Autumn 2017
News from Bablake School
Andiamo! D
uring half term, a group of intrepid petrol-heads and technophiles headed off to Bologna under the careful guidance of Mrs Solomon (La Buona), Mr Nicholson (Il Cattivo), and Mr Hyde (Il Brutto).
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Highlights of the trip included visits to Ducati, the Hombre cheese factory, Ferrari, Lamborghini. Pagani and Carpigiani Gelato University. Turn to page 13 to discover more.
News
BABLAKE SCHOOL
A great summer read The competition was judged by Mr Jeremy Hobday (Head of Shells) and Mrs Laura Reddish.
Now that the term has begun, many of our Shell pupils are reading Boy by Roald Dahl. As they enjoy this magical autobiography we hope they will also remember the author’s wise words about reading:
Competition winners: Libby Stinton Jack Barsby
anywhere in life you “ Ifhaveyoutoarereadgoinga lottoofgetbooks.
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– Roald Dahl
Highly commended: Aalysha Mhondoro Jack Harrison Oliver Jones
Careering ahead After more than 30 years located at the foot of our Sixth Form Centre, Bablake’s Careers Department has found a new home this year. With the launch of a fortnightly term-time newsletter, a regular Thursday Forum, the start of a new series of interviews
online with former pupils, and the piloting of a new careers concept - 18 Before 18 – it is apparent that Bablake’s pupils have every opportunity to make decisions about their future with careful guidance from school. Please follow @ bablakecareers for the latest news.
Earlier in the term, we welcomed Tata Consultancy Services and EDT team, which led a Cyber Detectives evening. Advance notice is given of our biennial Careers Convention which will take place on Thursday February 1st from 6pm in the EDM and Languages Block.
Gold CREST Award Gold CREST Awards are longterm projects that require around 70 hours’ work and are typically completed by 16-19 year olds conducting real research. At Gold level, the students’ work should contribute something new to the scientific or technological community or to a particular field of study. This has been another successful year for Gold CREST Awards, with 22 students completing a placement. Most students completed their placement at the University of Warwick in the summer holidays and a small number went to other universities such as Coventry, Nottingham and Imperial College. Placements occurred in all areas of science, ranging from polymers to astronomy, and students produced a written report and completed a student profile which were then externally assessed. Securing placements can be very challenging but we have always had excellent support from the University of Warwick. Mr Kalsi accompanied a group which spent two weeks at Warwick working with Dr Andrew Marsh. The project was ‘Mobilising Communities for Health through Gels and Craft-y Marbling’ and students explored different ways to make gels, such as using sodium alginate, before helping to deliver a community workshop at FabLab in Coventry.
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Krina Mistry completed her Gold CREST placement at Imperial College in the summer: “The knowledge and new information that I have gained from this placement has truly been fascinating and has encouraged me to try out challenging tasks and to take risks in life, so as to get the best possible outcome. The skills and knowledge I have acquired will definitely help me in the future, as I want to go in a science-related career.”
Jakevir Shoker: “Over the summer, my group was able to complete a Gold CREST Award under Professors Haddleton and Perrier of Warwick University’s Chemistry Department. The award allowed us to explore an area of interest outside our A level syllabus in more depth, as well as gain an insight into cutting-edge academic research. We wanted to learn more about polymers, the mechanisms they are made by and some of their applications.
Anna Elkins completed her placement at the University of Nottingham: “I have thoroughly enjoyed the project; not only have I found it interesting but it has also made me appreciate the time, effort and work that goes into scientific research. Seeing first-hand the importance of research and how it relates to everyday life was really inspiring.
All of us thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We got to carry out graduate-level laboratory experiments and use a variety of different analytical machines ranging from NMR machines to X-ray crystallography machines. All of the students and professors were incredibly friendly and were happy to help explain new concepts to us. We would like to say a special thank you to Professors Haddleton and Perrier for giving us this incredible opportunity.”
I didn’t fully understand the importance of working in sterile conditions and the precautions that have to be taken: washing hands every time you leave the lab, using different pipette tips constantly, disposal of waste and using the burner. This is something I will take with me into my A level practicals, especially the importance of precision and disinfection. I loved working independently outside the classroom and completing science for pure fun instead of for exams. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience.” The process will start once again in January, with Lower Sixth students writing to academics hoping to secure a Gold CREST placement for the summer.
The award allowed us to explore an area of interest outside our A level syllabus in more depth, as well as gain an insight into cutting-edge academic research. – Jakevir Shoker
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Another group was interested in learning about X-ray crystallography and we were fortunate that Dr Guy Clarkson invited us to visit the X-ray suite at the University of Warwick. Dr Clarkson told students how the instrument works and showed them how to select a crystal and place it on the probe in the machine. They viewed crystals under a powerful microscope and were given a brief lesson about crystallography and drugs.
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During the induction afternoon, Mrs Martlew set her new form a challenge which would involve them reading a great book in a very unusual location. They embraced the task with great enthusiasm, originality and endeavour. When they arrived in September it was clear that many great books had been read in the most obscure of locations. During our first few days, as they handed in their photographs, it was wonderful to see that Shell CAM had enjoyed devouring great fiction during their summer holidays.
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Charity News This has been a busy term in the Charity calendar, with the Sixth Form Macmillan Committee starting the year’s fundraising by organising a fabulous coffee morning which was a huge success and raised over £600. Thank you to everyone who contributed cakes and to those who bought them. Our next major event was the Harvest Collection. An impressive amount of food was collected by everyone at Bablake and this was then distributed to the Coventry Food Bank, the Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre and the local community.
EES
Once again, our Engineering Education Scheme is up and running for the 23rd consecutive year, with the added bonus of an extra team. We are delighted to link up with Unipart for the first time in what we hope to be a successful long-term venture. We are fortunate once again to have our sponsorship with Arup in place and we are proud that this link has been unbroken since the year 2000. The teams have very different briefs to deal with and are looking forward to their residential workshop at the University of Birmingham in December.
A big thank you to Emily, Imogen, Lottie, Anna and Maya who gave up some of their break times and lunch times to sell poppies for the British Legion’s annual Poppy Appeal.
EPQ Presentation Evening The Main Hall was filled with the sound of passionate discussion as our Upper Sixth Extended Project Qualification candidates presented their projects to an audience of staff, pupils and parents. This year has seen the largest number of students taking part in the EPQ and 33 Sixth Formers took to the floor to answer questions about their project during a vibrant evening. The Hall was set up with display boards containing their academic posters and students demonstrated their knowledge and passion for their chosen topic, answering questions about their research and justifying their conclusions whilst also explaining the difficulties they faced in researching a 5000-word report, and how their new skills may benefit them in the future. Well done to them all on a fantastic evening of academic discussion!
At the time of writing, plans are in place for the annual Christmas Party when we will welcome elderly members of the community into school for some festive celebrations. Pupils will be helping to prepare the food during food lessons, our talented musicians will be providing the entertainment and some of our Shells will be hosting and socialising with our guests.
Arkwright Congratulations to Lower Sixth students Harry Loud and Rob Tyas on being awarded prestigious Arkwright Scholarships. Only 425 scholarships have been awarded nationally this year to students who show excellence in STEM subjects and leadership, and who hope to go on to pursue a career in engineering. Harry is being sponsored by Reaction Engines and Rob by The Maud Elkington Charitable Trust. The scholarships are worth approximately £400 to each student to encourage them in their chosen subjects at A level. The Design Technology Department will also benefit from an additional £200 to spend on equipment.
Chemistry Recently, a group of Bablake pupils attended a Sixth Form Chemistry lecture at the University of Birmingham given by Professor Saiful Islam of the University of Bath about new materials for applications in battery and solar cell technology. Many of these operate as a result of ions moving through layered or channelled crystal structures, and 3-D specs were needed to view animated slides which illustrated the paths taken by the ions through these regular structures.
Harrismith Our partnership with Harrismith School continues to flourish and we enjoyed our most successful visit yet during the summer, when twelve pupils and three members of staff spent two weeks with our Harrismith counterparts. We were delighted to see Harrismith pupils making good use of the ICT facilities which we are helping to fund; they have recently won a competition based on the use of Internet research and their Grade 12 pupils are making extensive use of the computer suite in completing university and job applications. There were so many highlights that it is difficult to choose just two or three. One would surely be the three-day stay at the Umgeni Nature Reserve, an hour’s drive north of Durban. This was the first time we had visited the reserve and it proved to be a revelation. Not only was the scenery beautiful, but the
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team-building activities that the pupils took part in allowed friendships to flourish and created deep ties between our two communities. Bablake pupils also relished the time that they spent in lessons, realising, perhaps for the first time, how privileged they are to enjoy the resources that Bablake provides, compared to the bare-brick, unheated classrooms at Harrismith. The endof-visit concert was another highlight, with Lauren, Emma and Enya leading our pupils, Harrismith learners and staff in a well-choreographed version of Live in Living Colour. The welcome provided by Harrismith could not have been bettered. We all felt truly part of the community and it was very hard to say goodbye. We do, however, hope to invite a small group of pupils and staff to visit us next autumn and are currently fund-raising to facilitate this. A key focus will be a Disney-themed concert in February which we hope will attract a full house and to which all are warmly invited!
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Junior Science Club Junior Science Club has been very popular this term, with Shell and Second Year pupils getting to grips with slime and marshmallow catapults. Mrs Sharkey (Senior Science Technician) demonstrated to the pupils how to make slime using PVA glue, borax solution and food colouring. She even showed them the slime could be rolled up into a ball and bounced. Much to the excitement of the pupils, they quickly queued up and were making lots of slimy bouncy balls in a range of different colours.
Maths For the catapults, each group was given five large marshmallows, seven bamboo skewers, two rubber bands, a plastic spoon and tape. Once the catapults had been assembled, each group had about five minutes to practise using them before taking part in a competition to see who could catapult their marshmallow the furthest. Even the staff decided to have a turn and see if they could beat the pupils, but missed taking first prize by a couple of centimetres! Many thanks to Mrs Sharkey and Dr Casey for helping out and joining in with the fun.
In November a group of Sixth Formers attended the ‘Mathematics in Action’ event day at Warwick University. It was an inspirational day of Maths comprising six mini-lectures, with one starring our very own Mr Tyas talking about the importance of time-management and beginning work sooner rather than later. The first lecture was presented by the ‘Rock Doctor’, Dr Mark Lewney, who spoke about the very existence of Maths, and us. Are we truly made of Maths?! We then learned how Maths can be applied in crucial jobs such as medical research. Sara Jabbari took us through the mathematical side of understanding antibiotic resistant bacteria and how population dynamics and some very complicated Maths can help to develop new drugs that tackle these bacteria. Author and broadcaster Simon Singh took us through the origin of Fermat’s last theorem (an + bn = cn for any integer value of n greater than 2) and we also learned that voting isn’t always fair; in fact, Kenneth Arrow (Nobel Prize for Economics winner) says it never is in his ‘Impossibility Theorem’. Presented by Professor Chris Good, this lecture took a deeper look into the politics of the world as far as voting is concerned and posed the question: ‘Is voting really fair?’ The Naked Mathematician, (although not for this lecture!) Tom Crawford, brought the day to a close with his interactive ‘Maths v Sport’ talk. Apparently it is possible to score penalty kicks 80% of the time, although England doesn’t know this yet! As long as you shoot in the ‘un-saveable zone’ (where the average goalie can’t dive) you have an 80% change of success. The day was very enjoyable and inspired everyone there to look deeper into the Maths around us.
Dyson Institute
PHYSICS
Students from the Lower Sixth who are studying Physics at A level recently attended a series of lectures at Warwick Arts Centre. Dr Suzie Sheey, from Oxford University, took them on a journey through the atom-smashing world of particle accelerators and onto the commercial application of accelerators in all fields, from medicine to industry. Dr Gemma Bale, from University College London, showed how to build a machine
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to measure brain activity and metabolic function using the properties of infra-red light. She also demonstrated how this was being use to pioneer work with children who are born with brain injuries. Professor Trevor Cox showed how acoustic science is used in the analysis of music and speech and showed some gruesome footage of just what goes on inside your mouth when you sing. Dr Michael Brooks took students on a journey
into the weird world of quantum physics and amply demonstrated why such things matter and how it underpins so much modern technology. The day finished with a lecture by Michael de Podesta from the National Physics Laboratory, who successfully managed to measure the temperature of air by using the speed of sound. The students also attended a short lecture at lunchtime geared towards improving their examination performance.
House pumpkin carving The idea for a House Pumpkin Carving Competition came from Mr Kalsi and proved to be very popular indeed. Each House had two pairs of pupils and about 40 minutes to carve their pumpkin. A group of prefects kindly helped to hollow out the pumpkins the day before, saving time on the day. As well as competitors, there were quite a few spectators cheering their Houses on to glory! Once all health and safety aspects had been covered, they began carving. A fabulous range of shapes and designs were carved during the 40 minutes and included faces, an interesting outline of Donald Trump, a castle, ghosts, a bat, the symbol Pi and many more…. The competition was judged by Mrs Mair and Mr Cleaver, and Fairfax was declared the winning House. It was a fun and exciting event with House staff present to spur on the pupils. Special thanks go to Mr Cleaver for all his support.
At the end of November, Lower Sixth students Robert Tyas and Molly Harkin travelled to Malmesbury to attend a very prestigious and select event at the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology. They enjoyed a private showcase display of current and new Dyson products that they could use and test, a tour of the facilities, and a chance to meet and talk with current Dyson employees to gain a valuable insight into their work. The event focused largely on the Dyson Engineering Degree which is offered in partnership with The University of Warwick and gave a fantastic insight into what the apprenticeship programme entails and what it could mean to successful candidates. The evening concluded with dinner in their Lightning Café, where everyone listened to a speech given by James Dyson himself about his aims and intentions for the programme, as well as his vision for the Dyson company. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day for all involved and a great opportunity to understand the inner workings of a multinational engineering company. BABLAKE SCHOOL
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Art & Music
BABLAKE SCHOOL
Art RAF, BAE and Royal Navy Roadshow
Earlier in the term, local artist Michaela Gyetvai came in to school to work with a group of Fourth Year GCSE pupils as well as groups of Shell pupils. Michaela exhibits nationally as well as internationally and her work utilises textiles through hand felting and embroidery based on her love of colour and the landscape.
At the end of November, Shells gathered in the Theatre to see the RAF, BAE and Royal Navy Roadshow, which was designed to enlighten pupils about the importance of control systems and computer technology in all aspects of present-day life, helping them to see the connection between what they study in school and the day-to-day applications in the real world. The session started with the question ‘who is in control?’.
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The most exciting part of the show was the live performance of a song written by local songwriter Tim Spencer, who donated his song to be a charity single for the Theodora Children’s Charity.
All Theatretrain pupils from around the UK and beyond (over 3000 children) were asked to audition for a solo performance on the single and Charlotte was chosen as one of the lucky six. She enjoyed a fantastic day at GingerDog Recording Studios and the single has now been released, with Robert also on the recording as part of the choir. The song is called ‘Somewhere’ and is available to download, so why not support this wonderful charity and listen to a very beautiful song?
On Monday 20th November, the Music Department once again hosted the Rotary Club’s Young Musician of the Year club round, sponsored by Coventry Phoenix Rotary Club. It was a wonderful evening of music, with a really high standard of performance from several Bablake pupils in particular. The winners for 2017 were both Bablake musicians –
congratulations to Enya Bowe for a superb flute performance and to Sathvika Krishnan for an engaging and beautifully improvised vocal piece. The adjudicator commended all of our pupils on their hard work and sense of performance, and our two winners now go forward to the District round of the competition, to be held next Spring.
Awesome Ovid
The presentation also showed how computers work and pupils were engaged in some practical activities to help them understand how the binary system operates and how computers spot an error.
The session concluded with the answer to the question ‘who is in control?’ which is of course, still ‘humans’. Most importantly, pupils got to see how technology is advancing and the relevance of STEM. Many thanks to the roadshow team for delivering an exciting and interactive session that was enjoyed by everyone.
Charlotte Bull and her brother Robert had the pleasure of performing with Theatretrain at the Royal Albert Hall earlier this year; Charlotte was then chosen from over 1200 children to be one of the soloists and she opened the show with a fabulous rendition of Mr Blue Sky.
Rotary
Pupils firstly looked at drones, or unmanned craft. As well as being used extensively by all three of the sponsor organisations, drones are used in many different fields, from unmanned ‘Google’ cars to tiny ‘bots’ that can be used in medicine, so small they can be injected into the bloodstream to carry drugs to the parts of the body where they are most needed. A real drone was flown behind a safety net and the audience could follow it on the screen.
The final part of the performance featured a 70 cm high android robot that showed just how advanced robotics can be. The roadshow team talked to the robot, whose name was Mia, and it replied back. When a large hat was placed over the robot’s head, it responded just as a human would and asked ‘why am I in the dark?’! The robot was given more instructions and completed a series of movements, from sitting down to standing up, and then impressing the audience with her Tai Chi skills.
Sing-along!
A group of enthusiastic classicists enjoyed a trip to the Swan Theatre in Stratford during half-term to hear a reading of stories from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
Arts Award We were pleased to uphold our 100% pass rate for the Arts Award this summer; many congratulations to Rosie Ingram on her Bronze Award, Namuun Batkhishig, Charlotte Bull, Amie Shipley, Maddie Gallon and Maya Koria on their Silver Awards and to Sathvika Krishnan on an outstanding Gold Award, based on her work with South Indian classical music. Well done to all!
None of those who attended knew what the format of the evening would be, but that turned out to be part of the magic of the show. Four storytellers sat on stools at the front of the theatre, and with prepared scripts, they assumed the personae of the various characters from the stories. We heard tales of great respect to the gods, human arrogance, violence and much more besides. All were told with genuine warmth and charm. Some of the stories, such as that of Daedalus and Icarus who attempted to fly were well-known, but others were more obscure. There was a huge amount to admire both in the way the readers delivered the stories, but also in the way the translator had changed the stories; many stories were given a modern twist, such as a character smoking or going to university, and this showed us how ancient myths can still be of relevance today.
Avni Kant I am very excited to be joining the City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Orchestra this year. It will be a completely new experience for me, working with some of the world’s leading conductors, and performing energetic pieces by composers such as Debussy and Bizet. In October, I spent a week at the CBSO rehearsing and then performing a ‘Spanish Fiesta’ programme, unlike anything I’ve ever done before – ¡no puedo esperar! BABLAKE SCHOOL
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Competitive Festival The Leamington Spa Competitive Festival saw Suwetha Bhavanandan gain first place in the ‘Verse & Prose Speaking’ class and second place in the ‘Prepared Reading’ class and she was very pleased to have been awarded high marks in her first ever prepared reading class. Ellie Aitchison was awarded first place in the ‘12-14 years’ violin class, with a lovely performance of Massenet’s ‘Meditation’ and also gained third place in the ‘Grade 7-8’ violin class. Ellie said that taking part was good fun, and although a little nervewracking, it was a great experience to perform in the festival.
Royal Academy of Music Junior Department Congratulations to Shell music scholar Harry Scott-Burt, who not only gained a place at the Royal Academy of Music’s Junior department, where he is studying cello, piano and conducting on Saturdays, but who has also been awarded the ABRSM scholarship for his first year there. Harry, who completed a year at Primary Academy, has also heard that he will once again be getting a wonderful new instrument from the Benslow Instrumental Loan Scheme, a charity that gives access to fine instruments for talented children who could not otherwise afford them.
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Harry Scott-Burt gained first place in all five of his classes, on both cello and piano; he won the John Edgington Memorial shield for the piano ‘Russian Composer’ class, the Mary Bullock Trophy for the piano ‘Romantic or Impressionist’ class and the Kingsley School Cup for the piano recital class. He took first place in the cello ‘12-15 years’ class and was subsequently awarded the Annette Ball Cello Trophy for the best player in the ‘12-15 years’ and ‘16-18 years’ cello classes, as well as the Gradwell Recital Trophy for first place in a keenly-contested string recital class and finally the Lena Wood Trophy for the best under-18 string player in the festival. Well done to all of our pupils who took part in this festival; we are very proud of your efforts and dedication and it is super to see the results of your hard work in this display of medals, certificates and trophies.
Daniel Baden, who took up the double bass at school last year, has joined the Coventry Performing Arts String Orchestra and took part in The Performing Arts Concert at the Belgrade Theatre in July.
Prepared to perform
During the summer, Charlotte Merry and Emma Blackett went on their second National Scout and Guide Symphony Orchestra and Concert Band residential, and were joined by Sam Lowe.
‘I had a wonderful time meeting new people who weren’t on the course last year and finding out about scouting and guiding in their area. The rehearsals were tiring but the concerts were amazing!’ - Charlotte Merry
They stayed at the Old Swinford Hospital in Birmingham for a week and performed concerts at various venues including Ruddock Hall, the MAC and Severn Valley Railway. The rehearsals lasted for about seven hours each day, with a mixture of full rehearsals and sectionals. There were also evening activities such as quizzes and dances, and an afternoon of more adventurous activities, including archery and kayaking.
find the quality of the playing incredible, “ Iespecially considering the standard of the music.
‘I find the quality of the playing incredible, especially considering the standard of the music, such as A London Symphony, and also the fact that we only have a week to learn and perfect the pieces. My favourite thing about NSGSO is the friendships that you form. I have some really close friends from the courses both last year and this year, who are really special to me.’ - Emma Blackett
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The Leamington Spa
A new addition
The Music Department is very pleased to have taken delivery of some new pianos this term: three Yamaha uprights for the practice rooms, for piano teaching and practice, and the crowning glory - a Steinway grand piano for the Rehearsal Room, which will be used for teaching and for our smaller concerts and competitions. Expert movers PianoSpeed took the Steinway up the EDM stairs by hand, and removed the old piano in the same way! Director of Music Mr Tim Crompton said “We’re very excited about having such a high-quality instrument to compliment our mini-grand piano. It will enable our best young keyboard players to shine!”
Here, Harry tells of his year with the National Children’s Orchestra:
Neville Holt Opera
I really enjoyed the year at NCO, as we have played great music with good conductors. During the summer we had a course at Sedburgh school in Cumbria, then we gave a concert in Leeds Town Hall, conducted by Dominic Wheeler (who normally conducts professional opera companies!). The highlight was some of my friends playing vacuum cleaners on stage for Malcolm Arnold’s ‘A grand, grand overture’ and playing a piece by Richard Strauss, because I’d been to his house in Bavaria while I was on holiday. The next concert will be at Symphony Hall, Birmingham in December.
Ollie Brindley, Dasha Sutton and Harry Scott-Burt took part in a professional opera company performance at Neville Holt Opera in the first few days of July. They performed Britten’s Noye’s Fludde, with professional soloists and conductor, and a selection of musicians from CBSO education, as well as children from Rutland and Northamptonshire schools. The sun shone on the outdoor performances, which drew wonderful reactions from audience and critics alike.
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BABLAKE SCHOOL
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BABLAKE SCHOOL
Out & About
Bologna
Beth Shalom By Alarna Gavin
Shortly before half term, I went on a particularly memorable school trip to Beth Shalom, otherwise known as the Holocaust Memorial Centre. Having visited the centre before, I was not really expecting the experience to be an enjoyable one as we would be studying the events of the Holocaust in greater depth. Nevertheless, it was most definitely an important and necessary one, for I strongly believe that it is vital that my generation and age group are educated properly about the horrors of the Second World War. What initially struck me upon arriving at Beth Shalom was the memorial garden, which lay in front of the building. The garden itself can only be described as mesmerising. It was full of dozens upon dozens of roses, standing tall in the chilled autumn winds, each accompanied by its own plaque dedicated to a victim of the Holocaust. It was a truly overwhelming sight. When we discuss the Second World War, it is usually stated that the Holocaust was the cause of over eleven million deaths. To us, it is often just a figure. Nobody seems to think about the fact that those eleven million were individuals, each as complex as you and I, with names and faces and families that the majority of people no longer care to remember. Yet, seeing the rows of flowers and the names written beside them in the garden, suddenly made it all seem not so distant and so much more real. I recall thinking at the time that the use of roses was such an effective way to commemorate the deaths of the Holocaust victims - new life created from the loss of it. Because these people were not just a figure, lost amongst millions; they were human beings, who lived and who breathed and who laughed and who walked this earth just as we do today. Towards the end of our visit to Beth Shalom, we had the incredible opportunity to hear from a Holocaust Survivor named Hannuka Dye, about her personal experience of the Holocaust. I found her talk to be one of the highlights of the trip. It is quite different listening to somebody’s story in person rather than hearing it in a classroom, and listening to Hannuka speak about what a massive impact the Holocaust had on her life was a unique experience in itself. To stand upon a stage and tell the story of something so terribly traumatic and yet life-affirming must be an incredibly difficult thing to do, yet Hannuka and several other survivors at Beth Shalom do precisely that on a day-to-day basis. I cannot put into words how much I admire her for what she does, and I thought she was a truly inspirational woman. One of the most important things I took from the trip was just how crucial it is that we educate people properly about the Holocaust. If we are ignorant of the horrors of the Second World War, not only will there be nothing to stop history repeating itself, but the deaths of so many innocent people will be forgotten, and, for their sake, we cannot allow ourselves to forget. We cannot brush them off simply as though they never existed. They were real people who did not deserve to suffer, real people who did not deserve to die. They were real people, and we must remember them.
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Bablake makes a splash in Tewkesbury By Joshua Ogbonna and Lauren Matkin
During half-term we attended a two-day camp at Croft Farm Waterpark in Tewkesbury. We stayed there for two days as we tried out a range of water-based activities, including paddle boarding, kayaking, wind surfing, pedal boat racing, raft building, sailing and river trips using a catamaran. It was a great experience, as many of us were introduced to new things and discovered abilities we never knew we had. On arriving at Croft Farm, we collected our wetsuits and immediately began our first activities: paddle boarding and kayaking. We tried incredibly hard to stay standing during the paddle-boarding and many achieved this, but some (Arjan! Will!) fell in multiple times. At the end of the morning we were treated to hot chocolate to warm us, as many of us had fallen into the water and were incredibly cold. In the afternoon, we enjoyed sailing and racing. As not all of us enjoyed sailing, we decided to change to pedalos which was far more relaxing! In the end it turned into a pirates’ war as everyone kept on hijacking each other’s boats. We were then really tired and had dinner and played for the next three hours. It was an early start on day two and without wind to help us sail, we had to make use of paddles. We then tried out a paddleboat and had great fun jumping in. Kata-canoeing involved a ball, with us all doing our best to hit each other’s heads! Finally, we were put into five groups for raft building and it was a competition to see whose boat would hold together and get to the buoy that was on the other side of the lake. At the end of the race, everyone’s boat gently fell apart. As we were having so much fun, we decided to push Mr Grantham in and steal his boat before having to go back to shore, getting our stuff ready and getting back on the coach to school. It was a brilliant two days and we enjoyed getting to know other members of the year group. Our thanks go to Tom and his staff at Croft Farm for going the extra mile to ensure that we all had a great time.
A group of intrepid petrol-heads and technophiles headed off to Bologna during half term under the careful guidance of Mrs Solomon (La Buona), Mr Nicholson (Il Cattivo), and Mr Hyde (Il Brutto).We landed at Bologna and were surprised to see that the airport security vehicles were Lamborghinis! We were met by our guide, Leonardo, who was to stay with us all week and our driver, Rossario, who came from southern Italy and had no intention of letting northern Italians hold up his coach. Our accommodation was a new student block linked to the prestigious Bologna University and was also used for lectures until late into the evening, necessitating respectful behaviour from our students at all times, to which they soon adapted after some coaching by “Il Brutto”. The following day we had a tour of old Bologna and looked inside some of the old university buildings that had
two-wheeled transport with some firstclass hands-on experiments. At the Hombre cheese factory and farm near Modena, we were shown how the famous Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is made by hand and matured for two years. Most of the group bought samples from the shop, the record being set by Harry Loud with his 2kg of cheese! We were then shown around the owner’s private Maserati collection, as we discovered that he used to work for them before taking over the family farm.This was a real bonus as he also had a number of prototypes as well as preproduction body shells.With our pockets and bags bulging with cheese, we headed off to the famous Ferrari factory for a tour and visit to the museum. Fortunately, one of Rossario’s friends ran a shop near the factory where you could pay for a short ride in a Ferrari, allowing the students to get up close to the latest range of cars on offer.The museum and guided tour were impressive, being made up entirely of privately owned cars, including a 40 million euro 500 Superfast from 1964, possibly the best looking car ever made - and it was in Mr Hyde’s favourite colour.The most unusual exhibit was a full sized Formula 1 race car made from Lego! Students were then given a presentation
about the marketing of Ferrari and the importance of the race team to the company’s operations. The following day we visited Lamborghini, passing many old buildings that had been destroyed in recent earthquakes. At the factory we were treated to a tour of the museum and an exhibition about the life and work of Ayrton Senna.We carried on to a bowling alley and laser tag centre before treating ourselves to a pizza in a small trattoria. In the afternoon, we headed to the other side of Modena to the Pagani car factory, where cars start at £2.5 million and are hand built to customers’ specifications.The staff were very friendly and allowed our group to walk on the shop floor and see the cars being assembled. This was a very modern building designed by Horacio Pagani and was as clean as an operating theatre: a real-eye opener into the world of the supercar. If you regard the cars as works of art, unique and beautiful, and not just as a means of transport, it begins to make sense! Our final day started with a visit to the world famous Carpigiani Gelato University where we learned about the history of ice cream making, before having a go at making both sorbet and gelato. The staff at Carpigiani were insistent on the point that ice cream is not gelato and went to great pains to point this out! After sampling the results of their efforts, we bid arrivederci to Rossario and Leonardo and set off for the airport. It was a truly fantastic week and one that inspired us all. We would like to thank Mr West for organising the trip and were sorry that he wasn’t able to share the experience with us.
been bombed by one of Mr Hyde’s relatives during the Second World War! After taking in the open air market with its impressive displays of vegetables and salami, we ended the tour at the twin leaning towers of Bologna and headed off to the Ducati Factory for lunch and a tour of the various production lines.The students spent a terrific afternoon in the Ducati educational labs looking at the physics behind
Ciao!
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A highlight was our visit to Caecilius’ house.We were very lucky to gain entry to the house as it has been locked for over a decade to most visitors.
During half-term, 28 pupils sampled the cultural delights of Rome and the Bay of Naples. However, our first activity was more culinary than cultural as we strolled from our hotel to a gelateria to sample the delights of true Italian ice-cream. Plenty of other ice-creams were sampled of course during the week, and we enjoyed a demonstration of ice-cream making, where three volunteers created lemon sorbet. The 25,000 Euro machine used to make it would surely be a popular investment! Our first full day in Rome began with a visit to the Colosseum, where we walked around the various levels trying to imagine the horrors that sent an estimated three-quarters of a million people to their deaths. Further visits took in the Forum, Trajan’s Column, the Palatine Hill, The Circus Maximus and Trajan’s Markets.
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“
Ciao Italia
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Early the next morning, we headed to Pompeii where the pupils were free to wander around the site in groups. A highlight was our visit to Caecilius’ house (yes – that very Caecilius, star of the Cambridge Latin Course!) We were very lucky to gain entry to the house as it has been locked for over a decade to most visitors, but we had applied in advance for a special permit. The amphitheatre, temples, forum, baths, theatres, houses, and much more were viewed as we again strolled in the heat. We were very lucky the next day as we walked up Mount Vesuvius (or the final mile or so) in bright sunshine to get a spectacular view of the crater and the whole of the Bay of Naples. We then finally moved on to Herculaneum where we toured the superbly well preserved and compact site.
The following morning, a metro ride was taken to the Spanish Steps, with ensuing visits to the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and Piazza Navona. We even visited a cat sanctuary among ancient ruins, much to the delights of Mrs Scott-Burt and Mr Menashe. We then headed to the Vatican and visited the Sistine Chapel and took photos in St. Peter’s Square, before heading back.
After almost a week of culture, it was time to relax on our final day so we took a boat to Capri. With great views of the island on our way up the funicular railway, we then walked the 5-mile round trip to the Emperor Tiberius’ villa, where we saw the spot from where he (allegedly) pushed unsuspecting victims to their deaths on the rocks below. Pupils were then free to explore the main shopping streets and, although many of the designer shops had closed that week for the end of the season, fortunately the chocolate shop was still open.
The following day we transferred to Sorrento, stopping off at the ancient port of Ostia to visit the spectacular remains and enjoying pizza at Cassino.
The trip was a great success, thanks to the efforts of staff and the exemplary behaviour of the pupils throughout.
Shell PGL (Parents Get Lost!)
On the last day of the first half-term, 120 Shell pupils set off for RAF Cosford for a day of activities based around the theme of flight. Whist there, they learned about making paper aeroplanes, gas-powered rockets, the physics behind flight, the history of aviation, the cold war and had rides in various simulators.The pupils were also able to look inside one the recently retired Nimrod surveillance aircraft. It was a very busy day made all the more entertaining by the team of volunteers at RAF Cosford who looked after us so well. We then moved on to PGL Boreatton Park near Shrewsbury, where pupils enjoyed a wide range of team-building and adventure-based activities such as archery, high ropes, canoeing, fencing, climbing, orienteering, numerous team problem-solving challenges and team games in the evenings.This was a great trip that helped the Shells to get to know each other and the form tutors to get to know their form members. Several PGL staff commented on how polite and enthusiastic our pupils were, even though some of the girls kept Mrs Lenihan awake long way past her bedtime! A huge thank you to all of the staff who gave up some of their half-term break to make this trip such a success.
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Sri Lanka by James Sawyer
During the summer, a group of Bablake boys headed to Sri Lanka to spend two weeks playing sporting fixtures and enjoying excursions. Climbing Sigiriya Rock Fortress was a challenge in the Sri Lankan weather, but the views (and the welcome cool breeze) made the effort worth it. There was plenty of Sri Lankan wildlife to see and we were fortunate enough to go on safari, visit an elephant orphanage and take a trip to a turtle sanctuary. The cultural side of things was not neglected and we were treated to a show in Kandy, which offered an insight into Sri Lankan culture and music. In total, we played four hockey matches and three cricket matches against schools, clubs and districts who played at a high level. The hockey 1st XI was undefeated, winning three games and drawing one, including a victory on a grass pitch, which was a new experience for the team. The cricket team didn’t fare quite as well and the 1st XI lost all three of their matches against tough opposition. The matches were made that bit harder due to the heat and humidity that we simply weren’t used to, making our wins all the more impressive. Local children came out to watch our matches during their lunchtime and were playing their own games, laughing and running around. The difference was that their cricket was played with a plank of wood and a tennis ball! All of the local people were incredibly friendly and welcoming and it was every bit as enjoyable talking to them as it was visiting the elephants. The local children were so very happy and content with what they had. They showed us that cricket didn’t need to be played with a bat, just with whatever you have to hand! It really made us realise that we take everything at home for granted, and that we should really appreciate the small things in life. When we played touch rugby against the boys, everyone was smiling and having fun; an experience that we will never forget.
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Boys’ Sport
Girls’ Sport
BABLAKE SCHOOL
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Congratulations also go to Hannah Denton, who has been selected for the Loughborough Lightning U15 development hub and will train with them every Friday.This is a fantastic achievement as they are one of the top super league netball clubs in the country.
Hockey
Star on Ice
Rugby The future looks bright for Bablake rugby. Particularly for those at the junior end of the school, who have enjoyed some outstanding performances and results so far this year. At the time of writing, the U13 A team has won all of its nine matches, often winning by a large margin. The team’s progress has been outstanding this season. The U12 A team is closely behind in terms of success, with only one narrow loss from its eight matches. The B teams at these age groups have also been in fine form, as have
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Fourth Year pupil Rhodes Mitchell-King has recently been awarded the captaincy of Coventry Blaze U15 ice hoc key team and is also trialling for Midlands Co nference, which involves training overnight at weekends once or twice a month. In additio n to this, he has had a call-back for Engla nd U15s, with the next stage being a Decem ber camp after Christmas. We wish him luc k!
the U14s, despite having a number of key players missing for large parts of the term. The U15 team has also shown huge progress; wins for this team have been hard to come by, but score lines have narrowed and great progress has been made. The 1st XV started well with five straight wins before a slight slump in fortunes prior to half term. Lewis Faulkner, captain Dan Smith, and Chris Bale have all been selected for Warwickshire U18s. The 2nd XV, made up mostly of our excellent U16 squad, has also been impressive and Will Canning, Jonathan Yardley and Nick Buckley have all been selected for Warwickshire U16s.
The U16s have proved themselves this term outdoors and indoors, demonstrating the ability to compete at the highest level and against the strongest boarding schools. Their season started with a fantastic display of hockey at their Warwickshire tournament, drawing 1-1 with King’s High, 1-1 with Rugby and defeating Kingsley 5-0. This success enabled them to qualify for the Midlands Zonal round. The girls knew this was going to be a tough day, but they once again did Bablake proud. Their first match was against KEHS. They applied pressure and
had many opportunities at goal, making the score 1-0 at half time. At the start of the second half Bablake conceded a short corner and were unable to come back from this, finishing the game 1-1. Northampton followed, but Bablake dominated, with a 1-0 win. The final and toughest game was against RGS Worcester. Despite a valiant effort and some great patterns of play, Bablake lost 4-0. They had, however, done just enough to qualify for the Midlands final, going through as runners up to RGS. The team played some of its best hockey in the first match, beating Oundle 3-1.
They were unlucky against Bromsgrove, but went on to perform very well against Trent College, with a goal unfortunately disallowed. All members of the team should feel extremely proud of themselves and we are excited about another opportunity to challenge for a place at the National finals next year. Nine of the girls involved in the outdoor team success (Emma Allroggen, Freya Bennett, Mollie Bradley, Jess Horton, Sathvika Krishnan, Hattie Morris, Farah Al-Dabbagh, Imogen Al-Dabbagh and Lily Allison) also qualified for the Midlands indoor tournament.
Netball The U19 Coventry Schools Netball tournament turned out to be a competitive game against KHVIII. Unfortunately, we finished runners up this year, but did secure a place in the County Tournament. The girls played their best netball of the season at their Warwickshire tournament, with a display of exceptional defending from Ellie Herniman, Sophie Hollinrake and Baht-Ammi Francis. They competed against some tough opposition from Rugby, Solihull and KHVIII, but saved their best performance until last against Higham Lane.
The U16A team went one better than the U19s, winning their Coventry Schools tournament by 0.1 on goal difference! The girls knew that they had to finish first in their last game and the team worked like a well-oiled machine, getting the ball to GS Jess Horton or GA Hattie Morris as quickly as they could, scoring an outstanding 35 goals in 14 minutes. In their Warwickshire tournament, they played really well and worked hard in some very games, but were placed fourth overall.
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Headmaster’s Notes
Diary
BABLAKE SCHOOL
DATES 2018 We have begun the school year with a great sense of positive energy and optimism! Our GCSE results were the best ever at A* (40%), with 69% A*/A comparing outstandingly well with the national average of 21% and placing the school 37th co-educational independent nationally. Without exception, our leavers who wanted to go to university this year have done so, with a few others embarking on competitive apprenticeships, taking a GAP year or proceeding directly to employment. Above all – and that is our principal aim – we hope that they have emerged from their Bablake education as well-rounded, fulfilled and generous individuals with exciting futures and the commitment to play a very positive role in society. Pupils are benefiting hugely from new or refurbished facilities: a completely transformed Sixth Form Centre, new Medical, Careers and Learning Support Centres, and a much brighter ‘undercroft’ to the Sixth Form Centre, as well as a new Dining Hall concourse. None of these projects cost vast sums of money to complete – but they have made a real difference to our education, guidance and care of pupils.We have also introduced a new school day, comprising six 50-minute periods, as well as changes to the curriculum.The former seems generally to have been well received, with pupils commenting that it makes the day go very quickly (!) and with the overall consensus that it
enables more extended exploration of topics – as was the primary intention, as we forever look to improve our pupils’ learning experience. Food and Nutrition lessons (originally double periods) have proved more challenging, as it is impossible to speed up cooking times! All of these changes underpin our desire to give pupils an outstanding experience of an academic education. We sometimes criticise our young people for a lack of intellectual curiosity, but I was very impressed by the eloquent way in which 33 Upper Sixth Formers spoke recently about their in-depth research into their chosen topic for the Extended Project Qualification. Many of you will also have enjoyed a very uplifting Autumn Concert with some excellent playing, and, as I write, we look forward to ‘Anything Goes’, our December musical production. Our sports teams too have enjoyed some fine highlights, with the U16 girls’ hockey team only just missing out on a place in the national finals.The Christmas Carol Service at Coventry Cathedral will be a festive and inclusive occasion for all members of our community (both Senior and Junior Schools), rounding off an action-packed term! And all of this happy activity underlines our commitment to high standards and expectations, with outstanding and varied opportunities, all within a supportive and outward-looking community.
Tuesday 9 January Spring Term begins
Wednesday 24 January Informal Guitar Concert Rehearsal Room 5.00pm
Friday 9 February Harrismith Charity Concert ‘The Sound of Musicals’ Theatre 7.00pm
Tuesday 6 May Lower Sixth Oxbridge information Evening EDM 7.00pm
Tuesday 27 March Easter Concert Main Hall
7.00pm
Thursday 29 March Spring Term Ends 4.00pm Crystal Ball Main Hall
7.00pm
Tuesday 17 April Summer Term Begins
Happy Christmas and a healthy and successful New Year,
John Watson
Bablake School Coundon Road, Coventry CV1 4AU
t 024 7627 1200 f facebook.com/bablakeschool
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024 7627 1290
e info@bablake.coventry.sch.uk
t twitter.com/bablakeschool
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