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After a 3 AM start on cold October morning, the dreariness of a bumpy coach journey and an utterly banal Air Italia flight to Catania, via Milan, I think we all quite wished we had forsaken 'la dolce vita' for the chance of three more days in jolly Hampshire. However,arriving in 25 degree heat and brilliant sunshine, quickly made us rethink our earlier grumblings. Indeed, this A-level geography trip would prove to be far less of a trip to the local botanics, but an action-packed three day cultural, sporting and intellectual extravaganza. From cappuccino drinking on the hotel terrace before dipping into the cool sea on the first day, to climbing the gigantic and rumbling Etna on the second day and collecting field data in the Godfather-esque Catania on third day, all whilst writing 600 words per night, we truly were treated to a diverse experience.

Easily, the two highlights of the trip were cooling-off in a crystal-clear river, whose gorge resembled a lop-sided Giant's Causeway and actually hearing Etna erupt - hugely exiting, though rather concerning as we'd been there 20 hours earlier... Overall this was a fantastic trip and we came away feeling exhausted, but hugely grateful to the staff who made this possible and who hopefully increased our chances of passing A-level geography in the process!

View pictures of the field trip (taken by 6.2 student Claudia White)

At the beginning of the year the staff saw the coming together of the Dunhurst crew, who where the students coming up through the Bedales schools and the students who came from other parts of the British Isles.  It didn’t take long for us to get to know each other and now we’re all getting on like a house on fire.  This was helped when we all went to Ullswater and experienced camping, climbing, tail-potting and cooked marshmallows on sticks as we relaxed in the evenings.  As a big group we also went to Belgium and France to see the Battlefields of World War One.  This was an amazing trip as we visited many cemeteries and museums.  We also got the opportunity to buy chocolate.

Bedales offers a range of opportunities and activities and Block 3 is the year to explore these.  Here are some examples:  country cooking, silver smithing, water aerobics, chamber choir, cooking with Debbie, horse-riding, sailing and even a Harry Potter Society.  I have taken part in the ‘cooking with Debbie’ and we made a huge range of healthy and unhealthy foods such as risotto and chocolate cake.   The other activity I tried was the ‘Chamber Choir’ activity and we were told that this was designed ‘to challenge us with a varied repertoire’.  It certainly did because we covered a wide range from Brookner to Monteverdi.  Next we will be going to Italy to sing in concerts in Florence and the surrounding areas.   In the other activities, my friends have told me that they made rings and other jewellery in the silver smithing and they have also really enjoyed the water aerobics.

Although there is a lot to do we can’t forget that exams come along at the end of the year.  People got down to their revision but now the exams are finished the school is more relaxed.   Coming soon there will be plenty of activities such as Parents Day, Tutor Feasts and The Coracle Race.  As the year comes to an end we are all buzzing about the summer holidays, but at the same time knowing that Block 3 is ending and Block 4 will be the start of some more serious work towards our GCSEs.

This year has been an excellent opportunity for me to gain new experiences in the music department, especially having the chance to continue learning from the superb music staff. Conducting the choir on a few occasions has been a challenge both engaging and enjoyable. The Barbershop Boys has been a fantastic experience, improving the reading skills of the lower voices whilst trying out a different genre of music some have not gone into before. I have also been able to pass on knowledge that I have learnt, preparing students for theory and GCSE exams.

We are currently getting ready for the Parents Day Concert which will take place at 6pm on Parents Day in the Quad and shall then move to the Boys Flat Courtyard for a Serenade. At the same time we are also getting the repertoire ready for the Music Tour to Italy where we shall perform four concerts in the province of Tuscany. The Tour provides an excellent opportunity to perform in the outstanding cultural acoustic settings, as well as a chance to engage with the Italian lifestyle.

I graduated from Bedales last year and spent my gap year working with the School's music department. It has been an excellent opportunity for me to gain new experiences in the music department, especially having the chance to continue learning from the superb music staff. Conducting the choir on a few occasions has been a challenge both engaging and enjoyable. The Barbershop Boys has been a fantastic experience, more specifically, improving the reading skills of the lower voices whilst introducing a different genre of music. I have also been able to pass on knowledge that I have learnt, preparing students for theory and GCSE exams. We are currently getting ready for the Parents Day Concert which will take place at 6pm on Parents Day (2nd July).

On Tuesday I attended the Eckersley Lecture at Bedales which was being given by Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell on “Will the world end in 2012? The Astronomical evidence”.  Bell Burnell is well known for discovering the first four pulsars – a type of neutron star that emits radiation.

The Eckersley Lecture is an annual event that celebrates the two Eckersley brothers that came to Bedales. They were avid scientists - they even (if I remember correctly) set up a radio transmitter in a shed on the school grounds. They both went on to have highly successful careers.

I, for one, don’t believe that the world will end December 21st 2012 – but many do, egged on by the media. Bell Burnell told us each of the theories for why the world might end (magnetic reversals, solar storms, “Nibiru”) and tore them down with her scientific knowledge – proving that not one of these theories will bring the end of the earth.

A couple of my friends made the comment that they didn’t think Burnell went into enough depth and I agree with this to an extent. The reason for this, I think, is because not everyone in the audience was a scientist – and none of her level. However, overall, I think she pitched it just right and made her talk more accessible to the range of people in the theatre.
And when I say “range” I’m talking a lot of people – the tickets were sold out!

Being a Block 3 student isn’t as easy as it looks, there are many things to do and many choices to make, one of which is the GCSE and BAC (Bedales Assessed Courses) choices.

It is over halfway in the academic year and already we are choosing subjects for our GCSE/BACs, this is not an easy choice mainly because there is a large range of highly interesting and exciting subjects to choose from.

Along with Maths, English, Science and a Modern foreign Language there is a veritable feast of different and exciting subjects such as PRE (philosophy, religion and ethics), Art, Textiles, History, Latin, Classical Greek and a lot more. There is something for everyone and I think most people are very surprised when they see the large range of subjects especially parents and children who are new to Bedales. This is probably because Philosophy, Classics and the other subjects are very uncommonly found in schools at GCSE level.

What I liked about the choosing process is that all the teachers were very willing to explain in detail about their subject and what it involves and what skills are required to get the best out of it. Every week in our Block 3 assembly all the teachers give a five minute talk about: the subject, all the work involved, each part of the course and each part of the examination. It was very useful and I am glad that they have done this because it has really helped me choose my subjects and not make ill-advised 'easy' choices.

Even though the exams are two years away I am very nervous about taking them, but I am very much looking forward to starting Block 4 and the new course work and subjects.

It’s two weeks until the end of term.
How are we feeling? Tired.
Ready for some skiing! Ready to relax.

There are a lot of course work deadlines coming up, for example: a philosophy, religion and ethics (PRE) essay on Jihad, a final art piece, a drama essay on “The Chair” and, of course, the upcoming exam for the Latinists! 

Last week on red nose day the School raised over £600 with many students wearing red for a fee: 
some wore red socks, red scarves and dyed their hair red. 

Next term we have all the exams…. However, we can also enjoy sitting with our friends on the orchard in break times because the winter bounds restriction to protect the grass will be lifted...although emotions often run high at exam time, everyone in the summer pours out onto the orchard for some respite in the sun.

I am new to Bedales this year and before I came to the school I had heard rumours that it wasn't a sporty school but when I joined I realised the people who said that were wrong.

Bedales offers so much sporting opportunities. We have a match nearly every week and I personally do more than five hours of sport a week. Bedales is different because it gives you the option of doing sport or not but they are very competitive if you like and enjoy it. They won’t make you go and stand on a freezing cold pitch and play something you hate if you don’t want to as you can do outdoor work instead.

On the 15th February, at 7 o’clock all the Block 3 students set off on the long descent towards Belgium. We visited World War One memorials, monuments and trenches. It really made you understand the effect and what happened in the war because we could have just sat in a classroom and read books and completed work sheets and watched videos but instead we went to the actual battlefields. 

It is much easier to learn and understand when you are actually there. It made the subject come alive. It was a moving and powerful trip because we walked around a lot of war cemeteries and it had an effect because it made you realise what a huge impact the World War had on millions of people.
On the head stones of the graves you could see details of the families and everything and it just made you take a breath for a second because so many people lost loved ones, fathers, grandfathers, uncles etc.

It was incredible to see the Thevipal Memorial listing all the names of missing soldiers lost in the Somme. The walls and walls of names really made us think about what happened even though it was so long ago. The battlefields trip I think made everyone realise the facts about the war. It was a truly eye opening and brilliant experience.

Having joined a boarding school for the first time this year, my life is somewhat contrasting to what it is has been up until now.  After about 6 months I feel I am part of a boarding lifestyle. When I first joined I was wondering what it would be like, as no one I knew had gone to a boarding school, and it turns out it’s really good fun as well as a preparation for when you have to share a home with someone maybe at university. It’s a really good place to be, considering your parents aren’t there to tell you to keep it down and that you’re with your friends at the end of the day.

This term I am in my second dorm, and I realise that I immediately recognise anyone from either my last or current dorm, and these people are in all years, meaning everyone knows everyone. 

Whilst walking into town with a friend, he suddenly said, “So what’s it like boarding? I mean, how bad is it, not seeing your parents and stuff?” In answering this, I found myself disagreeing with what he implied, and told him that it was brilliant, much closer to a long term sleepover than a burden. An important feature of boarding is that it teaches you that you really do need sleep. The first night of term is always good fun, having not seen many friends for so long, but waking up at 7 am after having gone to bed later than normal makes the first day a long one. Overall, boarding is an essential part of who you are and learning how to live, and it is something that people all over the world can relate to.