On Friday, Ely College students and staff marked the Armistice Centenary and remembrance weekend with a moving Last Post Ceremony. All 1100 students from Ely College and Bishop Laney Sixth Form gathered together as a community to show their respects for the fallen. They were joined by Mayor Rouse and representatives from the Royal British Legion.

  

Over the week leading up to Remembrance Sunday, Ely College students have enjoyed helping the textiles department create an inspirational art installation to commemorate 100 years since the end of World War One, the fallen of all conflicts and those who still serve. Every student hand made a poppy, with hundreds of them being hung in the main hall. Assemblies and tutor time activities have explored the nature of service, sacrifice and remembrance for the victims of conflict.

At the Remembrance service, students and visitors fell silent for two minutes at 11am, after which the Last Post was sounded as Principal Richard Spencer read The Exhortation.

Joined by standard-bearers from the Royal British Legion and one of the ‘There But Not There’ Tommy silhouettes, students were praised for their respect. Having hosted a touring exhibition that details a centenary history of the Cambridgeshire Regiment, students reflected on 1918, which saw the heaviest losses for the 1/1^st Battalion, more so than any other year of the War.

Mr Spencer commented: “Working in partnership with the local groups and historians has allowed students to gain a deeper understanding of the events of WWI. Ely College and the people of Ely shall not forget.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

   

 

Just before half term, EAL Co-ordinator Gosia Bates accompanied four Ely College students to Murray Edwards College in Cambridge for the Mother Tongue Other Tongue 2018 award celebration.

Mother Tongue Other Tongue is a national project, led by Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy with a poetry competition for 11-16 year old Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) and English as an Additional Languages (EAL) students,  run in this region by Routes into Languages East.

Four of our students were shortlisted for awards and all of their poems are now published in the competition's anthology. This year there were 99 entries from 14 schools in the East region in 22 languages.

Huge congratulations to Tymek Niewodniczanski who was a winner in Year 7 category. His parents also attended the award night and as a college we are so proud of the hard work and passion all of our EAL students have shown by entering their thoughts and poems into this annual competition. Well done to all involved and huge thank you to Mrs Bates for her support!

 

As part of PLEDGES and Futures Day, more than 180 Year 9 Ely College students took part in workshops and visited a local university to experience life at university first hand. Funded by the Department for Education through the Fenland and East Cambridgeshire Opportunity Area, the event was organised by Take Your Place.

‘University in a day’ was all about introducing the 13 and 14 year olds to the world of higher education, giving them information to help them form their own opinions on their futures. The day included a campus tour with current students at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge and four workshops back at school in Ely – led by Take Your Place staff and Ely College alumni.

Verity Allen, Higher Education Champion from Take Your Place and organiser of the day explained “For Take Your Place, the project is all about raising aspirations and uncovering hidden talents.

“We designed the workshops at Ely College to focus on topics surrounding course options using prospectuses. They also learned about the education pathways they can take from GCSE through to university or degree apprenticeship. We also had current Anglia Ruskin students in to talk about ‘day in the life of a student’ and past Ely College students explaining the routes they have taken since their time at school.”

The students took advantage of having Anglia Ruskin student ambassadors on hand to ask far ranging questions about university. The most popular questions were about student finance and living independently. Some of the questions answered by the Ambassadors included, "What's the behaviour system like?", "Is it hard to settle when you first start?", "What's the social life like?" and "How do you pay for uni?"

Dr Norton-Berry, Assistant Principal at Ely College said “As a school in one of the Opportunity Areas we have been working closely with neaco for some time. This has allowed us to give our students many fantastic opportunities that would have otherwise been extremely difficult and expensive to deliver. The day that Year 9 just experienced is a case in point. Having the opportunity to see a university in action at this early stage in their secondary school journey is an invaluable opportunity – it gives some of our students who wouldn’t otherwise aspire to attend university, the impetus and the drive to do so. My thanks go to all at neaco for the day which was brilliant.”

Tricia Prichard, Chair of the Fenland and East Cambridgeshire Opportunity Area, said ‘I want all pupils in the Opportunity Area to aspire to a bright future and fulfil their potential. I am delighted that we have been able to fund Take Your Place to help more young people explore the world of university and make informed decisions about their career options’.

The Fenland & East Cambridgeshire Opportunity Area has been identified by the Department for Education as a ‘social mobility cold spot’ and aims to improve social mobility by providing access to high quality education, training and employment.

Beka Avery, County Coordinator for Take Your Place Cambridgeshire and Peterborough explained, “We are engaged in a wide range of activities in schools and colleges across the region, all designed to have a long-term impact on higher education progression. This project is a great example of what can happen when schools, universities and like-minded organisations work together to showcase the many different opportunities on offer to help young people reach higher education.”

 

The new Year 11 Matters timetable is now LIVE!

Many thanks to all staff contributing additional sessions in support of our Year 11 students. These are fantastic opportunities to support GCSE revision and coursework catch-up.

Remember... be like Bill because Year 11 does matters.

On Friday 28th September, Bishop Laney Sixth Form students visited the Emirates Stadium for the latest Search Fair. The UCAS and Apprenticeship Fair brings together hundreds of universities from across the country as well as employers who offer apprenticeships.

Students have the chance to speak to universities first hand to understand and find out what they offer, how to apply and what the universities look for in students. There was the chance to speak to American Scholarship representatives as well as many varying industry professionals all offering apprenticeships at different levels.

With thousands of sixth form students in attendance, there was a real buzz about the place, with plenty to see and discuss. Talks were held throughout the day on different aspects of the UCAS application (some of the photos here are from the talk on personal statements).

A fantastic experience as our Bishop Laney students build on their successes and plan for their futures.

Students involvement in the running of our school library has never been so active. Mrs Shaw, our LRC Manager explains the work involved.

With the beginning of the new school year, we are pleased to present our fantastic new team of Student Librarians for 2018 / 2019. Students from Year 8 onwards can apply to join the team. After attending an interview and accepting the position, training can begin.  Student Librarians work on the main LRC desk issuing and returning books, serving at the School Shop and often help to shelve the books. As well as these everyday duties a vital part of a Student Librarian’s work is to support fellow students in the LRC with any queries: from searching for a book, to helping them access our dynamic online library system.

New recruits are trained both by Ms Shaw and the Senior Student Librarians. Younger students are overseen by more experienced Student Librarians. Training and learning from one another is a collaborative process the students certainly benefit from; as the Student Librarians grow in seniority and experience, so do their responsibilities. Team spirit is very important and as training progresses, the feeling of mutual support is wonderful to see.

Championing lifelong learning, our Students Librarians can often be found in the LRC quietly reading or encouraging lively debates in reading groups. They charge themselves with promoting everything the LRC has to offer, including computer spaces for homework catch-up. Our Student Librarians also undertake other projects such as competitions, literary polls and various fundraising efforts. Students who become Student Librarians use this experience to gain PLEDGES Points, which quickly build towards their Awards.

Watch this space for some exciting LRC initiatives coming up this term. Student Librarians are heavily involved in organising, selling and promoting the hugely successful Book Fair which takes place towards the end of the Autumn term – just in time for Christmas, so an ideal time to do some gift shopping for friends and family. Our 2017 Book Fair allowed the LRC to claim just over £200 of free books for the LRC. Student Librarians are also currently helping get ready for the school’s Booked Up programme which will see every Year 7 student receive a FREE book during their first term at Ely College. More about this soon so keep an eye out for our next newsletter.