The English Department were delighted to receive so many reviews from books students had read during half-term. We have awarded 100s of house points and written an amazing number of postcards.

We decided, as so many students had entered, to award an extra prize for best review written.
The winner of this was Lola A. Lola read and wrote a review on an adaptation of Northanger Abbey.

All entries were then put into a hat and Mr Rushton pulled out Kayleigh G’s entry.

Both girls received a £10 book voucher.
Also, a special mention to the students of C5, as this form had six entries.
The next competition will be over the Christmas break. Details will follow in the week leading up to Christmas.
Well done again and keep on reading!
Mrs Evans

If you want to take part in this half term’s reading challenge, fill out this form and return to Mrs Evans or your English Teacher by 7th November!

October half=term reading challenge

Last week, Year 7 students were involved in carving pumpkins for residents at St David’s House and Queens Cottages, an elderly care facility in Redditch.

Students carved the pumpkins with spooky halloween faces, and staff and residents at St David’s House were really impressed with their efforts.

The residents will now be painting the pumpkins and displaying them, before using them as flowerpots. Students from all year groups have also been making birthday cards for one of the residents at the home who will be celebrating her 100th birthday next week.

Each year we host a coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, and we link it into a House Competition to celebrate European Day of Languages, called ‘Bake Time for Others’. This year, things are very different, but we still want to do what we can to support this wonderful charity which is very close to the hearts of many staff and pupils at school.
Macmillan Cancer Support offers help in a number of ways to people suffering from cancer and also their families. Because Macmillan is a charity they can only provide their range of services, from nurses to community volunteers, thanks to amazing supporters who donate money or fundraise.

During the last few years, SHS coffee mornings have helped to raise over £1000. This year, we are raising money tomorrow. All homebakes (cookies etc.) priced at 50p will be sold in support of Macmillan – just pay using your fingerprint and the amount will be sent to this worthy cause.

We are still going to launch the MFL ‘Bake Time for Others’ competition this year. We would like you to bake either a European recipe, or design a Europe-inspired cake. Please send pictures of your cake to Mrs Morgan at [email protected] to enter the competition and earn house points. Mr Prince, our catering manager, will judge the entries and there will be extra house points for the best ones!

As well as entering the competition, perhaps you could display one of the Studley values: charitable. Why not host your own coffee morning for your family during half term? You could sell slices of your competition entry to raise money, or set up a donation box. Remember to take pictures if you host a mini coffee morning and email them to Mrs Morgan, again to achieve extra house points.

This is always one of my favourite events of the school year and we are so privileged as a school community for how many of us get involved. Let’s make 2020 no exception!

Mrs Morgan

After extending our ‘Summer Reading Challenge’ into the first few weeks of term, we are delighted to announce our overall winner:

Ben P in Year 8

Ben read a variety of books and was delighted to receive a
copy of the Guinness Book of Records, as well as a £20 Amazon voucher.

Next reading competition will be set for over the October half-term.

Year 8 SHINE book club

LIMITED PLACES!

See Mrs Dyde in E3 before Half Term to sign up for the next Book Club.

Read the novel over approximately 6 weeks and meet on a Wednesday lunchtime to discuss it!

First meeting is Wednesday 18th November, 12.30pm in E3 (bring your packed lunch!)

Open to everyone – this competition has two prize groups for 11-13 and 14-16.

This is a chance to showcase your skills, competing nationally!

• Prizes include £200 cash
• £100 cookware
• Option for a specialist chefs scholarship

All you need to do to start, is to submit a signature main course for a chance to be selected for the National Final. Deadline is 30th October 2020.

You can find out more here: https://www.icgcompetition.co.uk/aspiring-student-chefs

Enter here: https://www.icgcompetition.co.uk/keen-home-cooks-enter

We are delighted to announce that we have been nominated to become a Music Mark School. We have been recognised for the value we place on music.

The Music Mark School nomination system allows music hubs and services across the UK to nominate schools who they believe have shown a commitment to providing high-quality music education. This could mean beginning to incorporate more music into the curriculum, starting an extra-curricular music group, or having a highly active music department.

Bridget Whyte, Chief Executive for Music Mark wrote to us:

Music Mark works to enable our members and the wider music education sector, to deliver high quality musical and social outcomes for all children and young people. My thanks for all that you are doing and continue to do to support our collective vision.

This half term, our teacher ‘in the spotlight’ is:

Mrs Dyde – Second in English

1. Who inspired you to teach?

I was inspired to be a teacher by my favourite English teacher at secondary school. She was so passionate about everything to do with English lessons.

I was really shy at school and she encouraged me to join the debating society which really helped build my confidence.

I have always been an enthusiastic reader (as I come from a family where everyone reads) so that also suggested that English was the natural choice.

2. A day in the life of you….
In term time, my day revolves around school. That does not sound very exciting but as I love my job, that is fine with me.

3. Proudest moment….
Every Results Day, when our Year 11 students receive their results and are rewarded for their hard work.

4. What is your favourite food (to eat,or cook?)
Roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding – cooked by someone else!

5. What is your favourite book of all time and why?

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I have read this novel many times and still feel inspired by the protagonist, Jane. She is the most unlikely heroine – every quiet woman can identify with her.

I am also a huge fan of anything by Charles Dickens, but they always take me a substantial amount of time to read!

6. Who is an inspiration to you and why?
My Grandmother, who lived through two world wars and still possessed the most amazing sense of humour.

7. What is one thing we don’t know about you?
I have been having modern jive dance lessons for a few years and I would highly recommend learning to dance. It is great fun and excellent exercise!

Mr Prince is part of a team of 25 Warwickshire Fire & Rescue staff from across ‘The Fire Fighters Charity’ planning on running a total of 5,000 km over the month of July 2020.

The Fire Fighters Charity is a charity very close to the hearts of all fire and rescue staff from across the country. The charity was formed during the Second World War, to support the bereaved families of firefighters that died during the Blitz. Since then the charity has evolved and offers specialist, lifelong support for members of the UK fire services community, empowering individuals to achieve mental, physical and social well being.

The team members will be running every day to reach their target, and every donation counts to help encourage them to get out running!

You can donate to this worthy cause here: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/BlazeRunners

At the beginning of lockdown we launched the Studley Masterchef Competition. The competition proved very popular and it was lovely to see entries flooding in from both pupils and staff. Mr Prince, the school catering manager, judged all entries and this year’s winner and the 2020 Studley Masterchef champion is Chloe-Anne F, Year 8. Congratulations to Chloe-Anne, who made a range of delicious tapas, and she is also the winner of a £10 Love 2 Shop voucher. Also a big well done to this year’s runners up, Kimi and Ollie, who submitted a very entertaining entry and whose fajita dish was highly commended. In the staff competition, Mrs McKenna was crowned champion.

And finally…….the RESULTS ARE IN!

Congratulations to everyone who entered the poetry competition. What a talented bunch of writers we have here at Studley High School! The poems varied from thoughtful reflection on the experience of lockdown, our world and how it has changed, to celebrating the wonderful key workers as well as the lighter-hearted moments this time has also brought. They were all a pleasure to read.
Of all the poems, some stood out for our judge as particularly impressive and these are shared with you here. However, once again, a massive congratulations to everyone who entered.

Year 7/8 – Overall winner – Jacob Tagg – When the World Stopped Spinning
Highly commended – Jacob Miles – Shine down on us, Shine down on me!
Highly commended – Grace Murch – Lockdown
Highly commended – Hayden Morris – My Poem

Year 9/10 – Overall winner – Elyssa Hazelton – I’m Free
Highly commended – Sam Padfield – English Poem

Staff/family – Overall winner – Mrs Harris – Zooming Brilliant
Highly commended – Mrs Hulburd – Time
Highly commended – Mr Sidhu – Lockdown Shutdown

We hope you enjoy reading/watching them as much as we did.
Keep writing!
Mrs Guy/Mrs Dyde

Here are the winning certificates and poems:

The winning videos:

Poetry Competition – Closing date 5th June!!

Lines Under Lockdown

Year 7s!

This is your chance for your illustration to be featured in J.K. Rowling’s new book The Ickabog.

34 winning illustrations will be selected to bring this new story to the printed page when it is published in full, which is intended for November 2020.

Entries are open, and the competition will close at 6pm on Friday 17th July 2020.

Click here for more information!

Congratulations to Taylor Eades who was nominated and won, Player of the Year for the U15’s at Cheltenham Town Academy!

The PE department are proud to see Taylor’s dedication to football paying off.

Keep up the hard work!

At Studley High School we currently have over a hundred students who receive instrumental lessons with one of our team of visiting teachers every week. Since we’ve all been at home students have had to miss out on their lessons, preparation for grade exams and group rehearsals.  But now this has changed and some of our teachers have been able to adapt their teaching to allow for online video lessons to take place with our students. Parents of our students are directly in contact with our teachers, organising lessons and resources so that learning can continue remotely for as long as necessary. 

If you are interested in your child starting or continuing music tuition, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at school: [email protected]

Here we have Mr Davis (Guitar and Ukulele), Mrs Hattersley (Brass) and Mrs Fowler (Vocals).

Pupils!

Enter this competition to design a banner which thanks and shows support to the NHS and key workers, for their dedication and hard work during this pandemic. Closing date is 8th May. Winners will have their artwork printed on a huge banner to hang outside school!

More information here

To enter, pupils need to take a photograph of their completed worksheet and email it to [email protected] alongside their full name, age and details of our school.

GOOD LUCK!

Please take the time to read this newsletter, it has a few recipes you might like to try, if you are able to access the ingredients.

food newsletter

Please let send us details if you make any of these items or anything else, photos are always good posted on a google slide with perhaps a quick link to the recipe. Anything you share may end up being posted on our website/Twitter account!

Cooking is a skill you might find you have much more time to practice at the moment. It’s an important life skill and also it can be good for your mental health, it is something that you can do as a family too! It can be good for your physical health too as long as you try to make sure you aim to cook healthier foods more often.

I will try and post a new newsletter every few weeks so please keep an eye out for it.

Keep calm and keep cooking 😊

Mrs Vaughan

All pupils and staff, we have a brand new, whole school house competition for you!

Running until the end of the Easter holidays, we are launching ‘Studley does Mastershef’.

To enter the competition, pupils need to send evidence of cooking a meal/baking a cake from around the world, (a video, photo etc) and then a picture of the finished product.

For extra housepoints, pupils can translate their recipe into French, Spanish or German. We will be sharing the images here and on social media, so join in and start cooking/baking!

Useful Recipe Phrases – MFL

Studley gymnastics team competed in the Milano Trio National Finals competition last Friday, representing the West Midlands . The team competed against teams across the UK and Northern Ireland.

The girls were one of the top scoring trios of the day and the judge said, “..even though the music stopped part way through your routine, you were still beautifully in sync with each other.”

Studley achieved joint 3rd in the U16 girls category with Edgbaston High School (as the West Midlands schools scores are combined to represent West Midlands region).

The Studley team scores contributed to a Silver for the U16 West Midlands schools.

Ella G, Phoebe H and Mia B represented the school with dedication and professionalism.

Miss Bussey would like to invite all pupils to audition for our forthcoming Musician of the Year competition on Thursday 30th April.

Auditions are being held next week (12th – 16th March). Judging panel are members of staff from across the school.

You can sing or play an instrument as long as you are solo.

Please see Miss Bussey in Music, for an application form.

Awards on the night for:

• Winner
• 2nd
• 3rd
• Junior Winner (Year 7 & 8)
• Most promising performance

GOOD LUCK!

Team History need you!

We are launching an Easter competition – can you create a historical ‘Bad Egg’?!

Prizes will include:

• Lots of House Points for entry
• Easter Eggs
• Book tokens

Deadline: All entries need to be with a Team History member by Monday 30th March

Here are some ‘egg’ samples!

Reading Challenge – To coincide with World Book Day on Thursday 5^th March, National Book Tokens (the charity running World Book Day) recently asked young adults to take part in a survey and recommend their favourite book. See below for the top 25.

The English Department challenges you to read two of the twenty-five recommended books over this term.  You will earn yourself 10 house points for every book you read, and should you complete the challenge, you will be entered into a prize draw. You will need to write a short 100-word review, about the book/s you read and hand it to your English teacher.

Check the library or ask your English teacher if you want to read one of the books.  Some books may be available free through Amazon Kindle download.

Enjoy reading!

A few weeks ago, our Set 1 and 2 Year 9/10 pupils took part in the UK Intermediate Maths Challenge. We are delighted to report that the following pupils achieved an award:

Bronze award:
Amy S
Ayesha Q
Fiona H
Frankie R
Jasmine F
Joseph H
Joshua G
Kinga G
Libby H
Lily M
Morgan D
Niamh A

Silver award:
Riley H

Matthew C (awarded best in year)
Alexender W (awarded best in year, best in school)

Congratulations everyone who took part!

Taking part in the challenge, is a stimulating and rewarding experience for our pupils.

Watch our for the Year 7 and 8 UK Junior Maths Challenge on Thursday 30th April!

Maddy A in Year 9, travelled 230 miles last weekend, to the City of Sunderland Boxing show and boxed last years National finalist, beating her comfortably gaining a unanimous decision win.

Maddy was competed in the 65 – 67 kg category, boxing the hosting clubs own boxer as well last year’s national finalist. Congratulations Maddy!

The following pupils have been working incredibly hard since October, preparing for this year’s ‘Mock Trial’ competition, at Redditch Magistrates Court. Pupils are presented with a fictitious court case and our pupils had to analyse the statements, memorise them for their individual roles, ask questions, write entire speeches to deliver in front of a large number of spectators, as well as learn how an actual court case runs so they can ‘act out’ a mock trial against pupils from other schools.

Well done to:

Misba M
Joe A
Lara B
Alice P
Phoebe Y
Lily T
Bella B
Jacob B
Ruby S
Brandon B
Jacob T

Before half term, the group went to Redditch Magistrates Court with Miss Massey and their magistrate coach, who has been working with them at school. They have watched a real case in action, spoken to witness protection teams, and have been to the cells!

They’ve come an incredibly long way since starting their preparations, especially in the last couple of weeks.

Their big day will be the 7th March – for the finals, we all wish them the best of luck!

We are excited to report that Grace L in Year 7, will be performing in ‘Annie’, at The Core Theatre, Solihull next month as the star role – ANNIE!

Grace will be taking the stage from 10th – 14th March.

It has seen numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours and won the Tony Award for Best Musical.  The musical’s songs ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘It’s the Hard Knock Life’ are among its most popular musical numbers.  Knowle Musical Society are looking foward to bring this classic show to Solihull’s Core Theatre.

https://www.thecoretheatresolihull.co.uk/whats-on/all-shows/annie/22360

Good luck Grace!

Congratulations to Ashleigh G!

Sh recently swam at the Worcester County Championships 2020, swimming for Bromsgrove SC. She swam in eleven events gaining:

6 Gold
3 Silver
1 Bronze
One 4th place

Of her 6 golds, 2 of them were:
100m IM County Junior Champion
200m IM County Junior Champion
(Junior Champion is based up to age 15yrs)
Overall swimmer 50m backstroke gaining a bronze

Well done Ashleigh,what an incredible outcome!

Last week, Year 9 and 10 Performing Arts pupils travelled to the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry to watch the professional touring version of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’.

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is one of the world’s most beloved family musicals. Released as a concept album in 1969, this multi award winning show has been performed hundreds of thousands of times including multiple runs in the West End and on Broadway, international tours and productions in over 80 countries!

The original Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice collaboration, the show continues to delight huge audiences annually, performed by amateur and schools groups and professionally in concert halls, arenas and theatres around the world.

Told entirely through song with the help of the Narrator, the show follows the story of Jacob’s favourite son Joseph and his eleven brothers. After being sold into slavery by the brothers, he ingratiates himself with Egyptian noble Potiphar, but ends up in jail after refusing the advances of Potiphar’s wife.

While imprisoned, Joseph discovers his ability to interpret dreams, and he soon finds himself in front of the mighty but troubled showman, the Pharaoh. As Joseph strives to resolve Egypt’s famine, he becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man and eventually reunites with his family.

Exerpt from www.josephthemusical.com

Pupils learned about the musical during lessons and Year 10 students are studying Andrew Lloyd Webber as part of their BTEC work.

I thought that this version of Joseph was a very strong performance. Being a ‘sung-through’ musical, it is very important to have super vocalists and dancers and that was definitely the case here. Joseph was played by BGT 2019 finalist Mark McMullan, who was brilliant in this role. The narrator was played by Charlotte Kate Warren, who was an understudy but nobody could tell as she was so professional and note perfect. The set, lighting, stage design and live orchestra all helped to make the show brilliant to watch. There was an encore at the end with an opportunity to join in, and some of the audience even gave a standing ovation.

I would really recommend Joseph for anyone who enjoys musical theatre. It’s so good to see a live performance rather than a filmed one because of the live music and set it really comes to life.

Amy E, Year 10

Last week, eighty students went to see the spectacular adaptation of David Walliams’ The Boy in the Dress. 

The Boy in the Dress tells the story of a 12-year-old Dennis, the star striker of the school football team, who feels different. “It is a story about celebrating difference and hopefully that speaks to everyone,” said Walliams. “It is very heartwarming and at the moment it feels like everyone is just shouting at each other all the time. It is quite nice to have something where people can just come out feeling happy.”

The Guardian, November 2019

The whole atmosphere in the theatre was electrifying from the first to the last song.  The music and lyrics for the musical had been written by none other than, award winning singer/song writer, Robbie Williams.

The stage set was incredible as it all moved, and the cast interacted with it all the time.

I thought that the Boy in the Dress play at the RSC was amazing. I loved the performance and the effort that went in was great; there were so many talented singers and actors. ~ Alice Potts

I really enjoyed the performance of Boy in the Dress because they really brought the storyline to life. I also loved how it was staged and the way everything moved around as the scenes changed. -Chloe Kearney

Pupils thoroughly enjoyed the performance and agreed that the best and most rousing song was one entitled: ‘Disco Symphony’, where the whole ensemble turned into black and silver androgynes!

This week, pupils participated in the second Personal Development day of the academic year.

The school was buzzing with activity and each year group focused on an important life theme.

Year 7 were treated to an upcoming pop sensation ‘NoNative‘ who delivered a powerful message about resilience, hard work and being a global citizen through his performance. Accompanying his message students got to take part and enjoy his performances alongside signing autographs and speaking to the other band members.
Students learned about health, disease, exercise, diet and some produced healthy food snacks for visitors and staff at the school.

Year 8 spent the day learning about relationships, self esteem and online internet safety. They also welcomed Brook representatives who delivered sessions on various issues around relationships, sexting and grooming.

Year 9 took part in “Surviving Dutsely Island!”. An interactive team building exercise that puts students in groups to complete tasks and win challenges based around being stranded on an island.

Year 10 explored the complexities of justice and the law, both in the UK and internationally.

Year 11 received sessions from Warwickshire Health Team on abusive relationships. The National Citizenship Service representatives also supported with revision strategies, James Tranter from the Charity ‘Life’ came in to talk to students around the issues of pregnancy and abortion. All students undertook a mock interview supported by over 20 representatives from local colleges and businesses.