WELCOME ...FROM THE HEADMASTER The 2019 edition of The Bridge Magazine is full of articles, features, reports and stories of celebration, success and achievement. This is what HGS is truly about and demonstrates what positive power education can have on a community. We are also an institution who has maintained the best of our traditions and heritage whilst embracing modern technology and educational thinking. This is enabling us to further develop our collaboration across the Academy Trust, Outreach work and Enrichment so that we are even more of a force for good in our local community as well as across Birmingham and the surrounding area. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms Elaine Brown, Mr Adam Kilcullen as well as Rebecca England and Gus MacDonald at Ammac Design for all their expertise and support in bringing this publication to print. Finally, I would like to end by thanking Professor Joe Biddlestone for his three decades of loyal service to HGS as a Governor. HGS has benefitted hugely from his erudition and wisdom. Haec Olim Meminisse Iuvabit. Dr Simon Bird, Headmaster WE HAVE LIFT OFF! The Bridge 2019 has been launched and hopefully it will be out of this world! I may have felt I needed longer to plan-et (!) but I am over the moon that it is finished and hope that you will enjoy reading all the articles that I hope encapsulate another action-packed school year. Thank you for all your stellar contributions! As you can tell from the puns in the opening paragraph this issue is also a celebration of the giant leap taken by mankind 50 years ago this month. If we had been breaking up for the summer holidays back in 1969 we would have been excitedly anticipating Neil Armstrong’s ‘small step’ and I hope we have managed to capture some of the atmosphere of that momentous occasion. The eagle has landed! Ms Brown 2