Newsletter Summer 2020 Learning in Lockdown 2 - 3 History Round-up 4 Music - Resonance Roadshow 5 Esher Sports Review of the Year Parent Trustee Vacancy 5 Discover what our teams have been up to, including a masterclass Volunteering Abroad 6 from a Netball superstar. Meet the Teacher 7 Earlier this year our Netball teams were she was able to return to the game achieving treated to a special visit from England 72 caps for England. Her sister Kadeen was in Sports Review 8 - 9 Netball legend, Sasha Corbin. the 2018 team that won England’s first ever Commonwealth Games Gold medal. Green Week 10 Captain of the Saracens Mavericks, Sasha ran a two-hour session, encompassing ball skills, At Esher Sixth Form College, there are A Blast from the Past 11 drills and agility, before putting students numerous opportunities for students to get through their paces in a game. involved in a competitive manner through MPs Visit 12 sports teams such as netball, football, rugby, Lianne Purvis, PE teacher at Esher, said, “In hockey and basketball teams. See how they Young Enterprise 13 football terms, it would be like having David got on in our Sports Review on Pages 8 - 9. Beckham hold a training session at the Biology Round-up 14 College. It was a real privilege to meet Sasha. The girls loved it and learned so much. Sasha delivered an engaging and creative session Community Volunteers 15 that focused on ball handling and centre- court formations. It was great to see the girls LRC Book Reviews 16 push themselves and get out of their comfort zones when taking on new drills and ideas! Dates for your Diary 16 The visit finished with a Q&A session where students found out how, despite suffering from an injury and juggling a Sports Performance degree at Bath University, & much more! Learning in Meet the Scientist: Lockdown Disease Detectives I hope this summer edition of our newsletter finds you and your families well. Throughout the pandemic and the announcement that A Levels would be cancelled, our teaching and support staff have made it a priority to help our students complete course specifications for both A Level and BTEC. As a College, we felt it was important that In the meantime, please take a moment our students continued learning and to enjoy a round-up of some of the things thanks to our IT team we have been able to we’ve been getting up to in Lockdown. offer remote learning from Day One using Microsoft Teams. It’s been an incredible challenge, but we are very proud of all our students and their attitude to learning. Progress Review Reports, UCAS Grades, Progression Pathway choices, Student Union Elections, a virtual Introduction Day to welcome Year 11s on Friday 26 June, and Dan Dean a remote After Esher Day on Thursday 2 Principal July for current students, are all continuing this term. Thirty 6.2 Biology students, who are engaging with the subject through online lessons and directed research, took part in a ‘Meet the Scientists’ online event. This is a student-led science engagement where school and Therapeutic Arts college students connect with working Mira and Jude from Learning scientists. Support continue to run their popular therapeutic arts group Students have taken part in similar events on Microsoft Teams every before, but from the classroom rather Wednesday lunchtime. than their own homes. Our students ‘met’ “There was a really a team of scientists involved in disease- positive vibe,” says Jude. related research at prestigious institutions “All the students said they around the UK and asked numerous wanted to continue every questions about their research and career week, so we are!” pathways. The students, including Simas Marciukonis pictured here, were congratulated on the quality of questions they asked and the enthusiasm and interest they showed. Research has shown that this programme Goggles Donation improves communication skills and the understanding of the principles of public engagement. It makes science more At the beginning of the Coronavirius, the College was delighted to be able to donate personally relevant to our students and 2,500 disposable gloves and 110 safety goggles to the NHS to help combat the fight helps them to appreciate that scientists are against the pandemic. ‘normal people’. Many of our participating students are planning to take up biology-related degrees, such as medicine, dentistry, chiropractics, sports science, neuroscience, zoology and broader-based biology degrees. They agreed that this event helped nurture their science aspirations. It was great to have this opportunity as in ‘normal’ times our students frequently visit the world class universities we are lucky enough to have on our doorstep and we don’t want our students to miss out on anything because of the current circumstances. Hilary Thomson, Teacher of Biology 3 Biology Enrichment Biology students have enjoyed virtual tours of the Natural • “Pathology event” and “Under the Skin” exhibition at the Royal History Museum and British Museum while also attending a College of Physicians wide range of scientific talks and events on everything from • “Picturing Life and Death on the Operating Table” - The Old the scent of disease, to pathology and the operating table. Operating Theatre Museum The department has encouraged students to attend as many During lockdown, students also reported back on some of their enrichment activities as possible and to share them on their favourite scientific podcasts such as “The Infinite Monkey Cage” university, apprenticeship and job applications. Some of the talks and “Inside Science Podcast” from the BBC, biology-related online attended include: courses at futurelearn.com and scientific talks at ibiology.org and TED.com. • “The Scent of Disease” seminar at the Royal College of Physicians • “Love, Smell and Memory” lecture at the Royal Society Ed Jones, Teacher of Biology • “Exploring the brain circuits between learned and innate behaviour” Virtual Apprenticeship Information Evening In partnership with award-winning apprenticeship provider, WhiteHat, our Progression Guidance team welcomed more than 200 parents/carers and students to our first Virtual Apprenticeship Information Evening. Held through Microsoft Teams and after the obligatory ‘virtual admin’ of muting microphones, Nicola Wilberforce, Head of Progression Guidance, and Akeem Wangeh from WhiteHat gave introductory talks to bust the myths about apprenticeships and highlight the many career paths that are possible. We then heard from two apprentices, Tatiana who is on a digital marketing apprenticeship at SKY and Tina, also on a marketing apprenticeship with Google. Sigmund Freud Summer School beckons Congratulations to Moremi Loye, who beat strong competition to get a place on King’s College Summer School. Moremi, who came to Esher from Cobham Free School, is Webinar studying Chemistry, Biology and Spanish. Although King’s labs are closed, they will be sending Moremi her equipment so she can carry out the experiments from home. Psychology students had the opportunity to attend a free webinar held by the Freud Museum with renowned psychoanalyst Haya Oakley. Study Guides for Y11 Haya has been practicing psychoanalysis in London since 1968, working for many years Applicants with antipsychiatry legend R. D. Laing to train psychotherapists and run therapeutic In May, the College was able to launch its Study Guides to support our Year 11 communities. applicants’ transition to Esher Sixth Form College. Your Start At Esher study guides are available through students’ online application account and provide a range of different Sigmund Freud didn’t think it was possible, resources to help them prepare for study at the next level and to ensure they can hit but many psychoanalysts today work the ground running, when they join us in the autumn term. with psychotic patients. The webinar provided viewers with a rare insight into the psychoanalytic approach to schizophrenia, where Haya reflected on her practice and explored the ways in which therapy can help those suffering from the condition. She also The show must go on discussed some of the signs of paranoia, as Drama A Level students have risen to created soundscapes inspired by their well as explaining how psychoanalysts make the challenge of studying from home stimulus, others made puppets or wrote sense of the frightening experiences that and have been self-recording their poems.” characterise schizophrenia. Towards the end performances. of the webinar there was the opportunity for In addition, some second year students students to quiz Haya about her work, where Performance monologues were recorded have continued their drama studies by she spoke candidly about her interpretations and uploaded to the College’s video portal, making the most of the exclusive Esher of some of the behaviours displayed and texts studied and pieces devised. Mary Sixth Form College code to access our things said by her clients in past sessions, Cassidy, Acting Head of Drama says, “As Drama online catalogue which includes which provided further interesting insights. you can imagine, this was very challenging digital copies of many RSC and National and daunting for the students, but they Theatre shows. Staff and students meet Overall, a fascinating webinar, which have really risen to the challenge, including every week to discuss a show they encouraged students to think about the performing extracts of their work for have seen. psychoanalytic approach from a different one another via Microsoft Teams. Some perspective. students composed original music, or Tales of the The Rise and Fall of American Dream Cardinal Wolsey History: Oppression & Equality students delve deeper into 20th Century America. “As the World readies itself for what promises to be one of the most pivotal elections in America, History students attended a fascinating American Dream conference, held at the London Irish Centre in Camden. All manner of topics were covered from immigration, to civil rights, to the changing nature of the Presidency and finally Ronald Reagan.