Building skills and confidence in the Gesher kitchen

13th February 2026Website Admin

While Chef Caroline was out this Monday, one of our year 10 students stepped up to help Miss Rai and Miss Rebecca in the kitchen. Yitzi, who has been learning to cook for over a year, helped prepare lunch and made a lovely banana blueberry muffin cake. He served pieces of it to hungry pupils and staff alike. While he says cookies are normally his speciality, the cake baked up very nicely. Our careers program and the hospitality class that Chef Caroline teaches encourage students like Yitzi to find their interests and explore skills that they can apply now and in the future. 

Gesher’s Co-Careers Lead and Head of Partnerships, Jodi Sampson, said ‘It was a pleasure to see the confidence and pride that Yitzi demonstrated when he was asked to prepare lunch for the school. He successfully applied the key industry-specific skills he has developed through his weekly internal work experience and hospitality lessons with our school chef, Caroline. It has been wonderful to watch him grow in confidence in an area he hopes to pursue as a career, and to support him in building meaningful opportunities to help make this aspiration a reality.’ 

Meaningful work experience can be transformative. A 3–5 day work shadowing placement this Summer Term could make a lasting difference to one of our students.

If you or your organisation can offer this opportunity, we will guide and support you every step of the way, making the process straightforward and manageable. We would love to hear from you — please contact Jodi, our Head of Partnerships ([email protected]).

Gesher Welcomes the Chief Rabbi to our Tu Bishvat Seder

3rd February 2026Website Admin

Tu Bishvat, the Jewish New Year for Trees, is a time to celebrate trees as pillars of life and express gratitude for the nourishment they provide.

This year, we were especially honoured to welcome the Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis to our Tu Bishvat Seder, where we marked the occasion by tasting fruits from each season.

In class, our children have been exploring eco-Judaism, learning about what the world provides us with, our responsibilities and how we can care for our environment. Children studied the importance of water, air and soil – and this Tu Bishvat Seder was a meaningful way to bring that learning to life.

Together with the Chief Rabbi, our student council members planted an olive tree at the entrance to Gesher, and just like our children and young people, we look forward to watching it grow and flourish over the years to come.

How does my history impact me and the world today?

7th January 2026Website Admin

In this project, students will learn what life was like for children and families during World War II. They will hear and collect stories from books, museums, and people in their own families or community. We will be exploring evacuation and emotions linked to this. Students will then create their own simple stories inspired by the ʻChronicles of Narnia’. Students will bring their stories to life using shadow puppets, incorporating learning about light and shadows. Together, they will share their learning in a class exhibition for families. We are hoping the topic gives our students a deeper understanding of why World War II shaped the world and how it should never happen again.

Teacher’s Reflections

I loved this project. I loved looking at it from a story point of view and allowing the students to design and develop their ideas into writing their own stories. We gave them the features of story writing, but their ideas really took on a life of their own, and the end results were so amazing to see. I also really enjoyed using AI to let our students see what their characters might look like and how their problems in the stories might present themselves. From these images came the ideas for their puppets as well, which they used to retell their stories to their parents. If I were to adapt the project further, I think it would be great to link this to their science topic a little more (light) and to have them create their own puppet shows – maybe next time!

– Emily bacon

Students’ Reflections

“My highlight was the rip to the bunker where we saw a old office” – Binyomin

“I liked making all the puppets” – Jonny

“I would like to go onb my trips and work with groens up more” – Anaʼel

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Ancient Greece

7th January 2026Website Admin

Throughout the term, Tiferet class, along with the rest of Key Stage 3, studied the history of Ancient Greece and explored the ways Ancient Greek ideas and culture have influenced the modern world. Tiferet focused in particular on Greek stories and myths, including Theseus and the Minotaur and the story of Medusa. Students examined the key features of Greek heroes and villains and used this understanding to design and create their own characters for a Clash of the Titans–style game. As part of the project, students planned and responded to a design brief to create game elements such as figurines and gameplay components. They designed these independently and had the opportunity to model and produce their designs using a 3D printer. Throughout the project, students developed their creativity, decision-making, and understanding of gameplay, while also expanding their descriptive vocabulary and considering structure and sequencing when explaining rules and instructions.

Teacher’s Reflections

Overall, the project was very successful and engaging for the students. One of the main highlights was seeing students bring their ideas to life through designing their own characters and then producing them using the 3D printer. The link between Greek myths and the Clash of the Titans game helped students stay motivated and showed a strong understanding of the features of Greek heroes and villains. Students particularly enjoyed the creative freedom involved in character design and gameplay decisions. If I were to run the project again, I would introduce more structured checkpoints earlier in the design process to allow additional time for revisions before printing. I would also consider running small group workshops focused on 3D modelling skills. Overall, I would keep the core structure of the project the same, as the combination of history, creativity, and technology worked very well and resulted in high levels of engagement and learning.

– Aimee Harris

Students’ Reflections

“It went amazing and I loved it and I had a really good time and I just canʼt stop thinking about the project.” – Leon

“I enjoyed doing Minecraft and building my labyrinth on there.” – Efe

“the project taught me about teamwork when helping people with their Labyrinths. ” – Ari

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Identity

7th January 2026Website Admin

This autumn term, Gefen and Rimon class will embark on an exciting project all about identity and aspirations, guided by the big question: ʻWhat message would I send to the person I want to become?ʼ Over the two half terms, the children will explore who they are now, what they want to achieve this year, what they can learn from the people they admire and what jobs they might like to do in the future. As part of the project, the children will create their own ʻBook of Meʼ, with each section focusing on a different part of their lives, such as their family, their interests, their hobbies and where they go every day. They will also design a timeline of their life so far and write a letter to their future selves. An exciting highlight will be creating a time capsule video message to their future selves using iPad apps such as ChatterPix and experimenting with filming to create parts of the video. We are so excited to see their individuality, creativity, and aspirations shine throughout this autumn term

Teacher’s Reflections

“I think the project went really well! It was a great Autumn transition style project where the children could settle with each other and learn about each other. Creating the time capsule video worked really well and the exhibition of showing the videos was a great way of doing it. Maybe next time I would get the children a little bit more involved with the filming aspect.”

– Lucy Offer

Students’ Reflections

“I liked my time capsule video” – Elior

“I liked using the green screen” – Arj

“My favourite part was my mum coming to see my work” – Harrison

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