Friday 3 October 2025
Head’s Weekly Update
Academic Rigour
We have now delivered the majority of our initial Wednesday Webinar sessions. The purpose of these sessions has been to outline the year ahead for each year group and set the tone for the academic work they will engage with. Part of our drive this year is to enhance the rigour of our classrooms and the demands of our curriculum. A grounding in the academic disciplines prevents our young people from drifting like flotsam and jetsam, tossed about by current events and fashionable opinions. It helps them develop the habits of critical enquiry and the ability to judge claims and debate positions. The ability to debate appears to have been lost from much of the current discourse and part of our job as educators is to welcome our students into the disciplinary conversation of humankind and to help them avoid dogma and misinformation.
At home, what we would love is for parents to engage with the Pangbourne Canon and encourage a wide range of reading and discussion. The Canon has been curated to take students on a journey through the human experience and to learn to see the world through multiple lenses.
Adventure
It has been great to welcome David Mathews as our new SSI (Staff School Instructor) for the CCF to build on the great work of Mr Radford. Mr Mathews is also our Head of Adventure, working with Mr Poynter to really bring this pillar of Pangbourne to life. The CCF is a core thread of our adventure programme and is one of the best tools we have for making our values tangible and ensuring our students are ready for life after Pangbourne. There is a significant body of research that supports the role of the CCF in developing notions of Service, Leadership and Resilience. I am excited to see the development of our cadet offer and the growth of the students through the unique experiences it provides.
Community
Thank you to all students and parents who helped out on our Open Morning. I am writing this in advance of the day so hopefully it all went to plan. We are expecting over 300 visitors onsite which is fantastic and testament to the high regard the College is held in.
Leadership
One of Mr Cheney’s big ticket items for this academic year is to review and enhance our student leadership programme. We want to really push this forwards and build on our longstanding history and ethos in this space. We are uniquely placed as a school to achieve this given our facilities and staffing. We want to provide a multitude of ways that older students can lead and take responsibility; from mentoring younger students through friendship issues through to understanding algebra to successfully completing the assault course. This will help them build strong habits they can take with them into adult life.
Best wishes,
Oliver Knight
Notices (Please click on the + sign to expand for full information)
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Just a reminder that our Whole School Open Morning is taking place tomorrow, Saturday 4 October 2025.
It is really important to have the support of our students at the Open Morning to showcase the breadth of what Pangbourne has to offer to prospective families. Those pupils whose help is required will have been advised what job they will be doing or which department their help is needed in.
Please note, students are required to arrive on site between 09:15 and 09:30 to avoid congestion with our visitors. There will be no access to the Parade ground after 09:30. The Open Morning will be running from 09:30 - 13:00.
Pick up is at 13:00 for any pupils not required to attend the sports training. If your child is involved in Rugby, Rowing or Hockey training then this will be taking place between 13:45 and 15:30. Lunch will be provided only to those pupils staying for sports training.
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There will be Rugby, Hockey, and Rowing training after Open Morning tomorrow which will run from 13:45 until 15:30. Those that are involved in Open Morning activities/touring will be given lunch before training.
Please see below for details about where each group will be getting changed:
All Senior Rugby players (Years 11-13) - Bigside Pavilion
Year 10 Rugby - Bowden Pavilion
Year 9 Rugby and Year 10 Rowing - Swimming Pool Right Hand Side
Senior Boys Rowing - Swimming Pool Left Hand Side
Senior Girls Hockey & Rowing - Far end Sports Hall
Years 9 & 10 Girls Hockey & Rowing - First left Sports Hall
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These coffee mornings will provide an opportunity to meet the Pastoral Divisional Leads as well as other parents in your child's Division and will take place from 09:15 - 10:30 on the first floor of East Building. Please park on parade ground.
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The College Choir, Choristers, Chief Cadets and Division Chiefs, along with a select representative of the Guard, will be representing the College at this national service in St Paul’s Cathedral, London on Wednesday 8 October.
The Pangbourne Choir will join with pupils from the Royal Hospital School to provide the music for the service, with the congregation consisting of representatives from every naval and nautical organisation in the UK. This year is Pangbourne's turn to choose and lead the music and so Mr Gillthorpe will be conducting the joint choirs. -
This webinar will be led by Mark Seccombe (Deputy Head Academic). We will outline the different systems we use to track academic performance of pupils and ensure progression at all stages of College life. This will cover baseline assessments (CAT4), progress tests, grade cards and our new system Pupil Progress.
This is taking place on Wednesday 8 October, 18:30-19:15.
Please follow the link here to join.
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The second College Service and Parade will be taking place on Sunday 12 October, please find information about the timing of the morning below:
08:30 Divisions open and pupils to arrive from this time
09:00 College Choir and Chamber Choir in Chapel
09:00 Refreshments available in the Mess Hall from 09:00 and also to be purchased in the Café between 09:00 – 10:45 and (but these must not be taken into Chapel please)
09:15 Pupils in Divisions for briefing with Division Chiefs
Please note:
Pupils should arrive at College already dressed in their No. 1 uniform.
Year 9 pupils will participate in this Parade which will be their first one of this academic year.
09:45 All pupils from Years 9 to Upper Sixth to be seated in Chapel
10:00 Service in Chapel - please be seated in good time
Pupils in Years 7 & 8 are welcome but not required to attend. All parents are very welcome to attend.
10:45 Service ends and refreshments available in Mess Hall
11:15 Parade begins
11:45-12:00: Parade ends
A polite reminder: please make sure that your child has eaten a good, filling breakfast before coming to the Service and Parade.
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Term will finish on Friday 12 December at 12:30 straight after the Carol Service. Buses will also depart at this earlier time.
Boarders will return on Monday 5 January 2026 from 19:00 and day pupils on Tuesday 6 January 2026 from 08:00.
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We are delighted to announce our Pangbourne Poetry Competition for October.
Entries must be submitted by 15 October
This is open to all students
Poems can be in any form: free verse, sonnet or Haiku are good places to start!
Poems must be:
On the theme of Adventure
Original
College appropriate
Poems can be:
Rhyming or free verse
Submit your entries to your English teacher or antoinette.keane@pangbourne.com
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This webinar will be led by Mark Seccombe (Deputy Head Academic). He will outline some suggested revision strategies and how you can support your child in their preparations for examinations. Although this will have a focus on Upper Sixth and Year 11 in preparation for their Trial exams, it is applicable to all year groups.
This webinar will be taking place on Wednesday 15 October, 18:30-19:15. The link to join the recording is here.
Year 7 - 8 (Dunbar)
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This will take place on Friday 17 October. Booking details will be in the newsletter next week.
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Year 11 pupils will be taking part in a Sixth Form Taster Day on Friday 10 October. This will take place within the normal College day and all pupils are expected to attend. The aim of the Taster Day is to give students the opportunity to experience a range of A Level or BTEC style subject lessons and to give students a real sense of what life is like in Sixth Form at Pangbourne.
Pupils were sent an email with a link to the form to indicate which subject lessons they would like to attend. The form needs to be completed by Monday 6 October at 10:00. Subjects will be allocated on a first come, first served basis so please do complete this as soon as possible.
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The timetable for Trials 1 has now been shared with Year 11. Please view the timetable here.
Students will be given further details about this on Monday. They will design and plan their revision timetables for half term onwards with their tutors over the next week. These will be shared with you electronically before half term.
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If you were unable to attend on Wednesday and would like to watch the welcome webinar, please use the link here. The passcode is 2w@+L&vU
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Year 11 will begin writing their Macbeth coursework in lessons on Monday. They will have 4 lessons to complete their essays in class, completing their first draft by Monday 13 October.
Please see information shared with students here.
Final drafts will be marked and Moderated by Thursday 11 December and leased to students on Google Classroom.
Year 9 - 11
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With five ‘school’ weeks until trials please do help us by supporting your son/daughter with their revision at home.
Please view the timetable here.
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If you were unable to attend on Wednesday and would like to watch the Welcome Webinar, please click here. The passcode is P4dEa0T*
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A reminder that the internal deadline for UCAS applications is Friday 7 November. Please see here for the UCAS Parent Guide 2026 Cycle.
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Please see here for an updated list of Open Days for Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth students to book and attend.
Sixth Form
Saturday 4 October, 09:30 - 13:00
Whole College Open Morning
Community
Tuesday 7 October, 09:15 - 10:30
Divisional Coffee Morning for Parents: Harbinger
Parents, 1st Floor East Building
Wednesday 8 October, 10:00 - 21:00
Annual National Service for Seafarers
St Paul’s Cathedral, Music
Wednesday 8 October, 13:00 - 17:00
OUTREACH: Prep School Hockey Tournament
Astro, Outreach
Wednesday 8 October, 18:30 - 19:15
’Webinar Wednesday’ - Academic Tracking
Academic, Parents
Thursday 9 October, 09:30 - 15:30
Year 6 Taster Day
Dunbar, Prospective Parents
Friday 10 October, 08:00 - 17:15
Sixth Form Taster Day
Sixth Form
Friday 10 October, 19:00 - 23:00
Dunbar Divisional Dinner for Parents
Goring & Streatley Golf Club
Sunday 12 October, 09:00 - 12:00
College Parade
Chapel & Parade Ground, Community
UPCOMING EVENTS
COLLEGE NEWS THIS WEEK
90th Annual Divisional Music Competition 2025
Last Thursday, 25 September, the College gathered in the Chapel for one of the most anticipated events of the year: the 90th Annual Divisional Music Competition. This special evening is always a highlight of the calendar, bringing the whole community together to celebrate music, Divisional spirit, and healthy competition. Our adjudicator, Mr Oliver Tarney (Assistant Director of Music at Tiffin School), enjoyed a vibrant programme that featured Division songs, solo singers, and solo instrumentalists.
Particular congratulations go to all the soloists for their courage and talent in performing before their peers, and to the Chiefs for leading their Divisions so confidently. It was a wonderfully entertaining evening of music and community, and our congratulations go to Hesperus for their overall win.
Results:
Solo Song: 1st Camilla C. (I), 2nd Tegan O. (He), 3rd Clara K. (H), 4th Immie G. (Ma)
Solo Instrumental: 1st Leo R., Piano (He), 2nd Maisie S., Harp (I), 3rd Vita P., Flute (Ma), 4th Isaac H., Piano (H)
Division Song: 1st Hesperus, 2nd Illawarra, 3rd Harbinger, 4th Macquarie
Overall: 1st Hesperus, 2nd Illawarra, 3rd Harbinger, 4th Macquarie
A recording of the event remains available on the College’s YouTube channel for families who wish to relive the performances.
Charlotte Drake and Andrew Simpson Society First Meetings of the Term
Both societies had a brilliant evening hearing from inspiring speakers from our very own Pangbourne Community. The Andrew Simpson society welcomed Harry Brightmore to speak all about his inspirational journey to becoming an Olympic champion. The Charlotte Drake Society welcomed current parents Caroline Skidmore, Brilly Knight and Pippa Aslet who all have careers in the medical field and spoke about their career pathways.
SPORT
Independent Schools Golf Association Matchplay Tournament
Well done to Rory, Alex and Finn, on their 3-0 victory over The Oratory on Wednesday in the Independent Schools Golf Association Matchplay Tournament. All three of them beat lower-handicap golfers in a scratch competition, with Finn winning 8&7. This is the first round Pangbourne has ever won in the main tournament. Onto Round 2 against Claires Court School next.
Berkshire Schools’ Hockey Tournament Success!
Well done to our U16 girls who finished runners up at the Berkshire County Tournament on Wednesday. They did not concede a single in-play goal and lost the final on penalties. This is the third year in a row we have either won or been runners up in this competition. They beat Bradfield and Wellington along the way and qualify for the Regional Tournament which will be played later this term.
Anna’s Fantastic Shooting Achievement
Anna (Year 9) has had a great 1st place result in an English skeet competition - she shot as a Colt (the under-16 age category) and scored 73 out of 100 to become the South East of England English Skeet Colt Champion.
Skeet is a clay-target shotgun discipline where competitors shoot at a set sequence of single and double targets launched from two fixed ‘houses’ (a high house and a low house) from a series of seven or eight stations around a semicircle; each round tests speed, accuracy and consistency. Competitive skeet uses standard 25-shot rounds (including doubles) and requires the shooter to break as many targets as possible. Well done Anna!
Sports Update Continued…
On Thursday our Rugby 1st XV won 38-14 away in the national bowl v Westonbirt and they progress to the next round.
Our Dunbar boys football A team have started the term really well scoring 20 goals in 3 games and are still unbeaten.
DIVISIONAL UPDATES
Divisional Coffee Mornings
All parents are warmly invited to attend a coffee morning for parents in your child’s Division on the following dates:
Harbinger - Tuesday 7 October
Hesperus - Tuesday 14 October
Illawarra - Thursday 16 October
Macquarie - Monday 13 October
These will provide an opportunity to meet the Pastoral Divisional Leads as well as other parents and will take place from 09:15 - 10:30.