Some words from our Heads of Years
Year 7
Year 7 has been extremely busy this term. We have received our first audit, trained our next cohort of anti-bullying ambassadors and also spent the past 7 weeks preparing for our annual Christmas Charity Fair.
Once again, in their teams, the year group have had to come up with creative ways to raise money for our selected charities: Cancer Research UK, RSPCA, Mental Swale and NHS Charities together. This year we had a wide range of stalls, including a Whack-A-Mole, a Dinosaur card game, an interactive mystery game and a raffle. As a year group we were able to raise £1325.24, beating the record set by Year 7's in 2022 (sorry year 9!) This is incredible and
could not have been possible without the year 7's efforts; the support from our year 10 form prefects; the wonderful and hardworking year 7 tutor team and everyone that visited the fair in the afternoon. It was a lively, exciting....noisy....atmosphere so thank you to all that attended!
Please join me in congratulating Oscar WS, Joshua M, George P, Teddy H, Freddie PF, Ewan M, Great A, David S. Osagie OO, Rohan M for completing their anti-bullying training. They spent two days discussing issues around bullying and how, as a school, we can ensure that we keep everyone safe and look out for each other. Well done, I look forward to our first official ABA meeting!
A big round of applause to 7JLS for winning the term 2 form competition! They really worked hard to gain more achievement points from staff and received lots of bonus points for their amazing audits and being the form group with the most students that have zero behaviour points!
Thank you year 7 for an exciting, entertaining and slightly exhausting 7 weeks!
Please have a safe and enjoyable winter break and merry Christmas to those that celebrate!
Miss Irinoye
Head of Year 7
Year 8
This term, 8JJP have won the form competition with most achievement points, which gave them a non-uniform day on the last day of term. There were also hugely impressive numbers of achievement points gained across the year group. The totals restart in January with additional rewards being introduced going into term 3. Remember to keep nominating people for the kindness raffle to highlight all the kind things you do for each other on a daily basis for a chance to win your form's weekly draw.
Well done for a fantastic term and have a very merry Christmas!
Mr Holley
Head of Year 8
Year 9
Year 9 have continued to excel after making an excellent start to the year. GCSE options exams will take place in January, with the Year 9 Options Evening following shortly after this on Wednesday 5th February. This will be an opportunity for parents and carers to find out more about the GCSE options process. Year 9 parents’ evening will then be on Thursday 27th February, shortly after the half term break. This will give an opportunity to discuss progress with subject teachers before finalising choices.
Miss Phillips
Head of Year 9
Year 10
This term pupils in year 10 have continued to build on their awareness of metacognitive strategies, aimed at increasing retention of knowledge within their GCSE courses. Pupils have been fortunate enough to have opportunities to practice using various techniques including using a revision clock, study buddy and chunking. Each Wednesday, boys have been using Seneca Learning to use active recall in many topics within core subjects. The effort and commitment to the tasks set have been fantastic, helping pupils to increase their confidence across many of the difficult topics studied in class. Congratulations to the 70+ students who received congratulatory letters home in recognition of their outstanding performance across the curriculum. These letters came after careful analysis of the November audit and I was delighted to see incredible feedback from staff in relation to classwork, homework and behaviour for the majority of the year group.
Mr Weller
Head of Year 10
Over the last two years it's been a pleasure to be part of the journey the year group has made through KS3 into KS4. I've really enjoyed getting to know the students, to see them develop as students and as young people. I will be sad to leave the year group, and the community at Borden as I begin a new life on the west coast of Canada. The boys will be in very capable hands with Mr Weller taking over the role as the full time head of year 10. I'd like to give a big thank you to all the parents who have supported the boys in their time at Borden and I wish the students all the best for their GCSEs and beyond.
Mr Finch
Resigning Head of Year 10
Year 11
Another extremely busy term for Year 11 draws to a close. It was wonderful to see so many parents/carers at Year 11 parents evening and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at Year 11 Expectations Evening on 9th January. Students have been proactive in engaging with revision and intervention sessions run by their teachers - please continue to do this in the New Year. We will be offering further support from January in the form of Effort Club, where students that are currently below target in a range of subjects are invited to do some focused revision after school. We will be emailing parents/carers individually to inform you if this applies to your son. More details will come out about this next term and at the Year 11 information evening. I have been impressed with the excellent behaviour and organisational skills of the year group during their exams this term - well done to all involved. In our pastoral curriculum, we have looked at revision techniques, the importance of goals and how we monitor them. Well done to 11MWE who have won the inter-form competition for two terms in a row - this is a reflection of your excellent punctuality, attendance and achievement in lessons. Wishing all Year 11 students, parents and carers a wonderful holiday.
Mrs Edwards
Head of Year 11
Sixth Form
Term two has been a hive of activity for the sixth form, who have truly got into the spirit of the season through their active demonstration of the Borden values.
Over the course of this term, a number of year 12 students applied to be peer mentors and have been effectively trained by Mrs Brooker to support students in the lower years. This is an ongoing testament to the community spirit that pervades Borden Grammar school and serves to reaffirm the importance of community, kindness and collaboration throughout the school.
In addition to this, Mrs Searle, (Head of year 13), has been overseeing the MHFA training of year 12 students who will be paired with students from the lower years to provide help, support and a listening ear when needed. This is an invaluable part of school culture, actively cementing the bond between upper and lower school.
Year 12 have also showcased their commitment to the school and its students through their presence at the year 7 Christmas fair, where they helped to guide parents and the siblings of students to and from the fair. This was a wonderful occasion and I think we can all agree that we’re now truly imbibed with Christmas spirit!
Lastly, the year 12 celebration assembly was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the successes of individual students in year 12. I am endlessly proud of their drive, dedication, motivation and active application of the school’s values and I look forward to celebrating all that term 3 has to offer.
Have a wonderful break over the festive period with family and friends and I look forward to welcoming year 12 back in January.
Ms M Das
Head of Year 12
Year 13
We are so proud of our year13 students who are now working on revision for their upcoming mocks in January. They have created revision timetables and identified various revision strategies that will help them prepare for these important exams.
UCAS applications are being made at a rapid pace, with some students receiving conditional / contextual offers back already. Oxford and Cambridge applicants have now received their interview dates and are anxiously preparing for these; we wish you all the best in the process!
The student leadership team had another busy term which began in November with the Inclusion and Diversity team delivering assemblies to all year groups introducing the very first Borden Culture Week.
Students had the opportunity to learn about different cultures through daily form activities created by the 6th form team. The canteen also supported the leadership team by serving cuisines from a variety of cultures each day. The week finished on Friday with the opportunity for students to dress in their own cultural clothes or colours of their flag.
All donations (in excess of £600) went to two charities; BAME UK (Black, Asian, and minority ethnic) who aim to build a world where all people are equal and feel safe and valued and Race Equality Foundation who aims to tackle racism in the UK and positively transform the lives of Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.In the closing weeks of this term the Fundraising team have been supporting form groups to promote the Swale Food Bank with their ever increasing need for donations to help support families within our local community. Form group collections have been placed under the Christmas tree ready for distribution at the end of term.
Finally, a group of 6th form students led by one of the Vice School Captains, Amelia Bowker are working behind the scenes creating a LinkedIn page. They are hoping that this new initiative will enable the team to promote Borden Grammar School from a business angle. Encouraging students and the wider community, including old Bordenians to interact and become connected to the school.
Here’s the link!
https://uk.linkedin.com/company/borden-grammar-school-trust
Have a wonderful break and we look forward to welcoming year 13 back in January.
Mrs Searle
Head of Year 13
We have also seen some tremendous successes this year so far, whether it be the opening of our new block, our new 6th form peer mentors being trained and starting to support younger students, our new select 6th form subject mentors starting to help younger students, our collection of donations for the foodbank….or just the fact that students (particularly younger students) seem to have embraced the ‘on site out of sight’ mobile rule, playing chess, Uno and other games with enthusiasm at lunchtime! Our money raised for good causes through culture week, our recent collection for the food bank and the extraordinary amount raised from the year 7 Christmas fair this week, finish this term on a real ‘high’ and reflect the real sense of community values we have here at Borden.
On the note of the community, this is a time of year when we sometimes say goodbye to staff. Mr Ryan has been a technician at the school for 23 years and is taking a well earned retirement. Whilst Mr Ryan’s role means he is often working behind the scenes, it is fair to say that he is an incredibly well loved and respected part of the Borden community and we will all miss him. Mrs Collinson has been a geography teacher at Borden for 9 years and is leaving us to take up a promotion elsewhere. I know many students will miss her kindness and dedication in going above and beyond to help her students. Mr Finch has also been a well respected history and politics teacher at Borden for 9 years and has even been nominated for president by the students! He is leaving us to emigrate to Canada (see his comment in the Head of Year section). Ms Falkingham has been an English and drama teacher at Borden for 3 years and was key in directing and presenting our performance of Alice at the end of last year. She is leaving us to pursue a different profession. Finally, Ms Reid has worked with us as a laboratory technician this year and, again, is leaving us for promotion. I know you will join with me in wishing all of these staff the very best for the future and rest assured, all teachers are being replaced with subject specialists in January.
So as we approach Christmas, I want to thank parents and students for all the positives they have done this year to exhibit our Borden values. There is no doubt that the whole community has exhibited resilience and courage this year, along with kindness and respect. On the basis that these values seem to echo the true meaning of Christmas, it seems a nice way to finish, along with a well placed goodbye from Hazy, our therapy dog. Have a kind and restful Christmas, and we look forward to seeing everyone again in 2025.
It has been a busy term for those in the Performing Arts Department. The term started with the GCSE Music students taking a trip to see the London Philharmonic Orchestra perform some key GCSE pieces. Following this, the Performing Arts extracurricular groups performed a spectacular showcase on Thursday 5th December at the Avenue Theatre, which was an excellent venue for a festive event. Congratulations to all performers! The orchestra also performed two concerts at Highsted on the 10th and 11th December, supporting 12 primary schools across two days of performances. If you are interested in joining a group in January, please speak to your music or drama teacher for more information. 
All students allocated a place on the Duke of Edinburgh Award have now been signed up for an online account through eDofE. Many students have already uploaded their section information showing their plans for their volunteering, physical and skills sections. Each level of the award also now has a google classroom page where key information and updates are uploaded for students. 
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