September / October 2016 NEWSLETTER

Dates for your diary 20 October Year 11 Meet the Mentor 8 November Senior Maths Challenge 20 October Cinema Screening: 10 November Presentation Evening 14 October Sponsored Walk The Jungle Book Year 7 Hockey Year 11 Autumn Reports Romeo and Juliet 21 October Cambridge Museum Visit 14-18 Nov Anti-bullying Week (Art Department) (for Years 10 and 11) 18 November Children in Need: 17 October Year 8 Rugby 24-28 October Half-Term non-uniform day 18 October Year 9 Hockey 27 October Kenneth Branagh Theatre 23 November Geographical Company (Live): Association’s Worldwise 18 October Year 10 Information The Entertainer Quiz Evening 1 November Year 8 Hockey 28 November Bletchley Park Trip 19 October Theatre production: Layla’s Room 2 November Year 7 Rugby 29 November Key Stage 3 Assessment, Recording and Reporting (Henry Morris Hall) 7-18 Nov Year 11 Mock Exams

From the Principal Welcome to the first newsletter ANGLIAN Reminder of the term, and a new beginning LEARNING DATES FOR YOUR DIARY for Sawston Village College. School Drama Production: The College is now part of the Anglian Learning group of schools A Flea in her Ear, 8-10 December, Henry Morris Hall, Tickets from and, while very little has changed for pupils and staff at the school, www.ticketsource.co.uk/sawstoncinema a great deal of work is taking place behind the scenes to harmonise and reception. policies and procedures across the Trust, in particular with a view to identifying any potential savings which can be ploughed back into College Carol Service: teaching and learning. Headteachers in Cambridgeshire were very Great St Mary’s, Monday, disappointed with the government’s decision, on the last day of the 19 December. summer term, to postpone for at least one year the introduction of the promised fair funding formula as a result of the Brexit vote, and we have raised our concerns with Heidi Allen MP at this delay, which puts all schools under greater financial pressure. At the same time, we are absolutely determined at Sawston Village College that our outstanding core and extracurricular offer to pupils will be maintained and enhanced in order to provide a broad, balanced and inspiring education for our young people. I believe that this edition of our newsletter demonstrates this commitment, with articles showcasing our work in the arts, PE, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and the recent trip to the WWI battlefields of Belgium and France. I am also proud to include news from our Adult Learning team and the Sports Centre, both of which contribute Hockey Champions! hugely to keeping the village college ethos alive here at Sawston. Read more about our sporting Mr Culpin, Principal achievements inside.

PE Department Update The new term is well underway in the PE Department, and we are looking forward to another Post-16 successful year both Information in the classroom and on the sports field. Year 7 Football team Evening In particular, we are On 27 September over looking forward to retaining a number of the district tournaments that 250 parents and 150 pupils we won last year, and adding further trophies to our cabinet in reception. attended the Year 11 Post-16 Our Hockey and Rugby season is progressing quickly, and we have Information Evening, a key date in already been competing against a number of our local rival schools, such the College’s Careers, Information, as Linton Village College, Comberton Village College and St Bede’s. Advice and Guidance programme. Our teams are looking to build on their excellent results of last The aim of the event was to give academic year where Year 7 and Year 10 boys were Rugby champions pupils and parents an insight into of the 17 district schools, and the Year 9 boys were also runners-up the post-16 process and an in their tournament. In Hockey, the Year 9 girls were champions and opportunity to engage with the Year 11 girls were runners-up. This year’s tournaments are fast representatives from post-16 approaching and we wish good luck to all the pupils involved. centres and employers, as well as to get information from core Alongside these activities, there are many other activities available at subjects on the best way for lunchtimes and after school for pupils. New for this year is Dodgeball, parents to support their children in which has been very popular so far. Full details of all our clubs, which the run up to GCSE exams. The are free for pupils, are available from the PE Department, and the Sports Hall was packed for the post- current timetable is given below. Please note that the clubs change 16 engagement part of the event slightly every half-term. where, along with 15 representatives Mr Sutton, Head of PE of post-16 centres, Papworth Hospital, Welch’s Transport, Ion Science and TWI all had stands Extra-Curricular Sports Clubs focusing on alternative routes to work, such as apprenticeships, as LUNCHTIME AFTER SCHOOL well as opportunities beyond sixth 1.30 – 2.00 pm 3.15 – 4.30 pm form college. Year 9-11 Girls’ Hockey KS3 Table Tennis Year 9-11 Boys’ Rugby MONDAY Dodgeball - All Years Mr Burgess, Assistant Principal Starting after October half-term: Girls Football Vaulting - All Years KS3 Dance BTEC Sport Revision TUESDAY Leadership Starting after October half-term: Alumni Update Boys’ Hockey Gymnastics - All Years Fixtures Former pupil Nick Cowling GCSE PE Practical WEDNESDAY Starting after October half-term: BTEC Support performed this year with the BBC KS4 Basketball Youth Proms Ensemble at Last Leadership Night of the Proms, which was THURSDAY KS4 Table Tennis Staff Meetings Year 8 Girls’ Hockey broadcast live to millions of people All Years Open Dance around the world. Nick played FRIDAY Year 8 Boys’ Rugby Cheerleading - All Years timpani with the Ensemble, having Year 7 Girls’ Hockey originally started out playing drums in the school’s Junior Wind band. Sawston Cinema The College is always delighted to There is a good range of films and National Theatre productions coming hear of the successes of its former up at Sawston Cinema, the cinema run by the school for the community pupils and so if you have news to in the Marven Centre. To find out more, contact [email protected] share, please do not hesitate to or visit the website www.sawstoncinema.org.uk . get in touch with us at [email protected] .

New Road, Sawston, Cambridge, CB22 3BP • Telephone: 01223 712777 • Fax: 01223 712754 • www.sawstonvc.org Community Education: 01223 712424 • Email: [email protected] • Company Reg. No. 7627138 Open Evening Our pupils are the best advert for Sawston Village College, so it was with great pride that we had so many volunteering their time on a chilly October evening to welcome prospective pupils and their parents to the College. Whether guiding parents, undertaking demonstrations or chatting with Year 6 pupils, pupils proved themselves to be courteous and mature role models. It has been lovely to receive feedback from visiting parents specifically praising the work of guides on the night. I must also thank the outstanding work of colleagues in preparing the school for the evening. Staff put in considerable effort and imagination to ensure that the school was shown off at its best. Battlefields Trip 2016 Suffice to say, it is the combined efforts of pupils and 70 Year 10 pupils visited the staff and their pride in the College that makes Sawston WWI battlefields of Belgium such a great place to work and learn. Thank you to them and also, of course, to parents for allowing your children to and France from 22-24 spend their evening in school. We look forward to welcoming September 2016. next year’s Year 7s before long. The itinerary commenced with Mr Woodcock, Assistant Principal a visit to the site of the former strategic headquarters in Cassel and was followed by two days Duke of Edinburgh’s Award visiting sites within the Ypres Salient of Belgium. Locations As the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition season included: the British and draws to a close, we are delighted to report that 66 pupils Commonwealth military cemeteries have completed the expedition element of their awards. of Tyne Cot, Lijssenthoek, At the end of the summer term, 12 pupils travelled to the Welsh Vancouver Corner and Essex Farm; Marches to undertake a three-day assessed expedition in the the German military cemetery of Shropshire Hills as part of the Silver Award, whilst during September Langemarck; the Hooge trench and October a total of 54 pupils, split across 8 groups, completed their system and Talbot House two-day assessed expedition in Bedfordshire as part of the Bronze ‘Everyman’s Club’ in Poperinge. Award. This is the highest number of pupils the College has supported The itinerary in Belgium culminated across a single expedition season, and all participants are commended with the Menin Gate Memorial for their resilience in completing this challenging element of their ceremony in Ypres where Thomas respective awards. Ayling and Harriet Morgan laid a wreath on behalf of the College. Mr Reed, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Co-ordinator In France, we focused on the Somme area, which is currently commemorating the centenary of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Locations visited included: Newfoundland Park, the Thiepval Memorial and the Lochnagar Crater at La Boiselle. Mr Reed, History Teacher

Pupils on expedition

European Day of Languages On Monday 26 September, to celebrate the European Day of Languages, pupils started the day by testing their knowledge of languages and geography in our mentor time quiz, answering questions such as, ‘How many languages are spoken in the UK?’ or ‘What does grüezi mean and what language is it in?’ Congratulations to DH06, EH01, MH09, TH07 and TH10 for winning the quiz in their respective houses. During the day, pupils could take part in other events, such as going on our vocabulary hunt, trying out some paella and focaccia in the canteen, and staff and pupils alike challenged Adult Learning themselves to use different We were delighted to welcome languages throughout the day. The over 330 learners to the College MFL Department would just like to during the first week of classes this say Merci, Gracias, Danke, Grazie term. We have cake decorating and for everybody’s participation. Microsoft Office skills for beginners Mrs Deleplanque, Acting Head of starting on Monday 31 October and Modern Foreign Languages creative writing planned to start on 2 November. If you are interested in Arts Award Success attending any of these, please let us know. We also have Saturday Pupils were delighted to receive their Arts Award certificates at the workshops running on 26 November. start of term, having submitted portfolios for moderation in July. The Arts Award is an accredited Trinity College London qualification which For more information, please visit is supported by Arts Council England. 36 pupils achieved awards at our website Bronze and Silver levels and a further five Year 7 pupils were presented www.sawstonadulted.org , email with Explore certificates, having completed this while still at William [email protected] or Westley Primary School. telephone us on 01223 712424. Pupils covered a range of art forms to achieve their awards including Mrs King, Adult Learning Manager dance, music, art, drama, technical theatre and filmmaking. The moderator commented that, ‘Young people had clearly enjoyed being able to tailor their project outcomes to their individual subject interests.’ Ms Morgan, Arts Development Manager Sports Centre News We are offering a selection of new classes for 2016-17, including Thighs, Tums and Bums, Hard Core and the reintroduction of our Outdoor Early Morning Boot Camp. We are also offering a variety of fun activities for children over the October half-term break, including All Stars and Shooting Stars camps, intensive swimming lessons and Sculpting with Light technique workshops, Hula Hooping, Archery, Trampolining and The College ran a series of successful workshops over the summer. One Water Zorbing. of these was a new workshop, Sculpting with Light. This was based on projection mapping techniques and involved participants building a 3D Please call 01223 712555 for more screen before then creating animations, live action and colourscapes for information, or visit our website 3 9

3 projection on to this. You can see the film made from the workshop here: www.sawstonsports.com . 5

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. Mrs Wilson, c i h p

a Ms Morgan, Arts Development Manager Sports Centre Manager r g d e r . w w w t n i New Road, Sawston, Cambridge, CB22 3BP • Telephone: 01223 712777 • Fax: 01223 712754 • www.sawstonvc.org r p d

n Community Education: 01223 712424 • Email: [email protected] • Company Reg. No. 7627138 a n g i s e D