STAFF REPORT May 2014

Lisa Lewis Joanna Varnava Support Staff Governor Teaching Staff Governor

Geography

AS Geography Fieldtrip 16th to 22nd 2014 to Preston Montford Field Studies Centre, Shropshire

All 136 AS Geography students spent 4 days at Preston Montford in Shropshire in two different trips over the week 16th to 22nd March 2014. The trip is a vital part of the AS Geography course and prepares students fully for the Unit 2 Geographical Investigations Exam in May. Students on the trip had a great time assessing the success of the food-based rebranding of Ludlow and also completing a flood risk assessment of Shrewsbury using GIS and mobile tablet-PCs.

Students also complete a practical activity testing the flood impact of a range of surfaces and monitoring, recording and forecasting the weather during the trip. In the evening there is a programme of „compulsory fun‟ social activities which students have really enjoyed taking part in! A great deal of Geographical learning has taken place and hopefully students are now very well equipped to tackle the fieldwork questions in the upcoming unit 2 exam, and also they know their fellow geographers much better!

Bilborough College Ski Trip 2014 to Folgarida, Italy

A group of 31 students and staff travelled to Italy and spent a wonderful week skiing in the beautiful Italian Dolomites over the February half term break. The trip included 4 hours of expert ski lessons per day from the Italian ski school, a range of fun evening activities and plenty of opportunities to sample the tasty local cuisine.

A great time was had by all and the students made a great deal of progress with their skiing – some students went from absolute beginner to parallel skiing in a week! Full details of the 2015 ski trip will be available very soon – look out for this and sign up to secure your place for February 2015 to Bormio!

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Bilborough College Expedition to Slovenia 2014

Final preparations are now well underway for the College Expedition to Slovenia in July 2014. The teams have now planned their itineraries, raised most of their trip funds themselves and made preparations for their two voluntary projects. The projects will include helping restore some WWI bunkers and relics around the town of Kobarid and also helping a remote rural community with some ecology and tourism projects, including re-opening a footpath from Slovenia into Italy!

The teams will also be white-water rafting along the Soca River and completing two hiking phases in the beautiful mountains of Slovenia. A new expedition programme is planned for 2016 - more details will be available after the summer.

Student Quotes

‘The trip allowed me to make new friends and have a better understanding of Geography. Before I went on the trip, I wasn't keen on Geography and it confused me, but now I feel a lot more confident. The trip has stopped me worrying about the Unit 2 exam.’

‘I felt that the compulsory 'fun' was a good activity as you were able to talk to new people and also have fun within the groups. It was nice in the way that you were able to talk to some new people. I also felt that going out to do fieldwork was good as we were able to see for ourselves what the areas were like and also being able to ask our own questions and discover our own ideas.’

‘I also thought that compulsory 'fun' was a good idea as it bought people together who would not usually mix in college.’

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‘I thought the standard of teaching and the equipment provided were particularly good. I feel like I learned a lot on the trip and I feel more prepared about my exam. I also think compulsory fun was a good end to each day.’

‘I thought that the fieldwork was great fun, and definitely helped me to learn about fieldwork and research techniques for my upcoming exam. Yes it was hard work, but it will definitely be worth it when it comes to our Unit 2 exam in May! Thanks to all the staff at the centre and those who came with us, it was fab!’

Simon Holland Teacher of Geography

Oxbridge

On Wednesday 19th March a group of Oxbridge hopefuls met

with some current

undergraduates from Peterhouse College, Cambridge University to enable them to ask questions about courses, student life and making a successful application to Cambridge

University. This was part

of Cambridge University’s widening participation programme.

Emma Walkers Teacher of German and Oxbridge

Co-ordinator

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Bilborough students visit France, Germany and Spain

A group of students studying French, Spanish and German spent a week in the countries in question on European exchange visits in February and March. The 22 students studying French stayed in Wissembourg, a small town in Alsace, and were hosted by French students from Lycée Stanislas and stayed in their homes experiencing the French family life and way of living. The students also had a day trip to Strasbourg, the home of the European Parliament.

A group of 22 Spanish students spent a week in Cáceres staying with their Spanish partner‟s families from our partner college “Brocense”. The students had a trip to the beautiful National Park of Monfragüe and spent a day in an authentic Spanish fiesta in a small town called Malpartida.

A group of 19 students studying German spent a week in Berlin in March. The students were hosted by German students from our new partner college Georg Büchner Gymnasium. Outside the family life Bilborough students got to practise their German in the classroom attending lessons as well as in the many activities the German hosts had arranged including bowling. The students also spent a day sightseeing in Berlin, visiting the main sights such as Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, the Reichstag and the Brandenburger Tor.

The 3-day work experience placements played a big part of the exchange visits. The students, who found the work experience placements highly rewarding as well as fun, worked in nursery and primary schools being a big hit with the small children.

Katrina Straw European Liaison Officer

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Maths

14 AS and A2 maths students attended Maths Inspiration at the Nottingham Playhouse on Friday 21st March. Maths Inspiration is one of the largest maths enrichment programmes for teenagers in the UK. It's a chance for Year 11s and sixth formers to experience the UK's most inspiring maths speakers live, in big venues, presenting mathematics in the context of exciting, real-world situations. They really enjoyed the show with talks on Cracking The Code, Facebook and The Hidden Connections, and Weird and Wonderful Maths by inspirational speakers.

Chris Watts Assistant Curriculum Manager - Maths

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Student Support Services

Wednesday 12th March was No Smoking Day. Along with an interactive display including a jar of smokers tar and a model of a blocked artery, students and staff who smoke were offered the chance to test their C02 levels and estimated lung age. This proved very popular and was successful in starting conversations with students about how to quit smoking.

Once again we collected tins, packets and jars of in-date, non-perishable foods in for the local Bilborough and Broxtowe community foodbanks.

There are many families struggling to support and feed their families – mainly due to redundancy, ill health and reduced hours of employment. Over the last half term holiday alone this foodbank helped to support 16 families with meals, and food supplies are always needed.

Five year 13 students have been nominated for a Helena Kennedy

Foundation award. If successful the

students will receive a bursary to help

support them financially through university, as well as mentoring, training opportunities and work experience placements. The students were nominated for their commitment to studying through adverse situations, which have included homelessness, disability and depression in addition to severe financial hardship. They will find out whether they have been successful towards the end of May.

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Get involved in this year's Nottingham City cycle challenge!

Register here: http://thebigwheel.getmeactive.org.uk/users/register?org=697 under 'Bilborough College' workplace > log your cycle/walking miles from the 7th April for 3 months > win prizes!

It couldn't be simpler! And on top of the prizes already available Sarah from Sustrans is also offering up a prize for the most committed staff and student at the college.

Plenty of reasons to get cycling and walking this Spring!

Questions? Email [email protected] or phone 07876 711618, alternatively check out this section of the website: http://thebigwheel.getmeactive.org.uk/content/about . Please note, leisure miles can be included so you can get logging miles over the Easter holiday!

Like to cycle to college but not got the confidence? Contact Sarah about FREE cycle training.

...lets see how many miles we can clock up!

National Citizen Service (NCS) Daniel Grishin – Year 12 Bilborough Student

NCS is a government backed program designed for 16-17 year olds to develop skills for life. The government spends around £1000 per student and it only costs £40.

The program last 4 weeks and consists of four phases and each student is in a group of 15 students. The first phase is a residential Monday to Friday where students camp or stay in a youth hostel then take part in outward bound theme activities including rock climbing, kayaking and team building activities.

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Phase two is another residential Monday to Friday where you stay in student accommodation such as at Nottingham University. This phase is designed to help students in later life with sessions such as personal statement writing, money management and first aid courses. Alongside this you get a chance to take part in activities such as zumba and silent discos.

The third phase is over the last two weeks where the group will design and complete their own social action project. All the skills the students have been taught will be put to use and they will all have responsibilities within their group. This can be anything the group wants from putting on a charity gig to renovating a community centre to volunteering at an animal shelter.

The last phase is a graduation ceremony to celebrate the group‟s achievements and a chance to look back over their time on the program. Each student also receives a certificate signed by David Cameron.

There is now also a graduate program being developed that I am involved with creating that will aim to help graduates of the program carry on with social action in their areas by providing funds and mentoring, alongside lots of other benefits.

At Bilborough we currently have 20 students that have signed up and paid but with some more are yet to pay. However we have had a considerable amount of students that have noted their interest with us with 70 filling in interest forms at the recent careers fair so it would be really great if this could be pushed to get more people signed up.

As of now I have been in student support 3 times over lunch and free time. I have also been at the careers fair and the most recent open day promoting the program as well as sending numerous emails, the most recent of which will be going out to all students reminding them about the program. Daniel.

Maddy Varley Student Support Services Administrator

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INAUGURAL BEESTON PARKRUN

The start of the Easter holidays saw the start of a new era for local runners. The superb, free 5km race that is parkrun arrived at the weirfields where the canal and river meet in Beeston Rylands. This is a great organisation run by volunteers solely to promote running and improve fitness in the community and is for all ages and abilities.

9am on Saturday 5th April found 302 shivering enthusiasts ready for a lap through the fields, along the river then a short out-and-back along the canal. Some walked, some jogged, some accompanied children and a few PB‟s were smashed, then we overwhelmed the cafe on the marina who offered every competitor a reduced price on much appreciated coffee and cobs. It was a great morning and it would be lovely to see a few Bilborough folk down there one Saturday.

Register online for your own barcode and each week you‟ll get an email with your time on it, as well as statistics about your place in the pack, in your age group, how it compares to your previous times etc, so that you can see some progress. I promise it DOES get easier and it‟s great to see those seconds being chipped away! We‟re already getting „regulars‟ who are forming acquaintances and swapping „banter‟ on the start line, so the atmosphere makes the earlier start worthwhile.

Have a luck at the website below, or nosy at the photos on Facebook (my ponytail seems to get in all of them!) then come and give it a go.

http://www.parkrun.org.uk/beeston/

Caroline Waterhouse Personal Tutor

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The Parents

I play drums for, “The Parents” have written a world cup song called Come On England (Give It Some Welly)

The bass player in the band is my son James Bowler and an ex student of Bilborough College.

The video at present has been in 5 regional newspapers and we are currently doing radio interviews.

We were on BBC Radio Derby a few weeks ago and are being filmed by the BBC in Nottingham in 2 weeks time, to be shown on a Saturday Evening news bulletin with an interview!

Also ITV Central are filming us in the next few weeks.

We will be promoted through all sports media through Shoot Promotions. Shoot provide music to 250 sport TV and Radio producers. Promotion of single to BBC Sport Football Focus, MOTD1/2/3, skysports - Soccer AM, Fantasy Football Club, Netbusters, Eurosport - various, ITVFootball - England, FA Cup, Europa League, Champions League, BTSport Live Football and magazine shows, talkSPORT, BBC Radio 5 Live, Skysports News Radio, etc.and all football stadiums

Our video has had over 22,000 hits in 3 weeks and the single is selling well.

To see the Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7J-ZQ9WLJk

Single available from all online retailers, especially here https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/come-on-england-give-it-some/id847524828

Mike Bowler Technical Assistant (Drama)

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Dance

A2 Dancers showcased for the first time their group choreographies on the evening of 25th March, which was a huge success. Parents had commented how grateful they were to be able to see what their children had been doing in A2 Dance. In addition, AS Dance parents were invited by email to attend so they had the opportunity to witness what their children will be doing in A2; it also gave them the chance to ask Tina or myself any questions they had about the A2 year.

As a round up to the practical year, AS dancers attended the magnificent performance by „Ballet Boyz‟ at the Nottingham Playhouse on the 31st March, this was a great way to celebrate the end of the practical exams they had all just completed.

Damian Higgins Teacher of Dance, Drama and Theatre Studies, Performance Studies

Modern Languages

On Monday 10th March 17 AS French students visited The University of Nottingham to enjoy a taster day , helping them to find out about studying Languages post A-level and to discover a bit more about one of our home Universities.

During this taster day Students met a current student who was able to give them a tour of the campus and had a sample lecture with other degree students entitled „France: Histoire et Mythologies‟ with Dr Paul Smith, were given the opportunity to learn a new language and there was even a bit of Greek dancing!

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Here‟s what some of our Bilborough students said about the experience:

“The best part of the day for me was going to a real french lecture with first year students and seeing what sort of things they learn (e.g about France's political past). Even though it was pretty tough to understand in English it was reassuring to be able to understand the french vocab used on the PowerPoint.” Ruby Porter

“I've really enjoyed that we we're able to have a tour and see the campus. Moreover, the French lecture was a lot better than expected, I was expecting it to be grammar and more like things we cover at A-Level. But it had to do with historical aspects too which I found very interesting. You always hear that lecturers are very strict and that lectures are very boring, but the French lecturer was lovely and he was very funny and he tried to keep everyone entertained throughout the lesson”. Alaa Targoni

“I found the taster day at the University a really useful insight into, not only how a language degree works, but how life as a language student would be. It was interesting to look at the different modules that can be covered and the features of the course such as the year abroad. I particularly enjoyed being shown around the language department, student halls and the rest of the campus by a current 2nd year student who answered all questions I had about continuing study of languages to degree level. We also took part in a very energetic Greek lesson, just one example of where we were introduced to some of the very passionate staff in the department. Overall, I found it to be a very informative but also enjoyable day. :)” Curtis Salmon

“I thought it was a really good to experience what a lecture is like, and to have a student with us as we were able to ask her questions and receive an honest reply from someone who had been in our position.” Jess Tomlinson

“I liked the Greek language session, it was interesting to learn about Greek culture and to see the Greek the alphabet in use. After attending the taster day I‟m definitely thinking about studying languages at University.” Jake Smith

Sarah Whitney Curriculum Manager – Modern Languages

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BILBOROUGH COLLEGE Music Department

A Concert by A2 and AS music students Held on Tuesday 1st April 7.30pm Gilly Archer Theatre, Bilborough College

Enrichment

Duke of Edinburgh All of the groups have completed their training weekend and practice expeditions! They are now just preparing for the qualifying expeditions which will take place in July.

The routes have been finalised for the qualifying expeditions. The Silver groups will complete their award in the Peak District; the Gold walking group is going to complete their expedition In the Yorkshire Dales and the Gold Canoeing group is going to canoe down the River Wye.

Once the expedition has been completed all of the groups need to give a presentation about their expeditions. This year the presentations will be on the 18th July at the Nottingham Forest Football ground.

First Aid Over the last term we ran 5 first aid courses with over 100 students completing the award. In addition all of the Duke of Edinburgh students and Sports Leaders have completed the course.

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Young Enterprise This year we have entered three companies into the Young Enterprise Scheme.

 Inverse  Zeus  Ignite

Inverse and Zeus are companies that have been set up by this year‟s BTEC Business Groups. Inverse has been selling customised photo frames and Zeus has written and published their own children‟s book. Ignite has been set up by students who take part through the Enrichment programme and they have been selling cake stands, clocks and various other items made of the vinyl records.

As part of the competition element of the scheme all the teams took part in a trade fair in the centre of Nottingham on the 27th February. Each group set up their own stall and they were given the opportunity to sell their products to the general public for the day. The team‟s stalls looked fantastic and all of the groups had a good selling day! After the trade fair each team had to submit a business report and then took part in a presentation evening at Boots. All the teams gave an incredible presentation and Ignite won the award for best presentation.

The companies have done extremely well and all made a profit! As we head towards the end of the year they all have the task of winding down their business and dividing the profits between their shareholders.

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Summer Shape Up This year we have passed on the responsibility of organizing the summer enrichment programme to the BTEC Business and BTEC Sports students! For one of their modules the students have to organize, run and lead their own event. Currently they are all deciding what summer themed events they would like to organize and run and hopefully we will have a fantastic programme to offer the year 12 students when they return from study leave. Keep an eye out for the „Summer Shape Up‟ Programme! 

Laura Goulding Teacher of Business Studies and Enrichment Manager

The LIC iPads At the beginning of March, the LIC acquired 47 iPads that had previously been housed by the IT Team, with a view to making them available to staff and students in a central location, and making use of Oliver, the LIC‟s online catalogue, to manage class bookings. The move has been an overwhelming success, with teaching staff across the college taking advantage of their availability to bring a new dimension to their lessons, allowing quick access to resources and completion of online activities. By the start of the Easter break, the iPads had clocked up close to 1,300 loans, and many students regularly borrow them to support their independent study in the LIC and elsewhere in college.

Easter Holiday opening The LIC enjoyed a busy Easter holiday, with many students making the trip into college to get down to some serious study. At times, as many as 30 students were working hard in the LIC, despite the pleasant sunshine outside. The LIC Team would like to thank all of the students who came in for the quiet and efficient manner in which they got on with their work over the two weeks. Fantastic commitment!

Nial Busby LIC Manager

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Easter Chick Sale 2014

A big thank you to everyone who brought a chick this year. Once again we made a fantastic amount for Cancer Research a fantastic £948.

Derek and Carolyn who organize the making and selling of the chicks would like to thank everyone for their contributions. We have also nominated them for the Nottingham Post Heroes Awards and they have been shortlisted to attend a special ceremony at the Nottingham Belfry Hotel in May.

Julie Lees and Sheila Hayward Reception Team

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Bilborough College Computing

represented at The British Informatics Olympiad Final

Fourteen brave Computing students rose to the challenge of competing in the British Olympiad 2014. The first of these rounds took place in college where these students were asked to solve 3 different problems by creating a computer system using a programming language of their choice. Five winners were to be chosen from the whole of the UK to compete in the final that will be taking place at Cambridge University during the Easter Holidays.

Bilborough College‟s Jason Zhang, International Student, has attended the Final at Cambridge University where he competed against 14 other finalists from throughout the UK. He had to take part in various problem solving activities over the 2 days.

Jason did really well and has made it to the British Informatics Olympiad team which consists of 4 students from the 15 finalists. He will be competing in the first heat of the International Informatics Olympiad in Taiwan in July 2014. We are extremely proud of Jason. Well done and good luck for the International team event!

There will also be coverage of Jason in the Nottingham Post.

We wish him well and congratulate all those who took part but did not reach the final. All of the following will be getting a certification of participation. Well done to:

 Alidivinas Prusokas  Aminah Hussian  Anthony Smith  Bradley Stevenson  Camron Tongue  Cem Polat  Curtis Richmond  Daniel Bloxham  Daniel Greenwood  Jack Spray  Jason Zhang  Lewis Evans  Ryan Meredith  William Fretwell

Iqbal Khan Curriculum Manager – ICT and Computing

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Chemistry

Year 12 Chemistry students visit Nottingham University

On 19th January nineteen of our Year 12 Chemistry students attended an A-level afternoon at the University of Nottingham Chemistry Department. They attended 3 lectures, took part in a treasure hunt and watched a demonstration lecture. One of the highlights of the event was a talk given by Professor Martyn Poliakoff, eccentric star of the Periodic Table of Videos (www.periodicvideos.com). He talked about the videos and the Chemistry Department‟s youtube video channel – Test Tube. He also showed the students the „Wiggly Giggly‟ which he uses to demonstrate shapes of molecules together with a collection of dog toys!

The students then had a lecture from Professor Chris Haynes about how to be a chemist and how cancer drugs are made.

Professor Neil Champness then talked about nanotechnology which can explain why butterfly wings are brightly coloured and how sunscreens work.

Students were able to wander around the Chemistry Department completing a treasure hunt to answer some questions. Although our students didn‟t win a prize for their answers to the quiz, they enjoyed being able to look into the labs.

Finally the students were treated to the famous „Thunder and Lightning‟ demonstration lecture. Dr. Pete Licence and Jim Gamble performed a series of exciting experiments featuring explosions. The climax of the lecture was when Jim used a musket which was over 100 years old to fire a piece of wax candle through several sheets of wood. All the students enjoyed the experience.

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At the end of January 124 of our Chemistry students took part in the Royal Society of Chemistry‟s Olympiad. This extra tough two hour exam really stretches the students and goes way beyond the A level specification. For the first time this year we encouraged a few high flying year 12 students to give it a try as it is usually only offered to year 13.

Chemistry Olympiad

We expect all 124 of the students to receive at least a participation certificate.

The information we have had back from the Royal Society of Chemistry so far suggests the following medals:

4 Gold medals our best ever result and incredibly one of these went to a year 12 student!

10 Silver Medals including 1 year 12 student

39 Bronze medals including 3 year 12 students

We don‟t have 2014 data from other centres for comparison but it appears that in 2013 these results were not surpassed within the state sector.

Torben Smith Curriculum Manager – Chemistry And Pam Richings Teacher if Chemistry

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Biology Olympiad Competition 2014

The British Biology Olympiad challenges and stimulates students with an interest in Biology to expand and extend their talents. In offering a wider syllabus than A-level, it allows students to demonstrate their knowledge and it is hoped that competing in the Olympiad will encourage students to continue their study beyond A-level.

This year 5057 students took part including 12 of our Year 13 students and we achieved our greatest success to date. 11 of the students received awards as follows:

Rhea Badwall and Paige Kent - Awarded a Highly Commended Certificate

Joy Hodkinson, Ashleigh Buck, Connie Tse, Isobel Seddon and Hannah Sisson - Awarded a Bronze Certificate and Bronze Medal

Eleanor Duncan and Jessica Whitneuy - Awarded a Silver Certificate and Silver Medal

Nik Cerruti and Rebecca Peel – Awarded a Gold Certificate and Gold Medal

Rebecca Peel scored so highly that she was asked to take part in the second round of the competition where she finished in the top 12. Over the Easter holiday Rebecca took part in the finals and was selected as one of the 4 members of the UK team. She is now going to represent the UK in the International competition in Bali in July - an outstanding achievement which was also featured in the Nottingham Post.

Rachel Smith Teacher of Biology

CAREERS EDUCATION INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE

Sutton Trust Summer School UK 22 Year 12 students have applied for the Sutton Trust Summer School UK Programme. We will know the outcomes in April.

This programme seeks to send the most academically able students from disadvantaged backgrounds to leading Universities as part of its Social Mobility Mission. www.suttontrust.com

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University Roadshows We continue to actively encourage Universities to attend our College as part of their outreach programme. 73 students have taken advantage of these events to guide their decision making about Higher Education.

These roadshows are ever popular:  Loughborough University 8th January – 6 students  Nottingham University 9th January – 30 students  Newcastle University 6th February – 20 students  Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies – 10th February – 10 students  Nottingham University – Nottingham Potential Summer School – 13th February – 5 students  Derby University – 3rd March – 2 students

Leeds University will be in college 1st April to present Choosing a University talk.

We are planning to take 150 Year 12‟s to the UCAS Higher Education Convention on 2nd and 3rd April to be hosted by the University of Nottingham.

Employer Engagement The Yeomanry Road show was in College Friday 10th January and 7 students had one to one guidance from offers from The Royal Army Reserves.

We were delighted that 2 Alumni – Jordan Lafayette and James Pollicott came to talk about their experiences on the KPMG School and College Leaver Programme on 28th February. Both attended our Careers & HE Fair on 13th March and Jordan has been appointed Relationship Manager at KPMG. www.kpmgcareers.co.uk/schooleavers

Voluntary Sector Engagement Two Alumni – Jess Silvers and Tom Kerr who are now at Sheffield Hallam University came to talk on 27th February about www.r9v.co.uk This is the only student run Volunteering Organisation which recruits students aged 18 – 26 from over 40 UK universities to volunteer on projects in Morocco including Caring for Children with Cancer, Caring for orphaned babies/children, Painting/Restoration, Feeding the Homeless, Sports & Youth Development.

Project Trust attended College on March 17th - 14 students attended Project Trust is an educational charity specialising in sending 17 – 19 year old college leavers on long term structured international volunteering placements. Volunteers undertake 12 or 8 month placements focusing on Teaching, Social Care, Outward Bound, Medical and Journalism projects across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Charlotte Spooner in Year 13 has already raised £2, 000 to assist with her plan to go to India, she still needs to raise £5, 400. Charlie has already passed the 4 day recruitment tests at the Isle of Coll in the Inner Hebrides! www.projecttrust.org.uk

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Higher Education Evening 11th March hosted by Nottingham University – over 300 Year 12 students and their parents/carers attended our Higher Education Evening and organised by both Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University.

Careers & HE Fair – Thursday 13th March Over 70 organisations from HE, FE, Gap Year and Training and Employment attended our annual Careers and HE Fair. The feedback from exhibitors was superb – please see comments attached and the brochure issued to all Year 12 and 13‟s. Alumni that attended

KPMG – James Pollicott and Jordan Blanchard ACCA – James Johnson Confetti

Following on from student feedback last year we ensured that professions such as Teaching (Teach First), Architecture (Royal Institute of British Architecture – RIBA) and Law (University of Law) were present. Most of the Russell Members were present eg Newcastle University and we were delighted to welcome newcomers – Baker Tilly Accountants, Positive Outcomes, Skills for Care, Stephenson College, Goldsmiths, University of London, New College of the Humanities and Edge Hill University and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Prestigious blue chip companies included Boots and KPMG.

Student Finance England were able to „troubleshoot‟ Year 13 Financial Support Applications on the day.

Feedback from exhibitors – Careers & HE Fair 13th March 2014 De Montfort University „we were very busy, the students were prepared and polite! There was a good flow of students throughout‟ Coventry University „a good standard of student .many had already started their research‟ Imperial College, London „a successful event‟ Workshop UK „A very useful event to attend‟ Aberystwyth University „Many students were already aware of us, lots of interest especially Geography and Biology, Sciences, Languages and Physics‟ Edge Hill University “Excellent organisation, selection of contributors, student and staff were very helpful, we felt very well looked after!”

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Nottingham Trent University „a very focussed event, and genuine questions from students‟ Staffordshire University ‘Good timings, a consistent flow of students.. very helpful Student Ambassadors” Nottingham University “Student helpers were very helpful!” Frontier “really enthusiastic polite students with a genuine interest, some great questions were asked, very helpful College Ambassadors!” Student Finance England “Well done everyone, congratulations on a great day! Very well organised, I was able to troubleshoot around 15 – 20 application issues” Ideas 4 Careers “A great event, well organised and a variety of different post 18 options and advice available” URS Ltd “considerable interest in apprenticeships” University of Sheffield “Please thank the security guard at the main gate who gave a really warm welcome on arrival. Thanks to all the staff and students ambassadors for all their hard work…” Derby College “We were pleased with the number of visitors” Sheffield Hallam University “We have great links with Bilborough so having the opportunity to come to the event and speak to your students is fab! Thank you” Keele University “Thank you – your college ambassadors were fab” Nottingham Apprenticeship Hub “Excellent, well organised and well attended” Nottingham Training Network “The event was brilliant, I am looking forward to next year‟s event” Nottingham Training Network “The event was brilliant…and I look forward to it next year”

Farah Dad – has won the Helena Kennedy Foundation Fully Funded Bursary to study for Accountancy with Kaplan We are delighted that Farah Dad has won a fully funded bursary worth more than £20, 000 to study an ACCA qualification through Kaplan funded by the Helena Kennedy Foundation in London.

There were only 2 places in the UK. Farah had to demonstrate a commitment to accountancy, potential to acquire the skills necessary to succeed in this field, and demonstrate a genuine need for the funding. www.hkf.org.uk

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CPD Carol Magner attended the De Montfort University Careers Conference on 22nd January and the Derby University Progression Partnership on 19th March.

Key themes coming from HE – the rise of new HE institutions, rise of private providers, more diversity and choice which is consumer led – more emphasis on the learner‟s journey and experience. 30, 000 more places in UCAS for 2014 Entry, the dismantling of the Student Number Controls for 2015 Entry. Rise of on line courses eg MOOCS (Massive on line open access courses) run by Future Learn in the UK.

Derby University now has had a 20% rise in applications in the last 2 years and approximately 6 applications per place – eg 55 places for Nursing and 300 applications.

Derby University are keen to promote more active direct links with our curriculum areas, and have a scheme called Student Ambassador Talks to link our students with handpicked high calibre undergraduates in the areas of Bachelor of Education (Derby is now recognised as a National Leader for Education, CPD and Special Educational Needs training).

Biology; Business; Computing; Child and Youth Studies; Creative Expressive Therapies; Forensics; Geography; Geology; Law; Maths; Occupational Therapy; Sport and Zoology. The talks will include Graduate Employability. www.derby.ac.uk/educationliaison

Loughborough University Year 12 students will be spending a day at Loughborough University on 26th March on a Student Shadowing Event. These are Callum Markham, Arron Matharu, Louisa Tomson, Amy Fairbrother and Jack Spray.

During the day Year 12‟s will have the opportunity to attend a lecture or seminar, participate in extra curricula activities such as sports clubs and societies, chat to Loughborough students to find out more about university life and attend a workshop on the UCAS application process.

This is part of the Loughborough GOLD new initiative (Going for a Loughborough Degree) as part of its mission to enhance fair access to higher education.

Carol Magner Careers and HE Manager

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Bilborough College Students Go Flash

Flash Fiction is a very popular genre of short, self contained fiction. In this case 360 words.

In this year‟s National Flash Fiction Youth Competition, organized by the Department of English, University of Chester, and Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine, six Bilborough students were successful. The judges were the author David Gaffney and the editors of Flash.

Second prize: „What Makes You Want to Visit Again?‟ by Esther Samson (Bilborough Sixth Form College, Nottingham)

Third prize: „The Act of Giving Up‟ by Dylan Butcher (Bilborough College, Nottingham)

The judges also highly commended:

„Dear; My Love‟ by Emily Drummond (Bilborough Sixth Form College, Nottingham) „Right‟ by Jake Hevness (Bilborough College, Nottingham) „The Road Trip‟ by Ciara Lavelle (Bilborough Sixth Form College, Nottingham) „Flowers‟ by Abby Montgomery (Bilborough College, Nottingham

1s Prize £100; 2nd Prize: £75; 3rd Prize: £50. The prizes. Prize-winning stories will be published on the competition‟s website: http://flashfictionyouthcompetition.blogspot.co.uk/

The website will also list the highly commended stories and authors.

Our winners‟ work is also on display in the English area.

Jane Bluett Teacher of English Language

Bilborough Students become Sustrans volunteers

Over recent years Bilborough has built up strong links with Sustrans to promote sustainable travel for staff and students. Six IB students have volunteered to work with Sarah Eanor who is Project officer for Further Education and this is what one of them, Kelly Evans has to report on her experience so far.

Sustrans is a leading UK charity enabling people to travel by foot, bike or public transport for more of the journeys we make every day. As a charity they set up a lot of events to help raise money to make cleaner, safer places to live in whilst making journeys cheaper and more efficient.

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I am hoping to get involved with Sustrans by volunteering to help out with some of their events. Some of these events will include: help with marketing and advertising events, assistance with running events, reporting back on anything at college that might affect cycling, general admin - assistance with travel surveys and parked bike counts and aiding partnership work between the college and Sustrans. From this I hope to participate in regular work with them so I can therefore show commitment by doing regular volunteer work. Also, hopefully by doing this I will make an impact within the charity and help to improve the UK.

For my first piece of volunteer work with Sustrans I volunteered to help with a group of students also doing the International Baccalaureate at Bilborough College on a project for the Light Night event that takes place in Nottingham City Centre. For this we had to decorate and transform a bike into something that had a Nottinghamshire theme. Sarah brought in a bike from home that we could transform into a deer, the only problem was that the we weren't allowed to paint or alter the bike in any way and it had to be able to go back to how it was in the first place, so we had to result in tying everything on using pipe cleaners and wire.

With our theme being a deer we thought we should make ears, antlers, a face and a tail to try and make it resemble a deer. We also cut up pieces of material and wrapped them round the wheels of the bike and across the frame. We only had two hours to complete the whole bike which wasn't enough time. But, overall I didn't turn out as bad as we were expecting! We discovered that we worked well as a team and to say none of us are particularly good at art it actually in some aspects resembled a deer. Throughout the project we all exchanged roles so everyone had a chance of doing everything and shared out responsibilities

I am now an official Sustrans volunteer. For our training we had three people come in and talk to us all about Sustrans and what we will be doing as volunteers. Their names were Ian, Sarah and Aron. We also learnt that Sarah and Aron will be our support leaders and will help us during our volunteering hours because they work closely with the colleges and universities around Nottingham.

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Firstly, we looked at the history of Sustrans and were it was found etc to give us more knowledge about the organization as a whole. I found this interesting, especially learning about how much the charity has grown due to the help from the volunteers. We then looked at how to overcome change within the community and possible limitations of this. We looked at possible barriers people could face when changing their way of life and biking instead of using the car. For example, in our group we got the argument that some days the weather is bad. However, there are ways to overcome this. You can wear waterproof and professional clothing and you can also take a change of clothing to work which you can then get changed into.

Furthermore, you can also use public transport sometimes; it doesn't have to be that you completely change. Public transport is still better for the environment than using your own vehicle. We also looked at other barriers such as: 'I'm not fit enough' and 'cycling can be dangerous'. We discussed all these to prove that there are alternatives and ways around these problems. We then looked at what events and activities we would be doing within the charity. We would be doing some promoting and publicizing, bike counts around college and survey, general admin, aiding partnership work between Sustrans and the college and marketing. I think this is a wide variety of activities to get involved with, which will help both the community and the charity.

Overall, I am glad I am now an official Sustrans volunteer because it means I can take part in regular service and activities to help the community which will show my commitment and my willingness to help others.

Maggie Burrows CAS Co-ordinator

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

I am really pleased to report some of the fantastic achievements that our students are accomplishing both in and outside of the classroom. Two tutees of mine in particular have had outstanding success this month:

Becky Peel has been invited to attend the finals of the British Biology Olympiad competition at the University of Warwick. She will be required to do both written and practical assessments including a dissection and if successful will be invited to join the British team for the International competition in Bali later this year .Becky was one of the top 16 students in the country who took part in the second round - an outstanding achievement! Congratulations!

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On Friday 21 March Rebecca Drysdale was crowned Miss Nottingham and gained a place as a contestant in the Miss England Contest. Judges said she stood out among the 20 finalists. The girls were put through their paces in a series of tests and rounds, including creating an “eco dress” - an outfit made entirely from recycled materials. During the next 12 months Rebecca will be raising funds for several local and international charities. She is currently studying for her A-levels and works part-time as a sales assistant at House of Fraser, in Nottingham but her dream is to work in the fashion industry. Superb achievement, Congratulations!

Joanna Varnava Personal Tutor

Sport and Recreation

Students ‘get back into’ sport After recently receiving some funding from Sport England to help re-engage students into sporting activity at the college we launched the „get back into‟ campaign. In a college survey the students identified that they were interested in playing sport but they found that. The „get back into‟ sport campaign has offered a range of activities in free periods as well as on Wednesday afternoons and after college. The students have responded brilliantly and have taken part in archery, yoga, spinning and table tennis so far. On the back of the „get back into‟ table tennis sessions four students went on to represent the college at a tournament held at Chesterfield College. Joseph Bell, the college table tennis coach, took the students to the competition and wrote this report.

Hey Katy, The troops played their heart out and were rewarded with welcomed results. ALL players made it to the quarter finals after placing in the top two from each qualifying group. Mina and Ross played very well, and Ahmed overcame his awe at watching an opponent play prior to meeting him.

He struggled in the second, just scraping through then was reminded of how well he does at the game, his strengths, and he went on to 'steamroll' his opponent in the last game. Well done.

Kudos are to be rightfully heaped upon Alvin. He made it very clear from the outset that he was about 'business' with his speed and poker faced playing. The final was against a lad who had played an outstanding semis and I was concerned that Alvin would be hard pressed to equal his opponent's skill and secure a win. His, Alvin's response to my furrowed brow was

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It was clear from the outset that despite his best efforts Amazing Alvin had the opponent on the back foot and was going back to Bilbrough College with this title in the bag.

Congrats to ALL players. It was a very good day and we were treated very well by our hosts.

Kind regards, Joseph

Leadership Academy 2014 On the 2nd of April 2014 the college leadership academy met in the early hours to set up for what would be their final challenge as a group - the college flames festival. Over 150 children attended the festival held in the college sports hall. The students were fantastic and as usual, a real credit to the college. All the primary teachers commented on how impressed they have been with the student‟s attitude and organisation. Academy member Danielle describes her experience and what she learnt:

"During the flames festival one of the outcomes that I achieved was undertaking new challenges, I think that I achieved this because I didn't think I would be able to cope with all the children but it was actually quite fun and not as chaotic as I thought it would be. I think the festival has really improved my ability to work with others as well as my confidence. Overall, I really enjoyed the session I think it was the best thing out of the leadership academy because it was really fun and I got a lot out of it and I think I would definitely do this again if I got the chance." Danielle Hewitt

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"The flames festival marked the end to an incredibly good day. I am so glad I got involved in sports leaders. I am so proud of our group as I felt we controlled the group really well and taught the dance station very well. I am so thankful for the experience and really feel I have developed my leadership skills." Kelly Evans

This year the academy was fortunate enough to have two fantastic mentors. The mentors really took on a hands on role this year and helped train the new academy members offering guidance and support throughout the course. Rosie Pryatt reflected on her journey as a mentor:

"Reflecting on my journey as a mentor I have realised how much I have learnt. Doing Leadership Academy has helped me gain confidence especially in addressing large groups. Speaking to and leading my peers is a lot more difficult considering that I am usually the person within the team that listens, not a natural leader! The academy has also proved beneficial for university interviews, considering I would like to study primary education. I am very grateful to have been offered this wonderful opportunity and I would recommend it to anyone who struggles with confidence!"

College Cup Success We have had another very successful year in terms of the college cup success. Runners up for the second year in the National Badminton Cup. The students kept up with our strong opponents and it was tied heading into the final two games. Unfortunately having taken a slight gamble in the singles we narrowly lost the two mixed games losing the final 6:4.

The students should be very proud of their achievements and fingers crossed next year we can better our result.

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The men's football team have mirrored last year's success reaching the National semi finals where they faced tough opposition in academy side Gateway.

Bilborough had a slow start and found themselves 3.0 down at half time but after some tactical changes from head coach Stewart Rowley at half time Bilborough started the second half strong and clawed a goal back in the opening minutes. Mason Frizelle had the opportunity to put real pressure on the home side when he found himself in a one on one with the keeper. He coolly took it past the keeper but hit the cross bar. A goal would have been a real game changer as the home side were definitely on the back foot however after going for broke, Bilborough lost the semi finals 5.2.

BCS England Netball Team - Katie Cresswell Katie Cresswell has successfully been selected for the England colleges netball team. This is a fantastic achievement.

„It has been an amazing experience playing for the British Colleges of Sport National Netball team. Over the course of the last few months I have travelled to Scotland, Wales, Ireland & other parts of England. I have met so many friends along the way & gained a great amount of experience playing netball at such a high standard.’

National Championships James Hollis secured two medals at this year's championships representing the East Midland region in both the team and individual golf competition. The Bilborough college student only qualified as a first reserve but got the call up with only a few weeks before the competition. James showed real prowess during the team event winning gold and proved that this was not a one off when he won bronze in the individual event on the Saturday.

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BCS Team Sports League Standings

Below are the results from the British Colleges of Sport Leagues.

1st Football Team Team P W D L F A +/- PTS 1 Bilborough College 1s 8 7 0 1 40 10 10 21 2 New College Nottingham 1s 10 6 1 3 42 10 30 19 3 Ilkeston FC Academy 2s 9 6 0 3 39 15 24 18 4 Wyggeston QE College 1s 10 5 1 4 23 24 -1 16 5 Chesterfield College 3s 9 1 3 5 17 32 -15 6 6 Stephenson College 1s 10 0 1 9 4 50 -46 1 2nd Football Team Team P W D L F A +/- PTS 1 Lincoln 3s 9 6 3 0 43 11 32 21 2 Ilkeston FC 4s 8 5 2 1 22 12 10 17 3 New College Stamford 1s 9 5 2 2 21 16 5 17 4 Lincoln College Newark 1s 10 3 1 6 23 35 -12 10 5 Bilborough College 2s 10 1 3 6 13 26 -13 6 6 Rutland County College 1s 8 1 1 6 11 33 -22 4

1st & 2nd Netball Teams Team P W D L F A +/- PTS 1 Bilborough 1s 10 10 0 0 419 114 305 30 2 Wyggeston & QE College 9 7 0 2 413 202 211 21 3 Bilborough 2s 9 4 1 4 218 209 9 13 4 Lincoln College 9 3 0 6 222 284 -62 9 5 Derby College 8 7 1 6 141 290 -149 4 6 Moulton College 7 0 0 7 34 348 -314 0

Men’s Basketball Team P W D L F A +/- PTS 1 Bilborough College 1 12 9 0 3 693 586 107 27 2 Gateway College 2 9 6 0 3 646 543 103 18 3 Wyggeston & QE College 1 9 6 0 3 603 519 84 18 4 Derby College 9 4 0 5 502 518 -16 12 5 Loughborough college 1 10 3 0 7 495 545 -50 9 6 New College Nottingham 1 7 3 0 4 436 486 -50 9

Women’s Football Team P W D L F A +/- PTS 1 Moulton College 1s 5 5 0 0 35 11 24 15 2 Bilborough College 1s 6 3 0 3 19 35 -16 9 3 Chesterfield College 1s 4 2 0 2 20 22 -2 6 4 South Leicestershire College 1s 5 0 0 5 15 21 -6 0

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Students thoughts on team sports at Bilborough College

‘I can easily say that the highlight of my time at Bilborough has been being apart of the Netball team. Bilborough has given me lots of great experiences & opportunities. For example, being East Midlands Captain at the National Championships & reaching the quarter finals of the BCS Cup.’ Sian Doherty (Y13) - Netball

‘Involving yourself in sport at Bilborough offers you various opportunities to try out a range of different activities, such as wheelchair basketball & mixed netball. Throughout our season we were given the chance to represent Bilborough College around the country & compete against top tier basketball teams.’ Lee Johnson & Blaise Edwards (Y13) - Basketball

‘Sport at Bilborough is a great opportunity to make friends, its fun, enjoyable & challenging. It really complements the student life.’ Tamara Rose (Y13) - Netball

‘Bilborough offers a great opportunity to train with great coaches & participate at a high level. Getting to the semi final of the BCS National Cup was a great achievement. Being a part of a sports team when at college undoubtedly makes college far more enjoyable’ Adam Lakhani (Y13) - Football

Katy Honeyman Sport and Recreation Manager and Teacher of BTEC Sport

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Drama and Theatre Studies

Coming to the end of a very busy term; we are currently showcasing 20 plays over 5 evenings, which will be examined externally next week.

One of the highlights has been the visit of playwright Simon Stephens, who met with students and did a question and answer session. This was reported in the Nottingham Evening Post.

34 students took the Trinity Guildhall Acting grade 8 exams. All passed with 9 distinctions. We are the first centre to enter that number of students at Grade 8.

We currently have 12 students with offers for Drama Schools this year, which is a record number, proving that the work we do towards progression in our subject is proving to be fruitful. Matthew Biddulph from last year‟s cohort has also won a place at East 15.

A group of students known as the Bilborough Players are currently fundraising to take a show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a first for the college.

CM Sharon MacInnes is now on the education advisory committee at Derby Theatre.

Sharon MacInnes Curriculum Manager – Drama and Theatre Studies

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And finally some baby news!!

We celebrate and congratulate the safe arrival of 4 beautiful Bilborough babies…

Jodie and James Molly Rose

Ruth Naomi and Carys

Iqbal Ahmad-Nu’maan

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