PSHE

Year 7 students have been learning about the importance of internet safety and using kind, respectful words online. During PSHE lessons, students discussed how our words and actions on the internet can have a lasting impact on others. As part of the activity, students created paper aeroplanes filled with positive and kind words to represent how messages can “fly away” and affect people through our choices of language. The lesson encouraged thoughtful communication, empathy, and understanding of how to stay safe and respectful in the online world.

Science

Our Year 8 students have been busy exploring the fascinating world of chemistry this term! In Science lessons, they investigated acids and alkalis, learned how to use the pH scale, and carried out exciting experiments to discover how substances can be neutralised. Students enjoyed making predictions, observing chemical reactions, and using indicators to test different solutions. It has been wonderful to see their curiosity, teamwork, and enthusiasm for scientific enquiry grow throughout the topic.

Food Tech

During Year 9 Food Tech this term, we have been developing our presentation skills and learning how to make our dishes look more appealing. Here are some examples of dishes we have created using these skills.  

Glaaber's Underworld Adventure
By Andre

Once upon a time, a large, strong, and powerful 34-year-old hero named Glaaber lived in the beautiful city of Athens. 

One day, Glaaber went on a brave quest to visit the mysterious Underworld. Inside, it looked like a big, ugly cave, and it sounded just like a giant, confusing labyrinth. It smelled earthy like an old cave, and it was as cold as a high mountain top. Glaaber felt good and completely unafraid.

Suddenly, Glaaber met a massive monster! It looked like a giant lion, but it was covered in soft, feathery skin. The creature had huge, glowing eyes, a giant mouth filled with huge teeth, and strong legs, a tail, and sharp claws. The monster was incredibly strong!

Luckily, Hades, the king of the Underworld, was there to help. He gave Glaaber a magical, gleaming sword. With the sword in hand, Glaaber showed amazing strength and safely finished the grand adventure!

Bigos and the Furious Beast
By Kymani

Once upon a time, a 20-year-old hero named Bigos lived in the sunny city of Rhodes. Bigos was very powerful, but could also be a little stubborn and moody sometimes. One day, Bigos had to visit the dark Underworld. The Underworld was very hot, and Bigos felt quite afraid. It smelled like spooky old corpses, and Bigos could hear the scary sounds of people screaming!

Suddenly, a giant monster blocked the path. It looked like a mix of a big bear and a fierce tiger. The creature had bright, scaly skin, furious eyes, and a venomous mouth full of sharp teeth. It was incredibly strong and had huge arms and sharp horns.

To help, the great king of the Gods, Zeus, appeared. He handed Bigos a magical bow and arrow. Feeling brave, Bigos aimed the magical bow, scared the monster away, and safely completed the quest!

Alex and the Fire-Monster
By Hudaifa

Once upon a time, a smart, kind, and mighty twenty-year-old hero named Alex lived in the city of Sparta. 

One chilly day, Alex had to visit a cold, dark cave. The cave felt spooky. Alex could hear the howling wind and the sound of breaking rocks. It smelled like crunchy autumn leaves.

Inside, Alex found beautiful animals and splashing water, but also a scary monster! The monster had the body of a lion, but it was covered in soft, feathery skin. It had glowing red eyes and sharp, pointy fanged teeth. Worst of all, it could breathe hot fire!

Suddenly, the great king of the Gods, Zeus, appeared. He gave Alex a pair of magical winged sandals. Alex put them on, felt super brave, and zoomed high up into the air. Alex flew right over the monster's fiery breath and saved all the cave animals. Sparta had a true hero!

Year 9 Residential: Student accounts

I enjoyed Year 9 Residential so much. We went to Stubbers on the 13th to the 15th of May and had to get 3 trains and a bus to get there. The food was so good, especially the pancakes in the morning. The activities were the best. The activity I liked the most was swimming in the beach. I pushed my friend in the water and then my teacher got pushed in there too. We also did rock climbing, rifle shooting and archery and axe throwing. There is also a big park there to play with your friends. My advice for Y8s going next year would be that even though the tents are big it does get cold at night so pack warm clothes.

Westminster form student, Y9.

My diary entry about a residential trip.

Hi my name is Ella and I am a Year 9 student in Westminster form. I went on a residential trip for 3 days, we went from wednesday 13th of May until friday the 15th of May. We went to stubbers adventure centre and had to get there by 3 trains and 1 bus. We had lots of fun so now I am going to tell you what we did there and what the food was like.

The activities that we did were axe throwing, rifle shooting, inflatable sofa, archery, paddle boarding, bushcraft, teamwork games, firepit, climbing wall. My favorite was inflatable sofa because you were tied to a jet ski and the instructor drove very fast!

Now I am going to talk about the tents. The tents were very cold but they were very comfortable. I shared it with my friend from my class and we had lots of fun. You could hear everything though because the walls are very thin. I definitely recommend bringing a fluffy blanket to keep yourself warm at night.

Next I am going to talk about the lunches, desserts, dinners and breakfasts. The food was very tasty! My favorite dinner was the chicken wraps and salad because they had lots of seasoning. My favorite dessert was chocolate cake and ice cream. My favorite lunch was sandwiches. My favorite breakfast was pancakes with chocolate and fruit.

I had such a good time on the residential and I definitely recommend it to every student.

Year 7 supporting Transition visits for our new starters

This term Year 7 students have been heading out to primary schools to visit the Year 6s who will be joining us at SMBS in September. Our sudents have been helping the Year 6s prepare for their upcoming transition by telling them all about their new school and answering any questions they have. We're looking forward to meeting our incoming Year 7 cohort when they come in for a transition day in July.

Mason, Archie and Andre on their way to meet 3 Year 6 pupils who will be joining us in September.

Chess Tournament 

On Friday 8 May, SMBS hosted its first Chess tournament. Pupils from The St Marylebone School came over and joined our Y10 chess students.

The tournament took place in a wonderful hushed atmosphere. Pupils demonstrated fantastic concentration, resilience and sportsmanship, participating in a number of different games.

This is the first such tournament which has taken place but we are very keen to organise further events like this in future.

Thank you to Mr Sokhal and Mr Piper from Chess in Schools and Communities for organising the event.

Basketball Event

The students enjoyed a good day at the London Youth Games Inclusive Basketball tournament, where they had the opportunity to build friendships, work together as a team, and represent the school with pride. Throughout the tournament, the team showed strong teamwork, determination, and resilience both on and off the court. They represented both the school and Westminster very well, demonstrating excellent sportsmanship and respect towards their teammates and opponents in every game. Their hard work and positive attitude were reflected in their results, winning all but one of their matches and performing consistently throughout the event.

Westminster Mini Marathon

The students proudly represented the school at the Westminster Mini Marathon, taking part in a fun and rewarding event alongside other schools. Although the race was centred around participation and enjoyment, our students gave their best effort throughout and approached the event with enthusiasm and determination. They supported one another from start to finish, cheering each other on and celebrating each other’s achievements along the way. The students demonstrated resilience, teamwork, and a positive attitude throughout the event.

FREE Summer Reading with First News

We know how important it is to keep children reading, thinking and engaged over the summer holidays. That’s why we’re excited to offer all our students free access to First News – the UK’s award-winning newspaper for young people aged 7–14.

The content is written with KS2 and KS3 in mind, but we're confident that there's something for everyone, regardless of their age or reading level.

We subscribe to First News and know firsthand that First News helps children:

• Build strong reading habits

• Stay informed in an age-appropriate, safe environment

• Develop critical thinking and media literacy skills

• Engage in meaningful conversations at home

What’s included in your free summer subscription?
Unlimited access to the First News app until Friday 4 September, which includes:

🗞️️ The weekly newspaper and an archive of past issues
🤔 Weekly news quiz to test knowledge in a fun way
🎧 Daily news stories to read, listen or watch
📊 Polls and interactive content
🎉 Puzzles and games
📣 Discussion points for families

It’s fun, educational and completely free – all summer long.

Click here to get started

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Please take a look at the School's Mental Health Bulletin here to find out more about how pupils' mental health and wellbeing are being supported.

Free access to audio books

We would like to highlight to families these sites where children and young people can access audio books free of charge:

https://www.calibreaudio.org.uk/

https://help.libbyapp.com/en-us/6103.htm
Audio books are available for free but membership of a local library is required.