The Lion | Spring 2007
9
TALKING OURSELVES UP Bablake’s debaters and public speakers have made a fine start to the year, progressing in no fewer than four separate competitions
THE SCIENCE OF SUCCESS Bablake successes at Nuffield Science Celebration Day On 9 November seven budding young scientists from Bablake were invited to the Great Hall at Birmingham University to present their Gold CREST (Creativity in Science and Technology) awards. They had received bursaries from the Nuffield Foundation to carry out research in hospitals and universities during their summer holidays. After putting up posters to illustrate the research project completed last summer, each pupil gave a presentation and was then gently cross-examined by three judges. There were 73 projects from the West Midlands and the competition was tough. The Bablake projects were: Reena Panchal Someit Sidhu Aradhna Sachdev Kiran Desai Helen Price Imran Ahmed Suzie Smith
Clostridium Difficile (a hospital superbug that is very topical) Coronary Stents Release of Adenosine and the Control of Sleep Effectiveness of Eye Protection Against Optical Radiation Effect of Foot Rot on Ewe Productivity Obesity and Type II Diabetes Production of Hydrogen Sulphide from the Heart
Someit’s and Reena’s projects were both judged to be in the top five in the region and Reena was further judged to be the best in the West Midlands. All of the pupils received their much deserved Gold Awards. Overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable day, and the chips in the university canteen were much appreciated. The pupils would like to express their gratitude to the project mentors and the Nuffield Foundation for providing them with such a great opportunity to experience real scientific research so early in their lives.
Anyone who has followed the development of this activity at school over the last three years will recognise many of the names mentioned below, but fresh talent has also emerged in the shape of Lower Sixth debating partners Jamie Stefaniak and Will Chamberlain. They won the first round of the BMI debates in November. More familiar are the names of Someit Sidhu, Mark McKelvie and Liam Collins-McIntyre. Together they have won local heats of both the BPW and the Rotary Club ‘Youthspeaks’ competition; Bablake has won the latter of these for three years out of four now, and the former for two years out of three. The boys approach the next rounds – the District Finals – with high hopes: in the last two years they have, in various combinations, come within one place of qualifying for the National finals of both these prestigious competitions. Someit has also continued to enjoy success with his debating partner, Marco Orsini-Jones. Shortly
before breaking up for the Christmas holidays they defeated three other schools to progress into the next round of the country’s premier schools’ debating competition, the ESU Mace. Many of our younger public speakers have also performed admirably: Pam Upall, Chris Lamb, Jonathan Smith, Sareena Kainth, Chris Starkey, Frank Sackey and Elizabeth Stefaniak have all represented Bablake. Collectively, they represent a very strong ‘squad’ to carry the school’s debating tradition forward, when some of the ‘old hands’ hang up their cue cards. Alongside the competitions mentioned above, the lunchtime debating competition has been progressing well. More than thirty pupils have participated in this activity, which takes as its model the format of the ESU Mace, thus nurturing talent to represent the school in future years. The standard has been pleasingly high and at time of writing the competition has reached the semi-final stage.