Academic Excellence Inspire, Reach and Achieve “Ranked Top Sixth Form College and Top Co-Educational Boarding School in the UK for A Levels” The Spectator 2012
CSFC Newsletter Issue 1 Welcome!
Dear Parents, Welcome to CSFC’s first newsletter. Through these newsletters we will keep you up-to-date with what’s been happening at CSFC – including competitions, trips, special events and awards. We have a rigorous calendar of activities which occur throughout the year, which add greatly to the students’ learning and development whilst at CSFC. We have selected our favourite moments from Term 1 to share with you here. From all at CSFC we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Cardiff Sixth Form College
December 2012 CSFC Student Achieves Scholarship to study at Top UK University CSFC graduate, Lai Zong Bao, formally of Lodge National School, Malaysia, was honoured at a scholarship celebration event at The University of Nottingham’s Senate Chamber this November. Lai received the High Achievers Scholarship from The University of Nottingham in recognition of his hard work and dedication throughout his 2 years of A Levels. Thanks to this hard work Lai received 3 A* grades and 1 A in Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology and Physics, and is currently studying medicine at The University of Nottingham. Lai paid tribute to CSFC's teaching and university application process, stating:
"CSFC places a great deal of emphasis on ensuring that every single student makes a competitive application to university. I have greatly benefitted from the large amount of individual support provided. Through the college I have had the chance to carry out work experience in a wide variety of medical settings; from GP surgeries to
hospitals. I have also been part of several visits to distinguished universities, which have been invaluable in helping me make my university choices. Interview workshops and mock exams organised by the college have also greatly boosted my self-confidence and have excellently prepared me for my university interviews."
European Youth Parliament Competition Congratulations to the following AS students for their superb win at the European Youth Parliament Competition, South Wales Forum on Friday 30th November at the National Assembly for Wales: Mompati Seete, Adrienne Tong, Nadia Chaudhury, Natasha Chaudhury, Serati Nthobatsang, Kaene Disepo, Cecilia Iglesias, Kevin Sin, Carlos Li, Virut Hemnilrat, Amber Summerhayes, Thamani Mazhani, Krishna Ramesh, Aimee Blair, Zen Foo, Sarah Foong, Karima Gadalla, Jamie Coombes and Kamogelo Thutoestsile. The students took the proposition stance on the question of the role in the EU in enforcing intellectual property rights, with Hawthorn High School in opposition. They also contributed in debates on topics regarding the EU’s role in: reducing youth unemployment; reducing the threat of terrorism; empowerment of women in the Middle East and Northern Africa; and the future of embryonic stem cell research. The students impressed the judges with their debating skills, and ability to ask probing questions, as well as their ability to work as a team. They beat of stiff competition from some of the UK’s top school debating teams, and will go on to participate in the UK-wide Selection Conference, from which a team will be chosen to represent the UK in the international sessions.
UBS Award for Outstanding Student A2 student, Karima Gadalla, currently studying Mathematics, Biology, History and Economics at CSFC, is celebrating being awarded the prestigious UBS Award for Outstanding Students. Karima was one of only 30 students selected to receive this award, from hundreds of applications. She impressed the selection committee with: her grades - 8 A* grades and 1 A grade at GCSE (which she achieved in only 1 year), and 5 A grades at AS; her extra and super-curricular activities – including participation in the International Space Settlement Design Competition, European Youth Parliament and Young Enterprise; and her selflessness in giving back to the local community through her voluntary work with Barnardo’s and Islamic Relief. The 17 year old, who’s originally from Estonia, is the first in her family to have the opportunity to attend university, and hopes to read law at the University of Cambridge in September 2013. The UBS Award is a collaboration between Pure Potential, an independent organisation which raises the aspirations of thousands of sixthformers, and UBS investment bank. It recognises and celebrates the achievements of the brightest sixth form students in the country.
CSFC in Debating Matters Victory There were scenes of joy at CSFC this December as the AS students celebrated their victorious win at the West and South Wales
Qualifying Rounds of Debating Matters. CSFC beat off strong competition from other top schools to be announced the winners in a hard fought campaign. CSFC were up first, facing Howell’s College on the topic of state regulation of funding for party politics, with CSFC arguing for the proposition. The students debating, Kaene Disepo and Carlos Li, argued strongly, calling for greater transparency in party funding, and a limitation on the amount an individual can give to a party. They expertly fielded questions from the judges, including a highly topical question regarding the low funding for the campaign for police commissioner – which resulted in low voter turnout.
After defeating Howells College they then faced the round two winners, St Albans RC High School. CSFC and St Albans debated the proposition ‘genetic screening of embryos devalues human life’, with CSFC being for the motion. The round was expertly fought by Nadia Chaudhury and Cecelia Iglesias. The judges praised CSFC’s content and depth of knowledge, and commended them on commanding the debate on their own terms – which often put the opposition on the back foot.
As well as winning the overall competition both Cecilia and Kaene received individual awards Cecilia for Best Individual Debator and Kaene received a commendation from the judges. CSFC will now progress onto the Regional Finals in the spring.
UKMT Senior Maths Challenge Congratulations to the following students who achieved awards at the UKMT Senior Maths Challenge: Gold Award: Elaine Xie, Ryan Yan, Kelly Choi, Bao Son Vuong, James Liew, Joy Wang, Ben Taekasem, Izyan Aziz, Gim Kwok and Shu En Lee Silver Award: Bonnie Man, Joe Morgan, Tommy Leung, Lynn Lin, Andrew Limavady, Corinna Tse, Fong Yee Liu, Jason Hui, Tiro Modibedi, Raymond Cheng, Nadia Chaudhury, Jeffrey Liaw, Esther Modise, Carlos Li, Ambrose Chan, Anita Wu, Ryan Sin, Eric Wu, Ivan Kan, Humaira Bhadelia, Danyal Green, James Wang and Morgan Jones Bronze Award: Maxine Zhao, Asem Kaewluang, Tony Chang, Yao Wu, Yujin Cheon, Mompati Seete, Althea Amaris, Kwok Ho Wan, Hilary Chung, Arthur Yan, Alex Lau, Punika Ratchachittapo, Newz Chungyingruang, Fiona Shia, Carmen Leung, Ili Haji Zulkipli, James Tlhomole, Ella Warner, Tommy Rattahasirivil, Dumisani Gwakuba, Judy Lee, Aaron Chong, Cecilia Padilla, E-Wen Wong, Erind Maho, Paivyn Lee, Ali Malik, Wilson Wong, Kago Relaeng, Fiona Hu, Ayobami Abikoye, Elisa Moroka, Zayana Mohamad, Micky Jariyaporn, Mable Kamodidi, Kevin Ko and Temogo Dibonwa The challenge involves answering 25 multiple choice questions in 90 minutes and is sat in school under normal exam conditions. The UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) is a registered charity whose aim is to advance the education of children and young people in mathematics.
CSFC 2012 Cultural Event CSFC celebrated its 2012 cultural event in style at Cardiff's magnificent City Hall on Saturday 1st December. The event, which was organised entirely by the AS students, was a great success and was very much enjoyed by all. Highlights included Bollywood and Hip Hop dance performances, music recitals, and drama performances, as well as a CSFC spin on the world-wide hit ‘Gangnam Style’. The audience of over 300 people enjoyed a delicious three course dinner alongside the performances and presentations.
English and Humanities Award Karima Gadalla and Virut Hemnilrat Social Sciences Award Euchine Ng and Barbie Wong Maths and Science Award Jerome Poon and Martin Mak
In acknowledgment of their hard work and dedication to their studies, the following students received individual awards:
Soul Award for Most Embodying School Spirit Dumisani Gwakuba
Starburst Award for Best Newcomer Morgan Jones and Tiro Modibedi
Debate Awards Kaene Disepo, Cecilia Iglesias, Virut Hemnilrat, Thamani Mazhani and Krishna Ramesh
Comet Award for Most Improved Student Jeffrey Liu and Ahmed Fazeel Honour Award for Exceptional Pursuit of Ambition Kamogelo Thutoetsile, Boago Mokgatle and Jia Rui Chow Leadership Award Amber Summerhayes Best Student Award Krishna Ramesh and Samantha Chan The Victory Award for Academic and NonAcademic Excellence Amber Summerhayes and Virut Hemnilrat
Goodwill Ambassador Programme Best Ambassador Awards - Bahrain Ake Kanjana, Calvin Chong, Dylan Tan, Janice Lim, Mavis Cheng and Dumebi Ochem
Goodwill Ambassador Programme Best Ambassador Awards - Malaysia Title Kulteeratawat, Martin Mak, Amber Summerhayes, Boago Mokgatle, Dipesh Sahi and Jacob Cross International Space Settlement Design Competition Winners Jamie Coombes, Martin Mak, Krishna Ramesh, Kamogelo Thutoetsile, Zen Foo, Stephanie Lim, Thamani Mazhani, Karima Gadalla, Kutlo Kebaikanye and Dipesh Sahi
Young Enterprise For the 5th consecutive year CSFC’s students have participated in the Young Enterprise Business and Enterprise Scheme. Student recently undertook a Christmas sales challenge, in which they were required to market and sell a product of their choosing, as well a design a business plan for that product. This event took place at IKEA in Cardiff Bay over two days.
Young Enterprise's mission statement is "to inspire and equip young people to learn and succeed through enterprise”. Its guiding principle is to do this through 'learning by doing.‘ This links in ideally with CSFC’s holistic approach to learning – combining academic success with a myriad of work experience opportunities, and super-curricular and extra-curricular activities.
One student involved in the scheme, Yao Wu, described his experience of Young Enterprise:
WJEC Honours Top Students Three former students of Cardiff Sixth Form College have been honoured by WJEC for attaining the highest A level results in Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology.
“Young Enterprise is brilliant! It provides me with a first class understanding about how a real business is run. By attending the programme I learnt how to run a real company, how to sell and market products, how to communicate with people and how to work as part of a team. All these experience have been invaluable to me and also inspired me to be successful in my career.” “As the Financial Director of our company, Zelus, I gained lots of experience directly related to finance by having to take care of the assets that we made from selling our product - Fish Bone Earphone Holders. They were made out of dust-repelling soft silicon, and were lightweight and convenient to carry. So far we have sold a great amount of them, and have actually sold out! Although the team was nervous about selling our first product at first, once we got the hang of thing it got better and smoother. This experience has really given us a huge confidence boost!”
Magdalene Ting, who has now gone onto study Medicine at The University of Cambridge, received the highest A Level results in Biology and Chemistry, with 599/600 UMS points and 597/600 UMS points respectively. Mico Chai, who is currently studying Mathematics at London School of Economics and Steffi Chong, who is currently studying Medicine with Surgery at The University of Hong Kong, both achieved the highest Mathematics scores in the country, each with 600/600 UMS points. The students received their certificates and £50 prize from WJEC Subject Officer for Chemistry, Jonathan Owen, at CSFC’s annual Cultural Event, which was held this year at Cardiff’s spectacular City Hall, in front of a crowd of over 300 people. Mico paid tribute to her time at CSFC, saying
“CSFC instils academic strength in its students. The amount of effort that the tutors put into helping us is inspiring. I believe my time here at CSFC has been an incredible experience, and it is both an honour and a pleasure to be able to study at such a respectable institution.”
Cambridge Chemistry Challenge
British Physics Olympiad A2 Challenge
Congratulations to the following students who achieved awards at the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge.
Congratulations to the following students to received Merit commendations in the British Physics Olympiad A2 Challenge.
Gold Award Samantha Chan, Steffi Chong, and Jerome Poon
Merit Awards: Dylan Tan, Chow Jia Rui, Samantha Chan, Anh Nguyen and Elaine Xie
Silver Award Jason Mak, Yu-Qian Ng, and Dylan Tan Bronze Award Tiffany Chan, Mavis Cheng, Jamie Coombes, Rosie Craddock, Karima Gadalla, Lesago Basego Gosenyang, Calvin Kiang, Patchararapee Kulteeratawat, Chanoknun Liengudom, Martin Mak, Thamani Mazhani, Anh Nyuyen, Dumebi Ochem, Edger Olehnovics, Pearl Pabale, Shengdu Poon, Dipesh Sahi, Aone Sethibe, Winson So, Kamogelo Thutoetsile, Yin Laam Tsang, Hinton Wat, Ini Yee,and Alik Vodyanov The Cambridge Chemistry Challenge aims to stretch and challenge students interested in chemistry, and provides an excellent experience for anyone considering taking their studies further. Set by an experienced team of teachers and university chemists, it is designed to be accessible to Year 12 students but will take them significantly beyond the syllabus and encourage them to think about science in the way they would at university. This competition is open to students studying in the UK in Year 12 (Lower 6th) or below. It takes the form of a 90 minute written paper which students take at school.
Congratulations also go to the following students who were acknowledged for their participation in the British Physics Olympiad A2 Challenge. Participation: Ini Chan, Jamie Coombes, Hinton Wat, Winson So and Yeo Ying Qi The British Physics Olympiad (BPhO) has run for 25 years and is entered annually by over 1,600 talented young physicists. The examination-based competition has a dual purpose: to challenge and reward the best physicists in British schools and to select the UK Physics Team for competition at international level.
In Other News Students enjoyed the annual trip to Shakespeare’s birthplace StratfordUpon-Avon. Students took part in university lecture sessions at Cardiff University, University of Exeter and New College of the Humanities.
Students continued to undertake regular university preparation workshops, including entrance exam testing and interview workshops.
Evolution of CSFC State-of-the-Art Accommodation Cardiff Sixth Form College now offers fantastic student living space at our newly completed accommodation at Student Castle; a brand new development, only 5 minutes from the college campus. The hall is warden controlled, and has 24 hour security. The building is divided into separate flats for boys and girls. Students can choose from studio flats which have private kitchen facilities or cluster flats. Each cluster flat consists of 4/5 bedrooms which are single occupancy and have en suite bathrooms. These flats share a communal kitchen which contains a comfortable seating area with a flat screen TV. All rooms have broadband and WIFI. Students benefit from on-site catering at the college. Students also have a shared common room which has pool table and table-top football, as well as a large 50 inch flat screen TV with Sky TV and WIFI. There are also laundry facilities on site.
New Catering and Library Facilities CSFC always strives to provide students with the very best, which is why over the summer CSFC invested £750,000 in updating its facilities, including constructing a brand new library and canteen. CSFC’s library facilities now rival those at any top educational establishment, with a wide variety of books, journals and university prospectuses available for the students’ use. The canteen is now an impressive 6000 square feet in size, and has room for 200 students to dine simultaneously. In order to provide a delicious and diverse menu CSFC employs three professional chefs (one Chinese, one Indian, and one English), with meals provided three times a day, seven days a week.
CSFC – College Life in Pictures
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