In a continuously developing global community it is important that all students are prepared for the future so that they are able to best acquit themselves in an expanding domestic and international society and employment market. Serving a community in which over 60 home-languages are spoken it is part of the schools social, moral, spiritual and cultural obligation to ensure that all students understand international communities and receive a balanced, informative and enriching curriculum so that they may be active citizens and embrace the challenge of achieving their full potential at a local, national and international level.
Burnham Grammar School, through its International Policy, aims to provide opportunities for students to play a part in promoting world harmony and gain the skills they need to make the very best of international opportunities; be they for professional or social. Through the international dimension students at BGS will further develop their understanding of a wide range of cultures.
At Burnham Grammar School we wish to encourage and develop an international dimension within the curriculum and other activities of our learning environment.
At BGS we would like our students to develop their knowledge of language acquisition and their ability to use their own and foreign languages to communicate with non-English speakers and to increase their own learning. This will take place through many activities, such as:
To provide new and more innovative learning opportunities with an international dimension for our students through curriculum departments within the schoo. including international communication between students at BGS and partner schools through use of technology such as email and Teams / Google Meets.
Letter exchange between BGS Y9 and 10 and the Lycée Feuillade, Lunel, France
This year we continued the long-running letter-writing exchange with the Lycée Feuillade. This is an activity carried out in class-time in which students from the French school send letters to BGS students and then students of French in Years 9 and 10 write letters in response. It is an opportunity for students of both schools to practise their language skills, share information on likes, dislikes, hobbies and culture.
The BGS students were very excited to participate in this activity showing great enthusiasm to read about the life of young people in French and share their own stories and experiences. Some of the students who had written letters also came to Burnham as part of their school trip to the UK and attended lessons shadowing / joining our students. This was a highly rewarding experience which we will continue next year too. We’re just waiting for the responses for the letters now before the end of the Summer term.
BSTEM trip to Paris
From 23rd to 25th October 2024 Ms Dixon organised a BSTEM visit to Paris for Year 10 students. This was a great opportunity for enrichment incorporating Business Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics content in practice while also experiencing the unforgettable sights and sounds of Paris. Activities included a visit to the fascinating Cité de Sciences, a cruise down the river Cruise observing the beautiful and Mathematically precise architecture and bridges, a thrilling visit up the Eiffel Tower and the wonders of Disneyland. In addition to the sightseeing students had the opportunity to complete curriculum enrichment activities complementing their classroom study in Business Studies, Maths and Science but as well as practising their use of French language in an authentic context building their confidence in embracing the challenge in communication when out of their comfort zone and developing their independent study.
Japanese Day with Teikyo Foundation School for Year 8
In October 2024 Ms Rashid accompanied a trip for Year 8 BGS students to the Teikyo Foundation Japanese School in Stoke Poges for their “Japanese Day”. This was a highly enjoyable and enriching experience for the BGS students who participated in a series of workshops including trying on a Kimono and taking part in a Japanese Tea Ceremony in addition to origami, Ninja skills and much more broadening students' knowledge of global cultures and traditions. This is a long-running trip and has maintained a very strong link between the two schools which I am sure will continue in the future.
Madrid Trip Year 10
From the 21st to 25th October Mrs Tiwari accompanied thirty Year 10 and Year 11 Spanish students to Madrid for a five days and four night trip. This was a fantastic opportunity for the BGS GCSE Spanish students to develop their knowledge and understanding of Spanish culture and history in the capital city and also experience listening to and using the language in truly authentic situations beyond the classroom. Students were able to experience a variety of excursions such as a tour of Las Ventas Bullring or the Santiago Bernabeú or the opportunity to explore El Mercado de San Miguel! Residential overseas visits enhance the learning experience of students to such an extent that it can make a massive difference to their attainment through stimulating an extra enthusiasm and new relevance for a subject creating a “can do” approach to their language use and overcoming the fear of failure when embracing the challenge of linguistic and cultural immersion when out of our comfort zone.
Visit of Teikyo Japanese Foundation school to BGS and interaction with Year 7- Year 12
In January 2025 we welcomed the Teikyo School students to BGS for the second year running and offered them the experience in groups to follow the timetable and observe teaching and learning styles here. During the day Mrs Wrycraft hosted some students and planned a collaborative activity between Year 10 English students and visiting Japanese students sharing cultural information and descriptions of their respective regions. Mr Earnshaw-Crofts also hosted some Japanese students in which his Year 10 group taught basic French language to the visiting students giving both BGS and Teikyo participants a new experience.
“Why learn languages?” Project. A collaborative with US Middle School
In February 2025 Year 8 students from BGS and the West Millbrook Middle School in South Carolina both undertook activities in a project on Why learn Languages. Classes were given access to videos and articles to read and watch in which the benefits of language learning were discussed. Then students had to prepare powerpoint presentations on their findings. Mr Earnshaw-Crofts then shared a selection of powerpoints from here with those of the American school and vice versa.
In addition to these presentations, students were sent a Google Form in which they answered questions about how they found learning languages and what purpose they thought it had for the future including travel and tourism, work and relationships.
TAFAL Day - Year 8 & Follow-up day teaching at Dorney School
On 27th February 2025 the whole of Year 8 were involved in a collapsed timetable day focused on teaching and learning languages. All students began the day in the Hall where they were given a short lesson in Italian and learned how to order an ice cream including asking the price and choosing flavours. This was a new experience and aimed to remind them of how it felt to be new learners once again.
An introduction was also given into how to plan and deliver lessons with clear objectives and preparation of interactive and engaging activities and materials. Students then worked in form / house groups, decided which language they wanted to teach and then prepared materials.
Groups delivered their lessons to their peers / house groups on the day and then followed up in form-time explaining the activities of the day and teaching their chosen language to their form groups involving all year groups in the experience.
On Friday 4th July, selected groups from the TAFAL Day will be given the opportunity to deliver their lessons to Year 6 pupils from Dorney School. This will be an excellent opportunity to develop their oracy, embrace the challenge of becoming teachers for the day and spread the love of language learning beyond BGS and inspire pupils of the future.
KS5 MUNGA trip to New York with Mr Amos
From 11th to 16th March 2025 Mr Amos led a trip for 30 Year 12 students to New York in which they attended and participated in the Model United Nations General Assembly. This was an eye-opening experience in which students developed their public speaking skills while collaborating with schools from other countries including Italy, France, USA, Indonesia, Qatar and Finland. They also had the opportunity to attend a talk delivered by President Joe Biden and were able to interact with others while learning about and discussing key world issues, highlighting areas of need and planning what could be done to resolve the situation and improve the livelihoods of communities around the world.
This experience will have given students an invaluable insight into the global community and enhanced their understanding of embracing challenge and active citizenship while also possibly encouraging some to develop their critical thinking and consider a future in politics or diplomacy on a world stage or internationalism in their future career. Hopefully this will have been the first of many similar trips in future.
Year 8 History Department Battlefields Trip
This is a three day visit to Northern France and Belgium in which the students visit museums, historical monuments, sites and battlefields of Ypres and other areas of importance related to the First World War. This is an excellent opportunity for students to be taken out of their comfort zone and embrace the challenge of speaking French in authentic situations asking for information and ordering food while developing their knowledge and understanding of topics studied in school on a different level. Experiencing the sites brings learning to life and broadens students’ awareness of events that shape the global community and the international context in which they live.
For many students this is their first trip abroad without their families, visiting northern France and Flemish Belgium which are not usually seen as tourist areas. One of the benefits of the trip is that students can make comparisons with their own environment noting similarities and differences.
They are also exposed to Flemish as a 'new' (to them) foreign language, as well as experiencing the linguistic proficiency of French and Belgian people whom they meet during the trip.
Year 10 History Department Trip to Berlin
From 23rd to 27th June Mr Trehy, Mrs Appleyard, Mrs Kalid and Dr Gillespie accompanied a group of Year 10 students to Berlin on a History department trip. The itinerary covers two out of the four topics which comprise the GCSE exam, the German Depth Study 1890-1945 and Conflict and Tension (The Cold War 1945-1972). Berlin is at the very heart of both of these very different topics and a visit to this city, which is at the heart of the 20th century’s history, is a wonderful opportunity for students to walk in the footsteps of the past. From stories of how East Berliners escaped to West Berlin via hot air balloons to the indoctrination and propaganda of the Nazi regime, this trip was full of facts and events. Expert talks given by BGS staff as well as external guides brought the History to life, turning dates and names into real people with real experiences. This trip not only gave students invaluable knowledge for the GCSE exams next summer, but also a chance to create new relationships.
The trip provided a wide range of experiences which will help develop the independence and resilience of students. It is also the case that these students were provided with hundreds of historical images from a shared Google Drive, so that they could better imagine and compare the locations of the present in terms of their historical appearance in the past.Those students who are also learning GCSE German, were given opportunities to interact with natives of Berlin. These two students were a credit to the school in terms of the confident manner in which they spoke to the citizens of Berlin.Many students got an insight into the differences between the UK and Germany.
Diversity Week
In July there will be a week of activities for different year groups across the school designed by Mrs Bola and the diversity prefects. Through these activities the aim is to celebrate the diversity of the school community in every way including ethnicity, language customs and traditions and orientation. There will be a study and programme on improving racial literacy and understanding the impact, possible effects and safe use of social media in recognising and celebrating diversity.
Activities involved include presentations from visiting speakers, activities examining how languages have infused and influenced English, culminating in creative, musical and artistic performances and the recording of the Olympic oath in different languages in preparation for Sports Day at the end of term.
The Olive Branch Award
Throughout the year 2024-25 Mrs Bola and the Diversity Ambassadors have been working towards achieving the status of a school hub undertaking activities in the programme to improve social and emotional learning and an understanding of others. This involved activities from an external provider Solutions Not Slides which encouraged students to develop their depth of knowledge and understanding of key issues related to Israel-Palestine education. The whole programme promotes the school value of Active Citizenship enabling students to become more aware of salient issues and allies in promoting greater emotional intelligence and the ability to express themselves, listen to and empathise with those of others in the wider community and the world.
By undertaking activities and diffusion of knowledge across the school through whole-school pastoral activities such as poster campaigns, pause for thought and visiting speakers BGS will be applying to become a school hub and then work with an ambassadorial role helping other schools develop knowledge and understanding.