Headteacher’s Newsletter
BISHOP VESEY’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL
End of Term Autumn 2009 Message from the Head We can but marvel at all that has been achieved this term and throughout 2009. Our academic profile has been significantly enhanced once again, with BVGS now almost in the TOP 50 state secondary schools. We have continued to provide a distinctive ‘Vesey Experience’ within our school community, harmonised around core aims and values, enabling enthusiasm, enjoyment and excitement to be expressed in abundance. Growth in ‘Mind, Body and Spirit’ is evident in so many interactions across the rich and diverse platform we have created. We look forward to another prosperous year in 2010 and thank all those who continue to support our desire ‘to be the best there can be’ in modern-day education. Exciting times ahead, as 2010 beckons!
Staff and Governor News
History….in the making
We send our best wishes to Maria Hill, whose maternity leave began on 7th Dec and welcome Tony Bennett who joins the D&T Department in Maria’s absence. We say thanks and farewell to Zoe Hardy who joined us in a temporary p/t English post for this term. Following the election on 13 Nov, we welcome Nicholas Round OV, who has been elected as ‘Parent Governor’.
As part of our Community Cohesion programme, members of Yr 8 presented prayers in assemblies from the Islamic and Sikh traditions this half-term. Prayers with English surtitles, assisted access from the whole school community, bringing greater understanding and celebration of the richness of the religious experience amongst our students.
Season’s Greetings to all members of the Vesey Community
Academic Profile We were delighted to see BVGS placed 54th in The Sunday Times Parent Power League Table of the TOP 500 state secondary schools this year, published on 15 Nov (up from 100th in 2008 and from 302nd in 2004). That league table over the past 5 years tells its own story of the outstanding progress BVGS has made in regaining its academic credibility at local and national level. No wonder then that we have already received 330+ external applications for entry to our Sixth Form from prospective New Veseyans, eager to join our vibrant school community.
Organiser Adam Hassouna 8W introducing the special presentation of prayers in Arabic.
David Iddon Headteacher Vesey’s ‘Community Cohesion’. All smiles as Yr9 enjoy their lunchtime break together.
Umair Ishtiyaq 8B, who is learning the Quran by heart, delivering from memory a splendid recitation of ‘Ayat al kursy’ in Arabic. We wish to thank all those ‘Friends of The School’ who contributed to this year’s U6 Interview Jamboree in Big School on 16th Nov, helping to prepare a record number of 36 students for exacting Oxbridge, Medical and Veterinary School interviews.
Mighty Oak for Vesey’s
Parents’ Association This term the PAC has raised funds to provide the new projection facility in Big School. Yr 7-8 Disco raised £540 and the Wine Tasting with Majestic Wines £350. Advance notice: Summer Ball on 15th May and ‘Team Vesey 2010’ joins the Sutton Fun Run on 6th June. Contact Russell Tipson, Chair of the PAC, for details on Tel: 07973 490056 or russtipson@actionheart.com
Head Caretaker and keen horticulturalist, Kevin Wamsley relishes planting an impressive English Oak tree which will overlook Middle Field in years to come. The tree is a gift to the school from Tom Madden OV, who has supported and continues to support a wide variety of developments at BVGS.
Ahmed Razzaq 8W reciting Surah-al-faatiha in Arabic with great confidence.
Amandip Bhamra and Ikam Nijhar 8R presenting Sikh prayers in Punjabi with Tabla Drums.
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The History Boys
Charity Work of 9W The charity ‘Aquabox’ sends water filtration units and humanitarian aid to parts of the world which have been affected by disaster. 9W set themselves a target of raising enough money to purchase an ‘Aqua30 box’, which is capable of generating 33,000 litres of drinking water from the local contaminated water sources - enough drinking water for over 150 people for 110 days! They held a blind auction, a sponsored silence and several staff car washes amongst other things. By September 2009 they had raised the required amount and an Aquabox was purchased. On Thursday 5 November we welcomed into school Phil Bradley (Rotary Club member – Sutton Coldfield Vesey branch) and Mike Barnes (President of Rotary Club - Sutton Coldfield Vesey branch). They kindly brought an Aquabox into school so that the boys could see and learn about what they had purchased. As a specialist Language College, BVGS is proud to support global projects such as Aquabox and will be working closely with the Sutton Coldfield, Vesey branch, Rotary Club in the future.
The Black History Month Competition drew over 50 entries. ‘Best in Year’ winners were: Jamar Knight 7BR and Nathan Wall 8B. Tom Cotterill, Adam Stewart and Tevraj Aujla 8G were awarded ‘Best Group Entry’. Over 15 Highly Commended certificates and prizes were also awarded. On 11 November L6 historians were invited to attend an Aim Higher Masterclass at the University of Birmingham entitled ‘McDonalds, Terror and Freedom’ which investigated the impact of America on global society.
Physics A team of 4 A2 level students, James Mills, James Lau, Tom Mulqueen and Andrew Millichap, travelled to Liverpool University on Saturday 17 th October to take part in the Liverpool Physics Olympics. They did experiments : Bungee Madness, CD Diffraction, Doppler Donkey, Location Cube and Quantum Dots and a theoretical Fermi Quiz. Results were mixed, but overall they finished in the top half of all teams.
Simon James’s Yr 9 groups have been investigating heat loss from houses and have constructed some very detailed model houses to assist them. They were asked to insulate their houses using methods similar to those in real modern houses. The final models included double glazing, cavity wall insulation and real carpets.
Library
We welcomed Mark Walden, the author of the popular H.I.V.E. series to school on 24 November. Reporters Aman Aujla and Alex Ball 9B interviewed Mark for the Year 9 newspaper. A podcast of the interview can be accessed on the school website. Years 7, 8 & 9 and a group of students from The Arthur Terry School attended the H.I.V.E. event. Congratulations to Raumel Bowes, Adam Spinner, Jamar Knight, Navneet Gupta, Danyal Hassan, Jack Bickley, Sami Saunders, Ahmed Razzaq and Oliver Hobin who were presented with signed copies of H.I.V.E. for work they produced in English and Art lessons based on the series.
Year 7 News Yr 7 enjoyed the annual visit and presentation from David Graham on the last Wednesday of term, entitled ‘Natural High’. A fun session with strong moral and social messages, including drugs awareness. 7LO have begun a penfriend exchange with students from a school in Kenya. The exchange, set up by Cheryl Taylor aims to make students more aware of the culture and traditions of an African country. 7LO’s first letters focused on ‘where we live’. The students described Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield to their Kenyan penfriends and sent a collage of all things ‘Birmingham’ including pictures of Ozzy Osbourne, Frank Skinner, Cadbury World, Aston Villa football ground, the German market and Selfridges.
Year 7 students were pleased to receive their free book, courtesy of the national ‘Booked Up’ initiative.
December 2009 Japan Trip Oct 09
From 20-28 October, 8 U6 students were accompanied by Dave Goodwin & Suzi Porter on a cultural visit to Japan. The students visited many important cultural and historical sites including Todaiji temple in Nara, Kinkakuji (the Golden Temple) in Kyoto and the Atomic Bomb Dome and museum in Hiroshima. In addition, the students had the opportunity to try a range of Japanese foods, as well as practising their Japanese. Vesey students also had the opportunity to talk to Japanese high school students, as they were welcomed into the prestigious Ichijo High School in Nara city.
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V Factor 2009 - Children in Need
Well done to all in the BVGS V Factor, especially winner Ravi Rajput 11W. The event raised £547.69 towards our total of £1,469.07.
Yr 8 German Trip to Köln New pitch for Music Concerts!
Rüdi Götschel and his team offered 43 Students from Yr 8 the wonderful opportunity of the delights of the German Markets in Köln, visiting the famous cathedral and enjoying a boat trip on the Rhine, with two nights in the Youth Hostel from 6-8 Dec. Would any BVGS families able to help with hosting German exchange students from 19th-27th March 2010, please contact Rüdi Götschel.
Congratulations to Director of Music, Alison Timms and her team for two inspirational Concerts which enthralled audiences with awesome performances of a wide range of musical genres, including challenging orchestral works by Strauss, Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky and brilliant ‘Solo Spots’ from Josh Hamilton (violin) and Jo Dixon (euphonium). Callum White distinguished himself once again both by his solo items in the Brass section and by his young leadership skills as Director of the Junior Concert Band. With music of that quality, we move ambitiously, but with just cause, for our next concert to a ‘new pitch’ at Adrian Boult Hall in B’ham on Wed. 24th March. The ‘Funky Bishops’ will perform on tour in France in July for which we now seek sponsorship. Please contact Alison Timms or Headteacher, David Iddon, if you are able to assist.
Climbing High! Head of Science, Martin Lea has established an Indoor Rock Climbing group as part of Senior Games. 16 students now climb at the Red Point Centre in B’ham on Wednesday afternoons. They are involved with the NICAS Indoor Climbing Award and many have already completed Level 1.
BVGS Chess is on the move….up! Huge participation levels this year under the new management of Heather Hodkinson and Yuri Khirivskij, who took the U12s to Wolverhampton Grammar School on 13 November for their first matches of the season. It was a very successful day for Leo Tsoi (Captain), Luke Berenbaum, George Bailey, Joe Keenan, Andrew Horkan who all comfortably won their matches with Navneet Gupta narrowly losing his. Wolverhampton GS were great hosts with the boys enjoying a delicious post match tea. The Senior team and U12 team kept King Edward’s School busy on 27 November. Senior captain Edward Hodges and Richard Slater just missed out beating their U6 opponents. Leo Tsoi played at both levels and secured 2 wins. George Bailey played a marathon against his adversary with an intense game lasting 1.5 hours after which he was narrowly defeated. U12 captain Luke Berenbaum played at an outstanding level and drew his match. Sukhraj Ghataore, Ngoh-Hun Lam, Ahmad Takruri, Luca James, Shalen Joshi and Joe Keenan all played very well but were unable to defeat the extremely strong opposition.
Congratulations go to Martyn and James Johnson L6, pictured above, who completed the ‘Belay’ test after only 4 weeks.
Hockey Results 1st XI: after starting with 2 defeats this half-term, the team has produced memorable victories over King Henry’s VIII 1-0 and QMS Walsall 4-2 (hattrick for Tom Homer L6). 2nd XI: inspired by Captain Alex Evans U6 the team has produced a 3-1 win against Warwick and 2-0 over Newcastle-under-Lyme. U15s A team beat Warwick 3-1 and B Team won 4-2. U14s drew 3-3 with KES Camp Hill U15 side in a thrilling match. Midlands Indoor Competition in Wolverhampton 6 Dec: a highly formative experience in a different ‘league’, where our players received favourable comments, as they stepped up to being amongst national and international players, losing 2-3 to Malvern College and 0-3 to Bromsgrove School.
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Cross Country News from Senior Cross Country: 3 runners from the L6 – Kieran Smith, Josh Lacey and Ronan Davis have been the mainstay of the team, having been nearly always in the top dozen finishers. A good group of Year 11 & L6 boys have started running and others help to mark the course which is much appreciated. Kieran finished 5 th in the Greater Birmingham individual race – from over 100 competing – a superb achievement in very muddy conditions. Diary Date: The West Midlands Championship races – all years Saturday 6 February at Perry Park, B’ham. Hamza Iqbal 9R our U14 hockey Goalkeeper and Oliver Wem 7BR who was recently selected for Staffordshire U12 County Cricket.
Cricket Congratulations to Oliver (above), Pardeep Ruprai 8W who has gained a place in the Development of Excellence Squad for Warwickshire U13s and Daniel Betty 8R who has been selected for the Staffordshire U13 squad.
Indoor Rowing A number of boys competed at the British Indoor Rowing Championships at the NIA in November. All students competing set new personal bests for their individual events, with Dave Baxter going sub 7mins for the first time in the 2000m event, and Jasroop Bhogal finishing in equal 12th position with a new Vesey record of 1400m in the 5minute event.
Swimming The school entered the National Schools Relay Competition and swam our heats at Thomas Telford School, winning every race at medley and freestyle. The Junior Team consisted of Bradley Lynch 9W (Capt), Jack Sanders 8B, Steve Wilson 8W and Charlie Payne 7R. the Intermediates: Philip Hewitt 11W (Capt), Alex Gudmunsen 11B, Mohammed Ahmed 10B and Luke Robinson 10G. Seniors: James Youngman ACL (Capt), Adam Kelly L6, Dominic Rickards L6 and James Mills U6. We now go forward to the National Finals in Coventry on Saturday 6 February.
Tennis The Y10 team reached the area finals of the AEGON Tournament after beating Thomas Telford School 5-1. With No 1 player Alex Cole 11G committed to a training camp in La Manga and therefore all players moving up a level, it was always going to be hard to qualify. Andrew Smith 10B, Matthew Gough 11G, Oliver Jupp 11G and Ethan Conrad 10G played well but were beaten by higher ranked players, losing 0-6 to Loughborough who then lost in the final.
Table Tennis
Kelvin Li at a lunchtime practice in the Sports Hall
U16 & U13 teams beat Arthur Terry, Fairfax & John Wilmott in the local round of the schools ETTA competition and went on to represent Sutton Coldfield in the City Finals. A strong Hamstead Hall team knocked out the U16 in a very close match. The U13 were losing semifinalists. Players: U16 Oliver Jupp, Matthew Heller, Alex McAleavy & Robert Cotterill U13 Luke Bennett, Kelvin Li, Ali Mirza & Mohammed Mirza.
U14 hockey match on ‘Middle Field’
Rugby: U15s History….in the making
Salvatore Bella 10R flying down the U15 wing Sadly the 1st XV has lost key U6 players Captain Harry Sharpe and prop-forward Jon Roden, out for the season with injury. Team-mates have rallied round to earn solid results despite those gaps. Stand-out teams this half-term: U15s P17 W13 D1 L3, making fantastic progress in the Daily Mail Cup, now in Round 7 (last 16 of 512 teams). U13A P11 W10 L1 with six successive wins since October: Lawrence Sheriff 38-7, Adams 19-12, King Henry VIII School 46-10, Bablake 55-0, King’s Worcester 32-7 and Nottingham HS 39-0 and U13B P9 W7 L2 with notable wins against King’s Worcester 41-17 and Nottingham HS 24-5.
Published for BVGS by Sharon Weblin, Headteacher’s PA sw@bishopveseys.bham.sch.uk. Printed by Jayne Joyce , BVGS Reprographics.