The dance department has continued to work with the Northern Ballet Theatre with the aim of developing and improving dance and the appreciation of dance in school.
During the summer holidays NBT used the school facilities to run a workshop for the blind. As well as providing a special event for the participants it also provided an opportunity for one of our sixth form pupils, Harriet Shelton, to assist and thereby fulfil some of the voluntary service required for her Community Sports Leaders Award.
As the end of the summer holidays approached 16 senior dancers took part in a three-day residency run by NBT based on Gershwin’s Summertime. The days included warm ups and ballet classes led by a company dancer and the learning of repertoire and creative work. The girls had a stimulating and exhausting time and hopefully you will see the results of their work in the next dance show. The residency concluded with a trip to watch the company perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
During half term the younger dancers got their turn and 16 of them took part in a two-day residency based on Romeo & Juliet. They had a wonderful time and produced some great choreography as well as learning some intricate and challenging repertoire.
The Telegraph and Argus visited school and reported on the work with the Northern Ballet Theatre, to see the interview click here:
Gifted and Talented Youth
The National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth is an organisation established by the Government to drive forward improvements in gifted & talented education. It enables students to enjoy the encouragement and challenge of working with other able students, under the guidance of experts. They can work in lots of different subjects, in many different ways and at different locations all over the country. To be eligible for membership, students have to be working in the top 5% of the national ability range. Since September 2006, the school has nominated 165 girls (11 – 18 yr olds) for membership which counts for 42% of our girls. They have been identified by either the MidYIS test results or GCSE results. The current Lower Fourths are particularly bright with over half of the year group nominated. The NAGTY have recently extended their eligibility criteria to include those particularly talented in the Arts subjects (art, design, drama, dance, music) and staff working in these areas have been asked to identify girls for nomination.
Karishma Verma spent 2 weeks at the NAGTY summer school programme in Bristol University. She said it was an amazing opportunity to experience university life and was one of the best things she has done. She chose to study on the Classics Course and learnt much about the Ancient Languages and other points of interest like the political system and literature. She got to be a university student for two weeks and had the chance to live with 100 other teenagers for 2 weeks and make many new friends, hopefully for life.
Anna Coverdale also went to the NAGTY summer school at Bristol University. Most afternoons she watched films related to Greek and Roman history and then compared them to the real story, for example ‘Troy’. The classics group also went to Bath for the day and to Reading University for a lecture on Greek pottery. In the evenings back at the halls she had many activities and made a lot of new friends. Anna couldn’t thank them enough for what they did. She would recommend a summer school to anybody and said it was fantastic and that all the people she met agreed.
Sophie Wismayer, one of our younger pupils attended the NAGTY summer school at Leeds University. It was for two weeks and was about Biosciences. She investigated the presence of amino acids in sweat and the effects of inhibitors on the activity of alkaline phosphatase using spectrophotometers. In Neuroscience, she examined bicep brachii muscles and median nerves. She had two microbiology sessions. She did a biochemical problem-solving activity and had to diagnose two patients with symptoms that seemed similar. She went on a trip to the Thackray medical museum so that she could learn about the advances in knowledge and technology that has contributed to the understanding of medicine today. In the Sport science practical, she examined the outcome of pacing in a cycling event. In Toxicology, she investigated the effect of the toxin 'Agent X' on the viability of human cells.
The Samson Chivatsi African Children's Choir pay a visit
Our hearts warmed to the delightful group of African children who visited us in late September. Their singing gave both the girls participating in joint workshops with them and those listening to their performance, a great deal of pleasure.
Over £ 300.00 was raised to support their project back home, which is to build an orphanage in their village and help improve their education.
Red Cross Sponsored Abseil
On 18th of August Hannah Bostrom and Caroline Sanderson were first over the edge on a sponsored abseil down the 195 foot wall of Baitings Dam, near Ripponden. Between them they raised £262 for The Red Cross.
British Gymnastics Women's Veterans Champion
In Ipswich on Saturday 21st September, our very own Mrs Wilton became the British Gymnastics Women’s Veterans Champion. This was a culmination of several hours a week training on vault, asymmetric bars, beam and floor, over what Mrs Wilton describes as too many years to remember. It just goes to proves that perseverance and determination do pay off in the end.
WHITBY AWAY DAY
Some of the girls travelled to Whitby during an Away Day from school after examinations. They went on the beach during one of the few dry spells in the day. They were in very high spirits and very much enjoyed themselves.
Despite torrential rain throughout most of the day everybody remained cheerful and made the most of the trip. They visited the Abbey, treated themselves in the shops, dried out in cafes, ate fish and chips and strolled through the amusements. Most of the girls went into the ‘Dracula Experience’, encouraged by Mrs Bostrom who was almost more scary than Dracula himself as she appeared from around dark corners. Considerable screaming ensued.
Despite the rather steamy atmosphere on the bus on the way home, all the girls had had a great time.
Old Girls Reunite and say their farewell to Lady Royd
Approximately 200 old girls of the school came together on Saturday 29th September to enjoy each other’s company, have a leisurely lunch, listen to many reminiscences from other past pupils and staff, and look around Lady Royd for the last time.
A booklet on the History of Lady Royd has been produced by Miss Jenny Robson retired Senor Manager and History teacher who had researched the school’s invaluable chronicles and other archives. The booklet is available at a cost of £ 5.00 and will provide many memories for those who have been involved with the school. Many other archives and memories provided by old girls and boys were on display in the library together with photographs of the buildings past and present. Everyone expressed a desire to come back next year to see the brand new preparatory school and perhaps glance Lady Royd as a gracious apartment building.
Harvest Festival delight
This year our Harvest Festival was particularly enjoyable and colourful. Members of the sixth form led a thought-provoking assembly, raising our awareness of the wide issues of the countryside. The Harvest boxes, created by each form and based on the theme of farmyards and farm animals, were so stunning that it was difficult to choose an outright winner. In the end everyone was rewarded and the tins and produce inside the boxes donated to the Canterbury Project in Bradford.
Outward Bound
34 sixth formers attended a three-day Teams and Leaders course at the Outward Bound centre in Ullswater at the end of September. They faced many personal and group challenges including raft-building, rock climbing and jumping into the lake fully clothed. One group were surprised to be greeted by HRH Prince Andrew as they emerged from the water. As the patron of Outward Bound, he had arrived by helicopter to open a new building and was having a guided tour of the grounds. Three out of four accompanying members of school staff sustained injuries but the students responded to the demanding course more successfully.
Spirited Arts Competition 2007
The Spirited Arts competition is a national competition run by an organization called NATRE (National Association of Teachers of Religious Education).
Last year’s Upper Thirds took part in this at the end of the summer term, and the best pieces of work were entered into the national competition which had literally thousands of entries.
The following girls had their work commended by the judges and received a certificate: Dia Khan, Rhian Cherry, Bismah Ali, Priyanka Patel, Emma Sokoll. Mayen Inwang from LIVCR was one of the overall winners. She received a certificate and a book token.
Mayen’s work will be featured on NATRE’s website and the work of all girls who took part is on display in F4.
Under Milk Wood
Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood was performed by the Senior Dramatic Society on three consecutive nights in November. Although originally written as a radio play, it was splendidly interpreted for the stage by director, David Wilson, giving 70 girls, including a contingent from the Preparatory School, the chance to act. The set created a Welsh fishing village complete with a full-sized boat moored to the stage, but was deliberately spare so that Thomas’s words could weave their magic on the audience. Cementing the story together with admirable clarity were the two narrators, Laura Hitch and Julia Williams, and the main character, Captain Cat, played by Alex Green. There were also many notable cameo performances of individual villagers, including Chloe Pinkney as Mog Edwards, the love-sick draper; Bismah Ali as clock obsessed Lord Cut Glass; Jennifer Wall as Mr Pugh, the sinister schoolteacher; Jessica Shepherd as Mrs Ogmore Pritchard, the house proud guest-house keeper; Bethany Gill as Willy Nilly, the postman who knows everyone’s business; and Daisy Hall as Mrs Cherry Owen, the loving and forgiving wife of a drunkard. Felicity Houghton as Polly Garter, who yearns for her dead Willy Wee, sang beautifully. It was a both humorous and touchingly nostalgic production, enjoyed by all.
Lego Competition Power Puzzle Challenge
The regional event of the First Lego League – Power Puzzle Challenge was held at The University of Leeds during December. Team’s from 11 schools took part in the competition.
Prior to the day each team was required to carry out research on the use of energy in a local community building; thereafter they were required to make suggestions for improvements in the use of this energy. They were also required to make a robot out of Lego which then had to be programmed to carry out a number of set missions. On the day the team had three separate attempts at the Robot Mission table competing alongside another team; the winners of the heats went through to the semi final rounds, then 2 teams went head to head in the final. A project presentation had to be given where the team had five minutes to present their findings in the use of energy to the competition judges. In a second five minute slot the team were asked technical questions related to their robot, its design, the missions they chose to carry out and how they worked as a team. Marks were awarded in the following categories, Team Work, Project Presentation, Technical Presentation and the Robot Missions. Winners for each section were presented with an award, the overall winners of the competition receiving the Directors Award, and an invitation to the National Finals which are to be held at Birmingham University in February 2008.
Team 5G from The Girls’ Grammar School Bradford were the overall winners and received the Directors’ Award. The team are from the Upper Fourth year group and consisted of Victoria Atkinson, Sidrah Choudhry, Katie Green, Alexandra Ogley, Shruti Verma.
Knitting & Stitching Show
The Art Department applied and was successful in gaining an exhibition stand at the Knitting & Stitching Show at the International Halls in Harrogate which took place between 22nd and 25th November.
It is a prestigious event and schools do not usually get the opportunity to exhibit. The department have established a reputation in previous events of this nature because of the high quality of work produced by candidates at GCSE and A level.
The huge display from the show is featured on photographs in main reception and caused quite a stir from people attending. They were astounded at the standard of the work done by our students and praised us very highly. Comments we received are also featured in main reception. Pictured are Francesca Quinn and Jessica Keighley who are both studying A level Textiles.
Children in Need
This year the girls adopted the theme ‘Join the Fun of the Fair with Pudsey Bear’ for Children in Need. The atrium was a hive of activity throughout the day as each year group set up their stalls which ranged from ‘Guess the number of sweets in a jar’ to games of skittles and a cake stall. The chocolate fountain and Pudsey nail painting were particularly successful amongst the girls! We raised over £560.45, beating last year’s total, so well done everyone!
Trip to the Battlefields
At the beginning of October, 45 girls from the LVth spent five days in Belgium and Northern France re-tracing the steps of British soldiers in the First World War. The group began their visit in the Belgian town of Ypres where they walked along the Menin Road and visited craters left by German shells. In the Flanders Fields’ Museum they identified with individual soldiers and nurses who had fought in the war and discovered how their chosen character experienced the war years.
On Sunday the group walked along the Somme Battlefield at Serre where the Bradford Pals went into action on the first day of the battle. During the visit girls read poems written by Wilfred Owen and John McCrae as they served on the front line. The group visited the Thiepval Memorial and on the last evening of the visit they attended the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres. Here girls laid a wreath in memory of soldiers from West Yorkshire who lost their lives in the war.
On their return to school the group organised the Remembrance Day Service and recounted their experiences to the other students. Girls who had read poems on the battlefield read during the service. The U4th know they will have to undertake this task next year and are planning their trip already.
Ammani Bashir
Ammani in L4CR joined the Child Exploitation and Online Protection organisation 2 years ago. CEOP is aimed at preventing online dangers and educates young people about them. She is part of the Youth Advisory Panel which is a group of teenagers from all over the UK who make a difference.
In her role Ammani visits London four times a year with the group to review new products such as educational videos, posters and websites. She was invited onto GMTV and met the Home Secretary, Jacqueline Smith, to talk about her projects and opinions on how to make the internet a safer place.
An Evening of Christmas Music & Readings
The concert took place in a packed hall on the last Thursday of term. The programme opened with a reading, The Roman Saturnalia given by Laura Hitch and Laura Henley. This was followed by performances from the BGGS Chorale and some talented soloists, Emily Smith, Kate McArdle and Emily Middlebrough. Further readings were given by members of the Debating Society and the first half of the concert concluded with a performance by the Soul Band.
After the interval, during which refreshments were served in the atrium, the performance resumed with a delightful reading of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Match Girl given by Bismah Ali and Dia Khan. Performances by the Steel Pans and Guitar Groups followed by Julia William’s memorable performance of O, Holy Night by Adolphe Adam. The evening concluded with the orchestra playing a Hungarian Dance by Brahms and accompanying the full cast and audience in singing O come all ye faithful. With only one more day of term to go most of us felt that Christmas had really begun!
Art Workshops
The students embarked on an acrylic painting workshop during October, based upon their drawings of creatures and flowers, which have then been developed into studies of hybrids. They have looked at the work of Ian Morrel and Mark Rothko as artists whose work can inspire their own. Diane Jones is a technician within the Art Department, but also has her own very successful textiles business and is an accomplished painter. Amrik Varkalis produces wonderfully vibrant paintings which have been largely influenced by her Indian background. Actually working with the artists, Diane and Amrik, provided them with the opportunity to learn a range of new painting techniques. Both artists’ work is bright, bold and colourful and their use of imagery is strongly stylised. The students learned a good deal about colour choices and making complementary colours work with each other. They also worked really hard to produce two very useful study paintings.
David Thomas is a local artist and lecturer in painting and drawing. He believes in producing prolific quantities of drawings as a way of gathering information before embarking on any piece of his own work. He put the AS and A2 students through their paces and they did drawing exercises from memory, using only one line, looking at positives and negatives and 3D form. They then went on to produce detailed drawings in longer sessions. Working for a full day on drawing and concentrating hard was tiring, but the students gained a great deal of confidence to go on to further work, and have produced useful studies to support their ideas.
Yummy Volcanoes
The Upper Fourths have been studying earthquakes and volcanoes during the autumn term and have spent some of the time constructing their own model volcanoes out of a variety of materials, including these two edible ones made by Sophie Izzard and Olivia Woollin. The standard was incredibly high, (some were even able to erupt) but eventually prizes were awarded to Roselle Hirst and Rebecca Pearson.
Grandparents' Day
Following on from their day of team-building activities in September, the feisty Lower Fourth group welcomed the opportunity to plan an afternoon of entertainment and a fashion show for their grandparents. Grandparents were given afternoon tea, tours of the school, and thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment. They were most complimentary, and from the girls’ point of view certainly demonstrated care within the community and an understanding of project planning - a success story all round for Grandparents' Day.
Our World
The junior pupils produced a fantastic dance, drama and music show based on the theme of Our World and Christmas. Many of the performances were emotional and thought-provoking as they focused on environmental issues that we face in the world today. The costumes were very colourful, and parents and visitors commented on the excellent standard of the production which was greatly appreciated by all.
Fairweather Green Firefighters
Fairweather Green Firefighters gave a talk to Upper II pupils on fire safety in the home and encouraged all families to have a fire plan in place. Transition pupils enjoyed inspecting the fire engine, trying on helmets and sounding the siren.
Industrial Museum
Upper II pupils enjoyed spending the day as Victorian children experiencing life in the school room and in the factory at Bradford Industrial Museum. Simran Sohal is pictured using a quill pen in a Victorian lesson. They returned to school and appreciated the modern comforts of school life.
Tropical World
Upper I pupils visited Tropical World as part of their studies on Rain Forests. They learnt about different habitats, climate change and environmental issues. Miss Vipond also organised an Art workshop where pupils were taught how to draw meer cats, iguanas and tropical fish.
Thackray Medical
Upper II pupils visited Thackray Medical Museum Bodyworks Interactive Centre to learn more about how the body works. They also toured the Victorian street as a continuation of their historical studies on life in Victorian times.
Halloween
A spooky and ghoulish evening was held at the end of the October half term. Pupils enjoyed dressing up to celebrate Hallowe’en.
Prizes were awarded for original ideas and costumes.
Christmas Fair
Once again the Christmas Fair was a huge success thanks to Lower III pupils and parents who ran the event. Pupils enjoyed a variety of art and craft activities. Pictured are Lucille Robinson and Georgia Rayner with their face paintings.
Children in Need
Pupils and staff didn’t have to get dressed on Friday 16th November in the morning as they came to school in their pyjamas. Teddies were allowed in for the day but spent most of the time asleep! In the evening the Family Quiz Night was a sell out and the two events raised a magnificent £ 1,200.
African Virtual Farm
In the summer term the pupils raised money through a variety of activities and individual donations to build a virtual farm in Africa. We raised a total of £1,196.33 and purchased market stalls, toilets, donkeys, farm tools, goats, seeds, bees and beehives. All of this was directed by Mrs Eileen Holmes. Thank you to everybody who supported us. It was a magnificent effort.
BBC Film Cock-a-doodle Christmas
Kindergarten and Transition pupils combined to perform a delightful production based on the traditional Christmas story which was filmed by BBC1 for their programme on Sunday 16th December at 10am (Morning Worship). The BBC presenter was very impressed with the standard of the children’s performance. We may have some stars in the making!
Art Workshop
During the October half term Miss Vipond and Mrs Firth ran an Art Workshop, based on animals, for junior pupils. Pictured is Sophie Young completing her wall hanging.
RSPCA
Lower III school council representatives visited the RSPCA centre in Bradford to present a cheque for £ 173.12 which was raised at a toy and book sale in school. The girls were taken on a tour and were fascinated to see the range of animals including parrots, tortoises and lop-eared rabbits as well as numerous cats and dogs.
Sport
NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR FIFTH SUCCESSIVE YEAR
News has just arrived that the school has once again been successful in its application for the Sportsmark Award for this coming year. As one of only nine independent schools in the entire country, and the only one in the North of England to have gained this distinction, everyone in the school is justifiably proud of the achievement.
The Sportsmark Award acknowledges the school’s undoubted commitment to sport for all, as well as talented athletes, and is an endorsement of the range and quality of provision for Physical Education and extra-curricular opportunities. Thank you to all who have supported Physical Education and sport at BGGS.
Regional Final place for Cross Country squad
In October both the junior and intermediate teams competed in the first round of the National Schools’ Cross Country Cup. The intermediate team, Kate Bullock, Katie Bhagaloo, Harriet Middlebrough, Jessica Dixon, Rachel Pinder, India Shaw and Hariette Hinchcliffe, won their event comfortably and went through to the Regional Finals which were held in November. Here our first four runners finished in 5th, 7th, 20th and 21st place which unfortunately was not quite enough for a place in the National Finals but still a very commendable performance.
Table Tennis Nationals
All of our three teams successfully negotiated the area stage of the National Team Championships.
The Under 11, Under 13 and Under 19 squads will now compete in the zone final to be held here at BGGS in January.
Pictured are the U19 squad: Julia White (Captain),
Priyanka Patel, Caitlin Edlington, Lesley Elliot
& Charlotte Feather
Swimming Relay Team takes 3rd place.
The Intermediate Medley Relay swimming squad took a very creditable third place in the National Schools’ Team competition held in Huddersfield in November. The girls swam magnificently against some strong opposition, and to earn the bronze medal position.
Pictured with Mrs Grant are : Joanna Bullock, Lesley Elliot, Caitlin Everson and Fiona Kipling.
Regional Round beckons for slick U19 Netball Squad
All of our three squads equipped themselves well in the county round of the National Schools’ Tournament held recently.
The U16 squad performed exceptionally well and deservedly reached the semi final stage, as winners of their group. Unfortunately, their run was halted, as they came across a very strong Wakefield GHS team, who competed in the National Finals themselves last season.
The U14 Squad gave an equally impressive performance beating all their opponents to win their section. They had to play extra time in a very tense semi final, and undeservedly lost the game.
However, out reputation for very strong senior teams lives on, as our U19 girls played some breathtaking netball to win the competition outright, securing them the title of West Yorkshire U19 Champions. They will now travel to Hull in January to compete in the Yorkshire and Humberside regional round for a place in the National Finals.
The U19 Squad - Kathryn Blackburn, Eva Bellwood, Christina Ellison, Nadia Gohir , Charlotte Hedar, Laura Kopelciw, Frankie Quinn, Harriet Shelton, Lydia Shelton, Charlotte Stansfield, Hannah Thomson (Captain) and Rosie Underwood are pictured below.
Hockey
Representing West Yorkshire this year are:
U15 Caitlin Everson, U16 Kate McArdle (Vice Captain), Nicola Kilburn
Selected to attend the West Yorkshire Assessment Evenings:
U13 Isabelle Booth, Rhian Cherry, Philippa Davies, Anjali Kullar, Eleanor Peake, Emma Sokoll
U14 Aneesa Husain-Qureshi, Priya Madhas
Representing Bradford in the West Yorkshire County Tournament:
U15 Kate Bullock, Heather Coubrough, Caitlin Gaston, Fiona Kipling, Rebecca Pearson, Chloe Pinkney, Harriet Smith
U16 Connie Bateson, Joanna Bullock, Charlotte Feather, Abigail Holmes, Felicity Houghton, Nicola Kilburn, Alexandra Webb
Netball
WEST YORKSHIRE COUNTY ACADEMY- Adanna Okeahialam
COUNTY SATELLITE ACADEMY - Jo Bullock, Kate Bullock, Caitlin Everson, Esme Firth, Philippa Jones, Fiona Kipling, Emma Spencer
BRADFORD SCHOOLS U15 SQUAD- Rachel Brodie-Brown, Lesley Elliot, Katie Green, Hariette Hinchcliffe, Roselle Hirst, Fran McGrath,Hannah Richardson, Rebecca Sharp
BRADFORD SCHOOLS U13 SQUAD,Ellie Cook, Radhika Kumbanai, Victoria Sutcliffe
Athletics
Training with the Regional Indoor Athletics Performance Squad at the EIS in Sheffield are: Joanna Bullock & Adanna Okeahialam.
Badminton
Selected to represent Bradford Schools are Rakhi Ahir, Ellie Gascoyne, Mehnoor Khaliq, Rachel Pinder, Anishah Shah and Jessica Sharpe, who are now training with the squad every Saturday.
Squash
Jessica Dixon has been included in the Yorkshire Squash Academy.
Rounders
Congratulations to the U15 rounders squad on maintaining their grip on the Bradford Schools’ league title once again this season. Taking on Beckfoot in a repeat of last year’s final, they won with an innings to spare. The squad consists of:- Emma Alderton, Robyn Braithwaite, Joanna Bullock, Marisa Cierpiol, Nicola Kilburn, Kate McArdle, Adanna Okeahialam, Aishah Saddique, Hannah Sadler and Zoe Sutton.