Adcote’s hardy U11s overcame blizzards, freezing temperatures and hockey balls caked in snow to win their first ever championship hockey title.

Massive congratulations to our squad who came out top at the U11 Shropshire Schools Hockey Championship at Lilleshall National Sports Centre, in Newport, on Tuesday.

No sooner had we arrived early to get used to the size of the pitch and the water-based surface, the snow moved in. At one point we were the only team warming up!

But as the sun peeped out we started our first match against Prestfelde. Our girls were nervous, but their confidence grew along with some forceful dribbling with the ball. Scoring opportunities opened up and Camren Brooks scored the winning goal to secure Adcote their first victory.

In the dying minutes of the match, all other games were suspended. Although no-one could see as we attacked (and Miss Pugh looked like a snowman), the girls continued to fight. We awaited a decision on whether the tournament would continue.

Despite a snow dusted pitch and not being able to see any lines, the match against Coalbrookdale was on. The girls applied pressure in the opposing D and their goalkeeper made brilliant saves to keep the score 0-0. However, Ella Thomas showed her great elimination skills to score the winning goal. Isibeal Francis made some brilliant runs down the right

wing and took free hits quickly to re-apply pressure on the opposition.

By the time we played Shrewsbury High School the girls’ passing and pace on the ball had vastly improved. They played the full width of the pitch, switching the ball from one side to the other.

Defenders Rosie Stevens and Maddie Stone made important tackles to deny Shrewsbury scoring opportunities. Isibeal, Olivia Dyer and Ella drove forward with attacking play and Camren’s strength in front of goal applied pressure on the opposing keeper. She showed excellent co-ordination to get on the end of a lifted ball from Ella and scored the first goal.

Shrewsbury came straight back and an overload saw them score. Rosina Relf made an excellent save in goal, but struggled to see the ball coming a second time due to the snowy conditions.

Adcote put in even more effort and this was rewarded with great play and two goals in quick succession. Ella out-footed the keeper to score the first and Olivia hit the ball in the far corner to score the last goal. Final score 3-1.

The championship win now means the team have qualified to compete in the Midlands Schools regional tournament on Friday 20th April at Cannock Hockey Club. We’re hopeful for a spot of warm sunshine by then too! Let’s get practising girls!

NewsletterAdcote School for Girls | Little Ness | Shrewsbury | Shropshire | SY4 2JY

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Under 11s become Shropshire Schools Hockey Champions in blizzard conditions

Writers win competition to have their stories publishedFour young budding Adcote writers have had their talents recognised by being selected to have their adventure stories published by Young Writers, a national schools writing competition body.

Lucy Nicholas, Sophia Nolan, Rosie Stevens and Millicent Plumb, of Year 6, are very proud to have their work included in the forthcoming book which will be published in the next couple of months.

“The girls worked really hard to stick to the 100 word limit. They also had to deal with quite a challenging theme. I was really proud that four of the girls were chosen for this particular competition and look forward to entering students in many more competitions,” said Head of Lower School Jacqueline Greenwood.

Lucy described what she and her classmates had to do:

“Our English teacher (Mrs Greenwood) said to our class in an English lesson that there was a young writer’s competition for 7-11 year olds and we had to write a 100 word story on the life of a toy.

“The first step was to write a short story and count how many words it was. Then, if it was over 100 words, we would have to narrow the number of words down to 100.

“If it was under 100 words, we would need to add the number of words to get to 100 to your original amount, most likely adding more description. Next, we had to email Mrs Greenwood our final story and she passed it on to the young writer’s competition.”

Lucy wrote her story entitled, ‘A Change in Pudseyland’, imagining a future time when Children In Need no longer had to raise money because there were no longer any sick or disadvantaged children in the world.

Rosie’s story was about Barbie and Ken who broke out of their box to go on an adventure. Sophia wrote about a boy who believed all toys were good, but soon found out they were actually evil! Rosina’s story was about a jail escape. A toy soldier arrested her and accused her of stealing the Crown Jewels.

We can’t wait to read the full stories.

Adcote’s World Book Day - March 7thWe’re looking forward to Adcote’s World Book Day celebration on Wednesday March 7th when Years 8 and below can dress up for the day as a character from a storybook. We’re looking forward to seeing those fantastic outfits!

Adcote’s Got Talent! The countdown is on to ‘Adcote’s Got Talent’, taking place in the school hall on Thursday March 8. There will even be a slot for parents! There are categories for junior individual, junior group, senior individual, senior group and one for staff and parents.

The event will raise funds for Adcote’s Sixth Form

Duke of Edinburgh Award team’s 120km canoeing expedition down the River Wye in the summer.

Adcote’s Got Talent will kick off at 4.15pm. There will also be a raffle and cake sale. Anyone wishing to take part can register with admissions@adcoteschool.co.uk. It promises to be an entertaining evening so do come and support us. Entry is £2.

Off to a rocketing start at National Stem Competition! Ever wondered how fast a rocket car made from foam can go? Year 7 girls found out when they competed in the Race for the Line National STEM Competition in association with the Blood Hound Supersonic car.

They were helped by servicemen and women from the Army and RAF who popped to Adcote to oversee the competition. Three of our girls have now been put forward to compete in the regional finals on May 2nd at RAF Cosford. The girls will design, build and race their mini rockets against students from other West Midland schools with the chance of getting to national finals. Well done girls!

RSC VisitAdcote students enjoyed a fantastic trip to the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre in Stratford to see an exciting performance of “Twelfth Night”.

What made the trip extra special was that the girls were also given a behind the scenes talk about what is involved in putting on such a production. During an ‘insight-session’ in the morning they got the chance to quiz the assistant director and some of the cast members who discussed the play and talked about the rehearsal process. The girls really enjoyed it!

The production starred some famous faces including Adrian Edmondson, of vintage TV comedy “The Young Ones” and BBC epic costume drama “War and Peace”, and Kara Tointon, of ITV’s “Mr Selfridge”, both in leading roles.

Sabbu Pun, one of the students who went, described the experience:

“The theatre trip was fantastic, a great performance,” she said.

“The set was beautifully made and there was a great variety of different scenery from Orsino’s lavish bedroom of velvet duvets and burning incense to an overgrown gardener’s shack for Malvolio’s imprisonment.

“During the question and answer session the associate director said the production was set during 1890 and, therefore, it was heavily influenced by not only the idea of the British empire but also Wilde and aestheticism.

“Furthermore, he said the relationship between Feste and Olivia was heavily influenced by the relationship of Queen Victoria and Abdul her ‘munshi’. Abdul was her Indian attendant and, therefore, the actor who played Feste was of Indian ethnicity and sported a turban along with traditional Indian clothes.”

Needless to say the students returned more enthused than ever about studying Shakespeare.

Sports Round-upU13 Midlands ISA Netball Tournament at Malvern St JamesAdcote U13s unfortunately arrived at the tournament with only five minutes to spare before our first match against Tettenhall College. The game started with Adcote only having done a quick warm-up which slowed our entry into the game.

Near the end of the first half they were up 2-4. Adcote players knew we had to pull together and work hard as a team. As they scored their fifth goal, Imogen Lamb, Molly Hayes-Jones and Rosie Snookes helped each other to get Adcote’s third. At the final whistle Tettenhall were 3-7 ahead.

Mrs Gardner gave us a crucial pep talk before the next match. We had a strong start against Malvern St James with Molly and Rosie scoring one each and Felicity Davies, Hattie Marsh and Phoebe Carter swift to react on any ball that dared to reach the goal. However, we threw a few balls away in panic and lost 3-6.

St Edwards were next, by which time we were nicely warmed up and raring to win! Stephanie Walker arrived just in time to give us our whole team. On the first whistle we passed straight up to Rosie then to Steph who scored our first goal. By half time we were up 7-1. Finally the tables had turned! St Edwards headed towards our goal, but with some great intercepts by Scarlett Gibson we got the ball into our D where Stephanie scored another goal.

Next up were Princethorpe, our most formidable opponents, the match ending 10-1 to them. It was a master class in how to play netball (perhaps we should listen to Mrs Gardner more)!

We pushed hard against Twycross House in the following match, achieving 6-1 to us in the first half. We knew a lot could change in just half a game. With some speedy passes from Phoebe to Bella to Molly to Rosie, the end match whistle blew. We won 9-2.

Unfortunately, our efforts were not enough to make the finals, so we went for a well-deserved MCDONALDS instead! Thank you Mrs Gardner. Edited report by Hattie Marsh, Year 8.

Fencing: Adcote V PackwoodAdcote played host to Packwood Haugh for an exciting friendly fencing competition involving junior and senior categories. Our usually peaceful Great Hall soon turned into a ‘battlefield’ with professionally dressed young fighters determined to win as if they were competing in an Olympic event.

Scarlett Gibson, the outstanding Year 8 with the bravery of an Arthurian knight, was the first to step forward for Adcote. She fought fearlessly to secure Adcote’s first win. This set Adcote’s junior team up for some amazingly skilful battling by all involved and we clinched the ultimate victory.

Daphne Wong stepped forward for the senior team’s first battle. It was one of those fights, vigorous and mesmerising, where you’re thankful that the fencers have their “beekeeper-style helmets” for protection!

Next up were fighting head girl Marta and the stunning Dzem, a fresher to the sport yet possessed of determination and agility worthy of a professional. The Adcote seniors fought with passion and skill, but were pipped to overall victory by Packwood. Edited report by Marta Marcheluk

Netball: U11B Vs Packwood U11Bs This was an even game with Adcote growing in confidence as it progressed. Scoring opportunities were missed at both ends keeping the score at 0-0 until the last 5 minutes of the game.

Kitty Hughes made some lovely interceptions and linked well with Grace Edwards who created space to get the ball away from the defending circle.

Amy Cooke and Poppy Livermore were also key in linking the play up the court. Adcote piled on the pressure in the third quarter, had many scoring opportunities but failed to find the net. Packwood came back and scored two goals in the dying minutes. Despite the 2-0 defeat Adcote put in a great team effort. Player of the match: Grace Edwards.

Netball: U9s Vs Packwood U9sThe U9s were very excited about their first netball match. Maddie Wright and Franchesca Edwards were key players and reacted well to situations emerging on court. Despite a heavy 10-0 defeat, it will be a great learning experience for the girls. Player of the match: Franchesca Edwards.

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Lessons from Auschwitz Sabbu Pun, of Year 12, was one of a number of handpicked students from the West Midlands who took the emotional journey to Auschwitz concentration camp. Here is her report:

During half-term I, along with 200 other students from the West Midlands, set off from Birmingham Airport to visit the notorious concentration camp Auschwitz, in Poland. This trip was organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust’s ‘Lessons from Auschwitz’ project which aims to increase knowledge and understanding of the atrocities that took place in the Nazi death camps.

In Krakow I was put into a group led by a Jewish Rabbi who helped us understand the events in Auschwitz and the persecution of Jewish citizens from the perspective of Judaism in great depth.

Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau are not far from the small town of Oświęcim which, before the Second World War, had a thriving Jewish community. However, like many towns in Poland after the Nazi invasion, almost all members of the Jewish community were sentenced to hard labour and death in the concentration camps.

In Oświęcim we visited the site where a large synagogue once stood. Before the war it had 2,000 seats and was known as the Great Synagogue. Before the war it would have represented the position of the local Jewish community and the monumental building would have been easily distinguishable in the landscape. Today it is but a plot of grass and trees by the Soła River, having been burned and totally destroyed by the Nazi regime.

Auschwitz was a short drive away. We were surprised by the close proximity of the camp to the town. As we approached that infamous gate, branded with the words ‘Arbeit macht frei’ (‘work sets you free’), it felt surreal. We were overwhelmed by the realisation we were standing on the site of the universally acknowledged worst case of genocide.

Led by our Auschwitz guide we visited several buildings containing iconic exhibitions such as the rooms full of shaven hair and the shoes, suitcases and belongings of the camp victims. Peering at the objects for only a short time was enough to sense the sheer mass of people who came to this death camp.

The most significant exhibition for me was ‘Traces of Life’: The World of Children. This was a simple white room that featured drawings made by children who lived in the camps and a dedication to the 1.5 million Jewish children who were murdered. The drawings were, to put it rather frankly, horrific. They depicted tragic accounts starting with pictures of families leaving home to thin figures being hung on the gallows. It was this room that fully conveyed the psychological damage many victims faced.

We ended with a visit to the gas chamber. Here countless people were stripped naked, crammed in like cattle in the pitch black and gassed to death. Scratch marks were visible on the walls. The only light source was a small square opening in the ceiling from where the gas was released.

On the floor of the cremation room next door a visitor had placed a single red rose and pictures of a Jewish man who had clearly been a victim of Auschwitz. In one of the photos he was dressed in the distinctive striped clothes that prisoners were forced to wear.

As we approached mid-afternoon, the coaches left Auschwitz for Auschwitz-Birkenau. I was dumbfounded by the utter scale of this camp that covers approximately 150 hectares. I had known the camp was large but a being there, looking across to the horizon of wooden huts, barbed wire fences and rail track, was entirely different to looking at photos or maps.

Our guide took us through the wooden prisoner barracks of the camp where the triple bunk beds still stood. The frail planks had no mattresses or blankets. Most prisoners only had their clothes for warmth. These squalid conditions worsened during the summer as prisoners would have shared a single bed with three other people.

We entered the latrine huts where there were rows of rectangular cement blocks with circular holes used for communal toilets serving thousands of prisoners. The guide described the horrific conditions. Maggots and flies infested the hut which made Nazi officers refuse to go near the building. And so it became a haven for prisoners to seek a place away from the guards.

As evening drew in we visited the ruins of Krema II and Krema III which were gas chambers where 500,000 Jews were gassed to death with Zyklon-B. It was here, after all other visitors had left the camp, that we held a memorial. Students read poems and testimonies of survivors. As we listened to the Rabbi’s prayer I felt a great appreciation of my opportunity to visit such historical but equally spiritual sites in one day.

I look forward to completing my ‘next steps project’, speaking to fellow students of my trip and spreading awareness of the events that took place in the Shoa (Holocaust in Hebrew).

I would like to send special thanks to Reverend Burns, my close friends, the matrons and my trip partner Aishwarya (who unfortunately was unable to go on the trip last minute). Without their support and encouragement this journey would not have been possible, both logistically and emotionally.

This is an edited and abridged version of Sabbu’s report. To read the full version please click the link to the school website: http://www.adcoteschool.org.uk/auschwitz-trip/