news & views from bablake school issue 49 summer 2009
In this issue
Dedication of the Headmaster’s Memorial Garden Tuesday 12 May 2009
Memorial Garden re-opens 02 Best in show 03 Bite the Big Apple 04 Cadet Stretch 05 Bablake Arts 06/07 Making the grade 08 Bablake News 09/10 Bablake Charity 10 Bablake Sports 12/15
Bablakenews
A haven of tranquillity... The new Headmaster’s Memorial Garden is now open for the Bablake community to use for quiet reflection, and for many with close associations, the school seems complete once again. When the EDM was built, while the fabulous facility allowed Bablake to enhance its performing arts and has brought enjoyment to many participants and audiences ever since its opening, there was a price to pay. The Headmaster’s Garden and the Weather Station both needed new locations. While the latter was immediately relocated, the search for an appropriate venue for the former has taken a little longer to solve. Everyone agrees the wait has been well worth it. The Headmaster’s Memorial Garden is now located in the Science Quad and the emerging flowers and shrubs are already establishing themselves, while an attractive array of seating is able to accommodate a
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the lion Summer 2009
full class. Indeed over 100 former and current staff, pupils and parents gathered, in glorious sunshine, as the Bishop of Warwick, the Right Reverend John Stroyan led the official service to dedicate the garden. Following a warm introduction from current Headmaster, Mr John Watson, Bablake’s Chamber Choir conducted by Mr Bernard Sutton sang an anthem and later a blessing. Readings and prayers from a variety of sources – including both Hindu and Christian scriptures – were sensitively delivered by Mr Chris Mellers, Sam and Zoe Clements, Jonathan Lawrence, James Ross, Sophie Tumber, Pam Uppal, Laura Weaver and Roya Ziaie.
The garden was blessed by the Bishop and for many present, including the parents, colleagues, relatives and friends of particular pupils remembered on the day, the service was a touching, poignant celebration. The Bablake community gives especial thanks to the family of former pupil and teacher, John Lawrence, former Headmaster, Dr Stuart Nuttall and the Parents’ Association for generous donations towards the garden. The families and friends of individual students are also warmly thanked for contributions to help remember those sorely missed by our community. Deepesh Patel's parents have kindly funded an attractive water feature.
Bablakenews
shorts Horsing around The Equestrian Club enjoyed a day at the British Show Jumping Championships during the Easter holidays. We watched some nail biting rounds as top stars such as the Whittaker family, Robert Smith and former Bablake pupil, Nick Skelton, competed against one another for the overall title of British Open Champion 2009. Pupils also enjoyed watching barrel racing, scurry driving and the Metropolitan Police Display where serving officers and their horses jumped through rings of fire and a solid paper wall and completed impossibly fast crossovers to music. Another highlight was watching Jean François Pignon perform a totally unique and inspiring display with his magical white horses.
Golden award winners 17 Sixth Form pupils are celebrating a Gold CREST Award for research project work conducted. The award is highly respected by universities, and this year the pupils gained recognition for in-depth research into medical, geological and engineering problems. Congratulations to: U6th: Charlotte Burton, Matthew Drage, Faith Hannon, Thomas Hine, Katherine Hull, Michelle Jie, Tejinder Kalsi, Ira Kleine, Nisha Panchal, Catherine Russell, Anshu Sachdev, Ambika Sharma and Bhajanpreet Virk. L6th: Shindy Lall, Jayson Parmar, Adam Rogozinski and Ami Shirley.
Summing up... and down! Mr Memon’s 3rd year group tried out some practical mathematics this term. They studied the maths behind bungee jumping and experimented with balloons. The task was to calculate the maximum length of elastic that could be used to drop a water balloon from the Rehearsal Room window without it hitting the ground.
Sparkling visions... On 1 April, lessons for the 5th form passed slowly until the final bell, when the girls erupted from the school and laid siege to the hairdressers. By 7.30 pm everyone had been groomed, zipped, manicured and polished to perfection. The Crystal Ball had begun. The school looked like a scene from March of the Penguins, due to the large number of boys in tuxes huddled in the middle of the field, avoiding the cameras, crossed with the ultimate Disney Princess Ball, with all the girls in beautiful, colourful dresses. Pupils entered the decorated hall and sat at tables with friends to have a bite to eat. Then the dancing began, with songs ranging from The cha-cha slide to Summer of 69. The dancing went on into the night and finished on a high note for a tired but happy fifth form. Many thanks to all the teachers and sixth formers who made the prom possible and such a success.
Best in show at Crufts
Recently Aisling Flanagan had the distinct honour of performing part of Riverdance with three of her fellow Irish dancers at the NEC during Crufts – one of her more unusual bookings! Renowned dog-handler Mary Ray trained her dog, Levi, to jump through, over and under the dancers towards the end of her routine that was performed just before the ‘Best in Show’ section of Crufts. While footage of the dance is on YouTube, the current issue of The Wheatleyan has a feature on Aisling and Gemma Grealy’s love of Irish dancing. bablake school
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Bablaketravel
Bite the Big Apple It was every teacher’s nightmare... pupils arriving late, one lost passport, one held for a search at US immigration, the boot of the coach opening (luckily spotted before our luggage fell out on the 5 lane interstate!), the coach crashing into a minibus and rooms with the wrong number of beds in. 'What’s going to go wrong next?,' we thought. Well... nothing really. It turned out to be a fabulous Business & Economics trip to New York. We started to get into the cosmopolitan spirit by visiting Times Square at night. The sheer hustle and bustle, fabulous lights and street peddlers made it exciting and a few ‘bargains’ were bagged. The Museum of Modern Art was a cultural experience particularly enjoyed by pupils studying design technology and art. Some of the others were found sleeping off their jet lag in the comfy chairs!! A cruise on the Hudson
around Manhattan and out to the Statue of Liberty as the sun set was a real highlight, and the tour guide gave us a wealth of information about the city. The ‘Business and Economics’ part of the trip took place in the pouring rain, as we did a walking tour around the financial district, saw $billions of gold in the Federal Reserve Bank and reflected on the devastation caused at Ground Zero. Pupils did their best to bolster the ailing US economy by shopping! Ice skating at the Rockerfeller Center enabled many to show off their ‘Torvill and Dean’ skills, though I think Todd Carty could
have shown many of us up!! A cold trip across the Hudson to Ellis Island to the Immigration Museum helped us to appreciate the multicultural background of the city and the anticipation and hope felt by its new citizens, and we too experienced some of their awe as we gazed on the Statue of Liberty. Seeing Manhattan from the ‘Top of the Rock(erfeller)’ was breathtaking and a final meal in a posh restaurant rounded off a wonderful trip. Despite the ominous start, the many experiences, coupled with the friendliness and enthusiasm of the pupils made it a memory to treasure.
Flamenco fun In March a group of pupils from the Shells, 2nd and 3rd year went to Sadler’s Wells to see the Ballet Nacional de España as part of the Annual Flamenco festival. It was a truly enjoyable performance: castanets, fans, traditional flamenco 'bata de cola' dresses, effervescent heel-and-toe step combinations, and volcanic shoulder and hip actions – flamenco at its very best!
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Bablakeactivity
Bablake CCF in action... With the sun shining brightly, we left Coventry and headed to Swynnerton Army Training Camp for four action-packed days. Cadets were looking forward to taking part in an eclectic mixture of activities, including paintballing, an observation post, canoeing, clay target shooting, a night exercise and sumo wrestling! Having arrived at camp, cadets had only a short time to collect bedding and move into their accommodation before grabbing a notebook and pen and heading off to the classroom to learn about shotgun skills from Capt. Masters. This new addition to the CCF activity list certainly had them interested and they eagerly looked forward to the practical sessions, which comprised practising the skills and a ‘mini’ competition, on the following days. All cadets did exceptionally well during this activity and congratulations go to cadet Tom Bird who was top scorer, missing only one target in the competition. After lunch in the cook house there followed a two-hour orienteering competition on the training area. The cadets’ map reading skills were well tested and the number of control markers found ranged from one to sixteen out of twenty. Congratulations to the winning team of Cpl. Jones, cadet Jones and cadet Hemus. The canoeing session was cold but enjoyable, especially with the number of games and challenges that 2Lt Tyas had planned. With cadets having to stand up and then swap canoes with each other, they were guaranteed to get very wet as the majority of them capsized, including 2Lt Wiles! After drying out and swapping their wet suits for uniforms, cadets moved on to a patrol lane. Paintball gun in hand, they tried to hit every target in front of them. Following this, they had their observational skills put to the test as they tried to spot the 10 military items hidden in the undergrowth in front of them. Congratulations to cadet Edwards who was top scorer in the paintballing and to L/Cpl Kirkman who successfully managed to locate all the hidden items. Each evening saw different sections deployed on ‘Exercise Annie’. Section commanders delivered a set of orders to their section, which then tactically patrolled out onto the training area to set up a harbour. While sentries kept watch, the rest of the
Stretched to the limit Cadets Barr, Jones, Kirkman, Lambert, Mason, Paxton, Perry, Ryland, Thornhill and Tumber enjoyed competing at the annual Exercise Cadet Stretch against other CCFs and ACFs within the Brigade. The team competed in a variety of stands, and managed the top scores in ‘downed pilot’, ‘road block’ and ‘vehicle recovery’. The team came second in the stretcher race and third in the obstacle course.
section settled down for a few hours’ sleep in their bashas. The sentries did an excellent job of keeping the harbour safe from enemy threat and challenging any intruders that strayed into their territory. At 4 am cadets were alerted to move out and set up an ambush. At 5 am the ambush was sprung and, having successfully destroyed the enemy and rescued a badly injured VIP banker, Sir I. Spentalot, they quickly reorganised and returned to camp, with the VIP on a stretcher – mission completed. The final evening’s ‘relaxation’ took the form of a sumo wrestling competition. Cadets and staff all thoroughly enjoyed themselves as they tried to push, pull, or even roll, their opponent out of the ring, whilst wearing suitably padded and inflated costumes. With Easter camp now over, the new recruits of September 2008 have completed their basic training. They can now look forward to more specialist army cadres, or transfer to the RAF section. Following the demonstration of excellent leadership qualities throughout the camp, congratulations go to the following cadets who have been promoted; Sgt. Thornhill, Sgt. Tumber, Cpl. Sheard, Cpl. Jones, Cpl. Mason, L/ Cpl. Samson, L/Cpl. Kirkman, L/Cpl. Perry, L/ Cpl. Stephen, L/Cpl. Lane, L/Cpl. Barr and L/Cpl. Wilford.
D of E Silver Memories of the previous night at the Crystal Ball soon disappeared and many regretted the high heels that had been worn, resulting in blisters before any walking had taken place. This was the start of an unseasonably dry D of E expedition! Lessons had been learned from the Bronze D of E and bags were lighter and sleeping bags warmer. There was plenty of food (for most) and lots of chocolate and sweets were passed around. Thankfully, everyone survived the DANGER area and after completing the first day in double quick time, Millie Ross and Chris Starkey opted to go on an extra walk with Mrs Skilton to the German cemetery located on Cannock Chase. The others chose to relax and let their boots dry out after stepping in a rather deep puddle. The next two days were a success and further lessons were learned about how much food to bring (1kg pasta between two was probably a bit over the top!).
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Bablakearts
A class audition... Hollyoaks' new star, Melissa Walton, took advantage of a break in filming to return to Bablake, where she was a pupil at both the Junior and Senior schools. Melissa, who plays new character Loretta, had a chance to refresh her Bablake memories, meeting staff who had taught her and a number of students who would dearly love to follow in her footsteps. She faced a Question and Answer session with a Shell class who wanted to know everything about her as well as grab a treasured autograph. After surviving being mobbed by a group of very eager Fourth Year girls, Melissa was reunited with her legendary drama teacher, Mr Prescott, whose U6th Drama and Theatre Studies class had hundreds of questions. Melissa stressed the importance of both making and taking opportunities, talked about the downs of auditions and recalls that did not lead to work but also explained how she had always been happy to take risks and stand out to be remembered. She thoroughly appreciates the start she has had and is only keen to throw herself more and more into a job that is too much fun to really seem like a job! Melissa is a lovely, effervescent young woman who is so complimentary about her time at Bablake and was so excited to spend the day at the school – she knows very firmly where she would like her career to progress and we suspect she will fulfil her dreams. She left a fantastic impression, even having time to be photographed to help promote the CD we compiled to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Bablake is proud of all its students and it is excellent to see so many remember school so fondly and be happy to return and give advice to the next generation of pupils making subject choices. Melissa for one has no regrets and is enjoying her life – one suspects she will not be far from our screens for some time to come and deservedly so!
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'...she had always been happy to take risks and stand out to be remembered'
Scary stuff at Bablake... The Spring Term saw a very successful production of the junior play Dracula. All cast members were drawn from Second to Fourth Years and presented a challenging piece in a very accomplished manner. There were many extremely strong individual performances but the piece relied upon an ensemble cast and all members pulled together to create a memorable show. The production also enabled us to showcase the technical possibilities of the Bablake Studio Theatre. A crew comprising staff and students deserve particular thanks for their technical wizardry. Back projection was used to great effect and allowed the rest of the set to be minimal whilst still creating a chilling atmosphere. On behalf of the whole cast and crew, thank you to all those who attended and helped in any way, and to those Sixth Form thespians, rest assured that Bablake drama is in safe hands.
Bablakearts
Drama footnotes As well as the Junior Dramatic Society play, and the A level and AS performance pieces, we were again involved in the National Theatre Connections programme. Our play was Anthony Horowitz’s A Handbag. Set in an offenders’ institution, a group of seriously dysfunctional youngsters are preparing a performance of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Horowitz’s strongly written piece explores the connections between plays and real life, and the young people learn about their real identity as they struggle through rehearsals. The cast was largely taken from the AS Drama group, who were keen to push themselves forward in the short time before our performance date. After a really intensive rehearsal schedule, we performed the play at school on Friday 13 March! With stark, brash, white lighting and a cold rectangular ‘space’ marked out on the theatre floor, the performance was intense and gripping. A director from the National Theatre assessed the production and provided detailed feedback to the cast. As a result we were told that we were going to perform the play at the Royal and Derngate Theatre in Northampton, as part of their drama festival. The drama day at Northampton was full and very
’hands on‘. With workshops on Stage Combat and Vocal Skills, seeing other productions, as well as rehearsing and performing our own, it was a tiring, but very successful day. This was an excellent experience for the talented cast, and it was very rewarding to see the confidence of the group grow and develop as the process went on. To work in a professional theatre, with staff from the National Theatre, is clearly a worthwhile and valuable experience. (A more detailed piece on this production will appear in next term’s Wheatleyan.)
Taming of the Shrew
In the second half of the summer term, we will be casting and rehearsing this play which will be part of the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival, to take place in late October 2009.
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Superheroes? Daniel Jack (U6KFB) has produced a superhero tribute to senior members of the Sixth Form staff as part of his A Level coursework. Measuring six feet by four feet and executed in oils, Daniel was inspired by the dramatic perspective of renaissance art and the dynamism of the figures in graphic novels. The painting depicts Mr Burns, Head of Sixth Form, bedecked in the cross of St Andrew, Mr Dougall flying majestically beside him and Mrs Tumber looking superbly menacing in the top corner. Daniel will continue his studies at Central St Martin’s College of Art & Design in London.
Our 23rd year at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival will see us performing Dennis Kelly’s play DNA. Rehearsals are under way, and it promises to be an exciting and challenging piece. We will be performing the play at the Diverse Attractions theatre in Edinburgh from 17 – 22 August 2009.
Art on the wall... The Art Department, in conjunction with General Studies, has been busy this year painting a mural for Aldermans Green Primary School. The mural depicts a host of characters taken from popular children’s books and was designed by Mr Cleaver and painted by Oliver George and Lauren Sheasby. The mural, which is over four metres long, will be a feature on an outside play area at the school. bablake school
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Bablakenews
Making the grade Fun sports, activities, competitions and theme days makes King’s Camps the best week of the holidays!
A selection of Design Technology work by Bablake pupils
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Figuring it out
Tweet, tweet...
25 Third Year pupils are celebrating 5 gold, 5 silver and 15 bronze certificates awarded in the recent national Intermediate Maths Challenge. Congratulations to all our award winners but especially those who received the Gold certificate: Nikolaus Elz, Lewis Emerson, Daniel Rowlands, Maneesha Sehgal and Jimmy Xu.
Bablake is now enjoying the latest web 2.0 trend, namely ‘tweeting’. To follow us, just send a request via www.twitter.com/ bablakeschool or tweet a message to @bablakeschool.
the lion Summer 2009
King’s Camps is the UK’s leading sport and activity camp provider for children aged 4-17 during the school holidays and is running at Bablake School during the summer holidays from the 27 July to 21 August. King’s Camps offers a superb range of multi-activity programmes including Kids Camp, Teen Camp and the Rookie Sports Leadership Award, where children of all ages and abilities can explore an exciting range of sports, activities, arts and crafts. Every child who attends King’s Camps progresses, whether that be developing confidence and independence, learning a new skill, or understanding the benefits of an active lifestyle. With first-rate venue facilities, fun and dedicated coaching teams and activity sessions that are dynamic, energetic and fun, children of all abilities and interests are guaranteed to have an awesome time making new friends and enjoying all the sports and activities they love. King’s Camps is committed to providing families with complete peace of mind, while giving children a great holiday experience. That’s why King’s Camps offer quality childcare, an exciting range of programmes for children and a variety of flexible packages to suit busy working parents. As well as offering great value for money with prices starting from £79 per week they also accept childcare vouchers enabling parents to make the most of their money. King’s Camps has an exemplary health and safety record, achieving the RoSPA Gold Award for the last three years, is Ofsted registered and a member of BAHA (British Activity Holiday Association). For more information and to book visit kingscamps.org or call 0845 643 5269
Bablakenews
Engineering solutions that work After eight months of hard work the group comprising Shindy Lall, Jayson Parmar, Adam Rogozinski and Ami Shirley accompanied by Mr West attended a Celebration and Assessment Day in respect of the Engineering Education Scheme in Cranmore Park, Solihull. The group was sponsored by ARUP Civil Engineering Company. During the day the group was examined by a panel of independent assessors from various engineering backgrounds. A presentation was made to the panel outlining the task, which was solving problems with traffic congestion in Rugby town centre and the client’s chosen solution. Later in the day the pupils were interviewed at their exhibition stand where a model of the solution, a feature bridge, was on display. The remainder of the afternoon was spent demonstrating the solution to invited quests. Many congratulations to the group who successfully completed the challenge and were awarded their certificates for the Engineering Education Scheme, which will culminate in their receiving the Gold Crest Awards later in the year.
arty shorts Simone Willis Concert Simone Willis, who left last year, organised a concert in April in which she played Mozart’s Violin Concerto No5 and then, joined by friends from the Birmingham Conservatoire, including our own Sam Lewis on viola, gave a performance of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet. The concert was very well attended and a great tribute to Simone. GCSE Music Concert A concert was held at the beginning of March for all GCSE Music pupils during which they performed in ensembles and played their compositions to the delight of their parents and friends. Easter Concert As this was Mr Sutton’s final Senior Concert, and this year’s U6th were a particularly good musical year, the audience did not leave until well past 10 o’clock. The orchestra played the Scherzo from Bruckner’s 7th Symphony and the lively Intermezzo from Kodaly’s Hary Janos Suite; but there was also a first performance of a work by Sam Lewis in the 5th year, an evocative piece, very effectively scored, giving the pianists a solo role and highlighting the clarinet and bassoon, thus showing off our better players! The concert included solos by Hannah Sugrue, Matthew Lewis, Chris Starkey accompanied by Josh Sood, Charlotte Weaver, Ira Kleine, Clare Samson and Sarah Barnard, Abbi Bird, James Ross, Michelle Jie, Rachel Powell and Sam Rowe. There were also contributions from the Flute Choir, Swing Band, String Chamber Group, Chorale and Chamber Choir, who were in particularly good voice.
Entrepreneurial spirit Ready, steady cook The Young Enterprise Scheme inspired two groups this year – Enigma and Quantum. Enigma developed an environmentally friendly product to educate children and parents in how to save energy. Quantum developed the Magna Rack – a magnetic key holder that could also be used for office stationery, earrings and notepads. Both teams made it through to the Coventry area finals and Quantum went through as Best Company Runners Up. Quantum then went on to present their product at the Ricoh Arena in the Coventry and Warwickshire Finals. They presented with confidence and their product was well received but unfortunately they were faced with strong competition and did not come away with any prizes. Nevertheless, both teams have been excellent and should feel proud of themselves.
Special mention should go to Pam Uppal, who displayed the most inspiring MD skills in leading a very impressive group of budding entrepreneurs.
Again, the competition has been a great success with lots of enthusiastic participants. We have already had competitions for the 4th Year, who had to produce a dish in 40 minutes inspired by Italy, the 2nd Year, who had to create an interesting omelette in 30 minutes and the 3rd Year, who were set the task of producing a stir fry in 30 minutes. Each House was represented by two pupils and they had to work well as a team to produce an excellent dish and clear up in the time allowed. We have tasted some delicious dishes and lucky judges have included Mr Watson, Mrs Thomas, Mr Burns, Mrs Mair and Mr Robson. We now look forward to seeing what the Shells can do. bablake school
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Bablakecharity
Charity doubles... During the Spring Term, the school managed to double the amount usually collected. Charity
We have given our support to Malcolm, our caretaker, the Teenage Cancer Trust, Comic Relief, Barnardos and Guide Dogs for the Blind. Special mention should go to 2D, who raised over £400 with a sponsored silence, to Shell E, who took part in a Spellathon for Mencap, donating £182.41, and who also made cakes to raise money for Guide Dogs. Shell S raised £100 for Cancer Research. 2M collected an impressive £538 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital by taking part in a marathon and Sam Rowe and the ‘Battle of the Bands’ evening were able to send £152 to the hospital. 4B decided to stage a stay awake and raised £750 for the British Heart Foundation. Congratulations to all involved. Finally, thanks to Jessica Potts and members of the Sixth Form for collecting an incredible £1700, again by staying awake. This money was given to Warwick Hospital to help them buy specialised equipment for the Oncology Ward.
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It is not possible to name everyone, but a big thank you to you all for supporting the many great causes during the term. The total raised during the Spring Term was an amazing £7,231.88. This brings the total raised so far this year to £13,692.88. A truly fantastic effort.
Race for Life
There will be a “Bablake Team” taking part in the Cancer Research Race for Life in June and July. Shell S girls are taking part with Miss Simmons and the boys are supporting by being cheerleaders for the day! Mrs Fletcher, Miss Blattner (Miss Blobby), Mrs Davey, Mrs Surgey, Mrs Heath and Miss Connelly as well as Laura Weaver, Emma Honess, Lauren Ritchie, Evie Tither and Eva Ball are also willing volunteers and we wish them well.
Tug of War
3B held a very popular Tug of War competition to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society. They managed to raise £75 towards this worthy cause. A big thank you should go to James Vallance (L6MRP), 3B’s form prefect, who organised the event.
Marathon men
Teachers Mr Enstone and Mr Wiles both completed this year’s Flora London Marathon. Mr Enstone ran with his brother for Guide Dogs and has raised over £2,500, while Mr Wiles ran for Barnardo’s and has raised over £1,250. Neither had run a full marathon before and as well as facing very hot temperatures during the race, both had niggling injuries to cope with. It was the encouragement of the crowds that pushed them all the way to the finish. Mr Enstone finished in 4hrs 44mins 9 secs with Mr Wiles hot on his heels at 4.54.39. With pressures of school work and exam classes, it had been hard to find the extra time for regular training but both agreed it was a fantastic experience – to be repeated even next year!
'The total raised during the Spring Term was an amazing £7,231.88'
Bablakeinfo
Charity laughs
Expedition Day Friday 22 May 2009
Shugborough Hall
we did something funny for money...
The Black Country Museum
Magna
Law Courts, Nottingham
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Bablakesport
Girls’ sport Since writing for the Lion in early March, girls that represent Bablake in school sport have been performing with excellent spirit and determination.
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The U13 hockey team reached the semi-finals of the Warwickshire minis schools and clubs tournament and reached the triangular final of the U13 Warwickshire 11 a side school tournament. The U12 hockey team finished runners up to King’s High in the Bablake invitation tournament losing 1-2 after conceding a goal in the last 5 seconds. Both the U12 and U13 hockey team are closing the gap on King’s High and look forward to the challenge next season. The U16 hockey team reached the last 16 in the National School
Plate competition, losing in a very competitive game 3-5 to the notorious Repton. The U19 1st and 2nd netball teams played in the West Midlands Colleges South league. Both teams finished runners up to King Edward VI Stourbridge and Sutton College respectively, in this competitive league. Lucy Horn and Holly Payne were once again selected to represent England in the U18 hockey squad at the Four Nations tournament over Easter and we wish them continued success with their hockey in the future.
Bablakesport
'...a number have gone on to represent their county, region or nation' Congratulations go to Jessica Horn on her selection for the U16 England hockey squad and to Beth Jepson and Beth Evans on their selection to attend Midlands hockey trials. Congratulations also go to Beth Hushon and Shannon Thompson on being selected to attend an England netball assessment and to Ashleigh Green on her selection for a Midlands netball assessment day. We wish them the best of luck. There is an enormous amount of sporting talent amongst the current U6th girls, and the girls who have regularly attended training and matches will be greatly missed. They have made a superb contribution to the success of Bablake teams and a number have gone on to represent their county, region or nation. The staff would like to take this opportunity to thank the girls for their gifts and wish them well in the future. Summer activities got off to a quick start and rounders practices, in particular, have been extremely popular. As ever, due to the typical British weather, some fixtures have been cancelled, though in the first four weeks of term 22 matches across the year groups have been played and Bablake have won 16, drawn 1 and lost 5; the highlight was winning 3 out of
the 4 matches against King’s High. Tennis matches have started well and many league games are to be played after half term. An early athletics meeting hosted by Solihull School got the athletes off to a focussed start. There were some excellent individual performances: Emily McNeice 1st in both 100 and 200m, Lucy Smith 1st in shot, Olivia Harrison-Dodd 2nd in discus and Rebecca Pearce 2nd in javelin, Beth Mordey 1st in hurdles and 2nd in high jump, Lauren Carr 1st in 200m, Beth Shaw 1st in discus, Isabel De Veer 2nd in 100m and Alexa Goodyer 2nd in javelin. The following week saw the Coventry Championships. The Intermediates (4th and 5th year) finished 2nd overall and the Juniors (2nd and 3rd year) went one better to come first and take the trophy. Lucy Smith threw 12.22m in the shot for a personal best. Lucy is now ranked number one in the country for shot in her age group. In the first round of the English Schools Track and Field Competition the Intermediate (3rd & 4th yr) team came a close second to King Henry VIII by just 7 points and the Junior (Shell and 2nd year) team took a convincing win to go through to the Midlands Regional final in June.
I’m in charge... On Saturday 14 March, Christine Goldfinch (5B) took charge of the U15 Girls’ Rugby Regional Plate final in which the West Midlands beat Yorkshire by a single try. Later in the season Christine refereed the Coventry Schools’ Boys U14 final between Coundon Court and King Henry VIII at the Butts Arena. Christine also managed to raise a few eyebrows recently when, just before her 16th birthday, she refereed her first senior men’s game.
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Bablakesport
Boys’ sport...
In rugby the 1st XV has continued to put in some excellent performances this year. As well as the nail biting win against King Henry VIII, in horrendous conditions, the team has recorded excellent wins against Bishop Veseys, Lawrence Sheriff and Kenilworth. However, perhaps the most courageous performance was in a narrow defeat against Solihull where the team battled injuries and sin bins before conceding a late converted try to lose 12-11. Max Goodyer and Kristian Ostrowski have been selected to represent Scottish Exiles whilst Harry Gogarty and Alex Myers have been selected for the Warwickshire U17 development squad. The 2nd XV meanwhile have continued their winning ways and are developing into a fine group of players. Alex Popplewell, Adam King, Kilian Kleine, Sam Jack and Charlie Ladbury have all been selected to attend the Warwickshire School of rugby.
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U15 XV cap fine season with cup win
Congratulations to the U15 XV who capped a fine year by producing a great rugby performance to beat Coundon Court 25-10 in their Coventry Schools' final. This competition is classed as the Headline Trophy and each year, the city's U15 XVs compete for what is the second oldest trophy in the world. The eldest trophy, by just a few months, is apparently the Dewar Shield in South Wales. The Headline Trophy, instrumental in assisting the introduction and promotion of rugby union in the city's schools, was first played for in 1897. The recent match programme
stated a side can measure its success as a team by its performance in winning this trophy, which is certainly true of the current U15 side which has had an excellent season. The team have continued to produce some fine performances. Wins against John Cleveland College, Lawrence Sheriff and Old Swinford have been the highlights. Ben Cooper, Josh Buggea, Richard Synott, Ben Davies and William Sibley have all been selected for Warwickshire whilst Alex Morgan, Tom Lane and Enyi Ogbuneke have all represented Coventry District. The U14 team have had a difficult season but there is light at the end of the tunnel. They reached the semi-final of the Coventry Cup and Aleem Iqbal, Emile Pokoj, Ronan Jones, James Brindley, Jake Hinley and Andrew Clisham were all selected for Coventry District.
Bablakesport
Crusading work...
Cricket, lovely cricket In cricket two boys have already excelled with the bat this season. First was Matthew Clements, who scored an outstanding 108 not out versus Lawrence Sheriff in a 9 wicket Warwickshire Cup victory. Mark Best then scored an enormous 164 not out against Hartshill, again in an U14 Warwickshire Cup win.
Matthew Wood, a key member of the Coventry Crusaders basketball U18 team has been named Young Coach of the Year for his work with local school pupils. His weekly assistance obviously had a direct impact as his partner school recently won their local trophy.
Elsewhere, the First XI has had a very promising start to the season which has included fine wins against Solihull and Warwick Schools. Perhaps the most impressive individual performance was Adam Walters who, after opening the innings, scored 86 not out in steering Bablake to a total of 196 to defeat Warwick. Paul Best should be congratulated on being selected for the full Warwickshire Second XI, a rare and outstanding achievement. The Second XI have had a mixed start to the season losing to Warwick and Bishop Vesey but recording wins against KES Stratford and KES Aston. The Under 15s started in fine form in defeating Warwick by 80 runs and Bishop Vesey by 6 wickets but disappointingly lost to Henley in the Warwickshire Cup. bablake school
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update
Headmaster’s notes Our Upper Sixth have recently departed for study leave, and, as is the case every year, we are sad to see them go. So strong was their feeling of belonging to the Bablake community that they were not counting down, but attempting to slow down the days leading to this ‘rupture’. Some have been at Bablake since the Junior School; some have made a considerable impression in just two years. We hope that all are well prepared for their examinations, and that they will realise their dreams as they achieve the results to which they aspire, and as they proceed confidently on the next stage of their journey. We hope too that they will understand their privileges and contribute responsibly and selflessly to society. “Community” and “society” are both words which figure strongly in any discussion about
our school ethos. Parents too are members of our school community, as we endeavour, in a joint venture, to give our children the best possible start in life and to teach them the social, moral and spiritual values which will be their guiding principles. Tutors are currently discussing with their forms our code of conduct and the consideration for others which is so important as we value and nurture individuals within an ambitious and supportive community. The discussion will then be taken to school councils, as we affirm what is most valuable to us in the way we treat others. A community is formed of people, who grow and flourish through new opportunities. We therefore continue to improve the school environment and facilities for the benefit of its members. The dedication of the Headmaster’s Memorial Garden was a poignant but very positive occasion for those who gathered to remember loved ones who had been a part of Bablake. The Garden is a peaceful and very attractive area, which is already being enjoyed by pupils. During the summer holiday, we shall begin improvements to the Sports Centre, and
Staff news
hope that November will bring the completion of a new gymnasium/ small sports hall as well as a new fitness studio. “Excellence through care” and “the spirit of opportunity” are phrases we use to describe the ethos of our community, as we seek to support and inspire our young people in their quest to achieve the very best, both for themselves and for others.
Diary U6th Leavers Concert Wednesday 24 June Mr B Sutton Retirement Concert EDM 3pm Sunday 28 June School Sports Day Wednesday 1 July Summer Term Ends Thursday 2 July A Level Results Day Thursday 20 August GCSE Results Day Thursday 27 August
Mr Craig Wiles has taught Design Technology, has helped with the CCF, and has recently run the London Marathon! We regret that he is leaving us after such a short time, but congratulate him on his promotion to Head of Department at his old school in Bedford. Miss Karen James, Database Manager, will leave in the summer, as her partner is relocating. Her knowledge of our databases is extraordinary, and has enabled us to improve our tracking of pupils and to introduce electronic reporting. Miss Claire Connelly, Art/ Textiles Technician, will begin teacher training in September. She has been highly effective in her support role, and we are delighted that she will be joining the teaching profession. We thank our language assistants Mr Thomas Allard and Miss Nicole Brunner for their enthusiastic preparation of our linguists for their oral examinations. They have also been involved in other aspects of school life, and we wish them well as they continue their studies. Mr Stephen Cooper will teach Music parttime in both Senior and Junior Schools from
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September. He will already be familiar to some of you, as he already teaches brass instruments at Bablake, in addition to directing our brass group. Mr Sam Williams will teach Design Technology. Mr Williams has a degree in Automotive Engineering from Loughborough University. He is currently completing his PGCE and is a keen sportsman. Mrs Anne Warren will provide temporary History cover as well as teaching some Religious Studies during Mrs Rees’s maternity leave next year. Mrs Warren is a graduate of the University of York, has been a Head of Year and Acting Head of History at Trinity School, Leamington Spa, and currently teaches at the Kingsley School. We look forward to Mrs Yates’ return from her maternity leave, but she has decided to step down from Head of Crow House and will be succeeded by Mrs Alexander. Mr Shelley will become Head of Wheatley House. Some internal changes are still to be effected, but Mr Bunce will co-ordinate the Extended Project, to be taken by some of our brightest Sixth Formers, and Tom Jackson will return to Bablake as next year’s P.E. technician.
Autumn Term Begins Thursday 3 September
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