Spring 2017 Issue 23
The magazine of Bo sham Village College
Achievement through inspiring, caring, enriching
A message from the Principal Without question, this has been a term to remember for a variety of reasons. As I hope one will see from this edition of our newsletter, there has been an array of activities and opportunities that our students have made the most of: stage productions, whole-school events, to name but two.
Bo sham Village College Lode Road Bo sham Cambridgeshire CB25 9DL Tel: 01223 811250 Fax: 01223 813123 enquiries@bo shamvc.org
Three words have been embedded into school life over the course of this academic year: Power for Good. Using a range of assemblies, we have been working with students to recognise that their actions can be such a powerful force for good, impacting on others’ lives and making our community safe. To recognise these acts, coming in a range of forms, I have been distributing “Power for Good” certificates to those who go above and beyond the normal call of duty. Congratulations to them all. Additionally, we have been welcoming our new Year 7 students to Bottisham, as part of our transition programme. We have been nothing short of thrilled by their enthusiasm and motivation, waiting in excited anticipation to join us in September. Of course, as well as welcoming new students, we have said goodbye to our year 11. After a long, arduous examination period, it was a joy to see them relax and enjoy their friendships at our annual Leavers’ Ball. We would wish them well on the next stage of their journey. We shall also be saying goodbye to some members of staff at the end of this academic year, starting new adventures all over the world. As they leave, I am delighted that BVC remains a popular place to work, with new staff joining us in September, ready for an exciting academic year.
Dates for your diary Autumn Term 2017
In the meantime, I would like to thank-you for all your support and wish you a very happy summer holiday. Mrs Jenny Rankine
Friday 1st September - Training Day Monday 4th September - Year 7s only Tuesday 5th September - All year groups Thursday 5th October - Training Day & Open Evening 23rd - 27th October - Half-term Monday 27th November - Training Day Friday 15th December - End of Autumn term
Spring Term 2018 Wednesday 3rd January - Start of term Friday 9th February - Training Day 12th - 16th February - Half-term Thursday 29th March - End of Spring term
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Almost 5 years ago, a very nervous yet excited year group began their educa on at Bo sham Village College, and on Friday 12th May, those 5 years were celebrated in style! Dressed in smart clothes rather than their BVC uniform, they first went to the Main Hall where orange juice and a selec on of pastries were served while they wrote messages to their teachers. Following breakfast there was a chance to mingle out on the Principal’s Lawn, taking photos with friends and teachers. Then it was back to form rooms, where the students played a game of guess the teacher from their baby photos, which was quite challenging yet entertaining, and learnt some surprising, but interes ng facts about the staff at the College. Break in the Project Area then ensued with another chance for photographs and socialising, and more food also being served. This was then followed by the formal assembly, where Mr Gee, Mrs Neville-Jones and Mrs Rankine gave speeches and videos of the students during their 5 years at the college and inspira onal messages from the staff were shown on the big screen. A er the assembly it was me for lunch, with hotdogs and burgers on the menu, and more me for cha ng to friends. This was followed by the long-awaited concert where many talented year 11 students showed off their musical and dancing skills with pride and passion. A highlight was Tim dancing to 24K Magic by Bruno Mars, which received a standing ova on. The final part of the day was the students gathering around the World tree and receiving le ers they had wri en themselves back in Year 7. This was both highly amusing and emo onal. Luckily, despite dark clouds gathering the day stayed dry and a wonderful day was had by all.
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Inspired by the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s, Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, focuses on the inconsistencies of the Salem witch trials and the extreme behaviour that resulted. In par cular he focuses on the discovery of several young girls and a slave playing in the woods, conjuring — or a emp ng to conjure — spirits from the dead. Rather than suffer severe and inevitable punishment for their ac ons, the girls accused other inhabitants of Salem of prac cing witchcra . Ironically, the girls avoided punishment by accusing others of the very things of which they were guilty. This desperate finger-poin ng resulted in mass paranoia and an atmosphere of fear in which everyone was a poten al witch.
The Drama and Dance department were excited to get started with the Crucible rehearsals as we selected this specific play for it’s gripping plot. The play brings to light the hysteria caused by rumour and accusa ons and how this can spiral, resul ng in unnecessary , deathly consequences. We felt the play was a challenge that BVC students could rise to, and we weren’t wrong! Well done to a dedicated and mature cast. by Miss Pinny, Head of Drama & Dance
“I thought it was an excellent produc on of a very difficult and (some would say) wordy play. The cast really got what they were saying and why they were saying it. Their listening skills when not delivering lines was par cularly impressive.” Steve Biggs, The Young Actors Company “Having just returned home from school, I am brimming from ear to ear from seeing the opening evening of "The Crucible": it was nothing short of magnificent. Packed with an array of talent from a range of year groups, both actors and dancers, the audience were treated to a powerful, compelling and mesmerising performance that I shall long remember.” Mr Compton
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The musicians and dancers of BVC put on an excellent showcase of their work and talents at the summer concert this term. As always, the students performed with enthusiasm and professionalism, and the student stage management team worked brilliantly to ensure the smooth running of the show. The programme was par cularly varied this year with beau ful classical instrumental pieces, pop vocal numbers, small ensembles and extended schools ensembles. The dances completed the wonderful evening of entertainment. It was fabulous to have so many Year 11s take part and help during the evening, especially as they have been so busy with their exams. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the students for all their hard work this year, the instrumental tutors for their exper se and encouragement and the parents for all their con nuous support. Happy holidays! by Mrs P Hall , Head of Music
The Art and Technology Exhibi on was a wonderful celebra on of the students work through year’s 10 and 11. All students had two and three dimensional pieces exhibited in the project area and sketchbooks that explored ideas and inten ons. Parents were invited to the private view on Monday 26th June and were very complimentary of the students achievements. The exhibi on was also a successful part of the summer concert as the audience enjoyed their interval in the project area.
Joining the Year 9 Performance Group was a great opportunity to perform and work with others. Over the course of the 12 weeks we got to perform at the ‘Cambridge Shakespeare Fes val’ at Netherhall School and at ‘Fusion Fes val’ at The Junc on in Cambridge. During rehearsals we all contributed our ideas to adapt our performances and all pulled together as a team. We ed in singing, ac ng and dancing into our pieces to make it more interes ng for our audiences. We also got the opportunity to work with professional theatre company Temper theatre when they came into school to help us with the devising process. We all enjoyed the experience of performing at drama fes vals and seeing what goes on behind the curtains. by Mia Hegley
“The Ignite Drama group performed a devised piece called "Fly with Me" based on the story of Peter Pan, at the Junc on Theatre on Saturday the 24th. They were fantas c and got the audience laughing and cheering in their seats. Well done to all who took part.” Miss Rankine, Teaching Assistant
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Prime Speaker
Hor culture in the field On Tuesday 20th June, myself and 6 Year 10 Hor cultural students travelled to G’s Fresh near Li leport. There, we witnessed the process of le uce produc on from the seed to the shop. The propaga on unit is bigger than 7 football pitches and produces 135 million plants a year. The students were shown around and watched all of the mechanical equipment used to sow, water and carry the plants around. Because of the huge amount of machinery involved the whole nursery only needs 5 members of staff, even at their busiest me. We then travelled to a nearby field to see the plan ng; they plant over 750,000 iceberg le uce plants in a day! Finally, we saw the harves ng rigs that can pick, wrap and box 5,000 le uce in an hour. It was a great experience for the Hor cultural students even on one of the ho est days of the year! by Mrs Williams, Hor culture teacher
Au Revoir Tim Tim White leaves Bo sham this year and will con nue his studies at Impington Village College. You will recall that at the start of Year 11 Tim set up a ‘pop-up’ in-school company -’Tim’s Brilliant Bird and Bat Boxes’ (TB4) to produce bird and bat boxes to raise money for a schoolsupported charity. With his factory staff, myself and Mr Lane, Tim opened his order book. Tim had planned originally to perhaps make a few items. However, the word spread rapidly and the orders rolled in from members of staff. By Easter of this year, Tim had made sixteen bird boxes, two bird feeders, an owl box, a sparrow terrace (four boxes side-by-side) and four bat boxes. Demand was s ll there, so Tim and his factory staff made a second batch of products, the last of which he delivered just before the end of term. At the me of wri ng Tim’s company had made over £200 for charity with the final amount expected to be around £240.
As part of the Year 9 PSHE support on their future careers the students were lucky enough to have Tim Kiddell CBE come to speak to them. Tim explained his role as the speech writer for the current Prime Minister and for previous Prime Ministers Gordon Brown and David Cameron. Tim explained the importance of learning how to cra his wri ng skills whilst at school and how this has helped him to achieve his current career. Tim has also worked on the importance of young people ge ng involved in their local communi es. He called on Year 9 to get involved locally and to take part in schemes such as Duke of Edinburgh and Na onal Ci zen Service. A number of Year 9 pupils asked ques ons. They asked about how to deal with ge ng writer’s block, who has inspired Tim and what advice he would give those pupils hoping to work somewhere like Number 10. One Year 9 pupil reflected that the talk had ‘inspired me to work as hard as I can in lessons.’ A thank you le er has been sent by pupils to number 10 to thank Tim for coming all the way to Bo sham to talk to the Year 9s. by Miss Murray
A cut above the rest! BVC Year 7 student Alex took the brave decision to grow his hair then have it cut off for the charity ’Li le Princes Trust’. This charity provides wigs for children with cancer and also donates money for research into the disease. At the me of prin ng Alex had raised over £500 on his just giving page, an amazing achievement. Well done Alex!
On the 16th June when we all remembered the MP Jo Cox and the vic ms of the Manchester and London Bridge a acks, Tim transferred £100 from the TB4 charity account to add to the total we collected on the day. The remainder of the TB4 money will go to a school-supported charity of Tim’s choice. We all wish Tim success at Impington Village College and beyond. No doubt he will con nue to be a popular student among his peers at Impington as he will be with his future work colleagues. by Mr Howell
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“I decided to grow my hair really long for a boy in order to make it long enough to cut and send to a medical charity making wigs for children undergoing chemotherapy and other difficult treatment.” Alex
The UK leg Back in April, 35 excited Year 9 & 10 GCSE French students saw the arrival of our French exchange partners. A er an evening of exchanging gi s and ge ng to know our partners, our exchanges enjoyed a bankholiday weekend with us and our families, with popular ac vi es including: pun ng in Cambridge, trips to London, and a fun day out to the iconic Reach Fair on Monday. On Tuesday, our partners visited the college with us to see the school, bake scones, and par cipate in lessons with us. My exchange said this was his favourite day of the week, as he got to meet lots of new people and experience the cultural difference between French and English schools. Wednesday saw our exchanges going on a day-trip to London, where they visited the historic Tower of London and saw the sights of the city on a riverboat tour. A trip to the nearby Cathedral city of Ely on Thursday was followed by some good socialising me in the evening. Thanks Eve for the party! Our trip to Cambridge with our partners on Friday was the last full day of the exchange in England, but it was definitely one to remember. We enjoyed shopping, a strange tour of the city, a visit to the beau ful King's College chapel, and discovering many lovely spots for lunch around the city (the back of St John's being our personal favourite). A er a great week with our exchanges we had to say goodbye as they le us on Saturday morning, but it wouldn't be long un l we made the trip to France to visit them... The Return Match Just under a month later, it was our turn to travel. We set off from London Luton Airport with Ms Larrieu, Mrs Fullman, and Miss Baxter to our host school in Saint-Sever, a beau ful town in the south west of France. There, we were reunited with our partners and we spent the evening ge ng to know their families and in my case, their 12 pets as well! The next day was spent visi ng our partner's school in Saint-Sever, where we discovered that the average French school day was very different to ours, due to their 8am - 5pm schedule. I was very surprised by the difference in lesson styles and found the day really odd but interes ng as a whole. On Friday, we visited the beau ful city of Pau to discover its lovely historic castle and explore the city from walking across racetracks to shopping in the city centre. An evening pool party at my exchange’s house followed this cultural day. Even though there were scarab beetles flying around into people's food, it topped off a great day that was possibly my highlight of the exchange. We spent the next 3 days with our host families. Many of us went to the beach or watched the popular cultural event of ‘course landaise’ bull-dodging, where thousands of people from nearby villages and towns would turn up to see professionals jump out of the way of or some mes leap over bulls (*cows) running towards them at full speed whilst a brass band played for the crowd. It made our hearts sink at mes, but it was an incredible show to watch! Tuesday was our last full day with our exchanges, so we went on a day-trip to the "Dune de Pilat" and the seaside. It was a hard climb up the largest sand dune in Western Europe, but it was worth it for the lovely view of the coast. Araan, Zak and I decided to run down the dune at the end. As the clumsiest person in the world, I thought I'd trip at full speed but luckily enough we all survived unscathed thinking we were the next Usain Bolt! A er an emo onal goodbye to our French exchange partners and their families on Wednesday, we visited the massive city of Bordeaux to explore its famous fountains and 2km road of shops. It was a great day and everything was going well when we arrived at the airport to go home. 1 hour delay. 2 hour delay. 3 hour delay. We eventually got on the plane only for it to turn around at the runway and go back due persis ng technical problems. The next 5 or 6 hours spent wai ng in the terminal weren't exactly the highlight of the trip, but we all stayed in good spirits despite immense redness un l we arrived back home at 4:30am. A er wri ng about last year's Somme trip, I'm star ng to become a bit of an expert at wri ng about transport problems. Nevertheless, no problems could change how much of an incredible me we had in the heat of France ge ng to know the French language and culture, and we all thank Mrs Larrieu, Mrs Fullman, and Miss Baxter so much for making the trip so enjoyable and educa onal for us. C'était une expérience inoubliable! by Jack Darch 10.5
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Reflect & U Due to the recent events that have shook and greatly affected our na on, our school and the rest of the community, Bo sham felt like in this me of hardship a day to Reflect and Unite would extremely meaningful. It was a me to show or condolences and respect for those lives lost and the families impacted, but also to raise money for the One Love Manchester fund to give whatever support we could. The day was non-uniform and the BVC students brought in a £1 of their own to contribute to the cause. There was also a Bake Sale at break me which sported a great array of cakes; we would like to thank those who helped bake goods or purchased them. Overall we managed to raise £1354.07p. Congratula ons to everyone who was involved. A special thanks must go to Tim White in Y11, who with the sale of his bird boxes created in Learning Support donated £100 to - great job Tim! The day, however, was more than just an extremely successful charitable event: it was a special me to engage with each other as a school community in
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Unite Day reflec on of the recent events in our country. Students started the day with an extended form during which they created messages to put onto the world tree. They consisted of extremely powerful and inspira onal words from each form. The day concluded on the school field where students par cipated in a whole school walk in which students from SLT and student council held signs containing quotes helping passing pupils engage and reflect. It was followed by a picnic style get together as a whole college community. It was a period of thinking back and uni ng to become stronger as a whole, but also a me of enjoyment with friends. Mr Compton and local police officer Sgt Priestly also contributed with moving and mo va onal speeches that really added to the day and provided a great conclusion to this truly unforge able experience. A huge thanks to the all the students for embracing the day and showing such respect and considera on throughout. by Mr Griffiths, Assistant Principal
“Wɏ hʋɃɏ fʋɠ mʝȾɏ ʖɚ cʝʛmʝɚ ʨiʃɓ eaɭɓ ԧȱʑɠ ʃhʋɚ ʃʕʖngɡ ʃhaɢ ʏʖʧiȫɏ uɡ” - Jɛ Cʝɧ
CEIAG Newsletter Summer 2017
New SLT selected
Year 10 PSHE day: next steps sessions
Year 8 PSHE day
On Wednesday 3rd May our Year 8 students had a Careers and Employability collapsed curriculum day. They began with having the mo va onal speaker Jon Torrens in to assembly who shared with them his own experiences of changing career, how he developed his skills and grew in confidence through stand up comedy. The main learning of the day was about the huge number of different careers that are available for people to do. We welcomed in 8 business men and women from different industries and conducted a ‘What’s my line?’ ac vity with each form, during which teams had to ask ques ons to enable them to guess the career of the person. This was an excellent ac vity and the students came up with some really insigh ul ques ons. Students were also given the opportunity to complete the ‘Buzz Quiz’ (www.icould.com) to start to explore what careers may be best suited to them. This had some excellent feedback, with some students learning about careers that they had never heard about before.
During period 5 of the Year 10 PSHE day on the 29th June, the students had a ‘next steps’ themed a ernoon. Mrs Simpson, our Independent Careers Guidance Counsellor answered ques ons in a Q&A style assembly, students had a briefing on their work experience and were given vital informa on to complete prior to the two weeks away from school. Students also had the opportunity to access UCAS and start to explore the post-16 courses and opportuni es that are offered in our area.
Year 10s work experience Our Year 10s have taken part in their work experience placements and we are looking forward to hearing about their various experiences in the new term. They each had a booklet to fill out to include useful informa on about their job, and reflect on the key skills and informa on they have developed and gained throughout the two weeks. A huge thank you to Mrs Cook and Mrs Tunley for helping the students to organise their own placements.
Next Year We are looking forward to con nuing our careers educa on programme at school, with all students receiving a collapsed curriculum (PSHE) day during the year, and addi onal learning opportuni es occurring throughout the year. The Year 10s and Year 11s will take part in mock interviews, and we will again be par cipa ng in Na onal Careers Week.
Career Guidance Interviews Mrs Simpson is con nuing to offer her exper se in careers guidance interviews. At the moment all of the Year 10 students are being offered an interview to start to think about what they would like to do when they leave BVC, this will con nue into the Autumn term and they will be offered a follow up interview when they are in Year 11. Every student who has an interview produces a Personal Ac on Plan, this is stored on their intranet page on the school website for them to access and update whenever they want to, and it is also emailed to their school email account. It is helpful as a star ng point for the student to think about their future, but also to explore their strengths and areas of interest at the moment.
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Year 9s Activities Week: Take your child to work day and Careers and Employability Day In Ac vi es Week, Year 9 students have taken part in a take your child to work day, and some students par cipated in a Careers and Employability Day. One of the ac vi es was a site visit with Morgan Sindall to our own building site on the school premises where the students learnt about the different jobs within the organisa on and the skills and qualifica ons that some of the jobs require.
Back in May, Year 10s were busy applying to be part of the next Student Leadership Team. The team meet regularly with Mrs Rankine and Mr Griffiths and work with other key members of staff, to help organise key events; for example Open Evening and end of term assemblies. These mee ngs also provide an opportunity for the team to discuss key issues of interest or suggest areas for development in the College. Following their le ers of applica on, the applicants were narrowed down to 14. These 14 students were then invited to a formal interview with members of the College Leadership Team, and also undertook a public speaking ac vity. A er much delibera on, the following 6 students were successful - Kaytlin Walsh, David Dow, Zak Delanoy, Oliver Divall, Megan Faller, Charlo e Williamson, Natasha Allwood and Sophie Kelly. Well done to everyone who applied and congratula ons to the final eight.
Once again the Year 11 Leavers’ ball was a night to remember. A er a day that threatened rain, our luck held and the umbrellas on standby weren’t needed! The residents of Bo sham had started to congregate early in the evening and by the me the first students arrived, the red carpet and paths outside the college were lined three or four deep with spectators. Mrs Cook and her band of helpers had decorated the entrance in ‘Masquerade’ style and the marquee on the principal’s lawn looked amazing. The students enjoyed a photo booth, sweet stall and presenta on of awards, then danced the night away to DJ Cumminz. Photos of the evening can be seen on the Bo sham website. A fantas c evening was had by all and we look forward to 2018 when we con nue this fantas c tradi on.
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The ffullll size three ttennis Th i 3G pitch it h and d th i courts t are now open and d ready for use. The 3G pitch is already fully booked for the upcoming football season when we will welcome various ‘grassroots’ clubs such as Milton FC and Exning United as well as welcoming back our long term clubs such as Bo sham FC. Due to the high quality of the pitch we have also a racted the interest of Histon FC, Cambridge City and Norwich City. The benefits of the 3G pitch are:
All weather friendly with excellent drainage so training, matches and school events can go on all year round
Ar ficial grass turf provides excellent playing characteris cs in terms of bounce and ball roll
Fully floodlit for all year round bookings
The ability for smaller clubs to book a quarter pitch so it is affordable for all
The op on of full, half or quarter pitch hire
The 3G pitch and tennis courts provide a fabulous facility for the Sports Centre, Village College and community.
In other areas, building work is going to plan and the new Red2Green buildings have been handed over and are now open. The new car park extension should also be completed soon. Over the summer holidays the founda ons for the new college building will be started.
On the 24th May a crack team of six Year 9 students entered a compe on at Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge. The task was to design and create a protec ve case around a poppadum a ached to a rocket. A er a cagey start, out student’s teamwork and leadership skills began to shine through. Eventually we were beaten into second place by a design outrageously copied by our own pioneering team. However, all par cipants enjoyed their day and felt that their contribu ons to the future of engineering had been recognised! Well done to Charlie Smale, Felix Cahen, Tony Mills, Sanne Cole, Izzy Armitage and Kate Merriman. Each student played a part in the team and were a credit to themselves and the school. by Mr T Lamb
Beach Studies!
There have been some concerns raised that the addi onal rain water being discharged from the new works will exacerbate the problems with surface water flooding on the main road. The design is based on the principle of retaining all rain water on site and returning it to the ground through a series of very large soak away systems buried in the playing fields.
On Wednesday 14th June all of the Year 10 Geography students visited Sheringham, Norfolk to collect data as part of their GCSE course. Students were working on answering the following enquiry ques on: Are groynes an effec ve way of managing longshore dri at Sheringham? Following the trip students are expected to use their new knowledge in the final unit 3 exam paper, which will be in June 2018. We were fortunate enough to have some fantas c weather, enjoying an ice cream at lunch me. The next trip is now in the planning phase for Year 11 in October. by Ms K Neville-Jones, Geography Teacher
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From now un l December 2017, under the tle: ‘Cra y Sew and Sows’ Red2Green are working with the local community, Swa am Bulbeck Primary School and the college to inves gate lost skills that were either essen al parts of daily lives or commonplace 100 years ago, some of them par cular to the local area. In last term’s magazine we reported on the bread making ac vity. This term, 30 of our students had the opportunity to get involved in the project on tradi onal playground games.
Before the day the students interviewed family members about the games they played during their childhood. This led to a list of historic and tradi onal games that we then researched and learnt to play with the children from the primary school and the clients from Red2Green. Some of the games researched and played ‘Cats Cradle’, skipping, hopscotch, ‘What’s the me Mr Wolf’, ‘The farmers in his den’, marbles, ski les, pick up s cks, ddlywinks and jacks. The feedback included ‘a trip down memory lane’ from the adults and ‘do we have to stop, that was fun’ from the students and children. by Mrs L Williams
Another busy term in the Library! Much of it has been taken up working with Year 10 students to organise their Work Experience placements for July, an ac vity that Mrs Cook and myself have been organising this year. We have been delighted by the number of students who have been bravely talking to local businesses, arranging to work with them over a two-week period. We have also had some excellent feedback from employers who interviewed our students and were impressed with their a tude, knowledge and good manners. Well done Year 10! The photo shows examples of comments from employers last year and we look forward to many more like them this year. We have had various new books this term, but by far the most popular has been “A Dog’s Purpose” by W. Bruce Cameron. The books were on display for about ten minutes before they were both taken out and have never quite made it back to the shelves since! Anyone s ll wai ng – do keep checking back as you may just be next. Another firm favourite is the Manga sec on which encourages many of our students to read avidly. We have refreshed our collec on this term, so there are plenty of series for students to work through. The major event this term would have to be the Carnegie Award Shadowing Group. The Carnegie award is an annual award recognising one new outstanding book for children and young adults. Delia, Bella, Ellie, Megan, Rohan, Natalie, Molly, Joseph, Daniel, Lucas, Kaisha, Bryher and Kerri-Anne have all done a superb job of reading the set books and were delighted to a end the mul -school get-together in June at Netherhall. Here is what a few shadowers had to say about the event:
Cheque handover Last term some of our students decided to raise money for charity by holding a cake sale and a Staff/Student Dodgeball match. This term they handed over a cheque for £161 to Sco Campbell, the manager of the Newmarket Cancer Research Store. Well done girls!
“I enjoyed mee ng new people from all around Cambridge and being able to read a wide variety of books, rather than s cking to my comfort zone.” Kaisha “I enjoyed being able to read so many books.” Ellie “I enjoyed mee ng new people and being able to discuss the books we read with them.” Bella “I enjoyed the wide variety of book genres and discovering new authors.” Megan “I enjoyed reading new books that interested me as well as mee ng new people.” Bryher “We would like to thank all the teachers involved in making this trip possible, those at Netherhall, St. Bedes and The Perse for par cipa ng and also those who brought lots of delicious cake and squash for our trip. Thank you all so much.” Megan & Bella Finally, I need to say a hear elt farewell to the students and staff at Bo sham as I shall be star ng a new job at another school in September. I have come to know many of the students well this year and will miss them very much. I am sure they will con nue to enjoy the Library space as a familiar haven before school, at break, at lunch and a er school. It has been lovely to see the Library used so well and I am grateful to have had the chance to be part of that. Happy reading, everyone! by Ms J Tunley, Library Co-ordinator
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Our summer term programme of ‘Open Door’ Days at local primary and secondary schools is the latest ini a ve in our drive to spread the word about the teaching profession. These events offer a snapshot of a school in ac on to anyone out there who is suitably qualified and thinking about this career route, with the opportunity to meet teachers and young people during their working day. We look forward to including more of these in the autumn term; look out for our flyers and do share details with anyone within and beyond your learning community who is thinking about training to teach. Our current cohort of Anglian Gateway primary and secondary trainees are approaching their final assessment, with the majority of them having secured their first post in a local school. We wish them every success with these final weeks of training as they launch themselves into a brilliant career. We look forward to the new training cycle in September. Whilst most places have been filled, we have a final push with selec on days in June and July to recruit trainees into our remaining places.
This year at Bo sham Village College, we have commi ed to making research-based lesson study our main CPD vehicle. The over-arching theme of this process has been to encourage teachers to innovate and take risks with colleagues in a suppor ve environment, focussing on one of the following key themes: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Fostering student-centred learning Developing/suppor ng literacy Se ng high expecta ons – challenge Developing posi ve behaviours for learning Developing resilient learners
On Monday 24th April, the main hall at Bo sham was transformed into a marketplace, with staff sharing their findings and talking passionately about teaching and learning. Feedback from the a ernoon was very posi ve. A selec on of colleagues’ quotes can be found below: “Ge ng the chance to observe different lessons and see different teaching styles is something I’ve found hugely beneficial” “In truth, the whole process has been a shot in the arm and, ul mately, improved my teaching.” “Thank you for the prac cal ac vi es that I can now use in lessons. I can’t wait to try them out!” We are very much looking forward to stage two of lesson study next year, when we can build on the successes of this.
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Football
Year 9 Football Cup The year 9 boys’ football team progressed to the final of the district cup, playing against Sawston at The Abbey Stadium on 8th May. Bo sham got off to a great start, taking an early lead through Fin Wilkinson. The game was then levelled by Sawston just before half me, se ng up a tense second half where neither team could break the deadlock. With 2 minutes le on the clock, Fin Wilkinson won a penalty and stepped up to slot it home to make it 2-1. Unbelievably, Fin won another penalty no more than 30 seconds later, again slo ng it home to complete his hat trick and make the final score 3-1 to Bo sham. A huge well done to all the boys involved in the team through all of the knockout phases.
Golf On 18th April at the pres gious Gog Magog Golf Course near Cambridge, Teddy, Harry and myself set out to do ba le against Cambridgeshire's finest golfers. In teams of three with two coun ng scores there was no margin for error. A er a slow start all three of us needed to grind to stand a chance of qualifying for the Na onal final. Harry made a series of pars around the turn, Teddy's short game was excep onal ge ng up and down from every angle and my back nine including a birdie two on sixteen gave us a figh ng chance of the prizes. A er an anxious wait in the clubhouse we were crowned champions of Cambridgeshire and booked our place at the Na onal final. We are now off to represent Cambridgeshire at The Na onal Golf Centre, Woodhall Spa. Clubs are packed, swings ready and five star hotel with swimming pool awaits us! by George Whitehall 9.1
Cambridgeshire Colts League Bo sham Under 16s won their league this season. The team only lost one league game all year and reached the semi final in the cup. All the team a end BVC, with 6 of them having played for the team since they were five years old. Well done!
For all informa on on fixtures and clubs over the coming year, follow @BVCPhysicalEd on twi er!
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Jubilee Cup It was wet and windy a ernoon at the Jubilee Cup this year, but we persevered despite the weather to have a fantas c a ernoon. First men on must go to the Year 10 sports leaders, capably running the event for the first me in difficult condi ons. Our compe tors did themselves proud also, finishing runners up overall, losing only to St Bedes, the overall winners. Special men ons must go to the Year 10 and Year 9 girls for winning their age group, and for the Year 10 and Year 9 boys for coming 2nd.
Well done to all our leaders and performers!
Primary fes vals This summer has been chock-ablock with primary school link fes vals. Leaders from Years 8, 9 and 10 have represented the school impeccably at the Year 2 mul -skills fes val, Year 3 mini Olympics, Year 1 tennis, Year 5 & 6 cricket and Bo sham Primary School Sports day. Our sports leaders are a huge part of our success in PE at Bo sham, and the number of compliments we receive from staff, parents and students from link primary schools is remarkable. Well done to all who have helped out this term.
Rounders Rounders tournaments have been hampered by poor weather this term, with the Year 7 and 10 compe ons unable to go ahead. The Year 8 team finished 6th in their district compe on, and the Year 9 teams came 5th (A) and 2nd (B) respec vely, a terrific achievement.
School Records Broken! Several school athle cs records have been broken this term and will be added to the new record sheets from next year. x David Dow broke the senior 1500m, taking a whole 16 seconds off the record running in 4:10.88! x Billy White broke the 17 year old Year 7 shot put record, throwing an epic 10.25m at our home athle cs fixture!