Blog

Blog week ending 7th July

Posted on: 07/07/2023

Oliver! What a cracking show! The student cast delivered amazing West End performances to enthusiastic sell-out audiences last week. The whole cast, production team and musicians have clearly worked extremely hard as the show was a triumph. Our directors, Mr Palmer, Head of Music and Mr Owen, Teacher of Science (and member of local amateur dramatics group!) received so much wonderful feed-back from audience and family members and would like to thank .. and congratulate, all our student contributors here at WGSB, and from WGSG for their dedication and hard work over the last three months. Next academic year will bring another opportunity for students to participate in a new production – it’s a great opportunity to learn more about acting, design, directing and writing.

Pictured the cast and production team enjoying their ‘wrap lunch’ celebrations! .. and stills from their show.

Sports Week. It was an incredible week for the students, each year group had a day off-timetable to represent their Houses in a range of team events. Each competition will go towards their final inter-house total. 700 students took part in the tournament across the week in what was a thrilling display of individual skill, team work and camaraderie – making it a brilliantly rewarding and fun tournament! Thank you to all the staff for their support, extra shifts and riotous cheering!

Year 10 Sports Day Results. Congratulation to Newton on their victory. Special mention to Brunel who made it through to all 3 live finals!

Place	House	Points Scored
1^st	Newton	1300
2^nd	Brunel	1250
3^rd	Telford	1025
4^th	Darwin	1000
5^th	Stevenson	950

Year 9 Sports Day Results. The last final between Darwin and Brunel was the difference. Congratulations to Darwin for winning this and then the overall day.

Place	House	Points Scored
1^st	Brunel	1100
2^nd	Darwin	1075
3^rd	Stevenson	1050
4^th	Telford	1000
5^th	Newton	975
6th	Hawking	950

Year 8 Sports Day Results. Congratulations to Hawking winning the day

Place	House	Points Scored
1^st	Hawking	1325
2^nd	Stevenson	1200
3^rd	Newton	950
= 4^th	Brunel	925
= 4^th	Darwin	925
6^th	Telford	825

Year 7 Sports Day Results. Year 7 results are in. Clear winners Darwin winning by 125 points. Very consistent day never coming outside the top four in any of the six events. Please congratulate all students involved and thanks again to all staff supporting the event.

Place	House	Points Scored
1^st	Darwin	1275
2^nd	Stevenson	1150
3^rd	Hawking	1125
4^th	Telford	1025
5^th	Newton	800
6^th	Brunel	775

B10 Congratulations to three of our Year 8 students who were presented with a Jack Petchey Achievement Award. These prestigious awards recognise and celebrate the achievement of young people by awarding them for their hard work and impact on their communities. Each of the three students embodies the ethos and values of our school and we are incredibly proud and delighted that they have received a Jack Petchey Achievement Award.

Vinny W of 8H was nominated by a club he attends for autistic children called Caspa, Vinny is a proactive member and role model with a positive outlook who supports other club members.

Trejan C-B of 8N was nominated by his athletics club Blackheath and Bromley Harriers AC, and voted for by its members. Trejan competes in a number of track events but is an especially successful Racewalker, competing in key competitions, including winning the 2000m event at the Kent Championships.

Oliver C of 8S received his award in recognition of his outstanding achievement in judo and has won many accolades as part of the Kent Squad. Oliver is a tenacious and talented judoka who regularly wins major competitions often against 14-15-year-old opponents.

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Mr Lynch, Head of PE. “Some more good news to share! James B of 10S recently competed in the National U17 100M finals. He won the U15 event last year (whilst in Year 9) and set himself a goal this year to reach the finals of the U17 age group. Not only did he reach this goal, but he came 3^rd and ran a PB. His time was 10.80 and was only narrowly beaten. The two athletes above him both ran a time of 10.78. He was a mere 0.02 away from being the U17 national champion in Year 10! James has suffered a number of injuries this season so it makes this achievement even greater.” Congratulations James!

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District Athletics. Our athletes had an amazing day at Gravesham and Dartford District schools’ event. Many very strong performances in different events but two students really stood out on the day. Connor L (left in the picture) won the 1500M event running a personal best and Chidum U (right of the picture) won the 800M race by quite a distance. They are both now District Champions in their events. As a PE department we would like to congratulate all students who represented the school at this event but also congratulate Connor and Chidum on their victories. Mr Lynch

B13

Our Year 7 students visited Dover Castle to support their study of medieval society. Students were given a real sense of what life was like for a medieval king or servant with excellent learning resources and artefacts to bring their learning to life. In addition, students were able to explore the medieval tunnels and keep (or Great Tower) built to protect its inhabitants from attack or during siege. Students also learned about the functions of the castle throughout British History, the diversity of people associated with it throughout time and the historical significance of castles as a lens into our local and national story. It was a great day out of the classroom!

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Year 8 travelled to the National Maritime museum in Greenwich to visit The World Reimagined exhibition. History students took part in a workshop to explore the impact of transatlantic enslavement on people’s identities and the impacts of the trade itself and people’s resistance to it. Using historic manuscripts and objects, students researched and discussed the significance of the transatlantic slave trade and its legacies for the present day.

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A small cohort of Year 9 Historians participated in a lecture by Historian Andrew Robertshaw. "Not Just a White War" uncovered the hidden histories of African, Asian, Caribbean and Indian soldiers of the First World War. The lecture gave an insight into motivations for these colonial troops to fight for the Mother Country, their experiences, the racism they faced and the impact of the War on development of those seeking to gain their own independence. This has supported a recent enquiry that is being taught in Year 8: Why was there a Turning Point in Caribbean Identity during the 1920s? Students look at the long-term impact the First World War on the Caribbean and the significance of Caribbean figures such as Marcus Garvey. Students’ work will be presented at the National Conference with School History Project (SHP). Students have been using documentary footage and dramatised interpretations to uncover hidden histories and experiences of ordinary people.

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Year 12 WG6 Geographers travelled to Folkestone to practice their fieldwork skills for coastal and place-based topics. The next day they undertook hydrological and biomass investigations on Dartford Heath. Our students were very adventurous, fighting through the undergrowth to measure trees! At the end of June, they returned to Folkestone to collect data for their A level coursework investigations. Half of our students collected data related to the effectiveness of coastal management at Folkestone. The other half were investigating patterns of deprivation in the town or residents' perception of attempts to rebrand it.

B20 B21 B23 B24 B25 The WG6 Year 13 Prom was a brilliant event and a fitting celebration for our amazing students as they come to the end of their educational career with Wilmington Grammar. We had over 180 students in attendance and they all had a brilliant time. We would like to wish you all the very best of everything for your future adventures, please do make sure you stay in touch!

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WG6 Year 12 had the opportunity to hear from Lawrence Loganathan who is the Director of Engineering for NEOM. He is key part of the revolutionary multi-billion-dollar development called ‘The Line’ which is being built along ecological and sustainable lines. The talk gave students the chance to hear from a talented and successful engineer with a dynamic business model and ambitious development plans for potential future urban developments, as well as presenting them a new (and controversial) way of thinking when it comes to urban planning and the challenges the world is facing. More details about the development can be found here - THE LINE: a revolution in urban living (neom.com) and here - https://youtu.be/0kz5vEqdaSc

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