UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE AT HANDSWORTH GRAMMAR SCHOOL The first ever University Challenge quiz competition took place on Wednesday 6th February 2019, when a team made up of the finest quiz brains that the Sixth Form could produce, took on the might of the staff team in a titanic struggle to prove whose quizzing intellect was the greater. The student team was made up of Team Captain Brandon Massih, Abdullah Shaikh, Daleep Bahra and Olivia McKnight, while the staff team was made up of Mr Kevin Organ, Ms Ping To, Mr Jawad Hussain, and Headteacher and Captain Dr Simon Bird. With a tense, nervous and somewhat partisan student audience filling Big School, the staff team quickly asserted their intellectual superiority over their younger opponents with Mr Hussain answering particularly well on Spanish- based music and the life of Justin Bieber! (This says much more about Mr Hussain’s taste in music rather than his general knowledge). The students responded in kind with superb answers about Sherlock Holmes’ even more brilliant brother Mycroft and the polymeric fibre Kevlar. However, the greater experience and knowledge of the staff on subjects ranging from the swimmer Duncan Goodhew, the poet Ted Hughes, and photosynthesis eventually gave them a memorable and decisive victory. Although the student team will have been disappointed to lose it is clear that they were somewhat awestruck by the brilliance of their opponents. This was a simple demonstration of the superb quiz brains on the staff as they gave their younger opponents a lesson in top quizzing. The youngsters from the student team need not feel too despondent as the staff team included two former pupils of the school, Mr Hussain and Ms To. It will be interesting to see if any of the student team follow suit and eventually rejoin HGS as members of staff to teach at HGS and become staff members of a future University Challenge team? This was a fantastic afternoon, and great fun. Well done to all for taking part, especially the staff and student quizzers, who made a major contribution to the success of the Enrichment day. Mr Conway What it was like returning to your old school in a different role? To see so many of my old teachers still at the school was awkward at first, but they made it very easy to settle in and I have enjoyed my time back at HGS immensely. Observing the dedication and work ethic of the HGS staff gave me a new found respect towards them. The new Learning Hub, Sixth Form building and the Astro Turf impressed me immensely; the school has long deserved such fantastic facilities. What was the school like when you were a pupil here? The pupils were very silly and mischievous but still strived towards academic achievement. HGS has always had a diverse mix of ethnicities and it is pleasing to see there is still a strong sense of community amongst the pupils. Dr Wallach helped me achieve my Biology A level; I liked the way he explained concepts and broke things down very meticulously. I am sure everyone would agree that I was a model student who did not get into any trouble. What advice would you offer to your younger self? Be more organised with my revision and communicate more with teachers. I would also tell myself the benefits of spending less time in the common room and more in the library! Mr J Hussain UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE TEAM MEMBERS What it was like returning to your old school in a different role? It was strange coming back to HGS knowing a few of my old teachers were still here. Our first conversations were awkward as I naturally reverted to calling them Sir or Ms. What was the school like when you were a pupil here? The current Art room was the Sixth Form study and common room. It didn’t have any computers then, unlike the new Sixth Form Centre, and we didn’t have as much space. However we did have the privilege of leaving school during our breaks and free periods. Mrs Walcott, my Maths teacher, was quirky but very good at explaining complex ideas to us. There were many great moments during my time here but they will remain unexposed! What advice would you offer to your younger self? I would spend less time in the common room and more time studying during my free periods. Ms To 12