Between July 3rd and 5th a number of Year 7 students went on a residential trip to Whitemoor Lakes. The centre is just outside Birmingham, near Alrewas (north of Lichfield, Staffordshire) and it took us around forty minutes to get there.

We all took part in various activities. These included canoeing, raft-building, archery, zip wire, fencing, climbing, abseiling and many more. The two water sports (canoeing and raft-building) took place in the 40 acre lake that the site boasted. On Wednesday (the day we arrived), we had 3 activities, on Thursday 4 (plus a camp fire) and on Friday 1.
There were four ‘lodges’ where everyone slept during their stay. In each lodge there were around twelve dormitories which contained a bunk-bed, two single beds and had an en-suite bathroon.

During our stay, we were served high-class food over three meals. Breakfast was at 8:30am, Lunch 1:00pm and Dinner/Tea at 6:00pm. We had a good variety of food to choose from however, if you did get a bit peckish in between meals you could purchase a snack or refreshment at the ‘Trading Post’ shop or, alternatively, buy something from the vending machine.

Overall, Whitemoor Lakes was a brilliant trip and we had a really enjoyable stay. I would definitely go again as it’s a great place to do things you haven’t done before.

Gugandeep Sohal 7N

The following are some Student views on the recent trip to Whitemoor Lakes:

• Harjot 7G – Whitemoor Lakes was amazing, I loved the zip-wire and I made lots of friends from different forms and the instructor was great.
• Balkaar 7G – It was the best, I liked the high ropes particularly the Leap of Faith…I hated the spiders when we were changing after the canoeing and raft building!
• Ismail and Rehaan 7G – The lounge was cool with snooker, table tennis, vending machines, comfy chairs and DVD player.
• Aziz 7G – It was exciting I would go again.
• Qasim 7G – The activities were amazing.
• Neroshan and Eesa 7G – Fantastic! Zip-wiring was awesome.

On Citizenship Day the year 10 students had a presentation by the police terrorism squad who explained to the students what to look for and the processes followed by the Police. They gave some scenarios and the students had to role play certain situations. An informative presentation.

The year 8 students had a World Cup day. They had to research a country from the 2012 World Cup and throughout the day present information they had gathered. The groups were awarded points for the tasks they did, they also had a 7 aside football tournament. It was a fun day and some really interesting work was produced

Having won the Team of the Year Award at the National Awards for School Support Staff (NASBM) two of our team were invited by David Cameron to visit Number 10 Downing Street. Colette Law and Pauline Hodge duly obliged and amid tight security enjoyed a fantastic day in London.

They were given a tour of the whole building which included visiting special rooms such as the Cabinet meeting room as well as rooms which were specifically used by certain Prime Ministers. They were given an overview of the history of Number 10 and all the changes that have taken place over the years as well as a tour of the gardens where David Cameron and President Obama famously enjoyed a BBQ together.

There was also time for photo opportunities which attracted a significant crowd at the gates to Downing Street.

A good time was had by all – even though the Prime Minister himself was not in attendance!

In June, Year 7 Opening Minds classes visited Coventry to find out more about the development of cars which they have been studying in lessons. On their guided tour they got to see the first type of bicycles produced in Coventry and learnt how these were combined with a carriage to make the very first car, a Daimler, manufactured in Coventry.

They saw how cars developed over the early 20th century, experienced the Blitz of Coventry and found out how the car industry was transformed into the aeroplane and war machine industries during World War II. The heyday of Coventry was the 1950’s and 1960’s and students really enjoyed seeing some of the classic cars from that era. The 1970’s saw the decline of the industry as it faced competition from abroad but the area is still a focus for car development and parts manufacturing.

The final part of the tour was the chance to admire the design of the two most recent land speed record cars and experience in the simulator the most recent land speed record run.

No trip to Coventry would be complete without a visit to its ruined cathedral and the chance to learn more about the loss and reconciliation associated with Coventry and, of course, the chance to climb the 180 steps up the cathedral tower to see exactly how Coventry has been rebuilt since it was destroyed in 1941. There were a few gasps climbing up the steps but the view was worth it! In the ruins, it was clear to see how much had been destroyed by the incendiary bombs in 1941 and the statues commemorating Hiroshima and Dresden gave students an understanding of the wider war and the common suffering of all of the countries involved. The Coventry Mystery players even entertained us one day so that was an unexpected but enjoyable part of Coventry’s history too.

Mrs N. Hartt

Handsworth Grammar School has been made a valued partner with the University of Birmingham.  This award recognises the valued contribution we make to the Access to Birmingham Scheme.