Happy Christmas and New Year

Thank you to all the staff and parents for a fantastic term!

BPA Informal Drinks

Some feedback on the two drink events that the new BPA Social Committee have hosted this term. Both events were really well attended with about 80 parents in London and 100 at Bedales last week.

Parents and Governors who attended all expressed a great deal of appreciation for the opportunity to meet other parents in a relaxed setting. The wine company who sponsored the wine also gave us signed prints by famous cartoonist Hugh McLeod of a wine bottle with a label saying 'Buy this or the puppy gets it'. Strange but true. I am sure they will be treasured by parents for many years.

More events to follow.....parents are beginning to come up with some very imaginative suggestions... some a bit alarming!

Huge thanks to Tracy and Jo for arranging these so brilliantly.

BPA Minutes

For anyone interested in keeping up to date with the detailed work of the BPA, the minutes of the last meeting are now on the Bedales website and you can access them by clicking Here

The next full BPA meeting is on the 12 January 2008, so please let your year rep know any concerns or queries you would like raised.

BPA Drinks Invitation

The Bedales Parents’ Association Social Committee
warmly invite parents for drinks.

Two different venues and dates have been arranged and
we hope that you will be able to attend one or other of these times.

Wednesday 7th November
3rd floor, 84 Grosvenor St (corner of New Bond St)
London W1K3JZ
6 - 8.30pm

Thursday 29th November
Bedales Reading Room
7 - 9pm

RSVP
Jo Mitchell
Tracy Bilsland

The BPA Social Committee is a new initiative. If you would like to help on a regular or part-time basis please contact Tracy or Jo above. :)

The Bedales Parents’ Association represents Bedales, Dunhurst and Dunannie and all parents are most welcome.

The wine for both events will very kindly be supplied by Stormhoek as part of their Geek Dinners Promotion

BPA Meeting 13 October 2007 - BPA Grants

Each year in the BPA Autumn meeting bids are submitted for the £10,000 (roughly) fund which is created from parent subscription. This year the grants were approved as follows:

Dunannie
Playground markings for the playgroup e.g. alphabet snake, hopscotch grid, maze, footprint etc £2000
Visiting Author workshops with crossover activities with Dunhurst £1000

Dunhurst
School Telescope £500
Theatre Nomade one day workshop for Blocks 1 and 2 £1200
Artist in Residence in The Cobb £2000

Bedales
Carpentry tools for a cross over activity between Outdoor Work and Design making Ladderback chairs £700
Renovate the Quiet Room on Steephurst in memory of Clare Sankey c. £800
Greenpower Electric Vehicle Competition entry £2000
SCUBA equipment - one full set £650

Ofsted inspection of boarding at Dunhurst and Bedales, October 2007

Bedales and Dunhurst, the Bedales Junior School, have both been judged ‘outstanding’ in key areas of boarding, according to an independent inspection carried out earlier this month.

Both schools scored the highest possible grade for Enjoying and Achieving – that is, the way in which they develop the whole individual. Dunhurst was also outstanding in encouraging pupils to become involved through consultation and discussion, and Bedales gained the top ranking for Staying Safe – the key area of pastoral care, discipline and child protection. Every other aspect of boarding in both schools was graded ‘good’, apart from one ’satisfactory’.

Keith Budge commented , “Some aspects of the physical fabric of Boys’ Flat, the main boys’ boarding house, were graded merely ‘satisfactory’ – which for us is not satisfactory. Even before the inspection we had earmarked a substantial sum for a programme of improvements to the building and facilities that will run for the next five years.”

The official reports will be published shortly. For mor details please contact Martin Horrox , Head of External Relations Bedales

Interview with Governor David Handley

David Handley has been involved with Bedales for 13 years, first as Chair of the Bedales Parents' Assocation and then as Governor and Co-Chair of the Governors. The school owes David a huge debt for all his dedication and warm-hearted contribution over these many years and we would like to thank David on behalf of all the parents for all his time and wonderful effort. We asked David a few questions, which he has kindly answered below :)

What do you like best about Bedales?

DAVID: This is easy, it is the students. Although,as anywhere, we get some bad behaviour and some inappropriate behaviour, I do not believe any school produces students as interesting, interested and as well rounded and educated as Bedales. While at school they are respectful but not deferential to adults, be they staff, parents or visitors. But more importantly they are always challenging, independent in their thinking, occasionally off beat and invariably worth talking or listening to. Once they have left school, whether in tertiary education or later, you can spot them a mile away. Intellectually curious and uncompromising, socially cohesive without being cloying, welcoming to others and a delight to be with. They carry with them from school an absence of 'attitude' to the older generation. Willing to let anyone prove that they have something useful to say. Of course there are exceptions, but not many.

To get this kind of student replays back into the quality and commitment of the staff at the 3 Bedales' Schools, and not exclusively the teaching staff. It is not easy to achieve this year after year in the changing social, educational and cultural environment in the UK. We should recognise the postive contribution the staff make to how our children turn out, and governors must continue to create the conditions in which the best staff, best in their fields, can be recruited and retained.

The students are a credit to the staff, to their parents and most of all to themselves and long may it be so.

What has been your happiest moment in your 13 year association with the School?:

DAVID: Actually, our first child came to Dunhurst in 1989, so I have been continuously 'involved', since then - 18 years. Happiest moments are all around our 3 children, from the uninvited telephone calls (pre e-mail) we used to get from House staff when we were overseas to say that they were well, happy and enjoying being boarders, to the satisfaction in what they achieved for themselves, from they way they treat their friends to they way they treat us their parents.

But I imagine your question is more about my institutional involvement. In that, perhaps not the happiest, but I am most pleased by the success of Dunhurst, following the attempt to divide it in two and merge the resultant halves with Dunannie and Bedales respectively. I always regarded Dunhurst as vital to the process of educating and developing our children and I could never understand the logic behind the proposal to close it. While I am satisfied that I was able to play a part in maintaining was has turned out to be a dynamic status quo - if that is not an oxymoron - I am delighted with the way, beginning with the Heads and Senior staff at all 3 schools and then the staff in general, managed the schools through this difficult time.

How are you planning on spending your time now?

DAVID: What time? I can give my full time job the time it deserves and when that ends, I already have a number of non 'slipper and pipe' activities planned to keep my brain alive. Given that we live locally, I hope we will be seen for some time to come around the Schools, not least enjoying the rich cultural programme.

Have you preferred being BPA Chair or Co-Chair of the Governors?

DAVID: A difficult one, as I did not seek either post. I think if the issue is enjoyment, then the BPA wins. But to be a Governor of Bedales is an enormous privilege, even if at moments during my time as a Governor this concept was put under some strain. But as I leave, things are going well and I believe and the privilege element has returned. The responsibility of Governors has quite rightly increased. It now extends into areas of governance such as health and safety, risk analysis and student and staff welfare and well-being. This is much different even from 2000 when I joined the Board and it makes the role of governor more tasking. Parents, staff and students should recognise this. As to being Co-Chair, this has worked well, both for me personally and I hope for the Schools, but it is good that it is coming to an end.

Any message for the Bedales parents?

DAVID: There is a constant need for communication between Parents and the Governors, as there is between Governors and Staff. This is better now than it has been for some time, but it cannot be taken for granted. My message to Parents is that they have a responsibility in this as they have in other areas of school life and activity. It is not all about 'my rights'. It is not a school for the lone individualistic parent, student or member of staff. We need strong individuals, but within a collective, co-operative whole and this too needs work to maintain. Parents must be prepared to work a little and to conceed some small part of their personal desires for the common good. This does not mean that they give up any vigilance or response in respect to the education and welfare of their own children. But in other more collective areas of school activity and behaviour they should be prepared to recognise the good of the whole. Less of the individual hobby horses and more of the 'what is good for most/all'.

Thank you so much David. We wish you all the best for the future!!

Badley Weekend - Bedales Programme for 28-30 September

The Olivier Theatre and Bedales Arts Programme are ten years old!
This is the annual Badley Weekend, when the whole of Bedales takes part in landscape projects - but this year there is more than usual for you to see and do and parents are very welcome to many events.

Friday 28 September, 7.30pm
Michael Pennington vivifies Shakespeare's life and work, and recounts his own life-long engagement with the plays.
Olivier Theatre.  Tickets £9 / £7

Saturday and Sunday
Students will be copse-clearing, lake-dredging, lantern-building, mask-making, mumming, drumming and madrigal-singing AND building a giant hazel sculpture that will be burnt on Sunday evening.  

Saturday 29 September, 7.30pm and 9.15pm
Open discussion - the Badley Jaw - on the place of the arts in education.  Speakers include John Aiken (Slade Professor of Fine Art, University College London) and Rupert Rowbotham (Education Officer, Oxford Playhouse).  This is followed at 9.15pm by a traditional Bedales Merry Evening of music and performance.

Olivier Theatre.  Tickets free.

Sunday 30 September, 7.00pm
Finale of the Badley Weekend.  Gather in the orchard for performances: there will be a Commedia Performance, Madrigals, King John's Morris Men, Mummer's play before a lantern-lit, masked procession with drumming to burn the hazel sculpture. All parents welcome to this too - not tickets required.

For details of individual students committments over the weekend please ask your child or your child's tutor.

Olivier Theatre tickets from John Barker by clicking here or phone: 01730 711511

Parent Support for Bedales Green Initiatives

Since last week's Carbon Neutral Debate at Bedales there has been a great deal of support expressed by parents for these plans - from those that attended the interesting morning and those that unfortunately couldn't make it. There have also been lots of enquiries for more information and how families can help and get involved. Isn't that GREAT!!
If you are one of the families wishing to show support for the Green Committee either through words or actions please contact Martin Box, Chair of the committee, by clicking here

. . . And if you are feeling inspired by green issues you may like to spend a moment voting for The Edge at the Eden Project. The Eden Project is competing for lottery money and need votes for this new development which will serve to expand the Eden Project's eductional platform on environmental change. To vote visit the website here

Kate Williams to play as part of Bedales Arts season

Just a reminder that Kate Williams is playing Tuesday, 18 September at Bedales.

Full details of this next concert in the school’s professional jazz series are in the Bedales Arts brochure and on the main school website but you may be interested in pianist Steve Lodder’s comments, quoted in the local press this week:

“I’ve played several times at Bedales and found it a discerning but willing audience…in other words they know their jazz and they’re prepared to go with something even if it’s a bit difficult, and in the end they’re always appreciative.

“I played with John Etheridge (of Soft Machine fame) and Harry Beckett (of Harry Beckett fame…) at the theatre and enjoyed the atmosphere and the piano, so to come and play with Kate will be amazing.

“I have admired Kate’s playing over the years and so when this came up I thought, who has the right musicality and lightness to make a two-piano gig work? It takes an unselfish player not to crowd a four hand line-up.

“We will be playing original jazz-driven tunes (written for the partnership) plus a smattering of other styles, Latin and a particular favourite of mine which I’ve not played before – Jimmy Ruffin’s Motown hit ‘What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted’.”

The concert at the Bedales Olivier Theatre starts at 8pm and tickets are £9 (£7 for concessions). Box Office: 01730 711 511 or email the wildly efficient John Barker by pressing HERE (also available at One Tree Books, Lavant Street, Petersfield)

Bedales works towards Carbon Neutral

By Don Macpherson
On Saturday morning, students and parents contributed to a lively debate on 'Greening Bedales'. Organized by Martin Box, Mark Taylor and the rest of the Green Bedales Committee, a series of distinguished speakers gave fascinating talks on issues from global warming to green architecture, with issues from political engagement to domestic composting.

As a result parents, students and staff emerged with a whole range of insights, from scientific theories to practical measures. As a first step, the school is intending to become carbon neutral, and re-imagine its founding role in leading debate around environmental concerns.

This conference was a welcome stimulus to the debate, and questions continued long after the end of sessions. Congratulations to Martin, Mark and the many organizers and speakers, for a terrific start to the year.

Polo Club

Bella Tullo, mother of Jaimie Tullo in Block 4 is interested in getting together a group of enthusiastic parents for a polo club. Bella is looking at grants currently available from the SUPA (Schools and Universities Polo Association) towards the cost of setting up a school polo club - but it all depends on getting a group of enthusiasts together and then 'making it happen'.

Please contacted Bella By pressing HERE if you would like to support this new and interesting initiative!

Green Bedales Reminder

Just a reminder that the Green Bedales debate is this Saturday 11am until Ipm.

The Green weekend is being kicked off with the students on Friday night with an environmental band (!) called 'Seize the Day' playing Lupton Hall.




The confirmed panel for the debate:

Charles Secrett | Advisor on Environment and Sustainability to the Office of The Mayor of London; formerly Executive Director, Friends of the Earth (chairing the panel)
Siân Berry | Female Principal Speaker for the Green Party.
Max Fordham | One of the UK’s foremost authorities on environmentally friendly engineering.
Ty Goddard | Director of the British Council for School Environments (BCSE).
James Hanson | Environmental consultant with Jacobs UK Limited.
Maddy Harland | Editor of Permaculture Magazine.
Alexis Rowell | Liberal Democrat Councillor in the London Borough of Camden, and Chair of the Sustainability Task Force.

A professional artist has also been arranged, 'Pen Mendonca', who will be documenting all the key points during the presentation in cartoon form, which should be great fun and also be a good solid record of the day.

GREEN attire optional :-)

Come and tell us what YOU think

Click here to book your free tickets

GCSE Official exam figures

The GCSE Results % A* - C are as follows:

Art 97%
Biology 100%
Chemistry 100%
Greek 100%
Dance 100%
Design 93%
Drama and TS 96%
English 100%
English Lit 99%
French 87%
Geography 97%
German 88%
History 89%
Japanese 100%
Latin 90%
Mathematics 81% - IGCSE
Mathematics 95%
Music 100%
Physics 100%
Russian 100%
Science- D 96%
Spanish 100%
Technology 60%
Textiles 94%

A Warm Welcome

Wishing everybody a great start to the new term. In particular a warm welcome to all new students, staff and parents! We are sure to have another happy and successful year.

Spending Suggestions

The BPA now has a new fund created from various fundraising efforts. How this money will be spent will be decided by a small new committee made up of teachers and parents. We are looking for any suggestions from the community. Some of the ideas put forward so far include:

- Additional planting for contemplative garden
- Further books for all libraries
- Specialist magazine subscriptions
- Money put towards a bigger project - possibly building
- Fund a trip to help the connection school in Swaziland
- Re-print one or more John Badley books now out of print
- Create a fund for teachers to take specialist professional development courses
- More outdoor furniture (benches etc) outside the boarding houses
- Indoor games equipment for Common Room e.g. table football
- Equipment for the Music Schools
- Materials for development of the Green Bedales
- Film editing equipment

All suggestions are very welcome - if you are a parent, teacher or student please write to us as soon as possible.

GCSE and A level Results

Official totals (A-C grade percentages etc) will be released and posted here next week, but in the meantime . . .

GCSE results

Bedales School continues its record of academic achievement with another good showing in GCSE. Half of all its results this year were in the two highest grades (A* and A), with one in five overall being graded A*.

Two students, Veronica Stratford-Tuke and Sophie Hill, gained A* in all 11 of their exams. India Thorp was awarded nine A* (plus an A and a B), and David Wise, Leo Green and Chris Taylor all attained A* in eight subjects, with two or three As in addition.

Philip Young, Director of Studies, said, “We have seen some very impressive results this summer, and I congratulate the students on their achievement.

“The sciences remain strong at Bedales, but I am particularly pleased that standards in dual-award science continue to rise, with 14 A* grades.”


Bedales A-level results

Bedales students have celebrated another good year of A-level results. The year-group, numbering 91 in all, took 295 examinations between them in 23 subjects.

Four out of every ten results were A grades, and two thirds of the total scores were As or Bs.

It was a particularly strong year for Mathematics, with 16 out of 19 candidates gaining As. The sciences also showed strongly, with more than four out of ten candidates achieving A grades in Chemistry, Physics and Biology – a score that was matched in the humanities by English Literature and by languages, both classical (Latin and Greek) and modern (French, German and Spanish).

Head of Design is in Ironman

Ben Shaw (Head of Design) is taking part in the Ironman UK triathlon at Sherborne Castle in Dorset on the 19th August.

This involves:

Swimming 3.8km in a lake
Cycling 112miles (180km)
Running 26.2miles (42km)

And all in Lycra! Apparently.

Please support this wonderful effort (Ben's 10th year!!!) by making a pledge to Ben's charities Here

Purple Hoodies?

In case you missed it Bedales was in the Sunday Times Style Magazine in July. Overall it was well, um, er . . . ?

Click here to read the online version

Calling all Tree Huggers . . . Bedales Goes Green

GREEN BEDALES DEBATE - 8th September 11.00am Olivier Theatre.

Bedales have invited a superb panel of experts to debate environmental issues, particularly relating to Bedales Schools. The Green Committee at Bedales is committed to reducing the school's carbon footprint and the debate represents the starting point for both discussion and action on this important issue. Parents and their guests are warmly invited to attend the debate, coffee at 11.00am - debate starts at 11.30.



Click here to book Free Tickets at the theatre

The Debate Panel is Chaired by Charles Secrett, currently advisor to the London Mayor's offices and formerly executive director of Friends of the Earth. Other expert and influential panel members include:

Alexis Rowell OB, Environmental Councillor for Camden
Maddy Harland, Parent & Editor of Permaculture Magazine
Ty Goddard, Building Council for the School Environment
Max Fordham, Engineer and member of the Stirling Prize Committee
James Hanson OB, Consultant with Waterman Environmental

The Green Bedales Committee of staff and students has been looking at the broad range of issues within the school for the past six months and have already begun creating awareness and initiating improvements. :-)

Any ideas, suggestions and comments from parents are most welcome as the community would like to support the Green Committee as much as possible in their determined efforts. Please contact Martin Box or Mark Taylor

New BPA Representative for long distance parents

Peter Whaley (Block 4 parent - September 07) has kindly agreed to join the BPA committee to represent the ideas, questions and concerns of those parents who live further away from the school. This will obviously include parents who live overseas, but also parents who simply live far from the school in the UK. Historically the BPA has had a representative for this particular parent group but the post has been empty for some years now. We are terribly delighted that Peter has agreed to help with this. :-)

If you are a parent who lives far from the school and would like to be part of Peter's email communication list please contact him directly by clicking here

Blog closed for the summer

This Blog will be closed for the summer. Please check back before the start of term in September for new information on autumn term events.

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!

Community Auction Raises £2,600

The Bedales Community Auction has raised £2,600 which will go towards various school projects. This brings the total amount of funds raised this term for the school through the BPA to £4,600. Applications for this newly create fund will be discussed by a small committee representative of all members of the community in the Autumn Term.

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who contributed through giving promises and other items, and of course bidding. In particular to Jane Goodger, Beth Garabet and Dennis Archer for all the hours they have spent collecting the lots, many of them so interesting and unusual! Special Thanks to Elliot Theis (Block 4) who developed the website and worked tirelessly and cheerfully with the BPA to create this auction - without all his creative energy and IT knowhow this simply wouldn't have happened! Now that the experiment has proved successful we look forward to even bigger ones in future.

And yes, the 6 eggs really did get bought for £21... pretty brilliant eggs :-)

Community Auction Site receives 1497 unique visitors in one day

The Bedales Community Auction website received 1497 unique visitors today on the eve of the auction closing. The site has received over 5000 visitors this month.

The online auction which is an experiment in both community building and fundraising has proved extremely popular with staff, parents and OBs and items and promises have been very generously given from all sections of the community.
Keen observers are interested to see how much last minute bidding will take place towards the closing of the auction at 12.00 noon Friday 29th July, as happens on ebay and other auction sites.

6th Formers introduce new Leavers Cup Football Match 3 July

By Carlos ‘The Cat’ Schuster, Billy ‘Swoosh’ Jenks and Guy ‘Stallion’ De Vito (6.iis)

On Tuesday 3rd July (kick off 14:30) the ‘Leavers Cup Football Match’ will be taking place on the Steephurst pitch (between Boys’ Flat and Steephurst). This tradition we are hoping to introduce will hopefully be repeated annually. The match will be played by the leavers in 6ii against the current 6i’s. Frank McMorrow and Sonia Cartwright will be managing the 6ii’s and 6i’s respectively and John Scullion will be refereeing. The reward for victory will be the newly purchased ‘Leavers Cup’.

Please come and support the lads on this debut ‘Leavers Cup’ for what promises to be an exhilarating and testosterone fuelled occasion. Please park in the main car park and picnicking is welcomed.

Look forward to seeing you all there.

Bedales Parents' Day 30 June 2007

The weather forecast is for lots of rain over the weekend. We may get lucky, but if it is very wet could parents to share lifts/park on church road or other nearby tarmac areas (e.g ridge common lane) that may save some from being stuck in the mud - parking is on steephurst pitch and if the weather continues as forecast, it may be rather too reminiscent of a certain Somerset farm. Peter Coates will have the tractor on stand by and some of the schedule events outlined on the schedule below will have to be moved.
Scheduled Events
10.00 Overseas parents’ meeting (Boys’ Flat Welcome Area); coffee and biscuits available
10.00 Junior Boys’ Singles Tennis Tournament (Astroturf)
10.30 Tennis: Junior Girls’ and Parents’ Tennis Tournament – until 12.00 (Astroturf)
10.45 – 12.00 Tennis: Senior Boys’ v Coaches/Staff (Top Courts)
11.00 – 12.00 Dance display (Quad)
11.00 – 12.00 Golf: Putting Competition (Putting Green – between Boys’ Flat and the Astroturf)
11.30 – 2.00 BPA Lunch Base (Steephurst Lawn) – meet and have lunch with year reps and members of the BPA
12.00 – 1.00 Reception for parents of current 6.1 going into 6.2 Flat in September (Orchard Building Reception)
12.00 Junior Boys’ Tennis Tournament Final (Astroturf)
12.00 – 1.00 Triathlon Tri-out – Ben Shaw and his team (Orchard)
12.15 Reception for parents of those joining Block 3, Block 4 or 6.1 in September (Boys’ Flat Welcome Area)
1.00 – 1.30 Karate display (Gym)
Lunch
2.00 – 6.00 Cricket 1st XI vs Stoner (Memorial Pitch)
2.30 – 4.30 “After Juliet” – Junior Play in the Theatre
3.30 – 4.30 Music on the Lawn (Steephurst Lawn)
From 4.00 Tea in the Marquee
4.30 Balloon release – by Marquee
5.00 – 6.00 Bedales Association Drinks (Pigeon Hole Cafe)
6.00 Summer Concert (Quad)
After concert Serenade

Feedback about the Blog

We have been getting lots of lovely comments about the blog. This is a special area were you can post comments just about the idea of the BPA having a
blog.

P.S. For any problems or queries please contact the BPA directly as usual. Naturally complaints will not be posted online. Unfortunately we won't post complaints about not being able to complain on the blog either. Or even complaints about people complaining too much.

Not a review of the first night of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

By Tessy Britton
The rain, sometimes fairly interesting quantities of it, did not deter a determined caste from completing the performance of this wonderful production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And it proved to be another highly imaginative 'event' which took place on the beautiful set of the adventure playground in Dunhurst. The optimism with which so much time and effort had been placed in creating it out of doors is a real testiment to the spirit which prevails throughout the school. The audience were delighted to weather the rain in the face of such a strong desire by the all the children to finish their creation.

The costumes were gorgeous, especially the sweet wrapper dresses, the overall look of Alice meets Cirque de Soleil . . . the backdrops fun and bright. . . . .climbing-frame choreography amazing. . .singing charming. . . acting wonderful . . . juggling fabulous. . . .

But as always with Dunhurst plays the magic is the overriding appreciation of this very special school which is at its very best on these occasions which show its true spirit of inclusivity. It is really charming to witness the sheer number of children wanting to take part with so many roles being created to accommodate all these enthusiastic children. Again this production represents a whole community accomplishment with the creative efforts of very many children, teachers and parents.

What a pleasure. Thank you once again Simon Kingsley-Pallant for conjoring another delightful and wildly ambitious experience the children and parents won't forget. :-)

23 June - Dunhurst Parents' Day

10am - Parents' Day Starts

10.30am - Summer Concert - The Well

12.30pm - Lunch for all in the marquee - Mem pitch

2.00pm - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Adventure Playground

4.00pm - Finish

The school will be filled with other attractions for parents to visit throughout the day in Reception, The Cobb, Workshop, Science lab, Fran's Room, Groups Classrooms, IT Room, MFL Room, Maths Room, The Well, Marquee . . .

Parents and children are free to go home from 1.00pm if they have no involvement in the play.

Childnet talks to parents

Internet Security
Dunhurst and Dunannie's recent initiative to educate children, staff and parents on issues around the internet via Childnet has been very welcome. This dicusssion covered topics such as privacy, file-sharing, inappropriate content, bullying, aggressive advertising, social networking and blogging. Parents from both schools were very appreciative of this information and both Penny and Sarah urged parents to attend further meetings, which had proved extremely informative.

For further information on Childnet, please see the links apposite

End of term thank yous and leaving gifts

Traditionally the BPA have attempted to collect for long standing members of staff who are leaving. This has become increasingly difficult, mainly due to parents desire to express their appreciation individually. The trend has been for any collections we do to result in an imbalance in value and we have been left with a sense that parents overall would prefer to write letters and purchases gifts of their own. After considerable discussion it appears that even in the case of staff who have been at the school for a long time, that it is the personal messages which are the most meaningful.

However, the committee felt that a token of collective appreciation should still be organised through the BPA and this will be done this term and be paid for from BPA funds rather than collections.

Please can we encourage parents to continue to express their thanks to all members of staff at the end of the year as well as those who are unfortunately leaving us.

Governors invite BPA committee to lunch

The Bedales Governors kindly invited the BPA committee for a buffet lunch on Saturday 16 June following the Governors meeting over the weekend.
Representatives of the Governors attend each of our termly BPA meetings so the links between parents and the Governors is already well established. However it has been many years since an informal get together of this kind has been initiated and the BPA are very appreciative of the gesture.

Thank you to all the Governors and BPA members who were able to attend. A very pleasant lunch....and fantastic food Dave :-)

Bedales Tutoring Consultation

The parent consultion for the proposed revisions to the system of tutoring is now closed. Thank you to the many parents who took the time to respond and to give such constructive feedback. If you would still like to comment on tutoring please feel free to write to your Year Rep.

Many parents commented how helpful they thought such an open consultation was. :-)

Community Auction reminder

LESS THAN 2 WEEKS TO GO BEFORE THE AUCTION CLOSES!

Sarah Webster's Leaving Party

Temporary Pic
Awaiting story form Mark Rodbert and Mike Hall :-)

Dunhurst Summer Barbecue

by Beth Garabet
Dark clouds, rumbles of thunder and intermittent heavy rain showers during the day did not deter the ever-smiling and eternally optimistic Dunhurst Parents’ Group from hosting another highly successful barbeque this year. Although we were not blessed with the scorching temperatures of last year the rain held off and the sun even peeked through the clouds on several occasions throughout the evening. Basil Garabet and Michael Johnson valiantly did battle with the smoking, flaming beast of a grill that is the Bedales barbeque and produced a seemingly endless supply of tasty burgers and succulent sausages. These were served alongside a selection of delicious salads and washed down with large frosty glasses of Pimm’s. The children were kept busy on the bouncy castle and, a new addition this year, an electronic surf board. Many thanks to all who attended; to the hard working committee and their spouses; to the Hopit committee; to Jane Goodger for tirelessly painting the children’s faces and to the ex-Dunhurstians, Johnny Welch, Lucy Johnson and Tom Garabet who helped all evening.

Parents/Teachers Cricket Match

Report by Richard Dale

The annual staff vs parents cricket match once again lived up to its pre match billing, as the match of the season. After winning the toss Murray “Skip” Chancellor carefully surveyed the conditions- a slow outfield from the overnight rain, a little moisture in the air and a light breeze out of the south- ideal swing bowling conditions. One quick glance to his assembled team and they got the message. Taking the field was the only way to get them away from the huge BBQ that had been laid on by the school. Another sausage roll each and any quick singles would be out of the question.

Trusting the new ball to his dynamic pace attack of Jonathan “JB” Black and David “Young” Wise, there was an air of confidence amongst the keen athletes of the parents team. The staff team was batting well, with Chris Bott in normal swashbuckling form. A breakthrough was needed and who better to take up the attack than Tim “Wicket” Wetherill. A lofted delivery with plenty of air and an almost imperceptible dash of spin, and time stood still on the memorial pitch. Bott down the wicket to meet the pitch, beaten by the nuance of a turn, and then it happened- Gerry “Gloves” Brand stumped him. Yes he really did. It was a moment of pure joy for Gloves and considerable surprise for everyone else.

In came Mark Collins who pushed the score along briskly with the Bedales 1st X1 captain Sam Banks. Dicky Dale was beginning to frustrate Banks, mixing up an array of wides, no balls and his trademark bunny hoppers and grass cutters. To the untrained eye this was clearly an appalling over. To the cognoscenti in the team a cleverly planned strategy culminating in the totally intentional full toss that invited Banks to dispatch it - after all it was the first ball of the over that was anywhere near his bat. And so with a mighty heave, the ball sped from his bat- straight to the trusty hands of Skip Chancellor.

Out to the crease strode Andrew Alexander to make up the Dunhurst Duo. As the scoreboard began to tick over, with the pair lightning quick between the stumps (!!), Chancellor looked worried. Will “Sledger” Petrie was called to the attack. A brief exchange between bowler and skipper and the trap was set. Sledger peppered the batsmen with a volley of well chosen words and one liners- and then actually started to bowl. Alexander, visibly still reeling from the verbal assault was left defenseless, and undone leg before by one that seemed pretty straight, but in Sledger’s own words, “turned more than the great Warne to Gatting delivery”.

Collins was forced to retire after the parents kindly allowed him to reach his thirty. With that the staff team bought out to the middle two well known South African sports staff- at least that is, well known to St Edwards School where they teach and indeed the Springbok cricket selectors.

After a flurry of runs, normal service was resumed with Charles Bloem and Ransi Jayatissa together at the crease. Bloem went for a quick one, and Ransi couldn’t. Run out was a cruel way to see the great man depart the crease.

The light worsened considerably as a huge dark shadow fell across the wicket, causing the umpires to confer in the middle, until the assembled fielders pointed out it was just Big Gordy Dale making his way to the wicket. An uncharacteristic single off the last ball of the over saw him take strike against JB. With the field set deep on the boundary, and an air of hushed expectancy amongst the supporters, Gordy was ready. A huge heave of his paddle of a bat, and the ball literally fizzed into the atmosphere at such a rate that most lost sight of its trajectory. Not so the silver fox behind the stumps. “Gloves” , moving like a whippet, was out of his traps before you could say Howzat, and had him caught behind without so much as a hair being out of place.

The last few overs saw Kit and Jack- the Bedales 1st XI answer to Ant and Dec- together at the crease. The good news is that the school has some good strong batsmen coming through the ranks. At the end of the allotted 30 overs the scorebook told the story of the innings- Bedales staff had scored 62, Bedales 1st XI made 47, and South Africa an unbeaten 61. With a smattering of extras the target stood at 200.

And so the stage was set for those two giants of opening batsmen Tim “Older” Wise, and Gentleman Guy Britton. Wise took great comfort from the absence of last year’s female French exchange student bowling under arm, and set about taking this proper bowling attack to task. With runs fizzing effortlessly from both batsmen, the parents’ team started their innings in brisk order. The staff captain Chris Bott looked suitably nervous, and called up to the attack his South African secret weapon. A single pace, a blur of arms, and Wise was undone with one that was simply unplayable- quick, moving off the seam and keeping low. Bring back the French girl we heard him mutter as he wandered back to the pavilion. JB batted strongly for his team, pushing the run rate on with Guy, until an unfortunate misunderstanding left Britton stranded and run out.

The less said about your author’s paltry single the better. Suffice to say that the second unplayable delivery of the day from the South African pace attack spread his stumps like…. a cricket ball hitting the stumps.

The pressure was on as Dave “The Hit Man” Hills took guard. With “Wicket” Wetherill at the other end the scorers struggled to keep up until the partnership was broken up by a classic from Ransi.

And so the key moment of the match arrived. Murray “Skip” Chancellor made his way to the wicket. The crowd was hushed. Children climbed trees to get a better vantage point. Dogs fell silent. The wind dropped and the air was still. If thoughts of a third consecutive duck were on his mind, he wasn’t showing it. With the entire staff team making quacking noises and gathering in close for his first delivery, Skip stood tall. Eleven runs later he was well and truly back where he belonged. He had made the crease his home. Well, temporary home until the South African weapon was once more unleashed.

Sledger Petrie bounded out to the wicket. Unbowed by the catcalls from the fielders, he gave as good as he got. Very rarely in cricket does one witness a batsman sledging the entire fielding team around him, but Sledger is a master of his art, and at the very top of his game. The partnership with Hills was really gathering momentum until an unfortunate miscall and Hillsy was run out for a terrific top scoring 27. It was a cruel end to a brave innings.
In rapidly fading light the parents’ team continued to toil. Toby Brand showed that he is a real chip off the old batting block, going for a duck with an enormous heave that Gerry would have been proud of. And so, the innings drew to a close with Sledger and Wise “The Younger”, carrying their bats.

Once more the scorebook told the story- the parents had scored 92 runs, with the younger Wise and Brand plus extras helping the score to 120.

Nicknames are an essential part of all team sports and none more so than in cricket. The standard procedure is to attach a “y” to the end of the player’s surname. So Smithy, Lamby and Thorpy are all well known. And so, at the end of a glorious day’s cricket, Skip Chancellor presented the trophy to the staff team’s winning Captain- Chris Bott- known to his friends and team as….

New Social Committee formed for Bedales

A new sub committee of the BPA has been formed to enhance and develop further opportunities for parents to meet one another. All suggestions from parents are encouraged including ideas for possible new events both big and small, either at school or in London.

Jo Mitchell and Tracy Bilsland have kindly agreed to Co-Chair this exciting new project. If you would like to support them please contact them via email - links opposite

New! Lawn Base Lunch - Bedales Parents' Day

30 June 2007
The BPA would like to take the opportunity to welcome parents on Parents Day, particularly those who find they have limited opportunities to meet one another. This year, we are setting up a Lawn Lunch Base from which we hope to welcome you, introduce you to other parents of your year group, and where, should you wish, you can set up your picnic base for the day with others of your year group from which to come and go between various events. If this is of interest to you please let me know.

This Welcome Area will be on the lawn in front of Steephurst. We are hoping for a few parents from each year to volunteer to be part of the welcoming group for half hour or 45 minute periods between 1130am and 2pm. If you are able to help with this, please contact me

Julia Shaw
0771 516 9605 jr_shaw@bellsouth.net

Community Auction Launch

The BPA launches an 'internet experiment' with the first Bedales Community Auction website. Over 50 extremely exciting, varied and pretty unusual items have been donated by staff and parents. The auction closes at 12 noon on the 29 June 2007.
All proceeds will go towards projects within the Bedales Schools, so please go the website and take part. Click on the link opposite.

Thank you to everyone who has kindly contributed to the auction so far. :-)

BPA Ball raises £29,000 for Charity

A huge thank you to all the parents who attended the Ball and participated so generously in the charity auction. . . . and of course to the wonderful committee who gave so much time and effort to making it a fun evening. We hope to discuss holding another one at some point . . . .

Thank you to all our sponsors and advertisers - your support is greatly appreciated. Thanks too to Sam Powers for her beautiful design work :-)

Some lovely comments received from parents:

"Congratulations on the ball last night -- everyone seemed to have a wonderful time."

"Parents I met were full of praise"

"Everybody I spoke to had a thoroughly good time with quotes such as "an absolutely brilliant evening" and "amazing" summing it up"

"Everything was wonderful"

"Congratulations on last night. It was a great evening!"

"WOW. Thank you so much for arranging such a fun evening"

"It was obvious how much work must have gone into such a great evening."