Latest News

GCSE results

Congratulations to all our pupils on their outstanding success in the GCSE exams. This has certainly been a bumper year. Two thirds of girls achieved 5 or more A and A* grades with 54 girls gaining 10 or more As and A*s. 59% of all exams were passed at A or A* grades.

A level success

This has been another excellent year for our A level students. Our average points score per student was our highest ever with 50 girls achieving two or more A / A* grades. There have been many notable individual achievements, including former head girl Raghd Rostom who achieved an incredible four A*s. Our congratulations go to all our students on their success this year and we wish them well as they go on to the next stage in their lives.

Arrangements for the start of the new school year

We look forward to welcoming pupils back to school. School begins on Monday 6th September 2010. Pupils should arrive at school for the start of term as follows:

Year 7..................09.30
Years 8-11..........13.25
Year 12................10.00
Year 13................08.35

Poetry in motion

Students from Bournemouth School for Girls were enthralled by the visit of the former Poet Laureate, Sir Andrew Motion, who spent the afternoon working with groups of students in a series of poetry writing workshops. After hearing about the importance of both writing and hearing poems, students wrote a short poem to perform in front of the group, and receive some feedback from Sir Andrew on how to improve their work. He was clearly impressed with what he heard, as the girls produced a stunning array of perceptive, witty and sometimes poignant poems, on a variety of topics. In the evening Sir Andrew gave a reading of his poems and answered questions from an audience of parents and guests.

Kenya comes to BSG

BSG pupils have been making some noise for the arrival of visitors from their partner school in Kenya. Principal of St Anne’s Girls High School Mrs Beatrice Wanjau together with Business studies teacher Mr Kenneth Njue and pupils Gladwel and Jane have been visiting BSG as part of a British Council supported partnership link.

The Kenyan visit is the second part of a reciprocal programme which saw BSG headteacher Alistair Brien and Head of Drama Barbara Brann make the journey to Kenya last month with 10 BSG sixth formers to experience life at St Anne’s, a boarding school some three hours north east of the capital Nairobi.

Visits to both schools have included the chance to taste lessons as well as visit the local sights. While they have been here pupils Gladwel and Jane have also performed in BSG’s summer concert and led assemblies. Mrs Wanjau was also guest of honour at the governors’ celebration lunch when she officially opened the school’s new recording studio , a gift of the Parent-School Association.

Mrs Wanjau said that she had been overwhelmed by the friendship shown during their visit and urged pupils not to take for granted the facilities pupils at BSG enjoy, which she said were far better than many universities in Kenya have. Alistair Brien commented how pleased he was that pupil visits were now a part of the long standing partnership between the schools. Many of the BSG sixth formers , he said, have reported what a life changing experience their own trip had been, not least how much more you can get in to a day with a 5.30am start to lessons!

Latest debating successes

On February 27th, Madeleine Roper, Lydia Clark and Remi-Adele Kaz took part in the second round of the Rotary Youthspeaks competition in Southampton. On March 20th, Emma Brooks and Simone Vibert travelled to Yeovil to participate in the regional round of the Mace Debating competition and on March 23rd, they, along with Jade Warrick, Esme Yules Alexandra and Charlotte Coles took part in the Debating Matters regional final in Bristol. After three gruelling debates, they beat five other schools and won £1,000 worth of books for the school and a three-day residential course in July where they will take part in the national final of the Debating Matters competition.

Pupils in court

On Saturday 13th March, a team of 16 Year 8 and 9 students assembled at Poole Magistrates Court to take part in the Citizenship Foundation Mock Trial Competition.
As part of their preparation, they also had a visit to see Bournemouth Magistrates Court in action, and were given a tour of the cells underneath.
At the end of two tense cases in courtrooms packed with parents and grandparents, Bournemouth School for Girls won, and now progress to the Regional Final at Southampton Magistrates Court in May.

Rock Challenge

BSG entered the international dance competition ‘Rock Challenge’ competing in the area round at the Pavilion on 8th March. Over 100 girls were involved either in performing, or as part of the stage crew, lighting or make up teams.

Gym and Dance display

Another fantastic show! This was a great opportunity for the girls to showcase a variety of class work, club work, inter-house and competitive gymnastic sequences. Over 200 girls performed in remarkable tumbling, sports acrobatic routines combined with inspiring rhythmical dance.

Spring Fundraising Concert

2010’s Spring Fundraising Concert began with an outstanding performance from the ‘Rock Challenge’ dance group who led the way for numerous dance acts that were all executed with elegance and style. The musical acts followed with invigorating contemporary pop/rock styles (including Year 11 band ‘Practice Room 5’) accompanied by more calming acoustic pieces.

PSA News

The PSA have recently kindly agreed to support us by buying the necessary recording equipment to make the Recording Studio in the Performing Arts Centre fully functional. This is a very exciting development which will be of great benefit to Music and Drama students.

Blue Fusion Event

As part of National Science and Engineering Week six year 1o pupils were invited to take part in IBM’s annual Blue Fusion Challenge. This turned out to be a great day filled with challenges that tested their logic, technological, engineering and scientific skills and knowledge, and above all, their ability to work as a team.

Sport Relief 2010

Congratulations to BSG for all their efforts in raising money for Sport Relief. The Sport Relief mile saw girls running 3-legged, side ways, piggy back and a big well done to Hannah Oliver, Ellen Wallace, Danielle Toogood, Nicole Simpson, Lucy Smith, Chloe Walker, Elle Spriggs and Azaria Oakley all from 8S who raised £115.50 by completing it 9-legged! Also well done Holly Skypala and Amy Deedman from 9P who raised £63.35 by doing the mile 3-legged. The teachers are still recovering after a Staff vs Students Dodge ball tournament.

Miss Key

Former pupils and staff will be sad to hear that former headmistress of the school, Miss Key, has passed away. She was headmistress of the school for 30 years from 1946-1976.

Cold Snap

Thank you to all pupils for your good sense and cooperation during our recent spell of bad weather which enabled us to remain open every day.

BSG's Top Class Performance

In the latest government figures published in January about 2009 exam performance nationally, our GCSE results placed us as the 26th best state school in the country. An outstanding achievement!

Parliament comes to  BSG

Former General  Secretary  of the Labour  Party  Lord Whitty recently  came to  speak  to  sixth  formers  about the role of  the  House of  Lords  as part  of  a  national  outreach  programme to  share  with  students what  they  do.  He  also  met  members of the school  council and was  particularly interested  to  visit  the Spreadbury  Building,  as an  example of  an  eco-friendly project,  a  subject  close  to  his  heart.

BSG in the Telegraph

BSG appeared in the Daily Telegraph recently in the regular feature Town vs Gown, in which high achieving state and independent schools are compared. Our school is described as a ‘fine example of an old-style grammar school benefiting from institutional continuity and high educational standards’, ‘perfect for bright, focused girls who are intellectually curious and want to push on in life.’

To read the full article click here.

BSG in the news

Sixth Form Politics students were asked recently to design a new logo for the Liberal Democrats in the wake of their party conference held in Bournemouth. Their views and ideas featured in a report on the BBC’s daily Politics Show.

Official Opening of the Spreadbury Building

A new state-of-art building has been named in honour of the Chairman of Governors. The Spreadbury Building bears the name of Noel Spreadbury MBE, who has held his post for more than 20 years.

The building accommodates Art, Sociology and Psychology students and is in the latest, eco friendly design.

Students, teachers, governors and guests gathered to see Mr Spreadbury cut the ribbon at the entrance to the new Art and Social Sciences Centre and unveil a plaque.

In doing so, he said: “It gives me a huge thrill to declare this wonderful building open. I am proud and very, very privileged and humbled to formally cut this ribbon.”

Headteacher, Alistair Brien added: “Today is very much a day of celebration for this fine new building and the opportunities that it will provide.”

He paid tribute to Mr Spreadbury and described him as a “true, loyal and loving servant of the school over so many years”.

BSG becomes a Trust School

The new school year saw BSG become a Trust School and a member of the South West Academic Trust, a partnership of grammar schools in the south west working together with Exeter University.

BSG to Sponsor Academy

Planning and consultation are well underway for the Bishop of Winchester School to become an Academy with effect from September 2010. Together with the Church of England, the University of Winchester and Bournemouth School, BSG are delighted about their involvement in this exciting development aimed at building on the enormous improvements already seen at the Bishop of Winchester School in recent years.

New Science Labs for BSG

With the help of grants from the Wolfson Trust and the Government following our designation as a Science Specialist School our two Chemistry laboratories have just been given a major revamp. You can see the difference!

Performing Arts Centre dedicated to the memory of Miss Braund

At the Old Girls’ Association’s AGM we were pleased to welcome Mrs Barbara Kennedy, sister of long serving Headteacher Miss Helen Braund, who died earlier this year, to unveil a plaque in memory of her.

BSG gains International Award

BSG has been successful in gaining this national award, in recognition of the international dimension of our curriculum, for example our links with schools in Kenya and Bahrain.

GCSE Results 2009

Well done to all pupils who took GCSE examinations in the summer. We are delighted that it was our best ever set of results. All pupils gained at least 5 A*-C s including English and mathematics, with 60% of all examinations passed at either A or A*. Indeed over two thirds of the girls got 5 or more As and A*s and 21 girls had a clean sweep of As and A*s. None of this would have been possible without sheer hard work and our warmest congratulations to the girls and staff on their outstanding achievements.

A Level results

This has been another excellent year for our A level students. Our average points score per pupil was our highest ever with 50 girls achieving 2 or more A grades, 36 girls with 3 or more A grades and one pupil Dani Chen achieving an extraordinary 5 A grades. Together with 5 other students she has secured her place at Oxford. Our congratulations go to all our students on their success this year and we wish them well as they go on to the next stage in their lives.

Girls put best foot forward

A group of Year 8 girls from 8A and 8C have just spent 24 hours walking a relay in aid of Cancer Research at the Relay for Life Ferndown 2009. Despite horrendous weather they kept going, with amazing good spirits and have raised more than £2,000. They worked together as a team with fortitude, humour and compassion way beyond their years. Well done!

Singing success

Congratulations to our Big Heart and Soul Choir which has just won the accolade of School Choir of the Year at the Bournemouth Music Festival competition. Following their win they were invited to perform at the gala concert held at the end of the festival.

Year 11 prom

Posh frocks were the order of the day at the year 11 prom organised by the PSA. Transport to the prom included a fire engine, a pink stretch limo and a Rolls Royce!

Miss Helen Braund

Families with long associations with the school will be sad to hear of the recent passing of Miss Helen Braund who served the school for some 27 years, as Deputy headmistress and then from 1976 to 1983 as Headmistress. After her retirement she continued to contribute enormously to the life of the school through her support of the Old Girls’ Association.

Public speaking success

Our team of year 11 public speakers Emma Brooks, Olivia Johnson and Simone Vibert who are the south west regional champions gave an assured and confident performance at the national Finals of the English Speaking Union’s National Finals held in London recently in front of a distinguished panel of judges chaired by Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Race and equality Commission.

Return visit to Africa

Deputy Headteacher Mrs Cuthbertson and Deputy Head of English Mrs Goodliffe have made a return visit to our partner school St Anne’s School in Kenya. They have taken with them a film showing the life of the school and a survey comparing the lives of pupils in our two schools. This visit comes just as we have heard the good news from the British Council that we have received a further grant which will enable staff and pupils to make further link visits next year.

Lest we forget..

Two sixth formers Philippa Hathaway and Eleanor Mitchell have recently returned from a visit to Auschwitz in Poland. The project organised by the Holocaust Education Trust enables two students from every school in the country to make the moving visit and on their return to share their experiences with the rest of the school.

Bahrain link

Since the beginning of the year a group of BSG and BS students have been working with teachers from both schools to set up a link with a boys’ school and a girls’ school in Bahrain. We recently welcomed colleagues from the two schools to our school. As well as visiting lessons and talking to pupils they were able to experience a little of what Bournemouth has to offer. We look forward to developing the link over the next two years.

GCSE results

This has been an excellent year for the girls at GCSE with a 100% 5 A* -C pass rate. Indeed nearly two thirds of the girls got 5 or more As and A*s and 27 girls had a clean sweep of As and A*s. None of this would have been possible without sheer hard work and my warmest congratulations to the girls and staff on their outstanding achievements.

A level results 2008

This has been another excellent year for our girls. 70% of all passes were at A or B grade and 25 girls gained 3 or more A grades. Overall the average UCAS points score achieved by students rose again to be our best ever. Reports from the exam boards received so far have also told us that Charlotte Martin had the notable achievement of coming first in the country in English Language A level. Congratulations to all our students and staff on their outstanding results!

Older news can be found here.