Baking for their Heroes

Our Beacon boys have shown their huge gratitude for our incredible frontline workers by donating all entries to their recent baking competition to staff at local NHS hospitals and care homes.

Last weekend, over 60 boys pulled on their aprons, whipped out their wooden spoons and baked up a storm, producing an amazing range of cakes, cookies, tray bakes and other sweet treats to enter our first ever ‘Great Beacon Bake Off’. Following strict socially distancing guidelines, the boys then delivered their carefully baked treats to our Beacon staff members waiting outside their school buildings on Monday morning.

The cakes were quickly whisked away to Wexham Park Ambulance Station, where they were sampled and ‘judged’ by a team of very willing Wexham Park Hospital paramedics. Following the tasting session, the cakes and baked treats were distributed to NHS frontline staff at Wycombe, Wexham Park and Amersham hospitals, as well as to a local Wexham care home, Oak House.

We were inspired to launch our Thank You Bake Off by our Cooking & Nutrition teacher, Kim Rowland, who, together with her Seer Green community, has been preparing and delivering home-cooked meals throughout lockdown to Wexham Park and High Wycombe Ambulance Stations, as well as to Wexham Park and John Radcliffe Hospitals.

“The courage and heroism of our NHS staff during the last three months, as everyone knows, cannot be over emphasised, “ says Kim. “As our boys have whole-heartedly embraced their #BeaconExcellence: Online cooking and baking lessons through lockdown, I felt The Great Beacon Bake Off would be the perfect opportunity for a bit of fun in the form of a competition but, most importantly, to say a massive heartfelt thank you to all our heroic NHS and care home staff.”

“I am so proud of all our Beacon bakers. The standard of baking and the effort that went into every bake was outstanding. What a great way to say thank you!”

So what was the final bake-off verdict from the discerning panel of paramedic judges? “It was an absolutely amazing effort, they were all incredible and it was very difficult to choose the winners,” said Andy Battye, Head of Paramedic Operations for East Berkshire and South Bucks. “From all of us to all the Beacon boys, a huge thank you.”

We would like to especially thank Technician, Kate Chatfield, and Paramedic Area Administrator for East Berkshire and South Bucks, Julie Elmes, for all their help arranging the judging and distribution of all the baking competition entries to frontline staff.