On Wednesday morning, a squad of first-team footballers made their way north to Kidderminster to take part in the Winterfold 6-a-side football tournament. Not since 2020, had Beaudesert managed to claim the title but, with a strong group assembled, there was a cautious confidence that we might be able to put that right.

The competition was structured as a ‘Round Robin’, with six teams all playing each other and with 3 points awarded for a win, 1 point for a draw and nothing for a loss. Each match comprised of two six-minute halves.

Beaudesert opened their campaign against Lucton. The boys eased themselves into the game but soon started to dominate possession and were probing for an opening. An impressive performance from the Luctan goalie kept things level until Fred’s fantastic harrying and pressing, followed by an excellent cross-shot, forced an own goal and Beaudesert were able to claim a narrow 1-0 victory.

The second match saw Beaudesert take on the more familiar Malvern Downs outfit. Again, the boys soon settled into a dominant display but found themselves pegged back by a clinical finish from the Malvern forward to leave the scores tied at 1-1 with a few minutes left. With Reuben barking orders and organising the team from in goal; Sam calm on the ball and helping to build attacks; Albie and Titus resolute in defence; Archie and Algy battling in the midfield and showing great finesse on the ball; and with Xander and Fred leading the line brilliantly, the pressure was mounting on the Malvern goal. Eventually that pressure told and Xander was able to force home a winner, leaving Beaudesert in a great position with two matches played.

The next games were to prove decisive. For those in the know, the fixture between the hosts, Winterfold, and Beaudesert was likely to go a long way towards deciding the overall winner. Winterfold had scored 7 goals across their first two games and our boys knew this would be a real challenge. Their nerves were evident and Winterfold dominated the opening minutes. A soft penalty saw the hosts take a 1-0 lead. This seemed to stir Beaudesert into action however and, from there on, the momentum was all one way. With the final seconds ticking away, Archie tried his luck from range and an unfortunate handling error from the Winterfold keeper saw the ball creep over the line – this was the final act of the match. This show of perseverance and determination exemplified everything good about the team and meant that with three games played, there was still a chance of victory.

The next match saw Beaudesert take on The Elms who had drawn their first game against Winterfold. It promised to be another tough match. What followed was a controlled and impressive performance and Beaudesert ran out comfortable 2-0 winners, meaning that heading into the final match they were now top of the table and knew that one more win would bring the trophy home.

The final match was against Moor Park. 1-0 up at half time, the boys were ruthless in their pursuit of victory and, helped by a second half hat-trick from Xander, they rounded out the tournament with a 6-0 victory and, for the first time in six years, brought the shield back to Minchinhampton. Well done, boys!

Tom Curr, Team Coach

Today our Year 4s time travelled to Ancient Greece, enjoying a brilliant day-long workshop centred around their new History topic. The children spent time in the morning identifying different items used in Ancient Greece, testing their strength rowing a Grecian warship, trying on a solider's uniform, and identifying different Greek Gods from their clothes.

In the afternoon, the children hosted a 'mini Olympics', participating in traditional Greek pursuits including chariot racing and running races. Luckily, the children did not need to compete in the nude, as the Greeks did!

Our Eco Committee has launched an exciting new adventure: the ‘Acorn to Oak Project’. During autumn Forest School sessions, our youngest children discovered masses of acorns, collecting only the healthiest 'sinkers' ready for planting (using the scientific sink or float test). Children then experimented with different soils, spots and pots to track which saplings performed the best.

Since returning after the Christmas holidays, it seems our outdoor pots became an irresistible buffet for the local squirrels, who helped themselves to many of the acorns we planted. Fortunately, nature has a way of balancing things out. Several acorns have rooted naturally down in Forest School, safe beneath the leaf litter.

Of the acorns the Eco Committee planted in their beautifully decorated pots and kept indoors on a sunny windowsill, results have been wonderfully varied. A few dried out after not getting quite enough water, but some have rooted nicely. One enthusiastic seedling has shot upwards with real determination! Meanwhile, a second batch of acorns are thriving at Mr Hale’s home.

The team are excited to watch our young oaks grow further.

Do you know how much learning and fun you can cram into the first three days of term? We do!

In Year 1, the children are learning about transport and how this helps us to travel and explore the Earth and places beyond. To tune the children into this new unit, the Year 1 teachers had a race outside using different forms of transport, with the children gleefully cheering them on and making predictions about which form of transport might be fastest, after which they shared their reflections with each other using Exploratory Talk with partners.

2N embraced their first Forest School session of 2026, practising fire lighting, collaborating on teamwork challenges and enjoying the rope and tyre swings. They also helped with some winter jobs, creating habitats for our wildlife by digging, and raking leaves to help birds access insects while the ground is hard and icy.

In Reception, children have also been reflecting on our cold and icy weather, playing with ice and making predictions about how it will melt. They used this as inspiration for their writing and construction work.

In Nursery, children have been having a wonderful time tuning in to their new inquiry unit about traditional tales, with their central question about what these stories teach us. Upon their return to Nursery, their environment was filled with an exciting new role-play area alongside lots of new resources and activities, such as making bridges for trolls, building beanstalks for Jack, and making porridge for the three bears, piquing their interest and starting to capture their ideas and wonderings.

Year 2 are going to be learning about the Victorians this term and have been using their research and oracy skills to share what they already know and what they would like to learn more about, filling their Wonder Walls with questions to answer over the term.

Children have also loved spending time with their friends, reading to each other in Late Stay and enjoying getting back into the swing of their ICT lessons, in which we are using programmable toys, and Music lessons with Mrs Loveridge and her friend, Monty Mouse.

Anna Packman, Head of Pre-Prep