We’ve had a busy time settling back into school, catching up with friends, starting our school work and welcoming our new Year 7 students, so we’re excited to say that school clubs/teams/bands are starting up again; all things music, sports, breakfast club, gardening club, DofE Bronze, library…..
Following on from their incredible performance at Glastonbury which hit our local news, Ezra Collective won The Mercury Prize last night.
This is such fabulous news and we are delighted for our ‘Old Boys’ and their band mates.
At the awards ceremony, Femi’s speech thanked people and organisations that gave support during their musical journey, and again, we are so proud to get a mention and know how our passionate music department was one of the various platforms that helped springboard these ex-students to where they are now. He emphasises how important all our local youth groups and services are in the UK, believing in and giving young people a chance.
Mr Escott, who is still teaching within our music department, was one of their music teachers when they were here in school and he recently got the chance to meet up with Ezra Collective where they reminisced about rehearsals in room C12 at Lower School, EGS music tours and concerts in our main hall; Mr Escott is pleased to say the boys still have very fond memories of their days at Grammar.
These brothers, Femi & TJ and their band mates are a shining example of what dedication and hard work can achieve, from the Year 7 Band to Mercury music prize-winners !
(YouTube clip 2.5 minutes long – a super delighted Ezra Collective moment and a lovely tribute to youth services inc an EGS mention at 1.35)
Ezra Collective is composed of drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso, bassist TJ Koleoso, keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, and tenor saxophonist James Mollison.
The group took the top prize over nominated artists including Fred Again, Arctic Monkeys and Raye!
There were so many activities going on during the run up to the end of term; department trips, tours, music concerts and activity days, finishing with our annual staff BBQ, where staff get the chance to relax and socialise, are thanked for their hard work and dedication throughout the year and, also to say goodbye to colleagues who are moving on.
We would like to wish all our students (including our prospective ones!), their families, our staff, LYDS Community Patrol, supporters and local community, a happy and healthy summer break.
So, until the results days in August…. ‘goodbye and stay safe’.
Here is a video snippet of some events that we didn’t get around to posting about just before the end of term….
Year 7 Activity Day
Year 8 Activity Day
Year 8 & 9 Maths & Computer Science Trip to Legoland
Year 10 Trip to Thorpe Park – 58 year 10 pupils were rewarded for their excellent behaviour and work throughout the year with a trip to ThorpePark. The day went superbly and all the boys and teachers enjoyed themselves and the glorious sunny weather.
Year 7 Choir perform for local residents – Our fabulous choir, EGS Voices, joined local choir “Adorned” at Ponders End Methodist Church for a performance for local residents. Our fabulous singing teacher Paula Thompson led the choir and they all sang brilliantly! We had lots of comments from the audience about how fantastic they were and looked forward to the next performance.
Year 7 perform at St Andrews – The Year 7 boys put on a fantastic show for the year 5 and 6 students at St.Andrews Primary School. They performed a couple of songs and then showed off the various instruments and answered questions about life in year 7. Mr Kendrick then spoke about the Sports scholarship and how students can apply and excel at Enfield Grammar. All of the young students were fully engaged, asking questions and thoroughly enjoying the boys performance
To keep up with all the latest happenings at Enfield Grammar School please check our school website or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
If you feel that you are or anyone else is in immediate danger, you must call the police on 999. You can also call Childline 0800 1111 or visit their website www.childline.org.uk , CAMHS also have a crisis line 0800 1510023.
If you have an urgent concern or query about school, please contact the school office via [email protected] or 020 8363 1095.
A huge congratulations to Emre Nalbantoglu who has been accepted into The Brit School starting in September 2023!
This is a huge deal for him and for our school as the Brit School has an incredible reputation with people such as Adele, Amy Winehouse, and the Feeling in their alumni. Students have to go through a rigorous audition process to get in and we are so proud that Emre has made the cut!
Emre Nalbantoglu has been a shining light in the Enfield Grammar School Music department since he arrived in year 7. He has performed on three European tours (would have been more if not for Covid) and at over a dozen concerts within and outside of school. He was a Battle of the Band winner in 2020 and 2023. He is a fantastic singer and pianist but is also accomplished on the bass, drums and guitar. He is a true talent and will be missed when he leaves this summer having just completed his GCSE exams. He is on track to do brilliantly in his exams.
We really want to celebrate his success and wish him all the best in his future, and also acknowledge the contribution that our school’s music department has had in helping him get to where he is today…. this doesn’t happen every day!
😀🎤🎼🎹🎸🥁
Quote from Emre:
As to my “music” life, I’ve been lucky enough to have many great role models throughout my years at EGS such as Joel Waters, (band instructor), Arran Ness, (my previous music teacher), Malcolm Escott and Simon Tate-Lovery. I owe a lot of my love of music to them, as they’ve been the ones to stick with me and my music since 2018.
My time at EGS has given me experience that will stick with me forever as I’ve been able to perform, write and, as cliché as it is, just freely be myself.
I will miss music at EGS but I’ll definitely be back for future concerts. I honestly don’t know where I specifically see myself in 5, 10 or 15 years but the one thing I know for sure is that I’ll be doing “music”. (another cliché statement but we’ll go with it) 😀
Did you see the article in last week’s Enfield Independent newspaper? If not, here is the full article online:
Musical brothers whose talent took them to Glastonbury donated some of their fee to EGS help the next generation of young musicians at their old school.
The band even gave the school a shout out during their Glastonbury performance, adding: “It’s important – give young people an instrument and give them a chance.”
Two of our ‘old boys’ were performing at Glastonbury this weekend and we even got a shout out when Femi spoke on the importance of offering a music pathway to our youth.
Femi and TJ Koleoso from Ezra Collective were fully dedicated members of the music department, playing in several bands and at all of our concerts and even winning the Battle of the Bands three years in a row!
Both play with Ezra Collective, a jazz fusion band, and Femi also drums with Gorillaz.
