Altrincham Grammar School for Boys A Grammar School with Academy Status Head Master: Mr G. A. Wright MA (Hons) FRSA Marlborough Road, Bowdon, Altrincham, WA14 2RS

6th December 2019 Dear Parents/Carers

As the Christmas decorations are set up across School, there is still much to report as we head towards the final ten School days of 2019. We are coming to the end of the Year 13 mock examinations and I would like take this opportunity to wish the best of luck to those students who are taking part in interviews next week for both Oxbridge and Medicine.

Congratulations to all involved in what was a stunning two evenings of music at the 2019 Autumn Concerts. AGSB musicians played to a packed-out audience in the Coleman Hall as they produced a wonderful and eclectic spectacle of music. The fantastic range of opportunities for extra-curricular Music were showcased throughout. There were many highlights including the Swing Band, the Staff Choir, a scene from the forthcoming production of Back to the 80’s and of course, the Year 7 Choir. Many thanks both to the Music Department and the School’s musicians.

With less than a week before the General Election, I am pleased to report that the AGSB mock election did not disappoint. In assemblies, the candidates representing the five main parties had the chance to launch their manifesto with a 2-minute pitch. We then held a Question Time event in the School library. In a good-humoured, but hard-hitting, debate, topics ranged from Brexit to education, taxation, knife crime and climate change. Congratulations to Belema B and the Labour Party who won the AGSB election with 36% of the vote.

On Sunday, the School hosted the annual PFA Christmas Fair. There was a splendid selection of activities on offer including a Bucking Reindeer, House Entrepreneur Competition, raffle, tombola, Chad’s Challenge fund raising games and of course, some delicious food prepared by Anna Jones and Saima Alvi (and many other parents). The PFA raised over £9,000, up £1, 500 from last year, which is a fantastic achievement for everyone involved.

Yesterday I travelled over to The Manchester Grammar School to watch the Under 16 and Under 18 AGSB Indoor Hockey Squads take part in the Northern Finals. In a thrilling Under 18 contest, the Senior Squad made it through to the National finals with victories over MGS (becoming North West Champions) and Egglescliffe School. The Under 16 squad not only qualified for the Nationals, but were also crowned North West and North of England Champions along the way! These results highlight the strength of hockey at AGSB and I would like thank Mr Soulsby, Albert Marcano (Hockey Professional) and the players for all their efforts. The National Finals will take place at Whitgift School, Croydon in January 2020.

Finally, I would like to wish the AGSB Model United Nations Team the very best of luck as they look forward to the Manchester High School for Girls’ MUN event over the weekend. Good luck also to our football and rugby teams who take on King’s Chester and Sandbach School tomorrow morning.

I wish you and your families well for the weekend ahead.

Yours faithfully

Mr G. A. Wright, Head Master Altrincham Grammar School for Boys A Grammar School with Academy Status Head Master: Mr G. A. Wright MA (Hons) FRSA Marlborough Road, Bowdon, Altrincham, WA14 2RS

Senior Team Maths Challenge

Congratulations to our Sixth Formers who won the Regional Finals of the Senior Team Maths Challenge recently pipping 25 other schools to the post. Next stop - London for the National Finals in February. We wish them all the best of luck.

Autumn Concerts November 2019

Well done to all those musicians who took part in the Autumn Concerts last week. Both Concert Bands sounded wonderful, vocal performances were packed with energy and most of all, the students had a great time! A big thank you to Mr Myers, Mrs Jarratt and Mr Myers Junior who produced the events over two evenings!

AGSB Chess

An extended chess team played a friendly against King’s School in Macclesfield this week. We played 14 games in total and won 10.5 to 3.5. The players were:

Nugith J (Team Captain); Seny D; Karan J; Gautham R; Mark Y; Ewan B; Kamol S and Franicszek M. (Y9)

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys A Grammar School with Academy Status Head Master: Mr G. A. Wright MA (Hons) FRSA Marlborough Road, Bowdon, Altrincham, WA14 2RS

Nugith used the friendly as an opportunity to mix the players up and help inform the final team of six that we will shortly field against The Blue Coat School, Liverpool. Everyone seemed to enjoy the match, although all their minds are focused on the first competitive match of the year. We have arranged some lunchtime training sessions that should help us finalise the team. Thank you to Mr Olney for driving the minibus!

House Bake Off

We had a really successful House ‘Bake Off’ last week where the ‘brief’ was to bake the best chocolate cake.

The seven bakers all produced very chocolatey rich cakes which were enjoyed by our invited judges (Mrs Gordon, Mr Wright and Mr Baker). Mr Cummins gate-crashed the event but his appetite was appreciated.

The winning cake is show below - House Tatton - baked by Matthew B in Year 13.

Well done Matthew and also to all the other bakers on their participation and success.

1st - Tatton - Matthew B 2nd - Stamford - Talhah L 3rd - Massey - Taran S 4th - Bradbury - Archie E 5th - Stamford - Hamza B 6th - Tatton - Yaseen L 7th - Bradbury - George E

Mrs E King Food & Nutrition

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys A Grammar School with Academy Status Head Master: Mr G. A. Wright MA (Hons) FRSA Marlborough Road, Bowdon, Altrincham, WA14 2RS

AGSB Mock General Election

Last week was Mock Election week. Congratulations to Belema Briggs, who in representing the Labour Party, secured victory in AGSB’s Mock Election 2019.

The full results were:

Labour Party: Belema B 325 36% Green Party: Ed D 179 19.9% Lib Dems: James B 144 16% Conservatives: Kit F 126 14% SNP: Matty C 80 8.9% Brexit Party: Taran S 46 5.1%

Many thanks to our student candidates and their assistants for all the hard work they put into preparing and delivering their campaigns. The engaging and well-informed presentations made in assemblies, hosted by James B and James M, gave students to opportunity to think meaningfully about the issues at stake. Candidates’ Question Time on Thursday lunch was packed out with a wide range of topical issues discussed and was adeptly chaired by Archie Edwards.

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to making the election a successful experience for all involved.

Mr N Croxton Head of History and Politics

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys A Grammar School with Academy Status Head Master: Mr G. A. Wright MA (Hons) FRSA Marlborough Road, Bowdon, Altrincham, WA14 2RS

Year 9 Book Club

Review by Gautham R (9CC): A classic example of ‘short but sweet,’ Of Mice and Men is a brief novel by John Steinbeck that was truly a pleasure to read. It recounts the journey of a migrant ranch worker, George Milton, who has taken into his responsibility the childlike, simple-minded Lennie Small. However, Lennie faces his own strength as an adversity and eventually can longer run from his problems with George, succumbing to his inability to control his power. All of us in book club found this book to be an excellent read, especially the various moments of genius foreshadowing we only realise upon delving further in. In the space of 90 pages, this book succeeded in bonding the character and the reader, and blowing us all away with the tragic, yet perfect ending to this wonderful story.

Poetry Live Trip to the Palace Theatre, Manchester

On Monday 2nd December, 50 lucky pupils travelled to the Palace Theatre Manchester to experience a day of live poetry performances. We heard from poet laureates old (Duffy) and new (Armitage,) and gained valuable insights for the Literature exam. The highlight of the day was hearing from living legend and crowd favourite John Agard, who performed 'Flag,' 'Half Caste' and 'Checking Out Me History' to rapturous applause.

Miss E Chapman English Department

Back to the 80’s

Last Saturday the Musical Theatre Society were in school for a full day rehearsal, working hard to perfect Act 1 of the upcoming March production of 'Back to the 80s.' Combining some complex choreography with harmonised singing and shrewd acting skills is no mean feat! Congratulations boys on a productive rehearsal day.

Miss C Clark English Department Altrincham Grammar School for Boys A Grammar School with Academy Status Head Master: Mr G. A. Wright MA (Hons) FRSA Marlborough Road, Bowdon, Altrincham, WA14 2RS

Year 9 House Public Speaking Competition

The Year 9 House Public Speaking Competition took place last week and the motion was ‘This House Believes That: Rosalind Franklin was denied a Nobel Peace prize due to her gender’. The contest was won by the proposition, consisting of Jacob R and Aiyush G (Stamford) & Talal I and Zen K (Massey). Both Jacob and Zen were stand out performers in their respective roles as Responder and Questioner. Stamford were awarded first place on the basis that Aiyush also made an excellent contribution as First Speaker. The defeated opposition team consisted of Max Mc & Hugo S-F (Bradbury) and Gautham R & Labib A (Tatton). They put in a good effort and Gautham was awarded 'Star Performer' for his impressive contribution as Opening Speaker. Many thanks to Max for filling in at the last minute.

The final rankings were:

1) Stamford, 2) Massey, 3) Tatton and 4) Bradbury.

Thanks to Mr Flanagan, Mrs Chapman, Belema B (Y12) & James B (Y12) for helping to judge the competition and to Archie E (Y12) for chairing.

Mr N Croxton Head of History & Politics

House Points

Week 13: House Points awarded:

Congratulations Bradbury!!

1. Bradbury: 339 2. Stamford: 325 3. Massey: 314 4. Tatton: 291

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys A Grammar School with Academy Status Head Master: Mr G. A. Wright MA (Hons) FRSA Marlborough Road, Bowdon, Altrincham, WA14 2RS

Fortnightly Round-up from the Head of Sport

The U13 & U16 Table teams qualified for the Regional Finals after a convincing set of results at the county stage. Both teams were unbeaten against Sale Grammar, BTH, Woodhey Academy & Droylsden School. Both teams now go on to the zone finals.

Well done to all the boys who took part!

(Left) U13 Team: Tony Y, Daniel Z, Reza F and Seb M.

(Right) U16 Team: Will G, Felix S, Nic H and Jack X.

Well done to the AGSB 1st XV for reaching the semi-finals of the Tom Burrow Cup held at Silcoates School.

Our Year 10s had a great 5-1 win recently against East Manchester Academy. Well done boys!

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys A Grammar School with Academy Status Head Master: Mr G. A. Wright MA (Hons) FRSA Marlborough Road, Bowdon, Altrincham, WA14 2RS

National Hockey Finals for Under 16 and 18 Indoor Squads:

Our U16s and U18s progressed to the indoor Hockey National Finals A great achievement! The finals take place at Whitgift School, Croydon in January 2020.

U16's: Won 3-1 v Cheadle (to be crowned North West Champions) Won 2-1 v Egglescliffe. Won 2-1 v Hall Cross North of England Champions. Man of the tournament - F Hamnett & E Hodkinson- Bentley

U18's: Won 4-2 v MGS (to be crowned North West Champions) Lost 5-4 v Won 3-2 v Egglecliffe Qualified to National Finals. Man of the Tournament - B Robinson

Monday 25thNovember: Greater Manchester Championships: U14s v Sale Grammar School: Won 3:1 U14s v Blessed Thomas Holford: Won 4:0 U14s v Droylsden Academy: Won 4:0

U16s v Sale Grammar School: Won 4:0 U16s v Blessed Thomas Holford: Won 4:0 U14s v Droylsden Academy: Won 3:1 U16s v Woodhey High School: Won 4:0

Wednesday 27thNovember: vs Wellington U14s: Lost 38:14 U16s: Won 48:15

Thursday 28thNovember: Hockey vs King’s Chester Cheshire Cup U14s: Won: 1:0 Football vs Blessed Thomas Holford: Greater Manchester Cup Year 9: Lost: 4:2

Mr S Meakin Head of PE (Sport) eSports Altrincham Grammar School for Boys A Grammar School with Academy Status Head Master: Mr G. A. Wright MA (Hons) FRSA Marlborough Road, Bowdon, Altrincham, WA14 2RS

AGSB’s eSports teams have enjoyed their fair share of success this half term in the British eSports Championships, the Rocket League team, led by Dhyem K placed second in their group, narrowly missing out on the elimination stage, while the League of Legends team, led by Euan M, reached the semi-finals where unfortunately they were pipped at the post (in an epic 45 min game that could have gone either way) by Bridgwater & Taunton College from Devon. We also have a burgeoning Super Smash Bros team that meet every Wednesday and will be entering another National competition in the Spring term. Special thanks to Tom H for his continual help to organise the Club.

Mr R Cummins

Congratulations

Well done to Noah K (Year 8) who has recently been selected to attend the England Training & Development Ice Hockey Camp in Sheffield in December which is an important part of player team selection. Good luck Noah!

Well done to Neil B (Year 12) who is going from strength to strength in , managing to achieve what was probably his best ever result at the Hungarian International recently, defeating a Senior Serbian player who is currently ranked 173 in the world!

Congratulations to Mrs Gordon, our Food & Nutrition teacher, who is now officially a Level 3 Diploma qualified Yoga teacher! It has taken months of very hard work and she is already using the results on staff and pupils! Well done.

Chad’s Challenges

Junior Chad’s Challenges has raised £382, comprising £182 from the Halloween bake sales; £140 from The Christmas Fair our float of £60. Chad’s Challenges – Sixth Form also raised a very impressive £2,200 for the recent Ladies Evening.

This will take the Chadwick Mulholland Much Loved fund for The Christie to £91072!!! Well done to everyone involved.

Mrs Williamson Sixth Form Officer

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys A Grammar School with Academy Status Head Master: Mr G. A. Wright MA (Hons) FRSA Marlborough Road, Bowdon, Altrincham, WA14 2RS

Christmas Fair

Congratulations to the AGSB PFA. The Annual Christmas Fair raised over £9,000 which is £1.500 more than last year. A fantastic achievement on behalf of the school community and a big thanks to all Parents who sent in contributions and to the PFA members and helpers who made the event the success that it was!

Many thanks

Nigel Hiett, Anna Jones and the AGSB PFA

Noticeboard for Parents

It has come to light that more and more Parents are coming into school every day to drop off items of clothing, PE equipment, ingredients for food tech and various other miscellaneous items. Please do encourage the boys to manage their daily schedule and be prepared! Thank you for your support.

School Bus We have recently received an updated bus timetable which will be in place from Monday, 9th December. Please follow the attached link for more information - Bus Timetable from December 2019

Parents don’t forget to sign up for EasyFundraising when you are doing your online Christmas shopping! You can sign up by following this link - https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/login/?reason=authenticated_isAnon&forward- url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.easyfundraising.org.uk%2Fpanel%2F) to support the AGSB PFA when you are shopping online. Easyfundraising gives money to charity from online purchases made via its website. It is completely free. They do not send spam or store any card details or payment information. Over 2700 retailers are part of the scheme, including Amazon, eBay, supermarkets such as Asda and Sainsbury’s, department stores (e.g. John Lewis and Debenhams), and many others. It can also be used for larger purchases such as insurance and travel, from trainline.com to British Airways. Altrincham Grammar School for Boys A Grammar School with Academy Status Head Master: Mr G. A. Wright MA (Hons) FRSA Marlborough Road, Bowdon, Altrincham, WA14 2RS

Whether you are doing a weekly grocery shop or booking a holiday please consider using this simple and painless fundraising tool for the AGSB PFA! School Comms

All parents should have received an email about the new messaging facility to parents. The new School Gateway App will allow you to access, via your phone, many other features such as your son's timetable, attendance, reports and snapshots, notices (eg. school closures), school calendars, ParentPay, Show my Homework and many more. Please follow the instructions below to register. You can also update your address/medical details etc. via the App.

Please could we ask Parents to register as soon as possible as we would like everyone signed up before we close for the Christmas holidays so that we can operate fully from January 2020 onwards. Full instructions on how to download the App can be found by following this link: https://schoolgateway.co.uk/

Forthcoming dates December 2019

Mon 09-12-19 – 20-12-19 Y11 Exams

Mon 16-12-19 A Level Awards Evening – 7.30pm

Sat 14-12-19 – 15-12-19 Model United Nations at MGS

Fri 20-12-19 Year 9 Reports sent home

Fri 20-12-19 School Closes for Christmas Holidays, boys dismissed from Church after Carol Service at 12 noon

Please refer to the AGSB Calendar for term dates and other useful dates which can be found here.

Don’t forget to follow the Head Master https://twitter.com/agsb_official

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, Marlborough Rd, Bowdon, Altrincham, Cheshire WA14 2RS. Telephone: 0161 928 0858. Email: [email protected]