BGS Parents - Bury Grammar School

Absence from School

If your son/daughter is ill and unable to attend school, we ask all parents to report absences via the Parent Portal.

To do this, please log into the Parent Portal and follow the ‘Report a Pupil Absence’ link on the home page and complete the form to report the pupil absence for that day.

This feature also allows you to report a planned absence in advance for medical appointments or similar one-off absences.

When you submit the form through the Parent Portal it automatically alerts your son/daughter’s Form Tutor, Head of Year, and the School Office of their absence.

Our Parent Portal is available by downloading the iSAMS Parent app or via this link: Bury Grammar School Parent Portal | Homepage.

If you require any assistance accessing your account, please email parentportal@burygrammar.com

Assemblies and Form Time

Primary division

During the academic year we have a number of assemblies for our pupils and parents to enjoy! Please find details of assemblies on our annual school calendar: Calendar.

These assemblies range from our weekly whole school celebration and separate Junior and Infant assemblies to special celebrations, visiting speakers and whole class assemblies. Parents are very welcome to join us for class assemblies which you will find on our School Calendar and useful reminders are noted in our weekly school newsletter too.

Form time takes place twice per week when class teachers deliver the pastoral curriculum.

Seniors and Sixth Form

Assemblies at BGS are an important time for the school to come together. We meet once per week for a whole school assembly where pupils are always encouraged to play a role. House and faith assemblies take place regularly throughout the term and year groups often have their own assemblies, led by the Head of Year or form group. For at least two days a week, pupils spend time with their Form Tutor during form periods and work through the pastoral curriculum.

Calendar

There are several ways to view the full school calendar for the academic year.

1. Here on our school website: Calendar

2. On the Parent Portal: Bury Grammar School Parent Portal | Homepage

3. On the iSAMS Parent app.

If you require any assistance accessing your account, please email ParentPortal@burygrammar.com

Careers Advice

BGS pupils and students receive comprehensive career support designed to prepare them for a successful transition to higher education and the professional world. This support includes personalised guidance from dedicated career advisors who help pupils and students explore various career paths, understand the requirements for different professions, and develop essential skills such as resume and personal statement writing, and interview techniques.

Organised career fairs and networking events with alumni and industry professionals provide valuable insights and connections here. Additionally, work experience placements and workshops are arranged to provide practical exposure to their chosen fields. Through this tailored support, our pupils are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to pursue their career aspirations effectively.

Please read our Career Advice web pages for more details.

Alongside our Careers department, pupils are often provided with help, advice, and guidance from many professionals:

Form tutors
Visiting admissions tutors from universities
Speakers from a range of professions
Our alumni – Bury Grammar pupils are in the fortunate position of having access to a vast number of former pupils with glittering careers in an array of different areas.

Communication

Bury Grammar School pupils thrive thanks to the excellent partnership between pupil, home and school. For us, good communication is vital, and we will always seek to communicate positively, honestly, and openly with pupils and parents.

Weekly Newsletter

To read our weekly Whole School newsletters, please check your email or view them on the Parent Portal.

Emails

We regularly use email to communicate information with parents, so it is important that you provide us with accurate contact details and specific information about where you would prefer our communications to be sent.

SMS (Text Messaging)

School sometimes uses SMS messaging to communicate with parents. We use the SMS messaging service as a reminder for important events in the school calendar and to inform you of unexpected changes to school routines, for example school closures, or delayed trips. Please ensure we have your latest mobile number so you will receive these messages.

Change of contact details

If you wish to make changes to your details, please use the 'Request a Change in Parental Contact Details' electronic form, on the Parent Portal, or email schooloffice@burygrammar.com

Parent Portal

Our Parent Portal is available via this link: Bury Grammar School Parent Portal | Homepage.

If you require any assistance accessing your account, please email ParentPortal@burygrammar.com

Social Media

Please join us on social media and like and share our posts on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube for a picture of what is going on in School.

Sharing Pupil Successes

We love to hear of pupil successes and good news stories both in and outside of school – please do share with us any good news so we can celebrate this with our whole BGS community and on our social media sites. Please email communications@burygrammar.com

Contact Us

If you have any queries at all about how your child is getting on at school, or indeed about any aspect of school life, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with their form tutor/class teacher. They will always be very happy to help and to talk to you over the phone, invite you in or email you – however you wish to communicate.

Please find details on the Parent Portal / iSAMS app.

Contact Us

How to contact us

Please find some useful contact details here on our website: Contact Us | Bury Grammar School.

Form Tutor / Class Teacher

If you have any queries at all about how your child is getting on at school, or indeed about any aspect of school life, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with their form tutor/class teacher. They will always be very happy to help and to talk to you over the phone, invite you in or email you – however you wish to communicate. You will find their contact details on the Parent Portal (right click on their name to copy the email address): Bury Grammar School Parent Portal | Homepage.

School Governors

Parents wishing to contact the Chair of Governors should write to: Bury Grammar School, Governors Clerk to the Governors, Bury Grammar School, Farraday House, Bridge Road, Bury, BL9 0HG.

Devices (Pupil Surface Device Scheme)

The BGS Microsoft Surface Programme

We have a strong partnership with the leading provider of 1:1 device schemes in education: Freedom Technology, who supply and maintain pupil's Microsoft Surface Go 2 devices. Pupils have their own dedicated device, allowing them to access the full suite of school programmes at home and crucially in their lessons, strengthening teaching and learning at BGS.

If you require information or advice on how to report an issue with a Surface device then please email:

surface@burygrammar.com stating your child's full name and year group.

Enrichment / Extra-curricular activities

We appreciate that our parents are busy and need to plan their schedules in advance, so we now use an online tool, SOCS, to help you keep track of your child’s extra-curricular activities for your convenience.

Please log into your parent account here: https://www.socscms.com/login

We hope this system will give you a glimpse into just how busy and varied our extra-curricular timetable is and will support you in ensuring your child makes the most of everything on offer here at BGS!

Enrichment | Bury Grammar Schoo l

SOCS is our online school communication system for extra-curricular activities. SOCS enable parents to see the full Enrichment Programme, with details of all clubs, activities, workshops, sport practices, fixtures, results, and match reports throughout the year.

The system can be accessed by visiting https://www.socscms.com/login

Exam Results

Food at BGS

Bury Grammar School Children Eating Healthy

ParentPay

We operate a cashless catering system in school, but pupils may alternatively bring a packed lunch or choose both options. The School caterers provide a variety of healthy eating options, with hot meals, sandwiches, a salad bar, and a pasta bar. Vegetarian and Halal meals are always available.

We use an online, cashless payment system called ‘ParentPay’ to enable parents to pay for school lunches and school trips. In the first week of term, we register your child on the system at school and email you a username and password so that you can access the ParentPay website to set up an account.

You will then be able to load your son or daughter’s account with money: https://www.parentpay.com/parents/

Primary Division

Please use the Parent Portal to:

Report a change in lunch arrangements (school meal or packed lunch) for a Primary Division pupil.

Report a change in break time milk arrangements for a Primary Division pupil.

Please note families are billed separately for Primary Division lunches.

Bury Grammar School Parent Portal | Homepage.

Holiday Clubs

Homework

Whole school homework is set using the web-based system satchel:one.

This programme can be accessed, by pupils and parents, online or via the satchel:one app which you can download.

Satchel:one is an online platform which is accessed by teachers, pupils and parents, and forms an important part of home – school communication.

Here is the website link: Satchel One | Login

House System and Points

Each of our Schools has four houses, and all pupils are allocated to one of these houses – under the direction of our Head of House and House Prefects.

Houses compete against each other in annual events such as the House Music Competition, Swimming Gala, Quiz, House Sports and Sports Day. Pupils have a strong sense of loyalty to their houses, which remains long after they leave the School, with all our houses having had affiliation with many generations of the same families. Boys’ uniform relates to their house, as the crest of their blazer and their school tie reflect the colour of their given house.

It is important to be aware of your sons’ house before purchasing any uniform. The house colours are: Yellow, blue, green and red.

Updates on house points can be found on social media and our weekly whole school newsletter.

Lost Property

Parents' Evenings

Parent Portal

Good communication is always a priority for us.

Our Parent Portal is available by downloading the iSAMS Parent app or via this link:

Bury Grammar School Parent Portal | Homepage.

If you require any assistance accessing your account, please email ParentPortal@burygrammar.com

The Parent Portal is where you will find information on:

Your child’s Assessments and Reports
Your child’s timetable and teaching groups
The school calendar for this academic year
Electronic forms where you can:
- Log a pupil absence
- Request an authorised absence for a pupil
- Report a change in parental contact details
- Report a change in lunch arrangements
- Report a change in break time milk arrangements for Primary pupils.

Pastoral Care

Our School is a fun, happy and nurturing one, and our system of pastoral care ensures that we provide a safe, tolerant, and nurturing environment, which allows students to reach their potential in every area of life.

BGS Pastoral Care

To read about Pastoral Care at BGS please go to: Pastoral Care

Resources for BGS Parents

We have put together some parent resources which we hope you will find helpful. They relate to the issues that young people face today and how you can help support your child as they navigate childhood and the teenage journey. New guides and supportive material will be added to our webpage and specifically to the Parent Portal throughout the year. Please click on the link below and visit the Parent Portal:

Parent Resources

Who to contact

If you have any queries at all about how your child is getting on at school, or indeed about any aspect of school life, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with their form tutor/class teacher. They will always be very happy to help and to talk to you over the phone, invite you in or email you – however you wish to communicate. You will find their contact details on the Parent Portal: Bury Grammar School Parent Portal | Homepage.

Primary Division Parent Handbook

Reports and Assessments for Pupils

The assessment and reporting model at Bury Grammar School aims to support pupils in achieving their goals and taking ownership for their learning and progress. It is also an important aspect of the home-school partnership ensuring that parents are well informed and able to support their sons/daughters when they require it and celebrate their hard work with the school.

You can access your son or daughter's assessments and reports via the Parent Portal.

Our Parent Portal is available by downloading the iSAMS Parent app or via this link:

Bury Grammar School Parent Portal | Homepage.

If you require any assistance accessing your account, please email ParentPortal@burygrammar.com

Sport Fixtures

SOCS is our online school communication system for extra-curricular sport sessions, fixtures, team sheets and results. SOCS enables both pupils and parents to see the full Sports Programme, with details of all practices, fixtures, results, and match reports throughout the year. The system can be accessed by visiting Sport Fixtures.

For full details on fixtures, please visit our Sports webpage: Bury Grammar School | Sports Home

Term Dates

The most up to date version of our term dates can always be found on our school website:

Term Dates

or

Calendar.

You can also find the term dates, along with the full calendar on the Parent Portal or the iSAMS Parent app:

Bury Grammar School Parent Portal | Homepage.

If you require any assistance accessing your account, please email ParentPortal@burygrammar.com

Timetable

You can view your son / daughter's timetable on the Parent Portal and pupils in years 3 to 13 can view their own timetable on the iSAMS Student app.

Primary pupils are also provided with a hard copy, copies are available on request from class teachers.

Our Parent Portal is available by downloading the iSAMS Parent app or via this link:

Bury Grammar School Parent Portal | Homepage.

If you require any assistance accessing your account, please email ParentPortal@burygrammar.com

Timings of Day

Primary Division

Before School Club is available from 7:30am located in the Kindergarten building for all primary children. At 8am the Infant doors are opened where pupils are greeted by staff. At 8:15am the classrooms are open for the pupils to begin their day supervised by teaching staff. Any pupils who have attended Before School Club will be escorted to the relevant area of school. Please note that registration is taken promptly at 8:40am, all pupils should be in school by 8:40am ready to begin the day.

Please make bookings for wrap around care through your ParentPay account. Here is our Booking Guide to assist you: Wrap Around Care Booking Guide.

Here are the contact details for our After School Club:

📤 asc@burygrammar.com

☎️ 0161 696 8600, option 5.

Seniors and Sixth Form

Doors to both Senior Schools open at 7:30am, allowing pupils to enter using our security code system. Pupils will not be under direct supervision until 8:40am when the school day officially begins but can spend time in their form rooms and get breakfast in the canteen. Punctuality for registration and lessons is essential.

All pupils should be in their form room ready for registration at 8:40am. Pupils who are late for registration must sign in at the main school office. All late attendances are recorded on pupils’ records.

Bury Grammar School operates a 2-week cycle, with 3 double periods per day.

The library is supervised from the end of the school day until 5pm and pupils may stay here. Pupils are not permitted to remain in school beyond 5pm without authorisation and supervision.

Transport

A picture of a Bury Grammar School Coach

BGS provides a coach service covering the areas below.

• Bacup/Rossendale

• Norden/Bamford

• Rochdale

• Oldham/Middleton

• Bolton

• Worsley/Eccles/Swinton

• Prestwich/Whitefield

If you are interested in further information, including costs and route details, or would like to apply for a place on one of the school coaches, please contact the Bursar’s Office on 0161 696 8600.

You can find out more on our webpage here: School Transport Services | Bury Grammar Schools | Greater Manchester

Trips

Bury Grammar School offers an incredible assortment of school trips each year.

Please follow this link to view our upcoming major trips: School Trips - Bury Grammar School

Further trips may become available throughout the year.

ParentPay

We use an online, cashless payment system called ‘ParentPay’ to enable parents to pay for school lunches and school trips. We register your child on the system at school and email you a username and password so that you can access the ParentPay website to set up an account.

You will then be able to load your son or daughter’s account with money for lunches or pay for school trips: https://www.parentpay.com/parents/

Uniform

Update Contact Details

Change of contact details

If you wish to make changes to your details, please use the 'Request a Change in Parental Contact Details' electronic form, on the Parent Portal, or email schooloffice@burygrammar.com

Parent Portal

Our Parent Portal is available via this link: Bury Grammar School Parent Portal | Homepage.

If you require any assistance accessing your account, please email ParentPortal@burygrammar.com

Emails

We regularly use email to communicate information with parents, so it is important that you provide us with accurate contact details and specific information about where you would prefer our communications to be sent.

SMS (Text Messaging)

School sometimes uses SMS messaging to communicate with parents. We use the SMS messaging service as a reminder for important events in the school calendar and to inform you of unexpected changes to school routines, for example school closures, delayed trips, or cancelled activities. Please ensure we have your latest mobile number so you will receive these messages.

Weekly Newsletters

Wrap Around Care

Infants and Juniors

Please refer to the tab above called 'Timings of the Day'.

After School Club Contact Details

📤 asc@burygrammar.com

☎️ 0161 696 8600, option 5

📱 07513 075 534

Seniors and Sixth Formers

Doors to both Senior Schools open at 7:30am, allowing pupils to enter using our security code system. Pupils will not be under direct supervision until 8:40am when the school day officially begins but can spend time in their form rooms and get breakfast in the canteen.

The Sixth Form cafe is supervised from the end of the school day until 5:00pm and pupils may stay here. Pupils are not permitted to remain in school beyond 5pm without authorisation and supervision.