Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School Newsletter End of Term Summer 2012 Message from the Head What a wonderful end to the academic year! We can now pause from our school lives and reflect over the summer holidays on so many memorable moments over the past 12 months. We look forward to excellent exam results again this August and offer all our leavers, both staff and students, every good wish for the future. We are indebted to so many members of the Vesey Community who have supported us in so many ways to make the ‘Vesey Experience’ so remarkable. All our students are to be applauded for developing the school into such a lively and dynamic place in which we all thrive. Awash with opportunities, we recognise the privileged position we have as members of this school. It is a great pleasure to see so many in our midst who work for the benefit of others and give generously without counting the cost. May you all enjoy a wonderful break this summer and may the sun finally get his hat on!
David Iddon Headteacher
Staff News
Leavers Ball 3 July 2012
We say thanks and farewell this term to colleagues moving on in their careers. Geoff Goode moves to the new Aston University Academy as Curriculum Leader after 7 years as Head of D&T, Outreach Coordinator of our Training School, Teacher i/c VLE, Form Tutor and Goalkeeper of the Staff Football Team. We offer our congratulations on his new appointment and our sincere thanks for his wideranging contributions to the life of the school in and beyond the classroom. Matt Collins moves on to Lichfield Cathedral School as Assistant Headteacher, having served BVGS for 6 years, as Head of Year, Teacher of Geography, Promoter of The Vesey Foundation and organiser of staff football. James Rostron moves to the Wellington International School in Dubai following 5 years at BVGS as Head of Year and Teacher i/c Law as well as teaching Business Studies. Ruth Taylor-Briggs Teacher of Classics has overseen the final year of the teaching of Latin at both GCSE and A Level. An historic and moving moment as we say farewell to both Ruth and the teaching of Latin at BVGS. We acknowledge the contribution of modern linguist Julien Jacquelin who has thrown himself into the life of the school and supported many of our language trips. He moves on to a permanent post in London. We also say thanks and farewell to Mary Aldridge who moves on after one year as our school receptionist. Also with one year’s service are our GTP trainee teachers Victoria Sobczak, Natalie Timmins and Chris Wilkes who leave us with qualified teacher status. We thank all those who move on from our midst, offering them every good wish for the continuation of their careers.
The Class of 2012 signed off in style at the Botanical Gardens in B’ham with a 3 course meal, followed by a disco. In his farewell speech, Head of Sixth Form Dave Goodwin reviewed the year group with good humour and aplomb, marking the passing of a notable group of highly talented young people, destined for great things. We thank them and wish them well for the next stage in their already distinguished careers.
An Evening of Togetherness and Enjoyment
Artsfest 2012 On 28 June, organised exclusively by our Sixth Formers, this annual event proved once again to be a memorable moment in the Vesey calendar with first-rate food and entertainment. Pictured are some of the student entertainers and pictured right is Jenny Cooper who directed, produced and performed in the drama elements with returnee and Founder of Artsfest in 2010, Hannah Smith (right), who is now reading ‘Leadership’ at university. £1287 raised for MS Trust and St John’s Hospice.
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Year 10 Salters’ Institute
Cheryl Taylor, Teacher of Chemistry, was invited to, and attended, the opening of the new laboratories at Aston University’s Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry Department. The prestigious event included a lecture by the Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry , Professor Sir Harry Kroto, a prize he was awarded in 1996 for his discovery of Buckminsterfullerene. The Chemistry Department at BVGS is looking to build on the success of links with other local universities to offer students enrichment opportunities.
Year 8 Sunshine Lecture Year 8 students travelled by train to Birmingham University to see the Sunshine Lecture. The lecture focussed on the impact Science has on Olympic Athlete training programmes. The lecture gave the students the chance to see the Birmingham University campus and it was, for most, their first experience of an academic lecture theatre.
Two Year 10 students applied, and have been offered places, on the prestigious summer residential Chemistry course at Cambridge University. The course will be a wonderful experience as they will meet lecturers and students and they will have the opportunity to use the advanced scientific instruments.
Year 10 Big Maths Quiz On Thursday 14 June, 12 year 10 students took part in the inaugural ‘Big Maths Quiz’ at the University of Birmingham. Accompanied by Head of Maths Viv Green and Tom Williams the 3 teams of 4 students, tackled a number of mathematical challenges, ranging from number puzzles to some particularly tricky mathematical questions based on the Olympics. There was also a lecture on the mathematics of knotting ties, learning about the algebra of knotting a tie and the best of the 85 different possible knots. Our students came away with an impressive haul of prizes. Two of the teams won ‘spot’ prizes for particular individual rounds. Team A came joint third overall and team B came second overall. All of the students thoroughly enjoyed the day and were a credit to the school. Team A: Jack Andrew, Tevraj Aujla, Tom Round, Leo Tsoi, Team B: Robert Huskisson, Matthew McElroy, Sam Simper, Ben Woodford, Team C: David James, Sami Saunders, Umar Siddiqui, Adam Stewart A Question For You To Try Move two matches to reduce the number of small squares from five to four so that all the matches belong to the side of a square.
Junior Maths Challenge results Year 8 students who entered the Challenge were awarded with 17 gold certificates, 35 silver certificates and 34 bronze certificates. Congratulations are to go to Hamza Siddiqui 8B and Mustafa Qureshi 8B who both came equal top of the year with a score of 102.
Year 9 Morocco Expedition July 2012 All the Yr 9 students going on the World Challenge Expedition to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco went to the Long Mynd in Shropshire for a training walk. The walk included various terrains in preparation for the demands of the high Atlas Mountains. Thanks to Martin Lea, James Rostron and parent Paul Davis for helping on the day. Special thanks must go to Deputy Head Bill Potter for his Mountain Leader experience and his many impromptu geography lessons throughout the day!
Our popular student led computer course returns FREE computer courses for over 60s led by our 6th form students will commence on Monday 17 September at Bishop Vesey's Grammar School. Places are limited, so please call Head of Enrichment, Cheryl Taylor on our dedicated booking line; 07527688338 to reserve your place.
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House Music Festival 2012
BVGS Music Department is sponsored by Moseley Violins www.moseleyviolins.co.uk and The Patrons and Friends of Vesey Music
We are grateful to John Clemson, Head of Birmingham Music Service for so kindly joining us as adjudicator at this year’s House Music Festival, which took place on 5 July in Old Big School. Organised by Director of Music Maryann Dye, the festival featured a wide variety of instrumental and vocal items within the various sections of the competition. This platform offers invaluable experience to all our musicians, in particular those beginners who have not played ‘in concert’ before. There were many memorable and indeed highly creditable performances. It is most encouraging to see so many vocal soloists. We look forward to developing more choral ensembles and platforms for voice next term. Winners of this year’s House Music Festival were: Year 7 Solo Instrumental: Philip Reader 7G (violin), Year 7 Solo Voice: Daniel Jolaosho 7G, Year 7 Ensemble: Amarpal Johal 7R and Balamrit Sokhal 7R (Dhol). Year 8 Solo Instrumental: Trevon Scott-Geohaghon 8B (Drums), Year 8 Solo Voice: Josh Bosman 8B, Year 8 Ensemble: Sunil Salh 8R and Isherpreet Singh 8R (Dhol). Year 9 Instrumental: Nicholas Lee 9G (Violin), Year 9 Solo Voice: Reiss Hadley-Morris 9G. The Year 9 Ensemble will take place on a separate date. We look forward to many more musical events in the Vesey calendar during the academic year 2012-13.
Junior World Champion Dan wins The Clive Richards Cup Dan Venables is to be congratulated on being the first winner of this prestigious cup which will be awarded annually for the ‘Outstanding Student of the Year’. Dan as Junior World Champion and a prospect for future Olympics beyond London 2012 thoroughly deserves this magnificent award.
Let's Get Cooking This year Hannah Lockyer and Sam Harper have offered an advanced cookery course for all students who have previously completed the basic skills course. Members of Years 7&8 embarked on more challenging recipes, including homemade burgers with potato wedges and coleslaw. We also made spinach and mushroom lasagne with low fat cheese sauce. The BVGS Cookery Club also provided cookies for this year's Artfest and sought to share their recipes with a wider audience.
Olympic History
Vesey Archers Strike Gold 29 students from Years 7-10 students recently took part in the ancient and Olympic sport of archery at Sutton Coldfield Rugby Club. Budding bowmen were given expert tuition from members of Sutton Coldfield Archery Club under the watchful eye of organiser Julian Whiting and archery club member Pam Maskell. Each day ended with a tournament, and some excellent progression and scores were witnessed as the arrows flew into the targets. Thanks must go SCAC for their time and effort. We hope to expand this opportunity in future years.
The History Department embraced Olympic fever this half term. Years 7&8 had a series of lessons on both the ancient and modern games. Students investigated how ancient athletes prepared for the games, what the events were like and the prizes that were won. They worked in groups to present their vision of the perfect ancient athlete. Following these lessons, students also investigated the skills and discipline required to be successful in the 2012 games. They not only looked at the modern rules and regulations but also at case studies of Sir Steve Redgrave, Sir Chris Hoy and Usain Bolt. Hopefully students will be able to impress friends and family with their knowledge of Olympic history in this unforgettable summer of sport.
Notifications of Absence The mobile number for parents to text to report that their son/ daughter is absent will change to 441212850561 with effect from September 2012
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A Level and GCSE Art Exhibition-June 2012 The annual Art Exhibition was held on the evening of Wednesday 20 June in the Randon Design Centre where we celebrated the achievements of our A2, AS and GCSE students. All the students involved have produced such excellent work during the course of the academic year with the support of Emma Neville, Anne Fitton and Andrea Gregory. For the first time this year, A Level students took responsibility for putting their own work up and made decisions on how it should be displayed. It was great to see these individuals present on the evening and talking about their work.
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BVGS Newsletter Keeping in touch…...Six Years On.
Where are they now?
Philip Murphy
Kaylita Chantiluke
Tariq Khan
Since leaving Vesey in 2006, I went on to study Law at MMU Law School, obtaining a 2:1. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at university (as you would expect!). I decided to stay on in Manchester and undertook my Legal Practice Course at The College of Law. This was both demanding and expensive, but turned out to be worthwhile as I secured a Training Contract at my current firm, Ward Hadaway, in September 2010. I then went on a gap year, flying to Fiji and working my way back via Australasia, South East Asia and India. I am now in my second seat of my two year Training Contract, working in the Commercial Property Team based in the firm's Leeds office. I thoroughly enjoy this and will qualify as a lawyer in September 2013. Outside of work I still enjoy my skiing and football, whilst commuting to Manchester most weekends to spend time with my girlfriend of 6 years (it's getting serious!).
After being School Captain in 2006, I went on to read Medicine at St Peter's College, Oxford. I was nominated as the women's welfare officer for the Junior Common Room and set up a university wide shadowing scheme aimed at widening access to Oxford, which now helps 200 children from schools with a poor record of sending students to Oxbridge. After completing my first 3 years of medical degree I decided to defer the final 3 years to study for a PhD in child psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. Currently in my final year, I have published two articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals, one on brain activation in adolescents with clinical depression and another on brain activation in children with ADHD or Autism during sustained attention. My PhD itself is on the effects of a particular medication called Fluoxetine on brain activation in children with either ADHD or Autism. I recently gave an presentation of my preliminary results at the International Meeting For Autism Research (IMFAR) in Toronto, Canada. I intend to work in a Special Education Needs Centre in China and a Hospital in Israel, before continuing with my medical degree from September 2013.
I left BVGS in 2006, having been Blue House Captain and went on to study Law with Criminology at Keele University. I graduated in 2009 with a 2:1 LLB degree and then decided to continue my education. I studied the Legal Practice Course (LPC) at the College of Law in Birmingham in order to become a solicitor. I currently work as an Investigator with the Legal Ombudsman which involves investigating cases impartially in order to resolve complaints about lawyers. This is a very interesting and exciting job in which my decision-making skills are paramount. I am able to make important decisions and have a great deal of responsibility in making them. I thoroughly enjoy my current role and I hope to develop further in the organisation.
Would I Lie to You? Year 7 students, Daniel Philips and Louis KillBrown organised a ’Would I Lie to You’ event in Big School on 3 July. They made the Powerpoint Presentation, organised the teams of teachers and got 6th Form students involved to help them with the lights and microphones. Pictured above right Joseph Perrin (7 Longmoor) hosted the event, along with School Captain, Kumater Iyol. All together they raised a total of £104 for children with Leukemia. James Rostron tells his tale … true or lie?
BVGS Olympic Champions in B’ham Games! On 29 June 32 students from BVGS competed across 3 sports in the inaugural Birmingham Sports Games with the opening ceremony at Alexander Stadium. Our students competed in table tennis, badminton and indoor rowing. In table tennis we beat Baverstock and Castle Vale. In badminton Vesey’s powered through 4-1 in the semis and won 4-1 in a very close final against Castle Vale with 3 matches going to the ‘next point wins rule’. Star of the indoor rowing was Archie Bunney 9R who helped to take the Vesey team to victory over the 2012 metre course. Overall BVGS came out as Champion School.
Riddle of the Mummy’s Curse Twenty Yr 7s were off timetable on 4 July to investigate the mysterious death of Sihathor as requested by the Director of Antiquities in Egypt. Students took the part of archaeologists from the British Museum. They had to forensically examine the items from the tomb of Sihathor. In the sealed boxes of artefacts they discovered a mummified bone, several papyri fragments, stomach contents, a canopic jar and a necklace missing its jewel. These finds had to be recorded on an identification sheet. They had to translate tricky hieroglyphics to discover the possible cause of Sihathor’s death. Stomach contents were also analysed and were found to discover the highly poisonous Aduki beans. They were provided with a mini lecture on mummification which covered preparing and embalming the body. With all of the information at their disposal the groups were asked to report upon their findings and detail how Sihathor had died. Students produced some excellent work throughout the day and conducted themselves with enthusiasm and commitment. With sincere thanks to Sam Harper and Ruth Hearn for organising this special event which provided a wonderful opportunity for students to test their investigative and problem solving skills.
Foreign Language Spelling Bee Event
On 6 July students attended this event organised by Routes into Languages. 26,000 students from all over the country entered this competition. About 100 students competed in the finals and only 4 reached the grand final in each language. Students had one minute to spell as many words as possible in the foreign language. Sadly our boys did not make the grand final, but their tremendous efforts must be applauded. Students taking part were: Tom Edwards 7PO in French (had come 4th in regional final), Amarpal Johal 7PO and Aran Sandhu 7LO (had come 1st and 2nd in regional final). Let's go one better next year!
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Gold Medal for Champion Steve Midlands Region of the Amateur Swimming Association. Congratulations to Steve Wilson 10W, who recently won gold in the 100m freestyle at the British Gas Midland Age Group Championships at Coventry, making him the 14yrs Age Group Champion in this event. Well done indeed.
Cricket Round-up The 2012 cricket season will unfortunately be memorable for the weather rather than the cricket! More than 50 games were lost to bad weather - certainly unprecedented. Despite this when our school sides did make it to the pitch there were very good performances at all age groups. Yr 7 lost their first two games but then hit form and won 4 consecutive games. Yr 8 had a great victory over Solihull School in the County Cup but then came up against a strong King Henry’s in the next round and ended up short in a run chase. Yr 9 have had a fantastic season, winning 7 out of 8 fixtures. Their only defeat was against Solihull in the quarter final of the Warwickshire Cup by 3 wickets. Yr 10 started to show some good form when the weather relented. They are now in the Birmingham Cup semi-final and are hoping to retain their title which they have held every year at the school. At 1st XI level we had considerable success including an exciting match with Solihull School when we lost by only 7 runs. Mark Page U6 has been the leading bowler in the side, bowling his leg spinners with excellent control. Hussain Siddiqui 10B, who is already in 1st XI, shows great promise for the future.
BVGS U14s batting against the New Dehli touring side 27 June 2012
The 1st XI restricted the visitors from New Delhi to 126 all out, with Mark Page U6 taking 3-20 off 8 overs and Matthew Heller 2-26. Monty Foley Williamson scored 46, leading to a 5 wicket win. The U14s were also successful, scoring 182, with Dan Curwen top scoring with a quick fire 39 and Nat Longhorne making 33. The touring team made a good start and looked on course for victory but quick wickets fell - Callum Bick took 2 and Ahsan Abdullah 3 wickets. Vesey ended up winning by 30 runs for a very successful day and an enjoyable encounter. Mark Page was nominated as man of the match for the senior game and Dan Curwen for the junior game.
Continuing success for Jon Lefevre Jon enjoyed recent success at the EKF National Karate Championships in Sheffield and is now the English National Champion. Following this he was selected for the Wadokai England team who achieved success by winning the Sakagami Cup in Portugal on 18 June. This was an excellent result for Jon competing in the senior male team which meant he was competing against adults aged 17 and over of any weight category. He had five bouts and won them all.
GB International Hockey Player to Coach at Vesey’s BVGS hockey continues to flourish. David Beckett will join the BVGS hockey coaching team this autumn, thanks to the kind and generous sponsorship of Richard Baker OV 1980. David was a member of the Championship winning Berlin team last year in the national German hockey league, learning German en passant! We look forward to drawing on his considerable expertise and experience over the coming season.
Cross Country One of Vesey’s great sports, passed on from the legendary Mike Dann to Ian Maddy, it attracts a select group of faithful runners every year to its famous home course in Sutton Park. The school hosts both the unique Pairs, and the Sutton Park race within the Greater Birmingham Schools’ League. On most Wednesdays there is a triangular league race featuring selective and independent schools in the West Midlands. Current captain Sam Lacey follows a line of well-known runners including Dave Ellis in 1979, School Governor Peter Dines in 1992 and Nick Corker 1995, recent winner of the Great Midlands Fun Run. Races start each Wednesday at 2.30, home and away. Watch out for this year’s exceptional ladies team led by Megan McBrien in the King Henry’s national relay at Coventry’s War Memorial Park. Details from Deputy Headteacher, Bill Potter, Teacher i/c Cross Country
Veseyans RFC are recruiting players to their new U12 (Year 7) team. Feel free to turn up to pre-season ‘taster’ training sessions which start on Sunday 5 August 10.00am - 11.30am. Further information is available from Iain Tatlow (07792 400569) or jrveseyans@aol.com Exciting new developments at The Memorial Ground where expansion is now planned to accommodate the fast growing Junior Section. Many of the BVGS rugby players find additional coaching and weekend matches available through our link club. Former students are the mainstay of the Senior Squad who were League Champions last season. A warm welcome awaits you at Veseyans RFC where significant investment has taken place to offer excellent facilities and hospitality and more improvements are set to take place in this coming year. www.veseyansrfc.co.uk
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Muireann Egan joined the BVGS Modern Languages Department in September 2011 and brought with her experience of rowing at national level. She began her rowing career at the age of 12 at St Michael’s Rowing Club, Limerick, Ireland. rowing competitively in single, double and quadruple sculls around the country in both regional and national events . In 2006 at university she rowed with the National University of Ireland Galway Boat Club and subsequently won gold at the National Irish Championships in July 2006. She has rowed competitively in fours and eights for NUIGBC and competed annually at the Irish Intervarsity Championships. Her 8s crew was invited to represent the university at the Boston International Head of the Charles Regatta USA, racing against prestigious universities such as Harvard, Yale, Brown and Stanford.
Min Egan
Brian Davies is the founder of BVGS Rowing. Indoor Rowing began in 2007 but demand from students to row on open water led to visits to Edgbaston Reservoir to establish a new afternoon Games option. With the help of Birmingham Rowing Club, our students enjoyed outdoor rowing with specialist coaching. An excellent addition to our Games programme but a bit of a trek! Next Brian gained the support of Sutton Coldfield Municipal Charities to fund the purchase of boats for the Sutton Schools Rowing Association which he founded to widen participation to more schools. The new home of Sutton Schools Rowing became Powells Pool. With facilities closer to home, this sporting option has gained further popularity and is now flourishing and expanding. Brian is to be applauded for his inspirational work from inception to where we are today.
Brian Davies
Ian Bousfield, BA in Geography from Lancaster Uni joined us as BVGS Rowing Coach in Sept 2010 and quickly developed this exciting outdoor sport into a major feature of the BVGS sports programme. He has worked separately for the Sutton Schools Rowing Association developing participation across the town. We are delighted that Ian has now gained a place on the GTP teacher training scheme to become a Teacher of Geography to add to his coaching qualifications. Ambitious and determined to take BVGS to the country’s top rowing venues, Ian is the driving force of Vesey Rowing and will take over from Brian Davies as Teacher i/c Rowing from September 2012. His ambition for next season is to coach a Vesey crew to qualification for Henley Regatta 2013.
Ian Bousfield
BVGS Rowing
Regatta Round-up 2011-12 In 2010 we entered Birmingham Regatta, our first ever regatta in the name of BVGS and found ourselves challenged by the experience, with no crews winning any events. This year we have no fewer than 10 event winners at six different regattas. Our J18 coxed 4 won at Evesham Head, J18 single sculler Tom Breithaupt won at Worcester, J16 coxless pair Oliver Higgins and Steven Mapp won at Northampton Head, Gloucester Head and Birmingham Regattas, J15 coxed 4s won at Northampton Head, Birmingham and Stratford Regattas, J15 coxless pair Tom Reershemius and Dylan Thiarya won at Birmingham Regatta and new entrants to the BVGS Rowing Club in Yr 7 Luke Topley and Alex Green won the coxless pair at Stratford Regatta. During the season 2011-12 BVGS was represented at no fewer than 11 regattas across the Midlands. An unfamiliar name in rowing circles, Vesey has now become a name to be reckoned with as our crews gain expertise, experience and above all speed on the water! We are indebted to parents of our young rowers who travel in support of their sons around the regatta circuit
Photos from Stratford Regatta June 2012 Follow BVGS Rowing on
The BVGS Rowing Twitter account is: @BVGSrowing
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The Vesey Foundation We have launched an Appeal amongst members of the Vesey Community to secure £50k to provide a new facility for netball and tennis. We are delighted to report that over £18k has now been pledged but we do need the kind and generous assistance of many more donors to achieve our target figure. Our ambition is to have this facility ready by late autumn 2012, so please help us by giving generously over the coming weeks. We ask that cheques be made payable to ‘The Vesey Foundation’ and sent marked ‘Confidential’ to David Iddon, Headteacher at BVGS, Lichfield Road, Sutton Coldfield B74 2NH.
Together we can make this happen!
Netball and Tennis Appeal
Our new netball and tennis complex will offer a facility for Coaching in games lessons and after school Student led lunchtime charity events Inter-house competitions Inter-school competitions across the Midlands OVA v BVGS events Wider Vesey Community use in the locality
Thank you in advance for helping to maintain the momentum of our school developments