Out of the Blue - Summer 2017

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outof theblue

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

Building Bridges

STEM Week

Year 4 become architects

BCS mission to Space!

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Head First Already, it is time for appraisal and self-assessment. By any measure, this year has been a hugely positive one. Academic results must never be considered the be-all and end-all, but once again the achievement of our Year 6 pupils is considerable.

The excellent ISI report reinforced my belief that our School is well positioned to embark on an exciting new chapter – something which necessitated some re-structuring. So, this is an appropriate place for me to thank the Governors, staff, parents and children for their support in developing the School.

Looking back, we have all been delighted with the introduction of The Golden Table. This has an appropriately Arthurian ring about it, for it was instituted to recognise the qualities that make up ‘a good person’.

As we say goodbye to leaving staff, we wish BCS’s loyal friends all the very best with the challenges that lie ahead. Year 6 leavers, I urge you to grasp all the opportunities that are afforded to you – and to reach for the stars.

Noel Neeson, Headmaster

Term Round-Up A fantastic treat lay instore for Year 6 as they immersed themselves in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) week. Five days spent heavily engrossed in scientific discovery, culminated in the memorable launch of a helium balloon into space. The images of near space captured during the balloon flight were simply magnificent.

Just a few days later a call from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), brought everyone swiftly back down to earth. Naturally we were anxious that the inspectors would be as inspired as our young explorers had been the week before. We were therefore delighted that the School was awarded the highest grading of ‘excellent’ in all areas.

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Continuing the theme of excellence, our sports teams wowed with impressive results. The U10s became the Warwickshire Kwik Cricket County Champions, we hosted and won the regional round of the Sainsbury’s Rounders Tournament, we represented the Mercia district in the IAPS Athletics Finals, reached the IAPS U11 Netball Finals and our formidable foursome: Maia Noonan, Monique JamesThomas, Sofia Knight and Skye Henshaw, broke a new national freestyle record to win gold at the English Schools Swimming Association Finals. If this wasn’t enough cause for celebration, we were also successful in our planning application for a new astro-turf pitch. Construction is now underway in readiness for September.

Life within the safety of our grounds was touched by events further afield, as news of terrorist atrocities made the headlines. That our BCS flag was flown at half-mast on more than one occasion was indeed a sad reflection of the times. Founders’ Day was held in the Chapel as a precaution but we were thankful that Bishop David was still able to join us. Political matters, too, gave much food for thought, as the actions of world leaders provided regular content for the Headmaster’s weekly Update! Whilst Mrs May went to the country to seek ratification for her government, pupils were holding a mini-election of their own. Not quite a mandate to lead the country into Brexit but nevertheless the serious matter of Theme Day menu choices! Strong canvassing by the Build-a-burger Party ensured victory was clinched from the Pre-Prep favourite, the Pizza Party.

In the Spotlight We caught up with Mr Isherwood, affectionately known by many pupils as Mr Ish. Our current Head of Science, Mr Ish has taught many subjects over his career including Science, Maths, PE and Games, DT and ICT. He is an enthusiastic guitarist, keen gardener, and a dab hand at lighting and sound for school productions!

Q. How long have you worked at The Blue Coat School?

From Buttons to Year 6, pupils have made the most of trips to support their learning in the classroom – Tamworth Castle, Weston Park, Ash End House Farm, The RSC, Mary Arden’s Farm and The National Space Centre have all greeted coach loads of excited children as they enjoyed a day out. Residential trips have been extended with Year 4 following in Year 6’s footsteps to Colomendy and Year 5 experiencing Bushcraft. Meanwhile Year 6 ventured across the Channel for a trip combining world war history and French language.

A. 17 years! I first came to The Blue Coat School in 1994.

I left to become the Deputy Head of a small Independent School in Devon for 6 years and then returned in September 2010 to be Head of Science.

Q. How did you get into teaching?

A. After my A Levels, I spent 12 years working in the retail management sector. Looking for a change I enrolled as a mature student at Nottingham Trent University, studying for a BEd in Physical Education. My sixth form careers master had suggested to me that I would make a good Primary Teacher; eventually I proved him right!

Q. Have the topics you teach changed over the years?

A. How we teach things has shifted several gears; there is more of an emphasis on joined up thinking across subjects. I am particularly enthused by the linking of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Our recent Balloon Launch was a case in point. Brilliant in itself, but also fantastic at opening up lines of investigation the children themselves suggest, based on their experiences.

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

A. I really enjoy listening to, and playing (badly) music.

I also like gardening and developing the lighting and sound systems in the School Hall.

Q. Do you have any plans for the Summer holidays?

We welcomed a number of lecturers, professionals and Chapel speakers to share their expertise and knowledge. Pupils have represented us in Chess and Maths competitions, proving that there is all round talent here at Blue Coat. In a very busy music diary, the Chamber Choir found time to star in a video to celebrate the IAPS’ centenary year. We commend Benito Pagliuca, Rohan Narayan-Hull and Henry Trevis who contributed to the composition of Our Future.

A. I shall travel home to North Devon and enjoy time with my family. I have a wife, two boys and a daft black Labrador called H. I am contemplating buying another motor bike. I miss my old Kawasaki.

Going on a bear hunt might have been a reason to explore Blue Coat’s new Forest School, but there were only signs of Cuthbert, the friendly dragon to be found. Pupils had to settle for a sleuth of a different sort.

Read more on page 12!

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From camera lens to looking-glass, and the retelling of Alice’s adventures in a fabulous production of Curioser and Curioser. Such a complex dialogue and plot did not put off our young actors; they delivered lines and sang their hearts out as we followed Alice across a magical chess board. The Friends’ Summer Fête continued the magical theme as Mr Neeson and his staff were put in the stocks.

Luckily the Queen of Hearts was not around to issue her normal diktat and the staff got away with heads intact and just a soaking!

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Classroom Connection Forest School Some of the Reception children had the opportunity to visit the brand new ‘Blue Coat Forest School’ this term. This is the start of a long term project to offer outdoor learning across the whole school.

Pupils looked at some of the trees in the forest and found the very special ‘Friendship Tree’. They chose beautiful, coloured strands from the tree and made friendship bands for each other.

Then it was time to follow Mr Isherwood and Mrs Walker in search of the ‘Little People’ who live in their village, deep in the forest. But oh no! Cuthbert The Friendly Dragon had visited and accidentally broken all of their houses! Thank goodness Reception were able to help re-build the village out of twigs and leaves, making it better than ever, and a very sad dragon, happy again!

Weston Park Pupils in Year 2 gained a greater understanding of what life was like for children in Britain during the Second World War when they visited Weston Park. The children made an imitation gas mask and learnt that babies and even dogs also wore masks. They discovered the burden of carrying their gas mask with them at all times, and experienced an air raid and black out. They took shelter in the cramped, damp and smelly conditions of an Anderson shelter.

Robot friends visit Pre-Prep “Clank”, “Beep”, “Clunk”… these were the sorts of noises coming from Pre-Prep as the children enjoyed a very special Robot Theme Week.

Hi-impact Consultancy brought along their electronic friends: BB-8, Dash and Nao- a humanoid robot!

Each class enjoyed a session with the robots where they learned how to control the robots by giving commands and watched-on amazed as the robots walked, talked and even danced!

Other activities during the week included: designing and creating junk model robots in DT; robot poetry; learning about the history of robots; inventing robots such as the ‘CLEANBOT’ ‘BOOK-BOT’ and ‘COOK-BOT’ and demonstrating the best robot moves in PE.

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The children thoroughly enjoyed Theme Week and they certainly learned a lot. We hope they are not ready to replace their teachers with robots just yet!

The children learnt about the plight of the evacuees and enjoyed listening to a Land Army girl recounting her personal story of life in Britain in the 1940s. They then had fun dressing up in 1940s clothing including RAF, Navy and Army uniforms, Fire Service, ladies’ dresses, coats, hats, furs and nurses’ uniforms.

Teddy Bears’ Picnic The Buttons and Transition children had lots of fun singing and playing games at their annual Teddy Bears’ Picnic.

We had some famous bears turn up including… Paddington, Zippy, Floppy, BB-8, Nemo and Sky from Paw Patrol to name but a few!

10,9,8,7… blast off!

The countdown was over and the big day had finally arrived! Two coaches, filled with extremely excited children made their way to the National Space Centre in Leicester, with everyone eagerly looking out for the 42m Rocket Tower to indicate that we had arrived.

The adventure began by exploring interactive galleries about life as an astronaut in the International Space Centre. Did we have the skills needed to be an astronaut of the future? Could we control the hydraulic chair that simulated the jetpacks?

A rocket workshop gave the children chance to design their own rockets and think about aerodynamics. They took it in turns to launch their creations as high as possible with a high powered air pump. The 360 degree full dome planetarium was definitely a highlight and took the children off to distant galaxies and solar systems as they reclined in their seats and felt the sensation of flying through space. “Best school trip ever!” were the unanimous cries as the group reluctantly headed for home.

Man who changed the world Year 5 pupils were fortunate to have the opportunity to experience the exhibition “The Man Who Changed the World” as part of their RE curriculum this term. The exhibition is about Jesus’ life, particularly focusing on his Jewish background.

Bridge Challenge We were delighted to welcome back visiting BCU Lecturer and Landscape Architect Eccles Sze Ng, for a fabulous, multidisciplinary day based around the theme of bridges. Year 4 learned about what it means to be a Landscape Architect – to be visionary, creative and courageous whilst thinking about sustainability, impact, materials and costings.

In a ‘Bridge Challenge’, the children worked in teams to make bridges out of newspaper, art straws and masking tape. They had to think about the principles of bridge structure and whether their design would be practical. The session included sketching a design and testing bridge structure using a Bridge App on iPads.

The second challenge, was to construct bridges for trains, cars, boats, pedestrians and animals in order to connect settlements.

Mr Philip Garside joined us from Team Building Workshops and brought with him some 85,000 Lego bricks to enable the children to complete this task! Pupils came up with some outstanding designs including a ‘Ponte Vecchio’ style bridge with houses, shops and gardens.

Pupils were able to see various artefacts, including: a scroll, yad, skull caps, Sabbath candlesticks, Seder plate, and more, all very similar to those which would have been used in Jesus’ time. The children could peer inside a synagogue and attempt to blow the ram’s horn or Shofar.

We are Graphic Designers We were delighted to welcome Graphic Designer, Rebecca Emery, to deliver a special workshop for Year 6. Would Apple sell as many computers if their logo was a cigarette? Is O2 really as good for you as the air that you breathe? Such questions were debated as pupils discussed the psychology of marketing!

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Using iPads and the Sketchbook App, the children were able to master useful graphic design skills relating to the choice of colour, layout and typography. They completed their own piece based on memories of their years at Blue Coat. Rebecca was most impressed by the standard of work. She awarded Graphic Designer Certificates to Lazara, Umar, Katie, Henry, Ryan, Amrita, Avneet and Krishan.

Well done to all who worked so creatively!

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Volunteers from Birmingham City Mission, dressed as people from the time of Jesus and described what life was like in Israel 2000 years ago. The children’s game of “roof hopping” peaked special interest – not to be tried at home! Some of Jesus’ most famous teachings were explained simply and visually, and pupils also heard about Jesus’ trial, death and resurrection.

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French Trip 2017 This year’s crossing was mill-pond smooth and Year 6’s arrival in France was greeted with a rousing cheer, almost as loud as when they arrived at the Château. With rooms sorted and luggage organised, the children set about making tartes au sucre. This involved much giggling and mess, but the end result was a set of very attractive pastries.

Travelling on to Beaumont Hamel, Year 6 visited the Memorial Park of the 29th Newfoundland Regiment. These 800 or so brave men from the Commonwealth suffered 85% casualties in the space of six hours, in a futile attempt to gain a mere one hundred yards of ground.

It is thought that nearly two hunded souls still lie undiscovered, but remembered in no man’s land, which has been consecrated on either side of the pathway.

Waking up, a busy and thought-provoking day lay ahead. At the WW1 Museum in the village of Albert, the children had the opportunity to discover the old air raid tunnels which are now packed with displays of weapons, uniforms, and artefacts that have been salvaged from the battlefields of the Somme. There were several tableaux depicting the terrible life in the trenches.

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The mighty columns of the Thiepval Memorial, bearing the names of more than 72,000 officers and men who died in the Somme but have no known graves, were both impressive and sobering. The futility of war hit home as the memorial continued on to a cemetery holding an equal number of Commonwealth and French graves. This was a visit which could not fail to resonate with the children and staff alike.

The images that this day conjured up in everyone’s hearts and minds, were far removed from normal daily life but we hope that such experiences will not only guard future generations against any repeat of these horrors but will also serve as a way to continue to remember those that have fallen.

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A French trip without sight or mention of a snail would be remiss.

Never fear, a trip to the local snail farm was a scheduled stop before the Channel was crossed. The children were able to find out some fascinating snail facts and for the more adventurous - a morning snack to rival Mr Gladwin’s morning break treats!

A huge thank you to all the staff who kept everyone up to date back home, with their daily blog and photos. A special mention must go to Mr Morris who has been leading the French trip for many years and for whom this will have been a last special memory before leaving Blue Coat - merci, au revoir et bonne chance!

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From the sombre to the light-hearted, Wednesday brought with it birthday celebrations for Aled and Noah. What better way to celebrate one’s eleventh birthday than a trip to Parc Astérix? There was great excitement as scary rides were boarded and squeals of laughter as some rather oversized souvenirs were acquired! On the penultimate day, a visit to the market in Le Touquet presented the opportunity to practise a few well-rehearsed phrases and the fun continued as the group headed for Aqualud Water Park.

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Bushcraft Having the opportunity to ‘be at one’ with nature, to play with sticks and simply enjoy being outside was more than realised on this year’s Year 5 trip to Cholmondeley Castle.

The Bushcraft staff who headed up our various ‘tribes’ were amazing; they enthused our campers with their knowledge, skills, songs and unstinting enthusiasm.

Another memorable moment was a demonstration of how to panasse a whole salmon and prepare it for cooking on an open fire. Eight ‘lucky’ pupils took a bush-tucker trial reminiscent of ‘I’m a Celebrity’.

Six out of eight successfully ate the eyeball of a salmon whilst the remainder wisely waited until the salmon had been cooked by the bushcraft staff and was served as a delicious lunch!

Year 5 tackled the challenge of creating a waterproof and windproof shelter with great energy and the results were outstanding. Inspired, a number of children expressed a desire to spend a night in their shelters and later in the week on a starry, still and quiet night more than twenty pupils did just that. Accompanied by Mr Harrison, Mr Nicklin and two Bushcraft staff our adventurers truly embraced nature and tested the effectiveness of their new shelters.

One of the many highlights of the trip was learning to safely light a fire by which the children could keep themselves warm, and on which they could cook a meal. It was a brilliant experience and a lunch of kebabs was all the more enjoyable because it had been cooked over the fire which the children had laid and lit themselves.

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The tribes put their wilderness first aid training into good use as they ran to the cries of an injured pilot during their nature walk.

They came upon a crashed plane with billowing smoke coming from the engine. Swift action was needed to bring the casualty to safety, requiring each tribe to become a cohesive team and rely on each other’s strengths. (Thank you to our cast: Mr Nicklin, Mrs Jefferson, Mrs Walker & Mr Harrison.) As you can see from the photos it really was a rather dramatic and realistic scenario!

Survival bracelets, archery, clay pottery creations, ‘Tribe’s got Talent’, nightlines, foraging and woodland walks ensured that every hour of every day was jam-packed with activities. There was just time to celebrate Victoria’s tenth birthday with Bushcraft’s very own version of the Great British Bake Off before it was time to pack, tidy and work together to leave the site in a pristine condition ready for the next set of happy campers.

Colomendy As Year 4 left their city dwellings, the North Wales countryside soon greeted them with the promise of adventure.

After a tour of the site, and dormitories bagged, it was time to divide into groups and take on a variety of thought provoking, team building exercises. Some were blindfolded on a night line, trusting only in the guidance of the person in front of them to find their way through tricky passageways and over uneven ground. Whilst others were standing on a see-saw board trying to make it balance. Not so easy when fourteen boys and girls each have their own idea! As dusk fell, a steady line of bobbing torches could be seen as the children set out on a night walk through this area of outstanding natural beauty.

A year group campfire brought everyone together sharing jokes, stories and singing songs in warm companionship. Hot chocolate and two birthdays were celebrated in a perfect end to a physically and mentally demanding day.

The next morning, whilst the weatherman predicted a deluge of rain, Colomendy seemed to have its own micro climate and our adventurers escaped with only intermittent drizzle and perfect temperatures. Zip Wiring and Abseiling were the order of the day.

It takes a lot of courage to step off a platform and propel oneself towards giant redwood trees and overcome the fear of heights.

What a humbling sight for all the staff to see.

As bags were packed, glorious sunshine opened up the stunning views of Moel Famau, the highest ‘hill’ in the area and the children boarded the coach furnished with plentiful memories to share with their parents. They should be proud of the outstanding teamwork and resilience they have demonstrated; these are attributes which will only continue to improve in the coming years.

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I pushed myself further than I ever have, and it was really fun.

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In other activities, the Aeroball seemed to be a winner, with pupils each taking to a giant trampoline, and shooting basketball style soft balls into an opponent’s hoop. The Team Tekkers built a trebuchet with meccano, to compete and see who could catapult a bean bag the furthest. Safety helmets were donned for a tricky low ropes course, and key skills of communication and teamwork prevailed.

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Curiouser and Curiouser Never was a play more aptly named! And yet, when Lewis Carroll began the first of his twin masterpieces, in 1865, he could not have hoped that his amusingly bizarre world, filled with such witty and compelling individuals, would become one of the cornerstones of literary childhood. This version of Alice’s exploits combines both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass: this makes it twice as confusing… and doubly curious!

At the heart of the production, Alice encounters a range of nonsensical characters which populate the magical world she has fallen into. The condescending Red Queen explains that life is a chessboard - and that her ultimate aim must be to become a queen.

Alice becomes determined to reach the eighth rank and follows a path leading her to an unfriendly Mouse, a contemptuous Caterpillar, the Duchess and her Cook, who believes that everything should be heavily seasoned with pepper.

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The disconcerting Cheshire Cat guides her along her way. At each stage, she learns a little more about Wonderland - such as how to organise a Caucus Race, where you start anywhere you like and run

in random circles! She encounters Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and then meets the Mad Hatter and his friends; their lack of welcome and unique brand of humour infuriates Alice, who sulkily leaves “the stupidest tea party ever”.

At the start of Act 2, Alice is surrounded by a host of threatening chess pieces - then entertained by some Playing Cards, who are painting the rose bushes red! They are trying to evade the fury of the tyrannical Queen of Hearts. A third queen, this time White, forms a double-act with her Red counterpart to test Alice’s arithmetic. They then whisk Alice to join the Queen of Hearts’ croquet game - where, of course, all the players are equipped with flamingos! Having spent

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A courtroom drama ensues: Alice’s former ally the White Rabbit turns accuser and Alice must rely on the unique kind of “justice” dealt by the illogical King of Hearts (and his axe-ready queen!).

Year 6 have enjoyed enacting Alice’s journey across the chessboard and we are sure that our audience had a magical evening. Thank you to our Director Mrs Redfern and Musical Director Mr Nicklin who have been ably supported by colleagues and parents in putting on such a wonderful production.

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time with the dolorous Mock Turtle and his companion the Gryphon, then the drily complacent Humpty Dumpty, Alice is caught up in a fight between two knights. The White Knight wins and serenades her with a song which he himself introduces as “very, very beautiful”!

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Art and Design Technology Gallery Religious Art Having researched artwork from the six main religions in the Spring, Year 6 ended the academic year with a cross-curricular topic with Art. They began working on an individual piece using a variety of media and an unusual support such as clay, foamboard, silk, canvas, acetate or wood. The results have been spectacular as each piece is so different and tells a story. The children have enjoyed discussing their inspiration and feelings with each other as their work progressed.

The Big Sleuth Did you know ‘sleuth’ not only means a private detective, but it is also the collective noun for a group of bears?

Following in the footsteps of the very successful Big Hoot project last year, The Big Sleuth is a brand-new sculpture event, which as the name suggests, is all about bears!

We are delighted to be a part of this fantastic project and the whole school has been involved in designing and creating a ‘bear-illiant’ design for our sunbear. He has a beautiful waistcoat made up of hexagonal designs by the children and staff, a collar of bees, as well as a ladybird and a caterpillar contributed by Pre-Prep and Buttons.

Our bear has also been the inspiration for lots of other bear-related artwork throughout the term.

Our brilliantly named, ‘Bluey Bearnard’, will spend the summer in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery with twenty other school bears. The trail in and around Birmingham, Sandwell, Solihull and Sutton Coldfield will include 100 or so smaller school bears like ours, and around 100 large bears, which will be later auctioned to raise funds for the Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.

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Bluey will be back with us permanently in September but we hope you will take the time to visit him in his summer residence!

Transition - Fun at the beach

Reception - Camouflage

Year 2 - Puppets

Year 1 - Monet’s Waterlillies

Year 2 - St. Lucian houses

Year 4 - Labyrinth Year 3 - Bugs

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Year 6 - Surrealism

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Year 5 - Wind Art

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Year 5 - Hat Project

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Sports Round Up Matches and House events are a large part of school life at Blue Coat. Through competitive and co-operative games, we build confidence and instil the values of sportsmanship and fair play as well as the intrinsic desire to win. Maximum participation is encouraged and effort is praised at every level. We hope that the children will look back with fondness and pride at all they have achieved in this very successful year for BCS Sport.

Cricket Dhruv Susarla has led the Year 4 team well, with some impressive bowling, and lovely footwork when batting, to work the ball into gaps. Ashley Jindu continues to develop his pace bowling and is demonstrating great potential. Farris Alam and Luke Dolan have bowled with purpose and accuracy.

The Year 5 team have a real love of cricket and their enthusiasm has been fantastic to see. In March the U10As won the Kwik Cricket Festival in a tense final against Yarnfield Primary School. There were some excellent performances along the way, with Michael Draper’s superb first over batting, where he scored 28 runs. At one stage, we were cruising to victory but then we lost 3 wickets in 4 balls. Kairav Singh batted with a huge amount of responsibility to get us over the line by just 2 runs. The team went on to represent the School at the regional finals and played extremely well to become Warwickshire County Champions – congratulations!

Netball Year 6 enjoyed a fantastic netball tour to Condover Hall in May. The U12 Tournament consisted of school and club sides and despite being a year younger, we finished 3rd/4th out of 14 teams. We came up against some real giants but the girls used their speed of movement and pass to work the ball round and into the D. Outside of the tournament the girls got to take part in a range of activities including high ropes, quasar and leap of faith, a great experience for everyone.

Following a gap of several years The Blue Coat School entered the English Schools Cricket Association 8-aside hardball competition.

We reached the regional semi-finals and were on course for victory before narrowly losing to Hallfield.

Six boys enjoyed the experience of Cricket 6s at RGS Worcester.

The boys adapted superbly well to the shortened format of the game and really improved throughout the day displaying some destructive batting, excellent running between the wickets and accurate bowling.

Athletics Thirteen pupils took part in the IAPS Mercia District Athletics.

We competed alongside the best athletes across Mercia, gaining personal bests from Oliver Poole (800m), Maia Noonan (800m), Willow McKenzie (100m & 200m) and Poppy Couzens (800m).

A special mention to Sofia Knight who ran a fantastic race and won the 1500m in 5m39s and Monique James-Thomas who came first in the high jump with a fantastic leap of 1.35m.

Both girls went on to represent the Mercia district at the National Finals. Sofia came third in her first heat with a new personal best of 5:27:27. The second heat was highly competitive and she came a commendable 8th place overall in the 1500m.

Rounders

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We have fielded nine Rounders teams across the year groups. Our U11As have been unbeaten against other Prep Schools and we hosted and won the Sainsbury’s Games Mixed Rounders Tournament. Our U10 As and Bs have also been unbeaten with our U10As scoring some excellent full rounders. In the U9 teams the Bs were unbeaten and the As only lost once by half a rounder.

In her warm up jumps Monique was looking strong although somewhat tired from her record breaking jump 24 hours earlier at Sports Day! With a jump of 1m 30cm Monique came a very impressive third and picked up a bronze medal.

Both girls have proved they are equally as competent on land (or in the air!) as they are in the water, competing at national level in both.

A credit to themselves and to the School – well done!

Once again, our swim teams have excelled in their determination and desire not only to compete but to achieve major success in competition. Our swimming calendar has been full this year with eighteen fixtures both home and away.

The A teams have been unbeaten all year and have proved a formidable force for our long-standing rivals, in particular the girls’ teams have picked off their opposition astoundingly - rivals such as EHS, Bromsgrove and Warwick Prep were left aghast! Both the Year 3 boys and girls competing for the A team have shown great promise and we look forward with excitement to the future.

Swimming

The B teams too, have produced some excellent results winning many second and third places.

This academic year has been particularly exciting in the pool, not just during lesson time where the all children have worked extremely hard developing and fine-tuning their skills and strokes, but also during competition. We now have strength and depth across all year groups.

Years 1 and 2 are showing great potential and a desire to be part of the Blue Coat swim squads as they progress through the School. The end of year swimming festivals saw the children compete with friends and classmates in some closely fought races whilst having fun and showing off their talents, as ever to a packed audience!

In Prep, the end of year ‘Battle of the Houses’ comprised of relays allowing all of the children to compete and work as a team. Our usual grand finale ensued with all the children performing a length of their choice to Justin Timberlake and then finishing with a mass sing-a-long!

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This year hundreds of schools from all over the country took part.

We competed for the West Midlands’ division, in a bid to achieve a top three placing to go through to the national final.

The regional round took place at Warwick Prep School in March and our teams blitzed the qualifying finals in convincing style beating many long-standing rivals. Both our girls and boys made it through to the national finals in the medley and freestyle relays.

The boys swam well in both the medley and freestyle relays and the girls’ medley team including Poppy Couzens, just narrowly missed out on winning their heat. But it was smiles all round for the girls’ freestyle relay team who broke the national record during the heats in a time of 57.82 seconds and then went on to win gold in the final in a new record time of 57.18, toppling the previous record held by Warwick School of 58.75s. Our long-standing ambition had been to bring home a gold medal from the nationals but to achieve a new national record was a momentous achievement and one we hope to emulate many times in the future!

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The English Schools Swimming Association National Championships is a major event where all the regional qualifiers are competing for their division in seeded heats.

On 17th June, they competed against over 150 schools at Ponds Forge international pool in Sheffield.

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Record-breaking Gold!

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Sports Day This year we were blessed with great weather and no need for rescheduling. Buttons did well to complete their races on an especially hot afternoon.

At the Pre-Prep Sports Day, all the favourites were there – who could have sports day without an egg and spoon or a sack race?

Well practised the children balanced along the benches, scooped balls up and passed the baton on. A great time was had by all with some excellent sportsmanship on display. The event ended with a traditional parade around the field.

House Results Collecting the most points, the overall Sports Day Senior Winners were Monique James-Thomas and Shai Thompson. The Junior Winners were Indira Singh and Freddie Trevis.

The individual House winners in Years 3 to 6 were: St. Monica’s: Emily Whitehouse, Storm Henshaw, Willow McKenzie and Sofia Knight St. Margaret’s: Jia Samra, Maya Hart & Kate Stockton, Neave Rees and Maya Ahmed

The Junior and Senior events were held on consecutive days leading to a very busy time for the Sports Department. The House Captains proudly led their House around the field with their House flags flying to the sound of music and Mr Isherwood’s enthusiastic tones. This year the emphasis was definitely on team effort and everyone pulled together to represent their House as best as they could, gaining points as they completed each event.

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Several records were broken and we congratulate Monique JamesThomas in the Y6 Shot Putt (7.10m) and High Jump (1.38m), Sofia Knight in the Y6 Standing Long Jump (2.03m) and 800m (2:44:35), Willow McKenzie in the Y5 Speed Bounce (73), 150m (0:23:93) and 75m (0:11.03), Bea Neeson in the Y4 300m (0:59:46), Maya Hart in the Y4 Speed Bounce (70) and Oliver Smith in the Y4 600m (2:03:34).

St. Philip’s: Milo Dowling, William Brett, Freddie Geoghegan and Fintan Dowling St. George’s: Will Smallwood, Oliver Smith, Alex Bryans and Rohan Narayan-Hull The House Sporting Endeavour Cup which is for house points accumulated over the year for changing quickly, good pupil feedback, team work and being helpful with equipment, was won by St. Margaret’s with 1249 points.

The House Sports Cup which is the result of all the competitive matches played over the year, was awarded to: Boys – St. Philip’s and Girls – St. Monica’s and St. Margaret’s jointly.

Space School Year 6 pupils returned for a Summer term with a difference.

As part of a special STEM week (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) they worked with Hi-impact consultants to plan the School’s first foray into space!

This exciting adventure involved the children in flight prediction using algorithms, craft design including slow motion crash testing, creating temperature sensors with Arduino computers, Mission Patch design and even a live webinar with Dr Steve Croft, an Astrophysicist at the University of California, Berkeley. A tethered balloon launch on the school field offered the opportunity for the whole school to be involved in this amazing project ahead of the actual launch day.

On the last Friday in April, a small group of Year 6 pupils travelled to the launch site in Welshpool, Shropshire. Meanwhile back at School, the rest of Year 6 were manning Mission Control in the hall and monitoring progress via a live video link. Following the launch, the recovery party were able to track the balloon’s flightpath using a satellite tracker and the Blue Coat minibus driven by Mr Wurr set off in hot pursuit along the country lanes. Reminiscent of Anneka Rice in Treasure Hunt, the minibus navigated its way to the final landing site in a field just outside the village of Hungerford.

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Excitedly the children opened up their ping-pong experiments to see the effect of the altitude on their chosen substances, which were bubble wrap, cress, a watch, ooblek, a saxophone reed, and litmus paper. Some stunning images were later downloaded from the camera equipment that had been attached to the payload, as well as a 360-degree video of the balloon reaching heights of up to 30km above the Earth’s surface. Even photos of the year group and headmaster had made it back unscathed and the children could proudly claim that their first space mission had most certainly been ‘out of this world!’

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The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Speech Awards Pre-Prep

Grade Result

Aleyah Ahmed Raihan Ahmed Daniel Basballe Jessica Bland Poppy Brigham Imogen Brinkman Daniel Du Sarika Hulait Aiza Khan Elisavet Matopoulou Anaya Murphy Vinay Ratti Aryan Sharma Marcus Wigg

Solo Introductory Stage 2 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 2 Solo Introductory Stage 2 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 2 Solo Introductory Stage 2 Solo Introductory Stage 2 Solo Introductory Stage 2 Solo Introductory Stage 2 Solo Introductory Stage 2 Solo Introductory Stage 2 Solo Introductory Stage 2 Solo Introductory Stage 2

Distinction Distinction Merit Merit Distinction Merit Distinction Distinction Distinction Merit Distinction Distinction Merit Merit

Prep

Grade Result

Olutemisola Adenopo Anjali Ajayaghosh Rayyan Ali Janani Anand Rohil Awasthi Mustafa Dar Yusuf Douis Ria Gokul

Solo Introductory Stage 2 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Speaking V and P Grade 1

Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Merit Distinction

Grade Result

Phoebe Jones Harkeerat Kang Easher Kang Saraswathi Karanam Humnah Khan Karman Khatkar Sayuri Knox Kavya Maganty Amulya Maganty Zunaira Imam Karen Mao Rishul Marrie Nayan Najran Dexter Noble James Padley Gargi Paneesha Archie Pemble Ojal Rao Arjun Reddy-Kolanu Jia Samra Aleena Sheth Ishani Shetty Emily Smallwood Rohan Tandon Daphne Xuan Theresa Zygmunt

Speaking V and P Entry Solo Introductory Stage 3 Speaking V and P Grade 1 Speaking V and P Grade 1 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 2 Speaking V and P Entry Speaking V and P Entry Reading for Performance Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Speaking V and P Entry Solo Introductory Stage 3 Speaking V and P Entry Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 2 Speaking V and P Entry Solo Introductory Stage 2 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Solo Introductory Stage 3 Reading for Performance Entry

Distinction Distinction Distinction Merit Distinction Distinction Distinction Merit Distinction Merit Distinction Distinction Merit Merit Distinction Merit Distinction Distinction Merit Distinction Merit Merit Distinction Distinction Distinction Merit

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Examination Results – 2016 – 2017 Instrument

Isla Adams Alveena Ahmed Imogen Brinkman Imogen Brinkman Max Chen Henry Coughlan Wilfred Crow-Marcetic Anoushka Hart Anoushka Hart Sarika Hulait Oshala Knox Nandini Kumar Caitlin Liew Abhav Massey Esmee Raghavan Liang Zi Zhao Priyamvada Agarwal Priyamvada Agarwal Zain Ahmad Arooj Ahmed Hasan Ahmed Mahshami Ahmed Maya Ahmed Zahid Ahmed

Singing Violin Violin Piano Violin Violin Singing Piano Singing Singing Violin Violin Harp Singing Piano Violin Violin Piano Piano Singing Bassoon Violin Singing Clarinet

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Grade Result

Prep Test 2 2 1 3 Prep Test Prep Test 1 Prep Test 1 Prep Test Prep Test 1 Prep Test Prep Test Prep Test 3 2 1 3 3 2 5 2

Pass Merit Distinction Distinction

Distinction

Merit

Distinction

Distinction Pass Distinction Merit Pass Pass Merit Merit

Instrument

Zuhair Ahmed Janani Anand Janani Anand Shalu Arun Shalu Arun Rohil Awasthi Sanjhu Babu Roshan Bahia Roshan Bahia Ritisha Baidyaray Ritisha Baidyaray Arjun Bajwa Arjun Bajwa Katie Baker Anya Bansal Simran Bansal Indira Basu Indira Basu Sofia Begh Zara Bhatti Amelie Black Joanne Bobin Haneen Boumenjel Hannah Boumenjel

Guitar Singing Piano Oboe Singing Piano Violin Piano Horn in F Violin Singing Guitar Singing Cello Singing Cello Piano Violin Violin Piano Singing Piano Piano Piano

Grade Result

1 2 1 2 4 Prep Test 2 4 4 4 2 1 2 8 Prep Test 1 4 5 3 2 2 2 2 2

Distinction Pass Pass Merit Merit

Pass Merit Distinction Merit Distinction Merit Pass Pass

Merit Merit Distinction Fail Merit Pass Pass Merit Pass

Merit

Pass Merit Pass Pass

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

Merit

Pass Merit Pass

Pass Pass Merit Pass Pass Merit

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

Merit

Instrument

Aminah Munir Rohan Narayan-Hull Bea Neeson Pranoy Nishanth Dexter Noble James Padley Natasha Page Prisyn Pagliuca Gargi Paneesha Shayan Patel Archie Pemble Sofia Phillips Harriet Poade Oliver Poole Rufus Powell Filippos Psychogios Haaris Qaiyum Tara Ramachandran Tara Ramachandran Karolina Rarko Sophie Reason Sophie Reason Neave Rees Tilly Richardson Gracie Roberts Luca Romano Rajan Sall Sascha Sami Shiva Sankarakumar Shiva Sankarakumar James Scurlock Jaya Sharma Patel Hridya Sharma Hridya Sharma Ishani Shetty Kate Stockton Caitlin Thornewell Abigail Tomlinson Peter Tomlinson Freddie Trevis Freddie Trevis Henry Trevis Kumayl Vanat Ishana Vinay Ishana Vinay Emily Whitehouse Elizabeth Wigg Elizabeth Wigg Gibson Wilkie Tristan Wong Ben Woodward Gracie Wynne Esa Yaqoob Enya Yu Liang Yu Zhao Theresa Zygmunt Theresa Zygmunt

Violin 2 Piano 3 Singing 3 Violin 3 Guitar 1 Trumpet Prep Test Singing 1 Singing 3 Violin 3 Cello 3 Guitar 1 Violin 3 Violin 2 Piano 2 Piano 2 Guitar 1 Piano 1 Singing 1 Piano 2 Piano 2 Piano 4 Singing 4 Piano 1 Singing 2 Piano 1 Clarinet 2 Piano 1 Piano 2 Violin 2 Singing 2 Tenor Trombone Prep Test Flute 1 Singing 4 Flute 1 Singing 1 Flute 1 Singing 2 Oboe 3 Horn in F 2 Alto Saxophone 1 Piano 1 Guitar 5 Singing 1 Singing 2 Violin 3 Clarinet 1 Singing 5 Piano 2 Guitar 2 Singing 2 Bassoon 5 Singing 2 Guitar 1 Piano 3 Violin 2 Singing 1 Alto Saxophone 2

Grade Result

Merit Pass Pass Distinction Pass

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

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

Rockschool Examinations

Instrument

Grade Result

Aled James Oliver Smith

Drums Drums

1 Debut

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Grade Result

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Piano 3 Singing Prep Test Guitar 1 Violin 5 Singing 3 Singing 1 Singing Prep Test Singing 2 Singing 1 Flute 2 Singing 2 Singing 1 Flute 2 Trumpet 1 Singing 3 Singing 1 Violin 1 Singing 5 Bassoon 2 Alto Saxophone 7 Alto Saxophone 1 Piano 1 Singing Prep Test Singing 5 Singing Prep Test Alto Saxophone 1 Piano 1 Singing 4 Singing Prep Test Piano Prep Test Piano 1 Piano 1 Violin 3 Singing 2 Piano 2 Clarinet 1 Singing Prep Test Clarinet 2 Guitar 2 Piano 1 Guitar 3 Alto Saxophone 2 Singing 5 Flute 2 Piano 1 Singing 1 Violin 2 Piano 1 Trumpet 3 Clarinet 3 Flute 1 Piano 2 Tenor Trombone 3 Singing 1 Violin 1 Violin 2 Singing 1 Harp 1 Singing 2 Singing 1 Guitar 3 Tenor Trombone Prep Test Singing 3

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Instrument

William Brett Poppy Brigham Gabriel Bromfield Rebecca Broome Alexander Bryans Melissa Carson Bertie Chandler Lauren Claridge Isabelle Clarkson Isabelle Clarkson Megan Collyer Lily Cook Poppy Couzens Will Cowley Evie Crow-Marcetic Mustafa Dar Anya De Paola Dietrich de Pablo Fintan Dowling Rory Elliott Gabrielle Estridge-Whyte George Evans Issac Evans Charlotte Gabriel Paula Garcia Lins Freddie Geoghegan Ria Gokul Ria Gokul Maya Gupta Maya Gupta May Hadley Arianna Hamilton Maysoon Haroon Maya Hart Matthew Holland Lexie Hubbard Aqeelah Hussain Tom Issac Ashley Jindu Jaya Kanda Wilf Kane Wilf Kane Amrita Kang Anne-Laure Kavanagh Sayuri Knox Sayuri Knox Sayuri Knox Shane Kumararatne Billy Laight Billy Laight Chloe Liew Angela Luo Amulya Maganty Kavya Maganty Karen Mao Rishul Marrie Elspeth Martin Elspeth Martin Aryan Massey Arora Aarav Massey Willow McKenzie John Meering Lily Mobasher

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Musical Notes As ever, there are many highlights in the BCS Music calendar and the Summer Term has not been short of them! So please read on to remember some of these special moments.

Our young musicians in Pre-Prep continue to astonish us with their technical ability, ensemble playing and fundamentally, their love for music. The children play a wide variety of instruments including the harp, saxophone, guitar, drums, trombone, woodwind and strings.

The Pre-Prep Concert was a great showcase for this diverse talent, involving the Suzuki group, Fiddlesticks, Year 2 Recorder Group and the Year 2 choir, as well as solo performers. It was also lovely to see so many Pre-Prep children performing alongside pupils in Prep at the big Suzuki Play-together. This young talent will provide exciting ensemble opportunities as the children progress further up the School.

Currently we have a number of children who are members of the National Children’s Orchestra, the National Children’s Choir of Great Britain, the CBSO Children’s Chorus, and the Central Birmingham Schools’ Concert Orchestra to name but a few.

In class, Year 2 have been busy composing African rainforest music, while pupils in Year 1 have been exploring the music and story of Peter and the Wolf. Reception have been lions and elephants in response to Saint Saens’ wonderful Carnival of the Animals and Transition have been very busy preparing songs for their matinee.

The Summer Concert is always a favourite and there were over one hundred performers involved in this year’s concert. Every facet of instrumental playing was represented - from bassoons to bass drums, trumpets to triangles!

With morning recitals and Chapel concerts aplenty, our young musicians have entertained us royally throughout the term. Our outside links with choirs and ensembles continues to grow.

Our achievements in public music examinations are significant, with more children than ever sitting music exams this academic year.

The attainment made by our pupils is testament to their hard work and dedication, and to the support and encouragement they receive from the fantastic teaching team. Many pupils take part in external music competitions and festivals. We congratulate Hannah, Rebecca, Ritisha and Rosabella who were class winners at the Northfield Festival of Music and Speech in May.

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It is very easy to take the standard of music making at School for granted, but these impressive achievements are made through long hours of practice and lots of rehearsal. Learning to play an instrument from an early age is fun at first, but what follows takes ‘cheerful perseverance’. Learning to play an instrument is a life-long learning path and we would like to think that our pupils have a great start, here at The Blue Coat School.

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The Friends of The Blue Coat School

The two big events organised by The Friends this term have been set against a back drop of glorious sunshine.

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Events like these do not happen on their own and The Friends are always looking for new committee members. This year we say a fond farewell and a big thank you to Anita Poole and Rachel Smallwood, both of whom have given many hours and skills in running and supporting events. As we look ahead to the new academic year The Friends would like to encourage new parents to join the committee, it’s a great way to make new friends and feel part of a team and the workload is shared so you only need to do as much as you feel able to commit. To find out more email thefriends@thebluecoatschool.com.

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This year the line-up for ‘Soak the teacher’ was very impressive, with the chance to soak the Deputy Head Prep and the Headmaster an opportunity not to be missed judging by the long queues. Their selfless, valiant effort combined with raffle proceeds raised £1,650 for this year’s nominated charity; the Edward’s Trust. Patron of the Trust, Judy Dyke and Lucy Goodway, Engagement Officer, were delighted to receive a cheque from Corinna Gregory, Chair of The Friends on behalf of School. Judy would like thank everyone for their generosity; this money will make a significant difference to the lives of local families in their hour of need. Some of our own pupils have already been helped by the great work this charity carries out. Thank you to Corinna Gregory, Andrew Hodge, Shamaela Ahmed and all the committee members and many parent and staff volunteers for another superb event.

From magical lands to a trip down memory lane. Yes, it was time for the parents to let their hair down and dance the night away at the 80s themed Summer Ball. Once again it was a sell-out and everyone certainly made the most of their chance to dress up and party. Guests were transported back to an era of neon, pineapple and cheese on sticks, Rubik’s cubes, glow sticks, wham bars and glitter galore; the ballroom looked resplendent in neon feathers. After a sumptuous meal, everyone sang happy birthday to Mr Neeson, and took to the dance floor handing round inflatable microphones and oversized 80s mobile phones! The live band ‘Silk and the Clan’ set the tone with songs like Rio, Celebration and Dancing on the Ceiling before DJ Tony (who is used to congas and bopping at the school discos) played all our many requests. Thank you to Anita Poole, Emma Trevis and Charlotte Chandler for making the 2017 ball ‘a night to remember’.

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First it was the Alice in Wonderland themed Summer Fête. With temperatures approaching 30 degrees, it may go down as one of our hottest. Sun cream and sun hats at the ready, families came in their droves. Faces were painted and girls were pampered, including the Queen of Hearts who popped in too! Shouts of ‘off with their heads’ could be heard at the coconut shy, and children were desperate to dive into the ‘pool of tears’ with the ducks and flamingoes. Seeking some shade under the trees, visitors enjoyed a bite to eat and a Pimms or two from the Plough beer tent.

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Senior School Scholarship Awards and Examination Success Year 6 pupils were awarded 49 Grammar School places and 100 offers to Independent Senior Schools, including 32 Scholarships (academic, music and sport) and 1 Music Award. We congratulate all the children on their notable achievements.

2017 Scholars King Edward’s School

Academic Scholarship

Aruya Ahmed

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Hasan Ahmed

King Edward’s School

Academic Scholarship

Papplewick School

Academic Scholarship

Maya Ahmed

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Roshan Bahia

King Edward’s School

Academic Scholarship

Avneet Bajwa

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Katie Baker

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Music Scholarship

Solihull School

Music Scholarship

Raghav Deb

Priory School

Academic Scholarship

Paola Dietrich de Pablo

Priory School

Academic Scholarship

Ria Gokul

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Monique James-Thomas

Solihull School

Music Award

Amrita Kang

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Easher Kang

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Saru Karanam

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Sofia Knight

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Millfield School

Academic Scholarship and Sports Scholarship

Tanya Leech

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Stephanie Otite

Priory School

Academic Scholarship

Ryan Raeiszadeh

Nottingham High School

Academic Scholarship

Rosabella Sung

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Music Scholarship

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Music Scholarship

Henry Trevis

King Edward’s School

Academic Scholarship

Solihull School

Academic Scholarship

Zoe Willcox

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Academic Scholarship

Ben Woodward

Bromsgrove School

Academic Scholarship and Music Scholarship

King Edward’s School

Academic Scholarship and Music Scholarship

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Umar Ahmad

Leavers’ Destinations Ibrahim Afzal

King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys

Sofia Knight

Millfield School

Umar Ahmad

King Edward’s School

Billy Laight

King Edward’s School

Aruya Ahmed

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Tanya Leech

King Edward VI Handsworth School

Hasan Ahmed

Papplewick School

Henry Martin

King Edward VI Five Ways School

Maya Ahmed

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Jessica McGuirk

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Ayaan Ali

King Edward’s School

Emmie McLaughlan

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Qurrathulain Ali

Queen Mary’s High School for Girls

Noah Mohmand

Handsworth Grammar School

Kibria Awais

King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys

Aminah Munir

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Roshan Bahia

King Edward’s School

Rohan Narayan-Hull

King Edward’s School

Avneet Bajwa

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Pranoy Nishanth

King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys

Katie Baker

Solihull School

Maia Noonan

King Edward VI Handsworth School

Sofia Begh

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Stephanie Otite

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Junayd Butt

King Edward’s School

Benito Pagliuca

King Edward VI Five Ways School

Ashwin Chandar

King Edward VI Five Ways School

Ryan Parekh

Solihull School

Evie Crow-Marcetic

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Krishan Patel

King Edward’s School

Karishma Dar

King Edward VI Handsworth School

Gevé Pereira

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Raghav Deb

King Edward VI Aston School

Oliver Poole

King Edward’s School

Jovan Dhillon

King Edward’s School

Rufus Powell

King Edward’s School

Paola Dietrich de Pablo Edgbaston High School for Girls

Ryan Raeiszadeh

King Edward VI Five Ways School

Lazara Do

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Kieran Sanghera

King Edward’s School

Fintan Dowling

King Edward’s School

Nitara Sharma

Edgbaston High School for Girls

Eesaa Gafar

King Edward VI Aston School

Hridya Sharma

King Edward’s School

Ria Gokul

King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls

Abdullah Sheraz

King Edward’s School

Usmaan Hassun

St George’s School

Rosabella Sung

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Matthew Holland

King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys

Shai Thompson

Old Swinford Hospital School

Ines Iliff

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Henry Trevis

King Edward’s School

Tom Isaac

King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys

Elizabeth Wigg

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Aled James

King Edward’s School

Gibson Wilkie

Old Swinford Hospital School

Monique James-Thomas Solihull School

Zoe Willcox

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Amrita Kang

King Edward VI Handsworth School

Amy Wilson

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Easher Kang

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Ben Woodward

King Edward’s School

Saru Karanam

King Edward VI High School for Girls

Esa Yaqoob

King Edward’s School

Nivid Kharwadkar

King Edward’s School

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Congratulations Year 6!

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Charity Check Sponsored Bounce Pre-Prep children have been getting bouncy and active for a very special cause. They took part in a Sponsored Bounce as part of the School’s Big Sleuth fundraising for the Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity. Over the course of a week they skipped, jumped, bobbed and vaulted their way through a carousel of activities.

From jumping in sacks to bunny hops, the children furiously bounced for two minutes, before moving on to their next activity. The Pre-Prep gym was a haze of red, glowing happy faces as they all embraced these strenuous challenges. Everybody worked incredibly hard and although exhausted by the end, they were all very willing to help to raise money for this wonderful cause. The money from our kind sponsors has now been counted and amounts to a grand total of £2,297.50 + gift aid. Thank you to everyone for your support.

Big Toddle On Wednesday 10 May, we held our annual Barnardo’s Big Toddle.

It is the fourteenth toddle that Buttons Nursery children have been involved in which is quite an achievement. More recently the Transition children have also joined in the fun!

The theme this year was ‘colour’ and the children certainly made a colourful picture as they walked around the school field, raising money to transform the lives of vulnerable children. Mr and Mrs Neeson and some of the Pre-Prep staff came out to cheer them along. We are delighted to announce that £726 was raised this year.

Key Dates for Michaelmas Term 2017 Term begins Wednesday 6 September

Half-Term holiday begins Thursday 19 October

Open Morning Saturday 30 September 9.30am to 12.00noon (Registration at 9.30am and 10.30am)

Term resumes Monday 30 October

Term ends Friday 15 December

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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

Follow us on: @bcsbirmingham @bluecoatbirmingham

The Blue Coat School Birmingham Limited is registered in England, Registration No. 8502615 and is a Registered Charity No. 1152244