Inspired to learn and achieve SUCCESS!
As I look out of my office window, the magnolia tree is bursting into life and spring is definitely in the air. The School suddenly feels very quiet as the students have happily left for the Easter break and I am finishing a few things before heading off for a rest with my family.
It has been a wonderful term and the range of activities inside and outside the classroom has been phenomenal - from Model United Nations debates, Speech and Drama festivals to success at National Schools Lacrosse Championshipsthere has never been a dull day. The students, as always, have thrown themselves into every aspect of life in school with gusto and passion. This is what makes working in a school so fulfilling - being surrounded by endless energy and enthusiasm is very inspiring.
I hope you find that sense of energy through the pages of the Muse as we reflect on just some of the highlights and show the range of opportunities that our students get involved in.
I am awe-inspired by our featured alumna, the alpinist Fay Manners; she really is the ultimate role model, displaying determination, passion and pure grit in achieving the most exceptional feats; demonstrating that traditional gender-views should never hold you back from pursuing your dreams. Do take time to read about her on pages 3-4. You will definitely feel energised reading about the return of Rock Night, a musical collaboration with Bedford School where student-led bands, soloists and DJs come together to perform to a very appreciative audience. The range of talent involved is amazing and watching students confidently showcase their skills whilst entertaining their friends is always great fun.
Our netball players have enjoyed another very successful season this year. Led by our very own professional player, Miss Josie Huckle, it continues to be an extremely popular sport for all ages. It is wonderful to see such a depth of participation across the School, as we often field a minimum of 35 teams across all year groups. We explain how Miss Huckle is inspiring the next generation of netball stars on page 12.
Making sure that our students can discover their passions and always feel confident to express their own uniqueness within our community is hugely important, and continues
to be a central pillar of our strategy. I was really pleased that we were able to be involved in national Neurodiversity Celebration Week for the first time, helping the community understand learning from different perspectives and challenging some of the stereotypes around neurodiversity. On page 11 Mr Ben Gibson, SEN teacher, explains the aims of the week and how this is just the start of creating a greater understanding of the different ways in which many of our students learn.
Learning in the Junior School never slows down and always provides opportunities for our younger students to be independent enquirers. British Science Week is a highlight of the Spring Term as we fill the Junior School with trailblazing alumnae in STEM. We were once again privileged to welcome worldleading materials scientist, Dr Anna Ploszajski, together with the incredible architect, Chiovonne Koranteng, and 2019 leaver, Rosalie Inman, who is already making an impact in the world of biomedical sciences. Watching our youngest students collaborate with “real life” scientists as they link learning through the IB Primary Years Programme is always exciting. The light bulb moments when they see that they possess the skills to make connections as they explore new concepts is wonderful and once again reminds me of the privilege teachers have of being able to shape young minds.
After a short rest we will all be back, renewed and ready to embrace the Summer Term, full of cricket and athletics, summer shows, events and of course for our older students important examinations, which will help them achieve steps toward future successes.
I look forward to welcoming many of you into school to share some of these moments.
Best wishes
Gemma Gibson Headmistress
Learning in the Junior School never slows down and always provides opportunities for our younger students to be independent enquirers.
Alumna Fay Manners left Dame Alice Harpur School in 2005 and read Information Management and Business Studies at Loughborough University. A career in Business Intelligence ensued working for prestigious international names including Coca-Cola, Autoglass and Unilever; however, the call of the mountains was never far away and gradually Fay found a way to balance her love of alpinism with her working life. Her intrepid feats are truly inspirational and a real example of resilience, determination and passion.
Have you ever dreamt of climbing up the steep and often precipitous edge of an icy mountain over several days, and perching a tent on a narrow ridge for your night’s sleep, whilst continually anticipating and adapting to whatever nature throws at you, be it avalanches, snowstorms or blazing sunshine?
Most of us would find this difficult to entertain but this is the fascinating life of professional British alpinist, Fay Manners.
It was a chance climb on a bouldering wall in New York that began a love of climbing
for Fay. This progressed to the mountainous terrain of North Wales, climbing with friends local to the area, who knew the local mountaineering ‘like the back of their hand’, expertly navigating the rocky streams, grassy paths and wet terrain. These climbs in Wales equipped Fay with a variety of skills, enabling her to have the confidence to be more adventurous in her climbing challenges and eventually led to Fay becoming a professional alpine climber.
The mountains and I have shared many magic moments. They don’t judge, and they don’t care about my gender. This is my place.
For the last seven years, Fay has been permanently based in Chamonix, France, where she can usually be found high up in the mountains either ski mountaineering or alpine climbing. Aside from her busy climbing pursuits, Fay runs her own data consulting company, BadManners Ltd, and is also working with Unilever as a Business Intelligence Consultant. Fay really is living her dream; based in the mecca of the alpine world and combining what she loves with her day job. She has recently teamed up with outdoor athletic and recreational apparel company, The North Face, to showcase her incredible achievements as an ambassador for their brand, alongside other leading intrepid extreme sport athletes.
perseverance, courage and adaptability; to venture beyond comfort and into a beautiful unknown.”
Female alpinists are few and far between. There has historically been a perception that females are not strong enough physically and mentally to cope with such harsh and isolated conditions, and Fay feels this has discouraged many women in the past. Fay cites UK climbers Helen Rennard, Katy Whittaker and Emma Twyford for her inspiration. She goes on to say that the latter two have played a huge part in starting a female climbing movement in North Wales.
Fay has traversed some of the most challenging peaks of the world including the Phantom Direct on the south face of the Grande Jorasses; the longest and most serious winter mixed climb of the Mont Blanc massif. She has crack-climbed in Cadarese and skied above the Arctic circle in Norway. Last year, Fay and her fellow alpinist, Michelle Dvorak, climbed Alaska’s famed ‘Bacon and Eggs’ on Mini-Mini-Moonflower summit and the Cassin
Ridge on Denali, in what was the first female ascent of the season. Her long-time ambition is to climb the rock faces of Greenland, but she plans to mix it up a bit and sail there first.
Fay’s aims to inspire women to pursue their passions: “I think it is a good testament for students to chase their dreams and not simply feel like they have to follow one set career path of a 5 days a week job. By sharing my personal experiences, I hope that I might influence young girls across the UK to try mountaineering. I also hope that by spotlighting some current mountaineers who inspire me that there can be more recognised role models at both an elite and grassroots level. I believe mountaineering should be an accessible and equal sport for anyone.”
Fay explains the draw of climbing for her: “I truly appreciate the mountains, both their intrinsic awe-inspiring beauty and the challenge they present to us. I see mountaineering as a physical and mental battle that requires you to be some kind of super-human Swiss Army knife; to have
I think it is a good testament for students to chase their dreams and not to simply feel like they have to follow one set career path of a 5 days a week job.
“ “
According to recent UCAS statistics only 35% of STEM students in higher education in the UK are women. The need for our youngest students to be introduced to the diverse roles in STEM and to see women taking the lead is more important than ever so that they aspire to follow these trailblazers and develop a life-long passion for STEM.
Mrs Charlotte Martin, Head of Year 3 and Junior School Science Coordinator explained:
“I love planning British Science Week, looking at how we can bring together leading women in science and showcase a range of careers, whilst linking back to concepts and knowledge through the IB PYP Units of Inquiry, allowing the students to showcase their learner attributes. The focus of British Science Week really helps bring learning to life, and opens students’ eyes to a wealth of possibilities. We had activities running in every year group across the week, including collaboration with the boys at Bedford Prep School and special lunchtimes clubs; however, one of the highlights is always the talks by our special visitors.”
To kick start the week, alumna and worldleading materials scientist, Dr Anna Ploszajski (DAHS 2009), returned to BGS on Monday 13th March to speak about her specialism in Materials Science; Anna delivered a thoughtful and interactive workshop providing an insight into the sorting of materials through recycling. She asked the students to imagine they were atoms and demonstrated how these atoms might move should they be solids, liquids or gases, before sharing how these atoms’ structure can change when heated.
Dr Ploszajski is hugely passionate about our environment and repurposing items for recycling. Tilly, from Year 5, was the lucky winner of a mug, for thinking that it could be reused as a dog food scoop. Anna kindly spent a long-time answering questions from the girls such as, “would atoms behave in the same way in space?” and “What do atoms look like under a microscope?”
Mrs Martin added: “Dr Ploszajski is incredibly engaging, and we are so thankful for her time. Her workshop made sure that our students were using all of their learner attributes, being inquisitive, creative and independent in their approaches to solving the questions Anna was posing. She took hugely complex concepts and made them accessible to our young students so they could link back to other learning. It was a wonderful morning and everyone was buzzing with questions following her visit.”
On Tuesday 14th March, Year 6 enjoyed a fascinating presentation by Mrs Liz Fordham, a past BGS parent, clinical psychologist and Founder of the charity Making Me. Her focus was on what’s going on in our brains
as we grow and how this changes when we hit puberty. The students learnt about the structure of neurons, the cells that send messages in our brain and how they work. Our older students found Liz’s session really useful, both from a scientific level where it linked back to the Unit of Inquiry looking at how brains work, but also on a personal level as they head towards puberty. The workshop helped them understand some of what happens to our brains and how this is linked to the changes they may be beginning to experience. They explored how friendships and relationships can be affected during adolescence as we start to develop our own identities, and how this is linked to the science
of our brain. It really helped them understand why they sometimes feel like they don’t belong.
Mrs Martin added: “It is important that we continually link learning, if students can make connections it will help with their emotional intelligence as it allows them to rationalise complex feelings. This introduction into aspects of psychology gave them an insight into the use of science in an area that they would not have been exposed to. Liz’s enthusiasm and expertise really had a big impact on many students.”
Year 5 students had the fantastic opportunity to learn from alumna Rosalie Inman (BGS 2019). Rosalie’s impressive educational background in biological sciences, including a summer internship for a small biotech company, and her current studies in biomedical science research, specialising in immunology and the biology of disease, made her a perfect role model in her field. However, Rosalie’s achievements don’t stop there. She also shared her sporting success in women’s rugby and her recent appearance on the BBC, which demonstrated the importance of pursuing your passions, both academically and personally.
Rosalie set up an activity for the students to find out more about their genetic makeup in relation to eye and hair colour, which was not only fun but also helped them understand the science behind it. The girls even got to think about what their future children might look like, which was a real eye-opener.
Mrs Martin said: “Rosalie’s visit was fantastic, and introduced the amazing field of biomedical science, an area that most young students won’t even know existed. It’s wonderful to see the impact that a passionate and knowledgeable speaker can have on young minds. Who knows, maybe we’ll see some future biomedical scientists emerge from this group of Year 5 students!”
To finish our week’s activities, alumna Chiovonne Koranteng (DAHS 2007) came in to speak to Year 3 about her 11-year journey into architecture and working for award winning architect’s practice, Adjaye Associates, whose notable work includes the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.
Taking part in a work experience day at school gave Chivonne the opportunity to see what working in an architect’s practice was like. This proved a captivating experience and from that day she knew she wanted to be an architect. Chivonne began her studies at the University of Manchester, followed by the Centre for Alternative Technology and finally graduating from the University of Westminster in 2019.
Chivonne gave a stimulating recount of the role of an architect. The students heard about some of Chivonne’s design projects. They enjoyed seeing the process of a 300-year-old derelict barn in Cambridgeshire converted into a stunning housing development, and a school she is designing in Saudi Arabia for children with special educational needs. For the latter she explained the use of exposed brick to minimise heat, a perforated canopy roof to allow daylight but protect the students from direct sunlight and textured edges on thoroughfares to ensure students with poor sight know where they are going.
Chivonne introduced several architecture themed activities: tower and bridge building using just spaghetti and marshmallows and drawing their own bedrooms in plan. Chivonne also launched their upcoming project where students will be tasked to design a school, to support their current Unit of Inquiry. The school can be anywhere in the world and the students will need to think about lots of factors including climate, the environment and materials.
“I can see a number of budding architects in our midst! Chivonne’s presentation really captured the imagination of many of our students and inspired them to be creative; it was super exciting to witness; Chivonne was a real inspiration.” reflected Mrs Martin.
Mrs Carolyn Howe, Head of the Junior School concluded: “Our students are lucky; statistics from the Girls’ School Association highlights that students from girl-only schools are two and half times more likely to take Further Maths and Physics at A Level and we buck the trend with large number of our students going on to STEM related degree courses. They have access to amazing teachers, wonderful science facilities and a wealth of alumnae and parents to draw inspiration from. Our students are never too young to be introduced to exciting careers and inspirational role models. When asked to draw a scientist, or an astronaut they still often automatically draw a man! Whilst society is changing and we are seeing opportunities open up there is still subconscious bias that still needs to be challenged and British Science Week provides a wonderful opportunity to amplify learning, readdress misconceptions and open our students’ eyes to the wealth of possibilities.”
The Green’s Team mission is to create food which represents the different heritages and cultures at Bedford Girls’ School, whilst providing interesting and nutritious meals. Mrs Katie Tombs, Deputy Catering Manager, lifts the lid on a day in the life in the Green’s Kitchen.
Mrs Tombs explained: “our day starts very early and whilst many of our students are just getting out of bed the team are busy planning the day ahead, making sure we prepare meal options which are healthy and nutritious as well as reflecting modern trends in dining.
6:00am: The Green’s team day starts with preparations for breakfast and lunch service. It’s my favourite time in the day: the kitchen smells of freshly baked pastries for breakfast; Mr Clark, the Sous Chef, is singing along to the radio; and we start working our way through the tasks for the day ahead. It’s also when we receive our daily deliveries of fruit, vegetables and dry stocks. It’s important to our team that we are serving the freshest produce on the counters so we get our produce daily and a
thorough quality check is carried out before we put the deliveries away. We work closely with our suppliers and make changes to our menus when needed to ensure the produce on the counters is to the highest quality.
7:00am: The rest of the team start to arrive and Mrs Tobin sets up breakfast ready to serve students and staff. The larder section gets cracking with the preparations for the day’s counters. It’s a busy section as they look after the salad bar, fresh cut fruit, potatoes and vegetables for the lunch service. They also make all the packed lunches for any school trips departing that day. Our self-serve salad bar is always really popular with our students. On an average week they prepare 70 cucumbers, 48 lettuce heads, 10 kilos of homemade coleslaw…the list goes on. On a Wednesday we serve a roast dinner; for this
the team prepares and roasts 90 kilos of potatoes…that is roughly the same weight as a new-born baby elephant!
Across the courtyard from the main kitchen, preparations will also be underway in Chequers, our Sixth Form Café. Mrs Hibbert and Café Manager, Mrs Duckworth, offer our students and staff an array of tasty snacks and lunch items. Open from 7:30am for breakfast, our older students can grab a bagel, breakfast wrap, fresh fruit, cereals and a cup of perfectly served Illy coffee. The café is a hub of activity throughout the day providing a lovely space for our Sixth Form students to catch up with friends, work on projects, have informal meetings with their teachers or simply grab a board game from the mantelpiece and enjoy some downtime. Mrs Duckworth works closely with members of the Sixth Form to continuously develop the offering. The Summer Term is going to bring blended drinks like smoothies and iced coffees as well as a salad bar and more cut fruit options. Chequers is also open to Senior School students attending late care after school.
10:15am: Our Senior School tuck shop is ready for the break time rush. In a swift 15 minutes Mrs Tobin and the tuck shop team serve upwards of 500 students, so I am sure you can imagine the pace! We bake fresh cakes on site, most of them have a sneaky vegetable in like our Pastry Chef Mrs Masih’s courgette and lime cake or beetroot brownies…we also serve warm snack items like sausage rolls and pasta pots.
10.40am: With students back in lessons, the kitchen is a hive of activity, as our Sous Chefs Mr Clark and Mrs Traisneau concentrate on the main elements to the day’s counter. Mrs Traisneau is also our allergy champion so she makes all the allergen free dishes; students with an allergy ask for Mrs Traisnueau to
help find suitable options and there is always a range of tasty dishes for them to enjoy.
Meanwhile, the pastry team is getting baked goods out of the ovens, finishing decorating cakes and traying up cold desserts ready for lunch. The larder section will be busy sorting the potatoes, steaming vegetables, cutting fruit and creating a colourful salad counter. We also make sure their freshly cut and newly baked bloomer bread is at the salad bar for students to help themselves to.
11:45pm: With final prep finished, the team comes together to set up the hot counters ready for our first lunch sitting at 12.00pm. Menus are printed and placed on each counter. Once the servers are ready Mr Clarke holds a short team briefing explaining the ingredients in each dish and outlining its taste profile, such as how spicy a dish is.
12:00pm: And we are off, the Dining Hall fills with the noise of hungry and excited students; across a two-hour period we serve upwards of 600 students. The chefs keep
working behind the scenes constantly cooking fresh food for the counters and the team are talking the students through the dishes available and helping them put together a balanced meal.
1.45pm: As students start the afternoon lesson, we are tidying down the kitchen, prepping for the next day and preparing food for multiple evening events. We spend time discussing what went well, which dishes were popular and looking at where we can do anything differently.”
Whilst the team work exceptionally hard each day to serve delicious dishes, Mrs Tombs and Head of Department, Mr Pickard, are also planning ahead and developing the menus for the next term.
Mrs Tombs concluded: “We are passionate about serving great food the students want to eat and we have set up a Menu Planning Forum both in the Junior School and Senior School. Students on the Menu Planning Forum gained and collated feedback from their peers and we worked through the menu ideas. We reinvented current dishes and discussed what would be popular on next term’s menus. We then have a menu tasting where the Forum sample dishes and provide input on flavour, look and potential popularity of the dish. We also talk about theme days and cultural events we can host in the Dining Hall. We really want the students to have a say in what they eat. Next term our new Tres Leche cake will be featured in lunch, the student tasting panel described it as ‘next level’ and our new vegetarian dhal has been carefully tweaked to pass the student test for spice and flavour.”
“ There is never a dull day in the kitchen, and the satisfaction of happy students, thanking us for lunch and heading off full of healthy food makes our day very rewarding”
Every March we join together as part of a global community, to celebrate World Book Day. We reminisce about books we read as children and encourage every student to take pride in the statement, ‘I am a reader!’ But what about the other 364 days of the year? How can we ensure that all of the energy and enthusiasm of the first Thursday in March translates into a generation of young people who are confident readers, critical thinkers and articulate speakers?
Bedford Girls’ School Head of English, Mrs Francesca Graves, reflects on how we inspire students to read.
This year the Learning Resources Centre put on a range of fantastic activities throughout the day and week surrounding World Book Day, highlighting one particular section of the collection: The Classics. For many adults, these are the texts we grew up with; from children’s classics like Little Women to the Gothic thrillers like The Picture of Dorian Gray, there are a lot of familiar faces to be found on the shelves. However, discussion amongst academics and readers alike in recent years has turned to question the nature of some of the traditional Literary Canon, and we too encourage students to think
more philosophically about how and why certain books might be classed as a classic. Recently, I saw a display in a bookshop entitled Future Classics, where texts such as The Book Thief by Markus Zusak sat alongside Americanah by Chimanmanca Ngozi Adichie, whose writing we study as part of our GCSE and IB Diploma courses, and it painted a vibrant and exciting picture of the potential literature classroom of the future.
Today, we find fewer and fewer students reaching for the traditional classics in their free time, and as a result when we do come to read Shakespeare and other texts classed
as Literary Heritage texts for GCSE and A-Level, the syntax has the potential to be quite off-putting! However, in conversations with families we discuss how parents can support their children in transitioning to these challenging texts: strategies such as still reading aloud to children even as they grow older, or listening together to an audio version of a book on a family journey are often suggestions that parents find appealing, but also manageable in our hectic modern world. With Year 7 and Year 8 students, in particular, we discuss the importance of using these years to enrich their reading with a wide range of children’s classics to ensure they familiarise
themselves with the more formal vocabulary and grammatical structures of traditional texts - such as E. Nesbit’s novels, The Railway Children, and Noel Streatfield’s Ballet Shoes.
Reading is a greatly valued skill at BGS and an integral part of the curriculum in English and other subjects. In English lessons we aim to introduce students to a wide variety of text types, allowing students to experience reading plays, poems, novels, short stories and also non-fiction styles like memoir and travel writing. Some of these non-fiction styles are particularly important as we know many students do not have any experience of them except what we read together. However, wellwritten non-fiction texts can play a huge role in allowing students to follow their own lines of enquiry, which sparks curiosity or passion. We also know that to be successful at GCSE and in the Sixth Form students need to have an extensive vocabulary and the ability to express their ideas clearly and accurately, and certainly there is plenty of research to support the link between these skills and regular reading.
In order to raise the profile of reading amongst the students, and remind them to find a time for it in their busy lives, we have created a scheme to help engage interest in reading in a manageable and fun format!
Aimed at students in Years 7-9, it is called Read to Succeed and comprises 15 tasks for students to choose from with the aim to extend reading by challenging them to step outside of their comfort zone. Each task has a specific genre or topic focus, summarised in a booklet for the students to refer to. The LRC has been instrumental in creating beautiful and engaging displays to help the students understand what sort of texts might suit a particular task. For example, we have put particular emphasis on ‘Task 1: They’re Classics for a Reason’ this term, and already we’ve been impressed with the quality and variety of texts that the students have chosen to read; one Year 9 student has even taken on Dostoyevsky’s War and Peace- a challenging read at any age!
The development of a community of readers also creates opportunities for students to share their recommendations with each other, meaning that reading becomes a social activity, rather than something done in isolation, which is really important for teenage brains which thrive on social validation. ‘Task 5: A Recommended Read’ aims to build on this idea, and we make opportunities in English lessons for students to reflect on what they have been reading and use these recommendations to create a resource bank for other students. This also
ties in with the opportunity to take part in the Carnegie Shadowing Scheme which is run by our Librarian Ms Rogers every year, where students have access to the shortlist for the prestigious children’s fiction prize and meet to discuss their thoughts on the potential of each to win; which also ties into to ‘Task 2: Prize Winning Fiction.’
Read to Succeed is an optional activity, but part of what makes it so relevant and rewarding for the students is the way in which it can be used alongside the busy and varied enrichment activities at BGS. The past term we have celebrated LGBT History Month, World Hijab Day, British Science Week and Neurodiversity Celebration Week to name but a few and we aim to use reading as a format to both allow all students to feel recognised and represented, but to also serve as a vital part of understanding alternative perspectives. In the LRC, students can always find a text to read in connection with these themes, and this in turn can help them complete ‘Task 10: Walk a Mile in Someone Else’s Shoes.’ Our approach to reading fiction and drama texts is to consider characters and situations empathetically, showing an awareness of different perspectives and exploring social issues raised by the texts with sensitivity to others’ experiences; this task helps students develop skills we consider to be key to the study of literature.”
This year marked the School’s first collaboration with Neurodiversity Celebration Week, focusing on the strengths neurodivergent children have. SEN teacher, Mr Ben Gibson, explains how BGS celebrates the talents of neurodiverse minds.
Neurodiversity is an umbrella term for conditions like Autism, ADHD and dyslexia, which can provide barriers to learning for children. That said, there are many strengths that neurodivergent people can harness, and this is what Neurodiversity Celebration week is all about, reframing the conversation and changing the understanding of neurodivergence in schools and beyond.
In partnership with Neurodiversity Celebration Week and The ADHD Foundation, we were able to give students the opportunity to take time to understand neurodiversity, whether they are themselves neurodivergent or not. Students were able to visit the umbrella installation where they could read about celebrities and public figures who are neurodivergent and had found success because they understood the strengths that they could draw upon. Students were inspired by these stories, and sometimes surprised that people such as Justin Timberlake, Cara Delevingne, and Billie Eilish are neurodivergent. The idea of a multi-coloured umbrella display was to represent the way that all of our brains and our thinking are different, not better or worse. This pause for thought was very valuable for so many of our students.
We were very lucky to be able to welcome back alumna Devon Ward (BGS 2018) as a guest speaker for our Neurodiversity Celebration Week assemblies. As well as being a former Head Girl, Devon is Autistic and an ADHDer, and was able to provide a very authentic perspective on what it means to be a neurodivergent person and someone that has lived the experiences that many of our students will be facing now. Devon’s talk highlighted some of the huge strengths that being neurodivergent had brought them, whilst also acknowledging the challenges that can arise when living in a primarily neurotypical world. Devon’s academic achievements – currently studying Medicine at Cardiff University, after intercalating
in Psychology – is testament to what is achievable for neurodivergent people, but more than this, their talk was delivered in such a way that it was relatable for all our students and enjoyed by teachers and students alike.
It is important that the whole community engage in the conversation and as well as the events for students, we hosted workshops for both staff and parents to explore the ways in which adults can support neurodivergent students. Both the school environment and home, by extension due to home study, can be challenging for our neurodivergent young people, so it was great to be able to interact with teachers and parents. A very well attended Curriculum Conversation welcomed parents who wanted to understand more about how to support their children at home, with many people staying to ask questions afterwards. Our Twilight Workshop for staff was also well attended and it was a really energised session exploring the barriers to learning for our neurodivergent students
and how we can help to remove them. Staff attended from both the Junior and Senior School, demonstrating the desire to be able to understand and support our neurodivergent children of all ages.
Speaking of the Junior School, we will be doing a very similar week of events in May, as we believe it is really important for our students to have an understanding and respect for differences as early in their development as possible. Our Umbrella Installation and other events will hopefully be able to start those conversations and continue them for years to come.
It was a real joy to be able to host BGS’s Neurodiversity Celebration Week and see all of our students starting conversations, asking questions, and generally being curious about neurodivergent people. I look forward to carrying on this important dialogue.
Since England’s gold medal winning moment at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, netball has enjoyed increased interest and, alongside football, is the most participated in women’s sport in England.
A sport for all age groups, netball is thriving at BGS where pupils from Year 3 enjoy the fun and competitive nature of the Bee Netball programme whilst the Senior and Sixth Formers compete in Nationals Schools competitions. However, the most important aspect of any sport at BGS is to mix fun with technical development, so students are able to strengthen skills, be part of a team and develop wider friendships.
The School is privileged to have its own Head of Netball who leads an outstanding programme across the school. Four-time Netball Superleague Champion, Miss Josie Huckle, continues to inspire aspiring netballers on and off the court. After impressive performances as a Goal Keeper with Wasps in the 2022 season, Miss Huckle was signed up by Manchester Thunder initially as a Training Partner. However, following an unfortunate injury to Yasmin Roebuck, Miss Huckle claimed the 12th spot in the squad.
Miss Huckle reflected on her netball pathway: “I started playing netball at 13 (actually playing with BGS Head Rowing Coach, Mrs Victoria Reeves). I continued to progress through the county pathway programme and represented the Mavericks NPL before signing for the Senior Mavericks Squad in 2011. I then signed for Surrey Storm for the 2014/15 season and
was delighted to win back-to-back Superleague titles.
“I was lucky enough to sign for the Wasps franchise when it formed in 2016 and won two consecutive titles in the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 seasons. I have been honoured to represent England across the U17, U19 and senior age groups. Most notably my first senior cap was in 2018 when England won the Netball Europe Competition.”
Whilst competing at an elite level, Miss Huckle decided she wanted to coach to help develop the next generation of netball stars. Miss Huckle reflected: “I was drawn to the BGS community following a conversation with the then Director of Sport, Mrs Jane Axford. I had already been an external netball coach at BGS during my time at university, and after graduating as a PE teacher I worked for a school in Dunstable before joining BGS.”
Miss Huckle continued: “I remember teaching my first netball lesson at BGS; the students were changed, ready and eager in the Sports Hall within four minutes! They worked incredibly hard on the drills and carefully listened to my coaching instructions, leaving red-faced, smiling and sweaty. I knew I had found the perfect fit! The students wanted to learn and worked hard; it was a testament to the positivity created by the PE department.”
Miss Huckle enthusiastically explained how her netball experience helps ensure every student at BGS reaches and exceeds their potential: “I am incredibly lucky to have been guided by so many top-level coaches and former England players throughout my career. Competing in an
elite environment has helped me have a greater understanding of how drills, skills, tactics and set plays work, as well as how to adapt to help others understand and learn. I am able to translate these skills to our lessons so that our students receive consistently high levels of teaching, in classes and through our extensive co-curricular programme. I want them to enjoy every moment on the court.”
Miss Huckle’s ethos is definitely paying dividends, with the School regularly hosting regional and county competitions and playing a minimum of 35 squads on any one day across all age groups. The 2022/23 season has once again been very successful with our U11 Juniors excelling nationally. After finishing second in the East Region England netball finals in late January, the U11s competed in the National IAPS Netball Finals on Friday 17th March at Rugby. The team claimed a bronze in the bowl competition, which placed them in the top 20 nationally.
Miss Huckle concluded: “I am thrilled that participation in netball is so high at BGS from such a young age and that we continue to achieve great success. I firmly believe the more netball you can play the better, the wider exposure you get to different players and styles the more it will strengthen your own game. So, I am always pleased to see students turn up for all of our co-curricular clubs and holiday training camps, as well as representing their local clubs or participating on regional development programmes. Their enthusiasm, passion and commitment reminds me of the start of my career and makes my role at BGS so very rewarding.”
“Everything that we do is a lot larger than just stepping out on the court.” Serena Guthrie MBE, former England Roses Captain
Always a very popular date, on Thursday 26th January we were greeted with the return of Rock Night. The crowd-pleasing event joins the forces of skilled musicians from both Bedford Girls’ School and Bedford School; allowing them to display an array of memorable performances to a lively audience in true concert fashion, whilst also raising important funds for the Bedfordshire Music Trust.
BGS 2022 leaver Miss Alex Harrison, who currently works as a Music Facilitator in the Music Department, reviewed this iconic event.
“Before the crowds arrived, The Quarry Theatre was reconfigured into a music venue with the lighting and sound set to captivate the audience.
The student-led band Apostrophe kickstarted the night which set the tone for the evening and held the audience’s attention as Toby L’Estrange and Tesha Wikramanayake performed a duet of Dead Ringer for Love by Meatloaf - a notoriously dynamic and lively piece. With spirits high and the audience thoroughly engaged Steph West and Fiza Hasnain took to the stage, singing their outstanding rendition of Telepath by Conan Gray. Shortly after Funk Band filled the stage with an array of instrumental sections. As soon as the first beat hit, it was clear that
they would be performing Beggin, a song made famous by the American band The Four Seasons.
“Throughout the evening, it was incredibly delightful to see so many of our students take centre stage with bands such as Counteract, Steal the Moon and Occupied displaying their personalities through unique performances.
One of our soloists, Sienna McFarlane, got the crowd singing and dancing along to her covers of History by One Direction and There’s Nothing Holding Me Back by Shawn Mendes.
“Our final two acts of the night were Alice Toone, who sang What You Know by Two Door Cinema Club before Tesha Wikramanayake returned to the stage towards the end of the evening and awed the audience with her flawless renditions of Use Somebody by Kings of Leon before closing her act with Finesse by Bruno Mars.
After an extensive collection of performances from both schools, the annual student DJ set closed the night, allowing both the crowd and performers to enjoy the remainder of the event together.”
BGS Director of Music, Mr Keating-Roberts reflected: “We aim to provide our students with a variety of opportunities to experience performing and Rock Night is the perfect example of a more casual yet popular event, which enables students from both communities to perform together and explore a plethora of pieces and instruments. This was reflected through multiple students hopping from one instrument to another, truly allowing their musical skills to flourish and experience a gig performance. Every year students take on a large amount of responsibility for the event, from set up to sound checks of the performers themselves. Rock Night provides the opportunity to discover different passions whilst allowing enough room for
independence and maturity. It was absolutely fantastic to see numerous students return to the stage to form exceptional ensembles alongside an abundance of new individuals who took to performing with ease, making any nerves impossible to detect.”
BGS Lower Sixth Former, Alice Toone who performed on the night, added: “I really enjoyed playing at Rock Night and being able to perform with my peers once again. It had such a positive atmosphere throughout the night and it was a great experience to really build up confidence.”
Lower Sixth Former, Tesha Wikramanayake, who is an experienced performer also commented: “In my opinion Rock Night is one of the best nights of the year for music! Getting to not only watch my friends perform but also perform myself is truly extraordinary. Being able to perform in a venue like The
Quarry Theatre and in such an invigorating environment is and will continue to be one of my fondest memories.”
Miss Harrison concluded: “At BGS we always challenge our students to really step out of their comfort zone and explore their talents and passions in a supportive environment with a range of performance opportunities; from smaller, more intimate concerts such as the lunchtime and teatime events to the larger and more formal concerts that happen at the end of each term. The collaborative events such as Rock Night provide opportunities for students to collaborate and strengthens their communication skills and creativity whilst allowing them to discover self-assurance and confidence by performing in front of a crowd.”
“ The event goes from strength to strength and we hope that our list of performers continues to grow as we see many more talented individuals explore performing in events across the year. Seeing our students flourish is the most rewarding aspect of our role.”
Allow me to transport you back to 1999, an age before the current BGS cohort were born, the year I learned about Kim Phuc Phan Thi. Almost exactly two years after my graduation ceremony from the University of Leeds, I boarded my first ever long-haul flight, and took my first ever business trip to the Far East having just been crowned a ‘junior buyer’. The two-week adventure encompassed shoe shop research in Hong Kong, business development in Taiwan and factory visits in Macau, Thailand and Vietnam. My penchant for the Far Eastern Asian cultural sphere was almost immediate. I fell in love with Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a mesmerising hub of energy flanked by French colonial styled boulevards and people. People that I felt had a hospitable warmth and forgiving nature. As glamorous as any business trip may sound, they are certainly busy and tiring, with very little downtime outside of your jet lag-tainted bedtime. After an earlier than expected return to the hotel, post a rural factory visit, I found myself at the Vietnam War Remnants Museum, the most moving museum I have ever visited. A floor full of horrific photographic imagery depicting the atrocities of war. One image that I have never forgotten is that of the ‘Napalm Girl’, Kim Phuc Phan Thi, a nine-year-old Vietnamese girl. I was compelled to discover more about this young war victim, Did she survive? Where is she now?
On my return to the UK, I raced to my local bookstore (1999 was pre the ‘click-n-collect’ era of today’s retail world) and purchased The Girl in the Picture, written by Denise Chong. Now, I am not an avid reader, but I was glued to the pages, imagining life in Kim’s shoes, in Kim’s skin. Skin that was peeling from her skeleton post a Napalm bomb attack in her home village. On June 8th 1972, in agony and severely burned, with clothes ripped from her body, Kim’s distress was captured by a Vietnamese photographer Nick Ut in an image that exposed the horrors of the Vietnam War to the world.
Kim had been playing with her cousins, sheltering in the safety of a temple just off Highway 1. As fighting closed in, the small collective of villagers fled the sanctuary of the
temple, the air strike hit and made contact with Kim’s back and arm. Aid workers reacted promptly, and drove Kim to hospital where she remained for 14 months. 17 operations later was able to return to her family and school. Scarring caused unimaginable chronic pain and disfigurement that Kim desperately tried to hide. Kim found it difficult to navigate her private life, exploited as a propaganda tool - a chess piece - for the communist government. Endless meetings with royalty, word leaders and press interviews all impacted negatively on Kim’s mental health.
Years later, Kim completed her studies in Cuba and married. Post a honeymoon in Russia, the newlyweds fled the airport gates on their stopover flight, were granted asylum in Canada and became Canadian citizens. Kim had found freedom. Her story has shown me the importance of resilience, despite her many challenges, including discrimination and political persecution.
Kim has devoted her life since to spreading a message of peace and forgiveness, establishing
the Kim Foundation International, a global charity supporting young victims of war, reminding those to “please have a dream, keep your dream alive just like that little girl”. Kim’s story has inspired me to pursue a life of purpose and meaning: she became a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Culture of Peace, her work has touched the lives of many, and her message has resonated with people around the world. Her dedication to making a positive impact on the world has inspired me to find my own purpose and make a difference in the lives of others.
Throughout my globe-trotting 20s, my parenting 30s and school life 40s, I have often reflected on the inspiring strength Kim has portrayed throughout her life, “that picture has become a powerful gift for me”.
Kim has taught me to be forever grateful, to hug those I love, cherish happiness and remain humble.
Be kind, be bold, be brilliant.
Mrs Sarah Lonsdale Sixth Form Pastoral Officer © Stephanie Brown