Boston Grammar School Head of Science to serve on national committee

Boston Grammar school's Head of Science, Emma Winter, has been awarded Chartered Science Teacher status in recognition of her commitment and contribution to Science education and has landed a key appointment to serve as a member of the Association for Science Education's 11-19 Committee.
Emma says ‘I am delighted to have been awarded CSciTeach, I have been a member of the ASE for a long time and have enjoyed the opportunities it allows to work collaboratively with others to develop as a teacher.’

The Committee advises and supports teachers in secondary schools on a large range of topics and is interested in all aspects of the science curriculum. Emma views being co-opted onto the national board for the subject as ‘an opportunity to give something back to science education and bring cutting edge science education developments to the students at BGS.’

Emma says ‘There is a huge demand for science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers. I believe the skills the students develop to read things objectively and to make their own judgements based on the evidence available is important. At BGS we promote transferrable skills across subjects often with the science subjects being pivotal to this. The science community works best when it works together and it starts with science education.’

Article from Boston Grammar School website

Tyler Atkin - champion kickboxer

In July we announced that the Old Bostonian Association would be sponsoring BGS student, Tyler Atkin in support of his participation in the England team at the 2015 WFMC world amateur kickboxing championships held in Germany this month. We are very pleased to hear that Tyler has brought home the gold medal for being placed first in his category at the championships.

As a condition of the sponsorship we asked Tyler to write a report of his experiences. Here is Tyler's report.

My WFMC journey

Day 1: Today I woke up at 12 o’clock in the morning, as we needed to travel 3 hours to Manchester airport. We arrived there at about 3 o’clock in the morning and we had to wait for Wayne (the coach) and the rest of the team. Once Wayne arrived, we all got our team kit, which was white with red stripes. One we had got our kit, we got changed into it. As soon as everyone had finished, we proceeded through the airport and on to the plane. 

The plane journey was meant to be around about 1 hour and forty-five minutes. However we managed to get there twenty minutes ahead of schedule, so we had to wait outside for Frank the bus driver to take us to the hotel. We ended up spending about an hour on the bus, and we arrived there at about 3 o’clock in the evening. When we got to the hotel, we went inside and got our keys. We went into our designated rooms and unpacked. When we had finished, we had to chill until 6 o’clock. I had nothing to do, so I threw on some shorts and a tank top and went into the hotel gym. I spent about an hour in there and then I went back up, so that I could have a shower and change into something nice. 

We went down for dinner and we saw an all you can eat buffet. I couldn’t eat too much though, as I wanted to make it under 40 kg tomorrow. So I ended up having a salad and some meat. I then went back up and started watching Netflix. Shortly, Richard (my step-dad) came upstairs and we all fell asleep. 

Day 2: Today I woke up at about 8 o’clock and I got changed into my team kit. Today was weigh-ins, and I was hoping to get in under 40kg. I went down for breakfast and then Wayne said we had to be downstairs for 9 o’clock. I went upstairs, grabbed some stuff and went down. We had to order 3 taxis, so that we could all go at once. We got there and had to wait outside for about ten minutes. We then went inside and got some forms to fill in. I went upstairs to weigh myself and I was 38.8kg, so I had made weight. I then gave my form in and we went home. There wasn’t much to do, so I went on Facebook until it was dinner time. When it was dinner time, I went upstairs and put loads and loads of salad on my plate. At this point I allowed myself to eat as much as I wanted, as I didn’t have to watch my weight anymore. 

After dinner, I went upstairs and went to bed… 

Day 3: Today was the big day!!! I woke up early, so that I could get some breakfast and get a taxi to the event. When we got there, we found a place to put our bags and sat down. 

Not long after I sat down, I was asked to stand up and walk somewhere. I was given a Switzerland flag and was to walk through a crowd when I heard the person say Switzerland, this was part of the opening ceremony and signified the joining together of the countries. I did as instructed and stood there for a while. Soon after I was told to give the flag back and I went back to our team. I went and got changed and waited for my fight to be called. When it did I went into the ring and fought. I caught my opponent in the tummy with a front kick which made him sick and wasn’t able to continue, so I won. I got changed back into my team kit and waited for the rest of our team to fight. Once everyone had finished, we all went back to the hotel and had some dinner. After that we all went upstairs and got some sleep for the final tomorrow. 

Day 4: I had been waiting for this day my whole life!!! I repeated my usual morning pattern and got a taxi to the venue. We all waited for the ending ceremony to end. Once it did, I went upstairs and got changed into my fight kit. I heard my fight get called and I went in the ring. I was nervous, however slightly confident. I heard the bell ring and went straight into competition mode. Me and this other boy went all two rounds, he was a very tough world class opponent but fortunately I won by decision. I collected my medal and certificate and went to the hotel. When I got back I went to the dining room and stuffed my face with food. We were all very tired, so after dinner we went bowling and went to bed. 

Day 5: Today we went back home and flew from Dusseldorf. One of the fighter’s dad’s picked us up from Manchester and took u all home… 

Here is the link to my fight.

OBA sponsorship for Tyler Atkin

The Old Bostonian Association is pleased to be able to sponsor Tyler Atkin, a student of Boston Grammar School, who has qualified for a place on the England team at the WFMC world amateur kickboxing championships to be held in Germany in October 2015. The OBA has helped him towards his goal to raise £699 required to send him to the championships.

My name is Tyler James Atkin, I am 12 years old and currently a year 7 Boston Grammar school student. As you probably know kickboxing is my hobby and has been since I was four years old! The gym I attend is pride UK and is located in Broadfield Lane industrial estate. Through my eight years of kickboxing I have achieved many ranks, and right now I am a second degree black belt which I worked very hard for and managed to achieve earlier this year.

Over the years I have participated in many competitions and have collected lots of trophies. This year though is particularly special to me because at the beginning of the year I competed at an event called the WFMC British championships and placed first in a category called K1. Because of this I was invited to be a part of team England and compete in the WFMC world amateur championships in Hagen Germany between the 14th-19th October later this year. As you can imagine to have an opportunity like that after so many years of dedication, hard work and training, was one I was thrilled about and so grateful to have. 

In order to make my trip possible I have been fundraising, and once again would like to thank you for your big donation! Boston Grammar school have also been so kind to donate £50 towards my trip and my form tutor has a shrapnel jar to help towards my target too.

I am lucky to have a kickboxing instructor who is dedicated to helping me and his other students to succeed. So far my training regime has consisted of two kickboxing sessions a week, one circuit training session, one black belt club training plus sparring sessions. I have also been using the treadmill and spin cycle at home. And squad sessions are arranged for team England to train together. I am very fortunate as school has also been very supportive and has offered to let me train during my lunch time if I wish to do so.

In return for the sponsorship the Old Bostonian Association has asked Tyler to keep up posted of his progress, so I hope to be reporting again on him in the not too distant future.

Old Boys v BGS Football Match 2015

The annual football match between the Old Boys and Boston Grammar School took place on Thursday 26 March 2015. The Old Boys' final line up, after the replacement due to "man flu" of Martin Potter by Matthew Joyes, was:

1. George Dix
2. Ricky Drury
3. Luis Mundt
4. Steve Woodcock (Captain)
5. Tom Baxter
6. Scott Elleray
7. Nathan Hubbert
8. Matt Joyes
9. Elliot Pogson
10. Giles Elson
11. Paul Lenton
12. Alex Pycock
13. Paul Fossitt
14. Joe Vaughan

The final score was 3:2 to the Old Boys with goals by Luis Mundt, Tim Bell and Alex Pycock. The win was despite an own goal by George Dix.

Thanks to all who played or spectated. Photographs thanks to Peter Sharman and David Wortley.

BGS Prize Giving - report

Adam Shergold

The Boston Grammar School Prize Giving 2014 took place on 18 December at the Centenary Methodist Church, Boston. The guest of honour was Adam Shergold, an Online Sports Journalist at the Daily Mail.

Music for singing and for musical interludes was provided by the Boston Grammar School Jazz Band and other musicians from the school.

John McHenry, the headteacher of the school gave the welcome and Phillip Bosworth the Chairman's Address.

The prizes notably included two new ones marking the retirement of well loved members of staff. The NW Wainwright Award for outstanding sporting achievement went jointly to Zurna Olali and Stuart Wharff. The Anderson Prize for German went to Louis Holland.

Head of School, John Lisle, gave the vote of thanks to Adam Shergold as the guest of honour.

The event was closed with the usual singing of the school song and the national anthem.

Happy - Boston Grammar School Staff

Boston Grammar School staff perform Pharrell Williams Happy. Would they have done this "in your day"?

What a fantastic afternoon! BGS Beach Party

Boston Grammar School Schuhplattler dancing at the Beach Party,
led by Richard Anderson

Boston Grammar School showed it was on good form, as it held its first Charity Summer Fete. Principal John McHenry was on hand to enjoy the fun with the staff, pupils (pictured below) and many guests including East Midlands Ambulance NHS Trust (EMAS) and L.I.V.E.S on a lovely summer afternoon.

There was no sign of a dampening mood following the flood that caused the school to close in December 2013. The future has never looked brighter.

Music provided by the school band accompanied the Schuhplattler; garden games; Magic Show starring ex-Head Boy, Mark Watson, Punch & Judy Show from Norfolk and all the delights of a summer’s day—ice cream, drinks and home-made cakes whilst fundraising for such worthy charities - Centrepoint Outreach, World War I Memorial and defibrillators for the local community. Local businesses helped the school by offering time to support such good causes and local superbike rider, Ben Wilson took time out to cut the black and amber ribbon at 12 noon.

BGS is sited at the heart of the Boston Community, steeped in history and the organisers, Richard Anderson and Suzanne McKeown are delighted to announce that the BGS “Beach Party” Fete raised over £1,000 for charity and wish to thank all who contributed to this splendid total.

OBA v BGS Football Match 2014 - report

I am disappointed to report a defeat for the Old Boys in the football fixture with the School First XI held on 3 April 2014.

The Old Boys took an early lead through the lively Lewis Mundt but conceded three goals to the School in a 'crazy' 15 minute spell at the end of the first half.

Paul Lenton - who had travelled from Nottingham to play - was unlucky to concede a (arguably) very dubious penalty and Jim Bedford - a double for Neville Southall - was equally unlucky not to save the resulting spot kick when he 'guessed right' but could not stop the goal to give the School a flattering 3-1 lead at the break.

The Old Boys steadied the ship at half time and controlled second half proceedings with some stylish, measured, 'Iniesta / Xavi' type play through midfield most notably from Drury, Hubbert, Chester, Parkinson and Baxter.

Strike pair - Giles Elson and Tim Bell - scratched and sniffed for opportunities 'up top' but had nothing to show for their considerable endeavours.

Old Boys' Skipper Steve Woodcock marshalled his troops from the back 'Beckenbauer' style assisted by the muscular George Dix and the classy, Kirton Town legend, Paul Fossitt at left back (The Blonde Maldini).

'Youngster' Elliot Pogson announced his arrival as a 'new' Old Boy when he scored from a remarkable free kick to put the Association back in the game at 3-2.

The impressive Nick Jackson almost stole a deserved equalizer for the Old Boys in the final seconds following a sublime 'dummy' from 68 year old super veteran - Mick Cockerill - but his effort squirmed agonisingly wide.

As is tradition, there were numerous robust, physical challenges throughout the game but this was an excellent, competitive match overall. A pleasure to watch. And all for free!

Congratulations to The School on their 3-2 victory this year.

Many thanks to match officials Steve Ross, Trevor Page and Pete Sharman for their contribution to the spectacle.

See you in 2015 !

Paul Marsh resigns as BGS Principal

Boston Grammar School Principal Paul Marsh has announced he is to leave the school.

In a statement issued  to The Boston Standard on 29 January 2014, Paul said: “It has been a difficult decision to move on to other things after investing over 10 years in Boston Grammar School. However, I hope that my tenure as head and principal will be remembered for the improvements made since taking over in 2010.

“The school was last year deemed ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding features by Ofsted, student numbers have increased and the academy conversion has brought it autonomy over its own affairs.

“The most obviously ‘outstanding’ feature of Boston Grammar School is the student body, and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with some wonderful young people in my time at the school.”

He added: “I would also like to thank parents – and the Boston community in general – for the support and co-operation I have received in my time at the school. I wish everyone the very best for a bright future.”

The Standard earlier spoke to the school’s chair of governors Stephen Woodliffe who said "It is natural for a head teacher to have a career progression like everybody else, and he is entitled to do this."

"Parents needn’t be concerned", he added. "We wish Paul well in his new career."

BGS Prize Giving - report

The Boston Grammar School Prize Giving 2013 took place on 20 December at the Centenary Methodist Church, Boston. The guest of honour was Charles Hart, the father of Manchester City and England goalkeeper, Joe Hart.

Music for singing and for musical interludes was provided by the Boston Grammar School Jazz Band and other musicians from the school.

Paul Marsh, the principle of the school spoke of the school's excellent academic and sporting achievements throughout the year, particularly noting that as a small school, BGS "punches above its weight" in sporting competitions.

In his address as Chairman of the Governors, Cllr Stephen Woodliffe, told of his original involvement with the school as a mathematics teacher for 18 years, how having left to teach elsewhere, retired and become a Boston councillor, he became involved again with the school as a governor, and eventually became Chairman of the Governors earlier this year, just before the Ofsted inspection which showed that the school had improved significantly since the previous inspection in 2010. He noted that the recent flood was probably the biggest challenge for the school in the last 50 years but showed hope that it would recover well.

The prizes notably included the new Trevor Page Sports Prize, donated by Trevor Page (BGS 1949-55) - two of his father's sporting trophies, originally won in the 1920s or 30s. The junior prize was won by Jack Henton and the Intermediate prize by Stuart Wharff.

Following presentation of the prizes, Charles Hart spoke of how his son, Joe, achieved his goal with support from his family and by putting in the extra effort which allowed him to rise to the top in his chosen field, football. Charles invited those present to do likewise, for each to put in the extra effort to achieve to their potential: in sport, engineering, politics, or whatever their chosen goal.

Head of School, Ellis Potter, gave the vote of thanks to Charles Hart as the guest of honour and presented him with mementos of the day including a prefect's tie and badge.

The event was closed with the usual singing of the school song and the national anthem.

BGS Junior GK Team through to national semis

The Boston Grammar School Junior General Knowledge A Team has made it to the national semi-finals of the National Junior Quiz Challenge after beating St Ivo School from St Ives in Cambs in the East Midlands final. The team were Oliver Cammack, Oliver Jones, Neelay Sant and Ross Hawkins.

Thank you to Richard Cammack for sharing this news on Facebook.

OBA v BGS Football - Results

The final score for the 2013 match, held on 27 March, was BGS First XI 2 : OBA XI 3. So OBA regain the honours after losing in 2012.

OBA scorers were Lewis Mundt, Tom Baxter and James Munn.

1981 senior prize-winners

It's been a while since I added an article to the OBA Wiki. I won't bore you with the details of why: partly me feeling not too great, and partly having the sad job of publicising lots of deaths. Anyway, I'm kicking off the wiki again with a photograph of the Boston Grammar School senior prize-winners of 1981. I've named some of them, mainly my own school colleagues, but there are still quite a few left to be named if you feel up to the challenge.

If you've got anything to add on this article or anywhere on the wiki, I encourage you to set up a user account for yourself, roll up your sleeves and get to work on it. You can't do anything seriously wrong - if I see you've accidentally wrecked a page I can restore it, so don't worry that you haven't edited a wiki before.

If you don't feel confident enough to get your hands dirty then just send me an email with the details you would like to add, and I'll apply them as soon as I can.

General Knowledge success

The Boston Grammar School Junior General Knowledge A Team has won the South Lincs junior challenge general knowledge tournament qualifier, beating Kesteven and Grantham Girls school in the final. They now go on to the regional final.

Thank you to Richard Cammack for sharing this news on Facebook.

Mick Todd - new governor

Mick Todd
(fourth from the left on the back row)
Pitcher Cup Winners 1973

Congratulations to Mick Todd, who has been accepted onto the board of governors at Boston Grammar School.

William Edward Cox

William Edward Cox

There have been a number of Boston Grammar School students who have gone on to teach at their old school. One of those was William Edward Cox, who was a student 1921-1929, winning the Parry Gold Medal in his final year. He was a member of staff from 1950 to  his retirement in 1971.

William Edward Cox is the subject of the latest new article on the OBA Wiki.

From the top of my head, others who have been both students and staff at Boston Grammar School include Michael Maltby and Steve Neal.

700th Schuhplattler Gig

The BGS Schuhplattler Gruppe
on BBC's Blue Peter in 2001

Richard Anderson has had a letter published in the Boston Standard marking the 700th gig of the Boston Grammar School Schuhplattlergruppe.

The current troupe has had an amazing year, performing at all major Lincolnshire events including the prestigious Lincolnshire Show (where they were ‘sponsored’ by Lincs FM DJs), the Olympic Torch Relay in Lincoln, the Spalding Flower Parade, Carrington Rally, Sleaford Oktoberfest, numerous Jubilee events, the Boston Standard Centenary Show, and in December they were the only act to be invited to perform in front of Lincoln Cathedral as part of the opening ceremony for Lincoln’s famous Christmas Market. This was the remarkable 700th gig.

Academy Status

Boston Grammar School head Paul Marsh
and chair of governors Mark Wearden.

As I mentioned in the report on the Boston Grammar School prize giving, BGS and Boston High School both, separately,  have academy status from the start of 2013.

BGS will be known as Boston Grammar School Selective Academy (if my memory of what headmaster, Paul Marsh, said is correct).

The Boston Standard report about the change is headed "Boston’s grammar schools make ‘fresh start’ as academies". I don't know enough about the matter to hold an opinion about whether or not this is a good thing. The former Chair of the Governors, Barrie Gosling, resigned in August over the issue, but the current Chairman, Mark Wearden, spoke persuasively about it at the prize giving.

New Wiki Articles (29 December 2012)

Pitcher Cup Winners 1973

I have created a few new articles in the OBA wiki today. There's no particular theme to them.

• Pitcher Cup Winners 1973
• Trip to Russia 1966
• Air Raid Shelters
• Speech Day 1959
• Debating Society

1939 Panoramic

A section of the 1939 photograph

Over the last two or three days I've been adding the panoramic photograph of all the students at Boston Grammar School in 1939 to the Wiki. This joins the 1962 panoramic photograph. I have a few more of these to do - they take a while to convert from the old OBA web site format to the wiki though nowhere near as long as it will take to set up the two or three I have that have never been on the web before!