Our school auditorium was filled with excitement and enchantment as our talented students from Year 7 to Year 9 took to the stage to perform William Shakespeare’s 'The Tempest'. 

For their Maths Diploma, Year 8 students were tasked with a statistical investigation of data which they had researched and/or collected themselves. Our hardworking students came up with some intriguing ideas - from asking their friends to identify their favourite food, to looking at the numbers associated with their favourite sports team or video game, to measuring how many kick-ups students of different ages can perform on the football pitch!

 They then used the statistical techniques they’ve been learning in lessons - including pie charts, bar charts, stem and leaf diagrams, box plots, cumulative frequency graphs, scatter graphs, linear correlation and regression, statistical summary calculations, and more - to study their data and to produce a report or poster of their analysis. Some of their excellent work can be seen below.

Good job, Year 8!

Mr Male, KS3 Maths Coordinator

Click on the link here to view the Maths Diploma Photo Gallery

For their MFL Diploma Year 7, students created a piece of work about themselves using the vocabulary they have learnt in lessons so far this year. Diplomas were judged on the quality of language and presentation.

This year we had some absolutely wonderful projects with examples of outstanding language and creativity. The award for Best French Diploma goes to Suriya (7JR) and the Best German Diploma to Aysu (7LC).

 

Well done to all our Year 7 students for completing this project on time and to such a high standard.

Click on the link here to view the Year 7 MFL Diploma Photo Gallery

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

STEMFEST ENGINEERING PROGRAMME

Bexley Grammar Students Win Big!

For six weeks this spring, a group of 30 Year 8 students were invited to take part in a new Engineering Programme called STEMFEST run by The Fest Hub. The aim of the programme is to bring together schools, engineers and the football community to inspire a new generation of engineers. Our school was paired with Charlton Athletic Football Club and an Engineering Firm called Ramboll Group, and we competed against two other schools from the London area.

 

 

 

 

Students worked with engineers and representatives from Charlton’s Community Outreach team over a number of weeks to learn about engineering and its role in football and also to design a new stadium. We then attended a grand final at the London Stadium where they pitched their ideas to a panel of industry experts, who then quizzed them on their designs. I was incredibly proud of how all the teams performed. Anyone would have found the presentations daunting, but they all rose to the challenge and really represented Bexley Grammar School brilliantly.

All the students were given a goodie bag and enjoyed the novelty of having a free lunch, which made us all feel very professional!

Overall, our teams did fantastically well, winning three out of the six prizes available (we didn’t actually enter two of them but who’s counting??)

Ms R Lusted, STEM Coordinator

The winners were:

Most Sustainable Design

Nibodh Shrestha, Jason Hammond, Victoria Lawani & Guin Homfray

Best Presentation

Radleigh Pompei, Adam Sulcas, Sid Pant & Josh Rehal

Strongest Bridge

Lilla Berglund, Florie Nalepa, Freya Savage, Hannah Keeling,
Katy Fletcher & Christopher Male

A student’s perspective 

Stemfest was an amazing opportunity to learn more about the field of engineering, allowing us to learn more about a profession we may want to pursue in the future. They accomplished this by setting us the task of redesigning Charlton Athletic Football Club's, 'The Valley'. We then spent the next few sessions of STEMFEST learning about the roles of engineers in a team and working on our presentation for the redesign of The Valley stadium. We started the event by, in groups, building the strongest bridge possible with newspaper rolls and cable ties. Juice cartons filled with water were then placed onto the bridge to see how much load our bridges could hold. This depended on our design and how well our bridge dispersed the weight of the load. The winner of this bridge contest was a group from our school with a load of 43 cartons, each weighing 1.75kg to a total of 75.25kg, which broke their all-time record.

We then went to present our group presentation that we had been working on over our past few STEMFEST sessions to a board of professionals who assessed our stadium designs and presentation skills. After that, we were treated to a buffet of sandwiches. Then it was inspirational speeches delivered to us by special guests who, against all odds, became incredibly successful in the engineering industry, passing some of their immense knowledge onto the new generation of potential engineers. This was followed up by the award ceremony, which presented the well-deserved to students awards for best design, sustainability, and presentations, being awarded a trophy and a £30 Amazon gift card, and although I didn't win, I still had a very enjoyable experience. Throughout this experience, I have learnt greatly about the field of engineering, and it has developed my interest in engineering and increased my curiosity in science.

Elwood Battye, Year 8

Please click on the link here to view the STEMFEST Photo Gallery.

On Saturday 20th April, the Chamber Choir performed at the inaugural Spring Song Choir Festival at Christchurch Bexleyheath, organised by ZigZag Performing Arts and Greenwich Academy for Music and Dance. Comprised of Year 12 and 13 students and led expertly by Mrs Casling, the Choir performed Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell, Glow by Eric Whitacre and Grace Kelly by Mika. Their performance was wonderful to watch, with smiles of enjoyment clearly visible throughout their performance. The audience were treated to a high quality performance, and the choir enjoyed performing alongside other local community choirs. Well done to members of the Chamber Choir - and good luck to our Year 13 members as you embark on study leave and exams!

Mrs Goddard, Music Department