As part of our exciting activities for Science and Engineering Week, 55 of our talented year 8 students took part in a STEM workshop where they designed, built and presented a model wind turbine. During the day, students demonstrated the core values and qualities of a good engineer: creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving ability, and communication skills. They also applied the design cycle used by engineers: design, build, test, improve. To complicate things further, pupils had to adhere to a budget and minimise the cost of their build but without losing efficiency. We are so proud of year 8!

On Friday 7^th March, GCSE and A-Level students from the ADT department went on a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. From seeing replicas of world-famous sculptures in the Cast Courts, West-End theatre costumes and an array of paintings, drawings and garments, students were introduced to a plethora of artefacts from across the world of decorative art and design. The magnificent building itself with it’s glowing glass centrepiece and abundance of elaborate arches, plays home to more than 5000 years of human creativity – a fantastic opportunity to see a wide range of cultures, time periods and movements in one place!

A huge thank you to Miss Cartwright, Mrs Pugh and Mrs Ellis for supporting myself in taking students to London, and to Mrs McHugh and Mrs McNeill for helping to organise a memorable day for us all.On Friday 7^th March, GCSE and A-Level students from the ADT department went on a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. From seeing replicas of world-famous sculptures in the Cast Courts, West-End theatre costumes and an array of paintings, drawings and garments, students were introduced to a plethora of artefacts from across the world of decorative art and design. The magnificent building itself with it’s glowing glass centrepiece and abundance of elaborate arches, plays home to more than 5000 years of human creativity – a fantastic opportunity to see a wide range of cultures, time periods and movements in one place!

A huge thank you to Miss Cartwright, Mrs Pugh and Mrs Ellis for supporting myself in taking students to London, and to Mrs McHugh and Mrs McNeill for helping to organise a memorable day for us all.

In January, Miss Hart and her dance partner took part in the Birmingham Qualifier to be part of Team England. As a result, they both successfully qualified and will be representing Team England in the Global Dance Open Finals, held in Birmingham between 16th-20th July. Miss Hart and her dance partner will be competing against the best dancers from countries all over the world in the following sections; Senior Jazz Duet/Trio, Senior Lyrical Duet/Trio and Senior Contemporary Duet/Trio. Good luck Miss Hart - we are rooting for you!

10 year 7 students took Dame Elizabeth Cadbury to a competition at the Engineering and Robotics Faculty at the University of Birmingham.

Pupils built a robot with different attachments to complete a series of missions in different underwater scenarios: rescue stranded submarines, repair coral reefs, clean spillages etc. Pupils had to think on their feet and work as a team by communicating across the different stations and coordinating the modifications and coding of the robot to complete the timed missions. Well done year 7.

The English department had great fun dressing up and planning engaging sessions for World Book Day 2025! Alongside their department theme of ‘literary villains’, Years 7-10 participated in speed reading classes where they had a taster of five different books from a range of genres to inspire them to reach out and read. Students then cast their votes about the book they’d most likely read, and we are ordering these books for our library so that our readers can take advantage of finding their next favourite book. 

Years 7 and 8 also had World Book Day tokens to take home so they could purchase a free book of their choosing. We love to read!

Our students have been busy being assessed in their practical unit this week which contributed towards 40% of their overall GCSE PE grade. They have been assessed in a number of sports including; Football, Handball, Netball, Badminton, Rugby, Trampolining, Basketball and Rock Climbing. Well done to those who have been involved!

Congratulations to our year 9 football team who won their first round fixture against Bishop Challoner School on penalties. Our pupils were 3-1 down at half time but demonstrated resilience to turn the game around to go 4-3 up with 5 minutes to go. The boys then conceded in the dying minutes before winning 5-4 on penalties, with goalkeeper A. Ahmed making a great save and all pupils scoring there respective penalties. Well done boys!

Some of our Year 9 pupils had the opportunity to take part in a 2 hour taster session for the BTEC Tech Award in Performing Arts. The pupils explored the 3 components through a range of technique-based drills, learning choreography from a professional dance work and creating their own dance performance in response to a brief. All pupils involved worked extremely hard - well done!

A massive congratulations to all Year 11 students who dedicated their time over the February half-term to attend revision classes. Your commitment to your studies is truly inspiring, and we are so proud of the effort you've put into preparing for the upcoming exams.

Throughout the week, students engaged in focused sessions in targeted small groups, across a variety of subjects, honing their skills and deepening their understanding in preparation for the important months ahead. These classes provided a valuable opportunity for students to ask questions, revisit challenging topics, and gain expert guidance from our passionate teachers.

It’s clear that this extra effort will pay dividends when the exam season arrives, and we encourage all students to keep up the momentum and continue their hard work. Remember, every little bit of revision counts!

We’d also like to extend a big thank you to our dedicated teaching staff for their hard work in organizing and running these sessions. Your support and encouragement make all the difference.

Let’s keep up the great work, Year 11! We’re all rooting for you

International Women's day celebrations

This week, we are celebrating International Women's day (8th March) by talking about inspirational women which have made an impact in our curriculum subjects.  

Food Technology:

One inspirational woman our pupils are learning about in Food Technology is Eliza Acton who wrote the first cookery book:

Spanish: 

Clara Campoamor was one of the main driving forces behind women’s suffrage in Spain. Campoamor fought to establish gender non-discrimination, legal equality for children born in and out of wedlock, equality within divorce, and after successfully winning a parliamentary debate against those opposed to the female vote, universal suffrage. Thanks to Campoamor, in 1933, women voted for the first time. They could do so just once more before Franco revoked their right six years later.

English

Virginia Woolf paved the way for modernist female literature and gave a voice to the voiceless women after the 1st world war, when the country and its identity was in turmoil. Her stream of consciousness narratives birthed a new generation of writing and poetry. 

PE/Dance

Ellie Simmonds OBE is one of the most recognised female athletes in Britain due to her achievements as a Paralympic Swimmer. Born with achondroplasia (dwarfism), Ellie Simmonds was the youngest member of Team GB at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and brought home a Gold Medal in the 100m Freestyle and 400m Freestyle, where she beat her own record by over 7 seconds. Since then, she has gone on to win medals at an array of sporting events including the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics.​

Misty Copeland has made history as the first African American Female to become Principal Dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. Born to a struggling family, Misty Copeland started her Ballet journey at the late age of 13, but as a true prodigy, she has gone on to perform in some of the most famous roles, including Clara in the Nutcracker, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Odette/ Odile in Swan Lake, for which she was the first African American Woman to do so. She has gone on to win many awards, has written her own book and has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hartford.​