Six high‑performing Year 9 French pupils represented our school on Tuesday March 10^th 2026 at the Fairtrade Fiesta event held at King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls. From the moment they arrived, staff and organisers commented on the pupils’ exceptional politeness, maturity and exemplary behaviour, setting a positive tone for the day.

As part of the challenge, our pupils were assigned the country Burkina Faso. Working alongside pupils from other schools, they were tasked with designing a Fairtrade product that represented their assigned country. This involved designing, creating, pitching and even selling their product—an exciting and immersive enterprise experience that demanded strong communication, teamwork and creativity.

During the French‑language components of the day, the group had to buy supplies and take part in market‑research activities, asking and answering questions in French as part of the challenge. They also enjoyed a Portuguese taster session, expanding their linguistic and cultural horizons even further.

A special congratulations goes to Harrison Hunter, who received an individual prize recognising his outstanding behaviour, contributions, and overall positive demeanour throughout the event.

Although the team did not win the overall competition, they were highly praised by staff and mentors. They made an excellent impression, represented the school with pride, and gained valuable insights and confidence from the experience.

The pupils’ conduct, teamwork and enthusiasm throughout the day made their teachers extremely proud.

On Friday 27th February, we held our first ever Community Iftar. Students, staff and families came together to mark the holy month of Ramadan and enjoy an evening of community, creativity and celebration.

The entire event was organised by our Sixth Form students with the help and guidance of Mr Mohsin. They arranged a range of games and activities for students and families to take part in, including Henna/Mehndi painting, a “Design a Tote Bag” art workshop, a ‘Top Bins’ football challenge, Bean Bag Toss, board games and a ‘Catching Sticks’ reaction game.

At 5pm, everyone was invited into the Hall where our Head Girl, Khadijah Anjum, welcomed parents and students to the Community Iftar. This was followed by an engaging, heartfelt and humorous talk from Rafiad Choudhury, who shared his experiences of Ramadan as an HGS student. The talks ended with Rahul Beghal and Nasim Ahmed sharing a number of common misconceptions about Ramadan.

Following the talks, everyone moved to the canteen where we came together as a school community to share a meal at sunset.

We would like to thank everyone who attended the Iftar and helped make it such a special and memorable evening — a wonderful celebration of community and togetherness.

We would also like to extend a special thank you to Mr Mohsin and the Sixth Form students who organised the evening and made it such a success.

Click here to view more photos in the gallery.

As Computing students, we have had amazing opportunities this year thanks to our Computer Science department’s partnership with the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Institute of Technology (GBSIoT). One of the highlights has been getting hands-on with differing STEM robotics devices during lessons and Computing clubs. Using these robots has made our coding and problem‑solving feel more complex, showing us how computing links directly to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics whilst providing us with the insight into the jobs we might consider for the future.

We have also learned more about what Institutes of Technology (IoTs) actually are. Across England, IoTs are part of a national network that connects schools, universities, and big employers. With major government investment, they focus on delivering the best technical education by combining computing knowledge, real skills, and excellent preparation for innovative careers. It is exciting to know that places like this exist to help students like us progress into STEM careers.

Thanks to this partnership, we are gaining real world skills, inspiration, and a clearer idea of the pathways ahead in the exciting world of Computer Science.

Jason Lee, Nihal Sharma and Bikramjit Singh. (Year 12)