News@Cam

The Magazine of Cambourne Village College ISSUE 16, WINTER 2018 www.cambournevc.org https://www.facebook.com/CambourneVC

NEWS CAM

Bringing Past into Present — Page 7

Glitzy night at awards

CAMBOURNE VILLAGE COLLEGE

On the first weekend of half term, 10 members of staff adorned themselves in their finest and set off for London Town.

TV cameras buzzing around us.

Those of you who watched the event on BBC 2 on the following Sunday would probably agree that the glamorous duo of Mrs Moody and Mrs Durrant represented us with aplomb!

The ceremony took quite a while — not Their destination? The ceremony for least because the presenters, Anita the Pearson School of the Year Rani and Tom Baker from the BBC awards, in which the College had been Countryfile programme, amusingly had awarded one of five Silver plaques in to film a number of retakes in their the Making a Difference category. announcing of the winners.

We had already celebrated this award Many celebrities came to present the at school in the summer term, and awards, in which some truly inspiring were now joining the staff from all the examples of teachers doing wonderful 'Silver' schools to hear the work across the country were publicised, announcement of the overall winners. and once the presentations were over, Since there had been no prior publicity we were all plied with champagne events held at school, we knew that we before being treated to a rather splendid hadn't won our category, in which the PARTY TIME: Staff at the Pearson School of the Year awards. dinner.

Gold plaque was presented to the All in all, it was a rare opportunity to relax and to reflect with pride on just how worthy Jo Richardson Academy, from Dagenham, but this meant we could relax much we have all achieved at Cam VC in winning such a prestigious Silver award and enjoy the occasion, which was great fun.

Claire Coates, Principal just five years after we opened.

The venue was huge, with hundreds of guests seated at dinner tables and lots of

Protected newts delay expansion plans!

The construction of the first wing of the new Cambourne Sixth Form, building phase 3A, intended for general school use from 2019 until 2023, has been delayed after great crested newts were found on the intended building site at the northern end of the school.

This species of newt is protected under European law, and a special licence is needed to move them from a building site.

Unfortunately, the first frost of the autumn came before the licence had been procured and consequently, the site cannot now be disturbed until the newts awaken from hibernation next spring.

Completion of the project will therefore be delayed until January 2020 at the earliest, so we are working with the Local Authority to ensure we have enough

temporary classrooms to accommodate the large new intake expected next September. We anticipate these temporary rooms to be in use for no more than one term.

Much better building news, however, is that following our representations to the planning authorities and developers, the design guide for Cambourne West has been amended to allow for the new campus of Cambourne Village College, phase 3B of construction, to be built close to our existing buildings, and not, as originally planned, some distance away.

This very significant project will enable us, over time, to absorb gradually the 900 new pupils expected to come from the new Cambourne West development, and detailed planning has now begun to ensure that

Jeans genies . . .

the new facilities will enhance and complement the existing excellent provision we have for our pupils.

The new development is expected to include a much larger library, another sports hall and multi-gym, dining and performance facilities, and more than 20 new classrooms, laboratories and workshops.

The physical planning of the facilities needs to be done very early; managing such a significant

expansion in a way that preserves the ethos and standards of our current school will of course be the

subject of a great deal of very carefully planning over the intervening years.

Claire Coates, Principal

Students at Cambourne Village College joined thousands of others across the country wearing their jeans on Friday September 21 as part of Jeans for Genes Day. Following assemblies to raise awareness about living with genetic disorders, students and staff rallied to raise more than £700.

The £719.41 has gone to help support people with life-changing genetic disorders in their everyday lives through Genetic Disorders UK. It is estimated that 1 in 25 children are born with a genetic disorder and this donation, with other funds raised, will be helping to fund the vital care and support services that transform PURE GENE-IUS: Students wore their jeans to raise money for their lives. Thank you for your help and well done to everyone for such fantastic fundraising! research into genetic disorders.

q Trust News — 3 q Curriculum Extension Days — 4 &5 q Spotlight on History — 6 & 7 q Guilty — of a Good Show — 8 q Students share thoughts on

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Contents

‘Community’ — 8 q Exploring Faith through Music —8 q MFL Round-Up — 9 q Task Offers Sunny Outlook — 10

q Greatest Show on Earth — 10 q Artefacts inspire Writers — 10

q King’s Carols — 10

q Duke of Edinburgh News — 11 q Sports Latest — 11 &12

THE CAM ACADEMY TRUST NEWS

The irony of popularity POPULAR CHOICES: All the Trust’s secondary schools have seen an increase in student numbers this year.

Autumn 2018 has marked a remarkable phenomenon across the secondary schools in The Cam Academy Trust.

All four secondary schools have seen considerable growth in numbers in the main 11-16 pupil population and the Comberton Sixth Form has also witnessed significant growth in student numbers.

In total, we have more than 400 additional pupils in our secondary schools now than we did last school year.

There are two fundamental reasons behind this remarkable growth in numbers: l The growth in local population in some of the areas where our schools operate. This is most obviously in Cambourne, but it does apply to a lesser extent in other areas. l The increasing popularity of schools in our Trust.

Poised to move in

We are nearly there with the new school site for Gamlingay Village Primary, the first Primary School to join our Trust. It has been a long journey (in many ways dating back over decades) to get to the point where there is a Primary School serving the whole community of Gamlingay, feeding into a named Cambridgeshire Secondary School (Comberton Village College) and located in great and appropriate premises that are a real asset to the local community.

We hope and anticipate that January 2019 will mark the moment when all of these things become a full reality.

Work has been finished off on the redesign of the Village College (middle school) site in Gamlingay with the result being a really good Primary School facility that can meet the needs of all.

We hope that everything will be moved across and be ready to operate at the beginning of the coming term.

This will be a great moment in the history of education in Gamlingay and can ensure a strong and sustainable schooling model into the future.

Very many thanks are due to those, both staff and members of the Local Governing Body, who have worked so hard over such a long period of time to make this moment possible.

Greater numbers of pupils and families are making a choice to attend one of our schools. Wherever we sensibly can, we seek to accommodate that choice.

This is, of course, all extremely positive and reflects very well on the education provided in our schools and the perception of our local communities regarding this.

Very many thanks are due to all staff in all of our schools for making this possible and for seeking to make a reality of our mission to provide an excellent education for all pupils in all of our schools.

There is, however, an irony in our positive situation.

Funding for Academies works on the basis of socalled ‘lagged funding’.

This means that we are funded this year for the number of pupils on our books last year. In other words, we are currently educating more than 400

extra pupils this year in our secondary schools with no funding for them.

As you might guess, this is a challenge that we consider to be unreasonable given that we are serving our local communities’ needs by doing this and there are real costs associated with educating over 400 additional pupils.

The Trust is therefore in ongoing discussions with Government school funding agencies to seek to have our situation confirmed as highly exceptional and hope that we might receive some funding for the actual number of pupils in our schools.

In the meantime, we are delighted to have so many more pupils choosing to come to our schools and we continue to do our very best to provide the great education that we all want for everyone.

Stephen Munday, CEO

First year group set to use iPads Cambourne Village College is set to become the first school in The Trust to introduce iPads to a whole year group.

Following a very successful trial at the college last summer, late last month parents were invited to the college to hear the Trust’s longer-term plans for their use.

From May half-term 2019 it expected that students currently in Year 8 will take possession of the latest iPads, software and keyboards (with insurance) on a three-year lease, which will see them through to their GCSE exams.

Parents are being asked to make a voluntary donation of just under £10 per month. Students in receipt of Free School Meals will have this contribution covered by a bursary scheme, which may also be available to parents experiencing financial difficulties.

SUCCESSFUL TRIAL: Of iPads at Cambourne.

Sean Sumner, Cambourne’s Deputy Principal who is also responsible for the iPads project across the Trust, said: “More than 100 Year 7 students and 34 staff undertook a major investigation into the use of iPads in teaching and learning during the summer term.

“Staff and students undertook activities both at school and home and throughout the project we have been evaluating the use of iPads through lesson observations, interviews with staff and students, and student, staff and parent/carer surveys. Feedback from all those who have

been involved project has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Parents and carers reported that having and using a dedicated personalised iPad had positively changed their child’s attitude to school, increased engagement in lessons, raised attainment levels, improved organisation and improved attitude to homework.

“Students who were involved in the project and had been using a personalised iPad reported that they put more effort into lessons, that they were more organised for school and that using the iPad helped with their homework. Students also reported that they spent more time researching, preparing and practising for lessons and that lessons were more interesting and enjoyable.

“Staff involved in the project reported that using an iPad helped them share resources with students more easily, helped students collaborate more and develop creativity and independent thinking. Staff also felt that students were more engaged in lessons and that using a personalised iPad had the potential to raise attainment and progress.

“We believe that our vision of 1:1 deployment of iPads in our schools will enable us to work with parents and carers to fulfil our joint responsibility to all of our students to equip them with the skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century workplace: to be digitally literate, to be able to think and work independently and to be able to problem-solve and to collaborate with one another. We believe that a personalised iPad can play a crucial role in the classroom, transforming the learning opportunities available to our students.”

A group of Year 7 students and a group of staff at Comberton Village College trialled the use of iPads this term and from next term half of the Year 7 cohort and all staff at Melbourn Village College will begin a term of using the technology to enhance teaching and learning at their school. There are also plans to trial the use of iPads in the Trust’s primary schools in future.

For job vacancies across the Trust, visit the CAT website at www.catrust.co.uk

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Days to inspire students CAMBOURNE VILLAGE COLLEGE

At Cambourne Village College we believe that all pupils should be enriched beyond the ‘normal’ classroom curriculum.

ability to discuss environmental issues, and included the development of field sketching and data collection techniques. This was a very stimulating day that added to pupils’ general geographical learning, as well as developed their fieldwork enquiry skills.

Curriculum Extension Days, two days at the end of the first half term, are carefully Year 9’s days focused on PE and Technology. planned to offer that opportunity by inspiring and Their PE days were based around navigation, stretching students, as well as adding to what map reading and problem-solving through a they are learning in class. range of activities, including the opportunity for Each year group from Years 7-10 studies a canoeing. Pupils were outdoors all day and came particular topic for the whole of one day and a prepared for all weathers! different one on the other day, while Year 11 Their Technology day was an opportunity for focus on a particular area of GCSE study — Art, students to work in their tutor groups to solve a Music and Drama for those taking the subjects, number of different problems using their and English for those who are not. knowledge of Design, Science, Technology, Year 7 days were focused on Maths and Science.

Engineering and Maths.

Their Science day aimed to broaden students’ Year 10 looked at Religious Studies and History. understanding of the natural world and provide a During Key Stage 4, all students must study foundation for the study of the living world.

Religious Education, and at Cambourne, we have Accompanied by staff, students were able to designed our Curriculum Extension Days explore Colchester Zoo in form groups and activities to contribute towards the coverage of complete tasks related to the Year 7 curriculum. this statutory requirement.

Their Maths day focused on a number of On one day, students visitedthe Jewish Museum problem-solving activities and broadened the in London, where they had the opportunity to visit pupils’ knowledge and understanding of how the exhibitions, which show the history and maths works in the world around us. diversity of Judaism, both within the UK and Year 8 concentrated on Geography and around the world. The workshops they Languages. Their MFL day consisted of a foreign participated in focused on the theme of the language film-making project in groups, in which Holocaust and the different responses of Jewish students created a pitch, script, storyboard and people. This also gave students the opportunity final edit of a short film in either French, Spanish UNDERWATER: Students watch seals from a to consider the philosophical problem of evil. different angle. or German, complete with English subtitles.

On the other day, the students visited Students worked in tutor groups for the day.

Bhaktivedanta Manor in Watford, which is a significant location for Hinduism Their Geography day was a visit to the cliffs at Walton-on-the-Naze. These are a within the UK. Students had the opportunity to learn about the beliefs and UK designated site of Special Scientific Interest, currently eroding at a rate of practices associated with this tradition, learn about Eastern meditation practices approximately two metres a year. Pupils investigated the conflict between and encountered an example of a farm following Hindu ethics. conservation groups, who are fighting to save the Naze, and the local council, We believe our two curriculum extension days were successful and a great who are responsible for financing sea defences. The enquiry extended pupils’ opportunity for all students to study in a different way.

Making movies is fun way to learn languages

Year 8 made our own movies in other languages during Curriculum Extension Day. The stages of this include working as a team, helping each other and coming up with good ideas between everyone in your group. The stages take a while to do because you have to get each stage of it correct until you all like it. This includes bloopers.

Our movie was an action/thriller. It is about five explorers, finding a school and survival. We kept on doing each one until we all agreed with it.

This took a lot of trial and error, each one of us thought of different ideas to do and when we got something wrong, we kept going until finally we completed our movie and started editing.

Aidan (8M) After endless fun and hours of hard work we finally finished our films. I can confirm that Spanish curriculum days are not only great fun but a great way to learn new vocabulary. I think I speak for us all when I say that I've had a great day full of smiles!

We've used teamwork and our own skills to construct a Spanish movie. The hard work was definitely worth the result! As we moved throughout the school filming our movie, along the way we made many memories, from us falling over, to taking over 37 clips! Every single minute of the day was amazing. This way of learning has shown us how to express our feelings via the Spanish language.

I would like to say thank you to all the teachers involved today for a great day!

Isabella (8M) During the last two days before half term, Year 8

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made movies with a twist — they are in Spanish, French or German.

One of the groups made a half horror, half action film with a bit of comedy. The movie is called ‘Un chico, una mascara’ (one boy, one mask) and was directed and filmed by Stanley.

One character is called Javier, played by Evan, and the other is Andre, played by me, and the masked boy is played by Oscar.

This Spanish film, for ages 12-15, is about two boys who see a boy with a mask and become determined to find and unmask him. When they do they find it’s an old friend and it becomes the

CUTTING ROOM FLOOR: Students edit their movies.

start of an adventure.

William (8M) In MFL we made a movie, ‘La muerte es silenciosa’ (Death is silent) about an assassin who takes revenge on two thugs. However, at the end one thug killed the assassin by throwing a knife at him.

The movie was really fun to make but sometimes stressful. It was hard to get all of the lines right but we got there in the end.

Cast: Aiden: Julio and Ricardo, Nyal: Alberto and Mario, Emily: Maria, Jamie: Fernando, Willow: Camerawoman.

Jamie and Emily (8U)

CAMBOURNE VILLAGE COLLEGE

Insight into two religions LEARNING ABOUT DIFFERENT RELIGIONS: Students at Bhaktivendanta Manor (left) and the Jewish Museum in London.

On the visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor students were able to see a working Hindu centre, with areas for the purposes of worship, study, meditation and charity work.

The Manor was bought by George Harrison, from the Beatles, and there is a beautiful garden at the front of the Manor in his honour which students were able

to enjoy.

Another fascinating feature of the venue is the working farm. Cows are viewed as sacred in Hinduism and there is an emphasis on wellbeing as well as milk production and the whole community is vegetarian.

Learning about a different culture and world-view was an incredibly hands-on experience for students who were able to feed the cows, take a cart ride on the farm and taste traditional paneer curry for lunch.

The second trip was to the Jewish Museum, in the Camden area of London. This gave students an excellent opportunity to learn more about this historically and globally-significant faith and consider some of the ways it deals with philosophical

TEAMWORK: Working together during the Milton Country Park adventure.

In search of ‘Elixir of Youth’

Year 9 students ventured into Milton Country Park as part of a journey of self-discovery, adventure and intrigue.

In small groups they were set the task of finding the ‘Elixir of Eternal Youth’. To do this they had to navigate through the park, solving riddles, completing tasks and working together in to ‘barter’ their coloured chips for different things.

At times, they were tied together and had to escape, other times they had to blindly and silently get a team member to find a ball. Others had to canoe into the middle of the lake before being able to barter anything at all.

My personal favourite task was when the students had to catapult a tennis ball higher than a tree and then successfully catch it. All students worked tremendously well and on average covered more than 20,000 steps each while scouring the park for the three magic ingredients of Vampire Tears, Unicorn Dandruff and Powdered Dragon Bone to create the ‘Elixir of Eternal Youth’.

This Curriculum Extension Day is great fun and the students not only had the opportunity to increase their step counts in comparison to a normal day in the classroom but they also developed teamwork, puzzle solving skills and navigation — three key skills which will go a long way on later life.

David Humphrey, PE Dept

questions.

The theme of the day was suffering and the Holocaust and it was excellent to see students from Cambourne approach this topic with such sensitivity and thoughtfulness.

Part of the experience involved hearing from a Holocaust survivor, something that all students are so aware is an increasingly rare opportunity.

Both these days were such worthwhile experiences for Year 10, giving them more awareness of the diversity within the UK and the wider world. There were many absolutely fantastic questions asked during both days and, hopefully, there will be great stories that students are able to tell for a long time to come!

Animal magic!

The Science Department took Year 7 to Colchester Zoo for the Curriculum Extension Days. Here we saw a large variety of animals, many of them rare or endangered species. Highlights included feeding the giraffes and watching their long, grey tongues pick off the leaves, watching the sea lions swim over us in the underground tunnel and, of course, the fennec foxes.

Students also had the opportunity to complete a zoo treasure hunt and quiz. See how you get on with these questions: What is: a) A scavenger? b) An unusual way Komodo dragons can make babies? c) A fennec fox’s natural habitat? d) A sloth’s favourite food? e) The difference between viviparous and oviparous? (Hint ‘hissssssss’) f) The collective noun for butterflies?

ANSWERS a) An animal that feeds on dead animals or the remains of another predators kill. b) Parthenogenesis, in which an unfertilized egg develops to maturity. This means a female Komodo dragon can either reproduce sexually with a male or asexually without one. c) The desert. d) Leaves, but especially those from the Cecropia tree. e) Viviparous- gives birth to live young. Oviparouslays eggs. Many people think snakes only lay eggs. f) Kaleidoscope, Rabble, Rainbow or Swarm of Butterflies

For their Curriculum Extension Days activities, the whole of Year 10 had the opportunity to visit Bhaktivedanta Manor and the Jewish Museum in London as part of their statutory RE provision.

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Suffrage fight on film CAMBOURNE VILLAGE COLLEGE

Students in Years 9 and 10 took part in the Citizens 800 Project outreach programme to learn why some women got the vote in 1918.

Students also visited Royal Holloway University to get a taste of Higher Education.

All the students involved have created a YouTube video to educate the public about why 1918 was a momentous year for female suffrage. This will be launched soon!

Here, Iria (10C), Natty (9R), Madi (9R) and Freya (9R) describe their experience: On Tuesday 26th September we met Claire for the first time. She was really friendly and enthusiastic to not only teach us, but find out what we enjoyed about history.

“She started with a small introduction about history in general and explained her job to us. We then started to focus on a more specific part of history; the suffrage movement. She told us that we would be historians for the day before handing us a pack of resources to do with the suffrage movement that we had to analyse.

“It was the type of work she would have to do as part of her job as a historian. It was difficult but also engaging and gave us an insight into the prominent causes of women gaining the vote.

“At the end, she gave us a chance to ask her questions relating to universities and gave us some advice. We had a lot of queries and felt much more informed after she answered them, leaving us more excited for our visit to Royal Holloway University.

“On October 2nd, we drove to London to see Claire again and the university.

When we got there she showed us the café and we had a break in which we were able to recharge and talk about the day ahead.

“Then we were taken to a meeting room in which we recapped what we’d learnt the previous week and were given our lines for the video.

THE PRODUCTION TEAM: Cambourne’s historical film-makers on location in London.

“We started the tour of the university during which people were selected to begin the filming. We were taken to the library (where we saw the Emily Davison tapestry), to the outdoor roof study area, to the courtyard (with the statue of Queen Victoria), to the chapel and lastly to a lecture theatre in the engineering building, where we wrapped up the filming for the video.

“Claire and the filming team let us into the lecture theatre where we had our interviews and got to experience what a university lecture was like.

“Overall, both visits were amazing and insightful experiences that encouraged us to think about the history of not only the suffragettes, but history in general.

“It gave us an understanding on what univeristies are like and what we want to do in the future. We all agreed that this event was really informative and we would recommend it to other people. Thank you so much for giving us this opportunity!”

FILMING IN PROGRESS: Students at work at Royal Holloway University.

When peaceful protest gets bloody

Last month 31 pupils from Years 9-11 watched Mike Leigh's new film, ‘Peterloo’, at the Cambridge Picturehouse cinema.

'Peterloo' depicted the 1819 Peterloo massacre — a peaceful prodemocracy rally at St Peter’s Field, Manchester, which turned into one of the bloodiest, most notorious episodes in British history.

Our GCSE historians study the Peterloo massacre as part of their Power and the People module and one said: “Peterloo was fantastic, the acting was very well done and it consolidated blanks in my knowledge of the 1819 massacre. It was simply another enjoyable film to watch — it being an educational film just made it all the better!

“I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and it wasn’t just due to the film, spending time with fellow historians was also very enjoyable. The teachers made the trip run smoothly and they were, as always, very responsible for us.”

How skeletons have a story to tell!

Year 8 historians have had the Black Death 'brought to life' thanks to outreach officer SarahJane Harknett, from the Cambridge Archaeology and Anthropology museum.

The session introduced a historical source that students may not have considered before: human skeletons. With examples drawn from the medieval cemetery of St John’s Hospital in Cambridge, they learnt how archaeologists find out about the past, what can be discovered from human remains and how this information might differ from documents. The students learnt about one particular skeleton known as ‘958’ who was found face down in the excavations. A highlight was examining the facial reconstruction of ‘958’ which helped bring the skeleton to ‘life’.

Thank you to the MAA and the After the Plague Project Team.

Lydia (8A) said: “We’d been told the day before that we were having a visitor in History. To be brutally honest, I hadn’t given it much thought, except for, ‘Ew, skeletons. How can a bunch of

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old bones be interesting?!’ well I was about to find out. Very.

“So, after an introduction about Sarah-Jane, her job, and her research, she went on to tell us about all the discoveries (known officially as features) they had found.

“We focused particularly on Feature 958, a skeleton they had excavated. From the skills of the people working on the project, and technology we have today, we found out many details that would have never be known otherwise: l 958 lived between 1180-1270 l He was buried face down l Aged over 40 years old l At least two minor growth interruptions between birth and six-years-old. This could be due to a famine, or drought. l Had no family in the hospital l 958 had eaten lots of meat in his life.

l 958 had well-muscled arms, meaning his job probably had something to do with lifting things.

“From these clues, and many more, we then discussed who this man was, and what his story was. My personal favourite part of the lesson was seeing a facial reconstruction of Feature 958.

Seeing an actual face really brings him to life. We all thought, ‘Wow. This was an actual man with an actual life. He’s not just a bunch of bones!’

I really enjoyed the lesson, it was very interesting.”

LIFE LESSON: Skeletons can reveal a lot about that person’s life.

Bringing past into present

CAMBOURNE VILLAGE COLLEGE

A permanent display board to celebrate Cambourne’s archaeology project has been set up at the college.

Last month Stephen Munday, Chief Executive of The Cam Academy Trust, unveiled the board, which commemorates both the local history of Cambourne and the hard work put into the recent archaeology project that involved 30 students.

The celebration included a summary of the project, photos, prize-giving and the grand unveiling of the board.

A Heritage Lottery Fund grant for £50,000 — applied for by a group of students in the extra-curricular Cambourne Archaeology Club — paid for professional archaeologists, Oxford Archaeology East, to organise the dig and allow participants to discover their own local history.

Roman and Iron Age objects including pottery and spinning equipment were unearthed in the field next to the college and these finds helped make up the displays at the pop-up museum students organised at the college last term.

The project was the brainchild of former Cambourne Head of History Tim Jenner and has been embraced by his successor Jessica Angell, who was already teaching at the school.

She said: “Because Cambourne is a new place, the children really didn’t know about the history of the area. It was inspirational to see them uncovering history with their own hands on this dig and understanding that people had settled in this area long before the new town was built.

“The board shows what we discovered at the site and next year I will be basing my Year 7 syllabus about local history on the finds we made during the dig. I UNVEILED: Stephen Munday at the board with think this will really bring the Cambourne students and staff. Photo: Cambridge Independent history of the area to life, knowing they are learning about settlements that were right next to the school site.

“The students should be very proud of their achievement.”

One of the participants, Eleanor (now 11A) said: “Participating in the archaeological dig was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.

“The days were filled with learning new things, finding objects we did not expect to find and giving tours of the site to primary school FIRST LOOK: Students gather round to see what’s on children. the new board.

“There was a professional but without the support and willingness from Miss Angell, friendly atmosphere and I was extremely lucky to be Mr Jenner, Clem and the team from Oxford able to participate.

“Alongside this, the archaeology club was probably Archaeology, so thank you!” my favourite part of the whole experience. We learnt Well done to all students involved in the CVC more about what archaeologists do and the type of Archaeology Club and thank you to everyone who things they find when they‘re digging. has supported this incredible project including Tom “I also loved learning about the history of the objects and Nigel Pearson, Cambridgeshire County Council, we found and people who made them; it put context and Clemency Cooper, as well as Oxford behind what we were seeing and was really inspiring!

Archaeology East and the National Lottery Heritage “This whole experience would not have happened Fund.

REMEMBERING: The millions who died in the First World War

IN THE TRENCHES: Students were able to experience life in the trenches at the refurbished Passchendale museum.

Walking in the boots of World War 1 soldiers

On a very chilly Sunday morning at around 5:45 am, three students and Mr Green from the History Department met at school before setting off on a coach that would take them to the World War One battlefields for a memorable experience.

Before the students, Gordon (9O), Darren (9C) and Jan (9R) actually arrived in France and Belgium on the Department for Education-funded visit, they were given the chance to handle a selection of World War One weaponry.

Jan was particularly excited to be able to ‘hold and load a real Enfield rifle!’

For Mr Green, the poignant ceremony at the Menin Gate at Ypres, Belgium was the highlight. “It was a very special evening because two Australian soldiers who had fought and died in Belgium were finally being put to rest,” he said.

“We were surrounded by thousands of names on the Memorial but there was something about seeing the two coffins that reminded me of the individual sacrifice that World War One demanded of so many young men and women.”

Darren’s highlight was experiencing Life in the Trenches and the newly refurbished Passchendale museum. We were able for the first time to walk in the shoes of actual soldiers and to begin to understand how it might have felt.

On the penultimate day in Belgium we visited Tynecot Cemetery and laid a memorial cross underneath the name of Harry Arthur Chapman; a Cambridge-born soldier who the students had been researching before the trip.

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Guilty — of a good show CAMBOURNE VILLAGE COLLEGE

Last month a group of Year 10 students met in the cold and damp of dawn to travel to Ipswich Crown Court for the National Bar Mock Trial competition.

The competition, run by the Young Citizens charity, is a fantastic opportunity for students aged 15-18 to find out about the justice system by taking part in mock trials in front of real presiding judges.

It engages students in all aspects of a criminal trial, as they take on the roles of barristers, witnesses, clerks, ushers and jury members, competing against other schools to win each case.

Skills such as reasoning, public speaking, teamwork, writing to persuade, deduction and inference are put to the test. For anyone interested in a career in law, or if you enjoy debating, or you simply like to use your argumentation skills in a competitive environment, this is for you!

English teachers Lucie Coleridge and Sujana Sudhaman helped the group prepare for the competition, though the students did 99% of the prep themselves, and put in hours of hard work to get ORDER, ORDER: Cambourne students participated in a mock trial. ready for the two (fictional) cases.

“However, it was a wonderful learning experience for all involved, and fascinating On the day, they performed with style and composure. Though they didn’t make it to see the inside workings of a courtroom. We also had an opportunity to meet to the final heats, they displayed great talent against schools who’ve been some judges and lawyers, which was incredibly interesting, and overall enriched competing for years. In future I have no doubt we can make the finals. this brilliant experience further. It was so brilliant, that some of us are now Aditi (10A) said: “ We had prepared two complex cases in anticipation of this reconsidering our career plans! event, one to do with an acid attack, and one about money laundering.

“We thank Miss Coleridge and Miss Sudhaman for providing this opportunity for “Despite the confident fronts both teams presented, along with excellent points us, and we'll be back to compete next year!” and months of hard work, a place in the final was simply not meant to be.

Students share thoughts on ‘community’ Students attending RPE Club had the opportunity to take part in a Skype dialogue with a school in New Mexico.

For all the Year 8 students who were present on that day this was the first time they had done something

like this and they were very excited!

The discussion between students in both schools, hosted by a facilitator in New York, was around the question of community: what makes your community feel like home.

ACROSS THE MILES: Students talk to American youngsters about what makes their community feel like home.

Exploring faith through music

In October Cambourne Village College received a visit from the band Brightline.

Students in RPE and drama were able to hear from the band in their lessons about how their Christian faith has influenced their music and the impact it has had on the lives of the band members.

Students were invited to attend a lunch-time performance in the Performance Hall with those from Year 7 up to our oldest Year 11s enjoying the music and the whole experience together.

LUNCHTIME CONCERT: From the Christian band Brightline.

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Students on both sides of the Atlantic were able to share the importance of pets, sports and feeling able to be yourself.

Students from America were able to learn about the multicultural nature of Cambourne: within the 10 students taking part in the video conference from here we had those with German, Indian, American, Welsh and Pakistani heritage and it was great for students to be able to reflect on how they participated in different communities.

Hispanic students in the US were able to explain their feeling about identity and community, being very close to the Mexican border.

Much use was made of Google maps to help us understand and appreciate the community where the students in the other school lived!

This was a very exciting opportunity which students found really helped them understand a different culture and reflect on their own. The next video conference was planned for early December and more will follow in the new year. The club is open to all students on Tuesday after school in O16.

CAMBOURNE VILLAGE COLLEGE

Training to be leaders

LEARNING TO LEAD: Cambourne students joined those from other Cambridgeshire schools for training in Cambridge.

Year 9 pupils went to Murray Edwards College in Cambridge for a training day to learn more about what it means to be a language leader.

Available nationally, the Language Leader Award helps pupils learn to lead, using language teaching as the medium.

Throughout the year-long programme, students develop their leadership skills, growing in confidence and enhancing their future careers.

On arrival we were introduced to other language leaders from different schools around

Cambridgeshire. A short tour around the college followed, focusing mostly on the artwork, which all originated from women.

We then had a session on why we should study languages and the importance of communication.

After a break, we tested our personality by answering questions about ourselves, our style of learning and how we communicate with people before being given a unique summary of what type of leader we were.

As soon as we had finished lunch, a language teacher showed us the importance of a good PowerPoint presentation and how overloading a PowerPoint can cause distraction. They then

University insight

Learning through song

ON SONG: Year 7 sang popular songs but in Spanish.

I was offered the chance to go to Girton College Cambridge for a Modern Languages open day.

I had the opportunity to choose the classes that I would take for the day. I chose German and Spanish because these are the languages I am studying at the moment and possibly what I want to study in the future.

When I arrived, I was greeted by welcoming and positive staff and with refreshments that were ready laid out.

My first lesson was a German translation activity and I found that it was really helpful because it showed me patterns to look out for in German.

Then we all had a break, which was a great way to meet and talk to new people.

My next lesson was cinema, where we watched a French film and analysed it. This was my favourite lesson of the day because I like languages but I also have a passion for the film industry.

After I had lunch I had the chance to talk to a current student who is reading Spanish at Cambridge University. It was really nice to see the College from a student’s perspective and hear

organised some leadership tasks consisting of multiple team games to finish.

Communication, teamwork, confidence and leadership are some of the many skills that this course will give us, not only now but in later life.

With the upcoming training sessions on Wednesday and Thursday lunchtimes, this training day will enable us to give us and our primary pupils a better experience. We are planning to visit the four primary schools in Cambourne in the new year to give lessons to a range of different year groups who are learning Spanish.

Maria (9U) and Natty (9R)

Spanglovision is the main part of Cambourne Village College’s International Talent Evening.

It is where Year 7s compete in forms, singing songs that we all know and love, but in Spanish!

This year some of the songs were Havana, Diamonds, Shake It Off and Look What You Made Me Do. The Year 7s practised these songs in Spanish lessons to prepare them for the day.

This included trying to memorise the song, being able to pronounce the words correctly, and generally having team spirit (being enthusiastic).

For fun, these songs are paired with actions and dance moves.

While singing the song is fun, it is also done to help with Spanish in Year 7.

The pupils were familiar with the songs, so were able to understand the lyrics in Spanish, from the English ones.

Kabir and Will (7B)

In a twist

One lunchtime, Year 8 students took part in a tongue-twister competition. We had a week to learn and to say one of three tongue-twisters we were given in class and say them to our German teachers. I chose LANGUAGES DAY: At Girton College.

“Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut, first-hand about the contents of the University Spanish course . Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid.”

Once we had successfully Then I had a Spanish lesson in which I got to work on some translation and we did this by watching the trailer for ‘A Monster finished, we got a prize of a Calls’ three times — once in English, once in Spanish and again pencil, a ruler or a badge. This helped us with our German in English with Spanish subtitles. because it got us to see how Finally, we went down to the hall to have a talk about what words are spelt and listen to how studying languages at Girton College would be like.

We also did a Q&A with some of the language students so that fast and fluently people say we could know what it is like studying a language as a student. them. Also, it made German more fun! The French class also Overall, it was a great experience because I met new people had their own French tongueand I am really considering studying languages in the future.

Lily (11O) twister competition. Chloe (8U)

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Task offers sunny outlook CAMBOURNE VILLAGE COLLEGE

The week before Year 10 work experience was due to begin, I received some pretty terrible news. For some arbitrary reason, the first week of my placement had been cancelled.

I had spent a lot of time researching places to work, so I was obviously gutted. However, as it turned out my computer science teacher, Mr Bellis, would be saviour.

He had found out about my unfortunate turn of events through the staff grapevine, and decided I could join him for the week for what was described to me as ‘a special project’.

Mr Bellis had received a weather station kit from the Raspberry Pi Foundation quite a while ago and he had not found the time to get it working, so he thought that it'd be nice for the school to have a working weather station — and me to help achieve it.

The whole week seems to have merged together in my mind as a task from one day often spilt on to the

next day. Despite this, there were clear highlights.

Some included learning how to use Linux cmd, wearing a gas mask while assembling the hardware due to toxic chemicals, getting free cokes from Mr Bellis during the week and mounting the weather station on to the roof of the school.

WEATHER STATION : The Raspberry Pi outfit is now I didn't not expect the task to take us the whole week but it found a way. We up and running on the college roof. weatherproof enclosures while the other pieces of faced quite a few setbacks and challenges equipment were mounted on a bright orange piece of throughout the project but overcoming them was worth it for the satisfaction of knowing that we made wood. something that was tangible and worked.

They measure the ambient temperature, atmospheric The final product included a wind vane, an pressure, ground temperature, air quality, air anemometer, a temperature probe and a rain gauge pressure, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, wind and some more intricate sensors on the surface of gust speed and rainfall. Currently, the weather the Raspberry Pi and the other PCB (Printed Circuit station is still on the roof sending data that is being Board). used to make nice dashboards out of the information.

The Raspberry Pi and PCB were housed in two Christian (11M)

Greatest show on earth

This term, all of Year 7 were involved in a year group competition in Geography. The challenge was to create a piece of work that showed part of ‘Earth’s Story’ — the theory of how Earth began, or the development of life, or the human journey out of Africa.

The Geography department received many

exceptional entries and the standard of work this year was extremely high so it was wonderful to celebrate this in a special assembly, where all work was on show.

The Geography department would like to thank Year 7 students for the extraordinary levels of effort that went into these projects. We have now run this competition for four years in a row. Mrs Coates and Mrs Durrant agreed that this was the best year yet!

Ciara and Louisa, of 7C, shared top spot with classmate Ayra as runner-up, followed jointly by Amealia (7O), the duo of Serena and Kimberley (7M) and the trio of Shane, Riccardo CELEBRATION: Special assembly to show the work. and Joshua (7C).

CAROLS AT KING’S: Attendees at the special service for schools.

A new experience

The King’s College Schools’ carol service was an eye-opening experience. It allowed me to see beyond the syllabus and get a firsthand view of how Christians worship. I also now further understand the importance of the ceremonies taking place; in a classroom it's easy to overlook the significance and the atmosphere of these events. In the service, there were beautiful carols sung by the college choir as well as passages read out from the Bible.

This trip allowed me to apply what I had learned in RPE about churches and Christianity and such an experience is significant because it lets you have an personal view.

Peter (10U)

Museum artefacts inspire story-writers

On the first day of half term, Creative Writing Club (led by Miss Vote and Miss with swords, old pots and cups, big paintings...There was so much going on in the Clash) went on a writing trip to the Fitzwilliam Museum. museum! We settled on the dagger displays that showed all kind of detailed It was a sunny day and everyone was in great spirits when we walked into the daggers. We wrote stories of villains, mystery and late night events, all centred museum in Cambridge. around a small dagger.

In the Egyptian area, we were greeted by a Next, we went upstairs to see the big paintings. big statue that stood so high, with its crown The pictures came alive in front our us, pouring on top, that it looked like a god. out their thoughts and emotions.

A mother begging Death to be kind to her child, We wrote some riddles about the artefacts a group of people urging against each other, a around us, and took turns guessing. Then we wrote stories from the point of view of an bored professor trying to work through the big pile of sheets on his desk — the hallway full of exhibit. paintings turned into a theatre full of stories, It was all so different from writing in a stories that we captured in our notebooks. classroom, seeing those displays around us With the characters’ voices still in our heads, we that were a thousand years old with faded headed down to the gift shop to have some paint and half-crumbled facades. We drew snacks. After all that excitement, everyone inspiration from them and let our imagination agreed we would like another trip like this one. run wild. It felt real.

HARD AT WORK: Story-writing at the Fitzwilliam We simply had too much fun!

Belinda (10O) Walking around the museum, we saw knights Museum.

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Powering through pain

CAMBOURNE VILLAGE COLLEGE

All the Year 11 students taking part in the assessed expedition this autumn have passed that part of Duke of Edinburgh bronze award.

And now a record number of Year 9s — currently 107 and a 100% increase on the Year 10 group — have just signed up to take part in the award over the next two years as the programme goes from strength to strength.

The 55 Year 11s braved poor weather and skilfully navigated their way around an unfamiliar part of Cambridgeshire to finish with plenty of aches and pains — as well as some big grins!

On the Saturday, the pupils walked from three different locations (Keyston, Spaldwick and Grafham) towards their campsite in Little Staughton where they camped overnight in the rain and cold but in great spirits.

They left the campsite again in the early hours of Sunday morning, in groups of 47 and hiked through muddy fields and paths to eventually finish and be collected by coach 16-23 km later.

Despite the testing conditions, students were very positive about their expedition experience.

Poppy (11M) said: “Despite what I expected, DofE turned out to be one of the most incomparable experiences of my life. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially working in a team, which also enabled me to improve my communication skills. In addition, I was able to progress my map reading skills. This experience has only enthused me further to complete my silver and gold awards.”

Pru (11B) added: “‘This experience has altered my character, in such that it has made me more determined and motivated — which is key for later in life. It has also given me the confidence to get more involved in a team and contribute to group plans; in this case I had to develop my listening skills. Furthermore, I have improved my practical skills like map reading.”

Caitlin (11O) commented: “Personally, I wanted to challenge my physical and mental strength and I firmly believe that this experience has enabled me to do so, as well as further develop my communication skills within a team.”

Oli (11A) said: “It was a great experience which has helped me become more confident as an individual and as part of a team. I was able to contribute my knowledge and understanding of maps to help locate our next checkpoint as well as guide us to those checkpoints across the weekend.”

Cambourne’s DofE co-ordinator Peggy Noble said: “The participants walked with great navigation skills, in poor weather conditions, all the way to the end with a smile, despite all the aches and pains, as they realise they have achieved something huge!

Leaders take charge

Earlier this term Cambourne ran a primary school netball tournament for four local primary schools, Barnabas Oley (Gransden), Hardwick & Cambourne, The Vine and Jeavons Wood. Some schools brought two teams of Year 6 pupils with them which was fantastic.

The tournament involved the children competing using high five netball rules which they have been learning at their primary schools.

Sports leaders from Cambourne helped to run the event by umpiring and being scorekeepers. The sports leaders were fantastic role models for the primary children who could join Cambourne next September.

The tournament was a great success and all pupils involved really enjoyed competing against the other schools. Hopefully there will be another event running in the new year!

Competition under way

The annual inter-form competition started after half term for Years 7, 8, and, for the first time in CamVC history, Year 9. It was brilliant to see so many students participating in an competitive environment and enjoying inter-form.

The first-round winners were, for the boys, 7R TACKLING INTER-FORM: Boys take up the and 8M and the girls, 7M and 8M. rugby challenge.

DINNER TIME: Students prepare their meal after a day’s hiking

RELIEF: A chance to relax at the end of the expedition.

“All the volunteers on this expedition kept an eye on all the teams from a distance, and we are all so very proud of our 55 young people who did extremely well considering the weather conditions.”

Thirteen of the group have now completed all the sections with others continuing to work on their physical, volunteering and skills challenges.

The current Year 10 will participate in their practice expedition in May with the assessed trip in September while the Year 9s will get started with two online training sessions at the start of next term.

HARD AT WORK: Sports leaders officiated and scored the primary netball tournament.

Getting stuck in!

There has been a fantastic start to extra-curricular sports clubs this year.

As well as representing the school at fixtures, our other clubs have been busy with activity — the dancers spent time perfecting routines and getting ready for the Bodyworks end-of-year show, the basketballers have been practising their lay-ups and getting used to the demands of 5v5 games, the girls active group have been meeting weekly to focus on having fun while being active, and the rowing and fitness club has been busy with pupils trying to achieve their best possible distance in a two-minute row.

With a wealth of clubs on offer there really is something for everyone to enjoy!

Extra-curricular PE clubs take place every day from 3-4pm and all students are invited.

It would be incredible to have every pupil taking part in at least one extracurricular club per week.

A huge thank you to all those pupils who come along every week and get stuck in! A massive thanks must also go to the PE staff and other staff across the school who volunteer their time to run these clubs and offer students the best possible opportunities.

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We are the champions!

Cambourne are the Year 8 District champions after a fantastic show at Cambridge Rugby Club.

Girls’ podium finishes

UNBEATEN ALL SEASON: The Year 8 boys team.

Two of Cambourne’s hockey teams finished in the medal positions at their District tournaments — and another was unbeaten but couldn’t quite progress in a season to be proud of.

The Year 9 team became the first in that age group at the college to qualify for the District finals and on the day they played some outstanding hockey to finish as runners-up, an amazing achievement.

The Year 7s won their pool and went on to finish third overall, while the Year 8 team won two and drew two of their pool games, but sadly this was not quite enough to see them through to the finals.

As Year 7s the boys had finished third and although this was the highest placed finished for any rugby team in Cambourne’s history, the boys were left slightly disappointed as they had felt they had good enough chances to win it.

This meant, this year the boys only had one target, and that was to win the tournament!

No pressure then!

They had been working tirelessly in training, which really improved their rucking and support play – something which was lacking last year. The improvements made from last year became evident in the tournament group games. Cambourne were absolutely rampant, working well as a team and scoring some fantastic tries, most notably from Jason (8R) and Thales (8A).

They finished top of Group A, meaning they faced a strong St Bede’s team, winners of Group B, in the final.

The final was played at an incredibly frantic pace with both teams playing some fantastic attacking rugby, only to be halted by two very effective defences.

The game finished as a 0-0 draw and with the light deteriorating, there wasn’t time for an extra period of playing, meaning Cambourne and St Bede’s finished overall joint winners.

It was a brilliant display from start to finish from the Year 8; they all played fantastically, with great skill, teamwork and sportsmanship!

Mentions must go to Mike (8M), who captained the team with grace and composure, Ash (8R), who became the team’s battering ram, and Dylan (8B), who made sure he was everywhere, from tackling to rucking to scoring tries.

However, the player of the season has to be the most recent addition to the team — Elliot (8M), who showed his class at scrum-half, setting up many tries and scoring a few himself along the way. Despite his size, Elliot would be the first one to make a tackle, taking down boys twice his size!

The new Year 7s have taken to rugby like ducks to water. There has been overwhelming enthusiasm from our youngest pupils so for some fixtures we could put out two teams — both of which won. Not only this, but the talent on display has at times been extraordinary. The A team was captained superbly by Sam (7O), who led from the front — the front row to be precise and despite being a forward, he scored his fair share of tries.

The Year 7s leading try scorers were Bobola (7M), who could only be tackled by at least three members of the opposition so powerful was his running, and Preston (7O), whose side step was no match for any defender. They narrowly missed out on second spot in their group of the district competition on try difference. However, they were undefeated in their fixtures prior to this.

The boys should be proud of their performances and continue to work hard next season to become even better!

Young coach gives boost to girls’ football RUNNERS-UP: The Year 9 girls.

Year 11 sports prefect Izzy King has made it her mission to raise the profile of girls’ football at Cambourne.

From a meagre three a year ago, there are now approximately 14 regularly training at the college — and a lot of that is down to Izzy.

As a sports prefect she not only leads the sessions but has also led the team at many tournaments as she single-handedly improves the quality of girls’ football provision in the school — and in the wider community.

Not only does she volunteer at CamVC, she also runs sessions at neighbouring Hardwick and Cambourne primary school and the girls there have been thoroughly enjoying their football with Izzy.

Because of Izzy’s commitment, both in and out of college, she was nominated for a Living Sport Award under the category of Young Volunteer of the year and was shortlisted as one of three finalists.

Although she didn’t win, she continues to play a key role at Cambourne and is now working towards completing her FA Level 1 coaching qualification with a view to further progressing as a coach. l The under-14 teams have played in two local tournaments recently, finishing with an impressive number of wins.

Both teams played really well in some difficult late November conditions, and

NOMINEE: For a Living Sport Award.

managed to finish third with 18 points and fourth with 17 points after 10 games — a fantastic achievement.

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