News

News stories covering the educational, sporting, cultural and charitable activities and achievements of the students here at the College.

College Sports News
Coverage is also available for all the latest sports
events at the Sixth Form College along with
weekly downloadable versions of the College
Sports Newsletter. See Sports News for details.
Sponsored Head Shave
Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) May 2013

Brave student Sarah Alewijnse had all of her hair shaved off on the college concourse last week, raising two thousand pounds in aid of Cancer Research UK.

Well done to Sarah and a big thank you to Charlotte from Alter-Ego Hair Design . on North Hill, who stepped in at the last minute to ensure that the task was carried out professionally.

You can support Sarah by visiting her JustGiving page .

Click on the link below to download the video clip.

Movie Clip
1.81 MB
Duration: 00:00:19

Click on the numbered tabs below to view individual images.

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Sarah Alewijnse waiting....
Ofsted Inspection – ‘A very good College’
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) March 2013

The College is pleased that following a recent visit, an Ofsted Inspection team have praised very many aspects of the students’ experience and achievements at College and that the Lead Ofsted Inspector has described the College as ‘very good’.

College Principal, Ian MacNaughton comments “The Lead Inspector’s final comment to Andy Beatty, our Chair of Governors, was “You have a very good College here”. The College will continue to be very focused on giving all our students the best sixth form experience, qualifications and progression opportunities that we possibly can. Our AS/A level and IB students constantly achieve an outstanding package of results as demonstrated in the Government Performance Tables data published each January and from the extremely positive feedback that our students and their parents gave to the Ofsted Inspectors, over 1100 students and parents completed the on-line questionnaire.

Download
Published by Ofsted in March 2013, this document summarises grades awarded to the College and also
includes the Ofsted Science
Good Practice Report
published in 2011.
Ofsted Report 2013
PDF 1.25 MB

The Ofsted Report comments include; “Learners enjoy college life and their work greatly and this is exemplified by their high levels of attendance and punctuality. Current in-year retention is very high; opportunities to develop learners’ personal and social skills are very good, given the wide range of learning opportunities available, such as group tutorials, enrichment activities, foreign exchange travel, visits and guest speakers. Learners develop very good independent learning skills and also work very effectively in small groups. Learners act maturely and their behaviour is exemplary. Most learners are highly motivated and are very keen to learn. Consequently they make good or better progress, develop good personal and social skills and enjoy their learning and College life.


The curriculum offering is very rich and most learners undertake a wide range of subjects, additional studies and enrichment activities. These features enhance learning experiences and knowledge and facilitate their high levels of progression to higher education and employment. Feedback is good and detailed, it helps learners to improve. The quality of their work is high. Enthusiastic and skilled staff provide very good academic and pastoral support for learners. Leaders are committed to providing a high standard of education in order to increase learner’s skills and enable progression”.

Areas for Improvement identified in the Ofsted Report include, the need to continue to achieve further additions to levels of accommodation. The College will work very hard with Government and its relevant funding agencies to achieve funding support in order to enable a range of further additions and enhancements to existing accommodation.

Success at British Colleges National Finals
By Mike Cura, (Sports Department), April 2013

Recently college students had a fantastic sporting weekend at the British Colleges Nationals finals in Bath. Our students were a credit to the college their application and professional approach to the entire weekend was tremendous. Their success included the fact that the volleyball team finished in 7th place after being placed in the strongest group - they played excellent volleyball and competed with all the best teams - a great effort.

On the trampoline, our students competed as part of the East region team. They performed very well in their individual flights and finished in the top 10 overall which is a superb achievement for Clinton Elmes and Keiron Regan, our two very talented trampoliners.

In swimming (50m Butterfly), Nick Robertson achieved a personal best in the heats, finishing 2nd. On the squash court, Dan Wheeler dominated all of his games and won the Mens squash title quite convincingly. Dan is a very good squash player and his class overwhelmed the opposition at times. Dan won Gold and won the college a trophy for our Trophy cabinet !

Well done to all who competed and a big thank you to all of the parents who made the trip to Bath to support us.

Click on the numbered tabs below to view individual photographs.

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Dan - Squash Champion
Amnesty International’s Young Human Rights Reporter of the Year Award
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) March 2013

Colchester Sixth Form college Student Harriet Casey has been ‘longlisted’ for Amnesty International’s Young Human Rights Reporter of the Year Award.

Harriette will now have her work judged by a panel of editors, authors and industry professionals including renowned author Sara Grant, Guardian comment editor Joseph Harker, previous winner Alice Woodhouse and Emily Drabble contributing editor for Guardian Teacher Network. Around 2,500 children have taken part in the prestigious nationwide competition, which is being run by Amnesty International UK, the Guardian Teacher Network and the secondary school magazine “SecEd”. Only ten entries from each category have been selected to go to the judging panel.


Harriette was delighted when she was told of the news. Harriette wrote about homophobia in Uganda. She said: “I was very surprised and excited to discover I had been longlisted for the Young Reporter competition. It was a great opportunity for an aspiring journalist like myself to be able to carry out in-depth research & write on such an important issue. I found the struggle of the Ugandan LBGT activists particularly poignant & felt it was an issue that needed attention.”

Martin Casey, Harriette’s father, a 49-year-old Architectural Consultant, added: “I am thrilled that Harriette has been longlisted for Amnesty’s International Young Human Rights reporter of the year, she has always demonstrated a flair and deliberation to her writings and wishes to continue her education to enable her to become a journalist in the future.”

Pete Henshaw, Editor of SecEd, was involved in the longlisting process. He said: “It is a great piece of reportage which avoids the easy trap of emotive language and powerful narrative stories and instead lets the figures do the talking. A well written summary of the Ugandan situation and the life and legacy of David Kato. The piece then widens the scope of the piece to a global view of this vital issue. Finally, the writer’s opinion comes in at the climax to great effect.”

Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK, said: “Photographers and journalists play such an important role in exposing human rights abuses and it is inspiring to see so many children and young people taking an active interest in human rights.”

The top three in each category will be unveiled on Wednesday 3 April. They will then be invited to a prestigious awards ceremony, at Amnesty International UK’s headquarters on 30 April, where the winner will be announced. The winner’s work will be showcased at the organisation’s annual Media Awards in central London in front of an audience of over 400, including the nation’s top media figures, on 11 June. Good luck Harriet!

EPQ Performance Evening
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) February 2013

Last month a number students presented an excellent evening of performance as part of their extended project qualifications.

The pieces were all of an exceptionally high standard, but that was probably all that the individual performances had in common, as the evening was made conspicuous by the sheer variety of work on offer; ranging from Shakespeare, to Elliot Thompson's highly entertaining and individual 2,000 year survey of song in the theatre (see video clip below), via Willie Russell's "Blood Brothers" and Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty.

Well done to all concerned for such a diverse, thought-provoking and enjoyable evening!

Click on the link below to download the video clip.

Movie Clip
1.95 MB
Duration: 00:20

College Students Return from India Expedition
By Will Harragan (Student Reporter) February 2013

In December the Sixth Form College’s 10th India Expedition (INDEX) left a dreary Colchester for a vibrant and warm India. The aim of the Expedition was to visit the Russ Foundation, a charity based in India that the Sixth Form College supports.

The Russ Foundation is a children’s home based in the South East region of India, known as Tamil-Nadu, just outside the city of Madurai. The home cares for children from the surrounding area that are either orphaned, many as a result of HIV/AIDS, or abandoned as their families could no longer support them. A child that stays at the Russ Foundation will receive shelter, food, an education and care that they would not otherwise have. Throughout the year the 20 students, affectionately known as INDEXers have raised funds for the Russ Foundation, both as a whole group and as individuals, with each INDEXer making the commitment to raise £500 for the charity when they signed up for the trip.

During their stay at the Russ Foundation the INDEXers helped to teach the children English; worked to plant 140 lime trees on the Russ Foundation campus and visited the projects that the Russ Foundation funds in the local community. They also took art in more leisurely activities such as visiting the Sri Meenakshi Temple in Madurai and a water park with the children.

The trip was a truly eye-opening experience; it was fantastic being immersed in a completely different culture for three weeks and amazing seeing a project that works so hard for people who need it most.

Click on images below for larger version

College Reunion and Awards Presentation
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) 18 January 2013

Over a thousand students and guests gathered at Charter Hall earlier this month to celebrate the success of the students who completed their studies at college in Summer 2012. Guest included Cllr Christopher and Mrs Amanda Arnold (Mayor and Mayoress of Colchester) , Sir Bob Russell, MP, Bryn Morris (Registrar- University of Essex) and many senior staff from local schools. We were also pleased to welcome Jim Godfrey, Media & Political Consultant – a former college student who was our guest speaker at the event.

As the Principal explained in his address to former students: "The examination successes you achieved in the summer were quite outstanding –by both local and national standards. The average ‘value added’ results you achieved – the comparison between your GCSE results on entry and your package of results on leaving, places your collective successes very significantly above the national average levels.

Download
Booklet with details of student awards, destination of students in
higher and further
education and
employment, etc.
Student Reunion
and Awards PDF 3.9 MB

Our International Baccalaureate students achieved an outstanding level of success. Your average results of 34 IB points were very significantly above both the national and international averages. Well over 1000 of our second year College students entered for A Level examinations last summer and the average results you achieved were really excellent with average results ahead of the achievements of students at all other colleges in Essex and Suffolk and in all the Essex comprehensive schools with sixth forms. 93% of our A-level students leaving us last summer achieved 3 or more A-level qualifications – which the Government has recently told us compares to the national average for all Schools and Colleges of just 80%.

The top 100 academic achievers amongst you obtained an average UCAS point score equivalent to our 2 A*s and 2 A grades at A Level and we understand that this is a higher score than the top 100 students in any school in the country, including in all selective grammar and independent schools.

A very substantial number of last year’s leavers successfully attained the grades necessary to progress to degree courses, including large numbers progressing to some of the very most competitive degree course areas. Indeed approximately 1000 of last year’s leavers have, or will next autumn after a GAP year, progress to a wide range of exciting and challenging degree courses, or other opportunities in the UK or abroad. Others have found excellent employment or training opportunities either locally, in London but in some instances nationally or internationally.

If you make the same level of contribution to the worlds of higher education, community and employment that you made while you were students at College, then you will make a very positive and favourable impact. You can make a real contribution to the future betterment of society, as well as achieving excellent opportunities for yourselves.

The best advertisement for the Sixth Form College has always been its students. You were and still are excellent ambassadors for the College and we are extremely proud of you."

For further details of some award winners please hover your mouse over each student in the photograph.

College Council Elections 2012
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) 2 January 2013

At the end of last term, after speeches, videos, posters, ad campaigns and all the other paraphernalia typically associated with a high profile election campaign, Head of Student Services Neil Kelly was pleased to announce the election of a new College Council Executive.

The new appointees are as follows:


We wish them luck in their new roles.

AFP Awards
By Graham Rayner (Senior Tutor) 14 December 2012

The annual Advanced Foundation Programme awards took place this week. Guest of honour was former Assistant Principal Martin Sparks who presented awards for academic achievement, high attendance and strong commitment to students who are following a largely GCSE programme of study.

The students enjoyed celebrating each other’s achievements and every award was greeted with warm applause. Personal Tutor awards for all round performance were presented to Stephanie Lively 409, Simon Underwood 410, Lily Davies and Sophie Towndrow 411.

The climax of the ceremony were the five special awards presented to third year students who came to the college with two or three GCSE grades, have now achieved good AS grades and who are making university applications in some cases. Awards for consistent motivation and achievement over three years went to Hannah Richardson, Matthew Thompson, Mischa Copping and Alfie Smith all of tutor group 405.

The Martin Sparks Medal in “recognition of your consistently positive, ambitious, diligent and successful approach” was presented to Georgina Findlater 405. Originally a GCSE student, Georgina is predicted A grades at A level and has conditional offers to study Linguistics at University.

Martin Sparks commented: “In my 40 years of teaching, the success of the AFP students has been the most rewarding. It is inspiring to see young people rise to the challenge and, through hard work and a good attitude, put themselves in a position where they can achieve highly and go on to do anything. Many congratulations to all the award winners!”

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Martin Sparks and the winner of the Martin Sparks Medal, Georgina Findlater 405
Peru Expedition
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) 5 December 2012
Four staff and 21 students are currently busy fundraising for the next college expedition to Peru in July 2013. We are aiming to raise £20,000, with much of this money going to refurbish and re-equip two classrooms for children in wheelchairs in the Escuela Manuel Duato school in Lima, Peru. The money will also go to support children with learning and physical disabilities and those from very poor backgrounds from different parts of Northern Lima. This is our 3rd expedition to the area.

Student Wins Award for Academic Achievement
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) 6 December 2012

Sixth Form College student Amshu Sherchan is celebrating her recent receipt of The Alderman Blaxhill Award for Academic Achievement. Indeed, the whole family is celebrating as Amshu is the third of three sisters who have scaled the heights of academic success at College. Elder sisters Ashikh and Ashta both left the college in recent years and are now studying at Essex University, but both proud sisters attended the recent awards ceremony at Alderman Blaxhill School.

Also in attendance was Sixth Form College Principal Ian MacNaughton, who said: "I know that Amshu's family are extremely proud of her award and that all three girls have achieved a fantastic amount since they arrived from Nepal in 2006 to accompany their father, as a former Gurkha, to Colchester. Amshu will soon be joining the aspirational 'pre-clinical' programme, designed to support those who wish to secure places at prestigious medical colleges and I'm sure that she will make the most of the opportunity."


Amshu and her family with college Principal Ian MacNaughton and Headteacher Jonathan Tippett

Unplugged On The Concourse
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) 14 November 2012
Photographs by James Channon Photography

Students recently gathered together for one of our regular ‘Unplugged On The Concourse” events, showcasing the vast range of musical and vocal talent at the college. Hopefully we’ll see some of these folk at the Battle of The Bands event later in the year!

Click on the numbered tabs below to view individual images.

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Respecting Remembrance Day
By Hannah Franks (Student Journalist) 14 November 2012

Almost one hundred years later, and the youth of this garrison town are still playing their part to remember the soldiers who lost their lives protecting our country.

The Charity Committee at Colchester Sixth Form College have been fundraising for the Poppy Appeal for the last three years, raising ‘around three to four hundred pounds’. This charity and its members all feel that this is still an important cause one hundred years on ‘We still need to remember everyone who gave up their today, for our tomorrow’.

As well as remembering those who fought, it is key to remember those fighting by paying respects to ‘everyone who fought for us and those still out on the front line today’. The Sixth Form Charity Committee are very successful when raising for the Poppy Appeal and a large part of this is down to the students and teachers at the college - ‘we had quite an open response, everyone was very generous and helpful’.

A lot of the students at the college would have relatives that fought and are still serving in the war, making this a charity that is close to their hearts. ‘All four of my grandpa’s were in the army and my uncle is in the army at the moment’. The money the charity committee have raised will help the armed forces and their families, a very important cause in this garrison town.

Fund Raising Skydive
By Giovanni Gravina (Modern Foreign Languages Dept.) 14 November 2012

This Halloween proved to be particularly scary for a number of brave college students, who leapt from a plane to raise £1,500, which will go towards improving facilities at a school in Peru.

Please click on individual images to view enlarged version.
Computers for Sierra Leone
By Andrew Hollock (IT Support) 9 November 2012

Over the summer, the College gave away a batch of computers to a school in Sierra Leone via Educaid.

Here is their kind response:

"We are very grateful. Our students are the sort of kids that are really on the back foot on every count. Many of them are the first in their families to go to school or complete secondary school. The majority are extremely vulnerable and have very little or no hope of effectively finishing their education and reaching their potential without help.

For us a big part of the quality of the education we want to make available to our youngsters is ICT provision as it is otherwise just another way of being poor. In Sierra Leone, as much as anywhere else, if you are not ICT literate you don't get the job so....who gets the job? the rich guy who went to the school with computers! so the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This is the status quo we are trying to disrupt as much as possible in all we do.

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Click on the numbered tabs above to
view individual images.

ICT is clearly not the easiest bit of education to provide. A teacher under a tree can do critical thinking and all sorts of other good stuff but ICT needs equipment! That is where we tend to start having problems. Your willingness to go through all the processes required to get the computers fit for travel and get them to us is really very much appreciated. We can have all the good thoughts in the world but without support from you and others like you, it all comes unstuck."

"I am Music"
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) October 2012

College students recently received a surprise visit from some amazing urban dance specialists, who dazzled everyone with their skills – even though the concourse floor must be a very hard surface upon which to spin upon one’s head!

They were in college to promote “I Am Music” at Charter Hall. I AM MUSIC presented a selection of the UK's top dance and music acts including finalists from Britain's Got Talent, Got to Dance and The Voice, as well as former students from The Sixth Form College.

Click on the numbered tabs below to view individual images.

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Author Ros Barber visits College
By Suzanne Conway (Creativity Co-Ordinator), September 2012

Author Ros Barber was in college recently talking about her career as a writer, reading from her bestselling new book "The Marlowe Papers" and taking questions.

A hundred students attended, from AS/A2 Language and Literature, and Literature classes. Jane Mosedale, English Teacher, said, "Ros was a fantastic reader and it was educational for the students to learn how iambic pentameter is very much the language of speech. She was energetic and inspirational.”

“Knollfest” Celebration
By Chris Throup (Festival Organiser), September 2012

The rain stayed away (just about) for the college’s “Knollfest” celebration last week.

This annual festival, which takes place on the ‘knoll’ to the north of the college site, is intended to welcome all of the new students that have joined us this year and to highlight the fact that college life isn’t ALL about study and hard work.

We had everything from DJ’s and bands, to art, zumba and even giant inflatables, as well as the traditional ice-cream and candy floss which always prove very popular at Knollfest. I’m very grateful to all the students and staff who put so much effort into a range of events across the year.

I’m also grateful that the rain stayed away – the spell of good weather for the Olympics didn’t quite extend to last term’s Olympic-themed festival, so we had our fingers crossed this time around.

Click on the numbered tabs below to view individual photographs taken by Adrian Frost, Aimee Robinson and Michael Gerrard.

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Photograph taken by Adrian Frost
Pretty in Pink – New Refectory Opens
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) September 2012

The refectory in the main college building has definitely brightened everyone up at the start of term – it’s been painted bright pink! The old décor was in much need of a sprucing up, after 25 years loyal service to generations of students stretching right back to the founding of the college way back in 1987.

Please click on individual images to view.

The contractors, Gipping Construction, had to work at lightning speed over the summer, in order to complete a full £150,000 refit of the whole area, with new kitchen and preparation areas, server and seating – but the whole thing was ready on time for the start of term, with no interruption to service at all and good value, tasty food served to all from the first day back.

Outstanding A Level Results
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) August 2012

Students at The Sixth Form College, Colchester have achieved outstanding A and AS level grades in this summer's exams - a set of results described by Ian MacNaughton, the College Principal, as: "Really fantastic". He went on to say: "The students' achievements are quite outstanding and they must be very warmly congratulated".

The group of over 1300 upper sixth students who sat their A levels this summer have achieved a subject pass rate of over 98% and an A* - B 'very high grade' rate of 50%. Nearly 95% of all the 18 year old students at the College have achieved 3 or more A level qualifications in their sixth form studies - a level of achievement which is very significantly above the national average level for all national sixth forms in schools or colleges.

Please click on individual images to view.

In 27 of the A-Level subject areas, every student passed. These areas include Art, Computing, English Literature, French, Italian, Geography, Music, Politics and Spanish, and results in the range of the science subjects are also particularly strong.

Vice-Principal Frances Grew was pleased to confirm that: "Well over 1000 of the upper sixth students from The Sixth Form College have now obtained the necessary qualifications to be able to proceed onto university degree courses. These include over 400 students who have now achieved offers for places on prestige degree courses such as Medicine, Veterinary Science, Dentistry, Engineering, Maths, Economics, Architecture, Law, English and History or who have achieved places at Oxford or Cambridge or Russell Group Universities or Medical Schools or for other highly competitive universities or courses.

For further details please see our results page.

Please click on individual images to view.

Annual Art Exhibition 2012
Lynn Stephenson (Visual Arts Department) July 2012

For one week at the end of term, art history students curate an annual art trail on the first floor of the main building, with the aim of showcasing the excellent second year work of the Visual Arts department. This year our theme is “Self-Image”.

Please click on individual images to view an enlarged version of the work

Art History students have the responsibility of putting together the publicity, and the theme of each exhibition, as well as decorating the space and writing about the works themselves. Many of the art works will now remain on the walls for the following year. This year there is a strong emphasis on portraits, with many exceptional pieces.

Click on the numbered tabs below to view individual images.

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AS Philosophy Essay Competition
By Robert Booth (Philosophy and Religious Studies Dept) July 2012

The final day of term saw the prize-giving ceremony for annual Sixth Form College AS Philosophy Essay Competition, which is now in its second year.


David Kukiewicz receiving his prize - a stack of philisophical text books!
Click to enlarge

The competition is open to all first year Philosophy students with a free-reign on philosophical topics, the only limitation being an upper word limit of 3000 words.

This year's entries were of particularly high quality and covered topics as disparate as the nature of love, the nature of misanthropy and whether there could be a good in itself, rather than a good for someone.

The winner was David Kukiewicz's essay 'A Rejection of Religious Morality', which very precisely and eloquently attacks the nature of the possibility of a consistent religious morality. For his trouble, David won a stack of philosophical texts. All entries will be on display in the Philosophy Department until the end of the Autumn Term.

Olympic Torch Bearer - Elodie Lafosse
by Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) July 2012

Torrential rain did nothing to deter staff and students from welcoming the Olympic Flame as it passed the front gate of the college last week. They turned out in force to cheer the procession on its’ way, with college musicians adding suitable accompaniment to the event.


Click to enlarge

They turned out in force to cheer the procession on its’ way, with college musicians adding suitable accompaniment to the event. One person who definitely had a day to remember is Sixth Form College student Elodie Lafosse, who was one of three people given the privilege of carrying the torch on its’ route, via the ‘Future Flames’ competition.

Elodie has bravely battled with illness and the loss of her sister, Juliette, five, from leukaemia, raising thousands of pounds for children’s cancer charities over recent years. College Principal Ian MacNaughton commented: “We’re proud to see Elodie’s bravery and achievements celebrated on this ‘once in a lifetime’ day for Colchester – she truly deserves the honour of bearing the Olympic torch.”

Olley - Shakespeare 'S-Factor' winner
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal), July 2012

College student Olley West got closer to the bard than he bargained for when he went on an English Department trip to Stratford-upon-Avon.

During a visit to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Olley spotted a poster for the 'S-Factor' competition which was seeking someone to welcome the Olympic Flame to the town, dressed as the Bard himself. Olley impressed the judges with his rendition of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?") and soon found himself in full Tudor regalia at the centre of the town's welcoming celebrations for the Olympic Torch.

"I'm grateful for everyone for their encouragements to go and 'be The Bard'- it was AMAZING. I was in an RSC costume from Hamlet (David Tennant's Hamlet!), and emerged from the Birthplace front door to welcome the Olympic Flame!

"O she doth teach the torches to burn bright".

"To cap it all off, the trust have asked me to be the first ever 'Shakespeare Ambassador' for them and to return later in the year for their Film Festival. So thank you to everyone for convincing me to go! I might also add that though the celebrations were fantastic and truly once in a lifetime"

A video on this story can be accessed through this link on facebook .

Click on the numbered tabs below to view individual photographs.

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Olly West (pictured left) dressed as Bard during the Shakespear Olympic Torch Event in Stratford
Outstanding IB Results
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) July 2012

Students taking the prestigious International Baccalaureate course at Colchester Sixth Form College have recently been celebrating another excellent set of results. Sixty-four IB students received their results last week and they are quite outstanding!

As Principal Ian MacNaughton explained:

"The students at the College achieved an average of 34 points, (this average equals to a UCAS average of 3A* grades at A level with an A at AS level) . Their achievements are thus considerably better than the IB international average which is 29 points. Overall, a Diploma pass rate of 95% was achieved at the College compared to the international average of 79%. The continuing success of our IB cohorts is especially impressive when one considers that the international average has stayed consistent for many years, as there has been no 'grade inflation' for IB. The results represent a very high level of 'value-added' achievement when compared to their GCSE results".

Madeline Gaskin

IB Co-Ordinator Karen Burns added some specific examples: " We were very proud to see that eleven students achieved a points score between 39 and 44 points (To put this in context, the standard offer from Oxford and Cambridge is 39 or 40 points).

For example, Madeleine Askins (pictured left) achieved a virtually perfect score of 44 points and Adam Dyster (pictured below) achieved a remarkably high 43 points".



Adam Dyster

As Adam Dyster said on the day: "I'm not entirely sure it's sunk in yet - I am absolutely thrilled with my results and now cannot wait to take my place at UCL to read History. However, in the same breathe, it will be also be sad to leave the IB course and the college. Personally I've found that I've been supported every step along the way - whether that was in exam preparation, essay technique or planning for my future. The help and advice I've received with regard to making applications for competitive, high-profile university places has been especially useful, and now it all seems to have paid off."

Whilst the IB students are already celebrating their success, their fellow students pursuing A-Level courses will have to wait until August for their results. Full details of their achievements will be posted here when they become available. In the meantime, results for last year's IB and A-Level students can be found here.

Completion of the Language Centre
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) June 2012


The New Language Centre

The College is pleased to have seen the completion of the new £800,000 Language Centre which was recently opened in June. Updates have been posted regularly on this website. See Building Works for details.

A Level Performance Studies
By Fiona Bush (performing Arts Department) May 2012

It has been another year of great practical work from our second year Performance Studies students. In recent exams, Our 29 students performed two pieces each, in groups: one, a piece devised by the students themselves, was based upon a set topic, and the other was derived from a piece of repertory drama, dance or music.


Practical Performance Studies
Click for slideshow

Students' original and creative devised pieces were based on a range of exciting topics ranging from "The 1936 Olympics to "The 100th Anniversary of the Sinking of the Titanic". Here, students combined different art forms to produce some impressive interpretations of the topics.

The repertory pieces saw performances of Berkoff's physical theatre masterpiece "The Trial", and the sardonic "Teechers" by John Godber. A new departure in our dance work saw colourful and up-beat performances of "Gypsy Mixture" by Richard Alston and the exams finished with Gershwin's jazzy melodies and jubilant performances of some classic Beatles songs from "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", "Let It Be" and the "White Album".

We look forward to another set of strong practical results in the summer and well done to our hard-working team!

College Fashion Showcase
by Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) Photography by Guna Alvika, 14 May 2012


Click to enlarge

Last term College textiles students put on a highly successful Renaissance themed fashion showcase as part of the extended project qualification. As well as organizing the showcase, the students designed and created their own garments, inspired by everything from gothic punk to ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. The event was hosted by special guests Damien and Chanel from BBC3’s ‘Hot Like Us’ and raised funds to support the charities Arthritis Research and Age UK.

Ninth Annual College Sports Awards Evening
by Shelley Johnson (Sports and PE Department), 14 May 2012

The college’s ninth Sports Awards Evening took place on Wednesday 9th May at Play Golf Colchester. It was attended by over 100 students and there were a total of nine different sports represented, with over 45 medal winners.

The main award of the evening, for the overall Sports Personality, went to football goalkeeper Matt Wareing, who has also represented the college in Golf, Hockey, Badminton and Volleyball during his two years with us. Other nominees for this award were Matt Farrow, Geoff Jackson and Philippa Atkins. This year’s team of the year was won by the Men’s Basketball Academy, for winning the British College’s League and progressing well in the national cup competition. Runners up for Team of the Year were the Women’s Basketball Academy and the First XI Football team.

The Athlete-Scholar Award, which recognises an individual performer for a combination of both exceptional sporting performance and academic attainment, went to Megan Frogley. Megan has played National League basketball this year and has maintained exceptionally high grades throughout her second year at college.

The awards ceremony was followed by a disco where the award winners and all other college sports representatives had fun and behaved impeccably.

Rotary Competition Success
By Nigel Hildreth, (Head of Performing Arts) May 2013

Students at Sixth Form College Celebrates Rotary Competition success. Robert Gathercole, a second year student at the Sixth Form College has recently taken part in a National Competition, celebrating the Rotary Festivals around the country.

He was put forward by Colchester’s own Rotary Festival of Music and Dance to the Regional Competition in Chelmsford and then won a place at the District competition held in Buckinghamshire.

Robert Cathercole achieves national success; placed second in National Festival

After that he sang in the National Competition in Kent where he achieved second place. This is a remarkable achievement in that there were more than 6,000 candidates.

Robert,18, studies Music, Drama, English and Mathematics at the Sixth Form College. He is hoping to go on to study Drama with music, following a year out. As well as performing (he took the part of Nathan Detroit in CO2’s recent production of “Guys and Dolls”) he is a talented composer who has written his own musical to be performed at the Headgate Theatre in July .

Henna Tattoo Workshop
By Olivia Browne, (Culture Committee Co-Ordinator) May 2013

Recently the College Culture Committee held a Henna Tattoo Workshop up in the Art Department. Drawing inspiration from books on ‘The Art of Mehndi’, staff and students applied designs to their own hands, and each other’s, with great success, as the pictures show.

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Henna Tattoo Workshop - inspiration from books on ‘The Art of Mehndi’
Successful Annual Sociology Conference
By Jo Devine, (Sociology Department), April 2013

Recently AS Level students from the Sixth Form College attended another successful annual Sociology conference, held at Essex University. During the day, students attended talks led by university lecturers on topics including ‘Crime, Celebrity and the Media’ and ‘Drugs and Development’, as well as being given advice by examiners on achieving success in their forthcoming exams.

Students also had an opportunity to look around the university campus, as well as having a talk on studying ‘Sociology at Essex University’. Students were very positive about their experiences on the day and commented upon the invaluable information they were given, both for exam revision and regarding university life– many were amazed at how big a university lecture theatre really is!

Many thanks to all the staff who helped with the organisation and running of the day.

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Students attending talks led by university lecturers
Battle of The Bands 2013
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) March 2013

Well done to Ordinary Noise who triumphed at last month’s Battle of The Bands competition at Colchester Arts Centre.

Please click on individual images to view.

They went on to perform at The Schools Rock Prom, alongside bands from The Institute, Philip Morant and CRGS. They beat off stiff competition from The Catrinas , Cameron Scorer , and the Anonymous, Bi-Polar Bears and The Profile - well done to all involved.

Click on the numbered tabs below to view individual images. Photos by Student Photographer Aimee Robinson

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Lou Terry - Ordinary Noise
Snow fails to dampen Careers Fair enthusiasm
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) March 2013

The College Annual Careers Fair was held on Tuesday 12th March in the multi –purpose hall .

Even though the weather was poor, the event was well attended by enthusiastic students who had braved the cold to attend . Students were able to meet a wide range of employers, including BT, Grant Thornton, T J Evers, KPMG and Deloitte, who provided information and guidance relating to school leaver and graduate options.

Over 40 universities were represented, including Aberdeen, Brunel, Manchester, Sheffield, Essex, Oxford and Glasgow. Also on hand were representatives from the armed forces and gap year providers.

A careers adviser was available to answer students’ queries, along with other training specialists including Colchester Teacher Training and College of Law.

Head of Careers Anne Johnson commented: “We’ve had some fantastic exhibitors here today. We’d really like to thank them for all their enthusiasm, especially those who battled through the snow from as far as Aberdeen and Liverpool to be with us – our students really do appreciate it!”.

British Colleges Hockey
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal), February 2013

College students Bertie and Edward Mortimer have been selected for the British College's Men's National Hockey Squad.

British College's Men's National Hockey Squad

They recently spent some time at the British Colleges Training Camp in Birmingham.

As Bertie explains: "It was a really good experience. We beat the University of Lincoln and Birmingham University, but lost against the Cannock Hockey team on the following day.

We have our game against England u16's in a couple of weeks which we are really looking forward to!!"



Students Sock-It to Eating Disorders
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) February 2013

Caroline Jones, Erin Puttock and Ellen Thornton decided to join their fellow students last week in a plan to 'Sock it to Eating Disorders".

The event, organized by The College Charities Committee as part of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, saw students donning the craziest socks they could find and raising cash for the B-Eat campaign , which aims to provide helplines, online support and a network of UK-wide self-help groups to help adults and young people in the UK beat their eating disorders.

Of course the day was nothing new to Head of Business Ian Yates - he wears brightly coloured socks EVERY day.

The 5th February 2013 is Safer Internet Day
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) February 2013

If you want to know more about how to use the Internet safely we have provided a series of resources on Moodle to give you some help and guidance.


This includes a film on ‘Digital Dirt’, the chance to lose yourself in the ‘Wild Web Woods’ game, a test to see if you are a ‘Digital Outlaw’ and materials from the “Think U Know” group, which formed the basis of one of the campaigns highlighted in our Citizenship Day of Action on the concourse earlier this week.

Colchester United Footballer Supports Citizenship Students
By Helen Green (Citizenship Teacher) February 2013

The aim of our recent Citizenship “Day of Action” was to raise awareness of a range of issues and pressure groups. As part of their GCSE course, students need to represent an issue they feel passionately about and try to help make a difference in the college community. This demands 100% independent work and thus they have done all the ground work themselves, from organising materials to making links with the pressure groups, designing presentations and fundraising.

There were 54 student involved in the day , all of whom ran their own stalls on the concourse, trying to raise as much awareness and support for their issue as possible. The groups on the day ranged from ‘Kick Racism Out Of Football’ and gay and lesbian rights to supporters of ‘Think You Know’ which is a pressure group concerned with cyber bullying and social networking. They’ve all been extremely imaginative with excellent initiatives and displays, as well as everything from keyrings to cupcakes available for students.

As part of this event we were extremely pleased to be joined by Colchester United footballer Drey Wright who came in to support Tom Hinds, Kaughton Baird and Jordan Knott in their work with “Kick Racism Out Of Football”.


Photo by Student Photographer Louise Humphris

Twins Selected for National Hockey Squad
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) 2 January 2013

Twins Bertie and Edward Mortimer have recently been selected for the British College’s Men’s National Hockey Squad. Both students are key members of the College Mixed and Men’s teams and represent the college in various regional leagues. Outside college, they both play every Tuesday night for the Old Loughtonians in the London League.

As part of the National Hockey Squad, they are looking forwarding to touring, including forthcoming games in Wales and Scotland.

Evening of Dance
By Sarah Pritchard (Head of Dance) 2 January 2013

Last term AS and A2 Dance students collaborated to produce an excellent evening of dance in front of a large audience in the College Drama Studio. A total of 16 pieces were performed, covering a huge variety of themes and approaches, including: “Corset of The Foot”, Kaia Goodenough’s exploration of rituals, cultural views and personal experiences of shoes, several pieces inspired by the work of Akhram Khan, Jonathan Burrows and Pina Bausch and exploration of a variety of dance styles including contemporary, ballet and freestyle breakdance.

The evening ended with a bold extended projected piece devised by Danni Spooner, which used a dancer whose movements were tracked by a remote sensor, which in turn directly influenced the music that accompanied the piece, to explore the links between movement and multimedia.

All of the students worked very hard and produced work of an extremely high standard. They should be proud of themselves.

Click on the links below to download a sample of dance videos.

Movie Clip #1
3.6 MB
Duration: 00:37 		Movie Clip #2
3.2 MB
Duration: 00:38

Christmas at College
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) 2 January 2013

As part of an annual event overseen by College Charities Committee, hundreds of Christmas hampers were put together by individual tutor groups. They were collected by The Colchester Furniture Project for delivery to Social Services in Tendring and Colchester, who then distribute them to families in the area. As Charities Committee Co-ordinator Shiv Cordy-McKenna explained : "Another excellent effort by the Charities Committee , on top of all the other events they have organised this term. It's fantastic to see the reception area stacked high with so many festive treats."

Elsewhere in the college, members of staff were also getting into the festive spirit, but this year they took the unusual step of sidestepping the traditional mulled wine and mince pies in favour of a highly unseasonal 'Summer Fayre' including cricket, cucumber sandwiches and a marquee decorated with bunting. The Biology team made the most of the occasion, treating the rest of the staff to a display or Morris dancing and then sweeping all before them with a highly creative team effort in the baking competition.

Fund Raising for Comic Relief
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) November 2012

Students and staff dressed up in a variety of costumes including several cats and guest appearances from Doctor Who and The Stig to sell muffins and Pudsey Cookies to raise several hundred pounds for Comic Relief .

Please click on individual images to view.

Please click on individual images to view.

Sailing Success for College Student
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) 14 November 2012

College student Oliver King is now one of the final eight people in the “Spitfire” National Catamaran squad, and will compete in the Youth National Competition next year to see if he can secure a place in the World Championships . We wish him every success.

Equestrian Success for College Team
By Lisa Daw (Equestrian Studies Co-ordinator) 9 November 2012

Norton Heath Equestrian RosetteLast month the College Equestrian Teams did very well in the Felsted Interschool's Team Show Jumping Competition at Norton Heath Equestrian Centre.

The A Team came 3rd and B Team came 5th. Very well done to all! Becky Ivell, Sophie Dutton and Rebecca Ennion were in the A team and Casey Jackson, Katie Nicol & Hanna Sillitoe made up the B Team.

Recognition is also due to the supporters Ellie Cox and Esther Amos and a big thank you to all the parents that came along.

Fundraising for Charity
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal) October 2012

Students at the Sixth Form College have certainly been busy fundraising this term.

As well as the annual Pink Day Event, 'Jumbo' the Elephant visited to raise funds on behalf of the mental health charity MIND.

Hand made Jewellery for the Russ Foundation Roman Legions on behalf of Cancer Research

Several students have also been selling handmade jewellery (pictured left) for the
Russ Foundation and the Roman Legions (pictured right) made a brief return visit to Colchester on behalf of Cancer Research.



Students complete Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Expedition
By Hannah Richardson (Student Reporter) September 2012

Twenty College students recently braved gale-force winds and sharp frosts to complete the Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Expedition in Yorkshire.

From packing away our frozen tents on the second day, to the long walk through horrendous rain on the last, our Duke of Edinburgh Gold Expedition to the Yorkshire Dales was something to be proud of. After a disastrous first attempt which was put off by flash floods, we persevered to make sure that this time round we were as prepared – mentally and physically – as the best of them. Our rucksacks were double lined and some of us even had binbags around their feet.

Doing eight hours of planned activity a day was worth it when we were able to collapse on the campsite at the end of the day knowing that we had earned it. Through deep sludge to bogs to moorland to hills, we navigated ourselves from A to B.To say it was easy would be a lie. It was difficult. But that’s the beauty of it. We experienced falls and blisters and down days but it all led up to a feeling of immense satisfaction when we got to our last checkpoint at the end of our final day. The Duke of Edinburgh Award makes you feel like you’ve gone out and ‘done something'.

Former Vice-Principal Ian Thompson who accompanied the trip and was “impressed by the depth of planning, skills demonstrated and physical endurance shown by the students, coupled with their resilience and real good humour. They certainly deserve their trip to the Palace!”

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The Fruit Pastilles – (L-R) Chris Jones, Victoria Golding, Gemma Lightly, Izzy Forrester-Muir, Heather Bell, Portia Allum-Cornforth
Annual “Day of Languages”
By Anne Willenbrock (Head of Modern Foreign Languages), Sept 2012

Recently the Modern Foreign Languages Department held their annual “Day of Languages” here at college in the new Language Centre, which was officially opened by the Mayor of Colchester last term

The college already offers a huge range of language teaching, in everything from French, German, Spanish and Italian to Mandarin, Japanese and Latin, but this day offers students the chance to celebrate and experiment with a range of other languages, including Polish, Swedish, Twi and Thai.

It’s great to see so many students giving demonstrations and presentations and drawing upon their own experiences – we even had a session on “Essex English” !”

Click on the numbered tabs below to view individual photographs.

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Joana does Twi.
Sixth-Formers Lead the Way with "Cycling Poster" Campaign
By Keith Ellis (Sustainability Officer) September 2012

Aba Pifferi (Sustrans Bike It Officer for Colchester), some college students and I have been working on a poster project to encourage the 16 -18 age group onto bikes. Recently, Cycle Lifestyle, a large London cycling magazine, has picked up on this project, which is a testament to Aba and the students hard work.

As their website explains:

“ I received an email this week which caught my eye, from Keith Ellis, the Sustainability Coordinator for the Sixth Form College Colchester. A group of students there have produced a tremendous set of posters (below) promoting cycling. With great slogans like 'You don't have to be a cyclist to ride a bike' and 'Cycle yourself happy' the posters really resonate with Cycle Lifestyle's own message. I hope they find a wide audience.”

In the words of James Bowles, one of the students involved:

“The Colchester Sixth Form College Try Cycling group first formed in December 2011 as a result of our local Sustrans Bike It officer contacting the college with the hope of promoting cycling within Sixth Form colleges. As a group of students we were given the task of designing a marketing strategy to promote cycling among the student population of the college".

"After researching we concluded that the most effective way of encouraging cycling would be via posters. The group designed and produced a set of posters, some highlighting the financial and physical benefits to cycling, whilst others breaking down the image of the stereotypical cyclist. The posters are soon to be displayed around the College and if the campaign proves successful it may go nationwide”.

Full story and posters are available at www.cyclelifestyle.co.uk

College Students Swim Channel for Charity
by Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal), September 2012

Four Sixth Form College students have recently swum the Channel as part of relay team, with their friend Alice Park. They hope to raise 2K for the charity Kidscape .

Before they set out, student Allannah Keeble explained that she'd hardly done any swimming in the sea before: "only at Frinton"

Bad weather and difficult wind conditions delayed the start of the relay for several days, but as Alannah further explained: "We left at 3am Thursday and completed it in nine hours and fourteen minutes. As far as we can work out it is a world record for the a "five man" mixed relay team - So pretty good!"

College Principal Ian MacNaughton added: ""We're really proud of the students - what a fantastic achievement! They did so well to work all that training in around their studies, their university applications and all of the other demands of college life"

Names from left to right: Edward Clark 18, James Rulton 16, Kai Adams 16, Roger Duncomber (Coach), Alanah Keeble 17, Alice Park 17 - (Alice studies elsewhere)

AS-Level Exam Success For Young Essex Assembly Member
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal), August 2012

Ekenna Oji is a member of the Young Essex Assembly, who as part of her role sits on the subgroup that focusses upon youth perception and tackling negative images of young people in Essex.

As she explained: "My role is to help challenge negative images and perceptions of younger people - it's not all about hoodies and crime and it's really good to see stories of success for young people and it is good to see more of this sort of thing in the press."

Today she joined nearly 2,000 of her fellow Essex students, tensely awaiting her AS Level results at The Sixth Form College, Colchester.

Ekenna was delighted to find she'd achieved in all of her ambitious programme of five AS Levels, including three impressive B grades. In all she achieved passes in English, Economics, History, Philosophy and Psychology.

She later said: "I feel like I've done really well and am really proud of myself. Support from family and my faith in God have really helped. I'm especially pleased with the English grade. The questions were really challenging and I wasn't sure that I'd interpreted the questions properly. Since I was five or six I've wanted to study Law and this has really motivated me along that path."

"I've seen friends today who are really pleased with their results and who have done really well. Seeing everyone's hard work and success definitely challenges any perception that A-Levels are getting easier."

Colchester Creativity
by Suzanne Conway (Creativity Co-ordinator), July 2012

The Creative Writing students at the Sixth Form College, Colchester, came back from their recent writing weekend in a National Trust windmill in Norfolk clutching impressive pieces of writing. Eight of the thirteen students chose to submit their writing to the “Words from the Windmill” pamphlet, which I edited and arranged to be published within college.

Within a couple of days the print run of 100 copies had practically sold out. We sold forty at the recent performance evening alone - it's a real feather in the students' caps - the work is of a high standard, original and authentic.

The writers then performed alongside the college's talented musicians and Shakespearean drama students. The musicians performed pieces ranging from Debussy and Holst to songs they'd written themselves, while the drama students performed sonnets and soliloquies from “Romeo and Juliet” and “A Midsummer's Night's Dream”.

I've worked with some of these writers for two years and part of the course involves a performance workshop to ensure they read their work clearly, naturally and with confidence. Nora Aveston worked with the Shakespeare students while Fran East helped to finely hone the musicians. The students are very blessed, they are talented and that talent is nurtured and developed by dedicated teachers.

Cupcakes Raise Money
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal), July 2012

This week students have come up with a number of imaginative ways to raise money for charities such as Scope - not only have folk been able to have their picture taken with the Olympic Torch, but there's also been an awful lot of delicious homemade cupcakes for sale on the concourse!

Annual Staff Cricket Match
By Graham Rayner July 2012

In an exciting climax, this season's crunch fixture between College staff and East Bergholt School staff ended in a thrilling tie. Bergholt posted a very respectable 106 all out in just under 20 overs, with a significant contribution from Headteacher Colin Turner who arguably benefited on occasion from friendly umpires.

With strong contributions from Richard Boden and skipper Ian Fraser, College batsmen made steady progress towards the total until only 8 runs were needed for victory off the last over. The next six balls produced a good deal of excitement, not to say controversy, but all the scorebook will show is a tied score after 20 overs. For the first time in its history, the Ted Wragg trophy was shared and there was plenty to discuss in the pub afterwards.

Opening of The New Language Centre
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal), June 2012

Friday 22nd June saw the official opening of the new £800,000 Languages Centre, sited on the north boundary of the college campus, by the Mayor of Colchester Chris Arnold and his wife Mayoress Amanda Arnold accompanied by Eddie Ross (Languages Department), Andy Beatty (Chair of Governors) and Ian MacNaughton (Principal).

As tradition dictates, after a short speech the Mayor cut a ribbon sealing the doors to the new teaching accommodation, formally marking the beginning of a new chapter in the history of modern foreign language teaching at the college. This was followed by a few words from Eddie Ross, who has been with the college since the beginning and who has lovingly preserved an example of the more primitive facilities from earlier days, in the form of the original tape recorder that he was issued on his first day! - A marked contrast to the modern, interactive IT equipment installed throughout the new building.

As Ian MacNaughton explained when work on the Languages Centre was first begun: “The centre will be the foundation for a new generation of internationally-aware students. The timing couldn't be more appropriate as the college's work in this area has just been recognised by our receipt of The British Council’s prestigious International School Award."

After the official opening ceremony the Mayor and Mayoress took the opportunity to brush up on their Italian speaking skills alongside students from the International Baccalaureate course, before being treated to a performance from some of the college musicians.

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The official opening of the new £800,000 Languages Centre
Film and Philosophy Conference
By Richard Barrow (Head of Subject for Philosophy) June 2012

The Philosophy and Religious Studies Department held their inaugural Film and Philosophy conference on Wednesday 20th June.


Film and Philosophy Conference
Click to Enlarge

Ninety first year A-Level Philosophy students attended the conference which consisted of two lectures by external speakers (Patrice Maniglier from the University of Essex and Paul Davies from the University of Sussex).

Both lectures were inspired by the film "Groundhog Day," and were followed by a showing of the film itself. The students contributed very enthusiastically to what was a very successful event, raising thoughtful and perceptive points in the question-and-answer sessions.

Caring Past Photographic Exhibition
Chris Farndell (Teacher of Photography), June 2012

As part of project arranged with "Colchester Caring Past", a number of A-Level Photography students were recently given the opportunity to photograph vintage medical equipment, collaborating with the organisation to provide an archive of images. Some of the photographs are now displayed at the Walk-in Centre in Turner Road.

The students gained valuable experience from the project, especially in terms of lighting and arranging unusual items. They also learnt much about the medical equipment used in the past".

Click on the link to find more information about Colchester's Caring Past

Periodic Table of Elements in the Form of Cupcakes
By Jane Mulvee (Chemistry Department) May 2012

Recently some of our students replicated the periodic table of elements in the form of cupcakes, with each cake representing an element . Michael Hewson, Laura White and Jonny Ruffell came up with the idea as a surprise for our last chemistry lesson and spent all of the previous Sunday baking in preparation. They co-ordinated each group with different colours e.g. group 1 were purple and transition metals were all chocolate. Notice all the elements have been given their symbol with atomic number and relative atomic mass.

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The Periodic Table Cup Cakes
International Baccalaureate Students Visit Paris
By Steve Barnes (IB Tutor) May 2012

Twenty six International Baccalaureate students had a very intensive but varied day trip to Paris on Thursday 24th May.


IB Students visit Paris
Click for slideshow

The aim was to take in some of the key landmarks and to gain an overview of the Parisian architecture and cityscape to help students with their Theory of Knowledge course. Travel was by Eurostar train and in Paris mostly on foot or by using the Métro.

Highlights included views across the city from Montmartre, the Arc de Triomphe, a stroll down the Champs Elysées, posing 'in front of' the Eiffel Tower at Trocadéro, a boat trip on the River Seine, walking through the Tuileries and the Musée du Louvre before ending up with an early evening meal in a typical French café in the Latin Quarter. After nearly eight hours in temperatures approaching 30 degrees the resilient and enthusiastic group of students arrived back in Colchester just before midnight.

The Great Debate
By Sue Sabec (Chemistry Department), 21 May 2012

Earlier this month a small group visited the Natural History Museum as part of their Science in Society AS course. We were attending the “Great Debate”. After a talk about the key players in the early development of evolutionary theory and a visit to several exhibits, the students were divided into two groups. Each group had to choose one of the exhibits to use in support of their argument. One group represented Richard Owen – the founder of the museum and a stout defender of divine design. The others were Charles Darwin or Rev. Wilberforce, his spokesman. They planned their arguments with some help from the facilitators and then made their presentations. This happened in the main galleries, so they even attracted a few stray passers-by!

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Summer Barbrook, Mark Burns, Tom Cross and Luke Tolfts with facilitator Wei discussing the human and horse skeletons they will use to make a presentation for Darwinism
Chemistry Olympiad Success
By Adrian Frost (Assistant Principal), 14 May 2012

Students at the Sixth Form College have recently been celebrating their success in the Chemistry Olympiad. This is a competition organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry to “stimulate much debate on, and enthusiasm for, chemistry - raising awareness of what the subject is all about” and providing “a good opportunity to develop some of the skills required for study at university and beyond.”

L-R : Charlie Marshall, Laura Barlow, Tom Cross, Johnny Ruffell, Mitchell Childs and Antigone Jeffcock

As Chemistry Teacher Sue Sabec explained: “We did really well, with three silver, three bronze, one commendation and one participation. The students should be proud of their achievement.”

Charity Quiz
By Shiv Cordy-McKenna (Charities Committee Co-ordinator), 14 May 2012

Last month the Charities Committee organised a fundraising quiz on the concourse in aid of Help for Heroes . Twenty teams came along and there were rounds covering music, general knowledge, nature, military, and history with just five questions per round. The winning team got a cash prize. There was lots of support and the charities team all supervised and ensured cheating did not occur – it was all in a good cause after all ! To sum up – it was a fantastic success - Everyone had a great time; the questions weren’t too hard (except maybe the military round) and the music round by Storm Radio was really brilliant. Lots of teams played their Joker for that round too which was definitely a good strategy.

The top 3 teams were:
3rd place “Team Vicky”
2nd place “Bees Knees”
1st place “Universally Challenged” - with a top score of 39!

We raised nearly £150 pounds for help for heroes and the refectory raised £50 for their sale of help for heroes cookies so that’s a useful donation to the charity achieved. Thank you to all involved

10th India Expedition Gets Underway
By Graham Rayner (English Department), 2 May 2012

Earlier this year the College's 10th Expedition to India got underway in the much colder and windier climate of North Norfolk with a team-building weekend. The twenty students involved spent the weekend making plans for an intense year of fundraising and learning about Indian culture.

One of the key parts of the expedition is working on the fields of the Russ Foundation campus and previous years' expeditions have planted thousands of banana trees and built irrigation bunds for coconut groves. One of the key skills needed is the ability to move heavy pans of earth along a human chain and the attached photos demonstrates the students' first attempt on the Norfolk beach - with varied results but plenty of enthusiasm! The first fundraising event, at William Loveless hall, a quiz night with food cooked and served by the students was a sell-out success.

College Magazine Visits The Guardian Newspaper in London
by The College Magazine Team, 29 March 2012

Last month the college magazine team went to visit the offices of The Guardian newspaper in London. The main thing we learned from the afternoon was how to write a feature article.


The Guardian in London
Click for slideshow

We met one of the Guardian's new recruits, Patrick Kingsley, who gave us many tips on how he writes a feature article, such as, to grab the reader's attention from the start and go on later to say how the article relates to a current event. He also taught us that the best way to get inspiration for articles was to "read everything you can", such as newspapers, books, Twitter and even watch as much TV as possible.

Also, another tip if you're a young and aspiring writer is to pitch your ideas to editors of magazines and newspapers with the aim of one of your ideas eventually sticking. Keeping a regular blog is another way of aiding your writing; it also makes your name more available to the public. You should also get social and talk to as many people as possible as anyone can give you inspiration for a story or article. Attending interesting events can also boost your popularity and get more knowledge about what people are interested in and current social events.

"I most enjoyed visiting the building and seeing The Guardian workplace and walking around the offices journalists work in day to day, because it is possibly somewhere I could be working when I'm older so it was great to get a feel for the place. It was also helpful to hear from one of their younger writers, Patrick Kingsley, on how he entered the profession, and pick up some tips on what I can be doing now to improve my writing skills. Overall, the trip was a success for me as it gave a broad idea of what it is like to work for a newspaper as a feature writer." - Victoria Golding.

"I really enjoyed the experience, it was such a lovely opportunity and really enhanced my knowledge about what goes into producing a newspaper article." - Paisley Tedder

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