The Veseyan Winter 2022

Dear Reader,

Just fifteen days ago, we held our Christmas carol service at the 13th Century church of Holy Trinity Parish Church in Sutton Coldfield It was great to hear the Junior Choir singing the words of John Lennon: ‘So this is Christmas. And what have you done?’

This Michaelmas Term has been incredibly active. I hope you enjoy reading about an inspiring term: our new co-curricular programme, student triumphs, house events, charitable endeavours and historic moments Many students will enjoy seeing themselves or their classmates appearing within! We have a wonderful student body and it has been great to see them enjoying the term.

Last weekend, it was good, for the 10th successive year, to be recognised in the Sunday Times Parent Power league table as one of the leading state schools nationally I am very grateful to everyone who has contributed to this success The staff have demonstrated a positive energy and commitment throughout this term and I want to thank them sincerely for all their hard work. However, we are not complacent and have set ambitious targets for the Class of 2023.

In particular, this edition pays tribute to our outgoing Chair of Governors, Mrs Joanna Davis The wise and engaged leadership of Mrs Davis and other departing governors, Mr Andy O’Brien and Mr Paul Sheriff, have been invaluable in charting the school through the choppy waters of the Covid-19 pandemic. I cannot stress how lucky the Vesey community is to have such generous and talented governors. Please read my tribute to Mrs Davis Congratulations to our new Chair of Governors, Mr Mark Maybury and Deputy Chair of Governors, Mr Waseem Ahmed I look forward to working with them both

The Parent Association is also under new leadership. A huge thank you to Maxine Hanley for all her work over the years. A warm welcome to our new PTFA Chair, Mrs Sofia Fazal, who outlines her exciting plans for the coming year Parents are critical to the success of our school and we all need to continue to work closely together in partnership to support our children

For Old Veseyans reading this magazine, perhaps through the alumni platform, I hope you enjoy reading about your old school. It was so good to meet so many of you at the dinner in November. If you would like to visit or support BVGS in 2023, do not hesitate to get in touch with my PA, Mrs Natalie Harris

I am sorry to report that we heard this week that former Head of Languages, Mr Mike Sadler, has died. He will be missed. There will be a full tribute to Mike in next term’s Veseyan.

And so now to the holidays Recalling the lyrics of John Lennon: ‘A very merry Christmas, and a happy new year Let’s hope it is a good one without any fear ’

Wishing you all a happy and purposeful 2023,

Mr Dominic Robson Headteacher

In loving memory of Mr Mike Sadler

S C H O O L L I F E

THANK YOU TO OUR CHAIR OF GOVERNORS | PG 1

NEW CO-CURRICULAR PERIOD | PG 3 - 6

Y7 AND LOWER SIXTH SETTLING INTO VESEY | PG 7

PARLIAMENT TRIPS | PG 9 - 10

SPOOKY POETRY RECITAL & LAMDA RESULTS | PG 11

ANDREW MITCHELL VISIT | PG 13

HOUSE EVENTS | PG 14

SPORTS ACHIEVEMENTS | PG 15

FOUNDER'S DAY & PTFA NEWS | PG 16 - 17

JUNIOR SOLOISTS COMPETITION & ROCK CONCERT | PG 18

S P I R I T O F C H R I S T M A S

CAROL SERVICE | PG 19 - 20

CHRISTMAS CONCERTS | PG 21 - 23

CARD COMPETITION | PG 24

COMMUNITY PROJECTS | PG 25 - 28

R E F L E C T I N G T O G E T H E R

TRIBUTE TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN | PG 29 - 30

REMEMBRANCE SERVICE | PG 31

O U R S T A F F

INTERVIEW WITH MR SAMAK | PG 32 - 33

VALETES | PG 34- 35

O L D V E S E Y A N N E W S

HAIR OF OVA WELCOME MESSAGE | PG 36

ANNUAL OV DINNER | PG 37

OLD VESEYAN GOLF SOCIETY | PG 38

SOUTH AFRICA EXPERIENCE | PG 39

IN MEMORIAM | PG 40 - 41

SPRING FEVER LUNCH | PG 42

As you enter Big School corridor, the sight of a striking display, a history timeline of Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School spanning 5 centuries, greets you. A detailed perusal of this display will lead you to discover that the first female member of the teaching staff at BVGS was a certain Madame Le Huray, who joined us in 1916. One hundred years later, another milestone was reached with the appointment of the School’s first female Chairman of Governors, Joanna Davis.

THANK THANK

Jo’s influence begins in July 2014 when she joined the BVGS board. Her experience as Chairman of the Birmingham Children’s Hospital was a huge asset. The ensuing 8 years have seen Jo play a very influential role in the life of the school characterised by positive energy and enthusiasm, intellectual curiosity, and a restless ambition for the School to live up to its mission of 'Inspiration and Excellence'. Jo is a model governor. She reads her board papers thoroughly and inquisitively, is a master of her brief, and asks intelligent questions in committee and full board meetings. She is appropriately demanding and at the same time encouraging and supportive.

Her desire to make the school better is rooted in a genuine love of the school, based on knowledge because she has taken the time to come into school to do learning walk after learning walk, and has been hugely supportive of the extra-curricular life of the school, especially music and drama

When Jo became Chairman of Governors in July 2018, we immediately saw an acceleration of the pace and intensity of governance As a Board, there was an increased focus on strategy and the management of risk, and improving the quality of board papers Infrastructure strategy has developed significantly and Jo has been excellent in bringing on the engagement of governors and key stakeholders such as Clive Richards

At the same time, Jo has shown great care for the students and the staff Jo has been the governor lead on safeguarding and has always shown great dedication and empathy in understanding the challenges faced by young people She has always been alert in asking questions to ensure that every child is looked after as best as we can

YOU YOU

Looking after staff welfare has always been an integral part of Jo’s work. It has always been one of our regular agenda items. How can we ensure our staff are appreciated and developed? And this has a very practical application. For example, staff have been very touched on busy summer results days when the Chair of Governors brought them a cup of tea or coffee or distributed home-made cake. And they always have been moved by Jo’s generous and motivating hand-written letters of appreciation, and messages of support at important moments in their life.

Nowhere has Jo's consideration of student or staff welfare more palpably been demonstrated than during the pandemic. Jo's support was immeasurable in what was a really challenging period for everyone. Her foresight was invaluable. And her support to Mrs Gregory and Mrs Bowen to create and provide thousands of pieces of PPE for care homes and hospitals was inspiring. The rigour in which Jo helped the risk assessment and communications process in enabling a safe school return was both reassuring and excellent. Her connections in getting staff the best training in managing health and safety and in running a lateral flow test centre was invaluable. It was exceptional the help we received and as a result staff were enabled to do an exceptional job in ensuring our pupils received, despite everything, a great education.

But there is much more to the leadership of BVGS than I have said so far in this speech When Harold Macmillan was asked what the

greatest challenge for a statesman, he replied: “Events dear boy, events ” The same is true for most leaders and organisations It is the way we as leaders deal with events that are always the biggest test And in those tests, I have been pleased and reassured to have Jo standing with me

Importantly, we have kept our sense of humour and dignity. I think most Chairs of Governors would have baulked at leading and hosting a dinner for 10 heads and our local MP, in the rather ill-equipped 1729 House. But Jo was undeterred. Others would have not been interested in the detail of an outdoor memorial service for HM the Queen But Jo’s dedication in sourcing lillies in the early hours of the morning and ensuring a beautiful presentation display for the service was delivered with a characteristic attention to detail

Mrs Davis has gone well beyond the course of duty Her input to BVGS has been wide-ranging and exceptional The School and I are very grateful for all she has done and all she will continue to do for us When the History of BVGS is written, the book will say much more about her than that she was the first female Chairman of Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School. They will remark on Jo's energy, humour and vigour, and they will say, what any one of us would hope would be said about them: that she left the School in a better place than when she first started here

As part of our ongoing curriculum development at Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School, we introduced an additional compulsory Co-Curricular Period every fortnight on a Thursday to our timetable. The range and depth of clubs and societies on offer have been truly outstanding, as you will see from the activity table below:

Maths

Plants and the Environment

Junior Problem Solving Maths and Physics Society* Strategic Planning Society Pre University Admission Tests*

•

Gardening and Botany Club The Environment Society* • • • • • • • •

Politics and Economics Politics Society Stock Market Challenge • • • • • • • • •

Quizzing and Strategy

Science

Quiz Society Brainteaser Challenge

Club Chess Club

Young Investigators Astrophysics Club* Scientific Investigations Science Journal Club*

Sport and Wellness

Wellbeing Group Golf - An Introduction Running Club Tennis Club Vesey Fit Camp

• • • • •

b v g s c oc u r r i c u l a r

CLAY CLUB

VESEY FIT CAMP

DEBATING

The co-curricular period has grown on me and become something I now thoroughly enjoy Debating has been a stepping stone into gaining a deeper understanding and insight into the world around me, allowing me to see things in a more open-minded way In addition to furthering my perception and critical-thinking skills, debating has formed a crucial part in me being able to present my argument in a logical, detailed manner while focusing on the motion at hand, without going off on a tangent; this in turn has furthered my articulation skills, fundamental for the modern world Overall, being able to take part in debating has been a brilliant experience for me and to anyone hesitant or considering doing debating my advice would be to go for it!

EXTENDED PROJECT QUALIFICATION

EPQ gives students the freedom to research and write about anything that interests them, whether that be linked to a certain subject or just something that interests them outside of school For me, EPQ has allowed me to explore both avenues: I am researching about environmental sustainability in football, which links to one of my A-level subjects, geography, as well as satisfying my passion for football.

Ultimately, we must write a 5,000-word essay or produce an artefact as their final product, but at the moment, we are conducting research on our chosen topic, meeting deadlines, and finalising our EPQ question, ready for the mid-project review What I enjoy most about EPQ is the flexibility and independence that comes with it EPQ has also helped to improve my researching and referencing skills, as well as my essay writing skills, making it very useful for future study at university

However, EPQ does come with some challenges, as I have found so far. It is quite difficult to stay on top of your research and not fall behind, especially as I haven’t yet decided on a title question for my essay, so it is hard to commit time to something I am undecided on However, the teachers give you deadlines to meet and supervisors track your progress regularly to ensure that you are on the right track and heading in the right direction On the whole, I am looking forward to continuing my EPQ work and am excited to see what result my finished piece will achieve!

ASTROPHYSICS

I’m very happy to be doing Astrophysics after school every-other Thursday In these sessions, we do a wide range of things, like making huge displays for the physics classrooms of the planets in our Solar System made and positioned to-scale We have also gone into much more depth than in the usual physics lessons, studying things like gamma ray bursts in distant galaxies, and looking at the findings of the Hubble Telescope launched in 1990. We’ve looked at distant galaxies to-scale with our’s and different weird and wonderful galactical phenomena through research in groups, coming together to make presentations explaining how these strange things came to be These sessions are interactive and collaborative, and I look forward to attending them

A few weeks ago, we went to Birmingham University to experience what lectures will be like when we eventually get to that exciting stage The main talk focused on the evidence for the existence of black holes We discovered, despite the mystery behind such objects, that there are clear observations that they exist The evidence includes:

Bright and hot accretion discs of stars being “consumed” by black holes

The tracked orbits of stars over two decades Gravitational waves emitted when black holes combine (using interferometers - pictured above, far right) And very recently, direct imaging (pictured above, far left)

GARDENING AND BOTANY CLUB

My favourite subjects are Maths and French Maths, because Mr Berwick gives us challenges as soon as we enter the classroomthis helps us to focus and learn He lets us play Bingo and use the whiteboards for countdown questions French, because Mr Hazell teaches us French in a fun way and he gives us fun activities to do in class. BVGS has helped me as I know that we are all one family and if we need help, there are always people to reach out to -Hermon, 7B

I have really enjoyed my first term at BVGS because I got to learn and experience countless things that I hadn’t before When I was looking to join this school, I heard that it was a very special school and, after my first term at Vesey, I realised that this school is extraordinary! In only a few weeks, I learnt so many useful skills and even foreign languages like Mandarin was extremely interesting and fun to learn I am looking forward for what life throws at me in the future

YEAR 7 LEARNING HOW TO BREAKDANCE RED HOUSE ON THEIR FIRST DAY

I came to Vesey for an abundance of reasons. Originally, since living in the local area, it has been a dream to join. Positive comments have been constantly shared about the success of BVGS. The warm welcome I received from my first step into the school was enough to tell me this was the one My next school I have really enjoyed learning, thriving and developing at Bishop Vesey’s so far Not only academically, but I have been challenged physically to reach my full potential BVGS is for everyone: we get countless opportunities in every aspect and our relationship with everyone is equal, the bonds of friendship everlasting My favourite thing so far is the Physical Education, including Games lessons. Due to the school’s amazing network, I am playing matches for a sport I never played before, proudly sporting the BVGS logo. One way joining BVGS will help me is that I have learnt the ways of discipline, eventually benefiting my wellbeing and the way I present myself

-Omkar, 7B

-Daksh 7R

September 5: my first day at Vesey I had come from a different country, had to settle into a new school and knew no one, not a single student or teacher In summary, I felt like an outsider I didn't know the school campus either But, as the days passed and weeks flew by, life slowly orientated into a routine: wake up, get on the bus, form-time, lessons mixed in with break and lunch and eventually the end of the day

In this first Michaelmas term, I have taken advantage of the endless opportunities that were offered to us Sixth Formers, such as attending Chemistry lectures at the University of Birmingham, mentoring younger years during lessons and enjoying playing Badminton with my peers. These opportunities, provided by my wonderful Head of Year, Miss Jones, and Head of Sixth Form, Ms Miller, have allowed me to meet others who had similar interests as me As corny as it sounds, day by day, Vesey has become almost like secondnature to me, and I have started to recognise familiar friendly faces. Thus, it was not too long before I felt like I belonged somewhere again.

-Karim L6

I began my Vesey experience in September, entering as a new year 12 student. I am not going to claim that coming to Vesey was a lifelong dream of mine, and accepting the offer took a lot of deliberation; grammar school was unfamiliar territory to me. Yet I had always preached to commit to opportunities presented to me, and this seemed like an opportunity too good to pass by- and I’m so glad I gave it a chance!

Upon starting, I was full of the typical angst of an unbeknownst sixth former; will I be able to make new friends? Will I like my teachers? And will the expectations be too high for me to reach? Yet all these worries have faded away throughout the course of my first term… the school has created, since day 1, a warm and welcoming atmosphere for a new student. Providing adequate opportunity to meet new people; especially through the Wednesday games option and Thursday extracurricular, where you are not confined simply to the people who share your timetable. The teachers, without a doubt, care for your successes: clearly passionate for us to do the best we can and creating a safe space for extra support without judgement or inconvenience. While it is undeniable that the school expects highly of their students, the expectations come from a place of care, and belief in each and every person that attends the school. All staff are willing to help you improve and offer the support you need- making the expectations a shared goal, rather than an overwhelming pressure.

Vesey have offered me a new perspective on school life, as it is not just been stripped to pure academia but also groups and societies to enrich you as a person rather than a subject candidate. Already, in my short time at the school, I have attended after school clubs, had a drop-down day (where external speakers come to educate you on real life matters), joined in in the games for and had a charity fundraising week. As well as this, one thing that has fundamentally stood out to me across the school, is the sense of pride that underlies every aspect of it: evident in the students and teachers. People are proud to say they are part of Bishop Vesey’s, and I too feel that way!

I look forward to continuing my journey at this school, and hopefully with hard work and dedication, I will leave a legacy I am proud of.

Mae, L6IV (edited by Ava, L6I)

It was a typical grey British day, but for me I was set to work, even if for a day, in Parliament I woke up at 3am and spent the early morning hours revising what I was going to say and the points I wanted to make; little did I know then how none of those ideas was anything like what it truly was.

After going through 3 security checks, I went to Porticullis House I enjoyed the sense of being there, almost the middle point of all government buildings, around me was the workings of a nation. It absolutely fascinated me.

Here, I was met by Andrew Mitchell's Head of Office, Yusrah She was amazing, showing me around and going as far as to organise the whole day for me It started in a very simple way: I organised who and how many

Christmas cards he was going to write However, his recent promotion to the Minister of Foreign Development (and Minister for Africa, but who’s counting?) meant he now resided in the Foreign Office, not just 1 Parliament Street Yusrah and I set off there, which must be the most beautiful building in all of the British government, to deliver these Christmas cards. This was where I met Mr Mitchell again, albeit a short encounter before he was quickly off for the state visit’s white tie dinner for South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa

I spent the next two hours on a personal tour with Yusrah around Parliament. I don’t know whether I was naïve, but the expanse of the Lord's area was far greater than I expected. During this time, I just so happened to meet two former prime ministers, Boris Johnson and Theresa May. It was massively overwhelming experience for me to meet them and shake their hands!

I then went to watch the affairs of both the Commons and the Lords in the Stranger's Gallery. On top of this, I went to two committees, one on the states of Indonesia and Vietnam, of whom I can speak quite elegantly now, and one of justice, led by Dominic Raab. This was on the bill of human rights trying to separate us from the European Court of Human Rights and replace it with our own After this I summarised letters from the constituency to be later filed, seeing both the best and some quite funny letters from my hometown.

Overall, the day was incredibly inspiring for me. The fact that I could just be in the rooms where decisions are made was thrilling I would love to once again thank Mr Mitchell and his office for giving me this opportunity

-Luke, 10P

I went on a trip to London to see the Houses of Parliament with a Birmingham City Council Group on the last Monday in November, and I had quite a lot of fun. Whilst we sat through two 4-hour long journeys to get to and fro, when we arrived at the Houses of Parliament, we had a lovely lunch which was sat waiting for us. Afterwards, we had a nice tour of the Houses of Parliament where we saw Westminster Hall (where the Queen was for her lying-in-state) and our Tour Guide explained its incredible History Who knew that Westminster Hall was over 900 years old and was home to the famous King Henry VIII? Gosh! Shortly after, my Group and myself had the pleasure of seeing the House of Commons in session as the MPs were debating over finances to cover the loss of Education during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Penultimately, we had a nice little quiz on the Houses of Parliament, which was quickly interrupted by a visit from an MP Some of you may know Ms Paulette Hamilton as MP for Erdington, Castle Vale and Kingstanding. Well, she was our visiting MP that day, who gave us a lovely recount of her life as a nurse before she became MP and described what it was like. We gave her a couple of interesting questions to answer and we enjoyed her company for 20-30mins

After all those lovely activities, we had to set off unfortunately at 5pm, but overall, despite the long journey hours, the trip proved to be an excellent privilege which I am grateful for (and am not likely to forget about soon.

-Umar, 10B

BVGS is incredibly proud of the Year 7 pupils who took part in the Speech Recital on Tuesday 29th November They performed a fantastic selection of spooky-themed poetry 'Transylvanian Dreaming', 'Our Teacher's Not a Zombie' and 'George's Marvellous Medicine' were just some of the captivating pieces

We are sure you will agree that it takes huge confidence to stand up in front of a large audience. All students worked so hard on their performances, spoke clearly and audibly, used facial expression, body language, vocal tone and expression We really feel they were able to demonstrate a brilliant variety of skills, and we are exceptionally proud of all of them

-Miss Brown (pictured below)

On the topic of Centrestage, in November, students received their LAMDA certificates from last year's exam centre We are incredibly proud of the hard work, talent and perseverance shown by all of our pupils 100% of pupils received a pass with Merit or Distinction Speech training helps pupils learn to be confident, clear and entertaining when speaking in public It is a skill that lots of people find extremely difficult, but one that is rarely taught. Our pupils have all demonstrated what fantastic speakers they are becoming and it has been a real joy to watch their abilities improve.

It was a pleasure to welcome the Right Honourable Andrew Mitchell MP, Minister of State in Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to our School on Friday 2nd December to a discussion with Year 7 pupils about their PSHE and Citizenship curriculum on ‘International Development.’

It was moving to hear about his recent trip to Somalia There were some excellent questions raised from Year 7 and the Sixth Form and a very interesting discussion ensued about resilience to climate change, countering terrorism, educating women, responding to hunger, and how we here in the UK can effect change globally As you can see from the photos, students were captivated by Andrew's wealth of experience and breadth of knowledge - a brilliant learning opportunity!

Purple House are currently in the lead!

The House Events for Michaelmas Term have been excellent and varied. These have included Rowing, a Pizza Pin Wheel Cooking competition on 18th November for Y7, House Basketball (week beginning 28th November) , Spelling Bee (week beginning 28th November), Charity initiatives running in the lead up to Christmas, and Swimming on 14th December.

Our House system, and the competitions that BVGS run under its umbrella, provides fantastic opportunities for students across so many disciplines. It enables talent to shine, confidence to develop, teamwork to grow, and friendly competitive spirit to erupt!

Well done to Rohit, L6, who has been selected for the Hockey England U18 Boys Squad for 2022-2023. This is a fantastic achievement!

Well done to Abigail and Katie in Year 12 who have trialled and been successful for the Staffordshire U18s County Rugby team

Well done to Hugh for winning the Silver medal in the English National Championship 100 metre Breaststroke final

Well done to Jibreel (10R) who was selected to represent Team England in the 47th European Wado Kai Championships. He travelled to Skopje in Macedonia on Thursday 10th November (his 15th birthday) and competed in both individual and team kata on the weekend. Jibreel was fortunate to come back with an individual kata silver medal and a bronze medal in team kata!

Well done to the BVGS team who came 20th in England in the Boys Senior Cross Country National Finals:

34th George 17.43 61st Ethan 18.29 97th Charlie 19.28 112th Max 19 55 118th Dylan 20.06

Well done to Guhan in 7B for winning a bronze award in the Warwickshire Junior Chess Championship.

Well done to Sam (9W), who has been nominated as a Junior Leader for the British Judo Association. This exciting opportunity will support young judoka within judo sporting community As a Junior Leader Sam will represent the junior members of the judo community, providing them with an opportunity to make a direct change to impact on Inclusion, Safeguarding and Wellbeing

Founder's Day is a traditional event in the life of our school. On this day we celebrate the fact that John Vesey, Bishop of Exeter, and advisor to Henry VIII, founded this school in 1527. Every year we hold a multi-faith service in our local C of E parish church. This is in fact where Vesey’s tomb is located.

This year's theme was ‘One World' and our guest speaker was Mahmooda Qureshi. Her message was based on the fantastic quote: “Become friends with people who aren't your age. Hang out with people whose first language isn't the same as yours. Get to know someone who doesn't come from your social class. This is how you see the world. This is how you grow...”

What an amazing first term we have had as a new PTFA committee Being elected in October my first action as Chair was to ensure we had more core committee positions so we could ensure more could be done within the PTFA. The 6 roles were outlined in a roles & responsibilities document and roles filled at the AGM election. The new PTFA Core Committee are Sofia Fazal (Chair), Nargis Mughal (Vicechair), Raj Banje (Secretary), Naeem Arif (Communications Manager), Julia Van Loon and Dal Mistry (Co-Treasurers) Alongside the core members we encourage other parents to join us and support with events and idea building

We had our largest ever turnout for a PTFA meeting on 5th December with 15 attendees in total, which has been very encouraging Some initial process updates were quickly implemented including holding monthly meetings (virtual and in-person), a monthly PTFA specific newsletter (emailed to parents by the school) and a refresh on our communication processes with parents for better engagement and support.

Our first event was the Italian Night which saw 48 parents attending and a very enjoyable social evening for Year 7 and 8 parents. This year we decided to use the school caterers to deliver the entire catering service, this allowed PTFA members to spend time with parents who had attended This was followed by the infamous Year 7 and 8 Disco (with SCGS) The Disco saw our largest ever turnout of over 320 students and raised an astounding £1,900 in profit The evening was a great success and we have had some fantastic feedback from parents and students alike.

We have run a new initiative this year which is the ‘preloved uniform’, the second-hand uniform sales. With more families being affected by the cost of living we have worked closely with the school to collate good quality used uniform, our first sale was held in October, selling over 100 items We will be following this up with another sale on the 13th January. The January sale will be for ‘preloved’ and new uniform and sports kit. Clivemark and Speedone have agreed to attend this event with items ready to buy at special discounted rates. We have also invited Sportology to showcase their sports equipment at the sale, offering all students a special BVGS discount on the day

Another new initiative we are implementing next term is our ‘Question Time with BVGS’, a Q&A opportunity for parents to engage directly with the school. This will allow questions to be answered in person by school representatives, we feel this will further strengthen relationships between the school and parents This will take place at school on Wednesday 19th January from 7:30-8:30pm

An event we run annually is our Comedy Night, which has historically been another successful evening. The event is planned for March 10th in Big School, and is for adults only. It is open to all adults, not necessarily just parents of the students Having a bar and light snacks on the night, and being only £15 a person, it proves to be a great night out This event may be of interest to some of the Old Veseyans and allow a social opportunity within the school for all

Having run an internal survey for students we have had some amazing feedback as to what the students are wanting in terms of events going forward We will use this intel to ensure we deliver events which suit the demand The feedback also highlighted students are keen for us to invest in the renovation of the pavilion This is something which has been put forward to the committee and plans are now in place to support the school in the upcoming renovation project. We look forward to 2023 with excitement as we hope to enhance the students' Veseyan experience through more events and social opportunities in the spring term

Wishing all the readers a healthy, happy and restful festive break with their family and loved ones

Sofia Fazal PTFA Chair

Congratulations to Tim who won this year's Junior Soloists Competition Final on 25th October by playing 'Shout' by Rob Wiffin on the trombone. We also say a big congratulations to all students who entered the competition and performed excellently: Colby, Ismaeal, Seth, Daniel, Joshua, Fraser, Isaac, Jayden, Arjuna, Freddie and Joel.

Well done to all the students who performed in the Rock Concert in Big School on Wednesday 23rd November. An excellent evening!

Untapped Potential: Harry (Guitar), Joel (Singer), and Fraser (Drummer)

Plastic Fiction: Sunny (Drums), Charlie (Guitar/Vocals), Benedict (Guitar/Vocals)

Polaroid: Ethan Miller (Electric Guitar), Neevan (Electric Guitar), Dan (Keyboard) Thomas(Bass Guitar), Amar (Drums), Charlie (Vocals), Max (Vocals)

Taz (Vocals) & Josh (Piano)

The acts were:

Students played and sang 'Hark! the Herald Angels Sing', 'Away in a Manger', 'Happy Xmas (War is Over)', 'Silent Night', 'O Come All Ye Faithful', and ended with 'Let It Snow'. Other highlights included Charlotte playing the Organ on arrival and exit, and the Brass Band playing the terrific soft rock beat 'Setting the Trap' from Home Alone. The Senior Choir also sang 'Carol of the Bells' acapella not just once, but twice - sensational. It was a truly magical service!

Thank you to all the students for their hard work and to Mr Buxton, Mr Hazell and Mr Lenthall for their organisation and composing. Thank you audience members for the generous collection for Hope Food. We were able to hand over a lot of food and a cheque of £239.05 for this worthy local food bank.

Parents, families and guests of Vesey ventured out in the foggy weather and enjoyed the perfect introduction to the festive season, on 1st December at the Carol Service set in stunning Holy Trinity Parish Church.

The annual festive fixture of the school calendar had four versions this year, instead of the regular two, all staged in Big School to near-sellout crouds Both displaying the all-encompassing and wide musical opportunity provided by the school, and showing off our breadth of musical talent and enthusiasm, a diverse buffet of songs was served up in our 2 Year 7 Concerts, Junior Concert and Senior Concert.

The Year 7 Concerts allowed our new Veseyans to both impress their parents with their newfound instrumental and singing skills and marvel at the premier big band Funky Bishops They sang an array of songs from an uplifting ‘Sunflowers Growing’, a cheeky ostinato ‘Cookies’ testing their breath control, our yearly iconic Kenyan tune ‘Jambo Bwana’ to a tour of an Australian zoo in ‘Wobbly Wallaby’. They then played the classics of Eye of the Tiger, We Will Rock You and finished with Jingle Bells on a broad range of instruments: violins, clarinets, trumpets, cornets, flutes and cellos!

Here are some of their thoughts on their fantastic performance:

I played the cornet in the Year 7 Christmas Concert on Monday. My favourite part was when Mr Buxton made the parents sing ‘In The Australian Zoo’: it was funny when they didn’t know the lines to sing along!

-Hermon, 7B

I played the cornet in the Monday Concert. My favourite song was the Australian Zoo and I loved how the songs weren't just Christmas songs but also other fun ones.

-Ruben, 7B

I really enjoyed playing Jingle Bells, singing the Cookies song and simply just watching the Funky Bishops carrying out their masterpieces! This concert has now inspired me to go deeper into music and try a whole new variety of instruments (and hopefully get into the Funky Bishops)!

-Guhan, 7B

Turning to the later concerts, they both kicked off with the fantastic Funky Bishops running through their set of three. They opened the show with a chilled out Latin number ‘Oyo Como Va’, featuring a round robin of improvised solos (in a different, unplanned order each time!), followed by ‘In Summer’ from Frozen with a solo for lead alto sax Charlie L6 II and a fast-paced Jingle Bells containing a solo from Alex L6VIII on tenor sax.

The family of percussion instruments were on full show on Monday: the Keyboard Ensemble played the ever-entertaining ‘Mission Impossible’ before a Christmas favourite ‘Feliz Navidad’ Junior Percussion were up next with ‘Asante’ and then it was the Dhol Group of names needed who struck some classy Bollywood tunes. A change of mood from the young Flute Ensemble, who (also) played Jingle Bells and Coventry Carol, set the scene for the mysterious ‘Hedwig’s Theme’ by the Year 12 Clarinet Ensemble, who also performed ‘Yesterday’

The Junior Orchestra, very strong in numbers, blasted out the loud and bold ‘Scorpion’, broke Disney rules by talking about Bruno through the ‘Encanto’ hit before dating the concert with a rendition of Jazzy Holidays and then an encore of ‘White Christmas’. Tuesday night began in the same jazzy style of Funky Bishops and then progressed onto Guitar Ensemble who offered a varied trio of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, ‘Sunny Afternoon’ and ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ Senior Percussion Ensemble were next with the joyous ‘Under the Sea’ and got us singing along to ‘Fairytale of New York’ (with real bells!). More Christmas music was on the cards, with the Sax Quartet, another Year 12 ensemble, adding their own twists to ‘Santa Claus Is Coming to Town’.

Switching from Junior to Senior Orchestra, we began with selections from the evergreen Les Misérables, moved to rock with a masterful arrangement of Coldplay Classics before rounding off the night with Jazzy Holidays and White Christmas.

Putting on four concerts is no easy feat and certainly wouldn’t have been possible without immense teamwork throughout the term and especially on Monday and Tuesday A massive thanks to all parents, carers, friends and family for attending, supporting and cheering us on both nights, the SFE Music teachers for their expert guidance and help, the Tech team of Charlie 11W, Tom 11G and Saiyoush 8W for allowing us to sound magical, the Sixth Form helper team for managing logistics, all the student musicians who contributed in staging 4 outstanding spectacles and Mr Buxton & Miss Ko for their incredible work providing opportunities to so many students, planning, organising and delivering yet another year of successful concerts.

-Adi L6VI

At the end of the Christmas term this year, the Languages department once again held its annual Christmas Card Competition The standard of cards was extraordinary this year, making the adjudication process very difficult. Special mentions go to Ellis (7G), Alfie (7B) and Thomas (8G) for their entries in French, Spanish and Portuguese respectively, but onto the winners!

In third place is Ayaan (8E), with a card in Polish. The artwork is simply beautiful, and the fact that he worked on the language in the card with Fabian in his form was a nice touch.

In second place is Muhammed (7G), with a card in Arabic. The message inside is lovely, detailing traditions in Pakistan, but what really impressed the judges is the way he created the artwork – each design is made out of intricately folded paper! What amazing attention to detail

And finally in first place is Tanay (8R), with his card in Italian. The combination of both the lovely artwork with the amazing information inside about Italian Christmas traditions, all in Italian, won over the judges in what was a very close competition! He is the winner of an Amazon gift card - congratulations!

-Mr Hazell

1ST PLACE: ITALIAN CARD BY TANAY IN 8R

2ND PLACE: ARABIC CARD BY MUHAMMED IN 7G 3RD PLACE: POLISH CARD BY AYAAN IN

The Giving Tree – Spirit of Christmas, started as one Intern’s idea a few years ago. In the years following it has grown and developed to be something well-known and loved by the community.

The basic idea is that a Christmas tree in Gracechurch Centre, Sutton Coldfield is manned all day by one of the Vesey students. Students distribute flyers detailing a full list of items required by the chosen Charities. Shoppers then can purchase whatever they want, and come back with that item. The response has been staggering - thank you to everyone who has given so generously.

Our students will wrap up all gifts in festive paper and distribute them to the three charities on Monday 19 December. Well done to all those Veseyan who have been involved - what a great example of care for others and leadership!

Upon seeing the School Christmas tree Louie, in 7G, decided to make some Vesey baubles It was a pleasure to hear about how this had been a weekend project with his Dad, laser cutting the designs and delicately painting each one in the school House colours. They are excellent! Below you will see Louie proudly holding the Gold Vesey bauble.

Louise then explained that he and his Dad are making a festive wooden bench, on which Santa will sit on, in a festive party they are taking part in to raise money for John Taylor Hospices. This charity is close to his family's heart. Each year they aim to raise around £1,500 through different initiatives like carnivals, raffles, and carwashes Well done Louie - another great example of taking initiative in order to help others!

Well done to 10G's Jacob for gathering his form group to bring in food and funds for Hope Food. Mrs Patel is a very proud form tutor!

Edward's Trust is a charity based in Edgbaston that works with children, young people and families who are facing bereavement and loss They offer counselling, support groups, play therapy, wellbeing therapy and social events.

When Clive Poole, OV and long standing supporter of the charity, approached our School to help him in his fundraising efforts, the Vesey Charity Team leapt into action by organising a sponsored Row-a-thon, a Speed Punching Competition, a Bake Sale, and a non-uniform day

The total raised for Edward's Trust by BVGS was a superb figure of £1,274.42, contributing to the whole amount of £27,000!

Throughout the week last week of September, Lucy Goodway from Edward's Trust and Clive, addressed each year group during assemblies getting them to think about how they can support someone who has been bereaved Lucy shared her own story too, which students found moving and inspirational

We raised £1,264.38 for the Disasters Emergency Committee Pakistan Floods Appeal through a non-uniform day on Friday 4th November. This charity is providing emergency shelter and food/hygiene supplies for those whose homes have been devastated by flooding! Our thoughts are with this nation.

Upper Sixth lead some great events for Children In Need - 'Who can hang the longest?', Speed Drawing Competition, Raffle with a Twist, and of course, an always enjoyed Bake Sale. With the donations of staff and students, we raised a total of £204.26.

Well done to Charlie and Amos in 10P who have recently secured £70,000 of police funding to install a knife bin in Sutton Coldfield. This funding will also ensure the knife bin is properly maintained and any weapons duly disposed of Their project has also received a £1,000 marketing budget to promote this ‘knife bin’ to the wider community Keep an eye out for more updates

In April, I gave an assembly to all year groups about our democracy I talked about the Queen’s role as Head of our Nation, and the way she acts as a focus for national identity, unity and pride, officially recognising success and excellence and supporting the ideal of voluntary service. I confess that I did not expect that this would be the year the Queen died I thought, like many others, that she would comfortably pass 100 not out Her passing was a shock. The end of an era.

I know many people felt the same. Only 5% of our current population has have ever known another monarch For us the Queen has been a changeless human reference point in British life. The Queen is also an historic figure. 70 years ago, she took on a huge role:

To be the person so globally trusted that her image should be on every unit of currency, every postage stamp, the person in whose name all justice is dispensed in this country, in whose name every law is passed, to whom every minister of the Crown swears allegiance and for whom every member of our Armed Services is pledged if necessary to lay down their lives

She was the last living person in British public life to have served in uniform in the Second World War Her first Prime Minister, Churchill, was born in 1874 and her last one, her 15th, was born in 1975. Over that extraordinary span of public service, she helped make the monarchy relevant.

In 2012, she was depicted as jumping out of a helicopter in a pink dress and parachuted into a stadium to start the London Olympics. In 2022, she was a smash hit in the news media across the world, performing with Paddington Bear And when things got tough, during the Covid pandemic, while the Prime Minister was intensive care, and things seemed to be falling apart, it was the Queen as Head of the nation, who sought to rally an anxious country. Importantly, she embodied a strong work ethic, public service and fundamental decency.

It is that spirit, and those inspiring standards, admired across the world which lead us to come together, to pay our respects as a school community, to the late Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth was a changeless human reference point. She was an historic figure. She helped make the monarchy relevant. She represented the best of Britain – and she will be missed.

JacobKing/PAWire/PAImages

PRESSASSOCIATION/DannyLawson

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

From the “roll of honour” in Old Big School, to the memorial on the wall of Big School, the history, and memory of the First and Second World War is indubitably kept alive at BVGS. Remembrance and reflection on the suffering and devastation caused by the war is particularly poignant on Remembrance Day, as the school, along with the rest of the country, came together to pay their respects to the people who contributed to the war effort

Students were encouraged to wear their poppies with a sense of pride, money from which was donated to the Poppy Appeal, and the true meaning behind the flower was reinforced over the week of remembrance Being one of the few flowers to regrow after the turmoil of war, red poppies have become symbolic of peace, sacrifice, and of hope in times of strife, and are used to represent the memory of the suffering and bravery of the soldiers who died in WWI and II. Purple poppies are used to commemorate the service of animals, while black poppies celebrate the roles of black, African, and Caribbean communities in the war effort.

On Friday 11th November, the whole school congregated on the Astroturf to take part in the Remembrance service. A reading of the renowned poem, “In Flanders Field,” and a performance of the mournful Last Post, was followed by a minute's silence to reflect on the meaning of Remembrance Day. In his emotive and moving speech, Mr Robson detailed the lives of Old Veseyans who fought for their country, and whose names are immortalised on plaques around the school, a testament to their bravery and sacrifice Stanley Browne – member of the 1st XV rugby team – fought in WW2 at Assisi, and died in 1944. His name is one of the many memorialised in the school, and is among millions around the country, yet his story resonates with us today, as we look back on the suffering of the soldiers who fought and died to protect the prospect of a future imbued with peace, equality, and justice, reminding us to endeavour to strive for the same ideals today

-Rebecca, L6VII

Former Egypt national team player and now an England Masters World Cup winner, Mr Mo Samak is the Head of Hockey at Vesey’s. This term, he sat down with Adi (L6VI) and Gabe (10R) to discuss his thrilling achievement over the summer, his career in Hockey and teaching at Vesey.

What does winning the Masters over the summer mean to you? How did you feel?

It felt amazing to represent your country after a long journey I also really wanted to win the Masters for my dad He passed at the start of the pandemic; before he passed away we had a phone call about me being selected and I said I would win it for him The whole team knew about this and we all wanted to win it, for our families and for ourselves We’d been preparing for a long time so to win it, especially against Australia, one of the strongest teams, was amazing

What was the score in the final?

We were 2-0 up, until the last 5 minutes, where Australia got back 2-2 and it took us to shuffles (‘penalties’) - 1-on-1 with the keeper, and you must score in 8 seconds. I took the 3rd shuffle, and I, fortunately, scored it. I remember being so pleased, jumping in the air, because we ended up winning on shuffles.

When you were doing the shuffle, what was going through your head? Too many things: the pressure of the game, being on TV, people around – from Vesey's, old school, family, friendseverything comes into your head I said to myself “I don’t want to think about all this, just need to get on with it Let’s take the pressure off because I just need to do it, regardless of what happens” It was a switch off and switch on because you’ve only got 8 seconds And luckily it went my way

You played for Egypt and now you’re playing for England Do you feel part of the England squad or do you still wish you were playing for Egypt, your home country?

It’s really, really complicated for someone to play for a different nation, because I am originally from Egypt However, I’ve lived here for about 10 years now so I think I belong here now That said, whoever I am representing, if I wear Vesey’s as a coach or England in a game, I must give everything for that

What was it like being coached by your Father?

I learned a lot from my Dad - to be myself, to be honest, to be fair I also like reflecting, because he always used to reflect, on both success and failure He spoke to the children at the end of sessions asking “How did I do?”, “Did you enjoy that?” He also always found issues, but I think it's the passion that I learnt from him, and it’s this same passion that shapes my coaching today

So now you’re a coach at Vesey, it’s been a year and a bit now. How have you found teaching at Veseyhere and what has surprised you or impressed you the most?

Very challenging, still. I want to do my best to get everything structured, share all my experience and we have the right balance so that everyone gets what they want out of a training session. The boys here are very intelligent, always thinking ahead, willing to work hard and have great individual skills and creativity

Hockey is so big at the school with nearly 20 teams, so many fixtures and training sessions, it’s a big commitment as coach, which is a challenge I’m enjoying The fact we are competitive against independent schools makes me really happy as well I am so lucky and happy that I made the decision to move from a private school to a state school I understand more about myself now and Vesey has helped me to figure out where I want to go in the future

What’s next for Mr Samak, the Player and Coach?

At the moment, I’m enjoying coaching. In the international environment, I learn a lot and I try to get as many ideas and information from there to bring it to school. They are different setups but there’s always small bits I can include. I’ve also just signed a new contract with Wales U18 Boys and Girls; very pleased about that given I’ve been working with them for 2 years I'm also a coach for UoB, working with the Mens and Ladies 1st XIs, made of GB players and US players, a fantastic experience for me

In terms of playing, I play for Barford Tigers; we won the National League last season and so far this year I’ve scored 2 goals for them I gave up playing but it’s been worth it, especially in the last 3-4 months, now that I am coaching at the highest level. I still try to fit in playing, doing the England Masters stuff. I want to play the World Cup, Euros and Four Nations tournaments next year so looking forward to those.

-Adi L6VI and Gabe 10R, with input from Tanay 9G

Mrs Joyce

Jayne commenced at Bishop Vesey’s on 10th October 2005 as our Reprographics Technician, in 2006 she also became one of our designated First Aiders. Jayne has worked diligently in her role during the past 18 years, always with a cheery smile on her face. She is always willing to help anyone and respond to urgent requests for work, be that printing, photocopying, changing toners in the many photocopiers on the site, or indeed unblocking said photocopiers from jammed paper to assist exasperated member of staff!

The whole school will miss Jayne, she is the friendly face in school that brightens everyone’s day. We wish her all the very best in whatever she decides to do next.

- Mrs Wallis

MR Yousaf

Mohammad has been a brilliant addition to the school since day one. His positive approach and wiliness to learn and develop in the IT field made him fast become an invaluable member of my team. Supporting IT in a school, where we see technology as an enabler, is very demanding and requires significant effort and determination to successfully carry out the role. The position was a big step for Mohammad but he took it on and made a huge contribution to the school. Along that journey his shyness faded and his personality began to shine through.

Although the school IT department during normal operations is a very busy fast paced setting, the requirements and shift in demand for support that came about due to the pandemic was never seen before or is likely to been seen again. We had to move the school from a classroom based environment to an online one overnight. In this most unreal moment the demand for support grew to levels that are unlikely ever to be repeated ever again.

Mohammad’s contribution in this 24 month difficult period, for me, is etched into the school’s steep history as without the magnificent IT support provided, the school’s day to day operations would not have switched so seamlessly overnight “The need to learn on the job” was made for this moment As the school embraced new ways of both learning and working, the team was at the heart of this transition and paramount to it becoming the success it did Mohammad role in this was huge We wish him all the best in his new role He will be missed!

MR Devine

Ryan returned to Bishop Vesey’s as an Old Veseyan in September 2021. Ryan hit the ground running as a Geography teacher, spending his first year as HOD and taking on sporting roles within the PE department.

Ryan is a fantastic geographer and has worked creatively in the department during his short time with us. He is a team player, always being more than happy to lend a hand and support other members of staff and his students. Nothing is ever a problem for Ryan and he always has a motivational word or two to put a smile on everyone’s face!

Ryan will be missed by the Geography and PE department and we wish Ryan all the very best in his new adventure up North.

-Ms Meredith

-Mr Baglee

Mrs Harper

Cathy has been working on and off at BVGS since 2015, helping out the department covering innumerable maternity and paternity leaves over the years before becoming permanent member of the department in 2020 She was always willing to help lend a listening ear or a friendly word and we will all miss the amicable and sometimes fiery chats in the Biology office when we all should have been marking! Her kindness, warmth and generosity of spirit will be sorely missed by the Biology department as she moves on to pastures new, and we wish her all the best!

- Mr Ellor

MR Whiting

Julian has undertaken numerous roles over many years and has had such a positive o many pupils Having been a student at the school he returned firstly in ing capacity for over 15 years Taking rugby teams every Saturday and sions in the week A Governors role then followed, before he decided 6 o train to be a qualified teacher This allowed him to spend more time in ment in PE lessons and have an even greater influence

vice to the school has shown huge dedication and his love for the school long period of time So many leavers I have met will recount stories he inspired them to play rugby at school which then continued into their ng lives His ability to get the very best out of an individual and galvanise

a group of players to want to play for each other and wear the school badge with pride is second to none. Well done on an amazing career both on and off the rugby field, you have left a legacy that will be hard to follow and we look forward to seeing you on the touch lines in the years to come.

Mr Pallister

Cameron has been a great addition to the PE/Games department over the last 2 years The students have established a great rapport with him and this is reflective in the numbers attending the extra-curricular teams that he has been involved in The students hold him in high regard which speaks volumes He has also had a great impact on the Primary school events that are run on a weekly basis and encouraged our own students in leadership roles

Cameron will moving down to London and we wish him all the very best of luck in his new role

-Mr Howell

Mrs Zaman

Perveen joined the Bishop Vesey’s as long-term supply and has seamlessly settled into the Physics department since arriving in September She has been a brilliant member of the team, bringing an infectious smile and laughter every day into the Physics office! Her positivity, kindness and willingness to support and help others will be sadly missed by both staff and students alike We wish her all the very best in her new post at Arthur Terry

-Mr Bradley

-Mr Howell

Dear OVs,

Welcome to the end of year 2022 Veseyan Thankfully a year less badly affected by the coronavirus It is quite hard to imagine it still made Christmas last year difficult Good to have some concerts and events happening again. The OVA has been pleased to support the music department with a new digital mixer that is a great help at live performances and will be of benefit to many. We are looking to upgrade the speakers in Big School.

The biggest event the OVA organised was the annual Old Veseyan Dinner on the 12th November attended by over 130 OV's and guests, aged from 17 to 93 years! Brilliant to welcome current and ex members of staff, most notably Rex Wallbank aged 93 years who taught from 1952 to 1984. He was with a jolly table organised by Karl Ward. There was also a reunion of old boarders, one of whom - Brian Izzard - had not met his old school friends or been back to school for over 60 years Also, superb to have Dan Powell as a guest Dan won a gold medal in judo at the Commonwealth Games As far as we can establish the first OV to win a gold medal at CWG and how special to do it in Birmingham. One other attendee was John Ratledge, 91, who was the only diner who was a pupil during the headship of Abel Sylvanus Jones. He was joined by son Jonathan who organised 3 tables from his year group

Unfortunately, a number of OV's have passed during the second half of the year and many thanks to Nick Hammond for contacting families and producing obituaries.

As always, I am grateful for the continued support of hundreds of OVA members and we are looking to support some very worthwhile projects in 2023 - some much needed work on the Old Sports Pavilion and the Biology Department greenhouse to name two

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, Paul Wallis

On Wednesday 7th September, 18 Old V’s took part in the Alan Jones Salver competition at Moor Hall Golf Club. The competition was a Greensomes format with last years winners Karl Ward and Phil Smith both competing and we were delighted to have John Ratledge senior partnering his son Jon at the tender age of 91 years young! See photo below.

The competition was reduced to 9 holes after the heavens opened and deluged the course and all players. Several pairs came in with 20 points but the salver went to Brian O’Reilly and Gavin Humphreys with a score of 21 points. The picture below shows next years Captain (and Captain for the day) Karl Ward presenting the salver to Brian and Gavin.

The final fixture of the season takes place at Brocton Hall Golf Club on Thursday 6th October and is then followed by the annual dinner at Moor Hall G.C on Friday 18th November.

Nick Hammond: "Early in the spring of 2022, as we warily emerged from the traumas of the Covid pandemic, my wife and I went out for a casual evening meal with my brother-in-law and sister-in -law The conversation was, as you would imagine, wide ranging about family and the progress of various children and grandchildren Once that was exhausted, reminiscences of the “old days” and old friends proceeded to the mention of an old neighbour of my wife and her sister. It transpired that someone, who we had all known for at least sixty years, had a grand daughter in year 13 at Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School. The chatter continued to suggest that the grand daughter was hoping to travel in the summer prior to commencing an apprenticeship in Project Management. Her travels intentions were to engage with young less fortunate people in areas of sport education. She was seeking sponsorship and help to fund such a trip.

“Well” said I “she hasn’t asked us!” meaning the OVA and its bursary scheme. Email, addresses were exchanged and the OVA Bursary Rules were forwarded, via her grand mother, to Ella Crane. Ella duly submitted her proposal in accordance with the requirements, was subsequently interviewed by members of the OVA Committee and approval was given for an award of funds to help finance the trip. Ella had not previously been aware of the OVA Bursary scheme. Ella’s record of her trip follows..."

Dear OVA Association,

Thank you very much for the money that you gave me through the bursary for my trip to South Africa It was a truly life changing experience and gave me an insight into the hardships that children have to experience on a daily basis

I arrived in Muizenberg on 17th July (2022) and after two days of orientation I started my volunteering at Christian David Primary School. Here I met Charles who was the Sports teacher at the school and in charge of the programme I was participating in. My daily activities were to do sports coaching with the children as well as keeping them amused during their breaks and lunch times. We had to rely on our initiative as there was very little facilities available and the children, whilst lovely to be with, were always full of energy and had to be guided into constructive play.

The main objective was to develop the children’s sporting skills and whilst I was there for only a short amount of time I could definitely see an improvement in the children that were in my care.

We played traditional games with them such as netball and cricket but I also developed games that I had learnt during my time as a Brownie leader and adapted them to meet the needs of the school and pupils.

The school was extremely different to what I was used to and whilst their background was vastly different to my own, it was really nice to see that the children were full of affection for people that put the effort in to play and be interested in them.

Outside of the programme, I also partook in many once in a lifetime activities and I am looking at a return visit during the African summer to again help out at the school and to also appreciate more of South Africa that I didn’t have chance to experience

With sincere thanks, Ella Crane OV

JOHN GOWDY MORRISON 1927 – 2022 (BVGS 1938-43)

Perhaps it was divine providence or just an earthly coincidence that led me to glance at the Deaths Announcement column in the Daily Telegraph in early September There was an announcement of the passing of John Gowdy Morrison of Leamington Spa The announcement simply stated that any interest should be expressed to the family but there was no means by which to do that

My memory reminded me that when captaining the Old Veseyan Golf Society way back in the 1990’s a certain John Morrison and a pal from the Leamington area would attend some of the meetings and the Shaggy Dogs Tea party I was certain that this was the same John Morrison Therefore, I wrote to the Telegraph enclosing a message to the family and expressing my and the OVA interest

John’s daughter Isobel replied confirming my conclusions and gave details of John’s

Tachbrook Crematorium I duly attended and witnessed the obvious love and respect

friends and family

John’s arrival was heralded by three Royal Naval personnel “piping him aboard” as his coffin was born into the chapel and he was “piped ashore” at the end of the service.

Isobel delivered a delightful eulogy which I summarise below in the hope I can do both Isobel, her siblings and John justice

John was born in Whitacre Heath, Warwickshire in 1927, to Fredrick and Hilda Morrison

At the age of 3, John’s parents made the move to Sutton Coldfield, where the family grew with the arrival of a brother Michael, and some years later their sister Hilary Unlike his placid younger brother, John was by all accounts, rather a handful; his mother being only too pleased to see him start school.

John used to say of himself that he enjoyed school and worked hard but was ‘spirited and energetic’; his zest was not always fully appreciated John was ‘enrolled’ by his mother into the Reddicap Heath choir; and thus aged 7, John was introduced to what proved to be the beginning of a life-long passion for singing, progressing two years later to the Boldmere Heath choir where he remained a chorister throughout his youth

As a young boy, John would spend whole summers with relatives in Antrim These days were simple and carefree, and the memories of playing, learning, and working on the farm, provided John with great pleasure throughout his life. John always felt a great connection to his Irish roots, and his Irish sense of hospitality is something for which he will always be remembered

John’s parents were delighted when he passed the entrance exam for Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School, and John was always very grateful for the opportunities and grounding that this education provided him At 16 however, and having attained 8 good ‘School Certificate’ grades, he was told byhis father, that with younger siblings still at school, it was time to get a job, and to start contributing financially

The possibility of furthering his education was simply ‘not an option’. John joined Fyshe & Horton stockbrokers in Birmingham in 1943, on a starting wage of 20 shillings a week After just 8 weeks John discovered that an Insurance Company across town were offering ‘thirty four’ shillings a week, a huge sum to a young man He was clearly always destined to be a bank manager

Aged 17, John joined the Royal Navy, hoping to join the Y Service, a network of British Signals Intelligence Receiving sites, stationed both ashore and afloat Much to his regret, he didn’t make the final stage of training, but undeterred, he trained instead as a radar plotter; at the end of which he asked for a foreign post. With nothing happening, John advised his superior that he would speak to the commander during a forthcoming visit, to ‘see if things could be resolved’.

forthcoming funeral at Bishop’s

in which John was held by both

A position was suddenly found and John was hastily despatched to Malta, where the destroyer, HMS Stevenstone, was docked and subsequently patrolled the Mediterranean for the following 18 months. When the ship was in dry dock in Gibraltar, John auditioned for the Gibraltar Cathedral choir and was accepted He headed back to the ship, unsure how well this news would be received The amused and accommodating captain rearranged the onboard rota for shore leave to coincide with the Sunday service

After 3 years in the Royal Navy, and with the war over, John aged 20 returned to Sutton Coldfield, much to his mother’s relief.

A brief encounter with the Emily Broughton Players specialising in Gilbert and Sullivan operas and two weeks with the D’Oyle Carte company dispelled any further thoughts of a stage career. Consequently, John embarked on his long and successful career with Lloyds Bank with postings in Eastbourne, London, Harpenden, Birmingham and latterly Rugby

Ladies’ night at the Boldmere lodge resulted in John meeting Yvonne; a newly qualified PE teacher at Erdington Grammar School, who along with John shared an energy and mildly bawdy sense of humour which proved to be a winning match, and after a suitable courtship they were married at Boldmere church in 1958. Their son Andrew was born two years later, followed shortly by their daughter Julia and later Isobel, the final member of the Morrison clan. John was very much a family man.

Family holidays were active, and thoughtfully planned to ensure that the needs of Andrew, an energetic teenage boy were catered for, alongside the very different interests, and varying speeds of his girls Singing remained an important part of John’s life and he particularly enjoyed being on stage The Harpenden annual performances were highly anticipated and his wonderful baritone voice captivated audiences Dad was for many years, a member of the St Albans Bach choir, and he found it a great wrench to leave when his job required a family move from Harpenden.

Happily, once settled in Thurlaston, John was able to join the Royal Leamington Spa Bach choir and in retirement, he also took up the cello, having lessons until he was sufficiently proficient to join the Leamington Sinfonia These musical activities were not only a great solace when his beloved Yvonne died in 2006 but provided John with many years of enjoyment Concerts, and attending performances with friends, were occasions that John greatly valued, and it was through a shared passion for music, that many of his friends attending the funeral were made

John and Yvonne were very proud grandparents to Thomas, Emily, Peter, and Sophie; the letters and cards that John received from his grandchildren over the years were proudly shown to visitors before being placed in a dedicated box for safe keeping

John’s final move was to Binswood Hall, where he lived very contentedly for 9 years, remaining independent and continuing to drive to the end He regularly attended Holy Trinity church both as a chorister and to worship and his faith and the friends he made there sustained him greatly during the last few years

John was a remarkable man; remaining vibrant and alert to the very end, and he was delighted to hear of the birth of his great granddaughter, Leila, just two days before he died. Upon hearing of his death, the words that have been used to describe him repeatedly have been, a gentleman, courteous, great company, and a wonderful friend

It was a privilege to have met John Morrison, I am delighted I spotted the Telegraph announcement Isobel and her siblings expressed their delight that the Old Veseyan Association was able to pay its respects to him

-Nick Hammond

Our Annual Lunch has switched seasons to vary the theme and plans to bring a boost to us all as the clocks go forward and signal that a glorious Summer is on its way.

Moor Hall Hotel & Spa provides the glorious setting for our event from 10am to 4pm. Stalls will be available to browse, a welcome reception with Fizz and mingling with friends old and new with lunch and a fashion show plus Goody Bags. Just right to banish the last of the Winter blues and feel optimistic about the year ahead.

We hope you will join us again for our important annual event that boosts the BVGS Inspiration and Excellence Fund. The Fund provides a fantastic extracurricular programme of activities for our students such as Business Interns, Charity Interns, sport, music, drama, debating, Duke of Edinburgh, interform competitions, clubs and societies. All activities enable our students to thrive and develop life skills in readiness for the outside world when they leave school.

To book please contact Claire Bolton, Foundation Office on c.bolton@bishopveseys.bham.sch.uk if you would like to purchase tickets which are £45 per person.

You can book a table and invite business or social friends, parents or Alumni, or, Claire can arrange put a table together for you to join.