Thursday 30^th November 2017 saw the official opening of the Professor Joe Biddlestone DT Laboratories by Patrick Burns, Chair of the King Edward VI Foundation. It was a wonderful occasion and was enjoyed by all.

Head of DT, Ms Bullock spoke first and highlighted the developments that the DT team have made over the last couple of years such as the introduction of GCSE and A Level Product Design as well as collaboration with King Edward VI Aston School and DATA (Design and Technology Association). Most recently the team won a national competition (The Ripple Effect) sponsored by Misco, HP and Intel which saw them be awarded a HP STEM and Creative Learning Studio worth over £20, 000.

Headmaster, Simon Bird then spoke about the work that had been put into creating the fabulous new facilities and how it had been a fantastic team effort. He thanked the DT department for their energy and creativity, the IT team for their excellent advice and support and the Bursar for driving the project forward. He then thanked the various companies and contractors who had been involved in the project:

Martin Evans Construction

Severn Group

Hobarts

Zioxi

Lee Stimson Painting and Decorating Services

HP

PCM

Dr Bird went on to emphasise that these new facilities are designed and created to enhance our students’ learning experience and to ensure that we remain at the cutting edge of both design and technology. This was emphasised by the fact that KEVI HGS is now a Hobarts Centre of Excellence School. The development of our students and staff is at the heart of all we do. He then went on to dedicate the Laboratories to Professor Joe Biddlestone who has been a Governor for some 30 years as well as a Charity Trustee. It is apt that they are named in honour of him as he has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham as well as giving so much to KEVI HGS in wise, erudite and effective leadership. We are truly grateful for all that Professor Biddlestone has done for our school and the evening and presentation was a way of marking our thanks. By way of response Professor Biddlestone thanked everyone for the evening and his presents adding that he had thoroughly enjoyed his time as a Governor and was delighted to have played such a positive part in the developments of the school over the past 5 years or so.

Mr Burns then officially opened the Laboratories and said how delighted he was to see such an investment in teaching and learning, the collaboration across the 3 King Edward VI Grammar Schools in the north of the city and he took the opportunity with his Chair of the KEVI Foundation hat on to welcome KEVI HGS to the Foundation and Academy Trust – even though he is an Aston old boy!

The evening closed with viewings and hands on demonstrations of the facilities and equipment followed by refreshments in the Sixth Form Centre.

Our annual Prizegiving was a very special occasion as it was our first as a member of the King Edward VI Foundation and King Edward VI Academy Trust. We welcomed The Reverend Steve Gray, The Conduct of Eton College as our Principal Guest. He spoke about the opportunities a School like ours affords its students and encouraged them to get involved in all that we have on offer such as the house system, sport, drama, debating and music. He was delighted to note the progress made at KEVI HGS over the past year. He highlighted the need for perseverance, careful planning and support from family and school so that if and when a setback occurs it can be effectively overcome. It was a lovely event and it was fantastic to see so many families together as we celebrated the success of our School community.

Our new prospectus is now available. Click here to view it.

Blank catalog, magazines,book mock up on wood background with cup of coffee

What are the most effective ways to revise so that you retain knowledge and understanding for future use? This is a question that we have addressed in the past but it is so important that it is worth revisiting. In this article, in the Guardian, we are given a clear summary of what works and what doesn’t based on analysis of hundreds of studies by researchers in the US. If you want to commit ideas to memory, you should test yourself on the material and do this in a distributed way, rather than trying to cram everything at the last minute. It also confirms that learners should be wary of just re-reading and/or highlighting as research suggests this has very limited value because it is not making them think very deeply about the material.

King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys has joined the King Edward’s Consortium for the provision of initial teacher training. Please see the KEC website for more details. This initial teacher training link will augment the work we already undertake with the University of Birmingham.