Out of the Blue - Summer Edition 2020

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The Blue Coat School Founded by the Church of England in 1722

Space Adventure

Class of 2020

Buttons and Transition enjoy their ‘Out of this World’ topic.

Congratulations to our Year 6 Leavers on their fantastic results!

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From the study…

As we conclude this academic year, I must commend all the staff and children for their hard work, ingenuity and co-operation over this strange and extraordinarily challenging time.

I applaud the staff for their drive and efficiency in offering an unrivalled home learning package. As much as its illustrious history, this contemporary ‘can do’ attitude – personified by pupils and teachers alike - defines our School.

In such a period of uncertainty, it is good to confirm that some things remain constant. I am so proud of our Year 6 children. Hard work pays off, and the senior school results reinforce the reputation of high academic achievement here.

Amongst our good wishes to all our leavers, a special mention is due to the staff of Buttons Nursery, which has now closed its doors after so many years. These dedicated people have played a significant role in shaping the future of so many young lives. Their legacy lives on through the children who continue to grow in grace here at School.

Noel Neeson, Headmaster

Term Round Up Just a few months ago we could not have anticipated that our summer edition of Out of the Blue would be looking back on a term quite like this one! With the Government issuing the closure of all schools on 20 March, it was only for the care of Key Worker children that The Blue Coat School remained open from Monday 23 March.

Key Workers or critical workers as they were also known, were defined as those essential to the fight against COVID-19. With a high proportion of our parent body employed in the NHS, it was no surprise that BCS would continue to look after up to 100 pupils daily during this period of closure. We continued to stay open for the entirety of the Easter holidays too.

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In true BCS fashion, everyone pulled together. Chaplain and the Chapel Choir recorded a special lockdown song called ‘Looking to the Rainbow’. This set off a chain reaction as hundreds of schools around the country followed suit and created their own versions of the

song which was penned by Mrs Drake. Mrs Lynn and her daughter Sophie galvanised a team of sewing bees to make laundry bags for the hospitals and care homes and a new BCS Distance Learning Programme was created. Meetings on Zoom and Google Meet became ‘the new normal’ and teachers had fun creating their Bitmoji avatars to brighten up their Google slides!

Sadly, many of our wonderful summer events were cancelled, including Sports Days and the much anticipated Prep Residentials and Year 6 French Trip. We were delighted however, to see the children adapting to online learning so readily. It was heartening to receive photographs of their work at home, rainbow creations, lockdown VE celebrations and to speak to them on the telephone or over Google Meet. With the wonders of technology, the BCS family stayed connected as Mr Neeson and his staff were beamed into sitting rooms around Birmingham for weekly assemblies and Chapel; while our younger children tuned in to Storytime with the Neesons.

In the Spotlight Mr Melia joined BCS in September 2018 and he will be taking over as Head of Boys’ Games next term.

We caught up with him to find out a little more.

Q. What were you doing before Blue Coat?

A special delivery brought Mr Neeson’s Golden Table to the children as they received a golden letter of congratulations for continuing to uphold their Blue Coat Values through this testing time. A ‘Welcome to Prep’ video series was created by Mr Newman and Mrs Andrews was able to welcome Pre-Prep virtually also by a video link. Mr Nicklin and Mr Hill produced an online Concert and Thanksgiving Services and we even managed a virtual House Sorting event where Year 2 and our September joiners were greeted by the House Heads and found out whether they would become a St. George’s or a St. Philip’s boy or a St. Monica’s or a St. Margaret’s girl.

On 1 June, the first phase of the reopening began as we welcomed back Transition, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 in line with Government guidance. The children were assigned to ‘bubbles’ of no more than 15 and new social distancing markers appeared around the site. Two weeks later, we were proud to lead the way as one of the few schools in the country to reopen for the remaining year groups ahead of the summer break. It was only those shielding and our youngest Buttons children that remained at home for their own safety due to their age and the difficulty in achieving social distancing measures. Not quite BCS as we knew it but nevertheless there were smiles all round as the grounds were once again filled with the sound of chattering and laughter. The Mario brothers, aka Luke and Simon from the catering team also found time to deliver ice creams as a special treat one hot and sunny Friday morning!

A. Prior to teaching I’ve had quite a diverse number of roles: I went travelling and worked as a Rugby and Volleyball coach, a cowboy on a cattle ranch, a drill rig operator driller for Bauxite and a farmer! Once I settled back in the UK, I became a PE teacher at Secondary school before transitioning to Primary.

Q. What is your favourite sport and why?

A. I’m very much a jack of all trades and master of none which is why I enjoy Triathlons so much. Having 3 completely different elements to the sport makes it such an open event to watch and compete in.

Q. What would be your initial highlights at BCS? A. 100% being part of The Blue Coat community. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know and being welcomed by every pupil, parent and colleague. Whether it’s a quick chat in the House, on the sidelines or at the crack of dawn at Cross Country club, it’s been a pleasure getting to know everyone.

Q. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

A. I definitely practise what I preach so therefore when possible, I am exercising one way or another.

Q. In your new role as Head of Boys’ Games, what will be your main priorities?

A. I want to instil a passion for sport for each and every pupil. My aim is to ensure that every pupil has had every opportunity to find a sport they enjoy and will take with them into their adult lives. Developing good, healthy habits is definitely a priority.

Q. How was your lockdown experience?

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To our Year 6 Leavers, we say a very fond farewell. For them more than others it was a bittersweet return to school. Not the send-off they had hoped for but at least a chance to receive their Leavers’ Yearbook and hoodies and to renew friendships and see teachers before moving on to senior school. We congratulate them on another set of incredible results. Unhindered by COVID-19, the Class of 2020 can deservedly celebrate 176 offers from independent senior and grammar schools, including 45 grammar places and 47 scholarships and awards, recognising their exceptional academic ability, as well as talent for music and sport.

A. A few weeks before lockdown we had the arrival of Poppy, my daughter. Lockdown has enabled me to spend a lot more time with Poppy than I had ever expected which has been brilliant. I got to work with the Key Workers’ children too which was great fun!

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Pre-Prep Classroom Space Adventures Buttons Nursery and Transition children have made the most of the time at home and covered topics including the animal world, recycling, healthy eating and people who help us. While learning about Our World: Out of this World, the children went on a journey into outer space just like Baby Bear from Jill Murphy’s Whatever Next.

Sebby had fun getting into character and boarded his own cardboard box ready to take off! Meanwhile lots of super junk rockets were made and wonderful astronaut costumes and pictures were created.

The children have continued to practise their letter formation and numbers using shaving foam, sand, paint and fingers! Role play activities such as ‘playing shops’ and sorting household objects into sizes and shapes have helped to embed key concepts.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Reception were very creative in creating models from recycled junk. They watched storytime with Peppa Pig who also likes to recycle. In another activity they were introduced to the slogan ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ and after watching The Messy Magpie they followed instructions to create their own recycled paper. As the Government sanctioned the phased reopening of schools from 1 June, the children were soon relishing being back at BCS and had lots of fun in the Forest School, climbing trees, collecting sticks and enjoying the outdoors.

Bog Baby When two small sisters go fishing to the magic pond, they find something much better than a frog or a newt. They find a bog baby!

Small and blue with wings like a dragon, the girls decide to make him their secret. Year 1 enjoyed reading all about the discovery of this woodland creature in the story The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis.

They had lots of fun making their own forest creatures using clay and other embellishments before writing a woodland setting description to describe their habitats.

Poetry Week In their first week back in school, along with Years 3 and 4, the children in Year 2 participated in the BCS Reciting Poetry

by Heart Week. After observing some professionals at work performing their poems, including James Carter who visited BCS last year, the children were supported to learn a chosen poem by heart and perform it to others. Year 2 chose from poems such as Daddy fell into the pond by Alfred Noyes and Zim Zam Zoom by James Carter. Some fantastic reciting by heart Year 2 – well done!

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“Learning the poem was so much fun and I really enjoyed adding actions as well!”

Aria

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“I enjoyed trying to add facial expressions when performing my poem just like Michael Rosen does.”

Sam

Prep Classroom

Bella Italia Year 3 enjoyed a ‘Bella Italia’ project in their Humanities studies. They located Italy on a world map, identified the capital cities and some of the physical features of the country such as mountains, rivers, lakes, valleys, coastlines, bays and the surrounding seas.

Their challenge was then to create a 3D physical map of Italy using items they could find around their homes. Amongst the ingenious ideas we had maps created from pizza, grass cuttings and even items of clothing! Ismail was also inspired to do some home baking and made a delicious looking Colosseum out of gingerbread!

The Aztecs Year 4 learnt about the features of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan including how it was built on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco. The Aztecs built many canals throughout the city and these canals acted like water roads that allowed people to easily travel around the large city in boats. The city was well planned and laid out in a grid that made travelling around the city easy and it was connected to the mainland by three giant causeways. The children enjoyed using their creativity and imagination to make their own Aztec temple with lots of super examples of different temples – well done Year 4!

Titanic Project Normally in the Trinity term our Year 6 would be having a talk on the Titanic by Andrew Lound. Luckily they were still able to cover this topic and spent a busy few weeks preparing their Titanic Trinity Project Slideshow (not a scrapbook this year!)

The children took great care to produce stunning Google Slides following their lessons, all with superb animations. In English, they also took on the role of a Titanic survivor, creating some fantastic written outcomes describing what it was like to watch the ship sink to the depths of the Atlantic.They also became advertisers and created their own radio advertisement to persuade passengers to buy a ticket to board the luxury liner as either a First, Second or Third Class Passenger.

The children recorded their adverts and presented them to their peers.

Becoming a Paper Engineer!

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A distance learning highlight for Mrs Lynn was being able to link up with eighty Year 5 children online and to teach them ‘How to become Paper Engineers!’ The children were delighted to learn a new skill and sent in lots of photographs of the beautiful designs they had created.

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BCS Performing Arts It is with great regret that we are unable to review a Year 6 production this year. As we went into lockdown, the children had already been cast in their roles and were due to perform Not So Super, the tale of pupils learning to harness their super powers at St Anley’s Academy. Sadly, this musical would not grace the BCS stage this year.

Children across the school had also been working very hard towards their LAMDA exams so it was a great disappointment for these to be cancelled. Mrs Foley hopes to be back at Blue Coat as soon as she can.

So let us turn to a more positive note, and use this opportunity to look back on the Year 4 production of Charlie and Chocolate Factory. Last term we only produced an online edition and so we thought it would be nice for the children to see themselves in print on this occasion!

We would like to thank Mrs Jennings who will be leaving BCS this summer to dedicate herself to training for ordination in the Church of England. Mrs Jennings will be fondly remembered for her super Lower School productions and for her many years’ work as School Librarian.

We hope, and expect, that she will be fulfilled in her new ministry.

Good luck, Jo, and thank you.

What would you do if you found a golden ticket wrapped around your favourite chocolate bar?

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The children of Year 4 performed Roald Dahl’s classic tale of Charlie and the Chocolate factory, delighting us with the tale of Charlie Bucket who was the lucky finder of the last golden ticket to visit Mr Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Amid greedy, spoilt and indulged children our hero of the story showed the true meaning of gratitude as he toured the chocolate factory with his faithful Grandpa Joe.

He witnesses unpleasant things happening to the other children until Mr Wonka realises that Charlie is the only boy left and now faces a future filled with exciting chocolate making and never having to starve again!

Year 4 out did themselves this year. The energy and sparkle that the children brought to the stage was simply outstanding. We must remember that these are 8- and 9-year olds, committing themselves to producing a performance of such high standards in just 5 weeks of rehearsals!

Some rather nifty technology and a wonderful vibrant set added to the children’s spectacular performances and has made this year’s lower school production one to remember.

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Special mention must go to Harry Fraser and Susie Tomlinson who from the very start of rehearsals had learnt many many lines and showed commitment in both stage discipline and talent. However every child played their part with 100% commitment – congratulations Year 4!

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Musical Notes An exciting project saw pupils and Chaplain feature on an ITV Central News television broadcast one evening in April. Chaplain had been working on a special Lockdown Song and with the help of Mr Nicklin, she contacted members of Chapel Choir to record themselves singing in their homes. Mr Nicklin then edited all the clips together into a fantastic music video to spread a message of hope.

Although it was not possible to enter any examinations this Spring and Summer we acknowledge the achievements of pupils in the ABRSM examinations earlier in the academic year. Thank you to the Visiting Music Teachers for continuing to offer online instrumental tuition throughout the lockdown. This was extremely well received and kept music-making very much part of life for our Blue Coat pupils.

Just as a beautiful and bright rainbow brings hope of things getting better after a storm, members of Chapel Choir were able to bring joy and a sense of togetherness at a very worrying time. Mrs Drake’s ‘Looking To The Rainbow’ song reminded the school community that although they were temporarily separated, pupils, teachers and parents were still united as one BCS family.

The Blue Coat recording of the song garnered more than 65,000 views on Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and the internet. It attracted the attention of the Church of England who went on to showcase the song at the launch of its national ‘Faith at Home’ campaign, with hundreds of schools around the country being inspired to create their own version. This will undoubtedly go down in Blue Coat history and become an important part of the Archives for future generations to look back on.

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The Chapel Choir also featured on three new songs by Nick and Becky Drake which were recorded pre-lockdown, and they sang a beautiful blessing, ‘Go Forth in Peace’, by Jo Forbes and Alex L’Estrange as part of the Prep Thanksgiving Service. Amongst the flurry of distance learning and welcoming the children back to school, Mr Nicklin and Mr Hill found time to record a mini-recital (sociallydistanced) for parents to enjoy at home showcasing a number of our senior pupils.

Finally, as we approached the end of term we bid an emotional farewell to Mrs Happ and her daughter Clare who are heading back to America. On a wet lunchtime, we gathered outside in our bubbles and with the help of vocals from Chaplain and Mr Nicklin on keyboard, we gave them a Blue Coat send-off. Mrs Happ, has been an invaluable asset to our school family. Not only has she been an outstanding music teacher and pastoral support to a number of children, but Mrs Happ has also embraced the school ethos and given so much of herself. She will be sadly missed but she goes with our very best wishes as she starts her new life in Chicago.

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Examination Results 2019 – 2020

Instrument

Alveena Ahmed Adam Bashir Hugo Brinkman Georgina Bryne Alexandros Constantinou Wilf Crow-Marcetic Anya De Vidur Doger Harry Forty Erin Hickebottom Thomas Hodges Samuel Hodges Jolin Hu Jolin Hu Rubie Johal Aiza Khan Nandini Kumar Nandini Kumar Boyi Li Sofia Mahmood Lucia Maio Tobias Mantle Abhav Massey Aarav Massey

Singing Piano Singing Music Theory Guitar Singing Violin Music Theory Singing Violin Piano Piano Flute Music Theory Singing Clarinet Music Theory Violin Violin Music Theory Alto Saxophone Alto Saxophone Music Theory Singing

Grade Result

2 5 1 1 2 3 3 1 2 1 1 3 1 4 1 1 1 3 5 1 2 3 1 3

Pass Pass Pass Distinction Pass Merit Pass Distinction Pass Distinction Pass Merit Distinction Distinction Pass Pass Merit Pass Pass Merit Merit Merit Distinction Pass

Instrument

Samah Mirza Imogen Mudie Zuva Mumbengegwi-Redmond Nayan Najran Elaine Nguyen Nanda Nishanth Dexter Noble Hriday Parekh Esmee Raghavan Esmee Raghavan Jacob Romano Silas Saha Aashani Shah Avantika Sharma Anusha Singh Priscilla Stojek Rebecca Sun Samuel Tan Susanna Tomlinson Oliver Tucker Tarini Vemuri Li Wan Lara Willcox

Violin Music Theory Alto Saxophone Piano Music Theory Piano Guitar Piano Cello Music Theory Trombone Music Theory Music Theory Music Theory Singing Music Theory Piano Cello Trumpet Guitar Music Theory Violin Music Theory

Grade Result

2 2 1 2 5 2 3 2 3 5 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 3 1 1 1 3 2

Distinction Distinction Merit Pass Pass Merit Merit Pass Distinction Merit Merit Distinction Distinction Pass Merit Merit Distinction Merit Distinction Pass Distinction Distinction Distinction

Thank You School Leaders!

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As we come to the end of the academic year we thank our School Leaders who have done a sterling job all year. They have represented the views of their peers and communicated these to Mr Neeson. They helped Mr Moss to organise a charity day in aid of Children of the Mountain and during lockdown they organised four House challenges - a 2km run, Bake Off, House Art and Rainbow hearts. Thank you to Freya, Will, Hari and Maggie for being such fabulous role models. Take a look at some of the entries we received:

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BCS Young Scientist “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”

Carl Sagan The 2020 Science Fair was launched back in December with a presentation to parents and children describing our rationale for running the projects and detailing what a ‘good project’ would involve. In some ways the most challenging part of the entire process is for the children to determine the topic, and specifically, the key scientific question, to be investigated. This year’s projects did not disappoint and addressed a variety of fascinating questions such as: How does the shape of the blade affect the rate of spin of a wind turbine?

Do you get what you pay for with ballet shoes?

Does the tempo of music affect your heart rate?

How can I vary the period of a pendulum?

How to make the perfect iced drink.

So, whilst we could not enjoy a ‘normal’ Science Fair, the completed projects were shared with the rest of School in Update. These projects displayed the creativity, scientific thought, thoroughness, skill and clarity we were looking for. The children have demonstrated their Blue Coat Values and cheerfully tried hard, despite the circumstances.

Can potatoes power a clock?

Are expensive batteries worth the money?

Which sail is best for a sailing boat?

Without doubt the children have built upon their understanding of Science and the investigative process. They have experienced the scientific method first hand and dealt with any difficulties that arose.

We are incredibly proud of each and every Year 6 child for their commitment to Science throughout the year – Well done!

The children were guided through the stages of the Scientific Method: Question, Research, Hypothesis, Method (including the ‘Fair Test’ principle), Results, Analysis and Conclusion. The final step was to produce the presentation board and hold our 2020 Science Fair, when school was closed!

When it became apparent that holding a physical Science Fair was no longer a possibility, the Year 6s might have been forgiven for choosing not to invest further time and effort to complete their projects but in fact the opposite occurred. Every child completed summary questions and over half of the year group chose to finish off their projects in their own time and produce their presentation board.

BCS AWARDED PRIMARY SCIENCE QUALITY MARK

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As we go to print we have just found out that we have achieved the prestigious Primary Science Quality Mark.

Associate Professor Jane Turner, PSQM National Director said: “The Coronavirus Pandemic has made everyone aware of the impact of science on our daily lives. Schools that have achieved a Primary Science Quality Mark have demonstrated a significant commitment to science teaching and learning, even at this challenging time for schools.”

Congratulations to Mrs Simmons and Mr Fogarty who have been instrumental in the School gaining this award.

Year 4 Heroes A variety of questions were posed to Year 4 in preparation for the children to decide on a hero for the Year 4 Heroes Evening. The children were asked to develop a visual display about the life story, achievements and successes of their chosen hero and to explain why they are a hero to them.

What does the word ‘hero’ mean to you?

we How do e recognis heroes?

Unfortunately, the celebratory interactive exhibition was unable to go ahead as planned, so the children were given extra time to complete their work and were asked to send in photographs of their completed presentations to their teachers.

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All the photographs were compiled into an online presentation which was shown to all Year 4 children at the end of term. A big thank you Year 4– it has been so interesting to look at your displays and to see the many and varied people you have chosen!

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It was clear from the photographs received that a great deal of thought, time and care had gone into the children’s displays and the Year 4 teachers were very impressed by the standard of the children’s work.

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What kinds of things do heros do?

Who is a hero to you?

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BCS Creative Arts Gallery

Transition - Bee

Reception - Tiger

Buttons - Creating with colour Year 1 - Tartan bag designed for Katie Morag

Year 2 - Oil pastel inspired by Van Gogh’s Starry Night

Year 3 - Standout Artist, Jolin Hu. Study of Keith Haring

Year 6 - Portraiture

Year 4 - Standout Artist, Lois Hughes.

Mexican Alebrijes (hybrid animals)

Year 5 - Toy Designer - sock puppet

Photography The introduction of photography as a TED option proved extremely popular. All pupils were encouraged to experiment with angles, composition and the exposure triangle to give them a true insight into how a DSLR camera functions. The children enjoyed getting creative and the outcomes were incredibly diverse!

A selection of photographs was entered into the Rotary Club competition and Alex’s ‘Rose’ (pictured) won the Year 5 category at the Malvern College Exhibition and Henry’s ‘Slide’ was highly commended.

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Follow

@bcscreativearts to discover our Standout Artist of the Week

Sports Round-Up An unprecedented zero fixtures took place this term due to COVID-19 cancellations but we can look back with pride on some of the sporting highlights of the 2019-2020 academic year.

Year 4 has been a particularly strong year group for BCS Sport. The U9 boys were victorious against hosts RGS The Grange at their U9 Boys’ Football Tournament in February. During the group stages, the boys played with fluency and directness, setting expectations high for the rest of the tournament. In the semi-final they controlled the match and put lots of pressure on Winterfold. Excellent composure from Arjun Gill in a one-on-one with the Winterfold goalkeeper sealed Blue Coat’s route to the final.

The Final proved the most testing and evenly matched game of the day. Both teams hit the post, but couldn’t take their opportunities.

The game went into extra time, Blue Coat won a corner, James Longworth crossed into the box, and on the half volley Remy Granger scored to win the tournament for Blue Coat with a golden goal!

This year saw the introduction of a new House sporting event - the Scotsman Run. This took place just before October half-term, in Warley Woods. Mr Melia was the first to run out as the hare and pupils soon set off in hot pursuit! Every single one of our Year 5 and 6 children completed the course which was a great achievement.

Congratulations to Will Smallwood and Indira Singh who were the fastest boy and girl with times of 6 m 1s and 6m 37s respectively.

St. George’s House were the inaugural winners and there were loud cheers as they lifted up the Winner’s Cup. As Mr Harrison, Head of Boys’ Games, moves on to pastures new, we thank him for all he has done for BCS Sport. He can be particularly proud of getting this cross country event up and running!

Year 6 boys performed magnificently to reach the final of the Aston Villa Regional Tournament on 24th February. They played 6 matches, scored 23 goals and conceded only one goal en route to the final. In the semi-final, the boys played superbly for a 3-0 comfortable win against Three Peaks School from Tamworth; with Adam Bashir and Will Smallwood proving to be a real handful for the opposition’s defence.

The girls also achieved victory at RGS in their U9 Netball Tournament. Working on some advanced skills and structures made for some fantastic Netball. The girls kept a clean score sheet, successfully preventing all of their opponents from scoring any goals with some excellent defensive skills. The final was played against Winterfold School, a team that we had lost out to in the quarter finals of a previous tournament. And so, it was a proud moment when the girls successfully converted their intercepted passes to finish with the win.

In March, we hosted the regional IAPS swimming qualifier for the second consecutive year and welcomed Warwick, RGS and Oswestry to Blue Coat for their qualifying swims. Blue Coat put forward a team of 17 swimmers for the qualifiers and IAPS later informed us that 9 of our swimmers would have qualified for the National Finals due to take place at the London Aquatic Centre in June.

We congratulate Samuel Tan, Harry Forty, Sebastian Stendall, Vivek Ratti, Vinay Ratti, Hari Phillips, Milo Dowling, Freddie Trevis and Filippos Psychogios who qualified, with the latter 4 finishing an incredible third in the country for the U11 Medley Relay!

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The final against Boldmere School was a very tense affair with both schools having chances. Boldmere dominated the midfield early but BCS fought back well, hitting the bar twice. Extra time ensued and a Boldmere free kick hit the bar bounced down and rebounded over the line - it was a very unlucky ending to a fantastic day. The boys performed heroically with some fine saves from Filippos, great tackles

by Harry, James and Mati as well as the interplay of Will, Freddie, Adam and Oliver. Well done boys!

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2020 Scholars

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Edgbaston High School for Girls

Music Scholarship

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Ojekhoba Akhibi

Bromsgrove School

Maths and Music Scholarship Founded by

Rayyan Ali

Priory School

Sports Scholarship

Ariana Ara

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic scholarship

Anya Bansal

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic scholarship

Simran Bansal

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic scholarship

Adam Bashir

Priory School

Academic, Sports and Music Scholarship

Poppy Brigham

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic scholarship

Ben Carberry

Priory School

Academic and Sports Scholarships

Anya De

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Henry de Bono

Priory School

Academic Scholarship

Amrita Dhillon

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Ananya Gulati

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Maysoon Haroon

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Zhixi Hong

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Simeon Hughes

St. George’s School

Academic Scholarship

Humnah Khan

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Richard Mahlberg Schilling

King Edward’s School

Academic Scholarship

Lyba Mahmood

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Freya Mangotra

King Edward VI High School for Girls

English Scholarship

Breshna Mohmanda

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Maths Scholarship

Asad Munir

Priory School

Academic Scholarship

Sofia Phillips

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Filippos Psychogios

Priory School

Academic Scholarship

Macca Ros-Nalugon

King Edward’s School

Academic Scholarship

Alessandro Salvi

Priory School

Academic Scholarship

Solihull School

Academic Scholarship

Jia Samra

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Ishani Shah

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Jaya Sharma Patel

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

King’s High School

Academic and Music Scholarship

Indira Singh

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Solihull School

Academic Scholarship

William Smallwood

Solihull School

Academic Scholarship

Matias Stendall

King Edward’s School

Academic Scholarship

Solihull School

Academic and Music Scholarships

Warwick School

Academic and Music Scholarships

Gloriosa Sung

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship and Instrumental Award

Frederick Trevis

King Edward’s School

Academic Scholarship

Aidan Zhang

King Edward’s School

Academic and Music Scholarship

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2020

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Congratulations to the 78 children that make up the Class of 2020 on an incredible set of offers. In total, 176 offers were received from independent senior and grammar schools, including 45 grammar places. 35 Scholars were awarded 48 scholarships and awards recognising their exceptional academic ability, as well as talent for music and sport.

Class of

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Senior School Scholarship, Awards and Examination Success

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Academic Scholarship

the Church of England in

Leavers’ Destinations

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King Edward VI High School for Girls King Edward’s School King Edward’s School King Edward’s School King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls King Edward VI High School for Girls King Edward’s School Bromsgrove School King Edward VI Five Ways School Old Swinford Hospital Old Swinford Hospital King Edward’s School King Edward VI High School for Girls Edgbaston High School for Girls Warwick School King Edward’s School King Edward VI Five Ways School King Edward’s School King Edward’s School King Edward’s School King Edward VI High School for Girls Edgbaston High School for Girls King Edward VI High School for Girls King Edward VI High School for Girls King Edward VI High School for Girls King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys King Edward’s School Aldridge School Bromsgrove School King Edward’s School King Edward’s School King Edward VI High School for Girls King Edward’s School St. George’s School King Edward VI High School for Girls King Edward’s School Edgbaston High School for Girls King Edward’s School

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Freya Mangotra Rishul Marrie Aarav Massey John Meering Samah Mirza Breshna Mohmanda Asad Munir Nayan Najran Dexter Noble James Padley Archie Pemble Hari Phillips Sofia Phillips Harriet Poade James Protherough Filippos Psychogios Keerat Rai Vinay Ratti Macca Ros-Nalugon Alessandro Salvi Jia Samra Eva Seymour Ishani Shah Jaya Sharma Patel Indira Singh Kabir Singh William Smallwood Layla Smith Rohan Sohal Benjamin Southall Matias Stendall Gloriosa Sung Frederick Trevis Oliver Tucker Tabitha Vlok Frederick Williams Holly Willson Aidan Zhang

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Olutemisola Adenopo Bromsgrove School Lemuel Adjei King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys Priyamvada Agarwal King Edward VI High School for Girls Ali Ahmad King Edward’s School Zain Ahmad King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys Raihan Ahmed King Edward’s School Anjali Ajayaghosh King Edward VI High School for Girls Ojekhoba Akhibi King Edward’s School Rayyan Ali Priory School Oliver Almond King Edward’s School Ariana Ara King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls Rohil Awasthi King Edward’s School Anya Bansal King Edward VI High School for Girls Simran Bansal King Edward VI High School for Girls Adam Bashir King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys Miraculin Glory Benjamin Raj King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls Jayden Briah Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School Poppy Brigham King Edward VI High School for Girls Gabriel Bromfield Old Swinford Hospital Ben Carberry King Edward’s School Albert Chandler Old Swinford Hospital Anya De Edgbaston High School for Girls Henry de Bono King Edward’s School Amrita Dhillon Edgbaston High School for Girls Yusuf Douis King Edward’s School Milo Dowling King Edward’s School Delina Elias King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls Elsie Fraser Edgbaston High School for Girls Ananya Gulati King Edward VI High School for Girls Maya Gupta Edgbaston High School for Girls Maysoon Haroon King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls Zhixi Hong King Edward VI High School for Girls Simeon Hughes Solihull School Aqeelah Hussain King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls Zunaira Imam Solihull School Humnah Khan Edgbaston High School for Girls Maggie Lester Edgbaston High School for Girls Boyi Li King Edward’s School Richard Mahlberg Schilling St. George’s School (Overseas) Lyba Mahmood King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls

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Charity Check Thank you Sewing Bees!

As the country went into lockdown, Mrs Lynn spearheaded a sewing initiative which the BCS family were quick to support. With so many of our parents working for the NHS on the front line, it was a cause very close to our hearts. Together with her daughter Sophie, a former BCS pupil and nurse at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, they enlisted the help of the BCS community in a special project to make laundry bags. The School’s DT supplier, KBT Fabric, kindly donated several hundred metres of fabric. The call went out and our BCS sewing bees got to work!

Over 250 bags were made and distributed and we were delighted to do our bit to support our NHS Heroes. The bags were passed on via parents and friends and were used by frontline workers and carers to take their work clothes home in. The bags could be put straight into the washing machine, thus reducing the risk of any cross contamination.

Lunchtime supervisor Miss Robinson also crocheted some lovely face mask adaptors to donate to care workers and doctors to help with the strain and irritation from wearing ear looped masks.

Thank you to pupils, staff, parents, grandparents, old scholars and friends who all got involved and supported these fantastic projects.

Key Dates for Michaelmas Term 2020 Staff Inset & Training Wednesday 2 September to Friday 4 September

Term resumes Monday 2 November

Term begins Monday 7 September

Term ends Friday 11 December (After Care and Houses open until 5.00pm)

Half-Term holiday begins Monday 19 October

THE BL UE

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The Blue Coat School, Somerset Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B17 0HR S

The Blue Coat School Founded by the Church of England in 1722

Telephone 0121 410 6800 Email info@thebluecoatschool.com Website thebluecoatschool.com The Blue Coat School Birmingham Limited is registered in England, Registration No. 8502615 and is a Registered Charity No. 1152244

Follow us on: @bcsbirmingham @bluecoatbirmingham @bcsbirmingham