Half termly newsletter june 2014 red

Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School Newsletter May 2014

Message from the Headteacher

First World War Centenary

Last week, I received a lovely card from an Upper Sixth leaver.

The student wrote, ‘The teachers have enabled me to reach heights I never imagined I would. It has been a genuine honour to be a student here’. As this newsletter clearly shows, BVGS is a very special place. I hope you enjoy reading about our inspirational school.

Headteacher

There are a number of events taking place in school this year to mark the First World War Centenary. This Spring Year 8 and 9 were treated to an excellent lecture delivered by the Curzon Institute. This focused on the Commonwealth contribution made by the West Indies, India, Pakistan, Canada and Australia to the First World War effort. There were some interesting and thought-provoking personal stories and an explanation of the different standards used by various regiments. There is also a chance for families to get involved. The Curzon Institute are promoting a ‘Why are West Indians’ project looking for stories and photographs of relatives and friends of Caribbean origin who served in the First World War. If you are interested in taking part please email wawiproject@gmail.com.

Debating Success

Well done to Thomas Cotterill and new Deputy School Captain, Tom Reershemius, for their outstanding victory in the Sutton Coldfield Parliamentary Debating Competition.

Their performance impressed Andrew Mitchell MP and Gary Phelps, Editor of the Sutton Coldfield Observer. (Pictured)

Goodbye and Good Luck!

On Thursday 15 May the Upper Sixth Leaving Day took place with customary good humour and creativity.

Whether our leavers have been with us for two, three, four, seven or eight years, we hope they have all enjoyed their ‘Vesey Experience’. Well done School Captain, Tom Jones and Cameron Pallister, for leading an excellent leaving assembly and Zack Campbell for his impressive rendition of ‘We will Rock You’ on the bagpipes.

We wish all our leavers every success and happiness.

http://www.bvgs.co.uk/ Follow us on

The official Bishop Vesey’s Twitter account is @BVGS1527

May 2014

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An Inspector Calls In 1945, John Boynton Priestley wrote a powerful new play, ‘An Inspector Calls’, which places great emphasis on every individual taking responsibility for their actions towards others. This is a message as relevant then as it is now. It is no surprise therefore that this classic is part of the canon of works regularly examined in GCSE English Literature. On 3 April, Birmingham’s Round Midnight Theatre Company gave a fine performance of ‘An Inspector Calls’ in Big School to our Year 11.

The students were decidedly impressed with the production and the professionalism of the actors.

Thanks to Ruth Haywood, Head of English, for organising this excellent opportunity.

Academic excellence is our goal: Oxbridge Conference, 2014 In March we held ‘La Semaine de la Francophonie.’ Well done to Alex Bailey (7R), pictured, and Louis Kill-Brown (9G) who both won prizes for the skill they showed in interviewing members of staff in French!

I am delighted that we had an excellent BVGS turnout to attend the Oxbridge Conference at the NEC in March 2014. We have many outstanding academic students at our school. The opportunity to attend one of the most prestigious universities in the world is an option that should be considered carefully. The message is clear. Aim high. Follow your academic passions. Read around your subject and don’t confine yourself to the narrowness of the exam syllabi!

French and German Exchanges This Spring has seen some excellent opportunities for our linguists. In March, our Sixth Formers studying French visited Lyon. This was followed by a return visit from Lyon and a larger tour party from our partners in Dreux. During their visit, our visitors sampled lessons here in school and visited the delights of Oxford, Warwick and Stratford upon Avon. They benefited from excellent weather too. In the last week of term, we then had our visitors from Bayreuth. They had a wonderful time, including the now legendary Pat Carney cricket experience. All the boys and staff are looking forward to the return exchange visits and the Rhineland trip in June.

Thank you to Rüdi Götschel, Head of Languages, and all his team for their generosity in arranging such an array of fun language learning opportunities!

Spanish trip to Barcelona BVGS Spanish Department were thrilled to be able to run our first trip to Spain at the start of the Easter holidays. April Slater, Dave Goodwin, Martin Lea, Laura Diprose and Muireann Egan took 40 Year 9 and 10 students to Barcelona where they spent five action packed days exploring the many exciting sights this city has to offer. Students took part in a Spanish lesson in a local language school, admired the unrivalled work of Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, Casa Battló and Parc Güell and wandered along the famous Las Ramblas taking in the many street artists (and ice-cream stalls!). The highlights of the trip were definitely a trip to the Camp Nou Stadium and the Port Aventura Theme park where many of the boys (and some staff!) braved ‘Shambhala’ Europe’s tallest rollercoaster. Some relaxation was also had by way of the beach, bowling and some authentic Tapas. Staff were extremely impressed with the way students conducted themselves and they made the trip a very positive and enjoyable experience for all.

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BVGS Newsletter

Excellence in Music Music examination results: Oliver Bardsley - Clarinet - Grade 2, Distinction, Ho-San Cheng - Clarinet - Grade 6, Matthew Hurley Clarinet - Grade 4, Andrew Hyslop - Clarinet - Grade 8 - Merit, Jonathan Parkin -Clarinet - Grade 6, Anna Robson - Clarinet - Grade 7, Matthew Betty - Trumpet - Grade 2, Matthew Prince - Cornet - Grade 1 - Merit, Max Purcell-Burrows - Theory - Grade 5, Ben Woodford - Piano - Grade 6, Distinction, Anna Hutchinson - Singing - Grade 8, Merit, Callum Riley - Flute - Grade 8, Distinction

Musical Magicians A packed Big School was treated to an amazing Senior Soloist Concert on 8 April.

We had 19 outstanding performers with an exciting mix of genres being showcased: from jazz to musical theatre, from film music to virtuosic classical pieces. For some students, this was their last time on the Big School stage. In particular, we thank our Upper Sixth leavers for all the inspiring contributions they have made to Vesey Music. Many thanks also to Wendy Brown, Teacher of Music, and Maryann Dye, Director of Music, for their excellent support for this event.

The Organ Challenge Well done to Kar Fung Yip (11B), whose impressive improvisation skills on the organ ensured he won our first ever Organ Challenge. Thanks to our sponsor, Eric Swindells, local organist and friend of the school, and fellow judge Maryann Dye, Director of Music.

Time to Act

Well done to the 40 Year 7 and 8 students for their enthusiasm in taking part in an exciting acting workshop with professional actor, James Merry (OV). Pictured above, the boys are recreating a scene from Alan Parker’s ‘Bugsy Malone’.

A good BASE for the future!

Y10 Punditry

As part of our work on the gathering and analysis of data, Mr Williams’ Year 10 Maths group conducted a survey on who would win this year’s Premier League. A stratified sample was used with random selection deployed within each stratum to ensure that our sample was representative of the student body. Well done to 33% of students who predicted Man City as Champs!

A Level and GCSE Art Exhibition - Thursday 19 June 7.00-8.30pm – all welcome For the first time Upper Sixth students attended the BASE accountancy competition with Cara Lawson, Head of Economics and Business Studies at Edgbaston Cricket club. The U6th worked as a team with a graduate from BASE to analyse data. They then presented their proposal back to a team of accountancy specialists. Although the BVGS team did not win this year, they had a fantastic opportunity to network with a number of high profile companies including PWC & Kaplan. Those taking part: Rebecca Fellows, Matt Murphy, Bradley Lynch, Will Curwen, Monty Foley-Williamson and Aman Aujla.

Artwork by Amber Seipel - U6th

May 2014

Duke of Edinburgh

The school has successfully launched the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme to Year 10 and has gained a licence to operate as our own Direct Licence Centre meaning we can approve awards within school. The hard work of the staff involved, Martin Lea, Helen Pitt, Laura Diprose and Cara Lawson has been recognised as they have all passed the Supervisor course. Linda Prior has agreed to work as the Duke of Edinburgh verifier so all the systems are all in place to roll out the Silver Award next year. The first group of Year 10 students working towards the Bronze Award have already completed their training expedition The Award requires students to complete all four sections; Expedition, Volunteering, Skill, Physical.

Pictured above: Jack Hickman (10G) and George Barrett (10W) brewing up!

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Lord Mayor’s Quiz

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Mike Leddy and Lady Mayoress, Pauline Leddy (pictured above) attended a recent Sixth Form Assembly, where they awarded certificates to our team who were runners up in the Lord Mayor’s Mega Quiz. Fifty teams from across the West Midlands took part at the University of Birmingham. The teams competed in ten rounds of questions hosted by celebrity quiz-master, Mark 'The Beast' Labbett from ITV's The Chase. Following the assembly the Lord Mayor commented that this was ‘the most attentive group of students he had ever spoken to’ saying that BVGS is a wonderful school.

To UKIP and Beyond!

On 14 March, we had a visit from Andrew Mitchell MP. He met first of all with Headteacher Dominic Robson and students interested in studying Politics at university. He fielded questions on the importance of educating women in order to alleviate poverty and the upcoming Scottish Referendum.

Sutton Coldfield’s MP then addressed the KS3 Debating Society and Sixth Form Council, where he talked about his role in representing his constituency. After his talk Mr Mitchell was asked questions by the student audience on topics ranging from Fracking to the Living Wage and his views on the European Union. Following the visit he said ‘It is always a pleasure to speak to students in my constituency and I am proud of the great enthusiasm and knowledge of current affairs demonstrated here at Bishop Vesey’s.’

Sport Relief 2014

On 21 March BVGS held a 12 hour continuous sports day from 6.30am to 6.30pm in aid of Sports Relief. Student Charity Captain, Anna Robson and Charity Officers Vibi Bhatia and Kate D’Aubney, along with staff Charity Co-ordinator Helen Pitt brought their original idea to life.

Perhaps unsurprisingly football was the most popular option on the day, and resulted in a tournament with over 100 boys playing. Sixth Formers helped when students from Whitehouse Common Primary School joined us. A total of £819.18 was raised and presented to Sports Relief.

(Student Charity Officer, Kate D’Aubney)

Defence Medical Services, Whittington A special ceremony took place on May 8th marking the grand opening of the new national home of medical defence training. HRH Duchess of Cornwall was the guest of honour. Two of our Vesey cadets from Year 8, Omar Harris and Joshua Sherratt, were proud to take place in the ceremony.

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BVGS Newsletter

Attain Travel is a proud sponsor of Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School Sports

Seven is our Magic Number!

Pictured are our proud rugby players from across the school. After a fantastic season, including reaching the national quarter finals of the Nat West Cup, at XV level, BVGS have excelled in the Midlands Rugby Sevens tournaments. We clearly have strength at every level, as every age group have won trophies: U12s (Bishop Vesey’s), U13 (Adams 7s), U14 (Bromsgrove, Old Swinford, Solihull and KE Aston 7s), U15 (Adams 7s), Senior (Stratford 7s).

We are determined to build on the legacy of our outgoing coach, Zak Feaunati, in the coming seasons. We wish Zak every success and happiness for the future.

Inspiration in Sport Emma Smith 6SH (left) did extremely well recently at the Scottish Commonwealth Games Trials.

She finished 4th in the 100m backstroke, missing bronze medal position by 0.05 seconds, 5th in the 50m backstroke and 6th in the 200m Individual Medley. The following week she took part in the British Championships where she had qualified for four events. She made the semi finals for the 50m backstroke where she finished 12th and dipped below the 30 second barrier for the first time .... with her friends watching her on Sky Sports .

Steve Wilson 6JP (left), won Gold in the 100m freestyle at the British Gas ASA Midland Youth Championships at Corby International Pool on Sunday 4th May, making him the 15-16yrs Junior Champion in this event in the Midlands Region of the Amateur Swimming Association. His winning time also qualifies him to compete at this year's British Gas ASA National Championships at Sheffield in August.

Two boys from BVGS, Leo Karski and Leighton Palmer-Whyte, took part in the Under 13 Boys National Schools Biathlon Final held at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Sunday April. They came 2nd and 19th respectively out of 107 finalists. The event involved 100m swim and 1600m run. Well done to both boys.

Pictured right is Leo with his medal.

Well done to Daniel Powell (11W) who won a silver medal in a Top European Cup for Judo in Romania at the end of April (pictured left). Daniel had six fights beating boys from Romania, Albania, Italy, Bulgaria and Montenegro before losing in the final to a boy from the Ukraine. This silver medal puts Daniel in the top 7 in Europe and top 15 in the world and it means that he should be chosen to represent GB at the European Championships that are in Athens in early July.

Ski trip to Wagrain, Austria 2014 An excellent time was had by all on the Half Term ski trip to Austria. The students behaved impeccably and made great progress in their skiing. Thanks to Beth Gainford, Chemistry Department, for organising this wonderful opportunity.

Junior Hockey Tour to Oxford, March 2014 We had a superb Junior Hockey Tour. The boys impressed on and off the pitch and played some quality schools. Thanks to Chris Howell, Director of Sport, and his team for an excellent experience.

May 2014

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Meet the Governors What do Governors do?

The governors' role is not about fundraising, neither it is about cheerleading for the school - though governors might do both those things. School governors provide strategic leadership and accountability in schools. It is governors who hold the main responsibility for finance in schools, and it is governors who work with the Head to make the tough decisions about balancing resources. Each individual governor is a member of a governing body, which is established in law as a corporate body. Individual governors may not act independently of the rest of the governing body. Decisions are the joint responsibility of the governing body. The role of the governing body is a strategic one. Its key functions are to:

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set the aims and objectives for the school

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set the policies for achieving those aims and objectives

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set the targets for achieving those aims and objectives

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monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making towards achievement of its aims and objectives

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be a source of challenge and support to the Headteacher

If you are interested in being a BVGS Governor, do not hesitate to get in touch with Dr John Craggs, Chair of Governors, or Dominic Robson, Headteacher, via s.weblin@bishopveseys.bham.sch.uk

Parm Singh I have been a Governor since March 2013 and serve on both Admissions and HR Committees.

I have been with the professional services law firm, Eversheds since 1987, starting as a trainee and becoming a Partner in 1997. I now have specific responsibility for international consumer sector clients and am Head of Eversheds' India Business Group. I was invited to join the Governing Body to share my professional services skills and experiences.

I am a big fan of sports, both participating and watching.

Graeme Pallister I have been a Governor since October 2013 and have two sons at the school, in Year 7 and Year 13. I am a parent Governor and a member of the HR sub-committeeI am a detective superintendent and have broad experience in child protection and safeguarding matters, as well as change management and delivering performance in financially challenging times. This is all experience relevant to the Governing Body.I am a qualified rugby coach and have coached all age groups for Greater Birmingham, Moseley and currently Sutton Coldfield. I love all sport and believe it can play a significant part in the development of individuals’ characters. I am an advanced scuba diver and have been fortunate enough to dive some of the world’s most beautiful locations.

Dean Carter I am a parent of two boys in the school (Year 8 and Year 10) and have been a Governor since September 2012. I sit on the Finance and Estates Committee and the Investment Committee. I am in the process of setting up an Audit Committee.

I am a Treasurer by profession and specialise in risk and governance (mainly financial risk, market risk and regulatory governance). I have worked mainly in the building society sector for some 25 years and I am currently a management consultant working with bank and building society boards.

I believe in giving something back, and can’t think of a better cause than supporting the teaching staff at BVGS in those areas I have experience in.

BVGS Newsletter

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Veseyans RFC It is with great delight that we can report a wonderfully successful season for Veseyans RFC. The 1st XV rounded off their season in spectacular style with a thumping 95-7 victory over Eccleshall to complete a Championship winning campaign, recording 20 wins, 1 draw and just a single defeat. Captain Zak Feaunati bought the curtain down on his Veseyans journey leading the team to promotion back into North Midlands Div' 2. It was a fitting finale for Zak who has made such a huge contribution to the club over the last 6 years. The 2nd XV finished their season in style with an equally impressive 50-21 win over a quality Handsworth side. The game’s highlight was the appearance of 50 year old Karl Ward playing alongside his 17 year old son Jack who was making his debut for a senior XV's team. It also saw out-going Chairman Mark Tonks make a cameo appearance at the grand old age of 53. When asked to comment on how they felt both were heard to utter the word ‘survived!’ The whole day commenced with a game between the schools current 1st XV and the bulk of last year's side with the current squad victorious. All in all it was a fitting end to an outstanding season for both club and school.

Date for your Diary: Sunday 24 August - Charity Rugby Game Brian Davies, PE department, would like to announce a charity rugby game is being held on Sunday 24 August at Veseyans RFC, in which some staff have agreed to play, alongside former students and other local rugby players. The day doubles up as the grand opening of the development of the new changing rooms at Veseyans RFC, and kicks-off at 3.30pm. It should be a good, family-friendly day, and lots of former students will be involved

Sports Day in the Rain

The rain did not put off the students from getting stuck in on Sports Day on 7 May! Well done to Blue House who finished in first place, closely followed by Red. Thanks to, amongst others, Kevin Doughty, Head of Year 7, and Ben Woodford (Lower Sixth) for their outstanding organisation of the event.

Sports Dinner We were delighted to have Chris Woakes as our guest speaker at our Annual Sports Dinner at the Ramada Hotel on 4 April. Chris is an excellent role model for our aspiring sportsmen and women. He believes in the value of hard work and is a modest, honest professional. We wish Chris a successful season with bat and ball for Warwickshire (and hopefully England too!).

Open Days and Evenings Tuesday 24 June 2014

6.00pm - 8.00pm Headteacher’s address: 6.30pm and 7.15pm

Wednesday 25 June 2014

9.15am - 10.30am Headteacher’s address: 10.00am

May 2014

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The Vesey Foundation Dear Friends of the School I am delighted to give you a progress report on the success of the Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School Sports Appeal that your donations have helped to fund. Following on from January’s ‘Big Switch On’, where Clive Richards OBE, DL, formally opened the floodlights on Middle Field, we hope to hold yet another event on Sunday 29 June to officially open our cricket nets. Looking further forward, we hope to open our four new netball and tennis courts on Wednesday 10 September.

Work on the netball/tennis courts began, with some pace and purpose, after Easter. As you can see, I have been making regular visits to check progress on the works! (see picture). We are delighted that the project, weather permitting, appears to be on course to be delivered on time. As you can see from the plan below, it will be an outstanding facility.

Your generosity couldn’t be coming at a better time. This year has seen our Sixth Form girls crowned as Birmingham netball champions. This is an incredible achievement for a school that doesn’t even have its own netball court! The girls joining our school as New Veseyans make a superb contribution to our school community, as academics, musicians, sportswomen and actresses. They are very ambitious, committed and mature. It is fitting that we should put in place facilities, which match the aspirations and quality of our students.

At the same time, it is great to have the opportunity to re-launch Vesey Tennis. Over the years, our school has produced some fine tennis players, and indeed experienced national success. I know the students are excited at the thought of being able to play tennis in Games, PE and after school.

Thank you once again for your practical support for the school and our vision of delivering an inspirational and excellent Vesey Experience to all our students.

Yours sincerely

Headteacher

http://www.bvgs.co.uk/index.php/foundation-and-alumni/foundation

Thank you for your support