Today we were joined on the playground by our local PCSO's! They visited at lunchtime and the children loved asking questions and, by the time the bell rang, they were even arm-wrestling! Just another normal day at Brightside! 

It's not every day you get someone world famous visiting your school!
We were so unbelievably fortunate to have Cressida Cowell visiting us today, signing books and talking about what influences her as a writer! Watch out though, I think we may have inspired the next great laureate! 

Congratulations to our Year 5 netball team who came 1st in the Billericay Schools competition today! They played a total of 7 games, winning 5, drawing 1 and losing 1. Well done!

Well well well, look who showed up at Brightside today, just in time for the Easter Egg hunt! 

Our fish were in need of a huge renovation! Thank you to Mr Cavanagh and some of our students for their fish expertise! Now we have happy fish that can see out of their tank! 

As part of our drive to embed our vision statement of "making a positive contribution to the community", some of our school councl visited Mountnessing Court yesterday and had a wonderful time with the residents! We will be back soon to see you all! 

Congratulations to the Year 3/4 boys football team and the Year 4 girls team who played in the Billericay Schools tournament today! 

Another successful day at the cross country finals! Year 3 girls came third as a team and the Year 4 boys retained their crown from last year as champions! The conditions were unbelievably challenging, but perserverance shines through!  

Year 6 enjoyed using the new VR headsets which we purchased - everything was incredibly realistic and we might have had a couple of jumpscares! 

Jess in Year 4 has worked hard for over a month to get this beautiful piece of diamond artwork finished! Amazing! 

Year 5 children revisited the Human Kindness cafe today, helping the community creating some hand-crafted sheep! 

Some of the choir at rehearsal yesterday, gearing up for their performance at the Towngate Theatre! 

Year 6 made pizzas today, including the boxes they are eating them from too! Noticeably, I have yet to receive a slice, whereas Mr Doyle had an extra large pizza cooked and delivered by hand! 

This morning saw the inaugural Staff v Children pickelball competition at our Friday morning club! The teacher's triumphed 2-1, with some getting more involved than others! 

Year 6 were studying the inside of a heart today in science! Thank you to Mayflower High School, who lent us Miss Le Gris for the afternoon to be able to happen! 

Today, KS2 were visited by the Imam from the Basildon Mosque, who spoke about Ramadan and how it was a spiritual reset for Muslims. The children gain a lot from listenting to different people who contribute to our local community! 

Congratulations to the netball teams today! 1st and 6th places in the Billericay School Competition is an amazing achievement! 

We've had all of our year groups taking part in financial litercay sessions this week, lead by HSBC as part of our RSHE lessons. We've been learning about careers, banking, wants, needs, budgeting and saving! 

We received a lovely letter from our MP today after his visit before half term!
Thank you, Richard!

Zachary swam 1.25km and raised nearly £300 for Billericay Food Bank! Bravo Zachary! The world needs more people like you! 

Thank you to Richard Holden, our Member of Parliamen, for visiting yesterday and taking the time to talk to pupils about democracy, his role and how parliament functions. 

Reception stars Supertato making day! 

Year 2 enjoyed their Great Fire of London experience day on Tuesday! 

Today marked the start of a new adventure for Brightside - we are now taking part in regular visits to the Human Kind Cafe, to join in with various activities to brighten people's day! Thank you to Miss Hamilton and Mrs LeMarche for setting this up! 

Young Voices 2026 was a resounding success!  Thank you to everyone who came and supported our children and well done to our children for singing their hearts out all afternoon and night! 

One of our EYFS students has written a fantastic book (with help from Dad!) about a rainbow that gains colours every year on it's birthday! What a fantastic idea for a story! 

Four of our students visited a neighbouring school today as part of a pupil voice event about the environment. They spoke about microplastics and the impact of single use plastics on the environment. They made beautiful fish out of the plastic water bottles to highlight how we can reuse plastic! Well done on being fantastic ambassadors for Brightside! 

It was my birthday! I was spoilt rotten and even had Happy Birthday sung to me by some of our students! It's a hard life - honest! 

More amazing artwork from our Year 6's. Incredible detail in the watercolour and pastel work.