Private School News

RGS WORCESTER – Greenpower car makes dramatic entry for Worcester school

The Greenpower Challenge is a series of 90 minute long races for schools, universities and teams from commercial organizations. Each team uses the same batteries, looking to gain speed and durability through good design and skilful driving.

The team of sixth formers from RGS actually took the early lead in the race, showing good speed from the grid and in the corners. They only relinquished the lead to Chipping Sodbury School during a change of drivers in the pits, but this did little to dampen the spirits of the team as they finished third overall.

Team leader, student Doug Wilkie explained more. “We were racing against teams that have been doing this competition for five years or more, so for us to take the lead and finish on the podium was more than we’d hoped for. We used three drivers in total during the race, as we wanted to give track experience to our complete crew. The winners used a single driver, so this certainly made a difference. We now understand the areas in which we need to make adjustments to improve our performance even more.”

The Greenpower Challenge takes place over a series of five races, with a constructor’s title up for grabs. The competition culminates in the National Final on October 17th.

RGS has been strongly supported by Blackpole based Superform Aluminium and it was a tribute to this partnership that saw them win the award from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, for the ‘Best Engineered Car’. This crowned a spectacular day for the whole team.

RGS WORCESTER pupil Dan Staines – determined not to go up the creek without a paddle

After only 18 months in a new sport, Worcester Canoe Club member Dan Staines is making rapid progress in the canoe world, but his hopes of future success depend upon securing sponsorship for a kayak, which can support his weight and decrease drag in the water.
Dan, who is a sixth former at RGS Worcester, has made tremendous strides, competing in the top half of national marathon kayak races as well as in individual and team sprint events around the country. But if the course becomes wavy, his current kayak ships water with obvious drastic consequences. In short, he’s a 90kg athlete in a kayak built for only 85kg.
It all started in January 2009 when Dan was selected by Canoe England as part of the Talent Identification scheme to match talented sportsmen to sports that fitted their physical attributes. Since then, Dan has been coached by Nick Fowler, who represented Great Britain for 10 years as a canoeist, and he sees huge potential in his protégé.
“Dan has tremendous promise,” said Mr Fowler. “I sometimes forget that he’s only been in the sport 18 months. As an old philosopher used to say ‘if you shoot for the moon but miss, you still land amongst the stars!’ and this really applies to Dan. There are no limits to his ability in this sport, he will be as good as he wants to be. An immediate goal is to compete at the U23 Championships in 2012.”
Dan trains for 1-1.5 hours on the water everyday, whatever the weather, which means layers and layers of clothing during the worst of the winter. Off the water, he develops stamina through running and puts in tough gym work 3 or 4 times a week at the RGS fitness suite.
“We build strength and endurance during winter and put it into boat speed during spring,” said Dan. “Paddling in the winter can be very difficult as ice builds up on the boat in very cold conditions. But it is worth it as I climb the national rankings. There is the added bonus of warm weather training this summer in Hungary.”
Dan is hopeful that he can raise sufficient funds from sponsors to purchase a more suitable kayak, as he approaches key races, the National Marathon Championships in July and the National Sprint Regatta in September. He needs to find sponsors if he is to maximise his potential and would be delighted to talk to anyone who can help him. Please check out his website to find out more.

RGS WORCESTER – Art Exhibition avoids the blues

One of the highlights at a school’s recent Art Exhibition was a full-size plaster cast figure, modelled on a friend of the artist.

The Blue Man proved to be a real crowd pleaser at the Exhibition at RGS Worcester. Its creator, sixth form student Thomas Hill, made it by covering his friend Grove Sykes from head to toe – including his clothes – to create the striking figure. The material is called Modroc, which is exactly the same gauze, impregnated with Plaster of Paris, which is wrapped around a broken arm or leg.

The work took over three months to complete, as Tom ensured that every detail was true to life. His inspiration came from artist Antony Gormley, who designed the famous Angel of the North landmark.

The Blue Man was one of almost a thousand exhibits, which made up the show from GCSE and A Level art students at RGS, and represents their project work from the entire year.

“The Blue Man is a striking artwork, which shows great technical skill and took a huge amount of patience to complete,” said Emma Dukes, Head of Art at RGS. “Many other pieces in the show are also of an extremely high standard, and would grace non-school exhibitions. This continues the strong tradition of creativity and talent among our art students.”

Photo: Thomas Hill with his friend, the Blue Man

BBC ACTRESS RETURNS TO BROMSGROVE SCHOOL

A BBC actress returned to her old school in Bromsgrove on Tuesday (29th June).

Charlie Clemmow, who left Bromsgrove School in 2004, is currently starring in the BBC One daytime show ‘Doctors’. Charlie, now 23, spoke to current pupils about drama school, her time on the show and her acting ambitions. Eager pupils posed interesting questions and many of Charlie’s former teachers were also keen to hear what she had been up to since leaving the School.

Charlie was recently nominated for a British Soap Award and stole the show in a Julien Macdonald dress but many Bromsgrovians remember how it all started: in Routh Hall at Bromsgrove School on stage as the Lion from Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe.

Mr Philip Bowen, Deputy Headmaster, says “We are extremely grateful to Charlie for taking time out of her busy filming schedule to revisit her old School and spend time with current pupils sharing her experiences and answering questions about acting on television. We have fond memories of her performances at School. We are very proud of Charlie and will follow her career with keen interest in the years to come”.

Photo: Charlie Clemmow and current Bromsgrove Pupils

BROMSGROVE SCHOOL WORCESTERSHIRE – SENIOR SCHOOL GIRLS REACH NATIONAL FINALS FOR 3RD TIME THIS YEAR

Not satisfied with being National Netball Champions and qualifying for the National Cross Country Finals earlier this year, Bromsgrove School’s Senior Girls have now completed a hat-trick and reached the Field and Track National Athletics Finals where they will represent the Midlands.

After comfortably winning the first round of the English Schools Track and Field competition before half term, the intermediate girls went into the Midlands finals feeling quietly confident. All girls competed extremely well, demonstrated great support and encouragement for each other and pulled together well as a team. By amassing a superb 416 points Bromsgrove beat strong competition from Edgbaston High School for Girls, Loughborough High School, Rugby High School, Shrewsbury High School, Arden School, Stratford upon Avon Grammar School for Girls and RGS Worcester.

Mrs Emma Buckingham, Head of Girls’ Games says “Well done to the team which consisted of Libby Thornton, Simone Thompson-Smith, Jenny Moore, Rachel Elt, Megan Humphreys, Pascale Massey, Sarah Hawkley, Rebecca Straw, Hannah Trow, Tara Thorpe, Lydia Trow, Ellen Lockhart and Georgia Meredith. We now look forward to the National Finals up in Gateshead at the beginning of July.”

Photo: Winning athletics team

RGS WORCESTER – WORCESTER ROWING CLUB PAIR WINS AT STRATFORD REGATTA

Two girls representing Worcester Rowing Club swept to victory in the Under 14 double sculls competition at Stratford upon Avon Regatta at the weekend.

Grace Baker and Izzy Friedlander (both aged 13) attend RGS Worcester and achieved their success in only their third event together.

They beat Gloucester Rowing Club in the first round, then Stratford-upon-Avon Boat Club in the semi-final before overcoming stiff opposition from Evesham Rowing Club in the final to win by a hard-fought one length.

The Peter Chadwick Memorial Cup was presented to them by Nadhim Zahawi, the MP for Stratford-upon-Avon.

Photo: Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford upon Avon presents the cup to Grace and Izzy.

RGS THE GRANGE SCHOOL, Worcester, pupils help soap-maker avoid getting in a lather

Three little helpers from RGS The Grange are assisting in the re-launch of a Bretforton based business, which has fallen foul of the might of a multi-national company who claimed exclusive rights over the use of the word ‘naked’.
Emma Heathcote-James is the owner of the business, which produces a luxury organic hand-made soap from local sources. She’s marking the change of name, from Naked Soap Company, to Little Soap Company, at a Summer Fair held the primary school in Claines.

Having built up business over the past 18 months via internet sales, trade shows and winning contracts to supply local Waitrose and Warner’s Budgen’s stores, she was devastated when she learnt she would have to relinquish the name.
“The costs of what would have been a lengthy legal battle were prohibitive so I simply decided to draw a line, put Naked behind me and move forward. I still make the same soaps, the packaging and online shop is all the same – only the name has changed…” said
Ms Heathcote-James. “Having the pupils from The Grange help make my first batch of soap under the new company name was a lovely way to look to the future and build on the company’s rapid growth over the last eighteen months.”

Ellie Carey, Ben Hughes and Will Reading, all aged 10, bought rosemary and lavender from their school garden having infused it in Extra Virgin Olive Oil to add to the mixing pot. They were taken through the entire soap-making process and even designed their own bespoke RGS soap. They learned not only how to make soap, but also the maths behind the recipes, the art of creating a brand, the creativity of designing the differing flavours, the benefits of
the essential oils and aromatherapy as well as the greener issues of recycling, and how a thorough approach to environmental issues, is so imperative to being a business winner.

“Instead of using tap water, we added collected rainwater to the recipe,” said Ellie. “The moulds that we poured the soap mixture into came from bits of reclaimed wood used to make the Hamlet set at the theatre in Stratford, which amazed us. I never thought it would
be so much fun to make soap.”

The company’s name change will be celebrated in style among many other local suppliers at The Grange’s Summer Fair on Saturday 3rd July, where the Lavender soap made by the pupils will be on sale.

RGS WORCESTER pupil – From Friday night club training to England selection

A 14 year-old Worcester schoolgirl has realised a sporting ambition, following selection for the full England under 16 Hockey Team.

Sally-Anne Smith, who attends the Royal Grammar School Worcester, has been chosen to play in goal against Scotland, following a rapid climb up the hockey ladder. In only 12 months Sally-Anne has gone from playing local club hockey to reaching the giddy heights of representing her country, in a story that reads like a Hollywood script.

Her first love was football and she has spent the last three years playing in the Kidderminster Harriers Centre of Excellence Academy. At her primary school, RGS The Grange, she used to be an outfield player for her school hockey side. As no-one was keen to play in goal, she filled in for a school match. Following an exceptional performance, Liz Bussey, her coach of the time, immediately saw real potential and started to help develop her goalkeeping skills.

From those early days Sally-Anne has enjoyed a meteoric rise, winning entry to the County’s Junior Development Centre at Nunnery Wood, playing for Dudley Hockey Club and latterly Stourport Hockey Club.

In May 2009 Sally-Anne was selected to attend the U15 Junior Performance Centre, which selects hockey players nationwide. From here the players were whittled down to the best eight goalkeepers in the country. They attended a Hi-Performance weekend camp at Leeds University last October, under the exacting eyes of the England selectors.

In May 2010 Sally-Anne received an invitation to train with the U16 England Team, even though she’s still only 14. “It was nerve-racking when I attended the training session at Lilleshall, because I was the youngest there,” explains Sally-Anne. “But I put my whole heart into it and during the day I played well and became more confident. I received an email three days later to say I’d made the team and I was over the moon. I feel privileged to represent my country in a sport I love.”

Stuart Davis, Head of Hockey at RGS Worcester put her achievement into perspective. “Many people don’t appreciate the deep pool of talent in girls’ hockey, which Sally-Anne has battled through to reach the highest level. Her progress has been staggering. I wish her further success in the future and we all look forward to seeing her play against Scotland at the end of June.”

Noah’s Ark Trust receives £2,600 from RGS WORCESTER

Mary Irish from The Noah’s Ark Trust went into RGS Worcester to receive a cheque for £2,600 from the students who raised the money at their recent Fashion Show.
The proceeds of the school fashion show ‘Behind the Seams’ was given to the charity that helps support young people who have had to cope with bereavement.

“We’re so grateful to the girls for their hard work and wonderful result in raising this sum,” said Mrs Irish. “Donations like this mean that we can help offer support to more young people and even cover the cost of a residential adventure for a number children who receive help through the charity. The fashion show was a triumph of success and the hard work of everyone involved at RGS.”

Photo: Mary Irish of The Noah’s Ark Trust, receives a cheque for £2,600 from RGS Worcester Fashion Show students.

BROMSGROVE SCHOOL PREPARES FOR THE LARGEST BUILDING DEVELOPMENT IN ITS 500 YEAR HISTORY

The largest building development in Bromsgrove School’s 500 year history has just received planning approval. On the back of a 2010 OFSTED verdict of “outstanding”, the School is embarking on a multi-million pound transformation of the area closest to the Worcester Road entrance. New sporting, academic, boarding and hospitality facilities will be approached from a redesigned driveway and car park so that visitors will experience a first impression that does justice to the stunning architecture at the heart the School.

Among the projects are a spectacular new indoor sports venue and satellite buildings that will be available for community as well as School use. The architecture of all the new structures will offer a 21st century foretaste of the beautiful buildings that lie beyond, and enhance past all recognition the current site around the sports hall, swimming pool and car park.

As planning permission was being sought, local residents were invited to the School to offer their ideas. As a result of this consultative process, the final plans took into account the needs of neighbours, and unanimous consent was duly achieved. No objections were taken to the final meeting, and the council then voted fourteen to nil in favour of the developments.

Headmaster, Chris Edwards, said: “By listening to and working with residents, the School and its architects were able to move swiftly and smoothly towards a green, state of the art masterplan. This magnificent development will benefit beyond measure the School and wider community. We are thrilled.”

RGS WORCESTER – Springfield wins through to next round in Choir of the Year

A Worcester primary school choir has battled through the Regional Heats of BBC Radio 3s Choir of the Year competition to qualify for the next round.

RGS Springfield, which is situated in Britannia Square in the city, won through following auditions at the Warwick Arts Centre. They were entered in the children’s round and were competing against other local choirs.

The singers performed Pirate for a Day, Go Down Moses, and Chang McTang McQuarter Cat. The judges said that: “Springfield sang with great enthusiasm and their ensemble work was very tidy!”

The Springfield choir is made up of girls and boys aged 7-11 and they had been practising for the event for many weeks. After the competition, all of the pupils took part in a workshop put on by the Warwick Arts Centre.

“I’m really proud of all the children, “ said Liz McCabe music teacher at Springfield. “They have rehearsed with so much eagerness, so I’m delighted that it has all paid off. The day was very exciting for them and we’re looking forward to the next round now.”

Local vineyard looks to repeat their success at RGS THE GRANGE’S Summer Fair

Worcestershire’s Rose Bank Vineyard has a local school’s Summer Fair to thank for signing up a pub as a customer for its award-winning wine.

In 2009, vineyard owner Richard Tomkinson exhibited at the Summer Fair held at RGS The Grange, a junior school only a few miles away in Claines. Whilst attending the Fair, Jim Godwin who owns the White Hart in Fernhill Heath, sampled the wine and began to sell it at his pub.

Richard Tomkinson started the Rose Bank Vineyard with his wife Rita in 2003. “Last year gave us an ideal opportunity to introduce our wine and demonstrate that good wine can be grown in Fernhill Heath.
“The fair at The Grange was excellent with the variety of stalls attracting a lot of interest,” said Mr Tomkinson. “We were able to provide wine tasting and this directly resulted in our meeting Jim Godwin from The White Hart Pub in Fernhill Heath. He subsequently now stocks our wine, which thanks to the Grange’s summer fair, has brought two local businesses together.”

“I couldn’t be more delighted at the outcome,” said Gareth Hughes, Headmaster of The Grange. “We love to invite local businesses to come and support the event, so we were pleased that Rose Bank Vineyard had a stand. To actually see an outcome like this is tremendous.”

Rose Bank Vineyard is obviously hopeful of repeating this success as the company is exhibiting at this year’s Fair, which takes place on Saturday 3 July. There are many other local companies attending, with products ranging from hand-made soap to custom jewellery, as well as lots of children’s entertainment on offer.

Photo: From left to right as viewed: Richard Tomkinson (Rose Bank Vineyard), Gareth Hughes (The Grange) and Jim Godwin (The White Hart).

Local Double Scullers from RGS WORCESTER win at Worcester Regatta

Two local pupils emerged from a strong field to win the J14 Double Sculls event at last weekend’s Worcester Regatta.

Ben Collins and Harry Turner, who attend RGS Worcester, beat rivals from Stourport Boat Club in a pulsating final, winning by just half a length at the finishing line.

RGS had tasted earlier success with Andy Dowty and Robin Hearn dominating the J17 Double Sculls event and comfortably winning their final.

In the afternoon, Alex Brockington and Angus Wiltshire overcame all opposition to set up an all-RGS final of the Boys J16 Single Sculls; it was Brockington who ran out the winner, by a margin of one and a half lengths.
At Shrewsbury a week earlier, the same situation arose in the final of J14 sculls, where Richard Stevens beat Ben Collins in an all-RGS final.
The Boat Club’s squads are out in force this weekend at the National Schools Regatta in Nottingham, where the School is entering four VIIIs, five Coxed Fours, a Coxless Pair and a Single Scull.

Photo: The winning RGS J14 Pair, Harry Turner and Ben Collins, being presented with their trophies by Bob Pritchard, Chairman of Worcester Rowing Club.

National Lacrosse Excellence for MALVERN ST JAMES girls

Lottie Van-Praag, Year 10, and Sophie Coombes-Roberts, Year 11, represented Wales in the Women’s U19 Lacrosse Home International Championship at Cardiff University in March. The girls both played extremely well, resulting in their selection to play for the Wales Senior Women’s B Team at the Home Internationals in Edinburgh on the 17th and 18th April. Sophie scored twice against England and they both achieved hat-tricks against Ireland. Lottie won 80% of the centre draws in both matches. The girls were the youngest ever to represent Wales in a Senior International game.

Head of Sports, Mrs Karen Bevan, said, ‘Both Sophie and Lottie have exceeded all expectations in their first full season competing at this very high level. We are very proud of their achievements so far and look forward to following and supporting their progress in the future’.

RGS WORCESTER BEATS ETON COLLEGE IN ATHLETICS

In one of the highlights of their sporting year, RGS Worcester defeated five schools, including Eton College, in a major fixture at Nunnery Wood athletics complex.

Throughout a seesaw competition, RGS and Eton dominated proceedings during the afternoon. Eton secured strong wins in the 200m, 400m and long jump. But RGS took seven events in total and proved irresistible in winning all but one of the field events. This included a double for Adam Damadzic in the shot and discus, which was capped by a throw of over 50 metres in the discus.

Toby Wilkinson kept up the RGS momentum in the javelin with a superb throw of 50.65 metres, Steve Ndumbe won the triple jump with an impressive 13.74 metres and Laurie Greenway took the high jump. The RGS relay rounded things off with victory in the 4 x100m, which saw them, home 290 points to 268.

“It’s always daunting to face Eton. With over 1,300 boys they are almost double our size and we know that competition throughout all the events will be extremely tough, “ said the RGS Head of Athletics Mike Ridout. “This was a real team effort, with some excellent performances and I’m tremendously proud of the whole team.”

During the same afternoon, the RGS girl’s teams swept the board in the U15, U17 and Senior competitions, beating schools from Cheltenham, Malvern and Solihull in the process.

Photo: Laurie Greenway from RGS Worcester wins the high jump.

MALVERN ST JAMES SCHOOL – National Youth Theatre Success

Congratulations to Elizabeth Lewis (Year 13) and Jodie Coates (Year 10) who successfully auditioned in Birmingham during the Easter holidays for the National Youth Theatre. Over 4000 students competed for places in 34 audition centres throughout the UK. Jodie and Elizabeth performed a workshop based audition as well as an individual audition.
They will both be heading off this summer for two weeks in London, where they will take part in the highly prestigious National Youth Theatre acting course. During that time, up to thirty young people on each course improvise, devise and perform under the guidance of a professional director and specialist tutors, developing an understanding of performance and learning skills and disciplines which will serve them in the future. The courses culminate in a performance which is presented to other course members.Having completed the course, as National Youth Theatre members, the girls will be invited to audition for National Youth Theatre productions in subsequent years until they reach the upper age limit.

Founded in 1956, by Michael Croft, National Youth Theatre is described as ‘Europe’s foremost youth theatre’ and has gained a reputation for excellence and dynamism.
The girls will be joining an impressive list of former National Youth Theatre members which includes many well-established names in British theatre, film and television. Alumni include Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Derek Jacobi, Kate Adie, Daniel Day-Lewis, Ben Kingsley, and more recently, David Walliams, Matt Lucas, Catherine Tate and Orlando Bloom.

Mrs Fisher, Head of Drama, said, ‘The auditions were nerve racking for both girls, with a four hour drama workshop in the morning, followed by performance of an audition piece to one of the workshop directors in the afternoon. This is an exceptional achievement’.

Well done to both drama students.

RGS WORCESTER – crews in action at Evesham Regatta

RGS crews in action at Evesham Regatta – first ever wins for Rachel and Grace

Fourteen boats from all age-groups raced at Evesham Regatta last Saturday, and RGS Worcester came away with two wins and several other encouraging performances. Twenty more boats would have raced on the Sunday as well, but heavy overnight rain caused the Sprint regatta to be cancelled.
The Senior RGS Girls raced well in Coxed Fours; the more experienced boat competed in WJ18 Fours, losing out narrowly to a Pangbourne College Four in a hard-fought final. The younger crew (Lucy Sidwell, Michaela Belham, Julia Davies, Rachel Turner, coxed by Grace Jones) raced in an adult category, beating two club crews to take the trophy. This was a first ever win for Rachel and Grace.
The RGS Senior Girls eight also won their event in fine style. The winning crew was Lucy Sidwell, Michaela Belham, Catherine Field, Rachel Turner, Ros Goldrick, Sophie Stevens, Julia Davies, Patsi Walton and cox Luke Thomas.
The Boys’ J15s raced in two different VIIIs categories; in the adult Novice event they were inevitably a little out of their depth, but against their counterparts from Cheltenham College they competed strongly, only to miss out in the final stages.
The Senior Boys also had to contend with strong Pangbourne crews: the Coxed Four lost a straight final, whilst the VIII produced a powerful performance in the Semi-final to beat Monmouth School by several lengths, only to succumb to Pangbourne’s top boat in the final.

Photo; The winning RGS Coxed Fours – Lucy Sidwell, Michaela Belham, Julia Davies, Rachel Turner, coxed by Grace Jones.

RGS Worcester – 100% success for Springfield Karate Club

A highly respected karate coach has created a little piece of history with a 100% yellow belt pass rate at a local school.

In all,16 pupils from RGS Springfield, based at Britannia Square in Worcester, passed their yellow belt karate test with flying colours. This is only the second time to have happened during the long career of karate coach Tony Johnson. One pupil, Jasmine Randle, has progressed so well she achieved a double-grading and passed the orange belt test!

“Their 100% pass rate is extremely rare – in fact only twice in the 30 years that I’ve taught karate,” said Tony Johnson, who is a Karate Sixth Dan Grand Master (6th Dan Kong Sudo, 6th Dan Ko Am and UK Instructor).

“I have to say a huge well done to the children at Springfield. They all have the ability to go right through to becoming black belts, which says a great deal about their application. They are a pleasure to teach and I look forward to every session. In fact, their learning rate is so fast that I may have to re-think my syllabus!”

The ages of the children ranges from 6-11 and they all started with no karate experience whatsoever. The club runs as an after school activity and was introduced by the school to give pupils a taster of some of the less well-known sports.

“I love doing Karate with Master Johnson because he makes it so much fun” says Niamh Colclough.

“When I got my Yellow belt I was very excited and wanted to learn more” says Tessa Wareing.

“Karate is a fun sport, especially when you get up to a higher level” says Kezia Jordan.

Scent of success for RGS Young Enterprise Team

A Worcester school’s Young Enterprise team, with their unique Aromatherapy Fan, has been judged ‘Best Overall Company’ at the county finals and will now represent Hereford & Worcestershire at the West Midlands Regional Finals in June.

Led by 17 year-old Managing Director, Becky Walker, their company is called Inspired and is made up of students from the sixth form at RGS Worcester.

Following a brainstorming session last September, they discarded ideas such as a Dayglo Keyhole Illuminator (because it would help burglars as much as home-owners) and brightly coloured kettles (possibility of electrocution), and devised a neat product to fill a gap in the aromatherapy market.

Their product allows you to place aromatherapy oils into the unit, which distributes calming vapours via a super-quiet fan. Several have been sold to the public and Inspired now has three units on trial at a Worcester shop.

They won the award for Best Product due to their innovative idea and the fact that they had manufactured it from scratch, which included vacuum forming, laser cutting and electronic assembly.

“None of us had any DT skills, so it has been an incredible learning process for us all,” said MD Becky Walker. “In addition to this technical aspect, Young Enterprise has taught me the value of working to the strengths of each team member. I’ve also found out that I have less patience than I previously thought! I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to test themselves in learning new skills.”

Photo: Charles London, Becky Walker, Ritesh Patel, Katie Stephens and Stewart Smith

Bromsgrove School Inspection – Oustanding Results

This week, Bromsgrove School received inspection reports from OFSTED and the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), who are answerable to the DCSF. It will be six years before the School comes under this level of government scrutiny again.

The OFSTED boarding inspection gave the Prep and Senior Schools the summative verdict of “outstanding” (the highest OFSTED can award) and, remarkably, every single subcategory bar one was also deemed “outstanding”. This is a stunning assessment.

The Independent Schools Inspectorate do not give a one word overall assessment but grade key areas using “excellent” as the highest award. Pre-Prep, Prep and Senior School received only “excellent” and “good” in the numerous categories, with “excellent” dominant. Not a single aspect of the Schools was even deemed average. Among the key areas graded “excellent” were leadership, governance and management.

The Senior School also came top of the academic Value Added league tables for Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire and Shropshire as used and promulgated by the BBC and DCSF. These tables include all state as well as independent schools in these counties.

Headmaster, Chris Edwards, said: “We have just emerged from the most intense period of external scrutiny we have ever experienced. I am delighted to report that on a national scale we are eminent and, in some areas, pre-eminent. It is a humbling privilege to be at the helm of one of Britain’s finest schools.”

The full reports can be accessed via the school’s website.

If you would like further details or comment about the reports please contact:
Sara Bussey,
Marketing Co-ordinator.
Telephone 01527 579679 ext 265
Email sbussey@bromsgrove-school.co.uk