Inter-school Model United Nations

BGS was delighted to host this event which involved over 100 pupils from 9 different schools. Sixty countries were represented in the competition, which mirrored the UN's General Assembly. Congratulations to Scott Brayshaw, Toby Mountain, Ben Scantlebury, Chris Casson and Connor Warden who all won prizes at the event.

National Cyclo Cross Champion

Congratulations to Abby Parkinson who won the National Cyclo Cross Championship at the beginning of January to become the U16 National Cyclo Champion. This tops off a very successful Cyclo Cross season which includes a win in the National Series Race in Derby, first in the North of England Championships at Barnard Castle, plus a first and second position in Belgium.

Table Tennis

Congratulations to the girls under 13 table tennis team who after becoming West Yorkshire Champions competed in the next round of the English Schools' Cup. The girls finished first and have now qualified for the Regional Finals which will be held in February.

Young Musician of the Year

On Sunday 27 November 2011 Jordan Murray was again crowned Young Musician of the Year at the British Youth Band finals in Nottingham. He won the 17 and under categories in percussion and mallets and achieved the highest score of the day for his performance on marimba. Jordan received a special commendation from the BYBA Chairman for his contribution to youth music.

South Pole Expedition

At the beginning of December current parent, Professor Adam Carey, will be taking part in an expedition to the South Pole. Adam has very generously offered to raise funds for the Stephen Davidson Bursary Fund. If you would like to sponsor Adam for this amazing challenge and read more regarding why he chose the Bursary Fund at BGS, please visit http://www.justgiving.com/Adam-Carey. Once at the South Pole he will raise the Bradford Grammar Junior School flag. Adam is pictured with the Junior School flag at the North Pole.

Christmas Fair

This year's Christmas Fair was an astounding success breaking all previous records. The event raised over £9,000 which will be used to support Barnardos Young Carers and BGS netball tours. The fair had over seventy individual stalls plus many games and activities. Santa's Grotto was hugely popular and looked enchanting with twinkling christmas trees and Santa himself in his rocking chair by the fire. Special thanks to all who donated prizes, time and effort, and to the main sponsors Farnell Land Rover.

Movember

Staff and pupils have taken part in this year's Movember campaign. Movember is a fundraising event for men's health charities particularly those supporting prostate cancer. Those taking part need to grow a moustache for the month of November. Donations have been made direct to the charities and a collection was held following a morning assembly. If you would like to donate please use the following link http://uk.movember.com/mospace/1419938/

Speech Day

Speech Day is the one of the most important days in the BGS school calendar.  This year it was Mr Davidson’s final Speech Day at the school after 15 years of successful leadership.  Afterwards Stephen Davidson said “Today has been an incredible experience, one of the happiest I have ever had.   I am overwhelmed by the reaction of the whole school community and absolutely delighted to share my final Speech Day with such an eminent Old Bradfordian as Steve Abbott." Click here for more photographs of the day.

Children in Need

Four girls from the Lower Sixth, Jade Dhesi, Katie Shepherd, Roisin Reynolds and Lizzie Pike, helped by Dr Mouat, organised and produced a Starz in their Eyes talent night. The evening raised £429 which will be added to the money raised from the non-uniform day held in School on the 17 November for Children in Need.

Lord Mayor's Parade

BGS was delighted to lead the Lord Mayor's Parade and support its former pupil, David Wootton, as he became the Lord Mayor of the City of London. Thirty-three pupils, four members of staff and six former pupils received a fantastic response from the media and the 600,000+ crowd. For images of the occasion click here

Open Day

This year's Open Day was a huge success and BGS are delighted to have maintained a record number of visitors to the school for two years running. The Open Day was also attended by the incoming Headmaster, Kevin Riley and his wife Elspeth.

Ilkley Literature Festival

In October the Senior School sponsored Sir Ranulph Fiennes at the Ilkley Literature Festival. Following a presentation and book signing, Sir Ranulph met with BGS pupils, parents and guests.

Art Exhibition

On Friday 30 September - 1 October 2011 the Art Department hosted an Exhibition which showcased the artwork created by both pupils and staff. There was also a display of original David Hockney artwork which had not been seen before, alongside work by his brother, Paul Hockney.

GCSE Results

BGS celebrates another fantastic year for GCSE results with over 98% of all papers receiving a pass rate of A*- C, over 91% receiving A* - B and over 70% A* - A.   A number of pupils received full marks with 11 A*’s including Ben Scantlebury, Mathew Proctor and Oscar Barber.    

A Level Results

BGS is delighted to be celebrating another year of a 100% pass rate at A Level and to see so many pupils converting offers into university places . Over 50% of papers gained an A*/A grade. There have also been lots of individual success stories.

First Year Walk

On Friday 17 June the First Year set off on its annual walk over the moor to Ilkley, to celebrate a successful year and the end of exam week.  This year they were raising money for the Bradford Soup Run and so far have raised a staggering £4,500.  Rain was forecast for the afternoon but it held off until the pupils had returned to BGS. They made it to Ilkley in record time, with the last pupil arriving at White Wells just before 2pm.  

Money Raised For Neo-natal Unit

On Friday 1 July Sarah Szpara, Matron of the Neo-natal Unit, Bradford came to Bradford Grammar School to accept a cheque for £4,000.  The money had been raised by the Netball Parents’ Association and the whole of last year’s First Form.  The Netball Parents’ Association gave £1,000 from money raised at this year’s Christmas Fair and £3,000 was raised through a twelve mile sponsored walk over the moor from Bradford Grammar School to Ilkley.

Race For Life 2011

On Sunday 12 June 2011 over 90 pupils, staff and friends of BGS took part in the Race for Life at Lister Park. Managing to miss the rain daughters, mothers and grandparents ran the 5k race. Two of our pupils managed to finish in the top five with Katie Boden finishing second and Izzy Wellings fifth. A great day was had by all whilst raising money for such a worthy cause.

Summer Leavers' Concert

This annual concert has become known as the Leavers' Concert as Upper Sixth pupils are given the opportunity to showcase their talents for the last time as a pupil of BGS. From 7.15pm - 10.00pm the audience were entertained with the highest calibre of musicianship. The Senior Orchestra's rendition of Land of Hope and Glory was a fitting end to a wonderful day at BGS which had included a Royal Visit.

Royal Visit

On the 12th May 2011 HRH The Duke of Kent arrived by helicopter at BGS and was greeted by 120 First Year pupils before going on a tour of the Stephen Davidson Learning Link, the Alan Jerome Building and the refurbished Kenneth Robinson Building. During his tour he met many pupils and staff and had lunch in the Learning Link before unveiling a commemorative plaque. The Duke said: "I was absolutely delighted to have met so many talented young people who were so articulate about their plans for the future".

A link to a slide show of photographs from the day can be found on the front page of the website

It's official!!

The BGS Boat Club 1st eights completed a 24 hour rowing ergometer marathon commencing at 9am on Saturday 26 March. Their amazing efforts smashed the existing U19 World Record by 20,000 metres. Congratulations to the WORLD RECORD holders Jonathan Schneider, Dominic Marshall, Ben Balmforth, James McWhinney, Sam Walsh, Rowan Arthur, Jack Blackhall, Liam Day, Angus Mather and Tom Killian.

Click here to go to the World Record Official site.

RFU Officials

This year’s Sixth Form General Studies programme has offered pupils from BGS the opportunity to complete the RFU’s Young Officials Award, the first step on the RFU’s officiating pathway.  Under the guidance of Will Halford, Referee Development Manager, Neil Spence, Community Rugby Coach and members of BGS PE & Games department seven pupils have completed theory sessions and developed their practical skills over four tournaments hosted by the school. Congratulations to Edward Hainsworth, George O’Hara, Francis Berryman, Callum Foster, Josh Green, Jack Small and Henry Walker.

National Science Week

During National Science Week pupils throughout the school were invited to a number of activities ranging from making slime to making indicators from red cabbage juice. The highlight of the week was Wednesday 16 March 2011 when in order to celebrate the new developments of the Learning Link and the Alan Jerome Building the school’s benefactors were invited to join in the school’s National Science Week activities which included presentations by Prof John Dainton and Prof Adam Carey.

Fashion Show

The annual Bradford Grammar School Netball Parents’ Association Fashion Show was once again a triumphant success!  The Sixth Form and Junior School pupils acted as enthusiastic models and the audience were entertained with some excellent choreography and stunning performances, many of which were choreographed by Sixth Form pupils. A cheque will be presented to the Teenage Cancer Trust. Other money raised will support the junior and senior netball tours. The Fashion Show was held over two nights and supported by over 500 pupils, parents and friends.

Whistle Down the Wind

For two nights in February, Lancashire came to Yorkshire, as BGS staged Whistle Down the Wind.  The Hockney Theatre was transformed with an impressive set, featuring the Bostock family kitchen on one side, and a huge barn on the other.  The audience watched Kathy, Nan and Charlie Bostock, played by Emily Layton, Ruby Hendry and Matthew Boyle and their highly professional performances and believable portrayal of the three siblings. The timing of the large ensemble cast was impeccable throughout.  Congratulations to all involved.

Learning Link

On 4 January 2011 at 8.15am a ribbon was cut by the Head Prefects, Mary Chapman and Shaan Rashid and also the oldest and youngest pupils in Senior School.  This was to mark the use of the new Learning Link connecting the Main Building of the school with the Clarkson, Kenneth Robinson and Alan Jerome Buildings.  It is amazing to see the magnificent link in use. 

Top GCSE Pupil

Ravi Prasad won a national accolade for being the top AQA GCSE Mathematics candidate.  He was one of five top-performing GCSE students to receive an award at the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance ceremony held in Westminster, London.

World Ironman

Charles Lines, Director of Sport at Bradford Grammar School, competed in the World Ironman 70.3 Championships in Clearwater, Florida.  He completed a 1 ¼ mile swim and 56 mile bike ride followed by a half marathon run. Mr Lines finished an impressive 29th in the world in his category.

Horse of the Year Show

BGS Sixth Form pupil, Georgia Butterworth has qualified for the Horse of the Year Show to be held at the NEC Birmingham on 9 October 2010. Georgia and her ponies, Darcy and Pandora, have reached the last 27 and will compete in the flat work showing events; show riding and show hunter.

Commonwealth Games

Congratulations to Sian Morgan who represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games in India. Sian, aged 16, reached the semi-finals in one of her swim events, a fantastic achievement.

New Building

The construction of the new building is almost complete. It was fantastic to see the pupils having their lessons in the new science laboratories and classrooms. The Learning Link will be ready to use following the Christmas break.

UK Rocketry

The Bradford Grammar School Team of Ben Fletcher, Will Grant, Jonathan Waite and David Wilcock received more awards than any other school in the UK Aerospace Rocketry Challenge. The team won best static display and best innovation for the construction of their rocket and finished fourth overall.

International Peace Day

BGS hosted an event for the charity Basic Human Rights Foundation, not only to mark the International Peace Day but to also remember and raise funds for the flood victims in Pakistan. Pupils from around Bradford met in the Price Hall and watched a live link to Islamabad, before releasing white balloons on the Governors' Lawn. The Junior School raised over £500. Click here to read more.

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.