We are delighted for Annabel (13D2) and India (13E3) who have both secured places in the National England Lacrosse Academy, giving them access to residential training throughout the year and the opportunity to progress to the senior England national team. The girls play for Phoenix Lacrosse Club (www.phoenixlax.co.uk) who train at St Bart’s.
India said, “Having the opportunity to play with talented girls across England is both challenging but deeply rewarding. I feel since being in the academy my skills and understanding of lacrosse have developed significantly. The level of performance and quality of coaches is exceptional, and with the experience I’m gaining from it, I am excited to see where it can take me, especially when I go to University and play lacrosse at an even higher and competitive level.” Well done to you both.
https://www.stbarts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lacrosse.png459478Lucy Rumenshttps://www.stbarts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/blogo-1.pngLucy Rumens2024-12-09 10:55:222024-12-05 11:56:34National Training Places
Our annual KS4 Awards Evening was held on Thursday 28 November. We were thrilled to celebrate last year’s Year 11 students’ remarkable achievements with both students and parents. Led by our Assistant Headteacher, Mrs Cordiner, the ceremony was opened by a message from our Headteacher, Dr Fitter. Subject Prizes for both achievements and progress were given as well as Major Awards for contributions to many aspects of school life beyond the academic. The Vice Chair of Governors and the Chair of the Foundation Trustees were in attendance and were delighted to take part in the celebrations.
An impressive 54 students received a special mention for achieving 8 or more 7-9 grades at GCSE whilst another 16 were awarded prizes for best progress. The evening was concluded by a vote of thanks, delivered by one of our alumni, Emma Lalande. Emma is now a very accomplished Oxford University PDH student in Interdisciplinary Biosciences and she inspired our students to pursue their dreams, despite any obstacles.
It was wonderful to see the school hall filled with prize-winners and nominees, alongside their parents, staff and governors. It was a very fitting occasion to celebrate a truly outstanding group of students.
Students who were not able to attend our evening can find information on GCSE Certificate collection here.
60 Sixth Form students from Law, Politics and Economics had the opportunity to go to London for a tour of Parliament. The students began the tour in Westminster Hall where we met the Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle. Students were guided through both Houses of Parliament and learnt the intricate details of how Parliament operates. After the tour, students had the honour of debating in the Grand Committee Chamber in Westminster Hall. Students prepared and delivered outstanding speeches on a range of topics, including farming tax, winter fuel allowance and UK-US relations. Once we left Parliament, students were given free time to explore Westminster, getting into the festive spirit.
“Going to London was a really fun experience, because we were allowed to go inside of Parliament and see the House of Commons and the House of Lords. We got a guided tour, and we learned lots about the history of the buildings Parliament is in. The highlight of the trip for me was going to the House of Lords and seeing the grandeur of the chamber. We were fortunate enough to debate in the Grand Committee Chamber, which was a brilliant experience. We debated on issues ranging from private schools, farming and UK-US relations. After our tour we had two hours of free time. Myself and two others friends went to the Supreme Court to watch two hearings and others went shopping and walked around Westminster. I would highly recommend the trip for all future Law, Politics and Economics students.”
Dan Cornall
“The trip was a great experience for expanding my political and history knowledge about the Houses of Parliament. This trip has also greatly helped my ability to comprehend how the country is run. We had some informative debates and got to vote on the winning teams. A brilliant day for all of us involved. Division – clear the lobby!”
Fred Shelley
https://www.stbarts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/E0C35BF6-4948-41C7-8765-113B21A3DB9A-Copy.jpeg7681024Lucy Rumenshttps://www.stbarts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/blogo-1.pngLucy Rumens2024-12-09 08:34:462025-01-07 12:28:42Sixth Form Parliament Trip
The Sixth Form hosted its annual Winter Ball with over 400 students attending the festive celebration. The event is a hugely popular fixture in the Sixth Form social calendar and was a sell-out. The students transformed the hall into a spectacular array of balloons and fairy lights. The students dressed up for a fantastic evening with DJs Jude Hardy and Tom Williams and our headline student band, Revolver, with Alistair Hughes and Tom Grimbleby. A huge thank you to the Winter Ball Committee led by Milo Garrety, and to all the staff, particularly the Sixth Form Team who supported the event.
Congratulations to Sophie Lystor (11D3) who has won our Christmas Card competition. The judges were impressed with her charming depiction of a Robin in a Christmas scene, created using cut paper pieces.
For the first time since the pandemic, we are delighted to say that the MFL department had a very successful trip to France with 33 students at the end of last week. The trip was jammed packed with activities for four full days starting at 5am on Friday 29 November.
The group stayed in Boulogne-Sur-Mer and did cultural trips to Calais, Le Touquet and Lille; visiting a boulangerie, a chocolaterie, Le Musée des Beaux-Arts and they saw the Christmas markets in Lille. The highlight for the staff was to see our students conversing in French with their French pen pals at different events throughout the four-day trip.
The French students come from the Jean Jaurés school in Étaples, Le Touquet, and it was great to start to build links again with a partner school. Our students took part in speed-dating, a scavenger hunt and a disco at the weekend and then had a full day in school with their French pen pals on the Monday before returning to St Bart’s late on Monday night.
Our students were an absolute credit to us and were complimented wherever we went for their ability to understand and converse in French and for their excellent standards in behaviour. Despite the extremely early start (!), all in all, it was a total pleasure to take our students away. A huge thank you to Miss Wright (and Mrs Sheikh) for organising the trip and to Mr Force-Jones who also accompanied the students.
Here is what one of our Year 11 students, Josephine Wheeler, had to say about the trip:
“All together I found the trip to France highly enjoyable. Being able to be immersed in the French culture, interact with people I would not have otherwise met and test out my language skills in a unique and refreshing way, was really special. The days were jam packed with fun and new activities, and I was never bored! My personal favourite was going to the French market and then using the things we bought to make our Saturday lunch and also going to the Christmas market in Lille. Meeting our pen pals was another great experience; I found everything we did not only a wonderful way to incorporate my French speaking skills, but also enjoyable just to be there. This experience will stay with me as an unforgettable memory.”
We get the low down on French Immersion, Parliament and Economics trips and we find out who won the Christmas Card Competition in this week’s BartholoNews.
On 17 November Elsie (7C2) competed in the annual Mabel Ryan Awards at the Central School of Ballet in London.
Elsie is learning ballet at West Berkshire Ballet School and studying for her Grade 4. Dancing in her age category alongside a group of 38 dancers Elsie was really pleased to have won the Performance Award! It was her first competition and she was surprised to have won. Congratulations Elsie.
https://www.stbarts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/BALLET-2-Copy.jpg7681024Lucy Rumenshttps://www.stbarts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/blogo-1.pngLucy Rumens2024-12-03 08:23:332025-01-07 12:29:15Elsie Dances to the Top!
Year 13 Chemists were treated to a problem solving workshop run by Chemists from Southampton University. Our students had the opportunity to have a go at using an infra-red spectrometer that cost over £16,000. Alongside the results from this, students also completed a series of problem solving exercises to identify eight unknown chemicals. A real highlight of the afternoon was using the spectrometer to analyse a sample of aspirin that the Sixth Formers had made earlier in the term. Comparison with a sample of pure aspirin showed that the student sample was of high purity too.
https://www.stbarts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/PXL_20241121_134001929-Copy.jpg7681020Lucy Rumenshttps://www.stbarts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/blogo-1.pngLucy Rumens2024-12-03 08:17:072025-01-07 12:45:53‘Spectroscopy in a Suitcase’
We are delighted and proud to announce that Fayina (11C2) has again bought multiple medals home from the British Down Syndrome Swimming Championships. She won bronze medals in the 16 and under age category in 50m and 100m freestyle and a silver medal in the 100m individual medley in the same category.
Fayina came first in the 50m backstroke in a time that earned her the bronze medal in the overall age category. She was the only swimmer on the podium who was not a member of the GB National team!
We are delighted for Annabel (13D2) and India (13E3) who have both secured places in the National England Lacrosse Academy, giving them access to residential training throughout the year and the opportunity to progress to the senior England national team. The girls play for Phoenix Lacrosse Club (www.phoenixlax.co.uk) who train at St Bart’s.
