This page provides a summary of information news about events that have been happening in the school throughout the academic year. Please look at the newsletter section for the current, most up to date infomation: www.stbedewinchester.co.uk/newsletters-1/

• What a Magical Week at St Bede! – December 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  The last week of term has been truly special here at St Bede!  The school has been filled with festive cheer as we enjoyed our final nativities, trips to the pantomime, delicious Christmas lunches, dazzling talent shows, and a wonderful sharing assembly – please see more on this later in the newsletter.  It has been such a privilege to celebrate this joyful season alongside our excited children, sharing in their anticipation as Christmas Day draws near.  We still have a significant shortfall of donations to cover the cost of taking children to the pantomime. If you are able to do so, and haven’t yet transferred money to your account, we would be most grateful if you can add a donation to your sco-pay account.  There is no end date for payments, so any money coming in after December will still help us enormously. Thank you in advance.

   

  On behalf of the whole staff team, we would like to wish all our families a happy, healthy, and joy-filled Christmas. Thank you for your continued support throughout the year - we can’t wait to welcome everyone back in the New Year when school reopens at 8:45am on Monday 5th January 2025.  Have a fantastic festive break!

• The Christmas Story – A Final Worship for 2025 at St. Bede – December 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  Each year, our final assembly before the Christmas holiday involves us re-telling the Christmas Story together, with each year group choosing a song or two from their nativity performance to share with the whole school.  It’s a happy celebration that brings us together when our nativities have been performed in smaller groups.  Aware that it isn’t always easy for everyone who wants to, to attend the nativity performances, we have tried to find a way to share this celebration with our families and friends.  So, this year, we will be uploading an audio recording of the assembly to our school website- with the hope that you might enjoy listening to it over the holiday.  You can find the link here:  https://www.stbedewinchester.co.uk/st-bede-nativity-story-2025/

• Posada Journey Around Our School

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  As part of our Advent preparations, we have been celebrating Posada, a beautiful Mexican tradition. Over the past three weeks, figures of Mary and Joseph have journeyed through our school, visiting one class each day. Today, their travels came to an end during our whole-school worship. Together, we reflected on the journey that Mary and Joseph made ahead of Jesus’ birth and our various re-tellings of that story over the month of December.

   

  The children have loved welcoming these special visitors into their classrooms, reflecting on the meaning of the season and preparing their hearts for Christmas. This shared experience has brought our school community closer together as we look forward to the joy of Christmas and possibly our own special journeys to places and people we love.

• Our Updated Christmas Talent Show Shines Bright!

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  One of St Bede’s most loved traditions—the Christmas Talent Show—returned yesterday with an exciting new twist! This year, we refreshed the format to make it even more fun and inclusive, and the school hall was buzzing with excitement.  After completing the auditions, our finalists wowed us with an incredible variety of acts, including

  musical performances, dazzling dance displays, mind-bending magic, and heartfelt poetry.

   

  Adding to the fun, we were joined by our very own “celebrity judges”—Paddington Bear and Glinda the Good Witch who were blown away by the talent on display! After much deliberation, they awarded first place to Chloe, Amelia and Jenny for their international poetry entry.  Choosing winners was no easy task—every act was fantastic!  A huge congratulations to all our finalists and a big thank you to everyone who auditioned.  You made this year’s updated talent show truly unforgettable!

• Christmas Post Box – December 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  Well done to all the Year 6 children who have worked as a team to ensure that the Metcalfe Mail delivery service for Christmas Cards across the school has run smoothly and effectively this year.  It is a lovely tradition to send cards to each other and great fun for the children writing and receiving them.

   

  Thank you to everyone for ensuring that the envelopes were clearly labelled as this made a big difference to the speed at which the post could be sorted and delivered!

• St. Bede Kindness Project – Unit 12 Reverse Advent Calendar Thanks – December 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  Thank you to everyone who has been able to contribute to our ‘reverse advent calendar’ project, which help support The Unit 12 Community Food Pantry in Winchester. 

   

  The items that we have been able to collect were collected today by Unit 12 and will be making a real difference to the lives of many children within our area and spreading kindness across the Winchester community. We are so grateful to those who have been able to donate and share the spirit of Christmas so generously, remembering those who may be struggling to afford food this Christmas and living out our values of love and friendship.

• St Bede Christmas Fayre – December 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  Our Christmas Fayre last Friday was possibly one of our wettest on record, but it was really lovely to see so many people enjoying time together, having fun and supporting the school. A special thank you to all of those who made the event possible by donating time preparing, setting up, running stalls and tidying up, or who donated chocolate, toys or other items.  An incredible £5,600 was raised which will support children at St Bede in accessing the best resources and enrichment opportunities to enhance their learning and experiences of being at school. We are so grateful for the hard work and support the HSA provide, thank you again.

• Father Jamie visits Year 5 – December 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  This half term in RE, our focus has been on the concept of Incarnation. Recently, we explored some of the prophecies that foretold the coming of a saviour, or messiah, and reflected on what these mean for Christians today.  To deepen our understanding, we were delighted to welcome Father Jamie from Holy Trinity Church into school at the end of last week.  The children had the opportunity to ask him thoughtful questions and learn more about how these prophecies connect to the Christmas story and Christian faith.  It was a wonderful chance for pupils to engage in meaningful discussion and strengthen their understanding of this special time of year.

• Year 1 Explore Why Christmas Matters to Christians – December 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  This half term in RE, Year 1 have been thinking about the question: Why does Christmas matter to Christians? Our learning has focused on the concept of ‘waiting’ and what this means in different situations.  Last week, we were delighted to welcome one of our parents into school with her beautiful baby.  She shared with us how families prepare for the arrival of a new baby, and the children had the chance to ask some questions.  Afterwards, we reflected on how this experience compares to Mary’s story in the Bible and considered what makes the birth of Jesus so special for Christians.  It was a lovely opportunity for Year 1 to connect real-life experiences with their learning and deepen their understanding of the Christmas story.

• Year 6 explore Gospel Stories with Reverend Karen – November 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  Last week, Year 6 classes welcomed Reverend Karen into their RE lesson for a fascinating discussion about the two gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth.  The children were eager to learn more about Matthew and Luke—why they wrote their versions and what makes each account unique.  Reverend Karen brought along crib figures from the church, and pupils worked together to sort them into categories linked to Matthew’s story, Luke’s story, both, or neither.  This hands-on activity sparked great conversations and helped deepen their understanding of the different perspectives in the Bible.  It was a truly engaging session that gave the children a fresh insight into these important stories.