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Experience of a lifetime!

Whilst most post-GCSE students enjoyed a summer of fun and relaxation, a hardy group of BVC teenagers travelled to Africa to help support a school in need. Our intrepid Year 11 students spent two weeks in Tanzania as part of their World Challenge expedition – using their time to explore their environment as well as carry out badly-needed repairs to a village school. BVC teacher Jude Shortt, who accompanied the students alongside fellow teacher Rachel Ward, said: “World Challenge is what is says on the tin – it is a challenge. It makes the young people step out of their comfort zone and tests their leadership, communication and resilience skills to the max. The students are basically in charge and learn how to organize transport, accommodation, food which is no mean feat in a foreign country miles from home with a different language and culture. “Our young people came up trumps as always and it was wonderful to see them hone and develop a raft of skills that will all be hugely beneficial to them as they set out on the new phase in their lives.” Highlights of the trip included trekking in the foothills of Kilimanjaro; finding a great supply of local produce from a frenetic and rather daunting marketplace; a group of boys joining in with a local acrobatic team’s limbo routine by firelight; hysterical laughter when a rather large and intimidating baboon decided to hop into the safari jeep without an invite; managing the team finances and learning the local language. Student…

Heron Award Winners

The last week of term saw the Heron Awards evening take place - honouring the top students in each year.  Students received the Heron Award , which takes the form of a small lapel badge which we hope students will wear with pride on their blazers. The Heron Awards are given to students who have achieved the highest score for subject awards, merit certificates and attendance awards over the three terms. These students have been working hard constantly throughout the year and we feel they are a real credit to the school. Students will still receive awards for individual subjects and these are being presented at College Celebration Assemblies at the end of term. Award winners were:   Year 7: Orlaith Boakes, Lottie Bond, Liam Chadwick, Rachel Clark, Tom Formstone, Lily Harrison,  Emma Jones, Matthew Kendrick, Robert Kendrick, Maddie Ross Howe, Rosina Summers, Anna Wylie. Year 8: Elise Anderton, Jacob Bird, Annabel Carlile, Fraser Clapham, Nyah Cretton, Esme Howard, Meaghan Knibbs,         Evelyn Marshall, Archie McCulloch, Stella Morris, Drew Murdock, Charlotte O'Brien, James Pryer, Eleanor Spicer, Toby Telford-Reed, Patrick Weekes, Lucy Whiteley. Year 9: Ellie Blackburn, Jon Cheeseright, Katie Cheeseright, Joshua Ding, Ciara Free, Ginevra Harraway, Ben Hawkins, Saskia Holloway, Isabel Inskip, Hannah Lewis, Archie Lievesley, Beth Makower, Naomi Marshall, Bethany Nicholas, Adam  Russell, Annie Safford, Maddie Saggers, Jasmine Stacey, Isaac Summers, Jemima Sutton, Samuel Welch, Isobel Wells. Year 10: Annie Baigent, Katie Brown, Ellie Bryant, Amaya Cook, Max Crane, Grace Custerson, Lucy Daws, Rebecca Day, Alfie Duckett, Cassie Evans, Diaan Gill, Oliver Haley,…

Walsingham Pilgrimage

Year 10 RE students have an annual visit to Walsingham in  Norfolk. Katie Brown describes the trip: Walsingham is famed for its religious shrines in honour of the Virgin Mary and attracts around 250,000 pilgrims each year, as individuals or as parish groups accompanied by their priest. It also contains the ruins of two medieval monastic houses. So, the trip was a great opportunity for students to enhance their knowledge on the Christian faith and experience first-hand the significance of the holy site that pilgrims have visited for centuries. Once arriving at Walsingham, we were greeted and welcomed to the shrine by staff Pauline Lovelock and Geoff Arden. They both did an excellent job of guiding us around the historic sites and involving us in the various activities that pilgrims do when they come to Walsingham. We were first walked through the outside area of the chapel of reconciliation (Roman Catholic); when the number of pilgrims exceeds the capacity of the Chapel, the panelling at the back of the sanctuary can be opened up and the altar becomes the focal point for pilgrims gathered in the Shrine grounds. Then we were lead into the Slipper Chapel (dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria) which served pilgrims on their way to England’s Nazareth. Saint Catherine was the patron saint of pilgrims to the Holy Land and her knights kept open the road to Nazareth during the Crusades. The beautiful stained glass windows frame the several images of Mary decorate the Slipper Chapel. After leaving the Slipper chapel, students…

Technology experience for students

Three of our Year 10 students were fortunate enough to be selected for a Careers Week workshop at  international technology company ARM. Based in Cambridge, the boys travelled in each day and took part in workshops, project development and office-based problem-solving. Oliver Pulley, Edward Weekes and Oliver Haley comment on their week: Oli P: Our experience was simply amazing - throughout the week I thoroughly enjoyed all the activities I participated in. ARM, which stands for Advanced RISC Machines, is a company that designs chips used within 97% of technology. Within the week we had multiple tasks to do: the main task was in groups where we worked together for a solution to a problem presented to us by UNICEF. Other tasks required us to create advertisements and work together in cryptography challenge. The skills learnt throughout this experience will benefit me extremely as I had to perform with strangers to fulfil a solution to the problem; giving me good decision-making skills, communication skills and leadership skills as I acted as a leader within the group itself. Overall I would highly recommend for others to take this opportunity if presented to them as it was a highly beneficial and enjoyable experience for me to partake in. Ed: The week at ARM was based around one key problem – chosen out of the three that were supplied by UNICEF – that we had to create a solution for using an ARM processor. After first designing our solution to this problem, we had to create a presentation…

Bassingbourn Village College

South End, Bassingbourn, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 5NJ

01763 242344

office@bassingbournvc.org
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