Students, parents and staff came together on Friday 25th September for the annual Macmillan Coffee Morning to help raise money for the work of the cancer charity. Staff and students provided coffee and cakes for visitors, selling tickets for a charitable cause.
The morning proved a popular success with many parents and students in attendance throughout the morning. Organiser and Lead Teacher in Technology, Mrs Katabalwa, said “Thank you so much to you all. The donated cakes, tickets bought, raffle and donations totaled up to our school charity contribution of £429.22. Thank you to all the sixth formers and students who helped during the day to host the event. Your support is greatly appreciated.”
Mr Christey added his own thanks to staff, parents and students for their support, saying “It was a memorable morning and very pleasing to see so many members of the local community come together to raise money for such an important cause. Thank you to all those who took part and organised the event.”
So far, over £4.5million has been raised by similar coffee mornings across the country to support the work of Macmillan, a charity who help people affected by cancer and support them in the best way they can in their time of need.

From the 9th to 11th September 2015 King Edward’s new Year 12s and 13s took part in a three-day induction period in order to get to know new students and improve our team building skills. The induction was a great success and it was nice to feel as though Year 12 and 13 were becoming more integrated and supportive of one another.
During the first day, students participated in a bake-off style competition aiming to create a bread product superior to the rest! Ideas included Sammy the Snail bread, Baking Shapes Tetris bread and Alphabread; the overall turnout was very impressive and was definitely a great way to welcome students back to school. After this, the Sixth Form took part in an activities day on the field aimed at bringing us closer together and helping us work as a team. Challenges included building a structure out of just wood and ropes, and it became clear throughout the day that communication was key!
Finally, on Friday 11th, students visited Staffordshire University and took part in a range of activities ranging from talks about university itself, to dramas regarding conflict in school (some of which were extremely creative). The Staff hosted a great day for all involved and everyone went away having learned something new, or having something different to think about. Overall, a productive and helpful induction period was enjoyed by all, and the new Year 12s and 13s have transitioned smoothly into the new and exciting challenges which await them.
 
Report by Grace Edge Y13
 

As part of the transfer to Sixth Form our first week was jammed full of activities which were designed to help make new friendships and to bring the two sixth form year groups closer together.
On our second day, the school outsourced a company to run outdoor exercises to encourage teamwork, communication and to help turn our brains back on after so many weeks out of school. The groups were made up of around 10 people from Years 12 and 13.
In these teams we completed a number of challenges throughout the day, some much harder than others. One my group found particularly difficult was the Chinese Whisper themed game. This involved the group passing information along a line of people in order to recreate a shape using the same blocks on the finishing side of the line. After many attempts, the team was able to complete the challenge as we began to learn from our mistakes.
Probably the most enjoyable activity was when our team split in to two see who could build the tallest tower out of bamboo, tape and string. This was a extremely competitive activity as the other groups tower was right next to ours. Amid a very competitive atmosphere, each team raced to make the tallest tower. At the end there wasn’t much difference in height but our team won.
I think the day was extremely helpful in making my transition to sixth form easier and much more enjoyable.
 
Report by Joe Harte Y12
 

​At the end of the Summer Term, the school briefly added a new member to its roll.
Students on their way to school discovered an injured bat and decided to bring it into school for help.
Lauren Rutter and Leah Ward, both now in Year 10, took the bat to the Science Department who took care of it and nicknamed him “Eddie”. Eddie is now at a bat sanctuary where he is being cared for.
Mr Christey, Headteacher, praised the girls’ act of kindness, saying “Lauren and Leah did their bit for the local environment by rescuing the bat and did the right thing bringing it into school for safety. I commend their efforts and act of kindness for nature and they are an excellent representation of the kind, caring and responsible students we have at King Edward’s.”

On 9th September there was a transition day for the new Year 12s who have recently moved up from Year 11.
Both Year 12 and Year 13 were split into teams to participate in an activity, the task was to shape, design and make a brand of bread complete with packaging. Since both years were mixed up it created a great opportunity to talk and work with people that we might not have spoken to before.  
Coming up with ideas for the logo, shape, brand name and packing was a lot of fun to do because it got everyone in the team involved and it was fun to see people coming up with interesting ideas. By the end of the day you got to know the people in your team a little bit better than you did at the start of the day. Having the activity be a competition was also a great idea for motivation because everyone was very competitive.      
One of the most interesting parts of the day was the end as you got to see the end product of each teams, which included alphabet bread where you could spell your name; loafers which were bread slippers for making sandwiches; a crown, as it was the same day that the Queen became the longest-reigning British monarch, as well as many more. It was surprising to see how many different and unique ideas people came up with for their bread company.
The other exciting part was to see which team won the competition, each team had to do a presentation in front of the judges as well as receive a vote from the audience which would contribute to their overall score. In the end the winning bread was the tetris bread which was bread shaped into tetris blocks so you could play with them.
Overall the day was a huge success and everybody really enjoyed themselves.

Report by Tan Suntronsaratoon Y12