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Highclare School
2019 SPRING ISSUE
Welcome to the spring edition of the Headmaster’s Termly Newsletter.
A ‘Century’ of talent In my job I have the privilege of observing all the wonderful learning and development experiences that happen in our settings on a daily basis. You have a glimpse of this amazing activity in the pages of this publication. One aspect to which I would like to pay tribute is the superb music and speech / drama performance activity that I have recently been able to enjoy. You will be amazed to learn that, during three separate events, over four working days, I sat back and was entertained by 104 separate music and speech / drama performances involving 100 of our super-talented pupils; 74 musical performances, 30 speech / drama performances, some solo, some ensemble.
The events I am referring to are: · Highclare Preparatory School: St Paul’s Arts Recital Evening for J3/4 Wednesday 13 March · Highclare Preparatory School: Woodfield Arts Recital Evening for J3/4 Thursday 14 March · Highclare Senior School Performing Arts Recital Evening Monday 18 March It was a combination of solo and ensemble performances that really served to highlight the breadth of talent and the commitment that our student musicians, actors and speakers show to the honing of their skills. It is really satisfying to see so many pupils experience that ‘spark’ of engagement and achievement that music and drama is so good at facilitating. A special thank you to all our music and drama staff, including the teams of music and LAMDA peripatetic teachers, whose dedication makes it all possible. If you are one of the performers, thanks for making a brilliant contribution to the enrichment activity taking place. You are worthy rôle-models. There is so much more going on to look forward to, in other age groups and in different configurations, including a Preparatory School spring music event to be held on Tuesday 9 April at the Senior School. We look forward to extending a warm welcome to you at that event. With best wishes for a restful and peaceful Easter break. Dr R Luker - Headmaster
Preparatory Pupils Success At ISA Cross Country Regionals Highclare Preparatory School enjoyed outstanding success at the Midlands Independent Schools Association Cross Country Championships at Bedstone College. With more than 30 schools competing from across the region, students competed in age-based categories, a fantastic athletic experience including running in woods, fields and through stream crossings. The event is a prelude to the National competition at Rugby School where the top ten runners from each region will compete. All competitors ran on both hard and soft terrains, making the course a great learning and strengthening experience for any future athletes. All of our Preparatory School teams placed top three with the J5/6 Boys team taking first position for their age group. Congratulations!
J3/4 Girls – 3rd Place J3/4 Boys – 2nd Place J5/6 Girls – 2nd place J5/6 Boys – Joint 1st As well as admirable team results we are very proud to announce preparatory pupils achieved outstanding individual successes, with six pupils finishing in a top 10 position and qualifying for the national competition held later in the year. Congratulations to the following pupils; an amazing achievement and we look forward to hearing all about the national competition in due course. William Stead James Marratt Lily Dudley William Hoe Finley Pike Tiffany Latham
Senior School Pupil Places Top 5 At National Championships With the cross country season in full swing, a Senior School pupil has achieved outstanding success by placing top 5 at a recent national championship. Congratulations to Jack Newman on placing first in his age category at the ISA Midlands Cross Country Championships, Bedstone and recently finishing fourth at the National ISA Cross Country Championships held at Rugby School with a time of 12:20. A fantastic achievement by a talented runner.
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Preparatory News
Monday Morning Maths In Pre-Prep
Pre-Preparatory School Art Exhibition
With Spring in the air, Highclare Pre-Preparatory pupils have enjoyed taking their Monday morning maths outside. Recently they were having fun investigating shapes and measuring, using our fantastic woodland scales. Highclare Pre-Preparatory School: St Paul’s wowed fellow pupils, family and friends during a recent impromptu art exhibition. During a topic on babies our Pre-Prep pupils created wonderful artwork using The Cholmondeley Ladies, an early 17th century English oil painting, as inspiration. Pupils concentrated hard and spent time looking closely at the painting which depicts two women seated upright and side by side in bed, each holding a baby. They created their paintings in small stages adding details over time.
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“Our mini artists were very proud to see their artwork displayed in the School Hall and it was a pleasure to see their hard work being enjoyed by the children of the Preparatory School and family alike. We received some lovely comments from members of the Preparatory school and parents and would like to thank everyone for attending our exhibition and Mrs Amiss for her hard work supporting the children during this topic.” Mrs Harris, EYFS coordinator.
Little Red Riding Hood Highclare Pre-Preparatory children and staff were delighted to present Little Red Riding Hood, a Highclare Pre-Preparatory School Swans production, to parents and grandparents this term. In preparation, the children learned the narrative of the story through ‘Talk4Writing’, and songs and musical skills in their music lessons with our specialist music teacher, Miss Broder. The dances were choreographed by our specialist dance teacher, Mrs Florey-Meah. Pupils wowed the audience with their impressive story telling, glorious singing and delightful dancing. The woodcutters in particular demonstrated super acting potential!
Pre-Prep Maths Workshop Reception Class Fly High At RAF Cosford As part of the Reception class learning topic on ‘Transport’, Highclare Preparatory School Reception pupils recently enjoyed an inspiring visit to Cosford Air Museum. On arrival pupils had great fun pretending to be air stewards and air stewardesses and then taking on the rôle of holidaymakers going to America, having to show passports and go through security.
When teaching mathematics, our aim in Early Years Foundation Setting (EYFS) at Highclare Pre-Preparatory School is to lay secure foundations. We want our children to be confident mathematicians who can transfer their knowledge and skills to their everyday lives. During a recent Pre-Prep maths workshop it was explained to parents how the teaching of maths at Highclare Pre-Prep is integrated throughout the day and how children quickly become engaged and interested in solving mathematical problems during planned activities. During our maths workshop parents took part in various activities, including a simple rôle-play to illustrate how morning and afternoon registration can incorporate maths through counting and addition and the sharing of a video of the children, to demonstrate how pre-prep pupils are encouraged to use their problem solving skills during snack time. Thank you so much to the parents who attended and we very much look forward to our next workshop.
After that, pupils enjoyed the opportunity to look at lots of different aeroplanes and tanks. Even Robbie, Highclare Preparatory School: Woodfield class bear, sat on plane wings and tanks. In the afternoon children played games about how planes fly and even sat in a fighter jet. A great time was had by all and class teachers were incredibly proud of the children’s behaviour during this visit.
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Chinese New Year Celebrations
A Snowy End To J1’s Polar Adventures In the first half of the spring term, J1 have enjoyed learning all about Polar exploration during their science topic ‘Polar Adventures’. Throughout the term children have studied how explorers and animals survive the extreme weather conditions found in these regions, including an exciting ice investigation activity. Pupils were put into teams and set the challenge of rescuing a Lego figure trapped inside a block of ice. Various strategies were attempted, such as trying to melt the ice by warming it up or trying to chip away at the ice. Eventually all teams successfully managed to rescue their Lego figure and a crisis was averted! To bring the topic to a snowy end, J1 took a trip to the Snowdome to see if they had what it takes to keep warm during the freezing conditions that the explorers would face. A brrrrrr….illiant day was had by all.
Chinese New Year was celebrated throughout Preparatory School this term. As well as delicious feature lunches provided by our catering partners Wilson Vale, pupils enjoyed learning about Chinese New Year through art, music and drama. The dragon which Reception pupils made was very impressive!
Mother’s Day Celebrations
J2 Recreate Pudding Lane And The Great Fire Of London The Freshwater Theatre Company visited Highclare Preparatory School to inspire J2 children as they began their latest topic, ‘The Great Fire of London’. Using rôle play and props, pupils re-enacted the Great Fire, recreating life in Pudding Lane to experience London in 1666. During art lessons J2 built houses out of boxes and made their own Pudding Lane, which is where the fire started. The children then had great fun setting it up on the playground, kindly helped by our caretaker, and recreating the Great Fire of London by setting the boxes on fire.
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As well as preparing and performing a wonderful Mother’s day assembly, Reception pupils rolled up their sleeves and used their maths and art skills to bake wonderful cupcakes for their mums, a wonderful way to celebrate the female rôle models in our lives.
Eggsellent Visitors Hatch At Highclare Prep J1 were very excited to look after 10 chicks from the Happy Chick Company. The eggs were delivered to the classrooms in an incubator and pupils were fascinated to watch each one hatch. Within a couple of days, they were moved to the brooder box and the children learnt how to care for them, including cleaning out their boxes, feeding them and providing them with water. Lots of cuddles were enjoyed by all and we were very sad to see them leave and return to the farm.
World Book Day Highclare Preparatory School joined thousands of children across the UK to gather and share a story together on World Book Day 2019. It was wonderful to see so many book characters brought to life by both pupils and teachers! Throughout the day pupils welcomed French storyteller Nathalie into their classrooms. Along with a huge array of props and a contagious enthusiasm, Nathalie shared some great French stories with pupils. It was lovely to see the French language brought to life by a native speaker with a clear love of reading.
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Preparatory News
J4 Pre-Prep Puppet Show With A Twist Pre-Prep were treated to a fantastic puppet show with a twist when J4 pupils paid a visit to their classroom.
J5 Science Day: Escape From Highclare Senior School Highclare Senior School welcomed J5 pupils from Highclare Preparatory School to the Science department to delve into senior school life and further ignite the pupils' interest in science.
It was clear to see how much thought and practice J4 had applied to the activity and it was very much appreciated by our Pre-Prep audience. It is always wonderful to see pupils of all ages at Highclare engaging and learning with each other and the wider school community.
Young Voices 2019
In small groups pupils moved between science labs to take part in exciting investigations whilst learning essential skills used in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Pupils could be heard saying how they couldn’t wait to study physics at Highclare Senior School and how they thought chemistry would be their favourite subject!
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Following a quick set up and introduction, our younger pupils thoroughly enjoyed watching as J4 performed the stories of La Bella Durmiente (Sleeping Beauty) and El Hombre de Jengibre (The Gingerbread Man). It was an amazing interactive modern foreign language lesson!
Mothers and Daughters Ballet Workshop
J5 and J6 pupils from Highclare Preparatory School enjoyed a wonderful evening of music and song when they joined over 6000 children at the Genting Arena, Birmingham to take part in Young Voices 2019. This was a fantastic opportunity for pupils and staff to perform a diverse range of songs as one single choir at an international venue. This year the Young Voices choir had the pleasure of sharing a stage with Tony Hadley, Sharlene Hector and Beau Dermott. “Listening to thousands of children, including our very own pupils, singing united, is a magical musical experience. Amazing performances from children and guests and Tony Hadley was pure GOLD!” Miss S Broder, Head of Music, Highclare Preparatory School
‘Well-Being Week’ During February preparatory school pupils took part in an enjoyable week of activities as part of a new initiative, ‘WellBeing Week’. With a themed activity taking place at the beginning and end of each day, both pupils and staff enjoyed the opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of well-being.
On Monday 25th March Highclare Preparatory School held its first Mothers and Daughters ballet workshop as part of this year’s Mother’s Day celebrations. The event was attended by children from both Highclare Preparatory School: St Paul’s and Highclare Preparatory School: Woodfield, ranging in age from Reception to J6.
Highclare Preparatory School French Café
Led by Mrs Florey-Meah, our school ballet teacher, the workshop started with a gentle warm up followed by a run through of a traditional ballet class structure including pliés, battement tendu, glissés and grand battement, followed by a port de bras.
Parents and children at Highclare Preparatory School: St Pauls and Highclare Preparatory School: Woodfield were invited to attend the Highclare French Café to celebrate the launch of the teaching of French for pupils in J3-J6 for the remainder of the year.
Mrs Florey-Meah was so impressed with the group's enthusiasm that they went on to learn a piece of repertoire from the entrance of the swans from Swan Lake. The class ended with everyone using coloured scarves and enjoying free movement.
Families paid their entry in euros and a French cheese raffle was held in aid of Young Minds, our designated school charity this year. Having confirmed their reservation, guests feasted on delicious pâtisserie, children completed a French quiz and enjoyed practising a new song.
“There was a lovely atmosphere throughout the morning and everyone participated fully whilst spending time with their child. It was a wonderful activity. Thank you to all involved.” Mrs Florey-Meah
The cafés were generously supported by both Waitrose and Asda and we would like to thank them for their generous contributions. Merci beaucoup to all families and staff for supporting the event. Highclare Preparatory School raised a wonderful £238 for charity and children are very excited to commence their French lessons.
Inspiring Young Musicians At Highclare Preparatory School J3 and J4 recently enjoyed an inspiring visit to the Symphony Hall, Birmingham to watch young musicians from all over the country perform at the Music for Youth Primary Prom. The concert was absolutely fantastic. Every performance was of an extremely high standard such that it captured their imagination and mesmerised the children throughout. A wide range of genres of music were performed during the day by musicians aged between seven and 21, including Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Quintet, Symphony Orchestra and a boys choir.
A particular highlight for the children occurred when Rachel Leach, the compère of the concert, encouraged the whole audience to participate in an African song and rhythmic sequence that filled the hall. From the smiles and comments received following the trip the concert has definitely inspired budding musicians at Highclare Preparatory School.
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Oh, What A Knight Indeed!
Superb J3 And J4 Arts Recital Evenings J3 and J4 musicians and LAMDA pupils at Highclare Preparatory School staged two superb recital concerts for friends and family this term.
Highclare Preparatory School: St Paul’s outstanding production 2019 was staged in February. J3 to J6 pupils introduced family and friends to Arthur and the knights of the Round Table on Camelot’s craziest quest in a hilarious musical adventure! A castle full of colourful characters joined in the fun, including precocious princesses, a talking dragon – and not forgetting Merlin and his magic mirror, What a Knight, written by Craig Hawes, took Highclare preparatory pupils on the biggest quest of their lives! After lots of lines learnt and songs sung, we can definitely say… “What a Show”. “All in all, it was a fabulous production. The children worked extremely hard on all three performances and their dedication and commitment shone through. As always, we wish to thank parents for attending and supporting the production.” Mrs Bennett, Head of Highclare Preparatory School
Tamworth Castle J5 pupils from Highclare Preparatory School recently enjoyed a trip to Tamworth Castle as part of their history topic. During the visit pupils took part in two workshops, learning about the fighting techniques of the AngloSaxons and how archaeologists dig up evidence from the past.
Both evenings were of a very high standard and provided our performers with a great opportunity to showcase their talent. During the performances there was a huge range of different instruments being played including trombone, euphonium, cello and saxophone. The singers performed superbly, singing a variety of songs including one from Mexico and a tale about a crocodile. One J3 pupil even sang a whole song beautifully in German! The standard of all performances was extremely high from these young performers and thoroughly enjoyed by all. Congratulations to all those who took part.
J4 Investigate Maths Outdoors Highclare Preparatory School J4 pupils stepped outside of the classroom to investigate maths during one of their outdoor lessons. Using what they could find in the playground and the woodland skills area J4 pupils discovered that maths is all around. They created charts and mathematical sculptures, investigated the question ‘Can you create a perfectly symmetrical design using twigs?’ and used their estimation skills to calculate how far they would travel in 10 paces, 50 paces, 100 paces and more. It was an excellent lesson bringing maths to life.
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The Amazing Performance Of Superstan At Highclare Preparatory School: Woodfield to be on stage and perform in front of an audience.
The children were able to explore the castle from the armoury on the ground floor to the top of the turret. There was even chance for the year group to practice their assembly on the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings in the main hall of the castle before leaving. An enjoyable day was had by all involved.
Dogs Trust Visit Highclare Preparatory Pupils
The year’s Highclare Preparatory School: Woodfield production can be described in just one word, AMAZING. The amazing adventures of Superstan to be precise. All the pupils played an important role and they delivered a truly wonderful performance. The level of acting was truly excellent, all of J6 enjoyed a speaking part and all demonstrated the confidence
Well done to J3, J4 and J5 pupils who supported the performance with their wonderful singing with a special mention to the small group of J5 children who took on the remaining acting roles and participated as extras for the citizen scenes. There were plenty of laughs, cheers and groans (at the intentional bad jokes!). The audience on both nights really enjoyed themselves and the staff involved thoroughly enjoyed working with the children to put together this year’s performance. We’re still singing songs from the production now! Congratulations.
J5 Wrekin College Maths Challenge The Dogs Trust Education Team visited pupils at Highclare Preparatory School, educating J3 to J6 children about responsible dog ownership and safety around dogs. J6P and J6W then used this visit as inspiration to write balanced arguments and debate whether dogs are good or bad as pets. We very much enjoyed reading their opinions.
Eight teams of J5 Highclare Preparatory School pupils represented the School in an excellent manner at the Wrekin College Maths Challenge. Working in pairs, the children had a wonderful time as they raced against the clock to complete a series of maths puzzles. 72 teams competed and Highclare Preparatory placed extremely well. We enjoyed celebrating in assembly.
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Senior School News An Audience With Queen Elizabeth I L4 pupils visited Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire during the spring term for a private audience with Queen Elizabeth I. Throughout the day pupils gained a fantastic insight into this historical figure and location, truly bringing the classroom to life. During their meeting, Queen Elizabeth I, was able to tell pupils all about her life and times and answered lots of questions about the events of her reign and how she survived all the threats and challenges that she faced during her lifetime. After a thorough exploration of all corners of the castle, pupils were then invited into the great hall to learn about the history of Tutbury Castle, Jude and Harnekh were even able to handle real swords from hundreds of years ago. L4 returned to school having had a thoroughly enjoyable visit, solidifying their knowledge of this important historical topic
HighC Jazz Band Aim High At Music For Youth Festival
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During March, Highclare HighC Jazz Band attended the Music for Youth Festival in Birmingham and enjoyed a fantastic afternoon performing to an audience of a of senior school students from across Birmingham and well-renowned music mentors. This is the first festival HighC Jazz have attended – and Miss Cassells and Mrs Okeghie were very proud. All musicians aimed high and gave their best efforts despite the unfamiliarity of playing at such an event. The mentor atending the event, on feeding back, believed that the band is a force to be reckoned with, with lots of potential while noting that the size of our ensemble, being one of the smallest at the festival, made for a unique and great little jazz band. The band received constructive feedback too – which can now be implemented to improve and develop further as an ensemble. On returning to school HighC Jazz received the wonderful news that they have been invited to perform at the National Festival! “The Jazz Band did not just turn up and ‘aim high’ on the day, all pupils clearly value music and its importance, and attend weekly rehearsals, giving up their Thursday lunchtimes. To get together with like-minded youngsters, make music, learn new skills, develop self-discipline, and represent their school is a true achievement that they should be proud of!“ Miss Cassells, Head of Music, Senior School
A Delicious Finale To The Duke Of Edinburgh Skills Section Senior School teachers Mrs Smith and Mrs Bate were delighted to be invited to a Saturday showcase luncheon in support of Duke of Edinburgh award participant Issy Bessey. Issy has been attending the Young Waiters Academy at UCB (University College Birmingham) as part of the skills section of her Duke of Edinburgh Award. To complete the course and pass the skills section of the Duke of Edinburgh participants prepare 2 luncheons, one for teachers and one for parents. It looked an amazing experience, the food, service and ambience was of a very high quality and both teachers felt privileged to be asked. Issy was a credit to both her family and Highclare School. Many thanks to Andrew Bisconti, food and beverage lecturer and course leader at UCB who was most welcoming.
What Career Live With U5 U5 pupils enjoyed an insightful visit to the NEC on Friday 1 March to gain a greater understanding into the different career paths available on leaving school. Universities from all over the UK and the USA exhibited, offering advice about entry routes onto their courses and university life. Pupils could also approach employers and ask about the very varied school leaver entry routes into various professions. Russell Group universities were on hand to answer questions as well as companies, including Deloitte, IBM, JCB, NHS, Rolls Royce, Unilever and the armed forces. For those interested in music or gaming, there was a Buskers’ Corner as well as the Creative Hub for those thinking about jobs in advertising, broadcasting, design, marketing and PR. The afternoon offered our pupils the opportunity to understand the different school-leaver options, including apprenticeships, degree apprenticeships and university course options both in the UK and abroad.
A remarkable Recital Evening at Highclare Senior School Students of all ages at Highclare Senior School performed a variety of music, speech and drama items at the spring term's wonderful Performing Arts Recital Evening, a most enjoyable occasion. The programme comprised a broad spectrum of musical styles, including impressive renditions of Bach’s Double Violin Concerto (Harry Mills, accompanied by Miss Minchin and Mr Barber); Ben Bonner’s virtuosic Mohair Mountain rock guitar solo; some wonderful piano solos and duets (Kavarna Spence, Marcus Koasha, Ketii Abebe, Amina Mukhtar, Gracious Kamangira); ‘pop’ covers (Matthew Moring, Nellie Gwaza, Kia Weekes, Rhapsody Choir); Musical Theatre numbers (Emilia Gomm, String Ensemble, Matthew Foletti) and uplifting jazz pieces, courtesy of James Gibson, Elis Jackson, Harry Abbott, Mr Whitham and Mrs Okeghie.
Drama acts ranged from a powerful piece on disability rights from Sixth Formers Jess Bonner and India Dewsbury; a creepy scene from The Woman in Black from the Lower Fifth (Pranav Ramesh, Toby Walton, Kaylah Pedro-Ward, Amani Palmer-Peters); a fabulous opening from the second act of Blood Brothers (Joe De Waele, Joe Walford, Aditya Gosavi) and more spookiness from the U3 and L4 Drama club with Goosebumps scenes. The entertainment didn’t stop there – LAMDA students thrilled the audience with poetry (Nia Eubanks); monologues (Ruby Edmonds, Isabelle Quartermain) and comedy. Students made it seem as though There’s Nothing to It (scene by Ayo Odofin and Jess Bonner, who stepped in at the last minute), when in fact a lot of practice and preparation had gone into all the performances. “This was a marvellous showcase of Highclarian talent, dedication and hard work and all participants should be extremely proud of themselves. Thank you to all students and staff who made it happen.” Miss Cassells, Head of Music, Senior School
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House Poetry Competition Spring 2019 Winners
U4 Students Visit A Hindu Temple as part of their Religious Studies
Students across the Senior School have been busy putting pen to paper following the launch of the Spring 2019 House Poetry Competition.
As part of a series of religious studies trips, U4 visited the Balaji Temple in Tividale, Oldbury as part of their learning about the religion of Hinduism. The Balaji Temple is a Hindu place of worship, built in the style of the most visited Shri Venkateswara Temple in Andhrapradesh in India.
Instigated by the English department the theme for 2018/2019 was ‘change’ and entries received were all of a superb standard. After much deliberation, we would like to congratulate Maariya Hussain, for achieving first place with her wonderful poem which can be found on our website. Congratulations to all winners and highly commended pupils, it is a great achievement. “House competitions are designed to provide pupils with a sense of belonging within the school community and an opportunity to develop skills outside of the classroom. We are very proud of all of the pupils who regularly contribute to our wonderful school community by entering the house competitions with such high standards of work.” Mrs A Moore, Head of Highclare Senior School
House Poetry Competition Spring 2019 Winners 1st: Maariya Hussain, Lancaster 2nd: Eva Robinson, Tudor 3rd: Asim Chaudhry, Tudor
During the trip pupils learnt many interesting facts about Hinduism, including important stories about the different gods they worship. Our guide pointed out the seven faith hills, a different hill for each of the main religions in the world to demonstrate how Hinduism welcomes and acknowledges the importance of all religions. Students then visited the main temple and the various shrines around the temple. A few of our students volunteered to try the sandalwood paste on the chakra of their third eye (directly above the nose – where the soul is believed to reside), learning from our guide that various pastes can be used by the devotees during worship such as sandalwood, turmeric and ash and each has a different purpose. Our guide informed us that the sandalwood paste feels cold to the skin and is comforting in hot countries like India. It was a successful and fascinating visit enjoyed by all.
U5 GCSE Pupils Cook Up A Storm During Final Practical Task Highly Commended Christian Kalavanas Sarah Howe Nanette Moyo Megan Lozneanu Harry Abbott
Joseph Abbott Chelsea Cao Alice Griffiths Davina Bodhani Peter Iriabe Darcie Walsh
Megha Bodhani Lina Bouden Maddie Ealing Malakai Florey-Meah Summer Kang Sophia Jamil
Gifted Highclare Mathematicians Achieve Fantastic Results In National Mathematical Challenge Congratulations to the gifted mathematicians at Highclare Senior School who entered the Intermediate Maths Challenge 2019. A nationally recognised competition, the Mathematical Challenges aim to stimulate mathematical problem solving in students in year 11 and below. Only the top 40% of students receive a certificate. The top 6% receive gold, the next 13% silver and the next 21% bronze. Gold certificates have been awarded to Hanhong Lin, L5 and Tim Pan, U4 placing them in the top 6% of participants! A silver certificate was awarded to Pranav Ramesh, L5 and a bronze certificate was awarded to Kate Stephens, U5. Around 500 of the highest scores in the UK from year 9 (U4) are invited to take part in the Intermediate Mathematical Cayley Olympiad paper. Congratulations go to Tim Pan who has qualified for this challenge, a fantastic achievement. Hanhong Lin also qualified to take part in an additional challenge, the annual Kangaroo contest. Top performers in the Intermediate Maths Challenge join pupils from over 50 countries during this extension to the Intermediate Challenge.We wish both pupils the best of luck. Congratulations go to all the pupils who were awarded certificates.
A crowd gatheried around the Food Technology department at Highclare Senior School, as Highclare U5 GCSE food preparation and nutrition pupils cooked up a storm whilst carrying out their final 3 hour practical task for their NEA Task 2. Having already completed four technical practical dishes that answered a defined task pupils had to then devise a final menu comprising of three dishes they had not served before and that could be completed in three hours. All pupils were well planned and organised with some fantastic food produced completely from scratch including pasta, pastry, curries, bread, meringues and many more dishes of a high skill level. Congratulations to all the pupils for their hard work.
Romeo and Juliet on stage at Highclare Senior School Highclare L5 and U5 students welcomed the Fred Theatre Company into school this week as a complementary session to their GCSE studies on Romeo and Juliet. Six professional actors performed the GCSE text-based production of the play, allowing students to view the text as it should be, on stage. The Fred Theatre Company produces a faithful rendition of the original play, just a little shorter, allowing it to be brought to life within the school day, in our school grounds. The cast concluded the performance with a discussion of the play’s themes, characters, how they approached the production and choices made in rehearsal, with an opportunity for teachers and students to ask questions. It was a wonderful opportunity to solidify the students' knowledge of Romeo and Juliet outside of the classroom.
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Sixth Form School News A Level Othello Lecture Day Mrs Moore and Mr Ghag together with Highclare English Literature Students from L6 and U6 attended an all-day Sixth Form Lecture Day on aspects of Shakespeare’s Othello. The day proved extremely beneficial and there were a series of lectures focusing on: ‘Critical Approaches’, delivered by Andy Haley (Chief Examiner) ‘Dramatic Structure – the Pattern of the Play’ delivered by Dr Pamela Mason ‘The Presentation of Women in the Play’ delivered by Robert Smallwood from the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-uponAvon, and
Sixth Form Enrichment Fortnight Sixth Form Enrichment Fortnight for L6 and U6 students took place at the end of January and once again proved to be a resounding success. A fantastic array of topics were covered over the two week period including an introduction to Higher Education by BCU, guidance on the UCAS applications process, seminars on degree apprenticeships and gap year options. Practical sessions on mindfulness, first aid, maintenance skills and team work were hugely popular with students and delivered tips and techniques that will certainly be utilised in the future. It was a busy fortnight for all students with a plethora of opportunities developing communication, life and leadership skills as well as thought provoking talks focusing on topical subjects.
‘How to Deal with Short Extracts (Close reading of the text)’ by Andy Haley
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“It was delightful to see our students taking copious notes and listening attentively to the speakers. I am sure that attendance at this event will have enhanced their knowledge and understanding of the play and given them some expert advice on how to approach the assessment objectives in their forthcoming examinations.” Mrs Moore
Ace Your Exams With Elevate Education
The First Of The U6 EPQ Presentations Successfully Presented!
Highclare Senior School warmly welcomed Elevate Education back into School during the spring term to deliver a stimulating seminar on Acing Exams.
The EPQ qualification is a great opportunity for students to demonstrate their passion for a particular topic and an ability to work independently over a lengthy period of time. It is therefore a valuable resource for personal statements and interviews and, in its development of mature study skills, it provides an excellent preparation for study at undergraduate level. The process of designing their personal extended project began in the Autumn term of the L6 year, with students creating a research proposal based on a topic of personal interest. Once the research proposal is approved students are expected to independently devote 90 hours to its production, undertaking extensive research, completing a report of up to 5000 words and delivering a presentation of their findings to staff and students. This year’s U6 presentations were wonderfully diverse and included an artefact project based on the experience of writing and recording of a feminist protest song and a history/politics project entitled: was the American withdrawal of troops from Vietnam caused by the US media’s uncensored reporting and its shaping of public opinion? Staff and students have been very impressed with the quality of work presented. We wish the best of luck to our U6 students who will need to wait until results day to find out their final marks. As the U6 complete their EPQ journey, the L6 are progressing well with their projects and busy researching their chosen topics. We look forward to seeing the fruition of more interesting and unique projects that cover varied topics including: the impact of puberty on the performance of female swimmers; the effectiveness of using ketogenic and Atkins diets to control epileptic seizures; the legacy of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; the impact of Industry 4.0 on the manufacturing workforce and an artefact project on refugees.
‘Ace Your Exams’ addresses tangible exam based skills that students can use to direct all of the hard work that they’ve put in throughout the year into results during exam time. During the seminar pupils touched on three main topics: l
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Building on past performance: How to break down past mock exams and work out areas of weakness. Exam preparation: Pupils left the seminar knowing what type of work they need to do and when they need to do it across their revision period. Exam room technique: Techniques for managing stress, how to create succinct answers to questions and advice on the allocation of time to questions based on marks indicated.
Pupils were engaged with the speaker Alex whose confidence and enthusiasm captured pupils’ attention and we look forward to seeing some of the techniques learnt in action.
A Level Geography Residential, Cranedale Independent study skills are invaluable for students as they progress through school on to university or other routes of further education. The independent study element of geography A level is one of the many reasons why geography remains so highly valued as a subject at A level and beyond. Throughout the A level geography course vital skills can be taught to aid independent study and this was the prime focus of our recent A level residential visit to the North Yorkshire coast. Students practised a wide range of skills including sampling techniques, emotional mapping of place using geo-located data, coding of word pictures and analysis of sediment size on the beach. Students were then encouraged to consider how these skills can be transferred to their own individual research projects which compromises 20% of the final A level marks. The results of the fieldwork trip then speak for themselves – confident skilled geographers with a passion to research their own area of interest and achieve the best results they can.
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Spring Fixtures 2019 Netball Friday 25th January – J5, J6 & U3 Netball at Highclare Senior School An excellent afternoon displaying the teamwork between the Preparatory and Senior School. Thursday 7th February – U9 A, B & C Netball v Grace Dieu A Lost 5-2 B Lost 2-1 C Won 2-0 Friday 15th February 2019 – U8’s and U9’s Netball v Lichfield Cathedral School U8’s lost 4-0 U9’s lost 3-0 Monday 11th March 2019 – U11 A & B Netball Team v Hallfield at Highclare Senior School A team lost 6-1 B team lost 6-2 Both games were incredibly close and it was so nice to see the girls taking on all the teaching points we had been working on in lessons. Keep up the hard work girls. Thursday 21st March 2019 – U9A & U9B Netball v Hallfield School A’s Lost 5-0 B’s Lost 6-0 Tuesday 26th March 2019 – U11 & U10 Netball v Lichfield at Highclare Senior School U11’s Won 7-4 U10’s Lost 3-0 Tuesday 2nd April 2019 – U11A, U11B & U11C Netball v Grace Dieu A team Lost 11-1 B team Lost 5-0 C team Lost 6-0
Swimming Saturday 16th March 2019 – J3-6 WSAS Sutton Schools Swimming Gala at Walsall The swim team has been working exceptionally hard in both lessons and at morning swim training. Overall the results reflected the exceptional standard of swimming at Highclare Preparatory School. Huge congratulations 1st overall for the Girls 2nd overall for the Boys 1st overall for the Relays 1st overall for the Gala
Cross Country Wednesday 6th February – J3-6 Cross Country at Bedstone College An outstanding day with many individual and team successes. Team results: • J3/4 Girls 3rd Place • J3/4 Boys 2nd Place • J5/6 Girls 2nd place • J5/6 Boys Joint 1st Top 10’s going to Nationals • William Stead • James Marratt • Lily Dudley • William Hoe • Finley Pike • Tiffany Latham Saturday 2nd March – Hallfield Cross Country Invitational U9 Boys 3rd Overall U11 Girls 2nd Overall U11 Boys 3rd Overall Willam Stead 3rd Yousef Shimal 7th Tiffany Latham 1st Chloe Pike 6th Amelie Leffler 10th Finley Pike 4th William Hoe 6th Heidi Eperjesi 3rd Monday 4th March 2019 – Twycross Cross Country U11 invitational Mixed Overall Winners Boys team 1st Girls team 2nd Will Stead 2nd James Marrett 3rd Hugh Mason-Williams 4th Yousef Shimal 6th Tiffany Latham 2nd Chloe Pike 6th Tuesday 5th March 2019 – Twycross Cross Country U9 invitational Mixed Overall Winners Boys team 2nd Girls team 2nd Lily Dudley 3rd Heidi Eperjesi 9th Finley Pike 3rd William Hoe 8th Thursday 28th February 2019 – U9 A & B Cross Country at Grace Dieu Lily Dudley 3rd Finley Pike 3rd William Hoe 4th Boys Team 2nd
Football
Basketball
Monday 11th March 2019 - Football U11 against Twycross House School U11 A Drew 1-1 U11 B Drew 2-2 U11C Lost 0-2
Thursday 28th February 2019 - Basketball U11 against West House Prep Lost 10-22
Friday 15th February 2019 - Football U9 against Lichfield Cathedral School U10/9A Won 9-0 U10/9B Won 9-1 Thursday 24th January 2019 - Football U9 against Grace Dieu U9A Won 8-1 U9B Won 17-0 U9C Won 11-0 Friday 15th February 2019 - Football U9 against Lichfield Cathedral School U10/9A Won 9-0 U10/9B Won 9-1 Tuesday 26th March - Football U10 & U11 Boys against Lichfield Cathedral School U11 Won 3-1 U10 Won 6-1
Multi-sports Wednesday 13th March 2019 – Multi-sports festival v Dixie Grammar Junior School All of J3 had the opportunity to represent Highclare Preparatory School and participate in a festival of sports revolved around the PE and Games curriculum at Dixie Grammar Junior School.
Tag-Rugby Friday 18th January 2019 - U9 Tag Rugby against Lichfield Cathedral School U9A Won 10-7 U9B Won 8-5 Tuesday 19th March 2019 – ISA U9’s Tag Rugby festival at Stafford Prep HC v St Joseph’s Won 4-2 Pitsford v HC Lost 4-3 Salterford House v HC Won 5-4 Birchfield v HC Lost 3-2 HC v OVC Lost 3-1 Malnhurst v HC Lost 4-3 HC v Crackley Hall Won 6-3 Friday 22nd March 2019 – ISA U11 regional tournament at Princethorpe HC v Stafford prep Won 8-7 HC v Dixie Grammar Won 8-4 Akeley Wood v HC Won 4-9 HC v Crackley Hall Won 10-7 Winners Pool C, P4 W4 D0 L0 12Pts Final: Old Vicarage v HC Lost 8-7 2nd out of 9 overall, RUNNERS UP Please follow @Highclare_Prep on twitter for photos of sports teams, events and more.
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Sports Results January - April 2019 Cross-Country ISA Midlands Cross-Country (Bedstone College, Feb 2019) Another very successful day out in Shropshire at the annual Midlands crosscountry event. All 30 senior school athletes finished the course with a huge congratulations to our two medallists, Jack Newman 1st in the U15 boys and Daniel Hurst 3rd in the U18 boys. Both boys have now qualified to represent the Midlands at the National event on the 31 of March. Individual Results Year 7/8 Girls (2400m) 14th Jodie Andrews 19th Ruby Newman 40th Grace Robinson 51st Ava Johnson 55th Eva Robinson 68th Olivia Harvey 75th Veronica Ansell Team 4th Year 9/10 Girls (3700m) 16th Sophie Smith 27th Kaylah Pedro-Ward 33rd Sashanna Grant 34th Megan Lozneanu 37th Madison Ealing 38th Megha Bodhani 46th Shini Adebayo Team 3rd Year 11-13 Boys (6000m) 3rd Daniel Hurst 14th Piers Robinson 16th Archie Cleaver
Year 7/8 Boys (2400m) 43rd Joshua Andre 44th Archie Moore 59th Harry Hope 78th Amaan Hoq 81st Joseph Abbott 94th Ibraheem Hussein 97th Lewis Smith Team 8th Year 9/10 Boys (4800m) 1st Jack Newman 47th Samuel Harvey 51st Rhys Asphall 52nd Andrew Evans 60th Toby Walton 63rd Harry Abbott Team 6th
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Sports Hall Athletics Year 7/8 Sutton Schools Sports Hall Athletics (Arthur Terry, Jan 2019) Well done to our athletes for some very good individual and team performances in the Sportshall athletics. Year 8 Girls Team: - 5th out of 6 teams Alice Griffiths, Jodie Andrews, Ruby Newman, Lori Welsh, Veronica Ansell, Kitty McCallion-Bowen, Ava Johnson Year 7 Girls Team: - 2nd out of 6 teams Grace Robinson, Eva Robinson, Davina Bodhani, Isabella Haigh, Olivia Harvey, Isobel Budden
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Netball Friendly Year 7/8 Netball v Priory (Highclare Jan 2019) Highclare welcomed Priory School for a friendly fixture. Played 4 quarters with the following scores: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Highclare 7 Highclare 2 Highclare 4 Highclare 2
Overall Highclare 15
Priory 2 Priory 0 Priory 1 Priory 5 Priory 8
U13 Team: Alice Griffiths, Ruby Newman, Lori Welsh, Jodie Andrews, Kitty McCallion-Bowen, Ava Johnson, Eva Robinson, Grace Robinson, Olivia Harvey
Hockey U13 Sutton Schools Hockey League (Wyndley, Mar 2019) Week 1 of the league saw some of the girls and boys playing their first ever competitive hockey matches. Results Girls Won 4 – 0 v Sutton Girls 2 Won 2 – 0 v Fairfax 1
Boys Lost 0 – 6 v Bishop Walsh Drew 1 – 1 v Fairfax
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Sixth Former Wins ISA Athlete of the Month Following the recent launch of the ISA Athlete of the Month initiative, we knew it wouldn’t be long until an athlete from Highclare School would win. The nominations for February 2019 ISA Athlete of the Month were of an extremely high standard but huge congratulations go to Daniel in U6 who ran to victory. He is a fantastic athlete and rôle model who is well deserving of the ISA Athlete of the Month award. Daniel first started running cross country at Bedstone College in year 4 during his time at Highclare Preparatory School and has finished in the top 10 in his age category every time he has competed, qualifying for nationals for a decade. This year he was congratulated by the announcer for his good sportsmanship: after finishing 3rd in the race the first thing Daniel did was to go and congratulate the first 2 runners. Congratulations Daniel.
For Full fixtures, results and photo’s please refer to the Senior School Sports section of the Highclare Virtual.
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The LAMDA Examination Results Are In And Highclare School Pupils Have Achieved Phenomenal Grades 69 children received a Distinction and 32 received a Merit. with the highest mark of 98/100 going to one of our Preparatory School pupils for Devising Drama Grade 2. Two U5 students completed their Grade 8 Devising Duo examination, receiving Distinctions and thereby gaining 24 university credits each. A special mention goes to one of our L6 pupils who gained a Bronze medal for Public Speaking.
This year Highclare School has again seen an increase in children taking exams with a total of 40 Senior School pupils and 77 Preparatory School pupils taking part and achieving fantastic grades. Examinations this year comprised a wide range of performance based disciplines including Group, Solo and Duo Acting, Public Speaking, Mime, Speaking Verse and Prose and Reading for Performance recitals.
LAMDA has proved an immensely popular extra-curricular activity at Highclare School, allowing pupils to grow in confidence, develop their individuality and have opportunities to perform at various events at school. It is proven to positively impact a pupil’s ability to participate in debates and enhances presentation skills within other subject areas, all of which has resulted in a massive uptake of the LAMDA course in recent years. It is an added bonus that even at Entry level, students can work towards accruing UCAS points, with the maximum credits given for Distinction at Grade 8. Mrs Bradley BA Hons LAMDA Dip
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Preparatory School Woodland Skills Another successful term of Woodland Skills has flown by at Highclare Preparatory School.Over the spring term pupils of all ages have enjoyed the outdoors in a variety of ways. Here are just a few highlights. Collaborative learning with Reception and J4 was extremely successful as both classes worked together to thread and create a hanging leaf line. Reception and J4 also learnt how to tie a timber hitch and learnt all about square lashing to create a fabulous picture frame from sticks and string. Both the leaf lines and picture frames can be seen hung up in both woodland skills areas. Children have also learnt about natural artist Andy Goldsworthy as we tried to mimic his work and create our own natural artwork using an array of leaves, sticks and stones. J5 learnt how to whittle using a sheath knife. They then used these whittling skills to cut sticks and twigs for the campfire. J5 also made homemade mulled apple juice over the campfire. Using the sheath knife the children peeled lemon and orange zest. They then stirred apple juice and sugar into the Dutch oven. The mulled apple juice was heated up over the campfire‌ very yummy indeed! Towards the end of this term J3 have utilised their woodland skills sessions to enhance their classroom learning. The children created their very own natural artwork in the style of Kandinsky, an artist they are exploring in their art lessons. Using several different types of knots, they created their own natural frames using sticks and string supporting their topic of Frames in Design and Technology. As always, toasting marshmallows and popping popcorn kernels over the campfire proved hugely popular activities and inspired some fabulous poetry writing.
Highclare School www.highclareschool.co.uk