Head of Junior Girls, Leanne Barlow said:

"The concert was a real success. Many parents have commented on the fantastic range of instruments the girls can play and the fact that, from Reception to Year 6, every girl was involved. One of the highlights was the last act, as The Junior Choir sang ‘Count on Me’ by Bruno Mars, a very popular current song."

The Senior Book Club Carnegie Shadowing Group, are all reading and voting for their favourite novel to win this year's Carnegie Medal. The Carnegie Medal is awarded annually to the writer of an outstanding book for children.

The J14 B crew, racing in the J14 B quads event, raced outstandingly in the heats, beating the C quad, (who put up an impressive battle for their first race). The J14 B crew then went on to win the final against Maidenhead Rowing Club.

The J15 A quad racing against the J15 B quad also put in a good performance to take the victory over their compatriots. The J16 double put on an exciting race which saw them narrowly missing a win against Maidenhead by just one foot. Whilst the J14 A crew, were too good for the competition and had to pull out after overtaking a boat in the race in front!

Tom Jost, Head of Rowing at Claires Court said:

"These are the best results we have ever had at this regatta, it is good to see we are moving in the right direction."

Good luck to the Claires Court rowers, as next weekend they head off to the National Schools Regatta in Nottingham.

MindLab is an after school activity held at Claires Court Junior Boys, where the boys develop thinking, communication and other life skills through the playing of games. During the course of the year, the boys take part in 4 class tournaments, (playing a different game each time) and the four strongest players for each team form the Claires Court Junior Boys team.

The Junior Boys teacher, Linda Stay said:

"It was a fantastic day and the boys were thrilled with all they learnt and experienced. It really helped them understand what we have been learning in history, as we are studying the Ancient Egyptians. One part of the exhibition involved the children using candles (battery tea lights) to explore a dark room and to look through holes in a wall! It was all very exciting as hidden behind was a re-creation of the tomb filled with the ‘wonderful things’ that Howard Carter described. It is very atmospheric and the boys felt like they were real archaeologists!"

On arriving in town at the bus stop, the girls checked the time table for the time of their return journey before walking to the library. In the library the girls were set the task of searching for books about journeys.

Susan James, Reception Class Teacher said:

"The girls really enjoyed their adventure out, our return bus journey took a little bit longer as we took the scenic route back, but spotted some local landmarks and familiar faces, namely Mrs Fowles!"

The girls were shown how the sewage is cleaned using filters and bacteria so it can be returned to the Jubilee River and eventually the Thames. The girls set up experiments in the classroom to show how gases were produced from the bacteria in the cleaning system — although they used yeast in their experiments! They also had a competition to see who could make some ‘sewage soup’ the cleanest (the soup was made of food colouring, cocoa powder and water), using filters they had prepared from sand, gravel, cotton wool and paper.

At the end of the morning the girls left the Education Centre with some souvenirs of their visit (now don't jump to conclusions). They were all give their own pack of ‘Splash’ trumps cards and a colourful Thames Water ‘bug’!

Year 5 Teacher, Helen Prestedge said:

"We have been looking at water in our locality and the water cycle in geography. We have also been studying solids, liquids and gases in science, so the visit to the Treatment Works was a really fun, visual and practical way of supporting the girls' learning."

More photos are in the gallery.

After a break to eat lunch and complete a chemistry crossword (for which the girls were later awarded first prize), it was time to complete the challenge set by the University. Both teams had to investigate how to make certain colours of dyes for use in paints. At the end of the session both teams were timed to find out if they could complete the challenge in a set time. Both the Claires Court Boys and Girls teams found this challenging

The day ended with a demonstration lecture on colour. Everyone was wowed with dynamic experiments on stage especially the dry ice and clock reactions.

Science Teacher, Jenny Mulhearn said:

"It was a very inspirational day for the pupils; they took a really active part in the lectures and demonstrations. We would like to thank to the Salters' Institute and The University of Reading for giving us the opportunity to be involved."

More photos are in the gallery

More photos are in the gallery

More photos are in the gallery.

In their first ever regatta the J13A and J13B quads raced extremely well, catching a few ‘crabs’ (that's a technical term for dodgy stroke!), but learning a great deal on the way!

The J14A quad, following their previous weekend's success, raced up a year group in the J15 category. They finished in a respectful second place and only missed winning by a few feet!

The J16B quad raced brilliantly. Putting in a storming heat they qualified easily for the final. However due to some slightly ‘wonky’ steering, it meant there was a real battle in the last few metres of the race, resulting in them taking second place at the finish.

Kara, a 19 month old Labrador has been coming into school three times a week — since the start of the summer term, with Joanna Woolliscroft her socialising volunteer and Claires Court Director of Music. "Having the opportunity to socialise and stay calm in a busy environment, with lots of children, is a great benefit to her training," said Joanna.

Kara has been with Joanna since she was six and half weeks old and will be shortly moving onto start more specific training with a matched deaf recipient, possibly a child.

The group of girls from Year 4, 5 and 6, learnt briefly about how Kara has been trained (with the help of rewards and treats) and how being allowed to come into school has given her confidence, as well as taught her good manners and obedience, whilst experiencing lots of noise and activity. Later on in the term, in a full assembly, the girls will be finding out about how much of an impact a hearing dog can have on a deaf person's life and how Kara is progressing in the next stage of her training.

Joanna said:

"The pupils and staff have been so respectful towards Kara's training. They have really taken on board how coming to school is work for her and that stroking her is not allowed when she is working."

Kara thoroughly enjoyed her time in class, as for her it was a time for relaxation not learning and the girls were overjoyed with finally being able to pet her.

There were 10 different schools competing in the Kwik Cricket Tournament. Although the Claires Court girls went into the tournament with very little experience and knowledge of cricket, they got off to a great start, beating Great Marlow by 8 runs.

A special mention must go to A. Khan and M. Forsythe as both players were recognized by the HWCC coaches for being very talented and having lots of potential to excel within the sport. Both girls have won a number of free one to one coaching sessions from High Wycombe Cricket Club. L. Wallis was also scouted but unfortunately for High Wycombe Cricket Club, she already plays for Maidenhead and Bray.

The first success of the day came from the ‘J14 A Quad’, of Hadley Thomas, Tom Ballinger, Toby Yate and Jack Harris coxed by Kurtis Hartburn. The boys breezed through their semi–final and then convincingly beat both crews from Great Marlow School in the final, to seal the victory.

The ‘J16 Coxless Quad’ of Toby Jones, Will Hobden, Joe Saunders and Dan Gordon then followed suit providing an impressive display in both their races, impressively beating Maidenhead Rowing Club in the final.

The ‘J16 Coxless Four’ is also deserving of a mention, they competed admirably in the men's novice category, as the only junior crew and achieved a commendable second place.