Students complete sign language course

Sixth-form students have been learning how to break down communication barriers by completing a course in basic sign language.

Around 30 students from Year 12 took part in the six-week after-school course led by Deaf Education Advocacy Fellowship (DEAF).

A tutor visited school every Wednesday to teach students basic sign language, including the alphabet, numbers, instructions, directions and popular everyday phrases.

Students said the experience had been a positive one.

Rattan Bhorjee said: “Sign language has enabled me to communicate with those who I wouldn’t have previously been able to. It was also a lot of fun.”

DEAF supports people who are deaf or hard of hearing to promote equal access and improve attainment as well as breaking down barriers of communication by teaching hearing people the culture and language of the deaf community.

Highfields most popular secondary school in Wolverhampton

Highfields has been named the most popular secondary school in Wolverhampton, with hundreds of students applying for a place.

Around 450 students selected Highfields as their first-choice school for the next academic year, making it the most in-demand of all of the city’s 21 schools.

More than 250 new students will start at Highfields in September but almost 200 have missed out on a place due to the huge demand. 

Mr G.Tate, Deputy Headteacher, said: “It is pleasing to see that so many students selected Highfields as their first-choice secondary school.

“We are incredibly proud of the work we do at Highfields to help our students succeed both academically and with extra-curricular activities so it is testament to everyone here that so many students want to be part of our school community.

“Unfortunately we were unable to offer every student a place for September due to the huge number of applications. We look forward to welcoming those who have successfully applied into the Highfields family in September.”

School places are allocated using a number of criteria, including the distance from the applicant’s home and whether children have siblings at the school.

The Express & Star has featured an article about the number of applications to the school:

Around 450 students named Highfields as their first-choice secondary school - making it the most popular out of Wolverhampton's 21 schools

Students mark Shakespeare's 400th anniversary

William Shakespeare’s works were brought to life by talented performers from Highfields.

An Evening of Shakespeare was held in the school's Lyceum Theatre to mark the 400th anniversary of the playwright’s death.

Students performed a 30-minute version of The Taming of The Shrew as well as monologues and duologues from a number of the Bard's other famous works.

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. 

"Being the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, we thought it would be fitting for our students to honour him by performing a selection of his work.

"It was a lovely evening of entertainment with some really great contributions from more than 30 students."

Palace date to celebrate Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award success

Chloe & Deenah on a DofE expedition

Two intrepid sixth-form students are celebrating achieving the highest possible honour on the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme - and will now have their achievements recognised by royalty.

The gold standard achievements of Chloe Tolley and Deenah Randhawa will be honoured during a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Having had her award status officially recognised first, 18-year-old Chloe has been invited to travel to London on Monday May 16th for the presentation in the gardens of the palace. She will be given her DofE Gold Award in the presence of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh and TRH the Earl and Countess of Wessex. 

The event is being held to celebrate the talented young people who have achieved the prestigious Gold Award standard in the Duke of Edinburgh’s scheme. This year’s special palace presentation has been organised to mark the 60th anniversary of the international programme.

Chloe is one of a selection of Gold Award holders from across the UK and some of the 140 countries that run the DofE programme across the world that have been invited to attend.

Chloe will attend the prestigious event on behalf of the school and the many students who have challenged themselves as part of the DofE programme over the years.

Deenah, who is also 18, will attend a yet-to-be-announced ceremony later in the year to officially receive her award.

Chloe & Deenah (2nd right/far right) at their DofE Silver Award presentation back in 2015 

Mr C.Moody, who runs the school’s DofE programme and will be accompanying Chloe to the palace for the presentation, said: “To reach the Gold Award standard in the DofE programme is an incredible achievement and so we are incredibly proud of Chloe and Deenah.

“It is wonderful that Chloe has the opportunity to receive her award during this special anniversary presentation at the palace. It is certainly going to be a day that she will remember for the rest of her life and fitting that she is being honoured in such incredible surroundings for her achievements on the programme.

“Deenah’s Gold award has only just been officially recognised and so we look forward to her ceremony later in the year.”

The Duke of Edinburgh’s scheme was launched 60 years ago with the aim of inspiring, guiding and supporting young people in their self-development. The awards scheme challenges students and allows them to discover the world around them whilst providing them with invaluable skills and experiences to improve employment prospects.

Hundreds of Highfields students have taken part in the DofE programme since the school started running the scheme around 10 years ago. Those taking part have taken on a number of challenges including volunteering in the community and a residential trip which involves them only being allowed to know one other person and therefore building a team to complete a project with strangers.

Yr 9 students make course choices for future

Year 9 students are paving the way for the future after choosing the courses and subjects they will study over the next two years.

Students have made their final course choices after receiving weeks of practical advice and support.

The selection process has taken place following the success of this year’s Course Choice event, which included information sessions for students and parents, practical taster classes and talks from employers and recruiters about succeeding in the workplace.

Mr D. Brook, Head of Middle School, said: “Students have been making their course choices which is the end of a long process to review their skills and hopes for the future to match their choices with their aspirations."

Course choices include up to 4 options including a range of GCSEs and BTECs.

Students' journey of remembrance to the Somme

Students paid their respects to those who lost their lives in war during a trip to the Somme on the 100th anniversary year of the fierce First World War battle.

A group of 36 students and five members of staff travelled to the French battlefields to give them a better insight into the atrocities that took place there during the war.

They visited memorials and museums that honour those who lost their lives during their journey of remembrance over the Easter holidays.

For Year 10 student, Feargus Flanagan, the experience was especially poignant as he was able to pay personal tribute to a relative - Private Edward Culliton of Royal Dublin Fusiliers, who died in battle at the age of 18 on September 9 1916 - at his grave at Serre Road No 2 Cemetery.

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, who organised the trip, said: “The Easter visit to the Somme battlefields to commemorate the 100th anniversary year of that First World War battle was a moving and educational journey.  

“Our students were a credit to Highfields in the way they followed their own personal journey of remembrance.  

“We visited a few of the many cemeteries in the Somme to explore the story of the battle, including at Serre, where we found the grave of a relative of one of the party.  

“We also visited the excellent and informative Wellington Quarry Museum in Arras and had some pleasant relaxation time in the delightful Saturday market in Arras.”

She added that students also put aside time at evenings for literary study and to work on a short film documenting the emotionally-fuelled experience.

The visit 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.

*A few snapshots of the journey are shown in this piece and a more in-depth report and video will be posted in due course.

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."