I hope you all had a restful and relaxing break. It has been a joy to welcome your children back to the College this week for the beginning of the Summer term.

Despite only being a few days into it, the term is off to a flying start, with numerous student activities, events and highlights that I’m pleased to share details of with you below.

Multiplying our students’ love of Mathematics

Being part of the Eastern Learning Alliance allows us to collaborate closely with other schools within the Trust. Recently, a number of our students have been enjoying regular lectures and learning activities facilitated by Cambridge Maths School. Yesterday, our Year 9 students benefitted from the partnership during a visit to the Centre of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge. They explored the numbers behind news and social media under the guidance of renowned media expert, Dr David Spiegelhalter, took part in maths and physics quizzes, and collaborated with their fellow mathematicians to solve challenging problems.

I am delighted that we are able to provide opportunities, such as this, to enrich our students’ learning experiences.

Sun, sea and learning experiences

Elsewhere, our Year 11 Geography students enjoyed an insightful field trip to Norfolk seaside town, Sheringham. The students were tasked with using the theories and skills they have learnt in the classroom to analyse the makeup of both the beach and the surrounding town. The students also collected primary evidence as part of a geographical enquiry, which will be assessed as part of their final GCSE grading.

Trips like this can be incredibly insightful and inspiring, and I look forward to witnessing the impact of the visit in the students’ upcoming examinations.

Robocon 2024

Three of our students with a particular interest in mechanical engineering have been hard at work since October, designing and developing their own functioning robot! Over the Easter break, students Daniel B., Pranaav S., Oliver C., and their robot represented the College at the two-day Robocon Competition, held at Hills Road Sixth Form. Students from across the region gathered and pitted their robots against each other in a series of challenges. Although our students were narrowly defeated in the semi-finals, they were recognised by winning the esteemed ‘Supreme Spud’ award, which was given to our students in recognition for their impressive mechanical engineering skills and for programming some particularly complex behaviours. Congratulations to them all!

Easter revision programme

As we begin the Summer term, our Year 11 students are entering an important period of their studies as they will soon be completing their GCSEs.

Thorough preparation is often the key to students achieving their best possible outcomes and during the end of term break, a number of students enrolled in our Easter school study programme. The students were able to bolster their knowledge ahead of examinations and revise under the guidance of our dedicated team of educators. Thank you to all of our teachers who took time out of their holidays to support the students during the break and well done to all students who attended.

Supporting projects beyond their individual needs

One of the many benefits of studying an International Baccalaureate (IB) programme is that each programme includes an element of volunteering. This supports students to develop a desire to support projects beyond their own individual needs. Students regularly offer their time to support local, national and international projects, and recently, our students were able to support students at our partner school in Peru by providing personal workbooks for all of their subjects. This has enabled some of the students to access the full range of literary materials required to develop a well-rounded education.

At the same school, a local government health team has noted that the levels of anaemia within the school are significantly down compared to previous years. This is a direct result of the fresh, leafy vegetables that have been grown throughout the year in an allotment that was funded and created by our students. I am incredibly proud of our students, who are having a profoundly positive impact on the world.

Improving digital literacy around the world

Finally, continuing the theme of volunteering and fundraising, a number of students were recently able to facilitate the donation of six computers for our partner school, Ada Model, in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Digital literacy is a key skill for many workplaces but, in 2022, just 25% of Ethiopian people had access to the internet. For context, in the UK, around 98% of people have access to the internet.

We have been partnered with the school for over 13 years, and our students regularly support the learning of the students in Ethiopia through a range of fundraising and awareness building campaigns, as well as regular visits to teach the students. This is yet another testament to the power and impact of an IB education. I would like to say a huge thank you to the students involved in increasing digital literacy for the student at Ada Model.