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WINNER OF EAST ANGLIA INDEPENDENT SECONDARY SCHOOL OF THE YEAR LeysLife Issue 3 - Lent Term 2021 Sunday Times Parent Power Top Five East Anglian Independent Secondary School of the Decade A message from the Headmaster Coming out of lockdown has given us a renewed sense of optimism and it has been a pleasure and a shot in the arm to see pupils and colleagues back in school. We look forward to when all our overseas pupils can come back, too – they have shown particularly high levels of motivation and resilience in the face of the pandemic. The efforts made by the whole school community to keep learning in all its guises going through lockdown means we have been able to get back the swing of things relatively smoothly. We remain vigilant about Covid security but there is a growing sense of normality, as this newsletter reflects. It has been a delight to see our young people enthusiastically throwing themselves back into school life, everything from practising their musical instruments to tackling the climbing wall. Best of all, perhaps, is the pleasure of meeting face-to-face and feeling energised by each other’s company. I hope you enjoy this snapshot of school life over the last half-term. Business as usual Let’s celebrate The prefects’ meeting with Headmaster Martin International boarders who Priestley, Deputy Head Emma Mayo and Head of stayed at school during Pastoral Care Helen Hynd has continued via Zoom. lockdown got busy in the kitchen on Pancake Day (16 February). Continued... LeysLife ACADEMIC NEWS Oxbridge successes This year brought a bumper crop of Oxbridge offers for our pupils. The following have been offered places: Joey C (Law, Gonville and Caius, Cambridge); Immy C (Modern and Medieval Languages, Trinity Hall, Cambridge); Xuanqui D (Natural Sciences, Robinson College, Cambridge); Owen G (Engineering, Keble College, Oxford); Ed N (Chemistry, Wadham College, Oxford); Isabella R (History, Jesus College, Cambridge) and Jeff Y (Economics, Robinson College, Cambridge). Congratulations to them all! Pictured (left-right): Jeff, Ed, Immy, Isabella, Xuanqi and Owen (absent: Joey C). Podcasting in German Immy C was one of just 12 German learners aged 16-18 from across the UK to take part in a podcasting project run and funded by the Goethe Institute. Carried out remotely under Covid restrictions, “Sag’s Mir” taught podcasting skills, including scriptwriting, interviewing and voice-overs. Participants worked in a German-language environment, covering topics ranging from politics to culture, from music to STEM. Each of the podcast episodes they made included interviews with area-specific experts. Immy also won the prestigious Dresden Trust Scholarship last year, which took her on a four-week cultural and educational visit to the historic city. Celebrating our inspiring scientists British Science Week (5-14 March), a 10-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths, was marked with a series of profiles of Old Leysians who told us about their exciting work. We began with Denis Trofimov (West 1996-00), Senior Systems Engineer at SpaceX, the California-based aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company founded by Elon Musk. You can check the link below to read about him and other inspirational scientists. Science has a strong pedigree at The Leys: The Kelvin and Thomson Buildings are named in honour of two of Cambridge’s most brilliant scientists and many Old Leysians have carved out world-class scientific careers. They include Henry Hallett Dale, who became President of the Royal Society and, more recently, Lord Mair, Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at Cambridge, Andrew Briggs, Professor of Nanomaterials at Oxford, and Robin Perutz, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at York. Denis Trofimov LeysLife ACADEMIC NEWS Home By Phillipa F Life A wistful night sky, Consolations shining bright, Leys Hours on end, The clock ticks by. Home. Phillipa F and Benjamin P Encouraging voices, Home Thoughts Warmth tints the air as they say, ‘Go mould your life, only you have During lockdown, when we all had Sweet Home the day.’ to spend a lot of time at home, the By Benjamin P Home. English department ran a poetry Between the clouds and the stars, A cluster of birds competition for Moulton House pupils. Are two black gates, Soaring in a void so high. They were invited to express their And one blue door interpretation of the theme of “Home” I wish it was holdable. Let me savour the sky. in verse. The walls are white, Home. The floor is green, English teacher Rachel Senior said: The doors are squeaky, Four wildly spirits, “We were particularly impressed by And the stairs creaky. They’ve known each other long. joint-winners, Phillipa F and Benjamin As individuals, they are weak, P (both from Year 7), whose poems The rooms are tiny, But together, they are strong. are heart-warming and detailed. It The bedroom is messy, Home. was wonderful to read about what the The carpets mouldy, The hearty crow at dawn, concept of ‘Home’ meant to our pupils And the windows leaky. Belting out a tune. as we all spent time away from school And then at dusk and we would like to congratulate The gates are rusty, A pure crescent moon. Phillipa and Benjamin for imaginatively The patio is mossy, Home. and ably capturing their interpretations The hedges are frazily, of this theme.” And the shed smells musty. A love so powerful, Any hate has been banished. This is my lovely home, In a rush to go, the darkness has On a lovely street, vanished. With my lovely parents. Forever. LeysLife ACADEMIC NEWS Recommended reading Research shows reading surged during lockdown and World Book Day (Thursday 4 March) aimed to give it a further boost. Keen readers at The Leys were encouraged to make their own book recommendations. Staff and pupils were invited by Anna Garrett, Head of English, to post short films on the Flipgrid platform – another example of how teaching staff have used IT to good effect while teaching has had to be done remotely in lockdown. (READ MORE) WIDER CURRICULUM Despite the restrictions presented by Covid-19 we have been able to maintain a healthy and balanced wider curricular offering throughout the Lent Term. The reopening of the school on 8 March saw the resumption of the after- school activities programme, while allowing for the overriding importance of getting everyone back into the regular routines of school life. This has included small music ensembles, preparation for the Year 10 plays in the Summer Term, a range of physical activities including cricket, basketball and climbing as well as our usual STEM clubs and Art activities in the Rugg Centre. The Headmaster’s Society and the Academic Society have continued to meet online, for example, and we are looking forward to an outdoor debate at school – socially distanced, and weather permitting – at the end of term. Senior CCF Cadets doing Members of the Photography Club attempting to recreate a 1923 leadership training Francis Frith postcard image of the Upper Quad Climate questions Thanks to Zoom, pupils were able to join the Cambridge Climate Lecture Series, which is now in its fifth year, with an event entitled: Human Wellbeing, Justice, Climate Action and the Road to COP26 (11 March). They had the chance to question international experts in public health, development and climate issues. One Old Leysian, Sarah Dignam, asking from York University (where she is studying Physics), “Nicole: How might indigenous approaches to ecosystems and the environment be implemented to help combat climate change on an individual level around the world?” This question was rapidly “upvoted” by the online audience and it can be heard being read out by the Master of Trinity College, Dame Sally Davies (former Chief Medical Officer for England) by clicking this link. LeysLife WIDER CURRICULUM Neuroscientist explains the Grey Zone LIT Radio, launched by Sixth Form pupils to provide academic enrichment when Covid-19 regulations made it difficult to have visiting lecturers and discussion groups in school, continues to offer thought-provoking listening. The most recent broadcast, still available as a podcast, was a special episode in which Georgia D and Sienna H from the Lower Sixth Form interviewed the distinguished neuroscientist Professor Adrian Owen OBE, the man behind Cambridge Brain Sciences and author of the bestselling book Into The Grey Zone: A Neuroscientist Explores the Border Between Life and Death. They discussed sleep, brain scanning, and people in vegetative states. Prof Owen’s work has shown that some patients who are thought to be in a persistent vegetative state are fully aware and can communicate with the outside world by use of fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). ApplePodcasts: Spotify: Careers Forum The annual Careers Forum was held online this year, and for practical reasons was open only to pupils from The Leys. In normal circumstances it is open to all sixth formers in Cambridge. Although primarily aimed at the Lower Sixth, those in Year 11 and the Upper Sixth were able to experience the sessions live or listen to the recordings afterwards. The range and quality of speakers was as good as ever, with many fields of employment being represented including journalism, the sciences including AI and Pharma, finance and banking, the Army, medicine, engineering, the environment, Law, the visual and performing arts, humanities, architecture and marketing. There was also guidance on gap years and applying to university. The event, organised by Nick Robinson and Sarah Campos Bell from the Careers Department, was run in the King’s Building. Right moves A chess tournament organised by James P (U6, Bisseker House) attracted 55 contestants and was won by Michiel T (L6, School House).

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