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RSC Top of the Bench Competition

Saturday 16th November 2024 saw our first ever participation in the Royal Society of Chemistry, Top of the Bench Competition. The competition is open to every secondary school in the UK and we entered two teams for the preliminary round. Team 1 comprising of Amitoj Saggu, Rajan Nagra, Mohammed Zaman and Kieran Hay, and Team 2 of George Lin, Aliz Azad, Sami Khan and Jarred Vergara.

Congratulations to Team 1 who came a very impressive 3rd out of 21 teams and have made it to the Regional Final. Team 2 also came an impressive 7th out of 21 teams, but we can only enter one, our top scoring team, for the Regional Final which will take place on Saturday 11th January at The University of Birmingham.

Thank you to our Year 12 chemistry students, Maryo Al Ibadi and Simon Waghmare, for giving their time and expertise in preparing our students for the competition.

A special mention, and thank you to our former pupil, Adnan Karim, who we were fortunate enough to meet on campus on the day. He was kind enough to give up his time to ensure our day ran smoothly. He is currently in his third year at The University of Birmingham, studying MEng Electronic and Electrical Engineering. He sends our Team 1 his best wishes for the Regional Round in the New Year, and the following message to our students: “I do hope more students from Handsworth Grammar School research about engineering and how exciting the future of technology is becoming”.

Wishing all a prosperous 2025.

Ms M K Bilkhu

(Teacher of Chemistry and AG&T Co-ordinator)

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Football Success

Congratulations to our Year 7 footballers who won the Aston and Erdington Schools 5-a-side Cup last week.

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National School Attendance Award

We are pleased to inform you that King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys has received a National School Attendance Award from the Fischer Family Trust (an organisation which monitors the attendance of schools across the country).  The award recognises the excellent attendance of our students last academic year when student attendance at HGS was significantly higher than the national average.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our parents and carers for making good attendance at school a priority for your children as there is a clear link between good attendance at school and high academic outcomes.

 

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GCSE and A Level Success

Yesterday the Department for Education published the provisional performance tables which allow parents to compare how schools performed in last summer’s GCSEs.  I am delighted to let you know that these performance tables have confirmed that the GCSE results achieved by the students of King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys were the best ever results that the school has achieved since the reform of GCSEs in 2017.  

The GCSE results achieved by last year’s Year 11 give the school a Progress 8 score of +0.78.  This is a very impressive score, and it means that students at King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys made progress that was ‘well above’ the national average for students of the same ability in other schools across the country.  

The GCSE performance places our school as the second-best performing school in Birmingham and Walsall when compared to other boys and mixed grammar schools.  

The performance of our students at GCSE also comes in a year where we achieved record-breaking A-Level results, with last year’s Year 13s achieving our highest ever proportion of A*-A and A*-B grades in a normal exam year.  

The confirmation of these results in the performance tables is a real testament to the hard work and commitment of our students and staff and the strong level of support we receive from our parents. 

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Winter Concert

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To the slopes

As part of the preparation for January’s Ski Trip to Italy, a number of Year 8 and Year 9 students recently visited Ackers’ Adventure, a dry slope in Small Heath.  Here, the beginners practised the basics and those who had skied before developed their existing skill.  Impressive resilience and perseverance were on show!

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Winter Concert Postponed

Unfortunately, we will have to postpone the Winter Concert that was due to take place on Tuesday 3rd December. On Friday afternoon, we were made aware of an issue with the boiler not working at the church. I’ve called the church this morning and the boiler hasn’t been repaired and the building is cold and only likely to get colder.

We will try to rearrange the Winter Concert for another date in December. However, I can confirm that it won’t be this week. Because the church has a full calendar in December the Winter Concert is likely to take place in school. Tickets purchased for tomorrow will transfer over to the new date. We will inform you of the new concert date as soon as possible.

Mr Ward

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Trussell Trust Foodbank 2024

We are launching our annual collection for the Trussell Trust Foodbank. As you may be aware of the extremely high demand across Birmingham (and indeed across the country) for donations of food due to the devastating impact of cost of living crisis on families and their communities. Please give as generously as you can.

Every day people in the UK go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy to receiving an unexpected bill on a low income. Trussell Trust Foodbanks provide a minimum of three days’ emergency food and support to people experiencing crisis in the UK and specifically in Birmingham.

Over 13 million people live below the poverty line in the UK.

Foodbanks feed some 1,200,000 people nationwide. Of those helped, approximately 500,000 are children.

At HGS we can do something to help, if every student in the school brings in just one item we will be able to donate more than a 1,000 items to the Trussell Trust’s FoodBank in Birmingham.

Tins and packets are the best items to donate. Please see the list below for ideas about what to donate.

Urgently Needed ItemsLower in Stock
Pasta SauceCereal (Not Greater Than 500g)
Tinned SpaghettiUHT Semi Skimmed and Whole Milk
Small Jars Of Instant CoffeeBaked Beans
Pasta ShapesTinned Meat – Ham, Corned Beef, Spam, Pulled Pork, Chicken, Stewing Steak, Curry, Sausages, Meatballs
Rice (500g)Sweet Biscuits (Not Multi Packs)
Tinned Fish (Tuna, Mackerel, Sardines)Pasta Sauce
Tinned/Carton Instant CustardTinned Soup
Chocolate Bars (Not Multipack)Instant Hot Chocolate (Not Cocoa)
Tinned Rice PuddingSquash
Sweet Biscuits (Not Multipack)Cat Food
Tinned Vegetables (Carrots, Peas, Sweetcorn)Tinned Or Packet Vegetarian Meals
Gender Neutral Shampoo And Shower GelSugar (500g)
Liquid/Bars Of SoapNappies – Size 6
Dog FoodToilet Rolls
TamponsTinned Tomatoes
Instant NoodlesWashing Up Liquid
Long-Life Fruit JuiceNoodles
Jam And HoneyInstant Mash
ToothpasteBaby Wipes
 Sanitary Towels
 Tinned Fish
 Laundry Powder/Liquid

 

We will be collecting items as above from Monday 2nd December until Wednesday 18th December.

Please bring your donations to your Form Tutor or to Mr Johson’s Office.  Please give as generously as you can.

We can make a real difference and be a force for good by working together to help other people who are less fortunate than ourselves.

Thank you.

Make a difference!

DONATE

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Wellbeing Advice – December Kindness

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Year 13 economists get a taste of university life!

On Wednesday, November 13th, the year 13 Economics cohort attended a series of economics taster lectures at the University of Birmingham. The lecture focused on key economic concepts like unemployment, consumption, and income. It explored how voluntary unemployment, where people choose not to work, contrasts with involuntary unemployment, where lack of skills leads to joblessness. We also discussed consumption as a measure of prosperity—higher disposable income means greater spending on goods and services, indicating well-being. The lecture highlighted GDP as a common income-based measure of economic performance but noted its limitations, such as ignoring environmental costs and income inequality. The Easterlin Paradox was discussed, which suggests that beyond a certain income threshold, increased GDP doesn’t correlate with higher happiness. We also considered how welfare should be a key policy focus, emphasizing happiness and life satisfaction over mere economic growth, a concept supported by studies like those of Blanchflower and Oswald. Overall it was a very informative and positive day and it was very supportive in our education.

Eshaan Prabhakar 13HFI

Over the day we had to attend three lectures, each focusing on a particular topic related to economics. The first lecture focused on the happiness of economics, implying how economics factors such as income and wealth influence overall life satisfaction and quality of life. Moreover, students engaged in discussions about the happiness of economics, which broadened our understanding to why losses often feel more significant than gains. The second lecture’s focus was on the Productivity Puzzle, which looked at how productivity growth has been unusually slow despite advancements in technology and other factors boosting productivity. Lastly, the third lecture centred at the university in general, explaining the application process, grade requirements and facilities provided at UOB.

Overall, the trip highlighted the diverse career paths in economics and motivated us to pursue our academic interests with greater enthusiasm.  Meeting with professors provided valuable insights into university life and the study of economics at a higher level.  We are grateful to the university staff for their hospitality and look forward to more such educational visits in the future. It  was an inspiring and educational experience for us all.

Ravjot Singh 13HFI