The inter house competition is getting very exciting as we come towards the end of the Autumn term. A number of exciting sporting and cultural activities have already taken place over the term with many pupils and staff getting involved in healthy rivalry and competition.

Following the year 11 inter house five a side football competition on Monday November 24^th, the scores are as follows:

Nelson 3343

William 3061

Galahad 2543

Henry 2425

Alfred 2322

Mr Mohsin’s Nelson house have taken an early lead because their pupils did so well in attaining achievement points over the first half term. The sporting event winners have generally been spread among all of the houses and Mr McCarron’s William house received a boost when one of their students, Syed Hasan won 200 points for his winning entry in the “My Birmingham” photographic competition.

However, all that could change before the end of the term with more five a side football competitions, inter house table tennis, cross country, spelling and chess competitions all to be decided, as well as this term’s achievement points to be added to the scores.

Remember, every achievement point is added to your house total, but every behaviour point is deducted from that total.

It is certainly all to play for as we move into the final few weeks of this term.

The Christmas lunch will be held on Tuesday 9th December 2014.

 

Roast Turkey
or
Roast Pork
or
Vegetable Stroganoff or Roasted Vegetable Pasta

—

Baton Carrots
Brussels Sprouts
Peas

—

Creamed Potatoes
Roast Potatoes
Stuffing Ball
Sausage wrapped in bacon

Complete Special Offer Christmas Lunch Price of £3.75
Or £4.25 with a pudding

Christmas Pudding and Custard Sauce
Trifle
Gateaux

Please pay and order via the cashless system at any till by Friday 5th December 2014.

Please can free meal ticket users also order at any till by Friday 5th December 2014.

‘Tis Pity, the play that we are studying as part of the A2  English Literature syllabus, is not often performed- so you can imagine our surprise and excitement when we learned of our trip to The Globe in London to see it! ‘Tis Pity is a Jacobean tragedy, centred on the forbidden love of Annabella and Giovanni- essentially Romeo and Juliet with sex, drugs and rock and roll. Bizarrely, for a play written in the 17th Century, exploring rather abstract themes, ‘Tis Pity managed to remain relatable to us: one of the most striking ways in which it appealed to the audience was through its use of northern and southern accents to denote social class.

The Sam Wanamaker Play House was therefore an ideal venue for such an intimate play: the audience were so close to the play that they were part of the action- the singers mingled amongst audience, the banditti ran around us and one of the characters died so close to an audience member that the prospect of her expensive looking clothes becoming stained with synthetic blood was rather evident from her horrified expression! The Globe’s use of candle lighting and music simply added to the ambiance of the play: the snuffing of the candles and the music worked effectively to create the simultaneously tense and hilarious death scene of Bergetto, John Ford’s Boris Johnson.

Theatre in a uniquely tangible art form, allowing the audience to experience the characters and events in a profoundly intimate way. Unlike the edited and polished Hollywood films, to which we’ve grown so accustomed, theatre is an entirely human art form, with mistakes and quirks that heighten the sense of realism and make the characters relatable: from Hippolita forgetting her line, to Soranzo’s blood pack making an almighty spurting noise!

We were also fortunate enough to have the chance to see “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red” an installation at the Tower of London by the artist Paul Cummins, with 888,246 Poppies, one for each dead British or Colonial soldier. The installation is an incredibly moving one, as it allows us to make some redeemable sense of the sheer waste of life that occurs in wars- and those who were in the Remembrance assembly would have heard Mr Moodie’s voice heavy with sorrow as he read… It was Connor McGrath’s quoting of Aldous Huxley in the Remembrance Assembly that perfectly summarised the spirit of the installation and Remembrance: “That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history.”

Undoubtedly, though, the highlight of the trip was Mr Lawrence’s *unique* taste in music!

Gurdeep Mall

HGS held a variety of fundraising activities last Friday in aid of Children in Need. As ever HGS Staff and Students entered into the spirit of things and a lot of fun was had in the process of raising much needed funds for Children in Need. A fantastic School Total of £1,750.49 was achieved. A special mention should go to both the Sixth Form team who raised £200.25 with their food and drink sale as well as Nelson House who raised £110.82 with their assorted sporting activities. Well done one and all!

Many thanks to all pupils, students and staff who took part in the first ever HGS house photographic competition.

The theme this year was “My Birmingham” and we had a large selection of high quality entries from pupils, students and staff.

The SLT had a very difficult task in deciding the winners but I am pleased to announce that the following entries were chosen as the winning photographs.

Key Stage 3 Winner – Jordan Ricketts (8 William)

 

Key Stage 4 Winner – Suraj Sanhi (10 Alfred)

Key Stage 5 and overall Winner Syed Hasan (13 NHA, Henry)

 

Staff Winner – Mr A Kilcullen (William)

Each winner gains 100 points for their house; every entry also gains 10 points for their house.

Mr Conway