News

Over £1000 Raised at St Paul’s For Children In Need in 2009

We believe that Every Child Matters at Highclare School – including those much less fortunate than ourselves. So on Friday 20th November we went dotty for Children in Need.  The staff and pupils came to school dressed in something spotty and took part in a day of fun activities. Mrs Hawthorne cooked lots of fairy cakes and provided fruit for Pudsey’s Tuck Shop which was run by Mrs Warmington, Mrs Houghton and Mrs Simmons. 

Children from each class entered an artwork competition and won Pudsey bear toys and key rings and Mr Read and Mr Robinson organised a sponsored Shake and Wake straight after lunch!

We are very proud of our pupils who know how important it is to think of others and say a big THANK YOU to everybody who contributed to raising £1000 – watch out for our letter from Pudsey!

 

lamda examination results   -   MAY 2007

Congratulations to all Highclare pupils who gained their Lamda certificartes after the examinations in May. 100% Pass with 38% of pupils achieving a Distinction Grade.

The following boys gained a Distinction

J3          Nirandeep Boora        Dhruv Kaul                 Jonas Steinbacher         

              Thomas Canning        Kevin John               

J4          Zachariah Sharif        Joseph Murcott

J5          William Carless           Saumitra Awasthi

J6          Rohan Jain                 Arjun Jain

 

 

Science Challenge 2007

Great fun was had by all at St Paul’s on Monday evening, 21st May, 2007, as they faced and conquered the Science Challenge. The task was to make a moving model of a fairground or amusement park ride out of K’NEX. The teams were stretched right to the limit, but the results were staggering. Congratulations to Team Jain (Aayushi, Akshay, Arjun and Mum), who constructed an eye-catching Carousel, and to Team Chitty (Nicholas, Dad and Granddad), who created a dare-devil Ferris Wheel. Thanks go to pupils, parents and staff (Mrs Anderson, Mr Draper and Mr Read), who also chipped in with a vertical drop rollercoaster.

 

Sutton Coldfield Kwik Cricket Competition 

On Wednesday 20th June the boys from the Highclare Kwik Cricket team played Boldmere School in the semi final of the Sutton Schools tournament.

Our captain Monty Foley-Williamson won the toss and elected to bat first. The opening pairing of Finlay Mason and Daniel Offen got the team off to a flying start. Between them they scored 25 runs which included a 6 from Finlay. Boldmere then produced some fantastic bowling and took four wickets in the next two overs. Liam Kinsella and Drew Byrne then got the team back on track with some very intelligent singles. Monty and his batting partner James Morgan then finished the innings with some more good single runs and Highclare finished with 235-4.

Monty opened the bowling for Highclare and straight away eased the nerves with two fantastic wickets, including a diving catch. The bowlers continued to do well and keep the Boldmere score down. George Beams bowled the third over and took three more wickets. Boldmere then started to build their score up with some super batting and the score was looking fairly even. Thankfully Finlay took another wicket and reduced Boldmere’s final score to 225-6.

Walmley were to be the opponents in the final of the competition. Monty again chose to bat first. Highclare got off to the worst possible start and lost a wicket on the first ball of the innings. Thankfully some big hitting from Finlay and Daniel got us back on track. After a disappointing first match, Matthew Hyde then stepped into bat and showed us exactly what he is capable of and why he was named player of the tournament. He put the last match behind him and scored 22 runs single handed. More great batting from Drew, Liam, Monty and James took the final score to a massive 272-1.

Walmley came into bat and did exactly as we had done and lost a wicket on the first ball thanks to a super bowl from Monty and some quick reactions from James as wicket keeper. The super bowling from Finlay, George and Daniel left it almost impossible for Walmley to score any runs. James took another two wickets, which was followed by Monty and George taking another one each. Matthew then produced an over that matched his batting and took another wicket and was hit for just one run. Walmley finished the match with 245 runs for 5 wickets.

That meant that Highclare had won the Sutton Schools Kwik Cricket Tournament for the second year running and will now go on to compete in the County finals. Well done boys.

 

Highclare Bowl to Victory

On Wednesday 27th June the Highclare St Paul’s Junior School cricket team returned to Nottingham to compete in the ISA (Independent Schools’ Association)  Hardball National Championships.  Each team would play three matches. The winning team would be the one with the most runs at the end of the tournament. The Highclare results were as follows.

In their first match against Hydesville School from Walsall, the boys gained an excellent victory:  
Highclare 72-7   Hydesville 41-9

As the day progressed they moved to their second match against  Salterford House School and again remained victorious :  
Highclare 83-6   Salterford House 17-10

The third match against  Salcombe School saw Monty Foley-Williamson, (Captain) scoring 58 of the total 87 runs and bowler Finlay Mason taking 5 of the 10 wickets. Final score:   
Highclare 87-5        Salcombe 11-10

After the three matches Highclare had scored a total of 242 runs.   No other team could match that and therefore Highclare St Paul’s were crowned National Cricket Champions.

Mrs Janice Anderson, Head of Highclare St Paul’s said “ This is a great success for the school. As always a lot of hard work and practice goes into winning a National Trophy and our boys are no exception  -  they deserve their success”

 

All Birmingham Primary Schools  -  Boys’ Indoor Football Finals

Whilst Chelsea were busy gaining the FA Cup at Wembley, The Year 6 Boys at Highclare School St Paul’s brought home their Cup  this weekend from the Birmingham Primary Schools’ Indoor Football Competition.   Having won one of sixteen area finals last October,  the boys went to Aston Events Centre for the Grand Finals on Saturday 19th May.

The sixteen teams played in four groups of four, Highclare St Paul’s drawing to  play against  Hillstone, Alston and Birchfield schools and winning all three games scoring 17 ///// and conceding ///

Then through to the Semi final, Finlay Mason Highclare’s goalkeeper kept another clean sheet with some outstanding saves to give them  a 5-0 win.

The Grand final was against James Watt School, and proved to a different matter.  Conceding his first goal of the day Finlay was not be happy, with the ball going through his legs!  Then Drew Byrne conceded a penalty, and the pressure was on.

However, three goals took the boys to extra time and penalties.  The free scoring out field players continued to find the net while Finlay made two great saves, thus ensuring the new Trophy for this competition will have Highclare’s name on it.

Captained by Liam Kinsella, the team additionally comprised:  George Beams, Drew Byrne, Alex Cope and James Taylor who all played their part in a fantastic day.  Look out for the names they could be at Chelsea one day !

 

HIGHCLARE SCHOOL ‘TOP TEAM’ AT ASTON VILLA TOURNAMENT

Having won the North Birmingham Regional Final of the Aston Villa Schools (Six-a-side) Cup, the boys from Highclare School’s Junior Department went to Villa Park on 29th November to play in the grand Final.    They faced St Bede’s, winners from the Redditch Region, Peterbrook School who won the South Birmingham & Solihull region and Hallfield School winners from Edgbaston & Harborne region.

They played three games to qualify for the final round and, led by team captain Liam Kinsella, they faced an unbeaten side in Peterbrook School.  The final was an excellent game played at a pace and a tribute to the sixty plus schools who entered the competition this year.  Highclare saved their best performance for the final completing their triumph by winning 5 – 1.  Goals from Alex Cope and Liam Kinsella gave the team an early lead, and a hat-trick by Monty Foley-Williamson secured the victory.   Highclare’s passing and attacking play was made possible by a solid defensive performance from goalkeeper Finlay Mason and defenders Drew Byrne and Daniel Offen.   A major tactical switch for the final game was made possible by versatile performances from George Beams and James Morgan allowing Kinsella more freedom to create more opportunities and to score from his midfield role.

The Trophy will be presented to the victorious Highclare team on the pitch at Villa Park at the half time break during the Villa – Bolton game on 16th December.   They will then go on to represent Aston Villa against other Premiership teams, including Chelsea, later in the season.

Mr Bernard Day, Football Coach at Highclare School said “The boys played very well and in the right manner.  The parents, staff and pupils at Highclare are extremely proud of them and they deserved the hero’s welcome they received at school”.

 

Our Kwik Cricket Tournament - February 2007

On Thursday 22nd February, two teams form St Paul’s competed in an indoor Kwik cricket tournament. This was the first stage of the competition. Three teams competed; the winners would go on to the county final.

The first game was between St Paul’s B and Alston Primary School. St Paul’s batted first. The opening batting pair of Liam and Drew did extremely well, scoring 19 runs in the first two overs. Some more super shots from Alex iin year 4 and Rohan took the score to 239 runs at the end of the innings. The bowling started well with Alex getting an early wicket. Then two catches from Rohan and Drew from Liam’s bowling brought the oppositions score down even more. However, a super final two overs from the Alston batters took the total runs to 248.

The second match saw St Paul’s A take on Alston, who batted first. James opened the bowling and took an early wicket. This was followed by some good bowling from Finlay and Kristian who lost just 4 runs between them. Another wicket from James gave Alston a final score of 248 runs. This was a tough score to beat. James and Monty got the team off to a great start, scoring 20 runs. The other batters did extremely well to build up the score and only lost one wicket. Player of the tournament George then hit two sixes, and Kristian defended superbly to take the game beyond Alston and ensured St Paul’s finished with 261 runs.

The final game was between the two St Paul’s teams. The A team had to win in order to top the group, but the B team were not going to make it easy. The A team fielded first and took two wickets early on through James and Nick . More wickets were lost thanks to catches from Daniel , Finlay and James which reduced the B teams score. Then James M hit two sixes and took the final score to 187 runs. The A team got off to a good start with Monty hitting four sixes. However, Dominic , a year three boy playing in his first competitive match for the school bowled both Monty and James out and reduced the A teams runs to 20. Two more catches, and two wickets all from James Morley reduced the runs even further. Again it was George who won the game for the A team, scoring 21 runs in one over, giving the A team a final score of 246.

The A team will be going on to play in the county final on 27th March in Coventry.

Well done to all of the boys who took part.  

 

Mr Pimpalnerkar makes a visit

On Monday January 29th 2007 one of our parents, Mr Pimpalnerkar, visited school to talk to the children about his work as a Naval Surgeon. Talking to the children in two groups, he explained about the uniforms, equipment and way of life with the help of a power point presentation to illustrated his work. The children enjoyed trying on various uniforms that Mr Pimpalnerkar had brought in.

The children also enjoyed asking questions and finding out about the wider world increasing their knowledge and understanding of life beyond their own experience.

 

A Special kind of present

The children at Highclare School St Paul’s took their school production ‘A Special Kind of Present’ to the patients at St Giles Hospice this week as part of their commitment to helping in the community. The patients were treated to songs  from the children, dressed as lollipops, teddy bears, racing cars and a clown.   The special star was ‘A  star called Twinkle’ 

from the cast of the Nativity. The patients enjoyed the efforts made by the children.

Mrs Anderson, Head of Highclare St Paul’s said   “ The children learned that the Christmas story is not just about the gifts under the tree and they were thrilled to be able to take their performance ‘on tour’ to Whittington!

I am pleased the children grasped the concept of sharing and giving especially at this time of year. It is the small gestures of many that sums up the caring nature of the boys and girls at Highclare St Paul’s

                                                            

 

Highclare Pupils are Football Crazy!

As World Cup fever gripped the country, the boys at Highclare School St Paul’s continued to add to their ever growing trophy collection.

The final of the All Birmingham Primary Schools Year 5 - 7 aside competition was held at Braemar Road last week. Having already won six trophies this season the boys from Highclare St Paul’s were feeling confident and played exciting passing football. The game saw a hatrick from James Morgan, which laid the foundation for a fine victory for the team.   Captain Liam Kinsella deservedkt received  the seventh trophy of the season for the boys after a fine match.

Many of the same boys also took part in the Family Fun Football Day at Highclare St Paul’s where they took part in a football competition against Highclare Staff. The staff played well but the Year 5 boys took the Shield for the most goals scored against the staff all day. Matches were also played between teams of parents including many Mums as well as Dads. 

 

Aston Villa 6-a-side Cup

For the second consecutive year our year six team have won the Aston Villa Regional 6-a-side competition. Held at Bishop Vesey Grammar School we won the first round of round robin matches against four other schools. We went on to beat The Shrubbery School in the semi-final and crowned the day by winning a hard fought final against Boldmere.

Our team consisted of Captain Liam Kinsella, Drew Byrne, Daniel Offen, George Beams, Alex Cope, Monty Foley-Williamson, James Morgan and last but not least our outstanding goalkeeper Finley Mason who did not concede a single goal in any of our six matches.

We now go forward to play in the grand finals at Villa Park on the 29th of November.

 

The Gift of Giving

The boys and girls from Highclare School St Paul’s have got the right idea when it comes to giving. They decorated envelopes with their own artwork and enclosed the cost of a loaf of bread to symbolise sharing this Autumn term.

The children raised £300 which School Council decided to share between a charity to help others far away (Oxfam) and a charity to help those closer to home – St Giles Hospice.

Gill Gately was invited to receive the cheque on behalf of St Giles Hospice where she inspected the artwork and shared information with the children about the work that is done. They were especially interested in the story about the chocolate ice cream at midnight!

The Head Teacher Mrs Janice Anderson was proud of the pupils and said,

‘I am pleased the children grasped the concept of sharing and giving especially at this time of year. It is the small gestures of many that sums up the caring nature of the boys and girls at Highclare St Paul’s’.

 

Christmas Fayre Saturday 2nd December 2006

The Christmas Fayre was a huge success at our Woodfield site on Saturday 2nd December, pupils and their families enjoyed the entertainment by Mrs Spare and her Community choir raising money for St Giles Hospice whilst enjoying glasses of mulled wine which was being sold alongside our Christmas puddings for our charity Whizz-Kidz. We had many stalls including cakes, tombola, toys, books and outside stallholders with many interesting stalls. Santa enjoyed seeing all the children in his new grotto and officially opened the fayre for us.

We would like to thank all the parents and children who supported the event, we had 500 people attend the afternoons activities raising in exces of £2600.