Head’s Welcome

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-Read

Grades 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