Strike Days – 5th July and 7th July 2023
Please note that with regards to the two upcoming strike days on 5th July and 7th July 2023, we will remain open as usual for all students.
Please note that with regards to the two upcoming strike days on 5th July and 7th July 2023, we will remain open as usual for all students.
Congratulations to Jamie in Year 11 who represented the West Midlands at the weekend in the Mason Trophy (there are 10 counties involved) and placed 2nd in the hammer. As a result, he has been chosen to represent the West Midlands in the County Schools’ Athletics Association Championships in the All England Schools Track and Field Championships which are being held at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham later this month. We wish him the best of luck.
Kaiden in Year 8 continues to go from strength to strength and has been awarded a place on The City Of Birmingham Swimming Squad. In February he competed in the County Champions gaining an impressive seventeen Golds, one Silver and the prestigious top Junior Boy Trophy. He qualified for every event at the Summer Regional Championships which saw him bring home five Golds, four Silvers and four Bronze medals. He also achieved the UK Number 1 ranking in four of these, and ranked in the top ten for the others. Most impressive!!
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, King Duncan is planning for the succession, the time when he will no longer be King, and the intention is that his son Malcom will succeed him. The two other key characters are Macbeth, a brave captain in the King’s army and his friend Banquo. For those who know the play, Duncan is saying that he has planned to develop both Macbeth and Banquo and they, in turn, talk about their devotion to serving the King, being loyal to him and protecting him. If you read Macbeth, you will find that this isn’t quite how things play out.
On Saturday May 6th, we saw something that I don’t think anyone reading this FOE has ever experienced before, the Coronation of our King, Charles III. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II will have planned carefully for this succession and the aim will, I suspect, be that there is the smoothest of transitions from the reign of one to another as we are now seeing – unlike the goings on in Macbeth, witches and the like!
At the coronation His Majesty The King was crowned alongside Her Majesty The Queen Consort in a ceremony that has remained essentially the same over a thousand years. For the last 900 years, the English coronation has usually taken place at Westminster Abbey in London. The service has been conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, since the Norman Conquest in 1066.
During the ceremony, the Sovereign took the coronation oath which involved The King promising to rule according to the law, to exercise justice with mercy and to maintain the Church of England. The King was then ‘anointed, blessed and consecrated’ by the Archbishop of Canterbury, seated in King Edward’s chair (which was made in 1300). He received the orb and sceptres – the orb being part of the Crown Jewels and a symbol of the power of God and the sceptres represent the power of the Sovereign. After this, the Archbishop placed St Edward’s Crown on the King’s head – the crown which was made for Charles II in 1661 as a replacement for the medieval crown which had been melted down in 1649 following the execution of his father Charles I.
As Monarch, King Charles III will not have the ability to pass laws, which is the responsibility of Parliament, but he is Head of State and indeed Head of Church of England. Recognising that modern Britain is a multi-faith society, other faiths featured in the Coronation for the first time which was a significant act of inclusion and diversity.
So, I hope you have taken the opportunity to watch the ceremony or at least some parts of it, which I suspect will not happen too often in our lifetimes. As suggested by the details, the ceremony is a continuation of what has happened with Kings and Queens for centuries and even though the world has changed enormously in that time, the passing of one Monarch to the next has happened in a similar way and throughout his life, Prince Charles will have known that his destiny was, one day, to become King Charles. The same can be said for Prince William who played a significant role over the Coronation weekend.
In contrast, last week I was chatting to a Sixth Former about the courses that they might like to study at University. We talked about where these might lead and there were no fixed plans…indeed the plan was to decide what interested this student most, find the most interesting relevant course at the best university and then take things from there. There would be plenty of options, their career could be in the UK or another part of the world. Exactly what that career was, remained to be seen and the area of work when this individual graduated was unlikely to stay the same throughout their working life. There would be plenty of opportunities and the student would be free to take those opportunities.
And that approach will, I hope, apply to many of us. If we work hard, gain the best qualifications we can, develop interests and skills, doors will be open to us – we will have choices. Indeed, a benefit of education is that it allows us to recognise the options available and equips us to choose the best path for us as an individual – whatever that is.
That is very different to the life that King Charles has had. For all the privilege he has enjoyed, he has always known that one day his path in life would bring him to the Coronation and the formal investiture of him as Monarch. We have more freedom to choose the paths we take, to pursue our own interests to work in areas that appeal to us.
And that perhaps is the point. Sometimes we have opportunities to do things completely differently and to forge brand new paths. On other occasions, we choose, or are chosen, to follow in the footsteps of others. Whichever it is, we perform best, when we do our very best – when we try our hardest to fulfil our commitments as well as we can, doing things for the right reasons. The American educator and author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey, stated “Moral authority comes from following universal and timeless principles like honesty, integrity … treating people with respect.” These are attributes that we model as school leaders and encourage the young people in our care to do the same – clearly there are always lessons to be learned whatever your role and status. Food for thought.
Stay safe and well.
Be kind to yourself and others.
Best wishes,
Dr Bird
April is usually a busy month for all businesses. The end of the financial year bringing big challenges and tight deadlines, however it was busy for an altogether different reason for HGS’ A-level Business students as they journeyed across Birmingham to brush up on their business acumen and expertise.
First, 8 year 12 students attended an enterprise taster day run by Aston University’s Business School. They heard from amazing guest speakers in local industries, learned more about pathways into enterprise at university and got to try their hand at some marketing challenges. It was a great experience for the students and invaluable for explaining to them how they can enter the world of business in higher education and beyond. The student testimonies below show the value of the experience.
Overall, the trip was interesting and informative, especially for the people with an active interest within business. The trip has highlighted to me what courses I want to partake in when I go to University. (Manish Doal – Year 12).
The trip to Aston University was definitely an inspiring experience! For me personally, as someone who wishes to enter both a marketing position and become an entrepreneur in the future, looking at courses and pathways that I may well be looking into in the near future was incredibly useful. Although we didn’t get to do all of the planned workshops, the ones we did do were enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this taster day for future business students. (Sami Zahid – Year 12)
Year 13- Workshop Trip
For hardworking year 13 students working hard with the prospect of exams looming a trip to Star City was the perfect tonic. Now I know what you’re thinking – bowling, relaxation, good food, the cinema – our students had a carefree day or R & R. Sadly not. Instead, year 13 went to the cinema for a revision conference where they performed excellently and got some great tips to excel in their external exams. They were a true credit to the school and really benefitted from the experience as they attest to below.
In the midst of your constant revision at home and in school rooms, it was a nice change of mood to recap business content and exam techniques with Tutor2u. Resuming our revision process in the cinema largely helped me to revisit subject knowledge and enjoy some memorable moments with a nice heart-warming picture with the creators to perfectly end the day. (Omar Elderiny- Year 13)
I believe the business workshop was a valuable experience as it allowed us students to meet business experts and learn new skills that will best adapt us towards the exams in the summer. In the workshop we were able to practice our quantitative business methods and access new specialised resources given by the very friendly staff. The sessions were engaging and interactive which allowed us to meet plenty of students in similar positions to ourselves to improve our business knowledge. Overall, the business workshop was a great experience that I would highly recommend as it improved our confidence moving forward to the exams. (Jay Surray- Year 13)
The business revision workshop helped me in several ways, providing me with the opportunity to enhance my exam technique and consolidate subject knowledge. I was able to get a further insight into an examiners perspective and have learnt the techniques to make my answers appeal to examiners and get me into the top band of marks. Also, the opportunity of meeting Jim Riley allowed me to finally put a face to the voice from all his tutor2u videos I regularly watch for my revision, and by being able to learn from him in a real life environment meant I could ask questions if I was confused allowing me to get instant feedback. (Aliya Zaman- Year 13)
King Edward VI
Handsworth Grammar School for Boys,
Grove Lane, Birmingham,
West Midlands, B21 9ET