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Schools & Colleges
After thirty years service to
Bromsgrove School, Head
Groundsman, Eric Burford, aims
to retire later this year.
Here, he talks about his time at
the school and the improvements
he has made during his tenure.
Eric Burford
86 PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012
Report by Laurence Gale MSc
ERIC’s not
been idle!
There’s a revolution going on
at Bromsgrove School. No,
the pupils aren’t revolting -
well, not in the
warmongering sense - rather,
a new, some might say, trendy
Headmaster with a vision to make
the school one of the best
independents in the country.
The Headmaster in question is
Chris Edwards MA (note, Chris, not
Christopher), who has been
overseeing a build programme of
titanic proportions.
Hard on the heels of eighteen
new science laboratories (opened in
2011), come two new residential
buildings for senior girls (all ensuite),
a new Prep School boarding
house for pupils aged 7-13, an
immense sports arena, a fitness
suite, dance studios, a spectacular
hospitality suite with dining
facilities, a cafe for parents and
pupils, a refurbished swimming
pool and a brand new, landscaped
entrance to the Senior School. All
are due to be completed this
summer.
After more than 450 years of
being a successful, but relatively
small school, Bromsgrove has, in
the last few years, become one of
Britain’s largest independents, with
1,600 day and boarding pupils
aged two to eighteen. That growth
in pupil numbers has now been
wedded to the build programme.
There will be no further increase
in pupil numbers; these spectacular
new developments are for the
current role. The state of the art
sports venues will also be used by
the local and wider community
(indeed, national teams have
already booked in to train), whilst
the new residential accommodation
gives weekly boarding options for
local pupils aged 7 to 18.
The ongoing work, and the
school’s successes, are the subject of
a regular ‘Headmaster’s Blog’ on
the website. Humorously written (a
read is recommended), Mr
Edwards’ character and passion
shine through the words in, what
appears to be, a considered attempt
to take the ‘stuffiness’ out of
reporting independent school life.
OFSTED continues to rate the
Prep and Senior School
“Outstanding”, and The Good
Schools Guide says Bromsgrove
“inhabits the academic
stratosphere”. But it also says
Bromsgrove pupils are
“refreshingly free from false
sophistication”.
Notable alumni include actors
Ian Carmichael and Trevor Eve,
rugby players Andy Goode, Ben
Foden and Matt Mullan, Dire
Straits John Illsley, and the author
of the Horse Whisperer, Nicholas
Evans.
Bromsgrove School is set in 100
acres of tree-lined grounds, and has
extensive sports facilities, including
two floodlit artificial pitches,
floodlit netball/tennis courts,
swimming pool, two sports halls,
one with seating for 500 spectators,
all-weather athletics track and
numerous grass pitches.
The grass pitches are dedicated
to rugby, hockey and football, with
a number of the pitches becoming
outfields for cricket in the summer
term.
There are six rugby pitches at the
main school and four at the Prep
school site, three of these are
converted to football during the
spring term. The school has a
number of cricket squares dotted
around the campus. The main
square, served by the picturesque
Victorian pavilion, provides twentyone
Boughton Loam strips. The
remainder provide between three
to seven strips catering for all age
groups.
The school offers a wide range of
sports and activities, giving
opportunities to participate at a
competitive level in rugby, hockey,
netball, athletics, badminton,
basketball, clay pigeon shooting,
cricket, cross-country, fencing, golf,
rounders, football, squash,
swimming and tennis.
The grounds are regularly used
by visiting teams for training,
including Worcester Warriors RFC,
England Netball and local hockey
teams.
Eric Burford is Head
Groundsman who, this year, after
completing thirty years service, will
take retirement. Interestingly, his
predecessor, George Harris, also
completed thirty years service, as
did the head groundsman before
him, ‘Gibby’ Gibson. So, the new
boy better be prepared for the long
haul!