Bede's Prep Newsletter - Christmas 2015

Christmas 2015

Bede’s Preparatory SchoolDuke’s Drive, EastbourneEast Sussex BN20 7XL

T 01323 [email protected]

BEDE’S NATIVITY 2015: BORN IN A BARN

This year’s Bede’s pre-prep nativity play, “Born in a Barn” was performed in an appropriately decorated theatre! The Holywell children guided the audience through the excite-ment of Christmas as seen through the eyes of all the animal characters as they celebrated the arrival of a very special baby. The donkeys began the adventure by leading Mary and Joseph to find the very smartly-dressed Innkeeper who sadly had no room for the needy couple. Mary and Joseph were subsequently guided by a rather ani-mated Cockerel, a very wise Owl and an extremely well spoken Cat, singing beautifully and moving the audience much more deeply than might have been expected! The children were genuinely outstanding in their various roles, all having learned their lines brilliantly; their confidence speaking and acting in front of packed audiences reflects the skills they have learned in school and I could not be prouder of them.Thank you to Mrs Barrett and Mrs Pendry for teaching the songs to the children and to Miss Ward, our specialist Dance teacher, who choreographed the dances. With Mr Meier having put the finishing shine on the perfor-mance with the lighting, the year’s Bede’s Nativity was truly a team effort, and with the children at the forefront I cannot imagine a better start to this Christmas’ festivities.

Rachel PotterHead of Reception and Year 1



EDITORIAL: WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGSWell, I don’t know about you, but I’m excited about Christmas.For most families, getting together over the festive period provides us with a series of jolly good excuses; excuses to buy one another gifts, share in feelings of joy and happiness and - of course - eat a little more than we might normally.I, like many a parent, relish the opportunity to loosen my belt and tuck into a generously pro-portioned Christmas dinner (before, perhaps, having a generously proportioned snooze), and I would never want to be made to feel guilty for doing so. There are times of the year when a little excess is called for, and in the depths of winter, when the nights are long and the days are gloomy, kicking back and celebrating only makes sense.Before you embark on your Christmas indul-gences I would therefore like you to take a moment to reflect with me on something we are doing at Bede’s Prep which may help to alleviate the severity of your dietary New Year resolutions.You may have read about the proposals brought forth by the House of Commons Health Committee last week around taxing sugar; much like salt in food in the 1980s and fat in food in the 1990s, sugar is presently a hot topic politically - and for good reason. Sugar has, after all, no nutritional benefit, yet Type 2 diabetes and obesity in general - let alone in children - is on the rise.Great Britain has one of the worst rates of childhood obesity in Europe in fact, and many families find it extremely hard to reduce the amount of sugar in their food - not least because a little sweetness is added to just

about everything.Whether it is sauces, yoghurts, fruit juice or even bread, the food industry smuggles sugar into food in ways that - once you know about it - makes the weekly trip to the supermarket suddenly feel a little bit scary. For example, did you know that the average recommended daily intake of sugar for an adult is no more than six teaspoons, but that a single can of fizzy drink (or equivalent-sized smoothie or glass of fruit juice) contains a staggering nine?At Bede’s Prep, it is our duty to take care of every aspect of each boy and girl and a major aspect of that comes down to food. Without a good diet, children cannot concentrate; if given too much sugar, they cannot sit still, and if they don’t perceive the food our catering team prepares to be tasty then they may not eat it - and that creates a whole other mess of issues to resolve.Our Catering Manager Darren Peirce is, as you

will know if you have met him, an incredible man. He has worked at Bede’s Prep for many years - since long before our new kitchen and dining rooms were opened - and he remem-bers ‘the bad old days’ as he describes them.From turkey twizzlers and smiley-faced chips to chocolate and sweets hidden around every turn, Darren can tell you about it all. It is hard to fathom how we have come so far from there to where we are today, but he has worked like a dog to make it happen.Indeed, Holyroyd Howe, the catering com-pany which provides food across the Bede’s schools, recently won an award for being the best school caterers in the country. That is no mean feat, but their headline-grabbing drive to reduce sugar content in school dinners by 50% was laughed out of the room at Bede’s Prep School. Why? Because the last 2 years have already seen us reduce the sugar intake of our pupils by 80%. More than that, only two types of food are not prepared onsite from their base ingredients here (those two are sausages and the crisps the children take on school trips).I believe that no school is doing more than we are to ensure that its pupils receive healthy meals that they enjoy - and we should celebrate that fact. Also, when it comes to weighing up whether we can justify an extra chocolate off the tree this Christmas, I believe we should feel slightly less guilty about simply saying yes.

Giles EntwisleHeadmaster



YEAR 8 FIND A VOICE ON EASTBOURNE YOUTH RADIO

The red light winked on and we were live...Adam’s voice came through the speak-ers loud and clear, sounding cool and professional and matched by Jazzie’s answering tones. Clearly, careers in radio beckon for both these excellent young presenters!The chance to direct the annual East-bourne Youth Radio programme hosted by Bede’s Prep School seemed a daunt-ing prospect at first, but then I asked the Year 8s to come up with ideas based on the theme Find Your Voice and sud-denly we almost had too much fantastic material for the meagre hour on offer!This year’s theme across the whole week of diverse EYR programmes was ‘Make a Noise for Anti-Bullying’ and our Bede’s programme offered insight into the vari-ous ways our school helps pupils and students find their voices: surely, if you

can find your voice then you can make yourself heard, be confident and speak up for yourself? Interviewed by a range of Year 8 stu-dents, pupils from the School Council reflected on the importance of Pupil Voice in making decisions, a view echoed by Mr Andrew Wood, the Director of Studies at the Prep School who chairs the Council. Other segments in the Bede’s EYR show focused on the importance of Music and Drama in enabling pupils to gain confidence through performing.We heard interviews with Sean Wilson and William Hopkins, both seasoned performers who have already gained professional experience, and a live performance of What a Wonderful World from George Lewis on trumpet. The younger pupils at Bede’s were also represented, with a favourite song, Dr

Knickerbocker, from Years 1, 2 and 3 and some Year 4 authors reading their original poems.Involvement in sport is another excellent way to gain confidence, working together to build that sense of community, and so Kellie Larkin, a former pupil at Bede’s Senior School who currently working with the Sports’ Department at the Prep School, was interviewed about her success in the Chelsea Ladies’ football team and about playing for the England U19 Women’s side. This confident, articulate young woman epitomized how finding your voice and following your goals can take you any-where.

The EYR adventure was a wonderful experience for everyone who took part and the ultimate success of the pro-gramme was due in no small measure to the poise and professionalism of the presenters Adam and Jazzie.Now all we have to do is decide how much more ‘live’ music we can cram into our 2016 show!

Jane PendryHead of Music

Make sure to listen back to the programme through bedes.org

Years 5 and 6 joined forces earlier this half of term in a first-of-its-kind perfor-mance of ‘Panto Pandemonium.’ With standing room only and another performance added to satisfy demand, the cast certainly did not disappoint. From ‘Moo’ looking for his ‘Tail’ and ‘Jack’ without his beanstalk, the world of panto was in need of some fixing after the wicked witches set out to cause mayhem! It was handy to have cast members ‘Boo’ and ‘Hiss’ to aid the audience when some-thing evil was afoot!Cinderella, Aladdin and the Giant all came

to the aid of the Bede’s Prep School pupils with a glass slipper, lamp and goose to make a spell which would bring happiness to the world of Panto and transform three wicked witches into wonderful ones! The play was filled with humour and the cast all played their parts with enthusiasm and professionalism from start to finish. It is hard to believe that they only had one week of rehearsals under their belt, and huge thanks must go to Mrs Burdekin and her team for that!

Helen PughNursery Administrator



FOBP CHRISTMAS FAIR KICKS OFF THE FESTIVE SEASON

The Friends of Bede’s Prep School organised another highly successful Christmas Fair this year, with more guests and stalls than ever before!From professional stalls to parents selling beautiful handicrafts, there was a real buzz around the sports hall – not least from the pupil-run stalls which saw the school selling Oreo milkshakes, popcorn and candy floss all highly successfully!

The Friends of Bede’s Prep children’s corner was rammed from opening to close, including ‘The Brussel Sprout Dash,’ face-painting, a second hand book stall and a hoopla table.With steady traffic visiting Santa’s Grotto (complete with very helpful elves) and the School’s Senior Carollers singing around the Christmas tree at noon, the Friends of Bede’s Prep School had a great deal to be proud of – including the dazzling array of cakes they sold, contributed by mums and dads from across the Bede’s community.Thank you to everyone who pitched in, espe-cially those pupils and parents who contrib-uted to the abundance of raffle prizes, and we hope to see you all again next year!

Laura BurdekinFriends of Bede’s Prep Chair

YEARS 5 AND 6 UNLEASH ‘PANTO PANDEMONIUM’



SINGAPORE-STYLE MATHS BOOSTS NUMERACY AT BEDE’SMaths lessons in Year 8 classes have seen Bede’s Prep pupils struggling recently – not with answering questions from text-books but with new approaches to learn-ing which have stretched them far beyond what is expected at Common Entrance.Thankfully, the worst of their challenges are now over. The bones have been reset, to coin a phrase, and now they are tackling advanced concepts not expected of them until GCSE with ease and panache.How has this happened? It’s all due to a small island state in South East Asia.“It has been statistically proven that chil-dren in every country in the world get worse at maths as they get older,” explains Head of Maths Mr Fasciolo-Barnes, “with one exception - the Republic of Singapore.”An anomaly at the top of the PISA ranking lists, Singapore does not teach its children maths by rote – the surest method to suc-cess in the international educational rank-ings. Unlike China, Taiwan and South Korea, which teach children by drilling them over and over, Singapore has turned the world of maths education on its head in the last 20 years - by doing the opposite.“Singapore doesn’t have lots of minerals or fossil fuels to dig up,” Mr Fasciolo-Barnes continues, “so the government decided that to make their economy great they needed to become the best educated country in the world. That’s where the phrase ‘Singapore-style Maths’ comes from. And they have shot up the league tables since they started doing this. There’s no stopping them.”

Grounded in the work of Jerome Bruner, Zol-tan Deans and Richard Skemp, ‘Singapore-style Maths’ sees problems exploded; rather than learning example answers and repeat-ing them, children are taught the concep-tual roots of equations and are encouraged to solve problems figuratively.These approaches are the result of reams of research from British educationalists, and since the Asian nation pulled its whole school system apart in 1995 and rebuilt it from the ground up, it is surprising that Bede’s Prep is the only school in Sussex doing the same.“Bruner’s research showed that there are 3 distinct ways to learn a solution to a prob-lem; one is Concrete – a physical manipula-tion, involving real-world ‘things,’” says Mr Fasciolo-Barnes.“The second is Pictorial – drawings or

pictures. The third is Abstract. By taking children through these steps one by one, rather than jumping in at the Abstract stage as is currently the case with most Maths teaching, the results are dramatically better in the long-term. The children really genu-inely understand what they’re doing.”Since joining Bede’s Prep School in Septem-ber 2014, Mr Fasciolo-Barnes has intro-duced Singapore-style Maths to every year group from the bottom up. The children in Years 2, 3 and 4 have taken to it like ducks to water, but - interestingly - the children at the top of the school have found it harder to get to grips with.“It felt like trying to give a cat a bath at first,” explains Mr Fasciolo-Barnes, “But that’s because our current Year 8 had never learned like this before. They’re a very able year group, but they had learned to answer questions in the way the exams ask them. Now though, they can attack a question from any angle – they are thinking laterally and conceptually.”Recent tasks, which have seen Year 8 solv-ing linear equations through visualisation techniques, have enabled the children to not only be ‘good at maths’ and get the marks but also comprehend dozens of lines of inquiry - far beyond what is required by the National Curriculum.“They are already rewriting the rulebook when it comes to exam results,” Mr Fascio-lo-Barnes concludes, “and I’m increasingly confident that they will breeze through the common entrance. The sky’s the limit.”



BOARDERS ENJOY COVENT GARDEN, CABARET AND CHRISTMAS!

The excitement has been building at Meads End over the last few weeks as the Christmas holiday approached and we had multiple opportunities to bring ourselves to fever pitch. On the penultimate weekend of term, the house had the chance to experience one of the senior school’s annual highlights; the musical extravaganza that is Cabaret. With tickets to Saturday night selling out in four hours, Meads End were lucky to get two tables for the boarders’ performance on Friday evening.

The event began with hours of nail paint-ing, hair straightening, shoe-shining and tie-tying until we departed for the Dicker on the coach.A glamorous evening at the Senior School’s multi-purpose hall sounds rather incon-gruous… until you arrive! Upon entering the hall the gasps from the boarders were audible. The theme this year was ‘Best of British’ and so the balloons, candles, lights, flowers

glowed in glorious red, white and blue. I was impressed from beginning to end by the maturity and manners of the children.

Tim and Louis seemed to be in competition to see how much of the event they could capture either on video or in photographs,our dancers (Katya and Sofia) particularly enjoyed Katy Eedle and Phoenix Tanner’s duo dance to ‘Give Me Love’ sung by Bertie Cook, and everyone surged eagerly on to the dance floor upon invitation from the jazz band at the end of the evening. Less than two days later we were once again sitting on a coach, this time bound for

London. We had a whirlwind tour of estab-

lishments at which to soak in the Christmas atmosphere and spend money: Pizza Express, Hamleys, M&M World, Covent Garden, Mc-Donalds and home again.

There were many highpoints of the day – I will never forget Lucia, Natalia and Laura’s rendition of ‘One Banana, Two Banana’ on the journey home for example, a song designed to become the most determined ear worm ever experienced – however, the most memorable has to be Declan’s starring role in a street performer’s show in Covent Garden! Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the laughing children as they clapped and cheered their housemate, with the stunning Christmas tree sparkling beside us, was a moment of perfection in which I was able to appreciate how united a group we have become this term.

Kirsty StannardHousemistress, Meads End

Curious about Boarding at Bede’s? Please email me via

[email protected]



SPORTA LIFETIME OF SPORTING OPPORTUNITIES

I have been out of school for the last week or so, undergoing hip surgery, and while I have been recovering I have had plenty of time to reflect on how sporting opportunities at Bede’s, from our Baby Unit to the Sixth Form, provide children with the very best chances of finding and developing skills that will last a lifetime.Sport and physical activity are at the very heart of our Schools; as such, opportunities to engage in competitive sport and sporting endeavours are almost boundless. Fundamental to this idea is our determination to value every pupil and treat each as an individual from the first day they start at the Prep School through to their last day at the Senior School. In between, pupils have access to a fantastic journey of discovery and development. There is a significant difference between the needs and experiences of a pupil in the early years compared to those of senior pupils. Essential to developing a well-rounded sport person are the essentials of Fundamen-tal Movement Skills (FMS) and Physical Literacy (PL) however. The need for the development of these remain with us throughout our lives, and during early formative development they are key, which is why at the Prep School - under the expert guidance of Head of Games Ms Muxworthy - pupils are provided with ample opportunity to develop them! FMS and PL are those skills that are transferable across all sports activities, such as, agility, balance and coordination. It is important to balance these with an exposure to a broad range of sports and activities providing real breadth and balance to the physical education curriculum. It will come as no surprise therefore that pupils at Bede’s Prep school, enjoy a whole host of team sports, an extensive swimming programme, gymnastics, outdoor and adventurous activities, athletics, racquet sports - the foundations for success at Senior School.Our Sports Academies and co-curricular programme are, of course, com-plemented with regular fixtures across both schools which enable pupils of every standard to enjoy the competitive environment. The experiences of representing your school, playing and enjoying sport with friends and peers are powerful for every pupil irrespective of which team you play for, and with our Heads and Directors of Sport increasingly working in con-

cert between the Prep and Senior Schools these opportunities are being made ever-more meaningful term on term.Not surprisingly, sport at the Senior School changes in focus, with greater emphasis placed on First Years developing their understanding of our core sports. As each pupil takes greater responsibility for their own development, fully supported by their coaches, we work to ensure that pupils leave Bede’s understanding the value, benefit and enjoyment of playing sport on a regular basis.In a similar way to the Prep School, those pupils who have areas of sporting specialism are encouraged to select those activities that will best support their aspirations in the Co-Curricular programme, and it has been one of my key aspirations since arriving at Bede’s to create a clear talent pathway that enables all pupils to develop and perform in the best environment possible as they grow up to meaningfully enhance their development. As such, our elite coaches are now working with pupils and teams from both schools on a weekly basis and our youngsters are encouraged to be good decision makers, active participants in their own performance and encouraged to deploy their personal skills in Game situations. Sport and physical activity ought to be a source of great enjoyment. As coaches and teachers we understand these values and do everything possible to ensure that irrespective of ability a positive experience is foremost in a pupil’s development. In the end, those with ambitions for a life in professional sport could imagine few schools better; at every stage we support ambition and do everything we can to make the dreams of our athletes a reality.Indeed, now is the time of year where I watch those pupils who have come up from Bede’s Prep School being welcomed into county, regional and national sides, and I feel a justifiable sense of pride.We, as a team, are making incredible things happen - as the subsequent pages of this newsletter will no doubt attest!

Andrew HibbertDirector of Sport

From basic racquet skills with Ms Nash in the Nursery...

...to winning Regional titles with Ms Salmon at U18 Level!



SPORTFOOTBALL1ST, 2ND AND 3RD TEAMS SEE AUTUMN OUT IN STYLE

The 1st team have had a good football season, particularly when competing in tournaments. Early on in the season we managed to reach the semi-final of the Bede’s Challenge Shield and then the U12 team won a 9-a-side tournament in dramatic style.Later in the season we competed in the ISFA Soccer Six South tournament held at Elstree School in Berkshire. Our squad of eight players were magnificent and played beauti-fully to reach the final. Unfortunately we were unable to raise our game to compete with a very competent side. However, this did lead to us qualifying for the National Soccer Six tournament, an achievement that I have only managed once before! The highlight of this tournament was meet-ing a certain David Beckham after playing against his son’s school in our final group match. Jake Baker, Themba Wardle and Isaiah Corrie have all attended a trial for a South East ISFA team and we are hopeful they will ‘make the cut’ and then represent the region in a national event. The 2nds meanwhile had a tough season playing against more skilful opponents in

all but 2 matches. Highlights were a 3-2 win at home versus St. Christopher’s following two successive defeats. In this match Cosin Moreno scored a hat trick of Lineker-esque, right place, right time goals.A 4-1 home win at the Hollow ended the season with a solid team performance, but having started to find some form it was a pity that the last games were cancelled due to poor weather!Finally, as is often the case, the 3rds were the most settled team and, to be honest, there was not much between them and the 2nd IX! Amos, Verity and Chapman all played for the 2nds at some point in the season and whilst I didn’t take them for matches they trained hard and really got stuck in during the training matches. A 5-0 win over St. Christopher’s and a hard fought-for 3-3 draw away at Vinehall on a very wet pitch were probably the season highlights, the latter of which both coaches agreed was one of the best matches they had seen at this level.

Fraser Allan Head of Football

A SOLID SEASON FOR BEDE’S COLTS SIDES

The Colts looked good early in the season in their ‘developmental’ matches against Brighton College and Hurst.Early season defeats against Holmewood and St. Christopher’s exposed weaknesses but we worked hard in training and finished the season with three consecutive wins against Cumnor House, Ardingly and Vinehall.Away from our bread and butter fixtures we also performed well at two prestigious tourna-ments. We travelled to Lancing as defending champions were not going to give the trophy back without a fight, eventually losing 0-1 to Solefield in the final.The ISFA tournament was a similar story. Two good wins set us on our way but we lost out to St. Ronan’s with the final kick of the game.Throughout the season our Captain Harry May-head was excellent in the centre of midfield, and Freddie Frame and Josh Sudan were solid as a rock at the back and did a great job there while Shanks and Swanepoel supplied the width to the team. Recently, Josh Sudan has been selected to play for ISFA S. East side and Harry and Fred-die were selected for the ‘Development Squad’ and these announcements mark the end of a very positive season; I am proud of what the boys have achieved and thank all the parents for all their hard work in getting the boys to the games and supporting them with such enthusiasm.

Chris Atherton Colts Football Coach



All the Bede’s girls’ have worked hard this term, gelling together brilliantly in their teams and enjoying some great results. The senior girls have enjoyed weekly coach-ing sessions with Bede’s Director of Hockey Mr Johnson this term, who is currently the England U21 and Holcombe Ladies 1st Team coach, and have been challenged, encour-aged and enthused by his influence and expertise. The 1sts have duly enjoyed victories over Vinehall, Brighton College, Claremont, St Andrew’s and Brambletye. Holmewood and Ardingly were great games, and the 1st team were pleased to topple Holmewood in the Quarter Finals of the East Grinstead Hockey Tournament to go through to the Semi-Finals.

It has been exciting to see their progress this term - wish them luck in the second round of the County Cup!The 2nds, 3rds and 4ths have had plenty of Hockey too, with the 2nds and 3rds enjoy-ing victories over Holmewood, Claremont, Brighton College, Ardingly and Vinehall. The U11s have also had an outstanding term, winning their Hurst and East Grin-stead tournaments and their group in the IAPS Regionals, losing on penalties in the Quarters. They are a super squad who have worked hard and deserved their successes.The U10s have also worked tirelessly and enjoyed victories over St Christopher’s, Claremont, Ardingly, Brambletye, Skippers Hill and Burgess Hill while the U9s and U8s had a good term of hockey too, enjoying playing in the friendly Festivals and small-sided Indoor games. All in all, the girls are progressing well across the school, have worked hard and their teamwork has been exemplary. Well done!

Sharon MuxworthyHead of Games

SPORTHOCKEYTEAM SPIRIT EMBOLDENS BEDE’S GIRLS SIDES

COUNTY HONOURS FOR OUR GIRLS, BOYS AND ALUMNI

Sussex County Cricket Club have recently announced their elite squads for Winter Training and the 2016 Season as well as many of their County Squads, with over a dozen Bede’s students earning Sussex honours.Five students have been selected to join the prestigious Sussex Academy and EPP (Emerging Player Programme) squads including Delray Rawlins from the Upper Sixth, Joe Billings from the Lower Sixth and Tom Gordon from the Lower Fifth, who have joined the 10-strong Sussex Academy squad, while Alastair Orr from the Lower Fifth and Scott Lenham from the First Year have been invited to join the EPP group.Elsewhere, Sussex also selected their girls’ squads during November, with seven Bede’s girls receiving honours.Ellie Robinson and Polly McCarthy from the Upper Fifth have been invited to join the U17s while Ariana Dowse and Leliani Nesbith from the Lower Fifth and Daisy Bean from the First Year have joined the U15s.Matilda Collins from Year 6 and Izzy Ather-ton from Year 7 have both been selected for the Sussex CCC Winter Programme and County Cricket squads, while the four Prep School boys who have trialled will learn their fates after Christmas. “We’re excited about so many Bede’s stu-dents gaining Sussex honours,” said Bede’s Director of Cricket and ex-England Interna-tion Alan Wells, “as it shows the strength of Bede’s cricketing programmes and the attraction to the School for many players who have ambitions to develop their cricket to the highest level.”

CRICKET



SPORTRUGBYBEDE’S TEAMS SEE A STRONG START TO THE 2015-16 SEASON

Inspired by the hosting of the Rugby World Cup, particularly with the Springboks staying a stone’s throw away at The Grand Hotel, the young rugby players at Bede’s have made a good start to the Rugby season.Last year it was the 1st XV and the U9’s who took centre stage, go-ing into Christmas unbeaten. This year it was the turn of the 2nd XII and the U10’s to try and repeat the feat, but both were thwarted on the final Saturday with defeats at the hands of Dulwich.

The U10 defeat (10-15) was particularly hard to swallow, as the team were unbeaten for the whole of last season and were hoping to repeat the achievement; alas, they were beaten by a breakaway try in the last minute. There were tears!The 1st XV have struggled to repeat the achievements of last year’s cohort, but they had the consolation of winning the second halves against Brighton College and Great Walstead (scoring 3 tries in the last 10 minutes against Great Walstead) and they beat Lancing College convincingly last week before being brought back down to earth by a very strong Dulwich team on Saturday (although we were missing 4 key players which didn’t help!)There is still much to look forward to when we return in the New Year, especially as we have been awarded a ‘bye’ for the group stages of the Sussex Cup. Our talented Year 7 players will soon start to play together, having spent the last few weeks gaining valuable experience helping out the Year 8 players in the 1sts and 2nds, and I’m sure the U10’s will come back fighting. Watch this space!

Chris AthertonHead of Rugby

LIONS SWIMATHON RAISES £1,200 FOR THE RNLIThe Autumn Term has seen the Bede’s Prep Pool enjoying some heavy rotation, with every year group from the Bede’s Babies up to Year 8 enjoying plenty of opportunities to get their feet wet!Aside from a good number of friendly galas, which have engaged year group squads from the U8s to the U13s, we have also been busy raising funds for the RNLI.The main event of these endeavours saw thirteen Bede’s Prep School pupils gave up part of their evening to take part in the local Lions Charity Swimathon. The children, aged between 8 and 13, swam solidly for twenty min-utes cheered on by parents, teachers and friends. Each of the children clocked up between 28 and 36 lengths and col-lectively swam 392 lengths - a distance of almost 10,000 metres!The Lions Charity Swimathon has become an annual event as part of Bede’s Prep School’s charitable work and the children are always keen to choose a charity related in some way to the water. This year they chose the local RNLI and by the end of the evening had raised just over £1,200 for this worthy cause, so well done to

them and thank you to all the parents who came along to show their support. With the Swimming Season kicking into a higher gear in the new year, I will hope to see you joining us for some competitive fixtures!

Michelle JebbHead of Swimming

SWIMMING

CRICKET

Bede's Prep Newsletter - Christmas 2015

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