to write poetry.

Each week boys were set a new topic to write about. The topics ranged from capturing our future skills heroes, with the topic ’Responsibility’, to the seasonal theme ‘Winter’. My favourite was the ‘Home Schooling’ topic as they were quite comical and very relatable! It was great to see the efforts being made week on week and the improvements made in such a short space of time. Boys thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and I certainly enjoyed reading them each week!

STRAVA CLUB

The second lockdown put an end to the normal Tuesday and Thursday morning running club. However, not wanting the boys to lose enthusiasm and fi tness, we decided to create Strava Club. This involved boys joining a private club on Strava and me setting them weekly challenges - both individual and team.

PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB

During Lockdown we invited the boys in Year 5 and 6 to be part of a Photography Club. The boys were given a weekly theme and had to submit a photograph of something they had taken that week. The weekly themes were quite varied from: ‘Young and Old, fi nd something that begins with the letter F, Black and White and Signs of Spring.’ The boys were extremely creative, and their photographs were wonderful. Defi nitely some photographers for the future!

Signs of spring

Old and new Black and white Close up of an object

Portraits

REEF KEEPING TALK

Agroup of Prep boys enjoyed a fascinating talk from Lower Sixth Former, James Deardon on Wednesday 3 February as he took time out of his studies to introduce them to the world of reef keeping.

While James adapted his presentation (originally given to the Upper School’s Biology Society) for his younger audience, it still gave the boys an excellent scientifi c introduction into corals, water chemistry, organisms and ecological relationships— all of which can be discovered by keeping a reef aquarium.

James explained, “I originally performed the presentation to the Upper School and felt that a Prep School audience could also very much benefi t from it. As well as it being one of my personal hobbies, I feel that this topic is a perfect example of the application of science, and how what is learned in lessons can be applied to real-life situations outside the classroom. For me, this is vitally important for students to start developing passions for certain subjects, which hopefully sticks with them throughout their time at the school.” The boys left the talk buzzing with excitement about the many fascinating facts they had learned; from polyps to the algae that colour the coral to how reefs are dying out, and how you can help replenish your own corals through fragging. A highlight of the talk was the many incredible creatures discussed, from the ‘clean-up crews’ of hermit crabs, cleaner shrimps and sea snails that are a vital part of the reef’s ecosystem to the ‘nasty hitchhikers’, such as the pistol shrimp who fi res bullets of bubbles at its foes. The bang that this incredible creature creates is, for a split second, 4800oC, nearly as hot as the surface of the sun, and is louder than the call of a blue whale.

Speaking afterwards, the Prep boys who had signed up for the lunchtime online talk commented, “Wow, that was amazing!” and that it was full of “good advice” for getting started in reef keeping.

Mr Mallalieu, Head of Science in the Prep School, told us, “We are enormously grateful to James for his brilliant talk. Talks from our Upper School boys and their involvement in many of our enrichment activities play an important role in enhancing the boys’ education. They are wonderful role models and inspire so many boys to follow in their footsteps.”

Make an impact

WORDS BY Mr Simon Lincoln, Acting Assistant Head Pastoral

After the success of ‘Challenge 100’ in Lockdown 2, Bedford Prep School wanted to challenge as many boys as possible in Lockdown 3 to make a positive impact in their local area, help an individual they care for, or for a charity they are passionate about. Therefore, ‘Challenge Make An Impact’ was introduced with the simple aim of giving up time to enhance the lives of others. The idea was inspired by James Holt in Year 4 who supported his local community in Harrold by helping with the clearup project after the fl ooding. The take-up by the boys was overwhelming throughout, with over 80 boys getting involved, giving their time to really make a difference. Boys submitted their reports and photos of their progress and the impact they made. It was amazing to see the time and effort that went into this challenge.

Henry Whitfi eld Henry Whitfi eld worked at his local Primary School where he painted the fence, washed the wall, cleared out a ditch, swept and jet washed the play area.

George Shirley helped to deliver the village magazine.

Emir Kenrick took the challenge in his stride quite literally, pledging to run 100k for charity.

Stanley Banks walked and ran 100km raising £1200. Sam Barnes cleared out an overgrown area of woods near his home. Over time, he hopes to improve the environment by introducing wildfl owers to the site to encourage insects and wildlife. His local Parish Council are hugely supportive and are funding the cost of the seeds. It promises to be a real treat in Spring and Summer when the fl owers bloom. His endeavours even made the local newspaper.

Harry Townsend hosted bingo games for boys in the Prep School to raise money for the Harpur H charity, the SMART Prebend Centre. Each boy donated £2 to enter, and games took place online on Friday lunchtimes. Harry had hoped to raise £200 but raised close to £900, thanks to the school community’s kindness and generosity. Thank you also to Mr Whitbread for helping to organise the games.

Rory and Thomas MacDonald helped to grit the lane on which they live during the cold weather to prevent their 85-year-old neighbour and other neighbours from slipping. money for Cancer Research UK, a charity that means a lot to his family and raised £315.

Charlie Tillison helped his neighbours by collecting their cardboard in his wheelbarrow before taking it to the recycling bank. Like most of us, they all had more card and boxes from deliveries that would not fi t in their bins.

Ollie Cochrane helped his local primary school by delivering hot chocolate and cards to the local community, ready for a whole school hot chocolate assembly. The PTA were happy for his help, which saved them a lot of time and effort.

Jonathan Pugsley donated lots of books to his local ‘free library’ so that other children can enjoy them as well.

Henry van Rensburg spread kindness by making cards and bookmarks for the residents in the care home near his house. He also sent them some chocolate biscuits to have with their tea.

George Millar set himself the challenge of running 5k every day for 14 days to raise funds for The Captain Tom Foundation. So far, he has raised over £1,200.

Joshua Edmondson ran or cycled every morning in February before school to raise Jake Woodrow ran 28 miles this month (a mile a day) with his dog, brother, mum and dad to raise money and awareness for Pancreatic Cancer UK.

Harry Townsend and Josh Lincoln collected reading books and school shoes for Cauldwell School. Many thanks for all the donations. Over 600 books and 40 pairs of shoes were handed to Cauldwell who were delighted with the impact that will have in their community.

Austin Reddy made a thoughtful care box for NHS staff at Bedford Hospital containing lip balm, hand cream, water bottles, and snacks. He also picked lots of litter, too.

Make an impact

Aryan Sohanpal baked amazing sourdough loaves to give to his elderly neighbours who were shielding in addition to other vulnerable neighbours and NHS workers.

Joseph Ram decided to bake cakes, pack them into boxes and deliver them to friends and neighbours.

George Simmonds was busy writing a brilliant weekly newsletter for residents in his local care home. It is sure to have brought a smile to many residents’ faces with all its fun entries, stories, photos and art. Alfi e James potted up 27 spring bulbs: one for each of the elderly residents in the care home on his road so that every resident could have a plant in their room. He used his own money, which he earned by doing jobs at home, to buy all the bulbs and pots.

Bay Chater helped out by picking litter with his Grandfather who volunteers for ‘Pride in Bedford’ as a ‘Street Champion Volunteer’ and was glad to show Bay the ropes.

Joseph Edwards came up with a good way to recycle his old Christmas tree – turning it into an environmentallyfriendly shelter for wildlife. Rhys Brook volunteered at the community larder in Bedford: collecting donated food items and food, that would have ended up in landfi ll, from a supermarket before taking it to the community larder. The community larder cooks meals for the homeless with the donated food and runs a community supermarket selling discounted items for those in need.

SJ Gill helped to deliver groceries from his parents’ shop to the elderly and those who are vulnerable or self-isolating.

There were many examples of boys making an impact and these were just a few

Freddie Bowis baked cupcakes to bring smiles to his neighbours’ faces during the snow, while Jacob JemmettGabrys delivered fl owers and biscuits in a kind gesture for his neighbour who lives alone and is unable to get out much.

Fergus Jenkins raised funds for Macmillan Cancer Research by completing a sponsored 10-mile cycle ride.

Hayden Grattan helped his neighbours who are key workers with a bit of dog walking for them while they are at work. Matthew Byrne sent crossword puzzles to his class and Mr McGregor to keep them entertained and offered to cheer them up with a call if they wished.

Evan Byne created some Sudoku puzzles which he sent out with sweet treats to his teacher and class.

Joe Basquille not only sorted through his own books, games and puzzles to donate to Keech Hospice, he also encouraged his friends to do the same. By the time he had collected all the donations and combined them with his own, Joe had 168 books, 37 games and 17 jigsaw puzzles to share with the children being cared for by the hospice or for them to sell to raise funds valuable funds in their charity shops. We are sure that his generosity will put a smile on many children’s faces.

Nico Stewart, Gabriel Roberts, James Gordon, Jeremy Dunn, Jack Nash, Joseph Parsonage, Ben Long, Thomas Mahony, Guy Jones and Sammy Inman all decided to focus on litter to help make a difference in their communities and have been very busy litter picking. Jeremy also hopes to raise money for The Wildlife Trust by getting sponsorship for his efforts, and Jack is helping his elderly neighbour with rubbish too, by taking out her bins each week.

Mihai Memet decided to treat local NHS ambulance staff from Bedford with some doughnuts to thank them for all their hard work during these diffi cult times. Judging by the smiles of the ambulance staff, this act of kindness made their day.

Well-done to all the boys who took part in this challenge and made an impact on their community.