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COLLEGE LIFE The Newsletter of St Edmund's College May 2022
Headmaster's Welcome Welcome to the latest addition of College Life!
Please click on me for a more personal introduction, and then browse to your heart’s content! e Click her to watch
Headmaster's Book Each week, selected students are invited to sign the Headmaster's Book to commemorate their outstanding work and contributions to life at the College. We are delighted to have awarded a record number of Headmaster's Book signings over the last half term, and we want to congratulate the following students for their achievements!
Zak J Tatchai B Jan W Sam C Alice T Polly B Monica L Amelia J Cristina A Jacob C Shyanne A Imogen R X2 Jerry T Mingxuan S Catherine M Raiden Z
Morning prayers at CISC Cambridge C1 examination Achieving Cambridge C2 Cambridge C1 examination History History Science Science English Reading at CISC Conference Reading at CISC Conference Edmundian Spirit Sport - netball Cambridge B2 examination Cambridge B2 examination Cambridge B2 examination Cambridge B2 examination
Well Done Everyone!
Globe Players Visit Bounds pupils experienced a fascinating introduction to Shakespeare which was performed in the Big Top in the College grounds. It followed the development of Shakespeare’s career, from The Comedy of Errors to The Tempest, and featured many of his most famous scenes along the way. The actors performed extracts from Richard III, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and more, all designed to intrigue and entertain the pupils.
Religious Life Leavers Mass The leavers Mass took place on 20th May. Lots of parents attended and it was a chance for the students in Rhetoric 2 to reflect and give thanks for their time at the College. At the end of Mass each student received a copy of the History of the College
Leavers Mass
Confirmation On 6th May Bishop Mc Aleenan very kindly came to the College to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation. Three students had been prepared for the Sacrament but two of the Spanish students decided to be Confirmed in Spain. The third student was Confirmed in the Chapel and then there was a supper which the Bishop stayed for and spent time chatting to everyone.
CISC prayers and Mass The CISC conference was held at Hanbury Manor. At the start of the conference a group of students went from the College to lead prayers. They were well received, and the students were made very welcome. On the final day of the conference Mass was hosted in the College chapel. It was a lovely celebration. The choir were excellent and Fr Peter’s sermon was exceptionally fitting and thought provoking.
Religious Life Rosary A few students and staff met each Friday during lunch to pray a decade of the rosary. Numbers were small but those who came were very committed.
Community service Community Service has restarted and each Tuesday a group of students visit local care homes in the area. The students are very enthusiastic and have been involved in painting plant pots, gardening, karaoke and card games as well as sitting and chatting to residents.
Exam prayer card Leavers Mass
As in previous years all students preparing for public exams were issued with an exam prayer card. “Dear Lord, I want to do my best to fulfil the potential you have given me. Help me to stay calm To keep things in perspective and be content with the best I can do on the day. To look out for my friends who need a bit of encouragement, and to always remember that the real test is how closely I can follow in your ways. Amen”
Walsingham On Saturday 30 April a small group of staff and students made a pilgrimage to Walsingham. We arrived in time for Mass at the Catholic Shrine, enjoyed a picnic in the grounds and then walked the holy mile whilst reciting the rosary. We arrived just in time for the sprinkling service at the Anglican Shrine and then had some free time to explore. It was a great day and provided all present with a time to relax and pray.
German The Arnold Janssen Gymnasium Exciting Developments in the German Department! We are delighted to announce that St Edmund’s College now has a partner school in Germany. The Arnold Janssen Gymnasium is a Catholic grammar school in Neuenkirchen, near Münster. The link was made when Joanna Gardner, Head of German, was awarded a place at a Schools Partnership Seminar organised by the UK-German Connection last December.
The school’s new chapel, incorporating the original entrance.
German We have linked up a Grammar class from SEC with a similar-aged class in the German school. Activities so far have involved a lesson jointly compiling a Padlet about what they do at Christmas, with the partner class writing in English and our students contributing in German. Then on Teams we had a joint lesson and, through the wonders of modern technology, were able to see into their classroom and wave at them all. We first challenged them to an international game of Blooket, followed by jointly working on a live Padlet about what they like eating, school dinners etc. The Germans made their contributions in English, and the SEC students wrote in their best German. Whilst online with the German class, we had a surprise visit from Mr Mostyn, who introduced himself then spoke to the Germans in fluent German, which they had not expected! Students were very excited to see the partner class on the screen, as it made their learning come alive to realise that they could interact with other young people in Germany.
Grammar students in class with the German students on the screen.
In March we set our classes the challenge of filming different areas of their schools to make a video to send to the partner class. St Edmund’s was described in German, the Arnold Janssen Gymnasium in English. Students also made a Kahoot quiz for the partner class to see how much they had understood of the film. Frau Willermann and Mrs Gardner are planning more projects, including a possible trip next school year to meet the partner class. All Grammar students taking German for IGCSE next year will benefit from our continued links with this class. The German students are very keen to get to know us. Rhetoric students doing German A Level are also benefitting from the school partnership, as they have linked up with Abitur students in the German school to have weekly conversations on Zoom or Teams. We hope to continue this for Rhetoric next year. We are looking forward to developing this partnership in the future as it will motivate students in their language learning and increase their awareness of the wider world, as well as building relationships with students in Germany.
Geography
Rhetoric 1 geography students participated in a comprehensive programme that taught them the skills to design and carry out their own fieldwork and analyse these results. Students practised the skills needed to carry out fieldwork so that they can design their individual study and carry out the fieldwork on a topic of their choosing. This makes up 20% of their A Level grade. Specification topics covered were coastal processes, sustainable coastal management, the study of place, urban regeneration and water and carbon cycles. Geographical fieldwork is an essential and invaluable part of the study of Geography that the students found extremely enjoyable. They had the opportunity to see the places, patterns and processes studied in the classroom in the real world and develop their practical skills. Most importantly, the students fostered leadership skills and learnt to work together well in groups. Rhetoric 1 geographers worked incredibly hard and were superb ambassadors for St Edmund’s College, making our time away most enjoyable.
Geography Trips Student Feedback Rhetoric 1 A Level Geography Fieldtrip From Monday 2nd May to Thursday 5th May, we went on the geography fieldtrip to learn about techniques that we could use for our NEA. During day 1, we went into Beverley, a small, affluent town in East Yorkshire, to investigate if the temperature would be affected if we got closer to the town centre and if sky view angles will influence wind speed. Each day we had hypotheses like this to prove, during the day we measured factors such as wind speed, direction, humidity, and temperature and recorded our results with equipment such as hygrometers and anemometers. The next day, we visited Scarborough, for the Changing Places topic to gain an insight about demographics, culture, deprivation, and sense of place. In Scarborough, we used techniques such as emotional mapping, great places wheel and word pictures to see how the place had changed over time. Wednesday, we investigated coastal erosion and aimed to investigate how human intervention has impacted on the dynamic equilibrium of a system on the Holderness coast. Firstly, we went to Mappleton – a small village with a population of 342 and evaluated their coastal protection where they are currently choosing to hold the line. Then we visited other coastal towns, namely, Skipsea and Hornsea and even saw part of the cliff that had completely receded at Skipsea and measured sediment cell size. The final day, after we were taught all these fieldwork techniques, we investigated factors such as soil moisture, infiltration and liquidity and even got to conduct our own practice NEAs by the end of it. Aisling Cosgrove Coastal Management on the fastest eroding coastline in Europe! During one of the days on our fieldwork trip we were able to visit the Holderness Coastline. During this day we were able to really dive into the case study, learning about the number of inhabitants, potential opportunities and risks of the area. It was fascinating but equally concerning to see the high rates of erosion up close with the road ending abruptly and houses edging towards the edge of the coastline. Our group leader however was incredibly careful and warned us about this before we embarked as to avoid any potential injuries. I believe that as this case study is one that we are able to apply in an exam or classroom setting and has been seen up close, visiting it was an invaluable experience which has really made me appreciate the importance of learning about types of erosion and the potential threats they pose to those that live on the coast. Amber Davies Urban Heat Islands in Beverley On Monday 2nd of May, our geography group, and members of the Cranedale Centre were investigating urban heat islands in Beverley, Yorkshire. We paired up and after a short brief began walking the 1km toward the town centre, with a pair being left behind at every 100m we went. The pair was to record the temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction every 5 minutes for 25 minutes. We sought to test our hypothesis, that ‘as distance from town centre increases, air temperature will decrease’, of which we proved. Afterwards we began our second investigation and urban structures were measured. The width of the street was measured, then halved to establish a midpoint. From the midpoint, the sky view measurement could be taken. From the sky view measurement, the sky view angle can be measured by (180-A-B). The clinometer was used to measure the sky view, and this was like a weighted protractor, which would spin until you lock it in . You would hold it close to your eye and point it at the top of the roof of the urban structure you are trying to measure and do this twice, so you have measurements for both sides of the street. Charlie and Henry
Industrial Cadets Graduation
Teaching Spanish Lesssons at the Prep
MEDSOC MedSoc has been very busy this term with many activities taking place before exam season. A highlight was being given the opportunity to dissect a rat, remove its organs and label its parts. Definitely not something for the faint hearted but it gave us a good insight into how organs are orientated in the body and visualise what a lot of us have learnt through our textbooks!
We also got the opportunity to practise basic observations on each other, including measuring heart rate, blood pressure and blood glucose levels. This let us have a look at what the normal ranges were and understand what conditions might cause the levels to rise too high or low. We even had the chance to be a surgeon for the afternoon by practising our suturing skills on a brave bananawith informed consent!
We also had a UCAT masterclass from our very own Scarlett, who kindly shared her tips and tricks for the dreaded exam. The UCAT is a medical school aptitude test that forms one of the many components of medical and dental school applications that is normally taken in the summer after Rhet 1. Lastly, we just wanted to say a massive good luck to the Rhet 2s and Poets on their A Levels and GCSEs- we’re rooting for you! (Who spotted the dentistry pun?!)
Boy's Sport
Athletics The term has started brilliantly with some outstanding events at Wodson Park and Stevenage Stadium. The girls and boys have recorded excellent progress in the track and field events. Several students have recorded victories in their disciplines and will continue to represent the College throughout the term. Mr Cunnah, Head of Boys' Games and Challoner Housemaster
The College travels to St Albans and Stevenage over the next three meetings to compete.
Cricket There have been some excellent performances this term with some notable batting and bowling efforts. Elements have enjoyed their first term of cricket and played several fixtures. Their last fixture vs Bancrofts ended in a narrow defeat. However, the fielding and bowling display put a lot of pressure on the opposition, Henry Garwood and William Carberry taking some excellent wickets. The Rudiments have put in a string of performances against good opposition and enjoyed the opening round of the Cup. Oliver Scott continues to lead the side well and has scored valuable runs. Grammar recorded an excellent victory vs Bancrofts. Joss Rodman continues to excel in his cricket and the side go from strength to strength each week. Syntax were unfortunately knocked out of the cup. However, in fixtures Dylan Dawe has played some outstanding innings which have created victories for the side.
Girls' Sports The summer term of sport has got off to a flying start with 30 girls fixtures already having been played in athletics, tennis and football. The girls have represented the College with a smile on their face, with enthusiasm and in great nature, which is excellent to see. The team tennis league has seen the U13s play against Presdales, Queenswood, Haileybury and St Alban’s. For these matches there are 4 singles games and 2 doubles games, where each game carries two points for the team. Mrs Robinson, Head of Girls' Games and Pole Housemaster
The U15s in the team tennis league have faced Bishop’s Stortford College, Haileybury and Dame Alice Owens. It was a dominant performance for the team against Bishop’s Stortford College where they won 10-2 and then an exciting game against Dame Alice Owens. Just like the U13s this game was 6-6 at the end of the match meaning a shoot out had to be played. Zara Gardezi and Martina Perez Eguidazu took on the challenge and convincingly won the shoot out and sealed another victory for the team. Well played also to Lois Lawrence, Roisin Devonald-Smith, Daisy Hallam and Cecilia Arandzadi Cardenal. The girls are thoroughly enjoying their football in Games and this being reflected on the field of play. The U15s have played against Forest School and secured a 2-1 win in an exciting game. The U14s played a dominant first match against Chigwell winning 9-0, where Natasha Savva scored 4 goals. This result followed with two draws, one against Haileybury and the other against Forest. The U13s were unfortunate to lose against Chigwell but fought back extremely well in the last third of the match. The U12As drew 1-1 with Chigwell, but had an impressive 11-0 victory over Haileybury. The U12Bs had an end to end game against Chigwell but narrowly lost 2-3. We are excited for the remaining fixtures after half term. The Herts County Athletics league has seen the girls win events against strong opposition. At U16, Kianna Hawes has had success at the 800m and triple jump, Lois Lawrence in the javelin and, in the U14s, Pippa Webster in the javelin. Many students have also secured second places throughout the meetings that have happened. Well done to Isla Roberts, Amber Smits, Olachi Mba, Jemima Uzoka and Alice Caton. This means that after three rounds the U14 girls are currently 14th out of 24 schools and the U16s are 16th out of 25 schools.
CCF Phase 1 training (Grammar)
Capt Upton - OC Army Section, CCF
Under the careful guidance of the Senior Cadets and Staff Instructors, Cadets have continued their three-weekly rotations covering basic military skills, including First Aid, Radios and communication and on the indoor range, and will shortly start an Inter-Platoon competition which will run over the remaining weeks of the term.
It was great to see an excellent turn out on the training weekend in May as well. Despite the rain, all remained (mostly) dry and spirits were high, with Cadets building on their fieldcraft knowledge and developing their tactical awareness with the paintball guns put to excellent use!
Phase 2 Army and RAF training (Syntax and above) This term Syntax and Poetry students have continued to build on skills covered earlier in the year. RAF Cadets have been on the indoor range developing their marksmanship skills whilst Army Cadets have focused on a series of activities designed to develop their fieldcraft skills and understanding of the orders process.
Music Pianos Several of the practice room pianos have served the College very well for nearly twenty years. We are therefore delighted to have taken delivery of a beautiful Yamaha U3 upright which is in the main piano teaching room. Pupils have already enjoyed having lessons on this instrument and we hope to continue to upgrade the pianos in the future so that pianists and other students have the best quality instruments to inspire them in their lessons.
Lunchtime Concerts On Tuesday 10th May we held the first of our new series of Informal Lunchtime Recitals. This was well received and enjoyed by both pupils and staff. This concert series is a new initiative and has been organised by Mrs Colligan. As she explains: “The aim is to encourage our instrumentalists and singers to become confident performers. With relatively little opportunity to perform during lockdown, many of our pupils have got out of the habit of performing. We hope that this will provide an opportunity for pupils to share their musical talents in front of a small, supportive audience. It is also an environment where they can ‘try out’ grade pieces before taking the exam.” The second concert took place on Tuesday 24th May and again featured lovely performances in a range of styles. Students who are keen to take part should contact Mrs Colligan as we would be delighted to hear them.
LAMDA and ABRSM Success Nearly 60 students took their LAMDA examinations last term and 11 pupils took their ABRSM examinations too. 100% of pupils passed and notable achievements include: Lilymai and Maddie in Rhetoric II who were awarded their Acting Grade 8 Gold Medal. Lenny passed his Grade 7 Flute and Sophia achieved a Distinction for her Grade 1 Violin.
Leavers Mass The Schola Cantorum have sung magnificently at a huge number of events this year. In the first week back after Easter they sang for Mass for the Headteachers who attended the Catholic Independent Schools’ Conference. Many in attendance commented on their superb singing. A number of the senior members of the choir have been wonderful throughout their time at St Edmund’s and it was fitting that those in Rhetoric II sang in the Leaver’s Mass.
Jazz Band at Jubilee Picnic The Jazz Band has grown significantly this year and is sounding fantastic under the direction of Mr McNiff, assisted by Mr Webster. They played for the Jubilee Celebration and, in addition to their usual pieces, led the singing of God Save the Queen!
Music Gallery
Boarding Life Boarders' BBQ
Visit to Tottenham Stadium
Indoor Skydiving
Jubilee Celebrations On the last two periods of the lent term, before we headed into the half term, the whole school joined together to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. We enjoyed jelly and icecream, games, listened to the incredible Jazz band and sang the national anthem. Every student also received a badge in honour of the Jubilee!
Dog Show We hosted a Charity Dog show, where students were able to bring in their dogs and show off some of their impressive tricks! Congratulations to all of our category winners and the pups that took part.
We raised an excellent
£1218 for Keech Hospice!
Rhetoric Leavers Good Luck to all of our Rhetoric Leavers in their exams. We wish you all the best in the future and hope to see you soon!