It is an immense privilege to have been appointed as the 34th Head in Wolverhampton Grammar School’s illustrious history.
When the Chairman of Directors rang me last December to offer me one of my best Christmas presents ever – the opportunity to lead WGS – nobody could have foreseen the extraordinary passage of events that has characterised most of the months since. From the beginning of lockdown in March until the end of the academic year, there was an incredible determination at WGS among staff and students alike to keep in touch and keep working together from home and for those precious days back on campus in June and July. Fortunately, I was able to visit quite often once lockdown started to ease, and I was uplifted to see for myself the community spirit and sense of shared endeavour that came to the fore, and to understand the faith that parents continued to place in their children’s School.
Rites of passage have been missed in 2020, notably by the Year 11 and Upper Sixth students who had neither the opportunity to get their adrenaline flowing in the exam hall nor to experience the usual events marking the end of their GCSE years or their time at School. Also missing out, of course, was Kathy Crewe-Read, who did not get the chance truly to enjoy her final summer term. Her legacy, after seven hugely successful years as Head, is a School in great heart and great shape for the future: I am extremely fortunate to be taking over from her and I wish her every happiness in her new post as Head of Bishop’s Stortford College.
August is often called the ‘silly season’ in newsgathering circles, but there was nothing frivolous about the plethora of education stories that topped the headlines. The extremely talented WGS leavers' cohort were battered by the storm of the now discredited Ofqual standardisation algorithm. Kathy was interviewed by various media outlets, and her letter of protest to the Secretary of State for Education was one of many voices that led to the 17th August U-turn: the moment when the clouds lifted. We warmly welcomed the Government’s decision to award Centre Assessment
different too, making frequent use of words like “bubble” and “sanitiser station”. But we feel the same as always: every student and every family has come back to the encouragement, care, attention and opportunities that they are used to, as members of this fantastic community.
It has been a privilege to work with you and to be part of your children’s lives. I will be a proud ‘Old Wulfrunian’ as will your children in due course. It’s a badge I shall wear with honour.
Kathy Crewe-ReadGrades at A Level and GCSE, as students across the country were then able to receive the results of which their schools and colleges believed them capable.
Running in parallel to results has been an immense team effort to prepare for safe reopening, led by the senior management team and a whole host of staff across the School. We may look a little different, with Moreton’s Piece strangely divided and bedecked with marquees, and a masterly one-way system in place to guide all possible journeys around the campus. We sound a little
Alex Frazer Head
Congratulations to all our Year 11 and Upper Sixth students who have performed exceptionally well in their courses this year. The numbers in brief:
GCSE and IGCSEs
824
87 students studied towards an incredible 824 GCSE and iGCSE awards
529 Grade 9, 8 or 7 awards (equivalent to A* – A) this year
200
A Levels and Cambridge Technical awards
111 coveted A* and A grades awarded
95% achieved equivalent A* – C grades
Nearly half of all students achieved nothing but the top grades in 9 or more subjects
169 coveted Grade 9s awarded 99% achieved equivalent A* – C grades
Sixth Form students from Wolverhampton Grammar School have achieved the highest number of A* - A grades for over 10 years, with 56% of entries receiving the top two grades.
Despite an unprecedented final few months, our students achieved impressive results securing places at the very
100% pass rate and a full house of Cambridge Technical Distinction grades awarded to Sixth Form students studying IT and PE
Physics, English Language, Government & Politics, History, Music, Psychology, Religious Studies and Theatre Studies.
Reflecting on the extraordinary arrangements put in place for grading this year, Alex Frazer, Head of Wolverhampton Grammar School added: “We have a fantastically bright cohort in the Upper Sixth and Year 11 this year and if they had had the chance to sit exams, we expected stellar results. In common with many schools and colleges, we made our views on the Ofqual process known to the Secretary of State for Education. I’m delighted that the Government did the right thing and awarded students across the country the grades that they deserve. In what has been an extraordinary year, we believe it is every school’s duty to support their students to attain the grades that their teachers know they are capable of. The move to Centre Assessment Grades has given all schools the opportunity to do just that. I am incredibly proud of our student and staff community at Wolverhampton Grammar School.”
best universities including Oxford and Cambridge on highly competitive courses. Students secured an impressive 100% success rate in the vast range of subjects ranging from Art, Biology, Further Maths, French, English Literature, Economics, German to Business, Design & Technology, Geography, Chemistry,
The spring and summer months of 2020 have been an extraordinary time for everyone. Staff had to get used to a new way of working and teaching from home, parents became teaching assistants and children had to adjust to time away from their friends, the campus and our staff.
Although some of our students (and staff) were away from campus for nearly five months, many staff and students returned to School earlier than perhaps you might think. Some staff were never away, working tirelessly to keep the buildings and grounds maintained; supporting new families as they prepared for their new school and ensuring a warm reception welcome for delivery drivers, maintenance staff and visitors to the site. Children of key workers remained in School until the end of the summer term and staff worked on a rota to ensure they continued with their lessons and received the pastoral care that they needed – during what must have been a very difficult time for them.
Junior School children had a very successful return to campus at the end of June. We were one of the few schools in the country to effectively ensure the safe return of all of our Year 3 to
Year6 children. Dan Peters, Head of the Junior School, had nothing but praise for the children, their parents and his staff who had to learn a “new normal” to all aspects of life – from drop-off points to classroom layouts and socially distanced sports.
Senior staff and teachers of Year 11 and Upper Sixth worked on the calculation and submission of their Centre Assessment Grades. Year 11 students were given prep work to help them prepare for Sixth Form, working on tasks set in all of their chosen Sixth Form options, including an independent research and extended writing challenge.
Senior staff, Communications and Estates teams spent the summer holidays preparing for the prospect of all students returning to campus. The whole of the School then returned to campus in September. All of this, as you can imagine, required organisation with military precision. One of the biggest challenges was ensuring the provision of PPE and hygiene equipment, such as portable handwashing facilities and signage, all of which enabled students, parents and staff to feel safe on site.
The return to campus has been a great success. Thank you to everyone who continues to keep our community safe and supported.
#WGSTogether was launched to provide a break from the curriculum and lessons for not just children, but their parents too! Daily and weekly challenges and activities were on offer culminating in a live, virtual author event with comedian and award winning writer Ben Miller. Extra curricular activities became online and virtual. Everything from juggling classes, gardening, book clubs, psychology to knitting tutorials.
2020 will no doubt go down in history as one of the most challenging years for schools globally. Wolverhampton Grammar School has a great tradition of recording school life for future generations. This year is no different and this edition of The Independent will help us keep a record of our experiences.
Our social media channels also provide a visual account of the last few months. You can see what we’ve been up to on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. Here’s a reminder of some of the more memorable moments.
Thursday 9th April – The School is illuminated in blue and green as we all begin clapping for the NHS, carers and key workers.
The School flag on Big School is also replaced with a Clap for our NHS flag.
Monday 23rd March – Boris Johnson announces lockdown. The School campus is closed to students. All teaching and learning is immediately available and delivered online as home study. Children of key workers are the only students allowed in School for lessons. All GCSE and A Level examinations are cancelled.
Monday 30th March - Virtual Assemblies begin across School.
Monday 4th May – The School community “gets active” with a specially themed week.
Monday 1st June – Year 6 return to campus and Sixth Form preparation work begins for Year 11 students.
Monday 8th June – Live tutorials begin for Lower Sixth students.
Tuesday 16th June – School uniform shop and Premier Sports reopen for parents.
Thursday 18th June - The School hosts its first Virtual Open Evening.
Monday 22nd June – Years 3, 4 and 5 return to campus. Years 7, 8 and 9 attend some tutorials in School. Project Week begins in School.
Thursday 26th June - Additional academic workshops begin in School for Lower Sixth students.
Thursday 13th August – Sixth Form results published online for the first time for Upper Sixth. Take a look at page 3 to read more about their success.
Monday 17th August – the Class of 2020 Yearbooks are sent out in the post to Upper Sixth families. Socially distanced iPad inductions begin in Big School for new students arriving in Years 7, 8 and 9.
Thursday 20th August – IGCSE/GCSE results published online for Year 11. 87 students studied towards an incredible 824 GCSE and IGCSE awards. Read more on page 3.
Friday 22nd May - Home Learning Reports are issued by School for the first time in our 508 year history.
From Friday 3rd July - Additional academic workshops are available in School for Year 10.
Monday 6th July – Activities Week begins for students in Years 7 to 10 and Lower Sixth. Year 11 students are invited into School to see staff. Actor, comedian, director and author, Ben Miller entertains students via Zoom for an author masterclass.
Tuesday 7th July – Lower Sixth have their first virtual Parents’ Evening.
Wednesday 8th July – Junior School Speech Day is delivered virtually, with a "well done" message from BBC Newsround. Upper Sixth are invited into School to say goodbye to staff (for now) and receive their official School scarf.
Thursday 9th July – Virtual Senior Prizegiving for Year 11 and Upper Sixth students with a "good luck" message from former student and broadcaster Sean Farrington, from the BBC Breakfast sofa.
Tuesday 1st September – All staff return to campus for INSET day.
Wednesday 2nd September – Year 7 and Lower Sixth students begin their induction.
Thursday 3rd September – All year groups return to School campus.
For most students in Upper Sixth, the summer term is a time of rituals –whether it’s planning Summer Ball outfits, Year Books, graduation parties or the final push of Sixth Form public exams. It’s a formative moment in a young person’s life that many adults look back on fondly as a rite of passage before the “serious” stuff of life takes over.
The Class of 2020 was finally getting into the swing of their final year at School, when they suddenly found themselves in the midst of a global pandemic.
When all schools closed and exams were cancelled, some students perhaps looked forward to an extended summer break. But the reality quickly set in that they probably wouldn’t be back in School at all. With the end of term just a few weeks away, we wanted to give Upper Sixth the opportunity for one last visit before they become alumni (Old Wulfrunians) of our School. All Upper Sixth students were invited to come in and say goodbye to their Tutor and Head of Year over the course of two days in July. As is customary at this time of year, they also received their official School scarf – denoting their status as an OId Wulfrunian and a welcome to our alumni
community by Head of Development, Tina Erskine. Yearbooks were still produced – and despite a small delay –have now been sent to all our Upper Sixth leavers.
Students of course had the opportunity to come back to School to collect their A Level and Cambridge Technical grades on Thursday 13th August. We are currently planning to go ahead with a 2020 Leavers’ reunion that will take place at School on the evening of Tuesday 15th December where staff and students will have the opportunity to see each other.
Don't forget to join our official alumni group on Facebook or LinkedIn. Search for Old Wulfrunians of WGS on Facebook (or follow Wolverhampton Grammar School Official), join Wolverhampton Grammar School (WGS) Old Wulfrunians and Friends on LinkedIn, or stay engaged on Twitter @WGSOW.
Have you spotted the new outdoor play area for the Junior School?
The summer break gives School the opportunity to undertake large projects that otherwise would be impossible during term time. Do you remember the overhaul of the Sixth Form library last year to make way for the new library and Learning Hub?
This summer’s plans had to be scaled back because of COVID-19, but Mr Peters wanted to make sure that the Junior children had their new outdoor play area. Hopefully it won’t be long before the children can make good use of the new equipment.
In July, for our final celebrity author event of this academic year, we virtually welcomed actor and comedian, Ben Miller. Ben delivered an entertaining Zoom presentation linked to his latest book, 'The Boy Who Made the World Disappear’, to students from Years 5 to 10.
In the book, main character Harrison tries his best to be good. He doesn't steal, he always shares with his sister and he never cheats at board games, but Harrison also has a big flaw ... he can't control his temper! When he's given a black hole instead of a balloon at a party, Harrison jumps at the chance to get rid of everything that makes him cross. But when it's not just things he hates that are disappearing into the black hole but things he loves, too, Harrison starts to realise that sometimes you should be careful what you wish for!
A worldwide pandemic was not going to stop us celebrating the achievements of our students in the usual way at Speech Day (for the Junior School) and Prizegiving (for the Seniors).
Of course things had to be a little different this year and virtual ceremonies meant that we could invite some extra special guests to join us online!
Junior School children were wowed when their Speech Day was interrupted with “breaking news” from BBC Newsround and Year 11 and Upper Sixth Prizegiving was interrupted with a message of support from former student and BBC Business presenter Sean Farrington from the BBC Breakfast red sofa.
In addition to his work as an author, Ben is best known for writing and starring in 'The Armstrong and Miller Show' and for his role as Rowan Atkinson's sidekick, Bough, in 'Johnny English Strikes Back'.
In preparation for a live Q&A session with Ben, students read the opening chapters of ‘The Boy Who Made the World Disappear’. Ben was most impressed to be asked such insightful questions from our students and we were incredibly proud of everyone involved.
Following the event, children were given the opportunity to purchase signed copies of ‘The Boy Who Made the World Disappear’. Look out for even more bestselling and award winning authors sharing their masterclass tips with students during autumn.
A special thank you to Sean who attended Wolverhampton Grammar School from 1994 until 2001, when he left to study Mathematics at Cambridge University, who produced these very special additions from the BBC. He presents programmes on Radio 5 Live, including the daily business programme Wake Up to Money, and is a business presenter on BBC Breakfast on BBC One.
Sean still has strong connections with the City of Wolverhampton. In his words, “most importantly, my loyalty to Wolves is finally being repaid after almost 30 years of having a season ticket with my mum”.
Children from across Wolverhampton Grammar School created and shared poems about their experiences during lockdown. We received over 60 amazing entries, but here are just a few of our favourites:
Key workers working hard, Illness is at large, Schools are closed, We are working at home Schedules are rough, It’s really tough, We barely go outside, It’s almost like we have to hide. We are not doing enough, To keep other people safe, People are going out, Without a doubt.
Staying safe is really hard, Remember not to drop your guard.
By Taleah Haughton-RobertsWe are all getting used to a new normal here at Wolverhampton Grammar School. One of the biggest challenges we’ve had to adjust to is how to showcase our School, campus and facilities to families who want to register for a place at Wolverhampton Grammar School. Similarly, how to enable families to sit our assessment and entrance tests without coming onto the campus!
key staff, a virtual tour, welcome from students and even a 360 degree tour of our facilities. Work is well underway to prepare for our next virtual open day on Saturday 10th October – if you know anyone who might like to register for this event, please ask them to visit the website www.wgs.org.uk/openday
Pre-booked individual tours of School are also available, Monday to Friday between 9.30am and 1pm. Visit the website for further details.
Toilet paper gone, All the shelves wiped clean, We are at home, Thanks to COVID-19
By Sofia MolinariHome is a place to stay safe and well, On COVID-19 we try not to dwell. By staying at home we’re doing our bit, And with Joe Wicks’ help, we’re keeping fit. Lessons continue, although not the same, I’m working on improving my football game. To our doctors and nurses we say thank you For protecting us all from this killer flu.
By Luke HemmingsNormally, families would be welcomed to large open events, personal tours and taster days. Children would be in School to sit our assessments and entrance tests and given a taste of what a typical day might be like.
To help, we’ve created a virtual open day experience which live chats with
Anyone interested in joining our School community straight away can also sit an online version of our assessment and entrance tests.
If you would like to learn more about registering for a place in the Junior School, Senior School or Sixth Form, please contact the Admissions Team by telephone 01902 422939 or email jam@wgs-sch.net
As part of our #WGSTogether activities during lockdown, Miss Jones and other Senior School staff put together a range of activity weeks, which were a great success!
Did you send your suggestions to the WGS Happiness playlist challenge? We received some brilliant suggestions and have now put them together, so you can listen to our very own Happiness playlist.
#WGSTogether
Visit our School YouTube channel to discover the playlist!
Congratulations to Madison Beebee who has been awarded the Graham Lewis Scholarship this year.
Awarded annually, the Scholarship is available to an Upper Sixth student studying either Mathematics or Further Mathematics at A Level who has ambitions to study a related subject at university.
Following an application and interview for the Scholarship, Madison, who joined us in Sixth Form, received a tax free lump sum of £1,000 which will no doubt come in useful for her studies at Durham University.
This award is made possible thanks to the generosity of alumnus Robert Zeps (OW 1988). Mr Zeps dedicated this Scholarship in honour of his Mathematics teacher, the late Mr Graham Lewis, who inspired him to pursue Maths for both his career and intellectual satisfaction.
If you are in Upper Sixth – look out for the invitation to apply for the Scholarship in spring next year.
For some of us, increasing our exercise and exposure to the outdoors and countryside has become one of the few things that we can now undertake without too many restrictions.
Wolverhampton and the wider West Midlands are surrounded by countryside walks and cycle paths, woodlands and bridleways; being outdoors is
iPads and tablets proved invaluable during lockdown and children from Year 3 are still using digital technology to help support their learning – and reduce the number of books they have to bring to School.
If you are using a home device to support your child’s learning in the Junior School please be aware that we recommend they have the following Apps installed on them:
• Firefly (App for students)
• Times Tables Rock Stars
• LbQ Tasks
• Pic Collage
• Draw and Tell
• Book Creator
• iMovie
• iMindMap Kids
Please do get in touch with Mr Peters if you (or your child) have any difficulties with downloading these apps.
Lower Sixth student, Oliver Brookes shared his lockdown experience with a worldwide academic audience this year.
Oliver was recorded and interviewed by a writer for the Lancet edition of Child & Adolescent Health (a vital voice for improving young lives, the Lancet Child & Adolescent Health publishes top quality research and trusted comment and opinion).
Oliver’s podcast included his reflections on the adjustments he had to make, how he's dealt with both parents being on the frontline and his hopes for the future.
Well done Oliver, we are very proud of you.
something that many of us have been grateful for. Lots of staff, students and parents shared pictures of places that they have discovered.
We would really love to hear about a place in the outdoors that you love; it might be a cycle path that you have discovered, or a woodland that you didn't know existed;
#WGSTogether
it could be your favourite run route, or a hill you have walked. Ask your family to tag the School in on any social media posts to share where you love.
Some of you have already… here’s a snapshot.
Thank you to all students, parents and staff for working together to make the return to School go as smoothly as possible.
Year 10
Year 3 & 4 (12pm - 1pm)
Your “bubbles” are:
Year 7
Art and Drama Building (also known as the Hutton). Students should be dropped off/collected from the Art & Drama Building (located on Merridale Lane).
Year 8 Ground floor Merridale Building and Rooms 41/42
Year 9
Languages Building
Sixth Form
Marquee
Junior School Playground
On arrival, children in the Junior School should go straight to: Junior School playground for Years 3 and 4, Netball Courts for Year 5 and Form rooms for Year 6. Teachers will be on hand to collect the children and escort them as necessary
Year 10 Maths classrooms
Year 11
First floor Merridale Building
Sixth Form Sixth Form Centre
Why is how we wear our uniform so important? A shirt, tie and blazer may not be the top of the wishlist for many children when it comes to a favourite outfit, but wearing a uniform is a badge of pride, creates an identity for a school and is an important part of being a school student.
Some top tips for students:
In the Junior School
• Socks for girls and boys should be black or grey - ankle or knee length only please! Tights are permitted, but just black or grey please.
• Boys and girls can wear grey shorts if they prefer rather than a skirt or trousers. All shorts must be bought at knee-length and never be shorter than 5 cm above the knee. Cargo, board or casual styles and loose pockets are absolutely not permitted.
• Red School coats only please. No hoodies permitted and hats and scarves (for cold weather) must not be football memorabilia.
In the Senior School
• No rolled up blazer sleeves please and School blazers must be worn at all times.
• Girls and boys can wear trousers. Mid-grey in colour please and jeggings, leggings or skin tight trousers are not permitted.
• Shirts must always be tucked into skirts/trousers and top buttons fastened.
• Years 7 to 8 girls wear a grey kilt skirt and Years 9 to 11 wear grey pencil skirt. Both skirts are purchased from the School uniform shop. Parents please check that your daughter’s skirts are mid knee-length and never shorter than 5 cm above the knee!
• Smart business suits please!
• Plain white shirts and no branding.
• Jumpers should be v-necked, plain and dark in colour (no patterns) without branding or motifs. No baggy jumpers or cardigans please and a jumper does not replace a suit jacket.
• Shoes should be black, grey or brown. Must be leather or ‘leather look’. No trainer or canvas styles, must be formal style. Mid to low heels only.
And don’t forget your sports kit!
Official School sports kit is compulsory for all students from Year 3 to Upper Sixth and all sports clothing is supplied by Premier Sports. All students from Year 3 to Upper Sixth are expected to represent the Sports Department by looking smart at all times. Please do support us as we encourage all our students to wear their uniform and sports kit with pride to represent the School.
One of the highlights of the school week for many children at School are the dance lessons and clubs that normally take place. Miss Manning created a step-by-step dance diary masterclass with weekly updates so that the whole community could learn the same routine during lockdown.
Mrs Bennett was inundated with pictures over the summer from students, parents and staff who had taken the opportunity during lockdown to discover their own garden – or plant something for the first time.
Well done to everyone who took part in some of the Growing Gardeners’ Club challenges including:
• Growing potatoes in a bucket
• Taking cuttings from house plants
• Planting pumpkins for Halloween
• Sowing sunflower seeds
If you’ve still got the gardening bug, it’s not too late to sow seeds now. You still have time to grow:
• Winter salads
• Rocket
• Spring onions
• Leeks
• Carrots
• Radishes
• Winter cabbages
Well done to Amrik Bratch, Becca Thomas, Ella Morgan, Emelia Wyant, Francesca Yeoman, Gurjot Kular, Jamie Reyer-Corbett, Leah Boskany, Lily Hemmings, Mya Chahal and Natalie Saunders who filmed their dance diary.
You can watch their dance diary here: https://firefly.wgs-sch.net/find-a-club -or-activity
You can see a selection of just some of the photos sent in here...
All students and families were set the challenge to help us complete a virtual Coast2Coast this year.
Whether just for fun or to improve fitness, training plans were posted online on the Student and Parent Portals to help you run a mile – and further if you wanted to.
Families were then asked to let us know how far they had run and the challenge was set to try to collectively meet the 183 miles needed to complete the famous Wainwright Coast2Coast challenge.
As an added incentive, students with the top three distances were awarded a “C2C Lockdown 2020 Challenge” running top. The parent who ran the top distance also received a running top.
Year 3 and 4 (who are all in one bubble) have the opportunity to go back to Growing Gardeners’ Club this term as one of the extra-curricular activities. We’ll keep you posted on what they get up to!
Congratulations to the following students (and parent) who won the first challenge:
Junior School: Charlie Hamill
Senior School: Oliver Andreae
Parent: Mr Brookes
An incredible total of 1,066.15 miles were completed. Well done everyone!
Every year we ask our Upper Sixth students to tell us about their Sixth Form experience at Wolverhampton Grammar School. Feedback is always very important to us and we use this survey to help us identify the things that work well, and things that need to be improved. The survey also includes the opportunity for our Upper Sixth to tell us about things that are of interest to them after they leave School so that we can keep in touch. We wanted to share with you just some of the memories and reflections shared by our Class of 2020 this year.
My experience at WGS not only helped my educational studies but also helped develop me as a person. As a scholarship student it gave me the opportunity to access an exceptional education system that normally I would not have access to. The teachers at WGS always go above and beyond in order to support their students.
The whole experience was like a second home. The memories made with friends, the small welcoming environment and the complete liberty for expression contributed to an enjoyable atmosphere where no-one was left out.
My time at Grammar has been amazing for both the academics and the community. The School has supported me and provided so many opportunities I am so grateful for and the people I have met along the way have all been so incredible, kind, and caring. It simply ended too soon.
I have loved every second of my WGS experience, it has made me who I am today and I am feel ready to take the next step. I will never forget my school days, that is for sure!
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at WGS, I've made a lot of lifelong friends and it was an experience I will never forget. The quality of facilities and teaching were excellent and it was truly an enjoyable place to be.
Moving to WGS has been one the best decisions of my life. I’ve been supported through really hard times and have had pleasant memories with most of the people I’ve met! I know that I will be happy to help in any way I can after leaving
It was with a heavy heart that staff and students said farewell to Miss Jill Trevor who retired at the end of the summer term as Deputy Head of the Junior School.
After eight years of faithful service to the Junior School, Miss Trevor was known by hundreds of students and families. Mr Peters, Head of the Junior School commented “As a newly-appointed Head Teacher in 2016, I was exceptionally grateful for Miss Trevor's wisdom and clarity of thought, and with her expert input, there is no doubt that the School has gone from strength to strength. Jill, you will be a tough act to follow and will be sorely missed. Thank you for all your hard work, compassion and humour.”
We hope Miss Trevor will remain a familiar face at School and will come and visit us regularly.
Throughout the summer term, Mr Wood and students in the Senior School worked together on a range of audio recordings for the Anthology of Theatre. Mr Wood was thrilled with the work he received and the recordings were shared on our School social media channels.
Well done to everyone who sent in a recording!
Anthony Horowitz has published the first chapters of his latest book ‘Where Seagulls Dare’ for young people to read and review online. He invited Wolverhampton Grammar School and other local schools to take part. Well done to everyone who submitted their reviews for Anthony to read. Anthony was particularly impressed by Ella Hay’s review, which will be appearing on his website. Hopefully Ella’s review below inspires you to read Anthony’s new book:
"I think that this book is very good so far and would recommend it to other readers aged 7-13.
One of the features I like a lot about this book is the humour; I read a lot of crime solving books like this and they're all usually so focused on the storyline that they don’t think about breaking it up with any humour, which is why I think this book is so unique.
Another thing I think is very good is the way characters and the settings are described. Even from the first line you know where it’s set, when it’s set, and what type of book it might be. As soon
as one of the characters, Tim Diamond, is introduced you know what type of character he's going to be - the sort of character who makes you laugh, a lot! I also really like the way the book makes you sit on the edge of your seat.
There is some very good punctuation. I really like the language Anthony uses and how he takes real life objects and places them to give the story a sense of reality. Another great language feature is the different sentence lengths, they're effective.
This isn’t usually the type of book I would pick up from looking at the name or the cover, but reading this extract has made me want to read more of Anthony’s books in the future.
In conclusion, I think this is an amazing book that all children who like mystery books should get to experience.”
By Ella Hay (Year 7)Interested in reading ‘Where Seagulls Dare’ ? Visit Anthony’s website to discover more:
www.anthonyhorowitz.com/news/ story/where-seagulls-dare-diamondbrothers-read-the-first-chapter-now
Students and staff were deeply affected by the murder of George Floyd who died after being arrested by police outside a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota in America. The tragedy of George Floyd is not unique. There are many who have passed before and after him. The relatively recent shooting of Jacob Blake is another indefensible example.
These tragedies have ignited a social movement and we want to use this opportunity to share with you what Wolverhampton Grammar School has done, and plans to do to ensure all our community is heard, and represented, not just in our curriculum, but also in every aspect of School life.
One of the things that makes Wolverhampton Grammar School so special, is the diversity of our community. Over half of our students identify as BAME. It is essential that our School represents everyone – and we hope, when you read our School publications (like editions of The Independent) and see our website and social media presence that you agree.
That said, we can and should do better. We too have identified a number of actions that we must undertake in order to ensure that every single member of our student, staff and alumni community
feels valued and represented by our School. This is a summary of some of those actions, please tell us if you think we could do something else, better or differently:
• Just after George Floyd’s death, Kathy Crewe-Read and Carrie Bennett met with staff who identify as BAME to talk about the Black Lives Matter movement and what we could do as a school. That collective then wrote to all BAME staff to reassure them that past and present discrimination of any individual, has no place within our School. We asked anyone who felt they had been affected in any way, to be confident in raising their concern with us. We also reminded all staff of the confidential and free Employee Assistance Programme and 24/7 Health Assured counselling service.
• We then held an open forum for any member of staff to talk about how School could do better. Teachers and support staff from a range of ages, ethnic and cultural backgrounds were represented.
• All staff are clear of the expectations of them and all staff have undertaken additional unconscious bias training in
September, ready for the beginning of term. Our induction process for all new staff will also be reviewed.
• We have also taken the advice of Mr Fowler, a member of staff at our School who was a Government adviser on community education and then became the national lead on community cohesion. He has worked in some of the most racially diverse and deprived areas of the country and alongside a range of influential practitioners and social leaders. He continues to guide and advise us to ensure this momentum of change continues.
• Mrs Finn (whom many of you will know) convened a special Student Parliament session to discuss Black Lives Matter and the students shared many ideas for reform, which have been taken forward – thank you.
• A number of staff and students have participated in Black Lives Matter marches. As a School we fully supported (and still support) your right to do this.
• During lockdown we launched #WGSTogether as a tool to share resources, activities and different voices to the whole of our school
community. #WGSTogether came from a “wellbeing” perspective, but was also used to share resources such as TED talks to a younger generation that may not be aware of a global social action community – set up to spread ideas. Talks shared included “How to speak so that people want to listen” and “10 ways to have a better conversation” spoken by men and women from a range of ethnicities. This work will continue.
• Our induction process for new students in September made it clear the standards that we expect at School: from kindness, to behaviour and understanding of our School community and that our differences makes us stronger.
• Pastoral care remains at the centre and forefront of everything we do. If you are ever worried about anything, or want to discuss a concern – you must talk to a member of staff.
• Students can also raise concerns (or, in the case of the Junior School, “worries”) using an online tool on our Student Portal.
• We are about to launch a number of new initiatives across School including a diversity group for children and staff of all backgrounds and experiences to come together. Contact Carrie Bennett email cab@wgs-sch.net if you would like to be involved in this group.
We have compiled an immediate and longer term set of actions which will encompass Key Stage 2, 3 and 4. They are also committed to in our School Development Plan which outlines to all staff and Directors the priorities for the School going forward. They include:
• A review and expansion of not just the History syllabus, but also Government and Politics, English Language and
Literature, Music, Art, Business, Religious Studies and Theology; Economics and Psychology syllabus and schemes of work to ensure it represented our communities and experiences – both past and present. This work is ongoing, but changes have already been made.
• Academic areas such as the sciences, sport and humanities will ensure their subject and lesson references include people of all colour and experience.
• The School’s Exams Officer is currently contacting all exam boards used by School to lobby for change in exam syllabi and the National Curriculum.
• Assemblies in both the Junior and Senior Schools already discuss a whole range of topical issues from injustice, race to inequality, discrimination etc. We also use assemblies to celebrate individuals from all cultures and backgrounds. Senior assemblies also now include: student vs teacher debates and motions already covered include; Feminism has failed women; Colonialism and the Commonwealth; Genocide; the Queen’s English and Transgender athletes and their right to compete.
• End of term Assemblies, Founder’s Day and Prizegiving now include world music, as well as readings and speakers from different faiths including Sikh and Muslim (who make up the majority of our BAME community). Every Founder’s Day for the last five years has included readings from the Sikh scriptures or Qur’an.
• Our PSHE curriculum already includes exploration of self and identity; communities; democracy; relationships etc. We have already recognised that PSHE needs to be at the forefront of our students’ experience at School. The PSHE co-ordinator is now developing
a programme of activities for tutors to reinforce messages around radicalisation; types of bullying; mental health; reliability of (and discrimination in) the media; peer pressure. This is just a snapshot of what our PSHE and tutor time curriculum covers – but has particular resonance in terms of equality.
A number of our former students have also contacted School directly with ideas for further reform of the national curriculum and daily school life. We need to keep these conversations and ideas coming. Did you see Sathnam Sanghera (OW 1995) who returned to School during lockdown with Channel 4 News? He used our School to help raise the issue of why so many NHS and care staff practitioners from BAME communities were contracting and, in many cases, dying from COVID-19. You may also know that Dr Kapil Vij (OW 2009) reached out to us in March to request help with donations of personal protective equipment (PPE) for fellow frontline workers – many of them again, from BAME communities. We donated 233 safety glasses and goggles to New Cross A&E and GP practices across the City.
As educators, we promise to stand with everyone in our community in the move towards change.
The BBC received nearly 135,000 entries for this year’s writing competition. Only 5000 of these were sent to the Reading Agency for the second round of judging. Well done to the following students for making it to this stage of the competition:
Arjun Sanghera
Emma Halford
James Hobeika
Lily Hemmings
Emmeline Redford
Well done to all Year 7 students who have taken their first, important steps to Senior School.
Around half of Year 7 children are completely new to Wolverhampton Grammar School (around half move up from the Junior School’s Year 6). Joining a new school and year group is daunting enough without all the additional pressure that lockdown and the return to education brought.
Nigel Crust, Head of Year 7, has been incredibly impressed by the year group and their enthusiasm for school life. All
Students from the Senior School and Sixth Form took part in the first virtual teatime concert during the summer term. Well done to Charlotte Anderson, Ben Dunn, Adya Rao, Alberto Rescigno, Dharam Sangha, Edward Williams, Favour Apata, Summer Bloor, Natalie Saunders, Mayashan Sharmadekker, William Maguire, Beth Seager, Mia Seager, Harry Wade, Zakaria Adnan and Hannah Dzvengwe for recording your pieces at home.
Our latest Book Week took a surprising turn with the help of some wiggly worms!
Book weeks help us use even more creative tools like competitions and activities to help inspire reading during lockdown. Activities ranged from creating a Mr Gum inspired worm farm to watching a virtual author event with Chris Bradford.
My daughter has had a fantastic start to school, she has been happy to share with us and we have been looking forward to hearing all about her day at WGS.
students attended an iPad induction over the summer and then began their term with a comprehensive, three-day induction covering everything from “being
brave” to timetables, the student portal, OneNote, meeting friends and homework before launching into lessons from Monday 7th September.
A warm welcome to all our new students and families and thank you for all your messages about induction.
Lockdown didn’t stop extra and co-curricular activities taking place and the Junior School House Piano competition was no exception!
The quality of entries in Year 3 was so impressive, that we had to pick one child per house, not just one entrant for the whole year group. We also had to pick a school learner and a home learner in Year 6, again because the quality was spectacular.
Congratulations to:
Year 3
Marco Liang
Harry Pang
Aarin Patel
Emma Halford
Year 4
Amrik Bratch
Year 5
Isaaq Dingwall
Year 6 (now Year 7 students)
Ashvini Samanta
Joy Shi
Well done to everyone who entered and congratulations to Marco Liang who is the first Year 3 to win the overall competition!
Young people across the West Midlands voted Humza Arshad’s ‘Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties’ as their winner for the 2019 Wolverhampton Children’s Book Award. Organised by Wolverhampton Grammar School, we are already in the process of inviting children aged 9 – 13 to start nominating their favourite titles of 2020. So far, the following titles are proving popular and have been added to our longlist:
Wilde
by Eloise Williams
Can she break the curse of the witch called Winter?
Being different can be dangerous. Wilde is afraid strange things happen around her. Are the birds following her? Moving to live with her aunt seems to make it worse. Wilde is desperate to fit in at her new school. But In a fierce heatwave, in rehearsals for a school play telling the local legend of a witch called Winter, ‘The Witch’ starts leaving pupils frightening curse letters. Can Wilde find out who’s doing it before everyone blames her? Or will she always be the outsider?
If you would like to vote for your favourite new release of 2020, then please email the book title and author to Mrs Rowley at: zer@wgs-sch.net. We look forward to announcing the twelve longlisted titles at the end of the autumn term.
by Jennifer Bell
When Arthur, Ren and Cecily investigate a mysterious explosion on their way to school, they find themselves trapped aboard The Principia - a scientific research ship sailing through hazardous waters, captained by one Isaac Newton. Lost in the year 2473 in the Wonderscape, an epic in-reality adventure game, they must call on the help of some unlikely historical heroes, to play their way home before time runs out.
by M.G. Leonard
First stop, The Highland Falcon Thief, a breathless train journey full of deceptions, puzzles and clues to solve. Harrison Beck is reluctantly joining his travel-writer Uncle Nat for the last journey of the royal train, The Highland Falcon. But as the train makes its way to Scotland, a priceless brooch goes missing, and things are suddenly a lot more interesting.
As suspicions and accusations run high among the passengers, Harrison begins to investigate and uncovers a few surprises along the way. Can he solve the mystery of the jewel thief and catch the culprit before they reach the end of the line? Hear whispers in the dining car, find notes in the library, and unknown passengers among the luggage as you help Harrison to solve the mystery aboard one of the world's grandest trains.
