THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES | PG 15

I recently found out that I was chosen to be a Batonbearer for the Commonwealth Games. It fills me with great joy, representing the whole school! From just one email, I managed to survive the 'rigorous' selection process. I have to travel all the way to Atherstone, then I have to run a selected part of the course, carrying the baton where I will pass it on. I am yet to know my fellow baton-bearers though. Thank you to all who have made this happen for me. I think this will be a great moment, I can't wait until it begins!

- Intishar, 7G

Mr Bungar, father of David who is in 9P, will also be a Batonbearer in the Commonwealth Games, carrying the baton on Monday 25th July in West Bromwich around 6:15pm. He said "I have been selected for the national work I do surrounding diversity and inclusion, helping to empower marginalised communities to excel and improve their lives. " This is excellent, well done!

ethan Miller

Good luck to OV Hamish Carter who will represent Scotland in gymnastics for the Commonwealth Games.

At the end of June, we set off on our long-awaited music tour to Edinburgh! We stopped at Gretna Green on the way where we spotted a few people getting married! After 9 long hours on the coach, we arrived at our hostel and settled in.

On the first full day, we went to Loch Lomond. We had a boat tour of the lake and then we went on a walk up a big hill! The hike was very fun, but tiring with some wonderful views. We then had lunch and set up for our first concert outside the Loch Lomond Sea Life Center. It was an incredible place to do a concert with the Loch right behind us. As we were playing outside lots of people were walking around and stopped to watch and really liked the music!

On the next day we went to Stirling Castle, where we got chance to look around ourselves. It was really interesting and the gardens were amazing. Again, there were some fantastic views from the top of the castle. We then headed to Glasgow where we had some time to look around the shops and had a delicious dinner at the Steak and Cherry Restaurant. It was then time for our second concert at Adelaide Place Baptist Church. The audience was a bit smaller this time, but everyone really enjoyed it and we all had a fantastic time performing. We heard afterwards that there were people dancing in the streets outside!

On our last day, we went to Edinburgh Castle and walked down the Royal Mile. We saw the Scottish Crown Jewels, apparently the Queen was in Edinburgh at the same time but we didn’t see her! After lunch we had a ghost tour through Edinburgh, which also turned into a bit of a Harry Potter tour for my group as we saw lots of things that inspired characters and places in the books. Next, we had our final concert at Canongate Church where lots of people came to watch. We all performed really well again and I really enjoyed it.

We went back to the hostel for dinner and afterwards we all spent the evening on the balcony singing lots of different songs together. It was a brilliant experience and it was great to see some parts of Scotland, alongside having the opportunity to perform in lots of different places. I can’t wait for Italy next year!

- Luke, 9E

On Friday 24th June, the Biology department and volunteering parents/staff took an excursion to Twycross Zoo, which is renowned as a specialist primate zoo. Students looked at primates and other groups of animals, observed their behaviour and made notes on their habitat, environment and the Zoo's conservation efforts. The winners of the best notes received a Nandos voucher, which was a big hit! This trip was enjoyed by all who attended, and the hope is to run it again next year.

- Mr Ellor

Year 11 enjoyed a fantastic paintballing trip to celebrate their final chance to be together as a cohort. We wish those who will be moving on from Vesey all the very best.

Year 10 Historians visited the RAF Museum, Cosford on 11th July as part of their study of the Cold War. They took part in workshops handling and wearing artefacts from the Cold War Period, and exploring the exhibits in the 'National Cold War Exhibition' hangar, as well as the 'Test Flight' and 'War in the Air' hangars, learning about the beginnings of the RAF and aerial warfare, and its role in World War One and World War Two.