Hoc Age - Bradford Grammar School

Autumn 2012
a note from the head
It is amazing that I am moving into my second year at BGS. As this edition of Hoc Age reveals the students
are making full use of the wonderful opportunities at the school and achieving high standards in all they do. I
was delighted to hear how successful the trip to China had been. Listening to the students talking about their
experiences brought back some wonderful memories for me. It’s a country which is staggering in its ambitions
and the scope of its activities. In my office I have a small replica of one of the Terracotta Army which the
students brought back; it’s a visible reminder of how long China has been ambitious.
One of the delights of my year has been meeting so many OBs and hearing of their successes in so many
different fields. Their support for the school is very heartening and enables us to use them as mentors in various
careers. BGS certainly instils a fierce loyalty to the school and wonderful values; like a stick of rock these people
have BGS stamped all the way through them.
Enjoy reading about the successes of the current
generation of Bradfordians.
china
During October half term, a group of forty-six students and five staff left BGS for an eight-day tour of
Beijing and Xi’an in China. In Beijing they visited the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen
Square and the Summer Palace, as well as climbing the steps to walk on the Great Wall of China. They were treated to
a fantastic Kung Fu show as well as plenty of Chinese delicacies in local restaurants. After an overnight train journey they
arrived in Xi’an to have a lesson in Chinese calligraphy. The party visited the Wild Goose Pagoda, Bell Tower and Drum
Tower Square as well as the amazing Terra Cotta Warriors that were created to protect Emperor Qin, the first emperor of
China, in the afterlife. Back in Beijing they visited the old Hutong area of the city, experienced a tea ceremony and then the
pupils practised their bargaining skills in the Chinese markets. The trip was a superb cultural experience with daily lessons
from the local guides in Mandarin, eating all meals with chopsticks and dodging the millions of bicycles on the streets. It
was a brilliant experience for everyone involved.
cross
country
The main competition for the
Cross-Country Club this term has
been the English Schools’ Cup, and
there have been some notable
successes.
The opening round took place
in Sheffield where both boys
and girls in the Junior and
Inter-age groups performed
well. Amy Peacock put in an
impressive performance in the Junior
Girls to come home in twelfth. In
the Junior Boys, Ben Moon was first
scorer in his age group, coming inside
the top twenty. In the Intermediate
Girls, Emma Peacock led the BGS team
home in fifteenth place.
The Intermediate Boys made it through to the
national semi-finals, which again took place
in Sheffield, having qualified by finishing runners-up and beating ten other schools in the regional round.
The team acquitted themselves extremely well, with Emile Cairess winning his race by nearly half a minute
over the second place finisher, having led from gun to tape. Emile was followed home, in order of finishing,
by James Pike, Oliver Daffern and Matthew Wilson as scorers. These four were ably backed up by Alex
Rhodes and John-Michael Burke as fifth and sixth finishers, respectively. Unfortunately, even with a pre-race
good luck tweet from OB Alistair Brownlee (!), the boys didn’t quite manage to qualify for the National Final, but in
points terms were not far away, and should feel proud of their performance overall.
royal charter
Apart from Bradford Cathedral, the school is the city’s most
ancient institution. It has played a major role in Bradford’s
development, firstly as the only source of education for children
in Bradford’s early history and later, as the pivotal seat of
learning in a developing industrial Northern town. In 1657
Anthony Coates accepted the post of Headmaster with a
salary of £35 and an usher was appointed at a salary of £12.
In 1658 the Governors sent a petition to Parliament asking
that their powers be defined and their numbers be reduced to
eleven from twenty-one. The petition formed the basis of the
resulting Charter granted by King Charles II dated October 10
1662. By the Charter there was to be: one master or teacher,
one usher or under-teacher, thirteen governors including the
Vicar of Bradford. The Charter confirmed the legal position
of the governing body which it had requested and fixed the
constitution of the school.
The school commenced its 350th Royal Charter Anniversary year in October when all pupils were given
commemorative lapel badges to wear throughout the year. The celebrations will continue until October 2013.
The original Charter is on display in the school’s DH Room.
windsurfing
Matthew and Joshua Carey, aged 14 and 12, were first and second in the 6.8m windsurfing class at the final
event of the Royal Yachting Association North Zone Team15 Windsurfing Championship held on 16 September.
The brothers led their team, Pugney’s Pirates at the UK Team15 Championship
competing against the other zone winners from around
the country. The team finished in bronze
position nationally which was a fabulous
achievement.
Matthew and Joshua won first and
second in the windsurfing 6.8m class at
the individual RYA Zone Championships
at Rutland Water SC in early October.
This marvellous result helped them
gain selection for the National Junior
Windsurfing Squad and both will be
representing Great Britain for the next
racing season.
Windsurfing has been re-established as an
Olympic sport which enables the boys to
compete in the national squad next year
for a place to race at the Youth Olympics in
2014, which will be in Hong Kong.
daily mail
cup
The U15 rugby team continued their unbeaten
season with a strong Daily Mail Cup round six
away win to RGS Newcastle on 4 December.
RGS came into the game on the back of ten
consecutive victories this season and BGS had
previously beaten Barnard Castle and Ashville
College to reach this round of the cup. There
was sustained pressure from both sides
throughout the match and early second half
exchanges saw both defences dominate.
After a particularly aggressive period from
the BGS pack the team led 17 – 3. It was a
hard-fought encounter and either team could
have justified a place in the next round. In the
end BGS deservedly won by 29 – 8, taking them
through to the last sixteen of this prestigious cup.
They now face an away fixture against Bishop
Heber High School in January.
music
This term the Music department has been casting and
rehearsing for a number of forthcoming events; the
Christmas Concert, the Royal Charter Gala Evening, the
Concert of Chamber Music and the production of We
Will Rock You. In addition, there have been a number
of lunchtime recitals. The lunchtime recitals take place
on Fridays in the Music Auditorium and allow pupils to
practise live performance and demonstrate their progress.
nyo
Lower Sixth pupil Joanna
Twaddle was delighted to
hear that she has been
awarded the position of
sub-principal in the cello
section for National Youth
Orchestra 2012/13. The
National Youth Orchestra
usually awards the
front desks to players
who are in the Upper
Sixth Form so this
is an outstanding
achievement for Joanna.
An audio of Joanna
playing with the BGS
String Quartet can be
heard on the school’s
iPad app available from
the App Store.
patient headmaster
On Thursday, 15 November, the pupils of J2 travelled
to the Thackray Medical Museum, Leeds, to discover
why they remember Florence Nightingale as part of
their historical studies.
Little did they know that the short coach journey was
only the beginning of their travels. After meeting
Charlotte and discovering the secrets of time travel
(with some help from their adult leaders), the group
was transported back to 1854 to begin their training
with Miss Nightingale herself. Once each newly
recruited nurse or porter knew the importance
of cleanliness, they set off to the
barrack hospital in Scutari.
They were greeted by a letter from
the lead doctor, which stated they
were not wanted, but the eager
volunteers were undeterred.
Even the disgusting sight
that greeted them did not
dissolve their spirit and the
new recruits began
cleaning
aegon cup
The BGS girls’ U16 tennis team beat Yarm at the
Aegon Cup quarter-finals at Leeds Met. This meant
they were the top school in the North, taking them
through to the semi-finals. Although beaten in the
semi-final, this is the furthest a BGS girls’ tennis team
has reached in the competition.
Over 2000 schools enter and the BGS girls were down
to the last eight in the whole country. In their semifinal
they came up against Strathallan, the top team
in Scotland. This is a great achievement and credit
must go to Krista Bennett (U16 Captain), Libby Linfield,
Emma Phillips and Lizzie Ayre not only for this, but for
the commitment they have shown to improving their
skills and match play throughout this year.
and organising the ward. Rats were dispersed of,
windows cleaned, floors scrubbed and beds made
ready for the casualty to arrive. Field Marshall Riley
(aka Headmaster Kevin Riley) had sustained major
injuries to his leg and head. Confident from their
training with Miss Nightingale, the nurses bandaged
his wounds and provided him with wholesome food
and fresh water.
After he made a full recovery, Field Marshall Riley was
assisted by the young porters to begin his journey
back to Leeds, accompanied by the
medical team of nurses, whose
hard work was rewarded with
a certificate of merit.

debating
The school’s two debating societies have met
regularly this term. The Senior Debating Society,
for the Fourth Form and above, has debated such
topics as: This House would allow prisoners to
raise their children in prison and This House would
ban cosmetic surgery. Two senior teams are
successfully through to the Cambridge Union.
Junior debates for First to Fourth Form pupils are
aimed at helping younger pupils gain confidence
at public speaking and debating skills. Junior
debates have included: This House would hold
the Hunger Games and This House would allow
the publication of the pictures of the Duchess of
Cambridge in the UK.
This term has seen the appointment of Stefano
Imbriano from Leeds University as the school’s
competitive debating coach. He brings a wealth
of experience from years of debating coaching
which will benefit our debating squad members in
their preparation for the forthcoming season.
coach
award
Coaches involved in the success of the Brownlee
brothers were recognised at the 2012 UK Coaching
Awards at the Lancaster Hotel in London. The
Coaching Chain Award was presented to five coaches
who have helped shape the careers of the Brownlees,
including Director of Sport Charles Lines and former
member of staff Tony Kingham. The other three were
their current coaches, Jack Maitland and Malcolm
Brown, and Corrine Tantrum. It was recognised that
they each had a huge impact on the brothers and
guided Alistair and Jonathan from Bradford Swimming
Club, through school and on to Olympic and ITU world
titles in triathlon.
imperial
scholarship
Congratulations to Tom Hobson who has been selected
for a scholarship at Imperial College, London to the
amount of £2500 per year for all four years due to his
excellent A level grades. Tom achieved A*’s in Maths,
Further Maths, Physics and Electronics and is now
studying Engineering.
classics in italy
speech day
David Wootton, former Lord Mayor of the City of London, returned to his
former school to present the prizes and speak at Speech Day. The school’s
Price Hall was packed with more than 1,000 guests, staff and pupils.
Lady Lynne Morrison, Chairman of Governors, welcomed and thanked
those who had contributed to school life over the previous year.
Headmaster Kevin Riley, at his first Speech Day at BGS, spoke regarding
Bradford Grammar School and the education sector now and looking to
the future. Mr Wootton spoke about his year as the Lord Mayor which
included roles at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics and
Paralympics. Mr Wootton was at the school between 1960 and 1969 when he left on a scholarship to study Classics
at Jesus College, Cambridge, before changing to law. He has been a lawyer with Allen and Overy for many years.
David said he was delighted that his parents, who live in Silsden, were at Speech Day. His father was a headmaster
in Eccleshill and his mother taught in Buttershaw. One of the school’s Head Prefects, Lizzie Pike, delivered a very
confident speech with details from David’s time at school.
music
festival
Huge congratulations to all the Junior School pupils who
took part in the Yorkshire Accordion and Music Festival
in November. Syndy Cheung, Melody Seifzadeh, Emelye
Gill, Ella Stuttard and Hannah Crookes all achieved first
or second place in grade classes 1 to 3 for their piano
recitals.
switch off
Bradford Grammar
School took part in the
Switch Off Fortnight
2012 campaign which
ran from 19 November
to 2 December. This
year’s activity focused
on the Take it home
message, encouraging
pupils to inspire
families and friends to
save energy at home
too. The Big Green
Society set pupils the
task of auditing the
energy wastage in
their households, from
appliances on standby
to lights left on and
talking with their family
members about why
it is important to save energy and to think differently
about how they use it – Switch Off Fortnight is all
about changing attitudes to using energy, it could
lead to reduced carbon emissions and also lower
energy bills too. The Big Green Society is conducting
a survey in school to identify where the most energy
is being wasted. Society members will also be
distributing stickers to remind both students and
teachers to avoid wasting energy by turning off
electrical appliances.
On 19 October, at 2:15am, forty-four Second Form Classics pupils and five teachers began their journey to
the Bay of Naples. They enjoyed extremely warm weather, impressive views from Vesuvius and visits to the
ancient towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum which were buried in AD 79 by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Their first stop was the Naples Archaeological Museum to look at the many ancient artefacts taken from
the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum, followed by a tour of a large Roman villa with a huge pool,
grounds and many rooms to explore, which had been extremely well preserved by the eruption.
A highlight was the visit to the forum which had many features such as baths, temples and law courts. The
trip ended with a pizza and ice-cream supper in Sorrento. This trip, particularly the time spent exploring
Herculaneum which was the best preserved of the towns, helped the pupils to visualise the ancient times
they have been studying.
ju jitsu
Junior School pupils have won awards at the National
Junior Atemi (weapons work). Tom Deacon won
the gold for the yellow belt section. Rizvan Faisal
got the bronze for the yellow belt. Sam Bryan won
the special award at Orange belt for his bravery and
perseverance.
Senior School Second Form pupil Lewis Day
won silver in the national competition open
category in weapons defence and also passed
the assessment to become a junior instructor.
This meant that he was awarded a Black
Hakama, which is a special Japanese black
cotton garment worn over ju jitsu trousers and is
the same garment that Samurais used to wear.
To gain this award he had to have held his
brown belt for at least one year as well as
gaining experience at teaching other juniors at
his club alongside his instructor. The judges
were impressed with the level of his
teaching skills and knowledge
for someone so young. He
will now be
training
towards
his black
belt.
language
day
Modern Languages staff and Sixth Form pupils
celebrated September’s European Day of Languages by
dressing up in the stereo typical dress associated with
the modern languages taught at the school. The day
started with a tongue-in-cheek assembly for the whole
school depicting the differences between the cultures
of Spain, Germany and France. The day is aimed to
encourage pupils to appreciate the different cultures
as well as promoting the learning of a new language.
The Catering department provided a themed lunch of
Bockwurst, paella and crêpes.
gold
awards
This term four former BGS students, Nathan
Chalk, Lottie Driver, Aiysha Puri and Jamie
Davidson, were presented with their Gold Awards
by the Duke of Edinburgh in the magnificent
Throne Room of St James’s Palace. Nathan is
at Nottingham University reading Law; Lottie
is at Birmingham reading Languages; Aiysha
is at Imperial College studying Medicine and
Jamie is spending his Year in Industry with
Syngenta before reading Chemical Engineering
at Cambridge.
agamemnon
Aeschylus’ Agamemnon was first performed in Athens two and a half thousand years ago, in the Theatre of Dionysus
at the foot of the Acropolis.
This November, twenty pupils from the Fifth and Sixth Forms brought the play (in an English version) to the Hockney
Theatre, as part of an Introduction to Greek Theatre, hosted by the current Lower Sixth Classical Civilisation set. The
production was assembled in under a month, but was an impressively polished performance. The central role of the
murderous queen Clytemnestra was shared between five Lower Sixth actresses (Zoe Dickinson, Hollie Smallwood,
Parvathi Kanakath, Poppy Briggs and Anisha Kaur), while Will Truby took the title role of the king. Fine performances
from Hatty Meakin as the doomed prophetess Cassandra, Chris Silberberg as a splendidly evil Aegisthus, and strong
support from a Chorus led by George Goddard, Lily MacTaggart and Tyne Anderson combined to make the evening a
memorable one.
This is the tenth year that the school has supported the Secret Santa Appeal. All Forms are asked to supply gifts for
children in the West Yorkshire area. Bradford Junior Chamber of Commerce runs this annual Appeal and delivers the
gifts to children who are either in hospital or who are unlikely to be receiving presents. The school was delighted to
be able to donate just under 300 gifts to the project due to the generosity of the pupils and their parents.
3SEH held a very successful chocolate auction raising an astonishing £502 for this year’s Secret Santa
collection.
economics
On 22 November at the Royal Institution, Mayfair, London last year’s Head Prefect Ravi Prasad was
presented with his prize as runner-up in the prestigious Young Economist of the Year. Whilst still a
pupil at the school, Ravi gained second place in the International 2012 Young Economist of the Year
Competition. From the final shortlist of eighteen essays drawn from a total entry of over 750, the
judging panel of Professor Richard Blundell (RES), Charles Bean (Bank of England) and Stephanie
Flanders (BBC) selected four winners. The overall standard was extremely high, with a number of
entries from international schools. Second place was awarded to Ravi for his essay answering the
question A break-up of the euro provides the best hope for a durable recovery of the European
economy. The judges commented that ‘the essay is notable for its careful analysis of the roots of the
current difficulties in the euro area, noting that there are three interlinked problems – a fiscal crisis, a
banking crisis, and a growth crisis. There is a particularly good discussion of the costs of exit, drawing
on the experience of Argentina inter alia. A really excellent essay’.
sailing
Hector Simpson has been named the RYA Yorkshire and
Humber Young Sailor of the Year 2012. He is a talented
Laser sailor and is a keen member of Yorkshire Dales
Sailing Club. Hector competed in the 2012 RYA Volvo
Youth National Championship at Pwllheli, Wales where he
was crowned Laser Standard Youth National Champion, a
title that he will defend in Largs, Scotland in April.
“I am very proud and I feel honoured to have won the RYA
Yorkshire and Humber Young Sailor Award,” said Hector.
“I owe my success to lots of people who have helped and
coached me over the past few years.”
drama
There has been an abundance of top quality drama productions this term from
all age groups. At BGS one of the aims of the English department is to persuade
students that Shakespeare plays are not words on paper but blueprints for
a production and that every production is one interpretation of the play. Fifth
Form pupils from 5SDR have been studying Hamlet for their English Literature
examination. A slideshow of images from the recent production can be seen
through the News section of the school website.
October Midsummer Madness on 18 October was an evening of dramatic
madness as Lower School Drama performed The Demon Headmaster, Upper Sixth
Theatre Studies students showed their version of The Trial and Second Form pupils took inspiration from Shakespeare’s A
Midsummer Night’s Dream! Following half term the A level Theatre Studies group presented a mature interpretation Our
Country’s Good.
secret santa
netball
The netball teams have had an excellent start to the
season with wins against Woodhouse
Grove, Stockport and Cheadle Hulme,
to name a few. The 1st VII had their
best ever win against local rivals
Ashville 37-19. The U16A
team are unbeaten in their
Saturday fixtures so far this
season and show real
strength and depth.
The U16s have also
won the Bradford
Schools’
Tournament.
We missed
out on the next
round of the
National Schools’
Competition by
a whisker, but
all age groups
performed well
on the day. The
weather has not
helped our fixtures
over the last few
weeks but we
have some
strong fixtures
to look forward to.
He is in his final A level year studying Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and Physics so juggling time between
sailing and studying is hard, especially as a lot of training and competitions take place down on the
south coast. Despite the hard work, Hector hopes to be part of the GBR squad for some international
competitions next summer which will depend on his RYA Volvo Laser Standard National Youth Squad
training over the winter.
chatterbooks
Joanne Harris famous author of Chocolat, Lollipop Shoes and Gentlemen and Players visited
school on 24 September. Joanne was met in Reception by members of the Chatterbooks Club
who also enjoyed lunch with her. Joanne gave an illustrated talk about her new book Runelight
and was also available to answer questions and sign books.
There was also a very exciting opportunity for all Chatterbooks members to take part
in a live Skype chat with Charlie Higson (author, comedian, and actor). BGS
was one of five schools invited to take part in this
new venture, which included the author reading
an extract from his
terrifying new book
The Sacrifice and answering
questions on his life as a writer and a
TV personality. Pupils asked question such as:
“How long does it take to write each book? What is
your Halloween Fancy Dress costume of choice?”
Despite some technical difficulties on the day it
was a brilliant success and the students took away
some great tips on writing!
law
careers
Members of the legal sector were
invited to school for a lunch in the
Pavilion. Former pupils, former
parents, current parents and new
contacts networked with staff and
current pupils who are considering
a career in law. Guests also had
the opportunity to see and hear
about the school. The school’s
Careers Department invited
pupils from the Fifth and Sixth
Forms to attend a seminar the
evening before at which former
pupils, James Crookes of Pinsent
Masons and Dominic Crossley
a barrister, guided pupils on
what to take into account when
considering a career in Law.
The following lunchtime the school held a Law Lunch
and the pupils had the opportunity to mingle with
guests, who generously gave valuable time and advice.
Many sectors of law and Bradford and Leeds law firms
were represented.
medieval
times
The children in J4 thoroughly enjoyed their day
outing to Danelaw Dark Ages Village where they
became citizens in a medieval village. On arrival
they were met by Master Michael, who
informed them that the Lord of the Manor
wanted to see them as they
were expected to work for
him, for free! They quickly
disembarked and were
given their uniforms for
the day. Sitting in the
Banqueting Hall the Lord
of the Manor explained
how their day would
shape up and advised
them on some of the finer
points of medieval life.
Following instructions
the pupils trooped
off to meet their
new quarters. The
children revelled in
the activities and got
stuck into village life.
They baked bread, made candles, toiled in the
garden and valiantly protected the village from an
intruder! They were well rewarded with a feast in
the Banqueting Hall.
jubilee wall hanging
After a couple of initial disappointments, Bradford
Grammar School Stitch Club pupils had their stitch
work take pride of place in the Lord Mayor’s Office
for a Heritage Day event at City Hall. The hanging
was entered into the Group Handicraft Competition at
Bingley and Keighley Shows, but unfortunately both
were cancelled owing to the weather. The Lord Mayor,
a former pupil of the school invited the girls to visit him
at City Hall.
The school holds a twice-weekly group which meets
at lunchtimes for pupils to learn new handicrafts and
produce gifts and keepsakes for themselves and
their families. This group project was themed on
the Diamond Jubilee. Each pupil designed a block
based on their own ideas relating to Britishness and
the Diamond Jubilee. The final piece included a block
depicting the school motto – Hoc Age. A wide variety of
techniques and embroidery stitches were used and the
final blocks were machine-pieced to form the hanging
and hand-tied with buttons. The pupils who contributed
were Meg Boyle, Emaan Zia, Jemima Lee, Bea Taggart,
Maryam Hussain, Amaara Noor-Mundiya, Ellie Pinder,
Maddy Silberberg, Hannah Rawnsley, Milly Websdale and Charlotte Pickard.
The Jubilee Wall Hanging is now proudly displayed in the Headmaster’s study.
national story
winners
Congratulations to Grace Lancaster who recently won a national
short story competition run by Grid Club and Chronicle books.
Grace, Georgia Pope and Astrid Knox-McConnell all entered
excellent stories of 600 words with a hero theme. The stories were
judged by children’s author Annie Barrows. Grace did amazingly
well to win the age 11 – 12 category. She has won her own
collection of books, twenty-five books for the school library, a school
Skype chat with author Annie Barrows, a one-year membership for
school to the Grid Club and a bag full of goodies. Georgia’s story
was also shortlisted.
rowing
The Boat Club was delighted to celebrate David Wootton’s year as Lord Mayor of the City of
London by inviting him and his family to their riverside location on Saturday 17 November.
David was an avid rower and Captain of the Boats whilst at the school and has
continued rowing ever since, earning his Oxford Blues. Pupils, parents and staff
gathered to surprise David with the David Wootton. Headmaster Kevin Riley
and Head of the Boat Club Simon Darnborough said
a few words before David officially named the
boat using a bottle of Saltaire Blonde. The
Boat Club community enjoyed fine weather
and celebrated with mugs
of tea and bacon
sandwiches.

hockey
The BGS hockey teams have had a good season so
far. All teams have played a range of matches against
varying standards. The U15s had a fantastic win
against Worksop 9-0 and the U12s have developed
considerably winning their last two matches. The U13s
have had an excellent season winning most of their
matches both at 7 a-side and 11 a-side, similarly the
U14s have played well winning many of their matches.
The U16s sadly missed out by one place to go through
to the next round of the Nationals. With a mixture
of U16s and seniors the 1st and 2nd Xl are showing
potential to be two very strong teams.
ilkley
literature
festival
The school was delighted to sponsor two
events at this year’s Ilkley Literature Festival.
Geography pupils and staff attended Michael
Palin’s Brazil. Michael entertained the King’s
Hall audience with memories of filming A Private
Function in the same building with Maggie
Smith, before presenting slides depicting his
recent tour of Brazil which has been made into
a book and TV series. Michael’s manager and
producer for the series was BGS former pupil
Steve Abbott who has worked with him since
Monty Python.
Art students and staff enjoyed Christopher Sykes’s
engaging talk at Ilkley Playhouse on his biography of
David Hockney. The book covers David’s life from his
early beginnings in Bradford to his mid-thirties. The
evening provided many anecdotes from his family life as
well as schooling at Bradford Grammar School.
harvest
appeal
This year’s Junior School Harvest Appeal was a
record fund raiser collecting £1215.44. Half of the
money raised was sent to Actionaid to support
the four overseas children the junior school pupils
sponsor. Owing to the huge amount raised,
the school council was asked to choose four
charities that it would like to support in addition
to Actionaid. The charities chosen were Cancer
Research UK, the Yorkshire Cochlear Implant
Service, the Donkey Sanctuary in Leeds and the
World Wildlife Fund.
The pupils organised a wide
range of activities held
at break time. The
activities included
selling homemade
lollies, hoopla,
raffles and
quizzes.
chemistry
Ben Gaunt received an award for a top result in the
Cambridge Chemistry Challenge 2012. This award
acknowledges his outstanding performance, achieving
one of the highest marks in this new competition, which
was taken by 4300 students in 300 schools across the
country this year. Ben was amongst thirty-nine students
who achieved the highest marks in the Challenge.
Winners were rewarded with a crystal trophy depicting
the electron density of an excited hydrogen atom at
a ceremony at the Royal Institution in Piccadilly,
London.
The competition aims to
stretch and challenge
budding chemists and takes
them significantly beyond
the Chemistry syllabus,
and encourages them
to think about science
in the way they would at
university.
the
roman
army
Twenty-seven new recruits have enlisted for the Roman Army, hoping to become
mini-auxiliaries. They took along some adults who were conscripted as optios. The centurion gave the
orders and the auxiliaries had to reply “YES CENTURION!” They were all issued with uniforms consisting of
a neck-scarf, red tunic and belt; some fitted better than others! After some initial training, weapons were also
supplied. The auxiliaries were put to work immediately with a day filled with lamp making in the workshop,
further weapons training, guard duty and learning to write in
Latin. Clock House in Latin might be Domus Horologium.
Towards the end of the day the local Celtic tribe, on
hearing that the fort was manned only by new
recruits, launched an attack. The auxiliaries
shouldered their armour and weapons and
with great courage marched out in tortoise
formation, causing the marauding Celts
to flee for their lives. A sacrifice was
made to thank the Roman god for
sparing them all, after which the
auxiliaries and optios were paid a
Roman coin for their day’s labour!
Although now qualified to join the
Roman Army, all the J3 auxiliaries
opted to return to BGS with the
optios!
sculpture
The Art department was delighted to welcome sculptor Sophie Ryder to school in
November. Sophie was working at Cartwright Hall installing her exhibition which
commenced on Sunday 16 December. Her exhibition of sculpture work draws on
human, animal and mythological forms. She frequently melds the attitudes and instincts
of each to create a series of hybrids, and has developed a narrative around the Lady-
Hare – a creature of her own invention with a hare’s head and a female body modelled on
her own.
Sixth Form Art students visited Cartwright Hall to see Sophie installing her work and hear how her ideas were
developed and came to fruition.
Ms Ryder walked back to school with the pupils and staff to tour the Art department and view the pupils’ own
work, giving guidance and advice on their projects.
message in a bottle
Modern Languages teacher Mrs Kingsley discovered a message in a bottle on the beach whilst holidaying in the
small town of Soulac, South West France, this summer. It contained letters from two German sisters who had
been on holiday in that area and wanted the finder to write back to them. Mrs Kingsley shared the message
with her Fourth Form German class. The pupils wrote in German introducing themselves and the school, and
are eagerly awaiting a response.
christmas fair
This year’s Christmas Fair was a magical start to the school’s festive season. The children who visited the
spectacular grotto were enchanted to spend so much time discussing their plans for Christmas with Father
Christmas himself. There were lots of other festive activities for the children to enjoy such as decorating biscuits,
painting sand, hook-a-duck, make a Christmas card and many more. Adult visitors were able to start or finish their
Christmas shopping from the huge variety of Christmas gifts available. The event was organised by the netball staff
and Netball Parents’ Association and funds raised were shared between the Candlelighters children’s cancer charity
and BGS netball tours.
rugby
Congratulations to U13 rugby
players Rory Macnab, Barnaby
Vaughan and Alexander
MacFarlane, who have been
selected to represent the North
of England U13 Independent
School Rugby Football Club
invitation side. The boys took
part in trials at Ampleforth in
October. Following a number
of warm-up fixtures the team
will play against the South of England from which an
England side will be selected to play the French in
Toulouse.
Fifth Form pupil James Johnson represented Yorkshire
U16s in the inter-county programme against Lancashire,
Combined Northumberland Durham and Cheshire.
forthcoming
events
calendar
Jan 8 6.30pm Junior School Open Evening
9 6.30pm Senior School Open Evening
12 Noon OBA Reunion
15 7.00pm Keyboard Concert - Auditorium
19 9.00am Entrance Examination
Feb 2 7.00pm BGS Charter Gala Evening
Price Hall
Mar 1-2
7 7.00pm Lower School Drama Evening
Performance - Hockney Theatre
19 7.00pm Saxophone Concert - Auditorium
20 1.30pm HM’s Matinee - Hockney Theatre
26 7.00pm Guitar Concert - Auditorium
28 Junior School House Music
Competition Finals
Fashion Show
5 7.00pm Concert of Chamber Music
Price Hall
6 8.45am Sixth Form
12.45pm Open House
14-16 7.30pm School Production
We Will Rock You - Hockney Theatre
16 BGSCPA - Bollywood Ball
15-24 National Science Week
20 Junior School Spring Concert
Apr 16 7.00pm Fifth Form Music & Poetry Evening
Auditorium
20 Noon OBA 1940s Reunion
20 OBA Swimming & Water Polo
23 7.00pm Sixth Form Music & Poetry Evening
Auditorium
May 9 7.00pm Leavers’ Concert - Price Hall
11 Noon Spring Fair
14 7.00pm First Form Music & Poetry Evening
Auditorium
21 7.00pm Second Form Music & Poetry Evening
Auditorium
battlefields
This term it was the twenty-third annual visit to the
battlefields of the Somme and Ypres. A party of forty
students from the Fifth Form followed in the steps of
Old Bradfordians and traced their names on the great
memorials to the British dead. This year in a new
departure the group laid a wreath at the Menin Gate and
also placed crosses at the graves of Old Bradfordians
and the relatives of some students in the group. The
weather was not as kind as usual but that perhaps
helped create a more atmospheric feeling at the sites
visited. Despite the busy schedule there was still time to
buy Belgian chocolate in Ypres.
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