BGS News - Bradford Grammar School

introductionwelcomeIt is with more than just a hint of sadness that I write my final welcome to the BGS News. Although our magazine aims to encompass thesuccesses and highlights of the most recent academic year I hope you will forgive some inevitable reflections on my time here at BGS.a note fromthe headI’m certainly leaving with the school on a high – splendid exam results, record numbers of pupils in school and great interest for thefuture. Some of our best ever GCSE results complement the success of our A level students in the most competitive year everfor university entry. These factors undoubtedly highlight the School’s enviable academic consistency.This year has seen the successful completion of another ambitious building project – once again without incurring anyborrowing. That we continue to enhance our Bursary Programme whilst at the same time investing in such outstanding CapitalDevelopment and remain debt free has been one of the real personal highlights of my headship.I am so pleased to be handing over the reins to Kevin Riley who shares the same educational values which are dear to my ownheart – academic meritocracy, social diversity and a wealth of extra-curricular opportunities.I shall really miss sharing the joy and successes and the individual achievements of the amazing boys and girls who attendBGS – read on – last year was particularly successful…. and rewarding!on tourStephen DavidsonHeadmastercontentsOn Tour 3record-breaking resultsAnother record breaking year! This year’s GCSE results when combined with last year’s results arethe best recorded at the School over a two year period. As well as breaking records there were manyindividual success stories to celebrate which were widely reported in the local, regional and nationalmedia. BGS continues to be especially proud of those pupils who overcome difficulties or who combineschool work with challenging commitments or sport. The vast majority of Upper Sixth Form pupils areon their way to their university of choice including Oxbridge, Imperial College, St. Andrews and a hostof other leading universities to study Medicine, Law and Engineering amongst others. Wholeheartedcongratulations to both pupils and staff!cricket in grenadaIn July the Senior Squad enjoyed a fantastic cricketing experience with a tour to Grenada and the Grenadines. A squad of twenty-eight players visited three CaribbeanIslands, Grenada, Carriacou and Union Island, playing a total of thirteen games. The 1st XI, under the captaincy of Shaan Rashid, played six games, winning four and losingtwo, while a younger Development XI won three and lost four of their seven matches. The boys sampled life in a totally different part of the world and had their cricketingskills put to the test not only by their opponents but also by the intense heat and humidity of the Caribbean climate. The undoubted highlight of the tour was the visit toUnion Island where the teams played four T20 matches against the Island U16, U18 and senior teams over two days in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd. Postersaround town advertised the event and it seemed that the whole island turned out, producing a real carnival atmosphere with reggae music, incessant drumming, the blowingof conch shells and even a live commentary on the games. The boys certainly rose to the occasion winning the series of matches 3-1 to become the first visiting Englishteam to win on the Island.Royal Visit & New Facilities 4-5News Round-up 6-7Out & About 8-9Supporting Others 10-11Junior School 12-13Individual Successes 14-15Music & Drama 16-17Sport 18-19worldolympicdreamsAs part of the World Olympic Dreams project theBBC and the British Council launched OlympicDreams – School Search, a competition for primaryand secondary schools across the UK to twin withOlympic athletes’ schools all over the world. JamesBrindley School in Birmingham was one of thewinners and was partnered with BGS as AlistairBrownlee’s former school. Alistair Brownlee andhis brother Jonathan are medal hopefuls at the2012 Olympics in the Triathlon. On January 14Charles Lines, Director of Sport, and Abby MaeParkinson, a current student and cyclist met upwith representatives from James Brindley Schoolin London at a seminar hosted by the BBC and theBritish Council. They took part in a weekend ofevents held at the British Museum, meeting staffand pupils from around the world who had links withOlympic athletes. BGS is now planning art, musicand sport projects with our twinned school, some ofwhich will be filmed by the BBC.Photograph © Martin Putztennis in south africaEleven boys and ten girls from the BGS Sixth Form, selected as a reward for their commitment to tennisthroughout their years at the school, travelled to South Africa in July. The pupils and staff visited Cape Town,Pretoria, Johannesburg and Sun City. Sometimes playing under the shadow of Table Mountain the touristswon four out of their seven fixtures.Highlights included the walk to the top of Table Mountain and the stunning views at the peak. A visit toNeononglosia Junior School in Laguanya Township was a truly memorable experience for everyone. Thestaff and pupils at the school were so welcoming and exuberant. The group also experienced a safari inPilanesburg Game Park, a visit to the Apartheid Museum and dining in Nelson Mandela Square. A day wasspent at the Gold Reef City Theme Park and the descent into a gold mine. The picture shows the travellers atAfrica’s most southerly point when they visited Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope.2 BGSnewsBGSnews 3

supporting othersfashion showThe annual BGS Netball Parents’ Association Fashion Show was onceagain a triumphant success. Sixth Form and Junior School pupils acted asenthusiastic models and the audience were entertained with some excellentlychoreographed performances, many of which were choreographedby Sixth Form pupils. The show featured a rangeof clothes including formal wear, sports andriding attire, evening and casual wear allsupplied by local boutiques. A donationwas made to the Teenage Cancer Trust.The Trust is a charity devoted toimproving the lives of teenagersand young adults withcancer. Other money raisedprince’ssupported the junior andtrustsenior netball tours.In March the area presentation evening for thePrince’s Trust Schools Enterprise Challenge washeld at BGS. The challenge involved a team ofLower Sixth students organising enterprisingactivities to raise funds for the Prince’s Trust.Over the past four months they organised a‘Snowball Challenge’ stall at the Christmas Fair,presented an assembly about the Trust (wherethey held a bucket collection) and helped toorganise the BGS Tennis Parents’ AssociationValentine’s Race Night. The Race Night inparticular was very successful; the students helda raffle of donated prizes which they had obtainedfrom local businesses. The BGS team came aclose second overall, raising £900 for the Trust.international peace dayBGS hosted an event for the charity Basic Human Rights Foundation, not only to mark International Peace Day but toalso remember and raise funds for the flood victims in Pakistan. Pupils from around Bradford watched a live link toIslamabad. Sixth Form pupil Sairish Ul-Sehr-Tahir spoke clearly to the full Price Hall audience on how it is the duty ofmore privileged nations to help the poorest around the world. Primary school pupils, including our own Junior School,released white balloons on the Governors’ Lawn in an act of unity and peace. Every pupil who released a balloon haddonated at least £1.50 to help the flood victims in Pakistan, raising over £500 from the Junior School alone.The Politics Department organised a cycling challenge for students and parents which raised £250 for thePakistan Flood Appeal. The route was a demanding 40 miles from Ilkley tothe top of Greenhow Hill and through Grassington before returning downthe Wharfe Valley.supporting otherssecretsantaMany pupils made a fantasticeffort to support the BradfordJunior Chamber of Commerce,Secret Santa Appeal. Oneof the fundraising events toraise funds to purchase thegifts was a lunchtime Dunkthe Teacher. Pupils queuedfor the opportunity to giveDr Carman, Mr Merckx, MrBaines, Mrs Wilde or MrsHeywood a dunking in theSchool swimming pool. For theeighth year running pupils haveraised enough money to purchase at least two hundredand thirty gifts which were distributed to underprivilegedchildren in West Yorkshire.amnestyAs part of an annual greeting card campaign run byAmnesty International UK, the BGS Amnesty Group sentcards to various prisoners across the world whose humanrights have been infringed. In order to raise awareness ofthe plight of the prisoners to the wider school communitythe group gathered more than two hundred signaturesfrom both staff and pupils during one lunchtime.The Amnesty Group provides an excellent forum forlearning more about world affairs and human rights issuesin particular, but it also encourages awareness of differentcultures and stimulates genuine debate and discussion.Annabel Hewitt, a member of the BGS Amnesty Group,was short-listed for Amnesty International’s YoungHuman Rights Reporter of the Year. Over one thousandentries were received from across the country andAnnabel finished in the top ten to earn a place in the final.leprahealthin actionPupils heard a very moving and informative speakerexplain the work of the Lepra Health in Action Charity.The charity is a British organisation whose mission isto restore health, hope and dignity to people affectedby leprosy and other diseases of poverty. Each pupilwho raised £21 or more, using their own fundraisingmethods, received a T-shirt. A total of over £900 wasdonated to the charity.first yearwalkOn Friday 17 June the entire First Year set offon its annual walk over the moor to Ilkley tocelebrate a successful year and the end of examweek. This year they were raising money for theBradford Soup Run with a target of £3000. Rainwas forecast for the afternoon but it held off untilthe pupils had returned to BGS, which made agood day that bit better. They made it to Ilkley inrecord time, with the last pupil arriving at WhiteWells just before 2pm. A cheque for £4500 waspresented to the charity.Photograph courtesy of T&A www.telegraphandargus.co.ukfairtradeThe BGS Fairtrade group raises awareness of Fairtradeand the importance of buying Fairtrade products. Fairtradeensures the producers in developing countries receive afair wage for their work, as well as safe working conditionsand an extra premium to pay for community projects suchas hospitals and schools.Second Form pupils Manisha Islam, Hope Silver andDavina Puri attended a Fairtrade conference at LeedsUniversity and met the opening speaker, Hilary Benn,Shadow Leader of the House of Commons. It was afascinating conference, with hands-on creative activitiesand a chance to hear about the impact Fairtrade hason farming communities in developing countries.This year’s theme for Fairtrade fortnight was cotton.The whole of the Second Form at BGS were involvedin making one hundred and forty cotton flags whichwere fastened together to create a bunting over 10metres long. The BGS bunting was taken to Bradfordcity centre to join with other bunting from around the cityand was strung across Darley Street. All Fairtrade fortnightbunting was sent to the Fairtrade Foundation in London whoattached it all together for display on World Fair Trade Day.Other Fairtrade activities have included making anddelivering Valentine’s Day Fairtrade chocolate hearts anda donation of £383 was sent to banana farmers in theWindward Islands who had been affected by a hurricaneearlier this year.race for lifeOn Sunday 12 June over ninety pupils, parents, staff and friends of BGS took part in the Race for Life in Lister Park.Mothers, daughters and grandmothers ran or walked the 5km race. Two of our pupils ran amazingly well, to finish inthe top five. Second Form pupil Katy Boden finished second and First Form pupil Izzy Wellings finished fifth. Theevent was used by many to remember and support their own family and friends who have been touched by cancer,and Junior School pupils and staff had Sara Denham-Smith in their thoughts. Following the event many met back atschool for refreshments and to exchange stories.10 BGSnews BGSnews 11

junior schoolathleticsThe Junior School triumphed in the North EastRegion IAPS Athletics Championships with thehighest number of qualifiers from any of the IAPSschools taking part. Natasha Dawson (Hurdles),Phoebe Ogden (Long Jump), Jessica Manning(1500m), Khizar Shezad (Discus) and Brandon StCatherine (Javelin) all won their individual events.Ben Scholefield came second in the 100m butposted a time that was faster than the nationalqualifying time and so qualified for the team. All sixof these pupils represented West Yorkshire inthe Indoor Athletics Championshipsand the North of Englandat the National Finals inBirmingham. JessicaManning won herevent becomingthe nationalchampion.tripsTrips out of the classroom are always exciting andthis year’s trips were no exception. Pupils had manyopportunities to broaden their horizons and learning.Destinations varied from the scrapyard in Shipley, orfor skiers, the French Alps. Day trips back in time toViking and Roman villages helped bring History tolife. Exploring the outdoors and gaining confidenceby trying new experiences were the highlight of tripsto Ingleborough Hall, Newlands and Borrowdale. J3travelled away for the weekend and invited parents toa Saturday evening barbeque, J2 took their teddies foran overnight adventure and treasure hunt, and J5 triedout ghyll scrambling, climbing and canoeing.pastoral care SchoolIn the Junior School we had some delightful sessions with the J2 pupils who were very attentive in the ‘dealingwith emotions’ session earlier in the year, learning appropriate ways to deal with playground disagreementsand how to express themselves clearly. We were then able to consider what made us feel ‘stress’, where inthe body it was felt and how to relax. Doing a sleepy relaxation with this age group can be tricky but they weremore responsive and better behaved than some adult groups I have taught and every one of them responded tothe step by step relaxation and some fell asleep. Healthy eating, digestive process, nutrition needs,planning diets, bone structure and teeth cleaning have alsobeen very entertaining to teach in an interactive class.Their knowledge was inspiring and kept us all on ourtoes. The resulting homework helped form the basisof one of our health promotion displays.Nurse Suzanne Lamb writes:cheerleadingBradford Grammar Junior School are the NationalSchools Cheerleading Champions. Thirteen girlstook part in the UKCA (UK Cheerleading Association)National Schools Championships held at theVelodrome in Manchester. The girls performed in theKS2 pom small group section against schools fromall over the country. Congratulations to Laura Barnet,Zoe Briggs, Natasha Dawson, Annabelle Delaney,Claudia Dobson, Lily Harrison, Ellie Keyhoe, JessicaManning, Hannah Moursi, Phoebe Ogden, Ellie Pinder,Georgia Rayner and Katie Robertshaw. They allworked incredibly hard at the Wednesday lunchtimesessions. Dawn Murray, who comes in to school tocoach the girls, said, “They have been a joy to coachand I am very proud of them.”Cheerleading is one ofmany extra-curricular clubsand activities that pupils takepart in during their lunchtimebreak. The gardeningclub and its produce arecontinuing to flourish.Chess, table tennis and knit‘n’ natter plus lots of sportsprove popular options atlunchtime.musicThis year it has been inspiring to see the progresspupils have made at their chosen instruments. Manyhave individual lessons at school and are membersof the various musical ensembles from Samba Bandto Strings. Real highlights of the School calendarare the Christmas and Spring Concerts where pupilsof all abilities are encouraged to play to warm andreceptive audiences in the Price Hall. The housemusic competition seems to expand every year; welldone to all who took part. The choir were thrilledto be invited by Bradford Cathedral Choir to singEvensong with them at the Cathedral.harvestappealOne of the most popular fundraising events is a week ofactivities held to celebrate Harvest Festival. This yearpupils held bake sales and arranged fun activities, suchas raffles and apple bobbing, toraise funds for the four childrenthey sponsor abroad.The children, Anna Atai (Uganda),Percina Dinis (Mozambique) , BabuAshwathappa (India) and ShawaSeidu (Ghana), all benefit fromthe support of Actionaid intheir communities, helping toprovide clean, safe water, a basiceducation and basic healthcarefacilities which we all take so muchfor granted. This fun weekraised £741.17.biathlonIn March, all Junior School pupils enjoyed the interhousebiathlon event held in conjunction withPentathlon GB. This gave pupils the opportunity tocompete at running and swimming and also takepart in a taster fencing session.The Junior School entered a team in theYorkshire and Humberside BiathlonChampionships at Queen Margaret’sSchool, York. There were someexcellent results: Ben Scholefield came 5th in theU12 boys and the Year 5 boys’ team of Ben Moon, AaronNarang and Christian Burke qualified for the Nationalteam competition. They travelled to Birmingham andperformed extremely well, finishing second overall in thecountry! Jessica Manning won the U12 girls’ event and,as the county’s top performer, was invited to representYorkshire and Humberside in the British Finals.In June, the younger children in school were given thechance to take part in a day organised by PentathlonGB and enjoyed a taster session involving shootingand fencing. The school is working towards having aregular weekly club where pupils can practise running,swimming, fencing and shooting, and this will hopefullyencourage stars of the future.junior schoolrugby &netballfestivalOn a beautiful Tuesday afternoon in February theJunior School hosted a Rugby and Netball Festivalwith over five hundred pupils taking part. Schoolsfrom all over the North of England fromNottingham to Newcastle competed. Thefestival consisted of U11 rugby, U11netball, U10 rugby, U10 high five netball,U9 rugby, and U8 tag rugby.The competition started at1.00pm with rugby andnetball matches beingplayed simultaneously, withsome very exciting and closegames. A highlight of the festivalwas the U11 girls winning alltheir netball games to becomewinners of the tournament.Prizes were awarded by NeilGabriel at the end of a verycompetitive festival. Anexcellent day was hadby all!airevalley busThe new dedicated Junior School bus service for theAire Valley is now up and running. The Fourways16 seater luxury minibus offers comfort and safety,with pick-up stops in Bingley, Wilsden, Harden,East Morton, Eldwick and Gilstead, and takes pupilsdirect to the Junior School entrance. The bus leavesat 3.30pm on its return journey and is fitted with atracking device so its exact location can be tracked.This new service has been well received and it is greatto see the pupils using it as their daily transport toschool.12 BGSnewsBGSnews 13

individual successesthe macksClare Mack was presented with two awards atthe British Long Distance Swimming AssociationAnnual Dinner in March. Clare was awarded theTom Butcher Trophy for Junior Swimmer of theYear for the 2010 season and the Junior Grand PrixTrophy. This was Clare’s first year of competitionin long distance swimming events, and culminatedwith her winning the Junior Coniston race inwhich she swam the 5¼ mile length of LakeConiston. She has also taken part in junior openwater swimming events at Albert Dock, Liverpool(1st Junior Female), and Wykeham Lakes, nearScarborough (3rd Junior Female).George Mack (pictured in the canoe) wasselected to be in the English Schools’ SwimmingAssociation International Water Polo team againstAustralian Schools in December and the GB U19Water Polo team.wheelchairbasketballMark Scholefield has had a successful season playing wheelchair basketball. He hasrepresented Great Britain in the U22 team in a friendly tournament between GB, Italy,Germany and Sweden, which was held near Milan, in May.Mark made his debut in the UK Super League, and is one of the youngest everplayers to appear in the SSB Sheffield Steelers Super League team. He playedin both rounds of the Eurocup, the first of which took place in Vienna, where theSteelers were the only UK team to get through to the next round in Madrid.Mark has been re-awarded a place in the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme,has attended the NTOC (National Talent Orientation Camp), has been selected for aplace on the I-eXcel programme (Youth Sport Trust), and has achieved ParalympianSilver Status (i.e. Olympic potential post-2012).In the summer he represented Scotland in the Celtic Cup, Sheffield Steelers inCanadian and Belgian tournaments and participated in the UK School games in Leeds.horse of the year showSixth Form pupil Georgia Butterworth qualified for the Horse of the Year Show held at the NEC in Birmingham in October.Georgia and her ponies, Darcy and Pandora, reached the last twenty-seven nationally and competed in the flat workshowing events, show riding and show hunter. Georgia was delighted to finish fourth in one of the events.narnia actressCongratulations to Georgie Henley who throughout her time at BGS has had to balance periods away filming her roleas Lucy in the three Chronicles of Narnia films, followed by trips around the world to promote the films, alongside herschool life and studies. Georgie has proved to be a great ambassador for the School and a credit to her family.congratulationsto:• Olivia Fraser who is a member of Northern Ballet• Matthew Hull who was selected to sing with OperaNorth• Harriet Loynes who is the Yorkshire GymnasticsChampion• Ed Paget and Lewis Day who were cast as the leadroles in a professional performance of Billy Elliott• Matthew Birkenhead who was awarded a RAF SixthForm Scholarship• Jack Appleyard who is the Young Motorsport Journalistof the Yearyoungmusicianof the yearJordan Wright triumphed at the British YouthBand Individuals Competition. Jordan enteredboth the percussion and mallets sections. Hewon his age group and achieved the highestpercussion and mallets score of the day, thusqualifying for the grand final. The day also sawan Open Entertainment Competition, Jordanentered playing a piano solo by Einaudi and wasdelighted to be announced the winner. The dayended with the British Young Musician of theYear Competition. Jordan competed in both percussionand mallets against the highest-scoring winners from the othersections and won to become Junior Percussionist of the Year,British Mallets Player of the Year, Open Entertainment Winnerand British Young Musician of the Year.ukschoolsgoldAbby Mae Parkinson was theyoungest cyclist to competefor Yorkshire at the 2010Sainsbury’s UK School Games inNewcastle and was competingagainst riders up to three yearsolder. As Abby was not aranked rider she set off as oneof the first riders and set a timetwenty seconds quicker than theprevious fastest time and wasput in to first position. Abby’sfantastic time meant that shestayed in pole position and wongold in the 8km individual timetrial event. This season alsosaw Abby ride for a professionalteam as part of the Future Starsprogramme, which gave her theopportunity to ride alongside hersenior counterparts – includingSir Chris Hoy.armyscholarshipJack Blackhall wanted to join the Army from a young age.Following advice from the School’s Careers Department,Jack was introduced to Colonel Gunson who visitsBGS regularly. Colonel Gunson guided Jack throughthe process of interviews and this alongside his GCSEresults put Jack through to a visit to the Army OfficersSelection Board at Westbury. Jack has received an ArmyScholarship earning him a contribution towards universityfees and eventually a place at Sandhurst.windsurfingMatthew and Josh Carey have been selected totrain with the North of England Windsurfing ZonalSquad. There are four Zonal squads covering theUK and a total of fifty-four windsurfing sailors getselected each year into these squads. In the Zonalsquad Matthew and Josh will receive additionalcoaching from the Royal Yachting Association andare expected to race in a number of national eventsaround the country next year. If successful in theseevents their aim would be to get selected for thenational squad in the future.topgcse awardCongratulations to Ravi Prasad who won a nationalaward for his impressive GCSE results. Ravi won an accoladefor being the top AQA GCSE Mathematics candidate. He wasone of only five top performing GCSE students in the countryto receive an award at the Assessment and QualificationsAlliance ceremony held in London. Ravi was presented witha solid silver medal and a framed certificate by Andrew Hall,Chief Executive of the exam board AQA; these were alsopresented in a school assembly by the Headmaster.commonwealthgamesA lifelong dream was fulfilled for Sian Morganafter reaching the semi-finals of the 100mbutterfly at the Commonwealth Gamesin Delhi. Sian represented Wales in fourraces; 50m and 400m freestyle,400m medley and the 100mbutterfly. She managed anoutstanding 15th place in the100m butterfly and is nowranked in the top sixteen in theCommonwealth. Sian said “I hada fantastic time and was delightedjust to have been there. It was anamazing experience to stand on thestarting block and hear the entire crowdcheering you. It was unbelievable”.individual successesmountainbikingCongratulations to Lower Sixthpupil Helena Below who reachedthe top of the North of EnglandSeries at mountain biking inthe junior ladies category.Helena trains three times perweek and has taken part infour qualifying races. In theNational Championships heldat Sherwood Pines she finisheda very creditable seventh.Helena is now working hardpreparing for the nextnational event.nationalyouthorchestraJoanna Twaddle has continued to play alongside herbrothers in the National Youth Orchestra. Joanna wasthe youngest ever member of the Orchestra whenshe was selected to play cello at the age of thirteen.14 BGSnewsBGSnews 15

music & dramablood weddingSorcha McCaffrey wore black for her wedding – the traditional colour in 1930s Andalusia – in the A LevelTheatre Studies production of Lorca’s Blood Wedding. Her superb performance was complementedby her Bridegroom, played by Connor Tracey, who was a sorrowful and sympathetic figure, becauseit became clear that the Bride loved her old flame, Leonardo Felix, played broodingly by Alec Mann.Sorcha, Connor and Alec brought this fateful love triangle to life in the Hockney Theatre in November.The figure of Death was enacted in sinister fashion by Georgia Flavell. Other highlights includedbeautiful singing by Olivia Shaw, the heart-breaking Wife of Cecilia Rix, the pale Moon by James Lineyand three Woodcutters acting like a Greek chorus and prophesying the forthcoming bloodshed in aforest scene. The final image of the Bridegroom’s Mother, mourning her lost sons, was disturbinglypowerful and, in Miriam Brightbart’s portrayal, left a lasting impression of grief.girlpowerThe Spring Term ended with a productionof Girl Power in the Hockney Theatre.The all-female cast entertained theiraudience with lively singing and dancingroutines. They performed a wide rangeof songs taken from female artistsspanning the past five decades. MaryChapman, Sophie Dereix and AbigailSecker shone during their memorableAbba medley. Liz Pike, Emily Carroll,Kate Mancey, Chloe Ramsden andHarriet Liddington delighted the audiencewith solos and harmonies includingsongs made famous by Tina Turner,Diana Ross and the Spice Girls.music & dramaThe girls demonstrated what a positiveimpact girls have had on the musicindustry and on a school which used tobe known as Bradford Boys.whistledown thewindFor two nights in February, Lancashire cameto Yorkshire, as BGS staged Whistle Down theWind. The Hockney Theatre was transformed byan impressive set, featuring the Bostock familykitchen on one side, and a huge barn on the other.The audience watched Kathy, Nan and CharlieBostock, played by Emily Layton, Ruby Hendryand Matthew Boyle, and their highly professionalperformances and believable portrayal of thethree siblings – alternately teasing and supporting,fighting and caring for one another. Alec Mann,playing the murderer, was onstage throughout,veering convincingly between bafflement at thechildren’s inexplicable devotion to him, and thesinister impatient and manipulative side of hiscriminal character. Swaraj Dewedi shone as ArthurBostock, the children’s father. In the early stagesof the play he captured the brusque concern of abusy parent; this swiftly escalated to being utterlyfraught as he realised the danger his children werein. The climax was dramatic, with some superbspecial effects adding to the professionalism.drama inlondonFifth and Sixth Form Drama students impressedover one hundred moderators in London at AQA’sannual standardisation meeting in January whenthey presented four plays at the Park CrescentConference Centre, Regent’s Park. Two devisedplays, Puppet about a degenerative illness and SmallDark Realm based on the writings of Jean Genet,were complemented by extracts from Diane Samuels’Kindertransport and Atonin Artaud’s Jet of Blood. Asa reward from AQA the students had return train faresto London, a night in a central hotel and excellenttickets to see the musical Wicked at the Apollo VictoriaTheatre. An email from the Chief Moderator containedthe following comments: “the students were a realcredit to their drama teachers and their school. Itwas the best organised and presented live work I canever recall at this meeting. The students behavedimpeccably and performed to a highly professionalstandard. Many thanks.”leavers’concertOne of the highlights of the music calendar is the annual concert heldin May that has become known as the Leavers’ Concert. As well asthe BGS music ensembles, the Sixth Form pupils for whom music hasplayed a large part in their time at school are given the opportunity toshowcase their talents for the last time as a pupil of BGS and for manyit is the final time they will play together. This year’s concert includeda wide range of music from Madness to Mozart. The evening’sentertainment began at 7.15pm and through to the 10.00pm finish theaudience were entertained with the highest calibre of musicianship.There were stunning solo performances by Ben Law, Alison Haigh,Matthew Boyle, Joanna Twaddle, Daniel Porter and Alastair Kwan. TheSenior Orchestra’s rendition of Land of Hope & Glory was a fitting endto a wonderful day at BGS which had included a Royal Visit where theString Quartet played for HRH The Duke of Kent during lunch.music &poetryeveningsThere have been a number of Music and PoetryEvenings held in the Music Auditorium, where theMusic and English departments come togetherand plan a line-up of musical and poetry readingperformances. These evenings are intended togive pupils the opportunity to perform in front of asmall, friendly audience with a view to increasingtheir confidence. The First Year evening was agreat example - the Music Auditorium was burstingwith performers, proud parents and grandparents.16 BGSnewsBGSnews 17

world record rowingsailingsportOn Saturday 26 March ten members of the BGSBoat Club were ecstatic to break the 24 hour IndoorRowing World Record for the aged 18 group. At7am, the team began their record breaking attemptby taking turns to row at sprint speed for 5 minutesintervals each. The team broke the existing recordheld by a North American crew with an hour tospare eventually rowing a World Record beatingdistance of 394,284m. Many, many congratulations,on this world beating performance, to JonathanSchneider (Captain), Dominic Marshall (ViceCaptain), Ben Balmforth, James McWhinney, SamWalsh, Rowan Arthur, Jack Blackhall, Liam Day,Angus Mather and Tom Killian.Other rowing highlights include the English IndoorRowing Championships in Manchester on the 30January. In the J18 lightweight category Liam Dayand Dominic Marshall were placed 2nd and 3rdrespectively. Angus Mather added to the medalhoard coming 2nd in the J15 category.Eight crews from BGS travelled to Durham totake part in the ‘Henley of the North’, DurhamRegatta. All crews put in great performances.The J13 boys from the Second Year and the 1stVIII did particularly well in quad and eight boatsrespectively over the 750m sprint course.The J13 boys reached the final in another powerfulperformance but were prevented from winningby a misfortune. The 1st VIII did very well in theirlast major race of the season; in the final of theJ18 eights race they beat Durham School to winthe Frank Humphries Challenge Cup, the bestperformance by the School for many years atDurham Regatta.Each Wednesday afternoon in the Summer Term upto twenty-five pupils travel by minibus to Doe Park inDenholme. Here pupils of all ages and abilities have theopportunity to sail, windsurf and kayak; all equipmentincluding wetsuits is provided. The pupils work towardsachieving RYA and BCU qualifications. They enter theBradford annual regatta which is a very competitiveevent. During recent years Hector Simpson and LizziePike have won this event.sportin the waterBoth the water polo and swimming teams hadan excellent season with both teams winningmost of their fixtures. The U16 water polo teamreached the second round of the English Schools’Championships.The senior girls’ and boys’ swimming teams travelledto London in March to compete at an eight schools’gala held at Whitgift School. The boys won three offour individual events and came first and second inthe medley and freestyle relays. This gave them firstplace winning the event for the first time since 1973.Well done to George Mack, Tom Hobson, DavidBrown and Ben Balmforth.At the annual invitation relays event each relay teammust have a minimum of two girls. The School wasrepresented at U14, U16 and senior events. Thesenior team were successful in both the medley andfreestyle relays and also achieved two new recordtimes. Well done to George Mack, David Brown, JenBonson and Sian Morgan.David Brown became North East Regional Championat 100m breaststroke and also qualified for theCommonwealth trials. He achieved an amazing semifinalsposition swimming the 50m breaststroke and isnow positioned 9th in the country.Congratulations to Sian Morgan and David Brownwho qualified for the Open and Youth NationalChampionships and also to Freddy Hoban whoqualified for the Junior National Championships.Congratulations to Rachael Currie, Asad Zaidi,Vikram Sharma, Fergus Walden, James Loney,Sophie Hill and Alexandra Farrar from the FourthForm and Charles Farrar from the Third Form whohave all successfully passed the Bronze LifesavingAward. The following Lower Sixth Form pupils havesuccessfully completed the National Pool LifeguardQualification: Ainsley Anstess, Sophie Boyd, EmmaGoodwin-Jones, Ed Lund, WillBentley and Liam Day.rugbyThis year’s Sixth Form General Studies programme has offered pupils from Bradford Grammar School the opportunity tocomplete the RFU’s Young Officials Award, the first step on the RFU’s officiating pathway. Under the guidance of WillHalford, Referee Development Manager for the North East and Yorkshire, Neil Spence, Community Rugby Coach for WestYorkshire and members of Bradford Grammar School’s PE & Games department seven pupils have completed theorysessions and developed their practical skills over four tournaments hosted by the School.“I am absolutely delighted with the success of this initiative. The boys have made a huge contribution to all the tournamentswe host here“ commented Director of Sport, Charles Lines. “I understand that BGS are the first school group to havefully completed the award, which is a great credit to the staff and pupils involved. The boys are already looking forward tograduating to the Entry Level Refereeing Award and taking charge of officiating at our Junior School fixtures next year. “Congratulations to Edward Hainsworth, George O’Hara, Francis Berryman, Callum Foster, Josh Green, Jack Small andHenry Walker.golfbadmintonBGS has had another superb year on the badminton courtand has surpassed itself winning all age groups in theBradford Schools’ League. The Yorkshire Schools’ Leaguewas a little tougher; all teams competed well and played withdedication and determination. It has been great to see somenew talent on the court and there seems to bea few keen and enthusiastic First Year pupilswho it will be great to see progress. It isquite sad to see our senior girls leave atthe end of the Upper Sixth Form, whohave played badminton throughout theirtime at BGS and have made excellentprogress.A number of pupils spend their Wednesdayafternoons playing golf. The School has links withShay Grange and Northcliffe Golf Club. Pupils areable to practice their technique and also receivetuition from a professional golf coach. As well ascompeting against other schools there is an annualgolf day against the Old Bradfordian Association; thiswas a fiercely competitive day and on this occasionwas won by the OBA team.netballThe highlight of this netball season has been the U19 girls reaching the national final of the first Independent SchoolsNational Cup. The girls beat Bishop Stortford in the semi-finals and met Millfield School, a sports academy, in the final.The girls competed well against tough opposition and whilst they lost in the final, it was an outstanding achievement tofinish 2nd nationally.Other notable achievements include; the U12s, U13s and U19s all won their Bradford Schools District Tournaments, theU16s reached the regional finals of the National Schools Competition and narrowly missed a place in the national finals byone goal, and the U15s were runners-up in their Regional Invite Tournament.hockeyGirls’ hockey is now in its third year at BGS and hasmade amazing progress during that time. There arenow teams from U12 to U16 competing regularlyand over 120 girls attend practice sessions. Theteams have also had a very successful season,winning the Bradford area tournaments at U12, U13,U14, U15 and U16 age groups.The end of the season was marked with a juniortour to Blackpool. The girls enjoyed beach games,Pleasure Beach rides and reported it to be ‘thebest tour ever’.table tennisThe U19 girls’ team took part in the Butterfly NationalSchools’ Competition in March. The girls competed wellin extremely close and exciting matches. The BGS teambattled hard to finish 4th nationally. Well done to AnisahRasul, who is also the individual West Yorkshire Schools’Champion, Chloe Pinkney, Anika Prasad and Pascale Fisherwho have qualified for the individual National ETTA finals byfinishing second in the region.athleticsNine pupils from the Senior School representedBradford at the West Yorkshire Schools’ Event.The Junior Boys’ team qualified for the RegionalA final in the England Schools’ Cup and the FirstYear athletes did extremely well to win the JohnWoodcock Bradford Schools’ Games and took partin the final of the West Yorkshire Youth Gameswhich was held at Leeds Carnegie.crosscountryEmile Cairess has had a fantastic Cross Country seasonfinishing second in the West Yorkshire Schools’ CrossCountry Championships and therefore being selected torepresent West Yorkshire in the English Schools’ CrossCountry Championships. Emile ran extremely well andwas the first counter for West Yorkshire. Congratulationsalso to Katy Boden, Libby Linfield, Natalie Brown andAlex Rhodes who all represented Bradford in the WestYorkshire Schools’ Championships. Emmerson Jameswon the U12s race in the Bradford School’s CrossCountry Championships.18 BGSnewsBGSnews 19

adford grammar schoolover 400 years of learningKeighley Road, Bradford BD9 4JP tel 01274 542492 fax 01274 548129www.bradfordgrammar.comProduced by Staunch Design - 01993 815919 - www.staunch.com Photographs by BGS, Anton Stark - 07774 891664 and DRW Photographics - 01274 862899