Sixth Form Berlin Trip

“From 2-5 April 2025, Year 12 and 13 History and German students went to Berlin, where every day we learned and consolidated our knowledge from lessons.

 We did so much in just four days, but my personal favourite day was the Thursday. The first thing we did was go to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The whole time I was there it was quite difficult, emotionally, to see everything in person and know it didn’t happen that long ago. But afterwards many of us talked about how we felt in smaller groups, which made the whole day easier. After lunch we went to the Berlin Wall memorial and museum. Later in the afternoon we went to another museum, which focused on the Palace of Tears (a former border crossing point between East and West Berlin, at Berlin Friedrichstraße station). We finished the day with a river cruise, which allowed us to be touristy and relax.

The other days were just as action-packed; on our first day after reaching the hostel we went to go see the Bundestag and the Holocaust memorial. Another day we went to the Stasi museum and prison, before going to the DDR museum, getting ice cream and seeing the East Side Gallery along the Berlin Wall. On the last day we went to Check Point Charlie and the museum there, followed by the ‘Typography of Terror’ exhibition, which focused on the Gestapo.

 I am so glad I went on the trip, and even now I am still thinking about all that happened. I’m sure the others that went are feeling the same.”

Gwen Wharry (12E3)

Head Student Team

We are delighted to formally announce our new Head Student Team. After a rigorous selection process, Charlie Gale and Katya Burgess were appointed Head Boy and Head Girl, with Jacob Khan, Swathi Sivabalan and Ellie Shears being appointed as Deputies.

The interview panel made up of Dr Fitter, Mr Owen and Mr Wilder were incredibly impressed by the effort and commitment of all of those who applied to become a Head Student. Applicants were required to complete a team task, which focused on improving the school’s approach to sustainability. This required students to work in teams to plan and formulate a solution, which they then presented back to their fellow peers. Applicants were then required to present their ideas for change to the entire Y12 cohort, along with staff members and the interview panel. After deliberation, 11 applicants were then brought forward to interview, which was led by our current Head Boy (Sam White) and Head Girl (Charlotte Lethaby), further supported by Dr Fitter, Mr Owen and Mr Wilder. Our final Head Students performed exceptionally well across all parts of the interview process, demonstrating excellent communication and leadership skills.

Co-Head of Sixth Form, Mr Owen, said: “We are incredibly grateful and proud of all students who applied to become part of the student leadership team. It was immensely rewarding to observe their confidence throughout the process and their eagerness to lead the school community”.

Healthcare Offers for Students

Following the news that seven of our Year 13 students have received offers to study at either Cambridge or Oxford University, we are also celebrating three offers made to students on highly competitive medicine courses. This follows months of hard work and study to complete competitive entry tests and interviews. Angel Nwokporo and Gen Brown have both received offers to study medicine from the University of Nottingham, whilst Samuel White has been received two offers – one from the University of Birmingham and one from Sheffield University. Huge congratulations to all three students.

Angel, Gen and Sam are not the only students who have been successful in taking the next step in pursuing a career in our healthcare services. Vaibavi Lakshmi Narayanan, Dawud Mehdi, Lily Pho, Fatou Diallo and Issy Tallis are all celebrating offers for Pharmacy at their university of choice. Lucy Hicklin has received offers from the University of Plymouth and University of Southampton to study Midwifery. Ryan Cheng is looking to study Physiotherapy at Brunel University. Daniel Newman has been made three offers for placements to study Radiography, whilst Tara Fitzgerald has four offers for Optometry, and Jemima Cutts has five offers for Speech and Language Therapy. Finally, Imogen Conington plans to study Paramedic Science at the University of Lincoln.

We all experience the healthcare industry at some point in our life. It is an industry that faces many different challenges, but it can also be one of the most rewarding career choices students can make, offering the opportunity to make a real difference to people’s lives, and to be at the forefront of innovation and technology.

Mr Owen, Co-Head of Sixth Form, said: “We are delighted that it has been another great year for Sixth Form applications to some of the UK’s most sought-after universities and courses. It is very uplifting that so many of our very able students are choosing healthcare courses. Not only will they gain medical knowledge, they will further build their range of important transferable soft skills in communication, critical thinking, empathy and problem solving. This pathway offers excellent graduate employability rates because there will always be a huge demand for these skills and experience. I wish them all the best of success with their exams and beyond. Their hard work is already paying off and we have no doubt they will go on to great things.”

We asked two of our students why they have chosen a healthcare route. Isaac (13E1) said, “I want to make the world a better place through my work. I believe that it is meaningful to make a difference for people to get through their unique challenges, which motivated me to pursue my career.”

‘Clean-Cut’ Win At The YE Trade Fair.

Congratulations to our Young Enterprise team, Clean-Cut, who won best overall company and sustainability award at the YE trade fair in The Westgate Shopping Centre, Oxford on Saturday 15 March.

The team of four attended with the aim of selling their product and expanding their business. Clean Cut produce drinking glasses, using a bottle cutter to score the glass, followed by hot and then cold water to separate the glass. Twelve other companies from schools in the Thames Valley attended the event, with awards for best trade stand, customer service, sustainability and product and innovation, as well as the overall winner. An early start was required to get their trade stand set up and ready to sell to the public at 9.30am. A lot of work was put in prior to the event – designing and preparing the stand, ensuring there were sufficient products to sell and organising a rota for the day. The event was an excellent opportunity for students to discuss their products with the general public and find out whether their product was going to appeal to the market.

As part of the area Young Enterprise competition, the students received a visit to their stands from the judges. They were asked questions about their production and marketing strategy and were observed in their selling  technique. Clean-Cut were declared winners of the Sustainability Award and Best Company on the day. The awards were very well deserved as the students had put a lot of effort into developing their sustainability strategy and ensuring this was evident in their marketing and on their trade stand. They have spent a lot of time over the last couple of months producing their product. They also made a number of sales on the day!

Harry Lardner, Managing Director, said: “I am really pleased that the hard work of our team has been recognised by the judging panel who provided some important feedback that we will take on board ready for when we attend the Area Final in May.”

Well done to the students who took part – Charlie Gale, Harry Lardner, Tori McDonald and Mariana Carvalho. If you want to purchase any items from Clean-Cut visit the Clean-Cut linktree and complete an order form. The price list is available to view on the Clean-Cut Instagram page.

Our Oxbridge Seven

We’re delighted to announce that seven of our current Year 13 students have secured offers to study at either Cambridge or Oxford University.

From Cambridge, Charlotte Robertson has been offered a place to study Music and Eleanor Prescott has been offered a place on an Archaeology course. Eva Clift is set to study Classics at Oxford, Imogen Ciochon – Experimental Psychology, Charlotte Lethaby – Law, Eve MacLeod – English Language and Literature and Astrid Wilson-Gignoux has been offered a place to study English and Beginner’s Italian. All these students succeeded in the rigorous and highly competitive entry process of tests and interviews for their College or University of choice.

Mr Owen, Co-Head of Sixth Form, says, “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work alongside a cohort of talented, hardworking and dedicated students of whom we are incredibly proud. Each of these applicants demonstrated exceptional determination with their application and preparation for interview, resulting in their well-deserved success. Whilst the Sixth Form team offer specialised support, which utilises the guidance of teachers and external specialists, these offers are mostly down to students’ hard work and attitude. We look forward to hearing about their future successes.”

The majority of Year 13 students at St Bart’s have been applying to universities and higher education courses through the UCAS system, with over 250 applications made by students to date. The Sixth Form enrichment programme is designed to support all students in their post-18 choices. Alongside assemblies and workshops by university outreach staff, those applying for competitive apprenticeships receive tailored advice and support on research and applications. In recent years, there have been a number of students successfully securing offers on apprenticeships with companies including Airbus, AWE, KPMG, Newbury Building Society and Vodafone. As reported recently in BartholoNews, Seb Chapman is one such current Year 13 about to embark on a Level 7 degree apprenticeship programme with KPMG in September.

Duke of Edinburgh Awards 2025

Congratulations to 42 Bronze, 7 Silver and 3 Gold Duke of Edinburgh award winners. Students have been busy participating in a variety of activities including volunteering in their local community, gaining new skills in a variety of fields from languages to science, and participating in sporting activities. The DofE participants also completed a self-sufficient expedition, which involved them carrying all their food, tents, stoves and personal equipment for the two or three-day expedition and navigating themselves to check points and their campsite. They should all be very proud of their accomplishments.

If a student was not in school on the DofE presentation day, they can now collect their Bronze or Silver certificate and badge from Reception.  The Gold DofE students have the honour of collecting their certificate and badge at a presentation in Buckingham Palace.

Congratulations to all the students who have completed their awards…

BronzeSilverGold
Toby AdamsFreddie FullerThomas PrimroseMawgan BirdAlice Wilson
Soorya AnbumurasoliWilliam HeywoodFfion PritchardBeatrix BusbyLucy Wilson
Zoe BevanGeorgia HillyerAnnabelle ProwseHolly ConwayMadelyn Macgregor
Christopher BroadfootLizzy Huggett-MurrayShawn RamosMeenakshi Ganugapati
Thomas BreslinJohan JayakumarBen RansomJoshua Hyde
Alexandra CattanachHarshit Kumar RainaNikolina RaticEleanor Peake
Lucy ClinchCiara LangrellHarvey RobinsonSwathi Sivabalan
Heyden CohenZara LeadbetterAvaneesh Karthik Sasikumar
Phoebe ConwayHarry LethabyDexter Sewell
Joshua DavisIsaac MabbattMiraya Srivastava
Florence DentIsabel MantonRanvir Tomar
William EvansMia Martin-FlavenAlexandra Tucker
Jamie FryJames PennockDaniel Woodridge
Irina-Maria PopLucas Wrzesinski

If you are in Year 9 and would like to participate in your Bronze DofE Award, it is not too late. The DofE Bronze enrolment process is still open for another two weeks.  To enrol please complete this Google form and make the payment on ParentPay.

If you are in Year 10 and would like to complete the Silver DofE award, please pay the new enrolment fee on ParentPay and Silver will automatically be added to your DofE Account. If you are in Year 11 and above and would like to take the ultimate challenge of Gold, please email Mrs Lay on llay@stbarts.co.uk

Netball Update

 Year 8 Netball

The Year 8 A team had a fantastic netball fixture, securing two dominant wins. In their first match against Trinity School, the team showcased excellent teamwork and defensive strength, winning 23-0. Freya and Hattie were named Players of the Match for their outstanding performances. The momentum continued into the second match against Kennet, where the team delivered another impressive display, winning 22-0. Hattie was awarded Player of the Match for her exceptional contribution. A brilliant effort from the whole team, well done!

Our Year 8 B team played Trinity School B in their first game, playing some lovely netball and taking advantage of lots of space being left in the goal third, meaning Cece and Alexa could test their shooting skills out. The girls won 19-4 with Cece being awarded Player of the Match for her excellent shooting. We then played a friendly against Theale’s A team which was a tough game and a step up in terms of standard. However, the girls did brilliantly, despite being 5-1 down at half-time, they didn’t give up and won the second half 6-3, meaning they narrowly lost 8-7 overall. We made some defensive tweaks for the second half, asking Summer to tightly mark their GA and she did such a great job that she was awarded Player of the Match by Theale. Well done to all our girls who played in cold conditions!

 

Year 9 Netball

Well done to the Year 9 girls who had a tightly contested game against a very strong Park House team. The girls worked tirelessly to contain the opposition and despite a loss of 8-16 the girls should be proud of their performance.

Players of the Match were Caitlin Atkins and Sasha Haydn Jones.

 

Year 10 Netball

Well done to the Year 10 A team netball players who had an excellent league game against Park House. All players displayed skill and good tactical awareness and secured a convincing win of 12-6.

Players of the Match were Violet Hughes and Hazel Cook. Well done to you all.

 

Year 11 Netball

The Year 11 A team continued their winning theme having never lost a game throughout their time at St Bart’s. They took a win off JOG who couldn’t field a team so played a friendly against Park House School B, which they won 19-3. Best player was awarded to Ava. Their first league game was against Park House A and they put in an outstanding performance winning 15-5, Brooke took the player nomination for her sharp shooting.

The B’s played Kennet B first and narrowly lost 7-10, with Player of the Match being awarded to Chloe.

They then played a surprisingly strong Trinity team who beat them 21-2. Isla kept battling for every ball and was voted Player of the Match.

 

Sixth Form Netball

St Bart’s were the only school in the area to enter two Sixth Form teams into the league. We were able to showcase our strong netball that continues through all the years.

Year 13 played Park House Schoolfirst, winning 14-5 with Beth taking the opposition’s Player of the Match for her excellent interceptions in the goal circle. Next up were St Gabriel’s School. The game was played in great spirit and Bart’s came out on top, 23-14. India took the Player of the Match for her control in the centre third and pinpoint feeds into her shooters.

Year 12 started off strong showing their formed connections down the court, with Mya sinking every shot to earn herself best player against The Downs School, winning 19-4.

The next match was against Park House School and started goal for goal, but Bart’s soon got into their rhythm and took a convincing win 20-9. The best player was again awarded to Mya.

 

Spanish Immersion Trip

SPANISH IMMERSION TRIP

Shortly before half term, 45 of our Year 10, 11 and 12 students travelled to Jaén, Andalusia to improve their Spanish and to learn more about the culture through a variety of activities. They were all introduced to a Spanish pen pal before the trip and met them whilst in Spain, spending time at the Spanish high school. They also enjoyed trips out, tasting the local cuisine and fun evening activities. Here’s what Ellen Napier (10E3) said about the trip…

 “I was lucky enough to be one of the students who went on the Spanish Immersion Trip and we began day 1 by meeting our pen pals in the Spanish school, which we were super excited for! All the Spanish students were lovely, and we got on so well together.

Later in the day, we did a scavenger hunt in the centre of Jaén with them and finished off the day with a tapas dinner. On day 2, we went olive oil tasting in the morning, which was very interesting, and we learnt that Jaén was nicknamed “the green sea” because of the vast amount of olivos (olive trees)! At lunch, a Masterchef competition was held for the students, where we bought ingredients (speaking in Spanish the whole time!) from the market.

We then visited a castle and had a lovely countryside walk back down the hill. We finished that day with paella, and we went bowling with our pen pals, which was super fun. We later discovered there was a giant bouncy castle in the back of the place and we all went on it at once, including the teachers!

On day 3 we visited Granada where we saw the Alhambra Citadel, Palacio de Carlos V and Carmen de los Mártires. Everywhere was extremely beautiful and so quiet! That afternoon, we went to La Alcaicería (a Moorish Market) and had a farewell party in the evening with our pen pals, which was super fun. Everyone got quite emotional afterwards and it was so hard to say goodbye!

On the final day, we travelled to Seville and had a guided tour of the centre, as well as visiting the stunning “Plaza de España”.  The penultimate activity we did was souvenir shopping and then we watched an authentic flamenco show in the evening, which was so awesome, as you never get anything like that in the UK! I give the trip a solid 10/10, it was an amazing experience I will never forget.” 

National Apprenticeship Week

This week is National Apprenticeship Week, a week-long celebration that shines a light on the positive impact that apprenticeships have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy – helping individuals develop rewarding careers, and employers to develop a workforce with future-ready skills.

At St Bart’s we believe that it is important for students to be aware of a range of opportunities available to them when they finish education. This starts in Year 7 when students can talk to apprenticeship providers at our KS3 Careers Fair. Whilst in Year 8 and 9, alongside the Careers Fair, students benefit from a summer term assembly from Further Education providers (such as Basingstoke College of Technology and Sparsholt College), who share information about the apprenticeship routes linked to their courses. In Year 11, alongside our career assemblies, we organise our Post-16 Destinations Fair, which we recently reported on in BartholoNews, and offer one-to-one careers appointments, where further information about apprenticeships can be provided.

Meanwhile, in Sixth Form we have our Apprenticeship Application Group which meets regularly to explore the types of apprenticeships available, to understand what employers are looking for from candidates and to support students with developing the skills required to make a successful application. As part of the programme, students also take part in an apprenticeship support masterclass in partnership with Vodafone held at the Vodafone Headquarters Conference Pavilion.

We are seeing the real impact of these experiences. In recent years, we have had a number of students successfully securing offers on apprenticeships with companies including Airbus, AWE, KPMG, Newbury Building Society and Vodafone. Currently in Year 13, and about to embark on a Level 7 degree apprenticeship program in September, Seb Chapman is one such student. We asked Seb for his thoughts and tips on applying for apprenticeships:

“I started my degree apprenticeship journey at the beginning of Year 13 and have been fortunate enough to receive two offers from the Big 4 accounting firms, Deloitte and KPMG. In Year 12 I was lucky enough to attend the Vodafone apprenticeship workshop which was incredibly valuable in enabling me to develop some key skills that are needed throughout the application process. The application process itself is probably the hardest part of it all! In the initial application to the program it’s important to understand why specifically you want to work for that company. My top tip for the application is to research the company’s values and what they offer and try to use that to convey your interest in the initial application, to try and stand out from the crowd.  

After this stage, I went through multiple rounds of online interview tasks and mathematical and verbal reasoning tests. Whilst this may be tricky for the first few times, practice does make perfect. The final stage of my application was the in-person interview and assessment centre, which I believed to be the most enjoyable element of the application process as I got to meet current employees within the business and gain an idea of the company that I would be working for. Overall, I would say to any students looking to follow in my footsteps in applying to degree apprenticeships, to complete lots of research into the company, qualification and role, as well as being yourself and answering questions honestly.

I can’t wait to start my Level 7-degree apprenticeship program in September and would encourage anyone who is thinking of applying to apprenticeships to make use of all the resources that Mr Wilder and other staff have managed to put in place; they provide a really good insight into the application process as well as qualities and characteristics that companies are looking for.” Seb Chapman (Year 13)

The events we will be running for students to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week include:

  • An apprenticeship quiz. The link to the quiz will be in the student briefing. There will be a prize!
  • A display of apprenticeship information posters and apprenticeship resources in the school library for students to explore.
  • An apprenticeship information drop-in on Thursday from 12.10 to 1.10pm in the library. This event is open to any year group. There will be a representative from PathwayCTM careers support service, who specialise in helping students into apprenticeships, available to talk to students.
  • PathwayCTM will also deliver an information session on apprenticeships and application tips to our Year 12 as part of their enrichment programme on Thursday.
  • “Did you know?” facts about apprenticeships across all our social media platforms this week:

 

Encourage your student(s) to get involved by completing the quiz and exploring apprenticeships in the library this week. You can learn more about apprenticeships here and here.

 

Completing Sixth Form Interviews

Portal now reopens for late applications.

The St Bart’s Sixth Form team and our senior staff have been really enjoying chatting to Year 11 students as part of the Sixth Form interview process, which has been taking place over the last couple of weeks. The team are also hugely looking forward to welcoming so many external applicants this afternoon, and in the coming days, and learning more about their hopes and ambitions for Sixth Form. We are proud of the fact that around a third of our incoming Year 12s are from other schools, which coupled with those students progressing from our own Year 11, creates a really exciting opportunity for students to make new friends and learn from a greater range of past experiences and ideas. Well done to all those students who have successfully completed their interview.

If you know of a student, or you are a student, who is still considering their choice of Sixth Form and has not yet made an application to St Bart’s then there is still time!

St Bart’s Sixth Form Application Portal is now open for our second round of late applications. If students are uncertain, we would really advise making an application and spending some time with us at our Taster Days in June. More information on these to follow. We are confident that our outstanding teaching and learning, alongside excellent pastoral and careers programmes and a focus on each individual’s personal journey, makes us hard to beat as a destination!

Those interested in learning more, or asking questions, can also join our Co-Heads of Sixth From for an online Q&A session on Wednesday 12 February between 5.30pm-6.30pm. Just click here.

 

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

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