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On 18 July, to celebrate 100 years of our House system, we enjoyed a day of bespoke activities in school.  One of these activities was to create giant letters representing each House with students dressed in the House colours.  

As I come to the end of my first year in the Sixth Form at St Bart’s I’m starting to have to make some decisions about what I want to do in coming years. There are lots of options available such as attending university, securing an apprenticeship, joining the Air Force or just getting a job. Right now I have not come to any clear conclusion but I have started trying to find out more about the different opportunities that exist.

I’ve visited a couple of universities which certainly look interesting but I’m now turning my efforts to look at apprenticeship opportunities. One area I am interested in is giant infrastructure projects like the railways and telecommunications. Network Rail and BT both have some excellent apprenticeship opportunities. 

On Thursday 28 June our Shares4Schools team attended the winner’s celebration in London. The team were winners of the South East region and 5^th place nationally.

The event was held at the Mansion House, where students were seated at tables with investment fund managers responsible for funds worth billions of pounds. They were able to ask questions about the industry, entry routes, typical daily work and even how much salary can be earned. There was also a panel discussion when experts were asked about their concerns for the future in terms of risk to financial growth and their predictions for the future with regards to likely emerging economies. 

GCE A Level Results: Thursday 16^th August, 08.30 – 10.00

GCSE Results, Thursday 23^rd August, 08.30 – 10.00

If you are unable to collect in person we require a letter/email giving written authority for a family member/friend to collect on your behalf. They will need to bring proof of identity.

An e-mail listing results will be sent to your school e-mail address and the first primary contact on the SIMS system by 2pm on the relevant result day if requested by Monday 6^th July. 

The Parents’ Association has just given £10,000 to the School for House activities and extra curricular projects. We have been able to do this by receiving help and donations from parents and staff which support our fundraising activities. We are asking once again for the following over the next two weeks in time for our annual summer fundraiser, known as the Fete but this year called our Summer Social, on Saturday 14th July.

Win a framed Formula 1 Tshirt signed by Lewis Hamilton and Valtterri Bottas! Draw July 14^th 2.30 at School. You don’t have to be present to win.

Enthused by the success of last year, we are running a Show Stopper and House themed Cake Competition at the Summer Social.

This was an excellent opportunity for a selection of our students who have been regular attendees at the Monday after school club with Newbury Volleyball Coach Sue Sayers.

Our first home fixture was against Downe House who were also keen to have the opportunity to play a proper match following several weeks of training. Although we experienced defeat, the more sets that were played, the better the St Bart’s team performed, eventually winning a set against a talented and very tall Downe House team.

Last week St Bart’s celebrated Pride! All students had the opportunity to write down what Pride meant to them, and these messages were used to create a large rainbow flag, which was displayed in the hub.

On Friday activity time lots of students got creative and added colourful chalk drawings and messages in celebration of Pride to our 'Pride Pavement'.  All of these contributions showed just how much each and every student in our school has to be proud of. 

The Graphics department took eleven Year 12 students from Art, Textiles and Graphics to the Bath Spa Art and Design degree show in May.

Students had the opportunity to talk with course leaders and view work by 3rd year BA(hons) students.

An excellent range of work was on display, including sculpture, conceptual art, packaging, design for print, illustration and fashion. All were in agreement that this was a great opportunity to find out about Art and Design pathways beyond 6th form and to collect ideas for their own project work.

In June, the Business Studies department took 64 Year 10 students to Cadbury World, Bournville, Birmingham.

Cadbury World’s strapline ‘The Choc House of Fun’ certainly lived up to its name. We were all treated to free samples and chocolate tasting during our visit.

Students took part in tempering the chocolate, creating decorative writing (not that it lasted for long!) and watching demonstrations. Throughout the day, students explored the history behind the success of Cadbury and its best-selling brands, particularly Dairy Milk. 

As the exam period comes to a close we are all looking forward to welcoming the new Year 12s for induction day on Friday 29 June.

This will be a great opportunity to enjoy some taster sessions in your chosen subject and chat to teachers. There will be time during the day for getting to know your fellow students and meeting new people, as well as finding out about all the extra-curricular opportunities and fun events at St Bart’s.