Issue 80 | Autumn 2019
News from Bablake
B
ablake’s Wheatleyan magazine stood out at the Shine Media Awards earlier this year, taking Best Overall Content and Editor of the Year.
Staff Editor Mr Mark Woodward, Editor Adam Dickinson and Deputy Editor Charlotte Park all enjoyed their moment of glory at Stationers’ Hall in July.
www.bablake.com
According to Shine 19, “Best Overall Content is an award that really considers every aspect of the work put into a project and how it thematically succeeds. The Wheatleyan does just that.” Judges commended an ‘outstanding magazine’ saying it had a ‘very clear editorial direction’. They went on to praise ‘the layout, the content and everything about it’, describing a ‘great and extremely professional student publication’. Assessing The Wheatleyan, the judges found a textbook case of a well-edited magazine. “There’s an evenness of f low to this publication from beginning to
end which speaks of a sound vision. Judges felt that every aspect of The Wheatleyan was tightly focussed. The quality of the design and written features felt cohesive and to a very high standard. It’s clear that Adam had his eye all over every aspect of this very strong magazine and the voice of an amply capable editor shone through. Well done.” We congratulate Mr Mark Woodward, the students and other members of staff involved in the many hours of hard work that made such an impressive publication for Bablake. We could not be more proud!
Photo courtesy of Jake Brandford of Richard Chapman Studios.
The Wheatleyan Shines!
News british science festival The British Science Festival Coventry and Warwickshire 2019 featured a diverse programme of talks, debates, performances and activities at the University of Warwick and around the city.
arkwright
Scholarship Edward Crossley has recently been awarded a prestigious Arkwright Scholarship and we offer him our congratulations on this great achievement.
A group of Lower Sixth students attended a talk titled ‘Super Drugs for Superbugs’ about antimicrobial resistance and new ways to overcome this problem. Lower Sixth student Charlotte Bull said “It was an excellent opportunity for us to gain further knowledge about biological problems currently faced by the scientific community. The lecture was highly informative and allowed lecturers from a range of backgrounds to address the common misconceptions surrounding antibiotic resistance and to talk about new methods to combat the problem.” A second lecture was titled ‘One cell to rule them all’ and discussed chromosomes and cells. It was an excellent opportunity for the students to gain further knowledge about chromosomes and the process of cell division, both of which will be covered in A level Biology. Nithisa Sivaruban said “It was a great experience for us all and we really appreciated the opportunity to widen our knowledge.”
Nationally, 415 scholarships were awarded this year, each worth £600 to the scholar and £400 to the school. Edward has been paired with the Sir William Lyons Charitable Trust, which will act as a mentor, offering help and advice with projects and factory visits throughout the year. Edward tells us that the three-stage process was rigorous, but that he was confident in his work. The process began with the submission of an application form and Edward was then selected to sit an exam in which he used his problem solving skills to produce solutions using only diagrams, sketches and drawings with annotations. The final stage consisted of an interview at Loughborough University, where he had to present to two highly qualified engineers, talking them through his GSCE projects and other projects that he had undertaken outside school. On receiving confirmation of the award, Edward said,
“This has given me a great sense of achievement and I feel very privileged to be an Arkwright Scholar. It will drive me towards becoming an engineer and my desire to develop products from my own ideas is now even greater.”
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University of Warwick CREST Placement Ten Lower Sixth students completed a placement in the Chemistry Department at the University of Warwick, where they spent one week investigating the ratio of fac and mer isomers in iron complexes. They observed many practical techniques from ref luxing to recrystallization and one of the most challenging elements was interpreting NMR spectra and UV-Vis spectra. We would like to say a huge thank you to Professor Michael Ward, Dr Russ Kitson, Rob, Sam, Dani and Raj for giving our students this wonderful opportunity.
GOLD CREST William, Jack, Kaess and Dhru completed a Gold CREST placement at the University of Birmingham under the guidance of Professor Antonio Belli. While there, they discovered methods used to assess and monitor severe traumatic brain injuries (TBI), including fMRI scans, EEG and a new method called near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). They looked at CT and MRI scans of real life patients, shadowed a sport concussion clinic and discovered techniques used to assess concussion. Kaess said “The following week, Professor Belli allowed us to shadow in a neurological theatre ward. I observed a vagus nerve stimulation and a temporal lobectomy, procedures that aim to reduce seizure frequency and severity in an epileptic patient. It was fascinating to see a temporal lobectomy in real life, having researched this previously as part of my EPQ.”
Written by Abinaya Muraleetharan During the summer, Sara Gill and I completed a placement in the School of Biosciences at University of Birmingham. We shadowed Professor Helen J. Cooper and her research group, which was investigating proteins in disease using mass spectrometry analysis. The placement felt daunting due to the sheer volume of information that we were taking in every day, but through asking many questions and doing extra reading, we learned so much. It was a huge privilege to learn from and to get to know the researchers in the Cooper Mass Spectrometry Group and we loved being able to share the enthusiasm they held for mass spectrometry. We are immensely grateful for the opportunity.
Visiting teachers from China We were delighted to welcome six visiting Chinese teachers to Bablake this term. They spent two days with us as part of the Warwick University international teachers programme. The teachers have to apply to their regional educational authority to take part in the programme and are selected on the grounds of exceptional performance. All six teachers said how much they enjoyed their visit, and were impressed by our pupils, commenting, ‘Students in this school are courteous and confident. We like them a lot’. They were also envious of our small class sizes
in relation to class sizes in China. Bella, one of the English teachers in her feedback to us said, ‘The number of students in each class is no more than 25, that’s very different from ours, which has usually 50 or more in each class. So each student is able to gain much more attention and support from teachers and so are the special education need students, which we think is a great advantage of British Education.’ We very much enjoyed hosting the group and must give special thanks to Matt who gave three presentations on the Chinese economy to our business and economics students and to Bella and Kevin who helped him prepare it. BABLAKE
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house events The House system at Bablake is very important as it allows pupils to participate in a range of events regardless of their ability. This year we changed the format of the House Chess competition and decided to do a lightning tournament where a move must be made every ten seconds. We started with 31 pupils and eventually ended up with our winner, Vincent of Crow House. Pupils had great fun and enjoyed the new format. The final result was Crow first, Fairfax second, Wheatley third and Bayley fourth. The Senior House dodgeball competition involved pupils from Fifth Year to Upper Sixth. Many pupils attended and had fun throwing the ball at each other! The winning House was Crow.
Junior Science Club One of our first Junior Science Club activities was making a marshmallow catapult. Mrs Sharkey (Senior Science Technician) showed the pupils how to construct the catapult and pupils worked individually and in small groups. They then fired a projectile and we were amazed by the distance travelled. One group decided to sneakily tape their catapult to the bench, which in theory should have made it easier to launch the projectile without the worry of the marshmallow catapult collapsing. Despite their efforts, they came second!
Senior Quiz is a popular event as it allows the pupils to show off their general knowledge. The event is currently taking place and we wish all Houses the best of luck!
BAE Systems, RAF and Royal Navy STEM Roadshow This was the third year in a row that the roadshow team has come to Bablake to deliver an exciting session on STEM. The session focused on communications and data and was titled ‘Are We Connected?’. It discussed how mobile phones connect people around the world, how computers talk to each other and how we talk to our devices via Bluetooth etc. Pupils participated in some of the demonstrations and problemsolving games and afterwards, spoke enthusiastically about the presentation.
One of the most popular sessions is when we make slime. Mrs Sharkey decided to let the pupils make glow in the dark slime using PVA glue, borax solution and a special dye. The slime glowed when it was put near a UV lamp and pupils had great fun making the slime and creating a mess!
LGBTQ Bablake’s LGBTQ+ Society began the year with student leaders Meridith Womble-Lancaster and Rebecca Dodd, along with Angel Ma and Charlotte Merry, taking part in a training workshop in London. Its aim was to promote inclusivity and increase awareness of the LGBTQ+ Society. The students learned a lot and have since started working on a Teacher Lip-Sync fundraiser planned to take place in December to raise money for Just Like Us, a non-profit organisation set up to support and aid LGBTQ+ young people in times of need. The trip was an all-round success and changes have already been implemented to widen the society’s scope and impact within the school.
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Sleepout Members of 6PC braved the elements on the night of 22nd November to do a sponsored sleepout at school. The monies raised will fund breakfast and evening meal sessions at St Columba’s Church in Radford, sessions which are open to rough sleepers, those in financial hardship or anyone who would like to drop in for some company over a warm meal. We worked with local charity Coventry Comfort Carers to identify where the funds would go and would encourage you to look at their website if you are interested in donating money or goods to this very worthy cause.
We are delighted to report that the sleepout raised in excess of £1000.
a classic show!
Benjamin Crosby
From an early age, I have always been passionate about cars as have several generations of my family, so it was only natural that I too would follow in their footsteps. Earlier this year I was shortlisted for the National Young Car Club Member of the Year Award at an awards dinner held at the NEC in Birmingham. Despite some stiff competition from members of other national car clubs, all of whom were older than me, I was delighted to win the award in recognition of my dedication to our club (Racing Puma). I, along with my dad and other members of the group regularly exhibit our Ford Racing Pumas at various car shows throughout the country, most notably the Classic Car Show, which was recently held at the NEC and while it is always an extremely busy weekend, it is also very rewarding.
cern placement Prana Karthikesu
During the summer holiday, Upper Sixth student Prana completed a Gold CREST placement at CERN. Here, he tells us about the experience: “On the first day, I met Dr Barney and the other interns from Zurich. He was nothing like I had expected and had a great sense of humour and was very approachable. Over the
course of the week, Dr Barney took us to the CMS detector, which is 100 metres underground. My job was to test each high voltage power supply by connecting it to the main hardware in the underground service cavern (USC). I used some software called gecko to monitor the current and voltage outputs to see if they were constant for each of 5288 silicon detectors making up the preshower detector. At the end of the test, Dr Barney told me that my data would actually be used by CMS. It felt amazing to make a small contribution to the largest particle research facility in the
world. The data would be used by the CMS team to improve their detector, and I had been responsible for collecting it! I felt proud by the end of the week, as I had been able to conduct various tests on the preshower detector with confidence. I even received an invitation to return to CERN for the summer studentship programme hosted by CERN for university students.”
“ It felt amazing to make a small
contribution to the largest particle research facility in the world. ” BABLAKE
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Peace and Reconciliation Daniel Baden The Lord Mayor invited our Peace and Reconciliation Ambassadors to a conference on November 8th. Delegates were divided into groups of around 30 and consisted of students, teachers and peace activists. We formed peace circles and were given a chance to explain how we felt about violence and intimidation in our city. We then brainstormed ideas for new projects that could be run in schools and communities and key points were scribed on flip charts by university students.
Germs!
The Lord Mayor’s Committee for Peace and Reconciliation is currently bidding for funding to enable peace activists and creative people such as artists, poets and musicians to help students develop their projects and promote them to a wider public during the months following the Conference.
Two Bablake pupils have entered the Coventry & Warwickshire Children’s Peace Poem Competition 2020. Here are their entries: The True Meaning of Peace, Daniel Freeman Peace, Has a heart of fire, stronghold of power When it’s here there’s no need to cower Rare internal gift, so different and unique So hard to discover, even when you seek So is that it? A superpower? A gift? Now so few find it, it may as well be a myth Peace, Flows like water, never-ending grace When it’s present, there is no space For war and fighting, which creates a blood river That doesn’t flow, it just makes us shiver
Last term, staff and PhD students from the University of Warwick delivered an afternoon session on microbes to Second Year pupils. After a talk in the theatre on microbiomes, pathogens and transmission, pupils went to labs where they did an activity involving glo-germ powder and modelling clay to learn how bacteria is transmitted. The models were impressive and pupils paid particular attention to the different shapes of bacteria and thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.
But is that why it is here? Is that what it’s for? Just to rid us of fighting, anxiety and war? Peace, An enigma, wonder, mystery However, what is its meaning to you and me? Blatantly obtrusive, yet so hard to see Peace is silence in a chaotic swirl of activity
Remembrance
Peace can be two-faced, It is calm, yet stirs our soul with inspiration Lowers our barriers, while strengthens our spirit of creation In the good times and bad, the world finds itself leaning Towards, Peace, a simple world filled with complexity and meaning So maybe we have not found peace’s true meaning But that true meaning is peace
Peace, Hamsini Subanthran Please end this violence all over the place Ease all tensions with each and every race All colours must live together and with grace Come together and love one another Echoes of peace in every place
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The Headmaster and Reverend Slavic look through the Bablake Roll of Honour with former pupil and guest speaker Major Rob Thomas.
brilliant bablake! We were delighted to be able to announce another year of record-breaking GCSE results this year, with a stunning 52% of all grades at 9 or 8. Mr Wright commented, “Exam results only measure a part of what makes a great education and we are proud not only of what our pupils have achieved but also the balanced and sensible approach they have shown. To gain more 8s and 9s than all other grades put together is exceptional, and all this from a year group which participates in and
achieves so much outside the classroom. I am so very proud of them and I hope they will continue to be happy, healthy and high achieving as young adulthood awaits. Our A level students also reaped the rewards of their efforts with impressive A level results and achieved 70% A* B grades. Over a third of all students achieved at least two A*-A grades and many added to their A level results by participating in the Bablake Advantage Programme, resulting in additional qualifications in the Extended Project, Accountancy or Law.
Head of Sixth Form, Mrs Alison Tumber, was delighted to see her students realising their ambitions and heading off to study a range of subjects at first class universities Three students are continuing their studies at Oxford and Cambridge and many more have started at medical school. Prestigious apprenticeships have also been secured with Aston Martin, JCB and Warwickshire County Cricket.
We came, we saw, we planted! One hour, five humans and 30 trees‌ after a long wait and several excited tree-related messages between the Eco-Club and Mr. Hyde, we were finally ready to don our most beautiful wellies, grab our shovels and get digging. When we arrived at the playing fields, it did not take long to find a particularly treeless corner and so we set to work, planting a well-organised mishmash of silver birch, rowan and wild cherry. 45 minutes later and 10 muddy hands richer, we arrived back at school just in time to slip back into lessons. A big THANK YEW to all involved!
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Simply Outstanding! Now in their fifth year, the RateMyApprenticeship Awards bring together apprentices, schools, employers and training providers to celebrate success in the apprenticeship market. The Awards ceremony took place in London on Thursday 18th July and Mr Mark Woodward, former Head of Careers at Bablake, attended to be given an award for his Outstanding Contribution to Apprenticeships. The award celebrates careers advisors and individuals in schools and colleges, as well as independent careers advisors who are championing and inspiring apprenticeships for young people. This is what RateMyApprenticeship had to say about Mark: “An advocate for championing apprenticeships, Mark has encouraged his pupils to explore the apprenticeship route as an alternative to university, through insightful workshops, newsletters, presentations from employers, attending employer events and social media. He has made a significant impact at the school by encouraging the senior leadership team and parents to see the value and benefits of doing an apprenticeship. He continues to strive and develop more interest in the post-16/18 apprenticeships arena. Mark who is passionate about his students and their futures, has also built strong connections with many different employers to allow his students to gain as much information as they need to decide if the apprenticeship route is right for them. His excitement and enthusiasm about apprenticeships can clearly be seen in his day to day work.”
Photo credit: RateMyApprenticeship
We congratulate Mark wholeheartedly on this fabulous achievement.
drama workshop Back in June, the Warts and All Theatre Company gave some of our pupils the chance to participate in a practical workshop on the methods and theories of Antonin Artaud.
During the workshop, students were given the opportunity to explore their physical and vocal extremities in short performance activities. They shared these and had the chance to review the impact of such an abstract
approach to acting, as both performer and audience member. As well as offering creative space and time to absorb the depth of knowledge and skills required at GCSE and A level, this practitioner workshop also allowed pupils to collaborate as a whole cohort. So much can be gained from seeing how others interpret ideas and create or perform theatre, so a morning together certainly stretched and challenged their creative perspectives.
Fame! Once again, we were blown away at auditions by the talent and commitment of our Bablake community, who made our lives very hard in casting! Congratulations to all who showed immense courage and creativity during the process of auditions, and thank you in advance to our cast and crew for your dedication to making this show another wonderful experience for all concerned. This show is set to be full of energy, teenage angst and 80’s fashion statements!
You don’t want to miss this - Fame will run from 13th – 15th February 2020
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Art & Music Art Trip Last term, Sixth Form Art students travelled to Oxford for a day of exploration and resource gathering at the Pitt Rivers Museum and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. The Pitt Rivers is an ethnographical museum that houses more than 500,000 cultural objects, photographs and manuscripts from all periods of human existence. Many items are of ritual significance or are objects made for tourists or trade, and students saw everything from totem poles to shrunken heads. Both museums were invaluable in visually stimulating the imagination of the students and we were lucky enough to find time for just a little bit of sightseeing before heading home.
life drawing During half term, the Art Department hosted a day of life drawing for students from Barrs Hill School, Whitley Academy and West Coventry Academy. The day was hosted by Mr Paul Cleaver (Head of Art) and was run by local artist Tanya Kozin, who has been working with our own students for many years. The chance to draw nudes and develop observational
drawing skills will hopefully enhance the students’ understanding of the human form and will be a great addition to their portfolios as many of them consider university applications for next year. Our own Upper Sixth students will get their chance to try life drawing over the next six weeks as part of the Enrichment programme that runs on Friday afternoons. BABLAKE
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Out & About beth shalom
Milo Kelly
This term in RPE, we have been learning about the horrors of the Holocaust and, to develop a deeper understanding of the events, we visited Beth Shalom, which is the national Holocaust centre and museum. Prior to our visit, we already knew that it was to be a very sobering day. Upon arriving at the centre we walked through the memorial gardens which offer a space for reflection and remembrance. It was a beautiful and peaceful space. Thousands of white roses are dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust and each rose has its own dedication with an individual message. A large pile of stones represents the 1.5 million children that died during the Holocaust and as visitors, we were invited to place a stone on the pile, but the number of stones is still nowhere near the number of children who lost their lives. We then made our way to a classroom where we watched a slideshow of the different stages of the Holocaust and its horrors. This was a dramatic change from the beauty and serenity of the gardens and it showed us how
unimaginably difficult and depressing it would have been to be part of a group targeted by the Nazis. The main part of the exhibition focused on antisemitism, Hitler’s rise to power and the ghettos. We were told to focus on one photo from a selection showing just some of those affected by the Holocaust and to keep that image in mind for the rest of the day. I chose an image that reminded me of a family member and reminded me that the persecuted were no different to the rest of society. Towards the end of the day, we attended a talk given by Holocaust survivor Martin Stern, who was just five years old when he was caught up in the brutality. It struck me I have a fiveyear-old sister who I doubt would last five minutes in the dreadful conditions that Martin faced. The events that he described were vivid and powerful The day was solemn and thoughtprovoking and all that we saw brought to life the horrors that we had discussed in the classroom.
EES Our two new Lower Sixth Engineering Education Scheme teams recently paid a visit to their sponsor company Dennis-Eagle in Leamington Spa. They spent the afternoon with their link engineers and enjoyed a fascinating factory tour to see how refuse collection lorries are designed and manufactured, before considering the real life problems that have been set for them to solve. The teams now have a few weeks to develop solutions before the next stage, which will be a residential workshop at the University of Birmingham.
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chemistry lecture trips Mr Inderpal Kalsi A group of Sixth Form students recently attended a series of lectures in the Chemistry Department at the University of Birmingham. The first lecture was titled ‘Smack, Crack, Speed and Weed – A Forensic Chemist’s Tale’ and was a fantastic talk delivered by Dr Mike Griffin, now retired, but who previously worked for the Metropolitan Police Laboratory Drugs Division. The lecture highlighted the structures of different drugs and the instrumental techniques used to analyse them. The second lecture was ‘Discovering New Medicines – The Role of the Chemist’. Chemistry is the cornerstone in the continuing search for new medicines and this lecture covered the treatment of ailments through the ages, and then looked at the work of Perkin which led others to the discovery of the sulphonamide antibiotics. The many roles played by chemists in the modern drug discovery process was considered, looking at how chemical synthesis, natural product isolation, and genome data are used to generate promising compounds, and how these are developed into successful drugs. The students enjoyed both talks and hopefully learnt some interesting Chemistry along the way!
Edward Buckley
Emily Maughan
When I signed up for the trip to Snowdonia it sounded like it would be amazing, but the trip turned out to be so much better. Throughout the week, we overcame fears and obstacles and pushed ourselves way out of our comfort zones. By the end of the week, I had been climbing and caving and we then headed to Anglesey not knowing what to expect!
The highlight of the trip for me was coasteering. This was a unique experience and felt very dangerous – it was certainly an activity for the thrill seeker! We also explored a slate mine, rafted across a lake, tried paddle boarding (incredibly difficult!) and enjoyed many laughs. As well as learning new outdoor skills, we also completed duties such as cleaning the storeroom, washing up, setting the table, tidying our rooms and making beds from scratch.
We discovered we were going to be abseiling and everyone decided I had to go first. I’m glad I did! As I started to move over the edge and looked down, I saw 40m deep open cave. The fear came but I kept going, suspended in mid-air until I reached the end. The whole trip was so much more than just the excitement of the activities; it taught us how to overcome any obstacle even when faced with our fears.
On our trip we were joined by Mrs Sawyer, Mr Hyde, Mr Wright, Mrs Smith and Mrs French, all of whom cheated on the orienteering, although Mr Wright disputes this! They did at least buy us biscuits on the final day, so I’ll forgive them. The Snowdonia trip was an excellent experience thanks to the teachers that helped to make it happen. Should a trip like this come up again, I would strongly recommend that you sign up straight away!
“Throughout the week, we overcame fears and obstacles and pushed ourselves way out of our comfort zones.”
snowdonia 2019 BABLAKE
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Harrismith Mrs Helen Skilton This summer saw the fourth visit of Bablake pupils and teachers to our partnership school in Harrismith, South Africa. The partnership was established in 2012 and we are delighted that it continues to flourish, going from strength to strength. It is hard to pick a highlight from the visit as each day was so rewarding, but for me on my fifth trip to Harrismith, I always feel overwhelmed by two things: the warmth of the reception we always receive and the challenges faced by the school. It is devastating to learn that the school not only has to face the threat of theft, but is now dealing with intentional vandalism from the very community that it serves. Despite this, we were able to make constructive plans with the principal, Mr Miya, the link organiser, Mr Khanye, and school governing body. During 2019-2020, Bablake will continue to fund provision of the Internet, will pay after-school assistants to supervise the ICT room, will assist Harrismith learners with university applications and will fund breakfast for all pupils from January 2020. The barbecue we hosted at our accommodation for all the friends that we have made at Harrismith over the past seven years was very special. It is no exaggeration to say that we have been fully embraced by the Harrismith community and it was a pleasure to repay their welcome in this small way.
“After a long flight and our first meeting with the Harrismith learners, we all spent three nights at the Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve. It was a great opportunity to learn about each other and ourselves in a setting of huge natural beauty.� - Rebecca
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“The classrooms were very basic with wooden desks and chalkboards used to teach. At times, the cold of the winter made the classrooms very chilly due to the fact there were no heaters. Despite this, the Harrismith pupils were enthusiastic learners. What really impressed me was their ambition and aspiration to do well and be the best they could be.” - Bhavan
“The best part for me about doing the mural was getting to meet so many different students and teachers from the school; many of them took an interest in what we were doing and asked us to explain the mural itself. Our main message through the mural was to show how two schools could come together and use education as a means of achieving their dreams for the future.” - Alfie
“Durban allowed us to see a different part of South Africa as it is one of the most largely populated cities in the country with a large tourist industry.We also all became a lot closer on this day, especially with our friends from Harrismith, as we were able be silly playing on the beach together, sharing many laughs and appreciating the beauty of this incredible city.” - Mya
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Epic adventures in greece
Mr Dan Menashe 46 pupils set off on a cold October morning to tour Greece and just a few hours later arrived in hot, sunny Athens, with cloudless skies that followed us all week. Our first visit was to the Acropolis in Athens where we marvelled at the Parthenon and other temples. After a great guided tour, we shopped in the Plaka district before witnessing the strange but mesmeric changing of the guard in Syntagama square. We saw our first, but most modern, of stadia during the week as we staged our own races on the 1896 Olympic track. The following day we visited the National Archaeological Museum. The iconic Mask of Agamemnon was the first object on show, and pupils freely explored the artefacts that spanned over two millennia. Many used it as a great opportunity to refresh their knowledge of Mycenae and its culture for their GCSE studies. We then left Athens and stopped at the monastery of Hosios Loukas, where we enjoyed amazing views and beautiful architecture. We reached Delphi at sunset. The views were incredible, as was the tour we had the following day as we strolled past temples, treasuries and an athletic stadium. It was then time to move to Olympia, via the incredible engineering feat that is the Rio-Antirrio Bridge. The site of Olympia the following morning witnessed some highly competitive races, with Adnaan Riaz taking the prize of the laurel wreath before we set of to Tolon. The first thing we did was to test out the hotel pool. A party of Danish OAPs watched from their balconies and, like numerous people on the trip, they had nothing but praise for the behaviour of the pupils. There was a chance to swim in the sea the next day after we had visited the sites of Mycenae and Corinth. Mr. Fontana led a group of highly interested pupils round the latter before being quizmaster on the coach journey back: clearly a man of many talents. He richly deserved his birthday cake that evening! Our final full day began with a visit to the Theatre of Epidauros. We tested out the incredible acoustics by dropping a coin in the middle of the orchestra that could be heard at the top. We then strolled around the extensive site and paid a brief visit to Tiryns to marvel at the vast size of the defences. We returned to the UK having fully immersing ourselves in Greek culture. Copious amounts of Feta salad, Tzatziki and Greek yoghurt had been consumed, the pupils were brilliant company and tremendous ambassadors for the school and the various year groups had gelled superbly. None of this could have happened without the hard work of Miss Billingham, Mr Fontana, Mrs Sawyer and Dr Smith, who worked tirelessly during the week and ensured the trip was a tremendous success.
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PGL (parents get lost!) The PGL trip to Boreatton Park trip took most of the Shells away for a long weekend at the start of half term. It was the best experience that anyone could possibly have, despite the mud and rain. Log cabins in the woods, surrounded by new friends; activities for everyone (but definitely not for parents). Canoeing was my favourite! After activities, we were always ravenous and they had mountains of food for us fortunately.
Hamsini Subanthran There are more than 50 different activities at PGL Boreatton Park and we packed in as many as possible, tackling high ropes, low ropes, climbing, archery, orienteering and much more. However, the fun didn’t stop at the end of the day, and one favourite funpacked evening saw us doing our very own Robot Wars. We all made it back safe and sound, although some of our kit didn’t and remains lost in the local river, our gift to PGL!
bablake travels back in time… by Kanishka Sathiyaseelan At the end of last half term, some of Bablake’s most inquisitive pupils (Shells, of course!) visited the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford where we learnt about the planes used in some of the most famous wars and battles of the past. Throughout the day, we discovered how planes work and how they have evolved over the years. My group began the day with our guide showing us a plane that had been manufactured during World War II that Queen Elizabeth II had travelled on when she was young. We explored it up close and had an exclusive look in the cockpit. Even though we knew that the buttons and levers didn’t work, we felt as if we had travelled in time and that we were in the pilot’s seat operating the plane, flying through the clouds, transporting Her Majesty to safety. Later in the day, we saw a variety of planes from different wars and entered a classroom where we learnt about the uniforms that pilots wore when planes were first invented and how technology had been part of the development of these uniforms. It was a very informative visit and we enjoyed a spectacular day!
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canada 2019
Bablake Lions Roar! At the very end of the Summer Term, 28 keen rugby players and four already exhausted members of staff boarded a flight to Toronto, and then another one to Montreal, where we began our tour. The first fixture pitted us against Montreal Wanderers; it took a while to establish exactly where we were playing (the pitch being located in the grounds of the local psychiatric hospital), and the opposition looked both more physical and older than our squad. However, it seemed that youth and skill were more than a match for age and treachery and we recorded our first of four victories. With no facilities pitchside (a theme repeated at our other games), we decamped to the local open air swimming pool, only to be ejected after some of the boys decided it was culturally acceptable to bathe in their underpants, which it wasn’t! We left the following morning for the beautiful capital city of Ottawa, taking in the Calypso waterpark en route. It was blisteringly hot and hard to imagine what the place is like when under several feet of snow with freezing temperatures in the middle of winter. We stayed in the University of Ottawa halls of residence, and that evening we were treated to a historical walking tour of Ottawa by
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our informative and enthusiastic tour guide. The following morning saw the long awaited white water rafting on the Ottawa river and the boys thoroughly enjoyed this, although it was noted that Harvey paddled like he was on the River Avon at Stratford having a picnic lunch! On the way back, the boys enjoyed a BBQ aboard the pontoon boat and then relaxed on paddleboards & kayaks on the lake while Mr Hall ruined a lovely evening of fishing for a local family by stealing their fishing rod and insisting on trying to land some catfish from the lake…another nail in the coffin for Anglo-Canadian relations. The following morning we travelled towards our final destination of Toronto: a sprawling metropolis of nearly three million Canadians with all of its associated urban problems – homelessness, pollution and horrendous traffic jams that plagued our every journey out of the city. While in Toronto we did what most tourists do and went to the top of the CN Tower, took in the the aquarium and visited the Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays , where we watched the Toronto Wolfpack play the Featherstone Rovers in a rugby league match. During the rest of our time in
Toronto, the boys played a further two fixtures (versus Barrie RFC and Fergus Highland RFC), both of which we won convincingly. The last game was somewhat undermined by nearly half the opposition team having to depart at half time as they were representing Ontario that afternoon, but in the spirit of touring rugby they borrowed some players from us! The final game was the best in terms of post-match hospitality, with Fergus Highland Rugby putting on a great spread and presenting Mr Hall with a commemorative water cooler, as he choked back the tears. All good tours must come to an end, but a final treat was a stop off at Niagara Falls, an awesome spectacle of nature that is somewhat ruined by commercialism and plastic. Despite this tour being a last minute replacement for the cancelled Sri Lanka tour, it was a hugely enjoyable experience for both boys and staff. Rugby was played in the true spirit of touring, with new friendships forged and experiences shared both on and off the field. All members of the touring squad were a credit to both themselves and to Bablake Rugby and they richly deserved the four wins they achieved, playing some truly inspiring rugby.
Mr Simon Enstone
Sport boys’ rugby The 1st XV has had an outstanding term; the quality of play and the commitment that they have displayed has been exceptional. Their NatWest Vase run that took them to the last 16, where they lost 25-3 to an excellent Leicester Grammar team in a match that was far closer than the score suggests, highlights the high level of ability within the group. Our links with Coventry RFC continue to offer exciting opportunities and the U12s, U15s, U16s and 1st XV have had, or will
soon have, the opportunity to play at the fantastic Butts Park Arena, with all senior players training there every Monday. Our U13s and U14s need not worry, as their chance to play there will come too! Coventry RFC has also assisted us in providing some of their 1st XV players to coach our senior group and is giving video analysis for our 1st XV to view. These links have also led to the appointment of Cyrus, our strength and conditioning coach, who has made a fantastic contribution to the development of many of our sportsmen and women. While our primary focus is always enjoyment, we continue to work hard to develop all of our boys to reach their potential.
The Mike Hibbert Memorial Shield The Rugby Gods failed to shine on the Bablake 1st XV in this year’s Mick Hibbert Memorial Shield. The team put in an outstanding performance against a resilient King Henry VIII, yet despite dominating possession and territory and crossing the try line three times without reward, we narrowly lost 1310 after turning down a final kick at goal to draw in order to push for victory!
boys’ hockey Mr Andrew Phillips
We are in the midst of another busy season with over 140 fixtures to play before the Easter break. We are once again fortunate to have Richard Major and Nisar Chaudhry as our professional coaches, supported by our hockey specialist teaching staff. Mr Chris Seeley, Deputy Head, has also recently been appointed as a national panel umpire and we are very proud of his achievements and fortunate that we have someone at such a level to manage our U15s and officiate for our 1st XI. It is always my favourite time of year when we welcome our new Shells and they immerse themselves in the sporting opportunities available at Bablake. For many of them, it is the first opportunity they have to play hockey and it becomes one of the most rewarding aspects of the job watching them rapidly improve and the pride they show representing the school for the first time in competitive fixtures. It is also exciting knowing that many of our Shells, who pick up a stick for the first time in September, will ultimately go on and represent the School 1st XI and gain representative honours for local clubs and county. I look forward to working with them as they start their hockey journey and to harnessing the skills that playing for the school presents, not only promoting their physical development, but also the opportunities to develop resilience, team work, leadership and communication outside of the classroom. Congratulations go to Milo Kelly (U14, pictured), Bezalel Akinkoye and Oliver Booth, who have made the Junior Academy Centre (County) for their age group.
Photo credit Andrew Phillips
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Girls’ Sport netball Our netballers have made a superb start to the season and of the 51 matches played, have won 33, drawn 3 and lost 15 across the various age groups, with the U14 and U12 teams undefeated. A special mention must go to the U14 team, which started its National Schools netball journey exceptionally well. The girls have won all nine of their games and have played with real passion and determination on the court. The Coventry School Tournament was a success for both the U14A and U14B teams, as they won all their games and brought home both trophies. We have also entered the new ‘Sisters n Sport’ National Netball Cup, in which Bablake had a tough first draw against Bromsgrove, but dominated and were victorious. This took us to the second round v Denstone College where we once again saw an outstanding performance from all with a huge win (70-19). We are excited to see how the girls will continue to progress through the cup and very much hope that they will be victorious in their next game against King’s High. The U16 Coventry School Tournament took place at the start of the season and our group of girls demonstrated excellent talent and rose to the challenge. The girls finished runners up in the tournament and followed in the footsteps of the seniors to the Warwickshire tournament, where the U16s played some of the best netball they had played all season. There were some very tight games (v King’s high 9-7 and v Stratford Grammar 1413), which unfortunately led to a placing of third, meaning that they narrowly missed out on a place at the regional finals. Individual praise must be awarded to Maria Savage for repeat selection for the Wasps U18 Birmingham Hub, as well as being part of the U17 Wasps performance team. Hannah Denton must also be congratulated on her continuing success at the Wasps U18 Hub in Rugby. The U19s and U14s still have their County tournaments to be played over the next few weeks. We wish them the best of luck! The U12 netballers are already showing their potential and are dominating games, winning 22-8 v Loughborough and 29-7 v St Martin’s. It is fantastic to see so many playing club level netball already, with a handful making it into Warwickshire academies.
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Congratulations to the U14 Netball team on qualifying for regional finals to take place in January. The girls had a superb tournament, beating Solihull 12-5, Rugby 10-5, King’s High 10-9 and King Henry VIII 15-6 to secure their place. A huge well done to all of the girls.
Hockey The 1st XI has a fantastic squad of players this season, consisting of experience, skill and speed. We have many girls that have made it into regional performance centres, with Emma Allroggen continuing to play and train with the U18 England squad. The girls have had a number of thrilling end-to-end games and some have been quite tough. They drew 3-3 to Leicester Grammar and defeated St Martin’s 3-2. In their National Cup journey, they started with an unfortunate loss to Bromsgrove; despite several chances and excellent spells of attacking play, the girls couldn’t get the ball into goal due to some excellent goal keeping. The girls faced Cheltenham Ladies’ College in the round of the plate, where they showed an array of impressive attacking play, winning the game 4-0. We wish all the girls the best of luck in their next round. The U16s also had much success at their indoor tournament. The team faced Rugby and King’s High - two exceptionally tough teams - but were victorious and have now qualified for the second round in December. We know they will be up for the challenge! In addition to the girls’ senior hockey and netball training this season, we are delighted that we have been able to assist them with their strength and conditioning in our newly equipped gym. Our personal trainer has been putting the girls through their paces, with the aim to improve both strength and endurance, which should then have a positive impact on their games. The girls knew that it was going to be a tough day at the U14 Warwickshire Tournament, but they once again did Bablake proud by competing at a good standard against all opposition.
The U13s are showing their hockey potential and have won three matches and drawn two. A real highlight was their game v Leicester Grammar (7-1), with additional goals being totted up against King’s Worcester (5-0) and Solihull (3-0). The team is developing its game from 7 aside to 11 aside with the goal of winning the Warwickshire Tournament in sight.
Emma Allroggen Emma has recently been selected for the England U18 hockey team and in the coming season the team will compete in matches against Ireland, the Netherlands, the USA, Germany, and Belgium. Emma will be part of the team competing in the Eurohockey U18 Championships in Russia during summer 2020. Emma is also playing for the University of Birmingham Hockey Club, as part of the first team, which competes in the National League Premier Division.
Plate. on beating KEHS 12-1 in the National team key hoc s’ girl XI 1st the to ns Congratulatio ! finals and we wish them the best of luck They are now through to the quarter
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Headmaster’s Notes STAFF News
It seems a very long time ago that we welcomed our new Shells into the School. Much has happened in the last few months and this edition of the Lion gives just a flavour of some of the opportunities that are on offer at Bablake. More importantly, it shows how many pupils are taking part and thriving in these activities. Our exam results, impressive as they are, do not reflect all the other achievements of individuals and teams, as pupils benefit from the rich diversity that Bablake has on offer. Nor do they reflect the reason why we believe these opportunities are important. I remain ever grateful for all the support that staff and parents give to these activities.We rely on much goodwill to enable all these opportunities to take place day in, day out. This group of Shells is the first under my leadership and I am looking forward to watching them develop through the School.They have started well, so the signs are good! Every Friday I get to meet those who have birthdays that week and over cookies and squash, they tell me about the things they enjoy at school and what they would improve. I am always particularly interested in their responses to the second question and I have been impressed by the thought they put into answering it. One issue that frequently arises is not having enough time in the day to do every that they want to do.Their enthusiasm should encourage us all to make the most of our time and to have a positive outlook and high aspirations. Long may their enthusiasm continue! Please follow our Twitter feeds to get day-to-day information about the life of the School.The main school feed, @BablakeSchool is used to highlight whole school events and there are other accounts such as @BablakeSport which are worth following. I am told @BablakeHM is also OK!
Miss Kate Blackie will be leaving at the end of term, to take up a Head of Department post at King’s High. During the last three and a half years, Miss Blackie has made a very significant contribution to the lives of pupils at Bablake through her quiet, assured manner in the classroom, her commitment to many co-curricular activities, including the Minerva Society, and as an excellent and caring Form Tutor.
We also bid farewell to Mr Simon Roberts, who is relocating to London to take up a post at St Paul’s. Mr Roberts trained with us and has developed into an outstanding teacher. His enthusiasm is infectious and he has brought many new ideas to the Design Department. Outside design, he has also significantly contributed to our cocurricular programme; coaching hockey, frequently joining in with training and supporting the CCF.
Ms Emma Salter will replace Miss Blackie in the RPE Department. Ms Salter studied at Kent and King’s Universities. She is relocating from the South East and has been taking the opportunity to travel during this term.
Mr Matthew Parsons will be joining the Design Department soon after Easter and I will introduce him in the next edition of The Lion.
Andrew Wright Headmaster
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