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News
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Star A Level Results
The school is delighted that over a fifth of its recent results were the new A* grade. Many pupils exceeded their own hopes and expectations gaining A and A* grades. Congratulations to Eleanor Ainscoe, Jonathan Waite and Ben Below who have all achieved 5 A* grades and will go on to study at Oxbridge next year.
Young Engineer of the Year
Sixth Form pupil, David Wilcock, is the regional Young Engineer of the Year. David won this prestigious award with his A Level Product Design Project. He designed a Dog Hydrotherapy Jacket. Hydrotherapy can be used to rehabilitate injured dogs as it allows the dog to be supported in water while walking on a treadmill inside the tank. The jacket allows the physiotherapist to apply pressure to muscle groups on the dog and thus stimulate a response resulting in a faster recovery for the injured animal. Prior to this product an old life jacket and a pair of cut down cycling shorts were used.
UK Ironman
Charles Lines, Director of Sport at Bradford Grammar School, has qualified for the World Ironman Competition in Clearwater, Florida. On Sunday 20 June he took part in UK Ironman 70.3 Championships at Wimbleball near Exeter. A top three finish in the age 50 to 54 category has taken him through to the world championships in November 2010.
Mr Lines completed a 1 ¼ mile swim and 56 mile bike ride followed by a half marathon run.
Race for Life
Marking 25 years since girls were first admitted into the BGS Sixth Form and 10 years of BGS being fully co-educational, girls and ladies of the BGS community came together on 13 June to support Bradford’s Race for Life event in Lister Park. Raising money for a very worthy cause, nearly 100 girls and ladies, looking resplendent in BGS hot pink t-shirts completed the 5K race. Former pupils, current pupils, staff, mums, aunts and grandmas ran, jogged and walked their way to raising nearly £2000 for Cancer Research UK.
Summer Leavers Concert
An evening filled with entertaining ensembles and stunning solo performances certainly wowed an appreciative audience. There was plenty of variety, from the BGS Samba Allstars to Joanna Twaddle's cello solo. Traditionally a showcase for musicians and vocalists who will be leaving BGS this summer, the Choral and Orchestral Concert is always a fond farewell.
Spring Fair
This year's Spring Fair was a dry but cold day. However this didn't prevent lots of fun for a good number of supporters. The day was about fun as well as fundraising and with the hard work of the Parents' Association, staff, pupils and volunteers it was a huge success on both counts. The day raised over £7000 which the Parents' Association will use to benefit the whole school community through its projects.
Model United Nations
On 28 April the second BGS Model United Nations competition of this academic year took place. Pupils representing around thirty UN countries debated the motion: Should the UN Send a Peacekeeping Force to Somalia? The guest Chairman, Mr James Proctor, and the four judges were very impressed by the quality of students’ contributions and their diplomatic proficiency. The award winners were Francis Berryman (best speaker), Will Moulding (best position paper), Sophie Barker and Sairish Sehr-Ul-Tahir (best contribution) and Ed Mancey (best delegation).
Rugby Success
James Midgley, Will Lund, Matt Beaumont and Seb Tullie have all been picked to play representative rugby. James and Will have been selected for the Independent Schools Barbarians Team tour to Singapore during the Easter holidays. Matt and Seb have been selected for the England U16 'A' Squad for the forthcoming international rugby festival at Wellington College in April, playing Canada, Scotland and France.
New Science Building
The construction of the new science building is now well underway and progress is good. The day to day life of the school is not suffering any disruption and despite the horrendous weather conditions earlier this term, the building contractors are on schedule. The building is expected to be ready for teaching when pupils return to school after the summer holidays in September this year.
Sports Business Lunch
On 3 March BGS welcomed over 50 guests to a Sports Industry Business Lunch in the Pavilion. Guests included BGS parents who are or who have been involved in a career connected to sport and other prominent figures from different areas of work but all with an underlying connection to sport in our local community. A selection of pupils attended and were able to chat with the guests who included orthopaedic surgeons, a sports journalist, an elite sports mentor and the Sport’s Minister’s Chief of Staff.
Fairtrade
Nioka Abbott, from St Vincent in the Windward Isles visited BGS during Fairtrade Fortnight. She gave a brief description of her work and the way that Fairtrade has improved conditions for producers who are now working their way out of poverty. Her clear presentation in the Price Hall engaged the whole Lower School so that there were some very perceptive and direct questions from the floor.
Little Shop of Horrors
In February the drama and music departments combined forces to stage a spectacular production featuring scenes from the Little Shop of Horrors. Actors, singers, dancers and musicians from across the year groups delighted their audiences with four fabulous performances. The lead roles were brilliantly portrayed; all in all an excellent production which was thoroughly entertaining from start to finish!
Holocaust Survivor
In February Mrs Iby Knill an Auschwitz survivor, came to BGS to talk to history pupils about her experience as a Holocaust Survivor. Mrs Knill visited the school as a representative of the Leeds based charity, The Holocaust Survivors' Friendship Association. Their primary aim is to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and use its lessons to work towards a more tolerant society in which difference and diversity are celebrated. The charity do not ask for a fee, only a donation for the work that they do and so pupils and staff have worked hard to raise funds for them. So far about £320 has been raised for the charity.