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01 September 2010 - LGS Music Trip to Scotland, July 2010
80 LGS musicians, plus staff, spent a week after the end of last term giving concerts in Scotland. Staying at Glenalmond College, near Perth, the party spent the early part of the week rehearsing at the college as well as going on trips; one was to Fort William for a memorable journey on the steam train to Mallaig (some were very excited by the Harry Potter links, and another was to Edinburgh for retail therapy. The Big Band played at the Crieff Hydro on the Thursday evening, and the Choir gave a recital in Dunblane Cathedral on the Saturday lunchtime. All musicians (the Choir, Chamber Orchestra, and the Symphonic Wind Band) were involved in two concerts, both supported by local Rotary clubs. On the Friday evening the concert was in St Leonard’s Church, Perth. We were particularly happy to perform there, as it was the hometown of our former Head of Physics, John Christie, and it was lovely to meet his sister and her daughters and grandson. On the Saturday evening, our last night, the concert was in the Church of the Holy Rood in Stirling. This historic church, with its wonderful architecture and acoustics, was a marvellous venue for the final concert. Rarely can the Symphonic Wind Band’s encore, the best bits of the 1812 Overture, have sounded more impressive, with the massive organ just about holding its own with the band. So ended the trip. The pupils were a pleasure to be with for the week and did LGS proud, and thanks must go to everyone involved for such a successful week.
08 July 2010 - U12 County Cup Cricket v. Loughborough
This was another very good team performance with everyone contributing either with the bat, the ball or as an enthusiastic fielder. This is only the second time in 13 years that the U12 team have been county champions and it was a thoroughly deserved victory against another good team.
We won the toss and elected to bowl but a flurry of wides meant they got off to a good start before captain Jahangir Khan struck twice in a couple of overs. Their batsmen then started to play some effective shots and they had reached 55–2 when a good piece of fielding from Oliver Marriott resulted in a run out. A great running catch from Zaki Arshad in the next over got rid of their opener who had been looking very dangerous and we were then right in the game. Rohit Francis took 4 wickets in the space of nine balls and, despite a few hits at the end, when Tom Fowler took the final wicket, they had only made 94 runs.
On a good pitch with a fast outfield, sensible batting was all that was required and after the early loss of opener James Hunt, Sonnie Broadley and Zaki Arshad shared a partnership of 63 runs to put us in sight of victory. Zaki in particular played some lovely drives while Sonnie was always alert for the quick single or two to keep the score moving. When they both fell in quick succession there was a chance of a wobble but James Willmott and Oliver Marriott kept their heads and made sure they hit the bad ball hard to bring us home with 9 balls to spare.
This means we are County Champions and so will go forward as Leicestershire’s representatives to a national competition next year.
Final score - LGS 95 – 3 (18.3 overs) Opponents 94 all out (19.5 overs)
06 July 2010 - Year 11 Sixth Form Induction Day
Today we were visited by several members of the Royal Navy Engineers and they set us the task of making a communications tower and rocket using only rolls of paper and sellotape. It was an interesting experience to work as a team and to try and build a working end product. The rockets we made were launched during the afternoon to see which one could go the furthest. We also listened to a talk about potential careers in the Royal Navy which was insightful and definitely made us consider the Navy as an attractive career. We would like to thank the personnel from the Navy for giving us their time and everyone benefited from the experience.
Alex Francis, Robert Grimes, Jack Fletcher, Adam Orbell.
05 July 2010 - U11 Cricket News
U11A XI have won the County cup in a close final against Grace Dieu Manor school. The A team defeated the B team in the semi final.
The XI were then successful in the Midlands Finals at Loughborough Grammar School. They defeated both Laxton School (Oundle School's junior school) and Nott's HS to progress to the National finals (last 4 in the country) which will be played at Oakham School this Friday. We wish them well.
Mr L.Potter
Master in Charge of Cricket
28 June 2010 - LVI Biology Field Trip to France 21st to 25th June 2010
Thirty five LVI Biology students accompanied by Mr Duffield, Dr Fearon, Dr Fulton and Mr Handford enjoyed a very successful field trip to St Pair-sur-Mer on the Cherbourg peninsula in June. The field work included woodland studies, and rocky shore and sand dune transects in order to investigate zonation, succession and the adaptations of animal and plant species to various relatively inhospitable environments. We had the opportunity to complete some A2 coursework. The Porte des Iles residential centre looked out over a magnificent beach. A useful and excellent time was had by all.
22 June 2010 - Jessica Hickman
Congratulations to Jessica Hickman who has been selected to represent the England U18 Hockey team at the Home Nations tournament in Cork during July. She has also been selected to play in the UK School Games to be held in September.
21 June 2010 - U14 XI defeat Loughborough
Leicester Grammar School 189-4 (30 overs)
Loughborough Grammar School 177 for 9 (30 overs)
Leicester won by 12 runs
Hot on the heels of last week’s victory over King’s Grantham, LGS U14 travelled to Quorn for a friendly against Loughborough Grammar School. Electing to bat on a very hot day, with the pitch looking rock hard and full of runs, LGS quickly lost prolific openers Tom Smith and Will Hunt to injudicious shots. That brought together Kassim Khan and Mo Mulji who accumulated runs well against a useful Loughborough attack before Mulji (15) was run out attempting a risky second. Having been aggressive from the start and ridden his luck outside off stump, Khan took that as his cue to accelerate and was helped by a lovely innings from Rob Scudamore (38), who struck the ball well and ran hard in the heat. By now completely dominant, Khan flayed the bowling all around the ground to end up on a magnificent 100 not out, certainly one of the most impressive schoolboy innings I have witnessed. Leicester’s total of 189-4 in 30 overs was challenging, although eminently gettable on a magnificent batting wicket.
Loughborough’s classy opening pair started well as Leicester took time to settle. After an effortless half century opening stand, Kurtz (21) smashed a fierce return catch to Henry Sawers, who clung on well. Skipper Murty continue to score freely as wickets fell at the other end, and was eventually run out for an outstanding 91 as he tried in vain to keep the strike. Having been criticised for the standard of their ground fielding and the amount of full tosses served up last week, LGS responded extremely positively and tight death bowling by Sawers, Amin, Smith and especially Harry Penfold saw Leicester home by 12 runs as Loughborough left themselves too much to do.
A pitch that allowed batsmen to express themselves and a positive approach from two quality sides made this a most enjoyable afternoon for players and staff alike. LGS will take both confidence and momentum into the national knockout fixtures later in the week.
Mr S Jessop
11 June 2010 - Year 7 Trip to Beaumanor Hall
Exams were over, and Year 7 was looking forward to an action-packed day out at Beaumanor Hall. We set off after registration, with the rain holding off and the hint of some sunshine to come!
Once we arrived at Beaumanor, we were briefed by our team leaders, Joe and Alan, who told us that our first challenge was to be ORIENTEERING!
We were split into groups within our forms and were given a map and a sheet of paper on which we were to mark the letters that we found scattered around the site. After a few minutes deciding if the map was the right way round and where we were on it, we started searching for our first letter. It was a good challenge and a great start to the day.
For the remainder of the day, we tackled each challenge in our form groups. 7e’s first test was to attempt to build a structure using rope and 6 large pieces of wood, in under 12 minutes. When completed, each group had to balance unaided on the structure for 1 minute. This proved to be harder than it looked and each group was only able to balance for a few seconds!
On to the next event – named ‘Stompers’. This challenge involved the whole team working together to cross a ‘swamp’ on a pair of giant skis, which called for good coordination! This was fun, especially as our team was first across and didn’t leave anyone stranded in the ‘swamp’!
The funniest challenge was the giant ‘Spider’s Web’, where each team member had to get through a different hole in the web. The tricky bit was that you could only go through any hole once and as some holes were high up, some team members had to be lifted through by the others. There were a few crash landings on the other side!
The trickiest challenge was to follow: the ‘Tyre Challenge’! A number of tyres were laid out in the shape of a cross and each team had a single plank of wood. The object of the exercise was to get to the other side of the cross, via the tyres and using only the plank (you couldn’t step off onto the grass). This led to general chaos and confusion and lots of human traffic jams!
Lunch-time was a welcome rest and refuelling stop! Mr Potter’s earlier comment that “staff like food” proved to be very true as we noticed that between them, the teachers had brought every item of picnic food imaginable!!
It was no gentle start back after lunch – an difficult assault course lay ahead for 7a, which began with having to haul a heavy tyre up and over a very tall pole and then transporting this tyre along the assault course. Our team spent 7 minutes trying to get the tyre off the pole (where it had got stuck!), by which time it was too late to start the assault course! Not our best challenge…
The 6th challenge for 7a was the most amusing to watch. One team member wore a helmet and blindfold and had to search for that team’s coloured balls, guided by the rest of the team shouting instructions. It got very noisy and hard to hear which is why some people went completely off track and had to be brought back! It was frustrating and a lot of fun at the same time!
7a’s final challenge was ‘Human Cranes’. A bottle was placed further and further up a mat and the team had to form a ‘crane’ and slowly lower and manoeuvre the chosen person to retrieve the bottle without falling over. This was a great way to end an exciting and fun day out.
Thank you to all the teachers who came to Beaumanor and assisted us with the more difficult challenges!
Written by Rachel Taylor 7e and Lucy Taylor 7a
10 June 2010 - Year 7 Personal Well-Being Morning
On the 10th of June, Year 7 had a Personal Well-Being Morning. At 9.00am all of the three groups met in the sports hall to see a presentation from a guest speaker from ‘Quit’, an organisation that visits schools to tell them about the risks of smoking.
The groups then went to different rooms for the rest of the morning. One of the presentations was by Mr. Willis, where we discussed how we can look after our skin; even though the sun wasn’t shining when we had this talk, all the recent sunny weather did make us think that this topic was really relevant. The three main ways are to: protect your skin with clothing, seek shade and use sunscreen. We also discussed personal hygiene. The school taps and sinks were certainly put to good use for the rest of the day!
The Nurse talked about friendships and we discussed what makes a good or bad friend. In small groups we then helped each other to see what our good qualities are as a friend.
The third discussion was led by Mrs. Hutchinson and Miss. Binks; they talked about exercise and why and how to keep our bodies healthy. By exercising regularly we can lower the risk of us getting ill.
Coming the day after we had finished our exams it was a relief not to be sitting in the same room all day. But it was far more than a rest from exams; I found the morning interesting and it gave me lots to think about.
Ed Whittaker Yr. 7
09 June 2010 - St.Cuthbert's Primary School Pupils visit for a Science Experience Day
LGS hosted its second Science Day event for the local primary school in Great Glen, St Cuthbert's, on Wednesday the 9th of June. The Year 5 children were picked up by us from St Cuthbert's along with three of their teaching staff and transported to our site for a 9.30 am start. After a brief introduction by Mr Willis in the Science Lecture Theatre re the organisation of the morning’s events, health and safety procedures etc the children were split up into two groups for the following itinerary of activities:-
Session 1 Group “A” – hands on practical work using CSI styled forensic science ideas to identify the culprit in a murder investigation via crime scene fingerprint analysis.
Group “B” - hands on practical work using CSI styled forensic science ideas to identify the means by which the victim met their demise via an analysis of “stomach” content for the presence of certain known suspected poisons.
Session 2 Group “A” - hands on practical work using CSI styled forensic science ideas to identify the means by which the victim met their demise via an analysis of “stomach” content for the presence of certain known suspected poisons.
Group “B” - hands on practical work using CSI styled forensic science ideas to identify the culprit in a murder investigation via crime scene fingerprint analysis.
Session 3 – Demonstration “Lecture” in the Science Lecture Theatre
The day was a great success with all the St Cuthbert's children thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to take part in some real hands-on scientific investigation in our laboratories. Their sense of excitement, degree of interest, good manners and appreciation of the event were a pleasure to experience. The feedback from the children and their accompanying staff was very gratifying reinforcing our belief in the tremendous value of such events.
My thanks to Sarah Ewers, Duncan Willis, Sue Watt and Christina Fearon for giving up their time to get involved in the organisation and administration of what has become an annual event.
D.E.A Roebuck
07 June 2010 - Biology Challenge
At the end of last term pupils in Year 9 and 10 entered the National Biology Challenge organised by the Society for Biology. All the "top" schools take part and LGS pupils did exceptionally well . We achieved 8 Gold medals, 13 silver, 21 bronze, 17 highly commended and 12 commended. Top Year 9 student was Robin McFarland, top Year 10 was Phillipa Bliss.
Gold medallists were; Phillipa Bliss, Robin McFarland, Stuart Hamilton - Pirrie, Lauren Ramsbottom, Stephanie Spencer, George Summerton, UrikaTse and Kherat Sian.
Well done to all.
26 May 2010 - The Moon is coming to LGS
In February 2011, pupils at Leicester Grammar School will have the opportunity to study samples of Moon Rock, Soil and Meteorites. These very precious samples were brought back from the moon by NASA's Apollo astronauts and are kindly lent to the school by the Science & Technology Facilities Council and the Natural History Museum. The samples were collected during NASA's manned space missions to the Moon in the late 1960's and early 1970's. During these missions the Apollo astronauts brought back to earth 382 kilograms of lunar material and NASA decided to use a small proportion of the rock and soil to develop lunar and planetary sciences educational packages.
14 May 2010 - Milly Raven
Congratulations to Milly Raven who has retained her place in the England U16 Rounders team. This is particularly impressive as England Rounders has undergone a restructuring process by dropping age groups and reducing the squad sizes, Milly is only one of 5 girls to keep their place. She will play against Scotland on May 15th and then Wales on June 12th.
In addition after attending an Olympic event trying to find 'raw' talent she has been invited to Great Britain softball training! Good luck Milly!
13 May 2010 - Music for Youth
At the end of the Lent term, both the LGS Wind Band and the Choir recorded an entry into the Regional Festival Series 2010, run by Music for Youth. Music for Youth is an educational charity with a worldwide reputation for its work in music education. We have now been informed that the LGS Wind Band has been selected to go forward into the National Festival in Birmingham on July 9th. There were over 500 entries into the "School wind bands section" and only 12 have been selected, so congratulations must go to all concerned.
Comments for the Wind Band from the music mentor included;
"Band produces a warm full sound. You are able to cover a number of styles with changes in articulation, phrasing and tempo - and you handle them all well. A very good and well-rehearsed ending."
Comments for the Choir from the music mentor included;
"An impressive full sound with a consistent sound right across the whole choir. Excellent diction in the first song."
06 May 2010 - LGS wins "Community Benefit" award in the 2010 RICS Awards [East Midlands]
The RICS Awards 2010 are seen as the most prestigious prize in the UK property industry and the standard of the entries are always extremely high. Leicester Grammar School was entered in the "Community Benefit" award which was the most popular category with 11 entries from across the East Midlands. Judging took place over Spring and the we were announced the winner at a dinner on the 6th of May. As one of the winning projects LGS will then go on to compete in the grand final of the RICS international awards set to be held in London in October. All contenders are in with a chance of scooping the RICS Project of the Year award, won last year by the St Paul's Cathedral Tercentenary project in London.
06 May 2010 - World 8 Ball Pool Championships
John Bowkett [Year 11] has been selected to represent England in the World 8 Ball Pool Championships in Blackpool at the end of June. He will play in the team event, the World Junior Singles and the World Junior Masters. We wish John all the best in this.
06 May 2010 - Success in Young Enterprise County Final
Young Enterprise company, Infinite did well at the County Final, winning the award as the 'Most Profitable Company'. The judges said in their review that Infinite was "Well managed", "Had significant profit potential" and that they had a "Creative product range". Well done to Infinite.
06 May 2010 - Chairman's Trophy
Congratulation to Jessica Hickman (yr 12) who was the proud recipient of the Chairman's Trophy at a Celebration event held at County Hall. Mr Roger Wilson, Chairman of the Leicestershire County Council, explained that the trophy recognised sporting improvement over the last year. Jess's rise from a County player to an England U18 hockey player certainly makes her worthy of this award. It is the second time a member of the school has won it with Jess Hughes being the first, also for hockey. Jessica also follows in the illustrious footsteps of Ollie Smith and Crista Cullen.
04 May 2010 - The British Physics Challenge
A number of our pupils recently took part in the British Physics Challenge, which is a single, one-hour paper suitable for Year 11 students. The paper included multiple-choice and short answer sections that aim to test students knowledge and understanding of basic physical principles. The paper taken this year was very challenging and those who were awarded medals should be very proud of their achievements.
Silver - Alex Bentley
Bronze - Bethany Quayle, Raj Pandya, Claire Formoy, Snehadhar Shah and Abigail Williams
Commendations - Twishaa Seth, Tom Measures, Harman Khatkar, Faraz Mahboob, Simrun Virdee, Ruchir Shah, Alex Mallalieu, James Sutton, Suhail Girach and Abbie-Louise Gilbert.
Well done to all.
30 April 2010 - The Purple Comet Mathematics Competition
During the Easter holidays, a group of year 9 pupils, entered the Purple Comet Mathematics Competition.
This is the first time a team from Leicester Grammar School has entered this international online event for pupils in year 10 and below. In preparation, pupils had spent a number of lunchtimes practising and improving their skills. The problems encountered were particularly challenging and the standard of the competion is always very high. The group finished in the top 25% of teams that entered and this is an excellent result.
The pupils who took part in the competition were Jonathan Blake, Kush Sutaria, Ryan Newton, Frazer Nisbet, John Murray and they are to be congratulated.
29 April 2010 - Hockey News
The Leicestershire & Rutland Hockey Association (Schools & Youth) had a celebration evening last night at County Hall hosted by Mr Roger Wilson, Chairman of the County Council. Leicester Grammar School were well represented amongst the award winners.
Congratulations to:
Maddie Smith who was named as a Most Valuable Player for her commitment, determination and battling attitude.
Jessica Hickman who received The President's Award for being the highest level performer in the county as an England U18 player.
Mrs Hutchinson who was named as a Volunteer of the Year for her efficient team management this year and many previously.
28 April 2010 - Sixth form Cafe Design Competition
The planning permission for the new sixth form cafe has now been granted and Duncan Green from Pick Everard [the Architects working on the project] has today launched a design competition. The cafe will be a standalone building located in one corner of the car park, and will contain a cafe-style food servery, general seating area and lounge and toilet facilities. The room is bright and airy, with a high ceiling and leads out onto a paved patio.
As the structure has already been decided the competition brief is to design the internal space and the patio with regards to material finishes, furniture, colours and lighting and is open to anyone in the Lower Sixth or Year 11. Submissions should be made in A3 format by Monday 10th of May to Mr King. Following judging, the top three schemes will be presented back to the sixth form for the winning scheme to be decided by voting. The designer of the winning scheme will receive £100 and see their scheme become a reality once the cafe has been finished.
For direct queries with regard to the design competition , please contact lizwebster@pickeverard.co.uk. For more information please click on these three links.
Common Room Briefing
Common Room Layout 1
Common Room Layout 2
27 April 2010 - Intermediate Maths Challenge
Last term, Year 10 and top-set Year 9 pupils took part in the Intermediate Maths Challenge together with more than 200,000 pupils across the country. Our students performed very well gaining 10 gold, 28 silver and 27 bronze certificates. The gold certificates went to Theo Mast, John Murray, Jonathan Blake and Ryan Newton [all Year 9 and all also qualified for the Maths Kangaroo], Taran Ahluwalia, Alex Sloan, Stuart Pirrie, Rachel Clinton, Adam Coffee and Jack McCann [all Year 10]. Adam Coffee also received the Best in School certificate. Well done to all.
07 April 2010 - Extreme Physics at Rugby School
During the first week of the Easter Holidays a team of four year 10 pupils from Leicester Grammar School attended an event entitled Extreme Physics sponsored by the Ogden Trust and Rugby School. The LGS team consisted of Philippa Bliss, Adam Coffee, George Hutchinson, Chris Worsfold and were accompanied by Dr Wheeler.
The event was a series of seven challenges that the team had to perform in against eleven other schools from around the country (including local rivals Loughborough Grammar School). The challenges included: a treasure hunt around Rugby School’s Campus solving Physics related clues, making a parachute to drop a package as slowly as possible, sending a signal across the science building without speaking or writing, making and racing an air-propelled dragster, designing and building a one minute timer, accurately weighing an object without scales, and presenting an idea from Physics using household items and no mains power. In addition to the challenges, all the event’s participants visited the indoor skydiving facility, Airkix, in Milton Keynes and had an opportunity to experience free fall in a wind tunnel.
The LGS team were in the lead after the first two challenges on day one and sat down to enjoy an interesting talk on “surviving a nuclear attack” by Nick Fisher from Rugby School. However, the Loughborough team put in a strong performance on day two and built up a small lead. All of the teams were working late into the evening on day 2 preparing for their presentations and finally left the science building and returned to their dormitories around 11 pm. The final day’s activities went well for the LGS team and they topped it off with a fantastic presentation entitled “The conservation of energy” in which Chris Worsfold trusted in the laws of Physics not to break his teeth when a pendulum was released from in front of his face. The final rankings were done in reverse order and having read out up to and including fourth place LGS were still in the running. In the end LGS ended up in a respectable third place behind the teams from Loughborough (2nd place) and Burscough Science College (Lancs) (1st place).
All in all, everyone had a very enjoyable time over the three days of the event (and even learned some more Physics). All of the pupils who attended the event were praised by the domestic and catering staff at Rugby School for their politeness and exemplary behaviour.
31 March 2010 - U16 England ``A`` Selection 3rd to 9th April
Over the Easter break Harry Thacker has been selected to play for England u16 A against the following national sides at Wellington College. He has been selected to play against Scotland, Belgium and France.
The games are to be played on:-
Sunday 4th April – v`s Scotland ko 2.00pm
Tuesday 6th April – v`s Belgium ko 10.00am
Friday 9th April – v`s France ko 1.00pm
This will inevitably be a gruelling week for Harry but he has worked tremendously hard for this opportunity and we wish him the very best of luck.
24 March 2010 - Junior Schools Quiz Challenge 2010 - East Midlands
The LGS team consisting of Dominic Clearkin 8C, Theo Rashid 8C, Oliver Lawden 8A and James Willmott 7B travelled to Nottingham High School for Boys for the Junior Schools Quiz Challenge 2010 - East Midlands Region. The competition involved several rounds and nine teams from all over the East Midlands. Our team excelled themselves by leading the entire match until the very last question when they were unfortunately pipped at the post by the holders Nottingham High Boys. Very well done to them.
24 March 2010 - Jackpot at Young Enterprise Area Final
LGS won 4 out of 7 trophy prizes at the Young Enterprise Area Final. YE company Infinite, lead by Henry Green, won Best Marketing Strategy, Presentation and Trade Stand. The judges commended Infinite for their high standards, motivation and team work. Flair, lead by Sonera Tayub, won the award as Most Profitable Company. The judges praised Flair for their entrepreneurial spirit. Infinite will go onto the County Final at Leicester Tigers, 6 May.
23 March 2010 - The Bank of England comes to LGS
Pamela Wright, Deputy East Midlands Agent, came to talk to Upper Sixth Economists about the complexities of setting interest rates and the work she does on behalf of the Bank of England and its Monetary Policy Committee. Her verdict on the East Midlands economy is that it is a very diversified economy that has pretty much followed national economic trends. The talk, which was organised by Aakash Pattani, Upper Sixth student and Vice President of The Economics Society, also enabled students to gain expert insight into the causes of the recession and quantitative easing; of particular interest was that the economic forecasting models of the Bank of England did not include a virtual collapse of the banking system as a variable.
17 March 2010 - International Chemistry Olympiad Results
Following a record national entry this year (2384 candidates) and on a paper considered by many chemistry teachers around the country to be the most demanding yet set by the RSC's Chemistry Olympiad Committee, the pupils of LGS have done very well indeed producing our most successful set of results to date. Ten of our Year 13 students entered the competition this year and have been rewarded for their hard work with the following awards:-
In the top 8.8 % of the national entry Matthew Letts - Gold Sally Dacie - Gold
In the top 17.1% of the national entry Rikesh Dattani - Silver Chenguang Su - Silver
In the top 24.3% of the national entry Alex Williams - Bronze Matthew Li - Bronze Tom Ross - Bronze
In the top 50% of the national entry Luke Dearden - Commendation Robbie Berkeley - Commendation Alex Vostanis - Commendation
The Certificates will be presented to the above students as soon as the Royal Society for Chemistry send them to the school. Well done to everyone who entered.
15 March 2010 - Energy saving
We have a Combined Heat & Power (CHP) unit within the sports hall building. When electricity is generated, heat is usually lost, but this unit captures the heat & uses it. It is therefore highly energy efficient, reducing the school’s usage of energy from the national grid. We have just received confirmation from the supplier that our CHP unit saved 78 tonnes of CO2 in 2009, equivalent to a forest of 7,818 mature trees. This is a huge figure and shows that very significant energy savings can be achieved at a local level.
11 March 2010 - U15 XV dispatch John Cleveland College with style to reach the County Final
Leicester Grammar School U15 XV progressed to the County Cup final with a comprehensive 36-0 defeat of local rivals John Cleveland College. Having been on the wrong end of a thirty point defeat at Hinckley earlier in the season, and having been focussing on sevens since the defeat of Ratcliffe College, the squad knew that a highly committed performance would be necessary against a side known for physical and direct rugby. LGS seized the initiative right from the start, camping in the JCC twenty-two and after being held up over the line Sam Lovett charged down a kick before touching down for the first score. The LGS forwards then exerted total control with their pick and drive game, consistently gaining ground as JCC were blown away in the tackle area. This dominance resulted in another three tries to make the score 24-0 at half time.
The second half brought more of the same, and the limited opportunities JCC had with ball in hand were quickly snuffed out by tigerish LGS defence. The superb back row of Myles Keable, Will Davison and Sam Lovett harried and tackled all day, while two monstrous hits by James Mackay and the outstanding Ed Milne raised morale even further. What made this performance especially pleasing, however, was the constant threat posed by the LGS backs. With Jamie Jameson providing swift service, Jack Clark orchestrating things superbly at fly half and Tom Clay running hard in the inside centre channel, the backs had a real cutting edge which culminated in scores from Forrest Francis, who carried powerfully all game, and Clark, who made it to the line with a glorious jinking run. There were contributions from some unsung heroes too - Jacob Marlow was strong over the ball, Rhondell Stabana ran elusively and Stuart Pirrie impressed with his work rate at the breakdown.
Congratulations to the squad on a magnificent all-round performance and a genuinely eye-catching result, of which they should be very proud. All that now stands in the way of retaining the County Cup won by last years LGS U15 cohort is the final, to be held at Loughborough University in two weeks time.
S Jessop
08 March 2010 - Young Enterprise News
Rosemary Conley, celebrity fitness expert, diet cookbook writer and also President of Young Enterprise Leicestershire, gave our two YE companies Flair and Infinite advice as to how to present their products and increase sales at the YE Trade Fair in Highcross Shopping Centre, Sunday 7th March. Flair sold a range of Mother's Day presents and Infinite marketed their successful range of LGS Florilegium Society botanical cards. Both Flair and Infinite will enter the YE Area Final on 24th March.
08 March 2010 - County Hockey News
Congratulations to the following girls who have been selected to play hockey for the Leicestershire Junior Academy teams. This is the re-branded equivalent of County teams as the process under England Hockey's 'Single System' has changed.
U17 JAC
Minty Critchley
Becky Shaw
Becky Hutchinson
Jessica Hickman
Katie Elliott
U15 JAC
Ashleigh Goodenough
U14 JAC
Charlotte Hickman
Tara Johnson
U13 JAC
Rosie Gladdle
Holly Mould
08 March 2010 - Royal Air Force Scholarship
Chris Goodfellow has been recently awarded a Royal Air Force Scholarship to the value of £1000 for his Upper Sixth year. He achieved this as a result of excelling in a comprehensive interview, a medical examination and in competition with approximately 8 other individuals per Scholarship available. There are only a total of 80 Scholarships available in the UK per year for this scheme. Chris hopes to receive University Sponsorship for the RAF Engineering Branch after attending the full selection procedure at the end of April this year. Congratulations to Chris.
08 March 2010 - "Young Person of the Year 2010" Award
Beth Edwards [U6] has been shortlisted in the "Young Person of the Year 2010" Award. This award was established by the Lord-Lieutenant, Jennifer, Lady Gretton in order to raise the profile of young people's achievements and seeks to reward the very best examples of these in Leicester and Leicestershire. There are five categories within the award of Bravery, Kindness in Helping Others, Improving the Community, A Voice for Young People and Creativity and Innovation. The judges shortlist only three in each category, and Beth has been invited , along with her family, to the Awards' Evening on the 25th of March. The category winners will be announced at this evening along with the overall winner of " Young Person of the Year 2010" as announced by the Lord-Lieutenant.
Beth should feel justifiably proud in being shortlisted and we hope that she has a lovely evening.
01 March 2010 - County Rugby News - Leicestershire U14 Squad
On a very wet and windy evening at Hinckley Rugby Club three of our students took the first steps in representative rugby in the County. George Fossey, Aaron Pike and Charlie Thacker from our Year 9 squad all played big parts in a 44 - 0 win over local rivals Warwickshire. What was particularly satisfying was the quality of rugby played in a highly skilled encounter.
Congratulations to all three who were presented with their county tie after the game.
01 March 2010 - National Rugby News - England U16 A Squad
After a rigorous training week at Abingdon School in Oxfordshire at half term Harry Thacker has succeeded in gaining national recognition and selection for the England U16 A squad. Harry now faces several training weekends at Warwick and Rugby school before representing his country and playing in an international festival at Wellington school.
Harry has achieved this through much focussed hard work which has been rewarded by his selection.
Congratulations and well done.
28 February 2010 - Youth Finds A Voice at the De Montfort Hall
On Sunday 28 February the Leicester Grammar School Choir joined over 150 other young people, the Leicestershire Chorale and the Bardi Orchestra for a concert at the De Montfort Hall as part of the Youth Finds A Voice scheme. As well as participating in the massed performance of Poulenc’s Gloria, the LGS Choir also performed on their own, singing Island Songs by the Australian composer Stephen Leek. The Leicester Mercury critic praised their 'tonal beauty and technical skill'.
26 February 2010 - Question Time
On Thursday 26th of February, Mr Allen , Head of Sixth Form hosted our own version of "Question Time" and it was a very enjoyable and well-attended evening .
The panel consisted of;
Roger Helmer, East Midlands Conservative MEP
Aaron Porter, National Union of Students
Kylie Pentelow, East Midlands BBC TV journalist.
Eric Goodyer, Labour parliamentary candidate, Charnwood constituency
Sue Mallender, Green Party.
Topics covered included proportional representation and climate change and there was much good-natured debate!
25 February 2010 - Inter-School Chemistry Quiz
Yesterday evening two Year 11 LGS teams took part in the Uppingham School Inter-School Chemistry Quiz.
The teams were:
Team A - Bethany Quayle, Raj Pandya, Mikita Maru, Harry Davies, Alex Francis and Harnan Khaktar
Team B - Claire Formy, Simrun Virdee, Becky Shaw, Twishaa Sheth and Akhilesh Pradhan
There were 14 teams competing for the trophy answering questions ranging from GCSE to A-level chemistry in standard and also having to answer searching general scientific knowledge questions over a two hour period.
The "A" team finished a very creditable 10th whilst the splendid "B" team lead throughout the competition until at the very death losing out by one point to Rugby School A team. It really was a splendid occasion superbly organised by Luke Bartlett and his colleagues at Uppingham School and enjoyed hugely by the competing schools that included Rugby, Oundle, The Perse, Stamford, Loughborough, Uppingham and Oakham. Our pupils did us proud and deserve our congratulations.
D.E.A Roebuck
23 February 2010 - Music News
Yesterday, LGS pupils Jack Thompson and Josef Laming gave a joint lunchtime organ recital at Melton Mowbray Parish Church. Both boys are members of Leicester Cathedral Choir and are taught by Jonathan Gregory, the Director of Music at the cathedral. The programme, which included works by Bach, Ireland, Walton and Rogg, was enjoyed by an appreciative audience.
10 February 2010 - U15 XV march on in County Cup
Leicester Grammar School U15 XV progressed into the next round of the County Cup with a 36-7 hammering of Ratcliffe College on Wednesday afternoon. Playing against the wind in the first half, the forward pack put in arguably the most dominant half of rugby I have seen at U15 school level. Outstanding ball retention, clinical and aggressive rucking and inspirational offloading led to four first half tries, the pick being Jamie Jameson’s dart down the right wing and John Fry’s sprint under the posts from within his own half. Had Sam Lovett realised that it is customary to touch the ball down when over the opposition try line, rather than pass it forward to a team-mate, the damage could have been greater!
The second half was a scrappier affair, with the scrum being re-set on numerous occasions, and the opposition frustrated by their inability to secure any quality possession. The referee’s attempts to exert his authority, however, were clearly not aided by the fact that he was apparently wearing tights.
Overall a superb performance which, despite some indiscipline in the closing minutes, deserves to be remembered for all the right reasons. John Cleveland College will present a sterner physical test in the next round, and LGS will be eager to turn round a thirty-point defeat from earlier in the season
10 February 2010 - U15 Netball News
Congratulations to the U15 netball team who played magnificently last night to narrowly miss out on a place in the final.
They were winners of their section winning all 3 games:
v Ashby won 14-1
v Leicester High School won 9-0
v Robert Smyth won 6-4
In the quarter final a tough game against Ratcliffe didn't really materialise as Leicester were the better team throughout and won 7-1.
In the semi finals Leicester were against the pre tournament favourites Loughborough High School. Despite taking a 3-0 lead Loughborough were just too strong and they came out winners 7-6.
Well done to everyone involved, it is the best result the school has had in this competition for a number of years:
Ashleigh Goodenough (Capt), Emily Hunt, Philippa Bliss, Amy Ground, Nicky Siddall, Lauren Ramsbottom, Emily Bexon & Anna Meadows.
07 February 2010 - U16 National Rugby Final Trials
Having been selected for the final trial at Stowe School , Harry Thacker started at hooker for the red team in the final trial for selection to the National U16 squad. Harry played extremely well and now awaits notification that he has satisfied the selectors demands.
06 February 2010 - Dan Cole
Congratulations are passed onto Mrs Cole - one of our science technicians- whose son Dan Cole made his Senior England appearance at tighthead prop against Wales on Saturday. This is a fantastic achievement for a player who has had a dream season so far. Congratulations to him and all the family who must be thrilled.
03 February 2010 - Dance Band News
The Dance Band (which is gradually changing its title to the Big Band) played for a very successful private function locally on Saturday, 30 January. The people who engaged us wrote: ‘Just a note to thank you and your Big Band for Saturday night. The band was terrific. All of our guests were stunned when the curtains opened and you made your "entrance". From thereon they loved the music and enjoyed the dancing. The enthusiasm and proficiency was obvious to all but I think we were amazed just how professional they all are. Your musicians are a credit to young people in general and Leicester Grammar School in particular. Thank you once again for helping to make our celebration such a happy and memorable occasion.’
The band is giving a concert on Wednesday, 31 March at LGS in aid of local charity Menphys. A letter giving details of tickets can be found on the downloads page. The letter also gives details of the opportunity for you to bid for a new arrangement of your favourite tune which the band will play on the evening. Time is of the essence, however, as bids have to be received by 12 February!
02 February 2010 - A "3 Star" School Kitchen
Following an un-announced visit today from the Environmental Health Officer to our school kitchens we are very proud to say we passed with flying colours. We have been awarded ‘3 stars’ which is the top score. Obviously this means that not only do we have the appropriate systems in place, but the catering staff are following the correct procedures and have clearly demonstrated to the EHO that they know what they are doing and take food hygiene very seriously. The next visit will be in 12 months time.
01 February 2010 - Pasua High School in Tanzania
The Headmaster’s trip to Tanzania in 2009 , when he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with his three OL. sons, raised over £3000 to be distributed between two Leicester charities and a school within Tanzania. The school is known as Pasua High School which lies in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro and is situated on the south side of the town of Moshi. It was founded in the mid-1990s as a co-education school starting with just 15 pupils, who were both boarders and day pupils, but now has over 300. There are government secondary schools but only 2% of the pupils of secondary school age can obtain a place. It means either leaving school after primary education or going to private secondary school. Fees have to be kept as low as possible as the average Tanzanian income is just $258 per annum.
Mrs Painter and Mrs Sian will be visiting the school at February half-term to further enhance the links between our two schools. They will be taking a large cheque with them when they go, to spend locally on IT equipment which the Headmaster of Pasua High has identified as something they badly need. There is a great thirst for learning amongst the young East Africans and in particular a desire to know more about the world outside of their continent. A reliable internet connection will obviously aid this linkage for the pupils.
Henry King, OL. will spend most of May helping at Pasua High school. It is hoped this will be the first of many occasions when sixth formers or recent leavers can offer their time, enthusiasm and interests for the benefit of the school. More details of how this opportunity will be shaped will be available in the light of the trips already planned.
There will be a continuing fund raising effort under the direction of the charity committee to support Pasua High school. The costs of travel and subsistence for those going to Moshi will be entirely covered by the individuals involved.
01 February 2010 - Cricket News
Congratulations to the U13 Boys and the U15 Girls who successfully navigated their way through the District Inter Cricket tournament to book a place in the County finals later in the term.
U13 Boys
Jack O'Callaghan, Patrick Sadd, Sachin Abeysundera, Zayaan Khan, Alex Tutt, Theo Rashid, Sam Phillips, Druv Chudashama, Sachin Luharia
U15 Girls
Emily Jefferson (Capt), Anna Meadows, Kate Sykes, Megan Oliver, Ellie Rashid, Ambica Patel, Mariam Patel, Ashleigh Goodenough, Philippa Bliss
The U15 boys finished 2nd in their event after a very tight competition, this unfortunately means they don't qualify for the next round.
26 January 2010 - U16 Divisional Rugby
Over the past few months Harry Thacker [11A] has made his way through the county rugby campaign and was selected to play for the Midlands division at the divisional weekend [22nd to 24th of January].
Harry was selected at Hooker to start for the first game against London and the SE. At full time the game was lost to London 10-5 with London scoring two breakaway tries with the Midlands dominating for the majority of the game.
The same situation occurred in the second game against the South West with the Midlands losing by three tries to one.
Harry played well in both games and now awaits to hear whether he has been selected for an England Trial at Stowe school on the 7th of February. We would like to congratulate Harry on his success so far.
19 January 2010 - British Physics Olympiad 2010 News
The British Physics Olympiad is a national physics competition that aims to challenge the UK’s brightest young physicists. The competition is entered annually by around 1,000 students. This year saw an impressive LGS entry with eight of our U6th Physicists taking Paper 2, a gruelling 3 hour examination aimed to stretch and challenge the more able scientist. Gold medal winners are invited to take part in the next stage of the competition (Paper 3), which is a further examination paper, taken in school on March 1st.
Following this paper, the top 15 students are invited to a 3-day training camp at Abingdon School from 29th March – 1st April 2010. From these 15, five students are selected to form the British team that competes in an International Physics Olympiad. This year, the International Physics Olympiad takes place in Zagreb, Croatia.
Our results were very pleasing. Matthew Li, Chris Goodfellow, Rikesh Dattani, Tom Catterall and Dhaval Govani were all awarded commendations, Alex Williams and Chenguang Su achieved Bronze II qualifications and, most impressively, Sally Dacie was ranked in the top 5% of the national entry and was awarded a Gold medal. This is just reward for Sally’s efforts after an excellent set of module results last year. Clearly, this bodes very well for her in her quest to obtain a place at university to read Physics in September this year. Congratulations to all who competed in this prestigious event and our best wishes go to Sally in the next stage of the Olympiad.
18 December 2009 - LGS Folk Group to play at the Grainstore Brewery Tap
The LGS Folk Group is playing at the Grainstore Brewery Tap in Oakham (next to the station) on Friday, 18 December from 8.30pm. This annual event is always a very enjoyable and convivial evening.
17 December 2009 - Matthew Gee [OL '01] appointed principal trombone of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Matthew Gee [OL '01] has just been appointed principal trombone of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra starting in the New Year; based in London, this orchestra has a diverse range of musical repertoire, which is one of the factors which appealed to him. Besides the typical symphonic repertoire from Beethoven to Shostakovich, the orchestra plays for large ‘one-off’ occasions e.g. Christmas in the O2 Arena, a Sondheim 80th birthday concert and recording TV and film music. It tours world-wide but also appears locally, for example, in Northampton. It has several very eminent conductors including Dutoit, Gatti and Slatkin. Who could say ‘no’ to such an opportunity?
16 December 2009 - Senior Soloists' Concert in the Recital Room
The Senior Soloists' Concert takes place on Wednesday, 16 December in the Recital Room at 7.30pm. The programme includes Haydn's Trumpet Concerto, the first movement of Mozart's Violin Concerto in D and the Concerto for Two Cellos by Vivaldi. All the soloists are from the U6th and will be accompanied by the First Orchestra. There will also be a performance of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. The Friends of LGS are kindly providing seasonal refreshments during the interval. Tickets are not required.
14 December 2009 - "Grease" sparkles during its 3 night run.
Sandy and Danny get to boogie off into the distance as the lights dim and the set is struck. The cast and crew of Grease are to be congratulated on the successful three night run of the show. The new venue of St Nicholas Hall was filled to capacity and the wide stage allowed ample room for the expansive and energetic dance numbers. The production wasn’t just about the dancing and singing though, the actors got the chance to really fill out their character and praise must go to all those “little moments”, lit and unlit, where the depth and detail of their characterisation really shone. Such moments included Eugene’s awkward offer of punch to an icily dismissive Patty; Rizzo’s departure from the Dance competition; the Greasers’ surly wit and the girls’ snippy chatter in general.
Matt Letts and his ensemble provided the musical impetus – guiding and responding to all that happened on stage. And what happened on stage was largely a result of the hours of choreography co-ordinated by Ella North – a real tour de force that brought jive alive!
Lighting the new space and sorting out the sound with tiny radio mics and microphones hidden in hair brushes did not daunt the backstage crew – they pulled it all together in a matter of days – the technical tasks can only really be done once the stage has been set. Similarly, Wardrobe and Props could only come into their own as the play finally came together – but what was on show was the culmination of months of scouring Charity shops and attics for fabric and fashions of just the right age.
The accent was American, the era was the Fifties but the energy and the attitude was testament to the commitment and enthusiasm of the youth of LGS!
07 December 2009 - Opening night of Grease on Thursday 10th of December
Rehearsals are well under way for the opening night of Grease on Thursday - have you got your tickets yet? Doors open at 7pm with the performance starting at 7.30pm. Please also note that you can pre-order drinks for the interval when you arrive.
04 December 2009 - School Christmas Tree
We are very grateful to Palmer's Garden Centre for their kind donation of our Christmas tree this year - it makes a stunning welcome to all who visit the school. Thanks also go to Sally and John for decorating it.
02 December 2009 - England U18 Hockey News
Congratulations to Jessica Hickman (yr12) who has been selected for the England U18 Hockey training squad. This is a particularly pleasing achievement as she is a year young for this age group.
26 November 2009 - Will & Emily Davison compete at the National Indoor Rowing Champs
Will competed in U15 age group and came 16th out of over 60 in the individual event & his team were 5th in the team event.
Emily competed in U18 age group where her team came 4th!
24 November 2009 - U15 Rugby Daily Mail Vase v. Uppingham School
Having been well beaten by a physical and abrasive John Cleveland College side on Saturday, LGS U15 knew a better performance would be required against a historically strong Uppingham XV. Monday’s weekly training session with ex-Wellington and Tigers back row Ben Herring was extremely productive, and everyone was looking forward to putting his advice into practice. Despite a spicy pre-match session and some strong words in the changing room, however, LGS made another disastrous start against the strong wind, conceding two soft early tries due to weak tacking and some sloppy handling in the admittedly tough conditions. This was to prove the catalyst, however, for a superb fightback in the closing part of the first half. LGS opted to play positively and keep the ball in hand - this reaped rewards as the forwards picked and drove hard at the visitors, offloading well and gaining ground repeatedly. Uppingham simply could not cope with some outstanding LGS support play and a barnstorming run by Michael Davies led to Myles Keable scoring in the corner, before Ed Milne, who was a real handful all match at the breakdown and with ball in hand, added another. With the score at 12-10 to Uppingham but with the wind in Leicester’s favour in the second half, coach Mr Jessop told the side to be patient, keep the ball alive and that the points would come. That said, Uppingham’s outstanding No13 broke several tackles early in the second half, leading to a try that made the score 19-10. LGS struggled to win possession for a short period, before the forwards gradually regained their stranglehold. Jamie Jameson and Tom Clay kicked intelligently, pinning the visitors back in their 22 and despite some valiant attempts to run the ball out of defence, LGS pressure eventually told and further tries from Milne and Jameson (one converted from the touchline by Jack Hiorns) put LGS 22-19 ahead. The Uppingham backs were always a threat and caused LGS a real fright in the dying seconds before the whistle went and a sigh of relief went up. The match was a superb advert for the game, with both sides showing real enterprise in adversity and superb discipline. The Leicester back row was a highpoint yet again, while special mention must go to Man of the Match George Summerton for endless powerful carries and some technically superb work over the ball. This was certainly the high point of the season so far and a performance of which everyone involved can be very proud.
S.Jessop
23 November 2009 - William Alloway awarded a place in the Royal Yatchting Association National Junior Sailing Squad.
William Alloway [Year 9] has been awarded a place in one of four Royal Yachting Association National Junior Sailing Squads, effectively being amongst the best 60 dinghy racers of secondary school age in Great Britain. He will be training hard all this winter and competing next season in one of the most competitive dinghy racing classes in the country.
23 November 2009 - Jack Thompson awarded a place in the National Youth Chamber Orchestra.
Following an audition in Cambridge earlier this month, Jack Thompson [Lower 6th] has been awarded a place as a cellist in the National Youth Chamber Orchestra.
17 November 2009 - Music News
A letter about the Junior Concert on Thursday, 26 November has been sent to parents of performers via their children. If you have not received it, you can download a copy from the Music Downloads page.
14 November 2009 - 1st XI Hockey News
Congratulations to the 1st XI who came through the U18 zone final to qualify for the Midlands hockey final as one of the top 8 teams in the region. Excellent commitment, determination and skill saw Leicester Grammar finish runners-up at the tournament at Repton School.
v Newcastle Under Lyme School won 3-0 (Vaila Ormiston 2 & Ashleigh Goodenough)
v Kings, Worcester won 2-0 (Jess Hickman & Becky Hutchinson)
v Repton School lost 8-0.
The next round will be held at Rugby School on Monday 30th November.
11 November 2009 - Remembrance Service
Members of the Great Glen Branch British Legion joined the entire school in a Remembrance Service at 11 o' clock this morning. Matthew Letts sounded the Last Post. This was followed by the Headmaster re- laying the wreaths at the Cenotaph in Great Glen along with Alex Vostanis, Vaila Ormiston and the Servers.
11 November 2009 - Music News
Letters from Mr Paterson for the choir detailing arrangements for Christmas events and those early in 2010 are available from the Music Downloads page.
07 November 2009 - The Dream of Gerontius
On Saturday 7 November the Leicester Grammar School Choir joined the Leicester Bach Choir, the chamber choir Cantamici and a professional orchestra and soloists in a performance of Elgar’s oratorio The Dream of Gerontius at the church of St James the Greater in Leicester. An audience of nearly five hundred attended, and many comments of congratulation were received. In addition, two members of the Upper Sixth, Jack Lewis and Tom Catterall, had produced a video presentation on Elgar and the writer of the poem, Cardinal Newman, which was shown during the interval, and also received compliments for its composition and its appropriateness.
04 November 2009 - South African Rugby Squad train at LGS
Having just stepped off a plane from Johannesburg where the temperature was 30 degrees, the South African rugby squad visited Leicester Grammar School on a very wet and cold November afternoon for a training session on our 1st XV pitch. The squad included nine members of the victorious Tri-Nations Squad including Chiliboy Ralepelle, Jannie du Plessis, Ruan Piennar and Danie Rossouw. The visit came as a total surprise to members of our own rugby teams who were also playing that afternoon and to the spectators braving the weather.
30 October 2009 - Squash News
Patrick Sadd (Yr 8) is competing in the U13 National Squash Championships in Manchester this coming weekend. We wish him the best of luck !
30 October 2009 - House Drama News
The result of House Drama on Friday 30 October was:
1st Dukes
2nd Judges
3rd VCs
4th Masters
An excellent evening enjoyed by all and well done to all participants for putting on such a good show!
Duncan Willis
15 October 2009 - Music News
The Soloists’ Concert, previously scheduled for Monday, 14 December 2009 at 7.30pm, has been moved to Wednesday, 16 December 2009. This concert will include Haydn’s Trumpet Concert, a concerto for two cellos by Vivaldi and a movement from a Mozart violin concerto, amongst other pieces.
The Choral Society will be performing Mozart’s Requiem on 25 March 2010. Further details about singing are available here.Please contact the Music Department Secretary if you would like to sing. New members are always welcome.
As a result of her work experience in the summer, Charlotte Bentley (U6) is credited with a number of items in the November edition of the Classic FM Magazine. This might be the first step along a career path - buy your copy now!
Following a very successful appearance at a dance at the Leicestershire Golf Club, the Dance Band has been asked to play for two further events: a dance in support of Rainbows Children’s Hospice on 5 December, and a private function in Billesdon on 30 January 2010.
13 October 2009 - U18 1st XI Hockey News
Congratulations to the 1st XI who won the U18 County Hockey tournament held at St Margaret's Pastures to become Leicestershire Champions. In a round robin competition they were undefeated producing some excellent performances throughout the afternoon. As a result of this win they now progress to the 'zone' round to be held on November 12th.
v Loughborough High School: won 2-0 (Becky Hutchinson & Lucy Johnson)
v Uppingham School: drew 1-1 (Jess Hickman)
v Oakham School: won 1-0 (Emily Hogg)
v Ratcliffe College: won 4-0 (Lucy Johnson. Alex Hope, Jess Hickman 2)
Congratulations to Maddy Smith (Capt), Lucy Johnson, Alex Hope, Mia Dobney, Emily Hogg, Vaila Ormiston, Jess Hickman, Katie Elliott, Becky Shaw, Abi Williams, Becky Hutchinson, Simran Obhi, Jane Lefley, Philly Vostanis & Ashleigh Goodenough.
07 October 2009 - Institute of Ideas Debating Competition
Last night a team from LGS competed in the Institute of Ideas Debating Competition with the result that we are now the Leicestershire champions! A great effort from Josh Lyttleton, Luke Dearden, Arran Panesar and Taylor McManus on Wednesday evening means that we now go ahead to the East Midlands round. We beat Leicester High, Loughborough High and Ashby Grammar.
02 October 2009 - Opening Night of Art Exhibition by Brian James
The show features the various genres of his work including automobile art, illustrations in the Art Deco style and paintings in a fine art manner. There will be items for sale, including affordable limited edition prints.
Whilst an art student in the late 1960’s, Brian James designed that now well known image of the union jack on the bowler hat – the original is in the collection of New York’s Museum of Design. He became a freelance illustrator in 1977, having been an advertising agency art director for 8 years. Since then he has gone on to accept commissions from numerous national and international clients, including Barclays Bank, Boots, British Airways, Cadbury’s, London Transport, Jaguar Cars, Volkswagon and, more recently, BMW.
During the 1990’s, when computer and software dramatically changed the industry, Brian James decided to specialise in the highly skilled niche market of fine art illustration. This led to a series of commissions to produce historical illustrations for museums in Europe, the Middle East and the United States.
Do join us for a convivial evening with a drink and nibbles and enjoy some of the best work of its kind in the UK.
Click Here to view the poster.
29 September 2009 - Will Alloway
Will Alloway (9B) has been selected for the RYA Topper National Intermediate Junior Squad for 2009-10. A great achievement.The purpose of the RYA National Squads programme is to feed talented sailors into the Youth and Olympic programmes at the appropriate age and ability to enable them to succeed at the European and World Championships in subsequent years.
25 September 2009 - NYJO Concert
We are looking forward to the visit of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, one of the leading big bands in the country, on Friday, 25 September. The orchestra will play to the lower school in the afternoon and will lead a workshop with LGS players later. In the evening there is a public concert, tickets for which are available from Mrs Pegg (2591903). Further information about NYJO can be found at www.nyjo.org.uk
21 September 2009 - Cricket Report 2009
The School has just completed its most successful cricket season with a number of finals being played in the first week of the Advent term.
The u/15 team completed a 10 wicket win to capture the County u/15 trophy with outstanding performances from Tom Measures with 4 wickets and openers Avish Patel (26no) and Antoine Mcguinn (35no) who put on 95 for the 1st wicket to take their side home.
The u/14's won a tight game against Soar Valley in the Semi Final with important innings from Alex Frith, Zain Rizvi and George Hutchinson and also some fine bowling from the trio. The standard of fielding from this side was exceptional. Unfortunately Lutterworth HS were unable to play the final so the County Cup has been shared.
The u/13's had already made it through to the Midlands final, losing to Solihull school in June. During the holiday period they came together to win the City Cricket Academy Coloured clothing competition, held at LGS. Captain Tom Smith was the batsman of the tournament, Sachin Abeysundri the bowler and Kasim Khan the player of the tournament. They have now also won their u/13 County final scoring 108 for one with Will Hunt 44no and Tom Smith 32 and bowling Rushy Meade out for 79 with Patrick Sadd, Kasim Khan and Mo Mulji all bowling good spells.
The u/12's also completed a final win bowling the opposition out for just 40 and reaching the target with the lost of only one wicket. The side was well captained all year by Jack O'Callaghan and have a large group of talented young cricketers.
All this success and enjoyment should be put alongside the results of the u/13 girls cricket team who earlier in the year won both the County indoor and Outdoor Competitions. The 1st XI also made it to the Semi final of the County Cup u/18 competition.
The facilities at the new school have made a great difference to the standard of play and I would like to thank Head Groundsman Matthew Hodgson and his team for producing so many wickets on a young square and also a "thank you" should go to all the team managers who have given their time and expertise to help and develop our young cricketers.
Laurie Potter
15 September 2009 - Visit by Camberwell Girls Grammar School, Melbourne
Leicester Grammar School were proud to welcome a party of visitors from Camberwell Girls Grammar School, Melbourne, Australia. We are the first school stop off for them as a part of their UK tour and they are here to play sport and music.
On Tuesday night they started with an U15 XI hockey match. It was a friendly fixture with both sides clearly enjoying the competition. The home team ran out winners with the final score being 4-0. The goals came from Ashleigh Goodenough (2), Rosie Hampton & Nicola Siddle.
The U16 VII played a friendly fixture against Camberwell Girls Grammar School, our visitors from Melbourne. It began as an evenly match contest with end to end action. However as the game progressed the home side began to assert their authority finishing with a 27-14 scoreline.
The girls from Camberwell had the opportunity to play music with some of the students from LGS as the final night of their tour ended with a musical performance. This included some pieces from the visitors and some pieces combining the two groups. Mrs Meacham, Director of Music at Camberwell, selected a programme which included some traditionally Australian tunes, the rousing version of 'Waltzing Matilda' was very popular, and a toe tapping medley of Abba songs. The evening was rounded off nicely with a combined version of the 60's pop song 'Happy Together'- a very fitting end to the evening and the combined sports and music tour.
15 September 2009 - Four Kings climb Kilimanjaro
The Headmaster and his four sons, James Andrew and Henry, reached the crater rim of Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, between 4 and 5 am on August 12th. They set out on their final ascent at midnight after five previous days of trekking and acclimatisation walks.
These photographs give some impression of the experiences they had during their time on the mountain. In following the sequence of pictures you can see how the vegetation changes and, from the layers of clothing, how temperature conditions vary throughout the trek.
The pictures do very little justice to the scale of the mountain, the glaciers at the crater rim and how they all felt at different stages of the climb.
The Headmaster comments that, ‘many people have described climbing Kilimanjaro as the hardest thing they have ever done in their life. I have to agree with them.Thank you to all who have generously supported the fund raising effort we linked to our climb.’
If you would still like to donate you can do so with a cheque made out to Leicester Grammar School or through the JustGiving web site at http://justgiving.com/Christopher-King
14 September 2009 - John Christie
It is with great sadness that we have to tell you that after a year long battle against cancer, John Christie passed away last Thursday. His funeral will take place at Perth Crematorium this Friday. It will be family flowers only with any donations being made to Cancer Research.
02 September 2009 - Exam results
I congratulate all the Leicester Grammar School pupils who recently received their GCSE and A level results.
The A level results for the Grammar School exceeded expectations with a record 87.1% of all grades being either A or B grades. In fact over 64% of all grades we obtained at A level were at A, which is, of course, far beyond the national average for all schools and ahead of the average for state grammar schools. In Leicestershire we were the top performing school this year with regard to A and B grades achieved. ( the best state school in the County achieved 23% of their grades at A standard).
I am delighted for the pupils who have been rewarded for all their hard work and I thank their teachers for again demonstrating their commitment to maximising the potential of the candidates.
At GCSE level 65.7% of all results were achieved at A*/A grade which is not quite a school record but is again far ahead of the national averages. Many pupils achieved results which reflected their full potential but particular congratulations go to Charlotte Ball, Ruth Dacie, John Huxley, Adam Park, Sophie Willott and Shan Yang, all of whom achieved A*s in all their GCSE subjects.
Mr C.P.M King , Headmaster.
