Official BGS Christmas Card for the Headteacher ~ House Competition
 Earlier this week, students submitted designs for the House annual 'Design the BGS Christmas Card' competition. Miss Harrison and Mr Gilmore from the Art Department, kindly compiled a short-list of card designs for Mr Gilmore (Headteacher) to judge. There were so many genuinely excellent entries using contrasting styles, genres and media that the task was made all the more challenging and choosing the winner was extremely difficult as there were so many designs that would clearly make excellent Christmas cards. However, after much deliberation, the striking winning design, created by Sophia Liakopoulou in Year 7, was chosen. A very impressive achievement for a Year 7 student, especially as her design saw off a great many incredibly clever and beautifully executed designs. Sofia’s design has since been transformed into the official BGS Christmas card for 2023 and sent out to governors, friends of the school and ex-staff. Congratulations Sophia!
Mrs Arundel, School Office
Sophia's Winning Christmas Card Design
Some of the excellent Christmas Card Designs for 2023
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MFL News
A day with José Jiménez Serrano, Education Adviser at the Spanish Embassy Education Office
 On Friday 17th November, José Jiménez Serrano from the Spanish Embassy Education Office gave all Y10 and Y11 Spanish classes an eye-opening talk about the wonders of learning Spanish. He spoke to us about the importance of learning español and that knowing how to speak multiple languages can provide you with many benefits, such as strengthening your cognitive abilities, finding unique job opportunities and being able to expose yourself to new cultures. It was an exciting and informative experience as we were able to hear first-hand the wonders of Spanish culture. ¡Gracias José por la fantástica oportunidad!
Hana Ostrowski and Maddison Lopez
The talk delivered by José was an enriching and enlightening experience. He talked to us about the benefits of learning a language post-GCSE and the importance of Spanish all over the world! And we even got some goody bags!
Matilda Jackson and Deya Dimitrova
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Why is it important to learn Spanish?
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MFL News
“Gilbertese” challenge part 2
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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'Alice' ~ Tickets still available for all performances ~ 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
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Young Enterprise Team Successfully Presents Business Pitch in London
 On Monday the 4th December, four of the Young Enterprise Team went to a pitch in the Arrow Global building, St James's. We pitched to a group of judges who then asked us questions to gain more detail about our business idea. We discussed the linking of our soy candles to Spotify playlists to create a multisensory experience.
After they had asked us their questions, they gave us feedback saying that we were very organised and that our business idea had a lot of promise. This gave us a lot of confidence to proceed with developing our production line, which will be finalised in the New Year!
Ethan Abbate, Young Enterprise Finance Director
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PE News
Year 7 & 8 Netball
The Year 7 and 8 Festive Netball Competition was fun, festive and frantic! Our improvised tournament was a great way to get into the Christmas spirit. Well done to the winners, Team Turkey!
A brilliant, fun end to 2023. Well done girls!
Mrs Kemp and Mrs Mallin, PE Department
7 and 8 Netball against Trinity
 With a win and a loss, but all good preparation for their tournaments in January. Year 7s were learning game play by playing a multitude of positions to help their understanding of the game. An impressive second half performance secured a win for the Year 8s, but this was a real team performance. The defenders did a brilliant job marking. The players of the match were Marla and Vania.
Well played. Have a lovely Christmas break!
Mrs Kemp
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Footballers
Dear All,
If you have represented the school team or been to football training so far this year, please feel free to fill in this short survey (below) that is being conducted by the Kent Football Association, who are seeking the views of young people in the 12-17 age group. There is no obligation to do so.
Mr Skinner, PE Department
Year 9 Football Team
The Year 9s have made an amazing start to their 2023/24 season, currently being undefeated in all competitions. The North Kent League has given us a chance to rotate our squad and 30 different students have worn the Bexley Grammar shirt. Last week they beat a strong Bonus Pastor team to qualify for the Quarter Finals of Kent!
A huge congratulation to all the boys involved in such a squad.
Mr Skinner
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School Council News
Thank you
 A special thank you to the School Council team who gave up their time selling refreshments at the recent Progress Review Meetings - over £40 was raised for standing-together.org who support all victims of the Gaza/Israel conflict. Thank you, Elsie Jeffries, Victoria Lawani, Louis Luckman, Millie Laming, Charlie Furlong, Joseph Petros & Adedayo Odedina.
Christmas Jumper Day 2023
Wednesday 20th December is Christmas Jumper day (with normal school uniform) - 50p / £1 donations will support Save the Children.
Thank you for your support!
Mrs Gradley, School Council Coordinator
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Afro-Caribbean Society
Big congratulations to members of the Afro-Caribbean Society (ACS). The article: 'The Afro Caribbean Society at Bexley Grammar School', was written about their valuable contribution to the school. It was previously published on the Schools, Students and Teachers' (SSAT) website, but has now been selected as one of the few articles included in their Winter Journal. In the journal, they also published a copy of a powerful poem that members of the ACS performed in assembly entitled 'Hair'.
Well done to members of the ACS and to Elvis Ekeh, Lano Adebayo and Tessie Ubochi for their poem.
Please click on the link to see a copy of the SSAT journal. See page 22 for the article and page 25 for their poem.
Ms Adeaga, English Department
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Environmental Action Group
 We are all very grateful to the EAG who are working hard to improve the school's waste systems and reduce unnecessary power use. We would ask everyone in the school community to be mindful of the reorganised bin system. Since September, we have also been using metal cutlery in the canteen, as we reduce our plastic waste. Please remember to use the correct bowls for metal cutlery in the Canteen and SFC. All of these actions are good for our future and help keep costs down.
Mr S Auckland
Deputy Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead
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Easyfundraising - Message from the PA
Dear Parents / Carers,
As we enter the festive season, the Parents' Association would like to remind you of Easyfundraising. To date, we have 380 parents / carers signed up and have raised nearly £11,000, simply by shopping online and making a free donation.
Please see the school website for more information, including a link to the site and how to sign up.
The PA donations to the school are extremely important and welcome, so please do what you can to support them.
Best wishes,
H.J. Gilmore
Headteacher
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 A Message from the Examinations Office
GCSE Mock Examination Timetable
Monday 8th January to Tuesday 16th January
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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 Please click on the link here to access all our Safeguarding Updates
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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 are fast approaching the end of the year. The photographs below show the lost property which is still at the Reception waiting to be reunited with its rightful owner(s). There are still a high number of coats, headphones, door keys, glasses/cases, gloves and woolly hats. There are also some PE kit items still waiting to be reclaimed. If you or your child spots any lost item(s) in the photos, please ask your child to come to the Reception to reclaim it/them.
We kindly remind parents/carers to please write your child's name wherever possible on their items so that the Reception Team can return property to the correct student.
End of Term Unclaimed Lost Property Reminder ~ Week 3
Any items which are not claimed by the end of this current term will be donated to The Salvation Army. Please check 29th November and 6th December newsletters for this term's lost property.
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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GCSE Advance Notice (Summer 2024) | |
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