Issue No. 6

Winter 2012

Small Heath School

and Sixth Form Centre

Winner: Best School Magazine/Website 2011 - 2012

NEWSLETTER

The event was held on Friday 15th June 2012 and involved many staff and Year 7 pupils as well as different outsidespeakers who ran workshops on the day.The following workshops took place:

• Green up your Act- A Green Shoots workshop where students made handmade paper pots with butternut squash/sunflower seedlings to take home.

• Grease Lightning – Students looked at the importance of recycling cooking oil to be converted to Biodiesel to runthe school minibus.

• ‘Gok up your Wardrobe’- Students redesigned T shirts using recyclable materials.• Debating Society- Students had the opportunity to raise and discuss environmental issues.• Severn Trent- Students took part in an interactive workshop discussing the importance of water efficiency.• Science Team- Students had the opportunity to learn about, as well as create wind turbines.• Technology Team- Students made bird boxes using recyclable materials (milk bottles).

The day was concluded with an assembly which aimed to bring all key ideas together. Pupils also completedevaluation forms.

An overwhelming majority of the pupils’ evaluations forms were positive, with many commenting that Green Dayshould be an annual event.

Staff and visitor evaluation forms were also very positive.Student Evaluation:I really enjoyed Green Day! It was interesting to learn about how to become more eco-friendly. All workshops werefun, we got to do and make things we usually don’t do on a usual school day!

Staff Evaluation:Pupils and staff are more aware of the issues involved. Year 7 are more enthused about subjects by doing somethingout of the ordinary. Students see how the different subjects are inter-related and hence find interest in subjectsthey might otherwise not be interested in.

Visitor Evaluation:Pupils were engaged and interested in learning about how they can reduce their water consumption and how thesewage treatment process ensures that water is recycled.

Mrs Davies and the winners of theBird Box challenge

Students with theirplant pots

The winners of the ‘Gok up YourWardrobe’ workshop

Mohammed Adnan Ali winner of the‘Greenest Green Wear’ Award

Small Heath School’s Green Day 2012

What a busy year 2011 - 2012 was. The school found itself maintaining existingpartnerships such as our longstanding relationship with Birmingham Airport andtheir Flight School (see last issue), while making links with new partners, suchas Utensa, a local bakeware manufacturer. In the world of the arts the Art teamcontinued to showcase the talents of our pupils by working closely with theRoyal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) and local artist Betty Pepper, whilethe school’s Creative Minds Curriculum put on their first Year 7 Summer Fayreenjoyed by all, including the very wet Mr Turner, who kindly offered to be soakedby pupils; all in the spirit of fun.

Elsewhere this year we have run another Green Day, highlighting environmentalissues through pupil participation. Our young children also gained successthrough the City of Birmingham’s Children’s University with the graduation onJune 24th 2012.

All this and more are just the tip of the iceberg and in this andsubsequent issues we will continue to put the spotlight on ourpupils and the wonderful work they do outside of theclassroom.

O MacNamee - Editor

‘

The school was approached by world famousjewellery manufacturers, Toye, Kenning & Spencer,with a request to provide artwork for their newreception area at the works in the Jewellery Quarter.Managing Director, Fiona Toye, briefed a group ofYear 9 artists, giving them an outline of thecompany’s requirements and timescale. The groupalso visited the factory to learn about the history ofone of the oldest manufacturing jewellers inBirmingham and to develop ideas for their work.Designs were produced, reviewed by the companyand the group were then given the go ahead to startwork on the wall hangings. Work progressed during

art lessons and thefinished product wasunveiled by FionaToye, under thewatchful eye ofsome of the artistsinvolved, at aspecial event at theend of September

Pupils participating in theSports Day in June

On Friday 29th June the P.E department held a Year 7 Sports Day with an Olympic theme. Tutor groupsmet in the morning where they decided as a team whichpupils would do the various events. The morning consistedof Track and Field events such as the 100m sprint, javelin,long jump and 75m x 4 relay. Each tutor group pairrepresented a different country that will be represented inthe Olympics, They were Great Britain, France, Spain,USA, New Zealand, Brazil and South Africa.

The afternoon part of Sports Day involved fun relayswhere 6 pupils from each tutor group took part in differentrelays from the bib relay to a knock out tug of war!

The day was a massive success and all the pupils reallyenjoyed themselves. The overall winners of thecompetition were Great Britain who were represented byDBU and AMA.

Thanks to Mr Faulkner who organised the day and all theother staff who came down and helped make the daysuch a success.

Year 7 Annual Sports Day

Following a chance meeting between Jerry Griffiths, Director ofSales at Utensa, of Kings Road, Tyseley, and Richard Riley atBirmingham Chamber of Commerce, it transpired the companyneeded support for the development of some marketing materialsfor a new bakeware product to be provided for TKMaxx.

It seemed like a job for the 6th Form Media Studies group,led by Olly Macnamee, who, having been briefed by Jerry, setto work and produced their first designs within 48 hours. Overthe next week and following some fine tuning, the design wasagreed by TKMaxx and Utensa. The product goes on salethis summer and bears the school’s logo in the design.

On Wednesday July 11th 2012, Small Heath Schoolhosted a Business and Education Conference attendedby many of the businesses the school has developedrelationships with over the years. Hosted by RichardRiley, this was a chance for the school to show howmuch work related learning has been achieved andrecognised nationally, with representatives from diversebusinesses such as Aston Villa, Utensa and the CBI. Itwas well attended and I think many people went awaywith a dazzling idea of what can be achieved byschools across the Midlands and the country. Here arejust some of the projects highlighted from a specialedition of the school magazine given out on the day.

Utensa

Business and Education Conference

Pupils from two Birmingham schools proved they were top of the class this summer, asthey took part in a keenly contested debate at Birmingham Airport.

The Year 9 pupils from Small Heath School and King Edward’s School joined forces to debate two of the most contentious transport issues in the UK today, the High Speed Railnetwork (HS2) and ‘Boris Island’.

In a tightly fought contest, pupils from both schools argued for and against these divisiveissues in front of an invited audience, including Birmingham MP’s Gisela Stuart and Shabana Mahmood.

Chaired by a fellow student, the audience was invited to vote on what they had heardafter each debate, transforming the airport’s Flight School into a scene from the Houseof Commons.

The aim of the session was to equip students with some of the key skills they will needin their professional lives, including public speaking, working as a team and appreciating another person’s point of view.

This extracurricular activity has also allowed the two schools to forge a closer relationship,giving pupils from both sides the chance to learn from one another. It is hoped these positive cultural experiences will benefit the students far beyond the classroom and intotheir personal lives too.

Birmingham Pupils Get Top Marksfor Transport Debate

Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Ladywood, said: “As a former Small Heath pupil,I was proud to see how the school is developing and the new friendships the pupils havemade with King Edward’s allow students from both schools to share experiences withpeers they may not have otherwise met, which was fantastic to see.”

Shahira Ghani, Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator at Small Heath School, said:“Throughout the past two months, pupils from both schools have worked tirelessly tomake this occasion extremely successful. Not only have they learnt how to work as ateam, but they have also developed key skills that will benefit them in their working life.

“The children have researched each topic in great detail, examining the environmental, political, financial and social impacts. It is important that younger members of ourcommunity discuss issues such as HS2 and ‘Boris Island’ as the outcome of theseprojects will affect their future more than anyone else’s”.

Andy Holding, Community Affairs Manager at Birmingham Airport, concluded: “Theoutcome of the HS2 project and the ‘Boris Island’ question will have a huge impact onBirmingham airport, so it seemed only fitting the students chose our new Flight School tostage the debate. We were thoroughly impressed with their arguments and the way theyconducted themselves throughout the afternoon.”

" The debate itself was very interesting and waspresented in a good manner" - Abdullah Adam 9A

"It was a great experience to see bothschools debate, it inspired me to join the

debating society" - Maria Raza 9A

Pupils participating in Birmingham AirportFlight School Debate

Summer 2013 will see the 20th anniversary of the sister citypartnership between the cities of Chicago and Birmingham. To markthis occasion and to promote our partnership with Chicago,Professor Jo Andrews (Birmingham City University) and your editor, Mr MacNamee, are developing an art and cultural exchange neverbefore attempted, with students from both cities creating andexchanging artwork, writing and even producing multi-media piecesthat we hope will be exhibited not only in museums in the city butaround the city itself. We are currently in the process of signing upseveral Birmingham schools to work with, but in Small Heath Schoolwe have already created a Year 12 working group full of ideas.

Over the coming months we will be setting up a blog andappropriate social media platforms from which we can inform youall, dear readers, of our progression between now and August.We hope you will follow the progress of all the schools involved,but particularly Small Heath students as we create, refine andfinally exhibit the talents of Small Heath and the talents of the city.

O MacNamee

The Chicago Cultural Exchange 2013

I would like to be a pilot and so decided toapply for my work experienceplacement at BirminghamAirport, with the EngineeringDepartment. Led by GeoffBrunt, the work of theengineering team is to fixanything which needs fixingwithin the airport building.This includes air bridges andlight bulbs!

They also have to makesure that everything isworking correctly in the“boiler house” and thatinvolved collecting data andputting the information intospreadsheets. Whilst I wasthere I collected data,helped change light bulbsand tested the air bridgeswhich connect the terminal building to theaircraft.

To test an air bridge, I had to use thecontrols to move the bridge all theway up and then down, move it leftand right and then extend it all theway out and then back in again.Then I had to park it up. On the last day, I was given theopportunity to fly to Glasgow andback. It was great! I got to meetthe flight crew and was able to talkto the pilot. This has helped me tochoose the path I need to follow toachieve my goal of becoming apilot so I can get paid to travelaround the world.

I enjoyed my work experience atBirmingham Airport and wouldrecommend it to anyone who

wants to be a pilot or an engineer.

Iqra Pervez

Year 10 Work Experience - A Pupil’s Perspective

Iqra and the cabin crew

Iqra being given a guided tour of the cockpit.

By Iqra Pervez - Year 11

After the visits to the two museums, the college and a couple of walks around the city, we hadalmost come to the last part and what we believe was the most inspirational.

It was a Q and A session with some students from the University. We found out quite a lot likehow the interviewing works, colleges, dorms, courses, etc, but there’s one thing that kept ringingin our heads. When asked if they thought they’d initially get in, all of the students said no, in fact,one girl hadn’t even considered Oxford as an option.

One of the most important things we learnt that day was if you don’t try you won’t achieve. Soour advice to anyone considering going to a university like Oxford, but doesn’t think they’ll get inis, don’t let anything hold you back. The only way you can be absolutely sure that you won’t getin, is if you don’t apply.

Finally, we’d like to thank the school and especially Mrs. Ghani for choosing us and giving us theopportunity to visit Oxford University. The experience was very informative; it helped us decidewhich universities we want to go to and where we want to be in a few years’ time.

By Tasnim Akhter and Halena Khan 9A

They say a picture speaks athousand words… so take a look atthe one to the left. Oozing history,architecture and education, Oxford

University is every student’s dream.

So you can pretty much imagine our excitement when we got chosen to spend a whole daythere. Throughout this article we will give you an insight into what we got up to, the peoplewe met and everything we got out of it and hopefully by the end you will be just as inspiredas us to apply to Oxford or a University like it.

So firstly why us and why Oxford University?

In short we were both chosen for the DUX award. This is an award which recognizes theskills and talents of high-achieving 14 year olds across the country. Two people from eachschool were selected to visit a Russell Group university, out of which we chose Oxford.

On the day we had to get to school quite early to catch our train. However we knew ourday was going to be great when we heard the words “Welcome to sunny Oxford” come outof the intercom. After a fair bit of walking and almost getting lost, we arrived at the universitywhere we sat through a little talk but then went off to start our day. While we were there wevisited two museums which are both part of the museum. Firstly we went to the Pitt RiversMuseum where we had to do an activity whilst being paired up with a school from London.After lunch we had a little tour around one of the colleges where we got to see what anaverage dorm room looks like, and then we visited the Museum of the History of Science.Here we made our own astrolabes, but the highlight of this museum was definitely gettingto see the blackboard used by Albert Einstein to explain the theory of relativity (e=mc2).

Tasnim and Halena in Oxford

Oxford University

The DUX Award 2012:Oxford University

The Dux Awards scheme recognises and rewards high performing pupils in Year 9 (14year olds). It encourages higher aspirations by inviting high-performing pupils from everysecondary school to visit a Russell Group university, accompanied by a teacher or anothermember of staff. This year two year 9 pupils Tasnim Akhtar and Helena Khan from 9A werethe winners of the Dux Award. They were accompained by Mrs S Ghani to Oxford University onthe 14th June 2012. It was the most amazing and inspirational day.

Oxford University

The RE department at SHS has been working alongside the RE department at Idsall School,Shropshire over the last two years in order to promote inter-faith relations and a better understandingof other cultures. A group of Year 9 students from both schools have had the opportunity to engagein positive dialogue about the faiths practised in their own and other communities. This has benefitedboth groups of students greatly as it has enabled them to get to know a group of people that theywould normally not meet in their day to day lives and to understand that, despite some differencesof religion and culture, they have many of the same attitudes, concerns and interests.

SHS have successfully hosted two visits to the Ghamkol Sharif Mosque in Small Heath for the Idsallstudents and have benefited from reciprocal visits to St Andrew’s Church in Shifnal. This is anassociation that we hope to continue and expand in the future.

Miss Hussain

Ghamkol Shareef Mosque in Small Heath

School Partnerships

Students from the two schools

Early Morning Breakfast ClubSome of the activities the Breakfast Club

have been involved in this year.

Gardening Hallowe’en

Christmas Party

Growing veggies

Easter Arts and Crafts

Harvesting the veggies

The MorningBreakfast Clubhas been runningsuccessfully forthe past 6 years. Itis staffed by MrsKhimji, five days aweek between8am to 8:30am.The aim of thesessions is to helpenhance pupils’literacy, andreading skills,social skills andsupport with theirhomework andcomputer access.This year mostpupils have beeninvolved withenrichment typeprojects such asthe gardeningproject inconjunction withMrs Allenby, theAsthmaAwareness dayand many more.The children areprovided with ahealthy breakfastto encourage theimportance of ahealthy start to theday’s learning.

Ashtma Awareness

Choosing to do the EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) is one of the best decisions I have made.There are many reasons as to why I chose it. I must say that I have benefited from completing theEPQ. My EPQ was about ‘Alternative Medicines’ and I also explored the ethical considerations inmedicine. The EPQ has developed my skills and is a experience which is very different to the ‘normal’A-level subjects that I do. I must say that, compared to my A-levels the EPQ provides differentopportunities and skills, it is quite refreshing and alternative to the formal classroom layout of a subject.During the course of the EPQ I have developed numerous skills which I think will benefit me to agreat extent. For instance my time management skills have developed drastically, which I believewas due to the deadlines given for each part of the project. To be frankly honest, I did not meetall the deadlines but I do feel that there was an improvement in my time management skills abouttwo thirds into the course. There were many problems which kept persisting throughout theprocess, such as the prospect of interviewing techniques. The most difficult thing I had to do wasto think like a Sociologist. I found this especially difficult because I am not studying any socialsciences, but I must say that the concepts I studied and the ideas I researched were veryinteresting. For me, working independently was very productive, however at times it felt as thoughit was a disadvantage because it was up to me to set my own work and I had to guide myself.Aside from that, I had some guidance in the weekly EPQ lessons since my supervisor specialisesin the Social Sciences. What I have taken from this experience is a better view of what I would like to do at university. Iwould advise anyone considering doing the EPQ to choose a topic which is related to a subjectwhich you are planning on doing at university. This would really set you apart from othercandidates who have the similar grades and course options as yourself. At the start of the year,I didn’t really know what I wanted to study at university but now I have a better idea of what Iwould like to do after college. At the moment, I am thinking about reading for a degree in Radiologyor a course relating to the development of medicines such as Pharmacology. As my project wason ‘Alternative Medicines’, I believe that it proved to be very beneficial towards my chosen degree.The EPQ is an ideal course to do, especially if you are thinking about progressing onto university.Furthermore, the EPQ provides you with numerous skills and allows you to have the responsibilityto organise and complete your very own project. You get the opportunity to decide pretty mucheverything, as far as your project is concerned. Areas such as what case study to chose,deadlines, who to interview, planning an event etc. are all coordinated by yourself. What reallygrabbed my attention was that the EPQ is equivalent to an AS level grade and also can add toyour UCAS points score. All in all, the EPQ is a very interesting and enriching course that will helpyou to develop your own abilities. No exams or revision are required, the EPQ is courseworkbased. Most importantly the EPQ is guaranteed to enhance a number of your skills, which couldbe useful for future education and career opportunities.

Zakariya Osman

I undertook an extended project at the start of the year regarding recycling within the school. I reallyenjoyed my EPQ because it gave me an opportunity to help support my independent studies whichwill help me towards my university life. During this process I had developed various different skillssuch as presentation skills, time management skills and organisation skills which were very useful. Not only that but I had the chance to work in a sector of my own personal interest which was tochange the community and make it better. This interest had all began when I started schoolbecause I had noticed there was a lot of rubbish being thrown in the bins. The idea of recyclinginstantly come to my head and therefore I had anticipated in this project a chance to change theschool community to make it a better place for the pupils and upcoming pupils.

This project was in a different environment than the usual classroom which was very unique and hadmotivated me to further develop my independent skills as I had to think for myself to progress ratherthan a teacher guiding me to my next steps. Therefore it was a huge development in my area ofindependent learning. Setting personal deadlines was also another important factor because thesedeadlines were met successfully. I found this area of learning very different due to the fact that usuallyteachers are in command of deadlines but in this case I had experience of how it actually works.

The top thing I enjoyed about my project was working with younger children as my future career mightbe based on teaching so consequently I felt this was very useful in developing my skills as a teacherrather than a student. I found that the views of younger children aren’t very different from adults. Overall, this area of learning was successful as well as useful as it gave me an experience ofplaying the role of a teacher as well as developing my skills in allarea of this topic. I would recommend others to take part in thisproject as it certainly does help in the future and really enlightensyour UCAS. This is what Universities look for, the brighter yourUCAS, the better.

Alia Azim

The Extended Personal Project

Over the last few years, to complement our pupils’ A level studies, the school’sSixth form has also offered an opportunity to create an Extended Personal Project.Here are experiences of three of those pupils.

Alia delivering her assembly

Year 12 was the year I undertook an EPQ based around the theme of the sociological insightsregarding littering within the Sixth Form. My supervisor gave me a choice of either an artefact or adissertation which consisted of 5000 words. Because I am a creative and loud individual I decidedan artefact would be more appropriate as it would allow me to express myself more and give me theopportunity to develop lifelong skills such as time management, interviewing and problem solving.Because the EPQ is optional it provides a more independent and refreshing approach to learning.The thing with it is how we don’t really have a teacher telling us exactly what to do; my supervisorhelped me set smart targets on what I felt necessary, and not him telling me exactly what to do. Iknew it wasn’t a compulsion, in a way this motivated me because I was doing this for myself andnot for the teachers. Although I did miss deadlines and did somewhat rush it in the last month, Irealized how easy it was to become attached to something (the EPQ) even though I had the optionof dropping it at any point during the year. My final EPQ was presented as an assembly in front of the Year 12. This alone allowed me toenhance my skills including ICT, presenting and self confidence, as they were required in order forthe assembly to proceed. These skills are transferrable and although I needed to develop these itgave me a chance to learn them and maintain my knowledge as they are used in my daily life.As I wish to read for a degree in education, this EPQ gave me a chance to adapt to differentsituations and act accordingly. For example I needed to learn interview techniques and it wasessential for me to adapt in to this environment as I have not carried out formal interviews withme being the interviewee. Because of this experience I now know that I don’t need to panic whenI experience encounters with people I don’t know and any sudden changes in situations.An EPQ is vital in my personal opinion as it mirrors real life. Inreality we will not all be in a classroom with instructions, insteadwe will need to make sure we deal with situations in the mostefficient way, moreover independently. This alone will allow youas a person to be able to stand on your own two feet which willenable you as a character to become more confident and self-assured.

Ambreen Kauser

Small Heath School joined the CBCU in 2010. The students who sign up have a passportwhere they collect hours for attending a variety Out of Hours Courses within school and atvarious places around the City. It is for children between the ages of 7 and 14.

The courses that have been offered so far are:- Boys swimming, working towards Swimming Awards- Beauty Fever a course developing students’ use of make- up along with skin care.- Repertory Theatre Drama Group who have put on several productions- Skiing at the Ackers- Debating Societ, taking part in debates in school and by visiting other schools.

In June, 24 students received awards from the CBCU, 17 Bronze Awards (for completing 30hours) and 7 Silver Awards (for completing 65 hours). The Graduation Ceremony took place in the Great Hall in Aston University.

In September there will be a new course that interested students can be involved with. All theChildren attending Summer School will receive a Passport and count the hours they attendtowards an award in June 2013.

Children’s University is a nationwide programme whichwas founded here in Birmingham. The Children’sUniversity offers incentives to children of all ages to attenda variety of clubs. It was a good experience and we allagreed that it was useful. I think it really helped us keepmotivated and made us proud of our accomplishments. Iwould recommend more people to enroll in the Children’s

University and I would love to take part again next year.

Mohammad Aitisam Sultan and Mohammed Ismail Ali

The City of Birmingham Children’sUniversity Graduation

Ambreen delivering her assembly

The advertising & event management teamattended a workshop with “IJM Media” to focustheir roles, tasks & deadlines Advertising did a fantastic job

• TV screens around the school promoting theevent

• School website• A letter home to let the parents know• A text message home• Designed & displayed posters• Designed leaflets • Presentation in assembly

Event Management were responsible for:- Room plans- Equipment sourcing- LabelsThe event ran smoothly and all the stalls all sold outwith only a few bangles left.

Held at Lower School 9th July 2:35 till 4:30.A new C.M.C initiative, our first ever Summer Fayre Run by our Year 7pupils, it was a great success! All students were involved in the planning,organising, making and selling. Run by the students for the students

The aim was to raise money for charity. Students were surveyed andthey chose the “Islamic Relief” charity and our school in Pakistan Total Raised:The total amount of money that was raised £267!Students chose their focus area from the following:- Advertising- Event management- Food- Crafts- Competitions

Year 7 Summer Fayre

‘I enjoyed working as a team’

‘This is great and lots of people are taking part’

‘We felt proud because it was alldown to us to attract people and we did’

‘All the people were very kind’

‘We organised it well and it was a big achievement’

‘It was very amusing and itshould happen again’

- Work as a team when selling- Encourage people to come to your stall- Work hard and persuade

people to buy the things you are selling.

DO NOT GIVE UP!

Advice for running your own fayre

Mohammed Yafai, Rehana Gul &Abida Akhtar (Year 12)The Lead Learners programme provided us with a wonderful and memorable experience.This was a unique opportunity which encouraged responsibility, teamwork and discipline.

The programme required a three day training course which prepared us for the club wewould later run. It taught us the foundations of running our own successful club for youngerchildren. We worked as a group and together we decided on the best ways to communicateeffectively with the club members. We aimed to come up with the best ways to engage everyparticipant and to make the experience enjoyable and worthwhile for everyone involved.

We played a few games amongst ourselves which we could later use within our own clubs.We were trained on the different ways to keep discipline within the club whilst still ensuringeveryone had a good time and learned something from the experience.

On the final day of the training the different groups got together and each group decided what sort of club they wanted to run. Each group was then to present their club to everyoneelse.

We decided we wanted to run a sports club for year 7’s which consisted of football, benchball, dodge ball and other activities.

Once we had successfully completed the training, we were ready to run our club. It was ahuge success with a great turnout. The club ran on a weekly basis every Thursday lunchtimefor the duration of three months. We had approximately 25 participants each week.

The club provided each participant with the opportunity to take part in physical activity,socialise and make new friends. For us as Lead Learners, we learnt firsthand, what it tookto lead a successful club. We had a great time and this experience improved our confidenceand built up our leadership skills. Overall this was a great experience and we wouldencourage anyone who has the chance to take this opportunity.

The Lead Learners Programme

Students working together towards success

Zohaib, Zakariya, Meena & Natasha (Year 12)Being part of the Lead Learner programme proved to be an enriching and rewarding experience. Itbenefited both us and the pupils who attended our club and equipped us with the necessary skills todo similar activities in later life.

The training aspect of the programme involved helping us to find ways to engage the pupils. Wecompleted a log book, which we filled with advice and tips given by Jan (our trainer) on how tomaintain a successful club. A number of tasks were carried out, to test our abilities as leaders andalso ‘’warming up” exercises were given; giving us an indication as to what was required for runninga club. The training was very useful, and outlined matters which we would not have considered.

We believe that it is vital that we support the next generation of students, and provide them withessentials to be the best possible students in the future therefore the club we chose to run helpedchildren in Year 7 and 8 with their homework. We really believe that some of the students whoattended our club have developed many skills, both academic and non academic. We, as LeadLearners, study a range of A-Levels which really helped us to provide the Year 7s/8s with essentialskills.

As a team of 4 budding students, we used our knowledge of IT and other skills, to help the nextgeneration of students with their homework. Within this club we also supported pupils to developtheir IT skills because in a time like this, technology really supplements the traditional class roomlearning style. We ran competitions as children are more prone to try harder with their studies andhave maturity about their education if an element of fun is introduced.

The skills which we have acquired, through the lead learners programme are: management skills,leadership skills, communication skills and listening skills. This experience will help us in the nearfuture in terms of higher education opportunities and career opportunities. All of the skills learnedthroughout the programme will be required for use now and in later life.

Students working together on the Lead Learners programme

Completed artwork for exhibition

Pupils recieving their certificates

Betty Pepper working with pupils

Pupils working on theirart for exhibition

Betty Pepper talking with our students

Pupils looking at artproduced by Betty Pepper

RSBA Art Exhibition

Twenty of our Year 10 Art pupils were involvedin a project with the Royal Birmingham Societyof Artists (RBSA), entitled ‘History Makers’.They have visited the RBSA Gallery, looking atand responding to the ‘History Makers’exhibition. Following on from this they took partin two workshops at school with the designermaker Betty Pepper whose work was in thisexhibition. They had the opportunity to createtheir own work after being inspired from workthey saw at the Exhibition.

They have developed a range of craft skillsand techniques. In June this year pupils hadtheir work exhibited at the Gallery. This wasopen to the public and has had a private viewevent where members of the Arts Council, ArtsAwards, staff, pupils and their familiescelebrated their success. As well as this pupilshave been creating a portfolio which involvesthem documenting and sharing their skills withothers. Pupils have submitted this portfolio inorder to obtain a Bronze Arts Award.