Handsworth Grammar School

Year 7 win MATCH competition!
18/04/08

  Year 7’s Football team have won the opportunity to go Ninja training.  They won this competition by writing a fifty word essay on why we need Ninja training.  The competition was in the MATCH issues on 26 February and 4 March.  The dates for the Ninja training are not yet known.  We also won a DS Lite for each member of the team, a new DS game called Ninja Reflex, a new kit sponsored by EA’s Ninja Reflex, a chance to be in MATCH and the Ninja training.  Well done to Samuel Mason, 7.27 to for winning it for us!
 

French Film Festival UK 2008
18/03/08

  As part of the UK’s French Film Festival in March a number of French films were screened in Birmingham.  We were very pleased to be able to take the Year 12 and Year 13 French students to see ‘Mon Colonel’, a compelling film centring on the Algerian War.  Although the subject matter was harrowing at times, we all enjoyed being able to see the film together and discussing our opinions of it afterwards.
 

Rugby Triumphs
18/03/08

  On the Rugby field the U.14’s beat Stockland Green 58-0. The U.12’s and U.13’s played well in their Birmingham and Black Country  Festivals. The U.13’s beat Plantsbrook School at Sutton Coldfield 49-21, Kern Powell-Falconer scoring six tries. They are at home to Cockshutt Hill on18 March. The U15’s beat Edmund Campion 59-0 with J. Gilchrist amassing 32 points.
 

Renewable Energy Day
13/03/08

  On Thursday 13 March 2008, Year 9 students Michael Adebayo, Faisal Ahmed, Saaim Janjua, Dinesh Mattu, Naeem Rashid, Roheel Sajid, Soheel Sajid, Ashish Sehdeva, Umar Shaikh, Jagdeep Sehmar, Joshua Singh, Nabil Thakur, Jonathan O’Connor and Owen Vanstone-Hallam, accompanied by Mr Jones, visited the impressive country house and estate of ‘Compton Verney’ in Warwickshire for a day’s activities based on the theme of ‘Renewable Energy’.  The day was organised by the ‘Smallpeice Educational Trust’ and one of the presenters was former student Mr Kevin O’Neill.  After graduating from Sheffield University, he taught Mathematics for a number of years at Bishop Challoner School before broadening his experience in education by joining the Trust.

Indoor Cricket
11/03/08

  The Indoor Cricket  fixtures went well at U.19 with a contested result against Aston Manor and beating Hamstead Hall. The U.12’s also easily beat Hamstead Hall. The U15 team are undefeated beating Fairfax and Hamstead Hall. They have a chance of winning their area division and could go on to further rounds.
 

Y9 Inter-form football
02/03/08

  We had a successful Year 9 Inter Form Football on Saturday 1^st March with 9.02 being this years champions. It went to the last game and at one stage both pitches had penalties being taken at the same time. A superb event, well supported by the students.

 

 

 

Pretty, Pretty, Bang, Bang
27/02/08

  30 Year 10 students, accompanied by Mr Bedi, Dr Bowen and Mr Mahmood, visited Birmingham University’s Chemistry Department on Wednesday 27 February 2008 for a lecture entitled ‘Pretty Pretty Bang Bang’.  They were treated to a number of demonstrations involving light, sound and colour.  This included firing a rocket upside-down in order to determine its thrust.  The relevant Chemistry of Fireworks was explained to the 200 plus students assembled.

Water Polo
06/02/08

On 12 February, the HGS Old Boys under 18 water polo team faced our long term rivals from Warwick. After the previous match against Warwick, Handsworth were determined to defeat Warwick again.
By the second quarter, Warwick were up by one goal, but then Akbar Aleem scored a great goal to put us in the lead. A powerful shot by the Warwick centre forward resulted in a great save by our goalie, Scott Ginder. In the third quarter both teams fought hard for the lead, then in the fourth quarter Omar Iqbal scored a beautiful goal with a back-hander followed by the captains superb shot to place HGS in the lead. In the end HGS won 12 – 10.

Cinema and Theatre Visits with the English Department
06/02/08

  Students in the English department have been involved in two trips to Birmingham in the last two months. Late December saw the whole of Year 7 embark on an adventure to Cineworld to see The Golden Compass on a freezing Friday morning. Accompanied by their English teachers and fifteen Year 12 and 13 students who acted as helpers, they piled onto two double decker buses for the drive to Broad Street. Their behaviour was impeccable as they were marched into the foyer, lined up in forms and were escorted into the auditorium, stopping only to purchase the food and drink that would keep them sustained during the film! Philip Pullman’s novel Northern Lights is familiar to many of the boys and they saw favourite characters transferred to the big screen in spectacular fashion. After the film, the trek began to the pick up point outside Central library where the vast majority of students were picked up absolutely on time! Particular thanks must go to Sergeant Major Duck who was able to maintain military discipline in organising 140 eleven year olds in a very busy pre-Christmas Victoria Square! A good day was had by all.

 

 

 

Another trip, this time for Years 11 and 13, took place in early February. 40 students accompanied by members of the teaching and non-teaching staff, were treated to a production of Rafta, Rafta at the Birmingham Rep. This new play, based on an original comedy by Bill Naughton but transposed to an Asian family setting in Yorkshire, played to appreciative audiences in London last summer and our 6^th formers were disappointed not be able to get tickets for the National Theatre production in July. This was remedied by a transfer from London to Birmingham, and the 40 tickets purchased by the school were sold out in 24 hours!

 

 

 

Ski Trip 2008
06/02/08

  Alpine scenery there was not, but the time spent by our beginners at the Ackers’ Trust Dry Ski Slope in Small Heath over the last few weeks will be invaluable when it comes to their first tentative ‘slides’ on real snow!  A number of our more experienced skiers enjoyed an hour’s session at the Tamworth Snowdome in order to get the right muscles working.  Parents are reminded that Confidential Forms and Passports should be handed to Mr P Jones by Friday 11 January, and that pocket money should be handed (in euros) to Ms Aboutorabi by Friday 18 January.  We will be writing to parents to confirm arrangements for the trip just before the departure on Saturday 26 January 2008.