of their group games, the next two matches against St Anthony’s and Lockers Park were crucial to the boy’s progression in the tournament. Fortunately the team won both with a goal from Max L-T in the former and Owen C in the latter to their opponents’ nil.

In the quarter final they faced Chigwell. It was a tense match which, after both sides failed to score, went to a penalty shootout.  Goalkeeper Freddie H saved two penalties while his team mates Yussif K and Owen C managed to score their penalties past the Chigwell keeper. With a final score of 2-1, the College team were through to the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals they faced Lochinver House. Yussif K and Owen C again scored the goals that put them through to the final. An excellent performance.

Up against Westbrook Hay in the final, the boys put in a tremendous performance. Miles L-T once again scored but Westbrook managed to get two late goals past the College defence in the second half to take the win 2-1.

After a great effort from the whole squad the boys were delighted for be through to the National Finals which will be held in Taunton on 4th November. David Herd, who coaches the team commented, “The boys went from strength from strength as the tournament progressed and were very unlucky in the final. They’ll work hard and hope to go one better at the National Finals.”

seconds during the FINA Swimming World Cup in Eindhoven earlier this week.

Training hard throughout the summer and feeling confident before her swim, the FINA Swimming World Cup is part of Elinah’s preparation for the Youth Olympic Games to be held in Argentina later this month where Elinah has qualified to swim in in the 50m Freestyle and Butterfly and the 100m Freestyle.

Elinah’s Eindhoven programme has included 4 events, the 50m Freestyle and Butterfly and the 100m Freestyle and Butterfly.

Einah’s training is supported at the College by the Elite Sports Programme which offers bespoke strength and conditioning training tailored to her individual and the requirements of swimming. Where necessary, Elinah’s academic timetable is adjusted to accommodate training time and expert coaching.

have all secured places with London Pulse after a full day of trials at the London Copper Box Arena – the London venue for the National Performance Netball league – the netball equivalent of the Premiership. London Pulse is one of just 10 National Performance League teams and Harriet will shortly take up her place in their U17’s High Performance Hub.

The girls reported that they all had “stomachs churning with nerves”. Competing against 200 other girls, they knew from the outset they would have to show determination and grit to gain one of the 90 available places.

Following warm-ups the girls were put through their paces. The standard was very high and all the games fast paced. Each games was just 10 minutes long and the girls played 3 or 4 games each, depending on the draw in the first 10 rounds. The short duration of each game meant only a very short opportunity to impress the selectors and after lunch all 3 girls played again. It was a long and tough day, playing against some very talented players and they each came away hoping they had done enough.

Just two days later, all three received an email from the selectors congratulating them on their performance and for securing a place in one of the Pulse U17 hubs. Harriet, Alex and Ellie are all very excited to start training.

Katie W is also celebrating her place in the County Academy. This is the second step on the England Netball Performance Pathway and is aimed at 14-16 year old’s who are looking to progress further in netball.

Elite players at the College are supported by an Elite Sports Programme which offers bespoke strength and conditioning training tailored to the individual and their sport, if necessary, an adapted timetable to accommodate training time and expert coaching.

and acceptance in their Houses and to liaise with other House members in the celebration of different cultures.

Diversity Prefects, Ella S. and Curvis E. addressed the Senior School during Assembly to introduce fellow pupils to their Diversity Ambassadors and explain their roles.  They said, “The world today is fast paced and vibrant – full of human beings from different backgrounds, cultures, ideals, identities, gender identities, religion and beliefs. In some ways, in many parts of the world, society is more accepting than ever before. However, it can also be a confusing and hateful place at times, where some may experience loneliness, isolation and fear.”

Ella and Curvis went on to explain the role of the Diversity Prefects and Ambassadors within the College Community was to ensure everyone in the school recognised and celebrated individuality and differences. Their mission is to ensure the College is a welcoming place, where everyone, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender or religion feels comfortable and valued, not only within themselves but within the College campus too.

During the coming year, the Diversity Team will be marking special occasions to celebrate diversity and bring about some positive change to last for generations to come. These occasions will explore human rights and equality and include October’s Black History Month, November’s Anti-Bullying Week and next Spring’s LGBT History Month. The team are also open to ideas from across the campus especially where it will improve the College provision for transgender or non-binary pupils at the College.

wordsmiths for schools and the public at large.

The Festival Open Events commence on Friday evening with music and narrative art as Chris Riddell, through the power of live drawing, illustrates his interpretation of the musical programme performed by Bishop’s Stortford College Orchestra and choirs.

On Saturday 2nd, award-winning authors Gillian McClure, Pippa Goodheart and Rosemary Hayes will discuss their best tips and tricks for writing children’s books. On Sunday evening, comedy connoisseur Robin Ince will attempt to examine the human condition through the prism of humour.

What’s in a name? Shakespeare fans will be blown away by Debs Newbold’simaginative and passionate re-telling of literary classics such as King Lear and Romeo and Juliet.

Be inspired to live life to the full by author and sportswoman Claire Lomas MBE as she shares her incredible story of courage, strength and determination, following a terrible accident, to rebuild her life. Wildlife author, photographer and cameraman Dr. Michael Leach will keep you entertained with his lively, informative and thought-provoking talk about his wild adventures.

On Wednesday, delve into the world of award-winning writer and illustrator, Sarah McIntyre, as she discusses her love of drawing and passion for her #PicturesMeanBusiness campaign. The evening continues as bestselling novelist, Diane Setterfield, discusses her new novel which is full of suspense, romance and mystery.

Each year, the Festival of Literature provides an opportunity to celebrate poetry, and this year we welcome Luke Wright, who has been called “one of the funniest and most brilliant poets of his generation”. Since 2006, he has written and performed nine spoken word shows and two verse plays, has won numerous awards including a Fringe First Award and began his campaign to become the new Poet Laureate, with his award winning show at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2018.

On Friday we welcome one of the world’s leading art critics and broadcasters, Andrew Graham-Dixon as he explores the hidden meanings and inspiration behind many of his favourite paintings including the work of wartime artist Paul Nash.

On Saturday 9th, chef, writer and presenter, Saira Hamilton will be cooking up a storm, and David Starkey, historian and TV and radio presenter will give us an analysis of the ever-changing marriage customs of the British Monarchy, including that of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. An evening not to be missed!

Illustrator and author, Jackie Morris, will bring the Festival to a close on Thursday 14th February as she brings to light the beauty of nearby nature through words and imagery, so often overlooked and taken for granted.

In addition to the rich variety of our Open Events, we will also welcome younger audiences to share in a variety of Schools Events, starring a number of popular children’s authors. This year, the line-up includes Chitra Soundar, Philip Reeveand Paul Cookson amongst others.

Another local schools favourite is the Bishop’s Stortford Picture Book Award, voted for by pupils from across the region, which will be presented by our very first Picture Book Award Winner, Sarah McIntyre.

The 2019 Festival of Literature programme includes something for everyone, and we warmly welcome you to Bishop’s Stortford College to celebrate storytelling in all of its forms.

Tickets for the 2019 Bishop’s Stortford College Festival of Literature go on sale on 1st October! Make sure you are following the Festival on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest news and updates! Just search for @BSCFestLit.

For full programme details, including times and ticket prices, please visit the College website.

And don’t forget to join us on Facebook and Twitter to be the first to hear all the exciting Festival news!

Old Stortfordians) was held in the College’s Memorial Hall which over 300 people attended. This was followed by a special birthday tea in the adjacent marquee.

Celebrations of this auspicious occasion continued the following day; at morning break, pupils from across the campus gathered to dance along to The Village People’s YMCA as they launched their Whole College fundraising activities in aid of ONE YMCA, Bishop’s Stortford. Almost 1000 pupils and staff joined the dance which was held in glorious sunshine on Middle Green.

Pupils also brought in specially baked ‘birthday cakes’ for a competition in the Prep School and Trotman House girls in the Senior School held a cake sale at lunchtime also aid of ONE YMCA, Bishop’s Stortford.

Celebrations will continue throughout the academic year. This term pupils will look forward to the burial of a time capsule, a visit from the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire in October and in November, a specially commissioned play will be performed by Senior School dramatists. Trees will also be planted around the College campus.

A limited edition, History of Bishop’s Stortford College is also in production and will be available to purchase at the College’s 10th Festival of Literature in February 2019. Further details are available on the College website.

Photo: Pupils doing the YMCA dance

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.