Music Tech club proves popular with students

Music tech club provides a space for students at Highfields to explore music creation and sound design outside of the daily curriculum. Students are encouraged to work independently to learn and master skills in audio production including sound selection, arrangement, composition, audio editing and mixing.

The group in the club use industry standard software to learn how to remix, score films, sequence music and manipulate audio. Through this they develop an awareness of pitch, timing and synchronisation whilst exploring their creativity and imagination. 

Mr Wolverson, Music Techer and Tech club leader said, “Creating music with computers is no small feat; there are many different skills and disciplines that need to be developed - a music producer must be able to multitask and switch between different roles within the production environment.”

Students spent the first term in the club getting familiar with the software by following tutorials and completing short tasks to build up their skill sets. By the spring term students were ready for their first project and were given the task of remixing the White Stripes 'Seven Nation Army'. The only guideline was to include Jack White's original studio vocal take and to ensure that any other sounds chosen were 'in key' [correct pitches] and 'in time' [sequenced accurately]. The rest was totally up to them! 

Click here to take a listen to the final audio remixes.

Readathon launched

After a 14-year absence, the Read for Good Readathon was back at Highfields this April as the English department ran the fundraising campaign with year 7 students

Launched to coincide with the Easter break, ample time for students to fill with reading, the Readathon is a sponsored read, where students set themselves a reading goal and are sponsored by friends and family to reach it. The money raised is used by the charity to buy books for children in hospitals. 

According to the Read For Good website "Our service supports seriously ill children’s disrupted learning and gives them and their families precious distraction and comfort at a time when it’s needed the most."

School librarian Miss Hallam said, "I'm incredibly pleased with how the Readathon went. The uptake in students using the library at the launch of the campaign was fantastic, I'm surprised there were any books left by Easter!.

This year students raised a brilliant £141.10 with their sponsorships.

Miss Hallam continued, “All the student who were involved should be very proud of the money they raised for such a good cause, and they've set a good target to try and beat next year." 

You can read more about the Read for Good campaign at https://readforgood.org/our-impact/

‘The Highnotes’ impress at choir competition

The 30 strong Highfields School Choir, ‘The Highnotes’ went to St Bart’s Church for a City-Wide Choir Competition.

The students went armed with their repertoire of songs, dazzling in their hot pink t-shirts, only to find they were the only entrants! The other schools had all pulled out for various reasons, so the afternoon was spent workshopping music. The songs the choir worked on included ‘In Our Service’, written for Her Majesty, The Queen’s jubilee, ‘I Give You a New Commandment’, a Sister Act medley and their own arrangement of ‘Uptown Girl’ conducted by Mr Evans. 

Paul Carr, Church organist treated students to an insight into St Bart’s Church organ which is over 150 years old. Paul, alongside Julia Bishop, Evening Choir Leader at St Bart’s, ran the vocal workshops. They made the afternoon relaxed and enjoyable for everyone involved.

During the evening, Parents and Carers went to watch and listen to the performances the Choir had prepared. The audience were all extremely impressed with the vocals and how confident they were in performance. 

Mrs Jevon, Highfields’ Musical Director, who went to support the students, said,  ‘What a lovely evening, Uptown Girl was a triumph, and everyone who took part should be really proud!’. 

Ms Bishop, Head of Performance, said, ‘Mr Evans has given the school choir a new lease of life, rebranding them as the Highnotes and winning tonight, albeit by default, is just the beginning’.

Highfields to become a UCL Centre for Holocaust Education

The History Department at Highfields will be working alongside University College London as participants in the Beacon School for Holocaust Education programme, which begins in July for a duration of 12 months.

 The UCL Centre for Holocaust Education selects a small number of schools to work with each year, supporting the development of exemplary Holocaust education within schools and the local community.  Competition for places on the programme is strong, but Miss Tappenden, Head of History, received confirmation this week that the school’s application has been successful.

 Miss Tappenden said, “This is an incredible opportunity for students at Highfields and the wider school community.  We are always reviewing our curriculum offering to ensure students get the high-quality history education that they deserve.  Understanding the Holocaust is an integral part of our Key Stage 3 curriculum. We have already invested a lot of time into our current scheme of work but look forward to reviewing this again in light of the added expertise that working alongside UCL will bring”.

 The programme will also challenge the school to consider how Holocaust education can be further embedded into the wider school curriculum. Miss Tappenden continued, “Holocaust education already plays an important role in the wider school curriculum.  It is a significant part of our assembly programme and other departments including English and RE already incorporate elements of the topic into their curriculums.  This programme will provide an excellent opportunity to work alongside other staff within school to consider how we can support each other in delivering effective and appropriate Holocaust education”.

Becoming a Beacon school will also put Highfields at the forefront of Holocaust education within the city, providing an excellent opportunity for staff from other secondary schools in Wolverhampton to work with Highfields to develop their own curriculums.  The History department already has an excellent programme of Holocaust education which includes a biannual trip to Krakow in Poland, visiting Auschwitz and other significant sites in the area.

Hairspray is returning to Highfields

After two very successful school productions this year, rehearsals for Hairspray, Highfields’ next show, have started. The production got off to a flying start over the Easter holidays with over 50 students auditioning. 

 Hairspray is set to be a fantastic show and will be the first whole school production in a number of years, forming part of Highfields’ celebrations of 10 years in the new building.

 Ms Bishop, Director of Performance said, ‘Hairspray is such a fantastic show and still so relevant today. We couldn't wait to put on this amazing show again! Highfields last staged Hairspray in 2015 and it was certainly one of our best school productions.  We have also recently taken students to the Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton to see the touring production of the show, but ours will be better!’

Budding Year 10 Mathematicians take part in competition

Several Year 10 students took part in Maths Feast, a fun and educational challenge which tests problem-solving and teamwork skills. The competition was held at the University of Wolverhampton and was run by the Advanced Mathematical Support Programme. Highfields entered two teams who tested their Maths with the ‘all-you-can-eat feast of problems!’ against other schools in the West Midlands.

The challenge consists of several rounds requiring different skills and strategies for success, with awards being given for good teamwork and for the winning team of each round. The competition aims to improve problem-solving skills using recreational maths, and develops teamwork and communication skills.

Over the four rounds of Mathematical problems, one of the Highfields teams came in 3rd place out of the 14 teams that competed. They also won the award for teamwork. 

Mrs Sendell who accompanied the students said, ‘The Maths Feast competition has been running for several years and has always had a very positive response from students. This is a national competition combining Mathematical, communication and teamwork skills, so is an excellent opportunity for students and gets them more engaged in Maths’.

Future artists visit Walsall Gallery for inspiration

Last term, A Level Art students in Years 12 and 13 had the opportunity to visit Walsall Art Gallery. The session was focussed on careers within the Museum and Art Gallery sector.

The day included a tour of their current exhibition Jet Black Futures by Keith Piper, with Deb Robinson, Head of Exhibitions, including a discussion about her role and career journey. Students were introduced to Karen McLean: ‘Ar’n’t I a Woman!’ with the galleries’ Learning & Engagement Coordinator, Alex Jolly, who also spoke about her role at the gallery and the work she does for exhibitions.

Students were introduced to Kate Tilley, a professional artist who talked about her career and showed examples of her work. In the afternoon it was time for the students to get involved as they took part in a Screen Printing workshop with Kate and learnt new skills that can be developed back in school.

Ms Thomson, Lead Teacher for Art, said 'The activities during the day demonstrated lots of career pathways in the creative industries for students after Sixth Form. Students engaged well with professionals and were genuinely impressed by the work on display'.

Year 11 girls shine in British Art Show

Jaspreet Sandhu and Shaan Bahia from Year 11 played the roles of two young Indian girls in the short sketch Wouldn’t Be Seen Dead in That (Amarjit Nar) as part of a British Art Show 9 presentation.

The presentation was linked to the work of artist Caroline Walker whose portraits include working women. It told the stories of working class South-East Asian women machinists in 1970s/80s Britain, at a time of high unemployment when women became the breadwinners. The role these women played in the British fashion industry is fast being forgotten. Many women sewed for high street stores and garments included the fashionable Parka coat featured in the sketch.  

Wouldn’t Be Seen Dead in That shows a younger generation, oblivious to the vital role of these invisible women in the household and how they viewed little jobs like turning pockets inside out as tedious chores. The sketch finishes on an ironic note, with the girls wearing fashionable coats which evolved from the original Parka coats that were afforded from invisible income. 

Ms Bishop, Director of Performance, said, "It was a great opportunity for the students to be involved in such a high profile arts project. It was a really vibrant and exciting event. Jaspreet and Shaan both performed with such confidence and ease, I am very proud of them both!'

Fabulous musical experience on London trip

April 1st may have been a bold choice for a school trip to London with 42 Year 10, 11 and Sixth Form students, but nonetheless, on Friday morning students boarded a coach to the capital for a cultural smorgasbord of activities including two West End shows, a dance and drama workshop and a trip to the National Gallery.

On Friday night students saw ‘Wicked’ at the Victoria Apollo Theatre, the storyline of which is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz.  The show boasts a magnificent set, beautiful score and fantastic costumes and special effects.  The students were really impressed, and thoroughly enjoyed the performance, and then had the adventure of a Tube ride home after the coach failed to turn up.

The following morning, half the group went to Danceworks studio for a dance and drama workshop based on ‘Wicked’ which they absolutely loved. The rest of the students went to the National Gallery where they marvelled at the Impressionists and all the wonderful art on display including new artists such as Kehinde Wiley, an American artist. He is best known for his portraits of people of colour in the traditional settings of Old Master paintings. Most famously, in 2017, he was commissioned to paint Barack Obama, becoming the first Black artist to paint an official portrait of a president of the United States.

The group then ventured to their final destination, the Noel Coward theatre, for a matinee performance of Dear Evan Hansen. A powerful musical which covers many serious issues and has a lot to say about the positives and negatives of social media, but is also punctuated with humour and great songs and music.  The set is a marvel of technical theatre and is a mass of phone and computer screens which permeate the action.  The show is a show for this generation and our students were left stunned, many very moved, as were the staff. 

Rugby success for Year 7 team!

 Highfields Year 7 rugby squad attended the Staffordshire u12 festival at Willenhall rugby club.  

The competition has a long history in Staffordshire and it allows our players who don’t play rugby outside of school the opportunity to play a high number of games to improve their experience of the game.  The festival was split into a morning session and an afternoon session.  In the morning session, the team played three games in a random pool of schools - there were 6 pools of 4 teams.  They were up against some very experienced schools who did outplay them, but the boys kept their heads up despite playing in awful weather conditions.

Where the team finished in the morning pool placed them into one of the afternoon four-tiered competitions which is the Cup, Shield, Plate, and Bowl.  The Highfields Team were placed in the Bowl competition against Codsall Middle School, Queen Mary Grammar school B Team, Hart Academy, and Windsor Park Middle School.  They started off with a very respectable one try each draw against Queen Mary grammar school who had beaten them in a friendly 2 weeks prior.  This result then installed a new sense of belief as they beat Windsor park from Uttoxeter by 4 tries to 1.  Along came Codsall Middle who were seen off by 3 tries to nil and then they beat Hart Academy 2 tries to nil.  

The tries which were scored were shared out between George Wassell, Miles Parker-Simmonds, Kasey Jones-Tipper and Freddie Box.  This meant Highfields had won three and drawn one which won us the Staffordshire u12 Bowl competition.  Mr Moody, Pe Teacher said, ‘The afternoon became a team effort and especially for some of the boys, as it was the first time they had represented their school.’

‘They put everything into playing and have come away with a lot of bruises and aching bones.  I could have taken many more year seven pupils who have attended rugby club and it just shows how well the year group has taken to their extracurricular program so congratulations to them all.’ 

The good news also continues for Highfields Rugby, the U15 rugby team has been competing in the Staffordshire 15 a side competition where they have had a great amount of success reaching the semi-final.  They went to Burton rugby club and beat John Taylor High School 32- 26 to reach the quarter-final against Hart Academy who they beat 17-12 coming back from 12- 5 down.  Their semi-final is against Newcastle under Lyme school after - congratulations to them as well.