Students cook up festive feast for veterans

Veterans were treated to a Christmas lunch cooked by Highfields students.

More than 35 veterans from the Army, Royal Air Force and Navy were joined by representatives of Age UK Wolverhampton and Rotary Club members for the three-course lunch.

Students prepared a butternut squash and sweet potato soup, full turkey dinner and trimmings, along with a Christmas pudding cheesecake under the supervision of Mitchell Burrows, Head Chef of the Mount Hotel in Wolverhampton.

The lunch was funded by Wolverhampton St George’s Rotary Club to give students the chance to gain practical experience in catering and hospitality.

Colin Hole, Chairman of Wolverhampton St George’s Rotary club, said: “It was superb. Considering none of the students have had experience of catering for a large number of people, I think they did a wonderful job.

“It’s quite a formidable task for an established restaurant, let alone students of this age, so it was excellent.”

The event formed part of the friendship scheme run by Age UK Wolverhampton and funded by Armed Forces charity, SSAFA, to ensure veterans are not left alone.

Jack Bhutta, one of the students involved, said: “There was a lot of work involved but it was great fun and we’ve developed a lot of skills.”

Food Technology teacher, Miss B Chima, said: “It was a huge undertaking and we have been planning the event for months, but it’s been great and we have enjoyed every minute of the process.

“It went really well. The students did a fantastic job, and it was really nice to be able to give something back to the veterans.”

One of those in attendance was Ken Nightingale, who spent 12 years in the South Staffordshire Regiment and a further 13 in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. He said: “The day was absolutely wonderful. The Wolverhampton Rotary Club are unbelievably kind and generous, and the things they do for us old comrades is brilliant.

“The school has been fantastic. I’ve never been here before, but was very happily surprised by what I saw.”

The veterans were also treated to entertainment by members of the school choir.

Happy reading! Latest edition of The H is launched

Our Young Journalists have unveiled the latest edition of the school’s newspaper, The H - and it has been given a brand new look to best showcase all of the success stories, activities and achievements from Highfields over the past term.

The newspaper has been given a bright, fresh new look for the 2018/19 academic year, but is still packed with news and views from around school.

The editorial team is always on the lookout for other budding young journalists to be part of The H. If you are interested in joining, email vnash@hswv.co.uk or tbanks01@hswv.co.uk

Happy reading!

Christmas jumpers spread festive cheer across school

Highfields came alive with Christmas spirit when students and staff swapped their uniforms and suits for festive jumpers to help raise money for charity.

The school’s corridors and classrooms were brightened up with colourful jumpers featuring Rudolph, elves, Santa Claus and snowmen as Highfields came together to celebrate the festive season with a fundraising Christmas Jumper Day.

Each student and member of staff made a token donation to wear their Christmas jumpers to raise money for Save The Children.

The charity works to give children in the UK and across the world a healthy start in life, running world-class programmes to ensure they have a bright future.

Mrs N Clifton, Head of Upper School, said: “Everyone got well and truly into the Christmas spirit by wearing their festive jumpers. 

“We run the Chrismas Jumper Day every year and it always gets everyone into holiday mode. It was a great way to round off the term whilst raising money for such a worthwhile cause.”

Hola! Students perfect language skills on Spanish trip

Students perfected their foreign language skills during an educational trip to Spain.

The five-day trip to Cantabria gave Year 11 students working towards their GCSE the chance to put their language skills to the test in everyday situations whilst enjoying the sights and sounds of Spain, including the Guggenheim Museum.

The students visited the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to view modern and contemporary art and the Altamira Caves in Santillana del Mar where they saw prehistoric cave paintings as part of the trip.

Mrs Darby, Highfields’ Head of Modern Foreign Languages, said: “The purpose of the visit was to give students opportunities to speak Spanish in real situations and they were able to use their Spanish in restaurants, cafés, shops, the market and in the hotel.

“They undertook a town trail of Santander where they asked local Spanish people for directions in Spanish in order to make their way around the city.

“The students enjoyed typical Spanish food including tapas and chocolate with churros. They were a credit to the school throughout the visit and the owner of the hotel praised them highly for their excellent behaviour and competence in speaking Spanish. He was so impressed that he offered two students a job in his hotel next summer.”

Highfields turns orange for safeguarding campaign

Highfields threw its weight behind the annual safeguarding initiative, Orange Wolverhampton, which aims to end violence against women and girls.

Orange Wolverhampton forms part of a wider United Nations campaign.

The 16-day campaign, which ran from November 25th to December 10th, raises awareness of gender based violence, including domestic abuse, FGM, forced marriage,’honour based’ violence and sexual violence.

At the same time, the campaign highlights the help and support that is available to victims in Wolverhampton from local and national organisations such as The Haven, Wolverhampton Domestic Violence Forum, St George's Hub, Karma Nirvana and the City of Wolverhampton Council.

Members of the school’s Safeguarding Team wore orange t-shirts throughout the campaign, whilst members of staff wore orange ribbons to show their support.

Safeguarding Lead, Mrs A Bates, said: “The school believes the campaign is incredibly worthwhile and have conveyed this message to all staff and students.

“The Safeguarding Team have delivered assemblies to students about “Orange Wolverhampton” and Years 9, 10 and 11 have also explored the topics of domestic abuse, safe relationships and consent, honour based violence and forced marriage during registration time.

“Throughout the campaign all desktop screens at Highfields displayed the “Orange Wolves” poster and digital screens around school were orange. Posters were displayed via the digital screens with useful information and contacts for both students and staff. All staff members wore orange ribbons and this facilitated mature discussions regarding the campaign with students.”

To find out more about the Orange Wolverhampton campaign, which is championed and run by Wolverhampton Safeguarding Boards, the Safer Wolverhampton Partnership and Wolverhampton Domestic Violence Forum, please visit OrangeWolves.

Christmas cake creations to take centre stage in contest

Sweet-toothed students have been dusting up on their cake-making skills as part of an annual Christmas Bake-Off competition.

Highfields has given Year 9 students the chance of whisking up their own cake creations based on the theme of Christmas.

Weekly after-school cake-making and cake decorating classes have now kicked off ahead of the competition, which will also feature students from four other city schools.

The semi-final of the contest is due to be held on December 12th, with the final taking place on December 19th.

The cake creations will be judged with the help of a professional baker from The Nuthouse Bakery, in Brierley Hill, with a host of prizes up for grabs.

Food Technology teacher, Miss E Williams, said: “Students enjoy learning new skills and being creative.

“Each week they learn a new cake decorating technique and then they can show off what they have learnt by designing their own Christmas Cake for the Bake Off Competition.

“They get to make new friends and will be working alongside students of the same age from different schools.

“There is a lot of culinary talent in the school and we're really looking forward to another fantastic event.”

Fantasy film inspires budding movie directors

Young movie fans visited a city cinema for the launch of a national film festival.

Around 50 students travelled to Cineworld, in Bentley Bridge, to attend the opening of the Into Film Festival, an annual national celebration of film and education for 5 to 19-year-olds.

The group, all members of Highfields’ Film Club from Years 7-10, watched Ready Player One, a fantasy adventure by Steven Spielberg that features scenes filmed in Birmingham.

The aim of the trip was to inspire their critical thinking and film analysis. They will each now write a film review which will be submitted to Into Film’s website for the chance of winning a prize.

Highfields hosts Sixth Form Open Evening

Around 200 prospective students attended an Open Evening to get a glimpse of what is on offer at Highfields Sixth Form.

Students flocked to the event with their parents and carers, where they got the chance to speak to current Sixth Form students and staff about their work, curriculum, examination results and ‘life at Highfields’. They also got the chance to learn more about the extensive range of A-Level and Applied courses we offer and tour the school’s facilities.

Presentations were made by Head of Sixth Form, Mr S Pycroft, and members of the Student Leadership Team. Representatives from a number of universities were also on hand to provide advice about life after Highfields.

Mr Pycroft said: “Making your decision about Post 16 education is very important.

“It is always pleasing that so many of our Year 11 students choose to stay on to study at our Sixth Form and we were delighted to host this Open Evening so other students could get a feel of what we have to offer.

“Highfields is proud of its thriving Sixth Form, which offers an extensive range of courses. We have a reputation for providing high quality teaching in a supportive, friendly and challenging environment, giving our students the best possible foundations to succeed on whatever life path they choose after Sixth Form. We have extensive links with Higher Education institutions and a fantastic record of our students joining universities, including Oxford, Cambridge and the Russell Group.

“Our ethos is about having high expectations within a supportive and friendly environment.

“Our Open Evening was a great success and it was wonderful to welcome so many people through the doors to give them a flavour of our Sixth Form."

For more information about our Sixth Form, please email spycroft@hswv.co.uk

Students take their seats on Wolverhampton Youth Council

Budding politicians have stepped up to become the voice of their peers and will now represent Highfields on Wolverhampton’s Youth Council.

Anna Tabner and Samantha Hughes, both from Year 11, along with Shaan Bahia, from Year 8, attended a presentation evening celebrating their elections to the Youth Council. They were presented with certificates by the City’s Mayor, Councillor Phil Page, during the event.

The Youth Council, which formed in 2001, has evolved into a group for young people to make sure their views are considered by decision makers in Wolverhampton, as well as providing extra scrutiny for councillors.

Anna, Samantha and Shaan are among dozens of students from across Wolverhampton who will represent the views of all of the city’s young people as they confront decision makers about issues affecting their communities.

Shaan said: “I have always had an interest in politics; I enjoyed seeing MPs on the TV debating and putting their arguments across for what they believe is right. Then I thought about how much I would like to get involved with the Youth Council, especially after having an assembly for our year group about this topic.

“I feel honoured to be selected and it means a lot to me. I cannot wait to become part of a team, and put my views across to help young people in Wolverhampton.

“I am hoping to ensure that the young voices of Wolverhampton are heard, and to support them to hopefully make a difference; to gain new and unforgettable experiences, and make new friends.”

Samantha said: “I want to make a difference to young people in Wolverhampton in coming years and make the next generation of Wolverhampton a better one.

“It means a lot to be elected on to the Youth Council because I now get the opportunity to get my opinion across to the people that can change things in Wolverhampton.

“I'm hoping to improve the lives of young people in Wolverhampton.”

Lest We Forget

Students and staff hosted a packed programme of Remembrance activities to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, and honour those who fought and died for our freedom.

As part of the week-long programme of Remembrance, special assemblies were held to teach students more about the Great War, whilst there was also a poetry competition and poppy sales, which have raised around £160 for the Royal British Legion. A further £42 was raised for the Poppy Appeal in a raffle for a commemorative ‘Tommy’ figurine.

Lectures were held during lunchtimes highlighting lesser-known facts about the war, including how Britain treated the men who refused to fight, how women kept the war effort going, how the country was aided by Canada, India and Australia, as well as the conflict from a German perspective.

More than 120 people attended two screenings of Peter Jackson’s extraordinary film, They Shall Not Grow Old, which brings the frontline to life using remastered footage and the voices of the soldiers who were there.

Students, staff and Parents/Carers also got creative to make their own plastic poppies using old drinks bottles, which have been used to form a stunning display outside the school’s front entrance.

The Remembrance activities were staged after dozens of students travelled to Ypres - the location of three significant and devastating battles between 1914 and 1918 - to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Miss J Tappenden, Highfields’ Head of History, said: “As this Armistice day marked 100 years since the end of the First World War we wanted to do something really special to mark the occasion, teach students about the horrific realities of the conflict, and honour those who fought and died.

“We put on dozens of activities, including two screenings of Peter Jackson’s stunning film, They Shall Not Grow Old, held special assemblies and ran lectures which were really well attended.

“We asked for students, staff and Parents/Carers to put their creative skills to good use to make plastic poppies for our display outside school, and we were overwhelmed with the response. The display looks stunning and is a fitting tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice - many who signed up to fight at the same age as some of our students are now.

“It was so positive to see so many students and staff taking part in all of our Remembrance activities by learning about, and honouring, those who gave so much for our freedom.”