DGS Life A review of the academic year 2018-2019 in words and pictures
Aladdin, December 2018.
“I’ve had a fantastic 11 years at this amazing school. I’ve learnt skills and made friendships to last a lifetime.” Freddie Lamb, Year 13
“I’ve had the best two years, with the best people. I’ll miss you all so much.” Abigail Davies, Year 13
What a year! Excellence, encouragement and enrichment are the hallmarks of what we do at Derby Grammar School. Reading through the pages of DGS Life I can see how tangible our ethos is within our school life. These values reach far beyond the confines of the classroom: these values encourage our boys and girls to challenge and extend themselves in surprising ways. I am struck by the sheer scale of what is on offer to our pupils; from the dramatic to the daring, from the musical to the mechanical, from the outward-bounds to the overseas - the possibilities are endless. Having an extensive range of opportunity is paramount. So often can young people find their passion in life simply by joining a new club or having a go at a new skill. We create these opportunities. But it is the boys and girls themselves who seize these opportunities with both hands and make the very most of them. They develop key life skills such as resilience, problem solving, teamwork, leadership, determination and courage. They are not afraid to get stuck in, to try something new, to persevere and often overcome obstacles to achievement. It is these skills that they will be able to draw upon in adult life, skills that underpin success in all walks of life. Every boy and girl at Derby Grammar School can be satisfied to look back over this academic year and celebrate their own individual success. We are exceptionally proud of all that our pupils achieve. Congratulations!
Celebrating our pupils
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It’s been a busy year celebrating successes and achievements across the school. Here are just a few of our students’ remarkable accomplishments. 1: Ed Richardson hosts drum masterclass. 2: Year 12 took part in the European Youth Parliament debate. 3: Forest School club is launched. 4: We’re recognised as an NCS Champion school. 5: Tree planting at YMCA to mark our close relationship. 6: James and Ollie pass their music exams. 7: Biology Olympiad success. 8: Physics Olympiad success. 9: Freddie wins county-wide sports award and gets U21 CP England team call-up. 10: Haryan and Jasgobind visit Number 10. 11: Rohail raises money for Tanzania.
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1: Pupils form GCHQ band. 2: Jacob’s artwork used to signpost new Art and Design suite. 3: DGS students receive Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards. 4: Junior School receive their Blue Peter Diamond badges. 5: First Duke of Edinburgh’s award winners of the academic year. 6: Tom and Omer achieve outstanding marks in LAMDA exam. 7: F24 and F24+ teams go from strength to strength. 8: Abhi and Alex go litter picking in their village.
House competitions The House system encourages a sense of unity, camaraderie and healthy competition across Senior School. Led by Sixth Form House Captains, the four Senior School houses of Blackton, Atkinson, Derby and Bemrose accumulate points throughout the year by competing in various House competitions. At the end of the year, the coveted R. G. King Memorial Trophy is awarded to the House with the most points. It’s a hotly contested accolade which brings pupils of all ages together and which offers opportunities for all to contribute to their House’s overall success.
Tug of War
2018-2019 House Captains Atkinson
Bemrose
Max Morley
Tom Cochrane
Blackton
Derby
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Sibbering
Debating
Drama
The results table Competition
Winner
Art
Bemrose
Carols
Blackton
Chess
Blackton
Cross Country
Bemrose
Debating
Atkinson & Blackton
Drama
Atkinson
Football
Derby
Hockey
Atkinson
Music
Atkinson
Rowing
Blackton
Rugby
Bemrose
Sports Day
Blackton
Tug of War
Blackton
Writing
Bemrose
Music
Rowing
Debating
Art Upper School
Art Lower School
A review of the academic year 2018-2019 in words and pictures
The story of our Tanzania Project
Our 10-year Tanzania Project focuses on Gedeli B school in Mwanza where we are achieving significant impact and demonstrable improvements to help the 1300 pupils who attend. Back in 2013 when we first visited, there was an average of 270 children per class. They had nothing: no water, no electricity, no educational equipment, no text books, no sports equipment and five drop toilets without water. Since then we have raised over ÂŁ80,000 which has been invested in improvements including building four new classrooms and two new toilet blocks, the installation of electricity and running water, supplying classroom equipment and resources and creating a sports area. The main project for 2018 was the installation of a 10,000 litre water tower so that the children have access to running water every day. Something we take for granted. 26 pupils and four teachers travelled to Mwanza in July 2018 to help with the projects and to teach the children at Gedeli B School.
Tanzania 2019 After a year of fundraising our 2019 Tanzania team leave Derby Grammar School on 5 July. Follow their story on the Tanzania blog at https://dgstanzania.wordpress.com
Fundraising for Tanzania Our fundraising activities take place all year round to raise money for the Tanzania trip. Pupils, staff and parents all get involved and we have a lot of fun along the way. A week in the autumn term is dedicated to Charities Week where breaks, assemblies and lunchtimes are all packed full of activities to raise money for the Tanzania Project. This year, our events included the Yes/No quiz, the marshmallow eating competition and a dance-off, and culminated with the pantomime, Aladdin. Year 6 boys Yusef and Ahmed spent a breaktime in the stocks being bombarded by wet sponges, and we also had a penalty shoot-out and Connect4 competition in Junior School. Junior School took part in a sponsored swim which raised an incredible £1022 and there was the staff vs students football match. Both teams were equally hampered: the students by Vinay’s two left feet and the teachers by Mr Smyth’s short legs. But the students won the day with two outstanding goals by Dylan. Other events take place throughout the year to raise even more money – Jazz Night, Quiz Night and the Bring and Buy Sale being just some of these.
Our work with charities Charitable work is an important part of school life. As well as helping others, it gives our pupils a new perspective. It is inspiring and teaches humility, as well as the significance and impact of a simple gesture. At Derby Grammar School our international charitable work focuses on the Tanzania Project overseas and, more locally, on YMCA Derbyshire. Throughout the year we also support other charitable causes where we can.
Over £400 for Read For Good
Christmas shoeboxes for YMCA residents
Over £2000 for YMCA Derbyshire at Sleep Easy 2019
“When our residents arrive they feel nobody loves or cares for them. We are eternally grateful for your harvest donations that show somebody does care and that they are valued. I cannot tell you how much this means to each of them.” Sarah Crane, YMCA Derbyshire
£529.39 for Derby and Burton Hospitals Charity
Harvest donations for YMCA
Wear Your Team Shirt Day #30DaysOfGiving
Learning about our society Across Senior School our pupils enjoy citizenship and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. A wide range of topics are covered which encourage debate, discussion and conversation across the class. Some of the topics we’ve been covering include healthy eating, homelessness, the impact of plastic on the environment, human rights, drug awareness, careers, money management, anti-bullying, self-esteem and revision skills. Year 7 have been looking at teambuilding in their citizenship class. It’s all about respecting others, listening, recognising different strengths and viewpoints and working together. Year 8 have explored homelessness and the issues around it, which included a visit to YMCA Derbyshire to talk to the residents and a trip to the YMCA allotment to see how it has helped in rebuilding shattered lives. Year 9 have been investigating how we use and dispose of plastics. They’ve looked in particular at coffee shops and their use of coffee cups which cannot be recycled due to them being a mixture of paper and plastic. They have researched what these organisations are doing to minimise plastic waste.
“I didn’t know that the YMCA staff help people with training and support them in finding accommodation.” A. Aziz
Trips and visits We have a busy co-curricular programme of trips and visits which runs throughout the academic year. It supports the curriculum, bringing to life the topics that are being studied, enhancing understanding and experiences.
Year 4 at Twycross Zoo
Clubs Our pupils take part in clubs throughout the week. They help to build important life-skills such as leadership, teamwork, negotiation and communication, and enable them to discover new things, develop their talent and have some time out.
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Achieving a DofE award can be life-changing. We run all awards here at Derby Grammar School. At Year 9, pupils take their Bronze award; Silver and Gold are optional.
Billy, Freya and Elliot receive their Gold awards at Buckingham Palace
Formula 24 F24 and F24+ gives pupils responsibility for every aspect of racing, from design and build to pit crew and racing their own car.
Setting up camp - Bronze practise expedition
In October, racing came to a close at the season finale at Rockingham. Both teams qualified to race with the F24 team coming 50th out of 250 and the F24+ team 20th out of 32. The F24+ team finished 13th in the Championship league, out of 79 - their highest ever placing. The teams are now busy preparing their car, The Stag, for this summer’s racing season.
Field Archery Field Archery practice takes place in our beautiful woodland grounds. It demands high levels of concentration and archers need to be fit both physically and mentally to achieve success! Nathaniel is in Year 7 and immediately joined the Field Archery club on entering Senior School. He says: “I really like archery. We all have fun doing it and there are all age groups in the club. I’ve got quite a bit better since I started. I was more focused on the score when I began, but now I’m focusing on getting my arrows closer together.”
Music Music plays a key role in the life of the school. As well as music lessons and one to one instrument lessons with a team of expert teachers, our pupils can join the String Ensemble, Swing Band, Senior Band, Choir and Barbershop Choir. All perform at school events, in competitions and support drama productions over the course of a year. Derby Grammar School is also one of the main Derbyshire bases for the award-winning Hot House Music School. This means our pupils can tap in to the extraordinary talent of their music teachers, and many of our pupils are also members of their different bands and choirs.
At the end of the summer term we are looking forward to hosting musicians from Guernsey Grammar School. They will be taking part in music workshops which culminates in a Derby and Guernsey Grammar School joint concert at the end of the trip.
Jazz trumpeter Bryan Davis joined us for a trumpet masterclass Old Derbeian Ed Richardson returned to give a drum masterclass
Sixth formers Matt, Freya and Elliot perform at Derby Cathedral
Swing Band performs at Jazz Night
Drama
Field Archery
Field Archery practice takes place in our beautiful woodland grounds. It demands high levels of concentration and archers need to be fit both physically and mentally to achieve success! Our pupils love taking to the stage
to show off their talent - and it’s like Nathaniel is in Year 7 and immediately joined the Field Archery club on entering Senior School. He says: “I really archery. We all have fun doing it and there are all age groups in the club. not I’ve got quite bit better only on athe stage since that Ithey started. I was more focused on the score when I began, but now I’m focusing on They gettingare my involved arrows closer together.” excel. in all elements of our productions, from stage lighting and sound to music, costumes and make-up. LAMDA speech and drama lessons are popular across the school, from Year 3 to 13. Taught on a one-to-one basis, they help to develop communication and performance skills, as well as confidence. At Christmas we staged our pantomime this year it was Aladdin. It ran for two nights to raise money for the Tanzania project and was hilarious! The Spring term saw pupils take to the stage once again for the House Drama competition. Based on episodes of Friends that the pupils had adapted for stage, we saw some unique presentations, creative props and amazing costumes!
Sport Our three school sports are rugby, hockey and cricket, but that doesn’t stop us enjoying other sports too, including football, athletics, and even rowing when it’s House competition time. Mr Whitworth, Head of Games and PE, gives us his observations on a great year of sport Team sports are an integral part of a pupils’ education because they play a key role in developing teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship. Our rugby season saw some great matches. Our sides enjoyed success both in terms of winning matches, but also, and more importantly, in terms of improving both individual and team skills. Rugby is multi-dimensional and boys of above average intelligence are continually tested in terms of making decisions on the field of play. Placing yourself in situations outside of your comfort zone tells you something about yourself as a person. Courage, bravery and comradeship are all integral parts of rugby and there have been many times this year when boys have shown this in heaps. At the first team level, we have had one of the best captains I have coached here for a long time. Leaders come in many forms. There are those who lead by example and there are those who lead through earning total respect from their peers.
Max Morley worked tirelessly both on and off the pitch and his never say die attitude is something everyone can learn from. Equally when he speaks he does so with such authority that people listen intently to what he has to say. Inspiring others to give of their very best is the quality of a great leader. Moving on to hockey, the first XI was ably led by county and Burton Hockey Club player Toby Ganley. Although still in Year 12, he led with wisdom, skill and tactical nous. Performances improved as the season progressed, with wins against Hill House and Newcastle being particular highlights. Elsewhere, our school teams were augmented by club and county players including Will Selby, Manveer Kalarai, Lucas Brandon and Tomás Dickens as well as sports scholar James. They all helped to galvanise the teams, driving up the standard of play and game understanding as well as motivating the teams and delivering performances where, at times, they certainly punched above their weight.
The cricket season was affected by the weather this year, with near-drought conditions of 2018 replaced with weather that meant the DT department were busy building an ark! Sadly too many games were cancelled due to the soggy conditions but those that were completed showed some great individual performances with Sebastian Read, Jeffrey Baker and James all receiving cricket balls for their 50s whilst representing the school. Outside of school the boys again punched well above their weight in terms of representative cricket, with Will Flear, James, Jasgobind Singh Virk and Atamvir all playing for the Derbyshire Cricket Board district teams. Ayaan Aziz was the most highly decorated player in school having played county cricket for Leicestershire this summer.
Junior School There’s always something going on in Junior School, and next year it will be even busier as we expand to welcome boys in to Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes! This year we’ve been celebrating Blue Peter badges, learning about Fairtrade, we’ve been out on trips galore and have had lots of opportunities for dressing up. There’s never a dull moment.
Year 5 investigated plant reproduction in science
Year 6 learnt all about Fairtrade
Year 3 learnt about structures in DT
Year 4 have been replicating the digestive system
Alex (left) won the Year 5 competition on World Book Day for the best character
Year 6 three-day adventure trip to Hollowford
Junior School took part in Young Voices at Birmingham in January
A fond farewell to Year 13 We bid farewell to our Year 13 students at the end of May as they were inaugurated in to the Old Derbeian Society (ODS) and celebrated their time with us at the Leavers’ Dinner. At a special assembly, Ralph Holden, President of the ODS, presented each student with a gift which symbolises them leaving school and joining the society.
“I wish you success, that you strive for the things that you want and, most of all, that you are happy.”
The ODS exists to ensure Derby Grammar School ex-pupils can retain and rekindle friendships, and it keeps the link with the school in perpetuity. All ODS members are life members.
Miss Stebbings, Head of Sixth Form
The Leavers’ Dinner on 10 May saw students and staff gather for a celebratory meal before they went off on study leave.
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Catching up with Old Derbeians
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1. Dave Wood (2004) donated a painting to School. 2. Adam Allanson (2011) joined us for our Careers Fair. 3. Max Cadman (2015) popped in to say hello. 4. Amrit Bola and Oli Dixon (2015) visited just before the annual ODS v 1st XI hockey match. 5. Connor Kelly (2015) caught up with Mrs Lacey at our Careers Fair. 6. Sam Smith (2008) donated water from his company for our Tanzania fundraiser. 7. Victoria Anderton-Johnson (2011) got in touch. She’s Assistant Archaeological and Heritage Consultant at WSP. 8. Joe Cox (2015) is now working as an architect for JM Architects in Manchester. 9 & 10. ODS cricket and hockey.
Amazing events Our year has been punctuated by superb events that show off the school and all of the incredible talent of our pupils within it.
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1.Speech Day 2018 - Blackton won the RG King Memorial Trophy. 2.September Open Day saw our largest number of visitors ever. Our pupils are our greatest ambassadors! 3.Our first Careers Fair was for DGS pupils and others from outside of our school. 26 different organisations attended. 4.The theme for House Drama was Friends. It was a fantastically funny evening.
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5 - photograph courtesy of Rohan, Year 10 5. Fireworks Night – what a crowd! Another recordbreaking event held by our PTA. It’s becoming a real highlight amongst our school and local community. 6. Ben Peverall, chef from The Cow gave cookery demos at Spring Market. 7. Old Derbeian Ed Richardson drums for the stars nowadays. He came back to deliver masterclasses. 8. What a night of entertainment from our own incredible Swing Bang and then the Hot House Screaming Kicks Big Band at Jazz Night. 9. This years’ pantomime, Aladdin, had us rolling in the aisles!
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