A fantastic day was had on Friday with pupils raising money for Malim's chosen charity the RNLI. With pupils all wearing red, white or blue to represent the colours of the RNLI flag, a variety of activities took place during break and lunch times to raise money for this great charity.
The Dame Bradbury's U11 team made the short journey to Saffron Walden Rugby club on Sunday to play their first match for a few weeks in preparation for the National finals in a few weeks time.
Students in Year 9 and 10, learning Mandarin Chinese, welcomed the Year of the Rooster with a variety of activities in class, including the opportunity to try out a Lion Dance.
Earlier this term the Year 8s had the chance to learn some German, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian, as well as to practise their Latin derivatives.
Our Key Stage 1 pupils were also off site last week to visit Stansted airport.
Kindergarten and Reception in the City had an experience at the Senior School last week and used the large hall to test out their aeroplanes.
The school has been alive with the sounds of chamber music for the last few days.
The children in Early Years went on their own hunt and an exciting tour of the Botanical Gardens to see how many different species of common birds they could spot in a morning.
On Monday 6th February Year 11 students studying Visual Arts and Product Design headed off on a trip to the Tate Galleries and London's new Design Museum.
On Friday (3rd February), students from Years 12 and 13 performed in Patrick Barlow's wonderful comedy adaptation of this nail-biting thriller.
Extreme courage and perseverance were remembered on Holocaust Memorial Day when Year 6, wearing their “suitcases” of special objects round their necks, attended the annual service at St Mary’s Church in Saffron Walden, where vivid memories were brought to life by Ann Chadwick, a Cambridge resident whose family took in a four- year-old German girl at the time of the Kindertransport in 1939.
Having spent some time learning in class about this traumatic period, including reading some extracts from Ann’s book, the children’s attention was held by the sensitive and thoughtful contributions from Ann and the other participants in the service. Ben, Zoe, Bluebell and Kitty were chosen to put their own questions to Ann in person and were pleased to receive a warm and personal reply from her.
It was a serious occasion which allowed the children both to reflect on the horrors of the War and also to be thankful for the life that they are privileged to lead.
Codes, ciphers, secrecy, intrigue, perseverance and collaboration are all words that spring to mind following Year 6’s day at Bletchley Park, in the company of their counterparts from the Junior School in Cambridge.
The pupils were informed and intrigued during their guided tour and, as always, were ready with their searching questions and quick answers. After a quick snack in “Hut One” it was off to the “classroom” and a chance to do some real code breaking of their own but only, of course, after they had all signed the Official Secrets Act!
The task involved firstly deciphering the Morse code and then translating the coded messages, before plotting the positions of the ships and submarines on the map, then finally trying to decide what the evasive action should be in the face of the enemy onslaught.
This was superbly realistic for the children and really brought home to them how vital the decoding of Enigma was to the outcome of the War. As ever there was not quite enough time to see everything, but a quick dip into the “Secrecy and Security” exhibition at the end of the visit cemented the link between the work that was carried out in such secrecy at Bletchley and the overt nature of the internet with which our pupils are so familiar today: and, above all, how easy it is for one small error to have catastrophic and far-reaching consequences. A fitting link with this week’s Safer Internet Day.
This week we sent our Germanists to "Les Joutes Oratoires" for the first ever German debates.
On Wednesday 1 February, we were joined by two enthusiastic young structural engineers, Helen Leung and Mike Kovacs, from the engineering firm Ramboll. They delivered a special activity for Year 6, under the auspices of our Junior Inspire programme.
Bletchley Park never disappoints and today lived up to its reputation as a location that successfully engages and educates. It was the scene of the first of two Dame B's and Junior School collaborative events.
The thrilling prequel to our last blog about the journey of the Stephen Perse teddy!
The role of the Stephen Perse Foundation during World War 2 was explored during an interesting talk for the History Society this week.
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