2022 - 2023
A year in the life of BGS!
Click on the link here to catch up with all the
momentous news from this academic year!
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 A week at the Oxford University Robotics Institute
At the beginning of July 2023, I was lucky to be selected to spend a week at Oxford University working at the Robotics Institute. It was such a great experience, and I was able to learn, explore and try so many new things.
These activities ranged from working with robot simulation using ROS, Linux and C++ to map the robots' environment using 3D lidars and lasers, all the way to playing with depth cameras and working with the famous Boston Dynamics robots, ‘Spot’ and ‘ANYmal’ (who can swim). My favourite thing was coding image detection. I was able to teach the Oxford “Jackal” robots what I looked like and when I hid in a room it was able to come and find me and recognise me against other people and objects. I also did this with random objects like footballs and water bottles. We then took this further using focal lengths and Pythagoras' Theorem to be able to work out the distances of objects from the robot and also display the robots' confidence as a percentage that its object detection was correct.
Although I learnt a lot through the work I was doing, I believe the true lessons came from being the youngest person and only female on the course and meeting so many interesting people. One of these being Nick Hawes, the Professor of AI and Robotics.
I wholeheartedly recommend seizing opportunities. It is never too early to apply for programs, courses, and experiences. You will meet awesome people, gain great transferable skills and have so much fun!
Matilda Jackson, Year 10
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Year 7 Glow Boxes
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Economics & Business News
Students attend Employment Workshop
On Tuesday 11th July, Aisha Jokomba and Bellini Benecia Ban (both in Year 12) attended an employment workshop held at the Mastercard offices in London. They participated in a number of activities including interviews, group discussions, discovering what employers want to see in applications and networking. The organisers, Something Big and Young Enterprise, also took the opportunity to find out what young people want from their employers and will be feeding this information back to hundreds of organisations. Both students found the event very interesting and helpful, and it has inspired their searches for work experience and future job opportunities.
Mrs Harris, Head of Economics and Business
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English Department News
Year 7 English trip - The Globe Theatre (12th July)
As we have recently been studying Much Ado About Nothing, the English Department took 70 keen Year 7 students to visit the Globe in Southwark, to learn about Shakespeare and theatre.
The journey there was exciting: spotting life-size Morph characters on Queen's Walk and taking in the wonderful vista along the Thames.
After lunch, we were taken on a short tour of the Globe theatre, then we split into groups to participate in drama workshops with engaging actors. Everyone got into the spirit and took on some exciting acting roles.
Well done Year 7 - you behaved beautifully and had fun.
The English Department
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 Psychology News
Book recommendation
Opening Skinner's Box, by
Lauren Slater
Opening Skinner's Box, by Lauren Slater, is an exciting read into the field of psychology. The author clearly explains the ground-breaking experiments that psychologists (such as B.F. Skinner and David Rosenhan) have conducted during the 20th century. Slater's writing style expertly intertwines pure fact and her own opinions about these psychologists to make this an easy read for those new to psychology. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in psychology and the 20th century.
Caitlin Gorman, 8CED
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 Geography News
What's hot in Geography?
Following the Docklands field trip, the Year 7 Geographers have been busy working on their diplomas. We have had a fabulous selection of diplomas this year and it has been enjoyable if not tough marking them. This year we introduced prizes for students who achieved a Distinction in both content and merit, as well as awarding the ‘stand out’ diploma of each class with a London themed keyring as their prize!
The Geography Department
Highlights of each class
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7FIM
'Stand out diploma’
Rio Akintayo
Miss Ashman was extremely impressed with the attention to detail and precision in Rio’s diploma. All the writing was hand completed and the oranges which hid juicy facts just pipped Naina’s diploma to the post for the keyring award.
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7FIM
'Highly commended'
Naina Jain
Miss Ashman was so impressed by the colour, attention to detail and professional approach that Naina displayed in her diploma - Miss Ashman particularly loved the juicy fact puzzle pieces - well done!
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7NRC
Luke Peake
Miss Miotti was very impressed with the level of detail and relevant photos included here. This has been a lot of work and what is more, it is relevant and well presented.
Well done!
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7ERR
Kimran Wariabharaj
This was exceptionally complete - all recommendations were followed through to the letter, there was not a single criterion that was ignored or not fully developed.
It was also extremely well presented.
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7ERR
Tomiwa Adebisi
Again an example of a very thorough piece of work where none of the must-haves are missing, and all points are developed to a very high standard, exceeding the requirements.
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7NRC
Ayrton Chadha
A great example of a simple but effective design with all recommendations followed through and a very approachable style of writing that makes complex concepts very easy to understand.
Very well done!
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7KLH
James Wagland
A thorough and very neatly presented summary of the Docklands fieldwork and subsequent write-up. This piece of work is well-written and includes some fantastic pictures and graphs.
Well done!
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7NEQ
Dev Prasadh
Dev has not only made his presentation 3D, but has also incorporated colour, written information, lots of images and some fold-out information. This diploma is eye-catching, tactile and full of information that meets all the criteria.
Fantastic!
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There were just too many to mention in 7LGD so here are the diplomas that I have included in my wall display.
What I love about all of these is the creative design, including fruits for juicy facts, flaps to lift to find out information, graphs to present our fieldwork data and photos
Impressive efforts everyone ! :)
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Good Luck Layla!
Layla Evans (9CPB) has been selected to appear in the English Youth Ballet's production of Cinderella in Hollywood at the Orchard Theatre. Layla was put forward by her dance school and underwent an audition along with hundreds of others. She was successful at securing a part to perform "on pointe" and will now have to undertake 90 hours of training throughout her summer break before she appears in the performances.
Well done Layla and good luck!
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MFL News
Huge congratulations to Alex Stanchev (9KAS) who has been announced as the national winner as well as Greater London area winner of the Anthea Bell Prize for Italian, Level 2.
 The Anthea Bell Prize is a translation competition run by The Queen’s College at the University of Oxford since March 2020. This year, more than 15,000 students submitted their creative translations from Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Mandarin into English.
Across the six strands of the competition running this year, the judging panel has selected 24 national winners, and 20 national runners-up in the whole country.
Well done Alex, congratulazioni!
Ms Giglione, MFL Department
 Italian, Level 2:
Lou Annarumma (9JEA)
Lou translated the poem Rima di sogni nel cassetto, by Bruno Tognolini. Bruno Tognolini is a popular contemporary Italian author who often writes poems in response to requests on social media. This poem is about wishes or cherished ambitions, the title literally means “dreams in a drawer”.
I found the translation of words very easy, as it was not difficult vocabulary, and lots of resources were available from the competition to help. However, the difficult bit was making it make sense, because even if the words are correct, some meanings are not the same in both languages or for example, there are no expressions in English directly relating to "sogni nel cassetto", dreams in a drawer.
I would say my top three tips for next year's participants or future translators are:
- Don't just stick to the direct translation, get to the meaning of the text as a whole;
- Just because your poem does not look like others, doesn't mean it's wrong - the competition looks for creativity, not accuracy;
- If you can, maybe completely change some lines, so they rhyme, or think of metaphors; make it seem like you wrote it in English originally instead of just translating.
Lou Annarumma, Year 9
BGS excels in the Anthea Bell Prize
for Young Translators 2023
We are thrilled to announce that three of our students have won the Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators 2023 in the following categories:
Mandarin, Level 2 - Victor Zhuang (8CED) regional winner
Italian, Level 2 - Alex Stanchev (9KAS) regional and national winner
Mandarin, Level 4 - Xinyuan Miao (12KSK) regional winner
This competition, organised by The Queen's College at the University of Oxford, takes inspiration from the life and work of the renowned translator Anthea Bell. It involved 80 BGS students from all year groups. This year, more than 15,000 students submitted their creative translations from Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Mandarin into English.
Congratulations to all three winners! Your MFL teachers are extremely proud of you!
Ms Giglione, MFL Department
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PE News
Gold Medal Winner!
Congratulations to Abi Fosh (Year 8) who collected a very impressive gold medal in the 400m individual medley at the ESSA Summer Open last weekend at Crawley.
Mr Lines, Head of PE
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Year 7 Softball Cricket
The Year 7 softball cricketers played brilliantly in winning 3 games out of 4 vs Bexleyheath Academy on Thursday. It was a great way to finish cricket for the term.
Mr Lines, Head of PE
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Current House Standings July 2023
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1st Mabbs 107
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2nd Wellman 93
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3rd Johnson 90
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4th Prothero 87
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5th Collins 74
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6th Kirkman 57
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Jewellery Fundraiser for the Weybourne Care Home
Thursday 20th July ~ Break & Lunchtime
Being kind and generous does not have to be boring!!
Next Thursday 20th, I am holding a fundraiser during break and lunchtime near the cafeteria where you can buy beautiful and cute jewellery. Hand bracelets, necklaces, earrings, waist beads, ankle bracelets. All the money raised will go to the Weybourne Care Home which will help further the care for the elderly ones in our community. This is a 2-in one deal. Look nice, pretty, cute and help your community.
All are welcome!
Delphinal Akhator, Year 12
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Bexley Voice
 The next drop in session will be: Thursday 14th September 9:30am-12:30pm
Bexley Voice welcomes all parent/carer members and non-members at our Tea & Talk sessions. Come along and meet with other parent/carers and get information and signposting on any SEND (special educational needs & disabilities) issues.
Mrs C Haslam, SEND and Inclusion Manager
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News items you may have missed
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Native speakers of Italian…
We are looking for members of our school community, who are native speakers of Italian who would like to join our amazing team of Modern Foreign Language teachers in September 2023 to maximise the exposure our sixth form students have to authentic conversation in their chosen language of study.
The Language team would organise a schedule around your availability, which would allow for small workshops and conversation classes of 2–5 students. We are looking for native speakers who could ask students questions and support them to articulate and develop their responses accurately. Our Language teachers would support you with the planning of the workshops and topics for discussion. Topics of interest include: Identity, Traditions, Tourism, Food, Culture, School Systems, Equality and The Environment.
If you would like to know more, please contact symons_m@bexleygs.co.uk. We would welcome the chance to include our wider community in our mission to continue to provide an outstanding curriculum.
The MFL Team
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Lost Property
Please click on the link here to report lost property or email us directly
reception@bexleygs.co.uk.
Reception Team
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 GCSE Results Day
GCSE Results for Year 11 will be available for collection from 9am on Thursday 24th August 2023. Results will also be emailed to your school account later that day. Should you encounter any problems receiving your results please email the Examinations Officer, Mrs Bono (bono_a@bexleygs.co.uk).
If you would like any other person (including family members) to collect your results on your behalf, you must give your written authorisation to the Examinations Officer before results day.
GCSE certificates will be presented to pupils at a school assembly in November. Pupils who do not attend can collect their certificates from the Examinations Office. Please email Mrs Bono to arrange.
Thank you
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Dates for your Diary
July
Thursday 20th ~ Jewellery Fundraiser for the Weybourne Care Home (Break & Lunchtime (see notice)
Friday 21st ~ Last Day of the Summer Term (Early Finish)
Year 12 students will be dismissed at 10.35am
Years 7-10 will be dismissed at 12.25 pm (all students to be off site by 12.35pm please)
Tuesday 25th & Wednesday 26th ~ PA Pre-loved uniform sale (see notice)
August
Thursday 24th ~ GCSE Results Day, 9am (see notice)
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September
Monday 4th ~ INSET Day (closed ~ no students in school)
Tuesday 5th ~ First Day of the Autumn Term for new Year 7 and new Year 12 (current Year 11) only
Year 7 students to arrive at 8.20 am at the bottom gate (tennis courts)
Year 12 students register in forms at 8.30 am. Please enter via the Canteen doors.
Wednesday 6th
Years 7-11 & 13 register at 8.30 am as usual
Year 12 register at 10.00 am in form rooms
Tuesday 12th ~ INSET Day (closed ~ no students in school)
Wednesday 13th & Thursday 14th ~ Alice in Wonderland Auditions (see notice)
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