The latest new from The Henry Beaufort School
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They shall grow not old,
as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
and in the morning
We will remember them.
We will remember them.
Lest we forget.
The Winchester Mental Health Support Team came in to give our new Year 8 and 9 Wellbeing Ambassadors some training and explore ideas about their role in school. Our Wellbeing Ambassadors' role is to be non-judgemental, to be knowledgeable about signs and symptoms of poor mental health, to support and signpost other students to mental health organisations or safeguarding staff, to destigmatise Mental Health by presenting on important topics such as World Mental Health Day in tutor and assemblies and to be positive role models.
The Beaufort Book Society stands ready to ignite a passion for literature and stand as a beacon for young readers, seeking to immerse themselves in their imaginations. Our book club is designed, not only to ignite enthusiasm for literature, but also to enhance critical thinking and communication skills.
Our young people enjoy a variety of genres and have some fantastic recommendations to share:
We meet weekly, where spirited discussions abound, and insights are shared amidst the company of passionate readers. We incorporate games with literary themes, such as charades, murder mysteries and heads-up. We would welcome more young people to join us at Beaufort Book Society, where reading becomes an extraordinary adventure.
On Friday, 13th September, the Sports Hall was transformed into a Freshers’ Fair, featuring over 40 stalls. This event was designed to showcase the wide array of clubs and after-school activities available to all students.
Enthusiastic existing club members were on hand to explain their clubs and sign up new members. Now that we have completed the first week of extra-curricular clubs, we are hopeful that every student has attended at least one club. It is not too late to join a club – please feel free to attend and turn up on the night.
There have been some additions to the extra-curricular timetable since it was initially published, so please have a look at the updated version.
The Henry Beaufort School were pleased to welcome Richard, the Manager and Lucy, Community Officer from Tesco in Winnall, and their colleague Elizabeth from Groundworks, to celebrate and hand over a cheque for £5000 which was won as part of the Tesco Stronger Starts Programme. Staff at The Henry Beaufort School have been working with students to design and build the Outdoor Learning Centre, which will give them a much-needed break out space with outdoor learning facilities. As part of this project, students will build and plant raised beds for flowers and vegetables, which is part of a bigger project to provide 5 different zones for students with neurodiverse challenges to access areas of the curriculum which they would otherwise find difficult.
The £5000 grant is only the start, and we look forward to working with Groundworks and colleagues at Tesco Winnall to build on this amazing opportunity. The project relies on the school accessing further grants and community donations to achieve our goal of developing the five main areas: the Growing Area, a Serenity Garden, an Outdoor Deck, a Breakout Space and an Indoor/outdoor Classroom. If you would like more information about the project or would like to offer support please contact Jonathan Pounsett, Senior Site Manager at the Henry Beaufort School.
On Tuesday 2nd July we had our Music Department Summer Concert at Henry Beaufort, and what a wonderful evening it was! The concert got off to a fabulous start with a very entertaining performance of The Acrobat by J. A Greenwood performed by David on Trombone and accompanied by Bernice on Piano. The audience were then treated to a very dramatic and aptly humorous rendition of Meet The Plastics from Mean Girls the Musical performed by Maddie, Caitlin, Lucas & Isabella. We also had a range of fantastic solos from some of our very brave and accomplished “rising stars”, including Primrose on Trumpet, Harry on Saxophone, Riley and Julia on vocals, Bernice on piano and Freya on flute. These performances ranged from classical to jazz, to rock and pop, and the standard was extremely high in every single one. Year 10 students Roseanna & Lucy sang a beautiful duet, Vienna, by Billy Joel, and Year 8 students Henry & Megan showcased their strong stylish voices in Tears Dry on Their Own by Amy Winehouse. A newly formed rock band starring Amelia, Teddy, Henri & David performed a lovely version of Have you Ever Seen the Rain by Creedance Clearwater Revival, and Mrs Seddon’s Woodwind ensemble played a toe-tapping version of The Pink Panther. We were delighted to welcome the Resonate Choir to the stage to perform Rumour Has It by Adele, and Read All About It by Emeli Sande. With over 50 members in the choir, they really made a beautiful, strong and expressive sound. It has become a custom for our concerts to end with our fabulous Jazz Band. And they did not disappoint! They wowed our audience with their very professional and highly polished performances of Chameleon by Herbie Hancock, The Bump by The Haggis Horns and Cold Duck Time by Eddie Harris. Each piece was played with fantastic energy and pazazz! We are so very proud of all the students who took part – their incredible talent, their confidence and their support for each other really shone through.
Mrs Saunders and Mrs Seddon
Photo of Jazz Band (from Left to right) Ellis, David, William, Matthew, Tim, Harry, Jacob, Louis, and Harper.
Henry Beaufort students were invited to a team maths competition at Winchester College. Each of 8 schools were required to enter two teams of 4 in a series of mathematical challenges that ranged from relays to cross numbers. Through these challenges, our students had to not only demonstrate their mathematical knowledge but also, they had to work well as a team and use good tactics.
Each of the 4 rounds contributed points to give each team a total score and, excitingly, our team of Hugo, Katie, Bernice and Douglas achieved second place. We are very proud of all our students who entered, and we look forward to entering more competitions in the future.
n June, the Resource Base team took our deaf and/or hard of hearing students along to a ‘Deaf Role Model’ day organised by the Specialist Teacher Advisory Service (STAS) for Hampshire. This event was hosted at a primary school with a Resource Base for deaf children and was attended by children from similar primary and secondary settings.
Our students had the opportunity to meet different deaf role models so they could learn about them and their specific job roles, their interests, and experiences growing up. Throughout the day, students mixed with peers from all settings as they met each individual role model. These included a deaf DJ, a hairdresser, a sailor and a tennis player. Interpreters supported some of the deaf role models as they shared their individual journey to their chosen job role and demonstrated their talent. Their resilience and determination to succeed, empowered our students as each demonstration reminded them that anything is possible.
Highlights of the event were our students demonstrating their talent as they practised tennis skills and stepping into the shoes of a DJ; experiencing a ‘WOOJER’ vest that enabled the vibrations of the music beat to be felt as the tunes played - each one of our students was literally ‘blown away’. The sailors demonstrated various knots and our students learnt how to tie a ‘sailors knot’. They also looked at maps to determine how to get from one destination to another. As they watched a hairdressing demonstration with the deaf role model talking about their own secondary school and college experience, this encouraged the students to think about the type of job they might like to do one day and sparked conversation around goals, dreams and aspirations for the future.
To finish the day, the deaf DJ Jeffo played the ‘Cha Cha Slide’ whilst all the students (and adults) joined in!
On the way back to school, our students were buzzing with excitement as they recalled the best parts of their day. One student summed the day up perfectly: ‘best day ever!’
On Thursday 23rd May, 50 students and members of staff visited The Henry Beaufort School from the Pierre Mendes Collège in Soyaux near Poitiers, FRANCE. Students learning French at The Henry Beaufort School have been writing letters and cards to students from this school over the past four years since Lockdown, and it was finally a chance to meet each other!
The French students from ‘quatrième’ (Year 9) ‘troisième’ (Year 10) students of English were offered an opportunity to stay with host families in Newbury. During their visit to England they visited London, Windsor and Winchester. Students were immersed in the English culture and language and were given a guided tour around The Henry Beaufort school by their penpals.
Students and staff from the Pierre Mendes Collège wish to thank all students and staff for being so accommodating and allowing students to see lessons and, in some cases, experience lessons in English. A special thanks go to Leilo H (Year 9) who excelled at his job of being the official translator and Mr Donaldson and Mr Donnelly who facilitated a game of rounders/French cricket in true Olympian style.
When I asked some of the French students how their school compares with Henry Beaufort, they were truly impressed and complimentary about our school. They thought Henry Beaufort was huge compared with their school, with many more subjects on offer, such as Drama, Photography, Food Technology, Hair and Beauty and Mandarin Chinese. They thought both students and staff were friendly and loved the smell of delicious food coming from the Bistro! What an amazing cultural experience for both the French and our students. It was a day filled with such pride, such happiness and such ambition!
Madame HALLETT
On Thursday 20th June it was a pleasure to host 25 Year 5 students from Weeke, Harestock, Itchen Abbas, Michledever and Kings Worthy.
The students were nominated by their Primary School to take part as they had been identified as being Gifted and Talented – either academically or in a particular field.
The students were given the opportunity to take part in lessons to get an insight into what secondary school life is like.
The day started with a tour. Then they went off to lessons. These lessons were designed to give students new and exciting opportunities that they may not have experienced before and really challenge them to be ambitious in their learning.
First up was learning how to decipher codes with some crypto challenges. They then investigated a cold case in history, learnt the art of African drumming, learnt some Mandarin and played some competitive games of badminton!
It was a busy day, and it was a joy to welcome these students to the site.
A big thank you to Taleya, Evelynn, Dominic and Douglas (Year 10) who did an incredible job in helping the students.
The Henry Beaufort School are celebrating an outstanding set of results for a wonderful group of young people.
These positive outcomes are their passport to higher and further education.
Students who attended our school have delivered superb headlines in all subject areas. Our core subject results are as follows:
In science, 88% of students attained two grade 4s or above and 82% at least one grade 4 or above.
30% of all the results were at grade 7 or better.
Other subjects of note for the percentage of students attaining a grade 5 or above:
Special mentions to Sahar who attained eleven grade 9s, Holly and Ella eight grade 9s and two grade 8s.
Headteacher Sue Hearle said she was delighted by results that had outperformed the excellent results of 2023. “Our independent learning ethos enabled our students to approach their exams with confidence in their ability. As a school we were so impressed with their commitment to their revision and their understanding of their part in gaining these outstanding results.
It is important that we also recognise the vital role played by our teaching and support staff who were relentless in their pursuit of excellence for our young people.
This is a day of celebration for the whole school community. We look forward to sharing that celebration on our return to school in September with families who will be visiting us for our Open Events, details of which can be found on the school website.’’
The Brittanica Encyclopaedia defines the study of Humanities as “those branches of knowledge that concern themselves with human beings and their culture with analytic and critical methods of enquiry derived from an appreciation of human values and the unique ability of the human spirit to express itself”. At The Henry Beaufort, our three Humanities subjects - History, Religious Education and Geography seek to do just that – with a breadth in our curriculums which challenges our students to truly reflect, considering different perspectives and ideas.
We seek to make our lessons and home learning as engaging as possible – in Geography, some recent project style home learning entitled “Biome in a Box” – students were challenged to recreate one of the Earth’s large ecosystems in a box – including plants, animals and, in some cases, the climate! The engagement level on this project was truly fantastic – you can see some examples below:
A recent History in class project saw students presenting on the Black Death, during their Medicine topic. As you can see the quality of their presentation materials was truly exceptional.
Cultural Capital is truly crucial to a well-rounded Humanities curriculum and we are always seeking to develop the extra-curricular opportunities in our department – from a fantastic Environmental Club, to visits to a Gurdwara and Mosque, from our Geography fieldwork opportunities to our current project – a truly thought-provoking cross-curricular Cultural Capital day for Year 8s in June.