Awards Galore!

The end of term assembly brought a whole host of awards and accolades for Derby Grammar School’s senior pupils, including a Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award for sixth former Elliot Butterworth and the award of full colours to members of the 1st XV rugby team.

Dr Norris began by asking the pupils to recall her first ever assembly at the school back in September where she asked the pupils to set themselves goals for this term. She wondered who had achieved their goal, how many were making progress towards it, and how many were re-evaluating their goal. The end of the year, and end of term, are often times for contemplation and reflection, where you can ask yourself ‘am I where I want to be?’.

As well as reflection, the end of term assembly was about celebrating the pupils and their achievements. And Dr Norris began this with congratulating the entire cast and crew for the remarkable recent production of the Aladdin pantomime.

The Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils who had won bronze, silver and gold commendation certificates were applauded. This was followed by those who had recently completed their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. Four pupils received bronze awards and Elliot was congratulated on his successful completion of the Gold award. He will receive his certificate from the Duke of Wessex in London at a special ceremony for Gold award winners.

The three pupils who raised the most money in the recent Readathon were congratulated and recognised. Jai Sandhu and Adam Gentles in Year 7 and Matthew Jackson in Year 8 raised £175 between them. In total, over £400 was raised for the charity which supplies books to poorly children in hospitals.

Finally, we celebrated success on the rugby field. Mr Whitworth praised Year 7 on their commitment to training and their infectious enthusiasm. In particular Will Flaherty, Will Flear, James Hudson and Tomás Dickens were congratulated for their competitive nature on the rugby pitch.

For the under 13s, Mr Whitworth highlighted three boys in particular: Sajid Oleolo for running the full length of the field at Stafford to make a cover tackle; Jia Huang for his runs which have led to him being the leading try scorer; and Oliver Rushman who was consistent in all of his performances and showed great understanding of the game. He also praised James and Matthew Thompson who have made a big contribution this term with ball-carrying and tackling.

Some of the under 14s have played up in the under 15s this year and have made a big contribution. The commitment of George Hilliam and Jeffrey Baker to the game and training is rewarded with their Junior Colours. The under 15s have improved over the season and a number of these boys will be stepping up to play 1st XV rugby next year. The strong leadership qualities of James Briggs have helped tremendously in getting them ready for the challenge.

We award half colours and full colours to members of the 1st XV team who, despite being hit by injuries throughout the term, have had a core of players who have trained assiduously which has resulted in two things; improved skill levels and an improved togetherness.

Mr Whitworth finished his sports review of the term with a special thank you to Max Morley, this year’s rugby captain. He said: “In Max Morley we have had the best captain of any side I have coached here at Derby Grammar School.

Leaders come in many forms. There are those who lead by example and there are those who lead through earning total respect from their peers. Max works tirelessly both on and off the pitch and his ‘never-say-die’ attitude is something everyone can learn from. He inspires others to give their very best, and this is the quality of a great leader.”

Commendation Certificates

Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards

Colours