New Designers Exhibition
On Friday 5th July, Year 10 GCSE and Year 12 IB Design Technology students embarked on an exciting journey to the Business Design Centre in Islington for the annual New Designers Exhibition. This event showcased the innovative work of newly graduated degree students across a wide range of design disciplines, offering our students a unique opportunity to witness the cutting edge of design first hand. The show offered a glimpse into the future of design. What made the experience truly exceptional was the chance for our students to engage directly with these emerging designers. They eagerly asked questions about the designers' creative processes, from the initial concept to the final product, gaining valuable insights into the design journey. This immersive experience not only broadened our students' perspectives but also ignited their passion for design, providing them with fresh ideas and motivation for their own GCSE/IB coursework.
Mrs T Papp, Design Technology Department
The Exhibition Through Student Eyes
As part of our Year 10 DT trip, we went to the Business Design Centre in Islington to see the Designers’ Exhibition, where we got the opportunity to see many new and innovative products, and even talk to some of the designers. We are currently in the process of developing our NEA (Non-Examination Assessment), so this was also an opportunity to take inspiration from these designs and help us with creating our own.
One of the first pieces that we saw was a portable, flat-pack grill for camping, where we got to speak with the designer and discuss his design process; he told us about his research into existing, portable grills and his dislikes with them, his initial design ideas, and even the history of grills and BBQs. His process was very similar to what we are currently doing in our NEA, and our conversation helped 
give us some ideas and inspiration about what our own products could be, especially as, for some of us, our chosen theme for the NEA is ‘eating away from home’. We particularly liked how the bag was designed to keep the parts of the grill separate and clean, with a smooth, silicone-like material inside to prevent stains.
Another great design we saw was a camping bag. It was a good example of containers for our brief ‘Eating away from home’, and was very versatile. It could be collapsed into a small rucksack for things where you only need a packed lunch or something, or could be expanded to become a bag for larger things such as a sleeping bag or a tent. It was good to see that as a part of eating away from home counts as camping, and so allowed for some extra thought to that area.
INCLUSIVE DESIGN
We also came across a design called Footer by Rebecca Brown, which is a sensory kit aimed at neurodivergent individuals to help reduce stress and anxiety. The designer sought to support people with stress, depression, autism, and ADHD by encouraging safe stimming behaviours. The sensory kit is customisable, can spin, and includes various sensory textures. It's also portable, allowing those with anxiety or stress to have something to fiddle with on the go, and really inspired us as another theme some people chose for our NEA was “Educational toys and games”, and helped us consider fidget toys as a possible design.
There were so many other amazing designs that we saw that couldn’t fit into this article, but overall, we all really enjoyed this experience, as we got the opportunity to see so many creative and unique designs to take inspiration from, and talked to a lot of aspiring designers who gave us some amazing advice for when we will also be designing our own products. It was really inspiring to see these designers talk about their creations with true passion for their work, and we would really like to visit another one of these exhibitions in our own time in the future.
Lucy, Alex, Elin & Jessica
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On the last Friday of term, we were delighted to hold a Sports Awards brunch for our prize winners. Students were given awards by Mr Gilmore for both their dedication to co-curricular sport, and for various successes and team performances. Thank you to all of our winners, and to every student that has attended a co-curricular sports club this year. We have been delighted to welcome nearly 6000 student visits to sports clubs in the school year.
Finally, the rain stopped on Wednesday to allow our U15’s to play cricket against CSGS. A narrow loss against a very experienced team, our girls did us proud as always. The attitude and team spirit this bunch has is amazing! 
A huge well done to the cricketers who represented us brilliantly in the regional finals on Monday at Sidcup Cricket Club. They've learnt so much and improved a great deal this season. Well played everyone. Good end to the season.
A huge thank you and well done to some of our Year 10 sports leaders who have been coaching netball at Hook Lane this term. 
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We stayed with an Italian family in Ms Contini’s home town of Isili, which was perhaps the most memorable part of our trip. Their warm hospitality and delicious home-made meals made us feel right at home.
A particularly heart-warming visit was to Centro Cetacei marine animal rescue centre in Nora. Seeing the dedication of the volunteers and the recovery of the animals touched us deeply. Eating a home-made lunch by Nora beach enlightened us, and we enjoyed the hot weather and clear waters.
On the last day, the natural beauty of Sardinia was on full display during our visit to Giara National Park, where we were surrounded by lush landscapes, stunning vistas and the largest population of wild horses in Europe.
Staying with my host family in Sardinia was an amazing experience. They were very welcoming and friendly. One cultural difference I noticed was how they enjoy long, leisurely meals together, which made me feel very much at home.
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It was our last book group this week, and the students took part in a quiz on all the books we have read this term, which was closely won by Sofie in Year 10. We all voted for our favourite book, which was Crossing the Line by Tia Fisher. The National Winner was announced the same day, and was The Boy Lost in the Maze by Joseph Coelho, the current Children's Laureate. Both books are written in verse, Crossing the Line tells the story about a boy being groomed to get drugs across county lines and The Boy Lost in the Maze entwines the story of Theseus and the Minotaur with a modern story of the journey a boy must go on to find his father. 
I am immensely proud to announce that we have been doubly successful for a second year running. Both Matilda Jackson and Yu Qi Ong in Year 11 have passed through all three stages of the Arkwright Scholarship application process.
This prestigious engineering mentorship programme is extremely competitive, and we look forward to hearing about the opportunities and experiences this provides throughout the Sixth Form.