As we end the school year, there is a lot of excitement but also a lot of sadness as we say goodbye to our Year 2s.

Many of our children will have been with us since Little Pilgrims so their journey here will literally have started with their very first steps. We understand that little people start learning from birth, so we take every opportunity to nurture that inherent curiosity and creativity to provide the best possible educational start for each and every child in our care.

Throughout their time at Pilgrims, all of our children are constantly reminded of our values; kindness, curiosity and respect. As well as nurturing their interests and developing their ideas, we inspire them to open their minds to new opportunities and challenges. We also engage the children with the wider community to enhance their understanding of the world around them, so we hope this is something that they will take with them as they continue their educational journey.

At Pilgrims, we provide all our pupils with a safe and happy environment full of rich and challenging opportunities. We motivate each child to discover their full potential whilst recognising and supporting individual needs. We aim to stimulate the children’s curiosity, imagination and creativity encouraging them to be confident and independent thinkers, giving them the best possible start to their Harpur Trust journey.

On their final day with us, we invited all the Year 2 children and parents to join us to celebrate their children’s achievements during their time at Pilgrims. It was a great opportunity for the children to showcase what they have learned and say thank you and goodbye to teachers and pupils who are going to other schools.

The majority of our children progress from Year 2 into Year 3 at one of the other three Harpur Trust schools: Bedford School, Bedford Girls’ School, and Bedford Modern School.  Our aspiration as educators is to enable every child to flourish, whatever their destination. We continue to remain in touch with children and their families, particularly those with younger siblings still at Pilgrims and as the Harpur Trust Pre-Preparatory, we have particularly strong links with the junior schools. We love to watch with interest and delight as our children continue to achieve and we encourage children and parents to maintain a close relationship with everyone here at Pilgrims as they continue their journey.

Sport is a very important part of the curriculum at Pilgrims. One of our PE objectives is for our children to develop an understanding of trying their best which is taught through encouraging healthy competition, where appropriate. We want our pupils to enjoy sport so we teach them that having fun is not all about winning, it’s about taking part, and that’s the most important thing.

June is a very active month for our children as there are a range of sporting events on the calendar, including our annual sports day, which will be taking place on Friday 29 June. During the first few weeks of the summer term, each year group will be participating in special watersport events; an opportunity to show their parents how well they can swim! The month will end with the first week of our Healthy Heart fortnight where we will be teaching the children how to enjoy a healthy lifestyle through a range of sporting activities and food choices. It’s going to be all about forming good habits at an early age to encourage healthy living and a healthy heart.

Sports Day is another popular event in the sporting calendar, as it is something that all children (and parents) can take part in. Parents are invited to attend to support their children as they take part in a series of races to win points for their House. Children begin competing in races from the age of 2.  These are fun races, and the children do not feel they are competing against each other, instead they simply want to run as fast as they can, whilst hearing their parents cheer them on.  The same goes for the older children in main school, although the parent races can get a little more competitive!

Pilgrims’ children are familiar with the idea of competing through the school’s House Point system where each child is a member of a House colour and they are awarded coloured tokens when they display any of the school’s values: curiosity, kindness and respect.  The children learn that by winning something by themselves, they also contribute to their overall House team colour, thus promoting a strong teamwork ethic.

We believe it is also important for our pupils to engage in competition with pupils from other schools, which is why we regularly take part in inter-school activities. As part of their preparation for life after Pilgrims, our Year 2 children will be given the opportunity to take part in multi-sports at Bedford Modern School on Friday 8 June. This will enable them to become accustomed to the world of sport in a bigger school in advance, so that the experience isn’t too daunting when they start in September.  They also regularly take part in joint sporting events, such as tennis tournaments against older pupils in Bedford School and Bedford Girls’ School.  This year, our children came top!

Our aim is to make sure that our children continue their love of sport into the next stage of their school journey and beyond, into adult life.

From a Royal Wedding Party to Sports Day, here at Pilgrims, we have a lot planned for our pupils this term! Now that the sun is finally starting to shine, we are going to be making the most of the warmer weather by utilising our outdoor areas as part of our learning. We will also be encouraging children to walk to school, if possible, or to ride their bike/scooter.  We are located next to Bedford Park and have our very own access gate so it’s a perfect reason to leave the car at home and enjoy a stroll/ride/run through the park.

We begin the month of May with Wild Animal Week, where we will have a variety of animal-themed activities for the children to take part in, including a visit from ‘Chris’ Animal Encounters’ and an animal dress up day! Then, on Friday 18 May 2018, all pupils are cordially invited to our Royal Wedding Party to celebrate the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Saturday 19 May 2018. The party will be an event fit for a prince or princess and we have even organised a ‘Royal Raffle’ to choose three children to dress up as a Prince, Princess and a Master of Ceremonies for the day.  All funds raised will go to The Prince’s Trust charity.

June is all about sports at Pilgrims with a range of sporting events taking place throughout the month. Opportunities for experiencing sporting competition are provided through Sports Day, water sports, Healthy Heart week events, sporting festivals and through fixtures with other local schools.

During our Healthy Heart fortnight, we will be teaching pupils how to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. The catering team will introduce special menus throughout the week, tempting the children to try some healthier snacks and foods that they may not have tasted before.  It’s going to be all about forming good habits at an early age to encourage healthy living and a healthy heart.

Nature and the great outdoors play an integral part in a child’s education at Pilgrims, which is why gardening, growing vegetables and outdoor play will form a big part of our curriculum this term. We are keen to encourage our pupils to put down their screens and enjoy the great outdoors and we hope that by participating in Sports Day and other sporting events, alongside various activities during Healthy Heart fortnight, will show just how much fun you can have. Learning how to stay healthy doesn’t need to be boring!

Outside of school, there are also lots of exciting things going on in Bedford, including Bedford International Kite Festival, Bedford River Festival and the return of Bedford Proms in the Park, where you will be able to see our school choir perform for the fourth year in a row. The ‘Harpur Hotshots’ Dragon Boat team will be racing once again in this year’s River Festival on Sunday 15 July 2018, comprising of staff from the Harpur Trust office, Bedford School, Bedford Girls’ School, Bedford Modern and some of our very own staff members.  Make sure you come along and cheer them on!

Bedford Proms in the Park Is an event that we always look forward to here at Pilgrims and our wonderful choir will be taking to the stage once again this year, so it’s an event not to miss! It will be taking place on Sunday 5 August 2018 in Bedford Park and tickets can be purchased in advance or on the gate. For more information on what’s going on in Bedford this summer, click here: http://www.lovebedford.co.uk/events/.

With the clocks going forward last month and the slow change of the seasons upon us, we are definitely experiencing spring here at Pilgrims.  The buds on the trees are already producing blossom, the daffodils are in full bloom; our outdoor areas are beginning to look lush and green; and our wildlife pond is brimming with new life. Once our children are back at school after the Easter holidays, they will be exploring the pond for frog spawn, tadpoles and tiny baby frogs; newts; and all manner of exciting discoveries during their Forest School sessions.

The children will also be using their ‘green’ fingers to get stuck into the school garden, planting seeds and tending plants as they grow to maturity under their supervision.  Hence, the rows of Wellies neatly stacked outside the classrooms; an essential part of our school kit!

Each spring, the children are enthralled by the sight from inside our nesting boxes.  We have a blue tit who returns each year to raise a new family and we have two nest-box cameras set up so the children can watch as she lays her eggs.  They then watch in wonder as the eggs hatch and the baby birds take flight for the first time.

There’s lots you can look out for with your children at home at this time of year.  Spot the bumblebees hovering around the new flowers and the honeybees forging ahead to find the choicest nectar.  The butterflies that frequent your gardens are quite a sight to behold and discovering the names of Red Admirals, Speckled Wood, Brimstone, Comma and Peacock with your children is a real joy.  We try and encourage different species of butterflies at Pilgrims and it’s something that everyone can do by growing wildflowers as well as cultivated flowers in your gardens at home.

Pilgrims children will be following the seasons, as spring becomes summer, and our work, conversations, art displays and activities will reflect the abundance that the warmer weather brings.  If you want to catch a flavour of how we use our outdoor areas and encourage learning through play, then watch our video and join with us as we celebrate the great outdoors, whatever the weather!

The Harpur Trust has its origins in the endowment created by Sir William and Dame Alice Harpur in 1566.  Today, as part of its ongoing commitment to education, the Harpur Trust runs four independent schools in Bedford of which Pilgrims Pre Prep is the ‘youngest’.   If you are considering a Harpur Trust education for your child, we would like to invite you to our next Open Day on Saturday 17 March (10am to 12 noon) to discover just how early your child’s Harpur Trust journey can start and why.

At whatever age your child takes their first steps at Pilgrims, they will become immersed in our ethos and whole approach to learning.  The school was purpose-built in 2000 with children’s learning as its core focus.  From our beautiful outdoor spaces, with our forest school and wildlife garden/pond, to the inspiring art studio and open-plan library, not forgetting our swimming pool, sports hall and inviting dining room, we let our children be little, curious, inspired, and, of course, learn.

The majority of our children progress from Year 2 into Year 3 at one of the other three Harpur Trust schools: Bedford School, Bedford Girls School, and Bedford Modern School.  Each of these schools is academically selective and there is an entrance assessment which children take during the spring term of Year 2.  Pilgrims children are able to sit part of their assessment within the familiar surroundings of Pilgrims and their classroom.

Our website will, hopefully, give you an insight into Pilgrims and our videos will help you understand us a little bit more.  Our prospectus is packed with information and photographs which help to bring the school to life. However, this is not a substitute for coming to see us in person. If you miss this one, there’ll be another in the autumn term.

We look forward to meeting you and your family.

This year, Chinese New Year falls on Friday 16 February 2018.  The year will change from the Year of the Rooster, to the Year of the Dog, which according to tradition, represents luck.  There will be extravagant and wonderful celebrations in London’s China Town on Sunday 18 February 2018, which are now the largest outside Asia, featuring lion dancing, a colourful parade and the best in Chinese food.

Here at Pilgrims, we recognise how important it is for our children to understand and celebrate festivals from around the world as well as from the UK.  From Diwali and Christmas, to Chinese New Year and on to Easter, we embrace the food, clothes and dances of cultures from around the world as part of our creative curriculum.

The learning opportunities this provides are many, from the sights and smells of bright colours and tasty foods to the physical sensation of attempting a new dance or style of movement.  Each festival we celebrate gives us a tremendous sense of the world beyond us and also a huge sense of belonging to each other.

One of our core school values ‘curiosity’ really comes to life at festival time as the children find out about different cultures and traditions.  As our school community comes from a variety of rich backgrounds, the children often have fascinating items to share with their classmates about something that they do at home.  It’s this appetite for learning which we seek to inspire and build upon.

We now encourage our school community to use the half term holiday to enjoy two different festivals which occur in the same week; Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day is on Tuesday 13 February 2018, just a few days before Chinese New Year.  Sharing a meal together is one of the simple, yet important things we can do with our children and trying new foods and taking a moment to talk about why the family is eating something special, can be the springboard for all kinds of conversations and creativity.

January is always a time for reflection.  Adults often commit to new eating regimes, join a gym and all too often, by February, many of our good intentions have gone by the way side.  Here at Pilgrims, we take a balanced approach in the provision of healthy meals and snacks for all our children and also in the activities and exercise we provide across the curriculum.  With the emphasis on being healthy, it makes it very straightforward for our children to embrace this and we are always delighted that our parents join in with our ethos.  When both home and school play a shared role in shaping the habits and understanding of healthy living for our children in their daily lives, then we can be confident that those good habits and messages will endure.

One way we like to promote healthy living is by encouraging children to walk to school, or to ride their bike/scooter, wherever possible. We are suitably located next to Bedford Park and have our very own access gate so we like to encourage parents to leave the car at home and enjoy a stroll/ride/run through the park.

At school, our catering team is ever-resourceful in ensuring that the children have a balanced diet, whilst making it as delicious as possible.  All our food is prepared from scratch on site, each day, so the team can keep a close eye on what goes into it (or doesn’t!).  A few of the golden rules they apply are:

• All school meals are cooked without adding any extra salt; herbs and seasoning are added for flavouring instead
• For their morning snack the children have fruit and are also offered something else to choose from such as: cream crackers, cheese fingers, dried fruit, breadsticks, homemade carrot cake, flapjack or scones
• All cakes and tray bakes have had their recipe sugar intake quartered and yet they still taste delightful
• All our tomato sauces are cooked with carrots and courgettes added and blended in for extra goodness; the children don’t realise how nutritious the sauces are, just how delicious!
• All sausages, cod fillet fish fingers and chicken fillet nuggets are oven-baked rather than fried
• We use 50/50 wholemeal & white flour to make our bread
• All vegetables are freshly steamed to retain their goodness & nutrition
• We serve fresh, natural, unsweetened yoghurt, topped with a range of fruit purees so the children can create their own flavours
• Additionally, fresh fruit is available all day long; children can choose it for breakfast, snack time, lunchtime, at after school clubs or at Owls
• In the spirit of keeping the children interested in trying new flavours and introducing new superfoods, we have added goji berries into our flapjacks and chia seeds to our biscuits as hidden health boosters
• We have introduced popcorn as a morning snack; it is ‘popped’ in the kitchen with no added salt or sugar making it a healthy and nutritious snack

Our catering manager, Pam, is always keen to share her healthy recipes so that parents can have a go at recreating the children’s favourite, nutritious snacks at home:

Chocolate and beetroot cake

For 24 portions

250g pureed cooked beetroot

½ tsp vanilla essence

225g plain flour

300g castor sugar

250ml sunflower oil

3 eggs

1 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

6 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

Method

Combine all ingredients together with an electric whisk until it is well mixed.

Pour batter in a greased & lined baking tray. 9 x 13 in or similar.

Bake for about 25 mins on gas 4/ 180c until the sponge has risen and bounces back to touch.

Look out for additional recipes over the coming weeks – these will include some of the children’s favourites.

Christmas can be a very busy time of year for families as we go into ‘overdrive’ with preparation, present buying, present wrapping and general celebration. Christmas is so many other things though – it’s a time that brings warmth and joy, with seasonal traditions providing a familiar feeling of comfort and a sense of nostalgia.

We thought it would be fun to think about which traditions stimulate our senses:

• Sights – festive trees; the colours red, green and gold; tinsel; snow; ice rinks; Father Christmas; street lights; decorations; the first snowflakes as they fall from the sky, children out on Christmas Day with new bicycles, roller skates or scooters
• Sounds – carols; children’s excited giggles; Father Christmas crying “Ho Ho Ho”; sleigh bells, footsteps as you walk on newly fallen snow
• Touch – tickly tinsel; spiky holly; making snowballs; a hug from a relative or friend you don’t see very often
• Taste – Mince pies; pudding; brandy butter; cinnamon biscuits; chocolate truffles.
• Smells – Mulled wine; chestnuts; real log fires; turkey roasting, festive trees, candles,

We have our own traditions at Pilgrims which include a visit from Santa on a bicycle, our Fayre, Pilgrims’ ‘elves’ wrapping presents for the children, carol singing at The Pavilion in Bedford Park (accompanied by mince pies) and, of course, our nativity performances. We hope that parents will be able to attend all our school Christmas events, you can find event details on our calendar.

We’re looking forward to all of the above but which tradition are you most excited about? Join our social communities on Facebook and Twitter and let us know.

Who we are and where we are

At this time of year we are reflecting on our history, and how important our sense of community is to us. Pilgrims is Bedford-based and is proud of both its location and its heritage. We thought we would use this blog to talk about our links to Bedford and what they mean to us, how involved we are with our local community and what we love about where we are.

Harpur Trust – a charity with a local focus

Pilgrims is owned, managed and supported by The Harpur Trust which also incorporates Bedford School, Bedford Girls’ School and Bedford Modern School.

Even though the Harpur Trust is one of the largest charities in the UK, everything it does is for the Bedford area. The trust, founded by Sir William Harpur in 1566, provides and promotes education, offers help and relief to the sick or distressed while employing over 1,100 people in Bedford.

Pilgrims continues the Harpur Trust tradition of supporting local charities by nominating a different one each year to become our chosen school charity. This means that all monies raised through our many events, is given directly to our chosen charity. This year we are supporting Keech Hospice Care who are based in Sandy in Bedfordshire and who provide hospice care for adults and children with life-limiting and terminal illnesses. The school also raises funds for national charities such as World Down’s Syndrome Day and Children in Need.

Did you know about Bedfordshire Day?

Bedfordshire day is held every year on 28th November and is a day to celebrate all that is great about the county of Bedford including its history and its culture. You might be curious about the significance of 28th November and it was chosen because it is the anniversary of the birth of John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress.

The Friends of Bedfordshire Society organised Bedfordshire Day to invite anyone and everyone to take part however they’d like, even if it just means eating one of Bedfordshire’s famous clangers (as recently featured in The Great British Bake-Off!)

Famous Bedford-born people

• The late, great Ronnie Barker was born in Bedford in 1929
• Former Countdown hostess and I’m a Celebrity contestant Carol Vorderman was born in Bedford in 1960
• And of course, our very own Sir William Harpur was born in Bedford in about 1496. He was a merchant who become Lord Mayor of London and went on to establish the Harpur Trust.

Pilgrims School is very proud to have Bedford as its home. The children’s learning takes them on trips outside of school to local places of interest. At Christmas, the Year 2 children use St Paul’s Church for their Carol Concert and they also make decorations for our tree as part of the Christmas Tree Festival at St Peter’s Church. As we are located right next to Bedford Park, we also go on daily walks with the younger children from Little Pilgrims. They love feeding the ducks and singing songs as they journey around the park in their wooden wagons. Bedford Park also hosts an annual ‘Proms in the Park’ event each summer and our choir are proud to be invited to sing.

We believe that schools should sit at the heart of their local community and the Pilgrims ethos is all about engendering kindness and curiosity in our children. That’s why Bedford and our heritage, as the beginning of the Harpur Trust journey, are so central to our core values.