Issue 84 | Autumn 2021
News from BKHS Bablake
Morning,
Mr Mayor!
A
n interview with West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street
My aspirations are to become a political journalist and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity of meeting Andy Street, West Midlands Mayor, during the October half term. He was attending a breakfast business meeting in Coventry and I was able to ask him a variety of questions. It is Coventry City Centre which has predominantly benefited from funding since Coventry was awarded the City of Culture, so I asked Andy his thoughts on how this boosted the economic status of the city. He said:
“There are tourists coming in, maybe fewer than if we were to have done it pre Covid-19, but 400,000 tickets have already been sold for events, a lot of them to ‘Coventrians’ but also to other visitors. That significantly helps the city.” Speaking about the ways in which it has boosted the job sector within the region, Andy said: “It looks like over a thousand jobs have been created indirectly through the ‘City of Culture’ and we have also trained around 500 people in areas such as event management and hospitality. In addition to this, it has been a great cultural festival.” I also asked about the state-of-the-art HS2 railway network to see if Andy thought it a worthwhile project.
He explained: “It gives us a brand new, utterly reliable, dedicated main transport spine North - South. So we have to make that once in a generation investment. You can already see the investment it’s bringing into Birmingham with the city being at the centre of that line so categorically yes.” It has been a rather eventful and successful first four years for Andy Street as Mayor of the West Midlands. He is aiming to carry his success into his second spell by enhancing the progress and development of Britain’s next generation train network, and he believes that this is one of the ways in which Birmingham and the West Midlands will recover from the pandemic in the coming years. Joshua Pilling
www.bkhs.org.uk
News A level Art A Level Art students visited the Herbert Art Gallery to see The Turner Prize.
STAMP COMPETITION Jeevan Amar in Year 10 has reached the final 120 out of a staggering 606 049 entries in the Royal Mail Heroes Stamp Design Competition. Jeevan and the School will each receive £100 in prize money at this stage in the competition. BKHS Bablake entered over 150 designs from the Pre Prep through to the Senior School and all of these pupils contributed to a Guinness World Record for the largest postage stamp competition!
BETH SHALOM VISIT On Friday 22nd October the whole of Year 9, accompanied by ten members of staff, visited the National Holocaust Centre - Beth Shalom - in Nottinghamshire. We have made this visit over twenty times as a school and once again it was a sobering but very rewarding day during which pupils learnt more about the Holocaust, reflected more deeply on prejudice and discrimination and heard testimony (via video link) from Holocaust survivor Janine Weber.
If Jeevan makes it further, she could win £500 and if she is one of the final eight, she will win £1000 for herself and for the School. We wish her the very best of luck.
GCSE ART VISIT TO COMPTON VERNEY In the Summer Term, the Art Department took a group of Year 9 and 10 pupils to Compton Verney Art Gallery.
It was a relief and a great pleasure to be taking pupils back to a gallery again. Whilst there, we enjoyed a number of very informative talks from gallery staff about the work of Mary Newcome and Rebecca Louise Law, both of whom produce work on the theme of nature, as well
as a guide through the portraits in their permanent collection. As always, it was nice to then spend the afternoon wandering through the Capability Brown designed landscape which surrounds the gallery. The work viewed links into the work currently being tackled as part of the pupils’ GCSE course.
Advice to the Ancients! Well done to Lily Birch and Rhea Cherrington for being runners-up in the third Antigone Competition - ‘Polite emails to the Ancients’. The girls entered their ‘polite emails’ to offer some quiet advice to a figure from the ancient world from a 2021 standpoint. The two winners in the under 18 and over 18 age categories were from Australia and America, so to be a runner-up is a great achievement. Their emails have been published online at https://antigonejournal.com/2021/11/ polite-emails-ancients-winners/.
CCF Cadets on camp during half term had lessons in fieldcraft including patrolling, camouflage, map reading and concealment. Training culminated in a night exercise during which they had to sneak up to the enemy and place a communication device close to their position. It was a challenging, but rewarding few days for all involved.
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News SIXTH FORM CHARITY SLEEP OUT
DESIGN AND
Technology
Some of our Upper Sixth students recently spent a Friday night completing a charity sleepout for Coventry Comfort Carers Crisis Support.
The Upper Sixth Design and Technology group made a pilgrimage to the Gordon Russell Furniture Museum in Broadway during half term. Gordon Russell was at the forefront of the Cotswold Movement of Arts and Crafts furniture design and was also responsible for the design and manufacture of the 2000 chairs in Coventry Cathedral. The tour was made even more interesting under the guidance of Master Craftsman Martin Blakeman who had worked with Gordon Russell and was able to give a superb insight into the exhibits in the museum. It was great to get back out on the trips trail and hopefully there will be more DT events in the coming months.
IT ALL
adds up…. Pupils recently participated in the Southampton Maths Challenge ‘21 and achieved the following recognition:
LIBRARY AUTUMN POETRY COMPETITION To celebrate National Poetry Day, the changing seasons and our pupils’ wealth of artistic talent, we decided to hold an Autumn Poetry Competition. We recruited former Library Co-ordinator and English teacher Mr Park to evaluate the poems. He was impressed by what he read and had the following to say about the winning entries:
Junior Challenge ‘21 Harvey Gregg Xishan Memon Lily (Lower Sixth): A clever and subtle use of structure in the final verse of her poem ‘Change’ conveyed the idea that autumn is deadly as well as beautiful; Hugo (Upper Sixth): Hugo’s untitled poem expressed the intangibility of autumn in evocative imagery;
Alfie (Shells): ‘Autumn Leaves’ personified a falling leaf and humorously turned it into the target of a Wellington-booted toddler’s foot;
Malaika (Shells): Malaika used short, pointed sentences to portray the crispness of the season.
Each participant received a poetry book and the winners and runners up a gift voucher.
Well done to all!
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Certificate of Distinction Certificate of Distinction
Senior Challenge ‘21 Vihashan Vijayaratnam
Fortunately, it was a mild night and most were able to get a reasonable night’s sleep. It was a great success and through their efforts we raised nearly £1800, enabling us to head off for a mammoth shopping trip to buy food and gifts to go to a variety of worthy causes. Contributions went to groups who support the elderly, to some who offer refuge from domestic abuse and to a local hospice. We would like to thank everyone for their support and we look forward to further events in the future. If you would like to make a donation, you can contact Coventry Comfort Carers directly at ccccrisissupport@icloud.com .
Third Prize
Sixth Form Life Drawing Earlier in the term, we welcomed in students from Finham Park 2, Coundon Court and BKHS King Henry VIII to work alongside our own Sixth Formers for a morning of life drawing with local artist Tanya Kozin. The students gained important skills in observational drawing which added greatly to their portfolios. This sort of work is increasingly being looked for in portfolios at a number of universities during interview situations.
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PERIOD POVERTY
PGL SHELL RESIDENTIAL
by Tasha Bvunzawabaya
I was horrified when I saw in the news how the pandemic was having such a huge impact on people around the world, and in ways that hadn’t occurred to me. My mother also told me how girls in Zimbabwe (where I originate from) were being directly affected by Covid-19, with a rise in teen pregnancies, as some girls without an education have resorted to prostitution. Whilst I was in the comfort of my home, receiving a good education, this was the reality for many less fortunate girls around the world. I felt that my life was diametrically opposed to theirs. I was in utter shock, but in Zimbabwe this has become ‘normal’. There is an evident chasm between their life and mine, but one thing we have in common is the menstrual cycle. For many this is a taboo topic, but I think it is very important to talk about it. Period poverty is an issue worldwide, even in England, but in countries like Zimbabwe, girls have to resort to using dried cow dung or skin as sanitary wear, because they cannot afford to purchase sanitary protection. So, I started an initiative to tackle Period Poverty.
Loving Languages! Earlier in the year, nominations were invited for a number of awards to celebrate language users, learners and teachers in Coventry, and prizes were awarded at a ceremony on Friday 8th October. We were delighted to hear that one of our Lower Sixth students, Sadie Aspinall, received the award for ‘Secondary Language Learner of the Year’. The category looked to award to a student who ‘has shown exceptional progress, resilience or determination in learning a foreign language, or who is an inspiration to others’.
At the start of the October half term, Shell pupils visited RAF Cosford and then continued on to PGL Boreatton Park to spend a few days trying out a wide range of exciting activities. I am working with my uncle who has a charity in Zimbabwe that assists children who go to school. He said “the lack of sanitary wear for girls is heartbreaking and doesn’t just affect them physically but also impacts negatively on their education. Many of the girls miss school when they are menstruating and are ridiculed by their peers at school.” Our Period Poverty initiative aims to tackle this disparity in access to what should be a simple human right.
Great fun was had by all, but there may have been just a little washing for parents at the end of it!
Single use sanitary wear is a potential source of plastic pollution and its manufacture could also contribute to accelerated global warming, so we want to avoid promoting it where possible and instead we want to equip these girls with skills to make their own reusable sanitary wear, which is far more sustainable. If you would like to help, you can donate fabric, sewing machines or thread or even new sanitary wear if you wish. The photographs show some of the people we have helped. If you can help us achieve even more we would be delighted!
Sadie studied French, Spanish, Latin and Ancient Greek at GCSE level and also has a qualification in Mandarin. She is currently doing A level French and Spanish and continues to thrive as a top linguist. Félicitations, Sadie!
In addition to this, Sadie recently heard that she had been successful in the University of Sheffield French Translation Competition 2021. Sadie was one of just ten winners and was commended for her excellent work. She won a voucher and was sent a certificate and has been invited to attend a Translation Workshop hosted by the School of Languages and Cultures.
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Autumn Concert Our Autumn Concert was a true celebration of musicianship and community. For the first time in two years, we were able to come together in performance, with the added bonus of having a wonderful audience in attendance. This was an emotional event for us all and an opportunity to reflect on our gratitude for the arts.
Shells’ Play in a Day Our annual collaborative day of creativity once again facilitated some delightful performance exploration, with Shell pupils generating lots of ideas for their Play in a Day.
Drama Showcase
ALL
Together Now Performers and audience came together to celebrate the reignition of live performance, and what a fabulous celebration it was! We all indulged in the atmosphere of the Theatre, which was electric. Soloists and ensemble vocalists were accompanied by our live student band, and highlights included songs from Les Misérables, Matilda and Guys and Dolls to name but a few. This event also featured guest performances from our BKHS Prep Schools, who came together in voice and brought the most wonderful energy to the stage.
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The Theatre was all of a buzz on Monday 15th November when Years 9, 10, 11 and Sixth Form Drama students were able to showcase the diverse body of work they have being creating in lessons. Powerful individual monologues, devised pieces influenced by Kneehigh Theatre and a colourful Theatre in Education piece were some of the performances on display. It was lovely to see everyone come together for the Lower Sixth scenes and to see such a wealth of talent across our sites.
With the final piece featuring over 100 performers, all coming together with focus and commitment to portray their message of ‘balance’, it was a lovely way to bond the year group, and to promote teamwork skills.
Beauty and The Beast Cast Announced After a tremendous display of talent and passion during the audition process, hopeful pupils eagerly awaited the reveal of the cast list for the next BKHS Bablake musical production – Beauty and the Beast. Congratulations to all who auditioned for this ‘tale as old as time’.
Music ‘Rush Hour’ Concerts Our instrumentalists are thriving in their music studies and our week of soloist concerts enabled them to share their talents with friends and family. It was lovely to see the performers overcome nerves as they took their first steps back into live performance. We look forward to seeing how their skills have developed over the year when they take to the stage once again in the spring series of Rush Hour concerts – watch this space! BKHS BABLAKE
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SKETCHBOOK CLUB Last half term, Mrs Cassell started a Coventry City of Culture Sketchbook Club, in collaboration with Coventry University. It has been popular with pupils from all years and they have all now started their own sketchbook (these can be completed individually or as a group). The idea is that each sketchbook is then submitted and will feature in an online exhibition for Coventry City of Culture.
This term Shell pupils have been focusing on portraits and in particular self-portraits. Here are some pieces done by Shell ACP and Shell KWW.
SUMMER ART EXHIBITION
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It was wonderful to be able to invite visitors in for the Art and Design Technology Exhibition at the end of the Summer Term and to celebrate the work of our pupils at the end of what had been an incredibly challenging year. Everyone worked so hard and we are all very proud of their amazing pieces of work and of the high standards they achieved.
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ADVENTURES AT ARETE! by Joshua Pilling
In August, over 70 pupils, along with eight members of staff, headed to the Arete Centre in Snowdonia National Park for five days of adventure.
Arguably the most frightening experience of the trip for me was coasteering, which involved jumping off cliff edges into the sea, swimming round to the rocks and climbing out and scrambling over to the next rock. It did push me right to the limit of my comfort zone and wasn’t my favourite activity of the trip.
We arrived at the centre and wasted no time in starting our first activity. Our instructor, Rod, drove us to Lion Rock, overlooking the lake in Llanberis, where we spent the afternoon rock climbing. The next day we went to a slate mine in Rhiwbach Quarry; this was one of my favourite activities. With a sense of anticipation and excitement, we entered the mine, taking good care due to the tight, small caves. Whilst underground we were given the daunting task of zip wiring ourselves over a stretch of water and safely sliding to the other side. I was really reluctant to do this at first but, encouraged by friends and peers, I managed the journey across. We heard about life as a miner and it was intriguing to learn about the jobs our ancestors once did in the mine. We were shown how to split a slate using special tools, so I had a go and found that cracking the slate was quite an enjoyable and satisfying experience! Gorge scrambling was one of the highlights of the trip for many of us. We navigated ourselves around boulders and streams, jumped in from high rocks and even ducked under waterfalls – mainly to save ourselves from getting too wet! It was something hardly any of us had done before and it was exhilarating to try something new.
On the last day we went rafting at Llyn Padarn, a nearby lake. We were split into two groups - those who wanted to get wet and those who didn’t - I have to admit, I wanted to stay dry! The scenery round the lake was stunning and we could see Snowdon in the distance. The support from the leaders was incredible, especially when they were pushing us out of our comfort zone to try new experiences. I think that I would go on the trip again, if given the chance, although no electronic devices and a lack of football was quite hard to cope with for a week! Being back in school after lockdown has been great, but it was brilliant to get away and to get to know people a little better. Many thanks to all the staff for making it such an enjoyable trip.
We spent the third day kayaking and coasteering at Porth Dafarch on Anglesey. We shivered as we walked down to the beach whilst carrying our kayaks. In the water, we had to judge the waves to make sure we could turn in the right direction when required.
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ART IN BLOOM! At the start of Autumn Term, we were able to work with talented local artist Katie O (@KatieOArt) to give our outside Art building a creative upgrade.
The artwork was completed over two full days and thankfully the weather was good so there were no interruptions. It was wonderful to see the pupils gaining in confidence as they worked and the end result was testament to their enthusiasm and talent. The pupils ranged from Shells to Lower Sixth and they enjoyed the opportunity to work with a practising artist.
This was a very positive way of demonstrating just one of the career pathways open to them in the Arts.
The inspiration for this project came after Katie’s work was seen in the Earlsdon area, and when we approached her she was happy to get involved in the project. Our Art Scholarship pupils were able to help plan the design and to choose some of the areas they wanted to work on early in the project. Katie came into school at the start of the year to work closely with pupils and to give inspiration to help bring their ideas to life. It was very motivating for the pupils to see they would be involved in the actual creation of the mural and not just its design. They had the opportunity to understand the parameters in which they were working as well as the style that was going to be used and were able to practise some of the floral design work that was needed for the piece.
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BOYS’
Sport
Rugby The first of Bablake and King Henry VIII School’s Friday night rugby fixtures at the Butts Park Arena saw a thrilling 1st XV match against local rivals Solihull School in front of hundreds of partisan spectators. In a tense match, BKHS triumphed 20-12 with a performance packed full of character and skill, and finished with a stunning try by Charlie to clinch the win. With BKHS U12A and B teams challenging both Solihull School and Stamford School prior to the 1st XV match, and themselves putting in some stunning performances, the evening was a great success. BKHS is very much looking forward to our next Friday night fixture at the Butts, when our 1st XV will take on KES Stratford at 6.30pm on Friday 10th December. The match will be preceded by our U13A and B teams who will play at 5.00pm.
Basketball team triumphs in 43-32 win over Cardinal Wiseman Back in October, we made history by representing the School for the very first time in a challenge match as part of the Coventry Schools Basketball League. The team played against Cardinal Wiseman and it was a very tough first match; ably led by basketball enthusiast Mr Ward, the team managed to get its first win of the season. Even without much previous in-game experience, the squad succeeded in adapting to the tough defensive needs of basketball, with each player successfully halting the opposing team’s progress during the first quarter of the game. This was complemented by the impressive offensive performances from the more abled shot makers of the team. This great balance of offense and defence led the team to be up by 10 points by the end of the first quarter.
It has been another busy term of boys’ hockey and it has been great to see boys from both sites coming together to represent BKHS. The 1st XI have been impressive; each week. They have grown in character and demonstrated the ability to compete on a very tough fixture circuit. They have recorded excellent wins against Adam’s Grammar, QMGS, KES Stratford and KES Camp Hill. They look forward to the return fixtures against Warwick, Solihull and BVGS, games they have lost by the smallest of margins. With continued hard work and commitment, the 1st XI have the opportunity to prove themselves as one of the strongest 1st XIs of recent years. The 2nd XI and 3rd XI have also enjoyed success this term and competition for places has created a really positive environment and has ultimately improved the standard of hockey.
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After this impressive feat from Philip, the final quarter ended smoothly, leading the team to an impressive 43-32 win over Cardinal Wiseman.
Well done to all in the BKHS Bablake Basketball Team! Joshua Ogbonna
The second quarter was more challenging and started with a new rotation of players. Our opponents also brought on strong substitutes which challenged our defence, reducing our massive lead to just two points by the end of the quarter.
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In the third quarter, Year 9 pupil Philip Basioudis took to the court and scored 20 points in that quarter alone, including an impressive run of three point makes. This led to the offense being led through him, solidifying our lead.
The junior teams have also worked hard during the Autumn Term and the U14s and U15s have enjoyed good fixtures against Warwick, Solihull and KES Stratford. It was great to see so many U12s at Junior Hockey Club on a Friday evening at the start of the term. We look forward to this club returning after Christmas once our floodlights are back in action - an exciting project that will see significant improvement to our hockey facilities.
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GIRLS’
Sport HOCKEY
There has been lots of hockey played so far this term, including new fixtures against Malvern St James and RGS Worcester. The 1st XI had close wins against Northampton High and Malvern St James, winning 2-1 and 2-0 respectively, with more comfortable wins over Wolverhampton Grammar and Nottingham High. The 2nd XI has had a healthy fixture list, having played eight matches already, with wins over Wolverhampton Grammar and Nottingham High. There have been excellent team and individual performances within our junior age groups. The U15s have had some triumphant wins, and nail biting near losses, against King’s Worcester and RGS Worcester. The U14s have started their 11-a-side hockey very positively with three wins out of five, with a 6-0 thriller over King Edward’s VI High School for Girls. The U13 and U12 age groups have seen great levels of representation as we have fielded A-F and A-H fixtures against King’s High, Princethorpe and Solihull. Individual successes include Imogen Pemble, who played in the England Hockey Futures Cup in August and Milli Robertson, who has been selected for the England Hockey Midlands Performance Centre.
CROSS COUNTRY Krista Bennett (Year 10) has had a good start to her cross-country season. She is competing in the West Midlands Young Athletes League and was placed 7th out of 150 in her first event. She also finished second at the Coventry Schools event.
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NETBALL It has been an immensely busy start to the netball season with BKHS Bablake entering several tournaments as well as upholding our fantastic friendly fixtures. The U12s started enthusiastically with substantial wins over Old Swinford and Welland Park Academy in the School Sports Magazine Competition, before coming up against a strong King’s High team. There was a nail-biting match against King’s Worcester, which was enjoyed by the home crowd, finishing with 18-17 win. The U14s have reached the third round of the Sisters n Sport National Competition, having beaten King’s High and King’s School, Gloucester. The U16s are also having an exceptional cup run, as they have beaten Rugby School, Thomas Telford and Nottingham Girls’ School to reach the fourth round in ‘Sisters n Sport’.
With an impressive team performance and spirit, the U16s won the Warwickshire, Coventry & Solihull County Tournament. They were undefeated in all four matches and will progress to the Midland finals in January. At senior level, there have been some highly competitive games including an extremely close Sisters n Sport match against Rugby School, where we narrowly missed out on progressing further with the game finishing 30-31. On an individual level, we have some students that have been recognised for their talent outside of school. Hannah Denton (U18) has been selected for the U19s WASPS academy; Imogen Pemble and Hannah Elliott (U16) for the U17 WASPS long squad; Libby Harrison (U16) for the U19 Coventry WASPS hub; Summar Malhi (U15) for the U15 WASPS long squad. Sheen Tomar (U15), Megan Hart, Alexandra Becque, Caitlin Genus (U14) and Emily Cantrill (U13) have all been selected for the U15 County Academy.
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SHELL
Olympics At the start of the Autumn Term, the annual Shell Olympics were held to welcome all of our new Shell pupils into the House system. They took part in a wide range of activities while their parents avidly cheered them, at the same time taking the opportunity to meet and chat with other Shell parents. Each House groups moved around the activities with pupils competing in each one for eight minutes and scores were added together at the end.
Events included penalty shootout (using a rugby ball!), relay race, netball shoot-out, hockey slalom, welly-wanging and an obstacle course. Pupils seemed to particularly really enjoy throwing wellies over their heads and seeing how far they could get them. Thank you very much to our House Prefects who did a brilliant job in supervising each activity, encouraging the pupils and keeping track of the scores. In the end it was Crow Girls and Bayley Boys who were triumphant, with each team winning a trophy.
Well done to everyone!
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