Despite the drizzle last Friday, our Year 8 children returned to School full of fizzy fun, ready for their Formal. With a Peter Pan theme, the children enjoyed pirate-themed welcome mocktails, a formal sit down dinner with their teachers, followed by a disco and a sprinkling of special snacks and treats to end the evening.

It is always a highlight of the year, as our Year 8s pull out all the stops with their outfits. It is the perfect way to celebrate the end of their tenure.

Following their Formal, our Year 8s have spent an incredible week in Cornwall. Staying near Polzeath, the children have been surfing, coasteering, axe throwing and hiking in all weathers, enjoying a slightly sunnier week than us at Beaudesert. No matter the weather, they have been soaking up time with their friends and teachers, and making memories to last a lifetime.

Since Wednesday, our Year 6 children have been much further north, in Derbyshire. They have spent their three day trip visiting Warwick Castle, the Heights of Abraham, and today they have toured the Battle of Bosworth. They have had an excellent few days, we can't wait to hear more!

With our Year 8s away enjoying their residential adventures, we took the opportunity to welcome what we hope will be the next generation of Beaudesert boarders for a special evening in the Boarding House.

The evening began with a tour of the House and, judging by the number of questions, there was plenty they wanted to know! From where everyone sleeps and keeps their belongings to what happens at bedtime and which activities are the most popular, the children were wonderfully curious. It was lovely to see their excitement growing as they explored what will soon become a very familiar place to many of them.

Once the important investigations were complete, it was time to head outside and enjoy the woods. Before long, the children were fully immersed in den building and games of hide and seek. The woods were full of laughter, adventure and a few muddy pairs of shorts and trousers from creating their own technique of sliding down the wooded hills.

After all that excitement, everyone was ready for supper. The weather may have forced us indoors, but that did not stop us enjoying a lovely BBQ-style feast together, followed by the all-important ice lollies, which disappeared remarkably quickly.

The rest of the evening was packed with activities. Some children headed to the astro for football, whilst others tested their aim on the Nerf shooting range. Bracelet making proved particularly popular, with several children creating colourful designs to take home. The standout activity, however, was undoubtedly dodgeball. The hall was absolutely buzzing as the children showed off "the 5 Ds of Dodgeball: Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge". It was busy, noisy, sweaty and enormous fun. Exactly the sort of atmosphere that makes boarding evenings so memorable.

Most importantly, it was wonderful to see so many children already getting a taste of what makes boarding so special. Spending time with friends, trying new activities, building independence and having great fun together. By the end of the evening, there was a real sense of excitement about the months ahead, with many already looking forward to beginning their boarding journey properly in September. We cannot wait to welcome them back and see them become part of the boarding community.

Oli and Debbie Jones, Houseparents

We had a great start to the day on Wednesday morning, and it came in the form of 4JB's Prep School assembly. The children started by taking us back in history, to the ancient Maya, showing the historical value of cacao beans and their contribution to the civilizations' success as independent city-states. The children’s acting educated us about a function of cacao beans that many of us had never heard of, their use as a form of currency. As it turns out, cacao beans have done far more than just make delicious food! The children then turned their attention to superhero organisation Fairtrade, and they definitely gave it the superhero entrance it deserved. Talking about bananas, coffee, cotton and chocolate alike, the children reminded us about the importance of looking for the Fairtrade badge when we go shopping, and the impact our buying decisions make to farmers around the world. The assembly wrapped up with a whole school prayer, encouraging us to consider the impact we can have on the farmers who provide us with so many of the things we love the most.

Tuesday saw children from Widden Primary School come and spend the day with our Year 4 children. Our Beaudesert children and Widden were combined and split into six groups to embark upon a carousel of activities, ranging from estate-wide orienteering where the children worked together to navigate their way around our grounds, to learning about Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky through a game of Roll-A-Kandinsky. The children enjoyed a science exhibition, where they teamed up to create a ‘rainbow in a test tube’; a fascinating experiment where different coloured liquids are stacked by changing the water density of each layer.

A clear highlight of the day was undoubtedly the football on display during the extended play time, the inter-school collaboration was put aside and the children organised themselves into a pull pitch showdown, team Beaudesert vs team Widden! The children were also able to take full advantage of our brilliant DT department, building their own rockets and then firing them off the top terrace, a great way to spend their session, and something all the children from both Widden and Beaudesert alike seemed to thoroughly enjoy.

The Year 2 children delighted us this morning with their Learning Celebration Assembly, linked to their term’s inquiry-based topic all about animals, habitats and sustainability. The children shared their knowledge with us and made connections between human behaviours and the environment, sharing ideas for how we can work together to make a difference by respecting nature. The assemblies made links with our School Values as well and children presented with confidence and clarity, demonstrating what strong learning communities they have become over the year.

As part of this unit, the children used Exploratory Talk and debating skills to consider the impacts of deforestation, with teachers encouraging them to consider both sides of the argument and use language of ‘I agree because’ and ‘I disagree because’ to aid their communication. As debates moved around the class and children shared their ideas, one child put his hand back up and said ‘I disagree – with myself – because’ and shared his new thinking with the class. To have structures and spaces in which children can put forward ideas, challenge and question, change their minds and justify their thinking is at the heart of why inquiry-based and metacognitive approaches are so powerful.

Out in Forest School, the children have been focusing on bees, spotting the bees favourite flowers, making their own naturally crafted bees who buzzed around collecting nectar and making a Bee Bar for the bees to have a drink! Reception children also made homes for frogs and newts and pretended to be frogs as they learned about their life cycles. There has also been seed ball making, den building, mud pie making and the creation of an ‘epic river’, which was a happy accident that was enjoyed by all!

In Nursery, the children have been learning about arable farming and considering how wheat is grown and turned into flour. The children had a go at grinding some grains between stones to see the white flour that was produced. We have also been focusing on 2D shapes and using these to create tractor pictures and models, and playing shape bingo.

As part of our work on transitions and moving on as we approach the end of the year, Year 2 welcomed Reception children to share their learning journeys with them, reflecting back on the year that was. Year 1 have been thinking about how they have grown and changed over the year, creating self-portraits and having fun playing ‘Guess the name of the baby’ by looking at baby photos of each member of the class.

Anna Packman, Head of Pre-Prep

Members of the Beaudesert Equestrian team travelled to Rectory Farm this weekend for the Dean Close NSEA show jumping competition. Joey got us off to a flying start by winning the 70cm class, qualifying him for the Addington NSEA Championships in October. He continued this success in the 80cm class, placing sixth in a very competitive field. The 80cm team of Rose, Meredith, Melba and Joey finished on a zero score, with the second fastest time, placing 2nd, also qualifying for Addington. Marni produced two beautiful clears in the 80cm and 90cm. She was just outside the top six in both but, having only just come back from quite a serious arm injury, she performed incredibly well. The 90cm team finished in 6th place, a little four fault-itis hitting us in this round.

Over in Arena Two, Ben produced two lovely clears on Lulu in the 40cm and 50cm classes, and Nina came 4th on Zebedee in the 60cm. Well done to everyone who took part and don’t forget to get your entries in for the Beaudesert Horse Show on the 23rd June.

Jo Davies-Smith, Equestrian Coordinator