Wednesday 28th June at 7.30pm in the Abbey
Come and hear the Parish Council’s report on the past year and take part in the launch of our consultation with residents on our vision for 2030.
Dorchester-on-Thames Parish Council
The Pigeons, 5/7 High Street, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire OX10 7HH
Telephone: 07745 311439 (Office); 07752 900716 (Direct)
e-mail: parishclerk@dorchesteronthames.co.uk
Come and see our new display! Open until 31 July.
Please come in and have a look at our latest temporary handling collection of Victorian objects. The Victorian makers of these objects were very inventive, and their precision and craftsmanship were outstanding. These objects tell us so much about the lives of our Victorian ancestors.
I wonder how many of these objects you can name and whether you can explain how they were used?
Open during August and September
Our next temporary display project will show interesting objects that have been found in the Dorchester area, and tell their stories. We live in such a rich historical setting, I am sure many of you have treasures to share. These might be items you’ve inherited from your family, or found in the garden or bought locally.
If you have any interesting local objects that you would like to share and tell their stories, please contact Gill Whitten on 01865 341833.
We are very pleased to welcome Margot Metcalfe as our new museum curator!
Margot writes:
I am delighted and proud to be able to introduce myself as the new Curator of our museum. My late husband John fulfilled this role for 10 years to 2015, and although there have been four curators since, he is still a hard act to follow! I am a local historian, have chaired the Dorchester Historical Society for many years, and have been a member of the museum committee since 2015, looking after the archive, and answering queries about Dorchester history and archaeology.
The museum’s theme is ‘Dorchester through the Ages’, some 6000 years of history, with a collection of objects and documents which reflect this. We are now embarking on an exciting new project to convert our existing database to a widely-used museum collections management software system, MODES. This will help in making the museum’s collection more easily accessible to Dorchester residents and the wider public.
There have been so many exciting things going on in our school across this year and we are very grateful for the continued support from the local community.
I just wanted to take this opportunity to share some of the extra-curricular activities that have been experienced by our children across this school year as we come towards to the end of another year at school.
We have tried to enable our children to experience a range of trips out and every class has been out at least once. Some of the trips experienced by our children are a visit to the mosque in Oxford, a day at Cotswold Wildlife Park, a day out at Hampton Court Palace, a morning at Pizza Express in Abingdon learning how to make pizzas, a trip to the Science labs at Abingdon School, Hill End Outdoor Activity Centre, a Young Citizens visit to the Fire Station in Oxford and a trip to the Pantomime.
We also continue to take advantage of our local area and we have enjoyed various activities in the Abbey and at Bishop’s Court Farm.
We would also like to say a huge thank you to the Hurst Water Meadow Trust who have funded a specialist forest school teacher for us so all our children have had at least a term out at Forest School this year. We are so happy that this funding has been granted again and we will be continuing this provision for the time being. Learning to take risks and experiencing what the outdoors has to offer is a valuable part of education here at Dorchester St Birinus.
Obviously with rising fuel costs, these trips do cost a great deal of money especially if coaches are needed. If you feel you are able to support us financially in any way in order to ensure that these enriching experiences can continue for all our children, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
We have been touched by the generosity of our community in helping to raise money for our library. We are in the process of ordering new furniture and books and we will share photos in due course.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming our new children into our Reception Class in September.
We would also like to wish our Year Six children all the very best as they transition into secondary school in September. We know they are going to do us proud.
We hope everyone has a wonderful summer – it is fantastic to see the community using the Pickleball Courts.
We run a breakfast club and an after-school club. We have places available and if you would like to see what we could offer your child please give us a call to arrange a tour. You can find out more from our website here: https://www.st-birinus-pri.oxon.sch.uk/
Jo Staples
Headteacher
Sociable and fun in the sunshine
Social tennis, coaching and a competitive tournament in September.
We have something for you in our warm and friendly club atmosphere.
19 June 7 pm – 9 pm at the Dorchester on Thames Village Hall
River Thame Conservation Trust (RTCT), in partnership with the Environment Agency and the Hurst Water Meadow Trust, is developing a project to remove the barrier to the movement of fish up the River Thame and connect the fish communities in the Thames with those of the Thame. The site of the project is Buck’s Pool, at the top of the Hurst meadow.
We invite you to learn about the project and offer your views at a public meeting from 7 to 9 pm on Monday 19 June in the Dorchester village hall. RTCT will make a presentation on the aims of the project, the options appraisal to date and the plan going forward. It will provide an early consultation opportunity for the residents of Dorchester-on-Thames to be informed and engaged in the design and planning of the scheme.
“The weir structure over the Thame which acts as a barrier to fish movement”