Friday 28 February 2025
Head’s Weekly Update
It has been another busy week at Pangbourne and I think the relaxation from the half-term has evaporated already. The big event this past week has been the Year 11 and Year 13 trial exams. I am looking forward to going through the results next week and planning the key actions we need to take to give our students the very best chance of success this summer.
It’s been a busy week for Admissions with a very successful ‘Discover Pangbourne’ event and visits to two prep schools, Lockers Park and Prince’s Mead and I’m delighted to see such a healthy admissions roll building for the coming years.
Thank you to all the parents who joined me for ‘Coffee with The Head’ this morning to discuss our support for our neurodiverse students and how we can harness their talents to push the College forwards. We are in the process of rescheduling the sports coffee morning - apologies once again for having to postpone this - and a new date will be circulated shortly.
Please can I ask you to remind your children about the importance of safety on the minibuses as there have been reports of children not wearing their seatbelts. Some students also don’t take their backpacks off and just ‘stretch’ the seatbelt around themselves and hold it, rather than clicking into the holder which is a safety violation.
Given the length of the newsletter this week; a sign of how busy this time of year always is, I will keep my welcome brief and I hope that you enjoy the newsletter below and all of the updates.
Looking ahead to College Sunday next weekend, 9 March. Please see more details below in the notices section. You can also find further information about the cyber attack from before Half Term, thank you for your support and vigilance.
In this newsletter you will find:
Dates for the Diary
College News This Week
Notices
Sport News
Best wishes
Oliver Knight
COLLEGE NEWS THIS WEEK
LEO ROBINSON (Y11) VICTORY IN VALENCIA
Year 11 student, Leo, has enjoyed an extremely successful start to the Formula 4 Winter Series, with race weekends in both Portugal and Spain before the Half Term break. In Portimão, Leo qualified in 3rd place for the three races and claimed two 2nd place finishes, racing against 37 other drivers.
In Valencia, Leo improved his qualifying position, gaining a front row start for all three races. He duly claimed two further 2nd places in the first 2 races of the Valencia weekend. Leo is currently 2nd in the overall Winter Series standings with further rounds to come at Circuit Aragon and Barcelona in the next two weekends.
Race Interview here. Race highlights here.
YEAR 7 PANGBOURNE PUDDING COMPETITION FINAL
Well done to everyone who got through to the final of the Year 7 Pangbourne Pudding Competition! Each student showed off their determination and perseverance throughout the challenge. A special mention goes to the runner up, Oscar, for his yam-bourne cake and huge congratulations to our winner, Alex, with his super chocolatey rowing cake.
YEAR 8 SNACK PRODUCT COMPETITION
Some incredible and creative snacks were produced at the final of our annual Year 8 Snack Product Competition.
Year 8 students worked hard to produce a tasty snack whilst also taking into account the cost of the product, its sponsorship, and also its packaging! The students snacks of choice ranged from cookies to fruit, however chocolate was a key ingredient in all of their creations. Congratulations to everyone who participated but especially to our runner up, Max with ‘Lundy Choc Crunch’ and to our overall winner, Charlie, with his ‘Yummy Chocolate Surprise’.
DUNBAR INTER-WATCH MUSIC COMPETITION
The annual Inter-Watch Music Competition took place on Thursday 27 February, with pupils from all four Watches delivering an enjoyable evening of performances.
The event began with Dunbar Choir singing a spirituals medley, before each Watch presented a group song and a solo performance. Aft started the competition with ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen, followed by soloist Jasper C, who performed ‘For You’ by Neel Dhorajiwala on the drums. Forward then took to the stage with Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’, with Kate B singing ‘Lose Control’ by Teddy Swims. Next, Starboard performed ‘I Gotta Feeling’ by The Black Eyed Peas, and soloist Oscar W played the ‘Star Wars’ main theme by John Williams on his guitar. Port rounded off the competition with ‘Party in the USA’ by Miley Cyrus, and Ruby H sang ‘Cups’ by Anna Kendrick. The evening concluded with the Dunbar Choir performing ‘Fly’ by Suzzie Vango.
Many thanks to Dr Rebecca Berkley from the University of Reading for adjudicating. Congratulations to Kate B, winner of the solo class, and to Port, whose group song was awarded first place.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sunday 2 March, 12:00 - 16:00
Boarders Trip to Newbury
Boarding
Tuesday 4 March, 16:00 - 16:50
GCSE French Play
Chapel
Tuesday 4 March, 17:00 - 20:00
Year 9 Parents’ & Guardians’ Meeting
Drake Hall
Thursday 6 March, 19:00
PPA / Nabugabo Fundraising Quiz Night
Mess Hall
Friday 7 March, All Day
Media Studies Harry Potter Trip
London
Saturday 7 March, 18:30 - 22:30
Boarders Cinema Trip
Boarding
Sunday 9 March, 09:00
Fifth College Sunday of the Academic Year 2024 - 2025 ( See here for all College Sunday dates)
Chapel/ Parade ground
Sunday 9 March, 13:30 - 16:00
Boarders Trip to Reading
Boarding
Monday 10 March, 18:30 - 20:00
Charlotte Drake Society
Old Library
Wednesday 12 March, 17:30 - 22:30
Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra at The Anvil - Music Exam Students and Scholars Trip
Music
Thursday 13 March, 08:30 - 17:30
DofE Silver Day Walk
Co-curricular
Friday 14 March, 16:45
Overnight Leave
Boarding
Friday 14 March, 16:45 - 20:00
Year 11 Parents’ and Guardians’ Meeting
Drake Hall
NOTICES
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We have now implemented all the recommended security improvements recommended by our IT partners. The current status can be found here. We would like to thank the entire Pangbourne community for their understanding and overwhelming support. This was, and is, much appreciated.
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4 March - 16:40 - Year 9 Parents' and Guardians' Meeting (focus on GCSE choices) - Drake Hall
13 March - Year 9 GCSE Options Submission Deadline
14 March - 16:40 - Year 11 Parents' and Guardians' Meeting - Drake Hall
18 March - Year 11 Sixth Form Options Submission Deadline
20 March - BTEC Results (January exams)
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On Tuesday 4 March we will be welcoming Onatti Productions Ltd to the College to perform a French play to our current Year 9 and above French students.
Onatti Productions Ltd are currently touring a French language production of “Prendre Sa Revanche”, a show aimed at pupils between the ages of 13 and 18 years. The play is performed by native French actors and the spoken French will be delivered slowly and clearly. The performance will last 45 minutes and will take place between 16:00-16:50 in Chapel.
The cost will be approximately £5 for each pupil and will be added to your bill upon receipt of the Google Form. Please can pupils attending wear school uniform or College games kit and be reminded that the usual school rules will apply upon attending the performance.
We believe this exciting opportunity to experience French through a medium other than traditional classroom teaching will be invaluable to all pupils studying French at Pangbourne College, and strongly advise that your son/daughter attend this enrichment opportunity as part of his/her French studies.
We would be grateful if you could complete and return the form above.
We look forward to an ‘out of the ordinary’ afternoon with the educational benefits that it will hold. -
To support the transition process for our pupils moving from Year 8 to Year 9 in September 2025, we would like to invite our current Year 8 families to join us at our forthcoming College Sunday on 9 March. This wonderful College community event is an opportunity to meet with other families and enjoy the impressive parade led by our pupils.
Following the parade, there will be a special presentation for Year 8 families at which senior members of staff will share valuable information on this important progression from Dunbar. There will also be an opportunity to ask any questions.
09:45 Arrival and parking at Dunbar
10:00 Meet and greet with refreshments in Dunbar. (For parents who are attending Chapel, the service will commence at 10:00)
10:45 Dr Hart to walk with Year 8 families to the Parade Ground.
11:00 Parade
11:30 Presentation for Year 8 families in Nancye Harding Recital Hall
12:00 Depart
We very much hope that you will be able to join us for this special morning. Please can you kindly complete this form to let us know if you are able to attend.
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A guideline to timings for this Sunday are as follows:
09:00 College Choir and Chamber Choir in their No.1s in Chapel
09:00 Year 9 to Upper Sixth in their Divisions (this is to allow time to change into No.1 uniform)
10:00 Chapel Service (all parents and guardians are welcome)
10:45 Service ends
11:15 Parade begins
12:00 Parade ends
For safety reasons there will be no access to the Parade Ground from 09:00.
Parking will be along the verges towards White’s Playing Field. Disabled parking will be available at the Café car park. Staff will be in place at the mini-roundabout to direct parents.
Refreshments will be served in Mess Hall from 10:45.
The Café will also be open for the purchase of refreshments from 09:00.
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The Wellbeing Hub homepage can be found here.
This month's webinar link can be found here: Be curious not judgmental: teens and drugs, what to know, when to worry and what to say with Prof. Adam Winstock, Director of Staying Safer - This takes place on Tuesday 18 March at 6:30pm (GMT).
Week commencing 3 March -Podcast: Vaping addiction with Zoe Shuttleworth, Director of It Happens EducationWeek commencing 10 March -Podcast: Strategies for tackling tricky issues: compulsive gaming, obsessive phone use, and anxiety with Anita Cleare, Director of Positive Parenting Project and Alicia Drummond, Therapist and Founder of The Wellbeing Hub
Tuesday 18 March - Webinar: Be curious not judgmental: teens and drugs, what to know, when to worry and what to say with Prof. Adam Winstock, Director of Staying Safer
Week commencing 24 March -Video: How to spot the signs of addiction by The Wellbeing Hub
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Pangbourne College has been contacted by Ollie, an Assistant Producer at Love Productions; the production company behind The Great British Bake Off, The Great British Sewing Bee, and The Great Pottery Throw Down.
Love Productions is delighted to announce that they have recently opened applications for the 11th series of Junior Bake Off; a Channel 4 programme that celebrates the culinary talent and ambition of the younger generation in Britain.
With this in mind, they are contacting schools to spread the word regarding this exciting opportunity for students.
Love Productions are looking for young budding bakers between 9-15 years old.
Interested bakers can apply online at - www.applyforjuniorbakeoff.co.uk
Filming would take place from July 2025, but applications close on Sunday 23rd March 2025.
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We are repeating last June's successful rock-climbing trip to the Welsh borders with a one-day rock-climbing trip on Saturday 21 June (please note that this is overnight leave weekend and is after external exams finish).
It's being run in conjunction with Life-Changing Activities and is open to all pupils in Year 9 and above. The cost for the day is expected to be £60 per pupil. Prior climbing experience is not essential.
Please contact Fergus Yuille for more details.
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The EV charging points in the car park by the Café are now operational. If you wish to charge your car please follow the instructions provided on the charging points.
These instructions will direct you to the 'Tap App' where they can create an account and begin charging your car.
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The date for the Year 11 celebration has been set as the afternoon of the Friday 23 May. It will finish in time for students to board their buses home as usual and will take place at school.
Further details to follow nearer the time.
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At Pangbourne we offer an online testing service from MyFutureChoice for pupils in Year 9. This is to help inform and guide them with their academic choices as they progress through the College. We aim to have the students that sign up complete the tests after half term so that they can make informed decisions on future subject choices.
This service was formerly known as ‘COA’, but has since been rebranded and relaunched on a more integrated online platform.
For further information on the complete suite of tests available from MyFutureChoice, please click here.
This service is subject to a licence fee for each pupil (£30.00 + VAT) and as such requires your permission to add to your child's end of term invoice.
I would be very grateful if you could complete it so that I know if you would like to opt-in or opt-out of this service. Here is a link to the Google Form.
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The Year 10 Exams will be in the second and third week of the Summer Term (w/c 28 April and 5 May). These exams will be followed by a Parents' and Guardians' meeting on 13 May.
Years 9 -11
SIXTH FORM
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A date for your diary - the next parents’ meeting will be on Tuesday 25 March. Sign up details will be shared nearer the time.
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Well done to all of our Upper Sixth students for completing their last set of trial exams before their final exams in the summer.
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19 Sixth Form students have signed up to do a skydive on Sunday 23 March to raise funds for ‘Bridge for Young People’, a charity that provides a home and support to young people (aged 16-25) who are leaving care or who are homeless. Our fundraising efforts will go towards furnishing one of the new flats at Wessex House in Newbury, which will be named 'Pangbourne'.
Please do support by donating via our JustGiving Page. If you are supporting one of the students jumping, please do name them in the comments.
DIVISIONAL UPDATES
Divisional updates will be fortnightly. Next update on Friday 7 March.
SPORT
Congratulations to the U16 7s squad got to the semi-finals of the Embley 7s on Thursday and narrowly missed out on the final. They performed really well and especially when considering that half the squad was made up from U15s as some had trial exams that could not be re-arranged. This tournament was really good prep for the upcoming All England 7s on Sunday 9 March.
Our U13 Hockey team showed tremendous growth and determination at the Berkshire Hockey Tournament, demonstrating resilience and teamwork against strong competition.
This week we were excited to welcome two new Football Coaches to our Pangbourne Sports Department, James Purdue and Frankie Rogan.
Both James and Frankie hold UEFA licences and are passionate about youth development with James having spent a decade at Brentford Football Club and more recently as Head of Performance at Al Fateh SC in Saudi Arabia. Frankie is also dedicated to making football enjoyable for all with experience at Clapham Rangers Football Club.
They have already been coaching both our Boys’ and Girls’ football teams and we are looking forward to seeing the students' progress.
