This is an event we have entered on a number of occasions in the past, with a varying degree of success and having attained first place on two previous occasions.  In normal times, the quiz is held in Birmingham University’s Great Hall but, this year, it was hosted on Zoom (on Friday 21^st May 2021), with students submitting their answers using Kahoot!, on which points are awarded not only for correct answers but for speed of response too.

Haisem Zeino writes: ‘There were 6 rounds, each on a different topic. These were ‘Electricity and Waves’, ‘Mechanics’, ‘Who am I?’, ‘What am I?’, ‘Temperature and Matter’ and ‘Medical Physics’. The ‘Medical Physics’ and ‘Who am I?’ rounds were worth double points. The quiz was split into two halves, with a break in between.  Before the second half started, however, Professor Mark Dennis, Head of Theoretical Physics at Birmingham University, gave an interesting lecture on Polarised light, during which we all learnt something new. 45 teams participated, all aiming for 1^st place. The 12 HGS participants (in four teams of three) were:

Shoaib Mahmood, David Fadairo, Kai Dawkins, Rafae Ajaz, Haisem Zeino, Basel Ziyara, Shrey Kapoor, Jerin George, Erefti Abraham, Hardit Matharu, Eshaan Prabhakar and Haasin Ali.            

Well done to everyone. This was very exciting (and tense) for all of us!’ 

Teams from King’s School, Worcester, took an early lead in the quiz (and ultimately came first and second) but the podium places changed many times, including during the last round.  All four of our teams performed very well and we were particularly pleased that the team comprising Rafae, Haisem and Basel beat teams from King Edward’s Camp Hill and King Edward’s Aston to come third, having answered only two and three less answers correctly than second and first placed teams respectively.

Mr Jones

I have always had mixed feelings about the term ‘human resources’. On the one hand, it recognises the importance of humans in an organisation, yet on the other, it aligns those humans with other more tangible and non-sentient resources at that organisation’s disposal.

There is no doubt in my mind that our staff are our most precious resource. As for any organisation, they are also by far our most expensive resource, and we aim at HGS to attract, develop and retain the best teachers for our students. The success and happiness of our community resides in the quality of relationships between its members, as well as in their commitment to common goals. The best teachers are not only inspiring pedagogues, but they also know and care for their charges as individuals – and this respect is then reciprocated.

There was no hesitation on the part of staff in March of last year when they were asked to run a virtual school, reinventing how they taught, delivered assemblies and co-curricular programmes and offered pastoral support. Some may found this more challenging than others, but our priority was to do our best for our students, whether at home or in school. We know that our parents too have had to adapt the way in which they work, and human resources support has rarely been more important!

Our teachers have been very focussed on assessing Years 11 and 13 as we gave them the opportunity to perform at their highest level before we move on immediately now after half-term to determine their GCSE and A level grades. This is no mean task; we have basically this year been given the work that examination boards normally do and, as you would expect, are determined to do the best job of it in our students’ best interests.

Those who are not teachers in schools are sometimes described as ‘non-teaching staff’ – which defines them by what they do not do! We call ours ‘support staff’ and they know that their role, often behind the scenes, is to lend their support to the common aim of giving our students the best possible start in life. They are every bit as important as anyone else on the team.

It remains a challenging time for many of us as we emerge from the pandemic. We are rewarded in schools by the enthusiasm of our students and by the knowledge that we are doing something meaningful and purposeful as we guide and support our young people through their own challenges – some of which have undoubtedly been accentuated by lockdown. My job as head is to get the best from my staff but also to do my best for them. A valued and happy staff results in happy children who learn to be both human and resourceful.

Stay well and safe.

Be kind to yourself and each other.

Dr Bird

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When our students are older, they will look back at their school days with great fondness upon many things. There will be things that they will look back upon with displeasure. There may even be a few regrets. But however magnificent their school career, everyone will have experienced peaks and troughs, much of which will be learning curves that will hopefully help them to develop their confidence and resilience as they journey through life.

One of the finest elements of any school is that of being a community. Our community will mostly get things right. We will be in positions to celebrate triumphs and recognise success, all within the atmosphere of a family that looks out for one another. Sometimes, we will not get things right, and it is in these moments that we learn the most. Earlier this year, I wrote about success in life being measured not by how high you fly, but by how well you bounce back. Moreover, bouncing is about how you learn from instances of upset and disappointment, propelling yourself back to where you belong, having learnt from the life-experiences, you have harnessed on the way. (The same can be said for adults as well as students.)

To bounce effectively, and to enable yourself to be propelled back to where you belong, we need a team around ourselves. In addition, that team should be there to help, nurture and support us. It should be there to encourage, to advise, and to cajole. We also need experienced staff who will lift us up when we find ourselves at a low point, and encourage us to push ourselves beyond our own known limits to achieve a goal.

Now that we are edging ever closer to a period of normality, some of the key elements of HGS are returning for example, we are celebrating the return of trips and visits albeit on a day only basis but we are looking to plan residential trips to resume from the start of next academic year and sport, clubs and activities are slowly returning.

Sport has innumerable benefits. Many members of staff would admit that they probably do not do enough sport – I know I am in this bracket, as I seem to spend more time driving my own children to and from fixtures and training as opposed to actually partaking myself. Many would look back to their schools days with fondness and wish they were in a position where sport, aerobic activity and teamwork were locked into their working day. Sport has the ability to bring people together, whether that be as amateur footballer or cricket players, or elite rowers who have their eyes on the Paris Olympics in 2024.

As we emerge blinking into our post-lockdown world, travelling with calm caution yet excitement towards a newly moulded normality, I want to encourage, cajole and promote sports and broader outdoor activity involvement for every member of the community. Therefore, whatever one’s hesitancy, now is the time to get back involved in sport. I have outlined the benefits, and explained why the teamwork and the camaraderie make it so central to our community. But in addition to the health benefits, the work it does on resilience and the sheer emotions it empowers, sport is something that represents life itself. The more you put in, the more you will achieve. The harder you work as a team, the greater the mountains you will be able to climb. In addition, despite what political correctness says, life is not about everyone coming first, and competition will be a key element of every aspect of our daily existence.

So get your sports kit on, push yourself out of the house, and throw yourself into activities. There are memories to be made, friendships to be developed, dreams to be realised.

Stay well and safe.

Be kind to yourself and each other.

Dr Bird