Kirkham Grammar School Headmaster’s Letter to Parents Spring 2010 From the Headmaster determination to gain support from 11 but I sense that he would have the Education Board necessitated a approved of the continued development development of facilities, hence the of the school site. building. As a school of 50 pupils and The pupils of 1910-11 certainly a handful of staff this was a visionary did not have to endure the continual project especially as the school had barrage of examinations undertaken not enjoyed great security over the by our current students! They have, past century. It was said of Rev Walton however, continued to excel in this by his successor "the school is his public arena and the recent School lasting memorial" after the Headmaster Performance Tables indicated the high died in office in 1919. The new levels attained by our examinees. building benefited not only from the GCSE results saw near perfect pass Headmaster's enthusiasm and vision rates and very high numbers gaining but also from a grant from the Drapers' results which included the core Company of £3000 along with donations subjects of English, Mathematics and from parents and friends. The new the Sciences. building not only cemented the school's Results in Biology, Chemistry and position with the Board of Education Physics once again saw over 90% of but also led to a rapid rise in numbers pupils gaining grades at A*/A while as the school roll rose to 111 by 1917. overall the school has seen no need It is fair to say that Rev Walton's to extend the curriculum to include action not only created the beautiful subjects purely to improve statistics. building which passers-by admire but The broad curriculum continues to offer also laid the foundation for the future relevance but ensures our students are of KGS, upon which we believe we exposed to the challenge of the core are still building. The traditions of subjects, including a Modern Language, The recent snowfalls have dominated the school are still dear to us and it is and it is to their credit that they the news of late and have provided us appropriate at this time to reflect on continue to rise to the challenge with with plenty of headaches at school! the contribution of our forebears as we results that also continue to improve. The hard work of the groundsmen celebrate the achievements of the past. At A-level our students saw the and caretakers, and the generosity of This year has seen no major new strongest 'Value Added' statistic in parents in assisting with the provision developments although we were the area and gained results in line of grit saw the school close for only pleased to be able to upgrade the with the best ever achieved at school one day which was remarkable given '38 block' over the summer. A fresh - with almost two thirds of grades at the conditions. look for the Geography Department the highest levels. All four students The 'big freeze' did bring some coincides with Mr Whittle's inception as with offers from Oxbridge Colleges interesting scenes both in terms of the Head of Department while a new look attained their requirements and also variety of footwear as we relented on Religious Studies Department is now gained Distinctions in their 'AQA uniform regulations to promote safety, under the shared leadership of Miss Baccalaureate', a new venture for KGS. and also in the wonderful pictures Taylor and Mr Trenhaile. These areas About a dozen students have embarked of the school under snow. These now match other areas of the school on the qualification this year, to evoked memories of yesteryear as we in terms of facilities and provide an complement their A-levels and provide consider two important dates in the improved working environment for our an extension award demonstrating their history of the school. We celebrated pupils. Certainly removing lockers from willingness to challenge themselves the 30 year anniversary of the school's classrooms has created more space academically. independence at the school prize-giving and reduced interruptions. We are Certainly we enjoyed the celebration last year while we now sit on the brink now planning changes for this summer of these results and the overall of the centenary of the original school and looking closely at an upgrade for academic performance at our Annual building on the Ribby Road site. the Sixth Form Centre to incorporate a Prizegiving where we were joined by The current building was started 'bistro/cafeteria' type facility. Perhaps Mr Alan Roff to present the prizes. He, in 1910 under the leadership of the Rev Walton may have been surprised at even in the short time he was with us, then Headmaster Rev Walton. His this inclusion in the context of 1910- felt the sense of purpose of the pupils. This occasion is one in which we are Having reminisced about one previous able to put the academic achievements Headmaster we were saddened to hear of the school at the heart of our the news in December that William celebrations and I was delighted that Kennedy (photo right, Inspection Day so many parents felt able to join us at Guard of Honour) had died, Headmaster the Guild Hall. of KGS from 1959-74. His role as Life at KGS offers so much more Head was in running a school of 350 than solely academic work as we know boys in a state run grammar school so well and this year so far has seen and it has been written "He proved a the outstanding performance of 'Twelfth sympathetic leader, remaining a man Night' enjoyed by audiences totalling of strong character and head masterly nearly a thousand people who attended appearance for more than 12 years at the three nights. A splendid Christmas the helm. Though not all his hopes for Concert rounded off the Christmas Term expansion were fulfilled, he saw pupil splendidly, dovetailing as it did with a numbers rise from 350 to a maximum of resounding Carol Service. The choir 450 boys, and was gratified in his last excelled themselves while the sounds detract from the strength of traditional year when two pupils won scholarships created by the Concert Band, Swing sports as the girls' hockey teams to Cambridge". Kirkham Grammar Group, Orchestra and various smaller continue to excel with the Under 16's School has much to thank Mr. Kennedy groups entranced a full house in the gaining pride of place, reaching the for in steering the school through these Main Hall in the last week of term. North Finals. On the rugby field the transition years. The snow and ice have played havoc boys, competing in a very strong fixture Even more recently we had much with the sporting calendar but have list, perform admirably at all levels. better news as one of our Old Boys done much to reinforce how important This year the U12 and U13 teams have and ex-Governor received an award sport is within the pupils' school lives. had significant success while the 1st in the New Year's Honors List. Mr. The school appeared so quiet in the XV has lost only to Sedbergh, Colston's Peter Hosker chaired the Governing evenings and it will be nice to see and Newcastle RGS and all by narrow Body on two occasions - 1984-1991, the hordes of youngsters once again margins. N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 2 t o N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 4 practising their skills on the All Weather As with every New Year we had a and was deservedly awarded the OBE Surface and on the fields. number of new staff joining us. We for his distinguished services to the The news received this month that welcomed Mr Carter into the Physics community. He has worked tirelessly our Girls and Boys Cross Country Department joining us from the wilds through a variety of organisations to Teams had gained such success was of Cumbria while Mrs Cottle also joined the benefit of others but we selfishly a real highlight of the term so far. To the Science Department to cater for feel we have derived also great benefit win three of the four age groups in the the increased numbers both at A-level from his contribution to KGS and were Fylde Cross-Country Championships and in the junior area of the school. all delighted at the recognition of his was a remarkable effort and Bradley Miss Eagle amends the gender balance achievement. Yates and Ben Everson deserve special within the Technology Department and We now look forward to the second congratulations on their individual also is a welcome addition to the CCF. half of the year, hopefully with better victories in their respective age We have recently also welcomed Mrs weather! Certainly our cricketers groups. This success was replicated Williams into the Biology Department should experience this in Grenada but in the regional Biathlon Championships after a delayed arrival owing to perhaps the skiers hope for more of the while Imogen Pierce became a World maternity leave while Mrs Walter joins same in Les Deux Alpes. I hope travel Champion in the discipline. the permanent PE staff after covering will be easier for the German trip, and In the swimming pool last term we last term for Mrs Alcock who has now for the Creative Arts Group planning also saw unprecedented success. The retired from KGS after seven years their second visit to New York.