School Director wins National Award

real value in state and independent schools working and learning together. I am delighted that she has been nationally recognised for her outstanding commitment to education.”

James Sage, Chair of the Board of Directors, added: “Everyone at Wolverhampton Grammar School, including the Board members who work with Evelyn, are delighted that the outstanding work she does has been recognised nationally.”

Could you be a winner in the next Young Authors’ Competition?

A leading figure at Wolverhampton Grammar School has been named the Times Educational Supplement (Tes) Headteacher of the Year for her inspirational work leading a large state school in North West London. Evelyn Forde, a Director at Wolverhampton Grammar School, was described by Tes as a “decisive leader” and “positive role model”.

Commenting on the award, Alex Frazer said: “Evelyn is an exceptional leader who is driven by the belief that all young people, no matter what their background, should have access to outstanding teaching, support and opportunities through education. Together, we see

The School has a strong association with the Tes awards, winning Senior Leadership of the Year in 2018 and being finalists in a number of award categories every year since 2016.

Wolverhampton Grammar School is governed by a board of Directors, who are supported by a Council and Board of Trustees. Our Directors come from a broad range of industries, sectors and backgrounds and give of their time and expertise on a purely voluntary basis. If you’d like to learn more about who our Directors are, visit the School website.

The Wolverhampton Young Authors’ Prize is an annual creative writing competition organised by Wolverhampton Grammar School to challenge young people, aged 8 to 16, to write an original short story in no more than 400 words around a particular theme.

This year’s theme is ‘The Escape’ and Head Librarian, Zoe Rowley, launched the competition to over 500 local children from across Wolverhampton during an interactive creative writing workshop with award-winning children’s author, Harriet Goodwin.

Children from across the city were encouraged to submit their short story by mid December with winners announced shortly from the age categories: 8 – 10; 11 – 13; and 14 – 16 years. Winners will each receive a custom designed trophy and have their story read aloud by a wellknown author during the live final which is due to take place virtually in January 2021.

Christmas Card Design 2020

Congratulations to Summer Bloor in Year 8 for winning this year's Christmas card design competition. Summer's digital design was created using Procreate and was selected by the Head, Mr Frazer, as the winner.

The competition, run by the Art department, encourages students from across the Junior, Senior and Sixth Form to create a design that reflects the School community. Well done to Rumaysa Taj, Fran White, Rosie Bennett and Jaipal Uppal whose designs were also shortlisted.

Have you met our new Head Boy and Head Girl?

The School’s Head Boy and Head Girl are the student figureheads of our School community. Chosen by fellow students and a staff vote at the end of Lower Sixth, they lead a team of Prefects to help guide and support students across our School. This year, Brandon Taylor and Lizzie Anderson were chosen as Head Prefects.

Fact file: Brandon Taylor

• Brandon has been at Wolverhampton Grammar School since 2012, joining in Year 5 from Glynne Primary School in Kingswinford.

• He is studying A Levels in English Literature, Physics and Further Mathematics.

• He always takes an active role in form time. Happy to share ideas on topical issues and looks out for everyone around him.

• Extra curricular life includes chess and basketball. He helps out as a Late Club Assistant in the Junior School.

• Did you know that Brandon went on the School trip to China and loves to ski?

Despite COVID, it’s my role to help bring the School together. We might be in bubbles this year, but we are definitely one community!

Fact file: Lizzie Anderson

• Lizzie Anderson joined Wolverhampton Grammar School in Year 7 from Oldswinford C Of E School in Stourbridge.

• She is studying A Levels in Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics.

• Lizzie can often be found after School outside the Deputy Head’s office! Being the daughter of a Deputy Head can result in long hours at School!

• Extra curricular life revolves around hockey. A keen sportswoman, Lizzie is Hockey Captain at School.

• Did you know that Lizzie has a younger sister, Charlotte in Year 8?

Student voice is more important now than ever. We are lucky enough to be part of a School community that is forward thinking and loves change. If you have an idea… share it!

Coast2Coast delivered!

COVID-19 did not stop this year’s Coast2Coast team from completing the incredible challenge of a gruelling relay challenge.

Restrictions meant that 187+ miles were covered – not following the famous Wainwright route – over two days in October half term over a specially designed 7.5k circuit covering Cannock Chase. Students had to complete 20 laps on both the Saturday and Sunday between 7.30am and 7.30pm – all in aid of Brain Tumour Support.

We would like to extend our grateful thanks to both Cannock Chase Forest Birches Valley and Grounds Café and Cycle Centres for their kind support to enable this year’s challenge to still go ahead, despite the strangest of circumstances.

Could you see yourself working for Wolverhampton Grammar School?

As one of the largest employers in the City, we offer a truly unique and friendly place to work, employing almost 200 teachers, professional and technical staff with a wide range of school and commercial backgrounds. You can now register for job alerts from us, ensuring you are the first to know when jobs of interest to you are advertised.

Simply visit wgs.org.uk/currentvacancies to register your interest now.

Introducing Year 7 Reading Ambassadors

A huge well done to Year 11 students Ewan, Harry, Edward, Benjamin, Thomas, Harry, Jenny, Ella, Grace and Rosie who have raised an astonishing £7,700 – and still counting!

You can still donate here: www. justgiving.com/fundraising/ wolverhampton-grammar-school

The students rely on a team effort of staff and parents to undergo their training and make them challenge ready. Particular thanks to Mr French and Mrs Harris who co-ordinated the training plans and liaised with our Cannock Chase partners to make this year’s event happen.

Congratulations to all Year 7 students who successfully applied for the role of Reading Ambassador this term. We have recruited 10 students to work on reading displays, promote recommended reads and inspire others to read for pleasure. Well done to all of our Reading Ambassadors for their hard work this term.

Christmas At WGS

Christmas is always a special time of year at School. This year saw the festivities return in style: with a Wizard of Oz panto performance; 15 trees donated by staff dotted around campus; and a bubble rota of Christmas dinners in The Derry and Sixth Form café.

Mr Hale, our chef de partie at Holroyd Howe, created a gingerbread replica of the front of the School. Santa even made a socially-distanced dash around our campus. The Marketing department launched 'Where is Santa?' on social media, encouraging students to guess where Santa was hiding in School every Friday; well done to everyone who took part.

A special mention and congratulations goes to Harry Wade in Year 9 for guessing Santa's location correctly every week!

Can you spot the location of just some of our Christmas trees from the clues below?

TREE 1

Home to Holroyd Howe and lots of tasty treats.

TREE 2

This one likes to be in a quiet environment.

TREE 3

Home to our students who love to sing.

TREE 4

This one likes to entertain our younger students.

New Book Reservation and Delivery Service Launches in the New Year

To ensure that young people across the Junior and Senior School can access books easily within their ‘bubbles’, we are launching a new book reservation and delivery system available via the Library Department page of Firefly. Young people are encouraged to visit the Firefly page to request items to loan from the School Libraries. Already this term we have delivered over 600 books to classrooms across the School. Don’t forget, parents and students are welcome to request titles over the Christmas holidays for delivery to classrooms in January.

Festive Sport and Fun Runs

Senior School students came together in their bubbles, alongside members of staff, to take part in the annual Christmas fancy dress fun run and festive netball competition. The 1 mile route around The Valley was organised by the Sports Department and Upper Sixth students. Katie Evans and Solomon Brazier-Painter, organised the Year 7 and Year 9 events; Hannah Dzvengwe also organised the Year 7 Festive Netball competition -

Pumpkin Carving Spectacular

Miss Bowater was overwhelmed by the incredible number of skilful entries for the annual Pumpkin Carving competition. Well done to everyone who submitted an entry and received a commendation and interform points.

Take a look at some of the spooky entries!

An Evening of Haunting Tales

Members of both Junior and Senior School Book Clubs have used their creative writing skills to construct ghost stories themed around the history of our School. Combined with fantastic storytelling, students brilliantly performed their original work as part of three ghost tours around the School grounds. As usual, our annual evening of haunting tales was a great success and wonderfully entertaining. Congratulations to everybody who took part.

Year 7 Interview Robert Muchamore

We were thrilled to end the term with an author event to remember. As the bestselling author of the CHERUB series, Robert Muchamore delivered an energetic, action-packed and interactive virtual event to Year 7 students. As part of the event, we offered several Year 7 CHERUB fans the opportunity to interview Robert on Zoom. Well done to Jay Barchha, Veer Jain, Charlie Thomas and Matthew Lyford for their thoughtprovoking and insightful questions.