With Christ at our side to guide us,
we shine in all that we do.

Schools’ Celebration to Welcome Bishop Robert Byrne

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Tuesday March 26th 2019

Representatives from the 156 schools in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle celebrated the installation of Bishop Robert Byrne as the fourteenth bishop of Hexham and Newcastle at the Cathedral Church of St. Mary in Newcastle.

Freya and Will from Y6 represented St. Bede’s South Shields. Freya had the special privilege of being one of the 12 pupils chosen to read at this very special service; she rose to the occasion and read beautifully. It was a wonderful occasion and one which the children and I will treasure and remember.

The bishop was presented with a book of welcome to which each school had contributed. Eva from Y6 designed the page of welcome for St. Bede’s School. Well done to Eva for her beautiful design.

N. Park

Exploring Sound

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The young Scientists explored the science of sound today when they made homemade harmonicas. What a noisy lot they are!

Fundraising for Comic Relief

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This year for Comic Relief the School Council decided that they wanted everyone to come to school wearing something red. The Council also sold Red Noses throughout the day and managed to raise a fantastic £253 for Comic Relief! Well done to all involved!

Durham Choristers

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I was very proud of our Year 4 and Year 5 children who sang so beautifully in the Durham Choristers Outreach Concert at Durham Cathedral on Wednesday March 13th.

The children have loved learning the songs (some of them very challenging ones) and have practised nearly every day for the last six weeks. Their hard work was rewarded when they truly shone in their performance to a full cathedral of parents, grandparents and family friends.

The children really appreciated the opportunity to sing with the choristers and have three singing lessons with one of the masters from the Choristers School Durham.

It was a very happy day: the children practised in the cathedral in the morning; enjoyed their packed lunch in the cathedral grounds; and explored the cathedral in the afternoon while following the ‘Bishops Trail’.

Many thanks go to the parents and grandparents who came along to watch the concert in the afternoon. It was a truly memorable experience for the children and their families, and for staff who came along too. Mrs. Molenda and Mrs. McQueen were as thrilled with the children as I was and were full of admiration for their confident and polished performance.

Well done St. Bede’s

N. Park

Eggciting Experiments!

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Did you know you can stand on eggs without breaking them?

This week in Science Club we tested this theory and found a dozen eggs could support our weight. We discovered that the curved design of an egg spreads our weight evenly which means the eggs won’t break when we stand on them.

Year 3 Class Liturgy

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Y3 celebrated our class Liturgy on the topic of Journeys. Children reflected on their personal journeys and the people who support them on the way. It was lovely that family members shared in our gathering together.

 

Basketballers at New Arena!

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The basketballers enjoyed their unique experience of playing at the new Eagles Community Arena in Newcastle on Friday night. We dominated our semi-final after playing some wonderful team basketball against a resolute Holy Trinity. Our opening basket involved a fluent passing move that involved the whole team. Unfortunately we couldn’t add to our slender lead, despite countless shots and near misses which bounced agonisingly around the rim of the basket.

Dramatically, against the run of play the opposition showed great spirit to salvage a draw with a last gasp equaliser. Holy Trinity’s good fortune held up in the penalties, as they put us out from the free throw line.

Nevertheless, I was delighted with the team’s wonderful performance in Newcastle. They gave a wonderful account of themselves, despite ‘lady luck’ deserting us. The team showed a lot of good sportsmanship to immediately praise Holy Trinity for their efforts, and wish them luck for the final. Thank you to all of the families who supported our children in Newcastle.

Basketballers Heading to Grand Final in New Arena!

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The 3 basketball teams from St. Bede’s thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the South Tyneside Hoops4Health tournament at Temple Park. They all performed superbly on the day, with two of our sides making the Play-offs. The A team prevailed, and they will now play in the Grand Final at the brand new Eagles Community Arena, in Newcastle next Friday.

Good luck to Saul Connor (Captain), Layla Dowson (Vice-Captain), Mahad Uzair, Katy Longstaff, Jack Murphy, Holly Gaunt and Ryley Wardale.

Hoops4Health Roadshow

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The Newcastle Eagles Basketball team visited St. Bede’s to teach our Y5 about the benefits of healthy living, healthy eating and not smoking. The children also played some basketball and fun games, while meeting the star players who are currently near the top of the British Basketball League.

 

Forward Together in Hope

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As part of the Forward Together in Hope initiative, the Mini Vinnies decorated candles to give out to families of the parish at Mass on the Feast of Christ the King.

Here are the Mini Vinnies hard at work.

Today, the Mini Vinnies went to mass at St Bede’s Church. They joined in with the Children’s Liturgy, helped dress the Jesse Tree and gave out candles to each family in the Parish.

Freya read beautifully at the Children’s Mass – she introduced the Jesse Tree and explained that the Mini Vinnies would be giving out candles so that each family could share in some private prayer together during Advent. Lauren and Abbey attended the evening Mass (Lauren attending both Masses) and they did a super job together, with Lauren reading this time.

Mrs Kennedy was so proud of the children. They were so well behaved and prayerful during Mass and there were lots of lovely comments about them from the Parishioners. Well done!

© 2025 Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust.