Huge well done to our Year 7s, who performed to parents and siblings this afternoon in their Drama Open Classroom session. The children have been learning about the art of masked theatre, and using 'neutral masks' to discard their personal way of moving and acting, and embodying a character as a whole. The audience were treated to a number of funny, witty and heartbreaking stories, told with no words, just music and movement. Well done, Year 7.

3HJ completed a 'Bio Blitz' this week, observing species of flora and fauna in our wild meadow. The meadow is part of our schools rewilding project and reduces the School's carbon footprint, along with creating a wonderful habitat for the children to explore and learn about nature. The children used sweep nets, bug observers and many different identification tools to investigate and document what they found.

What a week to end this half of term.

We started by welcoming a fantastic group of Year 8s into the Boarding House for the week, as part of their preparation for senior school life. They settled in quickly, and it didn’t take long for the Boarding House to be filled with chatter, laughter and the familiar rhythm of the busy week ahead.

Tuesday evening brought one of my favourite moments so far this term; a "full-range" game of Wachy. From Year 4 to Year 8, everyone took to the field together. Batting, bowling, catching, dodging. It had it all. Wachy is always a highlight, and it was brilliant to see the whole Prep School joining in, full of energy and team spirit. After that, a group got stuck into cupcake decorating. Let’s just say, things may have got a little too fun by the end judging by the amount of icing spotted on faces and sleeves!

On Wednesday, some of the Year 8 children got creative with tie dye, producing wonderfully bold designs to take home. That was followed, naturally, by another big game of Wachy on the banks. Once again, this was full of enthusiasm, movement and laughter.

On Thursday, the Year 7s had chance to make their own pizzas from scratch, and cooked them in the outdoor ovens, although it is fair to say that the flour may have featured just as much on faces as it did in the dough! A vulture-like group of Year 8s circled, having smelled out some spare dough, so shared a few pizza slices as well. Later that evening, Mr Watt got the firepit going for everyone to cook breadsticks, paired with his very own secret-recipe of honey butter. Whether or not it’s truly been passed down through generations, we may never know, but it certainly went down a treat.

We can’t quite believe the Boarding House will be empty next week. It’s been so full of life, and it’s going to feel strangely quiet without the footsteps, chatter and joyful noise of the boarders filling every corner.

Next half of term promises to be just as full, if not even busier, with some brilliant boarding activities planned. We will be using the break to rest, recharge and get ready for the final stretch of the 2024–2025 boarding season.

Have a lovely Half Term,

Oli and Debbie Jones, Houseparents

We have enjoyed a joyful week leading us into Half Term, which has come around incredibly quickly!

Year 2 parents joined us in Pre-Prep this morning for assemblies in which the children acted out stories linked to their current inquiry topic about rainforests. The children had all learned their lines brilliantly and performed with confidence in front of many parents and grandparents, sharing their learning about sustainability and showcasing their emerging acting skills. Well done, Year 2, and many thanks to the teachers for their guidance as children have prepared for these assemblies.

The other Pre-Prep children had a preview of the Year 2 assembly earlier in the week and it was magic to see our Nursery children take inspiration from the performance and return to class keen to make their own costumes and hats; "just like the big children", said Huckleberry. We used this as an opportunity for Year 2 children and staff to pop into the Nursery classroom, build connections and celebrate each other’s success. So many events like this are about the process and interactions along the way, as well as the output at the end.

We have been continuing to make the most of the glorious weather with plenty of outside learning. Out on bug hunts, Nursery children spotted bees with pollen on their legs drinking nectar; as they continue their inquiry into answering the question ‘which minibeast is the most helpful?’.

Forest School has been as fun and enriching as ever. We have been enjoying welcoming Debbie Campbell, of the Cotswold Rivers Trust, as a volunteer in some of our Forest School sessions this term, who has been working alongside our wonderful Forest School team to deliver some of our Nursery sessions. We have been busy planting, digging and pond dipping together.

In class, we have been creating works of art, learning to visualise numbers, understanding fractions, creating fact files based on our research and so much more!

Anna Packman, Head of Pre-Prep

We have been treated to two lunchtime concerts this week, where we listened to Mr Mason's drum pupils and Mr Jones' guitar pupils. It is always a joy to hear children of all levels performing to the best of their ability, and proudly too. Well done to all of our musicians.

We were represented by Rollo, Ethan, Tahha and Barnaby in the IAPS golf tournament yesterday at Minchinhampton Golf Club. The standard of golf was exceptionally high, and our boys represented themselves and the School admirably. Ali Curnock (Minchinhampton's Assistant Professional) has been coaching the boys and said, "It was great to see the boys playing competitive golf and putting all their hard work into action. Selection this year was difficult, as we have a number of very capable Year 8 golfers. Well done to the four boys who competed so well."

We have had polo fever this week at Beaudesert, with both the SUPA Junior Schools National Summer Championships and our BPS Schools Polo Tournament taking place.

At the SUPA Championships on Sunday, our teams took medals in the novice, intermediate and open competitions. Our novice team (Wilfred, Flora and Ben) came 3rd, and our girls' intermediate team (Lola, Arabella, Iris and Delphi) and  boys' intermediate team (Chips, Pip, Wilf and Joey) took 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Well done also to Kaia, who played in a mixed team with Westonbirt for the Championships.

In the Open competition, cousins Harry, Annalisa, Bertie and Rufus took the trophy!

Huge congratulations to all involved.

On Thursday, we hosted the Beaudesert Park Polo Tournament at Beaufort Polo Club. 35 children from Beaudesert Park and other schools took part in both Junior and Senior Leagues for an evening of excellent polo. All of the children excelled, with breakaway goals and tricky technical runs to contend with. Well done to the Blue team (which included Wilf T, Nina and Flora) who won the Junior League, and the Pink team (which included Harry AW, Pip and Lola) who won the Senior League!

If you fancy learning more about polo, or you are an avid spectator, Beaufort International is just a few weeks away. Beaudesert families can get a 10% discount using the code BEAUDESERT10 when booking.

Book Tickets

This week, 7B hosted our Prep School assembly and spoke to the children about the importance of perseverance and resilience in tough situations. They acted out a few examples of the rewards resilience can garner, and narrated the tale of the man and the butterfly, one of Mr Searson's favourites. The story demonstrates how, in the end, struggle and strife can make us stronger.

On Tuesday, Widden School returned to Beaudesert for their exchange with our Year 4 children. Our Year 4s and Widden School took part in a carousel of activities including art workshops, science experiments, sports activities and firing rockets from Terraces! Children from both schools had a wonderful day, making new friends and learning more about each other. Our children will visit Widden later in the term.

The 39^th annual Severnside Athletics Tournament was a great success last Friday, with nine schools coming together to compete in the full range of track and field events. As always, the day was a great opportunity for children to represent their school and enjoy some healthy competition. Of the nine schools, Beaudesert came 2^nd in the overall points tally, narrowly losing out to Dean Close.

There was a great sense of teamwork and sportsmanship throughout the day, both on and off the track. Children supported one another and gave their best efforts in every event. Plenty of ice cream was enjoyed by the spectators and competitors, and the event ran smoothly thanks to the efforts of the staff involved. We must say a special thank you to the Year 8 helpers, who supported throughout the afternoon.

Well done to all of the children who took part, we are already looking forward to next year’s event.

Top Results

Relay Place for Beaudesert Park

Year 8 Girls' Relay – 1^st place, 57.55s

Year 6 Girls' Relay – 1^st place, 64.43s

Year 5 Boys' Relay – 2^nd

Year 5 Girls' Relay – 2^nd

Year 7 Girls' Relay – 3^rd

Track Events

Year 5 Boys 100m - Gus (2nd)

Year 5 Boys 100m - Walter (1st, B Race)

Year 5 Girls 100m - Saskia (1st)

Year 8 Girls 100m - Isla (1st)

Year 5 Boys 200m - William AS (2nd)

Year 5 Boys 200m - Gus (2nd, B Race)

Year 5 Girls 200m - Rose S (1st, B Race)

Year 7 Girls 200m - Rose J (1st, B Race)

Year 8 Girls 200m - Willa (1st, B Race)

Year 5 Girls 800m - Saskia (1st)

Year 7 Boys 800m - Xander (3rd)

We were delighted to welcome back a contingent of Old Beaudesertians for our Founder's Day Tea on Saturday afternoon. Former staff and pupils enjoyed an afternoon tea and a chance to wander through the school and grounds, reminiscing on memories from years gone by.

We heard great stories, of boys only able to wear trousers when they reached a certain height, and what happened to the stag heads which used to sit above the fireplace in the hallway.

It was a wonderful day for all involved.

We were delighted to welcome Anita from Coram Life Education to school this week to deliver a range of workshops for children in the Pre-Prep and Years 3 and 4 with their teachers about topics such as first aid and growing and changing.

Coram Life developed one of the schemes of work we use in the Pre-Prep called SCARF (Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience, Friendship), and the puppet Harold the Giraffe helps with delivery of these sessions for younger children.

The Year 3 children learned about First Aid, dangers in the home and when to call 999, and our Year 4 children learned about healthy sleep and eating habits, as well as having a healthy relationship with digital devices.