Memorable Moments of 2023

Bury Grammar School pupils and teachers celebrated World Book Day in true style!

To celebrate British Science Week our pupils had a Science focussed assembly and participated in various exciting experiments during their lessons.

Five Years. One School.

After centuries of being separate schools, Bury Grammar School officially became one school on the 23^rd of May 2018. So, on the 23^rd May this year, we celebrated five years of Bury Grammar School as one school and reflected on how BGS has progressed and developed since the joining of all seven schools!

We were pleased to host the annual GCSE & A Level Art Exhibition, 'Small Anarchies' showcasing the incredible work of all our Year 11 pupils, Year 12, and Year 13 students.

Pupils performed The Heights, by award-winning writer Lisa Mcgee on the Quays Stage at the Lowry Theatre. Pupils spent a morning working with the in-house tech team at The Lowry before participating in practical workshops run by directors from the National Theatre.

Founders’ Day is when we pause to say ‘thank you’ to our founders and donors for the wonderful education and great opportunities they have given to the young people of Bury and the local area, a truly memorable day for the BGS community.

…and of course, our new prefect appointments were announced.

Bury Grammar School’s Senior Prefect Team for 2023-24 is now: 

Amélie C – School Captain/Head Girl

Jake G – School Captain/Head Boy

Martha A – Vice Captain/Deputy Head Girl

Thomas G – Vice Captain/Deputy Head Boy.

The roles of the School Captains are highly honoured positions in our School. The tradition of Head Girl dates to 1906 and the role of School Captain for the Boys’ dates to as early as 1595.

 

We were incredibly proud to share the news that Bury Grammar School received the IQM Inclusive School Award and have been recommended as a Centre of Excellence! The Inclusion Quality Mark Award provides UK schools with a nationally recognised validation of their inclusive practice and ongoing commitment to developing educational inclusion.

Our Sports Days were filled with BGS spirit and comradery. Through our House System, pupils learn the joy and value of team participation, and the valuable lessons of dependability and having to give your best. Pupils learn to win with modesty and accept defeat with good grace, and that participation is far more important than winning.

…and our exceptionally talented Primary Division pupils treated families to an outstanding performance of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in their summer show.

On 25th June, the Bury Grammar School Quiz Team took part in the National Finals of the annual 'Schools Challenge' general knowledge quiz competition, held at the Hall School in Belsize Park, London. Reaching the Finals via the earlier knock out stages was a considerable feat as we have only managed to do so on three previous occasions in the last 30 years, the most recent being 2010. A tremendous achievement for the pupils that participated.

At the end of the academic year, all instrumentalists from Year 3 to Year 13 joined together for the annual Orchestra Day. Over 100 musicians gathered in the Primary Division Hall to perform. A wonderful event!

Bury Grammar School won the prestigious Eco School Green Flag Award with Distinction. This was our second year achieving this, demonstrating a firm commitment to Eco Schools increasing levels of biodiversity and reducing our ecological footprint. We have further reduced waste and energy consumption, created new habitats, established a school garden, and further reduced plastic use in the canteen...but there is still more to do! 

Our new in post Eco Committee will help us become even greener; they are currently conducting an Environmental Review of our green credentials and will compile an action plan later this academic year. 

The World Challenge expedition began their Morocco trek in July. From experiencing new cultures to trekking in the wild, the day-to-day challenges of expedition life encourages pupils to develop life skills and build deeper confidence, resilience, and empathy – and what an incredible experience this was!

Our BGS cadets attended the CCF Summer Camp this July. Many challenging, exciting, adventurous, and educational activities were offered, including climbing walls, zip-lining, water activities and many other challenges, where cadets had the chance to further develop their personal responsibility, leadership, and self-discipline.

The BGS RAF section celebrated various individual and group successes this year. The cadets attended three Air experience flying days at Woodvale, with many receiving their blue flying wings, the new recruits experienced their first field day at Inskip Cadet Centre, Year 9 cadets passed their Essential First Aid Award, two cadets attended the National Air and Space Camp where they experienced flying in chinooks and attended an industry day with over 500 STEM companies in attendance. Two cadets passed their Master Cadet which is the highest classification in the RAFAC.

Individual achievements in the CCF RAF section were celebrated when Katie (Class of 2023) was awarded the Sir John Thompson Memorial Award for the best CCF RAF Section cadet in the country. Mykola (Year 12) was awarded an Air Scholarship from the Air League and Sophie (Year 12) passed the Gold Leadership Camp at RAF Cranwell - the number 1 leadership course.

Over the summer, the Bury Grammar School estate underwent some major upgrades.  

Thanks to our incredible Estates and IT Departments our campus was transformed over the summer.   

We now have: 
 

• ‘Centres of excellence’ - bespoke departmental bases for every department across Senior School where pupils can enjoy brand new facilities with IT/CleverTouch Boards in every room to support learning. 
   

• Refurbished classrooms throughout Senior School with form rooms for each year group of boys and each year group of girls enjoying their own base. 
   

• New windows across the Senior Boys’ campus and to the rear of the Senior Girls' campus. 
   

• New dedicated areas for Drama, Music, IT and Languages. 
   

• ‘The Hub’ - an area designated for pupils where they might receive additional help and support. 
   

• A new Learning Support base. 
   

• A new fire escape staircase to the science classrooms. 
   

Following last year’s establishment of our then new Primary Division, this year has also seen further upgrades in Primary: 
 

• Juniors has been re-carpeted throughout. 
   

• Reception classrooms have new wet play flooring. 
   

• Kindergarten outdoor area has been refreshed. 
   

• Plus, many repairs and maintenance across the whole campus. 
   

Following last year’s establishment of The Courthouse, our academic Sixth Form base, the Sixth Form Centre now also has  
 

• A refurbished front common room and rear common room. 
   

We think School looks very smart indeed and hope this provides an even more inspiring learning environment for our pupils! 

Bury Grammar School Map 

Congratulations to the leavers of 2023! In a year in which grading returned to 2019 levels, our students celebrated fabulous A Level results and places at top universities – and we could not be happier for them. Two-thirds of grades were at the ‘gold standard’ of A*-B, 90% grades A*-C and, once again, a perfect 100% pass rate!

A Level results were closely followed by equally fabulous GCSE results. A third of all grades were stellar 9s and 8s (A**-A*), over 50% of results were at the very top level of 9-7s (A**-A), and almost 90% of grades were 9-5 (A**-B). This A grade cohort between them gained a stunning total of 570 grades at 9-7 (A**-A level) - a group of pupils with such bright futures ahead!

We welcomed new pupils and students throughout the school, and thoroughly enjoyed our Induction Days for Reception, Year 7 and Year 12.

It was lovely to welcome supporters and donors of our school earlier this year for the unveiling of our Giving Tree plaque, followed by a Thank You Dinner in recognition of their gracious support. Mrs Anderson, Principal, and the Development Team thanked our supporters wholeheartedly for all they do for the pupils of Bury Grammar School.

Open Day Autumn 2023. Many visitors were welcomed by our magnificent BGS Ambassador pupils! During a visit to our school visitors no doubt heard about the core values of BGS, what makes us unique, our aims and objectives and how we unlock the potential of every pupil, so they achieve academic success.  A visit to school and a tour from our pupils confirms what makes us special!

During the October half term, BGS embarked on an adventurous school trip to the United Arab Emirates. Ninety-nine enthusiastic pupils and twelve dedicated members of staff set out on an unforgettable eight-day adventure, to take part in the first overseas sports tour of its kind.​ We look forward to more overseas trips in the new year!

At BGS, we understand the significance of fostering a supportive environment for new teachers as they embark on their professional journey. ISTIP is a statutory body for the induction for new teachers and is overseen by a Board in matters of governance, and a Panel, which has oversight of the statutory induction process.

ISTIP conducted its annual inspection at our school in November 2023. We are proud to share that the inspection was overwhelmingly positive, with no recommendations required. We were found to be ‘carefully’ following the Statutory Guidance and that ‘all aspects of ECT induction at BGS are of an extremely high quality’.

After many months of planning, pupils travelled to Germany for the 68th  Bury/Cologne Exchange, excited to meet their hosts and to learn something of German life and culture.

Their group activities included a trip to Bonn, the former capital of West Germany during the days of the Berlin Wall, a day in the Duetzer Gymnasium, our partner school, the traditional England vs Germany sports matches, a trip up the Triangelturm to view Cologne from above, and a visit to the Chocolate Museum. Overall, it was another very successful Bury/Cologne Exchange.

A group of Sixth Form students represented the School at the Sir Rhys Davies Mock Law Trial Competition at the Crown Court in Manchester. The event was the culmination of weeks of work, where students learned about the law and the court system. The team performed extremely well and was highly commended by the judges for their excellent advocacy and compelling witness performances.

Our aspiring Year 13 Medics, Dentists, and Vets participated in a Mock MMI afternoon in the Roger Kay Hall.

Congratulations to our Addams Family cast and crew on another incredible show - what a triumph! A special thanks must go to the entire cast, crew, Directors, and all our behind-the-scenes assistants! You can see more photographs from the show here: The Addams Family - Bury Grammar School

We celebrated the official opening of our new Performing Arts Centre, thanks to a generous donation from our Parents’ Association.

We were proud to announce that Bury Grammar School had been awarded the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools ‘School Mental Health Award’ – Gold Status.

This recognition is a testament to our dedication to fostering a supportive and nurturing environment for the mental well-being of our pupils and staff, where excellence in education meets a commitment to mental health!

December brought with it an inspection from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), who are responsible for inspecting independent schools. Their primary purpose during inspection is to ensure that independent schools provide high-quality education and meet regulatory standards, whilst inspecting various aspects of educational provision and operation. They aim to evaluate a school's compliance with statutory requirements and to provide a comprehensive assessment of a school's overall effectiveness. They survey and meet with pupils, parents, staff and governors during their visit and observed over 100 lessons being delivered at BGS!

We thoroughly enjoyed showing off our brilliant school and look forward to receiving our inspection report early next year.

The Year 11 Public Speaking team participated in the Churchill Public Speaking competition and performed incredibly well, taking them through to the next stage of the competition. We would like to thank The English Speaking Union for hosting the event. We wish both teams the best of luck in the next round to be held early next year.

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award pupils have been working independently towards their volunteering, physical, skill (and residential at Gold) sections and have explored the local areas of Ribblesdale and Rivington (Bronze); Peak District and Forest of Bowland (Silver); Great Langdale (Lake District) and Yorkshire Dales (three peaks area) (Gold).

In the last 6 months they have had an impressive 71 Bronze, 15 Silver and 4 Gold completions. These all represent a minimum of 6 months activity and in the case of Gold up to 18 months of commitment to the award.

Enrolment numbers for this academic year were even higher and we look forward to seeing them completing their activities and expeditions over the course of the next 12 months.

In December we held a whole host of festive activities...