Wellbeing Advice
Start of Autumn Term
The Autumn Term starts on Wednesday 4th September 2019.
Year 7 arrive at 8:30am.
Year 12 arrive at 9:00am.
Years 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13 arrive at 11:00am.
Excellence and Progress despite GCSE Upheaval!
King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School has enjoyed an excellent set of GCSE results despite the national volatility and turmoil surrounding new courses and grading systems, with some outstanding individual results achieved by our hard working students. It is widely acknowledged that there has been much unpredictability this year (as last year!) in the light of major reforms and changes to the examination and assessment system. We are very pleased to report that the overall picture at HGS is again one of consistent and sustained progress overall as well as positive development. Approximately 50% of all entries were at 9-7 grades which is slightly lower than last year’s results although taking into account the change in the specifications it is not a valid comparison. The national figure is 20.6% for boys and girls and only 17.5% for boys, so our proportion of entries achieving the top grades is nearly 33% better for boys and is considerably higher than the national value. Overall 99% of all our entries were at 9-4 grades. National figures were 67% for boys and girls and 62.7% for boys, so our proportion of entries achieving a pass grade is 36.3% better for boys and is significantly higher than the national value.
Individually in Mathematics and English 99% of all entries were at 9 to 4 grade. This is an excellent achievement considering that the subject grades were no longer being proportionally matched to legacy pass rates. Our Attainment 8 and Progress 8 scores are higher than last year’s figures demonstrating positive progress and development with both scores being well above the national averages.
This is a wonderful achievement overall bearing in mind the changes that have taken place.
45 students attained 8 or more 9 to 7 grades.
14 students attained 10 or more 9 to 7 grades.
7 students attained straight 9 to 7 grades – they were:
Niyaz Chowdhury who took 10 GCSE exams with an average grade of 8.1, Jay Keenan who took 10 GCSE exams with an average grade of 8.4, Anu Adeleye who took 11 GCSE exams with an average grade of 8.2, Ashrafkhan Akbari who took 11 GCSE exams with an average grade of 7.2, Harjap Bahra who took 11 GCSE exams with an average grade of 7.8, Muhammed Haseen Rehman who took 11 GCSE exams with an average grade of 8.3 and Jasbinderbir Singh who took 11 GCSE exams with an average grade of 8.9.
We congratulate all of our students for their hard work and dedication to their studies, and wish them every success as they embark upon their A Level courses. We also congratulate and thank our dedicated staff who have supported their students every step of the way.
HGS enjoys another year of A Level Success despite Examinations Upheaval!
Year 13 students at King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School are heading off to top flight universities this autumn despite the ongoing turmoil and shake up in A Level examinations which have been widely reported in the national press.
A range of courses and top University destinations have been secured by our hard working students including:
Loughborough University – Civil Engineering
Nottingham University – Psychology, Philosophy and Mathematics
Birmingham University – Mathematics, Computer Science and Chemical Engineering
Manchester University – Chemical Engineering and Medicine
Warwick University – Mathematics and Philosophy
UCL – Economics
Imperial – Civil Engineering
Sheffield University – Dentistry
15 students attained straight A* and A grades in their subjects:
Olivia McKnight
Britney Okhiria
Mohammed Hussain
Joshua Nagra
Sunni Purewal
Waris Rashid
Hassan Ahmed
Kyron Chander – Masaun
Samadul Chowdhury – Thahid
Jubaer Ahmed
Hamid Kazi
Jashanpreet Singh
Mohammed Aziz
Daleep Bahra
Ali Rehman.
28 students attained all A and B grades in their subjects.
14 departments secured a 100% pass rate and over 98% of all entries were passes with nearly 45% of all entries at A* to B grade level.
We congratulate all of our students for their hard work and dedication to their studies, and wish them every success at university and in their future careers. We also congratulate and thank our dedicated staff who have supported their students every step of the way.
Year 13 Leavers Gala
Over 100 year 13 students attended the Year 13 Leavers Gala at Digbeth Hall in Birmingham on Friday 28th June.
It was a delight to see our year 13 students celebrate the end of their time at HGS, all of them looking wonderful in their finest attire. The event was organised by this year’s senior prefect team, with assistance from Rehaan Choudhury and Ms May and it really was a most enjoyable evening for all concerned.
Special mention must go to Luise Engel who spent year 12 with us at HGS, and who had travelled by train from her home in Germany to be with her HGS friends for the evening.
The evening culminated in a fantastic firework display to give everyone a fantastic send off.
Thanks to the Prom organising committee and to all staff and students who attended the evening and made it such a fine end to the year for the students.
CJC
Visit from Ex Students
On Thursday 27th June, 3 ex KEHGS students visited the psychology department to speak to year 12 students about their experiences of studying Psychology at University. They all explained their reasons for studying psychology and shared top tips for choosing the right course and right university. Jardel Robinson currently studies at Aston University but took a gap year after 6th form. In her gap year, Jardel worked with students who were close to being expelled from school because of poor behaviour and helped the students to make more positive choices. Toni Harris currently works in a probation hostel which helps to rehabilitate offenders. Mayur Palmar has spent the past 10 months working with adults with severe autism and mental health problems. These students are a credit to our school as they are making a huge difference to the society we live in and to the lives of those they work with. It was a pleasure to have them back.
House Cup Competition 2018/19 Results
The 2018/19 results and final positions are made up of the following 3 key areas of the competition:
House Activities
House Conduct
Sports Day
1st Place: Galahad with 36,384 points.
2nd Place: William with 33,666 points.
3rd Place: Alfred with 33,198 points.
4th Place: Nelson with 30,652 points.
5th Place: Henry with 29,915 points.
Congratulations to everyone for another fine year of competition and a special congratulations to Galahad for another back to back victory.
5 questions à Madame Minhas
Professeure à Handsworth Grammar School depuis plusieurs années, Madame Minhas a la particularité d’enseigner deux langues : le français et l’allemand. Notre journaliste, Asher Jordan, est allé à sa rencontre.
(Mrs Minhas has been a teacher at HGS for many years. Her particularity: she teaches French and German. Our journalist, Asher Jordan, went to meet her.)
Asher Jordan : Comment avez-vous commencé les langues ?
(How did you get into languages?)
Mme Minhas : J’ai vraiment aimé le français à l’école. Je voulais originalement faire du droit, et quand j’ai commencé à regarder des diplômes à l’université j’ai réalisé que je m’intéressais toujours au droit et au français. Je me suis rendue compte que j’aimais le français plus que le droit.
(I really enjoyed French at school, I originally wanted to go into law, and when I started looking at university degrees, I realised I was always looking at law and French, and I realised I liked French more than law.)
Asher Jordan : Comment êtes-vous devenue professeur ?
(How did you become a teacher?)
Mme Minhas : J’ai pensé que ça serait un bon travail à cause du salaire et des vacances, puis j’aime les enfants ! Et mon père m’a encouragée. Il pensait que ça serait un bon travail pour moi.
(I thought it would be a good job because of the pay and the holidays, and I like kids! And my father encouraged me, he thought it would be a good job for me to have.)
Asher Jordan : Est-ce que vous avez une langue préférée ? Pourquoi ?
(Do you have a preferred language? Why?)
Mme Minhas : Je préfère le français. Je trouve que le français est plus facile que l’allemand, c’est une langue plus naturelle pour moi.
(I prefer French. I find French easier than German, it comes more naturally to me.)
Asher Jordan : Est-ce que vous êtes déjà allée en Allemagne ou en France et si oui à quoi ces pays ressemblent ?
(Have you been to Germany or France and if so, what are those countries like?)
Mme Minhas : Cela fait un moment. Je suis allée à Berlin, lors d’un voyage d’histoire/science, avec des élèves d’ici. Je suis allée à Paris lors d’un autre voyage scolaire. C’était intéressant d’y aller en tant que professeure plutôt que touriste et d’aider les autres professeurs avec les réservations et d’autres choses.
(It has been a while. I went to Berlin, on a history/science school trip, with pupils here. I have been to Paris on another school trip. It was interesting going as a teacher rather than a tourist, and helping out the other teachers with reservations and other things.)
Asher Jordan : Est-ce que vous aimez enseigner dans cette école ?
(Do you enjoy teaching at this school?)
Mme Minhas : J’adore être ici. Je ne voudrais pas travailler ailleurs. J’aime le personnel et certains des enfants, pas tous ! J’aime vraiment l’école.
(I love it here. I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else. I like the staff, I like some of the kids, not all of them! I really like the school.)
Interview réalisée en français et retranscrite par Asher Jordan. Traduite par Mr Diaz.
Wimbledon 2019
On Wednesday 3rd July, 10 people from years 7, 8, 9 and 10 left School bright and early to go to Wimbledon. We took the coach from School at 7:00 to London, we arrived at about 11:00 to see the sights of Wimbledon. To start with, me and a few others walked around Wimbledon to go to the shop and see some lower ranked matches at courts 12 and 18, they were great quality; we saw some excellent rallies. We also settled down for lunch at about 12:30 in front of one of the courts.
After that, we watched Women’s Britain number 2, Heather Watson get destroyed by Kontaveit in straight sets on court 1. It was a thrilling match with exciting tennis! Then, we had a break and looked around Wimbledon some more, we saw some amazing sports stars such as John McEnroe. We also watched Feliciano Lopez lose to Khachanov in a thrilling 4 set match and Wozniaki, a top women’s tennis player, beat Kudermetova in straight sets again!
Following that, we visited Henman hill/Murray mount to watch Djokovic play. He’s a great player! That match finished at about 7:30 and we were ready to leave but then we found out the 15 year old sensation Cori (Coco) Gauff had been moved courts to play on court 1 and we had tickets! She is amazing, especially for her age. The game finished and she had won 2 sets to none and she progressed to the 3rd round of Wimbledon.
We eventually left and we prepared for a very long journey home. What a thrilling day, I’m sure everyone had a great time even though it was a very long day! It was a once in a lifetime experience and I will never forget it. Thank you to the PE department for letting us go on this amazing trip.
Timothy Lowman (8 Galahad)
On Wednesday the third of July, me and 9 other pupils went to Wimbledon. As soon as we arrived, you could truly see how big it actually was. All around there were tennis matches, singles and doubles, with a big crowd at each court. We had tickets all day for Court 1. The first match I saw was Heather Watson versus Anett Kontaveit. Although Heather Watson (GBR) lost, it was still such an exciting experience to see both professional players hit the ball over the net at such a fast speed. Additionally, another favourite moment of the trip was when the 15-year-old Cori Gauff beat Magdalena Rybarijova at two sets to none. Even when we were not on court one, there was still a lot of things around Wimbledon to get involved in. This was probably the best and funniest school trip I’ve had!
Oliver Martin-Panther (7 Nelson)


useful links
site info
T: 0121 554 2794
King Edward VI
Handsworth Grammar School for Boys,
Grove Lane, Birmingham,
West Midlands, B21 9ET

