BROMSGROVIAN NEWS REVIEW
WINTER 2010
The last News Review might as well have appeared in the Lower Neolithic. Eras seem to have passed since I wrote about the stunning inspection reports.. Eighteen new and refurbished science laboratories have risen from the old Whitley buildings; a joyous Commemoration captivated all; Lord Heseltine delivered a superb Bromsgrove Foundation lecture in the shadow of the Tower of London; a magnificent reunion in London’s Reform Club delighted OBs; superb results in public examinations thrilled pupils and kept their Headmaster in work; sport, music and drama across the Schools excited, entertained and packed in the crowds. And then, the start of 2011 saw the beginning of the biggest building programme in the School’s history: eighteen months from now the Southern areas of the Senior campus will be genuinely unrecognizable. And genuinely magnificent. To cap it all, on a weird grey day in January we were told by the government that, on the one hand, we would join Eton, Harrow and Winchester by registering a 0% pass rate for the GCSE English Baccalaureate (don’t ask), while at the same time coming top of the same government’s academic value added tables for all state and independent schools in Worcestershire, Birmingham, Warwickshire and Shropshire. Priceless. Whatever else it may be, it ain’t dull. Enjoy the review. CHRIS EDWARDS Headmaster
Building Developments
As snowdrops herald Spring, so a few completed new buildings quietly presage the immense changes to come. Above stands the recently completed home for Elmshurst’s Housemaster, and a much needed brick and stone gatehouse has appeared at the Worcester Road entrance. The redesigned Senior car park is functioning (though its final aesthetics enhancement will have to wait until the build is over), but giant hoardings will now be a feature of the site area for eighteen months as the construction of the large buildings takes place. Elsewhere, the new Prep car park is also up and running, and Pre-Prep are enjoying their spacious new dining hall. www.bromsgrove-school.co.uk