Dear <<Salutation>>

I hope that you have found that this week has gone as well as possible in the circumstances. Thank you once more for the incredibly positive feedback, especially that this has been a welcome return to routine (albeit not the sort of routine we are used to). Many thanks to you for supporting the boys in learning from home, and a huge well done to the boys for the way they have focused this week, and the calm and purposeful way they have continued to learn, in what is still a very unfamiliar circumstance. In fact, they and their teachers have done such a good job, that it almost seems like the new normal. That said, we are very much looking forward to the time we can see everyone again. We will continue to try to sustain this remote learning, and will survey boys and parents in the next few weeks to understand successes and areas to improve. 

This week the school has played a small part in an extraordinary story, being the venue for Captain Tom’s many thousands of birthday cards. Captain Tom’s incredible fundraising effort in order to raise money for the NHS charities has, for good reason, caught the imagination of the public. I spoke about my small part in this in one of this week’s Thought for The Day, the link for which can be found in the bulletin below. We are especially proud of his grandson, one of our own boys, Benjie, who will be speaking to the boys as part of my assembly on Monday. 

We normally have a photograph in the bulletin of something that the boys have been up to that week. It is more difficult for us to do so currently, so please do send in any really good photos of your son (preferably doing something related to school learning), ideally taking part in the Challenge 100. If you have a suitable photo, please forward to your son’s tutor, marked “for the bulletin”. 

Please read on for notices about forthcoming opportunities, reminders, news and events. 

Pre-season training - Rugby - August 2020
Information for pre-season rugby training for boys moving up to the Fourth Form can be found in Mr Hinkins’ letter here.

Prep School Sport - Summer Term 2020
A letter from Mr Phillips, Director of Sport, regarding ‘remote’ sporting activities being offered can be found here. 

Staff News
A few pieces of staff news for next year.

Firstly, congratulations to Mr Andrew Groom who has been given the job as Head of Prep School Music at Kimbolton. This is a great loss for us, but brilliant for him. Knowing what an exceptional job he has done here, I am not at all surprised that he has been given his own department to run. So a huge thank you to him for all he has done in his five years with us. There have been some stunning highlights and I will always be reminded of his amazing musicals, as there are framed copies of the posters outside my office. However, he has done so much more. He constantly “thinks” music, and has created so many fun opportunities for boys to be involved in music. He really is an inspirational teacher. I have no doubt he will still be in touch with us, as he will still be living around the corner, but I am sure you will join me in wishing him all the very best of luck in his first leadership role. We will be advertising for his replacement shortly (although we recognise that he will be a tough act to follow!).

In addition, Miss Fiona Brown will be moving back to Northern Ireland. Thank you to Fiona for her years of loyal service to the school. I would like to thank her, particularly, for the always kind and thoughtful way she conducts herself, and for the dedication she has shown to the boys in class, in extra-curricular provision and as a highly caring tutor. She will be hugely missed. I sincerely hope that we will be able to meet together before the end of term in order to be able to say a proper good-bye to all staff. Her role will be advertised shortly.

Congratulations, also to Mrs Eleanor Bell, who has been appointed to her first full-time teaching post, teaching English at Ousedale School in Olney, starting in September. I would like to take this opportunity of saying a huge thank you to her for all she has done. Not only has she run the Speech and Drama department so well, providing support for the peripatetic Speech and Drama staff and ensuring the boys are very well taught, she has also given a great deal extra to the school. She has directed Bunyan House drama for the last few years, supported others on lots of other plays, revitalised debating in the Prep School, and, most recently, she ran the excellent election hustings for the Prep School. She is also a very supportive member of the Common Room Committee. We are very grateful for all the time, energy, expertise and commitment she has given, and whilst I am sure you will agree that she will be much missed, I hope you will join me in saying well done on the new appointment.

Mrs Bell’s position as the Prep School Speech and Drama Co-ordinator will be taken over by Mrs Patsy Turton. Patsy is currently responsible for teaching Speech and Drama at St Andrews’ School and Rushmoor School, where she has an outstanding track record of preparing pupils for Lamda exams, and for the Bedfordshire Festival of Speech and Drama. She also is Artistic Director of her own performance company as well as a teacher of dance. She has a First Class BA (Hons) in Performing Arts, and an MA in Performing Arts: Creative Practice and Leadership. We very much look forward to her joining the school in September, but she also hopes to be in earlier (as soon as we are able to go back to school) to learn the ropes.

Speech & Drama
As you will have seen from Mr Hodgson’s email, there will be no Speech & Drama lessons whilst we are remote learning.

I hope the notes below will provide some clarification, but please let us know if you have any further queries:

• Whether or not we return to school before the end of the Summer Term, we will not put forward boys for Lamda this summer, as they will not have had the necessary preparation to allow them to perform at their best (and Lamda have suspended their exams at all centres). Instead, we will work towards Lamda exams in Summer 2021, and have individual discussions about whether to enter boys for the same grade (with the possibility of recycling current pieces) or the next grade, skipping the one they would have done this summer, addressing any shortfall in the Autumn Term.
• We will not charge for any lessons the boys have not had. This will be reflected in the bill you receive for next term (as Speech & Drama lessons are charged retrospectively).
• If we do go back to school before the end of the Summer Term (fingers firmly crossed), we will return to S&D teaching with a renewed focus on a different project, which is currently in the planning stage
• If your son is in Y8, you don’t have to give notice, as his Speech & Drama teaching will come to a natural end; in fact the usual process is that the Upper School Speech & Drama department gets in touch with you to see if you would like to continue lessons in the Upper School. This normally happens towards the end of the Summer Term, but considering the current situation, is likely to happen some time after we return to school.
• If your son was working, or is currently working, on a piece, I suggest that this is put on hold currently, and he may come back to it when normal teaching resumes. The Head of Speech and Drama, or your son’s Speech and Drama teacher will liaise with you once we return to normal.

Sewing for the NHS – Bedfordshire, Bucks & Milton Keynes
A parent has asked us to point to the opportunity to be involved in preparing PPE for the NHS. Please see the Facebook page (here) for the above group, with a list of area coordinators depending on where you live, and details of how to get involved. 

The Wind in the Willows
Work continues on editing the film which we hope to be able to release by half term; in the meantime some photos to whet your appetite can be found here.

PD Lessons Summer 2020
Please read Mr Loader’s, accessed by clicking here, which explains how PD lessons will run this term.

Bedford by the River
Many OBs talk about the old school song ‘Bedford by the River’ being a very strong memory of their time here at Bedford School, so we thought we would make a recording of an arrangement of the tune by the current Director of Music, Mr Sanders. We hope you enjoy it! Please click here to enjoy the recording.

Prep School Music Challenge
We are launching a weekly music challenge for boys to send in videos of themselves performing a piece they have been learning. The entries will be judged and winners selected each week. If you would like to take part, please see full details from Mrs Gedye and Mr Groom here.

2004unk Recording- First Track Finished for you to listen to, emailed by Andrew Groom but in case you missed it please listen here! 

Remote Learning and Enrichment
Mrs Christian has written a note with useful information for you on Remote Learning and Enrichment for the summer term, please access by clicking here.

Thought for the Day
To access the Thoughts for the Day for the week gone by, please click here.