U14 Girls’ Hockey in the Hampshire Trophy Tournament, 8.11.2019

By Kevin Boniface, Head of Hockey

On 8 November, the girls’ U14 hockey side took part in the Hampshire Trophy Tournament. A bumper crop of schools entering this year meant that the level of competition had increased and the Bedales girls responded well, winning five games and drawing two, only conceding four goals. Unfortunately, this performance wasn’t quite enough to progress to the semi-finals, missing out by a goal difference of two.

The Bedales side performed exceptionally well across the afternoon. It was so pleasing to see the side perform using equal pitch time and steeping up to the challenge of playing in different positions. It would be unfair to highlight any ‘players of the tournament’, as every single player contributed and was incredibly valuable. However, it is worth mentioning Phoebe Kane-Moss, who has only been playing hockey since joining Bedales in September, and has now experienced her first county tournament and coped with it admirably.

Block 5 students bring creativity to philosophical deliberation

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By Clare Jarmy, Head of Head of Able, Gifted & Talented, Oxbridge, Academic Scholars & PRE

Project-based learning is getting lots of attention at the moment, with films such as Most Likely to Succeed proving highly influential.

Such interdisciplinary, creative approaches are not new at Bedales, though. For nine years, Block 5 Philosophy, Religious Studies & Ethics (PRE) students have studied core topics in the philosophy of metaphysics and mind, and from that, have had to pick one area on which to build a creative response.

We do not stipulate what medium it must be, so students can play to their strengths. We have had many wonderful projects in the past, but for the first time this year, we made the exhibition open to parents and other students as well.

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Bedales and Bohunt work together on Oxbridge preparation day

By Clare Jarmy, Head of Head of Able, Gifted & Talented, Oxbridge, Academic Scholars & PRE

Getting into Oxford and Cambridge involves lots of work. Students have to get their applications in early. They also usually have to send samples of work, and often have to take challenging admissions tests. In the next month, candidates from Bedales and Bohunt will be off to interviews, and last Wednesday, the two schools organised an interview preparation day together.

In the morning, the sessions were run in collaboration between Rowena Hammal, Assistant Head of Sixth Form (Progress and Guidance) at Bohunt, Clare Jarmy from Bedales and Ioanna Tsakiropoulou (Old Bedalian), who completed both her undergraduate and postgraduate work in History at Oxford, and now works at DEFRA.

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New Sport BTEC Level 3 Diploma launching September 2020

First-XI-Hockey

By Spencer Leach, Director of Sport

Sport BTEC Level 3 Diploma is set to be introduced in September 2020, extending the Sport department’s offer to Bedales’ Sixth Form students.

The course will provide an introduction to the sport and active leisure sector by developing a broad range of knowledge and skills in a variety of sport related areas. BTECs are made up of a number of units that have a practical focus with supporting knowledge and understanding that is assessed through ongoing coursework. This allows students to build their qualification in stages and take responsibility for their own learning by planning their work, completing research and reviewing their progress under the supervision of departmental staff.

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‘Uplifting’ annual Cecilia Concert

By Annia Grey and Jonny Greenfield, 6.2

On Wednesday night, Bedales musicians embarked on their annual Cecilia Concert, which this year took place in the Lupton Hall. It was a night of uplifting and challenging choral and instrumental music, covering a multitude of musical styles ranging from Renaissance to modern jazz, showcasing the sheer volume of talent at Bedales.

The concert commenced with the Orchestra boldly and sensitively performing the first movement of Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony (pictured above during rehearsals), which was conducted brilliantly by the Director of Music, Doug McIlwraith.

This was followed by the Student Orchestra, directed by Sampson Keung and Mary Wang, who demonstrated impressive leadership and conducting skills. Weeks of rehearsals and hard work paid off when they performed Elgar’s famous Chanson de Matin and Chanson de Nuit with much conviction and energy.

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Second phase of new student studies underway

New-studies

By Richard Lushington, Bursar

The first phase of the refurbishment of the old Art and Design buildings to create new student studies is complete, and 80 study spaces (pictured above) were opened just after the start of this term.

Designed by Richard Griffiths Architects, with the interior completed in consultation with Old Bedalian and current Governor Anna Keay, the second phase started immediately after the first. The old Art buildings were stripped of anything that could be recycled ahead of their demolition at half term, when we also took the opportunity to remove the first two of the Academic Village buildings. A new building – a timber-framed structure clad in oak – will be built on the footprint of the old Art building; once complete it will offer our students excellent facilities in which to learn and spend time.

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Bedales marks Remembrance Day

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By Clare Jarmy, Head of Able, Gifted & Talented, Oxbridge and Academic Scholars & Philosophy, Religious Studies & Ethics

On Remembrance Day, students and staff gathered outside the Memorial Library – which was built in 1921 in tribute to the students who were killed in World War I – to reflect. In Remembrance Jaw, a few  days before, we heard about three Old Bedalians – Lance Newman, Ferenc Bekassy and Sadie Bonnell – who had in one way or another been overlooked. I am immensely grateful to the Librarians Ian Douglas and Matilda McMorrow, who undertook hours of research, both within our own Archive and in national archives.

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Match report: Girls’ First XI Hockey in the U18 Hampshire Trophy Tournament, 13.11.2019

By Kevin Boniface, Head of Hockey

Having won the U18 Hampshire Trophy Tournament a couple of weeks ago, the girls’ first XI travelled to Woking Hockey Club on Wednesday to play in the regional rounds.

Bedales were placed in a group with Stowe, Alleyns and Reading Blue Coat. All games were incredibly tight, with three 1-0 scorelines. Two results went against Bedales and they had one win, which included a well-worked short corner routine, finished off calmly by Amber Pearson. This result ensured that Bedales squeezed into the play-off rounds, but a combination of three very tough games and the cold weather proved too much for Bedales, as they lost 4-0 to St Mary’s, Ascot.

The team are the first to represent Bedales at this regional level, so they should be incredibly proud of their achievement, and the manner in which they represented Bedales Hockey was exemplary.

Students visit the National Portrait Gallery

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By Eloise Cooper, 6.1

Last Saturday, a group of students – accompanied by Mary-Liz Houghton and Jo Mayhook-Walker – to see the Pre-Raphaelite Sisters exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

There, we were blown away by the richness of the art and the stories behind the famous paintings that defined the Pre-Raphaelite era of 1850-1900. Seeing the women of the Pre-Raphaelite movement’s stories being focused on was both a moving and fascinating experience. The realisation of how much poetry, art and inspiration these women contributed to the movement was incredible.

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Christmas gifts and produce now available from Outdoor Work

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By Andrew Martin, Head of Outdoor Work

Now the end of term is only four weeks away, Christmas is very nearly upon us. As ever, we have been busy creating a whole range of homemade products to help your celebrations go with a bang.

Last Friday, 6.2 students made 97 Christmas puddings in the Bakehouse, plus a hundred or so mince pies to keep us going on the night. Our traditional fire-pit and singalong enhance the festive mood, in fact we’re sure you’ll be able to taste all the extra goodwill in these very special puddings! They are available now in the shop, so please do call in as soon as you can, as they fly off the shelves.

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