Our last week of term was FLAIR week 2022, a chance for students to get involved in many of the additional activities and opportunities offered by the amazing teaching staff at Bushey Meads School. There was so much going on in every department and classroom, that I am sure that there will be lots to read in this week’s newsletter. I wanted to share some insight into the different FLAIR week challenges offered (including some which run every week of the year):-

In food technology, Miss Hanbury organised a Cook Off competition with her Year 9 students. They worked in pairs to produce a savoury dish of their choosing. The 3 best dishes were from teams Imaan/Lacey, Lana/Chloe and Daniel/Daniel. Masterchef here we come!

In IT & Computing, Mr Besisira invited an ex-student, Josh Olins, back into school to talk about his journey in becoming a Graphics Designer. Josh was really good at sharing some of the experiences he had learned from in order to make strides in his current career. He also offered wise words on listening to advice from teachers and taking it on board in moving forwards. Josh then led the students in an interactive activity where they had to think about rebranding a Cadbury’s chocolate bar and some of the concepts they would come up with. It was great to see how creative some of the students were, coming up with some interesting ideas and concepts which they had clearly thought deeply about.

In Business Studies/Economics, Mr Malik organised a plethora of “Gusto Greats” with 6 entrepreneurs being invited into school in person or via virtual platforms to speak to students about their successes, their greatest achievements and offer advice about how students might follow their passions or what makes them happy to lead them to future success. The session that I attended was simply inspiring, with the sixth form centre brimming with business and economic students of all ages, listening to Hannan talk about his career in music production working with singers, songwriters and producers and the whole session was perfectly pitched to engage the audience for the entire hour. Students were offered backgrounds and key quotes from the presenters in a very professional booklet including a QR code to refer students back to the BMS More Able webpage with ideas for more GUSTO projects on offer to whet their appetites and encourage them to try something new which they might enjoy.

In MFL, students were invited to study Spanish and French-speaking countries and the origins of these languages to gain a better understanding of different cultures and where languages are rooted. The best presentations were not only presented in lessons, but some students were also given the opportunity to present their findings in assemblies at the Bushey St. James’ primary schools. In addition, students in Miss Paddick’s year 8 class were given a chance to link up with their French penpals to have an interactive session to really bring their language learning to life.

In sociology, year 10 students created some amazing posters on the “Function of Education” whilst in maths, FLAIR week was an opportunity for Mr Kasza to recognise students for taking their learning further and having fun with maths in the weekly Maths Games Club.

These are only a few of the many enriching activities offered to students during FLAIR week 2022, but I think that you’ll agree that our teachers have also shown great FLAIR and GUSTO in their ideas, preparation and delivery of events, so I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone for all their hard work, time and effort – sometimes I just want to go back to being a student myself!