Simba - Issue 46 by Bablake

Issue 46 | Summer 2022

News from BKHS Bablake Preparatory and BKHS Pre Prep School

hat makes Bablake so special? I am often asked this question.

When the buildings, lessons and activities are all stripped away, what is found at the heart of our school are the people, the relationships that we share and the care that we have for one another that binds us together as a community. Helen Keller, a famous American author, once said, “Alone, we can do so little; together we can do so much.” The sentiment contained within these words holds for Bablake Prep when I reflect on the story of the past two years. Our community continues to be defined by our sense of responsibility toward each other and our relentless pursuit of excellence in everything that we do.

Throughout this term, we have been exploring the characteristics of what makes our community strong. Most importantly, our greatest strength is our diversity which is representative of 44 nationalities worldwide. Our culturally rich school is underpinned by the respect we have for each other, the care that we share for our differences and the celebration of our individual strengths. We are proud of our school, our collaborative endeavours and the successes achieved by the individuals that make up our community which keeps Bablake moving forward into the future. Finally, our determination to provide various opportunities for our community to participate gives our community strength. The highlight of this term was celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, where we planted a Silver Birch tree to mark this extraordinary occasion.

Mr Lorrian Holder Headmaster

www.bkhs.org.uk

Nursery

Reception CELEBRATING EID

The children in Nursery had a fabulous time celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. They had a picnic outside and enjoyed playing on the field. Despite the rain, they had fun and especially enjoyed eating their Jubilee cakes – yummy! Miss Holmes

Following on from our exciting Diwali, Christmas and Chinese New Year celebrations earlier in the year, we devoted a day to celebrating Eid in Reception. We were lucky to have the help of a parent, who offered their knowledge and time to start our ‘Eid Day’ by talking to us about why Eid is so important to Muslims and how it is prepared for and celebrated. We were shown traditional decorations and a demonstration of Mehndi patterns used for the Eid festivities. Throughout the day, the children enjoyed fun activities as part of the celebration, including making a crescent moon and star decoration, designing an Eid card, painting a lantern and practising some Mehndi designs of their own. Alongside these activities we learnt where Muslims go to pray and compared a Mosque to other places of worship that are familiar to us. We all had a wonderful day and enjoyed the festival! Mrs Wright

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YEAR 1

YEAR 2

Art and History at the Herbert

Sea Life Centre trip

Year 1 enjoyed an exciting visit to The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum this term.

We visited the Sea Life Centre to learn about and investigate the impact plastic pollution has on our oceans.

We explored the different galleries and especially loved learning about Coventry’s past in the museum rooms. We were able to use all that we had learnt in our Art lessons this term to spot certain features, mediums and techniques in the art that was displayed. The highlight for many of the children was the special printing workshop which focused on patterns. We started by looking around and discovered that we could see patterns everywhere! Then we went to the special art room and created our own prints featuring animals and patterns using polystyrene tiles, rollers and printing ink.

The children were able to suggest many ways that we could help by reducing our plastic usage. Year 2 really enjoyed seeing the huge variety of sea creatures which made them even more aware and determined to help protect and preserve them for as long as possible. Mrs McElligott

Miss Lewis

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School News Art Exhibition Honours

CHARLIE AT CHELTENHAM Charlie went to Cheltenham Racecourse for The Pony Club Annual Race Day over the Easter break. He had an amazing day and won his race! Charlie says that he gets really nervous before his races and he’s not a naturally brave rider but he was very proud of his achievement and improvement from previous races. He races and competes in all sorts of other events throughout the year including cross county, show jumping and mounted games. Good luck in your other events Charlie!

Seven Bablake children were lucky enough to have artwork selected for the SATIPS (Support and Training in Prep, Primary and Senior schools) Art Exhibition, held at RMS for Girls in Hertfordshire. It was exciting to see their artwork on display alongside 16 other UK Prep Schools. Their work included an ammonite ink painting, a pastel fantasy world sketch, a Victorian still life painting and a collection of Chris Kenny inspired collages. We also took part in an Art workshop during the visit. Many congratulations to Ameen, Ayla, Maryam, Alina, Emilia, Venice and Henry for representing our school. King Henry VIII Prep also accompanied us on this trip, the first combined venture for our Prep School Art departments. Mrs Jeffcoat

Bablake pupils on Rugby tour Several of our Year 5 boys compete as part of the Barker Butts RFC U10 rugby team and they were fortunate enough to travel to Bude over the Easter break. The team had a great time and it was a good experience for many of them to go on sports tour for the first time. There were many awards and one of the Bablake boys was honoured with the trophy for ‘Best Tourer’ – the award is given to a player for behaviour and performance on and off the pitch, with and for his team. Well done Magnus!

Jaron flying into his first acting role

ART WALK!

In the Autumn Term, Jaron auditioned alongside 60 other children for part in Peter Pan – a musical adventure that was performed at the Belgrade Theatre in May. Jaron was delighted to have been chosen for the principal role of Michael in the production. This was Jaron’s stage debut and it was a fantastic experience for him. Jaron enjoyed working with the cast and crew and was able to work on his singing, dancing and acting skills at the same time (as well as flying!). It was a truly magical time in Neverland that he will never forget. He would like say a massive thank you to all his school friends that were able to come and support him and cheer him from the audience!

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Our local scenery has changed this year since the development of the Green Corridor from Nauls Mill Park through Abbotts Park, under the ring road and to the Belgrade Plaza. Year 4 enjoyed a wonderful walk of contrasts and mother nature, as they collected ideas for their Art and English work this term. Sketching and taking photos of their inspiration was just the beginning of their journey into making a beautiful handmade book. Mrs Jeffcoat

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Dancing Queens! Earlier this term Hannah (Year 6) and Ariana (Year 5) were awarded their International Dance Teachers’ Association (IDTA) Grade 2 Tap. Ariana also won the termly award for perseverance. Both girls attend the Orme School of Dancing in Coventry.

KARTING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

COUNTY CRICKET CALL-UP

Hugh in Year 6 has been karting for 2 ½ years and he drives for the Ambition Racing Team based in Essex. The team is the most successful Cadet team of all time. Hugh drives a Honda Cadet Kart with a Synergy chassis – the kart can hit 60 mph! He is currently leading the National Championship after six rounds (there are 12 rounds in total). At each race, Hugh has a Manager, a Track Coach, a Data Engineer and a Mechanic so it’s a real team effort. He won five out of six races at the last round which took place at Glan-y-Gors circuit in Snowdonia. The next round takes place at Fullbeck circuit in Lincolnshire in July.

Phoebe has been selected to play for Warwickshire County Cricket U11 girls, a year above her age group. She was put forward for trials by Corley, her local club, and she had to go through two trials before she was selected. She has done exceptionally well and is really enjoying travelling to different counties to visit the cricket grounds, taking lots of wickets along the way. This girl definitely can!

– Good Luck Hugh!

Coventry Cathedral’s Diamond Jubilee We were very fortunate to be part of the Coventry Cathedral Diamond Jubilee celebrations. It was an honour to be involved and our Head Boy and Head Girl were able to be part of the service and to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and Bishop Christopher. It was a wonderful service of thanksgiving and we were grateful to be part of the celebration along with many other local guests.

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Charity

Mr Patrick Sullivan was able to join us again this term to talk to us about the valuable work that Bwengu Projects have been carrying out in Northern Malawi.

Queen’s Jubilee

This is a small family run charity that focuses on renovating school buildings, providing school toilets, school furniture, whole-class teaching kits, adult literacy, and orphan care. The children were very happy to support this worthy cause and raised money during Africa Week through various activities. Thank you to everyone for your support!

WHAT’S ALL THE BUZZ? Year 5 pupils were able to visit the British Beekeepers’ Association in Stoneleigh Park this term as part of their science topic, Living things and their habitats. We are very lucky to have this national charity headquarters nearby and we are grateful to all of the volunteers who supported the sessions for our pupils. The children learned lots of facts about honey bees, from the waggle dance to how colonies work and how hives are built. They all enjoyed tasting the sweet honey and made their own beeswax candles to take home. ‘Epic’ was the word most used to describe dressing up in the protective bee suits and getting to hold the kettle smokers. We all enjoyed a great day of science!

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It was an honour to be able to celebrates of service to our country by Her Majesty, the Queen, at our own Platinum Jubilee Party. Reverend Slavic began our day with an uplifting religious service including prayer, the Jubilee song and heartfelt singing of the National Anthem, accompanied by Mr Cooper on the cornet. Then to the pupils’ great surprise, we welcomed a Royal visitor! We enjoyed a wonderfully informative assembly learning about the many times that Queen Elizabeth had visited Coventry, and her years of service. Pupils then grabbed their Union flags to wave and cheer as our visitor planted a beautiful birch tree, our Tree for the Jubilee. A classic British fish and chip lunch with jelly and ice cream was enjoyed by all and classes spent time throughout the day learning about her Majesty, her life and her service. Mrs Jeffcoat

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YEAR 3

THE GREAT BABLAKE BAKE OFF Year 3 honoured the Jubilee with some very British baking. Based on the ‘Platinum Pudding’ competition run by Dame Mary Berry, Year 3 pupils were tasked with producing a Lemon Curd Trifle. Using skills from their DT lessons, the children had to chop, grate, spoon, whisk and sprinkle in order to produce their final piece.

A wonderfully messy morning with some very tasty results!

YEAR 4

PGL ADVENTURES Buggy building, fencing and a tunnel trail were three of our thrilling activities at PGL. These three activities kept our feet firmly on the ground, but it wasn’t long before the pupils were keen to challenge themselves to something a little higher during their three-day residential. It was wonderful to see them grow in courage, resilience and perseverance during some tough challenges where they were completely off the ground. The sky was the limit for Year 4 as they took part in All Aboard, Trapeze, Zip Wire and Abseiling. Since their return it is clear to see the impact that the residential has had: improved confidence and independence. Mrs Jeffcoat

Miss Adcock

Unlocking the Severn As part of their Rivers topic, Year 3 enjoyed a fascinating day in Worcestershire at Diglis Fish Pass. Having bravely ventured across the lock gates to the island, the children learnt about the history of the River Severn and why the lock and weir were created. They then displayed some excellent team engineering skills as they took on the Marble Run Fish Pass Challenge, competing against each other to bring the fish (marble) as safely and slowly to the lower level as they could. Following lunch, the children trekked over the river – across a very high bridge – to find the weir and view the amazing fish pass. To everyone’s delight, beneath the river, in the viewing gallery, several fish kindly made an appearance as they progressed along the pass. A great day was had by all. Mrs Hine

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YEAR 5

YEAR 6

Bushcraft

Calshot

Year 5 pupils had a wonderful time at Bushcraft and enjoyed getting back to nature. They threw themselves into everything on offer, including a dramatically realistic wilderness survival scenario complete with a crashed aeroplane, streaks of fake blood on their three teacher casualties and smoke bombs-a-plenty! They learned a number skills including whittling sticks, building shelters and building a fire in order to cook their burger lunch. Many of the children (and the teachers too!) also experienced the wonder of sleeping under the stars in shelters they built themselves.

Year 6 travelled to Calshot on the south coast for their residential trip this year.

Miss Young

There was a wide range of different activities for everybody to try, however, I was a photographer and reporter, having broken my arm four weeks earlier. Skiing on the artificial slope looked very different to actual snow but there was lots of falling and laughter from the skiers. At the velodrome, the cyclists started on the inside lap before moving onto the main track. For sailing, we had to prepare the boats before setting out onto the water. It sounded like they were having fun, and nobody fell in! On the indoor climbing wall at first some were scared, and others were natural climbers. I was able to participate in the archery, which was enjoyable. We aimed at the targets, but some of us hit the walls instead. Evening activities included epic engineering when my group invented a robot called Bob, and orienteering, where we ran around the hangar bumping into each other. On the last morning, they were back on the water for kayaking. Once everybody was comfortable, they played games, which included having to stand up in the kayak. Calshot was an amazing experience for everyone, and we thank all our teachers and instructors.

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Hannah 6D

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Girls’ Sport I am so proud of the girls this year. We have returned to a full schedule of matches and they have had many opportunities to play for the School in a variety of different sports. The girls have given 100% effort in all their matches, practices and lessons, which has been absolutely brilliant to see. Our aim is to inspire pupils to want to enjoy sport for life and I have been particularly impressed by the number of

girls who have now joined a sports club outside of school, so beginning the next step in their sporting journey. It is lovely to see so many moving towards the sporting potential in so many different sports. Thank you, girls! It has been an amazing summer with a packed schedule offering a variety of sporting opportunities.

CRICKET Everyone has had the opportunity to compete for Bablake in cricket matches this term. The U11s have had a fantastic season, culminating in the IAPS regional tournament where they bowled superbly and batted with determination to finish a creditable fifth place overall. I was particularly impressed with some of the fabulous fielding and outstanding catches. They began brilliantly by beating Spratton Hall and in a nail-biting finish lost by one run against Bilton Grange. They lost to Winchetser House, then went on to beat The Manor again in a really tense close game. Well done, girls! Over the term the girls in all years have had some great wins beating The Croft, King Henry VIII, Warwick, Arnold Lodge and Solihull.

Rounders We were nearly unbeaten with all of our U8 through to U11 teams this year, losing only one match overall. The girls often outplayed the opposition with excellent tactics, which certainly helped to win some close matches. Finally, thank you to the girls for your fantastic enthusiasm and dedication to practices with over 40 girls attending some clubs, you have been a joy to teach! Mrs Haywood

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Boys’ Sport Cricket Cricket continues to be played at a high standard at Bablake and the summer term is always a pleasing time for the boys to enjoy the sunshine and play good cricket. Many schools we play against comment on how well the boys perform in cricket matches and I always put this down to the love of the game. Break times are awash with little self-organised cricket matches, football moves aside as cricket takes over on the front field! This infectious enthusiasm leads to great success in fixtures and as a great cricket lover myself, it makes me very proud to see the boys starting their cricketing journey with such enjoyment. Individually, we are blessed to have several Warwickshire County players and more and more of the boys are now playing for local cricket clubs. Well done everyone!

Under 8 The U8s have improved dramatically since a very raw start and the highlight was a convincing win against Bilton Grange with boys hitting huge 6s! Under 9 The U9s are exceptional, with many boys playing for local cricket clubs. They have been unbeaten all season and as a bowling unit they are invincible, taking bags full of wickets every match! Under 10 The U10s have found the transition to hard ball cricket tough but there has been great improvement and with more match awareness they will be a good side next year. Under 11 The U11s have been severely affected by the weather. It just kept raining on a Wednesday! They have been a great group and it has been so pleasing to see their development since Year 3. They really are a wonderful group of young cricketers.

Mr Benfield

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Swimming Gala The annual Bablake House Swimming Gala was another resounding success! There was an atmosphere of expectation and excitement in the pool as this event had been missing for several years. It was a keenly fought contest between the Houses, but Crown eventually gained victory!

Mr Norman

Year 5

House

Score

1 Place

Fairfax

2nd Place

Crow

3rd Place

Wheatley

4 Place

Bayley

Year 6

House

Score

1 Place

Bayley

2nd Place

Crow

3rd Place

Wheatley

4 Place

Fairfax

Combined

House

Score

1 Place

Crow

112

2 Place

Fairfax

106

Wheatley

Bayley

Joint 3rd Place

All of the children in Years 5 and 6 competed in this event, contributing to their House totals with determination and a great deal of effort – they all certainly looked tired by the end of it!

BKHS Bablake Prep

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