Headteacher’s Newsletter
BISHOP VESEY’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Half-Term Summer 2010 Message from the Head Another action-packed half-term with the addition of a visit from Ofsted! Staff and students coped extremely well with the additional work generated by the inspection and clearly showed Vesey’s in a very favourable light. We are grateful for the many kind words of support and congratulations we have received from a wide cross-section of the Vesey Community. BVGS is held in such high regard and with such affection by so many who were willing us on to what proved to be a fantastic result. Our ongoing development programme for the school continues as we strive to become one of the top performing schools in the country - our challenge for the next few years. Do enjoy reading about all that has happened over the past six weeks - never a dull moment here at BVGS, thanks to the generous service of so many who give of their time to make it happen.
Staff News
Gala Events Galore!
Congratulations to Senior Leaders Steve Baugh, Bev Gilbert, Ruth Hearn & Matt Phillips whose whole-school effectiveness input has led to promotion to Assistant Headteacher level from 1 April. We say thanks and farewell this half-term to Craig Gubbins, caretaker/painter, and Alison Harvey, Teacher of Languages, who have helped over recent months.
On 29 April the Annual Rugby Dinner at The Ramada Hotel was a great success with 170+ attendees enjoying a wonderful celebration of Vesey Rugby and an excellent ‘Q&A’ session with England Captain Lewis Moody. On 15th May Veseyans descended on The Old School House, Weeford for a memorable ‘May Ball’, so ably organised once again by parent David Jupp and his team of helpers from the PAC. On 18th May the Upper Sixth held their Leavers’ Ball at The Botanical Gardens to which they invited the in-coming Urdu Celebration Evening team of School Officers, who will now embark on work to BVGS Urdu Teacher and former Vesey parent, leave their own legacy of improvements here at BVGS. We Fouzia Syed and Language College Manager are indebted to the U6 who have created a step-change this Matt Phillips organised a celebration evening year, particularly in the area of student participation in the on 19 May during which certificates were pre- functioning of the school. We wish them well for their sented to students who had completed the one forthcoming exams and university careers. year introductory course or who had completed the GCSE Urdu course this year. Pictured below is Fouzia with parents who joined us at the event in support of this thriving language option.
Pictured above, the U6 at the Leavers’ Ball formal dinner and below the L6 in-coming Officer Team for 2010-11.
David Iddon Headteacher Work-related Learning and Enterprise Education at BVGS
Ofsted Inspection April 2010 Our visitors from Ofsted were provided with wide-ranging and up-to-date evidence to support our view that we had made dramatic progress since the last inspection in 2006. Five inspectors over two days trawled through our evidence files, observed lessons, interviewed staff, students, governors and analysed statistics from parent and student questionnaires. And the outcome? BVGS was judged to be:
‘A good school with many outstanding features and with an outstanding Sixth Form.’ Members of Year 10 on 20 May in business wear for their special ‘Global Enterprise Day’.
Deemed ‘Outstanding’ by the Inspection Team: All aspects of the Sixth Form. And across the whole school: Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils. Pupil achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning, Pupils’ Attainment, Development of workplace and other skills that will contribute to economic well-being, Pupil Attendance, Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development and ‘Community Cohesion’. A truly great result with which we can justifiably feel well pleased. Congratulations are due to all members of the Vesey Community for the considerable efforts over recent years. We are delighted with the result and look forward to addressing these relatively few but very important areas for improvement: An even higher percentage of A*/A grades at GCSE More opportunities for student leadership, particularly in Yrs 7-11 With sincere thanks to all who helped to achieve this memorable outcome. Full report on our web-site.
Headteacher’s Newsletter
Page 2
Election Fever hits Big School!
Design & Technology
Policies under pressure, as U6 student representatives of the three main parties take to the stage for a ‘Live Debate’ in front of 300 Sixth Formers, teachers and an Ofsted Inspector!
Examination students have now completed handing in their coursework folders and practical outcomes. Once again, there have been some outstanding efforts with superb outcomes handed in across all the qualifications. The formal launch the ‘Scalextric for Schools Challenge’ will take place sometime in September, so any students who are interested in getting involved with this new venture, are recommended to keep an eye on any notices coming from the D&T Department, or look at the Scalextric 4 Schools area on the VLE.
Year 7 takes a lead in BVGS attendance target
In the BVGS Mock Election the Lib-Dems, led by Taha Lodhi (far right in photo….but not in politics!), came out on top with 36% of the poll. Conservative Mohammed Bilal (left) 24% forced to negotiate a coalition! Labour candidate Ishmael Jabbar 19% remained stranded in the centre! UKIP 9%, Green 6%, Respect 6%. Not quite the national picture which emerged but a great event, a leadership development opportunity and a lesson in politics for all BVGS students involved.
This year BVGS has set itself a challenging attendance target of 97% for Year 7-11. All years are making excellent progress towards this, especially Year 7. Following on from the popularity of the 100% certificates at Main School Prize Giving each year, termly certificates have now been awarded to those students achieving this praiseworthy milestone interim target. 206 students in Yrs 7-11achieved 100% attendance for the Spring Term, and they have received certificates to mark this. Well done to all those gaining a certificate! We hope to see your names come up again when we review the Summer Term performance. The ‘Funky Bishops’ in rehearsal in Big School for the Summer concert on 29 April. They will perform in the Lyon Jazz Festival in early July.
Summer Music 2010
On 29 April we held our first concert in celebration of the wide-ranging cultures and heritages in our school with outstanding performances from students in a range of musical genres and playing a wide collection of instruments from dhol and tabla drums to Irish flute.
Artsfest Evening 1 July 2010
Great Midlands Fun Run
French Exchange 2010
Hannah Smith & Annie Mears L6 are organising an Arts’ Evening on 1 July. All proceeds go towards the Multiple Sclerosis Trust. The evening includes drama, music, dance and an auction. The guest speaker (local artist) Peter Welton will donate one of his own pictures for the auction. There will be a Chinese buffet as part of the ticket price and a bar will be available. There are just 90 tickets available so purchase your tickets from Sue Foster, in BVGS Enrichment Office as soon as possible. Do please support this new, worthwhile venture.
By now all students should have collected ‘Team Vesey’ T-shirts from Deputy Head Dominic Robson’s office for themselves or their families. We expect c100 runners who will be joining this annual fun run as part of our corporate support for this local event. Other local sporting news:
On 1 May our French exchange partners arrived from Dreux for a week long stay, incorporating visits to the Oxford, Warwick Castle and Drayton Manor Park. Our thanks to Jane Broughton for organising the French exchange programme this year.
Phil Barker led Aston Villa’s Ambulant Cerebral Palsy U17s to a creditable 3rd place in the Midlands and North League.
Engineering Education Scheme On 5 May , Phil Griggs, James Chapman, Chris Cantwell, and Tom Gough L6 attended the Engineering Education Scheme celebration day event, accompanied by Simon James. Students have been working on an Engineering project with GKN Driveline, a local engineering firm, as part of their Enrichment course since last September. As part of the event, they had to present their final project to a group of high-profile judges from various branches of engineering, along with visitors and members of the public who came to view what they had been working on. The students had constructed a working side-shaft inspection rig used to inspect a shaft from the new McLaren supercar.
International Chemistry Olympiad Congratulations to Peter Whiting U6 who achieved an impressive Silver Award in the countrywide competition amongst the top 2400 students studying Chemistry A level. Thanks to all U6 students who gave up their time for the very demanding challenge: Joe Clarke, Ryan Felton, Ben Martin, Parris Innis-McKenzie, Abigail Hand & Carys Howell.
Harnessing new technology Moving with the times…….Y9 and Y10 have benefited this year from having the GCSE Chemistry modules in mp3 format so they can now revise on the way to and from school!
May 2010 Vesey Volunteers
Page 3
Professional artist inspires Vesey students Artist John Denaro visited the Art department on 11 February to conduct a workshop with our current Year 10 GCSE students. Throughout an entire day individuals developed a large scale self-portrait using chalk pastel. Inspired by the artist’s work, students successfully employed his techniques and processes with outstanding results. All those who were fortunate enough to be involved in the day found it an extremely beneficial and enjoyable experience. We hope John Denaro will join us again next year.
Students helped marshal the 7 Pools Run on behalf of The Norman Laud Association on Sunday 28 March. James Youngman, Danny Knowles, Onyx Peynado Penny Hodges, Becky Weaver, Ed Heritage and Jay Lal and organiser Pam Maskell.
Yr 10 Global Enterprise Day
Electronic ‘School to Home’ Communication Much more use is being made of our SchoolComms system to communicate with parents/carers by e-mail. We have received very positive feedback on this. For further advice or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Dominic Robson, Deputy Head on dgr@bishopveseys.bham.sch.uk. One recent example of an important message going to all parents is our request for the deposit of a personally named spare inhaler in Reception for sons/daughters who suffers from asthma. Please help us to ensure we have your e-mail address so that we can continue to provide a first-rate service.
Students in Yr 10 enjoyed meeting a range of professionals from the world of business who led a variety of activities, including problem solving, teamwork and communication and, seen above, members of the Royal Navy, who set challenging tasks for our young students.
History Trip to Berlin Easter 2010
40 Yr10 & 11 students (accompanied by Hannah Lockyer, Head of History, Ruth Hearn, Dave Goodwin and Dave Phillips) sampled the history and culture of Berlin during their 4 day trip at the end of last term. Visits were made to the Reichstag, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. A fantastic time was had by all.
Charities - Grand Total so far: £8682.99 Help for Heroes - £438 Cancer Research - 168.51 Cardiomyopathy - £768 RNLI - £221 Prem Baby Unit - £278 Guide Dogs - £181.74 Air Ambulance - £779.58 W-ton Parish Church - £450 St Basils - £100 CRISIS - £530.41 Acorns £104 DEC Haiti £1292.27 Teenage Cancer £692.60 Children in Need £1460.97 Chilean Earthquake - £1092.91 British Heart Foundation - £125
Ricky Bala Shaw U6 raised in the region of £200 by abseiling down Walsall Art Gallery.
Lyon Delegation building educational partnerships with Birmingham BVGS hosted an important delegation from Lyon on 18 May with high-profile delegates from the Académie de Lyon and B’ham Local Authority. Students in Yrs 7-10 took on leadership rôles, giving presentations on ‘Language College status’ and ‘Community Cohesion’ in the Headteacher’s Office and then joined delegates over a business lunch. BVGS is at the forefront of the educational partnership being developed between the two cities.
Headteacher’s Newsletter
Page 4
Cricket
1st XI has made an excellent start to the season: 4 wins out of 5 matches. The highlights being outstanding wins against KES Birmingham and KE VI College Stourbridge. George Findlay 11R has been in great form with the ball and backed this up with an excellent 61 in a well timed run chase against Stourbridge. He was well supported by Jack Robson L6 and Monty Foley Williamson 9W, who saw the team home under pressure. Matt Hill U6 and Andrew Hendry 10W were the men in form against KES Birmingham in another confident run chase. Junaid Qasim, Tom Finn and Daniel Lock have all bowled consistently and taken important wickets. The stand out performance to date is George Findley’s magnificent 7-27 v Princethorpe College, who failed to match Bishop Vesey’s 138 which was built around Will Slattery’s 50. 2nd XI had great wins against Princethorpe College and Bablake. There have been some encouraging individual performances with Luke Finn 11G showing real potential with both bat and ball. A mixed start to the season for U15s with 3 wins and 2 close defeats, losing to Kings Macclesfield on the last ball, beating Bablake with 2 balls to spare, losing to KES Birmingham in the Warwickshire Cup by 1 run and beating Washwood Heath in the Birmingham Cup by 12 runs. Best performance to date v Princethorpe College where the team won by 99runs, with Qasim Yasin claiming the match ball with a hat-trick of wickets. New captain Matthew Heller has been outstanding with both bat and ball, 51no against Princethorpe, 4 not outs in 5 innings. Andrew Smith has also been prolific with the bat with scores of 45 and 44. U14s have narrowly lost on a number of occasions, but had a great win against QMS Walsall with Steven Mapp returning stunning figures of 6-6. Most consistent batsman is James Morgan and Joe Mewis took 4 wickets playing for U15. U13s have had an excellent start winning 5 out of 6 matches. Highlights so far Ed Greenslade’s 7-27 v Princethorpe College. Dan Betty, Will George, Will Sharpe, Jack Andrew and Pardeep Rumprai are all performing well. U12s have finally got off to winning ways against Princethorpe College after 3 competitive defeats. Outstanding contributions from captain Niall Keating 51no and Staffordshire's county opener Ollie Wem 36 against Princethorpe, Keating 5-15 against KES Five Ways and consistent displays from all rounders Ahsan Abdullah and Altaf Qadir.
Rowing: History in the making….. Members of the Senior Boys squad became the first BVGS students to represent the school in an outdoor regatta at Birmingham Rowing Club on Sat 24 April. Two groups of four boys were selected in the novice and beginners categories in the ‘sweep fours’ events. Vesey won two of the three races that they entered, with the one defeat the result of an equipment malfunction. Special mention to Jack Jones who raced in all three of the races. The rest of the Novice Crew were Rhys Jones, David Baxter and Tom Jackson, the beginners Alex Hart, Greg Hodgson and Tom Davies.
Concept 2 Online League: Vesey’s Indoor Rowing teams have again enjoyed great success throughout this year’s competition, which sets teams of 4 and 8 man relays a variety of challenges. Overall, the Vesey ‘Allstars’ won seven medals across four age groups, whilst the Nostars (B-Team) produced some very creditable finishes in the four-man events. Dave Baxter L6 attended a National sculling camp over the Easter holidays. This involved working with elite rowing coaches on technical, physiological and psychological aspects for three days at the National Rowing Centre in Nottingham. Dave benefited greatly from this experience and was earmarked by the coaches as one of the most improved rowers from the weekend, and one to watch in the future.
BVGS Golf Summer 2010 Congratulations to Tom Jones 9B who, on Mon 12 July, will compete in the English U16 Individual Golf Championships having become the U16 Warwickshire Schools’ Champion at Rugby Golf Club on 6 April returning 71 (3 over par) in the Gross Competition. 14 year old Tom is competing 2 years ahead of the competition age limit with a current handicap of 6. He captained the Vesey team with teammates Oliver Jupp 11G and Monty Foley-Williamson 9W who finished 2nd in the Warwickshire Schools Team event. We now can also look forward to the traditional BVGS v OVA Golf Club match.
Outdoor Rowing: Brian Davies launches a new sport for BVGS students, now available from Yr 7 to Seniors
Published for BVGS by Sharon Weblin, Headteacher’s PA sw@bishopveseys.bham.sch.uk. Printed by Jayne Joyce , BVGS Reprographics.