Petersfield Latest News (Hampshire, United Kingdom)

Bedales celebrated impressive exam results on GCSE results day with over half the grades awarded at A* or A. Bedales students tailor their studies choosing a combination of GCSEs, IGCSEs, and the school’s GCSE alternative, Bedales Assessed Courses.

Bedales students have achieved excellent A Level results for 2012 with 39% of all grades at A* - A. They have secured places at universities including Oxford, Exeter, Edinburgh, London, Bristol, art colleges and international institutions.

At the end of term, Bedales held its first combined fundraising Summer Party in a marquee in the grounds for parents across its three schools: Dunannie, Dunhurst and Bedales.

Bedales School was fortunate recently to host the CAA Art Bus, a mobile work of art designed by Sir Peter Blake which is also a mobile art gallery. The visit of the bus marked the retirement of George Hatton after 34 years as Bedales Head of Art.

Before leaving for their summer holidays, students from the three Bedales schools (Dunhurst, Dunannie and Bedales Senior School) filled and buried three time capsules under the floors of three new staff houses being built within the school grounds.

To celebrate the Olympics, Bedales Prep and Pre-prep Schools, Dunhurst and Dunannie, went Olympic crazy during their last two weeks of term. Dunhurst held their own “Little London” Olympic event, while Dunannie held three Olympic-themed days.

In the penultimate week of term, 67 pupils from Bedales Prep School, Dunhurst - comprising the entire block of Year 8 pupils - spent a day helping businesses across Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex as part of the school’s annual work shadowing day.

Throughout the school year, children at Bedales Pre-prep, Dunannie, have raised over £4,800 from various events for their two chosen charities: Petersfield based Hounds for Heroes and Big Brother Mouse, a child literacy charity based in Laos.

Five students from Bedales recently competed for the South East region at the Hampshire Schools Athletics Finals held at the Aldershot Military Stadium.

The playground at Bedales Prep school, Dunhurst, was transformed recently as students took to the stage for the annual Dunhurst Rock Show.

Over 50 students from Bedales recently competed in the annual South East Hampshire Athletics competition at the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth with many of the students who took part gaining personal bests in their athletic disciplines.

As part of their topic work, Children in War: The Home Front in World War II, Group 3 (Year 6) children from Dunhurst, Bedales Junior School, have been experiencing life during the War through various activities.

Bedales student Olivia Brett (16, from Rogate, West Sussex) has been selected for a prestigious School Leadership Award by national educational trust the Rank Foundation, which aims to ‘nurture leaders for the benefit of society’.

Pupils at Dunhurst, Bedales Junior School, have raised £1500 for the school’s Sam Banks’ charities: the Sam Banks Memorial Pavilion and the Sam Banks Memorial Fund, through a £10 business challenge.

Colourfully and cleverly masterminded by Fred Aspel in 6.2 (Upper Sixth) and entirely student-led, the Bedales Film Festival 2012, which is now in its 3rd year, was a great success.

Block 2 (Year 8) pupil, Emilie Jung, from Dunhurst, Bedales Junior School, has won the Sports Award in the Petersfield Business and Community Awards, and was also awarded Highly Commended for the Young Achiever of the Year.

Students from Bedales School enjoyed learning in new and stimulating environments over the Easter break. Historians visited Moscow and classicists visited Italy. Others learnt to dive, speak French in Nice, and write creatively in Devon.

Year 6 pupils from Thorngrove School visited Bedales School for a day of outdoor craft activities. The children tried blacksmithing, made homemade scones in the school's bakehouse, and rode around the school grounds on the resident horse and cart.

Over 100 musicians from Bedales performed at St Luke’s Church in Chelsea for the school’s annual end of term Spring Concert.

Dunannie, Bedales Pre-prep School, hosted an Art Exhibition last week in the school hall to raise money for good causes.

Dunhurst, Bedales Junior School, fought off the competition to win its annual U13 hockey tournament last Wednesday.

The U12 netball team from Dunhurst, Bedales Junior School, has finished an impressive sixth in the IAPS (Independent Association of Prep Schools) National Finals which were played at Roedean, West Sussex on 10 March.

Dunhurst, Bedales Junior school, recently hosted an ‘Are You Cleverer Than A .......?’ quiz which saw two teams of children test their knowledge against two parent teams, and emerge victorious!

Dunannie, Bedales Pre-prep School, is hosting an Art Exhibition on Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd March in the school hall to raise money for charity.

Bedales Sixth form students attended a ‘stretch and challenge’ economics symposium on 26 February to consider issues including international trade, psychology, capitalism and ethical marketing.

The annual Youth Dance Platform, established in 1998, was presented recently at the Bedales Olivier Theatre on the now traditional date of the weekend after the Spring half-term.

Year 2 pupils from Dunannie, Bedales Pre-prep school, have recently been studying the poles, visiting the Oates Collection and participating in an Arctic training day to enhance their understanding of the regions.

20 acts consisting of 73 Bedales students, from Blocks 3 (year 9) to 6.2 (upper sixth) performed 36 songs at their annual Rock Show to a sold out audience of students, friends, parents and teachers in the school’s Olivier Theatre.

Musicians from Bedales School performed what has become an annual lunch-time London concert of instrumental and vocal music at St Luke’s Church, Chelsea on 1 February.

120 pupils from Dunhurst, Bedales junior school, took to the stage of the Olivier Theatre at the end of January for three captivating performances of Oliver.

Actors are invited to audition for Shakespeare outdoor performances as part of the inaugural Petersfield Shakespeare Festival which will take place in July 2012.

16 year 7 pupils from London school Notting Hill Prep visited Bedales for a workshop on science at the start of the Spring term.

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Children from Dunannie, Bedales pre-preparatory school, have performed their annual Christmas nativity play to a packed audience of parents.

Pupils from Dunhurst, Bedales junior school, recently held their annual HOPiT Fair, raising over £2,000 for their chosen charities.

A 7-0 win for Bedales against More House capped the best season for the last decade for the Bedales first XI football team who have won 13 out of 15 fixtures.

In the last week of term, 60 Bedales students from Block 4 were involved in the production of Kander and Ebb's iconic musical Cabaret, performing to over 1,000 people in the school’s Olivier Theatre.

Bedales School recently entered its 20th year of drama exchange visits with Dubai College by once again hosting sixth form Theatre Studies students from the United Arab Emirates.

Bedales students have won the business plan prize for the south east as part of the Young Enterprise scheme’s.

Bedales sixth form students experienced the Geography field-trip of a life-time when they travelled to Sicily and climbed Mount Etna hours before the volcano erupted.

Pupils from Dunannie, Bedales pre-preparatory school, recently participated in a fun and interactive series of age appropriate life education programmes teaching the children the wonders of the human body and how to look after it.

Dunhurst, Bedales Junior School, hosted a six-a-side football competition for eight teams on Wednesday 23 November and emerged as event winners.

The Bedales girls’ U14 XI team had an amazing game against strong hockey school Portsmouth Grammar last week.

32 Bedales students in Year 10 stepped into the limelight on 1 December as the seven finalist teams for the first ever Bedales Youth and Philanthropy presentation evening with the winners receiving £3,000 for their chosen charity ‘Simon Says’.

Bedales School has partnered with The Petersfield School (TPS) to offer one outstanding student from TPS the opportunity to study at Bedales sixth form either boarding or day from September 2012.

A special harvest celebration organised at Bedales pre-prep school, Dunannie, featured a bounty of baskets created by pupils for the local community.

Bedales took a team of 12 runners to the Royal School cross country last Friday, netting fantastic results in the U15 section.

A team of runners from Bedales School will be embarking on the Great South Run Challenge on Sunday to raise funds for the Sam Banks Memorial Pavilion.

Bedales students spent a packed weekend of ambitious activities and volunteering including gardening, cleaning and painting for a local school and a charity project to celebrate the founding of their school.

The sun was shining on pupils from Dunhurst, Bedales Junior School, as they tackled the annual Butser Hill Challenge.