ENGLISH & LIBRARY NEWS
Bromsgrove
Debate
Early this year Nicola and Jay from
year 12 competed in the Bromsgrove
Schools Debating Competition. They
were both completely new to debating
and were up against some outstanding
schools from the area.
However, Jay and Nicola responded
excellently to the pressure of debating
in front of local luminaries including
MP Sajid Javid. They blew away the
Hagley Roman Catholic School in the
first heat with excellent points of
information offered and some first class
rebuttal. In the semi-final they were
even better. They
had thoroughly
prepared their
opposition to
the motion that
“this house
believes that the
UK government
la
Jay and Nico
should not
Sajid Javid
with MP
provide aid
to third world
countries.” Their points
were incredibly strong and they
successfully disrupted the flow of
their opponents with ease. It was no
surprise when they comprehensively
qualified for the final.
In the final debate Jay and Nicola
were once again excellent in arguing
that MPs are paid too much (a
controversial topic with an MP among
the judges). They outlined their
argument superbly and were able to
deal with some very pointed questions
from the audience. In an incredibly
close call they came runners-up. Let’s
hope for even better next year.
Spelling Bee
On Tuesday 25th June, we visited Hollywood
primary school to take part in an inter-school
spelling competition. The students from
Hollywood had spent many weeks practising
and the best spellers from Years 5 and 6
were selected to come and compete against
some of our Year 7s! There were a number
of rounds including a knock-out round which
was won by Alex R from Woodrush. The
final round involved students choosing the
level of difficulty to determine the number of
points they won. The points were then added
up and the winners were announced and
unfortunately, we were beaten! Well done
to all at Hollywood that took part; they were
really impressive!
Finally, thanks must go to Hollywood for
hosting and for those that acted as the
judge, timekeeper and spellmaster-without
their help, the competition would not have
run so smoothly.
We look forward to the next competition
sometime next year!
Miss Ludford and Miss Packwood
18
Andy Mulligan visits
Woodrush
Woodrush had the great honour
of seeing Andy Mulligan come to
represent his new book The Boy with
2Heads. Andy Mulligan is a great
author with inspirational life stories.
The event started with all the children
gathering in the hall. The hall was
buzzing and to add to the excitement
a rock band was playing as we all
entered the hall. There were lots
of primary schools that had come
especially to see Andy Mulligan. He
was introduced by Mrs Lawson, our
assistant head teacher.
Andy started by telling us how he got
his idea for his book Trash. He was
originally a teacher here in England,
however he moved to the Philippines
in search of more excitement! He
ended up in a school in the capital city,
Manila, teaching the children of rich
businessmen and government officials.
These children were used to expensive
4x4 cars and had bodyguards to
protect them. Poverty is rife in Manila
and Andy thought it was important to
teach his privileged students something
about the poverty all around them.
He arranged a visit to show them the
rubbish heaps and the children who
work on them. He told us an inspiring
story of a young boy he met working
on the dumpsite. We were shocked by
the working conditions of such young
children. Trash is about a boy who
finds a key in a wallet on the rubbish
dump. The police are searching for
the wallet. The boy and his friends
discover the locker which the key fits;
they open it and find lots of money and
a mystery to solve.
He continued to tell us
about his new book, The
Boy with 2Heads. This
is about a boy who
literally grows a second
head which blurts
out his innermost
thoughts and shows
a different side to his
personality. I’m sure
there will be many
students who will
want to read the book
after his intriguing
introduction.
After Andy had personally signed
lots of his books for eager students,
Book Club invited him to brunch in the
library. He was especially delighted
with a cake decorated with the front
cover of The Boy with 2Heads! The
students particularly enjoyed this
informal time with him, not least
because they had “a yummy brunch”.
They enjoyed asking him questions
about his books and were impressed
that “he had lots of stories and
inspirational experiences to tell”. All in
all it was a morning to remember.
Oxford University Competition
On the 26th June, six Year 12
students attended a tutorial led
by Hannah Robertson, an Oxford
University undergraduate and previous
Woodrush student, in preparation
to submit an academic essay for an
Oxford University competition.
Christopher B, Jay C, Josh H,
Nicola P, Leanne C and Megan T
all participated in the tutorial and
immersed themselves in the theme
of ‘ambition’, the competition theme,
through perceptive and mature
discussion. Students also considered
suitable texts which they feel would
enable them to answer their essay
questions effectively, and explored
which aspects of these would be most
successful.
Not only did students gain
confidence in how to approach
answering the question, but they also
experienced a taster of what a tutorial
at Oxford University would be like, as
well as gaining an understanding and
appreciation for Oxford University life
and their expectations. Megan T said:
“I found the visit incredibly useful Hannah helped us to
analyse the meaning of
‘ambition’ and, interpret
the questions that we
have been set.” Whilst
Leanne C commented
that “the fact that
Hannah came from
Woodrush inspired me
to aim high.”
I would like to take
this opportunity to
formally thank Hannah
for running the tutorial; it has been
a real privilege for our students and
has certainly provided them with an
advantage in the competition!
Good luck to you all!
Miss Denyer