#LONGROADLIFE Long Road Sixth Form College Applicant Newsletter
KEEP IN TOUCH
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Hello, from Long Road!
This week we're looking under the microscope at our 3 A-Level Science subjects; Biology, Chemistry and Physics! You will find out all about our bespoke
Long Road Sixth Form College
@LR6FC
MedSquad programme to support your dreams of studying Medicine, as well as meet some of our amazing science Alumni!
Read on to find out the power of reminiscing about happy times, meet one of our talented Scholar students & this week's totally adorable Pet of the Week!
@lr6fc Remember to keep up-to-date with everything Long Road over on our social
enquiries@longroad.ac.uk
01223 631100
www.longroad.ac.uk
media channels
Keep smiling! Long Road x
LETS GET QUIZZICAL
Quarantine Quizzing (Answers at the end of this newsletter!) Question 1: Complete the lyrics. "I'm gonna take my horse to..." A: the old town road
Question 5: What sport is at the centre of the Netflix series The Queen's Gambit?
Question 9: One of the most popular true crime series in 2020 was called...
B: the big ol' farm
A: Ballet
A: Tiger King
C: the rodeo
B: Chess
B: Lion Prine
D: the deep green valley
C: Checkers
C: Lynx Queen
D: Fencing
D: Cheetah Princess
A: Believer
Question 6: Humans share 50% of their DNA with..
B: It ain't me
A: Mice
Question 10: In the series The Umbrella Academy, what can the character called "Five" do?
C: Shape of You
B: Pigs
A: Influence emotions
D: I'm the One
C: Bananas
B: Communicate with ghosts
D: Gorillas
C: Time travel & teleport
Question 2: What was the title of the most popular 2017 song?
Question 3: What type of music was Bruno Mars singing about in 2015?
Question 7: what country gifted the Statue of Liberty to the USA?
A: City Jazz
A: France
B: Midnight Boogie
B: Canada
C: Downtown Hip Hop
C: England
D: Uptown Funk
D: China
Question 4: The most popular song of 2010 was from which artist?
Question 8: Where do French fries originally come from?
A: Rihanna
A: USA
B: Nelly
B: Belgium
C: Drake
C: France
D: Taylor Swift
D: Germany
D: Control sound waves
You can't make positive choices for the rest of your life without an environment that makes those choices easy, natural and enjoyable
#MONDAYMOTIVATION
ADMISSIONS UPDATE A message from our Admissions Team Hello to all our wonderful applicants!
confirmation email detailing your conditional offer, once you have
We loved meeting all of you who
received this confirmation email you
attended your Virtual Advice and
need to log in to your Long Road
Guidance Meetings last week. We just
Online Services Application account to
wanted to get in touch about the next
accept the offer.
stage of your application.
WE'RE HERE TO HELP Our friendly Admissions Team are here to support and guide you through every stage of your Long Road application.
If you have any questions, Remember you can accept and hold a
I haven't had my Advice and
number of offers from different post-16
Guidance Meeting yet, what should I
providers until you receive your GCSE
do?
results in August.
please get in touch!
Heidi Hauser Director of Admissions
If you haven't had your Advice and Guidance Meeting yet don't panic. This
During the summer term information
won't affect your offer to study and we
about Long Road, including your
will be hosting meetings throughout the
enrolment interview date/time, will be
Spring and Summer terms.
emailed to you.
I've had my meeting, what happens
All communication with Long Road will
next?
be via your Online Services Application
Your interviewer will update your Long
account. Please check your emails
Road Online Services Application
regularly and update us with any
account with your chosen courses and
contact detail changes in order to
conditional offer. You will be sent a
receive important information.
Tom Hammond Admissions Officer
01223 63 1125
admissions@longroad.ac.uk
HOLLY'S HOME WORKOUTS Easy exercises that you can do at home! We all know that exercise is a great
Good Morning: Shoulder width
way to keep us physically fit and look
apart, squeeze shoulder blades
after our mental health. However, with
together, squeeze glutes together.
the cold and rainy weather going out
HOLLY'S HOME WORKOUTS
for a walk/run/cycle isn't exactly the
Sideway Lunges: Straight back,
most appealing activity.
lean towards the bent knee.
If you're not quite ready to brave the
Frog Squats:
cold then don't worry - our Sports
legs, flat feet, straight back, chest
Services team are putting together
high up.
Elbows between
some easy exercises that you can do at
Click below to watch Holly's Home Workout video!
home to keep you fit and healthy during
High Knees: Try to get knees to hip
lockdown!
height.
This week Holly is focusing on a Lower
Duck Walk: Half squat position.
Body Strength & Stability workout... no equipment needed! So grab a water
Lateral Lunge Pushes: Bent knee
bottle, find a space and let's do this!
should be around 90 degrees.
Holly's Lower Body Strength & Stability Workout
Calf Raises: Slight bend in your
Do 20 reps of each exercise
knees, high chest, try to squeeze your glutes and core.
10 each leg on the Sideway Lunges.
Jumping Squats: Go as deep as
10 each leg on the Lateral
possible and jump up as high as
Lunge Pushes
you can.
Do 2/3 sets depending on how difficult you find it.
Good luck!
"It's a broad subject that covers so many interesting topics, ranging from looking at tiny cells to large organisms and ecosystems. I particularly like learning about how the body works and being able to apply the biological mechanics of everything to everyday life. Also, who doesn't love dissections and bacterial experiments?!"
BIOLOGY A Level Biology examines how molecules, cells
Students got the chance to take part in
and organs work; how the diversity of
their own gene editing experiments
life has come about through evolution
using technology normally exclusively
and how organisms operate in their
available to university students. They
environment. On our Biology A-Level
then separated fragments of DNA
there is a strong emphasis on the
using gel electrophoresis, followed by
human side of the subject; particularly
the staining of anthers to see
applications of biology in medicine,
chromosomes undergoing meiosis.
industry and the environment. Student Olivia told us "the experiments Last year, our Biologists joined a
we took part in were complex but
Professor and six Doctors from the
interesting, and gave me an insight into
University of Birmingham, Bristol,
studying Biology at a university level."
Leicester and Cambridge in a hands on
while Tilly said "I enjoyed the different
workshop modifying the DNA of bread!
practicals and experiments as I found
The aim was to explore how scientists
them really interesting, especially being
can improve wheat yields for future
able to use more complex equipment.
food security.
STUART KEPPIE Long Road Alumnus, 2012 BSc Biological Science, University of East Anglia DPhil Interdisciplinary Bioscience PhD, University of Oxford During my time at Long Road (2010–
provisions. The feedback on my course
2012) I studied Biology, Physics,
work and advice on my personal
Mathematics and Computing.
statement helped me get to where I am today. I loved the atmosphere,
I thoroughly enjoyed my time and got
opportunities and mix of people at
a lot out of the experience. I found a
Long Road. Going to the gym,
particular affinity for Biology
studying with friends in the LRC and
stimulated by the course content and
getting involved with extra-curricular
the enthusiastic teaching, which
clubs sparked passions and good
inspired me to continue onto a BSc in
habits to which I now credit my
Biological Sciences at the University
success. I was given a strong
of East Anglia. I am now studying for
academic foundation for university,
a PhD at the University of Oxford in
and was motivated by those around
Interdisciplinary Bioscience,
me to become stronger and be
researching osteoarthritis.
better."
The best things about Long Road
Do you know an ex-Long Road
were the approachability of the
student? They can join our Alumni
teachers, and the academic and
Community by simply clicking here!
extra-curricular
"The best things about Long Road were the approachability of the teachers, and the academic and extra-curricular provisions. The feedback on my course work and advice on my personal statement helped me get to where I am today."
"It's a broad subject that covers so many interesting topics, ranging from looking at tiny cells to large organisms and ecosystems. I particularly like learning about how the body works and being able to apply the biological mechanics of everything to everyday life.
CHEMISTRY A Level Whether it's in agriculture, medicine,
wonderful smells of grapes and mint,
drug design or forensic science that
Alessandro said "Throughout the
interests you, our Chemistry course
project I have spent over 60 hours
allows you to study the necessary
carrying out practical activities in the
chemical theories and develop
lab, which gave me invaluable
appropriate practical skills. If you really
experience. I am much more confident
want to understand the modern world,
and proficient at reading and
if you enjoy experimental work and can
summarising than I was before which I
visualise things on a microscopic level,
believe to be an important skill."
then chemistry is a subject for you!
Before last year we visited our Chemistry Labs where we met Year 2 students Alessandro, Cherub and Oliver who have been working on their
Also, who doesn't love dissections and bacterial experiments?!"
Extended Project Qualifications!
Alessandro is looking at the synthesis of aspirin from anthranilic acids in 5 steps. While filling the lab with the
KATHERINE SELBY Long Road Alumnus, 1992 Katherine is a former Long Road
supportive. They went beyond their remit
student who started her studies at Long
to help the students achieve their
Road in 1989 joining us from Melbourn
potential. Passionate and dedicated
Village College. During her time
staff empowered students to succeed,
studying with us Katherine took A Levels
yet in a relaxed atmosphere. The
in Maths, Biology and Chemistry.
balance between enjoyment and hard work was struck perfectly. Teachers
Since leaving Long Road, Katherine has
really helped me maximise my potential,
gone on to successfully achieve an
including supporting me when things
Undergraduate and Postgraduate
didn't always go to plan."
degrees in Medicine as well as a Higher National Diploma in Palliative
Do you know an ex-Long Road student?
Care. She started working at West
They can join our Alumni Community, by
Suffolk Hospital in 2009, where she is
simply clicking here!
currently a Consultant Paediatrician.
"The learning environment of Long Road was friendly and supportive. Teachers treated you with respect and were incredibly encouraging and
"The best things about Long Road were the approachability of the teachers, and the academic and extra-curricular provisions. The feedback on my course work and advice on my personal statement helped me get to where I am today."
“I like the way everything is interlinked and how it relates to real life.”
PHYSICS A Level
Physics is an exciting and challenging
the directional information on LEDs.
subject which examines both the origins and the structure of the
This project was a serious commitment
universe, from subatomic particles to
of around 70 hours of project time; the
the vast areas of the cosmos. Physics
team formed in October 2018 and
affects every part of our daily lives,
worked on their project weekly since
from civil, mechanical and motor
then up to April 2019. They spent 2
engineering, to how we have
hours every week as a team and then a
harnessed both nuclear energy to heat
further 2 hours with the mentor
and light our environment, and waves
engineer from ARM developing the
to communicate.
project. They completed a detailed report on the whole process of the
In 2019, a group of Year 1 Physics
design and development of the
students were winners of the
glasses.
Engineering Education Scheme! The team had been working on a project
We are proud to announce that our
with the local company ARM which set
Long Road team won the People’s
them the challenge of changing the
Choice award as a result of all the
world using one of their
votes from everyone present on the
microprocessors. The team designed
day! Congratulations to Jamie, Luke,
and built a pair of glasses which
Dale, Eddie and Rachel on your win!
detect sounds and words and display
MED SQUAD Student Enrichment
Successfully winning a place at a UK
work experience using our strong links
Medical School is incredibly
with Addenbrookes Hospital. You will
challenging, with a highly competitive
be given the opportunity to take part in
admissions process, so the Long Road
workshops led by Cambridge University
Science department has designed our
medical students who will support you
unique Med Squad programme to
in preparing for the UCAT/BMAT entry
support students aspiring to study
tests.
medicine. To qualify you must be studying A Level Chemistry, a second A
Year 2 Programme
Level subject in either Biology, Maths or
You will work on a one-to-one basis
Physics, and a third A Level in a
with the Med Squad team and
facilitating subject such as Humanities
Cambridge University medical students
or Social Sciences.
on your personal statement and interview preparation. In the first term
Year 1 Programme
you will take part in an realistic MMI
Joining our bespoke Med Squad
practice interview session with our
programme means our Med Squad
Senior Managers, including our
team will work directly with you,
Principal Yolanda Botham, and
supporting you as you prepare for
Cambridge University medical
Medical School applications. The Med
students.
Squad team will help you organise
"Long Road has really helped me with my career path, it's been brilliant! The practice MMI's were really useful in preparing me for my first interview at Plymouth University Medical School. I really appreciate all the help from the Med Squad staff."
NATHY, LONG ROAD SCHOLAR MEET OUR LONG ROAD SCHOLAR AWARD STUDENTS Name: Nathy Year Group: 1 Secondary School: Swavesey Village College Studies: Biology, Chemistry, PE Career Goals: Doctor
LONG ROAD SCHOLARS' AWARD If you feel inspired after meeting our current Scholar Award students then why not make an
I chose to study at Long Road because
uniqueness, it has helped my CV stand
it felt right for me. It has a relaxed and
out. In year 10, I was lucky enough to
friendly approach to learning, as much
have my Work Experience at an Air
as to their students. They also help with
Ambulance Charity. So after seeing the
you becoming independent but it has
effort they go to for saving lives, I want
equally as much support if you would
to do a charity skydive to take me out
like, from lesson work to guidance on
of my comfort zone and so that I can
future ambitions.
donate the award money to that Air Ambulance Charity (although I am
My favourite thing about Long Road is
hoping that they won’t need to use that
that I am doing subjects which I find
money to save me after the skydive!).
incredibly interesting, as well as being given so many opportunities to
My advice is to choose the Sixth Form
participate in at the college.
that’d best suit you. Long Road has got my pick as best Sixth Form but that’s
I applied for the Scholars Award
because I love the positive, relaxed,
because it gave me a goal to focus on
and supportive atmosphere Long Road
during year 11, and although I wasn’t
has to offer. If you are considering Long
expecting to get it, it gave me a huge
Road as your Sixth Form, I would highly
sense of achievement when I did. I also
recommend going for the Scholars
applied for the award because of its
Award as it gives you so many benefits!
application yourself?
Click here to start your application today!
Applications close 23 April 2021
If you are feeling stressed or anxious please reach out to your friends, family or teachers. We're all in this together - you've got this!
CALMING POWER OF REMINISCING ABOUT HAPPY TIMES A recent article by Emma Young You’ve just had a fight with your
Your brain needs help if it’s to quickly
partner or a confrontation with a
regain control. And, according to
colleague. Now your heart’s racing,
a new study published in Nature Human
and you’re struggling to think straight.
Behaviour, you can provide it by
What should you do?
thinking back over good times.
Psychologists are not short on ideas for
Mauricio Delgado and Megan Speer at
how to calm yourself down after a
Rutgers University, US, made 134
stressful experience. Seek out a friend?
volunteers feel stressed by videoing
Yes, there’s good evidence that can
them while they plunged their hands
help. But what if there’s no friend to
into icy water. Some then spent 14
hand? You could try to alter your view
seconds reminiscing about a positive
of what just happened from “Disaster!”
experience (like visiting Disneyland)
to “Not really so bad”.
while others reflected on an emotionally neutral event (such as
But it can be difficult to engage in this
getting luggage ready for the trip).
kind of “cognitive reappraisal” when you’re in the immediate aftermath of a
Afterwards, the group who’d recalled
stressful event – perhaps because
happy memories felt better, but not
acute stress compromises the neural
only that: the expected rise in their
circuitry that’s involved in emotion
levels of the stress hormone cortisol
regulation.
was only 15 per cent, on average, of
CALMING POWER OF REMINISCING ABOUT HAPPY TIMES A recent article by Emma Young the surge observed in the neutral
"Engagement of cortical regions
healthier, both physically and
memory group. Thinking about happy
previously linked to emotion regulatory
psychologically, over the long term.
memories, then, went right to the heart
functions may be significant for
of the physiological stress response.
enhancing or sustaining pleasant
There are a few caveats. This work was
feelings during positive reminiscence,
on healthy adults. People with
To explore how, Delgado and Speer
thus dampening the physiological
depression usually find it hard to recall
used the same technique as before to
stress response,” the researchers
positive memories, so this technique
stress a fresh group of volunteers and
concluded.
may not work well for them. And it’s not
then had them reminisce about their
clear yet whether any technique that
own positive or neutral experiences
The idea that thinking about positive
makes you feel positive emotions would
while they scanned their brains using
past events, including achievements or
be effective or if there’s something
fMRI. The pair found that recollecting
successes, can help to improve
special about reminiscing.
good, but not neutral, memories was
ongoing mood and resilience to stress
associated with increased activity in
is certainly not new. But showing that
But this is at least a simple method,
prefrontal brain regions associated
simply recalling happy memories can
and one that in theory many people
with emotion regulation and cognitive
combat acute stress at a physical level
could try.
control – the same regions suppressed
is important, since there’s plenty of
by acute stress – as well as in
research finding that people who tend
corticostriatal regions associated with
to calm down physiologically soon
the processing of reward.
after stressful events are generally
PET EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK Working from home with our fluffy friends
Not everyone is feeling down in the
Meet this weeks Pet Employee of the
dumps about being on lockdown. Our
Week, MacDuff...
PET EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK
Is your pet assisting you while you work at home?
fluffy friends are loving the fact that Whether they're helping you we're working from home -and thy're
Meet Macduff ("Duffy"), the latest
doing a great job of cheering us up
addition to the Goodwin household.
too!
No, he isn't a Teddy bear, but yes, he is a miniature Labra-doodle and quite a
revise, or lazing on your laptop, we want to know!
Email your pet photos along with a short description including
To keep everyone smiling we will be
character. Who knew just how many
sharing a Pet Employee of the Week
things a puppy is prepared to eat?!
their name and age to
afutter@longroad.ac.uk.
every Friday on our Instagram page
@lr6fc. Make sure you follow us to see
A big thank you to our Head of
the weekly winner and runners up!
Progression, Andy, for introducing us to
We will be posting our winning Pet Employee of the Week every Friday on our Instagram account
MacDuff - he is ADORABLE!
@lr6fc
LETS GET QUIZZICAL
Quarantine Quizzing: Check your answers! Question 1: Complete the lyrics. "I'm gonna take my horse to..." A: the old town road - CORRECT
Question 5: What sport is at the centre of the Netflix series The Queen's Gambit?
Question 9: One of the most popular true crime series in 2020 was called...
B: the big ol' farm
A: Ballet
A: Tiger King - CORRECT
C: the rodeo
B: Chess - CORRECT
B: Lion Prince
D: the deep green valley
C: Checkers
C: Lynx Queen
D: Fencing
D: Cheetah Princess
A: Believer
Question 6: Humans share 50% of their DNA with..
B: It ain't me
A: Mice
Question 10: In the series The Umbrella Academy, what can the character called "Five" do?
C: Shape of You - CORRECT
B: Pigs
A: Influence emotions
D: I'm the One
C: Bananas - CORRECT
B: Communicate with ghosts
D: Gorillas
C: Time travel & teleport - CORRECT
Question 2: What was the title of the most popular 2017 song?
Question 3: What type of music was Bruno Mars singing about in 2015?
Question 7: what country gifted the Statue of Liberty to the USA?
A: City Jazz
A: France - CORRECT
B: Midnight Boogie
B: Canada
C: Downtown Hip Hop
C: England
D: Uptown Funk - CORRECT
D: China
Question 4: The most popular song of 2010 was from which artist?
Question 8: Where do French fries originally come from?
A: Rihanna
B: Belgium - CORRECT
B: Drake
C: France
C: Kesha - CORRECT
D: Germany
D: Taylor Swift
D: Control sound waves
A: USA
FEBRUARY 2021: EDITION 3
#LONGROADLIFE L O N G
R O A D
01223 631100
enquiries@longroad.ac.uk
www.longroad.ac.uk
S I X T H
F O R M
C O L L E G E
A P P L I C A N T
N E W S L E T T E R
Long Road Sixth Form College
@LR6FC
@lr6fc