STUDENTS’ achievements have been celebrated at an annual prize presentation which recognised both the performance of pupils and their former headmaster.
This year’s sixth form leavers from Ripon Grammar School returned for Speech Day where their success as the highest performing A level students in Yorkshire and the North East was marked.
Most of the year group is now at university studying subjects from archaeology to zoology, at centres from Exeter to Edinburgh, with four at Cambridge University and one at Oxford University.
Among them are eight medics, one dentist, five vets, eight engineers and 11 historians, with others reading subjects as diverse as Chinese and criminology, performing arts and real estate.
The alumni were joined by students who excelled in their GCSEs in the summer and an audience of civic dignitaries, family members and staff.
Jonathan Webb, giving his first speech as the school’s new headmaster, paid tribute to the students and his staff team, and also to Martin Pearman, who retired this year after 13 years leading the school.
He said: “The school is well placed to continue forging ahead in the future. It seems clear to me that with such a great body of students, a strong and dedicated professional staff and the affection and support the school holds within the wider community, there is still a great desire to continue to build not just physically but also as a community.”
In his message to students who left the school this year, Mr Webb said: “The ties of one’s schooling are often there for many – maybe extremely thin, but they should never quite snap. Yes, we might never physically return, yes, we might lose old friends, but a good school which is based on strong values enters our soul, provides us with the formative lessons and experiences that never quite leave us. We should always retain affection and a memory.”
Mr Pearman was also recognised by Chair of Governors, Dr Peter Mason, who praised his “inexorable ambition”.
Dr Mason told the students: “Success doesn’t just happen by chance, it requires purposeful commitment. We hope that one of the legacies of Ripon Grammar School is that you will be eager to continue learning and serving, not just through school and university but for the rest of your lives.”
Guest speaker, the Reverend Professor David Wilkinson, principal of St John’s College, Durham University, congratulated the students on their success.
He added: “The thing that enables you to be better tomorrow, that enables you to get perspective, is not knowledge in itself, it’s wisdom. I want to encourage you to search for wisdom because life is about more than just exam success or 15 minutes of fame.”
Prizes were given to A Level students who achieved four A*-A passes and three A*s and a B grade, as well as to exceptional performers in individual subjects and for services to the school or community.
GCSE students who gained a C grade or higher in every subject were recognised, along with prizes for particular subjects.
In his report, Mr Webb said the school had grown to its biggest roll ever with 936 pupils.
Its A Level results of 59% of all grades being A, or better, put it in the top ten per cent of schools nationally for adding value.
At GCSE, 64 per cent of all grades were A*-A or, in mathematics and English, the new 9-7 top grades. Of only 2,000 students nationally to gain all grade 9s where available, nine were from Ripon Grammar School.
Mr Webb thanked staff for helping the school to achieve an outstanding judgement from Ofsted for its boarding provision and all staff and students for raising more than £11,000 for the Candlelighters charity during Charity Week.
PRIZES FOR GCSE WORK
| The Kersey Cup for Art | Emma Money |
| The Emily Taylor Memorial Prize for Creative Writing | Poppy Jagger |
| The Shepherd Prize for History | Joseph Horner |
| The Elsie Peckett Memorial Prize for Science | Marina Mitra |
| The Jim Spence Memorial Prize for Science | Thomas Mewes |
| The Bishop Burroughs Prize for Religious Studies
The Cathedral Music Prize The Professor Hullah Prize for Poetry |
Oluwasolabomi Sowole
Harvey Leak-Smith Tabitha Milton |
PRIZES FOR ADVANCED LEVEL WORK
De Grey Awards – Major (4 A*/A not including General Studies)
Laura Bosomworth
Alexander Cavell-Taylor
Emily Evans
Katherine Fraser
Francesca Haldane
Oscar Lyons
Patrick Moon
Sophie Ryan
William Stobbs
Ross Sullivan
Jonathan Tanner
Katie Veitch
Benjamin Wayne
Lucy Wicks
De Grey Awards – Minor (3A*/A and 1B not including General Studies)
Olivia Brooksbank-Laing
Euan Clyde
Mary Cox
Andrew Garner
Charlotte Knowles
Zoe Langham
Dana Turner
Henry Whitworth
| The Bruce Oldfield Prize for Art and Design | Lydia Poole |
| The Lewis Prize for Biology | Elke Morgan |
| The School Prize for Business Studies | Oluwatoni Babayemi |
| The J H Brown Memorial Prize for Chemistry | Jennifer Unwin |
| The Alan Newton Prize for Classics | Lucy Wicks |
| The School Prize for Economics | Roscoe Savage |
| The School Prize for Design Technology | Rebecca Kent |
| The Ethel Allison Memorial Prize for English Literature | Katherine Fraser |
| The Constance Gilbey Prize for French | Susannah Dinning |
| The Sir Maurice Brayshay Prize for Further Mathematics | Jonathan Tanner |
| The School Prize for Geography | Mary Cox |
| The Jolly Memorial Prize for History | Sophie Ryan |
| The Wolseley Prize for ICT | Patrick Lindley |
| The Mary Johnson Prize for Mathematics | Joseph Haynes |
| The Stones Prize for Physics | Ross Sullivan |
| The School Prize for Psychology | Laura Laycock |
| The School Prize for Spanish | Saffron-Rose Dean-Stone |
| The School Prize for Religious Studies | Katie Veitch |
TROPHIES and SPECIAL AWARDS
| The David Fisher Prize for the Head of School House | Oluwatimilehin Oniwinde |
| The Marguerite Terry Prize for the Head of Johnson House | Lucy Coates |
| The Ripon High School for Girls’ Jubilee Prize for the Head Girl (2017/18) | Annissa Cook |
| The Old Riponians’ Prize for the Head Boy (2017/18) | Benjamin Pimley |
| The Poetry by Heart Trophy | Grace Eyles |
| The Althea Charlton Trophy for Drama | Joshua Belward |
| The Brian Stanley Cup for Engineering | John Ashton |
| The Dyson Trophy for Commitment to Music | Sofia Robinson |
| The Operatic Society Trophy for Contributions to School Music | Joy Sutcliffe |
| The Deborah Williamson Trophy for Sport | Phoebe Greensit |
| Miss Cullingworth’s Prize for Progress in Sixth-Form Studies | Jessica Rockey |
| The Harrogate Borough Council Prize for Progress in Sixth-Form Studies | Joseph Haynes |
| The Cathedral Prize for Service to the Community | Zoe Langham |
| The Rotary Award for Service above Self | William Stobbs |
| The Da Costa Award for Outstanding Female Sporting Achievement | Laura Bosomworth |
| The Da Costa Award for Outstanding Male Sporting Achievement | Cameron O’Donnell |
| The Gladys Hall Memorial Rose Bowl for Service to the School | Emily Evans |
| The Philip Mortimer Trophy for Service to the School | Jonathan Tanner |
| The Bill Latto Trophy for All-Round Achievement | Laura Bosomworth |
| The Robert Atkinson Memorial Trophy for Outstanding Achievement | Jennifer Unwin |