BVC News - Autumn 2018

Spring 2018

News

The magazine of Bottisham Village College

Inside this issue        

80th Anniversary Event New House System Safe Place Mental Health Parent Questionnaire Career News Sports & Arts News Plus lots more news & information

Achievement through inspiring, caring, enriching

Message from the Principal We would like to wish you all a healthy and happy 2019!

Our autumn newsletter celebrates some of the highlights of a very busy term with some updates of what developments have been going on.

Bottisham Village College Lode Road Bottisham Cambridgeshire CB25 9DL Tel: 01223 811250 enquiries@bottishamvc.org

It was an exhilarating, exciting and energetic term for us all here at the college especially for one particular group of students: our new year 7 cohort. Arriving at the college a day before their peers, they had a chance to settle in, understand how secondary schools operate and, importantly, how to buy their lunch! We have been delighted by how they have made the transition from primary so easily, as shown by their involvement in the trips to Framingham Castle, participation in the college cross-country and their healthy competitive spirit during our first ever Interhouse Day. Well done to you all.

Memorable and poignant, the college’s 80th anniversary celebrations will live long in our memory. Accompanied by the students involved in our wonderful ‘Project 80’, the college opened on a Saturday to welcome former and current staff, students and the local community: the day was nothing short of a triumph. The highlight of the day was welcoming former Principals of the college to look around our fantastic new Morris Wing, and watching the masterful short film about BVC, reminding us all of our values and Henry Morris’ vision. Here’s to the next 80!

Mrs Jenny Rankine

Dates for your diary Spring Term 2019

Summer Term 2019

Monday 7th January - Start of term

Tuesday 23rd April - Start of term

Thursday 31st January - Year 9 Parents’ Evening Friday 15th February - Training Day

Wednesday 1st May - Year 7 Parents’ Evening Monday 6th May - May Day

Monday 4th February - Year 9 Options Evening

Wednesday 15th May - Year 10 Parents’ Evening 27th - 31st May - Half term

Monday 11th February - Year 10 Information Evening 18th - 22nd February - Half term Friday 5th April 1.25pm - End of Spring term

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8th - 19th July - Year 10 Work Experience 15th - 19th July - Activities week Wednesday 24th July 1.25pm - End of Summer term

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The annual BVC Christmas Concert at Holy Trinity Church was once again a fitting start to the festive season. In front of an audience of parents, grandparents, invited guests and members of the local community, over 50 students from years 7 to 11 presented a programme of festive entertainment.

Performances included a beautiful rendition of “Walking in the Air” by the Orchestra, followed by a somewhat more rousing version of the “Match of the Day” theme tune! The Year 7 & 8 Singing Group treated the audience to the ever lovely “Mary Did You Know?” and the 7UP! vocal group brought some harmony to Elton John’s “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”.

The show featured many outstanding soloists including Polly, who sang Tom Fletcher’s “Afraid of Heights” and Cassidy who performed Ludovico Einaudi’s “I Giorni”. Also featuring this year were several family acts, including siblings Elijah and Willow, who teamed up to give us a fun, festive “Rudolph” moment.

The evening was brought to a close by the Year 11 Band who rocked (around the Christmas tree) while the audience all enjoyed a glass of festive cheer and a mince pie. It was fantastic to see such a mix of both experienced and new performers representing the school and we look forward to doing it all again at the Spring Showcase in March. A massive well done to all our performers!

Other events that took place during the last week of term included Christmas Jumper day in aid of Save The Children, the Year 7 & 8 Christmas fairs and Christmas Dinner!

We raised £888 for Save The Children by staff and students wearing non-uniform and a total of £494.44 from the fairs which will be split between Cancer research and Jimmy’s Cambridge. We also collected food for Jimmy’s which will help those struggling to find jobs and housing in Cambridge. Mr Higgin’s took 4 large crates full of food to the shelter, for which they were extremely grateful. Christmas lunch was enjoyed by 349 students including 50 who won it as a reward for their hard work this term. Many thanks to the Catering Team for their hard work and the delicious food! On the last morning of term students enjoyed house assemblies where they enjoyed hearing about all the events of Interhouse Day and found out the winning house.

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House News …. House News …. House News …. House News ….

Bottisham has entered a new chapter in its illustrious history this term with the introduction of a house system, the purpose of which is twofold: to create a community spirit in the school across year groups, and to foster a culture of success.

Staff and students voted on names for the houses, and there was almost unanimous agreement with the following names: Terra, Aqua, Ignis, Ventis and Aether. House assemblies have taken place, led by our team of 6 house ambassadors and these have highlighted specific student achievements from across all year groups, some of which you can read about below.

Additionally, students took part in the very first Interhouse Day. This involved them trying to earn house points in all faculty areas of the school, from maths and English to PE and performing arts. You can read more about this on the next page. It is our hope that the house system will become a firm part of what it is to be a student at Bottisham, and we have many exciting plans in place to integrate it further into other aspects of the school experience.

Mr Andersen, House System Co-ordinator As your Aqua House Ambassador, it has been a real pleasure to be part of the launch of the house system. The first of our assemblies provided an opportunity to focus on the fact that you are a vital part of the Aqua House community. In addition, I wanted to make it clear that the house system will endeavour to regularly celebrate our individual and group achievements and successes from within this community.

Over the last term, it has been very impressive to see that so many of you have been working hard to earn house points in a variety of ways. The recent cross country activities have seen a large number of students achieving personal best times. A special mention should go to the students of 7.4, 7.7 and 9.2 who represented BVC at the recent District Schools Cross-country event. Well done to all of you, especially those going on to represent the school in January.

Outside the world of sport, many of you have been earning house points for excellent effort and behaviour in other areas of school life. Joe is leading the house points tally in 7.4 and has gained a certificate for helping out at the BVC Open Evening earlier this year. Setting the example in 8.2 is Luie, with the highest number of house points and a certificate for being a STAR in science. In year 9, Chrissie is 9.6’s house point leader, gaining many of her points for the wonderful effort she makes in maths. Ryan and Harvey have both been making great progress in English and jointly lead the points total for 10.6. Sebastian, the top house points earner in year 11, has many points in science and achieved a certificate for his efforts in German. A final mention must go to Amelia from 7.7, not only does she currently have the highest house point total in the whole of year 7 and Aqua House, but she also has the highest house point total in the whole school! What a tremendous start to our Aqua House adventure! I am incredibly proud of all of your efforts and I look forward to talking about your many successes to come.

Mr Dove, Aqua House Ambassador Aether house is off to a flying start! It has been an absolute pleasure to take on the role of ambassador to a house full of such fantastic students and to see how well they have embraced this new system. It has been fantastic to read about all the students’ achievements for which they have been richly rewarded in house points; special mention to Zoe in year 7 who is currently the top point scorer for Aether. The House mantra is ‘Going above and beyond’ which a number of students have truly embraced.

During the term students are often asked to get involved with activities outside their normal lessons, giving up their free time for the good of the school and their local community. One example of this is all the students who will be giving up their evening to perform in the Christmas Concert at Bottisham Church, a big well done and thank you to: Oliver, Sam, Evie, Solomon, Rose, Izaak, Isabella and Ben. Additional to this was a challenge I put to our students in years 10 and 11 which was to think about how they could support their fellow students in younger years and it is great to see this taking place; in Performing Arts, Alice , Jacob and Nelle are all leaders in Drama and/or Dance. Finally a massive well done to all our KS3 students who took part in Crosscountry which was the first opportunity for students to compete for their House. The students really did themselves proud with Aether claiming a very respectable 2nd place overall. I cannot wait to see the outstanding work that students produce going forward, well done Aether!

Miss K Ruth, Aether House Ambassador

A fantastic first term for Ventus house! I am delighted to have the opportunity of leading such a tremendous group of students and celebrating their many successes across all aspects of school life. Our house motto is ‘All together now’ and this has certainly been exemplified over the first term with so many students collecting house points and certificates and adding to our house total. A definite highlight has been the year 7, 8 and 9 cross-country – so many students ran a personal best time – and a special congratulations to year 8 who were the fastest house! Successes in sport are certainly worthy of being celebrated, but a particular well done needs to be reserved for those students who have received certificates for their consistent and excellent efforts in lessons. It is not possible to list them all here, but congratulations to Jake, Kitty, Lily, Aaron and Bethany-Louise for their outstanding attitude to English lessons, Melissa for her excellent leadership in lessons and afterschool clubs, and Jodie , Pravin and Oliver for their commitment and efforts in GCSE science lessons. It really is a team effort, though, so keep on looking for ways to collect house points and certificates. All together now!

Mr Midgley, Ventus House Ambassador We are terribly proud to introduce you to Terra House. Because Terra means earth/ ground/ world and we aspire to grow beyond our immediate world, our motto is With Feet on the Ground, Look up to the Sky (Pedes in Terra, ad Sidera Visus).

Students have already made a terrific impact this term on the House Point running total. They have gained STAR status in science; their feet have pounded the terrain of Bottisham to achieve personal bests in cross-country (Terra was the second fastest year 7 house!); gained house points galore for outstanding effort with classwork, homework and for many other endeavours. We congratulate you for your personal effort as well as for your contribution to the Terra team. We are doing well and we can go further….look up to the sky! We are excited about the first Interhouse day, where we will have the opportunity to work together in house teams choosing challenges and tackling tasks that don’t often come our way in normal curriculum time. We will be there to encourage you!

Mrs Blake & Mrs Derbyshire, Terra House Ambassadors An impressive first term for Ignis house! A huge well done to all students that took part in the cross country. Congratulations to the fastest boy and girl from each year group, Year 7 - Elissa & Danny, Year 8 – Grace & Myron and Year 9 – Andrea & Tom. However, everyone who took part contributed to Ignis house coming 1st overall!

I would like to acknowledge all those students that helped with Open Evening and contributed to Project 80 and in turn earned lots of house points. Congratulations to those students that received certificates of which there were so many issued. A few I would like to mention are Olivia for being repeatedly helpful in dance, Bethany for planning, leading and delivering drama club in half term and Niall for excellent contributions to GCSE PE lessons. If we continue work as a team we will achieve great things and earn many house points. Keep up the good work.

Mrs Parsons, Ignis House Ambassador

House News …. House News …. House News …. House News ….

House News …. House News …. House News …. House News ….

INTERHOUSE DAY On Thursday 13th December we had our inaugural Interhouse Day for all students across the college.

The purpose of this day was for students to represent their houses in a series of challenges, trying to earn house points and be declared Interhouse Day champions!

It was also an opportunity for students to take part in activities that would enrich the normal day-to-day curriculum. Example activities from the day included; an origami animal challenge, Christmas yule log bake off, Languages Treasure Hunt, Year 9 and 10 producing climate change campaigns, Year 7 deducing how best to deconstruct a junction on the A14, Swimming galas and gymnastics competitions for year 7 and 8, and a musical production of Wicked by year 10 and 11 students, featuring elements of music, dance and drama.

Hundreds of house points were awarded to students for winning challenges, as well as showing excellent team work and effort. Overall, the winning house for the first Interhouse Day was TERRA! Well done too all students for some outstanding contributions, and we look forward to our next Interhouse Day later in the school year.

Mr Andersen House System Co-ordinator

TERRA

House News …. House News …. House News …. House News ….

Careers News Hello everyone! This term has been very exciting for Careers!

We started with our Year 11 Post 16 evening where students talked to 6th Forms, Colleges and other providers. Parents were able to listen to an informative Apprenticeship presentation from AIM. The following day, Year 11s visited the Ely Careers Fair where they had the opportunity to talk to local employers and find out more about different occupations. On the same day, Year 9 participated in ‘Learn to Earn’. They spent the day learning about lifestyles, careers and budgeting.

Students enjoyed finding out more about themselves and their aspirations. Some Year 9s were also able to attend a STEM Fair (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). They visited the industry stands and a few had careers interviews to help them consider their options. The Chartered Institute of Builders talked to students during a science lesson, advising them about career opportunities in construction.

To make the best of our wonderful new library we will be offering drop-in session from different industries during break and lunchtime. This started in November with two members from the Army Royal Engineers talking to students about their experiences. The students were engaged and asked really searching questions.

help stretch high attaining mathematicians. A group of Year 7 and 8 students worked with Anglesey Abbey to create the decorations for their ’12 Trees of Anglesey’. More about this can be read on page XXXXX . Year 8 and 9 students received an awe inspiring talk by Ricky Munday from ‘Inspired Alpine’ who spoke about his journey from a Glasgow council estate to the summit of Everest.

And finally… the College was delighted to host a two-day project where a group of students, with the support of ViY instructors and our own Mr Kim Lane from Technology, produced amazing benches and picnic benches. VIY (Volunteer it Yourself) challenges young people to learn vocational trade and building skills whilst also developing valuable broader employability skills. The students also gained a City and Guilds qualification! We hope to bring more practical workshops to the College in 2019. If you have practical skills, maybe in tiling, carpentry or painting and decorating, and would like to support our students, please get in touch with me.

As you can see, it has been a very busy time!

Our career webpage is updated regularly with new opportunities and look out for our tweets on the latest careers at Bottisham information. We have also been raising the profile of careers by attending parents evening and other events where we have been able talk to many of you about our work.

In order to provide an effective, dynamic programme for all our students, we continue to look for new opportunities. If you are interested in supporting our students, please contact us at: careers@bottishamvc.org or lsimpson@bottishamvc.org Don’t forget you can also follow us on twitter @bvccareers

Thank you for your support The Careers Team

Our Partnership Development Officer, Julian Fox, has been working hard to develop links with local employers. The A14 Integrated Delivery Team are keen to work with our students on an enrichment activity. Turners of Soham are working with our Business Studies teachers to enliven the syllabus and bring a real-life perspective to the classroom. Our Maths tutors have received a problem solving task from a local designer which will

Making progress!

At the start of this year the college followed many local schools by introducing progress books (or equivalent in those subjects that do not use books – this will usually be a folder).

This now means that all students in all subjects have two exercise books: one for their normal classwork, and one for their assessed work. The latter will be kept by the subject teacher and will contain all formally assessed work such as mock exams or deep dive assessments, of which students usually complete one or two per term. They will also contain the responses that the student makes to the teacher’s marking: at Bottisham, students do not get a grade, but are given a good at and a work on, and are given tasks to complete that address any issues that have been raised by the test. Our aim is to get student to identify and practise what they are not good at – a key to making sustained improvements.

The student will keep the progress books for all five of their years at Bottisham, so they will be able to see how their work has developed over time. By reviewing their work in previous assessments, they will be able readily to identify the areas that they need to focus on to ensure that they secure progress in subsequent assessments. At the start of the year, teachers will be able to review the work of the

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students that they are teaching, so that they gain a sense of their classes’ individual strengths and weaknesses, enabling them better to target their teaching.

We are very conscious of the need to ensure that the progress book does not get lost. For this reason, and in accord with the advice we have been given by other schools, we ask students not to take it home. The books are stored in classrooms, and students, if need be, are asked to complete written assessments on paper (or in class) which is then stuck into the book. We are considering the best ways of enabling parents to see the books should they wish to: many teachers are using them in parents evenings, and we might extend and formalise this practice.

All in all we are very excited by this new initiative. Already our work scrutiny has shown that the books had a really positive impact in lots of areas, and we are confident that as time passes, and the amount of work in them accumulate, these benefits will grow and grow.

News from the *NEW* Library Once more, Bottisham students triumphed this year in their GCSE public examinations, culminating in a great atmosphere on results day. It was the first year that the majority of examinations would be assessed using the new and reformed 9-1 GCSE grading system, with most assessments undertaken in examination conditions.

There were some highlights to mention:  75% of Bottisham students achieved a pass in both maths and English. For many students, these grades are vital for post-16 progression and in the years to come with employment;

 22% of students achieved 5 GCSEs at grade 7 (the old A grade) or above, putting BVC in the top 20% of school nationally;

 30% of students achieved a grade 7 in English literature, putting BVC in the top 15% of schools nationally;

 72% of students achieved a grade 7 in music, putting the school in the top 5% of schools nationally;

The college would like to congratulate all students on their hard work and dedication, as they sat some of the most arduous examinations we have seen for years.

Well done to the class of 2018

This has been an extraordinary term for us, as we moved into our new library in October. Although the old library was well-used and muchloved, our new home is a bright, modern and welcoming space which is proving to be even more popular with staff and students.

As we have seen vast numbers of libraries being cut and closed all over the country, it’s been incredible to have had such an investment in the future of our library. The overwhelmingly positive response we have had really demonstrates the difference libraries can make to a community.

Our Tuesday lunchtime Book Club has grown in popularity, and the library has been completely booked out almost every day since it opened. A fantastic team of volunteers continues to open the library to the local community for six sessions a week, and our after-school homework sessions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays have seen a surge in attendance.

Our December Book Fair looks set to smash our previous sales totals, with another one coming up in March 2019, to celebrate World Book Day. The two Book Fairs we held last year helped us to purchase nearly £200 of brand new books for our library, so your support is greatly appreciated.

Ms James - Library Co-ordinator

Our Top Readers of 2018: 1. April 7.6 (106 books) 2. Luc 7.7 (106 books) 3. Nicole 8.6 (78 books) 4. Angus 8.5 (62 books) 5. Ruby 8.8 (61 books) 6. Alexandre 8.3 (59 books) 7. Aleksejs 8.8 (47 books) 8. Zach 7.4 (45 books) 9. Samantha 7.5 (45 books) 10. Jasmine 8.1 (40 books)

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80th ANNIVERSARY EVENT On Saturday November 3rd, Bottisham Village College was proud to bring people together to celebrate the official opening and naming of the Morris Wing and Evans Auditorium and the opening of the new Community Library. At the same time, we also marked the culmination of Project 80, a heritage project supported by the National Lottery Fund which explored the history of the school through archives research, interviews and the study of school architecture.

The official opening was made by four principals, past and present Current principal Mrs Jenny Rankine, Mr Martin Gent, Mrs Pat O’Shea and Mrs Kate Evans , whom the new performance hall was named after.

Following the ribbon cutting, guests and visitors were able to watch the final Project 80 performance and film.

Katy Ruth, Performance Strand Lead says - “The main focus of the

Performance Strand of Project 80 has been looking back at our past and the ways in which we can reflect it artistically. Together the students have been using their performing and research skills to create short pieces of work which reflect different eras and aspects of the school.

The final part of this strand has been the creation of the climatic performance in the new main hall. This is a celebration of 2018, looking not just at the past but to the future. This has been particularly enjoyable as it is the topic to which the students could most relate. They have been able to contribute fantastic ideas with no research needed because it is the world in which they are currently living.

The students involved in this strand have shown absolute dedication to their craft and displayed their abilities in a range of ways. They have truly challenged themselves as performers and especially as creators. It has been a real joy to watch them work, and I know their final performance will reflect both their wonderful work as performers and also the fantastic environment in which they have been creating.

The performance was followed by a showing of the Project 80 film made

by Peter Harmer an ex-student of BVC, and students from the History and Film Strand of Project 80. Students researched the college’s past, learning about this through research of the archive materials within the school and at the Cambridgeshire Archives and Cambridgeshire Collection. In addition to this, they interviewed people involved with the school and met with members of the community to hear their recollections of school days. They recorded all interviews and project activities on film, learning about interviewing techniques and the key stages of film production.

Peter Harmer says - As a past pupil of Bottisham Village College I was

thrilled to be invited back to the school to work with the students on the production of a documentary film to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the college. I enjoyed my time as a pupil at Bottisham Village College very much. When I left in 1996 I knew that I wanted to work in the creative industries and more specifically with the moving image. I have no doubt that the inspiration I got from art and drama at Bottisham played a significant part in that.. I work on a wide range of film projects all over the world for broadcast, documentary and commercial clients. However, I have always enjoyed working with young people, introducing them to the process of film production and sharing my passion for it with them. This is one of many Heritage Lottery Funded projects I have been involved with, but having such a close affinity with the school has made this an extra special experience for me. The students in the film and history group have been brilliant, and I am sure they will take great pride in the

Other highlights of the day included the opening of the new library, which is now where the main hall was. This was filled with archive material from the college and visitors were fascinated by the many photographs and documents going right back to 1937 when the college was opened.

Visitors were given copies of a book which documented the process and findings of Project 80 and both the book and film can be viewed on our website www.bottishamvc.org/news/80thanniversary-celebrations We also welcomed a new sculpture on to site, ‘Berserk’, the work of sculptor Matt Sanderson who designed our wonderful World Tree and the sculpture ‘Alignment’ took up it’s new position on the Principal’s lawn.

Mrs Rankine says - ”The college has changed

remarkably over the past 80 years: the new building, shimmering in the summer sunshine as the final bricks are being laid, demonstrates clearly the physical changes to the school site over time, something I know the students involved in the project have been researching with great interest. What has never changed, however, is the original vision of our founder, Henry Morris, who instilled in the local community a sense that education is about lifelong learning; the idea that a community learns together, grows together, from its roots to its tips, and continues to recognise and nurture all within our locality, whilst also being outward-facing and valuing the wider world around us.

The Capital Build project itself is incredibly exciting for us all: not just from an architectural perspective, but more importantly due to the space and resources it will afford the college as we continue to grow and support more young people in the future. We are particularly excited about the new performing arts facilities, which will match the talents and hard work of our young dancers, actors and musicians. Never forgetting Henry’s ethos, these resources and facilities, including a wonderful new community library, will also be used to support our adult learning programmes and, we hope, become a real hub of inspiring learning and discovery for all members of the community.”

Print Project Bottisham Village College has a reputation for excellence in the arts and was therefore delighted to forge a relationship with The Arts Society Newmarket through the group’s Young Arts representative.

The Newmarket group, which has been in existence since 1976, is part of the National Association of The Arts Society and aims to bring people together through a shared curiosity for the arts. It does this through a monthly lecture programme, focused study days, holidays and trips. It also supports young people’s engagement in the arts through its Young Arts programme, and the college was delighted to become a beneficiary of this, having been awarded £1,000 from The Arts Society Newmarket and a further £500 from the Patricia Fay Memorial Fund, a fund managed by the National Association.

This funding allowed the school to undertake an associated project to create an artwork for the new school building.

Principal Jenny Rankine, who accepted the award on behalf of the school said, “We are delighted to have received this funding award from The Arts Society and look forward to engaging professional artists to work alongside students to make an artwork to mark the opening of the new building and to complement the art work already on the school site. We are extremely grateful to the Arts Society for affording us this wonderful opportunity.’”

Students from Year 7 enjoyed taking part in the project with artists Ricki and Cary Outis. The work, which comprises suspended printed banners, takes as its inspiration the architecture of both old and new buildings on the school site and also features some images from the school’s archive.

The students created their printed pieces through screen printing, working from black and white photographs of architectural features from around the school. They removed either the black or white coloured areas from their images to create a stencil for printing. Once they had made their initial print, they then took a ‘blot’ of this so they could create a further layer with a ‘spot’ colour to add interest and detail. The prints created by students are modernist in style, which reflects the architecture of the original buildings.

The finished artwork looks amazing and adds a new dimension to our wonderful new space.

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Parent Questionnaire Research has shown that strong partnerships between home and school can have a significant positive impact on wellbeing, attendance, academic progress and behaviour. At Bottisham Village College (BVC), we are committed to working alongside parents to achieve the best possible outcomes for our students.

Your feedback from our recent parental questionnaire has given us some valuable information that, as always, is helping us to reflect on and improve provision for our young people. Although there were only a small number of respondents (84 parents), which in itself suggests that the vast majority are happy with our provision, we do take the feedback seriously and, as always, use it to help shape what we offer at BVC. The main findings can be summarised as follows: The vast majority of parents said that their child felt safe and happy at school.

To build on this, senior students have introduce a ‘Safe Place’ this term. (More about this can be read on the next page.) This room is available to all students at break and lunch as a calm area to chat or play games. Senior students are on hand to give advice and support if necessary. Feedback from students has been extremely positive. In addition, we are reviewing the effectiveness of our pastoral system, encouraging parents to use form tutors as the first point of contact for any day-to-day issues so that students feel supported and nurtured. At the same time, we have been busy revising the layout of social areas for students in the wake of the building works, with the aim of providing a safe area for each year group in which to play and socialise. Although the majority of parents felt that the amount of homework set by teachers was appropriate, others disagreed.

Although the majority of parents felt that the amount of homework set by teachers was appropriate, others disagreed.

Google Classroom was launched this year as the main tool for extended learning. We are currently reviewing the use of this online platform and sharing ideas for its effective use, offering training where needed.

The vast majority of parents report that the school deals effectively with bullying.

We have a firm commitment to ensuring that all students feel safe and happy at school. Where this isn’t the case, we encourage students to report issues to their form tutor, Head of Learning, Pastoral Support Workers or other trusted adults. Once we receive allegations of bullying, they are fully investigated and dealt with appropriately. We have reviewed our systems and have recently spoken to students about the importance of not being bystanders: of supporting others by reporting any actions that might be considered bullying. Please see information about tootoot below, which students can use to report bullying.

Although the majority of parents reported that the school responds well to concerns that are raised and communicates well with parents, some respondents were less satisfied.

You will appreciate schools are very busy places and therefore responding to parents concerns by e-mail or in person during the same day can be difficult. However, we have reviewed and amended our communications policy. Once approved, this will be circulated to all stakeholders. We anticipate that the new policy will enable even more effective partnership between parents and school staff to support our young people. Additionally, we are looking to further enhance communication and strengthen links between the school and parents/carers by establishing a termly parent forum. The key aims of such an initiative are:  to inform parents of changes to school systems and policies, and seek their feedback  to discuss issues that are causing concern to parents and, where possible, address these issues  to allow parents the opportunity to discuss new ideas that will bring benefit to the students or the wider school community to establish how we can strengthen the link between learning at school and at home.

We are looking for parents with the following skills and qualities to join the forum:  Team players – working together effectively with other parents and staff  Reflective – an ability to consider the impact of change and suggest solutions to problems  Whole school perspective – an ability to consider the big picture and want to improve outcomes for all students  Committed – time and a desire to attend termly meetings If you wish to register an interest in joining the parent forum, or would like more information, please contact me via email: mmerry@bottishamvc.org. If there is a lot of interest, it may be necessary to run elections to appoint parents to the forum.

I look forward to hearing from some of you, and meeting you in due course.

Mr Matt Merry, Assistant Principal

Tootoot is a safe, secure and diverse web-based safeguarding tool, which allows students of all age ranges - from primary right through to University - to report incidents of bullying, problems they could be having in class or any issues that may be concerning them in an anonymous, confidential and discreet manner. These individual cases are monitored, managed and resolved by staff/mentors within the school.

Tootoot reduces the friction and stigma attached to the reporting of such incidents, and ultimately provides us with the tools required to track, monitor and resolve cases efficiently and significantly reduce bullying. Tootoot not only encourages pupils to report incidents of bullying, it also encourages them to work together and strengthen communication links between them and their teachers by removing barriers.

Each student has a username and password, which allows them to log in and use tootoot. They are then able to quickly report incidents and concerns directly to their school. Each school has their own sub-domain where only teachers and pupils from our school will be able to communicate with one another. All pupils are anonymous at the point of reporting but identities can be uncovered by the school’s designated tootoot administrator, ONLY if it appears the pupil’s emotional or physical well-being is at serious risk.

Pupils can access tootoot on any web-enabled device (computers; laptops; tablets or mobiles) We hope that this will reassure you that we continue to take any concerns from our school community whether it be in or out of school, verbal, physical or cyberbullying extremely seriously and continue to develop ways in which to support both victim and perpetrator.

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Safe Place Last year a group of my friends and I noticed that there wasn’t a place for people to eat their lunch away from the sometimes frantic nature of breaks and lunches. We felt that this was something that was necessary, because everyone should have a place to go where they feel comfortable and safe so we decided to make one ourselves!

We called this place Safe Place and eventually decided to hold it in Hall 2. The students involved in Safe Place are: Louis , Harriet, Pasangi, Nell, Daisy, Eliana, Jacob and myself, Matilda.

The first day that we ran Safe Place, we had 20 people that came at lunch, this showed us that it was something that was important for our school to have, and people obviously appreciated it. As we ran the place for longer, it developed so much and now we have lots of tables out with things for people to do like colouring and connect 4, and the newest additions are our six bean bags!

I personally love the atmosphere in Safe Place, everyone is friends even across different year groups and it’s such a nice place to be.

Someone that comes a lot said that “Safe Place is an amazing place to hang out because it’s nice, calm and relaxing.” One of the best things about it is that people that come, meet new people who they get along with, and they make new friends.

Someone else said, “Safe Place has helped because at the start of the year I didn’t really have many friends and I have been having fun since I started coming.”

The unique part of safe place is that it is entirely set up and run by students, for other students, this means that we make friends with the people that come as well which adds to the friendly atmosphere. Another student that comes said “I love Safe Place, mainly because it is run by students. It gives me a place to go at lunchtimes and it is a lovely place to meet up with friends.

Drawing and playing games is the best part!” Every lunchtime, we try to ensure that everyone is happy and we chat to everyone that comes. Someone else said, “The helpers are really nice and supportive, it is very peaceful”, whilst Rose in year 8 said, “I like coming to Safe Place because you always have someone to talk to, it is all a happy environment.”

Most people said that it is a calm place to be. This is very important for us, so was so rewarding for us to hear. Everyone involved in setting up Safe Place have been so committed and lovely to the students that come. Nell said, “I think that Safe Place is a vital part of our school because it is such a comfortable, caring environment. The atmosphere is just so relaxed and I love it.” Harriet said, “Safe Place gives students a place to relax and feel comfortable. They have a place to make friends” If you feel that you would benefit from coming to Safe Place, then all you have to is walk in! Our doors are always open. Equally if you have any suggestions for us on how to develop Safe Place further then feel free to let any of us know.

Mental Health Support - Wider Collaboration In recent years Bottisham Village College has been involved in mental health projects across Cambridgeshire and Nationally. We are currently involved in several exciting projects which look to promote good practice in mental health and wellbeing in schools across the county.  We are working with the Department for Education as part of their Mental Health Screening & Prevention Delivery Group. This is a project that combines the expertise of government, the NHS, social services and education with the view to develop a programme of screening and prevention that can be implemented across schools in East Anglia. We feel privileged to have been identified by the government as a model of good practice in the area of mental health and wellbeing.  We belong to the CYP (children and young people) Emotional Health and Wellbeing Collaborative. This group includes experts from the NHS, the Emotional wellbeing team, the Children’s commissioner, PHSE services and charities such as the YMCA. We work together with these agencies to let them know what the needs are in schools and how they can support us with them.  Schools University Partnership for Education (SUPER) we actively participate in action research with the university to support and promote the mental health of students.

We work closely with the Local Authority district team, who deliver interventions and work closely with families when extra support is needed.

As a school we are fully committed to supporting and promoting the positive mental health of our students. In order to do this, we welcome working in partnership with parents and carers and the wider community to ensure that our students receive the support that they need, both within the home and at school.

We encourage you to raise any concerns that you might have about the wellbeing of a child with their form tutor in the first instance.

Our mental health policy is a source of information and advice which you may find useful. It can be found here http://www.bottishamvc.org/images/uploads/documents/

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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE ART DEPARTMENT? As usual the art department is its’ natural hub of creativity; students are working on a multitude of risk taking, expressionistic, enthusiastic, unique and to say the least, quirky processes to develop art in a variety of ways. First off, the year 7 students have been exceptional this term in inventing their own personalised Fantasy Clay Head Sculptures. Our year 8 students have taken portraiture to the next level (literally!) by designing and assembling funky retro cardboard relief pieces. Year 9 have showed how resilient they can be when it comes to the challenging work of getting clay structures standing upright, as they created their own body adorned figures. And that’s just KS3!

Our GCSE cohort have been at the core of this creative hub in Art. Not only have they continued to build on their practical skills but their concepts get deeper and deeper, broadening the possibility and breaking down limitations in mainstream education. Years 10 and 11 show their independence and take on their own path, developing their style with great excitement in what the end result might look like. With students working on materials such as clay, wire, melted plastic, aluminium, Modroc, bleach and ink etc …your perception of art will indeed be revolutionised.

So, what’s next?

We believe in the Power of the Art World to draw you in by captivating the minds of our young student body. Students get the chance to explore the world around them on our upcoming trips, such as our visit to the Tate Modern, to dive first hand into contemporary and international work. Prepare to be amongst some of the most mesmerising masterpieces through the ages!

Look out for our Capella Competition, where a select group of year 9 students will be given the chance to visit Addenbrooke’s and explore science based art alongside patients and researchers from the Immunology department. Winning students will have their pieces permanently displayed in the Capella building in Cambridge, a huge accomplishment I’m sure you’ll agree.

The innovation doesn’t just stop there, at the art department we continue to work with students afterschool allowing them time to enhance their work even further. January will see the exciting launch of our Bootcamp Drawing Session for our budding artists in KS3. We are so excited to see our faculty flourish with our talented students. Watch this space!

Lastly, the development of this department is impossible to overlook. With our recent revamp and the many materials we upcycle here, we have also been fortunate enough to receive a £1000 grant through the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation to get even more art equipment. With that under our belt, there’s no holding us back!

ARTS AWARD Students who took part in Project 80 are now busily completing their sketchbooks and portfolios in order to submit their work for Arts Award moderation. Arts Award is similar to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in that it is offered at three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Project 80 students will be submitting their work for the Bronze Award, which is a Level 1 qualification on the Regulated Qualifications Framework and is accredited by Trinity College London, in association with Arts Council England. In order to achieve the Bronze Award, students complete four different sections which support them to develop and increase knowledge, as well as both practical and leadership skills. The moderation will take place at the end of January when a moderator will come into school to look at the portfolios submitted for the award.

ANGLESEY ABBEY - 12 TREES We were lucky enough to be invited to help Anglesey Abbey decorate a tree as part of their ‘12 trees’ exhibition. The 12 trees told the unique story of Anglesey Abbey and how Lord Fairhaven's passion for collecting helped shape the house and gardens visitors enjoy today and what makes the place so special.

Selected students spent a day creating silver leaves which were made into crowns and then taken back to the gardens to decorate Jubilee Avenue. These trees were planted in the 1970s to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

The front cover of this year’s BVC Christmas card was designed by Year 10 student Max. Well Done Max!

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Westminster Debate On a very, very cold Thursday 13th December, Joseph and Jade from Year 11 and Polly from Year 9 made their way to Westminster to compete in the final of a debating competition. The competition is run by the MP for East Cambridgeshire and the Fenlands, Lucy Frazer.

There were two motions being debated. The first, very topical motion, concerned whether or not referendums were a good way of making political decisions. For this debate, Joseph took the proposition and Jade summarised the opposition. Thrown into this debate from almost the moment they walked into the prestigious conference rooms in the Houses of Parliament, both Joseph and Jade performed and debated tremendously well. Starting his speech with a quote from Abraham Lincoln, ‘the ballot is mightier than the bullet’, Joseph stunned with his nuanced and considerate affirmative speech on a currently controversial topic.

Equally, Jade had the hard task of summarising the arguments of students she had never before met – and she delivered a measured and convincing argument.

Congratulations to you both. From the floor, Polly, the youngest in the room, silenced many with her insightful responses to the debate just held – she is one to watch!

After the debates concluded, Lucy Frazer gave all the competitors and guests a tour of the House of Commons, explaining how votes are made and pointing out where Jeremy Corbyn sits – and where to sit if you want to chat, giggle and avoid the cameras.

Although we didn’t come away with a win, all three were fantastic. As Jade said, the real prize was the excellent experience.

By Miss Thorp, English Teacher

News from our catering company

 We are very excited to have a new external food kiosk being installed at Bottisham mid January. The kiosk will open at break and lunchtime to help reduce queuing time in the main dining hall and will serve a selection of takeaway hot and cold hand held snacks and cold drinks.

The First Ever

This year, for the European Day of Languages, the Modern Languages Department launched our inaugural Great Bottisham European Bake Off. BVC students and staff set to work with wooden spoons, eggs, sugar, flour and butter, not to mention plenty of imagination and culinary flair, to create their own European showstoppers! We were overwhelmed and delighted to receive over 40 fabulous entries, all of an extremely impressive standard. There are some very talented bakers out there!

The cakes were displayed in Hall 2 at breaktime, and our guest judge, Mary Berry (aka Mrs Rankine), took on the very difficult task of choosing between the many creative masterpieces, but finally she declared the winners to be: Lexie, Sophie and Isobel from Year 7. Many congratulations to them. After the judging, the cakes were available to buy, and we made a grand total of £113.09 for charity.

A great time was had by all, and there wasn’t one soggy bottom in sight!

 A new breakfast service will begin after the Christmas break, this will be open between 8.00 – 8.40am each day, serving hot bacon rolls, a porridge bar, selection of fruit & yoghurt pots.  We have 3 MEAL DEALS available each day. These include a Main Meal of the day and a dessert or a Pasta with a sauce and a dessert or a sandwich, fruit/biscuit and bottle of water. Each meal deal is £2.40 and available everyday.  As part of our commitment to the environment, we are finding ways to reduce our use of single use plastic. We no longer sell bottled drinks with the exception of water - all our drinks are in cardboard boxes. We continue to review all the packaging we use, swapping over to a suitable replacement when available and appropriate to us. This is an area we are keen to work on with the college and students.  Student feedback is extremely important to us, we meet termly with the student leadership group where we discuss topics the students would like to raise.  During the Spring term we will be having Burns Night & Pancake Day theme menus in the dining area.

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This year Bottisham Students have had loads of opportunity to explore Spiritual, Moral, Social, and Cultural aspects of life in their education. in this COSSMIC bulletin, students share some of their reflections on what they have learned this year Social and Cultural Learning by Tom, Year 10 During my time at Bottisham, I have attended many after school clubs. Some of these have had links to Social and Cultural things. Socially, clubs such as War Games club have introduced me to how some people like to spend time and interact with other people. This has been really entertaining, and it is interesting to compare the way people like to pass their time with drama club, seemingly the other end of society, and yet some people went to both clubs during the time I was attending them. Drama club in year nine was also a really good insight into cultural things, performing Shakespearean things, as well as very modern plays, on the topic of global warming, amongst other things. Overall, the after school clubs I have attended have taught me of social and cultural ideas.

Project 80 by Sophie Year 9 Project 80 was definitely a community project.

Instead of just focusing on the current students of Bottisham, it focused every single generation of students and teachers. At the end of the Project, there was a film documentary (made by the students with the help of Peter Harmer) and it brought in every generation of teachers, wardens and students. When Henry Morris came up with the prospect of the village college, he imagined it being a community school, and I think that our school definitely fits that category. We don’t just aim to provide education for our students, we aim to have education for all, hence our adult learning classes. Because of all of this, Project 80 was definitely a community project!!!

Slave Trade by Kiera, Issy and Sophie

This term we have been learning about the horrendous times of the Slave Trade. The slave trade was a way of getting cheap labour by snatching their freedom from them. They were stolen from villages, 20 million were stolen but only 10 million made it across the middle passage due to horrific conditions, including foul smelling air, basic rations, chained together and let out for fresh air rarely. Lots of slaves jumped overboard because they thought that death would be more satisfactory than being someone’s property.

We understand now how much pain those slaves would have gone through. This covers both cultural and moral aspects which are key understandings for BVC pupils to learn about.

Our Cultural Exchange to The Netherlands

Children in Need

On Wednesday 10th October students from Bottisham Village College and Witchford College joined to visit students in The Netherlands on an exchange trip. Students had been in contact with their exchange partners for many months after hosting them in June, giving those pupils valuable language and cultural learning experiences. The exchange is a partnership that encourages friendship across Europe and has been running for over forty years.

After a long day of coach and ferry travel, it was a wonderful site to see the students from differing nations run with joy to see each other again. Students stayed with host families and the following morning came on bikes, trams or foot to school for a lesson on Human Rights before going in to Amsterdam to visit the house where Ann Frank was confined in World War II and wrote her deeply moving diary. We all had much to think about and were pleased to be sharing friendship in a time of peace.

The following day we all travelled to the Kroeller Muller Museum to see world-renowned art and sculptures. We also got to enjoy some pancakes with some questionable toppings (smarties, cheese and bacon). After experiencing the Impressionist Painter’s depiction of the natural landscape, we all went cycling around the ground of the museum in glorious sunshine.

On our final day, host families took students to a variety of places: canal trips theme parks, waffle shops and pancake shops to name but a few. An early and tearful start at 6am on Sunday the 14th of October to travel back to BVC. We were sad to say goodbye to all our new friends from the Netherlands and Witchford but know that because of our shared experiences and happy memories these friendships will grow.

Miss Baxter and Mrs Cook felt privileged to take the students on the trip. Their behaviour engagement with learning and great attitude throughout was outstanding.

This year for Children in Need, the Student Council and Student Leadership Team at Bottisham Village College worked together to organise the annual fundraising day. In Hall 2 during break time there was a hugely successful bake sale where every cake was sold! We also held other events, including: Year 11 Boys v Girls Netball, Teachers Dodgeball match and Guess who’s Pudsey. Some students busked around the site at break and lunchtime and raised £53.14!

The total raised this year was £1296.66 which will go towards helping disadvantaged children and young people in the UK.

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“On Friday 17th November me and our band ‘The 55’ ( Izy, Issac, Eddie & Dillon ) were asked if we would play in the Grand Arcade and to be part of Children in Need fundraising. This was organised

by BBC Cambridgeshire radio and Cambridge Rotary club. We performed in the afternoon for an hour, while members of the Rotary Club had buckets to collect money.

I was also involved with playing for a large choir, that my mum organised, and we also had a number of BVC pupils involved in this. It was an amazing experience and the bucket collection raised over £2,000.”

Louis

Open Evening A big thank you to all the students that gave up their time to help the PE faculty on open evening. You were an asset to the school and will be excellent role models for the new year 7s next year. Well done to the Year 11 boys for beating the year 10 boys in your football match and taking the trophy for the year 11s.

Cross-country In KS3 pupils had 4 lessons of cross country after October half-term. Out of these 4 lessons pupils ran the course 3 times with the aim of improving on their personal best. After each lesson stars and house points were given to the pupils that made an improvement. Pupils showed resilience, commitment and enthusiasm during these lessons and experienced high levels of personal achievement.

On the 4th December students from year 7 to 11 took part in the annual District Schools Cross Country at Netherhall school. Students competed over different distances putting into practice the work, effort and commitment they demonstrated in PE lessons during the cross-country unit of work.

A particular mention to the following students who have qualified for the County Schools Cross-country in January; Will, Cian, Joe and Henry. Well done to all who ran and best of luck for those competing in the next round.

PE Trips On Sunday 18th November over 50 students went to watch England play Croatia in the European National League at Wembley. It was an amazing experience for the students, some have never previously attended an international fixture before. Before the game students had the chance to walk around the stadium and see the iconic features of the national stadium as well as see the England Supporters Band drum up the crowd before heading into their seats.

England played really well and despite going one nil down it set up for an astonishing last 10 minutes which saw England come from behind with a dramatic late 2-1 win.

Students had a fantastic day and will be a day that they remember and recall for many years to come.

Following the success of this a Netball trip was organised to see England vs Uganda at the Copper Box Arena in Stratford.

We took 35 students to watch the game and all fully enjoyed the experience. England played extremely well and took home the trophy! The girls were inspired and are now looking forward to starting the netball season after Christmas.

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Football U13 girls have played two district tournaments, the girls have started the season off well, working together and adapting to each other’s strengths and weaknesses. In the first tournament the girls came 3 rd in their pool. In the second tournament the girls worked really hard together to come 1 st in their pool. This means that in the overall standings they are currently joint 3rd. U13 girls have also been entered into a district league. Their first game we had an impressive 9-0 victory over Comberton. In this game the students showed they were adaptable and were able to work cohesively as a team. Their second league game was even against Impington. After some good play and utilising the wings we drew 2-2.

Rugby The first half term once again saw a busy Rugby schedule across all year groups. Students from all year groups participated in fixtures against other schools within the district with year 7, 8 and 9 students representing the college at the District Rugby Tournaments.

Students in years 7,8 and 9 competed at Cambridge Rugby Club for the District title and came in the following final positions.

Year 7-8th place Year 8-7th place Year 9-4th place Well done to all students who participated.

Gymnastics Gymnastics club is underway with lots of pupils preparing for the Cambridgeshire School Gymnastics competition after Christmas. During club pupils have been given the opportunity to develop their skills, help coach and support others. Pupils have a chance to show off their skills in both the floor and vault disciplines.

Hockey The year 7 girl’s hockey A and B team both played really well in their first District tournament which was hosted and ran by Bottisham. The girls showed fantastic skills and resilience throughout their matches. Well done girls on your first tournament playing together! Thank you to the year 9 sports leaders for helping to run the tournament and manage the teams.

The Year 8 team’s tournament was also held at Bottisham and the girls won every match at the tournament and therefore took the overall title.

The girls showed high levels of determination and resilience throughout all matches. The girls have showed excellent commitment to training and matches throughout the term haven’t lost a match all year!

Year 9 girls came 3rd in their pool in the district tournament. They played some excellent Hockey throughout the tournament. Well done to the team!

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