Q-Review 2019

REVIEW

2018/19 QEGSblackburn.com

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Michaelmas Term

QEGS Community Treated to an Exceptional Performance of ‘Breaking the Code’

Alan Turing is a man who today is best known for his intellectual genius and as ‘father of the modern computer’; and yet, on 21st and 22nd November, the QEGS community was treated to an exceptional performance of Hugh Whitemore’s ‘Breaking the Code’, which brought Turing’s humanity and vulnerability to memorable theatrical life.

Ben Ventress’ production promised the audience an ‘emotional and intellectual journey’ and it did not disappoint. This was an absolute tour de force from the small but exceptionally able cast.

It is rare to find a school production as thoughtprovoking and engaging as this one; Turing’s story is as resonant now as it ever has been. Will Gedling was simply astonishing in the central role; every facet of his genius, his sometimes prickly social persona and his vulnerability were conveyed to us in equal measure.

Turing’s immense monologues, chiming with deeply challenging mathematical and intellectual concepts, were delivered in a heartfelt, deeply understanding way - which is no mean feat for a student of Arts and Humanities! – to the point where we no longer felt like we were being treated to a lecture, but that we were simply basking in his boyish enthusiasm and intellectual passion. Yet it was his flaws, his essential innocence and his child-like sense of honesty and need for love which dominated Gedling’s deeply honest portrayal. Turing became a living character whom the audience wanted to protect, to encourage and nurture. The physicality of Gedling’s performance played a central role here, the stammer, the hunched shoulders, the nail-biting and

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the speed with which he slipped into ‘lecture’ mode all helping to create the illusion that we just might have been witnessing Turing himself speaking to us from beyond the grave. Knowing as we did how tragically it ended for him, the genius of the script still allowed the audience to commit to this time-hopping journey around his life, ideas, relationships and emotional life, supporting him, wishing him well, perhaps even willing for his story to have ended differently, even despite the almost upbeat way in which Whitemore’s work presents Turing’s final act of (apparent) suicide.

The play was not just Gedling’s alone, however. The fabulous supporting cast depicted the mid-twentieth century period and its challenges with such conviction as to fully immerse the audience in the atmosphere of the time. Amy Roscoe, as his mother Sara Turing, was formidable in her portrayal of a character who only belatedly even began to understand her son and who ultimately experienced her own tragedy as a bereaved mother; the scene of confession and ‘coming out’ between mother and son in Act Two was arguably the most moving of the evening, with Roscoe’s revelation of her character’s long unexpressed maternal love heartrending in its intensity.

Connor Roscoe was strong as Ron Miller, briefly Turing’s lover and ultimately the instrument of his downfall, lending the role a working-class bravado and nonchalance and portraying him as Turing’s opportunistic opposite in some ways. Their doomed and very short-lived ‘affair’ poignantly reminded the audience of how far short of his ideals Turing’s search for love so often fell. Roscoe ably conveyed Miller’s murky links to petty crime and his essential cowardice in the face of the law - which nevertheless granted him ‘conditional discharge’- highlighting the vulnerable Turing’s flawed sense of judgement whilst also

foregrounding his moral courage and passionate sense of honesty.

Seb Roberts was excellent as Turing’s childhood love, Christopher Morcomb, the reference point and essential memory for all his subsequent adult life, conveying a genuine and sympathetic connection with him, both in his scene early in Act One and in the mimed sequences representing Turing’s inner life and memories which preceded both acts. He also ably doubled-up as the Greek youth Nikos, one of the last of Turing’s unsatisfactory amorous encounters, who almost becomes a re-incarnation of Christopher in their scene together towards the end of the play. Roberts impressively delivered all of Nikos’ lines in word perfect Greek, giving his portrayal of this effusive Mediterranean youth an element of welcome gentle comedy, even as the play progressed to its inevitable, tragic conclusion.

Conveying her own less overt tragedy with considerable skill was Eleanor Connell as cryptanalyst Pat Green, a woman who could be celebrated for being equally intelligent as Turing and yet, following Bletchley and the War, was simply regarded as a housewife. This was a subtle, but significant twist as the audience was encouraged to consider society’s lack of recognition for the female intellect, whilst being acutely aware of the injustices inflicted on Turing himself. Connell perfectly conveyed the character’s intellectual enthusiasm, leaving us in no doubt that her first scene with Turing was absolutely a meeting of minds. Their scene together in Mrs Turing’s garden, was a model of beautifully judged dramatic timing, drawing out all the pathos of Pat’s gently rebuffed declaration of love without a hint of sentimentality.

The patrician, yet engaging Dilwyn Knox of Owen Davitt, completed the Bletchley circle, in an authoritative

and entirely convincing portrayal which nevertheless communicated warmth and bluff public school charm, as well as a stoic pathos when facing his own mortality, even while simultaneously voicing society’s conventional judgement on Turing’s sexuality.

Representing the ignorance and bigotry of 1950s Britain, as the intractable Detective Sergeant Mick Ross, was Rhys Millington, whose skill in conveying an air of casual menace with the authority of the law behind him went far beyond the actor’s years. The finely nuanced delivery of his scenes of increasingly menacing interrogation of Turing made him the dominant force in Act One, while his non-committal lack of true empathy in the wake of Turing’s end in Act Two simply added to the audience’s distaste for this instrument of historic social oppression.

Equally convincing was Kyle Robinson’s portrayal of Ross’ superior John Smith, capturing as he did the falsely reassuring air of a figure who we were left in no doubt was still the mouthpiece of the ‘official’ judgement on Turing’s sexuality in the wake of his prosecution, and the supposed security threat it posed.

This was an intimate, in-the-round production, performed on a small temporary stage in the middle of the Main Hall. The fixed set consisted of just a few basic items of scenery, allowing for seamless changes in sound and lighting and for the focus to be on the characters’ interactions with one another across nearly a quarter of a century of Turing’s life. The incidental music, from Ivor Novello’s ‘We’ll gather lilacs’, which formed something of a motif for Turing’s memories of Christopher in Act One, to the use in Act Two of various works by Tchaikovsky, the Russian composer whose life and end oddly paralleled Turing’s in many ways, all served to clarify the emotional temperature of each scene and to provide a further window into Turing’s inner life. This was especially the

case with the mimed sequences which preceded each act, beginning with an idealised representation of Turing’s and Christopher’s adolescent friendship – perhaps closer to what might have been than to actual reality – and accompanied by ‘We’ll gather lilacs’; and followed (before Act Two) with Turing dreaming of being rescued by his Prince (Ron the false one, swiftly replaced by Christopher as the true one) and accompanied by Al Martino’s ‘Here in my Heart’, (incidentally the first ever British Number One in 1951). Gedling, Roberts and Roscoe enacted these additional tableaux with impressive commitment and seriousness, hugely adding to the audience’s appreciation of the poignancy of Turing’s story.

The expertly executed lighting changes from Miss Walmsley and her assistants, along with the similarly smooth scenery changes from Miss Bowker and hers were essential elements in helping to create a seamless dramatic flow to the whole evening.

This should be commended as one of the finest productions of recent years at QEGS and a real showcase of what phenomenal dramatic talent we have here and a measure of just what amazing things our young people can achieve, given the opportunity. All who were privileged enough to witness their work here agreed that they delivered a standard of performance which could easily grace the professional theatre.

A bold statement, then, delivered with utter professionalism and a deep respect and reverence for the work and its subject matter, this was more than just the story of an intellectual; it was the compelling story of a man striving to be true to himself.

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First Practices of the Season Lammack was a hive of activity on the first Saturday of Michaelmas Term as the QEGS Netball and Football Team trials took place.

The drizzle didn’t dampen spirits out on the football pitches, as Year 7 took on Year 8 and Year 9 took on Year 10. In the Sports Hall, there were lots of smiling faces from the netball girls as they had their first practices of the season.

Well done everyone!

Fun, Laughter and Lots of Poetry

The library was thrilled to welcome back to QEGS performance poet and author, Paul Jenkins, who took us through a day packed with fun, laughter ...oh, and yes, lots of poetry.

The day began with the whole of Year 8 taking part in a poetry workshop. The theme for this year was ‘Change’. Paul made every effort to focus on ‘Change’, by using the novels Dracula and Frankenstein. The aim of the workshop was to embed pupils’ current topics being taught into the session, and with Paul’s enthusiasm he did just that.

Following on from the first workshop, Year 13 students studying English Language and Literature also were given the opportunity to work with Paul, with in-depth conversations about the play, Othello.

After a short break it was then time for all of our Year 7 to have a taste of the poetry fun there was much laughter during their lively session. Paul made time to promote his books, and of course, reading in general.

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Paul also highlighted the recently launched Great School Libraries campaign. He was eager to push and promote Libraries Week, which will be another busy week in the Library world.

As though the morning wasn’t busy enough, during lunchtime a Poetry Picnic was held, with 45 pupils taking part from Years 7 and 8. Pupils enjoyed sharing their poetry with Paul, and in return, Paul shared his work too.

Paul was thanked for an absolutely wonderful day and was presented with a small gift.

Signed copies of Paul’s book, Poems form Villagetown Vol. 2 are now on sale in the School Library.

More details about National Poetry Day, and all of our other Library events, can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/QegsLibraryBlackburn/

Science in London During Michaelmas term, 25 Year 10 Scientists along with Mr Bendell, Mrs Wild and Mr Peat visited London.

The group travelled down by early morning train to Euston, then took a tube to the city centre where they walked along the Thames, seeing the sights of Parliament and Buckingham Palace.

In the afternoon the pupils visited the Science Museum, enjoying hands-on activities in the Museum’s ‘WonderLab’, followed by a tour around the Natural History Museum.

It was a long day and, for some, their first visit to London. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Prize Giving 2018 In front of an audience consisting of pupils, students, parents, grandparents, governors and staff across Senior School with special guest Greg Hughes and Lady Mayor in attendance, QEGS celebrated the events and achievements of the past academic year at the annual Prize Giving ceremony held in King George’s Hall.

Chair of Governors, Mr David Peat addressed the audience followed by Year 7 and the QEGS choir, with solos performed by Year 7 pupils, Condoleeza, Ayesha and Jayden, who entertained the audience with their rendition of ‘As Long As I Have Music’ by Don Besig. The Head, Mrs Gammon, took to the stage to deliver her report of the year, detailing the amount of money that has been invested into the many areas of school, and not forgetting QEGS’ outstanding GCSE and A level results.

Academic awards and trophies were presented to pupils in between listening to the plethora of achievements of pupils and students in academic, sporting, cultural and a multiplicity of extracurricular activities over the previous year, of which QEGS is extremely proud.

This year, the guest speaker was OB, presenter and radio broadcaster Greg Hughes. In his address to the audience he regaled his time at QEGS, remembering his form names and even giving snippets from his school report. Greg always persisted to do his best, taking all the opportunities that QEGS brought his way.

The ceremony concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Mathew Fenton, Head Boy and Sara Hussain, Head Girl and the traditional singing of the National Anthem.

Well done to all the musicians who performed on this day; a tremendous effort from all involved!

Great start for Golfers Well done to the QEGS Golf Team, who competed at Pleasington Golf Club in their first competition of the season.

They came runners up in the Forty Club competition, narrowly losing 1st place to Bolton School.

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Act of Remembrance – Sam Marlor Mr Lockwood led an intimate service at St Marys Church, Mellor with a small group of pupils, students and staff.

They paid their respects and remembered Old Blackburnian Sam Marlor who, after his education at QEGS, served in the Royal Fusiliers.

Question Time

Magical Malham

Four of our Year 9 pupils went to Witton Park Academy to take part in a Prevent event.

At the beginning of Michaelmas term, Year 9 pupils enjoyed a wonderful day developing cross curricular skills in humanities on a trip to Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales.

QEGS pupils joined with pupils from all over Blackburn with Darwen to prepare for a Question Time to be held at Blackburn Council Chambers. There was lots of lively discussion and ideas, designed to make the next event a successful one.

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Pupils visited the magical Janet’s Foss and walked across the famous limestone pavement featured in a Harry Potter film. Pupils developed essential skills on interpreting the landscape around them and the impacts it can have; these are skills which will help to support them in their GCSE examinations.

National Non-Fiction November National Non-Fiction November was an extra special month here at QEGS. Together with the Library’s weekly Book Club, eight handpicked young scientists from Years 7 and 8 soon became involved in the book prize, becoming expert judges by reading and reviewing the six shortlisted titles: Curiosity, Dinosaur Atlas, Science Academy, Women In Science, Optical Illusion and Exploring Space.

Ideas flourished with one member of the group Samantha McDermott from Year 7, suggesting that we created a classroom within Google Classroom for the book prize, allowing pupils to submit their reviews, which resulted in a discussion page being created.

It was overwhelming to see so much activity in the online classroom throughout the award (even during the half-term holidays). Scores soon started to feature on the page, with lots of discussions about each individual book. There was no need to ensure pupils stayed on task, or even meet their deadlines, as they were thoroughly engaged in the science book award.

Dr Saunders also had a brilliant idea – Logic Alley (an initiative from a recent staff INSET, shared with us by trainer Jane Simister). Lots of fun and lively persuasion took place as pupils battled out the books, helping them to choose a final winner.

Soon it was time to cast our own personal votes, which were emailed off to the Royal Society. An exciting time lay ahead as our group eagerly awaited their invitation to view the live-streaming of the final ceremony. Tensions were high as authors of the books were introduced with the final winner being announced – Optical Illusion!

Both Mrs Dewhurst and Dr Saunders would like to say a huge thank you to all of our young judges, who went above and beyond the requirements of a book club member. We very much hope we have the opportunity to take part in this prestigious book prize next year, with returning young scientists and new young scientists joining us.

Well done to our young scientists: Hana Hanif 7EJG, Samantha McDermott 7EJG, Fatima Adnan 8BPV, Muhammad Ali 8BPV, Abdullah Amaan 8BPV, Christopher Chen 8BPV, Bilal Chishti 8SNR, Mohammed Patel 8SNR and Adam Sidat 8JLN. All pupils involved have each received a personalised certificate.

Furthermore, and still celebrating National Non-Fiction Month, more than two hundred and fifty extra non-fiction books were borrowed this month. This was all down to the promotion surrounding the month and of course other key events which also took place; Remembrance Display with a wealth of history books and even some war memorabilia for all to see. Thank you to Miss Ash for her group bookings, short talks and research tasks in the Library.

To see more about our Library events and happenings, please visit the Library FB page

A display put together by the judges can be found in the Science Department and the actual shortlisted titles will remain as Library stock. Thank you to The Royal Society for their generous book donations.

Proactive Presentations The Careers Department was delighted to welcome the BAE Roadshow team into school where they gave an outstanding presentation to Year 7.

In collaboration with the RAF and Royal Navy the hosts spent an hour demonstrating computer intelligence, robotics, aircraft carrier loading and fan based propulsion.

The theme this year was the use of mathematics in engineering, which gave the pupils a taste of the high tech engineering opportunities available to inspire them to consider an engineering career.

It was a very hands-on and proactive presentation, which gave the pupils a great deal to think about.

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They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old QEGS held two very thought provoking and humbling Acts of Remembrance for Remembrance Day with Years 7-10 in the Main Hall and Years 11-13 in Big School.

At 11:00 a bell sounded and all pupils and students were asked to stand. The Head (Mr Park for Years 11-13) then read the well-known words, “They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them”.

This was immediately followed by a two-minute silence which was beautifully observed.

After the end of the service, all pupils and students, in complete silence and wearing their poppies, respectfully filed past the War Memorials in Big School.

Miss Junior Teen Great Britain 2018

Afternoon Tea Fundraiser was a Huge Success

Eddison was crowned Miss Junior Teen Great Britain 2018 during Michaelmas Term and also received ‘Best Interview’.

Thank you to everyone who attended our Afternoon Tea during Michaelmas term.

We are pleased to announce that the event raised £1,198.85, in just two hours!

She has raised over £1000 for various charities including Derian House Children’s Hospice. Eddison now intends to advocate for Children’s Mental Health charities and will use her title as a platform to push this topic.

The students would like to thank everyone who supported a lovely afternoon of cakes, tea and conversation. The atmosphere was great in the wonderful surroundings of Big School as Will Gedling entertained everyone with his guitar. Thank you to everyone who donated cakes and raffle prizes; every penny raised will go to the Good Samaritan Primary School for orphaned children when 20 of our students visit in July. Like their predecessors from QEGS, they are all working on their own fund raising projects to support the school and the children in Kampala, Uganda. Mr Buckingham is extremely pleased with the group’s fundraising efforts so far and is fully expecting the class of 2019 to be the equal of the fabulous groups of young people from our school that have visited in previous years.

Well done to all of our students who worked extremely hard in making this event an amazing success!

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Aspiring Young Artists Year 5 have recently enjoyed an inspiring day at The Lowry, Salford Quays.

They have been studying Lowry’s work in Art and writing biographies in English, so it was an amazing experience for them to see some of his famous art for real.

During the visit the pupils split into two groups for workshops, one concentrating on industrial landscapes and one on Lowry’s lesser known portrait work. Each group produced a version of a famous work, guided step-by-step by an artist who was leading the session.

After lunch, there was a chance to tour the gallery to see the range of Lowry’s work before settling down to sketch another one of his famous drawings. One group decided to attempt the complex painting called ‘Going to the match’, reputedly worth £1.9 million!

All the children exceeded their expectations in drawing, even those who say ‘I can’t draw’, which made the trip very worthwhile.

Year 10 BTEC and Vocational Courses Assembly The Careers Department welcomed Chloe Williams from Blackburn College to give the whole of the Year 10 cohort an extended assembly on BTECs and vocational courses in which they might be interested Post 16.

They obtained a great deal of information from the interactive presentation and short film, and also had the chance to ask questions at the end.

This was an excellent opportunity and the pupils certainly were given something to think about as they start to research their post-16 options.

Widening Participation at Edge Hill University Mr Taylor, Head of Careers, and Miss Wildman accompanied a group of Year 11 and Year 12 pupils and students to Edge Hill for the day, as part of their Widening Participation programme.

Pupils and students took part in a very informative morning workshop delivered

by Anna Wooley and her colleagues from Student Services about the support services available at the university. Two current Edge Hill students then gave an excellent and informative tour of the campus before lunch in the Lakeside Café.

After lunch pupils and students took part in a skills-based workshop designed to encourage them to think about their strengths and to work together in teams to create a brand new society for the Edge Hill University Students’ Union. They all came away from the visit having gained excellent information about university life, enabling them to think more clearly about their own possible options and career pathways.

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Christmas Wishes displayed in Blackburn Mall In the lead up to Christmas, our Year 2 pupils began learning about the Three Wise Men and the purpose of giving and receiving gifts.

To celebrate the splendour of Christmas and the New Year, pupils wrote special messages to the community of Blackburn, thanking them for their hard work and sending them special wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

Their messages were displayed on a Christmas Tree at Blackburn Mall during the festive season.

National Libraries Week

The celebration of National Libraries Week has pleasingly grown, from a day to a week! This means Libraries everywhere now have the opportunity to do so much more, through events, promoting the love of reading and continuing to share their resources.

Here at QEGS the week was packed with lots of highlights and happenings, including the link with our Primary Phase and the book illustrator (Sarah McIntyre) colouring competition.

A display of all the wonderful entries was put on show in the Senior Library.

The week also included the sale of Paul Jenkins poetry books, our visiting author for National Poetry Day. Signed copies of his books were a huge hit - with everyone looking for something new and humorous to read. A display of gothic books soon took shape with Year 8 Pupil Librarians eager to please, in-keeping with topics being taught in English this term.

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Music also played a part of our celebrations, when our staff choir sang in the Library Annexe, which was music to the ears of those pupils in our Homework Club. The focus for National Libraries Week this year was wellbeing, and, as we all know, singing promotes health, breathing, circulation and digestion!

The highlight of National Libraries Week had to be the launch of the Science Book Award - Royal Society of Young People’s Book Award for 2018, a collaborative work between the Library and our Science Department. As the award unfolded, our judges set off to do some amazing work; reading, reviewing and voting. Thank you to Dr Saunders for her contributions, pupil nominations and help in getting this award off to an excellent start.

Christingle Service The EYFS, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 pupils came together for a Christingle Service.

The pupils all made their own Christingle and were able to explain why a Christingle is made and that each element of a Christingle has a special meaning.

The orange represents the world, the red ribbon symbolises the love and blood of Christ, the sweets and dried fruit represent all of God’s creations and the lit candle represents Jesus’s light in the world, bringing hope to people living in darkness.

The pupils’ parents and carers were also invited to the service and enjoyed a hot drink and a delicious mince pie slice!

Prayers were read and Year 2 ended the service by singing ‘Away in a Manger’.

Get Exam Fit

The Heart of the Community Jacob, who is a keen volunteer for a charity called ‘Heartbeat’ spent a Saturday afternoon at Bamber Bridge Football Club recently to help raise money for the charity. He began volunteering with his family for Heartbeat after his grandad suffered a severe heart attack.

Charlotte Hartley, who is a Team GB Hockey player, visited 23 Year 11 pupils for the second time this year to talk to them about getting exam fit for their upcoming external examinations.

The organiser commented, “The conversation with the football supporters at the match who donated money into the collection boxes was excellent, the dedication and commitment was a shining example of what our young children do nowadays.”

During her 2 hour visit she worked with the pupils in a classroom, where some great discussions were heard. Teamwork skills were put to the test in the gymnasium in which everyone participated successfully.

Being a young volunteer gives pupils an opportunity to get involved in their local community, meeting new people, learning new skills and most of all gaining valuable employability experience. It is a great opportunity to try something different, well done Jacob!

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Eureka!

Fifty-five extremely excited Year 1 pupils set off on their first trip of the year to Eureka!, the National Children’s museum. The pupils were keen to discover the ‘All About Me’ gallery and explore the museum.

When they arrived at Eureka pupils were greeted by a robot who introduced them to the ‘All About Me’ gallery. They learnt about how their bodies work through some very practical activities such as stretching and jumping. Following this, they studied what happens in a dentist’s office and how the body changes when babies are born. The pupils were very excited to dress up in a variety of different uniforms to act out the many different professions.

They then split into groups and began to explore the rest of the museum. Miss Airey’s class headed straight for the sound gallery where they found a huge array of different instruments and technology. Meanwhile, Mrs Crane’s class ventured to the Halifax Building Society where they withdrew money and also wrote some cheques.

There was so much more to see, a Post Office, garage, house, building site and even a red telephone box!

Both classes had a fabulous time and it is safe to say that our Year 1 pupils are turning into some outstanding young scientists!

Entrepreneurs in the Making

Year 11 Reflect and Prepare

Mr Taylor (Head of Careers) and Ms Walmsley (Head of Business Studies and Economics) took a group of 20 Year 12 Business and Economics A level students to a Careers and Entrepreneurship event at Blackburn College as part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Year 11 recently took part in unique new workshops that challenged them to consider how they might respond to a significant terrorist attack if they were the leadership of their country.

The students heard a number of talks from local entrepreneurs about their business; how they set the business up, the obstacles that they have had to overcome and what they think it takes young people to become a successful entrepreneur.

Students had the opportunity to speak directly to the entrepreneurs at the end of the event. Maybe in the future, this will inspire one of then to be the next Alan Sugar or Deborah Meaden!

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The workshop built key critical thinking skills, encouraged a greater understanding of world events, fostered team working skills, public speaking confidence and helped to promote fundamental British Values.

Pupils took their turns to present plans for dealing with a terrorist threat given their country’s capabilities, being challenged on their reasoning and facilitating the opportunity to support difficult choices.

Our pupils engaged enthusiastically and we can look forward to seeing some of them progress into successful political careers in the future.

ASK!

Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge for Schools and Colleges programme (ASK) is funded by the National Apprenticeship Service. The programme is designed to give schools support to develop and transform how pupils and students think about apprenticeships.

The Careers department was delighted to welcome Fran and Helena from Lancashire Forum to give an extended assembly to Year 10 on post-16 and post-18 apprenticeship options from local and national companies. The pupils had access to a great deal of up to date information and were able to discuss Helena’s own finance and accountancy apprenticeship experience as she is an Apprenticeship Ambassador.

A group of 35 pupils were able to have an extended Q&A session after the main assembly with Fran and Helena to ask more in-depth questions about possible routes into level 1 and level 2 apprenticeships.

Budding Year 6’s Year 6 went on a trip to the Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre in Ulverston during Michaelmas Term.

The aim of the trip was to learn more about Buddhism from people who follow the religion themselves, and to further their knowledge of the topic as part of their current Religious Education work.

The pupils asked many varied, thought-provoking questions throughout the day, learning about the practice of Buddhism.

They had an amazing time, talking to a group of nuns to find out more about their lives, living as a nun, and even learnt how to meditate!

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Kings of the Ring The May brothers are now looking forward to competing next year at the British Boxing Championships following their Gold and Silver medal haul.

It was then the turn of Nathan to have his first bout of the weekend, where he eased to victory after beating an Algerian boy on points. Nathan was able to fend off a tough Albanian opponent, winning with a unanimous decision with all judges in favor of a win.

After a long hard fought weekend boxing, Rory came home with a Silver medal and Nathan with a Gold!

Rory fought his way to the quarter finals and progressed through to the semifinals with a unanimous decision.

However, in the final, Rory didn’t get the result he wanted against a local boy from Sweden, with two judges choosing him but the remaining three judges opting for the Swede.

It is a great achievement for the brothers to arrive home with a Gold and Silver medal from the biggest Boxing Cup competition in Europe. Well done!

Game On Year 7 have recently taken part in ‘Game On’ workshops, exploring how extreme ideologies, their views, opinions and their organisational tactics can impact on young people without them even leaving their bedrooms.

The pupils were led through a programme of work that used theatre techniques, presentations and discussion to enable them to develop an understanding that will provide them with an awareness to challenge racism, extreme views and beliefs that could destroy the cohesive community in their schools and surrounding areas.

The workshop helped the pupils to recognise and critically challenge extreme narratives and their ideologies together with exploring the pressures of social media, fake news and online gaming.

Everyone engaged very well in the activity days and the visiting presenters were extremely complimentary about our pupil’s knowledge and ability to discuss these sensitive topics.

Food for Thought The pupils in Years 3 and 4 proudly presented their Harvest Assembly to pupils in Years 2, 5 and 6, teachers, special guest Ms Wharmby and most importantly their parents.

The choir began the assembly by singing ‘Food for Everyone’, followed by class 3EP, who explained why we celebrate Harvest. Year 3 sang ‘Harvest Samba’ and 3KP presented their harvest rainbow. 4ZE explained the meaning of harvest, 4IJ performed ‘Pick it Clean’ and the whole of Year 4 sang ‘H.A.R.V.E.S.T’.

The assembly was closed by a trio of Year 6 girls singing ‘Harvest of Love’ It was a pleasure to listen to guest speaker Barbara Foster from the Blackburn and Darwen Food Bank, she explained where all the food that had been collected would be donated to.

Thank you to all pupils in the Primary Phase, parents and staff who contributed to yet another successful Harvest Celebration!

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Roald Dahl Day 2018 An absolutely splendiferous lunchtime event took place in the school library to celebrate and raise awareness of Roald Dahl Day. With the theme for this year being the book Matilda, the library decided to show the movie while pupils took part in the planned activities.

The start of the event saw an introduction to the day, with time to share some history behind the great writer and his work. The event gave pupils in Years 7 and 8 the opportunity to take part in 3 different activities: the Make and Do competition, the Which Dahl Hero Are You activity and the Invent Your Own Marvellous Medicine Door Hanger. There was so much choice with some magical entries too, including some phizz-whizzing art work.

Year 9 pupil, Jimmi, has raised £510 for ‘Breast Cancer Now’ Charity.

Jimmi wanted to do something for charity after his mum was diagnosed with breast cancer.

He asked family and friends through social media, instead of giving presents for his birthday, to donate money to the breast cancer charity. His initial target was to reach £150 but, in just two weeks through the power of social media, managed to raise £510.

Nicole goes for Gold Nicole Saunders has had an extremely busy couple of months competing at various events across the Country.

At an English Schools athletics competition, she represented Lancashire being placed 12th out of 18 in the U15 discus. The previous week she represented Lancashire at the Inter-Counties and finished in 4th place. At the England Championships, Nicole was placed in 8th position in the U15 age group and while competing at a Mid-Lancs medal meeting, Nicole won two gold medals in the hammer and discus events.

Fencing took Nicole to Cardiff to compete in the Youth 5 Nations, where her sabre skills earned her a Bronze medal, and a Silver medal in the Team England Event. At the U17 Cadet National Championships and despite her lack of training for this event, Nicole managed to finish in 5th position.

Nicole has also found further success this term in competing with a sabre when she was selected to fence in the sabre category for GBR U17 cadets in an international competition. She is currently ranked 11th in the U17 female sabre and if her success in these events continues, Nicole could qualify to be invited to fence in the final international event of the season which would see her travelling to France. Well done and good luck Nicole!

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Young Player of the Year 2018 Qasim Shah has been awarded the Young Player of the Year 2018 after completing an amazing year playing for the First Team at Burnley Cricket Club.

In addition, he was also awarded a framed picture by the team that shared the celebration of Qasim in the T20 final between Burnley and Clitheroe, which proved to be the crucial wicket for Burnley’s victory.

Well done Qasim.

Bea Joins the Elite Leeds Rhinos Netball Squad Congratulations to QEGS Year 11 pupil Bea Clarke who has been chosen from 120 girls to join the Leeds Rhinos U17 Elite netball squad. This is a fantastic achievement, well done Bea!

Spectroscopy in a Suitcase The Chemistry department were delighted to welcome staff and PhD students from Lancaster University into school for the day to deliver workshops to our Sixth Form Chemistry students. The workshops had a strong emphasis on encouraging our pupils to consider studying Chemistry at university and also highlighted the career opportunities available with chemistry qualifications.

The experience aptly titled Spectroscopy in a Suitcase gave our students the chance to learn about spectroscopy through hands-on experience in making the drug, paracetamol. As well as covering the principles of spectroscopic techniques, the activities used real-life contexts to demonstrate the applications of the techniques.

It was an excellent day and the students thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

Sleeping Beauty On Monday, 17th December 2018, EYFS and KS1 enjoyed a Christmas treat when they went to watch the pantomime ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ they were all very excited!

The pupils enjoyed the silly jokes, characters costumes and amazing dancing. At first glance of the dragon, the pupils were a little startled, but the prince and the fairies soon defeated him and were able to save Sleeping Beauty from her deep sleep.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the fantastic performance and can’t wait to see next year’s show!

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Head of Primary Award Ali-Hassan 3KP, was the first pupil of the Term to be given the Head of Primary award. Ali-Hassan achieved this award for showing kindness towards another pupil, he always demonstrates a willingness to help and support others, as well as encouraging independence. Well done!

Rosie Reaches the Semi-finals of ‘Miss Teen Great Britain’ Rosie Ahmed has reached the semi-final stage of the ‘Miss Teen Great Britain’ competition and will now go on to attend three further events. She will find out next year if she has been successful in reaching the Grand Final, which will take place in December 2019.

This is not only a beauty contest, as Rosie had to progress through an interview stage which counts for 50% of the total score. Rosie commented, “It is a pleasure to be able to take part in such an amazing competition, I am honoured to be a part of Miss Teen Great Britain and to have got this far. It truly is a privilege.” Good luck Rosie in the next stages of the competition.

The Perfect Pantomime Adventure Well done to Year 12 Student Bethany Spence, who during Decemeber took an internship at Blackburn Empire Theatre.

Bethany gained valuable work experience while helping to teach dance schools the choreography for Peter Pan.

Science gets Competitive During half term Mrs Ainsworth set her science pupils in Year 8 a homework competition to produce a 3D pH scale to demonstrate their understanding of the topic.

The standards of entry were very high; the pupils were assessed on their creativity, effort and content, Congratulations to Yusra Ahmed and Kate Cookson, who were both awarded joint first place.

Year 11 Meet the Employers at Blackburn Cathedral The Careers Department and the Year11 tutor team took the whole of Year 11 to the annual Careers event held in Blackburn Cathedral.

Students were able to spend the morning talking to many local employers, universities and groups offering apprenticeships.

They also had the opportunity to attend a number of employment specific seminars. This was an excellent event, which allowed students to collect a great deal of information about possible career routes.

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999 - Fire Safety It was a pleasure to have the firefighters join Year 2 during Michaelmas term. The pupils listened carefully to a video about what to do if there was a fire in their house, they then worked together as a year group to complete a fire plan quiz.

Year 2 were very happy when they were told that they were the first class to get 5 out of 5 in the quiz this year!

The fire fighters then showed the group all the protective clothing that they have to wear to keep them safe while tackling a fire and the hose they use to put the fires out. It was all very interesting!

Some pupils were also lucky enough to dress up as a fire fighter, whilst the others acted out what they would do if there was a fire in their house.

A Walk in the Park

We’re off the see the Wizard… the Wonderful Wizard of OZ

Our EYFS children took a short stroll to Corporation Park. They went to observe the changes in their local environment, looking out for signs of autumn, and collected leaves, twigs and conkers. The children also enjoyed playing in the playground!

As part of our Christmas celebrations, pupils from KS2 travelled to the University of Bolton Stadium to watch the Wizard of Oz performed live.

Back at school the children scrutinised their findings and discussed the changes they saw.

They also made a hedgehog collage using the leaves that they had collected from their walk.

They are very much looking forward to visiting the park again very soon to observe more seasonal changes.

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All of the pupils thoroughly enjoyed the production and were enthralled by the fantastic acting, wonderful music and superb special effects. There was even an extra special performance by Toto, Dorothy’s dog, who captivated the children’s attention.

QEGS Swim from Strength to Strength QEGS swimmers have amassed a staggering 30 qualifying County Championship times between them, to compete at the Lancashire County Championships early next year.

Amy Ainsworth, Anastasia Hartshorn-Evans and Daniel Ainsworth, all swimmers from Blackburn Centurions Swimming Club and Baylie Seery from Pioneer 79, have all trained extremely long hours in the pool. Their hard work this year has paid off, as Anastasia has qualified for 2 events, Daniel for 7, Amy for 8 and Baylie for 13 events.

With Lancashire having the toughest times to reach in order qualify for County Championships in the country, the pupils have swum extremely well to meet these required times. The competition will be held over two weekends in Manchester and Liverpool.

Also, QEGS’ team swimmer and water polo player Jacob Gibson, has been invited to train in the Under 18 boys NW Academy. Still only being 15, Jacob is hoping for team selection to compete in the Under 18’s InterRegional Championships. We wish all of our swimmers the very best of luck.

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Charlotte Hartley gets Year 11 Exam Fit Youth Sports Trust Mentor and Team GB Hockey Player Charlotte Hartley joined some pupils from Year 11 for the third time this year to help prepare them for their forthcoming GCSE Exams. Charlotte’s visit was aimed at inspiring our pupils through a project called ‘Get Exam Fit’.

Get Exam Fit aims to create a behaviour change in young people. It utilises the athletes’ experience of managing high pressured situations and developing strategies to alleviate the stress and anxiety associated with exams, to target this pressure and ensure that the pupils are well equipped to deal with these stresses.

Our Year 11’s have thoroughly enjoyed and fully participated in the initiative and are looking forward to welcoming Charlotte back for their final mentoring session in the New Year.

Outward Bounds at Ullswater The Careers Department secured two places on a week long Serious Adventure Outward Bounds Course at Ullswater in the Lake District. They joined a group of pupils and students from other Lancashire Schools for an amazing experience.

Raheem, one of the attendees, writes; ‘Being able to participate in the Outward Bound course had a positive impact on my life as I overcame an obstacle of fear

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allowing myself to complete the various challenges. The course consisted of 5 main activities, swimming, abseiling, rowing, canoeing, and a 3-day expedition. My favourite activity was the expedition as it helped me to grasp the feeling of what the Duke of Edinburgh silver expedition would feel like, along with helping me appreciate the little things in life that most of the time would take for granted.

Furthermore, it helped me get my mind-set straight again after all the stress of GCSEs and helped me to focus on many things that the future holds. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to attend the course because it let me experience the beautiful scenery that is mainly hidden by

cars and busy cities as well as making new friends from all different backgrounds, I enjoyed activities which I have always wanted to partake in. Overall, I would urge anyone who may be anxious to join the Outward Bound course to sign up immediately, it is the best way to unwind after your exams and to have the most adventurous summer yet.’

We thank Stuart Sykes and Rebecca Minto of the Outward Bounds Trust and we hope that this will become a regular opportunity for QEGS pupils and students to be part of in the years to come.

Spanish Students Study at HOME Year 13 Spanish students visited HOME Arts Centre in Manchester to participate in a film workshop to help them deepen their knowledge about the Spanish film “Volver” directed by the world renowned Pedro Almodóvar.

All the workshops and discussions were conducted in Spanish for the entire day, providing a real immersion experience which the students found invaluable as this will form part of their final examination.

Languages Maths Enrichment Day Inspiration

The whole of Year 11 had the opportunity to hear Old Blackburnian Ian Brown, talk about his personal experiences with regards to the value of languages within the world of business.

QEGS was also fortunate to host two visiting speakers from the University of Lancaster who explained the various routes available to facilitate the development of language skills.

Additionally, pupils participated in workshops of languages which were completely new to them - Catalan with Mr Wéber, Italian with Ms Mariner and Japanese with Mr Cordwell.

This proved to be an eye-opening experience, which was very much enjoyed by the pupils.

This term pupils and students from Years 11-13 attended a Maths Inspiration Event at the Manchester RNCM Concert Hall. This was an ideal opportunity for the pupils and students to see how the mathematics they study at school links to the exciting applications in the real world.

The speakers this year were Jennifer Rogers, David Acheson and Ben Sparks, with Matt Parker compering. The pupils and students enjoyed hearing about how statistics can be used to keep budget airlines such as Ryan Air in check and were invited to get involved with music and mathematical challenges to do with sound vibrations and spirals.

David Acheson demonstrated how Maths is present all around the house and even proved that calculus can be seen in action at Christmas when building a snowman!

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National Skills Show Mr Taylor and Miss Purvis accompanied a group of Year 11 pupils interested in Apprenticeships to the National Skills show at the NEC, Birmingham.

Whilst it was a considerable minibus drive there and back, it was an excellent event with a huge number of exhibitors covering an extremely wide range of careers.

The pupils had the opportunity to talk to the representatives and to try out many of the activities on offer, from mechanics to floral arranging, and even having a go at bricklaying!

The day was an extremely informative and worthwhile experience, from which the group will have gained a significant amount of knowledge.

National Apprenticeship Show A group of Year 11 students who have shown an interest in starting an apprenticeship post-GCSE attended the National Apprenticeship Show with Mr Taylor and Ms Sharples at the Bolton Arena.

This was an excellent opportunity for the pupils to meet and talk to a large number of both local and national apprenticeship providers and employers including, BAE, Rolls Royce, BMW, The Armed Services, the NHS and many smaller providers.

The pupils will certainly have benefitted from these individual meetings and the seminars provided.

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Chemistry in Action The Chemistry department took 29 Students from Years 12 and 13 to Salford University recently for an A level conference. The lectures included:

From Breaking Bad to Making Good Using the example of Breaking Bad, the students explored how ‘bad’ drugs (such as crystal meth) and good drugs (such as antibiotics), work, and considered cutting-edge research to glimpse the future of medicine.

How to Discover a New Element Ever wanted your name on the periodic table? Secrets were revealed of how to create a new chemical element, exploring a world where atoms are so unstable they exist for the blink of an eye.

Plastic Fantastic?

It can be any shape, colour, property and lasts 500 years!

Despite the damage plastic does to the environment demand has never been higher. Our students discovered the amazing properties of plastic and how to tackle the plastic problem.

Strange Ice “Strange ice” coinciding with the centenary of X-ray diffraction – guided students through the weird and wonderful properties of ice. The most bizarre, but so taken for granted on a day-to-day basis, is the phenomenon that ice floats on water. But almost every other solid phase of a compound is denser than its liquid counterpart.

Making the Invisible Visible Someone has been shot, but witnesses were too scared to come forward. Students used cutting-edge techniques to reveal hidden evidence to establish the truth.

The students had an extremely busy day and found the lectures very interesting and informative.

Blackburn with Darwen Cross Country Championships Well done and thank you to everyone who represented QEGS and competed in the annual Blackburn with Darwen Schools Cross Country Championships at Witton Park. You demonstrated superb character, resilience and determination.

Team Performance Year 7 Boys Team 4th place Year 7 Girls Team 6th place Year 8/9 Boys Team 6th place Year 8/9 Girls Team 5th place Year 10/11 Boys Team 2nd place Year 10/11 Girls Team 3rd place Podium Finishers Year 7 Boys Year 10/11 Boys Sixth Form Boys Year 8/9 Girls Sixth Form Girls

Oscar Kelly Harvey Ashworth Alastair Keys Kate Cookson Hannah Cookson

2nd place 2nd place 1st place 3rd place 1st place

Clean Hands Children and pupils from Primary Phase were organised into groups and took part in a ‘Rainbow Group’ session to help them to understand the importance of washing hands.

Germs (pretend) were spread around the school and many posters were created to share a message: ‘Clean hands equals a recipe for good health.’

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Love your Wellies It was a pleasure to invite local Labour councillor Jackie Floyd to speak at our Primary Phase Assembly. Jackie entered the Main Hall wearing her brightly coloured raincoat and wellies, armed with a large black bin bag and grabber! Her enthusiasm was contagious as she shared her knowledge in protecting our local environment and becoming healthier.

As part of looking after our environment, Jackie began by discussing the importance of picking up litter. She then went on to discuss the benefits of walking to school, rather than jumping in the car, wearing the correct clothing and footwear, and the many advantages walking to school can have.

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Congratulations to Jasmin, Hannah, Maia, Will and Alistair, who all endured four days of driving rain and gale force winds to successfully complete their Duke of Edinburgh Gold expedition.

Jackie ensured all pupils fully participated which made the assembly extra special and thoroughly enjoyable.

Festive Fun in the Library Towards the end of the Michaelmas term, the library held some very festive activities.

A book and gift sale was the first event to take place; including the ever-popular lucky dip, handmade crafts and a secret book Santa. The sale managed to raise £30.00, which will help towards purchasing craft resources for the Bookmark Club.

Thank you to our team of Year 8 pupil librarians who helped to run the stall over three days, they all did a superb job in promoting the sale.

The annual tradition of decorating the Christmas tree with book recommendations, once again was a great success, showing a

Decisions decisions… for Year 11 The Careers Department welcomed Chloe and Jonny from Blackburn College to give the whole of the Year 11 an extended assembly on BTECs and vocational courses in which they might be interested Post 16.

They obtained a great deal of information from the interactive presentation and short film, and they also had the chance to ask questions at the end.

After the assembly, a group of 20 pupils were given the opportunity to have a more in depth Q&A session.

This was an excellent opportunity, and the pupils certainly were given something to think about as they start to make firmer plans for next year.

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variety of books having been enjoyed. Many thanks to parent helpers Mrs Abahlous EP Satia and Mrs Ashraf, for their help in erecting two Christmas trees; the book recommendation tree and the Harry Potter themed tree.

An array of festive books was also on display in the library, which helped to encourage plenty of borrowing. Books written

by Charles Dickens were the most popular, along with crafting books also being borrowed.

A group of Year 7 pupils took part in a festive crafting session, creating beautiful handmade festive gifts; paper trees, paper hats and paper chains.

Year 3 take a trip to Ancient Egypt The whole of Year 3 were mesmerized as they entered their class room during Michaelmas Term, which had been transformed into an Egyptian workshop for the day. There were many fascinating artefacts laid out on show and two real life Pharaohs standing in their class to welcome them!

The pupils listened intently as the Pharaohs told them all about Ancient Egypt. They were also shown some Canopic jars with real body parts inside.

The most memorable part was when Maha and Breeanna were dressed as mummies. First of all, they had all of their internal organs pulled out and their bodies filled with salt to make them shrivel up.

Then, they were covered with beautiful smelling herbs and scents, and wrapped in bandages, their heads adorned with a death mask, before being sent to the afterlife!

Carol Service The Carol Service took place in Blackburn Cathedral on Friday the 21st of December where the school choir (including staff) were also accompanied by the Nelson Civic Ladies Choir and Vocalise Community Choir.

William Gedling performed a superb guitar solo of ‘Silent Night’ and was joined by soloist, Lea Robinson, and the choir. ‘Silent Night’ was first performed on guitar 200 years ago. Franz Gruber who composed this timeless melody had written the piece for organ accompaniment but on the eve of the first performance, mice in the church destroyed some of the organ pipes which is why it was performed on the guitar.

The school choir had been preparing for this performance since October. As well as singing the traditional seasonal carols they also performed three alternative pieces.

‘A La Nanita’, a gentle Spanish Christmas lullaby was the first of the first of these to be performed, and was wonderfully accompanied on guitar by Miss Murphy and the Cathedral organist Mr Turnbull.

The choir then carolled ‘O Holy Night’, and were joined

by Miss Cockshott, Sebastian Roberts, Mr Garrett and Jake Horler Newsham (professional Tenor from the Royal Northern College of Music and former pupil of Mr Garrett). The quartet sang the chorus of this Christmas classic by Adolphe Adams.

The next piece, composed by Mr Garrett was called ‘The Gift’, and was written with the intention to help focus on the true meaning of Love, not only at Christmas, but at all times.

The choir concluded with a rousing setting of the ‘Gloria”, written by Carole Stephens, which was a wonderful finale to the service.

Young Biomedical Scientists A team of five pupils went to the University of Central Lancashire covering all areas of modern bioscience and gaining first-hand experience of what makes a bioscience-based career fulfilling.

The workshops varied from biomedical science and neurobiology, to emergency medicine and clinical pharmacology. The workshops gave pupils a good insight into the various roles of bio-scientists and helped them aspire to careers in these fields.

Their knowledge was tested in a quiz as they completed the workshops with the content tying in nicely with both the ‘Cells and Organisation’ and the ‘Disease and Bioenergetics’ topics they are studying in GCSE Biology.

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OBA Annual Dinner 2018

This year’s OBA Annual Dinner was as popular as ever and the evening did not disappoint. There was a great mixture of regular and first time attendees, current and former students and staff.

It was great to see a number of current Sixth Form students at the dinner, some of whom took an active role in the night’s events. Jamal Hasan and Hannah Cookson said Grace, Aadil Diwan and Raya Alshatari delivered the ‘In Memoriam’ section. Four pupils wrote and delivered their own reports: Head Boy Matthew Fenton and Head Girl Sara Hussain (School Report), Deputy Head Boy Alistair Keys (Boys Sporting Report) and Deputy Head Girl Joanna Sleigh (Girls Sporting Report). The OBA would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their contribution and to thank all the current students who attended the dinner. They were a credit to themselves and to the school, and should be justly proud.

Amongst our special guests this year was Edwin Booth DL, who gave the Loyal Toast; Regina Arkwright a former teacher, who, before delivering the Toast to School, gave us an insight into life at QEGS as the very first female teacher. Chief Guest was Peter Winders, also a former QEGS teacher.

The OBA Annual Dinner is open to all former students and staff and is always thoroughly enjoyed by all who attend. If you haven’t been to one before, don’t be shy, get in touch, we’d love for you to join us in 2019!

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Bacon butties, Mince pies and Football

The OB Annual Football Reunion took place on Saturday 22nd December.

made for a really enjoyable event, with parents and messrs Hopkinson and Grogan on the sidelines spectating. The leavers of 1997 were the victors, captained by Matt Parker, whose team defeated the Alex Gunn XI on penalties in the final.

After months of training, there was a great turnout of finely-tuned OB athletes lacing their boots at Lammack, with seven teams in total taking part.OB’s of all ages reunited, which

Long may the OB’s want to come back and play. A real highlight of the year!

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Classics On Tour During the October half term, 32 pupils and 4 members of staff embarked on a Classics trip to the Bay of Naples, Italy.

plaster casts of those men, women, children and animals who had perished in the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD. Later that evening, after dinner in the hotel, pupils had the opportunity to browse the many shops in Sorrento.

The flight to Rome went smoothly, and they soon began their transfer by coach to Sorrento including a short stop in Naples on the way, where the group had a guided underground tour. The enthusiastic tour guide took the group on a journey 40 metres below the ground, through 2,400 years of history, where they saw the Greek-Roman aqueduct, the remains of the Roman theatre and the air raid shelters from the Second World War. The braver amongst the pupils and staff also squeezed through a series of tight tunnels carved out of the rock.

A leisurely third day on the island of Capri began by taking the hydrofoil from Sorrento Port to Marina Grande and then the funicular up to Capri town. A minibus was braved up the winding roads to Anacapri to reach a chairlift which took the group up the steep slopes of Mount Solaro to admire the views and have an ice-cream at the Welcome café, once at the top. After a delicious lunch of homemade pizza in a restaurant at the foot of Solaro, the pupils took to the shops in Capri town to purchase their souvenirs.

After dinner in the hotel, they headed to an ice-cream making workshop in Sorrento; the pupils learned about the art of making high-quality ice-cream, with hands-on opportunities for volunteers to create their own, and to sample the results!

The next day was spent touring the well-preserved ruins of Pompeii. It was a warm October day and many miles were covered, visiting the homes, theatres, bars, forum and amphitheatre of the Pompeiians as well as observing the

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Their final full day was spent visiting a traditional Italian family-run farm that produced olives and the typical Sorrento lemons. A talk was also given, explaining the methods used to produce olive oil, with a demonstration of Mozzarella making, another product produced on the estate. After providing delicious home-made delicacies for all to taste, pupils relished the opportunity to buy gifts at the on-site shop. The afternoon was spent in Herculaneum. The group found it interesting to see the comparison between this wealthy town and the larger busier trading town of Pompeii, including the different way in which it had been preserved by the eruption. Seeing the skeletons of the families huddled in the boathouses for shelter was a poignant end to the day.

The final evening was spent in Sorrento for some last minute souvenir shopping and an Awards Ceremony was held by the staff, thanking the pupils for their involvement and contributions during the trip.

Lent Term

Creative Industry Afternoon The Art Department ran a Creative Industry afternoon and were pleased to welcome special guests Richard Cross, John Bridge, Sarah Hardacre and Andy Walmsley into school.

Richard Cross, RAS, (Royal Academy, National Portrait Award, National Gallery) is an artist based in the North West of England who specialises in drawing and painting.

Our guests gave inspirational talks, discussed their work, and the various careers and pathways within the creative industry with Years 11 and 13 Fine Art pupils and students. The afternoon was coordinated by Atlantic Contemporary Art.

Sarah Hardacre, is an international artist/printmaker whose work has been exhibited internationally in group exhibitions. She has contributed to artist-led initiatives including the open ended artists’ exchange between studio groups in Manchester and Bristol.

Andy Walmsley, artist, and director of Wash Studio, Wash Film, and Artistry House, was recently commissioned for the Hyundai European advertisement campaign. ‘Wash’ is an ideas agency shaped for an integrated age with a team of strategic thinkers and visual creatives; it is one of the most respected design studios in the North West.

The afternoon was thoroughly enjoyed by all and provided a huge insight into the industry and pathways which our pupils and students may choose to follow.

John Bridge, (Studio John Bridge) is an enthusiastic and environmentally driven chartered architect, specialising in eco-homes and urban regeneration.

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Fire Brigade Visit Year 6 On Thursday 24th January, Year 6 had a visit from the Blackburn Fire Department, the firefighters explained the dangers of fire with the pupils. A short video was watched, that demonstrated just how quickly a fire could spread in a living room and everyone soon realised the importance of having a fully functioning smoke alarm in their house. The fire fighters expressed the importance of phoning 999 as soon as a fire was noticed.

Road safety was also discussed, as many of the Year 6 pupils will be travelling to school independently when they begin secondary school in September. Pupils understood the importance of being aware when crossing roads and to always be on the lookout for any potential dangers. Pupils ended the session by successfully completing a quiz, which showed their knowledge and proved that the visit had been very worthwhile.

An Inspector Calls Blackburn Rovers Referee Mascot

The English faculty were delighted to welcome the Box Clever Theatre Company to perform at QEGS. Year 11 were treated to live re-enactments of scenes from the play ‘An Inspector Calls’.

Together with musical instruments, small group discussion and audience participation, pupils were taken on a dramatic journey to discover who was to blame for the death of Eva Smith.

The tension, drama and anticipation, usually only experienced by an audience in a live theatre, was successfully transported into the main hall. Pupils taking their GCSE examination definitely benefited from hearing essential quotations brought to life as well as experiencing dramatic irony, entrances and exits and contextual background.

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Jack Braithwaite had a fabulous experience being the match referee mascot in a game against Ipswich Town.

As a Mascot Referee, Jack met with all the officials to go through the pre-match checks required, including the handing over of the team sheet, testing the scoreboard and all other relevant technology, prior to heading out for the warm up ahead of kickoff. Jack is an up and coming referee and is receiving great reviews for the matches he is officiating; one to look out for in the future!

Busy Times for Baylie Baylie Seery had an extremely busy start to the year, as she competed at the Lancashire County Swimming Championships. She qualified for 13 events at this year’s competition which was held over three weekends at Manchester and Liverpool Aquatics Centres.

Baylie also qualified for the 50m Breaststroke final where she really did rise to the challenge, taking nearly another second off the personal best time that she had already achieved in the heats, finishing in 5th place.

The Championships proved extremely successful for Baylie, where she chose to compete in 9 events and managed to gain 6 personal best times, 1 new long course time and 2 regional qualification times.

Baylie also spent the weekend away with the Sea Cadets working towards her 2nd Class Physical Training Instructor Award, having already earned her 3rd Class a few months ago.

Well done Baylie!

She now has a hectic couple of months with three swimming galas in succession as she prepares for the North West Regional Championships.

European Day of Languages and Culture

Year 8 pupils enjoyed a special day off timetable, when they were given the chance to explore some key issues surrounding this topical subject and to have the opportunity to sample different languages (Italian and Ancient Greek) putting their transferable linguistic skills to the test.

The day began with a traditional continental breakfast and quiz in Big School; pupils thoroughly enjoyed their pains au chocolat and hot chocolate. This was followed by a question and answer session with an expert panel in the Library Annexe with the focus on UK and Europe: past, present and future. Year 8 pupils definitely challenged the panel with some thought-provoking questions.

Towards the end of the afternoon, Mr Braime was honoured to be asked to judge the T-shirt making competition. The entries showed great imagination and had clearly been inspired by all the activities they had participated in throughout the day. Themes such as unity, architecture, politics and national customs were all explored in the designs, and it was an extremely difficult task for Mr Braime to choose just one winner and a couple of runners up.

After much deliberation, third place was awarded to an entry exploring the varied diets of European countries. The graphic style of the shirt, which represented croissants, sausages and cheese was striking, and an understanding of perspective was evident in the work.

Congratulations to the following 3rd place winners from 8LIW: Aizah, Yusra, Sufyaan, Jalal, Fatymah, Ewan and Jenson.

Second place was an entry celebrating the architecture of our continent’s nations. This clearly linked to the current theme of Architecture that Year 8 explored in their Art lessons during Lent, and showed an understanding of how, by looking at the buildings and monuments of a nation, the history of its culture can also be traced.

Congratulations to the following 2nd place winners from 8BPV: Fatima, Muhammad, Abdullah, Amirah, Amelie, Abdul and Christopher.

The winning entry was selected based on the originality of its design. A logo comprising of the human hand combined with the globe was a striking image which demonstrated a sophisticated visual communication. The simple motif was a clear symbol of unity and equality.

Congratulations to the following 1st place winners from 8SNR: Shoaib, Mohammad, Alex, Bilal, Aisha, Sasha and Muruvet.

Well done to all the pupils that participated in the competition, all of whom produced an array of imaginative and thoughtful art work.

In addition to the T-shirt competition, each group also wrote a poem, themed: UK and Europe - past, present and future.

Pupils were able to expand on all their experiences from the morning sessions and there were many creative and original entries. The winning teams all presented their work in a striking manner as well as conveying strong messages.

1st place winners were Ali, Maria, Mohamed, Owais, Simrah, Karima and Haiqa from 8BPV. 2nd place winners were Adiva, Adam, Uzair, Jibraan, Zishan, Samad and Lybah from 8JLN. 3rd place winners were Angel, Muhammad, Kainat, Ellaha, Maddie, Alisha and Laila from 8LIW.

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Jacob Achieves His Charity Goal This season, for the first time ever, Bamber Bridge Football Club is supporting a local charity during their home game matches. This is providing opportunities for children from the local community to become “Young Volunteers”.

At the beginning of term Year 11 pupil Jacob Gibson, who is a regular volunteer at the club, managed to raise over £100.00 in just two hours for OJ’s charity.

OJ’s is a charitable organisation set up purely with the aim to provide activities for children with autism, learning difficulties and associated disorders, and rely upon fund raising and donations.

Being a young volunteer gives children the chance to improve their life skills, it gets them involved in their local community, allows them to meet new people and is always good to have on their CVs before leaving school, to show that they have given up their time to help others. Well done, Jacob!

Nicole Selected for GBR Talent Pathway Following a successful 2018 season competing in fencing, Nicole Saunders managed to keep her rankings high, and as a result of her hard work, was selected for the U17 GBR cadet squad.

The beginning of Lent term, saw Nicole travel to Meylan in France to compete in the final International fencing competition of the season.

The competition fielded a strong French and Spanish squad; Nicole managed to win one of her games in the poules but was

narrowly defeated in her remaining three. However, she made the cut, so went onto fence a DE against a local fencer, which unfortunately resulted in a 8-15 loss.

Nicole gained a lot from the experience and these newly developed skills helped her to achieve 3rd place in an U20 (junior) British Fencing Ranking competition against eleven very strong fencers.

At another competition, the Merseyside Senior Open, which was run by Liverpool University, she fought hard against some of the highest ranked females in the UK and managed to finish 19th out of 34. This is another great achievement which will increase her senior ranking.

Pupil Librarians – Year 8 Year 4 Visit Chester Zoo

At the beginning of term, we were delighted to congratulate and award our team of Year 8 Pupil Librarians, on completing the first stage (bronze award) of the SLA training programme.

All pupils have worked extremely hard and have shown much determination to get through the first round of the programme. Pupils have experienced a wealth of new skills; making decisions about new library stock, book repair and processing. They also helped with the Roald Dahl event, taking part in National Libraries Week, National NonFiction Month and the more recent Festive Book Sale.

Well done to: Zac Jones, Mohammed Patel, Christopher Chen, Freya Scott, Muhammad Ali and Paige Feast, who were delighted and extremely proud to receive their book prize and certificate.

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Lent term saw Year 4 learn about digestion and teeth; to complement their learning they visited Chester Zoo to find out more.

After a short ride on the monorail, the pupils enjoyed a workshop, where they examined animal skulls and teeth. Following on from this, the pupils then had to create and plan a nutritious diet for the diverse animals at the zoo, they also had a huge task to replicate the size of the digestive system of a giraffe.

Forces in Flight On Friday 1st February, Year 3 pupils set off on a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. The pupils were keen to begin their exciting scientific experiments, and quickly split into two groups to complete the puzzles and experiments.

3EP tackled the tricky problems first. They drew pictures with light, created different sounds on the DJ deck and used their senses to solve problems. 3KP set off on an electricity trail, trying to crack an electricity code.

After spending the morning being scientists, they attended two workshops, Forces in Flight and the Wonder of Light, where, while using nerf guns with a light attached they learnt about how light travels. Then, with Miss Pearson jumping from an aeroplane, Forces in Flight taught the pupils all about friction and forces.

It was an extremely scientific day which was enjoyed by all!

Flipping Pancakes The traditional Key Stage 2 Pancake Day Races took place again this Shrove Tuesday with pupils extremely excited to be taking part.

Each class tackled an assault course in heats, with the main rule being no running. Pupils had to balance a pancake while manoeuvring around obstacles, hoping to win, to be in the final with a chance to win a crème egg. Even the teachers took part in the fun, some of whom did not play by the rules and cheated by running, they were of course disqualified!

Linguistic Code Cracking To the Moon and Back During Lent term forty-one pupils and students from Years 9 and Years 11-13 participated in the annual United Kingdom Linguistics Olympiad.

On Monday 11th February, the children in EYFS encountered an extra special visit, when a mobile planetarium landed in Singleton House.

The UKLO is a national competition in which pupils and students are given information about a language that they have never seen before. They must use the information and their linguistic knowledge to ‘crack the codes’, answering puzzles and questions about language patterns. Year 9 pupils worked in teams of three and four to collaborate in the Foundation Olympiad. It was great to witness the determination and enthusiasm of the teams as they tried to crack the linguistic codes, with excellent teamwork by all involved.

The children had to crawl through a long, dark tunnel before they could reach the Big Dome which would then take them on their rocket adventure into Space!

Helmets had to be put on and seatbelts had to be fastened before the rocket blasted off, leaving QEGS far behind. It wasn’t long before the children could see the sun, and then the moon and stars. It was magical! The children had an amazing time in Space, while learning all about the stars and their constellation patterns, as well as some interesting facts about the planets too. Well done to our brave young astronauts.

The pupils and students in Years 11-13 took part in the Advanced Olympiad, consisting of a series of extremely difficult linguistic puzzles to be answered under examination conditions. Although the Advanced Olympiad is extremely challenging, the students showed resilience and a willingness to succeed. Well done to all involved.

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In Safe Hands

During Lent term, Key Stage 2 split up into their rainbow groups to further their knowledge about staying safe online.

Pupils discussed how to keep personal details safe, being mindful about who they talk to online and what to do if something happens online in which they are not comfortable with.

Each group then created their own internet safety project.

These included creating an online story, fashioning their own avatar, using the computers to design an internet safety leaflet and drawing the ‘real me’ and comparing this to the ‘online me’.

It was fantastic to see the older pupils sharing their knowledge of online safety with the younger pupils, thus making an extremely enjoyable day.

Raleigh Rally Together The 5th of February saw the 92nd Junior House Swimming Gala which was, as always, a fantastic event. Parents, carers and invited guests looked on as the very best of the School’s swimmers took part in the friendly yet competitive event.

The Gala began with an exhibition race: the Individual Medley, in which pupils across all year groups, including Seniors were invited to take part. This was followed by the

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competitive races for Years 7, 8 and Years 9 & 10 combined.

There were quite a few close races, with also some very convincing wins, as the Houses went head to head.

The highlight of the Gala was seeing some pupils compete who had only learnt to swim since being at QEGS. The crowd really encouraged these swimmers, cheering their every stroke and giving them huge rounds of applause when they reached the end of their race. Their willingness to put themselves forward, as well as never giving up until they touched the wall at the other end of the pool showed true House spirit.

The Gala also saw School records being broken, with amazing swims by Ruby Brandon (U14/15 girls Backstroke), Kate Cookson (U13 girls Breaststroke), Baylie Seery (U14/15 girls Breaststroke), and Amy Ainsworth (U12 girls Butterfly).

It was Raleigh House that won the day with the highest overall points, with Howard in second and Grenville coming in third, making it two years in a row for Raleigh.

Well done Raleigh House and thank you Mr Northin for returning to QEGS to present the trophies.

Farmers for the Day The children in Reception were excited to be visiting Thornton Hall Park Farm, a firm favourite also for their teachers!

At the farm, the children experienced farming life first hand. They helped the farmers carry out their day-to-day tasks of looking after the animals. First on the agenda was to feed some very hungry new born lambs.

A safari tour took the children off into the fields where they were able to see some deer and incredibly woolly sheep. The afternoon was extremely ‘hands on’ as they collected the freshly laid eggs from the chicken coops.

Whilst at the farm ‘Critters 2 You” were also visiting. The children were very lucky to be invited to see and even hold some creepy crawlies. It was fantastic to learn about these mini-beasts and to be able get a closer look at them too. The children in Reception were exceptionally brave as they were offered the opportunity to hold a tarantula, a mini lizard and a huge snake!

After a busy day, there was just enough time for an ice cream before heading back to School. The farmers at Thornton Hall Park Farm commented on how much they enjoyed spending the day with the children and how they were impressed by their good behaviour and impeccable manners. It was pleasing to hear that even the youngest members of the QEGS family were upholding our school values.

PREVENT Conference Six pupils from Year 9 represented the School at the Blackburn with Darwen PREVENT Conference, which was held at Ewood Park. They participated in numerous workshops and even had the chance to meet with Ahmad Nawaz.

Ahmad survived a Taliban attack and now travels around the word delivering talks in schools, focussed on educating teenagers about being radicalised. It was an absolute pleasure for the pupils to meet him.

Psychology in London The Psychology Department accompanied a group of 21 students to London to visit a conference featuring a key researcher, Professor Elizabeth Loftus.

Elizabeth spoke about how she carried out research into variables affecting recall in Eyewitness Testimony. The students heard a wide range of excellent talks about Social Influence, Forensic Psychology, Perception and a fantastic key note speech, which discussed the strengths and limitations of research into Eyewitness Testimony.

An opportunity was also given to the students to pose questions. Sulayman Tabassam Year 13, directed a question to Loftus herself, asking about biological factors affecting the recall of memories.

The students were thoroughly engaged during the seminars thus making a fantastic and very worthwhile trip to London.

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Annual Verse Speaking Competition During Lent term, Key Stage 2 pupils took part in the annual Verse Speaking Competition.

Every pupil chose a poem and showcased their amazing talents as they auditioned in class. Two pupils from each form were chosen as finalists who later that day performed a short poem to all of Key Stage 2.

The competition is all about bringing poems to life, celebrating how good they sound out loud and performing them with fabulous expression, which the finalists certainly did! Well done to the following Year group winners; Hasnain Babar (Year 3), Zahra Karolia (Year 4), Zoeya Ali (Year 5) and Zainab Kothia (Year 6).

The outstanding talent impressed all of the staff and pupils, congratulations to Nabhaan Aziz, who was the overall winner of the competition. Well done to all of the pupils and finalists who performed, they all worked very hard to learn and perform their poems in front of their peers, it was an extremely enjoyable afternoon.

Superstar Scientific Spelling Hibah Munir, Hannah Shahzad and Iqra Mehmood, pupils from Year 7, took part in the Northern Schools STEM spelling bee.

Literacy is a key factor in an individual’s success in science exams and during a pupil’s journey learning science, they encounter a huge number and variety of new words.

These words may not be commonly used outside of the science classrooms therefore, pupils will get fewer opportunities to practise the accurate spelling of such scientific words.

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The aim of the spelling competition is to raise the profile of scientific vocabulary through competitive spelling and is based upon the format used in foreign language spelling bees. The first round took place in school on the 21st December with 36 pupils taking part to compete for a place in round two. In each round, pupils were given lists of words to learn, exposing them to new vocabulary beyond which they would meet in the usual school curriculum.

The North West regional competition took place at Salford University on 26th February and was an extremely fiercely contested event with thirty schools taking part. The pupils had to take it in turn to spell as many of the 80 words from the list as possible, all in one minute. They managed 46 words between them and finished second which was

a fantastic achievement. They each received a science dictionary, a water bottle, sweets and a mystery book. The school also received two boxes of science dictionaries, which have been placed in the school library for all of our pupils to benefit from.

Well done girls!

National Storytelling Week An abundance of stories was shared during National Storytelling Week as the Senior School library joined forces with various faculties, to help raise awareness and celebrate this special storytelling week.

It was a brilliant week of lunchtime storytelling sessions, with something different every day: • Mr Braime (Creative Faculty) delighted us with The Devils Three Golden Hairs by Brothers Grimm and also a reading from The Murderer by Ray Bradbury.

• Mrs Cross, Mrs Mallon and Mrs Perkins (English Faculty) enthralled their audience with a variety of stories, one being Into the Jungle, leaving a lasting impression on all those who attended. Our Writing Club also made time for some interactive story writing.

• Miss Denton (Learning Support) had a captive audience as she read one of her own favourites, Rhyme Stew by Roald Dahl.

• Mrs Dewhurst (Head of Library) was eager to promote the Michael Morpurgo month of February, choosing a story taken from the book From Hereabout Hill, a selection of short stories written by Morpurgo.

• Mrs Parker (Cover Supervisor) delighted us with Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes, some very interactive tales and even a reading from The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

• Our parent helper Mrs Abahlous EP Satia chose to read one of her own children’s favourites, George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl.

• Charlotte Lingard from Year 7 and Angel Miller from Year 8 read The Vixen and the Oak Tree - a re-telling by storyteller Sue Allonby.

• Year 8 Pupil Librarians were eager to have their voices heard too, with Muhammad Ali reading Not Bad for a Bad Lad by Michael Morpurgo and Christopher Chen reading Going Home by Cliff McNish.

Pupils Go Potty The Harry Potter Book Night never ceases to amaze us, as once again, the love and passion for the books are always re-kindled, year after year.

On this extra-special book night, those who have loved and read the Harry Potter books had the chance to simply pass the magic of the books on to the next generation of readers. Fans can celebrate their love of Harry Potter on any given night of the year, but sharing in the delights of the official Harry Potter Book Night is always a far better option. Essentially, a series of Potter parties and celebrations happened all over the globe, from reading parties to quizzes, movies to fancy dress competitions, all kinds of wizardry and fun activities took place. This was the fifth Harry Potter Book Night since it was first launched, and certainly another popular one here at QEGS

and then lots of treats at the end, including a certificate of attendance.”

Isaac Blackburn commented, “I really enjoyed the event and would like to attend again next year. I had the chance to dress up in HP costume and was rewarded with a prize for doing so. Mrs Dewhurst presented me with a really nice book, How to Draw Fantastic Beasts, which I am really keen to use.”

Assia El Sakka, also from Year 7, was thoroughly absorbed in the movie, Fantastic Beasts, saying, “The movie was fabulous, the whole atmosphere was exciting and I didn’t want the evening to end. I love the Harry Potter books.”

As we continue to see the magic of Harry Potter come through to use year after year, and our Library loan stats continue to be healthy ones, it can only be a good thing to highlight such a magical celebration.

Harvey Buck from Year 7 was extremely excited about the event and was extra excited when he won a prize in the raffle, “I never win anything, but on Harry Potter Book Night I did.”

Freya Scott, one of our Year 8 Pupil Librarians had this to say, “The event went really well and quite a few people managed to attend, some in costume, others just excited about the whole evening. The movie itself was very enjoyable and I liked the added touch of treats that Mrs Dewhurst had organised. I would definitely attend again and encourage others to do so.”

We also had comments from Elle Procter-Wooff, “I was really excited during the run-up to Harry Potter Book Night, Mrs Dewhurst had created some hand-made magical quill pens and bookmarks, and I even got to see the new Harry Potter chair in the Library. During the event there was lots of excitement with a costume competition, a sorting hat, raffle

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House QUEST Following on from the success of our recent Book Week the annual House QUEST took place in the school library. The QUEST is our senior library’s contribution to House events and one which continues to draw much attention and curiosity.

Over seventy pupils and students across Years 7 to 13 represented their House, and were sent on a mission, with lots of clues created to help them solve the mysteries of Dewey, QR codes, resources including books (both print and digital) journals and magazines, reference material, special collections and online resources.

Everyone enjoyed the competitiveness, as well as the challenge, using the resources available to them in the school library, with some pupils even discovering new ones along the way.

Mrs Dewhurst was delighted with the sessions and commented, “It was absolutely brilliant to see just how much library knowledge our pupils and students retain - having access to a well-resourced library is extremely beneficial to all.”

The results were amazingly close, right up until the last QUEST. Well done to the winners Howard House, and to everyone who took part.

Goodbye Winter!

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It may still have been winter but spring wasn’t far away, when our EYFS took a short stroll to Corporation Park on the hunt for the first signs of spring.

The children kept their eyes peeled; leaves were spotted growing on the trees and the pretty spring flowers were beginning to bloom, they visited the Avery where the birds were in full chorus, and also found a playground!

Once back at school the children examined and discussed their findings and looked more closely for further signs of spring in the photographs that were taken. Spring brings warmer weather and longer days, so it was the perfect opportunity to take some time out and explore the great outdoors.

Book Week and World Book Day 2019 Book week began with a real buzz as the Library ran a Mindfulness competition in collaboration with PSHE, and also a Design a Book Token competition with the Creative Faculty.

Frobisher House listened to a short assembly delivered by Mrs Dewhurst, prior to a fundraising event for the author Tommy Donbavand. A delightful and creative bookmark craft workshop with Serendipity Finch took place and the World Book Day book token exchange was a huge success.

Also during Book Week, the English Department engaged in 5 minutes of personal reading as a starter to each lesson and also made good use of the World Book Day masterclass author videos. Mrs Perkins hosted an extra special Writing Club where pupils had to create a novella in just 30 minutes, which was easily achieved.

Then, on Thursday 7th March, it was time to celebrate the annual World Book Day. To launch the day, the whole school took part in the ever-popular DEAR event (drop everything and read) a reading initiative which ran right from Reception through to Sixth Form. At 09:30 the school bell rang and for 10 minutes the whole of school were reading

at the same time - what a truly remarkable experience.

Reading for Pleasure (RfP) certainly was working at its best that day. A DEAR event is a fun and informative way to help improve literacy skills and instil independent reading.

The key event of the week had to be the author visit, when Cliff McNish entertained Year groups from Year 3 right through to Year 9. It was a fabulous day where Cliff shared his own passion for writing, offered lots of writing advice and of course promoted his books: Doomspell, Breathe, Angel, Going Home and My Friend Twigs. A lunchtime book sale with book signings also took place, with an array of pupils arriving to meet Cliff, he made time to personally chat with everyone. His books sold fast and Cliff was truly humbled at the amount of book sales.

Pupils really enjoyed the whole week and it has been delightful to hear such positive feedback. Thanks must go to everyone who helped to make the week a huge success, including our parent helpers, our catering team who put a literary menu together for World Book Day, Mrs Seedat who created a wonderful Book Week display in Singleton House for our Sixth Form students, to all teachers (both Primary and Senior) who sent in photos of their DEAR event and to all pupils/students for their contributions. It really was a whole school celebration, including the delightful little ones in QEGS Nursery who also dressed up for the occasion.

We are pleased to announce our Book Week author booking for 2020 will be with Kjartan Poskitt, author of Murderous Maths.

Feedback from the week and WBD came in fast and furious, with the author being one of the first to email in, he commented, “I just wanted to thank you for organising yesterday’s WBD event so beautifully at QEGS. I really enjoyed meeting you, your colleagues and all of the students! Hopefully your students and staff felt it was all worthwhile. Do let the teachers know that if they do a class reader of any book I’m happy to correspond with their students on it.”

Viva Volver On Wednesday 6th March, Mr Gould accompanied Year 12 Spanish students to Manchester Metropolitan University for an essay writing workshop centred around analysing scenes from Spanish films.

The students experienced an excellent insight into critically analysing particular scenes from the Spanish film ‘Volver’ in an outstanding higher education environment. They were able to gain a deeper understanding not only of the key material for their course, but also what it is like to study languages at university. The students found the workshop extremely useful and have already begun to practise the skills that they have acquired in preparation for their A level examination.

World Down Syndrome Day To raise awareness of World Down Syndrome Day, Primary Phase pupils celebrated by wearing silly socks, odd socks, brightly coloured socks and even brightly coloured hair accessories. It definitely made their school uniform dazzle!

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Cross Country On a cold wet Monday evening at Witton Park, twelve Primary Phase pupils represented the School in the Blackburn with Darwen Cross Country competition.

Everyone performed to his or her best in the extremely difficult conditions. Findlay Carroll was the first QEGS boy finishing in an excellent 3rd position and Molly Caffrey was the first QEGS girl over the line in 5th place. Well done to everyone who took part!

Emilia Hip Hops her Team to the World Champs Emilia Brandon recently competed at an UDO Regional Street Dance competition and, with her squad the ‘Demigods’, finished in 3rd place. Being in the top three, the Demigods have now qualified to compete in the biggest global street dance competition of the year, the UDO World Street Dance Championships.

Emilia, along with her sister Ruby were also a part of a group that have achieved a place in the Guinness World Records this year, by participating in the largest simultaneous performance of Beauty and the Beast. The show was performed by Stagecoach Performing Arts students across 73 locations in the UK, Germany and Canada.

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Run Rabbit Run All of Year 6 went back in time to live a day in 1941. They dressed up as evacuees of World War Two and were evacuated to the countryside, to the farmland of Tatton Park.

As new evacuees, the pupils were able to learn something of what life was like for these children, and how they had to adapt to their new and strange surroundings, the daily chores they had to do and the precautions they had to take. The Year 6 evacuees were introduced to the farm animals and many had the chance to milk the cows, feed the goats and chickens, and visit and learn about the horses, reindeer and pigs.

The evacuees had to use their rations to make their own toast on the open fire, and practised trying on gas masks and helmets. Their chores included ensuring that all the windows in the cottage were fully blacked out at night.

During their visit, the air raid siren sounded and everyone rushed to the air raid shelter to stay safe. Spirits were kept high, as together they all sang popular wartime songs. After a speedy rendition of ‘Run Rabbit Run’ the siren stopped, and to everyone’s relief they stepped out of the shelter to discover it all to have been a false alarm.

Primary Phase Dropped Everything to Read!

Primary Phase pupils made sure that they took part in the Whole School event; Drop Everything And Read.

Reception class were excited to know EVERYONE in the whole school was reading at the same time, as they too shared a book.

2CE crammed themselves into Mrs Southworth’ s office and Year 3, all 51 of them plus 2 teachers, squeezed themselves into Mrs O’Donoghue’s office. There were pupils on tables, in cupboards, in the bin, on their chairs and under their desks. Great fun was had by all, and most importantly, everyone dropped what they were doing to read!

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Silver Medal Success During Lent term, eighteen pupils from Year 4 took part in an Indoor Athletics competition, where they competed in an array of jumping, throwing and running events.

Points were scored and recorded and, out of the twelve schools that took part QEGS finished in 2nd place. The pupils received medals and celebrated their success with huge smiles: well done!

Fitness Put to the Test All of our GCSE and A level PE academics enjoyed an informative day at UCLAN, where they attended a Sports Analytics course.

The pupils and students’ fitness levels were tested during the workshop, using hi-tech software and performance analysis.

It was an intense but enjoyable workshop provided by the undergraduates at the University of Central Lancashire.

Year 10 Engineer their Careers On Thursday 14th March, a group of Year 10 pupils that have shown an interest in an engineering career attended the Big Bang Fair Show with Mr Taylor and Miss Ash at the NEC, Birmingham.

The show is a huge national event with schools attending from across the country. It gave our pupils an excellent opportunity for them to meet and talk to a vast number of both large and small national providers and employers including, BAE, Rolls Royce, BMW, The Armed Services, the NHS, JCB, racing teams, to mention a few. This was an extremely hands-on event, pupils were able to use the equipment and get a real feel for the different engineering and scientific roles. It was long but very enjoyable day and the group will have benefitted immensely from these individual meetings and the seminars provided.

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The 32nd Primary Phase Swimming Gala

All pupils from Years 5 and 6 competed in the annual Primary Phase Swimming Gala on Friday 15th March, where every pupil represented their House by swimming in at least two races.

All swimmers performed exceptionally well as they displayed their skills in front of their parents, teachers and peers, with the points tallying up nicely for their Houses.

Winners from the heats went on to swim in semi-finals, and then the finals, with medals and trophies being awarded to pupils in 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions.

Daniel Saunders had an amazing gala, swimming in three finals and winning all three. Zoe Nightingale won the individual medley and butterfly event.

The seahorse relays were both won by Drake House and, as the relays were worth double points, it made the scores extremely close going into the final event, but Raleigh pulled out a fantastic freestyle relay team which catapulted them into Champion House position.

Well swum, Raleigh House!

Hitting the Slopes in Spain Twenty-one QEGS pupils headed to La Molina, Spain, for a week of skiing in the Catalonian sunshine.

With a remarkably smooth journey through both airports, the last leg of the journey was a three-hour coach ride through beautiful countryside, up into the Pyrenees Mountains, Girona. Finally, somewhat more tired than when they first embarked on their journey, pupils and staff alike were glad to have arrived at their destination, La Molina. Given the option, pupils were initially far more enthused with the idea of food first, over their ski fitting!

Refreshed in their chalet-like contained apartments, pupils were now suited and booted, ready to hit the slopes. Being of varied ability from the complete novice to competitive skier, they were divided into their groups of lower, Intermediate and higher.

The weather, although chilly at first, warmed up throughout the day and made for some mixed conditions in parts as the week progressed. This did not deter our pupils, who met every new challenge set by their instructors with enthusiasm and remained eager to go throughout. Regardless of their skiing ability, every pupil got the most out of their instruction and challenged themselves with the varied types of

runs. There was even the chance of spotting deer who loved to amble up and down the slopes.

In the evening, pupils had the option of participating in an array of different activities put on by the tour guides, who seemingly ran the hotel with their enthusiasm and care of all. From archery to a disco housed in the canteen, where the teachers of many schools lined one edge of the dancefloor, much to the pupils’ amusement who danced the hours, and scrumptious pizza, away.

Apart from Miss Bowker’s suitcase not making it to La Molina and Nathaniel having to spend time off the slopes drinking hot chocolate in the sun, the week went smoothly and our pupils’ behaviour and manners was exemplary. In fact, it has to be said, that in comparison to the rather rowdy Mexican-British international school in the adjoining apartments, our pupils were as quiet as mice.

A novelty not lost on Mr Langley who even went as far as to say, that this year’s ski group have by far been the best yet!

Our annual ski trip runs in the Lent term and sign up forms will be circulated to all years in the new year.

One Voice Well done to Assia El Sakka, lead singer of ‘Banned’, who recently performed at the One Voice annual dinner.

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Eddison has a Ball As an Ambassador for Derian House children’s hospice, Eddison Holmes-Dennett was invited to the Mayors Charity Ball. The event was held to raise money for various charities including Derian House.

Cross Country Champions 2019 Twelve pupils from Years 5 and 6 represented QEGS and competed in three separate Cross Country competitions. The scores across all three races were added together to create a total for each pupil, with medals being awarded to the top three girls and boys.

Out of all of the Blackburn with Darwen Primary Schools that took part, Findlay Carroll finished in an amazing 3rd place and received a Bronze medal.

The QEGS Girls team finished in an excellent 4th position. Out of 23 schools that took part, our QEGS Boys team performed amazingly well and became Blackburn with Darwen Boys Team Cross Country Champions 2019. Well done, we are extremely proud of all their achievements!

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EYFS Visit St Silas’ Church On Thursday 25th April, EYFS visited St Silas’ Church on Preston New Road, accompanied by the class teachers, Mrs Gammon, Mrs Southworth and parent helpers.

Everyone was in awe of the beauty of the stained glass windows and fascinated when Reverend Sheelagh explained that they each told a story.

Every crevice of the Church was explored from the Altar, to the wooden carving on top of the Font, (which looked like a castle), to even finding the School’s crest being displayed.

An Easter garden was also discovered, which the Sunday School children had helped to create.

Maia Miller-McInerney, then modelled the Reverend’s robes. Reverend Sheelagh explained why she wore different colours at special times of the year.

Easter Extravaganza Throughout the final week, prior to the Easter holidays, EYFS and Key Stage 1 took part in oodles of exciting Easter themed activities.

One event was an Easter egg hunt. Pupils had to search for Easter eggs that had been scattered around the school grounds, luckily all the pupils succeeded in finding a chocolate egg to take home!

Classes also completed their own Easter activities within the classroom, ranging from making Easter chocolate cornflake nests to designing and making their own Easter themed cards.

The Easter Bonnet Parade is always a favourite: the pupils made a huge effort with their bonnets, creating fabulous designs. Each teacher selected two pupils who showcased the most interesting and innovative bonnets, with all the winners receiving a huge Easter egg for their marvellous creations.

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An Abundance of Creative Talent On Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th April, The Creative Faculty at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School staged a suitably ghoulish production of The Addams Family Musical.

The show is based upon The Addams Family characters created by Charles Addams which depict an American family with an affinity for all things macabre.

The macabre and much-loved Addams Family discover that, much to their disdain, Wednesday has fallen in love with Lucas Beineke, a nice normal boy from Ohio. To make matters worse, she has invited the Beinekes to their home for dinner. On this hilarious, fateful evening, secrets are disclosed, relationships are tested, and the Addams Family must confront the one thing that they have always managed to avoid: change.

Sebastian Roberts gave a captivating performance as Gomez Addams, along with Morticia Addams played by the talented Eleanor Connell, and together they wowed the audience with their fiery tango, passionate delivery and impressive vocals. Rhys Millington’s performance of Fester was a brilliant showcase of comic timing, vocals and acting.

The musical also featured debut QEGS performances from Arran Parkinson (Lurch), Toby Saxty (Pugsley), Assia El-Sakka (Grandma) and Rayhan Jamil (Mal Beineke).

A particularly moving performance was Toby’s rendition of ‘What If’. Seasoned QEGS performers included; Julie Mathew (Wednesday Addams), Lea Robinson (Alice Beineke) and Kyle Robinson (Lucas Beineke). Pupils from Years 6-9 formed the chorus of the Addams Family Ancestors and did so with great enthusiasm.

The creative talent at QEGS was in abundance for the musical, not only on the stage, but also in terms of the set design, lighting and sound. Rebecca Mitchell was in charge of lighting on the night and fellow sixthform student, Jarvis Davies, managed the sound.

The backstage crew and front of house volunteers also executed their roles superbly, ensuring that the performances ran smoothly.

The Band sounded fantastic on the night and was comprised of Mr Garrett (piano), Mrs Simpson (keyboard), Ms Ferrarin (brass), Mr Topping (guitar),

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Mr Joseph (drums), Mr Braime (violin), and Mr Gould (saxophone), and the bass player was Year 11 pupil Zakariya Bux who did an excellent job.

Well done to Sadie Merritt who achieved 3rd place in the North West Ski Federation competition at Pendle Ski Club. The competition was tough, with some extremely close times, which made for some very exciting races.

Year 5 Kate Greenaway Shadowing Group During Lent term, a group of eight enthusiastic Year 5 pupils joined Mrs Dewhurst in the Senior School Library for the launch of the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway 2019.

The CILIP CKG (Carnegie and Kate Greenaway) are two extremely well-known children’s book awards, with the Carnegie aimed at older pupils and the Kate Greenaway aimed at younger pupils.

We are extremely fortunate here at QEGS to be able to offer both the awards.

During the first session with our Year 5 shadowing group, the eight shortlisted Kate Greenaway book titles were introduced. Pupils were amazed at the books, the stories and most of all, the illustrations; it was a great pleasure to deliver the launch to such a delightful group of readers. The Carnegie and Kate Greenaway continues to amaze and inspire pupils year after year.

Over the next twelve weeks, our Year 5 shadowing group became judges, reading, reviewing, discussing and debating the Kate Greenaway shortlisted titles, following the strict criteria which is now in place. Throughout the award, pupils posted their book reviews on the official CKG website and had the opportunity to see what other shadowing groups are saying about the books. It all became extremely tense towards the end of the book award, as pupils voted for their favourite book.

The final session took place on June 18th with a CKG celebration, with the winning books being revealed.

QEGS put to the test by BAE Systems and EDF Energy On Friday 15th March, a group of ten Design Technology pupils and students took part in the annual Rotary International Technology Tournament which was sponsored by BAE Systems and EDF Energy. It was a huge event with schools across Blackburn with Darwen and the Ribble Valley taking part.

The challenging brief was to design and build a wheeled device, to move along a track that could pick up a container with a magnetic hook, which then had to take the container back along the track and place it down. In addition, the

Intermediate teams had to pass under a low bridge on each journey there and back. Advanced teams had the bridge a little closer to the container, and had to place the container onto a target, then release the magnetic hook to complete the task.

Our pupils and students enjoyed a great day putting different solutions forward, using wood, glue, wire, string and an electric motor. All QEGS teams were focused, and fabulous ambassadors of our school. They developed team work skills, had to meet deadlines, and their planning and design abilities were put to the test as well as building and performance skills.

The teams achieved some outstanding results on the day, Chief judge, Don Fraser-Clark, commented on the high standard of entries this year with what was a very challenging project.

QEGS Foundation team consisted exclusively of four Year 8 pupils, while teams from other schools in this section were Year 9 or above so a podium place of second was outstanding.

QEGS Advanced team was awarded 1st place, as was the QEGS Staff team. Well done to all participants!

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Trinity Term

Sports Awards Presentation Evening 2018 - 2019 QEGS Physical Education Department Annual Sports Awards Presentation was held on Thursday 2nd May at Blackburn Rovers Football Club. We were delighted to welcome Burnley-born, former England Hockey player Charlotte Hartley as our special guest for the event.

The presentations began with Rugby and the ‘Manager’s Player of the Year’ Award, which was awarded to Year 11 pupil Felix Taylor.

U12’s

U13’s

U14’s

U15’s

Senior

Players’ Player

Billie Caffrey

Alexandra Brown

Saffron Barnes

Ella Hardman

Julie Mathew

Manager’s Player

Ruby Caffrey

Husna Karimi

Niamh Hamilton

Abigail Hardman

Bea Clarke

QEGS Club Player of the Year Awards went to: Boys Athletics Girls Athletics Swimming Badminton Girls Football Table Tennis

Felix Taylor Kate Cookson Alex Keeling and Connor Creedon Muhammad Ali Esha Yousaf Ithezaz Ali and Sufyaan Mayat

Presentations were made by Dr Butler to Year 11 pupils, Jacob Gibson and Lea Robinson, as Young Volunteers for Junior Swimming Coaching. Dr Butler thanked them both for their continued commitment and dedication, for giving up their time to coach pupils who attend the Schools’ Swimming Club.

Connor Roscoe then gave his review of the Football season and trophies were awarded for ‘Players’ Player’ and ‘Manager’s Player’ in the following year groups:

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U12’s

U13’s

U14’s

U15’s

2nd XI

1st XI

Players’ Player

Alex Keeling

Samad Yasir

Josh Asal

Alex Bendell

Imran Satvilker

Tom McCann

Manager’s Player

Amar Shahbaz

Edward Bower

Ethan Hudson

Elliot Martin

Dominic Brown and Oliver Wiggans

The annual Swimming review was delivered by Jarvis Davies. Special mentions were given to Baylie Seery, Jacob Gibson, Kyle Robinson and Isabella Cavazana for their commitment to Senior swimming. Trophies were awarded for ‘Players’ Player’ and ‘Manager’s Player’ in the following year groups: U12’s

U13’s

U14’s

Players’ Player

Aidan Robinson

Jenson Gibson

Ruby Brandon

Manager’s Player

Amy Ainsworth

Oliver Jenkins

Lilly Short

U15’s

Senior Isabella Cavazanna

Baylie Seery

Special Achievement Awards for competing at Regional, National or International level were presented to: English Schools Golf National Finalist English Schools Golf National Finalist English Schools Golf National Finalist Leeds Rhinos U17 Elite Performance Squad GBR U17 Cadets and Team England Fencing Team British Championships Skiing – 4th in GBR U16 female

James Andrews Owais Musa Ahmad Musa Bea Clarke Nicole Saunders Sadie Merritt

Kyle Robinson

o

o

Finally, ‘Sporting Ambassador of the Year’ was awarded to Tom McCann.

The annual Cricket review was delivered by William Smith. Trophies were awarded for Players’ Player and Manager’s Player in the following year groups:

U12’s

U13’s

U14’s

U15’s

Players’ Player

Rohail Rabbani

Zain Akhtar

Louis Strand

Anees Hajari

Manager’s Player

Hassan Mughal

Milo Gammon

Tom Sleigh

Raiyan Hussain

o

1st XI

Qasim Shah

The presentation of awards to pupils who have been selected for Lancashire County Schools’ Teams were awarded to: LSCA Cricket U14’s LSCA Cricket U17’s County Netball U15’s Inter Counties Swimming Inter Counties Swimming Inter Counties Swimming Inter Counties Swimming LSGA County Golf U18’s Lancashire County Athletics Lancashire County Athletics Lancashire County Athletics

Rhan Zore Qasim Shah Niamh Hamilton Amy Ainsworth Daniel Ainsworth Anastasia Hartshorne-Evans Baylie Seery James Andrews Nicole Saunders Harvey Ashworth Hannah Cookson

The evening was a huge success with pupils and their proud parents attending; congratulations to all of our award winners and 2018/19 team players.

Thank you to all who supported the event and for making it yet another fantastic memorable evening. Your generosity raised an amazing £445.00 for ‘Children with Cancer UK’ charity. A special mention also to Eleanor Connell and Rhys Millington for providing the evening’s entertainment.

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An Adventure to Remember Thirty-six excited Year 6 pupils began their journey to Colomendy, North Wales in late May for three days of adventure. The pupils’ first and most challenging task was to make their beds; the teachers watched on in amusement as pupils attempted to put duvets into their covers!

Once settled into their accommodation, there was just enough time for the pupils to take on their first activity; some groups completed orienteering while others tackled the zip wire. The evening then brought a murder mystery challenge, in which the pupils correctly deduced that Miss Fox was the (hypothetical) murderer.

After a restful night’s sleep, the pupils woke bright and early, with a few awake and showering at 4:45am! Following a hearty breakfast, everyone was keen to take on their next challenges, buggy building, zip wire, bush craft and the balance beam. The evening was spent singing songs and telling jokes around a campfire in the woods before retiring to bed, completely exhausted.

On the final day, a more relaxed morning was had, with no more 4:45am wake-ups. The pupils took on the final activities of the trip, caving and climbing. Everyone was sad to be saying goodbye to Kingswood, including the teachers, after having had a wonderful three days. The pupils’ behaviour was impeccable with memories being made that will last a lifetime!

Arcade Club

Dystopian Workshop

The Year 10 and Year 12 Computer Scientists took a trip to Bury to visit the largest free-to-play Arcade Club in Europe. They experienced virtual reality and explored what can cause the ‘sickness’ effect, while also investigating high end PCs to see the difference a co-processor makes to displaying graphics on the screen.

Year 7 and 8 pupils were treated to a dystopian workshop by writer Anthony Ergo, who mesmerised the Year 7s with details of his novels.

The pupils and students also examined networked arcade machines and discovered that a network can connect more than just consoles and PCs. The Year 12 students looked in depth at how algorithms are used in the old style arcade games and the limitations that the hardware forced upon programmers in the 1980s; it was imperative that the algorithms were well coded in terms of Big O Notation.

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The pupils explored the ingredients of a dystopian novel and then used these to work in pairs creating a plan to write their own stories. The best idea of the day was attributed to a Year 8 pupil who planned a story that involved Hitler not being dead but instead being held on ice, finally to be defrosted in 2019 to rise as an evil tyrant again.

All pupils wrote up their dystopian short stories and the best ones were put on display in the English corridor.

Young Analyst Competition Three Year 12 students Isabella Cavazzana, Jessica Walsh and Yatish Chavda took part in a competitive analytical practical competition held at UCLAN University.

It was an amazing opportunity for the students to be involved in this competitive analytical practical experience and they were fascinated to see the scale and the facilities of a university laboratory. The students found the experience quite stressful, but thoroughly enjoyable, as they were exposed to a variety of techniques. This was an excellent competition, well organised by UCLAN in partnership with Lancaster University and The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Saunders Strives for Success Congratulations to Nicole Saunders who will be representing Blackburn with Darwen in the Athletics YDL series Premier North West league, where she will be competing in the Hammer, Javelin and Discus.

This follows her recent success in achieving a new PB in the Hammer discipline, and reaching a distance above an English schools standard in the discus, in which she achieved 1st place with a throw that exceeded 28 metres!

A Ball Was Had By All Pleasington Golf Club was the splendid venue for the Uganda Project Fundraising Ball. The black tie event was an opportunity for past and present students to join those that have been involved in the project to meet up, enjoy each other’s company, and be entertained by the exceptional solo artist, Andy Crawford.

The event was a huge success; not only did everyone have a terrific time catching up, but it also raised more than £2,500.00. A tremendous amount! This will go towards the construction of a kitchen for the Good Samaritan Primary school in Kampala.

Student Sebastian Roberts said grace before dinner, which was followed by a vote of thanks from Mr Buckingham. Later in the evening, a silent auction and raffle was compèred by Dr Butler. With the wonderful generosity of the guests this raised more than £1,300.00.

Students embarking on the trip in July, Jasmin Yeung and Will Smith, managed to secure superb prizes for the auction from Bashall Barn, Stanley House, Brunei travel, The Inn at Whitewell, Longridge Golf Club, and a meal at Angels restaurant was also donated by ‘The Old Blackburnians’.

The monies raised will go a long way into providing the necessary funding to build the school an actual kitchen. Presently, food is cooked upon an open wood fire in what can only be described a shack.

It was also a privilege to have the presence of Dr Paul Wright and his family in attendance.

Paul is the inspiration behind the Uganda project that QEGS has been a part of since 2010.

The Wright family have invested greatly over the years to help make the Ugandan school a truly amazing success story.

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Reading Millionaires

Well done to Zainab Iftiker, Laiba Imran, Fahad Mohammad, Christopher Chen and Rayhan Jamil who, at the end of Lent term, all became Reading Millionaires.

A special mention must go to Fahad, who achieved over two million words!

QEGS Celebrate Iftaar There are many occasions during the school year when we come together to celebrate for one reason or another. As a school we are encouraged to promote the British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs.

During the season of Ramadan many of our pupils, students, parents and carers fasted during the day light hours. The fast was broken at around sunset (the Iftaar) and on Wednesday 22nd May, many members of staff joined in with the fast too.

To celebrate, we welcomed all parents, carers, students and pupils to return to school that evening at 9pm to break the fast together. This was an invitation to all, regardless of cultural background.

Refreshments were provided by the school catering team, but the vast majority of food was prepared and brought in by parents and pupils. Their kindness and generosity meant that the spread was extremely impressive!

We mentioned in the letter of invitation that we should all celebrate together. This was a gathering when Muslims, Christians and those of other faiths joined together for what was a lovely evening. Thank you to everybody who came along for another successful Iftaar Celebration.

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New Kid on the Block Well done to Molly Caffrey who competed at the Lancashire Athletics Championships.

Being a new member of Preston Harriers, and the first time over hurdles, she came runner up in the Under 13s’ Girls’ 70m Hurdles, and also and runner up in the 100m race. This is a tremendous achievement whilst still only being 10 years old. Well done Molly!

Head of Primary Award

Abiha Mukhtar (3KP) received the Head of Primary Award for her keen and positive attitude towards learning.

Abiha has been outstanding in phonics, which has boosted her reading skills and subsequently has increased her confidence in the classroom as she continues to strive to present her work to the best of her ability. Well done!

Hurrah for Henry Year 9 pupil Saffron Barnes competed in the Lowes Leisure Dressage series at Eccleston Equestrian Centre.

Riding Henry, she successfully completed four dressage competitions over a number of weeks, competing against riders from across the region.

Out of the four rounds in her class, Saffron earned 1st place three times.

Lights, Audience, Action!

English and Drama students travelled to The Lowry Theatre to watch a ballet adaptation of the famous short novel “The Great Gatsby”. Following a delicious meal with great company, the group sat, curious and excited, waiting for the show to begin. It did not disappoint.

lighting and music. Though this new perspective of performance distracted some of the students from the storyline, but, with a quick online reading of the synopsis, the group became well armed for the second half.

Northern Ballet’s exclusive new narrative ballet, has made a significant impact on the British dance scene. The Great Gatsby, generally considered one of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s finest novels, tells the story of New York’s Long Island, in the heady, indulgent days of the ‘roaring twenties’. Through the narrator, Nick Carraway comes to know his infamous neighbour Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire with a secret past and a penchant for lavish parties.

After being taken aback by this style of performance, which many students had never thought of attending, the English students are now more eager than ever to expand their knowledge about the fantastic novel in class, as well as the drama students who saw it as a brilliant reward for all of the hard work that they have been involved with this year.

The vivid costumes and glamour really brought energy and enthusiasm to the performance, especially during scenes at Gatsby’s party. The distortion of reflection, timing and props were faultless.

The tension builds between husband Tom, his delicate wife Daisy, mechanic George Wilson and his wife Myrtle whom he suspects, rightly, of having an affair. Through startling flexibility and expression, the dancers really made the audience feel each movement beneath their feet. It was lovely to get lost in this new piece, and to be inspired by costume,

The final championship scores, taken from all competitors in each group saw Saffron awarded 2nd place overall.

Congratulations Saffron, and good luck competing in a higher class in the Autumn.

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Physics Olympics In June, a team of four Year 9 physicists travelled to King’s School, Chester to compete in the Physics Olympics.

Faced with tough opposition from many schools across North West England and North Wales, our pupils soon settled to the tasks at hand. They tackled a number of challenges, including decoding radio messages using their programming skills, experimenting with gear ratios and wheel sizes to build a tractor to pull weights up an incline, and building model power boats and rockets. The group applied themselves excellently throughout the day, coming in the top half overall in each event and winning the Fermi Quiz (even beating the four teacher teams!).

After an excellent day of competition, QEGS (or ‘Team Thomson’ named after JJ. Thomson who discovered the electron!) finished a very respectable 4th, out of the 19 school teams.

Congratulations and well done to our young physicists!

High-5 to our Primary Phase Netball Team!

At the end of April, the Primary Phase netball team represented the school in the final netball competition of the season.

The tournament, which involved eight schools, was held at St. Bede’s Roman Catholic High School. The QEGS team played amazingly well, demonstrating excellent footwork and movement skills. Their hard work during training sessions really paid off, seeing the team confidently win all of their games; thus making Mrs Bamber one very proud teacher.

Well done to all involved in a great season!

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Bring Me Sunshine Morecambe was the destination during Trinity term for our Year 7 Geographers.

Pupils visited the seaside town to develop their key geographical skills, conducting environmental quality surveys, sketched the sea defences along the prom and asked members of the local community their opinions, on the oncethriving tourist destination.

Pupils marvelled at the Midland Hotel and were excited to see the plans for the proposed Eden Project North. Despite the weather, a fantastic time was had by all, with no visit to Morecambe being complete without a photo with the largerthan-life statue of Eric Morecambe!

It’s a Booking for Braithwaite

Three former students head to Buckingham Palace with Duke of Edinburgh On a glorious day in May, former QEGS students Anas Ganchi, Samantha Hepworth and Safeerah Sidat attended Buckingham Palace to receive their Gold, Duke of Edinburgh award.

Upon arrival at Buckingham Palace, everyone had an opportunity to explore the extensive Palace gardens, and prior to the start of the presentations, the group met with TV presenter Dr Ranj Singh.

Following a brief presentation from the regional host on royal protocol, HRH The Countess of Wessex, Trustee for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, spoke to the group and congratulated them on achieving the award and also allowed them to share stories of their DofE journeys.

Dr Ranj Singh then presented the certificates to the students, with just enough time for more photographs and celebrity spotting, before heading home after a wonderfully memorable day.

Jack Brathwaite was proud to be appointed the Match Referee for the U14’s Youth County Cup game, held at Lancashire FA’s ground in Leyland.

He was also chosen to be Assistant Referee at an additional two finals, held at AFC Darwen. Well done Jack!

Pupil Librarians – Silver Award Well done to our Pupil Librarians, Mohammed Ali, Christopher Chen, Paige Feast, Zac Jones, Muhammad Patel and Freya Scott, all of whom at the end of Lent term achieved their Silver Award.

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Pupil Librarians visit ‘Wigan Museum of Life’ Year 8 Pupil Librarians recently experienced a fascinating and education trip to the ‘Wigan Museum of Life’ which proved to be a very informative and exciting day.

Their tour guide, whose own passion for libraries evidently shone through, shared her knowledge about the history of Wigan and the library itself. Our librarians were keen to hear her stories from long ago, even dating back to the 17th century, with some amazing artefacts on display to help the stories come to life. From bookbinding, cataloguing, processing, the archives, microfilm storage and even an added touch of genealogy, pupils were whisked away to another era. From the Stone Age through to present day, pupils soon became hooked into a wealth of history, through talks, artefacts and videos.

The tour also included a visit to The Galleries where pupils had the chance to see the new art installations created by young budding local artists from the Wigan School of Art,

Unearthing Grasmere

with some extremely intriguing exhibitions representing Isaac Newton, Arthur C. Clarke, Alan Turning’s computer language of binary code and Wigan coal mines. The work they saw was truly inspirational.

The highlight of the trip had to be the visit to the old reference library and local studies area. The library is still in daily use, and well used. Our pupils soon found themselves lost in books, deep in history and captivated in a time warp of knowledge. At the end of the trip all pupils were given a collection of the Past Forward magazine, Wigan Museum’s own publication, with the school library also receiving copies of the magazine.

The trip was a fantastic opportunity as our pupil librarians came to the end of their training. As a thank you for all of their hard work, Librarians received book prizes and certificates for completing their training during a reading celebration at the end of term.

Year 12 geographers enjoyed a visit to the honeypot site of Grasmere in the Lake District to investigate the glaciated landscape in the surrounding valleys. The students enjoyed the walk to Easedale Tarn and discovered the orientation of glaciers that shaped the landscape. Students gained valuable skills to assist in their independent investigations and even found time for an ice cream in the sun!

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Our pupil librarians have acquired many new skills from their time spent in the school library this year, and without a doubt, these skills will help them as they move up through school and beyond. A personal thank you from Mrs Dewhurst goes out to the wonderful team of pupil librarians for all their dedicated lunchtime contributions, innovative ideas, sharing their passion of books with their peers, and for being involved in the plethora of activities and events the library has hosted this year.

Our Pupil Librarians for 2018/19 are: Muhammad Ali Christopher Chen Paige Feast Zac Jones Mohammed Patel Freya Scott

Nicole becomes British Youth Sabre Champion Huge congratulations to Nicole Saunders who has won the U16 British Youth Sabre Fencing Championships.

The event was held in Sheffield at the EIS on the May Bank Holiday weekend. Nicole was fencing against a very strong field of over thirty U16 girls, whom all previously were regional winners from across the UK. Nicole fought well, winning her pool and was ranked second before the DE. She had a bye in the first round but went onto the final where she fought against the reigning champion from Truro. Nicole gained the first five points but was down 8-9 at half time. At 14 all, and with both girls putting up a tremendous fight, it was Nicole who won the final point to become the British U16 Champion Sabre 2019.

Nicole has also excelled in Athletics. At the Lancashire Championships in Blackpool, she came 3rd in U15 Javelin, 1st in Discus, reaching English Schools’ Standard and also went on to win the Hammer, reaching another English Schools’ Standard.

Lancashire Schools’ Athletics

Year 12 Visit Leeds University

Senior School Pupils and students represented QEGS in the Lancashire Schools’ Athletics competition at Stanley Park in Blackpool and did themselves, and the school, extremely proud. Well done to:

During Trinity term, the Careers Department accompanied Year 12 to Leeds University Open Day.

Event

Position

Time/Distance

Rebecca Mitchell

Triple Jump

3rd

8.53m

Hannah Cookson

800m

3rd

2.37.7

Nicky Saunders

Discus

1st

30.04m (NS)

Kate Lambert

Javelin

5th

20.49m

Harvey Ashworth

1500m

9th

4.35

This gave the students an opportunity to look at areas in which they might be interested in completing a degree course. They had the opportunity to look around the University campus and facilities, and some of the halls of residence. Lecturers were available to talk to, as well as Leeds students who explained about life at the University. This was an excellent opportunity for Year 12 to focus their ideas as they start to apply to UCAS for future degree courses.

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Sports Day 2019

On a glorious day at Witton Park, Senior school enjoyed yet another exciting and closely contested Senior School Sports Day. The day gave our pupils and students a chance to showcase their sporting prowess, great energy and competitive team spirit.

The fantastic performances from the athletes ensured a lively atmosphere, as the Houses went head to head.

Well done to everyone, but special congratulations to Grenville House, and Miss Wilkinson, who were the overall winners. The final points and House positions are: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Grenville Howard Raleigh Drake Frobisher Hawkins

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331 pts 329 pts 303 pts 278 pts 270 pts 224 pts

This year also saw an amazing number of events, having school records broken. Congratulations to the new school record holders for 2019: Yasira Patel

Seniors

Cricket Ball

24.17m

Grenville Girls Team

Year 7

Relay

67.84 seconds

Howard Girls Team

Years 9 & 10

Relay

63.20 seconds

Baylie Seery

Year 10

100m

14.12 seconds

Maisie Roberts

Year 8

200m

29.40 seconds

Ruby Caffrey

Year 7

200m

30.19 seconds

Ali Khan

Year 7

200m

26.48 seconds

Ella Hardman

Year 10

400m

79.21 seconds

Jess Worsley

Year 7

Cricket Ball

26.41m

Laiba Imran

Year 7

Standing Triple Jump

4.45m

Muruvet Demir

Year 8

Cricket Ball

34.90m

Rebecca Mitchell

Seniors

Long Jump

4.31m

Nicole Saunders

Year 9

Discus

24.70m

Maisie Roberts

Year 8

Triple Jump

6.12m

Nicole Saunders

Year 9

Cricket Ball

39.19m

Sadie Merrit

Year 9

Triple Jump

6.32m

Champion Athletes for 2019: Year 7 Boys Aidan Robinson Year 7 Girls Ruby Caffrey Year 8 Boys Danyal Kiyani Year 8 Girls Maisie Roberts Year 9 Boys George Hargreaves Year 9/10 Girls Nicole Saunders Year 10 Boys Elliot Martin Senior Girls Isabella Cavazzana Senior Boys Oliver Wiggans & Dominic Brown

Magical Limestone Landscapes The sun was shining for Year 8 when they visited the dramatic limestone landscape of Malham in the Yorkshire Dales.

Pupils had a magical day exploring Malham, visiting the spectacular Janet’s Foss, Gordale Scar and the famous Harry Potter limestone pavement. They observed how limestone reacted with acid and gained a better understanding of how this fantastic landscape was formed.

Jason’s Magic Railway Congratulations to Mark Jones (OB 72-79) on the launch of his new children’s book “Jason’s Magic Railway”.

It was a pleasure to have Mark join Year 7 to discuss and read extracts from his first book, Jason’s Magic Railway. Mark summarised:”10-year-old Jason somehow finds himself transported to back to Blackburn in 1862.

He has no money, few clothes and doesn’t know anyone but he discovers the generosity of a struggling Irish family and is befriended by the local clergyman”. As real historical events happen around him, Jason has amazing adventures amid poverty, crime, a train crash and a riot.

Mark was also kind enough to leave the Library with a signed copy of his book.

GCSE Geographers visit Liverpool’s Central Business District Year 10 geographers enjoyed a jam-packed day in Liverpool investigating the regeneration of the Central Business District. The investigation will form part of the pupils final GCSE examination where they will critically discuss methods and results.

The young geographers conducted environmental quality surveys, footfall counts and interviews. Pupils also had the opportunity to explore Liverpool’s rich maritime heritage on a Mersey river cruise. A great day was had by all!

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Raising the Flag In late June, twenty-seven Year 7 pupils attended the Flag Raising ceremony at Blackburn Town Hall to mark the start of Armed Forces Week 2019.

Pupils listened to speeches by both the Mayor and the Leader of the Council, in honour of all the members of the Armed Forces who had given their lives to defend our liberty.

Our pupils respectfully stood to observe a two-minute silence.

Royal Society of Young People’s Book Prize 2019 The Science Faculty and the school library joined forces to launch the Royal Society of Young People’s Book Prize for 2019. This is the second year that our school to take part in the book prize and once again we were extremely excited about the process.

A team of avid Year 7 readers joined Dr Saunders and Mrs Dewhurst for the book launch, including Year 8 pupil, Adam Sidat, whom after thoroughly enjoying his role of being a judge last year, returned to the panel once again.

The judges were guided by the Chair, who helped steer them along the judging path, making group decisions and following the strict criteria for the award.

Town Athletics Competition Witton Park became a hive of activity when our budding Primary Phase super stars competed in numerous athletic events.

Eighteen pupils represented QEGS from Year 3 through to Year 6 with each of them competing in at least one event.

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Pupils from Years 5 and 6 collaborated in the relay event and Christy Chen and Molly Caffrey were crowned Town Champions in the Long Jump and 80m Sprint.

Findlay Carroll finished 2nd in the Long Jump and Zoe Nightingale finished 3rd in the Triple Jump.

The award is endorsed by the School Library Association, and is another opportunity for the school library to collaborate with other areas within school.

Thank you to the Royal Society for their generous donation of the books, the shortlisted Science books will be added to the main Library stock at the end of the book prize.

The panel: Chair: Zainab Iftiker (7ZMS) Judges: Omar Juma (7DMM), Harvey Buck (7DMM), William Hartley (7DMM), Hibah Munir (7ZMS), Erica Riley (7FAM), Jaden Baron (7FAM), Cameron Latif (7KIC) and Adam Sidat (8JLN) Joint panel leaders: Dr Saunders and Mrs Dewhurst

Edge Hill University UCAS Careers Fair The Careers department, along with Mr Hindle, Mr Park, Miss Ash and Mr Roocroft, accompanied the whole of Year 12 to the annual UCAS Fair at Edge Hill University to research possible degree options.

There was a wide range of universities represented both locally and nationally. Our students had the opportunity to talk directly to the representatives from each establishment to discuss their options and they also took advantage of the seminars on the UCAS process and university finance.

It was an excellent event, which has allowed our students to gain a real understanding of the institutions to which they might be looking to apply.

Junior Maths Challenge During Trinity term, over thirty of our top mathematicians from Years 7 and 8 took part in the Junior Maths Challenge. QEGS pupils gained an impressive two Gold awards, eight Silver awards and ten Bronze awards.

Zain Ahmed and Rayhan Motara, our Gold certificate winners, have qualified for the prestigious Kangaroo competition. Only the top 25% are invited to take part in this competition and, for our pupils to accomplish this in Year 7, is a fantastic achievement.

Year 3 Visit Brockholes Nature Reserve During Trinity term, Year 3 visited Brockholes Nature Reserve. They met their guides for the day and soon began their adventure. 3EP used a map to find an outdoor Gruffalo classroom and 3KP became plant investigators.

A variety of birds and lots of insects were spotted during the four-mile walk around the reserve, including a pheasant. It was a fun-filled day for all and they even managed to avoid the rain!

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QEGS first ‘Free’ School Cohort achieve GCSE results to shout about!

It was smiles all around as our first ‘Free’ School cohort collected their GCSE results.

Our pupils have worked incredibly hard to achieve these results which reflect well on the commitment and hard work of both the pupils and their teachers.

The Head, Mrs Gammon, was delighted to see 28% of pupils gain at least five 9-7 grades in their GCSEs, an increase of 5% compared to last year. This is an excellent achievement considering the increased difficulty of the new GCSE subjects.

Overall 29.5% of results were awarded 9-7 grades, 69.4% were awarded 9-5 grades and 86.4% were awarded 9-4 grades. 91.4% of pupils gained at least 5 grades 9-4. All

of these are an increase on the results from August 2018 and significantly above the national figures for August 2018.

It was especially pleasing to see the English and Mathematics results. 94% of pupils passed English at a grade 4 and above, 87% of pupils passed Mathematics at a grade 4 and above and 85% of pupils passed both English and Mathematics at a grade 4 and above. At grade 5 and above, 83% achieved this measure in English and 59% achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and Mathematics. These are all predicted to be significantly above national figures.

Art, Biology, Chemistry, Further Mathematics, Geography, Latin, Physics, Combined Science and Ethics and Philosophy all achieved 85% and above in the grade 9-4 measure, with Art, Biology, Chemistry, Further

Mathematics, Latin, Physics and Combined Science all gaining above 80% in the grade 9-5 measure. Art, Further Mathematics, Latin, Physical Education and Ethics and Philosophy all achieved above 40% 9-7 grades with Biology achieving 72.4%, Chemistry achieving 75.9% and Physics achieving 93.1% in this measure.

Particularly pleasing were the results for Art and Ethics and Philosophy. Art achieved 45% 9-7 grades, 83% 9-5 grades and 93% 9-4 grades with Ethics and Philosophy achieving 46% 9-7 grades, 85% 9-5 grades and 92% 9-4 grades.

Many of our pupils returned to QEGS for their Sixth Form education and we wish all pupils well for the next stage of their education.

QEGS Celebrate Outstanding A level Results Students and staff at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School were celebrating in the Summer as students collected their A level results.

Overall results showed a 6% increase in the awarding of A*/A grades and a 3% increase in the A*/B measure.

There was also a 2% increase in the number of students achieving at least 3 A grades.

34% of students achieved at least one A* or A grade which is a remarkable achievement as the School only offers a set of the most traditional and rigorous A level subjects.

Art, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Classical Civilisation, English and Mathematics have all seen an increase in the percentage of students obtaining A* or A grades whilst Art, Business, Classical Civilisation, Design Technology, History, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology and Spanish have all seen an increase in the percentage of students obtaining A*, A or B grades.

A level Arabic, Art, Design Technology and Physical Education saw 100% of students gaining A*-B grades, with Chemistry gaining 54%, Classical Civilisation 75% and Spanish gaining 67% in this measure.

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All of our A level subjects saw 50% or more students gaining A*-C grades in their subject with 12 out of 19 subjects seeing more than 60% of students gaining A*-C grades.

The vast majority of students were accepted onto a university course of their choice and those going through the clearing system quickly secured places. We are proud to have had students going to University to read the most competitive courses including Medicine, Optometry, Biosciences, Aerospace Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Law and Economics with Business Management.

Students will be attending a range of Universities including Newcastle University, Liverpool University, Leeds University, Lancaster University, Manchester University and Queen Mary’s Bristol.

Mrs Claire Gammon was delighted with the results.

“To see so many students being able to accept places on University courses of their choice was really pleasing. Our students continue to work extremely hard and thoroughly deserve their success.”

“I would like to congratulate all the students and wish them well in the future.”

Senior Phase Library is Open for All What a lovely sunny morning it was when the Library hosted the ‘One Sunny Morning’ activity with our Year 3 and 4 reading group who all had a wonderful and inspiring visit to our Senior School library. Upon arrival, twenty excited pupils were given a short tour of the welcoming and wellresourced Senior Library.

The pupils soon got to work on the activity with Mrs Dewhurst which looked at non-fiction books, designed to help pupils understand the way in which the Dewey Decimal System works in libraries. It’s never too early to start introducing the basics of library

skills and talk about how libraries are organised, offering pupils a positive experience of books and the library.

Pupils were also given the opportunity to be creative as they took part in the Julia Donaldson book activity ‘The Scarecrows’ Wedding’. Each pupil left with a themed postcard, which had been sent to school by the author and poet Julia Donaldson.

The latter part of the session involved pupils being awarded certificates for their contribution to their reading group, and there were many!

Mrs Dewhurst was absolutely delighted to work with such an enthusiastic group who had shown excellent listening skills and very much hopes they will have the opportunity to visit the library again soon.

Baylie Gives Her Best Following on from County Swimming Championships during Lent term, Baylie Seery competed at the North West Regional Championships, where she entered five events. She came away achieving places in the top 15, and two personal best times.

Baylie then began the Trinity half term travelling to Wales to compete in a level 1 event, the Cardiff International Open Meet.

She was lucky enough to have all of her entries accepted and in true Baylie style, she rose to the occasion and had another fantastic meet, gaining two further personal best times.

As Baylie continued into the next competition, in the eight events she entered, Baylie won three Bronze medals, two Silver and 1 Gold, along with four more PBs - one of which was over seven seconds faster than her previous recorded time!

With Baylie’s latest successes in the pool, she has completed the swim season with 100% long course personal best times and was just three events shy of 100% in a short course pool. Baylie has trained extremely hard this season and her efforts have been truly rewarded, well done!

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A Day of Diversity at QEGS

School Diversity Week was celebrated by schools and colleges across the UK and QEGS used the opportunity to fundraise over £500 for #JustLikeU and the Uganda Project. In excess of 350,000 people were involved in the event nationally which included some high profile action, such as a colourful flower arch outside 10 Downing Street.

Year 10 Work Experience From the 1st to 5th July, the whole of Year 10 took part in the annual work experience week. Pupils were either placed in specific targeted placements, or initiated their own self-placements.

The aim was to allow pupils to gain a feel for the type of work executed in their possible chosen profession, and to inspire them to excel in their forthcoming GCSE examinations, in order to enter their chosen career path.

This has been an extremely valuable experience, and we have since received many positive comments, not just from the pupils but also the employers, who were impressed with the maturity and application of our pupils.

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QEGS held a non-uniform day on Friday 5th July raising £271.45 for #JustLikeUs and £271.45 towards the school’s Uganda Project, from non-uniform donations, sale of shoelaces, ribbons and other donations across the week.

We would like to thank all the pupils, students, staff, and especially parents and carers for their support with the event.

It was interesting to discuss diversity in PSHE lessons during the week, considering the diverse community at QEGS, in Blackburn and in the UK, reflecting the way we can embrace differences to learn more about people we live alongside.

A Helping Hand Jacob Gibson was joined by younger brother Jenson, in offering a helping hand as young volunteers to raise money for ‘Heartbeat’.

The event took place at Costa Coffee in Preston town centre. During the two hours, just over £100.00 in loose change was donated to the very worthwhile cause.

Jacob has given up his time on numerous occasions over the last couple of years to support charities such as Heartbeat, Oj’s, St Catherine’s Hospice and Rainbow House. It is good to see Jenson following in his footsteps. Well done to both of you!

Class of 2019 make a difference in Uganda Our Sixth Form students raised over £9000 in preparation for the trip to Uganda and every penny was spent on finishing off the Good Samaritan Primary School.

This year, a kitchen was built and solar panelling will also be added. A delivery of thirty mattresses caused quite a stir amongst the children whilst at the school too! Since our first visit in 2010, parents, students, teachers, friends and family have raised over £80,000 in order to build a fully resourced school. It has gone far beyond what we could ever have imagined, when we came with our first group.

This visit was a terrific success, our students got stuck in to everything asked of them, they gave the children in the school real care and affection. Something that sadly many of them lack because they have been orphaned by the deadly disease HIV. Mr Buckingham, who led the trip, is confident that this project has now been completed and the school will be self-sustainable. No doubt we shall be staying in contact and we will still be helping in some capacity. With Mr Buckingham retiring from school this time, he passes on his thanks to everyone who has supported the project. He comments, “It has been a truly humbling experience, but also one that has brought me amazing memories and wonderful relationships.”

A parent, who was part of the 2019 visit, wrote this on her Facebook page which sums up what has, and is, being achieved in this special part of Uganda: “The Good Samaritan School in Wakiso Uganda is one of overwhelming love, happiness, community and simplicity of life. Rising from the fires of poverty, disease, loss and despair. Children now have hope and way out of poverty through education.”

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Seven billion, four hundred and thirteen million, five hundred and eleven thousand and four hundred and sixty-six!

Towards the end of the academic year it’s always a delight to share achievements.

This year, we are extremely proud that the Accelerated Reader reading programme has helped to create twenty-five reading millionaires (reading a million words and beyond) and fifty-three STAR readers (reading 500,000 words and beyond).

As if reading a million words wasn’t enough, we also had two pupils who went on to read a staggering two million words; congratulations must go to Zainab Iftikar (7ZMS) and Fahad Mohammad (7DMM).

Lots of fun was had by all, as readers celebrated their success with a lunchtime reading celebration where prizes and certificates were awarded to all achievers. Nathan Millward (7ZMS) was also awarded for his enthusiasm and sheer dedication to the reading programme.

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QEGS Reading Millionaires for 2018/19 are: Harvey Buck, Mariah Iqbal, Rayhan Motara, Erica Riley, Milly Hillman-Nixon, Inaaya Khan, Mohammad Mulla, William Hartley, Laiba Imran, Hibah Munir, Fahad Mohammad, Zainab Iftikar, Fatima Adnan, Zoya Ayaz, Hira Ayub, Christopher Chen, Mehek Hussain, Zareen Hussain, Rayhan Jamil, Aminah Masood, Adiva Shah, Haiqa Tariq, Freya Scott, Sania Tariq and Imaan Khalid.

In all, the final total for words read for 2018/19 were a staggering seven billion, four hundred and thirteen million, five hundred and eleven thousand and four hundred and sixty-six words read.

Well done everyone!

It was also a time to thank and congratulate our current Year 8 pupil librarians who have now all successfully completed their gold award for the pupil librarian training. This training is endorsed by the School Library Association, offers pupils a chance to learn many new library and social skills, helping pupils to become confident

library users and ambassadors for the school. Well done to: Freya Scott, Zac Jones, Mohammed Patel, Muhammad Ali, Christopher Chen and Paige Feast.

To see more news about our events and activities in the school library – please visit https://www.facebook.com/QegsLibraryBlackburn/

Prom Perfection Organised by Head of Year, Mr Hindle, our Year 11’s big night finally arrived in late June and saw pupils gather for one last time to celebrate their years at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in style.

Eaves Hall was the sophisticated venue which gave our hardworking Year 11 pupils the perfect opportunity to celebrate the end of the academic year and chance to say goodbye to their teachers that had challenged and supported them through their school days at QEGS. Many thanks to Mr Bendell who kindly offered to be chief photographer for the evening, capturing the arrival of the teenagers arriving in style, in an array of exquisite vehicles, which also included a mobility scooter!

The pupils seen around school every day rose to the occasion extremely well; it was evident that they had put a great deal of effort into their appearance with everyone looking stunning, confident, and ready for the world.

The dining room had been beautifully decorated by the Eaves Hall staff with the help of Year 11 pupil Bea Clarke and Mr Hindle. The food was delicious with pupils and staff enjoying the moment to engage in conversation. Following the meal, Mr Hindle congratulated the Year 11 pupils on making it through their GCSE examinations and gave his thanks to all who had helped to make the event a wonderfully memorable occasion.

As voted by their peers, Annabelle Smith and Finch N’Tumba were crowned Prom Queen and King. Mrs Gammon also presented awards in the following categories: Hard working Best double act Best Dressed Male Best Dressed Female Best Sportsman Best Sportswoman

Zak Bux Will Simmons & Joe Ellison Hussain Patel Amber Goodeve Tom McCann Bea Clarke

Most likely awards: Comedian Rich and Famous Reality TV Star Prime Minister

Hamza Iqbal Eddison Holmes-Dennett Inaam Aman Faiq Toppa

The OBA kindly provided the funds for the pupils to enjoy a ‘Magic Mirror’ Photo Booth. This provided many laughs and lots of great photos that the pupils could take away with them.

Also, the music played by the DJ ensured some shapes being thrown on the dance floor.

As the evening ebbed away, pupils enjoyed a final stroll around the stunning grounds of Eaves Hall, with plenty more photographs being taken. There were many farewell hugs and tearful goodbyes as, all too soon, the prom came to an end.

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OB News Ghosts of the Deep Former QEGS pupil, Safa Kapadi, took part in the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project in 2016 and we are delighted to learn that the project has been made into a two-part documentary.

Ghosts of the Deep: Ancient Shipwrecks was shown on More4 on in July and was the perfect chance to inspire QEGS pupils and students with real-world STEM, and introduce them to careers that they may not realise exist!

John Read - Legacy Our friend, former pupil and colleague, John Read, passed away on 3rd October 2018.

John attended QEGS as a pupil from 1954 until 1961 when he went to Imperial College, London, to study for a BSc in Physics followed by a MSc in Geophysics. His first job was for a mining company in Canada but he returned to England to attend teacher training. He took up a teaching post at QEGS in 1970 and remained until his retirement in 2000.

He was a talented physicist who loved his subject and he made a significant contribution to general school life. For many years he was the Examination Officer responsible for external examinations, he was a railway enthusiast who worked on the East Lancs railway in his leisure time and assisted with the School Railway Society. A keen swimmer himself, he also assisted at swimming galas and played a key role in the school Scout group.

As a teacher, he was passionate, dedicated and supportive. Here are a few snippets of what some of his former students had to say: “He had ways of making the subject matter interesting.

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“He absolutely got me through my A Level.”

“You were one of the outstanding teachers I am proud to have known during my 7 happy years at QEGS.” “Fantastic teacher, found ways to spark an interest in pupils in what he was teaching.”

“I witnessed his love of all things QEGS. John continued to support school after his retirement, attending carol concerts, Prize Giving, Founder’s Day, lunches, dinners and concerts whenever possible. Perhaps his greatest contribution was as the school Archivist where, in a little room in the attic, he researched and documented early school documents and responded to requests for information from within school and beyond.”

John was very proud of the School he attended as a boy and served as a member of staff with such distinction. As a memorial to John, his generous legacy to school will be used to refurbish the swimming pool and gymnasium and plaques will be displayed with a dedication to him for all to see.

New ‘Songaminute Man’ Book

by OB Simon McDermott Alastair Gordon Exhibits at RA Summer Exhibition We are very proud to announce that Alistair Gordon (OB 88-96) exhibited two pictures in this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

Many of you, I’m sure, will have come across the Father and Son duo of Simon McDermott (OB 87-94) and his Father, Ted, the ‘Songaminute Man’ on social media or in the news.

Simon’s Dad was diagnosed with dementia in 2013.

He’d been a singer throughout his life and is known as The Songaminute Man because of the vast number of songs he knows. In 2016 Simon started creating Carpool Karaoke style videos of himself and his Father and uploading them to social media to raise awareness of the condition and also funds for the Alzheimer’s Society and, in only a few weeks, they had raise a staggering £130,000. The videos continued and they received a Pride of Britain award and the JustGiving Creative Fundraiser of the Year award for their efforts.

The Carpool Karaoke videos are guaranteed to make you smile and Simon continues to create new ones but the fundraising has now also taken a new direction with Ted having recently recorded a big band charity album with the world famous Guy Barker Orchestra and Simon has just written a book about his Father’s life and their journey with dementia entitled ‘The Songaminute Man – How music brought my Father home again’.

The RA’s Summer Exhibition has been running, uninterrupted, since 1769 and Alastair will be joining the likes of Turner, Constable, Whistler, Lowry plus more modern contemporaries such as Hockney, Emin and Grayson Perry, in exhibiting his work. The RA has also seen exhibits from one or two famous names such as Winston Churchill and comedian Harry Hill.

The exhibition is open to all artists whose works go through a rigorous screening process by a committee of fellow artists, Royal Academicians. This year saw 12,000 entries reduced in stages to 1,500 exhibits, all of which are for sale, and Alastair was successful in getting two of his works in the exhibition – an amazing achievement and testament to his talent.

We are pleased and honoured to announce that Alastair has agreed to be Chief Guest at this year’s OBA Annual Dinner on Saturday 14th December in Big School.

Share Your Memories of QEGS in the 1950s Former pupil and staff member, Paul Schofield, is writing his memoirs. He was a pupil from 1953 to 1960, Deputy Head Boy in his final year.

In Paul’s words, he was better known for his gymnastic abilities than academic. Nevertheless, he went on to become a teacher and returned to QEGS for one year to teach from 1964 to 1965 before travelling abroad to teach in Kenya, Fiji, Mexico and Argentina. If you’d like to share your memories or any anecdotes with him from that time, and would be happy for them to be included in his memoirs, Paul would love to hear from you. Paul can be contacted by email at paulschofield@mac.com

Maimuna Returns Home to Appear in Hobson’s Choice Maimuna Memon (OB 2005-2007) returned to the area to appear in Hobson’s Choice at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. This is a new and exciting version of the classic Hobson’s Choice, set amid the 1980s UgandanAsian rag trade, where Maimuna plays Sunita, one of Hari Hobson’s daughters.

Former teacher, Andy Buckingham, caught up with Maimuna and her co-star Esh Alladi in Manchester after watching the show. Andy said he thoroughly enjoyed this funny and up-lifting play and was especially pleased to have been able to chat with Maimuna. Maimuna has been on tour in Hobson’s Choice and is receiving rave reviews so keep a look out at a theatre near you.

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Charity Review 2018/19

Our school motto, Disce Prodesse, loosely translates as ‘Learn to be of service’.

Throughout the school year, our pupils, students and staff epitomise this motto by using their time and energy to support good causes. Through events, challenges and individual efforts, we raise vital funds for charities both close to home and all around the world.

The QEGS Royal Variety Performance At the end of the Trinity Term 2019, we had a Royal Variety Performance.

The Queen (Mrs Gammon in a mask) and Prince Philip (Jarvis Davis Year 12 in a wrinkly mask) took to their thrones giving the performances a royal seal of approval.

There was an eclectic range of performances from staff and pupils for everyone to enjoy. We had members of the PE department tossing pizzas; It was quite impressive how much mess they managed to make in one minute.

We had opera singers with Mr Garrett, Seb Roberts (Year 12 and Head Boy) showing that they can sing beautifully. Mr Butterworth wasn’t much cop at singing, but his visual comedy was outstanding.

The ‘sing off’ between pupils and staff went off surprisingly well and the finale, with four different versions of Freddie Mercury strutting their stuff, was enough to strike fear into the souls of anyone.

Thanks to all pupils, students and staff for taking part and together raising £166 for the Uganda project charity.

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Water Aid 2019

QEGS ‘Wear It Pink’ During Breast Cancer Awareness Month QEGS staff wore pink for ‘Wear It Pink’ Day.

Year 7 pupils spent a day during Trinity Term learning what “Disce prodesse” (learn to be of service) may mean practically, as they spent the day completing a series of sponsored activities to raise money for WaterAid. The day began with an assembly to look at the importance of the work WaterAid undertake in many countries before completing five STEM tasks. The pupils looked at water-borne microorganisms in Biology, purified water in Chemistry, built water pumps in Physics and examined a typical family’s water use in Mathematics.

Problem solving took place on Top Quad where pupils had to work together as a team to make a pipeline. Water had to be transported from one bucket along the pipeline with the challenge being to catch the flow of water at the end of the pipeline in the second bucket.

The final challenge of the day was physical where in the afternoon, all pupils carried at least 4 litres of water, for 2 miles around Corporation Park.

The catering team delivered an amazing ‘pink themed’ buffet lunch and all staff arrived wearing anything from pink socks to pink tutus! They all donated at least £1.00, with an overall total of £118.50 being raised on the day for the charity.

Uganda Fundraising Well done to Bethany Spence, who set up a stall selling delicious treats to raise money for the Good Samaritan School in Uganda.

The highlight of the day, and what everyone had been waiting for, was the emptying of the bottles and the drenching of Mr Hargreaves, Head of Year 7!

Thank you to all staff who supported the event, which raised £838.33.

Marathon McCreadie Miss McCreadie has always wanted to attempt a marathon and this year she was lucky enough to gain a ballot place to run in the 2019 London Marathon. Following in Dr Butler’s footsteps she decided to use it as an opportunity to raise money for the PE department’s adoptive charity ‘Children with Cancer UK’.

Miss McCreadie has raised £1239.45 for the charity. Children with Cancer UK is the leading national children’s charity dedicated in fighting against childhood cancer. Almost 4000 children and young people are diagnosed with the disease every year in the UK. Monies raised will assist in funding vital specialist research, to help to save the lives of every child with cancer. We are all very proud of you Miss McCreadie, well done!

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Staff Sumo Wrestling Fundraiser

QEGS supports Cancer Research UK through fun run

Charity events come in all shapes and sizes, but the QEGS staff sumo wrestling competition was a big fat one that drew in quite a crowd at the end of the Michaelmas term.

Pupils and staff from QEGS raised over £300 for Cancer Research UK by running their very own ‘Race For Life’.

Not much salad was consumed in preparation for the event and some staff had to work harder than others to look the part (large padded suits did help to even things up).

Eight QEGS staff crouched down looking big, beefy and mean, to show their wrestling credentials.

It was rumoured that the pre-tournament favourites were Mr Hargreaves (The Blue Whale) and Mr Moriarty-Eames (The Pink Butterfly). However, as the tournament progressed most of these elegant athletes showed talents that few would have believed.

Dr Butler (The Gruffalo) took no prisoners, and Mr Rafsha (The Beef Tomato) showed that he was wasted in teaching. Wrestling is his true vocation!

Having donated £1 to enter, all pupils from Year 7 to 11 were encouraged to take part in the organised runs across the school day, with an elite run taking place at the end of the day.

Runners were encouraged to wear bright colours for the run, raising £315 across the event.

The money has been donated by the school to Cancer Research UK to support their ongoing work to beat cancer.

However, in the end, it was the new comer and Head of Sixth Form, Mr Park (The Sea Slug), who came out on top. Many thanks to all of the wrestlers who took part, and we are delighted to report that over £500 was raised for the Movember charity.

Show Your Spots A non-uniform day was held as part of our charitable activities for Michaelmas Term.

The whole school had the opportunity to take part, and those who donated money to wear their own clothes on that day, some with a “spotty” theme, raised a staggering £1795.30 for Children in Need.

A huge ‘Thank You’ to all who supported this event!

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Comic Relief On Friday 15th March, the Primary Phase, Senior Phase and Sixth Form held a non-uniform day to raise money for “Comic Relief”.

Pupils, students and staff, were invited to wear their own casual clothes, adopting a “red theme”.

We are delighted to announce that a staggering £1910.00 was raised for the very worthwhile cause.

Sports Report

Cricket Report The season started badly with insufficient numbers to form a team. However, training started with indoor nets and we were hopeful that more players would eventually join. After 2 weeks of training, we got our 11-man squad and the team was complete. The U12 team did not start as one of the strongest but, with a good month of training from Dr Butler, they had their first match against Hulme Grammar School, which unfortunately resulted in a loss. Their first win came against Merchant Taylors, Crosby and QEGS bowled them 38 all out! This was a good win with Hassan Mughal taking 5 wickets for 3 runs.

A few highlights of the season were from Uzair Talib who took 4 wickets for 10, and Hassan Mughal with 5 wickets for 3 in different matches. The batting side had highlights too, with Abdullah Siddique scoring 25, Rohail Rabbani scoring 30 in his last match and Hassan Mughal scoring over 30 runs in several matches. Overall, the season may not have been the greatest for the Year 7 team, however next season we will be much stronger and better prepared.

For the U13 team, it was another successful season winning all of their Saturday fixtures. We also managed to get to the final of the Blackburn with Darwen ‘8’s’ tournament at Salesbury Cricket Club. Having beaten local schools in the early rounds, the team defeated St Bede’s in the semi-final but unfortunately narrowly lost against a very strong Westholme side in the final.

There were some consistent performances with the bat.

Josh Asal and Mackenzie Cunningham both scored 30 against Rossall, which carried the team to victory. Another brilliant performance was from Milo Gammon and Josh Asal both retiring on 30 against Kirkham. I’m told that it has been an excellent season for the U13’s team with many players stepping up to the mark to prove themselves as potentially useful cricketers both with bat and ball. One area for all of our players to work on is the fielding, which at times has let us down. If they improve in this area, this team has the raw talent to become a decent outfit.

For the U14’s, the 2018 season was a highly successful one with many players finding form and some key players finding very consistent form. Cameron Hegg scored an unbeaten 74 and also took 4 for 13 versus Hulme Grammar School. In the second round of the County Schools’ LSCA Cup competition, Rehan Zore scored a magnificent 136-not-out versus Stonyhurst. Major run scorers throughout the season were Rehan Zore, Cameron Hegg and Ayan Farook. However, the most prolific and consistent run scorer over the season was Louis Strand who scored several half centuries, always laying a strong batting foundation at the top of the order which then allowed our strong middle order to play their shots and flourish.

The U15’s won the Town 8-a-side indoor competition, showing the team that hard work pays off. A few rain interruptions led to several cancellations early season but one of the highlights was the game against Ripley St Thomas.

Batting first and with early wickets taken, the middle order was in an extremely difficult position. However, they dealt with the pressure and posted a respectable T20 score of 134. With the ball, Zak Bux & Raiyan Hussain bowled a good spell to see the team home by 15 runs.

Having won early matches in the LSCA cup competition, we eventually matched up against St Augustine’s, one of the toughest sides the U15s had played all year. Batting first, the top 5 posted a very winnable score, with Tom Clarke hitting 51 runs. Unfortunately some complacency, coupled with poor fielding and poor bowling resulted in a loss. U15’s individual performances of the season include: Zak Bux 5-14 (4) against AKS Lytham, Hussain Patel 4-12 (4) against Tauheedal and Hasan Musa with two half-centuries in an outdoor tournament. Well done!

Finally, the 1st XI had all but one game cancelled due to rain.

This game was against the MCC where the team, arguably ‘undercooked’ not having played any warm up games prior to the fixture and they struggled in all departments both with bat and ball. Fingers crossed for better weather and more senior XI success next season!

Thank you, Will, for your report that was also presented at our Annual Sports Awards Presentation Evening held at Blackburn Rovers FC, in May 2019. This year has been another enjoyable and, by and large, successful cricketing season. Many of our teams are on the cusp of reaching the quarter-finals of the County Cup competitions and we consistently fare well against our independent and maintained sector opposition on Saturday mornings.

Long may Saturday morning cricket and the enthusiasm for the sport continue at our school. As always, plaudits must extend to all the staff who have helped me out and to Mr Alan Gammon who regularly umpired the Year 9 fixtures.

Dr ME Butler Teacher i/c Cricket

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Netball Report In September, the new netball season got underway and Year 7 had a very successful start to their QEGS netball experience, coming 4th in the Blackburn and Darwen league by winning three out of five matches.

Year 8 also came an impressive 4th place in the league, winning four matches out of six. This team has improved so much and come out with some impressive results, including a 20-3 win against Rossall.

Year 9 had a great outcome in the league, coming 3rd by winning four out of five of their matches. On Saturday mornings, Years 9 and 10 joined forces which brought about a lot of success throughout the year, such as the 25-5 win against Rossall and 14-9 against King’s Chester.

The Year 11 team have had a fantastic final year, winning ten out of eleven of their matches resulting in a first place league finish. The team also came first in the Blackburn and Darwen tournament, with an outstanding score of 21-9 in the final, against DACA. We would like to give a massive thank you to all the staff that give up their Saturday mornings and a special thank you to Miss Bamber, Miss McCreadie and Miss Wilkinson for putting up with our Year 11 team for the past 5 years!

Beatrice Clarke and Isobel Currie

It’s been a fantastic year and I’d just like to say a few thanks to some people who have helped us throughout 2018/19.

Firstly, to the parents for all of their support whether in the form of cheering from the side lines or giving lifts to and from fixtures; secondly, thank you to Mrs Bamber, Miss Dwyer and Miss Wilkinson for their ongoing help with the netball teams and on Saturday mornings.

Finally, thank you to the girls who continue to impress me with their commitment and positive attitudes; a real pleasure to work with. I would also like to give a special thank you to those leaving QEGS this year, including many of our Senior netball team. This team have excelled throughout their time at QEGS and have won several of the Town Cups and leagues.

They are a pleasure to work with and I wish them all the very best of luck!

Miss S McCreadie Head of Girls’ Games

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Swimming Report Firstly, I want to start by thanking Dr Butler for giving the school the ability to compete at a high level within school swimming. On behalf of the rest of the Swimming Squad, we greatly appreciate his efforts.

This season was a great year for the swimming squad, and the first term really helped our new Year 7 pupils find their feet and their place in our team here at QEGS. We pride ourselves on the ability to give new pupils the chance to compete competitively and I believe that this year, we again managed to do this. Thanks to the commitment and time the Year 7 squad have put in on Tuesday evenings.

It was a familiar scene for the Year 8’s, having swam last year as a team. With wins for their year group on numerous occasions, they made one and other, and Dr Butler, extremely proud. One of our most memorable matches turned out to be our only away match of the season, against Bury Grammar School. Despite a bombardment from a very strong Year 8 opposition, our Year 8 team put up a fight, showing just what we are made of here at QEGS, narrowly missing out on the win by 12 points.

Year 9’s, by now school swimming veterans, managed again to perform well in a very competitive environment. The Year 9 squad comprised of some of our stronger swimmers, resulting in some excellent competitive swimming performances. With a formidable relay team, the squad was victorious on multiple occasions. One thing we strive to do at QEGS is to make well-rounded pupils and students. This is something I believe that swimming for the school allows us to do.

Well done Jarvis and many thanks for this excellent swimming report. We have had another very enjoyable season. Plenty of swimmers, in particular girls, all representing their school and having a great time. The atmosphere and spirit within the team has been super and long may the enthusiasm for swimming at our school continue.

Alas, I have to report a retirement in the swimming family after 30 years of loyal service. Our Omega Swimming Timing System has finally decided to ‘give up the ghost’ as they say and after countless galas is now being put into official retirement. I would like to thank it for all its hard work and dedication over the years and wish it well sitting in the cupboard at the back of the storeroom for the remainder of its days!

Dr Butler

Teaching a child to swim is an important part of the ethos at QEGS. I was recently told that 58% of pupils joining us in Year 7, this year, could not swim. This surprised me, in particular in relation to the fact that we still aim to put out competitive teams, given the level of competition we still face every week. I was told that by the end of Year 11, 79% of pupils can swim. I think this really shows how important and effective our swimming programme at QEGS is and opportunities that pupils are given allows them to excel in the pool.

I think one of the most important aspects of our swimming this year was our ability to put out a very effective Senior team. This is something that in previous years has managed to elude us but this year we managed to confront this issue effectively. This has strengthened our squad considerably. This is due to the help of Jacob Gibson and Harvey Chadderton in Year 11, who gave us an edge over the competition. We also had a new edition to our school, Isabella Cavazzana who moved this year from Italy and in doing so found success in the pool. Another mention goes out to Bailey Seery, whom only in Year 10 again helped to put out the most competitive senior team we could.

I want to finish by saying what a really great year we’ve had as a swimming squad. Despite some struggles, we still managed to be competitive and this, I believe, shows what pupils and teachers here at QEGS are about. Our commitment and determination has allowed us to persevere and put out a strong squad.

Lastly, I am truly grateful to be a part in this swimming squad and hope I still have a part to play in years to come!

Jarvis Davies 2018 – 2019 Senior Swimming Captain

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Q Review 2019

Football Report Under 12’s

Under 13’s

Under 14’s

The U12’s had a challenging start to their footballing career at QEGS, with all players coming from different primary schools and having never played alongside each other.

However, whilst they started the season as strangers, they soon became friends on and off the pitch. These relationships soon reflected in the results and performances, as even when the team suffered a defeat, they would all come back stronger and play even harder the next weekend.

First of all, a special thanks to Mr Cunningham, Mr Hindle and Dr Butler for arranging all of the U13’s matches, home and away. Huge thanks to Mr Cunningham for coaching our team and getting us ready for our matches on a Saturday morning!

Thanks also to the Year 8 squad for turning up on a Saturday morning ready to kick off at home or away.

The lads have made huge improvements this year both on and off the pitch. We have improved our team with communication and hard work, and we would like to recognise certain players that have really stood out this year.

I would first like to thank our top goal scorer Mackenzie Cunningham with some fantastic performances throughout the season and Josh Asal for helping the team out in certain positions, when it was needed. Thank you also to Milo Gammon for his consistency throughout the season.

The U12’s had some outstanding performances over the season, namely a fixture against Taheedul Boys, managing a 7-1 win, only conceding in the final minute to prevent a clean sheet. The team also had a good cup run, making it through to the third round of the English Schools Cup, with a 5-3 victory against Whitworth High School.

This year, the U12’s team also made history as three sisters played in the same team. Congratulations to Billie, Ruby and Molly Caffrey for this achievement, a great reflection of the growth of football for girls at QEGS. Special mention to Billie and Ruby, who put in some fantastic crosses on each wing of the U12’s attack!

Across the season, Oliver Catterall was a star goalkeeper, whilst at the other end of the pitch, Oscar Kelly shone as our top goal scorer. Aidan Robinson led the team as Captain and whilst Amaarn Khan may be smaller than some attackers, he stood his ground in defence.

This season would not have been possible if it wasn’t for Mr Goodall, giving up his Friday afternoons for training and missing out on a weekend lie-in on Saturday mornings!

Thank you to him and all the sport staff who have helped the U12’s this season.

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New signings Hassan Mughal Fadullah and Seyaam Ali had a real impact this season, helping us to become a very strong team. Every player put 100% of their effort into all games and whether we won, drew or lost, we always gave it our best.

Wingers Esha Yousuf and Charlie Wood deserve special recognition for their great assists this season, alongside our midfielder maestro Hassan Mughal. Our top goal scorer, Samad Yasir, has been in great form this season, scoring in every game with clinical finishes!

We did exceptionally well to reach the semi-finals of the Town Cup, knocking Westholme out of the quarter finals. Thanks to Samad, we scored within the first 10 minutes of the quarterfinal match and looked strong from the outset. Despite playing great football, Westholme did win a penalty and scored, making it level. Fifteen minutes to go, and Samad’s fellow striker, Danyal Kiyani set Samad up and he smashed it home to make it 2-1. Great defending by Uzair Toor, Edward Bower, Ewan Fletcher and Jenson Gibson meant we held onto the win and their fantastic defending form continued for the rest of the season.

Unfortunately, we were knocked out of the semi-finals of the Town Cup, losing 4-2, but we walked away with our heads held high, knowing we put all of our effort into the game but we just were not lucky enough to win.

Huge thank you to all coaching staff and all players for everything this season. Next season we go ahead looking stronger.

We started our season off against Bury Grammar School, who are always one of the tough opponents of the season.

Debutant Jimmy Wild stood out in that game, scoring a hat-trick on his first appearance. We saw another great performance shortly after, beating St Bede’s, Manchester, 5-3 in a well-fought game, again against tough opposition.

Our cup run was not as long as we would have liked. It started off strong with a 7-1 win, despite playing in some very harsh conditions that meant the game had to be called off at half-time. Our next game was against Park High School but unfortunately we suffered a tough defeat of 2-0.

Shortly after our cup run came to an end, we faced our rivals Westholme High School, which ended up a 1-1 draw. When we faced Westholme again in the season, we pushed through the hard conditions and won 4-1, with a spectacular goal from Alfie Walton to put QEGS 2-1 up. Unfortunately, we ended the season on a sour note, losing 5-4 to Hulme Grammar school in very hostile conditions. We would like to thank the sport staff who make sure we can play football every week and look forward to pushing forwards into next season.

Under 15’s

Under 16’s

1st XI

The team didn’t get off to the best of starts this year, as we lost our opening Saturday morning fixture on the first weekend of the season. But, after that, we believe our season properly got underway as we progressed to a 3-2 win over Trinity College.

This started our best run in the ESFA Cup, with one of our highlights of the season coming in the second round, beating Wright Robinson Sports College 4-3. This was a thrilling game where we came from behind, thanks to a tremendous hat-trick from Evan Cunningham.

The U16’s football squad only come together for two cup competitions each season, the Lancashire Cup and Blackburn with Darwen Cup, as the remainder of the season they play for our Senior squads.

We have had a fantastic season in the First XI football team, with a 70% win ratio which has been a huge achievement. To put that into context, Jurgen Klopp has had a 52% win ratio with Liverpool!

The opponents for both cups were QEGS’ neighbours, St Wilfrid’s High School. Early in the season, St Wilfrid’s ran out 4-2 winners in the Lancashire Cup. However, towards the end of the season QEGS and St Wilfrid’s met again in the semi-final of the Town Cup, after QEGS beat Westholme High School in the quarter-final.

After going out with 2 unfortunate hard-fought losses against Haslingden High School in both cup competitions, our lack of silverware is an injustice to how well we performed. Whether it be Tom McCann, our youngest player finishing with an astonishing 26 goals, or the towering partnership of Oliver Wiggans and Dominic Brown in midfield, we have had shining lights all over the pitch this season. Special mention has to be given for the win over Manchester Grammar, a renowned footballing school, and a double over Bury Grammar in what has become a historic fixture.

We then went to Liverpool to play in the last 64 of the ESFA Cup and what followed was a fantastic performance that showed character to come from 2-0 down at half time. We fought hard and secured the win in the last minute of the game to progress to the final 32 teams.

Around the same time, we did suffer a couple of lows in other competitions, getting knocked out of the Lancashire Cup despite leading 4-1 at half time. However, the boys dusted themselves down and went on to play in the last 32 of the ESFA cup at home. As the snow fell, we were behind at the break however we managed to turn the game around and get the win by full-time, scoring in the dying seconds of the game, thanks to a great last-minute header by Harvey Ashworth.

This took us into the last 16 out of the 750 teams that entered, where we were drawn out against the previous winners of the ESFA Cup. Undeterred, we travelled down to Wolverhampton with our spirits high. By the half-time whistle, we had played well to keep the game at 1-0, given the unfavourable conditions, but as we came back out for the second half, we suffered a heavy defeat that finished 6-0 to the home team.

This team went on to make the final of the Cup and so we felt proud of the run, as we showed a lot of heart and passion, with brilliant football showed by the lads to get so far into the competition. The run gave us memories that will last for years to come and we are very pleased with the success we had this season.

This match was a great deal closer than the fixture earlier in the season, but St Wilfrid’s edged it with a very close game ending 2-1 after extra time, preventing the fairy-tale ending of a cup final at Ewood Park.

The performance in this final match showed just what a benefit Senior football made over the season to our Year 11 pupils, especially as they closed the gap considerably against a very capable team.

I would like to say thank you to all of the U16 squad members for their commitment since Year 7. I am delighted that plenty of footballers are staying on at QEGS Sixth Form and so will be back next season representing the school.

It has been a fantastic season which I’m positive we can build on and end up with some silverware next year. All the lads and I would like to say a massive thank you to Alastair Keys, Alex Townrow, Lewis Ashworth and Arbaaz Ahmed who have turned up every week and given their all, despite studying for their A levels. We wish them all the best!

After the ESFA Cup exit, we only had the Blackburn with Darwen Cup to fight for, which we unfortunately lost to St Bede’s after a tight penalty shoot-out. Although we may not have won any cups this year, it was definitely our most successful season in our memories and something we will be proud of for a long time. Our many thanks go to Mr Hindle and Mr Bendell for coaching us this season and making the things we have achieved possible.

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HOUSE REPORTS

Raleigh House It has been a fantastic school year for Raleigh House, with some brilliant achievements for individuals and for the House as a whole.

This was the first year that we had a House motto, a phrase that summed up who we are as a House. The motto was created and voted on by the pupils and students of the House. This year’s motto was “When we win, we cheer, when we lose, we cheer” which really summed up Raleigh this year.

The aim of the House was to create an attitude of supporting one another, of trying hard, but also cheering each other one when things don’t go according to plan.

Undoubtedly the biggest sporting success Raleigh had this year was in the Junior Swimming Gala in February. Despite having one of the smallest teams, all the competitors dug deep, supported each other, and got involved as much as possible. With a number of individual wins and relay wins, Raleigh led the pack with 155 points and walked away in first place, with the swimming Gala trophy held high.

House singing was, as always, a fun and exciting day for everyone involved in Raleigh House. The pupils and students chose ‘Let it Go’ form the Disney movie Frozen as the song.

The House really enjoyed learning and practising the song, as well as making paper snowflakes and fake ‘snow’ to throw around in the performance.

Sports Day exemplified the mentality of Raleigh House, with so many members of the House taking part in events, sometimes in events they have never tried before, and cheering each other on along the way. Raleigh finished 3rd overall, which is a wonderful achievement. There were also stand-out individual performance on the day too including new school records for Maisie Roberts (U13 200m and Triple Jump) and Rebecca Mitchell (Senior Long jump). Three members of Raleigh also won the Champion Athlete award for most points earned for their House, Aidan Robinson, Daniyal Kiyani, and Maisie Roberts.

Another brilliant year for Raleigh House, and one very proud Head of House!

Mr S Butterworth Head of Raleigh House

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Drake House This has been a year of change for Drake House, including saying farewell to our previous Head of House, Mr Rafsha, and our pupil body of Drake House moving through the natural process of preparation for internal and public examinations.

As is expected of our pupils, they tackled all of the House events with consistent enthusiasm, effort and determination of which they should be proud. After giving their utmost throughout the year, and against stiff competition from the other houses, Drake House came in third place overall which is a pleasing testament to how much our pupils are willing to do for their House.

We start our recap of our successes this year with the House Football competitions at Lammack during the Michaelmas Term where our teams competed against some of the strongest sides presented for the competition in recent memory. Our Year 8 team in particular was put against strong opposition, and came fourth overall, our Year 10s followed up with placing third, our Year 9 squad came second, and our Year 7 team showed an impressive level of skill and will by winning their league after some well-fought matches. Our football teams represented Drake House admirably, and their efforts should be applauded.

The Michaelmas Term also saw both the Juniors and Seniors showing determination and strong teamwork in their respective Basketball competitions, and I’m pleased to report that both age groups earned a well-fought first place.

We rounded off the Michaelmas Term with a flurry of events, including the ever-taxing school Cross Country, in which all of our pupils showed true grit and sportsmanship. Drake’s Year 7 and 8 teams placed sixth and third respectively, and our Year 9 and 10 teams both showed incredible skill and stamina by taking first place. Our Netball teams showed great dexterity and teamwork, with Year 7 and 9 placing third, Year 10 coming third, and our Year 8 team coming a well-earned first place after a series of tough matches. We rounded off the term with Tag Rugby, in which Drake House showed exceptionally good teamwork, with our Year 9 and 10 teams coming third overall, and our Year 7 team earning first place.

Lent Term started with the Junior House Swimming Gala, which was well-supported by both pupils from Years 7-10 and parents alike. In particular, our Year 7 were more than ready to race in their events and to cheer-on their colleagues in all years if they struggled. The sportsmanship and support from Drake House was something to behold, and our pupils came joint-fifth after some stiff competition. The ever-popular House Dodgeball also took place in this term, with our Year 8 and 10 teams placing 5th overall, our Year 7 receiving a healthy 3rd, and our Year 9 taking the lead in first place.

As the Trinity Term rolled on, Drake House performed admirably, and gave sterling performances in all of the major sporting competitions. Our flagship Summer event, the QEGS Sports Day took place at Witton Athletics Track, and across the board our pupils showed sportsmanship and proper support for their fellow pupils as they completed their events. The day itself was sweltering and took a toll on our athletes and supporters alike, with our pupils managing to push through and perform well despite the climbing temperatures. Overall, Drake House came fourth, after some incredible performances throughout the day, not only from pupils who are skilled athletes, but volunteers who showed willingness to take part in particularly difficult events. Drake House should be proud of the effort made by everyone on Sports Day. The Junior Cricket day was a festival of matches that took place all day for both the joined Year 7 and 8 team and the Year 9 team. Our Year 7 and 8 team played admirably and took home a respectable fourth place after tough competition and laudable effort. Our Year 9 team brought out their best effort and teamwork and pushed on to earn first place, a result of which they should be proud.

Additionally, the House QUEST team earned joint fifth place, after a series of decidedly challenging tasks, but all having a fun-filled afternoon taking part.

The final event of the year was the ever-exciting House Singing Competition, and I must take this opportunity to thank all of the pupils who joined in with aplomb by singing, helping with the choreography and directing, dancing, and practicing hard throughout the day to give a genuinely entertaining and well-done performance of the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way”. It’s not a secret that singing is not everyone’s strength, but the enthusiasm and effort shown throughout the day showed what a House acting as a team can accomplish. We may not have won one of the top three spots, but I believe we gave a performance that is second to none.

It is my pleasure to thank all of the members of our House for their continued effort and willingness to contribute to all of our events this academic year. As a new Head of House it has been a pleasure to see our pupils taking part and aiming to get the full House experience, and with a spirit that shows Drake House to be a truly special group. Finally, it is a privilege to thank all of the House staff and captains whose patience, invaluable help and boundless enthusiasm have made for a successful and thoroughly enjoyable year. Well done everyone, and let’s give it our all again in 2019-2020!

Mr D Peat Head of Drake House

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Q Review 2019

Grenville House What a fantastic year this year has been for Grenville House. I have once again loved being your Head of House and what we have achieved this year has been well deserved and something to be extremely proud of.

Grenville’s Year Captains have been instrumental in the house’s successes, helping me organise teams and ensuring full representation at the various house events over the year. Connor Creedon and Hana Hanif in Year 7; Irbaaz Jangda and Karima Shah in Year 8; Brandon Green and Sanah Mahmood in Year 9; Elliot Martin and Mubeenah Zaman in Year 10; Imaadul Hasan and Rose Lilley in Year 11; Arbaaz Ahmed and Joanna Sleigh who have both been Grenville’s Senior House Captains for this year. These Sixth Formers have led by example from the outset, and I cannot thank them enough for all they have done for the House over the years.

Thank you again to all Year Captains 2018/2019.

The new Year 7 have been the keenest year group I think the House has ever had and have contributed a great deal to Grenville on both a sporting and academic front. I encourage this year group to keep it up and promote this attitude to the new cohort of Year 7 in the next academic year.

We started the year strong where House Football was certainly our most successful team sport this year with the Year 8, 9 and 10 teams all coming in first position! Meanwhile, the Year 7 House Netball team, lead by the Caffrey sisters, meant we had another first place under our belts. Likewise, with House Dodgeball, the Year 7 team again came first, Year 8 came third, and the Year 9 and 10 teams both came second.

House Cross Country is an event which is demanding but very fulfilling, and Grenville once again proved we have some fantastic cross country runners in our House. Special mention to Ruby and Billie Caffrey, Maira Khan and Omar Juma in Year 7 and to those in Year 8, Karima Shah, Muneebah Rehman and Oliver Jenkins.

I’d also like to thank our Year 9 runners: Mackenzie Cunningham, Shaun Santhosh and Brandon Green, along with the Year 10’s in their final compulsory QEGS cross country run: Rehan Zore, Evan Cunningham and Elliot Martin.

The Junior House Swimming Gala was a frustrating but ultimately very positive event this year. Despite having a full team two days before the event, unfortunately we had 11 members of the House drop out at last minute due to various reasons, leaving Grenville with a very small team indeed. However, finishing in third place overall goes to show that we are very lucky to have such talented swimmers in Grenville, and those who were able to give up their time that evening, I am extremely grateful for, so thank you.

In the Library, the House Quest was held and organised fantastically

by Mrs Dewhurst once again. The Quest team of Haleemah Chishti, Ume Hussain, Laiba Imran, Maira Khan, Muneebah Rehman, Karima Shah, Nabaa Almitwally, Aleena Ilyas, Mubeenah Zaman, Haleema Bakawala, Rose Lilley, Saariyah Malik, Seb Roberts and Kyle Robinson, took on the Library challenges, and overall we came second. Thank you to those who offered to give up part of their lunchtime to compete in this enjoyable event.

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Later in the school year, looking at the summer sports, House Cricket is always a popular event in which Grenville has been prosperous in over the years. The combined Year 7 and 8 team, led

by Hassan Mughal, came third and missed out to second place by only one point, whilst the Year 9 team came joint first, with Drake House. Well done to all who participated!

Onto another big and important event of the House Calendar; House Sports Day. Unfortunately, last year we missed out on first place by only one point, although this year, the tables turned and Grenville were House Sports Day Champions; what a birthday present that was for me! Every single event had a Grenville competitor and that was the difference from last year, meaning everyone who put their names forward contributed massively to the victory that day, so again, well done to you all. Podium finishes for many Grenville pupils, 34 to be exact, in particular those who came in first position: Hassan Mughal (Cricket ball throw), Omar Juma (Shot Putt), Billie Caffrey (Discus and 1500m), Brandon Green (Discus and 400m), Maira Khan (Long Jump), Elliot Martin (Long Jump, 200m and 100m), Laiba Imran (Triple Jump), Uzayr Naeem (300m), Ruby Caffrey (200m and 100m), Muneebah Rehman (100m), Bilal Yasin (100m) and Karima Shah (800m). The relays then started and I was blown away with what the Grenville teams achieved: first place for the Year 7 Girls, Year 8 Boys and Year 9 Boys teams, and second place for Year 7 Boys, Year 8 Girls and Senior teams.

The House Singing competition is an area in which I am hoping we improve in for next year, however, fifth position is where we came this year. Despite this positioning, I thought the House did very well especially with us being the first House to perform in front of the whole school, which is always a difficult thing to do.

Having had some great sporting victories and standout performances, I was delighted to hear in the final whole school assembly that Grenville had won the Arthur Holden Trophy. We also came fourth in the Marsden Merit competition and when the two trophies combine to give the overall Champion House (and winner of the Cockhouse Trophy) it came down to a matter of points and Grenville were successful in securing this trophy.

It is amazing to say that Grenville House is the Champion House of 2018/2019 and how very proud I am of every Grenville pupil!

To end, I would like to thank all the members of Grenville House for making my job so rewarding. Another big thank you to the staff team in Grenville whose support and enthusiasm throughout House assemblies and events has been fantastic; especially to Miss Wildman who has left QEGS and who Grenville will miss very dearly.

I am extremely sad to be leaving QEGS and therefore will no longer be Head of Grenville, but what an amazing year to finish on.

I would like to wish Mr Gould the very best of luck as he takes over the role next year. Keep it up everyone!

Miss H Wilkinson Head of Grenville House

Howard House It has been another excellent year for Howard House and the commitment and camaraderie shown by our pupils and students has been outstanding. It has been a real pleasure watching the House working together towards a common goal and our winning or being placed highly in a wide range of competitions is testimony to the dedication and organisation of our pupils and students.

The sporting year began for Howard with another tense and exciting senior Basketball competition. As in many previous years, the final was a fiercely contended match between Howard and Drake. In the end, Drake were the victorious House, but the commitment of our players and their supporters was very impressive. This was followed by an excellent performance from our junior Basketball team, who also came second, putting us in a strong position from the start of the year.

As always, the Junior Swimming Gala was an excellent event and I was very impressed by the commitment of our House members who were willing to have a go even if they were not the strongest swimmers. There were some incredible individual performances, but overall, having an enthusiastic competitor for every event secured second place for us.

It has been an excellent year for Howard in Netball, with our Year 7, 8 and 9 teams all coming second and our Year 10 team winning the overall competition. Both our Year 7 and 10 Football teams managed to achieve second place and our Year 9 Tag Rugby team came first. The Year 10 Dodgeball team secured their usual first place, with the Year 8 team coming second and in Cross Country, Year 7 came a respectable second place.

Sports Day was another excellent event, with the beautiful weather providing perfect conditions for all events. The House’s conduct was excellent and there were great performances from all our athletes. Special mentions must be given to George Hargreaves and Dominic Brown who were the champion athletes for Year 9 and Seniors respectively. In the end, we were awarded second place in the competition, missing out on first place by only one point.

Howard has also been successful in non-sporting events this year. I was delighted that we were the victors of the House Quest this year and very impressed by the conduct of our House members as they competed in this wonderful event in the Library.

Once again, the House singing competition was an excellent day for Howard. The commitment and enthusiasm of all the pupils, students and House staff was truly impressive and our performance of Blue Swede’s ‘Hooked on a Feeling’ completely stole the show. This was another occasion that saw the House really pulling together and it was this that secured us first place in the competition. Special thanks to the band, which consisted of Eleanor Connell, Rhys Millington, Joe Sandham and, of course, Mr Burton on Bass, without whom we would have struggled to put together such a striking performance.

Overall, Howard ended the school year in a respectable second place, narrowly missing out on victory by only two points. I would like to thank all the Howard House Captains without whose organisation and enthusiasm this would not have been possible, and also the House staff for all their support. Well done to all those who have competed for the House this year and I look forward to your continued involvement and enthusiasm in the coming school year.

Mr Braime Head of Howard House

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Q Review 2019

Frobisher House It has been an exciting year for Frobisher with record breakers galore in both swimming and athletics! I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year as Head of House, not least because of the enthusiasm and camaraderie of many of our pupils.

This year, we have had sterling efforts form many pupils in Frobisher House, with major contributors from all years, notably Samantha McDermott, Mariam Omar, Imaan Yasif and Mohammad Kayani in Year 7; Molly Cookson, Dawood Mazhar, Christopher Chen in Year 8; Daniel Ainsworth, Milo Gammon and Saffron Barnes and Ruby Brandon in Year 9; and Baylie Seery in Year 10. Special mention should be given to again to Samantha McDermott and Mariam Omar who have already earned their first stripes!

Although we were not the overall winner, we again demonstrated strength across a multitude of sports and other activities in all years.

Michaelmas term got off to a great start as we debated our way to success thanks to the linguistic finesse of Mohammed Patel, Milly Hillman-Nixon and Malaeka Kashif. Year 7 ran away with first place in Cross Country and secured second in Dodgeball. The success continued with Year 8 gleefully taking first place for their year in House Quest. This fabulous duo of Year 7 and 8 formed our junior Cricket team and although we were pipped to the top place, they took a humble, but well-deserved, second. Not far behind were our Year 9s in third place in both the Cricket and Cross Country, together with Year 10. Netball champions were plentiful with Year 9 scoring their way to first place with Year 10 in third and Year 7 in fourth. Year 7 also scored their way to a comfortable third place in Football. Our junior squads were not done there, with Year 7 and 9 Rugby, Year 8 Cross Country and Year 10 Football and Dodgeball all coming in at a respectable fourth place.

There have been outstanding contributions and personal achievements across all years and 2019 has also seen a good number of record breakers: Ali Khan ran like lightning in the Year 7 Boys’ 200m, with 26.48 seconds, Molly Cookson launched the Discus like a rocket for the Year 8 girls, a splashing 20.26 seconds saw Ruby Brandon’s name join the Swimming elite in the Year 9 Girls’ Back Crawl together with Baylie Seery, who swam her way to victory in the Year 10 Girls’ Breaststoke in 18.36 seconds and 100m in 14.12 seconds! Isabella Cavazzana, Year 12, showed that she was a dab-hand across Field and Track, earning her the well-deserved title of Senior Champion Athlete.

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My sincere personal thanks to all of the Frobisher House members, including the House Captains and other members of staff for their continued support in assemblies and with events. Our Senior House Captain, Emily Rowland, has been the best role model to her young peers and was always an incredible help with organising teams, as were Cameron Hegg and Zaidan Patel, Year 11, who were an invaluable help with the Swimming Gala and Sports Day. Without this help, I would not have survived my first year as Head of House!

Last, but certainly not least, Hamza Iqbal, Year 11, who singlehandedly rose to the challenge for his year’s House Quest, attaining a formidable score! Special thanks must also be given to many of our other Senior House members, in particular, Emilia Brandon, Isobel Currie, George Morgan, Annabelle Smith and Felix Taylor in Year 11 for their continued outstanding contribution over the past five years.

I feel incredibly proud of all of those pupils and students who have given their time freely and nothing but a sterling effort throughout. I was also immensely grateful to the British weather on Sports Day; Mr Sun kept his hat on, but not too much so as to burn staff and participants. Finally, I would like to wish our Frobisher leavers the best of good luck in the next stage of their education and hope that they take nothing but fond memories of their time here at QEGS. Miss AC Bowker Head of Frobisher House

Hawkins House First I will start by saying how proud I am of every pupil, student and member of staff who are in Hawkins House. It has been a privilege for me to take over from Miss Burton and I have loved every moment of the this year’s achievements and efforts by all associated with Hawkins House.

The year has been a really positive one for the House, in which nearly all events had a full quota represented by members of Hawkins House. I can always rely on the pupils and students to represent the House, full of enthusiasm and put their very best in for all events.

The first real test of the year was Cross Country, where all pupils and students participated admirably on behalf of Hawkins House.

A special mention should go to Alex Bendell for his 2nd place finish in the Year 10 event.

There were some amazing entries for the House Poster competition for the highly regarded School production of ‘Breaking the Code’ where Alan Turing was depicted by Will Gedling. Unfortunately, no winners from Hawkins House for the covers of the programme or the Posters around school, but some fine pieces of work went into the entries, so well done!

The first event in which Hawkins House excelled in was the House Tag Rugby, where the Year 10 team managed to win the whole event. There were strong performances from all other years, but a special mention must go out to the Year 10 team for their overall success.

Recognition should go to the Hawkins House debating group.

Maariyah Daud, Jessica Fellows, Charlotte Lingard and Erica Riley all turned up for intense battles against other Houses. In the end there was an anti-climax as the semi-final resulted in a ‘no show’ from the competition, but the girls were prepared to give insight into the topics over the course of the Michaelmas Term and I am sure would have emerged victorious!

Hawkins eagerly anticipated the annual House Quest competition and on each day we had brilliant contributions from each of the year groups. We ended up in 4th place, but the competition was close and a few extra points could have propelled us up the leader board.

Sports Day is always a fabulous occasion and this year proved to be no different. Not only were Hawkins commended for their exceptional behaviour throughout the day by the staff, but also we were well represented in nearly all events. The Field events in the morning proved more successful than the Track events later on leading us to a joint fifth. I was so pleased that the spirit of cheering on members of the house was apparent and all competitors gave their all.

The final event of the year was one of the most enjoyable and successful for Hawkins. House Singing proved to be an enjoyable day and extra special mention should go to both Jarvis Davies and Connor Roscoe for their excellent likeness and stage presence of Freddie Mercury. The mash-up of ‘We Will Rock You’ and the apt song choice of ‘We are Champions’ rose the roof. A well-deserved second place, but next year we will be aiming to be ‘Top of the Pops’.

I look forward to the challenge of the upcoming year with reference to the House events. I would like to thank all of the House Captains for their input and assistance in gathering teams for the events. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year as House Master for Hawkins and have a good feeling that this coming year will surpass the achievements this academic year! I wish everyone who has been part of Hawkins over the past year, all the best as they move onto College and University. And I look forward to the new crop of Year 7 pupils continuing our success and making Hawkins House a place of fun, laughter and enjoyment!

Mr MD Goodall Head of Hawkins House

The Junior House Swimming Gala showed the characteristics of the members of Hawkins House. Even though in terms of numbers, we lacked and this lead to a number of missed events on the night. A special mention should go to Louis Strand, Alex Bendell, Erica Riley and Nathan Millward for representing the House even though it was not their most favourable stroke in the pool. The team pulled together to provide a memorable evening and showed true team spirit, which made me ever so proud as House Master for Hawkins.

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a fond

farewell Valedictions

Simon

Corns Simon Corns became Headmaster of QEGS in 2007, arriving from St Albans School, Hertfordshire where he had been Deputy Headmaster.

Simon made an immediate impact on the School body when he sent a pupil home on his very first day because he judged the boy’s hair was too long. Pupils could have been forgiven for thinking that a strict disciplinarian had arrived and life was going to be intolerable. Simon certainly expected high standards but the pupils need not have feared. He was always extremely respectful towards them and all pupils were always treated fairly, with good humour and dignity.

Simon was a talented linguist and in his early years as Headmaster, he enjoyed teaching German and his lessons were well received. The pressures on a modern Head did mean that it was difficult to find the time to be in the classroom and he had to relatively quickly forego this pleasure; something I know he much regretted.

Simon’s educational drive was to seek constant improvement in attainment and outcomes for all pupils and to this end he guided senior management and the staff to have high expectations for all pupils. Simon had many qualities as Headmaster and fostered teamwork amongst his colleagues. He fully appreciated the benefits of delegation and showed total confidence in his senior managers. This co-operative, consultative style of management allowed the school to progress. He truly believed in QEGS and both his sons, Philip and Alexander, attended the school and gained much success. A family man, his wife Elke worked for a short time as a member of staff supporting the Language Department, was an active member of the Elizabethan Society and could often be seen attending school events.

Simon had boundless energy and took every opportunity to promote the School in the borough and well beyond. He was meticulous in attending School events; musicals, dramas, concerts, cathedral services, OBA and Elizabethan Association meetings, as well as sporting events. He was ever-present on a Saturday morning at Lammack giving his full support, whether it be Cricket, Football or Netball. Such commitment to School left a limited time for pursuit of any personal passions but his passion for cycling could not be dampened and he would regularly find the time to cycle up to 40 miles a week, usually in one stint. His other sporting passion was his beloved Liverpool FC. The only time anyone witnessed a lack of balance, fairness or objectivity was when the discussion was about football!

Clearly Simon had an enormous impact on QEGS during his headship but his overriding legacy will be the conversion to a Free School in 2014. Much of this was undoubtedly due to his drive, determination and mastery of government procedural intricacies.

Through no fault of his own, the School had gradually struggled to maintain a vibrant school roll and it was his courageous decision to persuade the then governors that the future of the School lay in the new opportunities afforded by the newly introduced government scheme of creating Free Schools. He was a firm believer in offering educational opportunities to all and throughout 2013 he worked tirelessly as a pioneering headmaster to bring about what has proved to be an extremely successful conversion.

Simon left QEGS in December 2016 in order to take up a post as Headmaster of Brighton College, Abu Dhabi, a post that he is thoroughly enjoying and has given the chance to explore different challenges and cultures. We continue you to wish Simon and his family all the best for the future.

Dave Hopkinson Clerk to the Trustees since October 2015, Deputy Head until Retirement in August September 2015

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Andy

Rose Mr Andy Rose joined the School in September 1997 as Head of MFL, coming from Giggleswick School where he had also been Head of Languages.

Mr Jonathan Cave, then Deputy Head (Academic) was delighted with one of his first appointees, seeking someone who would develop the department and be creative with his teaching; he certainly wasn’t disappointed. When thinking of words to describe this exceptional teacher and dedicated professional, there are no end of superlatives which come to mind, so many that there is danger of the description appearing blasé. However, when it comes to Mr Andy Rose quality, integrity and sincerity shine through.

First and foremost, Andy is a truly outstanding teacher, able to capture the imaginations of the most able linguists and encourage those for whom languages do not come naturally, harnessing a wide variety of techniques to engage and push his pupils and students to fulfil their potential. He has consistently achieved excellent examination results both in terms of attainment and achievement. However, Andy is not only an excellent linguist and man of deep intellect, Andy has proved himself to be an authentic leader with a great capacity for tackling problems by analysing issues carefully then responding with decisive, considered and practical actions, all focussed on the learning opportunities for our pupils and students and the best interests of our staff. Through his dedication and vision, our School offers three modern foreign languages and maintains all three at GCSE and A Level with an equal take-up across French, German and Spanish, something which is very rare in any school. Andy also played a vital and hands-on role in the design of the languages laboratory – a resource which is the envy of all MFL teachers who come to visit.

Andy’s meticulous attention to detail results in the small things being the important things.

His example shows the impact of the human touch. His pupils were always welcomed at the door of the classroom as he always arrived early rather than on time; new members of staff remember his welcome and effort to make them feel at home; and his colleagues were grateful for his friendly face, sense of humour and ready conversation.

Andy has completely embodied our School’s motto – ‘disce prodesse’ – serving the School in an exemplary fashion. He has proved himself to be an authentic leader, leading by example. He has served his department by having a clear vision, embracing change, harnessing technology to make full use of the languages laboratory and being generous with his time and resources. Above all, Andy has served the pupils in his care: as a teacher he has created outstanding lessons, using recent events to engage his learners, making full use of technology including Google classroom to make learning as interesting and interactive as possible, going the extra mile to contact parents and provide support to pupils at lunch times to help them secure the best grades possible; as a form tutor across various year groups, his priority was to get to know his tutees, taking a genuine interest in their development. Observing Andy’s interactions with pupils is to see vocation in action.

Andy is simply the consummate professional, someone who has had a profound effect on many, many pupils and colleagues and, consequently, he is highly revered. His intelligent, thoughtful and considered advice is much valued. It is with much sadness that we bid him farewell.

As Andy leaves QEGS to take early retirement, he takes with him a wealth of experience from which we were lucky to benefit. He will be very much missed across all sectors of the school: the classroom, the Faculty and the Common Room. We wish him every happiness as he embarks on this exciting new chapter in his life.

However, Andy’s contribution to the development of languages at QEGS is only one dimension of his distinguished career – a talented sportsman, he assisted Dr Butler at Lammack for many years and ran the tennis club. He has led numerous trips both at home and abroad creating many unforgettable memories for pupils and staff alike. It was on trips such as Aachen that the true extent of his superb organisational abilities could truly be appreciated. Andy has an incredible eye for detail and this, coupled with his love of problem-solving, made him not only a regular member of the ‘crossword crowd’ in the Common Room but also an excellent timetabler, a position he held from 2008 -2016.

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Hayley

Wilkinson Hayley Wilkinson worked at QEGS for the best part of six years with her timetable loading reflecting the rapid increase in girls’ sport numbers over a relatively short period of time.

As an undergraduate initially working one day a week, she completed her PGCE in 2013 and this then increased to two days. By 2015, this had jumped to four days and eventually in 2016, Hayley was a full-time teaching colleague.

Hayley is an outstanding practitioner whose calm and friendly persona naturally allowed her to be a popular confidante and ‘go to’ mentor for the girls in our school. It came as no surprise to me when she telephoned me on the evening of her interview this year to say that she had been offered the position of Assistant Head of Department at Rivington and Blackrod School, and that she was going to accept it. I didn’t try and dissuade her because this was the right time and job opportunity at this stage in her professional career.

Unbeknown to her at the time, I was, how they say, ‘gutted’ to say the least.

Her transition into the role of Teacher of Physical Education at QEGS was seamless and from the outset she demonstrated qualities that would transform into her becoming a terrific professional. Hayley’s impact back then was immediate and her involvement ever since, significant. She harnessed the spirit of the girls, understood their requirements and went about her daily role with a reserved enthusiasm that rubbed off positively on those often ‘less eager’. Her teaching of a range of core Physical Education practical activities was strong and in particular, she excelled in the teaching of invasion games and swimming. Always happy to receive constructive feedback, she became a most accomplished ‘all rounder’ and attended various CPD courses, such as handball, to further her own knowledge and expertise.

Her positive relations with Head of Girls Games, Samantha McCreadie, was one of the driving forces behind the promotion of girls’ sport and increase in participation rates tracked in recent years. Indeed, Hayley, Samantha and Angela Bamber promoted a netballing culture at QEGS that continues to bring success at Town level and offer opportunities for girls to play their chosen sport in Saturday morning fixtures. Indeed, Saturday sport is integral to what we do and what we as a Faculty are all about. Our philosophy is driven by the notion of ‘sport for all’ and the ambition to offer opportunities for those that are gifted and talented and who show promise. Unsurprisingly, Hayley bought into this from the outset and gave freely of her time. For this, the Faculty and I will continue to be eternally grateful.

Inevitably for a ‘new kid on the block’, the delivery of academic Physical Education courses is an expected and desired necessity. Any Head of Faculty initial concerns as to her suitability to teach well-planned, enjoyable yet challenging lessons for pupils of all abilities were soon dismissed. Hayley’s preparation was meticulous, no stone left unturned and she consistently teased out very best out of the pupils under her charge.

Indeed, when the opportunity was afforded to teach the notoriously difficult Anatomy & Physiology module of the Advanced Level course to Sixth Form students, she grasped the opportunity with both hands.

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Always well rehearsed and researched, her lessons were creative, imaginative and pitched at a level appropriate to the maturity and academic ability of the students in her classes. She contributed greatly to writing new materials and planning for the teaching of reformed GCSE courses in September 2016. Alongside Michael Hindle, her support for GCSE Physical Education students submitting practical assessment marks was first rate.

Forever videoing and getting candidates to review their work was a never ending part of her duties, always with the intention of securing the best student marks possible. And this they did and have continued to do consistently under Hayley’s guidance.

A talented footballer in her own right having played for both Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City Women’s teams in the past, Hayley introduced girls’ football to the sporting calendar. For those with interest, the Monday after school club was well received.

No fuss, no trouble, done for the benefit of a few who might want the chance to have a go and play - typical Hayley. In next to no time, the skills she demonstrated in being able to manage others, both staff and pupils, led to her appointment as Head of Grenville House.

The undoubted high point of her time with us was the Netball Tour to Barbados in July 2018. A ‘trip of a lifetime’ was how one of the girls described it to me at the time; ‘something I shall never ever forget’ the comment of another. Lessons come and lessons go. Some are good, many less memorable. Such is the importance of extra curricular opportunity in any school is that the sixteen or so girls who went to Barbados will remember their QEGS experience into adulthood and for a lifetime. With Sam as lead, Hayley’s support made this possible.

I have been blessed throughout my time at QEGS to have helped appoint highly-talented, honest and reliable Physical Education colleagues. I didn’t want Hayley to go but an opportunity to tackle a new and exciting role at what is still a relatively fledgling stage in her career was the correct decision.

So it was with deepest regret that we said goodbye to Hayley and thank her for the terrific input she offered our school since her appointment. QEGS has lost a wonderfully talented and hard working young teacher and it goes without saying I wish her well. She goes with my blessing but we as a school have lost a terrific colleague and me, a good friend. She is ‘our Hayley’ and will always continue to be. Good luck, kiddo!

Dr M E Butler Head of PE & Games QEGS Blackburn

Andy

Buckingham Andrew Buckingham joined the school in September 1989 after starting his teaching career in St Dunstan’s School, Glastonbury.

Andy soon became integral to the Geography department at QEGS with his passion and love for interactive games in the classroom. The legendary Cattle Farmer Game, Trade Game, Shanty Town Game and the Nomad Game helped to reinforce complex aspects of Geography in the most engaging but competitive of ways. All will remember Mr Buckingham’s creativity and Miss Purvis and Mr Smith will continue to deliver the excellent activities for future pupils and students at QEGS. Andy’s competitive nature and his flare at what he lays his hand to naturally led him to become Head of Drake House. Andy ran an incredibly successful house from 1995 – 2010 ensuring multiple wins and an excellence for participation. Andy gave up his Head of House role to become Head of Geography in 2010. The department flourished under Andy’s leadership and his guidance has helped facilitate the smooth transition as he handed over leadership of the department to Joanne Purvis in 2016. Andy’s ability as a mentor and his excellent subject knowledge has ensured many thousands of pupils became excellent geographers.

Andy’s sporting prowess has been a valued asset to the school and his passion for football ensured QEGS became U16 Lancashire Cup winners. Not to mention, leading Blackburn with Darwen Town team to win the Lancashire Cup five times, alongside Lancashire U16s becoming National Champions twice, Northern Counties Champions three times and winner of the Home International Centenary Shield twice. His excellence as a manager ensured he reached the pinnacle of Schoolboys football when Andy became England Schoolboys U18 manager from 2010 – 2014.

Andy has helped to change lives and provided once in a lifetime experiences to 90 students with the Uganda Community Project. His work in raising awareness and tireless fundraising has helped change the lives of so many children at the Good Samaritan Primary School in Uganda. Working with QEGS students here has been a highlight of Andy’s career and it is fitting that his last school trip was to Uganda.

Andy’s long serving career at QEGS has been exceptional and is his commitment to the school is simply outstanding. Andy’s retirement is only partial as he continues to work with Trevor Sinclair at ProDirect Academy Lancashire, the Lancashire SFA U18s and working part time running camps for Nike learning and taking tours in Manchester for them.

On behalf of the staff and all OBs, ‘Thank You’ Mr Buckingham. Have a very happy and relaxing retirement, continue to spend time on the golf course, walking and exploring the world.

In 2002, Andy and the Buckingham family had an exchange year Australia, as Andy taught in Sydney Grammar School where he had a fantastic experience, also working part time for Manchester United FC’s Australian Academy.

Andy’s love for the outdoors and making learning interactive naturally led to various fieldtrips. Andy has travelled all over the UK with QEGS pupils exploring Malham, Morecambe, Ribchester, Dunsop Bridge, Hebden Bridge, London, Salford, Liverpool, Ingleton, Easedale, and not forgetting the outstanding Middlebrook Retail Park, the list is endless and that is just Geography related trips! A favourite of Andy’s is the Sixth Form trip to the Isle of Arran where, amongst sampling the local delicacies, a quick round of golf was always incorporated at least once or twice. Andy has enjoyed three trips to Iceland and five trips to Majorca, travelled to the Isle of Man on cricket and golf tours, France, Barcelona, Masstricht, USA and a community project in South Africa. The legendary Lads and Dads golf tour soon became a firm favourite with pupils, parents and staff alike, its popularity ensured ten tours to Scotland. Andy’s passion for golf has led school teams to two national finals where they placed third, twice and two time winners of the Lancashire School Golf competition. From 2003 – 2018 Andy ran the school’s Table Tennis club, leading the team to be Lancashire Emerging Schools winners, twice.

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Peter

Langley Since joining QEGS in 2014, Peter has been a dedicated, respected and valued member of the Mathematics Department.

He has the personality, skills and ability to teach the full range of classes from Year 7 all the way through to the elite A Level Further Maths in Sixth Form. He is very modest and admired by other members of the department for his breadth and depth of mathematical knowledge, for his quick thinking and ability to break down a complex A Level question into seemingly straightforward steps. Peter has always been very generous with the giving of his time and is regularly seen out of hours helping pupils and students.

Peter has been a highly regarded Form Tutor, building excellent relationships with pupils.

His firm but fair approach has allowed him to nurture some of the most challenging pupils. He has a strong moral compass and strives for the best for every pupil. “Langers” is a popular choice for pupils due to his genuine caring, approachable manner; he will be missed.

Peter is someone who quietly “gets on with it”. He is often seen unloading ruck- sacks and tents at 7am and washing up pots and pans from another weekend of gruelling camping and hiking. Peter has successfully led, organised and coordinated the Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards for a number of years. Many pupils and students will remember their great sense of achievement and relief at completing this award, which some could not do without the support of Mr Langley pushing them through. This year, Peter was invited to Buckingham Palace in recognition of his contribution.

In addition to all of this, Peter has led and organised the annual school ski trip. He takes in his stride such events as staff almost missing their flight and pupils with broken limbs!

Peter is a man of many talents, which he keeps quiet! Having been a professional artist, he also plays hockey for the England Squad and is a keen cyclist.

Peter is a great loss to QEGS and we wish him all the best in his new ventures in Somerset.

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Kirsten

O’Donoghue Kirsten O’Donoghue joined Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in 2007 and she quickly proved to be a dedicated and committed classroom teacher and, in later years, a thoroughly trustworthy and visionary leader in her roles as Deputy Head of Junior School and Joint Head of the Primary Phase, with a particularly good eye for detail.

Kirsten always put her pupils first, whether in the classroom where for many years she was an excellent Year 6 teacher, guiding her pupils successfully through the complicated process of SATS, or in her leadership roles, where she always based her decisions on what was best for the children at QEGS. Kirsten always gave freely of her time and made sure that she was always available to meet with parents, carers, staff and children to ensure that she delivered strong pastoral care at all times.

Kirsten was a kind member of staff who was always willing to listen and assist, guiding new members of staff successfully through their first years of teaching. She played an important part in the wider life of the school, running many successful events and visits, including Year 6 residential visits, and supporting charity events. Kirsten also was, for many years, an active member of the Elizabethan Society.

QEGS is grateful for the many contributions Kirsten made to the life of the school and we wish her all the best for her future career.

Ruth

Wildman Ruth arrived at QEGS in September 2004 as a fresh-faced, vibrant member of the Classics department and left equally as fresh-faced and vibrant.

Not only is Ruth a dynamic, energetic teacher but, like all great teachers, she has managed to reinvent herself time after time.

Her first major promotion in the school was to be Head of Year 7, such a key role in the School. She had a team of tutors, many of whom were senior in years to her, but it goes without saying that such is the personality of Ruth that she had their collective ear from the outset and together they ensured that all the pupils had the best possible start to their careers at QEGS. She then became Co-ordinator of Classics, which in effect meant that she was the de facto Head of Classics, which then morphed in to Subject Leader of Classics but there is no doubt that Ruth led the department with great skill and aplomb whatever her official title.

When QEGS became a Free School in 2014, the publicity made it clear that it would maintain its traditions, including keeping Latin on the curriculum. Not only have Ruth and her colleagues ensured that this indeed happened, but they also made it one of the big success stories of the current era, with fantastic results as evidence. It is a testimony to Ruth’s personal popularity and the way that she has made the department such a great success that so many pupils opt to take Latin or Classical Civilisation, especially at GCSE.

Steve

Rafsha Steven Rafsha joined the Mathematics Department at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in 2013 and he proved to be a dedicated Mathematics teacher. Pupils and students benefitted from his knowledge and were able to gain good GCSE and A level grades. Steve’s lessons were always thoroughly planned and delivered with passion and good humour.

A man of boundless energy, Steve was also heavily involved in the pastoral life of the school. He was a caring form tutor and a passionate Head of House, for Drake House.

Steve guided Drake House and his personality ensured that the pupils and students were keen to support him. Steve also led the charity activity of school life successfully.

Steve made a huge contribution to school football at QEGS. He was always to be found at Lammack on Saturday mornings coaching various teams during his time at QEGS. He also assisted in running the QEGS golf team.

QEGS is grateful for the many contributions Steve made to the life of the School and we wish him all the best for his future career.

But Ruth is far more than just an excellent teacher of Latin and Classical Civilisation. For many years she was at the vanguard of the success stories enjoyed by the QEGS Netball teams; Ruth herself is an extremely talented netball player. She has long been determined to run a school trip to Pompeii, which finally came to fruition in October 2018 and a memorable trip it was too.

There have been countless other trips, long and short, home and abroad, that Ruth has assisted with, as well as all sorts of other extra-curricular activities, but long after she has left for Lincolnshire, Ruth will be remembered in the Common Room most of all as a vivacious, fun-loving, loyal friend whom we all hope to see again very soon.

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Steve

Barrand Mr Steve Barrand joined QEGS to cover Mrs Kirsten O’Donoghue’s maternity leave in 2018. He very quickly established excellent relationships with the children, colleagues in the staff room and parents. He approached all his responsibilities with enthusiasm and genuine care when helping to run the Primary Phase.

Steve had a very cheery disposition and will certainly be remembered for his chirpy morning greetings, whatever the weather. His positive attitude and personality ensured that the best interests of the pupils and the team were always at the forefront of his teaching and learning.

He helped to move the Primary Phase forward in many areas and ‘Barrand’s Boot Room’ will continue to be loved by many EYFS pupils over the coming years. His trip to the farm was certainly one for staff and pupils to remember.

Steve ensured that he always put the pupils first, he made it his mission to ensure each pupil was happy every day and did his best to make them laugh when they were having an ‘off’ day. He was equally held in high esteem by staff too; ensuring that he was professional at all times, he took the time to get to know staff and share a funny weekend tale.

His time here at school was appreciated greatly and we wish him all the very best for the future in his new role.

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Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, West Park Road, Blackburn, BB2 6DF Call 01254 686300 Email reception@QEGSblackburn.com QEGSblackburn.com Page 92 | Q Review