17th June 2020 — Over 60 boys pulled on their aprons, whipped out their wooden spoons and baked up a storm, producing an amazing range of cakes, cookies, tray bakes and other sweet treats to enter their school’s ‘Great Beacon Bake Off’. Following strict socially distancing guidelines, the boys then delivered their carefully baked treats to Beacon staff members waiting outside their school buildings.

The cakes were quickly whisked away to Wexham Park Ambulance Station, where they were sampled and ‘judged’ by a team of very willing Wexham Park Hospital paramedics. Following the tasting session, the cakes and baked treats were distributed to NHS frontline staff at Wycombe, Wexham Park and Amersham hospitals, as well as to a local Wexham care home, Oak House.

The Beacon was inspired to launch its Thank You Bake Off by the school’s Cooking & Nutrition teacher, Kim Rowland, who, together with her Seer Green community, has been preparing and delivering home-cooked meals throughout lockdown to Wexham Park and High Wycombe Ambulance Stations, as well as to Wexham Park and John Radcliffe Hospitals.

“The courage and heroism of our NHS staff during the last three months, as everyone knows, cannot be over emphasised, “ says Kim. “As the Beacon boys have whole-heartedly embraced their online cooking and baking lessons through lockdown, I felt The Great Beacon Bake Off would be the perfect opportunity for a bit of fun in the form of a competition but, most importantly, to say a massive heartfelt thank you to all our heroic NHS and care home staff.”

“I am so proud of all our Beacon bakers. The standard of baking and the effort that went into every bake was outstanding. What a great way to say thank you!”

So what was the final bake-off verdict from the discerning panel of paramedic judges? “It was an absolutely amazing effort, they were all incredible and it was very difficult to choose the winners,” said Andy Battye, Head of Paramedic Operations for East Berkshire and South Bucks. “From all of us to all the Beacon boys, a huge thank you.”

27th January 2020 — The Beacon School in Amersham was delighted to welcome author Lucy Hawking to speak to Beacon families and members of the local community this month through its partnership with the Chorleywood Bookshop.

She enthralled a packed audience as she talked about Unlocking the Universe, the last book she wrote with her father, Professor Stephen Hawking.

"It was so amazing," said Year 5 Beacon pupil Aaran. "I had started reading her book, so it was really inspiring to listen to her speak. I was especially blown away to learn gravity bends time as well as objects!"

13th November 2019 — Part of the hugely successful Chorleywood LitFest, which The Beacon proudly sponsors, the afternoon with Cressida Cowell was a complete sell-out. Avid young readers, clutching copies of Wizards of Once: Knock Three Times, Cressida’s third book in her new best-selling series, came to hear Cressida enthral them with stories of the inspiration behind her stories and incredible illustrations.

Cressida, who was appointed as the Children’s Laureate in July, seized the opportunity to encourage her young fans and their families to always read for pleasure. “Tell the adults in your life to read to you way beyond the age when you can read to yourself,” urges Cressida. “Just 10 minutes a day can make so much difference. If you’re reading a book with your parents and it makes your mum laugh or your dad cry, that sends an incredibly important message. Books have that power.”

One of Cressida’s biggest fans, Year 3 Beacon boy Eesa, enthused: “I have read six of the How to Train Your Dragon books, so it was really exciting to meet Cressida. She has inspired me to be an author.”

“Author visits are a great way of inspiring children to read,” agreed The Beacon's Librarian Katie Turrell. “However, Cressida’s visit seemed to work on so many levels as the adults in the room were as engaged and enthusiastic as their children.”

After her passionate and engaging talk, Cressida spent a long time with each child, signing their books, chatting to them about their own aspirations and having photos taken. It was an afternoon her young fans will remember for a long time.

16th October 2019 — Guests had the opportunity to explore the Pyramids of Giza, walk across the surface of the moon and even examine the sea floor whilst swimming alongside sharks thanks to immersive and interactive demonstrations provided by exhibitors NVOY Technologies, Lenovo, ClassVR and RingCentral.

The Beacon’s Headmaster, Will Phelps, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for school educators to get together and see how Virtual Reality can transform our pupils’ learning. Virtual Reality allows our children to engage in experiences not possible or practical in the ‘real world’. We are very excited about the potential opportunities for our boys when we introduce VR learning into our curriculum next year.”

The Beacon’s pupils also got their chance to experience this incredible next step in teaching and learning. “I’d never tried a VR Headset before,” said enthusiastic Year 4 pupil Michael. “It was so exciting! I felt I was in the middle of all the action – it would be amazing to use this in our lessons.”

10th October 2019 —

On Wednesday 9 October, modern-language teachers from over 40 schools gathered at The Beacon School in Buckinghamshire for an inaugural MFL conference. As the world continues to become increasingly connected through advancing technologies, it has become essential for our children to learn to confidently speak other languages if they wish to maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly global careers’ market.

Teachers from Senior and Prep schools across England came together to share their passion for teaching languages and to share best practices on how to engage their students with the subject. “The purpose of the conference was to develop closer links with MFL teachers across the region, and to get to know MFL staff at local schools to which we send our boys. The conference served this purpose well and also provided excellent MFL training and the sharing of expertise, thanks to some fantastic speakers," said Fiona Jones, Head of Modern foreign Languages at The Beacon.

The event was held in conjunction with the ISMLA (Independent Schools’ Modern Languages Association), which exists to provide a forum for modern-languages teachers in independent schools to meet, share idea and inform themselves, and to contribute to developments in modern-languages teaching.

The Beacon hopes to make the Modern Foreign Languages conference an annual event. MFL teachers interested in attending the 2020 conference (date to be confirmed) should email The Beacon Events Department (beaconevents@beaconschool.co.uk) to register their interest.

Marketing contact:

The Beacon – Pippa Pearson – ppearson@beaconschool.co.uk

26th September 2019 — The Beacon School in Amersham were celebrated for their strong ethos of kindness and focus on wellbeing and mental health at the IAPS National Conference for Head Teachers this week.

Their Headmaster, Will Phelps, whose key school rules are: ‘’Be Kind. Be Kind. Be Kind,’’ spoke in detail about the School’s Wellbeing Journals, which have replaced their traditional homework diaries.

The Wellbeing Journal is a diary-style planner in which a structured wellbeing programme is gradually introduced throughout the year and space is provided for weekly activities and reflection based on the school’s core values of Respect, Wellbeing, Achievement, Courage and Integrity.

Each week boys in their tutor groups discuss and take part in activities that reinforce the week’s theme. The recent theme of gratitude prompted the boys to write in their journal three things each day for which they were grateful. Examples ranged from being grateful for having central heating (following a boiler breakdown) to being grateful for the chance to see a beloved grandparent one last time before they passed away.

Other activities in the journal include practising mindfulness and recording the results of the experience, tracking how much time spent in physical activity for a week and comparing it with how much time spent in front of a screen, what it means to adopt a growth mindset and what the benefits are of both positive and negative emotions.

The journal is bookended at the beginning and end with a short wellbeing survey, so the boys can compare their scores at the start and end of the year to see if anything has changed as a result of the wellbeing activities.

“I firmly believe kindness can be taught and that schools need to embody a mindful intention to help children with the up and downs of normal life,” says The Beacon’s Headmaster, Will Phelps.