Nottingham High School Yearbook 2024

YEARBOOK 2024

Contents

2

Introduction

p.3

Trips,Visits & Activities

p.10

Options

p.44

Clubs & Societies

p.57

Creative Arts

p.68

From the Archive

p.93

House News

p.94

Sport

p.102

Leaving Tributes

p.122

Welcome to the yearbook for 2023-24. The yearbook is an important record of each school year, and I hope that you will enjoy reading what follows.

I am writing this introduction part way through my final year as Headmaster of the High School. When I first joined the School in September 2000 I had no idea that I would still be here 25 years later. In that time, the School has undergone such a significant transformation with the opening of the Infant School, the expansion of the Junior School and the move to co-education. I’d like to think it is a softer place and the opening of the Wellbeing Centre during the course of the last academic year renews our commitment to outstanding care for each individual in the School. It has been the privilege of my life to lead the School through all this change, but none of that would have been possible without the support of all in our staff team, who have worked so hard to make all the changes happen. It has always been my belief that I should come to school every day and seek to make a difference and it is for this reason that ‘Make a Difference’ is our theme for the next year. I see so many examples every day of staff and children alike looking to make a difference, either by the way that help is so freely given or by actively seeking the help of others.

The past year saw another very successful School inspection, and we also gained the School’s best-ever results at GCSE alongside some further excellent A Level results. This yearbook records everything else that happened across the year, but reading it, one is left with a strong impression of how vibrant the School is and how so many of our staff and pupils go the extra mile in terms of their commitment to the wider life of the School.

The Wellbeing Centre has been an excellent addition to our offering. It provides a quiet and caring haven for us all, and at the same time, it embodies that all of us have days which are more difficult and need to learn how to be resilient in the face of adversity. The Centre has also provided a spirituality space which is very well-used by our diverse community, and this move to diversity and inclusion in recent years is something else that we should all take pride in.

This will be my last yearbook introduction, so I want to end by thanking all in the School community for their support over the past 25 years, for believing in the vision, for seeking to enjoy each day and for fully embracing all of the opportunities on offer. We can take pride in all that has been achieved, but I know that the School also has the brightest of futures.

When my predecessor Chris Parker handed over to me he likened it to a 400-metre relay race in which a tired runner hands over to someone younger for the final leg. Whilst I still have lots of energy to enjoy my retirement, I understand this feeling and I wish Andrew Holman every success when he arrives in September 2025. I know that he will have your support, and I also know Mr Kevin Fear that he is an outstanding appointment Headmaster and that he will continue the job of making this school the great place that it is. Lauda Finem.

Senior Leadership Team

Head Boy William, M.

Head Girl Gauri, K.

4 Lucy, B., Muskan, G., Soph, W., Zayan, B., Jacob, C., Tom, H.

Welcome to our new Year 7s

Year 7 has made a fantastic start to their time at the High School. They have approached this new chapter with enthusiasm and cheerfulness, despite the challenges that come with starting at a new school. Adjusting to finding their classrooms, remembering all their equipment for lessons and sports, and making new friends can be exhausting, and we have no doubt that many students have felt tired in the evenings and on weekends.

It was wonderful to see so many families at the Year 7 Picnic, and it has been great to hear about so many students participating in training sessions and sports fixtures. We encourage Year 7 to take advantage of the fantastic clubs and activities during their academic journey, both at lunchtime and after school. They should keep an eye on the noticeboards and screens around School for information on when and where these clubs will meet.

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Welcome

Mr Bharat Samra

As Physical Wellbeing Lead here at the Before working in the Wellbeing Centre at school, my job is to engage students with Nottingham High School (December their physical health through 1-2-1 2023-present), I worked for a year in the sessions, Co-Curricular clubs, blogs, NHS as a Rehabilitation and Exercise podcasts, assemblies and events. Topics I Practitioner, and before that for six years might cover range from physical fitness, at University of Nottingham Sport within nutrition, sleep, screen dependency and a number of roles, including Performance general coaching/mentoring. 1-2-1 Lifestyle Adviser, Fitness Instructor and sessions include goal-setting in these Sports Coach. Abroad, I supported a areas, and injury support for students. summer sports tournament for university I run many Co-Curricular Clubs, from students in Malaysia in 2019, and in 2022, Social Basketball, Yoga, Calisthenics for worked in the USA teaching children life physical skills and fitness, to more lessons through sports coaching. creative wellbeing clubs (Origami and Outside of school, I love spending time Filmmaking). Also, I lead on Parent and with my partner and our dog, walking in Staff Yoga classes throughout the week new places and stuffing our faces at as I believe in the importance of random restaurants. I play basketball promoting positive wellbeing in our multiple times per week, do yoga almost culture and community as a whole. every day, and when I eventually decide to be still, that time is usually spent watching films or playing PlayStation or card games with friends and family.

I started my role at Nottingham High School in November 2023 with the launch of the Wellbeing Centre and have enjoyed a busy and rewarding first year. My role involves ensuring day-to-day operations in the Wellbeing Centre run smoothly for both students and staff alike. Whether it’s assisting students with queries about the Centre, leading sessions on Writing for Wellbeing or producing the Wellbeing Centre’s podcast - it’s a cliché to say but no two days are ever the same! I previously worked in support roles at schools in Reading and Bristol as well as more recently down the road at Nottingham Trent University’s School of Art and Design.

My background is originally in theatre having studied Drama and Theatre Arts at the University of Birmingham before going on to train as a playwright on the MA in Drama Writing at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Outside of my role at Nottingham High School, I’ve continued writing on a freelance basis with recent work including a commission for BBC Radio 4 (Emergency Alert: Ballistic Missile Inbound), a Midlands tour of my bilingual stage play Verständnis [Understanding] and undertaking research work for the British Theatre Consortium.

Outside of working life, I’m an avid filmgoer (hello to Jason Isaacs), a huge quiz nerd and, for my sins, a lifelong supporter of Nottingham Forest.

Mr Dan Scott

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New Staff My name is Miss Freya Wilson, and I am a teacher at Nottingham High School, specialising in Physical Education and Games, A-Level PE, and PSHE. Recently, I have also taken on the responsibilities of Head of Netball to support the girls' sports program and curriculum development within the department. I joined Nottingham High School in September 2023.

Before this role, I taught Physical Education and served as House Coordinator at Park House English School in Doha, Qatar, where I worked for a year before returning to England to join Nottingham High School. My international experience was transformative, shaping my teaching style and approach. Highlights from my time there include leading an international tour to Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

Outside of school, I play football for Belper Town in the Women’s East Midlands Division 1 and enjoy supporting Sheffield United with family and friends. I also like reading, going to the gym, and spending quality time with loved ones.

Miss Freya Wilson

I started at the Nottingham High School in December 2023 as a finance clerk on a temporary contract and was offered the opportunity to become a permanent member of staff in February 2024 and was more than happy to take the opportunity. I liaise with parents for any finance related queries and mainly focus on fees and invoicing. Before joining The High School I worked in finance for a few different companies from logistics companies, to car dealerships and the most recent role was in sales enablement/finance for a private equity backed company in the communications sector before taking an extended maternity leave.

Out of work I am usually found creating cakes and bakes for my husband, 3 year old daughter and 15 and 12 year old step daughters ready for bake sales that I take part in. If I’m not baking I’m usually spending time with family and friends.

Mrs Nichola Sefton

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Welcome I am so excited to have joined Nottingham High School in November 2023 as the Mental Health Lead. I studied a BSc in Developmental Psychology at UEA, and a MSc in Mental Health: Research and Practice at the University of Nottingham. I have worked at both university’s as part of the psychological research teams; assisting research studies into infant language development, children’s mental health services, and the use of games and VR as tools to manage both neurodevelopmental disorders and psychosis.

In my last role, I worked at Women’s aid as part of the young people’s team. I worked with young people between 4-18, and their families, who were experiencing domestic abuse and violence. I worked as part of the violence reduction partnership within Nottingham which helped to combat knife crime, and worked with families impacted by the most violent offenders within the city.

I have really enjoyed working in my new role this year and supporting students in so many different aspects. Feeling that you can provide a safe place for young people to feel listened to and supported, gives me great personal and professional pride.

In my spare time, I love to be social and spend time with friends and family. I really enjoy long walks, Pilates, and always danced as a young person – I now lead a cheerleading dance class at school, after coaching a team to National Champions (mini brag!) at UEA. I love baking (and eating my creations!), listening to music, shopping (keep me away from vinted at all costs!), and watching documentaries.

Miss Roanna Coles

My name is Mr. Mohammed and I am the Head of Cricket at the Nottingham High School. I started full time in the post in February 2024. In my previous role was a Teacher of Physical Education in a state school not far from the High School for 24 years. I have coached cricket for many years and also help lead the Nottingham MCCF hub with Patrick Gada and where successful in taking the Nottingham hub, which trains at the High Schools sports hall during the winter to the National Finals at Lords, where we lost to Newcastle. In my spare time I love to play golf and am a keen DIYer and have found a new love for gardening. My family are most important to me and love to spend time with them.

Mr Shahid Mohammed

New Staff I became part of Nottingham High School in November 2023 as the Marketing and Admissions Executive.

In this role, I am dedicated to promoting the unique offerings of our school, including our academic programs, extracurricular activities, and supportive community environment. I strive to ensure a seamless and welcoming transition for families as they join our school community, addressing any questions or concerns they may have along the way.

Before starting this position, I completed my undergraduate studies at Leeds Trinity University, where I earned a First-Class Degree in Sports Journalism. I am now studying my Postgraduate Degree in Digital Marketing at the University of Roehampton.

Outside of my professional life, I am passionate about sports and enjoy spending my time watching Cricket during the summer months and Ice Hockey during the winter. Additionally, I spend my time with my friends, family, and dog, Storm.

Miss Charlotte Hindson Over the past few months as Head of Marketing for Nottingham High School, my journey has been incredibly exhilarating. I hit the ground running by spearheading Speech Day and Open Day within the first few weeks of joining. I am thrilled to bring my expertise in photography and videography to the school, aiming to elevate our marketing presence and collaborate with students to create original content.

The path to my current role has been influenced by my diverse experience in different areas of higher education. From digital engagement to sports communications, I am committed to furthering my professional growth while also imparting knowledge and offering valuable guidance and training to help elevate the abilities of the staff and students around me.

When I'm not busy with work, I delight in taking leisurely strolls with my loyal doggy, Spikey. Moreover, I find great joy in using my camera to capture the beauty of the world around me, no matter the weather.

Therefore, I am frequently planning the next adventure to some random remote location.

Mrs Rochelle Vázquez

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Trips, Visits & Activities

YEAR 10 BIOLOGY FIELD TRIP 2024 On May 24th, we returned to Perlethorpe Environmental Studies Centre on the edge of the beautiful Thorsby Estate for our annual GCSE Biology field trip with year 10. Despite the pounding rain of the first half of the week, we were treated to a dry and unexpectedly bright day. The students were able to carry out required practical work towards the ecology part of their course. This included identifying plants at various stages along a transect across a meadow, entering a stream to assess the effect of pollution on aquatic invertebrate species and comparing species diversity in grassland versus woodland. While we missed our usual centre activity leader, the legendary Keith, it was a lovely surprise to have our former colleague, Mrs Rachel Adams, assisting us with the stream activity. The students engaged well with the tasks and enjoyed their time out in nature.

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Biology

RSB BIOLOGY CHALLENGE 2024 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 really well, achieving 4 Gold, 8 Silver, 3 Bronze, 2 Highly Commended and 1 Commended awards on this year’s papers. It is hoped that competing in the Biology Challenge will encourage students to continue to study this valuable, wide-ranging and rewarding subject beyond GCSE level.

Mr Duckett

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RSB BRITISH BIOLOGY OLYMPIAD 2024 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 in the competition in January and received awards. Our students achieved 3 Gold and 1 Silver awards.

As well as this, at the start of June, several of our year 12 biologists sat the Royal Society of Biology Intermediate Olympiad. This is a one-hour, online paper designed to challenge the students and test their wider understanding of all things biological. It is intended as a warm-up to the main Olympiad.

The paper also asks questions drawn from topics across all of the different A-level biology exam boards, as well as far beyond these, and so really stretches the students. Twenty-six of our students gained awards; 8 Gold, 9 Silver, 4 Bronze and 5 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.

Mr Duckett

BIOLOGY PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION 2023 These are the results of the Nottingham High School Biology Photography Competition 2023, which ran from Biology Week in October until December 2023. As always, the students (and staff) were challenged to submit an image that celebrated the biological world. There were so many fantastic entries, the judging never gets any easier! The winners are listed below, well done to all of our photographers: Key Stage 3 WINNER – Daisy Mean, year 7 GCB – ‘shall I take flight’ RUNNER-UP – Samantha Chowdhury, year 9 HGB – ‘contemplative sky’ Key Stage 4 WINNER – Leah Glover, year 10 OCH – ‘vaporous beings’ RUNNER-UP – James Sehat, year 10 GCB – ‘road to glory’ Key Stage 5 WINNER – Seth Dineen, year 12 AMS – ‘devouring replacement’ RUNNER-UP – Kaavya Velmurugan, year 12 AMD – ‘burst of colour’ Staff WINNER – Mr Woodward – ‘Σφήκες/The Wasps' SECOND – Mrs Sneddon – ‘mushroom umbrellas’ THIRD – Mrs Nicholson – ‘midnight summer blues’ The photographs can be viewed here (scroll to the bottom for this year’s): https://sites.google.com/nottinghamhigh.co.uk/biophotocomp/home

YEAR 12 BIOLOGY FILEY FIELDTRIP 2024 On Friday, 21st June, the Biology department took our year 12 biologists on their ecology field trip to Filey Brigg and Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire. It was an early start, departing at 07.00 to ensure we made it to Filey Bay for the low tide. The students were very patient with the travelling and, when we arrived at Filey, we were rewarded with absolutely stunning views and fantastic weather.

After a much-needed toilet trip, we began our investigation into zonation on the rocky shore at Filey, with the students laying out transect lines and using quadrats to carefully sample and record the various species found at different points up the shore. The group worked hard and enjoyed discovering all sorts of hidden and exciting organisms, identifying them with the help of the teachers. After lunch, we visited the wonderful RSPB reserve at Bempton Cliffs to study conservation of marine birds and to also consider the role of this ecosystem in the phosphorous cycle, amongst other ecological processes. The students were able to see a large range of birds, including the ever-popular puffins! The RSPB volunteers had telescopes trained on the most interesting sights, including nests with chicks, and were happy to share their extensive knowledge with our group. Returning to school at 18.30 was a long day, but it was a valuable opportunity for the students to get out in nature, completing some of the required practical section of their course and enhancing their understanding of the A-level content. We were incredibly impressed with how the students engaged with the trip; they were enthusiastic and motivated throughout, a real credit to their year group and the school. As a result, they were able to take full advantage of the great sites we visited. All in all, a great day!

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Geography YR 12 FIELD VISIT TO SOUTH DEVON Twenty-nine Year 12 Geography students set off for their residential field visit to South Devon. After a long journey, the first task to acclimatise ourselves to the field studies centre and take the short walk to the beach. Much fun was had skimming stones and stretching legs before we returned to the centre for some supper before starting our first task of the evening – an introduction to the area and talking about the three days of fieldwork ahead of us.

Our first day of fieldwork consisted of following the long profile of the River Harborne, travelling from its source to where it joins the River Dart close to Dartmouth. We were able to learn how to use some new equipment and collect a wide range of data to see how the characteristics of the stream changed and whether this fitted with Bradshaw’s model. The second day was a great coastal walk, interrupted by some fascinating talks and explanations of how features are formed and looking for evidence of how our past climate has affected the sea level and, as a result, the features we can see today. The afternoon was spent seeing how this affected the current population of Start Bay and what coastal management techniques have been installed to help protect them.

During our third day, we spent in the magnificent Dartmoor National Park looking for evidence of weathering and explaining how tors are formed.

Overall, this was a fantastic trip.

Allowing us time to discover new landscapes and support our learning.

Secondly, it was great to develop our friendships with one another, particularly at the start of our Sixth Form studies.

Watching the Rugby World Cup together and developing a camaraderie between us is something we will look back upon with great fondness. Thank you to all those involved in the trip.

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BRAIN DAY Nottingham High School’s Psychology department once again hosted their annual Brain Day for Year 13 Psychology students and invited a mix of other schools to join. The day involved Guest speaker Dr Guy Sutton delivering the latest research on Neuroscience, including the fascinating topics of is there a criminal Brain and the future use of AI! Other activities involved the students participating in a Brain Dissection and seeing classroom theory in action. There were also revision-style sessions on the Bio Psychology unit of the course led

by Head of Psychology Katie Lea-Smith. A great day was had by all and student feedback was that the day was so valuable and fascinating at the same time.

DEAR DAY Drop Everything and Read (or DEAR) Day is now in its fifth year at Nottingham High School, and what began as an experiment has become a firm feature of the School calendar. Over the past five years, staff and students have read in classrooms, art studios, kitchens, science labs and even at home in the 2020 Lockdown! Other schools run similar days, but our principles are: students choose their own book, either from school or home; it can’t be a school textbook, comic or on a phone; they read for 12 minutes at the start of every lesson of the day. This means over the school day, an hour of reading for pleasure has taken place. The initiative began in 2019, following an inquiry carried out by the High School’s Staff Innovation and Research Group, which highlighted the enormous academic and emotional impact that reading for pleasure has. Sullivan and Brown’s particularly significant study showed that children who read for pleasure made more progress in maths, as well as vocabulary and spelling, between the ages of 10 and 16 than those who rarely read, as well as reducing loneliness and increasing empathy in young people.

Regularly seeing reading for pleasure as an important part of life and not just a task to be completed in English lessons has been powerful for students and staff.

As one student commented: ‘It gives me the time to immerse myself in another world.’

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Careers Week

Thank you so much to everyone who supported our Careers Week! We had an incredible turnout this year, with 87 guests visiting our school to participate in a variety of talks and events. This marks a remarkable 40% increase compared to last year, which truly reflects the growing interest and commitment to providing our students with valuable insights into various career paths.

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Computer Science

It’s been another successful year for the Computer Science department, where we have had three national finalists in the BEBRAS / Oxford University competition for the first time ever.

We are proud to support such talented students and look forward to seeing what they go on to achieve.

Congratulations to Will, Ives and especially Harry, who came 2nd in the country. Will also got through to the final of the British Informatics Olympiad, which is a prestigious programming competition held each year for KS5 students. It is the first time we have had a finalist, and we are excited to see what happens in the future. We also entered a KS3 team to the Cyber Cup and competed against 100s of other schools in this new competition that aims to develop cyber security skills for the future. Our team came 2nd which was fantastic, and Ives achieved a Cyber Champion certificate for his excellent contribution.

Lastly, Year 12 had an enjoyable visit to the National Computing Museum, where they explored coding from the past and spent time programming some BBC computers.

Canada Ski Trip

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Mont St-Anne, Canada During Easter 2024, 80 students from Year’s 6 to 10, and 10 staff travelled to the East Coast of Canada for a ski trip in the small resort of Mont St-Anne. With over half the group, including some staff at beginner level, the resort was perfect as they took to the slopes for the first time.

Equally for those who had skied before, including the top group of talented skiers, the resort offered challenges as the week progressed.

Alongside the skiing, the hotel was excellent – with a full games room, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and Jacuzzis, and a full gym, there was plenty to keep the full group occupied throughout the evening – oh, and don’t forget the ‘in house’ Starbucks which did very well from some! Most importantly, the food was exceptional, providing a varied spread at each mealtime with plenty to fill up on before and following a full day of exercise.

As the week progressed, so did the ability of the students. It was great to see those who had never skied before gliding down the slopes like they’d been skiing for years. Of course, there are always ups and downs in skiing, but every single student had a ‘can do’ attitude to want to succeed which was great to see. By the end of the week, all students and staff were able to ski down from the top of the mountain, with varying degrees of style! Evening activities included a Smores fire night, games night, gym, swimming, and just relaxing in rooms.

We left Mont St-Anne after six days and headed to Toronto for a quick 36-hour tour including a snowy trip up the CN Tower (unfortunately with no view) and a trip to spend some Canadian Dollars and buy those family members a gift or two in a large shopping Mall.

I would like to thank all the students and staff who went on the trip for making it so memorable.

It was great to take students from both the Junior and Senior School on the same trip, and this is definitely something we are looking to do again on our next ski trip, which will hopefully be during Easter 2026.

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Chemistry

ACADEMIC SUCCESS IN THE C3L6 CAMBRIDGE CHEMISTRY CHALLENGE AND THE 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 8 Gold (Shlok SB, Kaavya V, Akhil B, William M, James B, Alex B, Annie F, Sai K), 7 Silver and 15 Copper certificates achieved.

Many of the Year 12 students who took the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge also took part in the Royal Society of Chemistry Olympiad 2023, along with a good number of our top Year 13 Chemists. The Chemistry Olympiad paper was sat in January, a two-hour 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 were very impressive, with 5 students attaining the prestigious Gold Awards (Zayan B, Isaac B, Adam C, Shlok SB, Hannah P), whilst 12 attained Silver Awards, and a further 7 attained Bronze.

Particular congratulations to Shlok SB who attained his chemistry Olympiad Gold Award as a Year 12 student. We really do have some very talented Chemists at the High School.

PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY COMPETITIONS RSC Top of the Bench Top of the Bench is an annual competition run by the Royal Society of Chemistry. It requires teams of four students (1 Year 11, 1 Year 10 and 2 Year 9 pupils) to work together to solve problems in Chemistry and undertake practical work accurately and efficiently.

The High School team was selected from a record number of applicants, with Hussein A (Y11), Leah G (Y10), Tom C (Y9) and Evan L (Y9) going on to undertake the East Midlands Regional qualification round. An outstanding performance in this, as joint top qualifiers in the region, meant that they went on to compete at the University of Derby in the East Midlands Final. Whilst they did not progress further, all enjoyed a day of practical and academic challenge in the university laboratories.

Schools’ Analyst Competition The Schools’ Analyst Competition enables A Level Chemistry students competing in Year 12 from all over the UK to demonstrate and expand on their existing chemistry knowledge, skills and aptitude for analytical science through practical analytical experiments based on relevant societal or industrial problems. Each year, the competition aims to provide some tasks which are relatively

CHEMISTRY OUTREACH DAY – MURDER AND MYSTERY On the 15th of May, Nottingham High School welcomed five primary schools around Nottingham to take part in a Year 4 Chemistry outreach day. The chemistry labs were set up to mimic a crime scene, adorned with police tape and the chalk outline of a body, as if there had been a murder! It was up to the Year 4 students to use clues around the crime scene and chemical analysis to figure out who had committed the murder out of 6 suspects. One clue at the scene of the body was an unidentified white powder. Using five possible formulae of the powder, the children tested each one with a series of chemical tests, such as adding nitric acid, to match the results of powder X to one of the possible powders. By carefully following instructions and using their initiative (and some help from the Year 12 group helpers), they found out that powders 3 and 4 both corresponded to X. Therefore, they started work on their second clue to figure out which suspect had committed the crime.

Now well-versed with their chemical analysis skills, it was time for the students to embark upon phase 2 of the investigation. Phase 2 involved investigating the pen ink found at the crime scene. Working like true forensic chemists, the students produced a series of chromatograms. This practical was especially difficult as the students not only had to follow a set of very specific instructions but also had to record their observations carefullyhowever, by the end of the day, all groups had conquered the challenge! As the day was nearing an end, the identity of the criminal was revealed and behold, it was the caretaker!

Excited by this revelation, it was time for the prize ceremony, where the students were presented with certificates and medals to acknowledge this outstanding achievement.

Akhil B and Zainab M – Year 12 Chemists

Modern Foreign Languages

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ANTHEA BELL: TRANSLATION EXCHANGE, QUEEN’S COLLEGE, OXFORD The Modern Languages Department started off the academic year exceptionally well, and we were delighted with the success of our students in the National Creative writing competition. Our students continue to impress and this was evidenced in the results of the annual Anthea Bell, Translation competition run by Queen’s College, Oxford.

The competition challenges students to translate a text with precision, creativity and cultural sensitivity. It is named in honour of the renowned translator Anthea Bell, who specialised in translating children’s literature and is perhaps best known for translating the Asterix comic books from French.

Over 16,000 students participated in the prize in 2024, and over 3,600 entries were judged. The following students from Nottingham High School were successful: Regional Winner, Level 1, Spanish: Kavian Moghadam Regional Winner, Level 3, Italian: Chloe Jones Regional Winner, Level 1, German: Brodie Alexander Commendation, Level 2, German: Charlotte Simmonds

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These are fantastic achievements for this prestigious competition. For Chloe Jones, it is the second time which she has achieved this prize.

We are extremely proud of the enthusiasm and positive attitude shown within the student body for Modern Languages, especially at a time when, nationally, the reports are often not always so favourable.

Our students embraced this challenge, demonstrating their passion and commitment to excellence and creativity. This competition is a celebration of the beauty of words across borders. It goes beyond the curriculum and gives our students a taste for the intricacies of translating complicated passages, sometimes with untranslatable elements. Our students worked hard to stay true to the texts provided whilst at the same time, bringing their own flavour to the work.

Please follow the link to see more details from the Oxford University website. https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/research-atqueens/translation-exchange/anthea-bellprize/anthea-bell-prize-2024-winnersand-commendees/

STRASBOURG, BLACK FOREST TRIP At 11:30 PM, we all gathered in the schoolyard (49 students from Year 7) to embark on the amazing journey about to come. Although the 20-hour bus journey along with a 2hour ferry was long, it was completely worth it when we arrived in the stunning city of Strasbourg in France.

Throughout the trip, we travelled and explored different places. My top 5 favourite places we visited were Monkey Mountain, the Triberg Waterfalls, the bowling alley, Strasbourg Cathedral and my most favourite, Europa Park. The 7th day was probably the best day as we went to Europa Park and we had the chance to ride all the fun rollercoasters and rides. The best part about the France and Germany trip was that we had lots of freedom and got to explore different towns and cities. Each morning, we ate a delicious French breakfast at the Hostel, like fresh croissants and different pastries, and at lunch, we had the freedom to choose our own lunch.

Overall, I would completely recommend the France and Germany trip as it was very fun, and we went on so many different adventures, creating memories that will last forever.

Lavanya in 7C.

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CATALONIA TRIP From Monday 23rd-Saturday 28th October 2023, Year 9, 10 and 11 Spanish and Art students were given the fantastic opportunity to stay in the coastal town of Tossa De Mar on the Costa Brava, located in the province of Girona.

During this trip, the students visited multiple cultural landmarks of Spain and put their language skills to the test with the locals!

Monday was spent in transit. We flew from Manchester Airport to Barcelona and from Barcelona had a 2-hour journey to the Costa Brava. Luckily, we arrived for dinnertime, with everyone being impressed by the hotel buffet!

On Tuesday morning, the group visited central Girona, and, in the afternoon, we were given the chance to visit the Salvador Dali Theatre Museum in Figueres. We were all amazed by Dali’s surrealist style and bizarre images. After the museum tour, we returned to Tossa de Mar, and spent the end of the day at the beach, playing volleyball or just chilling on the sand before dinner.

Wednesday was also spent in the Costa Brava.

We went on a glass-bottomed boat ride, and the group walked the mountain trail of Tossa de Mar. The views of the sea and coastal town below were incredible and the old town was full of traditional restaurants in which to eat! Then, we returned to the hotel to participate in a flamenco dancing class. The class was thoroughly enjoyed by students and teachers alike and everyone had a great time.

On Thursday morning, we were woken up early due to the lengthy journey ahead of us to Montserrat. We visited the famous Benedictine monastery, which nestles below the ‘serrated’ mountains, and learnt about Sant Benet - this proved useful, as we then visited Sant Benet’s monastery in Mont Sant Benet. Here we also took part in a Mediterranean cookery lesson/competition. Although not all the dishes made by us looked appetising, we had great fun making them and tasting our friends’ creations, too! When we returned to the hotel, we had the opportunity to dance (some of the evening) away at the disco night, some students have commented that this was the best bit of the trip!

Friday was the day everyone had been looking forward to the most- the day we visited Barcelona. The morning was spent in Park Guell and at the Sagrada Familia. Later in the afternoon, we were given the opportunity to explore the port area of Barcelona ourselves. My friends and I ate in a coastal restaurant, where we consumed an abundance of freshly caught seafood - it was incredible! We then retired to the hotel early, as we were going to be woken up at 2am the next morning. When we arrived at our hotel, we were surprised to see that the hotel had organised a Halloween-themed night, with actors to spook us! With the comforting thought of knowing that the aforementioned could enter our rooms at any time, we tried to get as much sleep as we could before the next morning, when we would travel to Barcelona airport to catch our flight back.

Charles D

ISMLA CREATIVE WRITING Earlier in the Autumn term, the Modern Foreign Language’s department asked students to participate in a Creative Writing competition run by ISMLA (Independent Schools Modern Languages Association). Within each language (French, German and Spanish), there were a choice of three titles and students had to answer the brief as indicated in the target language, respecting the word count (250-300 words). Successful pieces of writing had to demonstrate: Creativity and imagination; Engagement with the target language culture; Linguistic ability appropriate to the year group. The judges were not looking for perfection, but entries needed to be comprehensible and engaging, rather than overly complex or perfectly accurate. No native speaker entries were allowed.

Students were keen to participate in this competition and so before deciding on which entries were sent off to the national competition, we had an internal competition where the Modern Languages team decided on what they thought were the best entries. We sent off entries at Key Stage Three, GCSE and A-level and on Thursday, 30th November, we heard back from the organiser at ISMLA regarding our successes. We had two national winners and two highly commended.

Spanish GCSE: Priya, M. – NATIONAL WINNER German KS3: Ascanio, A. – NATIONAL WINNER French KS3: Daisy, M. – HIGHLY COMMENDED German A level: Alexandra, A. – HIGHLY COMMENDED

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MUSKAN’S JOURNEY When I started Spanish in Year 7, I never imagined I would take the subject for A-Level, let alone pursue a degree involving it. In fact, even in the summer of Year 11, I was set on my A-Level Subjects: Biology, Chemistry and English, with plans to pursue Medicine or Law. It was only after Miss Walker somehow convinced me to spend a month in Valencia through the Turing Scheme that the possibility of an alternative academic focus became apparent.

Spending a month in Valencia, attending classes at a language school and engaging in three weeks of work experience was one of the best experiences of my life. Being forced to speak Spanish for the entire month and communicate about even the most basic topics in Spanish had an effect on my language skills that no classroom teaching could match. Staying with a host family ensured my experience was both fulfilling and authentic, and the opportunity to explore activities ranging from intercambios to salsa dancing truly changed my perspective on Spanish.

Eventually, I applied for Law with Spanish Law at The Queen’s College. To prepare for the interview in Spanish, the languages department helped me refine my grammar and conjugations. They then conducted numerous practice interviews with me, which helped me become more comfortable answering questions fluently – undoubtedly, this played a major role in the success of the interview.

I was incredibly fortunate to eventually be accepted by The Queen’s College as the only candidate for Law with an additional language.

As part of my degree, I now plan to spend my third year in Barcelona, studying Spanish Law at Pompeu Fabra; I hope to use my Spanish in the world of work in the future, perhaps helping me practise the Law internationally. It sounds clichéd, but studying Spanish has genuinely changed my outlook on life. I can now enjoy both Spanish and Latin American music, watch TV shows in the language, converse with new people and share their experiences – all of which I could not have done without knowing the language. Somehow, in every country I visit, I find myself in conversation with another tourist from Latin America or Spain.

Inspired by my time in Valencia, I decided to take That small sense of achievement every time I hold a conversation in another language never fades – Spanish for A-Level, and started considering a I was incredibly lucky to have a teacher as great as degree involving the language. My interest in Miss Walker to help me realise the ‘awesomeness’ Spanish and languages grew, further fuelled by the fantastic International Book Club sessions run of languages. I recommend taking a language to everyone – it will truly change your perspective

by The Queen’s College Oxford; motivated by on life. these sessions, I established a similar club at school. We read translated books from around the world, covering topics from the Spanish Civil War in Matute’s work of The Island to challenging stereotypes about Arab language and culture in Alharthi’s Celestial Bodies. Being asked to write a blog about my experiences with the club by The Queen’s College was both a surprise and a delight; I enjoyed the opportunity to delve deeper into themes presented by the books alongside considering how literary criticism changed my perspective.

YEAR 7 EUROVISION Year 7 at Nottingham High School created a Eurovision contest like no other, for the second year running. Following on from the examinations, much fun was to be had in the languages’ classrooms with each group creating its unique Eurovision offering. With everyone in Year 7 studying two languages, the competition was fierce. There were over 10 classes pitched against each other but of course, there could only be one winner! The enthusiasm from all the Year 7s was clear to see in the final performances with some exuberant dance moves and actions, whilst the use of props such as flags and hats was also explored. The judging panel (made up of Sixth form linguists, and Eurovision fanatic teachers) were not only looking for an outstanding performance, but also paid special attention to the quality of the singing, especially the clarity of pronunciation of the foreign language. In the end, the Spanish songs fared best, with two performances featuring in the Top 3, as decided by the judges after much deliberation. The winning song was ‘Chipi Chipi Chapa Chapa’

by Christell. The year 7s can all be very proud of their efforts, as can the teachers who worked hard to guide the students and withstand a lot of noisy rehearsals! We cannot wait for next year!

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Food and Nutrition

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FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD This year has flown by, and it has been another successful year for the Food and Nutrition department. We are excited to see a significant increase in students continuing the subject in Year 9 and at GCSE level next year.

Our food clubs remain popular. This year, we collaborated with the Religious Studies and Modern Foreign Languages departments to celebrate cultural diversity through cooking. Students prepared dishes for various celebrations, including Diwali, Hanukkah, and Eid. The lunchtime conversational Spanish and French food club has also been a hit, allowing students to enjoy a relaxed atmosphere while preparing authentic tapas. The Ready Steady University program has equipped Year 13 students with practical cooking skills for university life.

Activities days featured an artisan baking masterclass and our annual Bake Off, showcasing impressive creations. A highlight has been our outreach work, where Year 8, 10, and 11 students cooked over 350 meals for the Guru Nanak charity. Our Year 12 students donated toiletries and chocolate boxes to create gift-wrapped packs for homeless individuals and local refugee families.

We look forward to building on these successes next year and continuing our community partnerships and enrichment initiatives.

Mrs. Julie Stafford Head of Food and Nutrition

BBC GOOD FOOD SHOW On Sunday, the 26th of November, a group of Y10 GCSE students travelled to Birmingham to go and see the Christmas BBC Good Food show, led by Mrs Stafford and Mrs Turnbull. On arrival at the NEC, we had a quick round of all the stalls that were there, which ranged from Artisan bakers, plant-based foods to a whole host of amazing foods from all over the world. Then came the time for the first live cookery show in the Big Kitchen. The Hairy Bikers, despite David Myers being unable to attend, Si King made a great effort and delivered an amazing half hour of fantastic cooking.

He made a tomato soup with dumplings and also American-style sloppy joes. Everyone enjoyed the first show, and we were all excited for the next. We then had about three hours to browse around, the perfect time to do some shopping, get lunch, and, of course, try all of the delicious samples on offer. At 1:45, we went to our second and final show of the day - Nadiya Hussain. She made an egg bhuna and a kulfi ice cream sandwich, both of which looked amazing. Everyone was so excited to see her, and a great show was given on her part.

Overall, the BBC Good Food trip was the best experience, and we would like to thank Mrs Stafford and Mrs Turnbull for such a great day.

Sonam, S. Y10 GCSE Food and Nutrition

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ARTISAN BAKE OFF Al, S. - Year 8 After nearly a week of exams, Year 8 had a wonderful Activities day to look forward to on Friday, 8th June 2024. One of the activities available and in high demand was Artisan Baking, and with that, Year 8 took on our very own Great Nottingham High School Bake Off! The day started off with making the dough for the Chelsea buns after a thorough demonstration from Amelia Wells, the visiting Artisan Baker. To comprise the perfect dough, we had to ensure we had an array of skills in measuring, teamwork, kneading, and recognizing when the dough was ready. After leaving our dough in an airtight sealed container, we proceeded to receive another demonstration on how to create the focaccia dough. With similar skills from the Chelsea buns fresh in our minds, for me, I felt the focaccia was a more familiar challenge, and this boosted my confidence as well as dough-making skills. After this dough had set, we got to put flavour and vitamin elevating ingredients, and I put some parsley and cherry tomatoes to resemble a tree, an effective design that the judges adored!

After a well-deserved break time, we melted some chocolate and butter from scratch to kickstart the chocolate brownie making process! The patience we had to sustain whilst melting these elements gave us a thorough insight into what the artisan style truly meant. It was worth it for the tempting smell of chocolate that filled the air!

Whilst the brownies baked, we started to make the vanilla cupcakes! This well-known flavour was a safe bet for the judging and gave us versatility in the decorations we wanted to use!

After lunch and a skilful demonstration from Amelia on the key secrets to piping, many of us opted for distinctive icing designs to broaden our baking horizons, impressing the judges.

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Chloe, C. – Year 8: Kate Tran and I won the prize for the Artisan Cupcakes. We had lots of fun both designing and making these, and we would love to make them again. We were inspired by a summery beach design, as it is very close to the holidays, and it reminds us of the seaside. Our cupcakes resembled a beach theme, doing half of them with the sea and half of them of the beach. We used cocktail umbrellas and fondant in shells to create some of the decorations, as well as crushed up custard creams and buttercream for the sand and sea. Samia also had a special mention for her skill and passion for the day of baking, and she created some scrumptious bakes as well.

Kate, T. – Year 8 We all had an amazing day of Artisan baking. I personally enjoyed decorating our cupcakes as we got to explore different skills, such as piping the icing and finding ways which made our decorations look realistic. My partner and I were able to try lots of new techniques with the piping, such as making swirls and ruffles which definitely helped improve our cupcake’s final presentation. Besides the skills we had gained, we all thought that the brownies and cupcakes were absolutely delicious. The brownies had a rich chocolate flavour, whilst the cupcakes were very moist. After a hardworking afternoon of baking, it finally came to the judging. We all felt very excited as well as being nervous as the judges gathered around each of our tables to inspect our treats. We were thrilled when the judges announced that we had won. Overall, we had a splendid experience and had lots of fun.

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History The History Department has been delighted to offer a wide variety of curriculum trips and extra-curricular activities this Academic year. Year 12 students visited the University of Nottingham’s Hallward Library in the Summer Term, Year 10 students experienced a WWI Day thanks to Frontline Living History, and Year 9 students commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day with a trip to Beth Shalom and a talk from survivor Hedi Argent to coincide with our study of the Holocaust. Alongside this, we have had a variety of talks from prominent Historians, with Year 12 and Year 13 students attending an Archives Live session with Professor Tracey Borman and the National Archives, delving into artefacts from Tudor History, as well as a talk from Nottingham Trent’s Professor Wustenberg and Dr Morton on Germany during the Cold War to coincide with their studies. The wealth of experiences this year has truly enriched our Historian’s experience of the Department’s curriculum and beyond.

It has also been great to see our students get involved with a number of competitions outside of the usual 6th Form essay competitions. This year, Nottingham High School hosted the regional heats of the Historical Association’s Great Debate. This year’s entrants were asked to research and prepare a talk on ‘Which historical place or person from your local area deserves greater recognition?’

Students from a range of local schools entered alongside three of our own Year 11 and Year 12 students: Alec, Luke and Harry.

A range of topics and figures were covered, from former High School alumni D.H. Lawrence and Albert Ball to Bendigo Thompson, a prolific British boxer. The regional heats were judged by Dr Hodgson, Director of the Centre for Research in History, Heritage and Memory Studies at Nottingham Trent University, who was most impressed by the quality and diverse content of the participants’ speeches. Nottingham High School’s own Alec was judged to be runner up of the regional heats for his impassioned talk on Sir Peter Mansfield and his role in the development of health outcomes not only nationally but internationally.

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Finally, the History Department has thoroughly enjoyed leading the school’s celebration of Black History Month. This year’s theme was ‘saluting our sisters’ and it was amazing to see the way in which students around the school engaged with learning more about inspirational Black British women throughout history.

The Tutor Set poster competition was judged by Mr Fear, and the entries displayed in the school’s Curiosity Cabinet throughout the following month of November.

In addition to this, with the support of Year 12 Historians, the Department also led the school in commemorating Women’s History Month in February.

Year 12 Historians chose to focus on ‘ground-breaking women’ from British and world history, selecting nine women to inform the school community.

Not only did Year 12 Historians lead a number of whole school assemblies to introduce Women’s History Month and the history of women’s football, but they also helped to create a curiosity corridor to rival the RS corridor, produced a number of video which they introduced the school community to the following women: Noor Inayat Khan, Ching Shih, Mary Anning, Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, Josephine Butler, Olive Morris, Sandra Day O’Connor, Hedy Lamar and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. As a result of these informational videos, the school community crowned Noor Inayat Khan as the most ground-breaking woman.

We look forward to how we can work with our students to commemorate key historical events in the future.

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Philosophy, Religion and Ethics

The Philosophy, Religion and Ethics Department were delighted to begin the year with a brand new religious and secular questionnaire that was sent out to both staff and students. This is part of a wider drive to explore and celebrate the diversity in our school community and for us to highlight festivals and celebrations in particular, including those followed by believers from the Six World Faiths alongside spiritual, pagan and secular traditions.

Following on from this, the department, with the help of students from across the Key Stages, has developed what is now fondly known as the “Curiosity Corridor”, where some key festivals have been made visible. Diwali was a huge hit, with pupils making clay diva lamps to be lit up in the newly darkened corridor along with an abundance of fairy lights and making sweets with the Food Department. This year also saw the inclusion of a projected moon down the corridor for Eid al-Fitr, and of course, the windows covered with chalk pen art.

In January, we always visit the Holocaust Centre, and this year, we were privileged to meet and listen to Hedi Argent, a Jewish refugee who arrived in England with her parents in 1938 with only a small suitcase each.

January also brought our first ever Cultural Own Clothes Day as part of World Religions Week. I was incredibly proud to make more links than ever with our IJS students, and some of our Senior School students met them and watched videos about their faith and places of worship. Staff and pupils got on board with coming in clothes that had meaning for them and there were competitions running all week. Mr Landa from Nottingham Sikhs also came in to talk to us about Sikh identity and community.

February came, and the Lunar New Year. 2024 is the Year of the Dragon, and we couldn’t let the opportunity pass for a crocheted mascot and a Year 7 naming ceremony. She now sits proudly in the reception area, meeting all the visitors who come to the school.

This year’s Easter theme, alongside Year 7 Activities Day, was centred around Women’s History Month, the significance of women at the crucifixion, and we even were lucky enough to be gifted a handmade cross for Curiosity Corridor by Mr Burgess! The Year 7 Easter Egg Hunt was a soggy affair in the rain but was still met with cheer and a lot of fun!

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Wellbeing

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Since the official opening by Mr Fear in February 2024, the Wellbeing Centre has gone from strength-to-strength. Working with a team of expert staff, the Centre helps students to develop their own resilience and take responsibility for their overall wellbeing.

This has involved individual sessions with specialised staff, assemblies, special events, co-curricular activities, a brand-new podcast and much more!

CO-CURRICULAR The co-curricular programme at the Wellbeing Centre caters for a wide-range of interests. The activities have generally fit into three strands which aim to address a different aspect of Wellbeing. The first, Mental Health, involves activities like Colouring Club and the Wellbeing Advocates programme. These activities aim to boost positive mental health by doing things that encourage mindfulness or to de-stress. The second, Physical, contains activities such as Calisthenics and Yoga, which help improve wellbeing by getting the body moving! The third strand, Creative, introduces the idea of creative hobbies and interests that you might enjoy and so feel good while doing. These include Filmmaking and the ‘Knit and Natter’ knitting circle. All of these activities make for a very busy Wellbeing Centre at break and lunchtimes and it’s great to see so many students enjoying these clubs!

EVENTS We’re shining a spotlight on a couple of the brilliant events that students have been able to take part in at the Wellbeing Centre over the last year!

Lunch in the Wellbeing Garden In July 2024, students were able to enjoy their lunch in the peaceful surroundings of the Wellbeing Centre’s beautiful brand-new garden space.

The Grab ‘n’ Go counter, which moved from its usual place in the Dining Hall to the Wellbeing Garden at lunchtime, was wellreceived by students, who loved being able to eat with their friends in a relaxing environment. Due to popular demand, this will be happening again in 2024-2025: watch this space!

Alternative Sports Day The Wellbeing Centre hosted a number of activities as part of the school’s alternative to Sports Day in Term 3.

Mr Scott led an engaging team general knowledge quiz, Miss Coles hosted a fastpaced cheerleading dance activity and Mr Samra ran mindful Yoga sessions throughout the day. Students appreciated the array of activities on offer and loved the opportunity to try something they may not have encountered before.

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WBC PODCAST The Wellbeing Centre Team, in collaboration with its Year 12 Wellbeing Advocates, has launched a brand-new podcast. Titled, I’m Fine, Don’t Worry, the podcast aims to explore ideas surrounding teenage life, such as exam stress, the importance of exercise and why failure isn’t always a bad thing in a relaxed, informal environment. Each episode is no longer than 20 minutes; perfect for the journey home from school or before the school day starts! Each show has a special guest who may specialise in the topic being discussed that week – if you know someone who may have expertise in a particular area of wellbeing, please get in touch with Mr Scott at the Wellbeing Centre.

ASSEMBLIES/PARENT SCHOOL/OUTREACH Outside of individual meetings with students, our Mental and Physical Wellbeing Leads have been busy leading student assemblies as well as online sessions for parents. Covering various topics, from ‘Self-Compassion and Kindness’ and ‘Challenging Mental Health Stigma’ to ‘Injury Prevention’ and an assembly raising awareness for Mental Health Awareness Week, Miss Coles and Mr Samra have helped raise understanding among our school community. In addition, they have also been writing articles for The Merle and the school website to further develop the understanding of the school community.

BRAND-NEW GARDEN SPACE At the start of the summer term, we opened a brand-new space in the Wellbeing Centre. The Wellbeing Garden is now a very popular space for students and staff alike who would like a quiet space to reflect and enjoy during break and lunchtime. It has also hosted our ‘Grab ‘n’ Go’ events and will continue to host more events to promote Wellbeing Centre activities as well as healthy eating!

LOOKING FORWARD After a busy first year, the Wellbeing Centre is looking to its future – for the immediate 2024-2025 academic year and beyond!

With new co-curricular activities for students to take part in, like Filmmaking and Origami, plans for ‘pop-up’ events for students at lunchtimes and a plethora of exciting events taking place over the year, the Wellbeing Centre team can’t wait for students to get involved as it goes from strength-to-strength.

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Options

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Duke of Edinburgh DofE has grown year on year since Mrs Holloway and myself joined the staff team. We currently have over 400 students at Nottingham High School working at all three levels of the DofE award, and they have been recognised for their hard work with the volunteering certificate, which shows the total hours our students have volunteered for the community, charities, voluntary organisations, and individuals who need extra help with everyday life. Over the period of 12 months between 1st April 2023 and 31st March 2024, they all managed to accumulate 5486 hours of volunteering, which equates to £28,965.00, which is over 1000 hours more than the previous year.

Students have improved their physical activities by participating in football, rugby, netball, hockey, swimming, running, cycling and badminton. They have tried new sports and developed existing ones to enhance and develop their stamina and resilience. Developing team skills within rugby, football, and hockey improves their chances of working well together in a team.

They have also been developing new skills, such as, cooking, photography, gardening, and developing skills already learnt such as music, singing and drama.

The DofE expeditions this year were very well attended, with everyone attending all aspects of the training, practice and qualifying expeditions.

The Y9 students spent the qualifying weekend in the White Peak area of the Peak District, and enjoyed good weather for both of the days they were walking and camping. The Y10 Silver expedition was again held in the Lake District area starting at Coniston and working their way towards the finish point in Keswick. The first couple of days away were good weather, but the final days were murky and damp, with some rain on the final day. The Gold walking expedition was held in the Snowdonia National Park area, starting in Bethesda and finishing in Betws-yCoed. The middle day was the walk over the summit of Snowdon, which, unlike previous years was a very murky and damp day with very low visibility such that groups were redirected off the mountain on a safer route. The Gold canoe expedition started in Whitney on Wye and spent the next four days travelling down the River Wye to finish in Monmouth. The weather for this expedition was sunny and warm, which was lucky as a few of the participants capsized their boats due to debris blocking the river in places.

Thanks go to all the staff and assistants who have contributed so much of their free time to help with these expeditions and without them we could not achieve such amazing results. I really hope you can all help out in the coming months to ensure that we have yet another outstanding year and help all our students to achieve this amazing award.

Mr John Butcher

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PATTERDALE Y8 – EASTER 2024 A group of adventurous Y8s enjoyed an action packed week at Patterdale Hall during the Easter holidays. Students enjoyed climbing at a local Lakeland crag to start the week. On the second day, the teams planned and organised an overnight camp, packing all the kit and equipment they would need for a comfortable night away under canvas during the morning. After lunch, a short walk through the grounds, over the road and over a field to the boat house, the teams loaded their canoes with supplies and set off across Ullswater for their wild camp campsite. Hot chocolate round the campfire after dinner was a highlight. For many, it was their 1st night under canvas. Wednesday’s paddle boarding session was a great chance for students to work together and get a little soggy too! The mountain walk on Thursday was enjoyed by all in glorious weather, and far reaching views across the fells rewarded students as they climbed to the top of Sheffield Pike. The final day concluded with much laughter and teamwork during problemsolving tasks. As always the Patterdale Hall staff provided warm hospitality throughout the week, and the meals were exceptional. We will be returning again with excitement in 2025 for another action packed adventure with Y8!

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SCOUTS

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The 34th Nottingham Scouts have once again had an incredible year.

Our Friday night activities continue to be highlighted with exciting games, creative woggle-making, and challenging pioneering projects. We placed a stronger emphasis on badgework this year, offering opportunities to earn Navigation, Swimming, and Model Making badges, the latter inspired by a trip to Warhammer World. The Year 9 Scouts organized a fantastic ‘incidents’ session, featuring an engaging escape room and a thrilling treasure hunt.

They also benefited from an exceptional leadership skills course led by Seth Dineen.

Our year was marked by memorable events, including the festive Christmas Party, the end-of-year BBQ, and another exhilarating evening at Hoveringham Water Centre. We enjoyed numerous walks, including the nettlesome path from Kneeton and the always challenging night hike. Speaking of which, a special shout-out to Miss Khetarpal for supervising the most lost group of the year!

The Easter break brought us to the stunning Ennerdale Valley, where we conquered challenging mountain climbs, scrambled through exhilarating gills, and soared through the countryside on mountain bikes. Ask any of the (now Y10) participants about the icy waters of Esk Gorge!

Our summer camp on the Isle of Wight was an unforgettable experience, providing many with the unique opportunity to sail in one of Europe's premier sailing locations.

We extend our sincere gratitude to all the volunteers who made this year possible.

Special thanks to Tony Stock, our Group Scout Leader, Dave Sherwood for his heroic leadership of the Summer Camp, Sarah Freeston, Steve Sherwood, and all the dedicated individuals who contributed to Friday nights, camps, and behind-the -scenes efforts, such as Graham Lewin, our Treasurer. Your support is what makes it all possible. Though she was more involved in the Explorers, we also wish to say a huge thanks to Dr Linton who left the group this year. Katharine has helped hundreds of Scouts to achieve real (and sometimes very rain soaked) adventures. She will be hugely missed, and we wish her well (and with some envy) for her future adventures.

Fires were lit, bellies were filled, tents were erected, tents were flattened another successful year for the 34th.

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THE 24TH NOTTINGHAM EXPLORERS UNIT YEARBOOK REVIEW: The year has been a year of change for the Explorers, They now meet every Friday after school in the old gym and use it as their base, a group of older Explorers formed a leadership group to plan the activities of the unit and set up a google classroom group to help them communicate with all the Explorers.

The Explorers spent several weeks designing the logo for their Explorer uniform fleece, this was then signed off by the school senior management, before the Explorers found a supplier they liked and sourced a sample fleece to see if the quality and embroidery was of the right quality, which it was.

It was really great to see how the all Explorers worked together and the design compromises they all made to ensure the Fleeces were what they wanted to wear.

They have participated in the Night hike along with the Scouts, they went sailing, paddle boarding and climbing at the Hoveringham water centre, helped with the end of year barbeque, organised a mini Olympic games activity for the scout troop and recently attended the annual firework evening.

In June most of the Explorers attended a scramble and hiking weekend based at the scout centre Yr Hafod near Capel Curig in Snowdonia.

There they spent a day hiking and scrambling on the Nantlle Ridge in glorious walking weather.

The next day they scrambled up the North Ridge of Tryfan, luckily we had planned for a really early start, as around 11am the weather changed, approx 6 hours earlier than forecast and we were in cloud and heavy rain for the rest of the day.

The Explorers were a credit to themselves in the way that they looked after each other and did not let the weather get them down and all summited Tryfan and scrambled down the south side.

The latter part of this year has seen a changing of the guard with several of the older Explorers having left the unit to concentrate on their A level studying and University applications and we have had 10 new Explorers arrive from the Scout troop, so the last couple of months has been focused on embedding them into the unit.

On a Friday evening the Explorers have also been engaged in sporting activities, climbing on the school wall, swimming, cooking and team building activities.

I would like to take the opportunity to say a massive thank you to Katharine for all her help, support and guidance this year, she will be sorely missed by myself and the Explorers, also to Matt Scasse who has recently moved to assist with the scouts.

The Explorers are currently planning for next year’s activities.

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Combined Cadet Force

Combined Cadet Force – Annual Review The CCF has had a very busy year, apart from the weekly parades, inspections and annual Remembrance parade the cadets have been engaged in many activities over the last 12 months, here is just a snap shot of some of the exciting things they’ve done!

FEBRUARY Captain Paula Hickerman took up the role of School Staff Instructor (SSI), Paula joined us previously having worked in schools and also Derbyshire ACF, she has a vast knowledge and has attended many camps and courses over a twenty-eight-year career.

MARCH All 3 Sections took part in the first activities day of the year. The Navy Section visited the Hartlepool Maritime Experience and learned a little more about life on the high seas. The RAF Section intended to visit the High Ropes course at RAF Cranwell but were unfortunately rained off, so they had a visit to Newark Air museum instead.

The Army Section spent the day at Beckingham Training Area, where they took part in fieldcraft training where they took part in various lessons including camouflage and concealment and introduction to cooking army ration packs; they were also taught observation skills which involved successfully identifying numerous military objects at various distances.

APRIL Four cadets from the RAF Section got the opportunity to fly with the Air Experience Flights Team at RAF Cranwell. Their days of experience saw them being taught the basics of how to fly the Grob Tutor plane and all the safety measures involved. Luckily, the weather held off, and all enjoyed a great day.

JUNE Second activity day of the year, this time we saw the Navy cadets head off to Holme Pierrepont National Water Sport Centre for a day on the white water. Meanwhile, the Army and RAF had a joint venture in the field at Beckingham Training Area; this included an overnight stay under a ‘Basha’ for the senior cadets, luckily it didn’t rain! The cadets undertook a variety of activities, including fighting in built up areas and room clearances, an attack and ambush and were even put to the test with a few First Aid scenarios.

JULY During the first week of the summer holidays, nine cadets from the Army Section and one from the RAF attended the Annual CCF Camp at Beckingham, Lincolnshire.

The camp was the culmination of the years of training and an opportunity to mix with cadets from other schools and a chance to get trained by Regular soldiers.

The 5 days consisted of a mix of Fieldcraft Training, live firing on Ranges and an opportunity for Personal development at the Mill adventure base. Cadets were accommodated in the barracks at Beckingham Camp and were fed three meals a day (plus the odd takeaway pizza!).

OCTOBER October saw three senior cadets from the Army Section attend their Senior Cadet Instructors Course (SCIC) at Chetwynd Barracks. The course was delivered by the Regional Cadet Training Team and is designed to furnish the cadets with the skills they need to be able to deliver lessons back in their units. It also consists of a 24hrs Fieldcraft exercise. RSM Ben, F. was also awarded the prestigious prize of Best Cadet in his section. As well as completing the SCIC, the cadets also completed their 4 Star Training syllabus and are now in a position to attend the Master Cadet Course at the National Cadet Training Centre at Frimley Park. This would be the culmination of their cadet syllabus training and is the highest level a cadet can earn. All will hopefully attend the course in April 25!

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This year also saw the appointments of our new Heads of Sections and Head of Contingent: HoS Navy – Chief Petty Officer Krish Chadda HoS Army – Colour Sergeant Alec Sehat HoS RAF – Flight Sergeant Jai Sharma Head of Contingent – Regiment Sergeant Major Ben French Overall all the CCF sections have worked hard on their cadet training syllabus during the year and have completed some key modules towards gaining some badges, and for some new ranks! Lots of new and exciting adventures ahead, including Live Firing on Ranges and a joint Adventurous Training Day. Well done, everyone, onwards and upwards!

Community Action This year has been another exciting and impactful one for Community Action. We have been continually inspired by the dedication of our student volunteers and the generosity of the entire school community. Their collective endeavour to do good has truly shone through in the wide array of projects and initiatives we have undertaken together.

In the autumn term, our focus turned to supporting those in need within our local community.

Students worked with Guru Nanak’s Mission to feed the local homeless community and supported the Bestwood and Bulwell Foodbank as they prepared for their crucial Christmas donations. A standout highlight of the term was Children in Need Day, which brought the school community together in an incredible show of support. Our Year 10 Community Action students led the charge by organising a Pudsey merchandise sale, uniting everyone around this fantastic cause.

As December arrived, we were thrilled to host our annual Community Christmas Lunch. Welcoming members of our local community for an afternoon of delicious food and festive entertainment, courtesy of the senior school Christmas production, was a true joy. The atmosphere was heartwarming, and everyone left feeling full of festive cheer! The generosity of our school community also shone brightly during our Christmas campaigns. From food bank collections to toy donations for Guru Nanak’s Mission, and a new initiative to support Radford Care Group’s work with the elderly in Nottingham, the response was overwhelming. Collaborating with these organisations allowed us to extend our reach and impact to multiple areas of our community.

The spring term brought its own share of memorable moments. Activities Day was a particular highlight, as our Community Action students in Years 9 and 10 stepped into the role of Teaching Assistants for a day at local primary schools. Supporting children from Reception to Year 6, they developed vital skills such as communication, teamwork, and adaptability. This hands-on experience was invaluable for their growth and confidence.

Another significant moment of the term was a visit to the Bestwood and Bulwell Foodbank, where a small group of students from Years 9 and 10 gained a deeper understanding of the foodbank’s role and the challenges faced by many in North Nottingham. They worked alongside local volunteers to assemble food parcels, showing incredible empathy and kindness throughout.

Additionally, students continued their service with Guru Nanak’s Mission, serving meals to the local homeless community and demonstrating compassion and generosity at every step.

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Clubs & Societies

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Beast Club BEAST CLUB YEAR BOOK ENTRY 2023-2024 ECO SCHOOLS YEAR BOOK ENTRY 20232024 This year has, once again, been an exciting time for Beast Club but it has come with mixed The Eco-Schools programme changed quite emotions. The animals have continued to thrive significantly this year but, following some online and, for the first time in many years, a number of training and seminars, we were able to baby Giant African Land Snails have been born successfully engage with the new requirements. into the fold. Interest has continued to grow and The students carried out an initial review of the we have had several students selecting animal school’s current position in relation to the nine care as their DofE skills development choice.

Eco-Schools topic areas and selected Waste, However, we have had to say goodbye to many Energy, and Biodiversity as their priorities. In a Beast Club stalwarts and I personally would like large secondary school, it is harder to bring to thank Adam, C., Ben, S., Pranav, B., and Alex, about changes and so we decided to spread these T. for all their help in looking after the animals out over a three-year period, focussing on each over the years. Without their dedication, often in turn. popping in for extra sessions in their spare time, After much research, the students identified we would not have been able to build the further recycling schemes through Terracycle that menagerie we now have. we could realistically get involved in. We I would though like to pick out Isaac, B. for a purchased crisp packet recycling bins for the special thank you. He has been captain of Beast Dining Hall and Brasserie. A pen recycling bin is Club for a number of years and has played a key also stationed outside Student Services. The role in organising and training new members. He students have subsequently emptied these and also set up weekly care sheets to ensure all the taken them to the local collection points. This animals were properly looked after. Such has builds on all the excellent work that has been been his passion for Beast Club that he and his done on sending food waste to an anaerobic family, as a leaving gift, kindly donated to the digester, employing reusable ware at the Grabclub a full vivarium set-up, complete with our and-Go, and increasing the number of water very own Gold Dust Day Gecko! points to refill bottles. The Eco Schools group These students have left Beast Club in a fine would like to see this go even further but each of position and have ensured that others have the us needs to play a part in reducing, reusing, and confidence to step into their roles, which bodes recycling. The group welcomes any ideas from very well for the future. students, parents, and teachers.

Laurence, M.

E-Sports This year, we proudly entered three teams into the British Championships for both Rocket League and Valorant. Each team demonstrated exceptional skill and teamwork as they faced off against a diverse range of competitors from across the country. Their dedication and hard work paid off, as they managed to secure a runners-up medal, highlighting their impressive performance in the tournament. The experience not only showcased their gaming abilities but also fostered camaraderie and sportsmanship among the players.

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Ceramics Club

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Culture Club We were excited to participate in the Biology Culture Club last year, running many different projects such as cultivating ginger, growing slime molds, and even making a carnivorous plant swamp garden! One of our favourite activities during Culture Club was making our very own focaccia bread from scratch. First, we cultured our own yeast starter from raisins, and let it develop by feeding it flour and water. We tracked their progress over a three-week period and made our own focaccia bread in the Food and Nutrition classroom. We were amazed to discover that Mr Hipkiss owns a yeast culture that is now a decade old, and still makes bread from it!

Another of our favourite projects was cultivating oyster mushrooms. It seemed difficult at first but Mr Hipkiss taught us an easy method using a drinks bottle filled with hay that works every time!

The mushrooms were delicious and could keep on growing from the hay for several weeks. The slime mold was a non-edible, but equally fascinating project. The slime mold can solve mazes in order to find food. We even made a time-lapse video to see it complete the maze over a two-day period. Culture Club is important to us as we learned about things we usually wouldn’t learn about in class. It also taught us the skill of patience, as we had to wait for months for different types of bacteria to grow in our Winogradsky Column. Sometimes slowing down a little can reap excellent rewards!

By Uswah, N., and Anjali, A. (Year 11).

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Year 8 Food Club This year’s Food Club has included a variety of different activities from making food for Guru Nanak’s mission, to learning about food and the cuisine in different countries. At the beginning of the year, we made over 75 portions of Vegan Bolognaise for Guru Nanak and we learned the importance of getting involved in charity work helping those people less fortunate than us in our local community. Furthermore, we have enjoyed cooking carrot and coriander soup, beetroot brownies, and carrot cakes with homegrown ingredients from our school garden. Our celebrations have included, Diwali, Eid, and Hanukkah, and at Easter we enjoyed making cupcakes which we decorated by using sprinkles and buttercream. What I really like about Food club is that all the ingredients are provided by the school and a lot of them do not require lots amounts of work or time, so I am then able to make these recipes myself at home. However, this term we have loved the Conversational Food Club where we must improve our language skills whilst we learn to cook different French and Spanish dishes. So far, we have focused mainly on Spanish dishes and we have made the following: churros, pan con tomate (tomatoes with bread), and churros. We have also discussed the differences in the foods as well as the culture.

Overall, the food club this year has been a fantastic experience, and I have enjoyed all of it!

Jannatul, A. M. Year 8

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Photography Club The members of the Photography Club have made significant strides in developing their skills this year. Throughout our sessions, we have explored a diverse array of photographic styles and genres. This has included hands-on experimentation with still-life photography, where students learned the art of composition and the careful arrangement of objects. We also delved into studio lighting techniques, allowing members to understand how different light sources can dramatically alter the mood and tone of their images.

In addition, our group practiced using slow shutter speeds to capture movement, creating a sense of dynamism in their photographs.

Portrait photography has been another focus area, where students honed their skills in capturing the essence of their subjects through thoughtful framing and lighting adjustments.

A dedicated team of photographers from our club had the opportunity to cover several important school events, including Open Day and Sports Day. They worked diligently to document the excitement and spirit of these occasions, as well as to capture various activities offered through our co-curricular programs.

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Through these experiences, the club members are gaining valuable insights into enhancing their composition techniques. They are also becoming adept at navigating the different lighting scenarios presented in various school settings, which is essential for capturing high-quality images. Overall, this year has provided a rich and rewarding learning environment for aspiring photographers, fostering both creativity and technical proficiency.

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Young Enterprise It has been a really successful year for our Young Enterprise teams this year. With an updated format, we started the year with a Dragon’s Den activity where 5 teams pitched their ideas to a Den of Dragons including local business people and Mr Fear.

3 teams were selected to go forward and the final product ideas were: CorKraft – upcycling corks into trivets, coasters, key rings and snow men Fleurish – cards made out of recycled paper embedded with flower seeds Screensaver – an educational multiplication colour by answers book All 3 teams have worked really hard this year marketing and selling their products at various markets and school events. The main Market Day was held at West Bridgford’s farmers market with a 7.30am start on a cold February morning. The teams set up their stalls, showcased their merchandise and quite quickly started to sell to the general public. Fleurish sold out of birthday cards and greeting cards and regretted not making more Mother’s Day cards which were also in high demand.

The Nottinghamshire finals were held at NTU Business School this year and all 3 teams carried out a 4-minute presentation in front of the judges and local business people. CorKraft picked up the award for best presentation and Fleurish were awarded the best trade stand. But it was Screensaver won the whole event being crowned Nottinghamshire champions and going through to the regional finals in Leicester. They performed exceptionally well at the regional finals performing their presentation this time in front of 200 people including Stephen Thai of Ocean King Ltd who was the Midlands entrepreneur of the year in 2023.

They came away with the award for best Financial Management and some well-developed employability skills that they can eventually transfer into the workplace.

Well done to all the Young Entrepreneurs this year and I know that some of you are carrying your enterprises on to bigger things. Good Luck!

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Modern Foreign languages FRENCH FILM CLUB French film club runs on a Monday lunchtime for year 12 students. The club even attracted students who were not studying a modern foreign language at A level but wanted to enjoy films that demonstrated different cultures (and often a different sense of humour!). One of our favourite films was 'Le Diner de Cons', precisely for its humour not only in the jokes but the stereotypical French mannerisms and reactions. In terms of exploring French culture, there was no better film than 'Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis', a film which uses humour to contrast life in northern France to that in southern France. For those in the French A-level class, this was also an opportunity to explore some French classics that are on the A-level film study list (only one can be studied for the A-level).

For example, one of the first films we watched was La Haine, distinguishable by the fact that it is produced in black and white to represent the grey lives of those in the film who live without hope. Film club has been excellent for enriching our language with some particularly French turns of phrase, exploring the culture of all four corners of France, and most importantly for giving us all a smile on a weekly basis.

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Creative Arts

Art YEAR 8 YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE PARK TRIP On Friday 8th June, Year 8 students visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. This has been an annual trip for the Art Department, however visiting the sculpture park never gets old. The sculpture park is a large expanse of land filled with strategically placed sculptures. Each sculpture works with the landscape, framing or interacting with the space that it inhabits. The exhibitions are regularly changed and the forever changing landscape and weather provides fresh opportunities to view each sculpture.

Luckily the weather stayed dry and students were able to sit comfortably and draw the sculptures.

Anjali Kaur Thiara felt inspired by the sculpture, Unearthed Bronze Eroded Melpomene, by Daniel Arsham. She wrote this poem once she returned home from the trip. Her poem is accompanied by a selection of sketches made by students during the trip.

From earth's embrace, a form appears, Bronze and time, entwined with years, A goddess worn by nature's hand, Melpomene alone she stands.

Time has marked her, scarred her face, Each line a path, a silent grace, In her decay, we find the past, A timeless tale meant to last.

Her face eroded, yet still strong, A muse of sorry, an ancient song, Her beauty marred by time's slow drift, Yet in her stance a solemn gift.

In diamond shapes her essence glows, Through each eroded line, she shows The beauty found in fractured grace, The strength within her weathered face.

She speaks of stories deep and true, Of tragedy and life's review, Her presence, calm, yet full of pain, A reminder of what we gain.

We gaze upon her, see our fate, In diamond shapes, we contemplate, A legacy of time and space, In Melpomene's weathered face.

Anjali, K. T. 8D

INKTOBER October is now Inktober in the Art Department. Inktober has quickly become a worldwide drawing event, gaining a strong community of artists and nonartists. Created by Jake Parker in 2009, Inktober was designed to improve his inking skills and develop a positive drawing habit.

Students and staff took part in the month-long drawing challenge. Using a daily prompt as inspiration for their work.

The rules were simple, be inspired and get drawing! The daily drawings were then uploaded to the department's Instagram.

Inktober is gaining a strong following at the High School and will be back in October 2024. Check out the department's Instagram account artdepartment_nhs.

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LIFE DRAWING & CERAMICS CLUB

In the summer term, the Art department once again invited family, friends, students, and staff Miss Kirbyshire ran life drawing sessions for to enjoy the Annual Summer Art Exhibition. The Year 10 - 13 students. The session ran through evening was well attended and saw a real variety the Autumn and Spring terms. Students produced of visitors this year. The exhibition contained sketches working from live models. The sessions artwork created by Years 11 and 13. The A Level were very successful and students enjoyed Fine Art students produced large-scale artwork learning about drawing anatomy. exploring themes. The GCSE students had created a varied selection of imaginative and The Ceramics Club ran every Monday at inspiring pieces. This year’s exam themes lunchtime. The club was well attended and included the starting points of Natural Forms, students created a selection of exciting pieces.

Shadows, and many more.

They had the opportunity to throw pots on the potter's wheel. This proved to be great fun but it was definitely harder and messier than expected.

By the end of the year, students had created autumnal pumpkins, Christmas elf shoes, vases, and much more.

EXHIBITIONS The Art Department ran two art exhibitions this year. The Spring Art Exhibition ran alongside the Spring Chamber Festival. The event was a joy to attend, work from Year 7 - 9 students decorated the Music Hall. Parents, students, and staff had a chance to view the work and then listen to students perform.

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YEAR 7 INTO THE WOODS MURAL This year’s Year 7 mural was inspired by the theme ‘Into the Woods’.

Students created paintings of animals, birds and fauna, they created lino prints of moths and mushrooms and made drawings of leaves and pinecones. Mrs Hainsworth sketched out a rough outline of a woodland covering the full length of the wall.

Students then collaged and painted textures into the trees and forest floor before adding their work to the wall.

The finished mural was assembled in the summer term. The students worked with such energy and enthusiasm that this year's mural spilled onto 2 extra panels.

To accompany the woodland mural students also produced a ceramic snail.

Everyone enjoyed making a snail and the sculptures sat proudly in the centre of the Summer Exhibition.

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Music AUTUMN CONCERT: LOUIS, A. This year’s Autumn Concert proved to be an exciting and diverse start to the music programme of the year. Each ensemble spent hours preparing the hugely varied set of pieces, ranging from the performances of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony and Dittersdorf’s Quintet No. 6 from the Senior Orchestra and Jet Quintet to more modern compositions of many styles, including the Sesame Street theme, ‘Happy’ by Pharell Williams, and so much more. This concert also served as the entry to music for a number of Years 7 students, who were featured among the ensembles, as well as in the Year 7 Quintet, who performed 'Basque Dance' and Handel's 'Solemn March'. The evening finished with an excellent performance of music from 'How to Train Your Dragon', a recognisable and exciting way to end the first concert of the year - setting the scene for all of the music to come in the following months.

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SPRING CONCERT: MUSKAN, G. This year’s Spring Concert was a fantastic celebration of our school’s musical talent, filled with moments that left the audience both moved and exhilarated. The evening began with the Concert Band, led by Mr Pepper, transporting the audience to a magical place with ‘A Disneyland Celebration. Of course, one of the evening’s highlights was the Year 7 chorus, who brought smiles to everyone’s faces with a medley from Shrek. Their soulful rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” was especially moving, showcasing their budding talent and enthusiasm.

The Chamber Choir went on to deliver a hauntingly beautiful version of “The Wayfaring Stranger”, featuring a flute solo from Hannah (Y13). Their powerful performance of “Rise Up”, with solos from Isla and Phoebe (Y12) was truly inspiring. A fantastic addition to the programme this year was the Monsoon Ragas’, playing ‘Megham Karukatha’ (Darkening Clouds), and was a great display of the instrumental and vocal prowess of Ria and Preeti (Y13).

Choir and Band; the choir delivered a heartfelt arrangement of “Kiss from a Rose”, followed by the dramatic intensity of “Skyfall”, fantastically arranged by Otto W(Y12).

Following the interval, the evening took an adventurous turn with the Orchestra’s rendition of “Pirates of the Caribbean” and Tom H (Y13) impressed with his skilled performance of Monti’s “Czardas”.

The Upper School Choir brought a contemporary touch with Billie Eilish and Finneas’s “What Was I Made For”, and a touch of classical elegance was added with the Senior Strings’ arrangement of Mozart’s Rondo alongside Adam C’s (Y13) poignant solo in “Danse Bacchanale”. As always, the Big Band brought electrifying performances of Zawinul’s “Birdland” and Jolson’s “Me and My Shadow” with Jay and Will (Y13) shining as soloists.

The concert then concluded on a high, with all performers coming together to deliver a rousing As is tradition, a special segment of the evening rendition of “Raise You Up” - vocal solos from was dedicated to the Y13 Leavers, and along with Jay and Otto left the audience in awe and brought interspersed speeches throughout the evening the evening to a triumphant close. The Spring featuring reflections on our school careers over the Concert was an amazing testament to the years, I directed the Y13 Leavers’ incredible dedication and talent of all staff and students – I’m sure it will be remembered fondly by all who attended!

SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL: NEHA, B. On the penultimate night of the school year was our long-awaited Nottingham High School Summer Music Festival. A brilliant opportunity for all our musicians and singers alike to come together in front of the whole school community and perform in a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. All groups, bands and ensembles performed to an astoundingly high level, including our Junior groups, really highlight the diversity and skill in our music department. For me some of the highlights were our Concert Band who performed “The Phantom of the Opera”, Junior Chamber Choir who performed a variety of difficult repertoire and of course our Grand Finale, an Ode to the Beatles. In this lively upbeat piece, all performers from the night of music had a role, whether in the band or choir and to me it turned out to be the perfect way to end the night, and in fact the entire year.

I would like to thank the whole music department and Mrs. Soulsby for helping to organise everything and allowing us to experience this type of performance, but I would also like to thank our wonderful catering team who provided all the great food and drinks that night for everyone to enjoy. Everyone performed with enthusiasm, confidence, and concentration and I can assure you that we are all now looking forward to performing again next year and making our Summer Music festival even bigger and better in the future.

CHORAL FESTIVAL & GREG LINK WORKSHOPS: OTTO, W. On Wednesday 6th March we were privileged to have Greg Link run a series of workshops with our vocal ensembles in the recital hall. Being the second year Greg has done these, it was great to see him again and have the opportunity to really refine what we had prepared, for an informal concert that evening. Greg is a really skilled and seasoned consort singer, and it was no surprise the magic he worked with our chamber choir and barbershop quartet. The latter had, after half an hour of focused detail work, transformed into a great ensemble with a rich sound. The advice he gave us is still something we revisit to this day. Everyone else who worked with him that day also found it an encouraging experience, and the concert afterward went down really well with our audience. The highlight was the end of the concert where Greg taught everyone a song and we performed as a collective group; it gave everyone goosebumps!

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CHAMBER FESTIVAL/KS3 ART EXHIBITION: JOE MORAN Y7 The Chamber Music Festival & KS3 Art Exhibition was a wonderful showcase of the musical and artistic ability of pupils at Nottingham High School. The music on offer ranged from gentle classical pieces to rock pieces and pop songs. The many hours of practice and rehearsals by individual groups had clearly paid off, and it was a fantastic concert enjoyed by all. Some of the ensembles performing included: The String Trio, Senior Saxophones, Percussion Ensemble, Clarinet Trio, the Year 11 Chamber Ensemble, and more. The Year 7 Quintet played the Game of Thrones main theme, which intrigued all, and the Percussion Ensemble played a piece from the video game Undertale called Megalovania. There were also two other quintets: The Jet Quintet and the Brass Quintet. In my opinion, all the groups performed so well, and the audience enjoyed themselves. The art on display in the recital hall included works across the age groups, ranging from Year 7 works to Year 10. Overall, it was a fantastic event, thoroughly enjoyed by all.

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MASTERCLASSES, WORKSHOPS & RECITALS Y8 Drumming Workshop: Hannah G This year, students in year 8 got to experience a drumming workshop, which was led by Mr Wood, a professional drummer and teacher in the East Midlands. We learned about different types of percussion instruments and the music genres they are used for. It was great to watch Mr Wood show us the different rudiments that are used in percussion. After he had explained various techniques, we were able to try things out on practice pads. It was a very fun and challenging experience. At the end of the session, everyone performed together and we were given the chance.

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Y9 OPERA DAY: SARA, T. This year, the Y9 musicians all took part in an opera day, where we were taught different parts from the opera ‘Carmen’, an opera in 4 acts by the French composer George Bizet. We were taught to sing the ‘Toreador March’ and learned various storylines from the opera to aid with our compositions, as each group was given a separate storyline to create music for. This was an excellent opportunity for us, as it challenged our vocal range, our composing ability, and our improvisational skills. An opera company people came into school on the day to guide us on how to go about with our compositions and at the end, they gave an impeccable performance of the ending of the opera. After we completed our own compositions, we had the opportunity to perform them to an audience which was again a great way to develop our musician skills and the audience found it particularly enjoyable. Overall, the opera day was very successful in displaying our skills which we developed over time. I, for one, loved the opera day as it allowed me to develop the skills that I would need to continue studying music further and I strongly believe that it is a brilliant experience that next year's Y9 musicians will thoroughly enjoy.

YOUNG COMPOSER OF THE YEAR MAY 2024: TANISH, P. “It’s truly an amazing thing. Listening to music can conjure up hundreds of emotions from joy to sadness and even bittersweet feelings such as nostalgia. But composition itself is one of my favourite parts of music, so I was honoured to be the Key Stage 3 winner of this year’s NHS Young Composer Of The Year competition. This summer term, many avid students competed against each other with the aim being to create a piece of music to be performed at a festival of some sort; there was much freedom with how this could be achieved with some students deciding to make authentic pieces on their own instruments which they recorded, whilst others took advantage of technology to create online music. No matter the genre, form, or style, the main aim of this competition was to create an interesting piece of music that had both a suitable structure to the theme and communicated well with the audience. Many students did this by choosing specific themes or festivals such as the season of “spring” or the Japanese festival of “Toro Nagashi”, and then working around these themes by choosing specific instruments and tunes, all of which the school provided support and equipment for. I was proud to win my category by exploring festivity within the season of “summer” through online music making and singing on GarageBand, but undoubtedly this was a difficult decision for our prestigious adjudicator ON Robert Marshall and our school teachers, considering the high-level of competition coupled with the high amount of entries this year. Overall, this was an extremely enjoyable competition which provided everyone with the opportunity to be creative and explore music.”

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BRIDGE CUP OCTOBER: ABI, C. Filled with incredible choir performances and beautiful poetry reciting the Bridge Cup was a highlight of the year to many. Opening the competition, we were treated to some amazing performances of the house singing and verse-speaking choirs, with Maples winning with ‘Come Alive’ from The Greatest Showman and ‘Oh the Places You’ll go’ by Dr. Seuss. After several rehearsals which became much more stressful as the performance drew closer, we managed to pull it off and earn first place. Following that was the next event - Individual music. The standard of entries was very high across the school, and the prize-winners concert featured a variety of pieces including many different instruments such as drums and violins. Overall, the Bridge Cup was an amazing event showcasing the fantastic abilities of so many pupils from across the school. In particular, I loved the opportunity to represent Maples as part of the verse-speaking choir and I am excited to see what next year’s competition holds.

TROMBONE MASTERCLASS: ISOBEL, DAWES.: VICTORIA, O. One of the highlights of the year for me was meeting the incredibly talented trombonist Isobel Daws, winner of the 2018 BBC's Young Musician of the Year Brass Category, and the 2017 BBC Young Brass Award (Radio 2).

In the morning, I went to the Player Hall, along with several other students and teachers to hear Isobel perform. Isobel thrilled us with a repertoire of contrasting pieces; the tuneful melodies transporting us through an assortment of genres, from classical to contemporary.

Next, Isobel conducted masterclasses for students who play brass instruments. I was fortunate to be invited to attend a masterclass, since I play the trombone. In my one-to-one session with Isobel, I played my exam pieces and Isobel guided me on how I could play more effectively, such as how to hold my slide. Isobel was generous with her advice and taught me breathing techniques to achieve higher notes.

I loved the opportunity to meet and learn from Isobel. Not only was I inspired by Isobel’s terrific performance but I was impressed by her down-to-earth personality despite her success. As a female trombonist, Isobel is an excellent role model for me. I would recommend everyone to join her masterclass in the future!

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JAZZ & ITALIAN EVENING: SEB, H. The themed jazz evening full of music, food, decorations, and highly questionable outfits is an exhilarating yearly tradition of the High School.

This year was thankfully no different, with performances from the school’s Big Bands to Barbershops, lasagna, and salad-stuffed parents (plus some exploring the depths of wine bottles), kaleidoscopic lighting accompanied by bunting, and the stark contrast between the students' slick mafia suits and Mr Lole’s gold sequined shirt.

The evening opened with jazz standards from the Y12 A-Level students, with guest, Old Nottinghamian, Josie Sleigh. The Big Bands followed with Latin and jazz-inspired sets, sandwiching a series of La La Land Duets. The Y9-12 barbershops came soon after, with six vocal solos in hot pursuit. Proceeding these virtuosic performers was the Y10 Sax Ensemble’s version of The Muppets theme and the Staff Band’s 1950s Italian classics. To end, the Senior Big Band returned alongside their favourite popinspired set, featuring Moves Like Jagger and Uptown Funk, among several mambo and salsainspired melodies.

As usual, the concert was a Brobdingnagian success, and everyone is already eager to hear what Mr Toon has decided for next year.

CAROL SERVICE, DECEMBER 2023 PHOEBE, F. This year, we celebrated Christmas and the New Year with the Nine Lessons and Carol service, hosted in the beautiful St Mary’s Church in the Lace Market. Being one of my favourite musical events of the year, I was excited to be part of the service. This included some readings from various members of the school community, ranging from current and past students to teachers and support staff. Besides reading, several choirs performed traditional hymns. These were sung beautifully, and one of my favourites was when the school choirs joined a community choir, with teachers and parents from the school community, to sing Carol of the Bells together. One of my favourite songs that I heard was sung by the lower school choir, called ‘From A Distance’; they did a great job and sang beautifully. I also had the opportunity to perform a duet, which was an amazing experience. Following the service, there were some lovely mince pies on offer, which I know were much appreciated!

STRINGS MASTERCLASS: BRAIMAH KANNEH-MASON – ADAM, C. This year we welcomed Braimah KannehMason to our school. He held a masterclass for violin/viola players which I had the privilege of attending. Playing for him was intimidating due to his impressive reputation, but his feedback was very kind and he pointed out many technical things I had never considered. His lunchtime recital was a joy to listen to and the Recital Hall was packed full: I won't forget his visit any time soon.

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Drama

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The Drama Department has had another wonderful year, full of academic and cocurricular successes. The end of 2023 saw some changes in personnel, with the departure of Mrs Govinden and the introduction of Mr Huntbach as the new Head of Department in January 2024.

Additionally, Dr Askew joined the department in Easter as Mrs Robertson began her Maternity Leave. Despite these personnel changes, the Drama department once again showcased a wide range of talents and fostered artistic growth, creativity, and self-expression among its students.

23/24 Upper School Production – ‘Chicago’ On Thursday 7th, Friday 8th, and Saturday 9th December, students, staff, and parents were wowed by the Main School Production of ‘Chicago’. Under the wonderful directing of Mrs Govinden and the watchful eye of Mrs Soulsby, the cast sang, danced, and delighted three full house audiences with their rendition of the 1920s classic. The audience came in to see the stage, raised high on the stage with the band seated above with two sets of curved stairs coming down to a lower-level platform. The black and silver of the jail complimented the sparkle on the costumes, with the girls in beaded drop waist dresses, the boys in crisp white shirts and open bow ties, and our two Master of Ceremonies, Max Bailey and Vuyo Mukange in tailcoats. The wigs that the female characters wore disguised some of them from even their parents!

Opening the show with the well-known ‘All That Jazz’ Ria J’s voice, poise, and attitude as Velma Kelly set the stage with the amazing ensemble cast in full voice and sharp choreography from Mrs Ryan. The show swiftly moved on to meeting Ffion Thomas as the bored housewife come villain Roxie Hart, who duped her husband Amos, played and sung beautifully

by Fraser D, into taking responsibility for her crime of killing Fred Casely, performed by Freddie L. We were then taken to Cook County Jail, and met with ‘The Merry Murderesses’ letting the audience members know that their dearly departed partners definitely ‘Had It Coming’. Sophie F, Zoe F, Bea H, Lucy B, Isla S, Zara C, Lucy M, and Jasmiya S were outstanding in their many roles, singing, dancing and acting throughout the whole performance. Isla S also became Mama Morton, showcasing her voice during the number ‘When You’re Good to Mama’ and letting the audience know that while crime doesn’t pay, her inmates certainly did! The sophisticated lawyer Billy Flynn, portrayed by William M, showed his true colours, after telling us ‘All I Care About is Love’ that he really just wanted the money! One of many standout performers was Otto W, playing the role of Mary Sunshine, showcasing his vocal range and ability during ‘A Little Bit of Good’ and creating sympathy for poor Roxie, which I am not sure she deserved!

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The ensemble, including Christopher M, Charlie M, Eron D, Finley R, Jayeola I, Leo S, William H, Max V, Lucy M, Jasmiya and Zara, were listening to every word as reporters as they danced and sang in the fast and furious ‘Both Reached for the Gun’. We were then taken into Roxie’s imagination, as Ffion sang about Roxie’s dreams of being famous, with her 6 boys, played by Christopher, Charlie, Finley, Jayeola, Leo and William H, lifting her around the stage whilst belting out the number! As Velma discovered she was no longer the favourite criminal on trial in the press, she tries to get Roxie on side - she needs a replacement for her sister in their show. It does show some poor forward thinking for Velma, maybe she shouldn’t have shot her in the first place! Ria showed the vulnerable side of Velma during ‘I Can’t Do It Alone’ dancing both parts for Roxie and the audience to see how the two-hander used to work. Ffion’s characterisation of Roxie shone through, letting Velma know that Roxie is the star now! Unfortunately for both, another female murderer is brought to jail, and both Roxie and Velma realise that they are no longer the hottest news in town. Ria and Ffion’s voices blended beautifully as they sung the powerful ‘My Own Best Friend’, both pushing the variety of emotions and feelings that the characters were feeling. However, Roxie let the news slip that she was expecting a baby - making sure she was now the one to watch!

After a well-deserved interval for the cast, production team, and band, we joined the ensemble back in jail, excited for Roxie and her (non-existent) baby in ‘Me and My Baby’. Fraser Duffy then showed us exactly how Amos felt during ‘Mr Cellophane’, performed with a truthful understanding of the character, ensuring the audience felt empathy for the position he had been left in, footing the bill for the lawyer after his wife had killed her boyfriend and asked him to take the blame, not to mention the fact that the ‘baby’ couldn’t possibly be his! Ria portrayed Velma’s plan for how to create sympathy within the jury during ‘When Velma Takes The Stand’ but soon after, the whole jail is shaken with the news that the first female was hung for murder - making both Velma and Roxie very nervous for their trials. William M took to the stage showcasing Billy the lawyer as Billy the Ringleader during ‘Razzle Dazzle’ with the ensemble supporting and becoming the judge, the jury, and reporters. Their careful direction and rehearsed choreography shone through, showing the way the judge and jury were taken in by the dazzling and confusing rendition of ‘Courtroom Drama’ and we then jumped to Mama Morton and Velma listening to Mary Sunshine reporting on the radio - Not Guilty!

Unfortunately for Roxie, this became old news as soon as it was news! The performance ended with Velma and Roxie, together at last, with Ria and Ffion performing an amazing rendition of ‘Nowadays’ and their fabulous dancing to ‘Hot Honey Rag’ before the entire ensemble returned to the stage for a reprise of ‘All That Jazz’.

All the cast members had obviously worked extremely hard, being triple threats with their dancing, singing, and acting ability, with the added challenge of heels, tap dancing (William H, Jayeola, Christopher, Sophie, Zoe, and Bea) lots of costume changes and a variety of entrances and exits to the stage!

Credit must be given to the members of the band, who raised up on their elevated staging platform, performed so well some audience members thought they must have been professionals, to the Production Team, for running all the technical aspects of the show, including the challenging radio mics and light-up stairs, and special thanks to Mrs Riley for creating the glittering ‘CHICAGO’ sign above the stage.

As Mrs Govinden’s last production at Nottingham High School, it was definitely a case of saving the best until last, and it has been a pleasure and a joy to work with her for the past 12 years.

Choreography - Mrs Ryan Theatre Technician - Tregi Worsley Musical Director - Mrs Soulsby Assistant Musical Director - Dr Yates Director - Mrs Govinden

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23/24 LOWER SCHOOL PRODUCTION – ‘JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT’ Another highlight of the year was the Lower School production of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’. This show proved so popular that an additional performance was added to meet demand. The professional standards on display from the performers, the Band, and the Production Team were something to be immensely proud of and set the bar high for future shows. Our A-Level Drama & Theatre students summed the show up nicely in this review: The show opened with the four Narrators, Abi C, Manuella A, Charlotte S, and Sophie F, who instantly hooked the audience with their stunning vocals and excellent stage presence. The four narrators clearly told the story of Joseph throughout the show whilst also maintaining high energy and beautiful harmonies. The audience were then introduced to Joseph, played

by Maxwell C, with the song “Any Dream Will Do” where he perfectly encapsulated Joseph’s humble yet determined nature. Another favourite from the audience was the emotional song “Close Every Door”. From the well-deserved cheers during the bows, it was clear that his performance during the show was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience.horoughly enjoyed by the audience.

Joseph’s eleven brothers also featured heavily, often provoking intended laughs from the audience, in particular during the song “Those Canaan Days” where they adopted melancholy, comical French accents. Another audience favourite was the Pharaoh, played by Charlie Merritt who performed an excellent Elvis impression during “Song of the King”. The Ensemble also performed beautiful vocals during many of the songs with excellent choreography with high energy and joy, which really elevated the show to the next level.

In addition, the impressive and brightly coloured set and costumes, in particular the enormous rainbow coat that filled the stage during the finale, added to the energy and joyous feel of the show. The production would not have been the same without the incredible Band who perfectly underscored the entire show.

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23/24 STUDIO PRODUCTION – ‘SHE’S BAD NEWS’ The 2024 Studio Production was an excellent opportunity for the A-Level Drama & Theatre Studies students to direct the Lower School students in an entirely original jukebox musical entitled ‘She’s Bad News’.

This review by Tam Tadious tells us more: The story follows two new students entering the crazy world of their new school. Distinct cliques were apparent, explored through familiar songs from ‘Heathers’ and ‘Mean Girls’, creating the soundtrack to the insubordinate ‘bad’ kids, and songs from Thirteen and School of Rock became the harmony of the ‘good’ kids.

The audience were transported into the often-daunting world of being ‘new’, and were taken on the journey of learning the value of friendship and the importance of developing meaningful, genuine connections. The cast was phenomenal: confident, talented, hilarious, but also beautifully sensitive in moments that tugged at the heartstrings of all members of the audience. A notable mention to Zoe F, Bea Hs, and Ben H for their writing, direction, and choreography, which was truly exceptional, and resulted in a wonderful production.

23/24 CURRICULUM PERFORMANCES OF NEAS Curriculum performance evenings were a further highlight of the department.

These allowed the school community to celebrate the fantastic work and creativity of Drama students at Nottingham High School. The Year 10s showcased their dramatic talents through a scripted performance evening featuring excepts from their GCSE study texts including ‘Find Me’, ‘Blackout’, ‘Girls Like That’, and ‘Adult Child Dead Child’. Some very challenging texts were expertly explored to create innovative, physical-theatre-led performances.

Additionally, the Year 13 students, drawing heavily on the performance style of Steven Berkoff, performed an extended extract of Martin McDonagh’s ‘The Pillowman’ to an invited audience of parents and an AQA Examiner. This was an extremely impressive performance - a result of the student’s talent, dedication, and hard work. Deservedly, this work received a mention in the AQA Examiner’s Report.

23/24 LAMDA successes In the Summer Term, the Drama department was pleased to receive an impressive array of LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) awards. Once more our students demonstrated exceptional achievement with 100% of the cohort achieving Merit or Distinction grades. Their accomplishments are a testament to their talent, dedication, and hard work. We extend our appreciation to Mrs Ray, our peripatetic LAMDA teacher, whose guidance and instruction have been instrumental in our students’ success.

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23/24 HOUSE DRAMA COMPETITION The year also saw students’ involvement in House Drama performances, where students from each House collaborated to present short extracts from published plays. These performances fostered healthy inter-house competition, teamwork, and creativity among the students, creating a sense of camaraderie within each House. Huge congratulations to White’s House who were awarded the Boehm Cup for their inventive and original take on a short horror-themed script. A special mention must go to Vusi as the scary bedsheet-wearing ghost! Pro-tip: when selecting a bedsheet to wear for a ghost, do not opt for a fitted one!

DRAMA DEPARTMENT RESIDENTIAL TRIP TO LONDON The Drama Department’s Cocurricular trip to London was a fast-paced but fun weekend, taking in two award-winning West End shows ‘Mrs Doubtfire’ and ‘Stranger Things, as well as an insightful trip behind the scenes at the historical Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. This was an excellent opportunity for students across the wider school to experience the best of acclaimed live theatre.

23/24 DRAMA COCURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES Other theatrical outings saw the KS5 cohort see Frantic Assembly’s interpretation of ‘Metamorphosis’ and Gecko Theatre’s ‘Kin’, whilst the Lower School enjoyed a visit closer to home with ‘Shrek the Musical’.

It was a pleasure to see behind-the-scenes Drama activities thriving, especially during weekly Production Team lessons, led by our talented Theatre Technician, Tregi. Students learned all about theatrical lighting, stage management, sound, set, and costume design. The Production Team also enjoyed a glimpse behind the scenes of a working theatre during a trip to the Nottingham Playhouse.

Throughout the academic year, students had the opportunity to engage in a diverse range of workshops. We were pleased to welcome professional theatre companies such as Frantic Assembly, and Highly Sprung. Years 12 and 13 were privileged to experience Gecko Theatre, opening doors to avant-garde theatre and innovative physical theatre techniques. We were pleased to welcome staff and students from The Minster school, as part of our Outreach initiative to share in this unique experience. These sessions provided a unique opportunity for students to explore unconventional approaches to theatre and to be inspired to create their own Gecko-based work for their NEA Devising project. Meanwhile, Year 10 collaborated with Frantic Assembly, a renowned theatre company celebrated for their ground-breaking physical theatre performances.

The Drama department continues to forge ahead with new and innovative approaches, whilst inspiring and empowering further generations of actors, directors, producers and theatre enthusiasts within the School community. For the 24/25 academic year, the Drama department has created the Thespian Society – a termly opportunity for all students across the school to experience a diverse range of local theatre. Additionally, the Drama School Clinic is an opportunity to encourage Upper School students to explore Drama School as a Higher Education option, offering tailored interview and audition support alongside visits to accredited Drama Schools.

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This year the Production Team has been working very hard to ensure that all the productions at Nottingham High School were designed and run at the highest quality and with exceptional skill.

Starting the year off with creating the dramatic set and style of ‘Chicago’ they constructed the highlevel staging needed to house the band and the set space. They completed research into the 1920s era, looking for examples of clothes and hairstyles, and seeing what we already had in the Props and Costume store. Their hard work continued with learning how to run both the lighting on the new FLX console and 22 radio mics, allowing the cast to be seen during their amazing performance and letting the audience hear their spectacular singing. This immensely technically complicated production was run by Year 10, 11, and 12 students, from the Front of the House all the way through to the last note. Their hard work and dedication showed at all three full-house performances. We said goodbye to the Year 11 students, and hello to the new Year 9 students as they worked to create the multi-purpose set for both the Junior School Production of ‘My Son Pinocchio’ and ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’ building treads, walls, pits, and pyramids and painting a lot of blue and yellow! They worked with the Art Department during our Spring Activities day to create the hieroglyphics on the Proscenium Arch, as well as continuing their learning journeys within the areas of sound, lighting, stage management, and construction. Just before the performances, the members of the Production Team had the opportunity to visit backstage at Nottingham Playhouse, looking around a fully working theatre, and visiting the areas that the public rarely gets to see, the painting frame, the props department, and wardrobe. This gave them an insight into the workings of a producing theatre, and to see how we replicate that at Nottingham High School.

Members of the Production Team worked on ‘My Son Pinocchio’, as Assistant Stage Managers and follow-spot operators, before getting stuck into ‘Joseph’, again creating amazing lighting for each of the numbers, assisting with costume changes, sorting props, and mixing the complicated sound with radio mics. They also ensured that every performer appeared on stage with the right props, and wearing the right costume.

The Production Team never fails to impress with their professionality and hard work, taking on every and any challenge given to them to ensure that every performance, no matter what area of the school, is performed to the topmost level, enabling the performers to concentrate on acting, singing and dancing, without worrying about anything else. I thank them for their dedication and spirit which they bring to every event, be it after school on a Monday, a rehearsal on a Sunday, or a performance night at the end of a long week.

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Bridge Cup

Bridge Cup Speaking

Bridge Cup Singing

From the Archive ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO : FAREWELL TO A HEADMASTER 1925 Dr. George Sherbrook Turpin was the son of a Nottingham provision merchant and had been educated at the High School (1874-81) before gaining a major scholarship for Science at St John’s College Cambridge where he was awarded many qualifications accolades and prizes. In 1901, from a field of 38 applicants and at the age of 36, Turpin was appointed the first non-classicist Headmaster at the school reflecting the new trajectory of the modern world. The challenges of his tenure included the 1st World War with the loss of over 227 former pupils, many very young. War also necessitated the extraordinary though temporary employment of female teachers. Financially the loss of grant funding for Science and Art and the proposed restitution of funding being linked to the loss of budgetary independence from the City Council governance meant that politically there were hard fights to be had. The school did not have its own playing fields and using the Forest brought the worst kind of attention from other local boys; the school buildings, only 35 years old were “already out of date, not having been satisfactorily built for their purpose originally”. There were no science labs to speak of. Dr Turpin drove the creation of the Preparatory School, originally with two small forms educating boys from the age of eight to eleven in preparation for joining the High School much as the Junior School does today. Working with John Dane Player, ON, and then Governor, farm land was bought in Mapperley Park, and playing fields were created. Turpin added an afternoon of sport to the curriculum and Rugby overtook Soccer as the winter game. He also oversaw a huge redesign and rebuild of the badly planned original Old School, into the multi-roomed school we still use today. Electric light was installed in 1924 and a handsome canteen was provided. Turpin instituted the Prefect system and created the House System. Under his tenure, the pupil roll rose from 370 to almost 700 during the war years. The school grew and thrived. Either as a tribute to him or possibly on his own initiative a photograph album was created and now resides complete in the Archive. It represents a complete survey of the school in the spring he left, including every single pupil and teacher, every team, the Officers and Ranks of the Officer Training Corps (now CCF) plus the rooms, lobbies, laboratories, and War Memorial that were the pride of the school in 1925. A complete portrait of the school one hundred years ago frozen in time and datable by the calendar in the Headmaster’s vacated office.

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Maples’

House What an exceptional year for Maples' House, securing the Wheeler Cup for an impressive 9th straight year! I am thrilled by the dedication our students demonstrated across numerous events and charitable activities this year. My personal highlights were the events that involved members of the House from all year groups; House Rowing, Bridge Cup choirs, and Sports Day. During each of these events, it was wonderful to see the teamwork and House spirit embodied by all involved. Not only did this result in highquality performances, but it ensured that students contributed wholeheartedly and received a real sense of achievement.

The leadership of students whether in Sports teams, Music and Drama rehearsals, or when arranging and supporting charitable events, has been particularly evident this year, proving essential in maintaining the high standards of Maples’ House. A key component of Maples’ success is found in our charity work. It was great to welcome Adam back from Refugee Roots who thanked us for the fundraising completed this year (the ‘Move-a-thon’ proved particularly popular) and informed us as to how our support helps those in the local community and further afield.

News Thank you all for your contributions to our charitable efforts, the impact of which is felt by many. A big thank you to the dedicated tutors of Maples' House for motivating their tutees, and to the outgoing House Captains for their leadership and enthusiasm. Best wishes to our new captains, Ollie S and Phoebe F, whose passion for both the House events and fundraising will no doubt result in another fantastic year. Reflecting on this year, I am filled with pride and gratitude for the accomplishments and camaraderie of Maples' House. As we thank the outgoing Year 13’s for their contributions, I look forward to welcoming the new students in Year 7 and 12, and to the year ahead.

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Cooper’s

House It has been another fun and fulfilling year for Cooper’s house. There have as ever, been a good number of events taking part between the houses and Cooper’s have certainly had a fair amount of success in winning a number of them. Firstly though, it is important to celebrate the amount of involvement there has been from students. Without students signing up for things and coming along at lunch and after school every week we would have no house competitions. The year started off with the Bridge Cup and Max Bailey led the verse speaking choir whilst Anna Barsham and Ria Johnson led the singing choir. Both gave it their all and I am always so impressed by the sixth formers, for picking songs and poems, putting together an arrangement, and then selflessly giving up their breaks and lunchtimes for rehearsals.

In terms of success, Cooper’s have done well across a large number of different events, winning house climbing overall, and house chess, of particular note was our winning of the Hind Chess trophy for the year. We also had overall wins for house netball and badminton. Finally, one of my favourite events to watch, is senior house debating. The house events allow for such a varied group of students to try different things and to have success in a number of them as well is fantastic.

News This year our house charity has moved from ‘The Rosie May Foundation’ to ‘Chardi Kala’ which is a charity set up by the family of some students within the school to help provide equipment for people living with Parkinson’s disease. It is a cause that is close to many people’s hearts and is great to be supporting. We have raised money so far with a year 7 charity football tournament which is always popular, a bake sale, the 3 peaks challenge in Yorkshire, and a couple of other smaller events. We aim to continue our support of this brilliant charity next year and raise more funds for a brilliant cause.

I would like to say a big thank you to Jane A and Max B for all their work as house captains. They have been a great support to the house and I hope they have enjoyed it.

This coming year, we welcome Omar A and Alexandra A who I am confident will carry to baton well for the house.

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Mellers’

House It has been a privilege to enjoy my first year as the head of Mellers House.

Whether they have been running Crosscountry or playing Chess, debating eloquently or climbing precipitously, singing harmonically or rowing furiously, Mellers’ House has really impressed with what they’re capable of. A few personal highlights have included a spirited rendition of Backstreet Boys at the Bridge Cup, an exhilarating House Rowing competition, and of course, winning Sports Day! The level of participation has been nothing short of outstanding, with nearly every member of the House contributing at least once, and many demonstrating their enthusiasm by engaging in multiple events each term. House spirit is strong and anyone who has witnessed us do a ‘Viking Thunder Clap’ would struggle to disagree!

At the onset of the year, Mellers’ House showcased its prowess in the Bridge Cup, securing victory in the Individual Music category and achieving commendable secondplace finishes in both Group Choir with Back Street Boys ‘I Want it that Way’ and the Group Verse with Roald Dahl’s ‘Television Poem’.

Huge credit is due to Bea and Jay for their exceptional leadership during these events.

News Speaking of leadership, I must extend my sincere appreciation to Ujesh and Millie, who served as exemplary House Captains, exhibiting unwavering enthusiasm, engagement, and leadership in all House affairs.

Nottingham-based Operation Orphan remained our House charity this year, and I am grateful to all House members who supported this cause. Special recognition is owed to those who contributed to the House Bake Sale, the Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge, the Easter Egg Collection, and the House Swimathon. Aditi and Krish deserve special credit for this.

I would like to extend my gratitude to all those who are now leaving the school who have contributed to Mellers’ during their time here. As we bid farewell to our past members I extend a warm welcome to Annabel D and Krish C as they step into their roles as the new House Captains. Both have already shown wonderful enthusiasm for the House and I am confident they will do an excellent job.

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White’s

House What an exciting year for our House community! The House calendar is fuller than ever before with chess, badminton, drama, and debating. Big wins for us include coming first in the Junior Chess competition, Junior and Senior General Knowledge Quiz, Year 8 badminton, Year 13 table tennis, and House Drama. A big thank you should be given here to Zoe F and Ben H who took the lead in producing and directing this piece which brought the cup home to us. Almost as competitive as Sports Day was the House Rowing competition and we were so close to being the winners, missing out narrowly by about 3 seconds. This was a great activity to get all Year groups involved and the atmosphere was infectious! Bridge Cup events had a good uptake of volunteers this year but next year we’re looking for even more, especially for Verse Speaking. Both Singing Choir and Verse Speaking are brilliant opportunities for our House participants to get involved in and not to forget the Individual Music section. Sports Day came with lots of competitiveness and fun and was a great day out for all of us at Harvey Haddon Stadium. Lots of Sports Day records were broken including the U13 Girls relay at 63.8 seconds, the U13 Girls shot at 7.44 (K. Zhu), the Senior Girls 1500m at 4.50.7 with K. Gardner, and the U15 Boys relay at 50.5 seconds.

News During the year students continued to raise funds for our House charity, Aid2Gambia.

Located in the heart of Nottingham, this is a charity dedicated to helping The Gambia.

They strive to improve the lives of everyone who needs help within the community with dedicated volunteers and partners. The cake sale was a particular success with an overwhelming response to baking from our students. All of these homebakes had sold out by the end of break time and the donations of cakes were very kind. At Sports Day, students dug deep to pay for House tshirts, hair ribbons or to have their faces painted. All monies raised have been collated by the Finance department and will be sent to Aid2Gambia as we continue to support their efforts. Our new House Captains are Bea H and Cholan S. They’ve already started to make themselves known at meetings and Sports Day and will be taking the lead on Bridge Cup in the Autumn Term. Finally, all that is left to say is goodbye and good luck to Miss Heidi Bray who will have left the School for a new position at the end of the 2023-24 academic year. Miss Bray has been a fierce supporter of White’s House and has always been on the lookout to encourage students to take part. We wish her well and will miss her enthusiasm – especially cheering on House Cross Country runners in the pouring rain.

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Sport This year the school has competed across 12 different sports. We have put out 109 teams who have played between 494 fixtures which have involved 607 students from year 7 to year 13. There has been a huge amount of work that has gone into this from staff, students, and parents alike; the team effort has been fantastic.

The school reached the National finals in Swimming with our Under 15 boys, Hockey with the Under 16 girls and the Under 14 boys hockey team became national champions.

Individuals prospered in various sports both within the school and outside. In sailing Charlie H, Sam G, and Chloe G all achieved highly, sailing at international and national level events. Rowing too has been a great avenue for national-level recognition with several students competing at Henley this year. Particular mention must go to Phoebe F who represented GB at U19 level in the European Cup Regatta in the Czech Republic. Not only did Phoebe’s crew win the title, they broke the world record in doing so. In Athletics we also had students competing at the highest level nationally. Four students qualified for and competed at the National Schools Cross Country Championships; Katie G, Jake G, Oliver B, and Sofia C. Three Individuals (Sophia C, Katie G, and Gabriel O) competed at the English Schools Athletics Finals with Katie G winning a Silver in the steeplechase and Gabriel O becoming National 200m Junior Champion. Participation in school sports remains high, with good numbers of student-athletes enjoying training throughout the week, be that in the fitness suite before school or at lunchtime, in the pool, in the sports hall through the day, or at our playing field venues after school.

The links between sports participation and academic success are clear, and many of our students benefit from this throughout the year. We look forward to continued support and success in the fields of play and in the classroom.

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FITNESS SUITE Fitness Suite Although ‘change’ is a word that is strongly associated with fitness, the idiom “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” most certainly applies to the training system we have developed at Nottingham High School.

Whether the goal has been to improve the cardiovascular endurance of a specific PE group or to develop a more explosive run-up for the triple jump, we have implemented the same progressive training interventions that have previously led to success since the Fitness Suite opened at the back end of 2018. This is in part due to the need for school-age athletes to remain fairly consistent from year to year, but also because we have worked very hard to establish a fantastic training culture that has been linked to previous success in school sports and personal fitness journeys. Something we have been keen to establish and strengthen is a support network within the Fitness Suite led by the students themselves. Each year group now has ‘Gym Captains’ who work to support their peers in their year group training sessions, thus creating an atmosphere conducive to successful workouts and long-term progression.

We have had sixth-form students willing to take leadership roles and inspire younger regular gym goers, often gifting them with pearls of wisdom that they themselves have picked up on their own fitness journey. The Fitness Suite has once again been really appreciated and valued by the students and it has been wonderful to see so many committed to regular training sessions throughout the year.

Sport

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Win/Draw %

Cricket

77

32

0

45

41.6

Hockey

172

70

24

78

54.7

Netball

111

51

7

53

52.3

Rugby

83

35

4

44

47

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 and athletes attending regional and national events.

Sports day was again staged at Harvey Hadden Athletics Stadium. The weather, the large number of spectators, and the number of new records made the event a memorable occasion; over 700 students took part and seventeen records were broken. The most notable record to fall was the Year 7 Long Jump record which had stood since 1968. Josiah H broke this record and in recognition of his superb season, he qualified to run in the National Preparatory Schools Championships at the Commonwealth Stadium in Birmingham. Gabriel O was awarded the ‘Turner Trophy’ which is awarded to the athlete of the season. Gabriel has had a tremendous season, ranked second in the UK for 100m and 200m and winning the national schools 200m title at the English Schools National Track & Field Championships in Birmingham. Katie G also won a silver medal at the English Schools Championships in the 1500m steeple chase. This was the first time in the school’s history that two individual medals were won by students at Nottingham High School. Sofia C was awarded the ‘Geri Thomas Sports Day Shield’ for her excellent performances. Sofia won four gold medals and broke two sports day records. The shield is awarded to the athlete of the day. 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 Charles P, enjoyed success at Worksop College and KES Birmingham. The annual Decathlon and Heptathlon Shields for year 12 students were keenly contested at Valley Road over a number of sessions, congratulations to Annie F (Heptathlon) and William H (Martin Clarke Decathlon Shield) Other notable trophy winners included:

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Olivia G (Alan Redgate - Javelin) King Z (Hardwick Trophy – Discus) The usual mix of inter-school, city, and county school competitions followed with a great deal of success. In the City Championships, we were again successful. Winning the years 8 and 9 boy’s competitions. Both the Junior Boys and Inter Girls teams qualified for the regional finals of the ESAA schools cup, and the year 10 boys team finished third in the Regional A Final in Derby. A large number of students competed well in the Nottinghamshire County Championships; a number of students went on to represent Nottinghamshire in the Inter Counties fixture in Stoke. County medal winners included Sofia C – Gold 800m, Gabriel Oguagwu – Gold 200m, Lu Lu I-Gold Discus, Evelyn A Gold Triple Jump, Dan W – Silver 300m, Tarun B Silver 800m, Mathew G – Bronze 3000m, Rhys N – Bronze Shot, Antione B – Bronze Triple Jump, Charlie M– Bronze High Jump, Olivia G- Bronze Javelin. The pinnacle for any school athlete is to qualify for the English Schools National Championships and this year was one of the school's most successful years. In total, three athletes made the qualifying standards in their event and traveled to Alexander Stadium, Birmingham in July with the Nottinghamshire team. Katie G competed in the Senior Girls Steeple Chase, Sofia C in the Junior Girls 800m, and Gabriel O in the 200m, all gained valuable experience by competing at the highest level. This year we also had representation in the Independent Schools U13 National Finals in Birmingham. Helena C, Cora F–D, Sara F, and Josiah H 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.

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CRICKET ROUND UP MR MOHAMMED – 1ST I MANAGER This was my first year as Head of Cricket at the Nottingham High School and second as Senior team manager. Overall the experience as Head of Cricket was a challenge and this was due to the amounts of fixtures disrupted by rain, but the staff/team managers did an exceptional job with their teams in both training and fixtures. So, my heartfelt thanks to them. I do love my role at the Nottingham High School and the students and parents have accepted me with high regards and this is demonstrated in their enthusiasm and kindness towards me. So, my heartfelt thanks to them and their parents too.

I was delighted to hand out caps for First Team Captains as well as hand over the caps to the players and saw some exceptional individual performances from the likes of Tegh-Armaan B, Jamie S and Alex S. ZAIL G – SENIOR XI 1ST TEAM CAPTAIN I was delighted to be picked as captain for the first XI in which despite a season with limited availability, and a youthful side the team stuck through it showing great compassion, and determination. We began the season very positively with a win against Oakham; an astounding bowling performance allowing them only 99 runs for 9 wickets. Another highlight of the cricket season was a sixfer from Tegh-Armaan B against the MCC including the wickets of many Nottinghamshire-premier-league players. The team benefited and learned a lot from playing such an experienced, quality side. Another player who deserved praise this season was Jamie S who took a total of 13 wickets and managed to score consistently throughout the season. Despite some setbacks last year, the team is approaching the new season with a positive mindset: a team, older and more experienced. Special thanks to Mr Mohammed for supporting us through a rollercoaster of a year.

Safe to say we are looking forward to the season ahead!

BACHAN SINGH S – U12A (BOYS) JOINT CAPTAIN I was delighted to be picked as vice-captain for the year 7, A team last summer. We had an incredible season, filled with both victories and challenges. One of our most memorable moments was when Yash caught a one-handed screamer that looked like it was going over the boundary but landed right in the middle of his palm. The team's camaraderie and sportsmanship were exceptional. Our amazing wicketkeeper (Gurshaan B) kept us going in the matches, along with our chatty Theo C always keeping the spirits up. Our brilliant openers Taher H and myself consistently set a good base for the following batters to lead into.

YASH H – U12A (BOYS) JOINT CAPTAIN ANISA P WHO CAPTAINED OUR U12A (GIRLS)TEAM. It was a pleasure to be chosen as the captain of the U12A team. It was great how so many of the girls started off without any experience of cricket, then progressed to become the first girls to play hardball in year 7 which is a huge achievement. The atmosphere and the attitude the girls had every match were truly inspiring. Our win against Solihull was an amazing moment. I knew everyone was really pleased that the hard work they put in really paid off. All of the girls stood out in their own way, and that meant we worked as a great team. Daisy's batting was a highlight and the progression she made was amazing, as well as Anoushka and Neha's bowling which was great. We were also very thankful for the year 6 students who stepped up to play for us, notably Samyuktha who took some crucial wickets. We are already looking forward to next year!

MR. MCDONALD It was a joy to coach the U12A Girls cricket team during the summer term. The strong commitment to training and improving their skillset has built a brilliant foundation for this group. With many individual moments along the way, the biggest highlight was the history-making fixture away at Princethorpe College which saw the U12 and U13 trailblazing sides play the High Schools first Girls Y7 and Y8 hardball fixtures. Testament to the fantastic progress being made for girls’ cricket. Thank you to all the parents for their continued support on a Saturday morning.

BENJAMIN C-BROWN U14A (BOYS) CAPTAIN. I was delighted to be picked as captain of the U14 cricket team last year. Despite not playing many games due to the weather, I thought the team made very good progress. We started off with a great win at Oakham, in which James A scored 67, and the team played very well. This was followed by a difficult game against Trent, and although we lost, the team showed great character, with Alex performing well with the bat and Siddhant Gwith the ball. Our final game of the season was against Birkdale and we won a very tight game thanks to Rishi M’s excellent bowling and Saif H’s batting. It was a very positive season, with some great batting from Nevaan P and Tom, great bowling from Zaviaar A and Krish Sr, and fielding from Jaikar Land Oliver W. I also thought that Kit performed very well behind the stumps. Thank you to everyone who played and I’m looking forward to next season.

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ABBI (ABIGAIL) J – U14 (GIRLS) CAPTAIN I was delighted to be picked as captain for the U13 A team - during last season we developed both as a team and as individuals throughout the cricket term and also on the cricket tour. This year was very eventful; we learned hardball which was a shock for most of us and a big step up from softball. As a team, we are really looking forward to improving and using our hardball skills for next year. Our cricket has improved so much from year 7 to now, this is from the continuous support of our teachers and the bond we have as a team. We started off the season with softball still but as the year went on, we managed to play a few hardball games which puts us in a good position for next year. Which I and the rest of the team are really looking forward to.

CROSS COUNTRY Jake G captained the Boy's Cross Country season this year and the girl's captain was Katie G. The school entered Girls' and Boys' teams in the County League races, the English Schools Cup, and the City Championships. Both Jake and Katie rounded off a superb season with selection to the English Schools, National Championships in Pontefract. This was their fifth National XC Championships. Over sixty 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.

Seven girls qualified to represent the City in the County Schools XC in February. The Intermediate Girls team had further success in the English Schools Cup Competition, they qualified for the Midlands round in November.

The Senior teams 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 first senior team with Jake G and Oliver B running the second fastest time ever. The Senior boys team qualified for the Regional Finals of the English Schools Cup in Leeds. In the Spring Term, the senior team won the County Schools race at Wollaton Park. One of the highlights of the season was the performance in the Coventry Relays where the boy's team finished in the top 20 (19th) for the first time in over a decade. The senior team also performed well in the ON’s Cross Country in December at Wollaton Park, Jake G won the race for a third year and the ON’s won the team trophy.

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 Leeds.

The highlights of the season were the year 8/9 boys team winning the County Schools League at Berry Hill. Sofia C had fine runs in all three races and finished first overall, she also represented Nottinghamshire in the Inter Counties and English Schools. Katie G had a superb individual season, she represented Nottinghamshire in a number of championship races again. 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 at the National English Schools Cross Country Championships, the pinnacle race of the season. Congratulations to Jake G, Oliver B, Katie G, and Sofia C. Congratulations also to Sofia C who was awarded the ‘Baker Trophy’ for her superb season. The award is presented to the most consistent athlete over the year.

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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

Tom G

Cooper’s

Year 7 Girls

Clemmie R

Cooper’s

Year 8 Boys

Oliver B

White’s

Year 8 Girls

Helena C

Maples’

Year 9 Boys

Edward B

White’s

Year 9 Girls

Sophia C

Mellers’

Year 10 Boys

Nabil N

Cooper’s

Year 10 Girls

Chloe F

Maples’

Year 11 Boys

Armaan B

White’s

Senior Boys

Senior Girls

Jake G

Katie G

Maples’

White’s

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HOCKEY It was a historical year for Hockey at Nottingham High School during the 2023/24 season with the U16 Girls reaching their very first National Finals and the U14 Boys doing one better and going on to win the National Finals at Tier 2. The U18 girls team narrowly missed out on a place in the National Finals losing narrowly in the semi-final of the Midlands Finals as well as the U18 boys losing on shuffles in the final of the Midlands Finals. Participation in after-school training has been very well attended and the number of students now affiliated with a local hockey club has continued to rise. The U18 Indoor boys' hockey team progressed to the Midlands Finals and has shown huge improvements in their understanding of Indoor Hockey from the previous year. The annual U13 Hockey Tour to Holland was a huge success and saw both teams take some impressive victories as well as develop their understanding of 11-a-side hockey. This year also saw 47 senior students from years 10, 11, 12 & 13 travel to Malaysia for the Senior Hockey Tour that takes place every 3 years. The trip was a triumphant success with 4 senior teams playing competitive fixtures against local opposition throughout the tour. Overall, the 2023/24 season is one to beat and I'm excited to continue the success the school has shown in the years to come.

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The U13 boys' and girls' hockey teams travelled out to Holland for 5 days over the October halfterm break to develop their hockey skills and put them to the test against some strong Dutch opposition. With a mixture of students ranging from A to C team, it would be their first experience as a team at 11 a-side hockey and playing on a full-sized pitch. They started the tour with an early start in Nottingham setting off at 5 am for Dover. After an 8-hour bus ride and a 2-hour ferry, we arrived. Fair to say the travel on day 1 took it out of us all and it was food followed by lights out on arrival. Day 2 started with our first set of games in which both the boys' and girls' teams would get their first taste of Dutch hockey. Both teams competed in a local Tournament with both teams securing wins and losses throughout. The teams would have 2 more scheduled fixtures each, with the girls having an extra last-minute game thrown in against Kings Chester who were also on tour in Rotterdam. Overall, both teams performed brilliantly and can be proud of their efforts in every fixture. Hockey wasn't the only thing on the menu whilst in Rotterdam.

The students had a number of excursions during their time abroad including an all-you-can-eat pancake cruise where Mr Read currently holds the record for most pancakes consumed in one sitting. As well as the cruise, the students also spent the day at a Theme Park which included an indoor water park with plenty of weird and wacky slides. Our final excursion took us bowling where Miss Wilson, Mrs Manders, and Mr Prentice could show off their bowling skills.

Unfortunately, they were no match for Mr Read's 174 top score of the day. The students were also incredibly fortunate to have been able to train twice in the HC Rotterdam Stadium where some of the greatest hockey players of all time once battled, with some still currently playing and training daily. Overall, it was a brilliant trip and one I hope the students will cherish for the remainder of their school journey and beyond. A huge thank you must go to Mrs Manders, Miss Wilson, and Mr Prentice for accompanying myself and the students on the trip.

NHS CUP RUN U16 Girls Hockey - Qualified for Midlands Finals U18 Girls Hockey - Qualified for Midlands Finals U16 Boys Indoor Hockey - Competing at Midlands Qualifiers on 17th Nov U18 Boys Indoor Hockey - Qualified for Midlands Finals

NETBALL 12C This year, our under 12 C netball team took on five matches against different schools, and we U12A learned a lot about netball, improving each week. I I feel that this has been a great season for the think our standout moment was the win against U12a netball team. Throughout the season we Stamford, with a score of 15-7. We all performed have played many matches, been to Condover Hall, and played and won in a county tournament. well and used some effective tactics which were Although we have lost some of our matches, every displayed in our next few matches. However, our match against Stoneyhurst was a tough one. time we lost, we used the experience to improve Despite our best efforts, we lost 3-11. Even in and win our next match. I am especially proud of defeat, we had moments to be proud of, like our match against Worksop College since we worked together as a team and even though it was scoring a great goal against Denstone College, although they beat us 4-7. Reflecting on the only our second match, we played our best and season, we've made significant progress as a team. managed to win.

Many of us were new to netball at the start, which The best moment from our team was winning the meant we improved our understanding of the county tournament which really rounded off our game, as well as our accuracy in passes, and season well. I would also like to say that we defence. Our overall results: Played - 5, won - 1, couldn’t have improved this much without our coach Miss Wilson who coached us and helped us draw - 0, lost - 4, goals for - 30, goals against improve right through the season. This has been a 38, and goal difference - -8. Overall, I think the team has played amazing netball and should be great netball year for us, and I personally can’t proud of what they’ve achieved. Looking forward wait to play with them again next year. to what the next netball season brings.

- Hannah G -Ellen B U12B I think that the netball season went well. As it was the first netball season as B team, some of us had very little to no experience playing on the same team as each other. In addition to this, we had a new coach, Mr. Scott, near the start of the season.

He helped us improve throughout the season and everyone on the team enjoyed playing beside him.

No matter the weather, we always put in 100% to every netball game/training we did. Although the team kept changing with people constantly moving up/down, we still had good teamwork and progressed as a team well. Additionally, we never left a match without learning something, no matter how well or badly we did, and never criticised someone for making a mistake. Overall, the team and coach have had a good netball season and a good first year of being Nottingham High School B Team.

-Sara M

U13A The 23/24 netball season has been a very successful one for the u13a netball team. With only 1 loss at the start of the term against Loughborough High (30-11), the team has continued to be very supportive of each other and the friendships we have made throughout the term will forever be remembered. We have worked hard in training and subsequently developed a strong team, and we continually try and push ourselves to be the best we can be.

The year started with a preseason match against Trent College. This was probably our toughest match but one of the highlights due to an extremely close game where we were successful enough to go home with a win of 18-17; we are looking forward to the same fixture next year.

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Other highlights and victories throughout the season have been 21-11 against Ratcliffe College, 25-14 against Denstone College, and another close match of 17-16 against Bablake School. In addition to our league matches, the U13a team has also been lucky enough to experience several tournaments that have led to further successes. At the DRET Festival, we won the plate competition, and even more impressive was the performance at the U13 county tournament in which we were winners. This was our proudest moment as a team, and it was a fabulous way to end the season.

And of course, a huge thanks must go to our teachers and coaches for all their support and guidance throughout the season.

From the start of the season right up to the end, we have all put 100% effort into all our matches whether that has been with frozen hands (thanks Ayda for the hand warmers) or enjoying playing in the sun. Our results show throughout the season how much we have improved as a team, and I am really looking forward to playing with such fantastic people next year.

Sophie B

U13B In the U13b netball team, we came to an overall highlight of winning 5, losing 3, and drawing 5 matches out of the 13 fixtures that we played, scoring a total of 69 goals throughout the season.

The best match we played was our away game against Mount St Marys college when we won 13-1. I think that this was a great match because not only because we won by a lot but in this match a lot of people tried out playing new positions that they hadn’t before, for example, Layla playing GD, Charlotte tried out GS and I played C for the majority of the match.

Another thing that we did very well in this match was that even though we were winning throughout we still played to our full potential and didn’t go easy on ourselves which can be easy sometimes during gameplay. Despite having good match days, we did tend to struggle in our last 2 fixtures when we lost to Bablake and Stamford.

Our toughest match we played was definitely against Stamford when we lost 27-2. We didn’t win this mainly on them

Being the better team overall and using the court more spaciously which we definitely are now better at prior to dedicating our free time to training after school. I think that the team has improved throughout the season in terms of getting to know how each other plays, getting more comfortable with choosing risky passes if there are no other options on the court, using the techniques we have learned in games lessons, and putting them into match play and building partnerships with our teammates, therefore, making it easier to play. Overall, the team has gotten very strong compared to the beginning of the season, and our victories we well deserved but we also learned a lot from our losses.

Avni S U13C Throughout the netball season, the U13C team played 5 matches against various different schools.

The majority of which we won. As a player in this team, I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to play in fixtures against other schools. My favourite fixture was the first match of the season against Loughborough High School. We stayed in the lead throughout all four quarters and ended up winning by an amazing 24 - 4! My preferred position was in attack, my proudest moment was being able to score many of these goals with Kate and Sara. Yet this was only one out of the 3 victories throughout the season. Winning against Ratcliffe and Denstone College, we were practically unbeatable with only one draw against Stamford. However, during the last match of the netball season, we experienced our first loss. And it was against Stamford - again! It was a tough and exhausting match as they were constantly ahead of us by only a few goals. Until, in the second half, they managed to pull ahead by an astonishing amount of goals. By full time it was 2 - 16 and we were very disappointed. But we learned a lot from this team in terms of both defending and attacking and were very proud to look back on everything we were able to learn from different schools and the tactics they used.

Hattie J

U14A The U14A netball team started the season strong with a draw and a win. As the season progressed we had some tough games that were close in score and we would only lose by a small amount. Our biggest win of the season was an 18-8 win against King Henry VIII School, where the team played amazingly, putting all of the training and advice into action allowing us to come out with such a win. One of the many highlights of the season was coming 3rd overall in county netball which was a great achievement! As a team, we worked well together playing highly skilled teams and even drawing with the winners. Our toughest match of the season was against Mount St Mary’s where we were able to get a 1 goal win! This was a big highlight for the team as we were down at halftime but we were able to work together well to claim the victory! Overall, we have had an amazing season and progressed so much since last season. As a team, we have learned many different skills, which we will continue to progress in the future. As a team, we would like to say a massive thank you to our coach Miss John-Lewis for all the encouragement, support, and netball coaching which we will continue to build on in future seasons. We would also like to thank Miss Bray, Miss Wilson, and the rest of the PE staff for their time and coaching throughout the season.

Maisie W

U14B The highlight of the season was definitely when we won 11-3 against Ratcliffe College. This was a very big achievement for us, especially after a very close match against Worksop College the week before. Another big highlight of the season was when we won 13-10 against King Henry VIII School, mainly because of how proud we were of the 13 goals scored in the match.

The first match of the season was particularly discouraging, losing 1-13 to Loughborough High School, but we definitely took on the feedback we were given and learned from our mistakes as we had some much better games afterward.

Towards the start of the season, we were all a little bit unsure of ourselves, the vast majority of us had not played netball since year 8, but once we had got back into the rhythm of things, we grew more confident in ourselves, especially the shooters.

We drew one game throughout the season, against Trent College. We were very pleasantly surprised by the outcome, as we were all very sure that we were going to lose that match, given what had happened the last time we had played Trent. When Trent scored, we scored next and it was a very close match throughout.

Araoluwa O U15A: It was a tough start to the season as our first match was against Loughborough, a really strong side. We made a big effort, and the final score was only a small loss. The next few matches went really well, and the team built up a lot of confidence and fluidity. Our great shooters, Agatha and Olivia, were able to get lots of goals in and ramp up the goal averages for our games. Our defenders were able to stop many goals from going in for the opposition and the centre court was feeding the ball to the shooters brilliantly. Evelyn, our goalkeeper, did an excellent job of defending the shooters and was given the well-earned player of the match multiple times. The highlight of the season was most definitely the county tournament. We played really well and had the success of second in the cup, beating our biggest rival - Nottingham Girls School - to do so. Later that week the DRET tournament took place, and we won the plate after a tough competition against some of the best schools in the area. We played well as a team, definitely benefiting from our recent training. The last match of the season was a three-way tournament-style game against Stamford U15A and U15B which was a difficult way to see out the season. The team played well given the circumstances as a lot of players were playing out of position. All around, it was an excellent season and it felt like an improvement from last year thanks to the communication skills between the shooters and the centre court feeding the ball, which was heavily practised in games.

Niamh C U15B The Under 15B team had a very enjoyable and somewhat successful season. Our most notable performances were our wins against Worksop College and our own under 14 b team. Some of the schools we met were stronger than us but the team's enthusiasm and positivity never faltered. In defence Lesile's interceptions halted many of the opposition's attacks, and Jasmiya as a goal shooter was very accurate and scored a lot of the very hard-earned goals. Lastly, on behalf of the team, I would like to thank Miss Edwards for her enthusiasm and helpful coaching; we certainly benefited as a team from it.

Emily B

2ND TEAM The 2nd XI netball team has made commendable efforts this season showcasing fantastic teamwork and strong talents. With a mixture of new members and old, it can’t go without saying each player has brought a brilliant skill set and throughout the season, the team has worked together supporting one another showing real determination and resilience.

One of our highlights this season has to be our win against Denstone College. Although we were only up by one goal for the first three quarters, the team pushed hard in the final quarter to bring the score to 32-24. This was a tough match, but the full team stepped up and performed exceptionally well. A difficult match we encountered was against Ratcliffe College where we lost 19-25. The defenders showed a fantastic performance displaying great skills and our shooters worked brilliantly with our attackers during the match.

One of our proudest matches was a home game against Mount St Mary’s where we won 42-12 showing great enthusiasm and sportsmanship throughout.

Overall, the team has had a fantastic season, and each individual has made outstanding improvements with the support of training sessions particularly focusing on backline passes and the following phases as well as centre passes to our attacking circle. As captain, I’m very proud of the team’s phenomenal performance throughout the entire season.

1ST TEAM The 1st team netball showed excellent team spirit during the 2023-24 season, playing some exciting netball, and showcasing talented individuals across years 11-13. Our season began with an away game to Princethorpe School, that presented difficulty from the beginning with many key players missing and a team of girls who hadn’t played much together. However, every player rose to the occasion, resulting in a 40-10 win, which was then followed the week later by a

50-30 win against Worksop College.

Following a strong start to the season, which included 2 comprehensive wins against our rivals, NGHS, the team then encountered some tough opposition but persevered and supported each other well to ensure that each week we improved on our performances. This culminated in wins against Mount St Mary’s College and Bablake School, in which the leadership of senior players must be praised as we managed to secure a win without our coach present. Overall, the team showed large growth over the course of the season, and in particular congratulations must go to Krystal M for her 10-match POM streak, and to all the new players who stepped up when asked and played to the best of their ability. The team would like to thank the PE department for their support over the season, and especially Miss Bray, whose effort and enthusiasm over the season were greatly appreciated.

Isla S U12A

Most Improved

Manuella, A.

U12A

Player of Season

Katherine, Z.

U12B

Most Improved

Lavanya, J.

U12B

Player of Season

Nadine, N.

U12C

Most Improved

Ellen, B.

U12C

Player of Season

Niamh, F.

U13A

Most Improved

Esther, O.

U13A

Player of Season

Sophie, B.

U13B

Most Improved

Layla, A.

U13B

Player of Season

Abbie, J.

U13C

Most Improved

Senudi Ranasingha, A.

U13C

Player of Season

Namuunaa, E.

U14A

Most Improved

Rumaysah, I.

U14A

Player of Season

Maisie, W.

U14B

Most Improved

Tia, O.

U14B

Player of Season

Beate, R.

U15A

Most Improved

Olivia, G.

U15A

Player of Season

Niamh, C.

U15B

Most Improved

Aiyla, A.

U15B

Player of Season

Leslie, N.

2nd

Most Improved

Anagi, B.

2nd

Player of Season

Nitha, K.

1st

Most Improved

Georgie, B.

1st

Player of Season

Krystal, M.

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Rugby Reports 1st XV The 2023 season began long before the school season kicked off as a result of the team's trip to Canada where morale was high following the success of the Squad ending unbeaten on tour.

Aspirations were rising despite the task we knew lay ahead. The loss of a crucial group of players from the year above was going to be a challenge, but one that we knew we were up for. With the departure of Mr Hamilton looming, the side was determined to give him the send-off he deserved.

Upon returning to the UK, we quickly transitioned back to school fixtures, eager to capitalize on the momentum gained. The season opener against Bablake was a statement game our 41-24 win displayed the distinct style that we wished to play throughout the season and laid a path for the fixtures ahead. Grappling with significant injuries, the wins against Denstone (29-10) and a dominant display against Worksop (43-19) demonstrated our ability to execute our well-structured game plan.

A last-minute penalty against Bolton School to secure a 29-27 win in the National Bowl was one of the most memorable moments of the season.

This penalty not only secured the win but ensured our cup run continued and led to significant improvements in following performances. The latter part of the season saw a string of victories including a dominant 35-5 win over King Henry VIII School, a 49-17 triumph against Ratcliffe College, and a 23-7 victory over Prince Henry’s Grammar School.

Unfortunately, the cup run came to an end in the quarter-final, leaving the team with a reminder of the fine margins in rugby. Bouncing back after this defeat in the final competitive match of the season, the squad's depth and determination shone through in a dramatic 24-21 win against Princethorpe.

Ending the season on a high, the team moved on to the Old Boys match, facing the Sam Threlfall XV in a game that promised high-intensity collisions and flowing rugby. The Match ended These games also enabled us to bring through 27-12, A fitting end to the season for the team some of the younger players with Y11’s Saketh and life at NHS for Mr Hamilton having coached and James consistently performing for the team on us to 14 wins and only 4 losses whilst scoring the wing. Standout performances came from almost 600 points. players like Jamie S who orchestrated the Game from the Fly Half, and Noah B whose pace and We are also proud to celebrate the achievements agility kept opposition defenses on their toes. The of several players who represented at higher levels. team's captain (Eddie H) led from the front, Eddie and Noah were both selected for the NLD rallying the team through moments of pressure U18 squad, While Tom T earned a contract with Leicester Tigers Senior Academy having and always ensuring he made the first tackle of the game. represented at the U18 Level. L6th members Jamie S, Reuben T, William M, and Shivam B also The mid-season brought a mixture of results with gained places in the NLD U17 Squad. Our thanks a hard-fought win against Birkdale. This was go out to the Coaching staff including Mr Rudkin followed by back-to-back losses but the squad and Mr Drummond for their tireless efforts in was determined to bounce back in thrilling guiding and motivating us throughout. fashion.

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the season as well As Mr Hamilton who has committed countless hours to improving each player individually as well as part of the squad. Special appreciation is also due to Mr Jones and the Ground-Staff who ensure our pitch is always in excellent condition as well as everyone who came to support.

This season has been a memorable one for the 1XV, filled with both challenges and triumphs. This squad can look back with pride on what we have accomplished, knowing that we have laid a strong foundation for next season.

2nd XV After a successful pre-season for the second team in Canada, with wins against Bellevue Bulldogs and Barhaven Scottish, and a close loss to Hereford Cathedral, we were left well-prepared for our first fixture of the regular season. A great team performance resulted in a 10-5 victory away against a strong Denstone side, with a last-minute try by Fletcher Phoenix topping off a great performance. A week later we played our first home fixture against Worksop. We started the match poorly and conceded early. However, we fought back well with strong performances from the forward pack to help us turn it around to a 29-10 victory. Sadly, after several injuries which forced players to play out of position, this form did not continue. We faced tough losses at home to Loughborough Grammar and Ratcliffe, and away to Solihull. We also had a close encounter with Leicester Grammar, losing by only a few points. Overall, the season was full of ups and downs, with the team badly hit by injuries.

Regardless, on behalf of the boys, I would like to thank Mr Rudkin for a great season and wish him well in the future.

Our second game was a great improvement as we came away with the win against Loughborough Grammar School. I think I should highlight Danijo who played in the centres as he broke the line multiple times and got 2 points but once again this game showed our lack of skills in unstructured play as there were too many times where people would make solo runs and there would be many offloads which were not necessary but the player either panicked or did not know what the correct decision was.

Our third game was the least successful game that we had in the season as we came away with a loss of 5-54 against Solihull. The main way in which they scored their tries was by drawing players into rucks and overloading the wings then leaving either the 11 or the 24 with up to a four versus 1.

In the half-time talk, this was highlighted but we failed to act upon the feedback in the second half as they continued to increase the score.

Overall, I think our physicality was certainly there as we could contend with even their biggest players by making two-man tackles and U15 supporting players in the rucks but our main The season got off to a start against Denstone and problem was our tactics as we were easily beaten I think the score did not reflect the game that we in unstructured play and we often got ‘white line played as we had a lot of possession of the ball but fever’ when within the opponent’s 22 and our ball we found it hard to get the ball over the try line. handling skills let us down. Finally, I think the We made it to the 5 many times but we were only players to highlight would be Danijo for his able to come away with one try and I think this is running with the ball and Jay for his excellent because of our ball-handling skills because many passing and his control of the game. of the opportunities ended with a poor pass or a 120 poor catch ending with either a penalty or a scrum.

U14 In the season the under 14A’s had ups and downs.

The first game of the season was very tight.

Narrowly lost to Bablake by three points. But this was a great way to start the season and we learned a lot from it. The next game we came up against Denstone who are a very well-drilled team and we put up a good fight and limited their scoring but they managed to win. Our next game was Loughborough we won this game from a cohesive team effort helped out by good performances from Gabriel and Gautham who scored the tries. We then had some tough games but we learned from these to better ourselves in the long run. It was a great disappointment to have our last two games canceled but throughout the season there were highlights from Tom Chen, Rhys, Gabriel, Gautham, Kit, And many other contributions from other players as well. So overall it was a very good season for the under 14A’s.

The school where we beat King Henry VIII’s and Leicester Grammar. We felt we just found our groove but then sadly our season was cut short by weather conditions calling off our last two games. The award for Player of the Year went to George A for his great defensive determination and passion. I felt this was our best season during our time at Nottingham High and a great contribution was made by all who proudly wore our Black & White kit. It was a tough season for us due to mostly losses on the whole but with quite a few close matches. Specifically with Denstone in which we had a close-fought game with a final score of 5-4. Some stand-out players were Sadaqat I and Farhan A with great runs with the ball flying through opposing defences. They also showed great resilience when we were losing keeping the team spirit high with their try-saving tackles. We also saw some players develop throughout the year taking on U13 some of their tackling fears. The team as a whole We started the rugby year with high hopes under also got significantly better as an attacking side our new coach Mr Finney. Our first game was as we learned how to offload and effectively pass away against Bablake School, unfortunately, one of the ball to the wings which is where we mainly our crucial players Zak A got a season-ending scored our tries.

Injury, In this game, we lost 45 - 15 to a very strong side. We then traveled to Denstone College U12 for a round-robin tournament where we managed I think overall, our performance was pretty good. to draw against Mount St Mary’s unfortunately we Also, in particular, our running with the ball was lost to Denstone College to a last-minute winner, excellent. Furthermore, our rucking was outstanding in fact, it was so good the opposition this was a heartbreaking defeat but we kept our heads high and knew we were improving. After teams praised it a few times. For next year we can improve on our instinct to get stuck into some competitive defeats to Worksop College, Loughborough Grammar School and Solihull contact and our game knowledge.

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TENNIS ROUND-UP This year we fielded 9 teams in tennis in what was a very short term.

The strongest team was the U13A team of Ferko, Zev, Luca, Alex, and Alex who won all of their local league matches. Gameplay was tight in fixtures with West Bridgford and Worksop College where a tie-break additional set had to be played in both. Our U13 A girls team of Clemmie, Virginia, Victoria, and Hannah were also strong this season, beating West Bridgford and NGHS comprehensively in their league, but just losing to a Strong Trent College side. Our B teams at this age grade also competed well, (usually against other Schools’ A teams), but Izzi, Sienna, Aamina, and Samia played well in their fixtures as did William, Ninno, David, Alex, and Kaviaan.

At Under 15, there were narrow losses against KES Birmingham and Worksop for the boys’ A team, but we were outplayed by an incredibly strong West Bridgford side. Even, Isaac, Finn, Adhrit, Nathan, Nihal, and Will battled hard throughout, however, and played some great tennis. Our girls A team notched up a memorable victory (on a tie-break set) against NGHS. Niamh, Emma, Anja, and Annabelle played brilliantly to do so. They also faced an incredibly strong Trent College side, who were too good for us on the day. Our B teams had a tough season! But it was great to see Kate, Annabelle, Maisie, Sannlia, Ben, Edward, Will, and Saharsh on the court and enjoying their tennis.

The senior season was very short, and for the first time in a while, there was no ON fixture. The team led by Jacob Corne played some great tennis at KES Birmingham on what felt like the hottest day of the summer! Jack debuted and had a great set, whilst Cholan and Harry also played some great tennis.

Staff Leaving Tributes Mr Weller grew up in Kent and was educated at a local grammar school before moving on to a cricket academy for sixth form. He went on to study Sports Development and Coaching Sciences at Bournemouth University, before moving to Loughborough University to complete his PGCE, where he continues to study part-time for his MSc in Education.

Mr Weller joined us in September of last year as a Teacher of PE and Games. He has been a Meller's House Tutor and also Head of Cricket for the last term. Since joining, there have been many highlights for Mr Weller including taking the current Year 11 to a Regional Area Final in the National Rugby Bowl, leading the cricket 1st XI in his first season at the High School, taking a swimming team to the Bath and Otter Cup at the London Olympic Swimming Pool, the Year 8 Holland Hockey Tour, and the Rugby Canada Tour part of which involved visiting Niagra Falls, white water rafting down Ottawa River, and watching the Toronto Blue Jays. Mr Weller has helped re-design the new PE curriculum for the 2023-24 academic year, introducing parts of the concept curriculum within PE. He has also been looking at the way students learn beyond the physical aspect of PE, looking into the affective, social, and cognitive domains. He has asked me to pass on his thanks, particularly to Mrs Simpson, Mrs Daly, and Mrs Vincent for all of the support they have provided for his Early Career Teacher induction; Mr Allison for being his subject mentor; Mr Whitehead and all of the academic PE staff for their continuous hard work and determination to give the students at the High School the best sports offering possible, and volunteering their Saturdays throughout the whole academic year for home fixtures and sometimes very far away fixtures; and to Mr Jones, Mr Naylor, Miss Adkin and Mr Birch for the countless hours they put in at Valley Road and Highfields to make it look spot-on week in, week out. Mr Weller will be taking on the role of Teacher of PE and Games at Stamford Endowed Schools, where he will have the opportunity to teach GCSE, A-Level, and B-TEC PE. He will complete his MSc in Education in 2025 and hopes to become a PGCE lecturer in many years to come. We wish Mr Weller all the very best in his future endeavours.

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Mrs Govinden Mrs Govinden was first appointed as Head of Drama in September 2011 to introduce Drama on the School Curriculum. She left us briefly in the summer of 2017 to live in and work in Mauritius, but returned again as Head of Drama in September 2018.

Originally from Southwell, Mrs Govinden attended the Minster School and went on to study A Levels at Pocklington in York. She gained her Acting Degree at the University of Leeds which in 2007 before obtaining her PGCE at the University of Warwick. Her first teaching post was as Teacher of Mrs Govinden was first appointed as Head of Drama in September 2011 to introduce Drama on the School Curriculum. She left us briefly in the summer of 2017 to live and work in Mauritius but returned as Head of Drama in September 2018. Originally from Southwell, Mrs Govinden attended the Minster School and went on to study A Levels at Pocklington in York. She gained her Acting Degree at the University of Leeds in 2007 before obtaining her PGCE at the University of Warwick. Her first teaching post was as Teacher of Drama, and Assistant Housemistress at Oakham from 2008 – 2011. Mrs Govinden has been a Form Teacher in Y10-13, Assistant Tutor in Maples’ House, Tutor in Maples’ House, and Year 11- 13 Tutor, and has taught English and LAMDA, alongside Drama at NHS. Miss Webster has directed a number of the School’s productions including: 2011 – 2012 A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Main School Production) and Into the Woods (Lower School Musical) 2012 – 2013 Little Shop of Horror (Main School Musical) and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Lower School Production), as well as facilitating the studio production of The Canterbury Tales to celebrate the official opening of The Les Wilkinson Drama Studio 2013 – 2014 Sweeney Todd (Main School Musical) 2014 – 2015 House and Garden (Main School Production) 2015 – 2016 Anything Goes (Main School Musical) 2016 – 2017 Noises Off (Main School Production) 2017 – 2018 Year in Mauritius 2018 – 2019 The 39 Steps (Main School Production) 2019 – 2020 The Addams Family (Main School Musical) 2020 – 2021 COVID Directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream as part of the outdoor Drama Fest during COVID 2021 – 2022 Little Shop of Horrors (Main School Musical) 2023 – 2024 Chicago (Main School Musical) Mrs Govinden introduced House Drama, which is now in its 3rd academic year. She has led the annual residential London Theatre trip and has facilitated teatime performance evenings, including both examination performances and the Year 7 Roald Dahl ‘Revolting Rhymes’ performance evening. She has also been a regular judge of the Verse-speaking choirs. Mrs Govinden has led the Drama department with considerable expertise and distinction. Any of you who have been taught by her will know just how inspirational she has been and just how dedicated she has been to her heavy marking load.

She extracts the very best out of every student that she teaches and gets them to achieve beyond what they ever thought they were capable of.

Mrs Govinden is relocating to Dubai with her two children to be with her husband who started in his new role as Head of Visual Arts in August 2023 at Jumeira Baccalaureate School. Mrs Govinden will be taking on the role of Housemistress and Head of Year while teaching both Drama and English at Brighton College Dubai from January. She has been an exceptional Head of Drama and is an inspirational teacher and I wish to thank her for the massive contribution she has made to our school drama.

She has been brilliant in every way and will be sorely missed next year. She has been a teacher who has really cared about her results, the students in her care, and about setting the highest possible standards. We wish her and her family all the very best in their new ventures in Dubai.

Dr Sims Before joining the High School in September 2019, Dr Sims completed his PhD in Classics (specifically focusing on Greek tragedy) at the University of Nottingham, where he also taught Latin and Greek Literature, History, and Culture, as well as Greek Philosophy on the Arts and Humanities Foundation Year course. Dr Sims joined the High School as a part-time Teacher of Classics and was promoted to Head of Classics in September 2020. He has been a tutor in White’s House and in September 2022 he was also appointed as EPQ Co-ordinator. In his time here, Dr Sims has run a range of clubs including Classics Club for Years 7 and 8, GCSE Greek, Classics Beyond A Level, and launched the Origami Club. He has been involved in inviting visiting speakers to give lectures at the School on Greek and Roman culture and society and organised the annual visit from Caroline Lawrence, author of the Roman Mysteries series. Alongside this, he has run a trip to the University of Warwick for the Ancient Drama Festival and taken teams to the EMACT Latin and Greek Reading Competition where our students have achieved considerable success. Dr Sims is particularly proud of launching new modules in A Level Classical Civilisation including Greek Theatre and Imperial Images, building on the research interests of the Department. He is proud to have contributed to whole-school initiatives such as being part of the Book of the Month project and one of his proudest achievements is working with fantastic classicists, particularly at A Level, and working with them to gain places at prestigious universities including Oxbridge. Dr Sims will be moving back into the Higher Education sector and will be joining Nottingham Trent University in their Research and Development division. He will be working closely with academics from across a range of disciplines in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences to prepare bids for research funding.

Mrs Sandiford joined the High School last September as a part-time Teacher of Psychology, moving to Learning Support Teacher and EPQ Supervisor in April. Outside of School, Mrs Sandiford is the Chair of Governors at a primary school. Mrs Sandiford has only been with us for a short time but we wish her well in her future endeavours.

Miss Bray joined the High School in September 2018, initially as a Teacher of Girls’ PE and Games, but was soon promoted to Head of Girls’ PE and Games and Head of Netball. Miss Bray also undertook the role of Interim Director of Sport last summer term, covering Mr Whitehead’s absence. Miss Bray gained her degree in Physical Education and Sports Coaching at York St John University and her PGCE from Manchester Metropolitan University. She then became a Graduate Sport and Boarding Assistant at Ratcliffe College before gaining her first teaching role here at the High School. Under her tenure, School netball has improved immensely, with many more students representing the county and Loughborough Lightning. She has been involved in an array of sports activities, fixtures, and DofE trips as well as the overseas French trip, Ski trip, and Holland Hockey. Her most memorable trip was the first long haul Netball Tour to Barbados, which she describes as an honour to lead with a fantastic bunch of players and staff. Miss Bray is extremely proud of how far girls' sport has developed in the last 6 years, naturally numbers have grown, but the engagement and participations comes down to the fantastic sports culture that has been created. She is specifically proud of the Netball programme, for the first time in High School History we have ranked 1st in the County in three age groups and she predicts the foundations and efforts in Netball are a stone's throw away from Regional and National success, which she looks forward to hearing about. Miss Bray would like me to say a big thank you to the PE department, including the external coaches and academic staff, plus the grounds staff who maintain the outstanding facilities we get to use. All who have supported Miss Bray’s ideas and continue to work endlessly to make all the sport happen through the school year. After the Malaysia Hockey trip, Miss Bray will be moving to live in Stamford and taking up a new role as Head of Netball at Oundle School. We wish her all the very best for the future.

Miss Bray

Mr Hughes has been with us since January 2017, working as both a Teacher of Spanish and a Languages Assistant. He has been teaching since 1986, alongside other endeavours, in many different countries, to many different nationalities, and students aged 4 to 80. In Mr Hughes’ words, he is stopping for a while to do something different but doesn’t know what that is yet, he will probably continue to do some teaching and will definitely continue to do some learning, and says that we might expect him to be banging on the door in the future to be let back in! Mr Hughes wanted to let you all know what a fantastic place this is to work thanks to the staff and the students. He believes this is a place where students and staff can be their, possibly, idiosyncratic selves rather than conforming to a single mould and says that is lovely to be a part of and hopes the school continues to embrace ‘differences’ and individuality of all kinds. Mr Hughes, we wish you all the very best for the future.

Mr Hughes

Miss Kirbyshire joined the High School 20 years ago in June 2004 as a Teacher of Art. She joined us from Moore House School in Farnham, Surrey, where she had worked as a Ceramic Technician.

During her time with us, Miss Kirbyshire has taken in more DofE trips than she can count and in all types of weather than she cares to remember. She has particularly fond memories of the Classics trip to Greece and Italy.

Whilst working here at the High School, Miss Kirbyshire started up the ceramics department which is now a core part of the Art curriculum. She has also played an important part in the creation of many stages sets over the years and also helped with our Community Action programme.

Miss Kirbyshire wanted to say thank you to all of the amazing staff and students she has known over the years who have made the job so enjoyable and rewarding.

She leaves us to take up the role of Art Teacher at an international school in Dubai. We wish her all the very best for her move abroad.

Mrs Poole was educated in the Chilterns, attending a girl’s grammar school, before going on to study Biology at Manchester University. On graduation, she received a job offer from KPMG to train to be a chartered accountant, but she changed her mind and applied very late in the day for a PGCE course at Nottingham University. Her first teaching position was at Dr Challoner’s High School, a girl’s grammar school in Buckinghamshire. She moved back to Nottingham and joined the Biology department of the Girls High School. After ten very happy years, she took a career break to bring up her young family before returning to teaching here at the High School in September 2006.

On her first day, Mrs Poole walked into her Year 7 Form Room only to discover her son was in her new form.

They made it through a whole term before anyone twigged that they were related! During her time here, Mrs Poole has been an Assistant Tutor and Tutor in Cooper’s House, the Careers Co-ordinator for Y7-10 and Head of Year for Y10-11. She has taken part I have taken part in many of the DofE Bronze and Silver expeditions, as well as several Classics trips to Greece and Italy. However, her first love has always been being a classroom teacher. She has always been firmly of the belief that teaching is at its best when collaborative, and feels she has been lucky to have worked with many dedicated and inspiring Biology teachers. With the advent of co-education, her teaching journey has meant she has taught in every possible combination of school types, each having their own different rewards & challenges. In 2019, Mrs Poole was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer and was away from school for 2 years while she received treatment. She was thrilled, as we all were when she was able to return to the classroom 3 years ago and she has relished being able to resume her career. Mrs. Poole says that she has now reached a point where she wants to do other things. She has an increasing brood of grandchildren to enjoy but also hopes to continue her lifelong learning by taking some further qualifications; Medical archaeology is top of her list combining her interest in History with Science. Whilst she will miss being in the classroom, Mrs Poole says that her illness has taught her to keep pushing forward and to always embrace the opportunities that present themselves. She will follow the progress of Nottingham High School with interest. We wish Mrs. Poole all the best for the future and thank her warmly for all that she has done in her time here at the High School.

Mrs Poole

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Mr Hamilton Mr Hamilton joined the High School in September 2017 as Director of Rugby. He has also held the roles of Tutor, PGCE Mentor, and NQT/ECT Mentor. Mr Hamilton first played for the 1st XV at the age of 15. PostGCSEs, he secured a Rugby Scholarship to Denstone College, achieving colours and the role of 1st XV Captain.

During his time there, he represented Leicestershire County and Staffordshire County before progressing to play for the Midlands. Driven by a passion for education, he pursued further studies to become a PE teacher at the University of Gloucestershire. There he received a prestigious Sports Scholarship and served as the 1st XV captain after three years in the BUCS Premier League team. Simultaneously, he was recruited into Gloucester RFC’s academy and played National League Rugby for Old Patesians. Following university, Mr Hamilton embarked on a Graduate Teaching Placement at Grace Dieu Manor School in Loughborough while also contributing to National League rugby with Leicester Lions. Upon completing the Graduate year, he pursued a PGCE at Loughborough University. Taking a brief hiatus from teaching, he joined the RFU, overseeing various programs and leading the Player Development Programme.For his NQT year, Mr Hamilton joined Granville Sports College before assuming the role of Head of PE at Stafford Grammar School. His leadership extended to heading the first teams in Rugby, Football, Cricket, Hockey, Netball, and Rounders for girls. Mr Hamilton worked for Leicester Tigers Academy, as Head Coach on the Developing Player Pathway programme and also is the NLD England Rugby Head coach for Girls. Here at the High School, Mr Hamilton led teams in Rugby, Cricket, Hockey, Netball, and Rounders. He has fostered an environment and culture dedicated to positive experiences and progress. He has ensured a dual celebration of sporting excellence and the individual development of each student, resulting in a significant increase in representation. In his PE lessons, Mr Hamilton exhibits a passionate commitment to providing students with the best possible learning experiences. Throughout his classes, you could consistently hear his mantra: "Effort is the most important thing. It does not matter if you can or you can't; effort is the most important thing."

A significant milestone occurred in 2022 when Mr Hamilton led the team to victory, securing the National Bowl – the first major rugby trophy in nearly 50 years for the School. Furthermore, the 1st XV reached the Area Final of the National Plate in 2022 and advanced to the National ¼ finals in 2023, marking a series of remarkable achievements. His team also achieved 3rd Place in the U15 National Rounders tournament. Mr Hamilton, says he is going to miss every student at the School. He hopes that he has captured the imagination of all students that he has taught and truly hopes that he has inspired them to take part in sports, regardless of what level. Mr Hamilton is moving to Tettenhall College, to be Director of Sport and House Parent in the boarding community. This is certainly not going to be the last that you see or hear him shouting “Get off the line”, as there are already plans in place for fixtures between the two schools.

We wish Mr Hamilton all the best in his future teaching career and thank him warmly for all that he has done in his time here at the High School.

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Mrs Griffin has worked at the High School for 28 years, joining us in 1996. She has been a stalwart of the Languages department, has taught in the Food department at various times, has been a Y10 Form Teacher and an Assistant Tutor in White’s House, and has been an excellent teacher throughout her time here. Mrs Griffin was heavily involved in the Gilching Exchange, of which she is extremely proud. She has been on numerous Language trips and ski trips over the years, not to mention the enormous amount of time spent with the Scouts and going on the DofE trips, highlights included cooking on an open fire and driving a minibus of Scouts to the Isle of Wight to sail away. Mrs Griffin says that over the last 28 years, she has experienced a lot of change. In 1996, she was one of only 3 female members of staff teaching all boys. She has had the joy of seeing many students grow into young adults, and the privilege of working with some brilliant colleagues, some of whom have become her dear friends. Along the way, she has bid farewell to a fair few staff who have retired, and says that she has blinked and suddenly it’s her turn! She would like to wish you all a wonderful life and make sure you do a good turn every day, someone out there will need it. In terms of what is next for Mrs Griffin, she says that she will try to get into the Diamond League and learn Hungarian on Duolinguo, she wants to swim with dolphins, build a treehouse, and try to live a good life and be a good person. Mrs Griffin, your humanity and empathy shone through during your time here. You have been a supportive colleague and an excellent teacher. Your contributions to so many trips have been outstanding and you will be sorely missed. We wish you all the best for the future and thank you for everything that you have done.

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