Free swimming lessons for Year 7 students

Free swimming lessons are being offered to Year 7 students throughout the summer term.

The sessions will take place in the pool at Penn Fields School and will be run by trained staff from Highfields.

They are open to students who have not yet learnt to swim and, numbers permitting, students who lack confidence in the water.

Sessions will take place from Monday May 9 to Friday July 22. They will run before school between 7.55am and 8.45am and after school between 3.30pm and 4.20pm.

Ms T. Lee, Acting Head of Girls PE, said: "We feel that the ability to swim is a very important skill that not only allows a child to experience the fun aspects of water but also could potentially save their life if ever they got into difficulty."

Lessons will involve no more than 10 students with at least two members of staff present at all times.

Ethan roaring for rugby success with Tigers

Talented young rugby player Ethan Cole has moved a step closer to converting his dream of playing the sport professionally on a national stage into reality after being signed up by the much-decorated Leicester Tigers Rugby Club.

Ethan started playing rugby at the age of six at Castlecroft Rugby Club and also for his primary school, St Michael's, which one year made it through to the top 10 teams in the country in the national Tag To Twickenham competition.

The 14-year-old is the youngest member of his Wolverhampton club and was the first of his team to be spotted by scouts at Rugby Union side Leicester Tigers, which is the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987.

Ethan’s path to success with the prestigious Leicester Tigers started when he was accepted on to the club’s Development Player Programme (DPP), which trains every week at Walsall Rugby Club. He was then selected to form part of the U15s Staffs side which won a tournament organised by the club before being invited to attend a talent academy held at Bishops Burton College in Hull.

The talent camp was held to decide which players would be selected to to fill one of only 30 places nationally on the club’s Elite Player Development Programme (EPDG) - and talented Ethan has been selected.

He is the only player from Wolverhampton DPP to have won a place and is now being assessed for the chance of taking part in a national tournament with the club on May 2.

Being in the EPDG means he will be training twice a week for the Leicester Tigers and will form part of the U16 Tigers team next year when the season starts.  

Mr C.Moody, Head of Sport, said: “This really is a fantastic achievement. Leicester Tigers are the most successful English club and this is a genuine opportunity for him to be spotted by England coaches.”

Leicester Tigers play in the Aviva Premiership and are record 10-time English champions. They have appeared in a record nine successive Premiership finals, have never finished a league season below 6th position and are one of only four teams to have never been relegated from the top division. Leicester are also the most successful English side in Europe as back-to-back champions in 2001 and 2002 and losing finalists in 1997, 2007 and 2009.

Students hit right notes with music recital

Highfields' musicians and singers hit all the right notes when they showcased their talents with a pitch-perfect music recital.

GCSE and AS-Level music students performed a variety of group and solo pieces in front of a live audience as part of the event.

The recital, which was organised by music teachers Mrs S. Jevon and Miss A.Ross, was such a success that it is now set to become a regular fixture on the school calendar. 

Mrs Jevon said: “We have such a talented group of musicians and singers at Highfields so it was wonderful to give them a chance to showcase their abilities to a live audience.

“The recital was staged in the school restaurant and our students did themselves proud with some incredibly confident and accomplished performances from a variety of musical genres.”

Fundraisers go extra mile for Sport Relief

Students and staff went the extra mile to show their support for this year's national Sport Relief fundraising campaign.

A Sport Relief Mile, cross-bar challenge, lip-sync competition, cake decorating and staff football and netball matches were among the activities hosted by the school.

Their efforts have helped to raise more than £200 for the cause.

Sport Relief is a charity event organised through Comic Relief and run every two years in association with BBC Sport. The event brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise tens of millions of pounds to help vulnerable people in the UK and across the world. 

Mrs L.Corbett, Highfields' Community Engagement Officer, said: "Highfields is justifiably proud of the support that students, parents and staff give to both national and local charities, raising thousands of pounds each year.

"It was great to see so many people getting involved in the activities we put on to support the worthy Sport Relief campaign."

Muy Bien! Spanish students give tapas thumbs-up

Spanish students tucked into tapas to get a taste of the authentic cuisine they have been learning about as part of their studies.

Twenty-five students from Year 9 went along to Casa Ruiz, in Bridgnorth, after completing a module of work focusing on food, drink and restaurants.

Mrs A.Darby, Head of Languages, said: “It was a fantastic opportunity for students to taste authentic Spanish food and try the tapas dishes they had been learning about.

“It was a great way of adding some cultural context to their learning.”

Britannica School Encyclopædia now available to all Highfields students

All of Highfields’ 1,800 students and staff now have complete access to the award-winning online resource, Britannica School, to aid their studies.

The school has invested in the resource, from Encyclopædia Britannica, to give students and their families 24/7 access to thousands of helpful learning tools and image libraries.

Students can reach the resource through the school website’s Office 365 link from any device including computers, laptops and tablets. 

The online encyclopædia is updated daily with articles, videos, images and educational games to help students with all of their learning needs and projects in every subject. It also features study guides focusing on specific topics such as essay writing - all designed to support students of all academic levels.

Headteacher, Mr M. Capel, said: “We are delighted that Britannica School is now available for all of our students and their families as well as staff.

“It can be used as a starting point when they are searching for information to help them with their homework, projects and research papers on the internet.

“It is wonderful that we are able to give our students access to so much information whilst being safe in the knowledge that our students will be exploring safe material from a trusted, non-biased and reliable source."

*Photographs courtesy of www.britannica.co.uk

Students set for FAME with performance at Grand Theatre

Budding stars of the West End wowed audiences when they showcased their performance skills on a professional stage.

Talented Highfields students Jessica Olford, Jordanne Farley-Moss, Molly Birch and Maya Chima were among the cast of Musical Comedy Company’s (MUSCOM) high-energy production of FAME.

The show was performed at the historic Grand Theatre to rave reviews.

Sharon Bishop, Highfields’ Head of Performance, who was in the audience to watch the show, said: “It is wonderful that our students build on the work we do in school by nurturing their talents in their free time.

“I was very proud to watch our students putting on such professional performances in this fantastic production. It was a great experience for them to perform at the Grand Theatre and I look forward to seeing their names in lights one day.” 

Established in 1938, MUSCOM is a young and vibrant theatre company full of local, home-grown talent. Over the past decade, MUSCOM has performed a number of critically-acclaimed performances at the theatre including Footloose, Half A Sixpence and Legally Blonde.

All photographs courtesy of MUSCOM. For more information about the company, visit www.muscom.co.uk or call 07794 048727.  

Shakespeare to be celebrated by students

William Shakespeare’s famous comedy The Taming of the Shrew will be brought to life by Highfields students as part of an evening of entertainment celebrating works of the Bard.

An Evening of Shakespeare will take place on April 28 to mark the 400th anniversary of the playwright’s death.

Students will perform a 30-minute version of the play as well as other famous Shakespeare monologues and duologues.

Ms S. Bishop, Head of Performance, said: “Shakespeare's stories transcend time and culture and are able to speak to a number of audiences at the same time.

“Our performance of The Taming of the Shrew is something we worked on during the last summer school and, being the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in April this year, we thought it would be fitting for our students to honour his work by performing this piece as well as other famous monologues and duologues he penned."

The performance starts at 7.30pm. Tickets, costing £2, are available from the Upper Floor LRC. 

Horrors of war to be brought to life during trip to The Somme

The horrors of war will be brought to life for students during a trip to The Somme on the 100th anniversary year of one of the fiercest battles of the First World War.

A group of 36 students and five members of staff will be travelling to the French battlefields as well as visiting the memorials and museums that honour those who lost their lives as part of the trip to give them a better insight into the atrocities that took place there during the war.

The Battle of the Somme, which took place between July and November 1916, was one of the largest of the First World War, with more than 1 million casualties. On the first day alone, the British suffered almost 60,000 casualties, making it the bloodiest day in British military history.

History teacher, Mrs C.Hall, said: “A trip to The Somme will illustrate for students the horrors of war and the terrific human cost of gaining very little territory as well as the difficult conditions the soldiers lived in for long periods.

“We shall be paying our respects to the fallen of all nations as we endeavour to build our understanding of history and the lessons to be learned from the dreadful mistakes of the past.”

The visit, which will take place from March 24-26, is one of a number of study tours organised by Highfields’ History department to enable students to experience first hand the locations of world-changing events.

Mrs Hall added: “This will be another solemn and reflective journey with Highfields' students but we know that we shall also enjoy the travels and the company of a wonderful group of students from Year 9 to Year 13. We will report more of our experiences on our return.”

Year 11 students given revision tips for exam success

Students during last year's Plan To Succeed Day

Year 11 students were given top tips and advice about making their revision really count as part of a special day dedicated to ensuring they succeed in their GCSE exams.

A number of workshops and activities were lined up for students as part of the Plan To Succeed Day, which took place on March 15.

Students took part in workshops throughout the day looking at applying the ‘4Rs’ and each received a goody bag featuring a clear pencil case, pen, pencil, post-it notes and highlighters to aid their revision. 

Students worked in groups to construct their own revision timetables and materials making use of a range of techniques including mind maps, flash cards, route systems, videos, podcasts and quizzes with prizes handed out for the best materials created on the day. The event finished with a play performed by members of the Maximise Theatre Company.

Mrs N.Clifton, Head of Upper School, said: “The purpose of the day was to allow Year 11 students to develop their revision skills and strategies and raise awareness of the need to be revising now.  

“Our Year 11 students have approached every aspect of their GCSE exams so far with maturity and while their mock exam results were incredibly positive, the experience gave them an indication of the areas in which they need to improve on for the real thing.

“This day was all about giving them the advice and ideas to make sure they get the most out of their revision time and adopt revision methods that best suit them so they achieve their potential in their exams and put themselves on the road to success in the future.”

This year for the first time students are also being encouraged to share their own revision resources through the Create Like Share area on the school website. Four prizes worth £25 each will be given out for the best resources shared between students over the Easter holiday.