The Lion - Issue 85

Issue 85 | Spring 2022

News from BKHS Bablake

Back to

the Future!

I

n September 2021, Mr Parsons approached the Headmaster with a crazy idea:

“What if we put together a team of pupils to raise money to buy a DeLorean and turn it into a replica time machine from the Back to the Future movies?”

The aim is to have a screen accurate time machine which will have working time circuits and flux capacitor and for the pupils to manufacture as many parts as possible in school.

Incredibly, after just a few further discussions, the project was given the green light. And so, Mr Parsons started networking and out of the blue he received an email from a movie car collector called Kevin Hubbard, who also owns the tool company ITS.

We were also incredibly fortunate to have had a recent talk delivered

by Mike Loasby. Mike worked for DeLorean in the late 1970s and was responsible for getting the car into production. He spent the afternoon with our A level Design Technology students and delivered a highly inspiring talk to the DeLorean team. Mike has spent time with the DT Department before and his

Kevin has very kindly donated his car to Bablake for two years and is also funding the project.

www.bkhs.org.uk

grandchildren attended the school many years ago.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for all of those involved and there is certainly excitement in the air. To have one of the most iconic cars ever made on site is truly remarkable.

We are documenting our journey and have a social media account dedicated to our progress. Please follow @bablakedelorean on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok if you would like to see what we are doing and look out for our soon-to-be launched blog - www.bablakedelorean.com - which will be going live in a matter of weeks.

News Oxford trip During February half term, the Art Department took a group of sixth formers to Oxford to conduct research relating to their coursework projects and to explore the delights of the city. The day started with a visit to the Ashmolean Museum and students enjoyed seeing everything from ancient civilisation artefacts to prints and drawings in the Western Art Print Room.

After lunch we visited the magnificent collection at the Natural History Museum and then ended the day by exploring the anthropological delights of the Pitt Rivers Museum, which houses items relating to everyday living around the world, from toys to totem poles!

OUTSTANDING IN THE OLYMPIAD The British Physics Olympiad is an annual competition aimed at the highest achievers in Year 13 Physics in the UK. The three-hour paper for the first round contains questions that go well beyond the A level specification and require an amazing ability to apply understanding to unfamiliar scenarios. This year, five of our students – Joseph, Ewan, Adrian, Celestine and Luke (not in photo) – took part in the first round of the competition.

They did very well, with all of them achieving one of the graded awards. Ewan was top in school, scoring one of the top 100 scores in the country with his Gold Award. Congratulations go to all five for their excellent performances.

Dr S Johnson

A Classic Performance The Classics department recently took a party from BKHS Bablake and BKHS King Henry VIII to see a performance of the Bacchae at Warwick Arts Centre.

The play told the shocking tale of Pentheus, whose refusal to worship the god Dionysus had dire consequences for him and his family.

After the Lord Mayor poured a libation of wine and honey to the god Dionysus, the performance began with the appearance of the god himself. The whole production was excellent and thoroughly modern. Even the choral interludes had been adapted with music and dancing to engage the audience.

It was a particular delight to see alumna, Lizzie Hayes, excel in the role of Agave, who killed and dismembered her own son in a trance. Her gradual comprehension of what she had done was totally convincing.

I have witnessed numerous non-professional performances over the years and this was the best one. The pupils were glowing in their reaction of the play, which for many was a first foray into Greek Tragedy.

Mr D Menashe

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ASTON MARTIN APPRENTICESHIP We recently welcomed former student, Amrit Bhandal, back to Bablake to share his experiences of working for Aston Martin as a degree apprentice.

Amrit decided not to go to university, instead deciding to pursue his dream to work in the automotive industry.

When he visited, he gave a very informative session on different career paths and what the life of an apprentice entails.

He even brought in a test vehicle which went down well with students and staff; the roar of the engine gathered quite a crowd! We were very fortunate that Amrit was able to take time out of his busy schedule to inspire the next generation and we look forward to welcoming him back to Bablake again soon.

Industrial Cadets Despite losing its residential workshop in January at Loughborough University due to the impact of Covid-19, our Industrial Cadets team has continued to make progress on its Autonomous Guided Vehicle.

The sponsor company is Dennis Eagle and one of their engineers, Patrick, has been attending weekly meetings to check on progress and keep pushing the group towards completion of the project.

Once the group has submitted its project report, it will attend an assessment day in May to present ideas to a group of engineers.

BKHS BABLAKE

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BRAIN DAY In November, we were given the opportunity to go on a Psychology trip to experience ‘Brain Day’.

This was something we had been told about at the start of our A level course and we were all excited to be able to go, especially as COVID had stopped most school trips over the last two years.

The day was led by Dr Guy Sutton, an honorary special lecturer in neuroscience at the University of Nottingham Medical School. Guy has lectured in neuroscience and genetics to a range of undergraduate and postgraduate students, including medics, biologists and psychologists, and has conducted research projects and data analysis for various organisations, including the Department of Health and the Medical Research Council; we were certainly in very knowledgeable company for the day!

The trip consisted of multiple seminars, from learning about the brain’s role in schizophrenia to watching a live sheep’s brain dissection, in which we were even given the opportunity to hold the parts of the brain whilst learning about different functions. We also had a detailed introduction to the structure of the brain, as well as the concepts of neuroplasticity and imaging techniques, in addition to an informative look at the effects of drugs such as cannabis on the brain.

To end the day, there was a talk on the future of the brain, with the discussion of neuro-bionics and the impending fusion of the brain and technology. This sparked much debate about the ethics and morals of advancing research and left us thinking about the future of neuroscience.

The day showcased the far-reaching impacts of psychology and neuroscience and their relevance to many aspects of life. It was a fascinating day of learning that we all enjoyed.

Amelia Hobrow

WORLD PI DAY Pi - how many digits do you know?

We held a competition in School to see who could remember the most digits of Pi and Andrew Smith (2NA) recalled an impressive 49 digits. However Vincent Xia (9ZKS) was our winner with an amazing 102 digits! Let’s just see what that looks like….

3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841 97169399375105820974944592307816406286 20899862803482534211706798214!

Pupils were also invited to draw Pi pictures or write a Pi poem and our Shells were lucky enough to be invited to enjoy an afternoon of Mathematics at Coventry Cathedral. In the architecturally and mathematically stunning atrium, pupils were exposed to the beauty of Pi.

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After an interesting talk from a Warwick University researcher about careers linked to Mathematics, pupils took part in a variety of activities, from making bracelets using the digits of Pi to understanding the work of Euler when he studied the bridges of Königsberg, and the traversability of networks, which is the ability to draw a shape without repeating a line or lifting your pencil off the paper.

It was a Pi-fect afternoon!

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HOUSE

Dodgeball House dodgeball took place this term for all year groups and attendance was very good. There were over 50 pupils who took part in the Shell dodgeball competition alone. The event was a great success and was thoroughly enjoyed by pupils.

The winners were: Shells Bayley Year 8 Wheatley Year 9 Crow Years 10 and 11 Fairfax Seniors Wheatley

The Sound of Silence Back in February, 55 Year 11 pupils who are studying Religion, Philosophy and Ethics, visited two very different local Christian places of worship, to deepen their understanding of how different Christians worship. First, we visited the Quaker Meeting House (founded in 1668), situated just a five-minute walk from School, on Hill Street.

YOUNG ENTERPRISE Our Young Enterprise Team recently won an award at the Trade Fair held at The Royal Priors.

The group of four showcased their handmade scented candles and these were judged ‘Most Viable Retail Product’ ahead of products from a huge range of other teams.

The mystery shopper said that the team was very professional and that the product was contemporary. It was also very encouraging to see how well the candles sold.

The team has had a long, hard journey through this process and it has been a real learning curve. The members of the team have overcome many difficulties and have done extremely well to achieve this award.

We are very proud of them.

There we received a very warm welcome from several Quakers, who spoke to us about the history of their faith, and then gave us a taste of their silent worship and witnessing. We then moved on to Coventry Cathedral, where we received a talk on the Cathedral’s work for peace and reconciliation.

We then participated in the weekly Litany of Reconciliation, before receiving a brisk tour from our very own Reverend Canon Slavic and visiting the Cathedral ruins. The morning enabled pupils to get a fuller impression of very different styles of worship, liturgical and non-liturgical.

Their only complaint was that we didn’t have time to stop for a snack in the city centre!

Dr T Smith

BKHS BABLAKE

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THE RETURN OF CHESS Following a year’s hiatus, competitive chess has returned with a joint Chess Club comprising pupils from both BKHS Bablake and BKHS King Henry VIII for the first time. Every Friday the club is held in the Dining Hall at BKHS Bablake and caters for a wide range of skill levels from beginner to expert. Over the last few months, they have played against other schools in the Coventry Schools’ league and for the regional schools’ cup.

TACKLING THE CHANNEL FOR CHARITY During the final weekend of April, Mr Rob Burdett, Head of Boys’ PE, will be part of a team aiming to row across the English Channel from Ramsgate to Dunkirk.

Pictured in training on a cold March morning below, Mr Burdett will be part of a team of eight rowers aiming to cross a stretch of water measuring approximately 36 miles and they hope to do so in a time of between 12 and 18 hours.

The team will be raising money for Cancer Research UK and have set themselves a minimum target of £8000.

If you would like to sponsor Mr Burdett and the team, please scan the QR code below that will take you the fundraising page.

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Our A team recently played away at Campion School, emerging victorious in a convincing 5-1 win and making it to the final round which will be played at BKHS Bablake against Warwick School. Win or lose, they have exceeded expectations for a newly formed team after over a year of no face-to-face matches and so should be proud of their achievements. We are confident that we will go from strength to strength over the coming years as one chess club.

KARE CONTINUES TO SHINE We were delighted to be asked to attend a celebration for Paralympian and former pupil, Kare Adenegan. The event took place at the University of Warwick’s Sports and Wellness Hub, an incredible facility that certainly impressed the ten pupils who were selected to attend.

The event included talks from the Lord Mayor, the Vice Chancellor, and Kare, who reflected on her journey so far and her achievements. Kare grew up in Coventry, with a large part of her journey to becoming a Paralympian stemming back to her time here at Bablake.

Our pupils each prepared a question to ask Kare. Using her experiences from her time at school, and what she has learnt through training and competing at two Paralympic Games, Kare explained how the values gained at Bablake enabled her to reach her dream of becoming a professional athlete. She also talked about how she balances her studies with her training programme; Kare is currently in her third year at Warwick University studying History.

It was a fantastic afternoon that left everyone in awe of Kare’s achievements. They were also honoured to be a key part of such a prestigious event, with several dignitaries and members of the press in attendance.

Mr A Phillips

‘Hard work and determination to overcome challenges’ On the 17th of February, I attended an event with the Conservative MP Penny Mordaunt and had the good fortune to sit down with Penny to ask a few questions. Andy Street, whom I interviewed for this publication last year, was also in attendance at the event and I took the opportunity to present Andy Street with a copy of the last Lion magazine!

Penny Mordaunt has had a remarkable and inspiring career. From working evenings as a magician’s assistant and in local factories during the day, she became the first female Defence Secretary. I found talking to her truly inspiring, with her message of ‘anything is possible with commitment and determination.’ Penny has faced many setbacks during her career, but she said that with hard work and resilience she has managed to come through these challenges.

After explaining my early political aspirations, Penny offered me some sound advice to get involved with my local community and told me that most politics are done at grassroots level.

My next meeting will be with the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, whom I first met by sheer chance Old Trafford, and that will be in mid-May. The framework of my questions has already been submitted to Andy’s office and includes some around his involvement with the Hillsborough disaster inquiry and serving the people of Greater Manchester.

Joshua Pilling

BKHS BABLAKE

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SCIENTIFIC SUCCESS! On Monday 21st March, the final of the 15th Annual Foxcroft Science Essay competition took place at Rugby School.

The competition is open to a wide range of students from a number of schools across the East and West Midlands. One of our students, Josh, represented Bablake with his essay “How the Future Circular Collider (FCC) may or may not unveil some of the mysteries in Physics (invisible worlds) and whether it is worth the investment”. As part of the competition, he had to do a short presentation on his essay and then answer some quite demanding questions from the audience. He did very well, resulting in him receiving a Gold Award for his essay, and coming second in the competition overall. Congratulations also go to our other entrants to the competition who gained Silver (Erin) and Bronze (Archie and Naiya) for their essays.

Last year’s winner, Adrian, was also in attendance as a judge for this year’s competition and here, he tells us about his winning entry: As part of my entry to the Foxcroft Science Essay Competition 2021, I undertook the task of investigating the Physics of X-ray crystallography and its role in Structural Biology. I discovered the crucial role that the method of X-ray crystallography in molecular structure determination has played throughout many scientific endeavours of the past and how it continues to provide insight into further discoveries of new and interesting molecular phenomena. In recent times with emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has proven its use yet again by allowing the structure of SARS -CoV-2’s viral protease to be determined, a protein that is required for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to replicate. This subsequently allowed chemical drug development to inhibit viral replication.

With this essay, I won the Foxcroft Science Essay Competition 2021 but unfortunately, as a consequence of the pandemic, I did not receive the opportunity to present my topic to the panel of judges. Nevertheless, this was a great experience to develop crucial skills in research for university, as I plan to study Physics.

It was an honour to be recalled as a judge for this year’s final of the competition.

Dr S Johnson

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AN EPQ WITH BYTE! In preparing my EPQ, I have broadened my knowledge about robotics and developed many key research and practical skills that I will undoubtedly use in later life.

Taran 1 - An early sketch of my robot

I have carried out a wide range of tasks in a variety of different environments - from manufacturing a combat robot, to writing a workshop risk assessment and even learning how to conduct surveys and interviews.

I believe that my project was a real success as I completed everything I had planned and went into more detail than I had anticipated in some areas, enjoying the challenge.

However, there were a number of problems I had to solve and finding creative solutions to these was what made the EPQ a truly memorable experience for me. For example, due to my controller not being within regulations, and for me to remain within budget, I developed a smartphone application to replace it.

I hope to support myself during undergraduate study using some of the many skills I have developed throughout this project. I have found the independent study involved valuable as it has forced me to take responsibility for the management of the project.

My advice to others undertaking such a project would be to choose a topic that inspires you, as you will need to remain motivated throughout the project process.

I did and this helped to ensure that I enjoyed the project. Not having taken DT or Art to A level, I found the freedom to design very refreshing, so I would also recommend choosing something a little different from your options. Perhaps the best thing about an EPQ is that you have the freedom to choose your topic and project title; as long as your topic and title give you enough to talk about in an ‘academic’ style, you can do whatever you want!

Taran 2 - An internal view of my robot

Taran Dhillon Taran 3 - A screenshot of the smartphone application I built

BKHS BABLAKE

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YOUNG ENGINEERS The Design Technology department has teamed up with the Faculty of Engineering at Coventry University for the DeLorean time machine project and the university has kindly offered to cut some metal for us, for which we are very grateful.

Mr Parsons was invited to take a selected group of Lower Sixth Design Technology students to have a tour of the Engineering Department, with the aim of inspiring them to be young engineers.

We are very lucky to have such wonderful facilities in close proximity to school and to have the opportunity to build a good working relationship with the university.

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CREST CLUB CREST Club takes place at lunchtime on a Wednesday and a number of pupils have been working on projects.

Joshua in Shells is trying to make a natural handwash and he has been testing different oils to see if they prevent the growth of bacteria.

Mr Hall has kindly supported CREST Club and has shown pupils how to handle and work safely with plates containing bacteria.

Alex in Year 9 and Manjote in Year 11 have been working separately on a project investigating the formation of kidney stones.

Manjote said: “Recently, I have embarked on a project regarding the formation of kidney stones and in particular foods that contain oxalic acid, a chemical that is responsible for this process. I have enjoyed carrying out titrations to determine the concentration of oxalate ions in different types of food.

So far, I have tested spinach, potato and sweet potato and I was astonished by the amount of oxalate ions present in spinach as shown by my first titration. In addition to this, further research which I have done has shown that foods such as kidney beans, rhubarb and nuts contain considerable amounts of oxalate, and I am looking forward to investigating these foods.”

BKHS BABLAKE

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DESIGN TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT The Design Technology Department has sprung back in to action following months of lost workshop and practical time due to Covid. Here are just a few examples of recent work that has been undertaken by the pupils.

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BKHS BABLAKE

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Charity Just before the February half term, we held a non-uniform day in order to raise funds for Myotubular Trust.

Myotubular myopathy causes life-threatening muscle and breathing weakness in infants and adults and Myotubular Trust is the only charity in Europe raising research funds into the condition and the only one to provide specific support and contacts for families in the UK. It was founded in 2006 by two mothers of boys with myotubular myopathy and remains very much a patient led organisation. Donations totalled over £1200 and Melanie Spring from the Trust has been in touch to express her gratitude and thanks for the money raised.

The Lower Sixth Charity Team, along with some of our Year 9 pupils, spent time pinning ribbons together in Ukrainian colours to sell to pupils and staff. We are delighted to report that £850 was raised by selling these and all funds are going directly to the Ukrainian Association of Great Britain, which is sending humanitarian relief to Ukraine.

One class of Year 10 GSCE Food pupils baked Ukrainian apple cakes to sell to staff whilst the other group made Kruste biscuits with expert help given

by Ms Natalka Hunka and Mrs Stefka Hunka, who are both Ukrainian. £80 was raised, with the money again going to the Ukrainian Association of Great Britain Here, Amber, Jaiya, Heidi, Martha, Lilly and Isabella (3TRF) tell us about their hugely successful cake sale: When we found out what was happening in Ukraine, we all felt that we needed to do something to help and so we decided to host a cake sale. On the day, we were overwhelmed by how many people brought in baked goods to sell for Ukraine. In total we made over £500 and all donations will be given to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Red Cross Charity. Thank you so much to all the people who brought in cakes and who purchased them.

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Our very own Reverend Slavic was recently invited

by The Lord Bishop of Coventry, the Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth, to become an Honorary Canon of Coventry Cathedral.

Revd Slavic accepted the invitation and his installation service, alongside three other Canons, took place on Sunday 20th March in the presence of many guests, including staff and former pupils.

The new Reverend Canon described the event as ‘surreal’ and said: “I am humbled and touched by all the messages of encouragement and congratulations I have received and would like to thank those who came to the service on Sunday.

I feel honoured to have been chosen by the Dean and the Bishop and very much hope that I will be a good enough ambassador for the Cathedral and for the diocese. I will certainly do my best while continuing my ministry as Chaplain to BKHS and Associate Priest at the Cathedral.”

The Revd Canon Sacha Slavic (centre) with the Very Reverend John Witcombe, Dean of Coventry (left), and the Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth, Lord Bishop of Coventry (right).

BKHS BABLAKE

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BOYS’

PE

HOCKEY It has been an extremely busy term of sport with hockey at the fore in the boys’ department.

All of our U12 and U13 boys have represented the School this term and the enthusiasm within the teams and the progress made have both been excellent. The U14 and 15A and B teams have also developed well. Our seniors continue to battle hard on Wednesday afternoons, with some outstanding performances in evidence; they are now looking forward to their tour to Bath at the end of March.

RUGBY Despite a hockey focus, there has also been a huge amount of rugby played this term.

The first XV has excelled again with notable wins against teams from Warwick and Kirkham Grammar, but perhaps the best performance was in defeat against an outstanding Sedbergh team in the Peter Bush Memorial Trophy. The U16s recently won the Coventry Cup in an excellent performance versus Coundon Court, whilst the U14s also won the Coventry Festival to qualify for the Coventry Schools Cup Final. All of our age groups have also had the opportunity to play 7s, although not always in the kindest of weather conditions!

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It has been fantastic to see the boys learn so much from a format of the game that requires a high skill level, great team cohesion, high fitness levels, and perhaps most importantly huge determination. Congratulations should go to Max Newman, Ralph Gawthorpe and Finn Connelly on representing Warwickshire U18.

It has also been wonderful to see the girls in action this term. U13, U15 and U18 teams have all been in action with many girls playing for the first time. The improvement up to and within matches has been exceptional, with confidence visibly growing. A series of 7s matches versus RGS Worcester saw the U18 girls win 47-45 in an outstanding set of performances. We wish all our girls the best of luck at the upcoming Rosslyn Park 7s competitions.

BASKETBALL Basketball continues to grow as a sport at BKHS Bablake with U14, U16 and Sixth Form teams all competing this term.

The U14 and U16 teams are on target to reach the Coventry finals after some outstanding displays.

The atmosphere at home matches has been fantastic, with parents and boys from other age group teams attending to offer hugely positively support. The last U14 match versus Cardinal Wiseman was a particularly positive evening, both on and off the court.

Here is Josh Ogbonna’s report on the recent match against KHVIII.

Breathtaking Basketball Continuing its successful run, the BKHS Bablake basketball 1st XII made its way over to the BKHS King Henry VIII site on Friday 11th February for what would be a true spectacle of a match. With Mr Ward once again at the wheel, Bablake managed to clinch a tough last-minute victory.

The ten team members played their hearts out for the duration of the four quarters, with each member making a crucial contribution to the game. We knew about KHVIII’s star player - an incredibly tall centre who is extremely skilled at rebounding - but even he posed no problem for the team. Excellent defending in the paint helped us to keep their star

player busy and forced the KHVIII team to take some difficult shots from outside the perimeter. Phillip Basioudis, our Year 9 basketball phenomenon, once again had a spectacular game, scoring 24 points with great shooting from beyond the arc. Landon Agbi also had a great game and with excellent defending and rebounding, managed to clinch four crucial points. Marty O’Meara played his first game for the first XII and helped the team to achieve its last-minute victory.

With only 50 seconds left on the clock, the opposition were winning 38-36 and the team was getting anxious. Hope was almost lost until great defensive stops allowed for two quick baskets, leading to a stunning 40-38 win in the closing seconds.

The tide of the game constantly swayed from team to team with both schools eager for victory.

Well done to all those involved.

This follows impressive wins from the U14s (36-25) and U16s (51-45) against Barr’s Hill in late January.

Basketball at BKHS Bablake evidently has a very promising future!

Joshua Ogbonna

CRICKET With spring very much in the air, we are really looking forward to the start of the cricket season, with winter nets having started this term.

Congratulations to Adnaan Riaz, who began his season with Warwickshire U18s by heading off on tour to Sri Lanka during half term; what a fantastic opportunity for him.

BKHS BABLAKE

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GIRLS’

PE

HOCKEY

RUGBY

There have been some fantastic hockey fixtures played this season, although many were cancelled due to a very cold, wet, and windy winter!

BKHS girls’ rugby has got off to a flying start. Initial numbers at training were impressive and participation has been maintained throughout the year.

The senior teams have enjoyed recent successes over Wellingborough College and Wolverhampton Grammar School. The first XI put up a good fight, but were unfortunately knocked out of the cup by a much stronger Princethorpe College side.

Joanna Minshull has done an excellent job in captaining the side the season.

The U15s recently came runners up in their Warwickshire tournament, where we saw an afternoon of excellent hockey with them, narrowly losing out to King’s High (2-1) in the final.

Congratulations must go to Hannah and Imogen, both of whom have been selected to play for Wasps U17 Netball. They have been training in the long squad since September and have recently been selected to play matches this season against Leeds and Seven Stars.

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A change to the training venue due to ground conditions was warmly welcomed and the U15 and U18 team train regularly on a Friday evening at the Butts Park Arena, with occasional help from some of the senior players. The U13s continue their sessions with the help of two U15s players. All squads have developed tremendously over the past four months and should be proud of their commitment, resilience, and efforts. The progression was evident in the first ever U15 and U13 BKHS girls’ rugby fixture last week, in which both teams played brilliantly and fought it out until the end. The girls have a very exciting couple of weeks ahead with the National 7s tournament and Sibford 7s to look forward to.

NETBALL Teamwork, resilience, commitment, and talent.

Congratulations to the U14 and U16 BKHS Bablake netball teams for reaching the National Schools Netball finals. The competition started at Coventry Schools level, then moved on to the Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire round where the U14s came runners up and the U16s won. Next came the West Midlands round, in which both teams got through their section, won the semi-finals and lost in the final to finish the full day of netball with silver medals.

And finally, at the Nationals, the U16s won two, drew one and lost five, while the U14s won five and lost three. All games were very competitive, and losses were by very small margins.

The girls enjoyed the occasion and were delighted to have reached the finals where the top 18 schools in the country in each age group were competing. This was a superb achievement for the girls and for the School, with two teams enjoying such success.

We are very proud of their performances and achievements throughout the day at this prestigious event. Thanks go to girls at both BKHS Bablake and BKHS KHVIII that have supported training sessions and have provided a strong training environment for these teams. The U14s were also invited to a Bromsgrove invitation tournament and won, beating Oundle in the semis and Solihull in the final.

Thanks go to parents for their support and to Dr Smith for coming along to support the girls. With all of the homemade cake being offered around, it is certain he will be willing to come and watch again! Thanks also go to Mrs Stinton and Mr Hart for being our scorers at the Nationals and the Regional finals.

Lower down the school, the U13s had a successful Coventry Schools netball tournament with the A team winning and the B team finishing runners up.

Congratulations to all girls involved.

BKHS BABLAKE

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GIRLS

On Track At the beginning of February, we visited Coventry Transport Museum to attend an event called ‘Girls on Track’.

This programme is a joint initiative between the FIA and Motorsport UK and the event was primarily focused on getting more female involvement in engineering and the automotive industry through STEM projects. It was very well organised and offered a series of different workshops throughout the day, including mathematics challenges, fitness tests and mechanical workshops. Many professionals were present, and it was exciting to have the opportunity to work alongside them.

Our two Year 11 girls, Abbie Denis and Ellie Kailey, led one of the workshops as they have both been part of F1 in Schools in 2019 and 2020, taking second place with their team in the most recent competition.

The girls represented BKHS Bablake well, adapting their introduction to small groups of Year 6 and Year 7 pupils from local schools and delivering it eight times! As part of their workshops the girls divided the groups into two and ran reaction time tests on a Batak machine and a computer-generated start line machine.

Many compliments were given and the girls were told that they were natural presenters.

Miss H Goody

BKHS Bablake Coundon Road, Coventry CV1 4AU t 024 7627 1200

e info.bablake@bkhs.org.uk

f facebook.com/BKHSBablake t twitter.com/BKHSBablake

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