BartholoNews Banner Competion

BartholoNews, our school newsletter goes out weekly to staff, students and parents/carers, with a circulation of over 4800. We are looking for a BartholoNews title design for the school year 2024/2025. Last year the winning student design (below) was by Mavis in Year 13.

The new winning design will head up our weekly newsletter throughout the new school year and will include a by-line for the student designer. You will also win a certificate to include in your portfolio of work and a £30 Amazon voucher.

This is a great opportunity to have your work seen by our whole school community. It would look great on personal statements, CVs or even
House Colour applications!

Design Brief

  • The design should be bold and clear and must feature the newsletter title BartholoNews.
  • It should include our school logo or space for us to add the logo
  • The design can be in any style or media
  • Download and use the Design Template (also available at the art office, top floor Curnock) and to ensure your design has the correct dimensions.

Competition Rules

  • The competition is open to any current St Bart’s student
  • The deadline is midday on Friday 7 June 2024
  • Entries should be either sent to bartholonews@stbarts.co.uk or delivered to the art office (top floor Curnock) – remember to tell us your name and tutor group.

 

Alex’s Phenomenal Achievement

St Bart’s are exceptionally proud of Alex (13E3) who took part in the UK Chemistry Olympiad and achieved the highest score in the country for a non-grammar/non-private school student. He is also in the top 35 in the country!

In all, there were 15 students who took part in the Round 1 competition with 10 achieving certificates:

Gold – Alex Scourfield (Y13), Jonathan Kelly (Y13), William Bloodworth (Y13)

Silver – Ed Hearn (Y13), Eli Green (Y13), Mohammad Jaffer Andagi (Y13), Oli Butler (Y13)

Bronze – Sam Dennis (Y12), Samuel White (Y12), Vaibavi Lakshmi Narayanan (Y12)

Alex’s high score meant he progressed to Round 2. Alex said, “In January, several Year 13s took part in round one of the UK Chemistry Olympiad. I was really pleased to achieve a Gold certificate and even more excited to be invited, along with around 30 other students from around the country, to spend four days at the University of Nottingham over the Easter holidays to participate in Round 2 of the Chemistry Olympiad.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon, and were given our certificates for our achievement in round one, and had an introductory lecture from a Nottingham University lecturer. Following this, we had dinner with members of the working group who organise the Olympiad, and participated in an ice breaker activity. On Friday, we observed demonstrations of practical techniques in the university laboratories, and after lunch we carried out the 4-hour practical assessment, which made use of the techniques we had earnt in the morning. On Saturday, we were given lectures by members of the working group on content that went beyond the A Level specification, such as molecular orbitals and completed a 4-hour theory paper.

As a reward for the hard work over the previous days, we were then taken out for dinner in a restaurant in Nottingham. Overall, the event was a great experience and an opportunity to learn more about chemistry beyond A Level alongside students from a variety of different schools and backgrounds to my own.”

“Nearly 15,000 students took part in the Round 1 competition this year and it is very competitive to get through to Round 2 so this represents a phenomenal achievement by Alex,” said Dr Alonzi, Head of Science at St Bart’s.

Huge credit should also be given to Mr Swift who runs the problem solving class with students, helping them work through Olympiad papers. We have seen an increase in student participation over recent years, which is amazing and testament to his commitment.

Curnock Wins House Drama!

The annual House Drama competition returned to our stage last week with the Houses battling it out to impress us with their productions! Each House performed a piece written and directed by Year 12 students and performed by Year 8 and Year 10 actors. Curnock were the winners, here’s what some of the winning team had to say…

 “We found the experience of doing House Drama an incredibly fulfilling experience. Working with a talented cast of Year 10s (and Alfie, our only Year 8) we were able to create a winning piece which was funny, engaging and magical.The process came with many ups and downs, but we worked hard as a team to create something we were really proud of. Everyone involved helped along the way by providing brilliant ideas, which enhanced the play even further. Our production ‘The Donkey’s Head’, a play inspired by Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, included a great set, a hefty handful of props and costumes and, of course, an incredible cast, which we couldn’t have won without. We are so grateful for this opportunity and we hope to carry on Curnock’s legacy in next year’s House Drama. Thank you to everyone involved – we loved it!”

Amelia Piszczek and Edith Rayner

Special thanks should also go to all those members of staff who assisted before and on the night and to our esteemed judges, Nathan Lubbock-Smith and Rohan Richards from AVA (Academy of Vocal Arts). Based in Newbury, AVA is a fantastic performing arts school that focuses primarily on the voice and that has supported many new talents into the music industry and musical theatre business.

Year 9 Legoland Trip

On Friday 26 April, Year 9 Computing students went on an exciting trip to Legoland! They attended a robotics workshop where they built their own robots and coded movements, sounds and light using a coding programming called SpikePrime. The students thoroughly enjoyed this and were able to put their coding skills to the test! They were tasked to get their robot from one point on a miniature Legoland map to another. When students did not have a workshop they enjoyed the rides! We were lucky enough to be one of the few groups to enjoy the new racer rollercoaster which was great fun!

BartholoNews 1 May 2024

We celebrate a phenomenal achievement for one of our chemistry students and find out who won House Drama in this week’s BartholoNews

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

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