Highfields to host virtual leavers assembly

Highfields will bid a fond farewell to Year 11 students from lockdown with its first ever virtual leavers assembly.

The virtual assembly will take place from 1.30pm on Wednesday 24th June, giving the class of 2020 the chance to celebrate their school life as they prepare to move on to the next chapter.

As part of the celebrations, awards will be handed out to honour special achievements or particular events, whilst old photographs and videos will be shown documenting students’ time at Highfields.

The event has been organised by Head of Upper School, Mr D Treble, Year 11 Manager, Mrs C Meese, Raising Achievement Manager, Mr C Rhodes, and Academic Guidance Manager, Mrs B Harrison.

Students will be sent an email via Microsoft Teams to log in to the virtual assembly. Many are planning to wear shirts they signed for classmates before schools shut in March.

Mr Rhodes said: “This has been the strangest term any of us can remember, but especially so for our students in Year 11 who had been working so hard towards their GCSE exams.

“Coronavirus has obviously disrupted examinations, but we wanted to make sure students still got a proper send off, even if we could not organise a face-to-face event.

“It will be a celebration of their time at Highfields, with prizes awarded for special achievements. 

“It has been a pleasure to see them mature, grow and develop into such confident, talented and skilled young adults as they move on to the next chapter in their lives.”

Despite examinations being cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, GCSE results will still come out on Thursday 20th August.

Beverley Knight to star in virtual Highfields Alumni Concert

Soul superstar, Beverley Knight, will lead a virtual concert featuring talented Highfields alumni to spread cheer, love and hope to the school’s students and staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

The virtual lockdown concert will see the world-famous singer and other talented former Highfields students perform from their homes.

The concert will then be put together as a video and shared with current students and staff.

Three-time MOBO Award-winning Beverley - who has become a huge hit on stage with critically-acclaimed leading performances in The Bodyguard, Memphis the Musical and Cats - often publicly credits Highfields for encouraging her to nurture the phenomenal voice and musical talent that has seen her become one of the world’s most celebrated and loved singers. 

She will be joined in the virtual concert by West End stars Harveen Mann, Tom Xander and Simbi Akande.

After leaving Highfields, Harveen trained at the Royal Academy of Music before enjoying stage success in a number of leading roles, including Bend It Like Beckham in the West End, Roald Dahl’s ‘The Witches’ and Peter Pan.

Tom has also enjoyed a successful stage career after nurturing his acting talents at Highfields, moving on to study at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts before making history as the first ever British actor to be cast in the leading role of Elder Cunningham in Book of Mormon at the West End’s Prince of Wales Theatre.

Simbi also moved on to Mountview after Highfields, before appearing in a string of professional stage productions, including Company, Fiddler on the Roof, Show Boat, and most recently The Prince of Egypt in the West End.

A number of more recent Highfields leavers who are hoping to pursue careers in the Arts will also be performing, including Jessica Burgess, Jacob Kholi, Jess Olford and Jordannne Farley-Moss. 

Ms S Bishop, Highfields’ Head of Extra Curricular Performance, said: “I have been hoping to organise an alumni concert for a while, and wondered if in these strange times our talented former students might perform a song for Highfields students with a message of hope and love.

“We have so many talented former students, including the fabulous Beverley Knight, and I am over the  moon that so many of them have agreed to perform for this virtual lockdown concert.

“We will put the concert together as a video to share with the students who are really missing contact and craving connection.”

Beverley’s contribution to the virtual Highfields concert comes after she launched the music project, NHS Relief, alongside Dr Ranj Singh to support frontline NHS workers in the fight against Covid-19.

She joined up with more than 100 other musicians and UK artists, including Joss Stone, to record a cover of Lean On Me by Bill Withers. The team of singers, musicians, choirs and video editors worked in isolation to help produce the song.

All of the proceeds are going to ‘NHS Charities Together’ - a culmination of NHS charities - and You Okay Doc?, a charity for the mental health and wellbeing of doctors and healthcare professionals.

Beverley, whose mother used to be a nurse, said her family ties to the NHS had inspired her to lead the project.  For more information about NHS Relief, click here

Remote Learning Programme to expand as school remains closed

Highfields will be expanding its successful Remote Learning Programme to include far more video-based lessons and tutorials, as students and staff were told to expect school to remain shut until September.

The school has been closed to all students - other than the children of key workers - since March 20th in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Although the government has announced plans for some primary school students to return to classrooms from June 1st, no clear guidance has yet been given for the reopening of secondary schools.

Plans and preparations for Highfields to reopen are constantly being reviewed by the school’s Senior Leadership team, but Headteacher, Mr G Tate, said that comprehensive risk assessments would have to be carried out to ensure a safe environment for all students and staff before they can return.

He added: “From a secondary perspective we know that there are no plans for Years 7, 8 or 9 to return to school before September, and a rather ambiguous ambition for students in Years 10 and 12 to have some ‘face to face contact’ this half-term. 

“It is for each school to consider the best approach to reopening given their own circumstances. 

“Whilst I fully accept that Coronavirus will be with us for the foreseeable future and that there may not be a perfect time to return to school, there are a number of things that must happen before we are at the point where we can look to significantly increase the numbers of students in school. 

“We fully appreciate that parents/carers, staff and students all need to feel confident that it is safe for larger numbers of students to return to school and as such we are constantly reviewing our plans for how we can ensure everyone’s safety when we reach that point. 

“School has of course remained open for a number of students throughout this period and as such we know that it is possible to maintain a safe school environment with suitable hygiene and social distancing measures. Any increase in these numbers needs very careful consideration and comprehensive risk assessment. 

“Given the continued uncertainty we will continue our plans and preparations, but at this stage they will be made with no set date of return in mind and with consideration of a number of different potential scenarios.”

The school will now put even greater emphasis on its Remote Learning Programme, which is accessed through our HP Streams and has allowed students to continue their curriculum from home.

The programme was launched in March and has been constantly updated and improved following feedback from students and parents. It is now set to be extended further to include additional video and audio tutorials, whilst allowing students to have some virtual ‘face to face’ contact with teachers, initially for those in Year 12.

Mr Tate said: “The views of students, parents and carers have been extremely helpful in informing us at which parts of the programme are working particularly well and which can be developed further. 

“Based on that feedback, a priority for the next half-term will be to make increased use of video technologies to ensure effective communication with students and parents particularly in the form of materials with audio or visual instruction. 

“We will also move towards a situation where students can participate in live tutorials to be in direct contact with their teachers. 

“It may be the case that this is the ‘face to face contact’ that we need, particularly with Years 10 and 12, if a physical return to school is not possible this term.

“There will of course likely be teething problems whether technical, training or just familiarity and it will be useful to get these ironed out with our older students.

“Could I take this opportunity to once again thank parents/carers and students for the exceptional way they have worked together in such difficult circumstances.”

• For more information about our remote learning programme, click here

• Further individual technical support is also available by emailing digitalsupport@hswv.co.uk. 

Students and staff showcase talents for National Skills Day

Students and staff showcased their hidden talents as part of celebrations to mark National Skills Day.

Amazing artwork, sign language, sports trick shots, singing, mechanics, carpentry and fitness were among the skills showcased.

Students from all Year groups and staff from every department were invited to submit a 20-second video showcasing their skills as part of the event, which was organised in response to the coronavirus pandemic by the organisation responsible for National Careers Week.

Mr P Rose, Assistant Headteacher and Careers Leader, said: “Highfields supported National Skills Day by encouraging students and staff to record a short video highlighting their amazing talents.

“The event was organised in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as unfortunately a number of careers events have had to be cancelled this year.

“It has been a great opportunity for everyone to share their skills and stay connected to everyone at Highfields at this time.

“We had so many brilliant videos submitted. Well done all!”

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Take a look at some of our skills videos from students and staff:

Latest edition of The H released

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

Reporter, Joe Regan, said: “Despite school being closed at the moment, The H team has pulled together from home to produce the spring edition of The H magazine, which is packed with news, features and opinions from all departments.

“We all hope you will take the time to read through this special edition, which reflects the extraordinary times in which we are living, as well as celebrating the events and achievements that took place in school before the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s a springtime slice of Highfields, even in times such as these.

“With lots of events and activities still going on - albeit from home - we’ve still got our journalistic caps on ready to bring you another edition for the summer.”

Any students interested in becoming part of The H team can email vnash@hswv.co.uk or tbanks01@hswv.co.uk

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

Until we meet again: Highfields celebrates VE Day from home

The service and sacrifice of millions of people across the UK and world who stood together to secure victory in the Second World War were remembered during VE Day celebrations from home.

Students and staff baked homemade cakes and scones, created colourful bunting to hang on their homes, made posters, replicated traditional 1940s hairstyles and make up, donned costumes, and held socially distanced street parties to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

There had been exciting plans to remember the significant  anniversary of Victory in Europe - when Allied countries formally accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany’s armed forces - in school.

But, with the coronavirus pandemic putting the party plans on hold, History staff made a rallying call to students and their families to join nationwide efforts to celebrate the anniversary from home. 

Miss J Tappenden, Head of Humanities Learning School, filmed a special virtual assembly which was sent out to all students, as well as compiling a list of suggested activities to mark the occasion.

She said: “It was wonderful to see so many of our students and staff marking VE Day.

“VE Day is an important anniversary in any calendar year. Traditionally seen as a time of celebration, it is also one of deep reflection.

“In normal times we would have been paying tribute to the achievements of those who stood together to secure victory in the Second World War with parties and celebrations in school.

“Although we couldn’t do that this year, we commemorated their service and sacrifice from home.”

Highfields' PPE efforts make the news!

Highfields’ efforts to create PPE for local healthcare workers has been celebrated in the local media.

During the Easter holiday, students of key workers helped staff to manufacture face shields, which were distributed to care home workers, medical staff and community midwives across the West Midlands.

Among those to benefit from the face shields were Barton & Needwood House Nursing Homes and Pinfold Health Centre. The school also donated 50 pairs of safety spectacles from its Science laboratories, which have been delivered to the community midwife team in Wolverhampton.

The positive story has now been featured in the Express & Star (pictured).

Mr Tony Dean, Chemistry teacher and Deputy Headteacher, who arranged the donation, said: “We will all do whatever we can to support workers in the NHS and the care system.”

Click here to read the full article about our PPE donation

Talented Owen releases debut single from lockdown

A talented performer from Highfields who dreams of a career in the spotlight has released his debut single.

Sixth Form student, Owen La Cortar, has appeared regularly in principal roles in Highfields’ annual musical productions.

His most recent performance was as Gomez in The Addams Family, and he is hoping to move on to a Performing Arts course when the coronavirus pandemic has passed.

Owen, who is currently awaiting his A-Level results, has written, produced and recorded a number of songs from the bedroom of his home in Penn and hopes to release an EP of his work in the summer.

He has now released one of his songs, Insane, as a single, which is available on music sites including Apple Music, Spotify and TikTok.

The 18-year-old said: “As far as I can remember my goal has been to pursue a career in the performing arts, but with the current situation it felt like quarantine had somewhat put a stop to any opportunities of performing on stage.”

Eco-friendly students tackling climate change for Earth Day

Environmentally aware students have been building bug houses, composting and ditching plastic straws as part of efforts to tackle climate change in celebration of Earth Day 2020.

This year marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, which was launched in 1970 as a unified worldwide response to a global environment in crisis.

Students from Years 7-10 were asked to find out their Carbon Footprint and tasked with a number of challenges to become more eco-friendly.

The project was set by Head of Geography, Ms H Lane. Challenges included building bird and bug houses, using reusable straws, planting trees, switching to energy efficient lightbulbs, making homemade cleaning products, unplugging unused devices and making a call to action to share on social media.

Ms Lane said: “We received a number of entries for the competition, with hundreds of students working out their Carbon Footprint.

“Thank you to everyone who entered; it’s brilliant to see so many students making conscious decisions to be more eco-friendly.

“Our students have really gone above and beyond in the fight against climate change.”

Six students - Jasleen Phagura, Freya Perry, Hollie Lewis, Toni Bird, Emily Hodson and Anjali Patel - have been chosen as winners and will each receive a reusable straw and biodegradable reusable cup when they return to school.

The competition comes after Highfields launched a series of initiatives to improve the environment.

Before school was forced to shut amidst the coronavirus pandemic, there had already been a shift in the school’s use of single-use plastics, with wooden cutlery made available as an alternative in the school’s eating areas.

There are also plans to launch additional initiatives, including providing stainless steel, reusable bottles for every student and introducing recycling bins on every floor.

Students to mark 75th VE Day anniversary from home

Highfields students will mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day from home with a series of celebrations including singing, baking and decoration making.

Students and staff will be demonstrating their own ‘Blitz Spirit’ by refusing to let the coronavirus pandemic dampen their mood as they mark the significant  anniversary of Victory in Europe, when Allied countries formally accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany’s armed forces in World War II.

Highfields History department throws an annual ‘in house’ VE Day street party during the school’s September Open Morning, complete with decorations, music and costumes.

There had been exciting plans to host a street party in school for students and staff this week to mark the special anniversary in style. But with the pandemic putting the party plans on hold, History staff are now calling on students and their families to support nationwide efforts to celebrate the anniversary from home. 

Miss K Harrison, Head of History, has challenged students in Years 7-10 to get creative with specially created VE Day lesson materials and ideas to get students thinking about the importance of the occasion.  

Miss J Tappenden, Head of Humanities Learning School, has been busy filming a special assembly from home highlighting some of the history surrounding VE Day and its significance, ahead of the official anniversary on Friday (May 8th). Click on the image below to access the virtual assembly.

Miss Tappenden said: “VE Day is an important anniversary in any calendar year. Traditionally seen as a time of celebration, it is also one of deep reflection. 

“Whilst the world breathed a sigh of relief that the atrocities of the war in Europe and the Nazi regime had come to an end, there was also much grieving to be done for the men and women of all nations who paid the ultimate sacrifice. 

“Of course, many minds turned to the thought that the war with Japan still raged on and it would be another three months before that ended.”

To encourage students to participate in this special anniversary, Miss Tappenden has compiled a list of suggested activities that range from baking and singing to homemade decorations and home tutorials for 1940s hair and makeup.  

Miss Tappenden added: “We would love to see how our students make use of these suggestions and welcome them to share any photographs of their efforts with us via our social media @HistoryHSWV on Twitter or Instagram.”

Click on the image below to access ideas for your own VE Day anniversary celebrations: