On 16th December the Year 11 Business & Economics classes went on a visit to Cadbury World to find out what type of business Cadbury is, its history and about its recent takeover by Mondeléz International. We were also shown part of the Cadbury factory – learning how they make, decorate and package chocolate, ready to be sold.
The visit was educational as we learned about production in a large company which linked in to our Business lessons. We also learned about the humble beginnings of the company and the many advertising campaigns they’ve used over the years. However the visit was also fun, with a 4D cinema experience, singers outside the factory and, of course, lots of chocolate.

Report by Juliet Rose Y11

Budding Maths students have taken part in this year's UKMT Maths Challenge.

Year 9 and 10 students at King Edward VI High School achieved 2 silvers and 14 bronzes in this year’s Senior category of the UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Maths Challenge. Over 200,000 students from across the UK sat the Intermediate Maths Challenge with roughly the top 6% receiving a gold certificate, the next 13% silver and the next 21% bronze.

The winners were:

SILVER AWARD
Jordan Talbot (Highest score in the school)
Rachel Clayton

BRONZE AWARD
Hannah Malpass
Eleanor Bailey
Jai Belcher
Beth Poynton
Joshua Wilson
Joel Mccamley
Amy Mace
Todd Dawson
Ryan Ashforth
Claire Beardmore
Daniel Arthur
Laura Hawkins
Annabelle Clayton (Highest score in Year 9)
Gemma Stewart

In the Junior category, students achieved 3 silvers and 12 bronzes.

SILVER AWARD
Isabella Terry  (Highest score in the school)
Daisy Scarlett
Kirsten Reade

BRONZE AWARD
Nathan Phillips
Jacob Harvey          
Jessica Turner          
Nadia Dias    
Matthew Jones
Maisie Grocott   
Stuart Bishop 
Robert Cartlidge
Isabelle Kelly
Lauren Mills
Charis Farmer
Shannon Hendy

Well done to all the students for their scores and for taking part.

Ms E J Knights
Subject Leader for Maths

The Exam Preparation Sessions timetable is available to view on the school website, detailing when the exams and corresponding prep sessions are taking place for Year 11.

Please go to www.kevi.org.uk/exams-2014 for more details.

The former Education Secretary, Estelle Morris, was in school on Friday to visit Year 10 students and support them in their GCSE studies. The Right Honourable Baroness Morris of Yardley, as she is now known, listened to the campaigns of several students as part of their GCSE Citizenship Controlled Assessments.
Lady Morris, who was Secretary of State for Education and Skills in the Labour Government of Tony Blair, watched and listened as students pitched their campaign ideas to make a change in society, ranging from issues such as Child Slavery in Africa and Drug Addiction in Young People to Reducing the School Leaving Age to 16 and School Uniform.
Students from the school's newsletter, The Edwardian, were also given the opportunity to interview Lady Morris about her career in politics (now as a member of the House of Lords) as well as her memories of teaching in secondary schools for 20 years. 
In speaking to reporters, Jordan Talbot and Gemma Stewart, Lady Morris talked about the importance of Citizenship Studies in school, saying it "empowers students" and teaches us "how as citizens we can solve problems". She added, "I am delighted that some good schools are still nurturing Citizenship and glad that at King Edward's it has remained an important part of the curriculum". "We [the Labour Government] made it part of the National Curriculum so young people could understand the role they can play as citizens."
Lady Morris stressed how it was "important to look beyond the 5 A*-C GCSEs to ensure a broad education for our young people."
Taking a trip down memory lane, Lady Morris said she had "fond memories" of her time as a school teacher between 1974 and 1992 and still receives letters from former students.
Acting Headteacher, Mr. Christey, said "this was a fantastic opportunity for some of our students to pitch their ideas to a member of the House of Lords and former Education Secretary. The Citizenship course encourages our young people to take an active interest in current affairs and global issues and engage with their local and world communities. Having the opportunity to voice their opinions to a former government minister was a real privilege for them and is a reminder of the important role young people play in society."
Citizenship teacher and event organiser, Mr. Lomas, thanked the former minister for her visit to the school and for all the work she did in supporting the students with their exams and hearing their views.
Lady Morris listened to the campaigns for nearly two hours, taking a keen interest in everything the students had to say and entering into discussion with them about their campaigns.
Lady Morris thanked the students and staff for inviting her and congratulated the students on their well-argued campaigns.

On Tuesday 8th April the Under 16s Boys’ football team retained their Staffordshire County Cup title with an impressive 2-0 victory over a strong Sir Thomas Boughey School side. The first half was a cagey encounter with both defences appearing relatively untroubled. The KEVI’s back four of Scott Winnington, Keenan Powell, Oli McCormick and Jagon Edge provided a solid base on which to build. Malaki Norford was a constant threat going forward and helped the KEVI midfield to gradually take control of the game.

In the second half Ben Douglas, Charlie Clayton and Josh Wilson moved into more attacking positions and it was this combination that saw KEVI take a deserved lead on 53 minutes. Josh Wilson played in Ben Douglas who crossed superbly to the far post where Charlie Clayton was on hand to head home from close range. Sir Thomas Boughey came back strong in search of an equaliser but the KEVI defence continued to hold firm with Keenan Powell playing superbly in the heart of the defence who was being well protected by Connor Pope and Malaki Norford. Indeed it was KEVI who should have doubled their lead when Joseph Shanley shot wide after following in a Josh Wilson effort that was saved by the keeper. Minutes later the influential Norford was forced to come off with a calf injury. This was one of three substitutions made by KEVI as they looked to secure victory. Jack Walker, Jamie Sowerbutts and Callum Hope all came on.

With ten minutes to play Boughey began to build the pressure and created a great chance to equalise. The centre forward was through on goal and looked certain to score but a superb reaction save from the excellent Brandon McEleny in the KEVI goal maintained their slender advantage. From the resultant corner KEVI broke with a fast counter attack, a bouncing a ball was contested by Josh Wilson who got the better of the Boughey keeper, dribbled to the by-line and selflessly squared the ball to Jamie Sowerbutts who calmly slotted the ball home to secure a deserved victory for KEVI.

Moments later the referee sounded the final whistle and KEVI celebrated retaining their County title: “a truly well-deserved victory against a team that had qualified for the National ESFA semi-finals. All the players were excellent on the day. Man of the Match was given to Keenan Powell” said PE teacher and coach, Mr Warrilow.

Acting Headteacher Mr Christey congratulated the team on their outstanding win. “The school is very proud of the team’s achievements on retaining the County Cup title. They have worked hard and have demonstrated their extraordinary talent and skill over the years. They are a credit to the school. Mr Abel, the PE Department and the whole school join me in congratulating the team on their well-deserved win”.

The news comes on the back of the school’s football teams’ impressive wins in the District Cup quarter and semi-finals with the U13s beating Weston Road Academy 2-0 in the semi-finals, the U12s beating Walton Priory School 5-2, the U16s against Sir Graham Balfour School 4-0, the U13s against Stafford Grammar School 4-1, and the U14s and U15s beating Alleyne’s Academy 1-0 and 4-0 respectively.  

Preparations for exams over the Easter break can be crucial in securing success in the final GCSE exams. Many departments have set work to help focus your study.
A number of support sessions are also available over the Easter break (14-25 April) to support students with their exam preparations. Details of these can be found on the School Calendar at www.kevi.org.uk/calendar.

Wishing you a Happy Easter and the best of luck with your exam preparation.

Mr M Malone
Year 11 Progress Leader