INSIDEOUT CTC Kingshurst Academy’s Official Termly Magazine ISSUE 45 Follow us on: ctckingshurstacademy @ctcka April 2016

Fundraising is very important to CTC students and staff and we have a proven track record in raising RED money for good causes. Here, Year 10 reporter, Paige Carter, assesses our latest efforts that have raised an NOSE astonishing £3297.19 DAY Over the last few years, CTC students have become very proud of the fact that we raise a lot of money for many different charities and organisations that need our help. Red Nose Day, Children in Need, Zambia, and the NSPCC are just a few of the organisations that we have donated to or helped raise money for.

Donating one pound each to have a non-school uniform day meant that a school in Zambia could have books for their students, donating time and energy to help out the amazing CTC staff to put on dodge ball competitions or helping with the “Gunge a teacher” event resulted in our goal of £300 being demolished. We raised a whopping £3297.19 in our Red Nose Day extravaganza.

It is an absolute pleasure to once again introduce the latest edition of Inside Out, incredibly now having reached its forty-fifth edition. Looking back across all our previous editions to this one, what strikes me is the constant, consistent and rich range of opportunities and experiences that out students engage in, both at the academy and outside its gates.

Having personally attended the event on the 26th January this year, I am particularly proud of the academy’s role in the Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations and especially with our two Year 10 student representatives, Candy Kong and Ryan Sharp. I hope you enjoy seeing this snapshot of academy life as much as those students and staff whose ongoing effort and involvement enjoy experiencing it.

Thanks, as always to Lee Fletcher and Tori Sutton for their hard work in providing our termly update and thanks to all out students and parents/carers for your continued efforts and support, respectively. I’d like to extend to you all my very best wishes for a happy Easter break and look forward to seeing you in the summer term.

Damon Hewson

InsideOut Apr 2017 1 Miss Thomas came up with the idea to gunge teachers, it was something different and fun for students and staff to enjoy whilst raising money for Comic Relief as students were so engaged and interested by this. Students got to watch their teachers have a bucket of revolting goo poured onto their heads. A surge in votes at brunch time before the gunging meant that Mr Curran and Miss Wheeldon were forced to be gunged. It was entertaining to watch (even if it wasn’t some students first choice!) and it meant that a lot more money was made. Students participated throughout the week in football, dodgeball, basketball and sponsored jogs during PE lessons all week. This was supported by the “CTC’s Got Talent” contest on Tuesday 21st March with all the students and teachers providing unforgettable performances which everyone who attended loved. Making our laugh matter was this year’s Comic Relief motto and the CTC did this extremely well. In the foyer students had photos taken with their friends and got to hear other students send out special messages over the microphone. The inter-form sweepstake meant that one lucky winner from each form got a little bit of money to spend on whatever they wanted. As well as that, the ‘How many sweets in the jar?’ competition had us all guessing whilst others bought one of the delicious cakes being sold at brunch and lunch.

A big thank you to Miss Thomas’ efforts to make our week more fun and to raise so much money for such a great cause. Without your tremendous hard work nobody would have had a non- school uniform or have had any of the amazing events that happened over the week heading towards the 24th which teachers and students all enjoyed. You have only been here at CTC a short time and look what you have already achieved!

Please thank your tutees for all their support during the activities in aid of Comic Relief last week! The confirmed total will be sent out later.

Behind the scenes of all the big events that our school does for charities our students still do things outside of school like fun runs, colour runs, football tournaments and sometimes their own events to raise money for their chosen charity. Hopefully, these bright, happy students will continue their work as our community/ world needs our help and as much effort as we can give. If you are at all interested with helping out with anything to do with charity work or helping out then please talk to your form tutor. I am sure they will be more than enthusiastic to guide you to a member of staff. Thank you to everyone who helped out and who gave to the red nose day celebration.

2 InsideOut Apr 2017 RED NOSE DAY

An ebullient Miss Thomas said, “In PE the school ran 9019 laps which is 2,254.75 miles. The winners from the Comic Relief events were:

Basketball Shootout: Zion Wilson-Adams CTC’s Got Talent: Molly Mayo Penalty Shootout: Bradley Mayo Guess how many sweets in the Jar: Mr Brock

Well done to Ryan Baker (7 McEvoy) for raising the most amount of money individually £76.

Well done Miss Thomas and the entire CTC community for getting behind the event and supporting wholeheartedly.

InsideOut Apr 2017 3 Lost Communities Day

Madison Kelly (8 Smith) looks back on a memorable day that extended learning from Challenge Week.

On Friday, 3rd of February 2017, a group of Year 8 students from CTC Kingshurst Academy, Al Hijrah School and George Dixon School were asked to partake in a visit to Newman University, Genners Lane, Bartley Green. The purpose of this was to see the results and the vastly positive impact of Challenge Week 2016 - where Year 7 and 8 students completed tasks for charities and causes in our local or national society, including pieces of drama and visits to retirement homes and animal shelters.

Surprisingly, upon our arrival we were greeted by a fire alarm; but this didn’t take the shine off the day! We were led into a large lecture room where historian Carl Chinn introduced himself to us in both English and Arabic, wishing peace upon all of us. He then proceeded to inform us of the importance of cultural diversity in our community and how it has shaped modern society.

We learnt about the lost communities and history of Birmingham, more specifically Birmingham City Centre. We learnt of aspects of Victorian Birmingham such as the Italian Quarter and Jewish Quarter and how they helped our city develop and reach its current state. For instance, the popular summer dessert, ice-cream (in Italian, it is called Gelato!) was first introduced by Italian immigrants needing to find work in England, and Jews travelling for similar reasons from Israel repaired and made watches and clockwork systems in what is now known as the Jewellery Quarter. There were also several Asian immigrants, presenting us with popular curries and new spices.

Next, we watched and reviewed works from all three schools – short films focusing on the people of this period in Birmingham and areas of them lost over time. It enlightened all of us, learning about our local history in a unique and innovative way. Carl even stated that he felt rather emotional seeing such a large amount of us learning and contributing to our community in this manner.

After a quick lunch break, we were taken into a hall where students from all three schools worked together to produce work, posters and diagrams explaining what we have learnt, later having a question and answer session with Carl. This was very effective, as it further extended our knowledge and gave us an opportunity to positively alter our opinion of Birmingham and our history.

Our day was drawn to a close with group photos, opportunities for photographs and conversation with Carl. We all left with an optimistic mindset for the future.

We are very grateful to David, Carl and the Heritage Lottery Fund for facilitating this opportunity.

4 InsideOut Apr 2017 Zambia Appeal

My name is Jennifer Hall and I'm a year 12 IB student at the CTC. I am a part of the CTC's team of students who will be travelling to Zambia this year. Our team consists of six International Baccalaureate and BTEC students.

In July 2017, our team of six students from CTC Kingshurst Academy will embark on an adventure of a life time, to Zambia, Africa. For many years, our secondary school has had close partnership with a primary school in rural Zambia, Mungu Basic School. Every two years, our school selects six students to make the trip out to Zambia, supported by two wonderful teachers in order to keep this special link between schools strong.

As a team, we must raise funds to pay for our trip, as well as buying resources to take to the school in order to further improve the lives of the young people we will be visiting. Whilst in Zambia, as a team we will be working with the students at Mungu Basic School and teaching our own lessons to gain experience and confidence as well as supporting the children there. I am sure you will agree, that this will not only be incredibly rewarding for the students involved but will also enrich the lives of the African children.

In order to purchase the resources that we will take to Zambia, we would like to ask for your help in achieving our target of £1000. We would be extremely grateful for your support. Not only would you be helping us, but you would also be helping to support and improve the learning of the children at the Mungu Basic School, Zambia.

If you are able to help us, we would be most grateful if you would email me at [email protected] so that we can discuss how you can help us make a difference.

InsideOut Apr 2017 5 Design Technology - Designer of the Month

6 InsideOut Apr 2017 Design Technology - Designer of the Month

InsideOut Apr 2017 7 World War One Lessons

CTC students have been learning about what life was like in the trenches. During their history lessons, they have been to our Arthur Vickers VC trench where under the guidance of our performance historian, Mr Jones, they have signed up, learned about weaponry and drill and even learned the essential first aid skills that would be needed in combat. Year 8 student, Kingsley, was one of the lucky students. In this article, Kingsley explains what his class did.

This morning our Year 8 History class went outside with Mrs Ridley to the Outdoor Learning Centre and we learnt more about World War One because that’s our topic in class at the moment. We learnt about what situations the army had to face during battles like the Battle of the Somme. We were shown around by Mr Jones who was dressed as a member of the British Army. Before we went in the trench, we marched as if we were in the army: it was very cool. After this, we looked at recruitment posters and who signed up. Then Mr Jones showed us what food the soldiers ate, what they drank and what they did when they were bored. I was surprised to find out that the rum they drank was very thick and syrupy, so they didn’t drink too much! Mr Jones also showed us games and activities that the soldiers did so they didn’t get bored. My favourite was when he showed us the 3D picture goggles. Finally we went into the trench and saw the medical area, used periscopes and realised how cold it would be during the winter! We had lots of fun and are looking forward to using the area again in the summer!

Miss Ridley was very pleased with the impact that using the trench had on student learning and said, “It was great to use the trench to help us understand more about the conditions faced by soldiers in WW1. Dan’s presence and knowledge really allowed my Year 8 class to understand things in a way which is hard to replicate in a classroom; they particularly enjoyed marching and hearing about the ways that soldiers entertained themselves! The chance to use periscopes, see artefacts and put replica clothes on meant that my class were completely engaged and will be able to use this information in our next lesson to write a newspaper article about life in the trenches.

8 InsideOut Apr 2017 InsideOut Apr 2017 9 What is the House system?

Year 10 Head Girl, Candy Kong provides an insight into the new “House” system that promises to make a big difference to academy life.

As you all know starting from the beginning of the Easter term, CTC are introducing what we are calling, The House System. Many of us have no idea what this new system is and why our school has suddenly made such a big change. I agree that change can be a bad thing but this new system will actually benefit us as students much more than you think. For those who don’t know, the house system has five enthusiastic and competitive house leaders; Mr Booth, Miss Wheeldon, Mrs Ridley, Miss Smith and Miss Reid. Everyone in the school, including staff, would be put into different houses. Unfortunately, they haven’t been announced yet because it is to be kept as a big reveal.

The upcoming events and competitions are extremely exciting as well as the prizes, for those who are still uninterested (Which I don’t understand how, I mean come on this sounds better than your normal lessons, am I right?) and see the House system as a negative thing, prizes include a whole day out to place of your choice. Such as; Vouchers to a shop of your choice, bowling, laser quest, mini golf, going to Drayton Manor and Alton Towers and much more!

Even for those who truly put the effort in will get rewarded. Everyone thinks these competitions are all going to be sport based, but I can tell you now, you’re wrong! The house leaders have taken into consideration what competitions students have suggested and have exciting ideas in place to make this one of the best things to happen in this school. Another thing you might not know is each house group will have a student house captain. Their role is to perhaps organise and set up competitions for everyone to compete against. Of course, the more people who participate, the higher the chance of you and your house group to have a day off and go on a fun and exciting day out!

Hopefully, from what we know so far, there will be a great introduction to every single bit of information you would want to know in one of the assemblies the first few weeks back. If you have any suggestions on what competitions you think will engage others in participating or just what you find enjoyable, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We are always keen on listening to what our students think and will try our best to make things happen. We’re really looking forward to the launch!

Mr Booth Miss Ridley

Miss Smith Miss Reid Miss Wheeldon

Let your voice be heard!

Ever noticed a few problems or have thought of any ideas that can make your school a better place? The Student voice is the place to get involved. As part of the Student Voice, our role in the school is crucial and highly valued. This is where students can freely and comfortably talk about anything about the school in order to make it a happier and more educational environment. Staff and students have noticed that no matter how much they think they know how to make the school better, no one will understand truly except for the students themselves. Soon enough, bright and enthusiastic students from different year groups all formed together as representatives of their fellow students.

Miss Usen, our outgoing and amazing Student Voice organiser, organises regular meetings every term to keep us as students updated with any improvements. As well as this, we also get to go to a meeting with our Principal Mr Hewson to hear from the man himself. Everything we say in the meetings is confidential, so if you’re hesitant about joining and worried about someone finding out about what you might have said, don’t worry! You may even feel like you’re too shy to even talk but come along and soon enough your confidence will improve before you know it. Every body’s voice matters and if you think you have the potential, you’re more than welcome to join. I personally regret not joining until earlier this year after being part of this school for 3 years, to know I’ve missed so much from this fantastic opportunity to make a better difference left me gutted.

Did you know that this amazing opportunity also makes you stand out from other people when it comes to applying for jobs and universities? it shows you are an independent, confident, outgoing individual and have the will to make things better for yourself as well as others.

Everyone has time to improve for the better, why not start now?

“The Student Voice at CTC is at the heart of the school. It gives students the opportunity to be co-designers in their learning and education as well as improving school life for both students and staff” – Miss Usen

10 InsideOut Apr 2017 PATHWAYS AND GCSE GRADING In this section Aliyah proves an insight into the new grading system at GCSE. As we all know, last year the school introduced the new pathways and GCSE grading system. Some of you might be slightly perplexed about this new change, especially students in Year 8 and above. If you are unsure and have any questions regarding this topic then find the answers below:

What are the new levels like compared to the old ones?

In rough terms, to pass your GCSEs you are required to achieve a high level 4 (C grade old levels).

What is a pathway?

A pathway is a set of targets recommended for you to follow to make good progress during lessons. It consists of 3 targets which are expected, good and outstanding, which you should aim to achieve each year.

How is my pathway determined?

Your pathway will be determined through the levels you attained in your Year 6 SATs. This gives both students and teachers an estimate of what you are capable of accomplishing - even at the end of KS4!

Why are the targets the same for each lesson?

The targets are the same because the mark scheme used is very similar to the GCSE criteria which you work towards from the beginning of Year 7. This allows you to simply move towards the next level in preparation for any exam in all of your lessons.

What does mastery, securing and emerging mean?

The mastery, securing and emerging descriptors determine how well you fulfilled the success criteria. For example; if you secured ‘mastery’, you are very close to achieving the next level up, ‘securing’ is being at a steady level and ‘emerging’ would suggest that you did get the level but you still need to develop understanding further to securely achieve that level.

ID Card Update

The IC has been asked to remind all students of the importance of wearing your ID Cards throughout the day. Since everyone was issued with a free ID card, lanyard and holder in September, we have allowed students to collect any ID Cards items that they are missing for free again. Once every student has received their second ID card, lanyard and holder for free (only when required) they will be asked to pay for any further items.

Prices are: ID Card £4.00 Lanyard £1.00 Holder £0.40

Students will be issued with their required items when they need them and letters will be sent home to parents asking for payment. Payment can be made in the Information Centre with cash or on parent pay.

A further reminder that these items are part of the uniform/equipment check carried out by tutors each morning and there will be consequences for those students who do not have the correct uniform/equipment.

Thank you, IC Team.

InsideOut Apr 2017 11 Holocaust Memorial Day – 26th January 2017

The memorial service to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day took place at 11:00am on the 26th January at the Council’s Civic Suite. The internationally recognised day remembers both the survivors and deceased during the genocides of the Second World War and more recently in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur. The event marks the anniversary of the liberation of the largest Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz – Birkenau in Poland.

This year’s theme is ‘How can life go on?’ as the aftermath of the Holocaust and of subsequent genocides continues to raise challenging questions for individuals, communities and nations. The memorial was attended by guest speaker Mrs Lore Napier who arrived in the UK as a child on the kindertransport. Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Mike Robinson, said: “It is important that each year we come together to remember and acknowledge these appalling atrocities and reflect on the tragic circumstances that led to such unbelievable horrors. Mankind has still much to learn from these terrible acts of cruelty and it is vital we recognise and acknowledge the fragility of civilised society. It may seem inconceivable as to why some should do such awful things but knowing it means we can guard against it.”

CTC Kingshurst Academy represented Solihull schools, with year 10 students Candy Kong and Ryan Sharp reading poems that they had written. According to Principal, Damon Hewson, “We were once again delighted to support this important community event and play a part in promoting tolerance and in raising awareness of the dangers of hate crime. The students, as ever, were superb and represented the academy with distinction.”

The event was streamed live on the Council’s webcasting service and can be viewed via: https://solihull.public-i.tv/core/portal/home.

How can life go on? – Holocaust Memorial Day

Every year two students are selected to represent the school to read a poem they’ve written themselves for the memorial service to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. This year, the theme was “How can life go on?” and the two lucky students that were selected were myself and Ryan Sharp. On the 27th January, we travelled with Mr Hewson, our Principal, Mr Fletcher our director of extended services and Mrs Somerville our Head of Humanities, to the Council’s Civic Suite to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. At the service, there were many people there, including the Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Mike Robinson and victims of the aftermath of the Holocaust such as Mrs Lore Napier who told us her inspirational and heart-breaking traumatic story during the time of the Holocaust. During the whole service, we were streamed live on the Council’s webcasting service. It was definitely nerve wrecking but we both soon had the courage to calm ourselves down a bit. Throughout the service, we thought about how awful life was for people; to think these devastating events actually happened was eye watering. Ryan and I both read our poems and the smiles around the room warmed our hearts. Everyone enjoyed our poems and it was truly a proud moment for us both.

Candy Kong

12 InsideOut Apr 2017 Remembering

As the years passed, the memories fade. Slowly- but the same stupid mistakes are still being made. For what happened in the past had left many people scarred Why did you treat them all like they had been disbarred? The year 2017, we are oblivious and young, Saying words we don’t mean at the tip of our tongues Still having to learn what is wrong, what is right, Instead of being stupid and picking a fight. We need to remember, we need to learn Or else what happened would be forgotten in a term. The things that happened were like a terrible nightmare: Remembering will help rebuild our feelings from guilt and despair. Never forget that traumatic event Where the lives of the innocent were not able to be spent. Years from now when there’s no one left to tell the tragic tale We’ll be sure to pass down the valuable life lesson without a fail. Poems and stories, we’ll be sure to pass on; We’ll tell them everything from the pros to the cons. The stories we tell will teach us to love Instead of discriminating against God’s angels sent from above.

Candy Kong

Remembering those who have been taken from our world

Why do we remember those from the Holocaust? Why do we care for those we didn't know? The Nazis destroyed the lives of many Jews, Because their death to them was just a show. Their pain was nothing but entertaining, The death was nothing but a game, Their lives were ruined just like that- The end was anything but the same. The Nazis tortured all the Jews, They put all of them through tremendous pain, But that didn't mean anything to them, As the Jews were just nothing but some names. To them, the Jews were inhuman. They were blamed for everything gone wrong. If the Nazis saw them for who they really were, Their life expectancy could have been long. Those who survived had to continue with their lives, Even if the trauma was too vast. Trying to move on, with their lives However they are stuck in the past.

Ryan Sharp

InsideOut Apr 2017 13 Curriculum Day

Year 10 student, Paige Carter, provides an overview of our recent Curriculum day in which year groups learned about contemporary issues that through greater awareness, will help them develop and play active roles as good citizens.

Curriculum Day is a great way of learning about new things. Year 9 and 10 had a day filled with inspiring talks, head-turning stories about real people and what they have been through in life. Year 8 took part in an exciting murder mystery workshop that helped them build new skills and made them talk to people they might not normally talk to. For some Year 8 students, this may have helped them discover what they want to do later in life for a job, broadening their horizons. At the same time Year 7 went on a trip to different universities that made them understand what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go later in their lives. Sadly, Year 11s were sitting their exams whilst all these fun activities took place around the school. I hope they did the best they could and got the levels they wanted!

Year 10 were split up with one side of the year having to sit in a classroom watching a documentary about hate crime and finishing off related activities to reinforce their learning. Meanwhile, the other side of the year sat in the drama studio listening to Dr. Barot and his team talk about their past and hate crimes that hit Birmingham. We took part in activities that required us to think about what could happen if a certain action is taken. After two hours, the year groups switched. Following this, both sides of the year met for one hour in the drama studio listening again to Dr Barot and his team about case studies in Liverpool, where we discovered the traumatic hate crimes that occurred there years ago. It was shocking and heart breaking to hear how people were treated. Thank you to Dr Barot and his team for coming in and sharing his stories.

“Murder mysteries” was the Year 8 theme and had everyone guessing as the Year 8s enjoyed taking part in an activity where they got to explore and understand what actually happened to the victim. This made students develop new skills while having fun with their friends. Years 9s had talks from ex-gang members who have now set up a charity invested in helping ex-inmates whilst going to schools to talk about bad decisions and what impact these had. The year group was so intrigued by their stories that a pin could be heard if dropped in that hall. Hearing what these men had been through really changed the way people felt about making decisions. We hope the Year 9s enjoyed it!

The whole day was filled with numerous activities going on throughout the school and we students would like to thank every visitor that came in and every teacher that helped make the day so successful.

14 InsideOut Apr 2017 Production of Bugsy Malone

On 13th December 2016, Jasmine, Aliyah, Dionne and I were walking through the canteen when a poster caught my eye. After taking a minute to read the poster I felt elated to find out there were auditions for a school production happening the following Friday. Considering my love for the performing arts and that I haven’t heard of a CTC production since I started coming to this school in Year 7, I reported back to my friends and we all instantly knew we wanted to be involved.

When we first walked into the drama studio where the club was taking place, I found comfort to see familiar faces like Mr. Kendall, my talented drama teacher, and the lovey Miss Cooper, my science teacher.

The room was full of excitable students from year seven to post sixteen along with their amazing talents including not only acting but singing and dancing too. By the second meeting Mr. Kendall decided we were going to perform the 70’s musical Bugsy Malone. Admittedly I was more than disappointed to find out we weren’t doing musicals like Grease or Wizard of Oz mostly because I wasn’t familiar with the musical. Later the same day, I went home to watch Bugsy Malone and knew exactly why Mr. Kendall chose this amazing musical. It was full of loveable characters, on screen antics and of course songs that have you on your feet and singing along.

Our cast hasn’t even performed Bugsy Malone yet but we are already so excited to play these characters and experience this opportunity all together. Without this drama club I would have never have spoken to some of the people I speak to now, nor would I have grown in confidence singing and acting so quickly. Taking part in this amazing musical has made me realize I can do more than what I expect if I really commit to it. I have also just had fun and enjoyed not just doing theory and academic work.

To any student reading this that’s thinking they would like to take part you are more than welcome. We have a cast of over 50 students who can’t wait to bring the script to life and there’s still room for more. If you would like to take part in this magical experience come to the drama studio Friday straight after the school to find out more. Finally, I’d like to say I hope that CTC has more musicals and fun activities like this in the future.

Vickers’ VC Trench Inspires Artwork

Art student Adam Stroud has been using the Vickers’ VC trench to inspire his art work and improve his outcomes. Here he succinctly summarises what he did.

I took these pictures of CTC Kingshurst Academy’s replica World War 1 trench as a way to explore themes and media in my Art and Design course. In one of our units, we were exploring the theme of journeys. So for this, I decided to utilise the academy’s outdoor learning facility. I took photographs around the World War 1 trench for my work as a way to show humanities journey from the world wars, to modern society where there is a little more peace on Earth.

Utilising the Vickers’ VC trench helped to improve my outcome as it showed I had an understanding of the theme and presented a use of symbolism and hidden meaning in artwork and photography.

InsideOut Apr 2017 15 Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

This award is an internationally recognised award that is available to our youngsters, thanks to Miss Wheeldon and her dedicated team of staff that have relaunched and increased the number of students who are able to take part. In this article, a grateful Aliyah Andrews (10 Lawton) highlights the impact the award has had and how you too can get involved.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is an outstanding award scheme that will benefit your life in many ways. If you choose to take part in the award, you can guarantee to learn some new life skills that can be used in everyday circumstances. You will learn how to read a map, how to cook using only pots and pans, how to coordinate together in a group and how to survive on your own.

There are 3 stages of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award; these are Bronze, Silver and Gold. All of these stages greatly benefit your CV and make you appear as a more ambitious character. For each award you are required to do set months of volunteering, skills and physical activities. Bronze requires 3,3 and 6 months. Silver requires 6,6 and 3 months. Gold requires 6,6 and 9 months. It is your choice as to the amount of months you wish to complete each activity for.

The times that I have had on the Duke of Edinburgh’s expedition are moments in my life that I will truly cherish and never forget. The climate around us was an absolute mood changer that kept us 100% motivated. We were extremely lucky that during our expedition the weather was nice and we could ultimately observe the beautiful environment.

Overall, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a fun opportunity to make new friends, to try new experiences and to make great memories. I would unquestionably recommend the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to all adventurous and inquisitive students, even to the students who are simply looking to try something new.

Would you like to get involved in the Duke of Edinburgh’s? If so, please speak to Mr Mosedale, our resident PE Technician.

16 InsideOut Apr 2017 Soroptimist International Public Speaking Competition

Soroptimist international is a global volunteer movement working together to transform the lives of women and girls, through their network of over 75,000 club members in 133 countries and territories. They work at a local, national and international level to educate, empower and enable opportunities for women and girls. At the CTC, we value strong and effective partnerships with external organisations in order to raise the social capital of the academy. In this case, the CTC works in partnership with this well respected organisation to improve opportunities through public speaking. Here, Connor Burke (11 Turner), looks back on a memorable day that proved invaluable for his personal development.

On the 4th February 2017, Year 7 student, Casey Curran and I, represented CTC Kingshurst Academy at the Solihull Borough Schools’ Soroptimist International Public Speaking Event, held at the Council Chamber, Civic Suite, Solihull. Soroptimist International is an organisation that strives to transform the lives and status of women and young girls through education and opportunity. Personally, I got involved due to my interest in public speaking and to improve my confidence and communication skills, which are extremely important to me.

In the weeks leading up to the event, we had to prepare a speech to deliver on the day in front of the other contestants and their families and friends. We could choose between multiple topics given to us, including Brexit, the power of education and much more. Both Casey and I chose to speak about how ‘history is relevant in our modern world’. We performed to the best of our ability but unfortunately neither of us won the competition. However, the effort and time we put in along with the help of Miss Taylor was worth the fantastic experience and we have both became much more confident people as a result! I enjoy public speaking and I encourage anyone to take part. The more people, the bigger the ‘rush’ and it is truly amazing!

If you would like to be involved in next year’s competition, please speak to Miss Taylor or Mr Fletcher.

InsideOut Apr 2017 17 The New Uniform 2017

Student Voice helps shape many developments at the academy. Uniform is the latest aspect of academy life that has been discussed and strategy altered.

Here, Kirsty Broadbent (10 Lawton), updates us all on what developments that have taken place to meet our students’ needs. Last year, I was asked to model the new uniform at the Year 7 Open Evening and I was very excited to see the uniform properly. I am still on the fence as to whether I like it or not but I do know that it is comfortable. I managed to walk around for the whole evening without feeling restricted or uncomfortable.

Those who I have spoken to about the changes are apprehensive about mixing the grey blazer with the black trousers or skirt. The idea behind it is so that as a school we stand out; many of the schools in North Solihull support a black blazer with black trousers/skirts.

18 InsideOut Apr 2017 InsideOut Apr 2017 19 SPORT Kindly supported by

Extended Services helps create positive conditions for learning through providing an extensive range of enrichments that boost confidence and enable students to discover new skills. Here we highlight some notable activities this term that have also helped improve attendance.

How being part of a “School of Tennis” has helped me - Candy’s tennis journey

The LTA have now recognised our efforts to mobilise the academy and local community to effect positive change by helping us building on this success to appoint our very own tennis coach, a rarity for a state academy! We now have four floodlit tennis courts to facilitate our mission to improve positive outcomes and have recently been made the third “School of tennis” in the West Midlands. Tennis has the potential to have a massive impact here at the impact. Here we highlight the impact that tennis has had on one of our students, Candy Kong. As you will see from the case study Candy has written, tennis has had a transformational impact on her life and we look forward to extending this project across the CTC.

Over the last year, CTC Kingshurst Academy has given me the fantastic opportunity to do some amazing things to help the academy improve as well as myself. Our goal is to use tennis to improve our academy and local community’s life chances. I started my volunteering with the academy in mid July 2016 when the LTA first helped us build our very own tennis courts. Soon enough, we had ambitious plans for our academy to progress and the LTA were very keen to have students help make this happen. We first started off our plans with tennis sessions during the six weeks’ holiday. Since then I have been volunteering to coach the sessions every other day when they take place. I have been coaching sessions with both young children and adults. It was truly a great and enjoyable six-weeks for me. I was able to learn many things such as how to approach people from different backgrounds, different ages, have self-confidence in myself, and discover different ways of leading a session and much more. CTC students helping with these tennis sessions is now a successful feature of academy life. It has helped us achieve the goal of becoming the first and only academy around this area to become a “School of Tennis”.

Tennis has given the academy so many more opportunities to encourage students and other teenagers around the area to take part in activities that our academy will provide. Becoming a “School of tennis” will benefit students strongly and my job this year is to represent our academy as a tennis ambassador and to convince students to take part and promote the sport as much as we can. Our academy has always had a Facebook page to promote tennis but recently it hasn’t been very active. My job is to help this work better by posting my own content. This role comes with great responsibility but I’m 100% sure I am ready to take it on and do the best I can. The fact that I am a student myself means that I know what a student would want to see will. At the end of the six week period, two other tennis leaders (Lewis Sweeney and Liam Rooney) and I made a presentation to all the LTA tennis coaches and administrators in the midlands. Despite how nerve wracking it was, it went incredibly well.

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We spoke about the amazing opportunities we have had and what will continue as a result of our hard work. Even though I had my academy work, Duke of Edinburgh and volunteering at the time I was still able to balance out my time. These time management skills will help me make better progress at academy and be invaluable in my future career. Having all these wonderful experiences gave me a chance to write a few articles the academy magazine, Inside Out, which is read by teachers, parents and carers, students, visitors etc. Without the LTA and the academy supporting me through all my work, I also would not have been able to have the confidence to go for Head Girl for my year which I successfully achieved. As well as this I was chosen to join our academy’s “Student Voice”, where a group of students represent their key stage and help improve the academy and bring in ideas based on student thoughts in meetings with our principal Mr Hewson. So far, we have improved on the cafeteria food, making it more satisfying for students but still maintaining the healthy diet we all want. We have also discussed ideas for the House System that is to take place very soon which looks like it’ll be a crucial and positive part pf academy life.

Recently, I was nominated by the LTA to go to the WALTA awards that took place at Aston Villa football Club, a prestigious venue, for young tennis volunteer of the year. Despite not getting the award, it was a brilliant experience and winning the award wasn’t the reason behind my hard work, it was about the inspirational and wonderful people you meet along the way and the different opportunities you get to participate in. Alongside this, I have been keeping track of the hours I have served volunteering in order to achieve gold in our young leaders in service award. I’m doing as much as I can in the following two years to build up an impressive CV. So far, I have my Duke of Edinburgh bronze completed and I’m currently signing up for the silver scheme. I’m also 100% sure I’ll be completing gold as soon as I can. Even though it becomes more difficult, I’m up for the challenge. During a five week period I stayed back after school until late, 7 30pm every Wednesday to help with Parents’ Evenings and other academy events.

For a couple of months, my friend Paige Carter and I started raising money for the charity, Mankind initiative, by going into the CTC every Sunday from 9am until 2pm and staying back until 8pm every Thursday to sell hot drinks and snacks every Thursday. This was incredibly successful and in total we raised over £700. We chose this charity simply because we thought it is not fair and sexist how people only think women get abused, that is not true. It can happen to anyone. We wanted to raise awareness of this important charity and the work they undertake.

In the next few years, I’m planning on helping the academy to improve by encouraging more people to take up tennis as a sport, continue volunteering to try and aim to get to the WALTA awards again as well as getting others involved by letting them know how much it can benefit them. I will also apply for Head Girl again in year 11 to represent my year and continue being in Student Voice to speak on behalf of students. My past experiences should make this a bit easier but I’m always up for new challenges. With the help and support of the academy, I will definitely be able to improve myself as well as the academy in the best way possible.

Since last summer, I have been to three of the most prestigious tennis clubs in the country: Wimbledon, The Priory and the Warwick Boat Club. I have also watched top class play at the David Cup at the NIA and seen Dan Evans play at Wimbledon. I have completed a six week social media training course funded by the LTA with the tennis leaders and then ran the social media at the West Midlands Academy Games. To cap it all, I am completing my work experience with the LTA this summer at the Priory Club, working alongside LTA staff, ranging from organisers of the Aegon classic and media staff, all the way through to the highest echelons of the LTA.

Who would have thought tennis could have such an impact on my life. I am testimony to this and very grateful to everything the LTA and the CTC have done for me. I never would have dreamt I would enjoy the opportunities I have had. I would encourage all teachers and staff at the CTC to take advantage of all the opportunities available.

The coach’s view LTA coach Matt Tew submitted Candy’s WALTA nomination. Here he explains why he chose Candy.

Candy has shown an amazing desire to be involved in tennis and enrich other peoples’ lives through tennis. She has volunteered over 100 hours since April, including coaching sessions, CTC extra-curricular sessions and local competitions with the Solihull School Games organiser and CSW sport. She has encouraged friends and other local members of the public to get involved in tennis and shared her experiences to aid them getting involved.

On our Great British Tennis Weekend in July she was happy to speak to all ages and abilities and help them get involved with the day. She would confidently speak to them, explain what we had going on and direct them to where would be best for them. Since then she has assisted at every session of our academy coaching programme over the 6 weeks holidays and continued into the new academy year. After a whole day of school, Candy will stay and assist on the coaching programme until 8pm.

Candy has also got involved with social media to help promote the new tennis facility at her academy including interviewing VIP’s at the AEGON Classic and using her media skills to create eye catching content that we have used on the academy’s website and Facebook page. She has also spoken in front of the Midlands Workforce Development team of coaches, sharing her experiences. She spoke with confidence and pride in what she has been involved with and how she looks forward to being more involved with tennis and has asked if she could attend the future coach meetings. After this, she has spoken to the LTA about doing her work experience with them next summer.

Candy is someone I am extremely proud of and she has embraced the opportunities offered to her and she has created more opportunities for herself by going the extra mile for tennis in North Solihull. All this and Candy is just 14 years old.

InsideOut Apr 2017 21 SPORT Kindly supported by Meet our new tennis coach!

Year 10 tennis ambassador Candy Kong has played a key role in helping the academy become the third “School of tennis” in the West Midlands. In doing so she has been to Wimbledon, the Davis Cup and even met Wimbledon star, Marcus Willis. We are delighted that the LTA has funded our very own tennis coach to support the school and the local community. Recently Candy met Ambrus to find out more and learn what we have in store.

Recently, as a school, we got our very own Tennis coach. Ambrus has been working at our school since the 20th March and has amazing ideas to help us all become the best we can. He has been helping lead the tennis sessions that have been held during lunch and brunch and will soon be coaching the tennis sessions after school on a regular basis.

Here is a little bit of information on our new tennis coach. Ambrus has had lots of experience with tennis and has a wealth of experience that can help us. He has played mostly in the Birmingham’s doubles league with lots of success as well as the singles league. He also has a lot of volunteering experience to help coach sessions which has helped him achieve what he has today.

During an interview, we asked our tennis coach what his best and worst tennis habits are. Despite having a bad habit of having single backhands and serve motion, it hasn’t prevented him from achieving success. Ambrus said his best habit would be his forehand cross court shot and his back hand down the line (which is quite impressive!).

Ambrus’ journey has been successful and inspiring. He first started as a recreational player before volunteering and in time becoming a level 1 coach. He is now a level 2 coach. He said he is now aiming for level 3 which we believe he will achieve with no doubt. Joining the school and working as our new tennis coach is a responsible job! It is crucial to be able to have what it takes and Ambrus does. He’s aiming to improve student’s abilities to the best he can bringing enthusiasm and passion.

As a tennis coach and a tennis player, Ambrus has many different favourite tennis players. He was debating hard on who his ultimate favourite was but wasn’t able to decide between Roger Federer or Serena Williams. Ambrus says he admires how Federer plays tennis to the max and his unique style of playing, as well as his amazing forehands. He also argues that Serena Williams is the best tennis player to ever live. Her incredible string of trophies is inspiring and the amount of championships she’s won is outstanding.

If you haven’t met our new tennis coach yet, feel free to drop by during your brunch and lunches. You can even come and play a small game of tennis and we’ll provide the equipment for you!

We are very grateful to the LTA for their support and we look forward to using tennis to improve the lives and academic performance of our students.

We hope you enjoyed this issue of InsideOut that, once again, illustrates the energy of the school as reflected by the multitude of activities taking place. Students and staff deserve great credit for the progress they have made. I’d like to thank Miss Sutton for her design skills and all the students involved who shared their achievements. If you’ve any comments or suggestions about this issue you can contact me at: [email protected]. If any students are interested in journalism and contributing to InsideOut please get in touch with me. Enjoy a relaxing Easter break! Lee Fletcher.

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