Starting to plan ahead
SIXTH FORM
Year 12 students took the first steps towards planning for life after sixth form as they attended the college’s annual Progression Conference in early March. Designed to offer an introduction to post-18 choices, students attended a special series of talks and activities that highlighted the range of possible pathways and opportunities available to them, from university and apprenticeships to gap years and routes into employment. Alongside individual conversations with academic tutors, students also had the opportunity to attend
live talks from expert guest speakers in a range of fields. Guidance on university applications came from Mike Nicholson, Director of Admissions at the University of Cambridge, who offered valuable insights into the application process based on his many years of experience in this role. For those considering alternative pathways, a team of speakers assembled by local organisation Form the Future was on hand to give students a flavour of the range of opportunities available in terms of apprenticeships and school leaver programmes, with contributions from apprentices in law, construction and cyber security.
Students also had opportunities to begin or extend their research and planning into possible next steps, with additional input available for those considering competitive applications for Oxbridge or other early entry courses. Having been obliged to deliver this as a virtual event last year, it was great to experience at first hand the buzz of activity and excitement that this day traditionally brings, and staff are now looking forward to working closely with Year 12 students in the coming months to build on their initial research and help them plan for the future with confidence. Stephen Leggott, Deputy Head of Sixth Form
Funded play project benefits linguists
Comberton Sixth Form’s students with a love for learning languages and experiencing different cultures have relished the benefits of an Erasmus+ funded project. It was in 2020 that the Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Department was successful in securing a Language Erasmus+ Project Grant from the British Council and European Commission. This was the second project approved in recent years, following the success of the Teaching and Learning Programme (TLP) which was interrupted by the challenges of COVID-19. The project, entitled ‘Aquellos Días Azules’ (Those Blue Days), is based around a play set in the beginning of the 20th century whose main characters are the Spanish poet Antonio Machado (who was in the exile in France at the time), Oscar Wilde (Ireland) and Emile Zolà (France). Juan Fran, the lead teacher in our PLAY IS WORK: Students work partner school, Colegio María Rosa Molas (MMRM), wrote the multilingual play with actors from CVC and MMRM for the purpose of this project. Year 12 and 13 students from Comberton Sixth Form have been collaborating synchronously and asynchronously with students from Colegio Madre María Rosa Molas in Zaragoza, Spain. The project culminated in a week at Colegio Maria Rosa Molas where our fantastic cohort of actors and translators worked together with the Spanish students to prepare the final performance in two and three languages. Project leader Paula Vázquez-Valero said: “I cannot put into words how amazing our Erasmus exchange visits have been, and what a fantastic impact both projects are having on our students and staff involved. “The projects are not only enabling our students to improve their linguistic skills, but they are also developing their ICT skills and genuinely fostering a love for cultural differences and tolerance. “During their visit to Zaragoza, our students spent most of their time at the Spanish school collaborating and sharing ideas in Spanish, English and French. They also got to experience school life first hand and undertook a number of day trips to emblematic historical or geographical places. “As a school, we are so honoured to have been given the opportunity to deliver these projects, which is a testament to the MFL Department’s mission to take languages outside the classroom.” Aaron (13MR) and Megan (13PV said: “Having just returned from our trip to Zaragoza, courtesy of Erasmus+ (and the hard work of our teachers), we are sure that that we will never again have an experience quite like it. “Since September, we have been working hard on our project
'Aquellos Días Azules' (ADA), focusing on the translation, creation, and interpretation of a multilingual production. This involved many workshops and Zoom calls, as well as forming relationships with the international students. The Spanish students visited Comberton in December to focus on the text we will use for the production we would perform in our leg of the trip. Needless to say, there were challenges on the way. “Firstly, the script was immense. In our first rehearsal in England, it took almost an hour to just read through, which was resolved by the idea of cutting the production into bitesize scenes and activities to ensure the target audience (Year 11 and 12 students) could access both the language and the ideas explored in the play. “It resulted in smoother drama and a better understanding of the text. Upon arrival we were made very welcome on the production. and got right into the action by writing a final scene of the play this tested our knowledge of the themes and deepened our roles as characters and actors. “Following that came group rehearsals and lots of work getting into character. We were all exhausted by the end of rehearsal, but it was enriching to interact and plan a drama piece using foreign language skills. “On Friday, we performed our sections of the play to different classes of Spanish students in Year 11 and 12. A lot of us felt quite nervous about performing, let alone in a language that isn't our mother tongue.” n Turn to Page 11
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