Beths Grammar School
Encyclopedia
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
.
Technical School, specialising in technical subjects such as Mechanical Engineering
and draughting
. To facilitate the school's expansion in 1960/61, it was moved to its current site near Bexley Village
, and its name was changed to Bexley/Erith Technical School to reflect its new location. A few years later, this was expanded to Bexley/Erith Technical High School; the name it maintained for several decades and giving rise to the school's common name, BETHS or B.E.T.H.S. The school was later granted grammar school
status, and became known as BETHS Grammar School for Boys until the most recent change to Beths Grammar School, in which all students were notified through an assembly.
In 1995, the school was awarded DfES Technology College
specialist status, which provides extra funding for Design and Technology
, ICT
, 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. In 2006, the school gained an additional specialism as a Modern Foreign Languages
College. Chinese Mandarin
, Spanish
and Italian
are now taught at different levels throughout the school, in addition to French
and German
.
The most notable accolade of the School Council thus far has been the successful suggestion of shortening the school day by 10 minutes. This suggestion was based on the fact that a new electronic registration system had been installed, that negated the need for afternoon registration. Therefore, the removal of this redundant 10 minute registration session has reduced the school day by 10 minutes, to a finishing time of 1530 as opposed to 1540.
. 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 Captain and two Vice-Captains are announced, along with the Prefect Team.
Sixth Form students are advised to wear "business dress"; a suit and school tie for boys, and formal work attire for girls. Make up and jewellery are tolerated only for girls and must be subtle.
) and show continued commitment. This was extended to include music and other areas of commitment by previous headteacher John Tobin who considered restricting colours to sporting achievement only was unfair.
The reward is realised as the school crest emblazoned with a gold 'COLOURS' banner, presented as either a badge, to replace the plain crest on the school blazer, or embroidered on a plain royal blue tie for sixth-formers.
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
. All of the labs have interactive whiteboard
s, 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 opened in 1999 by former student Steve Backley
. 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 house, Cray, accommodating a larger 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. In 2009 there was a major development built on top of the science block to create five new language classrooms including one named the "Language Lab" with 30 computers.
Foundation school
In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools....
grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in Bexley
London Borough of Bexley
The London Borough of Bexley lies in south east Greater London, and is a borough referred to as part of Outer London. It has common borders with the London Borough of Bromley to the south, the London Borough of Greenwich to the west, across the River Thames to the north it borders the London...
, south east London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Students are admitted from the age of 11, with girls joining the sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
in Year 12. Since becoming a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in 1976, it has consistently performed well within the borough, typically attaining more than 95% A*-C grades at GCSE
General Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...
.
History
The school was founded in 1945 as ErithErith
Erith is a district of southeast London on the River Thames. Erith's town centre has undergone a series of modernisations since 1961.-Pre-medieval:...
Technical School, specialising in technical subjects such as Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
and draughting
Technical drawing
Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....
. To facilitate the school's expansion in 1960/61, it was moved to its current site near Bexley Village
Bexley
Bexley is an South East London]] in the London Borough of Bexley, London, England. It is located on the banks of the River Cray south of the Roman Road, Watling Street...
, and its name was changed to Bexley/Erith Technical School to reflect its new location. A few years later, this was expanded to Bexley/Erith Technical High School; the name it maintained for several decades and giving rise to the school's common name, BETHS or B.E.T.H.S. The school was later granted grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
status, and became known as BETHS Grammar School for Boys until the most recent change to Beths Grammar School, in which all students were notified through an assembly.
In 1995, the school was awarded DfES Technology College
Technology College
Technology College is a term used in the United Kingdom for a secondary specialist school that focuses on design and technology, mathematics and science. These were the first type of specialist schools, beginning in 1994. In 2008 there were 598 Technology Colleges in England, of which 12 also...
specialist status, which provides extra funding for Design and Technology
Design Technology
Design and Technology is a school subject offered at all levels of primary and secondary school. In some countries such as England it is a part of the National Curriculum. It is offered in many countries around the world such as Brunei, Bermuda, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Jordan...
, ICT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
, Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. In 1998 the school won the School Sports Award, recognising the achievement of the school in Rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
and Football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, 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. In 2006, the school gained an additional specialism as a Modern Foreign Languages
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
College. Chinese Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
are now taught at different levels throughout the school, in addition to French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
Student councils
Every house elects two representatives for their Year Council, which meets weekly to discuss the views and opinions of the year's students. They have authority over prefects and the school captains. Two students are picked from each Year Council to be in the Full School Council.The most notable accolade of the School Council thus far has been the successful suggestion of shortening the school day by 10 minutes. This suggestion was based on the fact that a new electronic registration system had been installed, that negated the need for afternoon registration. Therefore, the removal of this redundant 10 minute registration session has reduced the school day by 10 minutes, to a finishing time of 1530 as opposed to 1540.
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 CaptainSchool Captain
School Captain is a student appointed or elected to represent the school.This student, usually in the senior year, in their final year of attending that school...
. 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 Captain and two Vice-Captains are announced, along with the Prefect Team.
Uniform
For students in years 7-11:- Navy blue double-breasted blazer with Beths crest
- Plain white shirt (buttoned)
- Black or grey trousers
- House coloured tie
- Optional Navy blue or Grey Jumper
Sixth Form students are advised to wear "business dress"; a suit and school tie for boys, and formal work attire for girls. Make up and jewellery are tolerated only for girls and must be subtle.
School Colours
Colours are awarded to students who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to extra-curricula activities. Traditionally, this was boys who competed in several school teams (such as Football, Rugby or HockeyHockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
) and show continued commitment. This was extended to include music and other areas of commitment by previous headteacher John Tobin who considered restricting colours to sporting achievement only was unfair.
The reward is realised as the school crest emblazoned with a gold 'COLOURS' banner, presented as either a badge, to replace the plain crest on the school blazer, or embroidered on a plain royal blue tie for sixth-formers.
Notable former pupils
- Steve BackleySteve BackleyStephen James Backley OBE is a retired British athlete who was formerly the world record holder for javelin throwing...
- Former Olympic athlete - Javelin - Graham KerseyGraham KerseyGraham James Kersey was an English first class cricketer for Surrey County Cricket Club.Kersey was educated at Beths Grammar School. A wicket-keeper, he first entered the county scene for Kent in 1991 but after only playing sporadically he moved to Surrey 2 years later...
- Former County cricketer - Rob KnoxRob KnoxRobert Arthur "Rob" Knox was an English actor who portrayed Marcus Belby in the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and had signed to appear in the planned film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows...
- Actor - Notably was featured in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Neal LawsonNeal LawsonNeal Lawson is a political commentator in the United Kingdom.He was born on the 21st March 1963 in Lewisham and brought up in 1960s/70s in Bexleyheath . He got into politics through his father who was a printer in Fleet Street and joined the Labour Party at 16...
- Political Commentator and Chair of Compass - James 'Midge' Burr - Motoring Journalist, TV Personality and Features Editor at Fast Car MagazineFast Car MagazineFast Car magazine is a UK-based car magazine covering the modified car market and car culture. It was the first UK magazine focusing on this genre. It is owned by Future Publishing, based in Bath, Somerset...
Development
The main school building, erected in the 1950s, is built into the side of a hill. The main corridor has 15 classrooms for maths and English (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 5 classrooms and teachers offices and has a balcony overlooking the playing fields, and below is the A floor with 4 dedicated art classrooms. 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
Electronic engineering
Electronics engineering, also referred to as electronic engineering, is an engineering discipline where non-linear and active electrical components such as electron tubes, and semiconductor devices, especially transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, are utilized to design electronic...
and another to Industrial Production
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
; all workshops are used for Resistant Materials and D&T at Key Stage 3
Key Stage 3
Key Stage 3 is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14...
. All of the labs have interactive whiteboard
Interactive whiteboard
An interactive whiteboard , is a large interactive display that connects to a computer and projector. A projector projects the computer's desktop onto the board's surface where users control the computer using a pen, finger, stylus, or other device...
s, 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
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
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
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
(with Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
in the main building) and a sports changing room.
To commemorate the Millennium, the Millennium Block was opened in 1999 by former student Steve Backley
Steve Backley
Stephen James Backley OBE is a retired British athlete who was formerly the world record holder for javelin throwing...
. This included a new sports hall and changing rooms, the Millennium Conference Centre and eight classrooms. History, Business Studies
Business studies
Business studies is an academic subject taught at higher level in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, as well as at university level in many countries...
and Religious Studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
moved into the new classrooms. This coincided with the addition of a fifth house, Cray, accommodating a larger intake in Year 7. In addition, a Performing Arts Centre was built in the old sports hall and changing rooms, providing a Drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
hall with stage lighting, a Music Technology
Music technology
Music technology is a term that refers to all forms of technology involved with the musical arts, particularly the use of electronic devices and computer software to facilitate playback, recording, composition, storage and performance. This subject is taught at many different educational levels,...
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
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
classrooms and a Media
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
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. In 2009 there was a major development built on top of the science block to create five new language classrooms including one named the "Language Lab" with 30 computers.
See also
- London Borough of BexleyLondon Borough of BexleyThe London Borough of Bexley lies in south east Greater London, and is a borough referred to as part of Outer London. It has common borders with the London Borough of Bromley to the south, the London Borough of Greenwich to the west, across the River Thames to the north it borders the London...
- Grammar schools in the United Kingdom
- List of schools in Bexley