King Edward VI School, Lichfield

PTA News

Our ’Night at the Races’ in March went very well – probably one of the few “race” events going on at that time.  Everyone enjoyed the occasion and £500 was raised for the school.

The Ladies’ Night, also in March, raised a further £100 and involved demonstrations from Dior and Weekenders mix ‘n’ match clothes.

As usual, King Edward VI families are hosting a group of 35 young Americans (12-14) as part of the People to People American Ambassadors Programme.  This takes place from Friday 29 June to Tuesday 3 July.  Many thanks to all parents supporting this programme.  There are still a few places to be allocated so if you can help please contact Miss J Taylor at school.  We are already planning a disco for students and American guests on the Saturday evening.

Many thanks to everyone who has sent in tokens for the various schemes.  We recently received a cheque for £31 from Nestlé.  Please keep sending these Nestlé tokens because the scheme has been extended for a further year.  Tesco have computer vouchers again and Sainsburys is also helping out with its reward points.  Our inkjet recycling scheme has also raised nearly £120 so far. Please keep sending us as many of these as you can.

Young Enterprise

Our Young Enterprise Company “KES Design” won the Tamworth and Lichfield Trade Fair in March and then won the Presentations at Staffordshire University (Lichfield campus) on Friday 27 April.  They will now represent the region in the County Final at Burton on 8 May.  Their success so far means that they are already in the top 7 out of 90 original teams.

Students involved are Kirsty Dodd (1203), Chris James (1204), David Bassett (1207), Tom Dale (1203), Rob Herd (1203), Steven Burton (1202), Stephen Smith (1207), Adam Foster (1202), Alex Broomfield (1205), Louise Anderton (1207) and Michael Rice (1204).  Well Done!

Netball

The following girls were selected to represent Cannock and District at netball. 

Under 16    Sarah Smith (10D1)

                 Marie Dudley (10C1)

                    Laura Craddock (10D1)

                 Katie Buchan (11G2)

Under 14    Jenny Rodgers (9C1)

                    Jenny Hart        (9C1)

                    Frances Young (9C2)

                 Hannah Colley   (9C2)

All of the girls have shown commitment to training and have played superbly in the District matches.  Well done!

The Year 8 netball team were winners of the District Schools netball tournament held in March at Cheslyn Hay High School.  In the final we defeated the Perton Middle School Year 8 team 5-3.  This was a great result and a successful way of recovering from our 1-0 defeat in the final to this same team last year.  The team was Helen Martin (8D1), Gwen Youlden (8C2), Emily Berry (8A2), Harriet Hitchon (8G2), Nicole Waterman (8D2), Rebecca Gentle (8G1), Claire Philp (8G1).

Girls Football

A team of Year 7 girls played in the Under 13 age group and a team of Year 9 and 10 girls entered the Under 15 age group.  Both teams were successful in the District Competition and now go on to the County Championships in Stoke on Saturday 19 May.

Students involved were Aimee Perry (7A2), Laura Matile (7C1), Anne-Marie Powell (7A2), Ashley Denny (7A2), Caron Marks (7C1), and Vanessa Devitt (7C1).  In the Year 9 and 10 team there were Elena Maybury (10A2), Lucy Aucott (10D1), Kelly Tyers (10C1), Christina Bevan (9C2), Penny Blatch (9A2) and Elizabeth Bazeley (9G1).

Basketball

We have recently had some excellent achievements in Basketball: The U16 team have become Birmingham Schools’ Champions, beating Wheeler’s Lane School 62-29, and Midlands Champions, beating Arrow Vale at Redditch 65-60.  The U13 team became Birmingham Schools Plate Champions, beating Shenley Court 75-32.

Overall this season, we have played 72 matches, winning 61 and losing only 11.

Rugby

The 1^st XV did well to get through to the County Cup Semi Final. Unfortunately, we then lost to John Taylor High School.

Our U13 team also went through to the Semi Final of the Staffordshire Cup where we narrowly lost to Queen Mary’s High School, Walsall, 17-19.  The U13 squad played very well this season: winning 8 of the 11 matches played, with 1 drawn and only 2 defeats.

The overall win/loss record for the season for all teams is:-

Played   39

Won      21

Drawn     1

Lost      18

Due to bad weather and foot and mouth restrictions, many games had to be cancelled.

Mock Trial Competition

Fourteen girls from Y9 took part in this competition on Saturday 24 March at Stafford Magistrates Court.  We defended a case of “possession of an offensive weapon” against Chase Terrace High School!  We won the competition beating Sandbach  School into second place.

The competition is run by the Citizenship Foundation and the National Semifinals take place on 19 May in St Helens. 

Student Attendance

Once again, we have recently received confirmation that attendance figures are very good indeed and compare well with other schools.  Many thanks to students and parents for this success.

We are keen to maintain and improve upon this high level of attendance.  In particular cases where low levels of attendance are a problem, we will continue to work alongside our Education Welfare Service and the local police to try to ensure that all possible steps are taken to promote improved attendance and thereby help students to gain maximum benefit from their time at school.

As an extra reminder at this point, I’m sure that you understand that it is inadvisable to plan holidays that involve children missing school.  It can be difficult to catch up.

Annie

As many of you will know, our musical performance of Annie this year was a great success.  Congratulations to all students and staff involved  - with a particular mention to Mrs Reeves, Mrs Wright and Mrs Brannan for producing and coordinating yet another triumph.

The combined talents of our Sixth Form and Staff also made our Sixth Form Revue on 30 March a very enjoyable occasion.  Many staff, sixth formers and parents were present to experience the unique atmosphere and humour.

Music

March was a particularly busy month for our musicians.  Extet and our main band performed on 7 March in the Rotary Club Schools  Festival  Concert.  Many of our  students  were  then involved in  the Music  Centre Symphony Orchestra performance  in  Rising  Brook on

12 March.  Then, on 28 March, our own Spring Music Concert provided another great occasion upon which all of our groups were able to perform.

There are plenty of forthcoming events too.  Mrs Foulkes will be taking our Recorder Group to the Recorder Festival on 22 May and there is our Paris trip and the Summer Music Concert in July.

Staffordshire Young Musician of the Year

Congratulations to Christopher Gill (1304) who is doing so well in this new competition.  About 60 of the County’s top musicians started on the quest for this title.  The Second Round took place on Tuesday 1 May and, as he did in the First Round, Christopher impressed the judges and is through to the next stage.  There are now only 8 musicians left and these 8 will play a concerto movement each at the final on July 17.  Chris plays the trombone and we wish him the very best in the final.

National Successes

To follow-up items from the last Kespress, we were all delighted to learn of successes at national level.

Jackie Fowler (1306) won the national final of the “Lions” Youth Awards for her contributions to Community Service.  This means that even more resources and possibilities will benefit Lichfield as a whole.

Derrick Squire (1204) has been selected to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland as an ’Under 20’ shot putter.  This is a tremendous achievement for our 17 year old student. 

Congratulations to both Sixth Formers!

Elizabeth Brett (9G2) continues to represent us well at national level.  This month Elizabeth is playing for England in the U15 Badminton Squad in Arnhem.  Good luck in this international tournament Elizabeth!