It’s with great sadness that I share with you the news that one of our pupils, Fabiana, passed away on Sunday evening having spent a period in hospital.

This news comes as a huge shock to all of us who knew her as a bright young girl with a vibrant energy and a beautiful smile. We send our love and deepest condolences to her family and all who knew her, and our thoughts are with you at this difficult time.

To us, Fabiana was a beautiful soul, with whom we had the privilege to share so many wonderful moments. She possessed a fantastic ability to spread happiness wherever she went and she was a delight to have her beaming presence as part of our New Bridge family. Many of us remember the smile that crept across our faces as we watched her joyous performance of the lindy hop in last year’s Christmas Extravanganza. To those closest to her she was an amazing friend and through her role as one of our ‘Buddys’, was a source of support to so many pupils, helping them move around school during breaks and lunchtimes. She was always happy to help, nothing was ever too much. A talented artist, a brilliant dancer, a hard-working pupil, a generous friend. You will be missed dearly by us all, children and adults alike.

Mrs Holland has a special message to share on behalf of the pupils and staff in Fabiana’s form group:

“7LHA will forever have a massive hole that will never be filled. We are going to miss her kind, caring beautiful soul. Beautiful inside and out! Fabiana fully involved herself in New Bridge life and took every challenge that was offered to her. She did this with great enthusiasm and a huge beaming smile. We have learned so much from her over such a short time and we are saddened that our school has lost this superb young lady.”

Mr Flanagan, known for his tasteful attire, shares with us a memory that gives you a further sense of her wonderful personality:

“If I was to share one memory, it would be that we would always joke that it wasn’t ‘cool’ to be a teacher. She would always walk past me and I would ask for a ‘fist bump’ to be cool, and she would always say no, but rush back to give me one at the end of every day if none of her friends could see, because she said I was ‘secretly quite cool’ with my ‘funny pants’.”

As I share this news, our thoughts also turn to our pupils, particularly those who were friends of Fabiana. In these unusual times, it makes the challenge of helping them come to terms with the loss of a friend that much more difficult. Our team have contacted the families of those pupils who were closest to Fabiana and knew her best and we are continuing to support them through their grief. We understand that this news may also cause some distress for some of our other pupils who maybe weren’t as close to Fabiana. Our Form Tutors are keen to offer support and guidance to families who would like it and will check in with their form group and their families during their weekly contact. Please also do not hesitate to get in touch should you want to talk.

I want to leave you with a poem, written by Miss Bingley, which captures our thoughts at this sad time.

There are memories we all think of
That lift our spirits every time
The moments that you made us smile
And made us laugh for a while

For us to pick one moment
To cherish, save and keep
It’s proving really difficult
As we have gathered up a heap

We have dug deep inside our hearts
Found our safe and looked inside
There is room for lots of moments
In fact, hundreds if we tried

We are building our own library
Embedded in our hearts
For all the moments spent with you
Before we had to part

We can open this wherever we like
Pick a moment and watch it through
Our little library acts as a surprise
We will never forget you

Take care,

Gavin