Over the Easter holidays, I attended the New Sounds Jazz Workshop at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire for my second year in a row. Led by some of the UK’s most amazing jazz musicians, and special guest Adriano Adewale, it took place over four days, with a final ‘musical sharing’ on the last day. The course was very selective and was only open to 32 participants aged between 11 and 18. As I did piano last year, to expand my musical knowledge, I applied for drums this year to ensure I would make the most of this opportunity.

The course was very structured with us starting every day with a short warm up for half an hour, consisting of usually vocal practice but also some rhythm as well, then moving on to do a 1 ½ hour ensemble session every day before lunch. After, we would always have a jam session where the tutors would basically host a jazz concert for us for free! Then, for the first three days of the workshop, we did a ‘plenary’ session whereas a whole collective, we did something to expand our skills, such as conduction or advanced rhythm (which practically killed my hands). This would usually be followed by another ensemble session and then various types of sessions per day to finish, such as a tutor Q&A where we could ask questions about performance or working in the industry, or a whole group listening session, etc. However, the final day was structured slightly differently, with us doing another ensemble session immediately after our jam session and then our concert, where each group played a variety of jazz pieces.

In our ensembles, we learned how to play a variety of pieces. However, as the whole course was done without sheet music of any sort, this was done by ear, with us using musical intervals to learn melodies and essentially improvising our parts. For me, this would involve making my own drumbeats and essentially just going along with what the rest of the band was playing, while ensuring I would be staying on time with them. We learned ‘Take the Coltrane’, a jazz standard (basically a piece that is really well known in the world of jazz), and ‘You Ain’t Gonna Know Me ’Cos You Think You Know Me’, a piece by Louis Moholo (who was a drummer), but we also composed our own song as a group which we played in the final concert! During the ensemble sessions, I especially learnt about musical modes, which was something I wasn’t so confident on before, but now I feel like an expert in them!

On the second day, we were also joined with another special guest, Jas Kayser, who is currently the drummer for Lenny Kravitz on his tour! This was a surreal experience, as we all got to learn one of her songs during the plenary session she hosted, and had previously come to our ensemble session to give me (and the other percussionist/drummer in our group) a personal two-on-one percussion lesson which was amazing! We had a Q&A with her where she answered many of our questions about life performing as part of a concert tour and what being a performer in the music industry really entails, which was super helpful!

To end the workshop, our final musical sharing consisted of all the different groups (there were four) playing some of the pieces that they learnt. Overall, I really enjoyed this workshop, and while it meant sacrificing a bit of revision time for my GCSEs, I can certainly say that it was worth it and I will definitely apply next year. I would highly encourage that if you are also a musician and even have the slightest interest in jazz, you should definitely do this course (it’s free!) next year, as in the total timespan of 7 days (spread over two years), I feel like a master of jazz music and I believe that you could be the same!

Adam (Year 11)

We are pleased to share the Family Hub’s Togetherness wellbeing update with our school community. Togetherness is an online learning platform developed by psychologists and health practitioners, offering accessible support and guidance around emotional health and wellbeing. The programme is proven to have a positive impact on mental health, behaviour, and relationships.

We hope parents and carers find this resource helpful and informative.

Please click here to view it.

Brining the term to an end, sixty of our younger musicians performed at our annual Instrumental Progress Evening. Big School was packed with family and friends supporting our young players. The concert started with a rousing performance on dhols by Taaj Singh and Dhanveer Mahal. We enjoyed solo items from Aman Chopra (flute), Jovan Sangar (piano), James Easun (saxophone), Luke McKinnon (French horn), Ibrahim Khan (clarinet), Aryan Nangley (piano), Yahya Akeel (classical guitar), Ali Rahaman (trumpet), Sebastian Fernando (piano), Jess Luke Bodah (classical guitar), Gurvir Singh (trumpet), Sahib Sandhu (piano), Jacob Chinnaiyan (saxophone), Ajai Singh (tenor horn), Vinayak Bansal (piano) and Ishaan Parwana (classical guitar). We also heard the beginner brass ensemble, woodwind, table and string trios as ell as the lower school woodwind ensemble and beginner keyboard ensemble. The boys did a fabulous job.

Dragos in year 7 wrote:

Instrumental Progress was an amazing evening where everyone got to express themselves through music like duets, solos and ensembles.  It was a mesmerizing concert with famous feats, classical music and pop songs! The experience was truly excellent. There was a lot of variation of instruments like strings, woodwind and brass all of the groups being led and taught by excellent music teachers! This was an amazing opportunity and I can’t wait for next year!

We look forward to hearing our boys in July in the Summer Concert. We hope you can join us too!

Martin & Leah Ward

Click here to view more photos in the gallery.

King Edwards VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys have been working with Pathbuddy for almost two years now.  Ex-student, Ash Borikar and his team are developing this exciting platform.  They are currently  supporting our Year 12 cohort with post 18 applications, including university applications, gap years, apprenticeships and starting the world of work.    Once students have input their details, including areas of interest or specific apprenticeship or university courses, the platform provides them with a personalised path from which they complete activities which will prepare them for the application process for all sorts of post 18 courses.   This includes activities such as admission tests, analysing relevant case studies, interview practise and support with UCAS personal statements.   This has been augmented with group meetings when students meet a mentor to receive support and guidance with a specific discipline, and then one-to one meetings.  This is a unique approach to delivering careers information and guidance

On Wednesday this week,  our Year 12 students had another session with Pathbuddy.  This week students were supported with information and guidance for the following admissions tests:

University Clinical Aptitude Test

Test of Academic Reasoning for Admissions

Law National Aptitude Test

Engineering and Science Admissions Test

Test of Mathematics for University Admissions

Sixth Term Examination Papers

These cover the main disciplines our students are interested in, but students interested in careers in aviation, teaching and psychology, were also supported.   Students engaged well with the mentors and Pathbuddy platform. They said some of the practice questions were too easy, which is typical of our very bright and aspirational students!  Pathbuddy will be back later in the summer term, with tougher questions, so students who will face admissions tests will be well supported for these which take place during the Autumn.

Cyber Hygiene Without Borders: Year 7 Students Reconnect with Wolmer’s Boys’ School

Year 7 students at Handsworth Grammar School recently took part in a second international Cyber Hygiene lesson with Wolmer’s Boys’ School in Jamaica, focused on global digital awareness. Delivered live via Microsoft Teams, the lesson brought together a new cohort of students to explore cybersecurity through shared experiences and student-led discussion, highlighting that digital risks are constant and borderless.

Founded in 1736, Wolmer’s Boys’ School is the second oldest school in the Caribbean, with a distinguished alumni community that includes a Prime Minister, 24 Rhodes Scholars, and several Olympic champions. This collaboration provides a valuable opportunity for students to connect with peers from different lived experiences, while recognising the common challenges young people face online.

A standout feature of the lesson was a student-led Q&A, led by Anania and Giovanni (8 Henry), who confidently guided discussions on school life, community, and national identity. Their leadership helped create an inclusive and engaging environment, encouraging students from both schools to contribute and share their perspectives.

The use of a live Cyber Threat Map helped students see the scale of global cyber activity in real time. Many were surprised to learn that over 14 million attempted cyberattacks occur each day, around 160 every second. As one student reflected, “the internet is always under attack,” reinforcing the importance of staying alert online.

Students also discussed how they use technology in their daily lives, from social media to communication platforms, and shared their experiences of scams and online risks. An interesting moment came when students realised that while terms such as “phishing” may not always be used universally, the risks themselves are widely understood.

The lesson concluded with practical tips to stay safe online, including the use of secure passphrases made up of random, unrelated words, and the importance of protecting email accounts as a key digital gateway. Students left more informed and more confident in how to manage their digital lives safely.

This collaboration continues to grow as a powerful example of how students can learn, connect, and lead together in a shared digital world. We would like to thank Mr King and Mrs Green for making this opportunity possible, and we look forward to continuing this important work together.