It's showtime! Curtain-up on High School Musical

The curtain has been raised on this year’s feel-good school production, High School Musical, with tickets completely sold out for its four-night run - and a mention in the Express & Star.

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

Students from Highfields and neighbouring Penn Fields School have been rehearsing every Thursday evening and Saturday morning for months in preparation for the show, which runs until Saturday. (4)

The musical follows the story of two high school juniors from different cliques - basketball team captain, Troy Bolton, and shy straight-A student, Gabriella Montez - who dream of showcasing their singing talents.

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

Sharon Bishop, Head of Performance, said: “We are so excited that it’s showtime after months of rehearsals.

“The students have worked incredibly hard and their effort, commitment and dedication has paid off because the opening night was fantastic. We are very proud of what they have achieved and can’t wait for the upcoming shows."

A preview of our show featured in the Express & Star.  To read the article click the image (courtesy of the E&S) below:

 

Take a look at our gallery of pictures from opening night:

Budding lawyer takes steps towards a legal career

A budding lawyer is being giving a helping hand to succeed in the legal profession after securing a place on an acclaimed national programme.

Year 12 student, Shifani Passap, has secured a place with the Social Mobility Foundation and will now receive invaluable training, support and work experience to help her achieve her career ambitions.

As part of the programme Shifani will be matched with a mentor in the legal profession who will give her careers advice, support with her university application and access to other industry professionals at networking events.

She recently spent the half-term holiday on work experience with leading law firm Pinsent Masons, in Birmingham.

Reading celebrated in style on World Book Day

The world of make believe was brought to life when students and staff dressed as their favourite fictional characters to celebrate World Book Day.

Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, Dennis The Menace and Cruella De Vil were among the colourful characters who turned up to school as part of the festivities, alongside the entire cast of The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan.

The annual World Book Day is a celebration of books, authors, illustrators and reading and aims to ignite imaginations and help students gain a lifelong passion for reading.

A number of events were held in school to celebrate the event, including poetry and creative writing workshops, bookmark making sessions, a book quiz, book fair and cake sale. Donations were also made to the Book Bus charity, which aims to improve child literacy rates in Africa, Asia and South America by providing children with books and the inspiration to read them.

School Librarian, Mrs N. Ward, said: “World Book Day arrived with a flurry of very imaginative costumes! Staff and Year 7 and 8 students were invited to dress up as characters from their favourite books and character-spotting was the order of the day.

“There was lots going on around school to inspire our students and ignite a lifelong love of books and reading. It was a very enjoyable day.”

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.