The BAE Systems Schools Roadshow – supported by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force – visited our school in March to present to all our Year 7 and 8 pupils. The interactive roadshow experience is designed to inspire pupils about and to be aware of STEM subjects and their important link to specific career paths. The presentation delivered fun and engaging activities that demonstrated interestingly how STEM underpins everything that we do.

The show certainly inspired all our pupils who attended and to seriously think about STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects and careers, especially with the need for new energy, skills and talent to help develop the next-generation of ideas, deliver complex projects and help companies like BAe stay ahead of the competition.

Over 400 BAE Systems employees work in science, technology, engineering and maths related jobs and trained company STEM Ambassadors came along to our school to offer their expertise to inspire pupils’ interest and the value of STEM subjects in careers and the wider world and the diverse range of careers opportunities that can be achieved from studying the subjects.

Did you know there are twice as many magnets in an electric car than a fuel car or that tomatoes and apples can be moved by magnets?  Pupils were treated to an interactive show covering insights into magnetism and how these technologies are applied at home and in the workplace. Magnets and electromagnetism are used everywhere and are essential for developing highly advanced planes, ships, submarines and aircraft carriers as well as equipment used in everyday life such as speakers in your TV or phone. Magnets will also play an important role for the world to get to ‘net zero’ by reducing the reliance on fossil fuels.

As one of Britain’s leading companies, at the forefront of advanced engineering and technology, BAe has a long history of nurturing young talent and helping to educate young people on the value of studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects. The roadshow helped bring to life the importance of STEM and hopefully will help inspire some of our pupils to become the next generation of scientists, technologists and engineers.

The number of Accelerated Reader quizzes taken by our students now total 1908.The standings in thecurrent House Competition (based on the quizzes taken, number of words read and the cumulative points scored) remain unchanged:

1: Austin (7,941,319 words read).

2: Tolkien (6,365,191 words read).

3: Boulton (3,639,053 words read).

In contrast, the names on the Students’ Accelerated Reader Points Leaderboard have been changing position on an almost weekly basis.At the end of this half-term our top three readers are:

1: Alex T. (Y7).

2: Cody D. (Y9).

3: George M. (Y9).

Well done to everyone whose name has featured on the Leaderboard during this half term.Special mention also to George M. (Y9) who has become our second ‘Word Millionaire’.

It's been pancake week at TGBS, with all Food, Hospitality and Catering groups taking part. Pupils have thoroughly enjoyed learning how to make pancakes and experiment with different fillings.  Some pupils were even skilled enough to successfully flip their pancakes.  Well done!

The Library is now open daily from 8.30 to 8.45am and also from 3:00 to 3:20pm for pupils to change their books. Pupils in Key Stage 3 are enjoying their timetabled Accelerated Reader Library lesson and are beginning to develop their reading stamina. Many pupils taking their AR Quizzes are achieving the target of 80% accuracy. As a result of this, a number of new names have found their way on to the Accelerated Reader Points Leaderboard. At the end of last term our top three readers were:

1: M. Peak (Y9).

2: G. Mackcracken (Y9).

3: T. Farrell (Y7).

Congratulations to them and everyone whose name has appeared on the Leaderboard during this half term. Please remember that pupils can read and then quiz at home by accessing the Accelerated Reader quizzes via their school log-in. At the end of this term, pupils have taken a total of 788 quizzes. The current House Competition positions (based on the quizzes taken, number of words read and the cumulative points scored) are:

1: Austin (3,757,678 words read).

2: Tolkien (2,087,821 words read).

3: Boulton (1,953,317 words read).

Don’t forget that the Library is open at Breaktimes for study and reading. Each Year Group has a specific day allocated to them.

Members of The Royal Navy came into school to work with our year 10 Hospitality and Catering groups. Pupils developed their cooking skills while working under timed conditions and with limited ingredients. Their challenge was to produce a two-course meal, with just a basic list of ingredients. As well as helping pupils develop skills necessary for their GCSE, it also provided an interesting insight into catering and other careers within the Royal Navy.

The winners of the group challenges were: Joshua H, Mason P, Max R, Lewis D, Jake E, Sidney M, Dominic S and Ellis M. Well done, boys!

As part of our year 10 Hospitality and Catering course, pupils had to plan and make an afternoon tea for the elderly neighbours in the community.

Originally this would have happened in school and we would have decorated the main hall with lots of festive decorations. Pupils would have then been waiters as well as cooking and preparing the food. However, due to the current Covid 19 situation, we had to adapt it to a take-away service in order to keep the elderly safe. This meant we had to deliver the food to our local community church for the elderly to collect.

Because we were offering this take away service, we had to decorate food boxes and gift bags these boxes were then packed full of delicious food. These could then be taken away and enjoyed by the elderly community of the church.

The year 10 pupils involved, found it an interesting, enjoyable and reward experience

“I enjoyed making the quiches because it helped me revise what I’ve done in the past and contributing to the local community” Elliot N

“I enjoyed making the cakes and decorating them with buttercream however it was challenging making them look the same” Tedi Z

“The thing I most enjoyed was getting the boxes prepared for our delicious food” Jayden F

We are so proud of the hard work and attention to detail the pupils put into the event. Well done year 10!