May 2016 Newsletter - King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls

Page 1
May 2016
Camp Hill School for Girls
Events in June/July
Thurs 9th June Year 8 Parents’
Emotional Resilience Evening
Mon 13th June Year 12 return to
lessons
Thurs 16th June Summer Soiree CHG
7.00 pm
Fri 17th - Mon 20th June Year 9 Trip to
France
Sun 19th - Tues 21st June Year 10
History and RS trip to Amsterdam
Tues 21st - Fri 24th June Whole
School Enrichment Week
Tues 21st - Tues 28th June German
exchange students return visit
Wed 29th June New Year 7 Induction
Parents’ Evening
Thurs 30th June New Year 7 Induction
Day.
Thurs 7th July Open day 16.00-18.45
Mon 11th July Sports Day
Tues 12th July Open morning
Tues 12th and Thurs 14th July Year 8
visit to the Gurdwara
Thurs 21st July House Festival
Dates
Thurs 26th May School closes
for Half term holiday at 3.35pm
Mon 6th June School re-opens
for students
Friday 22nd July school closes
for
Summer
holiday
at
12.45pm
It has been a busy and productive half term for all, but I would like to thank the Sixth
Form for their work in organising the House Fair just before we broke up at Easter. As
always it was a work of wonder, transforming the hall and the gym (to accommodate our
increased intake) into areas with highly decorated stalls, any number of games to play
and lots of cake to eat. Within an hour we raised just over £2,200 for our two nominated
charities, Cecily’s Fund and The Centre for Conductive Education based at Cannon Hill.
Our Year 13 students were guests of honour at the formal leaving assembly, where “old
girl” Ellie Parkes talked about how Camp Hill had influenced her. She entreated the girls
to keep their minds open to the many possibilities beyond school, to enjoy life and to
follow their interests. We also said au revoir to our Year 11 and Year 12 students who
are on study leave. We wish all our students success in their summer examinations. They
have worked hard and deserve to do well.
The new STEM build has not been completed on time and we still have the builders on
site. The build itself is looking really good but we need the last finishing touches to be
right. We do have a second set of workmen on site after half term as Lab 6 is about to be
refurbished following the design of the winning entry in a national competition last
academic year. Dr. Rose has worked with the company Innova to develop a plan based
on the ideas provided by our team of pupils.
I would like to thank parents for the support over the health issue we have been
managing in school. The pupils were mature in their approach to the testing that had to
be carried out in school and our visiting Health Teams were very impressed.
The students and staff have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks including
Enrichment Week, visitors from a variety of primary schools for Familiarisation sessions
and the various House Competitions. I hope pupils and staff have a very restful half term
holiday.
Mr Dawson and Ms Ridley will be getting married this half term, I am sure that you will
want to join with me in wishing them a fabulous day and a “happy ever after”.
Mrs Linda Johnson
Head Teacher
Camp Hill School for Girls
Page 2
Staffing News
We are sad to see Mr Brown leave us this May to take up his new post at Swanshurst School. This is the second time
we have ‘lost” Mr Brown to another school – we hope he will return at some point in the future, but in the meantime
wish him well.
Aminah Ahmed one of our two Interns this year also left us in May to prepare for her final examinations this summer.
We wish her well.
Sixth Form Pastoral Care/Mental Health Forum
A very positive discussion took place recently between the pastoral care team and members of the sixth form. We
are always looking for ways to support our students and several interesting suggestions were put forward. We will
definitely be following up on some of these after the examinations. In the meantime, there is a suggestion box in
the UCR and information about support and guidance on the notice boards in the UCR and the PSHE room in main
school. As always the pastoral team are available for any student who wishes to ask for advice or talk things over.
Ms Whittington
Parent Pay and School Trips
We hope that you are finding the new trips procedure easy to use. Unfortunately some parents are not providing
the information requested on Parent Pay. For those of you who are still unsure you give your consent by placing a
tick in the tick box. In the notes section we ask you to provide an emergency contact number and details of any
medical conditions which your daughter may have. This is so that we always have the most up to date information
when your daughter goes on a trip. Mobile numbers change and sometimes parents forget to inform the school.
We have had situations in the past where we have had to contact a parent but have been unable to do so as the
telephone numbers provided have been unobtainable. We want to be sure that your daughter is safe at all times
and that we can contact you if we need to. Therefore please will you provide the information requested and not
just type “I consent” in the box.
Parents of Pupil Premium students cannot give consent via Parent pay and still have to complete, sign and return a
consent form.
Thank you all for your co-operation and support.
Request For School Uniform Donations
Dear Parents,
As the Y11 students stand down on Wednesday 11th May and move on to the next stage of their education, the
School would be grateful to receive any unwanted items of good quality school uniform to top up our dwindling
stocks!
Camp Hill Girls’ School will hold a large second-hand School uniform sale at the Y7 Induction Evening on Wednesday 29th June and new parents are very keen to purchase clothing. The School blazers and School coats are always
very popular and sell very quickly.
Parents and girls would be able to drop off clothing at the main Reception desk during office hours. The School
office will also be open during the Spring Bank Holiday Week – Wednesday 1st – Friday 3rd June.
Many thanks for your continued support with our sales.
Kind regards,
Mrs. Gill Woolaway
School Secretary
Camp Hill School for Girls
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Art
Well done to Year 8 pupils for submitting their imaginative and creative designs for our Bookbench. Choosing a
winning design was very difficult given the quality of the work we received.
We would however, like to congratulate Anya Lau 8V, whose design cleverly combines her literary character with
Birmingham. We look forward to revealing the final painted bench at the end of June.
“The Big Read, presented by Wild in Art with The Schools of King Edward VI and in association with the National
Literacy Trust and Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, aims to encourage literacy development through
creativity and invites schools and community groups to decorate BookBench sculptures – benches shaped as open
books.
The painted BookBenches will furnish the region’s museums, libraries and cultural hubs, turning the city and
surrounding regions into a virtual library. By creating a series of free indoor art trails everybody will have the
opportunity to enjoy young people’s creativity during the summer holidays of 2016.”
SUMMER SOIREE –A CONCERT FEATURING
OUR INTERMEDIATE AND JUNIOR MUSICIANS
THURSDAY 16th JUNE
7pm CHG HALL
TICKETS £3 (£2 CONCESSIONS) AVAILABLE
FROM THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT
ALL WELCOME!
Camp Hill School for Girls
Page 4
Enrichment Week Activities 2016
Tuesday 21
Year
7
June
Harry Potter
Wednesday 22
June
STEM – in school
Visit to Warner
Bros, Studio,
Leavesden
Thursday 23
June
Stratford
June
Harry Potter
Mary Arden’s Farm
Visit to Warner
Bros, Studio,
Leavesden
RSC A Midsummer
Night’s Dream
7W & 7X & Part
7V
Whole year group
8
Dovedale
Dovedale
8W & 8X & Part 8V
8Y & 8Z & Part 8V
Forensic Workshop –
in school
Whole year group
Year
Black Country
London
Museum
Museum
Whole year group
Playbox Theatre
8W & 8X & Part 8V
Star Chaser - Rocketman
Oxford trip to visit
historic city &
Morning: MFL
Taster sessions
Rhythmicity & Zumba
university
Afternoon: House
Sports – in school
Senior Citizens’ Party
– in school
Drayton Manor
in school
10
Globe Theatre
(Workshop, Tour,
Exhibition),
Black Country
9
Year
7Y & 7Z & Part 7V
Warwick Castle :
7W & 7X & Part
7V
Warwick Castle :
7Y & 7Z & Part 7V
Year
Friday 24
Enrichment Taster
Sessions
London Art Galleries
GSCE students
Afternoon: House
Sports – in school
Victoria and Albert
Museum & Natural
History Museum
London
Camp Hill School for Girls
Page 5
Year 9 - Starting GCSEs
Approaching Year 10 with your GCSE subjects chosen?
Now is the time to ask yourself the following questions?
Do You Involve Yourself in Lessons?

Aim to be an active listener.

Engage yourself fully with the lesson.

Ask questions.

Answer questions.

Complete the task you have been set.
Do You Maximise Your Understanding?
To be able to remember information, you must firstly understand it.
If there’s a topic you haven’t fully understood, don’t ignore it and leave it till later, instead you could:




Read another learning resource – text book or revision guide to get a further explanation.
Make a note of the question and ask your teacher for an explanation next lesson.
Attend a lunchtime workshop
Discuss with a friend
Do You Arrive Prepared for Lessons?
Consider reading through the notes you took from the lesson either:



That evening - ensure your notes make sense.
At the time you pack your bag for the next day, - ensure you are familiar with the previous lesson’s
content and ready to build on your understanding of the topic.
Are homework tasks are completed?
Do You Consider Up and Coming Deadlines in Advance and Plan to Complete Your Work
Accordingly?



Record deadlines for tasks.
Consider splitting tasks up into smaller subtasks and set yourself target dates for completion – this
ensures you will meet the final deadline date for the overall task.
Start preparation early, adjustment can be made for any unforeseen events should they arise.
This ensures you feel prepared and in control.
Mrs S Thornton
Learning Mentor
Camp Hill School for Girls
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Music Department
SENIOR CONCERT–TUESDAY 3rd MAY
An excellent concert of challenging repertoire played to a high standard before a most appreciative large audience. Above: Ruth Batten solos on “Misty” with Mr Meadows’ Clarinet Ensemble; The String Octet pay tribute
to David Bowie with “Life on Mars”.
Below: Concert Band with trombonists Nerys Thornhill and Sylvie Agnello.
Always a bittersweet occasion, our Year 13 musicians made their fond farewell with “Stand By
Me” (accompanied by bottles!) as well as the now de-rigueur ritual humiliation of Mr Palmer and myself
attempting to sing “A Whole New World” (in a whole new way!)
Camp Hill School for Girls
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FEAST OF FLUTES CONCERT –SUNDAY 15th MAY
RUDDOCK PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE
THANKS and CONGRATULATIONS to Mr Hay and our flautists:
Briege Thomas, Annie Lucas, Emma Rivett, Niamh Bell, Ishani Sharma, Hannah Jenkins, Tanisis Morajkar, Hazel
Cooper Freya Mason.
CHAMBER CHOIR AND STRINGS are
busy preparing for our Germany Tour –
July 20-28 where we will give 4
concerts; sing in the vast Halberstadt
Dom; take tea with the monks in
Huysburg Monastery; tour Leipzig and
Dresden as well as have a good deal of
fun!
Can’t wait!
NEXT EVENT: SUMMER SOIREE
THURSDAY 16th JUNE 7pm CHG Hall
Thank you to all musicians and parents for your continued support in Camp Hill music making
All good wishes to our valued leavers for a bright and musical future!
P Hawthorne
Head of Music
Camp Hill School for Girls
Page 8
National Thank You Letter Awards
Earlier in the year all Year 7 spent time in their Literacy lessons writing an entry for a national competition run by
the School of Education at the University of Birmingham. Students were asked to write a letter of thanks to a
person, group or organisation who has inspired them, improved their community, or made Britain or the world a
better place. Over 40,000 students submitted entries this year.
I was the lucky member of staff allowed to accompany two Year 7 girls, Ruby Zhang 7V and Peace Buraimo 7Y who
were selected as our best entries and invited to a ceremony at Bramall Music Hall on the University Campus on
Wednesday 11th May. Pupils aged 5-16 had travelled from throughout the UK to attend (including a student from
an International school in Spain!) so we were very lucky to have a short journey and the proud dads of both girls
were able to attend too.
Peace will continue the story and you can read her letter opposite…
When the day of the thank you letter awards came, I was nervous but also excited. Before we left for the trip
to Birmingham University on May 11th 2016, I met with Ruby who had also been shortlisted to attend the
ceremony and then we both made our way the competition.
When we arrived we were offered refreshments and got a chance to read the other shortlisted competitors’
letters and they were all honestly amazing and of great standard and quality. Soon after, we were called to
enter the hall for the award ceremony. We were warmly welcomed by Dr Tom Harrison and listened to seven
selected thank you letters from people from a range of places all over the nation and they were extremely
good! Charlotte Hill then talked to us about her build up to being the Chief Executive Officer of the charitable
company Step up to Serve. She told us if she was in a position of writing a thank you letter who would it be to
and why. It was extremely fascinating as she told us how she became Chief Executive Officer at such a young
age.
At last it was time for the presentations to the winners, runners up and finalists for the primary and
secondary categories. They announced the primary first and since I was in the secondary category I waited, a
million thoughts going through my brain along with a dash of hope in my heart. They finally moved on to the
secondary winner; when my name was called out I was filled with elation. Overwhelmed, happy and excited, I
went up to collect my prize and certificate.
That then brought the ceremony to a closure and we all went for lunch. I was congratulated many a time and
likewise had my photo taken.
The Thank You Letter Award ceremony was a great occasion and it was an honour and privilege just to be
there on that day. I hope that the Thank you letters competition inspires someone like it did me.
Well done again to Peace as well as Ruby who was a very gracious finalist; congratulations also to Mya Bange,
Aleeza Butt and Isabella Smith who wrote the other letters judged to be the best five from the year group.
The English department is now promoting the same organisation’s Why Virtue Matters Competition asking
students to write a 500 word essay on the virtue of Service, Courage or Honesty; winners will be invited to a
special presentation in the House of Lords on the 14th July and we are hoping to have similar successes!
By Mrs Royall and Peace Buraimo 7Y - Winner of the Thank you Letter Awards 2016
Camp Hill School for Girls
Page 9
Dear Unknown Lady,
I am humbled by your actions last Saturday. You truly have a kind heart and it was recognised not just by
me but by the passing strangers in the street through the applause you were accorded. The poor lady was
deeply touched and it will surely live with her for the rest of her life. The main part of this letter is to say
thank you for touching my heart through your kindness.
You might not have realised this before now but last Saturday I saw you in the store Forever 21, (in City
Centre). It resulted that we both entered the queue, (with you in front), I could see you had bought a
beautiful, white cardigan. It was clear you liked it because being behind you in the queue, I couldn’t help
but overhear your conversation with your daughter about how this was perfect and will definitely match
your new gown. I could see great admiration in your eyes as you looked at it. You went to pay for your
item and I went to the next available till. After I paid for my item I left the shop and outside sat a homeless
woman who had an icy cold look in her eyes but strangely it wasn’t piercing, it looked tired and hopeless. I
could tell this woman had just become homeless as she hardly had anything to keep her warm in this
harsh, cold weather. You saw her freezing and took pity on her and showed her a loving action, you gave
her your cosy, white cardigan that you loved and just bought, to help her get through a tough time. I stood
shocked and immediately my face glowed with admiration and respect as it was an undeniably selfless
action. As I had no other money on me, I decided to return the shoes I had just bought to buy her a
sleeping bag which would be useful when dusk sets in.
You have inspired me to love and think more of others. I realise if we all show kindness to the needy or
less privileged, the world would be a better place. You did not only help and deepen my understanding
concerning that matter but also to appreciate and take more seriously those who work with charitable
organisations, selflessly and voluntarily to support those in need. I am now going to undertake the task to
donate not only money but unused toys and clothes that I have grown out of. I will give it to those who
will value them and have a greater need for it than I have, I will do this through the source of charity.
In conclusion, I hope you have gathered that you are an unmistakably kind, selfless and compassionate
person. If there were more people like you in this world it would make it a beautiful and happier place. I
am so happy that I was lucky enough to witness your actions as your kind ways have taught me something
in that one simple action but it will surely stay with me for the rest of my life.
Thank you from Peace Buraimo
Camp Hill School for Girls
Page 10
TALENT 2030 at the Big Bang Fair
How we got involved
We heard about the Talent 2030 competition through email, and once we went to the initial break-time meeting,
we all decided that this was something that we were interested in doing. We formed two teams of 5, one
consisting of Kujani Wanniarachchi (9X), Susannah Watson (9X), Spardha Raut (9X), Anna Higgins (9W) and Shivika
Sharma (9Y) and the other, Ria Bacharach (9X), Faryal Khan (9Y), Sumayyah Amin (9W), Hida Asad (9Y) and Sara
Hashmi (9Y). The aim of the project was to come up with an idea that would solve a major problem faced in the
21st Century. We had 2 months to research our idea and produce a piece of work about the problem we were
trying to solve, our idea on how to solve the problem, and how the idea came about. We were assessed on our
enthusiasm for tackling the challenges, innovative and creative thinking and a high quality final product. After
submitting our entry in December, we waited eagerly for any results. On the 22nd of January we had an email sent
through saying that both Camp Hill groups had been selected as a finalist! When the results finally came through, it
was evident that all our hard work had paid off, as we had been selected to be a national shortlisted finalist,
alongside 13 other groups in our age category. We were all ecstatic to have been shortlisted and to have been
invited to the Big Bang Fair, for which we were told to make a project display.
Our Ideas
Kujani, Susannah, Spardha, Anna and Shivika designed a Detecting
Cancer Booth which allowed early diagnosis and ultimately
treatment for life-threatening illnesses.
Ria, Faryal, Sumayyah, Hida and Sara designed ‘The Medi Watch’
which is something we believed would help patients, of all ages, but
especially useful for the elderly, with all types of medical conditions.
Features on this watch include the classic time and date, an alarm
which will inform you when you need to take your medication
(through a few beeps and a vibration), a call button which contacts a
nearby carer or nurse directly when you feel that you need medical
attention. This trait should cut the unnecessary time taken to find a
phone and then dial the number. Along with this, the watch has a
built in sensor for the wearer’s blood pressure, temperature and
pulse. The data which is recorded may be essential in finding trends
or problems related to the individual. It’s something that would
definitely give the wearer a sense of independence and reassurance.
We did have to consider things like how it would be easily charged,
accessible 24/7, the costs of the watch. Overall we did get a lot of
positive feedback on the day of the Big Bang Fair and at one point
were actually asked if the product would actually be produced!
What we had to do for the display
After we were notified that we had been shortlisted, we began to
make posters, models, games and speeches during lunchtimes that we could use to represent our idea at the Big
Bang Fair stall. Each stall had 2 walls, which we could cover however we liked. One group had a side completely
covered with posters, a ‘Did you know?’ section, a match up with sentences about our project next to a diagram, a
jigsaw for our younger viewers, and a model showing off our idea. The other group had a large 3D model of their
product, alongside annotations and a ‘tessellated wall’. This wall displayed the facts and figures we used to show
Camp Hill School for Girls
Page 11
the facts and figures which explained why the issue we were tackling is such a big one. There was also a computer
game for people to play, based on the product and its use. We spent the morning at our stall, talking to people
who came to see us, and showing off our idea. It was great fun!
The experience at the Big Bang Fair
The afternoon was just as fantastic as the morning session, as we were able
to go and look around the other amazing stalls that we had only managed to
catch a glimpse of on our way in. We wandered around the huge hall, and
explored what the other stalls had to offer. There were plenty interactive
games, such as pinning the sperm on the ovaries, having your fingers
stretched, and making circuits out of salt dough. There were also multiple
new and exciting activities, and many quizzes, such as the nuclear energy
quiz and the career quiz. We had a chance to talk to the exhibitors, which
was very interesting and informative, and managed to question them about
what they were presenting. We marvelled at the remarkable displays at all
the stalls, including the live operating theatre, which was a very unique
experience indeed, speaking to robots, having a look inside ambulances and
playing about with mirrors and how they affect our thinking! And finally, of
course, we picked up multiple freebies, such as keyrings, pens, (toy) brains
and sweets. It was incredible looking around the stalls, and the fair certainly
had caused a ‘Big Bang’ amongst our group.
Our favourite parts of the day
Shivika: My favourite part of the day was talking to people who seemed to really have an interest in and appreciate
our project, for example, a woman, during our explanation of the project, commented that we had really thought
of everything. As we had spent many hours working to make it, I felt our group’s efforts deserved some interest
from the public, and I was extremely happy when it did.
Spardha: My favourite part of the day was looking at the pigs’ brains. Yum yum.
By Kujani, Susannah, Shivika, Spardha, Sumayyah, Ria, and Sara
The year 12 team!
In addition to the success of the two year 9 teams, our year 12 team also
qualified as one of the finalists in their older age group and exhibited at the
Big Bang Fair as well. Holly Whitehouse, Annabelle Seaward and Shreya
Ravikumar produced another excellent solution to a future problem and
enjoyed the day as much as the year 9 girls, exploring the exhibits and
talking to the public about their project and their experiences.
My special thanks go to Shree Thirumalaikumar and Kathe-Marie White for
coordinating all of the entries, accompanying us on the day as supervising
adults and for support the whole STEM experience for all the girls
throughout the year! Good luck to you both as you go on to start your engineering degrees in September!
Mr Bettison
Camp Hill School for Girls
Engineering Education Scheme
The culmination of the Engineering Education Scheme is
the Celebration and Assessment Day at Cranmore Park
in Solihull. This year’s team went along and set up their
display before being ‘invited’ to present their project to
the judges. Needless to say, it went down VERY well
and the comments received in the feedback were
extremely positive.
I quote from the report: “Was well structured and told
a story from problem statement through to why the
solutions had been chosen. There has been considerable prototype in a laboratory condition which performs
really well”, “Very professional and focussed.
Communicated the message across really well.
Everybody had an input” and “Answered all questions
and understood all aspects of the problem. Really good
visual representations. They spoke with authority; each
had a particular area of responsibility.”
Once the presentation was over, the girls got the
chance to walk around the other presentations, take
part in activities and speak to the judges at their stand
as well as the representatives from the other teams
and the general public during the afternoon.
Overall, the day was a great success and the team have
represented the school with an amazing sense of
professionalism and class.
In addition to the team from this year representing the
school at the Celebration Day, last year’s team of Anna,
Kathe and Shree were invited to present their project
again along with a ‘how you have benefited from the
EES’ section. The difference this time is that they were
not invited to present to their peers, but to an
assembled panel of industry experts and future
sponsors for the EES. It goes without saying that they
did an amazing job and got a fantastic reception from
all of those assembled in the audience and from the
Engineering Development Trust.
Mr Bettison
Page 12
Camp Hill School for Girls
Page 13
Mathematics Challenge News
I reported in the last newsletter the success of the year 9, 10 and 11 girls in the Intermediate Mathematics
Challenge. Since then, we have had the follow-on rounds, the Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad and
Intermediate Kangaroo.
We had nine qualifiers for these competitions and it is my great pleasure to report that Naiya Patel in year 9 was
awarded a MERIT in the Cayley Olympiad – a fantastic achievement, well done Naiya!
In the Kangaroo, both Spardha Raut (year 9) and Amrit Phull (year 11) achieved Merits and Amrit did so well that
she has been invited to the National Mathematics Summer School for Girls at the University of Oxford in August – a
superb achievement Amrit, well done! And my congratulations to the other girls who also took part – it is great to
see so many keen mathematicians taking on these challenges so willingly!
We recently received the results from the Junior Mathematics Challenge, the equivalent competition to the IMC for
our year 7 and 8 girls. 291 of the girls completed the challenge and gained a total of 47 Gold awards, 86 Silver
awards and 94 Bronze awards. That means that over 78% of the girls gained an award of some sort – wow, how
amazing are you all!
But the success does not stop there: Kanak Nanda in year 8 and Naina Gupta in year 7 both scored highly enough to
qualify for the Junior Mathematical Olympiad and a further 20 girls qualified for the Junior Kangaroo. Both of these
competitions take place after half term and I hope to report their success in the next newsletter.
In the Edge Hill University Mathematics Challenge, our intrepid team of year 9 girls (‘Counting Sheep’) have safely
made it through to round two and have submitted their entry for this round. We eagerly await the judging and
hope to get through to the final later in term!
As we go to press, the results from the Southampton University Mathematics Challenge are not yet in but I will
report on this as soon as possible!
Mr Bettison
Camp Hill School for Girls
Page 14
Salters Chemistry Festival 2016
On April 22nd 2016, four students (Aminah Rahman, Anika Dhunna, Olivia Eva, Kanakdurga Nanda) visited
Birmingham University to participate in the Salters Chemistry Festival. We took part in a number of different
activities and experiments involving chromatography and neutralisation experiments using acids and alkalis. We all
worked together, co-operated and helped each other despite being in different years and being unfamiliar with
each other.
In the morning, we took turns in chromatography experiments using different inks and we also tested a range of
different unknown powders with sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid and deionized water.
After lunch, we had to make the colours red, orange, green, blue and violet by using just sodium hydroxide,
hydrochloric acid, deionized water and universal indicator. We also had to record the different amounts of each
substance we used. This experiment was challenging but very enjoyable.
Once we’d completed this activity, we watched a magic show based on chemistry, given by a professor, which
included reactions using a variety of chemicals and setting things on fire! This show was very entertaining and
enjoyable.
Overall, we had a splendid time and we enjoyed ourselves very much. This trip has expanded our scientific
knowledge and gave us an experience on what it was like to work in an undergraduate lab. We are all extremely
glad we got the opportunity to go and we’d like to thank Mrs Bunting for organising such an insightful trip.
Aminah Rahman, Kanakdurga Nanda, Anika Dhunna, Olivia Eva
Camp Hill School for Girls
Page 15
Adventures at the Ends of the Earth
On Monday 15th March students in Year 9 geography had the
opportunity to take part in a live Skype lesson and question and
answer session with Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop, a researcher/explorer
located in Svalbard in the high Arctic. This was part of the Digital
Explorer Arctic Live http://digitalexplorer.com/. Students were able
to ask a range of questions about the challenges of Polar Science
and working in an extreme environment including :
Is it difficult to study marine biology out there because the
conditions are so cold?
Have you noticed any evidence of rapid change due to
increased warming?
On Tuesday 19th April an ex-Pupil of Camp Hill Girls, Emma Davie, came in to school to share her experiences of a
recent expedition to Antarctica! Emma is currently reading for a degree in BSc. Geography at the University of
Leeds and is currently on an industrial placement year with Network Rail. In addition to her placement year, Emma
took it upon herself to apply to join an international expedition to Antarctica run by the organisation
2041 http://2041.com/. Her trip included daily lectures on climate/landscape/wildlife/research/political history of
the Antarctic, as well as daily shore landings to get close to things like tabular icebergs, penguins, abandoned
Whaling stations, as well as the odd relic volcano!
Camp Hill School for Girls
Page 16
KS5 German Exchangeto Weiden in der Oberpfalz,
Bavaria
We have very recently struck up a friendship with a girls’ grammar school in Germany and for our first visit, four
intrepid Year 12 students of German travelled to Weiden in East Bavaria during the second week of the Easter
holidays with Miss Gouldsworthy.
A pilot venture, this was a learning experience for everybody and we had a wonderful five days, enjoying
unprecedented hospitality in our new KS5 partner school, the Elly-Heuss-Gymnasium, and in the homes of our
exchange host families. Visits to Regensburg, Munich, Flossenbürg and Nuremberg allowed girls to use their
German and to observe target language in everyday use. The local dialect proved most interesting and the local
specialities proved most delicious.
Having made friends for life, our students were all sad to leave their new host sisters in Weiden, as we bade them a
fond farewell and returned to Munich to fly home.
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German Spelling Bee
On Wed 23 March at 1pm, 5 Camp Hill Girls and Boys competed to win the gold medal in The German Spelling Bee.
But let us go back to the very beginning; where we found out about the competion and how it works…
Many girls were very passionate about the opportunity to win against the boys, however we needed to get past the
first stage. We were given a list of 100 German words to cram into our brains and had to get at least 30 out of 39
on the first test. Sadly, many girls were unable to make it. But the next stage was way harder! Next, we had an oral
test on another hundred words by spelling them out in German. Then the final day of Wed 23 March came and the
troop of girls marched off to the Boys’ School next door to claim what was rightfully ours.
Preparing for the Spelling Bee was a very unique experience: pronouncing words and spelling them in a different
language was challenging yet enjoyable. At the beginning pronouncing the alphabet and the words in the correct
way was quite difficult but once I had sunk my teeth into it and set my mind onto the challenge it was easier to
work through. The Spelling Bee club definitely helped fine tune my skills as there was a noticeable difference in the
way I pronounced the German alphabet and the speed at which I spelt the words before and after attending the
club. The semi-finals gave me a taste of what the extremely competitive finals would be like…nerve-wracking,
breathtaking and surprisingly delightful!
Finally, the lunch time Finals came; we walked into the Boys’ School with our heads held high. We walked up to the
classroom to see 5 boys waiting for us. We all sat down and waited anxiously to be called. We would be judged by
seeing how many German words we could spell in German in only 60 seconds! Nithyashree Kumaresan (Shree) was
called first, then Zara Nawaz, then Teesta Maulik, next Purvaja Rajesh and lastly Zahra Ali. Of course the girls came
first: Zahra Ali won. Then Sam Gray from the Boys’ School came second. There was a tie for last place between
Shree and Purvaja, so they had to go against each other in a tense re-match, and Purvaja won by one point! Overall
it was a fantastic experience and I would encourage those who didn’t try this year to try next year. I would like to
thank Frau Waddell and Frau Jambor for organizing this event, as it was great fun and boosted our German skills.
Teesta Maulik 7Y, Nithyashree Kumaresan 7X, and Zara Nawaz 7X
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Year 10 Residential Visit to Salamanca
Bright and early on Wednesday 17th February, 12 tired and bleary-eyed girls met Mrs Inestal Alonso and Laia at
Birmingham airport at 9 am. Promptly, we got through security and then we had an hour of free time before our
flight: most of us were eager to buy food and drink. The hour passed quickly and finally it was time to board. By
this time we were all quite excited and after a slightly rocky aeroplane flight, we arrived at Madrid airport which
was quite pretty especially the coloured windows. At around 3pm we exited the airport to get on the coach – but it
had broken down outside the airport! This resulted in us having to wait an hour for the company to send another
one: meaning we could relax in the warm Madrid sun and eat again.
The journey to Salamanca from Madrid took 2 hours and at around 6pm we arrived in Salamanca, where the host
families were waiting to take us home. Meeting the host families was a bit awkward for us all as they couldn’t
speak any English, but staying in pairs made it easier. We ate dinner with them and over the course of the week we
tried paella; tortilla con patatas, a classic Spanish dish that consists of omelette and potatoes; vegetable soups and
a type of soup that contains little pieces of pasta.
The next morning we all met at the Colegio del España at 10am for 2 hours of intense Spanish lessons with a
Spanish teacher named Nieves, she was quite an eccentric and humorous character and we all learnt a lot of
Spanish from her. After, we visited our pen pals at their high school, which was a 10 minute walk from the Colegio.
We then had 2 lessons with different year groups and practiced our Spanish and they practiced their English; their
English was all quite impressive as in Spain, they start learning English from the age of 5 years. At around 2pm we
went home to have lunch, which was always a delicious 3 course meal. At around 5pm we met up to explore some
of the town and eat tapas. Salamanca is described as “The Golden City” due to its beautiful golden architecture
dating from the 13th Century. The tapas were incredibly good and we all returned back to the host families’ flats
tired but excited for what the rest of the week would bring.
Friday morning and Monday morning were the same but in the afternoons we admired the architecture of the
cathedrals and university and walked around the town centre. Salamanca’s university is one of the oldest in Europe
and is older than both Oxford and Cambridge. On Sunday, we visited the small, quaint town of La Alberca and
bought souvenirs for our families and friends, as well as taking photos by the giant statue of Jesus in the town
square. When we came back to Salamanca, Mrs Inestal Alonso and Laia had arranged a surprise for us: exploring
the interiors of the New and Old Cathedral. We all marvelled at the beauty of these establishments and the detail
that had gone into building them. On Monday afternoon (our penultimate day), we participated in a cultural
treasure hunt which involved us roaming the town looking for the answers to a list of questions set by the Colegio
staff and our teachers; we had to ask strangers some of the questions which surprisingly wasn’t difficult as our
Spanish had greatly improved. Some of us were quite competitive and others less so. On Tuesday morning, we
were all sombre and melancholy at the prospect of journeying back to dreary old England. Our return journey was
quite saddening and we arrived back home at around 7pm and although we were glad to see our families, we
missed Spain and our host families. Overall, the experience was wonderful and our Spanish improved remarkably.
This trip was unforgettable and we are all very grateful for the experience.
Sara Bahadur and Jess Wilkinson
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Camp Hill School for Girls
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Debating Update
We’ve reached the climax of the debating year this term at Camp Hill, with the continuation of our weekly clubs
and the arrival of the prestigious national competitions.
Just before half term, six debaters from Years 11 – 13 – Jess Wilkinson, Sara Bahadur, Bayan Fadlalla, Zara Alam,
Ruth Batten and Lauren Pilley – headed to MPW College in Edgbaston to compete in the regional round of the
Oxford Schools’ Competition. Always a well-attended, highly-competitive round, there were around one hundred
debaters from across Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands, hoping for a place at Finals Day. After
gruelling back-to-back debates on a range of interesting topical issues, with just 15 minutes to prepare speeches,
we were delighted at the end of the evening to hear Lauren and Ruth were one of the 8 successful teams to
progress to the next round. For our other novice debaters, the evening proved invaluable in receiving feedback
from judges and putting their developing skills into practice.
On Saturday 12th April, Lauren, Ruth and I headed off at 7am to
the world-renowned Oxford Union to take on 198 of the best
debaters not only from the UK but also Canada, Hong Kong,
Ireland and the Netherlands. While the Semi-Finals and Final
remained dominated by public school teams such as Eton,
Dulwich College, St Paul’s and Westminster, the girls enjoyed
their four debates throughout the day – a fine testament to
their five years of debating at school level. Plans are now afoot
to continue as they begin University next year; we wish them all
the best and thank them for their dedication to school debating!
On the same day, Zara Alam headed to Dudley Council
Chambers to compete in the annual Soroptimist Midland Arden
Public Speaking Competition, sponsored by their Birmingham branch. She prepared a speech on ‘Social Media:
Friend or Foe, Master or Slave?’ and was reported to do a brilliant job. Unfortunately, the standard from ten
speakers was exceptionally high across the board and Zara just missed out on placing.
This term also saw our first entrance into the junior ranks of competitive debating, in the
Oxford Union-organised International Competition for Young Debaters. Six year 9 and 10
debaters – Priya Gadiya, Vita Aaron Pearl, Kendra Williams, Natasha Campbell and Sophia
Barry – headed to Manchester, where they met a test of thinking quickly on their feet. Here is
Priya’s account of the day:
On Saturday 27th February, a group of keen intermediate debaters from year 9 and 10
participated in the Oxford ICYD. We all eagerly competed in pairs against the opposing schools
in the three rounds. As the debating competition was held at Manchester University, we all had
to wake up at around 6 to be able to get the train – quite early for a Saturday morning!
We reached Manchester at 10 and the competition began at 10:30. The first debate was “This
house would boycott sporting events held in countries that abuse human rights”. This debate topic was unprepared
and the debaters had 15 minutes to prepare their argument. This was a very hard topic; however, we all debated
very well and were pleased to get feedback from the judges that we could put into practice in the next round. The
next debate was, “This house would introduce proportional representation into the UK general elections”. We had
prepared for this topic in advance, running over our ideas on the train journey that morning, but we did not know
which side we would be arguing, which was very tricky. The third topic, with only 15 minutes’ preparation, was
“This house would introduce performance related pay for teachers”.
Overall, all three teams completed very well but unfortunately, we were not able to get through into the final.
Despite that, everyone enjoyed the trip and we would all like to thank Ms Lloyd for organising this trip and
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supervising us.
With the competitive debating calendar now at a close for this academic year, many thanks to the many pupils who
have been committed and enthusiastically involved. The lunchtime clubs will continue in the summer term and we
look forward to more competitions and success next year!
Cecelia Ahern Visit
On Monday 21st March, eighteen enthusiastic Year 9 girls set off to Camp Hill Boys’ School for a visit from well-known author
Cecelia Ahern, who was promoting her new book, ‘Flawed’.
After all the schools involved were seated in the main hall, Ms Garvey, the librarian from Camp Hill Boys’ School, introduced us
to Cecelia Ahern. Throughout the afternoon Cecelia Ahern talked to us about ‘Flawed’, and Ms Garvey posed questions that
were asked by many students. Cecelia Ahern announced that there will be a sequel to ‘Flawed’, entitled ‘Perfect’, which will be
published in 2017, with both books due to be adapted into films produced by Warner Bros.
Cecelia Ahern revealed details of the journey she had gone through in writing this unique young adult dystopian novel - for
instance researching different burns and writing all through the night whilst her baby daughter slept. One of our favourite
stories was one in which Cecelia Ahern had created an entire book plot for a different book after she misheard the words ‘ The
Hunger Games’ on television, hearing ‘One Thousand Words’ instead!
The interview was followed by Cecelia Ahern reading an extract from ‘Flawed’, and then a question and answer session, during
which we were all able to ask Cecelia Ahern questions about ‘Flawed’ and her other books. Towards the end of the visit, all
pupils had the opportunity to buy books and get them signed by Cecelia Ahern.
Overall, we all thought that it was an enjoyable and informative afternoon. We had learned many new things after this
awe-inspiring visit; a lot of students had learnt about resilience and determination. Others found that mistakes can lead to
great success. Some were even motivated to start writing their own books. Yet, there is one thing all of us have learned from
Cecelia Ahern: it is our flaws that make us who we are...
Sumayyah Khalid and Netra Iyer 9Y
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Year 7 Trip to St Martin’s Church Part 2
At the church, we learnt many interesting facts about
the church and Christianity, however, we found that
the history was unbelievably significant. The church is
named after St Martin, a Roman soldier who was born
in Hungary in 316. He had seen a beggar; half-clothed,
half-starved, huddled against a wall on a bitter cold
day. He was riding on his horse through Amiens in
France when he saw the poor man and felt
compassionate towards this him. Martin slashed his
cloak in half with his sword, and gave half to the
beggar. That very night, Martin dreamt that Christ
appeared before him as the beggar man and
graciously thanked Martin for helping him. Martin left
the army and was baptised to become a soldier of
Christ. He eventually became Bishop of Tours in France but is remembered most for his kind services to the poor.
Katherine Li 7V
There are many activities that take place in St Martin’s church.
Alongside the many religious services, each month on a Sunday
evening, the church lets homeless people come in and sleep for the
night. In the church there are 12 air mattresses, which the homeless
people sleep on. In the morning, they are all given toiletries, then
they get a meal and can chat and talk with other people St Martin’s
also see if they can contact anyone that can help them. Either a
family member or someone who can give them an accommodation.
Additionally, they have services. One of them is the healing service
which happens on Sundays at 12 (midday). I think both these
activities are helpful and generous.
Kashvi Sahay 7V
Camp Hill School for Girls
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National Schools Badminton Final - KS4
On Saturday 16th April, a team of five badminton players and two teachers
met at school at 7am and boarded the minibus. After sleeping for two hours,
we arrived in Milton Keynes: for the National Schools Badminton Championship Finals. We awoke at the National Badminton Centre and made our way
inside.
It was exciting to be where the England team trained daily, and as the other
school teams started arriving, the pressure was on! After a nervous warm up
and the opening ceremony, we were directed onto the court to play the first
school in our box of singles and doubles.
In order to beat them we had to win at least three out of five of the games,
but after some very close matches we won two out of five matches. Our
second opponent was a team filled with county players and we
unfortunately didn't win any matches, which isn't too surprising considering
that was the school who won 1st place in the end and became the National
Schools Badminton Champions.
In our break, we were given the chance to have a meet and greet with some
current and past England badminton players!
As we'd lost the first round, we were put into the box to play for the 7th, 8th
and 9th places. Some excellent playing and teamwork led to us winning all our matches and coming 7th overall.
After the medal presentations, we started the journey back to Birmingham at 6:30pm. After two hours of trying to
take a good sunset photo through our windows, we finally arrived back at school. It was a fun day and we not only
played some badminton to be proud of, but we also experienced some professional match play through the
electronic screen scoreboard and individual referees on high chairs.
Special thanks to Miss Chapman & Ms O'Grady
Congratulations to the team: Sicheng Huang, Emily Hung, Rebecca Xia, Kavya Kumar, Annabel Harris.
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Year 8 District Netball Tournament Winners
On Wednesday 23rd March, 9 girls took part in the summer district netball tournament. In the group stage we
were successful in all matches, winning by a considerable amount. This resulted in us coming first in our group. In
the semi-finals we played Queensbridge and won which meant that we were through to the finals. In the finals we
played Edgbaston High School who we had previously played and beaten in the group stages. It was a close match
but in the end we won. The girls played great, trying their hardest throughout the tournament and showed
outstanding teamwork and commitment. Well played everyone.
Ammarah Omer (Captain)