Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 5233 Adam Saleem (Head Boy) Speech on the School’s Sporting Achievements over the last twelve months: Another exciting year has seen Handsworth Grammar school continue to be a power house in the sporting world with individual and team successes in a range of sports, as well as seeing significant investment in the sporting facilities at the school and the school playing fields. As well as that we have seen the re-launch of the school’s inter-house programme which had lain dormant for many years and has now provided much fun, enjoyment and healthy competition to the pupils of the school in over sixty different events this year. We have had team successes in football where we won the Aston Leagues at both year 7 and year 8 level. The year 11 team won the Aston Cup and won the Super Cup final played at Bodymoor Heath, training ground of Aston Villa. The year 10 team won their league but were unfortunately beaten at Bodymoor in their final. Adan George in year 9 is now a regular member of the West Bromwich Albion Academy, and recently returned from a tournament in Latvia where he played against leading German and Eastern European teams. One of our former pupils, Corey Taylor is now a regular in the Aston Villa U21 squad and was actually on the first team bench for a league cup tie earlier in the season. Corey may yet get his chance to play in the Villa first team before the end of the season. He recently played for the U21s team which defeated the first team by 3-0. In cricket we reached the finals of the Warwickshire indoor league in two age groups but we were beaten by Camp Hill in the semi- finals of the 11 a side version of the game. We are continuing to produce some fine individual cricketers. Daniel Adil (year 9) is now playing for the Solihull and North Warwickshire team, and Ibrahim Qayyan has been selected for the Birmingham and District team. Most pleasingly, Shoaib Farooque swapped his goalkeeping gloves as a member of the year 10 football team to pick up a cricket bat, and was selected for the English Cricket Board as part of their international development squad. This is the Cricket equivalent to the England Schoolboys team. Shoaib trained through the winter at the University of Loughborough and continues to play for school and his local club Dartmouth CC. Individual success also came in Gymnastics for Kai Ho in year 9 who trains each week at the National Sports Centre in Lilleshall. Kai is nationally ranked and is now one of the Midlands’ finest young gymnasts. Our U15s basketball team made real progress winning the majority of their games and setting a high standard for younger players in the school to follow. Suffian Fadl –Elahi led the team superbly well supported by among others Bilal Saleem (my little brother, even though he is six feet three!). The School House competition was re-launched after a hiatus of many years. The five houses are now named after the stained glass window in the main school hall, big School, and are: Alfred, Galahad, Henry, Nelson and William. Over sixty different house events took place throughout the year with points being won by individuals and teams for their house. Sports included football, cricket, badminton, cross country, athletics, volleyball, dodgeball, and handball. We have also had a real surge of interest in table tennis with regular fixtures against other schools and new outdoor tables installed next to the science block which are used every morning before school, every break and lunchtime and every night after school. The house competitions have also included non- sporting competitions, such as spelling, photography, chess and music. Finally, we have seen significant investment in the sports facilities at the school and the playing fields. A significant amount of money was spent on improving the drainage of the playing fields and work will soon begin on improving the facade of the sports pavilion. New fencing has been installed to improve security and to improve the look of the whole facility. A new astro turf pitch has also been installed at the Romilly avenue games fields on the site of the old tennis court. The facility has been fenced in and has quickly become a favourite among the pupils. We have also had the Baker Street playground, astro-turfed and this too has become a very popular facility for pupils who wish to play sport, both recreationally and in competitive house matches. There is no doubt that sport plays a significant part of the culture of the school and it is great to see that for the first time in many years real investment has taken place in the sports facilities of the school. Sport remains an important part of the culture of the school and the significant investment in facilities led by the headteacher Mr Bird, is really helping to improve opportunities for sport and the standard of our sports people. Thank you. CLUBS AND SOCIETIES OLD BOYS’ DINNER school’s inter-house programme which had lain dormant for many years and has now provided much fun, enjoyment and healthy competition to the pupils of the school in over sixty different events We have had team successes in football where we won the Aston Leagues at both year 7 and year 8 The year 11 team won the Aston Cup and won the Super Cup final played at Bodymoor Heath, training The year 10 team won their league but were unfortunately beaten at Bodymoor in their final. Adan George in year 9 is now a regular member of the West Bromwich Albion Academy, and recently returned from a tournament in Latvia where he played against leading German and Eastern European One of our former pupils, Corey Taylor is now a regular in the Aston Villa U21 squad and was actually on the first team bench for a league cup tie earlier in the season. Corey may yet get his chance to play in the Villa first team before the end of the season. He recently played for the U21s team which defeated In cricket we reached the finals of the Warwickshire indoor league in two age groups but we were beaten by Camp Hill in the semi- finals of the 11 a side version of the game. We are continuing to produce some fine individual cricketers. Daniel Adil (year 9) is now playing for the Solihull and North Warwickshire team, and Ibrahim Qayyan has been selected for the Birmingham and Most pleasingly, Shoaib Farooque swapped his goalkeeping gloves as a member of the year 10 football team to pick up a cricket bat, and was selected for the English Cricket Board as part of their international development squad. This is the Cricket equivalent to the England Schoolboys team. Shoaib trained through the winter at the University of Loughborough and continues to play for school and his local club Dartmouth CC. The School House competition was re-launched after a hiatus of many years. The five houses are now named after the stained glass window in the main school hall, big School, and are: Alfred, Galahad, Henry, Nelson and William. Over sixty different house events took place throughout the year with points being won by individuals and teams for their house. Sports included football, cricket, badminton, cross country, athletics, volleyball, dodgeball, and handball. We have also had a real surge of interest in table tennis with regular fixtures against other schools and new outdoor tables installed next to the science block which are used every morning before school, every break and lunchtime and every night after school. The house competitions have also included non- sporting competitions, such as spelling, photography, chess and music. Finally, we have seen significant investment in the sports facilities at the school and the playing fields. A significant amount of money was spent on improving the drainage of the playing fields and work will soon begin on improving the facade of the There is no doubt that sport plays a significant part of the culture of the school and it is great to see that for the first time in many years real investment has taken place in the sports facilities of the school. Sport remains an important part of the culture of the school and the significant investment in facilities led by the headteacher Mr Bird, is really helping to improve opportunities for sport and the standard of our sports people. Thank you. ADAM SALEEM The appointment of Head Boy at Handsworth Grammar School is a great privilege, one that I am proud to have been chosen for. Having been at HGS for 7 years I have seen the school, staff and students grow and change and I have noticed that Sixth Form students are both ambassadors of the school and role models for the younger students. As a Sixth Former you are granted more independence in your studies and are given more responsibility as well as freedom. Motivation is a key aspect of A Level life, along with a focused mind-set where the staff aid you every step of the way. At HGS, you are guaranteed 100% from the staff in order for you to enter the university you have always dreamed of. A word of advice, from me to you, would be to use your time well while making sure you truly experience life as a Sixth Former at HGS. The school has a lot to offer alongside academia, sports and music facilities being an example and even those who would like to help the school voluntarily on open days and other key events. Make the most of this and I’m sure your time at HGS will be a pleasant one. Good luck! Head Boy’s Speech a side version of the game. We are continuing to produce some fine individual cricketers. Daniel Adil (year 9) is now playing for the Solihull and North Most pleasingly, Shoaib Farooque swapped his goalkeeping gloves as a member of the year 10 of their international development squad. This is the Cricket equivalent to the England Schoolboys team. Shoaib trained through the winter at the University of Loughborough and continues to play improving the facade of the sports pavilion. New fencing well as freedom. Motivation is a key aspect of A Level life, along with a focused mind-set where the staff aid you every step of the way. At HGS, you are guaranteed 100% from the staff in order for you to enter the university you have always dreamed of. A word of advice, from me to you, would be to use your time well while making sure you truly experience life as a Sixth Former at HGS. The school has a lot to offer alongside academia, sports and music facilities being an example and even those who would like to help the school voluntarily on open days and other key events. Make the most of this and I’m sure your time at HGS will be a pleasant one. Good luck! “Use your time well while making sure you truly experience life as a Sixth Former at HGS”