The Lion - Issue 43

THE

LION

Bablake Diary

NEWS & VIEWS FROM BABLAKE SCHOOL ISSUE 43 SUMMER 2007

TARGET TWO POINT ZERO

Wednesday 5 September Autumn Term Begins Saturday 22 September Parents’ Association Ball Friday 9 November Open Evening 6:00pm – 9:00pm Saturday 10 November Open Morning 9:30am – 12:00 noon Saturday 1 December Parents’ Association Christmas Fayre Monday 17 and 18 December Senior School Carol Service

The Bank of England/Times Interest Rate Challenge success

In this issue News Travel Creative Events Action Achievement Sport

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From an original field of 265 teams nationwide, a team of Upper Sixth Economics students secured a place in the National Final at the Bank of England in London on March 22 and 23.

The team of four students, Becky Healy, Jodie-Leigh Angus, Someit Sidhu and Malcolm Thomas took on the role of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. Back in October last year they started to carry out a rigorous assessment of economic conditions in the UK, the EU and the rest of the world to judge the outlook for inflation in the UK. They were assisted in their research

by Marcus Balhatchet-Browne and

Lee Harrison. They then had to decide what level of interest rate they would set to meet the Government’s target of 2.0%. The team won the regional heat in Leamington in November 2006, and the West Midlands and South West England area final on 28 February, to qualify for the National Final in March.

In the 2007 National Final, the team again took on the role of the MPC and, in a 20 minute presentation, gave their analysis of economic conditions, the outlook for inflation, and their interest rate decision to a panel of four judges comprising three members of the

actual MPC and a representative from The Times newspaper. The team was placed joint fourth, winning individual prizes and a cheque for £1000 for the school. Furthermore the team was given an exclusive guided tour of the Bank itself, including a visit to where the gold reserves are stored, sitting in the Governor’s chair in the conference room and the opportunity to meet the Governor, Mervyn King. In addition they were provided with first class accommodation and hospitality and entertainment at the musical We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre for the duration of their two-day stay in The City.

Winning through to the National Final was a tremendous achievement and the whole experience was something the team will value and remember for the rest of their lives.

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Bablake School

Bablakenews

BABLAKE AND THE GREAT WAR For the past two years Trevor Harkin has been working alongside Terry Patchett, Peter Burden and the late John Lawrence to write a book on Bablake and the Great War. The book is nearing publication and once complete will show how Bablake served the nation

In 2004, local historian Trevor Harkin began researching the plaques in Coventry's War Memorial Park. One of these plaques belonged to William Ivens Patchett, the grandfather of former teacher Terry Patchett. William had been mortally wounded on the 8 May 1917 and died six days later.

Trevor subsequently visited Bablake and was shown the leather-bound Bablake Roll of Honour in the Assembly Hall. A comparison of the 99 names of the Fallen listed in the Roll with the War Memorial Park list revealed 23 matches and Trevor undertook to research the additional 76 names.

Using school admission records and old editions of the Wheatleyan, Trevor pieced together the history of the Old Boys. Sadly, due to the air raids of WW2, admission records were only available for 34 of the Fallen Old Boys.

In addition to the school archives, material was also gained from the Commonwealth War Grave Commission, old newspapers 'The Coventry Graphic' and 'Coventry Herald', the 1901 Census and Battalion War diaries.

Many of those who had been pupils or members of staff at Bablake in the years leading up to the declaration of war enlisted. By 1914 some 320 pupils were in attendance at Bablake – some 36 resident boys, the remainder being day boys. 1914 saw the formation of the Cadet Corps, an initiative which had started in 1912. The cadets mirrored the real war, undergoing drill, fire arms training, inspection and promotion within the Corps.

A member of staff, Mr. Patrick, had initiated drawing up the 'Roll of Honour' which appeared periodically in 'The Bablake School Magazine'. This listed the Old Boys’ names, the year they left Bablake and their unit. By January 1916, 250 names were already listed. Sadly four former pupils had already died in action, their deaths denoted by 'killed' after their surnames.

In the four years of the war, 867 Old Boys and staff served, and 96 of these fell. The names of 796 Old Boys are recorded on a memorial at the rear of Bablake's assembly hall and those who fell in a leather-bound 'Roll of Honour' at the front of the hall. The Old Boys served in all aspects of His Majesty's Forces, the Merchant Navy, Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force and were present throughout the duration of the war.

Copies of the book Bablake School and the Great War can be obtained from Trevor Harkin (trevor_harkin@hotmail.com).

The Lion | Summer 2007

Faze win Battle of the Bands

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SOUNDBITES AMNESTY ‘STOP DOMESTIC VIOLENCE’ CONCERT Thursday November 22 Lucky Soul, Jon Allen, Jessica Blake, Menergy X plus one other act to be confirmed... £5: tickets from Mr Woodward/Careers BREAST CANCER CONCERT Monday September 10 Kirstie Logan (current student); Ben Arthur; Olivia (former student); Truth in the Illusion (inc former student, Ashley Hawkins). Headline to be announced £5: tickets from Mr Woodward/Careers

Richard Smith

DIARY DATES Saturday 29 September: U6th Mock Interview Morning Thursday 31 January: Careers Convention If any parent would like to be involved in either or both of these events or nominate delegates, our Careers department would be delighted. Please contact Mr M Woodward: mgaw@bablake.coventry.sch.uk

FAZE (ROSIE TRESSLER, CHRIS WALTERS, PAUL WYE, LOUIS QUINN AND SAM ROWE) SWEPT ASIDE SEVEN OTHER BANDS TO WIN THE VOTE OF THE CROWD AND CELEBRITY JUDGE, LIVINGSTON. WHILE HELPING RAISE OVER £500 FOR MYTON HOSPICE, IN THE MEMORY OF FORMER STUDENT, ROB SCANLON, THE BANDS ENTERTAINED THE MASSES WITH A MUSICAL MIXTURE OF CONTEMPORARY COVERS AND A FINE ARRAY OF COSTUMES.

WHEATLEYAN ‘Energy’ competition: 20 words on this theme or a photograph should be submitted, in digital format, to Mr Woodward in the Careers Department.

Other creative work welcome. News of former students also most appreciated.

ACOUSTIC LUNCHTIME Kristy Gallacher, who is playing at the Godiva Festival on the Acoustic Stage this summer, received an excellent welcome on her visit to Bablake. She was ably supported by James Plester and Rob Taylor who, in the guise of The Big Muffin Debate, have been promoted by Kristy at her open mike events in Kenilworth.

‘Class Act’ impresses big names £1000+ RAISED

www.clbphotography.co.uk

Despite dashing from an AS Maths Stats exam to compete against students from 9 other local schools and colleges, Jessica Blake produced a flawless performance to win the inaugural Class Act show run by Big Help Management.

Performing her own composition, Owls and me, she impressed a panel of judges that included, amongst others, Trish Adudu from the BBC, Phil Harding (former producer of the Clash and Kylie) and the Head of EMI's UK Distribution.

The show also included singing and dancing from another of our talented students, Francesca Clifford. Both she and Jessica will be performing at the Teen Idol 2007 Final, on Saturday June 23, held at Leamington’s Spa Centre.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR CONCERTS THIS YEAR. WE HAVE RAISED MONEY AND AWARENESS FOR VARIOUS CHARITIES: MYTON HOSPICE, LYMPHATIC AND BREAST CANCER, OVACOME AND COMIC RELIEF

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Bablake School

Bablaketravel ‘The buzz of the ‘city which never sleeps’ leaves one feeling that we only scratched the surface, and wanting to go back for more’

START SPREADING THE NEWS... ...well actually, it was more like “Richard Wells, please stop spreading yours, it’s 3 o’clock in the morning!!!!!” as 32 Economics and Business Studies students and five brave adults set off to New York.

18 hours later and we were admiring the view from the top of the Empire State Building, which can only be described as awesome. After our first dose of burger and chips at a diner, we called it a day and raced back through the revolving doors of the salubrious Hotel Pennsylvannia.

The next day we were treated to a walking tour of the finance district, taking in the NY Stock Exchange, Wall Street and Ground Zero. It was good to see the reality behind familiar TV images and have time to reflect on the capitalist nature of the West. More varied cultures were explored at the United Nations Building where we learnt about the UN’s diverse role, from peacekeeping and health programmes to deciding what constitutes ‘chocolate’.

The rain finally cleared to enable the Torvill and Deans among us to go ice skating on an open air rink in front of the Rockafeller Centre. We ended up wet and bruised, but exhilarated by the experience!

On Day Four we learnt how the ‘world’s largest department store’, Macy’s, sets out to woo us with clever marketing tricks – which many students succumbed to later in the day, taking full advantage of their knowledge of exchange rates and the cheap dollar!

A trip across the vast Central Park and more culture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art followed. A free morning rounded off what for many was a trip of a lifetime. The buzz of the ‘city which never sleeps’ leaves one feeling that we only scratched the surface, and wanting to go back for more.

The Lion | Summer 2007

A HEAVENLY EXPERIENCE As always with ski trips it was an unearthly hour in the morning when the Bablake ski group congregated in the turning circle to meet the coaches Even though we should have all been groggy with sleep we seemed bright and buzzing, excited to be at last embarking on a trip which would encompass the cosmopolitan and the highly energetic – sightseeing in San Francisco and skiing in the glorious Sierra Mountains.

Everything about the journey went to plan.

The sightseeing tour was superb, the weather making it the best ever, because, for the first time, The Golden Gate Bridge was not swathed in mist and the Twin Peaks view over the bay from the highest point in San Francisco was clear and afforded views for miles around.

Without a doubt we enjoyed one of the most trouble-free skiing holidays in Bablake history as it was not marred by ANY INJURY AT ALL! The lessons and instructors were terrific and everyone made great progress so that by the end of the week, complete beginners had turned into very competent skiers indeed. The resort is known for the quality of its runs and ‘powder’; that is perhaps why it is called Heavenly, and you certainly can understand why, even in an age of

global warming, people are increasingly flying to America to ski.

Despite the high temperatures, the runs were still exhilarating with plenty to challenge and enjoy at the same time. The trails that are so much a part of an American skiing experience allowed the pupils to crisscross through the mountain range from California to Nevada and back to California in time for tea. So enjoyable was our time there that when it dawned on us that it was the end of the week we felt that perhaps we had skipped a time zone, the trip had gone so quickly.

We said goodbye to Heavenly but hoped that there would be a trip back there some time in the future. Thanks to all the pupils who were so well behaved and such great company and to the staff who helped make the trip one of the most successful of recent years.

‘The resort is known for the quality of its runs and ‘powder’; that is perhaps why it is called Heavenly...’

Fun at Fousseau Second Year trips to Fousseau are now in full swing. Classes are enjoying being together for five days, practising their French and sampling the ice cream!

Highlights have included a visit to Mont St. Michel, cuddles with the outsize turtles at Alligator Bay, playing rounders on the beach at St. Malo, impressions of hamsters in the playground wheel, ordering galettes in the market at Pontorson, and admiring the best preserved medieval castle in Europe at Fougères.

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Bablake School

Bablakecreative

The GCSE Textiles Fashion Show 2007 included a variety of quite different dresses, ranging from the 1960’s, flower-power, to punk, the Orient, a jungle theme, the theatre and a ballgown inspired by Jane Austen. The pupils helped to put the show together, producing music to reflect each textiles item and assisting with sound and lighting.

The audience were very enthusiastic and obviously enjoyed the show. A small entrance fee raised £50 for the pupils’ chosen charity, Breast Cancer Care.

Drama update Including the House Drama Festival, there have been five productions this term involving the lower end of school. There is clearly a great range of talent here and considerable promise for the future. The plays presented have ranged from Chaucer to the Demon Headmaster, from Shakespeare’s island to a modern bakery, and also, of course, included Daisy Pulls It Off which will be performed again at the end of term. It will be interesting to see the actors continue their involvement, and present further characters as they progress through the school.

ART EXHIBITION The Art Department again exhibited the work of GCSE and A Level pupils in two well-attended exhibitions in May. These exhibitions give the department and the pupils the opportunity to celebrate the creativity and vibrancy of the work and a chance for the parents to see the standards achieved during the course.

From stage to classroom

Coventry Evening Telegraph

THE SCHOOL’S IN STITCHES

Teenage rock musician James Plester will treat his electric guitar with extra care when he takes to the stage, because he wants it looking the best for inspection by A-Level examiners.

James made the instrument as part of his A-level in Design and Technology lessons. He will use the instrument to play with his two bands Superheroes in Training and The Big Muffin Debate.

The school’s Head of Careers Mark Woodward said: “Music is obviously very much part of his life and it is good to see a point in the curriculum where interest and study can be combined.”

James plans to study music at Coventry University.

The Lion | Summer 2007

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Going down a storm

“How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is!

O brave new world, That has such people in't!”

The Tempest, 5. 1

On Thursday 7 June a lively, enthusiastic and highly energetic group of Shells and Second Years (27 in total) performed their version of The Tempest in the school theatre

The script was as provided by the Schools’ Shakespeare Festival, which had in turn been developed for the BBC’s Animated Shakespeare series. Compressing a three hour play into 40 minutes means that, if you are unfamiliar with the play, you have to make a few leaps of imagination, and when our performers entered hyperdrive and rattled through the script in 30 minutes, the audience had to work even harder.

There were, though, many memorable highlights. The play began with an imaginative storm scene, noisy and very physical, with the chorus forming the raging sea, and the nobles creating their own ship and shipwreck, all being presented behind two long blue and white rippling cloths. Chorus scenes with a strong physical element formed a large part of the production.

The play’s theme of reconciliation and forgiveness was summed up thoughtfully towards the end of the play. There were many successful dramatic scenes, and the understanding of the

Shakespearean text was clearly demonstrated.

There were a few problems; things did seem rushed at times, with one scene moving into another a little too quickly. A few lines were noticeably missed, and, with such a dense script, that did make a difference. However, the piece was visually interesting throughout and the young cast faced up to the demanding challenge of 17th century language with great maturity.

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Bablake School

Bablakeevents ‘The panel of judges was impressed by the creativity and high standards achieved by the students’

Mad UK success This year’s Lower Sixth Form art group entered a fashion design competition called Mad UK, which is organised by Imagineer Productions and aimed at producing innovative and creative costumes

The themes for the event this year were Renaissance, Peace and War and Party Pants. Four of our students were selected to take part in the finals from a field of over fifty entrants. This was a major achievement as they were competing against degree students and professional designers from all over the country.

They took part in a fashion show in the E.On suite at the Ricoh Arena, in front of a crowd of hundreds for the final judging. The designer Wayne Hemmingway (of Red or Dead fame) was the guest judge for the evening.

The first category to be seen was Renaissance. Jessica Phillips created a costume based upon the life cycle of a butterfly which was modelled by Rosie Tressler to stunning effect.

Yasmin Jaspal was next up in the Party Pants section, with a sparkling and vibrantly colourful outfit made out of decorated pants. This was modelled by Becki Stuart. The Peace and War section saw Aimee Alderson’s colourful design which was influenced by medals and military insignia and modelled by Bianca Phillips. This was followed by a pulsating costume based upon an explosion, designed by Niamh Luckett and energetically modelled

by Romeana Gudger.

The panel of judges was impressed by the creativity and high standards achieved by the students and the fact they were able to compete as equals against some very tough competition in each of the categories.

The Lion | Summer 2007

A LOOK IN OUR CRYSTAL BALL Bablake 5th Years Crystal Ball 2007

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IN SHORT DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY The Design and Technology Department held their annual exhibition of GCSE work this term. The displays were a culmination and celebration of the hard work and creativity which the students put into their work.

The photograph below gives you just a taste of the work on display.

Watch out in the next Lion for a more in-depth look at the work.

This year’s Crystal Ball was held for the 5th Years on Friday 4 May. Members of the Upper 6th Form, led by Paddy Hyslop and Kiranjit Juj, together with Mrs. Tatum and Mrs. Fletcher, organised this event in support of two appeals: the 6th Form yearbook and the PHAB charity.

The majority of the year group came and enjoyed a lively evening with plenty of food and dancing, the latter courtesy of the DJ skills of James Plester and Richard Overton. As the lights dazzled and an eclectic mix of music permeated the Hall, pupils let their hair down and bopped the night away! The foyer stairs provided a convenient backdrop for innumerable photo shoots where the boys looked incredibly suave in their DJs and the girls, gorgeous in their gowns.

Everyone made a real effort to add a touch of glamour and formality to this special evening when the whole year group gathered together in a social, friendly and relaxed atmosphere. Well done and thank you to everyone involved, in whatever way. It was a resounding success!

FORMER PUPILS NEWS Alex Kantor has been selected to be part a choir that will tour in the summer to mark the Centenary of Scouting. It will include a world jamboree of about 30,000 people and conclude with a big celebration at the Millennium Dome in November. Alex has been appointed Lead Tenor and is quite excited by the promise of some TV appearances.

Darren Carnall, who left us to go to the Laine Theatre School, has since been in a number of West End shows. He is currently appearing in the new and spectacular show Lord of the Rings at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

KING’S CAMPS AT BABLAKE SCHOOL DURING THE SUMMER! King’s Camps run sports and activity camps for 4-17 year olds in over 30 cities.

We cater for working parents, with extended hours and flexible options available. Our camps play host to a huge range of activities and lots of fun, providing children with variety and choice from our experienced and friendly staff teams.

We are fully Ofsted registered, take childcare vouchers and have the ROSPA Gold award for safety – we fundamentally believe in developing children by using sport and activity in a fun way to keep children healthy and active.

We are a charitable organisation, compelled to develop children. We have to make our product affordable (we are less expensive than most childcare providers including nurseries out of school clubs etc) and thus we cannot advertise as many people do, and pass on the cost to parents.

We are running at Bablake from the July 30 – August 24. Prices from £117 for five days.

Please call the membership team on 08700 429 329 to make a booking.

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Bablake School

Bablakeaction

STRETCHED TO THE LIMIT

‘Exercise Cadet Stretch’ tests Bablake’s CCF The CCF once again enjoyed competing in the annual ‘Exercise Cadet Stretch’ in April against many other CCFs and ACFs from across the country.

The Bablake team of ten took part in a number of command tasks, including vehicle recovery, medical evacuation, building defence, a minefield incident and a roadblock.

On the final day, after an early morning assault course competition, cadets were given the task of building a bridge out of pallets, wood and rope. The team worked hard to construct a bridge over 14m long in just one hour. The aim of the

bridge build was to create the longest bridge which would then hold the weight of the Commanding Officer as he walked across it. Although our bridge was the longest, the Commanding Officer was rather too heavy, causing the bridge to collapse!

With all our scores added up over the two day competition, we came third overall, particularly excelling in the first aid stand and patrolling section.

The staff who ran the competition were particularly impressed with the team, led by Corporal Gardner, who showed excellent leadership and communication skills throughout the weekend.

It’s no holiday at CCF Easter camp Seven months later during Easter camp, they completed the final stages of their basic cadre: the weapon handling test. All cadets must pass this test in order to fire safely when on the ranges and out on exercise. Some cadets were nervous, yet others quietly confident; the test was finally over and every cadet had successfully passed. They were then presented with their berets, belts and hackles indicating that their basic training was now complete. The not so new recruits can now look forward to specialist cadres and promotions in the forthcoming years.

At the crack of dawn, the next day, cadets paraded at school to be transported to a secret location. On arrival at this location, cadets first of all had to tactically patrol to their harbour area where they posted sentries, set up their bashas and cooked their breakfast. Throughout the morning cadets carried out a series of recce patrols, and as they came under enemy attack, successfully carried out section attacks enabling them to win the fire fight.

The Officers were most impressed with the standard of marksmanship on the 25m range.

Every cadet had remembered the marksmanship principles and shot with precision and accuracy.

Top shot went to Joshua Baines who had an excellent grouping with nearly all his rounds hitting the white patch in the middle of the target.

Cadets thoroughly enjoyed their two day camp and can now look forward to Summer Camp at Wathgill Training Camp, Catterick.

D of E – Silver practice expedition, Shropshire Since joining the CCF in September the new recruits have attended weekly lessons in drill, military tactics and learning how to use and maintain the cadet GP rifle.

It was the Tuesday after Easter, and 54 Fifth Formers boarded the coach for the hills of Shropshire.

The campsite was lush and green and had a fantastic view of the Long Mynd. Twenty tents were pitched, and the first meal of the expedition was underway. As the sun went down it was time to settle in for the night.

On Thursday morning, the torment of the Long Mynd was about to start – with full rucksacks. Students were warned that the teachers would be watching to make sure that no short cuts were taken and only two groups were caught out. It was a lovely day again and suntan lotion was applied as mid morning snacks were had.

On the final day the attraction of a full English breakfast and a good cup of tea had some of the pupils up at 5:30 am to make the short walk to Church Stretton. Everybody had completed the expedition and spirits were high.

The Lion | Summer 2007

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CommunityBablake

A GREAT YEAR FOR CHARITY This has been another wonderful year for fund raising by the whole of the Bablake Community and illustrates the concerns shown by all for local, national and international charities.

In the autumn term we had our alternative ‘Harvest’ by supporting Send a Cow, a charity which supports agricultural projects in the poorest countries in Africa. As Mrs Goodwin spent some time in Rwanda during the year and met the directors of Send a Cow we asked that our donation of £3,720 be spent in that country.

Many poor families were helped out of abject poverty by our gifts of livestock.

In the Spring Term we supported charities nominated by our pupils.

We were able to support two children’s charities in India, the Bethesda Orphanage and The Joe Homans Trust as well as raising £1,500 for Comic Relief and £750 for PHAB. Other charities that we supported were the Brooke Hospital (an animal charity), Myton Hospice, UNICEF and Water Aid.

In the Summer Term we were all very excited to learn that Rob Dougall was taking part in the London Marathon and running to raise money for the Meningitis Trust.

Through staff sponsorship and donations from pupils we were able to help Rob achieve his target of raising £3,000. Well done Rob! Every year we hold two parties for our local senior citizens. Our

Community Service Volunteers Every week about sixty-five Bablake students go out of school on a Wednesday afternoon to work in the community as part of our CSV programme which has been running for over 25 years. Participation is offered to members of the Fifth and Sixth Forms, with the opportunity to work in local charity shops, primary and special schools, residential care homes, Walsgrave hospital or the offices of small charitable groups. This year the range of activities, commitment and involvement has been as impressive as ever. Many students return to their old primary school and help with art, PE or creative writing lessons, some listen to younger pupils read or help develop computer skills. Hannah Sheard has integrated so well that her name now appears on the ‘birthday list’ in the school staff room and she is often greeted by young children at weekends as they introduce their parents to ‘Miss’!

Abi Bird and Claire Russell have enjoyed the experience of working with children in special schools and have developed a useful understanding of their very special needs. Working in the Scope charity shop in Hertford Street became a highlight of the week for Kerry Lockett and Rosie Gibbons.

Just across the road, James Ross, Dan Cutler and Zain Ali have been working in the British Heart Foundation shop, bringing life and laughter to the shop as well as being helpful in sorting, advising customers and working the tills. Amy Bruck has been helping resource the Coventry Youth for Christ schools programme throughout the year and Sita Garala, Nisha Panchal and Reena Panchal have been assisting in local residential care homes. Andrew Monaghan takes his keyboard each week to a care home and accompanies Cé Cé Sutton’s vocals, encouraging the residents to join in a little and suggest songs they might like to hear. Victoria Martin and Sareena Jagait go to the Oxfam shop each week, and Adam Pearman has also done a remarkable job re-organising the library at his school placement. The list could go on and on, but with 65 participants, we cannot include the magnificent contributions of everyone – but well done to all for your commitment and enthusiasm.

Christmas party is a much enjoyed event with many seasonal activities.

This is enjoyed by all visitors, pupils and staff alike.

In the summer the strawberry tea is the seasonal event, again enjoyed by all.

Altogether we should have raised over £15,000 for charity by the end of this academic term.

Money for old rope During the last week of the Spring Term, 240 girls took part in Jump Rope for Heart, a sponsored skipping event organised by Mrs Scott in aid of The British Heart Foundation. The girls had trained for this event in PE lessons. Skipping to non stop music, for three hours in teams of six, the girls raised an amazing £2000.

A special mention must go to the following girls who each raised more than £50 and our top fund raiser Katie Wildbore who raised a massive £95; Jessica Rizkalla, Evie Tither, Ellie Hutchinson James, Naomi Smith, Ameena Tahir, Abigail Mason, Lauren Hughes, Lydia Brown.

Congratulations to everyone who took part and who sponsored the event – look out for a repeat in future years.

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Bablake School

Bablakeachievement Debating and public speaking

Engineering Education Scheme Congratulations go to this year’s Engineering Education Scheme (EES) team on a well presented project and solid report. Natalie Box, Chris Walters, Clare Stoker and Paul Wye went to the assessment day at the NEC on Wednesday 25 April along with 50 other teams.

Over the past 9 months they have been working on a project with Arup to design a way of collecting the leaking/seepage and overflow from a weir and embankment at Wilstone Reservoir in Tring.

Thanks must go to our sponsor company ARUP and their link engineers Chris Furneaux and Chris Jackson for the time and expertise they have given us. We look forward to working with them again next year.

The debating and public speaking teams have completed another successful year: rounds were won in four different prestigious competitions; the lunchtime debating competition saw nearly forty pupils compete and culminated in a very close final; and for the first time, the senior public speaking team competed in the final of a national competition and came away with some silverware.

As reported in the last edition of ‘The Lion’ we won rounds in the Birmingham and Midland Institute’s Schools’ Debating competition, the English Speaking Union debates, the Rotary Club ‘Youthspeaks’ contest and the British Professional Women’s Schools’ Public Speaking. It was in the last of these that the most progress was made subsequently: the senior trio – Mark McKelvie, Liam CollinsMcIntyre and Someit Sidhu won the semi-final at the University of Derby in February, speaking about the necessity to trade with less economically developed countries rather than send them development aid. The final was held in Oswestry the following month. By qualifying for this stage the team could truthfully claim to be one of the best five trios in the United Kingdom and one of the best two in England. They performed very well, finishing third overall and Someit was awarded the cup for best

speaker – a fitting tribute to a very successful ‘career’ in public speaking and debating at Bablake.

Someit featured heavily, along with his partner Marco Orsini-Jones, in the lunchtime debating competition. This contest saw the emergence of much new talent and there was a real sense of the baton being passed from one year to the next when a Lower Sixth Form pairing – Jamie Stefaniak and William Chamberlain – beat Someit and Marco in the final by the narrowest of margins. Jamie and Will, both leading members of the CCF, appreciated the irony of having to speak in the final against the idea of compulsory military service.

Messrs Stefaniak and Chamberlain will represent the school as our senior pairing next year, but there is a real sense of the end of an era this summer as many of our leading debaters, mentioned above, leave the school. Our appreciation particularly goes to Mark McKelvie and Liam CollinsMcIntyre, who have represented us magnificently in numerous competitions since they were in the Forth Form. They, together with Marco, Someit and Matthew Galloway, have made a major contribution to establishing a minitradition in the arts of public speaking and debating at Bablake.

YOUNG ENTERPRISE

24th March 2007 National Trade Fair A registered charity, Young Enterprise was founded in 1963, as the need for enterprise education was recognised by both educational institutions and business professionals. The ethos behind Young Enterprise is simply to deliver entrepreneurial education to young people in schools and colleges to encourage and help them develop the attitudes and skills for enterprise, personal success, life-long learning and employability.

Over 80 schools attended the event from all over the country including two Young Enterprise companies from Brussels. Although the Bablake team did not win the event, they did receive a Commendation award.

The Lion | Summer 2007

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Oxford Law Open Day Lauren Newbury and Oliver Millerchip spent a day in Oxford earlier in the year attending the Law Faculty Open Day. The first lecture covered entry to Oxford University and the need for good grades, but it soon became clear that no specific subject was being sought, and certainly A Level Law gave no significant advantage. This was followed by sessions on ‘Assault and Battery’ and the limits of ‘Freedom of Speech’. Lauren described both sessions as “fascinating” and they really inspired her to follow up the possibility of a career in Law and a work shadowing placement with the Crown Prosecution Service over the summer.

There are two places allocated to Bablake for this event each year and hopefully others will grasp the opportunity when they are advertised next year.

HOW TO MAKE MONEY AND HOPEFULLY LOTS OF IT

PRESTIGIOUS SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED Sam Sharples and Lee Paplauskas have been selected to receive prestigious Arkwright Scholarships Sam and Lee successfully passed the Arkwright Aptitude Paper demonstrating flair and originality in solving Engineering Design problems and presenting GCSE work to a panel of interviewers earlier this year.

The selection process culminated in an interview for Sam and Lee at the Universities of Bath and Sheffield respectively. A team exercise presented by the university provided them with an

experience of the challenge and excitement of engineering related careers. They then toured the university and explored the diversity of engineering and the rewards of a career in the sector.

The Scholarships are sponsored by Industry and Charitable Trusts and will be formally presented at a ceremony hosted by The Institute of Engineering and Technology, Savoy Place, London on Friday 26 October 2007.

How to make money and hopefully lots of it – that is the question. As one of Pinnacle, Bablake’s Lower Sixth Young Enterprise Company, brainstormed ideas last autumn, we realised it is not always as easy as it sounds.

Inspired by the number of learner drivers in Bablake, we decided to sell show plates as our main product. These are mock car registration plates with personalised messages on them, which are offered in a variety of colours and at very competitive prices. For further information about these plates and other popular car accessories, please see our website at www.pinnedbypinnacle.co.uk.

We have learnt many lessons from the Young Enterprise business experience, including how the weather forecast can affect profits – customers are a rare sight in the torrential British rain!

Pinnacle will cease trading in July after having won a prize in every single Coventry Trade Fair 2006–2007.

Touchdown, another Bablake company, won the prize for Best Product for their Easy-squeeze tube-squeezer at the West Midlands Final.

Award-winning duo Sam Sharples (left) and Lee Paplauskas

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Bablake School

Bablakesport

GIRLS’ SPORT Achievement for Bablake’s girls on all fronts and in all sports in the spring and summer of 2007

School leavers hockey match SUMMER TERM In the Coventry Schools Athletics Championships the Intermediate team finished 2nd overall. Lijana Kaziow (long jump), Danielle Smith (shot putt) and Lucy Horn (800m) have been selected to represent Coventry in the West Midlands Championships.

The Junior team went one better and won the Coventry Schools Championships comfortably.

Individual event winners were Letitia Russell in the hurdles, Emily McNiece in the 200m and Aisling Flanagan in the high jump; all three girls have been selected to compete in the West Midlands Championships. In a Year 8 multi events competition, Ashni Desai was the overall winner of the girls from schools in Coventry plus Kenilworth and Heart of England. In the English Track and Field competition the Junior team came runners up in the area and are through to the Midlands B finals, whereas the Intermediate team’s performance was good enough to earn them a place in the Midlands A final.

The Coventry Schools rounders tournaments have got off to a fine start with both the U15 & U14 teams securing their place in the final at the end of term.

This year we say goodbye to a very talented group of girls in the U6th, who have played an important role in the development of girls’ sport at Bablake. We wish them all the very best in the future and hope they continue to be successful in their chosen sports. Staff would like to thank the U6th mixed hockey team for an enjoyable game, and are already in training for the next leavers’ match, as they are determined to remain undefeated!

Hockey and netball training is in progress with the 5th and L6th players going on tour to South Africa this summer. The girls are keen to play in South Africa and are eager to go on a game reserve as well as see the diverse culture this country has to offer.

GIRLS’ SPORT TEAM NEWS During the second half of the Spring Term Bablake teams gained a number of trophies. Both the U15 and U14 Coventry Schools hockey trophies were won by Bablake. The U15s beat King Henry VIII 3-1 on penalty strokes and the U14s played extremely well to beat King Henry VIII 5-1. The U12 Bablake hockey team were winners of the Bablake Invitation tournament. They have made great progress with their team play and individual skills and we look forward to seeing them progress further next season. The U18 netball team came runners up in the West Midlands South tournament, and the 2nd VII also came runners up in the league. With some exceptional play and sheer determination to prove themselves, the 1st VII won all their league matches to take the West Midlands South league trophy. The Bablake U12B netball team came runners up to King Henry VIII in the Coventry schools netball final, whilst the U12A team won their tournament, beating King Henry VIII 11-4 in the final. Both the U13A & B teams won their Coventry Schools Netball tournament. The B team scored 31 goals and conceded only 11 in their 5 games. The A team scored 55 goals and conceded 5 in total. The U13 hockey team did very well to reach the semi-finals of the Warwickshire clubs and schools mini-hockey tournament, where they were beaten by the eventual winners King’s High.

The U13 Rounders team gained a place in the Coventry Schools Finals.

U13 hockey team

NATIONAL NETBALL FINALS The highlight of the term was the U14 netball team gaining a place in the National Schools’ Netball Finals by winning the Coventry tournament, the Warwickshire and the Midlands.

The finals were hosted in Bournemouth on March 17th. A very excited group of pupils and four staff went down to Bournemouth on the Friday evening and, after a pleasant walk on the beach, settled down for an early night.

The weather was kind to us and the team launched into the tournament with great enthusiasm and determination demonstrating all their skills and tactical training. They played confidently and won a place in the semi finals, winning six matches, drawing one and losing one by a single goal. They lost the semi-final in a nail biting match by 2 goals to 4 to the eventual tournament winners, Bancroft School.

Bablake has an excellent record in the National Netball Finals and our U14s have shown they are capable of continuing this tradition.

Well done to the dedicated squad and the hardworking staff for an excellent finale to the season.

U14 National Finals Squad: Ella Morrell, Shannon Thompson, Georgia Horn, Beth Sargent, Charlotte Rouse, Alice O’Connor, Pip Collison, Becky Wells, Emily Mason and Aisling Flanagan.

U13B netball team

The Lion | Summer 2007

15

BOYS’ SPORT U13A netball team

U12B netball team

To Baku and Beyond Miss Hawkins joined the P.E. department this year.

She is full of enthusiasm and is keen to develop the girls’ hockey at Bablake. She is still playing high-level hockey herself, and gives us an insight into playing in the European Club Championships, Baku Azerbaijan, held at the end of May. “After winning the national premier league title, we qualified for the European club championships, the first time Leicester HC have ever been in this competition. It can be compared with the Champions’ League in football. We travelled to Baku (the furthest place east in Europe!) and were up against the Russians (which turned out to be their national team!), the Belarusians and the Germans. Our first match was against the Russians, who were tough, hard, organised and had very bad hair styles! We played badly as a team, but still won 3-0. Our next match was against the Belarusian club side. We beat them convincingly 2-0. Our semi final was against Berliner, who boasted 3 Olympic gold medallists in their starting line up. This didn’t faze us at all, and after 2 outstanding goals, we went on to win 2-0, which automatically put us in the final against the mighty Dutch team, Den Bosch. This team is 7 times European Champions, with 5-0 being their nearest contender. This was a thrilling game which eventually ended 2-1 to Den Bosch. Devastated, we still had to congratulate the winning team. It is never easy to win silver in this exhausting competition and become the second best club side in Europe; however I still have gold in my sights.

Next year, watch out Den Bosch!”

CRICKET The 1st XI has made an impressive start to the season winning every match so far. The highlight was perhaps a thrilling 20/20 match with Solihull School in which Bablake set a challenging target of 163, Paul Best contributing 53, and then restricted Solihull so as to record a fine win. There have also been some fantastic individual performances.

The junior cricket sides have also started brightly: Under 12s: The cold dark Tuesday evenings of the first term seem a long way off , but it was here where a large number of eager Shell Formers turned up for indoor nets, ready for our sunny summer that would guarantee them lots of competitive cricket matches! Sadly the weather has put paid to many of our plans but the second half of term promises much for the A and B teams.

So far we have only played three matches against Kineton, Woodlands and President Kennedy and comfortably won all three.

Under 13s: The U13s are fielding two sides, and making good progress in the Coventry Schools Cup and the County Cup. Congratulations to Ben Davies on his selection for Warwickshire Under 14s: The U14s started the season brightly with a fine win against King Edward’s Stratford, thanks in part to 64 from Simon Godfrey.

Since then performances have lacked consistency.

Under 15s: The U15s have started the season well. The only defeat of the season so far came in the first match against King Edward’s Stratford.

The team is currently in the semi final of the 20/20 national knock-out competition and is progressing well in the Coventry Cup. ATHLETICS The athletics season has started extremely well for Bablake Boys. In the season’s first event the Intermediate Team, consisting of 4th and 5th Years finished up as Coventry Champions. Individual winners in this event included Robert Thomason in the high jump, the 4 x 100m relay team, and Kai Hartshorn in the discus. There were second places for Toby Donaldson in the javelin and Dominic Ainsworth in the 100m. All of these boys have been selected to represent Coventry in the West Midlands Championships.

Not to be outdone, the 3rd Year Junior Boys also won the Coventry Championship. In this event Chukka Ogbuneke in the 200m and the 4 x 100m relay team finished as individual winners. Mathew Storey finished as runner up in both the 100m and 200m, Aaron Healy in the 800m and Sam Jack in

Boy’s hockey 1st XI team

the Discus. Chukka, Sam, Mathew and Killian Kleine have all been selected to represent Coventry.

Josh Buggea should also be congratulated for winning the Coventry Multi Events championship for 2nd Year boys, making him the best overall athlete in the city. Ben Davies finished third in this event, again a fantastic achievement.

In the English Schools Athletics Event, both junior and intermediate boys’ teams have progressed into the Midlands ‘B’ Final after finishing third and second respectively in the 1st round event.

HOCKEY – U13 HOCKEY TEAM FINISH 6TH IN THE MIDLAND FINALS! Having won the Warwickshire competition, Bablake's U13s faced the representative teams from Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, and Northamptonshire & Worcestershire. The team beat Oundle School, and was narrowly defeated by Loughborough Grammar School, Bromsgrove and Beeston Hockey Club.

They had done very well to get this far, and it was a fantastic experience for the side.

SHELL MARK BEST SCORED 146 NOT OUT IN A RECENT MATCH vs KES ASTON SCHOOL

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Bablake School

Bablakeupdate HEADMASTER’S NOTES

STAFF NEWS

“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.”

(Sir Winston Churchill). This was my message last month to our Upper Sixth leavers, and the latter half of the quotation conveys well the mentality to which we hope all Bablake pupils aspire.

We all have only one chance of an education, and it is therefore vital that we live it to the full, and make the most of opportunities.

Staff at Bablake will continue to do their best to provide pupils with a fulfilling, enjoyable and rich preparation for life. At the beginning of term, we looked again at what we are trying to achieve at Bablake, with input from staff, parents and governors, and I publish the new School Aims below:

We have said goodbye to Mr Simon Jephcott, Database Manager, who did much to refine and improve school information systems; he has been replaced by Miss Karen James, who was previously working for Coventry City Council.

Mrs Anne Gough, Morning Pupil Services, has also left; she will be replaced in September by Mrs Jane Brett, who has been based at Blue Coat School.

Dr Donna Robilliard has been appointed Head of Biology at King Henry VIII, and therefore leaves us at the end of term; we wish her every success in her new role. Her replacement from September will be Mr Clive Mohamed, who is currently teaching at Finham Park. Mr Mohamed spent 22 years in the RAF, and saw active service in many parts of the world.

Mr Stephen Lander has taught Mathematics at Bablake since 2003, and has become a highly respected teacher and colleague. We wish him well as he moves on, due to family relocation.

I am grateful to Mr Matthew Lang for contributing so much to rugby, CCF and house drama in his year with us as a Physics teacher; he will return to coach some rugby next year.

Mr Ben McFadden, AV Technician, will also leave us, in order to travel the world.

Ms Caroline Daley and Mrs Shona Thompson depart for maternity leave; we wish them well, and look forward to hearing good news in due course. Mrs Judith Smith will remain at Bablake, partly in order to cover Mrs Thompson’s maternity leave, but also to take responsibility for the introduction of Spanish.

Mrs Georgina Bland, School Nurse, leaves after almost 11 years’ service. Mrs Bland is a well-known figure at Bablake, who has made an enormous contribution to the physical well-being of pupils, whilst also counselling many.

I announced the retirement of Mrs Pat Goodyer, Mrs Jane Price and Mrs Felicity Chapman in the Autumn edition of The Lion. We wish them every happiness, and thank them for their enormous contribution to the lives of Bablake pupils. Tributes will appear in The Wheatleyan.

Mr Terry Proctor is also retiring. We were most fortunate that he remained part-time beyond his official retirement in 2005. He has been a much-loved Mathematics teacher and colleague.

The following are internal appointments, to take effect in September: Mrs Amanda Jones, Head of Shells; Miss Ceri Imber (who will become Mrs Rees after her marriage this summer), Assistant Head of Shells; Mrs Chris Scott, Assistant Head of Second and Third Years, Mrs Alison Tumber, Assistant Head of Sixth Form (alongside Mr Dougall); Mr Peter Burden, Archivist; Mr Mark Woodward, Press Officer and Staff Editor of The Wheatleyan; Miss Caroline Hall, Mrs Lorainne Alexander, Assistant House Heads of Wheatley and Crow.

SCHOOL AIMS The purpose of Bablake School is to provide an excellent and stimulating education for boys and girls, by developing character, intellect and physical well being within a happy, scholarly and caring community. In order to achieve this, the School aims: • to provide well-qualified, dedicated and enthusiastic staff, who enable pupils to enjoy their education and to fulfil their academic potential whilst at school; • to encourage the growth of reflection, intellectual curiosity and creativity, within a spirit of independent and co-operative learning; • to value and support each individual, providing a high quality of pastoral care, and nurturing self-esteem and mutual respect, in partnership with parents; • to provide a challenging and balanced curriculum, which prepares pupils for adulthood, enabling them to succeed in higher education and their chosen careers, and equipping them with skills for life; • to offer a wide range of activities and opportunities for enrichment, enabling pupils to develop sporting and cultural interests through participation with others; • to celebrate achievement and success in all areas of endeavour, within a purposeful and secure community; • to encourage development of character, a sense of responsibility, spiritual values, and a strong personal and moral code, leading to the highest standards of behaviour and consideration for others; • to welcome pupils of diverse beliefs and backgrounds; • to promote an awareness of the world beyond school, a generosity of spirit, and a sense of service to the wider community.

I wish you all a restful, sunny and happy Summer Holiday, and thank you for your support in my first very full and enjoyable year at Bablake.

John Watson, Headmaster

CONGRATULATIONS TO: ALEX OWENS, FOR BEING SELECTED FOR THE WARWICKSHIRE SCHOOLS’ BADMINTON ASSOCIATION SQUAD, WHICH WILL COMPETE IN THE BADMINTON ENGLAND HARRODS INTER-COUNTY TOURNAMENT. JAMIE STEFANIAK, FOR ACHIEVING THE HIGHEST MARK IN THE WEST MIDLANDS IN THE OCR YOUNG ENTERPRISE LEVEL 2 EXAMINATION. DAVID CHEETHAM , FOR GAINING GRADE 8 DISTINCTION ON THE OBOE.

Bablake School, Coundon Road, Coventry CV1 4AU T +44 (0)24 7627 1200 F +44 (0)24 7627 1290 E info@bablake.coventry.sch.uk W www.bablake.com Designed & produced by Mustard: www.mustardhot.com