by Kelly Earls | Apr 28, 2026 | Uncategorized
For the second season running, the year 10 team have made it to the County Cup Final following their victory on penalties last night against West Coventry Academy. Following a 1-1 draw, the students won the shootout 5-4. This victory will have been particularly sweet for the students given they lost to the same West Coventry side on penalties in last year’s final.
They will now face the winners of Heath Park vs Kings Norton. This means we will have both the year 9’s and year 10’s trying to win the County Cup.
by Kelly Earls | Apr 28, 2026 | Uncategorized
Year 9 won the league final 2-1 against Leasowes High School. This means they have now won the league for a third year in a row, winning every game of each season in the process, which is quite remarkable. Fingers crossed they can go one step further in two weeks time and win the County Cup. Please congratulate the students on their efforts.
by Kelly Earls | Apr 20, 2026 | Uncategorized
On Thursday 16th April the cast of Matilda had the amazing opportunity to perform and speak to Kerry Ingram. Kerry has been in a variety of musicals and TV most notable for Game of Thrones and being the first ‘Matilda’ in Matilda the Musical in the West End.
The students performed their show for Kerry and ended the rehearsal with a chance to ask Kerry questions about her career as well as any advice for the future. Students took the opportunity in their stride and thought about the knowledge that Kerry had about the industry not just in theatre but in TV and asked insightful and knowledgeable questions.
The Earls very own leading lady had the opportunity to speak to Kerry ‘Matilda to Matilda’ and received some brilliant advice and words of wisdom in preparation for the show on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd of May.
The staff were so impressed with the students and the professionalism that they showed on stage as well as through the questions that they asked.
We are so proud of the cast and we can’t wait to show you how hard they have been working on this show!
by Nic Earls | Mar 7, 2026 | Uncategorized
After a fantastic week in The Gambia, it is time for us to return home. The lobby is full of packed bags, and students who are a little tired but full of stories.
It has been a brilliant trip. The students have worked incredibly hard and thrown themselves into every activity and shown fantastic character throughout the week. They leave with some lifelong memories, new friendships, and plenty of experiences to talk about for a long time to come.
We will be checking out of the hotel at 12pm, with our airport pickup scheduled for 2:30pm. Our flight departs at 5:25pm, and we are expecting to land back in the UK around midnight. After the final stretch of the journey, we anticipate arriving back at school at roughly 3:30am.
Parents will be kept updated with any changes to timings and our estimated arrival back at The Earls.
Thank you for following along with our Gambian adventure.
Signing off Gambia 2026!
Team Project Gambia
by Nic Earls | Mar 7, 2026 | Uncategorized
Project Gambia – Day 7
Our final day in The Gambia was every bit as busy, brilliant, and slightly glitter-covered as the rest of the trip. It was a day filled with creativity, community visits, and a few emotional goodbyes to the wonderful schools that have welcomed us so warmly this week.
The morning began with visits to three local schools: Wisdom Nursery, Bright Minds Nursery, and St Peter’s. Before long, our students found themselves leading some very energetic arts and crafts sessions. Glue pots were in high demand, colouring pencils were passed around like prized possessions, and masterpieces began appearing faster than anyone could keep track of. The younger students brought endless enthusiasm, and our group quickly discovered that glitter, stickers, and enthusiastic high-fives are a universal language.
After a busy morning of crafting (and possibly wearing just as much glitter as they used), we stopped for lunch, giving everyone a chance to refuel and proudly compare their artistic creations.
In the afternoon we returned to Omega School, where our students joined the class for even more arts and crafts activities. The classroom was buzzing with creativity as everyone worked side-by-side, sharing ideas, laughter, and the occasional glue stick emergency. By this stage of the trip, our students had firmly established themselves as confident and enthusiastic classroom leaders.
Later we travelled to Kotusilo Village, where the group helped distribute hygiene kits and mosquito nets. It was a really meaningful part of the day and a chance for students to see how small acts of kindness and support can make a real difference within a community.
After such a full day, it was clearly time for something equally important: a supermarket stop followed by ice cream. Spirits were high, and the ice cream disappeared at a speed that would impress even the most experienced dessert enthusiast.
Next came some well-earned swimming pool time, where students cooled off, relaxed, and attempted a range of pool jumps that may or may not have been Olympic standard (judges are still reviewing the technique). Special mention to Amelia for her interesting diving technique, and Megan for her patient coaching.
The day finished with our evening meal, where everyone swapped stories from the day, reflected on their favourite moments from the week.
Tomorrow brings a slightly different kind of adventure as we begin our journey back home to the Earls. We’ll be setting off at 2:30pm, which means one final morning in The Gambia before packing bags, saying some fond goodbyes, and starting the trip home. It has been an incredible experience for the students—full of learning, teamwork, and memories that will last a lifetime. We suspect there may be a few very tired travellers on the journey back… although we wouldn’t be surprised if there’s still some lively debate about who truly won sports day.
by Nic Earls | Mar 6, 2026 | Uncategorized
Day 6 in the Gambia started with breakfast where students were fuelled up with enthusiasm, knowing that a very important event lay ahead: Sports Day.
Miss Seleshe got everyone in a team huddle and briefed the Earls students for the chaos to come.
Later that morning we headed to the venue where Omega School faced off against The Spring of Life School. The stage was set for a series of fiercely contested events including classics such as ball over head, bean bag relay, jumping with a ball between legs, 100m sprint, and the ever-chaotic 100m relay.
As with any great sporting spectacle, there were moments of incredible athleticism and a few moments of creative rule interpretation. Let’s just say that at times the rulebook may have been treated more as a suggestion, than a strict guideline. This only added to the excitement and showed just how competitive everyone was feeling.
The Earls students played a brilliant role throughout the morning, helping to organise teams, lead their groups, and even stepping up as event officials. Whistles were blown, decisions were made, and (mostly) respected by the competitors. It was fantastic to see them taking responsibility and helping the day run smoothly.
After all the running, jumping, throwing and enthusiastic debating of rules, the results were finally in. Despite the heroic efforts from everyone involved, Omega School emerged victorious!
Following the morning’s sporting drama, lunch at 12:30pm was very welcome. After refuelling, it was back to work for the final day of painting at Omega’s new School. The Earls team returned to the classrooms they had been transforming throughout the week, putting the finishing touches on the rooms they started earlier in the trip. Brushes were back in hand, sleeves rolled up once more, and the classrooms are now looking brighter, fresher, and ready for learning.
By the evening, the group had certainly earned a well-deserved treat. We headed out for dinner at Luigi’s for what might just be the most universally loved meal on the planet: pizza. After a long day of sports and painting, it disappeared at record speed.
All in all, another brilliant day packed with teamwork, community spirit, a little friendly rivalry… and a lot of pizza.
Team Project Gambia
