Nottingham High School Yearbook 2021/22

2022

YEAR BOOK

A reflection on our year at Nottingham High School

Student Leadership Team

Lottie M Head Girl

Imran Z Head Boy

Leann S Deputy Head Girl

Tomos D Deputy Head Boy

Jess B Deputy Head Girl

Adam B Deputy Head Boy

Joe P Deputy Head Boy

Grace F Deputy Head Girl

WELCOME TO OUR NEW Year 7s

AND ALL OUR

New Staff

Grace Bashforth – Teacher of Psychology

I am excited to join Nottingham High School this year as a Teacher of Psychology. Before arriving, I studied a joint BSc in Psychology and Criminology and have taught at schools in Sheffield and Nottingham for the past 6 years. I have had lots of experience teaching A level Psychology and have had the opportunity to go on several school trips and fascinating conferences. I love psychology as it sheds light on many interesting topics as well as controversial issues in society and allows us to have a better understanding of people around us.

It is a pleasure to be joining the school as a Scouts leader this year. I look forward to getting involved in lots of fun team building activities on Friday afternoons and many day hikes in the countryside. In my spare

time, I enjoy cooking, watching true crime documentaries and experiencing new cultures when travelling in the summer. I volunteer with Virgin Balloon Flights and get to have many free flights over the Derbyshire dales!

Sophie Higson – Head of Computer Science

I have been loving my new role as Head of Computer Science at the High School, since starting in the Summer term. Originally from Surrey, I went all the way up to Lancaster University to do a degree in Education. I then moved to Nottingham and worked for three years as an IT training manager for Learndirect, where I delivered training in advanced Excel and Microsoft Access. It was then that I decided to become a teacher, and completed the Graduate Teacher programme in Nottingham. I have taught in Nottingham for around 18 years, and was Head of Department for 8 of those. During this time Computer Science has completely transformed, in line with the demands of an everchanging technological world. I have relished the challenge of adapting to the new focus of Computer Science, as we saw a shift away from the old content of

what was “ICT”. It’s so important to me that we deliver a relevant and engaging curriculum for our pupils, so that they are best prepared for a world immersed in computers! I also enjoy using technology creatively, and have started a photography club this term, with a growing team of budding photographers attending each week. In my spare time I like to get out into the fresh air with my family and go walking. I also love to play the piano and will try to participate in the school choir whenever I get the opportunity to.

Matthew Lakin – Head of Year 8; Head of Politics and Acting Head of History

As a school with a potent tradition of midwifing budding politicians (Ed Davey, Ed Balls, Ken Clarke, Lord Frost, etc.), I am thrilled to be teaching in, and leading, the History and Politics Department at Nottingham High School. Having started my professional life as an academic – writing, research and teaching about the intersections between political ideas and political praxis in contemporary British politics – I made the well-trodden path from the lecture theatre to the classroom, and have spent the last decade teaching in the rich and rewarding surrounds of several schools, both boarding and day schools.

I spend much of my time trying to juggle the blameless domestic simplicities of family life –Border terrier (‘Border Terrorist’), Ruby, two cats – Ralph and Sidney, and an inflexible and dogmatic – but ultimately lovely - four-year-old, Isabella –alongside the various ‘hats’ I fashion in the school: Head of Year 8, Head of Politics, and Acting Head of History.

I am an unashamed political animal: I unavoidably see the world through the prism of the political with its emphasis and focus on power, legitimacy, obligation, rights, and struggle. I am in the

process of writing a book – The Blair Dispensation – a book that is unlikely ever to be published because of my chronic procrastination and inability to make sense of the impact of Blair on the culture and social temperature of Britain. I am currently writing an article on the Truss experiment. I care passionately about education and I love schools and everything that goes on inside them: education – and teaching and learning - too easily gets lost in the fads and fashions of their ages. Education’s Occam’s razor: all we are trying to do is inculcate into the minds of the young the right habits for life and, when the parochial exam boards allow it, expose them to the best that has been thought and said from the various disciplines we devote our time to. I have many loves: I love Lego; I love German beer; I love watching the birds in the garden, and I love anything produced by Adam Curtis and Jonathan Meades.

I have relished the challenge of adapting to the new focus of Computer Science, as we saw a shift away from the old content of what was “ICT”. It’s so important to me that we deliver a relevant and engaging curriculum for our pupils, so that they are best prepared for a world immersed in computers!”

Connor Matkin –Teacher of History, Maternity Cover

I am thoroughly enjoying my time teaching History at Nottingham High School and am greatly looking forward to hearing the thoughts and ideas of students regarding my subject area of History. Having grown up in Cheshire, I initially began my teaching journey in the north-east, completing my PGCE at Durham University before heading off to West Yorkshire at the start of my career. Since then I have spent several years teaching in Germany before returning to my studies in the UK to secure my MA in History from the University of York. Any student taught by me will quickly discover my love for film, especially when movies intersect with History. I am also an avid traveller, having slowly ticked off most of Europe’s countries from my list of places to visit, I now intend to start looking further afield for new adventures during the holidays. Travel has proved inspirational in framing the events I teach and listening to locals from around the world can be enormously valuable when looking into topics such as the Cold War. Aside from this, I can often be found bouldering outside of working hours and getting involved with some nerdier hobbies such as tabletop and video gaming as well as reading science fiction. As a historian my main area of research at university was East-Asia with a focus on Japan from the end of the samurai through its industrialisation period. If you want to discuss Japan during and after the shogunate, I’m your guy! However, I also have a keen interest in other topics I research in my spare time ranging from the Ottoman Empire and Germany in the 1800s, to life in the USA during the 1960s. In a time where the pandemic is hopefully disappearing from view, I intend to build on these interests through a combination of research and travel to better understand the world we live in and provide context for events that I teach to students.

Sam Schofield – Head of Cricket

I am originally from South London and was Head of Cricket and Teacher of PE at Trinity School, Croydon. Sport is a big part of my life from playing Football and Cricket to watching premier league Hockey. I am a bit of an F1 fan too. Outside of sport, I like cooking and exploring new parts of the country. London was great for exploring, so I am looking forward to seeing what Nottinghamshire has to offer. I chose to move to Nottingham High School because I needed a new challenge in a great school. I had been at Trinity School, Croydon for 8 years and been in London most of my life, so a new environment and challenge was needed. I look after all Cricket in the Senior School. This involves all of the coaching of pupils and coach education of our staff, as well as organising our fixtures and entering our sides into the county competitions. I also organise Cricket tours for different years groups too.

My plans for Cricket at Nottingham High School is to provide an environment where pupils of all abilities can thrive, learn and enjoy their Cricket. I would like as many pupils as possible to represent the school in soft or hard ball matches, so if any pupil wants to come and give Cricket a go, please do! If we can help players reach county, professional and international levels, we have catered for everyone.

Students should get into Cricket because it is such a great team game to be involved in. If you are not physically involved at a particular time, then your mind is stimulated to find the best way to stop the opposition scoring runs or how best your team can win the game. There are so many different dynamics involved in Cricket, that everyone should get something out of it. The feeling you get from taking that catch, hitting that boundary or bowling someone out, is something that everyone should experience.

The Cricketer that inspires me is AB De Villiers. He was a special talent in all three formats of the game. His batting and fielding took the sport to another level with some of things he could do. I always get pupils to watch his innings against the West Indies in 2017.

SCAN TO VIEW THE AB DE VILLIERS INNINGS AGAINST THE WEST INDIES IN 2017

Holly Stancer – Teacher of English

It has been a joy teaching English at Nottingham High School so far this academic year. Several years ago, I pursued my academic career into English Literary Studies at the University of Exeter, where I gradually specialised into studying Medieval and Renaissance studies. It was here that I was able to pursue my deeply vested interest in both Literature and History, which I continued to specialise in when moving into my Master’s degree at Durham University. In finishing my degree, I realised that I was not willing to move outside of my field of specialty, and in fact wanted to aid and enrich the learning of others using my knowledge. As such, I moved back to Nottingham and began my career in teaching.

I have always had reverence for the literary creative process; during my time at university I founded a love for writing and listening to poetry, which I continue to nurture. I sustain a love for the theatre and have taken every opportunity in recent years to attend

Josh Weller – Teacher of PE

It is a pleasure to join Nottingham High School as a Teacher of PE in my first teaching role. Before arriving, I studied BSc Sports Development and Coaching Sciences at Bournemouth University, where this ignited my passion for teaching, before moving onto Loughborough University where I studied my PGCE and MSc in Education.

My passion for physical activity and sport stems from a young age where I was an avid football, rugby and cricket player. As I have grown up, I have become more passionate about the research behind the pedagogical models of teaching and how these can be implemented to allow for the same fun and enjoyment I experienced in PE throughout my school life.

performancesparticularly of plays originating from the Renaissance period. Due to my historical interests, I thoroughly enjoy visiting sites of historical interest (particularly when they converge with my literary interests), so often spend my time visiting cathedrals, castles, etc.!

Whenever possible, I do try to get out into the countryside to go on hikes. My frequent haunts are the Peak District, Snowdonia and Dartmoor.

Outside of work I enjoy running, playing cricket, following Manchester United and spending time with my family. I have previously completed five marathons and one ultra-marathon and aim for these numbers to continuously grow, starting with London Marathon in April 2023.

I have really enjoyed my first term here and am very much looking forward to getting to know many more of you in the future.

Stephen Woodward – Teacher of History and Politics

I am delighted to have joined Nottingham High School at the beginning of the Summer term 2021/22 as a Teacher of History & Politics. Although I originally hail from Luton, I consider Sheffield to be my second home, having studied undergraduate History at the University of Sheffield. I remained at Sheffield as an academic scholar for my MA in Modern History and my personal research interests centre mainly around the history of Modern Greece. For the last 9 years I taught History and Politics at Malvern College in Worcestershire. During my time at Malvern I accompanied numerous History trips abroad, including three visits to Russia - a voyage I'm unlikely to make again any time soon! At least I can say that I've seen Lenin's preserved corpse multiple times, even if it did involve enduring some pretty desperate Russian catering (Nottinghamians I can say with certainty your lunches are world class!).

Outside of the classroom I can be found on the parade ground and in the field with the School's CCF. I was an RAF cadet myself when at school in Bedford and have been involved as an adult volunteer and officer

in the Royal Air Force section since becoming a teacher nearly a decade ago. As many students have already delighted in finding out, I am an ardent fan of Luton Town Football Club and often spend my weekends visiting the rich cultural variety of England's Football League stadia, often following the Hatters away. I am also a member of the Eurovision Song Contest fan club of Great Britain and if not spending my holiday's exploring ancient sites and museums on foreign shores I'll most likely be found travelling to watch concerts by the Moldovan/Czech/ Portuguese/insert European country here's entry to a past contest. I also enjoy hiking, cooking and perfecting my recipes for home-made ales and fruit wines.

Mark Yon - Teacher of Geography, Part Time

I am thrilled to be joining Nottingham High School and the excellent Geography Department.

I am a teacher who has been teaching Geography and Humanities for 35 years, up to now. My degree was achieved at Nottingham University, whilst my Masters degree was from Nottingham Trent University, just for a change! My previous school was a very large state school, one of the largest in the country, where whilst there I was a Head of Geography and a Deputy Head in the Humanities Faculty. I am enjoying the High School experience, even if it is only on a part time basis!

After such a long time I still enjoy discovering more about my subject, having maintained my interest for decades in Geography, and I hope that my enthusiasm is reflected in my lessons. I love the fact that Geography is always changing, which keeps me on my toes! I find the world a fascinating place, with always something new to discover around the corner, and I love helping others find out about the world we live in. I also have a long-time interest in History, and enjoy visiting places pursuing these interests.

Outside school, my main hobby involves writing reviews on books and films. I usually manage to read and review 40 - 50 Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror books a year, as well as read other books not for review. On the plus side this means that I am offered free books in advance of their usual publication date! (I’m usually 2-3 months ahead of books being published.) It is still a thrill to speak to a writer about their work, even if it is often just by email these days. It is also a lovely surprise when I see a quote from my reviews on a book cover. Over the last 20 years I have been fortunate to write

about and interview lots of writers, including Terry Brooks, George RR Martin, Joe Abercrombie, Terry Pratchett and Brandon Sanderson, amongst others. My name’s even become a character in a book! In the last few years, I have also written monthly articles reviewing old magazines from over fifty years ago. This is a lot of fun. As part of a group, I am very pleased to have been nominated three times for a Hugo Award, which is the Science Fiction equivalent of an Oscar, with nominees from all over the world! It is a great honour.

In the past I have written articles on books and films for the British Fantasy Society and the British Science Fiction Association. I was also involved in the administration and presentation of The David Gemmell Legend Award for a number of years.

As well as this, I have been involved for over 20 years as an active administrator on a website, where all these things happen and are discussed. I must admit though that my experiences have not yet led me to Tik Tok - yet! When I have time, I enjoy watching television, going to the cinema and watching films. Not all of them are for review! I also spend time with my family, being bossed about by my cat!

TRIPS, VISITS & ACTIVITIES

Children in Need

It has been another busy and productive year for Community Action. We have been greatly impressed by the dedication of our student volunteers and the generosity of the whole school community, as always. In October, for Children in Need Day, we arranged a nonuniform day, a teacher penalty shootout, a Pudsey merchandise sale as well as an incredibly popular cake sale. Year 7 and 8 truly rose to the challenge of baking a mammoth number of cakes to feed the senior school! As a result of these fundraisers, we were able to raise an astonishing £2,994.74!

LGBTQ+ History Month

During the first week of February, many of our students spent their breaks and lunchtimes taking part in a flag treasure hunt competition around the school. They were tasked with finding 8 flags related to the LGBTQ+ community and had to write down details of what they mean. We had well over a hundred entries to the competition and selected 10 winners who received their very own copy of the Book of the Month.

In the second week, Mrs Auterson delivered a thoughtprovoking assembly on Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace, which considered why students should

be aware of the diversity and inclusion polices of workplaces. In the same week Mr Beattie gave us a fascinating insight into how pronouns are used across different languages in his assembly.

A special thanks to James Mellors (ON 1989-1994) and his team from Mellors Entertainment for kindly donating their equipment and time to light up the School to celebrate LGBTQ+ Month in February; as the sky darkened, the School looked phenomenal. We have had such wonderful feedback from both within and outside of school community.

We raised £2,994.74!

The 10X Challenge

Two teams of Year 10 students entered the 10X Challenge this year, which requires them to get a business idea off the ground with just £10 to start. Teams have one month to raise as much money as they can. Team NASZ decided to run a Mochi-making workshop for other students to enjoy, with the support from the Food and Nutrition Department to ensure everything the students made was edible! Team CLAW ran a chess competition and held a raffle to raise funds. Over £200 was raised for charity by the teams and Krish Chaddha was awarded the top prize of "Best Individual, 15+ Category" for his inspirational work as part of the team.

Alex Wheattle English

On our March Drop Everything and Read Day, we were delighted to welcome Alex Wheatle back to the High School, our first Author Visit since the pandemic took hold. Alex presented his Carnegie Shortlisted historical narrative Cane Warriors and the swashbuckling novel Kemosha of the Caribbean. A born story - teller, Alex spoke of his early life in a children’s home and how he came to writing, and specifically Afro Caribbean History, as an adult after a spell in prison. Alex has become one of the most successful Black British writers of the decade and his early life has been dramatised in a film by Steve McQueen. Two further authors, both Carnegie Medal Winners, Tanya Landman and Katya Balen gave workshops to Year 9 and Year 7 respectively.

Science Week!

OCTOBER 2021

Biology Week! Biology

The 4th - 8th October was Biology Week and Space Week and we had lots going on in school to celebrate. Highlights were a dissection special during Biology Club, a feast involving edible insects and Space snacks including liquid nitrogen ice cream (guess which was the most popular) as well as students getting to use a robotic telescope afterschool. Students also took part in real scientific research as part of some citizen science projects and students from all years had the chance to attend a Biology Olympiad seminar on how bats ‘see’ using sound. There were also tutor activities, including a presentation about Black Biologists and Space scientists, a Biology-in-Space themed quiz and a vote for the school’s favourite tree species. The beautiful Wild Cherry won this with 18% of the vote, very closely followed by Weeping Willow (not to be confused with Harry Potter’s Whomping Willow) with 17%. The mighty English Oak was third (14%). Our BioBake competition was won by Maha (Year 11) with her gruesome heart cake, which is remarkably anatomically accurate considering it is made out of cake! I found it on my desk deposited in a small pool of ‘blood’, with an accompanying note, an experience which initially conjured up various scenarios from a few gangster/horror films until I calmed down... Runner-up was Mack (Year 7) who managed to represent a whole body in his creation.

Mr Duckett

British Biology Olympiad

The Royal Society of Biology’s annual Biology Olympiad competition consists of two challenging online papers, which test content from both years of A Level study and beyond, across all exam boards. Students had the opportunity to take part in seminar presentations in preparation, leading in-depth discussions on biological topics, issues and discoveries. Well done to all those who took part and received awards. Our students achieved the following awards: 6 Gold, 5 Silver, 3 Bronze, 2 Highly Commended and 1 Commended. As well as this, twenty-five Year 12 students gained awards in the Royal Society of Biology Intermediate Olympiad, a one-hour paper intended as a warm-up to the main Olympiad (11 Gold-to-Bronze as well as 7 Highly Commended and 7 Commended). This is a fantastic achievement. These students will be able to take part in seminars in the autumn term and compete in the main Olympiad in January.

Biology Challenge

The Biology Challenge is an equivalent of the Olympiad for Year 10 students. The aim of the competition is to challenge and stimulate students with an interest in Biology to expand and extend their talents. It enables students to demonstrate their knowledge and to be suitably rewarded and publicly recognised by the award of Gold, Silver and Bronze certificates. The students sat two online papers, which covered a wide variety of topics studied at GCSE and additional wider knowledge of the biological world. Our students did very well, achieving 5 Gold, 5 Silver, 12 Bronze and 3 Highly Commended awards on this year’s very tricky papers. It is hoped that competing in the Biology Challenge will encourage students to continue to study this valuable, wideranging and rewarding subject beyond GCSE level.

YEAR 10

Biology Trip to Perlethorpe

In June we took the Year 10 biologists to the Perlethorpe Environmental Education Centre to develop their ecology skills and complete some required practical work for their GCSE course. The students investigated the different plant species present in two areas (grassland and woodland), the effect of trampling and mowing on species distribution in a meadow and the effect of pollution on aquatic invertebrates. The students seemed to find this last activity to be the most enjoyable – getting their wellies on, they entered a stream either upstream or downstream of a bridge and then kicked up the sediment so they could use their nets to catch a sample of the species living there. The students also got to grips with using quadrats to sample plant species in various areas, comparing their findings and developing an appreciation for the diversity of species living in different parts of the site. Seeing how this sort of data can be gathered is invaluable in aiding student progress through this part of the course.

YEAR 12

Trip to Cranedale

Over the weekend of the 24th-26th June, the Biology department were delighted to be able to take our Year 12s on their residential field trip to the Cranedale Environmental Studies Centre near Malton, North Yorkshire. Due to Covid, this was our first visit there since 2019 and it was great to be back. The centre and surrounding area hadn’t changed at all and the familiar sights were all very welcome. The students were guided through several ecological activities in support of both the required practical section of the course and the associated ecology topic areas. The activities included: setting small mammal traps; using ‘markrelease-recapture’ to estimate snail population size; sampling different stages of succession in a disused quarry; planning and carrying out an investigation on desiccation and its effect on one of four species found on the rocky shore at Filey; and studying conservation

of marine birds at the spectacular Bempton cliffs. There was also an optional bat walk where the students were treated to a stunningly close encounter with a group of Pipistrelles! An enjoyable and productive weekend for all.

Biology Photo Competition

In the Nottingham High School Biology Photography Competition 2021, which started in Biology Week in October and ran until December, the students (and staff) were challenged to submit an image that celebrated the diversity of the natural world. There were some very imaginative entries! The winners are shown below, well done to all of our photographers!

SCAN TO LOOK BACK AT ALL THE WINNING ENTRIES FROM THE PAST FEW YEARS

PS – as in previous years, I take full blame/credit for the names of the photos. If I ever decide to start a perfume company, I’ve got a good batch of product names ready to go now.

YEAR 7-10 WINNER BEAUTY IN VARIATION William R, Year 7

YEAR 11-13 RUNNER UP PROUD HARMONY Ariella S, Year 12

STAFF WINNER BOUNTIFUL SPECTRUM Mrs Sneddon, Head of Marketing

YEAR 11-13 WINNER NEIGHBOURING WORLDS Rishav A, Year 12

YEAR 7-10 RUNNER-UP UNIQUE VISIONS Priya M, Year 9

Chemistry

Academic Success in the C3L6 Cambridge Chemistry Challenge & RSC Chemistry Olympiad Competitions

The C3L6 Cambridge Chemistry Challenge aims to stretch and challenge students interested in chemistry, and provides an excellent experience for anyone considering taking their studies further. It is designed to be accessible to Year 12 students but takes them significantly beyond the syllabus and encourages them to think about science in the way they would at university. The paper is a genuine stretch and challenge exercise, aimed at the brightest Lower Sixth Chemists in the UK.

It is a huge credit to the students within the Chemistry Department that they were able to attain such impressive results, with 3 Gold (Charlie V, Brendan M, Hamza A), 7 Silver (Al Q H, Andrew B, Zakary H-I, Evie B-S, Adshayan K, Chidi A, Cole T-S, Ryder G) and 5 Copper certificates achieved. One of our students (Coy Z) attained an incredible mark which placed him in the top 0.71% of the competition, earning him the top Roentgenium Award and a place on a residential study experience at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge. Many of the Year 12 students who took the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge also took part in the Royal Society of Chemistry Olympiad 2022, along with a good number of our top Year 13 Chemists. The Chemistry Olympiad paper was sat in January, a twohour paper of really challenging chemistry which is written to stretch the best A Level Chemists across the country. The preparation and performance of High School chemists was very impressive, with 7 students attaining the prestigious Gold Awards (Anna S, Neel B, Grace F, Qing LL, Rohan S, Henry B, Vithurshan S),

whilst 8 attained Silver Awards and a further 7 attained Bronze.

Particular congratulations to Anna S who attained one of the highest marks in the country and was invited to take part in the final selection process for the UK Chemistry Olympiad team. Anna relished the opportunity and was highly commended for all that she undertook - her performance in this year’s Chemistry Olympiad was absolutely outstanding. We really do have some very talented Chemists at the High School.

Mr K Heath

C3L6 Cambridge Camp

Student Review

Towards the end of my Year 12, I partook in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge for Lower Sixth (C3L6) and was invited to a "Roentgenium Camp", named after the award I had won. Interestingly, the four elements, Copper, Silver, Gold and Roentgenium, which the C3L6 awards are named after, all lie in the periodic table’s Group 11 with descending order.

Summer was coming to a close far too soon and this was marked by the residential camp at St Catharine's College (Cats), Cambridge. Albeit slightly annoyed of the early start, I arrived at Cats, where I received a very warm welcome from the porter. On my way to my room, I walked past an extremely glamorous periodic table, filled from top to bottom with pristine glass cubes. Within them, 3D models of the various orbitals had been laser engraved into them. The wall behind the glass cubes had been sprayed in Vantablack, which provided a stark contrast with the brightly lit, reflective cubes.

On the first evening, we were introduced to each other, Dr Wothers and his team. Dr Wothers runs the C3L6 and is a high-profile figure within the chemistry world, having written many popular chemistry books aimed at university students. I strongly recommend watching his Christmas lectures from 2012.

We were treated to a formal dinner in the Cats formal hall, being the first to use it post-pandemic. At the end of the meal, our attention was brought to a beautiful, glimmering spiral periodic table inspired by the work of Chancourtois in 1862. It was made of solid silver, aside for the Gold, Palladium and Platinum tiles, which donned their respective elements, and the diamond that was encrusted into the Carbon tile. The base and the Oganesson tile were signed by Yuri Oganesson (the discoverer of the 118th element) at the official unveiling of the piece three years ago.

The rest of the camp seemed to pass very fast. We spent mornings in lectures given by Dr Wothers, which covered topics ranging from electron orbitals to Schrödinger’s

equation. In the afternoons, we attempted practical tasks from the 2009 International Chemistry Olympiad. I was able to achieve near-perfect results in a practical investigating the critical concentration of SDS micelle formation and received an extremely oversized polo shirt, to which I have no idea when to wear. Nevertheless, it was a nice gesture.

On the camp, I made many friends while doing some advanced chemistry. The lectures were engaging and comprehensive. It was truly a magnificent experience, and I would strongly recommend any chemistry students to take part in the C3L6. It is a truly valuable opportunity to deepen your chemistry understanding.

Coy Z, Year 12

WATCH THREE OF DR WOTHERS’ CHRISTMAS LECTURES HERE

The Chemistry Reading Group was a group of interested Year 12 Chemists who met this year to read and discuss the book “Ten Drugs: How Plants, Powders, and Pills Have Shaped the History of Medicine” by Thomas Hager. Week on week we discussed the history of medicines, how different molecules interacted with the human body, how drugs have and currently are developed and the role and ethics the pharmaceutical industry has on this and modern society.

As part of meetings, we also had some other structured discussions. One week sorting alkaloids they would ban, control or allow access to and in another discussing whether the opioid crisis is misrepresented in the media.

What was really encouraging was the further reading around subject and the enthusiasm that people brought to each lunchtime.

As part of the group each member then had to deliver a presentation on a 11th drug which they think deserved to be recognised. Researching and presenting on the history of the drug and its development, how it interacts

YEAR 8 AND 9

Reading Group STEM Challenge

with the body and what effect it has had on society. It was fascinating to hear what members discovered but also what inspired them by their choices in the first place! Some of the drugs that were presented on included Adderall and Ritalin (by Al Qavi and Holly), treatments for syphilis (by Ryder), newer drugs developed for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (Evie) and how LSD affected the music of the Beatles (by Josie)!

It was a really enjoyable group which has hopefully inspired not only a greater interest in the subject but of love of reading for pleasure!

The following students attended the Nottinghamshire Science and Technology Challenge Day at Vision West Nottinghamshire College on Monday 27th June 2022.

Year 8 Year 9

Daniel W

Lucas B

Evelyn A

Maria M

Leah G

Nathan C

Anika K

Matthew M

Holly P

Mysha R

Junqi Z

Yanchen W

These students were selected due to their engagement with Physics and interest in Engineering. The performed exceptionally well and won two of the small challenges (the robotics challenge and the mini vehicle challenge) and the overall competition too. This event is part of a wider national competition, in which the overall winning team from each event will progress to a Challenge Final which will held in December 2022/ January 2023.

Physics

International Physics Olympiad Team Selection

Anna S was been selected to compete for the UK in the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) 2022. This took take place in Kutaisi, Georgia from 14th to 22nd August.

The main goal of the IOAA is to promote the growing interest in Astronomy and related STEM subjects, especially through the general education of young people, and enhancing the development of international contacts among different countries in promoting Astronomy and Astrophysics in schools. It is expected that, through events like the IOAA, brighter highschool students will be eager to study astronomy at the university level to become the next generation of astronomy and astrophysics professionals.

Anna qualified for this by first completing the British Physics Olympiad (BPhO) Round 1, finishing with a ‘top gold’ and placing her in the top 10% of the 2300 students that sat the test. She then took part in Round 2 of the BPhO and also the British Astronomy and Astrophysics Competition (BAAO). She performed exceptionally well, achieving a ‘Gold’ and ‘Silver’ respectively, earning her a place in a training camp at Oxford University with 11 other students in which the teams for the International Olympiads were selected.

She had to complete numerous training exercises alongside preparing for her external exams. In the last twenty years we have had a very few who have reached this stage, it is a rare occurrence and is a huge honour for both Anna and the Physics Department.

British Physics Olympiad

The BPhO challenges a range of student knowledge, preparation and ability, whilst also aiming at stretching and challenging the top young physicists in the country in a national competition. Every question requires a different perspective to get the measure of it. This fluency in recognising topics and linking ideas is, in part, what develops the physicist's confidence and mastery. The challenge also stretches thinking into applications and ideas rather than to keeping to the relatively narrow content of the syllabus. This is an excellent tool for preparing students for further work or university interview.

This year we had nine students take part and, whilst all should be praised due, notable performers were Anna S, Coy Z and Susie W. The latter two being in Year 12, which is unusual given the complex nature of the competition.

Young Analyst

On a chilly Thursday morning, with the bite of winter still lingering, a group of 18 A Level chemistry students suited up in white lab coats began a day long excursion to S18, taking up the tremendous task of testing two new set of fish and chip shop ingredients. Among those 18 were my fellow teammates, Al Qavi H and Brendan M, and I. With the knowledge acquired the night before (we were given the prompt booklets to research methods and tests beforehand), we felt confident and ready to tackle the competition.

However, it did not take long before we realised that the true challenge was scheduling and remaining organised. Following this, we organised ourselves as such: Brendan had the job of testing the flour with chromatography, A Q performed gravimetry on the baking soda, and I was left to attempt the Vinegar titration and add Benedict’s reagent to some potatoes.

With the titration, accuracy was key. Unlike a regular classroom titration, I spent upwards of two hours on this, and ensured that I had acquired 3 concordant results (for accuracy purposes - don’t worry, two is fine for A Level!). The Benedict’s was far simpler, requiring

YEAR 13

Spectroscopy Masterclass Trip

addition of the testing reagent to a couple of extract solutions. As the morning drew nigh, I had finished my half of the experiments and Al Qavi H was also nearing completion. Contrarily, Brendan’s undertaking seemed to be less smooth-sailing. The ninhydrin used for the chromatography was getting to him and exposure to the spray meant that he felt rather nauseous. Nevertheless, as a team we were able to analyse the results and with a couple of shaky assumptions and guesses, we deciphered which amino acids were present in each of the three types of flour we were given.

In the final 30 minutes of the day, the team sat down and answered a series of questions about the experiment through the medium of a google form. Feeling like we had botched the chromatography, we went home feeling rather blue. But to our surprise, a couple weeks later we were notified of being the Midlands regional champions, earning a handsome sum of £500 for the school Chemistry department and a £50 Amazon voucher for each of us.

Coy Z, Year 12

In November Mr Heath, Mr Adshead and Mrs Afzal accompanied all 45 of our Year 13 A Level Chemists to the Chemistry Department at the University of Nottingham

The visit itself provided the students with experience of organic analytical Chemistry in a university environment and also tutorials in the use of mass spectrometers, infra-red spectrometers and NMR, techniques which are on their A Level syllabus but not available to us in School.

Staff at the University were fantastic as they welcomed us as their first school group since the Covid pandemic. Our students prepared and analysed organic compounds in the state of the art university undergraduate laboratories, were able to look closely at the eye-wateringly expensive Nuclear Magnetic Resonance equipment and experienced presentations in the large lecture room facility normally used by the university students.

It was a valuable experience for our chemistry students and we were really pleased to continue our long-standing partnership work with the University of Nottingham.

Mr K Heath

Lab Renaming Competition

Supporting the whole school focus on Diversity, the Student Body had the opportunity to rename the four laboratories in the Physics Department after physicists both past and present. A proposal had to be submitted that detailed why the student felt that their physicist was deserving of the accolade; it need not be for a particular discovery or theory.

Displays were then made for each lab that highlighted their work, and the doors to each lab now have a small sign on them. The list of winners are as follows;

Dan W (Year 13) for

Frank Nabarro

Old Nottinghamian engineer who oversaw the transition to a mixed-race university in South Africa after Apartheid.

I think Nabarro should have one of the labs named after him as he was not only an old pupil of our school, but also did invaluable research in his niche of physics as well as pioneering a way for black students to study at previously white universities in South Africa as the country left the era of Apartheid.”

Akhil B (Year 10)

for Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Indian astrophysicist who suggested the minimum mass of a star that would not stay as a white dwarf, now known as the Chandrasekhar Limit.

Annie W (Year 12) for

Lise Meitner

Jewish atomic physicist who gave the first theoretical explanation of nuclear fission and was overlooked for the Nobel Prize.

Sonam S

(Year 8)

for Carolyn Parker

The first known African American woman to gain a PhD in Physics.

I think that one of the labs should be named after her because she made many changes and to modern day physics, was the first black woman to be a graduate from physics and dedicated her life to it.”

The list of highly commended entries are as follows;

Esme W (Year 9) for Maggie Aderin-Pocock astrophysicist and current presenter of The Sky at Night – BBC Four.

Holly P (Year 9) for Katie Bouman major contributor to the algorithm used to take the first ‘photograph’ of a black hole.

Holly H (Year 12) for Joseph Priestley known for his discovery of sulphur dioxide

Dan W (Year 7) for Paul Dirac who first proposed the idea of antimatter.

YEAR 12 History

Hallward Library

On Monday 27th of June, all Year 12 historians benefitted from a trip to Nottingham University’s Hallward Library. Not only did students receive a tour of the library from the university’s library team, but we were also able to benefit from an insightful talk from a member of Nottingham University’s History Department, Dr Sarah Holland. Dr Holland was most eloquent in her explanation of how Historians undertake effective historical research, encouraging our students to fully understand the relationship between sources, context and approach and to ultimately ask the right

questions. In addition to discussing how to conduct effective historical research, Dr Holland also shared some of her current research into the countryside, health and disability in the 18th to 20th centuries. A topic which our A Level historians found fascinating, generating a rich discussion. After these sessions, our students were let loose on the 4th floor of the Hallward library to explore the library’s catalogue. This was most beneficial for all students, who are in the midst of researching their coursework titles.

History & RS

YEAR 9

Trip to Beth Shalom

On Friday 28th January, the day after Holocaust Memorial Day, Year 9 students visited Beth Shalom in Newark as part of their study of the Holocaust in both History and RS lessons. Students spent the day touring an exhibition, viewing the memorial garden, and listening to the Holocaust Survivor Martin Stern. Martin was born in 1938 and lived in Holland, he spoke to students via zoom about his experiences as a child in Nazi occupied Holland (living 3 blocks away from the house in which Anne Frank and her family attempted to evade discovery) and the way in which he survived internment in 2 concentration camps: Westerbork and Theresienstadt, with his baby sister. In a twist of fate, he managed to escape deportation to Auschwitz while at Theresienstadt, as his name was not called out; perhaps an oversight due to the panic generated by the advancing Red Army. Martin’s talk was not only moving and harrowing in places, but it was an integral experience for our students in their study of the Holocaust. In addition to this, the school donated a plant with a plaque to Beth Shalom that will

bloom in their rose garden later this year. Upon returning to school, students were asked to write a short piece reflecting upon their experiences and the lessons they thought were important to share with the wider school community. Congratulations go to Benjamin S, Nishaan S, Holly P, Anna R and Chloe J who won prizes in Assembly for their moving reflections of the day. As one student observed when discussing seeing so many victims’ names and photos as part of the museum’s exhibit and memorial garden, “these weren’t just pictures but actual people.” Since this trip, Year 9 students have explored the Holocaust further, learning about Anne Frank and opposition to the Holocaust as well as completing research presentations on the theme Courage to Care. A selection of the work students at the High School have completed has since been requested by the Holocaust Centre to form a digital display showcasing the input of local schools.

Mrs Daly and Miss Davis

On Tuesday 30th November the History Department were thrilled to welcome back the team from Frontline History to work with our Year 10 Historians, providing a hands-on experience of the First World War. Students were introduced to artefacts from their study of the origins and course of the First World War, gaining an insight into not only the global aspect of the war, but truly getting to grips with what would have motivated people of their age, such as Horace Iles and Valentine Strudwick, to enlist and fight for King and Country. Indeed, the whole group were struck by the uncanny resemblance between Joe, fully kitted out in a WWI uniform (weapons and all) and the last photograph of Valentine Strudwick, who was the same age (15), when he gave his life in service of his country. A sobering moment for all. Not only were students able to handle the equipment that would have been used for night raids in the trenches, but they also discovered how well soldiers were prepared (or not) for the nascent gas attacks during the war. It was great to see students getting hands on and being able to fully immerse themselves into the study of their GCSE History.

WW1 Day The Great Debate

On 20th January, the History Department hosted the regional heats of the Historical Association's Great Debate. Students were invited to present on the aspect of their local area that had changed the most during the reign of Elizabeth II. Students from The King’s School Grantham and The Holt School came to the High School to present on a wide range of diverse topics and themes. The evening was expertly judged by Professor Greenwood of Nottingham University, who specialises in medical history and has published a number of books on colonial medicine and Florence Nightingale, and who is currently researching the colonial history of Boots the Chemists. Professor Greenwood was most impressed by the calibre, passion and eloquence with which the participants spoke on their chosen areas. Four Year 11 students from the High School participated in this event, Anjali, Aaron, Muskan and Gauri must all be commended not only for their independent research, but also the passion with which they spoke on the development and integration of LGBTQ+ rights, science and technological advances and the diversification of the city. Congratulations go to Gauri of Nottingham High School and Tom of The King’s School Grantham, who were judged to be the winner and runner up respectively. Gauri was then invited to participate in the finals, held at Windsor Castle in March.

Following success in the regional heats of the Great Debate competition that Nottingham High School hosted in January 2022, Gauri K was invited to the Great Debate finals held at the Vicars’ Hall, Windsor Castle.

Gauri, and the other competitors, had to deliver a speech focus on an aspect of change in the second Elizabethan age in her local area. Gauri chose the topic of race relations, and applied race relations to her own personal story and to that of her local community. The judges included the President of the Historical Association and other leading historians.

YEAR 12

Trip to Slapton

Friday 8th October saw the latest cohort of Year 12 Geographers struggle into school with all their kit ready to embark on our fieldtrip to Slapton in South Devon. We arrived at the Fieldstudies centre in the afternoon and quickly met our tutors Rosie and Maryanne and sorted our accommodation. The first evening we spent getting to know our location and understanding some of the local geography, this involved a lovely short walk down to the beach and after supper, as you might expect, we all enjoyed poring over the OS maps set out around the room. Saturday bought an early start with breakfast, packing our bags and in class for our briefing before our first day of fieldwork looking at the long profile of the River Harborne. A visit to village shop allowed us to stock up on supplies ready for the day. The weather was great and lots of fun was had as we visited various sites along the river, noting the changes to the size and shape of the bedload and channel as well as seeing the flow of the river changed due to both the physical and human aspects of the drainage basin. The second day bought even more glorious weather and this time we had the pleasure of walking along Start Bay and visiting the village of Prawle.

Our focus on Sunday was the coastline, looking at the processes and landforms evident as well as understanding the various types of management employed in the area and trying to judge how sustainable they might be. We managed to find time for a visit to the takeaway and boost the local economy. The afternoon was spent in and around Prawle looking at the landforms created by changing sea levels over time. This time ice cream was on the menu before we headed back to the Slapton. The last day was spent in the Dartmoor National Park looking at weathering processes and landforms created. We had great fun scrambling over granite tors and exploring the environment looking for evidence of weathering. We also enjoyed a surprise birthday celebration for Bayo with plenty of snacks and drinks negating our need for a local shop. The sun continued to shine on the final morning as we enjoyed an early breakfast and one final stroll to the beach before heading to the coach and the journey home. It was a wonderful five days in which we really got to know the local area. We worked hard and had some long days but it was great fun and we learnt a lot. Thanks to all those that made this a fieldtrip to remember.

Trip to Holderness YEAR

In May Yr 10 Geographers gathered on a glorious early summer morning ready for our fieldtrip to the North East coastline. We had been fully prepared for the trip and after completing various tasks we were going to carry out our own experiments to see if Longshore Drift was occurring. The journey passed quickly, helped by an unforeseen stop at the services for a coffee. At Flamborough Head we were able to look at and understand the processes which had formed this landscape, which started to take shape millions of years ago with the formation of the chalk cliffs but glaciation, subaerial and marine processes have changed it to be the gorgeous cliffs and cove that it is today. We enjoyed scrambling over the rocks, exploring the various caves, notches, geos and arches, we sketched pictures and even fitted in a quick game of skimming stones. Our second beach was just along the coastline and Sewerby beach allowed us to be collecting some data at the direction of our teachers. Each group split into two with some focussing on the beach profile and others looking at the changes in sediment shape and size as we walked along the beach towards Bridlington. At the end of the beach was lunch and a few beach games. We followed this up by travelling to Hornsea and looking at the management of a seaside resort before collecting our own survey data. A long journey home was passed with a little bit of group singing. Thanks to all the staff who took us on a great day out.

YEAR 7

Attenborough Nature Reserve

The Attenborough Nature Reserve trip was definitely an experience to remember, it was full of nature, many activities and just a day to explore. Arriving at the nature reserve, we received booklets with information and activities to fill out throughout the day. We stayed in groups, moving around 3 main activities with a lunch break in between out in the sunshine, which included time to browse the gift shop. The first activity was: “Discovering what lives in the pond”. Starting off by locating the pond's surroundings and location, and then moving onto carrying out the OPAL survey. The OPAL survey showed us how clean and clear the water was and also required us to take readings of the temperature, depth, and pH of the pond. After we finished the survey,

London Docklands YEAR 9

In the first few weeks of their curriculum, Year 9 study Regional Development at a variety of scales with a focus on the UK and London. We travelled down to London by train to spend a day examining the regeneration of the London Docklands, evaluating the success of the changes that have occurred economically, socially and environmentally.

The day was action packed from arrival at St Pancras station, travelling by tube to St Katharine’s Docks close to the Tower of London. From there we conduct an urban walk through Wapping, towards Shadwell appreciating how the impact of the redevelopment has lessened with distance from the R Thames.

A quick whizz along to the Royal Docks on the Dockland Light Railway, to view this area and – with luck - some planes taking off/landing at the City Airport, was followed by the highlight of a quick visit to the exciting central hub of the Docklands at Canary Wharf and finally a boat trip back along to Tower Bridge from Greenwich.

A lot was seen, discussed and absorbed on the day enabling some highly effective follow up work back in the classroom. Students had a great time and were excellent ambassadors for the school as they walked around this interesting part of their capital city.

we found out what species lives in this environment, by taking samples of the pond to identify all the different species. I really enjoyed this activity because it allowed us to see and learn about invertebrates and see them close-up with a magnifying glass to see all the small details which helped to identify what species they were. Moving into the forests, the next activity was: “Seeing the difference between trampled and untrampled habitats”. This activity allowed us to get much more involved by exploring the woodland habitats. From seeing what invertebrates were in the soil to finding out the density of the soil. I liked how interactive this activity was and gave us knowledge, not only, on the clear differences and similarities between the grounds, but the explanations. Exploring the sites around Attenborough, the last activity included lots of walking to see how Attenborough prevented flooding and this linked to our geography lessons which put things into perspective since we already had some knowledge on this topic. Overall, I had a great time at Attenborough Nature Reserve and I learnt lots of new things from all the activities.

Jessica L

YEAR 8

Burbage Brook

The Burbage brook trip was very fun and memorable, helping us build our teamwork skills and learn how to measure the river width, speed and the valley sides. We started the day by walking through the valley filled with interesting sights and views. Luckily for us, the weather was on our side so we were able to enjoy the hot summer weather. When we got to the stream, we used equipment such as a metre stick (to measure the depth) and a clinometer (to measure the valley side). Once we had gathered all of our results, we wrote them down into a table so that we could compare them in our next Geography lesson. Another task we did was to calculate the speed of the stream. We did this by using a dog biscuit at a certain distance and timed how long it took to get to travel ten metres. We used dog biscuits as they are biodegradable and so we would not cause any harm to the stream and its inhabitants. This trip was one to remember and we enjoyed it very much.

Elizabeth VC and Victoria VC.

CINEMA TRIP

Madres Paralelas

Typically for a director as ambitious as Pedro Almodóvar, this film shies away from nothing. No doubt his representation of femininity, motherhood, and sexuality will delight fans of previous works such as All About My Mother and Volver, but his latest release speaks to a new audience in its exploration of the Spanish Civil War and its impacts on modern-day Spain. Parallel Mothers is masterful in its evocation of compassionate melodrama, and the eccentricity of its plot does not detract from its profound emotion and humanity. The overall impression of Madres Paralelas is one of unnerving watchability. The sumptuous sets, immaculate costume, and visual flair all come together to create a work that plays homage to cinematic heritage, asserting with Spanish swagger the confidence of a consummate filmmaker. It certainly made for a very enjoyable Friday evening!

Tomos D

YEAR 13

British History Museum

Peru: A Journey in Time

Soft lighting, high ceilings and an ambient sound design might lend themselves to a somewhat romanticised depiction of ancient Peruvian culture, but to its credit, the exhibition does not shy away from the sordid. Clay vessels narrate tales of copulation, decapitation, and consumption, while the culmination of our journey takes us through the bloody details of Francisco Pizarro’s conquest and defeat of the Inca in 1533. Despite the condensed format of the collection, there is a lot to take in. I found myself mulling over the clay effigy of a Moche fisherman long into our two-and-a-half-hour bus ride home, and for whatever reason, the determined expression of that miniature figurine remains stuck in my head. Beyond the purely aesthetic level however, the exhibition offers a unique window into cultures which seem both radically unfamiliar and starkly relevant. It was a genuine treat to travel down to London to experience a Journey in Time first-hand. Our A Level course encourages a study of Hispanic cultural heritage, but this display gave us an appreciation for the way in which lives continue to be shaped by South America’s pre-Colombian history. A fantastic Saturday all round.

Tomos D

YEAR 8

Boulogne Trip

In June 2022, Mrs Turner, Mr Hughes, Mrs Smith, Dr Rowley and I (Mr Beattie) had the pleasure of taking 42 Year 8 pupils to northern France for the weekend. We stayed in a château in the countryside, tasted some beautiful local delicacies and were fortunate to visit the beautiful coastal town of Boulogne-sur-Mer. Despite spending just under 24 hours in France, students certainly had a good sample of French culture and plenty of opportunities to practise their language skills! It was a privilege to lead a school trip abroad again after the difficulties that the pandemic placed on international travel and to be accompanied by such a delightful group of students and staff. Alex B describes his experience and that of his friends here.

The France trip was pretty great. We got to run around a foreign country, and we got to talk to people who we didn’t understand and who didn’t understand us, which is always fun. We started off by visiting an aquarium, which had lots of different fish, amongst other marine life. This included things like turtles, stingrays, and even sharks. In fact, the aquarium was so large that me and my friends got lost, and had to have a conversation with a man whose English made even less sense than his French to us. In the end, we found our way out, and we went to a French restaurant, where we were served a local delicacy. It was some kind of beef, and was served with chips and salad. Afterwards, we had a dessert, before walking to the centre of town. There, we were free to go wherever we wanted for a good hour and a half. That’s when our quest for an authentic French beret began. My group and I walked around, speaking to countless French people, most of whom didn’t speak a word of English, and desperately hunting for this French hat. A guy in my group was seeking a fridge magnet, so that he could prove that he’d actually been to France to his parents. Despite this item being so common, it was so oddly specific that it took us a good half an hour to find one, after which he also began looking for a beret. After about an hour of searching, we found a hat shop, which opened at 3:00PM, and we had to be back with the group, on the other side of town, at 3:15PM. So, we waited for the shop to open, bought our hats with a sigh of relief, and sprinted back to the meet up location. While there, we were informed that the hats we had spent 35 euros on was not a beret, and indeed just a random French flat cap, which, ironically, was made in Italy.

Alex B, Year 8

Valencia WORK AND STUDY PROGRAMME

When Blue Stamp Travel offered us the opportunity to complete a 1 month work and study programme in Valencia, completely free of charge, I genuinely had to read the email twice to make sure I wasn't mistaken; never could I have dreamed of such an incredible opportunity! Having the privilege of spending a week in language school followed by 3 weeks work experience was truly eye opening in terms of the new culture and language we uncovered - not only did our Spanish improve beyond bounds, new friendships were also forged, especially with our brilliant host family! Activities and events on our days off ranged from intercambios and salsa dancing to simply losing ourselves in the city, sampling its magnificent architecture and views - not to mention tasting the brilliant food on offer! I would like to take this opportunity to thank Miss Walker for her enthusiasm, passion, support and tireless work she carried out as Group Leader; only due to her, were we able to take part in this trip of a lifetime.

Outside

Caves of San Jose (excursion from Valencia)

Parroquia de San Nicolás De Bari y San Pedro Mártir, theValencian equivalent of the Sistine chapel

BLUESEANAUTIC, jet-ski company

Outsideexperience,work

Outside Museo de Las Ciencias, ValencIa

Outside Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia

Food

YEAR 10

BBC Good Food Show

As part of our research for our GCSE Food, we had the privilege of visiting the winter BBC Good Food show at the NEC on 28th November and what an experience it was! From fruity hot sauces, artisan breads and cheeses to making plant-based vegan alternatives for chicken and fish, the variety of new foods was incredible! In a massive maze of flavours, we tried plenty of samples of culturally diverse foods as well as bespoke cooking equipment. This was especially enriching because we learnt lots about cooking methods as well as ethics when making a product. For example, we tried fabulous vegan honey, artisan

chocolates, sweet and savoury sushi and saw reusable cling film being made! Highlights included seeing James Martin demonstrate his favourite recipes live and take part in interactive ‘celebrity Cook and Bake offs’ on the smaller stages. To top off the perfect day we walked outside to a winter wonderland - very fitting for the Winter BBC Good Food Show! We thank Mrs Stafford, the Food and Nutrition Department and all members of staff involved for a fantastic day out!

Sangita M and Isha Y

YEAR 7 TRIP

The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe

The beloved children’s book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been brought to the stage in a powerful musical, directed by Michael Fentiman, with set and costume design by Tom Paris. It’s a story of four evacuees who travel to the fantasy world of Narnia and are swept up in a magical adventure. It explores the themes of family, friendship and wonder alongside providing a marvellous two hours of entertainment for all ages.

The show begins with a lonely World War 2 soldier sitting at a piano, playing a multitude of classic music from that time. Then we get introduced to our main characters, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie who are evacuees being sent to live with the bizarre Professor Kirk. Lucy (played by Karise Yansen) then finds a magic wardrobe and goes through it into the world of Narnia. There she meets Mr Tumnus, and after some shocking revelations comes back into our world. She tries to convince her siblings to go back with her to the land beyond the wardrobe and eventually she succeeds. There, they meet the Beavers and embark upon a quest to find Aslan, but the evil White Witch has other ideas…

Tom Paris really outdid himself with the costume and set design, really immersing the audience in the fantastical awe of Narnia, and Michael Fentiman’s creative direction left the audience in awe. For example, the use of the suitcases to create the image of a train was brilliant and the Turkish Delight appearing to float around the stage created a creepy, tense feeling of it trapping Edmund (Shaka Kalokoh) in an impossible choice. Also, having the plain browns and beige of the sets for the real world compared with the icy blues and sunshine yellows of the Narnia Landscape was atheistically pleasing. The costumes were fabulous, enableling the audience to determine the animal that an actor was portraying. The costume for the Pevensie children authentically reflected the austerity of the war years, which contrasted well with the extravagance of the Narnian’s costumes.

Samantha Womack’s performance as the White Witch was truly the highlight of the show and the moment when she rose up into the air, her gown hanging down covering the whole stage, left the entire audience breathless. She had

Daisy H, Year 7

a menacing, threatening aura that surrounded her, perfect for this character and whenever she walked on stage, all the other characters eyes slide to her out of terror and admiration.

The most powerful and frightening scene in the show by far, was the Round Table and Aslan’s death. The White Witch’s performance was as amazing as ever and she truly chilled the entire theatre to the bone with her pure cruelty and delight in murdering the lion. Then, after she and her horrifying minions leave, Lucy and Susan (Robyn Sinclair) race down and say a heartfelt goodbye to Aslan, sobbing over his dead body. The emotion that Sinclair and Yansen portrayed was astounding and to do so effectively is incredible. After this Aslan (Chris Jared) somehow managed to disappear from under a cloth on the table and reappear upstage in the background of the set. All who were watching were speechless and the conversion on the walk back to school largely consisted of theories of how it was achieved (a personal favourite is that aliens picked him up and then put him down in the correct place). Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy were perfectly portrayed by Ammar Duffus, Shaka Kalokoh, Robyn Sinclair and Karise Yansen. All of them embodied their characters wonderfully. Lucy’s dreamlike quality, Susan’s love for her family, Peter’s need to protect them and Edmund’s feeling of just not fitting in were all captured in their performances. They were all wonderful actors and I’m sure they’ll continue to do amazing work in the future. Having the music played live on stage by the various chorus members was a genius idea and it was really wonderful as an audience member to see the music being played in plain sight. The music was lovely as well, and perfectly set the scene. Benji Bower and Barnaby Race (the composers) understood the concept of a dreamy wonderland and communicated that through the musical numbers.

In conclusion, I thought The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was a 5-star play and was thoroughly enjoyable for all of Year 7. It showed the importance of family, friends and always believing in magic.

YEAR 8 TRIP

Private Peaceful

On Wednesday 23rd of February 2022, Year 8 were taken to Nottingham Playhouse to watch Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Simon Reade and directed by Ellie While. The company performing this piece was called Jonathon Church Productions and they put on an excellent show for all of us, filled with humour and heartbreak.

The play starts with Private Tommo Peaceful curled up under a blanket downstage left clutching his pocket watch from his older brother, Charlie, who is later killed in the trenches. It's this watch that "slowly slices away the minutes''. Tommo has been condemned to death and is waiting to face the firing squad in the morning. In the play we meet his schoolteachers, his mother, his brothers Charlie and Big Joe, Grandma Wolf, his best friend Molly and many of the other villagers and war men. Throughout the whole story, Tommo believes that he killed his father when his father was chopping down a tree that fell on him, thinking it was his fault. Later on, it seems Charlie takes on the father role in the story. As well as this, Molly, who is Charlie and Tommo’s best friend, gets pregnant with Charlie's baby. A lot is going on in 16-year-old Tommo’s life. After a quick interval (where lots of us enjoyed ice cream!) the play was back on, and so the war scenes began. Countless letters are sent to Charlie and Tommo in the trenches and the other actors come onto the stage as they each read letters from that character, which was very well done and made it feel very personal. After Tommo’s brother is killed for supposedly ‘stealing’ from the Big House, Tommo goes back to his family, Charlie and Molly’s baby now born with the perfect name; Tommo. Named after his brave uncle. The show then finishes, with rose petals falling from the top of the proscenium arch.

A strong point of the performance was when the brothers shared singing the song Oranges and Lemons, as they always sung it at points of intensity or points when they needed a reminder of home. It was a comfort song and was used effectively to convey points of emotion. The casting of the company was a further strength. As an audience member, you believed the actors in their portrayal of the characters, which is a credit to their skillset especially as they used multirole. A personal favourite character of everyone being Big Joe!

Overall, the performance was really amazing, and the whole of Year 8 were really grateful for the opportunity and experience that was given to us to watch this excellent production of Private Peaceful.

Sonam S, Year 8

YEAR 10, 11, 12 & 13

Back to the Future London Trip

The incredibly popular residential co-curricular theatre trip to London was a huge success. The department took 42 students from Year 10, 11, 12 and 13 to London to see Back to the Future at The Adephi Theatre and Small Island at the National Theatre, in addition to a backstage tour at The Globe Theatre. The following review is by Esther W, Year 10.

On Friday 18th March, the Drama department facilitated the first co-curricular trip since lockdown, taking 41 Year 10, 11, 12 and 13 students on an incredible trip to see two West End shows and a backstage tour over the course of a weekend.

Setting off on Friday afternoon, we boarded a train to London in time to see the musical, Back to the Future. Having all seen the films, this musical was highly anticipated, and we were filled with intrigue on how all the special effects would be achieved, and whether it would live up to the standards set by the film. With just enough time before the show started, we all grabbed some food before going in to find our seats.

To those who are not familiar with the story, Back to the Future tells the story of Marty McFly, an average teenage boy who happens to be friends with the wacky scientist Doc Brown who, over many years, has tried and failed to come up with many new inventions which could add to society. However, at the start of the film,

he has invented a car which can travel back and forth through time. Experimenting with the car, Marty finds himself stuck in his parents’ teenage years of when they meet. Through his mistakes, he learns the effects on the future from interfering with the past. This makes an eventful and amusing story.

We sat down to watch the treat that the first half held for us as we laughed along with the characters during their songs and dances. The music proved to be a great addition to the film keeping us interested and adding a whole new dimension to the show. If we were impressed with the first half, we were blown away by the second half as they made the car fly over the audience complete with incredible lighting, sound, smoke, and fire as we cheered along with the entire theatre. As we all left the theatre, humming the songs to ourselves, we travelled on the tube to reach our accommodation for the night, after stopping off to get some food to eat.

On Saturday morning, after filling up on a lovely breakfast of croissants, toast, and cereal we set off to The Globe Theatre via a relaxed walk along the river and a stop off to look at some stalls. Reaching The Globe, we were warmly welcomed by the lovely staff as we took in every view. Throughout the hour-long tour we learnt a lot about the history of The Globe and the difficult time period it endured when in use.

After being stunned by the flurry of amazing facts, we carried on along the river before turning off to reach Borough Market where we had delicious lunches of different cuisines. Following lunch, we turned back on ourselves to reach the National Theatre where our last treat was waiting for us. Receiving our tickets, we entered and sat down in some amazing seats to watch Small Island, a play of amazing historic accuracy. This more obscure play speaks of the story of Jamaican immigrants who have moved to Britain during the Second World War in order to take part in the fight. There they are shocked due to their innocence with

the hostility and prejudice they are greeted with. Their lives entwine with some British Newlyweds in a most surprising way. The story was told in a much more simplistic way as the set is used ingeniously with the revolving stage to show the parallel of the people’s lives. Leaving the theatre with tears in our eyes, we were met by the coach to return to school. Significantly quieter than the journey there, we left London taking in the new sights of London at night, lit up with bright colours – a beautifully calm end to the incredible experience.

Esther W, Year 10

Computer Science

YEAR 10, 11, 12 & 13

Bett Trip

Our trip to London, invited and hosted by the British eSports association, wasn't solely dedicated to gaming -- it was an enriching experience during which we engaged with various stalls promoting their technological innovations in a market format, even getting the chance to meet Computer Science Royalty Craig and Dave! We found it very interesting to see how quickly technology has been progressing in recent years, from virtual reality to a classroom setting. Our Rocket League tournament went very well -- coming second, and meeting others from schools as far away as Northern Ireland. I hear there is much demand for next year's trip...

Aaron S, Year 11

YEAR 8

Trip to Patterdale

From the moment our 48 students arrived at Patterdale Hall on the southern edges of Ullswater it was an action packed week of adventure at Easter 2022. The friendly staff provided excellent food though out our stay, and the dorms were very homely too. Groups took part in a wide variety of adventurous activities, with all kit and tuition provided by the centre. Venturing to the nearest crag groups had the chance to try rock climbing on real rock with spectacular views of the valley below. An overnight wild camp on the banks of Ullswater reached only by canoe was a highlight for many. A hike up Sheffield Pike was a first mountain summit for most students, and despite the bitter cold weather the achievement was enjoyed by all. Stand up paddle boarding and gorge walking were both very popular with students and staff alike, once wet you can’t get any wetter! The trip is certainly here to stay, and we are excited to be taking even more students60 Year 8 students in 2023.

OPTIONS

Contingent Commander’s Report

training, which at its core, holds high personal standards, cadet leadership and active participation as paramount.

The number of cadets joining the CCF, across all three sections has increased over the past two years and it is pleasing to see additional girls join the CCF from Years 9 to 13. The Cadet-led Contingent, which has become the hallmark of the CCF in recent years, continued to provide excellent opportunities for our Year 12 and 13s to impact the training of the younger cadets. An excellent NCO team, led by Regimental Sergeant Major Sonny Kightley, provided engaging activities and showed themselves to be excellent role models for all 170 cadets in the Contingent. A large number of cadets this year have attended CCF courses to enhance their skills, many signing up for Junior and Senior leadership courses but some also pursuing courses to enhance their portfolios, Sailing, Shooting and Life Saving to name but a few.

Section staff and their NCO teams have continued to lead a wide variety of training for the junior members. Cadets participated in leadership, first aid, drill, field craft, fitness, music and water based activities and a whole host of other practical training during their Monday evening sessions. Cadets have also completed various elements of the CCF national syllabus, which covers

Activities Days have also given the cadets experience of MOD establishments and training areas. In June, the cadets experienced a tri-service field day at Walesby Forest activities centre, including raft building, bush craft, concealment, leadership and section attacks.

Beyond the Monday sessions, the Cadets participated in a wide range of public duties, including the Nottingham Club’s Armistice Dinner, the Nottingham City Remembrance Parade and the Nottinghamshire Parade at the embankment. All of these events put our cadets on public view and they, in the best traditions of Nottingham High School, conducted themselves superbly.

The Annual Inspection day, which is a review of the Contingent and has become a key feature in the school calendar, took place in the sunshine in March. Sargent Major Richard Varley, inspected the Cadets. Richard is an ON and was a cadet in the RAF section when he was at school. He was treated to a fantastic display of Cadet training activities, including raft building, and was

thrilled to see the Navy section win the Nottingham Club Trophy as part of the inter - service challenge. The Cadets and staff of the CCF continue to impress me with their dedication and high standards and it is down to the efforts of the staff and cadet leadership of the Contingent that the CCF has grown over recent years. My sincere thanks go to the departing cadet

and I look forward to seeing the CCF grow from strength to strength in future years.

leadership team, Sonny K (RSM) and the Heads of Section: Grace F (Navy) Mathew B (Army) and Kian P (RAF). I have thoroughly enjoyed my fifth year as Contingent Commander

Lieutenant Commander P A Allison Contingent Commander

Walesby

Inspection Day

D OF E

Duke Of Edinburgh

It has been a wonderful year for DofE, students have taken part in a vast array of activities towards their skills, physical and volunteering during the year. Students have learnt new languages, tried new sports and freely given their time to the local community. On expeditions at all levels students got stuck in learning the navigation, and campcraft skills required early in the year in preparation to successfuly take on their final expeditions. At Bronze students completed their final expedition in the Peak District, at Silver students tackled a tough 3 day hike from Coniston, northwards through the Lake District to finish at Keswick, and our Gold teams trekked through Snowdonia with the highlight being the Snowdon Summit. Usually, everyone enjoyed fantastic weather this year throughout the season. A huge thankyou to all the staff who support our young people to make the expeditions possible.

Mrs Holloway

Options

Community Action

In December 2021, we were delighted to restart our annual Community Christmas Lunch, welcoming members of our local community for an afternoon of good food and entertainment, provided by the senior school Christmas production. It is safe to say that all went home feeling festive and well fed! We were also delighted by the support of the school community towards our annual Christmas food bank collection but also to our new Christmas toy collection for the Guru Nanak’s Mission. The Mission was overwhelmed the number of donations made by the High School, so much so that when I delivered the donations to the drop off point, they required a larger vehicle to transport the donations! We were delighted to have worked with the Guru Nanak’s Mission, as all of their donations are given to children and young people across the city, who would not usually open a gift on Christmas Day.

A true highlight of the spring term for me was our visit to the Bestwood and Bulwell Foodbank with a small group of Year 9 and 10 students. Our students received a humbling lesson on the role of foodbanks, particularly in North Nottingham but also of the reasons behind people accessing food banks. In addition to this, students supported local volunteers by creating food parcels that local people would receive in the coming days and weeks. Our students showed great empathy and kindness when discussing the role of the food bank and why a person may have to make use of the foodbank.

Moving into the summer term, our Year 9 and 10 students had the pleasure of visiting the Arkwright Community Gardens in the Meadows. This provided an opportunity for students to show off their horticultural flare, by weeding beds and repotting plants. They showed resilience in response some of the challenging task they were faced with but also true team work, as they worked together to make the garden a more pleasant and vibrant setting for local visitors, saving the gardens’ volunteers hours of precious time. As always, it has been a pleasure to oversee and lead on a number of the school’s volunteering and charitable events, not only is it a delight to see the difference it makes to our local community but also to our students who gain so much from giving up their time for the benefit of others. I look forward to continuing to work with more students in the coming academic year as well as local organisations.

Mr Beattie

NOTTINGHAM HOSPICE

Year 9 Students from Nottingham High School donated £1974.73 to local charity the Nottinghamshire Hospice. This will be spent on supporting their patients and loved ones with care in their homes, complementary therapies and emotional support.

On the 17th September Year 9 utilised Activities Day to focus on charity and #Helpingothers. The day started with a lesson on good citizenship, what makes a beneficial citizen and how to fundraise. Rebecca from Nottingham Hospice, our chose charity, came in to give a talk to the year group about their work but also about charities in general and their need to fundraise and how they go about this.

The year group then travelled up to Sherwood Pines for a 10km sponsored walk. Spirits were high and everyone enjoyed the fresh air while raising money for the hospice.

The amount raised will provide either 80 complementary therapies for patients or their loved ones, or 10 nights of overnight care in someone’s home from a nurse or palliative care assistant to allow their relatives / carers to have a precious night of rest, or 60 visits to people in Nottinghamshire by the palliative care team either during the day or at night to support them.

Rachel Hucknall from Chief Executive Officer at Nottinghamshire Hospice said “It really is an incredible amount. Our fundraising and retail income has been hit by the pandemic so this amount is even more important now than ever before”.

Well done to Year 9 for this amazing amount raised, we can’t wait to see how you go forward with your new fundraising knowledge & experience.

OUTREACH PARTNERSHIP WORK WITH GURU NANAK MISSION AND EMMANUEL HOUSE NIGHT SHELTER

The Food and Nutrition department continue to develop our strong partnership with local homeless charities by cooking up hot and nutritious food throughout the year. This year we have tried to involve as many students and different year groups to prepare and cook up over 350 portions of healthy and nutritious meals for homeless people living in Nottingham. Our chosen charities again this year were The Guru Nanak Mission and The Emmanuel House. Our Year 13 Ready Steady University Students did an amazing job at Christmas and not only cooked up vegetarian chillies, but also made over 250 personal toiletry and hygiene gift packs.

It is fantastic to be involved in such valuable local charity projects and see both the school and students developing our own social responsibility to help people around us and show empathy and kindness to all. We try to do at least one charity cook very half term with different year groups throughout the year. Please see me, Mrs Stafford, if you are interested in getting involved in any future partnership projects with these charitable organisations who need our support now more than ever before.

Mrs Stafford

In the Spring term, some students from Year 8 came together after-school to cook for the homeless. We made vegetarian chili to be paired with pasta that the Guru Nanak Mission was making. All the food was vegetarian as there are limits to what you can serve to the homeless due to Natasha's law and that the Gurdwara is only pure vegetarian food only. We made the vegetarian chili after school and this was packed up and taken to the Gurdwara where it was packaged and combined with the pasta. The food was also served with kheer (Indian rice pudding) and hot Indian tea. It was then taken into town where it was given out to the homeless who were very appreciative of the hot meals. The food was then given out a second time as there was plenty of food remaining and after this, any food was taken home so it wouldn’t go to waste. This was a great experience as the school has worked with the Guru Nanak Mission for many years and it was great for us to be part of this community project again.”

Hukam S, Year 8

EQUINOX24

A group of Nottingham High School Year 13 students have recently undertaken the gruelling Equinox24 race to raise money for the School charity, the Adrian Sudbury Schools’ Education Trust (ASSET) who educate 16-18-year olds about blood, organ & stem cells to encourage students to register as donors.

Alice, Dan M, Henry, Dillon, Adam B, Peter, Tom B and Grace ran the Equinox 24 at Belvoir Castle on the 18th/19th September. The race consists of 10km laps run in a relay. They ran through the day and night (with head torches). They aimed to run 24 laps in 24 hours but ended up completing 26 laps in total, equalling 260km and they placed 10th overall out of approximately 700 teams.

Equinox24 began in 2013 with under 300 runners and has grown in popularity year on year. Equinox24 is a 24-hour race around a mixed terrain 10k loop against the clock. The 10k route will take you around the picturesque Belvoir Castle Estate in Leicestershire.

The Year 13 group aimed to raise £800 when they set up their Just Giving page which at the last count had received over £930.

Well done to our Year 13s who took part in the Equinox24 race, a fantastic achievement and a great amount of money raised for the School charity.

Scouts Options

The 34th Nottingham Scouts have enjoyed another fantastic year at the High School. The patrol is the largest it has ever been but the volunteers still managed to pack in a host of fun activities. Friday night activities were often focused on games, swimming, navigation skills, pioneering skills and first aid. The group continued to hone their camping skills by learning how to raise the – it has to be said rather perplexing – patrol tents and how to make a variety of delicious meals on the camp stoves. The troop enjoyed a series of walks through the year too. Most extreme of these was the night hike in the Vale of Bevoir where navigation skills were tested to the limits – especially those of the Year 9 group that got fantastically lost. Perhaps the best Friday nights were those experienced by the troop at the Hoveringham Water Activity Centre, with sailing, rafting, canoeing and kayaking all part of the fun. For the troop though, it’s always the camps which are the highlights of the year and 2022 was no exception. Over the Easter break the scouts had a fantastic time in Ennerdale, achieving

some serious mountain climbs alongside archery, gill scrambling and mountain biking. The summer camp in Lawrenny, Pembrokeshire was another great success. This camp was also packed to the brim with activities with the scouts enjoying fishing, surfing, hiking, coasteering, foraging and a lot more besides. Of course, Scouts is not only about fun activities but about developing the character of young people on the way and many friendships and skills were nurtured through this year as a result. It is only thanks to the incredible dedication of a host of volunteers that this year was such a success and sincere thanks go out to everyone who dedicated time and resources to make for such a wonderful year. All activities were overseen under the leadership and supervision of the wonderful Pete Clarson in his final year as Group Scout Leader. It was lovely to see a host of tributes for the difference Pete has made in the group. Now, as he hangs up his necker, so does he pass on in to legend.

CLUBS & SOCIETIES

AT Club

Our Monday night Adventure Training group have been very active all year, kicking off with tree climbing on the front lawn, regular climbing on the School Climbing wall, and winter Kayaking sessions in the School pool. They have also learnt First Aid skills, bike maintenance skills, and we have held at student request, lots of outdoor cookery and fire lighting skills sessions too. Our summer activities day saw students Stand Up Paddleboarding and enjoying a high ropes challenge course. September activities day took us to camp at Gradbach Scout camp and a day climbing and abseiling at the Roaches. Another action packed year!

Food

YEAR 10

Volunteering for Silver DofE

What began as a volunteering option for our Silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards has grown into a passion for both of us. Helping develop and run the Year 8 Food Club, has allowed us to inspire the younger year group through practical cooking lessons, increased our appreciation for different cultures, whilst also expanding our personal knowledge and skills. Wanting to further their culinary skills combined with their shared love for food, a group of 10 students from Year 8 participated in cooking sessions with us each half term. Together, we baked and cooked a multitude of dishes ranging from samosas and sushi, to waffles and cupcakes. During the time period of Diwali, the Year 8s decorated cupcakes, displaying the Hindu celebration. In addition to this, they also learnt how to make classic Indian food such as samosas, packed with delicious fillings, and flatbreads; as a treat, many students also brought to school traditional sweets! As well as this, the Year 8s were shown how to fill and roll sushi in order to make their own variations of the popular Japanese dish. Needless to say, we, too, learnt many skills throughout the year such as how to communicate effectively, leading a cooking session safely and hygienically and time management. This is an amazing opportunity for new Year 8s who have an enthusiasm for cooking to join the club in September and learn many new recipes! Having such a positive reflection on this year’s food club, we definitely would love to continue running this in the next academic year.

Sienna B L and Isha Y

Diwali Celebrations

YEAR 10

Asian MasterclassCookerywith Mango Ginger

On Wednesday 22nd of June, all of the Year 10 Food students had the pleasure to take part in an Indian Cuisine Masterclass run by Preeti Mills from Mango Ginger cookery school. The class lasted 4 hours, during which we learnt how to utilise authentic recipes, spices, flavours and traditional cooking methods in our own coursework going into Year 11. Our cooking began with a demonstration from Preeti on how to marinade and make Chicken Makhani and homemade paneer. Bursting with excitement, we all rushed to our workstation to commence the cooking process. Whilst leaving the chicken to cook, we were shown how to make traditional chapatis and vegetable samosas. We were all fascinated by the samosa cooking process and the skill that is required to perfect it. Although it was a daunting task, everyone managed to create their own homemade samosas and chapatis which we all enjoyed later with our butter chicken. By the end of the Masterclass, we had cooked and presented a vast variety of dishes that covered multiple areas of the Indian Cuisine. Apart from the great taste, this Masterclass also gave us the rare opportunity to experience many traditional Indian spices, cooking methods, and authentic recipes which are getting lost in the modern world.

Aqil B

2021/2022

Bake Off!

After 2 years of virtual Bake Offs, this year saw the return of our Nottingham High School Bake Offs and it was great to see us all back out on the front lawns in the summer. The standard again was incredibly high and here’s what some of our winners thought of the days.

CHRISTMAS BAKE OF - DECEMBER 2021

The 2021 Christmas Bake Off was an excellent independent challenge that was open for all students and teachers to enter. The brief was to make and design a Christmas themed cake, with any flavour, layout or style. However, this Bake Off didn’t just have a winner for the best cake. Instead there were four interesting categories to be won. These were the best overall cake, the most original/multicultural world cuisine inspired cake, the most thoughtful bake reflecting climate change and finally a traditional theme that is good fun!

I was lucky enough to win the multicultural category, with my Rasmalai flavoured cake with the words ‘Natal Mubarak’ on the top, meaning Merry Christmas in Indian. I was inspired to make this Indian themed Christmas cake, because this is what my family and I enjoy making

at Christmas time, and not to mention it tastes delicious! The person that inspired my passion for baking was my dad. As a young child, I enjoyed making cakes, tarts and many bakes with him, and we always used to try and improve the recipes each time. Growing up, I became more independent in my hobby of baking, trying out fun new ideas to broaden my repertoire. This is why I decided to make a cake slightly different from something you might expect, as baking for several years has left me to enjoy experimenting with unusual and multicultural flavours, something I would recommend all to think about taking on as a hobby!

Mya

P, Year 8

THE AWARDS

a. Overall Traditional cake with outstanding technical skill - Charles D, Year 8

b. Christmas Fun Cake Winner - Alice S, Year 8

c. Environmental Category Winner - Sienna W, Year 8

d. Staff Entry Winner - Mrs Sneddon, Head of Marketing

e. Multicultural celebration cake category Winner - Mya P, Year 8

b.

e.

SUMMER BAKE OFF - JUNE 2022

In June, Year 8 had their Creative Day after a week of Exams. One of the activities was the school’s annual Bake Off, and so the 2022 Jubilee Bake Off had begun! After a week of Exams, Year 8 finally had a fun day to finish the week. One of the activities was the Bake Off, with this year’s theme being the Queens Platinum Jubilee. All the bakers joined together on the Friday Morning to get baking! We partnered up and then went away into two separate food rooms. Mrs Stafford led the group making Cinnamon Swirls and Mrs Turnbull led the group making the Garden Focaccia, with Mrs Marshall helping in both rooms.

One of the people in our pairs made the Cinnamon Swirls and the other made the Garden Focaccia. After a lot of kneading of dough and decorating, we then joined together again to start the next challenge: The summer fruit swiss roll. For this challenge, we came back together in our pairs to make a swiss roll filled with jam and cream. This was a difficult challenge, as you had to make sure all the air stayed within the sponge mix, and that you didn’t over whip the double cream. We then decorated with chocolate, summer fruits and the leftover cream. Once we completed this, we had a quick break and cleaned up (and ate a lot of offcuts!). After our break, it was time to do the most difficult challenge yet, our Jubilee Showstoppers. There were bakes from flapjacks to brownies to multi-tiered cakes. Everything looked amazing. Our team made brownie cups topped with

swiss meringue buttercream, raspberry jam, chocolate ganache, fresh raspberries and finished with gold leaf. They tasted amazing!

Once all the baking was done, we had our lunch and then came back to finally let the judging begin. We each bought up our bakes one by one to have them judged, and some even got a Mr Fear handshake! Once all the tasting was done, the results were revealed. They announced each winner of each category and then finally the overall winner was announced, and it was us who had won! We were so happy and all in all, it was a great day, and everyone really enjoyed it.

Summer Bake Off Runners Up Anja K, Year 8 and Mya P, Year 8

Summer Bake Off Winners Olivia G, Year 8 and Sonam S, Year 8

Food Club

The Year 7 Food Club experience has been incredible: it has been a brilliant opportunity to enhance wider interests in cooking and developing practical skills. Our activities ranged from making chocolate-covered strawberries, excellent sushi and India chapati masterclasses, warm pastry snacks, home-made bread, cheesecake and making popcorn. We also learnt how to make simple yet delicious recipes using local and seasonal ingredients including our own home-made elderflower cordial. We strongly encourage the next year 7s to take up this opportunity- it has given us so many practical techniques which will be incredibly beneficial! We had an incredible time every week- learning new techniques with the help of the excellent food and nutrition teaching staff.

Spanish & ConversationalFrenchFood Club

Spanish and French Conversational Food club was an amazing experience and opportunity for me! I would recommend this club to anyone who loves cooking and finding more about Spain and France's cultural backgrounds involving food. Also, the food you make is so delicious, and a great way to start lunch off. Each session, a recipe and instructions will be provided in French or Spanish, depending on which country the dish is from. This gives you some extra knowledge of the language, and you can bring the recipe home to make the dish again. In this club, you get to make dishes such as: Churros con Chocolate, Pan con Tomate, Raclette, and much more. My favourite dish we have made would have to be Churros con Chocolate, since the pairing of the hot chocolate and warm churros was amazing and after Mrs

YEAR 8

Gardening and Food Club

Field to Fork

Over the past year in the Gardening club, we have been doing a wide range of fun practical activities, such as growing, cooking and eating our home-grown fruit and vegetables. We have grown sweetcorn, beetroot, carrot and butternut squash, which have then cooked at lunchtimes into delicious foods. Our beetroot brownie was just like a standard brownie in taste and it was delicious and moist. The carrot cakes were amazing and to help the less fortunate, we used our butternut squashes to make hot and nutritious soup for the Guru Nanak charity, which feeds the homeless and helps other people.

YEAR 7

Khushi G

YEAR 7

Pidgeon gave us a short demonstration in Spanish; then we could start making! A dish that I thought was unique, and nothing like I had ever had before was: Raclette. This dish consisted of melted French cheese, bread and ham, and in this session, all the instructions were provided in French! Overall, I think you should give this cooking club a go: you get to learn language and culture, and have lots of fun cooking; then eating!

Jessica L, Year 7

We have grown sweetcorn which we cooked in the oven and then ate about 10 minutes after picking and we have also grown potatoes which we were able to take home and share with our families. On days when we’re not cooking, we plant flowers and different vegetables in the garden next to the science block or we do some weeding. If you are interested in learning more about where our food comes from then why not join our club next year!

Anya K, Mya P and Asha D

Languages Muskan G, Year 12

I found this to be an absolutely amazing experience, fully playing into my love for reading! We started off the evening by splitting into breakout rooms to discuss the novel in greater depth, led by Oxford University staff and student ambassadors.

The insight we gained, both from them and other students from around the country was truly eye-opening, provoking me to read the text again after the session with a completely new perspective; I find it fascinating to consider the numerous possibilities and interpretations a single book can provide - interpretations which only become apparent after talking to others and building on each other's ideas.

Naturally, this opportunity appeals to all language-lovers, but I would also 100% recommend this to anyone who loves to read, regardless of whether they take a language or not. Being given the opportunity to read and discuss literature from around the world, understanding the culture whilst sitting at home of places we may perhaps never get the opportunity to visit seems an unmissable opportunity for anyone interested!

Gauri K, Year 12

Translation Book Club

On Wednesday 23rd March at 7pm, three of our students (Muskan Goyal, Gauri Khanna and Millie Walster) from Year 11 participated in a Translation Book Club event via Zoom organised by Oxford University. In order to prepare for this, they read the novel A Long Way from Douala by SwissCameroonian author Max Lobe, translated by Ros Schwartz from French – and occasionally from Camfranglais, a mixture of French, (Pidgin) English, and indigenous Cameroonian languages including Beti-Fang, Bamileke and Duala, spoken mainly by young people in Cameroon. The book follows the narrator, Jean, and his best friend Simon across the country in search of a runaway older brother hoping to make it as a professional footballer in Europe, it addresses weighty contemporary issues of migration, terrorism, and sexuality without ever losing its sense of humour.

I loved reading ‘A Long Way from Douala’ and the book club facilitated a very engaging discussion about the key themes and messages from it. During conversations in smaller breakout rooms, we had the opportunity to meet other students of different ages from across the country to share our views on various sections of the novel; I found it intriguing to hear their fresh perspectives and overall impressions of the text. The rest of the session was led by students studying languages and related degrees at Oxford University, who gave us valuable information regarding the application process to such courses and the experience of studying languages beyond A Level. It was truly an immersive and interesting experience, which I would definitely recommend to students who enjoy reading and are thinking of pursuing a language related course in the future.

Millie W, Year 12

A group of about 25 students hoping to study languages at university participated in the Translation Book Club organised by Oxford University staff and student ambassadors, some of which are currently doing their study year abroad – studying German in Berlin and studying Arabic in Jordan, for example. The session comprised of breakout rooms, which I thoroughly enjoyed – it made the discussions about themes and possible interpretations about A Long Way From Douala genuinely comfortable and relaxed, but still studious. We then shared these conversation points with the whole group, and later heard from Oxford students about their experiences with learning languages but also their transitions between GCSE, A Level and University. Personally, I found it genuinely so interesting and engaging to be able to share the passion of languages with others who equally enjoy them.

Anthea Bell Prize Languages

This year, over 90 pupils at Nottingham High School participated in the Anthea Bell prize for Young Translators, organised by Queen’s College, Oxford. The competition is inspired by the life and work of the great translator Anthea Bell (translator of The Castle by Franz Kafka, and the Astérix comics). The prize aims to promote language learning across the UK and to inspire creativity in the classroom. Nationwide, Queen’s College received over 3,200 submissions from more than 260 schools. Over 14,000 pupils took part in the competition task alone in 2022. A team of undergraduates and professional translators judged entries to the competition and were very impressed by the standard; they read some excellent translations.

Tomos D in Year 13 was selected as regional winner for his translation of an article by the journalist, Víctor Lenore, in the digital newspaper, El Confidencial. It responded to accusations that the singer Rosalía has appropriated flamenco music and culture to produce her musical style. The title of the article was: Tenemos un problema de apropiación cultural, pero no es culpa de Rosalía.

Anja K in Year 8 was selected as area winner for her poem by Jutta Richter entitled ‘Das Traumel’, which was a word made up to name an imaginary creature which sounds a little like the German word for dream. She had to make decisions such as how to name the creature in English and how to make the English translation rhyme. Queens College wrote “Congratulations! This is a fantastic achievement given the number and standard of entries received this year.”

This is fantastic news for both Tomos and Anja, and we are very proud of them both.

CREATIVE ARTS

The Drama Department was a hive of activity during the performance nights for the Year 7 and 8, and the Year 9 and 10 studio production performances. The evening began with the Year 7 and 8 cast, wonderfully directed by Zoe F and Alexandra A, beautifully capturing the heart of Carroll’s fanciful tale, Alice in Wonderland. The whole experience was incredibly fun, giving the audience the opportunity to simply sit back, relax and become immersed into Alice’s (Chloe F, Sophie F and Sonam S) journey of self-discovery, encountering the ever-tardy White Rabbit (Evan L), the grinning Cheshire Cat (Sannlia H and Michelle X), a cool Caterpillar (Tanish P, Ben B-W and Vismay G), a Mad Hatter (Finley R), a March Hare (Daisy H) a Queen, with quite a temper (Beate R), and many more of literature’s beloved Wonderland

characters who were depicted by the fabulous ensemble. The show started with an energetic opening number that set the tone for the rest of the performance, a tone that was definitely followed. All of the songs were mesmerising to watch due to the actors’ energy and the array of colour on the stage from the various costumes and props. The cast were vibrant and full of life and their outstanding performance left the audience feeling that they could truly have been to wonderland. This young and incredibly talented cast will have great futures; every member of the company, as they would say in theatre, being a ‘triple threat:’ they all sang, danced, and acted beautifully.

Charlotte G

Under the expert direction of Ethan H and Zamel S, the Year 9 and 10 cast of John Godber’s Bouncers showcased an impressive breadth of acting skills. The all-male cast including Tamrat T, Otto W, Harry W, George T and Samuel G rose to the challenge of displaying excellent comic timing, hitting each comedic beat with perfection, while also successfully highlighting the genuine point about the futility of the club lifestyle enjoyed by the working classes. Like Shakers, this cast were required to depict a range of contrasting characters, including the bouncers manning the door at the Northern club, the giddy girls at the hairdressers, the boisterous boys at the barbers, the resident DJ and

the young men and women who were enjoying their night out on the town. The rapport within the cast was clear to see, and the obvious chemistry between them brought a polished performance that was well staged and well-executed. It was immersive from the opening and threw the audience head-first into a theatrical world. Tamrat T as Lucky Eric effectively displayed his underlying melancholy, while Otto W (Judd), Harry W (Ralph), George T (Rob) and Samuel G (Les) all established individual personalities and skilfully negotiated the changes of role – and even gender.

Charlotte G

Shakers Shakers

Brilliantly directed by Eleanor H and Ariella S, the Year 9 cast of Shakers by John Godber presented their interpretation of an extract from this wickedly funny classic 1980s play. The five actresses portrayed both the jaded waitresses and the customers, who ranged from braying posh stereotypes to a group of supermarket workers out for a drunken 21st birthday celebration. Daisy P, Chloe J, Imogen M, Aniyah D and Lucy W were impressive in their abilities to portray the multiple roles, often clear from their body language alone that they had switched characters – and while they were very funny as the lairy punters, they gave their most nuanced performances as the waitresses. Each actress delivered a monologue offering an insight into their character. This included Carol, the aspiring photographer who is particularly sensitive to condescension by the customers. And there was Mel, who doesn’t think the job is that bad and bristles at what she sees as her colleagues’ sneering.

Charlotte G

Teechers

To conclude the evening, the audience were greeted by the boundless energy and enthusiasm of the cast of John Godber’s Teechers, skilfully directed by Dr Askew. It was a pleasure to see such a talented group of actors, including Imogen B, Scarlett B, Gracey M, Ravneet P, Madelaine R, Zak B and Matthew M, shine on stage in their multiple roles, and it was clear that their gusto was infectious. During their fast-moving and entertaining comedy, they carried the audience along with them, bringing to the stage all the vigour of life at a Comprehensive school. They depicted Ms Nixon’s (Ravneet P), the new Drama teacher’s, struggles to put on an end of term play, pushing against disruptive classes, cynical

HONK!

Based on the Hans Christian Anderson story of ‘The Ugly Duckling’ the lower school production of the musical Honk was a huge success. The production was filled with loveable characters from the military-like Air-geese to the frogs and swans and the most adorable troop of ducklings. The musical was jam-packed with catchy songs and humorous lines, pulled off effortlessly by the cast. The production was directed by the amazing Dr Askew and followed the story of Ugly (Otto W), an odd-looking baby duck who spends the majority of the production trying to get home to his mother Ida (Isla S). He meets a multitude of interesting characters along his way and is pursued by the charismatic and charming cat (Vis G), who wants to eat him for dinner. The cast pulled off all of the intricate songs, seemingly with ease,

colleagues and unhelpful caretakers. Playing to an audience of students and teachers, this loud farce certainly touched us with its relatable characters and storyline, while also highlighting Godber’s pointed political thrust on the educational system.

Charlotte G

and it was lovely to hear the superb voices within our lower school. The production had an incredibly uplifting message of difference, loyalty and self-worth and the play culminated with a reprise of the song “Warts and All”, sending out the message that everyone is lovable. The set was absolutely stunning and was incredibly effective in creating the world of the duck-yard. A huge well done to the band lead by Mr Wantling, who played beautifully to accompany the production, and to the marvellous production team lead by Tregi Worsley, without whom the show could not have gone ahead. It was a really enjoyable evening and the wonderful cast and crew should be incredibly proud of themselves!

Eleanor H

BOOK AND LYRICS

by Howard Ashman

MUSIC

by Alan Menken

BASED ON THE FILM

by Roger Corman

It’s always the same, isn’t it? You struggle on for years, trying to keep your head above the grimy waters of bankruptcy, when all of sudden a plant with extraordinary powers of speech and movement appears in your shop and brings you untold wealth and fame. Yet, just as soon, the plant turns nasty and demands that you feed it human flesh; you acquiesce to this demand, feeding it your dentist, then your boss, then your girlfriend, and finally yourself.

Some will see this as a typically American terror of communist infiltration, others merely as a good story. What stands in no doubt is that this Nottingham High School cast did a terrific job of bringing it to life. Benjamin S was full of kooky, nerdish energy as he pulled off Seymour – no mean feat, as he barely left the stage for the whole of the show. Oliver H was the harassed Mushnik, and Taona M was superb as the strutting, sneering Scrivello. Lottie M played the hapless Audrey, and Ethan H was the snarling, soulful voice of the Plant. All displayed immaculate comic timing, and even the

PERFORMANCE DATES

Thursday 9th December 2021

Friday 10th December 2021

Saturday 11th December 2021

hardest of hearts could not fail to be moved as Seymour stuffed the body of his dead girlfriend into a six-foot high latex plant. The six female street urchins, played by Eleanor H, Ariella S, Isla S, Ether W and Zoe F, functioned as participants in the action and a Greek Chorus outside of it. They skilfully performed a melange of pop and Motown doo-woops, blending their voices to create some wonderful harmonies.

Everything about the show was slick and professional; the band rocked from start to finish, and didn’t put a foot wrong despite the notoriously tricky score; the chorus were committed and disciplined throughout. Thanks must go to Mrs Govinden, the director, Mrs Soulsby, the musical director, the Art Department for the set design and Tregi Worsley for the staging (and her crew, for manhandling the plant into position). In the end, what impressed me and everyone who had the pleasure of seeing the show, was the sheer quality from start to finish, and all involved deserve to be mighty proud of what they achieved.

House Drama Competition

To end the Spring Term the Department launched the first ever House Drama competition whereby each House was required to create two performances, one performance from the Senior Students (Years 11 – 13) and another performance from students in Years 7 –10. House Captains blindly selected an envelope, each envelope containing a different tale that the House had to create a devised piece of drama based on. The tale that the House Captains pick was inherited by the students in Years 7 – 10 and the students in Years 11 – 13. Thus, each House created two performances of the same tale. The Year 12 directors Eleanor H (Maples), Ethan H (Mellers), Oliver H (Whites) and Taona M (Coopers) were admirable and must be commended for their dedication and commitment to skilfully keep the heart of the folk tales driving through their scripts, which was no mean feat. Their direction of their cast was also admirable, as each House performance displayed great creativity. Equally, the Year 10 directors Isla S and Sangita M (Maples), Bea H and Tam T (Mellers), Zoe F and Ben H (Whites) and Akhil B and Jai S (Coopers) worked exceptionally hard and

their accomplished direction glued the inexperienced and diverse casts together into strong, confident and convincing interpretations of the stories. This was no small matter of skill and determination, and they must be extremely proud of their work.

Huge congratulations must go to:

Maples House for being the Year 7 – 10 winners and Mellers House for winning the Year 11 – 13 Boehm Cup.

If all the above is not enough to acknowledge the busy, remarkable and incredibly successful year that the Drama Department has facilitated, the Summer Term saw an array of talent displayed as 34 students sat their examinations in the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in Performance. Another astonishing set of results were attained, including Taona M attaining Gold Medals with distinction for their completion of Grade 8. Huge thanks must be given to Mrs Ray for her outstanding tuition in role as our peripatetic LAMDA teacher at Nottingham High School.

Stefan Boehm (ON 1983-1993) presenting the House Drama Cup

Art

YEAR 7

Andy Singleton Workshop

This year, with the Covid restrictions of the previous 18 months or so lifted in school, it was lovely to be able to return to our usual custom of inviting practising artists into the Art department to work with our students. In October 2021 artist Andy Singleton spent two days at Nottingham High School working with all of Year 7 during five two-hour sessions.

Andy is a paper artist and illustrator based in Wakefield, England. He studied Animation with Illustration at Manchester Metropolitan University and has gone on to carve out a successful career exploring the natural and manmade world through intricate paper cuttings, paper sculpture, hand drawn illustrations and large-scale installations. Andy has produced work for a variety of clients, including the Crafts Council, Harrods, Liberty London, Hermés, Kensington Palace, Manchester Art Gallery, DDB Australia, The Hepworth and The Beautiful Meme. He was able to show us photographs of some of this work as well bringing along a number of his smaller pieces.

We had asked Andy to devise a project that would complement the work Year 7 had already completed for the collaborative ‘botanical garden’ mural. He produced a series of templates to help us create some beautiful colourful birds which took their place in our display for the end-of-year Art Show.

Mrs G Riley

Here are just some of the comments

submitted by

Year

7 after their workshop experience: The paper bird workshop was a great experience for me. It allowed me to explore my creative side and learn new skills. I learned how to cut, fold and glue pieces of paper to construct a bird. It was a good experience and I hope I can do something similar to this again because it was very fun.

Zack H, Year 7

I thought that the paper bird art workshop with Andy Singleton was really fun and interesting. I loved hearing advice from a professional. I really enjoyed assembling all the different parts and liked the structure of the paper bird too.

Xue H, Year 7

When we did the paper birds workshop, we didn’t know what to expect. We all ended up enjoying it and creating a great piece of art in the process. Andy Singleton, who led the workshop, began by showing us some of his amazing, huge pieces and then introduced us to the idea of creating a paper bird.

Daisy H, Year 7

YEAR 8

Walk, Talk, Make at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park

On Friday 10th June, the Art department visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. We have visited the park many times before, however this year the students worked with the education team to explore the theme, Art and Landscape; looking at the sculptures and the current exhibition looking at the work of Robert Indiana.

As we entered the park we were greeted by Indiana’s iconic sculpture entitled LOVE (Red Blue Green) 1966-1998. This sculpture has been famously displayed in prominent urban locations but here it sits in the Yorkshire countryside. Indiana's work explores the American dream, themes of love, politics, unity and acceptance run through his work. The exhibition includes a variety of his sculptures and prints, these were located in the Underground Gallery and the park around the building. The work on display at the sculpture park was both impressive and thought provoking. Year 8 really enjoyed their time learning, exploring and making, their comments are below.

Mrs Hainsworth

A Year 8 Art trip to the beautiful rolling hills of Yorkshire to admire the work of many diverse forms of artwork, such as sculptures, paintings and even the surrounding wildlife; this was a chance to get outside and soak up the sunshine. We started the day by arriving at the centre and splitting into groups, where we then headed off in separate ways to engage in different activities. My group first took off on a walk to look at the many different statues on the hills  while the other group partook in an outdoor workshop. After a few hours of adventuring, we switched over, and my group went off to take part in the workshop. We drew landscapes with thick graphite pencils and then made statues with clay to photograph. At the end of the day, we all regrouped and headed back. In my opinion, the trip was really fun and educational and I would go there again!”

Lulu I

YEAR 10

White Post Farm

Our Year 10 artists visited White Post Farm on a cold crisp January day. The sun was out but warm clothes were a must. The students had been studying the artist Ai Weiwei and his sculpture Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads. A series of sculptures based on the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. This trip was to support their GCSE coursework and provide them with inspiration and first-hand experience. Drawing animals can be difficult and working quickly is key.

Mrs Hainsworth

Charlotte H, year 10, described her visit to the farm park.

‘White Post farm was a familiar destination to all on the trip, with everyone having visited as young children; however, this time we were returning with a different approach.

We arrived in the morning with our small sketchbooks and a pack of different kinds of pens and materials to explore throughout the day. Upon arrival, we set off round the loop of animals to look at. We drew cows, pigs, sheep, goats, deer, fish, rabbits; there were also some very large spiders and snakes to look at. Teaching in class has its limitations, while our books and devices are great but in order to gain real inspiration and take art into the real world, we need to head outside. While some of the animals weren’t perfect models and we struggled at first to create a still image with lots of excitable goats, we soon adapted to drawing live objects. The trip was fun, messy and the animals were chaotic. It provided my class with an opportunity to get creative and inventive, as well as fine tuning our sketching skills. We all walked away from the trip with lots more knowledge not only about the animals, their movement and how best to draw them but the confidence to enjoy experimenting and the inspiration to bring back to the classroom.’

Art Outreach

The Art Department really enjoys working with other schools, and this year, the Art Department was able to provide two Outreach sessions with Primary Schools in Nottinghamshire.

The first was a green man ceramic workshop with St Augustine's Primary School. Children spent the morning in the department working with clay. They used moulds and templates to cut leaf shapes. They had been exploring themes around the climate and nature, so making a green man mask seemed like an appropriate choice. The staff and students enjoyed the workshop and the finished sculptures were fantastic. The second session was with Wynndale Primary School, where Year 1 children produced a bejewelled monoprint crown fit for a Queen in a jubilee themed workshop. Their finished work decorated their classroom during the Queens jubilee and was exhibited alongside their peers at an end of year event.

Mrs Hainsworth

Summer Art Exhibition

The Art Department was pleased to present the Summer Art Exhibition 2021. The exhibition took place in June in the Sir Harry Djanogly Art and Design Centre. The exhibition showcased work produced by our A Level and GCSE students, plus a selection of work created by our pupils in the Senior School. The work on display was lively and varied. Students had produced a fantastic selection of work, exploring the themes of fragmentation, childhood, light and dark and biology.

This year's exhibition was once again affected by the pandemic. The GCSE and A Level courses were shortened which meant that students had less work to display. However, this meant there was space to display more of our stunning Key Stage 3 work. The gallery was filled with a Mad Hatter’s tea party and hat shop, Year 8 cake paintings and prints covered the walls. The Year 7 Botanical mural filled the corridor, whilst ceramic frogs sat on cardboard lily pads. The exhibition was well received by all and comments were overwhelmingly positive.

The Summer exhibition is a highlight for the Art department and it is wonderful to share our students' achievements. However, if you struggle to visit our exhibition in person please feel free to follow our Instagram and Twitter account to view more artwork throughout the year.

INSTAGRAM TWITTER

A selection of artwork from our talented students

SEE MORE ARTWORK FROM OUR STUDENTS HERE

Music

Libby MasterclassBurgess & Recital

The Autumn half-term concluded with both a non-uniform day and a visit from the exceptional pianist, Libby Burgess. Libby was visiting Nottingham as part of a major project based around Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier: Project 48, which saw her perform all 48 preludes and fugues, 48 times – once in each of the 48 ceremonial counties of England. Her purpose was to raise money for musical charities in the wake of the pandemic. It was a privilege for Nottingham High School to be one of the venues in which Libby chose to perform.

Whilst Libby was visiting Nottingham, she very kindly led a masterclass for six of the High School’s accomplished pianists: Evan L, Aditya M, Will H, Adwin G and Alexandra A. The afternoon began with my performance of Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata. Libby listened to the full eight minutes of my performance, which I appreciated, before giving me some very useful feedback about adding electricity to the exposition of my performance, to effectively emphasise the turning point of the piece. Performances by the other students followed, who between them played the ethereal Piano Sonata Op. 7 by Grieg, the soothing melody of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and the gentle rolling arpeggios of Timothy Brown’s Intermezzo in F Minor. During a brief interlude, Adwin also treated us to a marvellous interpretation of one of Libby’s own performance pieces, Prelude 2, from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1.

A virtuosic performance of Paganini-Liszt’s La Campanella by Adi M brought the exciting afternoon of music to a fitting close. Much was gained from Libby’s warm and sensitive advice, and her spirit and musical intelligence shone through. I believe that all six of us left the Recital Hall better pianists following her enthusiastic guidance.

Will H, Year 10

Opera Workshop

Jazz & Curry Night

Ligeti Quartet-in-Residence

This year featured the esteemed Ligeti Quartet as our quartet-in-residence, renowned for their innovative modern and contemporary music: we were incredibly fortunate to share in the knowledge and experience they had to offer us.

The year started off with composition workshops, initially focusing on GCSE and A level coursework compositions; the stark difference between a computer and a live quartet playing our music was genuinely indescribable, and offered a completely different, fresh perspective on pieces sometimes lacking inspiration previously. Of course, the members of the quartet themselves were also indispensable in the advice they provided to further enhance our compositions - their expertise often had the effect of sending our pieces down an entirely new avenue, one we’d never even considered previously!

Christmas brought further workshops carried out with Year 10 and 12, however the main highlight was the Ligeti’s wonderful strings adaptation accompanying the narration of ‘A Child’s Christmas in Wales’ for the Junior school - the rehearsal and performance of this festive, fairy-tale treat was thoroughly enjoyed by all involved!

Later in the year featured numerous band rehearsals with the help of the Ligeti in preparation for the Spring Concert - practices which really helped us pull together and perform as one, greatly improving our final performance.

Finally, the year finished with a superb performance of aleatoric composition ‘Landscape for Eb’, written by Phil Dixon - this outstanding performance was completed with student string, wind and brass groups, along with the Ligeti Quartet and live electronics. The final recording of this unique, experimental piece was truly incredible!

We thoroughly thank the Ligeti Quartet for their inexhaustible time, dedication and expertise they provided us with this academic year, and also thank the Music Department for making these wonderful opportunities possible.

Muskan G, Year 11

Tea Time Concert

Jess Gillam Experience

For Saxophone players schoolwide Thursday 10th March was a day to remember. We were lucky enough to be introduced to a masterclass of music by none other than the incredible Jess Gillam - the first ever saxophonist to reach the final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year.

Over the day different groups of players were given the chance to meet Jess and perform a small piece on which she would give feedback and advice, encouraging each of us to feel the music of the piece we were playing and give it a voice on which to speak. This was done both individually and in groups and the Senior Saxes Trio have much to thank her for as the group then reached the Semi-finals of Pro-Corda with the piece that she advised them on.

At the end of the day Jess and her Double Bassist - Sam Becker - provided a special concert for the school in which she played many of her own famous pieces and demonstrated the power that she held with her saxophone, captivating her audience so completely that even the younger audience were silent. It was definitely made clear that hard work in conjunction with confidence in yourself (and your ability) are needed to create such a standard of musical performance, and Jess left us all feeling motivated to try harder to reach all of our goals. It was an experience to remember and deserves great thanks from all involved.

Jenna D, Year 12

Autumn Concert

The concert began with Swing Band and ‘Tequila’, which really brought the excitement to the stage, and left the audience hooked. Both of the lower school choirs had large numbers this year, creating memorable performances of a high standard. Sinfonia and pop choir also performed, as well as senior percussion ensemble who brought energy to the stage with ‘who and what?’. Additionally, senior saxes had an exciting performance, showcasing all of the different saxophones throughout the piece ‘Shake everything you’ve got’. Big band created a showstopping performance at the end of the first half, with ‘Freddie’s Side of the Blues’, which had some very notable solos, and ‘Fever’ with amazing vocals from Ria, which topped it off.

The second half opened with Senior Orchestra, the largest group of the night, playing ‘Libertango’ and ‘Mambo’, which set the bar high for the rest of the concert. Then some of the smaller groups took to the stage, including flute choir, senior strings and jazz academy, all of which with highly impressive performances. Many of the choirs performed in the

second half, with notable performances from senior girls’ a capella and cutting harmony, as well as chamber choir producing spectacular performances of ‘Shenandoah’ and ‘The Wellerman’. Concert band rounded off the autumn concert with some highlights from Pirates of the Caribbean, creating a spectacular finale. It was great to be able to perform again in front of a live audience for the autumn concert, and hopefully next year’s will be just as good!

Hannah P, Year 11

Nine Lessons and Carols Service

This year the Carol Concert was back at the beautiful St Mary’s church, and it was lovely to be back there. Throughout the service, there was a vibrant contrast of both modern and traditional Christmas tunes. The concert once again began with “O Come, O come Emmanuel”, the first verse sung beautifully by Benjamin Staniforth. The service has started with this carol since I was in Year 7 and it was wonderful to be able to hear it live in the church once more.

The concert was full of traditional hymns, sung by all, such as “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” and “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” among many more. The Chamber Choir sang a number of carols, including “In The Bleak Midwinter” and “The Carol Of The Bells” -my personal favourite! There were also songs from different choirs across the school; the Lower School Boys and Girls Choirs and Year 10 Barbershop all took part, as well as Cutting Harmony and the Senior Girls a Cappella from the older year groups. There were lots of interesting readings from different members of our school

Spring Concert

community and the musicians played exquisitely throughout. It was lovely to see the amount of talent in our Lower School and I can only imagine the amazing concerts to come. A huge well done for everyone involved, from the readers, to the Choirs, and to the Brass — it was a really special evening.

Eleanor H, Year 12

Bridge Cup

2021 saw the welcome return of the Bridge Cup choirs. The school was filled with singing as Houses rehearsed across a variety of large venues; it was great to see the mix of year groups in each choir and how students were working collaboratively to produce a quality performance. The competition was of a high standard and impressed our external adjudicator, Matthew Hopkins. One House particularly stood out with their large numbers and quality of performance. Mellers’ House were victorious and their arrangement of ‘Here comes the sun’ by The Beatles was memorable and a great reflection of the hard work put in to learn and rehearse the song by all students. The other musical facet of the competition is the Individual Music. This year saw a record number of entries with over 300 across all of the instrument classes! The Music staff really enjoyed listening to a great variety of pieces and also had the tricky task of selecting a number of students to progress to the Bridge Cup finals, an excellent two days of live music performance. Matthew Hopkins again had the unenviable task of putting one student from each category through to the Prize Winners’ Concert. This was a fantastic evening of Music in front of a supportive crowd. Congratulations go to Mellers House Choir and the Music category winners who all performed superbly in our Bridge Cup Prizewinners’ Concert. In a competition... the judges did however come to a decision, with Evan AY winning the Ian Driver Cup for Junior Music, Seb H winning the Nicholas McGegan Cup for Intermediate Music, Coy Z winning the Stephen Fairlie Cup for Senior Music, Charles D winning the Sam Smith Cup for Unbroken Voice and Ascend J winning the Organ Prize. Congratulations to every student; we are already looking forward to next year’s competition!

Prize Winners

Prize Winners

Finalists

National Concert Band Festival

In the latter end of 2021, the NHS Big Band participated in the National Concert Band Festival (NCBF) regional stage, and achieved a gold award, which qualified us for the final at Manchester.

Bright and early on an April morning (far too early for a gang of teenagers) we found ourselves bussing to Manchester for an incredible morning at the Royal Northern College of Music. Upon arrival, Sam quickly discovered a temperature scanner with a camera and screen, and before too long, we had all scanned our temperatures multiple times each. Determining that we were, indeed, Covid free (with superb accuracy and precision), we were able to continue with proceedings.

At around 11am, we were warmed up and ready to perform. As we walked onto the stage, the sight of a truly tremendous auditorium stretched before us. Soloists were also given microphones, although for some (Dan) this was quite unnecessary. The Big Band's repertoire this year was: Fever by John Davenport, Games by Kris Berg and Freddie's Side of the Blues by Kenny Rittenhouse. We loved playing these and I think those who heard them enjoyed the experience too. Personally, Games was my favourite and the long sax solo was definitely a major factor!

We were able to get some valuable feedback from the judges, one of whom was Andy Scott, a truly earthshattering saxophone virtuoso. The Big Band will act on the advice as we strive for improvement. It has been a pleasure representing the school and I hope to do so again soon!

Coy Z, Year 12

Young Musician of the Year

We are delighted to announce that Benjamin S has won the coveted Nottingham Young Musician of the Year award. Previous winners include several of the Kanneh-Mason family, and ON Matt Glendening. The Final was held on Sunday 21st November in the Djanogly Recital Hall at the University of Nottingham, and the adjudicator was Stephen Threfall, Director of Music at Chethams School of Music.

There were 6 finalists altogether, winners from each of the following categories – Strings, Woodwind, Brass, Piano and Voice, and an additional pianist.

Ben performed the following pieces for his recital: – “If There Were Dreams to Sell”, by John Ireland, “King David”, by Herbert Howells, “The Roadside Fire”, by Vaughan Williams, “Sleep”, by Ivor Gurney, and “Blow, blow thou Winter Wind”, by Roger Quilter. The adjudicator praised Ben for his intelligent performance, demonstrating a high level of musical integrity. Speaking afterwards about his performance, Benjamin said he thoroughly enjoyed the experience once he had overcome his initial nerves. He felt he was able to communicate well with the audience and he especially appreciated performing to his immediate family and friends, who have supported him throughout the process.

Headmaster Kevin Fear said “We were thrilled to hear of Ben’s success. He has always been heavily involved in our extensive music programme here at the High School and has entertained many audiences with his singing over the years.”

Pro Corda National Festival Young Composer of the Year

In the Spring term, the school entered Pro Corda, a national chamber music competition. The first round was a video submission, which we recorded in the Recital Hall in January. At this stage, two of the groups were selected to perform in the semi-finals, held via Zoom. The Saxophone Trio (Jenna D, Ben D and Coy Z) performed a fast-paced and lively set. The Brass Quartet (Sam A, Tom H, Josie S and Dan W) performed an upbeat and jazzy piece placing us in the top 6 groups in the country. We found out we were through to the national final the evening before it was due to be held in Somerset! Mrs Auterson kindly offered to drive and accompany us to Millfield School where we performed our jazz rendition of ‘Oh When The Saints’. We were proud to be the only group representing the brass family at the final and the whole day was an amazing experience to be a part of. A huge thank you to Mr Pepper for rehearsing and preparing us and to Mrs Auterson for her enthusiasm and support.

Josie S, Year 12

This year’s composition competition saw a former student, Dominic Chivers, return to judge the competition. Dom is currently studying music at Birmingham University, specialising in composition. For this year’s brief, students were asked to write a piece to use as the ‘hold’ music for the school telephone system.

The overall winner was Tanish P in Year 7, who wrote a moving song, creating the backing track through software and recording the vocals live. The KS4 winner was Muskan G and the student to win the KS5 category was Anthony C.

Summer Music Festival

On the penultimate day of term, the High School celebrated by hosting the annual summer festival, and we all enjoyed the wall to wall sunshine and clear blue skies. It was a joyous event, and junior and senior students performed alongside one another, sometimes joining forces.

Many instrumental groups performed on the main stage, and the Rock Groups in Y8, Y10 and Y12 deserve a special mention. The Orchestra and Concert Band also performed brilliantly, the latter achieving over 50 participants across the whole school. A highlight too were the newly formed Percussion groups.

On the acoustic stage there were many vocal ensembles and chamber groups. The Junior Choirs sang beautifully and the Lower School Boys’ Choir performed impressively. The final item was a massed performance of ‘Seasons of Love’, providing a fitting ending to a wonderful evening.

Thanks to the catering team for the delicious food, and as always, to our brilliant caretakers.

Creative Writing

Ghost Story Competition YEAR 7

This year’s Year 7 Newstead Abbey Ghost Story Competition was won by Daisy H. Following the trip, Year 7 studied Gothic and suspense story techniques, used by writers such as Mary Shelly and MR James. They then produced their own stories inspired by their learning and the setting of Newstead Abbey. The standard of story writing was extremely high overall, but the English Department were particularly impressed with the original way Daisy incorporated so many details from the trip and her excellent use of structure to create a gripping story.

We have accompanied these Creative Writing pieces with work from our talented Art students.

Lover’s Death

When assigned to complete an investigative report on the supernatural elements of Newstead Abbey, Ada Loverence was far from pleased. Ghosts really weren’t her speciality but this was an opportunity to write for something other than her local paper so she couldn’t pass it up. Also, while she was in school, her mother had taken an interest in gothic architecture and had dragged Ada around to stare at different arches and windows all day. Needless to say they weren’t her happiest memories.

Her task was to investigate the myths and legends of the hallowed halls and there was no better place to start than staying overnight within the cloisters. Ada walked up the long road to the house and the trees and flowers that were usually welcoming and bright, seemed threatening and merciless in the twilight hours. The rustling of the leaves whispered warnings, “Turn back, go home.” Still Ada walked on.

By Daisy H

As she approached the house the moon had fully risen and appeared bloodshot in the dark sky. A blood moon. The gravel crunched beneath her feet. When she finally made it inside the house, Ada decided to set up camp next to an old staircase. Compared to the rest of the house it didn’t have the old, musty scent but instead smelt of lavender and roses. Once she was settled in comfortably, she decided to begin her voice recording.

“22:46pm, 18th November 2021. Just finished setting up camp next to an incredibly old staircase which smells shockingly floral, unlike the rest of this place. Nothing unusual yet. Will check in one hour from now”.

“23:45pm, 18th November 2021. Nothing new. Check back in one hour”.

“00:43am, 19th November 2021. Nothing new. Check back-”

A figure had emerged. At the top of the staircase a lady (likely around 20 years old) stood staring straight

at Ada. And smiling. Psychotically. She began to walk down the steps bringing the overpowering scent of flowers with her, causing the journalist’s eyes to start watering. The Rose Lady seemed to be in no rush, and Ada was frozen to the spot, unable to move, unable to run. Then the ghost opened her mouth and began to sing in a hauntingly slow manner.

“Ring-a-ring-a-roses

A pocket full of posies

A tissue, A tissue

We all fall down

Fall down

Fall down

Fall down

Down| Down”

And Ada was falling down, down, down. Her ears were filled with the laughter of children slowly turning into horrified screams. Shrieks everywhere, with no escape. And she could make no noise herself. Her

mouth was open but nothing was coming out. It was terrifying. She tried desperately to escape but there was no way out. The floral scent was so overpowering, she was now silently sobbing.

Everything was dark and she was still falling. Suddenly the Rose Lady’s face was looming above her, illuminated in the darkness. Her face was stretched in manic laughter and she raised one hand.

And Ada was gone.

Two weeks later, an in memoriam was published in The Guardian, commemorating the loss of the small-town reporter Ada Loverence who hit her head after falling down a staircase at Newstead Abbey and tragically died. It was a heartfelt piece written by Ada’s co-workers and friends.

On another page, a new fragrance has been launched by the Lady Rose company.

It has been named Lover’s Death.

YEAR 9

DH Lawrence Literary Prize

A

LoveMother’s

By Treya P

Steam hissed like frenzied snakes from the winding engine house, as bituminous blocks of coal were winched up to the surface. Workers with charred, blackened faces wearily chipped away at the abundant deposits in Bestwood Colliery, as more colliers were lowered into the shaft. A prepossessing woman stood beneath the building with an impassive facade, yet her attempt to mask her panic and distress was slightly tarnished by her trembling hands, which she tried to conceal by clinging on to her modest woven dress.

“Excuse me sirs, would you tell my husband to come up for a moment?”, she called up to the coal miners inside the engine room,”There is something urgent I must discuss with him.”

“Oh, good evenin’ miss Mallory, of cours’ i can, just one minute,” a worker with a face slick with perspiration answered with a nod of his cap.

She waited with apprehension, turning away from the colliery to face the undulating hills bathed with orange light from the setting sun. A small raven with a knife of a beak and a cloak of jet black feathers flew above head, letting out a hoarse shriek, which could faintly be heard above the constant rumbling of the monstrous growl of machinery. It never seemed to sleep, constant streams of workers flooding in to keep it running both day and night.

She sighed as she contemplated the fact that her husband devoted more time to his job here than ensuring his family was well taken care of, yet even when he finally got leave, his preferred place to spend it was as far away from his responsibilities as a father and as close to another woman as possible.

She was well aware of his pursuits, yet she was powerless as a woman without him, she would be the one accused if anyone found out, and around here, word travelled quicker than wildfire.

She shivered to think of what would become of her, but had no time to dwell on such thoughts before her husband stepped out to meet her, wiping his hands on his front before lifting an arm to wave in greeting.

“‘Ello Mal, why you here at his hour hun? I was just about to finish up for the day,” he announced with a quizzical look. She was filled with relief- he seemed to be in a good mood today- but that could change at any moment.She was well aware of it. Mallory chose her words wisely, and tentatively replied,

“Hello dear, I am sorry to ask this of you, but I'm afraid that over these past few days, our son has been exceedingly ill. I am sure you have taken notice of this, and I have tried every remedy one could think of, however his condition seems to be worsening by the minute. I have come to ask if you could spare some shillings today, so I may go to the chemist and buy some medicine,” Mallory explained with a slight tremble in her voice- she knew it would be difficult for him to part with a substantial amount of his wages. Medicine was not something readily available to people of their status-especially not the kind she was asking to buy.

He looked into Mallory’s eyes with a cold, dark stare for a moment, before placing an arm on her shoulder. Her heart

was racing, unsure of what his response would be, and unable to read his feelings through his piercing gaze. After what seemed like an eternity in a mere few seconds, he finally broke the silence and scoffed, contorting his face into a glare quicker than she could regret every word she said. His grip on her shoulder tightened until his fingers felt like daggers.

“Did ya’ really think I would just agree to you stealing all my shillings, which I earned with hard-work to support us, while you sit at home and disturb me for such a minor problem?” he spat, making sure not to raise his voice above a whisper- so as to not stir any suspicion.

Mallory’s heart dropped, and she suddenly felt herself unable to move as she hesitantly replied,

“No.. of course not my love, i will not repeat such a mindless mistake again, forgive me.”

She turned away from him, head hung in defeat, and began walking away in shame, red with self-reproach.

He muttered “Foolish woman,” under his breath and returned inside without a second thought.

She stumbled down the hill towards her house, while her mind whirled with thoughts of her child, who was sleeping bundled in as many blankets as she could find to keep him from succumbing to the cold. She blinked back tears, assuring herself that everything was okay, and that her son would get better eventually. Mallory stepped over a discarded scythe, as the overgrown grass beneath her grasped at her legs like slender, long fingers pulling her into the ground. She quietly

opened the front door of her house, which was dimly lit by candlelight, yet still felt cold and dark. She hurried past the sparsely decorated downstairs to the attic where her son lay slightly shivering.

Gasping at his frail condition, she swiftly sat beside him, resting his small, warm head on her lap. His lips were a pale blue, and his eyes barely had the strength to open to acknowledge her presence. They sat together in despair, the deafening silence only interrupted by the sound of ragged breaths. Incapable of doing anything else, Mallory softly sang songs to him of emerald green fields, endless train tracks winding down a gravel path, the chatter of birds early in the morning, and the light which brought comfort and warmth. Her voice was gentle and soothing, yet she felt an overwhelming sense of anger and hatred, towards her husband- for not ever showing any concern, but also towards herself, for letting him walk away, and for being too weak to ever deny him.

She continued singing, now slowly rocking her child back and forth every so often with her eyes closed. There she stayed for hours, with no sign of her husband returning home. Mallory sat cradling the bundle of blankets every night for days, feeling the warmth slowly leave her hands until nothing was left. She crumpled down onto the floor, looking out the window. Moonlight washed over her face; she closed her eyes and took a breath.

Archives FROM THE

In the published History of the School written by former History Master AW Thomas for his PhD in 1957, Thomas mentioned that there were Schoolwarden’s accounts in the school’s archives, dating from 1577 to 1699 and that they were in a good state of preservation. As any accountant will verify, financial records can be extremely illuminating and Dr Thomas confirmed that these provided valuable information about not only the finances of the school 65 years after its Foundation, but also the Masters, Ushers, Mayors, Aldermen and Councillors of the Elizabethan school in Nottingham through to the Civil War and on to the reign of William and Mary. However, in the years I’ve been working with the Archives I’ve never come across them and their whereabouts was a mystery. This changed in July 2022 when ten boxes of dusty annual returns came for disposal from our solicitors and in one of them was the “lost” ledger, beautifully bound in red and gilt, conserving the 450-year-old records in one place.

These accounts for the early period of this school were hand-written by the Town Clerk with a quill pen and presented to the Mayor and Aldermen of the town on the original instructions of Dame Agnes in her will of 1513. Mainly in Latin, with figures written in Roman numerals, they are fairly difficult to read. They clearly consisted, just as accounts do today, in credits, debits and balances and were signed each October by the Mayor of Nottingham and up to six Aldermen and sometimes the Town Clerk. These signatures were the main way of identifying their chronology except on the rare occasion that a date was given in modern form or that the clerk wrote in English. From these few, we can deduce much of what was written in the previous accounts.

The first one we find written in English of these was the year ending 1652.

The school had two sources of income. As a Free School, neither were school fees. The largest income was from rent because the foundation of the school was based on income from properties left by Dame Agnes and many others. For 1652 this was £34.17.10. (Just under £35, £3,611.89 in today’s money). However, the income that same year from Tithes of Hay “rising, reneuing, coming and growing within the meadowes and fields of the towne of Nottingham”, was £35.02.02 (£3,634.32). The two main expenses of the school were the Master’s salary and the Ushers salary, which that year were £40 (£4,140.69) and £13.06.08 (£1,380.23) respectively.

The Tithes of Hay had been bequeathed to the school by John Heskay, Alderman and Mayor of Nottingham in 1558 and second husband of Alice, widow of William Mellers. The 40proceeds of the tithe Hay formed a substantial part of the revenue of the school for the

next 300 years. In short, the gift was as important to the establishment of the modern school as Dame Agnes’ gift was to our foundation.

Adam Thomas writes that the tithe hay had belonged to Lenton Priory before the Dissolution of the Monasteries but was appropriated by the Crown and found its way into the possession of Heskay. The area of land was over 1265 acres. In 1845 the fields and meadows were “enclosed” and after 20 years an Enclosure Award was made to the school of 20 acres of building land in three areas, Kings Meadows; land south east of Hunger Hill Road and land between St Annes Well Road and Blue Bell Hill. The land in the King’s Meadows was to be sold almost immediately to the Midlands Railway to buy the current school site and subsequently the other parcels of land were sold in the nineteenth century for further school building expansion. So, a gift in 1558 is still giving, 464 years later.

Ms Gunther, Head Librarian and Archivist

HOUSE NEWS

What another brilliant year for Maples’, winning the Wheeler Cup for the 7th year in a row!

In my first year as Head of House I have been delighted with the effort across all events and charitable efforts. This year saw the return of a full calendar of events, beginning with the Bridge Cup choirs, something that was sorely missed last year. It was pleasing to see students from all years collaboratively rehearse and perform a song and a spoken verse. This example of House collaboration was present throughout the year with particular highlights including the House Rowing, Drama, General Knowledge Quiz and Sports Day. Sports Day was a great success for Maples’ with our athletic prowess on show, strongly supported by passionate peers in the stands.

Maples’ House Captains, Sophie B and Henry B have been brilliant throughout the year, supporting the House events and a variety of fundraising efforts. As a House, we have raised nearly £1000 for Berega Hospital in Tanzania this year and have enjoyed updates and an assembly from Dr Curnock, detailing how the funds raised over the years have been used. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the fundraising, including

the ‘Guess the Baubles’ challenge and the Bake Sale. Dr Curnock expressed his immense gratitude for all that Maples’ has done for Berega Hospital, and suggested that now, as he plans to relocate up North, would be a suitable time for Maples’ to support another charity. The variety of events this year has been brilliant, from House Rocket League, to Photography and Chess. The students have enjoyed a plethora of events and the participation of Maples’ students has been as pleasing as the levels of success. Maples’ was always fully represented at every event sometimes with multiple reserves, a reflection of the enthusiasm of the Green Team! I look forward to this passion continuing into the years ahead.

I would like to the thank the Tutors in Maples’ House for their support, particularly with enthusing their tutees, the out going House Captains and wish the incoming, Anna G and Hou Yu L all the best for their new roles – a strong start with the first event!

Mr Wantling

HOUSE NEWS Mellers’

Another exciting year in the House competition, some more new events and a first in my time at the school: Mellers’ House won the Singing Choirs! We also won the Verse-Speaking Choir, so we did ‘the Double’! External factors have affected how our House Charity have been working, but we hope to be able to do more for them again soon. Great to be able to do some of our big cross-year group events again, such

as House-Rowing – which although we didn’t win, we were certainly the best dressed for – and the inaugural House Drama competition which our seniors won. Another exciting year ahead, and I am looking forward to working with our new House Captains: Ethan and Jenna.

Mr Smith

HOUSE NEWS White’s

It has been so refreshing to once again return to some normality and to have a full Wheeler Cup competition after the last two years of disruption. This has meant that, once again, we have been able to compete with mixed age teams in a variety of events throughout the year. Clearly our younger House members have enjoyed competing in events with the older students, an experience which is key in many of our Wheeler Cup activities. The Bridge Cup returned our two choirs, under the leadership of Izzi and Aaron, who put in a lot of effort but, ultimately, without success. The placings certainly did not reflect the hard work that was put in by the choir members. Fingers crossed for greater success in 2022/23. A number of new events made it in to the Wheeler Cup calendar; these included eSports, Music Composition, Drama and Climbing. These certainly broadened the opportunities on offer for everyone to get involved and we hope to build on these in the future.

Our general knowledge teams were once again successful and special mention must be made of our younger students who had a winning year in a whole range of events. One of the highlights was our 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the Year 9 Boys Cross Country, well done

to Armaan, George and Saketh on this achievement. Thank you to everyone who took part over the year – I do hope you enjoyed your opportunities.

Our House Captains this year were Piya and Joe, both of whom showed great loyalty to the cause, stepping in when needed and setting a wonderful example to the rest. They have handed over the reins to Nnenna and Andrew and it is reassuring to know that the good work will continue next year.

We have been proud to support Aid2Gambia this year, a local charity making a big difference to the lives of those less fortunate and in need. At a personal level, I was pleased to support our efforts by means of my charity cycle to Paris and I would continue to urge all our students to think about the difference they can make in setting up their own challenge in the coming year.

I look forward to welcoming everyone back fully refreshed at the start of the new academic year. Onwards and upwards for the red team!

Mr Barr-Smith

Cooper’s

It has been great to have house events back up to full strength this year. We started the year with the Bridge Cup choirs, which were sorely missed last year due to Covid. The singing choir performed a fantastic version of ‘Counting Stars’ and a massive thanks to Anna S for her work in putting together the piece. We also had a brilliant performance of ’The Gruffalo’ for the spoken word choir performance. Thanks to Daniel, Taona and Zamel for their work on this. Both pieces gained us a well deserved second place. It has been great to see events like the choirs and house rowing bring together students from every year group in the same place again after the last two years. That is truly what house events should be, as well as opportunities for as many students as possible to get involved in events they may not have tried before.

This year the Heads of House have been running a wide variety of different activities across the year such as House Quiz, Badminton, Table Tennis and Debating - just to name a few. However, this year we have also had some new events which have given students more opportunities. Most notably, House Climbing in which Cooper’s house showed a real flair for. There were some brilliant stand out performances from a large number of the house which led us to an overall win. This is an event I am certain will be well supported next year. Big thanks goes to Karen Holloway (Director of Outdoor Education) for her organisation of the event. Another

event that really stood out this year would be House Drama, Cooper’s House were given the challenge of putting together a short piece of drama based on a Japanese folk tale about a fisherman and a fairy. Both the lower and senior years put together some fantastic performances which resulted in the senior years coming second overall. This was an event that truly showed how students from different year groups can work together effectively to produce a fantastic piece of drama.

We have continued to support the Rosie May Foundation this year which works to support families in Nepal and Sri Lanka during very challenging political times. Their support for young families in providing a way for people to earn money and providing an education has been amazing. This year the Rosie May Foundation kindly brought their pink tuk-tuk into school for our Cake Sale and they set up a brilliant fancy dress photo booth on the yard, selling out of their pop up sweet shop in combination with our cake sale. Events like these are only made possible by the support from members of the house community. Thank you to all those who baked and brought in cakes for the event. It was also great to see so many students from different year groups helping to run the stalls at break time and lunchtime.

Mr Kelsey

SPORT

Winter Sport

Rugby

1st XV Rugby

The 1st XV had a very successful season this year, we played 18 games and won 12. Due to injuries the start of the season entailed a few unfortunate losses against strong sides, however these were not to define the season ahead of us. As injured players started to return the team developed massively. The highlight of the season was reaching the National Bowl final, played at the StoneX Stadium. As we gathered in the changing room for our last team talk, we knew we were ready to perform. Harrison P rushed over the try line to get our first 5 points. As we reached half down, we were narrowly losing 5-6 but we knew this wasn’t going to be the end result. Noah B then quickly answered back to one of their tries by a thrilling interception, he then went back in for his second try not long after as Sam T won the competition for the highball. The feeling when the final whistle blew was surreal and we had won 29-16 and become National Bowl Champions.

The success achieved from this season had come from many factors as the team had developed not just on the pitch but socially and as a team. Mr Hamilton, Mr Drummond, and Mr Rudkin had played such a huge role in our development as they showed huge commitment with constant training and organising everything, so without them none of this would have been possible, thank you!

Josh S

2nd XV Rugby

The 2nd XV endured a mixed season on the whole. The season began just as we came back from the summer holidays, and came fast as we had three training sessions a week to whip us into shape after a short preseason, including a friendly fixture against Hill House which we won. Despite a tough set of fixtures and disruption to our fixture list, there are many positives to take from a development perspective. Almost every member of our team was able to fill in for the 1st XV should they be required, and notable mention to Charlie V, for progressing to the first team and featuring in their National Bowl final win.

Our team consisted of the forwards, Reuben, Manas, Adshayan, Aaron, James and myself, as we dominated the opposition in rucks, scrums and line-outs. The backs included Theo and Archie LJ, both putting in huge tackles to keep the opposition at bay, and driving forward runs to start the attacks, George S, (our player of the year) who from scrum-half controlled the game from the get-go with his arrow of an arm, our speedy wingers Hou and Josh, running rings around the opposition, and last, but certainly not least, Bousey, with his pinpoint passing and tackling often being the difference from full-back.

Special thanks to Mr Drummond for devoting lots of time to coaching our team on the pitch and in the gym, and Mr Rudkin and Mr Hamilton in supporting him in doing so with their expertise in rugby. Without our coaches’ hard work, this season wouldn’t have been near as fun as it was, and a huge thanks to them for that.

Alex B

U15 Rugby

Having had some tough seasons in the last couple of years, and time away from rugby owing to Covid, it is safe to say that we were worried for this one. This wasn’t helped by early losses to Trent college and Bablake. However, it was emerging that the level of rugby we were playing as a team had improved enormously.

The season started to pick up when we unfortunately suffered a close loss to Mount St Mary’s, with a score line of 19-15. Such a narrow loss was hard to take but it made us optimistic for the rest of the season. Our next game was at home against Worksop and, whilst the score line reads a loss of 26-7, the game definitely did not reflect this.

The following game, after receiving a bye in the first round of the National Cup, we were up against Robert Smyth Academy and the team were eager to get a win. We started off strong and managed some early hard

worked tries with some great runs by our wingers. We kept this intensity and standard of playing throughout the game and came out victorious 48-0, our first win of the season.

Unfortunately, we would have to face the final few games without fly halves with both of them suffering broken arms. That didn’t stop us from going into each game with the same levels of optimism – the season up until this point had taught us to be resilient and determined. This also didn’t stop us from battling against KES Birmingham (a team we had previously lost heavily to) where we were forced to play a very close game and sadly managed to let the game slip in the last couple of minutes.

The last couple of games were hard for us as we suffered heavy losses to Denstone and King’s Grantham. Again, the score line didn’t reflect how we played. Despite the losses, we really came together as a team this season and our rugby developed tremendously.

There were a number of stand-out performances this season and there was a lot of progress made by all. I would like to thank, on behalf of the team, the parents that supported us home and away every week and also Mr Neale and Mr Hamilton who helped us develop this season. On paper, this wasn’t a winning season but the progress we made as a team was clear to anyone watching and we have made promising steps towards senior rugby.

Sam M & William M, Year 10

U14 Rugby

Despite not retrieving the results we wanted, our enthusiasm and willingness to play the game has really come through from the team. With many players making their debut it was clear to see inexperience in a few areas.

Despite this, we had some positives including several previous B team players getting moved into the A’s, helping in both attacking and defending aspects of Rugby. Throughout the season our team has learnt a lot and will hopefully use these lessons to improve the quality of Rugby in the future.

To conclude, we struggled this season and found it difficult, but we improved and also added to the team. I am proud of all of the boys and the progress we have made as a squad. I am privileged to have captained.

Fletcher P

U13A Rugby

During the rugby season we didn’t have many victories but as the captain I could see improvement and enjoyment throughout the season. In the season we played a total of seven games, with six losses and one win.

One of our only wins was against Mount St Mary’s. This was all because one of the C team stepped up and played in the A’s. He will go down as one of the greats in the U13 A team, he is a living legend. There were also some other good players on the team, David P, Kieran B, and Adi J being on the team would make you think the opposition would forfeit straight away. We also had some great runners on the team like, Jay G (who started the season in the Bs then came up to the As and proved himself as one of the best on the team), Roman E, King Z, and a lot of others. One of the most vital players that we needed on the pitch was Charlie M for his tackling, I don’t think that there was one game where he missed a single tackle.

I’m looking forward to the season ahead, and hopefully next season we can prove ourselves as the best, and maybe have a few more victories. I would like to thank all the parents for coming and supporting our team, and looking after our players. I would also like to thank all the staff and coaches for sorting out fixtures so that we can play and coaching us into better players. Also, the groundsman for keeping the pitches we play on pleasurable.

Daniel G

U13B

Contact rugby in Year 8 was new to many people as we could not play it in Year 7. As a year and as a team, we didn’t look like we were new to it at all. We started the season on a high with a win-streak of 3 and then we had to push against some tough teams. We really fought our hardest in these games but were unfortunately not rewarded. However, we kept our heads up and battled again in the next games.

One of our biggest challenges was breaking through Stamford’s defence but, with some hard work and determination, we pushed through and managed to seal the win for ourselves. I think that our favourite moment as a team was beating Trent College 5-1. This was our first game of the season and we were just getting into the rugby season so to play so well in our first game was absolute class.

In particular, we have had some great tries scored by many people. Edward M pushed through the lines many times and came back with piles of tries. Nihal S made many excellent runs and assisted many tries. I think one of our favourite moments was when Daniel W made a successful tackle against someone a head taller than him. Isaac P who played with us in the match against Trent also played very well. Jay G and James S joined us against Trent before being moved to the A team and played incredibly well. Benedict H came through with a few tries when they were most needed. Not only did all of these individuals play their best but they played as a team.

Thanks to all the parents who came along to the games and all of the supporters who followed us on our journey up Victory Lane. Another big thanks to all of the coaches such as Mr Rudkin and Mr Hamilton. Looking forward to next season, where we hope to crush the competition and make ourselves known as the best rugby players in the region. Come on Nottingham High School!

Henry B

U12A Rugby

The Under 12A rugby team had a very strong season and only lost two of the seven games they played. The whole squad demonstrated a willingness to learn and great commitment, which ensured the team improved throughout the season.

Highlights of the season include, the win against Loughborough Grammar School, where Gabriel (player of the season) scored a hat-trick. But we couldn’t win all our games, as we unfortunately lost to two well drilled sides in Solihull and Denstone. Other good games include a hard-fought draw away at King Edward’s Birmingham. Throughout the game the team showed a strong defensive line and committed tackling, in particular Kit, Antoine and Rhys, all of whom ensured we had a strong defensive wall all year. One of my favourite games during the season was a triangular tournament at Worksop College, involving two High School teams consisting of players from the A and B teams and a team from Worksop College. This was won by one of the High School teams which demonstrated the strength throughout both High School teams and bodes well for when we will be playing fifteen aside. Another attribute the teams displayed well was a sense of sportsmanship.

All players who participated in rugby fixtures last term played exceptionally well and I'm sure they thoroughly enjoyed the season. In addition, we saw some impressive tackling from Antoine, James and Tom C. On top of that we saw some powerful running from Eddie, Gautham and Gabriel. We also had great all-round performances from Christopher, Alex, Adam, Roland, Jaikar and Giles and reliable play making and passing from Tom F, this set up some important tries. However, it is not just the players who put in time and effort. The coaches work just as hard to allow us to be the best we can be on the pitch. Mr Rudkin and Mr Hamilton were both very inspirational coaches, their coaching had a big impact not only on our team's success but also the enjoyment of the training sessions and rugby in general. This season has been a delight to captain the A team together for Antoine and I. On behalf of all the team I would like to thank Mr Rudkin, Mr Hamilton and Mr Baker for being great coaches and we wish Mr Baker all the best at his new school.

Thomas F Antoine B, Year 7

U12B Rugby

This term for the Under 12B team has been phenomenal as the team has stayed unbeaten without any draws throughout the entirety of the season. All the players have shown their devotion to the game which resulted in an amazing season. This season, our greatest victory was against Stamford which we won 13-4. Christopher E and I were nominated the men of the match. Christopher created several chances to score with Andrew M able to sprint past the opposition defense with his tactical and logistical thinking. Giles DB was able to score prodigious tries with the help of Will H. Hugo BB, George W, Jasper N, and James C offered a reliable midfield with them all contributing with strong tackles and being able to set up chances.

Our final game of the season was against a robust team from Denstone College. Ayaan Q, Ben J, and Rishi M were brilliant in defence and the scrum. Unprecedented runs were made by Tarun B, Andrew M, Oliver W, Giles DB, Will H, and James C once again who were remarkable. We saw staggering interceptions and tackles by George W and Hugo BB. Not only did the team perform these

actions during the game but also during the entire season. This match was a close game since the score was 5-5 during the last 5 minutes and our team was able to score a try making it 6-5 with minutes remaining. The opposition had the last play of the game, which was in their scoring half, the opposing team had a player who made it through our line unfortunately but, Ben and I were able to both tackle him at the last second concluding the game!

Our players played exceptionally hard throughout the season with us making very few mistakes which could be our room for improvement for the next Rugby Season and everybody showed virtue towards the opponents. We can all say we relished this term and look forward to the next fixtures in Year 8.

Mr. Baker has been our coach for all the games and I on behalf of the team would like to thank him for everything he has done for us, he has been wondrous. We all wish him a pleasant future at his new school.

Ayaan Q 7C

Netball

1st Team Netball

It has been an exciting year for the 1st Netball team with representation from five school years in the team. The season started with a win against the Old Nottinghamians and ended with an excellent win against the Rugby 1st XV. Results were mixed for the rest of the season with some really close games including a 23-22 win against Worksop College, which was a definite highlight of the season; the team showed great resilience to turn a losing scoreboard around to a satisfying win. We almost won more games than we lost.

The team were competitive and determined, showing great commitment at all moments. Everyone brought their own unique set of skills to the fixtures, and there was great team development over the course of the season with us becoming one rather than a bunch of individuals.

We also developed great versatility, with each player occupying a number of positions over the season.

Mr Drummond’s Thursday night strength and conditioning class was a highlight for us all too.

It was also fantastic to get to play on the new netball courts which we really appreciated.

Personally, as captain, I have been so impressed with the maturity and support from all the girls and the team is in great shape for next year.

Many thanks to Miss Bray for her unwavering support throughout the season, and we felt very proud to represent the school in front of members of the SMT shouting from the side-lines

Grace F

2nd Team Netball

This season started in the new year as we all came back from the Christmas holidays and started with two training sessions a week. We had never played before as a team so it was pleasing that we all gelled quickly. This made our playing tactics and skills coincide nicely. Throughout the season we have played numerous fixtures which have not only improved our skill set but the early morning coach trips to distant schools and subsequent matches made us firm friends, despite most of the team being new. Miss Anderson took our team and brought out the best in all of us. Myself and Megan worked as a zealous goal keeper/goal defence duo and our fiery nature bounced off one another to be an effective defensive unit. Holly I Millie W, Simran U and Kashvi K dominated the centre of the court, often running rings round the defence, and making significant effort to move the ball up the court for our goal attacks and shooters to take a shot. Hannah P and Flora S played here and worked hard to capitalise on the work done up court. They trained hard and took specialised coaching from Miss Bray to improve their shooting technique and tactics, and consequently, some fabulous shots have been netted this season. Gauri K and Sarah W kept at it in defence, using interceptions and forcing errors to turn over the ball. They worked together well to draw their opposition away and use space effectively. Overall, the girls have been dedicated, hard-working and focused this season, thus we’ve all had a great time and grown closer together.

Lydia M

U15A Netball

The U15A team have shown excellent commitment and team spirit this season, particularly when coming together during tough games. I think the team would agree that the highlight of the season would coming a fantastic 3rd place at the county tournament. The team showed great resilience and patience in order to come out with the win. This season we have had many star performers, with Noha N and Bea H in defence winning lots of balls to keep us in matches, and the shooters scoring many goals across the season. Stand out matches for the team this season would be our first win against Denstone, and our last game of the season against Bablake. We won the game against Denstone 13-8, and this win was the first time that we properly connected as a team, something that was essential in creating the building blocks for the rest of the season. The game against Bablake was the last of the season, and due to other school events and injuries we were left to play one of our strongest oppositions with a very mismatched team. Although we lost the game, everyone showed a lot of team spirit and fight to get the team to a very respectable score. Congratulations must go to everyone who stepped up during A team matches during the season, particularly Zoe F who filled in the shooter role brilliantly when we desperately needed her to, and also to all the B team players who surpassed expectations when being asked to play in very depleted A team squads. I would like to thank my Vice-Captain Georgie B for her support during the season. Finally, thanks go to our team coach Mrs Spedding for all the energy, enthusiasm, and commitment she brought to the team this season and to Miss Bray, Miss Hird and the other PE staff for their time and coaching throughout the season.

Isla S

U15B Netball

The U15B Netball team started the season with a tough and challenging match against Ratcliffe College. Despite losing 4-12, the loss inspired us to train harder and work together. We persevered through our defeats and we focused on working together and communication. We also worked on different types of centre passes which enabled our game play to flow and gain possession of the ball. A highlight of the season was our win against Rugby School. We played together and included all the skills we had refined in training. The score reflected on our growing confidence as a team. Throughout the season, we began working as a team, bonding through our determination and perseverance. We worked together and developed positive relationships on and off the court which allowed us to enjoy the experiences together. The star player was Chloe K who improved throughout the season and took on feedback as well as playing a great role in raising team spirits.

I would like to thank, on behalf of the rest of the team, Miss Schoenberg for her constant support and encouragement throughout the course of

U14A Netball

The start to the season was slow due to bad weather, but we continued working on our skills and developing our play. We had a tough start to the season and our first few matches were a learning curve for the whole team. However, this did not stop us from playing many schools and a Round Robin with Edgbaston High School and Newcastle-Under-Lyme. Despite struggling in some games, as a team we kept our heads high and did not let the score affect our play. We managed to end on a high with a 24-7 win against Stamford and a 17-6 win against Mount St Mary’s College. This was definitely a highlight of the season.

Over the term, during games lessons and after school training sessions, we worked on spatial awareness around the court and getting free from our player in centre passes. This was paramount in securing us the two wins at the end of the season! We also focused on working together as a team and supporting each other, especially on court.

Miss Williams was our lead coach and showed great support and taught us some of her Super League Skills which helped us to develop even more. Also, a special mention for Maggie who came down to Valley Road for a match to support our team, despite the cold weather!

Priya M

U14B Netball

During the netball season, the U14B team improved exceptionally. Despite losing the first few matches, we bounced back and demonstrated amazing resilience and persistence with our performance through games sessions, where we were able to hone our skills. Personally, I could recognise the strengths developing amongst all of us and the improvements we made by constantly helping each other. I am so proud to have participated in the growth of this team and see us flourish into talented netball players together - through the highs and lows. Collectively, these all helped us achieve amazing wins such as the last match we played that scored us 11-4 against St Mary’s. Our team played tremendously well together, showing motivation and strength throughout the season.

Leela M

helping us to keep improving. I would also like to thank Miss Bray for helping us develop our skills and further our knowledge of the game during after school training and games lessons.

Amelia K

U13A Netball

This year was a great year of netball for the Under 13As, we had many wins, and one of the highlights of the season was winning bronze in the cup of the DRET Tournament. We had incredibly strong players, and the strength brought from midcourt and defence allowed our shooters to get in loads of amazing goals. Our first winning match included some amazing play, and the score was 21 - 4. After bouncing back from the first two matches of the season, (a loss and a cancellation), we worked hard for the win. The team showed lots of strength and resilience by converting the score line after every quarter that didn’t quite go our way. We learnt that there was always something to gain from every match, whether we won or lost. To never give up is an important lesson that is learnt by playing any team sport, and the experience given from this is amazing. In training, we often focused on shooting, and centre passes. One of the most recent training sessions was focused on the defending side of play, and we used tackle bags to emphasise how to prevent our attacker from getting the ball, something that we implemented well in game play after. We also enjoyed doing lots of match play in training sessions, allowing us to practice and gain experience on court. We took part in quite a few tournaments this season, including county. Unfortunately, we did not make it to the semi-finals in the county tournament, however we played well and won 3 out of 4 matches. The whole team would like to thank Miss Botham for being our excellent coach, and providing us with support throughout all of our wins and losses. We would also like to thank all of the coaching and guidance given to us by Miss Bray, Miss Hird, Miss Schoenberg, and all the netball staff.

Evelyn A

U13B Netball

The U13Bs had a very mixed season, with plenty of ups and downs on the way. During that time, we have come together as a team and learnt a lot. We had some losses, but we gained experience from them and as a whole played better across the season. We showed great sportsmanship and made lots of new friends from all across the East Midlands.

We unfortunately lost our first few matches, but that taught us a lot about what to do in our next few games and gain resilience which paid dividends to our success for the rest of the season. We have improved our standard across everything- in shooting, in defence, in centre passes. All the players had the opportunity to try out all different positions, showing great versatility and found their preferred positions.

One of the highlights of the season was our victory against Stamford. It was a very close game, with us snatching the victory 13-12. We played at our best and our hard work paid off. We used the drills we learnt in training to create space, and that worked well. Well done to everyone who played in the fixtures, we all did amazingly and even if we didn’t win, we tried our hardest and made friends to last a lifetime.

On behalf of the whole U13Bs, I would like to say thank you to all the staff who helped us, for making us into the best we can be.

Maya S.

U12A Netball

The U12A team have become much more confident not only as a team but individually as well. Everyone had their best moment at some point throughout the season. We learnt that the score did not always determine how good or bad we were but that it determined our progression as a team and if we lost a game we could learn from our mistakes and improve for the following games. Our first win was against Nottingham Girls High School where we won 6-2. The whole team tried hard for every game and we all enjoyed travelling to away games and playing home games together. I think that the highlight of the season was seeing the happiness of my teammates when we knew that we could win a game by a lot and that all of our hard work had paid off.

The main skills that we worked on during training is to look out how we can make our defence and centre pass better. We also looked at how we could turn over the ball by intercepting or forcing errors as an opportunity to gain possession. Our star moments would be where we had an amazing set up followed by a goal from our centre passes. As an A team we were given the amazing opportunity to play in the county netball tournament where we were able to get 2nd which was the highest in Nottingham High Schools netball history. It was a great experience for our team. Lastly, to celebrate all our achievements we went to Condover Hall where there were lots of activities and netball games with great weather. Overall our team came 5th in the tournament which is great since there were lots of good teams there. On behalf of myself and the team we would like to thank both Miss Hird, our main A team coach, and Miss Bray, who also supported us a lot throughout the season. We can’t wait to see how next year goes!

Sharini S

U12B Netball

For a lot of the B team, it was the first time we all have played netball or played competitive fixtures against teams. However, that didn’t stop us from doing our best in every single game. We have really improved and grown our skills not just as a team but individually. Everyone has worked so hard in training sessions which has shown in our fixtures. The highlight of our season would be when we made an amazing comeback against the Girl’s High School team. In the 1st quarter of the match we were strong but after 2 goals from the Girl’s High School we felt a bit defeated. The 2nd quarter was not as good as we liked it to be as our defending was a bit weak but after a team talk and tips from everyone we slowly worked our way back up, scoring 3 goals. Although we still lost we learnt a lot from that game such as man on man marking our player, and we felt great about ourselves. I think that everyone has done great in this netball season but some of our players that really stuck out to me were our Jessica our GA and Eleanor our GS. Their shooting was impeccable and their passing inside the circle was great so well done to them! Also, our attackersAlisha, Eva, Aamina, Grace and Myah - were great this season. Their centre passing and moving into space was fantastic! Our defenders were also really good towards the end of the season. The people that really stood out to me would be Abigail, Annabelle, Xue and Zoe R. Their defending was amazing, blocking many goals and stopping the other team. One game that we won was against Hill House where we won 5-4. That game we all worked hard being quick with the ball and passed to the circle quickly scoring as many goals as possible. We finally were able to capitalise on our hard work for a well-deserved win. In training and games, we worked on the things that might happen in a game such as man on man marking to force errors of the opposition and moving effectively to create space. The team was great at being resilient during games and cheering on each other. The Condover Hall residential that we went on at the end of the season was a great learning opportunity for everyone on the team. Although we didn’t win that many games we learnt so many things we could use in future games. Finally, I would like to take a second to thank all the staff including Miss Bray, Mrs Neale, Miss Anderson, Mr Hamilton and Miss Hird for their hard work, time and effort during games, after school training and fixtures. Thank you for taking time to support us. We appreciate everything you do to help us.

Nikitha G

Winter Sport

Girls Hockey

1st Team Hockey

The Girls 1st team enjoyed a season of teamwork and growth last year - with significant accomplishments reached across the board. Captained by Harriet Barker we ended our season with a big 5-0 win against Stafford Grammar School - a lovely way to send off the Y13s - which was indicative of the talent that we have on our team. With a team that spanned three year groups and supporting roles played by Year 9s and 10s on occasion, wide ranging developments were made by everyone. Whilst the season’s results may not have reflected exactly how well we played across the year, every player who played a role in the 1st team was enthusiastic and a joy to play with - and it was an absolute pleasure to be a part of the team.

U15A Hockey

In our first proper season back without Covid restrictions, the U15A team grew from strength to strength. After playing some excellent teams at the start of the season, we learned from our experiences and came together as a team. One of the highlights of the season was when we drew 1-1 with a very good Ratcliffe side that had previously beaten us significantly, and we also enjoyed a hard-earned victory against West Bridgford school. Throughout the season, all the girls showed strong leadership and teamwork qualities, and we finished the term as a team pleased with our performances as we move up to become Seniors. On behalf of the team, I would like to thank Mr Alexander for his insight and enthusiasm, and the rest of the PE department for their time and coaching.

Isla S

U15/14B Hockey

I have really enjoyed hockey season this year. It has been a pleasure to be taught by such professionals and especially being a goalie and getting one on one time really allowed me to perfect my skills and become better each week. Our weekly matches against various schools not only helped all of us gain perspectives on what exactly we needed to work on but also gave us a chance to practice being a team and supporting one another.

Malika J

U13A Hockey

We played many fixtures with mixed results. However, we improved from when we first started playing which was a good achievement for the team in my opinion. During training, we practiced many skills including short corners, passing, getting into space and hitting. We applied these skills to our fixtures which greatly improved our performance.

Francesca A

U12A Hockey

The A team faced many challenges throughout each game of the season. We started off the season losing the first three games however we then were able to draw 0-0 against Worksop College. We all worked very hard in training, learning new ways to pass and shoot in a game. We all worked as a team to learn from our mistakes in the following games and think about how we could learn from these. We did then loose a few more games however we then were able to get our first win against The West Bridgeford school, winning 4-0, which was a great boost for the team! As a team we would like to thank our coach - Miss Bray - and the rest of our staff for helping us in our first term of hockey!

Masie W

Boys Hockey

1st Team Hockey

The 1XI had a mixed season but showed passion throughout. Lead by Mr Read and Henry as our captain we started the season with a tough game against Worksop. A well fought game and improved communication allowed us to come back to tie the game late on. Outstanding performances from Joe and Marcus in the midfield helped us destroy Loughborough twice in the season. We took a squad on tour for a successful couple of fixtures with wins and losses but good vibes throughout. Overall, it was a successful season with many highlights, great moments and a closely-knit team.

Rory L

2nd Team Hockey

The 2XI had an overall successful season, only losing twice throughout the season and conceding 4 goals. The team was made up of amazing players all round, but a special mention has to go Will Scott, for putting body on the line and often diving/tripping to reach balls in front of him and Benedict, being a tireless worker in the middle. With Mr Duprez leading the team, we had several highs, the highest being a 10-0 win against Hill House. Overall, it was a successful season everyone had a great time, developing into a close-knit side

Sam C

U16 Hockey

It was a short but successful season for the U16’s. We were entered into the national school's tournament, having previously succeeded in this competition. After confidently winning the county round, we were through to the regional cup. We were immediately tested in the group stages, placing second. This set up a semi-final tie vs Denstone College, in an entertaining encounter, narrowly winning 2-1 with many top performances. In the final, we went 2-0 up in a matter of minutes. However, this lead was eliminated by two late goals from the opposition: sending the games to flicks. Everyone who stepped up converted their flicks and one missed flick by the opposition sent us through to the national school finals. We began the finals strongly, finishing 2nd in our group. However, strong opposition meant that we finished 4th overall in the nation. A very positive season for everyone involved, looking forward to improving on our position next season.

Marcus S

U15A Hockey

The U15As started the season away at Worksop College, whilst this game ended with a disheartening result, we learnt many valuable skills that would carry forward with us into the rest of the season. In the next game, we managed to bounce back well with an impressive 3-0 win against West Bridgford School. A great amount of spirit was shown in this game to come out on top particularly from: Zail G, Will M and Ollie S. Shortly after we had another morale boosting 4-0 win against Loughborough Grammar school. These were followed by close games against Warwick School and Leicester Grammar School, where we just fell short of the win in both games but were showing improvement as a team. Nearing the end of the season we overcame Princethorpe school with a 1-0 win. We suffered a defeat against Solihull School with the final result finishing at 4-1, however we played much better as a team. The U15As had a strong final game to the season with a resounding 6-1 win against NewcastleUnder-Lyme School. This was a great performance from everyone with lots of positive contributions coming from Harry E. A special mention to Will H who had an excellent season and helped the team immensely and consistently kept us in the games. Ethan P also showed clinical finishing throughout the season finishing as top goal scorer. Big thank you to Mr Alexander for his coaching and commitment to the U15As.

U14A Hockey

We got underway with a successful preseason start. New talent joined us as we freshened up in the attack. As the season got underway we were sure we had improved from the season before. We travelled out to a tournament in Repton were we managed to win 1 game and lose 2. This was an impressive result since we had a disappointing start to the season. But as we got more familiar with each other playing as a team we managed to play better in the weeks running up to the end of the season. Overall, we proved that we were a strong team that will improve much more in the next season.

James F

U14B Hockey

Last season was really successful for the U14B's. We started off the season with a really strong win showing our skill level straight away. However throughout the season we improved and became better as playing as a team. We managed to win more games than we lost despite the fact we had lots of new players from lower teams rising up which was really rewarding. I can't wait to play with this team next season to carry on improving.

Taran S

Nikhil S

U13A Hockey

I was delighted to be captain of the U13A team. All players tried exceptionally hard and used game knowledge to win some games. We had some good games like West Bridgford School as we won 7-1. I feel it was a good overall effort from the team and look forward to see them in the next season.

Om K

U13C Hockey

We were quite strong last year as a C team as we won most of our games strongly and only were defeated mildly by one goal. I would say the chemistry of the team was healthy and we just would need to work our control on maintaining the ball throughout our attacks. Our defence side was stronger as we never conceded many and were clearly able to clear the ball back into an attack

Ben N

U13D Hockey

Last season we had 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, however, the main issue with last season was the sheer amount of games cancelled. Our biggest win margin was 4-1 against Warwick school. Another result that comes to mind is the draw against the C team that was a good result against the team above, at a 1-1 scoreline. However, we suffered a loss against Soluhill who were a tough side. The thing we have to work on is our play in the final third, ie: short corners, long corners and general 1 on 1 play.

Aarush A

U12A Hockey

Overall the season for U12A went well. It was a coming together of a group of boys who up until last season hadn't played together. The team improved massively over the season. For me, one of the main highlights of the season was the Midlands Region school’s tournament. Playing conditions were tough with wind and rain throughout the day making it difficult for both players and spectators. Our team ended up having to play an additional game on top of those scheduled. Despite this, the team showed enormous strength, resilience and courage to go through to the semi-finals, narrowly missing out on reaching the final on penalty flicks. The whole team played their part showing great team spirit and having a brilliant day.

James A

Cross Country

Henry B captained the Boys Cross Country season this year and the Girl’s captain was Martha C. The school entered Junior Girls teams in the County League races, the English Schools Cup and the City Championships. Martha C rounded off a superb season for the girls, with selection to the English Schools, National Championships in Kent. This was her third National XC Championships. Seventy students have competed for the Cross-Country teams this year in over twenty fixtures. The Year 7 Girls team and the Year 8/9 Girls team won the City Championships in January at Wollaton Park, which was a huge success. Six girls qualified to represent the City in the County Schools XC. The Intermediate Girls teams had further success in the English Schools Cup Competition, they qualified in the East Midlands round and finished a very creditable eight in the Midlands round in Sheffield. The Senior team competed in the Birmingham League and various fixtures on home soil. This has been a very competitive year for the senior team with some good individual and team performances. In the Pairs Relay at Sutton Park, we finished second senior team and in the Cannon Park race in Birmingham we finished 1st team. In the Spring Term, the senior team won the County Schools race at Wollaton Park and the senior team finished the season with a very creditable 4th place in the King Edward School race at Cannon Park, Birmingham. The senior team also performed well in the ON’s Cross Country in December at Wollaton Park, Jake G won the race as a Year 11 student. Jake rounded off a superb season with an excellent run at the English Schools National Cross-Country Championships in Kent. He finished the race ranked in the top 25 in the country. He also finished third in the Midlands Championships. The Intermediate and Junior teams have competed in the County Schools League, the Nottinghamshire County Schools Championships and fixtures against other independent schools, both home and away. Both age groups also competed in the English Schools Cross Country Cup Competition and made the regional finals in Sheffield.

The highlights of the season for the intermediate age groups, were the Year 10/11 boys team winning the County Schools League at Berry Hill, Charles P had fine runs in all three races and finished first overall, he also represented Nottinghamshire and picked up a medal in the East Midlands Independent Schools League. Katie G had a superb individual season, she finished second in the East Midlands Independent Schools League after three very strong races and she went on to represent Nottinghamshire in a number of championship races. All age groups, boys and girls, won the City Championships at Wollaton Park in early January and 16 pupils represented the City in the County Schools Championships in February, at Berry Hill Park. This year, we had four students who represented Nottinghamshire. All four competed in the English Schools Cross Country Championships in Kent. Charles and Katie also represented Nottinghamshire in the AAA

Championships in Leicestershire. Congratulations to: Jake G, Year 11. Charles P and Katie G, both Year 10 and Martha C, Year 12. Congratulations also, to Jake G who was awarded the ‘Baker Trophy’ for his superb season. The award is presented to the most consistent athlete over the year.

House Cross Country

The house cross-country in October at Wollaton Park was a superb spectacle of running with most year groups fielding a full complement of pupils. Congratulations to the individual winners and house teams (see below)

Individual Team

Year 7 Boys

Year 7 Girls

Year 8 Boys

Year 8 Girls

Year 9 Boys

Alex B White’s

Aarini Z Cooper’s

Daniel G Mellers

Elizabeth CV Cooper’s

Armaan B Maples’

Year 9 Girls Anagi B Maples’

Year 10 Boys

Year 10 Girls

Year 11 Boys

Charles P Maples’

Katie G White’s

Jake G Maples’

Year 11 Girls Krystal M Maple’s

Senior Boys Henry B Maples’

Senior Girls Grace F Maples’

P. Allison MSc - Director of Cross Country/Athletics

Fitness Suite

It was wonderful to have an uninterrupted academic year of training in the school Fitness Suite, with an average of 112 student visits per week outside of scheduled PE lessons! Yet again, strength and fitness training sessions proved to be an incredibly popular co-curricular choice for Year 8-13s. We decided to introduce a ‘fitness training award’ for pupils who had committed to attending regular training, progressed well, and who had become positive role models for their peers. Awards were presented at the end of each term, and 8 were given out in total.

We felt that it was important that the Fitness Suite remained open and available as much as possible (to make up for lost time during Covid!), and we were fortunate to have some extra support from both Mr Duprez – who divided his time between coaching hockey and coaching in the Fitness Suite- and two placement students from Loughborough University, who were both aspiring coaches studying on the MSc Strength and Conditioning course. It was a very positive experience for both the placement students, who subsequently both went on to secure full-time positions in schools. We will look to continue with this new partnership with the university, as it will help us to provide more students with quality strength and conditioning coaching, to support their athletic development.

The great thing about the school Fitness Suite is that we have students training hard for a wide range of different goals. Many look to utilize the facilities on their DofE journey, some train for general fitness and well-being, but the majority look towards the gym to support their development in chosen sports. This shows that they are aware of the benefits of strength and fitness training and how it can benefit sporting performance.

Mr Drummond

Using the school’s gym facilities in the morning greatly improved my strength and mobility, which caused me to achieve new personal bests in my athletics events during the summer” Annie, Year 11

Including training at the gym in my school routine has greatly aided my physical fitness for swimming. The importance of physical activity increases throughout the years at school, so having the chance to mentally and physically improve is a privilege” Harry, Year 11

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR

In the Autumn term, It was a pleasure to support the 1st XV Rugby Team during their National Bowl winning year. In the team were many of the first students to commit to regular gym work back at the end of 2018 when the Fitness Suite opened.

The Spring term Netball after-school strength and conditioning sessions were a great success, and a new school netball warm-up was designed and routinely executed by all during Games lessons, practice, and fixtures.

In the Summer term, whilst many cricketers trained inside in the Fitness Suite, it was nice to focus on delivering outdoor strength and conditioning support to students training for different athletics events. We had the chance to play around with different bits of equipment, and the new sleds for sprinting were enjoyed by many!

Cricket

1st XI Boys Cricket

Whilst the results have not always gone our way, I think there have been numerous positives throughout the season. Firstly, I think it's been good to see younger players in Year 9 and 10 progress to the 1st XI and make meaningful contributions. This has been backed up by numerous standout individual performances, such as Rory L and Tomos D.

The batting performances have often left a large onus on the bowlers, and I think it has been pleasing to see bowlers like Josh G, Emmet F and Alex EK keep plugging away every game.

I think a positive attitude has been present for a lot of the season and it has been nice to witness a humorous atmosphere throughout the year. The ability to have fun with one another and laugh at one another in a pleasant way has been evident from the first game. Having never played together as a team before, nor worked with either of the coaches, I think that there has been a good level of camaraderie all the way from winter nets to now. The captain, Jacob C, led the side effectively ensuring an enjoyable atmosphere for the duration of the season. Finally, I would like to thank both our coaches Mr Mohammed and Mr Schofield, for great training sessions and valuable advice, and I am definitely looking forward to a successful season next year.

Alex EK and Jacob C

U15A Boys Cricket

On the whole, the U15As have significantly improved since the start of the season, both as a team and as individuals. After a difficult start to the season against Loughborough and Trent College, we came back with good wins against Worksop and Bablake School.

Alex S and Zail G were consistent performers with the bat, with Alex making 89* against Worksop with a few other 50+ scores, and Zail contributing with 50s on 4 occasions. The bowling attack was led by Max B and Reuben M, who did well to keep some strong opposition line ups in check. Milo W, Sam M (wicket keeper) and Jamie S managed to deliver consistent all-round performances; Milo coming close to 50 on two occasions and Sam converting himself into our new “opener with a licence”, a role he has very much enjoyed under-taking. Jamie has also consistently made an impact to games with the ball, in particular against Oundle where he took 4-21. This season especially there have been a number of new additions to the team that have made a positive impact. In particular, Fred R has aided the team with the bat in some fairly difficult situations and produced some spectacular moments in the field, including his unbelievable one-handed catch at point against Trent

College, which will no doubt go down in the High School history books. Additionally, Harry E on a number of occasions has applied maximum effort when being brought up from the Bs and overall has had a positive impact on the team, especially on tour.

We were delighted to win the Notts County Cup and finished the season unbeaten during our 5-game tour to Edinburgh. We enjoyed time in Scotland as a group of friends and it really showed how we had improved as a team and have made a good start to the transition into senior cricket, where hopefully we can make a very positive impact to the school’s 1st and 2nd XI teams. Finally, we would like to thank Mr Neale and Mr Schofield for helping us to develop as a team we know that many of our games would not have happened without them. Additionally, we would like to wish Mr Neale the best of luck at his new school where we hope he will grow and be successful; we are sure that all the students here will miss him massively.

Jamie S and Zail G

U12A Girls Cricket

This season of cricket has been a good start for the U12A girls as we have noticeably improved our abilities when on the field. There have been some outstanding performances as a team, and individually also. Some big successes that we had were the matches against Trent and Ratcliffe College. When playing against Trent, we scored 123 overs and they scored 115 making it a close score however, we scored quite a few wickets and we managed to get quite a few fours which made us go up in points. When we played Ratcliffe, we scored 155 overs and they scored 141 and the performances from players on the U12A team really showed lots of improvement and positivity in this game. Any losses this season only made us stronger and more competitive as a team. A lot of individuals showed devotion towards the cricket matches this season and there has been many strong performances throughout the team. Some individuals that stood out the most were: Nikitha G for her amazing wicket keeping skills, Anvita K for her accurate and powerful bowling abilities, Tegan D for her incredible batting and Jessica L for her consistent effort in fielding and some great catches.

Originally, Erica wasn’t in the A team. But when she joined the team she performed outstandingly every single match and helped the team a lot. With this, Abi was on and off with the A team but every match she played with us made a big impact. Everyone has played incredibly well throughout this season!

I think all of the girls are quite new to cricket (apart from the ones who have already played outside of school) but this season everyone has made such a positive impact by being on the team. People have been encouraging their

U13 Girls Cricket

The Girls U13A cricket team had a great season with some wins and some loses. Everyone improved throughout though. Whether it was bowling and batting or even skills like catching and throwing at the stumps. Although we had a great season, I think the highlight of it was going on tour and winning both games whilst we were there; out first game was against Kings School Chester and we beat then 268 to 234, we played very well in this game and got a lot of wickets. In the second game we won 310 to 212 and we were playing Merchants Taylors. From the games on tour we learnt we needed to communicate more and work together better as a team and that is what lead us to win both games. We also learnt on tour that not everyone was comfortable at throwing at the stumps so we made sure to work on this in training after tour; we also showed people who hadn’t come on tour what we’d learnt.

I believe star player of the season goes to Emma for amazing fielding, never dropping a catch and always being switched on in the field.

Thanks to Miss Bray, Miss Schoeneberg and Miss Anderson for taking our team and helping us through

teammates and giving them tips on how to improve their playing. Something we have all learnt from this season is how to play better as a team. When playing any sport, it is important that your team works together well in order for the team to play better and I feel like especially in this cricket season I have learnt to play better as a team.

Next season, I am looking forward to playing in more fixtures and expanding my abilities when playing in matches against other schools. I am also looking forward to being able to spend more time with my teammates to improve our communication skills when on the field and exploring new techniques that we can use to make us better in fixtures. Hopefully we don’t forget everything we have learnt in Year 7, but aside from that, I think next year will be a great year for cricket!

Overall, I have really enjoyed playing cricket this term! On behalf of the U12A team, we would like to thank Miss Schoeneberg for being an incredible coach at fixtures and we would like to thank Miss Hird and Miss Bray for helping us to improve our cricket skills and helping us learn how to correctly play in matches. And finally, Miss Anderson, who always encouraged us in training sessions and although it’s unfortunate that she won’t be with us next year, she will always have a place in my heart.

I would also like to thank all of the parents (aka my mum and dad) who showed support towards their children by being at the cricket matches and getting involved by cheering everyone on and giving constructive criticism where needed.

Myah M and Alisha K

training and fixtures from the whole of the A team. Hope everyone enjoyed it and is looking forward to a great season next year.

Sienna W

U12A Boys Cricket

The U12A team came together for the first time this season with a practice game. This enabled us to find our feet and really get the basis of a great team together. We have had mixed success over the season, but finished with more wins than losses - all topped off with a fantastic win in our final game of the season finishing as Nottinghamshire County Cup U12 Winners!

It was very clear from the pre-season training that we had some talented cricket players amongst us. It took some time to play together as a team, week by week our training and progress became clear. There have been some brilliant individual performances, however it is the team spirit combined with hard work that has provided the winning performances overall.

We kicked off the season with a narrow loss against Loughborough Grammar School. This only spurred us on to improve and find a winning formula, with a win against West Bridgford School taking us into the second round of the County Cup Competition.

Sobering losses against Solihull and Trent College followed, but we looked to learn about pacing our batting innings and really valuing our wickets. We followed these results up with back to back wins against Bablake King Henry’s School and Worksop College.

Notable mentions go to; Ben CB for his 5 wickets in the semi-finals of the county cup, Jaikar L’s fantastic catch against Worksop taking out one of their top batters, Oliver W’s really accurate bowling against Bablake School, Tarun and Gautham’s debut bowling for the A team at Worksop taking wickets, an all-round good performance

from James C who, week on week, performed well with bat and ball and a hit a great 34 against Loughborough Grammar, and Tom F’s batting throughout the season, especially his 36 against Loughborough Grammar. Also worth a mention; both Mack and Aarini’s wicket keeping skills throughout the season, Sharini’s consistently good bowling and batting performances throughout the games, Rishi and Sharini’s bowling against Birkdale, making significant inroads into a well-settled batting line up, and Zaviaar’s bowling at the start of the season. Finally, but not least, Alex B’s great performances with bat and ball, with a brilliant 42 at Birkdale and finishing with a 7-wicket haul (5 in 5 balls!) in the County Cup Final. Never a dull moment when Alex is on the field!

Most importantly we have all improved and grown together as a group throughout the season and developed a great team spirt and energetic vibe. We couldn’t have done this without the support of our parents and the coaches. A special mention to Mr Heath who has run the team this year and helped me as a captain. Also, Mr Schofield and Mr Mohammed for their coaching and encouragement helping us improve our skills. Whilst this season at school ends we look forward to winter training in preparation for the 2023 season where we can improve our skills further and continue to develop as a team.

James A

Tennis Summer Sport

The tennis season this year was all too brief.

The school played 13 fixtures overall spread across 8 teams as fixtures became difficult to find.

The Senior Boys had excellent matches with KES Birmingham, which resulted in a 5-5 draw on the most glorious summers day, and a close match with the ON team on a day which was anything but, ultimately losing by 1 point. The Senior Girls lost their National Cup match with NGHS, but fought well to the end. The under 15 A Boys had a draw with KES Birmingham, but were narrowly defeated by West Bridgford in the league, but the B team were defeated by A teams from Southwell Minster and Worksop College. The Under 15 Girls had a great win over West Bridgford, but lost to Trent College, and the unfortunately all the Under 13 Girls’ matches were cancelled. The Under 13 A Boys fared better, securing an excellent victory against Trent College on a tie break set 7-6, and this was easily the best match of the season. The Under 13 B boys did better than their Under 15 counterparts, by beating Southwell Minster A in a great match, but losing narrowly to Worksop College A.

Athletics

The athletics season proved to be another very successful one with a large number of fixtures attended by both the boys’ and girls’ teams. Sports Day was again staged at Harvey Hadden Athletics Stadium. The weather, the large number of spectators and a number of new records made the event a memorable occasion; over 600 students took part and over twenty records were broken.

It was very pleasing again this year to see both the Senior Boys and Senior Girls teams compete in a number of local fixtures. The Senior Boys, captained by Ethan H, enjoyed success over Worksop College and KES Birmingham. The Senior Girls, captained by Amelia BG, enjoyed a competitive season against local opposition. The annual Decathlon and Heptathlon Shields for Year 12 students was keenly contested at Valley Road over a number of sessions, congratulations to Flora S (Heptathlon) and Hou Yu L (Decathlon)

The usual mix of inter–school, city and county schools’ competitions followed with a great deal of success. In the City Championships, we were again successful, winning the Years 8, 9 and 10 boy’s competitions. Both the Junior Boys and Inter Girls teams qualified for the regional finals of the ESAA schools cup. A large number of students competed well in the Nottinghamshire County Championships. Charles P in the Inter Boys 800m, Katie G in the Inter Girls 1500m S/C, William H in the Inter Boys High Jump and Leon G in the Junior Boys High Jump went on to represent Nottinghamshire in the Inter Counties fixture in Birmingham.

The pinnacle for any school athlete is to qualify for the English Schools National Championships and this year was one of the schools’ most successful years. In total, four athletes made the qualifying standards in their event and travelled to Manchester, Sport City, in July with the Nottinghamshire team. Amelia BG won a Bronze medal in the Senior Girls 400m Hurdles and followed that with a Silver medal at the National U20 Championships and to top it off, Amelia was selected to represent England in early August. A fantastic achievement for Amelia who was also awarded the school’s Turner Trophy for her outstanding season. Katie G, Charles P and Millie W also qualified for the national schools’ championships and gained valuable experience by competing at the highest level. This year we also had representation in the Independent Schools U13 National Finals in Nuneaton. Sofia C, Gautham L, Tarun B, Antione B, King Z and David P all qualified for this prestigious annual event.

School records and Sports Day records were broken this year, which highlighted the quality of athletics at Nottingham High School. The season ended by hosting our annual invitation match for Warwick Group Schools where we finished first overall for Coeducation schools.

P A Allison

Sports Day 2022

Amelia BG at the English Schools National Championships

Swimming

School swimming began its recovery from Covid very slowly. There were very few opportunities for our swimmers to compete this year, and we were grateful to Warwick school for inviting our teams to swim in their galas. Even with Covid out of the way, the senior galas at Warwick were cancelled due to technical issues with their pool, so only our Under 12 and Under 13 teams managed to go there to swim. What swims they had, they proved themselves as strong competitors, with our Under 13 Boys team of Daniel B, King Z, Oren S and Nathan C performing very well overall and winning the medley relay, King also managed to win the 50m Breaststroke. They were however outdone by our Under 12 Boys’ team of Zack H, Gautham L, Eddie B and Finlay B who won their gala convincingly, winning all but one race they had on the day.

On the girls side the Under 13 team of Anja K, Emma T, Olivia G and Francesca A competed well at Warwick and produced some good individual performances, with Anja K winning the 50m Breaststroke.

At Under 18 our seniors did manage to swim at the Bath Cup event in London, and gave a creditable account of themselves. Many thanks to Mr Spedding and Miss Bray for accompanying the teams to this event.

We hope that next academic year will see an increase in opportunities for our swimmers to demonstrate their talents more widely.

Football

The team played only three matches in a year when, due to the ongoing complications of Covid, more fixtures were cancelled than actually took place. In the games that were played, the team impressed. In the opening match they triumphed 3-1 over Tuxford Academy at Valley Road and in their final game they came from two goals down to win 5-2 away at Arnold Hill. A notable

individual achievement was that of Isaac M whose 5 goals were over half of those scored by the team during the season and included a hattrick against Arnold Hill. The team was excellently led by Captain Enzo DN and ViceCaptain Alex C. Other senior players included Aamran A, William T and Harrison W. They will be missed in the coming season.

Rounders

With Rounders being faded out of School sport, Summer 2022 only meant Year 10 (U15) and Year 12 had a Rounders Season, with the other senior years mainly being on Exam leave. As ever the season was most enjoyable, the girls weekly improved skills, gameplay and being the older age groups there was quite the emphasis on being more tactical players. House Rounders became quite the highlight as ever across the year groups, with all teams excelling in areas for their house! A great achievement for the U15 girls was competing at the National Rounders tournament, finishing in the Semi-final! This is highest of Rounders events; the Girls should really take pride in being able to compete as such level. A first for Rounders at the High School!

Next year Rounders will only be played in Year 11 upwards and if enough uptake amongst opposition schools also we hope to be able to offer a Girls cricket option more regularly.

U15 Rounders Report

The rounders U15s A team has definitely had a good season this year. Our strongest match being against Ratcliffe College where we demonstrated how well we collaborate as a team as well as our ability as individuals. Whilst fielding we had flexible positions across the field, allowing us to play to our strengths. Many of us made satisfying catches and crucial stumps during the match. Through training sessions, we focused on directional batting which played a key role in our wins.

As our last rounders match, we were to play in a national tournament in Leicester. Through the morning we played 3 matches, losing to each team and we began to lose morale. During lunch, Mr Hamilton emphasised how our pessimism was the only thing restricting us from success. Collectively, we rejected our negative attitude and then headed towards the quarter finals. We were all forced out of our comfort zones as we fought to keep our place in the tournament. Our opponents were half a rounder ahead of us when it came down to the final batter. The whole team cheered on as Georgie made it to 4th base, winning us the game! Cheers erupted across the pitch as we celebrated our victory. The field had gone from completely full down to 4 remaining teams after losing teams had been sent home. We lost the semifinals and placed 3rd nationally. Despite the loss, we went home having enjoyed ourselves greatly and with a much more positive mindset.

A huge thank you from the U15 rounders A team goes to Mr Hamilton for training us, encouraging us through difficult games and for creating a strong team of confident rounders players.

Staff Leaving

Mr Mark Baker – Director of Cricket and Teacher of PE & Games

Mr Baker joined the High School just over ten years ago in September 2011 as Director of Cricket and Teacher of PE/Games/Swimming. Since joining us he has been a Form teacher for Years 9-11, Assistant Head of Year 9, Assistant Tutor in Cooper’s House and Tutor in White’s House.

Educated in Southport, Merseyside, Mr Baker spent a year after finishing school playing grade cricket for Penrith Cricket Club in Sydney, Australia. He returned to the UK to attend university and, after gaining his degree and PGCE, went on to teach PE at Standish Community High School in Wigan, Maricourt Catholic High School in Liverpool and Formby High School in Liverpool where he took up the role of School Sports Coordinator. During these teaching roles he also worked as a cricket coach for Lancashire Cricket Board and a Coach Educator for the ECB, whilst playing cricket for various clubs in the Liverpool & District Premier League, and for the MCC.

As Director of Cricket, Mr Baker has managed the 1st XI, leading the overall programme & coaching all ages. He has been a Rugby coach/team manager for various age groups (U10’s, U12’s, U13’s, U16B) since 2011, the U13 Hockey coach/team manager from 2016-2019 and Coordinator of Community Action from 2014-2018.

Mr Baker set up & led the MCC Hub outreach cricket programme for cricketers from local city schools. He also set up many Community Action outreach events for local primary schools, and forged links with local charities, such as the NSPCC service centre, arranging Christmas present and Easter Egg collections for underprivileged children.

He assisted as a member of staff on two major overseas senior rugby tours in New Zealand in 2016, and USA & Canada in 2018. He also planned and delivered three major overseas senior cricket tours, as trip leader in

Sri Lanka in 2013, Barbados & St. Lucia in 2017, and Barbados in 2019 (delivering successful charity projects at each destination for the benefit of the local people on each island that they visited).

He has coached dozens of cricketers to develop into junior county players for Nottinghamshire, with two going on to earn contracts as full-time professional cricketers (Anuj Dal and Sammy King). He has set up girls’ cricket at the School, which has proven popular and fast growing.

He would like to thank the many colleagues that he has worked with (past and present) over the years and in particular, those in the PE department and those who have helped and supported school sport over the years.

Mr Baker leaves us to start a new chapter of his life back in the Northwest of England, to be closer to various family members. He is taking up the role of Head of Cricket and Head of Academic PE at The King’s School Chester, a fresh and exciting challenge that he is looking forward to. We wish him all the best for the future.

Miss Katie Bell – Teacher of Spanish, Maternity Cover

Miss Bell joined us in January as Teacher of Spanish, covering Mrs Marquez-Godoy’s maternity leave. Miss Bell has also been a Tutor in Mellers’ House.

Although Miss Bell has only been with us for a short time, she has gone above and beyond, particularly with the Year 11 students, giving up

time in her holiday to provide one on one sessions for students in preparation for their exams.

She says that she has thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience at the High School, teaching such wonderful students and having a great Tutor set. I wish to thank her for all she has contributed and wish her every success in the future.

Mrs Ina Gillett – Teacher of History and EPQ Co-ordinator

Prior to joining the High School Mrs Gillett was a German Assistant at Rugby School before undertaking her NQT year at Bablake School. From there she moved to King’s High School before becoming Head of History at Heanor Gate School. Mrs Gillett joined the High School in September 2018 as Teacher of History. Appointed as Head of History (maternity cover for one year) in 2019, Mrs Gillett has also held the role of Tutor in Cooper’s House, Assistant Head of Year 8 since 2019 and EPQ Co-ordinator.

Mrs Gillett has been an outstanding member of the History department, has taught outstanding lessons and provided excellent pastoral care. Her examination results have always been superb. She has also led our EPQ Programme with great distinction and secured some excellent results in her time in charge of this area of school life. She has made a strong contribution to the co-curricular life of the School through leading MUN and taking girls’ teams. Trips have included the 2018 Berlin Trip, the 2019 trip to the Battle Fields and the Patterdale Trip this year. She showed her talents too when taking on the leadership of the History Department during Mrs Daly’s maternity leave.

Mrs Gillett has excelled in all of the roles that she has taken on. She has been an outstanding teacher of History but also has contributed to so many other areas as well. Her willingness to be involved in so many co-curricular activities has been superb as has all of the pastoral work that she has undertaken. She has been a strong advocate for all those she has had pastoral responsibility for and helped a number deal with some difficult issues with great sensitivity and care.

I wish to thank her for all she has contributed and wish her every success in the future as she moves on to Loughborough High School. We will miss her here but hope that she will be very happy in her new role.

Mrs Amy McGarry-Thickitt –Head of Computer Science

Mrs McGarry-Thickitt joined us in September 2019 as Head of Computer Science, a real area of growth in the School. Under her leadership the department has grown considerably, with more students than ever before taking up this exciting subject. She has spearheaded the development of the A Level, which has been a really exciting development for us as a School. In the lower years she has adapted the curriculum to help students develop computational thinking early on, and she has also introduced new and exciting modules such as the Minecraft module at KS3.

Mrs McGarry-Thickitt has also worked with Mrs Simpson to develop the new E01 classroom, a new purpose-built facility for our Sixth Form computer scientists. She has also built on the department’s exciting co-curricular offering, with the development of E-sports a particular area close to her heart, as well as running the Turing Club, the Brebas Challenge, the Oxford University Competition, the Perse Coding Challenge and the British Informatics Olympiad Competitions.

Mrs McGarry-Thickitt leaves us for an exciting leadership role as Head of Computer Science and IT in a multi academy trust in north Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and we wish her every future success in this position.

Under her leadership the department has grown considerably, with more students than ever before taking up this exciting subject.“

Mr Matthew Neale – Teacher of English

Mr Neale joined the High School in September 2014 as Teacher of English. Since then he has taken on a variety of roles including Tutor in Mellers’ House, Assistant Head of Year 8, Assistant Head of Year 10, Head of Year 10/11 for 4 years (a role that he absolutely loved and misses dearly), HPQ Co-ordinator, Interim Head of Mellers’ House, Senior Tutor (Y11-13) and A Level English Language Lead.

Mr Neale has always played such an active part in the co-curricular life of the School in his time here. He has coached both the Rugby and Cricket U13A, U14A and U15A for 5 years. Memorable moments include umpiring 50 over games at The Darren Sammy Cricket Ground & The Kensington Oval as well as coaching several rugby and cricket players that have now gone on to secure professional contracts inc. Emeka Ilione and Sammy King.

Trips include two senior cricket tours to Barbados & St Lucia; three ski trips (co-running two of these) of which he enjoyed all the laughs, tumbles and experiences that came with them; the Year 7 French trip to Paris & Normandy (4 years); three senior tennis tours to Eton for ISTA Championships; countless days of walking in the Peak District and Wales either with the Duke of Edinburgh or on the Year 9 Bala Expeditions which hold wonderful memories of glorious days in the mountains (often incredibly wet) with current and former colleagues. Mr Neale would also like to give a special thank you to Mr Brown for making him an honorary member of the Geography Dept. for the Year 10 Holderness trip every year – although he still doesn’t know much about coastal erosion. All of this as well as 3 years with the CCF Army section. His ongoing commitment to Saturday sport and the co-curriculum, and ensuring that a student’s education goes far beyond the classroom, has to be commended.

Since joining the High School, Mr Neale has led a staff working group on building and developing resilience in School. He has restructured and redesigned the HPQ course to significantly improve grades and our retention/success rate. He has led on the development of the A Level English Language, which has not only seen an increase in numbers taking the subject at A Level but we are also seeing an increase in numbers of student choosing linguistics at university, including Oxbridge. He has also introduced and developed our D H Lawrence studies and the celebration of his linguistic heritage in the School, with the introduction of the D H Lawrence Society, the Year 9 Eastwood trip and the reinvention of the Junior and Senior D H Lawrence Prizes.

Mr Neale says that he has made some wonderful memories here, having taught some incredible and highly talented students, working alongside colleagues and making some great friends in the process, for which he says he will always be thankful for. He says that he will always be grateful to the School for the wealth of opportunities, exceptional support and the knowledge he has gained during his time here. Of course, the thing he has said that he is most grateful for is that this is where, 8 years ago, he met his wife for the first time.

Mr Neale leaves us to join the Joseph Whitaker School in Rainworth as a Teacher of English (apparently it’s next door to a dog rescue centre which he implies could be dangerous…). He is looking forward to an exciting new challenge in a different environment and has aspirations to lead an English department of his own in the not so distant future. Mr Neale will be keeping abreast of all things High School through Mrs Neale, and so you may see him around at various concerts/performances etc. - it’s not goodbye entirely. Mr Neale, you have been an outstanding member of staff and we wish you all the very best for your future.

Miss Anna Stapleton – Teacher of Psychology

Miss Stapleton joined the High School in September 2018 as Teacher of Psychology. Miss Stapleton was also appointed as PSHE and Independent Study Co-ordinator in April 2020.

Prior to joining us, Miss Stapleton worked as Deputy Head of Social Sciences at Graveney School in South London for 9 years, with many notable students e.g. Kyle Sinckler, English Rugby Union player, and the actor Hero Fiennes Tiffin. Miss Stapleton also worked as Head of Psychology at GEMS Wellington Dubai and spent some time teaching at an orphanage/school in Uganda.

As well as her role here at the High School, Miss Stapleton also writes textbooks, delivers CPD for Psychology teachers and runs a popular YouTube channel for A Level Psychology students.

Miss Stapleton has been involved in the Meditation Group, Mental Health awareness groups and the recent PLUS group. She has fond memories of the Condovor Hall Netball trip with Miss Bray and ‘the tunnel’ as well as DofE expeditions, particularly last summer’s trip to Snowdonia .

Miss Stapleton has done an amazing job launching and running our LGBTQ+ History month. She has been instrumental in leading our work to become a much more diverse school and several initiatives including the lighting up of the School, the flag video and the pin badges all came from her ideas. There is no doubt at all that the School has become both more tolerant and more aware as a result of all her excellent work in these areas.

Miss Stapleton is moving ‘Up North’ with Wife to be (Emma) and children (Immy and Iver). She will be taking up the role as Head of Psychology at Bacup and Rawstenstall Grammar School. We wish her, and her family, all the best for the future and thank her warmly.

Mr Dimitrios Theodorakis –Teacher of Physics, Fixed Term

Having worked at NUAST for two years, Mr Theodorakis joined the High School as Teacher of Physics in September. Since joining the High School, he has also held the role of Tutor in Mellers’ House and Form Tutor to 9A.

During his year with us, Mr Theodorakis has set up a new Physics Coding Club as well as a new Astronomy Club. He has also run a research project on Black Holes, in partnership with UCL, with students in Y10 and Y12 presenting their research, alongside their counterparts at NUAST, at the Orbyts Conference recently. They hope to have their research work published this summer.

We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

She has been instrumental in leading our work to become a much more diverse school and several initiatives including lighting up of the School, the flag video and the pin badges all came from her ideas. There is no doubt that the School has become both more tolerant and more aware as a result of all her excellent work in these areas.”

FAREWELL AND GOOD LUCK