Congratulations to Year 12 students Isaac Rafiq and Mohsin Gandhi who both achieved Bronze Awards in the very demanding AS Physics Challenge Competition, run by the British Physics Olympiad.  Donnell Burgess and Abu Saad Wariah also put in performances of note.

In the equalling demanding GCSE Physics Challenge Competition, well done to Marcus Morris and Caleb Brown, who both achieved Bronze Awards, with Robert Frater, Dilan Coopen and Max Henry performing well too.

Mr Jones, Head of Science

On Saturday 5^th March, a number of students attended an English Literature Taster event at Oxford University. Students were given a wealth of information about studying English including the interview process, lectures and employment opportunities arising through study at Oxford University.

We arrived at Oxford at around 11a.m., and from there we walked through the cobbled streets to St. Catherine’s College, stopping along the way to view some of the more colourful buildings that have become such a part of Oxford. Once we arrived at St. Catherine’s College there was a brief greeting from two students standing by the door before we received our name tags and some gratefully received refreshments. After half an hour we were led into the first Lecture Theatre which featured a talk on studying English Literature at St Catherine’s College, Oxford and what it would entail: mostly poetry and Old/Middle English texts. We then attended a lecture by an English Professor, who gave each person in his lecture theatre a booklet which featured texts from playwrights such as Shakespeare, and guided us through each of the six texts and extracts.

After the lectures, all of the attendees were split up into groups, and from there we were led around the college by an outgoing Oxford student (James) who had a lot of good advice and guidance. James’ advice came over lunch, which contained detailed discussions about nationalities and ethnic backgrounds, followed by advice on what to include on your CV. We visited the library (which was actually smaller than I expected it to be but it must have contained all of the relevant English Literature), dormitories and the gym. A final rendezvous took place in the Lecture Theatre where the tour began and we enjoyed a one and a half hour talk on preparing for the interview at Oxford and how to improve our chances of getting in, followed by a Q&A with some of the students currently taking English Literature at Oxford. A fascinating trip which gave us a good insight as to how English Literature is taught at Oxford University.

We would like to thank Oxford University for inviting us to attend. I would also like to thank the school who kindly paid for us all and our thanks go to Mr Dubay.  I look forward to making an application to Oxford University when I finish my GCSE exams – in English of course!

Max Henry (11 Alfred)

Congratulations to Vyom Patel (9Alfred), who has been promoted to the position of Junior Captain at the Handsworth Grammar School Old Boys’ Water Polo Club.

Vyom trains on a Tuesday evening and plays matches on a Friday evening at Handsworth Leisure Centre. He is a fine all round sportsman and also plays Basketball for the school team.

If anyone else would like to get involved in Water Polo, then they can either contact the club directly, or see Mr Conway.

On Saturday March 5^th our Senior Prefects attended the annual dinner of the Bridge Trust Society, which is the title given to the Handsworth Grammar School Old Boys’ Association.

The dinner was held at Handsworth Golf Club and the Senior Prefects were accompanied by Headmaster Mr Bird and Assistant Head Teacher Mr Conway.

After being welcomed by the Society President, Mr Ashley Winters, our school Head Boy Adam Saleem made a speech to the guests which outlined the school’s sporting achievements over the last twelve months. This was followed by Head Girl, Priya Badhan, who spoke about the academic success over the last year and the developments within the school.

As ever, our students were made very welcome by the guests at the dinner who included some former pupils who attended the school as far back as the nineteen forties and fifties.  The former students were delighted to tell stories of their time at Handsworth Grammar School, and all were delighted to hear that we have resurrected the House system in school.

The senior team consist of Head Boy, Adam Saleem; Head Girl, Priya Badhan; Deputy Head Boy Arron Dalvair; Deputy Head Girl Jardel Robinson-Hylton, and Chair of the School Council, Josef Feiven.

Photo shows (from left to right)

Adam Saleem, Jardel Robinson-Hylton, Ashely Winters, Priya Badhan, Arron Dalvair and Josef Feiven.

Mr Conway

On the 29^th February 2016, some of my Year 10 colleagues and I attended a GCSE ‘Science Live’ event that took place in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, the event lasting from 10am-3pm. Various schools from across the country came to have the opportunity to listen to some of the World’s leading scientists, and also to listen to a senior examiner who talked about what examiners tend to look for in examinations. We listened to five scientists in total.  Professor Jim Al-Khalili spoke about Time travel, Professor Lord Robert Winston about Fertility and Genetics, Professor Alice Roberts about Evolution, Professor Andrea Sella about Chemical Reactions and Dr Simon Singh about The Big Bang.

I think that everyone who attended found the event very enjoyable and it was interesting to learn about things that we may not be taught in school.

Joshua Nagra