Dunhurst end of term celebrations
Pupils at Bedales Prep, Dunhurst closed the academic year in style with a series of events celebrating achievements in music, drama and sport, as they bade farewell to Block 2 (Year 8) pupils moving on to senior school in September.
The penultimate week of term saw the return of the Dunhurst Rock Show. Described as an “extended musical extravaganza”, pupils from the Groups (Years 4-6) and Blocks (Years 7-8) gave two performances in the Olivier Theatre, which were attended by parents and livestreamed to enable family and friends to share in their achievement at home. Watch the livestream of the Groups performance here, and the Blocks performance here.
The school also hosted their first live drama production since January 2020 when Block 2 (Year 8) pupils gave a ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ open air performance of Mary Poppins in the outdoor theatre on Cobbs Field. A version of the production was also recorded to enable everyone to enjoy the production – watch it here.
Although the full Dunhurst Parents’ Day could not go ahead as planned this year, many of the school’s summer traditions were able to be reinstated to the delight of pupils. Among them was the Dunhurst Dash, which saw children from all year groups have fun navigating the giant obstacle course set up on the Dunhurst pitches.
Sports Day also returned this year, with the Groups and Blocks competing in their respective Houses on separate days to enable parents to attend. With school records broken and personal bests achieved, results from both days were combined to determine an overall winner. The winning House was Stoner, with 610 points. In second place was Wheatham, with 588 points; third, Butser, with 528 points; and fourth, Wardown, with 520 points.
Elsewhere in sport, Dunhurst pupils Tommy Hornsby (Block 1 (Year 7)) and Hari Walton (Block 2 (Year 8)) represented the prep school at the finals of the intra-school tennis tournaments at Bedales Senior. The pair were the winners of the Boys’ Doubles, with Hari going on to win not only the Junior Boys’ Singles, but also the Senior Boys’ Singles in a closely fought final against 6.1 (Year 12) Bedales student Tobias Bonham Carter.
The end of the academic year also signalled the end of Block 2 (Year 8) pupils’ time at Dunhurst. The vast majority are preparing to move on to Bedales Senior in the Autumn Term, with scholarships awarded to a number of Dunhurst pupils: Arthur Dove and Dexter Mellon (Academic); Wulfie Smith-Pink and Ella Foster-Hill (Art); and Hari Walton (Music). To mark their departure from Dunhurst, Block 2 pupils were treated to a Circus Skills Workshop, a water fight on the Dunhurst pitches, and a Leavers’ Dinner and Disco. As a token of their appreciation to the school, the pupils and their families presented the school with an outdoor football table which they hope will provide enjoyment for many years to come.
On the final day of term, pupils and staff came together for a clap of appreciation. A concept introduced at Dunhurst as a warming adaptation of the Bedalian tradition of handshaking, the end-of-year event saw every pupil and member of staff walk in their respective pods up the school drive, clapping and cheering in demonstration of gratitude for the school community.
Head of Dunhurst Colin Baty said: “This year has been like no other, and I’m proud that Dunhurst pupils have persevered throughout and I have enjoyed observing all their achievements. I would also like to thank the dedicated staff at Dunhurst who have worked incredibly hard despite the disruption. The end of the year also means it is time for us to say goodbye to Block 2, a wonderful group of individuals whose kindness, thoughtfulness and role modelling has been much appreciated at Dunhurst. I am proud of each and every one of them, and I will enjoy keeping in touch and seeing them develop at our senior school. I look forward to next academic year, when I hope we will be able to say goodbye to pods and bubbles, and welcome parents back into the school.”