The Year 8 girls’ cricket teams played their first round of West Berkshire league fixtures on Tuesday 6 May after school at Kennet. We had some impressive results:
Results were as follows:
A team v Kennet A team – we won 72 – 25
A team v Trinity – we won 65 – 28
B team v Kennet B team – we lost 53 – 69
B team v Theale Green – we won 40 – 37
Thank you to the four Year 10 Sports Leaders who came with us to umpire and score. Well done to all who played.
The date is fast approaching for our staff runners who have signed up to take part in the Newbury 10K, which will take place on Monday 26 May. We wish them the best of success and the best of the weather!
The team are running to raise money for the St Bart’s house charities: Newbury Cancer Care (Curnock), Swings & Smiles (Davis), Mencap (Evers) and Guide Dogs (Patterson) – and they need the school community’s help to raise as much as possible! Any contributions would be greatly appreciated.
If you would like to support their effort, you can donate on staff and student ParentPay accounts and you can also share with someone who doesn’t have a ParentPay account, as they can donate here.
Huge congratulations to Clean-Cut, the school’s 2025 Young Enterprise business, who won Best Company Report and Best Presentation at the Young Enterprise Berkshire Area Final. Their performance has earned them a place in the Regional Final, which takes place tomorrow (Thursday) in High Wycombe.
The Area Final involved submitting a company report, which detailed information about the company’s finances, team journey, impact and legacy. On the day, the whole team took part in a 10-minute interview with three judges, where they were questioned about the production process, health and safety and sales and marketing. This was followed by a four-minute presentation to all companies and the judges.
Their success follows their win at Westgate Oxford Trade Fair in March, winning Sustainability Award and Best Overall Company, as well as winning “Most Sustainable and Engaging Outlook Award” at GreenFest 2025 in April.
Alfie Lamb, Managing Director, said, “We’ve worked really hard to create a sustainable and successful business, so winning at the Area Final was such a proud moment for us, and we’re really excited to take it to the next level at the Regional Final on Thursday”.
Mrs Seward, Head of Business & Economics, said, “Congratulations to Clean-Cut for an excellent performance at the area final. They delivered a very professional presentation and their awards were well deserved. Good luck for Thursday!”
The team will represent Berkshire along with one other company at the South Central Regional Final this Thursday. Well done – and good luck at the regionals!
Keep up to date with Clean-Cut on their Instagram.
Last week St Bart’s hosted a series of celebrations for our wonderful Year 13. As is tradition, the festivities included our Leavers’ Assembly on the Wednesday, and a Sixth Form Karaoke Special, BBQ and games on the Wormestall Field on the Thursday. The Year 13 week was then concluded with the noisy and colourful Class of 2025 Parade around the school hub, at which our leavers treated younger years and staff to a display of fantastic fancy dress and dance moves! As they near the conclusion of their school career with St Bart’s, we wish Year 13 all the very best for exam season and adventures beyond. We are with you all the way! We hope you all enjoy the Leavers’ Prom on Friday 20 June, and please do remember to sign up to our alumni, so that we can stay in touch and welcome you back as former students in future years.
BOOK RETURNS REQUEST – Y11 & Y13
Now that we are approaching exams and nearing the end of this academic year for Y11 and Y13, we would like to remind parents that your child’s textbooks, library books and laptops (if they have one) should be returned to the Library by Friday 20 June 2025, at the latest. Of course, at the moment students will still be using these resources to complete their studies, but please can you ensure that any resources belonging to school are returned once students have completed their exams. Please can students hand them to a member of the Library staff so we can check that their account is clear. Many thanks for your help. Students can come and speak to us in the Library if there are any questions or concerns.
The PA funded poster frames for the Sixth Form Stairwell and it has made a huge difference to the space. This is the route most Sixth Formers take at the start of the day and it is a great opportunity to displays uplifting and positive messaging. The frames are so practical and smart. We love them as we can change the displays as often as we like. Sometimes the stairwell might celebrate international weeks, student achievements or our alumni, or alternatively provide useful information. A huge thank you to the PA for supporting this idea.
Laura Wrzesinski, Promotion Manager
I was delighted to be awarded PA Funding for our Young Enterprise Programme. The programme requires students to set up and run their own student company, offering a real-life learning opportunity that develops practical business experience, adaptability, entrepreneurial mind set and the employability skills needed to secure successful futures. Student companies have the opportunity to attend various competitions, the Young Enterprise Trade Fair and, at the end of the year, the students attend the Young Enterprise Area Final with the ambition of progressing to Regionals and even Nationals!
As the only state school in the Berkshire area participating in Young Enterprise, St Bart’s are keen to ensure that the costs of attending the YE Trade Fair and competition events does not become a barrier for some students. The PA funding is used to cover transports to key events and support with the purchase of materials for trade stands, their support is helping us ensure this valuable experience is open to all those who wish to benefit.
Mrs Seward, Head of Business & Economics and Careers Lead
We have been fortunate to receive a grant from the PA for two years now. During the first year we used our budget to learn all about bees and the products we get from their hard work! We made candles, cosmetics and beeswax wraps – all materials purchased with our PA funds. We also took a fully funded trip to a local apiary where eight students were lucky enough to get up close to a working bee hive – an incredible experience for them all.
This year we have been focussed on our school environment and making it not only bee friendly but also a haven for all local wildlife. We have purchased seeds and bulbs for the nature area and have just invested in some kits to make bee, bug, bat and bird boxes to place around the school site. Without the funding from the PA we would not have been able to run these activities without asking for contributions from the students and their families. The PA funding makes the club truly inclusive and also more engaging for its members. So thank you very much!
Mrs Johnstone, Science Teacher
On 29 April, RoBarts robotics team made their debut at the FIRST Tech Challenge regional tournament in Oxford. After arriving at school at 7:00a.m. for final robot adjustments, the team travelled to Oxford and immediately began refining their design, prior to their judging interview session and inspection. Matches at the tournament involved alliances of two teams competing in both autonomous and student-controlled phases, requiring both precision programming and real-time strategy.
Despite being new to the competition, the team of 12 students demonstrated exceptional skill, teamwork, and resilience – earning the Control Award for their innovative programming, and finishing as runners-up for the Inspire Award, which recognises teams that exemplify the values of the FIRST Tech Challenge and serve as role models for others.
The students dedicated months to designing, building, and refining their robot – often staying after school and even organising Saturday sessions. When asked what the most important thing they learnt from taking part in the First Tech Challenge was, Ryan (12C3) responded “Managing time effectively for weekly robotics sessions and working under pressure trying to debug and test code in case something didn’t work, especially right before a match so learning to adapt in these stressful situations was important.” Ryan led much of the coding effort and after receiving the Control Award, he reflected, “I felt incredibly proud. It was great to see our hard work on the programming being recognised especially after continuously testing and refining the code making sure it was both efficient and maintainable.”
The team’s success extended beyond the technical. Tejas (9C2) led on sponsorship, securing support from Collaboration Betters the World (CBTW) and nowFundamentals. “The biggest challenge I faced was not getting responses from a lot of companies and overcoming it by keeping on trying,” he said. We are incredibly grateful to both companies for their generous support.
For many students, the experience was transformative. “I learnt the importance of tech in this society and what it can be used for, but also the importance of teamwork,” shared Asmi (8P2). Meanwhile, Lawri (9C2) helped the team get their 3D printer back online – an essential tool for producing parts for the robot. “My experience at the FIRST Tech Challenge was an interesting opportunity to build teamwork skills and allow us access to kits and parts that we couldn’t use at home.”
With plenty of creative ideas already emerging for next season – including improving the robot’s autonomous mode, led by Arpit (12E1), who has been teaching himself Java – the future looks bright for the RoBarts robotics team.
RoBarts may not have made the Championship finals this year, but their Control Award win and Inspire Award recognition are remarkable accomplishments for a first-time team. They’ve laid a strong foundation for the future – and we can’t wait to see what they do next.
Last year, in collaboration with Challenges Abroad, St Bart’s were successful in an application to the Department of Education’s Turing Scheme. This scheme offers education providers the opportunity for funding to support students with study and work placements around the world. On securing the funding, our Sixth Form students were selected to be part of a global citizen project supporting the work of the Future Sense Foundation in two primary schools in Arusha Tanzania.
On 28 March 2025, 30 amazing Year 12 students, accompanied by staff: Mr Wilder, Ms Moore, Mrs Shopland and Mr Bateman embarked on a trip of a lifetime to Arusha, Tanzania. Our first flight was to Ethiopia where we were in transit for a few hours. Then we took our second flight to Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania. Whilst we were away, we stayed at the beautiful Africa Lodge in Arusha Tanzania. This area became our home for two weeks where we slept, ate vegetarian food (to decrease our carbon footprint and be more sustainable), planned our afternoon lessons, and then spent evenings playing cricket, football and tennis (and sometimes with the locals). We also enjoyed local walks on some evenings, which took us around surrounding areas and varying landscapes. We all enjoyed a magical walk to watch the sunset behind Mount Meru. There was never a moment where we all weren’t enjoying ourselves! We visited a local Masai market which was full of vibrancy, rich colours, African music, local foods and crafts, and then went on to the African Arts and Culture centre which displayed a wealth of local artwork and sculptures.
St Bart’s students were given the task of in the mornings of cultivating a plot of land and once the ground had been prepared, planting vegetables that would serve the school community. Many of the children in the schools would go without lunch. By planting vegetables and fruit trees, we would help provide the schools with healthy lunches for the children and the school community. Tanzania during March and April, is considered to be the rainy season, but we were all surprised by how green and lush Arusha was, with temperatures reaching nearly 30 degrees every day! We did experience torrential downpours, but once the rain stopped, everything dried up really quickly and the sun came out. Everyone worked tirelessly to prepare the land (despite very muddy conditions) and plant the crops – both schools were really pleased with the end results.
In the afternoons, the objective was to plan and deliver lessons and learning activities, to Year 5 and 6 children. Our students were taught basic Swahili at our accommodation, which helped them communicate with the children and was also used to incorporate into their lesson plans. The Tanzanian children were taught basic English language techniques through reading together, singing songs, craft activities, games (indoors and outside) and writing. Despite a language barrier, it was wonderful to see our St Bart’s students develop a special connection with the Tanzanian children exchanging cultures and really learning so much from each other. Every day, students came up with many exciting and engaging ideas to deliver to the children. We were also treated to some wonderful spontaneous songs and dances from the children which we all joined in with. So much joy and happiness was had by all. On the last day at the schools, Mr Wilder organised a huge football match between both schools and all our students. There must’ve been about 300 people on the pitch! It was a fantastic event enjoyed by everyone.
After our first week of gardening and teaching, we spent a full day at Tarangire National Park on Safari. We left very early in the morning in a convoy of five jeeps and travelled three hours to the park. We were lucky enough to see Elephants, Zebras, Monkeys and Baboons, Impala, Buffalo, Warthogs, Ostriches and a Secretary bird. Out of nowhere, a herd of Giraffes appeared about two metres away from us which was absolutely incredible and a fantastic end to what was such a memorable day. Tarangire is a national park in Tanzania’s Manyara Region. The name of the park originates from the Tarangire River that crosses the park. The Tarangire River is the primary source of fresh water for wild animals in the Tarangire Ecosystem during the annual dry season.
On the Sunday we visited Baraka’s beautiful family run coffee plantation high up in the hills near Mount Meru, a peaceful oasis situated amongst the banana trees, and an abundance of hibiscus flowers. Baraka Coffee Farm offered an outstanding 2.5 hour experience from start to finish. We were welcomed with lemongrass and ginger tea before diving into an educational journey through the entire coffee-making process from tree to cup. We were amazed to witness every step, including harvesting from the trees, grinding, drying, deseeding, sifting, roasting, grinding again, and finally brewing the coffee. Drinking coffee that you’ve seen processed from start to finish was a unique and rewarding experience. It was a full family operation, complete with songs accompanying many of the steps, which added a special charm. We finished the visit with a traditional Swahili breakfast and of course, a cup or two of freshly brewed coffee made by us all.
We visited Tumaini University Makumira which specialises in music and took part in a drumming and dance workshop which was great fun – a lot of hidden talent came to surface amongst our students and staff – especially Mr Wilder’s dance skills! Afterwards, we were treated to an hour of traditional African dance and drumming. The Cultural Arts Centre is a thriving centre of music and dancing, both traditional and contemporary, in the Arusha area. It is located behind Tumaini University in Makumira. The CAC mission is to provide a safe space for learning, creating, doing and sharing the arts.
This incredible two weeks closed with an ‘awards night’, at which students presented awards to our amazing hosts and the Future Sense Foundation staff. Teachers then took turns presenting students with individual personalised speeches and awards which ended with a karaoke finale that went on into the evening. One of our final highlights of the trip, was as we were leaving Tanzania, walking out onto the runway to our plane, turning around and seeing the magnificent snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro in the distance. A sight we will all never forget. It was a life changing trip, both students and staff will never forget. ‘Asante sana Tanzania’.
Mr Wilder, Co-Head of Sixth Form, said: “We are so proud of our students embracing the global citizen element of this project and meeting every challenge with bravery and spirit. Each student brought their unique personality and had their own personal journey in different ways. It was a truly remarkable experience with memories that will last a lifetime. The joy of the Tanzanian people will stay with us for a very long time. A huge thank you to the team at Challenges Abroad and the Future Sense Foundation for making this happen and sharing our vision.”
“Undoubtedly the best experience of my life. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to really make a difference in so many children’s lives and to get a feel for the amazing Tanzanian culture. I couldn’t have asked for anything more!”
Charlie Seymour
“The two weeks that we spent in Tanzania were the best two weeks of my life. I know this sounds cliché, but it is the utmost truth. From having learnt about the history, the culture, the language and so much more, I have come home feeling so much more enriched. I think the rest of the people on the trip will agree with me when I say that the best part was engaging with and teaching the children in the two schools where we volunteered. Their eagerness to learn, their laughter and their zest for life truly was one of the most inspiring things we encountered whilst out there; even though they are not as fortunate as we are to have been afforded the same opportunities as us, they carry on being grateful for what they do have and smiling whilst doing so. This especially was a key takeaway from our time in Africa and I for one would go back in a heartbeat and do it all again, just to see the joy on the children’s faces when our buses arrived at their schools. Thanks so much to St Bart’s for this experience, and to anyone thinking about taking a similar adventure to help and support developing communities, you won’t regret it!”
Fleur Creuteur
“Settling back down now and I still struggle to put into words how incredibly fortunate and grateful I am to have had this amazing opportunity. This trip has seriously changed my view on everything, and I feel honoured to have been selected to experience the Tanzanian culture and way of life. It is truly something remarkable and is singlehandedly the best thing I have EVER done.
The people I flew out with were some of the kindest, most generous, and determined people I have ever met. Their positivity and strive to benefit the children helped elevate this life-changing experience to another level. I seriously don’t think I would have enjoyed it anywhere near as much as I did if it wasn’t for the amazing community of people. I’m sure I’ve made long-lasting friendships as a result.
To sum up this experience. I can’t. To see the comparison between our lives and those of just one Tanzanian child is purely shocking and eye-opening. Which is why it filled me and my 30 peers with so much pride and sense of achievement when we built the 2 allotments that will feed them for months. Not to mention the teaching that felt incredibly rewarding as we learnt Swahili to teach them life skills and cover other important topics.
The level of gratuity I have towards everything has been altered massively as a result of this trip, and it is something that I will be eternally grateful for. The people. The teachers. It was something that I will never forget and it has been an absolute privilege to experience it with amazing people. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Harry Lardner
Article and photos by Ms Moore.
Read our stunning report on the Sixth Form trip to Tanzania and we bid farewell and good luck to our Year 13s in this week’s BartholoNews
