The U14 Girls’ Football team are through to the second round of the County Cup. We travelled to Newland Girls’ School in Maidenhead last week.
We won, 1-0. Liv Lewis scored after just 5 minutes. We dominated the game with possession and deserved the win. Liv was awarded player of the match by the opposition. Well done to all who played.
St Bartholomew’s School will be holding a Commemorative Rose Planting on Friday 31st January 2025 from 3.30 – 5.00pm.
2024 was marked by the very sad loss of a number of distinguished ex-members of staff, Eric Danvers, Phil Gray, Elizabeth Hopper (née Hughes), John King and John Wright. All gave exceptional service to St Bartholomew’s School and are much missed by our alumni and wider school community.
As a mark of our respect and appreciation, our Headteacher, Dr David Fitter, will be hosting a commemorative planting of a rose in our Heritage Garden which will be followed by tea. We would like to invite members of our community to join us in remembering the service our former colleagues gave to the school.
No RSVP required.
Last year, in conjunction with Challenges Abroad, St Bart’s were successful in an application to the Department of Education’s Turing Scheme, which offers education providers the opportunity for funding to support their 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 the Supplementary Education Centre in Battambang, Cambodia, and, in October, 30 of our Year 13 students set off on a 15-hour plane flight.
St Bart’s students were given the objective to plan and deliver workshops to Cambodian primary school children around the theme of the environment and recycling. Our students were taught some basic Khmer in order to communicate with the children but they also had to be creative in delivering their workshops. Despite the language barrier, it was wonderful to see our students develop a special connection with the Cambodian young people, exchanging cultures and learning from each other. From dance to arts and crafts, students came up with many engaging ideas to deliver to the children of Battambang. Young people in Cambodia only receive half a day of funded state education, therefore it is up to charities like the Future Sense Foundation to deliver the second half of their education. This is why the work our students put in was so important.
As well as delivering workshops, our students experienced the culture, immersed themselves in the local community, met the monks, had a city tour of the capital, Phnom Penh, visited the Royal Palace, explored Battambang and learnt about Cambodia’s ancient and more recent past. It was a truly humbling experience to learn about the tragedy of Cambodia’s recent past and to visit the Killing Fields at Wat Samrong Knong. The cultural experience was topped off with a weekend excursion to Siem Reap to visit the famous Angkor Wat temple at sunrise, considered one of the wonders of the world. Moving into the second week, students spent time in the famous Cambodian markets, visited the Bat Caves, meditated and played volleyball with monks, and, of course, there was time for a game of dodgeball back at base camp. The magical 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 personalised awards which ended with a karaoke marathon finale that went on into the evening.
“Our trip to Cambodia was a life changing experience that I will never forget. Being able to work with the children at the Supplementary Education Centre, teaching them about the environment and recycling was my highlight – seeing how excited they were to learn and engage with us every day, that is something I will carry with me forever. We came together as a group and made friends for life. I learnt so much about myself trying to fully immerse myself in the experience. Although it was challenging at points, I came away with a newfound perspective on what is important in life.”
Ellie Upton, (13D2)
“We learnt all about the history of Cambodia by visiting temples such as Angkor Wat, which was beautiful during the sunrise and full of intricate architecture and detailing which showed stories and myths from local history. We spoke to locals who could share their experiences about the recent events and visited the peace gallery where we learnt all about how Cambodians have recovered and found peace within their country despite all the conflict. We were fully immersed within the Cambodian culture in many ways, such as learning traditional dances, going to local markets, working in the school and trying new foods. Overall, this is a trip that I will remember forever and will take the lessons I have learnt from this experience with me throughout my life.”
Sophie Livingstone (13D2)
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 Cambodian 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.”
As part of the Scheme and once again in conjunction with Challenges Abroad and Future Sense Foundation, St Bart’s will run two further Sixth Form trips in 2025, visiting Tanzania and a return trip to Cambodia.
This term, Year 10 Navy cadets have been learning about communication. On Friday last week they put their new skills to the test by using naval flags to spell out: MERY XMAS! (We only had one ‘R’ flag!)
Jack (7E2) has organised a raffle for a big chocolate hamper in time for Christmas.
Tickets are £1 each and are available to students in the Evers House Office and on ParentPay too.
All proceeds go to the Evers House Charity – West Berks Mencap.
Winning ticket will be drawn in the last week of term!
Nestled beside the old cricket pavilion lies a hidden gem of St Bart’s – our school orchard. Though time has taken its toll in recent years, we are on a mission to restore it to its former glory, and crucially, to preserve the knowledge we gain on how to care for it, so that it can be appreciated for many generations to come.
Last week marked the beginning of this journey as The Horticult, our KS4 co-curricular Horticulture group, welcomed local apple expert, Tony Hammond, for a masterclass in apple tree pruning.
During this hands-on session, we discovered that while there’s no single “correct” approach to pruning, several key principles guide the process:
We practiced identifying the new year’s growth, and branches that needed attention, particularly those growing in awkward directions that could affect the tree’s overall health and productivity. The session emphasised that pruning is about making informed choices rather than following strict rules. Next year, keep an eye out for our apple harvest – hopefully it will be a good one!
Tony also shared a charming story about a local Newbury apple variety called the Miller’s Seedling, the “local dance apple.” This unique tradition ties into the apple’s late-August picking season, which aligns with the August bank holiday. In the past, it was apparently customary to offer this specific apple to someone as a way of inviting them to dance.
We’re fascinated by this delightful piece of local history and would love to learn more! If you or someone you know has any stories about these “apple dances” or similar traditions, please don’t hesitate to email us at sustainability@stbarts.co.uk
Back in September, St John’s Church developed an ambitious plan to decorate the outside of the church with handmade decorations.
Mrs Brown and Mrs Blakely introduced the idea of asking St Bart’s students to help with the project as it was a fantastic opportunity for students to get involved with helping the wider community as well as learning new textile based skills. Over the past few weeks, students across all year groups have kindly given up their Tuesday lunch time to learn how to knit, crochet and make pom poms for the church in Textiles club.
Last week, we welcomed Reverend Gary Collins into the Textile department to thank the students and collect over 40 decorations ready to be displayed for all to enjoy. A big thank you to all the students involved…
| Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 | Year 10 | Year 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orla Forbes-George | Priya Ankala | Dunia Lourenco Ribeiro | Kareena Govindji | Beatrice Cratchley |
| Aanya Hanabe | Niamh Chambers | Mia Mackfall-Harrison | Immie Aldrich-Smith | |
| Matilda Pedersen | Edward Cohen | Isla McCaffrey | Hermoine Cratchley | |
| Katie Warren | Polly Cook | Gabriela Lungu | ||
| Rose Bell | Dotty Dolinski | Sophie Lystor | ||
| Flo Goodman | Hannah Elegizy | Amy Oliver | ||
| Polly Parsons | Rosie Gibbons | Nandini Agarwal | ||
| Niamh Podesta | Krystal Greenhill | |||
| Lauren Ransom | Emily Henstridge | |||
| Jemina Rust | Alice Johnstone | |||
| Ella Wilson | Angelina Karnasiewicz | |||
| Suraiya Sheikh | Arwen Lay | |||
| Elliot Stedman | Poppy Leadbetter | |||
| Greta Mason | ||||
| Hannah May | ||||
| Thalia McAlpin | ||||
| Millie Pennock | ||||
| Anh Pho | ||||
| Isabel Preston | ||||
| Mabel Roberson | ||||
| Alice Rumens | ||||
| Imogen Rumens | ||||
| Tanishka Shiravadekar | ||||
| Asmi Singla | ||||
| Zuri Williams |
At St Bart’s Library, we are very keen to foster a love of reading among our students. Each Year 7 English group has had an introduction to our Library, in which they learn how they can borrow from the exciting collection of fiction and non-fiction books. In addition, through the Bookbuzz scheme (supported by the Book Trust), the Library is giving a FREE book to each of our Year 7 students, which we do every year.
With a list of 14 amazing titles to choose from, every student should be able to find something they like, whatever their interest or ability, and the book will be theirs to keep. So if you have a Year 7 student, watch out for a new book coming home!
Thank you to everyone who took part, whether you donated, baked, or ducked and dodged balls! As a result, we are delighted to announce that St Bart’s raised £1,950 for Children in Need and had a lot of fun doing so. Congratulations also to the Curnock team who were victorious as Staff Dodgeball Champions 2024.
The St Bart’s Children in Need donation page will remain open until the end of 2024, so there is still time to donate to this fantastic appeal.
I want you to think of a deer. Perhaps Bambi comes to mind? What if I refined my request and said I wanted you to think of a deer that had retractable vampire fangs, is as big as a medium sized dog, and has flaring scent glands on its face? Any idea?
If you read that and immediately thought ‘Muntjac’, congratulations (even if it’s because you read the title of this article). If not, you’re in for a wild ride.
We’re lucky enough to have at least three muntjacs that regularly visit the school grounds, two female and one male. One of the females has been named Barbara, but we’ve yet to decide on names for the other two, so if anything comes to mind, do let us know at sustainability@stbarts.co.uk
Perhaps the most striking thing about muntjac are their flaring scent glands, located on their face. These glands are used to mark territory.
Now you may be thinking, “that’s all well and good but didn’t I read retractable vampire fangs before?” And the answer is yes, yes you did. Muntjacs do indeed have ‘elongated canine teeth’ which males use for display during mating rituals and to fight off rivals. While they’re technically not fangs, ‘elongated canine teeth’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Miss Barrett, Sustainability Lead
