Christmas Concert 2023
On Monday 4th December, the music department put on their annual music concert, and we had ‘the most wonderful time’ again this year!
With lots on offer from all of our groups, including a debut from our Year 7 trumpeters who have only been learning for 10 weeks, the standard, as usual, was high. The Symphony Orchestra started the concert with ‘Dreams of Fireflies on a Christmas Night’ and ‘Let the bells ring’ with an ever larger percussion section, and our thanks go to Bexley Music and the London Symphony Orchestra for the addition of bass drum and tubular bells. The Samba band also continues to grow, and they filled the hall with Latin rhythms, much to the delight of the audience. The Clarinet Group performed ‘12 Keys of Christmas’ (and hit all of the keys!) followed by Junior Choir performing ‘Last Christmas’ and ‘Christmas in 2 minutes 22 seconds’. The Flute Group performed ‘Gesu Bambino’ and ‘Feliz Navidad’, and our 5 Year 7 trumpeters bravely and wonderfully performed to the delight of the audience. We finished the first half with Junior Jazz performing ‘Watermelon Man’ and ‘Bag’s Groove’, and Senior Choir offering the wonderful ‘Seal Lullaby’ and the festive ‘Ring those Christmas Bells’.
The second half started with KS3 Orchestra performing ‘African Noel’ and the classic ‘Walking in the air’. The String Group performed ‘The Christmas Song’, and the Chamber Choir performed a second Whitacre piece, ‘Glow’ and the gospel-inspired ‘Keeping the Dream alive’. Rock Band went for alternative with the heavy metal inspired ‘Deck the Halls’, followed by Improv performing ‘Cornbread’ and ‘Airegin’. The Big Band performed ‘Misbehave’ and ‘Bounce’ before our final massed item, ‘The Most Wonderful Time of the Year’.
A huge well done to all of our performers at the 2023 Christmas Concert, you were fantastic! We hope you were able to join us and, if you missed us, please take note of the upcoming concerts!
Mrs Goddard, Head of Music
Upcoming Concerts:
- Saturday 27th January 2024 - Jazz and Curry Evening
- Monday 29th January 2024 - KS4 Showcase
- Wednesday 22nd February 2024 - KS5 Showcase
- Monday 18th March 2024 - Spring Concert - ‘BGS in Technicolour’
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'Alice' ~ Don't miss out!
Alice by Laura Wade, adapted from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
The White Rabbit is late for the Duchess. The Cheshire Cat won't stop grinning. And the Hatter is, well, mad. In the middle of it all is Alice, a young girl with a vivid imagination and a family life that's less than perfect. Follow Alice as she escapes her home to find adventure in a topsy-turvy world.
Please click below to play Olivia Ivashkevitch's 'Alice' Trailer
Based on Lewis Carroll's classic tale, Alice breathes fresh life into a much-loved story about rabbit holes, pocket watches and talking caterpillars. Laura Wade brings you Wonderland as you've never seen it before.
The play deals with the theme of grief. This adaptation has all the silliness you would expect from a children's tale, with enough complicated emotions to make it interesting for adults too.
Come and see as the K Block transforms into Wonderland!
Performance dates and times:
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Wednesday 13th December 7pm
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Thursday 14th December 5pm
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Friday 15th December 7pm
Tickets:
Adults £8.50
Children/ Concessions £5.50
Family (4 tickets, at least 2 children) £22
Don't miss out!
To order your tickets please click on the link here or go to
https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/49878
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Year 7 News
 The most recent POWER Day had the Year 7 forms competing against each other. The task (in groups of 4) was to produce a business plan and presentation for a sustainable product. The winning group from each form went through to the final and presented virtually to the entire year group! The ideas and quality of the presentations were brilliant. Mr Powell and I were judging, plus pupils were given the chance to vote for their favourite.
Congratulations to Latika Chandran, Cameron Miller, Chaitanya Gaikwad and Rishabh Shukla (7JR) who were the overall winners. Their Eco-Pen company was well-thought-out and had a pricing strategy that would rival any major established company. They also proposed some of the profits would be used to support local communities. It was a clear and concise presentation that Mr Powell and I were extremely impressed with. They were awarded a Waterstones Voucher each in assembly.
Congratulations to all the finalists, especially our winning group from 7JR.
Mr Mackle, Director of Studies
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Year 10 News
 Thank you to our amazing Year 10 Form Council reps. They collected toiletries and items for a local charity, Bexley Women’s Aid. These donations are going to benefit so many, and we're super proud!
Thank you,
Mrs Spencer, Director of Studies and
Miss Meacher, Senior Academic Mentor
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BGS Young Enterprise Starts Production!
 The Young Enterprise Team has decided to handcraft luxury, eco-friendly soy wax melts and candles as our product and has recently started production. Many thanks to BGS parent, Joanna Brzeg, for taking the time to teach us.
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 Over 50% of our first batch of melts and candles (unbranded) were sold in one week, so we’re off to a good start!
Our melts and candles are made with natural soy wax, which burns cleaner than paraffin wax which is made from petroleum and releases toxins when the wax is burnt.
We started off with three scents: Christmas Spice, Lavender and a mixture of orange, cinnamon, frankincense and myrrh. After some testing, we’ll be adding more scent options soon.
We also sold our candles at the BGS quiz night, which was a huge success!
We’re currently finishing our branding and finding out how to differentiate ourselves in the competitive, but popular, candle market.
Max Campbell, Managing Director of the BGS Young Enterprise Team
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PE News
Year 10 Netball
 The Year 10 A & B Netball teams secured two wins against St Matthew Academy on Wednesday in very cold conditions. The A team won 9-1 with Darina named as player of the match for her excellent shooting and movement through court, whilst the B team won 6-3. Naima was voted player of the match for her fantastic defensive skills. Well done all!
Ms Leffen, PE Department
Year KS3 Netball
The Year 7s drew the short straw but braved the cold, whilst the Year 9s battled hard in the warmth. Players of the match: Devine and Kendra. Great play against St Catherine's with good spirits throughout the game. Year 7s had plenty of practice in time for their Christmas tournament on Thursday.
Well done!
Mrs Kemp, PE Department
Year 10 Football
On Wednesday 29 November, the Year 10 boys played a thrilling North Kent Cup game against Harris Falconwood. After many great saves in the first half by Lewis to keep it 0-0, Harris scored a penalty to put them 1-0 up with 30 minutes left to play. From that point on, BGS started to dominate possession. About 5 minutes after their goal, Will, from outside the box, scored a great goal in the bottom corner to level the game. With time running out for either team to score a winner, the game ebbed and flowed - BGS still dominating possession but always suspect of a breakaway counter attach from Harris. However, it was BGS who had the last say with Zach scoring in the last minute with the help of a mistake from their keeper. Final score 2-1 to BGS. Our North Kent Cup campaign continues on 5th December with a home tie against Cleeve Park.
Finley Uttridge (Captain)
Year 10 Rugby
Well done to the Year 10 Rugby team, who won a thrilling match against Hurstmere 39-33. Tries from James (3), Rotimi (2) and Manni and Stelios were enough to secure the win in the gloom.
Well played!
Mr Lines, Head of PE
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Library News
Author event with Tom Palmer and Mr Dilly
As part of our book group we have read Arctic Star by Tom Palmer, which tells the true story of how the Royal Navy's Arctic convoy braved the might of the Scharnhorst in the Battle of the North Cape in 1943. On Friday we had the pleasure of attending an online interview with Mr Dilly and Tom Palmer where they discussed the war, spoke to Royal Navy veterans, showed footage onboard HMS Belfast and answered questions from schools about the writing process. It was a fascinating event which our book group really enjoyed.
Mrs Carey, Libraian
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A Message from Mr Gilmore
Parent Power Success For BGS!
This weekend, The Sunday Times published its Parent Power league tables of the best Secondary Schools in the UK.
I'm delighted to say that Bexley Grammar School was by far the best ranked school in the local area, based on Key Stage 4 and 5 attainment outcomes. We are very proud of the following statistics:
- 51st state school nationally
- 13th state school in London
- 7th ranked state IB school nationally
I'm very pleased to share this information with you and hope that all members of our school community share my pride in what we have achieved.
If you would like to see the comparisons for yourself, please follow the link below (a subscription is required to access some of the content).
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/schools-league-table
H.J. Gilmore
Headteacher
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MFL News
“Gilbertese” challenge part 1
Gilbertese or taetae ni Kiribati is an Austronesian language spoken mainly in Kiribati, with 120,000 native speakers.
 Kiribati is a former British colony called the Gilbert Islands before independence, and the modern name is actually how the word ‘Gilbert’ is pronounced in this language.
On the left you can see some sentences in Gilbertese with their English translations. Note that fruit is singular (i.e. ‘piece of fruit’).
Get in touch with Ms Giglione for the solutions! giglione_m@bexleygs.co.uk
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 | 06 Dec 2023 |
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 Please click on the link here to access all our Safeguarding Updates
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 | 06 Dec 2023 With the advances made in AI, parents and carers should be aware that children have unfortunately been the victims of online offenders, who have stolen and adjusted images from social media to be used criminally. We would therefore advise that all accounts are kept private and that securit... |
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 A Message from the Examinations Office
GCSE Examination Timetable Summer 2024
The GCSE timetable for examinations to be taken in 2024 is now available on the school website or by clicking on the link here.
GCSE Contingency Days Summer 2024
Please note, contingency days are timetabled for the afternoons of 6th and 13th June, as well as Wednesday 26th June 2024. These contingency days are designed to be used in the event of national or significant local disruption to examinations.
This means that all exam candidates must be available to sit exams from the date of their first exam until Wednesday 26 June 2024.
This decision is not a school decision and does apply to all candidates in all schools.
Mrs Bono, Examinations Office
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Year 11 Preparing for Revision
A notice for Year 11 Parents/Carers & Students. The Year 11 Revision Booklet has been issued to students this week.
The booklet can be viewed on the school website under the header Teaching and Learning/ Year 11 or by clicking on the link here.
Thank you
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News items you may have missed
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Greenwich
If your child attends a school in another borough, you will need to apply to the relevant council or school directly. APPLY TO BEXLEY.
Tower Hamlets
Children whose parents live in the borough but who attend schools outside the borough. Parents should apply to the authority where the school is located. APPLY TO BEXLEY.
Medway
Does not specify the location of the school and just has a link to applications.
https://www.medway.gov.uk/info/200164/school_information/354/free_school_meals. You may need to go via Bexley after this process.
Bromley
If your child attends a non-Bromley school, you must apply to the local authority where the school is situated. APPLY TO BEXLEY.
Dartford
If your child attends a non-Dartford school, you must apply to the local authority where the school is situated. APPLY TO BEXLEY.
When these applications are completed, a notification should be sent to the school for us to update records accordingly, but it may be worth the parents sending in the email confirmation to us too.
Bexley Application Link
https://www.bexley.gov.uk/services/schools-and-education/free-school-meals/how-apply-free-school-meals/free-school-meals-form
Don't delay, apply today!
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Lost Property
We currently have various items of PE kits, such as polo shirts, rugby jerseys, shorts and tracksuit bottoms at the Reception which have been handed in as lost property. All the items shown in these photographs have the student names stated somewhere on the item. The Reception Team have emailed the students using their school email accounts informing them that they need to collect their item. If your child has informed you that a particular item of their PE kit is missing, then please ask them to check if they have received an email, then to go to Reception to collect their property.
We kindly remind Parents/Carers to please ensure your child's name is clearly stated where possible in all school clothing items, including their PE kit bag and trainers, as this helps the Reception Team reunite the items back to the student.
End of Term Unclaimed Lost Property Reminder ~ Week 2
Any items which are not claimed by the end of this current term will be donated to The Salvation Army. Please check last week's newsletter for this term's lost property coats and glasses.
Please click on the link here to report lost property or email us directly via
reception@bexleygs.co.uk.
Reception Team
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