End of Term Fun Day in Benidorm.

Yay - we've reached the end of the term!

After all the hard work (and especially those dreaded exams) it's time to relax a little. And what better place to do that than at the Bowling Arcade in Benidorm!

Upper Primary joined the whole of the Upper School and all had a very enjoyable time with everyone showing off their bowling skills.

I think some of the staff must have enjoyed a very misspent youth - Mrs Holmes, where did you learn to bowl like that?

This was followed by lunch and a time to relax on the beach before returning to school in time for 4 pm.

Well done to everyone - you all behaved so well throughout the day.

Upper Primary Christmas Production

Congratulations to class teacher Mrs Letchford and all the pupils in Upper Primary for putting on a wonderful production of "A Christmas Carol"!

It was standing room only in the school hall as parents and friends were massively entertained by what they saw.

The ghost of Christmas Past was very scary and it all turned out well in the end as Scrooge saw the error of his ways and allowed Christmas to happen - phew!

This was a stunning and very enjoyable piece, and was thoroughly enjoyed by all who had the opportunity to see it.

Enjoy the photographs - but watch out for that ghost!

Well done to all and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

International Day In Alfaz del Pi

Sunday 3rd October saw a wonderful event in the grounds of the Polidesportivo in Alfaz.

It was "International Day" with members of our truly multi cultural community here, celebrating and sharing the very best of their respective cultures.

A bright sunny day saw the event packed, and the atmosphere was tremendous. Many SBS pupils and staff were in and around the stalls and all thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Top: Matthew (Lower Secondary) with mum!

Middle: Maths teacher, Miss Kanchan (right), manned the Indian stall. And the samosas were to die for!

Bottom: Olivia (Lower Secondary) about to sample those samosas!

"We Are Not Amused" Victorian Art for the Upper Juniors

The children in Upper Junior have been studying pictures of Queen Victoria including a family portrait by Winterhalter, 'The Royal Family', 1846.

On Friday, they discussed the symbolism of some of the more luxurious items in the painting, then made a sketch of some of the items.

The class used a range of pencils and shading to show texture and light in their drawings and produced some excellent pieces of work.

The children will continue to work on their sketches over the next few weeks adding colour and texture with paints and pastels. They will also make their own golden frames to display them in for a mini exhibition.

Sports Activity Day In Alfaz

On Friday 24th September the whole school decamped to the Polidesportivo in Alfaz for our special Sports Activity Day.

One of the main goals for this day was to promote a sense of school spirit and teamwork, as we encouraged the older students to lead and work with the younger pupils in their teams.

This they did magnificentally and it was great to see the way in which everyone was encouraged to do their very best.

A big congratulations to all the Upper Secondary for their outstanding work on the day.


Sometimes just keeping up with the little ones was hard work for our team leaders!


Members of the winning "Green" team can be seen here with Lewis from Upper Secondary.

Sierra Bernia Live On Cool FM!

What a great time we had on Friday 17th September as Sierra Bernia School went out live on Cool FM - one of the leading English speaking radio stations on the Costa Blanca!

DJ Dave Owens broadcast the whole of his morning show live from the school, assisted by many of the pupils and staff who all contributed brilliantly.

As one listener commented "Sierra Bernia sounded like a school of happy kids who liked to talk about what they do at school".

Congratulations to everyone who took part - but a special thanks to Jodie (Upper Secondary) who acted as Dave's assistant throughtout the morning; Mrs Letchford who had liased with the radio station to make it all possible; Mr Allan for sorting out the technical issues; and Dave who interacted with the pupils so well!

Cool FM can be found on 97.4 or visit their web site on www.coolfm974.com.

Sierra Bernia Goes To Sierra Bernia!

Mr Allan, Sierra Bernia School's Director, believes that every pupil should have the opportunity to visit the range of mountains the school takes its name from.

So, with this in mind, an intrepid group of Upper Secondary explorers took to the mountains on Wednesday 15th, to climb and explore the Sierra Bernia range.

Once again, this was a real team-building exercise and it was great to see how the group worked together to make sure everyone succeeded and enjoyed the day.

After thoroughly exploring the old fort near the top of the range the group climbed still higher until it was time to turn around and head back down.

A tired but elated group arrived back at school just after lunch. The day was a great success and thoroughly enjoyed by all.

School's Back From Summer!

It's September 8th and Sierra Bernia School is back!

With many new students joining us this term we wanted to welcome everyone back with some fun "get to know you" activities.

And what better way than to enlist the help of Jimbo from the Broadway Theatre Group to teach the upper school some circus skills!

Great fun was had by all as they tried their hands at juggling, balloon sculpture, and the amazing micro cycle!

Many thanks to Jimbo for a wonderful session and well done to all the pupils who took part with such enthusiasm.

Swimming Gala!

One of the most enjoyable events in our annual calander in the school swimming gala. This year was no exception and a wonderful day was had by all who took part at the open air pool in Alfaz.

The pupils were divided into teams and, once again, Kirill in Year 9 showed his leadership qualities by powering his Red team to yet another outstanding victory.

Kirill is Russian and his motivational style is very simple yet very powerful. He was overheard coaching some of the younger pupils with the following gem:

"You want medal?" The two year 3's said "Yes" Kirill then replied with a simple "Then win"! It worked - they did! Perhaps we should get him to manage the woeful English football team!

This was a thoroughly enjoyable day and well done to everyone who competed so splendidly.

School Prize Day

With the school year nearing an end it was time to look back and celebrate all the great achievements of the pupils at Sierra Bernia.


So, on Thursday 24th we arrived at the Casa de Cultura in Alfaz for our annual Prize Day.


Mr Duncan Allan, school owner, set the tone for this wonderful celebration by reminding pupils that school is about preparing for the future. His opening address was followed by Years 7 and 8 reading poetry in English, French, and Spanish.


Each class then performed something to show the work they have been doing, and individuals received prizes for their attitude and achievements throughout the year.


In addition to the individual awards, every pupil received a certificate for successfully completing the school year.


This was truly a celebration of all the great work that happens at Sierra Bernia School and there were certainly some emotional tears of pride from the parents who supported the event so well.

Sports Day Awards Ceremony

At the end of an exciting day all the pupils came together for our Sports Day Awards. The event was won by the Red Team who were led brilliantly by Kirill from Year 9.

It was wonderful to see the way the way the older Team Captains worked with their younger team members to lead and inspire them. A big congatulations to Kieren, Josh, Michael, and of course Kirill, for providing such a great example.

There were special awards for individual performances too. The girl's award was shared by Tanja (Year 2) and Sylvia (Year 3) and the boys award went to Alex (Year 4).

The day was a massive success and a special thanks must go to Mrs Letchford who organised the whole event.

Sierra Bernia Sports Day!

Friday 18th June saw the whole school attending the Polidesportivo in Alfaz for our annual Sports Day.

This is a really fun day where four "house" teams compete against each other to be crowned champions at the end of the day.

Everybody has the opportunity to gain points for their team and, although it is always good to win, the real fun is just in taking part.

Many parents and friends came to add their support to the day as the pupils went through a variety of sports events, both serious and fun. I'm not sure there is currently an Olympic category for "Egg and Spoon" race!

Enjoy the photographs of our future sporting stars in action!

Assemblies At Sierra Bernia School

Every week the Junior School has an assembly with each year group taking it in turns to present the work they have been covering in class.

This helps to improve the children's confidence as they are in the "lime light", performing to both their fellow pupils and the many parents who love to come in and watch.

Our assemblies are also an opportunity for pupils to receive public acclaim for their Academic Excellence Merit Awards.

All pupils strive to progress through the various levels of award from Bronze through to Platinum.

Here are a selection of photographs from the excellent lower school assemblies we have had in recent weeks. Congratulations to all the pupils who give such great performances as they share their knowledge with the rest of the school.

The Complete Pirates Show!

Time to get out the popcorn, put your feet up, and sit back and enjoy the whole "Pirates" show.

Pirates Of The Caribbean!

After four intense weeks of rehersals, Sierra Bernia School's Summer production came to a wonderful climax at the Casa de Cultura in Alfaz del Pi on Wednesday 19th May.

What a wonderful show it was! With children from reception through to the exam class taking part it really was a "whole school" event.

Congatulations to everyone who worked so hard to make this possible and a special thanks to Pascalle and Victor from Street Wise Productions for making it all possible.

John And Yoko Visit SBS!

Years 5 & 6 had some very special guests arrive in their classroom on Friday 7th May. They have been working on a 1960's project which included finding out all about the The Beatles! As part of their studies they staged a re-enactment of John and Yoko's famous "Sit In" in a Paris Hotel room.

Well done to Mrs Letchford and all the pupils for this very clever piece of work. Mrs Letchford is actually too young to remember the original event but was able to draw on real life memories from some of her (more mature) colleagues!

In a surprise turn of events Mr Allan suggested that Year 5 & 6 could play live on top of the school building in an attempt to re-create the Beatles playing on the Apple building in London!

We'll work on that for next year!