The article below has been written by Bexley Grammar School (BGS) student, Safaa. I tasked Safaa with writing an article aimed at Year 6 pupils who are aiming to pass their 11+ exam and get a seat at the school. I’ve made minimal edits and I hope the article provides an unfiltered insight into what Year 7 at a grammar school might be like.
Hello – if you’re thinking of joining Bexley Grammar School, I can assure you it’s the right choice!
I joined in September 2024 and I felt safe and welcome from the day I started, which I think are probably the most important aspects you have to think about when joining a new school… to this day I’m still satisfied with everything from the amount of homework we get down to the range of books in the school library.
Settling in
I remember exactly the hurricane of emotions I felt stepping through those blue-painted gates for the first time as a year 7; nerves because my close friend from primary school was in a different House, and therefore, a different form. I was excited, of course, to start this new chapter of my life but also felt anxiety – what if I didn’t find people who had similar interests to me?
These concerns were as baseless as a house of cards in the end. I consider myself to be a social person and I established a close circle of friends after a month or two and by the start of the Christmas break I was quite friendly with most people in my form. I was also relieved to find there was no racism or prejudice or anything of the sort; my peers were understanding and the teachers were very supportive in general.
The school day
There are seven periods in one day, each 50 minutes long. The timetable transpires in the following way:
Period 1
Period 2
Break (20 minutes long)
Academic Monitoring/House Assembly/Assembly (which is not a period, and only 20 minutes long)
Period 3
Period 4
Period 5 (which is lunch)
Period 6
Period 7
From Year 9, we will have Academic Monitoring/House Assembly/Assembly before break and from Year 10 lunch is Period 6 instead of Period 5.
Registration is at 8.30am and the school day ends at 3.05pm, unless you have a detention – P.E. detentions are notorious for being a whole 30 minutes long on a Friday after school.
Lunch & the canteen
My only complaint is that lunch is a little pricey – £3.50 for mains and £1.15 for dessert – but otherwise the food is always delicious. There are hot food and cold food options as well as vegetarian and vegan options, so the school canteen caters to every diet.
The canteen is also open during break time, selling snacks like pain au chocolat, chocolate chip brownies and salads to name a few. Many students consider a hot chocolate drink at break to be quite remedial in the freezing winter months!
Houses & Clubs
At BGS there are six Houses, each with their own colour, Head of House and House Captains. House Assembly is held once every fortnight (we follow a two-week timetable) by the Head of House with other people from your House. The teachers and House Captains also hold House events, like House STEM and House dance & drama, which are great fun and introduce you to new people and help you make new friends – sometimes from other year groups!
There are also many, many clubs, from the Geography Club and Debate Society.
Homework
Now the question everyone asks: what about homework? In the first two weeks of year 7, you only get Maths and English homework (even then, this is quite rare) and in the third week only Science homework. The teachers ease you in and even later, at the full homework rate, the teachers make sure not to set you more than you can manage. It’s unusual to receive more than four pieces of homework a week, which is quite manageable.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article and hope to see you at Bexley Grammar this September.
Safaa 🙃
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