Highclare School
2020 SPRING ISSUE
What Happened 25 Years Ago? Twenty-five years ago, in 1995, amongst many other notable events, Sony Corporation introduced its PlayStation, Pierce Brosnan starred as 007 in the film Golden Eye, John Major (Conservative) became Prime Minister and British Forces were deployed to the Bosnia / Herzegovina war in order to relieve the siege of Sarajevo.
It was also a very significant moment in the life of Highclare School because on 27 February 1995 it spread from its Birmingham Road headquarters in Wylde Green to the Abbey, a beautiful, grade 2 listed building on Sutton Road, Erdington. It is clear from the management notes and minutes available that it was a hugely complicated process requiring massive amounts of planning and commitment. To the immense credit of everyone involved, it was an operation successfully carried out and allowed the Senior School to quickly become established in its new location and has enjoyed a strong reputation ever since. Now in its 88th year, the School operates at four locations in Sutton Coldfield and Erdington; it continues to thrive and is strongly placed for a very successful future.
witness the digging up of a time capsule placed in the ground 25 years ago. Contents were put on display for all to examine before they were once more interred in the ground, together with another set of contemporaneous documents and writings, to remain there until exhumation hopefully on or around 27 February 2045!
We were honoured to host on Thursday 27 February 2020 – exactly 25 years later – a gathering of students, staff and governors, both current and from the past, to honour and celebrate that significant moment. Visitors were treated to a display of School archived memorabilia before proceeding to the garden to
Do get in touch with Mrs Soen at Highclare Preparatory School: St Paul’s (alumni@highclareschool.co.uk) if you are a past pupil and would like to join the Alumni.
LAMDA Examination Results The results are in for the spring term LAMDA examinations; The students across Highclare Senior and Preparatory School have achieved outstanding results with 44 Distinctions, 43 Merits and 1 Pass. A special mention to children from St. Pauls; Avneet Deo who achieved the highest score across Highclare School with 92 marks closely followed by Adele Pike with 90 marks. Throughout the term students have undertaken a variety of awards in January including Speaking Verse and Prose, Acting, Public Speaking, Reading for Performance, Mime and Musical Theatre. Highclare Senior School currently has a few places available for those children wishing to take part in LAMDA. Please contact the school for more information.
It really was a highlight of the academic year so far, to be able to listen to the wonderful, happy memories being shared. It was a privilege to be able to honour the past and acknowledge the commitment and vision of the staff, governors and parents in taking what was a bold step. It was a real pleasure to welcome these visitors into our wonderful school. Thank you to them for coming and making it such a special day.
Best wishes for a peaceful and restful Easter break.
Young Minds Charity Cheque Presentation Representatives from Highclare Preparatory and Senior School had the pleasure of welcoming Julia Garden, a community fundraising officer from YoungMinds into a recent assembly celebrating Highclare’s charity endeavours throughout 2018/2019. Throughout the academic year pupils across the school have been fundraising for YoungMinds through fantastic events such as the French café, film night, the big sleep over, the Yr6 young enterprise scheme, carol singing, #GoYellow for YoungMinds day and the business network event to name a few. We are pleased to announce the amount presented to Julia during our assembly totalled an incredible £10,338.43. We would like to thank pupils and parents of Highclare School for their continued support.
Preparatory School News Pre-Prep Maths Workshop The early years foundation setting at Highclare PrePreparatory School is committed to laying secure foundations when teaching mathematics, evident during the spring term pre-preparatory maths workshop. This maths workshop was aimed at helping parents understand how we teach mathematics in Highclare Pre-Prep and how parents can support their child’s mathematical journey at home. Parents took part in various activities as it was demonstrated how the teaching of maths at Highclare Pre-Prep is integrated throughout each day and how children quickly become engaged and interested in solving mathematical problems during planned activities. We want our children to be confident mathematicians who can transfer their knowledge and skills to their everyday lives. The maths workshop was informal and feedback was very positive. Thank you so much to the parents who attended and we very much look forward to our next workshop.
We’re Going On A Bear Hunt Highclare Pre-Preparatory children and staff were delighted to present to parents and grandparents the Highclare PrePreparatory School Swans' production of We’re Going On A Bear Hunt.
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In preparation, the children learned the narrative of this much loved story through Talk4Writing and songs and musical skills in their music lessons with our specialist music teacher, Miss Broder. The dances were choreographed by our specialist dance teacher, Mrs Florey-Meah.
Suzuki Violin Lessons During the spring term Reception pupils met Miss Minchin, our violin specialist, as she introduced Suzuki violin lessons. The class learnt how to hold the instrument correctly and how to take a bow before and after performing. Suzuki's "Mother Tongue" approach to teaching music builds on the principles of language acquisition. Those principles include an early beginning, listening, loving encouragement, parental support, constant repetition, learning with other children and then learning to read.
Prep School Develop their Intercultural Understanding with Spanish Activity Bags During the spring term Highclare Preparatory School children in Yr2 have been taking turns to share Spanish activity bags with their families at home. The bags contain a dictionary, a DVD of a film set in a Spanish speaking country, some play Euro currency, a bingo game, a bilingual story and some Spanish recipes. The intention is for children to develop their intercultural understanding and have fun trying new experiences with their families. So far, it has proved very popular and parents have shared some wonderful photos with Ms Kenny. She said, “I have received some lovely feedback about the activity bags from parents and children. Apparently there has been some very competitive bingo games, but I’m pleased to say the children seem to be winning!”
J1 Polar Explorers Extraordinaire As part of their science topic Polar Explorers, Yr1 have been taking part in lots of activities including the popular Ice Challenge, where children work in teams to try and rescue the Lego figure from the block of ice, using methods of their choice to explore science and use their thinking skills. Pupils had a super time at the SnowDome before half term. What a lovely way to launch their new science topic.
It was a fabulous performance, Swans. We are really proud of you.
Reception Class Fly High at RAF Cosford As part of the Reception class learning topic on transport, Highclare Preparatory School Reception pupils enjoyed an inspiring visit to Cosford Air Museum during the spring term. On arrival pupils had great fun pretending to be air stewards and air stewardesses and then taking on the role of holidaymakers, having to show passports and even going through security! In the afternoon the children played games to show how planes fly and even went to sit in a fighter jet. It was a fantastic visit which supported this term's topic.
Mathematical Art in Reception Class Reception children at Highclare Preparatory School have turned into budding artists this term. Complementing their maths topic on shape, children have learnt about the properties of shapes and explored and identified patterns, including lines of symmetry, whilst creating wonderful artwork inspired by Wassily Kandinsky.
Highclare Preparatory School Annual Pancake Races 2020 Highclare Preparatory School pupils all enjoyed their sponsored House Pancake Races on Shrove Tuesday. Children from Cygnets through to Yr6 all took part in pancake races for their houses and entered into the challenges with good spirit, cheering each other on. York House was victorious this year, winning almost all of the class races. Thank you to all the parents, families and friends that sponsored the children, helping them raise £765.20 for Young Minds, our chosen charity this year.
Eggselent Visitors Hatch at Highclare It was a very egg-citing time in the Prep School this term as they welcomed some egg-traordinary visitors! Yr1 loved watching their very first chick hatch. They named her Rosie and Seb decided to read her a story to help her settle into life in KS1at Highclare Preparatory School. During the chicks' stay the children learnt how to care for the chicks by cleaning out their box, filling up their water and food bowls and all took turns to have a cuddle.
Reception Pupils Celebrate Chinese New Year To help celebrate Chinese New Year, Reception pupils at Highclare Preparatory School: Woodfield had lots of fun making Chinese dumplings called jiaozi. They also enjoyed tasting a variety of different Chinese foods and learnt lots about Chinese culture.
Senior School Costa Rica Assembly
Senior school pupils presented assemblies at Highclare Preparatory School Woodfield, recounting their amazing experiences in Costa Rica. The Prep School children loved hearing the exciting stories and seeing photos of the stationery which they donated being given to pupils at the Costa Rican school.
World Book Day Pupils loved coming to school in their pyjamas to celebrate World Book Day this year. They shared their favourite bedtime story with their classmates as pupils continued to take part in ‘sharing a million stories’ in March.
Yr2 Travel Back in Time to 1666 Yr2 pupils travelled back to 1666 during a visit from the Freshwater Theatre Company. Pupils learnt about the Great Fire of London though immersive theatre including what it was like to live in 17th century London. Mary Porter, a ‘resident’ of Pudding Lane in 1666, helped children recreate what life was like on Pudding Lane before the Great Fire, the causes of the fire and its aftermath. All pupils were fully engaged in the workshop and thoroughly enjoyed being time travellers for the day. It was a great way to learn about significant historical events.
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Yr4 SPARKS Visit Yr4P were joined by firefighters from Green Watch at Sutton Coldfield Fire Station to talk about fire safety. The children became fire experts, learnt the correct place to fix smoke alarms, how to plan an escape route and how to evacuate safely. The firefighters explained how to make emergency calls and the problems caused by hoax calls. The children identified fire hazards at home and learnt the importance of being safe on the road. Finally, they learnt the effective technique of stop, drop and roll. It was an informative and interesting morning for the children.
Yr4 Go Digital Year 4 started a new computer topic this term. They learnt how to create and develop digital musical compositions and investigated how technology can be used to create music.
Yr5 Senior School Science Day Highclare Senior School welcomed Yr5 pupils from Highclare Preparatory School to the science department to delve into senior school life and further ignite the pupils' already enthusiastic interest in science. In small groups pupils moved between science labs to take part in exciting investigations whilst learning essential skills used in biology, chemistry and physics. At the end of the day students were ‘locked’ in the chemistry lab where they needed to use their newly acquired science skills to solve the clues and escape from the Abbey. Pupils had a fantastic time using microscopes to classify slides in biology, identifying substances on the pH scale, learning how to neutralise a substance in chemistry and calculating the density of three irregular shaped objects to establish what material they were made from in physics. During the practicals pupils listened carefully, took part enthusiastically, encouraged each other through the more advanced work and celebrated correct answers. They found it an exciting experience. Following lunch in the senior school refectory all pupils returned to the chemistry lab for the final challenge. A pre-recorded video announced to the pupils that they were now locked in and all the equipment needed to crack the code to escape could be found on each table. "It was an absolute delight to work with the pupils from Highclare Preparatory School. Their enthusiasm and determination led them to succeed in every challenge we set, which is an amazing achievement for such young pupils tackling senior school science." Mrs S Dudley, Head of Senior School Science.
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Young Voices 2020 Emergency Australian Bush Fire News Reports Yr6W were raising their awareness of current affairs while they wrote and recorded Emergency Australian Bush Fire News Reports. They gathered data and information in preparation for a live report. They then presented their news reports, mimicking a real newsroom environment.
Yr5 Maths Smartie Pants Yr5P had fun working out the ratios of different coloured Smarties in a tube. They also worked out the proportion each colour was from the whole tube. As a reward they were allowed to eat the Smarties (after dividing them equally, of course!).
Highclare Preparatory School pupils from Yr5 and Yr6 took to the stage at Resorts World Arena and performed with the world's largest school choir at Young Voices 2020. The atmosphere was electric and the children sang and danced their hearts out. Pupils had the privilege to sing with some incredible artists such as Tony Hadley, The Shires and The Voice UK winner of 2018 Ruti. Urban Strides dance group were a firm favourite with the crowd, making everyone stand (including the audience) and join in with their groovy moves! We had a lot of fun, and the children were amazing. It was a fantastic event inspiring children to discover their love for music and making wonderful memories.
Yr4 Residential to Edgmond Hall During the Yr4 residential to Edgmond Hall, pupils experienced a plethora of craft and activity based challenges, including designing and making Roman Shields, making waterproof shelters, fire lighting, fencing, archery, feeding the animals, zip wiring, sensory walks, blindfold trails and re-enacting of Roman battle formation. Pupils declared it was the best residential ever with most citing the walk by torchlight and birthday cake for breakfast as highlights. It was a pleasure to see pupils returning home safely, brimming with such happy memories.
Language Ambassadors Appointed Selected for their enthusiasm for language, Alisa Dodhia, Eva Whatley, Holly Hardcastle, Amelie Stead and Imogen Hook. have been appointed as Highclare Preparatory School Language Ambassadors. They will help promote languages across the prep school. They are brimming with exciting ideas and it is a pleasure to witness their enthusiasm for languages. This term the Language Ambassadors helped to present an assembly to celebrate St David’s Day, in which a grandparent taught the children some Welsh numbers. They then set a new challenge on their display board for the other children – mental maths in Welsh!
Pupil Voice Yr6P have been looking at rights, needs and wants during their PSHCE lessons. As well as class discussions they also examined whose responsibility it is to ensure that the rights of a child are met.
Wrekin Maths Challenge 2020 Highclare Preparatory School are celebrating fantastic results from the Wrekin Maths Challenge 2020. Highclare Prep entered four teams and competed against over 80 teams from 40 schools. After a filling lunch, the mathematicians took part in three rounds of problem solving that involved teamwork and quick mental recall. Pupils were a credit to the school and completed challenging tasks, showing great maturity and resilience. Our School performed extremely well. Highclare Preparatory School: St Paul’s team 1 came 2nd, Highclare Preparatory School: Woodfield team 1 came 5th, Highclare Preparatory School: Woodfield team 2 came 22nd, Highclare Preparatory School: St Paul’s team 2 came 56th. We are really proud of their achievements.
Yr6 Go Digital
Yr6 were able to let their imagination run wild during a trip to the Apple Store, Birmingham. An opportunity to make film trailers and music, inspiring musicians and directors of the future.
Hold the Front Page! During half term Highclare Preparatory School pupil Arjen was invited to meet the wonderful team at the Sutton Observer Newspaper. Arjen now wants to be a reporter and has already had his first report, which you can read below, featured on the front page. What a fantastic achievement at such a young age! Today I was invited by Charlotte Hart, the editor of the Tamworth Herald, to visit them. I got shown how the editors, sales and all of the other people that worked there do their job. I even got shown where the editor tells all the people which adverts should be used in the newspapers and where the people were filling all the papers. There was such small writing in the papers, and I could barely read it. Then I went where they keep all the newspapers and where they store them. Then I got Nick’s signature (the Sutton reporter) and one of the writers said I look so handsome and her name is Claire. She has good taste! One of the people that worked there was going to meet Prince Charles. She was very excited when she told me. I was given a copy of the first newspaper of The Tamworth Herald. I told my mummy it was the original one, but she said no, it was a copy!
British Science Week 2020
To help celebrate British Science Week 2020 pupils at Highclare Preparatory School have taken part in lots of fun activities. Engineer Mr Griffiths spoke to Yr3 and Yr4 about exhaust system designs on cars and the noises made. Yr5 created parachutes and Reception and PrePrep learnt about animal habitats.
The Wildest Show at Highclare Prep This term KS2 pupils at Highclare Preparatory School: Woodfield pulled off two barnstorming performances of Ye-Ha. The children captivated and engaged the audience of friends and family from the first scene right through to the last.
The detailed and intricate set immediately transported everyone watching back to the Wild West and the production captured the freedom and spirit of life in a simpler time through action, dance and witty one-liners. From the unlikely hero Wilbur to the villainous Tex Truman every performer excelled, even our very own Dr Luker played an important role. We are very proud of all the performers and pupils who supported this production. One final note, Snuffit and Rott are available for all your funeral needs…they are dead keen!
A Dream Production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat During the week commencing 10 February parents, grandparents and friends of our Key Stage 2 children at Highclare Preparatory School St. Paul’s were invited to watch an amazing production of the well known favourite Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. It was clear to the audience that all the children involved thoroughly enjoyed taking part in this demanding show which tells the biblical story of Joseph entirely through song. The production, brought to life with stunning scenery and costumes, saw Yr3 and Yr4 children providing excellent support as the choir while Yr5 and Yr6 gave a fantastic portrayal of the characters with some outstanding solo performances from the leads. Well done to all involved! This really was an amazing production all round.
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Senior School News
Big Art Project Station Clock
An Audience with Queen Elizabeth I L4 students travelled to Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire for an audience with Queen Elizabeth I. Queen Elizabeth shared stories about her life and times with the students and invited them to ask questions. She was so impressed with Euan Edwards’ historical knowledge that she knighted him, declaring him to be Sir Euan of Lichfield! A number of other students also impressed Elizabeth with their questions and answers and she graciously gave season passes to Isobel Budden, Isabelle Quartermain, Peter Iriabe and Euan Edwards. The passes will allow these students to visit Tutbury Castle with their families for the rest of the year free of charge. The remainder of the afternoon was spent exploring the scenic castle ruins and taking full advantage of having the castle all to ourselves. The visit was both informative and enjoyable and the students returned to school slightly muddy but with great memories and historical knowledge.
Autumn Term 2019 Music Examination Results
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Congratulations to the following students on fantastic results received at the start of the spring term! ABRSM Sophia Jamil Isabel Masaun Nellie Gwaza Rhaina Madzinga Matthew Foletti Tim Pan Cameron Tuck Sarah Howe Josh Cahm Grace O’Connor
Grade 1 Piano Grade 4 Voice Grade 2 Voice Grade 2 Voice Grade 2 Voice Grade 2 Violin Grade 2 Alto Saxophone Grade 2 Flute Grade 5 Theory Grade 5 Theory
Trinity Ruvarashe Madzinga
Grade 1 Violin
Rockschool Aditya Gosavi Grade 2 Drums Kian Bhanabhai Grade 2 Acoustic Guitar Ethan Thorpe-Brown Grade 3 Electric Guitar
Merit Distinction
Distinction Merit Distinction Merit
Highclare Senior School pupils were thrilled to be invited to take part in the Big Art Project Station Clock. Susan Phillipsz, A ‘sculptor in sound’ and winner of the Turner Prize 2010 , has won the commission to make the most ambitious piece of public art in Birmingham’s history, a large scale aural clock that will stand outside the HS2 station. The twelve digits on the clock will represent the twelve tones of the musical scales. Highclare pupils attended a recording studio session based at the Birmingham Conservatoire on the 15 January 2020. Their voices will combine with another 1085 voices from across the Birmingham area to become the chimes of the clock. The voices will sound on the hour every hour and last for between five and twenty five seconds, sounding very low overnight and fuller during the day, culminating in a large chorus at noon.
A Series of Innovative Speakers Linked to Moral and Ethical Viewpoints As part of the Religious Studies GCSE course, the Religious Studies Department at Highclare Senior School arranged for a series of innovative speakers on world issues that are linked to the Moral and Ethical side of the GCSE syllabus. All students are made aware that these viewpoints have a bias and are encouraged to question them about this as part of the development of their own understanding and appreciation of other viewpoints, a necessary part of the Religious Studies course. On Tuesday 3 March guest speaker Dr Philip Bickley from AnimalAid gave a one hour presentation from an ethical viewpoint about the use of animals for experiments. During his presentation he explained to the group which animals are used in experiments, why they are used and why, in his opinion, it is unethical and unnecessary. It certainly gave the group something to think about and encouraged them to reflect on their own values. On Friday 6 March a charity called Solutions Not Sides hosted a one hour workshop to tackle anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim hatred and polarisation in the UK around the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We were lucky to have two special guest speakers explaining their own personal experiences of both sides of the conflict, from Palestine and Israel, in order for students to appreciate a two-sided viewpoint of the conflict. The workshop aimed to focus on possible solutions based on understanding both sides’ narratives in order to shift attitudes away from supporting one side against the other, and towards seeking a solution for the human beings involved.
Distinction Merit
Barrister Versus Solicitor Which profession might suit you best? This subject was one of the areas covered in a recent talk in the Senior School learning centre given by Jag Sarai from the University of Law, Birmingham. He explained pathways into law beyond GCSE, why you might choose law, the main types of law and the areas in which you can specialise. It was an engaging presentation and has hopefully inspired a few of our pupils to take this route.
Ark Club, Promoting the Message of Kindness We are very excited to have started a new club at Highclare Senior School. Ark Club will meet every two weeks and had its inaugural meeting on Wednesday 11 March. ‘Ark’ stands for Acts of Random Kindness. Some of the aims of Ark Club will include encouraging kindness at all times, organising special events to help others or saying thank you to people who deserve recognition. During a positive and productive first meeting it was a pleasure to
discuss lots of exciting ideas for the future including the decision to say thank you to all the teaching staff for their help and hard work. Mrs Johnson was the first to be surprised during assembly. Ark Club wished to say a special thank you to her for all she does to support the staff and students at Highclare. "Thank you to Iqra for donating some very tasty biscuits and we look forward to the next meeting and sharing lots more exciting news." Mr Sneary, Mrs Dawson, Mrs Lightfoot (Heads of House)
L4 Visit to Guru Nanak Gurdwara, Smethwick
Intermediate Mathematical Challenge Results
L4 pupils recently visited Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick, a Sikh place of worship, as part of their learning about this religion. Students learned that Guru Nanak Gurdwara was the first and largest Gurdwara in Europe, opening on 31 July 1961. It is a huge building spanning three floors and a total area of about 70,000 square metres. The Gurdwara also has one of the largest congregations in the UK.
We are pleased to announce the results from the Intermediate Mathematical Challenge which gifted mathematicians at Highclare School entered recently.
The visit began in one of the many worship rooms with a question and answer session followed by a visit to the main worship hall, allowing students the opportunity to absorb the wonderful atmosphere with readings from the Guru Granth Sahib. The trip concluded in the Langar Hall with a delicious vegetarian meal of curry and chapattis, enjoyed by all. During the excursion students learnt many interesting facts about Sikhism from our helpful guide. It was a successful half day trip.
This is a nationally recognised challenge and only the top 40% of students receive a certificate. Gold certificates were awarded to: Hanhong Lin U5 Tim Pan L5 Silver Certificates were awarded to: Isobel Brugger U5 Humza Ali U4
We Will Rock You The Highclare Senior School production of We Will Rock You certainly rocked the school last week as students dazzled audience members with three fist-pumping performances of the hit show. Talented students took to the stage during a spectacular production of this modern musical, full of energetic dance routines, comedic sketches, exhilarating rock songs and beautiful heart-felt moments. Ruby Edmonds and Toby Walton, who played the lead characters Scaramouche and Galileo, rocked the audience as they belted out numbers including Hammer to Fall, Under Pressure, Somebody to Love and many more. The whole cast thoroughly enjoyed performing the show and left our wonderful audience ‘Ga Ga’ as they watched the incredible effort and energy that students brought to each performance. Of course, it would not have been a success without the support of the audience, stage crew, the wonderful band and the staff who volunteered their time to help out. "The talent displayed, and the teamwork and support the cast and backstage crew demonstrated to each other throughout the performances, was inspirational. I congratulate all the students and staff who were involved in making the 2020 Senior School production of We Will Rock You a great success." Dr R Luker, Headmaster
DofE Students Navigate Sutton Park Despite the adverse weather 10 staff, 14 students from L5 and 19 students from U4 braved the elements in Sutton Park to successfully complete a DofE navigation exercise. Students were required to navigate between five manned check points, having planned and prepared their routes during last weekend’s training. They were required to work together to ensure they successfully completed each leg of their journey, and had to answer questions on first aid, emergency procedures and the country code at each check point. The exercise was completed by all groups to varying degrees and has given all students targets to work on before their official practice expeditions in May. Huge thanks as always go to the staff who voluntarily gave up their time to assist with this DofE training session.
Bronze certificates were awarded to: Pranav Ramesh U5 Toby Walton U5 James Pearson L5 Asim Chaudry L5 Hope Stirland L5 Ayisha Iqbal L5 Some of the UK’s top performers in the Intermediate Mathematical Challenge qualify for the annual Kangaroo contest. This
challenge has the aim of promoting mathematics among young people around the world. The name sounds strange, but recognises the fact that the organisation was inspired by the Australian Mathematics Trust. Pupils from more than 50 countries throughout the world take part. We are delighted to announce that Hanhong Lin and Humza Ali qualified to take part in this challenge (Top 5000 in the country). Around 500 of the highest scorers in the UK from year 10 are invited to take part in the Intermediate Mathematical Hamilton Olympiad paper. Tim Pan has qualified to take part in this challenge, an amazing achievement. Well done to all the students who took part. We are extremely proud of their achievements. The scores of the five best performing students from each house were combined for a house competition.
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Senior School House Poetry Competition During the spring term Highclare Senior School English department organised a house poetry competition based on the theme of truth. Staff were very impressed with the high standard of entries and enjoyed reading your poems. Congratulations to the following students: Winner 2nd Place 3rd Place Highly commended: Ruby Newman Harneck Johal Jodie Andrews Ava Johnson Ruby Edmonds Laiba Ehsan
Alice Griffiths Harrison Wilson Fahtima Zaib U4S L4R U4R U4R U4R U4S
U4R Tudor L4S York U4S Tudor Elizabeth Warne Isabel Masaun Robin Malherbe Michelle Mukwende Sophia Jamil Ahmad Khan Lorna Konneh
U3R U4S U3S U3S L4R L4R U3R
Investigating Redevelopment in Birmingham City Centre GCSE Geography students took the short train journey into Birmingham city centre as they investigated the redevelopment of the Jewellery Quarter in preparation for their paper 3 examination. On their return journey they took the opportunity to admire Banksy’s artwork, found near the train station.
Sixth Form Enrichment Fortnight
Extended Project Qualification
Sixth Form students had the opportunity to take part in enrichment fortnight this term including workshops and talks covering topics such as apprenticeships, university life, ace your exams, basic maintenance skills and a visit from representatives of the British Red Cross who covered essential first aid skills.
Once again the U6 EPQ presentations were wonderfully diverse, with staff and students very impressed with the quality of work presented. As part of the EPQ students created a research proposal based on a topic of personal interest and devoted an estimated 90 hours to its production, completing a report of up to 5000 words and delivering a presentation of their findings.
GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition Practical
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U5 pupils taking GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition had to prepare, cook and serve three dishes in three hours to showcase their high level practical skills for their NEA task 2. All pupils worked extremely hard and all achieved what they had planned. The food and nutrition room looked like a mini episode of Masterchef and their teacher was so proud to see what they had achieved.
Students Design Jewellery Using 3D Printer This term U4 pupils have been busy creating unique jewellery designs. As part of their DT lesson students designed their jewellery piece on CAD and printed them using the 3D printer. They then embellished pendants and earrings with enamel, creating products of both high design and high quality.
How High is the Highclare Tower? Senior School L5 maths students have been busy this term consolidating their mathematical knowledge. Taking advantage of their surroundings, students used their trigonometric skills to solve the problem: How high is the Highclare Senior School tower?
As part of her Extended Project Qualification, U6 student Jess designed a lesson on refugees that aimed to encourage empathy and understanding. Year 10 students responded brilliantly to the lesson by creating some thoughtful role-plays to explore some case studies. The EPQ qualification is a great opportunity for students to demonstrate their passion for a particular topic, is a valuable resource for personal statements and provides an excellent preparation for study at undergraduate level. We wish the best of luck to our U6 students who will need to wait until results day to find out their final mark.
Cranedale Residential Continues Despite Storm Ciara A level Geographers started visiting the Cranedale Centre, North Yorkshire back in 2016. This was when the A level Geography examination courses changed, requiring students to complete an individual project based on collection of primary fieldwork data and academic research as part of their final grade. Our annual visit affords our students the opportunity to learn a range of skills in the field and techniques for presentation and analysis. Students are then able to apply these skills to their own preferred area of study either in the local area or further afield. Our current U6 have been engaged in amazing work including the impact of tourism on the built environment in Padstow, a study into sense of place in Moseley, an analysis of carbon stores in vegetation and soils in Sutton Park and research alongside Lichfield District Council into heathland succession management. Our current L6 loved their residential trip. It was somewhat bracing in the aftermath of Storm Ciara but some superb work was achieved. The students are now planning and deciding on their individual chosen areas of study with some exciting ideas emerging!
U3 Explore Elizabethan Theatre The English department was delighted with the creative homework produced by U3 students to share their knowledge about Shakespeare. From Globe Theatre cakes, Shakespeare fact flapjacks, Globe Theatre 3D models (some made out of biscuits), sketches including lights and an amazing portrait of Shakespeare inspired by ‘The Merchant of Venice’ which took Zain 14 hours to create. The English department was truly impressed with pupils understanding and creativity.
Preparatory School Sports Wednesday 15 January 2020 - U11 Football Fixture vs Grace Dieu Manor School
Wednesday 5 February 2020 - ISA Regional
Lost 3-1
Cross Country at Bedstone College Congratulations to all of our runners that took
Thursday 16 January 2020 - U9 Netball
part in the ISA sport cross country at
Fixtures vs Grace Dieu Manor School
Bedstone College
Team A – lost 6-0
Our results were amazing: U11’s boys team
Team A – lost 1-0
1st, U11’s girls team 2nd & an individual 1st
Team B – lost 2-1
for Tiffany & 3rd for Hugh. Congratulations to
Team B – drew 1-1
all of our national finalists.
Team C – won 1-0 Team C – won 2-1
Thursday 6 February 2020 - U8 Tag Rugby vs Hallfield School at Highclare Sports Field
Tuesday 21 January 2020 - ISA U13 Table
U8A lost 8-13
Tennis at St Dominic's Priory School
U8B lost 2-5
Won 1 Lost 3
Tuesday 25 Feb 2020 – U11 A, B and C netball fixture vs Grace Dieu at home
Tuesday 21 January 2020 - U11 Netball
Team A – lost 12-2
Fixtures vs Grace Dieu Manor School
Team B – lost 13-3
Team A - lost 4-0
Team C – drew 7-7
Team B - lost 1-0
Tuesday 28 January 2020 - U11 Netball
Thursday 27 February 2020 – U9 A, B andC
Fixture vs Lichfield Cathedral School
netball fixture vs Grace Dieu at Senior
Team A - lost 3-1
School
Team B - lost 1-0
Team A – lost 14-0 Team B – won 7-6
Tuesday 28 January 2020 - U11 Hockey
Team C – won 1-0
Fixture vs Lichfield Cathedral School Team A - drew 3-3
Friday 28 February 2020 – U11 and U9 girls
Team B - lost 3-1
and boys cross-country at Hallfield Cancelled because of weather
Wednesday 29 January 2020 - U9 and U11 WSAS (Wilson Stuart Active Society)
Monday 2 March 2020 – U11 and U9 girls
Gymnastics at GMAC, Alexander Stadium
and boys cross-country at Twycross
U11 A – 1st on set floor
Boys' team 3rd
U11 A – 3rd on vault
Girls' team 2nd
U11 A – 3rd overall
Overall – 1st
U9 A – 3rd
Tiffany Latham – 1st
Lily Dudley – 1st in set floor
Hugh Mason-Williams – 3rd
Isabella Rutter – 3rd in set floor Tuesday 3 March 2020 – U11 and U9 girls Thursday 30 January 2020 - U8 Football
and boys cross-country at Mayfield
Fixture vs Hallfield School at Hallfield
Cancelled because of weather
School Team A - drew 2-2
Tuesday 10 March 2020 – U10 A and B girls
Team B - won 5-0
netball vs Norfolk House
Team C - lost 2-1
Team A - won 5-4 Team B - lost 6-0
Friday 31 January 2020 - U9 Netball vs Lichfield Cathedral School
Wednesday 11 March 2020 – U8 A and B
U9A won 5-0
girls netball vs Norfolk House
U8A won 1-0
Team A - lost 5-0 Team B - drew 0-0
Friday 31 January 2020 - U9 Hockey Fixture vs Lichfield Cathedral School
Thursday 12 March 2020 – U9 girls and
Team A - drew 1-1
boys cross-country at Grace Dieu
Team B - won 4-3
Boys’ team - 3rd
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Senior School Sports TABLE TENNIS ISA Midlands Table Tennis (January 2020) A huge well done to the table tennis team on becoming ISA Midland Team and Individual champions. The boys were undefeated in the team competition, not conceding a game, displaying a high skill of level and good sportsmanship throughout. The individual competition was a much closer affair. After the group stages, there were a number of very close Highclare vs Highclare matches, in which Rahim Ali managed to emerge as champion, despite being pushed right until the end by Robin
Malherbe and Harry Hope, who earned a well-deserved silver medal. Team Competition Semi-final vs St Dominic’s Priory Won 4 - 0 (all matches won 2-0) Final vs Heathfield Knoll Won 4 - 0 (all matches won 2-0) Individual Competition Rahim Ali – Gold Harry Hope – Silver Robin Malherbe – Semi-finals Zain Bilal – Group stage
Key Stage 3 Birmingham School Games Finals (February 2020) The table tennis team that won the KS3 Sutton Schools games travelled to King’s Heath Boys School for the finals. It was a massive achievement to get there, particularly as our pupils were all in U3. After a tough and busy day, the team eventually placed 4th out of 14 schools, narrowly missing out on a medal by way of a play off. All the boys who played in the qualifying tournament and the finals should be proud of their achievements.
FOOTBALL U18 Football (February 2020) Lost 1-7 vs Lichfield Cathedral School
U12 Football (January 2020) Lost 7-3 vs North Birmingham Academy
BASKETBALL 3 vs 3 Tournament (February 2020) Year 7 Competition It was a fantastic effort by all the U3 boys, who showed strong team work, skills and resilience throughout the tournament. In their first game they battled back from 0-4 down to win; against Bishop Challoner. Great vision was shown to make the right passes and allow baskets to be scored. In the semi-final, the boys had improved greatly and showed great awareness of the half-court rules to win comfortably.
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The final was a tough game, but a much better performance against a tough team. They managed to come back from 10-2 down, through some quick and intelligent shooting, but it
was not quite enough. All the boys had a really enjoyable afternoon and look forward to it next year. Group stage Won 8-4 vs Jewellery Quarter Won 12-2 vs Bishop Challoner Lost 2-6 vs Aston Manor Semi-final Won 12-2 vs Jewellery Quarter Final Lost 8-12 vs Aston Manor Year 8 Competition Throughout the tournament, the L4 boys did really well to come third overall against some really tough opposition, which pushed them to develop and adapt their skills each game. The boys demonstrated strong
passing, movement, rebounds and fantastic work rate, and this helped them get on the scoresheet in all the games. Their third place play off was another tough game, and the boys showed great resilience and took their chances to win a medal, which was really well deserved. Group stage Won 10-2 vs Jewellery Quarter Lost 2-6 vs Bishop Challoner Lost 6-10 vs Aston Manor Semi-final Lost 4-8 vs Aston Manor Third place play-off Won 8-2 vs Jewellery Quarter
INDOOR ATHLETICS Sutton Schools Competition (January 2020) Girls' Competition
Team Results Year 7 138 Arthur Terry 120 Fairfax 100 Plantsbrook 82 John Wilmott 70 Sutton Girls 58 Highclare 52 Bishop Walsh
Year 8 128 124 104 100 76 58 34
Highclare Fairfax Sutton Girls Arthur Terry Plantsbrook Bishop Walsh John Wilmott
Congratulations to the Year 8 girls' team who won their event and were scheduled to go to the Birmingham School Games until its cancellation due to school closures. Boys' Competition Well done to all the boys who took part in a competitive event against tough opposition. There are lots of skills to work on for next time. Both teams placed 6th.
HOCKEY
NETBALL
Sutton Schools Hockey League (March 2020) Boys’ Results Two rounds of the tournament were completed before schools had to close. In this time, the boys team were undefeated, showing superb team work and work rate as well as an increasing skill level. Week 1 Won 1-0 vs Bishop Walsh Won 2-0 vs Fairfax Week 2 Won 3-0 vs Plantsbrook 2 Drew 0-0 vs Plantsbrook 1 Girls’ Results A good start to the league for our combined Year 7 and 8 team for some of whom it was their first experience of competitive hockey. Week 1 Lost 0 - 2 vs Sutton Girls 1 Won 3 - 0 vs Fairfax 2 Drew 1 - 1 vs Bishop Walsh Week 2 Won 3 - 0 vs Fairfax 1 Won 3 - 0 vs Sutton Girls 2 Won 4 - 0 vs Plantsbrook
U13 Netball (January 2020) The U13 team enjoyed a friendly fixture against Lichfield Cathedral School. We had to adapt to an indoor game due to sudden torrential rain. Our girls played well and maintained the lead throughout. The final score was 19-5 to Highclare. Grace Robinson was nominated player of the match by the opposition for her superb and consistent shooting skills. U16 Netball (January 2020) The U16 team played in a closely matched, highly competitive game. Although we did lead throughout, there was only a couple of goals difference between quarters. Our girls then showed great determination in the last quarter to pull away and win 25- 22. Kia Weekes was nominated player of the match by the opposition.
GYMNASTICS
U13 Hockey (March 2020) A team lost 7-4 vs Lichfield Cathedral A B team lost 7-0 vs Lichfield Cathdral B
Unfortunately the ISA Regional and National Competitions were postponed, which was a real disappointment after the girls put in a huge amount of hard work and practice with Mrs de SousaBartlett and Mrs Dudley.
Year 7/8 Indoor Netball League (January 2020) Week 1 Lost 1 - 5 vs Sutton Girls 1 Lost 3 - 4 vs Sutton Girls 2 Won 2 - 0 vs John Willmott Won 2 - 1 vs Bishop Walsh Won 2 - 1 vs Fairfax Week 2 Cancelled Week 3 Lost 1 - 8 vs Sutton Girls 1 Lost 2 - 3 vs Plantsbrook Won 2 - 1 vs Arthur Terry 1 Lost 2 - 3 vs Arthur Terry 2
RUGBY The U15s worked incredibly hard in their lessons and enjoyed a fixture to warm up for the ISA National Competition, which was unfortunately cancelled due to unplayable pitches. The fixture versus Twycross House School was the first competitive game of rugby for most boys and they conducted themselves extremely well during the game and progressed throughout. Lost 40-15 vs Twycross House
Ski Trip 2020 The February 2020 ski trip to Val di Fiemme in the Italian Dolomites was an amazing experience for the thirty-nine pupils.
although it is really fun, it could get very tiring. On the final night we went to a pizzeria where we all enjoyed many slices of delicious, freshly made pizza.
The skiing was extremely enjoyable and there was something for every ability. The ski instructors were very hard working and fun to work with and they helped us improve our skills immensely.
As part of our skiing lessons, we took part in a special slalom race down one of the smaller mountains. There was a prize for the top 3 in each group and it was no surprise that the advanced group had by far the fastest times. With these medals, we were also all given a ski-school diploma and we all received a medal of participation. We all received a special large photo and, because it was Mrs Healey's last trip,she was also presented with some gifts as a thank you.
We were also able to do a range of aprèsski activities. One of these was a night walk in the snow. Our wonderful tour guide, Roberto, led us up the mountain on a very fun walk and we stopped half way and he gave us a talk about the bears that live there before we carried on up the mountain and gazed at the starriest sky we’d ever seen, far away from light pollution. He even let us roll down a slope, which was very enjoyable! There was also a chance to go swimming each night which lots of us thoroughly enjoyed. We also went bowling and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the break from skiing;
This trip was amazing and I would definitely recommend it to anybody who wants to try something new or improve their skiing skills, it was a great experience with something for everybody. Isobel Budden L4S
‘The Big Move’ Celebration Event On Thursday 27 February Highclare School celebrated The Big Move 1995 – 2020, commemorating the 25th Anniversary of The Big Move, when the juniors and seniors relocated from their original Highclare School location on Birmingham Road to the current Abbey site. Alumni, pupil representatives and guests enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of celebrations at the Senior School including the recovery of a time capsule buried at the date of the move, the burying of a new time capsule, an opportunity to view pictures and articles from throughout Highclare history and an afternoon tea served in the refectory. All pupils from Pre-Prep through to Sixth Form celebrated the anniversary through party lunches and celebration cake. Pupils were excited to welcome the Lord Mayor, Councillor Mohammed Azim, to the celebration, Mrs Hanson, Headmistress of Highclare School between 1974-2003 and special guests Mrs Corbett, the granddaughter of Mrs Pullen and Ms Hannah Corbett, great-granddaughter of Mrs Pullen who founded Highclare School in 1932. It was a privilege to welcome the founding family back to Highclare School. Their visit
commenced with a tour of the original site, Highclare College, that their family founded at 241 Birmingham Road (now Highclare Preparatory School : Woodfield) and they then continued to the celebrations held at Highclare Senior School. Dr R Luker led the afternoon’s proceedings, ably assisted by members of staff. It was an opportunity to reflect on how the school has changed over the years, honouring the past and acknowledging the commitment and vision of the staff, governors and parents 25 years ago in taking what was a very bold step. The afternoon was filled with smiles and laughter, old friends reacquainted, reminiscing on past events and making plans to keep in touch. The Senior School corridors were abuzz with stories from the time of the move and with fond recollections of memories prompted by looking at old photos and the contents of the time capsule. We would like to thank everyone who attended the celebration and we look forward to celebrating Founder’s Day and the School’s 90th Anniversary in the near future.
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Well-Being Week Highclare Preparatory School offers an excellent all year round pastoral system building the foundations of educational, emotional and spiritual development from Pre-Prep through to Yr6. At Highclare we aim to create a culture of awareness of mental health needs, with no stigma, and look to promote good mental health within our community whether through PSHE lessons, healthy eating, positions of responsibility and co- and extracurricular activities. Educating the whole person underpins the Highclare ethos and we believe that well-being needs to be worked on as much as physical health, which is why, during the spring term, we dedicated a week of activities to promoting well-being throughout the school. Well-being week 2020 included age appropriate themed daily activities both inside and outside the classroom to promote mental fitness and emotional well-being throughout our school community. ‘Talk to each other’ Tuesday saw our youngest pupils in cygnets take the time out to talk to each other and the Friends of Highclare School hosted a coffee morning for parents in aid of our school charity YoungMinds. Across the school we all made time to talk to each other and soon realised it is the simplest things that make the most difference.
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During the week Yr4 took part in a compliment writing session. Pupils really enjoyed thinking of positive things to write about each other and taking their long list of compliments home. Yr2 thought about all of the things that make them happy and discussed why it is important to make time to do the things they enjoy in order to keep a positive, healthy mind. Yr4 practised mindful meditating in the woodland area where they enjoyed listening to the sounds of the trees and the birds and being ‘in the moment’ and all pupils and staff, Dr Luker included, took part in Wake up Shake up Wednesday and Fitness Friday. Over the week all pupils had the chance to learn more about, reflect on and appreciate the importance of emotional well-being and mental fitness, lessons we put into practice everyday. Highclare has a long history of promoting the importance of well-being. Underpinning all that we do at Highclare Prep is a nurturing and supportive pastoral commitment based on our unshakeable belief that a young person who is happy is much more likely to be an effective learner, and a contented and giving member of our school community – and our society. As a school I believe our outstanding wellbeing initiatives, highlighted during well-being week but taking place every day, raise awareness of the importance of mental health and provide pupils with a ‘toolkit’ to prepare them for the challenges and opportunities of the modern world. Mrs P Bennett, Head of Highclare Preparatory School
Sight Saver Glasses Collection It was a pleasure to welcome John May, part of the Lions Club of Lichfield, into school to present him with our collection of glasses collected through the sight saver campaign. Over 250 pairs of glasses were collected in school. They were then dispatched to Chichester where they are sorted and passed to third world countries. It is wonderful as a school to be able to help such a worthy cause. The charity tackles unnecessary blindness wherever they find it by facilitating around one million free operations, designed to restore lost eyesight. Those helped are then provided with spectacles from our collections. "I really enjoyed my visit. Some of your pupils asked quite astute questions." John May, Lions Club of Lichfield