Thrishsthi is Junior Citizen of the Year!

Thrishathi (10D1) has been awarded Junior Citizen of the Year by West Berkshire Council in a ceremony earlier this month at Shaw House.

Thrishathi starting teaching children during the pandemic. She began by helping family friends but this quickly widened to include more children.

Thrishathi donates the money she raises to Swings & Smiles in Thatcham, her house (Davis) charity.

Alongside Thrishathi, Sixth Former, Milla (12P7) was also highly commended by the awards. As a young leader at Newbury’s Waterside Centre, Milla encourages younger participants to gain self-confidence by attempting new activities. She gives her time on a voluntary basis.

We were delighted to hear that Thrishathi and Milla have been recognised in this way. Congratulations to them both!

John King

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of John King, a long serving teacher at St Bart’s who gave 48 years of devoted service to the school without a single day of absence.

He had been in Newbury as a small boy, since his father had been a curate of St John’s during World War II. After completing his degree at Manchester, in a sense, he ‘came home’.

A brilliant and intuitive teacher of History and Politics, John was able to transfer his great love of his subject to countless generations of students in such a way that they in turn shared his passion as they benefitted enormously from his unique style of teaching.

One former student commented, “He always held the attention of our sometimes overenthusiastic A Level History class, without ever raising his voice. He was such a kind man, a perfect Head of House for Patterson.”

Staff member and long-time friend, Howard Paynter, said, “It was as a parent I first met John 30 years ago. Our friendship flourished as time passed, particularly as I admired Arsene Wenger. John was a truly marvellous man, who never spoke ill of anybody. He must have touched the lives of many generations of pupils. ‘Requiescat in pace’.”

He gave his life to the school in so many other ways as well; through the RAF section of the CCF where he spent countless hours training and organising groups on Dartmoor in preparation for walking the challenging Ten Tors event, which he instigated at the school and similarly for the annual Adventurous Training; training and coaching sports teams in rugby, football and cricket, whilst at all times giving selflessly of his time and unbounded enthusiasm.

Upon his retirement in 2012, John was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to the community. At the time Deputy Head Teacher, Maureen Sims, said: “We’re all absolutely delighted for him. John is a very special person to us and has been to the students over the years.”

John King is an icon of St Bart’s in every facet of his teaching career and is a genuine legend in the school’s illustrious history. He will be sorely missed by all who were privileged to know him and those students lucky enough to experience his memorable teaching and knowledge.

We are grateful for the contributions to this tribute from former colleagues and friends including Mike Hart, John Harris and Derek Carruthers.

German Exchange 2024

 

St Bart’s students from Years 9, 10 and 12 took part in the German Exchange to our long-standing partner school, the Otto-Hahn Gymnasium in Monheim, between Monday 29 January and Monday 5 February 2024. The week involved a day in the German school, participating in an English lesson and starting work on a joint project with their exchange partners. St Bart’s students also went to Schloss Burg, a traditional medieval castle, had a day-trip to the Haus der Geschichte Museum in Bonn, and a day trip to Aachen with their German partners. Some highlights of the trip were the visit to the Lindt chocolate factory in Aachen and the opportunity to try traditional waffles with cherries. The German exchange partners will be visiting their St Barts partners in June. Students stayed in host families in Monheim and some of their comments are here below:

“The past 7 days in Monheim have been amazing. I got to know new German people and made friends with my partner’s friends.  We had lots of fun together and we did things like bowling and laser tag”

Chris Broadfoot, Year 9

 

“Lots of opportunities to make long-term friends, a very enjoyable experience.  I loved every minute.”

Chloe Johnson, Year 9

 

“At first I was nervous, but when I arrived at Emma’s house they were really nice and welcoming.  The food in Germany is very different to here and they love drinking sparkling water, which is strange!”

Hazel Cook, Year 9

 

“In school we worked with younger students and helped them in English lessons. I liked meeting the students there and they were very welcoming- as well as everyone in my partner’s family.  I was shocked at how early they finish school – 1.50pm!  My favourite part was probably going to the chocolate museum and the hardest part was waking up so early.”

Millie Taylor, Year 9

 

“The German exchange was an intense week! It was great to get to know a family from a different country and the people that I stayed with were amazing hosts. We learned a lot about both history and day-to-day life in Germany. All in all it was an incredible and unforgettable experience.”

Lucy Heelan Year 12

 

“Going on the German exchange definitely helped with my confidence when speaking German…My exchange family were very patient with my attempts to speak German and helped me when they could.”

El Prescott, Year 12

Rhodium Reading Challenge

Congratulations to Hanika Prashanth Kundar, Talha Irfan and Elsie Smith (Year 8) and Sophie Thomas (Year 10) for completing the Rhodium Reading Challenge, meaning these students have read at least 57 books across the five Reading Challenge levels! In recognition of this fantastic achievement, Hanika, Talha, Elsie and Sophie each recently received a hamper of book goodies from our librarian, Mrs Hewetson. If any student would like to discuss or learn more about the Reading Challenges, please do ask at the Library. Happy reading!

Evers & Davis House Evening 2024

Before half term, Evers and Davis Houses regaled us with a plethora of fabulous performances in their annual House Evening.

From Elodie and Lenka who began the evening dancing to ‘Rolling in the Deep’, to Andrea Wong stunning everyone with her Chopin rendition on the piano and the Year 9 students’ alternative “Romeo and Juliet” sketch, it was clear that there is a lot of talent in Evers and Davis.

One of the highlights of the evening for many was the 7D1 Lip Sync Battle in which we saw students competing against teachers and staff. The Evers and Davis team were joined by Assistant Head Teacher, Miss Thorne, amusing us with their Spice Girls performance, complete with costumes.

Several other tutor groups also performed en masse, including 7E1 with their ‘Dragons’ Den’ sketch, 8D3’s rap and 7E2&3 joined together to present ‘Call me Maybe”.

Amongst the many musical acts we heard from a jazz group who brilliantly performed the standard ‘Take Five”, Callum and Eleanor with a soulful ‘Just the two of us’ and group ‘White Noise’ rounded of the evening with an energetic Blur medley that many of the students joined them on the floor to bounce along to.

Well done to the Evers and Davis teams for putting on such a great evening. Thanks also to Mr Weller and supporting students for their sound, lighting and backstage expertise. Finally, thank you to all who attended and helped raise more than £700 for the House Charities, West Berkshire Mencap and Swings & Smiles.

BartholoNews 21 February 2024

Alongside a busy issue celebrating student achievements, we remember John King, a long serving teacher at St Bart’s who gave 48 years of devoted service to the school in this week’s BartholoNews.

BartholoNews 7 February 2024

We look at post 18 opportunities as part of National Apprenticeship Week and celebrate the fantastic University places offered to Year 13 students so far in this week’s BartholoNews.

Football Update

Our Football teams have been out and about playing brilliantly. Here’s a quick round up of Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 recent fixtures.

Year 7 Football

Year 7 played their first football fixture for the school, hosting Charters School from Ascot in the County Cup first round. 

The boys played some brilliant football and showed superb team spirit and sportsmanship throughout.

St Bart’s went up, 2-0, just before half time. Charters scored just into the second half, and the boys responded soon after to increase their lead, and then went on to score 3 more goals before the final whistle.

The final score was St Bart’s, 6, Charters, 1. Goals were scored by Alex (1), Evan (2), Tommy (2), and Tyler (1). Players of the match were Rupert and Alex.

 

Year 8 Football

The Year 8 boys’ Football team won their first round game in the County Cup against Luckley House School. The team performed fantastically and came away the winner, 9-0. Joint players of the match were Alden Willoughby and Rory McLellan.

Two teams of Year 8 boys also represented the school at the West Berkshire Football Tournament at Trinity School.

The tournament was a great success, with all teams playing each other.

There weren’t any overall positions, but both teams played really well, scored some great team goals and enjoyed some good wins. Player of the tournament was Omar Shaker.

 

Year 9 Football

The Year 9 football team played Park House School in the first round of the West Berkshire League.

The A team played in the first half, which was a highly competitive match with some great football and well worked goals scored by both teams. The score finished 2-2. This is a great result considering Park House are currently in the sixth round of the National Cup. Player of the match was Ricky for his 30-yard volley that nestled into the top corner.

The B team lost, 1-0 in a match where 10 St Bart’s students played their first football match for the school. The match was played in great spirits and was enjoyed by all. Player of the match was Lucas for his great defensive display.

 

Year 10 Football

St Bart’s Year 10 A and B teams kicked off their District Cup campaign with great performances against defending champions Park House School. St Bart’s A team held off a strong Park House side in the first half at 0-0. Park House went two goals up quickly in the second half but the Bart’s boys fought back to 2-2 with superb goals from Harry Alston and Patrick Groza. In a tense final 10 minutes, Park House scored two outstanding goals to secure the game 4-2.

St Bart’s B Team fought hard and played some superb football despite being defeated 2-0. Mr Wilder said, “I am proud of all the boys today – it took a lot of character to come back from 2-0 to get themselves back in the game. We are really developing as a squad and will be a real threat in the District Cup this season”.

Players of the match were Stanley Herdman, Connor Bucknell, Harry Graham and Hector Marshall.

Post-16 Destinations Fair

 On Thursday 25 January, Year 10 and 11 students and parents had the opportunity to attend a destinations fair held in the school hall.

A number of post-16 providers were on hand to discuss the courses they offer, as well as organisations that can support students in making choices. It was an opportunity for students to find out about alternative options post-16 and to investigate the option of following an apprenticeship route. Students were able to make applications and found the event very useful.

Thank you to the organisations who supported the event.

 

Netball Update

Our Netball teams have been out and about playing brilliantly. Here’s a quick round up of Year 8, Year 9 and Sixth Form recent fixtures…

Year 8 Netball

Well done to the Year 8 A and B team Netball players who played their first round of West Berkshire League netball fixtures at Kennet School.

A team results were:

Won 15-1 v Trinity A

Won 10-4 v Kennet A

B team results were:

Lost 10-0 v Kennet A

Lost 15-0 v Park A

Won 4-3 v Trinity


Year 9 Netball

Our Year 9 girls got their Netball season underway on Thursday afternoon. The A team beat St Gabriel’s School A, 17-1, with player of match awarded to Mariella. Our B team lost to St Gabriel’s B and beat Trinity School B, 10-0. The player of the match in both games was Ellena. Well done to all girls involved, a great start!

  

Sixth Form Netball

St Bart’s Sixth Form netball team had their first league match on Wednesday and beat St Gabriel’s School convincingly, 36-13. Player of the match was Bella Castle.

St Bartholomew’s School, Andover Road, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 6JP

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