West Berkshire D-Day commemorations

Round & About

West Berkshire

West Berkshire is honouring the vital contribution made by the area to the ‘turning point of WWII’

A convoy of approximately 80 classic military vehicles will take to the roads on Saturday, 29th June in ‘a salute to the fallen’.

Organised by Hungerford Town Council, the convoy is part of a two-day event to commemorate, inform and celebrate the vital contribution the area made in the build-up to, and launch of, the largest invasion in history and the subsequent turning point in WWII.

The convoy will depart Basingstoke at 10am on 29th June and will drive through the town to Kingsclere, and onto the Greenham Common where the convoy will pause for a small stop.

After departing Greenham Common, the convoy will drive through the centre of Newbury and into the A4 towards Hungerford.

The convoy will drive though the High Street which will be decorated with union flags and onto the show site at Triangle Field.

The weekend of commemoration will feature a full programme of activities and events including parades, a display, history talks and the unveiling of a D-Day commemorative stone on Hungerford Common.

The convoy team are also organising additional attractions which will be announced before 29th June, including a unique one-off special commemoration which is not to be missed.

Join this unique event to mark the 80th anniversary and raise funds for the Royal British Legion Riders Branch Poppy Appeal and local charities. It coincides with Armed Forces Day on 29th June.

Information and image source: Commemorative Convoys

Springing into life

Round & About

West Berkshire

Artist & tutor Helen Grimbleby takes much of her inspiration from nature for her artwork from her studio in West Berkshire

Like buses, you wait for ages and then Easter and May bring bank holidays a plenty!

Whilst many bank holidays are centuries old workers’ holidays, May Day Bank Holiday was a late comer in the 1970s. Even so, May celebrations have a long history and are entwined with changes we can witness in nature.

Our distant ancestors lived necessarily in close rhythm with the seasons. The month of May for the Romans brought a festival for Flora, the goddess of flowers, fertility and spring. For the Celts this was the time for summer pastures to open. For Pagans, celebrations were about fertility and new life.

Birds carry this heritage too and sing of new life. The musical dawn chorus peaks around now.

In spring, birds’ hormones change to enlarge the parts of their brains responsible for song. Bird song functions as a declaration of territory and to attract a mate. When the air is cooler in the morning, birdsong carries much further allowing males to broadcast to more females.

Only around 50% of our birds are resident here all year with spring and autumn migration bringing variety which changes according to the time of year. When some birds leave our shores, others return.

Spring migrators have been in decline but if we’re lucky we may still hear the sound of a tuneful cuckoo or the false cuckoo, the unassuming looking blackcap who visited my bird feeder recently.

Swallows and swifts fly elegantly, weaving intricate patterns in the air as they search for insects on the wing. Despite a long migration from Africa, their streamlined bodies are perfectly shaped to execute their aerial manoeuvres which continue until they leave us again in the autumn.

At the this of avian courtship and union, nature braids fine veils for spring brides and white blankets for newborns, dressing her hedgerows in Queen Anne’s Lace, hawthorn blossom and oxeye daisies.

Helen Grimbleby is a West Berks/North Hants based artist who is inspired by the natural world’s changing seasons. After exploring outside, she enjoys writing, illustrating and painting larger landscapes at her home studio (@helengrimblebyart).

Why choose an independent education?

Round & About

West Berkshire

Samantha Greenwood, Senior Deputy Head at Pangbourne College in Berkshire explains why choosing a fee-paying education could be right for your child

Each year, around 50% of our Year 7 pupils join us from state schools. So why do so many parents choose a fee-paying school for their child’s senior education?

Help with the juggle

To begin with, there are many practical benefits for busy working families who are juggling school runs with meal times, then transporting their children to the next music lesson/sports club/DofE session. Independent schools generally offer a longer day which is filled with a range of co-curricular activities, alongside academic learning. Boarding schools with day pupils will offer even longer days with the option of having all meals provided and the opportunity to stay overnight on an occasional basis.

Broadening minds

It’s generally acknowledged that independent schools offer a far greater range of non-academic activities than state secondary schools. At Pangbourne there are countless opportunities to try things such as rowing, horse riding, clay pigeon shooting and yoga to name a few. There are also opportunities to visit lots of interesting places from the V&A Museum in London to the Nabugabo Learning Centre in Uganda.

Support and stretch

If your child has a particular interest in areas such as sport, music, drama or art, they are far more likely to find the support and stretch they need to reach their full potential in an independent school. It can be challenging for state schools to find the staff or resources needed to nurture such talent, and so it’s down to the parents to seek support from outside of the school to make sure that such talent doesn’t go to waste.

Reaching full academic potential

Most importantly for some parents, an independent education is more likely to lead to better academic results than their child would achieve in a state school environment. Class sizes are usually much smaller, which means that children receive closer attention from teachers. For those children who have the potential to achieve top grades, they are more likely to receive the support they need in an independent school. For others who find that academic achievement does not come so easily, an independent school is more likely to identify where they need support and have the resources available to ensure that they achieve the best they possibly can.

Life beyond school

With a combination of academic results and opportunities to pursue lots of different interests, independently educated children are better able to develop the ‘soft skills’ such as confidence, resilience, adaptability, teamwork and leadership, which will put them in good stead for life after school.

In addition, independent schools tend to have a strong alumni network which they can call upon to offer support and guidance for pupils making career choices and deciding on their next steps. There are often opportunities to build up networks and connections which can be invaluable when building up a career.

Community

Which leads me to another key benefit of an independent education for parents… There are usually plenty of opportunities to get to know other families and to become part of a school community. Strong social ties are built up over the 5-7 years that your child is at school, and these are valued by parents and teachers alike. At Pangbourne, our parents’ association organises a number of social events such as dog walks, an annual Ball and the Christmas Market, and our boarding house structure offers more opportunities for families to come together at dinners, BBQs and at our College Sundays.

At the end of the day, independent education is a significant investment into your child’s future. The key is to identify the school which is the right fit for your child and your family. If you can find a school which offers all of these benefits, it will be a very good investment indeed.

Samantha Greenwood, Senior Deputy Head, Pangbourne College

Pangbourne College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day schools for pupils aged 11-18 in West Berkshire.

We are a community where you can flourish. Providing a challenging academic curriculum, we also offer plenty of co-curricular opportunities for sport, art, music, drama and adventurous training, so that each individual fulfils their potential and develops confidence, values and skills to make a positive difference to the world.