The tyre trail, traversing wall, ball shoot and football pitch in Upper School. The adventure playground and play equipment garage in Lower School. In addition we have funded the outdoor classrooms, and the blinds, lighting and staging system in Upper School. The beautiful wildlife garden is funded by the PTA and 50:50 club, as is the Library. Every Smart board in school, bar two, has been funded by the PTA!

This is an amazing achievement and one which would not be possible without the support of all the families who donate money, time, energy and contacts in order to make all our events a success.

What are we raising money for now?

Inside Out Learning is the name of our current exciting project. We are funding an Outdoor Classroom in the current Reception playground area, for our youngest learners. Building work on this ambitious project took place over the Summer holidays 2009 and is now complete. We have provided a climbing tower, sandpit, play panels, musical chimes, new shed, new fencing, a rain and sun canopy, plus 'wetpour' safer surfacing.

It has been a major project with a budget of approximately £21,000. We have already raised £16,000 and the decision was taken to build the outdoor classroom last Summer in order that our 2009 Reception children could benefit from this wonderful new space. Fundraising will continue over the next year and we have lots of events planned which we hope you will support.

For further information on Inside Out Learning, the benefits of outdoor learning for Foundation Stage children and to view up to date progress photos, see the attached document below.

Is this something you could be involved in?

Help is currently needed baking for events - we are running low on parents who make buns, cookies or cakes! Contact us if we can add your name to our 'bun email list'!

At the AGM in September 2009 Victoria Lister was re-elected as Chair, with Fran Bryant and Debbie Mitchell re-elected as Joint Treasurers. Nicki Gant was re-elected as Joint Secretary and we are looking for someone else to join her. Although we may look well organised and have plenty of events lined up for this year, we really do need more help, input and advice. We'd especially like more parents from Reception and Year One to get involved and give us their ideas. So, do get in touch if you can help, or come along to any of our meetings. You are genuinely welcome! 

If the traditional image of meetings and cake baking isn’t your thing, then you’ll be pleased to hear that there are plenty of other ways you can support our fundraising. However, if you can come along to a few meetings, or throw an odd Victoria sponge in the oven, then that’s great too!

Each term we hold some kind of event. In recent years we’ve hosted a circus, magic show, ice rink and disco. For Mothers’ and Fathers’ Day, your children have the opportunity to choose and wrap their very own gift at school. Santa visits our Christmas Fayre and in July 2009 we held our second Scarecrow Hunt as part of the Summer Fayre.

Class Reps

In Lower School, each class has a PTA Rep. This is simply one (or two) parents who will let you know if we need help with anything, put together a list of parents' names and telephone numbers, sort nights out and organise cards and collections for teachers. You can also let them know your ideas, concerns and feedback on our events, so they can let us know at regular meetings. Upper School also have class reps, but as a greater number of parents return to work as children reach Upper School, and less come to the school gates, the role isn't quite so important.

When events are planned, our newsletters also let you know just how you can help. This can range from volunteering for half an hour on a stall and baking (or buying!) a plate of buns, to sending in a tombola prize or helping clear away tables and chairs once we have finished. We really do need the support of parents to run all the events, but it is all voluntary. If you can't help out, please don't feel pressurised!

Corporate Help

· Do you work for a company who offer matched giving for fundraising?

· Does your company give out one-off donations to community groups?

· Do they operate community schemes – going into a local area to help build/paint/demolish/develop?

· Does your company regularly upgrade computers? Perhaps we can make use of your ‘old’ computers around school or in our IT suite.

Maybe your company receives corporate gifts you can’t accept, or can provide a good raffle prize? This really does save us time and money, so please do let us know! In the past 12 months parents have sourced free biscuits, banners, ice cream, wrapping paper, flying lessons, family meals, a steam organ and eight whole turkeys for us! In addition we’ve had a van donated for an afternoon and Mums who have delivered letters around the village.

Recent Events

Pyjama Party & Upper School Disco - Thursday 11 February

Lower School enjoyed a pyjama themed disco to celebrate the beginning of the half term holidays, while Upper School came dressed in their finest party clothes. Everyone had a great time - especially enjoying Mr Shuffles' foam machine - and we raised £400! Special thanks to Mrs Jefferson and Miss Harrison who helped out at the first party.

Cinderella Pantomime - Friday 8 January

We raised £300 at our very first Pantomime, run by the professional acting company Fame Factory Spotlight. The children were brilliant and audience participation was very noisy!

Christmas Fayre - Saturday 28 November

This year our Fayre raised a staggering £1,900! Thank you so much to the 70 plus parents and teaching staff who all volunteered their help on the day to make the event such a great success. The Fayre raises such a brilliant amount of money for the school, but it is also a day very much loved by the children, who had great fun icing gingerbread decorations with Mrs Claus, raiding the cake stall, popping balloons, visiting Santa in his Grotto and playing all the games on offer.

Christmas Shopping Evening - Thursday 12 November

Thank you to all parents, staff and friends who came along to support the shopping evening. It was a fantastic success, raising £600! Thank you also to Asda, who provided a selection of their Extra Special wines for a very popular wine tasting!

Pumpkin Party and Spooktacular Disco - Monday 19 October

Upper School Hall was transformed into a spooky disco palace for our Autumn discos and the children had a great time dancing, buying buns, bats and getting creepy tattoos. Thank you to every parent who joined in to organise this event - from decorating the hall, signing in children, organising hot dogs or selling buns. The event raised a record breaking £495! Special thanks also to Mrs Lamb, Miss Thubron, Miss Harrison and Mr Donnelly who all gave up their free time to help look after the very youngest children.

The Great American Scarecrow Hunt and Summer Fayre - Saturday 4 July

We couldn't have hoped for better weather for this year's event and the school field was packed with families enjoying panning for gold, the 'Marine' style assault course, bouncy castles and surf simulator. The barbeque was so popular we had to send out for more burgers and the fudge cake and candyfloss sold out in record time!  The school children had worked incredibly hard learning routines and entertained us throughout the afternoon with Maypole Dancing, Strictly Come Dancing, Cheerleading and Gymnastics.  

The Great American Scarecrow Hunt was also a huge success and the village was full all day with children waving US  flags and families hunting down the 52 scarecrows and models on display. Thank you to everyone who either made, displayed or sponsored a scarecrow. They all looked amazing and of course the Hunt will be back next year with a new theme! Clink on the link at the bottom of the page to view a slideshow of all our scarecrows.

A huge thank you to everyone who donated tombola prizes or cakes. To all the BPS teachers and parents who volunteered their time on the day to serve food and drinks, sell tickets, make balloon models, organise games, put up gazebos or sweep up - THANK YOU!! Without your help, the day wouldn't have been possible and you made it a great success! We raised almost £2400!!!

Sponsored Triathlon - Friday 5 June

The sun was finally shining for our postponed Triathlon! Congratulations to every child who took part in this gruelling event, which involved running, space hopping and skipping around the school field. The Triathlon was organised by Sally Rushworth and was a huge success. Every child who took part got a special medal. See photos on the Latest News pages. The next challange will be collecting in sponsorship money to see how much was raised....!!