The Year 7 Football Team started their school campaign on winning form with a 10-0 league victory against local rivals. The boys were excellent ambassadors for the school. Congratulations and the best of luck for the rest of the season.
Having played basketball on both sides of the Atlantic, including attending High School and University in the United States via an athletic scholarship, I felt compelled to pay forward the remarkable opportunities that the sport of Basketball had provided to me during my formative years.
Consequently, I decided to join the 40 000 applicants and applied to be one of Birmingham’s 13 000 Commonwealth Games volunteers and be a small part of making its legacy – “The Games for everyone” attainable.
I was delighted to be offered a voluntary basketball role at Smithfields, Birmingham.
3 x 3 basketball was making its inaugural appearance at the Commonwealth games. This fast-paced, outdoor format of the game is played using one hoop, half-court, three players per side, one substitute, and a 12-second shot clock. Each match lasts for a maximum of ten minutes, with the team in the lead being the winner or the first team to score 21 points.
My role as a Basketball Field of Play team member enabled me to have one of the best seats in the arena. Throughout my week I covered all things courtside; from ensuring that each team had access to warm-up facilities prior to each match, to liaising with the match officials, TV/media teams, making sure that each game started at the official time, to issuing the game ball at the start of each match.
I immensely enjoyed a rewarding and fulfilling seven days as a volunteer and my highlights included my frequent conversations with the Kenyan and Sri Lankan players as they practiced for 30 minutes each day, to taking part in the team-building exercise “Helium Stick 1” with the England team at the end of a practice session.
It was a fitting finale to a remarkable competition to see England Men’s Basketball team win the gold medal for the very first time, with Birmingham-born team captain Myles Hesson, scoring the winning basket in a dramatic overtime victory against Australia 17 – 16.
I look forward to volunteering again in the near future and perhaps you might just see me again courtside at the Olympics in Paris in 2024.
Norman King – Head of Computing
I have been reflecting on the departure of Year 13 in the light of A Level Exams results day last month, as they move onto University and/or the world of work.
I left School once.
It was 1988 and perhaps the only thing upon which my teachers and I agreed was that it was time for me to go. Their collective lack of enthusiasm for the world depressed me. The staffroom oozed equal parts stale cigarette smoke and jaundiced sarcasm. Many of its inhabitants were already in mourning for the looming ban on corporal punishment (which sadly did not arrive in time to prevent some of my friends becoming acquainted with the cane of our Headmaster, a former Tennis champion who still had the forehand to prove it).
I probably deserved it; I was no angel. However, they mistook my boredom for a lack of ambition. “Simon will succeed in spite of himself” bemoaned one of my teachers on my final report. My English teacher always looked crestfallen when I arrived at the classroom door, upsetting an otherwise pristine and acquiescent row of students all eagerly thumbing their copies of ‘Jane Eyre’. If I was uninspired, it was at least in part because mediocrity and preserving the status quo were the order of the day.
Hence the spring in my step as I made the trek to the Careers Advisor’s office in those final months, proudly handing over my five-page, handwritten application to become an Air Traffic Controller. The counsellor was a tie-dyed refugee from the hippie Sixties, eccentric or enlightened (possibly both) and about as out-of-place in that School as I felt. Studiously, he read all about my enthusiasm for sitting in a darkened room looking at blips on a radar screen for the rest of my life. Then calmly proceeded to tear each page into small pieces. This was 1988, remember. No photocopiers in schools back then. The only copy of my ticket to the future was shredded to confetti before my eyes.
Instead, the bearded one slid a University prospectus about Teaching across the desk. It sat there between us like some cosmic joke. Akin to offering Nelson Mandela a chance to buy a holiday home on Robben Island on the day of his release. I am still not quite sure what happened next. Perhaps I had spent too long in my English class and some of the biddability had rubbed off on me. Or perhaps my teenage addiction to John le Carre spy novels got me thinking I could go undercover as a double-agent and bring down the system from within. Either way, rather than run screaming from the room, I took the prospectus. The next year, I effectively went back to school.
Thirty-four years later, and I have never left.
Nor once regretted that decision. Indeed, the highlight of those decades has been the ten years I have spent at HGS. Never have I known such a deep sense of privilege, nor been delivered daily so many moments that uplift me. The colleagues with whom I work are not just teachers, they are educators in the truest sense of the word. The students, simply inspiring.
As a consequence, I remain convinced that the so-called ‘Imposter Syndrome’ was coined in my honour. I still wake up most mornings expecting this will be the day that the Governors finally twig to the fact that they have handed stewardship of this illustrious institution to me by mistake, whose own schooling was lack lustre at best. How I got here remains a mystery to me; perhaps my teacher was right after all?
What I do know is that every day I have spent at HGS has brought fresh cause for gratitude. Maybe the biggest of my debts is owed to that long-haired, counter-culture counsellor, who once saw something I could not yet see in myself.
Be open-minded and be prepared to take a path less travelled than others might – you never know where it could lead you. At 18 I never thought I would be the Headmaster of Birmingham’s oldest Grammar School and be extremely proud, grateful and happy to be so! Food for thought.
Stay well and safe.
Be kind to yourself and others.
Best wishes,
Dr Bird
Alongside all the staff at HGS, who have worked hard over the last couple of weeks to ensure that our school is ready for a new term, I want to formally welcome you all to Prizegiving 2022. It is great to be back in person.
A special welcome to Sir Mark who will say a few words and present the prizes shortly:
Birmingham born and bred – HGS Old Boy
Honours Board – 1983 Governors’ Leaving Award
Cambridge Maths degree
West Midlands Police as a Bobby on the beat commended for his bravery in 1993
Worked his way up through the ranks to be Chief Constable of Surrey Police
Met Police in charge of Counter Terrorism Policing
Wrote a thriller and walked to Everest Base Camp
Now Commissioner of the Met
“tougher than he looks, gritty, resilient, a great appointment, good news for Londoners and bad news for criminals”
“he does have a weakness. He is a supporter of Aston Villa”
Last year was at times a strange experience with testing and some Covid restrictions still in place, as I worked alongside some quite remarkable colleagues in the thick of it, I kept reminding you (and myself for that matter) of a mantra that I have used a few times in the past but somehow resonates so strongly with the past 2 years.
What I explained was simple: success in life is measured not by how high you fly, but by how well you bounce. It’s about how well you come back from adversity and upset, and how you don’t ever let the fear of failure stand in your way.
HGS and our wider community of the King Edward VI Foundation and you, the students within it, have this last year bounced back with immeasurable boldness and flair. You have collectively proved to be the most adaptable and resilient of people, impressing your teachers at every turn with your constant determination and can-do attitude. I have previously said that we shape our surroundings, and then our surroundings shape us. Clearly, I was in part referring to the buildings in which we study and learn be that Big School or the Sixth Form Centre. We are fortunate to have a wonderful blend of the old and the new on our site. Indeed, this year we will be celebrating our 160th Anniversary and it should not be forgotten that HGS is Birmingham’s oldest Grammar School. But dig deeper, and I’m referring to something far more cerebral than that.
Stones and cement, lime and mortar act as a mould to the understanding of our place in history.
But it’s how we mould ourselves, as people, as individuals, which ultimately moulds our surroundings and, in turn, how we mould each other.
You are all HGS students. What does that mean?
It means that you are expected to work extremely hard. Your teachers and I will never accept mediocrity.
We will never be satisfied with the satisfactory.
It means that we expect you to have a love of learning, to be inquisitive, to be positive.
But most importantly, in addition to hard work and determination to achieve exceptional academic results, it rests on five values.
You will be constantly reminded of these in the months and years ahead. You’ll find them on posters, forming part of your learning and the House System and they will serve as a foundation for how we believe you need to live your life at school, and how you subsequently live your life when you leave.
Community, Aspiration, Respect, Endeavour, Service.
HGS CARES.
If you embrace these values, if you show ambition in everything you do, whether it is in Geography or Football, if you keep resilient and determined whatever challenges life throws at you, if you’re humble and can walk with Princes and Paupers, if you show love and care and kindness in all your dealings, and if you can really support others in their darkest of moments by showing compassion in your words and your actions, you will not just simply be a fine young person, you will be a role model to others – a true Handsworth Grammar student who leads by example.
Leadership must be based upon a sense of service and humility. A leader needs to be a person who does everything they can to look after the needs and wants of others. A leader needs to lead by example in all they do and be human, humble, open. Speak as little as possible of oneself. Pass over the mistakes of others. Be kind and gentle even under provocation. But above all remember humility and service.
In all cases those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are long forgotten – Justin Welby.
Then you will be a force for good through your actions and deeds, which will stay with you your entire life.
A word about exam results:
A Level and GCSE Exam Results Summer 2022
As a school we have had to endure (and I use the word endure quite deliberately for another year) a disjointed Examinations season which has been (again) full of uncertainty and mixed messages from Ofqual, JCQ and the various Examination boards. We have navigated our way through the maelstrom and we have acted with compassion, fairness and kindness throughout with our student’s best interests at heart.
At A Level nearly 37% of all entries were A*A grades, 65% of all entries were A*A B grades with an overall pass rate of 99.8%. Nearly 30 students attained all A* A grades and 50 students attained all A* A B grades or higher.
At GCSE we enjoyed an overall pass rate of 99.8%. Our Progress 8 score was 0.6 and our Attainment 8 score was 74. 99.3% Good passes in English and Maths.
Both sets of results place us above the mid points that the DfE are using to bridge the gap between 2019 and 2022 as well as being an increase on 2019 data.
Students have gone onto top Universities such as:
University of Birmingham, Aston University, Exeter University, Imperial College London, Kings College London, Manchester University, Leeds University, Queen’s Belfast, London School of Economics, Warwick, Cambridge, University College London, Newcastle University and the University of the Highlands and Islands (Inverness). Some students have been accepted onto prestigious Apprenticeships with companies such as Deloitte and Grant Thornton.
Our students are studying an exciting array of subjects and courses such as Computing, Medicine, Mathematics, Computer Science, Chemical Engineering, Actuarial Science, Law, History, Geography and Economics.
Our teachers and support staff have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic and beyond to do their best for the students in their care – whether in school or at home. Not only have they provided a high quality of creative teaching, both online and in person, but they have shown the greatest concern for the well-being of those in their care.
A word about activities outside the classroom:
Charities supported are:
Birmingham Age UK, BID Services, The Trussell Trust, Children in Need, Cancer Research UK, Comic Relief, Parkinsons’, Woodland House Birmingham Women’s Hospital Charity, Let’s Feed Brum, Royal British Legion, Movember, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, Guide Dogs for the Blind.
We cracked the Enigma Code using a raspberry PI and secured a Computer Science Digital Enterprise Award and enjoyed success with the Coolest Projects Competition.
We held Digital Concerts (Winter) and in person concerts (Summer) – fantastic!
Music and LAMDA results (all Distinctions and Merits) – fantastic too!
Clubs and Societies have slowly come back – Tropical Fish Club!
Art, D of E Expeditions – Silver and Bronze.
SF Rewards Trips, Cannock Chase, Twycross Zoo, W Lakes, Italy, Texas, Belgium, Cambridge University, UOB, Aston, Bletchley Park, Cannon Hill Park, Wales, London, Soho House, Foundation Politics Trip.
House sport was back as part of the House Cup competition – Cricket, hockey, Athletics, Handball, TT and so on. House events such as Public Speaking, Photography.
Year 8 Champions at the Birmingham School Games.
Commonwealth Games – volunteers and video.
Under 13 Football Aston League and Cup Winners. Under 13 Warwickshire Cricket Cup Champions.
Equality and Diversity Committee.
Biology and Physics Big Quiz – beating local rivals!
British Physics Olympiad Intermediate and Senior Physics Challenge.
Site Update – D1, Wall art, Voussoir repainted (stone arch), Stained Glass Window dedication ceremony – 160th Anniversary. Oldest (original) Grammar School in Birmingham. Facilities investment.
Back in the classroom:
T&L Action Plan, KRC, Evidence based approach, Literacy AP, PD, CPD (collaboration and sharing BP), Reading Plus, Outreach.
Priorities, SDP, DDP, SEF, MERTL, CPD Plan – joined up thinking which puts:
People at heart of what we do at HGS. None of the above possible without hard working and committed people – staff, SLT, Governors, Charity Trustees and AT/Foundation staff – Jodh! Thank you!
I finish with the famous words of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th American President between 1901 to 1909. He promised the people of America fairness through his policy of the Square Deal. He wrote a piece called ‘The Man in the Arena’. It sums up our five values. It sums up the determination of someone who never lets the fear of failure stand in their way. It sums up the importance of bouncing back from adversity. It is about resilience and grit. It sums up what being a HGS student is all about.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Stay well and safe.
Be kind to yourself and others.
Click here to view more photos in the gallery.
Many congratulations to Krishan Patel (13GDH) for winning a Raspberry Pi 4 computing system through the Isaac Computing Rewards Programme which seeks to recognise and reward the engagement of A level students in England as they progress through their studies. Krishan answered 50 challenging questions correctly relating to computational thinking and the wider aspects of technology.
For those who haven’t heard about the Raspberry Pi desktop before, it’s a credit-card sized computer that does just about everything your trusty laptop or personal computer can do. The winning prize included the Pi mini-computer version 4, mouse, keyboard, power supply, SD card with operating system and a student guide book.
Krishan kindly bestowed the Raspberry Pi kit to the Computer Science department where it’s vast ecosystem of projects will provide great support and inspiration for screen based and physical Computing initiatives such as website construction, networking with other Pi computers and creative projects like programming and game development.
Congratulations to Dylan Guiney Bailey who is performing in Shakespeare in Love at the Crescent Theatre until the end of this week.
Although he has been in several of the Crescent Theatres youth productions, this is his first role in a Main House Show. He is the youngest member of the cast, playing the character of Webster. This is a huge achievement for Dylan as he has worked very hard of the years at theatre and on his LAMDA qualifications where he has always achieved distinctions. In one year he even achieved 100% across all the major categories of his LAMDA qualifications. The play runs until the end of this week. Please click here for more details.
On a crisp Thursday morning, Year 11 history students and teachers made a journey by coach to Sheffield, specifically, Sheffield Manor Lodge. We were able to make clay sculptures of the Manor, transcribe medieval text to modern language with a quill and explore the history and significance of the location through a timeline of the important events involved with the Manor. Even though, my clay sculpting skills were not great and using a quill became very messy, I still had a lot of fun by trying to be creative and adapt to the challenges! After scrubbing our hands clean of the clay, we made our way to the Turret house, where we could watch captivating videos about the Manor, learning about important figures like the Duke of Norfolk and, obviously, Mary Queen of Scots. Furthermore, we learnt information about the lavish meals Mary had and the vibrant clothes that the Duke and Duchess would dress in. We were even able to dress up in some of the costumes laid out there, creating combinations of clothing that resulted in hilarious outfits! The final cherry on the cake was a guided tour by the historian who wrote the book that convinced AQA, in the first place, to include the location in our curriculum: his name is David Templeton and he spent 14 years researching Sheffield Manor Lodge and the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. In the guided tour, Year 11 were able to learn about the great, red, Tutor brick towers that stood over the Manor and were shown pieces of infrastructure the held up the Manor after an astonishing 500 years! Mr. Templeton gave detailed insights into specific structures at the Manor like the gates guarded by soldiers and even the make-up of the porter’s lodge. I learnt a great deal of knowledge that I will not only take into my GCSE studies, but also remember in the future on the importance of location and the development of history.
Shrey Kapoor, 11H
Elizabethan England: From the birth of William Shakespeare to the death of Queen Elizabeth I, it is often depicted as a golden age in English History, which Year 11 students at HGS were lucky to experience on our visit to Sheffield Manor Lodge. Amongst other things this environment was also known as a prison for Mary Queen of Scots. The challenge for the hosts of the day was to keep Mary served and looked after as a monarch as well as keeping her prisoner. This visit gave us an interesting insight into this job which was undertaken by George and Elizabeth Talbot (6th Earl of Shrewsbury). We were also given a tour of the three-storey Turret House, which many believed Mary used to spectate the deer hunting that went on at the Lodge – the deer park was one of the biggest of its kind in England. Thank you to the staff who organised this interesting trip for us.
Haasin Ali, 11H
During our visit to Sheffield Manor lodge, we learnt how to write with a quill, moulded replicas of castles and were given a tour of the site. We visited the house where Mary, Queen of Scots stayed and went through the different floors, all with various activities, ranging from dressing up in Elizabethan clothes to analysing the food that they ate. To conclude our visit, we were given a tour of the grounds, led by Mr D. Templeton, who studied and wrote a book on Mary’s life. We went through the remains of the buildings that stood and the garden which an apothecary took herbs from to make medicine. Mary Queen of Scots had her own herbalist and this was a common practice in past times. Overall, I found the trip pretty interesting and enjoyed the activities that we did. Maximiliano Pasqualini, 11N
Congratulations to Kaiden Hitchins in Year 8 who is the fastest 12 year old in the UK at breast stroke! Last Saturday, Kaiden went to London for a Sprint with the Stars swimming competition. He raced against Adam Peaty and other swimmers in his age group. He is currently the fastest 12 year old in the UK in the Breaststroke event and he came 2nd in the Freestyle final. This is a wonderful achievement and we are extremely proud of him!
