BVC NEWS Summer 2016

Summer 2016 Issue 20

The magazine of Bo sham Village College

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D of E Diamond Celebra ons Expansion plans Leavers’ Ball Celebra on Day Crea ve Arts News Sports News Plus lots more news & informa on

Achievement through inspiring, caring, enriching

A message from the Ac ng Principal Since joining in June, I have been very impressed by the students and staff; the warmth of their welcome and their sense of pride in the College speaks loudly of the strength of community and spirit at Bo sham.

Bo sham Village College Lode Road Bo sham Cambridgeshire CB25 9DL Tel: 01223 811250 Fax: 01223 813123 enquiries@bo shamvc.org

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Autumn Term 2016 Thursday 1st September Friday 2nd September Monday 5th September Thursday 6th October

- Training day - Year 7 only - Whole School opens - Training day & Open Evening 24th - 28th October - Half-term Monday 28th November - Training day Friday 16th December - End of autumn term (1.25pm)

Spring Term 2017 Tuesday 3rd January 13th - 17th February Friday 31st March

- Start of spring term - Half-term - End of spring term (1.25pm)

It is a spirit that was fully on show on the 1st July as our Year 11 celebrated their five years with us at their Oscar-themed ball. Watched by hundreds, on a rare evening of sunshine, and dressed in their finery, the students took to the red carpet in an array of colours having arrived in style whether in a Lamborghini or a wheelbarrow. It was a deserved night of fun for the Year 11s having worked so hard and conducted themselves with such dis nc on throughout the exam period. It was just a shame we were not given a repeat of the infamous dance-off performed with such verve at the equally successful Leavers’ Day in May. We made do with Mr Burgess’ less choreographed steps on the dance floor instead. We wish the Year 11s every success and look forward to results day in the summer.

With summer fast approaching staff members have been preparing for the new GCSEs which start in almost all subjects in September and developing a new assessment model to respond to the government’s discon nua on of Key Stage Three levels. We have also hosted several sizing events to support parents as we implement our new uniform policy next term.

It has certainly been no less busy for students who con nue to work hard in lessons but also much more. Year 10 students, nearly 100 of whom may have s ll been nursing their muscles a er a super DofE weekend, had the chance to learn more about the world of work as they took part in their two weeks of work experience where they were excellent ambassadors for the College. Year 7 enjoyed their week away at camp and Year 8 visited Normandy, Shropshire or Derbyshire. Year 9s explored the wonders of science, learnt about the D of E award and visited Southwold.

These are undoubtedly exci ng mes for our students as they reflect on their many successes and look forward to next year and the academic and personal challenges ahead. They can embrace these challenges knowing that the staff at Bo sham Village College will support, encourage and guide them throughout. With our stunning plans for the development of the College taking shape, it is not just the students who are excited about what the future may bring, but the community as a whole.

Jonathan Russell

Updated BVC Uniform from September 2016 Trousers and skirts will ONLY be able to be purchased from the school suppliers

totalclothingshop.co.uk The deadline for ordering school uniform online in time for the start of term is Thursday 18th August 2016

Pop-up shop Wednesday 3rd August 11am - 3pm

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Planning for the future By the me you are reading this, the consulta on process will have closed; we would very much like to thank everybody who took part in this process, either by a ending in person or by submi ng wri en feedback. All of these responses will now be considered very carefully, prior to the comple on of the final version of the plans that will be submi ed for planning permission towards the end of the summer.

A par cular highlight of the last few weeks has been to witness the excitement of our students as they begin to understand the scale of the improvements that will be realised through this project. There was also a really strong sense of the Bo sham spirit, with year 10 students being delighted and enthusias c about the developments, even though they know that they will have le before the programme is completed!

When we return in September for the start of the new academic year a number of minor changes will already have been completed, including the arrival of 8 mobile classrooms, which will be the home of the Humani es faculty for the next two years, as well as 2 new science labs which will have been created from some of the exis ng maths classrooms. Details of other linked faculty moves will be shared with students at the start of the new term.

We are also taking the opportunity to redecorate and refurbish some of the exis ng classrooms that will not be aected by the main building project; this will include a number of science labs and exis ng humani es classrooms.

All in all, this is going to be an incredibly busy summer for us and I would like to thank members of the site team in advance for their commitment and hard work in helping us to ensure that all is spic and span ready for the for the start of the new school year.

Kate Evans Execu ve Principal

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History - Berlin and the Somme

On the 6th May over 100 red Year 9 students got to the College at the ridiculously early me of 4.30am prepared for a long and even ul journey to the sites of the WW1 ba leground of the Somme. We got on one of the two coaches with our friends and began to constantly talk and eat food, no ma er the me.

Eventually, we made it to the Eurotunnel in Folkestone, and crossed the English Channel into France. As we drove south from Calais towards the river Somme, the 25 degree heat started to kick in as the bus became ho er and ho er un l we finally reached our des na on. As we travelled towards our first loca on, the Thiepval Memorial, we realised the devasta on the ba le had on the soldiers as we drove past memorials and cemeteries filled with the names of soldiers killed during the ba le of 1916; but they all seemed ny compared to the giant memorial we were approaching.

We soon arrived at the Thiepval Memorial and began to learn about its history. We discovered that the 43 metre tall monument commemorated 73,000 missing servicemen from England, South Africa and France whose names are on enormous plaques around the monument. We were challenged to find a soldier sharing our surname on the plaques and most of us - even with rare surnames - managed to find someone.

We went to the visitors’ centre of the memorial and then set off to our next loca on, the Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Park.

The park was given to the Canadians a er WW1 as it was where their Newfoundland regiment fought and were almost tragically wiped out on the first day of the Somme. We went through the trenches they were in before they followed orders to climb out only to get instantly mowed down by German machine guns.

We passed the famous ‘danger tree’ which marked the point at which no Bri sh or Newfoundland soldiers made it past on the first day of the ba le, before seeing and paying our respects to the many memorials and cemeteries around the park.

We then headed to the Lochnagar crater, a German for fica on blown up by a Bri sh mine also on the first day of the Somme.

We discovered that it created an explosion so large that it sent debris into space and obliterated the base and its nearby trenches. To commemorate all those that died in the ba le, we laid a wreath here and observed one minute silence to remember all the dead.

Before we headed back to England, we visited two more cemeteries, one Bri sh and one German. Despite the fact that the Germans lost more men than Britain and France in the war, the French gave them less land for the dead as they considered them enemies. This was shown as we saw the darker and more compact German graves with mass graves for many of the dead compared to the brighter and more well kept English graves.

However, some of us thought that the German cemetery was a be er and more fi ng way to think of the dead with its quiet surrounding of trees.

The journey back was more even ul than expected for the students on coach B. Just as we got through the Eurotunnel into

England and onto the road, we broke down! But we all made it back home safely at an even later me to ensure a Saturday full of even more sleep. All in all, it was a fun and enjoyable trip for all of us that I’m sure we will never forget.

by Jack Darch 9.5

“Year 9 did themselves proud at the Somme. They were respec ul and though ul at all of the sites, and the sheer tragedy of the ba le hit home to all of them.

Despite the hot weather, their concentra on and engagement was excellent, and they received several compliments from other visitors – and the immigra on service officers – about their politeness and good behaviour. The students on coach B were par cularly impressive when the coach broke down: despite being red at the end of a very long day they were pa ent and coopera ve as they waited for the issues to be resolved.”

Mr A Gee, Assistant Principal & History teacher

During the Easter holidays forty enthusias c history students made their way to Berlin for three days of Weimar and Nazi Germany revision. Day one involved an epic walking tour of the city, taking in sights such as the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag building. Day two was an emo onal and thoughtprovoking day for all as we visited Sachsenhausen concentra on camp and remembered those who were imprisoned there. Our final day was spent in glorious sunshine, visi ng the Film Museum and the East Side Gallery.

The students represented the school brilliantly throughout this trip and really made the most of the opportunity to learn more about the history of this fascina ng city.

By Mrs K Hill

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Cu ng Edge Technology Field Trialing at Bo sham Village College

A FRESH look at Hor culture!

The extended school amateur radio group are par cipa ng in a field trial involving the "Internet of Things". Normally with an amateur radio sta on the equipment such as transmi ers, feeders and antennas are all in the same place - usually the amateur's home. For some people where space or a noisy electrical environment are issues their ability to enjoy the hobby is curtailed. Equally, being able to demonstrate an amateur radio sta on is difficult because of rigging the antennas at a temporary site - such as a school.

Over the past 18 months the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) has funded a small group of radio amateurs in Cambridge to develop the concept of a "remote sta on". This is where the internet is used to connect the control panel of a radio, via a laptop, with its associated transmi er and antennas at a remote loca on. This loca on can (literally) be anywhere in the world. The idea behind the project was to use the concept for demonstra ng amateur radio in schools in support of both the science curriculum and compu ng studies. The prototype sta on was completed at Christmas last year and the project leader Bob Whelan (G3PJT) and I demonstrated the sta on to our computer systems manager Mr Mayer at Bo sham. (We easily worked a Bulgarian sta on within the first few seconds.) Mr Mayer was happy for us to use the school wi-fi and, in February this year, we used the remote sta on for the first me at Bo sham.

The antennas and transmi er are located at Comberton and we link to them via the school wi-fi and internet. We have already flagged up some improvements to the computer so ware and we now have a stable system. Our best contact so far has been a Russian sta on in the Ural mountains. The picture shows Delia, who is studying for her Founda on Licence in amateur radio, Luke (M6LUB) and Eric (M6FPQ) using the head end of the remote sta on. The feedback from our experience at Bo sham will help to finalise the system for others to use and copy in the future. A report of progress to date will be given at the RSGB conven on at Milton Keynes later this year.

The extended school amateur radio club meets every Thursday in Learning Support from 15:15hrs to 16:15hrs. If you would like to find out more please come along.

by Mr Howell (M0DCV)

4 BVC students + intense challenge = maths success In the last newsle er we told you about four students who had got through to the Na onal Final of the UK Team Maths Challenge.

This took place in June when Tom Harvey, Tony Mills, John Mills and Natalie Greaves went to the Royal Hor cultural Halls in London to compete against 88 teams from all over the country – at one point I was invigila ng a team from Guernsey! As part of the compe on, they completed a fantas c poster all about the mathema cs of folding, and then competed in four rounds of intense and difficult maths. They started well, with full marks on the first round! The later rounds were harder and they finished the day in 34th place, out of the 88 schools. They were very pleased to come in the top half, especially considering their team was made up of 1 year 7 and 3 year 8s, instead of 2 year 8s and 2 year 9s.

Well done to them all. Many thanks to Claire Parsons who accompanied us on the day and helped with logis cs.

by Mrs J Goodland, Maths Teacher

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Three of the boys from my Hor culture group came with me to visit G’s Fresh, the largest salad crop producers in the country.

They produce 60% of all the le uces that are sold in the UK. We first went to the propaga on unit at Li leport where they start the plants growing in enormous greenhouses. One boy thought these were ‘amazing’! The whole unit is mechanised so only four staff members can sow 1 million seeds per hour.

Then we went to a nearby field to witness the plan ng. They can plant ½ million plants an hour on rigs that they designed and built themselves, specially to work on peat soil. The tractor didn’t even need a driver as it was GPS guided and the boys all thought it was ‘cool!’

Lastly, we went to another field to see the final process, the harves ng. The students went up on the rig (these cost over £1 million each!) to see how the le uce is cut, wrapped, labelled, boxed and put in the trailer in 3 minutes, then to the fridge and on the supermarket shelf within 24 hours.

George thought it was like a factory inside.

We all really enjoyed our trip and learnt a lot about salad growing on a huge scale.

by Mrs L Williams, Hor culture teacher

CELEBRATION DAY

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Diamond Celebrati Back in May, Bo sham Village College had a very special visitor. As part of the Diamond Celebra ons of the Duke of Edinburgh’s award, the College was selected for a visit from HRH Edward, The Earl of Wessex.

Bo sham was selected as the school because it has so many par cipants taking part in the Award at Bronze and Silver levels, approximately 150 this year alone. This is the second largest centre in Cambridgeshire for numbers.

HRH was welcomed on the front lawn by an enthusias c party of BVC students as well as a the BVC Jazz band. He then met students and staff involved in both the Bronze and Silver awards from several Cambridgeshire schools, as well as local dignitaries.

Schools from across Cambridgeshire were invited to a end the ‘Diamond Challenge’, celebra ng 60 years of DofE, each team comple ng the 20 challenges, having collected sponsorship.

Challenges had to be completed within two minutes and for example, included; 1. Unfold and refold an OS map 2. Dress in and remove waterproofs 3. Match 10 OS map symbols to their meanings Prince Edward showed he was no slouch, by joining in some of the ac vi es, and then a er a brief tour, presented long service cer ficates to specially-invited leaders who have given 10, 20 or more years' service to the Duke of Edinburgh Award as trainers, assessors or adjudicators.

However, for many of the students (and possibly staff), there was an even greater a rac on on the day than HRH! Philip Schofield and a film crew were at BVC filming the proceedings. He was filmed interviewing HRH for a documentary about 60 years of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to be televised later this year.

A er more photo opportuni es and cu ng of a celebratory cake, The Earl of Wessex le by the Queen’s flight helicopter for another engagement in Cambridge.

tions at Bottisham Having just been elected into the new Student Leadership Team, it wasn't long before I faced my first challenge. SLT were told the college was hos ng an event celebra ng the Duke of Edinburgh Diamond Award and we were given the job of welcoming visitors and showing them where to go.

A er working hard helping the visitors for more than two hours, I was approached by Mrs Rankine who told me that I had been chosen to be interviewed by Philip Schofield for a television programme! Nervous, excited, frightened, were just some of the feelings I had going through me a er hearing this. I was anxious - scared of being on TV, and scared of ge ng what I needed to say wrong.

Eve and I put together a short plan outlining what we would both say and about an hour later it was me for the interview. Half way through I chose to abandon the plan (sorry Eve) and went a bit o script! Despite this, I think the interview went really well because a bit later the TV director told me he would like to film me being interviewed again, but this me

by Prince Edward! Again I was anxious - I didn't know whether to be formal or informal. I didn't let it get the be er of me though and I just stayed myself while being interviewed by His Royal Highness.

Overall, I would say the day was amazing and a wonderful opportunity. I wonder if either of my interviews will be part of the TV programme?

We’ll just have to wait and see!

by Pralish Satyal 10.6

CREATIVE ARTS

Summer concert & Art Exhibition The students of Bo sham once again did themselves proud! 100 students performed a range of musical items, from classical, jazz, pop and rock pieces, as well as composi ons and GCSE dance items. The concert was a sell out and all students performed with confidence having worked very hard all term.

It was fantas c that so many year 11 students wanted to take part, even though their exams hadn’t quite finished. Some had been in every concert since star ng the school in 2011 and we wish them all the best with their future plans and hope they con nue to enjoy their music wherever they are.

For some it was their first performance, and the school is proud to have so many talented musicians wan ng to share their music.

The audience enjoyed the interval in the project area where they could view the art and technology exhibi on. Again, some stunning pieces of work, some of which can be seen below.

Thank you to everyone who was a part of this wonderful evening, either as a performer or part of the technical crew (backstage, ligh ng or sound) and to the staff who helped with refreshments. It is a real team effort.

by Pam Hall, Head of Music

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Sketching workshops Back in March we experienced a large scale charcoal life drawing workshop, and received posi ve comments on our artwork from the outreach teacher. We le with a great a tude to the more serious side of the art industry, and enjoyed how we had the opportunity to sketch from a model rather than a photo. It was also good to have the freedom to explore with charcoal instead of pencils and paints. We were also given some ps and techniques which we will definitely use and adapt in our final assessments. A lot of us didn’t realise there was so much to decide before drawing, for example which media you use and the composi on of it. We loved being able to look at everyone else’s interpreta ons of the models poses and give feedback to each other as a group.

Thank you to all the teachers that made it possible for it to happen.

Drama Club perform Peter Pan This term in Drama Club we have been preparing and prac sing for a performance of Peter Pan. To create the effect that we were going to be in a professional produc on, we were all given a rough dra of the script and told to go over the lines of the part that we wanted to play.

We then had mock audi ons to decide our roles. The audi ons were led by the year 10 Drama GCSE leaders and as it wasn’t teachers that we were audi oning in front of we were all much more relaxed about it. We then all got told our parts and even if we didn’t get the part we wanted, we were all happy with our parts.

We had rehearsals every Tuesday a er school during Drama Club. We all loved preparing for Peter Pan and as we got closer and closer to performing we all got really excited thinking about costumes and the performance. On the day of the performance we were all really excited and slightly nervous to perform in front of our families and friends. We all looked good in our costumes and everybody who watched our performance loved it! We all really enjoyed the experience and the year 10’s enjoyed leading us.

by Alice Gibson 7.8

Drama club is part of the Extended School Programme and is for year 7 and 8. It is led by the year 10 Drama GCSE leaders with Miss Bird helping out. Enrol in September if you would like to join.

At the Fitzwilliam Museum we examined portraits and abstract art, wondering what we could do to make them our own. We prac sed drawing helmets with our portrait as the face and we had a great me. It was a good visit and I would recommend it to the year 7’s.

by Joe Beaumont 8.8

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Year 8 and 9 students were offered an exci ng opportunity this term - to perform at The Junc on, a theatre in Cambridge. Temper Theatre Company came in to help us with improvisa on, tension levels and ideas. This was a great star ng point for our piece. I really enjoyed pu ng our performance together because everyone had good, original and crea ve ideas. The challenge was that we had only a short space of me, but I think it’s safe to say we pulled together as a team to create an incredible varia on of Alice in Wonderland!

When the day of the performance finally arrived, we were all very nervous and excited. We had our make-up and hair done from some very talented students and teachers. It looked amazing! Our performance was great and it was a brilliant experience. It was not only a great way to improve my drama skills but I have made new friends along the way.

On behalf of everyone involved, I want to thank Temper Theatre, and most of all Miss Rankine and Miss Bird for making this an experience to remember!

by Sophie Kelly 9.3

CREATIVE ARTS

Theatre Experience to remember for Drama students

Hello everyone, My name is Laurie Simpson and I am the Independent Careers Guidance Adviser for Bo sham, Netherhall and St Bede’s schools. I was appointed in April and since that me I’ve been very busy introducing myself to the students and staff.

As a career guidance adviser/counsellor I assist students using informa on, advice, guidance and coaching techniques, to make

informed decisions about their future career choices. My role is very much about suppor ng and encouraging the a ainment of realis c aspira ons, inspiring and mo va ng young people to their fullest poten al. In fact my mo o is ‘inspire to aspire’.

to offer careers presenta ons during mes such as assemblies and form me. Many of these presenta ons will be available via the school Intranet so that everyone at home can see what is being offered. I will also be a ending parents evenings, so please feel free to come and have a chat with me.

Not everyone is des ned for A-levels and university. I le school aged 16 with no idea what I wanted to do and it wasn’t un l much later in life that I studied higher educa on. It was a passion for careers work that took me back to formal learning and this passion s ll inspires me to con nue to learn today. I strongly believe that each person has skills and quali es which, if recognised and encouraged, will help that person to achieve their career fulfilment, regardless of academic ability. This is what I work towards for every student across the Trust.

Staff across the schools work really hard to make sure that students have access to informa on and advice about their future op ons. I feel incredibly lucky and privileged to offer independent career guidance to support this work.

Thank you for taking the me to read this ar cle and I look forward to mee ng you in the future.

Currently I see mostly Year 10 students on a one to one basis to discuss their next steps beyond GCSEs, but I also work with students from Year 7 upwards, who need more encouragement and support to maximise their learning experience. In the future I hope

later.

Amazingly, Shakespeare himself was standing next to his desk in the library all week (as you can see from the photos) looking surprisingly well, lifelike and almost life-sized!

We ensured he felt at home, by surrounding him with period music, Shakespearean scents of lavender, cloves and cinnamon, pictures of his Back in May, the library was wife Anne Hathaway and his taken back to an earlier time when the Queen and lots of good literature, school as a whole commemorated the of course. Students enjoyed making 400th anniversary of the death of Lavender Bags complete with little William Shakespeare. paper scrolls explaining the History Shakespeare was born on 23rd April of Lavender.

1564 and died, somewhat poetically, on 23rd April 1616 precisely 51 years On Thursday, Kaisha organised a

Library News

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bake sale at break, with her friends Emily, Henrik, Alice, Aaron and Oliver. They also held a raffle in the Library at lunch time, for yet more cake! They baked, bought, and sold their cakes to raise a grand total of £38.60 which they are donating to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Well done all!

I would like to say a sincere thank you to all the departments and students who loaned their Shakesperian props for the week.

by Mrs Burton, Librarian

GERMAN EXCHANGE This year, 24 year 9 and 10 students embarked on the German Exchange with Mr Midgley, Mrs Lachal and Mrs Cook. This trip included six days in Germany and six days in the UK, all spent with students from the Erich Kästner Realschule, our partner school in Kempen. It was a fantas c experience and the perfect opportunity for our students to prac se all their German skills. If you would like to hear more about how you could get involved in our Exchange trips, speak to your languages teachers.

German Leg by Hamish Harris, 10.4 Wednesday 6th April We arrived at school around 8:30am on a bleak Wednesday morning and departed from Bo sham, contempla ng the thought of staying with strangers for 6 days! That evening we arrived at around 9:45 (GMT) which was perfect ming to catch the Wolfsburg football game and for me to get to know my partner Jos and his family, the Miertz’.

Thursday 7th April A er recovering from the epic day of travel across five countries, we had our first full day at our partners’ school in Kempen. My metable included double history in the morning, double English, then finished it off with a physics lesson. Thankfully I started my day with an English speaking history teacher, she’d typed up an English summary of a medieval war to help us get involved but I tripped up on their colloquial German. At lunch, we discovered the German 1 litre cartons of chocolate milk and pork burgers, which were perfect to revitalise a er a long morning. Towards the middle of the day we helped German students in English lessons, which was my turn to confuse them with my colloquial English! The day ended with a tour of Jos’s village and a tense family viewing of Borussia Dortmund vs Liverpool!

Monday 11 April Monday was spent in Xanten Roman village near where we were staying. As you might guess it was a ruined Roman town with the added bonus that there was a massive trampoline as part of the ac vi es!

Friday 8th April The next day, we all headed for Cologne, which was one of my favourite days in Germany. Our group ac vity was to climb to the top of the iconic cathedral, but li le did we know climbing stairs was a lot harder when there were 553 steps to conquer! A er photos were taken at the top, we had to return back down those 553 steps to con nue with the day exploring Cologne. That evening I met Jos’ extended family and we went to “flic-a-flac”; a prison themed modern circus that consisted of comedians, motocross and acroba cs.

Tuesday 12 April We said farewell to our host families and returned home on the bus, sad to say goodbye but knowing we’d see our new friends again soon.

UK Leg – by Ellie Gaggs, 9.7

Saturday 9th April

By Saturday I became a bit more comfortable with waking up in a different language. We decided to go to a high ropes course in a forest near Wachtendonk; this is where we met other members of the exchange. The course had 3 levels: Fitness, Adventure and Risiko (risk).

I managed to fly through Fitness and Adventure but Risiko came as a challenge. The whole day was consumed by the zip wires and rope swings. That evening I met the rest of Jos’ family at a party for their uncle’s birthday.

Sunday 10th April Sunday we drove out of Germany to the Netherlands where a lot of us met at Toverland, a huge Thorpe Park-esque theme park.

A er learning another language for a while, you wouldn't think it would be too hard speaking with an exchange partner. But no ma er how much you prac se, it will always be a challenge. When the students from Kempen arrived at Bo sham their English was really good, however they were not well acquainted with seemingly normal English things like pun ng, Morris dancing, and jelly babies! Funnily enough, these things take quite a lot of explaining! In spite of that, we s ll made great friends and had a lovely me.

Our partners got to experience the delights of the Bri sh school system, including the famous fish and chip Friday! Over the weekend the visitors were entertained by the host families. Many of us went to Cambridge, London, the seaside, and Reach Fair on Bank Holiday Monday. On the final day we had a tour around the Cambridge colleges and a chance to browse around the shops. The next morning we had to say a fond “auf Wiedersehen” as our partners embarked on the 12 hour journey back home. We made some great friends on the Exchange and we hope to keep in touch.

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providing a new music studio including both hardware and so ware, for 2016-2017.

As another year draws to a close, the Friends of BVC can look back at another great year of fundraising and events. With the Winter fayre, quizzes, year 7 disco and this year’s Oscars themed summer ball.

“This summer ball was one of the best” said commi ee member Vita Wallis, “with over 165 ckets sold, the Oscars theme leant a level of glamour and Hollywood magic”. The Summer Ball always takes place the Saturday a er the Year 11 leavers’ ball and all the fundraising at the event pays for the marque for both events!

Other events that have occurred this term include the year 7 disco, which is fast becoming a fixed feature in the first year’s diary! We had over 90 children a end the disco with over 12 boxes of pic-n-mix eaten. The disco brought together the Friends and Year 7 teachers and was a lovely example of how the Friends would like to develop further. “The Friends is about raising money for the school but it is also about bringing different people together and providing fun events for the pupils and also the community” says Chair of the Friends, Rebecca Foreman. “Events like the disco are fun for everyone, and are about more than just fundraising”.

So what have we done with your generous dona ons? This year has seen the Friends fund the new mini-bus, a 3-D printer at the school, and also some specialist online assessments for learning support. The Friends have also commi ed to

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We are all aware of the school development programme, with its extensive building of new classrooms to take the School up to 10 form entry. However, despite the funding available, this doesn’t go far! The Friends are working in partnership with the school to look at a longer-term fundraising project to update areas of the school that are not included in the redevelopment. “This is a big challenge for the Friends of BVC ”says Rebecca and one that I am sure our parents and stakeholders will rise to. There are areas of the school that will really benefit from new furniture and decora on. Having a good space for our children is essen al to support good quality learning. ” Over the next few months, into the new school year, the Friends will be working to develop an exci ng and effec ve fundraising plan.

So next year is a crucial year for the Charity and as well as a large scale fundraising project, many of the volunteers on the commi ee are parents of Year 11’s and will be moving on.

Therefore there will be a need for some new Trustees and also other volunteers. The AGM will be in October 2016 and it is vital that we have some new parents come forward to take on the mantle. To find out more about this or to have a say in how our funds are spent, please contact us.

The Friends have a Facebook page (search Friends of Bo sham Village College) or you can email friends@bo shamvc.org.

Achievements in Athle cs It has been a weather-hit athle cs season this summer, with two major athle cs events , including the Jubilee Cup, being cancelled.

However, this did not stop Bo sham Year 7 & 9 students winning the district fixture hosted at BVC, with many year 7’s compe ng for the very first me.

There have been many individual successes in athle cs this term. The following students have achieved new school records:

x x x

Football champions!

At the beginning of the summer term, both the year 9 and 10 boys’ football teams progressed through to the district cup final, played at Cambridge University Press. Both games were close contests, but the year 9’s sadly finished runners up, losing 2-1 to Impington VC. The year 10’s faired significantly be er, bea ng Netherhall for the second year running to be crowned district champions once again.

Well done to everyone who represented our football teams this year.

David Dow - Year 9 1500m - 4:25.12 Ben Shackleton - Year 9 Shot Put - 13.25m (bea ng a 32 year old record by 1.31m!)

Maisey Snaith – Senior 100m & 200m 12.2s & 25.04s (these now take Maisey’s school record tally up to 8)

All 3 of these students qualified for county school championships in Gateshead, along with Adam Cross in year 10.

At Gateshead, David got through to the final of the 1500m with a me 1 second off a na onal standard me. Maisey finished 5th in the 100m semi-final, only 1 place off qualifying for the final.

Fantas c achievements. Well done everyone.

Year 7s are Rounders champs We have been very well represented by girls in rounders tournaments this year. Year 10 and year 9 came close to victory, securing 3rd place. Year 8 girls came in 7th and 9th respec vely. The pick of the bunch, however, came from our newest team, the year 7s, who won their compe on!

Here is a picture of them with their trophy.

Miss Shenton’s Marathon Effort for Wellchild On 24th April 2016, I embarked on the challenge of the London Marathon to raise money for WellChild. This was my first marathon and weather condi ons were, I am told ‘perfect’ on the day. The excitement and adrenaline at the start of the run meant that the first half of the race seemed to whizz past.

A niggle that I had picked up in my last week of training began to bother me at around mile 15 and I hit the dreaded wall at mile 18.

The fantas c support on the day and through the messages from students ahead of the run kept me going over the final 7miles and I completed the run in a me of 4 hours 34 minutes, a li le outside of my target me but watch this space!

Thank you to all those who contributed through sponsorship. the final total I raised was £2169.86 for a wonderful cause.

15

Roller Hockey Star!

It is with great pride that we can share that Mark Read has been chosen to play for England in the Under 17's Roller Hockey European Championships in September. Mark has being having extensive training for the last couple of years and selec on was made in June a er a gruelling three days of training.

Mark started playing roller hockey in 2012 and trains with Co enham Roller Hockey Club. Here they are fortunate to have the na onal coach, Carlos Amaral, regularly a end their training sessions. Soon a er star ng, he was invited to join in with a programme of na onal training and a end sessions in Peterborough on a monthly basis. Roller hockey is not a huge sport in the UK and in order to develop Mark has been to Portugal for training on several occasions. In June 2015, he was part of a group of children who started specific training sessions in order to try out and qualify for the England team to play in the 2016 European Championships. In January, the squad was reduced to 18 players and a er a further 5 months training, another trip to Portugal and a final week of try outs over May half term, the final team of 10 players were selected. This team will now con nue to train over the summer and will have the honour of represen ng their country in the week long tournament in Mieres in Spain.

We wish Mark every success in this tournament and with his roller hockey career in the future.

Champion Swimmer!

Lauren recently qualified to swim at the ASA Na onal swimming championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield during the first week in August. As one of the top 44 swimmers of the 50m and 100m freestyle in her age group in Britain, Lauren was invited to take part in the event earlier this month. Lauren swims for Newmarket and District Swimming Club and also represents Suffolk County at team events. The invite to Na onals comes on top of a great year for Lauren which has seen her set many new club records, take 3 medals at the ASA East Region Championships and win the trophy for the top 15 year old girl at the Suffolk County Championships.

Well done Lauren, and good luck for the championships. We look forward to finding out how you did.

Olympic Athlete Inspires Students

Sports Leaders do BVC Proud at Primary Events We have had an excellent term for primary school, fes vals, and as ever our Sports leaders outdid themselves once again. In addi on this year, Year 10 students ran Bo sham Primary School’s sports day for the very first me, receiving excellent feedback from parents and teachers alike.

On Wednesday 6th July we had the pleasure of welcoming an Olympic athlete to BVC! Helen Richardson-Walsh represents Great Britain for hockey, and gave up her me to speak to students from year 9 who are taking GCSE PE next year. Our students asked some terrific ques ons of what it takes to become an elite athlete, and all were very excited when Helen revealed her Olympic bronze medal from London 2012! Helen also led a coaching session, alongside Cambridge City hockey coach Andy Richardson, to a group of year 7 and 8 girls who have been involved in hockey this year. Many thanks to Helen and Andy for giving up their me to come in and inspire our students.

Many more sports leadership opportuniƟes will arise next year for current year 7, 8 and 9 students – will you get involved?

For all informa on on fixtures and clubs over the coming year, follow @BVCPhysicalEd on twi er!