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/

• Christmas Greetings – November 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  Next week we will be putting together a whole school Christmas display.  We would like to reflect Christmas traditions that exist across our community and where they have originated from.  If you are able to do so, please could you send in an image to represent your Christmas tradition and identify where it has come from- a family member, or even from another country. If you do not celebrate Christmas but mark the holiday in your own way, we’d love to hear about that and celebrate the diverse community that make up our St Bede family! Please send any pictures, explanations or photographs in so that we can learn from -and about- each other in the run up to Christmas. Thank you!

• Year 5 visit the Military Museum – November 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  This week, our Year 5 pupils enjoyed an exciting and educational trip to the Military Museums as part of their History topic on World War I. The children took part in a range of interactive workshops, deepening their understanding of life during the war.  They learned about the vital role of Gurkha soldiers, explored the evolution of British Army uniforms through the ages, and discovered how horses were purchased and used during World War I. The visit also highlighted the contributions of the Hampshire Regiment and its significance in the conflict.  One of the highlights was trying on authentic military uniforms and taking part in a re-enactment showing how Gurkha soldiers came to join the British Army. The hands-on experiences brought history to life and left the children inspired and eager to learn more.

• Year 6 Cameron Bespolka Memorial Wildlife Talk – November 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  Year 6 had an incredible experience at our Annual Wildlife Talk, held in memory of Cameron Bespolka, a former Winchester College pupil.  This year’s event featured experts from the Hawk Conservancy Trust, who captivated the children with their knowledge of birds of prey and their vital role in conservation, research, and education.  Pupils were amazed by fascinating facts about owls, eagles, falcons, and even vultures, and the Secretary Bird proved to be a firm favourite!

   

  The session included a fun game of “Guess the Bird Noise”—challenging everyone to decide whether the calls were from British birds or international species.  The talk ended on a high note with the entire audience giving their best impression of the little owls from the Hawk Conservancy Trust!  It was a memorable and engaging experience that truly brought wildlife learning to life.

• School Enhancement Fund - A huge thank you for your generosity! – November 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  We are delighted to share our heartfelt thanks for the incredible support from our school community to our school enhancement fund.  Your donations will already help us invest in exciting creative projects, provide support for families in need, and maintain and improve our school facilities.  Every contribution throughout the year, makes a real difference, and we are so grateful to be part of such a caring and committed community.  The School Enhancement Fund will remain open throughout the academic year, and all donations - big or small - are gratefully received.  Thank you for helping us create a thriving, inclusive environment where every child can flourish!

• Your Time to Shine – November 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  As the darker winter months approach, we’ve been focusing on the importance of staying safe when out and about, especially near roads. It was lovely to see everyone arriving at school this morning in brightly coloured or shiny clothing. Today, our wonderful Junior Road Safety Officers (JRSOs) took the lead in sharing these vital messages during worship. They reminded us all about key safety tips, including:

   

  • Being visible – wearing bright or reflective clothing when walking or cycling.
  • Staying alert – avoiding distractions like mobile phones near roads.
  • Crossing safely – using designated crossings and checking both ways.

   

  Our JRSOs spoke confidently and passionately about their responsibilities, helping everyone understand how small actions can make a big difference in keeping ourselves and others safe.  A huge well done to our JRSOs for their hard work and leadership in promoting road safety across our school community. Together, we can make sure everyone stays safe this winter!

• Year 1 out and about in the local community – November 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  This term in Geography, Year 1 have been learning all about human and physical features and discovering what makes our local park unique and special.  To bring this learning to life, the children enjoyed a walk to the park behind the school, armed with a checklist to spot different features.

   

  They worked brilliantly to identify whether each feature was human-made or natural, and loved the chance to take their learning outside the classroom. There was lots of excitement as they ticked off items on their lists and shared their findings with friends. 

   

  A huge well done to Year 1 for being ready, respectful, and safe throughout the trip. You all set a fantastic example and should feel proud of how you represented St Bede! A big ‘thank you’ to the parents who came and supported us.

• Busy times at St. Bede – November 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  As communicated last week, we have been busy with our usual teaching and learning, but also addressing wider focus days and initiatives this week.  We have thought about the importance of kindness and how to show kindness to each other, but also how to show forgiveness to those who may show less kind behaviours and how to respond if we see or are aware of bullying.  Today we have had fun to raise awareness of the work of the Charity Children in Need and were amazed at the generosity of our community, raising approximately £569 through donations, thank you!

• Remembrance Day Poppies – November 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  The Year 6 Leadership team will be helping us mark Remembrance Day by selling poppies at lunchtime on Monday.  This is a wonderful opportunity for our school community to show respect and gratitude to those who have served and sacrificed.  All donations go to the Royal British Legion, supporting veterans and their families.  Please encourage your child to bring a small contribution if they would like to purchase a poppy and join us in remembering those who gave so much.

• End of the First half of Autumn Term 2025 – October 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  As we draw to the end of this first half term, it has been wonderful to reflect on how well the children have settled into their learning, personal development, and the enrichment opportunities planned by their teachers.

   

  A highlight of the week was our Harvest Celebrations on Thursday. It was very special to welcome so many families to share this occasion with us. We were incredibly proud of the children for singing their celebration songs so beautifully, sharing thoughtful poems, and speaking with such clarity and confidence.

   

  Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Harvest donations in support of our kindness project with Unit 12 Community Food Bank. These generous contributions will be delivered to the Unit 12 Community Food Pantry, and later this term, our lead Kindness Ambassadors will have the opportunity to learn more about the important work they do in our community.

   

  Finally, a huge thank you to our HSA for organising a fantastic cake sale and coffee morning. This event provided a wonderful opportunity for parents to come together socially while raising valuable funds for the school.

• News from our Belief Council – October 2025

  Fri 19 Dec 2025

  This week, we held our first Belief Council meeting of the year.  We met together to introduce ourselves, have a look at our class worship books and we also talked about our class worship areas.  Our worship books are all very welcoming and each individual book reflects our school values and celebrates the differences in each class.  Each class has their own different worship area which also reflects on the class and the school values.  Every class has the school prayer displayed, and on the worship tables there is a Bible as well as candles and prayer books.  We have talked about how we can further improve this area to reflect our spiritual ideas of windows, doors, candles and mirror moments which we have been talking about in school worships.  We ended our meeting talking about some of the things we want to do next half term, as a Belief Council, which we are all really looking forward to.

  By Grace – Head of Belief Council.