|
NEWS ARCHIVE May 2009 Medieval History day in York May 09 – Bradford Girls’ Grammar School Upper Third pupils studying medieval history spent a day in York. The group visited York Minster and learned about its stained glass windows and saw the restoration work currently under way on the east end of the Minster. In the crypt the girls heard the story of St. William and visited his shrine, re-tracing the steps of medieval pilgrims. The visit continued with a ‘hands on’ teaching session in the Education Centre in St. William’s College. Here, the girls were able to test the techniques of the stone masons who built the Minster. The visit consolidated the work covered in lessons. Walking down the Shambles to the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall; the girls were surprised by the narrow gap between the houses. Later, a walk on the ramparts enabled the group to see how medieval York had been defended. The Upper Third girls were excellent ambassadors for the school and were complimented for their enthusiasm by the centre’s staff. April 2009 Bradford Girls’ Grammar School appoints new Headmistress
Mrs Kathryn Matthews was deputy head at Gateways School, Harewood for some 20 years and took the position in April 09. She brings a wealth of experience in the management and development of independent schools and aims for the school to flourish under her leadership. Kathryn feels very fortunate to have been given this opportunity. She said; "Bradford Girls’ Grammar School is a centre of excellence in the development of future women leaders. The school has always operated on the principle of providing a first class education, and that is just as true today as it was over a hundred years ago when the school was first founded. Of course, the pupils of today have many more opportunities and subjects on offer as well as a vast range of activities for enrichment and enhancement; from art to physics, from athletics to synchronized swimming and from drama, via music, to Young Engineers. In our Preparatory School we welcome boys and girls from the age of 2, and our state of the art nursery is proving to be very popular. We are already planning to expand our provision at this age. Specialist teaching at the top end of the Prep school prepares the girls well for their entry to the senior school and they transfer in seamless fashion to continue their education. Excellent teaching leads to first-class examination results where each girl is encouraged to reach her full potential. The school provides something for everyone in a supportive and caring environment that encourages its pupils to participate and excel. I look forward to the challenge of improving an already successful school and to developing the existing potential further".
Bradford Girls Grammar School unveils New Preparatory School Purpose-built school designed to embrace modern teaching methods April 09, Bradford. More than a century after the opening of its first preparatory school, Bradford Girls’ Grammar School unveil its new Preparatory school, a £1.65 million state of the art development for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. The new facility will ensure that the school can continue to provide younger pupils with a really first class education. Providing a seamless link to the senior school, the new building is equipped to cater for 250 children, has nine classrooms, an IT room, science laboratory, library, art room, school hall and internal play areas. Outdoor playgrounds and an outdoor habitat area have also been purpose-built. The new preparatory school is designed to embrace modern teaching methods - Each classroom features a large interactive whiteboard linked to a laptop computer. The children have already moved into their brand new accommodation and are very excited by all their new facilities. The IT room is particularly popular. Harry Gration unveiled a plaque and handed out commemorative teddy bears to pupils to mark the opening of the new school. Brittany Skeels (from the preparatory school) gave a vote of thanks and Harry was presented with a portrait of himself drawn by preparatory school pupil, Abbie Green. A memorable morning for all staff and pupils April 09 – Bradford Girls’ Grammar School’s Lower Fourth form travelled to the University of Leeds during April to the Leeds Festival of Science which is part of National Science & Engineering week. One group got the opportunity to use sophisticated computer-based research tools to spy on the school from the sky. They also learned how the brain works and tested some of its main functions. An exciting lecture involving physics and chemistry experiments concluded their morning. Another group got the chance to hold cockroaches, make hovercrafts, fight like crayfish, look inside eyeballs and launch rockets - A memorable morning for all staff and pupils. April 09 - Bradford Girls’ Grammar School AS Biologists spent the afternoon at Bradford University’s Biomedical Sciences department using advanced equipment to extract, prepare and analyse bacterial DNA. Dr Picksley and his staff arranged a superb session and all the BGGS biologists were enthralled by his teaching.
Team designed a solar-powered model car made from recycled materials April 09 - Team 5G (Sidrah Choudhry, Alex Ogley, Victoria Atkinson, Katie Green and Shruti Verma) qualified for the North Region Final of the Toyota Technology Challenge. The competition involved designing a solar powered model car made from as much recycled material as possible. The team were required to record their work which included research, design, building and testing in a project folder which was submitted as an entry to the competition. The best seven were then invited to the regional final at the University of York. 5G’s entry was chosen to be entered into the final from one of the 90 project folders submitted. On the day, the team were required to race their car ‘double decker’ on an 8 metre straight track against the other teams. Having recorded a time in practice in the region of three seconds, problems on the day were encountered and 5G’s car could not better six seconds. With the winning time being in the sub two seconds bracket, the team was placed sixth and whilst a little disappointed with this they had a very enjoyable day.
On each evening a different programme of music began the performance. On the first evening Bradford Girls’ Grammar School Chorale shared the platform with the Tuesday and Wednesday Steel Pan Groups and six soloists from the U3rd and L4th years. The second evening was devoted to the Jazz Group and Soul Band who were joined by the Senior Steel Pan Group and five talented soloists from the U4th year. The final performance opened with the Senior Orchestra joined by the Guitar Group and nine soloists from the 5th and 6th Forms. The quality and variety of performances heard over the three evenings showed off the musical talents of our students across the whole age range of the Senior School. The dances were based around Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘If’. There were 18 dances of varied styles ranging from ballet, lindy hop, jazz and contemporary. The variety of style added to the enjoyment, as there was something for everyone. Some of the dances were produced as a result of collaborative workshops taken by the girls with The Northern Ballet Theatre, Rambert Dance, Northern Contemporary and individual freelance dancers, including Carolyn Baker. Carolyn’s contemporary style added a new dimension to the show, expanding the pupil’s repertoire and encouraging them to work beyond comfort zones March 2009 It’s proven! Girls do better without boys at school A study, by The Good Schools Guide, followed 700,000 girls and found that those who sat GCSEs in single-sex state schools all did better than could have been predicted by their scores at the end of primary school. By contrast, 20% of those who attended co-ed schools did worse than could have been expected from their school records, aged 11. The effect was even more marked among less clever girls. (more…) (more…) March 09 – 37 pupils from Bradford Girl’s Grammar School’s L4th and staff visited Normandy on their annual trip. They visited Bayeux and Honfleur and practised their language skills in the French market where they sampled local delicacies including crèpes, goats’ cheese and freshly squeezed juices. The pupils stayed at Château du Baffy, a magnificent country house set in its own grounds
March 2009 - Lower Fifth Bradford Girls’ Grammar School pupils studying Spanish travelled to San Sebastian in Northern Spain from 6th to 13th March. The girls stayed with Spanish families and attended a private Catholic Girls’ School where they gained a feel for the culture and educational system. The return visit from the Spanish school took place from 12th to 20th April.
Winners received a trophy, certificates and a digital camera for the school. March 09 - A team of young marketers from Bradford Girls' Grammar School were selected as finalists in the Young Direct Marketing Awards. Under the leadership of Business and ICT teacher Carole Rowe and student teacher, Cathy Harper, the team designed a campaign for the RNLI. Entitled, ‘You’ve got a Friend’, the campaign was designed by Heather Lamb, Hannah Richardson, Katie Bhagaloo and Caitlin Everson.
|
