Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School Newsletter Autumn 2013 Message from the Headteacher I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter. It gives an exciting snapshot of the inspiration and excellence that BVGS is offering our young people. I am delighted by the school’s continued academic improvement, as shown by our best ever position in the Sunday Times Parent Power league table of top state schools: 49th. At the same time, we are delivering other important elements of our School Development Plan: from introducing the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme to opening a much needed additional Sixth Form study area, the Hive. Wishing you and your family a happy Christmas holiday season,
Headteacher
Lord Singh of Wimbledon
We were delighted to welcome Old Veseyan, Lord Indarjit Singh of Wimbledon, (far right in the photograph) to speak at our annual Founder’s Day Service. This year’s theme was ‘Social Justice.’ As usual, it was a thoughtful multi-faith service. There was a wide range of music and readings from different faith traditions including the Guru Granth Sahib, the Koran and the Bible as well as prayers and reflections written and read by our students. After his visit to BVGS, Lord Singh devoted his next ‘Thought for the Day’ spot on Radio 4 to talking about his old school: “I found concern for human rights reflected in the very ethos of the school. Respect for different cultures and concern for justice was seen in the many posters on the school walls, including the work of human rights organisations, and moving comments on a visit to Auschwitz… Good academic results are important in schools, but due emphasis should also be placed on ensuring that pupils go out to the world with a sense of responsibility and care and compassion for people of all backgrounds and beliefs. It was encouraging to find my old school weaving this wider view of education into all they do.”
Vesey dominating the airwaves!
This autumn, our outstanding education has been celebrated in the media. For example, BBC Breakfast interviewed Lower Sixth and Year 10 students involved in our pioneering work to promote the Time to Change campaign to end mental health discrimination. Meanwhile, ITV Central News, interviewed our students about their incredibly generous response to our Typhoon Teddies campaign, led by Physics Technician, Julie Wadeson and Charity Captain Anna Robson (pictured bottom right) to send cuddly toys to young children in the Philippines. Our efforts have been welcomed by the Philippines Embassy in London.
Follow us on
The official Bishop Vesey’s Twitter account is @BVGS1527
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Visit by author Sam Hepburn
Sam Hepburn with some of the competition winners from left to right: Jamie Tunstall, Hamza Mahmood, Louis Fellows and Matthew Burrows. We were delighted to welcome to BVGS popular children's writer Sam Hepburn, author of 'Chasing the Dark' . She ran three creative writing workshops for students in Years 7, 8 and 10 and led an assembly for Years 7-9. It was fascinating for us all to hear about the challenges she faced growing up as a young British Sudanese woman in 1960's London. Students had the opportunity to get their books signed by Sam and also participate in competitions, including a short story challenge and a book cover design competition. Well done to our competition winners Erik Brown 7KE, Harry James 7PO, Daanyaal Oddin 7BL, Joe Bardsley 7BL, Matthew Burrows 7PO, Louis Fellows B7R, Hamzah Mahmood 8W and Jamie Tunstall 8R. Well done to all the students involved. Sam specifically commented to staff how impressed she was with the behaviour and commitment of all our students.
'Water, water, everywhere...' 3 October was National Poetry Day, inspired this year by the theme of water. Having read Samuel Taylor Coleridge's narrative poem and 'Five things about the Lake’ written by 16 year old Flora de Falbe, winner of Foyle Young Poets Award 2012, students set about their own water poems. Pictured is Luca Beech performing his poem 'The Sutton Park River'!
Busking Week Once again, we had another excellent Busking Week in the Dining Hall. Well done to all students who played. Pictured are Kar Fung Yip and Ho San Cheng from Year 11. They both played the keyboard with great skill and confidence.
Year 8 Electronics Project
Harry Ayto 8W assembling his model and electronic circuit ready to activate the lights in an exciting creative project led by DT Teacher, Adam Belcher
Under Darkening Skies We are proud to report that the wife of our School Caretaker, Andy Tomlinson, has recently had her first book published. Sara Lee Paterson was born in Exeter and raised in the North East and was soon drawn to Northumberland’s abundance of historic sites and natural beauty. On leaving school she pursued creative professions which included graphic design, film making and acting. In 1992 she travelled to San Francisco and from there backpacked around Australia before returning to the UK via Hawaii and Los Angeles. Her son was born in 1999 and following spells of temping and acting work began to work seriously on a number of novels. The first became a fantasy adventure called, 'Under Darkening Skies'. 'The Opus Charter' Sara’s second novel, is due for release in 2014.
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Black History Month As part of ‘Black History Month’ Pastor Errol Lawson came in to school to talk about his life experiences and the challenges he has overcome. Students were given the opportunity to win a copy of his book - ‘From the Postcard to the Globe’ which tells of overcoming limitations and realising your potential. This was particularly relevant to the Year 10 audience as they embark on GCSE courses. Pastor Lawson was a real inspiration to our students with his message ‘to work hard and persevere - no matter who you are!’ Thanks to Hannah Storey, Head of History for organising this outstanding opportunity.
What is the point of The European Union? Will there be a Referendum of British Membership of the European Union? If so, our Sixth Formers will be well placed to debate this matter, in November, A Level Historians, accompanied by Hannah Storey, Head of History, attended a University of Birmingham for a lecture entitled ‘What is the point of the European Union?’ The lecture was presented by Dr Graham Timmins of the University’s School of Government and Politics and covered the history of European integration (beginning in the late 1920s), the challenges the European Union has, and still faces, and Britain’s responses and attitudes to it. During the session, students participated in a quiz on the modern-day European Union with a Vesey team comprising of Suliman Ali, Tom Cotterill, Ben Knowles and Sam Simper (all L6th), coming first! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the lecture, in particular the question and answer session at the end.
History Trip to University
Remembrance As is customary, the school paused between 10.40am and 11.10am on Monday 11 November to remember all those who have fallen in conflict. Here in school, we have physical signs of the involvement of former Veseyans in war with the World War 1 Memorial Board in Old Big School and the World War II Memorial in Big School. Those former Veseysans have much in common with their modern counterparts. They studied. They took part in the extra-curricular life of the school. They were part of a House. They just happened to have the misfortune to be part of the generation forced to take part in conflict. For example if you look at the Board in Big School, you will see the name of Stanley Browne (pictured below on the front row, second from the right) from Blue House, member of the Rugby 1st XV from 1939-40. He was killed in Italy in June 1944 near Assisi. He was an ordinary young man, a typical Veseyan, cut down in his prime.
Fourteen Y9&10 students (above) travelled to the University of Birmingham with Hannah Storey, Ruth Hearn and Heather Hodkinson. There they heard the living testimony of a Holocaust survivor, Ziggi Shipper and tales of his life in the Ghetto, the fragmentation of his family across Europe and his movement to death camps, including Auschwitz. He was eventually rescued by the British in 1945. He talked of the boys he made friends with and the humanity that was shown by his fellow prisoners. His philosophy of love and tolerance to all of his fellow men was
Target 2.0 Competition The economics Target 2.0 team for the Bank of England are through to the area finals for the third successive year. They qualified by beating Stafford Grammar School, King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, Wolverhampton Girls' High School, Queen Mary’s High School, Newcastle Under Lyme School. The team consists of Lucy Coles (captain) Andy Quach, Dylan Sehra and Kayleigh Reardon. They were praised for the way they handled the questions from the Bank of England team.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. (For the Fallen, Laurence Binyon)
November 2013 Language Ambassadors
Once a week a group of Sixth Formers visit local primary schools to deliver language lessons to a range of year groups (Yr1-Yr5) Mrs Claire Bagnall - Languages Co-ordinator, Banners Gate Primary School said “...I attribute the success of the scheme to a combination of the talent of the linguists at Bishop Vesey and their clear ability to engage with our children as positive young role models ...It is without doubt that the contribution made by Bishop Vesey's Language Ambassadors was instrumental in Banners Gate's recent success in gaining the International Schools Award, and we are very grateful to the Vesey students for the important contribution they made to this accreditation.” Philippa Gleave has chosen Languages Ambassadors as her enrichment option for a second year and says “it is rewarding to see the linguistic abilities of the younger students develop”. Madeleine Comber has enjoyed her first term and says “it’s great to be able to instil our passion for languages”.
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Oxbridge Jamboree
On Tuesday 12 November we held our annual Interview Jamboree for Oxbridge and Medical School Applicants. Once again, the students found it a very useful experience. We are very grateful to all parents and friends of the school, such as Brian Dixon, Vesey Ambassador (pictured above right) who gave up their time to help on this afternoon. If you have experience of interviewing and would like to participate next year please let Sharon Weblin know via s.weblin@bishopveseys.bham.sch.uk.
L6 trip to the University of Birmingham
L-r: Jessica Walton, Kate Crawford, Chris Westwood, Madeleine Comber, Philippa Gleave
Links with Whitehouse Common
We have been delighted to welcome Whitehouse Common Primary School as regular visitors to our school this term. They have been making the most of our excellent CPD Programme for Teachers and outstanding sporting provision for students. The PAC have been very energetic in raising money to improve our ICT provision this term. So far they have raised over £2,000 from the Fashion Show and the Year 7/8 Disco. You can help us further before Christmas by signing up to :
The Lower Sixth visited the University of Birmingham as the final part of their BVGS induction. They received a presentation from a recruitment officer, who spoke about the UCAS process and what universities look for in applicants, and met with a current undergraduate who gave information about university accommodation and finance. Our school offers support to students whichever route they take on leaving school at 18. On 19 November a recent leaver, Mitchell Webb, delivered a presentation to the whole Sixth Form about the Deloitte School Leaver Programme. The Sixth Form Team are here to offer guidance and advice for all students and aim to provide information to assist in the decision making process. If any parent would like to offer their support to our Sixth Form careers advice and guidance, please contact us at j.evetts@bishopveseys.bham.sch.uk.
The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Bronze award has been launched this year to Year 10 who will embark on their training next term, completing a two day training expedition before their assessment expedition in June 2014. Thanks to staff involved in the launch; Martin Lea, Laura Diprose, Helen Pitt and Cara Lawson. Pictured above are Martin Lea, Mr Cluxton (from Birmingham Outdoor Education Centre) and Mr Dave Ellis OV who is Director of Big Strides Expeditions. Dave is pointing to our National Honours in Sport Board, where his name appears three times for between 1977 and 1978, for excellence in athletics and cross country running.
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BVGS Newsletter Charity News
Boys from 7 Bracebridge celebrate raising over £1,100 for the Lepra appeal ‐ an amazing achievement.
Charity Captain Anna Robson and her Officers Kate D’Aubney and Vibhati Bhatia organised a variety of events at school in order to raise £1,500 to sponsor and name a guide dog for the blind. Pictured above is our cute new guide dog Vesey with the Charity Team and Sue Bushell and Madge Nightingale from Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Yr 7 have had a busy term raising money for Lepra through sponsorship by, amongst other things, doing chores at home. Some asked their parents to take sponsorship slips to work to enlist support. They also held a boxercise event in the sports hall to raise money for the charity. Well done to all the boys especially Tawhid Chowdhury 7BL (left) who, single handedly raised over £100
Christmas Jumpers Christmas came early with our special ‘Jumper Day’ to raise money for the Disasters Emergency Committee for the Philippines. It is just one of the many inventive ways that students have dreamt up to raise money for good causes. We have also had ‘Wear a Flag Day’, table-tennis competitions and a very interesting array of facial hair for our annual ‘Movember’ celebrations.
Midlands Air Ambulance Charity Sofia Voutianitis from the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity visited school on Friday 22 November. Despite the bitterly cold weather, members of Year 7 had the opportunity to experience first-hand the work of the charity by examining the Midlands Air Ambulance ‘Helipod’. The Helipod is a mobile aircraft shell built from a decommissioned aircraft. It provides the closest experience to an air ambulance without having the need for one!
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Attain Travel is a proud sponsor of Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School Sports
Vesey Netball is officially launched! This year we have a dynamic squad of players who are keen to develop a good team ethos. They coached by Sam Harper, Head of L6 and Zylpha Clarke, Cover Supervisor. Since winning the Birmingham U18 tournament in October the first team (captained by Mia Pagett) have remained unbeaten and the second team (captained by Amy Shaw and Georgia Whitmore to date) have only lost one game. Players attend a weekly after school fitness session, run by Zak Feaunati, to develop their core strength and stamina. We also have extra training on Friday lunch times in the Sports Hall to focus on match play and team tactics. This term will be rounded up with two final away games against Newcastle-under-Lyme school and King Edwards Five Ways. In the new year we have our Regionals competition on the 25 January at Phoenix School, Telford, Shropshire and will be training hard in anticipation of this new opportunity. For news and fixture details follow us @VeseyNetball on Twitter.
Junior Rugby Tour Pictured right are members of the Year 8 and 9 tour party who visited Scotland over half-term. They were accompanied by Head of Rugby, Zak Feaunati, Julian Whiting and Head of Geography Elliot Godwin. There were excellent reports about the boys' sporting prowess and behaviour on this tour. Bradley Lynch (U6) (right) is currently representing England at the World School Games in Brasilia, Brazil. He came 4th in the 200m and 400m freestyle. However, 4th in the world is not a bad achievement considering he has been struggling for months with a shoulder injury which is still being treated. He was delighted to then win a World Silver Medal in the 4x100m free relay.
Well done also to Hamish Carter (10W), representing England, who has won a team Silver medal for Gymnastics in the World School Games. He also qualified for the Individual Floor final, and narrowly missed a medal position.
Photography: Steve Harlow
On 2 November Rob Huskisson (L6) embarked on the T S Royalist (right) for a week. He assisted in the setting of sails, steering the ship and operating the different lines that controlled the sails. He said “I have gained an immense amount, not just in sailing experience, but in working as a team. Throughout the week I faced challenges in living in confined conditions and climbing the rigging to help set the sails. However, this has shown me that sometimes you need to push yourself to get the most out of life.” After leaving the Topper class where he was sailing by himself, Dan Venables (11B) is now sailing a 29er class boat, a 2 manned youth boat which he sails with his friend and sailing partner Finn. Dan trained hard last winter and competed in a number of events this year culminating in the World championships in Denmark where he finished 63rd out of a fleet of 230 boats from over 20 different countries. To qualify for a place in the GB National Squad for the 29er, Dan took part in the GB national championships at Hayling Island Sailing The boys finished in 7th place out of the 90 boat fleet and finishing 1st U17 by a country mile and qualifying in 5th place for the squad. Dan is currently the youngest team member, gaining a place in the 2013/14 GB National 29er Squad, based at Weymouth.
The U14A Basketball team, entirely coached by L6th students Alfie McBrien and Dilan Ghedia had their first match of the season on 19 November against Hodge Hill School. From the tip-off, Jamaal Simms was straight into the attack driving the ball forward each time he came into possession. He scored a total of 24 points with 14 rebounds. The first half saw Vesey in complete control with Marquez Sinclair scoring a total of 18 points with 8 rebounds. Justin Hurlock was critical to the defence. Performances from Folu Bajomo, Daniel Jolaosho, Jai Walia and James Collins deserve recognition. They scored 16 points between them. Hodge Hill School displayed some resistance scoring in the early stages of the second half. However this had little impact on Vesey’s performance leading to a final score of 64-2.
BVGS Newsletter Cup Success for BVGS
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Birmingham School Winter Games 2014 Four of our sports teams have qualified for the Birmingham School Winter Games on 6 February 2014 at various venues throughout Birmingham. The KS4 Table-Tennis team and KS4 Indoor Rowers have been joined by the Year 7&8 Badminton squad, and the KS3 Basketball squad. The basketball team, captained by Jamaal Simms (9B) won all three of their games in the tournament beating Fairfax (8-0), Arthur Terry (11-2) and John Wilmott(104). We are also hopeful that the Year 9&10 Badminton squad and Indoor Athletics squads at Year 7&8 will also qualify for the Games.
Here is a photo of our triumphant U15A Rugby Team after their emphatic 69-10 win away at Ellesmere in the Fifth Round of the NatWest Cup. We will be following their progress with interest. Can they get to Twickenham in 2014?
Table Tennis News Lynn Penny is proud to report some excellent performances in table tennis. Well done to the U16 Team, Luke Berembaum, Kelvin Li, Kyron Morgan and Luke Bennett for winning the recent tournament!
Old Veseyan News
Over the summer, Dominic Robson, Headteacher was corresponding with the widow of one of our Old Veseyans regarding her late husband Robert Holmes(1923-2002) who studied at Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School in the 1930’s. Robert wrote the controversial book, ‘Discovering Shakespeare. A Handbook for Heretics’, which questioned the authorship of the famous plays of William Shakespeare. Thanks to his widow, Jean Holmes, the school has been given copies of ‘Discovering Shakespeare’ for every Lower Sixth English Literature student. Pictured above are Tom Elliman, Alistair Petts, Ruth Haywood (Head of English) and Laura Dyer with their copy of the book.
OVA Annual Dinner We were delighted to see Big School overflowing for the second year running for The Old Veseyan Association (OVA) Annual Dinner on Saturday 28 September 2013. Pictured to the right is Roger Crees, Chairman of The OVA, and the school officer team. Well done to Tom Jones, School Captain who gave an excellent speech on that evening.
Thanks to Vesey alumni Jamie and Luke Kitchen, owners of local company White’s Removals. Not only did they provide the boxes to pack up our ’Typhoon Teddies’ for the Philippines, but they also transported the toys for free to Middlesex to then be transported on to the Philippines courtesy of Forex Cargo UK. The Vesey spirit of generosity is alive and well .
At the recent Golf Society AGM, Jonathon Ratledge was elected Captain for 2014 with John Cooper his vice captain. The OVGS is crying out for new members so if you swing a club and fancy some excellent social golf get in touch with David Williscroft, the Hon. Sec. or Jonathon. Contacts can be obtained from School or the Editor of the O V News (ovanewseditor@hotmail.co.uk)”
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The Vesey Foundation
We know that Bishop Vesey's Grammar School is an outstanding school with outstanding students. But we pride ourselves on providing more than just academic excellence. We call this the ‘Vesey experience’, and you only have to look to our Upper Sixth students to see what I mean. Take Steven Mapp, our Deputy School Captain, who is applying to study Medicine at university: “What really built my confidence as a young Veseyan was sport. One lunchtime Mr Howell spotted my talent for cricket and the next thing I knew I was in the cricket team. Then in October 2010, Mr Davies encouraged me to get involved with rowing (apparently it was because he saw the size of my dad at a parents' evening and thought it would make a good sport for me)! I have loved rowing over the last three years. Mr Bousfield is an excellent coach and the whole sport has a real family feel. I am convinced that without these extra-curricular opportunities - the Vesey Experience - I wouldn't be Deputy School Captain today or applying to study Medicine at university” (Steven Mapp, Deputy School Captain, 2013). The Vesey experience means teaching young people to have challenging and enquiring minds, enabling them to become well-rounded individuals with the breadth of skills and interests that go above and beyond academic excellence, and give them that competitive advantage when applying to University. Our parents, staff and students have come to expect this, and as the Headteacher, I strive to deliver this. However, the funding landscape in which we operate has changed. Like many schools we are facing a reduction in our funding and this presents for us a challenge. As a school, we are working hard to ensure that the Vesey Experience - the thing that makes this school so special to our pupils - is not threatened. But to do this, we need your help. We have already experienced the power that the generosity of our parents, Governors and friends joining together can achieve. On behalf of the students, I would like to thank the 409 families who have already donated this year to the Annual Fund. This money is enabling us to continue to offer such a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities - Music, Drama, Enrichment Activities and Sport - that BVGS offers as part of the Vesey Experience. Without your help we would not have been able to pay for the floodlights on Middle Field, our new Sixth Form Study Area, The Hive, or our new grand piano. The Vesey Experience makes a real difference. Please help us to maintain it with a gift to the Vesey Foundation. Download a form via the school website or e-mail s.weblin@bishopveseys.bham.sch.uk.
Headteacher
Headteacher Dominic Robson meets Year 7 during his daily break time student interviews.
The Hive
This term has seen the opening of our new Sixth Form Study area, The Hive, funded in part by the Annual Fund. It is great to see The Hive being used well for study and enrichment opportunities.
Thank you for your support