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Work Experience: Page 10
Matts with the gardening team at Holme Pierrepont
Question: What was the BEST THING about your work experience week?
“I loved working with the kids so much, and I got to teach them Spanish!” “The relaxed atmosphere and the college lunches” “Learning new things” “Learning how to drive a boat!” “I enjoyed the insight it gave me into working life….” “Working on the website, using my IT skills” “Just being able to help” “Bonding with the residents in the dementia unit” “Everyone was nice and welcoming” “Every day we did something different” I really enjoyed getting to know the people I was working with” “Meeting different patients with different health problems” “Fixing a vintage MG car!”
DUKE OF EDINBURGH UPDATE:
By Ms Overbeck & Mr Darby
SILVER AND BRONZE NEWS:
In October, 8 students headed out to complete the DofE expedition section of their award! The Bronze team were in very high spirits and powered through both days, even taking time to see the Fire Station Open Day. Silver had the extra challenge of an additional night, but they took it on incredibly well! We are very proud of their achievements at the weekend!
MATHS DEPT NEWS
Senior Maths Challenge
The Senior Maths Challenge took place on Tuesday 4th October with all our A-level Maths and Further Maths students encouraged to participate. In total, over 200 students took part in the challenge, which created an air of mathematical excitement across North Site throughout the day. 59% of the students achieved scores worthy of a medal; gold, silver or bronze, and it is worth noting that students enjoy the quirky nature of these problems, whatever their level of success.
We had 13 students in Year 13 and 5 in Year 12 that qualified for the second round, in either the Senior Kangaroo or in 3 cases, the extremely challenging British Mathematical Olympiad, a paper so fiendishly difficult that students are given 3.5 hours to answer just 6 questions. Particular congratulations should go to Aaron and Matthew who qualified for the Olympiad and had some success in answering the questions. We have not yet received their results which will come with news of whether they have qualified for the 2nd round, with the chance of continuing in the competition and potentially representing the UK in the International Olympiad, but any success at this stage represents outstanding mathematical ability.
Here is question 1 from the Olympiad paper to have a go at if you're feeling brave!!
Ritangle Competition
Ritangle is a nationwide maths competition aimed at 6th form students. Since early October, questions have been released three times a week and students have been applying their maths skills to solve a wide range of different problems. In early December, students use their answers to these questions to reveal new challenges and to enable them to tackle the complex Final Task. Several teams of students from Years 12 and 13 are taking part this year and they have been enjoying having a go at these difficult questions. We wish them all the best with the Final Task. Here is an example question for you to have a go at.
By Mr Jamieson & Mr Dyer
MFL - GERMAN DEPT NEWS:
Radley College once again invited us to join the German Department at the end of September for the chance to speak some German, eat some traditional German food and complete a quiz as part of their Oktoberfest celebrations. Year 11 and Sixth Form German students not only enjoyed the traditional German food but also were able to meet other students studying German at local schools.
By Mr Mehrabian
MFL NEWS - SEVILLE TRIP
By Miss Erskine
For the first time since 2019, Miss Erskine, Ms Garcia-Rodriguez and Mr Slater were able to take 20 students from Year 11 and 13 to visit Seville, Andalucia, to stay with host families and practise their Spanish! We were delighted that we could offer this opportunity to a range of students to help them build their confidence in Spanish, and experience Spanish and Andalusian culture.
Students participated in a whole range of activities, from visiting La Gruta de las Maravillas in Aracena, to painting tiles in the traditional Spanish way, to dancing flamenco on stage with professionals. Students also had the opportunity to explore the city of Seville and discover its rich and diverse history, visiting the Cathedral and the old Alcazar. Additionally, our Cherwell students visited Spanish school La Loma, answering any questions about English culture, discussing their favourite things and playing sports with them.
Here’s what some of our students said about the trip:
