Hello, my name is Tom, and I will be joining Head Boy Finley as his Deputy for the autumn term. As you will know, this year is the centenary of Bickley Park School and, in order to celebrate, all the boys from Reception through to Year 8 will be taking part in various activities to…
You would be forgiven for thinking, why on earth am I dedicating my first blog to the most famous pooper-scooper – the dung beetle? Well, I will come to that in a while but first an introduction: Greetings – my name is Finley and I am delighted to be the Head Boy at Bickley for…
One of the aims of having four Quadrants of Learning is to expose Bickley boys to as broad a range of learning experiences as possible. The hope is that, in amongst the rich and varied activities that take place at the school, potentially life-long passions will be ignited. A case in point is ‘Lee’s Bees’.…
Bickley Park waved goodbye to its 99th year on July 10th with a spectacular world record setting event in which the school community endeavoured to eat the most 99 ice creams ever at one time. In spite of hot conditions, and the 20 minutes the older boys had to wait to consume their 99s, over 400 boys…
This week, I was invited to speak at a national conference organised by ‘Inside Government’, a forum that promotes innovation in education. I enjoyed sharing some of the exciting developments at BPS with the great and good in the world of education. The concept of The Four Quadrants of Learning was outlined, along with their…
The Academic Quadrant enables intellectual potential to be realised whilst inculcating a love of learning, so valuable in ensuring a fulfilling and successful life in adulthood.
The school recognises its duty to maintain its fine tradition of academic excellence. In May 2015, the schools’ inspectorate judged the attainment of Bickley Park School pupils to be excellent. Boys go on to some of the U.K.’s leading senior schools, often with scholarships.
Boys work towards gold standard exams at 13+ which push GCSE standard. In fact, some boys sit GCSEs: A*s have been achieved by several 12 and 13 year old boys in Spanish in the last two years; regional and national competitions have been won. We equally believe that learning should be presented in a way that broadens horizons and engages boys’ interest, instilling a passion to discover.
The Arts Quadrant develops the key skills of communication and confidence through its strong emphasis on self-expression and performance from a young age. Through drama, concerts, public speaking and debate, children can have fun whilst being challenged to communicate confidently with others.
Every boy between 5 and 13 enters the annual public speaking or debating competition, with the finalists speaking in well-known public venues such as Speakers’ Corner and St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street.
Interesting performance opportunities include music tours to Paris, New York, Venice and Verona. The school offers excellent specialist provision in Art, Drama and Design Technology. Boys work towards exciting outcomes, including the annual art exhibition and design fair in which they make and sell products. They loved the Spanish and Art trip to Barcelona and opportunities to join in cultural activities at concert halls and galleries in London. The quality of the arts at Bickley Park was judged to be high in the 2015 inspection.
Those who live the longest, most fulfilling lives belong to, and actively serve, a community. B.P.S. boys are taught what constitutes a successful community, be it a family, a school, or a wider community. They are helped to understand that some people live very different, often challenging lives.
An understanding of other cultures is developed through activities like ‘Our World Week’ and ‘World Culture’ lessons in which children prepare for the inter-connected world they will enter by learning basic language skills and about the culture of China, India, Germany, Russia and Arabic speaking countries.
A sense of social justice is developed in which boys are encouraged to come up with ideas for how they can serve the school and wider community. They are then encouraged to translate ideas into action. Initiative and a sense of responsibility are developed though the Community Quadrant. The inspectors judged pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development to be excellent in the most recent inspection.
Bickley Park has a strong sporting pedigree. A wide range of quality opportunities are offered in curriculum time, including rugby, football, cricket, athletics, tennis, hockey, badminton, basketball, squash, climbing and cross country.
Every child from 5-13 has a weekly swimming lesson in the school’s own heated indoor pool. Sporting opportunities extend to the extra-curriculum programme with, amongst other things, fencing, taekwondo, go karting, golf and triathlon on offer. High standards are attained in the many competitive matches that are played, while important life lessons are learnt: how to win and lose in the right spirit; how to lead effectively and how to play as a team.
A boy-friendly outdoor education programme aims to foster team and leadership skills, whilst developing independence, resilience and the ability to manage risk. It includes regular Forest School for younger pupils in local woodland; bee keeping in the Prep Department; Wildreness School in Y3 and Adventure School in Years 4-8. Adventure School focuses on progrssibely more challenging survival skills delivered through residential field trips, building up to a significant challenge for Y8, which has recently included walking 176 miles along Offa’s Dyke and completing the Three Peaks challenge. Boys regularly climp on the school’s outstanding climbing wall.