MEET THE SITE TEAM

You see these gentlemen all around the Academy and they are the individuals that keep our school running. Meet Paul Townley, Alan, Paul T and Brian (not imaged). They are here to open our school up early and the morning and are the last to leave. They have been around BAB for “what feels like a lifetime”. The Site Team has routine work to maintain the school, they repair any problems that occur on a day-to-day basis and are here over holiday to get things back in working order. Be sure to say hello to our wonderful Site Team.

“Faust” Beware!

This man is willing to sell his soul to the Devil!

But only in the play “Faust”. A2 Drama is currently rehearsing their A2 production of “Faust” by Wolfgang Von Goethe. The production should be performing toward the end of this term, with lucky audiences being invited to see the production for the students A2 Drama - A level Exam.

The play is about a man who wants so much knowledge he is willing to sell his soul to the Devil to get it. Written originally in German by Goethe in 1773, it took him twenty years to   finish. The plot has been used again and again since including “Bedazzled” (2000) with Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley. Using the modernist ways of telling old stories it has projections, cameras and theatricality to make it exciting, moving and funny.  

Karla Beredugo (Y13)

SPEAKERS FOR SCHOOLS

Nick Robertson the CEO of ASOS came to BAB on the 6th of February to meet with all Y11 and Sixth Form Business students and give an exclusive interview to a select few students. He is a part of the Speaker for Schools organisation and was invited to the Academy by Mr Mehaffey and Blue House.

TEACHER FEATURE

MISS SMITH-CRALLEN

We interviewed Miss Smith-Crallan on her new position as Head of Humanities and also threw in a few fun and unrelated questions for your amusement.

How is Head of Humanities going?

It’s very busy, but I love it.

What made you change from Head of Year 12 to Head of Humanities?

It was a really exciting to get involved in all the subjects as I really love all of the subjects in Humanities. I find them all really exciting and I  couldn't wait to get more involved with all the  lessons. I do really miss year 12 but don’t miss sharing an office with Mr Cook!

What do you prefer?

I loved both, they're really different, both busy and both stressful but really rewarding. I think Miss Fuller is doing an amazing job as Head of Year 12.

What’s your favourite subject to teach?

My favourite subject is Sociology because it’s really interesting and you get to look at and understand how society works around you. Government and Politics is also amazing and has way better students!

What made you want to become a teacher?

I have worked in a bunch of other jobs, including sales, working in the council and recruitment and with all of them I got really bored after about 6 months. At first, the job is interesting while I was learning but then I'd easily get bored. However teaching is really exciting and I never get bored as it’s always different and  you never have to do the same thing twice as children are always different, so it’s really fun.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

I am going to be ruling the world! Or alternatively I’d really like to be a head teacher.

What’s your action plan for a zombie apocalypse?

I've spoken to my friend who works for the Ministry of Defence and so I'm going to drive out of London as quickly as possible as there’s loads of people here and get into the countryside where my friend lives. He has access to weapons and stuff and probably a secret bunker somewhere.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

I love binge watching Netflix all weekend, I mean entire weekends watching one season all the way through until 3am— potentially with some chocolate!

Favourite Rom-Com?

Umm, ooh 10 Things I Hate About You!

Charlie Heselden (Y12)

REVIEW OF THE CHRISTMAS CONCERT

On Thursday 19th December, The Business Academy welcomed students, parents and friends to a Narnia themed Christmas  extravaganza which I attended. Whilst shown to my seat (and lumbered with a head camera) I was helped to tea and a mince pie by our very own Agony Armand. The show opened with a greeting  message from Mr Nichols and then the ‘X Factor’ like talent show began.

The first song to be sung was by all the contestants, ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’. The performance wasn't as good as I had anticipated and gave me doubts for the rest of the show. The next performance by Dami Fakehinde, a Christmas pop mix, was uplifting and energetic. At this point the night begun to pick up and the show carried on   smoothly and cheerfully as Sharifah Gordon and Adrianna Douglas took the stage singing ‘Hallelujah’ which was followed by an interlude. This was a fun dance act consisting of former BAB students.


The next part of the show was a shock to the audience as Sam Olapade took to the stage with an original Christmas rap. The Rap was catchy and upbeat and enjoyed by all. He later went on to be the winner of the show who performed in our celebration assembly.

Then a duet of two adorable young girls, Nazryn Nisimiyu and Bethany-Anne Hodges accompanied by Bethany Florescu on guitar. The cover of ‘Last Christmas’ was enjoyable and left the crowd in high spirits for the closing act, Eliseus Aileru and Olivia Francis who sang ‘This Christmas’. This was my favourite performance of the night as the dynamics between the two voices made the performance magical and unforgettable.

By the end of the night I was excited and in the spirit for Christmas as I imagine everyone else was. Congratulations to our winner and well done to the BTEC Business students and Miss James for organising such an original and incredible night!

Charlie Heselden (Y12)

FASHION

In September/ October of last year; New York, London, Milan and Paris witnessed the exclusive and fresh new collections for spring/summer of this year from different designers around the globe. This year’s spring summer fashion weeks witnessed a round of awe-inspiring shows from catwalks such as Topshop Unique in London to Alexander Wang in New York. 

As seen at Paris Fashion Week, one of the designers, I personally admire; Balmain due to their magnificent shows, presented a beautiful new and unique spring summer line, still incorporating their iconic intricate beading detail and prints into items such as skirts and over-sized jackets. Another intriguing thing about Balmains show at Paris Fashion Week was the make-up choices for the models on the runway. The make-up artist for this show created a ‘barely there’ minimal look, making them appear natural and healthy, which in my opinion, was a great and revolutionary move.

Having presented their new lines for spring, months before, its now the time of year for the   designs and ideas to come into stores worldwide. One noticeable feature making its way back for another summer is floral prints and lace which is appearing in not only catwalks but  everyday stores which are accessible and affordable for everyone. Inferring from the new collections, more things that’ll look great this spring are fresh, pastel coloured items and also bold patterns. It is evident that the essentials for this season is a cute jacket and pretty hair accessories.

Elle Osborn (Y10) with background design by Christelle Siewe (Y13)

LATIN CLUB

Latin club was trialled last year but formed officially this year, catering to Year 10 students who are on their way to achieving a Level 1 certificate in Latin. This may lead to a level 2 certificate which would count as a 'C' in a GCSE. In Latin club, students learn how to translate Latin sentences, deciphering vocabulary, syntax and grammar along the way. Around eleven students regularly attend Latin club, which shows fantastic commitment on a Thursday afternoon!

I studied Latin from the age of eleven myself, achieving a 2:1 in Classics from the University of  Bristol. A Classics degree entails the study of ancient Latin, Greek and      Hebrew. Additionally, we study prose and poetry in these ancient languages alongside the philosophy and issues of the time.

As one Greek famously said "Democracy, Mathematics, Philosophy" - all of these were invented by the Greeks.

Amongst the cool phrases that I know in Latin are:

"aut viam inveniam aut faciam"
I will either find a way or make one.

"carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero" - Seize the day, trusting the future as little as     possible. An interesting ethos to which life must be lived!

Mr Mehaffey. 

DRAMA CLUB

Instead of the classic posters Keep Calm, Carry on. With Drama Club , we say Get Excited, Do Drama!

Now about 30 strong, members of Drama Club from all years meet on: Thursday Lunchtime generally in the Drama Theatre. From 12.50 - 1.30,

 give or take getting lunch. Improvisation, working on stages, voice training, acting, singing and above all else, Fun! Although it is on every week you can attend when you want to. Just try it and see.

LIBRARY NEWS

Do you like reading Manga and/or comics? Do you like drawing Manga? Do you like speaking about them with your friends? Would you like to take part in a reading challenge and vote for the best comic published in 2013? Every vote is counted! All you have to do is read the 8 nominated books and attend a regular Manga Club meeting every Wednesday after school. See Mr Taylor in the library for more details. 




                                                CARNEGIE MEDAL
Y9s will be going head-to-head with Bexley schools to speed read through the Carnegie Medal Shortlist books and prepare a speech! Keep an eye out for the winner in the next issue!

MUSIC CLUB

Tuesdays - Drums and Percussion with the amazing Andres 'he comes from Uruguay!'

Wednesdays - keyboard and piano with Keith a professional pianist

Thursday - Singing and Choir with Nikki our trained singing teacher

Friday - Guitars with Paul our session musician and music school creator

LILLE TRIP

On the 13th of December students in all years crossed borders into France to visit the Lille Christmas Market. They ate tons of great food and enjoyed the holiday culture!

GEOGRAPHY TRIP

Last term forty year 11  students ventured deep into the  forest to complete their geography field work. The signs did not look good, it had poured with rain all night, and was still raining as we left. Everyone was concerned: would it be too wet? would the river be flooded? would there be enough wellies?! Our intrepid bunch headed north of London to the Epping Forest. Once there they started in the classroom revising some key river knowledge, we then went out onto the hill and had a look at some mud - some people though were too scared to touch the mud (mentioning no names JRS and BG). After lunch the real fun started, we went to Debden Brook, a nearby river. When we were there we measured things like the speed of the river, its depth and width, we even picked up rocks from the river bed and measured them! Luckily, no one fell in the river but there were some wet feet when wellies flooded. Over all, the day was a great success we all had fun and we collected all the data we need to complete our controlled assessments which go towards our Geography GCSE.... Now the hard work starts - writing it up!

Special thanks need to be given to members of the Rotary Club of Crowthorne and Sandhurst who donated wellies so we could all go in the river!

Miss Huckstep

GUARDIAN NEWS AND MEDIA CENTRE

My AS Communication and Culture class alongside members of the newspaper club were invited to The Guardian News and Media Centre in London on the 12th of December. Once we arrived there we made our way to the Education Centre whilst admiring the retro-looking building. We had to do some group activities which involved looking at newspapers and deciding which image we liked the best. After the activities, we had a tour around the site. We also had a chance to see some snippets of the following day’s paper. After the tour, we had a Q&A with journalist, Maeve Shearlaw. Overall, I really found the trip to be really insightful and exciting.

Bisma Khalid (Y12)

MERCHANT OF VENICE AT THE GLOBE THEATRE

On Wednesday 19th, March Year 8 went to the Globe Theatre to see William Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. We journeyed into Central London and saw lots of sights on the way like the Golden Hind and           St Paul's Cathedral.The play was better than reading it in class because it was funny and had a modern twist. We also had the opportunity to see it in the theatre that people would have visited in the Elizabethan times.
My favourite part of the play was the beginning because it involved the audience singing and dancing. It was great fun with everyone singing Pharell's Happy with the actors! I enjoyed the Merchant of Venice and I would love for the opportunity to see it again. I learnt a lot about the treatment of Jewish people during Shakespearean times.

Alysha Travis (Y8)

MESSAGE FROM HEAD TEACHER

Well done for yet another fantastic term, it’s really pleasing to see so many of you taking part in extracurricular activities as well as enjoying yourselves on trips. Good luck to all those who have been sitting exams this term and next, I have every faith in you all!

Happy Holidays I look  forward to welcoming you all back next term. 

Mr Nichols  

MEET THE BROADCASTER TEAM

These are the faces behind the stories! They have been attending The BAB Broadcaster Club every Wednesday since the beginning of the school year . Not only do they commit to meeting, but these pupils also dedicate tons of their own time to make the issue as action packed as it is! 

Recognise any of the regular features? Agony Armand? Josue Judges? Be sure to say hello in Room 203 on Wednesdays!