Ofsted inspectors told the 70 staff of this school that if it were possible to give an Olympic gold medal for committment then they would receive one. The school was inspected last week and will not get the results until November but the feedback has been extremely positive, says headteacher Mrs Mara Symons. “The majority of lessons have been very good or excellent and the attitude of the pupils was excellent. It was a short inspection because we are deemed to be a successful school but I was surprised by how rigorous it was.” A third of the 1,050 eleven to 18-year-olds get free school meals but the school is rated one of the best in Birmingham, given its social composition. Earlier this year, the school became the first in the city to be granted sports college status. It meant an immediate cash injection of pound;100,000 with anoter pound;120,000 over three years. Sporting successes include the judo team which won this year’s British schools championships and the under-15 girls’ Gaelic football team which won the first schools’ English championships, later going on to play in a tournament with 150 other teams in Dublin.

Snaps by maths teacher Trevor Starbuck

But after the cooking comes the washing up

David Thorne on the ball in the playground

Suman Rani catches up on work in a private study period

Strong arm tactics in the gym

Master chefs: Laurence McTigue, left, and Lee Mockble

I don’t believe it: Kelly Marie Carney cooks up a treat

The orchestra plays at the city’s Symphony Hall with the English Sinfonia in a programme that included the premiere of David Bedford’s percussion concerto with Evelyn Glennie