Life at Studley

Mrs Vaughan would like any interested budding Year 7 cooks and chefs to have a look at this opportunity!

You have until 7th February to apply to be a contestant on the next season of ‘Step Up to the Plate’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0007lkj

All the details are here

You’ll need the support of your parent or carer to send your application.

Monday the 27th of January 2020 is an important day, as it marks 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz. It is a day where we remember those who have lost their lives to tyranny, intolerance and persecution, and we vow that as a global community we will never let a tragedy like the holocaust happen again.

It is a deeply personal issue for me, and last week I delivered assemblies to all Studley High pupils about holocaust memorial day and why it still matters that we remember the victims, so long after the event. It matters to me because the holocaust is the story of my family. A family that was torn apart by injustice and cruelty.

75 years ago, Auschwitz was not the only camp to be liberated. There were 20 concentration camps in total; and whilst Auschwitz is the most famous, it is not alone in it’s brutality. I know this because on May 5th 1945, American troops arrived in Austria and liberated Mauthausen, and amongst the people freed that day was my grandfather. This is his story.

Kazimierz Blazak was born in 1906 and grew up in a Szubin, a small village in the North of Poland. He had four brothers and three sisters, and after completing a university degree in horticulture, he returned to Szubin and became manager of the local dairy farm.

The dairy farm was the biggest employer in Szubin and when the Nazis invaded Poland, he was arrested along with 4 other high profile figures in the village (the doctor, the dentist, the teacher and the solicitor) and they were put on trial. The crime they were accused of was “breeding cattle that would attack Germans but leave Polish people alone”, and they were all convicted on the testimony of one witness who was told exactly what to say. The result of the trial was determined before they ever stepped inside the courtroom.

They were sentenced to imprisonment in Mauthausen, a concentration camp that had a reputation of being more violent and inhumane than Auschwitz. It was nicknamed “The Bone Mill” by the Nazi soldiers. Mass starvation, 16 hours of forced labour every day carrying heavy blocks of stone up a staircase of over 100 steps, only to be sent straight back down to do it again, and all of this whilst the guards were taking shots with their pistols and murdering people at random as they went past.

190,000 people walked through the gates of Mauthausen but only 90,000 came back out alive. There were various ways you could be tortured or killed in the camp. My grandfather had a nail hammered into his stomach, puncturing a lung and was fortunate to survive Tuberculosis with no treatment. He didn’t even miss a day of work, because prisoners who were too sick to work, were taken outside, stripped, hosed down and then left to freeze to death.

Mauthausen also had gas chambers, where huge numbers of people were murdered, and a camp doctor who was one of the top three on the FBI’s most wanted war criminals list after the war ended. His name was Aribert Heim and his crimes included experimenting with injecting petrol and orange juice into people’s hearts to see which one killed them fastest, operations to remove internal organs (for no medical reason) with no anaesthetic and “patients” left to die on the table and numerous other atrocities. When the American soldiers liberated the camp, they found his office was decorated with lampshades and cushion covers made of human skin. He had even turned the skin of the prisoners into car seat covers and similar items and given them as gifts to other high ranking SS officers.

After the liberation of Mauthausen, Kazimierz spent some time running a camp for wounded allied servicemen, served in the American army (who presumably he felt he owed a debt to, for liberating him from Mauthausen) before settling in the UK. He was one of the first non-Jewish people in the world to successfully sue the german government for compensation for the horrors he had faced. He died peacefully, of natural causes in 1971.

His family had been decimated by the holocaust. His father and one of his four brothers were murdered six days after the Nazi invasion of Poland. The resistance in the village had blown up a Nazi car with three officers inside. The Nazis did not know who was responsible so took 33 innocent men, totally at random, led them to the town square and made them dig their own graves in front of the entire village before executing them one by one.

Another brother had been part of the resistance and was caught and executed in a similar manner two months later. Six months after that a third brother was killed, he was a Polish soldier and was massacred by Soviet forces at Katyn. The final brother was neither killed nor imprisoned, and was cut off by the family. Nobody has ever really spoken of it, but it seems to be fairly clear that he was actually feeding information to the Nazis and collaborating with them.

A family of ten people. Two parents, five brothers and three sisters. Every single male in the family had either been murdered, tortured or exiled from the family within a few years. A close family, all living in the same village, totally destroyed. Ripped apart at the seams by the violence and terror of the holocaust.

But that is just the story of one family. My family. There were 11 million victims of the holocaust. 11 million families decimated just like mine. 6 million of the victims murdered because of their Jewish faith, and 5 million more for their political beliefs, sexuality, disability or a number of other reasons.

The liberation of the concentration camps was not the end of the holocaust. The survivors lived with what they had seen every single day of their lives, and there have been several instances of genocide since the second world war ended.

30 years after Auschwitz and the other camps were liberated, the Khmer Rouge murdered 3 million innocent people in Cambodia. In 1991 800,000 people lost their lives as a result of being born into the wrong tribe in Rwanda. Since 2003, 500,000 people have been murdered in Darfur in another genocide.

The story of the holocaust is horrific, but it is not the only story that needs to be heard. On Monday, we will gather to remember all those who have lost their lives to genocide across the world, and make a renewed vow that this will never happen again.

https://www.mauthausen-memorial.org/en/History/The-Mauthausen-Concentration-Camp-19381945 for more info.

Mr T Blazak
Geography

Year 9 Basketball team finished their season with a loss in the final of the South Warwickshire Basketball tournament at the hands of an excellent AGS team. Our Y9’s finished their season after showing a huge amount of dedication and passion for the sport which lead to them winning all of their games on the run up to the final. Well done Y9!

The Year 8 Basketball teams season continues to go from strength to strength after finishing 2nd in their Junior NBA group and qualifying for the play offs.

The PE department are extremely proud of their basketball teams this season and wish to continue to bring more students into the sport. Basketball training is every Thursday in the sports hall after school for all years.

Last week’s SHINE session focused on ‘Gender Representation’.

SHINE pupils discussed what they already knew about the Media and definitions of Gender. The topic promoted some really interesting conversations, with one pupil suggesting that ‘Gender is the way in which you define yourself” and another stating that ‘I had not realised the depth of the term media.’

Pupil volunteers then began to explore how different genders are representation through their anticipated behaviour such as, ‘Run like a girl’ compared to ‘Run like a boy.’ The demonstrations were quite amusing.

The session moved to independent exploration of how the media influences the representation of gender, by examining some print adverts. The conclusions drawn, prompted further discussion and a realisation of the impact of bias upon media texts.

Thank you to all the members of the English Department who helped to support this session.

Latest Update

This Saturday, Charlie, Harrison and Jacob, attended the launch event of the Warwick Scholars programme at the University of Warwick, with their parents.

They were joined by around 90 other Year 8 students from the region and spent the morning learning more about the programme they were about to undertake and experiencing University life.

The programme runs from the spring term in Year 8 to the summer term of Year 9. We were told that the Year 8 programme they will explore different academic subjects through taster lectures and workshops and work in small non-school groups to complete projects. Over the programme one of the intentions is to give the students opportunity to make lots of new friends and experience new things.

Throughout the programme at the Saturday Campus Days students will be working on a group research project. The programme has a strong focus on developing strong team working and other core academic skills, including writing, independent research, critical thinking and public speaking. The programme usually also includes a Residential which is at the start of the second year. It’s a great opportunity for the young people to bond more and it has a focus on developing team, leadership, communication skills, resilience and confidence necessary for the rest of the project and beyond.

They will attend a Saturday in March, one in May, and one in June. This will then begin again in October 2020.

When the boys reflected on their morning before they left, they said:

“I enjoyed learning and experiencing some of university life.”

“The program is very cool. Very excited for next time.”

“I was very surprised with how big the University campus is. I always enjoyed talking to people from different places.”

We are delighted to announce that three of our more able Year 8 pupils who applied to be part of the Warwick Scholars Programme, were successful! Studley High School was one of 28 schools in the West Midlands to apply, and these three pupils were amongst 100 applications of eligible applicants!

Harrison M, Charlie D and Jacob T start the 18 month programme in Spring Term 2020. It is designed to raise confidence and self-esteem, develop team working and communication skills, increase educational resilience, build on their current skills, raise aspirations and provide them with unique opportunities not widely available to other students.

The programme will attend academic sessions at weekends, exposing them to a variety of new subject areas. The University are aiming to fuel and nurture students, encouraging them to push themselves in a supportive environment.

The students will work with University staff, student mentors, PhD students and departmental ambassador students.

Watch this space for more news on their progress, next term.

Young Person’s Guide to University

Language news!

Rebecca D in Year 7 has recently passed Level 1 of the Youth Chinese Test.

Rebecca regularly attends the Confucius Institute in her own time and has been learning Chinese for a number of years. Rebecca needed to pass tests in both reading and writing Chinese Mandarin hanzi, or characters, which are completely different from English letters.

Did you know that Madarin is:

• The world’s most widely spoken language
• The language of the world’s 2nd largest economy
• A language with a rich and fascinating culture for you to discover with our programme

Well done Rebecca, we look forward to seeing your progress in this language.

Did you know that two of our catering team, Mrs Flay and Mrs Foster both work tirelessly to support premature babies?

The ‘Octopus for a Preemie‘ charity first started in Denmark and then extended to Spain, Ukraine and continued in Poland, UK and more recently Austria.

Mrs Flay and Mrs Foster give up their spare time after work, to crotchet tiny octopuses that make babies, and their parents feel calmer and safer. The babies play with their tentacles as if it is their mother’s umbilical cord.

Here are some of Mrs Flays latest creations:

For more creations, have a look here: https://octopusforapreemie.com/photo-gallery/

Mrs Wakefield and a group of Year 11 pupils took part in a thoughtful and heartwarming activity this week: ‘Postcards of Kindness’. Pupils created, wrote and delivered seasonal wishes to over 15 care homes in South Warwickshire.

The concept is to support those who might be feeling lonely at this time of year and our Y11s wrote postcards and Christmas cards, for local residents in care homes within the local community.

To find out more:

Postcards of Kindness

Thursday 12th December saw Studley High School’s annual Christmas Concert take place to a sell out audience of over 200 families, school staff and friends from our local community.

The evening opened with a welcome from the host, Year 11 pupil, Jarrad H who introduced our new brass group conducted by brass teacher Mrs Hattersley who played an opening Fanfare and then ‘Rudolph’. Following this rousing start, were soloists on vocals and the piano, drama group performances depicting Christmas scenes and our brand new ukulele club led by guitar teacher Mr Davies. Jarrad chose to perform ‘Winter Wonderland’, complete with tap-dancing and just before the interval we heard our fifty-strong choir led by Miss Wheeler who bought the first half to a close with a challenging a capella arrangement of ‘Carol of the Bells’.

The interval saw a Christmas market and festive refreshments provided by our fundraising Camps International pupils.

Rockschool opened the second half off with a very different version of ‘All I Want for Christmas’ and then the mood changed with Taylor’s beautiful solo of ‘Defying Gravity’ accompanied by Em W on the piano. More drama groups followed, along with a duet from the ‘Stanway Sisters’ and a song from the musical Nativity performed by our Performing Arts club.

The orchestra was the final act on stage who accompanying all for carol singing and then brought the evening to a close with ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’.

85 students from all year groups took part in the concert, giving a well rehearsed and professional performance. Our thanks to our peripatetic music teachers (Mr Jennings, Mrs Dolby, Mrs Hattersley, Miss Wheeler, Mr Hobbs and Mr Davies), school staff for helping out backstage, the local community and Arrow Valley Brass Band who continue to support us.

Pupils in Year 7 took part in the annual ‘Cells Competition’, in which pupils were tasked to create an animal or plant cell of their choice in the form of a model.

Pupils were challenged to be as creative as possible, and the entries didn’t disappoint. We had some fabulous cakes, lego models and lots of marvelous structures.

This year, 168 students entered, with everyone in the science department impressed at the pupil’s efforts. Due to this, we decided it was impossible to choose a 3rd, 2nd or 1st winner. So we choose to award winners for the wide variety of competition categories, including:

• Best 3D model
• Most scientific
• Most colourful
• Most detailed

This year we introduced a class competition that ran alongside the individual competition the two categories were:

• Class with the highest participation
• Class with the highest average score

All entries were displayed during the Year 7 Parents Evening. Last Friday during an assembly, the prizes were handed out to pupils and the classes that won the class competition received chocolate for their class.

A massive well done to Year 7, who made this years competition a fantastic event and one that was exceptionally difficult to judge!

Em W in Year 9 has recently passed her Grade 8 Drum exam!

This is a fantastic achievement and a very difficult exam to pass, as it’s for candidates who have mastered advanced technical control and have a thorough grasp of extended stylistic techniques.

At Grade 8 this is shown through mature stylistic conviction, consummate execution of rhythmic complexity, mature and creative stylistic solo and improvisation work as well as a commanding sense of communication and performance.

(Rock School, https://www.rslawards.com/rockschool/graded-exams/drums/grade-8/ 2019)

Em started drum lessons in Year 6, after picking up some drumsticks at friends house, and amazing everyone with her natural ability on their electric drum kit.

In Year 7 she started playing with the younger Worcestershire Youth Jazz Orchestra (WYJO2), and will be joining the older group, WYJO, in January – as one of their youngest members.  At WYJO2, she has been helping coach younger drummers, and will, in turn, be coached further by older drummers in WYJO.

She is considering a future in music, so watch this space!

Year 9 Photography group recently visited Hanbury Hall for inspiration on a project ‘Nature’.

They’re currently studying the work of Andy Goldsworthy notorius for his studies of nature through his artwork and photography.

Each work grows, stays, decays – integral parts of a cycle which the photograph shows at its heights, marking the moment when the work is most alive. There is an intensity about a work at its peak that I hope is expressed in the image. Process and decay are implicit.

Andy Goldsworthy

This year we are supporting young adults who have been in care up to the age of 16 and then leave children’s home/foster families and live independently, which can lead to them feeling very vulnerable.

The charity is called Brum Chistmas DInner and provides Christmas Dinner, on Christmas Day: a day when the young care-leaver might otherwise be sat alone in a bedsit, sofa-surfing or even on the streets. They aim to provide an enjoyable, memorable Christmas experience with food, friendship, entertainment, decorations and meaningful gifts, in a safe and caring environment.

The dinner is planned and run entirely by volunteers. They raise the funds, arrange the guests, buy and wrap the presents, cook and serve the dinner… so every penny raised goes into organising the day.

On Friday 20th December, pupils are invited to wear a Christmas jumper along with their usual uniform and shoes. We do not expect pupils to buy a specific jumper for the day, they can decorate an existing one with tinsel.

We would like to collect £1 from every pupil, whether they come in a jumper or not, as this is such a worthwhile cause and a time of year to think of others less fortunate than ourselves.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/brum-xmas-dinner

Thank you for your support!

Last week, we took 90 Year 7 pupils to Bath, as part of their study on Roman Britain.

The baths, which take water from Britain’s largest thermal spring, were originally built over 2000 years ago, by the Romans but left buried for centuries until the grand monument was rediscovered under some buildings in the late 1870s. Pupils took part in a workshop to explore and handle primary sources and ‘think like archaeologists’. They also toured the baths and its many rooms. They then enjoyed an hour in the afternoon around the festive Christmas market in the city centre, where lots of presents were bought and sweet treats were consumed! All pupils were a credit to the school and had a brilliant time aside from the very very long journey home at the end of the day!

This Saturday our girls Gymnastic team competed in the Regional West Midlands Milano Trios Competition, in the Under 16 girls section. The girls (Ella G, Phoebe H, Mia B) came 2nd, meaning they will now go through to the National Finals in March against the whole of the UK and Northern Ireland to represent west Midlands.

Ella G came 3rd individually, competing against competitors who were 3 years older than her.

Their coach said:

I was extremely proud of the girls, particularly how they pulled together and work as a team every year.

Last week, we took a group of Year 9 English/Drama to see the musical rendition of ‘A Christmas Carol’, originally performed in New York. The fast-paced, all dancing and singing musical was non-stop entertainment from beginning to end. With a truly grumpy Scrooge and a terrifying Marley, the play unfolded. Pupils taking Drama loved seeing the aerial work with the trapeze for the ghosts and the special effects to help create the magic.

Images courtesy of BMOS Musical Theatre/ Alexandra Theatre

This was a super trip for us all to get into the spirit of Christmas and banish away any humbug feelings.

We have another boxing star at Studley High School.

Year 10 pupil, George G has been a member of the West Warwickshire Amateur Boxing Club for just over 12 months.

George was introduced to the sport by Mr Howitt, in P.E, who takes a group of pupils to the club on a Monday after school. After just a couple of visits George immediately fell in love with the sport and wanted to join.

He was invited to attend a boxing bootcamp in Tenerife last weekend. The camp involved sparring at a local gym, a morning run up Mount Teide, swimming and a beach boot camp. They also had chance to meet and spar with Spanish boxers. It was an amazing experience for George and his team mates.

George currently trains 3 nights a week for 2 1/2 hours each night and recently participated in his first boxing match.

Watch this space for more news on George’s boxing!

Last week, we were very fortunate to be one of only 5 schools in the West Midlands to receive a visit from Matt Gisby from  ‘A Taste of Game‘ for a masterclass on butchering and cooking with pheasant.

20 Year 9 and 10 pupils took part in this exciting activity. Pupils were supplied with one ‘oven ready’ pheasant between two and were shown how to  remove the breast and legs before making it into a tasty starter.

This was a fabulous introduction for pupils studying KS4 food qualification, to experience a highly skilled practical task, enabling them to achieve higher grades if used in their final practical assessment.  Pupils had the opportunity to learn about the food providence of game as well. Some pupils were a little nervous at first, but worked incredibly hard to achieve some fantastic outcomes, the final dish was a very tasty pheasant bruschetta with a horseradish mayonnaise, garnished with rocket and julienned crisp eating apple.

Most agreed it tasted wonderful. We would like to thank Matt Gisby and  ‘A Taste of Game’ for their support as well as their free delivery of fresh pheasants for the practical task. We intend to repeat this every year with our Year 10 pupils, as part of their module on meat.

Here is the recipe our pupils made: https://tasteofgame.org.uk/pheasant-and-apple-bruschetta-with-horseradish-mayonnaise/
If anyone is interested in volunteering to work with Matt, who gives up his spare time, to for this cause, please contact [email protected] uk

Last Tuesday we took a group of Year 10 pupils to Warwick University for ‘GCSE English in Action’.

The day consisted of a series of talks aimed to develop students’ skills in both reading texts and writing ‘like a genius’! These proved to be really informative, giving our pupils strategies and tips on how to approach their exams and achieve the highest grades.

The group also had the opportunity to experience ‘university life’ for a day which we hope will inspire them as they move towards Post-16 choices.

The highlight of the day for many was the presentation given by the award winning poet Owen Sheers, reading several of his poems and explaining the ideas behind them and people who inspired him. He also explained how he became a writer at the same age as our pupils, hopefully inspiring them in return.

This stimulating, information-packed day will feature a series of fascinating presentations guaranteed to enthuse, inform and inspire. During the day, students will hear from a range of expert and engaging speakers who will explore ways to enhance their creativity and writing skills, examine non-fiction texts across time, and tackle unseen poetry. The day will end on an unforgettable note with a presentation by an award-winning poet, who will read from and discuss their poetry before taking questions from the audience. Students are guaranteed to leave brimming with essential insights and ideas

The day will be chaired by Julia Geddes. Julia is an experienced Head of English, a Senior Examiner for a major examination board and a textbook author. She has published many study guides for both GCSE and A-level students.

https://thetrainingpartnership.org.uk/study-day/gcse-english-in-action-19-11-2019/

Last week, saw the first of our Personal Development days at school for this academic year.
During these days, timetable is collapsed and pupils are given the opportunity to participate in activities, events and workshops that are designed to enhance their curriculum, create further opportunities for their social, moral, cultural and spiritual development and to develop the attributes required in preparation for life

Year 9 were supported by Raymond Lynn, an expert on equality in the workplace. Anna Turney, Paralympic Skier, delivered a powerful message about perseverance in the face of adversity.
Year 11 were taught sessions on health and drug misuse from Compass Warwickshire Health Services. The charity organisation Brook, led sessions on relationships and gender.
Year 10 explored themes about personal identity while Year 8 learned about finance, including budgeting, bank accounts, and debt. Year 7 discussed and learned more about rights and responsibilities.

Last week, Year 11 GCSE Drama students went to see a production of ‘An Inspector Calls’ at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Students are studying this play text for their exam; it was a fantastic opportunity for them to see how the play is staged and visualise how the performance should be portrayed. The actors were fantastic, each bringing their own unique twist to the characters we know so well. The costumes were fantastic and helped us to visualise how we might design for these characters. The set was especially phenomenal, particularly when it ‘fell apart’ at the destruction of the Birling family.

The performance was exhilarating and the cast brought the play to life. We also had the incredible opportunity to talk with some of the cast and the director about their intentions and ideas for their performances in an “after dark” talk. Our students really enjoyed the performance.

Last week the Art & Photography department took Year 11 pupils to the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Pupils visited the gallery to study the exhibition of Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize.

Showcasing talented young photographers, gifted amateurs and established professionals, the competition, showcases a diverse range of images and tells the often fascinating stories behind the creation of the works, from formal commissioned portraits to more spontaneous and intimate moments capturing friends and family.

Pupils were searching for inspiration to contribute to their coursework and study what each artist was drawing from their work. Pupils also enjoyed a visit to Trafalgar Square to soak up the London atmosphere.

Last week saw the launch of SHINE with our current Year 7 cohort.

It was fantastic to see over 50 Year 7 pupils attend after school, to learn more about the SHINE provision at Studley High School. Pupils discussed how they could achieve their full potential both in school and out of school and then shared this with their peers.

The first official SHINE session “The Power of Pop” is on Tuesday 19th November led by the History Department.

If you are an Art & Photography student, who left Studley in July 2019, you have until the 5th December to collect your work from last year.

After this date, it will have to be disposed of as storage space is limited. To collect your work please email Miss Hurst [email protected] giving her 3 days notice, so she can prepare your work for collection.

The Y7 and Y8 basketball teams started their season last night in the Junior NBA.

Studley Schools came together on Saturday 9th November for another great Firework Extravaganza. An estimate over 1400 people were counted as attending the event!

There were 100 volunteers, who were hard at work throughout the event, from parents and staff to the local community. The efforts paid off despite the rain, to create a wonderful evening of entertainment with live music, fairground rides, stalls, food, drink and a spectacular musical firework display. The display was provided by Iain Williams and Ultimate Fireworks.

Weather oak ale and Caney’s cider, both local Studley brews, were on sale at the bar and Bespoke butchers from Alcester road supplied the hot food. Many local business sponsored the event and pupils sold cakes, goodies and fudge to raise money. Parents, pupils and teachers helped out in every corner. The schools’ and village community really came together throughout the evening, even returning to clear up the next day. Thanks to Studley First Responders for being in attendance and to all who braved the weather for a truly delightful evening.

Mr J Kerridge – parent

We took forty pupils to Iceland for a 4 day Geography extravaganza last week. They travelled through the night, leaving Luton airport before 6 a.m and arrived at breakfast-time in a very chilly down-town Reykjavík.

The first day was spent looking around the capital city, visiting the magnificent cathedral and the President’s house. Pupils were surprised to see minimal policing present, as the country is a very safe place to live.

They visited a geothermal power station where they learnt about new carbon-capture technologies that are being used to tackle climate change and found out how the Icelandic people use heat from below the earth’s surface to produce hot water to heat their homes, roads, greenhouses and even to warm their lakes and some beaches for swimming. They were very impressed by the efforts made in Iceland to protect the environment and minimise pollution and waste.

The hurricane strength gusts of wind made the temperature feel like -10*C and there was snow in the air giving it a magical wintry face-numbing feel.

On the second day, pupils went on the Golden Circle tour visiting Thingvellir National Park where the earth’s tectonic plates can be seen diverging. The sun was shining and the sky was cloudless. They watched the sunrise and spent the day at the spectacular Gullfoss waterfall, waiting for Stokkur geyser to erupt, observing the volcanic crater at Kerrið and learning about the Geography of that part of the island. They were treated to spectacular views of Eyjafjallajokull and Hekla, both large volcanoes and travelled through the snowy mountains with unbelievable sunny weather. Despite temperatures around freezing, everyone enjoyed an hour of outdoor relaxation in the geothermal pools at Fludir. Despite some raised eyebrows at the prospect, all pupils thoroughly enjoyed the bath-warm water and ambience.

The third day had an even earlier start and took in several more waterfalls, some of which were frozen. Pupils climbed to the top of Skogafoss, saw Seljalandsfoss frozen and studied the basalt columns at the black beach at Reynisfjara with its striking coastal scenery, arches, caves, stacks and stumps. They also had the opportunity to put on crampons, helmets and carry ice-axes, to hike up onto Solheimajokull glacier – a magnificent treat in the clear weather with uninterrupted views from the summit to the sea. The scenery was stunning and they learnt a lot about how quickly the glacier is retreating.

Upon returning to the hotel in the evening, pupils were treated to a spectacular display from the Northern Lights which could clearly be seen from the hotel’s viewing platform. This was a wonderful end to a fabulous trip. Our pupils were fantastically well-behaved and enthusiastic and a pleasure to take to Iceland. They returned happy but exhausted and very pleased to have the half-term break to catch up on some sleep!

Mrs. Morland.

Pupil feedback:
“The scenery was amazing . . .it was like being on a different planet. I couldn’t stop smiling!”
“The glacier walk was brilliant fun. I thought it would be hard and at first I was quite scared but it was really worth it. I don’t think I’ll ever get the opportunity to do that again.”
“The trip was something that I will never forget, we did so much in just 4 days”
“I think I’ve got Geography coming out of my ears!”
“It was a fantastic life experience, I loved the geothermal pool.”
“Our guide was fab, she taught us a lot about Icelandic myths and legends.”
“My face froze so I couldn’t even talk. I have never been so cold yet wanted to stay out to see more.”
“It showed me what we could be doing to look after our planet better. They are so into sustainable energy and it made me think about what else we should try to do.”
“Despite the mind-numbing cold, I had the best time. I got to see and do things that I never thought I would. I’m really proud of hiking on the glacier – I never thought I could do that and really enjoy it.”
“ What a photogenic place – I took over 800 pictures!”

The Riot Act Theatre Company visited school last week, to perform ‘Deadly Distractions’.

The theatre company deliver powerful, important educational messages to pupils in schools across the country, through performance.

The actors engaged a hall full of Year 7 pupils, with a performance to raise awareness of the danger of roadside distractions from music, phones, and friends. They also looked at ways pupils can identify and cope with peer influence and peer pressure to promote safe, responsible and positive behaviour on the roads, on public transport and whilst travelling in general.

The Riot Act Theatre Company visited school last week, to perform ‘Deadly Distractions’.

The theatre company deliver powerful, important educational messages to pupils in schools across the country, through performance.

The actors engaged a hall full of Year 7 pupils, with a performance to raise awareness of the danger of roadside distractions from music, phones, and friends. They also looked at ways pupils can identify and cope with peer influence and peer pressure to promote safe, responsible and positive behaviour on the roads, on public transport and whilst travelling in general.

This week, the Y11 Photography pupils visited two sites for inspiration, as part of their coursework, themed ‘Absurd’. Pupils are studying Moroccan photographer, Achraf Baznani – who specialises in photo retouching, surrealism and photomontages.

The first stop was to the Stratford Butterfly Farm, to collect images for content to use in their final piece, submitted in December.

The next stop was Hanbury Hall, Worcestershire, to collect imagery to use as a backdrop for their final photographic submission.

Last week, we held our annual Post 16 event at Studley High School.

More than 25 exhibitors came to speak to our pupils, including sixth forms, colleges and universities as well as local businesses. We welcomed former pupils, now studying at sixth forms and in further education as inspiration to our current pupils.

The event was open to Y9, 10 and 11 and their parents/guardians, enabling them to gain further knowledge of Post 16 and progression onto higher education. The event was a huge success with excellent feedback from the exhibitors on pupil engagement and parents:

“It was a fantastic evening with so much more to learn. Thank you to all, I just wish this was available when I left school!”

“Many thanks for inviting us and welcoming us to your event. The students were very articulate about what they wanted to study after A Levels which was excellent to hear.”

“the event last night was really good, I lost count of how many people I spoke to” quote from apprenticeship provider

Providers attending:

Alcester Grammar School
A2B coaching
Arrow Vale School
Birmingham University
British Army
Bournville College
Gardner Denver
HOW College
King Edward VI School Stratford
MGTS
Mills Pyatt
Newman University
North Bromsgrove High School
Prince Henry’s High School
Rolls Royce
St Augustine’s Catholic High School
St Benedict’s Catholic High School
Stratford Girls’ Grammar School
Stratford College
Solihull Sixth Form
Studley Castle
Tudor Grange Redditch
Trinity HIgh School
Woodrush High School
Worcester 6th Form
Worcester University
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