If your son/daughter missed the meeting for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, it may still be possible to enrol. Students can go to the Student resources area and find the DofE folder. In the recruitment folder there is the presentation that I gave at the meeting, HGS-DofE-Recruitment-2014.pptx, with details and costs. You can find lots of further information on the website – www.dofe.org.
Please see Mrs Stanton in Room C3, ASAP for an application form.
Our annual Prizegiving was a special occasion and we welcomed Mr Roy Fackrell BEd (Hons), Chairman of the Charity Governors as our Principal Guest. He spoke about the opportunities a School like ours affords its students and encouraged them to get involved in all that we have on offer such as the relaunched House system. He was pleased to note the progress made at Handsworth Grammar School over recent years and encouraged Parents to get involved in our Fundraising Campaign for the new Sixth Form Centre. He made the point that every gift however large or small goes a long way to supporting the School. It was a lovely event and we enjoyed meeting so many families as we celebrated the success of our School community.
Recently the AS Level Geographers enjoyed a residential field trip to Snowdonia National Park in North Wales. The students studied glacial features such as Ribbon Lakes, Aretes, Corries, Hanging Valleys and a Roche Moutonnee in the beautiful Cwm Idwal and Nant Ffrancon Valley. The weather was kind to them and they had a fabulous experience studying first hand key elements of their A Level course. The trip to the summit of Mount Snowdon was probably the highlight for them as Aadam Sufi writes: “Standing at the top of Mount Snowdon looking down at the spectacular mountain range below gave us a sense of awe and wonder.”
Friday 3rd October saw all of Year 7 participating in the annual sponsored walk around Handsworth Park. The weather was very kind and the rain held off! This year was slightly different in that each Form was representing their House. 7 Nelson certainly made an impact and a lot of fun was had by all. The boys entered into the spirit of it all and are busy collecting in their sponsorship money. NOW Education have kindly donated prizes which will be awarded at a special assembly for the student in each House who raises the most money.
As part of their A2 History studies, Y13 historians study civil rights in the USA 1865-1992 which includes African-American civil rights. To give an understanding of the practical and emotional reality of the slave trade and slavery, we visited the International Museum of Slavery in Liverpool in September 2014.
We travelled by train to Liverpool and walked through the city centre to the dock area where the International Museum of Slavery occupies the third floor of the Maritime Museum. Fittingly, the buildings are old warehouses that were used by companies trading with West Africa and the Caribbean.
The museum traces the culture of Africa before slavery and challenges the European perception of the time that Africa was an uncivilised place. Students were able to participate in a powerful video experience of what it was like to endure the Middle Passage journey from West Africa to the Caribbean before exploring in detail the hardships of life as a slave on a plantation. They were moved by the harsh punishments and gruelling working conditions endured by slaves and this gave them a deep understanding of why African-Americans, after they had been emancipated in 1865, continued to be mistreated and became increasingly frustrated at the slow pace of progress towards full civil rights in reality as well as on paper. The set-backs and achievements on this road to civil rights are studied by students as part of their course and these were also detailed in the museum, giving students an opportunity to see these struggles in the context of a much longer struggle for freedom. An educational workshop enabled students to explore one aspect of slavery in-depth as well as its economic and moral aspects. The museum also encourages students to understand that slavery is not only part of history but unfortunately very much part of life today with human trafficking. They found the moving testimonies of people who have endured slavery in the UK and around the world today particularly poignant and challenging.
The Year 7 Football team beat Aston Manor School 6 – 3 to proceed to the semi-finals of the Aston Cup. Congratulations!
Now Education have generously agreed to support our Fundraising campaign in style. Alex Westworth, Managing Director of Now Education met with Mr Bird and Mrs McGoldrick today and pledged a gift of £50,000 to support our Sixth Form Centre. This is a wonderful boost to our campaign funds and further cements the strong links HGS have with Now Education. Now Education are a leading name in recruitment consultancy and are a key player across the West Midlands.
When I arrived at Oxford Train Station, dragging my suit case behind me, I had absolutely no idea of what I could possibly expect from the week to come, in fact I even had a brief moment of panic where I thought that I had made a huge mistake! As I approached the growing crowd of equally nervous looking Sixth Formers wearing Oxford University Lanyards, my trepidation subsided, the diversity of the group made me realise that the week to come would be an incredible experience-and our walk to Exeter College started a week-long, accent based, debate on the pronunciation of different words! The Oxford University Summer School was undoubtedly an incredibly demanding week, as it included an intensive educational programme, daily social activities and even a field trip to allow us to appreciate the true experience of an Oxford Student.
I had chosen to study the Law course- and since I do not currently pursue any formal studies in the subject, it was an unrivalled opportunity to ascertain whether or not I wanted to study Law with French at university for four years. The legal academic programme was enriching: we attended daily lectures on rather complicated concepts of the law and we were expected to have a sufficient understanding of the cases discussed to be able to write an essay and participate in a one-to-four tutorial with a world leading professor the following morning. Since our social activities meant that we returned to the college at 11pm, we would stay up until quite late in order to prepare what was needed for the tutorials- the atmosphere created by such dedicated and passionate students working into the night to meet deadlines was merely a taster of what awaits all prospective university students! The most memorable part of the academic programme was the moot: we were given the case, assigned sides and expected to prepare speeches and arguments for a moot which took place in a mock court room- we were all so nervous about doing something which we had never done before, however our preparation and work meant that the moots were exciting and quite passionate.
In addition to this, the links that Oxford University had were used in order to allow us to consider our possible career options: we were taken LinkLaters, one of the ‘magic circle’ law firms, in central London, where we were able to explore the different areas of law that graduates could pursue. We also had a formal dinner with prominent Oxford Law alumnus who had all had very different careers linked to law- though most of us were confused by the cutlery presented to us and were preoccupied by trying to use the correct utensils for the correct course!
The Social Programme was equally enjoyable and allowed us to experience everything that Oxford had to offer: there was a fancy dress night during which we had to choose a costume themed on the one of the letters from UNIQ (the name of the summer school), certain costumes were ingenious and we were repeatedly stopped and photographed by amused tourists, who could not understand why somebody would willingly humiliate themselves publically in such a way! For me, the most enjoyable social activity was a hilarious improv comedy show called “Hickory Dickory Muder” by “the Dead Secrets”, which included them acting out an audience member’s suggestion of “#YOLO”
All in all, the Summer School was absolutely amazing- and whilst it hasn’t made me confident of getting a place at Oxford, it has given me the confidence to apply and think that I am deserving of a place. I would advise all of the Year 12s to do some research into the “UNIQ Summer School” and “The Sutton Trust” for some truly amazing and free opportunities to see whether the courses they wish to study are truly for them.
The Year 10 Football team beat Holyhead School last night 6 – 2 in a double header Aston Cup and Aston League fixture. Congratulations!
On Thursday 11 September, 12 students from Year 11 had the joy of visiting Birmingham University and taking part in the Science ‘Big Quiz’, which was organised as part of the British Science Festival. As we excitedly filled up the school mini-bus, a few of us joked about coming in the top 3 and winning prizes, which, given the final outcome, turned out to be rather prescient. Once grouped into 3 teams, we were escorted to our seats at an extremely small desk, and sitting at it became the source of tremendous discomfort a few hours later.
The quiz comprised of four parts: Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and Biology. Across the three groups, Maths and Chemistry were found to be the easiest. On the other hand, the Physics section contained questions that were far more difficult to answer. Also, the Biology section offered up bizarre questions based primarily around animals that I and my fellow class mates felt had little to do with Biology. After the quiz, all the pupils enjoyed lunch and took a well-deserved break! Then the results were revealed.
The host teased us all by explaining the 2nd and 3rd places were tied … and one of our teams was involved. The four members (being Ayyan, Adyll, Ricky and Isaac) stepped up to answer the tie breaker. Thanks to my team mates we triumphed, cementing ourselves victoriously into second position. The four of us received a medal and a science kit. Equally as important, the school received a glass trophy which I proudly held aloft for all to view. Throughout the rest of the day Mr Bedi beamed with delight and, being a Chemistry teacher, was greatly impressed when we informed him we’d achieved an immaculate 100% on the Chemistry section. We were then guided to a mind-boggling presentation on how Science can support ‘Super powers’. After that, we talked to staff and students at the University regarding information on various jobs that some of us aspire to in the future.
All in all, it was a tremendous day out and a fantastically educational trip. Finally, I would like to thank Mr Bedi for inviting me to take part in the quiz.
Ayyan Sattar
