Students in awe of new inspirational musical

The cast of Matilda jr were lucky enough to be invited to watch a brand new, powerful and inspirational musical, ‘Sylvia’, at London’s Old Vic.

The show is about the relationship between Sylvia Pankhurst, and her mother, Emmeline Pankhurst, played by Highfields almuna Beverley Knight, told through the medium of hip hop, funk and soul.  Beverley has always been a huge supporter of performances at Highfields, with both her time and money, having paid for the students’ tickets to watch this amazing production. 

After the production, Beverley came out and spoke to the students. She gave the cast lots of tips on how to succeed in the business and said, ‘Believe in yourselves, you could all achieve what I have, don’t forget, I too started on the stage at Highfields.” Students were also thrilled to meet Sharon Rose, who played Sylvia Pankhurst, and Sweeney, semi-finalist from The Voice who thrilled audiences with his performance as Silvio.

Ms Bishop, Director of Performance, who organised the trip, said, ‘This was such an awe inspiring show to see so close to International Women’s Day. It was a hugely powerful and uplifting piece of work by one of my favourite choreographers – Kate Prince.’

Prince is the founder of Zoo Nation, a dance company that highlights the skills of 'backing dancers' and gives them their own platform as artists in their own right.

Ms Bishop continued, ‘Prince hated the homophobia and misogyny in hip hop, so created her own company to change attitudes to the medium. She is the epitome of the phrase, ‘Be the change you want to see’ and is an inspiration.’

Beverley Knight has been nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical at this year’s Olivier Awards and everyone at Highfields wishes her the best of luck!

Year 11 work hard and play hard at study residential

Year 11 students preparing for their upcoming GCSEs enjoyed a study session with a twist at JCA Condover Hall! Around 100 students travelled to Condover near Shrewsbury for the very first two-night revision residential trip held at this venue. 

Students were taught in small groups honing their skills in Maths and English, in order prepare for the GCSE examinations this summer. During the weekend, the students also participated in a number of outward-bound activities including; Aerial Trek, Rock Climbing, Abseiling and Archery Tag.

Highfields teaching staff and students really valued the input from Sixth Form students who supported the residential working with Year 11 students on an individual basis.   

Mr Treble, Head of Upper School said, ‘The residential is a very valuable experience for our students. They all did extremely well to balance hard work and commitment to their studies with exciting activities provided by the JCA staff.’ 

Characters come to life on World Book Day

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

Mrs Trunchbull, Gangsta Granny and Frodo were among the colourful characters who turned up to school as part of the festivities.

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

A number of events were held in school to celebrate World Book Day, including the return of the popular ‘Highfields Book Swap’ where students and staff were invited to exchange books they had previous enjoyed. Students across the school also each received a World Book Day token, which could be used towards the purchase of books from several High Street stores.

New for this year was "Blind date with a book" where students could check out a book that is in an envelope with keywords written on, so they didn’t know what it is until after they checked it out.

School Librarian, Miss Hallam, said, “All of the activities were a huge hit with the students, including our LRC treasure hunt. Following clues to find a specific book in the Library, only 2 students have managed it so far. Congratulations to Iris Aston, Laura Bird, Tegan Fitzwater and Isla Keane who were the winning team of our Children’s book quiz, and to Zofia Dymko-Stokes who has won a signed copy of A Pinch of Magic in our signed book giveaway! The love of reading is still alive at Highfields, and it made for an incredibly rewarding day.”

World Book Day also saw the launch of the Year 7 Readathon. Students will be raising money for children in hospital, and there is another signed book giveaway for the student who reads the most books. The deadline for donations is 16 March.

Young Author's Prize Success

This term several students from Highfields took part in the Wolverhampton Grammar School’s annual writing competition, the Wolverhampton Young Author’s Prize. From over 700 entries, two year 7 students were shortlisted as finalists in the years 6, 7 and 8 category.

Jaya Badhan and Tegan Fitzwater were invited to the awards ceremony at the Grammar School this week, where they not only heard the winners being announced but took part in some creative activities and met the award winning author, and competition judge, Cliff McNish. McNish shared some advice on becoming an author based on his own experiences and answered questions from the finalists, including a question from Tegan about where he finds the inspiration for his stories.

Jaya was among the prize winners on the day, in the Highly Commended category. She received a certificate and a copy of Mr McNish’s latest book, both signed by the author. For making it to the finals Tegan received a certificate, also signed by the author.

Miss Hallam, school librarian who accompanied the students said, “We are very proud of both of our young authors for their work to make it to the final out of so many submissions is a great accomplishment, and Jaya’s Highly Commended prize is a special treat. I hope they are both very proud of themselves and their work, and that they continue to hone their creative writing skills. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what our students produce for the competition next year.”

Careers fair back for 2023

Highfields School was buzzing during the 2023 Careers Fair, with 52 exhibitors ranging from universities, colleges, training and apprenticeship providers, uniformed services and employers.  Over 800 students, parents and carers attended the event to find out about future career opportunities and pathways. 

The wide range of stands gave students the chance to talk first hand with universities and practitioners in different fields which was extremely beneficial allowing them to see the variety of options available for them including apprenticeships, colleges, and university courses.

Students expressed how the different mix of information available was incredibly useful such as the specific university courses they could apply for, and the grades needed to get on them. One parent said, ‘The whole thing I thought was brilliant. I wasn't convinced it was for my daughter's year group, but she loved it and loved speaking to all the different stalls in areas that interests her, it's given her a bit more focus for picking her first options this year and some ideas where she wants to be when she finishes school.’

This was the first time in two years the Careers Fair has taken place in school and exhibitors were impressed by the amount of people in attendance. One said, ‘It was a pleasure to attend yesterday evenings careers event. We certainly had plenty of engagement from students and parents. All the students we met were courteous, polite, and engaged.’

Building lit in purple for Holocaust Memorial Day

Students and staff came together to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day which is internationally recognised each year on 27th January, the date on which Auschwitz was liberated in 1945.

In a weeklong programme of activities, each year group received a special assembly delivered by Head of History, Miss Tappenden (Years 7-11) and Mr Pycroft (Sixth Form) which focused on the 2023 HMD theme ‘Ordinary People’. The assembly featured the tragic story of Trochenbrod, a Polish town (present day Ukraine) which helped students understand how ‘ordinary’ people in ‘ordinary’ places can become victims of hatred, discrimination and persecution. Miss Tappenden also took the opportunity to showcase the extraordinary work undertaken by students participating in ‘The Holocaust, Their Family, Me and Us’ project, by sharing a short video prepared by project founder, Nicola Wetherall MBE.

A specially designed form time programme also encouraged students to reflect upon how ‘ordinary’ people became perpetrators, collaborators, bystanders, and rescuers, as well as victims. This was supported by a weeklong mini exhibition in reception. On Friday to mark HMD, all students in school wrote a short reflection about what they had learned, or a pledge for what they would do moving forward to ensure the Holocaust remains an important part of their education. Reflections were written onto luggage labels and will be used to create a ‘thought tree’ in reception, as a visual representation of collective thoughts and reflections from across the school.

There was also a unique and special opportunity for students participating in the HtFMeUs project this week as they attended an online discussion with Robert Rinder MBE and his mother Angela Cohen MBE. Joining other schools following Angela and Robert’s journey, students were able to hear more about how the pair discovered and confronted their family history, and the devastating impact that the Holocaust had on the Malenicky’s of Piotrkow, Poland, and the Lewin’s of Divenishok, Lithuania. Willam Morgan in Year 10 and Isabella Stokes in Year 9 had the privilege of asking Robert and Angela a question on behalf of the school and wanted to know whether they were able to view the perpetrators and collaborators of the Holocaust as ‘ordinary people’ after learning of the atrocities committed against their own families.

As part of their commitment to the project students prepared a short video, outlining their journey so far and making a pledge to Robert and Angela to bear witness to their family story.

The week was also marked by several other special events, including special displays in LRCs on each floor organised by school librarian Miss Hallam, who also compiled a special HMD reading list accessible to all staff and students. At 2pm on Friday, students in Humanities classes were given the opportunity to hear from Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich, in an online session organised by the Lieracty Trust, which also featured author Tom Palmer – an author very familiar to History Book Club.

The week concluded with the spectacular illumination of the school building in purple lighting at 4pm on 27th January as part of the international ‘Light the Darkness’ campaign. It has been a truly special and significant week of events which underpins our continued school commitment as a UCL Beacon School in Holocaust Education, and school wide ethos of embedded Holocaust and Genocide education to support equality and diversity, and tackle prejudice and discrimination. Events will continue to take place throughout the year, with 6 Year 13 students partaking in the ‘Lessons from Auschwitz’ programme organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust – inclusive of a day visit to Auschwitz, and school visits from the Anne Frank Trust, who will work with students in Years 7-9 throughout the summer term. Outcomes from both projects will be showcased alongside outcomes from the HtFMeUs project in July this year.

Matilda comes to Highfields in latest school production

‘Sometimes You Have to Be a Little Bit Naughty if You Want to Change Your Story’

The Lyceum will be filled by the smell of rebellion when Lower School students present Roald Dahl’s Matilda Jr. from Tuesday February 28th to March 3rd.  Based on the beloved book “Matilda” by Roald Dahl and adapted from the award-winning full-length musical, the production tells the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny.

“One of my favorite moments early on in the show is when Matilda sings, ‘Even if you are little you can do a lot’. It’s such a powerful reminder for each of us, tall and small, to take ownership in how we can create our reality,” says Ms Bishop, Director of Performance. “Through the process of putting on this musical, these students are doing just that: they are joining together and working hard to create this extraordinary show and we think they deserve a standing ovation for all their work.”

Tickets for the school production are now on sale and can be purchased in school or on the school’s Box Office page.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical JR. is presented through special arrangement with and all authorized materials are supplied by Music Theatre International 423 West 55th Street, New York, NY 10019, 212-541-4684, mtishows.com. 

Duke of Edinburgh's Award ceremony celebration

On Thursday 12th January, Highfields School hosted their annual Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards evening for students who completed the programme in the last two years. The evening was hosted by DofE Manager Mr Moody and included the guest speaker Matthew Wilkes, premiership football official.

Memories of students’ time completing their DofE Award were shared in the form of photos and a video of students talking about what they had done for their physical, volunteering and skill sections, as well as their experience of the expeditions. This gave parents and carers an insight into what students had done over the course of the programme, and what it took to achieve their awards.

Mr Moody said, ‘The award evening is always a special evening as it is an opportunity to come together and celebrate the achievements of the students who took part in the programme.’

There were also individual awards for each Bronze, Silver and Gold. These special awards went to the students who had gone above and beyond during their DofE journey. George and Amelia Beynon achieved the Bronze individual award, Sarah Oboh for Silver and Joel Austin and Aleena Raja were chosen for Gold, entitled ‘The Endeavour Award’. Joel and Aleena along with the other students who completed their Gold DofE award will collect their certificates at Buckingham Palace at a special ceremony in the summer.

After presenting each of the certificates, Wilkes spoke at the end of the evening congratulating students for their achievements. He said, ‘I am so humbled to be invited to Highfields School to present these awards. You should all be extremely proud of yourselves.’

Students commit to important Holocaust project

Members of History Book Club in Years 9 and 10 have become the first students at Highfields to commit to undertaking an important project launched by Royal Wootton Bassett Academy in January this year. 

Devised by Nicola Wetherall MBE, the project which started with just four schools in the Trust has now expanded to over 140 schools in the country.  Conceived as an immersive, enrichment project ‘The Holocaust, Their Family, Me and Us’ is based on the award-winning documentary series “My Family, The Holocaust and Me” wherein Robert Rinder MBE helped his mother Angela Cohen MBE and fellow British Jewish families to trace the story of their family. The documentary features stories from across Europe and considers both the deeply personal history and its national relevance today.

The project aims to support students in developing their in-depth knowledge and understanding of one of four stories told through the documentary, allowing students a deeper understanding of the events and significance of the Holocaust through the lens of one family history.  In addition, students are tasked with a series of activities and challenges which encourage them to consider the significance of the Holocaust in both their individual lives and the wider school context. 

The project launched in school on Wednesday 9th November with an online session led by Nicola Wetherall. Students are following the story of Angela and Robert, and in addition to their work on the HtFMeUs project to date the group have also been busy making plans to incorporate their story into school plans to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th January 2023, the theme of which being ‘ordinary people’. Chosen texts for History Book Club this academic year will also support students in their efforts to better understand the Holocaust. 

The project has been devised with the full support and blessing of the families involved, and as such offers students the unique opportunity to view documents, photographs and other sources which were discovered and continue to be found as the families delve into their history. Students are also given frequent opportunities to engage in online sessions with the families and other people involved in the making of the documentary, giving them the opportunity to ask their own questions.

Head of History, Miss Tappenden, who runs History Book Club with the support of Mrs Ellis, commented “As the Lead Teacher in school for our UCL Beacon School in Holocaust Education programme this year, I was delighted when Nicola Whetherall contacted me inviting us to be part of this important and amazing project. I decided History Book Club was the right choice for launching the project with students because they were already a commited group who have shown an incredible interest and passion for history. They have risen to the challenge of this project in ways I couldn’t possibly have imagined.  I am already incredibly proud of what has been achieved and I am genuinely excited to see what their final outcomes look like”.

Keen to ensure that the project reaches out to the whole school community, students have been given special blazer badges to mark their commitment to the project and identify them as ambassadors for the project in school.  Students are planning a presentation and supporting form time activities for the week of Holocaust Memorial Day, as well as a large display in reception.  Whilst final project outcomes are yet to be decided, students will showcase their work at a community evening event to be held at school at the end of the academic year, where a variety of activities and displays will be on show to celebrate all school achievements as a UCL Beacon School. The event will be open to all students, their families and the wider local community.

Highfields marks Genocide Prevention Day

Friday 9th December 2022 was Genocide Prevention Day, a day recognised internationally to raise awareness in genocide prevention through education of both past and present genocides.  As a UCL Beacon School for Holocaust Education, Highfields has used the Holocaust as the basis of a short video and pledges for the future. 

Genocide can, and has impacted on many communities beyond the Jewish community and remains a threat in our present world in places like Dafur and Tigray.  As a multicultural and multifaith school, Highfields recognise that excellent Holocaust and Genocide Education encourages a culture of mutual respect, compassion and understanding. 

Please take a moment to watch the short video below to see how Highfields are using their status as a Beacon School to broaden student knowledge of the Holocaust and genocide, and the pledges that they are making as a school over the next 12 months on Genocide Prevention Day.