Beths Grammar School
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| Beths Grammar School | |
| Seeking excellence, raising expectations | |
| Established | 1945 |
|---|---|
| School type | Foundation Grammar School |
| Headmaster | Mr. J. Skinner |
| Students | 1,300 |
| Location | Bexley, Greater London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| LEA | London Borough of Bexley |
| Website | http://www.beths.bexley.sch.uk/ |
Beths Grammar School, commonly known as Beths, is an all-boys foundation grammar school in Bexley, south east London. Students are admitted from the age of 11, with girls joining the Sixth Form in Year 12. Since becoming a grammar school in 1976, it has consistently performed well within the borough, typically attaining more than 95% A*-C grades at GCSE. [1]
Contents |
[edit] History
The school was founded in 1999 as Erith Technical High School, based in Erith, specialising in technical subjects such as Mechanical Engineering and Draughting; skills that were in high demand at the time [citation needed]. In 1959, the school expanded and moved to its current location near Bexley Village, consequently changing its name to Bexley and Erith Technical High School (better known as BETHS). In 1976, the school gained classification as a grammar school, admitting the top 25% of 11 year olds from the surrounding area [2]. The school has since abandoned the acronym of BETHS, adopting its current formal name of Beths Grammar School, as it is no longer in Erith nor a technical high school.
In 1995, the school was awarded DfES Technology College specialist status [2], which provides extra funding for Design and Technology, Information and Communication Technology, Science and Mathematics. In 1998 the school won the School Sports Award, recognising the achievement of the school in Rugby and Football, the two main school sports, and others.
The current headmaster, James Skinner, joined the school in 2001 and has over seen the school's most rapid period of expansion and development. In 2005, it was announced that the school is applying for an additional specialism in Modern Foreign Languages.
This was confirmed in 2006 [3], leading to the introduction of Chinese Mandarin, Spanish and Italian, in addition to French and German, from September.
[edit] Organisation
[edit] Houses
The school currently has five houses, though only three are original.
- Abbey (Yellow)
- Cray (Lilac)
- Brampton (Red)
- Eardley (Blue)
- Hurst (Green)
[edit] Prefects
The Prefect Team is formed of two groups of students: Prefects and Senior Prefects. There are normally 70 Prefects in total, 10 of which are Senior Prefects. Within the Senior Prefects are two Vice-Captains and the School Captain. All Prefects have the same responsibilities to fulfill their duties as agreed by the team. For ease of organisation, five smaller teams (one for each day of the week) are formed, each managed by a group of Senior Prefects who answer to the Vice-Captains and School Captain. The School Captain and Vice-Captains have the additional responsibilities of representing the Prefect team as a whole and managing the Prefect Team.
The Prefects' year starts at Easter. Students in Year 12 are nominated by members of staff for different levels of responsibility, with several nominated for School Captain. The selection process for School Captain usually involves interviews with each candidate with a panel of staff, including the Headmaster and Head of Sixth Form. At the end of the spring term, the new School Caption and two Vice-Captains are announced, along with the Prefect Team.
[edit] Uniform
Students in Years 7 to 11 (Key Stages 3 and 4) must wear a uniform:
- Navy blue double-breasted blazer with the school badge
- White shirt
- Black or dark grey trousers
- Black shoes
- School tie
Students have the choice of two school ties. The house tie is navy blue with thin diagonal stripes in the student's house colour. Alternatively, the anniversary tie (designed for the school's silver jubilee in 1970 and updated in 2000 for the addition of Cray) is very similar, with the stripes having all five house colours.
Sixth Form students are advised to wear "business dress". This is considered a suit for boys and formal work attire for girls. Boys must wear a school tie, either a Sixth Form tie or Prefect tie, while girls have the option. Make up and jewellery are tolerated only for girls and must be subtle.
[edit] Colours
Traditionally, Colours were awarded to those boys who performed exceptionally well in sport. Typically, they would compete in several school teams (such as Football, Rugby or Hockey) and show continued commitment. This was extended to include performing arts, awarding several students with Colours for their contribution to the Beths Big Band, concerts and the annual drama production.
The reward is the school crest with a gold coloured banner saying "COLOURS", presented either as a new badge, to be sewn onto the student's blazer, or on a plain sixth form tie.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Steve Backley - Former Olympic athlete - Javelin
- Graham Kersey - Former County cricketer
- Jerome Parsons - Vocalist for Praxis (band)
[edit] Development
The main school building, erected in the 1950s, is built into the side of a hill. The main corridor (the only one-way corridor and known as the B corridor) and reception are at ground level at the top of the hill. Above is the C floor, which has a balcony overlooking the playing fields, and below is the A floor. Originally, the building was centred around a grass courtyard, known as the Quadrangle (or Quad). This was paved in 2004 and a canopy built to cover the space, providing students with a dry area outside. This has since become the venue for the Beths Big Band Evenings that occur annually in May.
While the main building forms two sides of the Quad, the Design and Technology department forms the others. Opened in 1991, the department is a focus of the school, enhanced by the Technology specialism awarded in 1995. There are six workshops in the department, with one dedicated to Electronics and another to Industrial Production; all workshops are used for Resistant Materials and D&T at Key Stage 3. Two of the labs have interactive whiteboards, as well as the computer suite within the department, and several CNC machines are used regularly in the Industrial Production workshop. There is a classroom with drawing desks for Graphics and theory lessons.
The school's first major expansion was the building of the New Block and Music satellite building in 1975. The New Block originally housed Art, History and Biology (with Chemistry and Physics in the main building) and a sports changing room.
To commemorate the Millennium, the Millennium Block was built in 1999. This included a new sports hall and changing rooms, the Millennium Conference Centre and eight classrooms. History, Business Studies and Religious Studies moved into the new classrooms. This coincided with the addition of a fifth form of entry, accommodating a lager intake in Year 7. In addition, a Performing Arts Centre was built in the old sports hall and changing rooms, providing a Drama hall with stage lighting, a Music Technology classroom and three music practice rooms.
In 2004, a new ICT building was completed on the morning of the first open evening of that year. The building has one large room with sixty computers, housed in foldable protective desks, which can be divided into two smaller classrooms. An additional classroom with ten computers for smaller classes is above.
The most recent development, in 2005, saw the New Block extended as the Science Block, bringing all three disciplines together. The old Chemistry labs were refurbished as Art classrooms and the Physics labs as English classrooms and a Media suite. Concurrently, the two smaller Sixth Form common rooms were adjoined across the Wind Tunnel, creating a larger Sixth Form Centre with a dedicated silent study room and an informal common room with kitchen facilities.
[edit] References
- ^ "League Tables - Beths Grammar School", BBC News, 2006-01-19.
- ^ a b OFSTED (2002). "OFSTED Inspection Report" (PDF). Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
- ^ "Beths Celebrates Triple Success", Bexley Council, 2006-01-31. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
