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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.”

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.”

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).

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.

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’.

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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

Following its success last year, the Warriors Charity Challenge (Worcester Warriors Staff v Worcestershire Teachers) will take place on the main pitch at Sixways on Tuesday, 11 May 2010, KO 7pm.

All proceeds will be donated to The Matt Hampson Trust.

Come along and cheer on our teachers and hope they can even the series.

Messrs Hughes, Moffatt, Bee, Friend and Taylor will be representing RGS and will be joining senior and primary school teachers from around Worcestershire for the charity match

Tickets are only £3 and are on sale from Mrs Sturdy in Whiteladies on 01905 613391. Tickets are also available from the Warriors Box Office on 01905 454183.

Parking is available at Sixways for £2 per car, payable as you drive in.

Corporate boxes are available at a price of £20 per head which will include a 1 course meal, great viewing point and a current 1stXV player who will act as the host.

Last year’s game was hugely entertaining so we hope to see as many of you there as possible this year for a really fun evening.
Please book quickly to avoid disappointment and support two great charities.

Rugby Background / RGS Teachers –

Gareth Hughes (Fly Half) – ex Saracens
Jon Moffatt (Back) – ex Northampton
Jonathon Friend (Back Row) – ex Bath
Ben Taylor (Back Row) – ex Bedford
Simon Bee (Hooker) – ex Broad Plain Bristol

A Fashion Show with a recycling theme entertained 600 visitors at RGS Worcester and raised £2,600 for charity.

Some 110 Royal Grammar School students, aged from 13-18, took part in the show, which featured more than twenty collections with an Eco Fashion theme. The students produced garments with ethical slogans, recycled fabrics in innovative ways and moved away from fast (disposable) fashion toward items with a long life.

Among the clothes shown was a dress made out of old ties, dungarees from recycled denim and belts, a fancy dress fairy costume with three different options and a wetsuit given a new lease of life as daywear. One collection consisted of clothes from the Age Concern shop in Worcester. They were updated and renewed into stunning new designs.

“Many of the collections were aimed at delivering an ‘Eco’ message whether it was through using slogans on ‘hoodies’, recycling garments, or products designed to have a multi-purpose,” said Jo Dutfield, Head of Textiles at RGS. “Our students are becoming even more environmentally aware and are hopefully having a positive impact as young designers. Many of our students go on to have careers within the fashion industry, whether researching new industrial processes or working as fashion designers. This show is an excellent way for them to start on the ladder.”

There was also a special appearance from A Level Art Student Hannah Evans. Under the guidance of Head of Art Emma Dukes, Hannah created and produced her dress made entirely from glow-sticks, an inspirational design which caused a buzz of excitement when the lights dimmed.

The proceeds of the show are being given to The Noah’s Ark Trust, which supports children who may have experienced the bereavement of a close relative or friend.

Photo: Josie Jackson in her dress, made entirely from recycled ties.

The last opportunity for electioneering at a Worcester school was grabbed by candidates representing nine political parties.

Each candidate was allotted a three-minute slot to win over voters from The Royal Grammar School Worcester, who go to the polls alongside the rest of the country on 6 May. Candidates ranged in age from 13 -18 and each looked to secure votes with winning policies.

“All the candidates had clearly put lots of time and thought into their policies, not just copying the published manifestos,” said Joe Lyons, Head of the RGS Politics Department. “This is an excellent platform for pupils with an interest in the election to become involved and has sparked off some sensible debating among the students around the school.”

The parties represented were:
Labour
Liberal Democrat
Conservative
Communist
Plaid Cmyru
Green Party
UKIP
Jackson Boogie
Monster Raving Loony

“I think it’s excellent that the school is running elections to time in with the General Election,” said student Amelia Newland. “It has been the first time that anyone in school has talked about politics and we’ve had some good arguments about various policies such as defence spending and the NHS. The funniest policy came from the Monster Raving Loony candidate who said his party would introduce a 99p coin to save everyone time in shops.”

Photo: The RGS candidates, after making their final speeches to gain election.

Francesca Hill, Year 13, is celebrating this week, having attained Distinction at Grade 8 for Percussion, French Horn and Singing. Francesca has played both the French Horn and Percussion for six years and has been singing since the age of six. She plays percussion in the National Schools Symphony Orchestra and has been a member of the Malvern Priory Choir from the age of seven.

Francesca, who was delighted with the results, said, ‘I plan to study music at university. It has always been a very large part of my life and I hope to pursue a career in music for film and television. I have been very lucky and given many opportunities to experience different aspects of music, which has certainly increased my love of music.’

Director of Music, Mrs Lindner, said, ‘Francesca is an extraordinarily versatile and talented musician and her contribution to Malvern St James has been exceptional. She is a role model for all our girls. We offer her every good wish for her future’.

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’.

Worcester pupils at Radio 5 Live Debate
15 students from RGS Worcester were among an invited audience at the recent Radio 5 Live debate, titled ‘Trust and Politics’.

Hosted by 5 Live’s Victoria Derbyshire, there were MPs from all the major parties, including Hillary Benn, Labour’s Environment Minister and Simon Hughes of the Lib Dems.

Quotes from attendees.

George Painter, aged 17, attends The Royal Grammar School, Worcester.
“It was a great experience being part of the audience. People asked tough questions of the politicians, and the depth of feeling about the expenses scandal was passionate. I study politics, so hearing both sides of the debate gave me lots to think about.”

Toni Johns, aged 16, also from RGS Worcester.
“The thing that amazed me was the skill of Victoria Derbyshire, who hosted the programme. She had to field questions, get her cues right for the travel, weather, sport and news bulletins and keep the debate on track. If she ran as an MP, I’d certainly vote for her!”

Joe Lyons, Head of Politics at RGS Worcester.
“This was a great opportunity for students to put direct questions to politicians from the main parties. It energised them to think much more deeply about the real issues facing the country. It also raised the interesting issue of whether the voting age should be reduced to 16, an age at which you can be taxed, but unable to vote. All in all, a tremendous learning experience.”

Where so many other schools have failed, a quick-witted teacher from a Worcester school managed to get 20 pupils back from a German exchange trip.

Dr Dan Beer, Head of German at RGS Worcester, was in Kleve, near Cologne, with the pupils. He faced a catalogue of problems when he realised the extent of the travel chaos caused by the Icelandic volcano eruption. “I initially thought that the pupils were playing a practical joke, by saying that all the Ryanair flights were cancelled and that we could not return for the start of the new school term!

“But as soon as I caught up with events on the Internet, the alarm bells sounded. Our flights were cancelled, no ferries were available, all the coaches were booked solid. So I enlisted the help of our German counterparts. We eventually found a large coach with just enough room for us to squeeze on with another school. We transferred first from Kleve to Goch and then managed to get an overnight journey to catch the Eurostar at Calais.”

Colleagues back at The Royal Grammar School in Worcester had laid on another coach to collect the students from Maidstone services at 5am the next day, as the German coach was not prepared to make the complete journey to Worcester. This meant that the students arrived back in school less than a day behind schedule.

“When I first told Dr Beer about the volcanic dust, he didn’t believe me,” said Jodie Palmer aged 15, who was on the exchange trip. “Everything happened so quickly as plans had to keep changing. It was actually pretty exciting and an experience that I’ll never forget.”

A dedicated Worcester teacher has won an Excellence Award and received national recognition at a ceremony in London for his Maths and Design and Technology work.

David Cotterill has taught at RGS Worcester for 29 years and has received due reward from the Design and Technology Association, by winning his category at the Excellence Awards 2010.

The award follows a lengthy process of evaluation by the Association’s judging panel, which consists of leading figures from the world of design and technology. Competition for the award is fierce, with submissions from teachers all over the UK.

Mr Cotterill’s experience is vast, and in 2008 he won funding from the Winston Churchill Trust Fund to spend time in America researching space travel at NASA. His ability to help students understand the complexity of everything from simple engineering principles, through to high-tech computer aided design software, has paid huge dividends to the students at RGS.

Pupils from his department have regularly won national design and engineering awards, which has resulted in the school’s D & T department becoming nationally recognised.

Andy Rattue, Headmaster at RGS Worcester sums up. “David Cotterill has truly been an inspirational teacher at the school for an exceptionally long time. It is absolutely right that his passion, knowledge and expertise have received such an important accolade. Along with all the students who have benefitted from his teaching, I add my gratitude for his dedication.”

The awards were made at a glitzy ceremony held at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Savoy Place London. Sir John Sorrell, who is a past chairman of the Design Council and one of the foremost creative designers in the country, made the presentation.

Photo: David Cotterill receives his award from Professor Celia Hoyles OBE, Director of the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, and Sir John Sorrell CBE.

Bromsgrove Pre-Preparatory & Nursery School has been busy raising money for Sport Relief today.

Pupils and staff at the Hanbury Road School came dressed ready to play their favourite sport on Friday 19th March and raised money for the charity amounting to £225.
Mrs Kate Western, Year 2 teacher says “throughout the day, all year groups took part in a Sport Relief challenge. Year 2 children and their teachers were very proud to have completed a mile. Following in the spirit of celebrity relay challenges, Year 1 pupils took part in a continuous relay event and the gruelling Three Peaks Challenge was the inspiration for Reception children who enjoyed a circuit of obstacles. In addition, Nursery pupils motivated by the recent Sport Relief celebrity cycle ride, cycled ‘laps’ around the Nursery grounds

On Saturday 20th March The Choral Society of Bromsgrove School took to the stage in the magnificent surroundings of Birmingham Town Hall
Comprising of current pupils, Old Bromsgrovians, parents and past parents of the School, members of staff and Governors, as well as friends of the above and augmented by West House and Winterfold Prep School pupils, the Choral Society performed the masterpiece “The Creation” by Haydn.
The Creation is an oratorio written between 1796 and 1798 by Joseph Haydn. The oratorio depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as described in the biblical Book of Genesis and in Paradise Lost.
The Director of Music, Jonathan Kingston conducted a brilliant performance of this mightily uplifting work, with the Orchestra – many of them Bromsgrove School’s music teachers and pupils – and Assistant Director of Music Richard Knight playing the 6,000-pipe organ. Paul Bradley plus visiting members of the music department Angela Kazimierczuk, William Coleman and Upper Sixth pupil Chloe Deval-Reed were outstanding soloists and all forces closed the performance with a triumphant ‘Sing the Lord, ye voices all’.
Mr Philip Bowen, Deputy Headmaster says “As an audience member I was very proud to see our School on this stage and visually and acoustically it was a most satisfying spectacle. We congratulate everyone involved. The Choral Society rehearsed on dark nights all winter and such a production only comes to such a glorious climax after the most painstaking work over many months.”

Miss Mann and Mrs Huntley escorted 11 girls from Years 10 to 13 to the Model United Conference which was held at George Watson’s College, Edinburgh. It was attended by five hundred students from countries as diverse as Poland, Greece and Iran. Each of the girls represented Columbia on a different committee, discussing topics such as Human Rights, Disarmament and Economic and Environmental issues. There was a wealth of lively debate, with various countries evicted for libellous activities.

It was the most successful year yet for Malvern St James, with three girls winning awards. Congratulations to Maria Goryaeva who was nominated as a ‘Highly Commended’ delegate and also to Elizabeth Utting and Victoria Jackson, who were both ‘Commended’.
Miss Mann said, ‘We are so proud of our girls – every girl in the team had spoken by break time on the first morning and they made an amazing team. New friends were made throughout the weekend and some girls had their first experience of bagpipes and Scottish Dancing. Overall, an outstanding conference and we cannot wait until next year!’

Pupils at a Worcester junior school have just enjoyed a rousing visit by Kenyan artist, Gakonga.

The class at RGS Springfield was able to bring its Kenyan topic to life during the artist’s workshop. Gakonga is a very popular artist, working in watercolours, creating a contemporary take on traditional African images.

In addition to painting the pupils a picture about life as an artist in Kenya, he also taught the younger pupils some Kenyan dance rhythms.

“It was marvellous to bring such an inspirational character into school,” said RGS Springfield’s Headmistress, Marion Lloyd. “ Gakonga bought Africa to life for the children in a fascinating way. They learned so much about the Kenyan culture and art.”

A RGS Worcester pupil, Max Whittle, is eagerly awaiting the results of his trial for the England U18 Basketball team, where he was one of 80 players put forward for possible selection.

Max attends RGS Worcester and trains with the senior Worcester Wolves team, which currently sits 9th in the British Basketball League, the supreme level in the UK. He also plays for their U18 team, which competes in The National League, Midlands Conference.

Playing at Point Guard, 18 year old Max also suits up for Worcester, playing in Division 1 of the West Midlands League.

Last week, Max’s side won the Regional Final in an epic encounter, 80-75, against the Birmingham Blazers. In spite of sustaining a vicious poke in the eye, Max played a full part in the victory.

“Getting selected for the England trials was just brilliant and an experience that I won’t forget,” said Max. “I’m very grateful for the training and playing opportunities that I’ve had with the Wolves, particularly the coaching I’ve had from Chris Lowe and Chris Mayes. My personal coach Tom Perkes has also been fantastic to me.”

He has secured a place at Big Bend Community College, Moses Lake, Washington State for life after RGS. His dream is to make an impact with The Runnin’ Vikes and then transfer to one of the major basketball-playing universities in the USA.

Oh yes, as well as making the England squad!

U12 Netballers from Bromsgrove Preparatory School travelled to Brighton (on Friday 12th March) to compete in the IAPS National Netball finals at Roedean school

On the day, 68 teams took part in the U11, U12 and U13 competitions and it was a fantastic spectacle of netball to watch in a stunning setting.

Having qualified as Regional winners, Bromsgrove’s U12s were in a good position placed in a group with Greshams, Hazlegrove, Westbourne House, Port Regis, Godstowe and Cranleigh. In their first game against Greshams school, the girls had a tentative start with the first half score being 2 – 1 to Greshams, finally winning the first game 6 – 2. In the second game, Bromsgrove faced Hazlegrove School and again were ahead 5 – 3. Unfortunately the following game waslost 6 – 2. Undeterred, Bromsgrove focused on their next match which was against Port Regis who had also lost to Westbourne House, so we needed to win. We started well with U12 pupils Georgina Horsley-Gubbins, Anastasia Brantingham and Imogen Sapstead attacking brilliantly, supported by Alice Vaughan in defence and we were ahead 3 – 2. When the half time whistle should have gone, our team tactics weren’t allowed to be put into action as the umpires didn’t hear the central timed ‘hooter’ and they played on until the full 12 minutes were played! Unfortunately that game was then lost 5 -4.

Bromsgrove were extremely fired up for the next match against Godstowe which took them to victory 5 – 3. The last match should have been the toughest and an opportunity to get their own back against Cranleigh School, who won the U12 IAPS National Hockey Finals earlier in the academic year. Bromsgrove played their best netball of the season and it all came together, cruising to victory 9 – 2.

Bromsgrove had tied on points with Port Regis so they had a nail biting wait to hear whether they had done enough to get into the semi-finals, finally relieved to hear their name being called out over the PA system.

In the semi’s Bromsgrove sadly lost 7 – 5 against Brighton College. In the third/ fourth play off match, Bromsgrove took on Westbourne house – a team they had already lost to in the group stage – but after the excitement of the semi-finals, Bromsgrove’s play was a little flat and they lost 7 – 4.

Miss Jennifer Danks, Head of Prep School Girls’ PE and Games says “It was a strong whole squad performance but player of the tournament goes to Year 7 pupil Imogen Sapstead for her consistent shooting and excellent attacking play. A great achievement after coming back from 6 weeks rest after injury. The girls should not be too disappointed as fourth in the country is a fantastic result. They have medals and the memories to hold onto ready for next year’s challenge where I’m sure they will go one better!”

A monumental challenge, to build an electric car able to race in just 13 weeks, has been undertaken by a team of sixth form pupils from RGS Worcester, backed by local company, Superform Aluminium.

The students have to construct the car from scratch, and see how far it can be driven in 90 minutes, in a national event called the Greenpower Formula 24.

They join over 200 other teams, all aged 16-24, including schools, universities and also several from carmakers, Jaguar Land Rover and Bentley. There are series of regional rounds, leading up to the national final in October.

The pupils from RGS have secured the backing of Worcester-based Superform Aluminium, a company with great expertise in supplying technically advanced hot formed components to leading car companies such as Aston Martin, Bentley Morgan, Rolls Royce and Lamborghini as well as parts for many Aerospace and Rail applications.

The car is currently a wooden prototype, but the final model will be produced in aluminium and other lightweight materials. All the cars in the competition use identical batteries and motors, which means that innovative design and engineering is required to produce a winning car.

“This is not something that we normally get involved in,” said Simon Tarmey, MD of Superform. “But the passion of the students for the project, plus their obvious engineering skills, soon changed my mind. We need more of this enthusiasm, because manufacturing industry has taken a terrible battering. Anything that pushes pupils in this direction has to be applauded and supported.”

Superform Aluminium will allow the RGS pupils, Robin Hearn, Doug Wilkie, Joe Perry, Dan Staines and John Horne, access to their computer aided design software and will also offer technical advice and support on the purchase of key components. Dave Edwards, an Automotive Concept Engineer, is assisting the pupils with his expert knowledge.

There are three drivers, who will be responsible for both testing and the race-days.

Photo: left to right – Joe Perry, John Horne, Doug Wilkie, RGS Team Leader shaking hands with Simon Tarmey (Superform MD), Dave Edwards (Superform Concept Engineer), Dan Staines.
Drivers: Gabby Radford & Charlotte Emms (kneeling), Pippa Cusack (in the car)

After an exciting and successful season, Bromsgrove Schools’ U16A rugby team have been declared the North Midlands Champions (on 3rd March 2010).

Their opponents, Adam’s Grammar, put up a good fight and it was all square at full time (3 to 3), however it came to the boot of Fifth Former James Widdop to put Bromsgrove ahead with a well struck drop goal with 2 minutes left to play.

Mr Hugh Bell, U16A Coach says, “This win marked a tremendous end to the U16’s season and I would like to thank everyone involved for their help and support”.

Bromsgrove Pre-Preparatory and Nursery School held a celebration for World Book Day with a visit from children’s author, Cat Weatherill.

All the children from Nursery to Year Two had an interactive Storytelling session with Cat who brought her stories to life with music, props and audience participation. Aswell as telling the pupils stories from other countries she shared her very latest book, ‘By Lantern Light’ with us.

Mrs Kate Western, Year Two teacher says, “The children were captivated and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. They are now also looking forward to other activities across the school to encourage a love for reading and books”.

An old boy, who is an acting surgeon at Selly Oak Hospital, made an emotional return to his old school to receive a £2,050 cheque on behalf of Help for Heroes

Will Sharp, Surgeon-Lieutenant, Royal Navy, returned to RGS The Grange to accept the cheque from Simon Howkins, who is the deputy head at the Worcester school. He was accompanied by Dawn Turner, the County Volunteer for the charity.

The money was raised from a series of fund raising activities by the school over a 10 week period.

“I was absolutely delighted to return to The Grange on behalf of Help for Heroes,” said Mr Sharp. “The school has always been quick to help good causes and this money will be very gratefully received by the charity. It has been a fantastic effort by the school.”

Will Sharp was an active member of the RGS CCF Naval unit. He then trained as a doctor at Manchester University, sponsored by the Navy. This led to his work at Selly Oak Hospital.

Also shown in the photo are head boy, Duncan Drew, and head girl, Carys Selvey.

Four Worcester schoolboys, who came 4th in the 2009 National Warhammer gaming tournament, are in full training to improve on last year’s performance.

Led by 13 year old Sam Paget, the team of four all attend the Royal Grammar School in Worcester. They are the current Regional Champions in the 11-18 year age group. After winning that round, they progressed to the Nationals, coming 4th, out of an original entry of 60 teams, which included teams from schools and clubs.

The team is completed by Matthew Cross, Ed Watkins (all 13) and Andrew Dodd (aged 12). They practice regularly and have their own dedicated room at RGS, where they hone and develop their skills.

“The thing I love about Warhammer is that when an army is fully painted, fighting each other on the tabletop, it’s a beautiful thing to see,” said Sam Paget. “It felt really good to come 4th in the nationals last year, as it was our first year in the competition. We are constantly improving our game and I’m sure that with our new tactics we will be able to win the nationals!”

The Regional Finals are in March, with the National Finals held at the Game Workshop HQ in Nottingham in July.

Pupils at a Worcester school have smashed their target of raising £10,000, in just one week, for the children of Haiti, by banking £22,923.

The goal set at RGS Worcester for the week 8-12 February, looked very ambitious, particularly as the end of day one had raised only £101. But the whole school met the challenge in great style.

“There were some concerned faces when the £10,000 in one week was set as our objective, as we did not want egg on our faces,” said Andy Rattue, headmaster of RGS.

“I am immensely proud of the way that the pupils, supported by staff and parents, rallied to Haiti’s aid in such an extraordinary way. It shows that today’s schoolchildren are deeply concerned about the disaster. We’re delighted to pass on such a substantial sum to Save the Children.”

Pupils dreamt up a host of fund raising ideas, which included schemes collecting litter, a shoe-shining stall, a nail bar, an assault course, a bring & buy sale, a sponsored rodeo ride, teacher sponging, as well as the sale of all kinds of food, from waffles, to pizza, sweets and cakes.

A major success was called Running to Haiti’s Aid. A 4,070 mile marathon, the distance from Worcester to Haiti, which added up all the miles walked, run, cycled, rowed and swum by the students. A total of 5,080 miles was achieved, which would have reached Mexico. There was also a closing night auction, which made a large contribution to the target.

30 pupils from Bromsgrove School were immersed in a Law Experience Day kindly hosted by Harrison Clark LLP last week

Nine trainee solicitors from the Worcestershire firm ran work shops for the pupils on different areas of Law. The students from the Worcester Road School then had to prepare for a mock trial based on a real case with a claimant and defendant.

The School was honoured to have a Mr Jonathan Brew play QC alongside Matthew Jackson as Clerk of Court in wig and gown; the trainee solicitors acted as witnesses.

Miss Zia Leech, Careers Adviser and Head of PSHCE said “the pupils were outstanding, cross-examining the witnesses and summing up splendidly. Routh Hall became a court of Law and the atmosphere was tense as the Judge, based on the evidence heard, found for the defendants after questioning the knowledge of the expert witness. The day was very much appreciated by those students already thinking about a career in Law and for others it was a great introduction”.

A major charity appeal for the Haiti disaster, with a deadline of just one week to raise £10,000, was launched today by The Royal Grammar School in Worcester.

The pupils at RGS Worcester have been set this target to help Save the Children’s work in Haiti, providing safe sanctuary, food and water for the thousands of orphans on the island. The situation has been made incredibly dangerous, as over 4,000 prisoners are at large on the island, since the jail was demolished by the earthquake.

No warning was given to the pupils before they received a presentation at their morning assembly. Simon Howells, who is Head of Drama at RGS, is leading the project and has set the very stiff target.

“The scale of this disaster is so great as to be almost unbelievable,” said Simon Howells “and I felt that we, as a school, should make the greatest possible contribution. By limiting the time to just one week it concentrates our efforts. It means that pupils and staff will have to work hard, using innovative fund-raising ideas, knowing that the clock is ticking.”

Almost within minutes of the appeal announcement to the school, ideas for raising money were instigated. “Running to Haiti’ will see pupils running, walking, rowing and swimming a combined 4,070 miles, which is the distance between Haiti and Worcester. Another involves a Nail Bar being set up within the school and there will also be an auction during the week.

The appeal runs 8-12th February. RGS will open a bank each break and lunchtime to collect monies that have been raised, with the running total advertised each day.

Bromsgrove School’s Netballers represented Worcestershire in the West Midlands finals last week (Saturday 28th January).

The U16 team from the Worcester Road school beat Ludlow 12-4, Hereford Cathedral School 20-1, Streetly School 15-4, Walton High School 10-4 and Bablake 13-1.

Bromsgrove went through as winners of that pool which meant they faced Newcastle-under-Lyme in the semi-final which they won convincingly, 14-4. In the final they then faced King Edwards Camp Hill and cruised to a 17-10 victory to become West Midlands champions.

Mrs Emma Buckingham, Head of Girls’ Games says “Yet again we have an outstanding team in the National Finals. We look forward to the finals on 20th March at Rodean School, Brighton and hope to capitalise on our success”.

Malvern St James Girls’ School is celebrating after receiving a fantastic Ofsted report – achieving OUTSTANDING in all categories concerned with the well-being of the children.

The 360 pupil school was inspected during November and the report recognises the School’s exceptionally high quality of pastoral care. The outcome judgements in Being Healthy, Staying Safe, Enjoying and Achieving, Making a Positive Contribution and Organisation are described as ‘outstanding’. The School did not receive any recommendations.

The report states that girls, ‘self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence is excellent because they are valued within the school community and their contributions and efforts are noticed and rewarded. Boarders benefit from excellent support provided by the staff, external professions and peers’.

The report also notes that ‘girls are well informed and become confident individuals and are able to lead safe, fulfilling and healthy lives’.

‘The system in place to promote the safety and welfare of boarders was described as ‘outstanding’ with girls living in a ‘positive and nurturing environment where their welfare is paramount’.

Headmistress, Mrs Rosalind Hayes, said, ’This is an excellent achievement for the whole School. It was very pleasing that OFSTED recognised that the holistic, child-centred approach that we achieve at Malvern St James is very much a team effort and a result of the outstanding commitment shown by all departments of the School’.

The inspecting team praised Ms Elaine Drake, the Assistant Head responsible for Boarding, for ‘her dynamic and visionary approach’.

The report concluded that, ‘Malvern St James is an outstanding school. Boarders’ safety and protection is paramount, Boarders’ health and pastoral care is being met by a dedicated team of professional staff who are continually striving to develop the boarding experience and maintain outstanding outcomes for children’.

RGS Worcester’s state of the art fitness suite has been officially opened by the Worcester Warriors.

Jonny Arr, Aussie legend Chris Latham and All Black sensation Rico Gear cut the ribbon at the school’s modern Butler Fitness Suite in front of pupils and sports staff today.

The players, accompanied by Keir Hansen, Warriors Strength & Conditioning Coach, – who had just led a seminar with pupils in regard to strength and conditioning training – were clearly impressed with what had been achieved at the school post merger with The Alice Ottley School and the vast £6.3 million development.

After the visit ex pupil of RGS Worcester Jonny Arr said,

“The new Fitness Suite is fantastic, I wish this facility had been in place when I was here.”

“The school has changed a lot in a very short space of time. RGS gave me so much during my time here, not just benefiting my rugby, but also my education. I know these new additions will be a great help to future pupils and who knows, with a suite like this, future Warriors stars as well!” added Jonny Arr.

A delighted Tim Curtis, RGS Worcester Director of Sport commented,

“We are all extremely proud of the Fitness Suite and how it is used throughout the school.”

“RGS Worcester already has a national reputation for sporting excellence, but to have a facility like this is a real privilege. Kier has inspired us today with the importance of strength and conditioning. This facility enables all our pupils (and staff!) to put his words into practice.”

The former Worcestershire Country Cricket Club captain and England International adding,

“The Butler Fitness Suite has the specification of a top professional gym but it doesn’t just look good, it is user friendly. Separate air-conditioned areas house aerobic machines, rowing ergometers, free and controlled weights as well as there being a stretching, warm down area. This makes workouts safe, highly effective and hugely motivating for all our pupils and staff from 7.15am till going home time.”

Contrary to the score line, on the pitch the action lived up to the electric atmosphere with a resurgent RGS controlling the ball and tempo of the match during an extremely even encounter.

Both teams endured a hard fought contest that could have easily gone either way, using the kicking game to play for territory and hard defence in order to capitalise on opposition mistakes.

A first half penalty from the boot of RGS fly-half Bill Harling, proved to be the only points of the match.

It was a game where unity and teamwork counted; with the power of the RGS forwards making small gains and controlling the clock, while allowing space for the well-drilled backs led brilliantly by Captain Bill Harling to focus on their kicking game, find in-roads up the field and distribute the play – while also putting their bodies on the line to stop the occasional light footed King’s back from making a break.

Full Back Will Short also proved to be a constant thorn in the King’s side constantly looking to jink and side step his way up the field, supported magnificently by Winger Steve Ndumbe, who always seemed to be ready for the ball and the power of Lock Dan Staines.

With the final whistle gone, there was a clear divide of jubilation and despair in the camps, but both teams must be proud of the night and the spectacle they created. The crowd of 3000 supporters sportingly cheered both teams as they left the pitch.

Warriors scrum-half and ex RGS Worcester pupil Jonny Arr and Roger Marshall, Managing Director of Modus Creative awarded the Modus Challenge Cup to the winning RGS skipper, in front of his victorious team and the thousands in attendance. 



A great end to a thrilling evening of nail-biting rugby.

On Friday 27th November the U12 team at the Old Station Road School competed in the IAPS Regional Hockey tournament in Repton. Bromsgrove had five teams to play in their group stage and only the top two schools were guaranteed a place in the prestigious National finals so it was all to play for.

In their first match against Foremarke Hall, Bromsgrove started a little tentatively and nerves were showing. Anastasia Brantingham, Sarah Ellis and Liza Welch showed the way forward and Bromsgrove fought for every ball. Liza Welch scored twice in quick succession giving Bromsgrove a ‘cushion’. Excellent defending by Alice Vaughan and Alycia Nattress kept the opposition from getting on the score sheet and we won 2 – 0.

In the 2nd game the team faced the Elms Colwall with the game ending in a 0 – 0 draw. Bromsgrove knew that as the games were only 15 minutes long, they needed to score early on to secure a win and that is exactly what they did in their next game against Beachborough. By dominating in attack Liza Welch yet again scored from some intricate passing play by herself, Georgina Horsley-Gubbins and Anastasia Brantingham. Beachborough did manage to slip one goal past the Bromsgrove team, but this was the only goal that was scored against us all day. In this game, Liza managed a fantastic hat trick to leave the final score 3 – 1.

The last two games were vital for Bromsgrove to win as they were against the other two schools that were doing just as well as us. It was Bromsgrove’s best game of the day against St Anselms, really pulling together as a team, stringing passes together beautifully and having lots of shots on target. Georgina Horsley-Gubbins, Anastasia Brantingham, and Liza Welch all got a goal and Bromsgrove won 3 – 0.

Miss Jennifer Danks (Head of Girls’ PE and Games) says, “I am absolutely thrilled that Bromsgrove U12s are Regional Champs. It proves that all of their hard work and determination in previous matches had been worth it. Player of the tournament for me was Liza Welch. However, it wasn’t easy – it all came down to the final game as who would be crowned Regional Champions. The team started well, confident from our last win against St Anselms and Bromsgrove dominated in attack. When the final whistle went and the girls found out they were Regional Champions, there were delighted smiles and cheers all round. We are all very much looking forward to the National Finals on Thursday 3rd December where we hope we continue with our success”.

Bromsgrove Preparatory School, along with the Senior School Inter Girls team participated in the Cross Country Midland Qualifiers in Warrington, Cheshire on Saturday 14th November.

The Junior Boys, Junior Girls (Prep School) and Inter Girls (Senior School) teams all qualified for the National Finals in Cornwall on Saturday 5th December. The school has never had three teams qualify for the National Finals before.

Not only have we three teams in the final but we also have a family of three pupils participating: Thomas Trow (11 years), Lydia Trow (15 years) and Hannah Trow (12 years) and siblings Emma (11 years) and Harry Lloyd Jones (10 years).

Out of the 810 schools who entered in September, only 24 will contest the National Final.

The Junior Boys team literally demolished the rest of the field and convincingly won their age group by over forty points. All six boys ran superbly well. James Taylor 2nd, Harry Lloyd Jones running the race of his life 3rd, Jamie Ross 7th, Charlie Kendrick 15th, Thomas Trow 17th and Daniel Holmes 17th, his best race for three years. The boys were magnificent and should be aiming for a top ten eight at the National Finals – twelfth is our best ever finish.

The Junior Girls came third overall as a team and maintained the strong tradition that our girls have had over the last five years by yet again qualifying for the National Final. All the girls ran very well and finished as follows, Emma Lloyd Jones 7th, Sarah Elllis 10th, Frederica Robbins 18th, Eleanor ball 20th, Ella Cardinali 32nd and Sophie Swatkins 39th.

The Inter Girls team were our third team to run and they finished in second place overall, equal on points with winners Malvern College, but their last scoring runner was just ahead of ours. Rebecca Straw lead from the start and won, closely followed home by team mate Lydia Trow 2nd, Hannah Trow 10th, Alice Smith 22nd and Pascale Massey 29th.

Gareth Jones, Head of Boys’ PE & Games said “This is a magnificent achievement for the boys and girls of Bromsgrove School. Not only is it the first time the School has had three teams qualify for the Nationals, but it has also seen brothers and sisters compete together. The Trow family has a member in each of the three teams (this has probably never happened before) and the Lloyd Jones family have a boy and a girl in the Prep School teams. We all look forward to see what they can do in the Finals in December.”

Photo: L-R -Jamie Ross, Daniel Holmes, Charlie Kendrick, Harry Lloyd Jones, Thomas Trow, James Taylor.

Malvern St James Sports Department is celebrating after 24 girls were successful in being selected for the Worcestershire County Lacrosse Squads. The Malvern St James girls dominated the trials for the County teams with 12 girls selected for the U15 team and 12 girls for the U19 County team. 10 girls have also been successful in gaining places on the Midlands Lacrosse teams.

Sports Prefect, Laurel Buchanan said, ‘This is a great achievement for the School and it is fabulous to see so many of us getting a place. The team work was an essential part in getting us all through’. The School is very keen to promote the Sport and is host to the 3-Counties-Lacrosse Club which is the first independent Lacrosse Club open to boys and girls across the three counties with senior international lacrosse coaches. For further information, please contact: info@3-counties-lacrosse.co.uk

At a ceremony held at the Institution of Engineering & Technology, Savoy Place London, on 30th October 2009, Robin Hearn, Jonathan Horne, Joseph Perry and Douglas Wilkie from RGS Worcester were awarded prestigious Arkwright Scholarships for their outstanding work in design & technology.

Robin Hearn’s Scholarship is sponsored by The Happold Trust, Jonathan Horne’s is sponsored by The Worshipful Company of Salters, with The Industrial Careers Foundation sponsoring Joseph Perry’s Scholarship and The Royal Aeronautical Society sponsoring Douglas Wilkie’s Scholarship.

Only 249 Arkwright Scholarships were awarded across the UK this year, following applications from 770 students.
Scholars are selected following a rigorous selection process comprising an application, Arkwright Aptitude Paper and interview. During the interview students presented their GCSE project work to a panel of interviewers and discussed their commitment to design, engineering and technology. Interviews are hosted across the country by universities. Interviewees participate in a team activity and tour the engineering/design departments.
The Institution of Engineering and Technology hosted the Presentation of Awards at their prestigious building in Savoy Place, London for the 9th year.
Agnes Segal, Membership Services Manager for the IET said,
“It is a great privilege for the IET to welcome these talented young people to our London home. We hope that they will go on to become the leading scientific and engineering minds who will work with engineers around the globe to solve the pressing problems facing the world today.”

The Arkwright Trust was founded in 1990 and supports young people during their ‘A’ Level/Scottish Higher years by awarding £250 a year to assist with the purchase of materials and books. Each student will also carry the status of ‘Arkwright Scholar’ into university. The school’s design & technology department receives £200 per year for the next two years.
“This is the third year that RGS has managed to get four students through the rigorous assessment procedure. From the statistics it can be seen how difficult it is for a school to obtain more than one scholarship. Four is an exceptional achievement,” commented a delighted David Cotterill, Head of Design & Technology at RGS Worcester.
“As a school we have now received 28 Arkwright Scholarships over the past 11 years, a feat that sees our Design & Technology Department currently stand as number one in the Midlands and third in the UK.”

The four winning pupils are now going on to enter the Green Power Competition to build an electric vehicle.
“It’s a great initiative on the part of the scholars and I hope it will help to create further interest amongst pupils in the school and careers in design or engineering,” added Mr Cotterill.

Photo of scholars. Left to right.
Jonathan Horne, Joseph Perry, Robin Hearn and Douglas Wilkie

600 delegates from 31 schools convened at Cheadle Hulme School, Manchester, for the Model United Nations Conference. This is a multi-centred debating exercise in which teams from schools represent the delegations of a particular country convened as a ‘Model’ United Nations in session. The aim is for students to learn about key international issues, co-operate with other students in order to promote their delegation’s policies and to enjoy creating alliances and common goals.

Malvern St James sent three delegations of 5 girls, representing Madagascar, Columbia and Nicaragua. Each delegation then sent girls to five or six different committees where they put forward resolutions, amendments, points of information and spoke for and against the resolutions. Our girls did incredibly well: Lucy Darling was nominated guest chair of the Economic Committee, Liana Beesley Peck was awarded Best Young Delegate in the Youth Committee and Emma Leese was awarded Highly Commended Delegate in the Human Rights Council.
Sophie Coombes Roberts, Jackie Koh and Emma Leese presented in front of all 600 delegates at the General Assembly and several girls had their resolutions and amendments discussed in their committees.

Lizzie Utting, Year 13 Ambassador for Columbia, reports ‘MUNCH had a fabulous relaxed atmosphere, which encouraged even the very nervous to take the floor and debate their country’s point of view. The Political Committee was so fired up by one topic that it lasted for a record 2 hours! Overall it was a brilliant introduction to MUN for all the new members and a gently ease back into the swing of things for the more experienced.’
Rosie Baker, first time delegate, agrees ‘MUNCH introduced me and other fellow first-time delegates to important issues beyond those that most experience within school life. All in all, the weekend was fantastic fun and absolutely exhausting! Thank you so much to Miss Mann, Mrs Huntley and Miss Kopsch for taking us and giving up their weekend.’

Girls from Malvern St James are celebrating having won the Challenge the Chancellor Competition for the third time.

The ‘Challenge the Chancellor’ competition gives students the chance to decide how and why they would spend government money and was hailed as a great initiative on its launch a number of years ago.

The students have to use their skill and imagination to devise a tax policy, explaining how the tax would be calculated, who would pay it and what benefits the tax would bring about. This year’s team proposed a tax regime to promote healthier eating by discouraging the addition of salt to processed and snack foods. They were assessed on their originality and on the depth and quality of their reasoning.

The team, consisting of Mandy Lee, Shin Ong, Jaclyn Chow and Ziyi He, was invited to a reception in London where their prizes were presented by the Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury. The girls won one hundred pounds each in prize money and were awarded the Champion’s shield. In addition to the individual students’ prizes their teacher, Mrs Sally Bennett, was happy to receive a cheque for one thousand pounds on behalf of Malvern St James, which is to be spent in the Business and Economics department of the school.

The girls were taken on a tour of the Treasury and are pictured with William Gladstone’s original red box which dates from the middle of the 19th century. This box has been famously used by most Chancellors to carry details of their budget from 11 Downing Street to the Houses of Parliament on Budget day.

The girls’ Economics teacher, Mrs Sally Bennett, said, ‘The students have thoroughly enjoyed their visit to the Treasury and were proud to have been complimented by the Minister on their detailed and thoughtful tax proposal.’

RGS Worcester Boat Club marked the arrival of new Chief Coach Joe Lyons with a row-past and a boat-naming ceremony on Saturday, in which three boats were given the traditional treatment. Former Alice Ottley pupil and Cambridge cox Carole Burton was top-of-the-bill, spectacularly smashing a bottle of bubbly over the bows of the coxed quad which bears her name.
Earlier in the day, fifteen boats ranging from VIIIs, through coxed and coxless quads to single sculls rowed past the RGS and Worcester RC boat-houses; the flotilla was led off by the Year 9 beginners group in an Octuple, and the final boat was a single scull manned by ex-RGS pupil Tom Clark, who won a Bronze medal racing in the Great Britain U23 VIII at the World Championships in the summer.
Tom’s mother Sarah later named the new state-of-the-art single scull after him, and a coxless pair was then named in recognition of Roger Tarry, who coached for 20 years at RGS with great success; this time it was Roger’s wife Jenny who did the honours. Finally Carole Burton, who made history in 1986 by becoming the first girl to cox a Cambridge Boat Race crew, spoke of how she learned to row at Evesham Rowing Club as there was no rowing at the Alice Ottley School; she was impressed to see some thirty RGS girls were now able to enjoy the sport of rowing and compete at a high level.
Back inside the boat house the Club welcomed new Teacher i/c Rowing Joe Lyons who took over at the beginning of the month from Mike Vetch after a twenty-two year stint in charge. Joe was an international canoeist who represented Great Britain in many different disciplines; he then had huge success as chief coach at Canford School in Dorset: he led them to many national triumphs and several boys and girls achieved international vests under his tutelage. In a brief address, Joe spoke of the huge commitment required by rowers who wanted to succeed, offset by the rewards that come to the dedicated.

Grange Acorns Pre-School Play Group meets every Monday morning at 9.15am at RGS The Grange in Worcester.

The brightly decorated and purpose built rooms and grounds offer all the finest facilities and caring atmosphere for pre-school children.

“The group offers parents and toddlers a fun packed morning along with a bit of exercise, games and songs for all to enjoy,” commented Gareth Hughes, Headmaster of RGS The Grange.

“We offer refreshments to the parents and an adult conversation while the toddlers are busy playing and making friends. We had the first session on Monday (October 12) and it was a huge success – the feedback has been great from the parents and the children thoroughly enjoyed it.”

“Grange Acorns provides a chance for mums and dads to have some fun with their toddler and to make new friends. The Pre-School Play Group meets up every Monday – during term time – at 9.15am until 10.15am with refreshments from 10.15am to 10.45am. The first session is free, and then £3 per session afterwards, with a £1 charge for siblings,” added Gareth.

For further details or to take part, please contact Michelle Baldwin at RGS The Grange on telephone: 01905 451205, email: grange@rgsw.org.uk or website: www.rgsw.org.uk

On Friday (October 2), Laura from The Duckworth Worcestershire Trust visited Year Four at RGS Springfield to help them with their recycling work.

The children had to sort a variety of materials as if they were going to be recycled, with The Duckworth Trust offering information and help along the way.



Laura told the pupils about the length of time different materials take to decompose and everyone – teachers included – was shocked at how long some materials remain in the earth.

The children also enjoyed looking at some fascinating objects that had been made from everyday recycled materials.

On Saturday evening (October 10), RGS Springfield teachers Mrs Webster, Mrs Carr and Mrs Walker took to the hills to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Care.

The intrepid trio walked across five miles of the Malvern Hills with moonlight to guide them.

Although the weather during the day had looked as though it would be against them, by the evening the clouds had cleared and the moon shone down.

The walk was great fun and raised over £200.

She brought in Mo, the pygmy hedgehog, Dylan, a very large European rabbit, Dozer the chinchilla, Marmalade the corn snake, Judy the tortoise and Drizzle the Little Owl.

Everyone sat quietly as they were introduced to the animals and then the pupils were allowed to ask questions about each one.

The Brownies are now going to have an animal theme to their meetings for the rest of term with all the Pack working towards their Writers Badge and their Friends to Animals Badge.

It was a brilliant evening – one that everyone, Brownies and the Owls thoroughly enjoyed.

The RGS The Grange U11 rugby teams got their season off to a flying start by winning The Elms 7-a-side tournament on Saturday.

In the group stages the first string team was victorious against Monmouth School, King’s St Alban’s and Hereford Cathedral School to top their group.

In the final RGS The Grange met Abberley School who had also convincingly won their group. In a very close fought contest RGS The Grange ran out three tries to one.

The U11 second string team, who were also playing in the A Tournament performed courageously too win draws against King’s Hawford, King’s St Alban’s and only loosing one game against the eventual tournament runners up Abberley School.

The Tournament clearly showed the strong position that RGS The Grange rugby currently finds itself.

RGS The Grange in Worcester was packed for the annual Harvest Festival service, with more than 150 parents in attendance to join in with the service. Youngsters learned about the history of the celebration the festival as well as the importance of helping those less fortunate that themselves. The audience enjoyed some music, poetry and drama, all with a harvest theme.

Performances by different sections of the school were well-received although the Year Six performance of Little Red Hen was one of the highlights to the assembly, all enjoying the play and the jokes along the way!

Pupils took in packets and tins of food; these were given to the homeless around Worcester – Captain Allan Donald of the Salvation Army was on hand to accept the generous donations. Immediately after the service, the school choir visited Morton House Nursing Home, not only to deliver the fresh produce to be used in a Harvest Broth, but also to sing a selection of Harvest Songs to the residents.

Headmaster Gareth Hughes said: “The children enjoyed the festival and learnt about the importance of sharing. It made them realise just how lucky they are and how life can be very different for some people in Worcester and beyond.”

“We received a lot of food from our generous parents, which has been gratefully received. I would also like to thank all the pupils for taking part and the dedication of staff for producing such wonderful performances”

On September 25th RGS Worcester supported the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support by hosting their own coffee morning and cake sale.

Hundreds of cakes and biscuits were available during the morning break in Britannia House, with the charity event witnessing large numbers of RGS Worcester pupils and staff descending on the tasty delights and all donating and enjoying a fantastic morning.

During the sale the school raised a magnificent £200 with some money still being collected.

“It was great to see pupils and staff coming together in support of a very worthwhile charity. The cakes were brilliant and I am sure – like me – everyone enjoyed the occasion,” commented Margaret Sturdy of RGS Worcester.

Cheerful cook Julia Pugh has today (October 7) dished up an astonishing 30 years in the canteen of a local school.

She has been behind the counter in Britannia House on the Upper Tything since the 7th October 1979 and has witnessed several major changes and events along the way.

Originally starting in the Alice Ottley School Boarding House – Baskerville House – on Shrubbery Avenue, helping the Cook, Julia moved on to the Senior School (now RGS Worcester) site working in the pantry with vegetables, before moving to puddings, Assistant Cook and now Cook.

Mrs Pugh looks back on her times at the school with great fondness and warmth. She reminisces about Alice Ottley School Birthdays, the choc-ices on the lawn and the famous after school teas. Not to forget the shock of serving boys in 2007 after the merger and how the school and kitchen has grown with such speed.

“It has been a fantastic journey working at the school and I have loved every moment. The 30 years seem to have flown by and I can’t wait to see what happens in the coming years at RGS,” commented Julia.

“I remember my first day like it was yesterday, all the nerves and wonder about starting a new job, but just how friendly and welcoming all the staff were – cooks and teachers alike. I really do love the job. It has its challenging moments, but we are a great team and it’s a pleasure to serve the school,” added Julia.

“Thank you to everyone for such a great surprise.”

“She is always in a happy mood and gives everyone a warm welcome,” commented Brigitte Keen, Eurest Kitchen Manager at RGS Worcester.

“It is a delight to work with Julia. I feel very fortunate in having her and such good staff. We are a close-knit group and work really well together.“

“Numbers at the school keep going up, but we have all adapted well in the kitchen and still offer real quality, even with laugh or two along the way,” added Brigitte.

This month Bromsgrove School began teaching the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) to a group of 38 students from the UK and abroad. Once the School had passed a rigorous authorisation process, some 30 staff underwent training in locations as varied as Birmingham and Athens. The Programme was then launched with induction and team building sessions on September 7th.

The Diploma Programme differs from A levels in that students study six subjects, three at standard level and three at higher level, before sitting examinations at the end of the two year course. The subjects are balanced so that they must include English, Mathematics, a science, a modern language and a humanity with the option to study Art or Music or second science, modern language or further humanity. The programme fits well with Bromsgrove’s international reputation as being a top all-round school because Diploma Programme students must also undertake a minimum of 150 hours of creativity, action and service to the community as well as studying for a ‘Theory of Knowledge’ component. Students must also undertake personal research in preparation for producing a 4000 word dissertation or ‘Extended Essay’.

Bromsgrove’s Director of IBDP, Mike Bowen-Jones, says, “I am thrilled by the manner in which the students approached their induction and team building and by how they tackled even the most off the wall tasks without batting an eyelid.” A buoyant director said that “good organizational skills are as important as intellectual curiosity, and the start that this cohort has made augurs well for the success of the IBDP at Bromsgrove. I am sure that numbers will grow significantly as more and more people recognise the immense strength of this course and its international reputation’.”

Some of the reasons for choosing to study the IBDP given by students were….

“I am studying IB, because I think it is the best education you can possible get. Also I really like the fact that it is not an “exam factory” like the A levels because you have got Community, Action and Service; Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay, which educates you to be an adult.”
Alexander-Simon Engel, from Cologne, Germany

“There are various things that IB might stand for; these could include Inappropriate Behaviour and Intense Business. Thankfully with this course there is none of the former and huge amounts of the latter. Of course, though, Business is not all work and no play: it could be said that it is Creativity, Action and Service as well as work. I love it.”
Rupert Harris from Worcestershire, UK

“This course offers me the opportunity to continue with all of the subjects which I enjoy and has the bonus of exam results being published nearly two months before those of A levels”
Katie Nixon from Herefordshire, UK

“I think IB gives you more opportunities for future success and will educate you better. Studying IB makes you more organised because you have to use your time more efficiently to get everything done to schedule.”
Kate Voytenko from Kiev, Ukraine.

“I personally chose to study the IB because I am not yet ready to limit my learning to 4 specific areas and would like to have a greater knowledge of the world as a whole by learning alongside other people from all the different corners of the earth.”
Hannah Rowsell from Worcestershire, UK

“I chose the IB course not only to get wilder range of knowledge and have the chance to start learning a new modern language, but to be different, to prove that I can do it better and harder than others, to show my individuality and creativity, which IB enables you to do more than A level.”
Ekaterina Rtishcheva from Ulyanovsk, Russia

I took the IB because in my opinion there is no better chance to get this well prepared for your time and work at university. No other programme is that balanced and based on keeping all aspects of life together ( academics, sports, creativity, social contacts etc)-
Jana Nester from Schwabach near Nuremberg, Germany

“IB is very demanding as it is rewarding. The long term benefits of doing IB are a broader view and a better understanding of the world we live in.”
Aldiyar Nugmanov from Almaty, Kazakhstan

“I choose the IB course because with IB you have a wider range of possibilities than with any other course.”
Niklas Koffka, Hamburg, Germany

Following on from last terms Help for Heroes charity fundraising day, RGS Worcester where delighted to present a cheque for £1,600.32.

Peter Elcock, Help for Heroes, Volunteer Group Co-ordinator for Worcestershire was on hand to receive the impressive amount and also presented the school with certificates of appreciation, awarded in recognition of the contribution of RGS Worcester and for outstanding fundraising support.

Last terms heroic charity day saw every pupil and member of staff play their part, enjoying a range of themed activities, such as gun running, assault courses and much more.

“Its fantastic to come back to RGS Worcester and receive the cheque for Help for Heroes. I was at the school during the day back in June and saw first-hand just how much effort and planning RGS had gone to for the charity, so its a great honour to be able to come back and thank all the pupils and teachers personally today for their support,” commented Peter Elcock of Help for Heroes.

Bromsgrove School is delighted to welcome Richard Cox as its new Director of Cricket. Richard who is an ECB Level IV Coach and a Member of the Elite Coaches Panel for the International Cricket Council Europe has most recently worked at Warwickshire County Cricket Club as Director of Cricket for Warwickshire Cricket Board as well as being the club’s Academy Director. Richard’s extensive playing and coaching experience includes work as the ECB’s Regional Programme Manager (Midlands) for U15, U16 and U17 age groups.

Richard’s role at Bromsgrove will be to further develop Bromsgrove School’s links with all Cricket organisations and to develop cricket at all levels within the School. In particular the School is seeking to expand its cricketing reach in all areas of the game and to develop its facilities to the highest of standards over the next few years. Over recent years the school has enhanced its cricketing reputation tremendously and the School sees Richard’s appointment as an opportunity to take the sport even further.

Richard Cox said, “I am delighted to be joining Bromsgrove at such key time in the development of the School’s cricket and its facilities. Having spent 20 years at Edgbaston I hope to bring that experience to benefit the School and look forward to the challenge of working with some talented players and building upon the excellent cricketing record that the school has developed over recent years. ”

Paul Mullan (Second Deputy, Co-Curricula) said “Cricket at Bromsgrove is thriving and the appointment of Richard as Head of Cricket will enhance the excellent developments already made by Chris Munn, Master i/c Cricket. Chris and Richard will work closely together to continue to build the School’s internal cricketing activities and programmes”

Earlier this month, having qualified at the prestigious Cardigan County Show, Sophie Stratton, Year 9, competed in the National Championships held at the BSJA Scope Festival of Show Jumping at Staffordshire County Showground. This was the fifth time that she had qualified for the finals.

Sophie performed incredibly well under pressure and finished 3rd out of a total of 111 in the Under 16 class. Well done Sophie!

Current Pupil Ben Cox (17) makes his senior debut for Worcestershire County Cricket Club on Wednesday 16th September. He kept wicket behind Somerset & International players such as Marcus Trescothick and Justin Langer.

Ben has been playing for Worcestershire Under 17s this summer and has played just four second XI games.

This is a great honour for Ben and the School and we believe unique in our history.

Paul Mullan, 2nd Deputy Head (Co-Curricula) at Bromsgrove School says “Although Ben is also a member of the 1st XV the School believes in allowing its pupils to fulfil their dream and fully supported Ben in the decision to release him from School in order to play for Worcestershire. Ben has been with us from the Prep School and works very hard at his game; it has been a tricky decision for him to choose between Rugby and Cricket as he is such an excellent all-rounder, but ultimately has made the right decision as he makes his debut for Worcestershire today”.

The Governors of The Royal Grammar School are delighted to announce that the new Headmaster of RGS The Grange (one of the two RGS preparatory schools) is Mr Gareth Hughes. Mr Hughes takes up his appointment from 1 September 2009, following the resignation of Mr Tim Lowe for personal reasons and ill-health.

Mr Gareth Hughes has made an outstanding contribution as Head of Lower School at RGS Worcester for the last four years, having previously been Director of Sport. He is a top sportsman himself, having played fly-half for Saracens in the 1990s and subsequently for Worcester RFC. Mr Hughes has been a teacher for 20 years. He brings with him a wealth of leadership, vision and talent that will be invaluable to the school. The father of two also successfully led both curriculum and pastoral initiatives at his previous school and was a figure head in community and charity events. His wife Sophie is a local primary school music teacher.

“I am thrilled to be given this opportunity and excited at the prospect of working with the staff, parents and pupils of RGS The Grange. I believe in nurturing an environment where all members of the school are able to enjoy their experience of education whilst accepting the values and ethos of the community” commented Gareth Hughes, the new Headmaster.

“His hand-on and creative approach to education will be very exciting to see at the school. I look forward to working closely with him and Marion Lloyd at RGS Springfield as we take the three schools forward” added Andy Rattue, Headmaster of RGS Worcester.

Malvern St James is celebrating another year of excellent examination results. As one of the top 25 independent girls’ schools in the country, the School is delighted with its recent success at A and AS Level.
Girls achieved 99.5% pass rate with 82.8% achieving A-B grades. Nearly 40% of the Year 13 girls achieved 3 or more ‘A’ grades, 64.2% of all grades were grade ‘A’.

Headmistress, Mrs Rosalind Hayes said, “We are extremely proud of the dedication, hard work and commitment of all of the girls and the staff. We are delighted by every individual success and are particularly proud that more than 64% of all grades gained this year are grade ‘A’.
The success of our girls, particularly in Mathematics and the Sciences, continues to maintain the high standards of previous years. 95% of the girls who took Mathematics achieved a Grade A. Traditionally these subjects have been dominated by boys and these results are a clear indicator of how girls excel in an environment where they are not limited by stereotypes or gender based assumptions.
Congratulations to all girls and staff on their success in achieving a very well deserved set of results.”

Further to last weeks excellent ‘A’ Level and AS success, Malvern St James Girls’ School is delighted to announce its GCSE results.
Girls achieved 100% pass rate, 95.5% of all grades were A*-C with over 50% being A* or A.
Headmistress, Mrs Rosalind Hayes said, “We are extremely pleased with another set of superb external examination results. The girls and staff have worked hard and it is fantastic that they have been justly rewarded for all of their efforts. Success is unique to each individual and we are proud of the achievements of all our girls. Congratulations to all girls and staff on their success.”

Over 60% of the 1200 GCSE and AS examinations sat by Fifth Formers were achieved at A* and A, while numerous individuals achieved nine or ten GCSEs at A* and A. Among this latter group is Will Packwood, an American boarder currently on Birmingham City’s books. 97% of all GCSEs fell within the A to C bracket. Headmaster Chris Edwards said: 

“Many Fifth Formers took AS levels and the challenging IGCSEs alongside the traditional GCSEs, so registering our best ever performance this year is especially gratifying. As ever, we do not offer soft subjects: English, Maths, the Sciences and at least one foreign language form the core of almost every pupil’s curriculum. Pupils and staff should be very proud.”

RGSAO Worcester has again achieved excellent results in the GCSE examinations with 52.1% of passes being at A*/A grade. The overall pass rate (A*-C grades) was 97.2%, and 99.9% of candidates achieved 5 A*-C grades. Forty-two RGS candidates gained at least eight A* or A grades.

As in the recent A Level examinations, this top independent school achieved remarkable results in traditionally tough subjects such as Physics, Maths, Geography, Drama, Design Technology, Latin and Religious Studies.

“These excellent scores continue the pattern set by our A Level students,” said Headmaster Andy Rattue. “They buck the national trend away from academically challenging subjects and show what can be achieved by motivated pupils, first-rate teachers and supportive parents. The results are all the more remarkable when you consider how much these students have also achieved beyond the classroom in sport, drama, music and adventurous outdoor pursuits.”

A highlight of this term was the Gala Opera Night, which featured professional soloists and a selection of arias and chorus numbers from the world’s favourite operas and musicals. The Malvern St James Chorus performed alongside three very talented young professional singers all of whom are award winning graduates of the RNCM: Emma Johnston (Soprano), Richard Pollock (Tenor) and Oliver Dunn (Baritone).

Director of Music, Mrs Lynne Lindner writes, ‘Directed and accompanied by Malcolm Forbes-Peckham, our outstanding pianist, the young professional soloists joined the MSJ Chorus in an evening of glittering opera favourites. The audience was delighted and visibly moved by a succession of virtuoso arias and choruses. As well as grand opera, the second half included items from the lighter side, such as Gilbert and Sullivan, Offenbach’s Gendarmes’ Song and Funiculi Funicala. Four of our talented Sixth Form singers performed alongside the soloists. Charlotte Mason, Hannah Evans, Natasha Killam and Gabriella Grandi acquitted themselves magnificently and received rapturous applause. We have received numerous letters of congratulation. Thank you Malcolm for organising a night that will be long remembered’.

No fewer than 40 candidates achieved at least three A grades at A Level, with many gaining four or five A grades, facts which suggest that most RGSAO leavers should get places at their first-choice universities. Early indications are that all nine RGSAO students who have conditional offers from Oxford or Cambridge Universities this year have got the grades they require.

Headmaster Andy Rattue was very pleased with the results: “I am delighted that the hard work of our students has been rewarded, and that they can proceed with confidence to university. These results are also a tribute to the professionalism and dedication of the RGSAO teaching staff, whose attention to detail has helped our students pick their way through the A level minefield.”

“We read a lot about dumbing down in the national press, and the way in which, nationally, teenagers are avoiding ‘difficult’ subjects. It’s worth pointing out that some of our strongest results are consistently in subjects such as Modern Languages, Chemistry, Mathematics and Latin, though our candidates have also done very well in less traditional subjects such as Politics and Textiles. We also need to see academic results in the context of everything else our students are involved in, such as sport, drama, music, expeditions and charity fundraising. It’s been a great pleasure to see these young men and women keep life in perspective.”

Some subjects achieved 100% A and B grades (including disciplines as diverse as Geography, Latin, Music, Drama and ICT) and strikingly high A grade percentages were recorded by Maths, Further Maths and Art.

For the first time ever, Bromsgrove had a few pupils taking BTEC alongside A level, and all achieved 100% double distinction (equivalent to two A levels each at grade A). Sadly, these brilliant results cannot appear in A/B league tables and attendant percentages.

In the Lower Sixth, 64 pupils (a third) gained the equivalent of at least four As at AS level.

Headmaster Chris Edwards reiterated his observations of last year: “Sky high expectations, flair and titanic breadth produced these superb grades, not battery farming. We don’t do soft subjects to look better in league tables, and we enter every single pupil. No spin: just quality. Staff and pupils should be proud and thrilled.”

Sixty-six children attended from four GSA (Girls’ School Association) Schools to take part in the Junior GSA Olympics. The girls competed in a variety of sports including hurdles, sprint and javelin. Medals were awarded to groups for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place overall and certificates given to the winners of each event. Event organiser, Miss Lotti Kopsch said, ‘It has been a fantastic day. It is so important that sport is accessible to girls at all ages. Today has been a wonderful opportunity for schools to join together and promote sport at the primary age’.

Malvern St James Girls take part in ‘Apprentice’ like day of activities

Girls in years 9 and 12 brushed up their entrepreneurial skills in readiness for a day of business activities entitled ‘Road to Success’ Day in June. Ten successful career women from the world of business, finance and marketing visited the school to take groups of girls for sessions aimed at broadening and widening career choices, preparing them for decisions on universities and careers and to give them the confidence to make those decisions without gender or cultural restraint.

Suzie Branch, recently crowned Birmingham Young Professional of the Year (BYPY) 2009, was one of the delegates taking part in the day. “I was delighted to take part in the ‘Road to Success’ Day at Malvern” commented Suzie, the client services director at BHMG Marketing. “It was a day packed with creativity where the girls worked on a marketing launch campaign, fashioning a name, brand and logo for a tourist attraction. In true ‘Apprentice’ style the teams pitched their campaigns to an audience.”

This inaugural Road to Success day was the initiative of Mike Tebbett and Joan Newby. “We are delighted with the interest shown by industry leaders who shared their experience and business acumen through activities with the girls” commented Mike, “the importance of the information and experience they shared with the girls during the Road to Success Day will be invaluable”.

Other delegates taking part in the day included Marion Kinshuck, a Solicitor at Harvey Ingram LLP, Melanie Smart a Director at Adurasys Business and Management Consultants and Fiona Campbell a NLP Trainer, Master Practitioner and Business Performance Coach.

RGS The Grange Worcester underlined its aims and ambitions today – announcing the appointment of rising-star Simon Howkins from Dulwich Preparatory School.

The dynamic Worcester School has appointed family-man Simon Howkins as the new Deputy Head and he will take over from the departing Deputy Mark Turner from September.

Simon was previously employed as Director of Sport and Head of Physical Education at the Cranbrook School and brings with him a wealth of teaching and sporting experience.

A graduate of Exeter University and Campus First XV Rugby player, Simon has taught in three independent schools, with a succession of promotions at each. During his time at each school Simon spearheaded and drove sport and physical education as well as run boarding houses.

The 39-year-old and father of two, also successfully led outdoor pursuits at each of his previous schools, including the Duke of Edinburgh Award and Ten-Tors Challenges and was a figurehead behind house and extra curricular activities.

“We’re very pleased that Simon has accepted the role to take over from Mark who has done such a fantastic job for the school over the last few years,” said RGS The Grange Headmaster Tim Lowe.

“Simon joins us with a large amount of experience from his time within independent education. His work at Dulwich Preparatory School signaled to us his flair for teaching and leadership abilities.”

“His fresh and passionate approach will be very exciting to see at the school.”

“I’m very privileged to be offered this opportunity to work at RGS The Grange and it is a challenge I am very excited about. I fell in love with the school, city and surrounding area so can’t wait for myself and family to become part of the local community,” commented Simon Howkins, new Deputy Head of RGS The Grange.

“As a child I was always drawn to helping people and passing on experiences, so I suppose I was destined to either be a doctor or a teacher – teaching is what I love and I can’t wait to be part of the team at RGS The Grange.”

“It’s a great time to be joining the school, as it seems to always be growing and the experience offered there to their pupils is in my opinion second to none.”

Bromsgrove Prep School swimmers Jack Weston, Jeremy Turner, Harry Lloyd-Jones and Henry Walker (all Year 6) are walking on water as they celebrate winning the U11 4 x 25m Medley Relay at the National ESSA Championships held in Sheffield in June. The competition is open to all state and independent Primary and prep schools in England.

This is the first time that any Bromsgrove School team has won a swimming title at this level, which makes it a very unique achievement indeed.

The four boys swam superbly to break the school record by two and a half seconds and become National Champions.

In the freestyle relay Bromsgrove came 4th, and were overall 2nd in both relays combined, one point behind the championship winners Merchant Taylors’, Crosby.

The showcase offered three exhibitions of contemporary art by the schools GCSE, AS and A2 Art and Design Students within their new specialist Art Block.

Around 100 people enjoyed the vivid displays on the night, which included a selection of video and sound by Matt Ward, sculpture by Ed Matthews, photography by Tom Hill, as well other intriguing painting and collage pieces.

The fantastic displays of pupils Emily Connell, Harriet Sheppard and Katie Green were of a particular talking point to visitors with the trio also winning leading art prizes.

“The quality and quantity of work this year has been extremely high,” commented Emma Dukes, Head of Art at RGSAO Worcester.

“The extensive range of multimedia work is particularly powerful and rarely seen in schools. Many visitors commented on how edgy and intellectual our pieces are.”

Further information –
GCSE consists of three projects. The first is an exploration of a colour of their choice, the second is based on a trip to St Ives where the students visited The Eden Project, Tate St Ives and The Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden. The third project is their exam with the title ‘Me, Myself, Mine.’

AS students worded for their first project on the theme of ‘Location’ and the second is their exam with the title ‘Sanctuary.’

A2 students also worked on the theme of ‘Location’ for their first project and their exam title was ‘Discord.’

Both AS and A2 students visited the Tate Galleries in London and The Saatchi Contemporary Art Gallery as an integral part of their work.

Both Junior Boys’ and Girls’ teams made the final eight with the boys improving considerably upon their qualifying round score to finish fourth behind the winners, Northampton School for Boys. The Junior Girls were seventh in a competition won by Loughborough High School.

Star performers, however, were the RGSAO Intermediate Girls’ team who were convincing winners with a fifteen point margin over Loughborough. Third were Kenilworth School and fourth, local rivals, Bromsrgove School. Top points scorer for the team was Holly Wootten with a 2 minutes 27.2 second 800m and 28.62 metre Javelin. However, the strength of the team was the consistent points scoring of all twelve members of the team.

RGSAO now progress to the National Final at Hendon on Saturday 04 July.

RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School enjoyed a heroic day of charity fundraising on June 19th as the school supported Help for Heroes.

With every pupil and teacher playing their part, the school had already raised £500 by the end of break – an amount that will significantly help the wounded from our Armed Forces in current combat.

Through a range of activities – many led by the pupils – during the break and lunchtime, the amount collected was in excess of £1,500 at 2pm and is continuing to grow with more events and raffles happening into the afternoon and weekend.

RGSAO activities included Gun Running with the CCF Navy Section, Assault Courses, Soak the Teacher, Apple Bobbing, raffles, stalls and much, much more.

Special guests Peter Elcock, Help for Heroes, Volunteer Group Co-ordinator for Worcestershire, and Ian Baldry, Help for Heroes County Co-ordinator for Worcestershire could also be found enjoying the special day on the Worcester site.

“The whole school was unified today in support of a fantastic national charity,” commented Andy Rattue, Headmaster of RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School.

“The amount raised so far is unbelievable and a real testament to the pupils’ giving and support to worthy causes.”

RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School made history this month, recording the school’s first ever female Ten Tors Challenge success.

Saturday, May 9 saw an RGSAO team of five boys and one girl enter and complete the gruelling 35 mile endurance course that is the Ten Tors.

Walking independently for two days across the barren landscape of Dartmoor, the weather was kind to them, but their determination to succeed was clear to all involved.

Led by Seb Nevitt, the RGSAO team also included Ross Anthony, Matt Austin, Tom Downes, Tom Fairman and Holly Allen.

Holly Allen is the first ever RGSAO girl to compete in the Ten Tors.

With preparations for the challenge being key, Chief Trainer Jon Shorrocks took the team under his wing, holding several training sessions to prepare the six strong team.

The whole team completed the Ten Tors, finishing at 15.47 on the Sunday (May 10) and each receiving a medal, as well as a Team Certificate.

“I think the team certificate means the most to me and the team – it really was a team effort. At the end of an emotional 35 mile challenge we were all a little tearful.” commented Jon Shorrocks.

“Throughout the challenge and training, the team gelled together well and supported each other – their determination to succeed was fantastic and it’s great that their hard work is being rewarded.”

“I am extremely proud of each and every one of them.”

RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School made Golf history recently at St Andrew’s, as the dynamic school came second in the Independent Schools Golf Association (ISGA) UK finals.

Competing on the Fairmont St Andrew’s Pittocks Course as Regional Champions, the RGSAO team – Rudy Hercik, Jamie Hodges and Jake Payne – faced the very best UK competition and the elements to pull together and narrowly miss out on the team title and individual awards.

The best two gross scores from each team were added together to give the team score. This left RGSAO in second place at the end of day one, with a combined score of 159 (Hercik 76, Payne 83).

On the second day players went out in reverse leader board order. This meant that Rudy Hercik, the school’s number one, was in the final group. With a second round 74, Rudy came second in the individual competition by only one shot.

Jake Payne added a second round 82 to his first round 83 to give the school a final overall total of 315. This was good enough to beat two schools with golf academies – Millfield and Loretto – but not quite good enough to pip Wellington College to the title.

It was a magnificent achievement by the Worcester school in their first visit to the finals and an accolade that has put RGSAO golf on the national map.

The school has also now earned an invitation to next year’s finals.

Worcestershire’s most unique preparatory school Springfield is opening its doors to the wider community next Saturday (May 16) as it hosts an Activity Open Day for all, between 10am and 1pm.

The morning will offer a range of fun, free activities for boys and girls aged 2+ to 11 years across the beautiful six acre site – as the school strives to cater for its local community.

Let your child enjoy the range of activities on offer as you relax, enjoy complimentary refreshments, chat with the Headmistress and tour the magnificent school. All areas of the site will be open, including the expanded Forest School and outstanding Early Years.

In a first for Worcestershire the activity event will include Grass Court Tennis for boys and girls aged six and over, a Street Dancing master-class, Warwickshire County Cricket Club Cricket Skills and a Forest Adventure. Spring Lambs will also be at the school, bringing the countryside to the heart of the city.

Other fun activities will include Brownie Games, Creche, Drama Games, Junk Art and Music.

“At Springfield we are always striving to benefit our community and the Activity Open Day is our next offering as a school,” commented Marion Lloyd, Headmistress of Springfield.

“I encourage everyone to take part, enjoy the events and see our outstanding school in action. I look forward to welcoming you and your family to Springfield.”

If you would like to come along to the Activity Open Day and enjoy the excellent facilities and events on offer, please call Springfield on 01905 24999, email Springfield@rgsao.org or visit www.rgsao.org/springfield

The Independent Schools Inspectorate team (the equivalent of Ofsted for independent schools) spent four days at Springfield – the established and unique preparatory school of RGSAO Worcester – at the end of January 2009 and the final Inspection Report has just arrived.

During the four day inspection the team of inspectors had the opportunity to experience every aspect of school life for children aged from 2 to 11. They greatly praised the quality and range of the educational experience provided by the Britannia Square Preparatory School and commented on the extensive after school extra curricular programme. Standards of literacy, oracy and numeracy were rated as high and pupils were praised for their enthusiasm and exemplary behaviour.

Inspectors agreed that pupils of all ages have a well – developed spiritual awareness and the serenity and spaciousness of the six acre Springfield site were considered to assist pupils’ capacity for reflection and contemplation. “The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils is outstanding.”

Headmistress Marion Lloyd said, “I am delighted with this excellent report. I believe it is an accurate reflection of the high quality education and range of opportunities that are available to our children. It is a tribute to the outstanding teachers and children we have in Springfield, who all contribute so greatly to our school community.”

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The full ISI Inspection Report for January 2009 and Ofsted Inspection Report for June 2008 are available in the Inspection Report section of the school website www.rgsao.org/springfield

Come and see preparatory school education at its best with RGS The Grange next Saturday (May 9th), as it hosts an Open Invitation Activity Day for all, between 9.30am and 12 noon.

The morning will offer tours of the magnificent 48 acre estate and buildings – as well as a range of free activities for boys and girls aged 2+ to 11 years.

In a first for Worcestershire the activity event will include a feast of dance for boys and girls, including Cheerleading, Ballet and Jazz master-classes. A Mini Tennis Roadshow by Northwick Tennis Club will also be available at the school.

“I encourage everyone to come along, enjoy the events and see our school in action. I look forward to welcoming you all to RGS The Grange,” commented Tim Lowe, Headmaster of RGS The Grange.

“The dance and tennis sessions are just a small selection of the range of activities we offer to our pupils. I hope the Open Invitation will give you all a real flavor of this action packed school.”

If you would like to come along to the Open Invitation and enjoy the excellent facilities and events on offer, please call RGS The Grange Worcester on 01905 451205, email grange@rgsao.org or visit www.rgsao.org.

Saturday 21st March marked a great day for Springfield, as the school won the annual Worcester Primary Schools’ Netball Competition.
Competing against eight teams – through two pools of four – the eight strong Springfield team led by Captain Laura Curtis ran-away with the extremely competitive annual competition.
The intense group stages saw the winners and runners-up of each pool progressing to the next round. The four teams being Springfield, St George’s RC, Oldbury Park and hosts RGS The Grange.
It was a this stage that Springfield hit top form – demonstrating their skills and an innate awareness of each other’s positioning to create good scoring opportunities. They were also able to take full advantage of these chances to cement their place in the final.
Facing a strong St George’s RC team, the final proved to be a tense, end-to-end encounter, taking some moments of brilliance from the Britannia Square school to tell the difference with Springfield edging through eight goals to four.

The Mathematical Association has recently presented Jeremy Ho and Toby Messervy-Whiting of RGS The Grange in Worcester with silver awards in a recent maths challenge. This shows that they are two of the best young mathematicians in the country.

The first part of the challenge was back in November last year when RGS The Grange pupils scored so highly they were invited to take the PMC Finals in February. It was in this national challenge that Jeremy and Toby won their silver awards. It was also at this event that fellow pupil, Aaron Biddle missed out on bronze by only one mark.

The Primary Mathematics Challenge is aimed at the top 60% of pupils in primary schools. Over 99,000 pupils aged up to 11 years took the PMC last November, with boys and girls entering from more than 2694 schools. The highest scoring pupils (692) were invited to take the harder challenge in February this year. Jeremy and Toby are two of only 369 pupils to win an award and are in a select group of only three children in Worcestershire to do so.

The other Worcestershire winner is a pupil of Witton Middle School in Droitwich and received a bronze award.

“I am delighted for Jeremy and Toby, their silver awards are a true testiment to their dedication and hard work,” commented Tim Lowe, Headmaster of RGS The Grange in Worcester.

“My thanks go to Mathematics Teacher Alex Sinton for the way he has encapsulated the students and made maths so fun for all the pupils at RGS The Grange. It is his tireless effort that has made results such as this possible.”

Here are four questions that Jeremy Ho, Toby Messervy-Whiting and Aaron Biddle took in the PMC paper 2009 Finals:

1. Bill lives with 3 cats, 4 birds and one snake. How many legs are there altogether?
A 2 B 12 C 22 D 38 E 42

2. Lucy Lycra goes on a long cycle ride. She cycles up a 12 mile hill at 3 mph, then down a 12 mile hill at 12 mph. What percentage of the time does she spend enjoying the downhill part of her ride?
A 20% B 25% C 33 1/3% D 50% E 80%

3. Which of the following statements is true?
A 333 333 is divisible by 2
B 444 444 is divisible by 3
C 555 555 is divisible by 4
D 666 666 is divisible by 5
E 777 777 is divisible by 6

4. The monkey chases the weasel up the stairs five at a time and has one stair left at the top. The weasel chases the monkey down seven at a time, and has
one stair left at the bottom. The number of stairs is odd and less than one hundred, so how many stairs are there?
A 34 B 35 C 69 D 71 E 101

A talented Bromsgrove School cast returned to the Artrix in March for a three-day run of Lerner and Lowe’s lyrical masterpiece ‘My Fair Lady’. Famous for songs such as ‘I could have danced all Night’ and ‘I’m Getting Married in the morning’, there was much music and dance in the retelling of the story centring around Eliza Doolittle (Lower Sixth Former Chloe Deval-Reed), the Covent Garden flower girl turned duchess and Professor Higgins (Director of Music Mr Jonathan Kingston).

Head of Drama, Mrs Tracey James says “This was my first opportunity to direct a major musical; early in the rehearsal process, I did question why I didn’t chose something a little more ‘manageable’, but watching the cast perform in the Artrix theatre last night made all the hard work worthwhile; the final curtain was an emotional and moving moment. Special mention must go to the Choreographer, Suzi Cowen (an ex pupil) who has been at virtually every rehearsal (morning, noon and night) for the past four months, working voluntarily to help produce this show and Richard Knight, the musical director who has been working to perfect the songs and making complicated adjustments to the music, in order to accommodate the dance routines. All of the actors have been nothing less than superb – everyone is hugely important – there isn’t a ‘minor’ part in this show, everyone counts, from Higgins and Eliza to the flower girls in the Covent Garden chorus. This is a difficult show for seasoned operatic societies and professional companies – to ask a group of pupils to produce a performance, worthy of a paying audience is a ‘big ask’ for any show, let alone one as complex as My Fair Lady. The cast and crew should be extremely proud.”

The main cast were: Chloe Deval-Reed (Eliza Doolittle), Jonathan Kingston (Prof. Henry Higgins), Tom Fullwood (Colonel Hugh Pickering), Andrew McIntosh (Mr Alfred P. Doolittle), Rachel Dolan (Mrs Pearce), Katy McCullagh (Mrs Higgins), Richard Mason-Jones (Freddy Einsford-Hill), Mark Winnett (Zoltan Karparthy), Rebecca Strangward (Mrs Einsford Hill), Tom Jones (Jamie), Daniel Swan (Harry), Andrew McLean (Lord Boxington), Eleanor Johns (Lady Boxingham).

The U11 Boys at Bromsgrove Preparatory School received a bronze medal at the National Prep Schools’ Cross Country Championships at Malvern College on Sunday 1st March.

This is a fantastic achievement for the boys’ team and as a School were collectively runners up nationally this year from the thirty participating schools taking part.

Gareth Jones, Head of Boys’ PE and Games says “Previously the School has had an individual winner but team wise, this is the best we have ever done. We were only six points behind the winning school. Combining this with the girls’ scores we are the second best Preparatory School in the country. It is fantastic achievement and words fail me in my attempt to congratulate all our athletes for their efforts on the day.”

Bromsgrove Preparatory School boys’ U11 hockey team have won the IAPS Midlands/Northern title. The boys won all of their league matches, against Beachborough, Malsis and Stamford by 2 – 0, then beat Foremark Hall 3 – 1 in the quarter final, before overcoming a very tough Bilton Grange side 1 – 0 in the semi-final. The final was a rematch against Malsis, who were gradually worn down to take the match 3 – 0.

Mr Colin Pickering, U11 Team Manager says “All of the boys who went to this tournament were vital to this win. They played some outstanding hockey and now go on to the National Finals at Clifton this week which is a fantastic achievement. The boys also have another challenge in the shape of the Hockey Association’s Midlands tournament at the end of April. We are hoping to appear at the National Finals here too. ”

This is the first time that the U11 boys’ hockey team has qualified for a National Final.

The Mathematical Association has recently presented Jeremy Ho and Toby Messervy-Whiting of RGS The Grange in Worcester with silver awards in a recent maths challenge. This shows that they are two of the best young mathematicians in the country.

The first part of the challenge was back in November last year when RGS The Grange pupils scored so highly they were invited to take the PMC Finals in February. It was in this national challenge that Jeremy and Toby won their silver awards. It was also at this event that fellow pupil, Aaron Biddle missed out on bronze by only one mark.

The Primary Mathematics Challenge is aimed at the top 60% of pupils in primary schools. Over 99,000 pupils aged up to 11 years took the PMC last November, with boys and girls entering from more than 2694 schools. The highest scoring pupils (692) were invited to take the harder challenge in February this year. Jeremy and Toby are two of only 369 pupils to win an award and are in a select group of only three children in Worcestershire to do so.

The other Worcestershire winner is a pupil of Witton Middle School in Droitwich and received a bronze award.

“I am delighted for Jeremy and Toby, their silver awards are a true testiment to their dedication and hard work,” commented Tim Lowe, Headmaster of RGS The Grange in Worcester.

“My thanks go to Mathematics Teacher Alex Sinton for the way he has encapsulated the students and made maths so fun for all the pupils at RGS The Grange. It is his tireless effort that has made results such as this possible.”

Here are four questions that Jeremy Ho, Toby Messervy-Whiting and Aaron Biddle took in the PMC paper 2009 Finals:

1. Bill lives with 3 cats, 4 birds and one snake. How many legs are there altogether?
A 2 B 12 C 22 D 38 E 42

2. Lucy Lycra goes on a long cycle ride. She cycles up a 12 mile hill at 3 mph, then down a 12 mile hill at 12 mph. What percentage of the time does she spend enjoying the downhill part of her ride?
A 20% B 25% C 33 1/3% D 50% E 80%

3. Which of the following statements is true?
A 333 333 is divisible by 2
B 444 444 is divisible by 3
C 555 555 is divisible by 4
D 666 666 is divisible by 5
E 777 777 is divisible by 6

4. The monkey chases the weasel up the stairs five at a time and has one stair left at the top. The weasel chases the monkey down seven at a time, and has
one stair left at the bottom. The number of stairs is odd and less than one hundred, so how many stairs are there?
A 34 B 35 C 69 D 71 E 101

Talented artist, Hannah Shepherd Year 12, has been awarded the best in show prize at the Hereford and Worcestershire Schools’ Art Awards as voted by the public. She has also been highly commended by the official judge, artist Julian Bailey.

This award is open to all Sixth Form students from schools and colleges in the two counties and entries are always of a very high standard. It is held every two years and in 2007 Francis Reed of Malvern St James was the overall winner.

Hannah has been presented with her prizes of £150 and £50 by a committee member from the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Society.

Two Bromsgrove School pupils were highly commended by the Malvern Hills Decorative and Fine Art Society in March. Sophie Spurgin, a Lower Sixth student and Gilbert Leung who is in the Upper Sixth received the awards for paintings of Macau and an embroidered & screen printed gown respectively.

The exhibition of their work ran at St Edmunds Hall in Malvern. The competition is run biennially for Sixth Form students across Herefordshire and Worcestershire but this is not the first time Bromsgrove pupils have received an award; in 2007 Sophie Court also received a highly commended award for her painting entitled “self portrait”.

Sixth Form Biologists at Bromsgrove School sat an extensive 100 question test of their biological knowledge and understanding for the 2009 British Biology Olympiad. Upper Sixth Former Sarah Chadwick achieved a silver medal and will be invited to receive her award at the BBO Ceremony in June.

The BBO is an annual competition for post-16 students which tries to challenge and stimulate gifted students with an interest in Biology to expand and extend their talents.

Springfield – Britannia Square – has joined libraries, schools and bookshops around the world to celebrate a special day for a very special character.

Today marks a ‘Very Hungry Caterpillar Day’ and a 40th Anniversary celebration that will touch everyone who has ever read the much-loved classic.

The Foundation Stages at Worcester’s leading city based preparatory school had decided to mark the day with a costume Caterpillar and Butterfly Party and the delight of the boys and girls was clear to see as they ate their way through the caterpillar’s sweet and savoury menu – with the exception of Sunday’s nice green leaf.

“It was a fantastic event that every pupil and member of staff enjoyed,” commented Marion Lloyd, Headmistress of Springfield.

“The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a classic that everyone remembers with fondness. Its vivid illustrations and easy to read words make it a perfect reading companion for any Early Years child.”

RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School joined the nation today in supporting Red Nose Day 2009 and doing something funny for money.

With every child donating money to wear red for the day, as well as buying their Red Nose from the school, RGSAO had already raised around £800 by 9am – an amount that will make a significant difference.

Through a range of activities – many led by the pupils – during the morning and break, the amount collected stood at over £1,000 by 12.30pm and is continuing to grow with more events happening over lunch and into the afternoon.

RGSAO activities included leg-waxing, cake and doughnut sales, teachers’ fancy dress, sponge the teacher, jelly baths, Gladiator inflatable challenge and a lot, lot more.

“The whole school has been buzzing today and a great deal of fun has been had by all,” commented Andy Rattue, Headmaster of RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School.

“We have also raised a fantastic amount of money for Comic Relief and an amount that is continuing to grow. We can all be very proud of our contributions to such a worth while cause.”

PHOTO: Lower School Teacher Angie Freeman – with so many activities happening for Comic Relief they are climbing the walls to get in!

Springfield Secretary Christine Nutter is to set the London Marathon pace this year, as the preparatory school gets ready to fly the Worcester flag in the capital.

Encouraged by the school’s 100 pupils, Mrs Nutter of Droitwich will be running for charity WellChild and has targeted raising a sum of £2,000 through various events with Springfield’s and the local communities support.

WellChild is a charity close to Christine’s heart, after her daughter’s ill health and the fantastic specialist medical treatment she received and benefited from.

Being a small charity, WellChild is entirely dependent on voluntary contributions, caring for the individual needs of sick children whatever their illness, while raising funds for research, specialist nurses and practical support for ill children and their families.

The dynamic school has already organised a Cake Sale, Jumble Sale and Christmas Fayre for WellChild, that have raised £541.90 and other events will also occur up until the marathon. Currently the energetic Secretary of nearly six years has received pledges upto £1,067, but would love to be able to hit her £2,000 target or even achieve a great deal more.

“I completed the Flora London Marathon in 2007 and can honestly say it was the first time I have ever done anything involving quite so much physical activity. I really enjoyed the event and with the pupil’s support and encouragement, have decided to give it another go!” commented Christine Nutter.

If you would like to support WellChild and a London Marathon hopeful, please feel free to donate whatever you can through Christine Nutter’s Just Giving page – www.justgiving.com/christinenutter

A local award winning children’s author and illustrator spellbound pupils at Springfield today, as tips were passed on to those who want to follow in his footsteps.
Petr Horacek – who has penned a series of children’s books including Look Out Suzy Goose, A New House for Mouse and new book Elephant – was at Springfield, in Britannia Square presenting, reading and illustrating his stories to the school, as part of their book day celebrations.
“It is always inspiring to talk to children, see their reactions and have such a fun day as we had today,” commented Petr Horacek.

“Petr gave an enthusiastic talk, and really captivated the children’s attention – especially when discussing his inspirations and illustrations,” added Marion Lloyd, Headmistress of Springfield.
“It was a great day at Springfield for our budding writers and artists and one that the pupils wont forget for a long time.”

Springfield joined companies and schools across the country recently to celebrate Big Yellow Friday and raise money and awareness for the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation.

With every child donating money to wear yellow for the day, the school had already raised £152.10 by 9.30am – an amount that will buy a stake in a Children’s Liver Disease research project and save lives.

Today, and every day, two children will be diagnosed with a life threatening liver disease – the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation is the only charity in the UK supporting and helping the families affected.

Springfield supported the charity when one of its pupils’ families became affected by the terrible disease and continues to remember their work with the national annual Big Yellow Friday (March 6, 2009).

Maria, Kate and James of the Jenkins family were present at Springfield today to support its efforts and highlight the great work of the charity.

James was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia shortly after birth, going on to have a life saving operation at three months old and later a liver transplant at only 11 months.

James has made a full recovery and continues to go from strength to strength due to the fantastic work of Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

“The people at Children’s Liver Disease Foundation have always been there for James and the family, providing vital information, care and support. They were a huge comfort to us and it is fantastic that we can now be of help to them,” commented Maria Jenkins.

“I would like to thank Springfield for their support today with Big Yellow Friday and throughout our time at the school. It was great to see the children making such an effort for charity and I am sure they all enjoyed themselves.”

Throughout the day on Saturday, March 14 and Saturday, March 21 the dynamic independent school will be alive with a wealth of music, poetry and drama.

March 14 is dedicated to all music styles and will witness several hundred people of all ages descending on the Upper Tything site. Attendees will enjoy classes in strings, wind and piano.

The music, drama and speech day on March 21 will see over 500 people taking part, including 16 choirs from a mix of state and independent school, as well as private choirs and harmony groups – they include choirs from RGS The Grange, Springfield, Oldbury Park, The Chase, Blessed Edwards, Worcester Male Voice Choir and Vale Harmony Barber Shop Chorus to name but a few.

Trophies and medals will also be awarded to the winners in every class and there are also two prizes for outstanding achievement – donated by the Worcester Arts Council. All prizes will be awarded at the Winners Concert on Wednesday, March 25, from 7pm in RGSAOs Perrins Hall.

It is sure to be a fantastic series of events, so please feel free to come along or join in if you wish. For further information please feel contact Marion Walters, Secretary of the Worcester Competitive Arts Festival on 01905 820558, email marion-walters@tiscali.co.uk or visit www.communigate.co.uk/worcs/wcaf

 
Under Milk Wood is to be showcased in Worcester’s Godfrey Brown Theatre next week, as RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School put on two nights of the Dylan Thomas comedy as part of the schools Arts Festival.

Thomas’ famous play – first performed for radio – witnesses an all-seeing narrator that invites the audience to listen to the dreams and innermost thoughts of the inhabitants of an imaginary small Welsh Village, Llareggub.

The comic characters of Llareggub include Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard, who relentlessly bosses her two dead husbands; Captain Cat, reliving his seafaring times; the two Mrs Dai Breads; Organ Morgan, obsessed with his music; and Polly Garter, pinning for her dead lover.

Chosen by the RGSAO Sixth Form, this must see Arts Festival production promises a great evening for all, with a lot of laughs.

The comedy will run from Wednesday, March 18 to Thursday, March 19 in the school’s Godfrey Brown Theatre – on the Upper Tything site – at 7.30pm each evening.

Tickets are FREE of charge (to celebrate the Art Festival) from RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School, for more information or tickets please call Carole Matthews in the RGSAO Box Office on 01905 613391, email boxoffice@rgsao.org or visit www.rgsao.org

The children’s author, Chris D’Lacey visited eager young readers at Bromsgrove Prep School as apart of the School’s celebrations for World Book Day at the end of February. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 were thrilled to meet one of their favourite authors since many of them had read lots of his books in preparation for the big day.

As part of the pupils’ Reading Challenge two students, one in Year 5 and one in Year 7 had Gold certificates presented by Chris D’Lacey and there was also an opportunity for pupils to speak to Chris and have their books signed. All were encouraged to read widely and some were considering becoming authors as they felt so inspired by the writer and his works. Pupils were given tips on writing stories; how to cope with writer’s block and to believe in themselves and their ideas.

Bromsgrove Prep Headmaster, Richard Evans said: “At Bromsgrove, we believe firmly in the importance of reading for every child. I was delighted to welcome such a high profile children’s writer as Chris D’lacey to the School. I thoroughly enjoyed his presentation, as I know our children did. His visit enhances the excellent work undertaken by all teaching staff to promote and develop literacy skills for every pupil.

RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School are delighted to announce, in conjunction with Activate Sport, that The Andrew Flintoff Cricket Academy 2009 is coming to Worcester.

The five day camp will be taking place during the school summer holidays and run from Monday, August 3 to Friday, August 7 between 9.30am and 3.30pm at the independent school and across their extensive facilities.

Boys and girls of Worcestershire aged between seven and 16 years old are invited to join the ECB qualified coaches at only £135 per head. During a fun filled week you will enjoy every aspect of cricket – coached and designed to build on existing talent and unearth future cricketing stars.

With Freddie’s detailed approach to coaching and playing the game, you will be following a programme set by one of the world’s best players, while also enjoying your cricket in a fun and safe environment – not to forget the ‘Freddie Challenges!’

“The game has given me so much, and I want to pass on my passion of the game to as many youngsters as I can,” commented Andrew Flintoff.

Places are sure to go fast so please book quickly to avoid any disappointment. To book your place on The Andrew Flintoff Cricket Academy 2009 please visit www.andrewflintoffcricketacademy.co.uk or call 0800 345 7480.

Worcester Cathedral is playing host to a choral and orchestral concert by RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School later this month.

The Chamber Choir will be performing Haydn’s ‘Insanae et Venae Curae,’ as well as the mesmerising ‘Sleep’ by Eric Whitacre.

However, the highlight of the evening promises to be a performance of Fauré’s ‘Requiem’ for choir and orchestra with Polly Jackson singing the ‘Pie Jesu’ and James Sinclair the ‘Libera Me’ solos.

The top trebles from RGS The Grange will join the Senior School choir for the Fauré, while the first half of the concert will feature solo items from RGS The Grange and Springfield choirs, as well as the Senior School Chamber Orchestra.

“It has been a number of years since RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School
has put on a concert of this scale in Worcester Cathedral, and I am sure it will have been worth the wait,” commented Andy Rattue, Headmaster.

The concert takes place on Tuesday 17th March at 7.30 pm and tickets are priced at just £4 (£2 concessions).

If you would like to come to the concert please contact RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School on 01905 613391 or email boxoffice@rgsao.org stating your name, address and the number of tickets you require.

Tickets will also be available on the night at the Cathedral.

Nine students at Bromsgrove School have received offers to study at Oxford and Cambridge after intense competition and a rigorous selection process.

Deputy Head Girl Dimple Divecha (PPP), Verity Glass (English), Alex Harding (History) and Alex Morris (Geography) all gained places at Oxford, whilst Sarah Chadwick (Veterinary Medicine), Sarah Griffen (History of Art), Sun Kim (Computer Science), Aleksandra Petrova (Land Economy) and Wendy Wang (Natural Science) received offers for Cambridge.

Headmaster Chris Edwards says: “We congratulate these pupils and their teachers wholeheartedly. The variety of subjects shows that while we may, in the words of the Good Schools Guide, ‘inhabit the academic stratosphere’, we have not sacrificed breadth in order to achieve excellence.”

Alice Wright, former Head Girl returned to School this month to present her experiences as one of only 100 students in the UK to gain a place on the Prime Minister’s Global Fellowship.

The scheme was launched by the government in 2008 to give one hundred outstanding 18 and 19 year olds the opportunity to experience first-hand the drive, energy and competitiveness of the major countries of the new global economy. The final selection for applications was made by the Prime Minister’s office and the Secretary of State at the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

This first group of young people selected for the Global Fellowship visited Downing Street and enjoyed the opportunity to discuss their experiences with the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for the DCSF.

Commenting on the Global Fellowship, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “Now, more than ever we recognise how important it is for Britain’s young people to understand how the world is changing and how the new global economy will affect their future. In the years ahead this country will need people with the enterprising spirit and international outlook the Fellows have acquired through this scheme. I congratulate the outstanding young people from all over the country who have taken part; their experience will help shape their lives and benefit Britain too.”

Alice, who spent six weeks in China as part of the Global Fellowship programme, said ‘The life long friendships I have made, the numerous things I have learnt, the inspiring debates we have shared made the Prime Minister’s Global Fellowship unique. It is a trip like none other’.

Mrs Hayes said, ‘Alice demonstrated drive, energy and excellent interpersonal skills as Head Girl and I am not surprised that she was selected to take part. We shall encourage more of our students to apply in the future for this exciting new scheme.”

RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School pupil Peter Bullock has carried on his success from the UK Maths Challenge, by making his way on to the second round of the British Mathematics Olympiad and cementing himself as the top mathematics student in Worcestershire.

The top 1000 candidates of the 70,000 that entered the UK Senior Mathematical Challenge sat the first round of the British Maths Olympiad.

Peter excelled again in the first round and was placed in the top 100 students, seeing him awarded a bronze medal and qualification through to the second round of the British Mathematics Olympiad. The RGSAO pupil was also the only pupil in Worcestershire to win a medal.

The 20 best performing candidates in round two – taking place 29th January 2009 – will form the squad from which the British team for the International Mathematical Olympiad is chosen.

125 out of 125 for Peter Bullock

It was a great day for RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School as results of the UK Senior Mathematics Challenge arrived.

The UK Mathematical Challenge is one of the most prestigious subject based competitions in the country, with the 25 question multiple-choice paper being sat by over 70,000 candidates nationally. Of these, the top 7% are awarded gold certificates, the next 13% silver certificates and the next 20% receive bronze.

The outstanding RGSAO students were awarded a magnificent 12 gold, 23 silver and 16 bronze.

Top marks went to RGSAO pupil Peter Bullock of Leigh Sinton, who attained an unbelievable 125 out of 125. Peter’s amazing performance means that he will qualify for the first round of the British Mathematical Olympiad – the first stage in the process to select a team to represent the UK in the International Mathematical Olympiad, which is held every year. Fellow pupil Simon Harris of Droitwich has also qualified for the event.

“It was an amazing performance by the RGSAO maths team, especially Peter and Simon. I am glad to see all the pupils’ hard work has been rewarded,” commented Andy Rattue, Headmaster of RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School.

After a rigorous application and inspection process, Bromsgrove School is delighted to learn that it has been accredited by the International Baccalaureate Organisation as an IB World School. Bromsgrove will be offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma to its Sixth Form pupils as an alternative to A levels from September 2009.

Mr. Edwards, the Headmaster, comments:
“This is a landmark event and gives Bromsgrovians a Sixth Form option that will open numerous doors previously closed to them. It is also a development of immense significance for the long term future of the School.

“Groups of Bromsgrove teaching staff have already undergone IB training overseas, and more will follow. The Programme will be delivered to the standards that have graced A level and there is a huge sense of expectancy among both staff and pupils. Please note that A levels will continue to run alongside the IB Diploma Programme: this is a genuine choice; an enhancement not a replacement.”

Photo: Bromsgrove School Headmaster Chris Edwards (far right) and Mike Bowen Jones (IB Coordinator, far left) with some Year 11 pupils, looking forward to the start of the IB programme at Bromsgrove

Bromsgrove pupil Dave Devey has been selected for the England U18 Hockey training squad. Dave, who is the Lower Sixth form at Bromsgrove School was selected after impressive performances in School and Club matches. Dave has also played in the Home Nations tournament and the Four Nations twice and is currently in the Stourport’s first team. It’s also not the first time he has played for England; in previous years he has participated in England U16 and U18 matches and training sessions. The training for the England U18s will take place in Portsmouth from the end of November, with further sessions in Repton and Bisham Abbey in the build up to the European Cup in Seville.

Emma Wormington and Samuel White, both currently Upper Sixth students at Bromsgrove School were presented with the prestigious British Association Gold Crest Award for scientific research at the Great Hall, Birmingham University during a ceremony in November. Both students undertook Nuffield research placements in their own time during the summer and were asked to present their projects to a crowd of over 50 West Midland’s students in the hope of being judged the best in their field.

Out of 50 pupils who put forward their research, Emma’s outstanding work on sheep vaccinations, carried out with a local vet was judged ‘Best Research Project in the West Midlands’. They now wait to hear if their projects have been invited to be assessed at the ‘UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair 2009’ in March.

Bromsgrove School’s 1st team netballers played the County round of the National Tournament at home on Thursday 20 November. In their group matches they drew with Kingsley College but beat King Charles School, Malvern College, South Bromsgrove High School and Pershore High School to top the group and progress through to the semi-final. Here they beat Worcester Sixth Form in a tense match by 8 goals to 6.

As the top two teams go through to the West Midlands round Bromsgrove had already qualified, but played King’s School, Worcester, to try to gain the top spot. However, they narrowly lost 3-5 to a strong side and finished runners up. Emma Buckingham, Head of Girls’ PE says, “Despite finishing as runner up we still made it through to the West Midlands Finals – this is a fantastic achievement for the netballers especially since it is the third year running”.

The West Midlands final takes place on Saturday 17 January at Manor School in Birmingham.

BROMSGROVE SCHOOL PUPIL SELECTED FOR ENGLAND HOCKEY TRIAL

Bromsgrove pupil Rachael Mack has been selected for England U18 Hockey trials. Rachael, who is the Lower Sixth form at Bromsgrove School was selected after impressive performances in School U16 matches. Rachael has also played for the Midlands U15s and is currently in the Midlands’ ‘Mercia Links’ U18 team. It’s also not the first time she has played for England; last year she was selected for the U16 hockey team and participated in training camps and weekend sessions with the England squad. Head of Girls’ PE, Emma Buckingham says “Rachel’s performance in Hockey has been outstanding this year and it comes as no surprise that she is competing at the highest level for her age group”. The trials begin at the end of November and she will hear by Christmas if she has been successful.

BROMSGROVE SCHOOL PUPIL SELECTED FOR U17 WEST MIDLANDS SQUAD

Bromsgrove School pupil Polly Fletcher has been selected for the U17 West Midlands netball squad, despite only just turning 15. Polly, who is currently in the Upper Fourth was selected after impressive performances in her matches. She will play in the positions of Goal Shooter, Goal Attack and Goal Defence, with her first match for the West Midlands in December. The training takes place every Sunday in Walsall. Although having played for the county for the past two years, her next target is to proceed to the National talent squad.

BROMSGROVE SCHOOL PUPIL SELECTED FOR U19 WEST MIDLANDS SQUAD

Ellie Trow, currently in the Lower Sixth at Bromsgrove School has been selected for the U19 West Midlands netball squad. Last year she played matches for the West Midlands’ U17s and the England U17s. Due to her impressive performances she has now progressed to the highest group for her age level. She has been selected for the positions of Goal Defence/Wing Defence and Goal Keeper, and will be training every other week. Her aim is to again make the National talent squad in the U19 age group.

British Olympic Champion, Sally Gunnell OBE officially opened the Malvern St James Sports Centre on Barnards Green Road in October.

As the only woman to hold four titles concurrently – Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth, Sally gave an inspirational talk to the children and guests to the School. She proved to be an enormous hit with the girls, answering their questions after she had looked around the new facility. Sally paid a special visit to the Junior Department where the girls had an opportunity to get a closer look at her gold medal and ask their own questions.

During the morning pupils from Malvern St James were joined by students from Dyson Perrins, Hanley Castle and The Chase and helped to run a Community Sports morning as part of their Sports Leader Award, helping 200 pupils from local schools aged 9 and 10 participate in a circuit of activities.

Tom Wilkinson, aged 10, St James’ Primary, West Malvern said “It was really good fun, we took part in activities including dance, basketball, climbing and pop lacrosse. We even did some training with the Worcester Warriors!”

Malvern St James has worked with Malvern Hills District Council and Mark Hammond MHDC
Leisure Services Manager said: “We’re encouraging partnerships such as the local schools sports partnership and are committed to working with Malvern St James in the future. This is a great indoor sports facility for the area enabling everyone to get fit and healthy and an opportunity for local clubs to utilize the venue in the evenings.”

The new eco friendly building is equipped and marked-out for a multitude of different sports including: six badminton courts, three netball, two volleyball, two basketball, indoor hockey,
five-a-side football, tennis and an indoor lacrosse arc. The indoor climbing wall is the first of its kind in Malvern with five ‘routes’ which offer varying degrees of difficulty to stretch even the most accomplished climber.

Sports Centre Manager Mike Bourne, a Duathelete who has represented Great Britain at the World Championships, leads a team of qualified fitness instructors. Mike said:
“This new centre is an exciting concept, the PT team has great experience and we can bring something fresh to Malvern that will really benefit the community’.

Headmistress Rosalind Hayes said: “In just 10 months we have created a state of the art,
eco-friendly, modern sports centre. The excellent facilities and the variety of sports on offer are very much for the benefit of both the girls at Malvern St James and also the community in which the School is based’.

12 year old Bromsgrove Preparatory School pupil Henrietta Horsley-Gubbins and her pony Rhoson Loire are through to the Horse of the Year Show at the NEC on 7th-9th October. Qualifying for the show is a dream come true for Henrietta and even more impressive is the fact that out of 40 entries at the qualifier, only one gets to go through. Henrietta is now placed in the top 20 riders in the UK. This is a fantastic achievement for someone who is still only in Year 8.

Henrietta is a member of the Worcestershire Hunt Pony Club and takes part in the Eventing, Show Jumping and Dressage Teams. Her trainer is Sue Parks.

Ten Upper Sixth pupils from Bromsgrove School participated in The National Sessions of the European Youth Parliament held at Durham University during the weekend of the 20th and 21st September; the pupil’s took part in thirteen debates, gave an attack speech in another and defended their own resolution with skill, flair and a masterly grasp of their subject.

The fifteen debates over two days were a culmination of hours of preparation beforehand, but they also spent time working on teambuilding skills with delegates from thirteen other schools from across the UK. During this time they were able to stay in university accommodation and appreciate what the city had to offer them in what little free time was left to explore. The Team comprised of: Henry Cowen, Alex Harding, Joe Harris, Matt Simkiss, Jack Taft, Katy Blunt, Dimple Divecha, Henna Khattak, Becky Pile, Ellie Wilson.

 

Majestic RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School are still on the up, making it three wins in three matches on their South America Tour, with a big win over Santiago College, Chile.

After a passionate performance and win by the RGSAO Development side – winning 54 to three against Santiago College U16 – pride was at stake for the 1st XV and they knew what had to be done!

The marauding Development Side had defiantly set the benchmark, with tight teamwork resulting in some outstanding individual performances, none more so than pacey winger John McAuley’s four try haul. But the first XV was quick to join the party and were not going to be outdone. RGSAO attacked with real conviction and pace throughout the encounter, resulting in an excellent 51 – 5 victory over Santiago College 1st XV.

With beautiful snow capped Andes mountains in the background to one side and hills – very similar to the Malverns – on the other, the magnificent scenery was to be upstaged by a the most spectacular of RGSAO performances. Controlling the match from the start, the Chilean opposition became heavily reliant on trying to slow the game down and hoping for an RGSAO mistake – mistakes that just simply didn’t materialise.

Nathaniel McDonald was again thick in the action and leading by example. The skippers finesse being rewarded by a quick brace of tries. Speedster Nick Houlston and super-sub Sam Wreghitt also joined in with two a piece.

The Chileans hard tackling did get a small consolation with a powerful try, but this could not detract from a resounding victory by the first XV rugby team of RGSAO and a performance everyone can be proud of.

The tour now moves on to Uruguay, where Uruguay U17’s await.

Photo: The Andes Mountains look on as RGSAO shine in Santiago

Attacking RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School hit the South American trail running with two opening wins in La Serena, Chile.

After a magnificent performance and win by the RGSAO Development Side – winning 33 to nil against Colegio Ingles 2nd XV – the pressure was on the 1st XV and did they respond!

The impressive development side victory had certainly pumped up the 1st XV, when they took to the pitch at a blistering pace. This continued throughout the match resulting in an excellent 41 – 12 win over Colegio Ingles 1st XV.

Victorious intensions where clear from the start, when during the first 15 minutes they blew Colegio Ingles away with some really slick open play, as the try’s and conversions began to mount up.

Captain Nathaniel McDonald, fresh from his training with the Worcester Warriors Elite Player Development Squad, was governing the play throughout the match. McDonald continuously causing havoc in the backs and eventually picked up a deserving try.

McDonald’s performance was only surpassed by Nicholas Houlston the day’s hat-trick hero. With Houlston’s speed and agility seeming to blast through the opposition.

The Chileans however were strong upfront and scored two tries from close range, but these were only a consolation to the overall result. With RGSAO’s slick handling, great running and back play seeing the school to a comfortable victory.

The tour now moves on 1000 km further south to the city of Concepcion, where St John’s School and Wessex School await.

Photo: RGSAO lift off in South America

It’s three countries in three weeks for RGS Worcester and The Alice Ottley School as they prepare to take their school global.

Fresh from their on pitch rugby success this season highlighted by their win at Sixways Stadium over rivals Kings. RGSAO now turn their attention to South America and very different foreign opponents.

Forty two pupils from the historic school aged under 17 are travelling today to Chile, Uruguay and Argentina for their summer tour. Flying the flag not just for the school, but also by standing as ambassadors for the faithful city.

Facing a hectic schedule of five matches and venues across the three countries, the travelling party can hardly wait to kick it all off and prepare for another successful season.

“I am delighted to be able to take this group of pupils to South America – an ideal destination for a pre-season tour. It will be a special trip being our third tour to South America but our first time playing in Uruguay – a country we are all very excited to see,” commented Mike Ridout, RGSAO Tour Leader.

“I have been amazed at the support and best wishes we have received locally and from the wider rugby community in relation to the tour, with goodwill messages coming from Cecil Duckworth OBE, Brian Ashton, Marcelo Loffreda, and new England Team Manager Martin Johnson CBE to name a few.”

“I would also like to extend a huge thank you to everyone for their generous efforts in making this possible, especially the pupils, parents and staff fundraising in excess of £36,000. Rest assured the experience of the tour will stay with the pupils for life and will have a huge impact on them as individuals.”

“Such tours highlight the diverse nature of the education we offer at RGSAO. I wish all our tourists the very best of luck,” added Andy Rattue, RGSAO Headmaster.

“I am sure that they will return to Worcester with a new perspective on their sport and some fresh insights into the vibrant and colourful culture of South America.”

RGSAO South America Tour Fixtures:
Saturday, August 10, 2008 – La Serena, Chile

Tuesday, August 12, 2008 – Concepcion, Chile

Thursday, August 14, 2008 – Santiago, Chile

Monday, August 18, 2008 – Montevideo, Uruguay

Wednesday, August 20, 2008 – Buenos Aires, Argentina

Photo: The RGSAO Rugby Tour party before departing to South America

RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School underlined its intention to stay top of the educational league – announcing the signing of Townend from local sporting giants Worcester Warriors!

The school has appointed Chris Townend as the new Marketing Director across its three sites and he will take over from the newly appointed Registrar Sue Johnston from August.

Townend was previously employed as Marketing, Events Executive and Brand Guardian at Sixways Stadium and brings with him a wealth of marketing, branding and communications experience.

A graduate of Aberystwyth University and Associate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Townend started at Warriors in a sales capacity before quickly being promoted to spearhead advertising and promotions for the professional rugby side and Sixways Events.

The 25-year-old also successfully managed the club’s matchday events at Sixways Stadium for crowds of over 10,000 supporters and following the departure of Dan Zaltzman, six months ago, Townend was the figurehead behind the club’s marketing functions as well as introducing the new Warriors brand this summer.

“We’re very pleased that Chris has accepted the role to take over from Sue Johnston who has done such a fantastic job for the schools,” said RGSAO Headmaster Andy Rattue.

“Chris joins us with a large amount of experience from his time with Worcester Warriors as a marketing executive. His work at Sixways signalled to us his creative capabilities and his ability to increase market share through various mediums.

“His fresh and passionate approach to marketing will be very exciting to see at the schools. We are sure that he can now bring his experiences to the table and will help RGSAO, The Grange and Springfield Schools move up to the next level.”

“I’m very privileged to be offered this opportunity to work across the three schools and it is a challenge I am very excited about. I have been very impressed with what I have seen of RGSAO, The Grange and Springfield. Their facilities and staff are second to none,” commented Chris Townend, the new Marketing Director.

“I was lucky enough to run the RGSAO v King’s match at Sixways Stadium on behalf of Worcester Warriors last year and witnessed firsthand the infectious passion and pride of the RGSAO pupils and staff for their three schools. I can’t wait to become part of that family pride feel and be part of the exciting future ahead for RGS Worcester and the Alice Ottley School, The Grange and Springfield. Roll on August and beyond!”

RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School pupils were jubilant today, as news of their marvellous results spread across Worcestershire and beyond.

In the first full year of the merger on the city centre site, RGSAO has again achieved excellent results in their GCSE examinations with 58% of subject passes being at A* – A grade. The overall pass rate (A* – C grades) was 96.4%, with 99.4% of candidates achieving five A* – C grades. An astonishing fifty-three RGSAO candidates gained at least nine A* or A grades each.

As in the A-Level examinations last week, the dynamic co-ed independent school achieved remarkable results in traditionally ‘tough’ subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, Design Technology, Latin and Religious Studies.

“These excellent GCSE scores continue the pattern set by our A Level students, and further support our status as one of the leading schools in the West Midlands – a school tradition since 1291,” commented Andy Rattue, RGSAO Headmaster.

“Our GCSEs buck the national trend away from academically challenging subjects and show what can be achieved by motivated pupils, first-rate passionate teachers and supportive parents. The results are all the more remarkable when you consider how much these students have also achieved beyond the classroom in sport, drama, music and adventurous outdoor pursuits,” added Andy Rattue.

“I look forward to welcoming these successful pupils back to the school as part of our sixth form and also opening our doors to the many new faces joining us from other schools around the region.”

RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School students were celebrating today, as news of their excellent results came through from the external examination boards.

In the first full year of the merger, the overall RGSAO pass rate (grades A-E) was as strong as ever at 99.4%, with 68% of subjects taken scoring A – B grades.

No fewer than 28 candidates achieved at least three A grades at A level, with several gaining four or five A grades, facts which support that around 85% of RGSAO leavers will expect to attain places at their first or second choice university. Indications are that 11 RGSAO students are also set to join Oxford and Cambridge Universities, which continues the strong record of the schools Oxbridge success. Fifty RGSAO students have gained places at Oxford and Cambridge universities over the last four years.

Three individuals who deserve particular mention are Chris Davis, James Burton and Shona McCaskill, all of whom received three or more As at A Level as well as a whole host of advanced extension awards in a diverse range of subjects.

The city-centre school’s strongest results over the years are still consistently in the traditionally ‘difficult’ subjects such as modern languages, technology, geography, the sciences and maths. This year was no exception seeing 100% A and B pass rates in French, Latin and Design Technology. Maths and Further Maths saw an 85% and 86% A and B pass rate respectively.

“I am delighted that the hard work of our students has been rewarded and that they can proceed with confidence to the universities of their choice,” commented Andy Rattue, RGS Worcester & The Alice Ottley School Headmaster.

“These results are a tribute to the professionalism and dedication of the RGSAO teaching staff, whose tireless attention to detail and hands on teaching style has helped our students pick their way through the A Level minefield.”

“With higher intakes to University every year, it’s never been more important to have excellent results, but also a well-rounded educational experience. At RGSAO we see academic results in the context of everything else our students are involved in, such as sport, drama, music, expeditions and charity fundraising – skills for life,” added Andy Rattue,

“It’s been a great pleasure to see these young men and women keep life in perspective and take so much of the school with them into their everyday lives. I am excited to see what the future will hold for them.”

The third Acorns Triple Run is being hailed as another ‘Personal Best’ for the West Midlands as over 1300 competitors joined together in the uniquely inclusive event to raise much-needed funds for Acorns Children’s Hospice and other charities.
Malvern St James sponsored the Schools Challenge and entered two teams in the 5k Spring Fun Run, who competed in fancy dress. We also provided a team of enthusiastic helpers who acted as marshals on the day and handed out medals to all entrants at the end of each race.
The first female home in the Spring Run was Malvern St James pupil Emily Merrick and the first male was Emmett Thompson of Wollaston.
The Malvern St James Schools Challenge was won by Ribston Hall High School, with The Downs Malvern College Prep School in second place and St Mary’s Convent B Team in third place.
Last year our girls raised £5,000 and we are hoping to beat that total this year. Organisers hope that the event will raise £40,000 for Acorns, with a further £10,000 being raised for other charities.

189 pupils at pupils at Bromsgrove School sat 651 A levels this year and achieved a record 87% A and B grades. Equally remarkable was the fact that 78 pupils achieved 3 or more A grades; 27 pupils achieved 4 or more; 14 attained 5 or more straight A grades. Over 60% of all A levels were grade A, while the A-E pass rate was 99.8%.

Outstanding subject performances included clean sweeps of 100% A grades for Latin and Additional Further Maths. In subjects with large cohorts (above twenty-five pupils) there were exceptional results, among others, for:

Further Maths with 97% A grades (36 candidates)

Art with 89% A grades (27 candidates)

Maths with 75% A grades (99 candidates)

Chemistry with 99% A and B grades (44 candidates)

Geography with 96% A and B grades (32 candidates)

Among the 78 candidates with 3 or more A’s were local Head Girl, Harriet Eales, and local twins Charles and Edward Eden who have been at the School since Pre-Prep.

Headmaster Chris Edwards commented:
“Another huge A level cohort has delivered spectacular results, justifying the Good Schools Guide’s observation that Bromsgrove inhabits the academic stratosphere. I congratulate pupils and staff while reiterating that we abhor hothousing: our sport, music, drama and titanic extra curricular programme are as important to us as these staggering grades. People wanting academic battery farms can look elsewhere: at Bromsgrove, it is breadth of opportunity and sky- high expectations which generate excellence.”