The Lion - Issue 57

news & views from bablake school issue 57 spring 2012

In this issue A classic evening 2 Recognition for excellence 3

Magic in

Courtenay returns to Coventry 4

Morocco

Cresting a wave of success 5 The Challenge 6 Denim creation 7 Arts Award 8 Creative shorts 9 Russia Revealed 10 Short breaks 11 CCF 12 Sandhurst success story 13 Sport 14

This year’s Art Department visit saw a group of staff and pupils from Bablake and KHVIII schools travel to Morocco.

A

fter flying to Marrakech we settled into our hotel in the medina area of the ancient royal city before venturing out to explore the marvel of the main square, called the Djemaa el Fna, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The square comes to life after dark and bustles with food stalls, souks, storytellers, snake charmers and acrobats. After exploring the area and partaking of the local beverage of sweetened mint tea, we returned to the hotel for a night’s rest before our planned exploration towards the Sahara.

Our journey took us eastwards along a winding road across the Atlas Mountains which offered panoramic views of the terrain and small adobe built towns and villages which looked timeless. It was at this point that Mr Cleaver discovered that the Moroccan police do not like having their photographs taken! After a lunch stop in Ouarzazate ,which is the movie capital of Morocco and has seen the production of such films as Laurence of Arabia, Black Hawk Down and Kingdom of Heaven, we pressed on to our destination, the dramatic Gorge du Dades. Along the way we passed through romantic sounding places such as the Valley of the Roses and the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs.

The next day saw us journey into an increasingly dramatic and desert-like vista punctuated by lush valleys full of fig trees and palms. We stopped briefly to explore the breath taking Todra Gorge, towering three hundred metres above a road running through it. After a delicious lunch in the town of Rissani, we headed towards the distant sand dunes which mark the start of the Sahara desert at Erg Chebbi. Here we mounted camels for what I am sure will have been the highlight for many pupils. We journeyed into the desert as the sun set for a night camping out in traditional tents. Pupils were given the opportunity to try their hand at sand-boarding down one of the many dunes which surrounded us. A welcome meal was followed by traditional Berber songs and drums around the campfire, with pupils contributing songs of their own.

We awoke to a chilly morning, which for many was unexpected given that we were in the desert. After remounting our camels, we headed out of the desert and back to our minibuses for the journey back to Marrakech. The journey offered the opportunity to see more of the spectacular scenery, and as we approached our destination it was to the dramatic backdrop of forked lightning over the mountains.

Bablakeachievement Our last day in Morocco started with many pupils taking advantage of the hotel pool. Before our walking tour of Marrakech, we took the opportunity to celebrate the birthdays of three of the pupils with a richly decorated cake. The tour took us to see one of the historic royal palaces with its luxurious architectural decoration. This was followed by an exploration of the warren-like souks which are filled with all manner of goods from lamps to exotic animals and ethnic clothing.

The tour culminated with a visit to a shop which specialises in spices and traditional remedies and concoctions.

The visit was a pleasurable and exciting experience and an opportunity to see the culturally unusual and visually stimulating.

This will be of great use in the development of the pupils’ work in the coming year as well as a valuable lesson in life.

Academic accolades The Government’s most recent benchmark of a school’s academic success is called the English Baccalaureate. In order to achieve this, pupils must obtain A*– C grade in GCSEs in Maths, English, two Sciences, a Modern or Classical Foreign Language and a Humanity (defined as Geography or History). This measure is flawed, as Religious Studies and Classical Civilisation, whilst being excellent subjects of study, are excluded from the Humanities list!

However, Bablake was placed 59th out of 3899 schools nationally in this ranking (83% English Bacc, compared with a national average of 17%).

The figures which are more meaningful for academically selective schools such as ours (although less selective than grammar schools) are the percentage of A* and A grades achieved at GCSE and the proportion of A*-B grades at A level; according to our summer 2011ranking in these lists, we were the highest-performing school locally.

ERRATUM We apologise that Chandni Patel did not appear in the list of pupils who achieved 8 A*grades in their GCSE examinations; she too richly deserves our congratulations.

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A classical evening...

Maneesha Sehgal reports on the Classics Evening

Bablake Classics pupils not only study hard but they can put on a great show too! On Monday 27 February many pupils who study Latin, Greek or Classical Civilisation came together to take part in a very enjoyable Classics Evening. It was an entertaining show including a variety of presentations on classical themes.

The evening was hosted by Athene (Ana Skamarauskas) and Pythia (Amy Thompson), whose bickering remarks proved very amusing throughout the show.

In the first half, the audience was treated to a dog’s trial, performed by the Lower Sixth, and Third Year pupils debated on whether the Romans should be allowed to invade Britain.

After an adorable rendition of the song Just Like a Roman by Year 6 pupils from the Junior School, Aulus Plautius, a Roman general, was interviewed for a magazine and Ofsted went to Sparta to inspect a school, shocked by the child abuse they found there.

After the interval, the audience enjoyed the story of Paris and Helen in a dramatised version of the causes of the Trojan War. Katie Carlson and Rory Dulku took the story further by singing historic takes on the songs Tainted Love and I Just Haven’t Met You Yet. Second Year pupils presented Hermogenes’ court case for fraud in Pompeii and the Third Year impressively performed Regina et Bestia in Latin.

Closing the show, Jeremy Kyle (Laura Weaver) visited, attempting to untangle the mess that was the marriage of Jason and Medea.

The evening was a huge success, thanks to the spectacular costumes and make-up, fantastic behind the scenes team and of course all the pupils that took part, many of whom wrote their own items. In particular, the Sixth Form showed huge enthusiasm and dedication in helping to prepare the show and making it a success. However, the biggest thanks must go to Mr Bunce, who gave up his time to put this whole show together so brilliantly.

‘The evening was a huge success, thanks to the spectacular costumes and make-up...’

Bablakeachievement

Recognition for excellence Award-winning achievements

by Bablake students Maths Challenge – Gold Medallists Well done to our best Fifth and Sixth Form mathematicians who performed so ably in the Senior Maths Challenge that 6 gold, 15 silver and 29 bronze certificates were awarded. Especial congratulations go to those awarded Gold: Sam Yang, who achieved the top score in our school, Beth Evans, Sally Li, Ellen Luo, Sophie Qui and Flora Zhan. Each of these pupils should feel proud of the fact that they were placed in the top 4% nationally.

‘Bablake walked away victorious for the third year running...’

A team consisting of Anna Knight, Jonathan Leong, Matthew Thomas and Jack Whitaker took on schools of the region in the finals of the Regional Maths Team Challenge on Monday 5 March. Supervised by Mr Memon, the Bablake team walked away victorious for the third year running and once again qualify for the National Finals in London. Congratulations to all the team members.

Oxbridge success We are delighted with all the offers that our Upper Sixth has received from top universities across the UK and wish them well with gathering the grades necessary to meet the offers.

Amongst the cohort are five pupils who have been given offers of places for Oxford and Cambridge. At Oxford, Rebecca Appleton has an offer to read Experimental Psychology at St Catherine’s College, Rosie Gaunt (currently on her gap year and about to enjoy an exciting placement in Italy) will read Classics at Christ Church College, Jonny Lawrence has a place open to read French with Arabic at Somerville College and Oliver Robinson hopes to read Philosophy and Theology at Keble College. Philip Wild has received an offer to read Medicine at Pembroke College, Cambridge.

Extended Project Qualification 16 Upper Sixth formers have successfully completed their 2011 Extended Project. The process started with applications and acceptance in March and candidates had the summer holiday to do the bulk of the writing. Titles, which were chosen by the pupils themselves, ranged from What were the effects felt by the German people as a result of reunification? by Alice Haywood, to The Tragedy of 19th Century English Fiction by Harnake Virk. Other topics included Mussolini, animal evolution, the Chinese and Japanese economies, Anglicisation of the French and German languages, The Dubliners

by James Joyce, eating disorders and the effect of the Great Depression on women. Candidates gave presentations to a non-specialist audience

‘...a Sixth Form Maths group heard Beth Evans speak compellingly on The Mathematics of Roulette.’ of pupils and staff, though a Sixth Form Maths group heard Beth Evans speak compellingly on The Mathematics of Roulette. The assessment process is underway, and results will be published

by AQA in August: good luck to all our candidates.

The 2012 application and selection process is about to start.

Engineering Education Scheme The team comprising Lower Sixth form pupils Maneesha Sehgal, Tom Bird, Joe Gibbins, and Joe Cashmore spent the last week of the autumn term at Birmingham University modelling a solution to a problem set by their sponsor company, Arup. With help from engineers Chris and Mauricio, they used their time extremely effectively to produce a scale model of a railway viaduct in Manchester which is to be modified to take electric trains. The group will now write a report showing their proposals and solutions, to be presented on the EES assessment day in May.

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Bablakenews

Courtenay returns to Coventry Charitable actions

Despite hard times on the financial front, we once again contributed enthusiastically and generously to charity last term. We raised money to support Macmillan, Children in Need, Breast Cancer UK and TB Alert.

Mr Tyas completed an amazing 7 marathons in 7 days, which included climbing several peaks and raised in excess of £3,000 for the British Heart Foundation.

Just before Christmas, Rachel Claringbull slept rough in a cardboard box in Birmingham raising money for the young homeless and Manisha Nahar raised money to send an optician with special equipment to help many with poor sight in Uganda.

Our local senior citizens were once again treated to a musical Christmas afternoon tea complete with an appearance from the special man in red himself.

Last term the Bablake community raised well over £6000 for various local and national charities. Thank you to the pupils, parents and staff for their excellent effort.

Towards the end of last term Caretaker Mr Malcolm Martin and his wife Sue, Head of Housekeeping, Mrs Jo Davidson, and Head of Careers Mr Mark Woodward organised a Bablake calendar for 2012.

With the help of Charity Coordinator Mrs Alyson Heath and Head of Sixth Form Mrs Alison Tumber, and the support of the whole Bablake community, we are delighted to announce that this project has raised £1150 for the Lymphoma Association.

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On Friday 24 February, Coventry University invited a group of Bablake’s promising future lawyers to attend a lecture on “The Politics of International Criminal Law” given by one of the most influential barristers in Britain today, Queen’s Counsellor and former Bablake pupil Courtenay Griffiths. If you recognise the name Courtenay Griffiths, this is probably because he represented the former president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, in the International Court of the Hague, where he was considered the “real star” of the case after his intense grilling of supermodel Naomi Campbell on the issue of ‘blood diamonds’. Other notable cases of Courtenay’s include the Damilola Taylor murder trial and Goswell v Commissioner of Police, which was the highest award of damages made by a jury against a police force.

At Courtenay’s request, Bablake pupils were invited to the lecture and 22 jumped at the chance. At the beginning of his lecture, Courtenay said that he “wanted to start a fight”, showing his passion and controversial views on several international criminal cases and the USA and NATO’s intervention in international affairs. He spoke to the attending group of law professors, university students, Bablake pupils and staff about lessons that should be learned from European history.

The pupils were all extremely grateful for the opportunity to hear Courtenay speak and several are hoping to contact him regarding work experience and shadowing.

Vacating the Chair

Mrs Sue Aucutt stood down as Joint Chair of the Bablake Parents’ Association at the Annual General Meeting last term. Her two children, James and Emily, both attended the school, and Sue was for many years a cheerful, highly efficient and proactive member and Chair of the steering Committee. We are very grateful to her for her loyal service to the school, and for enabling so many fundraising events to involve parents in enjoyable ways in supporting and enriching their children’s education.

The Committee is always eager to support projects which enhance opportunities already provided by the school; at its last meeting it agreed to allocate funds towards: a permanent table tennis table to be situated near the Sports Centre, a portable speaker system for assembly rehearsals, an extra microwave oven for increased Textiles demand in Home Economics, part-funding for the History Department’s Civil War demonstration, new holds and routes for the climbing wall, boxes of games for the Junior School, some lightweight folding tables, and a contribution towards the U14 netball team’s overnight expenses for the National Finals.

The Committee is always pleased to welcome new members or to receive offers of help, however small, for their fundraising events.

Please use the following e-mail address: pa@bablake.coventry.sch.uk

Bablakenews

Up for debate It has been a very successful year so far for public speakers and debaters at Bablake. Both our Intermediate and Senior trios won the local round of the Rotary Club Youthspeaks competition, held in our own theatre at the end of January. In the younger age group Maddy Baskerville 2K, Emily Poole 3H and Sonia Dhillon 3H were triumphant, speaking about the unusual subject of shark cage diving. Their counterparts in the 14-19 category – Karan Pankhania, Sam Paplauskas and Simeon Blake-Hall – spoke about vegetarianism.

In the ESU Schools Public Speaking competition Bablake were eliminated in the first round but came away with two individual prizes: Keisha Simms for ‘Most Outstanding Personality’ and Kate Edmiston for best Chairperson.

Our debaters also advance through the first round of the ESU Mace Schools competition, with Thomas Ryan-Moulder and Ollie Adebisi representing the school.

Cresting a wave of success Upper Sixth pupil Jacob Low, who was awarded a prestigious STEM Nuffield bursary for Physics earlier this year, to facilitate a research project over the summer, recently received his Gold Crest certificate.

Before the awards ceremony which was held at Coventry University, Jacob, together with the other bursary holders, gave a poster presentation of his work.

The Gold Crest certificates were awarded

by Professor Ivey, Dean of Engineering and Computing at Coventry University.

After this, Dr Matt Parker delivered a talk on ‘Adventures in the Fourth Dimension’.

Chandni Patel's excellent progress with her Silver Crest Award project has been recognised by the Coventry Telegraph, our local daily newspaper. She has successfully negotiated the regional rounds of a competition reaching the national event that will conclude in March 2012 at the Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineering Fair. Aaran Patel, Jacob Williams, Marcus Judge and Marco Ciao were runners up and have also been invited to the National Science and Engineering Event at the NEC, while Upper Sixth pupils Beth Evans, Helen Porter, Smriti Aojula, Anuriti Aojula, Jonathan Wellings, and Kurt Ibberson will be taking their Gold Crest projects to the event. We wish them all the very best of luck.

Philippa Chowne RIP 14/04/1996 – 14/12/2011

Pippa Chowne in our Fifth Year collapsed suddenly and died at home on the evening of 14 December. She was the daughter of Andrew Chowne, who teaches Maths at Bablake, and Lisa, who used to teach here. Pippa’s brother, Robert, left Bablake just over a year ago.

We remember Pippa as a bright, positive and talented girl, with a beautiful, gentle personality, and a very promising future. She was involved in numerous aspects of school life, and brought an inner determination and cheerful commitment to all she did. Fellow pupils and teachers only ever spoke warmly of her, and expressed their grief in heart-felt tributes posted on a dedicated Facebook page, Twitter and the school’s own online book of condolence.

A funeral service in Pippa’s home village of Kineton enabled a large congregation to give thanks for Pippa, and for how she graciously touched our own lives for the better. Megan Evans, fellow Fifth Former, has recorded a CD (4Pip), and other friends will be performing in a concert (4Pip) in aid of CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) and Cancer Research UK on 14 March. Staff and pupils are also warming up for Race for Life in the summer.

Pippa’s family remain very grateful for the support and prayers of the Bablake community. bablake school

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Bablakenews

BABLAKE IN THE COMMUNITY

‘The Challenge’ Maneesha Sehgal, Thomas Ryan-Moulder and Mia Davies worked with ‘The Challenge’, helping to bring generations together.

O

www.the-challenge.org

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n February 15, teenagers and pensioners came together at St Peter’s Centre in Coventry to help challenge the stereotypes between young and old. More than 100 16-year olds and over 60s put on their dancing shoes and enjoyed afternoon tea. They bonded over tea and scones and played a quiz with questions spanning 60 years.

‘The Challenge’, a 3-week programme in the summer, is a charity giving 16-year olds opportunities to make a difference in their community. Following on from this, Maneesha Sehgal and Thomas Ryan-Moulder were selected as Chairs of the Youth Board Committee and Mia Davies as Media and External Relations Officer, representing the 540 people that took part in the Midlands.

‘The older generation have been young teenagers once and we share some common traits.

It’s helped bring us closer together...’

One of the main objectives of the Youth Board was to organize an event in February half term that helped the community, so it was decided to host a social event to bring the two generations together and make a difference in a positive way.

One woman said: “Seeing all the young people wanting to get to know us has been wonderful. It reminded me of my younger days and when I used to go dancing in Coventry. It was a nice surprise to find them so approachable, since they are often given a bad name.”

Thomas added: “Bringing the young and old together was an issue I wanted to tackle the most. The older generation have been young teenagers once and we share some common traits. It’s helped bring us closer together and made us realise we’re not so different after all.”

The day, hosted by Maneesha and Thomas, was a huge success, with everyone thoroughly enjoying the live music, socialising and dancing in a warm, welcoming atmosphere.

Maneesha said: “Seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces was so wonderful and the thank-you cards I received were so touching. I was so proud to help bridge the gap between young and old and feel that ‘sense of community’ that society seems to have lost.”

Bablakenews

Ben secures prestigious military training prize...

Our congratulations are warmly offered to Lower Sixth pupil Ben Evans on his Army Sixth Form Scholarship. Not only was he one of a maximum of 100 pupils who are awarded this extremely prestigious award every year but he was awarded an A grade in his report, placing him in the top 5% of the successful candidates.

Ben received great praise for his achievement from Army Liaison Officer Major Chris Howse, who had supported his application. In a letter to school, Major Howse emphasised how prestigious the award is, commenting: “The real prize for Ben is that he has secured a vacancy for the future at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for his professional career training. For a 16 year old, that is quite a unique prize.�

A big Bablake welcome Bablake was delighted to welcome the Principal and a delegation of the staff from Wenlan Middle School (based in Hangzhou, China). At the start of the visit, Ellen Luo, one of our Lower Sixth pupils, proved an excellent interpreter for the party, which was shown round Bablake by our Headmaster, Mr John Watson, and Head of Sixth Form, Mrs Alison Tumber.

Denim creation (design by Chanel) Mr Hushon has again generously given his time to offer GCSE Textiles pupils an insight into the world of textiles and the use of denim to produce quality clothing. He set the pupils the task of designing a new and individually styled piece of denim clothing. The winner this year was Chanel Blackburn. She designed a very original playsuit which Mr Hushon kindly had produced for Chanel in her size at the Lee Cooper factory. She can be seen here modelling her creation.

Chairman of the board At the start of 2012, Richard Atkins QC became Chairman of Governors for the Coventry School Foundation. He takes over from Mr Brendan Connor who has stepped down as Chairman after six very active and successful years in this post, and after fifteen years as a Governor.

We are very grateful to Mr Connor for his service to the schools in the Coventry School Foundation, and look forward to continuing to see him at Bablake, where his daughters Ella and Nathalie were both pupils.

Mr Atkins is Head of the St Philips Criminal Group and specialises in serious crime and quasi-criminal matters.

His reputation is as an approachable, engaging and entertaining advocate who has been of excellent assistance to our Careers department in the past as a Mock Interviewer.

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Bablakearts

In full voice

Rewarding musical talent We are very pleased to announce that some of our Music Scholars have taken on the challenge of a new qualification.

The Arts Award is a nationally accredited qualification that recognises and rewards young people’s achievements in the Arts, and this is the first time it has been delivered at Bablake School by Mrs Scott-Burt, a trained Arts Award adviser. Four lower school music scholars have taken the Bronze course and are about to submit their work for moderation; they have specialised in such diverse areas as harp playing, singing, dance and drumming. The final part of their course was to deliver a supervised workshop to the Year 4 classes from Bablake Junior School. They completed this before the half term holiday, spending a whole afternoon demonstrating and teaching Arts-based skills in small groups, to the junior classes. It was a fantastic experience for both groups of pupils; Bethany Carter said “I thought it would be really awkward before we started, but as soon as the Year 4s got in they were really enthusiastic and it was brilliant!” We wish all four scholars the best of luck with the moderation of their Bronze Award in March.

Music at St John’s

Bablake's Music department made its second visit of the year to St John's Church recently, where a full gathering of parents, grandparents, former staff and members of the general public was treated to a series of excellent choral pieces.

Choirs from both Bablake's Junior and Senior Schools took part with Hattie Ryland and Georgina Owen singing solo roles. In fitting with the season, all the pieces performed were a delightful mix of traditional and more alternative Christmas fare, with all three of the school choirs joining together at the end for a performance of Ding Dong Merrily on High.

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Following the unexpected and tragic news that one of our talented, exemplary fellow pupils, Pippa Chowne, had passed away late the previous evening, initially many found the rehearsals for Bablake’s Carol Service challenging. However, when the school confirmed the service would be in Pippa’s memory, both the choirs and readers were determined to do her proud.

The evening began with the string ensemble providing some beautiful entrance music in the school foyer. Then, soon after 7pm, the school hall was ablaze with Bablake’s musical excellence. Although there was a naturally sombre and reflective mood, the carols were sung with especial vigour.

We should particularly congratulate our soloists Jessica Brake, Coral Billingham, Lydia Brown, Rory Dulku and Hattie Ryland, while an especial mention goes to the latter two, our senior soloists Hattie and Rory, for their sensational performances of Bereite dich, Zion from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Hark the Herald Angels Sing with Rory impressively singing a cappella.

We must also praise the readers who read with expression and aptitude. Prayers were offered and the Blessing was given by Canon Owen Vigeon of Blackburn Cathedral who we were delighted could join us.

The evening’s finale was the carol O Come All Ye Faithful. This was a most fitting ending to a wonderful service. If not already, by the end of the evening everyone was in festive spirit and looking forward to the holiday awaiting us. However, none of us went away without shedding a tear for Pippa and the carol service provided the Bablake community with a way of showing their respects to the Chowne family.

Junior choir The Junior Choir visited the Holyhead Care Centre as part of the Music Department’s community outreach programme. We performed a selection of songs from our repertoire and the residents of the centre also enjoyed solos from Bethany Carter (bassoon) and Kiran-Sophie Ladva and Charlotte Byng (voice). The concert was very well received, and we have been invited to return on a future occasion.

Bablakearts

creativeshorts Edinburgh fringe 2012 Preparations are also underway for this year’s Edinburgh Fringe excursion. After another successful trip last year we are hoping to return to the same venue and are due to find out soon which play we will take. More details will be placed on the website as and when we have them.

Mr Prescott writes: 37 Years On Alan Bennett’s 40 Years On was the first play that I was involved with at Bablake. As a final production, it seemed an appropriate idea to nod towards that first title with a slight change in number to signify the years I have been at this school. This year’s Christmas performance was a selection of songs and scenes from the plays and musicals presented at Bablake during the time of Appleby and Prescott. The range was pretty eclectic: from Godspell to A Little Night Music; from Twelfth Night to Daisy Pulls It Off. The theme that ran through the first half was ‘Schooldays’, and in the second there was a consideration of the concerns of the passing of the years! It was good to see former pupils coming to the play in good numbers. Seeing Kate Bush, Ros Wheeler and Kate Wagstaff (as they used to be known) who had all been in the 1981 production of Godspell was very moving indeed. The production seemed to gel together into an integral whole quite convincingly, and there were a number of very strong acting and singing performances throughout the evening.

Since 1975, productions have moved from the Drama Studio (now a Design and Technology Room) to the Bablake Theatre (formerly the Headmaster’s Garden) and 37 Years On was recognition of this journey.

Fantastic Mr Fox At the time of writing, rehearsals are well underway for this term’s junior play Fantastic Mr Fox. A large cast of Shells to Fourth years are working incredibly hard to bring an ambitious and large scale production to life, not to mention the staff, who are working extremely hard to produce various bizarre items such as sock puppet chickens. We look forward to updating you in the next edition.

St Christopher’s The Art, Design Technology and Drama departments at Bablake came to the aid of St Christopher's Primary School and their production of Pirates of the Currybean. The school made and lent a range of props for the Year 3 and 5 pupils including scenery, swords and a pirate ship.

Hollie Molloy Congratulations to Fourth Year pupil Hollie Molloy who appeared in the Belgrade Theatre's highly acclaimed pantomime Mother Goose over the Christmas holidays.

After a successful audition, Hollie then had to juggle her GCSE studies with an exhausting rehearsal schedule for the production, lasting three weeks, before she appeared in 19 performances.

Matthew Hayhurst Many congratulations to Matthew Hayhurst who has landed the role of Arthur in King John, a forthcoming production from the Royal Shakespeare Company, that will be performed at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The role will be shared between three upand-coming actors to ensure school work is not compromised. What a tremendous opportunity to work with professional actors, perform on a world famous stage and enjoy the thought of possible future roles too!

New ideas in Textiles This year has seen the Home Economics department try out some new ideas in Textiles lessons. The Shells have greatly enjoyed a new project deigning and making kites, the culmination of which was the opportunity to try them out on the school drive! Great fun was had by all.

The Third Years have again used a great deal of creativity to design and make a decorated hat. They were proud to pose for photos.

a string to her bow Congratulations to talented classical musician Emma Fairclough, who is a member of the Warwickshire County Youth Orchestra which closed the School Proms at the world famous Royal Albert Hall. Her orchestra was invited to perform after impressing in a Birmingham Symphony Hall concert in the summer.

A DANGEROUS METHOD 25 Sixth Form pupils, along with Head of Psychology Mrs Barnacle and Mrs Jones, attended a showing of Roman Polanski’s film A Dangerous Method at Warwick Arts Centre. The film deals with the intense relationship between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, two of the most important psychiatrists of the 20th century, and how the theory of psychoanalysis developed. Pupils study both psychiatrists’ theories as part of their A Level course and being in the cinema made a welcome change to being in a classroom, albeit in the evening!

Pupils were able to enjoy an ice cream or soft drink after the showing and a very good time was had by all! bablake school

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Bablaketravel

‘Russia was wonderful!

I have great memories of discovering an amazing place with my friends, and hope to return again some day to study there.’

Russia revealed Palaces, cathedrals, art, museums, ballet, endless decadence could only mean… Russia? It was not a trip to the Louvre, or the Vatican, but a most wonderful insight into Russian history.

GCSE and A level historians took an early flight on Saturday 11 February bearing mittens, woolly hats and fur-lined boots and headed to Moscow.

We began with a visit to one of the key players in Russian history, Lenin himself. It was a great experience for all of us to see the man, or rather the body, behind the Soviet history we have been learning about in the classroom.

After a brief visit to the inside of the Kremlin and a visit to the Museum of Contemporary History, lunch on Albat Street was warmly welcomed. The afternoon was spent at Novodevichy Cemetery, the burial place of Chekhov, Bulgakov and Raisa Gorbacheva, followed by a city tour during which we saw some wonderful architecture including the University of Moscow, and Christ the Saviour’s Cathedral, the tallest orthodox cathedral in the world.

Our second day took us on a tour of the Moscow Metro, then we stood in Red Square in temperatures of

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–30 degrees desperately trying to take as many pictures as possible without our hands going numb.

That evening we took the overnight train to St Petersburg and once there, we had a guided tour, including seeing the frozen Neva River and the Peter and Paul Fortress where the Romanov Family is buried. The evening entertainment was a folklore show at Nicolai Palace, which not only involved Russian dancing and folk music but a lot of audience participation. Unfortunately, nobody from Bablake was chosen to go on stage; perhaps a reason why the teachers had chosen to sit at the back!

The following day was spent at the Hermitage Museum within the Winter Palace. The basic display areas of the Hermitage occupy 365 rooms in the main museum complex. The palace itself has 1057 rooms! The peacock clock was definitely a highlight as was the visit to the October Staircase and the impressionist art.

Just when we thought that we’d seen all the ornate opulence

we could, our tour guide took us to Yusupov Palace, once the residence of the wealthy and respected Yusupov family, where we stumbled across dozens of overly-decorated rooms, including a home theatre. The highlight of the visit was the underground rooms where the assassination of Rasputin took place and we learned that it took more than a bit of cyanide to kill him off!

For our last evening in Russia, some of us went ice skating while others chose to view the high art of Russian ballet at the Imperial Hermitage Theatre. We watched Swan Lake and were all lucky enough to have the best views of

the orchestra and stage.

On our final day we visited the memorial to the blockade of Leningrad. It was very moving and humbling. Our final highlight was St Catherine’s palace in the village of Pushkin, with its goldleaf ballroom and famous Amber Room.

To provide a fitting summary of the trip, Georgia Powell, said: “Russia was wonderful! I have great memories of discovering an amazing place with my friends, and hope to return again some day to study there.”

Bablaketravel

shortbreaks Descriptions of some of the many memorable foreign expeditions and adventures undertaken recently by the School.

7 in 7 Congratulations to Head of Mathematics, Mr Kris Tyas, for successfully completing the mammoth task of running seven marathons in seven days, raising £2500 for charity. He embarked upon his mission in October in aid of the British Heart Foundation.

He began his challenge with a 30 mile run across 14 3,000ft peaks in North Wales and followed this with marathons around Rutland Water and along the Charnwood Way, before heading to the Lake District to cover a further 75 miles across rocky terrain.

He completed the challenge by doing laps of Draycote Water, despite sustaining an injury the previous day.

Mr Tyas reflects: “So was every one right? Was I mad to attempt it? Probably. Was it a good idea to put all those mountains in? Probably not. Did it hurt? No more than expected and a lot less than many people cope with every day. Would I do it again? Ask me next time you see me! Am I glad I did it? Absolutely – a memory I will have forever!”

To support him, please visit: www.virginmoneygiving.com/KrisTyas7in7 Cologne On Friday 16 December 2011, 32 pupils accompanied by Mrs Billings, Mr Burns, Mrs Skilton and Mr West departed for Cologne. After a long coach journey (with no sleep for some!) we arrived in the Rhineland just after lunch. We checked in at the Meininger Hostel, then it was straight out to sample the delights of the Christmas Market on Rudolfsplatz.

After dinner, we took a leisurely stroll through the busy streets visiting the Markt der Engel before heading to the Markt am Kölner Dom and seeing the glorious sight of Cologne Cathedral by night.

After a much needed night’s sleep we headed to the banks of the river Rhine on Saturday to look at the Hohenzollern Bridge. Couples visit the bridge to declare their love by securing a padlock

onto the bridge before throwing the keys into the river, thus sealing their love forever. Next stop was the Sport and Olympia Museum and pupils were able to test their sporting ability and Olympic potential. There was just time for a quick lunch and a look round the Kölner-Hafen Weihnachtsmarkt before heading to the Chocolate Museum.

Starting in the rainforest, we learnt about the long journey from cocoa beans to finished chocolate.

The highlight was definitely sampling chocolate from the world famous fountain! With bags full of chocolate goodies for family and friends, we headed back for dinner and an evening of bowling.

We awoke to flurries of snow and headed to the ‘Haus der Geshcichte’ (House of History) in Bonn for a tour of post-war German history. Pupils were then able to test their language skills as they completed a treasure hunt around the town while taking in the sights of another Christmas market.

Well done to Ellie, Lucy and Kate who won, and thanks to Mr Burns who hosted an excellent quiz evening.

Time went by quickly and on Monday it was time to leave, but not without experiencing the U-Bahn (underground trains) in Cologne. We headed in to the city for the last time and had a look around the world famous cathedral. Those who were brave enough climbed the 509 steps to the top for breath-taking views of the city.

Laden with presents we arrived back at Bablake with just enough time to wrap them and recover before Christmas!

Classic Italy From wandering along Rome’s meandering streets at twilight, to eating gelato until we thought we would burst, the Classics tour of Italy was full of amazing moments we will all remember for years to come. Our first destination was Rome, where we were treated to such sights as the Colosseum, the Arch of Titus, the Spanish Steps, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Pantheon, as well as an evening trip to the Trevi Fountain, eating in a traditional Italian restaurant, and visiting the Vatican. Some pupils were particularly interested in eating as much pizza as possible, whilst others were putting their hand in the Roman drain cover which “the actual Audrey Hepburn put her actual hand into in Roman Holiday”!

We then travelled to Sorrento, stopping off at Ostia, the harbour city of ancient Rome (which ironically now lies 3 kilometres from the coast)

to take in the well-preserved buildings, frescoes and mosaics. After arriving at the new hotel, with spectacular views of the Bay of Naples, we faced a gruelling walk up Vesuvius. We were sure the view from the top would be amazing, but unfortunately we were inside a cloud so could only see about 5 feet in front of our eyes. The next day was spent in Pompeii, where we were lucky enough to wander the ancient site and get a feel for how a Roman city would have looked. We then visited the Villa Poppaea, the residence of Emperor Nero’s notorious mistress and second wife of the same name, which was well preserved by Vesuvius’ volcanic eruption in 79AD. During our evenings in Sorrento, we wandered into the town centre for vital souvenir shopping and a one-off ‘gelato lesson’ at a local gelateria. After a particularly turbulent boat ride, our final full day in Italy was spent visiting Capri, an island in the Bay of Naples famed for its designer shops, where we took a cable car to the top of the island, window shopped and sampled bolognaise at a trendy restaurant.

After a final trip to the Naples Archaeological Museum, we returned to England with our knowledge greatly enriched from the sightseeing, and our waistlines greatly expanded from the gelato!

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CCF autumn camp we were there....

‘CCF camp at Swynnerton was a really good experience. We did a wide range of activities including clay pigeon shooting, learning how to keep ourselves hidden from the enemy, how to be a good sentry, how to make food from a ration pack and how to clean a rifle.

The tuck shop was cheaper than expected and it must be said that the food from the ration pack was also very good.’

Cadet Cameron Watson

‘On the 17 October Bablake CCF went to Swynnerton Army Training Camp. As a new cadet this was my first CCF Camp and in many ways it surprised me.

Personally, I enjoyed the clay pigeon shooting, as well as exercises in which we practised what we had learnt that day. There were many challenges during the camp but all were fun and exciting.’

Cadet Nia Gripton-Crockford

‘It was a joyful and inspiring time at camp and it made me even more excited about the next one.’

Cadet James Hamer

‘It was such an adventure for me to join the CCF on Camp. As a Chinese student, I had never experienced any kind of military activities before. It was slightly different from what I had expected it to be, with more challenges and co-operation activities as well as character-building tasks.

I have to say, it was quite an impressive experience even though it only lasted for three days. It provided me with opportunities to develop the skills I had learnt, and I also enjoyed the sense of achievement after finishing missions. It’s not only about physical training but also self-confidence.’

Cadet Shirley Wu

‘Monday morning is not an easy time for a call to arms, especially as it was half-term, but on the 17 of October 2011, it was easy to see that the 22 cadets who were coming on the latest Combined Cadet Force excursion were looking forward to the next four days of activities.

For the majority of cadets, this was their first experience of an Army Camp, and they could put the skills that they had learnt into practice. And what a steep learning curve it was! Not only were there lessons from staff on such things as the 24 hour ration pack, camouflage and concealment and shotgun shooting, but also stands run by senior cadets, teaching new recruits the art of building shelters and a safe place for the platoon to rest as well as how to keep that place safe through the use of sentries.

After such an action-packed, but cold week, we all eventually returned to school slightly tired, but definitely better for the experience. We look forward to the forthcoming Easter Camp for more exciting activities.’

Colour Sergeant Joe Barr

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Bablakeaction

After arriving at Blackwater Station I was picked up by minibus to be taken to Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS).

Once everyone had arrived and introduced themselves we were escorted to a presentation room inside Old College, which gave us the first chance to see the grounds in all their beauty. Once in the Presentation Room we were introduced to Captain Hawkins who gave us a brief insight into what Sandhurst is all about.

We were then split into groups of five to create presentations based on a current topic. Our group chose the UK riots and if the government was responsible. The presentation went very well and made it clear for all to see which people had the confidence and ability to step forward and lead.

In the morning we were split into two groups for the activities, Signals and Skill at Arms. The exercise was very enjoyable and challenging and it gave us a chance to not only use the equipment that is used on a regular basis to great effect but it also allowed us to see more of Sandhurst.

We were also required to perform the Army’s basic fitness assessment that everyone must pass before joining the British Army. This involved doing 44 press-ups in two minutes and 50 sit ups in two minutes – which I passed as I got 55 on the press ups and 65 on the sit ups. The next part to the assessment was a 1.5 mile run in 10.5 minutes.

Unfortunately I just missed out on passing the run so I was a little disappointed, but it helped me in the way that I now knew I had to train a little harder to get up to the mark.

Shortly after lunch we were given a tour of Sandhurst. The tour started in Old College which was extremely interesting as it’s a very historic and prestigious building. The Captain then escorted us to the chapel where we looked

Photo: En9ac

Sandhurst success story

at all the names of fallen officers from The Great War and World War Two; this was an extremely humbling experience. The chapel was a very beautiful, tranquil place and considering I’m not a religious person it made a real impression on me.

After the tour, final discussions began which involved methods of entry into the British Army, including the Army Officer Selection Board and the next step for us, contacting the Regiment/ Corps/Cap Badge that we were interested in to arrange a visit.

All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile experience from which I can take some real confidence and, most importantly, it gave me a better idea of whether I’m officer material or not.

‘The chapel was a very beautiful and tranquil place and considering I am not a religious person it made a real impact on me.’

Sam Dale

Range Day Roll After a hearty breakfast at Nesscliffe Training Centre, Bablake CCF headed to Llansilin Range for some long range shooting practice. An interesting fact: Llansilin is the only military range where you shoot from one country into another (England into Wales). The cadets had a healthy supply of ammunition for shooting the L98; a semi-automatic rifle which can hold 30 rounds. After a few practice attempts, the competition was set. All cadets were strong at 100m, at 200m the wind began to impact their groupings and at 300m the cadets’ marksmanship skills really were put to the test! At the end of the day, there was a clear female winner: Cdt Hyde. Within the males, the expected champion, Cpl Dale, found the rare British sunshine a distraction and lost out to several consistent groupings from the underdog LCpl Bird! A fantastic time was had by all, each cadet coming one step closer to achieving the prestigious marksman award.

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Boys’ sport

Girls’ sport The girls’ teams have continued to have great success both on the netball courts and hockey pitches this season. hockey The new half term started well in November with the U18 indoor hockey team being crowned Warwickshire County Champions with convincing victories over Princethorpe and King’s High. The U16 indoor hockey team followed this with a fine performance at their County tournament to finish in second place and progress through to the Midlands Finals with the U18s. Both teams played well at the Regional Finals in December against strong opposition; the U18 girls did particularly well to finish third in their section, narrowly missing out on a semi-final place. netball Bablake girls have also been successful on the netball courts this season; the U14, U16 and U19 teams all qualified for the West Midlands Tournament, with the U14 and U19 teams being crowned Warwickshire County Champions in the preceding round.

In January, during the West Midlands round, all three teams met tough opposition throughout the tournament, and the U16s finished in a credible third place in their section. The U14 and U19 teams qualified for the semi finals in first place and after a nail-biting fourteen minutes the U19 team narrowly lost to Wrekin, whilst the U14 team beat Bromsgrove and was then victorious against Hagley RC School in the final. The U14s are

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now preparing with much effort and enthusiasm for the National Netball Finals in Basildon in March and we wish them all the best.

U15s The U15s have also had a successful season in both hockey and netball with notable results against Nottingham High (41-12) and Princethorpe (21-11) in netball and an outstanding 7-0 victory against King Henry VIII in hockey. juniors The junior teams have continued to make progress and, despite the cold weather, they have played a number of netball and hockey matches over the last four months and have had many pleasing results. Three U14 netball teams played Princethorpe during a snowy games afternoon this term and all three Bablake teams were victorious and the U13 hockey team played particularly well to beat Kinglsey’s U14 team 3-0.

U12s The U12s have continued to be committed and enthusiastic in their sport, and numbers in both netball and hockey clubs are high. The girls have made good progress with their individual skills and through playing numerous fixtures have begun to apply these skills in match play.

Hockey Boys’ hockey has once again enjoyed success at all age groups throughout a very busy hockey fixture calendar. The 1st XI has continued to impress after a successful tour of Singapore and Malaysia in the summer. Expertly led by Welsh International William Kenney-Herbert the squad has enjoyed some impressive victories. The only real disappointment of the season came in the U18 County Cup when they were narrowly beaten 2-1 by King Edward’s Birmingham in an extremely closely fought game.

William Knight and William Vines have particularly impressed; they are extremely talented players with a promising hockey future ahead of them.

Younger members of the squad have stepped up to 1st team level with great aplomb; James Bayliss and Chris Sewell have been excellent as a striking combination.

The 2nd XI, under the management of Mr Atwal, had an inconsistent start, often snatching defeat from the jaws of victory! However, as the season has progressed performances have significantly improved and the highlight was a 2-1 victory against local rivals KHVIII. Encouragingly, the 2nd XI is proving to be an excellent breeding ground for talent to progress through to 1st team level. The 3rd XI, under the watchful eye of Mr West, has faced strong opposition throughout the season and the boys are still eagerly awaiting their first victory.

The U15s have continued to develop and their hard work and dedication has been repaid with some excellent victories and a well fought draw with Warwick. William Banfield has led the side with great maturity and Nirgun Bhandal, Aron Sood and Jimhill Xu have proven they have the ability to play at a high level. The U13s have also been rewarded through hard work at training and have won 3 of their 5 fixtures so far. George Bayliss, who represents Warwickshire, has captained the side with excellent leadership and has been well supported by Cameron Park and William Petchey in the middle of the pitch. Aidan Thomas, Robert Jacques and Harry Garforth have been impressive in defence, ably supported by Harry Vincent in goal who has proved extremely difficult to beat between the posts. The U12s have shown fantastic motivation, commitment and dedication at the start of their hockey careers at Bablake and there are some very talented players in the squad who have real potential.

Bablakesport U14s Midlands Finalists Bablake U14s have had another very successful season, remaining unbeaten in all friendlies.

The squad were favourites going into the U14 Warwickshire County Tournament and didn’t disappoint, qualifying for the Midlands Zonals. The day started disappointingly, losing to King Edward’s but they bounced back against Nottingham and showed signs of brilliance, convincingly winning 7-0. In the final game of the day against De Ferrers, Bablake started excellently and quickly secured a 2-0 lead. However De Ferrers valiantly clawed their way back into the game and with the score drawn at full time the game went into extra time.

Despite this extended period of play, the two teams remained deadlocked. After 5 penalty flicks each, the two teams were still level and this sent the competition to sudden death. Rory Kenney-Herbert calmly stepped up and slotted his flick into the left hand corner of the goal to put Bablake in the lead.

Bablake’s goalkeeper Aidan Johnson then became a hero, making a diving save to his right which secured Bablake a place at Midlands Finals day.

Phil Gooderham Phil Gooderham, our professional hockey coach, has recently been promoted by Wales from U21 Coach to Head Coach of the Women’s National Squad. This is a prestigious position and we wish him every success. Phil will continue his work with Bablake which also runs alongside his work as Head Coach of Birmingham University Girls’ Hockey. We are extremely fortunate to have a current international coach working at the school and his work with our pupils, across all ability levels, is paying dividends.

Sevens Rugby The Rugby sevens season is now well underway.

A fantastic early success came with the U15 team winning the Greater Birmingham 7s. After winning all their group matches they went on to defeat KES Aston in the final 31-0.

Congratulations to all those boys who competed in the Warwick Rugby 7s competition on Saturday 3 March. In an extremely tough competition including some of the strongest schools in the country all Bablake teams performed exceptionally well. The U12s drew one game and narrowly lost two whilst the U13s, 14s and 15s all won one game and narrowly lost two.

The U16 team won their first two games but suffered unfortunate injuries which left 3 of their starting 7 out of the tournament for their third pool game against Millfield which they narrowly lost. In the quarter final they met an excellent Sedbergh team but competed extremely well before finally losing by 5 tries to 2.

Bablake v King Henry VIII Another large crowd witnessed Bablake 1st XV take on King Henry VIII at the Butts Arena. In a close, hard fought contest KHVlll eventually ran out 14-3 winners to claim the new “Mick Hibbert

Life in the fast lane

Memorial Shield”, donated by the family of Mick Read, a proud Old Wheatleyan who recently passed away. This was just our second defeat to King Henry’s in 10 years, and we’re sure that the team will continue to work hard next season to reclaim the Shield!

Old Wheatleyans eye Twickenham It was great to see so many old boys at the Bablake v King Henrys match and to learn that a large number of them now represent the Old Wheatleyans club. The Old Wheatleyans were victorious 17-15 against Edwardians in the RFU Junior Vase. This puts them into the Midlands final against Bloxwich. If successful in the Midlands Final, they will go on to represent the Midlands in the National semi-final and, if successful in that, they will play in the National Final at Twickenham.

We congratulate them and wish them luck.

Another Old Wheatleyan cheering on Bablake at the Henry’s match was former pupil Josh Buggea, who is to be congratulated on his recent selection for England U18s.

We should also congratulate Ronan Jones on his selection to play for the Irish Exiles and Bradley Pinkham and Paul Gascoigne who have been selected for the prestigious Worcester Warriors Academy.

Tigers visit Bablake We have been fortunate this term to have a number of visits from Leicester Tigers. At the start of term, they took a coaching session with the U12s. They have also taken a Nutrition Seminar and Strength and Conditioning session with our more senior players. We hope these informative sessions will lead to even higher standards on the pitch.

On the morning of Friday 10 January, most of Bablake was looking forward to the last day of school before half term, but the six members of Bablake F1 In Schools team, Impulse F1, had other plans.

Led by our animated team leader James McAllister and trusty mentor Mr Williams, Anu Bose, James Tumber, Cameron Gregg, Thomas Hingston and I assembled in the DT department at 7:00am. By 7:30am we were on our way to Loughborough University, where the regional finals of the F1 In Schools competition were taking place. After a year planning, designing, manufacturing, testing and carrying out admin, we had finally constructed our miniature F1 car, whose performance was to be put to the test. We set up our pit stop stand (which consisted of pictures and videos of the production of our car), and were given a talk on the benefits of the F1 Challenge. After this was the engineering interview, in which we explained exactly how we had designed and manufactured the car. Then our pit stop stand and team portfolio were marked and finally the time for racing came.

The cars were lined up at the start line with the CO2 canisters which fuelled them attached. Two cars would race at a time, with each car completing four circuits. Tom Hingston was given the nerve-racking task of pressing the button which fired the CO2 canister once the lights changed. Thanks to his lightning reactions and our well-designed car, we achieved a very fast time, leaving our opponent far behind, though sadly we were not fast enough to take the top spot. Our final challenge was to give a five minute presentation to the judges about our team. With this last task out of the way, the award ceremony commenced. Despite our disappointment, we all really enjoyed the day and are looking forward to next year where our experience of the competition will hopefully help Bablake to succeed in Impulse F1.

Joshua Rowe

Checkmate...

Congratulations to Rajen Parekh, who has won the Warwickshire U12 Chess Championship. This is a tough competition with the best players from across the region competing for the title. Rajen, who found out that a former Bablake pupil, Mark Lam, won the title 10 years ago in 2001, is delighted to have won this trophy since he won the U10 category two years ago. Rajen was presented with his trophy in Assembly and receives our best wishes for future success.

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Headmaster’s notes My job as Headmaster is immensely varied, and the burden of responsibility for such a fine school is also a tremendous privilege.

The greatest rewards, as well as the greatest challenges, always involve people – whether pupils, staff, parents, governors or other related parties. Each unique individual forms a valuable part of a strong community, of which we are all very proud. We share values which aim to mould young people for a life of high aspirations and consideration for others.

One of my roles is to encourage and to celebrate success, whilst also having the vision to set sights ambitiously higher when I believe that better or more is possible. I am supported in this by highly dedicated colleagues whose desire is to achieve the best possible outcomes for our pupils – be these outcomes academic, pastoral or extracurricular. As a naturally positive person, I look for solutions in difficult or sad situations, in the belief that all experiences can ultimately enrich us.

When I walk around school, when I talk to pupils and staff or observe lessons or activities, I am endlessly reminded of how very fortunate we are at Bablake: we work with smashing young people with very bright futures! As I interview prospective pupils and staff, they invariably remark on two aspects of the school: the evidently high expectations and the warm and friendly atmosphere. The former is apparent in the many and varied opportunities and outstanding achievements reflected in this newsletter; the latter could not have been felt more acutely when we together faced the tragic and sudden death of Pippa Chowne at the end of last term.

In her short life, Pippa embodied those values which we so cherish in our community: an ambitious thirst for all the wonderful opportunities of life, a quiet determination to make every moment count, and a warm desire to love and support those around her.

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Staff news Mr David Prescott, Mr Martin Rhodes, Mrs Marilyn Prowse and Mrs Danny Thomas will all be retiring at the end of this academic year. Full tributes will be paid in due course to these outstandingly loyal servants of Bablake.

Two new appointments have so far been made for September: Ms Caroline Farmer, Director of Drama Ms Farmer is currently Head of Drama at Gravesend Grammar School, where she also teaches English. Her degree was in English and American Studies, which she followed with a PGCE in English and Drama and further training in Acting and Musical Theatre at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She has worked as a professional actress in various London theatres.

Miss Hannah Moseley, Girls’ Physical Education Miss Moseley studied Physical Education at Lancaster University, and has since been teaching at Kenilworth School and Sports College. She is a talented sportswoman, who has achieved national honours in swimming, regional honours in cross country and biathlon and county honours in netball, hockey and athletics. She continues to play club netball.

Diary Tuesday 24 April Summer Term begins Monday 7 May Bank Holiday – School closed Friday 1 June Expeditions Day Monday 4 – Friday 8 June Half Term Tuesday 12 June Junior Music Scholars Concert EDM 7.00pm Wednesday 13 June New Parents’ Familiarisation Evening Main hall 7.00pm Friday 22 June Open Evening 5.00pm – 8.00pm Wednesday 27 June Summer Concert EDM 7.00pm Wednesday 4 July Sports Day Thursday 5 July Summer Term ends

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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