Bradford Grammar School
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| Bradford Grammar School | |
| Motto | Hoc Age ('Do This') |
| Established | 1548 |
| Type | Independent grammar school |
| Headteacher | Mr. Stephen Davidson |
| Location | Keighley Road Bradford West Yorkshire  England |
| Students | 1100 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Ages | 6 to 18 |
| School colours | Blue & maroon |
| Built | 1945 |
| Went Co-ed | 1999 |
| Website | BradfordGrammar.com |
Bradford Grammar School was founded in 1548 and granted its Charter as the Free Grammar School of King Charles II in 1662. It is now a independent school although it was a direct grant school until 1975. It is situated in Frizinghall, close to the Shipley Road (A650). Many pupils use Frizinghall railway station for their daily journey.
Pupils are selected by competitive examination. There are currently 925 pupils in the Senior School, including 276 in the Sixth Form and 188 in the Junior School (Clock House). The school became fully co-educational in September 1999, and girls now make up 30% of the school population.
Current senior school fees are around £9500 per annum with school meals at £2 per day. Many bursaries are available to help with fees.
The school grounds have been used as a helicopter landing ground by the royal family when they are visiting the local area due to its large fields. The most recent landing was by the Princess Royal. Prince Charles has also landed at the school.
The school motto is Latin: Hoc Age (Do This[1]).
Contents |
[edit] Education
The school is renowned nationally for attaining excellent pass rates in both A-Levels and GCSEs. In 2007, the pass rate for GCSE (Grades A* - C) was 100%, which was bettered by the A-Level students who also achieved a 100% pass rate. 31 courses are offered for A-Levels, and 97% of sixth-form pupils went on to study further education or deferred a year[2], however the school dropped out of The Times top 100 independent schools in 2006.
The pupil to teacher ratio is 15:1, which is average by today's school standards. Class sizes start at around 20 in the first year and are often below 10 by the final year. Currently there are 94 members of staff at the school, 17 of which are part-time.
[edit] Facilities
The school has also recently built a multi-million pound Sixth Form Centre, funded primarily by Roger Evans and pupils' fund-raising. A popular addition to the Sixth Form life at BGS has been the cafe in the new Sixth Form Centre, nicknamed 'Angie's'. Paul Hockney, brother of artist David Hockney, funded the large theatre, where many school productions are performed. It is adjacent to the sports hall.
The school's IT facilities have been updated regularly in the past few years, and the school now has over 10 IT suites. Pupils have access to their files and email from home, by remote login. All pupils have access to the internet and email throughout the day, and sixth formers have an IT room with printer in the Sixth Form Centre that can be used at any time.
The school has a very well-equipped DT department with over 4 labs, as well as a rare electronics department, and in 2006 BGS had the best electronics A-Level results in the country. The school's science suite is excellent with a building dedicated to the subjects of science. There are 5 Chemistry labs, 4 Biology labs, and 7 Physics labs in total.
The grammar school also has a well kept classics department, and it is compulsory for all pupils to study Latin for two years. Pupils can choose to go on to study Latin or Ancient Greek to A-Level. The school's Modern Languages department is very well equipped. Pupils have the option to study Japanese, Russian, Spanish, French and German, and the school has a laboratory to facilitate the active learning of modern languages. There are over 20 networked computers, all equipped with language software and the ability to speak to a member of staff, as well as to be paired up to perform role-plays.
[edit] Sport
The school's first sport for boys is rugby, whilst for girls it is netball. The school also has facilities for many other sports including squash, tennis, cross-country, swimming, cricket, golf and rowing, on the River Aire. All students have a choice of which sport they would like to do and they can take up this sport on Wednesday afternoon when school ends at 12.45pm.
The school recently built a new all-weather pitch, and since the completion, hockey has become very popular. Along with the astro-turf, the school also built four new tennis courts, making the total number of tennis courts nine. The school is currently having a new pavilion built, which should be completed by the autumn. The school has two squash courts (each with their own showers and changing rooms) that also have been revamped in the last few years. BGS has five rugby pitches, and many national tournaments are held in the grounds. The sports hall is large and has recently been refloored. The school boasts an equipped gym with rowing machines and many weights, along with an impressive climbing wall, a new swimming pool, and a further junior gym for basketball. The school has just completed a £1,000,000 pavilion.
[edit] Other extracurricular activities
[edit] Combined Cadet Force
As an alternative or a supplement to extracurricular sport, the school maintains a volunteer Combined Cadet Force. Due to low popularity, this was reduced to just the Army contingent. However, in recent years the numbers have swelled and the RAF section has been reopened. Pupils now regularly fly and partake in RAF courses.
[edit] Debating
The school is well known at national level for its competitive debating teams. Three pupils over the past five years have been selected for the England Schools' Debating team which competes at the World Schools Debating Championships, the best record of any school in England, and former pupils of the school have reached the Grand Final of the World Universities Debating Championships.
[edit] The arts
The interior walls of the school are decorated with artwork by pupils. A number of David Hockney's works are on display in public and private areas of the school. The music suite has several practice rooms and holds many concerts through the year - some with major orchestral works, some featuring one instrument and some featuring the musicians of a particular year group. A musical is staged every year and rock and folk concerts end the year. The Hockney Theatre hosts a programme through the year and a full-time technician manages a student production team to service the performances. Curriculum evenings by lower school drama groups or the A-Level Theatre Studies groups are placed between plays written specifically for pupils, Shakespeare performances, comedies and musicals. Recent productions have included Oliver!, Grease, Hedda Gabler, As You Like It, Blood Brothers, The Merchant of Venice, Peer Gynt and The Merry Wives of Windsor. In March 2007 the BGS Dramatic Society staged The Wiz, a jazz version of The Wizard of Oz.
[edit] History
[edit] The War
The 'new' school building in Frizinghall was actually completed in 1939, However the start of World War II prevented the building from being opened as a school. During the war, the main school building was used as a Primary Training Centre [3], and there is still evidence of this around the building. During this time, many of the pupils from BGS were evacuated to Settle[4] and returned when the building was released from army occupation and completed.
[edit] The station
Frizinghall station closed in 1965 and remained closed for 22 years. During this time, staff and pupils at the school campaigned hard to get the station reopened. In the end, it was due to the efforts of an English teacher, Dr Robin Sisson who has since retired from teaching, that the station was reopened. Now, however, over half the passengers travelling on the Bradford lines alight or embark at Frizinghall station.
[edit] Notable Old Bradfordians
- See also: Category:Old Bradfordians
- John Sharp (1645–1714), Archbishop of York
- Abraham Sharp (1653–1742), mathematician and scientific instrument maker
- David Hartley (1705–1757), philosopher and physician
- James Scott (1733–1814), writer
- John William Whittaker (1790–1854), clergyman
- George Douglas (1859–1947), dyer
- Hudson Shaw (1859–1944), historian and orator
- Frederick Delius (1862–1934), composer
- Sir Charles Harris (1864–1943), civil servant
- C. J. Cutcliffe-Hyne (1865–1944), novelist
- Henry de Beltgens Gibbins (1865–1907), economic historian
- Henry Ward (1865–1911), photographer and author
- William Binnie (1867–1949), civil engineer
- Sir Frank Dyson [5] (1868–1939), Astronomer Royal
- Charles Wilson [6](1869–1959), physicist
- John Lawrence Hammond [7] (1872–1949), historian and journalist
- Sir William Rothenstein [8] (1872–1945), artist
- Albert Rutherston (1881–1953), painter and illustrator
- Sir Henry Clay (1883–1954), economist and Warden of Nuffield College, Oxford
- Humbert Wolfe (1885–1930), poet and civil servant
- Charles Fairburn (1887–1945), railway engineer
- John Rawlings Rees (1890–1969), psychiatrist
- Sir Mortimer Wheeler [9] (1890–1976), archaeologist and broadcaster
- Arthur Raistrick (1896–1991), civil engineer, industrial archaeologist and pacifist
- Harry McEvoy (1902–1984), breakfast cereal manufacturer
- Richard Eurich (1903–1992), painter
- H. L. A. Hart[10] (1907–1992), legal philosopher
- Geoffrey Barraclough[11] (1908–1984), historian
- Ronald Illingworth (1909–1990), paediatrician
- William Henry Walsh (1913–1986), philosopher
- Michael Wharton[12] (1913–2006), columnist Peter Simple
- Alan Bullock[13] (1914–2004), a.k.a. Baron Bullock of Leafield, historian
- Denis Healey, Baron Healey[14] (born 1917), Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Sir John Harvey-Jones (born 1924), Chief Executive of ICI and broadcaster
- Sir Ken Morrison[15] (born 1931), Executive Chairman of Morrisons
- David Hockney[16] (born 1937), artist
- Michael Jack[17] (born 1946), politician
- Jonathan Silver (1949–1997), entrepreneur and art gallery owner
- Richard Nerurkar, marathon and 10,000 metres runner
- Ashley Metcalfe (born 1963), former Yorkshire County Cricket Club cricketer
- Adrian Moorhouse[18] (born 1964), Olympic gold medallist swimmer
- Robert Hardy[19] (born 1980), bassist of Franz Ferdinand
- Charlie Hodgson[20] (born 1980), England rugby union player (Fly half)
- Alistair Brownlee (born 1988) British triathlete
[edit] References
- ^ Merriam-Webster definition of Hoc-Age
- ^ "isbi Schools"
- ^ The people's warA recollection by a soldier who was at BGS during the war.
- ^ The peoples war
- ^ Fellows biography
- ^ Cambridge biography
- ^ Schoolnet info
- ^ Bradford Libraries
- ^ Bradford Uni info leaflet
- ^ Oxford biography
- ^ History Honor Society
- ^ The Times obituary
- ^ Leeds University Honorary graduands
- ^ Autobiography
- ^ Leeds University presentation
- ^ David Hockney biography
- ^ Michael Jack official website
- ^ T&A article
- ^ PlayLouder interview
- ^ RFU profile
