BVCnewsSpring Term 2012

Issue 7The magazine of Botti sham Village College

Partners join forces to support students

Two of our Botti sham Educati on Partners joined forces to support Year 10 students in preparati on for their two weeks’ work experience in July. Six people from John Lewis and the Cambridge Building Society paired up, with each duo holding sessions on job applicati ons, interviews and skill testi ng and workplace culture.It was a great opportunity for students to receive fi rst hand advice on what employers are looking for when recruiti ng. Two weeks before the event, students had been given the opportunity to complete online applicati ons for both companies which had been created especially for our students to make the experience as realisti c as possible. From this, the organisati ons were able to give the students feedback and advice on completi ng an applicati on, writi ng a CV and a business lett er. The companies demonstrated the interview process and students were then able to take part in the group interview John Lewis carry out with all their successful applicants.

They gave the students an insight into what it is like to work at each company and the expectati ons of an employer.This was a unique experience. We feel that the students have gained so much useful informati on that can be transferred to their applicati ons and interviews for their up and coming work placements and, ulti mately, when they have to apply for work, be it

part-ti me or full-ti me employment. Our thanks go to Cambridge Building Society and John Lewis for all the preparati on work and for the delivery on the day.

Mrs Matt hewsonVocati onal co-ordinator

Sessions give insight intoworld of work

Representati ves from John Lewis and the Cambridge Building Society joined Year 10’s for PHSE

Once again Botti sham Village College took the children of Kenya to their hearts organising a non-uniform day to raise money for three special causes.The second Love Kenya Day collected just over £800 to

conti nue the essenti al work done by the Good Life Orphanage, Feeding the Children project and Shariani Medical Centre.The College’s link with Kenya began last year through Year 10 student Toby Brooker, whose grandparents reti red to the East African country about ten years ago. Toby and his family are regular visitors and have become involved in projects helping local people.Student Council representati ves publicisedFebruary’s event by giving a presentati on in assemblies reminding each year why it was so important to support the day.The Good Life Orphanage is a family-run,

Kenya-based, UK-founded charity. It opened in 2008 and now cares for more than 50 orphaned children.Feeding the Children: The feeding stati on at Kikambala provides 1,500 children with a hot meal every Sunday and treats to take home to their families.Shariani Medical Centre: Funded by Toby’s grandparents who were appalled at the number of people dying needlessly from malaria and other treatable and preventable

diseases. Last year’s fundraising bought a new computer for the centre, allowing it to be more effi cient and see more pati ents each day.“A big thank you

to staff and students at BVC for another excellent fund raise. One hundred percent of the money raised will go to the three projects,” saidTony’s father.“Our family appreciate your tremendous support and will be visiti ng Kenya soon. We will report back on the benefi ts that your kind donati on has provided each project”, said Mr Brooker

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In response to form tutors’ requests for more ti me to spend with their tutees having conversati ons about learning and progress, a series of extended form ti mes were introduced for the 2011-12 academic year. Once each half term, tutorial ti me is extended unti l the end of Period 1 (10:00 am). The ti me has so far been used to allow students to refl ect on their current levels/anti cipated grades and compare them with targets levels/grades. Students have been encouraged to celebrate successes and set themselves personal targets for improvement. Extended form ti me has been well received, with tutors being able to have invaluable one-to-one conversati ons with their tutees.

“I found this morning a really valuable experience, and now have a much more ‘personalised’ idea of how my form are doing.” (Year 10 form tutor).“It was really useful because we could look back at how we are doing and set targets, with our tutor giving support and talking to teachers about how to improve.” (Year 10 student).“It was very useful, because I could see my progress and think about how to do bett er. I could also ask my tutor questi ons and compare with how my friends are doing.” (Year 9 student).

Mr Merry, assistant principal

Welcome to the Spring editi on of our newslett er. Once again, the newslett er gives a fl avour of the wealth of acti vity and the range of opportuniti es available to all of our students. In parti cular, these opportuniti es are giving them the chance to develop the att ributes and experiences of our collecti ve view of a typical Botti sham Student, as outlined in CREST; Creati vity, Refl ecti on, Enrichment, Self-Management and Teamwork. Our aim is to ensure that all of our students fl ourish during their ti me with us and leave, prepared and able to use these att ributes and skills to enable them to enjoy a meaningful, happy and fulfi lled adult life. Helping young people prepare for their working futures was the focus of a recent PSHE day for year 10 students.They benefi ted hugely from the input of staff employed by John Lewis and the Cambridge Building Society, two of our partner organisati ons, who helped them to understand the realiti es and expectati ons of recruitment processes. Our minds are currently very much focused

on developing the BVC response to the forthcoming London Olympics; there will be a wide range of opportuniti es, sporti ng and other, in which students will be able to get involved in Olympic-themed acti viti es, all designed to help to develop the Olympic values of Respect, Excellence, Friendship, Courage, Determinati on, Inspirati on and Equality. We look forward to sharing these with you in the next editi on of this newslett er.On behalf of all staff , we wish you an enjoyable Easter holiday and we look forward to welcoming everybody back on Tuesday April 17th.

BOTTISHAMVILLAGE COLLEGE

www.botti shamvc.org

Lode RoadBotti shamCambridgeshireCB25 9DL

Tel: 01223 811250Fax: 01223 813123enquiries@botti shamvc.org

Term dates 2012Term dates

Spring Term 2012

March 30 - Term Ends

Summer Term 2012

April 17 - Term begins for all students

May 7 - May Day Bank Holiday

June 4- 8 - Half term

July 20 - Term ends

A message from the principal

Mrs Evans

Forms get extra time

Love Kenya Dayreturns

3

Villagers living in a remote area of the Gambia are reaping the rewards of a horti cultural project led by Cambridge scouts – among them Mr Pain, the College’s ICT strategy manager.In December, Mr Pain, a Cambridge Scout leader, took on the six-hour fl ight to the west African country, to play his part in developing a community garden at Jiroff (populati on around 600), some 80 miles inland - with half this journey on rough, unmade roads.It was his second visit to the Gambia, a “working holiday” which involved planti ng fruit trees – guava, mango, paw-paw, cashew nut - and putti ng up a six-foot high goat and catt le proof fence, rather than grabbing a tan in the African sunshine (average December temperature 31°C).As the trees grow, more will be planted to fi ll the gaps and provide shade for the crops and the workers.The thinking behind the project is to develop allotments which will be tended by the women to grow food both for the village and to sell. Villagers are provided with the necessary tools – wheelbarrows, buckets, watering cans, spades, forks and rakes.“The women will be allocated 3 metres by 1 metre allotments and they will be able to choose how many they can manage. For every domesti c plot they have, they will also look aft er one market plot to allow for the garden to be self-sustainable,” explained Mr Pain.“The main project also funded a well to be dug and, in conjuncti on with FFHC – Freedom from Hunger Campaign – and SMILE –Smallholder Irrigati on for Livelihood Enhancement – a solar pump is to be fi tt ed to the well with four stop taps for effi cient distributi on of the water.”Mr Pain said most locals welcomed the Scouts into their community and this year they were honoured to be made citi zens of the village of Jiroff .“Whilst this has no legal standing, the project will be writt en up in the history books and this will be handed down through the generati ons,” he said.Mr Pain’s links with the African conti nent began about seven years ago.“I have been running camps and expediti ons for Scouts for over 20 years. Seven years ago, I was invited to take a group to Malawi as part of the celebrati on of 100 years of scouti ng. I have now been involved with expediti ons to Malawi, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Botswana and The Gambia,” he said.“The projects have refurbished a nati onal training centre in Malawi, built a community centre in Ghana, provided school accommodati on in Kenya and Uganda, provided accommodati on for

teachers in the Gambia and now we have just fi nished the market garden.”Mr Pain is hoping to be back in the Gambia at the end of the year.“I have found this to be one of the friendliest places I have ever visited and would like to be able to visit and help out as much as possible,” he said.

It’s Scout of Africa...

We would welcome your feedback on our newslett er, as well as any other suggesti ons about ways in which we can further improve our work with you. Email us at feedback@botti shamvc.org or by writi ng to Mrs Evans directly.

If you ask people what they consider to be the key roles of a school, you would probably fi nd ‘equipping students with a set of good qualifi cati ons’ at the top of most lists. However, as a College, we are committ ed to a broad programme of educati onal development for all of our students that reaches well beyond these crucial qualifi cati ons. To this end, we have conducted a consultati on with many of our stakeholders, leading to the development of a set of aspirati ons which would equip our young people for life in the modern world: ‘The Botti sham Student’.

Each of the year teams and faculti es in the school are committ ed to developing these characteristi cs in our students and this forms a central message in their improvement plans; this work is likely to develop and gather momentum over the coming years. In the near future we hope to contact parents to examine how we can work together in developing these personal qualiti es and opportuniti es.

Mr Merry, deputy principal

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Ask most members of staff what is the job that they really want to avoid and you can be sure that, ‘writi ng the ti metable,’ is close to the top of the list. For my sins, that’s part of my job! The process is a long and complicated one which spans the development of a curriculum model during the autumn term, appointments of staff in the Spring term and then the actual allocati on of classes, rooms, faciliti es etc through to the fi nal completi on and publicati on of staff and student ti metables in July. That may sound like the end but, in reality, the start of the autumn term then involves making amendments, rooming

changes and improvements. The constructi on of the ti metable uses a program called Nova T6 which eff ecti vely acts as a huge pin board on which you can att ach classes and models.It needs to be powerful as the task is to successfully ti metable over 2000 lessons per fortnight involving 70 members of teaching staff (full and part-ti me). At the same ti me you need to try to achieve an even spread of subjects across the fortnight, at appropriate ti mes, whilst minimising the number of classes which have more than one teacher. It can be likened to a huge Sudoku puzzle but

one where the outcome is a litt le more important! All the way through the ti metabling process, the focus is upon constructi ng the best possible arrangement of lessons, staffi ng and faciliti es so that we can maximise the learning potenti al of all groups. By nature, it is a compromise of ideals with reality, but the amazing fl exibility of our teaching staff helps enormously. It’s a litt le sad, but I have to admit that I do enjoy the challenge!

Mr Tooley, deputy principal

The joy of timetabling

New College ‘Crest’

5

At the age of 85, explorer and glaciologist Dr Charles Swithinbank is sti ll up for a trip to Mars.He may have travelled to both ends of the Earth tackling the most isolated and unforgiving terrains in the world, but his adventurous spirit was clearly sti ll intact as he told Year 7 students he would love to travel millions of miles into space.He was approached by NASA and asked for his expert input into planned expediti ons to Mars.He told the Year 7s, “I said, I’ve never been there. They said ‘Neither have we!’”and added he had volunteered to join the crew.Dr Swithinbank, Emeritus Associate at the Scott Polar Research Insti tute in Cambridge, was special guest in an extended assembly and talked about his ’60 Years on Ice’.He showed a series of breathtaking pictures of vast, dramati c landscapes as he told them something of his life devoted to explorati on in subzero temperatures.However, the fi rst slide he showed was taken in hott er climes in Burma, the country of his birth in 1926, with Dr Swithinback pictured with a python coiled round his neck.

But he turned his back on the sun, heading off for his fi rst expediti on to the Antarcti c in the 1940s.He told the students about some of his adventures, some of the people he had met and the equipment and transport used - much of it far from sophisti cated in the early days.One story that capti vated his young audience was how he, and other men, were asked to help a surgeon at an operati on to remove an eye. He said there was no choice. It was that or a man would die. Whatever an expediti on

threw your way, you had to respond as best you could.He also talked of how members of his party died in a drowning accident and showed how the story had been reported in the nati onal press.“Comrades had died, but the work carried on,” he said.Throughout his talk, Dr Swithinbank gave remarkable facts and stati sti cs, how ice in some places was 2,000 metres thick, temperatures dropped to -89C and how icebergs had cleaner water than the triple disti lled water in a chemistry lab.He also spoke of how global warming was not a new phenomenon and that scienti sts were aware of it in the 1940s.But the message of his talk was as clear as the water in Antarcti ca – there is nothing to stop anyone becoming an explorer and seeing the world. He was urging students to follow in his icy footsteps.“You don’t have to be academically brilliant to do this stuff ,” he said. “And never believe that all the exploring has been done – it hasn’t.”

The Botti sham StudentCreati vity Thinking ‘outside the box’, generati ng new ideas and considering alternati ves, adapti ng as

circumstances determine.

Refl ecti on An ability to acknowledge positi ve achievements and to deal positi vely and constructi vely with setbacks. Having a matures understanding of the world around you and respect for the beliefs of others.

Enrichment/extra-curricular Having abroad understanding of your global and local communiti es and exercising leadership qualiti es in supporti ng these groups.

Self-management Being increasingly independent, setti ng goals proacti vely and being resilient in your pursuit of excellence.

Teamwork Having the ability to collaborate, adapti ng your behaviour to suit the circumstances and having empathy for others.

My 60 years on the iceWarm welcome for ‘Ice Man’

This term our German Foreign Language Assistant, Steffi , has off ered students a chance to learn more about German life and culture outside of their normal MFL lessons. Here’s an update…Do you know German citi es? A small group of Year 8 students has been meeti ng once a fortnight during lunchti mes to work on bi-lingual posters about German citi es and to try out some tasty German food at the same ti me. Look out for their posters in the corridor of the Languages faculty, and maybe learn something about the ‘Oktoberfest’ in Munich or ‘Karneval’ in Cologne.Year 10 Email project. A few weeks ago, 20 Year 10 BVC students and 20 German students from a school in Steffi ’s home region started writi ng emails in English and German to each other. In additi on, the students taking part have designed posters to exchange informati on about their school, school life and local area. We are looking forward to a parcel exchange at Easter when we will be sending some typical “Briti sh” items to the German school and hopefully receiving a similar parcel from them. Watch this space…

Mrs Hill

6

During the February half term holiday, 17 Year 10 students and two teachers braved the cold weather in Germany to meet their German partners at the Erich-Kästner Realschule (EKR) in Kempen. Aft er a long journey by coach and ferry, they arrived around 8pm on Wednesday and went straight away to the families’ homes where they would be staying for the week. Mrs Hill and Mr Midgley also met their hosts, Herr Müller and Frau Gàl.Thursday was a day to remember, with the BVC students joining in with more than 1,000 students on a whole school ice-skati ng trip to nearby Grefrath, followed by a pizza lunch with their exchange partners in the school cafeteria. Herr Hött er, the EKR headmaster, welcomed the group warmly. On Friday, the group went to school for the morning and enjoyed a variety of lessons including English (quite easy for us!) and RE (a trip on foot to the nearby cemetery) before travelling to Cologne by train to visit the famous cathedral.Aft er a relaxing weekend spent with the host families, the group met again to celebrate Carnival on Monday, with BVC and EKR students alike dressing up in costume to watch the famous carnival

procession (or Rosenmontagszug) wind its way through the streets.Everyone who took part in the trip had a great opportunity to sample German life, food and culture and, of course, to try out their language skills for real. The BVC students involved made the most of every opportunity and were excellent ambassadors for the College. Well done to all! Mrs Hill

Taste of Germany

Poster project for language students

7

Year 11 student Amy Courtenay-Moore has won a presti gious nati onal award for her work with the countywide anti -smoking programme, Kick Ash.Amy was presented with a Diana Award, which is given to excepti onal young people who inspire the lives of others.The Award was founded in 1999 to act as a lasti ng legacy to Diana, Princess of Wales, who believed in the power of young people to change the world.Amy was nominated for overcoming many personal challenges to become a mentor for Kick Ash - an initi ati ve which aims to stop young people from taking up smoking and help those who do smoke to quit.Amy has contributed to training mentors from other schools by giving up her own ti me and speaking in open forums about her role. She has worked as part of a special interest group on developing smoking cessati on services for young people. Amy has been praised by Cambridgeshire PSHE Service and NHS for her commitment, att ending all training sessions and mentor meeti ngs and challenging herself to co-lead Kick Ash educati on programme work with 10 and 11-year-old children in primary schools and with 13 and 14-year-olds in her own school. “She excelled herself and impressed all the programme team, school staff and pupils and other Kick Ash mentors by volunteering to be the only Kick Ash mentor to perform a role play exercise in front of 200 13 and 14-year-old pupils,” said a spokesman.Botti sham VC’s Head of Learning for Year 11, Mr Hall said: “Amy is a very special young person who has overcome many personal challenges to be part of this programme. She has proved beyond doubt to be a model Kick Ash mentor. It has been a delight watching her confi dence grow while she has been part of the programme.“Amy’s story of perseverance is a fantasti c example of how someone can make amazing progress in their personal development and to gain such confi dence that they have not only been able to become a mentor but also become a leading example of how to be a successful mentor and role model for other students,” he said.

Amy’s top award

Botti sham students have recently received replies from their new Sri Lankan and Swaziland pen pals. The students were excited to receive their lett ers and are eager to reply. The pen pal club is strengthening the links with our internati onal partners and the students both here and in the partnership schools are greatly benefi tti ng from this communicati on.

They are not only making new friends across the globe, but learning about new places and cultures. We were surprised by how similar life can be in Swaziland and Sri Lanka: “Harry Pott er is my favourite fi lm.” (Vishlea Nipini Heshani, Sri Lanka), and also shocked by the diff erences: “It usually reaches 45oC here. I have never seen snow in my life.” (Lungile Ginindza, Swaziland).

Thanks to all the students that have writt en lett ers and if you are interested in getti ng involved in this wonderful opportunity please see Miss O’Grady.

New friends as penpals go global Don’t be surprised if the name Evie Nichols

is a household name and gracing the front covers of storybooks and novels in years to come.Evie, who is in Year 7, has just proved herself a rising writi ng star having taken a top prize in a nati onal competi ti on.Her story, The Devastati ons of War, was runner-up in the Wicked Young Writer’s Award which att racted thousands of entries from all over the country.As a result she was invited to an exciti ng prize ceremony at London’s Apollo Theatre att ended by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and top children’s author Michael Morpurgo (writer of War Horse) plus cast members from the West End musical Wicked. “My hobbies are writi ng fi cti on and reading,” said Evie. “I had read a book

about war and it inspired me to write. Devastati ons of War is a sad story set in Nazi Germany and writt en in the fi rst person.“I was really surprised to have won a prize as it’s the fi rst writi ng competi ti on I have entered. I’d defi nitely like to do some more now.”As part of her prize, Evie will see her story in print. It is to be included in an anthology with other short-listed entriesMichael Morpurgo said judges were impressed with the high standard of writi ng.“Writers need to feel that what they have to say is important and we were delighted to read so many pieces of writi ng that

were so obviously close to the writer’s own experience and voice.”The long-running West End show Wicked launched the award in 2010 to encourage and help develop talent in young UK writers.

An extract from The Devastati ons of War by Evie Nichols

Air raid sirens pierce the night. I bolt upright, heart pounding like a drum and trembling like a leaf in a tornado. Nausea washes over me. I leap from bed and hurtle to my parents’ room.“Mama! Papa!” I yell.They appear bleary-eyed and looking incredibly fati gued. As a group, we dash down the stairs three at a ti me. We don’t utt er a word.We arrive at the door to the basement. I reach for the handle but it won’t give way. It is locked. We are stuck. I franti cally try and try again but to no avail. We are locked out of safety and bombs are going to fall any minute now…..

Evie’s ‘wicked’ writing wows judges

8 9

East meets West every Friday at Botti sham VC courtesy of a new Extended Schools Manga Drawing Club.KS3 students are learning the popular art form that originated in Japan – probably best known through such series as Yu-Gi-Oh and Naruto - with the expert help of Mrs Irina Richards, the College’s reprographics and IT administrator, herself a published manga author and illustrator.We are used to seeing manga characters with their large almond-shaped eyes, ti ny mouths and exaggerated emoti ons; the creati on of these characters and the telling of their someti mes quite complex stories is a highly-skilled process taking years of practi ce and training.Mrs Richards has been drawing manga since she was a child.“I have always been arti sti c and was drawing from the age of fi ve. When I was about 12, I watched an anime called Sailor Moon – it blew my mind. I knew then that I wanted to draw manga,” she said.Aft er att ending art school in her nati ve Russia studying painti ng, graphics and compositi on she went on to university to read Linguisti cs and Intercultural Communicati on, conti nuing to draw in her free ti me and joining an anime club.Two years ago an independent Cambridge-based publisher, Sweatdrop Studios, which specialises in original UK manga, printed Mrs Richards’ original ti tle, Chemical Blue. The 220-page book, which started as a webcomic, tells the story of chemistry student Amber and her experiences, good and bad, of college life. It has proved popular with manga fans having just had a second print run.She has also had her interpretati on of a Russian fairy tale included in Telling Tales, a collecti on of short stories.Manga is traditi onally two-tone – white with one other colour, usually black, with shading providing the ‘colour’. But if you think all manga is like this, think again. Intricate examples of brightly-coloured vibrant work can be seen on Mrs Richards’ website, beauti ful human and mythical creatures, animals, nature and

humorous characters.“Each manga arti st has his or her own style but the principles of manga remain the same, such as clear contours and characters with expressive faces,” she said.“It is sequenti al art, it tells a story and any type of story can be put into manga form.”“I have been drawing for a while now and I have learnt a lot about the manga style and philosophy – I am more advanced but there is always room for improvement. I sti ll have some of my earlier work and it means a lot to me – I would defi nitely try and save it from a burning house!”So what is her ti p for the would-be young arti sts att ending the weekly aft er-school sessions?“A lot of it comes with practi ce but the ability to draw is not as important as the story you tell.”At the Manga Drawing Club, students have been learning how to create characters and setti ng, working towards producing their own manga-style comics.

Manga Club is big draw

Manga: kanji: 漫画; hiragana: まんが; katakana: マンガ is the Japanese word for comics and print cartoons. In the West, the term manga has come to mean comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th century. In their modern form, manga date from World War II, but they have a long pre-history in earlier Japanese art.

Animeアニメis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciati on of animati on. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons.

Year 10 students enjoyed spending the day creati ng a series of life drawings. The workshop was taught by the Royal Academy Outreach Programme and the tutor encouraged the 30 students to try new approaches and to think diff erently about what drawing is.One student said, “It was really good fun and we learnt a lot about drawing and created great pieces of art work. We used charcoal and pastels and a range of diff erent techniques. This work will become part of our GCSE coursework”.Lily Blakely and Kati e Askham

The fi ft h annual primary choirs festi val saw nine sets of singers performing a wide repertoire of tunes – watched and adjudicated by two members of BVC’s music staff .Mrs Hall, teacher in charge of music and Mr Minchin, arts development offi cer, had an enjoyable aft ernoon at Burwell Village College (primary), commenti ng on the various groups.“All choirs performed one song each and it was very entertaining. We gave positi ve feedback,” said Mr Minchin.The pupils also sang some Beatles songs together.

Students worked in pairs to produce an atmospheric painti ng based on the theme Another World. The project was cross-curricular, inspired by other acti viti es taking place in music and drama lessons. The painti ngs will be used as a backdrop for a performance, which will be enhanced by music created by the students.Victoria Spoff orth (ITT teacher for 7.6)

Year 9 students proved they are a talented bunch when they took part in a lunchti me concert organised by the music department.The session featured a whole range of musical styles – and instruments – from the past (Hawaii Five- O) to the present (Mumford and Sons).“We held an informal lunchti me concert in February with a variety of items from folk to original songs, all performed by Year 9 students for their year group,” said music teacher Mrs Hall.“The music room was fi lled to capacity with a supporti ve audience enjoying their entertainment. It was a huge success and we hope to organise another soon,” she said.

On Monday, February 27th, a group of Year 9s with a keen interest in music parti cipated in a music seminar designed to stretch students and encourage them to try something diff erent from their ordinary lessons.We were introduced to seminar leader Aga who started by playing a soulful song he wrote himself. Then it was our turn. Aga split us up into soprano, alto, tenor and bass secti ons and we sang three songs, ‘Ordinary People’, ‘Swing Low’ and, as the fi nale piece, ‘Lean on Me’. For the last song, students were invited to play their instruments. These ranged from oboes to a banjo and ukulele! We learnt how to sing and perform in a gospel style with a variety of challenging songs.It was a truly terrifi c two-and-a-half hours. Thank you Aga.Ruby Steckelmacher 9.6

10 11

Botti sham students aired their views about the forthcoming Olympics during a schools public speaking competi ti on.Will Matlock, Ram Lakshman and Paige Street, all in Year 10, represented BVC in the annual Youth Speaks competi ti on organised by Sawston Rotary Club and held at Sawston Village College.“We were discussing The Olympic Myth. There were six schools, including us, and we did very well as the schools competi ng were at a very high standard. It was a fun evening,” said Will.Rotary Club’s Simon Lake, said: “May I say a thank you to Will, Ram and Paige for taking part in Youth Speaks. I think they did very well and were very percepti ve in their observati ons on The Olympic Myth.”

Teams comprise a chairman, speaker and proposer and are judged on subject matt er, constructi on, impact, delivery, audibility and teamwork. They have to speak for 15 minutes on their chosen subject and take a questi on from the fl oor.Botti sham’s speakers practi ce their skills at the college’s debati ng society which meets in the English block every Tuesday aft er school. Issues tackled so far have included – “Should we bring back grammar schools?” and “Should Argenti na get the Falklands back?”Further informati on is available from head of English Mr Compton or any English teacher.Will Matlock 10.5

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Musicians from Botti sham VC have been hitti ng the high notes in graded exams.Lucy Loughlan (9.4) scored 140 marks out of a possible 150 in a Grade 6 euphonium exam to gain a disti ncti on, while Freya Williams (10.7)achieved 121 marks (merit) ina Grade 6 clarinet exam.

Lord of the Flies is the 1954 debut novel by author William Golding, and is currently being studied by Year 11s for their English Literature examinati on. The novel is about a group of schoolboys who fi nd themselves stranded on a desert island aft er a plane crash during WW2. They are the only survivors and with no adults present or with the assumpti on that they are sharing their idyllic island with ‘a beast’. The events that unfold soon aft er are chilling, as the boys lose their childish innocence and begin to think, and act, like a tribe of savages intent on murder.Forty students, along with Mr Compton, Mrs Wayman and Mrs Lawton, departed for Bishop’s Stortf ord, in order to watch a theatrical producti on of the novel. The play was a ‘Sell a Door’ producti on, a company that has been described as “one of the liveliest theatre companies in the UK”. The play opened with the scene of the boys in a typical secondary school PE lesson before the stage was transformed to a desert island. Props were minimal, with lighti ng playing a major role in creati ng the feel of the play. Mirroring the staging, the cast was minimal. Piggy was played by Daniel Buckley, and a sonet of the main characters managed to stay true to the mannerisms and beliefs of Piggy; the reasons which would ulti mately lead to his unti mely death. He also bore the resemblance of James Corden, a source of amusement for some in the audience.Ralph, the main protagonist was also well cast. Played by Ben Wiggins, he managed to portray both the authoritati ve and more sensiti ve, dependent side of his character’s personality. The script was one that had been reduced, but retained the important elements of plot and felt in keeping with the original intenti ons of the novel. Aside from some unexpected improvisati on at the end, the play was an enormous success and helped visualize the main events of the novel, aiding the Year 11s in their understanding in preparati on for their up coming exam. Flora Wood 11.5

No Flies on this show

LOL! It’s ShakespeareThere were lots of laughs when a group of students went to see an updated version of a classic play.Drama teacher Mr Woodman said the producti on of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Cambridge University’s Marlowe Society was, “the funniest thing I have seen in years” – and the students agreed, their chuckles echoing round the Arts Theatre in Cambridge.The visit was arranged to inspire students from all years who will be performing in a special summer producti on of the play as part of BVC’s 75th anniversary celebrati ons – and it did the trick.“The producti on was really superb. The students who watched the play are now looking forward to trying out their own ideas. There was a lot of physical theatre and the cast played it for laughs. It was a student review version of Shakespeare and it really worked,” said Mr Woodman.Students were further moti vated following a two-hour drama workshop in school led by educati on mentor Virginia Grainger who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The annual Readathon saw young bookworms at BVC raising money for children’s chariti es.Year 7 students took part enthusiasti cally in the nati onal sponsored reading event which has raised more than £20 million pounds since it was set up in 1984.Readathon supports CLIC Sargent – the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people; Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity – specialising in helping children with serious neurological or blood conditi ons and also ReadWell – set up in 2010 to provide books and storytellers for children in hospital.

Blood BrothersStudents enjoyed a London theatre trip to see a producti on of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers – a GCSE drama text.“The visit provided students with a valuable opportunity to see a professional producti on to enhance their learning,” said drama teacher Mr Woodman.

Each month every Waitrose branch donates £1,000 between three local good causes. During April, Friends of Botti sham Village College will have a token collecti on box in the Waitrose store.We will be raising money to support a hardship fund for young people to benefi t from extra-curricular opportuniti es. Residenti al trips, Duke of Edinburgh Award, music tuiti on.. and many others.At the checkout, you’ll receive a token. Just place it in the Friends of Botti sham Village College box. The more tokens we get, the bigger the donati on we will receive.

12 13

Botti sham students parti cipati ng in the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award successfully completed their expediti on training on Saturday, February 25th. They parti cipated in a fun-fi lled day learning campcraft , such as putti ng up their tents, cooking with trangias (alcohol-burning portable stoves) and learned about expediti on safety.The students successfully took part in their practi ce expediti on earlier this term and will be completi ng their Award in April aft er their assessed expediti on in Southwold. Thanks to all staff and parents who have supported students and good luck to all in completi ng their Award!

Miss O’Grady

Training for trek

Year 11 students have been invited to join a Government initi ati ve encouraging teenagers to be more involved in their local communiti es.Gareth Waldock, a representati ve from the Nati onal Citi zen Service (NCS) spoke about the scheme in an assembly and had a good feedback from students.“The presentati on went very well and I received 23 expressions of interest,” he said.NCS is a voluntary eight-week summer programme for 16 year-olds promoti ng societal cohesion, transiti on into adulthood and community projects.

NCS is a being piloted over two years across England. Thousands of young people took part in the fi rst pilot last year. In 2012, there will be some 30,000 places on off er.

Bottisham Village CollegeAdult and Community Learning

Win a free 10 week courseof your choice,

worth up to £90!We are always looking for new and exciti ng courses to off er,

and would like to hear your views.

Why not take a look at ourwebsite www.botti shamvc.org/commedto see what we already off er and if the course you are looking for is not there, please let us have your suggesti ons by 27th April 2012. You will then be entered into our free prize draw.

Would you like more arts and craft s, languages, health and fi tness, ICT, or anything else? Please give as much detail as possible so that we can help. Do you like evening classes or Saturday day schools? Do you like 5 week or 10 week courses?

You can email us oncommed@botti shamvc.org,or telephone (01223) 811372. We’d love to hear from you and we’ll do our best to put on the best suggesti ons in our September programme.

High scoresfor BVCat maths challenge

Young mathemati cians at BVC proved they are number one, notching up high scores in this year’s UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge.The annual event, open to Years 9, 10 and 11, saw six students gaining gold, seven getti ng silver and 22 taking bronze.The challenge is set by the UK Mathemati cs Trust (UKMT), a registered charity whose aim is to advance the educati on of children and young people in mathemati cs. The UKMT organises nati onal mathemati cs competi ti ons and other mathemati cal enrichment acti viti es for 11-18 year old UK school pupils. In the last academic year over 600,000 pupils from 4,000 schools took part in the three individual challenges, the UK’s biggest nati onal maths competi ti ons.

The results were: Year 11 Gold - Rama Lakshman; Silver - Jake Bowden; Bronze - Hannah Slater. Year 10 Gold - Ram Lakshman, Leo Charlesworth, Ben May; Silver - Isobel Gabain,Elias KassellRaymond; Bronze - Will Matlock, Ben Scholan, Kate McGrath, Angelina Cao,Catriona Marriott , Kit Turner,Georgia Marshall. Year 9 Gold - Chloe Millard, Roman Armstrong; Silver - Joseph Lancaster, Jordan Delanoy, Ruby Steckelmacher, Gemma Galletly; Bronze - Bea Loveridge, Milly Parry, Hannah Murphy, Chester Swann-Auger, Rachel Towers,Emilie Chard, Cameron Nicholls, Connor Houghton, Helena Pumfrey, Jamie Hammond, Miriam Amrani, Maddy Wood, Sean Irving,Will Foreman.

Feast of fashion at Clothes ShowTexti les students explored the world of fashion when they spent a day at the Clothes Show Live at the NEC Birmingham.They had more than four hours to look at exhibits and also att ended a fashion show. There was an opportunity to fi nd out more about texti les and fashions through major labels, small businesses, universiti es and colleges.“The Clothes Show Live exhibiti on is a popular trip for GCSE texti les and is att ended widely by secondary school students. The range of fashions and texti les exhibited are inspirati onal for both Year 10 and Year 11 project and coursework,” said technology teacher Miss Price

Charity resultsA non-uniform day, cake sale and concert organised by Year 7s and the annual Year 8 Christmas Fair saw more than £1,000 being raised for three chariti es at the end of last term. The learning disability charity Mencap received £162.34, with a further £112 going to Red2Green and £988.64 to the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Leavers’ BallYear 11 students are sti ll busy fundraising for their Leavers’ Ball at the end of June. They sold red roses for Valenti ne’s Day and have lots of money-spinning ideas including a cake stall. The glamorous theme of this year’s Ball is Broadway/New York.

Waitrose tokens will aid college

Another date for your diaries is the fashion show. We are hoping as many people as possible will want to att end this event on Friday, April 27th (7pm for a 7.30pm start). The price is £5 for adults, which includes a glass of wine, and £3 for under-18’s. The evening will include High Street brands and other selected items. Tickets and further informati on are available from friends@botti shamvc.org or 07881 588 971

Fashion Show

Students from Years 8 to 11 have been att ending basketball club every week and representi ng the school in various matches, leading to the district competi ti ons. There have been some very close games for all teams, and pleasingly Botti sham nearly always fi elds a number of teams from each age group. There have been some excellent individual performances, the most successful team being the Year 8/9 girls who were crowned district champions in February. Congratulati ons to all the squad members.

14

Bottisham basketball success

15

Having retained the Cambridge and District Schools Cross Country Championships Shield in December with a fantasti c example of team running (the trophy is awarded to the best performing school, girls and boys across all year groups), a number of the runners were selected to represent the District team in the County Championships, held on a beauti ful cold, crisp and sunny day at King’s School Ely on Saturday, January 14th.All the runners ‘walked the course’ to establish where and when was the best

place to make a move in their races. Distances varied from 2,000 metres to 5,000 metres according to age group/gender. Botti sham had the largest conti ngent of runners, and a number of them competed so well that they were selected to represent Cambridgeshire in the Anglian Championships. Well done to all involved.The following were selected for the District Cross Country team: Evelyn Nichols, Alice Newcombe*, Belinda Dow*, Lucy Loughlan*, Joseph Howe*, Jonathan

Lankfer*, Lorenzo Uribe, Joe Nichols, Kenny Jenkins, Joe Swift , Luke Crisp*.The students marked * were selected for the County team. Alice Newcombe was selected to run in the Nati onal Cross Country Championships and came 35th in the whole country (and she is a year 8 student running against year 9 students). A brilliant achievement! Well done Alice.

Runners are just champion

Congratulations to all the students who are regularly involved as sports leaders in the PE Faculty. You are all gaining some great life skills, such as organisati on, risk assessment, planning, communicati on and empathy. You are changing the lives of others for the bett er, and we appreciate your help.

Introduction to fencing:Students tried their hand at the noble sport of fencing - with six achieving Level 1. The fi ve-week course was run by experienced coach, Gerry Doe, who is affi liated to the Briti sh Fencing Associati on.Twelve students from all years took part in the introductory course.“Fencing is a fast, exciti ng and athleti c sport,” said PE teacher, Miss Mann. “It is like ‘acti ve chess’ and keeps both body and mind fi t. It is a very easy sport to start at any age,” she said.Parti cipati ng students were: Samuel Weinberger, Tom Smith, Ben Nash, Louis McGee, Karl Heider, Luke Wood, Josh Dodds, Murray Munro, Eleanor Lodge, Owain Robinson, Emilia Hubbard and Bea Loveridge.

Badminton/Table Tennis Club:This popular Friday evening club regularly att racts over 30 parti cipants and there is not a space to be found in the sports hall/gym and Ros Sutt le Room as students from all year groups play matches at varying levels of intensity and competi ti on. Some choose to rally, others are there to win! Everyone is welcome.

SwimathonSwimmers will dive into the world’s biggest fundraising swim at Botti sham Sports Centre on April 28th and 29th. They will take on one of the fi ve Swimathon Weekend 2012 challenges, raising money for either Marie Curie Cancer Care through Distance Challenges or Sport Relief through the Big Splash Mile. Swimathon Weekend hits 645 pools across the UK. In its 25th year, Swimathon has joined forces with Briti sh Swimming and the BBC’s Big Splash, Marie Curie Cancer Care and Sport Relief to promote what is hoped will be the biggest Swimathon weekend ever, with thousands of swimmers raising vital funds for the two chariti es.

Botti sham Boot CampWould you like to shed up to 10lbs and lose inches from your waist…all in just four weeks? Join us at Botti sham Boot Camp – a four week camp consisti ng of 12 intense group workouts all led by experienced personal trainers. This is the best way to achieve fantasti c results in the shortest ti me possible. Full Nutriti on Plan to follow. Before and aft er measurements taken. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday early morning sessions. FREE taster session – where all camp details will be provided. Please contact Jason or Richard at the centre for more details.

New Junior Classes for SpringWe have some new exciti ng classes starti ng at the centre. There is junior football on Saturday (10-11am), street dance on Tuesday (6-7pm) and dodgeball on Thursday (6-7pm). For more details and to book your place, call 01223 811121.

Classes at a Glance:Disco Spinning - Mon 6-6.45pm; Thurs 10.15-11am & 7-7.45pm.Circuits - Tues 7-7.50pm.Zumba Toning - Mon 6.15-7pm.Zumba Fitness - Mon 7-8pm.Aqua Aerobics - Thurs 10.15–11am.Bolly Dance Workout - Thurs 8-9pmBoot Camp - Tues 7-8am; Thurs 7-8am; Sat 8-9am.Water Workout - Tues 10-11am.Pilates - Tues 11.30-12.30pm; Thurs 9.15-10.15am.Chair-based Exercise - Fri 10.20-11.20am

Botti sham Sports CentreLode Road, Botti sham Village College, Cambridgeshire CB25 9DJPhone: 01223 811121Email: sportscentre@botti shamvc.orgWebsite: www.botti shamvc.org/sportscentre

Special off erHalf price court hire on Saturdays and Sundays

March and April 2012 for Tennis, Badminton and

Table Tennis.

Subject to availability.Not available for block

hire bookings.

BOTTISHAM SPORTS CENTRE

Leading the way at festival

On Tuesday March 6th, 15 Year 9 Sports Leaders (list below) went to Burwell Village College to assist with the delivery of Botti sham VC’s annual Year 4 Football Festi val. Some 270 pupils from all 11 feeder primary schools (Botti sham PS, Burwell VC, Cheveley, Ditt on Lodge, Great Wilbraham, Fen Ditt on, Fulbourn, Kett lefi elds, Swaffh am Bulbeck, Swaffh am Prior, Teversham) att ended the event, enthusiasti cally braving the cold conditi ons. The Sports Leaders were each given a school and spent the fi rst hour delivering fun football related acti viti es. This was then followed by competi ti ve small sided games, with pupils representi ng their schools.

Both the acti viti es and games were well received by the Year 4 pupils who proved to be very respectf ul, responsive and energeti c. Sports Leaders issued sti ckers in associati on with the Olympic and Paralympic values ’Excellence, Friendship, Determinati on and Inspirati on’ as part of the run up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Sports Leaders did a fantasti c job, proving themselves to be excellent role models to the Year 4s and Year 6 leaders who supported them on the day. Congratulati ons to all!Year 9 Sports Leaders involved were: Becky Arksey, Jaina Hall, Miriam Amrani, Izzy Swift , Harriet Walker, Parth Jethwa, Jack Delaune, Ben Morris, Jake Jupp, Sam Bellis, Josh Lees, Jack Carter, Alfi e Ball, Byron King and Sam Johnson.Miss Martell

The Olympic/Paralympic values are Determinati on, Inspirati on, Excellence, Respect, Equality, Courage and Friendship. Take a few minutes

to think about them and discuss with your family and friends what each of these means to you and how you might take them on board to make life bett er for you and for others.There will be thousands of ‘Olympic Volunteers’ helping to make this global event run smoothly. Why not be an ‘Olympic Volunteer’ in your family/village/at school and pledge to so something to help others?

‘

‘

Mr

Alv

ey s

ays:

16

What a prospect it is to have the greatest sporti ng event in the world coming to North East London (just down the road!) in the summer, writes Mr Alvey. The countdown clock is ti cking away in Trafalgar Square, and here at Botti sham we have already started to celebrate. Some events have already taken place and many more are planned, both in and beyond the Physical Educati on curriculum in order to give all students the opportunity to feel part of this wonderful event.

OLYMPIC COUNTDOWN ROWING: In January we took part in the Olympic Countdown rowing competi ti on at Parkside Community College in Cambridge. Teams and individuals competed against other schools on Concept 2 indoor rowing machines. These machines are linked via a computer so each race (up to twelve competi tors at a ti me) can see how they are faring as the positi ons are shown on a big screen. With much eff ort and encouragement Botti sham gained a silver medal for the Year 9 girls team, and the boys went to the top of the podium by winning the gold! Well done to all rowers.Botti sham rowing team:Jola Maczkiewicz, Megan Howlett , Harriet Walker, Izzy Swift , Miriam Amrani, Lucy Loughlan, Poppy Farrington, Aidan O’Brien, Sam Johnson, Jake Jupp, Luke King, Tom Ellis-Daish

OLYMPIC VOLLEYBALL COMPETITION: Key stage four students were invited to enter teams into our Olympic volleyball competi ti on. Each team chose a country to represent, entered the sports hall with their nati onal fl ag and the competi ti on commenced. Aft er some two hours of play the fi nal positi ons were as follows: Gold Medal - Gambia (Sam King, Ben Jeacock, Dan Cornell); Silver Medal - Zimbabwe (Connor Hazelwood, David Hall, Matt Marsh); Bronze Medal - Ivory Coast (Allen-Roy Mendonca, Danny Emerton, Josh Titley).

OLYMPIC TABLE TENNIS AND BADMINTON COMPETITION (COUNTDOWN LEAGUE: 148 DAYS TO GO): Schools from the Cambridge and District area parti cipated in this exciti ng competi ti on. Here at Botti sham we played host to Sawston VC, Netherhall and the Internati onal School from Cambridge. The atmosphere in the sports hall and gym was excellent as Year 7 and 8 students competed for the top places. Results were: Table Tennis Gold Medal –Botti sham A (Ben Cooke, Harry Darling, Callum Stevens, Tom Raine); Silver – Botti sham B (Elliot Mann, Tim King, Olly Holt, Josh Dadds, Joe Howe). Badminton Bronze medal – Botti sham 1 (Will Hasleham, Aiden O’Brien); 4th – Botti sham 2 (Sam Johnson, Bryon King); 6th – Botti sham 3 (Craig Sadler, Lewis Hall); 7th – Botti sham 4 (Charlie Hall, Sean Woodroff e)

FORTHCOMING OLYMPIC EVENTSIn the coming months we are looking forward to off ering you the chance to parti cipate in Olympic Futsal Competi ti on Olympic Water Polo Competi ti on Olympic Relay Swimming Gala Olympic Water Polo Competi ti on Olympic Gymnasti cs Competi ti on Olympic Cycling Competi ti on Olympic Athleti cs Paralympic Sports such as wheelchair basketball, Boccia, Goalball, ‘blind’ sprinti ng, wheelchair shot putt , wheelchair javelin. A trip to London to parade on the track in the Olympic stadium and watch demonstrati on acti viti es by some great Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Olympic gold challenge: All students will get the chance to help raise money for Olympic chariti es by running/cycling/swimming or rowing as we try to cover 2012 kilometres!

College countdownto Olympics