Over the weekend of 11/12 May, St Bart’s students took part in the 35 and 45 mile Ten Tors Challenge on Dartmoor. Having spent Thursday completing a kit check, to military standards, and route planning, the two teams travelled to Okehampton on Friday morning. The afternoon was spent preparing packed lunches, finalising routes on maps and checking route cards, before an early night ready for the start on Saturday morning. The 5am alarm was a bit of a shock to the system, but after consuming a full cooked breakfast, the teams were ready to head to the start before 6.30am for the parachute display preceding the official start at 7.00am.

Both teams started steadily, before the 35 milers (Year 10) accelerated through the pack of teams to finally camp at their 7th Tor as the lead team on their route. The 45-milers, meanwhile, kept their steady pace through the heat of the afternoon, even adding in an extra Tor (checkpoint) not on their designated route, to camp just after their 6th Tor at 10.30pm. Both teams were up and on the move by 6.00am on Sunday. Unfortunately, Arthur, in the 35-mile team had a deep encounter with the Dartmoor bog, and lost a boot early on Sunday morning. He was forced to drop out at the next safety check, despite continuing for 5km with only one boot! The remainder of the team then continued at a pace to complete their route before midday, one of the earliest St Bart’s finishes ever. Plus it’s been 20 years since a St Bart’s team finished first on their route! The 45-milers kept those at the finish waiting a bit longer, but completed as a full team an hour inside the cut off time.

While the weather was dry and clear (unusual for Dartmoor!), the heat added its own challenge to both teams and they should be very proud of their achievements.

35-mile team: Peter Essex-Lopresti, Amos Fitch, Sam Kirby, Arthur Macgregor, Charlie Morse and Harvey Robinson.

45-mile team: Milla Brereton, Barney Owen, Annie Taylor, Willem Vrolijk, Danni Weaver and Astrid Wilson-Gignoux.

Thanks to all the staff whole helped during the training walks and event: Miss Baikie, Lt Wright, Maj Patrick, Mr Edwards, Sgt Edwards, Lt Cantwell, Mr Brooker, Dr Scourfield, Mr Talbot and Miss Wenlock.

Curnock House celebrated a special milestone as, following a donation this month of £11,500 to Newbury Cancer Care, they announced that they have now raised over £100,000 for their nominated charity.

Dr Fitter, Mrs Hamblin, Sixth Form House Captains and Curnock Year 7 students welcomed Paul Millard (Founder and President), Dave Ormrod (Chair of Trustees) and Helen Milroy (Director of Operations) from Newbury Cancer Care to present them with a cheque for this fantastic milestone figure. Also joining the presentation was Mike Hart, former House Head of Curnock who was instrumental in establishing the charity link with Curnock House. The sun shone as the party all gathered in the school’s Heritage Garden.

Curnock has been fundraising for Newbury Cancer Care since 1987. Following the cheque presentation, Dave Ormrod spoke of the work of the charity to support local people who have been diagnosed with cancer or other life-threatening illnesses. He told the students how the money raised by the school had already helped to fund the Rainbow Rooms, based at the West Berkshire Community Hospital, and of how the recent donation will further the charity’s plans to provide more of these important spaces, including a garden to be aptly named the Butterfly Room. The charity presented students with a plaque to mark the achievement.

Mike Hart spoke of his pride of his association with St Bart’s and Newbury Cancer Care, he told the gathered students how delighted he was that they were continuing to fundraise and urged them to keep up the good work and to set themselves the future target of one day hitting £150,000!

Dr Fitter said, “I am so proud of our Houses and all that our students have achieved for their nominated charities. I believe it is so important that students feel part of our community, and also that they strive to contribute to that community. From larger House Evening fundraisers to individual students raising money through cake sales or personal challenges, every penny helps and reaching this £100,000 has been a huge collective effort over the years. I hope that this achievement motivates all our students and reminds them of how we can all make a difference”