College student Elinah Philip was the very proud recipient of the prestigious Wilkinson Sword in recognition of her achievements in the sport of Swimming.

Awarded annually this is the first time the sword has been awarded to a Bishop’s Stortford Swimming Club member for 25 years and indeed, the first time is has been awarded since 2013.

Elinah’s name will join those of previous recipients when it is engraved onto a plaque in the case which houses the sword. The Wilkinson Sword is kept in its presentation case on permanent display but Elinah was given a smaller replica to take home. Elinah was awarded the Sword jointly with another swimmer from Hatfield SC, both of whom had swum in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Mrs Deborah Huggett, Head of Swimming at Bishop’s Stortford College said, “We are all so proud of Elinah and everything she has achieved. She is a tremendous ambassador for both her sport and her school.”

of new reformed subjects (which accounted for 2/3 of all examinations) achieved the top grades of A* or 9 against the average in England of 4.5%*. In the non-reformed subjects, 57% of grades were A* – A.

31 pupils have been awarded the College’ prestigious Ten Club tie for achieving a 7, 8, 9, A or A* in ten subjects. Twins, Edward and Jack Holman are part of this cohort and will be staying on at the College for Sixth Form having gained 4 9s and 5 A*s between them.

College Headmaster, Jeremy Gladwin commented, “In a year when examinations have become considerably more demanding for both teaching staff and pupils, I am thrilled that we have not just performed well across the board, but have surpassed all expectations when it comes to the new and prestigious grade 9. I am immensely grateful for the vast amount of hard work undertaken by the teaching body who have been severely tested by having to prepare new courses at both GCSE and A Level. The pupils have responded magnificently to their expert tuition and have worked so hard to gain these impressive results.”

*Based on figures published today by Ofqual. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/infographic-gcse-results-2018

grades being A*-A and over a third of College students achieved 3 or more grades of A or A*.

95% of the increasingly popular Extended Project Qualification were awarded A*-B with 48% earning a coveted A*. 5 pupils with Oxbridge offers have achieved the grades needed to take up their places.

Three sets of twins and one set of triplets were included in these results with Joe and Lucy Minichiello gaining 5 A* and an A between them. Joe will take up a place at Oxford to study Economics and Management and Lucy will take up her place at Newcastle to study Language and Business.

College Headmaster Jeremy Gladwin commented, “These results are once again a testament to the incredible work ethic of our talented and busy student body. They have been taught by an extremely dedicated team of teaching staff who are always prepared to go the extra mile in supporting their charges. The A Level examination system is of course, nearing the end of the Gove reforms which have made A Levels both more content-rich and the examinations more challenging. Next year will be the first year when absolutely all A Levels will be completely reformed.”

Photo: Some of the students who received the grades needed for their places at Oxbridge

of the regional rate of 57%.

As Lower Fifth Form (Year 10) pupils embarked on their Bronze medal expeditions, a letter arrived from the Director of the South East region, Peter Singleton, in the Headmaster’s Office congratulating the school on their DoE achievements.

120 pupils at the College have achieved Bronze, Silver or Gold in 17/18, an increase of 21 pupils on the previous year. Praise was also given to the staff who run the scheme in the College.

The College’s extensive activities programme is designed to support, not just breadth and balance of learning but also the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards Scheme where new skills can be learned. In total 2678 hours have been spent learning a new skill, pupils have enjoyed 2990 hours of physical activity and some 3094 hours have been spent volunteering in the local community.

The College Headmaster, Jeremy Gladwin commented, “I was proud to be able to support our Gold Award students at their presentations from Prince Edward at Buckingham Palace earlier this term and we are extremely proud of all our pupils’ achievements. The scheme continues to grow in popularity and with it, our contribution to our local community. Long may it continue.”

Photo: Bronze D of E Pupils on Expedition

the “big hitting” Independent Schools, to 10 Downing Street.

The two hour Roundtable discussion with Damian Hinds, the Secretary of State for Education, Lord Agnew the Independent Schools’ Minister, members of the Department for Education and Policy Advisors to the Prime Minister was called in order for Government Education officials to hear about the characteristics of successful partnerships,  and to consider how the DfE might help.

The Head of the No 10 Policy Unit has recognised that, as independent education providers, independent schools are often more than just schools and actively contribute to the community. The Secretary of State was particularly complimentary about the Bishop’s Stortford Educational Trust (BSET), set up four years ago of which the College is a founding member, as a vehicle to support the children of Bishop’s Stortford.

BSET is a State/Independent partnership of equals between the College, Bishop’s Stortford High School, Birchwood, Hockerill, Leventhorpe and St Mary’s, together with representatives of the local consortium of Primary Heads, where all parties benefit from mutual cooperation and support.

The College Headmaster, Jeremy Gladwin, said, “I am very proud to represent BSET and have shared with the Secretary of State the good work going on between our local schools.  The Department for Education are excited by what we are doing together, here in Bishop’s Stortford, and will be sharing our model with other schools in other towns across the country as an example of good practice in State/Independent cooperation. He recognises us as a group of Head teachers who are all determined to work together for the good of all member schools.” Mr Gladwin went on to say, “I have encouraged the Secretary of State to meet further with my state school counterparts to hear at first-hand about the benefits of our cooperative model to include Initial Teacher Training, the Continuing Professional Development of our staff and the opportunities for working together with a Multi Academy Trust model at the heart of future planning.  The Department for Education responded that they would try to achieve such a meeting in the near future.”

Mr Gladwin continued, “We are fortunate to live in a town, where the educational provision is so broad and so good.  All the schools in our town provide a superb education for the children of the local area and the close cooperation between the Head teachers is investing time and resources in an even brighter future for Bishop’s Stortford as a hub of educational excellence.”

The College Headmaster will continue to work closely with the Department for Education to produce a model of partnership work that can be replicated across the country and to encourage all schools, of whatever type, to work together in the best interests of and for the education of children.

Photo: Headmaster, Jeremy Gladwin, outside 10 Downing Street

Gold CAP Award for the Continuous Advancement Programme (CAP).

Following in the footsteps of the College Catering team, who have won six successive Gold CAP Awards, the Housekeeping and Cleaning team of 25, including staff from partner contractor, Nightingales, have also achieved the Gold standard.

The CAP Awards are only presented to organisations who meet the highest standards in housekeeping in the catering and hospitality industry. The College underwent an unannounced assessment earlier this month scoring 91.4% for cleanliness and compliance. The benchmark level for Gold is 75%.

Having reorganised their cleaning operation, a process which has taken almost two years due to the number of locations across the College campus, the Housekeeping team, led by Facilities Manager, Tim Hanks will now be working on areas where they must improve in order to demonstrate the continuous advancement to achieve gold again next year.

Assistant Bursar, Greg Stewart said, “The whole College community is extremely proud of what our housekeepers and Nightingales have collectively achieved. Along with the Gold Awards for catering already received, it demonstrates our commitment to and the great pride we take in the manner in which we look after our pupils and staff.”

the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.

Bishop’s Stortford College Sixth Former and 2016 Olympic swimmer Elinah Phillip, will be competing in the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina in October after winning three Silver medals at the CARIFTA (Caribbean Free Trade Association) Swimming Championships. Elinah represented the British Virgin Islands at the event held in Kingston, Jamaica, 31st March – 3rd April.

Competing against other 15-17 year olds, Elinah won Silver in each of the three events she entered: 50m long course Freestyle event (26.29 seconds), the 100m LC Freestyle event (58.98 seconds) and the 50m LC Butterfly event (28.29 seconds).

Elinah beat the times she achieved in the 2017 CARIFTA Swimming Championships, where she won two Silver medals, finishing the 50m Freestyle in 26.77 and the 100m Freestyle event in a time of 59.62.

Head of Swimming, Deborah Huggett commented, “This is another fantastic achievement for Elinah. She is very dedicated to both her training and her academic studies – it’s wonderful to see the balance our Elite Sports Programme affords in action.”

This was the 33rd CARIFTA Championship, featuring 335 swimmers from 21 different countries.

celebrating another year of success as the latest statistics for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme are published. Of the 98 DoE centres in Hertfordshire the College has the highest number of enrolments in Independent Schools, the highest number of awards gained in Independent Schools and the highest completion rate, 88%, in the Broxbourne, East Herts and Welwyn/Hatfield quadrant.

These stats come hot on the heels of an invitation sent to 23 pupils to receive their Gold Award at Buckingham Palace on 17th May.

Gill Lynch, DoE Co-ordinator at the College commented, “I’m delighted with our highest ever completion rate of 88%. Undertaking the D of E Award is a challenge requiring commitment and determination but it is one that has been embraced wholeheartedly by College pupils. I’m incredibly proud of their success, both personally, and across the County.”

of 16 hockey players (10 boys and 6 girls) from Bishop’s Stortford College competed with the best 8 teams in the country as part of the National U16 Club Hockey Finals, held at Beeston HC in Nottingham.

Head of Boys’ Hockey, Charlie Bannister and Head of Girls’ Hockey, Nick Prowse are delighted with the progress the players have made since they arrived at the College. Graham Brooks, Deputy Head and a Hockey coach commented, “It is an extraordinary achievement to see so many College players taking part in a national finals. Playing at this level and at their age speaks volumes for the development of hockey players at the College”. Whilst neither the boys nor the girls made it through to the final, their very presence at the event, along with teams that contained England U16s and other Regional players, speaks volumes for their skill levels.”  Many of the other clubs at the competition are amongst the biggest and most successful in the country with, in some cases, hundreds of players to choose from. Many of these teams are resourced by multiple elite hockey school feeders.

In the finals, the girls played for a very strong Cambridge City Hockey Club side and they played some superb hockey winning 1, drawing 1 and losing 1.  In the key game against Sevenoaks (L0-1), they conceded a heart-breaking early goal, recovering well to dominate the game but were unable to convert their overwhelming pressure into goals.  In the end they came 3rd in their group, missing out on a place in the final stages by just one point, which left them 5/6th in the country. An outstanding achievement.

The boys in turn played for the Bishop’s Stortford Hockey Club and with as many as 12 of 16 players coming from the College (2 were to miss the finals due to holiday clashes) the close College links proved vital in the boys playing superbly as a team.  Although the boys lost all three games, each was a very close affair and involved end to end hockey.  Ultimately the boys’ lack of an out and out goal scorer meant they were unable to turn promising territory and possession into goals.  Nevertheless, given the majority of players were drawn from one school, their ability to compete at this level speaks volumes for the importance of teamwork and understanding as part of sporting success.

With the regional trials being conducted over the next few months we wish all the pupils every success as they try to become the next group of Saxon Tigers and hopefully England players.

near Norwich.

On Sunday 22nd April Bishop’s Stortford College pupil Freddy Cooke was selected to play for Hertfordshire in the East of England Regional U15s Hockey Tournament at Harleston Hockey Club, near Norwich.

The Hertfordshire team won their first three matches; Essex (3-0), Cambridgeshire (1-0 – the winning penalty flick being scored by Freddy) and Lincolnshire (2-1).  Going into their final two games, Hertfordshire needed just one more win to retain their title as East of England Regional U15 Champions. The penultimate match against Norfolk was gruelling; at half time, Hertfordshire were 1-0 up but went on to lose the game 2-1.

The final match against Suffolk was therefore crucial and the boys needed nothing less than a win and three points to secure the Championship.  At half time the score was 1-0 to Suffolk, but Hertfordshire came out all guns blazing in the second half. A well worked short corner gave them their first goal and then a fantastic individual effort by Freddy Cooke, dribbling past four Suffolk players in their ‘D’, rounding the keeper and flicking the ball high into the open Suffolk net took the lead 2-1. Freddy then went on to score a second goal, to bring the score line to 3-1. In the dying seconds the team scored their fourth and final goal to complete the comeback and secure a well-deserved tournament victory for the second year running.

Well done to everyone who took part.

at the Rotary Young Musician of the Year Competition.

Bishop’s Stortford College’s Music Department is celebrating once again. Recently two Sixth Form students have gain coveted awards and College musicians also gave excellent performances at the Rotary Young Musician of the Year Competition.

On Thursday 22nd March, Sixth Form student Scott Hextall, was examined for the Associate of the Royal Schools of Music (ARSM) Performance Diploma. This intense and challenging qualification requires each candidate to prepare a 30 minute programme during which they are assessed on their musical communication skills, interpretation and technical delivery. The difficulty of this diploma surpasses that of a Grade 8 examination demanding an incredibly high level of musicianship and maturity.

Scott gave an exceptional clarinet performance, earning him a distinction with a score of 47/50 (the ARSM rarely scores above 90%). An outstanding achievement.

During the Easter break another of the College’s most prominent instrumentalists, Christopher Wilkin, successfully auditioned for a prestigious Music Scholarship at Imperial College, London. Chris auditioned on the cello performing Fauré’s Papillons and Shoshtakovich’s First Movement of the Cello Concerto; two very demanding pieces. Although Christopher will be studying Physics for his degree, this scholarship means he will be able to receive instrumental lessons at the Royal College of Music for the duration of his course.

On Saturday 21st April, the College hosted the annual Rotary Young Musician of the Year Competition, featuring over 100 entries from pupils at various local schools including Bishop’s Stortford College. Across the five disciplines of Piano, Brass, Woodwind, Strings and Vocal, entrants were divided into three age groups; Junior, Intermediate and Senior. In the final round of the competition, 7 of the 15 finalists were from Bishop’s Stortford College; Ishani M, Lewis W and James D won the Piano, Strings and Brass Junior Categories respectively, whilst Emma H, Fifi D and Charlie E won the Piano, Vocal and Brass Intermediate categories.  Performers in the Senior Category also displayed impressive musical qualities and technical control and although not the final winner, Scott Hextall played with great skill and musicality.

Iago Núñez, Senior School Music Teacher commented, “Many congratulations to all the performers involved who helped make this such a wonderful celebration of music. We are looking forward to welcoming back Rotary International next year and to once more use this as a platform for our College musicians to compete and play with a wide variety of pupils from other schools.”

offers.

Since last October, offers from some of the UK’s top universities have been arriving in the mailboxes of College students with 85% of this year’s Upper Sixth currently holding 4 or more offers (50% with all 5) and 100% of pupils receiving offers.

84% of pupils are holding an offer from one or more of the 24 Russell Group, research intensive universities which includes Durham, Exeter, Manchester, UCL, Newcastle and Bristol.

8 pupils have also received offers for Medicine and from Oxford and Cambridge Universities to study subjects including Economics and Management, Law, Chemistry and Maths.

As pupils make their final preparations for the A Level examinations, the Sixth Form team, Tutors and the Higher Education & Careers staff are advising on firm and insurance choices, gap years and the all-important revision to secure the best grades.

and author of The Bolds children’s book series, Julian Clary to the Prep School on Friday 20th April. Inspired by his lifelong love of animals, The Bolds is a collection of fabulous stories centred on the idea of what would happen if animals pretended to be like humans.

Joined by pupils from local primary schools; Summercroft, Northgate, Windhill, Albury and St Michael’s, Julian kept everyone very amused whilst reading passages from his books and showcasing his talents as an illustrator. In an interactive session with the pupils he devised a creature which was part fox, part human but had crocodile’s feet and a dog’s tail! When it then came to naming this creature, everyone in the Prep School Hall decided ‘Bob’ was the best fit. The pupils even had a virtual visit from David Roberts, Julian Clary’s own illustrator, via a link on the screen who drew the new villain Mossy the Fox, whilst Julian read aloud from his new book, The Bolds in Trouble.

In the afternoon Julian hosted a very special Book Club for College pupils in Upper and Lower Shell where they discussed with Julian and shared their opinions of the books featured in the morning session. Pupils also recounted their favourite jokes with Julian and were particularly inspired by, and very much enjoyed Julian having a go at drawing himself (even though David Roberts was much better than him).

When a pupil asked, “If you had to get rid of one of the characters from the books who would it be?” Julian responded, “Well, Uncle Tony is getting on a bit…”

The College thanks Julian for coming in and spending a fantastic day with all the pupils.

– 12 noon.

Families looking for their child’s first school (4+ years) may be interested to attend the Bishop’s Stortford College Pre-Prep Open Morning on Saturday 21st April from 9.30am – 12 noon.

The Pre-Prep Open Morning provides an opportunity for visiting families to view the facilities at the Pre-Prep and the wider College campus, including the Forest School and the outside learning areas that each classroom enjoys, as well as the indoor learning environments. Families will be able to meet the Head of Pre-Prep, Miss Belinda Callow, chat with staff and gain a feel for the Pre-Prep environment, whilst discovering the breadth of opportunities at the College. There is no need to book.

Bishop’s Stortford College Pre-Prep, caters for 4 to 7 year olds and aims to give pupils a happy, secure and purposeful start in an exciting and caring environment. The stimulating surroundings and balanced curriculum of the Pre-Prep School encourages pupils to become independent learners and creative thinkers right from the start. The Pre-Prep places emphasis on nurturing every child through their interests and uniqueness, whilst ensuring they develop the skills and attitude that opens the door to life-long learning.

Further information about Bishop’s Stortford College, specific information about the curriculum and activities within the Pre-Prep, as well as the admissions process, can be found on the College website, https://www.bishopsstortfordcollege.org/189/pre-prep-school-entry.

Munro for her performances on bassoon and Year 9 pupil, Justin Man, on the piano.

On Saturday 24th February, Ailsa was named runner-up in the District Finals of the Rotary Young Musician of the Year at Chelmsford Cathedral, with her performance of Solo de Concert Op. 35 by Gabriel Pierné, and is through to the Regional Final on Sunday 29th April. This follows her wins in the Senior Category of the Bishop’s Stortford Rotary Club competition in 2017 and the Senior Woodwind category of the College’s annual Instrumental Competition last July.

Since joining the College in September, Justin has successfully taken part in several music competitions. On 16th February he was awarded 1st prize for his performance in the U17 Piano Solo Class at the Stratford and East London Music Festival and 2nd prize in the Piano Recital class. Then on the weekend of 24th/25th February he was the youngest competitor in the “Piano Solo – 20th/21st Century (Diploma Entry Level, above Grade 8)” class in the Milton Keynes Music Festival, winning 2nd prize and a silver medal for his performance of Mira by Stephen Montague. Last November he was also awarded 1st prize in the Duet at the Beckenham Music Festival, together with (non-College) partner Tommy Wang, and 2nd prize in the Piano Recital class at Beckenham Music Festival.

Senior School Music teacher Iago Nunez commented, “We are very proud of both Ailsa and Justin and their impressive musical achievements. These two talented musicians play a big role in the music community at the College, performing in concerts and assemblies throughout the year, and we look forward to hearing them play in many more concerts in the future”.

Photo: Ailsa Munro