Friday Headlines
the weekly newsletter from EHS
EHS Talks: Athletes Shine a Light on Commonwealth Games 2022
02 July 2021
On Monday, the Senior School is holding a Commonwealth and Culture Day. This is the start of a series of events that will run throughout the next year to mark the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
The day will be an opportunity to find out more about the games, the nations and the commonwealth as a whole and will begin with a talk and Q and A from not one, but two, Olympic and commonwealth competitors, Kelly Sotherton MBE and Tom Parsons.
Tom was born and raised in Birmingham and is a high jumper, who has competed in the Commonwealth Games, the World Championships and the Olympics. Kelly is a British former heptathlete. In the heptathlon she was the gold medallist in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and the bronze medallist at the Summer Olympics in 2004 and 2008. As such she is one of only five women to win multiple medals in Olympic heptathlon. In February 2020, it was announced that Kelly would lead the Athletics Team at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Both will be talking about their experiences, challenges and what it is like to take part in a global sporting event.
Open to all local senior schools, the talk will take place at EHS and be streamed live to an audience of students from all over the city on 5 July 2021 between 14:45 and 15:45. Kelly and Tom will be interviewed at EHS by a panel of EHS pupils and the audience will then be encouraged to send in their questions. The best ones will be selected and put to the athletes as part of a live Q&A at the end of the talks.
EHS Talks take place each half term and are aimed at broadening horizons and introducing EHS students to a wide and varied range of ideas, issues, possible career options and experiences. Former EHS Talks have been delivered by Greenpeace activists, artists, medical and political leaders, as well as household names like journalist, Kate Adie and explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes. We are also thrilled that with platforms like Zoom and Teams now the norm, it has become easier than ever to open these opportunities up and engage with students at other schools within the wider community.
Monday’s event concludes what has been a fascinating programme of talks and we hope to see as many of you there as possible. To register and get the link to join the EHS Talk, please contact Mr Smith – smithp@edgbastonhigh.co.uk
