Yesterday, we said our final goodbyes to Mrs Miffling after an incredible 15 years at Bentley. She is moving on to a new role at a primary school in Fleet, and while we are excited for her, she will be hugely missed by us all. During her time here, she has added so much to our school community. When speaking to staff and children, the messages of love and respect for her were overwhelming. Many spoke about her kindness, compassion and caring nature. Others fondly mentioned her ability to find a song for any occasion – and, of course, her love of Maltesers!

We made sure her final day was truly special, with gifts and even a flash mob dance to her favourite song, Reach for the Stars. We wish her every success in her new school, but we are delighted that she promises to stay in touch. Once a member of the Bentley family, always a member of the Bentley family.

We also had an amazing time at the Colour Run, brilliantly organised by our PTFA. It was wonderful to see the children having so much fun – and the expressions on parents’ faces as they joined in with the paint throwing were priceless! Thanks to your generosity, we raised over £1000. As a result, children were even able to throw paint at myself and other staff members… an experience I’m not sure we’ll forget anytime soon! Thank you to everyone who supported and donated.

A huge congratulations to Mrs Rhodes, who has successfully completed her incredible London to Paris run, accompanied by Claude the Croissant, her school mascot! What an achievement – we are all very proud of her.

It has also been an exciting week in Year R, with lots of visitors linked to their topic. Thank you to Mr Potter for talking about his work as a vet, Miss Miles for bringing in Maggie (her wonderfully well-behaved dog, who I must admit I fell a little bit in love with!), and Mrs Green for bringing in their pet rabbits. A big thank you as well to those who enabled the children to visit horses – a truly memorable experience for them.

Finally, it is with great pleasure that I can share some fantastic news: the rec has now been given the all clear from the Ground Management Association, and we will be able to host our Sports Day there this year! Further details will be shared in an upcoming letter.

Thank you to the Bentley Archers for all the hard work they have put into upgrading the rec – we cannot wait to start using it.

Vicky Hallett

Headteacher

HOUSEPOINTS                                                                                                      

This week’s housepoints totals:

186

259

247

151

 

ATTENDANCE

Governors have set the attendance target for the school at 97%. The class with the best attendance last week was Year 1 again. Well done 1!

Attendance figures for each class for last week are below:

 

SAFEGUARDING

As the weather becomes warmer, we kindly ask for your support in helping us keep all children safe and comfortable during the school day. Please ensure your child brings a named water bottle to school every day, as staying hydrated is essential for their health, concentration, and wellbeing. It is still a concern that a number of children are arriving without one. In addition, children should come to school with suncream already applied on warm days and a suitable hat to protect them when outdoors. These simple steps make a significant difference in keeping everyone safe in the sun.

 

GOLD BOOK/GOLD CARDS

Well done to those children who were awarded a gold card. We’re very proud of you!

	Gold Cards	Gold book
Year R	Mollie, Cavendish, Jesse, Ava, Noah, Luca, Arabella, Lucas	Mollie
Year 1	Ella, Archie, Felicity	Jenson
Year 2	All of Year 2!	Bea
Year 3	Oscar B, Eva G	Rose
Year 4		Nancy
Year 5	Annabella, Dominic, Polly, Edie	Indianna
Year 6	Lauren R, Alex	Lauren K

 

ARITHMAGICIANS

Don’t forget to keep playing Arithmagicians to earn points, which can be exchanged for house points, extra playtime, and even an ice lolly with Mrs Blake—something many children have already purchased ready to enjoy after half term!

 

YEAR 2 TRIP TO THE GILBERT WHITE CENTRE

Year 2 had a fantastic trip to the Gilbert White Centre, where the children took part in a range of exciting activities linked to both Science and Geography. During the day, they learned all about Antarctica, exploring how animals adapt to survive in such extreme conditions. They were also fascinated to discover the history of the brave explorers who reached the South Pole.

In the afternoon, the children enjoyed an orienteering session, where they worked together to navigate and solve challenges. It was wonderful to see such great teamwork, communication and enthusiasm throughout the day.

All of the children behaved brilliantly, asked insightful questions and represented the school superbly. A big thank you to our volunteers for their support in making the trip such a success.

 

MENU CHANGES

Due to supplier issues on Tuesday the picnic option will be Quorn sausage in a baguette, and on Friday it will be fish fingers in a wrap.

LONDON TO PARIS UPDATE

Mrs Rhodes and Claude le Croissant are making great progress on their London to Paris challenge.

They are running an incredible 75Km, raising money for Parkinson’s UK and Regain, and I am sure any sponsorship or messages of support would be hugely appreciated.

https://www.run2events.com/fundraisers/LizRhodes2047/run2paris-may-26

We wish Mrs Rhodes (and Claude!) the very best of luck – what an inspiring challenge!

 

ECO UPDATE

The Attenborough Garden

This week has been an exciting time in The Attenborough Garden with our school values love, courage and community playing a key role in its creation. There has been much planting by the children, including lovely plants grown and donated by local resident, Mascha. Bentley’s Robin and Catherine came to prepare the site ready for the installation of our lovely gazebo next Thursday.  Finally, yesterday three volunteers from Alton Men’s Shed, Paul, Greg and Roger, came to install an arch into the garden, mend our bench and also to deliver the Bentley model village for bugs, designed by Rayyan in Year 6 as part of his winning garden design. 

 

 

 

WWF Visit

Yesterday we were delighted to welcome WWF’s Louise Purnell, Teaching Community Manager at WWF. After a tour of our school grounds which she was very impressed with, Louise led a bioblitz with the Nature Guardians in the Attenborough Garden where the children sat and observed the living things all around them, including blue tits flying in and out of the nesting box and a beautiful damselfly over the pond.  Louise concluded her visit by joining the children in Years R, 2 and 6 during their outdoor learning sessions as part of the WWF Happy by Nature programme.  

 

Attenborough Day

To celebrate Sir David Attenborough’s 100^th birthday on May 8^th, our school community will be hosting ‘Attenborough Day’.  Throughout the day, the children will participate in activities linked to the life and work of Sir David Attenborough. They will then come together with children all over the country for a live assembly at 2.15pm in honour of his birthday.  Our garden will be opened by Fiona Sculley from Butterfly Conservation as part of an official ceremony at 2pm. 

Hidden Treasure Hunt – a national recycling challenge

Families are encouraged to hunt out unwanted or broken tech and electrical items at home and recycle them at Curry’s or Farnham and Alton Recycling Centres – 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 when you register – click here to register and scroll down to ‘How to register your recycling’.

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. As an extra incentive Eco Council will be awarding a ‘Dolphin Award’ to those children who participate.  Pupils should bring in a photo of them recycling their tech at Curry’s or a recycling centre.  Please note only one dolphin will be awarded per child.   

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

 

SCHOOL PLACES STILL AVAILABLE!

 

FREE ONLINE PARENT COURSES

Hampshire County Council are pleased to offer an exciting new programme of courses; a mixture of firm favourites and new subjects.

The courses are designed to enhance your knowledge and skills, promote personal growth, explore your creative interests or simply broaden your horizon. The following may be of particular interest:

Stepping Into School - Online course - Tuesday 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd June – Hampshire County Council Shop

Positive Parenting - Online course - Monday 15th, 22nd, 29th June, 6th – Hampshire County Council Shop

 

PTFA

 

 

MORE THAN A PITCH CAMPAIGN

We’re sharing an important local initiative from More House School that you may want to support.

“We know how powerful sport can be in a child’s life, building confidence, resilience and a sense of belonging. Yet this year, waterlogged pitches and cancelled matches have meant too many missed opportunities for young people.

More House School is working to change that by building an all weather 3G pitch for its students and the wider Farnham community.

To help make this happen, the community is coming together for the More Than a Pitch Celebrity Football Match.

📅 Saturday 9 May 2026
⏰ 3:00 PM
📍 Farnham Town Football Club
🎟 Tickets £12

Featuring Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Karen Carney, Wayne Bridge and Jay Bothroyd, alongside stars from Strictly Come Dancing, Gladiators and EastEnders, with more names to be announced.

Every ticket or donation brings us closer to a life changing facility that will give young people a place to play, grow in confidence and belong — all year round. This really is More Than a Pitch.

Buy tickets or donate:
More Than a Pitch Celebrity Football Match - More House School

Thank you for your support.

This pitch will change lives. It really is More Than a Pitch.”

UPDATE ON PUBLIC NURSING

The nursing team are now pleased to launch the digital request for support form for Hampshire Public Health Nursing Service.

 Please use the links as below or the QR codes attached to make any referrals into the service with immediate effect.

Any referrals into the service using the old system will be offered a three-week grace period.

From May 18th they will no longer be accepting the old referrals and new requests will need to be sent electronically.

  

For Parent/carer referrals please use the following link:

 

Digital referral for the 5-19 Hampshire Community Public Health Nursing Service