Gut Microbiome Awareness

Gut Fibre Challenge

Over the last few weeks, our boys in Years 4-8 have been set a Fibre Challenge, to tie in with all that they have learnt in Cooking and Nutrition lessons about Gut Microbiome and how to support it. The gut microbiome plays a very important role in your health by helping control digestion and benefiting your immune system and many other aspects of health.

The aim of this challenge was to make our boys more aware of how many fibres they eat in a week and how to increase the variety consumed. They have been returning their completed fibre forms and discussing the new foods they have tried on a weekly basis.

The challenge set our boys a target to consume 30 different types of fibre in a week, choosing a mix of whole grains, pulses, and a diverse range of fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, herbs and spices. They were also encouraged to try fermented foods, to help colonise their gut microbes.

In lessons, our Year 5 boys experimented with a fibre-rich tomato-based soup, adding a large selection of planted based fibres, herbs, beans, pulses, and spices. The boys also added sauerkraut or miso as fermented food to enhance flavour as well as a natural probiotic. The ingredients were all blended together and enjoyed as bowls of soup. All our boys were pleasantly surprised with their creations and added up to 20 different fibres to their challenge form.

Thank you to all our parents for supporting this Challenge at home. It is such an important part of long term, physical and mental health.

The Gut Fibre Challenge Scores

Five House points were awarded to each boy who consumed the target of 30 different types of fibres in a week and an extra House point was awarded for trial of fermented foods. At the end of the Fibre Challenge, points were accumulated with the scores being as follows.

House Scores

Year Group Scores

Rex Artisan Bakery Visit

We were delighted to welcome Glenn Stephens, award-winning baker and founder of Rex Artisan Bakery, who came to talk to our boys in Assembly about the benefits of good quality fermented breads, such as sourdough and many others that he makes at the bakery.

Rex Artisan Bakery is a family-run bakery in the Chilterns, judged and awarded as one of the best independents in Britain. Every single Rex loaf is Real Bread (no artificial additives, mixes or “improvers”) ensuring the utmost quality in health, digestibility, taste & texture.

Glenn formerly worked in finance in the City. Always a keen foodie, he envisioned that if he made the very best food – the best ingredients, the best methods, for the best taste – then others like him would surely want to buy it too.

Upon moving to Little Chalfont in Buckinghamshire, he always said to his family that what was missing from the local community was a truly great bakery – and wondered why that was.  During a family holiday to San Francisco in 2012, he made the life-changing decision to retrain and apprentice as an artisan baker, with a simple vision of establishing the very best in bakeries himself.

He started out by baking from the home garage, taking orders each weekend, with the family selling from a village stall. In March 2014, the doors of the first Rex Bakery shop in Little Chalfont finally opened.

Today, Rex Artisan Bakery has won many awards – World Bread Award, THE competition for artisan bakers across UK as well as 38 medals across 10 years. His sourdoughs have won 7 Gold medals in the last 2 years.

It was great for our boys to hear that with grit, determination and passion, any dream is possible.

Our boys and staff were also thrilled to taste the bread! A huge thanks to Glenn, who not only gave an insightful talk, he provided 2 crates of free, incredible bread to round off our Gut Fibre Challenge.

Take a look at the gallery of images below.