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Jon’s vision for improved third world hygiene

Senior BVC student Jon Cheeseright has been shortlisted to win a national Industrial Cadet Award. The ceremony will take place at the Institution of Engineering and Technology in London next month, followed by a celebration reception at the Savoy Hotel. Jon's participation was part of an outreach program run by the Cambridge-based technology company ARM, which saw him spend a week working with other school students from across the region. Here he explains: "At the start of the week, we were given a presentation by UNICEF, who gave us problems such as how to keep track of refugees and improving access to clean water in slums and then challenged us to find effective solutions. My group’s idea was to attach a light to a tap that would highlight the dirt and grime on people’s hands, which could be used in slums to try and improve hygiene. "Each of us then became independent ‘investors’ and were able to ‘invest’ up to 750,000 imaginary dollars into other groups, based on which group would do the best when their idea would be bought to market. All groups pitched their ideas, and my group managed to achieve the greatest amounts of investment, which meant we had the most money to develop our product. "Finally, all the groups presented their business solutions to a group of Arm employees, and everyone else in the program, who rated how likely our idea was to succeed in the real world. In the end, my team’s idea was considered objectively the ‘most likely to…

Thai trip of a lifetime

This summer saw a group of our students celebrate the end of their BVC journey – by making the trip of a lifetime to Thailand. For the 19 former Year 11 students, the World Challenge expedition was the culmination of two years of planning and fundraising. After flying into Bangkok, the students spent some time there experiencing the vibrant markets and Grand Palace before trekking in the Erawan National park which is home to the famous 7 tiered waterfalls and the infamous Hellfire pass, the name given to the largest of 1000m series of cuttings allied POWs were forced to work on during WW2. During their project phase students worked with a local organisation which has been supporting local communities in Singbun since 2008. Based close to the village of Tha Tham, the students worked on a local community construction project. Student Meg Hollidge summed up the trip in three words: “Sweat, tears and sunshine! “For me the highlights were seeing the King of Thailand, snorkelling, the food, the beaches and building a temple. It was really exciting learning a about a new culture and meeting different people.” Fellow traveller Ed Evans added:” What surprised me was that within a matter of days the entire team ceased being students, and became young, mature adults. We were no longer a group of teens, but a team of level headed explorers. “My personal highlight of the trip was swimming with in Erawan falls, a cool off in the pools was just what we all needed after a…

CALA Homes opens doors

A generous donation from local builders CALA Homes means we are now able to extend our provision for our construction students. Thanks to the bursary of  £1,500 from the award-winning housebuilder, we have been able to bring our construction department up to scratch thus allowing for a third cohort to start their practical studies. We know that not all students are alike and it is important to us to provide, in addition to a range of traditional academic subjects, additional vocational subjects to their students, from sports and health, to catering and construction. CALA Homes, which is currently building its Bassingbourn Reach development in the village, launched the CALA Community Bursary in Cambridgeshire in February and invited organisations, charities and groups in the area to apply for a share of £12,000 to help fund projects that make a difference in the community. Bassingbourn Village College was chosen as a recipient of the bursary, with the money being spent on a fire door for its construction building. This year, the CALA Group Community Bursary scheme has awarded a total of £109,000 to 117 good causes across the UK. A further 200 causes have previously benefitted from the scheme, with over £200,000 awarded to various initiatives since 2017. Vicky Poulter, Principal of Bassingbourn Village College, said: “We are delighted that CALA Homes chose us as a recipient of its Community Bursary scheme. "Following a recent fire safety inspection, we were told we had to change the fire door to our construction out-building, and have since been unable…

Bassingbourn Village College

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

01763 242344

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