Bexley Grammar School

Bexley Grammar School
Motto Praestantiae Studere
Strive for Excellence
Established 1955
Type Grammar School; Academy
Headmaster Stephen Elphick
Location Danson Lane
Welling
London
DA16 2BL
England
Local authority Bexley
DfE URN 136369 Tables
Ofsted Reports Pre-academy reports
Students 1935
Gender Mixed
Ages 11–18
Houses      Collins
     Johnson
     Kirkman
     Mabbs
     Prothero
     Wellman
Former pupils Old Bexleians
Contact No 020 8304 8538
Website Bexley Grammar School

Bexley Grammar School, is a co-educational grammar school with academy status in Welling, in the London Borough of Bexley, UK. Students are normally admitted into Year 7 at age 11.

History

Founded in 1955, Bexley Grammar School was opened by Sir Edward Heath, the local Member of Parliament at the time, after whom the Heath Building (completed in 2000) is named. Heath attended the school's Golden Jubilee celebrations shortly before his death in 2005. The school became a specialist Language College in September 2002 and a specialist college in Science and Mathematics in 2008. The school was then awarded foundation school status, before converting to an academy in January 2011. The school continues to specialise in languages, science and mathematics.

There have been five headmasters in the school's history. The third, Roderick MacKinnon, is now head of Bristol Grammar School. He was replaced by John Welsh, who retired and was replaced by Stephen Elphick at the beginning of Easter 2014.

Grounds

The school has expanded into new buildings over time; Main (M), Jubilee (J), Golden Jubilee (was the Danson building but was replaced in 2005 by the current building), Heath (H), Le Feuvre (L), Music (Mu), Jubilee extension (J) (2002–03) and Golden Jubilee (G). Some confusion can occur with the Jubilee extension, which was originally the G building and the 2005 extension of the Main building. Recently, the SEN block (S) has been added on the end of the school on the side of the PE block and a new sixth form centre has been built as an extension to the Le Feuvre building. In 2017, a further extension to the school added a (K) block with a drama studio and sixth form study area.

The school buildings form an internal courtyard area surrounded on all sides except the West, which is a covered area.

The field covers a larger area than the buildings and is surrounded on two sides by Danson Park.

School Curriculum

The school held SATs a year earlier than the national norm for the Year 8 students in 2008 – they completed their SATs at the same time as the Year 9s – with the intention of shifting GCSE preparation and early GCSE work (including coursework) into Year 9. However, after the KS3 SATs were abolished the following year, GCSE preparation shifted to Year 9 as originally planned. Science GCSEs Specifications are also being withdrawn with the introduction of IGCSEs (at Double or Triple) and Science in the News GCSE from 2007.[1]

The school has been offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) alongside A-Levels in Sixth Form. The IB has grown in popularity year on year since it was first introduced but A Levels still remain the most popular choice. As of September 2017, students in the sixth form will only be able to take the IB as the school will no longer offer A Levels.

House system

BGS operates a House System involving all years, with around 12 members of staff in each house. All six houses have a "Head of House", who is in charge of organising all house activities. Each house is named after a former member of senior staff that had a notable impact on the school, including:

  • Collins (Red)
  • Johnson (Blue)
  • Kirkman (Yellow)
  • Prothero (Green)
  • Mabbs (Purple)
  • Wellman (Orange) – Added in 2003 due to expansion of the school year intake from 5 form entry to 6 form entry.

Inter-house competitions can be mixed but often are split by gender. They include:

  • Football
  • Basketball
  • Cricket
  • Table tennis
  • Swimming (at Crook Log Leisure Center)
  • Basketball
  • General Knowledge Quiz
  • Drama
  • Music
  • Dance
  • MFL languages song competition (years 7–9)
  • Harvest box
  • House planter
  • Sports Day
  • Dragons apprentice (business)
  • Tennis
  • Badminton
  • Netball
  • Cross Country Run (full participation)
  • Touch rugby
  • Bridge
  • House photography

Uniform

The school uniform follows the school's blue colour scheme:

Either:

  • A dark blue blazer
  • A dark blue tie with school logo
  • A Light blue or white shirt
  • Black or charcoal grey trousers.
  • Black socks

Or

  • A dark blue blazer
  • A light blue fitted blouse with no tie
  • A skirt (may only be grey in colour).
  • Tights (black) or socks (black) may be worn, but not knee length socks.

Notable former pupils

See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "Stunning Steph". Southern Daily Echo. Newsquest. 19 December 2000. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  3. 1 2 Peacock, Gavin. "Official Website of Gavin Peacock". officialplayersites.com. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Surnames beginning with P". Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.

Further reading

  • Ackerley, Robin D. (2004). Bexley Grammar School: A History. Welling: Bexley Grammar School. p. 310. ISBN 978-0-954-91220-8.

Coordinates: 51°27′23″N 0°06′30″E / 51.4564°N 0.1084°E / 51.4564; 0.1084

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