A message from the Headteacher
Welcome to the latest newsletter.
Exam season is fully underway. However, despite the many ways in which the school is supporting the Year 11 and 13 students, this hasn’t stopped the phenomenal amount of other activities taking place. The recent Duke of Edinburgh expedition saw more students than ever before participating and we currently have students in Berlin. Plans are being finalised for the many adventures students will have in Activities Week and these include trips both here and abroad, camping in Sussex and African dance and drumming workshops to name but a few. We also have the Year 13 Leavers’ Prom to look forward to as well as the summer Visual Arts exhibition.
This is the time of year when we start to say goodbye to staff who are retiring, relocating, going travelling and taking other teaching positions. We are therefore also very busy in meeting new colleagues and ensuring that we have the very best staff available for our students.
If you aren’t already following the school’s activities on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, then please start following us by searching for @lpgsbromley on all platforms.
Wishing everyone a restful, or for those revising, a productive, half term break.
Headteacher - Katie Scott
Sports news from Holland!!
What an amazing tour the Langley netball and hockey teams had this year! We left for Holland bright and early (even though it was still dark) and took the coaches to Folkestone where we took the Euro Tunnel to France. From there we had a 5-hour journey all the way to Centre Parcs.
On the first night, everyone was exhausted! All the bed-making and unpacking made us hungry! Both the netball and hockey teams headed straight to dinner where we had some well-deserved chips and chicken. Langley had an early morning ahead of them, so all groups grabbed some lunch for the morning and went straight to bed.
The next morning everybody met at breakfast to fuel for the day ahead. The hockey teams headed off on their coach and the netball on theirs. The first day for both teams of netballers went amazingly well! The U15 A team smashed their pool, leaving the day undefeated with a 103-goal difference! The B team also won all of their games, going through to Wednesday’s games in the Prem League with the A’s.
Tuesday evening was finished off with a bite to eat and a fun swim back in Centre Parks. The swimming pool was full of fun with a wave machine, a lazy river and a big slide. All teams had time to relax before getting back to their villas for 10oclock, ready for the next day of hard-core netball and hockey.
Wednesday was a very competitive day for the netball teams as they were put in the highest league due to Tuesday’s results. The B team had some tricky oppositions and closely lost most of their games. The A team had a bit more luck winning all of their games and taking the trophy home for the overall competition undefeated! The A team also got asked to play a friendly against an U17 team, which believe it or not, they won again! Both netball teams played amazingly and deserved every bit of praise they received.
On Wednesday night, everyone had dinner and headed straight to their villas to get glammed up ready for the disco. Both teachers and students looked great and ready to party. When we arrived, no one was afraid to bust their moves, especially the teachers! Overall it was a fantastic night to have some fun with friends and celebrate the hard work put into the tournaments.
Thursday was our last full day of our trip, so why not take a drive to Germany. We weren’t just taking a trip to Germany, we were off to have more fun in PhantasiaLand, a theme park. We arrived and started to que for the biggest, wettest and fastest rides (most of us) could find. A few of the rides were unexpected and very funny, and some were purely scary! Everyone had an amazing day regardless. The food in the centre of the theme park was to die for. It ranged from thin base pizzas, to churros and chocolate covered fruits to chips and nuggets. Everyone dug in, after the rides, obviously. We finished the day by packing and some people went swimming again.
Friday was the last breakfast we had on tour. Everyone reluctantly got to breakfast, suitcases packed on the coach, ready for the journey home. We waved goodbye, and all made a promise on the way home… whatever happened on tour, stays on tour!
Tilly K – Year 10 Netball
Languages Spanish trip
Before the trip I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to go because the thought of going to an unfamiliar environment and the fact that I wasn’t too confident at Spanish wasn’t too appealing! On the first night my nerves were going crazy because I was just starting to get to know the family but even after the first day I felt like my exchange partner and her family were my own family!
The activities we did throughout the week were great. We did a wide variety like going up the Teide Volcano, whale watching on a boat, spending the day in a Spanish school and going to a water park on the weekend. I liked the responsibility we were given on the trip too. I made a lot of new friendships with both the Spanish exchanges and the LPGS students. My favourite part of the trip was the day we went to the Volcano with our exchange partners, that’s was when I knew I would miss the trip and everyone I had met.
Gabriella S Y10
Year 11 Careers Skills Day – March 2019
A huge ‘thank you’ to everyone who took part in the recent Year 11 Careers Skills Day. I literally could not have organised this event without the massive help that was given so generously by all the speakers, staff and governors both on the day and also during the many weeks leading up to the event.
We had a brilliant day, with over 38 different people coming into school from the list of employers below, giving their time freely to talk about their occupations and their own personal career stories. The girls heard from such a variety of speakers and found out that many of us have had varied and different career paths and actually school is just the start of a journey, it is completely up to them where they end up.
As well as listening to speakers, each student had an to opportunity to have a couple of ‘mock’ job interviews which was a part time retail vacancy. All the interviewers were so impressed by how the girls coped with their interviews. They were all pretty nervous (one student commented to me that “this does not feel like a ‘mock’ interview Miss!”), but they did amazingly well, as I knew they would. They are more confident and much more impressive than they realise. Just a couple of the many complimentary emails I received are below:
“All of the girls were so polite and far, far more confident then I had been at their age” - Neuroscientist
“It was a pleasure to be involved and I am glad that the day was a success. The event was well organised and had the right level of interaction for the girls to benefit from it.” - Thackary Williams Solicitors
“Tomorrow's stars” - STEM Ambassador
“They all came prepared, their communication skills were excellent and they took it seriously” - Canterbury Christ Church University
I feel I must make a special mention to Julie Bowen, who not only gave talks about working in the recruitment industry and took part in the mock interviews of the girls, she then led the afternoon session on Personal Branding, that was excellent. Her commitment to Langley Girls is enormous and she has helped from the very first day of the Careers Academy.
Catherine Camp from the Apprenticeship Service told all the girls about the opportunities that are on offer and even more that are coming along in the future. Samantha Ridgewell representing Empower Development spoke very personally about her experience in the working world and gave some absolute gold nuggets on what employers are looking for and how every student can help themselves to look better on their CV and show off their own skills.
The day finished with Sam Carrington, from Smirk Experience – harnessing the power of comedy – talking to us about communication skills. Sam takes stand-up comedians into major companies to work with their staff on staff training days. He was full of information, and also very funny!
I received lots of great feedback for the day from the students, below is just one of the many comments from Year 11 students
“I learnt a lot- how to write a cv tailored to a job tips on how to do an interview tips on following what you enjoy examples of different kinds of jobs people do and much more... thank you for providing our year with such a valuable day, I think it was well put together, a challenge but also enjoyable” - Year 11 student
I was so proud of every single student during a long day. The student above was right, it was a challenge and I am delighted that they found it enjoyable. Their maturity and commitment really shone through during the every session and I am so proud to be their careers adviser.
Joanne Carroll - LPGS Careers Academy
If you would like to get involved in any of the activities we organise at The Careers Academy, please email me and I would be very happy to have a chat and find out where we can best use your talents : j.carroll@lpgs.bromley.sch.uk
Here are all the companies who sent staff to help during the day : Jaynered Creative Design - CBRE surveyors - HSBC bank - Ato tours - Sparkles and Millie Nursery - BDO accountants - Conde Nast - S Three plc - Ravensbourne College of Design - Mental Health Nursing - White Hat Apprenticeships - Bromley Healthcare - Midwifery - Forensics - Chartered Occupational Psychologist - Secondary teaching - NHS Scientist training specialising in cardiac - RSPCA - Exposed Solutions - Thackray Williams - Stevensons Plumbing - London Fire Brigade - Smirk Experience stand-up comedian - National Apprenticeship Service - Empower Development.
French Pop Up Restaurant - PTA
Langley Park School for Girls PTA and GAUTHIER SOHO chef, Gerard Virolle welcomed diners to our first French Pop Up Restaurant on Friday 10th May 19.
The school canteen was transformed into a fabulous restaurant, where LPGS parents and friends were promised an experience of French cuisine at its finest. They were not disappointed.
Gerard Virolle, a LPGS parent, worked his magic and produced some of the most exquisite food which flow from the kitchen to tables all night. Louise Whelan from Branching Out in Beckenham, also a LPGS parent, provided the beautiful flower arrangements, which were then available to take home for a donation.
Diners were pleasantly surprised, below some of the feedback we received.
“The hall looked fabulous and the food was really delicious. The atmosphere was relaxed and several times during the evening we did forget we were in the school hall!”
“We had a wonderful evening and thought you had been really successful in transforming the school canteen into a sophisticated venue!”
“Food was amazing, the room almost felt like we were in a French restaurant: flowers, candles, good wine, good friends around the table and the best food in West Wickham!!! Congratulations to the chef again… I still have the taste in my mind of this amazing wild mushroom risotto, and the chocolate cake with crunchy praline was stunning too!”
“It was a lovely touch that the chef came around to speak to everyone. If it is the same chef next time I would definitely encourage more people to buy tickets. The flowers on the table were also lovely.”
“Well done, the PTA did a fantastic job. I really appreciate all the hard work done by the PTA in raising much needed funds for the school”
Don’t miss the next one!!
Photographs by BTEC Art & Design year 13 student Jade S.
A Helping Hand in the Community
LPGS Altruistic Society Ethos: At Langley Park School For Girls students have been working on a project that encourages others to be more selfless. The girls of the Altruistic Society decided to launch a campaign of kindness, hoping to reach 2000 hours of altruistic deeds done by the school community. Altruism means “the selfless concern for the wellbeing of others, not because you are obligated to, but simply because you feel like helping.” These attributes are at the centre of the students’ Altruistic Society and are used to encourage others to take part in the campaign.
The Origin of the LPGS Altruistic Society: The LPGS Altruistic Hours campaign began with introductory assemblies for all year groups to explain exactly what the altruistic society wanted to achieve and how they could get involved. Very quickly, an influx of fantastic altruistic acts from both students and staff were received. Some of the easy but great acts of altruism that were submitted by students included: volunteering in local charity shops and elderly people’s homes; after school clubs; donating towards food banks as well as helping friends and family members in need.
Altruistic Acts: Each week the best altruists were selected as a result of their incredible acts of altruism and were named as the ‘Altruistic Ace’ of the week. The Altruistic Aces included: Tamsin W, who rescued a lost dog embarking upon a dangerous road, fed it and contacted a shelter; Anika P, who volunteers at a homeless shelter in Battersea every week and Danielle T who volunteers in the dementia ward of an elderly people’s home. Another of our Altruistic Aces made bookmarks with inspiring quotes on them and put them in peoples lockers, on teachers desks and in books in the library with the help of her two friends. Tabitha B made PowerPoints for teachers, went litter picking and gave out cookies; Anna D helped her neighbour put up posters for her missing cat and Gabby S volunteered at Oxfam, helped at her trampolining academy and donated rice using an online quiz game. The altruistic society is very proud of all of the fantastic acts of altruism that have been the result of the campaign!
What did we learn: After the project, the Altruistic Society ran a survey which asked students if they knew what Altruism was before the project and what they now know. 75% of students didn’t know what Altruism was before the project was run, but now have a better understanding of “how doing something good for someone else is worth it”, as said by Tamsin W, one of the schools Altruistic Ace. The impact of the project has led to student self-empowerment, with pupils believing that their contribution to the community in “small altruistic acts can help to change the world” as said by Clarie S, one of the schools Amazing Altruists. The belief that students actions can have an impact on others has created an environment in which students understand that it is “much more important to help out in the community than people realise” as said by one of the pupils who helped out at a local girl guides, Katherine C. Understanding that every little action is able to help the community and “can be fun” it displays that “it doesn’t take a hero to change the world – it only takes a kind heart”.
Sport and Netball
Emily or Daisy represented their club, Telstars, in the National U16 netball club finals.
Their team have had a really successful year having won the U16 Kent County Junior League, the U16 Kent County Junior League cup tournament and most recently the U16 London & South East regional league to qualify to represent the region in the National finals.
We’re obviously super proud of them!!
All the best, Andy (Emily’s dad)
Sport - The Future is Bright!! Well done!!
Eden S: secured football scholarship at UCLA in America
Tallulah N - 16th overall in the London Mini Marathon, 1st placed Bromley runner. Also placed 6th in the Kent School Cross Country
Carla F - 1st in National Race walking championships
Carys F - 10th in Kent School Cross Country
Year 12 Science and experience of Medical School at the Royal College of Surgeons...
Some of the LPGS Year 12 Biologists were lucky enough to spend a day at the Royal College of Surgeons.
They learned how to suture cuts like a professional and practice micro-surgery on computer models.
It was an amazing day finding out about different routes into Medical School and a day in the life of an NHS surgeon.
Y10 Geography Field Trip
A write up by Katherine P and Monica P with some pictures from the last 2 days of trip for the newsletter.
On the 16th and 17th of May 19, the year 10 GCSE geography students visited Canary Wharf to conduct their primary data collection for their urban fieldwork. We started off the day at Eden park before taking a train and DLR to Mudchute, where we started our data collection. We took pollution swabs, counted traffic, surveyed the public on their perceptions of the area, took field sketches and finally rated our overall personal views of each site.
In total we visited five sites we walking from Mudchute to the centre of Canary Wharf. Each site showed a variation in data, with the main difference being the level of pedestrian congestion increasing the closer we got to Canada Square (Canary Wharf). The data we collected will allow us to contextualise our urban fieldwork - a part of our GCSE geography course.
Thank you to Mr Lutz and his team for enjoyable fieldwork days.
Sports... Y7 Athletics meet Tuesday 14th May 2019
In the first outing of the season this Y7 athletics squad made a storming start despite being slightly depleted in number.
The 8 girls showed great spirit and enthusiasm for trying out any event in order for us to be represented in as many as possible as just a team of 8. With some experienced club athletes in the team leading the warm up and explaining other aspects of the events to the less experienced it was a real team effort. The afternoon saw some brilliant performances and culminated in an expertly executed 4 x 100m with Nina W taking the baton at 4th change over in 3rd place but runner seamlessly to finish in 1st.
Now we train and expand the squad ready for the Bromley Minors event in June.
Top 3 placing are shown below;
Isla - 3rd 1500m
Bella - 3rd 200m
Tallulah - 1st 800m
Nina - 1st High jump and 100m
Alexia - 3rd 100m
Isobel - 3rd Javelin
Caitlin - 1st Javelin
Alexia, Bella, Nina and Tallulah = 1st 4x100m relay
A Huge thank you to the PTA at LPGS!!
This has been a busy and successful year for the PTA at LPGS, despite the slow start. We have hosted several events throughout the year and these have included, adult quiz night, family quiz night and most recently a 'pop- up restaurant', which was a great success. We have also supported the school in providing refreshments for many school evening performances, parents evenings, open days and a book sale at lunchtime for the students.
This support from PTA volunteers, teachers, students and as parents has meant that we have raised over £8,000 for the school.
We have used these funds raised, to approve all the staff requests from the departments at Langley. These have included:
• Ripple tanks (Science Dept)
• Water baths (Science Dept)
• GCSE textbooks (PE Dept)
• Photography and recording equipment (Media Dept)
• Laptop upgrade components (Visual Arts Dept)
• Art displays around the school
• Reading Pens (SEND Dept)
• Computer chairs (Language Dept)
• Planters for improvements in the wildlife garden
As you can see, this has helped the school across many areas and will be of benefit for many students to come.
There is still more fundraising to come and more events to plan until the end of the academic year, so please come and join us at our meetings and get involved with the school and raising funds that all the students will benefit from. You don’t have to attend every meeting and you don’t have to help at every event. If you have been meaning to get involved, please come along to our next meeting.
Our next PTA meeting is on the 11th of June at 19.30 in the canteen area for the school, everyone is welcome to attend.
Credits:
Created with images by Andrew Kitchen - "untitled image" • Charles 🇵🇭 - "untitled image" • truthseeker08 - "hand united together"