Football Update

Year 7 Football

In wet and windy conditions, our Year 7 girls played their 2nd round of West Berkshire league fixtures. The weather started off bright but soon turned to torrential rain which impacted the football being played massively. As the astro was so wet, the ball didn’t stay in play much! Our A team played two games, drawing both, 0-0, against Trinity School and Kennet School B. Our B team lost 3-1 to The Willink School and then battled to two 0-0 draws against Kennet School A and St Gabriel’s School B. Well done to all girls who braved the weather conditions and did their best!

Year 9 Football

Well done to the Year 8 and 9 girls’ football players who took part in the Year 9 girls’ West Berkshire league last week. The results were: A team v Kennet School B, 0-0. B team v The Willink School, 0-0. Team A v Trinity School, 0-0 and The B team v Park House School we lost. 1-0. Some great football was played by both teams. Well done to all who played.

U18 Football

The U18 girls, Team Tornadoes and Team Broncho, kicked off their first round of league fixtures with strong performances across the board.

Tornadoes had a solid start, winning their first match 2-1 against The Downs School. They continued with a hard-fought 0-0 draw against a resilient Kennet School A side, before finishing the night with an impressive 3-0 victory over Park House School.

Team Broncho also had a successful evening, starting with a commanding 3-0 win over St Gabriel’s School. They then battled to a 1-1 draw against The Downs School, showing excellent defensive resilience. In their final game, Broncho’s edged a narrow 1-0 victory against John O’Gaunt School, completing a strong set of results.

 

 

Wearing Blue For Berkshire Youth

Berkshire Youth delivers targeted support to young people in order to develop resilience and self-confidence. Last Thursday, St Bart’s were delighted to ‘Wear Blue for Berkshire Youth’ in order to support the charity’s efforts to fundraise for additional activities and enriching opportunities for young people in our community.  Our non-school uniform day raised the fantastic total of £1,839.72. Thank you to all in the St Bart’s students, staff and families who supported this effort, we hope it makes a difference to this amazing organisation. You can read more about Student Wellbeing here.

Rhodium Reading Challenge Champions

Congratulations to Year 9 students Divi and Izzy who have both completed the St Bart’s Reading Challenge. In order to join the honour roll of those who have achieved this milestone, Divi and Izzy both read at least 57 books across the five challenges in order to complete the final Rhodium Award – an amazing achievement!

In recognition of this impressive dedication to reading, both girls were congratulated by Dr Fitter, Headteacher, and Mrs Hewetson, St Bart’s Librarian. Mrs Hewetson also enjoyed compiling a hamper of goodies for Divi and Izzy, including books, stationary, treats and their rare Rhodium Badge to be worn with pride.

Shepton Mallet Prison Visit

At the start of the month, Y10-13 Social Science students had the opportunity to visit Shepton Mallet Prison. This was a great introduction to new subjects for many of them and included an educational workshop and a guided tour of the decommissioned prison. Aimee tells us more…

“Our school trip to Shepton Mallet Prison was a perfect blend of education and eerie excitement. As soon as we stepped inside, the imposing walls and dimly lit corridors set the tone for a day. The tour guides were fantastic, sharing captivating stories that brought the prison’s 400-year-old past to life. From tales of notorious criminals to the prison’s role in World War II, every corner of the prison seemed to hold a secret.

One of the highlights for the students was seeing the old cells. The sheer size of them, cold and bare, gave us all a real sense of how tough life must have been for prisoners. The execution room and the graffiti left by inmates made it even more impactful—there was an air of both fear and mystery that got everyone talking.

Overall, the trip to Shepton Mallet was a brilliant way to bring the history of crime to life outside the classroom. It offered a blend of fascinating facts, gripping stories, and a bit of an eerie thrill that left everyone buzzing with excitement on the ride home. Definitely a trip to remember!”

Aimee Walker (12P2)

BartholoNews 16 October 2024

Students enrich their learning with a plethora of exciting trips. Find out more in this week’s BartholoNews.

Netball Update

U14 Netball Tournament

Very well done to the U14 netball squad who took part in the annual tournament at Queen Anne’s School recently.

In the face of some very talented opposition, the St Bart’s girls were an absolute credit and delight to be with throughout the afternoon. They fought hard and never gave up, which is a great testimony of their strength of character.

They had five matches against the following teams: St Mary’s School, lost 6-13, Farnborough Hill School, lost, 6-13, Queen Anne’s School, lost 2-25, The Marist School, lost 4-16, and Claires Court School, lost 9-13. Despite not being able to secure a win, their game play and tactics improved hugely throughout the afternoon and gave them some valuable playing experience against stronger teams. Well done for all your hard work and determination.

U16 Netball Tournament

The Under 16s also competed at Queen Anne’s School. The U16’s first game was tough, losing 10-2 to eventual winners St Mary’s School. Next up was Wellington College. We started off slowly and at half time it was 2-7. St Bart’s came out fighting and won the second half but ran out of time – final score 6-9. Queen Anne’s School was next. The score was 5-4 at half-time. Queen Anne’s made some subs and put out a stronger team but Bart’s rose to the challenge and took their first win 11-8. Bart’s then dominated Claires Court School, winning 18-5. Park House School came next and were easily dispatched, 15-0. The Marist School were last to play the girls and a win was needed to get a medal. The game went goal for goal and was extremely close. The Marist just pipped us to the post and won, 13-11. A great afternoon of team work and competitive netball, huge well done to all the girls involved.

Katherine at Real Tennis French Open!

Real tennis is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis is derived. Today there are just 45 active real tennis courts in the world; rectangular indoor courts with high walls on all four sides and a high ceiling. In September, Sixth Form student, Katherine, took part in the 2024 Real Tennis French Open in Paris. She tells us about it…

“Last week I had the amazing opportunity to take part in the 2024 Real Tennis French Open. It was an incredible experience to be able to play amongst (and against!) the top seeded women in the world; in the singles semi-finals I had to play the world number two, something I will never forget! I also played in the doubles competition, which was a baptism of fire… I’d never played competitive doubles before, but it was a fantastic way to learn. The whole experience was a great way to meet the top players, as it was my first Open- hopefully the first of many! And it counted as the residential for my Gold DofE, which was a bonus!”

Football Update

U13 Football

Our U13 girls’ footballers played their first round fixture of the English Schools Cup last Thursday against local rivals, Park House School. It was our Year 7s first taste of cup action and they were more than up for it! Considering it was the first time our Year 7s and 8s had played together, they played some excellent football – working really well as a team and trusting each other on the ball. Our girls ran out 7-0 winners but could have been so much more if not for a fantastic goalkeeping performance from the Park House keeper. Goals came from Alice, Freya and Olivia. Well played girls and bring on the next round!

U14 Football

On Monday, our U14 girls’ football team played their 2nd round English Schools Cup game against St Helen & St Katharine School. After the disappointment of our first-round opponents giving us the win without even playing, it was great to see the girls back playing together again. The girls played really well and ended up comfortable 5-1 winners. Jessie got us off to a flyer with an absolute peach from long range, which really set the tone. Our other goals came from Alice (3) and Eva. In goal Helena made some great saves and we had some fantastic last-ditch tackles from Maya to keep us well in control. It was a great result on Miss Bilcliff’s birthday and a huge thanks to Bella’s mum who baked homemade brownies, which went down a treat. Well done to all involved and bring on the next round!

U18 Football

The girls played a fantastic game last week, showing great teamwork and determination throughout the match. St Helen & St Katharine School took an early lead, but our team responded by applying relentless pressure. Mya brought us level with a well-taken goal, making it 1-1 at halftime.

The second half saw St Bart’s come out strong, dominating possession and earning a 2-1 lead, again by Mya. However, an unfortunate break allowed the opposition to equalise, bringing the score to 2-2.

A pivotal moment came when Scarlett, in an attempt to stop an attack with a spectacular flying slide tackle, was just shy of reaching the ball. This resulted in a penalty being awarded to St Helen & St Katharine, which they converted to take a 3-2 lead.

Late in the game, Olivia delivered a perfect corner to the near post, where Mya pulled off an incredible overhead kick to find the back of the net, making it 3-3 at full time.

In extra time, both teams fought hard, with St Bart’s largely dominating play. However, another unfortunate break saw St Helen and St Katherine score, ending the game 4-3 in their favour.

All the girls put in incredible performances, with special mention to Tara and Evie for sharing goalkeeping duties and making crucial saves. Player of the match goes to Scarlett for her amazing strong defending throughout the game.

Bletchley Park: “I Belong” Computer Science Trip

On Friday 27 September, we took ten Year 8 girls to Bletchley Park to take part in the “I Belong in Computing: Empowering Girls” event. This event was hosted by the NCCE’s St Clement Danes Computing Hub, which serves schools across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and West Berkshire. Bletchley Park, once the top-secret home of the World War Two Codebreakers, is a fascinating place to visit, offering immersive films and interactive displays.

Upon arrival, we were taken to the Auditorium for inspirational talks from Mandy Quinton (Computing Hub Lead – St Clement Danes School) and Su Adams (Ucantoo). Su spoke about her journey to owning a tech company, while Mandy shared how her daughter pursued a career in programming. Reflecting on the talks, Asmi (8P2) remarked, “I was shocked to discover that only 20% of girls do GCSE Computing. However, I hope these numbers change in the future.”

Following the talks, we enjoyed a guided tour. Debra, our guide, was incredibly knowledgeable and brought the history of Bletchley Park to life. Approximately 75% of the workforce at Bletchley was female, and it was particularly fascinating to learn that female messenger riders were allowed to carry firearms on their motorbikes—unheard of in those days! We also learned about the Polish contribution to codebreaking. In 1939, Polish mathematicians handed over their work on decoding the Enigma code to British and French authorities, having broken the code as early as 1932. This contribution was crucial, despite the Germans frequently updating their Enigma machines.

After a quick lunch, the girls took part in some self-exploration. They visited the Mansion, where the first Codebreakers worked before the workforce expanded into newly built huts and blocks. They explored Commander Denniston’s Office and the Library, followed by a visit to Hut 8, where the team breaking German Naval Enigma messages operated. One of the highlights of Hut 8 was Alan Turing’s office, which has been recreated to look as it did during World War Two.

Next, we headed to Block E for a workshop on “Past, Present, and Future Encryption.” Block E was once Bletchley Park’s World War Two communications centre, handling messages, encryption, and material distribution across the organisation. The workshop explored the principles behind modern-day encryption, and the girls tried a simulation of the Vigenère cipher before learning about symmetrical encryption.

We returned to the Auditorium for a final talk aimed at inspiring the girls to consider taking GCSE Computing. Alesha (8C3) commented, “I really enjoyed the trip because I loved the inspirational talk. It was amazing to think about how many things we can do today, and that we were standing in the place where they broke the German codes, which helped win the war. I also loved exploring because there was so much to see, like the dining room, the rooms where they coded, the lake, the mansion, and so much more.”

The trip offered a unique blend of history and technology, leaving the girls inspired. Tanishka (8D1) summed it up perfectly: “The trip was an amazing experience. I learned so much about the Codebreakers in WW2, and it was very interactive. Everyone was so friendly, and the activities were really fun. I’d love to go again and would definitely recommend it.”

Footgolf Festival

On Thursday, we took 11 Year 7 girls to a Footgolf festival at Theale Green. They had two rounds of a Footgolf course, consisting of 4 holes with different obstacles such as “lakes” and “bunkers”. They also took part in different skill stations where they could score points. All girls thoroughly enjoyed it and each of our teams came away with a medal! One team got the best overall score across the skill stations, so got a gold medal and our other two teams made the biggest improvement on the Footgolf course from Round 1 to Round 2, so got silver medals. Well done to all involved.

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

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