New Term, New Planner

Mrs Malone reports that all pupils received their new Summer Term planner this week.


As always the planner contains lots of useful information. Remember, if parents wish to give permission for their child to be off site at lunchtime, they should ensure that the permission slip at the back of the planner is signed.

This is a very important term with every year group preparing for examinations. The school planner is designed to help pupils organise their work, ensure they meet deadlines and keep a record of their progress

This week during tutorials pupils have been reviewing their progress so far this year and setting their targets for the Summer Term.

Welcome Back

Mr Lloyd, Headteacher writes, “I hope you have all had an enjoyable and relaxing Easter Holiday. Everyone connected with the school has heard me say “I want you in school all day, every day, on time, happy and successful” and nothing has happened to change this expectation!


As we start the new school term I hope that you will all make the most of the exciting opportunities being presented to you. I hope you will approach each and every lesson with the thoughts “what am I going to learn and how much progress am I going to make in the next 50 minutes which will help me to be more successful?”

Good luck to all of you who have external examinations coming up. Have a great term, work hard and strive to be the very best you can be – all day, every day!”

School appeal on Midland Today

On Monday 4th March 2010 Holly Hall History teacher, James Taylor, Head Boy Alex Robottom, Senior Prefect Matthew Wilmot, Sue Lloyd, Charity Committee Coordinator and the Rev. Christine Browne, Governor appeared on Midlands Today to raise awareness of The Archie Moore Memorial Fund.

A message from Mr Lloyd, Headteacher

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Easter. The Easter message is one of peace and hope. We should all give some thought to what unites us rather than divides us and work to promote tolerance and respect in our community.
We have so much and take so much for granted. We should be thankful for what we have and the freedom we enjoy and commit to being a force for good in the world.
I hope you will all enjoy the holiday but will spare a thought for all our pupils taking external examinations who will be working very hard over the break with their revision. We wish them every success in the summer.

Veteran Head Boy receives salute

Holly Hall students belonging to Uniformed Organisations raised money doing a Sponsored March on Friday 26th March 2010.
George Andrews, a 92 year old WW2 veteran and former Head Boy of Holly Hall came into school to receive the salute from our uniformed students.

Artwork for Easter

This is a piece of artwork by year 10 pupil Iman Espeut-Mills who is studying GCSE Art & Design. It is one of her designs inspired by looking at the work of Andrew McAttee.  Her Photoshop skills really shine with this piece. Well done!

Outstanding Basketball Success

The Year 9, 10 and 11 Basketball teams of 2009/10 achieved a first in the Borough by winning their respective North Dudley leagues. Pictured is the Champion Year 11 team. All of the teams outstanding accomplishments were the result of a lot of hard work.

Rocket Science

Holly Hall’s Science Club goes from strength to strength. Pupils have conducted a wide range of practical experiments Including forensic science and launching rockets.

ELBS Visit

The Year 11 ELBS group visited Wyldwoods Rural Centre to get hands on experience of working with small animals. They fed and cleaned out ducks, chickens, guinea pigs and rabbits.

Making a Grand Entrance

Year 10 Holly Hall artists attended the opening ceremony for the 7 metre long wall at the entrance to the new £25 million Health and Social Care Centre in Brierley Hill, which they designed and made themselves over a three month period.

Hands on Health

Year 10 Health and Social Care and Human Physiology groups took part in practical health related activities including drawing blood from a synthetic arm and performing a range of health tests.

Italy Visit

Pupils on the Drama visit to Italy had an amazing experience. They went to Lake Garda, Verona and Venice, where they took part in a festival and Drama workshops.

Coming up Summer Term 2010

Enrichment Days

Our Enrichment Day programme is a popular and important part of Holly Hall’s curriculum. Each half term the normal timetable is suspended for the day. Pupils work on a variety of enrichment and educational activities. They also have the opportunity to focus on preparation for examinations. The photos show just some of the activities that have taken place recently.

Prolife lecture

Mr and Mrs Freemantle presented ‘The Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child’ in presentations given to Year 11 pupils within their RS lessons.

DCSF visit

Our examination success and the excellent progress made by pupils between when they arrive at Holly Hall in Year 7 until they leave us at the end of Year 11, has again caught the eye of the DCSF.
DCSF Strategy Advisor Linton Waters came into school to talk to staff and interview parents and pupils in Year 8 and Year 10 about their experiences.
The visit focused on the reasons why Holly Hall’s pupils are so well motivated and so actively engaged in their learning. Linton was very impressed with our pupils and the open and honest way they spoke to him.

Samba Classes

In Samba Workshops, Year 7 learnt about music from Brazil and had an opportunity to play instruments.

BBL Cup Final

Holly Hall visited the NIA Birmingham for the BBL Cup Final.
Pupils saw an amazing spectacle of Basketball, cheerleading, acrobatics and dunking. The skills of the top performers in this country stunned our pupils into gasps, cheers and standing ovations.

PE with Old Park School

Twelve Year 9 pupils worked with Old Park Special School delivering PE sessions. They enjoyed planning, preparing equipment and delivering the lessons.
As a thank you, Old Park invited the pupils to the dress rehearsal of their Christmas play ‘The Piper’.

Preparing for excellence

Pupils involved in Core Science Modular examinations, incorporated physical activity into the intensive revision sessions. This has been proven to help activate the brain and so aid revision.

Warwick University EAL Visit

Warwick University students visited Holly Hall for an EAL Awareness Day. Students and pupils shared and exchanged a wide range of knowledge through theoretical and practical experience.

Junior Sports Leader Awards

Congratulations to the Year 10 pupils who completed the Junior Sports Leader Award.

Happy, Healthy and Safe

Dan Patten from William Davis Construction Company talked to Years 7 & 8 about the dangers of playing on the building site on Middlepark Road where Midland Heart are creating an Active Care Residential complex.

Stratford visit

A group of Year 9 pupils attended the Dudley and Sandwell Schools Shakespeare debate held in the education buildings of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford.

Vision Conference

14 Year 9 pupils took part in a wide range of activities at the ‘Vision Conference’ at Wolverhampton University. Pupils were also given a ‘goody’ bag to take home.

Making our families proud

Currently 66 Year 11 pupils (46.2%) have upper (C+) grades in Mathematics, and 73 Year 11 pupils (51%) have upper grades in English Language. 58 Year 11 pupils (40.6%) have upper grades in both English Language and Mathematics. We are sure that they will be even more successful in June 2010.

Getting ready to Excel

Currently 66 Year 11 pupils (46.2%) have upper (C+) grades in Mathematics, and 73 Year 11 pupils (51%) have upper grades in English Language. 58 Year 11 pupils (40.6%) have upper grades in both English Language and Mathematics. We are sure that they will be even more successful in June 2010

Students of the Month

Congratulations to our Students of the Month for December 2009, January and February 2010.

December 2009: Sheray Lloyd (7ANN), Shane Simpson (8ARE), Amy Howell (9HAY), Charlotte Walker (10ADX), Gurrinder Shergill (11AGR)

January 2010: Talitha Edwards (8PAL), Leo Mukanganiki (11JAB), Gurpreet Garcha (9POW), Jessica Clegg (7WEL), Sian Timmins (10NAT)

February 2010: Amelia Tonks (9AFL), Joseph Rattray (10WEB), Samreen Anwar (11DHE), Stephanie Cole (7WEL), Ritesh Patel (8BDN)

Attendance Awards

Holly Hall’s pupils’ commitment to their education is reflected in their excellent attendance. During the Autumn Term, over 20% of the pupils attended school on time every day. This is an outstanding achievement. Congratulations to all of our ‘100 percenters’!

Work Experience

Year 10 completed their Work Experience placements in January/February. The school received many letters and calls from placement providers complimenting the pupils on their excellent behaviour.  Feedback from pupils was also very positive. The pupils pictured below are just a few of those who received a ‘Role of Honour’.

Roundels for Midland Heart

Pupils from Holly Hall created colourful roundels, expressing their identities, for display at the Midland Heart, Middlepark Road Development. The artists and staff visited the site to view their work in place.

Creating a Better World

Holly Hall’s staff and pupils’ generosity in support of others in less fortunate circumstances than themselves is outstanding. During this term they have supported the Haiti Earthquake Appeal, Sport Relief and Mary Stevens Hospice. They have also raised funds so that Archibald Moore’s name can be inscribed on the War Memorial, in respect and thankfulness for his bravery and sacrifice in World War 11. A few of the very many fund-raising activities are featured here

Bronze for Jacob

Jacob Ray (10NAT) received a Bronze Certificate and ‘Best in School Certificate in the Senior Maths Challenge.

Well done Kevin

Kevin Cartwright (10DAS) successfully completed his Basic Training with the Brockmoor Detachment of the Army Cadets. Kevin is seen proudly displaying his certificate and uniform badge.

Esmee Hobbs

Esmee Hobbs (8PRI) won a Bronze Medal in the Speed Championships. This places her 3rd in the whole country!

Iram Commended

Iram Akhtar (7MAH) received a commendation certificate for being placed in the top 10 in the Dudley LA Maths Quiz.

Help for Natasha

Mr Phil Gwynne from Collinson & Grainger presented Natasha Tranter with a cheque for £100 to pay for her training kit and travel expenses to West Bromwich Albion.

Kasam Mahmood Silver Medallist

Kasam Mahmood (10TAY) won a Silver medal in the WKA Northern Open Kickboxing Championships in Bolton.

His dream is to qualify for the Olympics.

A Wish Comes True for Rhys

When Rhys Lane (9AFL) was in hospital he asked the Wishing Well Charity (which tries to fulfil the wishes of children who are in hospital) if he could ride in a Lamborghini.

His wish came true! It was a total surprise for Rhys particularly when Midlands Today, Central News, the Express & Star and the Dudley News all turned up to report the event.