WATCH: Our High School Musical trailer

It's almost time for curtain-up on Highfields' 2017 musical showcase, High School Musical, so here's a sneak preview of what's in store!

Click on the image to watch our trailer for the show.

Students have spent months rehearsing for the show, which will be staged from Wednesday March 1st to Saturday March 4th.

Around 100 students are involved in the musical, which features a host of uplifting songs, including Start of Something New, What I've Been Looking For and We’re All In This Together.

Tickets, costing £3 unwaged/£5 waged, are now available from the Humanities LRC.

WATCH: Students enjoy Duke of Edinburgh challenges

Students are actively encouraged to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh's scheme and hundreds of our students have been involved in the programme since the school started running it around 10 years ago.

Those taking part have enjoyed a number of experiences, including volunteering in the community and completing challenging residential trips and expeditions which have see them navigate their own route over tough mountain terrain and fend for themselves in remote rural locations.

WATCH: our video of students taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh's experience here:

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme was launched in 1956. It aims to recognise the achievements of young people and to inspire, guide and support them in their self-development. Students engaging with the DofE follow their own exciting and challenging programme of activities to help them reach their full potential.

Employers, colleges and universities value Duke of Edinburgh Awards and recognise that an Award holder has something more than just academic qualifications to offer.

Other outdoor activities run by Highfields, including trips to the school's Llandrinio Outdoor Education Centre, in Wales, provide a great starter point for the challenging, yet exciting, DofE programme. The centre gives our students new experiences and skills throughout their school life from Year 6 Induction, through to the Duke of Edinburgh programme, which is open for Year 10 students and upwards.

Virtual reality brings new dimension to teaching

Students explored the South American rainforest, delved inside the human circulatory system and got a glimpse at WW1 battlefields - without leaving the classroom - thanks to a pioneering virtual reality programme.

Google Expeditions visited Highfields School to bring history, biology and geography to life with its state-of-the-art virtual reality technology.

The team brought along 60 pairs of virtual reality goggles to take students on 45-minute journeys of exploration. Panoramic images were beamed from teachers' tablets to the Google Cardboard virtual reality glasses to guide students through collections of 360° and 3D images, allowing them to experience far-flung parts of the world, as well as important moments from the past and even the human heart, lungs and blood vessels.

Mr A.Cheetham, Deputy Headteacher, said: “We are delighted that Google Expeditions chose to visit Highfields to help bring lessons to life and take our students to places they would never otherwise be able to go.

“It is a fantastic teaching tool that brought a real sense of excitement and allowed our students to embrace subjects like never before.

“The visit brought a whole new dimension to teaching!”

HSM tickets on sale now!

Tickets are on sale now for Highfields' 2017 musical showcase, High School Musical.

Students have spent months rehearsing for the show, which will be staged from Wednesday March 1st to Saturday March 4th.

Around 100 students are involved in the musical, which features a host of uplifting songs, including Start of Something New, What I've Been Looking For and We’re All In This Together.

Tickets cost £3 unwaged/£5 waged and are available from the Humanities LRC.

Students urged to sign up to science & maths challenge

Students are being encouraged to sign up to a school scicnce and maths challenge for the chance of winning a cash prize.

The Highfields Learning School Challenge will take place over three weeks in March and will see teams of students putting their knowledge to the test against each other.

Teams will be made up of four students - two from Key Stage 4 (Years 10 & 11) and two from Key Stage 5 (Years 12 & 13).

The challenge will take place in the Lecture Theatre from 1.05pm-1.25pm on March 1/2, March 8/9 and March 15.

A trophy will be presented to the winning team, whilst each member of that team will receive £20.

Students should go to the Science and Maths LRC to sign up.

High School Musical rehearsals in full swing

Rehearsals are in full swing for this year’s school production, High School Musical, with tickets for the feel-good stage show set to go on sale in days.

More than 100 students are involved in the musical, which features a host of uplifting songs, including Start of Something New, What I've Been Looking For and We’re All In This Together.

Students have been rehearsing every Thursday evening and Saturday morning for months in preparation for the show, which will run from Wednesday March 1st to Saturday March 4th.

The musical follows two high school juniors from different cliques - basketball team captain, Troy Bolton, and shy straight-A student, Gabriella Montez - to explore the themes of growing up and relationships, and has been described as a modern-day adaption of Romeo & Juliet.

It became a global phenomenon thanks to the original film version featuring Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens.

Sharon Bishop, Head of Performance, said: “Rehearsals are going well and everyone involved is really enjoying getting to grips with this musical. We’re edging closer to curtain up now so there’s a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes to make sure it is a great success.

“High School Musical ticks all the boxes for a great school production - as well as the moral message at its core it also features a host of feel-good songs that are guaranteed to be a hit with audiences.

“Highfields’ school productions are a big part of school life and our previous productions have been great successes so the entire cast are dedicating a lot of time and effort to make sure this one is just as good. They work very hard every week, but also have a lot of fun and really support each other, which is wonderful.

“Tickets will be going on sale in February and we are confident they will sell out as they have in the past. Audiences are in for a treat!”

Students & staff urged to collect Active Kids vouchers

Students, parents and staff are being urged to collect Sainsbury’s Active Kids vouchers to boost Highfields’ sporting equipment.

Sainsbury’s runs the Active Kids scheme every year to give schools and sports clubs the chance to redeem vouchers for sports equipment - and we’re asking parents, carers and students to once again show their support.

The PE department supports the campaign every year and has been able to fund a range of new equipment through the scheme in the past, ranging from hockey sticks and netballs through to bean bags and jumping frogs. 

PE teacher, Ms Lee, said: “Sainsbury’s Active Kids is a great initiative that has allowed us to really enhance our sporting equipment in school.

“At Highfields we are proud of the wide range of sporting activities we provide in school as well as a number of extra-curricular groups and clubs. The Active Kids scheme allows us to introduce new sporting equipment and supplement our existing equipment which is of great benefit to our students. 

“We would kindly ask that parents and carers collect vouchers when they do their shopping so we can once again make the most of this fantastic campaign. In the past, we have collected more than 5,000 vouchers so it would be great if we could achieve this again.

"Thank you in advance for your support.”

A collection box for vouchers is now available in reception.

Bake Off contest features in international magazine

Highfields’ Bake Off competition, which saw students from city schools get creative in the kitchen to whisk up Christmas cakes, has been featured in an international magazine.

The annual competition, hosted by Highfields, challenges Year 9 students from five schools to make their own sweet creations based on the theme of Christmas.

The 2016 contest was judged by Laura Nolan, from the Nuthouse Bakery in Brierley Hill, who selected Highfields pupil Chloe Peters to win first place. Fellow Highfields pupil, Florence Waite, came in third place while a student from Aldersley High took second.

The efforts of all of the competitors have now featured in Cake Masters Magazine, which is distributed across the UK in major supermarkets and High Street retailers. It is also delivered to 44 other countries, including the USA and Australia.

Food Technology teacher, Miss Williams, said: “The cakes served up in our Bake Off competition were a fantastic standard and it is wonderful to have the efforts of all of the students honoured in Cake Masters Magazine, which is seen around the world.”

Highfields ranks among city's best in school league tables

Highfields has been named among Wolverhampton’s top schools for both attainment and pupil progress in the latest performance tables.

The Government has introduced new headline measures for this year’s performance tables - Progress 8 and Attainment 8 - which mark pupils’ progress and achievement over eight GCSE subjects.

Highfields recorded an Attainment 8 score of 53.2 out of 80 – above the national average of 48.5 - putting it in the top five Wolverhampton schools. Our Progress 8 score of 0.39 also saw it ranked among the top five city schools. Progress 8 looks at the advances a pupil makes from the end of primary school to the end of secondary school, comparing pupils’ results with the achievements of other youngsters with the same prior attainment.

Headteacher, Mr Graham Tate, said: “The Government has introduced new measures to calculate this year’s performance tables, based on 2016 GCSE exams.

“We are pleased to have been placed among the top five schools in Wolverhampton for both progress and attainment. It is testament to the hard work of our students and staff.

“Our current Year 11 students are already working hard in preparation for this year’s exams to maintain Highfields’ excellent academic standards.”

In previous performance tables the key metric was the percentage of students achieving grade C  or higher in five GCSE subjects, including English and maths.

To read the Express & Star’s round up of school performance tables in Wolverhampton and the Black Country, click the image below:

Chair of Governors honoured for dedication to teaching

Highfields’ Chair of Governors, Keith Sedgebeer, has been honoured for his dedication to improving musical standards for generations of school children.

Mr Sedgebeer won the Teacher of the Year accolade at the Express & Star’s Great Big Thank You Awards. 

Mr Sedgebeer has been part of Wolverhampton's education scene for almost 40 years, helping hundreds of youngsters to play musical instruments to the highest standard. Many of his former students have gone on to perform around the world. He is also conductor for the Wolverhampton Youth Orchestra and Highfields’ Chair of Governors.

Hundreds of people gathered at Molineux for the Great Big Thank You Awards, which were held to celebrate unsung community heroes.

To read the full Express & Star article about the Great Big Thank You Awards, click on the image below