Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96Climbing Club Climbing Club has risen to new heights this year since the wall’s re-launch in January. Students from Years 7-10 have been developing their technique and building strength and stamina on Wednesday and Thursday lunchtimes. During these sessions we have been traversing along the bottom of the wall to develop technique and using top ropes to climb to the top of the wall. Several students have learned to belay climbers and have been signed off as qualified to climb and belay independently. This is a great skill to have. Many more students should be taking the belay test in September. Improvements have been made to the wall with new ropes on all lines. The PA have recently funded the purchase of new climbing shoes so no matter how big or small your feet we’re sure to have a pair for you! Twelve Year 10 students enjoyed a Climbing Activities Day at Red Point Climbing Centre in Birmingham with activities ranging from abseiling to blind folded climbing! This was a fantastic day and we hope to see many of these students back at the wall in September to develop their new found skills! Climbing Club will be up and running from September so keep an eye out in the notices for details – all abilities are welcome. Look out for the NICAS schemes, which will be introduced early next year: The National Indoor Climbing Award Schemes (NICAS) are UK wide schemes designed to promote climbing development and accredit individual achievement on artificial climbing structures. If you choose to take part you will receive a log book, track your achievements and it can even contribute towards P.E. qualifications. Austin mitChell-King When Austin was seven years old, he went to London to see family. Whilst there there was a Christmas skating rink set up in the middle of the city. He went on it and enjoyed it so much that he asked his mum if he could have skating lessons. His mum agreed and that led on to Austin having the opportunity to play ice hockey. Austin has now played for Coventry blaze for seven years. At first he played left wing but has played centre for the last three years. He is the captain for the under 15’s and at only 14 he plays for the under 18s on occasion. Austin has sustained a couple injuries. The worst was his front teeth went through his lip as a result of him hitting a hole in the ice and falling over. This season he has scored 23 goals in 15 games with more games to come His team coach put him forward for midlands trials. The trails last from September to November he has been playing for the Midlands now for three years. He has played a number of games for Midlands and has scored a number of goals. He has even gone on an international tour to the Netherlands where he was very successful. In august his team coach then put him up for England trials which is amazing. He is always looking to improve his skill so went to Canada for an ice hockey camp for two weeks. He achieved a coach’s award and beat Canadians at their own game. Furthermore in April he went to Finland to play ice hockey representing the Midlands. He and his team played four tough games against good Finn sides. He won three out of the four games and scored three goals. One of them winning his team the match. As mentioned earlier Austin always wants to improve so is trying to get his coach to organise another game against the one team they lost to. In November he started to play roller hockey. He exceled in this straight away and went to GB trails. Amazingly he got in and is going on a tour to Hawaii to represent great Brittan in an international tournament (the AAU Inline Hockey Junior Olympics). About 200 teams are expected to play this year from countries across the world including the United States, Canada, and Korea. He trains on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for a total of seven hours a week and there are games on the weekend. He does all that whilst balancing school work and school sport. “I will always try to achieve the best in what I do and will continue to play for as long as I can” - Austin Mitchell-King Written and edited by Isaac Nelson, Year 10 2015 to 2016 | 79