Grease Tickets On Sale Now!

Tickets for this year’s musical showcase, Grease, are now on sale as rehearsals for the stage spectacular continue in preparation for curtain-up.

More than 100 students are involved in the production, which will be staged from February 28th to March 3rd.

The musical is one of the most successful and popular of all time, featuring a host of uplifting songs, including Summer Nights, Greased Lightning, We Go Together and Born To Hand Jive.

The showcase will be the second collaboration with neighbouring Penn Fields School for the annual production and students have been rehearsing every Thursday evening and some Saturdays since October. The cast, musicians and backstage crew will also be giving up much of their February half-term holiday to perfect their parts.

The show follows hugely successful school productions of High School Musical, Our House and Hairspray that have involved hundreds of students and attracted sell-out crowds.

Students have been given extra inspiration for the production after watching a professional performance of Grease at The Grand Theatre.

Ms S Bishop, Head of Performance, said: “Rehearsals are in full swing for our production of Grease. We are proud to be staging our annual musical in collaboration with Penn Fields for the second year and are delighted to see so many students from both schools involved.

“Grease is an iconic musical that has transcended generations. It features some very catchy songs that we guarantee will have the audience dancing and singing along.

“We were recently lucky enough to take the cast to see a professional performance of the show at The Grand Theatre, which has given us all extra inspiration for our own show.

“Judging by rehearsals, it’s going to be another fantastic production for Highfields and we are delighted that tickets are now on sale. We can’t wait for curtain-up and look forward to welcoming you all to sing along in the audience!”

Tickets for the show cost £6 (£4 concessions) and are available from the Humanities LRC. Shows start at 7.30pm in the Lyceum and refreshments will be available in the interval.

Adventurous students preparing to hit the slopes

Thrill-seeking students are preparing to hit the slopes for a ski adventure in Austria.

More than 20 students from Years 8-13 will be heading to St Johann, in Tirol, for the six-day trip during the half-term holidays later this month. (FEB)

After settling in to the Pension Lacknerhof, the students - 16 complete beginners and seven intermediates - will take to the slopes under the guidance of professional instructors.

They will also take part in a number of other activities, including ice skating and bowling, before rounding off the action-packed trip with a presentation evening with their ski instructors on the last night.

Mrs R Coldicott, who organises the trip every two years, said: “We are thoroughly looking forward to another fantastic ski trip to Austria.

“As part of our preparations, students visited the dry ski slope in Telford. Our 16 beginners put skis on for the first time and made fabulous progress in just two hours, whilst our intermediate skiers refreshed their skills to help them hit the ground running from day one in Austria.”

Students encouraged to pursue a career in Maths

Students were inspired to consider a future career in Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Technology as part of an event run by University of Wolverhampton.

Fifteen Year 10 students took part in the Celebrating Women in Maths event, which was organised by the University of Wolverhampton in conjunction with the Further Maths Support Programme. 

The day was focused on encouraging female students to pursue studies in Maths beyond GCSE, and into careers in STEM subjects.

The day included short talks from professionals who use Mathematics in their careers, including representatives from the RAF and Rolls Royce. Students also took part in a number of hands-on workshops such as the Josephus Flavius problem and Set Theory puzzles which required patience and logic to solve. 

Mrs M Sendell, Head of Middle School Maths, said: "This event was a brilliant opportunity for the students to develop their problem-solving skills by trying out challenging problems that require deep mathematical thinking.  

“The presentations were very inspiring and encouraged the girls to consider how studyingMathematics to a high level could support them in future careers.”

Students to be inspired for future at Careers Fair

Students will be inspired to look forward to life after school during a Careers Fair this month.

Dozens of exhibitors will be showcasing their services during the event, which will take place from 5.30pm - 8pm on Wednesday, January 31st.

The event is open to all students from Year 9 through to Sixth Form.

A number of colleges, universities, training providers and employers from a range of industries will be represented at the Careers Fair, including Irwin Mitchell Solicitors, The Royal Navy, The British Army, West Midlands Ambulance Service, West Midlands Fire Service, Jaguar Land Rover and Barclays.

Mr A Jeavons, Highfields’ Careers and Business Links Manager, said: “This Careers Fair will provide a fantastic opportunity for students to explore in detail the range of progression routes and careers opportunities available to them at Post-16 and beyond.

“We are delighted to have secured a number of organisations to showcase what they have to offer at the event.”

To confirm and register your attendance to the careers fair event please click on the link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/careers-fair2018

To read our booklet about making good choices in Year 9, click on the image below:

Business as usual at Highfields following Carillion collapse

It’s business as usual at Highfields, despite news that construction giant Carillion has gone into liquidation.

The Government has confirmed public funding will be provided to maintain all services that Carillion delivered after it failed to reach an agreement with officials to save the company.

Highfields Headteacher, Mr Graham Tate, said: “The Government has said it will continue to deliver all public sector services provided by Carillion.

“We are not expecting the situation to have any impact on the services that have been provided by Carillion at Highfields but will continue to monitor the situation closely and will be in discussion with the Department for Education going forward to keep staff and Parents/Carers updated with any further information.”

Latest edition of school newspaper unveiled

Highfields' Young Journalists have unveiled the latest edition of the school's newspaper, The H.

A team of budding reporters are putting their journalism skills to the test as part of the initiative, which aims to keep students, parents and staff informed of the school’s latest news and achievements.

An eight-strong team of Year 10 students make up a core editorial team responsible for sourcing and writing news stories from around school and putting them together into a professional-standard newspaper. The students work with a senior reporter to produce the termly newspaper, with the second edition unveiled ahead of the Christmas break.

The team are keen for students, staff and parents/carers to put forward story suggestions for the next issue, which will be released at Easter, by emailing theheditorial@hswv.co.uk

To view a digital version of the second edition of The H, click the image below:

Students honoured for Duke of Edinburgh's scheme success

Students were honoured for their success on the Duke of Edinburgh’s programme during a presentation evening led by a former GB Olympic athlete.

More than 90 students achieved their DofE Bronze, Silver or Gold award, with 52 of them attending an awards ceremony to be presented with their medals by relay runner Phil Brown, who is also the CEO for the DofE’s central region.

The event gave parents and Highfields’ DofE team the chance to celebrate the achievements of students on the challenging programme throughout 2017. Parents also had the opportunity to watch interviews by students about their experiences and DofE highlights as well as browse photographs taken on expeditions to Llandrinio and Snowdonia.

Special accolades were also awarded to students who have shown excellent leadership and commitment to their DofE programme.

The Bronze award individual accolade was won by Mrithula Raj Balaji for her support of other students on her expedition. The individual Silver award was awarded to Jack Evans for his commitment to volunteering to both the Penn Fields DofE programme and his support in officiating school football at Highfields. The Gold Endeavour award was given to three students - Alisha Patel, Maiya Bahra and Kent Stavenuiter - for their excellent work mentoring Bronze DofE students and their support with expeditions.

Maiya was also able to be receive her Gold award brooch in preparation for a visit to either Buckingham Palace or St James’s Palace to officially receive her award. She will be joined in London by Alisha Patel and Josh Slomka-Moore, who have also achieved the Gold award - DofE’s highest honour - but were unable to attend the school presentation evening due to university commitments.

Mr C Moody, who runs Highfields’ DoE programme, said: “The evening was a resounding success which gave us chance to celebrate the incred- ible achievements of students on the DofE programme. I would also like to say a massive thank you to all parents for their support.”

Hundreds of Highfields’ students have taken part in the DofE programme since the school started running the scheme around 10 years ago.

Take a look at some photographs from our expeditions:

Students launch Highfields TV

Budding TV reporters and presenters have launched the school’s own weekly news broadcast called Highfields TV. 

A core editorial team of 10 students are at the centre of the new project, which aims to bring stories from around school to life on screen to keep students and staff up-to-date with news and events. 

The HTV team meet on Wednesday lunchtimes to discuss story ideas and filming schedules. News items will then be broadcast on the dozens of flat-screen TVs around school and featured on the school website as well as being sent out to Parents and Carers by email.

Highfields TV is being broadcast just weeks after students launched their own newspaper, The H, which is packed with news and features from around school.

Mr D Cooper, who is leading the project, said: “We are delighted to have launched Highfields TV to give our students another platform to showcase the many things going on around school. 

“We have a core editorial team at the centre of the project but would love to see other students, staff, parents and members of the community contributing and putting forward their ideas.

“Students, if you have a story that you would like to see on Highfields TV, please come along to see us on Wednesday lunchtime in the middle floor LRC. We are also looking for new reporters and video editors so if that sounds like fun, come along and get involved!”

Musicians open revamped supermarket in style

Talented young musicians from Highfields hit all the right notes with shoppers when they helped to relaunch a supermarket after its £1.3m transformation.

The Co-op store, in Warstones, has been closed for around a month for the huge refurbishment project, which bosses hope will see it become a ‘hub for the community’.

It was reopened in style on Thursday, November 30th, thanks to Highfields’ young musicians who entertained customers and staff with a host of Christmas classics, swing music and chart toppers.

Ms S Bishop, Highfields’ Head of Performance, said: “We were delighted our students were asked to perform at the reopening of the Co-op store. Just like Highfields, the store is very much at the heart of the Penn community so it was fitting for us to be part of this event.

“More than 20 of our talented students performed for shoppers and staff, creating a brilliant atmosphere with a number of Christmas favourites, swing hits and other classics such as Thriller.”

Highfields' wolf sculpture raises cash for charity

A colourful wolf sculpture designed by Highfields students as part of Wolverhampton’s biggest public art event has raised £1,500 for charity.

The 5ft sculpture had been on display alongside dozens of others across the city as part of the Wolves in Wolves project, before going under the hammer.

Around 150 people packed into the Jack Hayward Suite at Molineux for the charity auction earlier this month, which was hosted by BBC Antiques Roadshow specialist, Will Farmer. The event raised £35,400 for charity across 52 lots - including £1,500 from Highfields’ ‘Zeus’ sculpture.

Proceeds raised from the auction have been shared between Outside Centre and the chosen charities of the Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Elias Mattu.

Councillor Mattu said: “Our dedicated artists, generous sponsors and partners have all contributed to make this project a phenomenal success.

“Wolves in Wolves gave the city a blast of colour and excitement and it was fantastic to see the immense Wulfrunian pride felt by everyone in the city.

“It has been wonderful to see so many people, young and old alike, out in the city on the lookout for wolves.

“From the launch in July to the very end of the trail, we have seen families, friends and even visitors from as far as Canada, China and Australia enjoy our beautiful wolves.”

Students from Highfields worked on the design of their sculpture with representatives from WV Active. It includes blue swirls to represent the city’s swimming pools and silhouettes to showcase the many activities on offer at its leisure centres, as well as the colours of the Highfields logo.

Photographs courtesy of Wolvesinwolves.co.uk