Friday 12 October 2007

What is BBGS culture? (Part 1)

A summary of findings gleaned from a questionnaire sent out to ex-BBGS girls in conjunction with the BBGS Centenary Celebration. This extract is taken from the Centenary magazine (May 1993).

As we look back over the 100 years, we often wonder if life in BBGS has changed since our grandmothers’ days.

What has changed? More importantly, what has remained?

All these were part of the BBGS lifestyle and culture. Some things might have changed now. But the heart and spirit that move each BBGS girl to give, to share and to make the school a great place surely has not changed.

Everlasting values…

Certain values such as discipline, responsibility, conscientiousness, respect, courtesy, loyalty and the fear of God are often associated with BBGS girls. As anyone, and these words will roll off her tongue quite spontaneously.

It is the BBGS culture to learn these values well. When you are taught, you listen, absorb and try your hardest to remember. When you address your teacher, you are naturally polite and respectful. Where there are rules on how to dress, you follow.

You learn right from the start of your BBGS life that there is God. And that this God is loving, although almighty. You learn the basis of life: that without God, all is in vain.

Choral Speaking

What activities are characteristic of BBGS days? Without a single doubt, choral speaking and fun fairs stand out regardless of which generation the BBGS girl comes from.

Choral speaking, which was started in 1958 by Miss Cooke, is a BBGS trademark. Year in, year out, as one old girl put it, we “practiced and practiced till our voices dried out”. BBGS would not be BBGS if choral speaking was not part and parcel of the school’s major activities. Listen to the pride in the voices of girls who have won choral speaking competitions during their schooldays. Despite the tedium of practices, the strain on the voice and the demands on the memory, every BBGS girl will attest to the memorability of choral speaking. Who doesn’t remember the importance of listening to the whisper of “one, two, three, stand” command for the third row to stand on the bench?

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