Castlethorpe First School won 1st prize in the Primary School category of the Quilt Competition at Bletchley Park on Saturday 25th February 2012.
The citation read “Castlethorpe First School chose an effective but simple design, enabling the children to get fully involved. Various fabrics, vinyls, wools, felts and metalware were used to replicate the front dials of the ‘Turing Bombe’ Code Breaker and the detail of the wiring used inside the ‘Tunny’ code breaker.”
Castlethorpe’s ‘Codebreakers’ were;
Reception Jack, Neve, James, Phoebe, Kohei, Eden, Ryley, Noah, Mira, Jessica, William, Lucas, Imogen, Eva, Samuel and Talesa.
Year 1 Dylan, William, Madeleine, Ashton, Archie, Matthew, Joseph, Jessica, Tobin, Robyn, Abigail, Leila, Daniel, Caitlin, Archie, Elizabeth and Sophie.
Year 2 Madeleine, Finlay, Holly, Elise, Freya, Thomas, Danny, Fergus, Cienna, Rebekah and Jamie.
Special thanks to Karen Burton for her design and work on the project.
The Rural West Neighbourhood Action Group, as part of addressing its speeding vehicles priority, has run a competition within the first schools in Hanslope, Castlethorpe and Haversham.
PC Andy Perry, the police representative on the NAG, gave a talk about the dangers of speeding vehicles to the younger pupils at each school. He challenged the pupils to design a picture, reflecting their feelings on the issue and invited the NAG members to select a winner.
Pictured left is Joshua Kempton of Castlethorpe First School with his winning framed poster design, accompanied by PC Andy Perry and Mr Philip Ayles of Castlethorpe Parish Council and the Rural West NAG.
Mrs Julie Baldwin of Castlethorpe First School said “The children have really enjoyed taking part in the poster competition. It has really engaged them in talking about speeding issues in the village.”
See Joshua’s Poster
The NAG would like to thank Hanslope Primary School, Haversham Village School and Castlethorpe First School for allowing them to address the pupils and for actively supporting the initiative.
PC Perry said “Once again the children were fantastic and drew very imaginative pictures that showed that they had put a great deal of thought and effort into them. Speeding remains an issue within the local villages and if this initiative goes some way to getting the message home then it has to be a good thing”.
Local printers, New Bradwell Reprographics, kindly supported the community project and enlarged and printed the winning design, at no cost, to poster size.
We are a small, friendly, village pre-school. Initially children from Castlethorpe attended Hanslope playgroup. In September 1972, with the encouragement of the leader of the Hanslope Group, Rosemary Otter (the Vicar’s wife), Margaret Wilson, Gill Wilson (Sibthorne) and 15 children moved into the Village Hall. The Playgroup opened on two mornings each week.
Over the years thanks to many village residents, the Playgroup, later Pre-School, developed to be a very successful village provision. Numbers vary according to the birth rate. At present the Pre-School is registered for a maximum of 26 children at any one time.
The Pre-School is administered by a committee of volunteers who are responsible for the management of the provision. In recent years as a result of government initiatives, the Management’s role has grown considerably. The Pre-School manager has responsibility for day to day running.
We meet at Castlethorpe Village Hall Monday to Friday 9.15am – 12.15pm during term time. All children between 2 and 5 years of age are welcome and funding is available for all children over the age of 3.
The children have an opportunity to participate in a variety of educational, social and physical activities.
All aspects of the OFSTED requirements are covered to ensure a rounded curriculum. We are fortunate to have an excellent outdoor garden and play area made possible by the joint efforts of a parish councillor, parents and villagers.
We also run a Summer Club for between 4 and six days depending on demand catering for children between the ages of 3 and 10 years.
All staff are well qualified and have considerable experience. The adult to child ratio is well above statutory requirements. Parents are encouraged to become involved and visitors are welcome.
The Pre-school is OFSTED regulated and we were inspected by OFSTED during January 2008 and everyone was delighted with the glowing report. The full report can be found on the OFSTED web site
Contact Sarah Proctor contact telephone number 01908 510086. (Chair) or Cathy Walters (Manager during pre-school hours only) on 07749 999361.
The children’s day nursery in Castlethorpe is situated in a converted Wesleyan Chapel in South Street, backing onto the school and with access into the school playground. It was established in 1989 and caters for up to 36 babies and children from 4 months to 4 years. Catering for working parents, the nursery is open for 51 weeks of the year, from 7.30am to 6.15pm.
The nursery is one of eight run by Acorn Childcare in Milton Keynes and Northants. The Head Office is situated on the first floor of the Castlethorpe nursery. The aim of the nursery is to offer the flexibility and individuality of a small, homely nursery combined with the professionalism and facilities you’d expect from a larger one. The nursery also provides a Breakfast Club, After-school Club and a Holiday Playscheme for children aged 4 & 7. The nursery cook prepares healthy meals on site and also provides cooked lunches for children attending Castlethorpe School.
The nursery offers a range of activities and facilities, including weekly trips to its own Forest School in Salcey Forest. Forest School has been developed to offer learning opportunities in a woodland environment and has proved very popular with the children.
The nursery is also linked to Tall Oaks Training, based in Hanslope, which offers training for Early Years staff. Based on a farm smallholding, this is being developed into a field centre which the nursery will also be able to access to extend its outdoor activities.
The nursery is also hoping to develop its links with the local community, building on the links already in place through nursery families and staff who are also village residents.
Contact Zoe Raven Telephone 510309
More information at Acorn Childcare
