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HEARTS Week at Bristol Grammar School

Bristol Grammar School’s HEARTS Week once again highlighted the school’s commitment to Humanities, English, and the Arts. From poetry and video game design to hands-on art, HEARTS Week brought together pupils, staff, and alumni to celebrate creativity and expression.

The evening of Thursday 28 November saw over 40 students took part in the annual Verse Speaking poetry recital event at BGS. Special thanks go to guest judge and former BGS teacher Tom Biddle, who did a brilliant job of choosing from the impressive pool of students who made it to the finals this year. We are pleased to announce that the winners were:

  • Lekha (Years 7 & 8) for her reading of The Émigrée by Carol Rumens.
  • Alexander (Years 9 & 10) for his rendition of Engineers’ Corner by Wendy Cope.
  • Eva (Year 11 & Lower Sixth) for her powerful delivery of Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen.

Additionally, the inaugural prize for Best Original Poem was awarded to India for her moving piece Slipping Still, which will be featured in the latest issue of Between Four Junctions – BGS’s magazine for the written and visual arts. If you are inspired by the latest edition, the publication also welcomes submissions from BGS parents, carers, and alumni, as well as staff and students.

Also on Thursday, games designer and OB Baudelaire Welch visited BGS as the guest speaker for HEARTS Week. Baudelaire delivered an assembly speech to the students about the importance of games to their adulthood and professional life before providing an hour-long talk in the MacKinnon Theatre to the whole of Year 11 about the many ways that their studies at BGS in English, Classics, History and Creative Writing prepared them for a life designing narratives for video games. Many of the students were so inspired that they came to speak to Baudelaire in the school Library during the morning break, where Baudelaire provided further advice on how they could make the most of their skills. At the end of their visit, Baudelaire said: ‘It’s so meaningful that BGS and the HEARTS initiative are recognizing video games as an artform, and I know it would have meant the world to me when I was a teenager to explore them in this way. I hope that everyone who has been thinking about it realises that they have everything they need to start making their own small games and should just go for it and see where it takes them.’

Student feedback reflected the positive impact of Baudelaire’s visit:

  • “They were brilliant.”
  • “So fun and informative.”
  • “I really was captivated by their speech.”
  • “They were very influential on my opinion of video game designers and video games in general.”
  • “Inspirational and interesting that they completed their dreams and encouraged others to do the same.”

HEARTS Week concluded on Friday with a lunchtime art activity celebrating the whimsical art of Hirameki, or “Draw what you see.” Pupils and staff alike engaged in transforming random ink splots into imaginative drawings of birds, bugs, and more. While students seemed to excel in spotting shapes and patterns, staff also embraced the challenge with enthusiasm, making for a lively and chilly but joyful end to the week.