BGS Sixth Form Newsletter

10.10.22

Dear parents/carers and students,

At the end of another break-neck week, we found time to pause during Friday’s assembly to
acknowledge National Poetry Day, which was on Thursday 6th. It has already been well established
during my short tenure that poetry is important to me, so I embraced the opportunity to share some
of Wordsworth’s “Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey”. More on that later.

I suppose Poetry Day’s chief relevance is in reminding us that, no matter how hectic and pressured
our lives may seem, it is crucial to find that oasis of calm each day, which reading a poem can bring.
Others will achieve the same result via different means: a dog walk, perhaps, or listening to music.
Dr Phil Hammond (‘M.D.’ in Private Eye) recommends the CLANGERS system for self-care and
optimum health: Connect, Learn, (be) Active, Notice, Give back, Eat well, Relax, Sleep.

How does poetry fit in with this? With a good half of it, no less. Reading a poem can help one to
Connect, Learn, Notice and Relax; try it and see if I’m not right. Of course, some facetious students
may opine that it also helps them to Sleep.

Best wishes,
Mr Barker (Head of Sixth Form)
BGS 100 – Sixth Form Edition
Earlier this term, a new initiative was launched for pupils in Years 7-11: the BGS 100. It is “a
programme that helps them build a portfolio of achievements that show the character required to
be a proud ambassador for the school”. I am pleased to announce that we also have a “Sixth Form
Edition” of the scheme, which is specifically designed for our older students, on the cusp of
independence, higher education and discovery, both of themselves and the wider world.

The challenges, which offer a continuation from the lower school edition, with additional emphasis
on leadership, independence and citizenship, are divided into ten categories, starting with the
school’s four core values:

Care Literacy
Achievement Outreach
Respect Culture
Excellence Citizenship
Adventure Current Affairs

Much more will be written about the BGS 100 in future newsletters and on our website.
Year 5 Open Evening
One of my proudest moments since joining the school came at our Year 5 Open Evening, held on
Thursday 6th October. We put out an appeal for Sixth Formers to help out (leading guided tours,
running subject-specific activities and marshalling cars in the car park), hopeful that we might get a
couple of dozen volunteers. In the final reckoning, no fewer than 65 students offered to give three
hours of their own time to support their school, which is a truly exceptional figure.

Moreover, and without exception, they were fantastic ambassadors for BGS: courteous, jolly and
helpful in equal measure. We have been inundated with positive comments from visitors on the
night. So, to those 65, I would like to offer a heartfelt

THANK YOU!
It is also worth pointing out, with reference to the previous item on the “BGS 100 – Sixth Form
Edition”, that our wonderful volunteers at the Open Evening were able afterwards to cross off two of
the 100 challenges, namely:

Forthcoming events
Please find below a selection of some of the key events happening in our Sixth Form over the next
month or two. I would like to draw your attention in particular to the two sets of meetings
happening on Thursday 20th October:

The Year 12 settling-in meetings are short, online meetings between parents/carers and their child’s
tutor. Details will be given very shortly about the online platform we use, and how to book an
appointment. I would encourage everyone to take this opportunity to discuss areas in which your
child is flourishing, along with causes of concern and planned interventions.

The Year 13 intervention meetings follow a similar format, but are reserved for those students who
require additional support in the lead-up to the trial exams, which start on Monday 28th November.

Thursday 13th October Charter Day

Thursday 20th October Year 12 settling-in meetings (all students)
Year 13 intervention meetings (select students)
Friday 21st October Non-uniform day & end of Term 1
Monday 31st October Start of Term 2
Monday 7th November GCSE resits begin
th
Friday 11 November Armistice Day
Monday 28th November Year 13 trial exams begin
UCAS
A brief reminder that, for our Year 13 students, it is hard to overstate the importance of the coming
weeks. Not only are the trial exams looming, but they must also forge ahead with their UCAS
applications for university places (or make progress with alternative choices, e.g. apprenticeships or
employment).

Our early entry candidates finish their applications this week, but, for the remainder, we expect
some of the more straightforward elements of their application to be completed before the end of
this term. The support and encouragement of their parents and carers will be vital, if they are to
avoid falling behind schedule and potentially heaping greater pressure on themselves further down
the line.

Quotes of the Week

In this short except from “Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey”, Wordsworth writes
about a man’s “little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love”. I remember my English
teacher sharing these lines with my A-Level English group and they resonated deeply with my
seventeen-year-old self. It is a pleasure to be able to share them in a similar way. The key here is the
word “little”. Although great gestures of kindness, such as supporting the Year 5 Open Evening,
make a big difference, they are dwarfed by the accumulation of small gestures.

Continuing with the Romantic poets, we have a quote from Wordsworth’s sometime friend and
collaborator, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. This I choose because of its pertinence to the trial exams
mentioned above. The message is clear: one cannot simply rely on natural talent, but must prepare
sedulously, in order to lay the groundwork for academic success. Inspiration, when it comes, is not a
spontaneous gift from above, but the long-term product of much hard work.