a message from Mr Justin Stanley the headmaster

High Merit! High Reward! Our pupils –from the youngest at Hymers Hessle Mount to those in the Sixth Form –continue to live up to the motto that dates back to the early days of the School. Working with the young people at Hymers remains a deeply inspiring and rewarding experience as, on a daily basis, we see our pupils excel in the range of activities that are evidenced in this publication.

More importantly than that, we are privileged to work with the children’s parents and carers to help nurture in them personal values and qualities of which we can all be proud and which will serve them well in their lives ahead: those of kindness and compassion, integrity, resilience, humility, co-operation and compromise, teamwork and responsibility. Yes – Hymers pupils make mistakes, as do we all, but for the most part they show remarkable good sense, consideration, empathy and ambition: ambition for themselves but also for their peers and the wider community.

At the end of the Spring Term I was delighted to be able to confirm in the position of permanent Head of Hymers Hessle Mount Mr Andy Copeland who since September has been carrying out the role on an interim basis. It has been wonderful to see the way in which Mr Copeland, his Deputy Mrs Wilson and all the staff at Hymers Hessle Mount have been developing such a supportive and aspirational environment. It is through these firm educational and social foundations that our youngest pupils will go on to become their own versions of the older students some of whose achievements are detailed on these pages.

Invidious as it is to try to pick out some of the highlights from last term, pupils and staff involved in the following activities will look back with real satisfaction. There were the celebrations of Science Week and Chinese New Year at Hymers Hessle Mount. In the Junior School the Dance Club and U11 boys’ rugby teams joined our choirs in establishing a regional, and indeed national, reputation for themselves through their accomplishments. Pupils across the age range gave stellar performances in Music and Drama, while some of our Sixth Form students performed with remarkable distinction against a national field in their academic pursuits. For four of our Sixth Form chemists to have achieved Gold awards in the Royal Society’s Olympiad is an outstanding feat and it has been heartening to see a good crop of our medical and Oxbridge applicants secure offers on the most competitive university courses. In addition to these achievements, I particularly applaud the excellent work of our antibullying ambassadors and our students who volunteer to support community groups and charitable organisations in the local area. Our Development Office led by Mrs Emily Pennack have continued to do sterling work in ensuring that our Old Hymerian community remains increasingly inter-connected and informed about what is going on at the School. It was wonderful to hear that two of our younger alumni Sarah Al-Saad and Laurence Marwood gained a Cambridge Blue in hockey and rugby respectively for representing their university in the Varsity Match against Oxford. Congratulations to them both for continuing the Hymerian tradition of successfully balancing their commitments to intensive academic study and high-level sport, music or drama.

Hymers College @HymersSport: The @Hymers_College Water Polo team were in action yesterday. Some great team play and excellent goals scored, and as always lessons to learn! Thank you @BradfordGrammar for hosting! #waterpolo #competition

One initiative for us has been drinks events for our alumni in cities such as Newcastle, Manchester, Cambridge, London and Leeds. It is apparent how much Old Hymerians of different vintages and former members of staff have enjoyed meeting to catch up and share memories of their time at school. For the Spring Term to end with a magnificent performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria from a choir made up of current pupils, parents, staff, friends and alumni seemed a suitable testament to the strength of the Hymers community.

Hymers College @HymersSport: Senior House netball winners: Trinity. Well done to all participants who had a fantastic, fun filled afternoon.

Hymers College @HymersSport: A nice mix in photograph to finish off the staff v Year 13 hockey match. Well done Year 13 on your win!

Hymers College @Hymers_College:

Yesterday we welcomed 16 local schools to Hymers for the inaugural Hymers U11 Invitational Football Cup! The standard was very high and it was great to see so many children from the area enjoying their football. Well done to @EastfieldPSHull who were crowned champions!

Hymers College @Hymers_Art:

Fantastic tonal depth on this ink portrait from Year 12 and more spectacular ink distortion portraiture.