Year 1 led a brilliant class worship this week, confidently sharing all of their knowledge for the term. They spoke so clearly and made us all very proud.

This week, we have also had two teams representing our school in netball and handball competitions. I am always incredibly proud to hear not only about how well our children perform against other schools, but also about the fantastic team spirit and sportsmanship they demonstrate. They are excellent ambassadors for our school.

Well done to Year 3 and Year 4, who led a wonderful Easter service at the church. They helped us all to reflect on the true meaning of Easter in a thoughtful and respectful way. Their singing and speaking was exceptionally wonderful!

Thank you for all of the kind comments you have shared about our Ofsted report. I have passed these on to the staff, and we are so pleased that you are happy with the report too. Your support means a great deal to us. A special thank you as well to the parents who kindly delivered delicious treats to the staffroom — your thoughtfulness is very much appreciated.

We hope you all have a wonderful and restful Easter break, and we look forward to welcoming you back in April.

Vicky Hallett

Headteacher

HOUSEPOINTS                                                                                                      

This week’s housepoints totals:

316

258

284

228

 

ATTENDANCE

Governors have set the attendance target for the school at 97%. The class with the best attendance last week was Year 4. Well done 4!

Attendance figures for each class for last week are below:

 

SAFEGUARDING

We have had some reports of ‘near misses’ recently where Bentley children have almost been involved in accidents near roads, particularly when coming out of houses and crossing roads immediately or crossing driveways. Please remind your children of the road safety message ‘Stop, Look and Listen’ before crossing in order to keep everyone safe.

 

THANK YOU…

… to Mr Flanaghan for cutting back the overgrown bush in the courtyard. We really appreciate your generosity in giving up your time for this!

 

STEP AWARDS

Well done to those children who were awarded a STEP (Sorry, Thank you, Excuse me, Please) award this week. We’re very proud of you!

Year R	Lucas, Ada, Ottilie
Year 1	Thea, Archie, Evie
Year 2	Faris, Bea, Pen
Year 3	Theo, Eva G, Nancy
Year 4	Olivia, Annika, Rose
Year 5	Savannah, Polly, Josie
Year 6	Lauren K, Max, Rafe

 

 

ARITHMAGICIANS

The Arithmagicians competition is back, and the challenge is on to see which class will come out on top!

Throughout the Easter holidays (until 13th April), children can earn as many points as possible. The class with the highest total will win an extra playtime—so get involved and give it your best effort!

Remember, your points can also be spent during the first week back on rewards such as house points, extra playtime, or even a hot chocolate with Mrs Blake.

Good luck, everyone—let the competition begin!

 

YEAR 6 ANCIENT GREEK DAY

Yesterday, Year 6 enjoyed a memorable Ancient Greek Day, bringing their history topic to life—and what a busy day it was!

The children took part in their own Olympics, representing different city-states. Our “marathon” involved six laps of the back playground, and it was great to see such enthusiasm and teamwork.

 

 

 

They also explored the Ancient Greek alphabet, writing their names and creating mini scrolls to take home. Pupils researched Greek mythical creatures and used their ideas to design their own, showing lots of creativity.

 

 

 

 

In addition, the children looked at Ancient Greek architecture and took part in an engineering challenge, using paper cups to build structures strong enough to stand on. They were amazed by how effective the column designs were!

 

The day also included an escape room, a quiz, and plenty of fun along the way. It was a great opportunity for learning, creativity and teamwork.

 

 

 

 

 

NEW MENUS

The new menu will launch at the start of the summer term with Week 1. We are excited to announce that as well as the options available on the menu each day, we will also continue to offer a jacket potato option with tuna, cheese or beans, as well as a new picnic lunch option for the summer term. There will be lots to choose from each day and we hope that a lot of our children choose to have a school lunch.

Hot lunches are provided free of charge to all Infant children (Year R - 2) and at a cost of £3.00 per day to Junior children. If you are entitled to certain benefits or on a low income your children could be entitled to free school meals. Please contact the school office to find out more, or you can check your eligibility by clicking here.

If your child has any specific dietary needs, please let us know.  If your child has an allergy or intolerance we ask you to request a special menu by completing the allergy and intolerance form below.  This request will need to be approved by your child's GP.  Please note special menu requests may take a little time to create.  In the meantime, please either provide your child with a healthy packed lunch, or ask them to choose the jacket potato option.

NETBALL TOURNAMENT

On Monday a team of Year 5 and 6 children attended a netball tournament at Eggar's school along with a few other parents and Miss Oakley.

All the schools had to play 3 matches each and then the winners from pool A would play the winners from pool B.

Bentley started strong, winning their first two matches and drawing their third. Finishing top of their pool, they progressed to the final where they faced Anstey, who had also topped their group.

The final match was a tough match as both teams were fairly evenly matched. Anstey ended up winning 3-1, therefore Bentley finished in an impressive second place overall.

All of the children demonstrated excellent sportsmanship and worked brilliantly as a team. They supported and encouraged each other throughout, while also showing great respect to the referees and adults.

Lisa, Anna’s mum and netball player, kindly supported the team by offering guidance on the rules and strategies, which was a great help to the children.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon, and we were incredibly proud of how well the team represented the school and their fantastic performance.

 

4:12 YOUTH GROUP

The final meeting of the term will be held in the church hall at St Mary’s, Bentley on 27^th March.

ALTON EASTER TRAIL

Alton Town Council have organised an Easter trail for families to participate in over the Easter holidays. There are 18 decorated eggs hidden around the town – can you spot the ones we decorated at school? More information can be found here: Easter Trail – Alton Town Council

 

 

INSYNC FAMILY DROP-IN SESSION

InSync will be running a Family Drop-In Session on:

Monday 30^th March 
10:00am – 12:00pm

£4 per family

Greatham Village Hall
Petersfield Road
Greatham
GU33 6EY

There is no need to book a space—please feel free to drop in and see us for a chat & a cuppa while your young person enjoys the activities on offer. A range of activities will be available, including a adult-led activity focused on wellbeing and mental health for your young person.

If you have any question, please send them over. 

For further enquiries please contact :  www.Insyncsoutheast.com 

 

CATERLINK POSTER COMPETITION

We’re excited to announce another fantastic poster competition! Caterlink need help to design some vibrant foodie wall art for Caterlink.

They are inviting pupils from schools that use Caterlink to let their imaginations run wild and create an A4 page of colourful, foodie-inspired landscapes. Think broccoli trees, baguette fences, or even carrot chimneys – the more creative, the better!

What’s in it for you?

• Winning artwork will feature in Caterlink’s primary marketing.
• The winning school will receive a completed art wall, or £200 for the school, and a £20 book voucher for the pupil whose design wins.

How to enter:

• Artwork can be posted to Caterlink Competition, Hop House, Lower Green Road, Pembury, Kent, TN2 4HS or scanned and emailed to info@caterlinkltd.co.uk. (please keep the original artwork as this may be needed if you are selected a winner)
• Ensure you include the pupils name, age and school on the back of the artwork, or as the title of the picture file. They will also require the full school’s name, address, and contact so that we can contact winning entries.
• Entries must be received by 5pm on 31^st March 2026.
• Winning entries will be notified by the end of May 2026.

Caterlink can’t wait to see the amazing ideas your children come up with!

ECO UPDATE

The Attenborough Pollinator Garden

This week the garden has continued its transformation ahead of 8^th May when it is officially opened, in honour of Sir David Attenborough’s 100^th birthday. On Saturday Madame Jones was joined by Catherine and Robin from Bentley who planted, weeded and put up trellis, kindly donated by Martin Cashmore Fencing at Holt Pound.  Also this week, we have been very kindly donated over 50 plants by local Bentley residents Catherine and Mascha who came and helped the Nature Guardians plant them on Tuesday afternoon.  We are very grateful to Robin, Catherine and Mascha for their kindness, generosity and expertise. If you are able to offer any help, however small, please do contact the school office. There is still planting, weeding, pruning and tidying to be done!

 Hidden Treasure Hunt – a national recycling challenge
Spring is the perfect time for a Spring Clean!  With this in mind, our very own Team Energy would love everybody to get involved in The Hidden Treasure Hunt, a nationwide campaign helping children and families to recycle unwanted electrical items responsibly, while competing to win tech for schools.

The campaign teaches pupils that old electricals aren’t rubbish – they contain valuable materials that can be reused if recycled properly. Families are encouraged to hunt out unwanted or broken tech and electrical items at home and recycle them at Currys stores or local drop-off points across the UK – click here to find out where. There are lots of local drop-off points, including Farnham and Alton Recycling Centres and Currys in Basingstoke, Farnborough and Guildford – click here for more details.  Please note, if you are NOT dropping off your items at Currys, please take a photo when you recycle them to upload as evidence – you will be asked to upload this photo.

Every time a family registers their recycling, our school earns a Planet Care Point and moves up the national leaderboard. Schools can win thousands of pounds in Currys’ vouchers for Microsoft tech, and families who take part are entered into prize draws to win Currys’ vouchers for Microsoft tech too.

Please do get involved and share with your friends and family to help us to win some Microsoft tech for our school. The campaign runs until Friday 5 June 2026.
Find out more and take part at: hiddentreasurehunt.org

 

Poetry Competition

Calling all Poets!  Looking for a rainy day activity for the Easter holidays?

Young ACAN has an exciting competition for all the children to enter for a chance to win some fabulous prizes!  See poster for details – closing date is Friday 17^th April! It would be wonderful to showcase the poetry writing talents of Bentley pupils in this local competition.

 

NORTH 2 SOUTH EASTER HOLIDAY CAMP

Bookings are now open for the half term camp run by Mrs Proud (North2South Kids’ Camps). Children should bring their own packed lunch (no nuts please) and a water bottle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CRICKET STATE SUPERSTARS

Twenty20 Community Cricket have launched their ‘State School Superstar’ programme.

It’s open to any young cricketer at a non-fee-paying school who are not currently in a county pathway; boys in year 4-6 and girls in year 7-9.

 Entries close on 30^th April with phase 1 skills assessments at May half-term.

 

 

 

 

BARRACUDAS HOLIDAY CLUBS

We have been given a special code for discounted places at Barracuda’s holiday clubs for Bentley pupils, and if you book we will also receive a donation to the school! Please use the code on the flyer to benefit from this offer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNIFORM SHED           

Unfortunately the second-hand uniform shed is currently out of action. We will update you when it is reopened. In the meantime, second hand uniform is currently in the back of the dining hall. Please ask the office for access before or after school (as this space is used for teaching and learning at other times).

 

PTFA

Save the date for B-Fest!

We can’t believe we’re at the end of this term already!

Next term, we have the remaining class cake sales, ice cream sales continue and of course we have the colour run and B-Fest. 

All children have been sent home with their colour run information and sponsorship form. An email has also been sent out. Please have a read through and start collecting sponsorship. It was such fun last year. This year we have EVEN MORE PAINT!