News, fundraising and small wins from our school family
A scruffy strip of ground behind the bike shed has spent this autumn turning into something much quieter and more useful. Pupils designed it, families built it, and breaktimes are already showing what happens when a corner of school stops being overlooked.
Long before the first car pulls into the lane, our caretaker is already walking the site with a clipboard, a bag of salt and a list that never quite finishes. We followed the 2026 winter prep round to see what keeps Walberton & Binsted dry, safe and open when November turns.
Our school library looks calm from the doorway. Step inside for a term and you find queues at the desk, a wet-play corner that fills in minutes and pupil librarians who know exactly which book will leave the shelf next. This is what a busy library actually looks like at Walberton & Binsted.
We asked twelve families across Walberton and Binsted what homework really looks like once the tea things are cleared. The answers were funny, frank and occasionally tearful - and they point to a few small changes that could make evenings calmer this term.
Before the first bell, before the register, a small team is already slicing bread and setting out Connect Four. We spent a morning at our breakfast club to see how working families, staffing rotas and a few quiet routines keep the start of the school day calm.
It looks like a bench and behaves a bit like a doorway. Since September we've been quietly keeping notes on how our buddy bench is used — who sits down, who walks over, and what happens in the two minutes that follow.
It is the smallest room in school and the busiest by a country mile. We spent a full day at the office hatch, where forgotten lunchboxes, lost jumpers and last-minute changes of plan all land in the same pair of hands. Here is what actually happens between the first phone call and the last.
We spent a November morning with the team who turn a delivery of crates into around 180 hot dinners. From allergy checks to pupil taste tests, here is what happens between the side gate and the serving hatch.
A frosty lane, a torch, a Thermos and a flurry of early calls: this is what happens before a snow day is announced at Walberton & Binsted. We followed one cold morning in 2026 to see how the decision is really made — and how families can help it run smoothly.
Walberton's Advent window trail returns for 2026 with 24 households, three walkable loops and a printable map. Here's how to follow it after dark, what to look for, and how the donations add up for school projects.
Nine families, one volunteer-led route and a lot less parking rage: we spent a week with the Walberton and Binsted walking bus to see what really happens at pavement level. Here is the diary, the honest bits, and how to join if your mornings need a calmer start.
By the office door, a grey rail fills and empties with coats, cardigans and PE kits every week. We spent a damp November morning with the volunteers who keep it tidy — and found out why 'no name, no shame' is the only rule that really matters.
Brollies down, engines off, and please don't stop in the archway to chat. A slightly cheeky but entirely sincere field guide to the unwritten etiquette of our school gate — with a little help from the pupils who watch us do it every morning.
They see the scraped knees, the invented games and the friendship wobbles that never reach assembly. We spent a full lunchtime with our midday supervisors to find out what the playground really looks like from inside a hi-vis vest.
Something quietly old-fashioned is happening at breaktime. Marbles are being traded, elastics are being stretched between two sets of ankles, and the hand-clap rhymes are back with a vengeance. Here's what's being played, and how to join in at home.
A walk to the village cross turned into a half-term of detective work for Years 5 and 6, as pupils traced the families behind the names carved into Walberton's war memorial. This Sunday, their research goes on display for the whole community.
From 20p coins in jam jars to a rain-soaked quiz night, our 2026 fundraising total looks modest on a spreadsheet and mighty in a classroom. Here is the honest breakdown of what came in, what went out, and which small project should get the next round of spare change.
Our pupil reporters spent a wet lunchtime sorting the lost property box and found named cardigans, a single PE sock and a water bottle that clearly had a backstory. Here is what one term of unclaimed stuff says about us, and how to reunite it with its owner.
A pupil-led project is turning fence gaps, quiet corners and autumn hedgerows into a safer route for hedgehogs around Walberton and Binsted. Here is how the idea started, what pupils have planned for winter, and how families can help.
Not every good thing at school needs a big announcement. From a reception kindness award to a parent-led playground tidy-up, here are five quiet wins from our autumn term, plus a fundraising twist and a chance to nominate the next one.