Headteacher’s Newsletter
BISHOP VESEY’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL
End of Term Spring 2010 Message from the Head Climate change? The Vesey daffodils are late this year, following a severe and arduously cold winter but as Spring arrives, here at BVGS we are already planning our next ‘Step Change’ to take us to new levels of achievement! Timely indeed in the light of news that the university entrance climate is about to change. As the cuts in university places begin to bite in and the ‘grades currency’ rises yet again, we are determined to equip our students with the qualifications and personal attributes to combat any change in climate! Watch this space as we ‘spring’ into another gear to take Vesey students to the top educational pathways of their choice.
David Iddon Headteacher
Year 7 students pictured earlier this term, smart and ready to begin the school day, as they journey into 2010 and beyond.
New Rugby Sponsors
We are delighted to announce that Attain Travel has kindly agreed to sponsor our 1st XV Rugby for the next two seasons. Attain Travel offers a first-class service to schools and community groups across the city and beyond. For website details: www.attaintravel.com
Staff News
Academic Profile
Congratulations to D&T Teacher Adam Belcher who came 3rd in a national photography competition this January with his work portraying insects, beating many well renowned wildlife photographers.
Dr Juliet Foster, Schools Liaison Officer of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge addressed an audience from Yr 10 and L6 on 8 March in Old Big School, outlining requirements for entry to Oxbridge and inspiring our students to aspire. She emphasised the need to ensure that two thirds of the personal statement centre around academic interests and subject passion, with one third related to personal attributes, interests, community service and extra-curricular achievements.
‘Champion of Champions’ for 3rd consecutive year!
Headteacher’s Theatre Trip to ‘Medea’ The DJI minibus trip on 23 March to The New Vic in Newcastle-under-Lyme with 10 students and visiting German teachers proved a great success. Tom Paulin’s modern version of Euripides’ tragedy gripped the Vesey theatregoers with one of the most powerful female roles in the history of drama, which explores betrayal and revenge.
Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Chauhdry Rashid, presents awards on 24 March to Year 8 students, Luke Doran, Sam Simper, Kiel Taylor and Kevin George, who represented the school at the Birmingham KS3 Champion of Champions Book Quiz. Team Capt. Sam Simper reports ‘There were six rounds with questions on the KS3 shortlist, books that have been made into films and general knowledge on books for young people. After the first two rounds we were in fourth place. In the next three rounds we achieved the top scores. Going into the final round under pressure, we were feeling confident and won the round by two points. For the third year in succession a team from BVGS had achieved first place. A great morning out with the added success of winning!’ Another record-breaking moment.
Parents’ Association Council
Ssh! say Year 8 in
148 students from BVGS & SCGSG enjoyed the Yr 7 & 8 PAC Disco on 12 March. Many thanks to Vesey parent Anne Troman who donated the refreshments, which helped boost profits to £420.55 for the PAC funds. We now seek support from BVGS parents for the Autumn Term discos. Please contact parent Fiona Tomlinson via The Main School Office with offers of help. PAC Ball 15 May 2010 at Old School House, Weeford: Tickets now on sale from organiser David Jupp for what will be another tremendous evening in the Vesey calendar. david.jupp@btconnect.com Mob: 07803 076197
Charity Sponsored Silence
U12s Greater Birmingham Champions
Special congratulations to Librarians Teresa Smethurst and Alison Ward on this huge ‘three in a row’ achievement!
Yr 8 students have raised money for The Cardiomyopathy Society. Through many activities, most significantly a Sponsored Silence, they have raised a record breaking £768 for this worthwhile charity. The sponsored silence alone raised £608! Their next charity venture will be raising money for The British Heart Foundation.
Encouraging words in the ‘Team Talk’ from U12A Rugby coach Kevin Doughty. His U12A Rugby team ended the season on a high, bringing home the Greater B’ham trophy by beating KES B’ham after extra time in the Final. A great win and an outstanding team effort.
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Vesey’s Got Talent
Class Act Winner Matt Foster U6
Florida Trip
Congratulations to comperes Mohammed Bilal & Ricky Bala-Shaw U6 who orchestrated another memorable talent show on 18 March with support from sound and light experts Stuart Manton & Lewis Wescott U6. Sport Relief will benefit from a massive £1292.27 raised through this event and the simultaneous non-uniform day. Well done to all concerned. A great effort. In Feb half-term students from Yrs 9,10 & 11, accompanied by Cheryl Taylor, Simon James and David Phillips learnt about space travel and astronaut training by visiting Kennedy Space Centre in Orlando Florida, seeing the Saturn V rocket, which took astronauts to the moon during the Apollo missions, the space shuttle launch pads, vehicle assembly building, the lunar rover and even got to touch a piece of moon rock! Students also experienced what it would be like to blast into space in a shuttle launch simulator. While in Florida, they also enjoyed some of the most cutting edge rides and state of the art roller coasters at Orlando’s famous parks which included Seaworld, Magic Kingdom and Universal Studios.
Visit by Dreadlock Alien Poet Dreadlock Alien visited school on the 23 February to work with Year 11. He presented a series of workshops on the topic of ‘Poetry From Other Cultures’ - a key GCSE examination component. Students had a fantastic day recreating dramatic interpretations of the poems, supported by English teachers Kate Steadman and Ed Jopling.
English Year 9 took part in workshops and watched key scenes from the play Romeo and Juliet on the 19 March. Professional actors from the Young Shakespeare Company performed and led rehearsals. Students are studying the play in preparation for a specific and important KS3 assessment. Suzi Porter is organising a poetry writing competition for Year 7 and a creative writing competition for Year 10. Winners will read their pieces as part of the ArtsFest Evening on 1 July. This evening, which has been organised by Hannah Smith L6, will include Bangra drumming, a short drama piece and many more artistic offerings. Tickets for this event will be available shortly.
Sixth Form Enrichment Programme The Sixth Form enrichment drama group has led Masterclasses for Year 7 students during Form Period. The classes, taught by Phil Nowek, Joe Clarke, David Jones, Chris Devey, Sayak Panja and Andrew Millichap were thoroughly enjoyed. Younger students learnt about and practised voice projection, stage combat, facial expressions, role play and improvisation.
Yoga comes to Old Big School
Year 11 students hit 100% in GCSE Chemistry Year 11 students took the CHY3H module in January. 23 students out of the 113 taking separate AQA Chemistry GCSE achieved 100%. Congratulations to students, Head of Science/Chemistry Martin Lea and his team - a fantastic achievement!
Year 7 prepare for Internal Exams Year 7 Boys had a ‘How to revise’ session on Thursday 25 March in preparation for the end of Year exams, to be held on the week beginning 7 June.
BVGS Parent Dr Praveen Kumar, Lead Tutor in Health, Fitness and Sport with Sandwell MBC has kindly started a Yoga Class at Vesey’s on Mondays 16h30-18h00. Please contact Julie King on hr@bishopveseys.bham.sch.uk for further details.
March 2010
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Sutton Schools Debating Competition
Chess
Danny Knowles and Conor Healy of L6 were Runners-up in the Sutton Schools Debating Competition, with excellent performances opposing the motion ‘Successful prisons rehabilitate prisoners’ and then proposing the motion ‘The dog licence should be reinstated’. Both spoke with knowledge and confidence in front of a large audience, which included fellow Sixth Formers, Hannah Lockyer and Headteacher David Iddon. Andrew Mitchell MP has kindly invited all participants to The House of Commons.
Vesey Music goes to Adrian Boult Hall
Pictured above: BVGS Junior Chess team and the trophies they won at recent ‘lightning’ Tournament at KES B’ham. Andrew Horkan, Jamie Hale, Ben Wright (back row), Luca James, Luke Berenbaum (Captain) and Michael Saunders. Chess is flourishing here at BVGS with lunchtime sessions and matches after school on Fridays.
Chairman of Governors, Clive Richards OBE DL playing chess against Luke Berenbaum Yr 7 Chess Captain in a hard-fought lunchtime match which ended in an honourable draw, both beaten by the return to class bell!
L6 Geography Field Trip
‘Gloria’ Concert: BVGS and SCGSG teamed up for a memorable choral and orchestral concert on 24 March, which showcased both schools on a new platform, representative of our increasingly Birmingham wide influence. Our Y7 and Y8 'Banded About' Music ensemble working with local Primary children and the professional saxophone player, Soweto Kinch, attended a performance day at the CBSO centre on 26 March.
At the beginning of March L6 Geographers accompanied by Matt Collins, Sam Harper and Deputy Head Bill Potter travelled to Snowdonia as part of their AS level studies. Students took part in a river study, interviewed tourists and walked through a glaciated valley.
Exchange Trip to Poland February 2010 BVGS students and accompanying staff, Julie Wadeson and Yuri Khirivskij, experienced freezing temperatures during their visit to Puławy in Poland (10- 17 February). Staying with Polish families, students were able to sample day to day life in Poland. Excursions included a trip to ‘Wojciechów’ (the Blacksmith), ice-skating and Kazimierz Dolny where there was an opportunity to take a 'one-horse open sleigh' ride. Time was also spent in Kraków from where there were excursions to Auschwitz and Oscar Schindler’s factory.
Voluntary Work for Sixth Formers
BVGS Allotment
L6 students, James McKenna, Ryan Willis, Harry Checkland, Thomas Maguire-Wright and Rob Woodhead met with other Sixth Formers from across Birmingham to gain a better understanding of voluntary work and careers during the ‘Heard about the Third’ event at The University of Birmingham. Students were given the opportunity to attend workshops delivered by various third sector organisations ranging from Oxfam to smaller grassroots organisations such as Continental Star FC and find out about the way they work and the roles people play in the organisation.
The Environmental Team have gained Bronze Award EcoSchools Status for the school and are developing an allotment on the school site. They have been busy preparing the site and are now looking for donations of seeds or gardening equipment in order to start planting over the Easter holidays. The Team are hoping to supply fresh produce to the canteen and to offer a learning experience to students throughout the school. If you would like to make any donations please contact the team at environment@bishopveseys.bham.sch.uk
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Table Tennis Oliver Jupp (Captain), Matt Heller, Andrew Smith, Alex McAleavy, Rob Cotterill and Hamza Khalid, Will Curwen, Monty Foley-Williamson, Bradley Ross, Cameron Holsey, Arandeep Gill all competed admirably in the North Birmingham Schools’ Table Tennis League at U16 & U14 level v Great Barr, Holte, KES, Hamstead Hall. All acquitted themselves very well. Captain Oliver played exceptionally well and remained undefeated throughout the season.
Silver for Vesey's at The GB Indoor Rowing Championships
Hockey Seniors: 1st XI: P21 W11 L8 D2. The highlight of the season was undoubtedly winning the Warwickshire U18 County Tournament. The final game of the season also demonstrated the spirit and resolve that exists within the side coming from 2-0 down at half time to win 3-2. Special mention to the U6 students who are leaving us: Joseph Tipper, Andrew Cooke, Sam Kelly, Alex Shaw (1st XI Captain) and Alex Evans. We can look forward to next season with optimism and build on some of the good work that is already in place. Juniors: There are some very talented players coming through the ranks in the junior sides. Matthew Heller and Matthew Allen represented the U18 at the Midlands qualifying tournament and both played with conviction. Drew Byrne continues to score consistently for the Yr 9 team, along with Will Backhouse and James Brown. U14 team rounded off their season with a thrilling 7-6 win over Newcastle under Lyme. A fantastic performance especially with some key players missing. Drew Byrne scored a hat trick.
Brian Davies and Elliott Godwin accompanied the 37 boys who took part in individual and team events. Tom Edge 8B a relative newcomer, having only rowed for 6 weeks came 16th out of 175, only one place and 5m separated Daniel Offen 9B and Muzamil Shaikh 9G in the Year 9 Event finishing 18th and 19th respectively, whilst Tom Davies 11W smashed his PB by nearly 100m. 2 silver medals were achieved in the Junior Boys Sprint Relay and the Senior Boys Boatrace. The ‘Year 10 Allstars’ of Jasroop Bhogal, Alex Comfort, Mohammed Ahmed and Darius Paszkowski battled all the way to the finish line with Marlow RC, but were eventually pipped by 1.4seconds. The Senior Boys Boat Race was neck and neck for 20mins, leaving all of those competing and spectating exhausted at the end. The ‘Senior Allstars’ finished 2nd overall out of the 17 competitors, losing to Oakwood Park GS. The Senior Team was made up of Tom Jackson, Dave Baxter, Jack Jones, James Barron, Alex Hart, George Smith 11R, Dan Lock and Rob Russell.
Rugby Round-up ~ End of Season 2009-10 So many memorable moments at both senior and junior level. Stand-out teams this year U16, U15 and U13 showing great promise for Senior Rugby next year, with sponsorship already secured for our 1st XV for the next two seasons from Attain Travel.
BVGS Rugby Dinner with England Captain Lewis Moody Thursday 29 April 7.30pm Ramada Hotel Penns Lane Post-match hospitality in Big School: BVGS Rugby Coaches Zak Feaunati & Steve Hall with Canadian counterparts from The Prince of Wales College, Vancouver, who fielded two teams on 9 March. BVGS victorious in both matches.
Vesey’s 1st XV rising high against the Canadian touring party from Vancouver, winning 31-5.
Tickets £45 (Students £30) from Mary Paul Kodiatt Tel 0121 357 2921 or e-mail: MKodiatt@yahoo.com
Rory Deegan U13 escaping the defensive cover.
Will Sharpe U13 Captain about to convert from the 5m mark
1st XV kicker Tom Cooper L6
U13 7s Squad pictured at Warwick School
Ben Tipson U16 draws his man
Fearless running from U16 Owen Spinner & Tom Elliman U13
Published for BVGS by Sharon Weblin, Headteacher’s PA sw@bishopveseys.bham.sch.uk. Printed by Jayne Joyce , BVGS Reprographics.