Over 100 Years Of Dedicated Service July 2011

Long-serving members of staff who are sadly leaving us – but who can claim a combined total of nearly 100 years’ service at BRGS - are

Mrs Taylor Deputy Head,
Mr Ward (German Teacher),
Mrs Smith (Head of PE),
Mr Godden (French teacher),
Mrs Weir (Chemistry teacher) and
Mrs Pritchard (Psychology teacher).

Mrs Smith, Head of PE, who joined us in 1983 and has remained with us an astonishing 28 years. Alongside Mr Baird, Mrs Smith has increased sporting provision hugely.

Mrs Smith excels personally in tennis and netball. It is unfortunate that we have never had the facilities for her to pass on her expertise on the tennis court, but we do thank her for the hours spent coaching netball teams which have always won local, county and north-west honours and which have taken us right to the top of the national honours board.

Mr Godden joined us as Head of French in 1990. He came with a wealth of experience and a brilliant understanding of French and Spanish and quickly established himself as an invaluable member of the modern languages’ department and as an excellent tutor, particularly in the sixth-form where his own educational background stood him in an excellent position to advise and guide those applying for Oxbridge.
Clear boundaries in his classroom, a wry sense of humour and a thorough approach to his teaching have ensured a deep respect in students and colleagues alike – and he will be missed. We thank him for dedicating so much of his career to BRGS and wish him a long and happy retirement.

Mrs Weir joined BRGS initially in the 1970s.

With a professor of chemistry as a father, we knew how well qualified Miss Goodwin (as she was then) would be to teach chemistry to our young people. Her fair but firm approach and brilliant sense of humour quickly made her a favourite with students and staff alike. Mrs Weir has spent all of her teaching career at BRGS – excluding a break to bring up her daughter and twin boys - nearly 40 years!

Mrs Pritchard came to BRGS with a distinguished career in teaching post-16 and has contributed hugely to the skills and expertise of the department. Though diminutive in size, her students soon realised she could pack a smart punch! They love and respect her for her understanding of her subject and for the very practical examination advice she delivers. We shall very much miss her input to BRGS life and her sense of fun – and we hope she enjoys a restful and long retirement doing all the things she wants to do

Our good luck and best wishes go to our other two teachers who are moving on to new roles: Mr Newby (science teacher) and Miss Magill (MFL teacher).

Our sincere thanks go to Brenda Gardner who has worked in a number of guises at BRGS for a quarter of century. Her roles have ranged from managing the welfare team to more recently co-ordinating the smooth running of our primary school masterclasses. Brenda has always gone the extra mile for students and staff at BRGS and we know that she will keep in touch.

Thank you also to Susan Caygill who has been a committed member of the science technician team and who is retiring at the end of the summer term.

At the end of the autumn term, we said goodbye to two other long term members of staff.

Mrs Taylor's Last Day

Friday 17th December marked the end of an era in BRGS history as Mrs Taylor, Deputy Head, stepped down from her post after a career spanning 24 years at BRGS.

Our end of term assembly provided the perfect opportunity for Mr Morris to pay tribute to the enormous contribution which Lynda has made to thousands of students at BRGS.

As the Pastoral Deputy Head she has supported innumerable young people through their ‘ups and downs’ and has always gone the extra mile to ensure that young people are happy and well-supported at BRGS. MrMorris spoke of our last Ofsted inspection in which the school was graded ‘outstanding’ in relation to the personal development and well-being of students which the Head attributed to Lynda’s tireless work.

A tradition at BRGS is for long-serving members of staff to choose a reading or a piece of music which they would like in their ‘final assembly’. Mrs Taylor chose Tennyson’s ‘Ulysses’ which brought a tear to the eye when read by English teacher Mr Ventress. A couple of surprise pieces of music were also included: Handel’s ‘Zadok the Priest’ and by way of a complete contrast, Meatloaf’s ‘Bat Out of Hell’ - two of Mrs taylor's favourites but for very different reasons!

Over lunch staff past and present, governors and friends gathered for formal speeches to recognise Mrs Taylor's dedication to BRGS. One of her many responsibilities was organising school assemblies and the school’s ethos and values were cleverly encapsulated and embedded in all of her assemblies. However, in order to look over the lectern when delivering assemblies, she always stood on a very thick dictionary.

Much to her bemusement this dictionary disappeared a couple of days before her retirement only for Mr Elkington, Deputy Head, to present it to her as a gift during her leaving speeches!

Mr Morris made a further speech to staff and concluded that ‘over twenty eight years in education there has been no one who better exemplifies the concept of ‘finding one’s vocation’ than Lynda.’

A number of former students and staff contributed to a surprise book of ‘good luck messages’ presented to Mrs Taylor. Some of the messages are included below to illustrate the high regard in which she is held:

“What superb commitment, enthusiasm and love you have given to BRGS and its pupils. You have been a key figure in its success through your nurturing approach and high expectations.”

“Mrs. Taylor was a bundle of fun and her lessons were a joy. She is an excellent teacher and what a good sport!”

“Your legacy amongst other things will be staff and students that were well supported and looked after.”

“I will always remember that you cared for the pupils whoever they were and whatever they had done. BRGS would not be where it is today without you. It will miss you.”

Never one to rest on her laurels, since retiring Mrs Taylor has taken up a new role working for Manchester University with their initial teacher trainees and is still teaching her sixth form students at BRGS until May.

She has even managed to squeeze in a fantastic and well-deserved trip to see the northern lights and is planning to spend more time visiting her son, Richard, in Cambridge and holidaying in the Philippines to see her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren.

We wish her every happiness and our loss does not feel too unbearable as we know that she will keep in touch with all her friends at BRGS.

Auf Wiedersehen Mr. Ward

Mr Ward retired at the end of the Christmas term and had made a sterling contribution to BRGS over 33 years and comments from former students sum up the impact which he has had on thousands of former students:

"My favourite teacher of all time retiring! You were a true inspiration to me taking me through to my German A’ Level and a couple of language prizes on the way.”

“I have very happy memories of German and Russian classes at BRGS with Herr Ward!”

“You ignited a passion in me, not just for the German language, but for all languages...their history, usage and idiosyncrasies. I am eternally grateful.”

“Thank you for being such an inspirational teacher and for giving me my love of German. I am also a German teacher now in Leeds. I remember those fantastic trips to Solingen – how brave you were to take us to Germany and sorry for soaking you on the log flume in Phantasialand!”

Over 100 Years Of Dedicated Service July 2011