Important information for pupils, parents & carers
Recent letters can be found HERE (updated 03/02/21)
Spring Term Science Awards
Well done to these hard working pupils that returned to school from the lockdown with a positive attitude, which is reflected in their achievements.
KS4 Winners:
Physics – Mr Green - Aeysha - Year 10 - a brilliant improvement to her physics grade, as a result of the hard work she has put in.
Biology – Ms Hiley - Ameerun – Year 10 - an absolutely fantastic work ethic and great participation in lessons. Great effort and attainment.
Chemistry – Ms Asghar - Sharukh – Year 9 - he has worked incredibly hard, she has produced consistently outstanding work over lockdown and in class.
KS3 Winner:
Year 8 Science - Ms Ashfaq – Sophie - Very hardworking and always produces excellent quality work in Science.
Runners up:
Jack - Year 7 (Ms Hiley)
Malaika Physics – Year 9 (Ms Yates)
Leshaye Biology - Year 10 (Ms Kondrat)
Autumn Term Science Awards
Congratulations to the pupils that have worked extra hard in science last half-term. Below are the winners for each science and a list of those who were nominated.
Biology Amna, Year 11– nominated by Mr O’Brien
“Massive improvement in knowledge and understanding of all topics. Information recall shows lots of revision and independent work at home. Very impressive.”
Chemistry Ashleigh, Year 10, nominated by Ms Yates
“Excellent and consistent effort in her frogplay”
Physics Mariam , Year 10, nominated by Ms Kondrat
“Superb effort and consistency both in school and at home”
KS3 Science Luvika , Year 8, nominated by Ms Ashfaq
“100% score in Physics Must Do Assessment involving calculations. Excellent effort in lessons at all times!”
Nominees
Daawuud – Year 8 (Ms Begum)
Deen – Year 8 (Ms Kondrat)
Fatima – Year 9 (Nominated by both Ms Ashfaq and Ms Begum)
Akemi – Year 9 (Ms Shan)
The Science Awards
This year at Yardleys school, we will be presenting science awards to hard working and diligent KS3 and KS4 students.
The awards will be presented each half term, there will be winner's for KS3 and for each triple science KS4 subject and the nominees will also be acknowledged.
Congratulations to the pupils that have worked extra hard this half-term and made their return to school a success with their eagerness and dedication!
An extra congratulations to the winners for this half term that have proved that Covid-19 will not be an obstacle for achieving success and have not let their motivation be affected by current events.
A very well done to these brilliant students!!
BIOLOGY WINNERS
Aqsa(9TDN) by Ms Hiley - For her fantastic attitude to learning and attainment in lessons
Riyadh (8BMH) by Ms Begum - He has completed all his VLE work to a very high standard, and brought in 8 sheets of work. He is also very good at answering questions verbally with a high level of oracy and incorporates key words. He is very engaged in lessons and completes his work to a high standard and contributes consistently. He is also incredibly well-mannered and helpful.
Amaani (11DSR) by Ms Shan - Amaani has realized she missed a lot of work in year 9, but is determined to catch up and is doing a lot of extra revision at home. She is a lot more focused in class this year and is not afraid to ask questions when she does not understand the work. All this hard work will pay of. Keep it up Amaani.
Sania (10DNJ) by Ms Kondrat - For coming to every lesson with contagious enthusiasm and fantastic effort. She is always focussed and is determined to succeed.
CHEMISTRY WINNERS
Abbas (11DSR) by Ms Begum - Excellent levels of motivation and contribution during Chemistry lessons. Often asks for additional work to support revision.
Korben (7RES) by Ms Hiley - For a fantastic start to Science and for putting effort into his classwork
Zara (10BYA) by Ms Yates - For a consistent effort with her remote learning during Y10's isolation period.
Zahid (9DSH) by Ms Ashfaq - Very hardworking, excellent scores in MDAs
PHYSICS WINNERS
Muhammed (11ARA) by Ms Mosleh - Outstanding contributions to lessons recently and a great attitude to learning.
Abdur-Rehman (9TDN) by Ms Yates - For consistent effort in his MDAs and frogplay homework's in Physics.
Laiba (10CAJ) by Ms Kahn - Takes part actively in class discussion and ensures that scientific vocabulary is used while answering any questions (In class as well as on MDA's)
Syed (11ARA) by Mr Kahn - He has been working hard since the start of the term. He has shown good understanding of the topic Electricity. This is reflected from his answers on MDA.
Falak (9RYP) by Ms Mosleh - Consistently outstanding effort both in class and online (engagement very high and assignments completed really well)
Year 10 - STEM for Women Trip
On Friday 6th March, Mrs Chauhan-Rowe and eight female Computer Scientists from Year 10 attended a STEM for Women event at Bournville College. The girls took part in workshops to help inspire females to get more involved in STEM. During the morning session, the girls used Python to program a game similar to Space Invaders, this was a challenging task but the girls persevered which resulted in eight fully working computer games. After lunch, the girls went to the engineering department and used the equipment to create personalised keyrings. The girls enjoyed the day. Thank you to South and City College.
ASE Teach meet
On 10th March the Science department at Yardleys hosted a local event for teachers and botany experts to share good ideas and best practice for developing practical science involving plants. We had a great turn out and staff learnt lots of new exciting practical techniques that we can't wait to put into practise. Special thanks to Dr Gaynor Sharp from the Association of Science Association for organising the external speakers at the event and the cake.
Year 8 - University of Birmingham Trip
On Friday 6th March twelve Year 8 students, who have been excelling in their science studies, represented the school at a local health quiz hosted by The University of Birmingham. Pupils were treated to a tour of the campus, followed by guest lectures from doctors and scientists working at the university and then quizzed on their general knowledge about health and careers.
Here are some of the facts learnt during the day:
Did you know that the first clinical trials were conducted on sailors who were suffering from scurvy in 1747? We now know that scurvy is a disease caused by a deficiency in Vitamin C. In the trial, patients were treated with citrus fruits, vinegar or salt water... (hopefully you all know which one worked).
Did you know that the average person spends 38.5 days cleaning their teeth in their lifetime (although this should be a lot higher).
Did you know that the NHS employs 140,000 specialist medical staff in England alone.
Whilst the students did not win the quiz, they had a fantastic day and learnt a wealth of useful information for their future careers in science.
Year 10 and 11 SEND taster day at South and City College
On Wednesday 26th February, Ms Wareham and Mr Thornton, accompanied a mixed group of Year 10 and Year 11 SEND students on a SEND taster day at Hall Green College. After an overview and safety briefing in the Student Common Room, we were given a short tour of the college before our first taster session started.
Our first session saw us making French bread pizza. Students were given a demonstration of what they needed to do, then supplied with aprons and then getting on with the task set. The students were supported throughout, and it was brilliant to see how creative they were with tomato sauce, cheese, sweetcorn, peppers and slices of tomato. Once assembled the pizzas were placed in the oven to cook, leaving us plenty of time to clean the kitchen! All of the students washed, dried, and put away their own equipment, finishing just as their pizzas came out of the oven. The aroma of just cooked pizza meant that when they had cooled, they were very quickly consumed – even Ms Wareham and I got to sample these wonderful culinary delights as the students made sure we didn’t miss out.
Following lunch and another short tour where we explored the construction facility, we moved onto our second taster session, ceramics. After a short introduction students were given a fresh piece of clay to mould into whatever their creative minds could conceive, and by the end of the session we had some fantastic pieces, including pots with lids, plaques, bowls, both plain and decorative, and paperweights.
A huge thank you to South and City College Hall Green for a truly memorable day, a massive thank you to the students, and an enormous thank you to Mrs Price for organising the day.
Aspire to Be at Birmingham Metropolitan College, James Watt Campus
On Wednesday 12th February, Ms Wareham and Mr Thornton, accompanied 10 SEND students to the ‘Aspire to Be’ event at James Watt College. As soon as we arrived we were taken to our first taster session, electrical and electronic engineering. Our instructor was Dennis, who after a short introduction and health and safety brief, gave us our task, making a circuit board. Students were given a circuit board, a resistor, a fuse carrier and fuse, a bulb and battery leads. Humayd Ashfaq completed his circuit board first, and it worked.
Our next session saw us washing our hands and checking how clean they were under UV light, followed by changing nappies! Everyone had a go and now knows how it’s done. Our third session was gaming but rather than using computers we were creating hand drawn concept characters, and we made some very strange creations. After lunch, we attended a media session. Here we were shown how to use Photo Shop, and were then tasked with creating our own Andy Warhol pieces using our favourite stars, ranging from Scarlett Johansson to Alex Turner.
Our final session was in the gym. Here students took part in fitness circuit training, and it was commented on by the college staff how engaged our students were, with Kadeer turning the stepper machine up to max and carrying on as if it were a walk in the park! A fantastic day was had by all and a massive thank you to Mrs Price for organising the day.
Boccia and Kurling News
On Friday 7th February our Boccia and Kurling team attended the School Games Finals following their successes in the first round of the competition. The competition was held at Nechells Wellbeing Centre and the pupils were very excited for a full day of games against the winners of all the other collegiate teams in Birmingham.The Kurling team; Hamza Aslam, Akemi Tidmarsh, Mica Ming and Shafim Rahman had an excellent start. They had one win, drew against Central School and Small Heath, but lost against Bartley Green, Selly Oak Trust and Arthur Terry. This meant that they just missed out on 4th place by points.
The Boccia team; Emily Simpson, Amaan Ahmed and Dev Tank did exceptionally well, they won all of their matches except the last one against Ark Bolton. They were joint 2nd place but based on points missed out on a medal this time.
All pupils agreed it was a fantastic trip. We look forward to participating in next year’s competition and feel that we have a good chance of winning a medal. Well done to all the pupils that took part and a special thanks to Ms Bondos for her support on the trip and Ms O'Donovan for her organisation.
KS3 Parafootball Tournament at Aston Villa
On 27th January two teams from Yardleys School entered the Parafootball Tournament at Aston Villa Football Club. The teams were looking forward to a jam packed morning full of football against a large number of schools at this prestigious event and venue.
The Year 7 team; Malaikah Naveed, Zeshan Afzal, Haleema Ahktar, Sefora Bozu and Mohammed Mouzam worked very well together, even though they were the youngest team in the tournament. They had some amazing goals from Zeshan, Sefora & Malaikah.
The Year 8 team; Dev Tank, Subhan Mahmood, Muhammed Farooq, Mica Ming, Emily Simpson and Akemi Tidmarsh did very well against some difficult competition. Dev as the goalie made some fantastic saves and there were some great individual performances including two great goals from Emily and Mica.
Rugby News
On a cold and damp day at Yardleys, the Year 8 Rugby Team welcomed their counterparts from KESH school in Sheldon.
This was a tough game with some strong performances all round. This included, good running and pace shown by Farhaan Hussain, crunching tackles being dealt out by Uzair Azhar and excellent ball carrying from Elijah Adeyemi. The game was controlled well by Raheem and Hasheem Sharif who become more and more confident in their play around the field.
Very strong performances came from Nauman Ilyas and Shayaan Khan who were physical in the tackle and with ball in hand. KESH were a good team and played in the right way and with no fear. However, the power of Yardleys saw through in the end and took a good home win. Thanks to those that played for KESH to make up their numbers – without you the games can’t happen!
Man of the Match – Shayaan Khan – eye watering hits all over the pitch including one on their big ball carrier. Shayaan also scored himself with some bruising ball carrying.
Final Score: Yardleys – 35 KESH - 15
January Athlete of the Month – Adeyemo-azing
The Athlete of the Month for January goes to Sarah Adeyemo. Her performance in the girls’ basketball fixtures has led to recent successes for the team. Ms Perry added ‘Sarah has been a rock in the team and her outstanding skills and leadership have also helped improved her teammates performances’.
Eco-Leaders News
Back in November the Eco-Leaders participated in Switch Off Fortnight to help mitigate climate change and save the school money. During this time they were patrolling the school at lunch times, switching off lights and leaving friendly reminders for those unoccupied rooms with computers and lights switched on (being incredibly thorough...).
During November 2019 in comparison to November 2018, the school saved approximately £398 on electricity alone (£295 of this was during the day). This is around 7% of the monthly kWh usage!
Not only has there been a large saving made during November but we have seen a change in "switch off" behaviours particularly during lunchtime, so we are hoping we will see a continuing reduction in monthly usage. Well done to the Eco-Leaders for this fantastic achievement.
Virtual Decision Experience
On Tuesday the 21st of January some students took part in ‘virtual decisions’ experience, aimed at highlighting the dangers of risk-taking behaviour. The students watched a scenario based on street crime and personal safety, and made choices throughout to see how the scenario would play out. There was then dialogue between the students and adults around young peoples’ society, and how actions have consequences and repercussions. The students very much enjoyed their sessions, and this is something we hope to repeat with other students in the future.
Athlete of the Month
The Athlete of the Month for December goes to Hasan Raza 7VNR for his recent sporting exploits. Hasan played cricket for year group above him, helping the year 8 team win, in a match winning performance. He also represented both the year 7 and year 8 football team as a goalkeeper and performed admirably, steering his team to the final in the football tournament.
Girls Active event
A mixture of Year 7 and 8 girls attended the Girls Active event held at the impressive new Birmingham City University campus in Edgbaston just before the Christmas holidays. The event aimed to increase participation of girls in sport. Our pupils thoroughly enjoyed the dodgeball and basketball competitions once they had warmed up and wanted to win - resulting in them receiving bronze medals for their efforts! They represented the school impeccably, showing fantastic behaviour and sportsmanship. The PE department now hope to see the girls attending more extra-curricular activities in the near future.
Quaker visit
A small, select group of RE students in Year 8 had the opportunity to visit the Quaker meeting house in Hall Green. They listened to the beliefs and practices of Quakers and were able to ask reflective questions. They spent some time studying features of the meeting place and were able to look at photos demonstrating Quakers in action - peacefully protesting. The afternoon was enjoyed by all and students commented on how useful it was to be able to explore another faith within their own area.
Para-Sports Hall Athletics Tournament
Year 9 pupils recently attended the Para-Sports Hall Athletics tournament held at Billesley Tennis Centre. The pupils took part in a range of activities from speed bounce to the up and under assault course sprint. Yardleys were able to finish in second place overall and progressed through to the Birmingham School Games finals. There were lots of excellent performances on the day but the most notable was Miss Ashleigh Masters setting a new speed bounce record of 45 completed in 20 seconds.
