Beths Grammar School

Infobox UK school
name = Beths Grammar School


size =
motto = "Raising expectations, seeking excellence"
established = 1945
closed =
type = Foundation grammar school
head = James Skinner MA (Oxon)

founder =
specialist =
street =
city = Bexley
county = Greater London
country = England
postcode =
LEA = London Borough of Bexley
ofsted =
staff =
enrollment = 1,300
gender = Boys
Co-educational (16+)
lower_age = 11
upper_age = 18
houses = Abbey (yellow)
Brampton (red)
Cray (lilac)
Eardley (blue)
Hurst (green)
colours = Royal Blue
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.cite news | title = League Tables - Beths Grammar School | publisher = BBC News | date = 2006-01-19 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/05/school_tables/secondary_schools/html/303_5403.stm]

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History

The school was founded in 1945 as Erith Technical School, based in Erith, specialising in technical subjects such as Mechanical Engineering and draughting. In late 1959, the school expanded and moved to its current location near Bexley Village, consequently changing its name to Bexley and Erith Technical School and adopting the accronym BETS . Shortly after ( probably 1960/61) it became a " Technical High School and was known as "BETHS" At this time the Headmaster was W W Williams Esq who had succeeded (Dr?) AC Penny. In 1976, the school gained classification as a grammar school, admitting the top 25% of 11 year olds from the surrounding area.cite paper | author = OFSTED | title = OFSTED Inspection Report | date = 2002 | url = http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/pdf/?inspectionNumber=243901&providerCategoryID=32&fileName=\\school\\101\\s10_101479_20020516.pdf | format = PDF | accessdate = 2006-09-08] 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, 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 2002 and has overseen the school's most rapid period of expansion and development. Now the school is much better than bexley grammar school. In 2006, the school gained an additional specialism as a Modern Foreign Languages Collegecite news | title = Beths Celebrates Triple Success | publisher = Bexley Council | date = 2006-01-31 | accessdate = 2006-09-09 | url = http://www.bexley.gov.uk/news/2006/01/3106.html] . Chinese Mandarin, Spanish and Italian are now taught at different levels throughout the school, in addition to French and German.

Organisation

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. In July 2008 the PTA decided to create a new position of lead prefect team, after the actions of Ben Woollard and Adam Haxell who were voted that year the greatest prefects in the schools history. They now wear a special badge with BWAH emblazened on it.

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 Captain and two Vice-Captains are announced, along with the Prefect Team.

tudent councils

Every form elects two of its members to represent them on their Year Council. The Year Council meets weekly, to discuss the views and opinions of the year's students, with a member of the Senior Management Team present. The Year Council has authority over prefects and the school captains. Two students are picked from each Year Council to be in the Full School Council.

Uniform

Students in Years 7 to 11 (Key Stages 3 and 4) must wear a uniform:
*Navy Blue Blazer with school crest
*White Shirt
*Black or grey trousers
*House Tie
*Grey or navy blue v-neck sweater (optional)

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.

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.

Notable alumni

*Steve Backley - Former Olympic athlete - Javelin
*Graham Kersey - Former County cricketer
*Peter Barnett, Olympic Weightlifter

Development

The main school building, erected in the 1950s, is built into the side of a hill. The main corridor (which used to be one-way is 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.

References

ee also

*London Borough of Bexley
*Grammar schools in the United Kingdom
*List of schools in Bexley

External links

* [http://beths.contentman.co.uk/ Beths Grammar School website]
* [http://www.bethskartclub.com/ BETHS Kart Club]
* [http://www.bethsmaths.co.uk/ Maths Department]
* [http://www.bexley.gov.uk/service/schools/secondary/bethsgrammar.html Bexley Council Schools website]