Students from various schools and institutions from across the city, recently gathered at the illustrious Wolverhampton Civic Hall.  For many the events of that evening would become a moment engraved in their memories for a lifetime.

A year 11 and a sixth former took on new roles, not only were they students from St Edmund’s Catholic Academy but they also became Youth Council Members. Two sixth formers returned and took on more prominent roles within the youth council, one went on to become a Wolverhampton representative for Youth Parliament while the other went on to become the Chair of Wolverhampton Youth Council.

Together these four students, and the rest of the Youth Council members, would go on to represent their school and help create a better Wolverhampton; a Wolverhampton where the future generations to come would listen intensively to the history of Wolverhampton and how it progressed to become a new city, a better city.

These students would go on to face many new adventures and in turn new opportunities would arise – let’s hope that, like the senior Youth Council members, the new members would also be able to find their voice!

By Janis Liora Tchiesso Nantchouang

On Saturday 8 February three teams took part in the West Midlands Floor & Vault Competition at Fenton Manor, Stoke-on-Trent. The U14 girls competed first and performed really well, considering for some it was their first competition at this level.

Their confidence increased enormously and they were placed 6^th overall. Well done to Millie Baggs, Lucy Connell, Amelia Roscoe, Ellie Marandola and Kylah Johnson.

Next up were the U14 mixed team who were up against stiff competition from Arden School.  Our gymnasts were amazing and they performed with extension and flair. A great performance from Ewan Cox placed him 4^th overall, just outside the medals in the individual competition. The team went on to gain the silver medal – 2^nd overall. Congratulations Ewan Cox, Pax Katanga, Karyce Johnson, Maja Ura, Gwenneth Williams.

In the U19 mixed section again, we narrowly missed the individual medals with Lysia Bayley and Josh Dodd-Matthews both gaining 4^th place overall. The team however, did St Edmund’s proud as they performed consistently well in both floor and vault and after a very tense wait for the results became West Midlands Champions. They will now represent the West Midlands in the British Schools Gymnastics Championships in May. Well done Amelia Beet, Josh Dodd-Matthews, Ben Jones, Lysia Bayley and Corrin Smith. Good luck for the Nationals!

Students and staff, on the trip to Spain, arrived safely and are looking forward to an exciting week of fun and learning.

Nine key stage 3 students entered the regional finals of the F1 In Schools Challenge. Prior to the event students split themselves into 2 teams and have been working after school to produce all necessary components to enter the competition. The teams have been building a small model formula 1 car that they had to race against various teams across the midlands.  The teams have had to consider size and weight constraints of the car, aerodynamics, manufacturing methods and team identity. Students started with sketches that developed into a plasticine model to get an idea of how their designs would look as 3d shapes. From here, they refined and developed their idea into a foam model. Once finalised students then made their car using traditional hand tools.  Students added to the aerodynamics of their vehicles by adding 3d printed wings to their vehicles. Once created students then branded their car with their team’s logos and colour schemes.

In addition to the car students were asked to provide a 5 page portfolio of their design journey as well as create a ‘pit display’ to promote their team and show of their team identity to the panel of judges.

The final part of the requirements of the competition was to prepare a 5 minute presentation to a panel of judges. The permeation had explain what they set out to achieve and how they got to the regional finals.

On Wednesday 15th January, both teams headed to the regional finals AT Make UK in Birmingham.  Both teams were a mixture of nervous and excitement.

During the day students had to set up their pit display to show off their designs and team identity.  Next came a discussion with the judges regarding the design journey their team had been on from initial concept sketches to the final vehicle.

The next part was the race. The cars were placed on a starting block and propelled down a 30 meter straight using co2 cartridges.   Our cars were the 4th and 9th fastest cars in our category.

The final part of the day was a verbal presentation to a panel of engineers. The presentation was to help the judges understand what they set out to achieve with this task.

At the end of the day came the awards ceremony, unfortunately neither team placed in the top 3 overall, however the wealth of knowledge and experience they achieved form their visit far outweighs any trophy and both teams will return to the competition next year stronger and faster than this year Already both teams are putting into plans their entries for next year’s competition. Bring on 2012 regional finals.

A special thank you to Mr Sohker, Mr White and Mrs Sehera for all of their support with the group and the trip.