HEADMASTER’S REPORT 2014-15

Introduction

The Portsmouth Grammar School has enjoyed a vibrant and exciting year in 2014-15.

It has been a year in which significant strides have been made in realising the aspirations first set out in our Strategic Plan two years ago, the most striking of which has been the opening of the new Sixth Form Centre by HRH The Earl of Wessex.

It has also been a year in which we have had to embrace complex changes nationally whilst remaining clear-sighted about the principles to which we are committed at PGS. From sweeping reform of public examinations at A Level and GCSE to fast-moving regulatory changes in safeguarding, there has been much to negotiate in a year in which political hustings in the David Russell Theatre and Pupil Council elections have contributed towards the excitement of a General Election year.

The interests and aspirations of the girls and boys who come to PGS remain at the heart of our decision-making as a school. We wish our pupils – and our staff – to be happy and successful, in that order; and we continue to encourage pupils to think about where they will be at 25 and not only at 18.

There has been much activity, enterprise and achievement throughout the year to demonstrate that these principles are alive and well. I hope to be able to highlight some of the key moments in this report, aware that a more comprehensive record of the year can be enjoyed in the pages of The Portmuthian, written, as ever, with far greater articulacy and humour by the pupils themselves.

Given the importance of the Strategic Plan in directing our energies and imaginations throughout the year, I have deliberately structured this report, in part, in relation to some of the Plan’s key themes.

Excellent Teaching and Learning

Public examination results should be the outcome rather than the purpose of all that has been taught and learned in any one academic year, and yet they are of critical importance in opening doors to new opportunities and destinations.

We were delighted therefore to receive record-breaking results at IB and A Level. First to open their envelopes in the summer, the 2015 IB cohort achieved an average of 39 points per candidate, equivalent to just over AAA at A Level. Two pupils secured a historic first for PGS in being awarded maximum scores of 45 points, a feat achieved by only 160 students worldwide: Lottie Kent, winner of the Ithaka Prize for her extended essay, is now reading English and Italian at Somerville College, Oxford; and Jemima Carter, Deputy Senior Prefect, is studying Medicine at King’s College, London. Rhiannon Lasrado, one of 11 pupils across IB and A Level who secured Oxbridge offers, is now reading Modern and Medieval Languages at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge.

It was excellent to see A Level students adding further to the summer’s good news in August, with a record 25% of all subject entries graded A* and 87% A*-B. Amongst many outstanding individual achievements, congratulations were due to Cameron Roberts- veteran actor, prefect and Black Belt – who achieved 5 A*s to send him to Imperial College, London to read Engineering, having previously turned down the offer of a place at Cambridge. Gemma Liu, the recipient of a significant bursary in Year 7 from a local state primary school, also performed impressively, achieving 4 A*s and progressing to Newnham College, Cambridge to read Economics. Exactly 90% of pupils achieved a place on a university course of their choice, the large majority to their first choice destination.

At GCSE, there was similar celebration with 69% of all subject entries awarded A*/A grades and 90% at A*-B. Forty eight pupils achieved straight A*/A grades, including Sebastian Chapman and Grace Goodfellow who each enjoyed a clean sweep of 11A*s. Ashleigh Dekker, Vice Captain of the U17 England Netball team, travelled down to Portsmouth from the National training camp in Manchester to discover that she had been awarded 10A*s. Aspirant Olympic fencer Devlin Stigant, meanwhile, heard the news that he had achieved straight A*s by phone, calling from a GB Talent Pathway Camp.

It is tempting to connect the summer’s success with the opening of the new Sixth Form Centre, a major development at the heart of the school which completed the Bristow Clavell Science Centre and extended the building to provide a superb library, café, university and careers area, as well as an attractive suite of seminar and class rooms. The atmosphere generated by the new building has been both welcoming and aspirational, whilst the exhilaration of walking along the bridge into Cambridge House remains undimmed – at least for me – twelve months on. It has been wonderful to see the impact the centre has made on the experience of everyone involved in Sixth Form life.

There has been a cultural and intellectual buzz to the school as a whole this year, stimulated by a range of events and speakers, such as Professor John Stein on Neuroscience; Sir Anthony Seldon on the First World War’s impact on schools; Professor David Wands on Cosmic Inflation; Dr Peter Vardy in Socratic mode; Dr Graham Giles on being invited to the White House twice; Dr Nick Lowe on tickling Aristophanes’ funny bone; sailor Mike Golding averting tragedy on the high seas; and National Poet of Wales, Gillian Clarke, planting daffodils in our imaginations at the start of the Portsmouth Festivities.

Pupils and staff share an enthusiasm for the continuation of learning beyond the laboratory and lecture hall, evident in some extraordinary trips and outside activities. Following the Economics and Business Studies trip to China in the autumn, for example, it was very good to see Sixth Form economists speaking to a Chinese delegation about their experience of visiting our link school in Pingxiang. IB students travelled to Ockero island in Sweden to meet their counterparts from the school that sails into Portsmouth each year aboard TS Gunilla. The Hispanists forged a new partnership with the Agora Sant Cuga International School in Barcelona, whilst historians reminded themselves of a time when international relations were on the cooler side, spending time in KGB cells and the interior of a Soviet nuclear missile launcher in Latvia and Lithuania.

This year also saw the introduction of Enrichment Week to provide further stimulus to pupils’ learning. Pupils visited Hampton Court, Fishbourne Palace, the Houses of Parliament, London Zoo, the Mary Rose and Hardy Country. Former pupils returned from across the UK to talk about their experience of university. Aspirant medics donned scrubs for a Casualty Day, which was just as well given the Field Gun challenge underway in the Sports Hall.

Innovative Use of ICT

Digital technology provides yet another range of opportunities to enrich pupils’ learning, and this year has been something of a watershed for ICT in the classroom. Having achieved national accreditation for e-safety last year, extended the use of MyPGS as a virtual learning environment and invested in a significantly improved Wi-Fi network, we felt ready to begin moving towards increased use of tablet devices as a learning tool.

This decision was helped by the Digital Council, which has provided valuable advice as a pupil and staff forum in which to bring together the digital native and not-so-native generations. Teaching staff have undertaken extensive training and parents have also been involved, with nearly 250 parents attending workshops in the use of iPads and educational apps. From this September, pupils in Years 9 and 12 are expected to have a tablet as part of their standard school equipment, whilst the availability of class sets in younger year groups will also encourage pupils to become more familiar and creative with their use in school.

No wonder, then, that a PGS team was inspired to win the IBM Website Challenge, spending a day at Portsmouth Naval and Gliding Centre where they soared freestyle at 1,500 feet as a prize for their ingenuity; or that a Year 12 Raspberry Pi team took part in a challenge to devise and code an experiment for British astronaut Tim Peake’s forthcoming mission to the International Space Station.

The ‘IT Crowd’ might have been the TV sit-com of choice for the 2015 House Drama competition, but crowd-sourced data is now populating Biology experiments, whilst in Music crowd-funding is helping to make possible professional CD recordings for the Chamber Choir and the London Mozart Players. If the world is fast becoming new, then our pupils, teachers and parents are proving themselves ready to be brave.

Pupil Engagement

A key goal of the Strategic Plan has been to develop a culture in which pupils feel empowered to be involved in the life and leadership of the school, and just as the Scottish Referendum mobilised young people north of the border, so too did the excitement of a General Election here in Portsmouth with pupils readily taking part in a whole series of school-based elections.

The launch of the Senior School Council, bringing together voices and ideas from the individual Year Group Councils, was a particularly exciting initiative. The Senior Prefect team helped to chair the meetings, adding their own momentum to the debate. Some council members were even invited to give a presentation to the Full Governing Body to provide further insight into pupil experience; others joined a city-wide network of school councils concerned with improving opportunities for young people locally.

A whole school pupil survey identified issues for consideration in some lively meetings, such as the value of homework and priorities for facility development. It was great to see pupils influencing the summer refurbishment programme as they made the case for the school to prioritise the Sports Hall changing rooms and to install water fountains in House bases, all of which have now been completed.

The national Election proved a source of inspiration in its own right too. Candidates from the four main parties vying for the seat of Portsmouth South took part in a hustings expertly chaired by Head of History and Politics, Mr Lemieux. Sir Ivor Crewe, election pundit and Master of University College, Oxford, poured light on the history of Government blunders in an entertaining talk. With uncanny foresight, the pupils’ Mock Election even delivered a triumph for the Conservative Party. On Election night itself, Politics students staged a sleepover in the Sixth Form centre- ‘one-sie, one vote’- and during the night were invited to watch the counting of votes in the Guildhall where Portsmouth South’s new MP, Flick Drummond, even gave them a mention in her speech of acceptance.

How fitting it was, therefore, that a team of Sixth Form pupils should win the Political Studies Association’s national video competition with their witty documentary about the local elections, later screened at a glittering awards ceremony in London.

As well as casting votes, pupils have been identifying causes to support in fundraising activities from cake sales and soaked sponges to circus skills, zorb football and musical soirees, raising around £15K for local and international causes this year.

Much of the motivation for this good work has come from building direct relationships with the communities involved. The trip to Kikaaya College School in Uganda in the summer of 2014 was inspirational for those pupils and staff who took part, and we now look forward to welcoming teachers from Uganda to PGS this autumn. Following trips to Buenos Aires to support the work of Voluntario Global, who provide education to street children, it was our privilege to host two of the organisation’s volunteers, Ximena and Nicolas, on a travel bursary to the UK. Two Sixth Form pupils – Holly Govey and Katie Twist – even had the opportunity to travel to Sri Lanka in memory of Yasmin Caldera (OP) to work with a variety of young people in need; thanks to the support of the Caldera family and the OP Club Travel awards, other PGS pupils will be able to build on this relationship over the coming years.

Pupil voice and action have been especially evident in the work of PGS Pride this year, a school society dedicated to issues of identity and equality. As well as providing a forum for influential speakers such as Peter Tatchell, the group took part in Portsmouth’s Pride Parade, leading the colourful procession from Guildhall Square to Southsea Common alongside civic dignitaries and local community groups.

The Co-Curriculum

It is in the co-curriculum that pupils have particular opportunity to develop personally and enjoy the roundedness of life at PGS. There have been breath-taking achievements in music, drama and sport this year, but also enormous satisfaction from seeing so many pupils becoming involved and taking part in the activities available.

We were delighted to become a fully licensed centre for the delivery of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, a popular programme in Years 10-13 with a strong emphasis on personal development, service and adventure. HRH The Earl of Wessex was particularly keen to meet pupils and staff involved in the scheme when he visited in September. Outdoor pursuits saw 35 and 55 mile teams successfully completing the Ten Tors in Dartmoor and a Sixth Form walking team tackling the 100 km South Downs challenge. It was excellent to see the introduction of the John Muir Award scheme in Year 9, which introduces pupils to bushcraft skills and wild camping; whilst the Combined Cadet Force received flying colours – literally – when they were inspected by Group Captain Andrew Battye at Hilsea Playing Fields in June.

Music

From the specially-commissioned fanfare by young PGS composers for the royal visit, to Sixth Form musician Ella Beard’s carol What Child is This at the Cathedral Carol Service, it has been an extraordinary year for PGS music. Over 250 pupils took part in a hotly contested House Music competition, adjudicated by the Director of Music at Brasenose College, Oxford, whilst Isaac Waddington (Yr 11) enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame in the televised finals of Britain’s Got Talent, emerging as the highest placed solo singer in a finale eventually won by a pair of tightrope walking dogs. The Chamber Choir released Hodie, a CD of contemporary carols so atmospheric it almost generated snow showers in Old Portsmouth at its launch in September.

The Remembrance Concert was one of the most ambitious for years with Portsmouth and London premieres for Jonathan Dove’s moving Cantata For an Unknown Soldier performed by the Chamber Choir and children of Castle Primary School alongside the London Mozart Players. The concert included a virtuoso flute concerto performed by Phoebe Pexton and a thrilling rendition of Holst’s St Paul’s Suite by our most promising string players alongside the LMP who returned to PGS in the spring to work with 100 pupils in a series of chamber music masterclasses.

PGS musicians had the chance to share the stage again with a world-famous ensemble when we welcomed the Black Dyke Band to Portsmouth to perform in a packed St Mary’s Church in Fratton. Buttons literally burst from waistcoats and blazers in a lyrical and supercharged concert – an event matched only in ambition by taking a 60-strong Junior and Senior School Brass Band down to Barcelona for a summer tour (#Brasselona on the PGS Twitter feed) where La Orquesta de Metal did PGS proud in the squares of Costa Brava.

Drama

Drama provided even more highlights in the cultural year. Shakespeare himself, on the cusp of his 400th anniversary, would surely have enjoyed a compact and stylish version of Taming of the Shrew devised for the Shakespeare Schools Festival in Winchester, followed by the knockabout hilarity of Kiss Me Kate at the Kings Theatre in Southsea as our major musical production of the year. The Middle School provided a bewitching journey into the sea in the premiere of Jo Harper’s play Whalesong, featuring Finn Elliot (Yr 7) who made his own television debut in the BBC film of Sadie Jones’ novel, The Outcast, this summer. Years 9 and 10 drew us dreamily into the world of Under Milk Wood, whilst our touring production to the Avignon International Drama Festival thrust into nightmares in a dark portrayal of Hansel and Gretel. The Sixth Form’s The Importance of Being Earnest was a gem of a production, stylishly staged in the Royal Naval Club and beautifully observed in its comic timing. The future for Drama looks particularly bright following news that all 47 pupils taking LAMDA awards in Years 7 and 8 achieved distinction in the summer.

Sport

For the second consecutive year PGS was named as one of the top co-educational schools for sport by Schools Sports Magazine, a wonderful reflection of the commitment and enthusiasm shown by pupils and their coaches. By way of illustration, around 90% of the girls and boys in the Middle School represented the school in sport this year. It would be impossible therefore for me to capture all the achievements in detail here, so let me pick out just some of the highlights of an impressive year.

The cricket nets at Hilsea had to be resurfaced for the summer to cope with the demands of county and national competitions. The U13 reached the national quarter final stages, whilst the U17s went even further, winning the National Schools’ Cup Final against Sedbergh School by one wicket with one ball to spare in their 40-over final in Oxford.

In netball our U14, U16 and U18 teams all reached the regional finals, and in rugby there were notable wins in the Hampshire Sevens for the U14 and U15 teams. The 1st XI boys’ hockey reached the last sixteen of the National Cup and there were impressive performances at county and regional level by the U14 boys’ and U16 girls’ and boys’ teams. No fewer than 20 pupils were selected to play hockey for Hampshire. Rounders is a sport close to Mr Dossett’s heart, and he was thrilled therefore to see the U18 girls – national champions back in Year 10 – enjoy an unbeaten run this summer, whilst the U15 girls became national semi-finalists.

Other achievements to savour included the girls’ ski team winning the British Schools Championships in Edinburgh; closer to home, twelve PGS boats competed in the Itchenor Schools’ Regatta winning the overall team trophy; the Year 9 and 10 athletics team won the Millfield Super 8 competition for the second time in three years, Thomas Miller performing with particular aplomb in English Schools this season; George Charlton and Huw Thomas won the U15 Junior Doubles Real Tennis national title, and Robert Weekes qualified to represent GB in the European Triathlon Championships in Lisbon. There was also a moment of history as PGS won the Dunelm Cup in the 4x50m relay for the first time at a national schools swimming event in the London 2012 Olympic pool.

Dynamic Development Office

This has been an equally dynamic year for the Development Office with the launch of the William Smith Fund for bursaries and the inaugural ‘Where are you at 25’ reunion. There have also been moving anniversaries marked by the wider PGS community, including the centenary of the start of the First World War.

The William Smith Fund was launched, fittingly, on Founder’s Day with our final service of the year in St Thomas’s Cathedral. Over the summer holiday, a team of young OPs and recent leavers took part in an extensive telephone campaign which, thanks to the wonderful generosity of alumni, parents, staff and friends, attracted over £130K in pledges and donations towards our bursary programme. Further donations, including a gift of £20K from the OP Charity, mean that the campaign has raised over £200K in this opening phase, enabling us to support more pupils who will benefit from a PGS education regardless of their financial background.

The OP Club and school worked closely together in commemorating the First World War Centenary with the ‘Honouring the 131’ campaign to visit the graves and memorials of all those former pupils and staff who lost their lives in the 1914-18 conflict. A new Book of Remembrance has been created, also available on-line, showing images from the visits made by pupils, parents, staff and OPs, and a copy was presented to the school by the OP Club on 11 November. As OPs gathered at Hilsea for the traditional sports day on 13 December, it was also poignant to remember OP and submariner Lt Norman Holbrook whose exploits in the Dardanelles had taken place exactly 100 years ago to the day, earning him the first Victoria Cross ever awarded to a submariner. Norman had enjoyed success as a young sportsman at Hilsea, and a new plaque has been mounted on the front of the Upper Junior School to commemorate his time in the school.

It was great fun in the summer term to welcome back former pupils who had reached the age of 25 and were now establishing themselves in their professional lives but who, as was evident in an entertaining evening here at school, had lost none of their enthusiasm for PGS and clearly enjoyed catching up with old friends’ news. We look forward to making this an annual event in the future given our commitment to prepare pupils for where they will be at 25.

Valete

At the end of the autumn term we said farewell to Mrs Resouly and Mrs Quail, both of whom have played a significant part in the life of the school as parents and governors. We look forward to their continuing association and support as Governors Emeritus.

We also bade farewell to a number of staff in the summer. Miss Cunningham and Dr Gilbert (Maths); Mr Ives (now Head of German at Tormead School); Mr Clayton Shepherd (Head of Rugby); Mr Chalk (Head of Computing); Mrs Hammal (History and Politics); and Mr Crénel (French), all made significant contributions in their time here and we wish them well in their new adventures, which for Dr Gilbert and Mr Chalk involve moves to schools in Turkey and Sri Lanka respectively.

We also expressed our thanks to Mrs Stephenson and Mrs Bates, both of whom retired from the Biology department; to Mr Rutherford (Head of Hockey) who, happily, continues to coach part-time with us; and Mr Earley, who has been a dedicated rugby coach for 24 years, introducing countless generations to his beloved sport at Hilsea. We also saluted the Deputy Bursar (Facilities), Mr Lowe, who retired after 15 years, having played a prominent role in the development of the school’s estate since the acquisition of Cambridge House in 2000.

Mr Elphick-Smith enjoyed a well-earned promotion as Deputy Head of Mayville High School, having taught at PGS for 27 years where he will be fondly remembered as the scholarly and sartorial Head of both Latter and Smith Houses. As he was fond of quoting from William Smith’s thesis on human conception: ‘factotum extra uterum vivere est possibile’, which he liked to translate as, ‘Go forth from the womb and thrive!’

And finally, we said farewell to Mrs Giles who has spent her entire 37 year teaching career at PGS where she has been Head of Geography, Senior Teacher (Learning) and a dedicated member of the Middle School pastoral team. We wish her a long and very happy retirement as she puts her geographical skills to use in travelling the globe.

Come to the Edge

It was a strange experience at Prizegiving last year to have a guest of honour whose identity we were unable to reveal in advance for security purposes. Former Director-General of MI5 Baroness Manningham-Buller, had a clear and compelling message: “There are fantastic opportunities for you to change the world for the better,” she said, “much more than our generation had. Make sure you take your share of them.”

This year, in the company of Dr Rosemary Hill, the award-wining historian and, until his death in 2011, wife of the poet and Old Portmuthian Christopher Logue, it is exhilarating to be revealing a different secret – the beautiful new sculpture inspired by Logue’s poem Come to the Edge which has been under cover at the entrance to the new Sixth Form Centre, waiting for this very moment. As I hope this report amply shows, it is with confidence and excitement that we accept Logue’s invitation and look forward to all that is to come in the year ahead.

James Priory September 2015