Important information for pupils, parents & carers
School closure - from Tuesday January 5th 2021
In line with new government guidance and lockdown, Yardleys school will be closed from January 5th 2021.
Pupils should study at home by following their normal timetable and accessing the online learning provided - Click here (requires login).
There will be some provision for vulnerable pupils or children of key workers in school. This will be the same online learning as all other pupils but they will be accessing school computers to do this work. This must be requested in writing via the school email: enquiry@yardleys.bham.sch.uk
Recent letters can be found HERE (updated 07/01/21)
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)
Eco-Leader News
On Wednesday 18th November the Year 8 Eco-Leaders participated in a webinar alongside youth environmental activists, environmental leaders within big corporations and parliamentary MPs . The students listened intently to current and future solutions regarding plastic waste and witnessed a debate between leaders and the youth regarding what the best course of action would be. The students were very keen to get their voices heard and were able to submit questions to the MPs who have an active role in writing our country’s environmental policies. The overall consensus, post webinar, is that prevention is better than a cure when it comes to plastic and subsequently our Eco-Leaders will be looking intently at how to reduce our consumption of plastic within school, and if we can’t prevent, how we can re-use and recycle more of our plastic waste. A big thank you to the Year 8 Eco-Leaders for participating in such an important event.
More information can be found about this event and results here.
Careers in Engineering
On Monday 2nd November 2020, a group of 23 Year 11 students attended a virtual presentation in school about career opportunities in the engineering sector. The presentation was done by Adam Tipper, Managing Director of an organisation called Next Gen Makers. This is a local organisation whose mission is to inspire young people to join the engineering sector in the West Midlands.
During the webinar, the students learnt about the different of types of engineering – mechanical, electronic, civil and chemical; learnt about apprenticeships in engineering by listening to presentations by actual apprentices and they also learnt about the different routes into engineering either through the college/university route or an apprenticeship.
The presentation looked to address stereotyping of what an engineer looks like, with several girls talking about their jobs and the great opportunities that they had in their careers. One of the girls was employed in a mechanical engineering role, the other worked on the quality assurance side in engineering.
The presentation also gave the group some local labour market information. There are around 25,000 engineering employers in the West Midlands and which every year, face a skill shortage of 20,000 young engineers.
At the start of the webinar, many of the students had little or no interest in a career in engineering, however after listening to a very informative and inspiration presentation, many had changed their mind!
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.
February Athlete of the Month
The Athlete of the Month for February goes to Renee Mroso 8AMT. Her outstanding contributions to the school basketball team led her to be named player of the match on two occasions. Despite being in Year 8, she is representing the Year 11 team. Miss Perry commented ‘Renee is so good, her ability with a basketball is without question a pleasure to witness and her skill belies her age’.
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.
Brilliant Club Graduation
This year’s Brilliant Club cohort completed their studies with a graduation ceremony held at the prestigious University of Warwick. Twelve successful Year 10 students worked hard completing a university style assignment on the project named 'Protecting Human Rights in the UK - Is it important?'. Congratulations to the 12 students who graduated.
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.
Basketball news
On 4th December 2019 the KS4 girls’ basketball team had their first match against Kings Norton Girls’ School. It was a home game and the girls were excited to start of their basketball league with a win.
The team started well getting a comfortable lead of 10 points in the first quarter. However, Kings Norton got back into the game with some fantastic offence; catching up and staying in contention with some fantastic lay ups. At the beginning of the fourth quarter both teams were neck and neck with 20 points each. Kings Norton scored the next two baskets but Yardleys was not ready to give up, they scored two after.
The teams were drawing with 10 seconds remaining and finished the game with a 2 point shot from Laiba Malik, who scored just before the full time whistle; Yardleys had their first win.
Well done to all the girls; Sarah Adeyemo, Aisha Farah, Aliya Dahir from Year 11 and Laiba Malik, Marriyah Qaiser, Alaina Ahmed, Amna Sarfraz and Amaani Deere from Year 10. Many thanks to the Year 11 officials on the night: Hamzah Aswad, Abdallah Mohammed, Haaris Khan and Waleed Khan.
Year 9 Theatre trip
Recently the whole of Year 9 went on a trip to The Crescent Theatre to watch an adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It was a novel that the pupils had read in Year 7, so was interesting and fun to see how it had been adapted for the stage and our modern times in this season of festivities. Not only was it a great opportunity to experience the theatre, but will prove valuable for the pupils when they come to study their next Shakespearean play, giving them a greater insight into what it is like to an audience watching a live production. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and pleasingly, the staff at the theatre were more than complimentary of our pupils' behaviour.
Collegiate Dance Festival
On 28th November Yardleys hosted a dance festival for primary and secondary schools in our Central Collegiate. It is always one of our favourite events and it was clear to see how much hard work and effort had gone in to all the performances. Unfortunately, not all the schools that entered were able to attend on the night, nonetheless it was still a great event and all the pupils should be proud of their performances.
We would like to say a massive thank you to Hannah Reed for her organisation and to Michelle Homer from Hall Green who was our judge.
After the combined results from Michelle Homer and the values voting by all the schools, congratulations go to Oasis Blakenhale Primary School who will now represent the Central Collegiate at the County School Games Finals on 13th March (dance only). Audley Primary School finished in a very close second place with a fantastic dance choreographed by the pupils. All of the performances from Yardleys School were created by the pupils.
The secondary school results were as follows:
1st Place - Yardleys School - Madihah Khan - Year 7
2nd Place - Yardleys School - Hannah Yahya - Year 7
Joint 3rd - Yardleys School - Remi Sowe; Mica Ming; Aminah Qayyum; Nishat Jolie and Zara Ahmad all from Year 8.
The winners of the following categories were:
Best Choreography - Oasis Blakenhale Primary School
Best Concept - Yardleys School Year 7 girls; Hannah Yahya; Alishbah Ahmed; Muskan Anwar; Aisha Yahya
Best Costume - Yardleys School - Sonia Ghafoor Year 8 and Mobeen Kousar Year 10
Alishbah Ahmed, Muskan Anwar, Aisha Yahya will progress to the finals as solo performers along with Madihah.
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.
Author Visit - Alex Wheatle
Yardleys recently welcomed the award winning author Alex Wheatle who in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2008, was awarded the MBE for services to literature.
Alex presented an assembly to our Year 9 students inspiring them with his life story and journey to having his books published. They responded well to his warmth and were inspired by his enthusiasm and knowledge.
During two further workshops Alex gave a fascinating insight into the process of writing a novel and where ideas can stem from. His young-adult novel Liccle Bit was previously longlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
Our Year 9 pupils had a really valuable and enjoyable experience. The visit was a great success.
Student Voice
The School Council met to discuss a variety of issues around school life. Discussions centred around classroom routines, homework and also the school environment as a whole. The discussions were positive, with effective ideas and thoughts shared. The council also met with the Canteen Manager to discuss the school catering. Prices for food, menus and other important factors were discussed and the feedback given was very constructive, it can only make the lunchtime dining experience even better than it already is. It was an excellent opportunity for the council to put forth the ideas shared by all of the students throughout the school.
