The Year 9 Cricket team beat King Edward VI Aston by 8 wickets in the semi-final of the Birmingham Cup. HGS bowled KE Aston out for 83 including 5 run outs. Captain Ibrahim Qayyum led the chase scoring 24 runs. Next stop: Finals Day! Congratulations.
Congratulations to Camara Talburt (Yr 9) and Joe Feiven (Yr 12) who have been accepted into two of the top Birmingham Schools’ Ensembles. Camara auditioned for the Birmingham Schools Training Jazz Ensemble but was actually given a place in the main Jazz Ensemble. Likewise, Joe auditioned for the Birmingham Schools’ Concert Orchestra but was offered a place in the Symphony orchestra.
The Birmingham Schools’ Jazz Ensemble comprises 18 performers and is directed by Dr. John Ruddick who is the founder and director of the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra – one of the UK’s top Big Bands. Sir Simon Rattle is the Patron of the Birmingham Schools’ Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra’s conductor is Michael Seal who is also associate conductor of the CBSO. The orchestra has performed in the Royal Festival and the Royal Albert Halls in London, as well as the Adrian Boult and Symphony Halls in Birmingham. Recent concert tours have included Barcelona (2010), Estonia (2012) and Germany in 2014.
With wish them every success in their new ensemble.
Congratulations to Mohsin Gandhi who has received recognition as Handsworth Grammar School’s ‘Physicist of the Year’, awarded for outstanding attainment in his studies. Prizes were provided by the Ogden Trust and were awarded by Professor Martin Freer, Head of the School of Physics and Astronomy, at an evening ceremony at Birmingham University. Recipients, together with their guests, enjoyed a tour, refreshments and a talk on Astrophysics during the event.
Mr Jones
On Wednesday 29th June, 29 other students and I from Year 9 went to Aston University to hear a Chemistry Lecture. During the lecture, we saw many different experiments which mainly showed the changes of states of matter and how we use energy to make electricity. I learnt many different things, such as why carbon dioxide cannot be a liquid unless it is under a lot of pressure. The most exciting experiment was the dry ice experiment. The lecturer put dry ice into a tub of water and we saw how the solid carbon dioxide sublimed and became carbon dioxide in its gaseous form which then escaped from the water. I found this fascinating to watch. The most enjoyable moment of the day was when the Lecturer was showing and explaining to us how lowering the temperature decreases the resistance of a wire. He showed us with an experiment. He put a coil of copper wire attached to a light and a power source into a bowl of liquid nitrogen. The longer it was in there, the brighter the light became. We found out that it got brighter because the resistance of the wire was lowered. It was a great day and a very interesting lecture.
Ryanvir Raulia 9H
On the 29th of June 2016 the Science Department arranged a visit for 30 pupils in Year 8 to attend the ‘Sunshine Lectures’ at Birmingham University. This was an educational visit that was both fun and enlightening. The University itself was very big and we did not have time to go and look at all of the separate sections of it. We attended 2 one hour lectures.
At about 11 am we took a coach to the University and we arrived without delay. Due to the unfortunate weather some of us got wet but nonetheless we made it on time for our first lecture. This was about ‘Bio-mechanics and Computer Science’. We explored the workings behind our everyday smart devices. We also had a chance to question how very little organisms in nature can actually do very complex things in their lifetime.
Uncovering the logic behind a device that can tell you where you are in the World and navigate you through many routes using consistent algorithms, we continued through lecture 1. Every pupil learnt how satellites are used for communication and how all of this network remains stable. The lecture was well-delivered with a chance of questions at the end. All of us ended up learning something new that had seemed quite complex at the start.
The second lecture was about the ‘Science of Hot & Cold’, with an introduction about the Physics Department at the University. There are many different subjects within Physics like quantum physics, nano-physics and so on. Many experiments using liquid nitrogen were carried out as the liquid form of nitrogen is very cold. We found out that extreme temperatures can change material properties which can be useful to scientists. This is how super-conductors like yttrium barium copper oxide were discovered. These materials are very useful as they allow charges to flow very easily, hence the name ‘super conductor’. We volunteered to answer many questions. All of us were also offered the chance to feel some liquid nitrogen on our hands. We finished off the lecture with a bubble experiment where liquid nitrogen was added into a dilute washing up liquid. The bubbles were extreme and poured out of the container.
After the lectures we headed back to school. We arrived before the bell and finished off this great trip. The very next day we studied the terms heat and temperature as part of our classwork. For people that went on the trip this lesson was indeed easy! I would like to thank the Science Department and, in particular, Mr. Hussain for arranging this exciting day out and helping us to broaden our knowledge.
Jasbinderbir Singh, 8 Galahad
