For the first time since the pandemic, we are delighted to say that the MFL department had a very successful trip to France with 33 students at the end of last week. The trip was jammed packed with activities for four full days starting at 5am on Friday 29 November.

The group stayed in Boulogne-Sur-Mer and did cultural trips to Calais, Le Touquet and Lille; visiting a boulangerie, a chocolaterie, Le Musée des Beaux-Arts and they saw the Christmas markets in Lille. The highlight for the staff was to see our students conversing in French with their French pen pals at different events throughout the four-day trip.

The French students come from the Jean Jaurés school in Étaples, Le Touquet, and it was great to start to build links again with a partner school. Our students took part in speed-dating, a scavenger hunt and a disco at the weekend and then had a full day in school with their French pen pals on the Monday before returning to St Bart’s late on Monday night.

Our students were an absolute credit to us and were complimented wherever we went for their ability to understand and converse in French and for their excellent standards in behaviour. Despite the extremely early start (!), all in all, it was a total pleasure to take our students away. A huge thank you to Miss Wright (and Mrs Sheikh) for organising the trip and to Mr Force-Jones who also accompanied the students.

Here is what one of our Year 11 students, Josephine Wheeler, had to say about the trip:

“All together I found the trip to France highly enjoyable. Being able to be immersed in the French culture, interact with people I would not have otherwise met and test out my language skills in a unique and refreshing way, was really special. The days were jam packed with fun and new activities, and I was never bored! My personal favourite was going to the French market and then using the things we bought to make our Saturday lunch and also going to the Christmas market in Lille. Meeting our pen pals was another great experience; I found everything we did not only a wonderful way to incorporate my French speaking skills, but also enjoyable just to be there. This experience will stay with me as an unforgettable memory.”

Adventurous Training Weekends Autumn 2024

Year 10–13 CCF Cadets have had the opportunity to take part in one of two weekends hiking/camping this term.

In September, 11 cadets completed two days on Dartmoor. Leaving Friday lunchtime, we travelled to the campsite and then enjoyed a fish and chip dinner after setting up the tents.

On Saturday, we had a 18km hike across the challenging South Moor, with great opportunities to learn how to navigate and choose better routes through tricky terrain. Both groups used these skills to successfully locate the well-hidden (in the middle of nowhere!) Ducks Pool letterbox (Dartmoor’s version of a geocache) and returned to camp in good time. There were also encounters with the Dartmoor wildlife, including the rare siting of an adder and many wild fungi. Mr Talbot was the expert in spotting these! The Year 10 cadets then had their first experience of army ration pack meals.

Sunday’s activities included a shorter walk, with more bog and some woods. The weather was kind, and the rain didn’t set in until the last half an hour of our walking.

In November, 25 cadets travelled to the Isle of Wight for a different walking experience and army beds instead of tents. The weather was ideal for walking with no wind or rain (the weekend before Storm Bert!) and we were able to enjoy the views across the channel and back to the mainland as we walked along the cliff tops. One group also managed to find “bramble alley”, to add some discomfort and extra challenge to their walk on Sunday. There were also several encounters with the local farm animals – pigs, cows, sheep, horses, and also the odd (model) dinosaur.

Both trips were a great success and we look forward now to the upcoming Ten Tors training (see Mrs Scourfield ASAP if you are in Year 10 or 12 and interested in getting involved with this) and to a full week trip at the start of the Easter holidays – if you are in CCF, keep an eye on the notices for more information about this soon.

Eight CCF RAF Cadets recently attended a flight experience day at RAF Benson. Competition for flying slots is extremely tough with 1,745 cadets bidding for just 320 slots this term, so we were very fortunate to be allocated some slots.

After arrival and passing through RAF security, the cadets were shown a safety video and were taken through the emergency evacuation procedures, including how to wear and deploy a parachute in the very unlikely event of needing to abandon their aircraft. A few of them were feeling a bit anxious at this point!

The pilots introduced themselves and the cadets were kitted out in flight suits, gloves, helmets and some rather funky airman sunglasses and then awaited their turn to be taken up into the air in a Grob G115E trainer aircraft.

All the cadets had the opportunity to take the controls during their 20-minute flight whilst the ones awaiting their turn could follow their comrade’s progress on FlightRadar. Most asked their pilots to perform some aerobatics, including barrel rolls and loop the loops. The sick bags weren’t needed too often, thankfully!!

The cadets all returned safely to earth with huge grins on their faces in what could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to fly a light aircraft.

William (11P3) said, “Thank you for the amazing RAF trip on Friday. I really enjoyed it, it was a really great experience. “

We have put in a bid for more slots for next term, so fingers crossed we can take some more cadets flying very soon!!

APO J C Talbot,

CCF RAF Section Commander

On Wednesday 23 October, Year 10 Textiles students spent the day visiting the Oceanarium and the coastline of Bournemouth. Students observed and took photographs of marine animals and plants to use as inspiration for pattern, colour, shape and texture within their GCSE coursework. Here is what students had to say about the trip:

“My favourite part of the trip was seeing the turtle and the pufferfish. This will inspire my project, as I will use different textures and colours seen at the aquarium to imitate the patterns of the sea life”

Phoebe (10D2)

 “This is my favourite picture that I took from the textiles aquarium trip because I like the pattern on the fish. It’s clear and not too busy. I also like how you can tell what the textures would feel like on the fins, and this can be inspiration for shape and structure later on in the project. Finally, I like how the background is slightly blurred because it brings focus onto the fish”

Amelie (10D1)

“My favourite part of the trip was definitely walking on the beach and observing all of the beautiful different types of shells”

Chloe (10E2)

Thank you so much to all those who sent/brought in donations as part of our annual Harvest Appeal 2024. The appeal was in support of two fantastic local charities, Loose Ends and Fair Close Centre, and the students from the House that collected the most donations were promised a Non-school Uniform Day. All the Houses collected a really generous selection of canned food, biscuits, chocolate, teabags, jam and cereals, but there could only be one winner and this year it is Evers. Well done Evers and we are pleased to say that your Non-school Uniform Day will be on Friday 8 November – more reminders to follow!

On Wednesday 16 October, Co-Head of Sixth Form, Mr James Wilder, and St Bart’s School Officers, Eve, Will and Milo accompanied by Year 8 students, Joseph, Mille and Jude, visited both charities to deliver the boxes of food and learn more about the important work they do. So much had been collected that it was necessary to make two trips in the van! The students had a wonderful time making deliveries, meeting the volunteers at both charities and chatting to those local residents enjoying the facilities and company at Fair Close Centre.

Millie, Year 8, said: “We learned all about the services the charities provide and helped hand out some of the food. It was really nice to meet everyone at the Fair Close Centre. I was asked lots of questions about what it was like to study at St Bart’s and what I wanted to do with my studies. Some of those I spoke to had also been to St Bart’s and so it was fun to compare school experiences – I think a lot has changed!”