Hoc Age - Bradford Grammar School

jitsu
Bradford Jitsu Club celebrated its tenth anniversary in the
Price Hall on 23 February. Instructors Raj Soren, Graham
Williams and Jyoti Soren hosted over one hundred guests
including Clock House Headmaster, Mr Gabriel.
The day started with a Ju Jitsu course and a bouncy slide
and castle plus sumo wrestling in foam suits. The party
included awards and recognitions for members of the
club, a meal sponsored by Bombay Stores and a disco.
Guests enjoyed reminiscing over photos and videos of
the last ten years.
The club is extremely proud of all its students and the
success they have achieved over the last ten years which
includes becoming UK and international champions on
numerous occasions. The club has visited Amsterdam,
USA, Canada and South Africa. Bradford Jitsu Club has
also raised thousands of pounds for the NSPCC and
local charities. A big thank you to Mr Boardman and
BGS for their support over the years.
Anyone interested in a class is invited to a free session
in the BGS Sports Hall on Saturday mornings between
9.30am and 10.30am.
parents’ association
The Parent’s Association has held the first two
Parents’ Coffee Mornings. At the first, parents heard
from the Headmaster on the subject of
Forthcoming changes in education and
were able to ask questions and seek
further information. At the second,
school nurse, Suzanne Lamb, spoke
on Stress – how to help your children
avoid it. All parents are welcome to
attend these events. The next will be
on 21 May at which James Hall of CSIT
will be speaking on Kids, Computers & The Internet –
New Technologies to help you Survive.
If any parents are unable to attend any coffee
mornings but would like further information on
the subject, please email parentsassociation@
bradfordgrammar.com and your enquiry will be
passed on to the speaker.
Most of the term has been spent preparing for the
Spring Fair on 11 May, which will celebrate the
350th Anniversary of the Charter, including our very
own Charles II (who could that be?), announced
by cannon fire and being borne by a flotilla of Clock
House children to present the Charter. To find out
more on this event and the Ceilidh in October follow
the Parents’ Association on Twitter @BGS_PA.
new uniform
Bradford Grammar School unveiled its new uniform to pupils, staff and parents live at the school’s charity Fashion Show
on 1 and 2 March. The new uniform had been awaited with bated breath by the pupils who will be wearing it from
September 2013.
A working party involving pupils, staff and parents was set up to plan the new uniform. The suppliers, style and colours
have been selected. The whole school uniform including all sports kits have had a complete redesign.
The school has chosen a Yorkshire supplier and part of the uniform will be made using a Bradford cloth. The supplier,
Perry Uniform, was established in 1946 as a manufacturer of school uniforms. Today they combine the traditional
manufacturing excellence on which the business was founded with a 21 st century internet based retail service. They are
based at Armley in Leeds, where their factory is co-located with a distribution and customer contact centre.
Perry’s said: ‘Our aim is to make every aspect of school uniform as easy as possible for our partner schools and their
parents to whom we deliver. We pride ourselves on the very personal service we offer which puts convenience at its core.’
hockey
All the hockey teams have
improved greatly throughout
the season. The teams won a
lot more games than they lost
and battled through some hard
fought matches. A highlight
was a very exciting and close
game against Ashville College
for the U13s. A final BGS goal
in the last thirty seconds saw
them win 3-2! Congratulations
to Imogen Allan, Bessie Allan
and Libby Linfield who have
been playing for Leeds Hockey
Club Senior Team in the
Yorkshire Ladies Premier League and will be playing in
the Yorkshire Cup Final at Easter.
forthcoming
events
calendar
Apr 10
Apr 12
Recent Leavers’ Reunion - Pavilion
Tennis Parents’ Association
Race Night
13 Boat Club Quiz Night
maths
masterclass
Following a visit to Copthorne Primary School by
Headmaster Kevin Riley, pupils from a number
of Bradford schools were invited to Bradford
Grammar School for a Maths Masterclass.
Four pupils from each of the following schools:
Copthorne Primary, Horton Grange, St Oswalds,
Lidget Green, Farnham, Princeville and Crossley
Hall visited Bradford Grammar School for a Maths
Masterclass led by Maths teacher Mr Crabtree,
assisted by Sixth Form A level Further Maths
pupils: Chloe Ramsden, Alfie Chapman, Harry
Petyt, Piers Fisher, Zoe Andrews, Liza Nelson
Laidler, Jacqueline Li and Jason Collins. The
afternoon was fun-packed with games, lessons
and quizzes with the aim of making maths easier
to learn. It is hoped that this will be the first in a
number of joint ventures.
Christabel Shepherd, Headmistress at Copthorne
Primary School, said: ‘The Maths Masterclass is a
fabulous opportunity for the twenty-eight children
involved from the Excede Alliance of Schools and
will help to further raise their aspirations.’
This was a marvellous example of young and old,
state and independent sector working together for
the benefit of Bradford’s younger generation.
rugby
The highlights of the rugby season have included the
U15s achievements. Following their successful Daily Mail
Cup run last term; this term they have won two sevens
tournaments.
The first was at Durham School, where they beat the
hosts in the final, and the second was at BGS in glorious
sunshine, Bradford Grammar defeated Sedbergh School
in the final. Sedbergh went into a 14-0 lead in the final;
BGS scored an unconverted try just before half-time.
In the second half, a tenacious BGS defence kept out
Sedbergh at one end while they scored three tries at the
other to build a 24-14 lead, Sedbergh finished the game
with a converted try.
The winning squad was James Pinder, Harry Sagar,
Isaac Greene and Adam Waring, Alfie Blackhall, David
Cobb, Sachin Ahir and James Lord, Will Heard, Matt
Bulmer, George Cockcroft and Callum Manchester. Well
done to James Pinder, Isaac Green, Callum Manchester
and Harry Sagar who have also been selected for the
Yorkshire U15 rugby squad.
Congratulations to Rory Macnab, Zander MacFarlane
and Barney Vaughan who represented the Northern
Independent Schools. The Northern U13 Lambs won
the National Tournament at Rugby School, defeating the
Midlands, South-West and drawing with the South-East.
Rory Macnab was Captain for the South-East match.
spelling bee
Since December some of the First Form have been
participating in the national Routes into Languages
Spelling Bee. This is designed to encourage an interest
in languages and increase pupils’ spelling skills. Pupils
have to spell as many words in the foreign language
as they can in one minute using the French
or German alphabet. They also have to
pronounce the words so it really does test
their language ability!
There are four rounds – class, school,
regional and national. Having found
eight winners at the class stage, the
school stage took place before halfterm
and four pupils won through to
the regional stage which takes place
at the University of Hull on the 18
April where they will compete against
schools from across Yorkshire.
All the pupils involved have shown
impressive dedication, enthusiasm and
commitment to learning and practising
the spelling of the words. They now
have a list of 150 words on which they
could be tested in Hull. The speed at
which some can spell is truly mindblowing!
The four pupils through are: Aditya Anand and Zain
Hussain for French, and Maryam Nisa and Katie Elmore
for German.
cross
country
This has been another highly successful term for the
Cross Country Club. Individual highlights from the
Bradford Schools’ Championships include first
place in the inter boys for Emile Cairess,
who continues to go from strength to
strength, as well as top five finishes for
Izzy Austin and Emma Peacock in the
junior girls, Sarah Dewhirst in the inter
girls, Ben Moon in the Year Seven
boys and Oliver Daffern in the junior
boys. In the team competitions
the performance of the day was
undoubtedly from the junior girls who
won their event, beating a very strong
Ilkley Grammar team. The inter boys
were also the first team, and there
were runner-up places in the team
events for the inter girls, junior boys and
First Form boys. Following
this competition seventeen
athletes were selected
to represent the City of
Bradford at the West
Yorkshire Schools’
Championships. Emile, despite
suffering from a heavy cold,
came in second, Jessica Manning
(who is also a quintuple Yorkshire gold
medallist in swimming this season)
finished seventh in the junior race and
Oliver came twelfth in his age category.
As a result, Emile and Jess will travel to
the English Schools’ Championships
later this year, with Oliver acting as travelling
reserve.
chinese
new year
A weekend school which teaches Mandarin to children has big plans for the Year of the Snake. Bradford Chinese School
held a party to celebrate the Chinese New Year and its new home at Bradford Grammar School. The celebration saw
pupils perform traditional Chinese songs and poems as well as musical recitals. Guests included the Lord Mayor of
Bradford, Councillor Dale Smith and BGS Deputy Head, Dr Sharpe.
Chinese School Headmaster, Jeff Zhao, said: ‘It is apt that we are entering the Year of the Snake. A snake is seen as
a little dragon, it is not as terrible as a big dragon but it is still very, very clever and very agile. It can move quickly and
change quickly. That’s what we want in our small school. We want to change, adapt and keep improving. We welcome
all children who are interested in learning Chinese.’
The Chinese School was formed in 2011 and has moved to new premises with the hope that it will be able to expand from
September 2013. It teaches Chinese language, art and culture lessons to children each weekend, and many of the staff
are volunteers. Headmaster Kevin Riley said he had been only too pleased to offer a new home to the Chinese school.
Mr Riley, whose previous post was at an international school in Bangkok, said: ‘It is a very inspiring group. I have worked
in the Far East and Chinese families place an enormous value in education.’
May 1
16 7.00pm Fifth Form Music & Poetry Evening
Auditorium
20 OBA 1940s Reunion
20 Swimming & Water Polo, OBA v BGS
23 7.00pm Sixth Form Music & Poetry Evening
Auditorium
Golf OBA v BGS
9 7.00pm Leavers’ Concert - Price Hall
11 Spring Fair
14 7.00pm First Form Music and Poetry Evening
Auditorium
17 Leavers’ Lunch, U6 & OBA
18 May Ball – Price Hall
21 7.00pm Second Form Music and Poetry
Evening - Auditorium
Jun 4 7.00pm Third Form Music & Poetry Evening
Auditorium
Jul
9 Race for Life - Lister Park
11 7.00pm Fourth Form Music & Poetry Evening
Auditorium
26 Junior School Speech Day
Price Hall
28 Cricket OBA v BGS
4 2.30pm Senior School Speech Day
Price Hall
4 7.15pm Folk Group Concert
Hockney Theatre
netball
Netball has been badly affected by the neverending
frosty weather this season.
However, three teams won their
Bradford Schools Tournament;
congratulations to the U13s, U15s
and U16s. Good luck to the
U12s and U14s who will play at a
later date. It has been particularly
pleasing to see so many of our
players selected to train at county
and district level. Well done to
Pascale Fisher and Corrie Jackson-
Levrier who were both selected for
and represented at regional level.
The netball staff are also delighted to
announce that Superleague player and
trainee teacher, Danni Bloomfield, will be assisting with
netball coaching next season.
world
book
day
To celebrate World Book Day, Junior School pupils
wore non-uniform or dressed up as a book character
in exchange for a £1 donation. Over £166 was raised
and donated to Book Aid International, a charity which
provides books to schools in Africa. During the day the
pupils had the opportunity to share their favourite books
and take part in fun, book-related activities.
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