On Friday 27 May, the whole School came together to celebrate HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – Beechwood style!

The day kicked off with a form quiz (Thank you Mr Fox), a Cake Competition (nobly adjudicated by Mr Bullock and Mrs Humphreys) and a Pet Look A Like Competition, before all 550+ pupils gathered on the Front Lawn ready to recreate the Union Jack.  Mr Reading had painstaking worked out the correct dimensions needed, and a special thank you must go to our Estates Team who helped in mark out the different areas needed for red, white and blue-clad children.

Mrs Lodge, Mrs Jarvis, Mr Harrington and Miss Bailey led the brass band in some stirring tunes as everyone patiently waited and then filed in turn into their designated areas.  And all the while, Mr Humphrey’s drone was alternately hovering and soaring above, capturing the moment for posterity!

And it worked!!! There had been doubters on the staff who thought the roped off area looked too small for the number of children, but we should all have had more faith in Mr Reading’s calculations!  What a sight from above to see the complicated design of the Union Jack recreated by our children, from the youngest Woodlanders aged 2 (who had waited so patiently in line) to our 13 year old Top Formers, who only have a matter of weeks left at Beechwood.  It was a truly special moment, and one that we know everyone involved will remember for a long time.

The day then continued with a 1950s style Sports Day featuring tug-of-war, wheelbarrow races and welly-throwing (a big thank you to the PE Department for arranging this), a traditional style fete complete with coconut shies, a collaborative art project (Thank you Mrs Kelway-Bamber), a celebration song that the whole school learnt (Thank you Mrs Lodge), and of course, a celebration lunch (thank you Emily and the Holroyd Howe team).

It was a day to remember – and we are delighted to share the photos below with you (although we can’t promise you’ll be able to find your child in the flag photo….)

The whole Beechwood Community wishes to congratulate HM The Queen on her Platinum Jubilee, and we hope that everyone has a wonderful time as the celebrations continue.