The Whinchat 2021-2022

BEDFORD PREPARATORY

Photo: Preparations underway for Come Dine With Me

Headmaster’s introduction

Iwould like to start this year’s editorial, with a heartfelt thank you to all in our community, who work so well together to enable our boys to have such an outstanding education. This feels especially significant this year, as we continue to move away from the frustrations of the pandemic.  So thank you to our parents, who entrust their sons to our school for their education; our Governors, a very talented group of people who give their time freely to steer the school’s long-term course, and in the recent past have so skilfully helped to steer us out of the pandemic; our teachers and support staff who work tirelessly to give the boys such an amazing experience; and, of course, our boys who are such fun to work with, and constantly impress and amaze with all the things they achieve in so many areas.

Thank you, too, to our Whinchat editorial team who have gone above and beyond to produce this year’s edition. As ever, the magazine is a highlights reel, which captures the essentials, and inevitably misses out much which is nonetheless important in shaping our boys’ young lives.

As I said in my speech at Speech Day, it’s been a brilliant year, when viewed on its own terms, but even more so when weighed against the frustrations of last year, and even earlier this academic year. It is extraordinary to think that even as recently as the Autumn term we were still operating in bubbles (and one day I hope that the word bubbles will once again mean effervescence, soap and champagne as opposed to isolated groups of children). Last term we still had all assemblies and staff-meetings online.

The pandemic was tough, and in society at large we have seen perhaps inevitable gaps emerging in our children’s learning, in their independence and their socialisation. However, our teachers have quite dazzlingly gone above and beyond: during the pandemic to limit those gaps; and post-pandemic to strengthen these areas.  And, positives have emerged, encouraging us to look at the world in a new light. How we treat each other is in the spotlight, with a greater focus on diversity and inclusion, and our own well-being and kindness, the last a value we always hold closest to our hearts and one we will continue to

Welcome to the Whinchat 2021-22. It’s been a terrific year in many ways, and it has been particularly enjoyable to get back to doing many of the things we love and enjoy, and that we know are so good for the education of children.

WELCOME TO WHINCHAT MAGAZINE 2021-2022

One day I hope that the word bubbles will once again mean effervescence, soap and champagne as opposed to isolated groups of children

Headmaster’s introduction

promote with our boys. There has been a greater and often more positive use of technology. And our boys have been remarkable, and learned how to be resilient, adaptable and flexible. And I hope that boys appreciate the benefi ts of going through and learning from tough times. The pandemic also glaringly highlighted the importance of being present and together as we are today. Boys, staff and parents worked brilliantly together at remote and blended learning, but undoubtedly learning

together, face-to-face and in person, is significantly better, and we are enjoying it more than ever, and you can see it, hear it and feel it in the sheer energy, the will to live life to the full, and the laughter in every corridor and corner of the playground.

I hope you enjoy reading our review of the year.

WORDS BY Mr Ian Silk, Headmaster

Headmasters, Governors, Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls welcome to Bedford Prep School today for our Speech Day. It’s an honour to be speaking to you today as Head Boy and also, as Mr Silk says, it’s such a pleasure for us all to be together again, in the Great Hall, to celebrate boys’ achievements.

I have really enjoyed the challenge of being Head Boy over the course of this year. One of my responsibilities is to set an example for the younger boys here at Bedford Prep School, which is why today I will be ensuring that I do not look at any of my friends, as I can guarantee that they will be trying to make me laugh!

This year has been packed with accomplishments, but I think it’s worth noting that this year has been so fulfilling because we’ve had an uninterrupted year of schooling. We’ve

HEAD BOY’S SPEECH 2021

season, an incredible feat, which assures us that the future of Prep School rugby is really looking bright.

clinched the Bronze Medals and a podium finish!

once again been able to enjoy being together in the classroom and on the sports field. It’s been wonderful to feel the sense of community and camaraderie that can only really be achieved face to face.  Who would have thought that young boys, when given a choice, would actually choose to get up at the crack of dawn and come into school!!

But come into school we did, with 100 new pupils, all ready to get stuck in, not just to academic learning, but to the enormous range of activities that our School offers.  The sheer breadth of opportunities is astounding. There are almost 100 clubs, societies and ensembles and all boys are encouraged to try new things and find new passions. During my time in the Prep School, I have taken part in everything from Steel Pans to Fives, from Board Games Club to playing “a tree” in the

musical Baba Yaga!

The Bedford School ethos is to get involved and to challenge yourself to grow by trying new things, and Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work”. We’re certainly not afraid of hard work here and that leads to the successes we’re celebrating today.

Sport Sport has always been a huge part of life in the Prep School and this year, with a full calendar of competitive fixtures returning, we savoured it all the more.  Starting with rugby, and the return of contact, the U13s in particular having grown noticeably were eager to test out our new strength with some quality tackling.  It was a great season for the U13As, only being bested by Caldicott School. The U12As and the U11As were both unbeaten all

In the Spring Term we moved to 7s, played by Years 7 and 8. The U12s and U13s took part in many tournaments including the major events at Warwick and Rosslyn Park, providing a great learning experience for this much faster paced game.

Our major sport in the Spring Term is of course hockey and all years were busy on the Astro, honing their skills. Bedford was lucky enough to be the host for IAPS hockey regionals in both the U11 and U13 competitions. Perhaps the home advantage helped, as both teams did very well and progressed to the National tournaments.  The U11s had a tough draw on the Finals Day and despite playing with heart, they had to be content with the group stages.

The U13s travelled to Haileybury and after some exciting matches finished the day in the play off for third / fourth position. We were determined to come home with some silverware and had to win this match. It went to extra time, and a superb golden goal from Rory Stewart Jones

In the summer term our efforts turned towards Cricket. All years were in action and raring to go, providing another successful season. The 1st XI had a good run in the IAPS tournament, progressing to the semi-final stages up in York. Sadly we had to be content with 4th place, but a fun night away in the Premier Inn was had by all!

Other standout performances this year include:

The U13 table tennis team, who are county champions.

The U13 CrossCountry team, who put in some superb runs to come 2nd overall in IAPS national competition. Well done to Charlie Gandesha, Isaac Raddan, Berkeley Barnicoat and Henry Pask on those silver medals.

Year 8 enjoyed taking part in the Athletics League alongside Bedford Girls’ School this summer, and in the recent district finals, the boys were victorious in a nail-biting finish which came down the relay races. The first time in the event’s history that Bedford Prep School has won!

Badminton continues to be a real strength

Deputy Head Boy

Deputy Head Boy

Advik Mishra

Josh Lincoln

Head Boy

George Knight

Head Boy’s Speech 2021

here at the Prep School. Continuing a long history of national success, the U13s had not one, but two, successful teams represented at IAPS nationals. Many congratulations to Josh George and Ben Maddaford on their Bronze Medals and to Leo Mathew and Jack Down who claimed runner up position and brought home the silver.

There have also been successes in swimming, with 9 boys from the U11, U12 and U13 age groups taking part in the recent IAPS Swimming Championships at the London Aquatic Centre. Ben Maddaford and Olly Meier both coming 9th in the country for 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle respectively. Berkeley Barnicoat achieved a spectacular 2nd place in the 50m breaststroke.

All relay teams and individual swimmers achieved faster times than they qualified in, an incredible achievement.

Music

Turning to music and drama, this year provided a welcome return to live in-person performance.  We are blessed to have amazing performance spaces here and these were once again brimming with the energy and excitement of live performance.

Music has always been a key part of the life of a Bedford School boy, supported by a fantastic team of teachers and visiting music professionals who develop each boy’s talents. 45 percent of boys at Bedford Prep School are learning to play one of 25 different instruments. They can take part in 22 varied

ensembles and come together to perform as the Prep School orchestra. These skills were on display at the superb Autumn and Summer concerts, featuring Harry Brown, Charlie Gibson and Aryan Sohanpal.

Although sadly House Singing wasn’t able to go ahead this year, we were able to come together in the Chapel for our marvellous Carol Services, which definitely pleased my mum, as she says, “it makes Christmas, Christmas”!

Drama Drama this year has been equally amazing; we are lucky to be able to draw on the talents of many able young actors, with over 80 of our boys gaining a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place at the Bedfordshire Festival. We have been treated to a workshop with

the Royal Shakespeare Company, to inspire Years 7 and 8 for their Shakespeare Monologue competition.

This was won by Aryan Sohanpal in Year 8 and Nathaniel Fletcher in Year 7. The younger boys also got involved with their poetry recitation.  Every single boy takes part, developing their public speaking and performance skills.

The Quarry Theatre, Bedford School’s very own working theatre, was host to a superb production of “Wow, what a year”, the first musical for a few years. It was an all-singing, alldancing performance, enjoyed by audiences and performers alike.

House Drama took place a few weeks ago, in a completely new and different way, with the whole school coming off timetable, to create

a play in a day.  Every boy in the house was assigned a role from catering and set design to marketing and acting. It was an amazing day and the standard of the productions were top notch. The winners were Howard, but congratulations to all involved.

Another important feature of the Houses is to raise money for their chosen charities, which we did this year in very diverse ways, from Howard’s Silly Walking to Bunyan’s Ultra Challenge and Harpur’s bowl off to Whitbread’s 5k goal.  Overall, a tremendous sum of over £12,000 has been raised for the 4 charities. In this Platinum Jubilee year we are reminded of the importance of service to our communities and this is at the heart of our School’s culture.

And so Year 8’s time at Prep School is all but over, and we look back fondly at our experiences here. Some of us started as tiny 7 year olds, completely over-awed by the sheer size of the Estate, and some of those Year 8 boys –surely they weren’t only 13 years old? However long or short our time here, we have all had the incredible privilege to be Bedford Prep School boys and we take the lessons that we have learned forward into the Upper School.

We have been treated to a memorable finish to our time here in the form of the post-exam programme. An amazing few weeks, filled with talks, life skill sessions, Come Dine With Me events and the fantastic Bushcraft Trip, where we discovered that Mrs Bowis is adept with archery, however as Mrs Loader pointed out  she has an unfair advantage as she already has a ‘bow’

in her name!  A particular thanks must go to Mrs Loader for organising all of these events and for her super negotiating skills, having rescued the Bushcraft Trip from the jaws of disaster –we should send her to the UN!

This morning is all about celebrating the many achievements of our boys, both academic and outside of the classroom, and a special congratulations to the prize winners today. However, none of this would be possible without the enormous efforts of our teachers and staff. They put in so much time and effort and are so dedicated to helping us achieve our full potential. Our successes are a reflection of their hard work, so I would ask all of Year 8 to join me in giving all of the Prep School staff a huge round of applause.

So it just remains for me to thank my fellow Year 8s, I feel very proud to be part of such an impressive group of lads. In particular I’d like to thank the prefects and deputy head boys, Josh and Advik, for all their hard work and support over the course of this year. We’ve really enjoyed being at the top of the school, so it’s about time for us to experience being at the bottom again!

Let’s approach this new chapter with energy and enthusiasm, prepared as we are from our time here in the Prep School. For as that not so well known philosopher Arnold Schwarzenegger has pointed out, “You can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets”. So, let’s grab all the opportunities on offer next year and start climbing that ladder.

Thank you everyone for listening

Salvete

MRS DIANE BEVERIDGE

PA to the Headmaster of the Prep School

Mrs Diane Beveridge was appointed as PA to the Headmaster of the Prep School in November 2021. Mrs Beveridge joined us from a role with Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust supporting Orthotic Clinicians. She has previously worked for Police Scotland, BUPA and IKEA as Occupational Health Advisor, and was Deputy Head of Health and Safety Services at the University of West Scotland. She has been a wonderful addition to the support staff team and has already made a significant impact on office procedures. She is a current Bedford School parent.

MRS MARGARET BLYTHMAN Teaching Assistant

Mrs Blythman started in September 2022 as our Teaching Assistant. She joined us from Pilgrims School, where she worked as a Higher Level Teaching Assistant; previously she has worked at St Andrews School and also has a background in HR. She has an Upper Second Class BA from University of Portsmouth, and a Masters in HR Management from University of Middlesex, as well as HLTA status from University of Northampton. She is also a current Bedford School parent, and parent of two OBs, both of whom came all the way through the Prep School.

MISS HANNAH MARTIN-MERCHANT Art Technician

Miss Martin-Merchant joined us in the Summer Term 2022 as our Art Technician and has already made a terrific start with the tremendous House Art display. She was the standout candidate in a very good field. We already knew Miss Martin-Merchant from her brief spell as a member of the admissions team in 2014-15. She has a degree (Distinction) in Art Museum and Gallery Studies from the University of Leicester and a First Class degree in History of Art from Reading University. She joins us from the business world, where she was New Business and Marketing Coordinator at Gustafson Porter and Bowman. She is also keen to train to be a teacher, and has already enjoyed some experience of teaching as a Teaching Assistant at John Donne Lower School.

MR DAVID GLASSPOOL Science Teacher

Mr David Glasspool joined us in September 2022 following a career as a Scientist at Unilever, where he has worked since 6th form (at Bedford Modern School). He joined Unilever as part of the acclaimed Unilever apprenticeship scheme, involving working on a part-time basis whilst also attending university. He graduated from Anglia Ruskin University with a BSc in Biomedical Science. Whilst at Unilever he took a leading role in their contribution to British Science Week, inspiring local primary and secondary school pupils to enjoy the scientific method. Whilst undertaking the role, he has enjoyed a number of responsibilities; predominantly he has been involved with providing novel non-animal experimentation to support risk assessment decision making, including routine and advanced novel in vitro and in chemico assay development, troubleshooting and data analysis to support Unilever risk assessment. David is also a keen rower, and achieved regional, international and national success, most recently racing at Henley Regatta. He coaches the “learn to row” courses at Bedford Rowing Club and is also an amateur astronomer.

Valete

MRS VICTORIA DENNY-MORLEY Learning Support Assisant

Mrs Torie Denny-Morley was originally covering for Mrs Loader during her maternity leave and, remarkably, her first experience of teaching at Bedford School was teaching remotely via Microsoft Teams. Her previous experience in the army was invaluable in supporting the school in times of crisis. She also made herself invaluable at Bedford Prep School, and took on the role of Head of Year 8 for a term, and did a tremendous job. When she finished her maternity cover, we were lucky enough to keep hold of her as a Learning Support Assistant. The family have made a move down to Somerset and we wish her all the very best.

MISS MOLLY ORME Teacher of Latin

Miss Molly Orme has been an excellent maternity cover for Madame Moira Comani. We have very much enjoyed Miss Orme’s kindness, vivacity and sheer energy, as a Latin and Classics Teacher, and filling in as a form tutor for 8L, as well as filling in a number of other roles supporting the boarding house and all school events. She also gave her time to Year 3 boys who needed some catch-up reading sessions following the pandemic. She has been a wonderful colleague; her contributions have been hugely appreciated by colleagues and boys, and we wish her all the best as she takes up a full-time position at Downside School in Somerset.

MISS CATHERINE DOHERTY Art Technician

Miss Doherty has been our Art Technician since September 2020 and coped with the frustrations of the pandemic very well indeed. She has been a superb member of staff, whose influence has been visible daily throughout school with the wonderful art displays. She has a First Class degree in Fine Art from University of Creative Arts (Canterbury) and an Art and Design Foundation Diploma from Loughborough University and she runs her own business, Catherine Doherty Fine Art, and the type of commissions she undertakes can be seen on her website: www.catherinedoherty14.wixsite.com/cdohertyart. Skills learnt in these areas were very much in evidence in the displays of boys’ work which adorned the walls, as well as in her art workshops delivered for the boys. Miss Doherty has taken up a new role at Tate Britain as an art handling technician.

MRS JOY LEESON Maths Teacher

We say a fond goodbye to Mrs Joy Leeson, who retires after 17 years as a member of the Bedford School Community, the last six of which have been in the Prep School. Before the Prep School, she was part of the Bedford School Study Centre team. Mrs Leeson has been a teacher for over 30 years, starting at St Greg’s where she taught one of the school’s Governors (who talks of her inspirational teaching!). An enormous thank you to her for her dedication in Maths teaching, tutoring and sports coaching in her time in the Prep School, and good luck for the next stage! She is our only current international sportswoman, and we will miss not only her great sense of humour, but also the regular batch of Welsh cakes she makes for the Staff Room.

ENGLISH REPORT

WORDS BY Mr Dominic Affleck, Head of English

It has been a very busy year in the English department. Back to relative normality, the boys and staff tentatively kept their fingers crossed that they could resume our studies without fear of the world shutting down once again. I suspect that we will have to live and cope with Covid for a few more years, but how lovely it has been to be able to teach and enjoy English again. Fresh from remote learning, the boys had to remember what it was like to use exercise books once more and with their computers to complement this produced some lovely work and prepared themselves admirably for various extended writing tasks, SPAG quizzes and comprehension assessments.

Alongside this there has been much to celebrate. The Year 8 cohort got to experience a truly terrifying Gothic Evening in our very own haunted Inky building. Year 7 wowed us with their prowess in Public Speaking – many congratulations to Oliver Barbour who entranced a large audience with his talk on Ships. Harry Maling was a worthy runner-up with his chosen topic of Māori culture and both Edward Keggin and Matthew Moretto impressed with their public speaking too.

Years 3-6 amazed us with their skills in Poetry Recitation. Miss Bamber got us all debating a range of challenging topics and for the Shakespeare Slam all boys attempted a Shakespeare Monologue. Inevitably, there were some winners and well done to Major Grewal, Cayo Sinclair, Nathaniel Fletcher and Aryan Sohanpal whose performances were filmed and sent for judging

in a national competition. We look forward to a Shakespearean themed Curriculum Collapse Day next year.

It’s been wonderful to welcome visiting authors into school again once more. In the Autumn Term Ross Welford (Time Travelling with a Hamster) came in to tell us about his books, as well as treating the boys and girls from BGS to a magic show and in the Summer Term Breis (pronounced Breeze) entertained us all with some performance poetry and rapped in the EMH.

Our Patron of Reading, Steve Skidmore, has continued to work with the boys this year. Most recently he worked with Year 3 and 4 and he also worked with Year 8 on their Gothic writing skills. We were also lucky enough to have him with for the whole day for World Book Day. This event never fails to impress, and each class dressed up as a book of their choice and spent a fun packed day listening to a talk from Steve and working on a book as a year group from a diverse range of authors. Most significantly, it was the very first time for 18 months that the whole school had met together for an assembly. It was a privilege to lead that assembly and view the wonderful costumes and characters that the boys had come dressed up as.

Reading continues to be popular at school and it is great to see how enthused the boys are by our visiting authors and how dedicated they continue to be about reading. There was competition this year for the coveted top reader accolade won triumphantly by Oliver Barbour last year. Rory Brodie and Oliver

Shakespeare comes to the EMH

both managed to get close to nine million words read this academic year which is an amazing achievement.

Mrs Turton judged our annual Poetry Recitation competition this year and she gave some constructive feedback to all our finalists. It was a terrific competition with a wide range of different poems. The winners this year were: Cayo Sinclair in Year 6, Kian Walia in Year 5, James Workman in Year 4 and Tommy Barker in Year 3.

The handwriting winners were Kian Fanning in Year 3, Charlie Suthers in Year 4, Georgi Savkov-Lin in Year 5, Cameron Dale in Year 6, Christian Hiemstra in Year 7 and Benjamin Maddaford in Year 8. Lovely cursive scripts boys!

POETRY

AWARDS

SELECTION OF AWARD-WINNING POEMS

This year’s poetry writing competition was based on our very own Future Skills. The boys were tasked to use one of the characters or use a core value as inspiration for a piece of poetry.

The Year 8 winner was Ralph Franklin – I really liked the manner in which he used a regular rhyme scheme, and his use of mythical characters was very clever.

Year 8

CURIOSITY

By Ralph Franklin

They say it is a force of good, And in many ways that is true, But be aware, it might be a scare, The curious are evil too. Pandora’s box, shut like Fort Knox, Was given to a learning girl, Born curious, her ego grew furious, As her thoughts of the great box swirled. “Resist no longer!”, It hungered, As she struggled to open the lid, A crack and roar, the girl was no more As the seven sins flew and hid But being curious is often good, Einstein’s countless theories, for example, His ‘relatives’ were quite general, And modern scientist’s marvel! Alex Fleming, name’s not fitting, His donation to medicine, While his petri dish, not quite yet clean, Puts him on our best rendition. What can we learn from this poem? What is this weird, strange future skill? Well, it’s up to you to decide, And whether it’s you to fulfil

Edward Ogborne was the winner in Year 7 for his lovely poem about Integrity. I was impressed with how emotive it was and the structure was simple yet effective:

Year 7

INTEGRITY

By Edward Ogborne

The quality the quality of being Honest the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. If honesty is what you use Why don’t you go and prove That you have what it takes to say I am not ok.

If you find You’re not kind Don’t try to hide Try to mind Your manners

If anyone says Your lying to yourself Try to take your prior self And turn them into someone else. Right from wrong Wrong from right Don’t let anyone fight Your moral right If you find yourself On a high shelf Don’t let go To lower Your expectations

In Year 6, Hugo Morgan’s poem stood out for me. It had great structure and made use of all five of the Future Skills characters.

Year 6 INTEGRITY

By Hugo Morgan

The Eagle perches on the roof

It knows its job, it knows its fight. The Eagle seeks with full attention And perseveres to start its flight.

The Captain Stands with his arms crossed He knows his job, to calm the fights.

The Captain stands up for others, his service sure, And his kindness makes the world happy and bright.

The Soldier waits patiently, shield in hand He knows his job, to fight the fights.

The Soldier is smart, he does the right thing, And uses reasoning, to help with might.

The Raptor helps, she doesn ’t hide

She knows her job, she plans ahead for fights.

The Raptor loves the world, and follows the law And is reflective, she knows what’s right.

The Professor works and learns in his lab

He knows his job, to understand the fights.

The Professor thinks critically, he learns from mistakes,

And his curiosity helps him to have no fright.

The Team works together, all around the world They know their jobs, to cease the fights.

The Team uses their skills to help everyone, And no matter what, no matter the heights, The Team will be there, to cease the fights.

Charlie Tillison was the winner in Year 5. Although an acrostic can be quite simplistic, I was impressed with Charlie’s use of creative vocabulary.

Year 5

THE MAN OF INTEGRITY

By Charlie Tillison

In all acts, he is full of goodness and honesty. Never acting with impropriety or indecency. Taking full responsibility for his actions and never acting with deceit.

Ethical judgement ensures he makes inclusive and fair decisions.

Genuine to the core, he will never be insincere or disingenuous.

Reliable and honourable, this man is a dependable friend.

Incorruptible and righteous, his acts are always principled.

Trustworthy, reliable and decent, this man radiates sincerity.

You will never find a better man than the Man of Integrity.

In the Year 4 category, I enjoyed Arvin More’s effort about being curious. Being curious is so important and I loved Arvin’s message to us at the end.

Curious about bats, Curious about cats, Curious about animals

That aren’t in their habitat. Curious about video games,

Curious about window panes. Curious about thieves, Curious about leaves. Curious about hay fever, Curious about being a day dreamer. Curious about breath, Curious about death! Curious about money, Curious about honey? Are you curious? You have to be. Don’t be scared, Just ask – go ahead!

In Year 3, Daniel Zuotong’s poem resonated with me. Although quite short, the language was rich, interesting and touched on all of the future skills.

Year 3

FUTURE SKILLS

By Daniel Zuotong

I am a pressured, busting earthquake endeavouring, breaking, crushing.

I am a clever, brainy scientist questioning, experimenting, problem-solving.

I am a responsible, caring parent teaching, helping, loving.

I am an honest, open-minded friend reasoning, reflecting, behaving.

Boys in Year 3 and Year 4 enjoying assembly in the Atrium

Mrs Amy Lumley-Wood, Prep School Librarian

Left: Uncovering

The theme for this year was ‘Magical Journeys’, and boys had the chance to stay after school to make mini broomsticks and marauders maps using secret invisible ink, before listening to Professor McGonagall (aka Mrs Carrington) recount Harry’s trip on the triple decker purple Knight Bus. Science lessons became Potions Class, Hockey was swapped for Quidditch,

and boys could fold their own origami monster bookmarks.

Our competition this time was to make a ticket for the Knight Bus The entries were all in all shades of purple, and used lots of creativity and imagination. Jeremy Dunn’s winning entry was amazing, with a mini paper bus that travelled around the outside of the ticket.

Library

WORLD BOOK DAY

For World Book Day this year, we put our normal timetable to one side and had a day of reading related activity with diversity as the main theme. Each Head of Year selected a book for their year group to study. Year 3 chose ‘Sadiq and the Desert Star’, Year 4 ‘The Classroom Cat’, Year 5 ‘Cyborg Cat’, Year 6 ‘Tin Boy’, Year 7 ‘Murder Most Unladylike’ and Year 8 ‘The Breadwinner’.

Throughout the day, each year group was given the opportunity to read extracts from their chosen novel, discuss the characters and settings, and act out some drama inspired by the story.

Each tutor group chose another book and used this as inspiration for their costumes for the day. A lot of hard work went into this and the boys all looked fantastic.

We were delighted that Steve Skidmore, our Patron of Reading, was able to spend the whole day with us in person. He spoke to all the boys in a special assembly – which included some interactive iHero readings. He then spent most of the day with Year 6 boys, who were the very first pupils in the world(!) to get a sneak peek at the Two Steves’ new graphic novels. These retell some of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, with inclusion at their heart so every reader can see themselves in the iconic roles. The boys had the chance to do just that, taking on Romeo and Juliet’s balcony scene and Macbeth’s three witches.

There were a number of other activities during the day, including Book Lucky Dip, and match the Selfie (of the teacher) to the Shelfie

(of their bookshelf).

Mr Affleck arranged for everyone to come together in the Erskine May Hall at the end of the day – the first time we had been able to do this for nearly two years.

Boys learned a little about the books everyone had been reading, and then had to guess which book each class had chosen to dress up as. Steve was on hand to choose the winning classes. We then learned which bookshelves belonged to which member of staff, with boys sharing how they worked out the correct answers. 3C, 6W, 7EG and 7M got full marks, so they must know the staff very well.

The winning classes for each year were as follows:

3L Paddington

4V Gangsta Granny

5RR The Bayeux Tapestry

6L Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

7K The Dictionary

8B The Very Hungry Caterpillar Steve’s special mention for photo of the day went to 7M’s Jurassic Park the Lost World.

On Friday 3 December Ross Welford joined us for the day, to talk about his books. Ross introduced boys to his ‘library of imagination’ and explained how he was inspired by his own childhood favourite books, and his love of magic tricks. He described reading as a form of magic: ‘When you open the pages of a book, magic happens’. Some of the boys volunteered to help Ross perform the time travel rope trick –which inspired him to weave travelling through time into his stories. Together we explored what makes a story, essentially some great

characters with problems to solve or a quest to embark on. Ross’ advice was “Characters without problems are really, really boring!’

Boys all then worked with Ross to dream up some characters and write a story together. Y3 and Y4 boys decided on Timmy the talking elephant, Jimmy the mouse, Rose the ticket seller and an unnamed woolly mammoth. They dreamt up a missing jewel-encrusted sword, and their quest to find it took them to the pyramids and Las Vegas!  Ross’ storytelling and array of character voices made the story all the more enjoyable.

MATHEMATICS REPORT

WORDS BY Mrs Charlie Walker, Maths Teacher

YEAR 5 AND YEAR 6 T

hroughout the year, boys in Years 5 and 6 have been working hard on their DoodleMaths. They like to check the leaderboards in the Maths corridor to see who has the most coins and the longest streak. It will be sad for the Year 6 boys to lose their amazing streaks as they move into Year 7, but the time eventually comes to move on. Doodle culminated with a fiercely fought battle for prizes in our June Challenge. Nearly half of the boys earned prizes, with some boys earning over 2000 stars in a month - well done boys!

During Maths Week England, Year 5 focussed on solving and finding the solution to puzzles. Year 6 competed in the Maths World Cup, completing a number of under the sea themed Maths adventures - they even got to practice their fish dance moves in class.

In the Summer Term, Year 6 competed in the Maths House cup. They worked in House Teams to solve puzzles, relay races, speed tests, cross numbers and more. The boys showed fantastic teamwork with Bunyan House coming out on top. Year 5 also worked in houses to complete a number of problem solving and puzzle tasks. They worked particularly hard on their murder mystery to break the codes and find out which teacher had murdered Mrs Leeson for eating all the biscuits.

A great year of endeavour all round, well done boys.

YEAR 7 AND YEAR 8

As always, the boys in Years 7 and 8 have stepped up to the challenge set by the Maths department. They have worked hard to calculate missing angles, solve algebraic equations, calculate area and perimeter, and understand sequences. On top of this they have also practised working faster, to show their work in a limited time.

YEAR 3 AND

YEAR 4

Our youngest boys have been record breakers this year! They all participated in a record-breaking TTRockstars online competition and even made it into the news. Throughout the year they have enjoyed inter-school competitions and particularly enjoyed competing against

the other Harpur Trust Schools. All this practise is certainly paying off - they are becoming Rock Heroes.

In the Summer Term, the boys also got to take part in their First Maths Challenge, pitting themselves against a series of tricky problems to solve. They completed their challenge online, for the first time, and showed some fantastic skills.

They have shown a fantastic love of learning for Maths - well done boys!

In the Autumn Term, the boys took part in a Manga High challenge, with the top classes earning themselves a board games lesson. As part of Maths Week England, some of Year 8 joined an online lesson from Oxford University to investigate lines and circles. The boys really enjoyed discovering how to make circles with straight lines and how this can be applied in a creative design.

In the Summer Term, Year 8 and some of Year 7 took part in the Junior Mathematical Challenge. The boys challenged themselves to

Y6 boys George Kotsidis and Juvan Sivasenthan tackling the Summer Maths Challenge

solve a number of puzzles and worded problems to earn themselves an award. We had an amazing 16 Gold Awards, 34 Silver Awards and 44 Bronze Awards. The boys should be incredibly proud of their endeavour and curiosity earning their awards.

The Summer Term culminated in team challenges for both year groups. The fiercely fought battles included a relay, speed test, cross number, countdown style round, logic round and group questions. The boys worked well in their teams and relished the opportunity to complete their Maths lessons outside in the sunshine.

Year 8 covered Life Maths as part of their Post Programme experience. They learned about payslips, financial maths and the realities of Maths outside of school. They seemed to really enjoy calculating the best value Domino’s Pizza and supporting Mrs Walker with the best value pizza order for her family. I am pleased to say that I can now order with confidence in getting value for money.

We wish Year 8 luck as they journey into the Upper School and are looking forward to watching Year 7 develop next year. Well done boys!

Mathematics

TIMES TABLE RECORD BREAKERS

WORDS BY MrsJo Lock, Marketing & Communications Manager

Our Y3 boys were part of something extraordinary this National Numeracy Day as they chanted and danced their way to a new Guinness World Record for times tables with pupils across the UK.

With crowns and wigs at the ready, the boys prepared for their record attempt with a high energy warmup before launching into the record-breaking ‘Rocking and Rolling Numbers’ five times table chant along with some 5,361 viewers across the country. The boys’ day was more special and exciting as their recordbreaking times table was filmed for BBC Look East. Watch out tonight for their coverage of the event from 6.30pm.

It was clear from the excitement on the

boys’ faces that TT Rockstars ‘Rocking and Rolling Numbers’ enthuses them about learning their times tables—one of the key building blocks for maths—in a truly fun and memorable way.

Head of Year 3, Mrs Carrington, explained, “The TT Rockstars activities are a real highlight of boys’ lessons and provide a fun way to engage all in numbers. I am so delighted that the boys could participate today and help to set a new world record! As the Guinness World Record Adjudicator said, they are all officially amazing!”

POP

My favourite bit was when we broke the world record. It was really exciting! I don’t know how, but we broke the record by 4,000 people watching!!!

I like Times Table Rockstars because it’s really fun, and it helps me learn my times tables.

“Are you ready to rock? Are you ready, steady, ready to roll?”

It has been a year of change for the Prep School Science Department. With Mrs Christian and Mr Allen moving on at the end of July 2021 we welcomed several new staff into the department, each bringing a breadth of knowledge and experience to further enhance the already thriving Science Department.

Bringing science to life through experiments and demonstrations always enhances engagement, improves understanding and ensures the lessons are memorable – and Y8’s recent biology lessons with Mr Mason offered all of the above.

After learning about the digestive system in class, it was time for a brilliant demonstration – in this case, a highly visual, fun demonstration of the process of digestion that was also a little bit gross!

Using everyday household items, such as tights and drinks bottles, and foods, such as soup, crisps, and Weetabix, Mr Mason helped the boys visualise how foods pass through the

mouth and oesophagus before being broken down by stomach acid. They then looked at the enzymes involved and observed how food and liquid are absorbed in the small and large intestine before being excreted from the body.

It was wonderfully “disgusting” to quote the boys, but highly memorable!

After a year’s hiatus, we managed to have three Year 7 Planetarium and Observatory

visits hosted by Linton Guise and Phil Stone in November and December and a further three in January, primarily put on for Year 8 boys who had missed out in 2020.

The Spring Term saw Year 5 enjoy the return of their sleepover visit to the Science Museum in London and Year 7 visited the National Space Centre in Leicester.

The Summer Term saw the Prep School boys treated a number of Science lectures delivered by our Lower 6th form students.

Antonino Muffoletto spoke about whether mRNA vaccine momentum can propel tumour immunotherapies; Shayaan Jadoon gave an insightful talk into Regenerative Medicine; and Varun Nathan spoke about Muscles and Citrulline Malate.

After 23 glorious years, Mr Mallalieu is stepping down from Head of Prep School Science at the end of the Summer Term, and Mr Mason will take on the role as the new Head of the department.

WORDS BY Mr Mike Mallalieu, Head of Science

SCIENCE REPORT

Geography

CRIME WORKSHOP:

My favourite part of the crime workshop was when we all had dressed up as detectives and had to solve a crime! We learnt how to test for fingerprints, read the suspect cards, collect fi bre samples and even collect blood! It was an amazing experience!

Arjun Dey

When detectives Jackie and Sophie came to the school and told us about Forensic science, I had learnt some very interesting things! One of them being, apparently, even if you are the greatest criminal in the world, you will always, always leave some sort of evidence. I also learnt that some police officers had to sleep in the day just so that they can make it through the night shifts for

things like security. Overall, I really learnt a lot from this workshop. Leo Butler

Before Easter, the whole of Year 5 was invited to a Crime CSI investigation run by PulseCSI.co.uk. We solved a crime scene, involving a murder that was committed outside of a famous temple. We had to use mini microscopes with UV lights and normal lights to observe the evidence. We also had a brighter UV torch to examine the evidence further. We used DNA tests and iron filings to get fingerprints. During the process of solving the crime scene, we had learnt how to use CSI equipment. After this, we had a group Q&A where we each asked interesting questions. I learnt lots about CSI and the different procedures.

Stanley Banks

WORDS BY

Miss Emma Goodman, Head of Geography

GEOGRAPHY REPORT

In the crime workshop we looked at how to get fingerprints. We had also checked what type of fingerprint we all had - I had one called delta. Then we did an investigation getting dressed into Investigation hazmat suits, gloves and masks! We had 1 hour to decide who killed a man examining all the clues and evidence. We were given 4 suspects and that definitely tested our skills that we learnt in the earlier lessons

Oliver Gibson

DIAMOND RESCUE LESSON

“I loved this lesson where we had to navigate the map to steal back the diamond from demon thief Affleck! We had to think about how to dodge guards and sneak around the castle grounds avoiding being seen. I used my compass

point direction knowledge to help. Our get-away route was successful, and we got the diamond back!”

Samuel Parrish

“We had to mark all the points on the map to help our secret spy stay hidden. I used 8 point compass rose directions and some strategic thinking to hide from the guards! The hardest part was avoiding all the guards in the watchtowers and finding a good entry point into the castle! Eventually we got in and as a team we created a path out for our spy who made it home with the stolen diamond.”

Wilfred Squire

“I liked using the walkie-talkie to talk to our spy and tell him what to do. It was hard to give him a safe route away from all the guards cooking and eating in the dining room, right next

Geography

to the treasure room where they had put our diamond.”

Ilyas Hosein

Y6

DINOSAUR DETECTIVES

Our Y6 geographers were the latest boys to explore the fossils’ mysteries. During their fun lesson, they found out about how fossils form, discovered which dinosaurs they came from - we have bones from a Plesiosaur, an aquatic reptile, and a coelodonta antiquitatis, a woolly rhinoceros, among others. And through observation and touch, the boys could also guess which fossil was the oldest. During fossilisation, bones start to be dissolved by water seeping through the rock. Minerals in the water replace the bone, leaving a rock replica of the original bone called a fossil.

So, generally, the lighter the fossil, the younger it is.

“One thing that stood out to me this year is the time that Ms Goodman let us hold real dinosaur fossils.”

Haris McLynn

Y7 TASTY PLATE TECTONICS

Chocolate may not be the first teaching aid for a revision lesson on plate tectonics that may spring to mind, but, as our Y7 boys discovered, it makes for an enjoyable way to remember the four types of plate boundaries and their geographical features.

Each boy received a Mars Bar to use to create the four types of plate boundary: destructive, collision, constructive and conservative. What followed was a wonderful, somewhat squishy lesson that created Mar Bar based landscapes, including fold and shield mountains, while caramel magma formed new lands and chocolatey earthquakes caused sticky situations. And, the best part, the boys could eat their work at the end of the lesson, if they wanted to. It is sure to be a topic remembered by all!

MARS BAR REVISION

When we were revising for exams and Miss Hone had a brilliant idea to make a very

cool revision session with Mars bars. We used them to recreate the plate boundary movements, for example when you put pressure on it the caramel goes out a bit just like tectonic plates and magma! My favourite was the destructive boundary when we had to subduct one piece under the other and it became a huge sticky mess so we got to eat them!

Gabriel Taiola-Kouriss

The mars bar revision lesson was great fun! We broke up Mars bars to resemble the different plate boundaries - Constructive, split it in half to show plates moving apart, Conservative, the two halves creating friction going past one another, Collision, the plates crashing into one another and destructive, one sinking below the other! This really helped me visualise how the tectonic plates moved and now every time I need to know a plate boundary I think of the lesson!

Thomas Davidson

PC SATCHWILL VISIT:

When the policeman came last term, he taught us a lot about crime and his job. We saw a fake crime scene and had to tell the police about the evidence we could see, and try to figure out what the crime was. The policeman told us a lot about different types of places he works, situations where you would need different gear and we got to try it on! Xavier Clark

Geography

A policeman came to our school, to teach us what it’s like dealing with crime. He showed us the different uniforms that he used for different occasions, for example, a normal police baseball cap would be used for normal every day. A fireproof visor, which offers more protection, would be used for maybe a football match where fights could happen. I really enjoyed meeting PC Satchwill and learning about his role Austin Reddy

We had a police officer come to talk about their job. Throughout the Covid19 pandemic, police officers were key workers. They helped our world to become a better place by preventing murder, robbery and burglary. Whilst on duty, they have to wear their very fireproof, bulletproof police uniform. This is to keep them safe. They receive information from the CSI team and search for the suspect (who is potentially guilty) Once they find the suspect, they put them in handcuffs, take them to the police vehicle, lock them in a small, cramped cell in the police truck and go to court. If guilty, they then get sent behind bars Stanley Banks

I loved the police talk because it was fun and we got to learn about what situations the police team has to deal with. We also learnt what the police wear like uniforms and helmets. We asked questions like what to do when you see someone threatening another person or when an important item is stolen. We had a fake crime set out in the room and we had to solve the crime and collect certain items in the crime scene. – Riddha Athreya

JAM & ORANGES

We used oranges and jam to recreate the way in which the Earth’s plate tectonics move. We peeled the orange (Earth) and covered the whole segments intact in jam which was representing the magma. We then had to try and fit the skin back onto the orange to represent the crust, which was super tricky and kept sliding around everywhere! Between the gaps the jam

kept squishing out. This really helped me to understand the shape of the Earth and how they layers of it work together like a puzzle piece just constantly moving Harry Mullan

Jam and oranges was such a simple way to show how the magma creates movements underneath the Earth’s crust which is why the tectonic plates move. I know now that it is the convection currents causing drag through rising and falling heat from the core through the mantle that make this movement happen. I enjoyed this lesson as it allowed me to understand continental drift theory much better. I wish I could do this again as this was very fun and educational. Jun Oakes

MONTSERRAT

The Montserrat radio lesson was really worthwhile because everyone got to do something

whether it was mapping out the hazards or completing the quiz. Mr Loader was on the other end of a walkie talkie radio and we had to dial him in as our helicopter pilot who was watching the volcanic eruption! With the information he gave us we had to hazard map and make critical decisions to save as many lives as possible! This was also helpful because it helped me with an area that I found tricky in other theory lessons

Olly Meier

During this lesson we had someone (a pilot) on the other end of the radio informing us about a volcanic eruption. We then had to make quick choices on how to save as many people as we could while colour coding our hazard map. Some of our decisions had knock on effects or threw us extra challenges to overcome. This really helped me use the skills and apply the knowledge

PC Satchwill and his team of police officers

Geography

I had learnt about protection, prevention and planning when looking at natural hazards.

Sebastian Warner

Y7 TAKE ON TOURISM COULD YOU DEVELOP A THRIVING TOURIST ATTRACTION?

Each team had a virtual 100 acres of bare land and £150 million to spend on items ranging from mountains and rivers to roller coasters and casinos to cafes and hotels to hospitals and fire stations.

The boys were soon busy working together to create a successful attraction with the advice to take their target audiences’ needs and interests into account while also looking out for potential pitfalls.

The pros and cons of each team’s plans were then put to the test to see if they would be raking in cash in five years or losing money.

Scenarios included:

• SWINE FLU! If you don’t have a hospital, you lose £10 million.

• Everyone likes the water! If

Police Officers in the making

you have windsurfing and jetskiing, you gain £25 million.

• There’s a fire, but the local fire brigade put it out before your firefighters even have their trousers on! If you have a fire station, it was a waste of time and you lose £15 million.

• Thrill rides have become incredibly popular. If you have any type of roller-coaster, you gain £10 million for each one.

After working out how much money they had gained or lost, the boys then had the opportunity to turn their attractions around by making changes (unless they had lost all their money already!).

Which parks would stand the test of time? Which would last ten years or even 25? And who would be the best tourism business teams?

While not every team was successful, the lessons proved a real hit with the boys and helped solidify their learning on the types of tourism and tourism trends.

DESIGNING OWN TOURIST RESORT GAME

Designing our own tourist resort was VERY fun. It gave us complete control of building and creating our

own theme park. Before the game started we were given £150M in our pairs. Then we bought and placed various attractions on our 100 Acre grid. We had to spend £120M no matter what so you could only be left with £30M. When the game started various events happened that either gave us money or deducted money. They were split into episodes of ‘After 5 Years’, ‘After 10 years’ and ‘After 25 Years’. Whoever had the most money at the end of ‘After 25 Years’ won. It educated us on the various problems tourist attractions have to face and we had to Ethan Daubney

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DECISION MAKING

This game was really fun. We had to imagine we were sustainability advisors for Phuket council who were needing help to manage their excessive tourist numbers. When each scenario was given we had to think hard about which decision was the most sustainable and why plus consider the implications of each. We were awarded points depending on what

we chose to do and winners were the ones closest to 100. Some of the decisions included thinking about how to benefit locals as well as tourists, how to negotiate energy supply issues and waste management, income and revenue, new building proposals and more. It really brought tourism to life for me and made me appreciate everything I had learnt throughout the topic.

Amar Rai Y8 JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH POLE

The year is 1907; a newspaper advert placed by Ernest Shackleton entices you on the adventure of a lifetime to the South Pole, but you only have £2 16s 2½d (£2.81 in today’s money) to purchase food and equipment for the long hazardous journey.

Men Wanted - for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honour and recognition in case of success.

Keeping within their meagre budgets, the boys, working in groups, had to decide which would be the best provisions to purchase and how much of each would be needed to get them to the Antarctic. But what to choose? A snow car or a sledge, beef jerky or peanut butter, skis or ice skates?

After making their selections, the boys soon discovered how well they had considered the extreme conditions they would face and the length of their journey, with points awarded for good decisions but points deducted for poor choices. The challenge certainly made for a highly competitive, informative and fun series of lessons.

Modern Foreign Languages

MFL REPORT

WORDS BY Madame Kelly Faulkner, Head of Modern Foreign Languages

This year has felt very much like a normal year post Covid, and that means lots of excitement in the languages department. There is always a buzz in MFL lessons, whether the boys are ordering tapas in Spanish, baking bread in French or learning about German Christmas traditions. Whilst language apps were great over lockdown to try something new, or to remind yourself of the smattering of Portuguese you learnt on that holiday to the Algarve in the 1990s, the

real magic of language happens in the world, not on a screen. And that all starts in the Wells building. We’ve learnt about verbs and vocabulary, culture and customs, played boules in the sunshine and read poetry in Creole. We hope you enjoy here a little snapshot of what’s been on offer in and out of the classroom and we can’t wait for 2023 when MFL trips start again - we’re off to Barcelona and Berlin!

Left: Enjoying le petit déjeuner at Y3-4 French morning

Y3 AND Y4

Year 3 and Year 4 boys enjoyed an exciting French morning on Monday 6th June. Some fabulous costumes were on display and after tucking into a delicious French breakfast, they put their linguistic skills to the test through songs and games, including a French treasure hunt. Our special guest was Malika Joaille who told the boys about the French speaking island of Guadeloupe. Now we all want to go on holiday there!

Y3 FRENCH TOAST MAKING

As part of our topics this year, we learnt about food with Year 3 and in particular how to make French toast. Once we studied the vocabulary on ingredients, cutlery and recipes, Y3 classes were given the opportunity to have a go in the dining hall, under the supervision of chef Stuart. Boys worked in pairs and enjoyed tasting the end product with a sprinkle of cinnamon or sugar. This has inspired many boys to replicate this delicious recipe at home. What a treat!

¡Hola! Me llamo Leo. Tengo doce años. Mi cumpleaños es el cuatro de marzo. Vivo en Bedford en Inglaterra. Soy Inglés. Tengo una hermana mayor y un hermano mayor. Se llaman Hugo y Anna. Mi hermana, es muy simpática y bastante divertida. Sin embargo, mi hermano, es muy serio pero también es muy listo. Mi hermana tiene dieciséis años. Mi hermano tiene dieciocho años. Soy tranquilo y un poco tonto. Pero no soy serio. No tengo mascotas pero me gustaría un perro. Mi pasión es el deporte y también mi héroe es Joe Root.

¡Hasta luego!

Above: Napoleon prepares to ride into battle for a croissant at French morning!

Hugo O’Boyle, Y4

Me encanta el instituto. Mi instituto se llama Bedford, me encanta mi instituto porque es grande e impresionante. Mi instituto comienza a las 8;35 y las clases terminana las 4;10. Mi dia favorito es el miércoles porque,por la mañana estudio español y, por la tardeestudió educación física, me gusta mucho el españolporque la profesor es muy guay y me gusta mucho laeducación física porque es divertida. En mi institutohay; el comedor, la capilla, los campos, la piscina, losteatros, las bibliotecas y el observatorio! Mi institutoes moderno y caro, también desafortunadamente,no hay clase de cocina :( . En mi instituto tengo dosrecreos, durante el recreo me gusta hablar con misamigos o a veces como fruta. En mi instituto, estudió:el inglés, el español, la informática, el dibujo, lageografía, la historia, las ciencias, la educación física,las matemáticas, el teatro, la música, la religión, latecnología, la educación física, la educación cívica, elalemán, también no estudió el francés.

Mi Instituto - Theo Young

Leo Matthew

History

WORDS BY Mr Paul Dennis, Head of History

YEAR 5

This year in our History lessons we have been learning about Medieval realms.

HISTORY REPORT

We started with finding out what life was like for the Anglo Saxons before 1066, the Witan feudal system, and the power struggle that occurred after Edward the Confessor died. We researched the strengths and weaknesses of the claimants (Harold Godwinson, Harald Hardraada, William Duke of Normandy and Edward Atheling). We made our own shields and re-enacted the Battle of Stamford Bridge (between the invading Viking chief Harald Hardraada and the new king, Harold Godwinson) and the Battle of Hastings (when Harold Godwinson’s victorious but exhausted army was defeated by the wily William of Normandy’s troops by a well-placed arrow in the eye on Senlac Hill). We analysed battle tactics such as fake retreats and shield walls, and the reasons why the Normans were ultimately successful.

We went on to learn about how the country

changed under Norman rule, the Harrying of the North, and how William imposed his power on his subjects. We studied scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry and considered the reliability of sources of history.

We then learned about the different types of castle, their identifying features and the pros and cons of each design, including features such as murder holes, arrow slits and crenelations.

We also looked at medieval weapons such as trebuchets, catapults and siege towers. We learned about the Domesday Book, why it was commissioned and how it was used by William to control and tax his people. We also considered what life was like for ordinary people, and how Doom paintings in churches were used to scare them into being good citizens.

My favourite history lessons this year were the battle re-enactments, designing my own Norman castle, and learning about the Black Death and all the different and disgusting cures they tried.

Words by Eben Clarke (5RR)

6

Being new to the school has come with new and exciting opportunities. I have been admiring the school from its different subjects in the Whinchat, way before I joined. And the subject that caught my eye the most was History. Boys bringing in their model boats and diagrams and everything related to history was amazing to see. I was amazed that people could do such activities. History has been as fantastic as I had hoped. Learning about Henry VIII and Henry VII, the religious rollercoaster in the Tudor times and the Spanish Armada. Doing activities such as making the ‘Religion Rollercoaster’ and a model ship was just brilliant - I have had such fun doing them. Our teacher Mrs Russell has been a joy to be taught by and she even allowed me and Conor to do a rap battle about the Tudor Queen, Mary I! I am grateful for this fantastic year, and I hope that all new boys will be grateful too.

Words by Daniel Joaille-Burge (6L)

YEAR 7

Although we haven’t been able to get back to the usual number of trips and talks yet this year it has been good getting back to learning history together in the classroom. The topic this year has been predominantly the early Stuarts up to the time of Oliver Cromwell. Miss Bamber has done a wonderful job of keeping things lively: we reconstructed a courtroom scene and acted out the trial of Charles I (sadly for him he still suffered the same fate) and we enjoyed a series of tense and highly competitive debates on the causes of the Civil War and the troubled reign of Charles I.

A number of enthusiastic historians among Year 7 and 8 put themselves forward to take on the challenge of the Townsend-Warner History Prize, a national competition that has run for over 130 years which tests knowledge of world history. This was, without doubt, the most challenging academic test I have ever undertaken: the first paper is a demanding set of 100 questions

requiring one-word answers on all sorts of obscure historical subjects. The second paper tested more in-depth knowledge requiring five essays without prior knowledge of the subject matter! All the boys did well with three of us being invited back to participate in the second paper.

Words by Oliver Barbour (7EG)

YEAR 8

This year’s history has been great! I’ve really enjoyed learning about the Victorian era and more modern history in Year 8 and I am looking forward to history in the Upper School. In the Autumn Term, we studied the industrial revolution, where we learned about the causes and effects of this incredible period in history. In the Spring term, we learned about Victorian society and how Jack the Ripper was able to be such a prolific serial killer and the different jobs you could do in that period, as well as learning about the foundation of the British railway system and the British Empire. In the

History

summer term, we learned about segregation, racism and discrimination in the USA in the 1950’s. We also learned about LGBT+ discrimination during that period, including the stonewall riots.

Probably the most notable event in history this year was the Townsend-Warner History Prize, where students in schools around the UK compete with others using their history knowledge. There were 2 rounds: general knowledge and essay writing. In the second round, 250 of the best competed and I finished 113th in the country. It was a tremendous event!

Words by Ralph Franklin (8F)

The serried ranks of Year 5 line up to face their foe at the Battle of Hastings

Religious Studies

by Ben Zanna

R.E. REPORT 2022

Year 7

REPORT GABRIEL BORELLI

RE has been both interesting and enjoyable this year.

Stimulating debates on important philosophical questions, learning about the gripping origins of religions, and looking deeper into the mysteries of faiths that have captivated the world.

In the Autumn Term we looked at the early days of Christianity. We learned about the numerous trials Jesus and his band of loyal disciples went through starting a new religion in a country where claiming to be ‘people of the Lord’ was punishable by death, and how Christianity became what it is today. I was captivated by debates over questions like “Did Judas have any long-term motives against Jesus, or was it just lust for money?”. Furthermore, I really enjoyed

questioning the very foundation of Christianity itself.

In the Spring Term, we moved on to Islam, a fast growing religion originating in Saudi Arabia. We were taught of its unifying emergence powerhoused by the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who was enlightened when visited by the Angel Jibreel (Gabriel) in a cave. We learned about the Five Pillars - the five core values of Islam, which dictate much of life as a Muslim. We also explored the functions and importance of a mosque, the centre of any Muslim community, and the washing and prayer rituals. I found this topic interesting as I got to learn about a religion that I knew very little about.

Finally, in the Summer Term we learned about Philosophy and Ethics. We were taught important questions on life with stimulating debates. In my view, in a diverse and inclusive world, we stand a better chance as a cohesive society if we all understand each other’s values and beliefs, whilst acting according to our own.

Year 6

REPORT

BY JUVAN SIVASENTHAN

This year, I enjoyed RE because we got to discuss different religions and do creative preps such as designing a church on Minecraft or using Lego and writing about my spiritual journey to India. The thing I enjoyed most was presenting and talking about my own religionHinduism. I liked sharing about ‘puja’ (worship) and my home shrine. My classmates showed real interest and asked lots of good questions. I also enjoyed trying out meditation as part of our studies on Buddhism - it made me concentrate more and feel calmer.

home shrine.

Year 8

BY LEWIS WOODHOUSE, RE PRIZE WINNER

Bedford School is a very diverse school in terms of nationalities, cultures and religions. We currently have 27 different nationalities in our school which highlights the importance of the subject because it helps us to gain insight into other people’s opinions and beliefs. RE is taught in many ways. Through whole class and group discussions everyone gets involved and can debate different topics and concepts in a respectful way. We learn about multiple religions each year and in Year 8 we focussed on the ethical lessons that some of the Old Testament stories teach us, as well as the study of Judaism, and more recently the Holocaust.

As part of our Year 8 Post Exam Programme, we had a workshop by ‘Voices of the Holocaust’ – a drama company founded with the objective to ensure that the voices of the survivors and victims of the Holocaust would never be lost. We experienced some very moving survivor testimonies and took part in activities to help us gain a deeper appreciation of the atrocities that took place. We reflected on the complexities of human nature and the importance of preventing anything like this from happening in the future.

Overall, RE has helped us develop a deeper understanding of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural aspects of others while learning to respect their diverse opinions. It has also served to shape our own beliefs and values.

Religious Studies

In Year 6, pupils practised their evaluative writing by exploring the question: Are Miracles Real?

“I don’t think that miracles are real because they don’t have any factual proof, like science. With the ‘feeding of the 5000’ myth, how can you magically get thousands of food in a couple of minutes by praying to a deity which doesn’t really exist. Because of these reasons, I believe miracles are myths. Also, when Jesus walked on water, his father was a carpenter, so he could have just built a wooden platform that sat just under the surface. These reasons clearly state that miracles aren’t real because no science can prove they actually happened.”

By Chris Gentry

“I would say I don’t think miracles are real because there is no specific properly verified evidence that there is any proof. If there was a miracle in Jesus’ time, the Roman Empire would have discovered it and written about it. An example of an inexplicable miracle is ‘feeding the 5000’ – there is no way you can gather that much food in that short amount of time. Perhaps a miracle like ‘healing a blind man’ is more believable. But overall, I don’t think miracles are real because they could easily be exaggerated or lied about. I do, however, respect people who believe in miracles because they are governed by their faith and not science.”

By Cayo Sinclair

“Miracles justify people’s belief in God because they help give faith to those around them. Anyone with God inside them can perform a miracle if they put their minds to it, believe it strongly in their hearts, and call upon the Holy Spirit. In the ‘calming of the storm, Jesus teaches his disciples to have faith in Him and God – to trust that ‘through Him, all things are possible’. Miracles are also proof of God’s existence – they are impossible without Him. I would argue with any scientist who believes they can be justified by science alone.”

WORDS BY Mrs Joanne Gedye, Prep School Head of Music

Wow! What a year it has been!

I cannot believe just how much we managed to squeeze into the last couple of months.

Although back in September, Covid threatened to be here to stay, the Autumn Term was still full of musical delights with the return of our live Informal Concerts. The Autumn Concert took place in the Great Hall, and although bubbling still played a part in who was able

to participate, it was a joyous occasion, and it was brilliant to get back to some semblance of a larger live musical performance. Recording our concerts has proved to be a hit and so this is an innovation we have decided to continue with. Although the

Year 3 and Year 4 Kiosk Carolling was not able to take place again this year, our traditional three Carol Services were able to go ahead, marking the end of term beautifully.

The Spring Term saw a few more Covid casualties, namely House Singing and then I managed to contract Covid again the day before the Composition Competition Finals which subsequently had to be cancelled last minute. However, the Choral Society performed McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio,

A show that certainly wasn’t panned by the critics

Mr. Whitbread

led by our newly appointed Head of Choral, Keith Roberts, to rapturous applause. We were lucky enough to be treated to the expertise of our Woodwind Fellow, who held several workshops, and we also held a highly enjoyable Year 3 Starter String Concert that rounded off the term fi ttingly.

The Summer Term was a whirlwind of musical magic. It began with The Year 3 and Year 4 Choir performing their Mini Musical ‘Seven Moments in Time’. Written by one of

our visiting music teachers, David Williams, it was a light-hearted romp through a series of historical events. Much fun was had by all, and we were even joined by a real, live dinosaur!!! All the while, the Year 5 to Year 8 Choir boys were hard at work rehearsing for our end of term musical ‘Wow! What a Year!’ our first production in the Quarry Theatre since 2018.

In the words of Daniel Joaille-Burge who played Iris the Virus;

‘Wow! What a play! I am sure that everyone who watched, enjoyed it. The play was my highlight of the year! With me and my partner Oliver playing the role of Iris the Virus, we did fetch a few boos when we bowed. However, the thrill and excitement of the play would never lose to a few boos. Across the years, I went through a lot and so did my family. But seeing the years unfold

in a couple of hours was so nostalgic. Even though just like Mrs Gedye and Mrs Turton said that it took blood, sweat and tears, it all amounted to the 3 performances of a lifetime.’

No rest for the wicked, so the saying goes. The boys were treated to the expertise of both our Brass and Choral Fellows, we held our Prep Music Competition, the Year 3 and Year 4 Instrumental Starter Presentation and our Summer Concert; the perfect way to conclude what has been an amazing year of musicmaking.

And so, our musical rollercoaster ride of 2021/22 finally comes to an end, and it just leaves for me to say a huge thank you to everyone who has worked so tirelessly to bring music alive in the Prep School. I cannot wait to see what next year brings!

Wow! What a play! I am sure that everyone who watched, enjoyed it. The play was my highlight of the year!

Design Technology

At Bedford Prep School the DT students have access to exceptional resources with fully equipped workshops.

Utilising manufacturing skills to use metal, wood and plastic alongside textiles, a 3D printer, and CAD/CAM programmes, this enables our boys to discover and explore a passion for engineering and design.

The DT department provide a broad and vibrant DT curriculum across all key stages, incorporating a space that stimulates the pupil’s creativity and imagination. Alongside giving them an opportunity to visualize, to be tactile, sensory and have a great sense and understanding

to responding to today’s needs within the world we live in.

We always encourage our pupils to communicate what they see, feel, and think. Through colour, form and texture using a wide range of materials and manufacturing techniques. By the end of Year 8 each student will have developed the skills to use a range of manufacturing techniques using a wide variety of materials and to be able to analyse and evaluate their own and others’ work with positive and constructive criticisms. They will also appreciate the visual impacts or applications of their own

work. In addition, they develop a knowledge and depth of learning about existing and past designers, engineers, styles, past periods, and present and future technology and gain the ability to develop their own design ideas through the design process, learn a range of graphical skills and to be able to transfer their ideas in to practice by producing their product.

This year the DT students at Bedford Prep School have experienced a wide range of hands-on manufacturing techniques using a variety of different woods such as Pine, Cherry and Tulip, an array of plastic manufacturing techniques using line bending, small electronics or simply added plastics to their existing products for aesthetics. Within the learning process, they have looked at

WORDS BY Mrs. Michelle Aldridge, Head of Design Technology

structures and forces, the use of Solid Works as a CAD/CAM programme and each year group completed a small practical skills-based task to widen their knowledge and understanding through the many manufacturing processes.

We have seen lots of boys attend DT club, 3D printing club and DT catch up club (otherwise known as DT get ahead club). This has inspired the pupils to problem solve and communicate their creative thought processes and they have

shown good planning and growing independent learning, originality, and high-quality creative products in terms of their outcomes. This year we have seen gaming headphones holders,

glasses stands, wooden Robots, structural bridges, logo toilet roll holders, outdoor plant pot stands, iPad and phone holders, and future skills swords and shields - what more could we ask for!

Well done to you all!

We always encourage our pupils to communicate what they see, feel, and think. Through colour, form and texture using a wide range of materials

Boys showing off their finished DT projects with pride

ART REPORT

WORDS BY Mr Phil Studd , Head of Art

There are times, during the course of a year, when I question the role our department plays at Bedford Prep School. How does Art enrich a boy’s education here? What are we trying to achieve in Art? Do we get the best out of boys and how? Do boys respond and enjoy their lessons? These are

all questions an Inspection will no doubt look to answer but I would confidently draw any Inspector’s attention to the skills and interest being developed across year groups, rather than confined to an elite group. Fundamental to a boy’s art education here in the Prep School is to see Art beyond pencil and paper. We do not wish our boys to judge themselves solely on their ability to draw accurately. While drawing will become a technical requirement later in their journey, boys should be exposed to a range of disciplines, as well as different materials and processes, to experience achievement and enjoyment. To this end, we serve our boys well: the proof is not only on the display boards, but also in the way they talk Art, the questions they raise and their willingness to explore.

During the Summer Term, we saw the departure of one Technician and the emergence of a new one. In April 2022, Catherine Doherty (pictured left) was successful in her application for the role of Handling Technician at The Tate Gallery, London. During her short time with us, Catherine made a significant impact, not only within the department, but equally around the school: a walk around the site would reveal her outstanding attention to detail to exhibit the work of boys. Her passion for art was infectious which was evident in her tuition of art scholars to develop their graphic skills. While we were sad to see Catherine leave, we were also fortunate to have a Technician and colleague of this quality.

Catherine’s replacement, Hannah Martin-Merchant, was no stranger to Bedford School, having been part of the Admissions team for a short while. A former curator of museums and galleries, and the smartest grasp of art history that I have come across, Hannah has applied her skills and passion in many ways. Thrown in at the deep end in her arrival, she was tasked with mounting and organising the boys’ entries for the House Art Exhibition. A former GB tennis player, Hannah has been a great addition to the department.

The boys are to be congratulated for producing some excellent artwork over the past year. Of note, Y3 created inspiring ceramic pods and Y4 have engaged in their exploration of relief to engineer mechanical boards, embellished by tin foil and ink. Y5 forms collaborated to deliver a Pop Art version of the Bayeux Tapestry, in the distinct style of Roy Lictenstein. Another artist, Paul Cezanne, was the recent study of Y6, who have developed knowledge and their appreciation of colour in still life. The application and precision shows promise for next year. I have been bowled over by the invention and focus of Y7s to generate a stunning display of African masks, constructed from clay slabs. As for the Y8s, they have completed the finest set of acrylic self-portraits, each one providing physical likeness, as well as management of painting tools and media.

Of course, attainment like this does not arrive without inspiration and excellent teaching. I am lucky to have a dedicated and supportive team who contribute towards the department, even though they have responsibilities elsewhere in the school. I am sure I speak on their behalf when acknowledging the role played by the Art Technicians, who are often out of sight but whose value must not go unnoticed. To you all, my sincere thanks and gratitude.

One of the highlights of the year proved to be the House Art Competition. Because of lockdowns, this event has been postponed for the last two years, so it was immensely satisfying to see boys and houses energised by the competition. We were thrilled that Catherine Doherty returned to judge the boys’ entries. Such was the diverse talent on show, that Catherine needed the whole evening to examine the exhibition and come up with the winners.

I wish you all a well-deserved summer holiday and look forward to seeing you all develop further next year.

ART SCHOLARSHIP

year, 10 boys from Y8 applied for the 13+ Art Scholarship.

experienced two lockdowns and the consequent restrictions on their return, it was always going to be a testing process for this cohort. But they made up for this with a positive, enthusiastic and organised approach to the course.

is a long and time-consuming journey, but also a genuine test of a boy’s commitment to the subject, as well as his technical ability. I know many of the group found the process arduous and difficult but they should be able to look back and reflect on a sense of achievement. In some cases, boys discovered a genuine relationship with art, one that I hope will continue to flourish in the Upper

studios. They were a delightful team to work with and I wish them all the best for the years ahead.

DRAMA REPORT

Drama I

t has been such a joy to be able to see live theatre and drama opportunities come alive in school once again!

This academic year saw the launch of Years 3 and 4 and Years 5 and 6 Drama clubs. In Years 5 and 6 15 boys consistently enjoyed the opportunity to explore a range of skills including radio interviews, improvisation, devising, and costume designing.Pupils enjoyed learning a variety of skills. Years 3 and 4 Drama Club introduced this term with 26 boys attending across the term.

In Year 8 pupils have formed mini theatre companies and have enjoyed learning about marketing, box office sales and script writing skills this term in order to form an idea for devising theatre. This will enable leadership roles in the upcoming House Drama event next term.

Years  7 and 8 Tech Club has been a firm favourite for many years and this year did not disappoint. Run by Mr.Tearle, our tech pupils acquired  an understanding of lighting and backstage elements of the Theatre. This has especially ignited interest in boys who have a keen interest in Drama but prefer not to perform. In addition, it allows their interest and knowledge to grow whilst working with the Quarry Theatre technician.

In the Summer Term, Years 5 and 6 enjoyed a show by Below the Belt. This interactive performance raised awareness of disability in performance and demonstrated how inclusion and diversity can be used on stage. Throughout the show staff participated in a gameshow style performance, being given tasks whilst being restricted, with these restrictions each representing the issues faced by a person living with a specific disability.

House Drama took shape in a different form this year. Tuesday 14 June proved to be a splendiferous day for all our Prep School boys as they swapped their usual lessons for a day devoted to House Drama and Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox. In true Roald Dahl style, the

WORDS BY

Mrs Patsy Turton, Head of Prep School Drama

Main picture Boys strutting their stuff in the musical Wow! What a Year! Inset: Building sets for the House Drama performances

Drama

boys immersed themselves in their curriculum collapse day, putting aside their usual day’s lessons. For those with a passion for acting, there was the opportunity to rehearse for that evening’s House Drama. However, all aspects of a drama production were available for boys to try, from lighting setup to directing, stage design to prop creation, music to marketing, catering to learning a warm-up act. It was an unforgettable day, which saw every corner of the school buzzing with activity.

Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous. Go the whole hog. Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it’s unbelievable...!”

Roald Dahl

Mrs Turton, the teacher behind the curriculum collapse day, told us, “It was so wonderful to see the boys from Year 3 to Year 8 working together, learning new skills, and having fun!” Headmaster, Mr Silk, added, “It was brilliant to see boys from different year groups working so well with each other and to see everyone in the school pulling together for such a great day. The boys had an absolute blast, and so many good things were happening.” At the end of the day, as parents sat down in the Quarry Theatre to watch House Drama, the success of the day and the boys’ brilliant work were clear to see in the wonderfully staged performances, fantastic costumes and sets—and the Bollywood warm-up act was a delight! Even the biscuits made by the boy catering team made a real difference, raising over £190 for charity.

Boys prepare busily for House Drama

“This is the best day ever!”

Joseph Hill, Year 5

The school production this year, ‘Wow! What a Year!’ was a triumph, with boys from Year 5 to Year 8 coming together to present a marvellously funny musical reflecting on the events of the pandemic over the last two

years. Performed to sell out audiences at the Quarry, the show was a huge success and a welcome return to performing as normal after the recent restrictions.

Drama continues to grow in the Prep School and we look forward to seeing what the 2022/23 academic year has in store!

ARTS

Speech & Drama

SPEECH & DRAMA REPORT

WORDS BY By Mrs Patsy Turton, Head of Drama and Speech and Drama

The Speech and Drama Department celebrated a great success in the Bedfordshire Festival of Music, Speech and Drama this year. Many boys participated in the annual event which sees children from all over Bedfordshire share their work in front of an audience and judges. 70 boys achieved 1st, 2nd and 3rd places and four boys were selected to perform in the Gala performance and won prestigious prizes.

The Speech and Drama Showcase evening in March was a great success and an opportunity for boys to perform in The Quarry Theatre. It was a joy to see boys, who had never performed in a theatre, take on the

opportunity and take their moment in the spotlight.

The Summer Term took on a collaboration with The Place Theatre in Bedford and a range of Bedford Care Homes. A select group of Speech and Drama boys delivered poetry and readings in care homes across Bedford. Working closely within the local community is an important focus and enabled pupils to take advantage of this performance opportunity and give them a sense of pride as the residents enjoyed listening to the boys perform.

The LAMDA examinations took place at the end of the year. 76 Distinctions, 30 Merits and 9 passes were awarded and celebrated! Congratulations on all your hard work, boys.

Speech & Drama

Saturday 5th March

Names Class no Class Year Result

Khushal Pattni 303A Write and Read a Story Y4-6 3rd Adam Purdie

Toby Huiskamp 312 Verse Speaking Duet Y6 3rd

Joshua Worboys

Luke Mitchell 312 Verse Speaking Duet Y6 1st

Sunday 6th March

Arjun Niravane 362 Prepared Reading Y3 1st Milan Qureshi 362 Prepared Reading Y3 3rd

James Angus Samuel Hughes 323A Duologues Y7-8 3rd

Gabriel Roberts

Thomas McDonald 310 Verse Speaking Duet 4 & under 3rd

Rocco Sarro 367B Prepared Reading Y8 2nd

Kasim Sheikh 367B Prepared Reading Y8 3rd Ralph Franklin 367B Prepared Reading Y8 3rd

Monday 7th March

Names Class no. Class Year Result

Ethan Daubney 366 Prepared Reading Y7 3rd

Lewis Pettengell

Ethan Daubney 313 Verse Speaking Duet Y 7 1st Oliver Biffa 351 Presentation Y5-8 3rd

Thomas Dewe 351 Presentation Y5-8 2nd Arjun Dey 358 Write and Read a Story Centenary Class Y5-6 2nd

Abhay Raghunath 358 Write and Read a Story Centenary Class Y5-6 3rd

Adam Purdie 318 Dramatic Solo Y5-6 3rd

Hugo Vincent 318 Dramatic Solo Y5-6 2nd Sebastian Searle, Rhys Newman, Semilore Apesin and Raihaan Adil 327 Dramatic Scene Y5-7 1st Matthew Moretto, Aaryan Nair and Henry Davidson 327 Dramatic Scene Y5-7 2nd

Conor Hayes, Hugo Vincent and Harry Spencer 327 Dramatic Scene Y5-7 3rd

Aryan Sohanpal 330 Shakespeare Solo - Y8-10 2nd

Tuesday 8th March

James Workman 301B Verse Speaking Solo - Y4 1st

Gabriel Roberts 301B Verse Speaking Solo - Y4 2nd Angelo Milioto 333 Centenary Class - Solo - Y6 & und. 2nd Christopher Gentry Cayo Sinclair 322 Duologues - Y5-6 1st

Henry Warner Daniel Joaille-Burge 322 Duologues - Y5-6 2nd

Oscar McCartie Orson Pettengell 322 Duologues - Y5-6 3rd Henry Gandesha 365A Prepared Reading - Y6 3rd

Joshua Worboys 365B Prepared Reading - Y6 2nd Harry Spencer 365B Prepared Reading - Y6 2nd

Wednesday 8th March

Aryan Sohanpal 319A Dramatic Solo Y7-8 2nd Oliver Quince 319A Dramatic Solo Y7-8 3rd

Joshua Lincoln 319A Dramatic Solo Y7-8 3rd Sacha Ryan 301C Verse Speaking Solo Y4 2nd William Paull 300A Verse Speaking Solo Y3 1st Henry Lincoln 300A Verse Speaking Solo Y3 3rd Angelo Milioto Alex Woodhouse

Archie Fleming 347 Group Poem Y5-6 2nd Lucas Hill 303B Verse Speaking Solo Y6 2nd

Christopher Gentry 303B Verse Speaking Solo Y6 3rd Wilfred Squire and Sebastian Bodfield 311 Verse Speaking Duet Y5 1st

Aryan Sohanpal 354 Write and Speak a Poem Y7-8 2nd Charles Gandesha 354 Write and Speak a Poem Y7-8 3rd Charlie Gibson 319B Dramatic Solo Y7-8 2nd

Thursday 9th March

Thomas Barker 357 Write and Read a Story Centenary Class Y3-4 1st Milan Qureshi 357 Write and Read a Story Centenary Class Y3-4 2nd Freddie Folbigg and Daniel Zuotong 357 Write and Read a Story Centenary Class Y3-4 3rd

Friday 10th March

Wilfred Squire 364B Prepared Reading Y5 1st Tristan Price 364B Prepared Reading Y5 3rd Samuel Hughes 319C Dramatic Solo Y7-8 1st Leo Mathew 319C Dramatic Solo Y7-8 2nd Isaac Vincent-Emery 319C Dramatic Solo Y7-8 3rd Oscar Price 334 Acting for Screen any age 2nd Sebastian Warner 334 Acting for Screen any age 3rd Oliver Barbour Write and Speak a Story Y7-8 1st Charles WhittleQueral 359 Write and Speak a Story Y7-8 3rd Charles Gibson Write and Speak a Story Y7-8 3rd Samuel Yeomans 359 Write and Speak a Story Y7-8 3rd Advik Mishra 371 Prepared Reading Centenary Class Any age 1st Nirmay Patel 371 Prepared Reading Centenary Class Any age 2nd Toby Hudson 371 Prepared Reading Centenary Class Any age 3rd Charles Whittle-Queral 305B Verse Speaking Solo Y8 3rd Monty Lomax 305B Verse Speaking Solo Y8 3rd

Saturday 11th March

Ralph Franklin and Aston Emeana 323B Duologues Y7-8 3rd Aryan Sohanpal and Oliver Quince 323C Duologues Y7-8 1st Theo Wang, Alfred Williams, Advik Mishra, Sam Millar and Nirmay Patel 328 Dramatic Scene Y8-10 2nd Harry Brown, Thomas Dewe, Noah Southwell and Oliver Biffa 328 Dramatic Scene Y8-10 3rd

At Bedford Prep School, enrichment opportunities, alongside our extensive extra-curricular programme, are at the centre of our drive to develop confident, enthusiastic, and versatile young people. This year we have focused on developing oracy, and so many of the opportunities provided have given boys the chance to use their voice, engage

with other ideas and perspectives while learning to express themselves succinctly and effectively.

In October, we celebrated Black History Month with a specific focus on Black British history; this gave all boys the opportunity to share, celebrate and understand the impact of black heritage and culture. Boys in all year groups were encouraged to research a significant figure in black British history and prepare a speech and presentation about this person’s achievements. Eben Clarke (5RR), Daniel Joaille-Burge (6L), Berkeley Barnicoat (7AG) and Cormac Hayes (8KD) were highly commended for the way they approached the issues of race and equality in their individual speeches, and all received a copy of David Olusoga’s widely celebrated book ‘Black and British’ as a reward for their efforts. We look forward to continuing to promote diversity and inclusivity.

This autumn saw the launch of the Year 8 Academic Studies club – an enrichment club that provides supplementary academic support with the aim of

Enrichment

widening boys’ intellectual horizons. These subject-specific sessions aimed to strengthen skills and knowledge and provide the opportunity for staff to deliver on a topic not covered in the curriculum. The sessions often took the form of discussion-based teaching and boys covered basic study skills, interview technique, analytic skills, and more advanced mathematical concepts and formulae. After a successful first year, we look forward to offering this opportunity to boys across the Prep School.

In November, all boys in Year 5-8 took part in a new and exciting debating programme. Enrichment came in the form of carefully planned English lessons which focused on what debate is, why it occurs, how it fits in the real world, rhetorical strategies, and effective delivery. KS2 class heats culminated in year group finals with topics ranging from space exploration to vegetarianism. All boys spoke with courage and conviction, and we look forward, with interest, to seeing boys participate in more debates next year.

In January, boys participated in the

ENRICHMENT REPORT

All

WORDS BY

Miss Sophie Bamber, Head of Enrichment

Enrichment

Shakespeare Slam: Challenged with learning a Shakespearean monologue off-by-heart, boys took part in a workshop led by practitioners from The Royal Shakespeare Company. As the boys explored the layered language, they experimented with their delivery and learned how to bring the words to life with energy and charisma. Following two days of inspiring workshops, our boys had until mid-February to learn their chosen piece, and it is certainly true to say that the boys were resoundingly brilliant. Following class heats, we held three separate finals simultaneously in three different locations and were delighted to announce Major Grewal (Y4), Cayo Sinclair (Y6), Nathaniel Fletcher (Y7), and Aryan Sohanpal (Y8) as this year’s winners. Harry Hodgson (Y7) and George Simmonds (Y8) were also highly commended for their performances.

In the spring, all boys across the school rose to the challenge of a gripping House General Knowledge competition. Class heats took place in form time with the top-scoring boys from each House progressing to a nail-biting final in the EMH. With fingers on buzzers, boys in Years 3-8 impressed with their rapid responses to questions ranging from ‘What was John Blanke well-known for in Tudor England?’ and ‘Which sea did the Romans refer to as Mare Nostrum?’ The latter question being answered with rapid speed by Bunyanite, Jeremy Dunn (Y4).

All teams put up a valiant fight, but overall victory was claimed by Bunyan. It was terrific to see the audience wrack their brains for the answers, cheer on their House, and demonstrate the camaraderie that the vertical House system promotes.

In the summer, there were more oracy

opportunities for our boys with Year 7-8 debating competitions being held during lunch times. The level of commitment and calibre of debating was high, and competition was fierce with many audience members showing up to offer support. Boys engaged with the subject matter which ranged from the development of artificial intelligence to whether protests do more harm than good. While all boys spoke

fantastically, a nod must be given towards exceptional speakers, Ralph Franklin, Andrew Wright, and Seth Baines of Year 8 – the Upper School Debating Society will be lucky to have you. Gabriel Borelli, Harry Maling, and Oliver Bodfield showed much flair, and we very much hope to see them take the floor again next year. Finally, this term we welcomed the English Speaking Union to the Prep School to host Bedfordshire’s Public Speaking competition. The Bedford Prep team of Eben Clarke (questioner), Oscar McCartie (speaker), and Jacob Schouten (chairperson) debated the topic ‘Space exploration is worth all of the money being spent on it by everyone involved.’ The boys planned and researched over May half term, and it paid real dividends as they were confident and composed in the face of fierce competition.

This year, all boys have been involved with some sort of enrichment opportunity, and we hope that boys continue to engage with the plethora of activities and competitions that are on offer here at the Prep School.

School Life

Montage design to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee

Houses

EAGLE HOUSE REPORT WORDS BY Mr Ed Loader, Eagle Housemaster

At the end of a fantastic and unpredictable year in the boarding house, it is important to reflect not only on the many successes of the boys and the highlights of the year, but also to say a few words about Mr and Mrs Lincoln. At the end of the Autumn Term 2021, they decided to end their time in Eagle House. For over 10 years, they have been a source of boundless energy, kindness, consistency, and fun for the boys and have changed the way the house is seen and run for the betterment of all. Molly and Josh Lincoln also need a mention here, as they have not only shared a house, but also their parents’ time with the many boys who have passed through the house in the last decade. I know the boys who have lived in the house this year, and all those from the 10 years before them, would like to say a huge thank you to the Lincoln family for all their love and care.

At Christmas, Mrs Loader and I joined the house and were immediately blown away by the kindness and humour of the boys. Truth

be told, we had already had a glimpse of some of what awaited us at the Christmas party, where Sunny Yeung’s version of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ by Rick Astley left us excited as to what Eagle House would bring!

The boys have been amazing, not only in their behaviour, but in their enthusiasm, getting involved in weekend trips and day-today tasks with fantastic focus and support for one another. We have attended escape rooms, mini-golf, trampoline parks, ninja warrior courses, cinemas, water parks, theatres and many more, as well as helping boys with their subjects and homeworks - it’s been a fantastically busy two terms.

This is also a good opportunity for me to thank the incredible Eagle House team, without whom settling into the house would have been far less simple. Mr Lee who is a wonderful, fun and well-respected assistant Housemaster. Mr Roger, who always has time for the boys. Mr Gilbert, our visiting tutor, is also an asset - especially to our cricketing cohort who always embrace the extra training!

Similarly, the house would not function without our matron heroes - Mrs Kyle, Mrs O’Rourke, Mrs Bury and Mrs Waters, along with the top cleaning and laundry team who work tirelessly to keep things shipshape.

In the blink of an eye, the spring term was over and Summer (and cricket!) was here. The Summer Term also saw two new arrivals to the house, with Jack McCardle (Y8) and Jacky Hou (Y7) joining us. They immediately engaged into the swing of things with a positive attitude and open minded approach to boarding.

The highlight of the summer for many boys always seems to be the House trip. This year we descended on the beautiful Ilam Hall for a weekend of fun, activities and a chance to celebrate a year of all the boys living harmoniously under one roof! On Saturday, we went for a fun few hours to the Alton Towers Waterpark, and whilst all the boys had fun, no one matched Mr Lee for his excitement about getting on all of the slides. As Jack McCardle put it, ‘Mr Lee is just like a big kid’! Following the water park we all headed to

Eagle House boys make it to the top of Thorpe’s Cloud on the House Trip

Ilam hall and completed an awesome hike to the top of Thorpe’s Cloud - a local hill with some stunning views. All the boys made it to the top and back down in time for dinner, an awesome achievement. On the Sunday, we enjoyed a bike ride to a beautiful cave, ‘Thor’s Cave’, and had lunch together inside. Despite its name, and much to Mrs Kyle’s disappointment, Chris Hemsworth was nowhere to be seen... In the afternoon, we headed away for a spot of laser tag. Daniil Savelev once again proving he is a ‘hot-shot’ in the laser tag arena. In the evenings, we were able to make use of the stunning Ilam Hall grounds, playing 40-40 in and touch rugby for several hours until, conscious of the day that follows, we headed to bed.

On Monday, we were able to escape to Alton Towers theme park, and the boys were allowed to enjoy as many rides as they could in the day before returning home to get ready for Tuesday’s lessons - all slightly jaded!

Looking back on a whole year, there are several elements that I’m sure will

stick with me for a long time. Charlie and Sunny’s obsession with Tottenham Hotspur, Marcus and Theo being exceptional in their role as Head of House, Ben’s inexhaustible love of reading, Donnell overcoming his fears to conquer Thorpe’s Cloud, Gabriel’s insistence on referring to everyone as ‘bro’, Dylan’s obsession with his rubber band ball, Jacky’s talents at drawing, Miron with both his drawing and his instant bond with

Lottie Loader (the 18 month old terror Mrs Loader and I brought to the house with us!), Aryan’s developing love of Cricket, Austin’s timekeeping, Josh’s unending kindness, Jack demolishing the whole house at Basketball, Alonzo’s fantastic skill at both Table Tennis and Piano, Daniil’s creations (and failures!) in the kitchen, Ranveer with his support of other boys and his always cool and collected nature, Edward’s unfaltering comedic timing, Zealand’s miraculous defence in our football games, Caoai riding a bike for the first time and, only two weeks later, managing to complete the huge bike ride with the rest of the house to Thor’s cave!

Thank you to everyone who made the year such fun, and all the best to our Y8 cohort, who leave us for various Upper School houses. I hope they look back on their time fondly and remember to come back and visit us occasionally!

Eagle House boys enjoying their time together

BUNYAN HOUSE REPORT

WORDS BY Miss Sophie Bamber, Bunyan Housemaster

It seems like only yesterday that I welcomed everybody to my first Bunyan assembly.

I will admit to being both nervous and tremendously excited to take on the role of Housemaster, and I am so proud of everything we have achieved this year.

The academic year was, for boys in Bunyan, an opportunity to push themselves out of their comfort zone, stand by commitments,

collaborate with boys in other year groups, be gracious in defeat, and humble in success. We have enjoyed a resoundingly brilliant year, and it is my honour to share some of the highlights.

First of all, I must thank and congratulate my House Officers without whom we would not have operated with such efficiency and gusto. Organised and reliable, Ashwin

Curtis has been a fine House Captain and I thank him for his hard work leading Bunyan House. The enthusiasm of Vice Captain, Harry Adams, is contagious, and he has been instrumental in the organising and running of House assemblies and events. Bunyan Sports Captain, Ben Maddaford, along with Vice Sports Captains, Finley Miller and Jack Sivills, have been outstanding in their efforts to prepare and organise teams for a range of House sports competitions – you three have been superb, and I have appreciated your abundance of energy and enthusiasm. Drama Captain, Charlie Gibson and Vice-Captain, Cormac Ghallaghar kept us organised during the inaugural

Bunyan pulling together

House Drama Curriculum Collapse Day, and helped to ensure Bunyan’s gave their best and most Fantastic Mr Fox performance. Sammy Rawlings, a young man brimming with integrity, has been exceptional in his role as House Charity Captain; helping to present last year’s charity with the funds raised, and working hard to promote this year’s charity, Road Victims Trust, Sammy has been an excellent role model. Now we turn to House sports competitions which kicked off in November. Coming second place, the Year 7 Bunyan badminton team represented the House brilliantly, and Mr Lincoln commented on how well Year 8 sports captains ran the event. Next up, we

had House rugby. Year 5 played skilfully and showed much resolve on the pitch and after points across three leagues were totalled, the Bunyan team drew with Harpur – a fantastic competition for all involved.

In the spring, Year 3 Bunyanites gave a terrific account of themselves in the House Run with overall second place and the Year 7 team winning their House Run outright. Excellent effort, boys.

Clearly Bunyan boys like their squash because they came first in the Year 6, Year 7, and Year 8 competitions. A superb achievement for all involved and a big well done to Jake Woodrow, Isaac Johnson and Ben Maddaford for organising the teams. By March, Year 3 Bunyan boys were dominating the House Football competition showing high level skill and precision when scoring our winning goals.

Moving away from sporting accolades, although there are many more, attention must be given to our fantastic performance in the House Pancake Race. While we didn’t win this hilarious and highly competitive annual event, Robert Lammie, Jeremy Dunn, Henry Hillier, Hugo Vincent, Harry Maling and Ben Maddaford gripped their frying pans with vigour and hurtled up and down the Astro to the resounding chant of ‘Let’s go Bunyan! Let’s go!’ while bits of pancake scattered liberally across the pitch. A hilarious event with Bunyan boys doing their absolute utmost to support and cheer one another.

Possibly the most exciting and highly anticipated House event of the year is the illustrious tug of war competition. This year’s tournament was no exception. Such was the prowess of the Bunyan team that I was asked what training programme and protein-rich diet the boys had been following in order to heave the rope with such Herculean might. The bar has been set very high and we’re

already back in the gym to make sure we can give a similar performance next year. Well done Ciaran Donlevy, James Workman, Toju Olajide, Rossi Noto, Freddie Barnes, and Sunny Ye. However, Bunyan boys are not just known for their brawn; they’re known for their brains, too! This year, after winning their individual class heats, Milan Qureshi, Jeremy Dunn, Nikhil Das Gupta, Alex O’Cearbhaill, Arthur Fitzpatrick, and Jack Sivills represented the House in a gripping General Knowledge Final. Under the glare of stage lights and in front of the entire school, the Bunyan team were quick on the buzzer and triumphed thanks to their quick thinking and teamwork. Well done.

By summer term, Bunyan geared up for our fundraising challenge. Raising over £700 for our House Charity, Road Victims Trust, boys collectively swam, ran 100km, and rowed almost 30km (tripling their 10km target!). Boys gave it their all in this unforgettable physical endurance challenge, and I could not be prouder of each one of them. It’s safe to say that the cookies were well-deserved at the end!

After such a phenomenal year being Housemaster for Bunyan, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Guest, Mr Heaney, Mr Lee, Ms Bowis, Mrs Valentino, Mrs Leeson, Mr Satchwill and Mrs Turton for their support with assemblies, events, and some rather ambitious challenges and photo shoots. You have been incredible this year, and I am sure I speak on behalf of all the boys in extending an enormous thank you for your help. One last thank you remains to be said, and that is to the boys for being just so marvellous. This year, you have shown your ability to be both part of a team and successful on a team, and you should be proud of your accomplishments as well as the lessons you have learned along the way. Being in a House isn’t just about winning. It is about showing the values that you represent: being humble in victory, gracious in defeat, and kindness – always. Well done, Bunyan.

The Tug of War Team

Running for Charity

Houses

The great American industrialist, Henry Ford, once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” This quote is particularly true for any House, a new cohort of which comes together in September for a new academic year, and has to stay together and work in collaboration throughout the year in order to achieve results. I am delighted to say that Harpur did just that, and this review will outline what fantastic successes we had.

The covid restrictions, which had blighted us for the previous two years, ravaged on, and, sadly, we could not meet as a House for assemblies for significant periods of the school year. Yet, the boys maintained a wonderful collective community spirit throughout the year, which was a credit to all Harpur boys.

In the Autumn Term, we recorded great results in House Table Tennis, coming first in Years 7 and 8, and second in Year 6. This was followed by a victory for the Year 7 team in the Swimming Relays, and on the rugby field, our Year 5 team came out victorious, and our Year 6 and 8 teams were a gallant second place. The end of term results also showed that our Year 8 book readers had come out on top, as had our Year 3, Year 7 and Year 8 boys for Future Skills Merits.

More successes were to come in the Spring Term, beginning with a victory for our Year 5 Badminton team. We then really ‘hit our stride’ with the School Runs, where we recorded first place in Years 3, 4 and 6, as well as second place in Years 5 and 8. This was a tremendous collective effort, and it boded well for Sports Day (more of which to follow later). Away from the sporting arena, our Year 3 boys won their General Knowledge competition, and our Year 5 and 6s achieved commendable second places. Our Year 4 and 5 book readers came top this term, as did our Year 3 boys for Future Skills Merits. Sadly, covid, once again, robbed us of the spectacle of the House Singing competition in the Great Hall, but the prospect of holding this event again next year is something to whet the appetite. However, the highlight of our term, and a wonderful consolation to behold, was the whole School surrounding the astro to witness and loudly cheer on the House Pancake Race, which the Harpur team, consisting of boys from all year groups, won for the second consecutive year. It was a ‘flipping marvellous’ occasion, indeed!

The Summer Term welcomed further Harpur successes, with first and second place for our Year 6 and 8 Squash teams respectively, and we also achieved wonderful second place in both the House Music and

HARPUR HOUSE REPORT

WORDS BY Mr Andrew Whitbread, Harpur Housemaster

House Art competitions. This was followed by first places for our Year 4 boys in Poetry Recitation, and our Year 3 boys in the Poetry Writing competition. Many congratulations to all those boys who took part in these contests, and also achieved individual victories. In fact, our Year 3 boys also won the Handwriting competition, and they followed this up at the end of term by claiming a hat trick of Future Skills Merits total wins. It is safe to say that the future of the House is in good

Wicket fun at the Big Harpur Bowling Bonanaza!

hands in the years to come. Our cricketers across the House also did us proud, winning in Year 6, and coming second in Year 3 and in both the Year 7 and 8 A and B teams. We also carded a solid second place in the House Golf competition. The end of the term also saw us claim firsts in the Year 8 book reading, and in the Year 6 Future Skills Merits totals.

Fittingly, I have left the best highlights of the term, and of the whole year, to the end. Firstly, the House Drama day was a new venture, with every member of the House throwing themselves wholeheartedly into a wide variety of tasks in preparation for the performance in the evening. The whole day was a brilliant event, and the boys showed fantastic enthusiasm and support for each other in all they tackled. Our Marketing and Music teams gained a commendable second place for their efforts, and our Acting team were rightly awarded first place for their superb ensemble performance in ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’. Advik Mishra was also the recipient of the ‘Most Promising Actor’ prize. Being with them from the first read-through of their scripts in the morning until their evening performance, I witnessed at close hand the wonderful joy and commitment the actors displayed for the whole process. I was particularly delighted for our director, Mrs Loader, who led the boys with amazing skill and energy; a huge thanks to her for all her efforts on the day.

My second Summer Term highlight was the fabulous ‘Big Harpur Bowling Bonanza’, our main Harpur Charity fundraiser, which took place on the penultimate Friday of term. Run by our wonderful team of House Officers and Prefects, boys from across the school came to bowl at wickets on the astro to win individual prizes but, more importantly, raise funds for our chosen charity, ‘Men in Sheds Bedford’. In just over an hour, we had raised £325, which was a fantastic amount in such a short time. Added to this, we have also so far raised £220 on our JustGiving page, and a huge thanks to all who have contributed to this very worthy local cause.

The third Summer Term highlight was, as always, the School Sports Day at Bedford Track, and the boys of Harpur brought home a famous victory! Every single boy contributed to this stellar performance, and, as we are every year, our boys supported each other with the most vocal cheering and chanting from the stands; I am convinced this gives our competing boys that extra 10% which helps swing things our way. Long may that continue!

And so, another action-packed and successful year comes to an end. I want to thank my excellent team of House Officers for all their hard work and dedication throughout the year: House Captain Leo Mathew, Vice Captain Lewis Noble, Sports

Captains Harry Howlett and Alex Turner, Music and Drama Captains Ollie Quince and Aryan Sohanpal, Charity Captains Emir Kendrick and Noah Southwell. They have been magnificent role models for all boys in the House to look up to. I also remain the luckiest Housemaster for having the best team of tutors in the Prep School, and I have been most grateful for everything they have done to help and support me and the boys this year.

Sadly, we must say goodbye to two of our tutors, who move on to take up new roles in the school. Firstly, we say goodbye to Madame Chaillou-Kindred, who becomes Bunyan Housemaster. She has been a tremendous tutor, with such wonderful fundraising and charitable ideas, and this year she organised a foodbank collection for the Prebend Day Centre for the homeless members of our community, as well as a plant swap raising funds for Men in Sheds Bedford. We wish her well (but not too much success!) in her new role. We also say goodbye to Miss Goodman, who takes up a Senior Leadership role, including Senior Housemaster. She has also been a superb tutor, who has always gone out of her way to offer her help and support, most notably earlier this year when I was absent from school. I know she will lead the House System in the Prep School with great assuredness and enthusiasm.

Harpur House with their flag flying in the background

HOWARD HOUSE REPORT

WORDS BY Miss Penny Oakley, Howard Housemaster

What a pleasure it was to resume face to face assemblies this year; some boys have changed so much, it has felt quite emotional getting to know them all again. We welcomed new staff to our Howard team: Mrs Dale, Mr Dennis and Mr Mason, and have heard a range of topical assemblies on: Resilience, Languages around the world, Ramadan, Humour, Festivals of Light, Self-reflection, Adventure and Challenge, to name but a few. It has been an exciting and busy year!

The Autumn Term saw successes for Howard in the Year 5 and Year 6 Swimming Relays, Year 4 Rugby and the Year 4 and Year 5

Table Tennis events. Year 6 were victorious in the Reading and Merits competition leaving us 2nd in the Autumn Term cup race.

The Spring Term highlights were, most definitely, on the hockey pitches; where Howard’s Year 5, Year 7 and Year 8s confidently won their matches. Outstanding performances from Freddie Bowis, Oliver Bodfield, George Knight and Theo Rees. It was great to see the boys’ fitness and competitive nature going strong. Year 7 won the General Knowledge and Year 4 the Football and again, pleasingly, reading proved a strong Howard skill as the boys in Year 3, Year 4 and Year 8 all won their year group competitions, combining with high scoring Year 6 and Year 7 merits to clinch the Spring Term Cup for Howard on the last day of term!

The Summer Term has undoubtedly been my highlight, though! Our feet have hardly touched the ground but it is this action packed whirlwind that we thrive upon here at Bedford Prep School.

We kicked off the term with our tremendous Charity event. All boys in Howard took part in a sponsored ‘silly walks parade’ to raise money for the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia. The boys and staff of Howard joined together to perform some innovative and wacky walks producing an awesome video clip, bringing a smile to everyone’s faces. What fun we had and all for an amazing cause.

Howard also saw some successes in the House Art Competition. The theme ‘My Hero’ resulted in some stunning and poignant works. It was fabulous to see so many Howard entries, reflecting the boys’ huge commitment to pushing themselves outside the classroom, too. A special mention to; Jack Efe Taylor who placed 2nd in the Year 3 and Year 4 category and to Harry Hodgson who came 1st in the Year 7 and Year 8 category. Very well done and thank you to everyone that entered.

House Drama was little different this year!

‘Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all’ Helen Keller

The whole school had a Curriculum Collapse Day and the boys were immersed in every element of a drama production; working together in vertical groupings. From lighting, music composition and set design, to marketing posters and tickets, and catering for the audience. Everything was covered! It was so lovely to see all the boys engaged and involved; gaining a real understanding of exactly what it takes to produce a play. It was a delight to welcome Mr Turton as Director for team Howard and to watch the scene come together during the day. A thoroughly enjoyable day; culminating in an impressive performance of ‘Fantastic Mr Fox,’ showcasing the wealth of talent at Bedford Prep School.

The last few weeks all blended into a very busy sporting extravaganza! Passionate, dedicated and focused; the boys at their absolute best! Sports Day was simply a delight. Stand-out moments, for me, George Knight achieving a PB in the Year 8 shot-put and watching the powerful boys in the in the Year 8 relay team; Oliver Surley, George Knight, John Lally and Thomas Mahony flying round the track. The excitement

palpable as the race unfolded.

The boys always rise to a challenge, step in to help, console and cheer each other on; boosting morale. They strive, collaborate, support. They demonstrate bravery, resilience and discipline. The house feels unified in the most special of ways and the day epitomises the strength of the team and that feels …well… very powerful. It is such a genuine privilege to witness. A culmination of months of training, growth and sustained hard work for so many of the boys; giving some of our most outstanding athletes a time to shine on the track and every single one of the boys a chance to shine as a the ‘fine young men’ they are becoming.

It is such a glorious end to the year showing just how our Future Skills Curriculum truly runs through the boys’ veins; making me so very proud of them and their journey of growth over the past year. It is always, always, always, a highlight. Golly, I love this place!

‘Find a Group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them and it will change your life.’ Amy Poehler I would like to thank all the House staff and officers, who have proved utterly invaluable this year. To the Howard staff – you are all ‘totes

awesome’! Miss Orme you have been a force to be reckoned with. Thank you so much for bringing so much sunshine to Howard for your short stay. We wish you well in your new job! Our House Officers: George Knight, Rocco Sarro, Seamus White, Yacoub Sharif, George Simmonds, Isaac Fergusson and Will Feltham; you have proved willing and unerringly reliable. What a spectacular year you have had, showing exactly why you were deserving of your roles. A heart felt thank you.

Another academic year draws to a close. 10 years ago, Howard lifted the House cup. It was a jubilee year. It was a blue year. 10 years ago I wrote this…

‘I knew it was a special Jubilee (= blue) year, this year. It seems only fitting to steal the words of our Queen: ‘I hope that memories of all this year’s happy events will brighten our lives for many years to come.’

And so as history repeats itself, a jubilee later, I turn to our monarch to poach my parting words once more.

‘I hope that the coming days will provide an opportunity to reflect on all that has been achieved’ and that we can continue to ‘look to the future with confidence and enthusiasm.’

ELIZABETH R.

Well done, boys! A thoroughly deserved House Cup win this year! The year that we came back together to unite as the mighty force that is Howard House! Have a wonderful summer of fun; basking in the glory and reflecting on the wonder of a very special year!

Houses

WHITBREAD HOUSE REPORT

WORDS BY Mrs Michelle Aldridge, Whitbread Housemaster

What a remarkable year after the pandemic. Whitbread House returned to school to some of the normal activities and House events with ease in true Whitbread style and sprit. Having a positive attitude of, ‘just give it a go’, pushing forward and supporting others, this was certainly very evident throughout the year.

I have been so proud of all Whitbread achievements, watching them bond and work together as a house from Year 3 through to Year 8, really pushing their own personal boundaries but also supporting and encouraging others. The biggest moment and achievement for us this year as a house has

been the remarkable effort that has gone into this year’s House Charity. Boys across all the year groups got involved in their own personal challenges and covered miles by cycling, rowing, running, walking and swimming for Bedford Open Door, a counselling service that provides young people from the ages 13- 25 a safe place to be heard and not judged. This means so much to them and the young people of Bedford will certainly benefit from all the money raised. I too am incredibly grateful because Bedford Open Door is a service that I currently volunteer at as trainee counsellor and I know that the money raised will be greatly received. It’s so important to be able to

give back to the community to help and support others. Whitbread raised an amazing total of £2,015 on our Just Giving page – a record we have smashed for the most money raised for one single house charity in a year. So, thank you to all the people that donated money for this very worthy cause.

What makes our house unique and special is that all boys show great loyalty and sheer commitment to succeed, even when they are being pushed in directions outside their comfort zones. The determination is strong.

In their day-to-day academic tasks and house events, be it sports, general knowledge or House Art, all boys show exceptional

commitment, self-confidence, and belief not just in themselves, but in others too. They are truly amazing regardless of whether they win or lose, which is always something to be proud of. Boys within the house stretch the most able and support and encourage those that need that extra helping hand. What a dynamic approach, responding to the needs and abilities of every student.

Within the Whitbread house we believe that each boy should have a happy and purposeful experience to be able to gain great confidence in themselves as they go through each academic year. From the moment a new Whitbread boy joins the house the boys and

staff will help each boy develop their ability to work upon their character, resilience, build good relationships and to be able to tackle anything outside their comfort zone knowing that they will be supported all the way, providing them with the skills and knowledge to have an enjoyable and successful experience in the true Whitbread way.

There have been several highlights for me, some real magical moments, and memories. I have particularly enjoyed our interactive assemblies as I feel that it’s important for our boys to be involved in them, making it far more interesting and exciting, expecting the unexpected, keeping the boys on their toes and allowing them to look forward to house time together on a Friday afternoon. For example, we had a determination assembly and this involved Staff verses Students in a range of activities. We even had Miss Heywood taking part! This is about creating memories and moments to remember at Bedford Prep School being part of a house with unity. On a cold February afternoon, the traditional pancake race was to be held and 6 of our boys rolled their sleeves up and put on their trainers to compete in the race. In the background we had big roars of support. A competition not to be sniffed at, this is serious competitiveness. Unfortunately, we did not win this event but came a close second. All ended well as the team enjoyed getting stuck into their pancakes as a reward for completing the task. All Whitbread boys particularly enjoyed the ‘Play in a Day’ with each boy choosing to do a task to help aid this event to happen. It was wonderful

to see the amount of effort and time that had gone into making this play happen, from stage set design, prop making, advertisements, baking cookies to sell and most of all the acting. This was a fantastic event and such a joy watching the boys’ strengths all being put together and every boy’s effort counted.

There are many more events too that all have their equal weighting of success, but one of the biggest events of the year is the House Sports Day down at the athletic stadium. We arrived in our house colours and with great noise – wanting it to be heard and noticed that Whitbread House was present. Wow, the sheer determination to get to the finish line, or to throw, jump or run was fantastic, whether they were winning or coming in last place the effort was still there and the support from the stands was equally impressive too, cheering and encouraging boys wherever they were placed. Always holding the school values, they are a credit to themselves.

Although we did not win the House Cup this year, we made a tremendous effort to be at the top gaining second place with not many points between the winning house. I have the privilege of watching you grow from Year 3 to Year 8 and if you continue into to the Upper School too, I get to witness your journey of growth through these stages and it’s a wonderful thing to be able to see and work alongside all the Whitbread boys who keep the house together with unity, belief, and togetherness and a strong passion to succeed. I cannot ask for a better house. The force is always with you Whitbread, Yoda boys! Well done.

Staff vs boys Malteser challenge

It’s so important to be able to give back to the community to help and support others

Whitbread boys form the letters of their chosen charity, Bedford Open Door.

Prep Guild

Prep parents, which we will look to repeat in 2023. We supported the Year 8s with the Family Fun Morning. Another gloriously sunny event, and a superb team effort raising money for the House Charities. Again, we couldn’t have done it without the wider community supporting the Committee’s efforts. The Prep Parents’ Cricket Team, made up of dads from across the year groups put in a sterling performance in their match against the Ousels (teachers’ team). A minor defeat made up for by some great moments and memories made.

PREP GUILD REPORT

The Prep Guild would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone in the school community who has supported all our events this year. It has been a fantastic return to ‘normality’ after the pandemic with many of our favourite events back in the calendar, as well as some new ones too.

We started the year with the Macmillan Coffee Morning – with the addition of fete-style games. The sun shone for us and it was so great to see everyone in good spirits having a go and enjoying themselves. Big thanks to all who baked and supported the event, to the parents who helped out and a special thank you to the teachers who were happy to have wet sponges thrown at them – all in aid of such a good cause.

November saw our first ever Bingo and Burritos Night, and what a night it was! The tension built with everyone taking the bingo element very seriously and we all laughed so much as the winners took home the tackiest

prizes including a shopping trolley and a year’s supply of toilet roll!

As Christmas approached, Covid precautions returned, so the Prep Guild served mulled wine and mince pies to parents outside in a gazebo after the Carol Services. Fortunately, the Christmas Gift Sale event was able to go ahead with our wonderful army of wrappers tackling over 2,000 gifts. Thanks to the school staff for all their support in ensuring the boys could come to the shop and we hope that the gifts were well received. We held Wreath Making Workshops with expert tuition at the fabulous Howbury Hall,

Right: The warm glow of lights which heralded the Guild event of the year, the Guild Centenary Ball

accompanied by a glass of fizz and homemade canapés kindly provided by our very own Prep Guild chefs.

We partnered with Castle Comedy for a night at the Quarry Theatre and enjoyed discounted tickets and a reception area for

Did we save the best event ‘til last? Maybe! The Guild Centenary Ball, a joint effort for the Prep and Upper School, was three years in the planning, but wow, it was worth it. Everything came together superbly for a night to remember – we can’t wait to do

another. What with Sports Day, New Parents Evenings and the Year 3 and 4 Sports Afternoon, there have been lots of opportunities to bring the community together this year. We are so grateful to everyone who has supported our efforts and will report on the year’s fundraising at our AGM. As Chair, I would like to thank everyone on the committee, school staff and parent helpers for being so brilliant, especially Melissa Morgan, Jen Hayes, Sharmila Sohanpal and Nancy Sarro, for all of their time and dedication to the Prep Guild.

Cheers to fundraising, fellowship and fun!

WORDS BY Mrs Emily Hudson, Chair of the Prep Guild

BSA REPORT

WORDS BY Mr Hugh Maltby, Director of the Bedford School Association

BSA (Bedford School Association)

The Bedford School Association (BSA) is made up of several groups from across the wider school community comprising of; the Prep School Parents’ Guild, the Upper School Parents’ Guild, the Past Parents Association, the Old Bedfordians Club and the Bedford School Foundation Trust. Whilst last year remained somewhat challenging, with a mixture of physical and online events taking place, the community used its creativity to put on a programme of events and talks designed to support everyone and appeal to a wide audience.

The special ‘Bedford spirit’ was in sharp evidence last September when over 100 members of the school community came forward to offer their time to support the lateral flow testing of the boys and staff, a huge logistical exercise, which would not have been possible without the

Above: the BSA team at the Networking Event

Inset images: from the Estates Master Plan

tremendous help of everyone. Eagle Connect (www. eagleconnect.uk), our digital business and social networking platform open to all parents, OBs and past parents, now has over 1,850 members, sharing connections and business opportunities. Our annual Upper School careers fair, which was once again online this year, attracted a broad range of guest speakers from many different business sectors, giving pupils, including seven non Harpur Trust schools, the opportunity to ask questions and learn about a variety of different careers.

The Bedford School Foundation Trust continued its fundraising activities last year in support of the boys, providing funding for many different projects including renovation of the Prep School playground, portable tennis nets, a junior bowling machine and a new milling machine for the

technology department, to name but a few. The proposed Estates Master Plan will usher in the next, and arguably most exciting phase of Bedford School’s development since the science building in the 1930s. The concept, which has yet to obtain planning permission, would reimagine much of the estate, refining the visual aesthetic of the school’s entrance via the installation of an innovative facility to house Maths, Entrepreneurship, Computer Science, Business Studies and Economics. These subjects have been chosen carefully and are woven into the strategic vision of Bedford. Our young men will grow up in a world where digital technologies underpin their lives, and where entrepreneurial endeavours will be some of their most likely routes to success. We need to enable our boys to pursue these areas boldly, in the best possible facilities, and foster the skills and determination they need to thrive.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those connected to the BSA for their ongoing support in what has been a very difficult period for everyone is made to feel part of our school community.

Computer Science

COMPUTER

SCIENCE REVIEW

Computing is an exciting, interesting and engaging discipline which is increasingly permeating every sphere of human life.

This includes keeping safe online; advances in medical science; space exploration; amongst so many others, all of which leads to a deeper understanding of our world as well as eliminating many mundane and laborious jobs. Our aims, at Bedford Prep School, are to continue to develop our students’ enthusiastic engagement with all things Computing! Each year group focused on a variety of topics within Computing from processing and digital assets such as: digital images and drawing in IT; Digital Literacy - being a great digital citizen and e-safety; and Computer Science - programming and computing theory. While students are introduced to E-safety as a stand-alone unit it is also revisited across the curriculum and in other subjects: in PD, tutor time and during assemblies, as it is such an important topic. This approach to the subject gives our students a breadth of knowledge from which to build upon as they move across the school and beyond.

YEAR 3

At the start of the year, our youngest students spent time getting used to our systems,

learning passwords and password security for their E-safety component. They later went on to explore searching and sharing documents before moving on to inputs and outputs and digital drawing. Year 3 were also briefly introduced to networks, security and how they work. This was followed by exploring block based programming on Scratch. It has been a fun year for Year 3: the students have really enjoyed the variety of activities and I cannot wait to support these enthusiastic students’ learning and building their skills next year. If there is one thing I would like to impress on these excited and keen students, it would be to learn their usernames and school email address ready for next year!

YEAR 4

Clockwise from top left: Coolest Project Entry - Thomas, Dhruv, Ethan; Coolest Project Entry, Thomas writing code; Austin Reddy, Image Manipulation Unit; Henri Helm, Website Year 6 Year, 5DR

Year 4 began the year with an ICT project which enabled them to investigate hyperlinks and how to embed links into text and images when making an interactive digital poster about a country in Africa. They progressed onto networks and how the internet works; looking at how to keep their information safe online. Year 4 advanced on to programming using LOGO turtle where they explored commands and count-controlled loops to create repeated designs using shapes. Writing commands, at this stage of their computing journey, will put these young coders at an advantage when it comes to other textbased coding later in their studies.

YEAR 5

Emailing was the focus for Year 5 at the start of the year; they learned how to send suitable emails, concentrating on formality and informality; attaching documents and embedding links. Their e-safety module

WORDS BY Mrs Kashta Dale, Head of Computer Science

focused on reliability and identifying fake news which linked well to their digital photographic manipulation unit, where the students enthusiastically learnt a range of tools and vocabulary to create some very interesting images on Photopea. The Summer Term focused on programming where students used Scratch coding blocks to learn about selection in programming through making an animated quiz. Selection is a fundamental programming concept on which our students can build as they progress through the school.

YEAR 6

Year 6 stretched themselves to explore RAM, ROM, the CPU and computing hardware in the first term. They moved into their e-safety unit where some students looked at how to keep their devices safe while others focused on staying safe online, particularly related to gaming. They used this knowledge and research to build a WYSIWYG website using Google sites. Students concentrated on web design principles such as building a navigation trail as well as the concepts of copyright and fair use in relation to using images or text online. “I enjoyed the freedom of making the website this year, as we could be really creative,” said Chris Gentry in 6W. The last term was split between Scratch blockbased programming; looking at variables and physical computing, using the Microbit to bring coding into a tangible realm. It will be exciting to see how the boys build on this experience next year in Year 7!

YEAR 7

Students began the year by studying computational theory, particularly looking at Logic Gates and Boolean logic. This was followed by Python programming where students began text-based coding. They made a Magic 8 Ball using the concepts of randomisation within Python. Dhruv Patel “I really liked the lessons and competition this year. I liked programming in Python, particularly making the Magic 8 Ball and using the random module as I found that really interesting.” Later the students showed off their sequencing and selection knowledge by attempting to build a Chatbot in Python that would pass the Turing test, giving their bot a persona that convinces a user that they are talking to a real person. “The most enjoyable Computer Science task this year has been the replit chatbot making. I find this because it was quite fulfilling to see all my ideas pour out into the code and create

an ‘abomination’ of my own making which really opened my eyes to how fun coding can be.” remarked Jamie Kingsbury. The next unit for Year 7 was e-safety and ICT processing, where they completed a research project on Cyberbullying: wrote a report; created graphs and spreadsheets with their findings and delivered a slide based presentation “I have enjoyed making a presentation and researching cyber-bullying.” commented Donnel Creek. Year 7 students’ final digital design task was to make a low poly illustration using Adobe Photoshop “This was really fun, I’m going to continue doing it at home,” said Leo Clavier.

YEAR 8

Year 8 students developed upon the textbased programming skills they had begun in Year 7, albeit using different programming languages. They started the year using HTML and CSS to build websites. The boys learnt about design principles and colour schemes and embedding assets such as video and images into their websites. Next, they explored a module in data representation on binary calculations and character representation before the majority explored bitmap images on Photoshop. In the Summer term Year 8 investigated cyber security as their e-safety unit and the majority used their knowledge to produce a quiz using Python. Photoshop image manipulation Pixel Art work crested for Remembrance Day Competitions and Extra-Curricular: We have had a great year of Computing, filled with internal, national and international competitions.

The year began with students across the school, including Year 13, being invited to write an article entitled: “Are Robots a Threat to Humanity?” to be published in our prestigious ‘Bedford School Journal of Digital Learning’. The Year 8 students rose to the occasion and two students: Theo Young and Alfred Wright fought off fierce competition to win the right to have their articles published. Both articles can be access via this link: https://issuu.com/

bedford-school/docs/journal_of_digital_ learning_volume_4_-_robots_and_ This was a great start to an academic year filled with competitions and opportunities. The best part of joining in with computing competitions is truly ‘the taking part’.

Other competitions in which students participated this year were:

Bebras Computational Logic: open to all year groups was a fun way to explore Logic puzzles. The following students received best in school for their achievement: Isaac Raddan, Edward Keggin, Rory Brodie.

Coolest Project Competition: Dhruv Patel, Thomas Whiting, Ethan Wrightson

PA Raspberry Pi Competition: Year 7 – Daniel Lushchay, Christian Hiemstra, Dhruv Patel, Thomas Whitting, Ethan Wrightson

Year 8 – Seth Baines, Ollie Cadman-Kerr, Charles Whittle-Queral. For their efforts in this competition the boys received certificates and Raspberry Pi Pico for the school and to inspire other boys to take part in coding competitions next year.

Young Coders: Georgi Savkov-Lin in 5A received a certificate for his efforts in the activity. Internet Safety Day competition: won by Arthur Macey White in 3L

Taking part in competitions was only one of many extracurricular activities in Computing this year; we also ran a successful Coding Club/Computing Clinic as well as various 3D printing clubs.

Coding Club and Computing Clinic was open to all students who either wanted to further develop their computer skills; extend or work on their computer programming or needed extra support on a topic relating to Computing. The 3D printing Club, led by students in conjunction with DT - was also available to all students. Excellent work by Oliver Harris in Year 8 and Daniel Lushchay in Year 7 for their wonderful work and dedication in sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm for 3D printing with the rest of the school.

As mentioned above, it has truly been a great year for Computing and I am excited about the various competitions, topics and computing related clubs planned for next year!

Below: Journal of Digital Learning

GARDENING CLUB

WORDS BY Madame Eugenie Chaillou-Kindred

The Spring Term brought blooming news in the Prep School; our first ever seedling swap event which acted as one of the fundraising events for the Harpur’s chosen charity “Men in Sheds Bedford”. Boys were given the Easter holidays to prepare seedlings of their choice and on the first Thursday back, we conducted a swap event where the boys either brought a young plant to swap or £1 to purchase a plant. Madame Chaillou-Kindred prepared about 50 plants for the event and was not expecting it to be so successful! Boys brought a wide variety of plants from chillies, tomatoes to sunflowers and even Acorn! Boys and staff took part and over £100 was raised on that day. A big thank you for everybody contributing to this fantastic event whose future looks promising.

BOARD GAMES CLUB

WORDS BY Mrs Alex Gordon

Is a very popular lunch break club for Y3-8 boys, particularly in the colder and wetter months! It is lovely to see all different age groups mixing and playing Chess, Monopoly, Operation, BrainBox and Top Trumps to name just a few!

WORDS BY Madame Eugenie Chaillou-Kindred

We conducted our annual birdwatch event in January which involved a range of keen bird watchers and nature lovers. We spent a couple of weeks prior to the date to broaden our knowledge of common garden birds and quizzed ourselves on names and how to identify a bird from its songs and appearance. On 27th January, we conducted our observations during lunchtime and ventured in the Quarry Gardens where many birds were spotted including wrens, blue tits and house sparrows. This event was followed by the national bird box week in February where we constructed bird boxes which we placed on the school premises.

CLIMBING CLUB

WORDS BY Madame Eugenie Chaillou-Kindred

Every week on Wednesdays was synonym to climbing at the Prep School; ten to twelve boys from across the different year groups geared up during lunch time and developed climbing skills and confidence on the different routes. Mr Roberts, Miss Kashi, Miss Hone, Mrs Russell and Mrs Chaillou-Kindred helped the boys achieve their climbing badges which consisted of achieving ten specific skills including fi tting a harness correctly and practising belaying. Several boys successfully reached this status and were awarded a climbing badge. Well done to all the boys who have attended this lunchtime club!

KNITTING CLUB

WORDS BY MissMolly Orme

In the Spring Term we invited the boys to come along and learn how to knit, with the end goal of being able to follow a knitting pattern. Thursday lunchtimes saw many boys enjoying learning a new skill and helping each other out. Each week the boys would come in and continue practicing both the knit stitch and the pearl stitch before advancing to rib, increasing and decreasing, casting off and more. By the end of the Summer term, boys had progressed to making different sections of cardigans which will be continued next year with the eventual objective of donating the finished cardigans to local maternity wards for their premature babies.

Extra curricular

HUNGRY BOYS CLUB

WORDS BY Mrs Nicki Carrington

Our Hungry Boys’ Club has been busy cooking up a wide range of delicious dishes in the Dining Hall this year. Boys from Year 7 all the way down in Year 3 have taken up the challenge of joining the Prep School’s Cookery Club and having a go at creating some yummy treats.

After learning about safety and hygiene, testing their knowledge on spices, and having an exciting tour behind the scenes in the kitchens, the boys, suitably dressed for the part, set about creating some culinary masterpieces under the expert guidance of our chefs.

The boys’ first dish was a chicken and club sandwich, which they followed up with a tasty tomato soup made from scratch. Their adventures in cooking continued as they created chicken stir fry and some boys even made their very first pizza, mixing, kneading and spinning the dough as traditional Italian Chef’s would do.

The Hungry Boys’ Club is always hugely popular and provides the boys with some valuable and rewarding life skills, which some boys reported as even putting to good practice at home with some pleasing results and feedback.

The Hungry Boys hope to continue with our taste adventures next year, so please sign up when you see your year group’s sessions advertised in the bulletin.

Extra curricular

back in July, I am proud to say that 16 of the 18 have made it to full choristership, plus Charlie who, being in year 8, started with the main choir. All 17 received their surplices (long white robes) at a moving ceremony in June, and here’s the proof.

Meanwhile the main choir trebles started with a recording of Jamie Lonsdale’s “White Doves of Peace” for Remembrance Sunday, in conjunction with an orchestra, a professional choir and some Chelsea Pensioners. This recording attracted the interest of the national news media as well as nearly 700,000 hits on YouTube. The Carol Services were a highlight as always, although quarantined bubbles made them a little less predictable than normal; somehow we managed to fi t in our choir Christmas outing, a trip bowling in Milton Keynes.

WORDS BY Words by Mr Keith Roberts

CHAPEL CHOIR

As I arrived at Bedford School in September charged with getting the Chapel Choir back up and running after its 4-term COVID hiatus, as well as the excitement of a new challenge, there was a sense of the enormity of it. Boys’ voices change, and there were only 7 members of the choir still able to sing treble (4 only just), including just 2 from the Prep School (Stirling and Harry, of whom more later). Mrs Gedye and Mr Sanders had listened to all the rising year 5-7 boys sing and given me a list of names of boys whom I had never met who might be able and willing to join the choir. I wrote to their parents, inviting the boys to be probationers. Would anyone come? Would

they have completely forgotten how to sing? Would we be able to work together? (they had never met me either) Would all of our existing trebles last long enough to allow any new boys to come through and not be completely bewildered?

18 boys came to our first Monday session. They worked hard on singing, how to sing together, listening to themselves and each other, the basics of reading notes, how to sing psalms without sounding like daleks, forming a team spirit to take us forward, finding some choir in-jokes, understanding why a Magnificat isn’t about a magnificent cat*, learning how to be committed, learning that it’s OK to make a mistake. Now, looking

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CLUB

WORDS BY Mrs Kelly Faulkner

Tuesday lunchtimes are buzzing (literally) in the Prep School as a hoard of Y8 boys turned up every week to General Knowledge Club. We raced through different rounds such as Geography, Sport, Science and much more and it is always competitively contested. The future of pub quizzes in Bedfordshire looks bright!

The Lent Term saw a steady stream of our squad of probationers getting experience of singing with the main choir, one service at a time and in groups. The main highlight of the start of the Summer Term, when our full squad finally came together, was the trip to Ely Cathedral to sing a joint evensong with the regular choir of men and boys. Here they are rehearsing with Ely’s Director of Music, Mr. Aldhouse.

As I write preparations are well underway for our performance in the Upper School Summer Concert, as well as four days at Salisbury Cathedral in August singing the services while the regular choir is on holiday. I have inherited a super bunch of boys, and the progress they have made has been extraordinary. Our veterans Stirling and Harry have been excellent leaders, willing helpers and showers of the way to our new boys. Thank you to them, and to all the new choristers for all their work and good spirit. The future looks very exciting!

School Life

Trips, events & talks

Year 3 BRITISH MUSEUM REPORT

WORDS BY Mrs Nicki Carrington

JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS

WORDS BY Mrs Jo Lock

With the flags flying and a sea of red, white and blue (our Prep boys suitably attired) as far as the eye could see, it was a right royal affair on the Friday before the May half term break as we commenced celebrations ahead of the Queen’s Jubilee. The day started with boys planting a tree for the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative, designed to enhance our environment and provide a wonderful reminder of this special year.

The boys’ form rooms were also fi ttingly decked out for the day with celebration window displays. While it was a hard job to choose the very best, the prizes (a tray of cookies to tuck into at the tea party) went to 5RR, with 7B and 4V a close third and second respectively.

Following a whole school assembly led by our Year 8 prefects, the boys headed out into the sun for the grand finale: Tutor group tea parties with all the trimmings.

LATIN TRIPS

WORDS BY Miss Molly Orme

This year the Latin department were able to take boys from Year 7 and Year 8 out of school to learn more about the Ancient Roman world and how the Romans impacted life in Britain at the time. Our year 8 Latinists went to Verulamium in modern day St Albans where we explored the ruins of a Roman theatre and bath house, as well as discovering how the excavations at Verulamium were carried out. Those Year 7 boys who have chosen to continue with Latin into Year 8, took a trip down the M1 to Welwyn, a site which consists of a Roman Bath house and an 18th century mill. The boys were able to learn about archaeology, play some Roman games and pastimes, and make their own clay pots in the Roman style.

Afirst for Year 3, we took our Greek Topic all the way to the British Museum. On June 29th 45 boys, three teachers and five super mummies boarded the coach to take our learning to a new level. We were off to see Greek artefacts first hand in London. The day started with a lovely coach journey into London. We arrived at the museum where we enjoyed a snack whilst admiring the beautiful architecture of the museum. With its four vast wings, 43 Greek temple inspired columns, triangular pediment and enormous steps, it’s certainly not what you’d expect to see in central London. It emulated classical Greek architecture and impressed us. Next the boys began their learning journey. Session one gave the boys the opportunity to look at Greek pottery. They looked at the different pot styles and also the pictures of Gods and Goddesses depicted upon them. Session two in involved the boys using the iPads to take photos of Greek friezes from the Parthenon Marbles. They found battle scenes, Gods, a range of animals ready for sacrifice and hunting scenes. The final session took the boys on a little tour around the Egyptian artefacts to refresh their memory from our first topic. The boys then looked at everyday life in Ancient Greece and drew pictures of artefacts which stood out to them. Of course, the trip would not have been complete without a trip to the gift shop. The journey home was definitely a lot quieter as the excitement and curiosity had taken its toll on us! Year 3 are unanimous in the fact we had a lovely day of adventuring and helping our understanding of Greece grown even further.

“I liked how we could take photos and see new things,” Arjun 3L

“I really liked seeing lots of things but especially the gift shop,” Paddy 3W

Year 3 VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES

TALK

WORDS BY Mrs Nicki Carrington

Our Year 3 boys enjoyed a superb dramabased workshop on volcanoes and earthquakes on Tuesday 1 March. The workshop, delivered by Sarah from ‘One Day Creative’ helped the boys to solidify their recent in-class learning.

Jam-packed with activities, the boys covered the key aspects of the physical geography of volcanoes and earthquakes, even pretending to be the different layers of the Earth. They explored ancient myths used to explain these natural disasters before creating imaginative interpretations – expressing their ideas and feelings through voice, movement and drama. Finally, they looked at the human impact of earthquakes and volcanoes, even creating a news report on an earthquake. With all this activity and games and quizzes, the boys were kept busy and engaged.

It was evident that the boys have loved learning about this topic, as their enthusiasm was palpable and their knowledge superb!

Year 3 ANIMAL ADAPTIONS TALK

WORDS BY Mrs Nicki Carrington

Why does a snake have a forked tongue, a desert fox such big ears? Why do some lizards move so slowly most of the time? How do you persuade a hedgehog to uncurl when it’s rolled up in a tight, little, spiky ball?

All these questions, and more, were answered for our Year 3 boys by Steve from the Dinosaur, Wildlife and Education Centre (DWAEC) on Wednesday 9th March, as he revealed the amazing adaptions animals use to thrive in the extreme environments in which they live.

During the afternoon, the boys met a range of incredible animals living in some of the most inhospitable parts of our extreme Earth. They learned about their fascinating behaviours and saw up-close that most are not scary if you understand and respect them.

“Thank you so much for letting us meet your amazing animals, wowing us and teaching us so much too.”

Trips, events & talks

Year 3 EGYPT REPORT

WORDS BY Mrs Nicki Carrington

It may have been the last day of the half-term, but for our Year 3 boys, there was no slowing down as they hot-footed it back in time to ancient Egypt for a fun day of adventure complete with Pharaohs and ancient gods. Decked out in fantastic costumes, the boys enjoyed a morning filled with interactive learning. Activities included; doing basic maths the Egyptian way, and learning how to measure in cubits, playing Hounds and Jackals, an easy Egyptian board game, and they also had the chance to handle Egyptian artefacts such as eye liner pots and mummification badges, to understand their way of life. The afternoon led them to immersing themselves in the fantastical world of the ancient Egyptians in truly dramatic style after the death of a mighty pharaoh. The boys explored the many rituals that follow the death, including tomb building, the mummification process, burial ceremonies and, finally, the crowning of the new Pharaoh. The day ended with a session of hunting on The River Nile, being especially careful not to hit a hippo! Overall, Year 3 were fully absorbed and interacted wonderfully in the workshop learning so much about the enigmatic world of the ancient Egyptians.

Year 7 NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE

WORDS BY Mr Rob Heaney

On Monday 25th April all of the Year 7 boys visited the National Space Centre in Leicester. The day was a huge success enjoyed by all, including the staff at the Space Centre, who commented on how well the boys conducted themselves.

POPS

The main benefits of going on a trip like this is to have fun, gain knowledge about Science and to understand the facts. This particular trip gave me an abundance of general knowledge about Space and AI. Raihaan Adil

I learned that: Astronauts train underwater to simulate low gravity. When they are in space their bones become brittle There is a solar eclipse near my birthday

Dominic Fairhead

In my opinion, the best part of the trip was the Planetarium show as I learned so much from it and it was very interestingBerkley Barnicoat

Trips, events & talks

Years 3 & 4 SUMMER SPORTS WITH BEDFORD GIRLS’ SCHOOL

WORDS BY Mrs Nicki Carrington

With the sunshine beaming down, what better way to enjoy the summer weather than a game of cricket or even rounders. Even better than that to have Bedford Girls’ School come along and enjoy the summer sports too.

At 1.30pm on the final Thursday of the Summer Term, Year 3 and 4 descended on the Inky Pitch and main school playing field to enjoy some summer sports with the company of the girls from BGS. The Year 3 and 4 groups and schools mingled to make mixed teams and to work together with new faces. This was a chance to show off their Future Skill of collaboration and celebrate the end of the school year whilst bringing the schools together for some simple summer fun.

With 150 girls and boys, the group split in to six teams to try their hand at a fast and furious game of diamond cricket and a game of equally tricky and speedy rounders. The teams really showed off their skill with the batting and excellent fielding skills. They worked together wonderfully, having the chance to socialise with new people whilst supporting them too. After their first game, the Years 3 and 4 enjoyed a cool ice lolly as provided by our wonderful Parents Guild. The final part of the afternoon meant the teams could swap sports and give the other one a go. After much fun and thank yous it was declared that sport was the winner!

We are so lucky to have such amazing facilities, sport staff and the lovely BGS, who helped us end the term on a real high. Thank you.

School trips

SCHOOL

Despite our stunning nature reserve at Ickwell not being open for day trips this year, we still made the most of building and strengthening friendships and offering team building activities in the outdoors on our school premises. At the start of the academic year we held year group team building days where boys enjoyed a range of activities. These included minibeast investigations, den building, toasting marshmallows, team challenge games, archery tag and learning to use flint and steels to light fires. Who doesn’t love a s’more!

For the first time this year myself and Mr Michael Roberts were able to offer small group Forest School sessions each Friday lunchtime. Approximately 15 boys (age range 7 - 13 years)

WORDS BY Mrs Rebecca Russell, Forest School Leader

would be invited along to the sessions for a five week programme. The aim being to provide opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a natural environment. A few of the very capable Year 8s were then trained to become Young Leaders and attended each Friday session throughout the year. Thanks to Year 8 boys

Ralph Franklin, Will Spice, Seth Baines, Will Feltham and Year 7 Isaac Devenish who could always be relied upon to assist and use their initiative when helping the younger boys.

OUR AIM AT BEDFORD PREP SCHOOL

n To provide learning opportunities in the outdoor environment through exciting practical activities.

n To allow boys to take risks, problem solve, be creative and be part of a team.

n To build independence and self-esteem in a relaxed and diverse environment.

n Forest School will allow boys freedom to explore safely in the natural world.

n Increase the connection between children and the natural environment.

School trips

YEAR 3 REPORT

WORDS BY Mrs Nicki Carrington, Head of Year 3

When reflecting on the year, one word sticks out to me as something that shone through in all that we did. Linking perfectly with our Future Skills of Endeavour, Year 3 has shown that collaboration is a skill which can get us through whatever life throws at us; our Y3 boys have this skill in abundance.

They have demonstrated that in the small group work in the classroom, where the boys were key figures in guiding and supporting one another, and in tasks where they needed patience and kindness when helping boys who were working remotely to feel involved and included in lessons,

It was seen in the class team work of dressing up to give clues about our World Book Day stories, and in welcoming new friends and challenges as we took on STEM activities at Bedford Girl’s School. It was demonstrated in workshops and talks from visiting speakers where the boys had to show off their impeccable behaviour and their amazing knowledge in a respectful but impressive way. They wowed the visitors and earnt us much respect. And the boys also displayed collaboration when working with older boys to create something for our House Drama and, finally, working

together to impress audiences of mums, dads and relatives with our singing, dancing, comic timing or even a new found skill.

Collaboration has been an everyday event and has run through everything the boys have done. We are so proud of the way they have handled this skill and shown it confidently in everything they do.

I have no doubt that as the boys go on to Year 4 this well practised skill will help themtake on the upcoming challenges, support them when things are tough but

equally assist them to be the best that they can be in every stage of their life.

Thank you for a fabulous year Year 3.

YEAR 3 GREEK TOPIC REVEAL

There was excitement in the air on Wednesday as our Y3 boys gathered in the café bar to discover their new topic for the term. Mrs Carrington, Mr Whitbread and Mr Lee challenged the boys to work out the topic from the foods they were about to try. Their tasting menu (which looked and tasted amazing) included feta salad with tzatziki, houmous and pita bread, chicken souvlaki and loukoumades (golden balls of fried dough bathed in a sweet syrup). After the “fantastic food”, prepared by our school chefs, was eaten, the boys offered plenty of intelligent guesses, with both Morocco and Turkey suggested and even the idea of ‘diversity’ as all the food was so wonderfully different in taste. The correct answer, which many of the boys figured out, was, of course, Greece!

Over the coming weeks, the boys can look forward to exploring all things Greek. There will be plenty to cover, from the Olympics to tourism, geography to gods and goddesses, drama to democracy. Boys are also set to enjoy trips to the British Museum and Bedford’s own Archimedes Screw on the Embankment closer to home.

If this academic year was a D.V.D, it would be a best seller that we’d watch over and over again. It has been an absolute pleasure to have the boys back in school and making the most of their learning opportunities. The boys should feel proud of their efforts this year and they approached each challenge with unbridled enthusiasm.

Miss Oakley, Miss Valentino and I have had an absolute blast teaching this incredibly engaging group of boys as they have developed their independence, both socially and academically.

In Maths, they became more adept at flexible problem-solving and took part in a variety of Rockstar’s competitions; in English, they threw themselves once again into the Accelerated Reader programme (reading is a particular strength and passion of this group) and as a result built up their confidence at writing creatively and at length. The boys were immersed in learning new Alan Peat writing structures and proved themselves as exceptionally good writers too. In Topic, they enjoyed discovering about Romans, Anglo Saxons and Vikings, Mountains, Rivers and Coasts; in Science, they furthered their knowledge of plants, animals (especially humans), light, sound and electricity. This learning was all brought to life with the help of several trips and events, including Pizza making, Whipsnade Zoo and a variety of author talks. And who could forget the

amazing celebratory trip to Bushcraft!

Many Year 4 boys featured prominently in the musical and dramatic life of the School this year, including in the school’s fantastic Mini Musical, performed by the choir. The boys have dived head-first into a range of dramatic opportunities, with many taking on extra Speech and Drama lessons and achieved great things at the Bedfordshire speech and drama festival. They took part in the Shakespeare monologue competition and showed passion and determination as they learned long speeches off by heart, from Julius Caesar to As you Like it. They had an amazing Drama morning with the Royal Shakespeare company, practising different techniques and scenes. The Performance poetry recital competition was again, an absolutely fantastic event where all the boys showed their confidence. The House Drama, play in a day, was an incredible event that gave the boys opportunities to perform, understand marketing and work across different year groups. It was a pleasure to watch, not only the actors mixing in with the older year groups, but the work behind the scenes too. It was wonderful as well to see such commitment to music from Year 4 boys in the various musical concerts across the year, including the Starter Class Concert towards the end of the Summer term in which every single boy performed.

It was a pleasure taking the boys on

fixtures again and in each sport, every boy in the year group experienced these. Some amazing performances across the board and some delicious match teas. The boys showed leadership, respect and a good understanding of healthy competition at every level.

We kept up our brilliant connection with Bedford Girls school in a range of activity days, hosted both here and there. These included a brilliant Panto performance, dance workshops and an incredible Summer sports afternoon.

In June, every boy in the year group headed to their first residential trip since joining Bedford Prep and indeed, the first ever Year 4 Bushcraft experience. The boys dived into their learning in the wilderness and showed fantastic behaviour, manners and respect to the guides. They learned shelter building, fire making (where they cooked their own lunch) and variety of outdoor camouflage and concealment games. A brilliant time had by all as they developed their Future skills outside of the classroom context.

It has been an unbelievably busy, but thoroughly enjoyable year and we have loved working with this group of boys. I hope they look back on their year, full of achievements, with pride. We wish them all the very best of luck for Year 5 as they continue their learning journey through Bedford Prep.

WORDS BY Mr Sam Powell , Head of Year 4

Year 5

WORDS BY Mr Dominic Affleck, Head of Year 5

Year 5 have had a very successful year.

The transition from Year 4 and the addition of many new boys meant that an action packed year was promised. The new boys settled in quickly thanks to the friendliness of the year group and the four new classes soon got used to their new environments and all that Year 5 and a new sense of independence entails.

Early in the Autumn Term, a superb day here at school engaging in team building activities meant that the tutors (Mr Roberts, Mrs Rossington, Mrs Aldridge and Mrs Russell) got a real opportunity to bond with their tutees, and of course for the boys themselves to form new friendships and perhaps rekindle older ones. Under the guidance of Mrs Russell the boys enjoyed a range of activities from fire-lighting to team building games.

The boys soon settled to life in Year 5 and we were struck by how quickly they acclimatised. Independence is our buzzword and we really encouraged the boys to

pack their own bags, use their lockers and remember where they were meant to be at any given time. With the added bonus of long trousers and blazers, we were delighted to see how quickly they merged to life in senior part of the Prep School.

The Autumn Term flashed by. Rugby fixtures across the breadth of the country, music concerts and the usual wide range of extra-curricular activities. The boys were understandably tired by Christmas.

The Spring Term was fairly miserable weather wise, but the boys persevered, playing hockey and football and gearing up for their first set of school assessments. For many, this was the first time having to do this, so they were a little nervous. Thankfully doing these tests in their own form rooms does help to alleviate the stress just a little although for some their first exam in the EMH was a highlight!

The Summer Term soon brightened and sparkling warm weather completed the

academic year. The sound of willow on leather, summer concerts, athletics, swimming and a fantastic day with the girls from BGS were particular highlights. It was a great event and we really enjoyed a range of fantastic activities with the girls at both our school and theirs. An annual event which the boys love and we are delighted to resume this after Covid.

We have enjoyed this fine crop of Year 5 boys and are confident that they will go onto great things. We wish them every success as they move onto the dizzy heights of Year 6.

Year 6

Year 6 have had a fantastic year, embracing changes to staff, COVID enforced bubbles and getting to know their counterparts at Bedford Girls School. They have been led by their amazing tutors, Mme Chaillou-Kindred, Miss Hone, Mrs Leeson and Mrs Powell, with Mr Loader handing over the reins of Head of Year in January. I have loved visiting the boys during tutor time and watching their assemblies. I have discovered more than I knew possible about: unusual water vehicles; inspirational women in sport; outstanding World records; and debated the number of wheels Vs doors in the world. They have enlightened us all.

Wordle has become a big hit in the morning form times along with growing some amazing sunflowers. The boys have become more independent as the year has progressed and took full ownership of their sunflowers. They took great pride in explaining their various scientific, and less scientific, approaches to growing them. The winning form, 6C, earnt a visit to enjoy Eagle House during their Thursday afternoon tutor time. I have particularly enjoyed tasting their technical bakes, along with the other staff on a Monday morning. They certainly are a talented group of boys.

We enjoyed our first event with BGS in the

Autumn Term. The boys and girls enjoyed getting to know each other across a range of team building activities including marble runs, climbing and tower building. Spring Term saw the activities focussing on internet safety at BGS and communication skills at BPS, with the friendships starting to develop. In the Summer Term, we were fortunate with a lovely day at the BGS fields in Cople. The boys took part in archery tag, rounders, blind obstacle course and scavenger hunts in scorching heat. We managed not to melt and enjoyed an ice lolly to cool off! I hope the boys can take the relationships and skills learned from these days forward into Year 7.

With COVID rules fluctuating throughout the year the boys adapted to ever changing circumstances. We bubbled as forms and a whole year group, looking to take the positives from each experience. The boys didn’t let COVID bubbles spoil their fun and had a bubble animal care club in their Science lesson! We are all grateful to be back to a more normal routine with assemblies and activities back in person.

This year, the boys have been back to sporting fixtures, competing in a wide range of fixtures including: rugby, hockey, swimming, cricket and tennis to name a few. They have also been performing in informal

Year 6 REPORT

concerts, musicals, Shakespeare slams, Play in a Day and more. I have enjoyed seeing the boys show their skills outside of the classroom. It is a real pleasure to see so many talented boys showcasing their abilities this year.

There have been many highlights this year but one stand out moment for me has been hearing the boys relay information from the Global Citizens group to their forms, in particular listening to Chris Gentry articulate the events of the holocaust clearly and accurately to 6W. Not being able to answer 6H’s questions about gender equality in sport was another stand out moment, I hope one day they can implement some solutions to this global issue. Visiting tutor time and observing 6L talking to their sunflowers, encouraging them to grow taller with gentle kind words was another highlight. A final personal highlight for me, is with 6C when they pretended I wasn’t there to make Mme Chaillou-Kindred jump - for which I did apologise when we had stopped laughing!

Well done to all the boys in Year 6 - you have been amazing! Keep working hard in Year 7, keep in contact with your new friends at BGS and enjoy yourselves next year. A great year boys!

WORDS BY Mrs Charlie Walker, Head of Year 6

WORDS BY Mr Rob Heaney, Head of Year 7

Year 7 REPORT

What a great year it has been for this current crop of Year 7s. The first full year in school since the 20182019 academic year, and despite the odd class bubble here and there, September saw a sense of normality return to Bedford Prep School, and the usual buzz around the school that we have become so accustomed to had finally returned.

As is normal every year in Year 7, we welcomed just over 30 new boys into the year group, and what fantastic additions they have been. They all settled very quickly, thanks to our ‘old boys’ making them feel very welcome, and they really have flourished. It has been great to watch the whole year group grow this year, whether that growth has been in the classroom, on the sports fields, on stage, in concerts or on any other platform that our fabulous school offers to the boys, every single boy has progressed in numerous ways.

The Autumn Term saw a few restrictions still in place which put paid to several events, namely the fantastic Ickwell day, however, there were still plenty of opportunities for the boys to enjoy. There was a full rugby season for a start, which the boys loved, and what a season it was. The U12 As finished undefeated and were statistically ranked number 1 in the country, winning all 15 of their matches. The U12 Bs played 16 matches and only lost to Warwick, when playing against other B

team opposition. The U12 C/D/E teams also acquitted themselves fantastically well throughout the season showing an excellent level of strength in depth. Well done to all boys that represented the school at rugby.

The first term was finished off in style with the Autumn Concert. Always a great event, but it seemed even more special this year with us being able to welcome family members back into the Great Hall to enjoy the evening’s performances. A huge well done to not only the boys involved, but also to Mrs. Gedye and the rest of the music team who always put on such a great show.

The Spring Term soon sprung upon us, and this term saw the business return. Assessments dominated the first few weeks, and as usual, our boys dealt with these showing extremely high levels of maturity. Following on from these, boys enjoyed a plethora of opportunities such as the Informal Concert, The Bedfordshire Festival of Speech and Drama, U13 UKMT Maths Competition, visits to the schools very own Planetarium and Observatory, plenty of hockey fixtures and much much more. Yet again, plenty of success came our way (there seems to be a common theme with this year group!). There was an almost endless list of wins, placements and commended performances at the Bedfordshire Festival, some excellent performances in the UK Maths Challenge, which bodes well for

next year, and a 3rd place finish at IAPS for the U13 Hockey team, secured by a last gasp Rory Stewart-Jones goal.

In what seemed like a blink of an eye, we arrived at the final term of the year. Another busy term ensued with events such as the National Space Centre Trip, House Drama, Sports Day, the Summer BBQ with BGS, the Public Speaking Competition, won brilliantly by Oliver Barbour, the Summer Concert and of course the cricket season.

The National Space Centre trip was the boys’ first school trip since their sleepover at the Science Museum in Year 5, and the day was enjoyed by all, including the staff at the Space Centre, who thanked us for how the boys conducted themselves.

House Drama was a joy to behold. All boys were involved in one way shape or form. Whether they were actors, caterers, marketers, controlling the lighting or designing the sets for the production - it really was a fantastic day, and once again the boys worked incredibly hard to bring everything together.

The Summer BBQ with BGS was a real success. Despite the boys spending the first 20 minutes with their chests puffed out and speaking (shouting) to each other in their deepest voices possible, and the girls spending that same time running around screeching, they did eventually calm down and interact with each other. Lots of mixed cricket, giant Jenga and connect 4, and boules were played, which allowed the boys and girls to interact with each other in a safe and friendly environment.

And so, to next year. This year group now move on to being top of the tree and with that comes great responsibility. Quite often, they set the tone for the younger boys, so it is important that they display all the core school values on a regular basis. Well done to all boys that have been given leadership responsibilities for next year. I know that you will all do a fantastic job and I look forward to seeing your leadership skills progress as the year goes on.

Finally, a huge thank you to my fantastic Year 7 team of tutors. Mrs Gordon, Miss Bamber, Miss Goodman, Ms Kashi, and Mr Mason. Their care and support for the boys has been fantastic and it has meant that the boys in Year 7 have had a brilliant year. The role of a tutor is an extremely important one and I have been very lucky to have the team that I have had this year.

I would like to wish all boys and families a lovely summer and I look forward to seeing you all again in September.

What a year it has been for this lovely group of young men; at the start of the year, their resilience and optimism was tested with many covid protocols still in place, but they have still come out strong and smiling and are enjoying life ‘as normal’ once again. This vivacious, determined and talented year group have been magnificently led by Head Boy, George Knight, Deputy Head Boys, Josh Lincoln and Advik Mishra and a team of excellent prefects and Future Skills Ambassadors. There have been academic, sporting, artistic, musical, and dramatic successes across the board for this group of boys who have certainly left their mark on the Prep School. Being at the top of the school has meant many more opportunities for roles of responsibility, especially within the 4 Day Houses.

Unfortunately, due to the year group bubbling rules in the first term, our leaders weren’t able to fully explore their potential and some key House events were unable to take place. However, the House tug of war and the House pancake race were memorable events where all years came back together. House Drama Collapse Day was also an opportunity for our Year 8s to show off their leadership and role modelling skills; some stellar performances across all different arenas; from acting and set design, to marketing and lighting. Congratulations to Howard for their overall win; special mention to Advik Mishra for winning the most promising actor award for his mature and composed performance as Mrs Fox.

The Summer Term brought about some relative normality. Exams happened as usual and were then followed by the Post-Exam Programme. This year, boys enjoyed various careers talks from law, to IT, Communication, Veternary, Poetry and rap, Engineering, Procurement, Immunology, Occupational

Psychology, Interior Design and Amazon. A big thanks to our school community for providing these talks for the boys. They also took part in a self-esteem workshop from Making Me charity, a mock trial, an introduction to the Unifrog platform, First-Aid courses, Life skills challenges, SRE talks, Holocaust workshops through theatre and drama and a very silly tutor-group Sports Day (well done to the 8F victors!). Other highlights were the trip to Boughton Woods with the Bushcraft company where boys enjoyed embracing the great outdoors, playing team games and cooking their own food on their self-built fires! They all had a chance to shine in the Prep Guild Fun Day as well providing fun stalls and entertainment for the school community to raise funds for our House charities. The Come Dine events were a particular highlight, not only the evenings themselves but also watching the collaboration, teamwork and planning between the boys in the early stages. Their determination to host a wonderful evening for their families shone through and were a huge success. 8B kicked off with the ‘Tropical’ theme, which was very well reflected in the room design and sensational Hawaiian shirts! 8F then showcased their delicious Mexican Fiesta with some fun entertainment involving goggles and a piñata! 8KD and 8L both celebrated diversity and equality with their worldly menus. 8L provided hand-made clay centrepieces and gave a lovely introduction to each course stating why it was important for different members

Year 8

WORDS BY By Mrs Sarah Loader, Head of Year 8

of the class. 8PD concluded the Come Dines with their streetfood soirée - some delicious food and atrocious singing! Overall, each class delivered an amazing event and should be very proud of their work; their guests certainly had a blast. The overall victors were 8L for their mature, heartfelt approach to the evening, coming together as a team and providing a flawless and efficient service, resulting in a fantastic all-round event.

During their English, History, Geography, French and Latin lessons, boys worked on their Independent Research Projects where they had to create a presentation and answer a ‘big question’ on a topic of their choosing which they presented informally to their peers and teachers in a Marketplace style event. Some insightful and highly thoughtprovoking ideas here. The project winner, as voted by his peers and teachers, was Andrew Wright whose research into successful coups throughout history provided an interesting and satirical presentation which gripped his audience. Andrew’s Personal Enquiry can be read on the next page. Huge congratulations to him, but also to the whole year group who all produced some highly impressive arguments.

The year concluded with Speech Day and Prize Giving where a huge amount of our boys were recognised for their talents both in and out the classroom. A special mention must go to Josh Lincoln who was awarded the Arthur Tisdall’s Award which is given to a boy who embodies the school values and most of all, kindness. Best of luck to Harry Adams and Jack McCardle who have left the school for new challenges elsewhere. Massive congratulations to each boy who has now completed his Prep School journey and is moving on to the Upper School or beyond. Thank you for being such a fabulous bunchstay in touch; we will miss you!

Putsch, pronunciamento, palace revolution. Regime change, ousting, overthrow. Whatever you call it, it’s a phenomenon world renowned, the coup d’etat. To begin though, we need to know what a coup is. By definition, it is a “sudden, violent and illegal seizure of power of an existing government by a small group.” (Although they are also usually organised, with unorganised coups often failing, leading to embarrassed faces and executed fighters). Maybe your boss hums excessively in the lobby, your teacher is giving you far too much homework, or you just want to take power, whatever your reason, here’s a tried and tested playbook to doing so, so buckle in, and take notes on how to stage a coup.

Aspiring dictators, your first step to a coup is deciding which coup is for you. There are many types, each with their own pros, cons and varying strategies, so let’s go through the list. First of all we have the breakthrough coup, and this is the popular one. This consists of a guerilla army, or a particularly revolutionary part of a country’s armed forces overthrowing the government. To clarify, let’s imagine you have an annoying (humming) boss, and he’s hogging the coffee machine all to himself, so you and your pals overthrow him and declare that the coffee machine shall be shared equally, in honour of famous barista Karl Marx, coincidentally it is 1917 Russia. Unfortunately, this coup must be popular with the people, although I’m sure you can sneak some extra sausages for yourself. Next we have the guardian coup, which sounds very alluring. In principle, this is a coup where someone feels the need to protect the country imminently, in order to prevent the collapse of it. Unlike breakthrough coups, guardian coups happen in unstable countries. If we go back to our coffee machine example, imagine that the machine is run by person a, but the coffee is far too strong, so someone else is elected to run it, but they never have milk in stock, so you decide to step in, organise a coup and sort out the machine once and for all. Finally is the veto coup, and this is perhaps the one which is the most undemocratic. Let’s go back to the coffee machine, and person c has just been elected in an absolute landslide as ruler of the coffee machine, and he starts limiting the exports of this delicious coffee to residents of coffee land so more can go to the residents. This angers the United States of Americano, who along with coffee land’s disgruntled rich overseers, call their friends in high military command who veto (overrule) coffee land’s ruler, and reverse his decisions, to the delight

ANDREW’S

ENQUIRY

of the rich. In culmination, a breakthrough coup is popular with the majority, which may make it easier to pull off, but what is popular often doesn’t align with the wishes of the rich and powerful. A guardian coup takes advantage of urgent turmoil, so, coupled with a good message, makes taking power a piece of coffee cake, however failing to deliver will result in your disappearance faster than you can say pronunciamento. A veto coup may be a struggle to motivate your troops, however it rewards handsomely

They say patience is a virtue, and this is true for coups. I know many of you are optimists, but coups are delicate procedures, and need to be done at just the right time. Three circumstances generally mean it is ripe for a coup. Firstly, an economic crisis, which can be fortoled if there are high levels of inflation and unemployment. Secondly, the country in question may have just had an embarrassing military defeat, which demoralises the military and makes them easier to be convinced. A third ingredient may be deadlock between two different parties, meaning nothing gets done. You probably could stage a successful coup (especially if you continue reading this essay) with one or two of these circumstances in play, but all three of these make sure that any government can be toppled.

Into the nitty gritty, the planning stage of our coup. This is the make or break, life or death aspect of our coup. Our aim is maximum speed, which means we need to tick off our objectives simultaneously, which

requires a large amount of people. This means we need to organise our militia, and this needs careful consideration. You may instinctively want to hire people who have been marginalised by the government (ethnic minorities), but the sight of them may just encourage nationalism in the populus, causing a major obstacle. Our militia also needs to be trained, which points to the obvious answer : the armed forces (if you aren’t able to access the armed forces, with enough money you can train your own army). Finding members of the army who are ethnically similar to you, which many dictators such as Idi Amin have done, may be a good way to ensure loyalty, however in life everything has a price, so you can always just “buy” the military or create your own. But not everyone is so easily corruptible, so you need to think of your marketing. Heard of the term buzzwords? It applies here as well. Find someone in the country who is relatively popular and get them on side, they’ll be your propagandist. We’re looking for someone preferably in the high level military, but a national celebrity would probably do, as long as your propagandist is charming. Arm your propagandist with words such as “the government is corrupt/ exploitive/unelected/plunging the country into anarchy” and really hound the leader’s decisions, that will gain support from the public. Never forget your true boss though, big business (and also America). Sell the coup to them, and promise tax breaks or other business benefits like resources, and your funding will flow through. Now that we have the military (or your own militia) and others on side ; we need to take out the defences of the country. You might think that this involves using the army, but you would be mistaken at this stage. We do need to ask a favour from our american/business associates, and that is to ask them to use their powerful position over the media to incriminate the government. Repeat our buzzwords, throw in some serious ones in though, such as human rights abuses, bribery and other naughty activities. Find some evidence, or rather make some evidence, and just get the public really riled up. Your time has come deary one, execute the order and position your troops in strategic positions such as parliament, the palace and especially the ports, airports, roads and railroads. Hold the country ransom and infiltrate the palace, by this point a resignation or suicide has happenned and your coup is a success. If you want to stay in power, go watch the netflix show “how to become a tyrant”, and remember who you need to return favours to.

This year, we enjoyed our first proper Speech Day and Prize-Giving since 2019. Our last two have been remote (completely, in 2020, and mostly in 2021, with only Year 8 and teachers present). It was absolutely wonderful to see boys, teachers, support staff, parents and governors all together in the Great Hall to help celebrate our boys’ academic achievements of the year. We also reflected on all of the extracurricular highlights of this term, in our Final Assembly (which was a marathon affair, showing that our boys have achieved so many impressive things). Between the two celebrations, we have recognised most of the brilliant things which boys have achieved, with the recognition that, despite the school’s very best efforts, some impressive exploits of the boys have slipped under the radar.

Our Guest of honour at Speech Day this year was Alex Waller. Alex has crafted a career for himself playing rugby for Northampton Saints at an exceptionally high level for the last 13 years and over 330 appearances. He attended Wellingborough School, and has played with ex Bedford School boys throughout his career. He has captained Saints, lifting the premiership trophy and the European Challenge cup in that time. He has

also represented England Saxons and has been in the England squad. He holds the record for the most consecutive appearances in the premier league history, not bad for a man playing as a prop in the front row cauldron.

Alex spoke to the boys about his career and offered them some advice on achieving success. To paraphrase: Firstly, figure out what you want to do, then work hard—harder than anyone else. And importantly, when you experience a knockback—which you will— accept what has happened, learn from it, adapt and move forward. He also advised them to “control the controllables but don’t waste time or energy worrying about the things you can’t.”

Alex also shared the advice he gives to young players joining the Saints Academy from school who, like our Y8 boys, are going from “being the big dogs to the puppies” as they move up. “Be confident, be respectful, but don’t hold back. Just because you are the youngest, it doesn’t mean that your opinion doesn’t matter. It doesn’t mean you haven’t seen a different or better way to do things.”

Head Boy, George Knight, also delivered a seriously good and heart-warming speech. In it, he skillfully summarised the events of the year, reminding just how brilliant Bedford

Prep School boys have been this year. He finished by exhorting his own year group (and all boys in the school) to take control of their lives and grasp their opportunities. He quoted that great philosopher, Arnold Schwarzenegger who advised that, “You can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets”. George suggested that we “grab all the opportunities on offer next year and start climbing that ladder.”

Talking of boys who grasped their opportunities, five other Year 8 boys had important roles at Speech Day. Three of our musicians showcased their talents. Harry Brown and Charlie Gibson confidently sung “Consider Yourself” by Lionel Bart, and Aryan Sohanpal played, beautifully, The Cascades on piano, by Scott Joplin. Our two Deputy Head boys finished the event with readings of excerpts from two university commencement speeches. Josh Lincoln read a section about empathy from JK Rowlings’ Harvard Commencement speech, and Advik Mishra read from Denzel Washington’s Commencement Speech at University of Pennsylvania, about the importance of learning from failure.

WORDS BY Mr Ian Silk, Headmaster

prize winners celebrate their success

RUGBY REPORT

WORDS BY Mr James Hinkins, Director of Rugby

Rugby

With close to 200 fixtures played this year, the term has been a busy and productive one. It took a bit of time for everyone to get used to a full rugby programme again, as it had been sorely missed, and it was fantastic to see the school fields buzzing with fixtures. Almost every boy in the school has experienced a competitive fixture for the school and developed in skill, understanding and character as a result. The focus on all teams continues to be on process, development and enjoyment. All players have relished the opportunities given to them and have played some very exciting rugby as a result. The future of the Rugby Club is very bright.

The U13 teams are a group hungry to learn and seize every opportunity available to them. They have not only grown as players but as people as they take complete responsibility for their development and established leadership skills advanced for their years. Most pleasing about their performances is how they have adapted their game on the field of play to exploit weakness and take opportunity. The U13 As, Bs and Cs proved very strong, all only losing one game during the season. Their performances in the first game of the season really set the standard as they displayed determination in challenging circumstances to come out victorious. The 2nd half of the term saw them go from strength to strength

All players have relished the opportunities given to them and have played some very exciting rugby as a result

Learning the skills: Working hard in training leads to better team performances in matches

as their game continued to develop under the supportive and knowledgeable eyes of Mr Satchwill, Mr Dennis and Mr Mallalieu.

The U12s, without doubt, have a huge amount of potential and there was an unbeaten season for the U12As. They can boast an incredible strength in depth and they never cease to amaze with their performances. They have a genuine desire to get better and better and show some real

class in terms of skill and decision making on a match day. Results have largely been in their favour, but they have always been respectful of every opponent faced. What was most impressive for this group is their ‘never say die’ attitude as they have the self-belief to turn around situations in a controlled and measured fashion.

The U11s have followed in a similar fashion and could boast an unbeaten season at A, B

and C team level. Throughout the season, it was necessary to help them develop advanced skills and tactics to challenge them further. There has been a definite sense of fun and engagement with this group and they certainly have a bright future in the game. Mr Guest said, ‘These boys are such fun to coach and I love watching them play on a match day. They never cease to amaze me with the style of rugby they play.’

The U10s have made incredible progress this season. Some simple areas of the game in terms of skill and tactical awareness have been focussed on, which has allowed boys to play a faster and more inclusive game that exploits space and seizes opportunity in attack and defence. Their hard work was evident in their final game of the season where boys moved the ball quickly into spaces against a physical club team. They also took opportunities

to turn the ball over with a connected and committed defence.

The U9 and U8 teams have had a lot of fun this year. Excellent games sessions have led to boys developing a good knowledge of the game and understanding the values of playing as a team in defence and attack. The U9s have relished the challenge of full contact and have put together some committed performances against other like-minded schools. They

Rugby

have played triangulars and festivals, so experienced competitive sport for the school and benefitted from the values these give.

Rugby skills burgeoned in the Autumn Term

Fencing

FENCING REPORT

WORDS BY Stirling Smallwood

Fencing is not a well-known sport, but it is a fun one. The rules are that you must hit your opponent on the chest area whilst trying to avoid getting hit yourself. I have been doing fencing for four years, and I have enjoyed every day of it. The sport has helped me to have better hand eye coordination, quicker reaction speeds and adaptability as you often have to change the way you are playing mid-fight, also, because it is quite a tactical sport it has helped me in my decision making and has helped me to be able to formulate plans, ideas, and strategies more efficiently. Fencing is probably the most enjoyable sport that I play, and it isn’t always the same, you have to always be coming up with new ideas and strategies if you want to beat someone. I would recommend doing fencing as you will get so much enjoyment out of it.

En garde! Sterling points out the joy of fencing.

‘When I found the right sport, it opened so many doors and ambitions that I never thought I’d get. Sport has been the biggest enabler for me.’

5x Olympic Rowing Medalist Dame Katherine Grainger

With so many different sporting opportunities at Bedford School, finding the right sport for you is not such a difficult task. Demonstrating an open mindset is the key and something that we have tested the boys in during their rowing sessions this year.

It has been wonderful to be back on the water for a whole year, without lock downs, and the buzz at the Boathouse has been infectious. Boys have been out in Octos, Quads and Single Sculls developing their skills and building on their fitness. We have raced head-to-head, learning how power can be beaten by precision of skill.

Autumn Term started on the water with regular rowing in the Games afternoons and two extremely popular after School Rowing Clubs, enjoyed by Year 7 and Year 8 boys. It was great to see the progress from nervous boys in wobbly boats to competent scullers, rowing more or less in time with each other.

Spring Term was back to land training on the ergos with lots of work on stamina and technique with fun competitions and challenges testing both strength and skill. Plenty of progress was made with boys improving their

ROWING REPORT

run times on a regular basis, developing their core stability and improving their rowing technique.

May brought the return of Bedford Regatta and some of our Year 8 boys volunteering to man the stake boats. This involved lying on a pontoon holding the stern of the racing boats so that they could manoeuvre into a straight position ready to start their races. All the boys did a superb job and were complimented on their professionalism. Moreover, it was a great opportunity for the

boys to experience the regatta environment and a race start before beginning their own racing career in the Upper School.

In the last few weeks of the Summer Term, Mr Mulkerrins reintroduced the ‘Skills Roulette’ in the single sculls where boys were given challenges of increasing difficulty until they were unsuccessful. It is a good job we picked warm, sunny days for this as there were a few soggy boys, but it was great to see them challenging themselves to have a go and often surprising themselves with how much they

could achieve. Special mention should go to Stirling Smallwood and Lewis Noble who were the last men standing, literally standing in their boats, circling a sculling blade above their heads, performing ‘the helicopter’! Their success encouraged others to give it a go, resulting in a squad of boys with increased confidence.

We finished the term with some fun racing in quads where we mixed the boys with experience and size. All the crews won at least one race and lots of fun was had by all, finishing the year on a high. I can already see some stars for the future and will follow their progress, with interest, as they move up the school.

My thanks, as always, go to the fabulous coaching team, without whom we wouldn’t be able to accommodate so many boys.

WORDS BY Miss Imogen Bowis, Rowing Teacher

“When I found the right sport, it opened so many doors and ambitions that I never thought I’d get. Sport has been the biggest enabler for me.’’

KATHERINE GRAINGER

Some oar-some rowing skills on show by Prep School rowers!

CRICKET REPORT

WORDS BY Mr Simon Lincoln, Head of Cricket

1ST XI CRICKET REPORT

The 1st XI enjoyed a fantastic season with some superb team and individual performances. Most importantly the squad of 13 players have worked hard, supported one another, wanted to learn and been great fun to work with. As a result, there were many moments in the season to celebrate. Qualifying for IAPS Finals Day in York was a superb achievement winning 4 tough fixtures against prep schools outside of our block fixtures including Arnold House, Eaton House, Cumnor House and Westminster Under School. Finals day was a great experience for the boys, and it was great to be able to take them on a mini tour after missing out on South Africa this year. We were drawn Merchant Taylors Prep in the semi and whilst we put up a brave batting performance against a strong bowling unit, we just did not

put enough runs on the board to defend. We ended up 4th in the whole competition having lost to Westbourne House in the play off for 3rd spot. Other notable victories included beating London Schools U13 by 18 runs with a superb all-round performance, Bedfordshire U13 by 9 wickets and Cornwall Hill College from South Africa. In all the 1st Team played 19 games and won 14. Given the quality of the opposition played with counties, cups games and a challenging set of block fixtures this is a fine effort.

Batsman Ashwin Curtis/Nirmay Patel

All Rounder Haider Haroon

Bowler Leo Mathew

Fielder Freddie Bowis/Alex Turner Most improved Toju Olajide

A fantastic season for the 1st XI

1st XI celebrating success

Colours: Alex Turner, Leo Mathew, Jack Down, Ben Maddaford, Nirmay Patel, Haider Haroon, Alfred Williams, Freddie Bowis, Anshul Poothi, George Knight, Ashwin Curtis.  Half Colours: Will Jackson, Isaac VincentEmery

CRICKET HONOURS 2021-22

BADMINTON

WORDS BY Mr Simon Lincoln, Head of PE

The Badminton season has been another very enjoyable one. The Thursday lunchtime club has been in high demand as boys attend in high numbers to further develop the skills they have learnt in their PE lessons. Many boys who attended have had the opportunity to represent the school in the district competition that ran over 4 weeks. We had 33 boys play for the squad representing the A,B,C and D Teams. They had the opportunity to pitch their skills against other local schools with great success. The D Team came 6th, the C Team came 4th whilst the A and B Teams came 1st and 2nd respectively to both qualify for the county finals.

The A Team went on to win the county final. The competition consisted of playing the other qualifiers from the county in a round robin tournament. The A Team consisting of Leo Mathew, Jack Down, Ben Maddaford, Joshua George and Alex Turner successfully won all their games to win the competition. The B team comprised of Zealand Ye, Aryan Sohanpal, Blake Balachandran, Freddie Bowis and Lewis Noble also performed very well, only losing to our A Team. Unfortunately, the competition will not progress onto the regional round this year but we will get the opportunity to qualify for the regionals and possibly nationals next year. Well done to all the 33 boys who represented the badminton team this year.

At the start of the year we took the long journey to Eastbourne College to play in the IAPS Badminton Finals Day. BPS had 4 pairs entered with 2 teams at U11 and 2 teams at U13. It was a fantastic day with the opportunity for our top players to compete in a tournament. The U11 teams of Josh Tsang, Hugo Vincent, Seb Pointer and Lucas Northey did really well and played some good badminton, and will have really learnt from the experience of the day. The U13 pairing of Ben Maddaford and Josh George made it all the way to the semi finals before losing to the eventual winners. The other pairing of Leo Mathew and Jack Down went one better and made it all the way to the final and put up a brave performance as they then lost 2 games to 1.

A superb effort from all the boys who played in the Badminton Team this year.

This year has been the most successful and busy year for table tennis that there has ever been.

Beginning in the Autumn Term with two District competitions, the U11 & U13 teams showed their potential by sweeping all before them in order to move on to the County rounds. In the Spring term at least 30 year 4 boys were introduced to regular coaching and their interest can still be seen on the outdoor tables every break time. The year 5 boys came second in the U11 county finals with the year 6 boys coming third, and a combined year 5 & 6 team represented the county in the national area competition in Grantham. In the U13 age group we were county champions, runners-up in the Zone 4 region

and progressed to the national semi-finals in Blackburn - a tough day against three very good teams ensued. Losing the first two matches to Altrincham and St Mary’s without winning a single rubber was a sharp reminder of the standard being played. However, with renewed determination a victory over Birkenhead saw a third place in the regionals achieved.

The Summer term saw just one competition, the IAPS Championships at Edge Grove School, where, despite some very good play, no player made the semi-finals, but all had a great experience.

In addition to the competition success, we are regularly getting 25 boys to lunch clubs in all sessions with most of these boys taking part for fun and enjoyment.

TABLE TENNIS

WORDS BY Mr Simon Lincoln, Head of PE

Swimming

was the first round of the English Schools Competition. Following warm up games with Hitchin Water Polo Club and BMS, the team travelled to QE Barnet for the competition.

Two close matches against Haberdashers & QE Barnet ended in defeat, but the team performed well to beat Warwick - let’s hope that this experience will help keep the boys’ interest as they move into Year 9.

Summer Term 2022 saw boys from Year 5 to Year 8 compete in a match against St Faith’s, where some who had never represented the School in this sport got to swim competitively for the first time, resulting in a loss.

THE IAPS FINALS

At The London Aquatics Centre on Saturday June 11th, the following excellent performances happened:

YEAR 8

SWIMMING & WATER POLO REPORT

WORDS BY Mr Shawn Phillips, Director of Sport

The Autumn Term began with good attendance at both swimming clubs/ activities and at the Water Polo club. Swimming fixtures against Aldwickbury & Beechwood Park were arranged before half term and both were very competitive, The U12 & U13 age groups showed their potential by winning strongly, but the younger years were not quite so successful - work to do there. The U12s water polo team had their first competitive experience in a friendly(!) match against BMS, learning the art of playing this

very physically demanding sport.

Spring Term was most enjoyable, with boys from U9 to U13 representing the School at swimming matches against St Faith’s and Kimbolton Junior (x2) and the U12 & U13 teams competing in the tough Warwick 50s where Berkley Barnicoat managed a victory on the U12 50m butterfly. Alongside these matches, 17 boys travelled to Culford School to swim in the IAPS qualifying event to see if they could get to finals day in June. The main focus for the U13 Water Polo team this term

Benjamin Maddaford was 9th in the 50m butterfly (having qualified in 19th position)

Finley Miller was 18th in the 50m freestyle

The Medley relay team (F Miller, J Lincoln, B Maddaford, W Jackson) were 12th

The freestyle relay team (F Miller, J Lincoln, B Maddaford, W Jackson) were 9th

YEAR 7

Berkeley Barnicoat was 2nd in the 50m breaststroke

Ollie Meier was 9th in the 50m freestyle

The Medley relay team (I Vincent-Emery, J Oakes, B Barnicoat, O Meier) were 12th

The freestyle relay team (I Vincent-Emery, J Oakes, B Barnicoat, O Meier) were 5th

YEAR 6

Lucas Northey was 13th

A great effort by all swimmers who all achieved faster times than they qualified in, in both individual events and in the relays.

Golf

This year was another stellar year for golf at Bedford Prep School and with nearly 40 boys taking part in Golf Squad on a Tuesday night, the popularity of the sport is not diminishing.

The fixtures took place this term with boys competing in a team against Swanbourne and the staff, as well as a group of boys competing as individuals for the school.

The match away against Swanbourne on their school estate 6-hole course was a huge success with the boys putting in a superb display to win each of the matches. It is hoped we will play host next year in a return fixturehopefully with the same result.

The match against the staff was very keenly contested with 10 boys taking on 10 members of staff. There was some excellent golf played and amazingly the match came down to the last match. Perhaps fi ttingly the game ended halved and both teams will return next year even more keen to claim the spoils.

Myself, Jack Down, Josh Riley, Jacob

Schouten and Jack Greenwood went to compete in the Stowe Putter over at Stowe School and all put in a good showing. Our youngest competitor Jack Greenwood perhaps stole the limelight with his second place in the U11 Junior Jigger title. The fact that he was currently Under 8 shows he has plenty of years left to claim that title.

Three Y7 boys played in the ISGA Junior Open at Drayton Park Golf Club in Oxfordshire. Rocco Shelton, Sammy Hughes and Josh Riley all played well but came up short in the prizes - there is always next year.

And the final, and arguably most important Competition, the BPS Open was played on the Academy Course at Bedfordshire GC. Howard won the house competition with their trio of Oliver Gauntlett, Gus Willson and Oliver Bodfield taking home the trophy. In the year groups, Y3 Winner was Jack Greenwood, Y4 Kuba Kopec, Y5 Jacob Schouten, Y6 Oliver Gauntlett, Y7 Oliver Bodfield and Y8 Oliver Surley (on count back). Longest Drive was

won by Jacob Schouten (Y5) and nearest the pin was Josh Riley (Y7). 3rd overall was Oliver Gauntlett (who shot 36), second Oliver Bodfield who carded a 35 and the overall winner was Rocco Shelton in Year 7 who carded and impressive +3 (31) on the Academy course.

I would like to thank Mr Roberts, Mr Powell and Bedfordshire GC for supporting all the boys through their golfing development this year.

Rocco enjoying victory at the BPS Open

GOLF REPORT

WORDS BY

Monty Lomax, Golf Captain, Y8

Staff and boys share the honours at the yearly match

It was a busy Spring Term of hockey fixtures and, despite still facing the challenge of cancelled games and depleted squads due to Covid, we were able to play 131 fixtures scoring 270 goals! Nothing was going to dampen the boys’ enthusiasm to get out on the astroturf and represent the school in competitive hockey fixtures once again. Right through from the U8s to the Prep 1st VII, the boys achieved great success and we were one of very few schools in the country to have teams in the U13, U12 and U11 National IAPS Finals.

In early February, the school was honoured to host both the U11 and U13 IAPS hockey qualifiers with our teams thriving in the home atmosphere, both qualifying for their respective National Finals. The U11s played some superb hockey, beating Kimbolton in their semi-final and narrowly losing out to Bilton Grange in the final. Meanwhile, the U13s took vengeance for their younger counterparts, beating Bilton Grange in their quarter-final, a team they had lost to just two weeks before. They then faced Ardingly College in the semi-final but could not quite replicate the success of the previous match.

The U13s travelled to Haileybury School to compete in their IAPS National Finals, having

been disappointed in 2020 when they qualified as U11s but were unable to take part due to the pandemic. The boys got off to a flying start with three wins and one loss in their group, conceding just one goal over four games thanks to some brick wall defending and superb saves from goalkeeper Jack Sivills. In the quarter-final, they played superbly against The New Beacon School, winning 2-0. The boys then again put in a strong performance in the semi-final against Hall Grove School but lost 1-0 from a penalty flick and the chance to take the national title. Undeterred, they entered their final game with a bronze medal to play for against King’s Hall School. A brilliant display saw them go 1-0 up through a Jack Down strike, before an equaliser late in the game. Then, after another inspiring team talk from Mr Hoggett and Mr Lee, the boys went into five minutes of golden goal hockey. Three minutes in, Rory Stewart-Jones was played through for a one on one with the keeper, coolly slotting it home and taking the adulation of his teammates. The bronze medal was secured and the boys took their place in the top three teams in the country. The boys did both themselves and everyone associated with Bedford School proud.

Away from the IAPS competition, the U13s

HOCKEY REPORT

WORDS BY Mr Dan Mason, Head of Hockey

had an excellent season with some fantastic scores – the 1st VII gaining wins against Hitchin and Witham Hall, as well as a 5-0 victory over Winchester. However, it was the 3rd VII, under the wily guidance of Mr Studd, who achieved the most comprehensive results: 12-0 and 5-0.

The U11s had a superb season coming 4th in the England Hockey regional tournament beating the likes of The Perse, Town Close and Ipswich School along the way. The Ds took one of the biggest wins of the season: 8-0 against Winchester House, as well as a convincing 4-0 win against Kimbolton.

The U10s were hit the hardest with cancelled games, but they were a great bunch to coach with fantastic numbers staying for after school hockey on Fridays and all squads improving immensely throughout. The most notable results were the As beating Kings School by 3 goals and the Ds beating Stamford by 7 goals. They are a talented bunch with real potential all down the squad.

Well done to all boys who represented the school this season, some of them for the first time and some of them for the last time in the

National Bronze medallists

The U11As celebrate on reaching the National Finals

Prep School. It has been a pleasure to witness their dedication, their joy at both training and competing in matches, and their wonderful sportsmanship each week. It is an exciting time for Bedford School hockey and we look forward to watching them represent the school in the years to come.

Perfect control on display

It was great to be able to have our annual Sports Day once again, at Bedford International Athletics Stadium, with spectators being present this year.

The day was set out so that Y3 to Y6 competed in the morning, followed by Y7 and Y8 in the afternoon, creating a lovely atmosphere during both parts of the day.

The boys had chosen, from a list, which events they wanted to take part in, and the programme was arranged accordingly.

The track was busy with competitive sprints from 60m to up to 300m, the middle distance races of 600m and 800m were highly anticipated and didn’t disappoint, and the relays at all age groups were fiercely contested with several close finishes. However, the staff 4 x 100m team did not get to defend their title against the Y8s this year because we ran out of time!

On the track every boy who ran gave their

best, trying to score points for their House, whilst proving that they could win or lose with grace. What a great display by all involved.

The field events were equally enjoyed, with the long jump (all years) and javelin (Y7 and 8) proving very popular, having up to 15 competitors per house in some age groups. Even Greg Rutherford would be impressed with the effort they made in the jumps, let alone the staff and fellow house members.

There are winners in these events and following a few hours deciphering score sheets by Mrs Chaillou-Kindred and Mr Phillips, the final results, where all scores from all year groups 3 - 6 were combined to find the morning results and those from Y7 and Y8 to find the afternoon results, were calculated.

YEARS 3-6

1st Harpur

2nd Howard

WORDS BY Mr. Shawn Plillips Director of Sport

3rd Whitbread

4th Bunyan

YEARS 7-8

1st Whitbread

2nd Harpur

3rd Bunyan

4th Howard

COMBINED

1st Harpur - (by 0.8 points)

2nd Whitbread

3rd Bunyan

4th Howard

Thank you to all the boys for their tremendous enthusiasm and to the staff for all their efforts to help make the day run smoothly. And a special mention to the Prep Guild for the most welcome drinks and lollipops.

There has been a club for boys in Year 3, Year 4 (Thursdays) and Year 5 & Year 6 (Wednesdays) running before school every week since September with good numbers attending, pointing to a continued interest in tennis in the School.

In the Spring Term the U8 team played an indoor match with children from Pilgrims and the U9 team played against BMS. Both mornings were fun and filled with some enthusiastic play. Both teams managed to win their matches, but it is more important that 24 boys represented the School in this sport.

In the Summer the amount of fixtures increased, unsurprisingly, with many boys having the chance to compete against different opponents.

The U8s played against a mixed U9B team from BMS and enjoyed their close fought win.

The U9s had a fantastic drawn match with BMS U9A and also won the inaugural District competition where they mixed with BGS to make two Bedford teams.

Our U11s won the District competition where they also mixed with BGS to make two Bedford teams but, unfortunately, their tournament at Laxton School was rained off!

The U13s had a variety of competitions and matches where the U13A won the Bedfordshire (Division 1) round of the LTA Youth Schools Tournament - the next round takes place in September; the U13B played in three matches in the LTA Youth Schools Tournament (Division 2) performing strongly against BMS, Icknield High School and Stopsley High School. Friendly matches at U12 & U13 against BGS, St Alban’s and St Faith’s (2 matches) saw over 40 boys play for the School.

Well done to all players.

BY

By Mr Shawn Phillips, Director of Sport

Bedford Prep School’s cross-country runners have, again, had a very good season. The main highlight of the season saw our U13 team, consisting of Isaac Raddan, Berkley Barnicoat, Charlie Gandesha and Henry Pask, finish in 2nd place at the IAPS Cross-Country Finals. A brilliant achievement.

The season wasn’t all full of highs, unfortunately, as the U13 team missed out on qualifying for the National Schools’ Cup Final by a single point, which was frustrating, but despite this, the boys carried on and achieved plenty of impressive results. Other highlights were winning the Maidwell Chase for the first time in 9 years, Isaac Raddan qualifying to run for Bedfordshire at the English Schools, and Berkley Barnicoat becoming the Year 7 Bedfordshire Schools County Champion as well as finishing in 3rd place at IAPS despite being a year younger than most other competitors.

The U11s had a promising introductory season to cross-country. Despite a number of events being cancelled due to Covid, they performed admirably at both the Spratton Hall Relays and the Maidwell Chase.

WORDS BY Mr Rob Heaney, Head of Cross-Country

CROSS-COUNTRY REPORT 2022

Above: Henry Y8, Isaac Y8, Berkley Y7, Charlie Y8 proudly display their medals

Below: Our very successful U13 team bag 2nd place at the IAPS Cross-Country Finals

Lewis Hamilton House Art Competition Summer 2022 Jacob Adedeji, Y7

Bedford Preparatory

Harry Adams Zayn Ananenu

Seth Baines

Blake Balachandran

Olly Biffa Freddie Bowis

Rhys Brook Harry Brown

Sam Bulleyment

Harry Burns

Ollie Cadman-Kerr Charlie Chen

Ollie Cochrane Ashwin Curtis Thomas Dewe Arnav Dhaliwal Jack Down Joshua Ehindero

Aston Emeana William Feltham

Isaac Ferguson

Ralph Franklin Cormac Gallagher Charlie Gandesha

Jo Gardner

Josh George

Charlie Gibson

Ranveer Gohil

Haider Haroon Oliver Harris

Leavers

Cormac Hayes Harry Howlett

Luca Iaciofano

Will Jackson

Eesa Jamil Tristian Julius

Emir Jack Kenrick Yaseen Khedr George Knight Charley Kopoi John Lally Alonzo Lau

Dylan Leung Josh Lincoln Monty Lomax Harry Lousada Benjamin Maddaford Thomas Mahony

Ismi Malik Leo Mathew

Umar Mazhar

Jack McCardle Ruiz Del Portal Mihai Memet

Sam Millar

Charlie Miller Finley Miller

Advik Mishra

Shehryar Mumtaz

Lewis Noble Thomas Noble

Bedford Preparatory

Marcus Pateman-Hall Daniel Phillips

Anshul Poothi Oliver Quince

Sammy Rawlings Rocco Sarro Daniil Savelev Yacoub Sharif

Jack Sivills Stirling Smallwood

Aryan Sohanpal Noah Southwell

Harry Taylor Otis Taylor

Alex Turner Muhammed Umar

Vir Walia

Theo Wang

Seamus White

Charles Whittle-Queral Alfred Williams

Henry Pask Nirmay Patel

Isaac Raddan Arafat Rahman

Kasim Sheikh George Simmonds

Will Spice Oliver Surley

Amogh Verma

Vincent-Emery

Bodfield

Barbour

Credits

Whittle-Queral

Surley

AFRICAN MASKS

Dominic Fairhead

Max Midgley

RoryStewart-Jones

Freddie Barnes

Daniel Lushchay

Lewis Pettengell

Finn Bantock

Ben Elliott

Rhys Newman

ROLE MODEL EXHIBITION

Art

House Art Competition

Gabriel Borelli

Freddie Burton

Oliver Quince

Miron Savelyev

Albert Carvell

Jacob Adedeji

Joseph Ram

Juvan Sivasenthan

Stuart Phillips

Freddie Folbigg

Cayo Sinclair

Lewis Noble

Xavier Clark

Harry Hodgson

Arthur Macey-White

Lewis Woodhouse

Wright

Andrew Wright

Sam Yeomans

Yeung

Theo Young

Parting shot

Above: The wonders of 3D printing by Y7 Daniel Lushchay

Photo: Knitting club had the boys in stitches!