Beachborough Newsletter: Friday 23rd May 2025

A Trip of a Lifetime for FVII

Form VII recently had the unforgettable opportunity to visit Williams Racing, and what an amazing day it was!

Our day began in style as we were welcomed into the state-of-the-art esports lounge, where we took part in some hard-fought virtual battles on the track. The competitive spirit was high, and the simulations gave us a real taste of what it’s like to race at the top level, fast, intense, and thrilling!

Next, we explored the Williams Racing Museum, a true treasure trove of motorsport history. We were taken on a journey through time, learning about the legendary team’s rise, their many achievements, and how the engineering and car design have evolved over the decades. Seeing the iconic race cars up close was a real highlight, sparking awe and admiration in every corner of the room.

The afternoon brought out our inner engineers during an engaging nose cone design challenge. Working in teams and with a set budget, we had to build and test prototypes that could withstand crash testing. It was a brilliant combination of creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving, all under pressure, just like the real racing world! Congratulations to our winners Sam, Ollie, Theodora, Ben and Arlo.

The day concluded with a fascinating workshop where we learned about the wide range of careers in motorsport, from engineering and design to data analysis and media. The Williams team spoke passionately about the industry and the many exciting pathways into it, leaving us feeling inspired and motivated.

Overall, this trip was more than just fun, it was educational, eye-opening, and truly inspiring. A huge thank you to everyone at Williams Racing for hosting us and showing us the magic behind the scenes of one of Formula 1’s most historic teams!

Mrs Blithe

IAPS Triathlon National Finals

This Sunday saw the best triathletes from prep schools across the country convene at beautiful Monkton school on the edge of Bath to contest the IAPS Triathlon National Finals.

The school sent 12 athletes to compete amongst 300 racers across age categories ranging from U10s to U13s.

After completing a pool swim the athletes raced through transition and out onto the most technical cycle course we’ve encountered this season, requiring expert bike handling to navigate the twists and turns, uphills and downhills.

After completing this leg athletes had to run their bikes back to transition, take off their helmets and set out onto the run. There was no time for them to take in the beautiful views down the valley as they battled on a sloping surface baking in bright sunshine, each lap concluding with a savage incline requiring everyone to dig deep into their energy reserves at the end of a tough race.

We had some phenomenal performances across the board with many of the team finishing inside their respective Top 20s. The U12 girls were the stand out with 3 inside the top 10, including Jenna S finishing on the podium taking 3rd place ahead of Eliza B in 6th and Gracie R in 10th.

We are hugely proud of all the athletes who gave it everything on the day.

If you’d like to give triathlon a try, please come along for a free trial session at the Beachborough & Brackley tri club, no experience necessary. If you want to jump straight into a race then sign up for the event we’re hosting at Stowe school on June 15th, it will be lots of fun!

Coach Ben – Beachborough & Brackley Tri Club

Friday Night Boarding: Spy Games! 

On Friday night, our boarders were thrown into the world of espionage during an action-packed evening of Spy Games.

They enjoyed fun games like Minefield Breach, where teams had to guide their teammates through a ‘minefield’ using only verbal instructions, testing their trust, communication, and teamwork under pressure. The excitement continued with the Missile Launcher challenge, where pupils worked together to fill and launch their own missiles and even tried  to catch them! With plenty of laughs, clever tactics, and a few surprise double agents, it was a brilliant evening that showcased the best of boarding life.

Mrs Blithe

Abingdon Youth Tournament

Last weekend, Lily R, Georgie D-H, and Leila Y (FV) took part in the Abingdon Youth Football tournament for Launton U10s.

The girls went through the entire tournament without conceding a goal and won the final 1-0 with Lily scoring the decisive goal with an exquisite volley.

Georgie was voted by the parents as Player of the Tournament, being an absolute rock at the back!

Leila scored a great goal in the round robin stages too.

Well done, girls – we are very proud of your efforts!

🌼Eco-Committee News: No Mow May with Dr. Holder🌼

We are delighted to share the success of our latest Eco-Committee meeting, where we welcomed Dr. Holder for a very special session on the No Mow May campaign. Dr. Holder gave an inspiring and informative talk about the importance of letting our lawns grow wild during May to support pollinators and biodiversity. It was a brilliant opportunity for our pupils to understand how small actions can make a big difference in protecting the environment.

To celebrate and spread awareness of the campaign, our EcoSchools pupils are proudly wearing Power to the Flower badges. These bright, cheerful symbols serve as a reminder of the vital role wildflowers and pollinators play in our ecosystems.

We would like to extend a warm thank you to Dr. Holder for her time, energy, and expertise. Her passion for the natural world truly inspired our pupils and sparked some wonderful discussion.

If your family is taking part in No Mow May at home, we’d love to see it! Please send a photo of your unmown area to Mrs. Caddick, who would be thrilled to see your wild garden in action.

We also have a few spare Power to the Flower badges available – if your child is not a member of EcoSchools but is joining in the campaign, they are more than welcome to come and collect one as a token of appreciation.

To learn more about the campaign, please visit:
👉 https://www.plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/nomowmay/

Thank you for supporting our Eco efforts—together we can make a greener future bloom! 🌱🌸

The Results are in…

Beachborough vs Spratton Hall

Our Colts Cavaliers pictured after their win against Spratton Hall on Wednesday afternoon! Congratulations to Isla and Tilly for being awarded Players of the Match.

Club Credits!

Ultimate Activity Camp – Summer 2025!

We’re excited to announce that Ultimate Activity Camps are returning this summer. With over 40 exciting sports, games, and creative activities each week, children will have the opportunity to try new experiences, stay active, and make new friends. Plus, take advantage of their Early Booking Offer – book by 29th April to save! They’ll also be running their Ultimate Survival programme, offering adventure-filled days for children aged 7 to 14, immersing them in nature with fun survival skills, challenges, and games.

2025 Camp Dates:

Summer camp: Monday 21st July to Friday 22nd August 2025 | Survival Camp: 21st July – 22nd Aug 2025 | Tech Camp: 11th – 21st Aug 2025

Ages: 4 – 14 years

Book by the day or week/ Drop off 8:30 – 9:30 / Collect 16:30 – 17:15
Move dates for FREE up until 14 days before

Refer A Friend – Get a Free Camp Day!

Invite a friend to join your child at camp and earn a free day for every booking at Ultimate Activity Camps or Ultimate Survival. It is that easy! Learn more and claim your free day here.

Booking Information

Book your dates here for any duration, from a single day to a full week. You can change your dates without charge up to 14 days before the camp starts, depending on availability. They accept all childcare vouchers for added convenience.

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT OFFER ENDS ON TUESDAY 3RD JUNE!

Carder Lunchtime Concert

On Thursday afternoon, pupils from Carder took part in the Lunchtime Concert. Tami, Elizabeth, Arabella and Megan performed beautifully and were all awarded credits for their club.

We are looking forward to Chappell taking to the stage on Thursday 5th June!

U13 Bloxham Cricket Festival

Our U13As had a terrific day at Bloxham in the Bloxham Festival yesterday, and gave an extremely good account of themselves.

First up were Bloxham and we batted first.  Mary P and Bella G excelled, batting through the full 10 overs without being out and put on a very respectable 87.  If Bloxham had any hopes of matching that, they were blown out of the water by a remarkable hattrick (LBW, bowled, bowled) from Mary who was ably supported by Eva M, Kitty M  and Lily V who all got wickets and some superb fielding which included 2 run outs, as well as a catch by Bella. Bloxham limped to 54 for 8 in their 10 overs and we were off to a flier.

Having beaten Swanbourne already this season, we were confident of a win in the second match.  Mary won the toss and put Swanbourne in to bat, and some excellent bowling saw them restricted to 66 for 7, despite the team being reduced to 10 when Poppy R (who had fielded outstandingly thus far) was hurt in the field.  The fielding was again really good and Lily took a lovely catch off her own bowling.  Lunch was taken during the break between innings.  On our return, a couple of early wickets put us up against it, but the girls fought hard and were still in the match on the last ball, just losing out by only 4 runs.  A couple of run outs as we tried to push to reach the target ultimately proved decisive.

That meant a win was needed in the last match against the Dragon if we were to have any chance of winning the tournament.  Mary won the toss again and put them in to bat.  At the risk of repeating myself, the bowling and fielding was again excellent as they scored 58 off their 10 0vers.  Wickets were shared around the bowlers who all performed really well.  The target looked gettable and we started with 8 off the first over, but Dragon were themselves excellent in the field and gave very little away.  We were always there or thereabout in the run chase, and Mary shepherded the team well with the bat.  With three overs to go, we needed 21 but that reduced to 6 to win off the last over.  A wicket and some tight bowling meant that we needed 4 to tie on the last ball, which Mary promptly despatched to the boundary to secure the draw much to the delight of the team who ran on in celebration.

Overall, we finished third, as Swanbourne managed to beat Bloxham to finish above in second while Dragon with 2 wins and a tie won the cup.

Not everyone’s name appears above, but everybody contributed right across the board.  As well as those mentioned above, Kitty G-S and Evie W shared the wicketkeeping duties and did very well.  Grace T, Beth J  and Emily A all did their bit with a combination of bat and/or ball and/or some terrific fielding.  Well done girls, you should all be very proud of yourselves.  The watching parents were certainly very proud of you all.

Mr Ashmore

Music with FVII

This week, Jonah and Harvey (FVII) created an advert using mixed media.  FVII were asked to create a soundtrack for an advert using the music software Soundtrap, along with a graphic design platform, Canva.  They have worked incredibly hard and this is the end result: Jonah and Harvey’s Advert

Well done!

Winchester House School Athletics Invitational Meeting

The annual Winchester House Athletics Meeting took place on Monday, with 11 schools competing in a thrilling day of track and field events. The weather was kind, and our school athletes rose to the occasion with several standout performances and a display of determination and team spirit.

In the Boys’ U12 800m, William G ran a superb race, setting a strong pace early on and holding his position with determination throughout. He powered through the final stretch to take first place, finishing just a fraction of a second outside the event record—a remarkable achievement.

Shortly after, it was Josh S’s turn in the same event for U14 Boys. Taking a commanding lead from the gun, he maintained control throughout and finished strongly to not only win comfortably but also break the event record. It was an exceptional performance and a proud moment for Beachborough.

There were more victories to celebrate, with Ian D dominating the U13 Boys’ Javelin, and along with Raff P, Jonah T and Alex H,  Ian was also a valuable member of the talented U13 relay quartet which took gold.

A special mention must go to Sophie L in Year 5, who bravely stepped up to compete in the Girls’ U14 1500m. Against girls three years older, and with more experience, Sophie ran with confidence, finishing an incredible 2nd place. Sophie also leapt to victory in the U11 Girls’ Long Jump, showcasing her impressive ability across both track and field disciplines.

With lots of encouraging performances across the board and personal bests being set, we now look ahead to the IAPS Regional Meetings in June.

Well done to all involved for another memorable day of athletics.

Mrs Little

ABRSM Results

Congratulations must go to the following children, who have worked incredibly hard towards their exams and received some fabulous results!

FV Tech!

In Technology, FV have been busy making pennants, importing shapes using CAD and learning basic stitching. Each and every pennant was unique and wonderfully designed, showcasing their creativity and individuality. Here’s an example of Eddie’s fantastic work, and we are very proud of everybody’s efforts!

Maths with Pre-Prep 2…

PP2 have been applying their knowledge of fractions to food this week! They have been working on finding fractions of objects and quantities. Today, their job was to cut a pizza accurately into quarters so that everyone had an equal-sized piece. They then had to count their Smarties or Skittles and then calculate a half and quarter of the total amount. They noted that odd numbers had to be made even before they could make equal groups but nobody complained about having to eat the occasional Smartie to balance the amounts!

Bedford U11 Sixes

Our Colts A boys cricket team travelled over to the beautiful setting of Bedford School last Sunday 18^th May to try and defend the trophy, which last year’s side won, in their annual 6 a side competition. The format of 5 overs a side, with each player bowling one over (except the wicketkeeper) meant that the games were quick and would be decided by scoring quick runs and building pressure by not conceding many with the ball.

The team of William G, Max G, Jonah L, Henry L, Jamie S and Fergus T played magnificently through the day, defeating Heath Mount and Spratton Hall (but losing to a very strong Bedford side) in the group stages. This allowed us to finish Runners Up to Bedford in our pool and ultimately that was enough to see us through to the semi finals. We then arguably produced our best bowling and fielding display against Aldwickbury to limit them to a manageable score with Jamie and Henry expertly guiding us home with a few balls to spare. This put the boys into the final where we would face Bedford once again. This time, the match was a lot closer than in the group stages and went down to the final ball. Unfortunately, despite a valiant effort with the bat, particularly from Jamie and Henry once again, we fell 3 runs short of our target. Still, to finish Runners Up and to follow up from our win last year, was a tremendous effort once again! Well done boys!

Mr Usher

The Oundle Triathlon

There were 106 pupils from Beachborough who took part in the Restless Development Schools Triathlon at Oundle School on Sunday 18^th May. At present, we are unsure of the exact amount that our pupils have raised for charity, but a huge well done to all of those who took part and did the school proud!

A Thank You from B Yourself! 

I am writing to thank you and the community of Beachborough School for your generous support of B Charity during 2025.  Beachborough has raised an astonishing £979.15 for B Charity through your Mufti Day and Mental Health and Parenting Talk.  This money goes directly to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people at state-funded schools in Brackley.  We support and empower young people through group and 1:1 therapy, wellbeing sessions and seminars, including yoga, mindfulness and art therapy. We are also committed to empowering and training teachers and parents in managing mental health in young people and your generous donations have enabled us to plan a “Parenting for Mental Health” course in September 2025.

As part of our ongoing efforts to fundraise and raise awareness of our work with young people in Brackley, we are hosting a summer event with an auction of promises on Saturday 12^th July at Winchester House School.  We would be very grateful if the Beachborough community were willing to donate to our auction of promises.

I look forward to hearing from you and continuing our collaboration to support the mental health of children and young people in our local community.

Dr Victoria Morell – B Charity Trustee

The Goblin Team’s Red Bull Experience

The Goblin Team had the privilege to visit the Red Bull MK7 Experience center this morning in Milton Keynes!

We saw an impressive collection of Red Bull Formula One cars, their huge collection of trophies and we even get the chance to hold Max Verstappen’s race helmet!

Thank you very much to Martyn Gunson for organising the visit and to Mr Preece for accompanying us.

Mr Perronnet

Tennis Raffle

Last February, a number of our school tennis players had the opportunity to play at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, London in a 24 hour marathon, involving a number of current and ex British players. The players were tasked of raising money for the charity, Bright Ideas for Tennis, in order to take part in the marathon. As part of our fund raising efforts, we organised a raffle and the prizes for this were drawn from a hat today during our U13 squad session.

Mr Usher

LINK TO APPLICATION FORM – APPLY  HERE!

What’s on after half term?

Mon 2nd
VIII Final Exams in English, Maths, Chemistry, Physics and Biology 2nd – 6th June
Form IV Assessment Week
All day – Form III Trip to the Living Rainforest
6.00pm – Guitar Concert for pupils of Nick McNulty (The Whybrow Theatre)*

Tues 3rd
8.05am Form VII Tutor Team Meeting
9.00am – 4.00pm – LAMDA EXAMS (Examiner booked cannot be changed)
2.30pm – Mixed Boys’ and Girls’ Cricket: U9 Jets, Spitfires, Concordes and Cessnas v Winchester House (A)*
2.30pm – Mixed Boys’ and Girls’ Cricket: U8 Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Cyclones and Lightening v Winchester House (H)*
6.00pm – Piano Concert for pupils of Mr Wilson, Mrs Purefoy & Miss Griffiths (The Whybrow Theatre)*

Weds 4th
8.05am – Whole School Pastoral Meeting
8.30am – Form III-VIII Club Assembly
9.00am – 11.00am – Kites Form IV and V Regular Boarders Girls workshop (Old Library)
2.30pm – Boys’ Cricket: Colts A, B and C v Winchester House (H)*
2.30pm – Boys’ Cricket: 1st XI, 2nd XI, 3rd XI and 4th XI v Winchester House (A)*
2.00pm – Middle Girls’ Club Cricket
2.00pm – Senior Girls’ Club Cricket

Thurs 5th
10.00am – 12.30pm – Bloxham Art Workshop (select pupils from IV & V)
1.30pm – Chappell (Forms V-VIII) Lunchtime Music Concert (The Music Room)

Fri 6th
8.30am – 1.30pm – Bentley photographic Whole School/Leavers/Boarders/Classes
11.00am – IAPS East Area Regional Athletics Championships (select Forms VI, VII and VIII pupils) (Away at Bedford International Stadium)
12.00pm – Club Assembly (later in day due to the early start of photographs)
2.00pm – Form VIII Post Exam Party (off site)

Sat 7th IAPS National Swimming Finals (for those who have qualified)