For celebration of art and design... Newsletter turn to pages 8 and 9 Summer 2019 No. 60 Student leadership roles a family tradition for new head girls GSAL gold DofE award recipients at Buckingham Palace with Mr Scott A golden year for GSAL DofE (L-R) Conor Green, Charlotte Manley, Ailsa Gorman and Toluwanise Olusoga A record number of GSAL pupils achieved the much-coveted Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award The new head girls at GSAL, Charlotte Manley and Ailsa Gorman, have the makings of a good team… this year, with 27 current pupils and five former having joined the school together in nursery, they students earning the top accolade. know what makes each other tick. Accompanied by head of outdoor learning, Mike Scott, 21 They also have valuable insight into what the role entails current Y13 students made the trip to Buckingham Palace for as both are following in the footsteps of an older sibling; the gold award ceremony. Charlotte’s brother Will was head boy in 2011-12 and Ailsa’s The Earl of Wessex presented the certificates and remarked brother Tom was head boy in 2014-15. on how impressed he was to see so many from GSAL, a fitting Joining Charlotte and Ailsa on the student leadership tribute to the hard work that goes into achieving such a team for 2019-20 are two head boys, Conor Green and prestigious award. Toluwani Olusoga, who both joined GSAL in Y7. Current pupils receiving their awards this year are: Harris The quartet took over their roles when the current Y13 Aldridge, Edward Clark, Nathan Daniels, Leyan Edhem, Julia students started their study leave for A-levels. As well as Fierek, Emma Hope, Hollye Hudson, Gabrielle Jackson, James being important role models to students, the leadership Jackson, Emma Johnson, Beth Jordan, Rohan Karthik, Nicole team’s responsibilities include representing the school at Kelly, Omar Ladak, Abbie MacLeod, Katie Mahoney, Stephen events and facilitating good communication between staff Rawes, Emily Sambidge, Saskia Simmons, Roshan Singh-Morgan, and students. They head up a sixth form team of school Georgia Sixsmith, Robert Southby, Issie Sutton, Lucy Toogood, prefects, faith leaders, faculty leaders and house captains. Holly Tunstall, Georgia Turton and Elise Waldron-Hoines. Physics pupils in Y8 won gold for GSAL when they took part in the 13th annual Physics Olympics at St Peter’s School, York. Ruby Gratton, Alexandra Hall, Rohan Ratnalingam Stop press… and James Robertson beat teams from 27 other schools to win. @TheGSAL GSAL life Summer 2019 Malawi meals project receives vital funding from St James’s Place GSAL’s Malawi project has received a boost thanks to a charitable donation that will fund a daily meal for vulnerable children and adults in the Thyolo region. For over 30 years the school’s students and staff have been supporting Receiving the cheque from Martin Teal of St James’s Place are Orla Weaver (centre) and Barry Brindley communities in Malawi by raising funds, donating goods and giving practical help, under the leadership of retired deputy for over 100 elderly people, as well as for six years; a further few days visiting a head Barry Brindley. clothing and blankets. In addition around game park and Lake Malawi; and the final The Zikomo Trust, the charity set up 60 orphans and disadvantaged children week in the Thyolo region, including a day by Barry to support projects in Malawi, are fed at Malama daily and attend nursery. at the Malama Feeding Station and Nursery. applied to the St James’s Place Charitable This summer 44 students will visit The students will also put the Foundation , which agreed a donation of Malawi for a three-week tour, with Barry finishing touches to six newly built £2,500 specifically to support the costs of Brindley and a team of GSAL staff. classrooms in primary schools, funded by the Malama Feeding Centre and Nursery. They will be based for a week at the Zikomo Trust, by painting the Every day the centre provides a meal Kamuzu Academy, where Barry taught Malawi national curriculum on the walls. Talented mathematicians at GSAL Students have been taking part in additional maths activities to test their go further knowledge and ability to think with maths beyond the school curriculum. The GSAL team came second at Junior Maths Challenge, eight the Y10 Maths Feast 2019 Leeds students in Y7 and Y8 qualified competition, while at the Pop for the next rounds. Maths Quiz at the University of Two Y9 students, Leeds Y7 and Y8 teams came Oluwaseyitan Olusoga and Katya second and fourth respectively. Rawat, were nominated for the Meanwhile, students in Y9, Y10 Royal Institution Mathematics and Y11 achieved great success Masterclasses at the University in the UKMT Intermediate of Leeds, where they attended Maths Challenge with 19 scoring sessions for six weeks on topics highly enough to progress to ranging from knots, statistics, the follow-on Kangaroo and 3D Nets, the power of 2, chaos (L-R) Katya Rawat and Oluwaseyitan Olusoga Olympiad rounds. In the UKMT and cryptography. 2 No. 60 GSAL life Message from the Principal We live in exciting times – always! As we prepare School by Dr Graham Purves, who joins from Portsmouth Grammar School, for the move of Rose Court pupils from Headingley where he is Assistant Head (Teaching to Alwoodley in September 2020, we have made key and Learning). Dr Purves is also an Oxford graduate and holds a PhD in appointments at GSAL for the next chapter in its atomic physics from Durham University. long history. Two new Vice Principals will help to He has experience in large, city-based independent day schools like GSAL lead the project to create a single school community where he has held leadership roles from age three to 18 on one site. encompassing curricular and co- curricular briefs, and the Mrs Gabrielle Solti joins as Vice South Hampstead High School, to Leeds, implementation of digital learning for Principal and Head of Primary School, where she has strong family ties. She maximum impact in the classroom. a new position created to lead the is the daughter of Sir Georg and Lady We continue to look forward all new unified primary phase that will Valerie Solti, and her mother is an old the time – we have just completed the be formed by merging Rose Court and girl of Leeds Girls’ High School. latest, comprehensive pupil survey and Junior School. Mrs Solti graduated in It will be sad to bid farewell to the school strategic review, with a new history from the University of Oxford, Mr Neal Parker, who heads off to development plan for the coming years. and has a wealth of teaching experience Southampton after seven successful With ambitious plans for the future and in state and independent sectors, in both years at GSAL, to take up his new a new team in place, we look forward coeducational and single sex schools. position as Principal of King Edward VI to keeping you updated as we welcome She moves from London, where she Grammar School. He will be replaced Gabreille and Graham to join the is currently Head of the Junior School of as Vice Principal and Head of Senior positive and vibrant GSAL community! Dr Graham Purves is pictured with GSAL Principal, Mrs Sue Woodroofe, and Mrs Gabrielle Solti (Photo: Justin Slee) 3 GSAL life Summer 2019 Learning together Nursery pupils and and linguistic development in young children, and by spending time playing Y13 students have been with the three- and four-year olds from learning from each other. Rose Court, they could observe their natural use of language in a relaxed and Although the lesson they spent together fun environment. looked like play, there was some serious It was a great learning opportunity learning going on too. The A-level for the little ones too, who had an English language students are studying introduction to the wider world of Nursery pupil Yasser is pictured the link between cognitive development big school! with Y 13 student Vidya Premraj Queen’s Scouts from The Grammar School at Leeds, pictured during the celebration event at Windsor (photo courtesy of The Scout Association) Royal celebration for 20 Queen’s Scouts Explorer Scouts at GSAL have enjoyed a record-breaking year, with an unprecedented 20 scouts earning the Queen’s Scout Award. This is the highest award possible for GSAL’s Scout Leaders are Annette Saumit Benkalkar, Robbie Brew, Edward a member of the Scout movement, and Jones, Sandra Bavill and Alan Naylor, Clark, Thomas Coates, Phil Curran, GSAL’s award winners were among 400 who said: “Having followed our scouts’ Luke Evans, Sam Evans, Miles Falivene- Queen’s Scouts who gathered at Windsor development from Cubs through to Rook, Lucas Fallon, Paul Greathead, Castle for a national day of celebration. Explorers we are extremely impressed Christian Heath, Harry Hirst, George The event, attended by Prince Edward, by their commitment and this ultimate Hughes, Ethan MacDonald, Stephen the Duke of Kent and the Chief Scout, Bear achievement. We were proud to share Rawes, Harry Richmond, Sam Slater, Ben Grylls, included a parade by the scouts their special day at Windsor.” Whittaker and Matthew Winter, all Y13, and a service in St George’s Chapel. The successful Queen’s Scouts are: plus Adam Phillips from last year’s Y13. 4 No. 60 GSAL life How to build a teddy bear den Pupils in Y1 Y10 students Zuzu Borland (left) and Faris Khan (right) show Marty Jopson have been the laser cutter during his visit to the design technology workshop at GSAL busy building Young scientists dens for their to benefit from teddy bears.