NEWSLETTER: DECEMBER 2018 FROM THE HEADTEACHER As we come to the end of our centenary year, I hope that you will get a flavour of the wide variety of activities that have taken place this term from the newsletter. A highlight was of course our school production of Hairspray which performed to four sell out audiences. My congratulations to all involved and grateful thanks to staff for making it happen. To those of you have been coming to our musical events you will know that we have been raising funds for a new grand piano for the hall. I am glad to say that through the generosity of so many of you, we have reached our target of £10,000 and in the last assembly of term we unveiled our new piano, a fitting legacy of our centenary. It was lovely to see so many parents and friends at our Carol Service, held again this year at St. Francis of Assisi Church. A selection of readings and musical items from our choirs and instrumental groups provided a memorable start to the Christmas season. Founders’ Day was again an opportunity to celebrate and share in the successes of so many of our pupils in academic work and the wider life of the school. This year the prizes and certificates were awarded by the Mayor and Mayoress of Bournemouth and Jazz Morley, former pupil of the school who now is a successful singer-songwriter. We also saw the presentation of certificates by Mrs Jane Stichbury to the pupils who have completed the Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award at school. Congratulations to all girls who participated in any way to make this such a memorable occasion. It was lovely to welcome older friends of the school to our annual tea party and carols organised by members of the sixth form. It was good to hear news that we appeared again in the Sunday Times Parentpower survey. We were © BOURNEMOUTH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS CASTLE GATE CLOSE. CASTLE LANE WEST. BOURNEMOUTH. BH89UJ. | t: 01202 526289 | e.: [email protected] NEWSLETTER: DECEMBER 2018 FROM THE HEADTEACHER CONTINUED.... top performing state school in Dorset and Hampshire, the 7th top performing state school in the southwest and ranked 68th in the country. We have also just had the good news that our application to the government’s Selective Schools Expansion Fund was successful. We have agreed to increase our published admission number from 166 to 180 and also to work to increase the number of less advantaged families making application to our school. As a result we have been given grant funding of around £1 million to support building works to improve our Design and Technology and PE facilities. This is excellent news indeed! At the start of next term we welcome back Ms Thomas as she returns from maternity leave. Our sincere thanks go to Mr Scammell and also to Mrs Darling, Miss Graves and Mrs Banks for their support this term. Year 11 mock examinations start on our return in January. Girls have been issued with their exam timetables, and a separate letter explaining arrangements should have reached parents. Please go through these arrangements with your daughter and ensure that she has a sensible programme of revision in place. A reminder also to all year 11 pupils that confirmed A level choices should be handed in by 31st January once you know your mock examination results. If you know of any girls attending other schools who did not attend our open evening but might be interested in joining our sixth form we will be having an open morning for them when they can find out more about what we have to offer. May I conclude by wishing all members of the BSG community and their families a Happy Christmas and a prosperous and successful New Year! Term starts on Monday 7th January 2019. Alistair Brien GOVERNOR NEWS ith our centenary year drawing to a close it is a good time to reflect on the year past and progress made. It has been an W incredibly busy year, with various memorable events to remind us of the centenary and what life was like for BSG girls long ago. In the midst of a long hot summer the tea party provided an outstanding opportunity to meet many pupils from years gone by, to listen to fond recollections of school life, and see at first hand the great affection in which BSG is held. The Centenary Ball likewise provided another welcome occasion for those associated with the school, in the past and present, to support the school. The Governors’ Annual Report was approved at our full Governors’ meeting on the 5th December. It was pleasing to note the “clean“ report from independent auditors. The Annual Report detailed the outstanding academic achievements of the year (recognised as the top performing state school in Dorset and Hampshire) and also explained the role of the governing body and increasing emphasis on the governance of Academies. In this context I would wish to welcome the three recently elected parent governors: Dr Sarita Alner, Mr Dario Di Felice, and Mr Julian Robbins. Each bring exceptional skills to the governing body, which will be invaluable in support of the school. We all know that funding remains an area of significant challenge. It was exciting therefore to receive confirmation that BSG’s bid under the Selective Schools Expansion Fund has been successful. It will be incredibly rewarding to be able to deliver improvements to the school estate, and much enhanced facilities, over the coming months. © BOURNEMOUTH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS CASTLE GATE CLOSE. CASTLE LANE WEST. BOURNEMOUTH. BH89UJ. | t: 01202 526289 | e.: [email protected] NEWSLETTER: DECEMBER 2018 GOVERNOR NEWS CONTINUED... The aims of BSG remain the provision of a broad and balanced education within a stimulating environment, achieving the highest academic standards. These objectives were readily demonstrated by a presentation at our Governors’ meeting, given by year 9 pupils. Their theme was “what makes a good teacher?” They raised issues such as pressure to achieve, homework, the power and influence of enthusiastic teaching, and reward (“carrot”) as an incentive. These students impressed all with their insights, analysis and sense of future. We all felt absolutely inspired by the quality of their work. This is but one example we have encountered over the year which shows that the vision of “nurturing individual talents of all our pupils so that they are able to make a difference in the wider world” is an enduring reality. May I take this opportunity to extend deep appreciation to all staff at BSG for their dedication and tireless work. Heartfelt thanks are emphasised to all governors for their support and time spent on behalf of the school. Finally, may I wish you and your families a peaceful and enjoyable time together over Christmas. Jane Stichbury Chair of Governors DATES FOR YOUR DIARY OF FORTHCOMING PSA EVENTS PSA Second Hand Uniform Sale — 24th January 2019 NOTICEBOARD School Uniform We want to get the new term off to a good start with school uniform. If your daughter needs a new skirt or jacket because her old one has become too small please pay a visit to Stevensons. We will be having a uniform check at the start of term. To avoid embarrassment please make sure that your daughter is in correct uniform that fits. A full list of uniform is in your daughter’s planner. Keeping in Touch Thank you to all of you who have signed up for our new In Touch and SIMS Parent App services. These are the ways in which we will routinely make contact with you. Over 200 parents still have not returned their forms giving consent to us sending you an email to sign up for these services. May I ask you to do so as a matter of urgency if you have not already done so. Please check that we have your most up-to-date contact details should we need to get in touch in an emergency. Where parents are no longer together do we know what the latest access/custody arrangements are? We can only go on the last written evidence that we have. If you would like to keep up-to-date with the latest news from BSG then why not follow us on Twitter? Our Twitter name is @BSGupdate. We will also use this medium as an additional way of getting urgent messages out to the school community. © BOURNEMOUTH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS CASTLE GATE CLOSE. CASTLE LANE WEST. BOURNEMOUTH. BH89UJ. | t: 01202 526289 | e.: [email protected] Snow time? As the winter months approach I thought it might be helpful to remind parents of the arrangements we have in place should it be necessary to close the school. Closing a school of this size is never an easy or straightforward decision and given the difficulty we know this causes you, the parents, I thought you would welcome some background to the decision making process. The decision to close a school is taken by the headteacher, following a risk assessment that is based on a number of factors. This decision has to be taken without knowing how the weather will progress during the day. Issues considered include site safety, the likely level of staffing, the availability of catering and also if bus services are running. Before any decision is taken, the headteacher of Bournemouth School, Dr Lewis and I liaise and seek advice from senior colleagues, the site staff and the bus companies. Although some staff, pupils and parents are able to move safely to and from school, no matter how severe the conditions, we listen carefully to the police and the bus service providers.