I cannot believe that it is already the penultimate week of the academic year! As we head towards the last day of term, I am pleased to share recent College highlights with you.
International School Award
As an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, international-mindedness is embedded into our students’ learning. With this in mind, I am delighted to share that we have once again been awarded the International School Award by the British Council. The award recognises institutions that have shown a commitment to embedding international awareness and understanding within their school, and highlights our dedication to providing an international education for all of our students.
As well as being embedded into our approaches to learning and teaching, we provide opportunities for our students to engage with learning opportunities at our partner schools in Germany, Botswana, Japan and beyond. I look forward to continuing to develop further relationships with schools around the world and growing our international learning programme further.
Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Frau Grimwood!
Our broad range of language learning opportunities wouldn’t be possible without our dedicated teachers and I would like to congratulate German teacher, Jessica Grimwood, for winning this year’s Peter Boaks Prize at the esteemed German Teacher Awards. The awards are hosted by the German Embassy in London and recognise teachers who have gone above and beyond in the world of German Language teaching. Jessica exemplifies this wholeheartedly, having been instrumental in establishing our German exchange programme with Kopernikus Gymnasium school and she regularly enriches our students’ classroom learning experience through cultural food, games and celebrations.
Gracias, Peru
Last week, a number of our students had an experience David Attenborough would have been jealous of during their international trip to Peru. After completing voluntary teaching support and helping to maintain a vegetable garden at our Peruvian partner school, the students visited the world famous Altiplano plateau. During the excursion, they saw viscacha, flamingos, and some incredibly rare vicuña. If that wasn’t enough, the students then witnessed a volcano erupt and took a relaxing dip in some natural hot springs.
Experiences such as the ones described above will stay with our students throughout their lifetimes. Be sure to keep an eye on the Sixth Form Instagram page for images from the trip.
Thank you to our iFest attendees
Earlier this week, members of the local community joined us for a student curated celebration of culture and international-mindedness at our College festival, iFest. Attendees explored an exhibition of work developed by our Art and Design Technology (DT) students, including artworks showcasing the Mexican celebration, Día de Muertos, and DT projects exploring themes of Japanese Zen Gardens. This was followed by a range of performances from our talented Performing Arts students, with students from Year 7 to 13 staging a number of dance, musical and drama routines.
If you were unable to make it, follow the College Instagram page to enjoy highlights from the festival.
Year 10 Sixth Form taster day
Following our IB results day celebrations, on Monday, we welcomed more than 150 Year 10 students from schools from across the region for our Sixth Form Taster Day. During the day, they discovered how our internationally-recognised IB Diploma Programmes (DP) and Career-related Programmes (CP) can prepare them for higher education, apprenticeships and the workplace, explored the College facilities, experienced some of the 40 subjects we offer, and met with teachers and current students.
Hard work is its own reward…but ice lollies are also nice!
Yesterday, around 100 students from Year 7 to 11 enjoyed ice lollies with our Heads of Houses for the students’ Half Term rewards. Every Half Term, Heads and Deputy Heads of Houses nominate students who have excelled academically, personally, or achieved success in an extra-curricular activity. The rewards are our way of celebrating the students who have shown dedication to their personal progress or gone above and beyond to support their peers. Congratulations to all the students who were nominated!
July 14, 2023
