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Specialising in Science and Sport
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Specialising in Science & Sport

Great Baddow High School: a happy, safe and successful 11-18 school of which we are very proud. Whether you are a prospective parent or considering applying for a job, I hope that you will find the information on this website helpful and enjoy watching our 'Welcome to Great Baddow High School' video...
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British Science Week
15th Mar 2024
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British Science Week

British Science week has been celebrated at GBHS in many ways this week. The science department have been continually linking the theme of ‘Time’ into lessons and topics across all year groups. In addition, there have been after-school activities taking place which have engaged and intrigued our students. The STEM club have been completing their propeller cars and were hoping to hold a drag race with them this week, but it has been postponed to allow further build time. Many of the groups are still problem solving the issues surrounding opposing forces preventing the car from reaching the desired speed. On Thursday 14th March, a large group of KS3 students opted into the activities run by the science department. One challenge was for students to design the slowest ‘marble run’ course down a table with only limited materials. Students successfully managed to record a time of 30.15s. The second group were investigating how concentration effects rate of reaction. The iodine clock worked really well and students mostly managed to achieve the reactions to take place at the correct times to make the clock face work. The final group were undertaking rat dissections. The aim here was to understand how mammals achieve effective digestion by having very long intestines. This allows a longer time for nutrients to be absorbed into the bloodstream. I think lots of students were amazed to see approx. 2m of intestines removed from a rat that is only 20cm long. All students thoroughly enjoyed the activities over the week. A big thank you to the science department and in particular Dr Pratt, Mr Becker & Mrs Richardson for hosting activities.
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Fantastic Performances at the GBHS Annual Music Competition
15th Mar 2024
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Fantastic Performances at the GBHS Annual Music Competition

The music department hosted it's annual music competition week with the most entries from students ever. 34 students took part in the heats over the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday competing in the three categories: Beginner (Grade 1-2), Intermediate (Grade 3-5) and Advanced (Grade 6-8). The standard of entries was fantastic and it was very difficult to decide who progressed from the Heats to the Final. Congratulations to our students who did progress to the Final: Beginner Category: Max L - Y8 (Piano), Liz H - Y10 (Flute), Martin Z - Y7 (Classical Guitar), Rose N - Y9 (Voice and Guitar), Grace K - Y9 (Clarinet) Intermediate Category: Reuben R - Y10 (Piano), Iris O - Y10 (Voice), Shaun R - Y9 (Violin), Chloe A - Y10 (Voice), Hazel K - Y8 (Flute), Adelaide B - Y9 (Voice) Advanced Category: Isabella R - Y10 (Voice), Jack B - Y11 (Piano), Julien H - Y10 (Saxophone), Ben M - Y10 (Voice), Hazel K - Y8 (Piano) The final was judged by Mr Barton, Mrs Fox, Mr Kellett, Mrs Pickwick and Mr Sheldon. They were delighted to award the following results: Awards for Musical Connection: Most Accurate Performance: Hazel K (Y8) Most Energetic Performance: Max L (Y8) Most Emotional Performance: Isabella R (Y10) Category Winners: Ensembles Category Winners: Noah P (Y9) and Isaac B (Y9) performing their rendition of Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' Beginner Category Winner: Grace K (Y9) performing the 'Theme from Wallace and Gromit' on Clarinet Intermediate Category Winner: Shaun R (Y9) performing 'Via Dolorosa' on Violin Advanced Category Winner: Jack B (Y11) performing 'New Kid' on Piano  Congratulations to everyone involved and we look forward to seeing you all compete again next academic year!
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Careers Fair 2024
4th Mar 2024
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Careers Fair 2024

We were pleased to offer one of our largest and most successful Careers Fairs last week with 300 students attending and exploring over 40 exhibitors. Students were able to explore a wide range of employers as well and different higher education pathways. Ex-students now completing apprenticeships with TELEDYNE E2V impressed as they returned to give a talk and pass on their experiences. Year 9 students used their careers booklets to explore the five careers’ zones and open their eyes to a wider range of possible careers. Both parents and exhibitors praised the school stating: "It was the best careers fair we have attended." We would like to thank all our exhibitors for their time and expertise in guiding our students on the options that are available to them, and our parents and students for their enthusiasm and support for our annual careers event. The Careers Fair is part of an on-going Careers Education and Guidance programme, where students are supported to make informed choices and decisions about their futures. This includes impartial careers guidance from our Independent Careers Adviser from Directions IAG ltd, who was in attendance on the night. As our Year 9 students approach the time for picking their GCSE options for the following years, our Options Evening is the next event in the calendar, giving students and parents a chance to meet and discuss with all the subject areas what the course involves and the skills developed and required to succeed in it. The Year 9 Options Evening takes place on Monday 18th March 2024.
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Media Live and Business Live Conference
1st Mar 2024
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Media Live and Business Live Conference

On the 24th February, 37 Media and Business students took a trip to Paris to attend the Media Live and Business Live conferences. On the first day, students toured around Paris, climbed up Sacre Coeur and enjoyed the Sunday morning walking around the beautiful and very Parisienne Montmartre, followed by a tour of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and on to the Arc de Triomphe, taking in sights such as Pont Neuf and the Louvre along the way Students went on a behind the scenes tour of the famous Le Grande Rex cinema and were able to make their own action film as well as see behind the workings of a 3,000 seat cinema where premieres take place. On the second day, students attended the Media live and Business live conferences at the Gaumont cinema in Disneyland Paris.  During the conference students heard from impressive Media industry professionals who presented media topics and career advice, using their own first hand experience and a little background on their careers. Students were also able to meet the inspirational speakers and ask questions.   Speakers included: Remel London - facilitator Remel London is an award-winning British TV, Radio presenter and host. Since graduating with a BA Degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Leeds, Remel’s high energy, fun and thoughtful style has resulted in her becoming the lead presenter on SKY One’s Unmuted, the host of the Saturday Afternoon show on CAPITAL XTRA and a highly sought after voice-over artist working with the BBC, CBBC, BET, UKTV and BT Sports to name a few.  Remel London is very passionate about her local community and young creatives. She is the founder of The Mainstream, which is a creative platform offering networking opportunities, live events, workshops, seminars, Q&A’s and a podcast to support individuals that would like to launch and develop their career into the mainstream media and entertainment world.  Stevie White is a Digital Creator and co-host of one of the UK's most listened to podcasts on Spotify, Happy Hour with JaackMaate. He is also a content creator for Guild Esport and frequently streams on Twitch with an audience of over 15,000 followers. In 2014, Stevie launched his personal Youtube channel after the success of his collaboration with JaackMaate on their song 'Hip to be a Hipster' which reached number 1 in the iTunes comedy chart.  Gemma Hunt has been working in TV since 2003 when she graduated with her 1st Class Media Performance Degree.  Having met an agent through a careers day at the University, Gemma’s showreel was sent to CBBC who met her for an interview, invited her for a screen test and then offered her a contract with CBBC, as one of their live on-air presenters working on CBBC1, 2 and then on the CBBC Channel - and all before she had graduated. Gemma has presented a huge variety of shows and has thousands of live hours of TV experience presenting magazine shows, on-air links and hosting coverage from huge live events. Gemma has presented 8 series of the hit BAFTA winning CBeebies pirate gameshow series SWASHBUCKLE and also performs in the Cbeebies Christmas shows and Shakespeare adaptations each year for the channel. In 2020 Gemma was delighted to join the regular presenting team of BBC1’s Songs of Praise. Bobby Seagull is a television personality (University Challenge and the Monkman and Seagull Genius Guides), author (The Life-Changing Magic of Numbers) and vocal advocate of the importance of maths and numeracy. He teaches maths at his local school in east London. 
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History trip to the Suffolk WW1 Trenches
1st Mar 2024
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History trip to the Suffolk WW1 Trenches

Last week, 100 Year 10 students left school at 7.30 a.m. to make their way to Suffolk to visit the Great War Huts at Brook Farm Camp. When they arrived, everyone changed their shoes into wellies, so they were ready to go in the muddy and waterlogged trench! Luckily, the sun shone, and it wasn’t too cold for February. The groups rotated around 5 different activities. Walk around a mock WW1 trench: Students and staff tentatively made their way around the trench, looking at the dugouts, fire steps, duckboards, tight corners, and facilities. The guide told us about the soldiers’ day-to-day life. A talk about medical provision with artefacts: One of the guides spoke about how medical care developed over the course of the way, bringing it to life with the use of props and real artefacts! A talk about the progression of the war: In the small hall, a guide showed us how the army equipment developed over the course of the war in response to the different conditions the soldiers faced. A WW1 soldier modelled the uniform and changes in equipment with the occasional jump scare! Rifle handling: The WW1 soldier taught us how to hold, load and shoot a WW1 (without bullets, of course). They are surprisingly heavy! Military parade: Students and staff were taught a few commands and eventually how to march in formation. The coaches then took us to Bury St Edmunds Cemetery. As a group, students looked at the distinctive commonwealth war graves and laid a wreath on behalf of the school. The guides recited a poem, and paid tribute with a one-minute silence. They returned to school at 5.20 p.m. after a brilliant day for students and staff alike. The students behaved impeccably and were a credit to the school.
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World Book Day 2024
29th Feb 2024
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World Book Day 2024

Thursday 7th March is World Book Day and at GBHS this year, we will be celebrating by; holding our annual ‘DECORATE YOUR TUTOR ROOM DOOR' competition, challenging groups to decorate their door to represent a book aimed at teenagers or focus on an aspect of reading which is important to them.  running a ‘SHELFIE’ competition throughout the week, with students guessing whose bookshelf it is.  having different book related activities each day in the library, ranging from book bingo to a book knowledge quiz. hosting a special ‘Conversation with …’ event with staff sharing their reading journey with students. But why is reading so important?  ‘Read your Way’ is the theme this year with the aim of encouraging teenagers to enjoy their reading by choosing what and how they read and finding opportunities to have fun with reading. Some key elements to encourage reading for pleasure: Having trusted help to a help select a book – there are plenty of book recommendations on our library system (accessed via the portal) and in the library.  Try our Book of the Moment, always a good read! Having a choice in what to read and using the library – the library has a large and varied book stock which is constantly being updated, so always worth investigating.  No need to buy books, just borrow from the library. Having books at home and at school – use the £1 World Book Day vouchers to purchase one of the special World Book Day books or for a £1 discount on a regular priced book.  Vouchers have been given to tutors for them to distribute to their students. The vouchers are valid until 31st March. Finding time to read – students have regular library lessons and should read at home. Being read to regularly and reading to others  - an integral part of library lessons. Making reading FUN! – Try some of the activities organised by the library. Remember reading includes fiction books, information books, brochures, newspapers, magazines, website reports and even timetables! If have a moment this week, try reading along with your child and talking about books and how and when you read. 
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International Women & Girls in Science Day 2024
7th Feb 2024
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International Women & Girls in Science Day 2024

To celebrate and mark International Women & Girls in Science Day 2024 the GBHS science department are running a host of events over the course of the week to emerse our women and girls into the world of science. Students should also keep an eye on the screens around school for ‘surprising science’ profiles as teachers share information about what made them choose a career in science! Although Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields are widely regarded as critical to national economies, so far most countries, no matter their level of development, have not achieved gender equality in STEM. This day is a reminder that women and girls play a critical role in science and technology communities and that their participation should be strengthened. Find out more about the International Women & Girls in Science Day on the United Nations website here.  YEAR 7 On Wednesday 14th February Year 7 will undertake a lesson where they will look at the life and work of Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock. Their objective is top understand the forces at play and the escape velocity required to send a rocket into space to launch a geo-stationary satellite. YEAR 8 Year 8 will have a session on ‘smashing stereotypes in science’ delivered in tutor time. The interactive session will look at why there are preconceived ideas of what a scientist looks like vs the reality. YEAR 9 A select group of Year 9 students will have the opportunity to work with out very own Dr Pratt and Sixth Form science students. The session will be aimed at investigating the untimely death of some pet rats. Students will employ a variety of investigative skills to solve the reasons behind the unknown deaths. YEAR 10 Year 10 are encouraged to enter the artwork competition for prominent women in science. Keep a look out for further information on the posters in tutor rooms and the screens around school for entry details. Winning entries will be displayed in the science department.  
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GBHS Students Raise the Roof at the Stratford and East Londo...
6th Feb 2024
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GBHS Students Raise the Roof at the Stratford and East London Mus...

On Monday 5th February, 38 of our students from across the school represented Great Baddow High School at the Stratford and East London Music Festival singing as members of Choir 16. The competition was held at St Mary's Church, South Woodford and the Adjudicator was Ben Costello (BMus, PGDip, MA, FRSA, FISM). The choir competed in the U18 Youth Choir Category and placed 2nd with a rarely awarded Distinction grading. Mr Bentley and Mr Herbert are incredibly proud of how our students conducted themselves and for the clear joy they took in their singing and the overall experience. We look forward to entering more competitions in the future and continuing the high-level work Choir 16 is achieving. Particular thanks go to Rosie B and Jasmine A of Year 13 who have been helping prepare the choir by leading sectionals and to the staff that accompanied the trip. The full adjudicators comments for our two performances were: Seasons of Love (from RENT the Musical) Lots of energy in your rousing rendition of this RENT classic Great Baddow. Committed focus, with warm speech quality, energy emerging. Some stylish riffs along the way too. You harnessed some of the later gospel fervour too, and can enjoy this further if you like! Rise Up (Andra Day) Well done for being so quickly "in the zone" with so little intro DSL (down-stage Left) group [the Alto section]. Another vivid response to a classic track here, with promising vocal agility, energy through the angular vocal writing. Well-prepared upper (tilt) work too, added suitable warmth to the lyric objectives. Good coordination with the backing track in both numbers.  
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Pupil Librarian Reward Trip
15th Dec 2023
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Pupil Librarian Reward Trip

Our pupil librarians are very hard working, they give up their break and lunch times to help out in the library as well as help out with primary school visits and activities such as our Chatterbooks sessions and our Spelling Bee competitions.  We have a group of wonderful Sixth Formers who have helped us every year since Year 7 and they will be leaving us in the summer, after their exams.  We didn’t want them to miss out on the reward trip for this year and so we decided to take them all on a special day out to the Harry Potter Studios for the ‘Hogwarts At Christmas’ event.  The trip not only acts as a reward but as a team building session for our newer students to get to know our team better and see just how helpful and friendly the older students are. During our trip, students were able to learn about the hundreds of different careers that are involved in the making of a film.  A lot of people only think of acting as a career when talking about the film industry but there are so many others such as directors, casting crews, hairdressers, costume designers, prop designers, make-up artists, choreographers, music composers, caterers and more!  Students also had a chemistry lesson by learning how they made different types of snow for different scenarios when filming, for example paper snow for the ground and polymer snow for the actors.  It was quite amazing watching the snow come to life in front of us. We hope that students were inspired by the different careers and hope they enjoyed the day as much as we enjoyed taking them. “Everyone had an amazing time at the Harry Potter sets, seeing the winter themed castle was especially magical and I learnt so much about the reality behind the filming process. It definitely made me want to rewatch the films! Thank you to everyone who organised the trip!” – Grace, Year 13
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Student's Inspired by the Real World Applications of Maths
8th Dec 2023
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Student's Inspired by the Real World Applications of Maths

Our Sixth Form and selected Key Stage 4 students took part in the “Maths Inspiration” show on Monday 4th December 2023 at Saffron Hall in Saffron Walden The show was a unique opportunity to participate in a national programme of interactive maths lectures aimed at teenagers. Inspiring speakers such as Collin Wright (Patterns predictions and juggling), Alison Kiddle (Risk and Reward) and Matt Scroggs (Maths and the video game arcade), ran the lectures who present mathematics live, in a context of exciting real-world applications! Collin Wright’s very entertaining talk showed us how spotting patterns can help in a surprising number of situations, including the invention of new juggling tricks. But beware, patterns aren’t always as predictable as they seem! Alison Kiddle’s talk introduced us to micromorts (the unit of risk defined as a one-in-a-million chance of death) When we make decisions, we have to weigh up the risks of our choices and decide whether the potential rewards make it worthwhile. But when it comes to assessing risk, humans are notoriously bad at estimating how likely events are. Students were led to discover the ways probability and statistics help us to find certainty in an unpredictable world. Matt Scrogg made us ask: How can I do a Pac-Man speedrun? Was Pac-Man the first 3D video game? Do any retro video games take place on the surface of a sphere? And did Asteroids enter another dimension?  This talk answered these questions and more, as we took a look at some maths related to classic arcade machine games. Students were enthused and amused, very inspired to be shown a fun side of maths and everyday applications! Mrs Hrabak, Mr Atkins Mrs Wood and Mrs Wallbank escorted our students, with Mrs Wallbank on the spotlight signing on stage!
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Year 8 and 10 Students visit German Christmas Market in Muni...
1st Dec 2023
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Year 8 and 10 Students visit German Christmas Market in Munich

München Weihnachtsmarkt Klassenfahrt   This week forty Year 8 and 10 students departed Great Baddow to fly to Munich. After landing we took the coach to drive to the Youth Hostel and after settling in and a German style dinner, we dressed warm to face the snow and headed off to explore the Winter Festival at the Theresienwiese where normally the Octoberfest takes place. The Tollwood festival is a spectacular display of lights and  21st century German culture.   On Wednesday, Mrs Fox organised her own special and very interesting sightseeing tour. We visited the Lady of Munich and saw the Devil’s footprint which showed a twist of divine intervention.  We loved the snow and even managed to build a few snowmen. Despite the cold temperature, Germans are mad enough to surf in the freezing waters of the river Eisbach (literally meaning freezing stream) but unfortunately none of us braved the dip. Then it was time to explore the traditional Christmas market. Lots of presents for family and friends were bought and typical German food was tried by all. A clear winner were the roasted nuts and Kartoffel Tornados. In the evening, we decided to revisit Tolwood for more street performances, music and celebrations.   Luckily, we had planned on Thursday to visit BMW Welt as it was snowing heavily and we also got a glimpse of the Olympic Park. Students, and especially the staff, enjoyed testing their balancing abilities on traditional and modern BMW motorcycles. The Elvis car for 8 Million Euro was a real treat. In the afternoon we explored the Deutsche Museum which is a technological marvel – we could have spent all day there as it was so interactive. We ploughed through the snow and climbed 306 steps to get a bird’s eye view of the centre of Munich with snow topped roofs. With the choir from the townhall balcony, we chose our last dinner at the Christmas Market and heading back for our last night at the Youth Hostel.   On our last day, Friday, we left our home away from home for the last time and took the bus to the Allianz Arena to see where the magic of Bayern Munich happens.  A massive thank you to all members of staff Mr Shah, Mr Fox, Mr Jackson and Mrs Leinemann and our wonderful Year 8 and 10 students. They were amazing.  
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Winter Concert at Chelmsford Cathedral
1st Dec 2023
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Winter Concert at Chelmsford Cathedral

On Monday 27th November an audience of 600 parents and students enjoyed the Great Baddow High School Winter Concert within the beautiful setting of Chelmsford Cathedral.  The concert featured performances from all the extra-curricular clubs run by the music department (minus Percussion Club, Music Tekk Club, and The Rock Band Club who will all feature in our next concert). Full details of our upcoming events can be found here. There were collaborations between Art and Drama too with the Art department displaying their Christmas card entries whilst the KS4 Drama leads prepared three short sketches devised around winter poems selected by the students. The evening had many highlights within the 80-minutes of music performed by our students but some of the credible mentions go to: Our exceptional Soloists: Hazel K (Y8) 'Tico Tico No Fuba' on Flute; Ava S (Y10) 'The Wizard and I' from Wicked the Musical; Luke M (Y10) 'Nocturne in Eb Major' by Chopin on Piano; Ollie K (Y13) with his own, very moving Composition for his friend Rosie; Jasmine A (Y13) 'Somewhere Only We Know' with the BSC; and Ben M (Y10) 'Evernore' from Beauty and the Beast. Our Readers: Ava M (Y11) and Iris O (Y10) who read winter poems. The BSC (Baddow Signing Choir) who made their debut at a Winter Concert and communicated the songs 'Mountain' (alongside Baddow Voices) and 'Somewhere Only We Know' which inspired over 70 students to learn the signs to the entire song on the day of the concert and join their performance at the Cathedral. Choir 16 (The Competitive Choir) also gave their debut live performances of 'Rise Up' by Andra Day and 'Seasons of Love'. There were lots of emotions after their outstanding performances and then the announcement that they have made it through to the final of the Stratford and East London Choral Competition (our first ever entry into competitive singing). The Year 7 Choir, consisting of 63 students who all learnt the song as part of the classroom curriculum, gave a heart-warming performance of John Farnham's 'You're The Voice' concluding their performance with an acapella refrain of the chorus with no conductor. They were an exceptional credit to themselves all night and have kickstarted their Baddow music journeys in style. The extra nice part of the Winter Concert this year is that we are enjoying it all again on Friday 1st December performing to 150 students from Beehive Lane, Larkrise and Mildmay Prinary schools. This is our first matinee of the Winter Concert and we will thoroughly enjoy singing carols with the primary students who had been preparing them to perform. Our thanks, as always, to the staff and parents who supported such an incredible event. We look forward to welcoming you all to our next events and the Music Department wish you a very merry Christmas.
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Science and Engineering Saturday Club
21st Nov 2023
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Science and Engineering Saturday Club

Chelmsford Science and Engineering Society have a fantastic opportunity that is open for all Year 10 students who are studying science subjects (biology, chemistry, physics, D&T, maths, computer science etc). CSES and ARU would like to invite Year 10 students to apply for a place at their Saturday Science and Engineering club which starts in January 2024 and will run for 15 weeks.  The club,  under the umbrella of the National Saturday Club (NSC), runs from10.00am – 12.30pm on Saturday mornings during term time at Anglia Ruskin’s Chelmsford Campus. More information about the National Saturday Clubs can be found on their website here.  Further information about CSES and ARU can be found on their respective web sites (https://cses.org.uk  and  CSES at Anglia Ruskin University - ARU). Club members will experience a range of different Science and Engineering topics using the state-of-the-art Super Lab and workshop facilities at ARUs Chelmsford Campus. Each session will explore the science and engineering behind real life activities and problems that can affect our daily lives. In addition to laboratory and workshop sessions there are also visits to science and technology related organisations. The programme is delivered totally free of charge to Club members and applications are open to all Year 10 students who are studying science subjects. The only thing they are looking for is a commitment to attend regularly, have a passion for science and technology and a willingness to explore new subject areas. If your child is interested in applying for a place, please visit https://saturday-club.org/join-a-club/ and fill out the form. They aim to start the Club on Saturday 27th January, but places are limited. Please note, that this is not a drop-in Club. They have a maximum of thirty places and if your child is successful in securing a place, they expect them to attend every week during their 2024 programme.  
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Geography Students Experience the Wonder of the Northern Lig...
17th Nov 2023
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Geography Students Experience the Wonder of the Northern Lights

As we read the news regarding the continuing earthquakes in Iceland and the concerns about a possible volcanic eruption, our thoughts go the residents of Grindavik who are being evacuated from their homes. The recent developments are being watched by our A Level Geography students as they consider the wonders that they witnessed on their recent trip to Iceland and the possible devastation that a volcanic eruption is potentially going to cause. However as we reflect on the Sixth Form trip, we are fortunate that it did not disappoint, as it allowed our Year 13 students to not just understand but experience, the enormous geographic forces which have shaped the countries amazing and varied landscape! Upon arrival in Iceland, we were greeted by interesting conversations with passport security around the 1400 earthquakes they had had in the previous 24 hours! The premise of feeling actual ground shaking or experiencing a volcanic eruption made for an exciting start to the trip! An early flight allowed the students to make the most of the first day. The day’s activities included crossing over one the world’s major plate boundaries- The mid-Atlantic ridge, walking through colourful geothermal fields of various mud pools and a trip to Reykjavik, the northern most capital city of the world. However, I think most would agree the highlight of the day was a trip to the hotel car park… Here we were lucky enough to see the Northern lights out in full force! What started as a tiny green smudge in the sky quickly transformed into a sweeping light show of vivid greens and pinks. They definitely lived up to their ‘wonder of the world’ title, remaining a talking point for staff and students for the rest of the trip! The remaining days were packed full of more amazing experiences including all three golden circle destinations (Thingvellir National Park, Geysir geothermal area, and Gullfoss waterfall), a dip in the secret lagoon and a breathtaking walk up to the Sólheimajökulll glacier. However, the lava tunnel could not go without a special mention. The 1.4km tunnel was created over 5000 years ago by an enormous volcanic eruption. The rocks within the tunnel had been formed by cooled lava, the minerals from which coloured the walls in a range of yellows, reds and oranges.  However, the beautiful vibrancy was lost when our guide turned out the lights leaving us all in an absolute darkness which many of us had never experienced!  The geography department are already looking forward to returning soon to share these awe-inspiring experiences with future Year 13 students. However, it was lovely to see that most of our Sixth Form students were already discussing their own plans to return whilst we were still there! In light of the recent tectonic activity, it will be interesting to see if the landscape has changed upon our next visit.  
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BTEC Sport Students Receive Fantastic Feedback at Panathlon...
9th Nov 2023
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BTEC Sport Students Receive Fantastic Feedback at Panathlon Event

BTEC Level 3 Sport students take part in several events as sports leaders, to support work within their course and to gain experience of leading a variety of young people with varied disabilities and needs. This is so important for our students as it gives them great opportunities to become an all-rounded individual with lots of experiences with working with different people. Year 12 and some of our Year 13 BTEC sport students attended the Panathlon event on Tuesday 7th November at the London Aquatic Centre in Stratford and helped lead the event. They worked with pupils with multiple disabilities and needs aged from 7-18 and were fantastic.  The students were phenomenal and we received multiple comments and emails with lots of fantastic feedback from the organisers and schools about our Great Baddow High School students. One email said: "Can we all thank the leaders from Great Baddow High School. They were all brilliant, both in and out the pool and I thought they were great with all the kids and helped them enjoy themselves."  Students who attended the event said: Lisa L (Year 12) - "I really enjoyed working with the young pupils, they made me happy seeing them so happy and proud of themselves being able to get in the water and compete." Fraser C  (Year 12) – "It was really good to see them getting involved in sport considering their different needs and it was so nice to be involved with helping them to achieve." Olly P (Year 13) – "I really enjoyed doing the Panathlon because it’s nice to help give these young people opportunities that they might be able to access, it was awesome to get to know the kids and one of them became my buddy and actually knew my name the whole day." We were also fortunate enough to spend a bit of time with the Great Britain divers in their elite environment. This included meeting Olympic diver Tom Daley, which we were all very excited about.
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Year 11 Students Enjoy Robot Challenge with BAE Systems
8th Nov 2023
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Year 11 Students Enjoy Robot Challenge with BAE Systems

Year 11 Computer Science students were privileged to be visited by BAE Systems engineers delivering a STEM session on robotics. The three hour session began with an overview of what BAE Systems do as a company and what it is like to be an engineer working for them. Students had the opportunity to ask a few questions and gain real insight into the daily work that the visiting professionals undertake. This led students into the first task of the day where they were introduced to ‘Sphero’ – a robotic ball that is controlled by an app. Students’ were immediately engaged in the task of understanding the robots capabilities within the context of exploring and mapping a disaster zone where humans cannot enter. There was a great deal of fun had at this point and students could have easily spent hours making the robots cruise around the hall. However, they were redirected to the next task which was using drag and drop coding to navigate a course through chair legs. This proved quite the challenge for students. They were required to use knowledge of kinematics to solve this part of the problem. Most students were able to complete the course within the allotted time using ‘scientific method’, and test/re-test principles. After a well deserved break, students were greeted back into the main hall and presented immediately with a ‘race course’ type challenge in front of them. They were required to visualise the course, take measurements, calculate angles, velocity and finally write the code to ensure the robot navigated the course correctly. This was quite a difficult challenge, stretching the students’ capabilities. Nevertheless, they showed their mettle and were totally engaged in trying to succeed. After a period of preparation the time had come for students to race the robots. We were graced with dimmed lighting, disco effects and appropriate music to set the atmosphere courtesy of our very own Archie in Year 11. With that, the race was on and the crowd went wild! All of our students had a fantastic time learning how to code these robots and putting into practice skills they have learned in maths and physics. It was a truly inspirational experience for them and one we hope to emulate in the future by forging a secure collaboration with BAE Systems. A massive thank you to Dan, Gary & Rhea from BAE Systems for providing our students with such a fabulous experience, we look forward to your next visit and are excited for the future opportunities.
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GBHS students visit Chelmsford Science Festival at Anglia Ru...
20th Oct 2023
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GBHS students visit Chelmsford Science Festival at Anglia Ruskin...

On Wednesday 18th October, 22 students from Key stage 4 & 5 were accompanied on a trip to the Chelmsford Science Festival at Anglia Ruskin University. Students were able to take part in a varied number of hands on experiences as well as lectures at the event. The day started with a hands on experience exploring the use of AI models in state of the art electric vehicles. This was possibly the most enjoyable part for some as they got to ‘play’ inside several different TESLA cars. Afterwards we were whisked away to a lecture from Prof Graham Ball on computational Biology including the use of AI to create models which can be used in drug development and disease treatment and management. The content and potential application of AI here was mind blowing! Students then took part in a session where auditory and visual perceptions were changed, exploring what it may be like to live life with deaf/blindness. Students really engaged well within the session and will look at the world in a different light because of it. After lunch, students took part in a hands on A&E trauma response exercise. This small session taught them what paramedics would do when attending the scene of an injury and then what happens as the patient is taken into to A&E. The group then also had time to practice their midwifery skills and discussed public health. Finally, students rounded things off with sessions on engineering where they put their maths skills to good use and then a lecture on understanding the use of AI in business models. The students really enjoyed the day and hopefully it has given them some experiences to consider where they might like to take their own career in the future, making STEM relevant to the everyday.
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Year 8 Jersey Football Tour – October 2023
6th Oct 2023
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Year 8 Jersey Football Tour – October 2023

One of our regular school trips every year is the Year 8 boys football tour to Jersey. Organised by Mr Russell, the boys get to play against his former school, Victoria College, and other teams whilst also getting time to see the sights of Jersey. You can read more about the football tour below with a student report from Liam A (8E2) and as you will see it is popular trip with the boys, for the football and the multiple pit stops for food! Day 1 After waking before the crack of dawn myself and 13 other Year 8 boys were dropped at school for a 4.30am. start.  We were driven to Gatwick on the school minibus, happily waving goodbye to our parents, excited to be going on tour and having 2 days off school! Once we had cleared security, we grabbed some food and headed to our gate. We boarded the plane and In the blink of an eye we had landed in Jersey, while the rest of Baddow were heading to registration. On arrival at the airport, we picked up two rental mini-buses and drove to St Ouens Bay to have some time on the beach where we played some football, climbed a few small sand dunes and went exploring. We moved on to St Brelades Bay for brunch at the Midbay Café. Around midday we made our way to the hotel where we un-packed and prepared for our first fixture against Victoria College.  Upon arrival we were given a tour around the impressive and spacious grounds.  Mr Russell was very keen for us to win, with Victoria College being his former school and as some of the staff members were his close friends, the stakes were high!  Thankfully we triumphed with an impressive 7-1 win, with Harry F nominated ‘Man of the Match’ and Freddie C for scoring a memorable wonder goal from the halfway line. We finished our evening with dinner at McDonalds and headed back to the hotel with a quick stop at our local corner shop to gather food supply's, we were all rather tired from our early start and I am sure that the teacher were too. Day 2 We woke in time for breakfast in the hotel at 8 a.m. Shortly after 9.30 a.m. we walked into the town centre for an hour of shopping and sightseeing. At 10.30 a.m. we headed to Aqua Splash, unfortunately the pool was closed for lessons, but we had fun on the slides for a few hours. We then went to the market in the town centre of Jersey in St Helier and had pizza and pasta and looked around for a bit. After that we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our match against De la Salle. We got off to a great start with Thomas M scoring the first goal in under one minute and Jaiden M bagging 4 goals. It was an emphatic 10-1 win! Our keeper Reggie H had to come off because of an injury so we had our second-best star keeper Phillp K step into goal. Happy but heavy legged we made our way back to the hotel to shower and change for an enjoyable meal at Bella Italia. Dav 3 We had a small lay-in before meeting for breakfast at 8.30 and Mr Russell and Mr Brittle gave out awards to Harry F and Freddie C for their amazing contributions on tour. After room inspections, Mr Russell and Mr Brittle drove us for the last time back to Jersey airport.  We had a smooth journey back to Gatwick, landing just after 2 p.m.  After what felt like a long drive back to school, we were collected by our parents at 5 p.m., all extremely grateful to have had such a good time away, certainly a trip that we will all remember for the rest of our lives! Student Report Liam A 8E2
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