Community & Family

One of our Bexleyheath maxims is about Community and Family. As an academy we want to:

This page will be dedicated to the work we do at Bexleyheath Academy to do this. 

Saturday, 18 May | Mental Health Awareness Week | This week in PE lessons, students have been discussing mental health and ways to avoid the feelings of stress and anxiety. The theme this year by the Mental Health Foundation is 'Movement'. Here is what they have to say: "Regular physical activity is known to improve mental health, quality of life, and wellbeing. It also helps prevent and treat heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and breast and colon cancer, and more. Despite these benefits being well established, over a third of UK adults do not meet the recommended amount of activity. Our bodies and our minds are connected, so looking after ourselves physically also helps us prevent problems with our mental health. Exercise releases “feel good” hormones that reduce feelings of stress and anger. It also helps us feel better about our bodies. It can improve our sleep too. If it involves other people, like being part of a team, a class or group we see regularly, that can also boost our mental health." For more information go to www.mentalhealth.org.uk.


During PE this week, students have been taking part in a 'walk and talk' lesson to encourage them to open up about their feelings and worries. Using a handout, they had prompting questions to get them talking and listening to others. Students also had the opportunity to share some jokes to promote laughter and distract them from any anxieties. The lesson ended with a 15 minute mindfulness meditation where they could really switch off and focus on being calm and learn some relaxation methods.

Saturday, 11 May | Aspens - Feed a Family for £5 | Aspens, our catering providers have introduced a new initiative at the academy. They would like to support families in coming up with great things to eat for £5 which is hard to do in this economy. Please see the video recipe that they have created for our Bexleyheath Academy community members which is clear and easy to follow. If you chose to use this great video, please let us know what you think and share your photos with us.  

Saturday, 20 April | Bexley Food Bank | Our students have been collecting donations for the Bexley Food Bank last term to support community members that might struggle financially. Kate Harris, Collections Lead at Bexley Food Bank said, "Thank you so much for the amazing donation a whopping 104 kilos!!! Already out in packages supporting the most needy in our borough. We’d both like to thank everyone at BA Academy for their generosity in helping us fight against food poverty and the wonderful help from your two delightful students ."

Saturday, 30 March | Let’s read at home! | Thank you to parents/carers that have committed to reading a book with their child(ren) at home. We have purchased books for over 150 families. As an academy, we are committed to improving our student's reading ability as there is a direct correlation with academic outcomes and behaviour choices made. The ‘Let’s read at home’ project supports the work we are doing in the academy. As you are aware, we implemented a 20 min daily reading period for students however, in order to further the impact, we need students to continue to read outside of the academy.


Raimond (Year 09) said: “I believe that the opportunity to read not only for knowledge but for pleasure is something that we all take for granted. Many people dream to have the ability to read and although it is something small for us, I know that a vast majority are excited by this reading at home scheme as books these days can be hard to find in actual shops due to everything being online. Not only this, the price of books is getting pricier by the day and parents might not have the money to buy books therefore, I really appreciate this scheme even though for many it might seem as something small.” 

Monday, 25 March | Parkview Residential Home Visit | Our Year 09 students visited Parkview Residential Home this week. Students had prepared mathematical puzzles for the residents to complete. Mr Dye, Teacher of Mathematics said: “This was our second visit from the Mathematics Department and we can not wait to take students back. Students have a magic touch when it comes to dealing with the elderly. The supervisor of the wing we were in had commented that many of the residents that the students were working with rarely engaged with activities put on by the residential home nor did they engage much in conversation however, they were excited to be with the students and engaged in conversation as well as worked through the mathematics quests. Our students loved finding out about the lives of the residents. One gentleman in particular had the attention of all of the students as he told them about his life as a chef and one of his jobs as a chef was in the RAF. The staff at the residential care home stated that after the fire, they feel that they have gained new family members in the form of Bexleyheath Academy.”

Week Commencing, Monday, 11 March | Wow Comic Relief Sessions | Students had the opportunity to find our more about this cause and take part in a WOW session with the whole of the year group which was a great community experience for them. 


We would like to thank the PE team that organised this event.


Together, the academy has raised over £678 for Comic Relief.  

Friday, 02 February | Sir David Evernett Visit | Sir David Evernett visited the academy and spent time with staff and students. Students were excited to have our local MP visit the academy. Sir David shared his educational journey with students as well as how and why he got into politics. 

He visited lessons and gave our Year 11 students motivational speeches to keep them focused for another week of examinations in the run up to half term. The MP recognised the improvements that have been made in the academy over the years and the positive impact the academy is having on the local community. 

We look forward to seeing him again soon. 

Tuesday, 19 December | Charity Bake Sale | During the last week of term, students in Sixth Form held a charity bake sale for UCKG Outreach. The charity runs five projects to help the less fortunate and those in crisis:

To find out more about this charity, please click here.


The students raised £720.04. Ms Eghobamien, Teacher of Science said: "I have been amazed at the interest from students to find out more about UCKG and the work that they do. Many of our students were sadden to hear that there would be a large number of community members that would be struggling over the Christmas. They have been 'big hearted' in the generous donations in purchasing items but also dedicating their time to raise awareness of this cause."

Tuesday, 19 December | A Christmas Wish, Parkview | The Bexleyheath Academy community members have been 'Big Hearted' and donated presents for the residents at Parkview Residential Care Home. We would like to thank everyone in the local community that have; donated items, sent positive messages and volunteered to help. This project has brought our community together and we are proud of what we have achieved.

With your donations we were able to make 70 parcels for the residents which consisted of a range of items such as:

Staff and students took the parcels to the residents on Tuesday, 19 December 2023. Residents were excited to have our students and staff visit them and were grateful. for the donations.  We look forward to seeing the residents in the new year. 

Thursday, 14 December | Parkview, Mathematics Challenge Afternoon | Our Year 10 Mathematicians have been designing problem solving games for a fun filled afternoon with the Parkview residents. Students attended the residential home on Thursday with Ms Pelton and Mr Dye. Ms Pelton, Year 11 Lead  said: “Spending time with our students outside of the classroom allowed me to see their caring personalities shine. Whilst the afternoon was designed for the students to think creatively about numbers whilst creating games for the residents to play which is great for people with dementia, it was an amazing opportunity to help them see the struggles that people face in life and develop empathy and compassion for others. They were thoughtful and caring towards the residents and were asking when they could return to spend more time with them. Seeing them with the residents made me burst with pride for the academy. We will continue to grow these links with the community.”

Comments from students:

Saturday, 18 November | BBC Children in Need | On Friday, our students raised money for BBC Children in Need. BBC Children in Need use the money donated to funding the grassroots organisations and project workers across the UK that provide the vital positive relationships children need to help them navigate the challenges in their lives. 

Children in Need funds thousands of charities and projects in every corner of the UK, that support children and young people to feel and be safer, have improved mental health and wellbeing, form better, more positive relationships and be given more equal opportunities to flourish.


Mr Zah lead this charity event said: "Our students have been very generous to this charity. During our assembly on Wednesday, many students were amazed that children of  the same age as them did not have the same support networks available to them consistently across the country. Our students really are 'Big Hearted' and a credit to their families."


As an academy, we raised £244.04 for this charity. 

Saturday, 11 November | Poppy Appeal, THANK YOU! | Thank you to all our community members that have supported the Poppy Appeal this week. We have sold over 500 hundred poppies as an academy which is an amazing contribution to the Armed Forces Community. Our Year 08 students did a fantastic job selling poppies in the playground during break-time and lunch time.