The Spring Hoc Age magazine, full of pupil achievements, events, trips and good news stories across the whole school, is now available online.
As we’re about to go to press, fast-moving events surrounding COVID-19 have led to a time of uncertainty. However, as always, we will continue to respond in a measured way to any challenges we face and, as you can see from this edition of ‘Hoc Age’, show all the wonderful things which continue to go on in our amazing school – and outside of it.
“In recent weeks, we have celebrated winning the Bradford University Mock Trial competition, were entertained brilliantly by ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, saw the Aunty Knife app come to fruition following our partnership with local schools, picked up a national TES award for our collective efforts to foster wellbeing, applauded BGS West Yorkshire table tennis champions, relaxed to fantastic performances at our recitals, danced a little too enthusiastically (or was it just me?) to the Young Voices Choir in a Junior School Assembly, and marvelled at the achievements of the intermediate girls who returned as champions from the King Henry VIII Cross Country Relays (we are only the second school to have won both the boys’ and girls’ races in this historic competition).
Meanwhile, lessons have been taught, homework handed in and mock exams navigated by Year 11 and Year 13. The wheels at BGS never stop turning and numbers of 11+ applicants, sitting for a place and attending taster days, are once again up on the previous year. We don’t claim to be perfect, but there is an amazing amount of activity and achievement going on at BGS, and an abundance of opportunity for those with the ambition to seize it.
I hope you enjoy this latest edition of ‘Hoc Age’ and the insight it provides into a caring and successful school.”
Simon Hinchliffe, Headmaster
“If children today want to know something, they tend to go straight to the internet – typing in ‘laughter’ to Google leads to
a variety of articles. Some will tell you that children will laugh up to 300 times a day, which seems an amazingly high number of occasions, and, as you would expect, puts adult laughter sessions into the shade. Others report on the positive effect that laughing has on a person. It has the ability to decrease stress hormones, to encourage infection fighting antibodies, and relax muscles; it sounds like a rather powerful ally in the fight to keep our children healthy and safe in the modern world.
One of the greatest pleasures of being in Clock House is that laughter is heard so often – when children see each other wearing their clothes inside out to highlight Children’s Mental Health Week, when the Young Voices assembly has everyone on their feet and the children see ‘staff dancing’ (which is an even more embarrassing version of ‘dad dancing’), when the downdraught from the Royal helicopter’s manoeuvres blows everyone’s hair awry. None of these things are planned or ‘on the curriculum’ but they are a cherished part of our day.
Laughter is also a great way to strengthen our immune systems, which is even more pertinent in light of current events.
The following pieces will give you a flavour of our days and hopefully raise at least a wry smile!”
Be Social!