This week we thank S. Scott for his services to Silver Readers and celebrate his award certificate. He has been taking part in the programme which matches young readers with elderly listeners. The programme's patron is the Quenn Consort. They read to them over the phone in the presence of an adult weekly. He read 'Wind in the Willows' to Edward, our silver listener over several months. Now he is in Y11 he needs to focus on his GCSE studies and has handed the reins over to a Y10 pupil. 

Our annual Summer School was busier than ever this year! We hosted over 80 pupils each day for a range of crafting and sporting activities. Our new Y7 cohort did rock painting, dropped egg hot air balloons from the top floor, explosive science experiments, camping and a whole range of sports. All pupils are given a TGBS t shirt and a water bottle alongside their snack and lunch each day. 

The final day hosted a celebration assembly for all who attended, parents were also invited and again, we had a full house. Summer school is one of our most successful ways of making pupils feel comfortable and secondary ready as well as giving them a taste of the extra curricular offer at TGBS.

Friday 10^th October marks World Mental Health Day. We wanted to take the opportunity to raise awareness with our KS3 pupils and give the opportunity to explore and develop strategies to support their mental health and support other. 

All KS3 took part in a workshop in their year groups that allowed them to watch clips focusing on issues particularly pertinent to young people's mental health from eating disorders, anxiety and bullying. Once pupils had watched a short case study, they used our common approaches for developing oracy in their planners to discuss what they had seen and share their own view on causes and how to help. 

At the end of each session, pupils all shared one key thing they had learned in the session, how they could support their mental health and support others. The pupils spoke highly of the sessions and were comfortable sharing their own experiences. It was great to see the bos making links to our Turves and British Values when referencing support.

Our library continues to be a hive of activity at social times and has even hosted its first book fair! Pupils regularly use the library at break time to complete homework, research areas of interest, play board games and read. Supported by our prefect team, Miss Deakin our librarian is always on hand to support our pupils.

Our first Scholastic book fair drew even more pupils in who purchased a range of books and helped us to select more books for the library. We hope to get the fair back later in the autumn term.

Pupils can use the library at break time, before and after school.

Over the last two days, our Year 11 pupils have taken part in focused Lead Lessons designed to prepare them for their upcoming mock exams.  Each group attended a dedicated session in the library where they explored key exam skills by looking at feedback from the exam board at the common mistakes made by previous Year 11’s.

The sessions focused on identifying common exam mistakes, with pupils seeing real examples and learning how to avoid them in their own work.  One of the most common pieces of feedback is work not being well presented and hard for examiners to read, so lots of time was spent in presenting answers clearly and effectively to ensure they can gain maximum marks in every question.

Pupils found the sessions both engaging and useful, gaining greater confidence in how to approach their revision and exam technique.  These lessons are part of our mock exam preparation for Year 11 as they start their mocks next week. They are continuing with their revision through the rest of the lessons this week in preparations for their first maths mock on Monday.

This half term, Year 8 have kicked off their curriculum by looking at the human body.  For one lesson, we were looking at how joints allow for movement and made models using paper and string to show how when biceps contract, the arm bends but when triceps contract, the arm straightens.  There were many examples in this lesson of “Respectful to All” and “Valuable Contribution” with pupils helping each other out to get the model to work as it was quite fiddly.

Last week in English we completed our first 'Key Piece' assessment for 'A Christmas Carol'.  Drawing on our Key Stage 3 use of the deconstructed essay, we began to use the analytical skills mapped across Years 7-9.  Linking key skill from Year 9 assessments helped to introduce Year 10 to our common approaches to GCSE English.  Pupils were pleased to see how their KS3 curriculum skills could be applied to their GCSE studies quickly and effectively.  Pupils were able to identify where the skills are being further developed in their work and challenge themselves to more sophisticated interpretations.

Year 11 are preparing for their forthcoming mock examinations this week with a series of lead lessons and walking talking mocks for their core subjects. 

Pupils have the opportunity to have specific exam content or common approaches to specific exam papers delivered to them by members of staff from TGBS and the school improvement team. 

Feedback from year on year shows that pupils enjoy these bespoke sessions and appreciate the exam style approach to preparing them for what can be quite a daunting exam experience.   Pupils prefer to have these sessions in this way so that they do not feel overwhelmed in their actual exams and get used to the exam conditions confidently.

This week they have had Maths masterclasses and walking talking mocks for English Language.

This half term, our Year 8 boys have been studying Animal Farm by George Orwell, a powerful and thought-provoking allegory that explores themes of power, corruption, and equality.  As part of their learning, the pupils have focused on the “Seven Commandments” created by the animals in the story — rules designed to guide their new society after the rebellion.  These commandments form the foundation for the rest of the novel, mirroring how the Ten Commandments in the Bible serve as moral guidelines for human behaviour.

To deepen their understanding, the boys have created a series of imaginative and visually striking posters that interpret and illustrate the Seven Commandments.  Each poster reflects not only their grasp of Orwell’s ideas, but also their ability to connect literature to wider moral and religious concepts.  Through colour, imagery, and thoughtful design, the pupils have brought to life the tension between idealism and corruption that lies at the heart of Animal Farm.

This project has encouraged the pupils to think critically about how rules and principles can be manipulated, and how power can alter the meaning of justice and equality.  It has also given them the chance to express their creativity and analytical skills in new and engaging ways.  We are incredibly proud of the hard work, imagination, and insight they have shown.  Their posters are a testament to their deepening understanding of literature, history, and the enduring relevance of Orwell’s message today.

Pupils in Year 10 have recently completed their first Key Piece for their GCSE English Literature. They have read the first stave of A Christmas Carol and they were asked to consider how Scrooge is presented as an isolated figure.  In order to write their response, pupils followed a Common Approach which they will refine as they make their way through the course.  The work here was produced by students in 10X1.  In particular, well done to Y Khan, C Murphy, A Williams, M Clark, D Daio and I Sayyad for their attempts – some of which you can see here.