Mrs Katherine James (Chair of The Association)

Pictured – Mrs Katherine James with her daughter Liv (Year 5)

On behalf of The Association, I would like to welcome all parents, both returning and new, to this academic year. For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Katharine James and I am the current Chair of The Association. I have been a parent at the school for three years now and have one daughter, Liv, in the Junior School. The Association is made up of a group of parents and teachers from a cross section of the school, covering both the Junior and Senior Schools, and is now entering its tenth year following the formal opening of BGS in 2010. The committee currently has 22 members, including the titled positions of Vice Chair, Victoria Brading; Treasurer, Tina Beddoes and Secretary, Emma Forbes-Laird.

I am under no illusion that this year is going to be a very different experience for the whole school community, and as such, the events and activities that we would otherwise be hosting to bring our school community together will not be able to take place. In a normal year, as many of you know, we would have already hosted our fantastic Junior School event, Games On The Lawn and would be looking ahead to forthcoming events such as the popular wine tasting evening, trips with our theatre club and of course our annual Christmas Fayre. Unfortunately, the current restrictions are preventing all events from going ahead.

However, whilst we might not be able to meet in the usual manner, we are keen to ensure our sense of community within the school remains as vibrant and positive as ever, and we are looking at ways we can continue to bring new and existing parents together. Plans are already afoot to bring additional festivity to the school towards the end of this term, with Junior School girls being invited to design their own Christmas cards. We are looking at ways that we can bring the girls Christmas Shopping event to life in a remote, or online capacity, after its popular inauguration at last year’s Christmas Fayre. We would also be keen to hear from anyone who would like to get involved with planning any form of virtual event for parents, whether that be a quiz, gin tasting evening or Christmas wreath making workshop.

We would love to hear from anyone who is interested in joining The Association, either as a committee member, a year group or class rep or just to help with a specific event; you are all very welcome! Please email us at [email protected]