MR KAFAI HAS BEEN KILLED!! He was discovered dead in the Science Department. The police have come and cordoned the area off. Looking at pictures of the crime scene, we can see two empty plates, two drinks glasses, cards, stacks of notes on the table, a pack of cigarettes and a gun. The possible suspects are Mr Jones, Mr Bansal, Mr Mohsin, Mr Hussain and Mr Alishah. With the help of forensic science and intuition, we will conduct a case to see who killed Mr Kafai.

Period 1

The first thing we did was a fibre examination. There was some found at the crime scene and using what we know the suspects were wearing on that day, and comparing it to the fibre at the crime scene, we can gauge who did it. To perform this task we had to use microscopes. I first examined the fibre found at the crime scene. I then examined a few other fibres until finally, I examined denim which matched the crime scene fibre exactly. Suspect- Mr Hussain was wearing a denim jacket.

Period 2

We had to perform experiments to see what nutrients were present in the suspects’ stomach liquid, and that of Mr Kafai. The nutrients we were looking for were protein, fat, glucose and starch. We found only two similarities, and those were with Mr Mohsin (starch) and Mr Bansal (protein).

Period 3

What killed Mr Kafai? This experiment was not so much to identify a suspect but rather to get a better idea of the crime. There was no blood on the table, so this suggests it was a murder conducted by poison, which we found in his drink. Since the body was found in the Science Block, poisons wouldn’t be too hard to find. After conducting a pH test, the pH level matched a poison called methanol. However, going back to the white power which we also found to be potassium chloride, we suspect that the killer tried to confuse the police by trying to let us think he had died of an overdose.

Period 4

Chromatography. There was a marker pen stain on Mr Kafai’s shirt, and colours had run. We did experiments using chromatography paper and markers; when in water (at the right depth) the colours in an ink dot separate. The stain on Mr Kafai’s shirt matched with the black marker – suspect Mr Alishah is the only one that likes to use black ink. Also, using luminol we spotted a blood stain on the wall. Someone had attempted to clean it but we still saw its shape. It was a low-velocity blood splatter because the blood clearly bled in slow, large amounts.  The only suspects that possess weapons that are capable of this are Mr Hussain with his knife and Mr Alishah with his hammer (the claw hammer most likely caused the damage).

Period 5

Fingerprints and footprints can be really useful when finding a culprit for a crime, with fingerprints being unique to everyone, and footprints also providing lots of information. Using magnetic sand, you can find fingerprints and footprints upon close inspection. I traced the fingerprint at the crime scene to Mr Mohsin and the footprint to Mr Alishah.

Period 6

We reviewed all of the day’s work and built up a case against the suspects. Using my supreme forensic skill I, with some small help from my peers, found the killer to be Mr Alishah. The footprint…. the marker…. the hammer… The other main suspect was Mr Hussain but while we had evidence, it wasn’t such as strong case as that against Mr Alishah.

Form 8W

Every year students from year 7 to year 12 take part in the Oxford University Computational thinking challenge. Students from 50 countries take part in this challenge which is designed to challenge students and get them to focus on logical and computational thinking. This year has been a huge success, with over 100 students scoring in the top 10%. A first at HGS! Those who have scored in the top 10% across the country are invited to the Oxford University computing Challenge. These students get the chance to develop their skills further and produce programmed solutions to computational thinking problems.

A massive shout out to Ihsan Ermis Yr7, Yazan Kafienah Yr8, George Lin & Ben Marra Yr9, Kaelen Van Vliet Yr10 and Arshjeet Nagi Yr12 for achieving the highest score in their year groups. A special mention to 7 Nelson who occupied the top 5 spots in year 7. Well done and good luck in the next stage!

Mr T Ahmed

I leant a series of new things during this trip. First, we had a talk with a Mondelez cooperative who talked to us about the importance of technology in marketing, product selling and in businesses such as Cadbury. We were told about how products are aimed at different ages hence advertising would be changed to suit the target audience. I learnt about how companies use a variety of strategies to sell their products. This was a very informative session and I enjoyed this.

After this, we did a lot of things. We had the chance to write our names in chocolate which got quite messy! We also took a trip down memory lane, learning how the Cadbury business has developed over the years. Finally, we got to experience the 4D cinema which was exciting, the immersive technology is brilliant.

Did you know 5.5 million chocolates are produced every day and that Dairy Milk is the number 1 most liked chocolate in the UK? Also, the purple colour used in Cadbury’s packaging was allegedly a tribute to Queen Victoria and now it has been used for more than 100 years!

Overall, I had a great time and enjoyed the visit.

By Daniel Alloh

On Thursday 1st December the music department commenced the school’s festive celebrations with the Winter Concert at St. Mary’s Church, Handsworth. Our first concert there was back in 2019. We returned last year to film students for our Winter Concert recording rather than hold an in-person event, so it had been 3 years since we had last held a concert there with an audience.

It was wonderful to see a packed church with over 90 students performing. The concert started with the Lower School choir under the direction of Mrs. Ward, who joined us in September 2022. The other ensembles performing that night were the Senior Keyboard Ensemble, String Quartet, String Ensemble, School Orchestra, Brass Ensemble, Lower School Woodwind Ensemble and Junior Guitar Ensemble. The programme was peppered with a range of solos and duets from students in all years. We enjoyed solo performances from Angus Huang (Classical Guitar), Jinjie Lin (Classical Guitar), Asher Jordan (Piano), Maximus Rueff (Trumpet), Manav Talwar (Violin), Hardev Manku (Piano), Raahil Junaid (Piano), Arjun Sond (Classical Guitar) and Daniel Earle (Euphonium). The pianists had the privilege of performing on an 8-foot Steinway Concert Grand Piano which, when new, cost over £150,000!

The success of this event is only possible because of the support of the students, parents, music staff and other school staff. To these people ‘thank you!’.

Click here to view more photos in the gallery.