News@Com Summer 2019

NEWS COM

The Magazine of Comberton Village College www.combertonvc.org & www.combertonsixthform.org

ISSUE 51, SUMMER 2019

@combertonVC, @CombertonSF

Living the Chinese way — Page 5

Remembering Felix

COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

A tree has been planted in the grounds of Comberton Village College in memory of a Year 11 student.

And a bench ‘to offer rest and support’ has been purchased for the Year 11 social area to remember Felix Stigter, who passed away suddenly last August following complications from a heart operation to ease a congenital condition.

More than 100 students and staff joined Felix’s family and friends for a celebration of his life and memorial ceremony at the college earlier this term where the tree was planted, the bench unveiled, a memorial book signed, and memories of Felix shared.

Head of School Peter Law explained that the year group had fundraised to provide a lasting memorial with the cherry blossom tree a quiet, positive and beautiful presence and the bench offering a place of rest and support. The remainder of the funds raised were donated to EACH (East Anglian Children’s Hospices), the family’s charity of choice.

He also said: “Felix was a calm, gentle and bright LASTING MEMORIAL: Jill Stigter helps plant a cherry tree in memory of her son Felix. young man, who had a wonderful sense of humour. He was softly-spoken and unassuming a around the racetrack, cheered on by the rest of his tutor group, with a huge smile lot of the time, but when he found something funny he would laugh so on his face. uncontrollably it was contagious and he could set off the rest of the class “In PE, Felix also came to love basketball and dodgeball. This was a great laughing as well. testament to his character, his determination, and to the fact that when he set his “He was an able musician and enjoyed playing the keyboard. He once made a mind to something, he would see it through.” project in Computer Science that his teacher said was his favourite ever piece of The ceremony also included his music teacher Steve Gaze playing two pieces of student work. music, a classical piece and one that Felix himself has been learning.

“But strangely enough when his tutor group came to sharing memories of Felix, His mum, Jill Stigter, also made an emotional speech, telling the Year 11 one of the most remembered was in an area that would not have come as students present that although exams are important, it is equally important to naturally to him. enjoy life and live it to the full.

“On sport days Felix was not able to participate in all the events, but the ones he was allowed to do, he absolutely gave his all. A great memory was Felix walking

Rainbow award delight for Comberton

Comberton has become the first school in The Cam Academy Trust school to achieve The Rainbow Flag Award.

The Rainbow Flag Award is a national framework for all schools and colleges, focusing on LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, plus other related identities) inclusion and visibility, run jointly between the Proud Trust, Allsorts Youth Project, The Kite Trust and DISC. As part of this process, Comberton had to produce evidence in the following categories to prove that they are meeting the needs of the LGBT+ community at CVC: skilled teacher, supportive parents and governors, effective policies, inclusive curriculum, pastoral support, and pupil voice.

Comberton was keen to pursue this award as it was felt that the college was already exercising excellent practice in these areas, particularly that of pupil voice, and because we believe that

q Awards Recognise Success — 3 q Top of the ‘Bots — 3 q Voters back ‘Remainers’ — 3 q Languages News — 4-6 q Year 11 Celebrate — 7 q Here is the News — 8

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school should be a safe place for all students, regardless of their identity.

We have had an active Equality and Diversity

Contents

q Creating Apps — 8 q Students Solve Whodunnit — 8 q Trust News — 9 q Working to be Greener — 10 q All about Reading — 10 q Sixth Form News — 11-14

group in the school for the last five years where students can share their experiences with other like-minded pupils. Students have also taken a role in creating assemblies to deliver to all year groups, helping to update and make more relevant some of our PSHE curriculum, and participating in activities such as the Hope Not Hate Ambassador programme.

In fact, due to the fantastic work of the E&D group we received a rating of ‘outstanding’ in the area of pupil voice. Additionally, the work of our pastoral and leadership teams around LGBT+ issues and support also allowed us to receive ‘outstanding’ ratings in the areas of pastoral support and school policies.

CVC is very proud to have received this award as we feel that it reflects our commitment to all our students, and to ensuring that every student who receives an education at CVC is treated with respect and dignity.

PJ Burns

q Sharing English Skills — 15 q Using YouTube Safely — 15 q Trip Fit for a King — 15 q DofE Round-Up — 16-17 q SCSSP Update — 19 q Sport — Pages 20-24

Awards recognise success

Comberton Village College has been recognised nationally for its excellent results in 2018 based on data from the Department for Education and Ofsted, and analysed by SSAT, the Schools, Students and Teachers network.

Comberton was found to be among the best performing secondary schools in the country, receiving two awards for being in the top 10% of non-selective schools nationally for attainment and progress.

The SSAT Educational Outcomes database compares all state-funded schools in England and the highest performing schools for a range of key measures are awarded SSAT Educational Outcomes Awards. Comberton Head of School Peter Law was presented with Comberton’s award during the summer term at a ceremony attended by winners from across the region.

Mr Law said: “I am delighted that again, students at Comberton Village College achieved two Educational Outcomes Awards from the SSAT, for both attainment and progress in the top 10% of all pupils nationwide.

“This is an incredible achievement for those pupils, and having achieved this for several years running is an incredible achievement for the staff. My very sincere

Tomorrow’s voters back ‘remainers’

The Greens were the clear winners when Comberton held a mock European Parliamentary election.

Information had been sent out about each party’s manifesto, the role of the European Parliament and how the parties work at European level.

Each year group was considered as a region and ‘elected’ seven MEPs, which is the same as the East of England.

Using the same D’Hondt method of allocating MEPS that is used in Britain the results gave the Greens the most MEPs in all year groups except Year 10, where they got two alongside Change UK and the Liberal Democrats — all three being parties that favour remaining in the European Union.

Year 10 were also the only Year group to elect a clearly ‘leave’ MEP, with the Brexit party picking up the seventh seat.

Year 7 gave the Greens five 5 MEPs and the Liberal Democrats two, while Years 8 and 9 both had 3 Greens, two Liberal Democrats and one seat each for Change UK and Labour.

Overall Greens gained 36% of the vote, the Liberal Democrats 25%, Change UK 14%, Labour 10%, Brexit 6% and the Conservatives and UKIP 4% each, sending the very clear message that Comberton’s voters of tomorrow do not want to leave the European Union.

COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

DOUBLING UP: Peter Law collects Comberton’s two awards.

thanks and congratulations to all involved.”

Sue Williamson, Chief Executive of SSAT said: “I am delighted that Comberton Village College has won two Educational Outcomes Awards.

“This recognises one important aspect of the school’s work but at SSAT we believe an outstanding school has deep social justice at the heart of its plan; it subjects that plan to constant challenge and innovation; and it liberates teachers to perform brilliantly in the classroom.

“SSAT is pleased to recognise the quality of leadership and the hard work of all staff to ensure the success of every child. A big thank you and well done to students, parents, staff and governors.”

Top of the ‘bots!

WINNERS: The Comberton quartet and (inset) their champion robot.

After a few hiccups and lucky breaks, four Year 10 students, William Woodard, Alex Aristodimou, Nathan Le May and Charlie Ward won the Robocon competition run by Hills Road Sixth Form College.

William explained: “We decided to take part in Robocon, a competition to design, make and code a robot which could autonomously collect blocks from around an arena in December 2018. We met every Friday and some weekends to plan and make the robot. The competition was held over two days at Hills Road in the Easter holidays.

“We arrived on the Wednesday when we were introduced the competition and were allowed to test our robot in the arena.

“In the afternoon the seeding round began, which allowed us to test our robot against other robots in the arena. The robot that collected the most blocks and delivered them back to base won. We won the first round but in the second round our robot crashed into another robot.

On the Thursday we won the quarter-finals. After winning this round we decided to test some new code. However, the robot started smoking and had to have an emergency fix.

“We fixed the short circuit and, after a short safety talk, started the semi-finals. It was very tense in the arena! Our robot managed to find a block quickly and was the only robot to bring a block back to its base (winning it the most points).

In the final, for some reason our robot suddenly sped forwards and crashed into a small robot. It then managed to get one block before promptly crashing into the wall. We thought we had lost but, luckily, the other three robots all got the wrong type of block, so we won.

“We really enjoyed the event. Everyone there was very passionate about robotics and all the people at Hills Road were very helpful.”

Samit Awal, Kate Walsh and Thomas Marshall also helped build the robot but were unable to attend the competition.

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Final spot is birthday gift COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

Helena Piotrowicz had a 14th birthday to remember — she qualified for the finals of a national languages competition.

The Year 9 student contested the finals of Routes into Languages German Translation Bee and finished an impressive fourth after topping the regional finals at Queen Katharine Academy in Peterborough.

Described by Comberton teacher Adina Hategan as “the toughest Translation Bee I have seen so far”, Helena saw off the opposition in a competition where students translate as many sentences as they can in a minute.

The first round — in class at contestants’ schools — sentences were only in the present tense. The future tense was added for the school round with the regional competition also including the future tense.

Comberton’s other regional finalists, Year 8s Guilia Porretta and Evie Crossley in Spanish and Year 9s George Whittle (German), Imogen Ransome and Megan Clark (French) narrowly missed out on securing places in the national finals.

Mrs Hategan added: “We are very proud of all of them. They were among the last 85 of more than 4000 in this region.

“We’d also like to thank our international leaders, Anna Crossley, Izzy Roberts and Holly Gordon, who came along to give support to our competitors, as well as taking photos.”

Holly commented: “I went with the two year 9 students, George and Helena, who were competing in German. We walked in the room where all the German candidates were waiting, and the room was full of tension.

“George and Helena were the seventh and eighth to take part of the 18 competing in the language. I was shocked at the speed that everyone was translating the sentences that Mrs Gass was reading.

Having a ball with Spanish

The Arsenal Double Club has been meeting twice a week this term.

We’ve had the best time learning Spanish that can be used while playing football and have had training from a professional coach.

In our training we have developed our match-play and have aimed to include a range of Spanish phrases whilst discussing tactics. In our Spanish lessons we have learnt lots of Spanish vocabulary for positions and numbers, such as ‘juego en defensa.’

Towards the end of the term, we went to the Emirates Stadium for a tour. We travelled by minibus and got to go around the stadium with our guide.

He told us lots of facts and we completed a quiz in Spanish as we went around the stadium. We got to see all sorts of things including the interview rooms, Emery’s office, the tunnel, the spa, the pitch and the changing rooms.

The differences between the home and away dressing rooms were really interesting, especially how the seats are laid out so that it is harder for the away team to have a team talk!

While we were sat on the subs bench, our guide told us that the grass on the pitch is 97% real, 3% astro, which helps stop damage to the grass.

“It was great to learn about all the languages that Arsenal players speak. For example, Cech and Aubameyang each speak five languages!

We also saw where the journalists sit and write about the match, and we learnt about how important languages are for being a journalist.

We would like to say a big GRACIAS to Miss Johnson and Mr Bryant for helping us with our Spanish and football, and also for taking us to the Emirates!

Lucy Calvert & Olivia Williams

LANGUAGES AND FOOTBALL: Students learn about the importance of languages during a visit to Arsenal’s stadium.

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BEE TOUGH; Comberton students at the regional finals of the Translation Bee.

“In the minute there was nothing less than 18 being translated. After we had finished the final began and we all entered the theatre and I could immediately tell everyone was nervous to find who were in the top five in their language. This was both the students and the teachers.

“Unfortunately, George and the girls competing in French and Spanish did not make into the final five but all did a fantastic job under the pressure created by the 30 faces staring at them in the semi-finals.

“When Helena went up to do her final round of translations, the nerves of us all kicked in as we waited for her to do her final translations. Overall the evening was very enjoyable, yet full of anxiousness, as I watched all these amazing young linguists compete.”

LANGUAGE LEADERS: Part of the award is teaching three lessons to primary school pupils.

Great lessons for all

In October, several Year 9s applied to the Language Leaders programme, where they would prepare lessons for primary school students and learn about different teaching techniques.

They had to complete an application process, addressing their qualities and former leadership roles. The application forms were all then submitted and the Year 9s waited eagerly to find out if they had been accepted.

Over this past school year, the Language Leaders have taught three lessons and have thoroughly enjoyed this experience, not only because of the joys of a new exciting opportunity but also the rewarding feeling of having inspired young, bright children into the wonders of learning and speaking a new language.

The leaders have had to prepare lesson plans, including starter activities to introduce the topic of the lesson to the children, lesson objectives and a summary of the overall lesson plan, an introduction to the new vocabulary, a main piece of work like a piece of writing or description and a plenary activity to consolidate everything taught in the lesson.

Additionally, the leaders have worked very hard finding the perfect balance between seated and active activities, speaking, writing, listening and readingbased work, and how to reward individuals or the entire class for incredible effort and amazing work. All the Language Leaders have had to be extremely committed, attending a weekly after-school session.

It has taken hard work and dedication from not only the Year 9 leaders, but also their leaders and mentors, who have observed the lessons and given feedback for improvement as well as giving key advice.

We would like to give a huge thanks to Miss Hategan, as without her this programme and incredible opportunity would not have been possible.

Amelie Martin (9N)

COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

Living the Chinese way

SCHOOL DAYS: In China are very different to those in England. There was also time for sightseeing (below).

The return leg of The Cam Academy Trust’s inaugural trip to China took place during the Easter holidays.

Nineteen students from Comberton and 10 from Melbourn Village College were reunited with their exchange partners from the High School affiliated to the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) and spent eight days absorbing the culture of China in specially-arranged lessons as well as seeing some of the amazing sights including The Great Wall, The Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Ming Tombs and the Capital Museum.

Olivia Lydon said: “This trip was truly a once-in-alifetime experience to get a real insight into the lives of China’s citizens. As well as our intensive sightseeing, we went to the Chinese school with our exchange partners. I attended maths, English and Chinese with my partner. Their maths is very advanced and their English is almost fluent!

“In between each lesson there was a 10-minute break where they could go to the toilet and get a drink. These breaks were sounded by about eight bars of cheery music (I think this was everyone’s favourite part of the school day) instead of a buzzer.

“After our three morning lessons we went to have lunch. The food was delicious although most of the time we were not sure what we were eating. After lunch we had free time in their playground, a music lesson and the school day was over. However, hardly anyone went home. My partner had an hour’s music rehearsal. When that was finished, we took a taxi back to her apartment. It was about six o’clock when we got home. It was roughly 12 hours since we’d left for school in the morning. After dinner (which was always delicious) she would do her homework well into the night. I found it extraordinary how much work they put into education even though it was what I’d been expecting.”

Max Prince focused on the sights: “Easily my favourite thing to see in Beijing was the Great Wall of China (“中国长城” pronounced ‘Zhong Guo Chang Cheng’ literally meaning ‘China Long Wall’). With all the beautiful mountainous scenery and fog stretching for miles, and the ancient history that surrounds it, it’s extremely hard not to fall for this place.

“During the week we saw a great many temples, with the most notable of the bunch being The Forbidden City, which is next to TianAnMen Square (天安门广

场). At The Forbidden City, as well as the other temples we visited (such as the Summer Palace and the Ming Tombs), we weren’t able to walk all the way through due to them being too big.

“Overall, I am extremely glad I went to Beijing, as I had never been to a country outside Europe before, or a country with a language so different which I had to speak just by myself. I had a great time, and if given the chance, I would go again.”

Milo Webster said: “When we were in China the exchange family was very friendly. They couldn’t speak English, but I had to overcome as it otherwise would be very hard to communicate. We ended up using a translator a bit, but I did use as much Chinese as I knew, like: 谢谢 (xié xié) which means thank you, 是的 (shì de — yes) and 不 (bù — no).

The family taught me some Mandarin too, like pork 猪肉 and beef 牛肉.

At the weekend, they took me to the zoo and Olympic Park, and we ate a mutton hotpot and Peking Duck (so nice). I was very pleased to go on this trip and experience a whole different culture with the comfort of my friends beside me.”

Rachel Hawkes, the Trust’s Director of International Education, said: “Our first Chinese exchange could not have been more successful.

“We were very proud of all of our students, almost all of whom had only had a few lessons in Chinese.

“Despite this, they made a real effort to use the little language they had with their host families, and as a result made a lasting impression.

“Max Prince, who has been learning Chinese outside school for some years, gave a short speech in Chinese about CVC at the welcome ceremony in front of the whole school. The Chinese teachers, students and their families were delighted with their first exchange, and are very keen to continue next year.

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Comberton retains award COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

Comberton has been reaccredited with the International School Award until 2022.

And the portfolio submitted to the British Council for the award, which rewards schools which have shown a commitment to embedding international awareness and understanding into their school, has been hailed as an example of best practice.

The assessor said: “The international and dimension is firmly embedded in your school's curriculum and whole-school ethos, promoting citizenship, foreign language learning and an appreciation of cultural diversity across the school and wider community.

“You have an impressive list of well-established and active partnerships with schools in a wide range of countries and continents, which are providing rich learning experiences for both students and staff.

“Collaboration is dynamic and reciprocal, via exchange visits during which your students work together with their partners on curriculum-based activities, and also via school-based exchange of letters and information.

Lasting memories

We were delighted to welcome the German pupils and staff taking part in the second leg of our now biennial Language and Music Exchange with our partner school in Bad Hersfeld, Germany.

Having already enjoyed a memorable experience in Germany last December, partners from Comberton and Cambourne Village Colleges were eager to provide a quality experience for guests and they did not disappoint!

The German contingent enjoyed day trips to Cambridge, London and Harry Potter World, as well as opportunities to attend lessons, bake scones, rehearse music together and reflect on the advantages of this kind of exchange trip.

The personal connections, cultural awareness and understanding and natural language practice and proficiency that are developed during exchanges are invaluable and can even be life-changing.

It was wonderful to come together as an entire group twice during the March visit, once at the start of our week together at Comberton Village College for a dinner enjoyed by host families and visiting guests, and for a second time at the end, at Cambourne Village College, where we celebrated with a collaborative musical extravaganza.

An exchange experience really is unique — the opportunity for an immersive week of intense challenge and enjoyment, as well as the possibility of continued friendships and contact .

We hope that, if you are learning German in Years 8, 9 or 10 or are musical and enjoy performing (or both!), you will consider joining us on our next trip in 2020-2021.

Leigh McClelland

Your international dimension is well managed and coordinated to dovetail with strategic planning and other key priorities such as UNICEF Rights Respecting School status.

“Your students are gaining understanding of different countries and cultures via direct contact with partner schools. Achievement and uptake in MFL benefits from your international school links and exchange visits, and your students are clearly developing citizenship attitudes and attributes as well as important life skills for the world of higher education and work.

“Teachers benefit from your international dimension in terms of increased curriculum planning skills, foreign language upskilling, increased awareness of issues and citizenship, and the opportunity to share good practice with colleagues in other countries. This is well illustrated by the music exchange with your German link school.”

Rachel Hawkes, The Trust’s Director of International Education, said: “This is very good news. Thank you to everyone for your involvement in and commitment to our international ethos.”

Student is placed in national final

Sarah Cavanagh has finished third in the national final of the Year 7 Spanish Spelling Bee competition.

Having come through the class, school and regional rounds of a competition which challenges students to spell as many Spanish words as they can in one minute, she took to the stage in the national competition at Cambridge University’s Sedgwick site.

There was a thrilling battle for the placings after several students finished with the same score and Sarah came through to take the bronze.

Spelling Bee was the brainchild of former Comberton teacher Jane Driver and has gained in popularity over the years with more than 30,000 taking up the challenge in September last year.

It starts with 50 words in the first round with students having to say then spell from a random selection. A further 50 words are added each time, so finalists were tested from a bank of 200 words.

Comberton managed to qualify two other students to the national final and both Melina Kontoleon and Tierney Fernando finished in the top 100 in the country.

Taster day gives food for thought

A group of talented Year 12 linguists attended a taster day at Magdalene College on 26th June, hosted by the Department of Modern and Medieval Languages of the University of Cambridge.

It began with an introductory talk about the vast array of reasons why learning a language is a fabulous idea, including not only the huge variety of professions in which a language is highly valued, the clear social and cultural benefits, and the fact that there are a lot fewer people who speak English in the world than you may think. (Did you know that only 20% of the world's population speaks English, and that fewer than 5% are native speakers?). There are also cognitive benefits with language learning exercising those parts of the brain that other subjects may struggle to reach!

A brilliant sample lecture about the life and literary work of a 17th Century Mexican nun with feminist views followed and UNIVERSITY TASTER: Year 12 linguists experience life at Magdalene College. students even got to practise a few words of an indigenous Finally, there was another talk, from one of the admissions tutors at Magdalene Mexican language spoken by the Aztecs!

College, who gave lots of top tips about the range of options, the application After a short break, participants split into language groups for two sessions in process, what universities are looking for, writing personal statements etc.

Spanish or French, which again, were hugely engaging and certainly left the There were also some current Cambridge undergraduates on hand to talk and Spanish students feeling very proud of themselves for having followed the lecturer answer questions about the year abroad (which is a highlight of almost every who spoke significantly faster than any of us were expecting! language degree!) and their own experiences of studying at Cambridge.

After lunch, they got to sample a new language from a choice of Arabic, Mandarin, Portuguese or Russian to get a flavour of those early days of language It was a really engaging and useful day, and has given our students lots of ideas learning and give some thought to the possibility of picking up a new language at and thoughts about where the future may take them!

Gill Heathcote university.

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COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

End of year celebrations RANGE OF CELEBRATIONS: Year 11 signed off with a Celebration Day at Comberton and their Prom at Manor Farm, Harlton.

Year 11 students rounded off their time in the main school at Comberton with the traditional festivities.

First, on Thursday 20 June they celebrated the end of their exams and, for some, their time at CVC with a mixture of formal and informal assemblies and a party on the school field.

Then, a week later the focus shifted to Manor Farm, Harlton, where crowds of family and friends lined the courtyard in the evening sunshine to see students, in full party regalia, arrive in a wide range of transportation.

They went inside a converted barn to dance the night away in a perfect ending to a fabulous five years at Comberton for the class of 2019.

The formal assemblies were a chance to recognise some of the outstanding achievements of the many talented students in Year 11. There were a variety of awards given out, including one from each department, as well as speeches from Ms Phull and Mr Law.

Year 11 then made their way out on to the field where they had a DJ, a bouncy castle, a bungee run, an inflatable obstacle course, a bucking bronco and a photo mirror.

Year 11s made the most of the sunshine and the entertainment while they signed shirts and took pictures to celebrate their last day at Comberton as a year group.

Also a big hit were the wood-fired pizzas, which were served non-stop, and the ice cream van, which helped everyone keep cool in the sun.

The afternoon was another chance to celebrate the achievements of a talented year group.

We saw videos of trampolining, stop motion animation and some live musical performances.

Finally, it was the chance for staff to say goodbye to students in the traditional Comberton way: with videos. Some were sincere, some had sensible messages, some were rather silly. However, all were a reflection of the high esteem in which year 11 are held by staff at Comberton. They will be missed.

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Here is the news . . .

COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

Late last term, a class of Year 8 students took part in the annual BBC School Report (now rebranded as BBC Young Reporter).

After a day in the library, we had produced a newspaper called Straight out of Comberton, with a magazine enclosed.

Our team undertook roles such as reporters from different areas: editors and proof readers. Each role was crucial to produce the newspaper.

Individual reporters took on different categories in the newspaper, including sport, politics, culture, science and world news.

Each section comprised one or more articles on the subject plus an editorial, which is an opinionated view on a recent matter.

Interviews were also carried out with Mr Law, Mr Pollock and Mr Gordon, who kindly gave up their time for the newspaper.

When we had completed our article, it was sent to

our editors, Jeremy Brown and Lucas Pye. Once they had reviewed it, they sent it back to be improved. When the content was foolproof, it was sent to our producer James Davies, who formatted it into newspaper style.

The majority of the stories were written on breaking news that day. This was the case for the world news section, where they wrote an article on Donald Trump’s wall. However, there were also timeless articles incorporated in the newspaper.

Overall, we all gained essential life skills while doing the project. We learnt how to communicate over a wide scale, write articles and saw a glimpse into running a business. This was greatly enjoyed by all students and we thank Mrs Edmans for organising this experience. The day will be looked back on fondly (along with the necessary doughnut break!)

Bethany Shufflebotham (8C) JOURNALISTS AT WORK: Year 8 students and Lowenna Cotton (8B) during the BBC Young Reporter day.

Getting to grips with creating apps

Three Year 8s went to ARM for the day to represent Comberton in the Cambridge Launchpad competition.

We started the day by playing a game of Kahoot to learn some facts about app developing. After that we started developing our start-up website and making our Logo A-DO-ER which stands for allergies, diet, obesity, exercise and recipes with the idea of people being able to scan food while shopping.

During this process we learnt how to use the website Launchaco which proved easy to use. Following this we had a lovely lunch before starting to build the prototype App. We ran out of time to finish but learnt some useful new skills along the way.

Finn was also involved in the planning for the display of our App at the end of the day while Alfie and Andrew worked on the prototype.

We finished by presenting our ideas to the judges which was quite a daunting experience which taught us a lot.

We would like to thank Molly from Form the Future for organising the event and Mr Willder for taking us.

Andrew, Alfie and Finn, Year 8

Students solve complicated whodunnit!

APP-ENING PLACE: Students at the Launchpad competition.

Four Year 8s had the opportunity to represent the school at the Salters’ Institute Chemistry Competition This was held at the Cambridge University Department of Chemistry on Lensfield Road. It was good to go inside as I have driven past it many times.

The lab was very cool. It was really big and we all got to wear white lab coats and goggles. The instructors were assigned to two different schools and our one was very kind and helpful especially when we messed up our column Chromatography experiment by filling the glass cylinder until it overflowed — I will not mention who did this but it wasn’t me! We didn’t do so well in that part of the Challenge!

However, in the other challenge, which was quite complicated and involved analysing things found at a crime scene and from this solving who committed the crime, we did very well and gained the third prize.

As well as getting the right result, this was also based on teamwork and tidying up.

Finally, we went into the enormous lecture theatre and watched and participated in an interactive lecture about the Periodic Table.

Since we finished quite early, we got to go in first and sat in the front row. The cameraman was really near us so we kept getting seen on the big screen at the front!

It was really loud and hot when the lecturer blew up a massive hydrogen balloon just in front of us. There were a lot of explosions.

It was a really great show and overall experience. We got some Chemistry notebooks, pens and logo bugs to take away with us.

The rest of the team was made up of Kate Gaskell, Milo Webster and Beth Parker.

William Fox (8M)

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Students at the Salters’ event.

What are Salters’ Festivals?

Salters’ Festivals are a series of one-day fun events held at universities across the UK and provide an opportunity for enthusiastic young students to spend a day in a university department and to take part in practical chemistry activities which are fun! Prizes are awarded to the winning teams and all students receive participation certificates and gifts. Since 1991, over 50,000 students at more than 900 Festivals have experienced the fun of practical chemistry through the Salters’ Festivals.

THE CAM ACADEMY TRUST NEWS

School officially opens

CEREMONIES: Ribbon-cutting, plaque unveiling and tree planting all helped mark Gamlingay Village Primary’s official opening.

Gamlingay Village Primary has been officially opened, marking the end of a lengthy transition to Cambridgeshire’s two-phase education system.

Lord Lansley, Deputy Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, and Heidi Allen, who replaced him as South Cambs MP, shared the honours at the school, which was extended and extensively refurbished following the closure of Gamlingay Village College (middle school).

Staff and pupils moved from the First School site in January and then the whole school community spent Midsummer’s Day celebrating at their new home.

New Zealand Paralympian athlete Tim Prendergast and champion inline rollerblader Jenna Downing spent the morning inspiring the children with a series of talks and practical workshops designed to promote self-belief, teamwork, healthy eating and doing your best.

Following this Lord Lansley unveiled a plaque, Mrs Allen and a group of children representing each year group cut a ribbon and the same pupils then helped Miss

Changing roles

From September, Stephen Munday will step down from the post of Executive Principal of Comberton Village College and focus entirely on the Trust-wide role of Chief Executive.

His remit will be to continue to support all our schools in pursuit of excellence for all, including enabling all staff to develop positively, and helping guide the future development of our Trust.

Secondary Heads, along with certain other Trust staff, will continue to report to him. Primary Heads report to our Primary Executive Leader, Chris Jukes.

Given this development, Comberton Village College conducted a full recruitment process for the post of Principal at Comberton Village College. The current Head of School, Peter Law, was appointed to the post of Principal at Comberton from September.

Sean Sumner will take on the full-time, permanent role of Trust Director of IT Strategy. Mr Sumner has been part-seconded into this role from his role of Deputy Principal at Cambourne Village College.

However, from September, the post becomes both full-time and permanent. This will give further capacity to Mr Sumner to help us to press ahead with the significant IT developments that we are keen to see across all of our schools. This includes developments in the use of personal devices.

Mr Munday said: “We anticipate these sorts of developments happening in further schools across the Trust as they are already now happening at Cambourne Village Colllege.

“Sean Sumner will guide this strategy and development as well as ensuring that effective staff training is in place across our schools so that all our staff feel capable and confident of making good use of IT to support the learning of all pupils.”

Downing plant an oak tree at the front of the site.

The two winners of the school’s recent public speaking competition talked about ‘our school’ before the choir sang for the invited guests from the local community, other Trust schools, builders Coulson and architect David Turner (Pick Everard).

To round off the day, Friends of Gamlingay Village Primary staged a wellattended fund-raising fete and high tea.

Stephen Munday, CEO of The Trust, said: “This event celebrated the really great developments that have taken place in Gamlingay school arrangements which mean that the community is well served both now and for the future.

“There is a strong and sustainable Primary School in great premises available to all primary-aged pupils locally and there is a secure progression for young people through to secondary school at Comberton Village College.

“This has all been possible due to the hard work of many people over a long period of time, notably the staff of the school and the local governing body. We owe them all a debt of gratitude. The school is now extremely well placed to press ahead and achieve great things for its pupils and its community.”

LEARNING TOOL: Staff and Year 8 students at Cambourne are enjoying having iPads for teaching and learning.

Delight at iPad roll-out

When you’re walking down the corridor of Cambourne Village College and a member of staff stops you and says: “I’m loving my iPad. It’s revolutionised my teaching”, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to assume the Trust’s initiative is going well.

The unsolicited nature of this exchange was unusual, but when staff were asked to share some success stories for a presentation to Year 6 parents, rather than the usual couple of responses to such a request, we were sent many comments that expressed the same sentiment. What is quite extraordinary is that teachers are already talking about doing things that would have been impossible before, or enhancing the learning experience of preexisting tasks.

And this isn’t just the view of teachers. One Year 8 pupil wrote: “Using the iPads is nice because you can do lots of things you can’t do in a normal classroom.”

However, it would be a mistake to assume the device itself has miraculously revolutionised

teaching. It has been well over a year from the Trust embarking on introducing a 1:1 device initiative, initially for every Year 8 pupil at Cambourne to have access to an iPad for learning throughout the school day, and with more than 90% of them signing up to a scheme that allows them to take it home as well.

Cambourne was the first school to take part in a pilot scheme. We learnt a lot and felt absolutely convinced the initiative should happen. Further pilots at Comberton and Melbourn provided further learning opportunities and examples of the transformative impact 1:1 devices can have on learning.

We also visited other schools with a 1:1 scheme and spent time at Apple in London.

One of Cambourne's mission statements reads: "We foster imagination, adaptability, resilience and ambition." We believe that 1:1 devices can be used to foster all of these, most of all imagination. We want our pupils' imaginations to run wild. We want them to re-imagine how they respond to our teaching and teach us how best to help them to learn.

Leigh Bellis, Cambourne Head of IT

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

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Working to be greener COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

This has been a busier year than ever for Green group, as we try to lead the school’s response to two challenges facing the whole of society: reducing single-use plastic and acknowledging and acting to alleviate the concerns raised by so many young people through the Youth Strike 4 Climate movement.

We led assemblies on Palm Oil before Christmas, and, in the run up-to the March Climate Strike, on actions that pupils could take to reduce their carbon emissions.

On the day of the strike itself, many teachers planned special lessons to bring climate change into the curriculum, one of the strikers’ main requests: for example, in English pupils used the film Anote’s Ark to inspire poetry about the pacific islanders whose home is already disappearing.

In form time pupils were invited to make pledges to cut their carbon emissions, and many of them added these to a display in reception. We also started a petition which has now been sent to our local MPs asking them to support measures to combat climate change and make it more central in the school curriculum. Students demonstrated in school, Cambridge and London.

We have been working behind the scenes with Mr Sycamore, Mr Law and Mrs Hough, our kind and patient canteen manager, on ways to reduce plastic use.

This term we have trialled ways to make it easier for pupils to opt to use metal cutlery rather than plastic, and we hope that next year more of them will choose to reuse by going for reusable plates, knives and forks when eating in. Staff are never going to kick their coffee habit, but they have eliminated hundreds of disposable coffee cups by using their own cups on training days. Disposable cups at the water cooler have been replaced with reusable ones, even though this has created more washing up for the catering staff.

With support from Veolia, who collect the dozens of wheelie bins of waste we create each week, the kitchen and site staff have started to separate cardboard from the paper, plastic and metal that are also recycled. The value of this cardboard has enabled us to start recycling the food waste from the kitchen. The recent report to government by the Committee on Climate Change suggests that by 2020 all food waste should be recycled because of the greenhouse gas emissions that this saves, so this is a very positive step in the right direction.

Most recently we have started to collect crisp packets and pens for recycling, through the excellent schemes run by terracycle https://www.terracycle.com/enGB/. Pupils and staff can place any brand of crisp packet, or any kind of pen or correction fluid bottle in the containers in reception, and we will post them off for recycling. If these two schemes work properly then we hope to expand next year to collect Pringles tubes and dental hygiene waste — toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes. We have doubled the number of paper recycling stations by photocopiers, and the existing system for collecting paper for recycling in each classroom, with members of each form group taking it in turns to recycle them, continues. Some departmental offices have started to collect waste for recycling, but the recycling that we tried to initiate in social areas and the staffroom has been less successful. Sometimes it is enough of a challenge getting students to put their rubbish in any bin, let alone asking them to separate plastic bottles and cans from the rest.

Undeterred, (or trying to be!) we have succeeded in getting the new intake of Year 6 pupils supplied with CVC reusable water bottles on their new intake day in July, instead of the single use bottles that pupils were issued with this time last year – thank you for this brilliant idea Mrs Stewart! Pupils in other year groups can still

BOXING CLEVER: Students with a new crisp recycling box.

buy the CVC bottles, designed by one of the students in the group, from the library, or bring their own bottles from home. An additional water fountain was installed by the PE office this year to make it easier for them to fill up during the day if they need to.

We’ve worked with the IT support team to get computers switched on later, and off earlier to save power. Switching off more of our many appliances is also an item on the new eco-code that the group has drawn up and, now that Mr Dean in the art department has made it look stunning, is on the wall in every classroom from September. We are now generating more of our own power than ever thanks to a substantial new solar PV installation on the roof of the Ally Brennan gym, which Mr Sycamore worked hard to secure. In many parts of the school the lighting has been updated with motion sensitive LED lighting to make even better use of our electricity.

We know that there are still many things that pupils and staff can do together to reduce the environmental impact of our school. Next year we hope to enable each form group to plant a tree in the school, as part of the Woodland Trust’s Free Trees for Schools scheme. We will also continue working on air quality and encouraging parents and bus drivers to switch off their engines while they are waiting in the school car park. Mrs Doza’s Eco Maths club will continue to work on the eco-bricks scheme and plan to make benches out of their reused plastic ecobricks.

We’ve been very lucky to have two dedicated Environment reps working with the group this year, Asher Loynes and Syon Parashar, who are even spending a day of their hard-earned post-exam freedom attending a conference in Cambridge to present the results of their own research into the problems of palm oil labelling to a panel of industry leaders.

We’ve also had outstanding sixth formers supporting our work around Strike 4 Climate, especially Katy Topple and Josie Shohet. Our new Environment reps Oliver Mansell, Oona Lonergan, and Moshe Peck are starting to make an impact and we are excited about working with them more next term.

We would like to thank the staff who have helped us this year, especially Mr Law, Mr Sycamore and Mrs Hough, the site team and the kitchen staff, who make time that they don’t really have to work with us. Next term we will be changing the time and day of our meetings: Green group will meet in the library at breaktime on a Wednesday. New members, or visitors are welcome!

It’s all about books and reading . . .

The English Department at Comberton Village College hosted a Student-Parent Literacy Support evening. The aim of the ‘Reading with Teenagers’ evening was to equip parents with a range of reading and skills strategies to support their child at home.

All parents left the evening with a complimentary set of reading books and skills booklets to work through with their child at their own pace. During the workshop there was an opportunity for parents to try the strategies out with their children.

Approximately 20 parents, children and staff attended a relaxed and enjoyable evening. One parent commented, “I found it very interesting and useful, and my son really enjoyed it as well. I have taken away some very helpful tips that I can do with my READING TOGETHER: The English dpeartment hosted a ‘reading with teenagers’ evening for parents and students. son at home.”

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New presidents unveil plans

SIXTH FORM

As newly elected student presidents we just wanted to give you a brief overview of what we intend to do and our aspirations for our tenure.

We have, so far, loved our time at Comberton Sixth Form. However during our first year we have seen some aspects of student life that we feel could be improved, not just for our year but for the benefit of future years.

To help guide us and the rest of the Sixth Form Council, we have decided to focus on two key areas: Social — When first entering sixth form we found there was sometimes a divide between already established social groups. To help combat this and encourage social interaction we want to introduce even more social opportunities such as lunchtime clubs, after-school events and charity fundraisers. We hope this will allow the student body to feel more connected and comfortable.

Environment — We are aware of how environmentally conscious many are within Sixth Form and will endeavour to continue previous councils’ successes. We know that areas such as the Core and Independent Study are evolving (with building work taking place this summer) and we want to help create friendly, clean and comfortable spaces that allow students to feel at home as well as getting their work done. As part of this we see an opportunity to help develop the Sixth Form’s environmental policies even if that just means more recycling bins to ensure we look after our spaces.

DEDICATION: Janet Tanburn has been working with Year 12 and 13 students since soon after the Sixth Form opened.

Student takes on editor’s role

Year 13 student Yasmin Deter has landed herself a gap year job that could help her future career.

She has taken on the role of editor of Comberton Contact, the village magazine, before going to university.

Yasmin, who lives in the village, is thinking about journalism as a career of choice and accepted the job as a way to get some hands-on experience.

She will be helped by mum Natalie, who is already a journalist.

If any students want to consider taking on the role in 2020 when Yasmin moves on to university, please get in touch with Terry Coad at treasurer@combertoncontact.org.uk to find out more.

EDITOR: Yasmin has taken a gap-year role.

NEW IDEAS: The recently-elected presidents seek change.

We look forward to working closely with the Student Council and the Leadership Team as well as the student body and staff over the next year and to make the positive changes people are seeking.

Amy Warburton and Elliott Noble

National recognition for dedicated TA

Teaching Assistant Janet Tanburn has been recognised for her contribution to the Sixth Form in the Pearson National Teaching Awards 2019.

Earlier in the academic year, Janet was nominated in the National Pearson Teaching Awards in the Teaching Assistant category.

She has worked at Comberton Village College since September 2011, starting in the ‘main school’ but later joining the Sixth Form relatively soon after it was established and opened.

In the first few years, the needs and nature of provision in the Sixth Form was rather different and it has changed significantly over time.

Janet has been greatly involved in helping to develop specialist support provision for a wide range of KS5 students with additional needs.

As the SEND provision at Key Stage Five grew over time, Janet became the Lead Teaching Assistant within the Sixth Form.

She’s committed and driven and demonstrates regularly her willingness to go ‘above and beyond’ for the young people she supports (and their wider family).

We are delighted that Janet’s nomination was successful in passing through the initial rounds of selection.

While it is a shame that Janet did not ‘win’ this national award, we are very proud that she has received a ‘highly commended’ certificate in recognition of the work she does.

Outcomes for SEND students at Comberton Sixth Form remain very high and are a great source of pride for Janet and the wider Teaching Assistant team that she leads.

While we are incredibly proud of these academic outcomes, it is important to acknowledge that there are numerous students who have made huge leaps socially and in other areas of their development because of Janet and our TA Team’s support and care.

We are very lucky to have such brilliant support staff working with our students!

Pearson Education has a commitment to recognising the work of teachers and support staff across the country and have launched a website to continue to celebrate and recognise excellence in schools/colleges. You can share notes of thanks and appreciation through the Thank a Teacher campaign via their new website www.thankateacher.co.uk David Clarke, Head of Sixth Form

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Looking to the future

SIXTH FORM

Following our progression conference in March, in which Year 12 students were encouraged to start thinking about their plans for life after Sixth Form, preparations for the next steps have really gathered pace this term.

Along with advisory meetings for those considering alternative pathways, and individual consultations for those making early applications to Oxbridge and competitive courses, events have also taken place to support those students who are hoping to apply to university through the UCAS system in the coming

academic year.

The traditional information evening for students and parents was extremely well attended and helped to outline the process, the timeline and the support on offer to CSF students who are considering this route.

Dr Kevan Williams, Associate Dean of Admissions at the University of East Anglia, presented the universities’ perspective on the process, while his colleague Jess Smith, a Higher Education adviser, helped to clarify the sometimes perplexing world of student finance.

This was followed by trips to the annual UCAS Convention at Newmarket Racecourse — at which

A taste of sixth form life

A record number of prospective Year 12 students joined the sixth form for their welcome event earlier this month.

Once again, total sixth form numbers look set to increase, with nearly 260 students joining us from 26 different schools both within the Cambridge Area Partnership (CAP) and beyond.

During the day, students had the opportunity to meet each other, as well as their future subject teachers and academic tutors.

Students attended introductory lessons in the subjects they are planning to study and learned more about the style of teaching in the sixth form.

While it might not have been top of their list of things to do in the summer, pre-course reading and tasks are a key part of preparation for A-Level and BTEC studies and students now have this work to do.

The presentations from the Head and Deputy Heads of Sixth Form, along with the Student Presidents gave our ‘new’ students a better idea of what it is like to study at Comberton Sixth Form, in what is perhaps a rather more independent style than at Key Stage 4.

Supporting students in forging new friendships is a key part of preparations for September and the day ended with our welcome barbecue, where students chatted over a hot dog and looked forward to starting their new A-Level and BTEC courses after the summer break.

Year 10 take first steps INTEREST: Students chose lessons in subjects they might want to

study Post-16.

More than 450 Year 10 students from across Cambridge spent a day at Comberton Sixth Form as they begin the process of thinking about the next stage of their education.

Teenagers from The Cam Academy Trust schools of Comberton, Cambourne and Melbourn were joined by others from across The Cambridge Area Partnership (CAP) for a day of learning about what the college has to offer.

Students from Bassingbourn and Swavesey Village Colleges will enjoy the same opportunity in September when the countdown to sixth form applications begins in earnest.

Those attending were able to select A-Level and BTEC Extended Diploma lessons to attend so they could understand the nature of lessons in subjects that interest them.

They were also given a tour of the sixth form and a presentation on life at CSF. Head of Sixth Form David Clarke said: “With over 450 students from across CAP schools visiting us already, it shows how important these days are in helping students make their Post16 choices.”

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students had the opportunity to seek information about, and advice from, representatives from universities all over the UK — and then, a week later, to the Schools and Colleges’ Open Day at the University of Leicester. There students had the chance to experience a taste of campus life, from sample lectures to tours of student accommodation.

With the further opportunity for every student to attend individual guidance meetings and specialist sessions to support the planning of personal statements during Futures Week, we are confident that our students will already feel well placed to start looking ahead to life after Sixth Form.

Stephen Leggott

WHAT TO EXPECT: A sample of sixth form life for current Year 11 students.

Degree insight

Last month Year 12 students on the A Level PE and BTEC Sport level 3 courses went to the Discovery Sports Science event at Anglia Ruskin University.

The day was designed to provide students with an experience of a sports science degree, information about the courses that are run there, prospects and potential having achieved the degree, and a chance to meet lecturers.

After a brief introduction, the students were split into three groups, each with their own individual schedule.

The activities were held in various locations across the campus, including the well-equipped and BASES-accredited sports science labs, the purpose-built movement analysis and strength and conditioning suite, and use of the sports facilities at Kelsey Kerridge.

Students were given talks, presentations and were involved in interactive workshops with experts and lecturers in each field. They undertook activities such as eye movement and tracking analysis, sports therapy — taping session, coaching Key Stage 2 students, strength and conditioning — squatting technique, and even the effects of pre-cooling techniques on the body and performance.

Hopefully the day inspired pupils to consider a career in sports science and will have certainly helped to contextualise in a practical manner some of the content discussed in the classroom. l Linguists’ food for thought — Page 6

TRAINING: A sixth form student being trained in eye focus while putting.

Investigating malaria This year, the Sanger institute proposed a project for Year 12 students across many sixth forms.

Launchpad was a project in which students had to create either a PowerPoint or a video to present ways in which £20 million would be fairly distributed to fight against malaria.

Our task was to research Malaria and explain in detail its causes and effects across the world. We also researched the biology behind the disease and how it can be diagnosed, what the treatments are available and how it can be prevented. We then decided how we would allocate the £20 million to research and charities for Malaria. Once we had completed the tasks, we submitted our application and waited to hear.

After a couple of weeks, we had an email back from the Sanger Institute informing us that everyone who had applied had been accepted and 22 of us from CSF were invited to the Wellcome Genome Campus.

Once there we had an introductory video about the Sanger Institute and its research including the use of bioinformatics.

We saw that the technology which was first introduced for DNA extraction were large, substantial machines. This was fascinating as the technology used now allows us to read DNA using machines

SIXTH FORM

which are smaller than the size of our mobile phones and can be connected to laptops via USB ports!

We were then split into groups and given a talk about the parasites that are found in malaria and where they can be found across the world. After RARE OPPORTUNITY: For students to look at malaria the stages of malaria under a parasites under the microscope. microscope had been biology, computer science, mathematics and thoroughly explained, we were given the rare statistics to interpret and analyse biological data. opportunity to look at the actual malaria parasites.

After lunch we were introduced to the website known From the Plasmodium falciparum (the deadliest as COSMIC. COSMIC is an online database which parasite of malaria) to P. vivax, P.ovale and allows you to explore the various genes which are P.knowlesi, we were able to observe and analyse common in certain types of cancer and it also has these parasites ourselves. many other functions. Our task was to explore the Our first task was to diagnose three patients using three genes which were commonly involved in Lung the patient files and the information about the Cancer using the COSMIC website and later present diseases, given in the sheet. In groups, we this to the other researchers and teams. discussed the information given and compared them to the diseases listed. We also looked at each Overall, the day was a rare insight for the students patient’s blood sample under the microscope to work because we had the opportunity to look at real out whether any parasites were visible in their blood parasites under a microscope and we were able to and helped us figure out what disease should be use bioinformatics to find out about various parasites. diagnosed.

Hopefully, Launchpad will introduce another great Next, we had to pair up to look at Bioinformatics project next year for the year 12s to take part in. relating to malaria. Bioinformatics is the use of Shaumia Sountharathas (L6-EH)

LEARNING ABOUT LINGUISTICS: Year 12 students at Anglia Ruskin University.

Learning about linguistics

Year 12 English Language students attended Anglia Ruskin University for a day of lectures in linguistics.

We received two lectures from Dr Sebastian Rasinger, on how the history of the English language can lead us to new perspectives on the language of texting and social media, and Dr Vahid Parvaresh on the importance of context (pragmatics) to comprehension, therefore getting the golden experience of tasting a slice of university life.

I believe it’s safe to say that every student there was academically and intellectually enriched from the day’s events.

Additionally, we had a talk on personal statements and university applications, receiving advice on how to write the perfect personal statement and how to catch a university’s attention.

Finally, we received a wonderfully detailed tour of the campus from one of the students. The day was a terrific introduction to university life, and even if we aren’t planning on taking English Language at University, we most certainly have been very tempted!

Sonia Rabeszko(L6-LM)

Performance really brings play to life

In June, my English Literature peers and I ventured to London to experience one of America’s greatest domestic tragedies: ‘Death of a Salesman.’

Following an expensive London-priced lunch feast, we proceeded to the small but intimate Young Vic theatre. Immediately noticeable were the cleverly suspended props, which descended for each scene, complementing the dream-like quality of the place and Willy Loman’s aspirations for a better life for him and his family.

The flashback scenes were particularly hypnotic and creative. One reason was how the characters’ lines came to life through these talented actors when, beforehand, in the confines of our classroom, we were only able to imagine how these words might work.

Another aspect of the inventiveness of the production was the characters’ destruction of the boundaries of the stage through compelling (if not startling) appearances among the audience, which I feel really showcased Willy’s deterioration from his present ‘reality’.

By the end of the play, the tension had escalated to Willy’s untimely death and the devastation of his downfall was powerfully conveyed through the performances and music.

ANTICIPATION: Students wait for the play to begin.

We all agreed the actors deserved the standing ovation (and tears) that subsequently erupted from the audience. Thank you, Mrs Blackford for organising the A level trip.

Hayden Byles, (L6-RW)

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SIXTH FORM

Event raises awareness

One of the compulsory units for the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Business is ‘Managing an Event’ which pulls together all the other elements of the course: planning, marketing, setting a budget etc.

We had to decide on a project which highlighted the skills we have gained throughout the two years of study.

After several meetings and with the help of our tutor, Mr Herbert, the team decided we wanted to do a music-related event. The event we chose was aimed at increasing awareness for Cancer Research UK. Our performer, Caprice Bottali, has been singing

from a very young age, and recently auditioned for The Voice UK. She has been performing to a wide audience via her YouTube videos for a few years, which has increased her recognition.

Approximately 30 people heard the recital of Caprice’s favourite tunes, and the feedback from the audience was extremely positive.

The overall experience taught us that if we planned thoroughly we could put on a successful event to raise money for charity.

We are confident that we can take the ALL BUSINESS: Students ran an event. lessons learnt forward with us to our chosen career in event management. university courses and, who knows, perhaps a Kieran Mears (U6-JM)

Accidental international Year 12 student Felicity Lawrence has broken into the Great Britain handball squad for the first time — after taking up the sport by accident.

She attended a three-day training camp in Denmark earlier this term and it marked the next step for Felicity, who only took up the sport four years ago when a friend who had been signed up for the local club at their secondary school, Chesterton Community College, asked her to go along for support.

“That was in Year 8 and I’ve been playing ever since,” said Felicity, who is studying French, Spanish, Maths and Sociology at A level. “We were lucky that the only handball club in Cambridgeshire — Cambridge Handball Club — trains at Chesterton.

“A year later I started training with the Eastern Region squad, which also trains at Chesterton. At under-16 it is England and we had monthly training for that, but now I’m over-16, it’s GB and this was the first time I’ve been picked.

“I’m just taking the opportunity to play at this level and see where it goes. I’ve no plans to become a handball player. I want to go to university, although I will pick one that has a handball club or where there’s one in the city.”

TEAM GOLD: For Hannah Smyth and the England team at fencing’s Five Nations Youth Championships.

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GB CALL: Felicity Lawrence has been training with the national handball squad.

Hannah helps England to top spot

Hannah Smyth helped England to team gold in the Youth Five Nations Fencing Championships in Dublin last month.

They took top spot in the competition in Dublin which pitted England against the hosts, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The top four under-18 female fencers and the top quartet of young men were selected to fight against each other individually in their specialist fencing discipline (foil, epee and sabre) then as a team, although only three of the four actually competed.

After narrowly missing a medal in the individual foil competition, Hannah, who is in Year 12, bounced back from that disappointment to finish with a perfect record in the team event.

Each member of the team fenced each member of the opposing teams up to five points to total 45 points .

Hannah was chosen to fence in every match and again the competition was tough but she and her England team won all their matches, 45-18, 45-6, 4515 and 45-21, to collect gold.

The previous day in the individual competition, Hannah won four of her five first-round matches to put her in 5th place overall going into the direct elimination rounds.

She then had a bye through to the next round where she convincingly beat her Irish opponent 15-5.

She was then through to the last eight and was narrowly beaten 15-13 by an England team-mate.

Sharing English skills

COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

Since April, for eight weeks on a Monday after school, a group of 15 enthusiastic sixth formers have been helping tutor Year 7 students, improve their English skills.

The tutors followed a task-based scheme of work with the aim for the Year 7 paricipants to eventually write a descriptive gap year travel journal, imagining that they were 18.

The objective was to encourage independent learning outside of the classroom, so the Year 7 students felt more fluent in their literacy and language. Each lesson was tailor-made for the individual’s needs and involved teaching the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing through games and exercises.The lesson plans were also shared on the student drive. The lessons proved successful as the tutees seemed to enjoy learning these vital and transferable skills.

“I very much enjoyed the experience and I particularly loved the bingo, said one Year 7 student, while another commented: “I have liked the experience because it has helped me with my spellings and it has improved my confidence.”

Sixth formers also saw the benefits with one saying: “The longer pieces of writing containing similes and metaphors helped my student to fully harness her descriptive writing abilities.”

The most popular activities were the games, including bingo and Top Trumps. For example, to score a bingo, students had to demonstrate their understanding by using similes, metaphors, adjectives and adverbs. These activities were then followed by the Year 7s drafting their own description of themselves and their friends imagined in the future.

WORKING TOGETHER: A sixth former with a Year 7 student.

Overall, this has been an enjoyable experience for both sixth formers and Year 7 students, allowing Year 7s to receive one-to-one support away from the pressure and judgement that sometimes comes with learning in a classroom environment.

Katy Roberts (L6-IW), Heidi Surfleet (L6-PG), Lucia Hayward (L6-PG), Hayden Byles (L6-RW) and Elaine Henderson (L6-SC)

Trip fit for a King!

Fifty lucky Year 7 students enjoyed a late night out when they went to see The Lion King at The Lyceum Theatre in London at the end of last term.

They watched spellbound at the amazing production, incredible costumes and powerful singing as the story of Simba unfolded.

A few had seen the West End show before but most had only seen the Disney film version so seeing the animals brought to life in such a way was a completely new experience for them.

Although the group was seated in three different areas, there was still the chance to meet up at the interval, buy programmes, refill water bottles for free and top up snacks and sweets after those brought from home had been consumed.

A great evening was had by all — including the staff who accompanied the students — and, judging by the number sleeping as the coach trundled back along the M11, a tiring one too!

Tips on ways to use YouTube safely

AFRICAN ADVENTURE: Year 7 students at TheLion King

YouTube is an internationally recognised brand.

Launched more than 14 years ago it has grown very rapidly.

There are an estimated 576000 hours of footage uploaded each day.

Conservative estimates suggest if no additional content were added it would take approximately 1450 years of constant viewing to watch all of the YouTube videos.

Given its huge size, how can we ensure we are viewing relevant information and how can we ensure children are only accessing appropriate content?

Safesearchkids.com suggests the following steps to ensure children limit the possibilities of accessing inappropriate content:1. Set up a Family Account. By creating a shared Google account, you can see what videos are viewed and shared with friends. To do this, go to Google on your browser and sign in with a new Google email address and password. You can also use your existing Google account on the computer and browser that kids use.

2. Turn on Restricted Mode. This feature will help filter out the worst videos, making YouTube a little safer than normal. To activate, scroll down to the bottom of your YouTube account settings page and turn Restricted Mode ON. This has to be done on any browser that is being used and you always have to be logged in for it to work.

3. Subscribe to Safe Channels. The more you subscribe to favourite ‘kidfriendly’ YouTube channels, the more positive videos will come up for viewing. Kids can also click through to their favourite safe channels and

watch more safe videos related to their interests.

4. Upload Privately. If you want to upload videos of your kids, or they want to upload videos of themselves, mark the video as Private or Unlisted.

Private videos are only shared with friends your kids choose to share them with. Unlisted means that only those who are sent the specific link can view it.

5. Disable Comments. When uploading videos, you can keep bad comments from showing up on your video. In the video upload screen (or the video editing screen after uploading is complete) you can disable comments altogether or keep them unpublished until you are able to review them.

The volume of content means its impossible to filter out all harmful material.

There is however a more strictly filtered version of YouTube designed just for children named YouTube Kids.

https://www.youtube.com/intl/ALL_uk/kids/ YouTube describe YouTube kids as “A world of learning and fun, made just for kids” They go on to say “We created YouTube Kids to make it safer and simpler for children to explore the world through online video – from their favourite shows and music to learning how to build a model volcano (or make slime), and everything in between. There's also a whole suite of parental controls, so you can tailor the experience to your family's needs.”

YouTube kids is an app which is available via most online stores (Google play store, amazon app store and apple app store) free of charge.

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Another busy year as COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

This year has seen a record number of students enrolled on the DofE programme with 333 students taking part in expeditions at Bronze and Silver award level. As usual, we have been extremely impressed with all the students attending the expeditions who have approached the challenge with a positivity and good humour — in all weathers!

Bronze

Almost every weather combination was experienced by students on the four bronze practice weekends.

The first group were treated to a warm and sunny weekend in March For many students, this was their first experience of camping and there was a lot to learn!

Students worked hard with staff and volunteers to learn the basic skills and techniques required to successfully prepare for their assessed venture in September.

All the groups flourished, choosing to leave the campsite early on Sunday and arriving at the finish point in plenty of time for the coach back to Comberton. Staff were extremely impressed with students during the weekend and are looking forward to welcoming them back for their assessed expedition.

The April weekend was a popular choice for Bronze students with many presuming that the weather would be much better than March…however this was not the case.

The weekend proved for Group B extremely challenging with the arrival of Storm Hannah creating low overnight temperatures and extremely loud sleeping conditions with the wind!

There were a few minor tent casualties, however the greatest was the staff tent that did not survive the conditions and the DofE team returned to an uninhabitable shelter!

Despite the conditions, students approached the challenge positively and successfully completed the training. Huge congratulations go to the students who attended weekend B, as well as the staff and volunteers who also survived the conditions!

The unpredictable weather continued for the Weekend C expedition, with several heavy showers attempting to dampen the campers’ spirits.

Fortunately, the Comberton students approached the weekend with their usual tenacity with the showers PLANNING: Students on Weekend A get to grips with the route. arriving at convenient points to avoid too much disruption to the training.

Sunday morning saw ice on the outside of the tents, however this did not stop the students from beginning their day early to arrive in time to return to college. Another successful weekend supported by our staff and volunteers allowed students to complete the required training.

The final practice expedition saw hot temperatures and sunshine across the two days. This provided a welcome break from the wind and storms experienced on previous trips, but did challenge the hayfever sufferers among both the staff and student teams.

This weekend saw the final group of Bronze students complete their training and provided an opportunity for students who had been ill or injured previously to complete their relevant training in preparation for the assessed expeditions in September.

Last month also saw 49 DofE groups complete their route planning for the assessed expedition in September.

This is an essential part of the DofE training framework and provides students with the opportunity to use online software to prepare their routes for the assessed expedition, as well as demonstrate their basic map reading skills.

A busy day saw most students signed off for this part of their training, with an additional session held for the remaining students to complete their training the following week. The students were a credit to the school yet again with every group completing the task successfully.

This year will see two assessed expeditions in September with just over 140 students attending each weekend.

This is an opportunity for students to showcase the knowledge and skills that they have developed on their practice weekends. We wish students the best of luck with their assessment.

FIELDS OF GOLD: Students on the C

weekend walk through the rape.

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ALL WRAPPED UP: Those on the B weekend expecting better weather in April had to deal with Storm Hannah instead!

record numbers sign up

COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

Gold

DECEPTIVELY CALM: It looks like a perfect camp but Storm Gareth provided plenty of challenges.

This year, Year 12 students enrolled on the Gold programme have completed several meetings this year to prepare for the Gold expeditions next year.

In September, they will accompany the Bronze assessed weekends as part of their training before beginning their own expedition journey in March 2020.

In November 2019, the new Year12 cohort will be given the opportunity to sign up to the award and join the Gold programme.

Silver

Year 11 students tackled the Chiltern Hills for their practice expedition this year where they worked alongside the DofE team to develop more advanced navigation skills in the countryside.

During the weekend, Storm Gareth made an appearance bringing winds of over 50mph and challenging the students tent-pitching skills at the campsite.

Students completed a successful three days of walking on their expedition and completed all relevant training to prepare them for the assessed expedition earlier this month.

They went to the Peak District as News@Com was printed for three days of walking and two nights’ camping in more challenging terrain.

Students tackled the heights of Mam Tor on this expedition, as well as exploring the beautiful rivers and valleys that the area has to offer.

Volunteer support keeps programme going

We are extremely lucky at CVC to have so many staff and volunteers who give up their time to support the DofE expeditions. Without this, we would not be able to run the expeditions for so many students and they are essential to the running of the DofE programme.

Inevitably, the end of the school year will see changes to the DofE team, which includes several staff and volunteers who are leaving to pursue different challenges.

However, many of them have promised to return to an expedition in the future to see how the students and staff are progressing!

Goodbyes go to Kathy Kennedy, Claire Schnellman and Matthias Schnellman. Kathy, Claire and Matthias have volunteered on DofE expeditions for several years and have become core members of the team. They will be greatly missed, and we wish them luck in their future endeavours, which are all abroad.

We also say goodbye to Lucy Stephens, who has volunteered on the DofE programme for the past three years, attending every Bronze, Silver and Gold expedition at CVC. Lucy has often taken on the role of deputy trip leader and has been an asset to the school. More recently, Lucy completed her own Gold DofE whilst supporting students at the school to complete their own awards.

Despite Lucy’s plans to move on, she has promised to return for the Bronze assessed expeditions in September and the Gold expeditions in 2020.

This year, staff and volunteers within the DofE team achieved success. Neil Parker and Debra Stephenson were both invited to Buckingham

KEY ROLE: For DofE volunteers.

FOUR-LEGGED FRIEND: Joined walkers on the silver practice weekend.

Palace in February to attend the Gold Award Presentations and unbeknown to them were presented with their own award recognising their long service to the DofE programme at CVC. Both have been volunteering at the school for more than 10 years and are regular faces on expeditions at every level. We are extremely lucky to have them on the team and their award was well-deserved.

Neil also completed his Countryside Leader Award and James Leech, another volunteer, has completed his Mountain Leader Training this year. These are impressive achievements and we look forward to supporting more of our staff and volunteers in completing their training over the next few years.

If you are interested in volunteering within the DofE programme then please do not hesitate to get in touch. No experience is required, just a willingness to walk. Relevant training and equipment will be provided for new volunteers.

Finally, Mrs Pattrick is on maternity leave until the end of the year. Patrick Gordon is fulfilling the role of DofE manager with support from Lee Protheroe as DofE administrator.

If you have any questions regarding the award, then please do feel free to contact the team using the DofE e-mail address: dofe@combertonvc.org

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COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

Sign up for Comberton Sports & Arts’ great value memberships!

Our membership includes access to the Fitness facilities, Fitness classes and Badminton

STANDARD £30 per month Direct Debit or £300 Annually (Save £60)

CONCESSIONS/ CORPORATE* £20 per month Direct Debit or £200 Annually (Save £40) (£15 joining fee)

No membership contracts. We just require 1 month’s notice to cancel your direct debit!

*Would your company be interested in a Corporate Membership?

All you need to qualify is a minimum of 5 employees to join. This can also include the spouses of your employees.

No minimum number for South Cambs District Council, Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and NHS employees (proof of employment required) Comberton Sports Arts offer the following for casual Gym and Fitness class usage:

Pay and Play Gym - £6.50 or £5 (concession) Fitness Classes - £5 or £4 (concession) Fitness Class Block Card - £50/£40 (Buy 12 for the price of 10) Check out our website for more information at www.combertonsa.org

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Giving it their best shot Round-up of the latest news from the South Cambs SSP

There was plenty of sporting talent and Olympic spirit displayed as youngsters demonstrated their athletic prowess at the Cambridge University Sports Ground.

More than 1,600 seven and eight-year-olds from 46 primary schools took part in the South Cambs School Sports Partnership’s Year 4 Mini Olympics.

The youngsters tried a range of different sports, all with an Olympic and Paralympic theme.

In keeping with the Olympic theme, there was a colourful opening ceremony, complete with flags and banners made by the children.

Special guest was former tennis professional Jade Windley, who represented Great Britain and won 19 professional titles as well as competing in the main draw of Wimbledon.

Jade tried all sports and spoke of her love for events like the Mini Olympics when she was at school. She encouraged all the youngsters taking part to give it their best, telling them “you never know, today may be the start of your sporting journey.”

A mass warm-up was led by dance leaders from Comberton Village College before partnership manager Claire McDonnell challenged the children to achieve their personal best while thinking about the Olympic values of determination, respect, self-belief and teamwork.

The event was supported by Total Clothing who provided the children with brightly coloured T-shirts in the colours of the Olympic rings, the Rotary Club of Cambridge South, who helped with traffic flow and parking, and South Cambs District Council, who helped to fund the event.

Ms McDonnell was delighted at how successful the event had been. “It was a fantastic day,” she said. “The children really enjoyed themselves and loved having a go at all the different sports. As usual the long jump and tug of war were the

HAVING A GO: Youngsters tried a range of sports.

firm favourites! There were no prizes; it was all about the children having a go and giving it their personal best and we hope we have inspired some of them to be more active and try different sports.

“We couldn’t do it without the support of the local secondary schools, so many thanks to the staff and leaders from Impington, Cottenham, Swavesey, Comberton, Melbourn, Bassingbourn, Linton and Cambourne Village Colleges for organising all the activities and leading the children; offering them encouragement and support as they gave it their best.”

Jade Windley commented, "It was a pleasure to be a part of this incredible event.

I loved seeing so many young people taking part in different sporting activities!

“Everyone had smiles on their faces and made the most of this amazing opportunity. For me, this is what sport is all about.”

County medals all round

Celebrating leaders LEADERS: Have shown great commitment.

The Year 10 sports leaders from this year’s South Cambs SSP Leadership Academy are coming to the end of their reign. We have marked this with a celebration event, awarding those leaders that have been the best and those that have improved the most.

The winners this year from The Cam Academy Trust schools are: Felix Palmer – Best Comberton Leader Zara Wray – Best Cambourne Leader Emily Haydock – Best Melbourn Leader Cailen Craig – Most Improved Comberton Leader Ellie Thompson – Most Improved Cambourne Leader Alfie Pearl – Most Improved Melbourn Leader These leaders have put in hundreds of hours of their own time volunteering at school and community events as well as our own School Games competitions, which we wouldn’t be able to run without their commitment. We are often congratulated on the quality of our leaders at our competitions and at the community events they support. This shows how seriously they are taking their roles as leaders.

In April we invited the current Year 9 ‘potential’ leaders to a conference at Comberton VC to let them know what is involved and give them opportunities to give it a go before committing to becoming a fully-fledged sports leader. These students have not disappointed; they have been amazing and volunteered for many events and are already proving to be another great, hard-working cohort of young people.

It is fantastic to see so many young people volunteering their time and inspiring the younger children they lead.

All four primary schools representing South Cambs in two athletics finals at the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough School Games finals came away with medals.

Harston & Newton and Meldreth had qualified in the ‘Small Schools’ competition for schools with fewer than 120 pupils in Key Stage Two, while Bassingbourn and Histon & Impington represented the district in the ‘Big Schools’ section of the team competition.

Five boys and five girls from each school competed in a 75m sprint, 600m run, long jump and a vortex howler throw with performances all scored to give a team totle.

Harston & Newton, clear winners of the South Cambs championships, repeated the feat at the St Ives Outdoor Centre to add the Summer Games title to their collection, finishing ahead of Manea, with Meldreth third.

Histon & Impington, who won the South Cambs title from holders Bassingbourn, found the placings reversed at St Ives as Bassingbourn took runnners-up spot behind Bottisham, with Histon & impington third.

They did come away with the Year 3 and 4 tennis title, however, reversing the South Cambs placings to take the honours ahead of Harston & Newton.

Meldreth also picked up a title. In an amazing result for a small school, they won the 20-team Year 5 and 6 hockey competition.

DIDN’T WE DO WELL: Harston & Newton’s quadkids (top left) winners and tennis runners-up (top right) with Meldreth’s hockey and quadkids medallists (left).

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Boys edged COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

out of finals Basketball

Narrow defeats in their final two games cost Comberton under-15s a place in the Cambridge and District competition,

Drawn in the Northern Conference, they started well with narrow victories over Impington and Swavesey.

But a heavy defeat by eventual champions Parkside left them needing to beat Cottenham and Melbourn to secure a place in the finals.

This time the tables were turned and Comberton suffered close-run defeats, leaving them third overall, with the top two qualifying.

It was still a good season and the boys worked incredibly hard, developing a whole range of skills and improving their decision making and tactical awareness in a competitive environment. They are looking forward to next year, where they will try and build on the positives from the 2019 season.

Player of the Year — Fox Pollock.

The under-13s found life tough against more experienced opponents but expect to challenge their rivals next year.

Player of the Year — Corbyn Dixon.

ALL TOGETHER NOW: Year 8 players.

Football

Comberton’s under-15 girls were the most successful team of a mixed football season, finishing near the top of their table after opening with an excellent win over Impington.

Players of the season — Lauren Sanders and Lucy King.

The under-13 girls have faced some strong opposition but have not lost their focus or enthusiasm for playing.

This has helped them in the Grand Prix, in which they were currently after two tournaments. In their most recent fixture, they faced Stephen Perse and finished with a 4-1 victory (and some free cookies!).

Player of the season — Molly Easy The Year 8 boys had an enjoyable season with a core of spirited players who have committed to training as well as organising teams for fixtures.

Both the A and B teams finished mid-table in their tournaments at Bottisham, summing up a season of mixed fortunes A team player of the season — Finley Hill B team player of the season — Toby Davis Both the Year 9 and 10 teams had only one fixture, with the latter going out to Sawston in the first round of the District Cup. The Year 9 player of the season was Jamie Smith.

The year 11 team were drawn away against District Cup holders Linton and despite outplaying their opponents and creating better chances, it was Linton who managed to score and progress to the second round.

Table Tennis

Some excellent young players have been attending Year 7 Table Tennis club each week and have made great improvements.

On the

Player of the season — Alexandru Poenaru.

SPOT THE IMPOSTERS: Teachers join the Year 8 squad photo!

Netball

The year 7s have had an excellent turn-out at training, have worked hard to improve their netball skills and enjoyed playing fixtures again Sawston and The Leys.

Player of the season is Isabella Howarth.

The year 8s had matches almost every week from February to April Participation this year has been incredible, with more than 35 players attending training.

That equates to four teams! Thank you to everyone who has attended the club. The girls have been very successful in their matches, most notably in their incredible performances against Impington and St Mary’s. The team have worked incredibly hard, but player of the season goes to Katie Rehm, who always gives her all and is a reliable attendee at both training and matches.

Year 9 have had a consistent core group of players attending training each week.

They started with an exceptional performance against Cottenham, winning 22-2, applying all they had been focusing on at training. They unfortunately lost against Impington, who put out a strong team, but gave a sterling performance nonetheless.

They have also played some excellent netball against St Mary’s, scoring some great goals and finished seventh overall in their district tournament.

Player of the season — Zan Goh — top goal scorer and excellent commitment The under-16s also had an excellent turn-out at training this year, ably supported by Ella and Millie in Year 12.

It was a pleasure to train this team and they always arrived with a positive attitude and willingness to try anything!

Unfortunately, clashes with after-school commitments meant that they didn’t have as many games as we would have liked, but did still have enough to make sure both Years 10 and 11 had opportunities to play against other schools. Year 11 also attended the tournament, where they came fifth.

Player of the season is Sophie Shaw, for her commitment to training and help with organising the teams this year.

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ropes

HEAVE: The annual tug-of-war competition.

Comberton’s annual tug-of-war compeittion took place as part of National School Sport Week.

Each year all forms in Years 7-9 battle it out for the prize in a fun event used to promote the national week organised by the Youth Sport Trust and highlight activities that can be done outside of the normal curriculum events.

As ever, the CVC PE department offer a vast extra-curricular programme so make sure you have a look to see what sport and activity clubs you would like to come and have a go at in September.

The winners were 7N, 8T and 9M.

Dancing in Wonderland

COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

It has been an exciting term for Comberton Village College Dance with dancers choreographing and rehearsing for Comberton’s Summer Dance Showcase.

Late last month the audience ‘dared to dance in wonderland’ and came across a charismatic Mad Hatter, energetic Tweedle Dee (and of course Dum) and an enchanting Alice.

The Summer Dance Showcase was yet another wonderful demonstration of the dance talent at Comberton.

Dancers from all year groups performed routines speciallyprepared with the help of the dance teachers from Bodyworks.

A massive thank you to Nikki McGowan, Michael Joseph, Katy Graham-Clare and Katy Lark, who have worked with the students to choreograph visually exciting performances that were enjoyed by all. The dancers have shown a fantastic aptitude for performance in a variety of dance styles from Contemporary, Jazz and Urban.

The Summer Showcase was a showcase of talent and passion for dance and for those who missed this term’s showcase, make sure to get involved in the dance classes next academic year.

Away from the Showcase, dance awards have been presented to Evan Wood (KS3 choreographer): Evan Wood, Carmen Lyn (KS3 performer), Dulcie Gilbertson (KS4 choreographer) and Ella Robertson (KS4 performer). Well done to all.

ALL EARS: The Junior Jazz group performed ‘White Rabbit’.

HATS OFF: For the Junior Street group’s ‘Mad Hatter’ dance.

Italy clinch CVC World Cup on penalties!

To celebrate this year’s Women’s Football World Cup, held in France, we held a football tournament for girls across all year groups.

Students created their own teams, chose a country to represent and organised their kit.

While torrential rain on the day put off the older students, the Under-13 teams were still ready to go! The tournament was moved inside and after a quick debrief, the first game between clear rivals England and Italy kicked off.

The game was incredibly close and with excellent skills being shown by all, ended in a 3-3 draw.

The second game between Australia and Italy

was also a great watch, with the former new to football and making their steps into the sport with enthusiasm!

It ended with a win to Italy and the final game to play between Australia and England. With their new recruit, Miss Cotton, on board and a pep talk from Italy, the underdogs played exceptionally well against the well-drilled England to secure a draw..

This left the teams tied on points so it went to penalties and 10 (five each) brilliant shots and saves later, it went to sudden-death, next goal wins. Both teams held their composure, but Italy

managed to just get the win!

Well done to all of those involved in the tournament!

England: Olivia Welham, Maddie Welham, Holly Hain, Gwen Davis-Jones, Nisa Rafioglu, Hannah Farrell, Liv Barker, Grace Heydinger.

Italy: Poppy Penston, Lucy Calvert, Izzy Callaghan, Sophie Wallis, Molly Easy, Olivia Williams, Jasmine Dixon-Hoy, Naomi Higgins.

Australia: Tierney Fernando, Bethan Tickle, Heidi Bruggraber, Mia Knight, Tecla Calogiuri, Paloma Bacon-Perez, Emily Gilbert-Woodridge.

CHAMPIONS: Italy won the Comberton women’s World Cup after a draw (middle) led to a penalty shoot-out against England (far right).

New format gala proves big hit with Year 7

Despite storms earlier in the week, the weather was kind for our Big Splash swimming galas this year.

These took place on Thursday 20th June and involved competitors from years 7, 8 and 9.

This year, the format of the gala was changed to include swimmers of all abilities, with everything from a walk/run race in the shallow end to a medley relay of 25m each leg.

Year 7 started the day with the biggest turnout we have seen — congratulations Year 7! Once we had fitted in around the pool, the races were started and

the support was fantastic. Year 8 continued this theme with cheering and celebrations a big feature of their gala. Year 9 certainly demonstrated the best teamwork, working with one another to ensure teams were entered into races and showing fantastic team spirit throughout.

The overall winners of the galas this year were 7N, 8M and 9M. This day was followed by the Year 5 swimming gala, where teams from seven local primary schools joined together to take part. As always, the primary teams

were incredibly well organised and the competitors were always ready and in place ahead of schedule!

The set-up of this event mirrored the new format used in the Big Splash galas, preparing Year 5 children for the kinds of competition they might expect when they join us in Year 7.

The standard of swimming was exceptional and it was a very close race, but in the end Jeavons Wood, from Cambourne took the title. Congratulations to all competitors and thank you to all the schools for the hard work you put in preparing the pupils for the day.

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COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

Honours are shared

FLYING : Year 8 students in the long jump competition.

IN FORMATION: A Year 9 tutor group take a break.

This July saw the culmination of our inter-form competition as our sports days for Years 7-9 took place.

Year 9 started the week, dressed up in their self-designed T shirts. This year, each form was allocated a team competing in the Women’s Football World Cup. Each form was given information on their team and how to follow their matches, while Year 9 were invited to design their own shirt supporting their country.

Thankfully, the results were spread out between the entrants and the wins didn’t all go to the USA! As usual, each member of the form competed in every event and the scores are averaged. The events include running, jumping and throwing disciplines, with the clipboards and scores being coordinated by our new Year 9 leaders.

Scorers from Year 8 and 9 maths classes then collect the score sheets after each round and reported back with current standings throughout the day.

The activity stations are led by PE staff and volunteers from the sixth form and our current Year 11, so thank you very much to everyone who helped and volunteered this year.

Each year, forms compete for the overall prize and endeavour prize (for attitude, work ethic and teamwork), while there are also individual best boy and best girl awards. As always, the level of effort put in by all year groups was fantastic and we were hugely impressed by the support shown to one another in the form groups. Congratulations to everyone who took part this year, and results were as follows: For Year 9 T won the overall competition from E and N with M taking the endeavour prize ahead of T and O. Harry Carter topped the boys’ award from Ed Naylor and Dan Evans with Serena Blackwood winning the girls’ prize ahead of Jess Westcott and Kirstie Donnelly.

The prizes were shared around Year 7, with B taking the overall top spot from N and C with I topping the endeavour charts from R and T.

TOP PERFORMERS: The Year 7 individual boys competition ended in three-way tie, while there was an outright winner in the girls event.

There was a tie for best boy between Louis Chapman, Clark Murphy and Joel Green while Madeleine Welham took top girl ahead of her twin sister Olivia with Ginny Hadden in third.

E won the Year 8 competition from R and C with B taking the endeavour honours from E and R. Again, the best boy award was shared, this time between Dan Carey-Evans and James Elkington, following by Tommy Hale.

Maddie Greenhalgh was top girl, ahead of Evie Butt and Evie Crossley.

Sporting introduction to life at Comberton

FESTIVAL FUN: Year 6 students spent the day in their new tutor groups trying a range of different sports.

In the same week, Comberton hosted their annual Year 6 athletics festival.

This festival follows the new intake day and allows the youngsters to spend the day with their form groups.

They compete in a similar range of activities, adjusted to suit their age range and ability. This is a fantastic opportunity for them to get to know others in their form and to settle in before

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arriving at the start of the academic year as Year 7.

As always, the forms were easily identifiable in different coloured T-shirts, which students took home after the event.

Again, the levels of effort and enthusiasm were fantastic, and we look forward to welcoming the new year group in September.

Top spot went to M, followed by T and E with B,

V and O filling the places for endeavour.

There was a tie for best boy between Tommy Westcott and Luke Lowten and an even closer tie for third between Toby Day-Small, Jooho Hill, Stephen Griggs, Dylan Benson and James Bennett.

Amrita Ahluwalia won the girls’ award ahead of Aliyah Montique and Honey Herbert.

Festival is ace for all!

COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

Sports Skills students organised and led a tennis festival for 60 Year 3 and 4 pupils from nearby Meridian Primary School.

It was the culmination of the efforts of 14 Comberton students, who have been working with an ex-professional tennis player, Jessica Weeks, to develop their teamwork, communication, creativity, confidence and leadership skills as part of Beyond the Baseline.

They had three sessions with Jessica, where they worked together participating in fun tennis games, listened to Jessica’s aspirational story and planned and organised their ideas for the festival.

All students flourished during these sessions and it was a pleasure to see them really develop and become more confident.

The Sports Skills students planned and co-ordinated the whole festival and, on the day, greeted the students, explained all the activities, demonstrated and gave instructions to their visitors.

The festival ran very smoothly, and our students were exemplary.

The staff from Meridian had very high praise for our students and all the primary school students wrote letters of thanks for the wonderful afternoon they had.

The students involved were: Tia Croxon, Jack Morgan, Jacob Deakin, Ryan Clowery, Max Gentle, Scarlett Goodwin, George Moore, Joshua Onime, Jossie Wakeling, Holly Moore, Freddie Greenfield, Harry Houghton-Walker, Amy Pemble and Scott Clowery.

Beyond the Baseline is a free programme for secondary schools managed by the Youth Sport Trust on behalf of the Tennis Foundation.

It aims to engage young people using tennis and inspirational tennis mentors to nurture pupils’ aspirations and put them on the path to achieving them.

There are 15 Beyond The Baseline Tennis Mentors who inspire pupils with their experiences of playing tennis and the obstacles they’ve overcome both on and off the court.

Fun on the slopes!

LEADING: Students organised and ran a tennis festival.

During the Easter holiday a group of 82 students and staff set off from Comberton destined for the Aosta Valley in Italy.

The trip consisted of the usual journey from the UK, through France then on to Italy via the Monte Blanc tunnel.

Staying in what many staff regard as their favourite hotel, The St Nicolas, ensured we were exposed to a traditional mountain side location with wonderful food.

We went by coach each day down into the valley to the resort of Pila.

After collecting our equipment we took the gondola up ready to meet our instructors.

The group enjoyed six action-packed days on the slopes, learning and improving their skiing and snowboarding.

In the evening students were well entertained with activities such as bowling, disco, games night and finally had their presentation evening where instructors visited to hand out awards.

During the week we were also treated to the best ice cream in the world, followed by time in the delightful town of Aosta.

Future looks bright for improving team

PICTURESQUE: Students pose in the Italian mountains.

The Comberton Ski Team continues to improve, with some personal best performances at the recent BISS Indoor Championship at Hemel Hempstead.

Jessica Welham secured fourth in the Under-14 girls race, with Helena Piotrowicz in sixth. Those results helped the girls team secure points for a welldeserved overall third with the help of Charlotte Hazel and Bella Gover, who completed a solid first race.

The boys had strong performances with Noah Broughton bringing home a 5th place in the under-14 boys and Jacob Sewell securing a PB. Giacomo Zaina and Louisa Turtill completed their first races with good runs from which to build in the future.

TEAM COMBERTON: Students at the competition in Hemel Hempstead.

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Olly targets world title

COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE

While the rest of his Year group were in Beaumanor earlier this month, Olly Toyer was enjoying his own adventure in the United States.

The 12-year-old was playing in The IMG World Junior Golf Championships in Californiaafter clinching one of three qualifying spaces in his English qualifier.

He joined a roll call of famous names who have played at the championships as youngsters, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els, as he made his debut in the 11-12 category.

There are several age groups in the championships, which has been running for more than 50 years, and all competitors attended an opening ceremony as well as participating in a putting competition on the opening day.

They were then spread around a number of courses around San Diego to play two round of championship golf.

Olly booked his slop by winning his age group qualifier at the Maylands Golf Club in Essex earlier this year.

It was an early season success which followed an impressive 2018 and a winter of hard work in which he got his handicap down to eight.

Last year he represented Cambridgeshire not only at under-12 level, but also players for the under-14s and under-16s as well. He won many local events and also the under-12 Nett category at the Oceanico World Junior Championships in Portugal.

Second by a second!

SPEEDY: Jacob Preston at the Vitality Westminster Mile.

IN THE SWING: Olly Toyer qualified for the IMG World Championships.

A major success came last August in the England Golf Champions Cup at Frilford Heath Golf Club where, competing against players up to 18-years-old, he won the title with a two-round total 11 under par.

We look forward to hearng how Olly got on!

Stepping up for Wales

Thirteen-year-old Daniel Carey-Evans has been selected for the final trials for the Under-15 Welsh Football squad.

It is a great achievement for anyone in any sport to be on the brink of national recognition but this is even more impressive given that Year 8 Daniel is competing two age groups higher and will be up against boys currently in Year 10.

This shows the excellent standard that Daniel is currently playing at. We wish Daniel all the best in his trials that take place at Colliers Park, Centre of Excellence in Wrexham next week and will be live-streamed.

Year 8 student Jacob Preston became officially the second fastest under-13 mile runner in Great Britain this year after a fantastic race in London.

He contested the Vitality Westminster Mile, a British Championship race, and finished as runner-up in the under-13 category, with a time of four mins 46 secs, just one second behind the winner.

This was, by far, Jacob’s biggest running achievement to date and the reward for intensive training.

WELSH ACE: Daniel Carey-Evans.

Success at the double . . .

Snowsports news — Page 23

Having a twin has meant always having someone to try new sports with.

Cricket has dominated since my twin, Eloise and I were 11and we were selected for the Cambridgeshire county development squad.

This season started with an under 15s county match against a Huntingdonshire and /Bedfordshire combined team.

Eloise and I opened the batting and made our first 200run partnership. Eloise made her debut county 50, finishing with 75, including nine fours and I made my first century (101 retired), which included 17 fours and two sixes. It was great to be able to pass these milestones, but even better to have done it with my sister.

Since then, we've played for the Cambridgeshire county women's team five times; the first being against the

TWINS: Sharing a love of cricket.

Netherlands, where I made 16 runs and Eloise top scored with 21. Unfortunately, we lost nearly all these matches.

Over the summer we will be playing many matches for our club (Coton), as we play for four different teams including the men's second 11. We also help with coaching the younger kids at the club.

Over the winter Eloise trained with the Eastern Region Academy (ERA) and will play some matches, including a tournament in Malvern. Last month she was lucky enough to play against Germany with this team, and she demonstrated some excellent fielding, as well as opening the batting.

We also have a Malvern tournament with our under-15s county team in August. We really enjoy cricket and hope to play for our country in the future!

Sammy Borcoski (10E)

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