Notebook

Barings losses hit Downside
TOP INDEPENDENT Catholic school Downside, run by the Benedictines near Bath, has become one of the more unlikely victims of the Barings Bank collapse. The oldest Catholic public school in the country lost more than £60,000 which had been invested in the bank's preference shares, leading the Abbot, Fr Charles Fitzgerald-Lombard, to suggest that bursaries may suffer as a result.
On the lottery
DAVID GELDART, WHO iS head of PE at St Mary's Comprehensive School, Ilkley, West Yorks, has been chosen by the Sports Council to be among the 12member committee charged with allocating a predicted £1.5 billion to sport in England over the next five years. The 39-yearold Mr Geldart shares the role with such luminaries as former footballer Trevor Brooking and Olympic swimming gold medallist Adrian Moorhouse.
Easter crossing
DESPUE THE CURRENT vogue for sidestepping the cross in Easter messages, eight groups of college students and former students are preparing to set off in a week's time for the annual Student Cross Easter pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham. The students will start on 7 April from different parts of the country, each group carrying a large wooden cross to symbolise their faith. For details contact organising director Maria Huff on 0850 010342.
Media woman BBC NEWS BROADCASTER Moira Stuart was guest at Maria Fidelis Convent School, London, last week, when she took part in a women's week. A former convent school pupil herself, she spoke to sixth form students about how she began her career.
Aged overnight
PUPILS AT CARDINAL Vaughan Memorial School, London, were last week helped to "age overnight" as part of an experiment to help them understand the difficulties of getting old. The pupils donned specially designed goggles, gloves and weights and tried to cope with everyday tasks to simulate what those tasks were like for old people.
Anniversary
ARCHBISHOP MICHAEL Bowen of Southwark will next week lead celebrations for the 40th anniversary of Marymount International School, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey. The school has 100 boarders and 100 day students from no less than 30 countries.
Shoah memorial
YEAR 10 PUPILS AT St Augustine's High School, Billington, Cheshire, last week held a study day on the Jewish Holocaust as part of their studies to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. A survivor of the death camps made a big impression by recounting his experiences.
Comic capers
SIXTH FORM STUDENTS at St Aelred's School, Newton-leWillows, Merseyside, helped to raise more than £800 for Comic Relief a fortnight ago, with a series of activities. They organised a treasure hunt for lower school pupils, held a fancy dress competition and challenged the staff to a basketball match.
Worthy Worth
THE COMMUNITY orchestra of Worth Abbey last week held a charity concert in memory of Abbot Dominic Gaisford, who died last year. The Choir of Notre Dame joined the musicians and singers from Worth who performed works by Brahms and Rachmaninov, in aid of St Catherine's Hospice.
International day
GIRLS FROM BEIJING, Dubai, Vanuata and Hong Kong were among representatives of 20 nations who shared a taste of their own culture, at an International Concert at New Hall School, Chelmsford, last week. The festival, which ended the Spring term, celebrated the international mix of students at the Essex independent school.