Dear parents,

Well that’s the first half term of the year completed! It has fast paced and highly enjoyable eight weeks. I hope all of our pupils and staff enjoy the half term break. I’m looking forward to a rest.

Death of Ellen Sargeant

We had some terribly sad news this week from Charlton Kings Junior School—Ellen Sargeant who taught in Year 6 has passed away. I know just how highly Miss Sargeant was regarded by countless Balcarras pupils who were taught by her at CKJS. The Junior School sent out a message which included a statement from Ellen’s family. I have sent this to you via email. We extend our very sincere condolences to Ellen’s family and everyone at CKJS.

Cross Country

Well done to everyone who competed at District Cross Country. As usual Balcarras dominated the event taking 6 of the 8 trophies available. See news article here:

https://www.balcarras.gloucs.sch.uk/news/?pid=3&nid=1&storyid=1325

Prizegiving

My thanks to all those parents who came along to Prizegiving on Thursday night and to Max Wilkinson MP who was the Guest of Honour. The House Captain’s School Report was a real highlight as were the musical items by Jasmine Went and Ben Skeet. My thanks to Becky Atkin for organising the event once again. Below is a photograph of the special prize winners.

Re-launch of the Balcarras Gift Aid Scheme

In the termly newsletter I announced our plans to relaunch the Balcarras Gift Aid Scheme as the ‘Balcarras$ Plan’. Please click here for details and please support the scheme if you can.

https://www.balcarras.gloucs.sch.uk/page/?title=Fundraising&pid=24

Extended Project Market Place

This week we had the Extended Project Market Place event in the main hall. About 80 pupils in Year 13 had to present information on their EPQs. There was a wide range of topics from architecture to fashion and from history to medical ethics. I love just wondering around chatting to pupils about their chosen topic and how it fits into their plans for university or whatever comes next. My thanks to Mrs Collinson for arranging this.

Charlton Kings Parish Council Youth Focus Group

Balcarras is always represented at the Parish Council meetings on youth. This Wednesday evening Mr Constance went along to meet with parish councillors and other stakeholders to coordinate our efforts regarding supporting the young people of the village. The Parish Council arrange a variety of things over half term. See below for details.

Latest Music Video

The latest Music video will be released at 6pm tonight. They have now been viewed over 75,000 times! Check it out here:

https://www.youtube.com/@balcarrasmusic495

Right that’s it from me. Leeds have got West Ham tonight…big game! I hope you all have a nice half term.

Dominic Burke

Road Closure

We had the following message from GCC Highways this week

We have an important update to share with you. 

We’re so sorry to everyone impacted by the A40 London Road closure at Hambrook (Spring) Bridge. We had aimed to re-open one lane of the road in time for The November Meeting at Cheltenham Racecourse because we understand there will be an influx of visitors to the area at this time, and the roads will be busier than usual. 

Disappointingly the area of work can’t safely cope with one lane of traffic as the ground conditions are in a far worse condition than we first had hoped. Our clearance work has revealed further structural weakness extending beyond the collapsed section of the bridge. This means the rescue job is bigger and a full road closure will remain in place during the November meet. Our top priority is to make sure we do everything necessary to make the bridge safe for years to come. 

We appreciate the impact this will have, and we are continuing to listen to your feedback and find ways to make the situation better. More information can be found about the measures we are taking on the Hambrook Bridge (also known as Spring Bridge) | Highways webpage. 

We are also appealing to all drivers to take extra care whilst driving in the local area for the safety of the community. 

We’re currently aiming to reopen one lane of traffic in late 2025 / early 2026. However, due to the complexity of the work required below road level, this is an estimated time frame. Full construction is expected to finish by spring 2026. 

We would like to reassure you our highways teams are working as quickly as possible to save the bridge and make it safe for the future.