On Friday, June 16, three 6th Form students from St Bonaventure’s, abseiled down the iconic Orbit structure and observation tower in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, for CAFOD.

The 114.5 metre tall building is the UK’s highest free fall abseil and only the brave attempt such a feat but that is exactly what John Dawes and Gabriel Vieira, both 17 and  Amal Shabu who’s 16,   did to raise funds for the charity.

In the build up the the descent, the boys were busy selling ice creams and lolly ices in the playground at the school in Boleyn Road every lunch time and break time to help boost funds. With the warm weather, it proved to be very popular with the ices selling out each day. This gave the lads  tremendous encouragement and set the scene for the abseil beautifully.

They set up a JustGiving page as they initially wanted to raise £300. They exceeded their target by an amazing £360 and raised £662 in total and were overwhelmed by people’s support and generosity. Amal went on to explain: “It was a fantastic challenge and I’m glad we reached the ground safely. I’d like to thank everyone who contributed and made it all worthwhile”

The Director of RE at St Bonaventure’s, Andy Lewis, went with them added: “They said they wanted to do something big for CAFOD and you can’t get much bigger than this. I felt really proud the way they behaved on the day and the way they wanted to do something good for the charity that’s close to their hearts.”

The recent  three day Bushcraft trip to Penshurst Place in the beautiful  Weald of Kent that returned this week was a huge success Mr Murray reports.

Year 7, 8 and 9 students  learned how to survive in the wild on the banks of the Medway 32 miles south of London.

They developed their leadership skills, decision making and practical thinking and each day they got to grips with life in the outdoors which was a unique way to learn and interact.

Outside the usual confines of the classroom, the boys blossomed and really took to the outdoor life  and learnt new skills as well as gaining a greater understanding of the British landscape.

They learned how to build fires, shelter building, camp craft, camouflage and concealment and fresh water swimming techniques  as well as an end of camp bushcraft tournament.

They were taken out of their comfort zone  and away from the distractions of city and school life and they were encouraged to be independent and work in a team when needed. By the end of the three days they left with a new sense  of self sufficiency and confidence.

Sounds wonderful!

The Bushcraft trip is due to return to school between 4.30pm and 5pm today, June 14, depending on the volume of traffic on the roads.

This Friday, June 16, three 6th Form students from St Bonaventure’s, will abseil down the iconic Orbit structure and observation tower in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, for CAFOD.

The 114.5 metre tall building is the UK’s highest free fall abseil and only the brave attempt such a feat but that is exactly what John Dawes and Gabriel Vieira, both 17 and  Amal Shabu who’s 16,  will be attempting to do to raise funds for the charity.

They have set up a JustGiving page as they want to raise £300.

In the build up to the descent, the boys have been selling ice creams and lolly ices in the playground at the school in Boleyn Road every lunch time and break time to help boost funds. With the warm weather, these have been very popular with the ices selling out each day.

The abseil is set for 3pm.

The Director of RE at St Bonaventure’s, Andy Lewis, who will be going with them on Friday added: “They said they wanted to do something big for CAFOD and you can’t get much bigger than this. I know they are really looking forward to it and we’re hoping for good weather to make the descent smoother.“

Our 6th Form abseilers and CAFOD team fundraisers, John Dawes, Amal Shabu and Gabriel Viera will be selling  ice creams and lolly ices at break time and lunchtime this week in the senior playground outside the cage.

The brave CAFOD lads abseil down the iconic orbit at Queen Elizabeth Park in Stratford this Friday, June 16, to raise money for the charity.

Things are going really well too and at break-time today they sold 70 cold treats for 50p each and raised an amazing £35.

Let’s hope this lunchtime is just as successful.

The ice cream parlour will be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

They have set up a JustGiving page as they need to raise £300 so the icy treats are helping them reach their target.

Amal ensures an orderly queue forms at his Ice Cream Stall

The mock election results are in at St Bonaventure’s and it was a Labour landslide.

549 boys voted with the breakdown as follows:

Labour 426 votes

Conservatives 39 votes

Green  30 votes

UKIP 24 votes

Lib Dems 6 votes

Independent 5 votes

Spoilt votes 19

Thanks to everyone who took part and to Ms McNullty for arranging proceedings.

This morning, June 8, we held a mock General Election in school organised by Ms McNulty.

Years 7, 8 and 9 queued to vote in St Francis’ Hall. Year 10 and Year 11 students didn’t participate due to work experience and the maths exam.

At a special assembly,  our chaplain Mr Connolly stressed the importance of democracy and voting and added that Pope Francis has said everyone must use their vote wisely when they reach the age of 18.

Today was a chance for our young students  to get involved and to start to realise the importance of the vote.

Results will be announced later today.

It will be interesting to see if our students’ choice tallies with the Country’s choice.