Fives First Cooper Cup Competition

At the end of June the inaugural Fives Cooper Cup Competition took place at St Bart’s; the splendid cup has been kindly donated by David Cooper – a long-time supporter of Fives at the school.

Despite the very hot conditions, eight Year 8 students took part and soon got the hang of the timed games in the round robin stage, with some excellent and competitive Fives being played.

A totalling of individual scores after the round robin stage produced the draw for the semi-final stage; one semi-final went to a dramatic golden point, with the score being level after 15 minutes play.

The keenly contested Final was between Freddie and Gabriel v Oscar and Ethan, and was watched by a good sized crowd from Newbury Fives Club. The final also went to a golden point, Oscar and Ethan coming out as winners; congratulations to them and well played to all, who were a credit to the school and the game of Fives.

Fives continues until the end of term on Wednesday lunchtimes and Friday after school, with coaching provided by Newbury Fives Club; new players are always welcome and should sign up with Mr Talbot.

Fives is the greatest game played on a court and St Bart’s are very fortunate to have three great courts.

Year 13 Prom

Last Friday was Year 13 students’ last hurrah – the Class of 2025 Leavers’ Prom. After overcoming our A Level exams, we danced the night away for one final time celebrating all of our achievements as a year group. For some of us this marked the end of seven years at St Bart’s School and for all of us this was the end of an incredible two years in the Sixth Form. The Prom was held at the Newbury Racecourse, organised by the amazing event managers. Everyone dressed up in their very best attire. There was music, dancing and a buffet. It was a brilliant night to remember and a fantastic way to send off the Year 13s into the world! A huge thanks to all the staff who organised and supported the event. We really appreciate it. Good luck to everyone for their A Level results!

Sakshi Kamra

Thanks to Phil Cannings at the Newbury Weekly News for the use of his photos which can be purchased, half price, here.

Nature Reserve Pathway

This academic year (2024/2025), the school launched a fundraising campaign to raise £24,000 to restore the pathways in our school’s Nature Reserve. The campaign was successful and a new pathway was laid over the spring break, meaning lessons are once again utilising this important learning environment. It has been wonderful to see students taking ownership of this space. We have a number of students clubs, such as our Conservation Club, Guardians of the Living Realm Club and Mycelium Resistance Club, who have worked particularly hard to support the project. This has included helping to remove the old pathway and prepare the ground for work to take place, and they are now meeting weekly to support with additional clearing, mending of signage, creating additional nature homes, feeding birds, researching and planting native species to encourage biodiversity and identifying and logging species.

The Parents’ Association gifted us with the final £625 required to take the fundraising campaign over the line! A huge thank you to the Parents’ Association and all who support their activities.

Mrs Barrett, Sustainability Lead

Cricket Update

Year 7 Cricket

Year 7 played their second league match, hosting The Downs at Brown’s Meadow. The Downs won the toss and put St Bart’s into bat first. The team has been rotated each match, and Bart’s scored a respectable 76 runs, for the loss of 8 wickets. The Downs replied with 106 runs of their allotted 75 balls, for 4 wickets. Andrew Antony Rosewelt made a catch from behind the stumps (bowled by James Hale), Matthew Brown bowled one wicket, Joe Shadrach ran out one batsmen (bowled by Joshi Hunt), and James Hale bowled the fourth wicket taken by St Bart’s. Player of the match was Thomas Lee Rodriguez, for his batting and his positive teamwork and encouragement in the field.

 

 Year 8 Cricket

St Bart’s won against The Downs in their penultimate game of the cricket season. Bart’s batted first and posted a score of 111/5. The Downs were then unsuccessful with chasing down the total scoring 72/9. Players of the match were Tom and Joe L for their batting. Joe L scored 14 runs and Tom retired on 20. Sibi, Joe R and Freddie P were also named players of the match for their bowling. Joe R took 2 wickets and Freddie and Sibi both took 3 wickets.

 

1st XI cricket: 10 out of Y10s for effort

The next generation of 1st XI cricketers announced themselves in some style against Didcot’s St Birinus, albeit in a losing cause. As the public exam season drew to a close, there could have been no sterner test for Yudeesh and Luke, coming together at 9-3 in the third over after an Oxfordshire U18 left-arm pacer had ripped out our Y11 top three with a display of toe-crunching Yorkers redolent of prime Wasim Akram. With resolute character and excellent technique, the Y10 pair saw him and his Kent U19 colleague off and then set about the second-string bowling.

Luke’s rasping square cut was only pipped for shot of day by Yudeesh’s back-foot drive, the full face of the blade flashing in the direction of point. When Luke unluckily fell to a catch that was juggled at deep mid-wicket with more comic dexterity than something out of Gifford’s Circus (back touring this summer, folks), they had put on 73 in 10 overs, forcing the Akram-esque captain to bring himself back on. Yudeesh would continue to resist until he was within two of a splendid 50, but was snaffled on the off-drive by that Kentish close fielder. (It’s doubtful a lesser player would have clung on.) St Birinus rightly won the day by 50 runs, and passed what was effectively an audition for joining the Toby Radford Trophy competition with flying colours.

They accelerated brilliantly from 70-1 off 10 overs to 172-6, with their No 5 enjoying himself immensely, with 34 off 11 balls. Y11 Archie was the ultimate beneficiary of the end of the innings mayhem with 4-8 in two overs, but Y10 bowlers Sidney and Jimmy had the moments, while Ed was ebullient and energetic behind the stumps. It was great to see Y13 James return at short notice and be straight on the money with his leg-spin, too. All in all, much potential for the future.

English Schools Track and Field Cup

Regional B Final at Winchester, Wednesday 18th June 2025

Boys

Congratulations to both of the boys’ teams who did brilliantly at the ESAA Track and Field Cup Regional B Final at Winchester. The Junior Boys (Y7 and 8) finished 4th out of 7 schools, scoring 308 points (38 more than they scored in round 1) and narrowly missing out on 3rd place by only 4 points. The Intermediate Boys (9 and 10) finished 2nd out of 8 schools, with a very impressive 396 points, also improving on their round 1 score, and this score would have placed them amongst the schools who participated in the A final.

Junior Boys

Hurdles Zack Shore – 15.7 11pts, Evan McCowie 17.0 5pts

100m Thom Holland – 13.9 12pts Joe Hunter-Smart 15.4 5pts

200m Abdul Wahab – 28.3 16pts Joe Robertshaw 28.8 15pts

300m Jude Harvey – 44.4 16pts Adam Bancak 44.9 15pts

800m Hugo Morhmore – 2:39.1 17pts Tom Adams 2:36.4 18pts

1500m Dexter Brown – 5:14.8 18pts Alex Rowe 5:14.4 18pts

Long Jump Alex Rowe – 3.97 11pts Thom Holland 4.46 16pts

High Jump Joe Hunter-Smart – 1.28 12pts Zack Shore 1.25 11pts

Triple Jump Tom Adams – 8.47 11pts

Shot Jude Harvey – 5.97 6pts Abdul Wahab 9.22 17pts

Discus Joe Shadrach – 15.53 10pts Dexter Brown 13.09 7pts

Javelin Euan Jones – 31.71 24pts Adam Bancak 13.85 6pts

Relay Joe Shadrach, Hugo Morhmore , Euan Jones , Luca Meir 61.1 11pts

Intermediate Boys

Hurdles Chris Broadfoot – 13.7 16pts Harry Fenner 14.2 14pts

100m James Wheeler – 12.9 14pts Joe Richards 13.2 11pts

200m Jacob Tang – 24.8 21pts Ed Hancock 26.2 16pts

300m Antonio Valdivia – 39.1 23pts Josh Burgess 40.5 20pts

800m Henry Wilson – 2:08.7 25pts James Higgs 2:30.2 16pts

1500m Eli Bodin – 4:55.4 18pts Daniyal Mohammed 6:03.2 5pts

Long Jump Deacon Cullum – 5.01 15pts Josh Burgess 4.38 8pts

High Jump Ed Hancock – 1.51 16pts James Higgs 1.39 12pts

Triple Jump Jacob Tang – 9.89 11pts Antonio Valdivia 10.54 14pts

Shot Joe Richards – 11.12 19pts James Wheeler 9.98 15pts

Discus Alex Sliwinski – 21.17 12pts

Javelin Chris Broadfoot – 34.04 16pts Harry Fenner 38.09 19pts

Hammer Oscar Hook – 42.66 25pts

Relay Oscar Hook, Alex Sliwinski, Henry Wilson , Eli Bodin 53.4 15pts

Girls

Congratulations to the Junior and Inter ‘ Athletics teams, who following on from their success in the first round of the competition went on to compete on a roasting hot day, which did not deter the girls teams from competing at their highest levels and achieving some excellent team and individual results as follows.

A huge thank you to you all for your support and determination. It was a superb day made all the more enjoyable as you were a delight to be with!

Junior Girls

A great team score of 334 points, which was almost a 30 point improvement on the first round secured a 3rd place a tremendous result and reflects excellent team work as well as some excellent individual achievements as follows:

Penny Prowse 100m 13.5 24pts, Mabel Roberson 800m 2.46 22pts, Tilly Clare 1500m 5.23 26 pts,Avvi Hadadi 300m 47.7 18 pts, Summer Wrzsenski 800m 2.55 19pts,, Jessie McCurtin 1500m 5.28 25pts and H-J 1.29 17pts, Tilly Clare Javelin 22.28 22pts.

Inter Girls

Again the inter girls had a great team score of 339 pts, which was a 20 point improvement on their first round and secured a very creditable 5th place in a Regional Final. Excellent team work and some great individual scores all contributed to this impressive points total.

High individual achievers include Emi Lloyd 800m 2.45 18pts, Anna Hall 1500m 5.19 24pts, Sofia Hughes 1500m 5.50 17pts, Eva Mahoney 200m 29.0 17pts,Chloe Yorston H-J 1.37 16pts, Georgia Hillyer 300m 48.3 16pts.

Very well done and thank you all for a great and very successful season of Athletics!

 

BartholoNews Banner Competition

We are delighted to announce that Gauravi Deegwal (10C1) is the winner of the BartholoNews Banner Competition. The judges really loved her colourful depiction of our school buildings! It will feature on BartholoNews for the whole academic year, starting in September! Gauravi also wins a £30 Amazon Voucher.

Honourable mention should also go to these entrants

£184 Raised in Great Bart’s Bake!

The heat was on in the Food department on Wednesday 18 June as our talented students took part in The Great Bart’s Bake Off – a deliciously fun event in aid of Ulafu School in Kenya.

Finalists were chosen from a wide range of impressive photo entries, and they didn’t disappoint! The creativity, effort and skill on display was outstanding. The Kenya Link members acted as judges and had the very difficult task of choosing the winner.

Following the competition, the cakes were generously donated to our Bake Sale on Friday 20 June, where students and staff had the chance to buy a slice of the action. Thanks to the generosity and support of our school community, we’re proud to share that the event raised £184 – all of which will go directly to supporting education at Ulafu School.

A huge thank you to everyone who entered, baked, bought cakes or helped out – your efforts really made a difference.

Roll on next year’s Bake Off! See more photos on our website later in the week.

BartholoNews 25 June 2025

St Bart’s first Bake Off raises nearly £200 for our Kenya partner school and the whole school gathers for Founder’s Day in this week’s BartholoNews.

Founder’s Day

Last Wednesday 18 June, our school gathered for the annual St Bart’s Founder’s Day Assembly.  Dr Fitter began by reflecting on the history of our school, “from its foundation in 1466 arising from the will of Henry Wormestall to the present day, an astonishing 559 years of history. Not many schools can boast of such a history.”

We heard how, in 1975, St Bart’s Boys Grammar School and the Newbury Girls’ School merged to form the St Bartholomew’s comprehensive school. Our school colours are a combination of the green of the old boys’ school and the purple of the old girls’ school.

Dr Fitter described the initial “gulf in attitudes between the boys and girls, despite having been close neighbours geographically for many decades.” They were accustomed to strict rules about not talking to the opposite sex so only the new Y7s were originally taught in mixed classes and so it took until 1980 for the school to be truly co-educational.

What has not changed is that school life continues to be underpinned by routines and rituals. From the Welcome Evenings for our new Y7s to the 13 Leavers’ Proms, these moments of reflection, recognition and celebration of shared experiences and accomplishments provide a sense of belonging and connectedness. They are markers on each individual’s St Bart’s journey – seven years of memories and moments of belonging.

Dr Fitter said, “a thriving school isn’t just about academic results; it’s about fostering an environment where all of you feel seen, valued, and part of something much bigger than yourself. Our school aim is for all of you to enjoy your learning, grow in confidence and self-worth so that you are able to thrive in school and also in the world beyond school.”

Finally, our new Head Student team (2025-26), Charlie, Katya, Jacob, Ellie and Swathi spoke of their plans for the future. Charlie told us more, “we unveiled our new School Officer Pledge, outlining ‘Ten Commitments’ that we will work towards, starting now. These commitments focus on areas such as strengthening student voice, improving wellbeing, increasing engagement in House competitions, supporting the school’s sustainability work, and much more.

During the assembly, we – Katya and Charlie – talked about the important training weekend at St Cassian’s; then introduced the pledge, which our Deputy Head Students, Jacob, Ellie and Swathi, read out, to inform each and every student of our ten goals . You can read the full pledge below! We have already started meeting with staff, Sixth Form students and lower School Councils to gather your ideas that reflect on our pledge.

The newly appointed House Captains were also introduced by their House Heads, who will lead on House competitions in expressive arts and sports, organise charity and fundraising events and oversee our Sixth Form mentoring programme for the lower school alongside Swathi.

We are excited to continue St Bart’s long-standing tradition of leadership and service to the school community, and even more excited to turn these pledges into action.”

Well Done to…

Oscar (9C2)
Oscar had a great result at the Berkshire Track and Field Championship on Saturday, he came first in his category with a score of 39.80m.
Chris (10E3)
Chris took 2nd place in Javelin at the Berkshire Schools Track and Field Championships on Saturday 14 June at Bracknell Athletics Track.
Mabel (8P2)
Mabel took part in the junior run at the Newbury 10K at the end of May. Mabel finished in 6.16, coming in 1st for her age group and 16th overall.
Cedric (7P3)
Cedric also completed in the took part in the Newbury 10K junior run, finishing in 6.02 and coming in 9th overall (4th in his age group).
If you know someone we should say well done to, you can tell us by emailing bartholonews@stbarts.co.uk and we will try our best to include them.

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

Telephone: 01635 521255 | Email: office@stbarts.co.uk | Full Staff Contact List
Y7-Y11 Attendance: 01635 576372 | Y12/13 Attendance: 01635 576366
Privacy Notice for Students | Privacy Notice for Staff