On Friday 13^th December, 45 computer science students from year 7 were selected to go on the Cadbury World educational trip for exceptional progress in computing and multimedia. The event gave an in-depth understanding into the 200-year history of our nation’s favourite chocolate brand.

Upon arrival, we appreciated an excellent talk in the lecture theatre on technology and how Cadbury copyright their ‘glass and a half of milk’ and royal purple packaging. We were also informed how Cadbury use social media and marketing tactics to ensure they are keeping up with the requirements of their customers. It was also very clear how significant the use of technology is within the company and during a tour of the manufacturing process, we were given a lovely chocolate cup with toppings of our choice, which was scrumptious.

There was also an inspiring story in the virtual museum of John Cadbury, who was a Quaker entrepreneur, who in 1824 had a tea dealer shop, as we travelled back in time. We also engaged in several breath-taking rides and went inside the hyper-realistic 4D cinema, which was very memorable.

In summary, it was an inspiring educational trip, and it couldn’t have been done without Mr King and all the computer science teachers.

Ayub Addullahi 7W and Jamie Lee 7H.

KENITH BOBBILI 9G

Day 1

Our trip started with an early wake-up at 2:45am. We all met up at school, all of us were tired yet excited! From there, we headed via coach to London Heathrow Airport to catch our flight to Texas. After the long journey, we finally arrived at the USA. Our hotel, the Hyatt Place Sugar Land, was very nice with a lovely view of the nearby lake. For dinner, we went to Raising Cane’s, which specialises in fried chicken fingers. They were extremely delicious, especially the famous sauces they provided.

Day 2

Our first full day was packed with activities! Firstly, we started by visiting the Varner-Hogg Plantation, an old historic site that gave us insight into what life was like in Texas during the 1800s. After that, in the afternoon, we headed to a county fair – it was just like something out of a film! There were rides, food stalls, and games everywhere as well as the rodeo, where we watched cowboys show off their incredible skills, riding bulls and horses. It was thrilling to see such a classic Texan tradition in person!

Day 3

On the third day, we visited the Texas Prison Museum, providing a glimpse into the Texas prison system. It was both fascinating and a little odd to learn about the prison’s famous inmates and see old prison artefacts. From there, we headed into downtown Houston, where we visited a police station and experienced how American law enforcement operates. In the evening, we went to Main Event, an entertainment centre with bowling, laser tag, pool, obstacle courses and arcade games; it was a very fun way to end the day and one of the best activities of the trip!

Day 4

On Day 4, we visited the famous NASA Johnson Space Center, where astronauts train for space missions and the main control centre for all NASA operations. We saw real spacecraft, people working on the spacecrafts and even got to touch some actual rock from the Moon! Once we left there, we got a tour of the Ellington Air Force Base, where we saw some military planes and other vehicles at work. Alongside this, we stopped at Buc-ees, a Texas-famous petrol station chain, known for its enormous size, clean toilets and huge variety of snacks.

Days 5–7

Days 5 to 7 saw up experience what it is like to go to school in the USA, particularly Texas. We attended the John Foster Dulles High School, where I got to meet the students and go to their classes. The school was massive, compared to schools in the UK, and it even had its own American football field! While there, we played in a football (soccer) match against some of the students; this was extremely challenging but really fun to play with people from a different country. We were very sad to say goodbye to the school!

Day 8

On our final day, we checked out of the hotel and went to watch John Foster Dulles High School’s American football team play. The game was exciting, and the crowd was full of school spirit, with cheerleaders and a marching band. It was a perfect end to our trip, experiencing one last piece of Texan culture before heading back to the airport. We boarded our overnight flight back to London, tired but full of unforgettable memories.

Conclusion

This trip to Texas was an extraordinary experience! I learned so much about American culture, history and everyday life. From visiting historic sites to trying American fast food, from seeing the rodeo to going to school in Texas, every day was a new adventure. This is one of the best and memorable trips in HGS and I would highly recommend it.

MIKAEL MAHMOOD 10A

This amazing experience began with video calls between our class and the Texan class. During these calls, we would ask numerous questions about their lives, culture and education, gaining knowledge about their lives in comparison to ours. For example, their school days have the exact same lessons every day, whereas we have a two-week calendar with different lessons on each day!

For the trip, we flew out of London and landed in Houston, Texas. We stayed at the Hyatt Place Sugarland, which was great with facilities including a pool and the staff were very friendly. From there, we would go out to get dinner every evening (there was a lot of variety of places to eat but the Mexican food was the best in my opinion, considering it was authentic and delicious, since Texas was originally a part of Mexico) before returning to the hotel to sleep.

Over the next few days, we went to a variety of different places, starting with the Varner-Hogg plantation, where we learnt about the history of slavery in the state of Texas. Next, we visited the Brazoria County Fair, where we tried everything from going on bumper cars to buying paintings, visiting a petting zoo to eating deep fried anything. We visited the rodeo there too, which was very interesting to see since it is illegal in the UK.

On the next day, we went to the Texas Prison Museum, in which we were shown around in a private tour by the Director of Executions, who had overseen 81 executions himself. After that, we went to Houston Police Station, where we were shown around by an actual police squad and taught about how they deal with criminals. They showed us their equipment and how they use them such as riot shields, tasers and batons. To end the day, we went to Main Event, an entertainment and leisure complex, where we played pool, bowling, laser tag and some arcade games. This is where we met the American students we would be partnered up with, later in the week at their school.

The final day before we headed into the John Foster Dulles High School was spent visiting the NASA Space Centre, which we explored and go to see actual rockets before going to an active air force base (Ellington) – it was very interesting!

Then, over the next three days, we went to the high school in which we attended lessons with the American students we were partnered up with. These days were amazing since we took part in every aspect of their regular school day, and we even played against them in football (soccer). On the last day, we got to go to an American Football game at the Dulles High School grounds; it was fantastic since they had the razzmatazz of professional American football even at a high school. Afterwards, we checked out of our hotel and travelled all the back to Birmingham, UK.

Moreover, this was such an enriching and educational experience! I appreciate all the work put into making this trip possible by Mr Thaper, Mr Sanders and Miss Morgan.

MATTHEW FENWICK 10N

To begin the trip, we arrived at school very early but very excited. We took a coach down to London Heathrow, to board our 10-hour plane journey to Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where we got through security smoothly. After another short coach ride, we made it to the Hyatt Place Hotel in Sugarland, Houston. Once we settled in, we left to get dinner at Raising Cane’s followed by a trip to Target to supply ourselves with snacks before going to sleep.

The next day was a not-so-early start as we went to the Varner-Hogg Plantation, where we were lucky enough to be given a tour and learn a bit about Texan history and its plantations. In the afternoon, we went to the Brazoria County Fair in which we indulged in some of the local cuisine such as deep-fried Oreos! We then attended the Rodeo, where we saw multiple age groups competing in different events, which was very exciting to watch and cheer on. Later that evening, we again went out for dinner, this time at Torchy’s Tacos to end the day.

On the Monday, we first visited the Texas Prison Museum, where we were given a tour by the Director of Executions. He was very happy to answer all our questions about his time in this role. Whilst in the museum, we even saw some prisoners from the local Huntsville prison nearby, who were doing community work! After this, we took a trip to the Houston Police Station, where we learnt about how the police force operates and we were even given a tour around the station. In the evening, we went to Main Event, where we met some of the Texan students and took part in some pool, bowling and laser quest, accompanied by some food.

On Tuesday, we visited the NASA Johnson Space Centre with a pit stop at Shipley’s Donuts on the way. At NASA, we saw some very interesting displays and large rockets. For lunch, we stopped at Buc-ees, a very different service station to those in the UK with pristine bathrooms! Then, in the classic yellow school bus, we were given permission to drive around Ellington Air Force Base – it was cool to see all the fighter planes ready to be called into action if needed. For dinner that night, we ate at the Cheesecake factory, but contrary to the name of the restaurant, I tucked into a meal of fish and chips!

On Wednesday, we woke up early and put our school uniforms for our first day of an American high school at John Foster Dulles High School. We took part in all 7 periods of their day and spoke to the students and teachers to learn about what a normal day at school looks like for them. After arriving back at the hotel, we all spent some time in the pool, having races and even had a synchronised swimming competition. For dinner, we went out to Pacific Coast Tacos and then headed to bed, ready for another packed day at school.

On Day 2 of the high school days, we took part in lessons again yet after school, we took part in a football (or soccer for them) game, where we narrowly lost to their team in the hot conditions. In the evening, we ate pizza and burgers at a restaurant called BJs.

On our final full day there, we had a change to the timetable, allowing us to take part in the school’s military program, followed by a theatre session, where we learnt a dance routine and performed it to some of the students and teachers. In the evening, we went to Lupe Tortilla, a Mexican restaurant, for dinner where we enjoyed some burritos, had a great time and celebrated our final night!

On Saturday morning, we took a final trip to Target for some last-minute souvenirs, before attending the Dulles High School football game at the Mercer Stadium. We enjoyed the cheerleaders’ performance and the game – it was a good game to watch and a great way to wrap up our time in Texas. We then got our stuff together, said our goodbyes and eventually arrived back in the UK, where we were greeted with some rainy weather to make us feel at home.

Overall, we all had a great time in Texas seeing its sights, eating the food and meeting lots of new people!

STAFF (Mr Thaper, Mr Sanders and Miss Morgan)

For the third year in a row, our Texas exchange trip started off with group video calls between our class and theirs, discussing anything from the (at the time) upcoming US election to hobbies, food to education. This was all in the build-up to the fantastic opportunity to visit them in Houston, Texas, USA.

We visited a variety of places – some of our favourites being the Varner-Hogg Plantation (where we got a private tour of the grounds and living quarters, learning about the Atlantic slave trade), the Houston Police Station (where we got to get various police vehicles, a tour of the buildings and meet the officers), the rodeo (where they had actual cowboys, deep fried food and carnival rides), Johnson Space Center (where NASA is based and real space rockets) and the Texas Prison Museum and nearby Huntsville Prison (where we learnt about capital punishment from the Director of Executions, who lived on site).

In the school, the students and staff attended class with our Texan partners and were treated like celebrities! People kept asking for our autographs, for photos with them and even to get us say phrases in our accents. Alongside this, the students played them at soccer, participated in rehearsals for a musical performance and attended their American Football games.

Once again, it was an unforgettable experience, which never fails to produce new memories for students and staff alike, and it has ended up being the best trip we, as staff, have ever planned and been on – a huge thanks to all the teachers and staff you helped plan it, either side of the Atlantic!

Mr Thaper, Mr Sanders and Miss Morgan

For the Model UN Debate on Enrichment Day, I was one of the representatives of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which was a challenging and rewarding experience. Global concerns like international peacekeeping, human rights and sustainable development were the focus of the debate. My responsibility as one of the DRC representatives was to draw attention to the country’s particular problems, such as the effects of debt, the exploitation of natural resources, and the significance of international collaboration in promoting stability and development.

At the start of the day, we were placed in groups of 5 and each group was given a country, either a high-income country or a low-income country. We were all tasked to devise answers to the overall question – ‘Should Africa pay back their debts?’ As a result, each group came up with their own ideas debating on what should happen, depending on their country and their perspective. For example, as the DRC, we decided that we should not pay back the debts as the continent of Africa, as a whole, would become even poorer. However, on the other side of the argument, European countries such as Germany argued that African nations should repay their debts since it would maintain global financial stability.

In conclusion, representing the Democratic Republic of Congo in the Model UN debate was a very fun and interesting experience that allowed me to voice the challenges and struggles of a nation rich in resources but burdened by difficult issues. It helped me develop important skills such as public speaking and collaboration. The experience not only sharpened my skills but also deepened my understanding of the various problems many countries face and really helped me understand what it is like to be a strong advocate and critical thinker!

Muhammad Amaan Uddin 9G

Saturday 16^th November 2024 saw our first ever participation in the Royal Society of Chemistry, Top of the Bench Competition. The competition is open to every secondary school in the UK and we entered two teams for the preliminary round. Team 1 comprising of Amitoj Saggu, Rajan Nagra, Mohammed Zaman and Kieran Hay, and Team 2 of George Lin, Aliz Azad, Sami Khan and Jarred Vergara.

Congratulations to Team 1 who came a very impressive 3^rd out of 21 teams and have made it to the Regional Final. Team 2 also came an impressive 7^th out of 21 teams, but we can only enter one, our top scoring team, for the Regional Final which will take place on Saturday 11^th January at The University of Birmingham.

Thank you to our Year 12 chemistry students, Maryo Al Ibadi and Simon Waghmare, for giving their time and expertise in preparing our students for the competition.

A special mention, and thank you to our former pupil, Adnan Karim, who we were fortunate enough to meet on campus on the day. He was kind enough to give up his time to ensure our day ran smoothly. He is currently in his third year at The University of Birmingham, studying MEng Electronic and Electrical Engineering. He sends our Team 1 his best wishes for the Regional Round in the New Year, and the following message to our students: “I do hope more students from Handsworth Grammar School research about engineering and how exciting the future of technology is becoming”.

Wishing all a prosperous 2025.

Ms M K Bilkhu

(Teacher of Chemistry and AG&T Co-ordinator)