Baker’s Beacon Blog – Week 26

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to Summer Term at The Beacon.  Lots of revision for Patrick and Joseph over the holiday  – some independently motivated, some (most) encouraged (coerced) from me, but a body of work has been completed and the Baker boys are ready to go once their respective GCSE and A Level exams start in a few weeks.  Good luck to them and to all of our boys’ brothers and sisters going through the same thing this year.

All manner of fun and games and announcements this term; it’s going to be a memorable one for all the right reasons.  And how better to start off the new term than with a massive party in the form of the Spring Ball a week today.  The enjoyment of each other’s company, with what is easily the most fun and glamorous parent body in Buckinghamshire, is the primary aim of the evening but we are also taking the opportunity to raise money for the refurbishment of Mrs Kim Rowland and the boys’ much loved Cooking and Nutrition Room.  When I grew up in Amersham, The Beacon was always known as an extension of Amersham and Chiltern Rugby Club; a school with a well defined competitive spirit and the very strongest of sporting ethos.  That is still very much the case of course, but what I have found in my time here is that we balance that with as much, if not more, focus on the performing and creative arts. Participation in sports has real currency here, but so too has being on stage or in the preparation of one’s ‘signature dish’ in Cooking and Nutrition.  The current facility was converted from a Science Lab in 2012 by the Beacon Parents’ Society and it is absolutely appropriate that 12 years later, the BPS look to develop and further improve the aspiration of their predecessors for the benefit of current and future Beacon boys.  As you can see from the ‘before’ and ‘after’ images below, the new orientation, height adjustable equipment and practical surfaces brings yet more potential to what all the boys can produce in this area of the school.

It is expensive though, and the BPS needs your support if we are to realise our collective ambition.  A donation of £250 or more gets a place on the ‘Benefactors’ Board’ which will be proudly placed in the new room.  In addition, I will be auctioning off ‘naming rights’ for the six cooking ‘stations’ and ‘Kim’s Desk’ at next week’s Ball.  These will be named and referred to as such in all of Kim’s lessons going forward and a fitting legacy for any Beacon boy, particularly those passionate about their cooking.  I look forward to running that auction in a week’s time but if you would like to become a benefactor, please follow this link which takes you to the fundraising website for our ‘Beacon to Paris’ bike ride this June.  Kim, Mr Walker, Mr Stansfield, 15 parents and I are cycling 200 miles in two days, leaving with the cheers and encouragement of Beacon boys in our ears from Assembly on Friday 14 June to raise money for the Cooking and Nutrition Room and the Headmaster’s Bursary Fund.  We’ve been training hard over Easter and we will be proud to wear our specially designed Beacon Lycra for the event.  One of my colleagues predicted that I will get no further than Costa on Amersham High Street…but I will be sure to prove him wrong…

Have a good weekend,

Nick Baker

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