On May 29th, a group of German learning students headed out to Hamburg to spend just under a week practising our German with our exchange partners and exploring the beautiful city of Hamburg.

Our first day started off with a relaxing boat ride along the river Elbe, from where we could see many landmarks of Hamburg and its wonderfully green banks. We then resided on a sandy bank where we ate lunch. Afterwards, we wandered to St. Michael’s church, a staple of Hamburg, where we climbed up a copious number of stairs in order to see a wonderful view of Hamburg from above. We were then able to spend the afternoon with our exchange partners going around Hamburg.

The second day started with school, in which we were able to see the learning environments of our exchange partners and how they differed from our school environment. We were first greeted by their Headteacher, followed by 3 double periods of lessons, including any from English (where they are studying Romeo and Juliet), PE, Drama, Chemistry and/or Art. Afterwards, we had lunch with our partners and then promptly gathered outside Schoko Versum, a chocolate factory, where we received a tour on how chocolate was made, starting in the rainforest, ending up seeing the different machines used in the process and trying how chocolate tasted at each stage.

Our third day was spent in Lübeck, an old city slightly north of Hamburg. We went on a tour of the city including Museum Holstentor, the gate that was the main entrance to the city, built in 1464 and is still standing (though leans slightly due to the lack of foundation under the connecting wall between the two towers), the narrow streets built when the population of Lübeck was very high and housing was needed, but there was a lack of space, seeing a bus that drove on both land and in the water, and other buildings like St. Peter's church, all built with red bricks as Lübeck does not have natural stone to build with. We then got a few hours to go round in our own groups and see more of Lübeck, like the marzipan museum and shop, as Marzipan originated from Lübeck and became very popular for its use as table decoration due to its ability to be coloured and moulded into different shapes.

On Sunday we had the whole day to go round Hamburg with our exchange partners to see more sights. For example, going to Elbphilharmonie, a concert hall in Hamburg, and also another great opportunity to see Hamburg from above, Planten un Blomen, which is a beautiful flower park and a wonderful water show, or viewing parts of the Ironman, a massive triathlon event which happened to land on the same Sunday we were in Hamburg.

We are all so grateful to Dr Symons for being able to rearrange this trip for us after last year’s mishap with the flight being cancelled and this only being established once we had arrived at the airport. It was a wonderful experience from which many of us plan to revisit our exchange partners in Hamburg. In addition, many thanks to Frau Knebler for hosting us and helping organise the trip. And finally, thank you to Mr Adams for accompanying us.

Charlie Furlong, Year 10

In May, the MFL Department ran their very first MFL trip to Oxford University with a selection of our Year 10 and Year 12 linguists. The focus of the trip was to give our most enthusiastic linguists a glimpse of the opportunities that studying languages at university could open, especially when combined with another subject in joint degrees. On the day, students had the chance to attend some very informative sessions led by Nicola Brown, School Liaison Officer at the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, and Sarah Large, Outreach Program Coordinator at Mansfield College. After a taster lecture in literature, our group met two BGS alumni, Lucas and Harry, for a private tour of Hertford College.

Our students were not only inspired by the academic sessions but also by the personal stories and experiences shared by the student ambassadors and our BGS alumni. The opportunity to explore the beautiful and historic campus of Oxford University was an unforgettable experience that has sparked a newfound motivation and curiosity in our linguists. Witnessing their excitement and engagement throughout the day was incredibly rewarding.

Ms Giglione and Dr Symons
MFL Department

On the 17th May, I, along with 24 other Year 10 language leaders and Year 12s, visited Mansfield College (Oxford University). When we arrived at the college, after a brief walk through the beautiful grounds, we were offered biscuits and refreshments, which we enjoyed outside under the shade of parasols in the warm sun. Afterwards, we attended a lecture where we learnt about the process of applying to university and the various opportunities and jobs that having a language degree offered, which included careers in law, advertising and education. Shortly after, there was a Q&A with three Oxford students, which I found immensely interesting and learnt that studying languages involves a lot of culture as well as literature, which made me more eager to continue to learn languages in the future.

After the lectures, we were taken around the college for a tour, where we saw the beautiful library as well as the impressive artwork of some Oxford students which were decorated around the corridors, some of which were celebrating the anniversary of when women were first admitted into the university. We then attended a seminar, where we analysed an 18th Century text, which gave us a fascinating insight into the literature segment of studying languages at university, which was shortly followed by a tour of Hertford College led by two BGS alumni; Harry and Lucas.

The trip was an excellent opportunity for me to understand the experience and enjoyment which comes with studying languages at university, as well as providing a general overview of the application process of university - I definitely recommend this to anyone who is given the opportunity to go on this trip!

Hana Ostrowski, Year 10

It was incredibly interesting to have an early look at how Modern Foreign Languages are studied at Oxford University and what daily life for students is like throughout its different colleges. A highlight for me was the academic taster session, where we were split into different groups and given a text translated from French. From there, we then had to find and use specific details from it in order to gather inferences about its origin, context and story. Listening to different interpretations from different groups shows us how diverse our individual understanding of linguistics can be.

Berad Musov, Year 10

The trip to Oxford University was an amazing experience. Visiting Mansfield College was extremely inspirational. We got to learn about the courses they offered, student life and even had a taster lesson. We then visited Hertford college. There we also saw the dorms, dining hall and its chapel. It was altogether a great experience. Thank you to Dr Symons and Miss Giglione for taking the time to put this trip together.

Caitlyn Osei-Tutu

Please click on the link here to view the MFL Trip to Oxford University. 

The school trip to the Baltic States was phenomenal. It was a great opportunity to experience the cultures of the Baltic States, and gain an insight into their fascinating history. It was also a great opportunity to practice my Russian - I purchased so many Russian books on the trip, my suitcase burst open at Gatwick Airport! We visited various museums in Tallinn and Riga, and went on guided tours of both cities, from which we learnt some fascinating stories about their past. One interesting story we heard from our guide in Riga was about a man who would not be allowed into a guild, which prompted him to purchase the building opposite the guild house, and place statues of cats on the roof out of spite, with their backsides facing the guild house. One of the highlights of the trip was a cooking class in Tallinn, in which we were taught to make Пельмени (Russian dumplings), which were served with borscht and black bread - all delectable Russian foods. Thrilling, enriching, and packed with unforgettable experiences, the entire trip was an absolute blast!

Malin Karasimov, 13 KSK

During the first part of the Easter holidays, we visited Riga in Latvia and Tallinn in Estonia. I really enjoyed it! We went to local museums and restaurants, and had guided tours of the two cities' old towns, which are truly beautiful. We had opportunities to explore the cities for ourselves, buy souvenirs, take hundreds of photos, and find out about local culture. For me, it was not just a welcome break from preparing for GCSEs, but one of the best weeks of my life :)

Here are some of my favourite memories (the full list would be way too long):

• The tour of Riga old town - we had a legendary tour guide.
• Swinging on the swings, a Latvian Easter tradition (apparently it stops mosquitoes from attacking you during summer!).
• Listening to street musicians on a pretty lit-up evening in Riga.
• Seeing the old Soviet radio equipment in the Viru hotel & KGB museum in Tallinn.
• Making traditional pelmeni and vareniki dumplings at the Troika restaurant (and eating them).
• Malin, doing maths from a textbook at 7 am in the hotel lobby.
• Countless friends group in-jokes.

Winter Smythe, 11AMM

At 5am on the first day of the Easter holidays, a group of sleepy Russian-speaking students from Year 9 up to Year 13 embarked on a six-day adventure in Latvia and Estonia. Between balmy, sunny Riga at 17°C and rainy, snowy, windy Tallinn at 0°C, we had it all - culture and history, VR games, a cooking workshop, a walk in the woods and a visit to an Estonian Russian-speaking school. For many students, it was the first residential secondary school trip, a chance to spend time with their friends in a new environment. Not just the students, the members of staff who went on the trip had an amazing time too!

Ms Zotova, MFL Department

Click here to view the Baltic States Trip 2024 Photo Gallery

On Friday 15th March we celebrated Culture Day at BGS. Staff and students wore traditional attire or items of clothing representing their cultural heritage and participated in a range of activities throughout the day. Below are descriptions of some of the activities that took place - next week students will report on and share pictures of the fantastic after-school event organised by the ACS (Afro-Caribbean Society) and SEAS (South-East Asian Society).

Bailes en Linea

A large number of students in Years 10 and 11 joined Ms Giglione in the hall in their lunch period for some Bailes en Linea (South American Line Dancing). It was very energetic and great fun was had by all!

Biscuit Decorating

At lunch, I participated in the biscuit making in L3 and I thought it was really fun. It was a really good way of representing your country through creating unique designs using the abundance of different colours of icing. For example, since I am from Jamaica, I created the Jamaican flag as the design for my biscuit.

Elijah, Year 11

 

International Games Culture Day

To celebrate Culture Day, the Language Club prefects hosted a session of International Games. We played Romanian Scrabble, as well as German Bananagrams. It was good to learn about how different cultures play games that are widely known around the world.

Overall, it was really fun and something that would be fun to do again!

Caitlin Gorman, Year 9

International Crafts

On Culture day, I helped to run the fan making activity during P6 lunch. We didn't know if it would be popular, but we ended up with around 20 people! It was fun and easy to do. I would encourage everyone to be involved in activities on any future Culture days.

Lucy, Year 11

Find the Flags Competition

Throughout the day, students raced to find and name 20 flags hidden all over the school. Students who were successful claimed a small prize from the MFL Office!

Year 7 Media Correspondents
Culture Day Report

On Friday 15th March, Culture Day was run by the SEAS and ACS which was lots of fun for everyone, with many activities throughout the day including biscuit decorating, a challenge to find country flags around the school, an international parade and food stalls!

As well as this, many students wore clothes from their home countries, showing classmates all about where they come from. We are all individuals in a big supportive group, and we respect everyone, and take the opportunity when given to learn about other cultures.

Culture day gives pupils the opportunity to celebrate and represent their cultures as well as a chance for everybody to embrace the customs, traditions and languages that make each culture unique.

Lily, Year 7, said “It was a great opportunity to learn about other people's cultures and heritages.”

Paige, Year 7, said “I really enjoyed culture day as it was a chance to celebrate other people's cultures and traditions.”

Aysu, Tanvi and Kendra, Year 7 Media Correspondents

Click on the link here to view the Culture Day 2024 Photo Gallery.

Mrs Savage, MFL Department

On Tuesday 23rd January, we were delighted to welcome students and teachers from Dartford Boys Grammar, Beths Grammar and Townley Grammar to compete in the ‘Inter School Spelling Bee Final’.

All Year 7 and Year 9 (MFL2) students competed in ‘in class Spelling Bee heats’ in the lead up to Christmas or just after and winners in each group were invited to compete against the other schools. Bexley Grammar students did an amazing job competing in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Chinese - the standard of the competition was incredibly high, and they made themselves and the school proud!

Caitlin G and Rowan B both finished in second place (Italian and Japanese) with winner Yu Xuan winning the Mandarin spell off correctly spelling an incredible 26 words in 2 minutes!

Well done to all our amazing participants:

Year 7: Dilinna E, Saviru A, Areeb A, Freya F, Krista T, Ethan E, Aysu B.

Year 9: Vidhya B, Maya S, Tianming X, Cedric M, Sophie A, Millie W, Caitlin G, Rowan B, Rayon M, Yu Xuan O, Edwin S, Sophia L.

Mrs Savage, MFL Department

This half-term, 41 BGS students from Year 9 and Year 10 have been selected to participate in two virtual outreach workshops hosted by GCHQ, the largest intelligence agency in the UK. As the government's premier employer of linguists, GCHQ is always seeking bilingual graduates who can contribute to the cybersecurity of the UK.

Most impressively, two weeks ago, seventeen Year 9 students attended an interactive session tailored specifically for French speakers, led by a GCHQ language analyst. The students decoded messages in French and participated in a Q&A session regarding career opportunities at GCHQ.

We are currently gearing up for the GCHQ National Language Competition, which will take place from Monday, November 6th to Friday, November 10th, 2023. This virtual competition pits teams from schools across the UK against each other in solving language-based puzzles to earn points. There is still time to sign up - for more information, please email giglione_m@bexleygs.co.uk.

Ms Giglione, MFL Department

 I thoroughly enjoyed the experience as it showcased the diversity among the language analysts at GCHQ. It also presented the methods they employ when working with different scenarios. It helped many of us understand how important learning a language is when it comes to careers that will come after it and how this recruitment is needed for linguists.

Leo Demyan, 9STA

Languages are essential for communication, and they are extremely important to society as well as creating jobs that require a creativity AI can not achieve.

Diep Anh Nguyen, 10LPV

Having a languages degree can be very useful, helps you to meet new people and enhances communication skills. What I also found interesting was how they discussed online translators, and how the job of translating can not always be done by AI, because a lot of languages have phrases that mean different things to their direct and literal meaning. Thank you for giving me this opportunity; it was really interesting to see where my love for languages could take me!

Hana Ostrowski, 10DCC

Being able to learn new languages gives you the freedom to communicate and learn about other cultures. Acquiring new knowledge and looking at things from a different perspective. Knowing multiple languages can also make you more employable.

Elin Mecaj, 10LPV