The Lion - Issue 79

Issue 79 | Summer 2019

News from Bablake

A Fond Farewell

T

o mark 44 years at Bablake and his retirement at the end of this academic year, a Quiz Night was held to celebrate John Drury’s outstanding contribution to the School.

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Students from his classes going back to the 70s and right up to the present day, as well as former and current colleagues and John’s family, formed teams and an evening of head-scratching, reminiscing and hilarity ensued.

The Quiz Master for the evening was another Bablake legend, Jim Burns, and after rounds that included topics such as Hull, Star Wars and Music 1970 – 1990,

two teams emerged victorious, led by Jim Keilloh (Class of 1974) and Nick Clemons (Class of 1981). Everyone was a winner though, as the evening raised a total of £1,100 for Prostate Cancer UK. Farewell Mr Drury and Mr Burns – we are going to miss you!

Well done to you both.

News

Dentistry Placement Lower Sixth students Ashley Kabue, Areej Raza, Lawou Mpafe and Zaynah Raza have been working alongside Professor Brian Darvell at the School of Dentistry in the University of Birmingham.

materials by using thermocycling. Professor Darvell has published a paper suggesting that the current method used around the world during thermocycling is incorrect, in part due to the use of unsuitable materials in an attempt to mimic the properties of inside the mouth.

Their project is based on research into thermocycling, which is a procedure used to test the effectiveness and wear of synthetic teeth replacements in the mouth. It allows us to discover what happens to materials (for example dentures) in the mouth over time, and to test to see if they are effective for use in humans. With thermocycling, you are able to observe processes that would normally take years in the mouth, within a few hours.

The group has also critically assessed reports published by scientists who have quoted Darvell’s paper, used the incorrect method, and have thus have gained erroneous results. It is possible that the hundreds of academics either misunderstood Professor Darvell’s paper, or saw it referenced by another academic paper and simply copied it. Through this experience, they have learnt how easily mistakes can be made if scientists simply rely on the methods of others, without critically assessing them.

The group has researched methods used by hundreds of academics across the world who are researching new

By the end of this project, the girls hope to publish their findings.

Biology Challenge Certificates were recently handed out to Fourth Year pupils who had successfully completed the Biology Challenge, which took place in March this year. 54 pupils voluntarily gave up two of their lunchtimes to sit online exam papers set by the Royal Society for Biology; it was the largest participation we have had from a Fourth Year cohort and the Biology Department was impressed by their commitment and enthusiasm. Special mention should go to the following: Alex Spencer, who achieved a Gold Award, placing him in the top 5% of over 47,000 pupils from 527 schools participating worldwide.

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Lauren McGladdery, Joe Guest, Max Hughes, Eleanor Baird, James Fraser, Eleanor Paxton and Madeleine Gallon, who all achieved a Silver award, placing them in the top 15% of all participants.

Edward Broome, Hattie Evans, Taran Dhillon, Xavier Forsyth-Nduka, Ewan Collar, Shianne Whitmore-Beckett, Hiren Venn, Anna George, Abarna Sivanesan, Alexandra Copp, Keira Darlison and Maya Koria, who all achieved a Bronze Award.

A further 15 pupils were awarded Highly Commended and 14 Commended. Congratulations to all who took part.

Bryony Camwell

CERN

Placement Lower Sixth student, Prana Karthikesu will complete a placement at CERN in Switzerland over the summer holidays and this will allow him to achieve his Gold CREST Award.

Prana said ‘Being chosen to complete a work experience placement at CERN is overwhelming. For a 16 year old with no prior experience to be taken seriously by professional physicists is simply amazing. I had an idea that I could not stop thinking about, so I made it happen through hard work and perseverance fuelled by a passion for particle Physics.

On Sunday 12 May, Bryony competed as part of a team representing North Warwickshire at the Chatsworth House International Horse Trials.

The team won the Pony Club Team Show Jumping, competing against 18 teams from all around country.

Bryony has not competed a great deal this year due to her commitment to her GCSEs, so this is an excellent achievement that highlights the balance that is possible between academic studies and other interests.

The researcher I am going to be working with (Dr Barney of the CMS Experiment) has worked at CERN for 25 years and is responsible for a sub detector (ECAL) also known as an electromagnetic calorimeter. This sub detector is responsible for determining the energies of emerging particles in particular electrons and photons because of their use in discovering the Higgs boson and other new Physics.

Mock Interview Morning

In the future, I want to work at CERN as a physicist so I am going to take full advantage of this worthwhile experience by improving my knowledge of Physics and making connections with experienced professionals in the field to create better opportunities for the future after university.’

If you are willing to assist with this event or are able to persuade others (family, friends, former pupils) to do similar, please email mgw@bablake.coventry.sch.uk or register via http://www.2morrow-2day .com/mock-interview.html

Saturday 28th September

Our Upper Sixth students will undergo invaluable panel and one-to-one interview practice on Saturday 28th September.

We wish Prana the best of luck with his placement and look forward to reporting on it again in the autumn term.

BABLAKE

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Go, Rosie!

by Rosanagh Jeffs This year I decided to climb Mount Snowdon to raise funds for the Air Ambulance and for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, as two years ago I was thrown from a motorbike in a road accident and both organisations helped save my life.

The training was hard, as I had to walk ten miles once every two weeks in order to be prepared for the distance.

Although it did prepare me well, it took a lot of hard work and time out of the week.

Finally, on 31 March, almost two years to the day since my accident, my mum, my brother Thomas and I climbed Snowdon with big balloons on our back to show why we were doing it. When we reached the summit, I could not have felt prouder. It was hard to believe that just two years ago I had been in a devastating accident and yet right then I was the highest person in England and Wales, and I had done it for the people who had saved my life.

Simply Stupendous Symposium!

The Greatest Symposium Showcase of 2018 lay down the gauntlet for current Second, Third and Fourth Year pupils. Could they surpass the expectations of staff, parents and pupils alike following the debut event held last year?

This year’s showcase came under the banner of ‘Symposium to Change the World’, with pupils producing a project with the aim of bringing about change in the world around them and they did not disappoint! With projects such as ‘Can 3D organ printing save lives?’, ‘How music affects our mood’ and ‘How to limit the damage caused by natural disasters’ there is no doubt that a brilliant and bright future awaits our pupils!

My climb was written up in the Rugby Observer , meaning that more people were made aware of the good work the Air Ambulance and the Children’s Hospital do.

So far I have raised over £500 and even though it was hard work and very tiring, I would do it again in a flash!

Enrichment The end of the Spring Term brought this year’s activities for the Sixth Form Woodland Conservation Group to a close. Working in conjunction with Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, students have learnt how to use tools safely and have explored the issues surrounding habitat management and site biodiversity.

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Maths Challenge We would like to congratulate Finley Heath, Vihashan Vijayaratnam, Erin Keeling and Ewan Collar on their achievements in the recent Southampton University Maths Challenge.

Vihashan was awarded first prize and Finley second prize in this national event, which had 999 entrants in their age group this year. In the older age group (years 9 and 10), which had around 750 entrants, Erin Keeling gained first place and Ewan Collar was awarded a Certificate of Distinction.

The presentation ceremony took place at the end of May at the university and both Finley and Vihashan were able to attend.

Time for

meditation

Sixth Form students recently went on a Religion, Philosophy and Ethics trip to the Forest Hermitage in Sherbourne, where Venerable Manapo showed everyone round, talked about life as a monk and led us in meditation.

Natural Sciences Competition

by Zaynah Raza,Vedika Bedi and Sathvika Krishnan

Back in the autumn, we were told about the Imperial College Natural Sciences Competition – a prestigious event that enables students to examine topical, global issues and to discover innovative solutions in response to current challenges. To enter, we were asked to create a short video that outlined the specific UN Global Goals that we had chosen and defined our solution.

Our chosen topic was ‘Affordable and Clean Energy,’ as it is widely considered to be one of the main crises of today. In our video, we highlighted the disparities in renewable energy supply on both a national and international level. This uneven development can also be seen in the water industry with over two thirds of the world’s population currently living in water stressed regions. We proposed a concept that, theoretically, would be able to resolve both issues. By inserting an impellor into pre-existing water pipes, we would generate renewable electricity whilst recycling water in a Grey-water loop system. By late February, we received a congratulatory email informing us that we were one of eight teams who had been selected, from over 150 applications, for the finals that

were to be held at Imperial College’s Sir Alexander Fleming Hall. We perfected our video and produced a supplementary presentation and a Kahoot quiz before heading to Imperial. The teams were all very strong and showed remarkable levels of commitment (one team even flew in from Macau, China!).

Although we did not win, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and found the experience invaluable. We are most grateful to the DT department for allowing us to use their equipment for our experimental prototype and to Mrs MacGibbon and Mr Enstone for accompanying us to the university and for coping with our atrocious singing on the minibus journey back!

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Dan Mousley

by Mr Andrew Phillips I first met Dan in September 2012 when he joined the school in the Shells. He told me within the first few seconds of meeting him that he wanted to be a professional cricketer and then proceeded to talk to me about cricket for the next twenty minutes.

Dan played his first hardball game at the age of four and fell in love with the game. He made his Warwickshire CCC debut at eight, playing for the U10s. From then on, he has always played ‘up a year’ and at 14 he represented the Midlands at the first of his two Bunbury Cricket Festivals. At 17 he made his County second XI debut and was then asked to travel with the first team for two weeks to county championship matches, sharing a dressing room with international players Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott and Chris Woakes. Last autumn he received a phone call from Jon Lewis, England U19 Head Coach, and tours to India and Bangladesh quickly followed.

During the winter months he would often spend five afternoons/evenings per week at Edgbaston, working on his game. Dan has received many coveted awards at Edgbaston, notably being the first player to win the Neal Abberley Trophy twice for outstanding cricketer across all age groups. However, Dan has never allowed himself to get carried away, remaining focused at all times.

This summer he joined Berkswell Cricket Club (Birmingham Premier League Champions) where he has gone from strength to strength, learning from former Warwickshire legend Dominic Ostler and Bablake’s professional cricket coach Nick James.

The Bablake community and his family are incredibly proud of his achievements; these are thoroughly deserved and a product of his hard work, dedication and commitment over so many years.

Dan has been a fantastic ambassador for cricket at the school and he will leave us in the summer held in high regard by all the staff who have enjoyed watching his progress on the cricket field throughout his time with us.

Recently, Dan signed his first professional contract for Warwickshire CCC. The dream he talked of in September 2012 has become a reality and the game he loves is now his job.

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Bronze

Duke of Edinburgh Expedition On the morning of 24th May, 12 members of staff and 88 intrepid Fourth Year pupils gathered on the school field, all kitted up and ready for two days of hiking and camping.

Throughout the year, pupils had been working towards the ‘Physical’, ‘Skill’ and ‘Volunteering’ sections of their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award and, having successfully completed their practice expedition in March, they were ready for the final challenge. The Bronze assessed expedition consisted of two days navigating through the land around the Peak District/Staffordshire border with an overnight camp at Gradbach Scout Camp, which is set within a beautiful valley that is definitely off the beaten track.

Our luck was in! We had near perfect weather conditions and no soaking wet tents in the morning! Navigating unfamiliar and often tough terrain, while carrying all of your provisions for two days on your back is no easy feat, but as always the pupils stepped up to the challenge (as well as stepping in cow pats and rivers!) All 16 groups passed the expedition with f lying colours (and rather smelly feet). Teamwork, perseverance and a good sense of humour truly is the Bablake way.

Engineering Education Scheme This year, two Lower Sixth teams participated in this highly successful scheme that encourages pupils to consider engineering as a career. As part of the scheme, pupils are selected through a rigorous application and interview process and are placed in teams of four. Each team is then allocated to a sponsor company that sets a real life problem for them to work on, starting in October and running through until the end of April. We have been fortunate to be linked with the civil engineering company Arup for a highly successful and productive 19 years and last year we recruited a second team linked with Unipart Manufacturing based in Holbrooks.

Library News The Library’s latest display highlights the vast array of books that have been made into films. We asked pupils to tell us what their favourite adaptation was and added their responses to the

Our Arup group was asked to design an iconic footbridge to be built over Coventry ring road, incorporating elements to celebrate Coventry’s Year of Culture. This group comprised Vedika Bedi, Alex Hyde, Prana Karthikesu and Kogulan Vipulan and was highly commended by the judges at their Celebration and Assessment Day, which took place in Solihull.

Our Unipart Manufacturing group had to design a system to test the design and assembly of a fuel filler cap fitted to cars.

The group designed a jig to hold the cap during its assembly and pressure test it for leaks. The solution that was designed by Maninder Dyal, Henry Pilley, Jasmine

display. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling came out on top, closely followed by ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ by Lemony Snicket. Other popular choices included ‘Divergent’

by Veronica Roth, ‘Wonder’ by R.J Palacio and ‘A Monster Calls’

by Patrick Ness. Watch out for our next display, which will be on great summer reads for pupils and staff to borrow over the summer break.

Bablake’s LGBTQ+ Society held a cake sale to raise funds for the charity Prism and the Library. We have used the generous donation to purchase more books for our growing

Marajh and Will Abdulraheem was so successful that Unipart Manufacturing are going to install it on their assembly lines!

Both teams made a big impression on the judges and were subsequently awarded Gold Industrial Cadet status to reflect the quality of their work and written reports.

Next year will mark 20 consecutive years of sponsorship with Arup, one of the longest collaborations anywhere in the country between a school and the same sponsor. It will also mark 25 years working with the Engineering Education Scheme for the Design and Technology department and we look forward to marking the occasion.

collection in this genre. We have also been following the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards and the Women’s Prize for Fiction and have many of the books on the short and longlists available to borrow.

To celebrate World Book Day 2019, the Library held its annual bookmark competition. We received many fantastic entries, making it very difficult for our previous Head, Mr Watson, to pick the winners. The winning designs are now available from the Library for everyone to use.

Why not pick one for yourself next time you visit?

BABLAKE

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Drama Crystal Ball The Crystal Ball has been going for 13 years, having been introduced by Mrs Alderson and continuing ever since as an annual event. The Senior Prefect team organised the food, the DJ and the photo booth and set up the Main Hall for a super evening for the Fifth Year, completing an impeccable clean-up operation afterwards.

Thanks also go to Mrs Shields and Mrs Tumber for assisting with arrangements, to Mr Woodward for taking photos and getting them onto social media for all to see, and to all the teachers that supported the event by coming along. The Fifth Year had an enjoyable evening and looked fabulous in their suits and dresses.

It was a wonderful end to a long and industrious term, providing an occasion to have some fun before hitting revision for GCSEs over the Easter break.

Sherbourne Fields

By Libby Stinton & Rhea Cherrington

Throughout the year, we have been busy fundraising and planning events for Sherbourne Fields School. As a group of Shell and Second Year pupils, we wanted the opportunity to meet the dedicated staff and wonderful children and to see first-hand what a difference the money raised could make.

Sherbourne Fields caters for children of all ages with a broad spectrum of needs and they can learn in a safe environment whilst receiving the help and support they need. The school has a wide range of facilities for the enjoyment and education of pupils, including multi-sensory rooms, a soft play area and an independent living flat. We are raising money to help them refurbish the hydrotherapy pool, which allows children who find physical movement hard to increase their mobility using water and play. It also allows children to increase the level of sport in their lives and gives them a break from the classroom to spend time with their friends.

Sherbourne Fields is a great school with an extremely caring atmosphere. Everybody is positive and approaches everything with a smile, despite not being able to do some tasks that we take for granted, like speaking and walking. Our visit was incredibly inspirational and thought provoking. We will never forget the children we met on that day, because we learnt that our differences should be celebrated and that they unite people.

The smiling faces that greeted us combined with their positive attitude made our time spent there extremely enjoyable and we hope to invite some of them to Bablake for a visit soon.

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What makes our production of ‘100’ special?

WhatThe makes ourspecial production ofpushed so many 100 was because we theatrical boundaries. We were so creative and ‘100’ special? imagination ran wild in rehearsals. We had so little The 100 was but special weamazing pushed so many time, still because put on an play and all the theatrical boundaries.

We were so creative cast and crew members have becomeand so close. imagination ran wild in rehearsals. We had so Suwetha little time, but still put on an amazing play and all the cast and crew members have become so close.

Suwetha What skills have you learnt or developed in the production?

Whatwhilst skillsbeing have involved you learnt or This is the first time I have tried directing. Not developed while being involved in only have I come out of my comfort zone, I have the production? found another thing to love about theatre.

This is Katy the first time I have tried directing. Not only have I come out of my comfort zone, I have found another thing to love about theatre.

Katy What would you say to someone who is thinking about getting involved in a Whatproduction? would you say to someone who I wouldabout say to them that itinvolved is a special and unique is thinking getting experience to be involved in a production. The in a production? performance gives you a sense of pride, as you are I wouldable say to to see them thatyou it ishave a special and unique what achieved as a cast,. You experience involved a production.

The can’ttogetbethis feelinginfrom anything else. performance gives you a sense of pride, as you are Amelia able to see what you have achieved as a cast. You can’t get this feeling from anything else.

Amelia

“The performance gives you a sense of pride” – Amelia

CLASS OF

2012

Goodbye and Good Luck!

BABLAKE

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Art & Music Compton Verney The Art Department’s recent art visit to Compton Verney was a sun filled treat compared to last year’s downpours. 44 pupils were treated to a guided tour of the exhibitions by gallery staff followed by practical workshops in the afternoon.

The exhibition covered works produced from the time of the Tudors up to the present day and the workshops linked in to the theme of the exhibition: ‘Painting Childhood, from Holbein to Freud’.

An animated visit!

Adie Visit In June, Fourth Year Art GCSE pupils were visited by local artist Adie Blundell, who spoke to them about his work, his inspirations and how he creates richly embellished sketchbooks that relate to his individual way of seeing the world. Pupils will soon be visit his studio in the Canal Basin in Coventry before taking part in a oneday workshop in July aimed at developing their sketchbooks and exploring ways of researching ideas.

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In May, former pupil Dan Jack came into school to speak to groups of Lower Sixth students and Fourth Year pupils about his career path post Bablake. Having completed a Foundation Course at Saint Martins in London, Dan went on to complete a degree in animation at Bournemouth University. This then led him to work on films such as ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Goosebumps’ before he was able to strike out and set up his own business - ‘Atlantis Miniatures’. Dan designs and produces a range of figurines for fantasy board games and is currently in the development stage of producing his own game. During the visit, he gave valuable advice to our Sixth Formers about what to look for when choosing a university, setting up a business and the drive needed to succeed in a career that is clearly a real passion for him. Interestingly, a recent Guardian newspaper article reported that the Arts contribute more to the UK economy than agriculture!

Out & About Bablake invades Warwick Castle

By Elise Benfield On Friday 24th May, 62 of the finest Bablake students (Shells, of course) descended upon Warwick Castle. During the day, we explored the imposing castle, soaking up its history and marvelling at the armour in the Great Hall and the wax models that were so realistic that you almost felt as if you had gone back in time. My group started with an interactive show given by the bowman of Warwick Castle, who was armed with funny anecdotes as well as arrows. Fun fact: Did you know that a long bow can fire up to about 240m, which is almost the

length of two football pitches? We were all glad that we were not in battle against him as his aim was on point. We then walked along the battlements to the top of Caesar’s Tower (the highest tower above sea level), over the gatehouse and barbican and through to Guy’s Tower. The two portcullises were designed not only to keep the enemy out, but also to trap enemies between them. We were then told the story of the Falconer’s Quest, featuring a jaw-dropping display of birds, from owls to avian condors and bone eating vultures. It was an amazing day!

West Midland Safari Park On Trips Day, many of the Third Year visited the West Midland Safari Park.

The day began with a four-mile safari-style drive through the four main areas African Plains, Wild Asia, Carnivores and Elephant Valley. Mr Nicholson kindly stepped in to be the ranger on the coach and provided the commentary; he received excellent reviews so this could be a whole new career for him!

Pupils also visited the Land of the Living Dinosaurs, which is the UK’s largest animatronic dinosaur attraction. They had access to the Ice Age exhibit, where they enjoyed a prehistoric journey into life on Earth after the dinosaurs became extinct, wandering through an enormous rumbling volcano and passing through a huge atmospheric ice cave. They walked the Discovery Trail, which included seeing penguins, sea lions, reptiles and creepy crawlies, visited the sea aquarium and took a trip into the twilight cave inhabited by fruit bats. Many also took the long walk to the African Village that houses lemurs and meerkats.

Pupils attended a workshop on the Power of Plants, where they discussed which materials come from plants and how plants adapt to live in certain climates. They also got to meet a bearded dragon and a stick insect!

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Shell trip to the 35 Shell pupils, accompanied by Mesdames May, Bilsland, Pfennig and Monsieur Lussier spent an action-packed three days exploring French culture and language in the Opal Coast region of France at the start of May half-term.

We started the tour with a visit to the Nausicaa Sealife Centre in Boulogne, the biggest aquarium in Europe, where we were able to see sharks, jellyfish and sea lions (amongst others!) up close and learn about their habitats before making friends with the manta rays in the touch pool. After the obligatory visit to the gift shop, we were back on the coach and off to meet Eric, a boulanger traditionnel, who explained to the group, entirely in French, how he makes and prepares hundreds of traditional breads, croissants and pains au chocolat every week – we even got to taste some.

Our final stop on Saturday was to the historic town of Montreuil-sur-Mer where we had a language lesson with Hannah France. The teachers were lovely and didn’t laugh too much when some of our pupils forgot the basics! Sweets and games helped the learning process and everybody seemed to leave

feeling a little more confident about their ability to speak French.

On Sunday, we discovered a little more about the town of Boulogne thanks to our tour guides before heading off to arguably the highlight of the trip – l’Escargotière du Choquel (‘snail farm’ to the non-French speakers!). We learned about how these creatures are bred and raised before getting up close and personal with some of the stars of the show.

As snail mucus is apparently good for your skin, it wasn’t long before most of the Shells were walking around with shells attached to their faces. After a snail tasting, where many pupils were surprised to discover that they actually tasted quite nice, we headed back to the ferry for the journey home.

The visit was short but sweet, and we hope to continue to run this trip for future generations of Shells.

Black Country Museum visit For many of our pupils, the highlight of this visit was undoubtedly the fish and chips lunch eaten in the park next to the museum’s café!

The ordering, payment and collection of over 100 portions required the level of organisation of a well-run military campaign, though Mrs Rees (whose responsibility this was) has been overheard on several occasions muttering darkly, ‘never again’! Apart from a few staff who nipped in to purchase a well-earned coffee, no one took much notice of the café itself, which was a shame as it has a noble history. It is housed in The

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Workers’ Institute, originally from Cradley Heath, moved to the museum in 2006 and rebuilt brick by brick. The building dates from 1913 and was financed by the surplus donations received to support a strike by women chain makers, led by Mary Macarthur of the National Federation of Women’s Workers.

Macarthur was a supporter of women’s suffrage and stood for election in 1918, coming second to the Liberal candidate in Stourbridge by only 1,333 votes. She sadly died in 1921, aged 40, but the Institute stands as a memorial to both her and the women chain makers of Cradley Heath who fought such a successful campaign for better pay for women workers.

Sport Badminton

Our final badminton tournament took place at the end of the Spring Term and a large number of pupils participated and played to a high standard. Once again, Ravi Bodalia and Krish Bodalia went head to head in the final, with Ravi winning in a close game, meaning that he remains undefeated in his time at Bablake! Ravi has been a key member badminton team and this was his final school competition before he leaves to go to university to read Medicine.

Reflecting on his years at Bablake, Ravi said that he had taken great pleasure in organising and leading the badminton team. He enjoyed

getting so many players involved and was proud that they excelled as a team during fixtures.

This year we managed to beat both Princethorpe and Solihull schools with convincing scores and only narrowly lost to King Edward’s Birmingham. We have also arranged two successful badminton tournaments with a large turnout and many intense matches.

Ravi leaves feeling optimistic at the increase in popularity of badminton in school and urges new pupils to take up the sport and attend the Friday Badminton Club.

Rhodes Mitchell-King

On the Ball!

Lewis Carroll

The football season ended with a dramatic 3-1 win against King Henry VIII in the classic clash against our closest rivals. Despite a slow start to the annual campaign, 2019 saw an upturn in results for the First XI. These victories included a well-deserved 3-2 win over Alcester Grammar School. This was a marked reversal of fortune from our 6–0 defeat earlier in the campaign! Also notable was the 4-0 triumph over King Edward VI, Camp Hill. The season would have looked a lot bleaker without our top goal scorer, Daiwik Jagatia, playmaker Rajhan Bancil and the experienced head of Ted Larkin at the heart of the defence. Injuries suffered by key players such as our vice-captain Joseph Sweeney certainly tested the strength of the Bablake First XI. The entire squad is to be commended for its effort and sportsmanship.

There are five ice hockey Conferences in the UK, and each team comprises elite players from clubs assigned to that regional Conference.

Back in May, Rhodes took part in the UK Inter-Conference Tournament at Ice Sheffield.

Rhodes has trained monthly with the elite Midlands Conference U17s and we are delighted to report that Midlands U17s gained a place in the final and went on to win the tournament, in its 25th anniversary year. Many coaches and managers complimented Rhodes on his thinking and his defensive hockey; this tournament is indeed ‘showcase hockey’ and shortly afterwards, Rhodes received a written invitation to trial for GB U18s in August.

We wish him every success.

The Second XI had an encouraging season, also securing victory against King Henry VIII; Captain Harrison Coeullé was fundamental to the team’s performances and to raising morale.

The U16As were the most successful senior team in the school and while their season was very short, they won two and drew one of their games.

Shaylan Thakrar, Joshua Park and Sam Herniman should get special mention as they were promoted to the first XI for the final match.

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Girls’ Sport Emma Allroggen Emma Allroggen continues her to train and play matches for the U16 England hockey squad. Over the Easter break, Emma played three tough matches against Holland and took on the role of captain in one game, which was a valuable experience and a real honour.

The weekend prior to her GCSEs starting, she travelled to Scotland to play two matches against the U16 Scotland team and England won both. While continuing to balance her sport and revision, Emma also trained over half term and has now been selected for the upcoming series as one of 18 U16 England players who will play away against Germany and Belgium. Our congratulations and admiration go out to Emma on her successful performance at this level of hockey, while maintaining an organised and positive approach to her studies.

Sports Social On Thursday 23rd May, the annual sports social was once again enjoyed by pupils, parents and staff. The atmosphere and weather couldn’t have been better and everyone enjoyed the hog roast and ice cream on offer, while watching pupils play some competitive rounders matches against their peers and staff. We thank all pupils and parents for their commitment to school sport over the last year, and look forward to celebrating with you again next summer.

Cricket We are excited to report that we introduced girls’ cricket to our games programme for the first time this summer.

Rounders With such a short summer term and disruptive weather, the girls have still managed to compete in a number of rounders fixtures across the age groups.

The U12s and U13s are leading by example and have demonstrated some first class play and decision-making. The U13s had a very well contested game v King Edward VI High School for Girls and were victorious (14.5 - 13). Both age groups are yet to lose a match.

The U14s had an impressive result against Kingsley (15 - 6) managing to get the opposition out in one innings. The U15s have been the first to compete in their Coventry Schools Tournament. They once again made the final, but on this occasion, they unfortunately finished runners up. The U14s went one better, finishing as winners.

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A number of girls have had the opportunity to represent the school playing alongside the boys, which has been really rewarding for them. Our first fixture was against King’s High for our U12s.

They found the morning very enjoyable, and were victorious! We hope to introduce more fixtures next summer and would encourage the girls to play both inside and outside school.

Athletics We continue to see great success on the athletics track from our multi-talented girls. The Inters (Fourth and Fifth Year) and Junior (Second and Third Year) Championships was the first competition to be held, with the Year 8 Championships to follow. Despite the unfortunate weather, the Coventry team was selected from the girls’ personal bests from across the city, and included the following Bablake pupils: Juniors: Hannah Elliott - 800m, Beth Akinkoye - Javelin, Emily Maughan - Javelin, Imogen Pemble - Long Jump Inters: Freya Bennett - 800m, Grace Cox - Javelin The girls went on to represent Coventry at the West Midlands Championships on 8th June, with some outstanding personal bests, despite the horrendous rain! We must congratulate Freya Bennett on selection for the West Midlands team for 800m.

The English Schools Track and Field Cup event was just as successful as the last. The girls competed with grit and determination, with the inters finishing runners up and the juniors going one better finishing as champions. Congratulations to the junior team on qualifying for the Regional A final which took place on Monday 17th June. This event included some of the best competitors from around the region and our girls did outstandingly well, finishing 6th in the Midlands. A special mention must go to Imogen Pemble on her long jump PB of 4.54m, to Hannah Elliott and Daniella Bleach on winning their hurdle events and to Beth Akinkoye for an outstanding Javelin PB of 20.97m in very windy conditions.

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Headmaster’s Notes

CHANGES TO

TEACHING STAFF

Mr Seaborne, who was Headmaster between 1937 and 1962, would issue advice to all new staff arriving at Bablake.

for September Valete Mr John Drury

His opening line was, “The most frequent cause of indiscipline is boredom; and the greatest prophylactic against boredom is variety.” I think Mr Seaborne would be pleased to know that there has been little opportunity for boredom and idleness this term!

Mr Jim Burns Ms Catherine Lynch

and an equally impressive EPQ event and yet another outstanding drama production.The Spirit of Opportunity is alive and well!

You will have read that two longserving colleagues are leaving us this summer for a very welldeserved retirement. Mr Drury started in 1975, meaning he has taught at Bablake for 44 years. Mr Burns started 25 years later, so has only served a mere 19 years!

Both will be very much missed, hundreds of pupils have benefited from their care, commitment and good humour and been inspired by their love of their subject.

There will be ampler eulogies in the Wheatleyan.

Visitors often ask why our exam results are so good; we always tell them that they are the outcomes of high expectations, a highly supportive environment (as much at home as at school) and the wide range of opportunities on offer. It’s these opportunities that extend our knowledge and experience and help develop some of the important skills such as organisation, leadership and collaboration. Highlights this term have included significant numbers completing their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award, a superb Symposium evening

Miss Kate French Mr Glen Mellor We wish all these colleagues every happiness and thank them very much for their loyal service to our community.

Salvete We look forward to welcoming: Ms Linda Sherry (Psychology) Mr Alan Elliott (English) Miss Hayley Goody (DT and Food) Miss Katie Marriott (PE) Mr Richard Rawlins (Business and Economics)

Andrew Wright Headmaster

OPEN MORNING

Saturday 21 September 9.30am - 12.30pm

Bablake School Coundon Road, Coventry CV1 4AU

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