Friday 28 March 2025
Head’s Weekly Update
Welcome to the final newsletter of the Lent Term. This is always a busy term as we try to squeeze in as many events as possible into the shorter term. I do hope that you enjoy reading the newsletter, celebrating the triumphs and joy of the term and enjoy a lovely Easter break.
Campus 2030 announcement
Hopefully all parents have now had time to read the letter and the FAQs. Thank you for all of the positive feedback and we hope that you can see the depth of thought and planning that has gone, and continues to go into these changes. I am adamant that these changes establish the students at the heart of the College and provide a world-class education for our young people.
I enjoyed meeting the Lower Sixth students last week who will have an instrumental leadership role as the College transitions to the new model. I am looking forward to spending time with their parents in September, when they become the new Upper Sixth parents, as we begin their final year and these students take on their leadership positions.
College Wellbeing Day
This was a great chance for staff and students to wear a different hat and take time to reflect on the year and, we hope, will have generated some interesting conversations at home. Whilst wellbeing is a lot more than one afternoon off timetable, this event provides a moment of calm in a busy term and reminds us all about the wider choices and opportunities open to us.
Sporting success
Whilst sport provides many valuable life lessons, and is not about the winning, I have been deeply impressed with the performance of our sports teams over recent weeks. We have put in some great performances in rowing at the Head of the River and the Junior Sculling Head and have had our best performance ever as a College at Rosslyn Park for many years. The Girls football teams against St Mary’s Ascot played some great matches and the U15a have a 100% win record. I am hopeful that these performances will lift the spirits of athletes across the College and instil a sense of belief in them when they step out onto the field.
End of term farewell
As ever at the end of term, we wish farewell to members of staff. Rachel Braham is leaving Pangbourne to answer her calling working with disadvantaged and marginalised students facing multiple barriers to success. Rachel has been a wonderful teacher and AHOM and whilst she will be sorely missed, she leaves with our best wishes and hopes for the future. Today also marks Fran Wright's last day at Pangbourne College and we would like thank her for everything she has contributed during her time here. Since joining in early 2023, Fran has played a key role in navigating the College through a period of significant change, bringing expertise, dedication and resilience to her role. She will be greatly missed and we wish her all the very best for the future.
Term dates for 25/26
Term dates for the year ahead are now confirmed on the website. As many of you will have read in the FAQs (FAQ 49), recognising The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation's (Ofqual) drive to start national exams earlier in the Summer Term, College term dates have been reviewed to support the exam year groups to achieve the best possible outcomes. As a result, next year the Easter holidays will be three days shorter to provide additional teaching time in advance of exams starting and to enable the College to move the Lower Sixth exams to after the May half-term. Those three days have been reallocated to other holidays, ensuring the total number of holiday days remains consistent across the year, and this revised structure will give all of our students the very best chance of success.
Uniform
As ever, I am going to end the term with a reminder about uniform standards and expectations. We have seen some students start to flex the rules around hair and uniform. A reminder of our uniform standards can be found on our website using the link below and we will be carrying out a uniform inspection at the start of the summer term to ensure we start as we mean to go on. https://www.pangbourne.com/about-us/policies-handbooks
Have a good Easter break.
Best wishes
Oliver Knight
COLLEGE NEWS THIS WEEK
BOARDERS TRIP TO BRISTOL
Last weekend was the final boarders trip of term. Our boarders got to have a fun day trip to Bristol where they visited the largest escape room venue in Europe, ‘Locked In A Room’. They also got to eat until their hearts were content at Zaza Bazaar, a global food buffet.
NATIONAL READING CHAMPIONSHIPS
On Monday morning, a selected group of our Dunbar students got involved in the National Reading Championships Quiz which is aimed to put their reading knowledge to the test. Our students did a brilliant job, securing sixth place out of 25 teams. Well done to all the students involved.
PANGBOURNE WELLBEING DAY
On Thursday, we hosted our fourth College Wellbeing Day. It was another successful event in which students were made aware of the importance of looking after their mental wellbeing with many examples of positive strategies and ways in which they could better care for themselves. Each year group received an empowering talk from some exceptional external speakers including Patrick Foster, Satveer Nijjar and Old Pangbournian, Chris Singleton.
In the afternoon, different members of staff hosted a wide variety of wellbeing activities which pupils chose to participate in. These sessions included foot golf, Easter crafts, miniature model painting and boat building to name but a few. Pupils certainly enjoyed trying something new and wholesome!
However, the highlight of the day was certainly the Karaoke Congers which was the brainchild of our new Director of Music, Mr Gillthorpe, proving that communal singing is definitely good for your mental health. All in all, an amazing day which saw the Pangbourne community at its best!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Friday 28 March - Monday 31 March
DofE Silver and Gold Practice Expedition
Co-curricular
Friday 4 April - Monday 7 April
Year 9-13 Trip to Belgium/France
Academic
Thursday 24 April, All Day
”See what you can be” event at RAF Benson (For invited Year 8 & 9 girls only)
CCF
Thursday 24 April, 19:30
Law & Finance Networking Event
Academic
Friday 25 April, 13:30 - 14:30
Olivia Bailey MP Talk
Academic, Chapel
Saturday 26 April, 10:15 - 13:00
Spring Open Morning
Admissions
Monday 28 April, 18:30 - 20:30
Charlotte Drake Society
Pupil
Monday 28 April - Friday 2 May
Year 10 Exams
Academic, Pupil
Tuesday 29 April, 16:45 - 17:45
PSHCE: Year 7 Diversity Workshop (with Peer Mentors)
PSHCE
Friday 2 May, 19:00 - 22:30
St George Divisional Dinner
Boarding
NOTICES
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For the Summer Term, riding lessons with the Director of Riding, Stacey Donnison, at Bucklebury, have been re-calculated to include VAT. From April, the cost will be £35 per hour (incl 20% VAT).
Whilst this is a small increase, the low costs passed on by Bucklebury Equestrian have enabled us to keep the lesson charges significantly below market rates. If you have any questions about Equestrianism at Pangbourne, please contact sam.hewick@pangbourne.com
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With the recent buzz around Netflix’s Adolescence, there has been a lot of discussion about how we can best support young people in response to the themes explored in the series. The founder of the Wellbeing Hub, Alicia Drummond, has written an article exploring what we as parents and educators can learn from the series—and how we can better support our young people. As you are probably aware, Pangbourne subscribes to the Wellbeing Hub so it is available free for parents.
You can read the article on The Wellbeing hub here: Netflix's Adolescence: What can we as parents and educators learn from the series and how do we better support our young people? - Teentips Wellbeing Hub
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Please see here for more information regarding the Charity 100% Colour Run which will take place on Monday 28 April.
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As part of Pangbourne's adventure offering, we are running a 'High Altitude Trip' during Easter 2026, a week-long expedition to climb the highest mountain in North Africa, Mount Toubkal (4167m) in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. This is open to pupils in Year 10 and above (current Year 9 and above). The expedition is to enhance our adventure curriculum which seeks to "provide exposure to experiences and activities that will develop our young people into confident, responsible adults".
We will fly to Marrakech on Saturday 28 March, and guides will take us from there into the Atlas Mountains. The week will include an evening exploring the city of Marrakech, acclimatisation at above 2500m, an attempt at the summit of Mt Toubkal and, if time permits, the option of attempting the summits of the region's second and third highest peaks, both also above 4000m. Flight back to London on Saturday 4 April.
Total cost per pupil is £2150 including cost of flights and mountain guides through Jagged Globe. Pupil numbers are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
To express interest and for further details, please contact Fergus Yuille at fergus.yuille@pangbourne.com by the end of the Easter break.
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All staff can be contacted via email by using the following layout: firstname.surname@pangbourne.com
SIXTH FORM
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The skydive that was due to go ahead last Sunday unfortunately had to be postponed due to poor weather. However, it is being rescheduled for after the Easter break.
More information will be shared once dates are confirmed.
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This event will be taking place on Thursday 24 April at 19:30 for Sixth Form students to attend.
It is an excellent opportunity for pupils to network with professionals including a District Judge, an entertainment lawyer who represents A-List celebrities, criminal lawyers and financial advisers to ultra high net worth individuals.
Students can use this google form to sign up.
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Lower Sixth Trial Week will take place the week commencing 19 May 2025.
These trials are only 7 weeks away for the Lower Sixth so it is important that they use their Easter Break to consolidate their notes and plan their revision.
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Please find a Q&A factsheet regarding the next steps for UCAS here.
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All Lower Sixth students will be offered the opportunity to attend the University and Apprenticeship Fair at Oxford Brookes University on 18 June.
Along with this it is also worthwhile to attend some open days at universities of interest. A list of universities and dates can be seen here.
DIVISIONAL UPDATES
Divisional updates will be fortnightly. Next update on Friday 25 April.
SPORT
ROSSLYN PARK RUGBY 7s TOURNAMENT
Our 7s rugby squads had one of the best weeks at the annual National Rosslyn Park tournament that we have had in recent years. Our 1st VII won 2 out of 3 games and finished 2nd in their group, narrowly missing out on winning it. Our U16s did not lose a game and beat Seaford College who are a tier 1 rugby school, and RGS Worcester who again are a strong rugby playing school. Unfortunately, they drew their last game and went out of the tournament on points difference. Our U14s unfortunately drew the 'group of death' and faced 3 of the best sides of the country. They held their heads high throughout and gave it the best effort they could.
Our girls football teams had an excellent block fixture with St Mary's, Ascot. Our 1st team went down 3-1 but certainly felt like they had the upper hand in the majority of the fixture, but just could not convert the chances. The 2nd team lost 1-0 with the St Mary's goalkeeper saving a flurry of shots in the final minutes to prevent us from getting a goal back. The performance of the day was certainly the U15A team who won 2-1 and came back from 1-0 down to win the game. Laurel scored the outstanding goal of the game and the day to win it, curling the ball into the top corner from outside the box.
Performances are certainly improving across the school. The impact of the new timetable and specialised coaching is being felt. We are currently seeing over a 7% improvement in results from last year. And whilst this is one measure, it does not tell the full story and show the full level of progress made. I hope some of the other benefits are being seen: pupils enjoying their sport, better skilled performers, or a more consistent tactical approach.
SENIOR GIRLS’ FOOTBALL
In the last week, the two big events of the school head racing calendar have happened. On Tuesday the Schools Head in London took place, with over 300 crews racing the 4 mile distance from Chiswick to Putney, the reverse of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race course. All our crews finished in the top 20 of their events, the 1st VIII, who were fresh from competing in the Head of the River Race last Saturday, had a better row on Tuesday to finish 15th, the Girls Quad finishing 18th, the Mixed VIII finishing 5th, the J15 boys VIII finishing 10th and the J15 girls VIII finishing 4th.
On Wednesday we went to Dorney Lake for the National Sculling Head where nearly 600 crews raced over the course of the day. The girls senior quad rowed well to finish 15th, the girls J14 octo finished in a very pleasing 13th and the boys J14 quads finished 36th and 11th.
This sets us up nicely for a summer regatta season once the Easter training camps have taken place. The seniors and J15s are off to Ghent in Belgium where they will race at Ghent International Regatta, and the J14s will be training in Pangbourne in the final week of the holidays.
Finally, best of luck to Eve A, who heads up to Nottingham this weekend for the next stage of the Great Britain Rowing Trials. She is the first female Pangbourne student to have got to this stage of selection for nearly 15 years and has a great chance of racing for England or GB later in the summer.
ROWING
RIDING
Our riders enjoyed a very successful weekend. Emily was first to represent Pangbourne in the Eventers Challenge at Rectory Farm on Saturday 22 March and rode a beautiful clear round to take 5th place.
Lucy rode a lovely clear in the 80cm, finishing just outside the placings. Sophie and Connie also rode super rounds in the 90cm to take 4th and 5th respectively with Sophie earning her place at the Eventers Challenge Championships at Hickstead in May.
They both repeated these great performances in the 1m with Sophie placing 4th and Connie placing 7th- Sophie earning her 2nd qualification to the Eventers Challenge Championships.
Well done to the team!
