You get to make fun of someone when they get a rubbish hand and everyone really enjoys it! Arjun Sabherwal 9W Really Fun! Ronak Virani 8H GAME ON! Boardgame club has been running since September and has a strong following of students from across both Key Stage 3 and 4. Lots of the boys have been learning games they have never played before. Some favourites have been Uno, Fluxx, Dominion, Senryaku and Monopoly Deal. These are some things students have said about the club: If you want to get involved see Ms Drage in Room 27. Good talking point. Helps you learn new games. Zeshan Aziz 8H It’s fun and challenging and you need to be strategic. Louis Stevens 9N CONFIDENT IN PUBLIC? The value of being able to present yourself confidently and professionally cannot be over-stated. It truly is an important life skill. In every successful adult’s life there will almost certainly come an occasion when they have to give a presentation or make a speech. For some of us, this will happen multiple times. And so much is at stake. It’s a high profile, high pressure situation. How many of us wish we had had coaching in public speaking skills at school? Then we would have the confidence and the technique to do it well. So the Speech and Drama lessons offered at Handsworth Grammar School have benefits that our students will be able to take with them on their journey through life. They learn, for example, how to start a speech in an engaging, intriguing way; they learn how to structure it for maximum effect; they learn the art of stage movement and gesture. And so much more. LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) provides a structured and progressive range of examinations in Speaking in Public, Acting and the Speaking of Verse and Prose. Here at HGS, we tend to concentrate on the first of these three. This is partly because Public Speaking is where we see the greatest demand but also because it is hugely creative and interesting. Students have to create the speech themselves; they have to research it and then they have to put it together in a way that will have maximum impact. But Acting and the Speaking of Verse and Prose are also valued and enjoyable subjects. Youngsters immerse themselves in the life of the character they are representing and thus their creative and empathetic side is developed. Students and their parents often comment on a general increase in personable confidence and self-esteem that flows from taking LAMDA classes. The value of this is incalculable. As we all know, personal inter-action is critical to success in life. And really, that’s what this is all about. 46