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Year 9 Geography Field trip – Brindley Place
Our Year 9 geographers recently went on their first field trip to Brindley Place, here are some of their comments from their visit:
‘’Year 9 had their first geography field trip to Brindley Place to find out if its redevelopment has been a success.’
‘We did a people count in different areas to see how popular it was. We worked in groups and had a photography competition of the whole area. Overall it was a really fun day despite the weather and we learned a lot about Brindley Place.’ - Bisma
‘Brindley Place is a great way to start GCSE Geography. It is the pinnacle of urban regeneration with its structures appearing Victorian but on the inside they are completely modern.’ - Amir
‘The weather was very wet and rainy but we still had a great time’ - Eliza
‘I really enjoyed the trip because we did something different to what we normally do. The best part was when we had a warm hot chocolate.’ - Sabah
‘The bit I enjoyed most was the photo competition because I liked comparing derelict buildings to new, leisure and fantastic buildings.’ - Saahil
Visit to Parliament and Facebook Headquarters
On Thursday 11th October we took a group of year 10 and 11 girls on a trip to London to celebrate the International Day of the Girl. We visited the Houses of Parliament and heard an inspirational speech from local MP Jess Phillips about the importance of the empowerment of women. Pupils were able to ask her questions about her role in parliament and issues they are concerned about. All of the pupils engaged brilliantly and did not shy away from getting involved. We then had the opportunity to go to Facebook Headquarters London, where we heard Nicola Mendelsohn speak about the importance of young girls aiming high and seeking leadership positions. The girls took part in an exciting global live stream and heard the voices of girls around the world discuss the need to actively strive for gender equality.
On 11th October I went to the Girl2Leader event with four other students and two members of staff. I thought the Girl2Leader campaign event was amazing as we got to explore the Facebook headquarters and listen to some inspirational speakers; I thought Jess Phillips’ talk about what it is like to be a female MP, as well as battles that she has had to overcome as a female MP, were fascinating. The event was very inspiring and we got to share our views about the prejudices that women face in their daily lives. I really admire the 23 year old who ran the campaign, she is doing such a huge event at such a young age, which makes me want to be like her when I am older!
Amirah - Year 10 student
ParaFootball Tournament
On October 11th eight pupils represented Yardleys School in a mixed five a side ParaFootball Tournament at PlayFootball in Birmingham.
Our team; Madison, Sammia, Sabha; Duaa, Faisal, Hamzah, Raheel and Danial had a whole day of football fixtures against eight other school teams in a fantastic premier indoor football facility.
The newly formed team fought well against their well established opposition, scoring five goals in their first game and six in the second, narrowly losing by just one goal in each. Then came a fantastic win against Ark Boulton with an amazing five goal lead thanks to some fantastic shooting from Raheel and Faisal, Raheel scored 16 goals over the whole tournament!
As the team won out of the schools that represented our collegiate; they now go through to the next round in the competition, a level 3 tournament at the School Games in February, Well Done!
All pupils had a fantastic day. Their behaviour was exemplary; showing a fantastic display of teamwork, resilience and skill.
Precious Lives
In September, we welcomed PC Rob Pedley to Yardleys School to work with our Year 7 students. PC Pedley delivered the ‘Precious Lives’ session, which focusses on the law surrounding and risks associated with knife crime and the possession of weapons, including the risks to young people who associate with weapons and the law of joint enterprise. The session helps students to understand that there are consequences to all of our decisions and actions and the fact that we are accountable for them. The work that PC Pedley does is a key part of the safeguarding and character development work that we do with our students at Yardleys.
Tapestry visit
We recently welcomed a group of actors from The Play House who worked with our Year 8 students. Our students saw a piece of drama and then engaged in discussion and analysis of what they had seen – the focus of the sessions was extremism and the implications and consequences of extremist activity through engagement with the characters in the play and seeing what happens to them. Students had the opportunity to interact with and respond to the characters directly as well as critiquing the views and opinions of others in a safe environment.
Extension update - Almost there!
We are now in the final weeks of the extension project, with handover due around October half-term. There are a large number of tradespeople working hard to bring the project in on time including plumbers, electricians, decorators and grounds workers. Walls are being painted, toilets being plumbed, data cabling laid and flooring being added.
Carding Mill Valley Trip
On Monday 24th September half of the Year 10 Geographers ventured out of the city to the wilds of Shropshire, to Carding Mill Valley to investigate the Ashbrook and its valley. While a lot of Geography was carried out and important work for the pupils GCSEs was completed, many pupils also made more personal discoveries. Questions were asked and answered and hypothesis tested, questions like "What exactly is a sheep?" or "Why don't wild ponies use a toilet but just go on the ground?" or "Why isn't the water in mountain streams heated?" or "What happens if I stick my head under a waterfall?"
A big thank you to all the staff who supported the visit, to the students for their excellent behaviour and willingness to try new things and to the weather for being so nice. The other half of the year group, who will be going on the coming Friday, have a lot to live up to.
Author Visit - Billy Bob Buttons
An award winning author treated some of our Year 7’s to a lively session on literacy planning; talking about how to write a thrilling storyline to captivate their readers. Author Billy Bob Buttons presented an interactive demonstration which was both humorous and also contained helpful writing tips. The pupils were clearly inspired and listened intently to his plot ideas and his journey about becoming an author.
‘ ..It’s the best job in the world! My mind is full of crazy plots, fantastic settings and wonderful characters: and when I put them to paper, children can enjoy them too.’ Billy Bob Buttons.
It proved a most successful author visit and we look forward to reading his next novel.
Extension news 14th September 2018
Four weeks on from the last report and progress on the extension continues to be rapid. The roof covering is now complete, the concrete floor has been laid and a range of internal works have now started. At the moment there are a range of trades on site including electricians and carpenters. Outside the building external works continue including levelling the ground prior to paving, guttering and fascias.
We are now getting very excited at the prospect of taking ownership of the new rooms, which will hopefully be at the start of November. An official opening ceremony is also being planned – watch this space!
Best ever GCSE exam results for Yardleys School pupils
Well done to our Year 11 pupils who have achieved the best ever GCSE results at Yardleys School.
67% passed their Maths and English with a grade 4 or better. This is above the national average and is a significant increase from the 56% achieved last year.
Overall in all subjects 71% grades were achieved at grade 4 or better and 60% at grade 5. Again these are higher than the national average.
Furthermore 20% of all grades were awarded at grade 7 (A) or better.
This is testament to the hard work of both pupils and teachers and the support from families and friends of the school.
Congratulations to all our pupils and good luck in the next stage of your education and life after Yardleys.
Extension update 23rd August 2018
What a difference a few weeks makes. Rapid progress is now being made on the building of our extension. We now have external and internal walls, a roof and most of the windows have been fitted. This week the concrete screed floor will be laid on top of the underfloor heating pipes and once this has dried then a variety of trades will begin their work inside the building, including plumbers, electricians, plasterers and joiners.
Bugsy Malone
After many months of preparation, auditions and rehearsals, the show finally approached curtain up. Bugsy Malone was really well supported by an extremely committed group of pupils and staff and the show was a huge triumph. Special mentions must go to those members of staff who helped out and without their support; the show could not have been a roaring success.
The pupils enjoyed themselves immensely and deserve all the praise that has been. Many reviews have been received and we are happy to say they are all positive. Thanks must go to SLT for their support during the whole process.
Yardleys Timestable Rockstars
On Thursday 12th July, three Timestable Rockstars from Year 7 competed in the Birmingham “Rock Wrangle” competition at Ounsdale High School, Wolverhampton. They were competing against 150 other pupils from schools around the West Midlands for the chance to take a helicopter ride over the city.
The competition was extremely tough, with the pupils being initially required to battle it out for 11 minutes to gain a top 16 place and entry into the quarter finals. Despite an amazing individual effort of 950 correct answers in 11 minutes, at 95% accuracy, we narrowly missed out a place. Overall, we finished in 11th place of the 50 schools taking part, with two pupils in the top 25, and all pupils in the top 60. A superb effort, and the whole Maths department are extremely proud of the pupils, Om Patel, Hassan Ali and Samuel Chowdhury.
Kew Gardens
In July the science department took 45 pupils on a reward trip to Kew Gardens in London for their excellent effort throughout the year. We had specialist workshops from the experts about adaptations of plants for photosynthesis and how they had evolved to withstand extreme environments such as the arid desert or tropical rain forest. Some highlights of the trip included seeing the giant amazonian waterlilies, scaling the treetop walkway for a view of Kew from above the treeline and marvelling at the Temperate House which is the largest Victorian glass greenhouse in the world, which has just reopened after a £41 million refurbishment. The staff at Kew were very impressed with the pupils knowledge and behaviour and said that they were a credit to the school.
Battlefields Trip
On Thursday 28th June 2018, 104 years to the day of the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand, the spark that ignited the First World War, Yardleys pupils’, accompanied by Ms Deakin, Ms Sumerling, Mr Vaughan and Mr Thornton, began to make their way to pay homage to the fallen on the Western Front. Our journey began at 5.15am and by the afternoon we had reached Ypres in Belgium. During the day, we were able to visit preserved German trenches and the location of the first use of gas on the Western Front. After a lovely evening meal in the centre of Ypres, we headed to our accommodation at the Messines Peace Village.
Our second day took us to the Somme, where pupils were able to follow in the footsteps of British troops as they went over the top, culminating in a visit to Thiepval which commemorates over 70,000 missing soldiers from the war. Our evening meal was eaten on the Rue De Birmingham where our pupils tasted French cuisine at its best.
For our final day, after tidying our rooms and packing our cases, saw us back in Ypres for a little ‘RnR’, chocolate shopping, before heading out to the Passchendaele Museum and exploring combat in the First World War. Two pupils were given the opportunity to don the uniforms of an Indian Sepoy and a Queen Alexandra Nurse. Our final stop was at Tyne Cot, the largest British cemetery in Belgium. After laying our wreath and paying homage to the fallen, we began our journey home.
Yardleys Active Community
During our Active Community enrichment sessions we have been doing lot of things to help the community. One example of this was decorating boxes for people to donate food into.
"Our first task was to decorate a box which was going to be sent to i-care food hub for the Sparkbook area. I was team leader and led our group to victory with creativity with the theme of Ramadan." - Kirti Year 9
"These boxes were given to the local food hub which is known is a part of i-care in Sparkbrook mosque… We did this during Ramadan as it is a time to be thankful; reflect on what we have, be charitable and empathise with the poor. There is then a big feast celebration at Eid ul Fitr at the end of Ramadan… however not everyone gets the pleasure of doing this, therefore we provided them with the food". - Maariya Year 10
In total we were able to fill 4- 5 boxes worth of food; some extra items were bought with the £37 raised in a collection. These items went towards supporting the 37 families the hub provides for.
"I found my time during enrichment exciting as it allowed us to help the community and have fun" – Michael Year 9
Extension Update - 11/06/2018
Real progress has been made since half-term. The steel frame is complete, drainage works have taken place and the floor is now being laid. This means that not only can we see the size and shape of the extension, but we can also begin to make out the different rooms and areas that make up the floor plan.
Yardleys Brilliant Club
Students involved in the Brilliant Club visited the University of Warwick recently for a graduation ceremony to recognise their achievements in producing a university style assignment on Cancer Data Analysis with the support of a world class research student. Students had a wonderful experience at the university and their efforts throughout the programme have been outstanding.
National Grid return visit
On June 5th, a team of in-house lawyers returned to Yardleys to work with a group of 20 Year 9 students who have shown a particular interest in a potential future career in law; this time, students covered modules on police powers and the law surrounding social media. As such, students explored the law surrounding stop and search powers and citizens’ rights as well as discussing ways in which the relationship between the police and local communities could be improved; the social media module delved into ideas such as ‘to what extent is state monitoring of social media acceptable?’, ‘what happens if court orders are ignored by social media users?’, the law surrounding defamation and the protection of freedom of expression; this was done through looking at relevant case law and examples. The session concluded with a series of ‘moots’, where students were allocated the roles of either prosecution or defence and then had to research the law and previous court judgements as the basis for their arguments.
All of our students enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to work with a team of practicing lawyers provided a real insight into the breadth and complexity of the law in this country.
Enrichment sessions - Student Report
Through our enrichment sessions we had the opportunity to engage with children from Greet Primary School, with the aim of helping improve their reading skills and boost their confidence. We were prepared by our enrichment teachers who provided us with a booklet containing phonics and stories to share with the children. We discussed the importance of speaking clearly and positive body language. The main task was when we first arrived and the ice-breaking task which helped us to get to know each other. Moreover, what I enjoyed from this enrichment was listening to the children read and being able to assist them so they could improve. One of the things I have learnt is that it is important to help others, as many children need that extra help but may struggle to receive it. This is because they may have no siblings to listen to them read or they have very busy parents. Furthermore, I think that the teachers from Greet Primary School appreciated our assistance very much because we were able to support them with their children’s education. I found this enrichment fun and enjoyed being able to go out of school and do some community work. It also makes me feel grateful for having siblings who can listen to me and help me improve.
Year 11 Exams
Great to see so many Year 11 students picking up last minute tips before their Maths exam yesterday. Thanks to the staff who have worked so hard and thanks to the students and parents who have prepared so thoroughly for this important period.
This set of examinations has been particularly challenging for the many Year 11s who have been observing the holy month of Ramadan and have been fasting and having up to two exams a day. It tells us a great deal about their maturity that they are still performing at such a high level.
Good luck to all our fantastic Year 11's for the rest of their exams that extend past half term. We are all very proud of you!
National Grid Visit
On Wednesday 24th June, twenty of our Year 9 students completed their first session with members of National Grid’s in-house legal team; students spent three hours covering areas including ‘Knowing about the Law’, ‘Equality Law and Discrimination’ and ‘Intellectual Property Law’. Our pupils learnt about and discussed various pieces of case law and a variety of case-studies to explore the differences between criminal and civil law, the contemporary relevance of the minimum ages for undertaking various activities, the link between the severity of crimes and their punishments, how the law regarding discrimination has developed since the abolition of the slave trade and the implications of intellectual property law when considering downloading and sharing music, film piracy and the use of apps.
The session was very successful and our students really valued the opportunity to work with practicing solicitors. After half-term these students will spend further time exploring different aspects of the law as well as having the opportunity to ask questions about how to embark on a career in law.
Message from Birmingham City Council - Battery Way Extension
Battery Way Extension will extend the existing Battery Way, between A41 Warwick Road and Reddings Lane, to provide access to new development sites and reduce congestion on Weston Lane and other local roads. The extension will mostly be built on old industrial land. The junction of Reddings Lane and Olton Boulevard West will be changed from a mini-roundabout to a crossroads with traffic lights and pedestrian and cycling crossing points. Advanced works are due to start on 4 June 2018, with main construction following on shortly after and due to be completed in spring 2019.
To ensure the safety of road users, pedestrians and the workforce, some changes will be made to traffic and pedestrian routes at Reddings Lane/Olton Boulevard West junction. Sections of footway will be closed with pedestrians diverted to alternative crossing points. On street parking will be restricted to reduce congestion during roadworks.
A “Meet The Contractor” event is being held on 24 May 2018 between 2pm and 7pm at Tyseley Community Centre, 280 Formans Road, Birmingham, B11 3BY. This event will provide an opportunity to view the finalised plans for the scheme and talk to the design, construction and customer services team. The event will also be attended by Birmingham City Council Officers. You are welcome to drop in if you wish to discuss these proposals.
Duke of Edinburgh expedition
Over a sunny weekend in early May, 14 adventurers set off on their first ever Duke of Edinburgh expedition – these are the updates that made it through to the outside world:
Friday. AM. Somewhere near Redditch
A great start to the pupils first expedition. Bags on, singing songs (really!) and they are on it. Can't help feeling something is missing, the sky is too dry...
Friday. PM. A field at Blackwell
All Bronze DofE groups have survived their first foray into the wilderness. Sarah is outraged that farmers don’t cut the grass or pick up the cow poo. Ahsan has waved to every passing car and Mohammed H has a never ending supply of spare trousers. Heaven forbid he should get any mud on them!
Saturday. PM. On the edge of Birmingham
The Bronze Duke of Edinburgh team had a tougher second day than we hoped. Despite leaving a spotless campsite behind them, the groups decided to spend part of their morning walking leisurely in circles before being chivvied back onto course.
Despite lunches varying from Sami's plate of cookies to Waleed's whole head of raw broccoli with raw carrots, they made it through the journey across railways and canals, and in one case there, back and there again. While their navigation skills are lacking, their campcraft and teamwork were excellent, and they should be proud of their positivity and resilience.
Sports Relief Update
At the end of last half term Yardleys pupils managed to raise a whopping £326 for Sport Relief. The PE Ambassadors, Mr Cross and Ms Perry organised sports competitions every lunchtime and fundraising activities such as the 'fastest mile' for all year groups, 'marathon challenge' for Year 7 pupils and a Year 8 Bench ball competition. All activities sparked pupils enthusiasm and in many cases their resilience as they competed against their peers. Pupils donated money and many raised through sponsorship, well done to all Yardleys pupils for their efforts!
An extra special well done to our PE ambassadors for their organisation of activities and for giving up so much of their time. They also sold Sports Relief badges, bands and lanyards every break time on behalf of Sainsbury's raising over £100 for such a great cause.
South and City College Visit
On Tuesday 8th May, eight Year 10 pupils, accompanied by Mr Thornton and Mrs Wareham attended a college taster day at South and City College Birmingham, Handsworth campus. The day was all about discovering not only what college is but also what college life is like. After a short introduction the pupils attended their first session, Media, and were set the challenge of completing a photography treasure hunt. Items included something hot, something noisy and even a cloud, which due to the lovely sunny weather seemed quite difficult but was overcome by a quick visit to the library and a look in the Geography section – great teamwork here! The second activity was sport and for an hour we did a warm up, played football, which resulted in a draw thanks to a late substitution, and dodgeball.
A fantastic day was had by all and the pupils were exemplary representatives of the school. A massive thank you and well done to them all.
Ground floor extension project
After a period of heavy rain the recent good weather has brought some real progress with the extension project. The foundations are now almost complete, with 112 lorry loads of concrete (478 cubic metres) with only 30 cubic metres still to be laid.
Today (8th May) a crane arrived on site, swiftly followed by several deliveries of steel work. The steel frame is now being erected and the shape and dimensions of the extension are becoming clear for all to see. The next stage will be the bricklaying which will begin on Monday.
Year 7 and 8 girls football success
The year 7 and 8 girls football team produced an unbelievable display in the Collegiate tournament held at Small Heath. They won all of their games, scoring 5 goals and conceding none. Full credit goes to all of the girls, particularly Sadia Rahman and Mariyah Qaisar who were outstanding performers. Special mention to Mr Smith, who guided the group with an astute tactical master class.
Ground floor extension project
AMG Construction arrived on site on 12th March to begin work on our ground floor extension. Their first job was to set up the site compound on a corner of the playing fields and establish a safe route round the Drama block and through the playground for site traffic. No deliveries will take place around the start and end of the school day to ensure student safety.
Foundations are now being excavated and poured and the next stage will be the erection of the steel framework, at which point the size and shape of the extension will become clear.
Year 7 Indoor Cricket Finals
The Year 7 Cricket team brought home the Runners up medal from Edgbaston in their recent Indoor Cricket Finals competition at Edgbaston Cricket Ground. Yardleys were anchored by the highly impressive Subhan who managed two half centuries on the day as we won 2 and Lost 2 against strong opposition.
Rugby Match Report - Yardleys vs. KESH
On a drizzly and cold spring day the Year 11/10 rugby team took to the field for the last time this season. Most of these students leave us this year, so for many it would be the last time wearing the Yardleys’ rugby top. KESH arrived at school confident as they had beaten us on our last few show downs.
Despite a few players dropping out, the Yardleys Team was full of power and technique. It was clear that with some application a victory was on the cards. This would not be easy though. KESH and Yardleys traded tries in the first half with Victor Adeyemi powering through twice and Captain Ahrdil also weaving his way to score twice. KESH kept hitting back with real venom and structure, not allowing us to break away.
As the rain got heavier, the ball got more slippy and a number of scrummages ensued from the knock-ons. Both packs did not take a backwards step and KESH even scored from one. The game was finely poised at 20-20 as we approached the final denouement.
Through the rain Yardleys started running hard at the KESH defence and keeping the ball safe. The rucking became more percussive and the running became destructive. Mohammed Khurram, Idris Ahmed and Tyreece Reeves particularly smashed the ball into the KESH tacklers. Imani Tenkemenin weaved his way and as ever Kaleem Ali and Armaan were ferocious at the breakdown.
When all hope seemed to be ebbing away as the clock ticked down one more wave of attack began and Yardleys punched towards the try line. Finally Ardale Gordon carried hard into the KESH tacklers and as each fell from him he clattered through and scored the winning points.
A great advert for rugby as both teams played hard and fair. A great advert for the Yardley spirit. We wish these players luck as they approach exams and hope they take the lessons they learn on the rugby field into the exam hall and beyond.
Yardeys - 25 Kesh - 20
Man of the Match - Ardale Gordon - Brutal ball carrying all game, agressive over the ball, team player.
Thanks to Mohammed Gohari for filling in for Kesh and Mr Meddings for supporting us.
Rugby News
On an early Spring day on the school field, the Year 10 and Year 11 rugby team took on their counterparts from St George’s School. What transpired was a good display from the Yardleys boys. Try after try rained in as our side played with controlled aggression and maturity. Although there is much to work on to improve this was a real step forward in performance. Standout performances came from Tyreece Reeve who scrummaged his opposing prop off the earth, Aadam Aflaq who tackled all day and carried well, Kaleem Ali who, as ever pushed over the gain line with each carry. As well as them, Imani "One Hand" Tenkamenin, Victor Adeyemi and Hassan Qaiser also played with real concentration.
Man of the match - Armaan Ahmed - Tackling monster.
Final Result Yardleys - 70 - St Georges - 0
UKMT MATHS REGIONAL TEAM CHALLENGE 2018
On Friday 23rd March 2018 four pupils; Remisha Mahmood 8GRI, Wajahat Saeed 8PYE, Selina Mahroof 9SNR and Mohammed Dean 9WNC, competed in the UKMT Regional Maths Team Challenge.
These four pupils had spent many form times studying for this event, and it definitely paid off with them coming 12th out of 26 Schools, of which 7 were grammar schools.
The competition was based on four complex rounds where their individual strength and their capability to communicate well and work as a team were tested.
The four pupils did exceptionally well considering it was their first time at this event and represented the school fantastically. Well done to the students involved.
Year 9 Indoor Cricket Finals
On Friday 9th March six boys made the journey to represent the school, against some of the best cricketers in Birmingham, at the Year 9 Indoor Cricket Finals at Edgbaston. This was a trip they made last year where they finished runners up. Our boys were ready to rewrite history and come home champions, but first they had to beat all other schools.
The team made it to the finals where they met Tudor Grange in the finals. Tudor Grange went into bat first. They put on a valiant display and finished the twelve overs with a total of 94 runs. A score that could have been higher had our wicket keeper, Junaid Nazeem, not been on such good form. Now the pressure was on. Danny Khan, one of our more proficient batters and highest run-scorer of the day, went out early from a good catch, this did not look good. Yardleys needed 8 per over and after two overs had only scored 4 runs and lost one of our better batsmen. Now it was time for captain Roheel Qamar and the might of Qasim Sohail to get us back on track. That is exactly what they did, after 4 overs we were ahead of our target on points. After Qasim retired, in came Ali Mahmood who put some great runs on the board supported still by Roheel. After Ali’s departure and with the game in sight, Junaid Arshad stepped in to bat. After a long day with lots of games, our boys were tiring and slowing but Junaid had a plan. 4 points were needed to win, Junaid swings big and connects...the ball flies for a 6 and after 9 overs, the game was done. Yardleys had scored 97 in 9.5 overs to take the championship.
Our lads showed great determination and resilience to play on through some tough opponents. Well done to the following boys:
Roheel Qamar (C), Danny Khan, Qasim Sophail, Ali Mahmood, Junaid Arshad and Junaid Nazeem.
ASDAN News – Visit to Midlands Air Ambulance
As part of the first aid course that the ASDAN group are undertaking, they were taken to visit the Midlands Air Ambulance at their airbase within Strensham services, Worcestershire on Monday 19th March.
Here, they were given the opportunity to have a look around the helicopter; not only the cockpit but also the rear area where paramedics and casualties would be accommodated. They also had a quick look around the control room and got to witness how calls are received from the despatch desk and how the crew then deal with the call.
They found out that from the initial call, the helicopter can be airborne within three minutes and normally on site at the scene between five and ten minutes depending on where the situation is.
The pupils were however, shocked to hear that it costs around £2500 for each mission the helicopter takes on. They found out that there is no government funding to run the air ambulance and that it solely relies upon charitable donations in order to continue running. Each year, it costs to £9 million to keep the service going.
Pupils’ behaviour was impeccable and thanks must also go to Mr Tullett for driving the minibus – although it is thought he was a bit disappointed that he didn’t get a chance to fly the helicopter himself!
The creation of the new rugby top
This year the school was accepted on the England RFU All School programme because of the school’s commitment to developing rugby. As a result they have provided us with professional coaches coming into school to teach classes, training for staff and they also gave us the opportunity to design our own kit, which was then made by England's sponsor Canterbury.
Mohamed Firouz explains the design process:
There will several critical steps taken to produce the Yardleys’ rugby top, first of which was the designing stage but more specifically, sketching. Using the various sheets provided the pupils generated initial ideas individually.
Although there were over 40 diverse ideas, the pupils almost instantly were able to agree on a general design style that was going to be used in the next few stages. The general broad design was a basis for the pupils to add to as they desired. This was then applied to the final piece of work in which the schools colour (green) was used.
Armaan Ahmed and Mohamed Usman Firouz shone in the designing process where as Jibran Akram and Zainul Ul-Abideen excelled in the colour experimentation. Jibran, Zainul and Armaan ended up assisting Usman’s final design and together they were able to create an impeccable ‘piece of art’. Special credits go to Mr Ziebeck who also massively contributed towards the project.
Drama News
It has been a busy few weeks for the Drama department. Firstly, we have embarked on two very successful theatre trips with years 9, 10 and 11 to The RSC to see ‘Twelfth Night’ by William Shakespeare and The Globe, London to see ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ also by Shakespeare. Secondly, rehearsals have begun for our next school production of Bugsy Malone which opens in July 2018.
Basketball School Games Final
Year 9 recently attended the Level 3 School Games Finals for Basketball after a clean sweep at the Level 2 Collegiate tournament. The finals saw some of Birmingham's finest basketball players from schools attending for what was to be a great competition.
Sadly, our Year 9 team did not take the top spot on the day after suffering 2 point defeats to two teams who made the final four. The boys played extremely well in all games and displayed excellent resilience and determination to keep playing well. Please share in our pride for how well the team performed throughout their games.
Year 9 Basketball Collegiate Champions and School Games finalists:
Waleed Khan (Captain)
Hamza Aswad (Top Scorer)
Ghazanfor Bajwa (voted Player of the Day)
Rohail Khan
Haaris Khan
Mohammed Hussain
Mohammed Mamoor
Sami Khan
Sport Birmingham Talent Auditions
On Friday 2nd February, the choir represented the school at the Sport Birmingham Talent Auditions at the Birmingham Hippodrome accompanied by Mr Milgate, Miss Yates and also Miss O'Donovan. They were allocated a five minute slot in which to entertain the audience and show off their talents to the panel of judges. They all performed extremely well and their behaviour was impeccable; they were a credit to the school.
Icare food hub project
It has been our pleasure as a school to support the Icare food hub project within Sparkbrook Mosque. Pupils and staff kindly donated items of food to fill two large food hub containers and additional filled decorated boxes were also given. From the staff breakfast with the help of Mr Thornton, we managed to raise extra funds to support this valued resource within our local community. We look forward to developing our relationship with the food hub and Mosque in the future as it forms an important part of school life and compliments our school values in particular empathy and integrity.
Theatre visit
On 23rd January 2018 a group of Drama students from years 10 and 11 travelled to The Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton to see the National Theatre's contemporary production of Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen. Accompanied by Miss Clarke, Miss O'Donovan and Mr Thornton, the show was thoroughly enjoyed by the group who gasped, screamed, tutted and commented on this captivating and emotive performance.
Coming soon …
This year will see an exciting new project at Yardleys. We are building an extension at the end of the DT corridor to provide some extra facilities which we hope everyone will benefit from.
Plans include two additional classrooms, a multi-purpose hall and toilets which can be easily accessed from the playground and playing fields – especially useful at lunchtime.
The hall will be slightly larger than our current canteen and about two thirds the size of our main hall. It will offer a second space for dining – following extensive feedback from students about the length of queues at lunchtime. The hall will also be suitable for lessons, exams and assemblies and, thanks to special tables which will fold back completely into the walls when not in use, the hall will also provide a wonderful space for PE and fitness activities.
We have been planning this extension for over a year and a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes. We now have planning permission, the approval of our PFI providers and have appointed a builder who will start very shortly.
Table Cricket tournament
On Wednesday the 17th January ten students took part in their first table cricket tournament at Edgbaston Cricket Ground. After a rocky start, the team managed to win four of their five games and will now proceed to the next tournament which will take place on 7th February. Well done to all those involved including Rumaysa, who was a fantastic team Captain.
Christmas at Yardleys
A massive thank you to everyone who donated items for our three charities within our local community. @Bham_City_Missn were very grateful for the donations of gifts for disadvantaged children in Birmingham. Year 11 pupils enjoyed wrapping those gifts up at Birmingham Missions annex.
The Foodhub within Sparkbrook mosque were very grateful for our donations of items and for the £136 we raised from our staff breakfast.
Finally Sparkhill Food bank were grateful for the boxed items we also provided. We worked well as a school showing our Yardleys Values of integrity, empathy, teamwork and creativity.
Special well done:
• Year 10 for being the most charitable year group.
• 9RES for donating seven full boxes of items and thus being the most charitable form.
• 7CNG for their amazing team work and creativity to win the best designed box.
Christmas Appeal 2017
This year Yardleys School have set up a Christmas appeal working with two charities that provide the local community with much needed food supplies over Christmas; Birmingham Sparkhill Foodbank and Sparkbrook Mosque foodhub in association with icare. We are also working with a Christian Charity, Birmingham City Mission, who works with children in Birmingham and Save the Children.
A reminder that the Yardleys Christmas Food Appeal has been extended until Tuesday 19th December. There is a trophy available for the most charitable form (the form that donates the most amount of items) and an edible prize for most creative form (the form who designs the best decorated box). We would kindly ask every student to bring in at least one item for the appeal: Non-perishable items (very long sell by date) are desired. Items such as tinned- meals, fruit, puddings, beans, rice, pasta, cooking oil, sweets, long life milk. The items will go to Sparkhill Foodbank and Sparkbrook Mosque in association with icare. Students should give them to their form tutor or put into the icare foodhub box by the student entrance.
Yardleys School is committed to helping its local community as we feel it is important to put our schools values into practice. We are also asking pupils if they wish to donate small gifts for children who will not have any Christmas presents at home. These gifts should only cost up to the value of £1. We are working with Birmingham City’s Mission Toylink project as 3,000 children across Birmingham would otherwise not have any presents this Christmas. The deadline for this is also Tuesday 19th December. These gifts should go to form tutors and put into plastic bags. It is entirely optional.
Lastly Friday 22nd December pupils and staff have the option to wear a Christmas Jumper/ T-shirt along with their uniform to raise money for Save the Children. It will be £1 donation.
Community Action Project
As part of the enrichment sessions, the community action group discussed what challenges our community face and decided to look into the problem of litter. We walked around our school and local roads to note what rubbish had been dumped. When we went out on the streets we were surprised by how much rubbish we saw; for example, plastic bottles, open black bags of rubbish, food boxes and in some places unwanted objects such as wardrobes and fridges. Furthermore, we also noticed that near shops and busy roads there was more litter thrown. We concluded that litter has a huge impact on the local area, including directly outside people’s houses.
We decided to go back and help clean up our community by picking up the litter we saw on our search. We saw sweet wrappers and drink cans the most frequently, as there were a lot of sweet shops around and hardly any bins to properly dispose of the mess. We noticed that students, just like us, were littering the most around the area, so we believed it was our responsibility to help clean up. This contributed to a more positive environment, as the streets were cleaner and we showed a good example to others.
There are many possible ways litter issues can be tackled for example; we could put up signs around the local area telling people to stop littering, there could put more bins around parks and shops and people can be engaged in campaigns like ours or hold community talks. But ultimately we have come to realise; it’s not somebody else’s responsibly to pick up our litter, it’s our responsibility, so please put your litter in the bin!
Children in Need fundraising
Pupils at Yardleys school raised in excess of £350 for Children in Need this month. The money raised is used to change the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in the UK.
With a record number of pupil volunteers this year, fundraising activities included a sponsored silence, a bookmark competition, money buckets and Pudsey coin fill in form classes. On Friday 17th fundraising stepped up a gear with an activity filled lunch time organised by pupils. There was a football tournament, pairs cricket challenge and rowing challenge for the more active participant or those that hoped for a sporting chance could try their luck at the Children in Need fair. Stalls in the atrium included a cake sale, guess the number of sweets, name the teddy, game challenges and the Quackers game stall.
Together we have changed lives. Thank you to everyone who got involved!
Morale boosting cup win for the Year 7 Footballers
The year 7 football team secured their first victory of the season with a hard fought penalty shooutout win against a strong Waverley side. Having responded positively from conceding a goal in the first half, Yardleys restored parity with a fine goal from young Spaniard Ismael El Younissi. Full time saw the game go straight to penalties and it was goalkeeper Joseph Francis who proved to be the hero, saving two penalties and ensured that we advance to the next round of the collegiate cup.
KS3 Collegiate Basketball Championships
Monday 20th November was the KS3 Collegiate Basketball Championships. Yardleys KS3 team have been working hard for the last three years and headed into the competition feeling prepared. That preparation paid dividends. Yardleys went unbeaten through the tournament and managed to hold all teams to at least a 10 point lead in all of their games. The Year 9 players were outstanding throughout and all showed excellent resilience and determination in every game. We are all very proud of these boys and the effort they showed to be crowned KS3 Collegiate Basketball Champions 2017/18.
Lapworth Geology Museum Trip
In November 25 of our best and brightest biology pupils in Year 10 went on a trip to Lapworth Geology Museum at the University of Birmingham. Pupils were treated to a meeting with ‘Rory’ the Allosaourus and then given a guided tour of the museum's incredible collections. It was a really good experience for pupils studying the new GCSE evolution topic, and they asked lots of insightful questions. Pupils were particularly privileged to have a behind the scenes tour in the museum’s store cupboard full of rare, delicate and valuable collections including the type specimen of a trilobite fossil nicknamed the ‘dudleybug’ which was the very first of its kind discovered and is worth an estimated £16,000.
Macmillan Coffee and Cake fundraiser
Thank you and well done to staff for taking part in this year’s Macmillan Cancer Nurse, coffee and cake event.We are happy to have raised over £110 for a fabulous charity so that trained and dedicated nurses can spend precious time with patients in their darkest hours.
Many staff baked, but praise indeed needs to go to Miss Perry for her carrot and orange cake, and Ms. Stimpson for her lemon drizzle cake. Many thanks also to everyone who donated cakes, and all those who bought or donated for this excellent cause.
National Leadership Award for PiXL Edge
Umme-Roomaan Sajad in Year 8 has recently attended Central Hall in Westminster to collect a very prestigious award. She has completed the first stage of the PiXL Edge course, which involved her demonstrating leadership. In order to achieve this Umme was determined to get approved a non-school uniform day to raise money for Comic Relief. Umme took charge on the project and wrote a letter to Mr Evans including the plan for the day, which he was so impressed by that it was approved.
Over £950 was raised thanks to Umme’s leadership and determination. Because of this, PiXL nominated Umme for a regional award that she picked up last year in Leicester. Then the PiXL executive board reviewed all entries and Umme was nominated for and won the National Leadership Award for PiXL Edge. There were over 500,000 potential applicants, but it was Umme-Roomaan Sajad who came out on top. She also got the opportunity to meet the actor James Cosmo (Game of Thrones, Troy, Braveheart, Trainspotting) who presented Umme with this award.
A huge congratulations to Umme on this incredible achievement.
Carding Mill trip
On Friday the 6th of October the 69 GCSE Geography students in year 10 boarded a coach early in the morning for Shropshire, heading out to enjoy the rural surroundings of Carding Mill Valley on the Long Mynd. This is the Geographers first piece of exam fieldwork and they worked hard, investigating the Ash Brook as it flowed through the valley, measuring and checking that the theory they had looked at in the classroom was borne out in reality.
Unusually for Geography fieldwork the sun was shining and it did not rain once – a great start to the Y10s year!
