VOLUME XII
MAY 2016
Beverley Grammar School bevgrammar
THE BEVERLONIAN
PARENT GOVERNOR APPOINTED
BGS STUDENTS ENGINEER ELECTRIC RACER Beverley Grammar School has reinvented the STEM club which focuses on Science, Technology , Engineering and Maths. This was an incredibly popular activity culminating in two of the students being invited to London to present their projects where they scooped the student award as the project most favoured by other competitors. Now eight students have enrolled onto STEM’s replacement, the Greenpower Club. Students have the opportunity to compete in a local race but with a twist. They first need to design and build the electrically powered vehicle they will race. Pupils have been working as a team to fabricate the frame of the roll cage, and are now working on how to make the body panels. They have enlisted the help of a local engineer, Mr Simkin, who has experience in building kit cars along with Mr Oldridge, who runs the club. Together they will be looking to local businesses to help with the manufacture of the body panels and aim to race the car in the regional competition in the Summer. To support this, Beverley Grammar has made a significant investment in a kit car. Head of DT, Mr Bibbington is convinced this is a worthwhile investment. “More and more, we are seeing reports that Engineers are in short supply. If we can enthuse just one student into this extensive field, it will have been a worthwhile project. In the meantime, the boys are just enjoying getting their hands dirty.”
Louise Barrett is the new Parent Governor on the Beverley Grammar School Governing Board. Louise’s son, Alex, joined year 7 in September. In September Louise took part in the ‘bring a parent to school’ day, Louise commented ‘I found the morning I spent in school a fantastic insight into what goes on at the school. That experience encouraged me to want to be more involved with the school.’ Having worked in Marketing, PR & Sales for 25 years Louise felt she had much to offer as a Governor of Beverley Grammar School. Louise is Marketing Director at Solwise Ltd in Hessle. With her experience, Louise has helped us build on the School’s excellent reputation, with more publicity locally for activities going on inside and outside of school. Louise is involved with the charity The Lullaby Trust. Talking about the death of a child is never easy but the work she has done with TLT in this area has made a real difference to other families like hers. She has been involved with many fundraising events and challenges for, and with, The Lullaby Trust ,which has given her great experience in event management and organisation; something which we are sure will be very useful to the School.
Visit www.beverlonian.co.uk for more on these stories, and to find out what’s going on at Beverley Grammar School
BEVERLONIAN VOL XII
MAY 2016
Headteacher’s Blog | the one about u-turns and exams There was, perhaps quite rightly, a lot of media coverage at the end of last week about the government’s uturn over the planned forced academisation of all primary and secondary schools in England. Only about 9% of schools in the East Riding are currently academies. That this figure is so low is not too surprising when you consider how many small rural primary schools there are within our authority. Indeed, many ofsted rated good or outstanding schools will have breathed a sigh of relief over the turnaround as they considered the plans an unnecessary distraction from the excellent job they are already doing on behalf of their students. What the government have not made clear, however, is where this leaves local authorities: as far as I can tell the proposal to shift the responsibility (and funding) for school improvement away from local authorities still stands. What does this mean for schools? It means that in order to provide the standard of education fit for our students it will be important for schools to collaborate; work together in order to share resources and excellent practice. What it also means for schools is that a period of uncertainty and turbulence continues… To read more of this article, subscribe to Gavin’s blog by following him on twitter
@bevgrammarhead
MATHS STUDENTS TO COMPETE IN LONDON FOR NATIONAL TROPHY A team of 4 students from Beverley Grammar School will be competing against teams from across the UK for this year’s UK Team Maths Challenge trophy. The boys, from Years 8 and 9, finished in first place at the Regional Final beating 12 teams, including some private school entries, winning the opportunity to compete in the National Final at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London on June 20th . Over 1700 schools entered the competition, but BGS is one of only 88 to qualify for the Final. The National Final of the Team Maths Challenge, run by the UK Mathematics Trust, involves teams of 4 pupils from England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, competing in A group circus involving hands-on maths problems;
A series of shuttles in which the answer from one question feeds in to the next;
A crossnumber (mathematical crossword);
A relay race combining physical and mental agility;
A separate poster competition based on a mathematical subject There are a further 29 Year 7 boys, and 31 Year 8 boys competing in the UK Maths Individual challenge on April 28th, again organised by the UK Mathematics Trust. This is a registered charity with the aim of advancing the education of children and young people in UK secondary schools, by organising mathematical enrichment activities. We wish all our boys the very best of luck.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY May 27 | 5 & 6.30pm | ‘The Age Old Story’ concert
June 24 | 7pm | Year 13 prom
June 28 | 7pm | Year 11 prom
June 29 | 7pm | Chamber concert
July 13 | 7pm | BGS Showcase
Visit www.beverlonian.co.uk for more on these stories, and to find out what’s going on at Beverley Grammar School
