News@Com The News Magazine of Comberton Village College ISSUE 30, SUMMER 2012
DUO STEAL THE SHOW COMBERTON students Grace Shelley and Jonathan Gaze beat more than 70 other bands of all ages to be crowned the best band in Cambridge.
Having already won the under-18s heat of the Cambridge Band Competition at The Grapes in Cambridge, they moved on to The Junction for the finals. There they performed in front of an audience of 400 people and a judging panel made up of the great and the good from the Cambridge music scene and they simply stole the show, becoming the first under-18 winners in the competition’s history. Grace and Jono tentatively took to the stage, but quickly got into their stride, playing their highly original tunes which Grace has written over the last few years. Grace’s voice sounded fantastic through the Junction’s powerful speakers, her fluid piano playing underpinning the great heartfelt lyrics which stunned the judges, many of whom found it hard to believe that someone so young could be so insightful, with Jono providing amazing drumming to bring it all together. Peter Brazier, one of the judges from Vertical Rooms Recording Studio — a man who has worked with some of the planets biggest stars including Mark Owen and Dolly Parton — said of Grace: “That was amazing, simply stunning — I pity the rest
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of the bands having to play after those two!â€? Along with the main prize of ÂŁ250 and a photo shoot they also scooped the Lodestar festival prize, Vertical Rooms Artist Development Prize and the Cambourne Youth Music Prize, leaving the rest of the bands empty handed! Called Grace-Sarah as Grace was initially a solo artist before teaming up with Jono, the pair have made numerous public appearances since winning the competition. They played three sets at Strawberry Fair on Midsummer Common in Cambridge, appeared at the Big Weekend on Parker’s Piece when the Olympic torch relay came to Cambridge, have done several gigs in pubs and clubs and have played on Radio Cambridgeshire and Cambridge 105. They have an EP out this month and another to follow after the summer holidays. Grace said: “It was incredibly nerve-wracking to play in front of all those people but it’s much better since I started working with Jono. Before it was just me and a piano on stage but now we are a team.â€? Grace, who sings as well as playing the piano, says she doesn’t have a particular genre but has been likened to Ellie Goulding. She has no idea where their latest success will take them, but remember where you Lance Rayner Ad (88 x 50) 18/11/09 2:12 pm Page 1 heard them first, just in case . . .
Year 8 lead the way in primary liaison
THIS term, one Year 8 group has been working on new ways to help prospective students understand what it is like to study here at CVC. Students created websites to inform Year 6 students about studying at CVC, practising how to write for a specific audience and how to make their content interesting and engaging. They also had to utilise key skills learnt earlier this year in ICT as they used the Dreamweaver software to create their websites. Many thanks go to the staff in the ICT department who supported this project, using their free time to run a refresher session for these students and to judge the final websites. The winning site has been shown to Year 6 students during the English Department’s primary liaison visits. Megan Watkins, English Department
INFORMING NEW PUPILS: One of the website pages designed by Year 8 pupils for the new intake.
Plans shaping up
PLANNING and preparation to open Cambourne Village College has forged ahead recently.
HOW IT WILL LOOK: Cambourne Village College.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
A Dream Double — Page 3 English Lessons lead to Competition
New Gallery — Page 14
A Night to Remember — Page 5
Pupils Raise the Roof — Page 15 Top Quality Food — Page 15
Entry — Page 3
Madame Jarry becomes a Master —
Page 5 Science Round-up — Pages 6 & 7 Green News — Page 8
Something for Everyone — Page 14 Team is Complete — Page 15
Staff in Line of Fire — Page 15
Mixing with the Stars — Page 17
Sharing PEOPLE — Page 9
Olympic Visit boosts Gold Challenge Group — Page 17
Another Successful Year — Page 9
Girls Inspired — Page 18
Thrilling Day — Page 9
Tough Step Up — Page 9
Teaching School One Year On —
Pages 10 &11
Uni Trip is Eye-Opener — Page 13
Get Ready to Rock — Page 13
Green for Art — Page 14 PHJ Ltd Light (Bottisham - M)-V1
A Team to Watch — Page 18 Tennis Takes Off — Page 19
Beaumanor in the Way — Page 19 On Top of the World — Page 20
Primary Pupils get into Olympic Spirit — Page 20
Designed and edited by Judy Czylok. Contact:8:48 publicity@comberton.cambs.sch.uk 9/7/10 am Page 1 The
The new school is set to open in September 2013 so that there will be places for all secondary-age pupils at a high quality local school. Cambourne Village College is due to become a further Academy overseen by the Comberton Academy Trust. It will work in an extremely tight partnership with Comberton Village College with shared staffing, systems and leadership. The two village colleges will pursue mutual excellence on all fronts for the benefit of all in our local area. Recent activities have included governor and parental information evenings to share plans with the community of Cambourne. Peter Hains, a former member of staff at Comberton Village College and a head teacher at two schools in his career, has been assisting with many of the developments. He has especially enjoyed working with Year 5 pupils in all Cambourne Primary Schools to talk about the new school and their views about it. The pupils showed tremendous enthusiasm for the new school and had lots of good and positive ideas about it. Building remains on schedule to start at the beginning of August and the new school should be built by the end of May 2013. These are exciting times for us.
Read all about it!
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A dream double!
YEAR 7 student Alexia Sloane has been FIRST I went to London because I was invited to the Prime Minister’s den, 10 Downing mixing it with the stars this term, attending Street, for a cocktail party! Not only that, but I also met him and talked to him. He somehow seemed to know all about me and we talked about a cocktail party hosted by the Prime Minister and then having lunch with a lead- my aspirations for the future and about the various languages I speak and those I am learning. I must admit though that during the course of our conversation, I had to disagree with him on one point and told him ing author. Here she describes her big so. When he said to me, ‘surely Japanese is more difficult than Chinese’, I informed him that it was the other way days out. round due to the tones in Chinese.
FAMOUS FACES: Prime Minister David Cameron chats with Alexia Sloane and Anthony Horrowitz plays the piano with her.
However, he was very approachable and pleasant to talk to. I also met many other celebrities, including Tana and Gordon Ramsay, the British pop couple Rochelle Wiseman and Marvin Humes, Lorraine Pascale and Melvin Odoom. The boys’ pop music group JLS were also there. All in all, it was a very interesting, exciting but exhausting evening, despite the caviar and other strange delicacies I don’t really like, but this wasn’t the end of it all. A few days later I was driven in style in a black jaguar to Anthony Horowitz’s own house. The author of the Alex Rider series has his very own block of flats in Clerkenwell, London. He has a secret bookcase in his living room in which there is a grand piano and behind which is a little room with a spiral staircase leading up to his terrace on the roof. In this bookcase lies the first ever edition of Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers, along with the silver plaque that went with it, and many, many more old, valuable and unique books. We had a lunch of sandwiches, salad, strawberries and chocolate biscuits together, while talking about writing, his books, books in general (like me, his favourite author is Dickens), and he gave me some advice about the book I am writing. Then we played the piano together, and, although Anthony says he’s not a good pianist, it’s simply not true. He spends on average 10 hours a day writing, and he says he doesn’t stop for lunch. Oh, and he hates the word ‘workaholic’! He is such a lovely approachable man, and he made so many jokes. However, since not all of these jokes were the most appropriate, I’ll avoid giving examples. He gave me about 10 CDs of some of his books since some of these do not exist in Braille and he was truly shocked when I told him only 7% of all print books exist in Braille. The House of Silk is his most recent novel and it has been a huge success. It is part of the Sherlock Holmes series, and Anthony says it has a “very dark secret in the middle.” Anthony also writes for TV quite a lot, and has written programmes such as Midsomer Murders, Foyle’s war, Murder Most Horrid and many more. I now have Anthony’s personal e-mail address and, believe it or not, we have already exchanged numerous e-mails. At the end of my visit, I gave him a card in Braille and told him he had two weeks to decipher it and get back to me. I was amazed when only two days later, I received a letter from him with the full transcription of the card in print and he hadn’t used any sources for help! Until then, I had always thought that my secret code was impenetrable to sighted people who haven’t studied Braille formally! It was undoubtedly another truly amazing and memorable experience.
English lesson leads to poetry competition entry Glowing ball in the sky, Falling down from on high, Sing me a sweet lullaby, As it fades into a sigh, On the world of heavenly light, Approaching quickly comes the night.
Little bird with mournful wailing, Singing to the sunlight failing, With pinkish clouds fast prevailing, And the streaks of darkness hailing, On the world of heavenly light, Stagecoach 2012)-L Approaching faster(Summer comes the night.
Year 7 pupil Sophie Coomes wrote this poem, The Night Comes Hunting, and has entered it into a couple of literature competitions.
Darkness shrouds where Jack Frost roams, From its heart the earth now groans, And the cold wind cries and moans, Buffeting at lonely homes, On the world of heavenly light, 10/7/12 10:45 Page 1 the night. Running, sprinting comes
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Suddenly the earth stood still, Trees don’t whisper silence shrill, Field mice sleep in barn or mill, And robins nest upon the hill, On the world of heavenly light, With stealth and silence comes the night. Silver bathes the starlit stream, The shining moon is night-time’s queen, The starry servants are so keen, To give the world their silvery gleam, On the world of silent night, Approaching slowly comes the light.
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A Night to remember
ON a balmy sunlit evening (a rare oasis in this summer’s torrential June), Shakespeare’s CVC ‘Dream’ players appeared on a magical mound outside Drama 2.
This mattered not to the audience who were clearly delighted by their interpretation of the ancient tale of Pyramus and Thisbe. Mr Jones laced the performance with narrative threads, his mellifluous voice weaving in and around Shakespeare’s text to create a seamless Elizabethan tapestry. Undaunted by his young son’s cries of “Dad”, Mr Jones held on to the script and continued his deft orchestration of the actors, expert ad-libbing adding to the comedy. The greatest joy was hearing the Year 7s speak Shakespeare’s language with understanding and fluency and see them translate the tangled love stories and comic turns into poetic life. Undoubtedly these year 7 “shadows” did not offend but instead inspired and left us wishing for more “visions” . . . Mary Martin, Deputy Principal
Teacher Neil Jones managed to conjure a superbly edited version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream which allowed Year 7’s to shine and sparkle amidst all the fairy dust. The simple natural set of trees and field was enhanced by carefully strewn stretches of gauze to create an illusory landscape where reality might be sometimes suspended. Ethereal but edgy fairies oozing attitude flitted on the grass making and unmaking mischief. Hard-hatted mechanicals stomped the stage, rehearsing their uproarious romance, heeding not the ordinary theatrical conventions.
OPEN-AIR SHOW: Year 7 perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Madame Jarry becomes a Master . . . WE are delighted to congratulate Madame Jarry on completing her Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics and TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages). The main focus of the research part of her course was a two-year study to increase pupils’ autonomy in learning French at Key Stage 4. Madame Jarry said: “My interest is in linguistics rather than literature, the history of the language, how the language evolves over time. My PGCE was in teaching modern languages, focusing mainly on French and Spanish. This Master’s allowed me to develop further my teaching skills in looking at teaching English as a foreign language. This also gives me an internationally-recognised qualification.” The research focused on a group of KS4 students and examined pupil-centred teaching strategies to assist pupils in becoming more active and independent learners. These strategies worked; pupil performance within this group increased greatly. It was a mixed ability group and pupils achieved 100% A*-C, with 75% A/A*. The strategies also helped the students to gain confidence, increase motivation and encourage self-assessment and self-awareness of active and independent learning. As a result of the research Madame Jarry uses
more carousel lessons with her other groups. These lessons offer a variety of activities with small groups rotating around the activities during the course of the lesson. One activity focuses on speaking skills with the teacher. This has been found to improve the students’ confidence and allows the teacher to give students more tailored help. She also organised activities which provided more freedom to pupils for their learning where they could decide from several tasks to work from, tailoring different needs. Pupils could choose their weekly vocabulary and how many words they wanted to learn (there was, of course, a minimum requirement) to enhance self-directed learning and give pupils a sense of responsibility. In single lessons during the second year of the project, pupils were given the task of preparing and teaching a 50-minute grammar lesson. They had to produce all the resources (supervised and corrected by Madame Jarry before the lesson took place) and teach their class and then other students gave feedback at the end of the lesson. They enjoyed the activity and improved their gram-
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mar knowledge. However some students felt that they gained more by preparing and organising the lesson rather than being on the receiving end. It also depended on how well prepared the pupil-teachers were. She will be using this strategy again but has found 20-minute lessons seem to be more effective. There was also a home-based aspect to the project which involves the use of a wiki to support students’ independent learning and other tools such as Vocab Express and authentic materials to expose students to French culture and language in its original context. Within the MFL department Madame Jarry has shared her findings of using carousel lesson strategies to promote independent learning. She has also shared techniques to promote independent learning at home and also how allowing pupils to choose and learn their own vocabulary words increases their motivation. A number of other members of staff are currently working on their Master’s in Education. We look forward to sharing their findings with you. Rebecca Gale, Assistant Teacher Research Co-ordinator
To infinity and beyond . . . SPACE engineer, geneticist and psychologist are just a few of the careers pupils studying Science at CVC are thinking about embarking on. Fuelling their enthusiasm was a series of lunchtime talks spread over the term. These have proved very popular with Sixth Form and Key Stage 4 pupils. Pupils attend the talks to hear about specific careers they themselves are planning for. It has allowed Sixth Form students to arrange work experience with particular speakers. Not only does it allow pupils to question career options but also the science behind the job. Speakers often bring in props to help explain the science in their job. For instance Mr Ecclestone brought in a satellite to explain what basic engineering ideas need to go into designing an artificial satellite. Apparently it involves a lot of foil. This term we have heard from: Tim Ecclestone – space engineer Ross Hawkins – Geneticist Helen Nelson – Psychologist focusing on child development Salvador Potter – Agriculture manager Sophie Bell-Ferguson – Bird researcher
Fab four selected
These talks will be continuing into next year, so keep your eyes peeled for posters in the Science department.
THE Nuffield Bursaries offer funding each year for pupils in their first year of post-16 education studying Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths (STEM) to work on projects alongside Professional Scientists, Technologists, Engineers and Mathematicians.
have such strong applicants that four Year 12 students have been awarded these bursaries to complete projects over the summer. Congratulations go to Henry Wigg, Juliette Pearce, Lucas Tanburn and Josh Taylor. As a result of completing their four-week placement and writing a scientific report of their findings, pupils will receive a Gold Crest Award. CREST is a nationally recognised award for project work in science and technology aimed at students aged 11-19. These month-long projects take place in This award encourages students to develop Universities, Industry or Research Institutions their scientific curiosity and to find solutions to and the competition for places is tough, with problems or tasks, in the same way as professeveral applicants for each bursary. sional scientists and engineers do. With the opening of Comberton Sixth Form, To achieve Gold Level pupils are required to we were eligible, for the first time, to encourdo 100 hours of project work under a mentor in age pupils to apply for these bursaries. industry or higher education. For those pupils Applications from 10 sixth formers were subwho were unsuccessful in being awarded a mitted In January and several students were bursary, some have been offered a two-week invited for interview. Normally a maximum of project in higher education, for which they will two bursaries are awarded per institution, if still be awarded the Gold Crest Award. any. However, we have been very lucky to CHOSEN FEW: The four students awarded Nuffield Bursaries. Vicki Robertson, Science Department
Pupils’ heads ‘filled with space’
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EARLIER this term, all of Dr Robertson’s 8Y1 set attended a science ‘conference’ with a space theme. The class had been divided into groups of two or three, and tasked with designing a poster giving a full tour of the solar system. All the posters looked fantastic, and were packed to the edges with interplanetary information. In each group, one or two pupils remained at the poster to explain it, while the others went around asking some excellent questions about each other’s posters. Some groups went even further and prepared pages of information about their poster! After some excellent teaching on Dr Robertson’s part, everyone was able to complete the task to quite a high standard. Overall the event went very well, and people came away with their heads ‘full of space’! William McGuinness (8V) Page 1
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Going with a bang!
LAST month the science department celebrated Science Week although it was a couple of months overdue.
The activities included firework making, taste testing and making the tallest tower, popping candy and custard balls. On the first day, we carried out a fireworks-making experiment, where we burnt different powders on a Bunsen burner, to create different coloured flames. Students really enjoyed this experiment and they thought it was very exciting and fun. After that, we had the taste testing, where some students were blindfolded and given specific flavour crisps. Their task was to guess which flavour it was. This experiment hadn’t been carried out in class, so many people found it very new and interesting. It was followed up by the tallest tower competition where pupils had to build a tower using only limited equipment. This task required students to think about different shapes and different way of stacking paper to build a tall tower. On Thursday we had the popping candy experiment, which was also something new to the science week. We finished the week with the custard bouncy ball experiment; this has been done many times, but is always a favourite. Every activity was thoroughly enjoyed especially by Matt Linney-Davy (7C), who attended every day, and said: “It was very cool to see the experiments in action.” The activities were organised and run by the Year 10 science leaders, Long Yin Chan, Stephen French, Anne-lucie Bugain, Tiffany Au, Fiorella Nightingale and Rebecca Thomas. We thank all who have participated in Science Week and we hope even more people will participate next time! Yinnie Chan (10B) GETTING GOING: One of the Science Leaders sets up an experiment.
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Pupils tackle a weighty challenge
LONG LEGS AND LOADBEARING: One of this year’s challenges to Year 6. IN this year’s Year 6 Science Challenge, pupils were set three separate challenges over the morning. The first was to make a model ‘bird’ from a paper plate and hollow paper legs. The aim was to see just how strong a hollow structure can be. The ‘bird’ had to carry a 300g mass and the winner would have the longest legs. This was harder than it seemed and a number of the model birds collapsed because their legs were placed too far apart. The second and third challenges were part of a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) challenge. Pupils used their engineering ideas first to build towers and then cantilevers from matchsticks and plasticine. The results were often spectacular and impressive. We are looking forward to the talented scientists and engineers of the future. Catherine Meddle, Science AST
Love where you live YEAR 7 and 8 pupils have been invited to form a team to plan and make an anti-litter video, which we can show in assemblies next term. The hope is that pupils will also find a way to promote the school recycling scheme. The prize for the team that wins is a day out of lessons at the end of term and the opportunity to be an ‘Ecologist for the day,’ doing lots of fun outdoor activities. We have had lots of interest, so we look forward to seeing if anyone can produce a video worthy of the prize.
Be greener this summer . . .
1.Use Both Sides of Paper — If you have a printer with a double sided print option, use it. If not, use the second side to print draft copies for editing. Recycle afterwards! 2.Don't get bottled water — Get a reusable container instead. 3.Recycle Glass — If you don’t, it takes a million years to decompose. WE want more people to get involved so 4.Turn off your lights — The benefits are obvious! please feed your ideas back to the RECO 5.Give things away — If you aren’t going to use them, give them to a group. We are going to start two aftercharity or to someone who will. school clubs next year. They will run every 6.Buy Rechargeable Batteries — Even though it is an investment to buy these, you will find yourself gaining it back in no time. Thursday 3-4pm. Each week in the Sixth Form design suite (in DT), we will have two 7.Get a reusable bag. different activities; one with an environmen- 8.Plant a Tree. tal focus and one with a graphics focus, but 9.Buy Local Produce — Think how much energy it takes to fly in proall with the opportunity to learn more about duce from other countries. If you have the option to buy local, do it. 10. Walk or Ride Your Bike When you can . If you have to go someyourself and your environment. And with where close, bike or walk instead of driving. plenty of brilliant projects to take home!
Get involved!
Green Flag success
FOR the last three years, Comberton Village College has been registered with EcoSchools.
This is an international award programme run by Keep Britain Tidy. Having established an environmental team (RECO group) at CVC, pupils have been working hard to win the prestigious Eco-Schools Green Flag. Having already attained both bronze and silver awards, we are now delighted to have been awarded our Green Flag, the highest award of the three! More than 5,000 schools in the UK are registered with Eco-Schools. Only 150 secondary schools have their Green flag and we are the only state secondary school in Cambridgeshire, (The Leys also have it) with Green Flag status. Eco-Schools said: “The wide range of ways in which
pupils can be involved in the work of the RECO group is very impressive. Please keep up the hard work!� Eco-Schools is a fantastic programme because it gives pupils the chance to make a difference. Pupils run the RECO group so that they can help the environment both directly — they have vastly improved our wildlife areas making them a haven for a wide variety of wildlife — and indirectly, with our fabulous mixed recycling scheme. They have even helped to save the school money by getting them to tackle energy and recycling issues. This year’s RECO group chose to focus on Recycling, Energy and Eco-systems. We are still working on our wind turbine and photovoltaic panels and want to continue to build on all of this work, but we also want to start looking at Litter and Transport, in order to retain our Green Flag in 2014.
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Sharing PEOPLE . . . PEOPLE people work continues to go from strength to strength and currently we are recruiting new people from Years 7, 8 and 9.
So now is the time perhaps for some pupils to think whether they want to join the group and make progress on this social leadership pathway. Anyone interested should talk to a PEOPLE person or me about how to apply. We are involved essentially in two main areas of activity: firstly employing a model of “anti-bullying” restorative justice where we use discussion among peers to explore the causes of name-calling, teasing and in extreme instances actual harassment and bullying. Secondly, we employ a workshop model to improve ‘Behaviour for Learning’. In this, we try to get off-task or disruptive pupils to develop their self-awareness and social awareness and invite them to aim higher in their education goals by recognising the role that hard work and attentiveness play in cooperative and constructive learning. This year, the Voyager Academy in Peterborough, now an Academy of our Trust, has shown an interest in PEOPLE work and we recently hosted a Conference Day where we shared what we are up to at CVC. Year 7 and Year 8 PEOPLE people helped lead discussion sessions with a group of Voyager peers. The Voyager pupils seemed to be inspired and excited by our approaches and said they were eager to see whether they might be able to do something similar at their school. They were impressed by the impact that PEOPLE explorations seemed to have on turning individuals round and setting them off on more positive learning roads and on the effect on whole groups where pupils described markedly improved attitudes and engagement in classes.
ALL ABOUT PEOPLE: Comberton and Voyager pupils after their conference at CVC. The Voyager pupils’ interest in PEOPLE people has been sparked by their teacher, Mrs Jean Bloye, who has attended lots of CVC PEOPLE sessions and is keen to introduce some of our working methods there. There is another Conference Day planned for the end of this term so watch out for an update. Mary Martin, Deputy Principal
Thrilling day on big rides
A tough step up
EARLIER this term some Year 7s went to Thorpe Park for the day and we all had a great time. There were lots of different rides and activities that we all tried such as Swarm, Saw, No Way Out and Stealth. These rollercoasters were a great hit, especially Stealth because it was a vertical drop. Tidal Wave was also very popular and entertaining. We are sure almost everybody got soaked and didn’t mind because the weather was boiling. Overall we think that everyone had a fun and fantastic day and would like to say a massive thank you to Mrs Barcz-Morgan for organising this trip. TAKING A BREAK: Year 7 pupils during their day at Chloe Easey and Hannah Maycroft (7V) Thorpe Park.
Another successful year is nearly over
THIS year, Year 10 have planned and run a number of successful fundraisers, including a quiz, an easter egg raffle and a cake sale, raising lots of money for our year fund and our chosen charity, Amnesty International. There has also recently been the return of the wildly popular Thorpe Park social, and everyone had lots of fun as always. After literally months of organisation, Year 10 has also just completed an exciting two weeks of work
experience, going out into the community to see what the workplace is like. Everyone had to arrange a placement, and experiences have varied from working in primary schools to supermarkets to theatre groups to the Houses of Parliament! And the people currently on the Peru exchange trip have been teaching while there. And with the stress of this year’s GCSE exams finally over, we’ve got plenty of time to start worrying about next year. Kartik Vira (10I)
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MANY of us, including me, thought that Year 12 would be so easy. However, as we quickly found out, this was simply not the case. The courses were interesting but very challenging, a real step up from GCSE, both in content and difficulty. Over the last month we have all sat our AS-level exams. The build-up to these was stressful and I couldn’t stop thinking ‘am I doing enough revision?’ Fortunately, there was plenty of support for all of us. The teachers were always keen to help; there was always a revision session to attend or new resource to help on Moodle (our on-line learning resource) to assist with exam preparation. Our teachers even gave support via emails during holidays. Through this support from the teachers and the fact that your friends help you as well, even though they were going just as crazy as you in the run-up to the AS exams, I managed to survive the experience. Because of all the revision and support, it feels like it has paid off. Let’s hope this proves to be the case in August! It’s such a relief to have no more exams until next year. Now that we are back, the stress of AS has gone, but A2 courses have already started and I will be making sure that ‘revise as you go’ is my mantra for the year. It’s time to start my final year at Comberton and I am excited about the opportunities it will bring, confident that the teachers at CSF will give us all we need for a successful A2 experience. I’m really looking forward to the challenge. Ryan Footman (L6-SL)
Teaching schools aim
A YEAR ago Comberton Village College became one of the first 100 designated ‘Teaching Schools’ in the country.
For the past year, we have been working hard with the other four Lead Partners (Swavesey Village College, Parkside Community College, Histon and Impington Junior School and Saffron Walden County High School), of the Cambridge Area Training School Alliance (CATSA) to seek to shape the agenda for the future of teacher training, staff professional development and school-to-school support.
There is much that we have and are taking on: 1. Future Teacher Training provision — new schemes of training teachers will apply from September 2013. Teaching schools and their alliances are asked to take on much of this remit. CATSA is organising itself so that it can be central to this. 2. Professional Development. We are seeking to build on and take further the work we already do in providing effective professional development for school staff locally, regionally and nationally. This will include holding a licence to be able to offer leadership development programmes,
right up to the National Professional Qualification for Headship. 3. Working to support other schools. CATSA has designated 31 so-called ‘Specialist Leaders of Education’ from schools across the region. We will co-ordinate the work of these leaders so that it is effective and useful in supporting
New specialists to coach others ONE of the first tasks of newly-designated teaching school alliances was the recruitment of teachers across the region to the new role of SLE (Specialist Leader of Education). The rigorous online application process in January 2012, followed by panel interviews in March 2012, resulted in the appointment of 31 primary and secondary teachers across the full range of subject disciplines. During the summer term following their appointment, SLEs took part in a national programme of training and preparation for the role, focusing in particular on coaching skills.
The SLE role is primarily to support the work of teaching schools, whether in terms of continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers, initial teacher training or research activity. SLEs with a particular subject remit will engage particularly with other subject teachers locally, regionally and nationally to develop practice in teaching and learning. This is the case for Comberton Assistant Principal Rachel Hawkes, SLE for languages, for example, who provides CPD to teachers on many aspects of languages teaching and learning. The model of provision is flexible and varied, including whole-day departmental training, twilight workshops, targeted coaching in particular aspects of languages pedagogy, conference presentations, middle leadership consultation and student study days. To date this year she has provided CPD to more than 1000 teachers across the country from Truro to Middlesbrough. A primary focus of languages development work until March 2013 will be the Department for Education-funded Languages Support Programme.
WORKING TOGETHER: Comberton Executive Prin Village College talk to delegates at one of the Lead
Challenges’ positive i
THE Middle Leader Development Programme is nearing the e of its third year at Comberton. The middle leaders from this year’s cohorts have been finishin their Leadership Challenges, presenting the outcomes of their work to Head teachers and preparing for a final session, revie ing their progress across the year and looking forward to conti ing their leadership development and learning. The Leadership Challenges have covered a wide and diverse range of activity in schools, from developing international perspectives in a primary, to improving learning and pupil outcom
Training model proves a huge success LEADER: Rachel Hawkes presents to local language teachers.
THE Comberton Village College and Saffron Walden County High School GTP scheme continues to go from strength to strength. This year, all 12 of our trainees are about to qualify and 90% of them are going to teach at secondary level in our local area. It’s been such a pleasure to work with our trainee cohort this year and I know they will continue to serve schools within our partnership, and in the locality, into the future. More than 90% of our trainees are still in teaching after three years, which is well above the national average. We have also recruited a new cohort of trainees to capacity for 2012-13, after an oversubscribed and rigorous selection process, indicating that many people in our local area are wanting to enter the teacher profession via an employment-based route. This means that we are continuing to recruit and train teachers for schools, by schools, something that this government think is quite the thing at the moment.
The landscape of teacher training is rapidly changing, and our GTP scheme looks as if it is will undergo some significant changes in terms of the way teachers are trained if they work in schools, and how it is funded. We have not got the details of how these changes will affect our provision, but the trend seems to be for schools to take on more and more responsibility for teacher training and have more accountability in terms of funding. It seems as if the policy direction is now going in the direction we have been working in for nearly 10 years. It would seem that perhaps we are in a very good position to respond positively to any changes that come our way and continue to train high quality teachers for our local schools. Anybody interested in training to teach on an employment-based scheme from September 2013 onwards should look at our website http://www.gtp.combertonvc.org/ from October 2012 for more information. Kath Goudie, Training Manager
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m to shape the future other schools. More of these ‘SLEs’ will be designated in the Autumn. So we have been busy and there is much to do! However, this is exciting territory for us. It provides excellent professional opportunities for our own staff as well as, we believe, being genuinely useful to the whole school system.
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ensure that teaching in our schools is of a very high standard Gave an opportunity to look around the school and observe several lessons to gain ideas for applications in other settings. The feedback from all of the delegates was extremely positive and several on-going links have been created. It really did seem to show how schools can work together to improve our school system. Stephen Munday, Executive Principal
STAR group have focus on research
ncipal Stephen Munday and head of Swavesey ding Outstanding Schools conferences.
end
A recent example of our Teaching School work and remit took place this term at Comberton Village College. We hosted more than 50 head teachers and other senior staff from school right across the country for a Leading Outstanding Schools conference on three separate days. Together with senior staff at Swavesey Village College, we: Explained the key ways that our schools work to provide high-quality education for all Looked at how schools can work effectively in partnership with and support other schools Discussed programmes and systems that can help to
TEACHER research co-ordinators from the five schools have met to form the CATSA strategy group for Research and Development. We are already operating in an extensive vibrant teacher research network called Cam STAR, working with the Faculty of Education University led by our Critical Friend, Sue Brindley. We, therefore, already have an established history of sharing and promoting research into teaching and learning. This sharing is annually showcased at the Autumn NQT “taster” conference and the annual summer conferences. In addition to a plethora of individuals practising research projects (some integral to Master’s degree work) CATSA plans to identify some common themes for enquiry. Possible foci proposed so far are ‘Behaviour for Learning’,‘Independent Learning’ and ‘Use of Mobile Technology’. We will work together as schools and alongside colleagues from the Institute of Education in London as part of a new National College of School Leadership initiative. We will be exploring what constitutes best practice in professional development, aiming to ensure that we continually update our practice so as to achieve improvements in teaching and learning. Mary Martin, Deputy Principal
in a secondary school mathematics department. The head teachers are reporting very positive impact on leadership, teaching and learning and pupil outcomes from the Leadership Challenges and a group of middle leaders ready to lead further improvement and development in their schools. The comment from one school leader captures the impact of the programme: “I had a fantastic evening and was thoroughly impressed with their reflective and mature commentary on the journey they had made. They spoke with passion and conviction about the issues surrounding leadership. “They were so skilled in understanding the relationship between leadership and management. They all felt the course had been immensely useful in allowing them to develop as leaders and I can confirm absolutely that the skill set of each has grown immeasurably.” Mark Soames, Oakington Garden (Comb - M)-V1 16/3/10 7:52 am Assistant Principal GETTING TOGETHER: A CamSTAR Conference ad.
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IN May, Comberton welcomed a party of a dozen teachers of English from Singapore through our link with Cambridge Assessment Network. Hosted by Mr Soames, the group toured the College with a special focus on our English and Drama teaching facilities and performance spaces. Mr Allsworth then gave a presentation on the English Curriculum and Assessment structure. Our Singapore colleagues were delighted by everything they saw and heard, impressed by the quality and of extent of Comberton Village College resources, and impressed by Mr Allsworth’s highly informative overview of the modern English Curriculum. Mr Soames said that the visitors were struck by the passion and commitment of Comberton staff and our willingness to collaborate and share practice. This visit represented another successful International connection for Comberton as a Teaching School. Page 1 Mary Martin
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Uni trip is eye-opener
FLOSSI and I took a trip to visit Warwick University, as part of the IGGY scheme to give fantastic opportunities to students aged 13-18, who show great initiative for learning. The first thing that we noticed was how amazingly large the site was, the university holds more than 22,000 students, with on-site facilities such as a doctor’s surgery, pharmacies and theatres. Once we entered the Zeeman building, where the lectures were taking place, we realised how widespread the scheme went; people from as far away as Cornwall were part it, and before our first lecture, we found out that more than 3,000 people, in 37 countries, were involved. Throughout the day, we listened to four lectures about Psychology, Mathematics, Engineering, and Medicine. All of these were absolutely fascinating, and we even
Get ready to rock
got a free buffet lunch, which was basically a sandwich and some crisps, but still it was free! Before lunch however we went on a tour of the campus, and I was amazed by how big the buildings for each individual subject are. For example, the library was five storeys high, and held more than 1.2 million books, and still they had more of them in a warehouse. Other things we noticed were that they had everything that students need in one building, that are normally spread out, for example, in Cambridge. To just have that outside people’s front door made me very excited to go back, ROBOTS AT WORK: At Warwick University. which I hope I get the opportunity to do soon. to know when Vaccinations are working, shown by Dr Our lectures involved the Psychology lecturer, Dr Elizabeth Blagrove, talking about the importance of Richard Crossman. Facial expressions in everyday life, the importance of Although the lectures sound ‘serious’, they all involved maths in real life, taught by Dr David Wood, the robots fun audience participation and all were a great laugh. that were being Finally, we had an evaluation of the day, which personmade by the ally, I could not flaw. The day was one of the best days Engineering out I’ve had, at least during school. I can’t wait to see Degree stuwhat other opportunities I get from the IGGY scheme. dents, and how Oliver Wigg (9T)
ALTHOUGH the rousing final notes of ‘You Can’t Stop the Beat’ have barely finished reverberating around the Performance Hall, Comberton is already gearing up for the next sensational musical show. Once again working with Audacious AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION: CVC pupils Productions, students are now turning with some of the props. their attention towards ‘Schools Will Rock You’, which will be performed in the Autumn term. Renamed for schools, We Will Rock You is a musical based on the songs of Queen and named after their hit single of the same name. The musical was written by British comedian and author Ben Elton in collaboration with Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor; and has just celebrated its tenth anniversary in the West End. The storyline for We Will Rock You derives from the Queen song Radio Ga Ga, which was a massive hit in 1984 and which is also remembered for its ambitious video. With auditions already under way, the energy and anticipation is building. Without doubt it will be an energetic, powerful and, above all, memorable production.
New sound system for community use
FOLLOWING a successful application to South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Capital Arts Grant Scheme, Comberton Sports & Arts have recently taken delivery of a new PA, which will be used at the Performance Hall and for community arts events in the district. Arts Development Manager Richard Brown said: “The new sound system will enable an even wider range of music events to take place in the hall. “The PA is part of the stART Arts community equipment bank and is available for community groups to use at a modest cost, which will enable more events to happen in the wider district too.” Not-for-profit community groups who might be interested in hiring the new equipment should contact Richard via email: NC Plumbing (180Richard@start-arts.org.uk. x 50) 2/12/09 8:53 am Page 1
Practicals were tasty too!
OLLY Wigg and I travelled to Warwick University with Mrs Blackford, for a free one-day conference for children and teachers as part of something called the Dux Award. Warwick hosted the event and it involved 67 pupils from Year 9 and 35 teachers from England and included academic taster sessions. The taster sessions included ‘The Octopus and the Bear — how do we know when a vaccine is working?’ from researchers at Warwick Medical School, which included a practical with Haribo bears (very tasty!) as well as Psychology, Engineering and Maths sessions too! It took us around an hour and a half to get to the university and we were greeted by IGGY staff and student ambassadors. But we weren’t the longest travellers: some students had come from Cornwall! We were given a tour around the campus and realised really how big it was. More than 20,000 students attend there! The students all say it is like a village. We were shown the library, which was very busy because all the students were revising for exams. We were shown some of the Faculty buildings for lectures and seminars on different subjects and also leisure places like a cinema and it has its own doctors’ surgery, shops and even a hairdresser! It was unfortunate that the rain didn’t clear away, but we still kept smiling and enjoying the day. All of the students that attended were given a free IGGY membership for one year. The IGGY website is like the school’s learning platform, but allows you to interact with other students worldwide as well as getting involved in activities and investigations in many different subject areas. It gave us an insight into university life and see first-hand the opportunities available. I have never thought about going to university but it has definitely widened my horizons and raised my ambitions about carrying on into Higher Education, as I grow up. I would like to thank Mrs Blackford for taking us to and from the event as well as Mr Leggott for nominating Olly and me to go. We had an amazing time. Florence Murray (9C)
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Something for everyone
THE new Adult Education programme for the next academic year has now been completed and bookings are being taken for September. There is a great selection of daytime, Saturday and evening classes and prices have not increased for five years! Courses cover a wide range of interests including Bee Keeping, Public Speaking and Buying and Selling Online. New courses this year include Creative Writing, DIY for Beginners, Family Cookery (for parents and children) and a daytime Jewellery-Making course. Whatever your interests, do have a look at our programme, which is available on the college website, www.combertonvc.org or contact the Community Education office for more information. Telephone BRUSHSTROKES: The watercolours (01223) 264721 or e-mail POPULAR: The Indian cookery course was a big hit. commed@comberton.cambs.sch.uk class is in the programme again.
Green light for art STAFF and pupils in Comberton’s Green Room staged their own art exhibition and sale to raise money for the new trampoline they have in the garden of the bungalow at the end of the college where they are based.
Staff, governors and other invited guests packed into the bungalow where pieces by staff and students were displayed on virtually every available wall. And their efforts had the tills ringing too with ÂŁ350 being raised to help pay back the Friends of Comberton, who funded the initial purchase of the trampoline, and for Centre 33.
New gallery for best work THE Art department is very proud of the amazing work produced by our Key Stage 3 pupils. In recognition of these achievements we have organised a permanent gallery in which to display the work. ‘Gallery KS3’ is situated outside the library and IT support office. There is also some work on display in the library. The work is from class and homework and will change regularly. So, don’t worry, you may see a piece of ON DISPLAY: Some of the work in the new KS3 art gallery outside the library. your art up soon!
TAKE OFF: The new Green Room trampoline in use.
Stress-busting fun
MY name is Johnny and I am writing to inform you of our gratitude for the trampoline that was paid for by The Friends of Comberton Village College. The Green Room is actually a small bungalow on the edge of the college and helps students to cope with the day-to-day stresses of school. The trampoline is a great way to keep fit and it is fun. Some people use this as a stress release mechanism and it’s also used as a reward for good behaviour. Niall has said it is also a good way to socialise and get people together and spend time with each other. Donna said that when she bounces it makes her laugh. Johnny Tucker (7C)
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Team is complete LAST term, the prefects’ and leaders’ selection process took place.
The first part of this process was the selection of the head prefects. The many applicants were reduced to a shortlist of five boys and five girls, who were then interviewed. Two boys and two girls were selected from the interviews to become the head prefects: Anne-Lucie Bugain, Thomas Denney, Liam Hunt and Subha Kumar. After the head prefects were picked, senior prefects were selected for various different areas of school life, and following that the other prefects were chosen. Eventually the prefect team was completed. At first we didn’t have all that much to do, but once the Year 11s left our work really started. We have all started our work in our respective areas, and we’re all looking forward to continuing to help the school in Year 11. There are prefect teams responsible for each year group, as well as interviews, school tours, charities, fundraising, publicity and PEOPLE people. There are also prefects for parents’ evenings and open evenings, as well as the Year 11 May Ball, Leavers’ Day and yearbook, and of course the Head Prefect team. So the prefects affect most areas of your school life. We’ll try to do a good job next year! LEADING THE WAY: The new Head Prefect team. Kartik Vira (10I)
Pupils learn how to raise the roof!
ONE of the optional units for the BTEC Construction involves training in the necessary skills to construct a tiled roof. Pupils on the course recently had an opportunity to have a go at developing the skills by learning how to apply felt, fix battens, set out and apply plain tiles. The exercise was completed on a full scale mock-up of part of a roof set up in the Construction project area. We were delighted to have the assistance of Howard Tomlinson, from Tomlinson Roofing, to demonstrate the techniques and assist the pupils with learning the skills. It’s a real bonus when pupils can learn from experienced craftsman and get insight into what it would be like to work in the construction industry. With our sincere thanks to Howard, we look forward to working with him again on future train- ROOFING SKILLS: One of the optional units on the BTEC Construction course. ing projects.
CATERING ACES: The management team of Debbie Rogers (right) and her deputy Deb Hough.
Top-quality food
COMBERTON’S fantastic catering team have been awarded the maximum five stars after their latest Scores on the Doors inspection. Scores on the Doors is an independent consumer information service which now supports the Food Standards Agency national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS). Inspectors looked at three areas, hygiene, structure and confidence in management, and gave Comberton the highest possible rating, so congratulations to everyone in the catering department.
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A GROUP of teachers braved an avalanche of wet sponges to help raise £55.02 for charity. Head of Year Hannah Compton, Jo Dawson, tutor of organising form 10I, plus Sean Sycamore, Euan Willder and Alice Harden volunteered to spend their lunch break getting wet for Amnesty International. Pupils shelled out 50p to launch three sponges at their target of choice, with Mrs Compton getting the wettest!
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Mixing with the stars ALL FOR CHARITY: Darren Gough hits out over Stephen Munday’s head (left), the volunteers (above) and former CVC pupil Anya Hall bowls. team was heard to say: "It doesn't get much better than that! To have so much fun COMBERTON Executive Principal Stephen Munday captained the and, at the same time, to be able to contribute to the charities chosen is so very sat‘home side’ at the annual Carlton Celebrity Cricket match. isfying.” But his team ‘ Robin’s Reliant 11’, named after Robin Wylie, who hosts the charity Bunbury batted first and were reduced to 1-1 from two overs after losing Chris match at his home, could not halt the might of Bunbury. Silverwood LBW off the second ball of the match. The visiting team, a mix of celebrities and professional cricketers, ran out clear winners of the match to raise more than £6,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust’s Anya Hall and sixth-former Adam Hefferland then got the opportunity to bowl to Addenbrooke’s appeal and East Anglia Children’s Hospices. Gough and also to the Middlesex and England batsman Joe Denly. After a promising The Old Rectory ground had been hit by nearly 2cm of rain overnight and pumps start for the home team, the celebrities soon began to show their class and Gough had to be used to clear standing water from some areas to avoid having to call off hit an unbeaten hundred in partnership with Mal Loye (ex-Lancashire and England), the event entirely. On the day there was only one minute of heavy rain, but otherwise who was bowled by Mr Lawrence three runs short of his century. The target of 300 the clouds generally went around us and we saw plenty of blue sky towards the late from 25 overs looked a long way off when former England bowlers Gough and afternoon. Silverwood opened the bowling for Bunbury, who eventually completed a narrow vicThere were plenty of celebrity sportsmen on and off the field and members of Mr tory by 200 runs! Munday’s team, who included Deputy Principal Paul Lawrence, teacher John Allen Paula Fisher, along with new Year 9 members of Comberton’s sports leadership and former pupil Anya Hall, were left cherishing the memories of playing in the comacademy, were on hand to help out wherever needed and Comberton governor Vijju pany of the likes of former England all-rounder Darren Gough. Even with the conditions that were faced — very wet underfoot — one of the home Churchman led a family effort with her whole CVC-connected family chipping in.
Olympic visit boosts Gold Challenge group
THE Year 12 Gold Challenge enrichment group have been busy promoting Olympic values and raising money for the Arthur Rank Hospice Cambridge. Back in March a giant Easter egg was raffled, last term a member of the team was brave enough to volunteer to remain silent to raise funds, budding chefs cooked an enormous cupcake which was raffled off at the Cambourne fun run and the group of five students visited the Olympic Park. We explored the magnificent stadium from the Olympians’ point of view as we marched around the track, flying banners supporting the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, while taking part in the Gold Challenge parade. During our time there we saw and met some celebrities such as Fatima Whitbread and Katie Price as well as several retired sportsmen and injured soldiers, who ran relays across the track. The experience was unforgettable and truly inspiring and brought out our Olympic spirit. It made us feel like a part of the Olympics and really encouraged us to succeed in the Gold Challenge, The Cambourne 10km Run took place during the Easter Holidays. The entry money from the run and money raised from the various stalls at the event, went to different charities, but the raffle for the giant cupcake is going towards helping us reach our Gold Challenge target. Rosswell Electrical 11:13 am MARKS: Page 1The Year 12 Gold Challenge group at the Olympic Stadium. ON YOUR Faith Munday, Rebecca Thomas,Advert Paige Slade 9/12/09 (Year 12)
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Girls Inspired on the big stage
TO get into the Inspire Project, first we had to audition. Miss Smith taught us a short dance and we had to perform it. Shortly after, we got given the results and thankfully all 14 of us got in. We rehearsed every Monday from 3-4.30 and really enjoyed learning the dance. On the week of the performance we had extra rehearsals to perfect everything and by the time Thursday came around everyone was feeling really confident. We took the minibus after school to Bedford University. When we got there we had a rehearsal and then time to eat and get ready. When the time came to go on stage everyone was really excited. We performed the dance really well and everyone was really happy with the way they danced and wanted to do it again! We would like to say a massive thank you to Miss Smith for teaching us the dance and allowing us this opportunity and also a thank you to Mr Sycamore for being our last-minute minibus driver. Charlotte Jones (10M)
Free taster for new pupils . . . PERFORMANCE PIECE: Pupils in action at Bedford University.
A team to watch! COMBERTON’S Junior Girls qualified for the regional round of the English Schools Track and Field Cup.
Having got through the county competition, they attended Woodside stadium with the aim of getting as
COMBERTON’S new intake of Year 7 pupils will be able to try a free taster session before signing up for next term’s dance classes. That will take place in the first full week so they will be
many points possible for the team. They knew the competition would be tough as they were up against teams from around East Anglia. Highlights include winning both heats in the 800m, relay and a heat in the 200m. The team gained a total of 292 points which was a
ON TRACK: The CVC girls competed in the regional event at Watford.
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able to enrol alongside pupils from the other years. To see what’s on offer, check out the full timetable for next term’s classes, which is now available on the college website, www.combertonvc.org
massive 64-point increase from the previous round. Several students gained personal bests including Izzy Broadbent in 1,500m, Rachael Mellor in 200m, Jess Kennard in 800m and Lucy Hall in discus. Emily Dowsett was our highest-scoring competitor with 22 points for the overall team score in her 100m race. All the teachers were very proud of all the girls competing and this means that looking forward to Inter girls next year, there is a lot of potential for being even more successful in this event. Here is a report from one of the competitors, Izzy Broadbent. “I went to Watford for the regional athletics competition. The events I took part in were the junior girls’ 1,500m and the relay. “In the 1,500m I was in heat A and thought I was going to do really badly as it was a high standard, but I ended up doing well and coming second in my heat and third overall from both heats. “I kept up a good pace throughout the race and one by one overtook other runners. At the last 200m, as advised by my ‘coaches’ Emily Dowsett and Emily Kennard, I picked up the pace and finished the race sprinting and giving everything I had left in me. “In the relay we came first and I was starting. I think I got a pretty good start and my team-mates Alison, Emily and Emily kept up the quick pace. “It was a fun day and a good opportunity for us all.”
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Tennis takes off
ALTHOUGH the weather hasn’t been great and we have had more days of rain than sun, pupils from Years 7–10 have been playing tennis at both the after school club and in matches against other schools.
A SPORT FOR ALL: Youngsters of all ages have been playing tennis.
Teams from Years 7 and 8 girls and boys and Years 9 and 10 girls and boys have played in rain, hail and some sunshine with a mix of results including some fantastic wins against Stephen Perse Foundation and The King’s School. All players represented the school well in some difficult conditions, including playing against nationally-ranked players, in 25 degree heat and playing for the first time on grass. To practise for these matches there have been two clubs running in the summer term, with the support of Ben Place who has coached the boys’ squad. These clubs will continue from September with a team squad session on a Friday 3-4pm and a KS3 beginners’ session on Thursday 3-4pm, with the intention that both groups of players will have the opportunity to play in competitions if they would like. Well done to all pupils who played in matches and a big thanks to Ben Place for supporting the boys’ squad on a Friday and assisting the club on a Thursday.
Beaumanor scuppers final place
COMBERTON’S Year 7 girls qualified for the county cricket finals — but missed out on the chance to play. The whole team was at Beaumanor on finals day, having finished third overall in the first round on Parker’s Piece last month. That day they crushed Parkside by 77 runs before losing to Perse by 18 runs. Squad: Megan Masters, Anna Czylok, Keziah Edgoose, Nell Bullard, Alex Cooke, Gemma Williams-Mustafa, Ellys McCauley, Annalie Barker, Gemma Bateman.
The Year 9s took part in the same competition, which attracted four teams. They were outplayed by both Linton sides but ran Netherhall very close. TEAMWORK: The Year 7 squad (above) and the Year 9s (right).
Squad: Kate Czylok, Abbie Palmer, Katie Reynolds, Bethan Wright, Georgie Harnwell, Holly Masters, Akasya Refioglu, Kate Wilkinson, Lauren Wilkinson.
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On top of the world FORMER Comberton pupil Charlotte Cox is having a summer to remember.
Not only has she won four gold medals — and set a world record — at the World Championships for athletes with Down’s Syndrome, but she has also carried the Olympic torch and featured with a number of British athletes in a magazine shoot for a popular publication. Charlotte continues to see the world as a successful athlete and her latest stop was the Azores, where even torrential rain could not stop the Toft-based star. She set a world record of 15.56 in the 100m on the first day, winning the race by more than three seconds as the runner-up clocked 19.19. She went on to win the 400m by an incredible 20 seconds then followed up with gold in the 200m in a season’s best 33.13 seconds — eight seconds clear. She also won the long jump by five centimetres with 2.48 although that was well below her best. Back in Britain, Charlotte ran a leg with the Olympic torch in Haverfordwest, Wales and said: “I was very lucky to be given the opportunity to be an Olympic Torch Bearer. It was a fantastic day and made me very proud.� She also featured alongside Special Olympics ambassadors Heather Small, Anna Hemmings, Darren Campbell, Chris Kamara and Katharine Merry in a photoshoot for OK! Magazine to promote the British 10k race in London, which took place on July 8. Charlotte and her dad David ran the race together after Charlotte was asked to help promote the Special Olympics GB, which is the race’s official charity partner, because of the work she did for them at the 2011 World Games where she was the face of the GB team — as well as being a medallist.
PROUD MOMENT: Charlotte Cox with the Olympic torch. Special Olympics is fund-raising to transform the lives of many more people with learning disabilities through sport, helping them to make friends (often for the first time) and develop the skills and confidence they need to overcome the barriers and exclusion they face daily in life. Charlotte is now in training for September’s European Championships in Russia, where she will compete in the 200m and 400m.
Primary pupils get into the Olympic spirit . . .
AROUND 1,400 children got into the Olympic spirit at the annual mini-Olympics for Year 4 pupils. Youngsters from across the district, including many from Comberton’s feeder primary schools, took part in the annual South Cambs School Sport Partnership event at the Wilberforce Road athletics track, Cambridge. The focus was on encouraging more young people to get involved in sport while inspiring them to strive to achieve their personal best. In the lead up to the London 2012 Olympics the event was much anticipated by all the children who took part. To add to the excitement of the day the event was attended by Gail Emms, Olympic silver medallist in Badminton, and Lloyds TSB Local Hero Daniel Goodfellow, an up-and-coming British diver and pupil at Melbourn Village College. The children were also joined by the London 2012 mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville, who took part in the Olympic dance and posed for photographs with the
OLYMPIC FEVER: Pupils at the Mini-Olympics festival Pictures: Thomas Roe dance, dribble, run and jump. dren taking part in sport and the Olympic mascots children. The day involved the children rotating around a the children had made for the event were fantastic series of 16 different stations where they were able and added a real splash of colour to the closing to try out a range of different and often new activiceremony. Yet again the sports leaders did a fanties, helped by sports leaders from Comberton and tastic job in running all of the activities and other secondary schools in the partnership. These encouraging the children to do their best. They included a variety of Olympic and Paralympic also get a lot out of the day, it’s a great opportunity sports, for example long jump, Boccia, hockey, for them to apply their leadership skills and develshot putt, hurdles and tennis. One of the events op their communication and organisational skills.� this year involved all of the children learning the Speaking at the event, Gail Emms said: "It has Cambridgeshire Olympic dance — this was perbeen fantastic to see so many young people today formed by the children at the closing ceremony who have been inspired by London 2012, during and proved to be the most incredible spectacle. this Olympic and Paralympic year, having fun by Keeping with the Olympic theme all the children participating in so much sport. I truly hope that were wearing t-shirts in the colours of the Olympic today's activity and the summer's Games will motirings while many of the participating schools had vate a whole new generation to be more engaged made their own Olympic Mascots, which they were with and try out new sports. It is through events able to parade at the closing ceremony. like these that the future stars of British sport Claire McDonnell, Partnership Development begin their sports development." Manager said: “It was great to see so many chil-
Designed by Judy Czylok, CVC. publicity@comberton.cambs.sch.uk
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