The Lion - Issue 55

news & views from bablake school issue 55 summer 2011

In this issue Top bookworms... 02 Skiing for gold 03 Laying down the law 04 Eggscellent work 05 Charity shorts 06 D of E 07 Edinburgh Fringe 08 Musical links 09 Bletchley Park 10 Travel snapshots 11 Pretty in Prague 12 Remembering the fallen 13 Sport 14

Karneval!

Mardi Gras!

The tradition of Karneval and Mardi Gras is celebrated all over the world, even at Bablake where our Junior Languages Club celebrated by learning about some of the traditions in France, Germany and Spain and by making some stunning masks. Lots of fun was had researching styles and then turning the designs into reality.

Our Austrian assistant, Christine Seidl, shared her experiences of the festival with pupils and she carried out the traditional throwing of sweets to children in the foyer of the Languages Block.

Schoollife

Tasty competition The House Ready Steady Cook Competition has been very popular again this year. It started off with some very enthusiastic Shells producing wonderful salads to support the five a day message.

This was followed by the Second Years who created some very interesting and varied stir fries. The next competition will be for Third Years and we are looking forward to sampling their innovative pasta dishes!

Top bookworms...

To acknowledge and reward Bablake’s many avid readers, the Library’s Top Readers’ Presentation for Shells, Second and Third Years took place on Friday 13 May. This date proved lucky for Shell W and Mr Parkins with an incredible 403 issues in the Autumn and Spring terms! 2R were top in the Second Year with 277 issues and 3G were winners in the Third Year with 79. The triumphant forms each shared a box of chocolates in celebration of their reading achievements.

Individual pupils in each form were also rewarded with book tokens. Lubnaa Khan (Shell W) topped her form with an impressive 73 issues, Shannon Hasan (2R) demonstrated her love of books with an amazing 164 and Matthias De Veer (3M), flying the flag for the boys, led the Third Year readers with 38.

Runners up in the Shells were Suzi Frances Barrett (Shell W) and Erin Ryan (Shell R). In the Second Year Samantha Samson (2C) and Hannah Davies (2R) proved their reading credentials coming second and third and Alice Ryan and Lisha Parekh were hot on the heels of Matthias for the Third Years.

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Making music Congratulations to all of the musicians who took ABRSM music exams in May. The two days of exams covered a wide variety of instruments from grade 1 to grade 8. All pupils passed, with a number gaining merit or distinction, which is a tremendous achievement. Special mention must go to Sam Lewis (grade 8 flute with merit), Bradley Gill (grade 4 clarinet distinction), Josie Hyde (grade 1 piano distinction) Bethany Carter (grade 4 flute distinction), Isobel Ferguson (grade 8 flute) and Aron Sood (grade 8 saxophone).

Schoollife

Skiing for gold Hurtling down friction matting isn’t everyone’s idea of fun, especially when you’re faced with a course designed to test commitment, bravery and technical skiing ability.

For the Bablake ski racing team, though, there was no better way to spend a Sunday in March.

Helena Farren, Katie Hodges, Hannah Jewkes, and Hannah Ledbrook donned skis and safety gear to take on the region’s strongest school ski teams at the Ackers Trust in this year’s Birmingham and South Midlands Area Schools Ski Race. And what a performance they put on, culminating in a gold medal winning run for Hannah Jewkes who took the Individual Girls U12s title for Bablake.

Hannah recorded a combined time for both runs of 26.7 seconds, more than a second ahead of her nearest rival.

The four-strong team, which narrowly missed out on a combined medal, will now regroup in early July to take on a wider field at the Central England Snowsports Association Schools Race.

An evening of Shakespeare The Easter Term saw not one, but two junior plays come to fruition. Using scripts from the National Theatre’s Shakespeare schools festival scheme, audiences were treated to two of Shakespeare’s most well known works, Henry V and A Midsummer Night’s Dream in just over one hour. The plays were extremely well attended and gave many pupils a first opportunity to take to the Bablake stage; there is a considerable amount of talent to look forward to in the coming years.

The junior play also allows members of the lower school to collaborate with one another and it was extremely gratifying to see a large age range all working together with a collective goal. Audience response to the production was excellent and we hope to see you all again for the next play. bablake school

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Schoollife

Laying down the law The Lower Sixth Law Group of potential solicitors and barristers enjoyed the opportunity to visit Coventry Police Station a few weeks ago. They heard about the latest techniques used in forensics and saw first hand the expertise of police dogs and their handlers.

They also welcomed former Bablake student Paul McConnell, now Head of Legal practice at the College of Law in Birmingham when he came to speak about career opportunities and qualifications in legal matters. It was Paul’s first visit back to Bablake and he was impressed by the improvements, attitude of pupils and support given to budding lawyers.

Inspired by the television series Who Do You Think You Are?, several Upper Sixth pupils have enjoyed researching their family during Enrichment lessons this year.

Using the Ancestry website, they have not only been tracing their ancestors but also making contact with living relatives around the world.

The course has been run by Mr Mellers, who has done a lot of work on his own family

Rethinking the future A team of Sixth Form pupils was asked to rethink the future at Project ReDesign, a competition hosted by Dame Ellen MacArthur and supported by a number of major companies, such as B & Q, BT, Cisco, National Grid and Renault.

The team of Pippa Collison, Alex Hoare, Julia Ryland, Will Sibley, Chris Starkey and Sophie Tumber excelled itself by reaching the shortlist of five teams, chosen from 28 present, who had to make a three minute presentation and answer questions from the floor.

Brockenhurst College from Hampshire was the worthy winner of the heat but we were delighted with the reaction of the judging team which was most generous in its praise of our performance.

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tree, and although the course only ran for six weeks, it gave enough time for several pupils to make significant discoveries. One ancestor, for example, was a gardener who began to sell seeds, forming the Ryder Seed company and eventually becoming the donor of the golfing world’s Ryder Cup; another is currently trying to trace links with former Prime Minister Robert Walpole.

Schoollife

Building bridges with industry Our team of Lower Sixth pupils finally reached the end of the road with their project when they presented their work at the Assessment and Celebration Day recently held in Solihull.

For two terms the team, linked with their sponsor company, Arup, has worked closely to solve the problem of designing a bridge suitable for transportation and assembly in a disaster relief area anywhere in the world. With recent tragedies such as the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the need for such a system was really brought home to the team.

Following weekly meetings before school with engineers from Arup, the team produced a bridge which could be built in sections and

would fit in a standard shipping container, allowing it to be dispatched to any location around the world. It could then be assembled where it was needed quickly and easily using a local workforce. Judges on the day were impressed by the team’s presentation to a panel of engineers and their in-depth knowledge and research on the subject of bridge design.

Alongside their EES work, all four members of the team received a gold standard CREST award.

Eggscellent work!

First BASE Two Bablake teams recently competed with 12 other schools in the regional heat of the National BASE Business Competition.

Both teams rose to the challenge and took first and second place despite strong competition from other schools in the region.

Jonine Bains, Sapna Moran, Bhavini Parmar, Becky Pearce, Lizzie Stubbington and Katie Wainhouse made up the team which was second while Henry Chamberlain, Rhys Edwards, Ros Elkington, Alice O’Connor, Khaleeq Rehman and Charlotte Rouse won the competition and therefore go through to the National Final.

Shell and Second Year pupils in Bablake's Languages Club deserve praise for their work on the Easter task that German teacher Mrs Smith set them.

Mrs Smith explained: ‘I have set this task each year since Easter 2009 and I think the Shells’ efforts this time have been the best yet.

There is a tradition of the Easter tree, called the Osterzweig or Osterbaum, in Germany, where the custom is to bring a small branch of a tree into the house and decorate it with painted eggs.

These are normally hollow blown hens’ eggs and the decorations remind people Easter is a season of new life and colour after the dull winter. Over the course of the Easter season, the blossom and leaves of the branch come out to reinforce this symbol of renewal and hope.’

Pupils certainly ‘egg-celled’ themselves with their ‘eggshell-ent’ creations and the best ‘eggs-amples’ were displayed in our Main Reception! bablake school

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Charityshorts

Charity shorts From baking to collecting unwanted toys, clothes and books, well done to our staff and pupils for a fantastic effort on the charity front. Your care, commitment and support are very much appreciated...

red nose day We received a great response to the plea of “Do Something Funny for Money” for Red Nose Day. Many events took place, such as sponsored dressing up, staying silent, skipping in dressing gowns, chocolate finger eating and car washing.

4E also held a highly competitive girls v boys netball match.

There was a lovely atmosphere during the week and we raised an impressive £1,895.

macmillan cancer support With the full support of the Bablake community, Miss Rana Blattner and Mr Simon Enstone ran the 2011 Virgin London Marathon for Macmillan Cancer Support. Both members of staff completed the course in excellent times and all their hard work was fully rewarded because they have raised well over their target of £3,000.

Well done to both Miss Blattner and Mr Enstone, and also congratulations to the band of former pupils who also ran the race for various causes.

RNIB pears centre for specialist learning Money raised by Bablake pupils in their weekly charity collection has been used to purchase two ‘adapted trikes’ that have been specifically designed for children that are visually impaired.

Assistant Head, Mr Jim Burns, who has accompanied a group of our Sixth Form pupils every Wednesday to RNIB Rushton School and Children’s Home, soon to become the RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning, as part of our CSV

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programme, made a recent trip to the school with Eleanor Jones and Naomi Smith to present the trikes. He said: ‘The staff and students at the school have made a lasting impression on us. We hope that they will benefit from these trikes for many years to come.’

Miss Mandie Parr, Head of Sixth Form Development at Rushton, said: ‘We are extremely grateful to the pupils at Bablake for their wonderful gift. Our new premises will have an exercise area in which these trikes will provide great fun and exercise for our young people.’

cancer research collection Earlier this term the Bablake Community Service team once again arranged for us to become a Donation Station for Cancer Research UK. Pupils in the Senior and Junior Schools were invited to take bags home to fill with unwanted toys, clothes, accessories, bric-a-brac, books and CDs.

Bablakeaction

‘We are extremely grateful to the pupils at Bablake for their wonderful gift’

D of E A new batch of 75 intrepid Fourth Year pupils have walked, navigated, cooked and camped their way to successfully completing their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh expeditions.

Despite being soaked at times and sunburnt at others, and the many extra miles walked due to ‘slight’ navigational errors and numerous blisters, all pupils completed both hikes in good time and in good humour.

CCF Upper Sixth pupil and Colour Sergeant Sophie Tumber talks us through the CCF Easter Camp These were collected by staff from the Cancer Research UK’s charity shop in Trinity Street and was used to stock their shops in the region. As always, people were extremely generous in their donations and the charity has estimated that we will “bag” around £4,070. This is the third occasion that we have become a Donation Station, and have helped to raise well over £10,000 for Cancer Research UK. Thank you to everyone who contributed in any way. baking for charity Shiksha Gill (4H) has been very busy this year putting her culinary skills to good use.

For Valentine’s Day she produced large cakes, biscuits and cup cakes beautifully wrapped in cellophane and tied with a red ribbon. These were made to order and she raised an impressive £400 for The British Lung Foundation.

Earlier in the year she and Bhavika Raichura (4F) also held a cup cake sale which raised £65 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

On the 18 April 2011 Bablake Combined Cadet Force embarked on another adventure, this time travelling to Swynnerton Training Camp. Half of the contingent was up at 6am to go flying at RAF Cosford, whilst others enjoyed a lie in, setting off at the more respectable time of 12 noon! We all enjoyed a fun packed week and were split into four sections to take part in the ‘Camp Competition’, towards which all activities contributed.

The competition consisted of rifle target shooting, clay target shooting with a shot gun, marching, orienteering and inspection. It was very closely fought but congratulations must go to Section four, led by Sgt Sheard, who went on to become overall winners by the narrowest of margins. The victors received some very fancy medals which they will, no doubt, treasure!

Special mentions in the rifle target shooting have to go to Sgt Mason, L/Cpl Williams, L/Cpl Dale and Cpl Perry, who all scored highly, L/Cpl

Haughian and Cdt Powell-Tuck also scored well and Cdt Bullen, Cpl Morris, Cpl Perry and Cdt Porter all scored 5/5 in the shotgun.

During the evenings the cadets weren’t able to relax. Oh no! They had to help protect Swynnertion Training Camp, from a group of dangerous ‘terrorists’. On the first night each section set up a harbour area (although reading the map to get there proved a little challenging for some!) and from this harbour area they sent out two patrols to locate and recce the enemy base. As the first night proved to be successful, on the second night each section was able to attack the correct enemy location. This was done with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.

We all returned home safely, if a little tired, on the Thursday after enjoying a very successful camp and eagerly anticipating what summer camp may bring.

bablake school

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Bablakearts

‘Amazingly, 2011 will be the School’s 25th Fringe visit in succession’ At last the pieces of the jigsaw that make up the latest trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival are beginning to fit together.

A festive outlook...

We now have a venue – the C-eca at the Edinburgh College of Art. This is a new theatre space for 2011, and we are very excited to be one of the first groups to perform there.

Although we are very sad to lose our home of many years – Diverse Attractions – because of refurbishment, all C venues are very respected and popular spaces in which to perform.

For our twenty fifth consecutive season in Edinburgh, we are taking two short plays to the festival, The Bald Prima Donna by Ionesco, and A Resounding Tinkle by N.F. Simpson.

Both plays fit into the absurdist genre, and promise to draw decent audiences into our 60 seater venue.

Rehearsals at school begin very shortly and will continue over the Summer break, and our week at the Festival is from the 14th to the 21st of August. As well as performing our plays, we will be seeing a range of other productions and stand up comedy. It would be really good to see parents and students over the week, hopefully some of you can make it!

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Bablake’s Festival Programme Synopsis The Bald Prima Donna The Very English Smiths and Martins are waiting for the Fire Chief to explain the meaning of absolutely everything. Can he?

Ionesco: ‘If this play is a parody of anything it is a parody of everything’.

A Resounding Tinkle Kenneth Tynan called Simpson ‘the most gifted comic writer discovered since the war’ – his play concerns a suburban couple sent the wrong-sized elephant. Oh, and their Uncle forgot to tell them about his sex change.

Bablakearts

In praise of Henry!

Henry Olonga’s visit to Bablake last September so inspired Fourth Year pupil Rory Dulku that he took up the challenge of performing one of his songs at the Christmas Carol Service and in School Assemblies.

The song Someone For Me is about a girl in the Mumvuri Orphanage that Henry supports in Zimbabwe. A collection in school was added to the donations made at the Carol Service and at a church service in Southam. The result is that an amazing £1,452 has been sent to the orphanage, and Henry has expressed a desire to sing with Rory on his next visit to Coventry.

Rory then took part in the 2011 Rotary Club of Coventry Jubilee’s ‘Young Entertainer’ competition. The event was held in the prestigious Butterworth Hall in Warwick Arts Centre and while Rory was not placed in the judges' final selection, he can be justifiably proud of his performance.

Mr David Prescott, Head of Drama confirmed this, saying: ‘Rory performed excellently on the night, was a popular participant and thoroughly enjoyed the event.

The standard of competition was very high especially amongst those performing as groups.’

Easter concert The Easter concert was held on Tuesday 9 April in the Main School Hall, a lovely resonant venue that highlighted the talents of our pupils beautifully. Highlights of the first half included the Junior Choir, with a fabulous acapella arrangement of Spirituals and the Barbershop group, ably led by Mr Bunce, performing their version of Lollipop (with Lara Morley-White providing some excellent ‘pops’!). Mr Cooper got many audience members involved in the evening, adding extra percussion during the Swing Band’s rendition of Mambo No. 5.

The second half was given over to extracts from Handel’s Messiah, a fitting performance for our Easter celebrations. The small orchestra, led by Mrs Scott-Burt and conducted by Mr Crompton, included some of our Visiting Music Teachers, and also welcomed back Marie Low to lead the 2nd violins. Excellent solos were performed by Chris Starkey, Harriet Ryland, Emily Lewis, Amy Thompson, Sophie Tumber, Alex Hoare and Jonathan Evans and it was a lovely opportunity to hear some of these pupils in public before they leave us for further study in the Autumn.

Musical links Bablake School Music department has been pleased to re-establish a link with St John the Baptist Church next to the old Bablake School.

On Thursday 24 March we took our senior string ensemble along with the string quartet and soloists Georgia Powell, Matthew Lewis and Jonathan Evans to give a lunchtime recital of chamber music.

The concert was well attended, by Coventry concert goers as well as supporters of our performers, and the event was extremely well received. Georgia gave a beautiful performance of two movements from Telemann’s viola concerto, accompanied by the string quartet and Mr Crompton on continuo; the mellow tone of the viola was at its best in a lovely Church acoustic. Jonathan played a movement from Haydn’s trumpet concerto and Matthew played Elgar’s Romance for bassoon and it was a great pleasure to hear these senior music scholars share their considerable talents with us before they depart for university.

The senior string ensemble, directed by Mrs Scott-Burt, finished the concert with a performance of Peter Warlock’s Capriol suite; their committed and sensitive playing was excellent and they received many very complimentary remarks afterwards.

Altogether the concert was a great success and we hope to repeat the experience with other senior pupils on a regular basis. bablake school

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Bablaketravel If you are unable to read this report you do not have the necessary clearance.

WAJ KJNW ZGHW XM WAJ FGO YGN WAJ ZEGO ZGHR.

the famous forty go to bletchley.

THird Year pupil RUBI INGAGLIA cracKs the code at BletChley Park It has to be said that when we were told that we were going on a code-breaking mission to Bletchley Park , while the rest of the year were visiting Bath, we thought we’d drawn the short straw. How wrong we were!

On arrival we enjoyed a presentation about the importance of Bletchley Park during World War Two and how it played a vital role in the code breaking of messages during the war. We also learned about the enigma machines that were used to crack the coded messages and some of us got the chance to experiment with an authentic enigma machine, confirming that even today,

it still works. The morning was then spent cracking codes using a Pocket Enigma.

After lunch we had the opportunity to venture outside into the playground before returning to the Victorian Mansion for a further talk and tour of a room that originally housed many of the war’s active code breakers. We listened to a very informative speech about sending messages and how secrets were revealed, before the obligatory visit to the gift shop.

We left Bletchley Park with our knowledge of the history of code breaking much enhanced.

the code.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z G K P F J M Q A S U R E V L X Z B H N W C I Y D O T 10

the lion Summer 2011

Bablaketravel

Sun at last!

The Geography department recently took its 45 AS pupils to Wales to complete river and glacial investigations for this summer's modules, visiting Cwm Idwal and the Llanberis Pass.

The group stayed at a Field Studies Centre at Betws-y-Coed in North Wales Mr Jackson was pleased to report that this was the first field trip in a long time where the sun actually shone from start to finish with no rain or snow!

Bath time!

Over 80 Third Form pupils studying Latin and Classical Civilisation recently had the pleasure of visiting the Roman Baths in Bath.

We toured the site in groups, finding out about the development of the town in Roman times and its importance as a place of pilgrimage. As well as the baths themselves we saw some of the most famous pieces of artwork and sculpture from Roman Britain. We also had the chance to put our Latin skills and classical knowledge to the test in talks about Bath where we were given the opportunity to look at and decipher Roman tombstones, and handle objects made two thousand years ago.

Fortunately the weather was kind to us and we ate our lunch in the piazza outside the museum whilst listening to various performers. The day passed all too quickly but we happily headed back to our coaches filled with fascinating knowledge about Bath.

They do say that every photograph tells a story and these photos surely paint a perfect picture of 2W’s week at the school’s manor house, in Northern France. The enthusiasm for Mrs Hill's al fresco French class and the eagerness to devour monstrous ice creams chez Sanchez are both very clear. Form tutor, Mr Sam Williams, certainly set a fine example in the latter task too. bablake school

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Bablaketravel

Pretty in Prague The Economics, Business Studies and Design Technology trip this year stayed closer to home in the picturesque city of Prague and we were spoilt by the glorious sights and weather.

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We arrived very late on the first evening to find the options for food rather limited so we descended upon the local McDonalds, much to the bewilderment of its staff. In fact it took so long to serve us that we were ‘locked in’!

The next day took us to the Fleku Brewery, a micro brewery that only sells its dark lager on site; a typical niche business. This was in contrast to the following day’s visit to the Skoda factory where pupils saw continuous production for a mass market of these recently redesigned models.

Other highlights included the Easter Markets; a boat trip along the Vltava in the evening; tour of Prague Castle and an amusing Ghost tour which incorporated secret underground tunnels The Economics highlight was a lecture at the CERGE institute, explaining how the country moved from its communist state to a market state within the EU. Our final day allowed us time to relax in the park and enjoy the great weather before our trek back home.

Did you know?

Facts about Prague...

Currency: the Czech crown, symbol Kcˇ or international symbol CZK. Exchange rates: 30 Kcˇ for 1 British pound, 18 Kcˇ for 1 USD and 24 Kcˇ for 1 EUR. Public transport: metro, tram, bus.

River: Vltava.

European Union member: Yes, since 1 May 2004.

Euro currency in use: No, estimated in 2015.

Country international calling code: 420.

Historical centre: Old Town (Stare Mesto), Lesser Town (Mala Strana), Prague Castle (Hradcany), New Town (Nove Mesto), Vysehrad.

Administrative division: 22 administrative areas.

Major industries: fuels, ferrous metallurgy, machinery and equipment, coal, motor vehicles, glass, armaments.

Religion: Atheist 39.8 percent, Roman Catholic 39.2 percent, Protestant 4.6 percent, Orthodox 3 percent, other 13.4 percent.

Ethnic groups: Czech 94.4 per cent; Slovak 3 per cent; Polish 0.6 per cent; German 0.5 per cent; Roma 0.3 per cent; Hungarian 0.2 per cent; other 1 per cent.

Bablaketravel

This year’s ski trip was to Sugarloaf Mountain, via Boston, USA. 59 pupils and seven members of staff enjoyed some great weather, soft snow and quiet slopes at the end of Sugarloaf’s season.

There was some excellent skiing, including runs ideal for our beginners right through to off piste racing for our top group, as well as half pipes and jumps for the more adventurous. In the evenings, everyone enjoyed the swimming pool with sauna and outdoor hot tubs to relax their aching muscles, before activities such as trampolining,

basketball and souvenir shopping as well as our annual quiz, in which the staff team was beaten for the first time ever (by a small margin!).

After five days of skiing hard we recuperated in Boston before the flight home. The views from the Prudential Tower were incredible and the world famous Boston Duck Tour was a unique experience, but the highlight for the majority (especially the girls) was the five hour shopping spree –Abercrombie and Fitch didn’t know what had hit it! It was a truly memorable trip for all.

in brief A taste of Spain

The aromas of paella, tapas and a number of other exquisite dishes drew staff and pupils from across the school to a Masterchef session in Spanish cooking.

Mr Robert Fisher, manager of La Tasca in Solihull, kindly visited Bablake to show a group of Third year pupils, who are studying Spanish, how to cook a variety of main courses. After a quickfire demonstration, Mr Fisher raced round the kitchen encouraging the groups as he went.

The verdict on the food was clear – total silence as everyone tucked into the final dishes and there was very little food left at the end!

© Ludmila Pilecka

Ups and downs on Sugarloaf Mountain

Remembering the fallen One of the most infamous battles of the First World War is the Battle of Passchendaele, fought near the Flemish town of Ieper in October 1917. Third year pupils have made an in depth study of the fighting around Ieper in their history lessons and at the start of the Easter holidays, 30 Third Year pupils made the journey to Belgium to see for themselves where the fighting occurred and to remember the men who lost their lives there. This year’s trip was particularly poignant as we were able to locate and lay wreaths for two former Bablake students: 2nd Lt James Guise, whose grave is in Brandhoek New Military Cemetery No. 3 and 2nd Lt Frank Yardley, who is commemorated on the Menin Gate where Eva Tite and Ryan Cornell represented the school by taking part in the daily Menin Gate ceremony.

Do the sums!

In the recent Intermediary Maths Challenge, once again Bablake pupils performed excellently. In total, a fantastic 6 gold certificates, 30 silver and 29 bronze were awarded.

Well done to every award winner but our 6 gold winners deserve particular praise: Jessica Betts, Robert Faulkner, Richard Gough, James Hunter and Lara Morley-White from the Fourth Year and Keisha Simms from the Third Year whose performance was the best in the school.

bablake school

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Bablakesport

Girls’ Sport athletics The girls have a made a successful start to the athletics season, with both the Intermediate and Junior teams winning their respective Coventry Championships. Our individual champions include: Beth Mordey (hurdles); Alexa Goodyer (shot); Anna French (long jump); Amy Lilly (hurdles); Keisha Simms (100m and long jump); Aimee Piercy (shot and discus) and Narissa Pankhania (high jump).

A large number of girls have attended practices at Canley Track and their hard work has resulted in more victories. The girls won a competition against Solihull, King’s High and Arden Schools and more recently the teams took part in the English Schools Track and Field Cup, with the Intermediates finishing first and qualifying for the Midlands A Final and the Juniors finishing second and qualifying for the Midlands B Final. We look forward to these finals as well as the Shell and Second Year Coventry Championships. tennis Bablake’s first and second doubles pairs enjoyed a successful involvement in the centenary Midland Girls Schools Lawn Tennis League Tournament.

With 16 schools involved, Jonine Bains and Katie Wainhouse played some superb tennis to reach the final where they lost to Edgbaston High. In the meantime, our second pair of Alice Haywood and Beth Jepson came a commendable fourth in their section after winning half of their games.

Tennis coach Mrs Chris Scott reported: ‘I was very proud of all our players but especially delighted that Jonine and Katie improved upon

their impressive 2010 performance when they reached the semi final stage.’

Our top pair beat Handsworth Grammar in the semi final this time after confident progress through the group stage where they won six of their seven matches, beating King’s High, Princethorpe College, Shrewsbury and Stratford Grammar among others along the way. A fine Edgbaston High pair proved too strong in the final but our girls can be immensely pleased with their performance.

Great Britain’s former 1969 Wimbledon Ladies Singles champion Ann Jones was in attendance to mark the centenary of the tournament. After presenting the centenary badges, she kindly spoke with our girls about the long term benefits of tennis.

equestrian Lucy Farrington should be congratulated on winning her recent National Schools Equestrian Association (NSEA) regional heat.

Though easily one of the youngest jumpers in the 12 – 18 year old category, Lucy won her two phase competition in a superb time of 19.7 seconds.

Mr Richard Sewell, in charge of Bablake’s Equestrian team, commented: ‘I am delighted for Lucy and this is a real achievement considering she was one of the youngest competitors. As only two individuals were able to qualify for the Nationals, there was a lot of pressure on her but she has done very well.’ football Congratulations to Lower Sixth pupil Hayley Griffiths on qualifying as a Level 1 football coach during the Easter Holiday. rounders The girls have had a very successful start to the summer term.

The U15 rounders team was runner up in the Coventry Schools Tournament; the girls are playing dynamic rounders and have had excellent results so far this season, notably a 38 – 221/2 win against KEHS Birmingham.

The U14 and U13 teams have not had very many matches as yet but both teams have made good progress and saw high scoring results against Princethorpe College. (U13 261/2 – 24 and U14 231/2 – 171/2) The U12 teams have made outstanding progress this term; they have been committed and enthusiastic and their efforts have paid off.

The A team remains unbeaten with a notable 24 – 22 win against KEHS Birmingham.

Well done to the girls on an impressive start to a very short and busy season.

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Bablakesport

Chess At the start of the season we were again lucky to have international chess player John Naylor come to Bablake to coach our teams. His approach is innovative and exciting and we could certainly see improvement in all the players. John watched all the A team matches and was able memorise the games and replay them showing the players where they went wrong, which was amazing to see.

We finished fourth in Division One of the Coventry Schools’ League and the leading players were: Daniel Rowlands 5.5, George Esworthy 4.5, and Ben Maudsley 3.

Daniel’s performance was excellent given that he played board one against internationals. In Division Two the leading players were: Vikesh Puri 8, Michael Parvis 7, Albert Jie 6.5, and Christine Goldfinch 5.

Daniel Rowlands was Bablake champion for the second time, beating George Esworthy in the final.

Bablake hosted the Coventry Schools’ Lightning Competition and 37 players from schools in the area took part.

There were six exciting rounds and Matthew Rowlands.

Boys’ Sport cricket Mark Best, vice captain of our 1st XI cricket team, scored an impressive unbeaten century in the same week as his brother, Paul, made his maiden first class century and his Warwickshire limited overs debut.

Mark hit a fine 112 not out for Bablake against Camp Hill while former pupil Paul helped Cambridge University (MCCU) beat a Surrey team led by former England captain Kevin Pietersen.

Slow left arm spinner Paul, batting at 8, scored an impressive 150 which helped create a whole set of records for his team, including their highest ever total against a first class county. The game ended in a 10 wicket victory for Cambridge.

Following a week of district cricket during half term, Matthew Clements (1st XI vice captain), has once again been asked to captain his respective county age group (U15). Congratulations to Matthew Payne, who has also represented the school 1st XI, on his selection for the Warwickshire U15B squad, to Ross Parnell (U13 captain) who has again been selected for the Warwickshire U13s and to promising wicket keeper Harvey Burke, who has been selected for the Warwickshire U13Bs. athletics Boys Athletics continues to prosper, with more boys taking part in both training and fixtures.

The Intermediate and Junior teams both finished

narrow runners up in their respective City Championships. The Third and Fourth combined team has qualified for the Midlands Final of the English Schools Athletics Championships.

Congratulations to James Faulkner, Robert Faulkner, Jordan Dowthwaite-Clark, Joel Venson and Ronan Jones on being selected to represent Coventry in the West Midlands Athletics Championships. bablake school

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bablakeupdate Headmaster’s notes The rhythm of the school year, and particularly the Summer Term, has become increasingly dictated by public examinations.

Without a doubt, it is our role to prepare pupils to the best of our ability for these important challenges, and to have the highest expectations of their achievement as they cherish dreams for their futures. However, one of the great privileges of independence is that, within certain parameters, we can still do what we believe is in the best educational interests of our pupils, taking them beyond the confines of the syllabus, and avoiding the drudgery of an assessment treadmill. Education is not just to be ‘delivered’; it should be grasped enthusiastically as an opportunity to be enjoyed!

Whilst examinations are to be approached with conscientious determination and creative insight, there is so much more to the life of a school community, and our pupils’ talents are abundantly apparent in the rich diversity of their endeavours, both inside and outside the classroom. One of our greatest joys, both as parents and educators, is when our children actually surpass our expectations, filling us with a sense of excitement and pride. This could be in any number of pursuits, including music, sport, drama, public speaking and community service – to name but a few.

What actually matters most is ‘character’.

Yes, we want them to do their best academically, but, above all, we want our children to emerge from school as happy, self-confident, generous and fulfilled members of society, whose caring values and integrity stem from a shared enterprise of education – shared between pupils, staff and parents as members of the wider Bablake community.

So, as another year draws all too quickly to its close, thank you for your enthusiastic support as we together espouse an ambitious belief in our children’s potential, and in a bright and promising future.

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the lion Summer 2011

Staff news We bid a fond farewell to several colleagues at the end of this term, and more detailed tribute will be paid in my end-of-term letter and in the next edition of The Wheatleyan. We are grateful to them all for their service to Bablake, and wish them every happiness for the future: Mrs Karen Baker, Miss Kathryn Brindley, Mr Peter Burden, Mrs Gill Dolphin, Mrs Debbie Harris, Mr David Parkins, Miss Joanne Price, Mr Paul Shelley, Mrs Judith Smith, Mr Robin Smith, Mrs Dianne Surgey, and Mr Ian Tovey.

Further to announcements in the last copy of The Lion, I am pleased to announce the following new appointments for September: Miss Jodie Kukucska, Home Economics Miss Kukucska currently teaches Technology at the Hazeley School in Milton Keynes, where she has prime responsibility for Textiles. She was a pupil at Harrogate Ladies’ College, and studied for her degree at the University of Hull. She subsequently took her PGCE in Design Technology (Food Technology) at Sheffield Hallam University.

Dr Sian Foster, part-time Classics Dr Foster studied Classics, Anglo Saxon, Norse and Celtic, followed by her PGCE, at Selwyn College, Cambridge, before obtaining a DPhil in Medieval Latin at Oxford. She worked in different roles for several multi-national companies before deciding to return to teaching. She is a Governor at Balsall Common Primary School, and has already covered staff absence at Bablake.

Miss Isabel Cobo Palacios, part-time Spanish Miss Palacios studied at the University of Jaen in Spain, where she also trained as a teacher.

She has been working as a Spanish Assistant in Coventry for the last two years, this year at Bablake and King Henry VIII Schools. She will remain as our Assistant whilst also working as a teacher of Lower School classes.

Mr Peter Nicholson, Design and Technology Mr Nicholson is an experienced classroom practitioner, who is currently Subject Leader for Resistant Materials and 3D Design at Groby Community College in Leicestershire. He was a pupil at the Royal Grammar School in Worcester and trained at Nottingham Trent University.

Mrs Samantha Thompson, part-time Chemistry (Sciences) Mrs Thompson has a degree (and PGCE) in Chemistry and Business Studies from the University of Birmingham, and currently teaches at Myton School in Warwick, where she is Science Learning Co-ordinator. She enjoys educational research and has authored several textbooks.

Miss Elizabeth Sara, Learning Support Miss Sara was educated at Bablake, where she was School Captain between 2002 and 2003. She studied Geography with Study in Continental Europe at the University of Bristol and then completed her PGCE at the University of Birmingham. She taught in Staffordshire before working in a Sure Start Children’s Centre as a Family Support Worker.

Diary Thursday 18 August A-level Results Day Thursday 25 August GCSE Results Day Wednesday 7 September Autumn Term begins Saturday 10 September Shell Olympics Morning 9:30am – 12 noon Thursday 15 September Prize Giving Coventry Central Hall 7:00pm Saturday 5 November Open Morning 9:30am – 12:30pm Saturday 19 November Year 6 Activity Morning 9:45am – 12:30pm

Bablake School, Coundon Road, Coventry CV1 4AU +44 (0)24 7627 1200 +44 (0)24 7627 1290 e info@bablake.coventry.sch.uk w www.bablake.com t f

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