Thank you to all who contributed to our Plant Pop Up Sale today, either with generous plant donations, or by buying a few herbs for your garden. We had a team of very keen Year 6 children who manned the stall throughout the day, raising money for our two school charities, Home-Start and Cotswold RDA.

With thanks to the following organisations who donated plants to our sale:

• Malmesbury Garden Centre
• B&Q
• Homebase
• Blue Diamond
• Highfield Garden World

We are totting up the coins and we will let you know how much we have made next week.

The Year 4 children had a choc-tastic day out at Cadbury World this week. From discovering how chocolate is made to exploring the interactive zones and meeting famous Cadbury characters, there was excitement around every corner. The highlight of the trip was the 4D Chocolate Adventure cinema experience, which had the children jumping out of their seats to dodge flying sweets!

The children also enjoyed a fascinating Maya talk, extending their learning on the ancient civilisation and the history of cocoa. The Maya had some unusual punishments for children, including being poked behind the ears with a cactus spike, or being held over smoke from burning chillies! Thankfully, Year 4 agreed that missing a little bit of playtime sounded preferable.

It was a fantastic day full of laughter, learning and, of course, plenty of chocolate.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunchtime concert yesterday with Mr Jones' pupils. Right from the youngest musicians to our most seasoned performers, the children did a sterling job. We are looking forward to our last few lunchtime concerts in the coming weeks, which have been a treat throughout the year.

We have enjoyed another lovely week in boarding, with the children dodging the rain showers and making the most of being outside. Despite the unpredictable weather, there was a brilliant atmosphere around the Boarding House all week, with plenty of laughter, fresh air and children simply enjoying spending time together.

Monday began with tennis, before many of the children headed onto the Banks to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. There was plenty of climbing, swinging in the trees, playing on the equipment and general running around. Mr Searson then appeared in the Boarding House to take on the challenges of Table Football. He claims to have never been beaten. Rose, in Year 4, thinks otherwise...

Tuesday was a real highlight, with the outdoor pool making its first boarding appearance of the year. Unsurprisingly, the children needed very little encouragement and there was huge excitement heading down to the pool. The water temperature was met with mixed reactions, although this did not stop anybody jumping straight back in moments later. Mr McWilliam particularly enjoyed his role as MiC of the water pistols.

Wednesday saw us move indoors with Sports Hall games taking centre stage. Every time it looked like the rain had cleared, another shower seemed to arrive moments later, leading to plenty of dashing between buildings trying not to get soaked. Even so, spirits stayed incredibly high and the children had a lovely evening.

Thursday followed a similar theme, with the children once again expertly timing activities around the showers. Some of our Year 8 golfers have started extending their golf activity on the Common until supper, which has been a lovely way of giving them more independence and responsibility, whilst still enjoying time together outdoors. Back at School, the Banks became an improvised golf area for the evening, with children practising chip and wedge shots only. A few were trying to turn it into a full driving range, but we made sure that the drivers stayed firmly in the bag. “Facemask and fancy-dress Thursday” may also be becoming an (un)official boarding tradition, with several children embracing the opportunity with great enthusiasm and some very questionable outfit choices...

It has been another really positive week in boarding, and a lovely atmosphere throughout the House all week. Have a wonderful weekend.

Oli and Debbie Jones, Houseparents

Our boys' 1st XI cricket team had a successful week with two excellent victories over Westonbirt and St Hugh's. The boys are finding their stride this season with Captain Sam G backing up his 95 from last week with an unbeaten 50 this week. Meanwhile, Albie F has been a leader with the ball, supporting Sam excellently in an unbeaten 80 run partnership on Wednesday. What great teamwork!

4H hosted a fantastic assembly for our Prep School this week, all about the History of Chocolate. As their history topic this term, the children were able to tell us lots of wonderful facts about the importance of chocolate in Mesopotamia. We all went away thinking far too much about chocolate! Mmmm...

On Monday this week, our Nursery children visited St Augustine's farm, where they fed and learnt about the animals; where they live, what they eat and what they feel like when you stroke them. The children listened so well to all the teachers, were very polite to the farmers, Dan and Fliss, and extremely gentle and caring to all the animals. We were very proud of them!

In inquiry-based topic work, Year 2 children have been engaging in collaborative research, using information sources on and offline, to help them create fact sheets and learning about food chains, asking the question ‘who eats who?’ The longest one had six links in the chain!

There has been more research and investigation going on outside at Forest School, with Nursery children using information books, checklists and observation skills to help them find out more about the wonderful world of minibeasts.

Year 1's learning about Japanese culture continued to grow, with children creating their own Pokemon characters to feature in a cartoon storybook.

In Maths, children have been learning about fractions in Year 1 and exploring shapes in Reception, using a variety of materials and approaches to build their understanding.

We have been leaning into quiet and restful moments as well, with children in Storytelling Club enjoying telling bedtime stories to aid relaxation, and those in Zen Zone finding their inner calm.

Anna Packman, Head of Pre-Prep

Our children in Nature Club have been creating some wonderful wild flower art this week, using the natural wonders around them. Mrs Blackmun was very impressed.

We were delighted to welcome the Headmaster of St Edward's, Oxford to Beaudesert on Monday, to speak with some of our parents who are considering St Edward's as their next school. This follows a visit from Radley last week, who spent some time with our senior boys hoping to attend Radley in future years. We look forward to welcoming more senior schools next year to speak with our parents, as well as at our senior schools fair in the Autumn Term.

Please find a copy of Accent Catering's monthly newsletter below, which includes seasonal recipes, facts and children's puzzles.

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