Community

Community Service

Bristol Grammar School maintains strong links in Bristol and beyond through our community service activity which is open to students in Y10 and above. Students volunteer to spend Tuesday afternoons at their placement, these include nursing homes, special needs schools, nurseries, primary schools and charity shops.

Our students give time, energy and enthusiasm to their placements whilst benefiting themsleves. For some, it provides valuable experience in helping to make career choices. More importantly it builds a sense of responsibility, local awareness and duty.

During the academic year 2006/7 130 placements were filled, with 114 students attending for one term and 16 students continuing for two or more terms.

Charity Committee

The Charity Committee, under the leadership of Janis Thomson, works hard to promote awareness of world need by selecting three charities each year to support. The committee consists of pupils from Y9 upwards and staff, and meets to select charities and to organise ways of raising funds. An international charity is supported in the Autumn Term, a national one in the Spring Term and a local one in the Summer Term.

In 2006/7, For-Ethiopia was selected and £3,200 raised. This money was used on water and education development projects in the Addis Alem district, including digging a well and books and shelves for a school library as well as new classroom furniture.

The Children’s Trust was the Spring Term charity which provides care, therapy and education for children with acquired brain injury and life limiting conditions. £3,000 was spent on a multi-sensory room, £300 on birthday parties for the children and £200 on bedroom furnishings.

The Summer Term’s donation went to Nightstop in Bristol which provides family accommodation to homeless young people. Our £1,900 paid for one month’s running costs.

Fund-raising activities included a non-uniform day, cake sales (very popular!), head shaving, lunchtime busking in school and selling and delivering Valentine roses, to name just a few.

South African Link School

Since 1988, BGS has worked with a township school in Amogelang. BGS staff have visited the school and teachers from Amogelang have spent time with us. In addition, some of our Sixth Formers have spent part of their gap year working in Amogelang.

Amogelang is a large and successful South African secondary school. In recent years, we have made a collection of books and sports kit for which a local businessman has arranged transportation. The books have totally transformed the library from a room with virtually empty shelves to a well-stocked resource. We have also been able to send equipment for science labs which has allowed pupils to undertake practical work.

Each year, we have a soup lunch which raises a considerable sum of money for Amogelang but also raises awareness amongst our pupils of some of the challenges faced by our partners in South Africa.

'Education for all' project

BGS is a partner School in the 'Education for all' project.  You can read more about this project and the contribution BGS has made at : http://www.educationforallmorocco.org/get-involved/schools.html

BGS has already raised over £6000 for this project in the twelve months we have been involved and plan to continue our support to enable girls in Morocco to remain in education, through the building of boarding houses and  supporting the girls financially through their education. 

Primary Science Project

For the last two years, our biology department has developed a programme which provides opportunities for eight local primary schools to undertake investigative science work using equipment not normally available. Along with Sixth Form students we have worked directly with the children to provide them with stimulating hands-on science as well as follow-up activities.

Sharing Our Facilities

BGS shares its facilities with a range of users. This includes our climbing wall, the Astroturf at Failand, the sports hall for county athletics finals and the Ogden Trust National Business Competition to mention just a small selection.