The Lion - Issue 69

www.bablake.com

News and views from Bablake School

Issue 69 | Spring 2016

Back to the 50s!

“Enya’s ‘Back to the 50s’ show has most definitely been added to Bablake folklore ...”

Earlier in the term, Enya Bowe’s ‘Back to the 50s’ concert, arranged for her Gold Arts Award and enabling fundraising for Womankind, delighted a packed Bablake Theatre, which had been transformed into a 50s American diner for the night.

When presenters Charlie Bramwell and Georgia Kelsey introduced the show with a 50s History lesson, everyone present had a feeling it was going to be very special, and indeed it was.

The harmony between all the performers was very noticeable and everyone involved performed as both headline and support act.

Roisin Bowe spoke of her immense pride in her younger sister, a feeling Headmaster Mr John Watson echoed in his praise of the evening.

Over the last few years, Bablake has enjoyed shows such as ‘Love Africa Live’ and ‘A Night at the Oscars’ – occasions where pupils of all ages have not only had fun, worked together and entertained a packed theatre, but have also raised thousands of pounds for local and national charities.

Enya’s ‘Back to the 50s’ show has most definitely been added to Bablake folklore and will be spoken of in the same manner as the charity shows before it!

Fourth Year pupil Enya now has a super portfolio to support her quest to attain the Arts Council's prestigious Gold Arts Award and we are delighted to report that the event raised an impressive £1767.10 for deserving charity Womankind.

In this issue: Oxbridge successes! 2 Engineers Without Borders 3 Business as usual at Warwick 4 Racing ahead! 5 RISING Global Peace Forum 6 Bablake’s Junior Maths Challenge 7 Bablake’s Berlin adventures 8 Indonesia comes to Bablake 10 Artistic notes 11 Creating a scene! 12 Sport 14 Headmaster’s news 16

Bablake News

Future Oxbridge students, Chris Tuttle, Emily White, Anna Knight and Matt Rowlands

Oxbridge successes!

After extensive preparation and intense examination, four Bablake Upper Sixth students have been rewarded with conditional Oxbridge offers.

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he University of Oxford has offered places to Anna Knight, who will read Mathematics at St Anne’s, and Emily White, who will read Geography at St Catherine's. Meanwhile Matt Rowlands and Chris Tuttle are heading to the University of Cambridge to study Law at Selwyn and Medicine at Magdalene respectively.

For Anna and music scholar Chris, their offers cap an excellent year which has

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seen them share the T W Patchett prize for scholarship and courtesy. Meanwhile Emily and Matt have both shown their all-round excellence outside the classroom. Emily is our 1st XI Hockey captain, a founding member of our Feminist Society and captain of Crow House, while Matt, as well as being a committed 1st XV Rugby player and 1st VI Chess captain, is a Fairfax House captain.

Oxbridge coordinator Mrs Helen Skilton, Head of History, commented: “I am delighted that the students’ intellectual excellence has been recognised and am very pleased that their success covers a broad academic spectrum. My sympathies however go to those students whose academic brilliance did not quite meet the very high standards required. They have all done exceptionally well to reach the interview stage and we will undoubtedly be able to commend the exciting

academic progress they will make at the institutions fortunate enough to be stretching them intellectually in the near future.”

As always, we are very proud of the impressive range of destinations for which our Upper Sixth students have been offered places, and are certain another very talented year group will be leaving Bablake in the summer keen to make a very favourable impression on university tutors and employers.

“As always, we are very proud of the impressive range of destinations our Upper Sixth students are being offered places for ...”

Bablake News

And there’s more ...

Deepra Sinha accepted

by MENSA We are delighted to report that Fifth Form pupil, Deepra Sinha, has been invited to be a member of Mensa, the High IQ Society, after achieving scores in the top 1% nationally in both sections of their IQ test.

Many congratulations, Deepra!

Danny O’Malley Scholarship Danny O’Malley’s Sixth Form Academic Scholarship has not yet been reported alongside others. He too deserves many congratulations!

Shall pupils enjoying their design challenge

Engineers Without Borders: Warwick University links All Shell pupils recently had the opportunity to work with Warwick University engineers to design and make wind turbines and to consider the social, economic and environmental consequences of the use of this technology in the developing world.

The outreach project is run by Engineers Without Borders and draws on knowledge and understanding from across many subjects, including STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and Life Choices.

Miss Sam Holyman, Junior Science Co-ordinator said: “This has given pupils an opportunity to work with real-life engineers as well as mix with university students and work under time pressure as a team to achieve a common goal. All of the pupils had a brilliant time

and this has hopefully given them more of an insight into a career as an engineer.”

The event was run by Owen Thompson from Warwick University and started with a lecturestyle presentation in the Main Hall. Pupils then worked in small groups to design and make the turbines. Once the turbines had been made, they were tested with desk fans and awards were given for the best designs. www.ewb-uk.org Bablake School

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Bablake News

Business as usual at Warwick Philippa Morris, Roisin Bowe, and Emily White describe their experiences at the recent ICAEW Base Business Competition at the University of Warwick.

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n Thursday 11th February 2016, two carefully chosen Bablake teams of Sixth Form students competed in the regional heat of the annual ICAEW Base Business Competition at Warwick University; we have been successful in reaching the national final of this competition in 5 of the last 7 years.

Students are required to take on the role of chartered accountants for the day and advise on a variety of real-life business dilemmas to a fictitious client. The clients were played by national accountancy firm representatives, Warwick University Business School staff, and local business leaders.

Each team was aided by a professional mentor to guide them through the challenge and to help organise their presentations. A panel of highly respected judges was also present, judging teams not only on the quality of their presentation and innovative ideas but also on their teamwork throughout the day.

This year, all teams were faced with the challenge of resolving issues encountered by the firm ‘Fletcher’s LTD’ – a family-run business specialising in the production of high quality yet affordable leather shoes. The teams were then given the task of drafting a business plan to look at potential expansion of the firm. One of the Bablake teams was recognised for its innovative and unique focus on diversification of products using leather cut-offs to produce products such as belts and phone cases.

The competition reached a dramatic climax, with both Bablake teams placed in the top four. The teams then had to present to panel of judges once more, and to the assembled entrants. The heat was the closest for many years and anticipation built with a delayed return from the judges as they debated which of the top four teams deserved to win. Alas, we were nudged out of first place, but did manage to secure the runner-up spot.

A good day was had by all and we made some very useful connections.

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Sixth Form students at Warwick University

Bablake News

Getting to grips with Science

Crest Club

The two teams – Arup Racing (above) and Atomic Force (below)

Racing ahead!

Our two F1 in Schools teams – Atomic Force and Arup Racing – recently attended the Regional Final of the F1 in Schools Competition writes Mr Sam Williams.

Having worked incredibly hard over the last nine months developing a team brand, marketing themselves, raising sponsorship, and designing and manufacturing their scale racing cars, both teams had high hopes of a strong result. All the pupils did an excellent job on the day, putting together eyecatching pit displays and conducting themselves in a very professional manner during both their verbal presentation and engineering discussion. The most exciting part of the day was, of course, the racing, when both teams completed all of their races successfully and achieved some impressive times. In the end, it was Arup Racing that raced ahead of Atomic Force in the Bablake battle, achieving an impressive third place overall against some tough competition.

Well done to both teams for all their hard work, and thank you to their sponsors who supported them throughout the project.

Crest Club has involved pupils tackling many exciting projects, from ‘What is the best hair straightening product?’ to ‘What makes a good oral rehydration therapy?’ and such issues have been thoroughly investigated by pupils from Shells to Fifth Year who share a passion for Science and Engineering.

Christina Gallant from ‘Create a Future’ came into school just before the end of the Spring Term to assess the projects. Each pupil has worked on a project by completing experiments, researching on the internet, using text books and interviewing professionals to then create a report explaining their findings.

Miss Sam Holyman, Junior Science Co-ordinator said: “It is wonderful to work with so many enthusiastic youngsters and give them the opportunity to research a topic of interest to them that is outside the constraints of the curriculum.

All of the pupils have worked hard and the projects they have produced are interesting and inspiring – I am very proud of them all.” www.britishscienceassociation. org/crest-awards

Bablake School

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Bablake News

“... now on a clear night, the ISS shines out as a visible symbol of progress made via peaceful cooperation.”

Jasmine and Matthew at Coventry University

RISING Global Peace Forum Sixth Form students Matthew Hayhurst and Jasmine Shankster-East proudly represented Bablake at the RISING Global Peace Forum held at Coventry University.

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xperienced, enthusiastic and articulate public speakers Jasmine and Matthew had been invited to make a nomination for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize alongside Professor Matt Qvortrup and Dr Sariya Cheruvallil – Contractor (Research Fellow in Faith and Peaceful Relations), since Coventry University’s non profitseeking Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR) is one of a small number of organisations worldwide able to nominate candidates for this prestigious award.

CTPSR’s Executive Director Professor Mike Hardy introduced the debate and then called upon our students to open the nominations.

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Sharing their five minute appeal, Jasmine and Matthew made a very convincing case for the International Space Station (ISS) to be chosen as Coventry’s nomination. Both students stressed how the ISS not only encouraged global cooperation, but had proven success in harmonious cooperation.

The conclusion was a powerful, poignant metaphor: where people in turmoil worldwide, but particularly in Coventry's past, had looked to the sky and feared bombs and missiles raining down upon them, now on a clear night, the ISS shines out as a visible symbol of progress made via peaceful cooperation.

After the three nominations, the audience was able to question all of the nominees about their choice. The final twist then came when Professor Hardy asked each nominator to discard their own choice and explain which rival bid should be accepted. Jasmine and Matt chose Anuradha Koirala, impressed by her altruistic actions, while the ISS was the choice of both the other nominators!

Asked about the event, Jasmine commented: “This was a memorable and brilliant experience. Bablake is an International Cross of Nails School that is committed to promoting the values of peace and reconciliation, so it was an honour to have the opportunity to make our nomination. It would be fantastic if our suggestion were then adopted by the city.”

Matthew, also, was full of enthusiasm, saying: “We arrived expecting to present alongside other schools to a young audience, so to have the chance to debate with established academics and adults was challenging but exhilarating. Jasmine and I were really pleased that the other presenters chose our nomination as their second choice too in the final part of the discussion.”

Research Associate Laura Payne complimented our students too after the event, saying: “Jasmine and Matt were wonderful – great speakers and very well prepared. It was a delight to have them on the panel and I loved their innovative suggestion of the ISS. What a credit to the school!”

We now await the decision on Coventry’s nomination.

Bablake News

A cracking Christmas!

Members of the Junior Languages Club were busy in the run-up to Christmas making crackers filled with sweets and tongue-twisters in a variety of languages. Gingerbread heart and star biscuits were decorated ready to be hung on the Christmas tree, though most didn’t make it that far!

C’est bon!

Bablake’s Junior Maths Challenge Alex Hyde and Kogulan Vipulan give their impressions of Bablake’s efforts at the Junior Maths Team Challenge at Rugby High School.

Upon arrival at Rugby High School for the Junior Maths Team Challenge, the Bablake teams consisting of two Second Year pupils (Harry White and Dominic Reeves) and two Third Year pupils (Kogulan Vipulan and Alex Hyde) began tackling practice questions whilst awaiting the arrival of the twenty or so other schools.

The group round consisted of ten six-mark questions, of different difficulty levels. The rules allowed our entire team to communicate and work with one another to achieve the correct answers and it was clear that we worked well together as a team, only getting one question out the ten wrong and finishing just in time.

The second round involved our team working in pairs to complete a cross-number puzzle (as opposed to a cross-word). One pair was given clues to the across answers and the other pair given the down clues. The only communication allowed was to ask for the other pair to work on a specific question or to show the other pair one of your answers. Our team achieved a fairly high mark for this round too.

After lunch, the next round was the shuttle.

This was again in pairs and consisted of 4 questions which needed to be answered within 8 minutes: 3 marks for each but a bonus 3 if all 4 were answered within 6 minutes. We started very strongly, with the first set of 4 questions answered correctly in under 6 minutes. The co-ordinator even said she had never seen anyone complete it as fast as we did. We did not do so well on question set B, though recovered well on C, with once again all 4 questions being answered within 6 minutes. A misunderstanding on set D meant we lost valuable time and so did not perform as well on it.

The final round was the relay round. This

time both sets of pairs were on different tables in the hall rather than everyone on one table.

We had 45 minutes to complete a series of 30 questions and the first pair had 15 ‘A’ questions and the second pair had 15 ‘B’ questions. Once pair 1 had completed question A1, one of the pair would hurry to our allocated teacher. If correct, the teacher would hand them question B1, which they would give to the pair 2, who were somewhere else in the hall. The questions really tested our ability to think quickly; some were easier than others, and although it was not our best round, we finished with a respectable score of 42.

Finally, the results were ready to be announced. As third place was announced (Lawrence Sheriff), we waited anxiously to see if we had made the top two. They announced ‘Second place, Bablake School’ and after rapturous applause, we received the coveted prize of a deck of maths challenge cards and certificates. Rugby School was announced winner, but we were very proud of our achievement.

Bablake School

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Out and About

Bablake’s Berlin adventures Miss Kelly Ormsby and Mr Chris West share their thoughts and pictures from Bablake’s recent departmental visits to the German capital.

Following a 4am start and a few ‘minor’ difficulties with travel arrangements, 61 eager History, Design Technology and German pupils, alongside seven members of staff, arrived in Berlin to begin their five day trip during February half term.

The weather was positively balmy for Germany in winter (although Mrs Rees might tell you otherwise!) and the walking tours of Berlin gave an excellent introduction to the highlights of a city so full of history, with pupils seeing the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie to name but a few. The East Side Gallery was a particular highlight for many of the more creative pupils. Possibly the most poignant part of the visit was the morning spent at Sachsenhausen concentration camp, which really brought home the realities of the Holocaust for both pupils and staff.

Visits to Wannsee House and the appropriately named ‘Topography of Terror’ gave real insight into the Nazi persecution of the Jews in the 1930s and the decision to impose the Final Solution.

Celebrity appearances were regular occurrences on the trip, with some of the party lucky enough to meet German footballer Jerome Boateng, whilst Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance trying on suits in Ralph Lauren, surrounded by armed guards, was a surprise for the Fourth Year girls! The trip culminated in a visit to the

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Out and About

“After joining up with the History Department for a walking tour of the city, the group hit the design trail to expand their knowledge of products, manufacturing, architecture and design, starting with a visit to the BMW motorcycle plant. �

Olympic stadium, home of Hertha Berlin, where pupils had the opportunity to see the history of the 1936 Olympics alongside the modernity of a 21st century football stadium.

Miss Kelly Ormsby Design Technology A group of Upper School Design Technology pupils enjoyed a busy itinerary in Berlin over half term.

After joining up with the History Department for a walking tour of the city, the group hit the design trail to expand their knowledge of products, manufacturing, architecture and design, starting with a visit to the BMW motorcycle plant. Further visits took them to the Science Museum to look at the effects of war on transport and communications, the Museum of Dinge to examine 25,000 everyday items dating from 1896, Templehof Airport for a look at architecture from the 1930s and an exhilarating tour of the Bauhaus Archive. The final visit was a backstage tour of the Olympic Stadium where, once again, the architecture was of particular interest.

Mr Chris West

Bablake School

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Bablake Arts

Bablake students learning about the Gamelan

Indonesia comes to Bablake The Music Department was delighted to host a full Javanese Gamelan for the first two weeks of March.

The Royal College of Music in London has a Gamelan that schools can borrow, and this is how this amazing instrument made its way to Coventry!

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“Pupils have been learning about the different instruments that make up the Gamelan, and have had the chance to learn some traditional music and even improvise their own compositions using it.”

Mr John Pawson, who works for the RCM, actually brought his own Gamelan to us (the RCM one is too heavy to take to the first floor of a building!) and set it up in the EDM Rehearsal Room before holding a wonderful workshop for 2JM. Music staff worked with all Second Year classes, who have recently completed a project on World Music (including the music of Indonesia) and also involved many of our percussionists, as well as Bablake Junior pupils, giving them the opportunity to experience this amazing instrument. Pupils have been learning about the different instruments that make up the Gamelan, and have had the chance to learn some traditional music and even improvise their own compositions using it. It was one of the most exciting practical experiences we’ve had for the lower school musicians, and one we will definitely hope to repeat in future years.

Bablake Arts

NSGSO

Artistic notes

Anna Shirley with Bablake Junior School pupils

Students gain excellent ABRSM marks

Arts Award

ABRSM

Arts Award is enjoying a very successful year, with Bronze level certificates recently awarded to Jasmine Harrison, Maya Koria, Keira Burton, Georgie Paterson, Charlotte Bull, James McCook, Anna Shirley, Ellen Richardson, Madeleine Gallon, Crystal Ng, Giselle Pinto, Namuum Batkhishig and Micheal Adeyemi and Silver level certificates awarded to Sathvika Krishnan and Miles ScottBurt. Enya Bowe is working on the prestigious Gold Arts Award, and staged a Back to the Fifties show earlier on in the term. .

The Music Department hosted its usual ABRSM practical examination session just before the Christmas holiday, and had some fantastic results from all ages and levels. A wide range of instruments was presented by our pupils and with a ‘Prep Test’ piano right up to a grade 8 ‘cello, we had the full range of grades as well. It was lovely to see some of our Bablake Junior School pupils taking their first exams on their instruments, as well as to see the great progress some of our senior pupils are making with their performing.

Shannon Holder Samuel Lowe and (BJS) and Alex Harry Scott-Burt Starling (Bablake Senior) received distinctions for their piano exams which was excellent news, but we are super-proud of two high scorers in this session – any marks over 135 are really outstanding, especially at the highest grades: Samuel Lowe, currently in the Fifth Year and studying GCSE Music as well as being a great supporter of co-curricular music, achieved an excellent 138 for his grade 7 alto saxophone; Harry Scott-Burt, currently in Year 6 at BJS, as well as being a member of the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain, achieved a very rare 142 for his grade 8 ‘cello.

Howard Weyman Howard Weyman, one of our Sixth Form Music scholars, was awarded runner-up prize in the regional Rotary Young Musician of the Year competition, having won a place by winning the club stage of the competition in school last term. Howard was heard by many at Bablake performing in the very successful ‘Back to the Fifties’ show recently, with a lovely rendition of On the Street Where You Live from My Fair Lady.

Howard Weyman

Both Emma Blackett and Charlotte Merry have gained places in the National Scout and Guide Symphony Orchestra this year.

Emma, who also plays in Bablake's Brass Group, Brass Quintet and Wind Band, took up the French horn in Charlotte Merry Shells and is working towards Grade 5 this year; outside school, she also performs with the Coventry & Warwickshire Youth Orchestra. Charlotte has been learning with Mr Steve Cooper since the Junior School and has taken grade 6; as well as playing in school groups and Emma Blackett being a keen member of the Junior Choir, Charlotte plays outside school in the City of Coventry Brass Band.

Art Workshop Soft sculptor Emma O'Brien led a further two excellent workshops for our Second and Third Year pupils in the final week of the Autumn Term, concentrating this time on zombies rather than monsters.

Staff and pupils sat completely absorbed in their sewing and design, all competing to produce as gruesome a zombie as possible.

The gruesomely grotesque zombie creations produced by pupils were truly impressive!

Pupils, monsters and zombies!

Bablake School

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Bablake Drama

g n i ae t

r Ca scene !

We recently enjoyed a superb evening as our four Houses - Bayley, Crow, Fairfax and Wheatley - presented their plays to a thrilled audience.

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Bablake Drama

Bablake School

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Bablake Sport

Boys’ sport Cricket @bablakecricket All our teams have been training hard over the winter months in preparation for the 2016 season and we are once again delighted to have Nick James as our professional cricket coach. Anthony Kilroy, our new Head Groundsman, is also an invaluable addition to the coaching staff and he has done some outstanding work with our young cricketers during winter training.

All Bablake School cricket fixtures can be found online at www.bablakesport.com

Hockey @bablakehockey The 1st XI have enjoyed a successful run in the England Hockey U18 Schools Plate. After losing in the Cup to a very strong Magdalen College team fielding five internationals, Bablake drew local rivals Warwick School in the first round of the Plate competition. In the Warwickshire League, the teams had drawn 1-1, so it was always going to be a close game. The only goal of the game came from Fifth Former Julian Wreford, which secured a 1-0 victory. A physical game against Bloxham School followed in Round Two, which finished 0-0 after full time; both teams squandered excellent chances. The game was decided by penalty flicks

U18 1st XI

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U13 Boys' Hockey

and Bablake kept their cool; goal-keeper Chris Blackett made an impressive save to propel the 1st XI into Round 3. Bryanston School made the journey from Dorset and Bablake struck early with Cameron Park scoring in the opening minutes.

However, Bryanston fought back and levelled the game at half time. Brad McKenzie-Quinn scored the goal of the season to regain the lead which was followed by a short corner strike from Park.

Bryanston scored in the final few minutes, but Bablake held on for a 3-2 victory. Round 4 sees us welcoming Richard Huish College from Taunton.

#CupRun #BablakeSport The U13s finished runners-up in their County Tournament after excellent group stage performances against Warwick School (1-1) and Bishop Vesey’s (2-0). In the semi-final, Bablake

drew 2-2 against King Edward’s, Birmingham. The game went to sudden death penalty flicks and goal keeper Joe Owen stepped up and became a hero, making a crucial save which sent the team into the final. In the final, Princethorpe proved too strong, and we lost 4-1. Bablake does, however, qualify for the Regional Finals which will be held on Thursday 17th March at Cannock Hockey Club.

Rugby So far it has been a soggy term on the rugby field and at times flippers would have been of more use than boots! Despite the conditions, as always, the boys continue to play with pride and enthusiasm and develop their understanding of the game.

In particular the U12s have impressed this term and look to have real potential. In victory against Fairfax, in another downpour, they managed to display attacking flair of a great standard; they also played some outstanding 7s at the recent Warwick tournament before losing in the plate semi-final.

The U14 VII went one better with a 14-12 plate semi-final victory over Lancaster Royal Grammar School, before losing to King’s Macclesfield in a competitive final. Performance of the day belonged to the U16 team who finished second in their group following an excellent victory over Kirkham GS to qualify for the Cup semi-final. Here they pushed traditional School rugby powerhouse Sedbergh all the way in a 39-24 loss. The 1st VII has also shown some early season form with victories over RGS Worcester, Wrekin and KES Aston, securing the Bowl at the KES Stratford competition as well as some outstanding wins at Solihull.

As we enter March, the Coventry Cups come into full swing with the U16s poised to take on King Henry VIII in the U16 final. All other Bablake teams have progressed to semi-finals (still to be played at the time of writing) so it promises to be an exciting end of term!

Bablake Sport

The 1st XV completed their season with the traditional match at Coventry RFC v King Henry VIII. In front of a crowd in excess of 1000 people, both teams put in a massive effort and should be hugely congratulated. Unfortunately, this year King Henry VIII, with their best team for many years, proved too strong and ended 12-0 winners. Bablake had its chances but was unable to score; the team will have to work hard over the next 12 months, which will include an exciting summer tour to South Africa, to regain the Mick Hibbert Shield next season.

Daniel Mousley Many congratulations to Dan Mousley who recently attended the Warwickshire County Cricket Club AGM to collect an award recognising his consistently high performance for the county last summer.

Dan was called on stage by Director of Cricket Dougie Brown to collect the Graham Williamson Memorial Trophy for U15 Player of the Year (a year early) from Warwickshire captain and former England international Ian Bell. A member of the Emerging Player Programme, Dan is an exciting all-rounder who joined the county at the age of 9; an off spinner and fluent batsman, he thrives on extra challenges such as playing in older age groups and playing for the Midlands in last year’s ESCA Bunbury Festival. He scored over 400 runs for the county last season, including four 50s, and was third leading wicket taker across all age groups with 20 dismissals.

Girls’ sport Netball Since the last Lion report, the U15s have played in the Coventry Schools Netball tournament. The U15 A & B teams played exceptionally well, winning all of their games and both finishing in first place. We hope that U13s and U12s will be just as successful over the next few weeks.

The U14s have had an excellent season winning 13 out of 15 matches played. Recently, they competed in the Bromsgrove Tournament, with a victory over King`s High School Warwick being the highlight of the day. Once again, this tournament provided high quality matches, played in a very competitive manner. The girls rose to the challenge and acquitted themselves well, hopefully learning a lot along the way. The draw against the undefeated group winners, Oundle, again indicated the promise that our girls have. The other age groups have continued to train well and have been rewarded with some good results.

The U18 A & B teams were delighted with their double victory over King Edward’s Stourbridge, with the U18C team enjoying a great run of six matches undefeated.

It is pleasing to see the progression that has been made over the year by the U12 netballers and the girls are working hard in training to improve

the quality of their game. The U12 highlight of the season was beating KHVIII twice, in very competitive games, with our girls just having the edge. Both the U13s and U12s are hoping to finish the season with success in the Coventry Schools Tournament.

Hockey The U13 hockey team has had a great season, with highlights being wins over Kinglsey 10-0, KHVIII 11-0 and Princethorpe 7-0. They also competed with great determination (despite extremely wet and windy conditions!), to finish second in the Warwickshire 11-a-side tournament, narrowly losing out to King’s High, who went on to take first place, by one goal.

In the Bablake U13 invitation tournament, the Bablake A team finished winners and the B team took fourth place. They have had a great season in both 11-a-side and 7-a-side fixtures.

The U12 team finished runners up in their Invitation tournament and will hopefully go one better this term when they play in their Warwickshire tournament.

Badminton A team of Bablake boys and girls recently competed in the School Games County Badminton Finals. It was a fantastic tournament and the standard was very high. The girls fought hard but unfortunately failed to make it out of the group stages. However, they were presented with the Fair Play Award for their passion, determination and excellent sportsmanship throughout the tournament. The boys performed extremely well to come second in their group to qualify for the final knockout round where they came a very respectable fourth.

“Dan was called on stage by Director of Cricket Dougie Brown to collect the Graham Williamson Memorial Trophy for U15 Player of the Year from Warwickshire captain and former England international Ian Bell.”

Daniel Mousley

U13 Hockey

U15A Netball

U14 Netball

U15B Netball Bablake School

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Bablake Update

Headmaster’s notes

Diary dates Wednesday 22 April Summer Term begins Monday 2 May Bank Holiday – School closed

I am often suspicious of the findings of research, and not purely when I don’t agree with them! One day we’re told that it’s healthy to eat or imbibe a certain product, only to read the next day that it will take years off our life! When trying to judge the validity of a piece of research, it may be helpful to examine not only its origins (i.e. the reliability of the body conducting and publishing the research), but also the breadth of its investigation. I believe that two pieces of recent research have ticked both boxes: The first was an ‘academic value added’ report by the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) at Durham University. It looked at the differences in attainment between pupils who are educated in independent and state schools from junior or prep school through to GCSE, controlling for differences such as prior ability, socio-economic status and gender. CEM has been operating for over 30 years in over 70 countries and is one of the largest and longest established research groups providing learning assessment for children of all ages. The study comprised representative samples of several generations of pupils in England for whom the Durham team have test results obtained at two (or more) different stages in a pupil’s school career. Over the period 1999 and 2014, a total of 535,237 such paired results for individual pupils were available for study. According to the research, attending an independent school in England from the junior/prep years: adds the equivalent of two additional years of schooling by the age of 16; contributes an additional 0.64 of a GCSE grade across each of a candidate’s best eight grades; and generates superior pupil performance at the ages of 4, 8 and 10. The researchers said that they were unable to explain precisely the reason for such a difference, but the most obvious contender is the overall quality of teaching and learning, linked to a holistic education through which each child develops the confidence to do well, supported by strong parental interest.

The second piece of research came from the widely respected OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) which publishes reports comparing academic outcomes worldwide, based on PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). This recent report looked at UK low

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performing 15 year-olds, who spend less time on average than their OECD counterparts on homework and apparently persevere less to overcome their difficulties. I was particularly struck by one finding: that students in the United Kingdom are less likely to be low performers in schools where teachers are more supportive, where teacher morale is higher and where there are more creative extra-curricular activities available for students. All of these are thankfully facets of education on which we particularly focus at Bablake and in the independent sector generally.

The research reminded me of the twin aims of a Chinese primary school, whose head teacher recently visited Bablake:

Friday 27 May Expeditions Day Monday 30 May – Friday 3 June Half Term Wednesday 15 June New Shell Parents’ Evening 7.00pm EDM Thursday 16 June New Shells’ Afternoon 2.00pm Thursday 23 June Art & Design Technology Exhibition Main Hall 5.00-7.00pm Summer Music Concert EDM 7.00pm Friday 24 June Open Evening 5.00-8.00pm

“To help every student to grow up happily with initiative.”

Friday 1 July Sports Day The Pingles, Nuneaton 9.00am-3.00pm

“To help every teacher work happily with wisdom.”

Thursday 7 July Leavers’ Ball Nailcote Hall 7.30pm

Wednesday 6 July Summer Term ends 12 noon

I believe that a conspicuous contribution to our success at Bablake is indeed made by the close co-operation of teachers and pupils in a positive, ambitious and supportive environment – as is happily and amply reflected in these pages!

Bablake School, Coundon Road Coventry CV1 4AU t 024 7627 1200 f 024 7627 1290 e info@bablake.coventry.sch.uk w www.bablake.com f www.facebook.com/bablakeschool t www.twitter.com/bablakeschool

A Bablake School App is available on both Apple and Android platforms Design by Mustard: www.mustardhot.com Printed on paper sourced from sustainably managed forests.