Why Choose Bury Grammar School?

• Click here to read more about our record breaking A Level and GCSE results 2020

 

Pupils begin their BGS journey of educational excellence in our coeducational Kindergarten from three years of age, moving into our coeducational Infant School in Reception. They then progress to single sex education in our Junior and Senior Schools from age 7 through to 16, and coeducational teaching alongside single sex form groups in our Sixth Form. The single sex set-up in the Junior and Senior Schools gives boys and girls the freedom to be themselves, to focus on their learning and growth without distractions, and to develop into confident and well-balanced young people. Outside the classroom, there are plenty of coeducational activities on offer, for example in Drama, Art, Music and CCF giving pupils the best of both worlds. Transition from one key stage to the next is also made easy as individual pupils’ potential and talents are very well known to us.

 

In the Sixth Form, boys and girls are ready to learn alongside one another as they prepare for university and life beyond BGS. Pastoral care and form groups continue to be single sex and girls and boys benefit enormously from continuing to play a key role and become leaders and prefects in their 'home' school.

 

Every one of our Schools has a caring family environment where each pupil is known and nurtured as an individual. They make friends easily and many friendships formed at BGS often last a lifetime.

 

We are immensely proud of our former students, many of whom remain part of our Old Girls’ and Old Boys’ Associations. They not only act as role models for our current students but have also forged strong relationships with the school which continue throughout their lives.

 

 

 

We are proud of the excellent relationships which exist between staff and pupils and amongst the pupils themselves. These are developed, not only in the classroom, but also through our rich enrichment programme.

 

ISI inspectors recognised this during their 2014 inspection of the school: ‘Pupils of all ages develop outstanding personal qualities: they are friendly, confident and articulate. They are considerate of others and know that they are valued as individuals by the school community. Relations between pupils and teachers and among the pupils themselves are excellent.’

 

Visitors to the School often comment on our friendly approach.

 

 

Crucial to the education of the pupils is the partnership between pupils, parents and the School. This ‘triangle’ is critical to pupils’ success and is promoted throughout the School – not least through the close liaison between parents and their children's form tutors, class teachers and Heads of Year.

 

Parents are closely involved in their child’s education from the initial induction programme, which begins before pupils enter the school, through to the end of the child’s BGS career. Parents are actively encouraged to get involved with school life via school events, attending Parents’ Forums and taking on the role of Parent Ambassadors. We like to work with parents and we see this as a very important part of our role!

 

 

 

The BGS approach to pastoral care is a caring and modern one: relationships between pupils and teachers are excellent and we entrust students with positions of leadership to bring out the best in them. Older pupils are encouraged to mentor younger ones, the long-standing tradition of appointing Prefects and a School Captain/Head Girl plays a significant role in the School’s ethos, and all students are encouraged to take on the role of Pupil Ambassadors to promote the School at the highest level.

 

Above all we are committed to fostering a happy learning environment where pupils can thrive.

 

In addition to the pastoral work of class teachers, form tutors and Heads of Year, the Schools have a dedicated school nurse and health support workers. The 2016 ISI Inspection report said: ‘Pupils’ confidence and resilience is strengthened as the result of the high priority given to pastoral care in the school. Staff know the pupils well and treat them as individuals.’

 

We recognise that happy learners are good learners and take emotional well-being seriously. Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHEE) is delivered each week by specialists and there is a whole school emphasis on promoting well-being and developing qualities to both succeed and be happy in life.

 

 

 

One of Bury Grammar Schools' key strengths is our dedication to the development of every individual child. Our pupils are taught in small classes, typically around 20 up to GCSE and often fewer than 12 at A Level, thereby enabling the individual attention which ensures that they make the best possible progress.

 

Our highly qualified and dedicated staff have faith in the ability and potential of those they teach, and the knowledge and skill to nurture them. They work hard to create an environment which is academically exciting and fun to be part of. They are caring and encouraging, inspiring in each pupil a sense of self-worth, and those high aspirations and high expectations which are vital to success.

 

Staff are incredibly generous with their time, energy and expertise, both in the classroom and in the provision of a rich enrichment programme.

 

For those pupils who have specific learning needs, our SENDCo carefully coordinates targeted support, and all those who show a particular talent in a certain area are actively encouraged and extended.

 

 

 

All of our students are encouraged to contribute to the community through charitable activities and voluntary work, and also to take part in work experience, school trips and opportunities provided by local businesses and national events.

 

While grades in public examinations are hugely important, we recognise that a good education is about more than academic results. Alongside our academic life, we have a rich enrichment programme embracing Sport, Music, Drama, Debates e.g. the Cambridge Union Debate, Community Service, Outdoor Pursuits, Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, World Challenge expeditions and the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) which is one of the oldest contingents in the country and affiliated to the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Pupils are encouraged to pursue their interests and to explore and develop new ones.

 

In addition to the enrichment programme, many co-curricular activities – i.e. those directly related to what goes on in the classroom – take place. These activities include Physics trips to CERN in Switzerland, Mathematics Challenges, Classic trips to Pompeii, field trips for Geography and Biology, an annual trip to First World War battlefields and language exchange programmes with schools in Cologne and Dijon. We also participate in the Young Enterprise scheme and in competitions such as the annual Sir Rhys Davies Mock Law Trial, which attracts teams from the leading independent schools in the region.

 

 

 

As a strong and successful school spread over a 45-acre campus, BGS provides the ultimate 21st century facilities from the very start of the educational journey. Each of our family of Schools provides modern and state-of-the-art facilities, which do much to promote the high standards of teaching and learning which flourish at BGS.

 

Our Kindergarten and Infant School building has bright and modern purpose built classrooms designed exclusively for our Early Years Foundation Stage pupils. Both Senior Boys’ and Senior Girls’ Schools have leading edge Art Centres whilst our new Sixth Form Centre has its own learning zones for individual and group study. The atmosphere in the all-day cafeteria in the Sixth Form Centre is relaxed. The Girls’ Arts Centre also provides excellent Library facilities and modern, light, art rooms. The Boys’ facilities include an excellent Learning Resource Centre and six recently built new Science laboratories which are of the highest quality and provide the boys with a first-class teaching and learning environment for Science. We are committed to the ongoing enhancement of our buildings and facilities.

 

The School has top quality sports facilities including an 18-metre indoor swimming pool and new 3G all-weather pitches for football, rugby, cricket and hockey. There are full-sized volleyball and basketball courts, four tennis courts, a 50 metre sprint track and facilities for high jump, long jump and triple jump, all set within the School campus.

 

 

 

Our School is based in a 45-acre campus in the heart of the Lancashire countryside in the centre of Bury and is easily accessible from Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham and North Manchester. It is a five-minute walk from the Bury Interchange and we run dedicated coach services from a wide range of locations across the region. The Metrolink enables us to easily take advantage of the wide range of educational and cultural opportunities available in Manchester and the North West - not least the city’s universities.

 

 

 

Our pupils leave BGS as articulate, confident, considerate and well-rounded young people, ready to meet the opportunities and challenges of higher education and their future careers, and ready to make an outstanding contribution to society. We are proud of what we offer them – and of what they achieve.

 

A Bury Grammar Schools pupil is confident, independent and fully prepared to embrace the challenges and opportunities of the future. When our students leave us, they progress to the universities of their choice and are equipped to excel in their chosen fields.

 

Our alumni are leading lights in a wide range of areas including Medicine, Law, Acting, Music, Sport and Research: we teach our students that the sky really is the limit!