Bexley Grammar School
Science Department
“We, the members of Bexley Grammar School Science Department, have found our membership of the Prince's Teaching Institute to be invaluable.”
Setting and fulfilling our development objectives gives us the exciting challenge of not only enriching the learning experiences of our own students, but also of those in other schools.
The CPD events undoubtedly update and enhance our expertise, as well as providing us with the opportunity to share ideas and best practice. More importantly, however, they inspire us! At the end ofNovember, Christine Vialls (Head of Department) will be leading the ‘Stretch and Challenge for A2 Biology’ event at the Wellcome Collection. Also, following the ‘Darwin At Home’ event in March, we have arranged to take a group of 45 AS Biology students to Down House, to carry out activities which will extend their classroom knowledge and understanding of the Theory of Evolution.
Our membership has also enabled us to forge a valuable link with the North London Collegiate School Science Department – a very beneficial alliance between a state and an independent school.” - Joyce Petrie (KS4 Science Leader)
History Department
As a result of its membership of the Schools Programme the department has been involved in the following initiatives:
• Organising a range of extra curricular visits for Gifted & Talented students to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, where opportunities have been made available for them to study key aspects of the National Curriculum in more depth, with access to historical artefacts and resources. Areas of focus have included topics relating to “Slavery” and “The Spanish Armada”.
• Organising opportunities for all students within the school in Year 9 to devote a whole day towards an in depth study of the experiences of the Holocaust in conjunction with the English and Drama departments and based around the novel “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” by John Byrne, especially with children from different types of background.
• Organising opportunities for students to learn through alternative experiences, including the use of various learning platforms, such as “Fronter”, especially at KS3, with a range of National Curriculum topics, but also at KS4, with a variety of revision materials being made available and accessible by students in school and at home.
• Maintaining and developing opportunities for the wider learning experiences by means of visits to a range of sites of historical interest, including Rochester Castle and Cathedral, and Penshurst Place in Year 7, the First World War Battlefields in Ypres in Year 9 and the Imperial War Museum in Year 11. An additional visit to Normandy is also under consideration for GCSE students.
English Department
It was important for us to raise the profile of English across the school, as well as encouraging enthusiasm for the subject itself. We had two main events during the year: a new year 9 scheme to encourage pupils to read and learn new skills ready for their GCSE years, and promoting cross-curricular links though an ECM (Every Child Matters) day.
The new year 9 scheme, from which schemes of work have been posted on the Prince's Teaching Institute website, were designed to be challenging, with a focus on literature and key skills for GCSE, including raising confidence in public speaking. Those students who excelled in class work were nominated by their teacher to see ‘The Woman in Black’ at the theatre after reading the novel.
“I think my favourite story was ‘the Canterbury Tales’ by Chaucer: I was intrigued by the language”
“Best year of English so far… it was really challenging and interesting”
“Public speaking increased my confidence”The ECM day (Every Child Matters) focused upon ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ by John Boyne, with cross-curricular links with History and Drama. Students were asked to read the book beforehand. Students performed sections from the text, watched parts of the film, wrote empathetically in response to the characters and we debated the themes of the novel, with reference to the BNP.
“The fact that we did talk about Nick Griffin and the BNP made it much more interesting and put it into context”
“ It was my favourite ECM day so far, as it was relevant”
Overall, the Prince's Teaching Institute has enabled our department to foreground our enthusiasm for our subject and this has made an impact on students’ learning.
Bexley Grammar School is a mixed school, with pupils aged from 11-18 years, and is based in Kent.