Absolutely Buckinghamshire Magazine February 2025 by ABSOLUTELY Magazines

FEELING SPOOKED The truth behind Ghost Stories as the show comes to Buckinghamshire LOVED UP Ten places to help make this Valentine's one to remember SLEEP WELL Top tips to ensure a good night's rest and enhance your wellbeing

NEW COLLECTION

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EDITOR

MARK KEBBLE

ART DIRECTOR

PAWEL KUBA

SENIOR DESIGNERS

MIKE ROBERTS

SUZETTE SCOBLE

MIDWEIGHT DESIGNER

CARMEN GRAHAM

DESIGNER

MARIANA SUZUKI

PRODUCTION MANAGER

DANICA BRODIE

GROUP SALES MANAGER - SOUTH ABIGAIL GARDNER

MEDIA CONSULTANTS

LOUISE PEARSON, STELLA ADAMS

FINANCIAL DIRECTOR

JERRIE KOLECI

CREDIT CONTROL MANAGER

ALEXANDRA HVID

DIRECTORS

CRAIG DAVIES

JAMES FUSCHILLO

NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

ALEXANDRA HUNTER

MANAGING DIRECTOR

For editorial enquiries please email: mark@zest-media.com

For advertising enquiries please call 07977 195732 or email: abi@zest-media.com

Zest Media Publications Ltd. cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited submissions, manuscripts and photographs. While every care is taken, prices and details are subject to change and Zest Media Publications Ltd. take no responsibility for omissions or errors. We reserve the right to publish and edit any letters. All rights reserved. 124 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX, London N1 7EU; 020 7704 0588

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a Hidden Sanctuary by the Sea

LETTER Editor’s

ABSOLUTELY’S February issue highlights

Agenda

The best events heading our way this month (p16)

Thames Bridge House

Exploring a new luxury development (p81)

have a love (rather apt) hate relationship when it comes to Valentine's Day. When I was younger, at that age when my circle of friends suddenly discovered the female of the species, I hated the build up to the day as I never got a card. Not once (excluding the time my mum sent me one. I found out pretty quickly and was devastated, but mum meant well!). It was only when I actually was in a relationship that I received a card, but weirdly it didn't mean the same thing to me.

As I have grown older, Valentine's Day has had its ups and downs. My wife and I have been together for 20 years, so we have had some truly shocking nights out in the name of love (the restaurant that forgot our booking, then plonked us in the far corner, then forgot our order, stands out), but rather than getting jaded about it, we embrace it and always look to do something diﬀerent to satisfy Cupid.

Interiors

Lucky, then, that our county oﬀers plenty of ingenious options to get that romantic feeling. From iconic landmarks, to sailing along the Thames, with some fun thrown in too, there is lots that will make you fall in love with Valentine's Day all over again.

The Shoot Dusk stunners from Roman Aylesbury (p50)

MARK KEBBLE EDITOR

Embrace Pantone's Colour of the Year (p73)

Wish LIST

HUNG UP

Meri Meri's Valentine's garlands are designed to be strung around liberally, showering love everywhere. This showstopper garland features hearts, pinwheels and lots of glitter. merimeri.co.uk

DIOR AMOUR

The Dioramour capsule includes prints such as Le Coeur des Curiosités, designed by artist Pietro Ruffo, depicting birds, butterflies and fl owers that twirl and intertwine, forming a precious heart. dior.com

PERFECT MATCH

Made from 100% mulberry silk and tailored in a Fairtrade tailoring unit using low impact AZO free dyes, the Ethical Silk Company's pyjamas are block-printed by hand and feel even better than they look. theethicalsilkco.com

ALL IN HAND

This Breitling watch has a pink mother of pearl dial with polished hands and 12 lab-grown diamond set hour markers, red tipped seconds hand. Sapphire crystal glass and water resistant up to 30m. berrysjewellers.co.uk

SCENT LOVE

Nomad Noe's Lover candle wraps you in a gentle breeze from a quiet sea with its fragrance of ﬁ g and groves of golden orange trees. nomadnoe.com

EDITOR’S PICK

IN THE PINK

Delicate shades of pink and peach plus roses, embroidery and lace characterise the romantic collectinons at Amelie's Follies, an ideal Valentine's destination. ameliesfollies.co.uk

FRENCH FANCY

What is Valentine's Day without macarons? Laduree's gorgeous heart-shaped boxes come ﬁ lled with all your favourite ﬂ avours. laduree.co.uk

TWO'S COMPANY

A captivating Malayan garnet stone takes centre stage in this stunning two stone gemstone ring design from Berry’s Jewellers. The design has been cra ed from platinum and 18ct rose gold and has received a ﬂawless surface polish to enhance the entrancing pink and purple tones of this mesmerising stone. berrysjewellers.co.uk

ENGLISH ROSE

Blooming Haus's 24k gold gilded luxury rose comes in a plush limited edition Valentine’s box with a personalised message and can delivered to your recipient's door. bloominghaus.com

KISS KISS

Anthropologie's Valentine's Bistro tile collection draws inspiration from Parisian cafes, adding a hint of glamour with 24k gold decals. anthropologie.com

PHOTO: MATT CROCKETT

The Agenda

Murder on the Orient Express

25 FEBRUARY-1 MARCH, MK THEATRE

Murder on The Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie’s greatest literary achievements, with a ﬁnal twist that is amongst her very best. Gripping, tense and masterfully cryptic, this brand-new production is a deliciously thrilling ride and an ingenious murder mystery, guaranteed to keep you guessing until the end of the line.

atgtickets.com/MiltonKeynes

Back In The Day

26 February

THE HEXAGON

From the creators of the infamous selling-out phenomenon That’ll Be The Day comes its younger successor: Back In The Day. This brand-new show takes audiences on an unforgettable journey through the vibrant sounds of the 80s, 90s and 00s, all brought to life by exceptional vocalists and a sensational live band. whatsonreading.com

2 February-23 March

WADDESDON MANOR

With winter shrubs, early springﬂowering bulbs and views that are only visible before the trees come into leaf, Waddesdon’s gardens o er a serene outdoor experience at this time of year. Highlights include blankets of snowdrops in bloom around the grounds and over 100,000 da odils across Da odil Valley. waddesdon.org.uk

THEATRE

PHOTO: JESSIE HAWKES AND JAKE

HODGE

PHOTO: CHRIS LACEY

COMEDY

Larry Dean

22 February

THE STABLES

Dodger sees Larry Dean contemplate his heroes and his identity. His hero was Elvis, but this year his thoughts have been all shook up. Stemming from his granny’s dementia diagnosis, a few things have been put into perspective regarding the people who deserve our respect and why. Dodger is a hilarious show about ﬁnding out our heroes weren’t necessarily who we expected, and neither were we. larrydeancomedy.com

Why Gandini Juggling is something you haven’t seen before

GTHEATRE

PICTURE YOU DEAD

6-8 February

SWAN THEATRE

Picture You Dead was inspired by author Peter James’s meeting with real life art forger and now acclaimed copyist, David Henty. Set in Brighton, DSI Roy Grace investigates a cold case that leads him to the rarified air of fine art, but beneath the respectable veneer lurks a dark underworld. trafalgartickets.com

very picture tells a story. Some the artist leaves for you to ﬁ nd. Some you can make up for yourself. Art Stories includes many exciting contemporary paintings, photographs, prints and sculptures such as pieces by Pablo Picasso and Cornelia Parker. Others tell older stories of Reading people and places. Some of them have inspired writers to slip their own mini-stories into the gallery to delight you, and you are invited to do the same. readingmuseum.org.uk

andini Juggling, the world-renowned and much-loved contemporary circus ensemble, brings to the UK its ﬁrst new show for three years, heading to the Corn Exchange Newbury on 25 February. Heka –named a er the Egyptian goddess of magic – marks a departure for director Sean Gandini as he revisits the fascination with magic which began during his childhood in Havana. Using magic as a source of creativity and a choreographic language, he deconstructs the movements we associate with magic to create unexpected juggling tricks. Infused with a captivating blend of humour and philosophy, Heka draws inspiration from 20th-century magic tricks, mind games, and sleights of hand. Embracing elements of contemporary choreography, it reimagines magic using repetition, counterpoint and misdirection, and explores the dynamics of group magic, probing the possibilities of multiple hands and gestures, and delving into the nuances of delay and anticipation. The result is a mesmerising choreography of juggling where everything is deﬁnitely not as it seems…

By reinterpreting magic tricks through a choreographic language, the female jugglers of Heka emerge as the true protagonists, channelling the Egyptian goddess and challenging the gender stereotypes that have long persisted in the ﬁeld of magic. Gandini Juggling will be running a workshop programme alongside the Heka tour. A range of twohour workshops, both in person and online, aimed at professional jugglers and those that are new to the art form will be available.

cornexchangenew.com

Penny DROPS

Jordan

Cracknell on realising the importance of her husband’s legacy to Brits, making the younger generation ﬁnancially aware and loving life in Henley

By MARK KEBBLE

He’s not ‘James Cracknell, Olympian and rowing legend’ to me – he’s just James.” It’s a statement, being a lover of all things sport, that doesn’t quite sink in for Absolutely, but for Jordan Cracknell, it couldn’t be simpler. Meeting her future husband in 2019 at the University of Cambridge after arriving in the UK from America, she fell for James for who he really was, rather than the fact he’s a sporting great in these parts. In this month of Valentine’s, that to Absolutely is true love.

“I underestimated just how popular rowing is in the UK,” Jordan picks up. “In the States an Olympic household name is a Greg Louganis, Simone Biles or a Michael

Jordan, swimming, gymnastics and team sports take precedence over everything; rowing just isn’t a big Olympic sport to the average American. When James ﬁrst told me he was an Olympian, I didn’t think much of it. ‘Who even watches rowing?’ I thought to myself. I only realised I was dating a household name at the Henley Regatta. It was a strange feeling at ﬁrst, but the feeling ebbed away quickly. I’d never thought of him as a celebrity before that – by then, he was already just James to me, and that’s part of why nothing changed between us.”

Why does she think they clicked? “I think, to borrow a phrase, we both ‘keep it real’,” Jordan smiles. “We value honesty and staying grounded, and that shared mindset creates a sense of trust and comfort. It’s refreshing to just be yourself and know that’s enough – that’s something we’ve both brought into our relationship from day one.”

She may be grounded, but life is very di erent for Jordan than when she was back in New York six years ago. For one, could she imagine doing an interview with a lifestyle magazine? “Not at all,” she shakes her head. “Six years ago, I was in New York rushing through mid town, co ee in hand desperately trying to escape the chill of NYC in January. Fast forward six years and… it’s still cold! But, I’ve now swapped bustling Manhattan for tranquil Henley on Thames. I couldn’t be happier, but I also couldn’t have predicted such a huge change.”

The reason Jordan is talking to Absolutely is due to the fact that she has become known for championing financial literacy initiatives for young girls and women. “Financial literacy is such a powerful tool for economic empowerment, yet the gender gap in financial knowledge worldwide remains significant,” Jordan explains. “Women are still statistically more likely to face challenges in understanding personal finances compared to men, and this can have a huge impact on their confidence and career opportunities.

“It’s something I’ve seen time and time again throughout my career,” Jordan continues, “and I truly believe it starts in childhood. When I conducted research into this issue, it only confirmed what I’d suspected – there is a huge gap in financial literacy for children. I certainly didn’t have any resources on financial literacy in my childhood. I was just very lucky to have a father who worked

“HENLEY HAS BECOME A SANCTUARY FOR DESTRESSING”

in the industry and a support network that helped me find the confidence to pursue a career in finance. But not everyone has that kind of guidance, and that’s what motivated me to take action. I wanted to create a resource that could spark those first, important conversations about finance for young girls – especially those who may not have a support system in place to guide them.”

This desire to pass on her knowledge has resulted in Jordan’s new book, You Can Count on Penny. “Having looked into books available, and ﬁnding a lack of a ‘little miss banker’-type stories for children, I decided to combine my love of writing with my passion for advocating for more women in ﬁnance and created You Can Count on Penny, as a tool for both parents and guardians to open up conversations about careers, in a fun way with a book that children can love,” she says. “The book is written for parents to read to their children at the early stages and as they develop their reading skills they can go on to read it themselves.

“There’s not enough women in ﬁnance today. More women in the ﬁnance industry means breaking down the stereotype that women aren’t talented mathematically, and so my hope is that ambitious little Penny and her adventurous tale will inspire a future generation of girls to embrace their love of maths, and give them a role

model who shows that a career in ﬁnance is within reach, no matter what anyone says, or how impossible it seems.”

What has the response been like? “I did a book reading at a primary school and seeing the reaction of a group of children to Penny’s story was so heartwarming,” Jordan smiles. “I remember a little girl asked a question about why I wrote the book and it was incredibly touching, that moment will stay with me. The reaction of the press and media has been great as well and I’ve had a huge amount of support from my family and friends.”

Jordan will be doing plenty in the local community around the subject, whilst also continuing to discover new things in the place she now calls home. “We moved to Henley in September of last year, James started falling in love with Henley while he was training for the Olympics. I’d visited several times since he and I became a couple and it was love at ﬁrst sight. After spending so much time in NYC and London, Henley has become a sanctuary for de-stressing. The peaceful walks, the tranquil rowing on the water, the friendly people – and the dogs absolutely love it. It’s now home, and I couldn’t be more happy.” Life is certainly good for Jordan with just James.

jordancracknell.com

JORDAN SHOWS OFF HER NEW BOOK

GRADUATION DAY

SHE CALLS HENLEY HOME NOW

CHILL in the air

Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson on their shared love of horror, giving audiences a trick and a treat this month, and keeping the secrets of spooky stage hit Ghost Stories

By MATTHEW AMER

Supernatural stage scarefest Ghost Stories is something of a modern The Mousetrap. We are not suggesting Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery has moments of ghoulish terror that would make you leap, petriﬁed from your seat, but if it did you probably wouldn’t know about them because, despite having run for the best part of seven decades, no-one spills the beans on its record-breaking secrets.

Ghost Stories is exactly the same. Despite having premiered 14 years ago and having enjoyed a subsequent ﬁlm adaptation starring Martin Freeman and Paul Whitehouse, the secrets that make it such an unusual and successful show have remained elusive, well-guarded as they are by both its creative team and audiences.

“Secrets are precious,” explains the show’s co-creator Andy Nyman. “If you give people a secret that they really enjoy and you ask them nicely to keep it, they do.” If anyone should know about secrets, it’s Andy. Before writing Ghost Stories, he was the man behind many of Derren Brown’s mystery-ﬁlled stage shows and early TV performances.

The secretiveness with Ghost Stories, he says, was born out of frustration. “Everything is spoiled for you,” Andy says about modern day entertainment. “Every single ﬁlm and television trailer ruins plot

points. Jeremy and I love the experience of telling people a really good story without them knowing anything about it in advance. You feel the buzz in the audience; it’s an exciting thing to sit and watch.”

So, what can we say about Ghost Stories? Well, Andy does say: “Ghost Stories is a 90-minute scary, thrill-ride experience about a professor of parapsychology who investigates three inexplicable hauntings. That’s as much as you get and that’s more than we ever used to give.”

If you push him a little harder, he’ll tell you it is “a rattling hour and a half that will make you roar with laughter, leap out of your seats and talk about it for a very long time”. And that’s really all you need to know about the speciﬁcs of the show; it will make you scream like a banshee and giggle like a schoolchild, probably at the same time.

Andy and co-writer Jeremy Dyson, best known for his work with The League of Gentlemen, have a long history that reaches back far beyond the start of their Ghost Stories journey, but begins with horror and a shared love of the genre that saw them forge a teenage friendship.

“It probably started, for me, with Scooby Doo,” says Jeremy of his infatuation with creepy tales. “There were a lot of scary things for kids around in the 70s, and lots I was enchanted by. Doctor Who would have been a part of that, which in the 70s had a real horror edge to it. So, the groundwork was done by the time I was seven or eight-years-old. People used to buy me collections of ghost stories for my birthdays. They were supposed to be for kids, but they were the most terrifying tales.”

Throw in horror double bills on BBC2, screened at a time when there were only a trio of channels available so “whoever was doing the programming just picked the best stu ,” and public safety ﬁlms that were as terrifying as any big screen o ering, and you have a culture that bred a shared sensibility, certainly between Andy and Jeremy, if not a much wider generation of horror fans.

“It’s a very English genre,” says Jeremy. “Certainly when it comes to the supernatural side of things. The English sensibility deﬁned a lot of that. It’s a very English tradition, and there’s no question that’s part of what we’re celebrating in Ghost Stories.”

Yet despite the best British traditions of both horror and theatre, stage horror is not a genre you see very often, even with the fact that a theatre gives you the ability to control the entire 360 degrees of an audience’s experience. With Ghost Stories’ emergence at the Lyric Hammersmith 14 years ago, and its immediate success, this has slowly begun to change.

“I think it’s hard to do well,” opines Jeremy. “You have to have a love both for theatre and for horror. It’s a bit like comedy. People talk

JEREMY DYSON

about comedy writers having funny bones. I think you need scary bones to write horror.”

“I think snobbery plays a real part in it too,” Andy adds. “When I was growing up, we’d come to the West End and there was always a good old thriller on, be it Corpse!, Deathtrap or Sleuth. Those stage thrillers have completely gone out of fashion. There is a section of the audience that is completely ignored by plays; a thriller audience that would never dream of going to a play because it’s seen as ‘clever stu for clever people’.

That’s not to say we think we’ve created this brilliant play for that audience, we’ve just written the play that we wanted to see.”

After numerous successful runs across London, Ghost Stories is taking its jumpinducing, goosebumps-raising show back on the road to complete its ﬁrst full UK tour, after it was cut short by the pandemic in early 2020, running at the MK Theatre from 18-22 February. The two could not be happier.

“We cannot wait to take it around the country and let people see it and experience it in their hometowns,” says Andy.

While audiences outside London have had to wait for Ghost Stories to take to the road, they are getting the fully polished, expertly tweaked, 20% scarier version that Andy and Jeremy have been reﬁning for nearly 15 years. The majority of the spooky psychological blood-curdler was actually put together in the space of one week. It was one of those projects where everything clicked. Since then, the duo’s work has been about small changes to give audiences the biggest thrills, laughs, scares and hold-your-breath moments of delicious tension possible.

Andy and Jeremy really do care whether audiences leap out of their seats with a heady mix of fear, excitement and joy, and not just because they want them to keep those all-important secrets. “If people are paying their hard-earned money to see a show you’re putting on, you have a massive responsibility to give them more than they pay for,” says Andy. “It’s not fair to think ‘that’s good enough, it will be ﬁne’, you have to over-deliver. You’ve got to lose sleep over it. When the show is up and working and you keep tweaking it to get it right, and you see people going away happy, you know the main reason you’ve got to that place is you’ve felt a responsibility and you’ve worked hard at it.”

With that attitude, if anyone deserves to replicate The Mousetrap’s success, it’s them.

See full tour details at ghoststoriesplay.com

Horror hype

Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson’s top 10 frightening ﬁlms

10. Mama

• 9. Deep Red

• 8. Dead of Night

• 7. The Haunting (the 1963 Robert Wise version, not the ‘let’s never talk about it remake’)

6. American Werewolf in London

• 5. Switchblade Romance

• 4. Halloween (the original)

• 3. Dark Water (the original)

2. A Warning to the Curious (this was part of the BBC’s Christmas ghost stories series that are probably the best ghost stories ever ﬁlmed)

• 1. REC

ANDY NYMAN

HALLOWEEN MAKES THEIR TOP 10 SCARY MOVIES

Better Together

Avery Healthcare offer a variety of care choices where couples can continue their journey together, receiving the care and support they need while creating new memories side by side.

Residential, nursing, dementia and respite care • Nutritionally balanced seasonal menus

Highly trained staff teams • Spacious, beautifully decorated bedrooms

schedule of daily activities and entertainment

Ascot Grange

Berkshire | SL5 9PR

Bagshot Gardens

Surrey | GU19 5HN

Cliveden Manor

Buckinghamshire | SL7 1HX

Beaconsfield Heights

Buckinghamshire | HP9 1AB

Sonning Gardens

Berkshire | RG4 6TQ

TWIN PEAKS

The award-winning production of Blood Brothers have conﬁrmed their 2025 cast - and you can see it in Aylesbury at the start of February

Bill Kenwright’s legendary production of the international smash hit musical, Blood Brothers, continues to tour across the UK arriving at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre from 28 January–1 February, with new casting just announced.

Sean Keany will play Narrator and Cameron Patmore will play Perkins alongside Vivienne Carlyle, who is continuing in the iconic role of Mrs Johnstone, having received nightly standing ovations for her powerful and poignant performance in the West End production and across the autumn leg of the UK tour.

Sean Jones and Joe Sleight continue in the roles of twins Mickey and Eddie, with Gemma Brodrick as Linda. Also returning to the cast for 2025 are Sarah Jane Buckley (Mrs Lyons), Tim Churchill (Mr Lyons), Chloe Pole (Donna Marie), Alex Harland (Policeman/Teacher), Graeme Kinniburgh (Postman/Bus Conductor), Jess Smith (Brenda), James Ledsham (Sammy), and Dominic Gore (Neighbour).

Award-winning playwright Willy Russell’s epic tale of Liverpool life started as a play, performed at a Liverpool comprehensive school in 1981, before opening atthe Liverpool Playhousein 1983. The musical has since triumphed across the globe, completing sell out seasons in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan. Few musicals have been received with such acclaim as the multi-award-winning Blood Brothers, scooping up four awards for Best Musical in London and seven Tony Award nominations on Broadway. It is considered 'one of the best musicals ever written' (Sunday Times). Bill Kenwright’s production surpassed 10,000 performances in London’s West End, one of only three musicals ever to achieve that milestone. The superb score includes A Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe and the emotionally charged hit Tell Me It's Not True Blood Brothers tells the captivating and moving tale of twins separated at birth, who grow up on the opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with tragic consequences.

When Mrs Johnstone, a young mother, is deserted by her husband and left to her own devices to provide for seven hungry children, she takes a job as a housekeeper in order to make ends meet. It is not long before her brittle world crashes around her when she discovers herself to be pregnant yet again, this time with twins. In a moment of weakness and desperation, she enters a secret pact with her employer which leads inexorably to the show’s shattering climax. Willy Russellis one of this country’s leading contemporary dramatists. His countless credits include Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine Educating Rita, originally commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, enjoyed a two-year run in the West End and was made into a movie starringMichael CaineandJulie Walters. Shirley Valentine also made the move from stage to screen in an enormously popular ﬁlm starringPauline Collins and Tom Conti, it was also revived last year, completing a sell out West End run starring Sheridan Smith.

Tickets are selling fast for this acclaimed production, so book today at atgtickets.com/Aylesbury (fees apply)

“FEW MUSICALS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED WITH SUCH ACCLAIM”

For the

romantics

This part of the UK is brimming with picturesque landscapes, historic landmarks and serene retreats perfect for Valentine’s escapades

If you’re looking for enchanting locations to share with your loved one, here are ten romantic destinations in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, each o ering unique experiences for couples.

CLIVEDEN HOUSE

Cliveden House, the majestic 17thcentury stately home, is surrounded by 376 acres of breathtaking gardens and woodlands overlooking the River Thames. This National Trust property exudes timeless elegance and o ers couples a serene escape. Its story is one of over 350 years of powerful personalities, iconic parties and scandalous a airs. Built in 1666 by the 2nd Duke of Buckingham, as a gift to his mistress, Cliveden House has remained a pinnacle of intrigue and glamour and makes for the perfect romantic setting, for those couples looking for a retreat.

PERFECT FOR COUPLES

• Stroll through the gardens: Hand in hand, explore the formal parterre, water garden, and the charming rose garden, which blooms vibrantly in summer. The Sounding Chamber and the Long Garden provide particularly photogenic spots.

• Rowing on the Thames: Rent a boat and glide along the river while soaking in the

tranquil surroundings. It’s an intimate and memorable experience.

• Luxury afternoon tea: Treat yourselves to a quintessentially British afternoon tea on the terrace of Cliveden House. Enjoy delicious pastries and ﬁnger sandwiches while taking in sweeping views of the estate.

WADDESDON MANOR

Built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in the 19th-century, Waddesdon Manor is a French Renaissance-style château surrounded by landscaped gardens and ornate fountains. The Manor is surrounded

by the privately-owned estate, purchased in 1874. Successive generations of the Rothschild family have made their mark on the landscape, from Baron Ferdinand and Miss Alice’s extensive planting and landscaping, to James de Rothschild’s golf course and Stud, which still thrives today. More recently, Jacob, 4th Lord Rothschild, and his daughter Beth have recreated major features, such as the Millennium Avenue of trees linking the Manor with Upper Winchendon. The manor is a fairytale destination for couples.

PERFECT FOR COUPLES

• Explore the Manor and grounds: Wander through the grand rooms of the manor, ﬁlled with art and antiques, then take a romantic walk through the Aviary Garden or along the woodland trails.

• Wine tasting: The Rothschilds’ wine cellars at Waddesdon o er the opportunity to sample some of their ﬁnest vintages. Sharing a glass of wine with your partner is the perfect way to unwind.

• Valentine’s Stargazing Dinner: Join them on 14th February for an enchanting evening that combines an indulgent four-course culinary experience with a magical celestial adventure.

CHILTERN HILLS

The Chiltern Hills o er a stunning backdrop for couples who love the outdoors. Rolling hills, ancient woodlands, and charming villages make this area a haven for romantic adventures.

PERFECT FOR COUPLES

• Walking or cycling trails: Discover scenic routes such as the Ridgeway National Trail or paths through Coombe Hill, where you can enjoy panoramic views of the countryside.

• Hot air balloon rides: Elevate your

CHILTERN HILLS

WADDESDON MANOR

romance with a hot air balloon ride over the Chilterns. The sweeping views of green valleys and quaint villages are simply unforgettable.

• Pub lunch in a village: After a morning of exploration, settle down in a traditional village pub like The Bell at Aston Clinton for a cosy lunch by the ﬁre.

STOWE GARDENS

Stowe Gardens, managed by the National Trust, is a masterpiece of landscape design. This 18th-century garden is ﬁlled with lakes, temples, and hidden corners that invite romance at every turn. There are 250 acres open for exploration. Whether you come for walking, socialising, creative pursuits, quality time, well-being, dog walking, having a picnic, or running wild, Stowe Gardens is what you make it.

PERFECT FOR COUPLES

• Romantic walks: Meander along pathways that lead to classical temples, grottoes, and the Palladian Bridge. Each feature tells a story, adding a sense of mystery and charm.

• Photography together: Capture your love in one of the garden’s picturesque spots, such as the Temple of Venus or the Gothic Temple.

• Pack a romantic picnic: Find a secluded spot by the lake or under a centuries-old tree to enjoy a meal surrounded by natural beauty.

BLETCHLEY PARK

For history-loving couples, Bletchley Park o ers a unique blend of intrigue and romance. This historic site was the top-secret home of the World War II codebreakers. Immersive ﬁlms, interactive displays, museum collections and faithfully

recreated WWII rooms will guide you on a journey to discover the past at Bletchley Park. Exhibitions, set within beautifully restored historic buildings, tell the story of this once top-secret operation. Find out more about the brilliant minds and complex machines that made this vital work possible, and discover the global impact Bletchley Park had on the outcome of WWII.

PERFECT FOR COUPLES

• Tour the grounds: Walk hand in hand through the historic huts and the beautiful mansion, learning about the fascinating history of the codebreakers.

• Interactive exhibits: Engage with exhibits showcasing the brilliant minds and innovative technology that helped shape modern computing.

• Lake walks: The tranquil lake and surrounding gardens provide a peaceful setting for reﬂective strolls together.

WINDSOR GREAT PARK

Nestled near Windsor Castle, Windsor Great Park is a sprawling expanse of natural beauty that o ers endless opportunities for romance. The park’s tranquil landscapes, dotted with ancient oaks, glistening lakes, and vibrant gardens, set the stage for intimate moments.

PERFECT FOR COUPLES

• Take a romantic stroll: Hand in hand, explore the Long Walk, a straight tree-lined avenue leading to Windsor Castle. The views are especially stunning at sunset, casting a golden glow over the park.

• Visit the Savill Garden: A secluded haven within the park, the Savill Garden boasts meticulously maintained ﬂower beds, peaceful woodland paths, and quiet corners ideal for a private picnic.

• Enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride: Nothing says romance like a leisurely carriage ride through the park’s most scenic routes.

BASILDON PARK

Basildon Park, a glorious Georgian mansion surrounded by lush parkland, provides a perfect blend of history and romance. Managed by the National Trust, this elegant estate has been a ﬁlming location for period dramas, making it a cinematic spot for couples. Its 400-acre park features four waymarked walks, World War II Nissen Hut remains, historic trees and views of the house.

PERFECT FOR COUPLES

• Explore the mansion’s interiors: Step back in time as you admire the ornate architecture and opulent décor of the stately rooms.

• Wander through the gardens: The formal gardens and rolling meadows o er plenty of spots to pause and enjoy the scenery.

STOWE, PHOTO BY DAVID HUMPHRIES

BASILDON PARK

“It is one of the best spots to witness a romantic sunset”

• Have afternoon tea: Treat yourselves to a delightful afternoon tea in the tea room, housed in the former kitchen of the mansion.

THE THAMES PATH

Following the course of the River Thames, the Thames Path is a romantic trail for couples who love being close to water. Berkshire’s stretch of the path meanders through charming towns, quiet villages, and scenic riversides.

PERFECT FOR COUPLES

• Go for a leisurely walk or cycle: Whether you’re in the mood for a short amble or a more ambitious bike ride, the path o ers plenty of picturesque routes.

• Stop for a riverside meal: Quaint pubs and

explore the original Monks’ Garden, the Secret Garden, the White Border, the Wood of Goodwill, the Rose Arbour, the Wild Flower Meadow and, nearer the Castle, the Healing Herb garden. Its grandeur and elegance make it an unforgettable romantic destination.

PERFECT FOR COUPLES

• Tour the castle: Explore the lavishly decorated rooms, from the grand staircase to the library, imagining yourselves in a bygone era of sophistication.

• Stroll through the gardens: The castle grounds include a wildﬂower meadow, a formal Monks’ Garden, and a serene Secret Garden, perfect for romantic photos.

• Toast your love: End your visit with a glass of champagne or a special afternoon tea at one of the estate’s dining spots.

eateries along the path provide romantic spots for a meal or drink with river views.

• Take a boat trip: Rent a boat or join a guided river cruise to experience the Thames from a di erent perspective, sharing quiet moments on the water.

HIGHCLERE CASTLE

Famous as the ﬁlming location for Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle is a majestic landmark surrounded by breathtaking gardens and parklands. Highclere Castle has been transformed from its roots in Anglo Saxon times to a medieval palace, a Tudor place house, a Georgian house and today this iconic Victorian castle. It sits within a park designed by Capability Brown in the 18th-century. Today you are welcome to

DONNINGTON CASTLE

For couples who appreciate history and dramatic landscapes, Donnington Castle near Newbury is a captivating choice. Although only the gatehouse of this medieval fortress remains, the site’s hilltop location provides stunning views.

PERFECT FOR COUPLES

• Watch the sunset: The elevated vantage point makes this one of the best spots in Berkshire to witness a romantic sunset.

• Enjoy a picnic: Pack a basket and settle on the castle grounds.

• Explore the trails: Nearby walking paths o er tranquil moments to connect with nature and each other.

THE THAMES PATH

DONNINGTON CASTLE

Refreshed & Rejuvenated

Burnham Beeches Hotel: exploring a grand transformation in the heart of South Bucks

If you’ve ever driven through the picturesque South Bucks countryside, nestled between Burnham and Windsor, you might think you know Burnham Beeches Hotel. But after a jaw-dropping £2 million refurbishment, this beloved local gem has undergone a breathtaking transformation.

Stepping through its doors, you’ll ﬁnd a sultry, sophisticated aesthetic that’s a world away from its former self. The new interiors feature a stunning colour palette, designer furniture, and luxurious soft furnishings that exude elegance. Whether you’re sipping a cocktail at the bar or enjoying a meal in one of the revamped dining spaces, you’ll notice the hotel’s unwavering commitment to quality, with locally sourced ingredients taking center stage on the menu.

A CULINARY DELIGHT

Burnham Beeches Hotel now boasts an array of dining experiences. Brasserie 1727 serves up classic dishes, complemented by panoramic views of the beautifully landscaped grounds. For something more relaxed, the Evergreen Tearoom o ers a serene setting to enjoy afternoon tea with friends or family. The new bar and lounge o ers a relaxed setting to enjoy a drink and a bite to eat, the cosy area allows you to sink into sumptuous sofas in front of the ﬁre or grab a seat and enjoy the views across the estate. During the warmer months their terrace area is open for al fresco dining surrounded by nature.

ELEGANT EVENTS AND DREAM WEDDINGS

The hotel’s vast lawn and white wedding pavilion o er a dreamy setting for special occasions. Whether you’re planning a wedding, milestone celebration, or a

corporate event, Burnham Beeches Hotel has versatile spaces to suit every need. With private dining areas providing an intimate atmosphere, The Den – complete with a private pool table and large-screen TV – is ideal for smaller, informal gatherings and a number of meeting and events spaces (with private bar) are available. You can be sure that the hotel’s events team will create an event tailored just for you.

RELAXATION REDEFINED AT SOUL SPA HEALTH CLUB

No visit to Burnham Beeches Hotel would be complete without indulging in a little self-care. The newly unveiled Soul Spa Health Club o ers treatment rooms featuring Temple Spa’s luxury treatments. Whilst the newly refurbished gym and pool area, with sauna and steam room, will help to revitalise the body.

The spa also includes refreshed outdoor leisure facilities, making it the perfect place to unwind, rejuvenate, and reconnect with nature.

A NEW ERA FOR A LOCAL ICON

Whether you’re looking for a romantic getaway, an event space, or a day of indulgent pampering, Burnham Beeches Hotel o ers something for all. With its thoughtful design, modern amenities, and its natural surroundings, this newly reimagined country house hotel is a true jewel in the South Bucks countryside.

Discover Burnham Beeches Hotel for yourself and experience its remarkable transformation. For bookings and enquiries, visit burnhambeecheshotel.com or call 01628 429955

AFTERNOON TEA

THE INTERIOR DESIGN IS RELAXED AND STYLISH

FAIRYTALE STORY

Be amazed

by ballet stars of the future when Cinderella in Hollywood arrives at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

Aglamorous and innovative production by the award-winning English Youth Ballet is coming to the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre for a limited run from Friday 14th–Saturday 15th March. English Youth Ballet (EYB) was founded in 1998 to provide professional performance experience for talented dancers. The opportunity to watch EYB is a unique experience as audiences are treated to beautiful international principal artists sharing the stage with the top up-andcoming young talent from the local area. EYB’s company is made up of 7 professional principals and 84 selected dancers (aged 8–18) from the Bucks and surrounding areas.

The story of Cinderella in Hollywood Set in the glamorous era of 1950s Hollywood

Highest calibre dancers

The professional principal dancers have joined EYB from some of the world’s most renowned ballet companies – including the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, National Ballet of Portugal, Ballet de Toulouse and Vienna Festival Ballet.

Atgtickets.com/Aylesbury

Facebook: @aylesburywatersidetheatre

Instagram: @aylesburywaterside.theatre

TikTok: aylesburywaterside

X: @thewaterside1

movies, this lavish production draws its inspiration from the film star Grace Kelly who met Prince Rainier of Monaco at a press party and later married him. Cinderella is a seamstress on a film set and the Fairy Godmother is her late mother – a former movie star of the 1930s. Her wicked sisters are Hollywood starlets competing with each other for starring film roles.

The Prince meets Cinderella at the press party, but at midnight she ﬂees from the scene leaving a sparkly silver pointeshoe as the only clue to her identity.

The design and musical score

The music combines Shostakovich Jazz Suites and Ballet Suites with memorable melodies from Hollywood ﬁlms such as Tea for Two, Chinatown and Dancing in the Dark. The stunning new stage designs for the ballet are by Sebastian Petit and the costume designs are by Keith Bish.

Fact File

• The cast of Cinderella in Hollywood will rehearse for 80 hours for the production

• There will be a team of over 30 chaperones required to look a er the young performers.

• EYB worked with over 600 young dancers across the UK in 2024.

• Over 1,500 young dancers auditioned for the opportunity to perform with EYB in 2024.

• Over 12,000 people watched EYB in 7 towns/cities in 2024.

• There are approximately 260 costumes

• There are over 50 pairs of pointe shoes, 60 pairs of so ballet shoes and 30 pairs of character shoes required in the ballet.

• EYB have 5 professional technical staﬀ who ensure everything is of the highest professional calibre.

• The female principals require at least 2 diﬀ erent pairs of pointe shoes for each performance.

FOOD & DRINK

THE BRAYWOOD

The Braywood, the latest opening from the team behind The Woodspeen, has a new set menu. The new menu features a range of seasonal dishes, including Smoked Haddock Risotto with cauliflower, caper and hazelnut, Salt-Baked Celeriac with ricotta and poached hens egg, and Blood Orange Curd with sheep’s yogurt sorbet and lemon thyme meringue. thebraywood.co.uk

WHAT TO DRINK

GRAPE news

Wine recommendations for the month

By THE WINE SOCIETY

The Society's Argentine Malbec 2023

 £9.50

This is the ideal introduction to Argentine malbec. It has a forthcoming ﬂoral aroma with some black-fruit character and a fresh, round and balanced palate. It's mainly from the Valle de Uco for aroma and intensity of ﬂavour.

Undurraga Candelabro Chardonnay Leyda Valley 2023

 £8.95

Chilean chardonnay with a fresh appley aroma and ﬂavour from the cool Leyda Valley. This has been tank fermented and aged brieﬂy on its yeast lees to confer some richness on the palate.

A Fistful of Schist Chenin Blanc, Swartland 2024

 £7.25

Taken from old chenin vines in the heart of the Swartland, this is an impressively complex South African chenin for the price, with crisp stone-fruit and tropical notes and a smooth mouthfeel with a crisp, fresh ﬁnish.

Since it was founded back in 1874, The Wine Society has dared to do business a little differently. Bringing together a community united by a shared love of wine, The Society is a co-operative and owned by its members. This means there is no requirement to pump profit into annual dividends or bonuses for shareholders – all profits go back into the business.

The Wine Society welcomes all wine lovers. Become a member today and receive £20 oﬀ toward your ﬁrst order. thewinesociety.com

TASTING

NOTES

The latest launches and news from across the county

By MARK KEBBLE

Taste of Italy

San Carlo's menu embraces the essence of Italian cuisine. Each recipe highlights the rich flavours of Italy, with a focus on authentic and sustainable produce. From handmade pastas and wood-fired pizzas to vibrant salads and seafood, every dish is a celebration of regional Italian traditions. San Carlo's commitment to provenance guarantees that diners experience the genuine flavours of Italy.

sancarlo.co.uk

SAN CARLO

Burning bright

THE CROWN AT BRAY

In celebration of legendary Scottish poet, Robert Burns, historic country pub The Crown at Bray hosted an impeccably sourced Burns Night supper on 23rd January. The welcoming surrounds were made all the more lively with a fabulous, four-course menu celebrating the very best of Scottish produce all in the name of one of Scotland’s most heralded ﬁgures. thecrownatbray.com

Game on

THE BAT AND BALL

The Bat and Ball is set to open in Cuddesdon as the latest venture from Ben Moss’s Montgomery Group. The Bat and Ball will capture the traditional pub experience while o ering an elevated menu of classic pub bangers from Head Chef Rick Owens, which focuses on seasonality, sustainability, and a ordability. Five beautiful guest rooms will also be available, providing cosy comfort for overnight stays. @batandballoxford

CUPBOARD

LOVE

Three pantry essentials

BANHOEK CHILLI OIL

Winners of Great Taste Awards in 2023 and 2024, Banhoek's Original Chilli Oil and Garlic Chilli Oil are excellent additions to pretty much any dish for those of us who love chilli. Both oﬀer the perfect level of heat. banhoekchillioil.com

YUZU TRUFFLE HONEY

Acme Fire Cult's honey packs a powerful punch of Italian white truﬄe, backed by subtle hints of fresh Japanese yuzu. Try it with grilled lamb chops, fried chicken, or paired with cheeses. acmeﬁrecult.com

JOSÉ PIZARRO'S OLIVE OIL

José's new extra virgin olive oil is cra ed from Manzanilla Cacereña olives and produced using an advanced cold-extraction technique. It has a smooth, balanced ﬂavour proﬁle, with heady notes of freshly cut grass, green banana, apple, and tomato. josepizarro.com

THE KENNET CRAYFISH COMPANY

The Kennet Crayfish Company, based in Thatcham, was a top three finalist in the "Food Producer of the Year” category at the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2024. The Kennet Crayfish Company sell chilled par-cooked and cooked crayfish for the catering and hospitality trade and direct to consumers. kennetcrayfish.com

To boldly go

BEAR BY CARLO SCOTTO

Acclaimed Chef Carlo Scotto is widely recognised for his innovative contributions to the culinary industry and now he is back with a bang, taking the reins as Chef Patron of new restaurant BEAR by Carlo Scotto at the lavish Crazy Bear Hotel in Beaconsﬁeld.

The Chef’s Table is to open its doors this spring with a bold concept. Watch this space, crazybeargroup.co.uk

Passion PLANT

Delicious vegan-inspired meals from Grubby

Gochujang mac and ‘cheese’ with crispy sesame tofu

Serves 2 35 mins

INGREDIENTS

• 280g ﬁrm tofu

• 2 tsp gochujang paste

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp cornﬂour

• 1 red pepper

• 1 tsp sesame seeds

• 200g macaroni

• 1 vegetable stock cube

• 100g plant-based cheese

• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

• 250ml plant-based cream

• 2 spring onions

METHOD

1 Crumble the tofu into small pieces and tip into a large bowl, along with 1 teaspoon of the gochujang paste and the soy sauce. Mix well, then sprinkle over 2 tablespoons of the cornﬂour and mix again. Set aside.

2 Finely slice the red pepper. Heat a drizzle of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Once hot, add the sliced red pepper to the pan and fry for 4-5 minutes until cooked. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.

3 Return the pan to a mediumhigh heat and add the tofu. Fry for 5 minutes, then add the sesame seeds and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes more until the tofu is golden and crispy.

4 Meanwhile, cook the macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling water for 8-10 minutes until tender.

5 To make the sauce, crumble the stock cube into a small bowl and grate in the plant-based cheese. Add the nutritional yeast and plant-based cream, along with the remaining tablespoon of cornﬂour and 1 teaspoon of gochujang paste. Stir in 150ml boiling water and season with salt and pepper.

6 Once the macaroni is cooked, loosely drain and return it to the saucepan. Pour over the sauce and cook over a low heat until the sauce has thickened slightly. Add the cooked pepper to the pan and stir through. Finely slice the spring onions.

7 Serve the macaroni in bowls, topped with the crispy tofu and spring onion slices.

Cashew

and avocado pesto pasta with griddled courgettes and sun-dried tomatoes

Serves 2 20 mins

INGREDIENTS

• 60g cashews

• 1 courgette

• 200g rigatoni or penne pasta

• 1 avocado

• Handful basil

• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

• 3 garlic cloves

• 1 lemon

• 100g sun-dried tomatoes in oil

• Handful Rocket METHOD

1 Tip the cashews into a large saucepan of boiling water and simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile,

slice the courgette into 1cm rounds and set aside for later. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cashews from the saucepan and set aside in a bowl. Bring the pan of water back to the boil, add the pasta, and simmer for 10 minutes.

2 To make the pesto, peel and stone the avocado and add the ﬂesh to a blender, along with the basil, cashew nuts, nutritional yeast, garlic, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 150ml water. Squeeze in half the lemon and blitz until smooth.

3 Heat a good drizzle of olive oil in a deep-sided frying pan over a high heat. Add the courgette slices and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until charred, then take o the heat.

4 Once the pasta is cooked, loosely drain and return to the saucepan over a low heat, stirring through the pesto, courgette slices and sundried tomatoes. Warm through for 2 minutes.

5 Spoon the pesto pasta into serving bowls and top with a handful of fresh rocket, and a good squeeze of the remaining lemon.

New potato, broccoli and lentil traybake with walnut, garlic and herb dressing

Serves 2 45 mins

INGREDIENTS

• 500g new potatoes

• 150g radishes

• 1 onion

• 1 red pepper

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 2 garlic cloves

• Handful parsley

• 30g walnuts

• 1 lemon

• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 200g tenderstem broccoli

• 200g pre-cooked Beluga lentils pouch

METHOD

1 Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 7.

2 Roughly chop the new potatoes into 1cm slices and place in a saucepan of boiling water. Parboil for 4-5 minutes, then drain.

3 Meanwhile, trim the stalks o the radishes and cut them in half, cut the onion into wedges and slice the red pepper into thin strips. Combine these vegetables on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle over the oregano and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the drained new potatoes to the same tray and toss together. Place in the oven for an initial 20 minutes.

4 To make the dressing, crush the garlic and ﬁnely chop the parsley and walnuts. Cut the lemon in half. In a small bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar with 2

“Vegan twists on comfort food favourites: this is plant-based food that packs ﬂavour and taste”

tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the garlic, parsley and walnuts, and squeeze in half the lemon. Mix and set aside for later.

5 Once the veg has been roasting for 20 minutes, remove the tray from the oven and add the broccoli and lentils. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes, or until everything is golden and crisp. Once it’s ready, remove from the oven and pour over the dressing. Mix and serve with a good squeeze of the remaining lemon.

Recipes by Grubby is out now, published by Ebury Press, £20, hardback

Diamonds speak louder than words

FASHION

Perfect PROPOSAL

BERRY’S JEWELLERS

A round brilliant cut diamond is the ultimate symbol of love and commitment, making it the perfect choice for a proposal. Renowned for its exceptional sparkle and timeless elegance, this classic cut maximises light reflection, creating unmatched brilliance. Whether set in platinum, white, yellow or rose gold, a round brilliant diamond ring captures the magic of the moment and ensures an unforgettable "yes". Discover the stunning range of diamond engagement rings at your nearest Berry’s boutique or online at berrysjewellers.co.uk

Shoot 50 • Jewellery

Roman’s Dusk collection – available at their Aylesbury store – is perfect to impress this Valentine’s

ZONE

Star power

The best zodiac-inspired pieces, whatever your sign...

By CARLY GLENDINNING

LIONHEART

18K Yellow Gold and Diamond Pendant, £4,934 lionheartjewelry.com

BERRY'S JEWELLERS

18ct White Gold Grey Pearl & Diamond Pave Set Star Sautoir Necklet, £10,995 berrysjewellers.co.uk

EDEN PRESLEY

14K Yellow Gold and Diamonds Taurus Pendant, £1,530 edenpresley.com

ERIN FADER JEWELRY

14K Gold Fill Over Brass In The Stars Zodiac Necklace, £POA erinfaderjewelry.com

BRIONY RAYMOND

18K Yellow Gold Jumbo Aurora All Diamond Scorpio Zodiac Medallion, £5,491 brionyraymond.com

SHAHLA KARIMI

14K Yellow Gold and Diamond Aries Zodiac Reveal, £1,875 shahlakarimi.com

BERRY'S JEWELLERS

Berry’s OPEIA Collection 18ct White Gold Diamond Circle Sautoir Necklet, £52,995 berrysjewellers.co.uk

HALLEH

18K Yellow Gold and Diamond Cancer Zodiac Necklace, £5,150 halleh.com

AURELIA DEMARK

18K Yellow Gold, Blue Sapphire, and Ruby Grand Capricorn Pendant, £9,645 aureliademark.com

Discover Exceptional Care at Bartlett’s

Set in 18 acres of beautiful Buckinghamshire countryside, Bartlett’s is the South East’s number one rated care home. Opening Spring 2025, our new Garden Lodges o er premium, personalised care alongside exclusive amenities including a café, gallery, and private gardens. With only 12 bedrooms available, now is the perfect time to learn more about our unique approach to care.

01296 747 000 • info@bartlettscare.co.uk

Bartlett’s Residential Home, Portway Road, Stone, Aylesbury, HP17 8RP

peverelcourtcare.co.uk

HEALTH & BEAUTY

JO MALONE

Jo Malone's Red Roses cologne is the essence of modern romance, inspired by a voluptuous blend of seven of the world's most exquisite roses. With crushed violet leaves and a hint of lemon, it unfolds like a bouquet of freshly cut flowers. jomalone.co.uk Love in the air

TREAT loved ones

Treat your loved ones with eternal youth this Valentine’s Day with Dr Nyla Medispa

This Valentine’s Day, treat your loved one to a moment of self-care and rejuvenation. Dr Nyla Raja invites you to pamper that special someone with an advanced skin treatment plan at her renowned Medispa clinics. Known for transformative aesthetic treatments, Dr Nyla’s expertise and over 20 years of experience in aesthetics make her clinics the ideal destination for rejuvenation, conﬁdence, and radiant results. Tailored to meet the individual needs of every client, each treatment plan ensures your loved one feels valued and cared for in a safe, welcoming environment. Trusted by celebrities and clients alike, this is a gift that combines luxury, care, and lasting beauty.

“EACH TREATMENT PLAN ENSURES YOU ACHIEVE DESIRED RESULTS IN A SAFE, WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT”

TRANSFORMATION FACELIFT™

Turn back time and rediscover your youthful glow with the award-winning Transformation Facelift™. This noninvasive treatment combines advanced technologies, including Ultherapy and radiofrequency to lift, tighten, and ﬁrm the skin. The result? A natural, refreshed appearance that enhances your features while and maintaining your unique

beauty. Ideal for those seeking to restore lost elasticity or combat early signs of ageing, the Transformation Facelift™ is a thoughtful gift that combines care and rejuvenation, o ering the ultimate way to help your loved one feel their best.

DR NYLA MEDISPA LONDON

is located at 32 Dover Street, Mayfair, London, W1S 4NE. Call 0162 552 3307 / 0800 009 6661 to book a complementary consultation, and visit doctornyla.com

TRANSFORMATION BODYLIFT

Conﬁdence isn’t just skin-deep. With the Transformation Bodylift, you can sculpt, tone, and tighten your body without surgery. Perfect for targeting areas like the stomach, thighs, or arms, this treatment uses cutting-edge technology to improve skin texture and contour your shape.

Whether you’re treating someone special or looking for a gift that inspires conﬁdence and self-care, the Transformation Bodylift delivers visible, conﬁdence-boosting results they’ll love.

TONE & TITE THERAPY

Say goodbye to stubborn areas of concern with Tone + Tite Therapy, a treatment designed to strengthen muscles, reduce fat, and tighten skin in just a few sessions. This non-invasive solution

uses high-intensity electromagnetic energy to tone your body from within. It’s the perfect gift for anyone wanting to feel their best and embrace selfconﬁdence this Valentine’s Day.

New Year New Pegasus Home

Make 2025 the year of new beginnings. Make your New Year’s resolution to move to a high quality, modern home, living within a friendly and supportive community with luxurious communal features. Located within the idyllic and sociable village of Wooburn Green, with wondrous views of ancient hills, woods and meadows. Enjoy a range of resident facilities including a communal lounge and a beautiful courtyard garden. Exclusively for those enjoying life over 60.

To make your move even better, enjoy up to two months rent free* at the end of the initial rental period. Terms apply, speak to our sales team or visit our website for more information.

Rent from £2,400 pcm | Buy from £450,000

“Investing in a property didn’t feel like the right option with all the additional costs. Renting appealed to us precisely for its ﬂexibility, allowing us to adapt to changing circumstances and needs.” Pegasus Homes Resident

BIODERMA

Atoderm Cleansing

Oil Normal to Very Dry Skin 200ml, £12 lookfantastic.com

DR SABRINA™

Perfect 360 Eye Illuminate, £90 drsabrina.com

DR. DAVID JACK Your Daily Skin Heroes Discovery Set, £135 drdavidjack.com

DERMALOGICA

Multivitamin Power Recovery Cream, £92 dermalogica.co.uk

ZO SKIN

HEALTH

Radical Night Repair, £153 zo-skinhealth. co.uk

DERMATICA

Personalised Formula, £24.99 per month dermatica.co.uk

DR SOMJI Night Recovery Cream, £85 drsomjiskincare.com

MEDER

By CARLY GLENDINNING

DERMATOLOGY M Nourishing Cream, £135 dermatology-m.com

Myo-Fix Active Care Cream, £89 mederbeauty.com

SKINCEUTICALS

P-Tiox Anti Wrinkle Serum, £130 skinceuticals.co.uk

AUGUSTINUS

BADER

The Rich Eye Cream, £160 augustinusbader.com

INSTITUT ESTHEDERM

Cellular Water Mist, £33 spacenk.com

EDITOR’S PICK

ABSOLUTELY

TOP PICKS

THREE FOR AT HOME TRAINING

ONYX

The Onyx 'The Works Set' seriously ups your workout game. As stylish as it is supportive, I went for a springy 8mm yoga mat in powdery blue with a matching ball, weights, blocks, and resistance bands, £234.93. onyx-ﬁtness.com

WIT TRAINING

Specialist training brand WIT has launched its debut apparel line. The four piece capsule collection includes this classic ﬁt crop training tank, which is so comfy you'll be wearing it on-repeat, £34. on-running.com

FITNESS NOTES

By CARLY GLENDINNING

INTOTHE FOLD

Carly Glendinning tries FOLD, a brandnew at-home foldable reformer bed

R.A.D®

As versatile as they are stylish, the R.A.D ® ONE trainer is cushioned for plyometrics, stabilised for li ing, durable enough for rope-climbs, light-weight enough for gymnastics – all whilst being comfortable enough to wear as a daily trainer, £130. rad-global.com

Reformer Pilates has massively blown up in the past year, with studios popping up faster than you can say “upside down elephant”. Some are so exclusive, you have to get up at the crack of dawn to book a space, and it’s not uncommon for a single class to set you back £30. Taking place on a bed-like machine, we’re all crazy for the full-body workout – which promises strength, ﬂexibility, coordination, and a honed physique. Getting out for classes isn’t easy though when you’re a toddler mum, so I’ve been practising Pilates every day at home instead. I’ve seen

great results on the mat, but recently I’ve been feeling ready to take my workouts to the next level. Enter the newly launched ‘FOLD’ reformer bed. Beautifully crafted from premium Canadian maple wood and upholstered in sleek beige or black leather, this seriously stylish piece of equipment o ers a studio-quality workout in the comfort of your own home. The compact design is a huge part of the appeal, and as the name implies, it’s easy to fold and stow away. My FOLD bed arrived pre-assembled and all I had to do was attach the head and shoulder rests, loop bars, and the padded double loop straps. Also included was a box, jumpboard and a starter bundle

with a Pilates mat, Pilates circle, Pilates ball, 1kg dumbbells, plus three months complimentary access to the FOLD app. The app features workouts for every level – from beginner to advanced. It’s super easy to use and the expert instructors make the workouts fun. There’s also the added beneﬁt of being able to chat to other members of the FOLD founding community. I’ve been hooked from the get-go, and I’ve used my bed so much that I’ve actually hardly needed to ‘FOLD’ it away at all.

Original FOLD Reformer bed £1,899.99; access to the FOLD app £9.99pm after initial three months. foldreformer.com

A friendly team of highly experienced and passionate professionals, led by Dr Cassie Coleman.

As a leading clinic in Oxfordshire, our goal is to o er family centered assessments that are designed to understand your child’s unique strengths and challenges.

We strive to o er a warm and welcoming atmosphere for face-to-face assessments where children and young people feel at ease, and families feel supported.

Our assessments provide the foundation for developing e ective and individualised:

• Support plans • Educational strategies • Therapeutic interventions

Please get in touch

If you have questions or would like to learn more about how we can support your child, please contact our fantastic admin team!

T: 01865 507 275 E: enquiries@drcassie.co.uk

The Region’s Premier Scar, Skin & Rejuvenation Clinic

THAMES VALLEY Scar Clinic

Directed by Consultant Plastic Surgeons

Alexandra and SaraAtkins-Murray

•Scars (all)

•Skin (rosacea, vitiligo, rhinophyma)

• Rejuvenation (wrinkles, pigmentation, vascular change)

•Carbon dioxide & NDYag laser, IPL (Lumenis)

•RECELL (Spray on skin)

•Surgery

We provide holistic assessments and ongoing care for children and young people.

Autism (ASD)

ADHD

Dyslexia

DCD (Dyspraxia)

Sensory Processing

SEN Consultancy

Adult Services

Coming Soon

www.drcassie.co.uk

Unit 1, Ashurst Court, London Road, Wheatley, OX33 1ER 01865 639542 enquiries@thamesvalleyscarclinic.com thamesvalleyscarclinic.com

Atkins-Murray Oxford NHS

Alexandra Atkins-Murray Bucks Health NHS

“It o ers personalised care, tranquillity and community”

CLASS ABOVE

Bartlett’s Garden Lodges: exceptional care in stunning surroundings

Nestled within 18 acres of the stunning Chiltern Hills, Bartlett’s Garden Lodges o er an unparalleled blend of personalised care, tranquillity, and community. As part of Bartlett’s Residential Home – proudly rated the number one care home in Buckinghamshire for the past nine years on Carehome.co.uk – these lodges are designed to provide an intimate and supportive environment for residents seeking the highest standard of elderly care.

Each of the four lodges is home to just three residents, ensuring a close-knit community where tailored care and genuine connections thrive. With a dedicated carer available 24/7 for every lodge, and two ﬂoating carers providing additional support across the lodges, residents are guaranteed compassionate, attentive care at all times. Bartlett’s Garden Lodges specialise in a range

of care services, including dementia care, respite, and residential support. Care plans are bespoke, designed to meet the individual needs and preferences of each resident. Whether it’s help with daily tasks or emotional support, the team at Bartlett’s ensures that every resident feels valued and empowered.

The lodges’ thoughtful design provides the perfect balance of independence and safety.

Each lodge is equipped with private kitchens and lounge spaces, giving residents the freedom to enjoy the comforts of home while fostering a sense of autonomy. Meanwhile, private gardens o er a peaceful retreat, allowing residents to immerse themselves in the natural beauty that surrounds Bartlett’s.

At the heart of this community is the new Café and Gallery, a vibrant space for socialising, dining, and cultural enrichment. Whether enjoying a co ee with family, celebrating special occasions, or exploring local artwork, residents have plenty of opportunities to engage and

connect. Residents also beneﬁt from a wide variety of daily activities, tailored to their interests, and enjoy regular trips in the private minibus to nearby attractions, making every day fulﬁlling and enriching.

Bartlett’s Garden Lodges combine the best of both worlds: the peace and privacy of a rural setting, with the convenience of easy access from London and surrounding areas. This makes it an ideal choice for families looking to stay closely connected while ensuring their loved ones receive outstanding care. Discover the di erence that personalised, intimate care can make. Book a visit today to experience Bartlett’s Garden Lodges for yourself.

BARTLETT’S RESIDENTIAL CARE HOME

Portway Road, Stone, Aylesbury, HP17 8RP 01296 747 000 info@bartlettscare.co.uk peverelcourtcare.co.uk

INTERIORS

ART COLLECTOR

WONDERING PEOPLE X ROOST

Wondering People is an art collective described as ‘shaking up the art world’. They’ve sourced original and editioned works by up-and-coming British and international artists, creating a platform for discovering unique pieces. It’s a discerning curation of artworks, each chosen for its distinctive aesthetic and approach. theroost.com

Sleep in STYLE

Carpe Diem Beds unveils new releases to continue the narrative of luxury, comfort, and innovation

HÄLLSÖ WALNUT

“The new Iconic Collection transcends the ordinary, where luxury meets functionality,” says Helen RK Jensen, VP Brand, Carpe Diem Beds

Asigniﬁcant moment for all interior lovers and sleep enthusiasts is here now as Carpe Diem Beds has launched their most extensive collection to date. The unveiling goes beyond the introduction of The Iconic Collection, encapsulating an array of bespoke o erings that redeﬁne the essence of luxury, comfort and innovation.

every bed from Carpe Diem Beds. And now, the ﬂoating sensation is a part of the design. The Iconic Collection beds contain the patented Contour Pocket system, providing unparalleled support and that weightless feel deeply rooted in the brand’s DNA. Each bed is meticulously crafted, reﬂecting Carpe Diem Beds' dedication to quality and design.

MEET THE NEW ICONS: KUNGSÖ AND HÄLLSÖ

ELEVATING THE EXPERIENCE WITH NEW FABRICS

In the pursuit of creating beds that transcend mere functionality, Carpe Diem Beds embodies a philosophy where style and comfort unite. The company has made it their mission to make sleep a priority by transforming bedrooms into the heart of the home. Carpe Diem Beds has long been synonymous with creating havens of tranquillity. Their upcoming release is no exception, as they are committed to making their beds as beautiful to look at as to sleep in. With bespoke craftsmanship, Carpe Diem Beds elevates bedrooms into sanctuaries, providing the perfect place to unwind.

Every bed component is selected for its unique qualities; bed frames are crafted from solid, slowgrowing Nordic pine, and fabrics are meticulously chosen from renowned brands. Each bed, crafted in Sweden, is a masterpiece of exceptional artistry and is signed by the bedmaker.

INTRODUCING THE ICONIC COLLECTION

Imagine the serene and picturesque archipelago on the West Coast of Sweden. With the rhythmic whisper of the waves, the crisp sea breeze, and the wild heather growing among the rocks. This tranquil landscape was the inspiration for Börje Thuleskär, the founder of Carpe Diem Beds. On a balmy summer day wandering the Island of Stora Kornö, Börje spread out his picnic blanket on a meadow of heather to lay down and rest. As he closed his eyes, he experienced a ﬂoating sensation and a feeling of weightlessness. Since that day, that weightless feel is found in the comfort of

The Iconic Collection includes four bed models, each named after islands in the archipelago on the West Coast of Sweden. These bespoke beds can be customised from 44 fabrics in the classic and exclusive fabric collection. Kungsö is a continental bed that combines innovation with an elegant and modern design. It is not just furniture; it is a focal point that elevates the entire room’s atmosphere. The design is based on the centred leg piece, creating a ﬂoating visual e ect that is both striking and captivating, making it a truly exceptional piece of design.

Hällsö Walnut consists of a handcrafted walnut frame, where the natural variations of the wood make each bed unique. The wooden frame’s timeless, classic charm elevates the bedroom’s design, emphasising the tailored quality of Carpe Diem Beds. The ﬂoating style of the centred leg piece further accentuates the walnut frame.

Hällsö Upholstery is a frame bed with an elegant, fabric-padded frame and the innovative floating design that defines this unique range. The frame seamlessly complements modern interior styles. Vindö adjustable bed is the existing and most exclusive bed in The Iconic Collection. Vindö o ers a luxurious, floating design synonymous with the rest of the collection. This adjustable bed allows you to control your body’s position and indulge in relaxing massages, making it a one-of-a-kind experience. With the added convenience of a light feature, Vindö is the epitome of luxury and comfort, setting a new standard for adjustable beds.

Carpe Diem Beds has launched new fabrics as well as the brand’s ﬁrst collaboration with Danish textile brand Kvadrat. The new fabrics are inspired by the calming colours found in Lysekil’s archipelago and feature 22 exclusive designs. Altogether, Carpe Diem Beds now o ers 44 bespoke fabrics from Designers Guild, Romo Group, and Kvadrat, enabling customers to personalise their beds further. The new additions elevate Carpe Diem Beds' existing fabric brand mix and allow the brand to cater to a broader design audience who are looking for that Scandinavian feel.

CARPE DIEM BEDS REDEFINES LUXURY

With The Iconic Collection, Carpe Diem Beds invites you to embrace a ﬂoating sensation that transports you to the tranquil shores of the west coast of Sweden. Envision the serenity, feel the calm, and let every night become an unwinding retreat. This collection is more than just beds; it’s a masterpiece that invites you to seize the day, starting with a night of unparalleled sleep.

carpediembeds.co.uk

RIVÖ HEADBOARD IN KVADRAT FABRIC

VINDÖ

RECHARGE TIME TO

It’s a new year, so no better time to improve your sleeping habits, say the experts at Jensen Beds

Whatever 2025 holds in store for you, sleeping is essential for your well-being. Just like you want your phone to be at 100 percent in the morning, your body should also be recharged to meet a new day. And where to start to get back to 100? Consistency. Our bodies are smart and easily adapt to new patterns. So, one way to optimize your sleep is to aim for consistency. It improves the body’s repair process each night, both physically and mentally. Going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends, could actually prevent mental health issues and depression. Here are ﬁve tips to help create a healthy daily rhythm

which will make your nights better and allow you to perform better during the day.

1.GET INTO REGULAR HABITS AND STICK TO THEM

Have ﬁxed times for going to bed and waking up, eating breakfast, taking a walk in daylight and eating an evening meal.

2. SLEEP LESS, BUT BETTER

Try sleeping less for a period to avoid lying awake in bed. If, after this, your sleep is more uninterrupted, try going to bed slightly earlier every night until you get into a good sleep rhythm.

3.USE

THE DARK

One hour before bedtime you should dim the lighting and turn o all screens such as TVs, computers, e-readers and

smartphones. The light tricks the brain into believing it is day. You enhance the body’s daily rhythm if you use the night to sleep, and the sooner you fall asleep, the better.

4.USE

THE LIGHT

Turn on the light in the morning, open the curtains and take an early walk in the daylight. This will give your body’s internal clock a good start to the day.

5.DE-STRESS

Remove the stresses of everyday life in di erent ways. Prepare for the following morning by putting out clothes and packing a backpack or case. Rest and read a book or browse a newspaper. A shower or a massage can also work wonders.

Jensen Beds’ mission is to help people sleep better, so they can perform at their peak. For more than 75 years, they’ve strived to make beds that adapt to your body and increase the quality of your sleep. But they don’t stop at making quality beds. They o er you a complete range of accessories and products, together with the routines that improve your sleep health. This includes guiding you to better habits throughout the di erent phases of your wake/sleep cycle: Wake-up, Awake, Wind down and Asleep. Get in touch with them and ﬁnd out how you can sleep well.

jensen-beds.com/uk

SPLASH MAKE A

Origin on the top trends in indoor pool design for 2025

As we move into 2025, indoor pool design continues to evolve, embracing cutting-edge technology, sustainability and functionality. In this article, we explore the top trends we’re seeing for indoor pools and how Origin integrates them to elevate your lifestyle and home.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

At Origin, we understand that sustainable design isn’t just about using eco-friendly materials – it's about building energye cient pools that are cost-e ective and better for the environment.

One of the main ways sustainability is making its way into indoor pool design is through using heat pumps and solar panel systems to reduce energy consumption. These systems provide year round heating without relying on traditional fossil fuels, making them more energy-e cient and environmentally friendly. Additionally, materials used in pool house construction, such as timber from certiﬁed forests, contribute to an overall greener approach to design.

MOVABLE POOL FLOORS

One of the most innovative features in indoor pool design is the Hydrofloors movable pool floor system, which allows homeowners to adjust the depth of their pool at the touch of a button. This technology’s versatility allows your pool to double as a functional space for other activities. When the pool floor is raised, you gain a walkable surface for various uses – be it an entertainment space for gatherings, a yoga room or an extra play area for children. This adaptable design maximises space and keeps your pool area functional, no matter the occasion.

WELLNESS INTEGRATION

Wellness continues to be a focal point in swimming pool design, resulting in an environment that promotes health, relaxation and rejuvenation. Saunas and steam rooms, with their therapeutic e ects and soothing properties, provide a complete wellness experience that reduces stress, improves circulation and enhances muscle recovery. These additions elevate your pool house into a sanctuary.

At Origin, we’re excited to bring these innovations to life, creating pool houses that cater for every aspect of your lifestyle. Whether you’re prioritising energy e ciency, enhancing your wellness routine or embracing innovative design, we are here to help you create the pool of your dreams. Let’s make your vision a reality with an indoor pool that works seamlessly with your life. Limited building slots remain for 2025.

Scan QR code for more information originpools.co.uk info@originpools.co.uk 01895 453996

SHADES

By PENDLE HARTE

Chesneys of London –World famous manufacturers of fireplaces and woodburning stoves

Charnwood StovesManufactured on the Isle of Wight since 1972

WOOD BURNERS | GAS FIRES | ANTIQUE SPECIALISTS

OFJoys spring

The Cotswold Company has created a beautiful collection of practical, stylish furniture and homeware at its new Marlow store

The Cotswold Company welcomes the arrival of spring with a beautifully curated collection of furniture and homeware that is practical and stylish, o ering a variety of clever storage solutions to help organise spaces throughout the home.

Handcrafted freestanding kitchen larders and pantry cupboards, featuring adjustable shelves, racks, and drawers, are thoughtfully designed to maximise space and minimise clutter. Their traditional yet timeless aesthetic complements a range of interior styles, from classic to contemporary. Busy hallways and utility rooms can be e ortlessly organised with functional storage solutions like the bestselling Chester Dove Grey ‘Bootility’ and Utility Cupboards. Expertly crafted with solid oak frames and real oak veneer, The Cotswold Company’s beloved Chester furniture collection is built to last, o ering a 15-year structural guarantee. A meticulous four-step painting process ensures a ﬂawless ﬁnish, embodying the hallmark quality of The Cotswold Company, who also o er a wide range of smart storage solutions for every room.

Lisa Coppin, Chief Creative O cer at The Cotswold Company, says: “The onset of spring is an important time to prepare the home for the year ahead. With a little planning and the right organisation in place you can ensure you have more time to enjoy those special moments whether a birthday celebration, or a quiet moment snuggled on the sofa. At The Cotswold Company, we pride ourselves on listening to our customers and perfecting the art of creating beautifully designed, well-crafted, and thoroughly practical

“WE CREATE PIECES THAT FIT SEAMLESSLY INTO ANY HOME”

pieces that ﬁt seamlessly into their home, whether it’s a cosy cottage in the Cotswolds or a modern city dwelling.”

The Cotswold Company’s furniture collections can be experienced in person at the new Marlow store, 7 High Street, SL7 1AU, 01494 924572, as well as online at cotswoldco.com

• Carefully curated collections of more than 15,000 exceptional quality tiles for oors & walls inside & out, engineered wood ooring & luxury vinyl tiles & planks at a ordable prices

• Explore every design possibility online or visit our dedicated Ascot showroom

LINING SILVER

Absolutely explores a wonderful country home in a prestigious Buckinghamshire location

Silver Birches is a handsome Arts & Crafts country home in Buckinghamshire providing elegant and exceptionally well proportioned accommodation arranged over two well planned ﬂoors. The property has been maintained to a meticulous standard and provides a wonderful mix of contemporary family living tempered with an abundance of internal and external character features.

The property is positioned well within glorious gardens and grounds in excess of two acres and is situated

on one of South Buckinghamshire’s most sought after residential roads.

The clever L-shaped design of the house allows for dual aspect reception rooms throughout the ground ﬂoor, whilst the bedroom suites all beneﬁt from wonderful views over glorious mature gardens.

Upon entering the house over the central positioned grand reception hall with its open galleried landing above you are immediately met with a sense of the scale provided by the property. Formal receptions are located within one wing and comprise a large formal living room with feature ﬁreplace, a formal dining room and a former games/family room currently used as a wonderful study/ home o ce and featuring an extensive range

of built-in furniture. Each reception features double doors leading out to the rear garden.

Located across from the reception hall is a generous kitchen/breakfast room, which in turn leads through to a most impressive double height family room with a beautiful Minstrel’s gallery. A further TV/play room is also accessed from the kitchen along with a good size utility room.

The first floor accommodation is also well proportioned with the galleried landing giving access to six double bedrooms served by three well-appointed bath/shower rooms. The principal bedroom is of particular note and features a fully fitted walk-in wardrobe alongside a luxury en-suite bath and shower room.

The house is set back within its glorious two-acre plot and enjoys a pleasant south westerly aspect. The gardens have a sweeping parkland design with extensive areas of manicured lawn interspersed by mature trees leading through to a mature sylvan backdrop. A large raised terrace bordered by well stocked beds wraps around the rear of the house to provide seating and dining areas from which to enjoy the idyllic setting.

Steps down from the terrace lead to a further paved area and outdoor swimming pool with pool house incorporating a shower room, pump house and bar area making it an ideal summer entertaining space. The pool area is secured with attractive wrought iron fencing. Within the rear garden itself and set behind mature privacy hedging is a hard surface tennis court.

Silver Birches is approached over a long sweeping gravel driveway

leading to a turning circle and parking area in front of the detached double garage. There is a further detached garage and large store to one side.

This most beautiful Arts & Crafts family home is situated on one of the ﬁnest addresses in South Buckinghamshire. Nightingales Lane is a highly desirable residential road which links Little Chalfont village to Chalfont St Giles. The A413 provides access to the M40 and M25 at Denham with Heathrow airport about 20 miles away.

Little Chalfont village centre with its thriving parade of local shops, restaurants and co ee houses together with Chalfont

& Latimer Metropolitan/Chiltern Line station providing a regular London commuter service into Baker Street/Marylebone respectively is approximately one mile away. The area is renowned for its education with Dr Challoner’s High School for girls also in Little Chalfont and Dr Challoner’s Grammar School for boys in Amersham about three miles away.

Silver Birches has a guide price of £4,000,000. For further information, contact Savills Amersham on 01494 725636 or visit savills.co.uk

At a glance

APARTMENT FEATURES AT THAMES BRIDGE HOUSE

• 1,747 sq 3 bedroom duplex apartment

• Handmade, hand painted kitchen units with quartz work surfaces and Miele appliances

• Bathrooms ﬁtted with Villeroy & Boch sanitaryware

Charmed LIFE

Exploring Laxton Properties’

Thames Bridge House, which o ers luxury living in the most idyllic setting

Laxton Properties' latest development of three exceptional luxury apartments located by the river in Henley-onThames are must-views. Thames Bridge House is intelligently designed and brilliantly realised, and these apartments are luxurious, spacious, and superior in every respect. Every sightline, every ﬁnish, every surface speaks of attention to detail and uncompromising quality.

There is one beautifully presented duplex apartment still available for sale that spans the ground and ﬁrst ﬂoors of Thames Bridge House, o ering attractive and spacious accommodation across both levels. The apartment boasts a tastefully designed private terrace, perfect for outdoor living and overlooking a quiet courtyard of listed

buildings, verdant trees, and river views.

The ground ﬂoor of the apartment is home to an impressive and perfectly appointed principal suite, which includes a large bedroom and an en-suite. Additionally, the apartment o ers two generously sized guest bedrooms, each with a luxury en-suite.

On the first floor, you’ll find a substantial open plan living, kitchen, and dining area. The exquisitely designed open plan area is complemented in the apartment by a utility room and cloakroom for convenience. The property also includes two parking spaces, one equipped with an EV charging point.

The stunning kitchen area in the apartment beneﬁts from a bespoke handmade, hand painted modern proﬁle Shaker kitchen, with striking quartz worktops and upstands, and is fully equipped with state-of-the-art Miele appliances. The beautiful and luxurious

• Zoned underﬂoor heating

• Balcony and Terrace

• Engineered wood parquet ﬂooring to Hallway/Kitchen/Dining/Living

• Two parking spaces; one with an EV charging point

• Located in the market town of Henleyon-Thames with good transport links

bathrooms are also finished to the highest specification, benefiting from Villeroy & Boch porcelainware, sleek bronze fittings and fine Porcelanosa tiling. One of the most beautiful market towns in England, Henley-on-Thames was recently voted by The Times as one of the best places to live in the English countryside. The riverside location and beautiful parks, surrounded by a Chiltern landscape of wooded hills and green fields, are ideal for relaxation and leisure. Walking, cycling and river pursuits are on your doorstep. The town is also full of interesting historical buildings, the award-winning River & Rowing Museum, a theatre and a cinema, independent boutique shops and a fabulous selection of cafés, pubs and restaurants. Henley o ers the perfect balance, uncompromising luxury with quick and convenient access to a world of opportunity in London.

For more details, call Haslams Estate Agents on 0118 960 1010 or email newhomes@haslams.net

AKELEY WOOD SCHOOL

CREATIVE SPARK

Heathﬁeld School students make their mark in national art competition

ELLA: SYNAESTHESIA

Heathﬁeld School, Ascot – an independent secondary boarding and day school for girls aged 11-18, rated ‘Excellent’ across all areas by the Independent Schools

Inspectorate – is once again celebrating its students’ artistic talents with three winning entries in this year’s International School Association (ISA) National Art Competition. With over 1,700 entries submitted nationwide, and a total of 266 incredible artworks showcased at the ﬁnal exhibition, the students showed their prowess across multiple categories.

The school, celebrating its 125 year anniversary, has a rich heritage in the arts.

Commenting on the school’s success, Angela Farrugia, Head of Art, says: “At Heathﬁeld we aim to empower each student to produce artwork with meaning and purpose in a range of media, we fully support the girls' interests and their projects reﬂect the ever-changing creative world. I believe this is evident in the range of pieces put forward for this year’s ISA art awards.”

Ella was just 15 years old when she created ‘Synaesthesia’, which came ﬁrst place in KS4 Drawing. This stunning piece explores the perceptual phenomenon which causes people to experience one sense through another; for instance a person with synaesthesia might see colours when they hear music, or taste citrus when reading a particular word. Ella’s pencil drawing portrays the brain’s simultaneous route through multiple unrelated senses. The fabric head piece is a physical representation of how a person experiencing synaesthesia would feel. Overjoyed with ﬁrst place, Ella says: “Having my work recognised at this level is a fantastic achievement.”

Another beautiful piece, ‘Coral Bleaching’ by Fernanda, was awarded second place in KS4 Textiles. The crocheted canvas was designed to highlight the impact of coral bleaching. Individually crafted coral

sculptures show how coral reefs support some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. They provide habitats for thousands of marine animals and as reef ecosystems collapse, many already at-risk species may face extinction.

Strikingly unique, ‘Mem Fum’ by Tamara came Highly Commended in the KS4 Fashion category. The garment, constructed from hair, was created to represent the injustices of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The captors would brutally shave the hair of women, stripping them of their cultural roots and identity. Later, after being sold to plantations, enslaved people used their braids as a secret communication system to convey information about escape routes and safe houses. Commenting on her creation, Tamara explains: “This garment is personal to my heritage, and I am honoured that it has been viewed nationally.”

Commenting on the students artistic success, Sarah Rollings, Headmistress, says: “We are absolutely delighted with our students' success at the ISA National Art Awards. Their creativity, dedication, and unique perspectives are truly inspiring, and this achievement reﬂects their hard work and passion for the arts. It’s a testament to the nurturing environment we strive to provide, where students are encouraged to make their mark, explore their talents and push the boundaries of their imagination. We are incredibly proud of them and look forward to seeing their artistic journeys continue to ﬂourish.”

A ‘small school, o ering big opportunities’, Heathﬁeld prides itself on giving every girl the chance to discover her unique passions, and accordingly, to develop the self-belief and conﬁdence to succeed, and ‘make her mark’.

heathﬁeldschool.net

TAMARA: MEM FUM

FERNANDA: CORAL BLEACHING

It s your choice

It 's our expertise

Thorpe House School’s co-educational Sixth Form, in the heart of Gerrards Cross, oﬀers young men and women ﬁrst class teaching with an emphasis on academic achievement, the development of key life skills, leadership and exploration, extended pastoral care, and bespoke university and careers guidance.

Discover more at our Sixth Form Open Evening

Tuesday 11th February 2025, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Scan the QR code to ﬁnd out more and book your place.

Thorpe House School

Independent School for boys aged 4-16 with a Co-Educational Sixth Form

Whole School Open Morning

Wednesday 12th March 2025, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

The game A

A

surprising number of students choose their A-levels unaware of the longterm impact on future study and career if they get it wrong,

writes Jess Harris

Lily is doing the wrong A-levels. A Year 13 student at a leading girls’ school, she has realised that the subjects she has chosen aren’t right for what she wants to study at university. When she took her GCSEs, she was keen on humanities and textiles and opted for history, psychology and ﬁne art for A-level. But she now realises she wants to study something to do with Life Sciences and she can’t do that without biology A-level. She is not alone. Which, the UK consumer choices group, reported that 28% of more

than 1,000 university applicants aged 18–19-years-old said, when surveyed, that they wished they had chosen di erent subjects. And only half of students surveyed felt well enough informed about how the subjects they had studied could a ect their choice of degree and university.

“It would be really helpful if our education system started with the desired university degree and worked backwards,” says Amelia Buckworth at Quintessentially Education.

“If we started with where students want to end up, we could ensure they have clear academic pathways. Instead, students narrow their subjects in Year 9 when they choose their GCSEs and again at A-level.”

“Ask advice on how to keep every pathway open”

Of course, some students know early what they want to study at university, but many others are unsure. Even for students who have a clear idea of where they are heading, Amelia advises doing the research. “Di erent universities and courses have distinct subject requirements. Being aware of these di erences early on will help ensure that students' chosen GCSE and A-level subjects do not become a barrier to pursuing a certain academic interest, or a particular university.” For example, a BSc in Economics at LSE requires an A* in Maths, but a BA in Economics at SOAS does not. By far the largest number of A-level students we support are those who dropped maths after GCSE without realising they needed an A-level in the subject to go on to apply to their desired STEM course at university. For those who are unsure when they embark on choosing GCSEs and A-levels, Amelia suggests keeping all options open. It helps to research a selection of subjects to gauge the entry requirements. It might also be wise to choose one or two ‘facilitating subjects’ –academic A-levels that top universities prefer.

For those students who have started A-levels and realised they aren’t the right subjects, it’s important not to panic. If you’re only a term in, think about switching just after the winter break. This is school dependent, but we have supported students who have changed an A-level subject after one term. Alternatively, if you have your heart set on a particular course at a particular university, you could explore taking on another A-level. “We only advise students to take four A-levels in particular circumstances,” says Amelia. “But if picking up a fourth helps you get on to the course you want to do, then it makes sense.”

It can also be a good idea to broaden your university horizons – there are so many courses to choose from, all with di erent entry requirements. Another option is foundation courses, which take up to one-year to complete, typically have lower entrance thresholds and may help get you to your destination point. These can be studied at a university or at another location (for instance an FE college), but are designed to help access university. Amelia doesn’t recommend banking on this route, but adds that successful completion enables many students to continue on to the course they are interested in. Most important of all is to do your research. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what you want to do at university, but make sure you get good advice,” says Amelia. “Ask your school for advice on how to keep every pathway open, and there is always secondary expert support available, too.”

Jess Harris is the Director of Quintessentially Education. See more at quintessentially.com/education

DO...

• Get honest teacher feedback on how you're likely to perform before choosing A-levels.

• Bear in mind those 'facilitating subjects' that keep more HE options open (History, Geography, English, Modern and Classical Languages, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Further Maths).

• Be wary of A-levels with overlapping curricula – for instance Business Studies and Economics – if you are taking three subjects.

• Consider Art or Music as a fourth subject, rather than one of your three subjects, if you’re unsure of your course direction.

DON’ T...

• Assume you will like a subject at A-level just because you liked it at GCSE – research the syllabus.

• Narrow your options by choosing subjects considered 'so ' by some universities. Examples may include General Studies and Global Perspectives.

• Take all new subjects – three, or even two, entirely new areas of study might be overwhelming.

• Avoid studying a Modern Foreign Language (for instance, Mandarin or Spanish) as one of your three core A-levels if you are already a native speaker – it may be seen as a 'light' option.

EMOTIONAL support

emotional state to a more suitable ‘zone’ to then calm themselves down or reduce their energy using breathing techniques to move into the ‘blue’ zone in order to, for example, go to sleep.

Crosﬁelds School introduces new tool to help pupils regulate emotions

By CHARLOTTE BENNETT

Feelings are complicated; they come in lots of di erent intensities, levels of energy and responses from our bodies. Increasingly, I was ﬁnding that children were struggling to manage their emotions. I wanted to ﬁnd a way for children to gain an understanding of how they were feeling and, more importantly, for them to be able to talk about their emotions and normalise the range of emotions they were experiencing.

Zones of Regulation is brilliantly simple: we sort emotions into four coloured categories and introduce children to tools to regulate and manage them. Children are taught that no emotion is ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’, but some may not be appropriate in certain situations. For example, whilst being over-excited may not be appropriate in the classroom, on the morning of their birthday, it is lovely to see ecstatic children opening presents. Children then adjust their

We introduced Zones of Regulation into the Pre-Prep in 2022 and the children now have a common language that could be used by sta and pupils to discuss emotions, fostering better communication and understanding. Zones runs through the whole school, giving pupils from 3-16 the tools to understand their emotions, instead of ﬁghting or suppressing them.

At Crosﬁelds, pastoral care has always been a cornerstone of its educational approach. Zones can be seen in practice across the school, in calm zones in classrooms and in Forest School sessions where children enjoy outdoor learning in our extensive grounds.

“Zones of Regulation has given us a framework to simplify the complexity of emotions so that children can articulate them to others, then manage or seek help with them. Already, the lived experience of our pupils has transformed thanks to this powerful tool, from Nursery to Year 11,” says Janey McDowell, Head of Pre-Prep. Sta at the school have all undertaken Zones of Regulation training, and sessions are held regularly for parents to enable them to use the zones in their own home. We never stop learning how to experience and regulate our emotions, so we believe in starting that process as children.

Charlotte Bennett is a Year 2 teacher at Crosfields School in Shinfield, Reading. Find out more at crosfields.com

CHARLOTTE BENNETT

Smarter TESTING

Talamo is a dyslexia screening test that is a ordable, scalable and accurate – a game changer for earlier diagnosis

Jamie Wace had a patchy time in education and then, at 15, he got a private dyslexia screening test at the suggestion of his school and discovered he had dyslexia. He says this was a “Genesis moment” that changed his own approach and educational outcome. “My motivation was really poor, so I didn’t work very hard,” he says. But once he knew he was wired a bit di erently, it changed his mindset. “I took charge of my own learning.”

Fast forward a few years and Jamie was thriving in Fortune 100 companies working in technology. Then he stumbled back across dyslexia as a topic and, when he looked at the technology still being used in the ﬁeld, he felt there was potential to do things di erently and improve outcomes for young people and their parents, while also supporting hardworking schools and their SENCO teams.

One huge problem identiﬁed was the cost and availability of testing – waiting lists are long and assessment tests typically range from £350-£1,000. These two factors mean many children don’t get checked as early as they should, and this a ects self-esteem and school success. There are also those who may be harder to spot – as Jamie could testify from his own late diagnosis. “One statistic jumped out at us – which is that 80% of dyslexic students don’t have their diagnosis before they leave school,” he says. “This was a bit of a lightbulb moment.”

He and co-founders Sophie Dick (an entrepreneur with a background in designing for companies such as Delta Air Lines and BMW) and Leo Dick (design, data and product whizz with past clients such as Dyson and the British Museum), then began the process of redesigning screening to be faster, cheaper, accurate and scalable.

The process has taken two years and, on the way to launch, Talamo was tested on 1,400 UK children across

18 partner schools, including two specialist dyslexia schools. Results so far show a 94% accuracy rate.

The Talamo screening tool is fully digital and uses content adapted from formal assessments, including Riverside Insights Woodcock-Johnson, with whom Talamo developed a strategic agreement, plus proprietary assessment material. “We’ve adapted a lot of that test and included some of our material as well as it has to be used in a fully automated session.” AI plays a big part, enabling fast personalised recommendations at the end of the test.

The ideal, says Talamo, is for the test to be taken in a whole-class session led by a school under exam conditions to ensure accurate results (and no cheating). With this approach, the cost of the test is typically around £12 per child. Some parents may wish to get the screening test outside a school setting with their child –currently, this is £69, but Talamo aims to reduce an individual test to £50 over time.

The test is ideally taken in Year 3 or 4. “We’d test even younger, but we wouldn’t feel conﬁdent with those results,” says Jamie. Senior school entry at 11 is another obvious testing point, but the screening can be undertaken at any age from 7-16. What’s important about the design of Talamo is that it’s easy for the children to use – clear and engaging screens and instructions, also not too long a test – and the report generated is aimed at the lay person, not specialist.

Talamo is still in the post-launch phase, so Jamie says he and his co-founders are looking forward to feedback from children and teachers so they can further improve the test. He believes it’s the scalability that’s important, and the fact that it may potentially make life a lot easier for children and SENCOs. “The main thing for us is the accessibility aspect of it, it’s trying to take something that was previously reserved for the few and try to put it across as a universal right for everybody.”

talamo.co.uk

Leighton Park School is delighted to announce the appointment of Luke Walters as Head from 1st September 2025. Luke comes to the school with a remarkable track record of success from Christ’s Hospital, where he has been instrumental in driving sta and academic standards. Luke has been Deputy Head at Christ’s Hospital since 2019. He was previously part of the senior team at Ardingly College, where he was also a Housemaster. Prior to that, Luke worked at Marlborough College Malaysia as a Housemaster. He gained his undergraduate degree from Exeter University, before later completing a Master’s in Shakespeare at Royal Holloway.

See Leighton Park’s student journalists interview the new Head, LUKE WALTERS

LEADING

THE WAY

Absolutely discovers more as an exceptional leader is appointed at Leighton Park

Speaking about his appointment Luke says: “I am hugely excited to be joining Leighton Park School as Head. Leighton Park is an exceptional community of talented individuals, inspired to imagine a better world. As I step into the role, with such a superb foundation to build upon, I am committed to fostering an environment where kindness, compassion, and a holistic approach to learning are as vital as academic excellence. By nurturing both the hearts and minds of our students, we will ensure they not only succeed in their studies, but also grow into thoughtful, resilient individuals, ready to make a positive impact on the world.”

Leighton Park o ers an inspiring values-led education for 11–18-year-old girls and boys, located next to the University of Reading. The school combines the best academic progress in Berkshire with national award-winning personal development and sector-leading pastoral care. Students are valued for who they

are and empowered to achieve their greatest potential. They are challenged to imagine a better world and supported to develop the character, conﬁdence and determination to be changemakers.

Leighton Park was awarded Senior School of the Year in the national Independent Schools Association (ISA) Awards 2023-24, were a ﬁnalist for Best Independent Senior School at the TES Schools Awards 2023-24 and won the ISA Future Readiness Award in 2024.

The school is particularly well-known for its STEAM creative problem-solving approach, with exceptional results in Sciences, Engineering and Maths. The school combines this strength with excellence in Music and is the only Yamaha Flagship Music Education Partner in Europe.

You can ﬁnd out more at one of the upcoming Open Mornings on Friday 14th March or Friday 9th May, 9am-11am. Book online at leightonpark.com/visit-leighton-park

“A happy and nurturing little place where children can grow up at their own pace.“

St Andrew’s, Berkshire, marks its 90th year with the opening of a new Performing Arts Centre, the growth of its outstanding PSB curriculum, and the launch of multi-activity holiday camps, year-round.

Part of the Bradﬁeld Group, St Andrew’s is a thriving, co-ed day and weekday boarding school for 2 to 13-year-olds, in the heart of the countryside, only 20 minutes by car west of Reading. Much to everyone’s excitement, a new Performing Arts Centre opens in May. It will enhance pupils’ skills in music, drama, dance, public speaking and debating, and act as the perfect platform for visiting speakers, poetry and music recitals, and full-scale productions. The new space will also open doors for those preferring to work behind the scenes, learning the technical aspects such as sound and lighting.

The skills-based Pre-Senior Baccalaureate (PSB) curriculum is also something to

ON CLOUD

NINETY

St Andrew’s School, Berkshire, marks its 90th year with some exciting developments

celebrate. Instilled from Nursery to Year 8, the PSB takes a holistic approach to education, and develops vital skills as well as knowledge, inspiring independent thinking and intellectual curiosity.

The PSB assesses children through individual and group projects, presentations, end-of-topic tests and exams, and not only in the academic subjects, but in art, drama, music, ICT and sport too.

This year, 48 Year 8 pupils will depart for 12 excellent senior schools, well equipped with the skills and characteristics to be mentally ﬂexible, resilient, and good communicators in their futures.

A NEW PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE OPENS

From Easter, busy parents needing wrap-around care in the holidays can make the most of St Andrew’s extensive facilities by enrolling them in one of the new multi-activity camps. Available throughout the year, children will use the 25m indoor heated pool, dance studio, all-weather Astro, and Forest School, mixing sport, STEAM and creative arts. Three local bus routes run throughout the term, with a Monday pick up and Friday drop o from west London starting in September. The school is expanding its bus networks further aﬁeld as part of its sustainability development plans.

St Andrew’s, Berkshire is hosting its next Open Morning on Friday 28th February at 9.15am, book at standrewsberkshire.co.uk/openmornings Or, contact Jane Taylor on 0118 974 4276 / taylorj@standrewsberkshire.co.uk to arrange an individual tour.

Let’s talk

Helping young people to recognise and avoid unhealthy relationships is a challenge but we need to start the awkward conversations early, says domestic abuse expert Paula DeVaux

By LIBBY NORMAN

Dtomestic violence accounts for what percentage of violent crime? Answer: 41%.

This, along with 11 other hard-hitting questions, is part of a multiple-choice quiz designed by the teenage relationship education programme Escape the TRAP. Other quiz questions focus on behaviour young people are more aware of. For instance: 'One in three teens say they are text messaged how many times an hour by a partner inquiring where they are?'. The answer: 30 times an hour. While the ﬁrst statistic is obviously shocking, the second is also a loud alarm bell. “Coercive control is the bookend of domestic abuse. You’ve got coercive control within the relationship and then post break up the risk of stalking,” says Paula DeVaux. “If people are waiting for that ﬁrst incident of violence, we are missing

all those incidents of coercive control.”

She says we need to let young people know how such obsessive behaviours work. “There is always a pattern, and the pattern is always coercive control. Extreme jealousy and checking up on someone –those are the triggers, the warning signs, for our young people to recognise.”

Paula knows a lot about relationships that turn dangerous. She is a former probation o cer who specialised in helping to rehabilitate domestic abuse perpetrators. During her career in the service, she also supported victims and children and was seconded to train front-line professionals across Norfolk. These days, she delivers training in the public and private sectors, and that includes workshops and talks within independent and state schools. She’s also a facilitator for specialist programmes, including Escape the TRAP, the eightweek course designed by psychotherapist Cathy Press (TRAP stands for Teenage Relationship Abuse Programme).

Working to support young people has become a big part of Paula’s professional life, but she also has personal motivation as witness to domestic abuse throughout her childhood. This was not something she revealed during her earlier career, but now she sees it as something of a superpower, especially when it comes to reaching young people.

She is particularly concerned by the mixed messages children and teenagers face – both in popular culture and on social media – alongside the negative impact of the Andrew Tates of this world. “Our young people are saturated with this. He’s just one of many when we look at all the unhealthy and harmful inﬂuences. It’s important that we explore this with our children and give them the opportunity to talk about it.”

As well as the risk of modelling the bad inﬂuences they see there is, of course, the perennial issue that many young people will, at some point, gravitate to the loudest voice in the room – often the

bad inﬂuence. “Children are attracted to someone who’s a someone. We need them to know that being respected isn’t being feared.” Then there’s understanding the di erences between care and control within relationships – especially romantic ones. “There’s a massive confusion between jealousy and love which our young people have – a 'well, you can’t love me enough if you’re not jealous'.” So, the 30 texts in an hour question from that Escape the TRAP quiz is really pertinent to this age group.

Just as young people confuse jealousy and love, they are (like adults) often quick to victim blame while excusing the perpetrator. “It’s important that we support young people to recognise that it’s not about mental health, substance misuse, ADHD –it’s not caused by those things. Those things might make it worse, but none of those things cause domestic abuse,” says Paula. “If we collude with that then we are doing a real disservice to all of those people that are dealing with those issues on a regular basis. There are lots of people that have had those experiences and have never been abusive or violent in their relationships.”

Explaining that there’s never a justiﬁcation for abuse is vital. So too is

FAST FACTS

clearing up the misconception about what an abuser is like. In her sessions with young people, she often explodes the preconceptions by pulling up a slide showing baddies from famous ﬁlms. She then goes on to explain that perpetrators are individuals who look and sound like us. They come from all walks of life, and they may be male or female. What they have in common is this set of controlling behaviours we can spot.

While Paula’s sessions with children focus mainly on the teenage plus age group, she delivers age-appropriate advice to all ages. For younger children, the advice focuses on friendships. “When I go into primary age schools – and I talk to children as young as reception age – I talk to them about what being a lovely friend means. What does that look like and what does that feel like? If we get that foundation right, that paves the way for all those other relationships to come,” she says.

“If anyone in your life makes you feel sad or bad, they’re not your person – and that’s what I teach. The

SOURCES OF SUPPORT

• Your Best Friend – advice for young people supporting friends yourbestfriend.org.uk and #friendscantell

• The Mix – charity and 24/7 helpline giving under 25s advice themix.org.uk

• Childline – charity and 24/7 helpline, plus website with useful friendship/ relationship advice childline.org.uk

• SafeLives – charity working to end domestic abuse safelives.org.uk

people in your life that are your go-tos, they are your biggest cheerleaders.” The importance of these conversations is in teaching young people to recognise their own worth – their right to be who they are – and also to help each other recognise toxic situations. “Peer acceptance is a huge deal, and young people are more likely to be talking to each other before they talk to an adult about any of these issues, so we need them to be really good advice givers to each other.”

25% OF GIRLS AGED 13-17, and 17% OF BOYS, have experienced physical force in a teen relationship. 72% of girls and 51% of boys have experienced emotional violence, including constantly being ‘checked up on’. University of Bristol and NSPCC 2009 research

1 IN 5 WOMEN and 1 IN 10 MEN have been victims of stalking. The London Stalking Review 2024

1.6m

In the year end March 2023, there were 1.6M VICTIMS OF STALKING. Suzy Lamplugh Trust

* Police-recorded cases of violence against women and girls increased by 37% BETWEEN 2018-23. National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing joint report

While young people may not understand the complexities of coercive control behaviours, they are well able to understand the principle that no friend should tell them what to wear, eat, say or do. “I let them know that if you’re ever doing anything because you think you should or you have to, not because you want to but because you’re worried if you don’t there’s a consequence and you’re scared of that consequence, then that is not OK. That’s the moment where often they’ll be looking at each other or looking down – you can see those lightbulb moments.” She never forgets that in any setting the early intervention may help both potential future victims and perpetrators change course.

Di cult though it may feel, especially when we want to protect children and stop them growing up too fast, Paula counsels parents to start the conversation early, and to keep dialogue going. “Don’t avoid those awkward conversations and think they are too young for it. They are not. And if we don’t talk about it, they’ll go to social media or Google.” Meanwhile, she believes every school should provide a speciﬁc programme to help children navigate those ﬁrst romantic relationships in safety and with their self-esteem intact.

“It’s a life skill – I’d argue it’s as essential as learning how to swim.”

pauladevaux.co.uk

where we help your child be the best they can be with the gifts that they have

Know Yourself, GROW YOURSELF

Ally Onions, St George’s School Windsor Castle’s mental health lead, explores this year’s theme for Children’s Mental Health Week

Children’s Mental Health Week, running from 3-9 February, is a national initiative which this year focuses on the theme “Know Yourself, Grow Yourself”. With the help of characters from the hit Disney ﬁlm Inside Out 2, organisers Place2Be aim for the event to assist children in building a sense of self, by shining a spotlight on the importance of self-awareness and expressing emotions.

Just as the ﬁlm’s central character experiences a range of di erent emotions, from joy to sadness, anger to fear and a great many others, so too do our children. When they are able to identify what might drive these feelings, for example by understanding their likes and dislikes, worries and dreams, they can equip themselves far better to deal with them when they arise.

A heightened self-awareness also provides the foundation from which healthier relationships can be forged, talents can be nurtured and skills can be developed to improve an individual’s ability to cope with future challenges.

This is why last year, St George’s School Windsor Castle developed a bespoke Student Wellbeing Plan, a document we are making available as a free download throughout the month of February in support of the event.

Currently used by the school to guide students to explore their personalities and current mental wellbeing, the printable booklet contains spaces for children to consider their strengths, passions and dislikes, areas of di culty and the individual coping strategies they have identiﬁed as helpful to them.

Alongside a number of other initiatives in place at St George’s, including a comprehensive mindfulness programme, on-

site counsellors and a dedicated Wellbeing Hub, the Student Wellbeing Plan helps us to deliver upon our aim of both supporting students in times of need, but also, crucially, building resilience and empowering children to be able to support themselves.

Other ways in which Place2Be are encouraging young people to explore their emotions and practice healthy selfexpression include journalling, mindfulness, reﬂection and the use of visuals.

Journalling is often considered useful as it allows thoughts and feelings to be processed without the perceived embarrassment of expressing these out loud, with less fear of judgement and negative consequence.

In much the same way, children sometimes feel more comfortable expressing their emotions to another child rather than to an adult. This led St George’s to introduce a peer listening scheme. Now in its third year, the hugely successful initiative sees Year 8 student volunteers receive speciﬁc training in skills such as active listening, enabling them to provide an additional avenue of support for others in need.

Mindfulness is another practice widely encouraged to help children to ground themselves in the present moment. This could mean using the 5-4-3-2-1 technique – exploring your surroundings to identify ﬁve things you can see, four things you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste.

Alternatively, it could take the form of a guided meditation, much like the ‘brain breaks’ we hold in our classrooms. Used as a tool to help students to reset and refocus, often after an active break or lunch time, these short pauses usually involve listening to a bell chime and focusing on the breath. It is incredible what a di erence this can make in a matter of minutes.

Finding time and space for reﬂection is also important. Particularly during periods

“IT HELPS US SUPPORT STUDENTS IN TIMES OF NEED AND ALSO HELPS BUILD RESILIENCE”

of calm, when emotions are regulated and it is possible to more objectively reﬂect back on feelings which have come to the fore. Whether positive or negative, taking the time to understand what caused certain emotions to surface and what this might mean for the future is a useful way to enact positive change. Whether images, emojis, or one of the many fantastic books available, visual references can also really help children to identify, correctly label and better understand their emotions. On these sometimes dreary winter nights, what better excuse to whip up a bowl of popcorn, snuggle up together with your children on the sofa and watch Inside Out 2 – I know I will be!

To download St George’s School Windsor Castle’s free children’s mental health resource, visit stgwindsor.org/ knowyourself. To register to attend the school’s upcoming open morning on Friday 21st March, visit stgwindsor.org/joinus

LITTLE STEPS TO

BIG DREAMS

Akeley Wood School on how they nurture a lifelong love of learning

Nurturing a lifelong love of learning begins with fostering curiosity, creativity and selfdiscovery at every stage of a child’s education. Schools have a vital role to play in creating environments where individuality is celebrated, collaboration is encouraged and engagement is sparked through handson, meaningful experiences. From the ﬁrst days of nursery to the ﬁnal moments of Sixth Form, education should inspire children to explore, dream and thrive. For younger learners, the joy of discovery is foundational. Experiential activities such as playful experiments outdoors, storytelling and opportunities to roleplay real-life situations help children develop critical thinking and resilience. As they grow, interdisciplinary projects, team challenges and opportunities for real-world applications deepen their understanding and encourage creativity. Equally important is fostering emotional

intelligence and global awareness, ensuring that students are not only academically prepared, but also compassionate and socially responsible citizens.

At Akeley Wood School, these principles come to life at every stage. Their Forest School program allows Early Years learners to connect with nature while building problem-solving skills. In Junior School, students make use of dedicated spaces for role-playing, interactive technology tools to research and activities that connect numbers and patterns to real-world applications, fostering both creativity and a deeper understanding of concepts. By Senior School, students reﬁne their aspirations, excel in their studies and discover their passions. With expert teachers, small class sizes, 15 daily lunchtime clubs and a Friday afternoon Enriched Curriculum Programme, students learn to build connections and draw on essential skills like teamwork and problemsolving skills across diverse subjects.

One student shared how Akeley transformed them from a quiet Year 7 to a conﬁdent Sixth Form leader pursuing their musical passions at university. Another highlighted how Akeley’s variety of opportunities helped them achieve A*s on their A-levels and pursue mechanical engineering at university. These stories underscore the school’s commitment to helping every child dream big and achieve brilliantly.

This holistic approach is also reﬂected during their Open Days in March. Families are free to explore areas of interest and meet dedicated specialist teachers and scholars. At Akeley Wood, they believe in education’s power to nurture not only a lifelong love of learning, but also the courage and conﬁdence to turn dreams into reality.

Join them to see how they live out their motto: “Be You. Brilliantly.”

akeleywoodschool.co.uk

BUILDING

Head of King’s Magna Middle School for Years 6-9, Joe Birchall, explains what’s new at the school

King’s Magna Middle School (KM), part of Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate in York, is best known for its state-of-the-art facilities, exceptional extra-curricular o ering, and its highly respected position as the main feeder school into the high-ranking QE College and QE Faculty schools.

From Year 6, it o ers a programme of individual support and study skills sessions to best prepare students for success at GCSE and A-level, the results of which are evident in how the two senior schools perform, with the combined percentages for 2024 at 78% A*/A at A Level, 73% Distinction in BTECs and 62% grades 7-9 in GCSEs.

The school seamlessly bridges the gap between primary and secondary education whilst allowing plenty of time for enrichment activities, of which there are over 100 available to students, including a huge variety of sport, creative arts, performing arts and academic clubs ranging from STEM to Mandarin. This year, Spanish, German, French, Public Speaking, Creative Writing, Debating, Table Tennis, Spinning, and Fencing have been added to the vast

curriculum enrichment programme, allowing students to take two of these options within their weekly timetable. KM is always looking to the future. Each year new opportunities are added to the curriculum options, of which students in Years 6-9 choose two choices to focus on each term. In Year 9, students choose an additional four ‘specialisms’ such as Business Studies, Computing, Design Technology, Home Economics and Photography. This year, three ‘higher-level challenge’ options have been added – two mathematics choices and one science. The science option allows students to take part in competitions to build and program robots and to design experiments that will be sent to space. This subject option allows students to work towards a Higher Project Qualiﬁcation (HPQ), which stretches and challenges students through the requirement of independent research on a topic that becomes a written report, an artefact or a production. The HPQ is GCSE level and candidates are awarded the equivalent of a short-course GCSE upon completion, which can also be used to apply for the nationally-recognised CREST Silver award. The maths-focused option is divided into

two routes; ‘Stretch’ which pushes those that are academically gifted, and ‘Support’ which brings students up to a higher maths level. The ‘Stretch’ programme covers topics from the Level 3 Certificate in Mathematical Studies including analysis of data, personal finance, modelling and estimation, critical path analysis, project work, and cost-benefit analysis. Whereas the ‘Support’ pathway allows students to learn, and be examined in, the Level 1 Functional Skills Mathematics qualification and covers the use of number, the number system, the use of measures, shape and space, problem solving, and handling information and data, all of which will aid the transition to GCSE study.

On Saturdays, KM boarders can participate in the optional King’s Academy for Performing Arts or Queen’s Academy for Creative Arts. Alternatively, they can socialise and use the facilities across campus including the 25m swimming pool, recreational sports courts, the fast-food cafe, co ee shop, and games rooms. Each boarding house holds social events, and on Sundays, boarders can join exciting trips from city exploring, shopping and eating out to adrenaline activities and nature bathing.

To learn more visit qe.org/kings-magna, email admissions@qe.org or visit the school on their upcoming 8th March and 7th June Open Mornings

Digitally Creative PUPILS

Absolutely explores the importance of broadcasting at Upton House School, Windsor

Broadcasting is one of the pillars of Digital Fundamentals at Upton House School, starting in Form 4; this is Upton’s approach to teaching technology. Other pillars include Business Applications, Coding, and Music Technology to name a few. Broadcasting spans an exciting array of activities, focusing on live events and content generation.

In week one of broadcasting, the pupils are most interested in lights, camera and action. They start with reading from an autocue and recording the content. The pupils review the footage together positively, talking through areas of success and areas that they would like to improve. Based on this experience, the children typically ask if they can write their own scripts. The children also feedback that they want to project their voice better, position the camera better – all learning by doing.

Upton House’s events are run by the Forms 5 and 6 children. The school have failsafes for live events, allowing them to recreate an event if the pupil misses a camera shot or a mistake occurs.

To support this, they designed and built a livestream broadcast simulator. This is an augmented approach to teaching where they have physical props in the hall for live cameras and the recordings from the prior events, providing a more realistic experience.

Using the prior event script, the vision mixer is able to plan and practice scene changes by cutting to a wide camera while co-ordinating with the camera operators for them to move their zoom camera into position in time for the next scene. The camera operators then confirm to the vision mixer, who then switches the camera angle, avoiding unplanned moving zooms on live cameras. This requires planning and practice as they move between five or six songs, with six or more readings during an event with each segment having di erent camera requirements. The physical rig in the hall allows the camera operators to practice their steady camera control as they perform the song zoom shots, where the top corners of the screen are filled with zooms of the children. With the Harvest Festival and Carol Service, the children also need to coordinate cutting to audience shots and pupil artwork to make the event more engaging and immersive.

The start of the Spring Term is an exciting time for the broadcasters and Digital Fundamental lessons. They start work on World Book Day immersions and they will also commence work on the summer production. They are very excited to begin the process of creating the digital backdrops and… drum roll… this year they will be delivering FROZEN! Rest assured, they have lots of ideas to further the immersive experience for both their online and live audiences.

Upton House are very proud of their children who are well-prepared for their senior schools and beyond.

Find out more by visiting uptonhouse.org.uk

EDUCATION NEWS

The latest from schools across the county

Gold standard

York House, a local independent prep school on the outskirts of Croxley Green, has received a high level, industry-recognised award for its outstanding commitment and work around mental health in school. The mental health and wellbeing team at York House worked hard to compile significant evidence across all areas of the school to reflect the remarkable passion and effort throughout the community in prioritising the wellbeing and mental health of its staff and pupils. Scooping the prestigious ‘Gold Status’ award, the school excelled across all eight competencies of the School Mental Health Award including leadership and strategy, culture for staff and pupils, support for staff and pupils, as well as working with parents. The York House Way was also highlighted as being further embedded to nurture the culture of ‘who we are and what we do’ across the entire school community. The RULER approach is also an embedded part of the curriculum enhancing emotional literacy throughout the school in addition to dedicated PSHE weekly lessons. Likewise, digital wellbeing is an advanced feature embedded within the formal and informal curriculum at York House. york-house.com

Full package

Regarded as one of the UK’s leading small independent coeducational schools, Cranford is renowned for its strong focus on pastoral care and consistently attaining high academic results while building supportive relationships between pupils and staff. With unbeatable pastoral care and superb facilities for sport and the performing arts, Cranford’s pupils enjoy educational excellence. Regarded among families as one of Oxfordshire’s best kept little secrets, the school rated “Excellent” in all areas is a warmly welcoming, fully co-educational independent day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18. Discover first-hand what a Cranford education could offer your child. Book online to attend Pre-School & Reception Open Morning on Thursday 27th February. cranfordschool.co.uk

Time for play

Butterﬂies & Caterpillars, St George’s School Windsor Castle’s popular free parent and toddler group, is making a welcome return on Friday 28th February. For children aged 18 months to 3 years, the session is open to all, including families with no current connection to the school. The sessions provide children with a wide range of fun-ﬁlled activities to explore alongside their parents, from play-doh to role play, markmaking and even a rocking horse. There is plenty to keep active minds engaged, while parents get to know other families in the area. Light refreshments are available for all.

Hosted by the school’s Head of Pre-Prep, the sessions also provide an opportunity for those considering independent schooling to talk to staﬀ and gain an insight into life at St George’s. For further information or to book a place at the upcoming session, visit stgwindsor.org/b&c

Character building

The Spring Term at Cheam School has got off to a flying start with its new Head, Nick Milbank, at the helm. Nick has already enjoyed a 25-year career at Cheam, most recently as Acting Head. He grew up in Yorkshire and is married to Kirsten. They have an infectious passion for life and share a desire to help each child reach their greatest potential and love every moment of their time at school. Bringing not only experience and expertise as an educationalist, but also a unique understanding of what makes Cheam special, Nick explains: “Our Character Education programme, recorded through the Cheam Diploma, sets us apart from many other prep schools. We put character development centre-stage and see it as the key to unlocking our children’s full range of ability. With confidence in their character, children can succeed at anything they put their minds to.”

cheamschool.co.uk

Let’s dance

Ahead of the Christmas holidays, New Hall School was transformed into a dazzling ballroom as students and staﬀ joined forces for the annual New Hall Come Dancing charity inter-house competition. With glitter balls spinning and the air alive with excitement, the event showcased incredible talent,

enthusiasm, and a true sense of community. This year’s event raised over £1,600 for Farleigh Hospice, a local charity providing care to people affected by life limiting illnesses. This now beloved, annual tradition saw participants from the school’s six houses pairing up to deliver showstopping routines. “This event allows all students and staff to get involved and learn new skills. The students had a few lessons in Ballroom and Latin dance in the build up to this event and showcased routines in the jive, rumba, salsa, cha-cha-cha and samba. From sugar pushes to energetic drops, every performance demonstrated a remarkable blend of creativity and commitment,” commented Sarah Molina, Head of Dance at New Hall School. The routines were judged by a panel of students, staff and professional dancers, who faced the nearimpossible task of choosing winners. The audience, filled with supportive family, staff and friends of the school, cheered on with enthusiasm, creating an unforgettable evening for all. newhallschool.co.uk

To the letter

ABC to read is a dedicated volunteer-based organisation focused on helping children improve their reading skills. Since their inception, they have been committed to making a tangible difference in the lives of young learners, fostering a love for reading, and supporting schools in their mission to provide high-quality education. Their mission is to empower children with the essential skill of reading, opening up new worlds of knowledge and imagination. They believe that every child deserves the opportunity to become a confident and enthusiastic reader. They recruit passionate volunteers from the community. Each volunteer undergoes comprehensive training to equip them with the necessary skills and strategies to support children in reading including Universal Safeguarding training and Enhanced DBS Checks. Volunteers are assigned to students, providing one-onone reading support tailored to each child’s needs. One school noted: “During guided reading sessions, I have noticed how fluent [the child] has become. They are more confident to read in front of the class.”

Interested in making a diﬀerence? Visit abctoread.org.uk

why everyone is talking about…

Advance SCHOOL of DANCE

Exploring a global success story in Woodley

There has recently been some fabulous news from a dance school based in Woodley, Berkshire. Advance School of Dance has once again made it through to the Dance World Cup. They will be competing in Spain in July later this year against the best dance schools from around the world.

Advance managed to get eight dances through to the Dance World Cup. The dances have to come in the top ﬁve of their category to qualify, so they have done amazingly well. This competition brings together top talent from around the globe, and considering last year they won gold/ ﬁrst place with one of their trios, here at Absolutely we are expecting to hear about more good news in the summer.

It’s an incredible achievement for the school and their principal, Melissa Willis, who is from and based in Berkshire. At the Advance School of Dance they aim to o er high quality training whilst following the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), Acrobatic Arts and ISTD Tap and Modern Syllabus. This allows students to gain renowned dance qualiﬁcations and have the opportunity to perform in annual shows and festivals.

The Advance School of Dance and Theatre Art was established by Melissa in March 2017. The school o ers high quality dance and theatre training by preparing students for RAD and ISTD examinations as well as festivals and public performances. They o er classes suitable

for adults and children of all ages across Reading and Wokingham. Their classes cater for those students who dance for a hobby and also for those who would like to follow a career in the dance and theatre industry. They pride themselves on treating every student as an individual and helping them reach their full potential.

Melissa started training from a very young age in a wide variety of dance styles including RAD ballet, ISTD modern and tap, musical theatre, street dance and much more. Growing up she continued her training and had the opportunity to

perform in many professional productions, festivals and competitions. At 18 she was accepted to train at the Royal Academy of Dance on the BA Ballet Education course. During her time at the RAD she completed her advanced 2 level Ballet and passed her Licentiate teacher training with Distinction. She also was given many performance opportunities from Dancing at Move It and the Live Home show at Earls Court to dancing with the cast of Memphis for the BBC as part of Comic Relief.

advanceschoolofdance.com

THE TALENTED DANCERS

THE SCHOOL'S TEACHERS

MELISSA WILLIS