To access the Drop Down Day Schedules for this academic year, click on the following links:

Y7-10

Y11

Year 7 & Year 8

Year 7 and Year 8 took part in Healthy Relationships days during this set of Drop Down Days. Relationship education is a statutory requirement of a secondary education. Throughout the course of the day, scholars looked at a range of issues on bullying, body image, what constitutes a healthy relationship, their pride and achievements in their lives so far and components of physical health looking at their relationship with their own bodies undertaking a fitness circuit in the Sports Hall. The scholars enjoyed taking part in workshops outside of the usual AGFS structure and enjoyed sharing their ideas with their fellow scholars and teachers. 

Year 7

During our session on DDD6, the scholars were able to experience foreign cuisine and prepare an open-faced Scandinavian sandwich called Smørrebrød. We used a traditional recipe which included rye bread, cheese, tomato, spring onions and parsley. Our scholars had the opportunity to cut the vegetables for themselves and to assemble and garnish the sandwich the way they wanted (some took this very seriously and paid attention to even the smallest detail). The students then had the opportunity to enjoy their food. Many students rated it 10/10. Today, our scholars enriched their cultural experience by being involved in the MFL Drop Down Day. They explored the origins of French fairy tales with Ms Kelly and debated whether Encanto belongs to the magical realism genre with Ms Medford. 

Alongside that, they demonstrated fellowship, resilience, and perseverance by trying new things and being very mature about the way we handle food and the importance of reducing food waste. I was really impressed with their food hygiene as well. Keep up the great work Year 7. 

Year 8

Year 8 ventured to the Thames Barrier on Thursday to investigate how London is protected from flooding and storm surges. After learning how the barrier works, where it protects and why it is needed, they headed back to school to complete a GIS mapping task of the River Thames. Y8 developed their ability to spatially map data, analysing how the landscape, width and surroundings of the Thames and how it changes from the source to the mouth. Their knowledge of river processes and landforms was then put to the test in a competition to build the best model of a waterfall from only sweets! Well done to Y8 on their creative masterpieces! 

Year 9

On DDD5 we took the Year 9 cohort to Birkbeck University- London’s only specialist provider of evening education. Scholars took part in a taster lecture from Professor Frank Trentmann, a campus tour from student ambassadors and a library taster session with experienced librarians. Scholars were able to see the plethora of courses available to them, should they choose to pursue further education at university. 

For DDD6, Year 9 took part in the Jack Petchey Speak Out Competition. The aim was to amplify our scholars’ voices by building confidence, developing skills, and creating platforms for them to share their stories and ideas to empower not only themselves but each other. Scholars were instructed to create a speech from scratch, surrounding a topic they feel passionately about. Topics included Racism, Islamophobia, Feminism, Mental Health challenges, Police Brutality, amongst many more. This puts our scholars in great stead for the upcoming Jack Petchey Speak Out Competition next year, as well as their English Language Speaking exam in Year 10. 

Year 10

On Wednesday Year 10 completed their speaking and listening assessments in English. This is a mandatory part of the English GCSE course and as a result can be quite daunting, but as always, Year 10 rose to the challenge! The scholars prepared analytical speeches on Romeo and Juliet or An Inspector Calls and delivered these to their fellow classmates. Of all the scholars that took part in the day, every single one successfully passed the assessment with plenty of merit and distinction grades given out too. Well Done Year 10!

On DDD6 our Year 10 scholars spent the morning learning the best strategies for tackling noughts and crosses, followed by a trip to the Apple store. Everyone was given an iPad (we resisted the temptation to sneak them into our bags) and lead through a series of interactive programming challenges. On our return to school, we consolidated our knowledge further by practicing Python programming. A huge shoutout to the Y10 GCSE Computer Science scholars who showed excellent fellowship in assisting their peers during this session.

Year 7 DDD - Christmas Workshop & National Maritime Museum

Due to adverse weather conditions, DDD3 had a slightly different look to the original plan. The wonderful Year 7 scholars of AGFS turned into Christmas Elves in the morning, working in teams amongst their form groups in a Christmas workshop! The Christmas workshop involved creating giant Christmas cards, paper Christmas trees, snowflakes, snowmen, and many more festive objects, whilst listening to some Christmas classics to boost the festive vibes!

After lunch, scholars embarked on a snow journey across Greenwich Park to the National Maritime museum. Scholars went around in small groups completing the National Maritime Museum quiz, which became extremely competitive! After 90 minutes in the museum scholars headed back to AGFS.

Year 10 DDD – Cooking

During DDD 3, Year 10 had the opportunity to learn new cooking skills and to learn more about nutrition and healthy eating. We had three groups of scholars and three different ‘workstations’.

During the day we had a cooking class – scholars were able to follow recipes and create two dishes one was a kale and spinach smoothie and the other one was a chicken burrito. The scholars were very engaged and they also enjoyed their food.

The scholars also had the opportunity to do food probing and they thoroughly enjoyed the booklet sessions. These were focused on nutrition and healthy eating, at the end scholars had to use Chromebooks, search for specific websites and plan a weekly meal for themselves. Stretch and challenge: to adapt the recipes to their individual dietary needs.

Year 8 DDD - Be the Artist House Competition

'Today in school we did activities which we have never tried before. Things like photography and Dance. My favourite part was the dance because it was to my favourite song from Encanto. Because we are in the Christmas Season we made Giant Greeting cards. During 'Be The Artist', we created and photographed famous pieces, us being the subject.

Year 9 DDD - Holocaust Memorial Day

Year 9 participated in Holocaust Memorial Day. Scholars thoroughly impressed their teachers throughout the day, demonstrating all four of the school's core values: ambition by linking their studies to their history knowledge, scholarship by asking insightful and developed questions, growth by learning about a topic which makes one feel uncomfortable and emotional and fellowship by being respectful and mindful that this subject was highly emotive.

The day was jam-packed, and scholars learnt about core Jewish history and beliefs, the origins and development of antisemitism and the persecution of the Jews in Germany when Hitler came to power, from persecution to Final Solution. Year 9 demonstrated such maturity and scholarship when studying Ghettoisation and Extermination Camps. A huge thanks to the teachers who delivered such insightful and essential sessions!

Well done Year 9! We are glad that you enjoyed the day.

This half terms Drop Down Days were action packed full of year group residentials, trampolining, assault courses and even a University visit.

Here is an account of what we provided for our scholars during the first two Drop Down Days of 2022-23.

Year 7 - Stubbers Adventure Centre

On the first day they took part in a variety of team building activities including a nature trail, football, rounders and wild camp field games. After a comfortable night in the tented village, scholars were up early for a packed day of adventure activities. Scholars had the opportunity to try both kayaking and paddle boarding. Not at all put off by the rain or the thought of being in the lake, our scholars took to it like ducks to water! The afternoon activities saw us learning bushcraft skills such as den building and fire lighting and scholars were able to test their construction skills by building a catapult!

Year 8 - The Big Camp Out

 Year 8 began their DDDs by walking to Avery Hill Scout Ground down the picturesque Green Chain walking route. The sun was shining and spirits were high as scholars carried their belongings to our camp. Upon arrival, scholars successfully (and surprisingly quickly!) erected their tents and unpacked, ready for their overnight sleep out. After lunch, scholars rotated around some traditional camping activities such as rounders, singing and hide and seek in the wilderness. Scholars then had free time to play football, socialise with friends and relax in their tents before a dinner of cheese and tomato pasta bake, chicken soup and lots of bread rolls. In the evening, we held a camp fire where scholars sang the songs we learnt during the day, read poems and toasted marshmallows. Scholars had hot chocolate before settling in for a night under the stars. The following day we woke up to clouds and rain however our spirits were not dampened! 

Year 9 - Trampolining

Year 9 took part in a Healthy Lifestyles themed DDD, they started by speaking about the link between diet and disease. Scholars then had a task of building a healthy menu for a week with a budget of only £30. In the afternoon they made their way to the O2 for an afternoon of trampolining at Oxygen.  The scholars had the entire park to themselves with an obstacle course, foam pit, dodgeball, runway and airbag to enjoy.

Year 9 & 10 - Camelot Assault Course

Scholars were taken to Dorking in Surrey where they were met with one of their greatest challenges yet! Camelot Adventures run some of the worlds toughest assault courses that are designed to stretch and challenge even the fittest people in the world. Not to shy away from a challenge our scholars tackled mud slides, running through rivers, a 100ft cargo net and mud absolutely everywhere! Scholars lived the school values of ambition and fellowship - helping each other to tackle the obstacles and challenging the 'I can't do this' with a 'yes you can!' 

Year 10 - Birkbeck University

Year 10 were treated to a bespoke trip to Birkbeck University, this trip was designed to give our scholars a taster of what it is like to be an undergraduate. Scholars travelled to the university and were welcomed by a university law professor.  They were split into groups and given a campus tour and library sessions in three different disciplines; sociology, psychology and law. The university is also celebrating their 200 year anniversary and gifted us with a book of history of Birkbeck.