It was the first time that a group from HGS had ventured to the ski slopes of Andorra; 31 students (accompanied by three staff) were based in the Hotel St Gothard in the resort of Arinsal, and we were blessed with plenty of great snow and some fine weather.  Omer writes:

‘On our first day on the slopes, we met out ski instructor, David. He greeted our group which consisted of me, Alvin, Kingsley, Gurjeevan, Arjan, Arun, Dylan, Maxi and Nicholas. Day 1 opened with an evaluation of our current skill level by us skiing a nursery slope. Thankfully no one fell!  We then took a chairlift up to a more difficult slope. This was rated blue and only 1 member fell. Then we took a different slope which was much steeper and, therefore, more exciting. On day 2, we ventured to the top of the mountain but, since visibility was next to nothing on this day, we saw no views. From here, we skied a selection of blue and red slopes, falling many times and laughing all the way. The whole group progressed well together since we fell less and our turns were more controlled. David taught us many tricks to help us ski, including centre of gravity placement and head position. On day 3, the weather started to improve; rays of sun shot albeit sparsely onto the slopes! David took us on a new, much more challenging route, all the way down the mountain. Its difficulty came not from its length, but from its narrow turns and high jumps. We all fell more than once. The rest of the day passed with more thrilling jumps and jaw-dropping descents. On day 4, the sky finally cleared. The entire resort could be seen without a detail missed. The views at the mountain’s summit were beautiful. The decent to the bottom was much more controlled and calming; skiing felt natural and doing it with friends was a joy all the way. Nobody fell. Finally, day 5 commenced, our final day of skiing. David was determined to make the most of it so he took us on all of our favourite slopes: a route from our mountain’s top right down to the car park at the bottom, a slope on the side with many jumps – made for speed – and a new slope we had wanted to do for the entire trip, the ‘pipeline’. This slope was moderately steep, but its uniqueness came from its borders. Much like a pipe cut in half, the ends were raised meaning we had to accelerate to go right to the top right and rapidly descend to the left creating a very frightening yet enthralling ski. Our final hour was bittersweet, since we were very tired but loved the thrill of skiing and the passion of our instructor. We said our final goodbye to David, received our certificates, and returned our skis to the rental shop.

Summarising, our group’s skiing experience was fantastic. A combination of our teachers’ planning, David’s passion and our group’s friendship made it deserving of such a description’.

For the record, the group also enjoyed a selection of evening activities during the trip including bowling, swimming and a quiz night.  The buffet selections (for both breakfast and our evening meal) at our hotel was probably the best food provided during a school ski trip for the last 35 years!  We also ate a hot lunch daily on the mountain, although that wasn’t quite as nice!  From a teacher’s point of view, all students (beginners and those who had skied before with us) displayed really positive attitudes to their skiing, made excellent progress and were complimented by their instructors.  Skiing is only for about 4 hours each day and during other times too, our students’ conduct was exemplary; they were great ambassadors for the school and it was a pleasure to travel with such well-behaved and cooperative young men.

Mr Jones

Click here to view more photos in the gallery.

Proud moment for King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School, which has been declared the top performing grammar school for A Level progress in Birmingham and Walsall. Outstanding results, exceptional progress and a community that lifts every student. Read the full feature: https://ukschoolnews.com/blog/2026/02/16/king-edward-vi-handsworth-grammar-school-declared-the-best-in-a-level-progress-results/

Year 7 CBSO Symphony Hall Trip 11^th February 2026

Despite the rainy conditions our entire cohort of year 7 students enjoyed a fantastic morning out to see the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra play in Birmingham Symphony Hall.  Year 7 has been studying all about the modern orchestra this half term, including instrument families, instruments, and the important role of the conductor in this musical ensemble. The concert was an intergalactic travel through space introducing us to the instruments and the sound they could make.  We started off with John William’s famous theme from Star Wars and the journey continued with excepts from Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony, music from Plants vs. Zombies, Dr. Who, E.T., and others.  The final piece was the finale from Stravinsky’s The Firebird and it literally raised the roof of the hall.  It was a fantastic introduction to the orchestra and we hope that students will take advantage of a world class orchestra and concert hall in their home city in the future!

Mrs Ward

We arrived at New Street Station at around 8:15 am to take the train down to London Euston, arriving about 10 am. We walked the 1.5 miles to the Opera House in Covent Garden. We were one of several schools there that day who came to enjoy matinée performance of Pucinni’s Turandot.

Set in Peking, China, the opera describes the tale of an unnamed Prince (later we learn his name is Calaf) who desires to win the hand of Turandot in marriage. To do this, he is required to correctly answer three riddles. Failing to guess correctly leads to death! The opera includes the very famous song Nessun Dorma. Those of a certain age will remember it was used by the BBC during the 1990 World Cup. The whole performance was amazing; fabulous singing, amazing dancing and incredible sets.

Following the performance, we walked down to the river for some pictures then went to the Seven Dials Market for food where some of us ordered the biggest pizza I’ve seen!

This trip was only possible because of a grant we were awarded which covered most of the cost of the day (including travel). The individual price for a ticket in our seats for an evening performance was £322.00 so we were thankful to receive this grant.

A huge ‘thank you to Mrs Ward’ who applied for and the grant and arranged the trip.

On Thursday 9 January, 30 Year 9 Computer Science students visited the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Institute of Technology (GBSIoT) as part of a CyberFirst enrichment visit. The experience gave us valuable insight into cyber security and artificial intelligence, and into the future digital careers pathways available in these rapidly developing fields. It helped us understand how the skills we learn in Computer Science can lead to real-world opportunities.

During the visit, we learned how cyber security protects systems, data, and people, while artificial intelligence is used to analyse information, automate processes, and solve complex problems. An interactive AI Kahoot quiz encouraged us to apply our knowledge and think critically about how these technologies are shaping society and the workplace.

We took part in a range of hands-on workshops. In an AI ethics discussion, we considered the responsibilities involved in designing and using intelligent systems. We also participated in an AI prompt-engineering challenge, exploring how humans and AI can work together effectively. In another session, we became Digital Detectives, using data analysis and open-source intelligence to investigate digital clues and understand how cyber professionals identify and respond to threats.

One of the highlights of the day was programming Sphero robots using block coding, which demonstrated how logical thinking and precision underpin both AI development and cyber security.

Overall, the visit was informative and inspiring, and it helped us see how studying Computer Science can lead to exciting opportunities in cyber security, artificial intelligence, and the wider technology sector.