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This weekend, our SILVER D of E group spent the tackling the hills and trails around Bourton-on-the-Water, Cheltenham.

They combined their skills from training sessions and past expedition experience, in order to complete both days walking in very good time.

They are now setting their sights on their qualifying expedition in Long Mynd, Shropshire – which will take place in Spring 2021.

Well done to everyone involved!

We are delighted to report that the DofE Bronze cohort of 2019 completed and passed their expedition part of their qualification last weekend!

They started in the Cotswold village of Naunton where they navigated their way through the beautiful, sun soaked hills and made it to camp at Hailes Fruit Farm. Pupils enjoyed the weather whilst striking their tents, playing football, playing cards and cooking their evening meals. The weather took a turn for the worse during Saturday night and everyone tried to rest and recover from a long days walk through the thunderstorm.

Although most did not sleep very well because of the horrendous weather during the night, all woke bright eyed and bushy tailed and set off through the rain, making their way towards the picturesque village of Broadway.

Pupils conducted themselves excellently and had to persevere at times through difficult weather conditions. Although everyone was very tired as they arrived at the final meeting point, pupils were very upbeat about their accomplishments achieved over the weekend.

Well done to everyone involved.

Last week, Mr Prince, Catering Manager at Studley High, launched the ‘Christmas Dinner Poster’ competition.

Open to all year groups, pupils were invited to design a poster to represent what Christmas means to them. The winner received a free Christmas dinner!

Mr Prince was inundated with fabulous entries, so 3 winners were chosen.

Congratulations to:

Isabella Ebbon  C2

Evan Fitzgerald-Harris A6

Elyssa-Alabama Hazelton A6

Well done everyone who entered!

Evan

Isabella

Elyssa

We’ve just heard that Lizzie Kingham, in Year 11 has qualified for 2 events at Short Course Winter Nationals in the ‘OPEN’ age group and will be entering as probably the youngest in that category – turning 16 years on the day of her first race.

Lizzie has also recently:

• Been selected for England Talent (Phase 2) once again – maintaining her place on the England Talent Pathway.
• Has qualified for British Championships at Glasgow in April.
• She will almost definitely qualify for British Championships in July too!

She’s been training so hard out of school and we wish her much luck in her forthcoming events!

Last week, we heard from former pupil, Genvieve Lowe who started as a pupil here in 2002. Genevieve is now a successful actress, and we wanted to share her success story:

During my time at Studley High School I really enjoyed getting involved in extracurricular performing arts activities. I owe a lot to Studley High and all the teachers during my time there for supporting my passion and giving me plenty of opportunities to develop my skills!

Whilst at Studley High, I played Rizzo in the school production of Grease, took part in the Shakespeare Schools Foundation (as Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream), was involved in a musical project (The Bee Musical) with local feeder primary schools, and won Studley’s Got Talent with a tap dance routine.

After finishing at Studley High School, I went on to complete my A Levels at North Bromsgrove Sixth Form. Having auditioned at a number of drama schools in the UK and being offered places at Colchester, Mountview and LIPA, I decided to accept my place at LIPA and moved to Liverpool to study a BA Hons in Acting.

Whilst I studied at LIPA I took part in a number of productions, including playing the role of Vic in the UK premier of Bucuresti, a new musical. I also provided voice over work for a Mexican animation company and sang in cabaret for Light’s Up Entertainment.

In 2013, I graduated from LIPA with a 1^st Class BA Hons in Acting and got to meet Sir Paul McCartney.

Since graduation, I have worked professionally as an actor in a number of productions, including: Present Laughter (Daphne Stillington), The Importance of Being Earnest (Cecily Cardew), Peter Pan (Wendy), The Wind in the Willows (Mole), and A Christmas Carol (Mrs Cratchit/Belle). I have also acted in a number of films, a highlight playing French Assassin in indie feature film (Kaleidoscope Man) that was released earlier this year.

Last year I began working with Worcester Repertory Company, playing Desdemona in Othello at Worcester Cathedral, and The Good Fairy Azuriel in their pantomime Sleeping Beauty.

Having always loved pantomime, I was over the moon to be offered the lead in Worcester Rep’s new pantomime this year: Maid Marian and the Merry Men. The pantomime has even been featured in the Stage Magazine for offering a new twist on the classic fairy tale, making the female character the hero of the story!

Alongside acting, I am also an Associate of the London College of Music and work as a musical director/choreographer on various young adult productions, most recently conducting the choir for G4 and Lesley Garrett at Festival on the Close and for G4 again at Birmingham Town Hall.

We are hoping to invite Genevieve to school to speak to our pupils in the near future. Congratulations on your successful career Genvieve!

This week, 80 Year 8 pupils visited the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

The National Memorial Arboretum is the UK’s all year-round centre of Remembrance; a spiritually uplifting place which honours the fallen, recognises service and sacrifice, and fosters pride in our country. It is a living and lasting memorial.

The Arboretum covers 150 acres of land and is a living tribute that will forever acknowledge the personal sacrifices made by the Armed Forces and civil services of this country.

The focus isn’t totally military. There is a large area devoted to Police who have fallen while on duty, as well as other areas devoted to the Fire and Rescue and Ambulance services. National charities representing those who have died in particular circumstances, including children, are also to be found in the Arboretum grounds.

The Arboretum was the brainchild of Commander David Childs CBE who wished to see established a national focus for Remembrance. Following a meeting with Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC, an appeal was launched in 1994 by the then Prime Minister, John Major.

The trip supports the year group’s recent History modules and focused on a variety of aspects including World War One, the Holocaust and conflict in the Middle East.

Pupils toured the arboretum and also took part in a workshop where they investigated a variety of artefacts which were handed out to them to identify and predict what they represented. They then presented their findings to the rest of the group. All pupils took part in a memorial ceremony, remembering those who have fought in wars across the world. Pupils finally took part in a poppy session where they explored the concepts behind this and the place it has in commemoration today.

One particular thought-provoking memorial for the pupils, was the ‘shot at dawn’ memorial, which remembers the 309 British soldiers executed for desertion during World War One. Some of those shot at dawn were young soldiers who lied about their age to join up, such as Herbert Burden. Many of these soldiers may have been suffering from PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) and this was recognised in 2006 with the Armed Forces Act 2006 allowing the soldiers to be pardoned posthumously.

The pupils showed great respect throughout the day and as ever and were credit to the school.

Last week, 128 Year 7 pupils visited Warwick Castle in order to help support their learning in History. Pupils learnt how the castle has changed over time, and found out more about the weaponry and armour that was used throughout the Middle Ages. In particular, pupils were looking at the Norman Conquest and what better place to visit than Warwick Castle, which was one of just 30 personally commissioned castles by William the Conqueror!

Upon arrival, pupils attended an informative talk from one of the Castle’s trebuchet operators. In the Middle Ages, trebuchets were used extensively during the Medieval period, particularly in siege warfare, as they could hurl projectiles of over 15 kg in weight at up 150 mph.  The trebuchet at Warwick castle is currently the largest working medieval weapon of its type and it stands at an impressive 18 metres high and weighs over 22 tonnes!

The guide explained how it was used to fire anything from flaming boulders to break castle walls, to beehives or even dead plague victims to try and target the people living inside a castle. Although, we couldn’t see the trebuchet in action, we still enjoyed finding out about how feared it was as a weapon in the Middle Ages.

Pupils were then left to explore the castle in groups. They were particular focused on the Norman invasion and how this impacted the castle landscape we see today. This was further supported by an excellent tour of the castle led by the Warwick Castle educational team, which took them through 1066 and the Battle of Hastings before moving into the impact of Norman rule.

Next, they went to explore the castle interior and its grounds.  Firstly, they climbed the castle walls, scaling the arduous, twisting spiral staircases – finally reaching the top. The views from the walls made the effort of climbing very worthwhile.  The highest tower in the castle was over 36 metres high and the pupils saw many arrow slits for both crossbows and longbows. Once they had climbed down, they made their way to the King’s Hall where there was a display of weaponry, including swords, guns and even full sets of armour.

Pupils were able to explore all aspects of the castle (including the Horrible Histories maze which many students enjoyed!). At lunch, they were treated to a birds of prey display and many pupils were left clutching their sandwiches as falcons and swooped in amongst the group!

Our guide explained how useful birds of prey were for hunting in the Medieval times, especially if there was a poor harvest, as people would depend on what the birds could hunt. Some birds were incredibly large and one of them, the Andean Condor, had a wingspan of over 3 metres. There were many highlights during the day as the students visited the state rooms, gaol and climbed the hundreds of steps around the castle’s fortifications. 

On June 26th, a group of Year 8 History students visited the University of Birmingham to take part in a ‘History Big Quiz’. This event aims to give students an introduction to History at degree level and University life in general.

Students were split into teams and took part in a mammoth quiz on all things history. Anything from mythology to famous black Britons was asked of the students! In between the rounds , students had a lecture from a History professor on the relevance of History to the world around us and how important it is to us in our lives today to understand how people in the past have lived, thought and behaved.

Dr Michell Chresfield gave a fascinating lecture on the history of trainers (or sneakers) and how they have evolved as an object. Not what you traditionally think of when talking about history but as she stated “everything around us has a history”.

All teams then went back to the quiz (following a lunch on the grass on the beautiful University campus) and competed valiantly. All teams represented the school very well with some extremely competitive groups emerging when the sweet prizes were announced. One of our teams picked up the prize for the best opening round and it is safe to say the sweets did not survive the journey back. As ever, the students were a credit to the school.

This week, Kia Dwyer in Year 7 decided to have her hair cut.

This is not big news normally, but Kia will be donating her locks to children undergoing cancer treatment.

Kia chose to donate her hair to ‘The Little Princess Trust’, inspired by the passing of her Grandad last year, from cancer. She told us:

I know my hair will be going to someone who has lost their hair through cancer treatment or other illnesses. My hair will make a wig, to help another young person who doesn’t have their own hair.

Her mum, Kerry told us:

I am very proud of Kia for being so selfless and proud that she decided to donate her hair to help other young people, inspired by her grandad.

Hair must be a minimum of 12″ before it can be used by the charity.
For more information: http://www.littleprincesses.org.uk

This week, as part of the Studley High School STEM programme, Year 9 students visited SECO Engineering in Alcester.

SECO is one of the world’s largest providers of comprehensive metal cutting solutions for milling, stationary tools, holemaking and tooling systems. They develop and supply the technologies, processes and supports that manufacturers depend on to maximize productivity and profitability.

They gained an insight to the various roles, career pathways and opportunities available in engineering and spent time with staff, apprentices and completed some practical exercises as well as having a tour!

On Saturday 10th March, the big day arrived for the Mock Trial team. Since October, the team have been preparing to present their court case and battle it out against other local schools.

Nerves were running high, but as soon as they got into the swing of things it was obvious how much hard work they had been putting in. All pupils involved were amazing on the day and showed their understanding of pulling court cases apart and questioning witnesses. Sadly, only two schools out of the ten involved, could go through to the next round and we didn’t quite make it, however they should all be proud of how far they have come in the process.

Well done Mock Trial team, for making it as far as you did!

Just before half term, GKN apprentices visited school, to speak to our pupils about careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).

GKN is a global engineering business that design, manufacture and service systems and components for original equipment manufacturers around the world.

Rebeccah Freeman, 4th year engineering apprentice, told our pupils:

My uncles are engineers and I loved hearing them talk about it and also my dad was a mechanic.I used to spend weekends and school holidays at my dad’s garage which inspired me to want to get into that sort of career. I loved Maths and Science at school and did A Level Maths as result.

I am currently in my final year of my 4 year apprenticeship and completing my final year of my foundation degree which GKN, who have sponsored me for.

I do my foundation degree on a day release program while working as a manufacturing engineer the rest of the week. I work as a manufacturing engineer on sideshaft assembly, and have recently been asked to be involved in the implementation of a new cell which will be coming into the area.

Once my apprenticeship is over I will be staying in the sideshaft assembly area to be able to gain more knowledge and skills to help me excel within my career as an engineer.

Emily Pringle, International Graduate Engineering, GKN Aerospace, told us:

My inspiration to go into engineering was mainly that I love Maths at school and liked the problem solving aspect.
Before applying to university, I was conflicted between engineering or business. However, I learned that industrial engineering would allow me to work in a wide range of roles from very technical to more on the business side of any industry.

In my current role I am looking at the flow of material through the plant and how to better optimise the building process of an aircraft window. In one of the production buildings, the manufacturing takes place on multiple levels each of which had components stored that are needed to assemble a window. I have implemented a new system in which all the components are stored near the point of use in assembly.

As part of our school careers education programme in widening participation and raising aspirations, Year 9 girls had the opportunity to attend Oxford Mathematical Institute and Department of Statistics this month.

Purpose of the visit was to inspire young women to continue with Maths education.

The day consisted of master classes, hearing about and engaging in all things ‘Maths’ and listening to lectures from leading women in Mathematics and Statistics, alongside other girls from other schools.

It was such an informative and inspirational day, filled with exciting talks! It has helped me envisage my future and made me think seriously about Maths for my future choices.

Alice H

I enjoyed the day and found it very inspiring. It was educating and I will now take Maths A level and seriously consider University.

Abbie Staples

I really enjoyed the Maths trip to Oxford University, I found the lectures interesting and the master class informative! The questions were manageable but challenging and educational. Overall the experience was once in a life time opportunity and enthused me to go onto University!

Alice Kerridge

Many thanks, great idea allowing my daughter to experience such an activity and experience of higher education and Maths.

Parent of Year 9 pupil

An excellent opportunity allowing pupils to experience a master class in Mathematics as well as to understand the importance of the subject at an establishment such as Oxford.

Mrs Smith, Maths

Studley High Y8 pupil Latesha Grant had the chance to join Andy Murray at the world-famous Wimbledon venue when she recently took part in the HSBC Road to Wimbledon Midlands Regional Qualifier at Billesley Tennis Centre in Birmingham.

Latesha was playing for a spot at the National Finals of the HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14 & Under Challenge at the All England Club between August 14 and 19.

Latesha, who trains at Redditch HDA Tennis Club, is adamant we have not seen the last of her after losing out 5-7 0-6 to Talia Neilson-Gatenby in the second round.

“I’d give myself a five or six out of ten for how I played,” she said. “It was a tight first set, pretty neck-and-neck and I’m quite happy with how I played in it.

“I was attacking a lot and hitting the ball deep, but it was tough to recover from the last game of that set.

“I’ve played in the county version of this event before and came second overall. This is my first year playing in this and hopefully I’ll be back again next year.

“My mum was looking through a newspaper and then found the tennis club. I just started to join for fun when I was four years old and now I do it competitively.”

Full article: https://redditchstandard.co.uk/sport/town-duo-to-learn-from-experience/

We were proud to read about Jacob in the Redditch Standard this week. Jacob Tipping in Year 8 and his friend are offering gardening services to elderly and disabled people in and around Studley this Summer, and doing it all for nothing.

Inspired by an American initiative, they have committed to reaching various milestones in the project and have started their support already. You can read about the challenge here:

https://weareraisingmen.com/the-50-yard-challenge/

You can read the article in the press here:

https://redditchstandard.co.uk/news/redditch-boys-are-a-cut-above-with-free-lawn-mowing/

Well done Jacob who will be achieving so many Studley High values:

• Adaptable
• Aspirational
• Charitable
• Creative
• Independent
• Mature
• Resilient
• Selfless