Latest News

• Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award Camp

After a practice expedition hampered by heavy rain and another practice walk in scorching sunshine, it was a toss-up as to what we would end up with on our Assessed expedition last weekend. As it turned out, the first day was not too bad at all and when we arrived at our starting point in the New Forest the 13 boys were eager to get going. They had a quick meeting with their assessor, Neil, and then set off to march to the camp site at Fritham.

The boys were in 2 groups and looked resplendent in their customised Sherfield DofE polo shirts. They kept up a sensible pace, arriving at their check points on time, and walked into the campsite just a few minutes ahead of schedule. They then proceeded to set up their tents and cook their evening meals, as required, and had a short de-brief with Neil before embarking on some interesting filming – all part of the aim of their expedition.

Unfortunately, the rain came during the night and by morning everything was about as wet as it could be. Undaunted, the boys packed up all their kit and tents, had breakfast and set off to complete the second day of the expedition.

Once again, in really poor conditions, they showed great focus and determination, so much so that Neil allowed them to complete the day as quickly as possible. The outcome was success for all the boys, which was well earned in such trying circumstances.

With the expedition section now out of the way, they now just have to complete their other 3 sections in order to achieve the Bronze Award.

Well done, boys!

S Warringer and Z Neville

• Dance Challenge Day  

On Sunday 20th May Sherfield hosted a Dance Challenge Day as part of our Gifted & Talentedprogramme.  Pupils from Years 4 – 8 from Sherfield and other local schools participated in a workshop run by ‘West End in Schools’.  The children took part in a dance workout and then worked on a number from the musical ‘Mamma Mia’, which was performed to parents at the end of the Challenge Day.  They also participated in a Q & A session with the visiting choreographer, who had a lot of experience of working as a dancer in major roles in a range of West End musicals.  This gave the pupils a valuable insight into the life of a professional dancer.  The day was great fun and was enjoyed by all who participated.  The visiting choreographer was very impressed by the pupils’ high standards.

Ballet lessons have also continued to flourish at school, with pupils in Year 2 & 4 gaining Merits and Distinctions in their Primary and Grade One RAD Ballet exams.  Congratulations to all those pupils.

Primary Fairtrade Walk  

On Friday 9^th March the Primary pupils at Sherfield School took on the challenge of walking 4 kilometres to raise money for the Fairtrade Foundation.

This particular distance was chosen because it represented the same distance that many children in poor parts of Africa have to walk every day simply to get fresh water.

 The first lap was conducted at a gentle pace with the Year 6 pupils assisting the little children by leading them by the hand around the course. The second lap was completed with slightly more haste. Mr Steve Warriner, a year six class teacher who organised the event said “The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the walk and seem keen to do it all again another time! We are all really proud of them and the amount which the school has raised”. 

The Fairtrade Foundation is working right now to bring a fair price, sustainable livelihoods and improved standards of living to producers in the developing world.

On Thursday 19^th April, Jill Gibson, Chair of the Basingstoke and Deane Fairtrade Foundation visited the Primary Assembly to receive a donation of the amazing sum of £2,309. 

• Sherfield School Vocalist reaches final of Young Musician of the Year 

One of our year ten pupils recently reached the final of the Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland Young Musician of the Year.  The event attracts top young performers from around the Great Britain and Ireland and the final was held on Friday 13^th April in Bournemouth.  There were eight performers in each of the vocalist and instrumentalist categories.

Sofia Allender had successfully progressed through the club, district and regional rounds to reach the final.  She had won the vocalists’ regional round which was held in March.  Our Head of Music, Ilana Bennett, said that “Sofia had performed exceedingly well to reach the final.  This is an event which is contested around the country and to be placed in the top eight for her vocal performance is incredible”.

There were three other pupils who represented Sherfield and performed well in the instrumentalist category.

• Service Above Self Awards

On Thursday 12^th April Basingstoke Deane Rotary hosted the first ‘Service Above Self Awards’.  As the Chair of the New Generations Committee, our Executive Principal, Professor Pat Preedy was responsible for organising and hosting the event with a lot of help from fellow Rotarians, Rotary Connecting Partners, colleagues, friends and family.