News Spring 2012

01223 507400 enquiries@longroad.ac.uk www.longroad.ac.uk

Work gets underway on new Performing Arts area

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Contents

2 Work on new Performing Arts area

3 Performing Arts performance: The Trial; company@longroad debuts with Thriller; college scores highly in peer review

4 Richard Allitt offered place at Cambridge; College has use of DNA equipment

5 Maths Revision Day at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences; students star in Cambs Coursefinder video

6 Work Experience: Rose at Next and Daisy at John Lewis

7 Former student Rosie Ball up for BAFTA award; Nicole Norman stands for Parliament

8 Religious Studies students visit to Buddhist monastery

9 Holocaust Memorial Day; History students visit to the Somme

10 Sports Round-up: Gold Challenge, Chance to Dance, Sport Makers

11 PE student Jade Hills; Health & Social Care Tea Party raises money for EACH

Long Road Sixth Form College is entitled to use the Get Set logo because of our commitment to the London Olympics and Paralympics. We were awarded membership of the Get Set Network after the visit to the college by Lord Coe in May 2010.

Work starts on new Performing Arts facilities

The stage is being removed, and the seating and backstage area remodelled to create areas for drama, music and dance. The aim is to create a state-of-the art, purpose-built space to provide first class facilities for our students.

“We have wanted to update the facilities for some time,” explains Jo Carroll, Head of Department. “We successfully applied for a grant and started work in the first half of the spring term. The work will be completed during the summer term ready for September.”

The new space will accommodate the Level 3 Performing Arts Diploma, which will be offered for the first time in September 2012, in addition to the A level courses.

The main hall of the college is undergoing a transformation.

company@longroad

The company kicked off with a flash mob around the Long Road quad. The zombie dance was based on Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and provided entertainment for students during their morning break.

Look out for details of further performances by company@longroad.

company@longroad is Long Road’s new expressive arts group. Dancers, singers and musicians work together to stage exciting performances both in and around the college.

Evaluation report gives college thumbs up

In a recent evaluation visit organised through the network, senior staff from other sixth-form colleges worked with students and groups of staff at Long Road. They followed up their visit with a progress report on the College’s strengths and improvement plans.

In their report, all the visitors highlight the excellent contribution made by students and staff in raising standards, stating: ‘The College has made good progress with its plans, which have had a positive impact on improving learner achievements.’ The report commends the new ideas and approaches in use at the College, the commitment of staff and the involvement of students in all of the developments taking place.

Mike Bryant, Vice Principal at Long Road, comments: “This is an excellent report and it’s particularly pleasing that the commitment of students and staff and the progress the College is making has been recognised. We’re always keen to learn from the experience of other colleges and the visit has given us a really valuable range of ideas for the future.”

Long Road Sixth Form College is a member of CENBASE, a group of sixth form colleges in Central and Eastern England who work together to raise standards via peer review and other activities.

The Trial: spine-tingling rendition of Berkoff’s play

“This production formed part of our students’ coursework,” explains course team leader Sarah Stow. “I was very pleased with the way they used minimalistic lighting and dramatic, monochrome costume (highlighted by blood-red ties) to create a powerful and claustrophobic atmosphere in the Drama Studio.”

Expressive Arts students staged a shocking and spine-tingling interpretation of Berkoff’s play, The Trial (based in turn on Kafka’s novel of the same name).

Plan of the new Performing Arts area

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Richard Allitt gains place at CambridgeLong Road Sixth Form College student Richard Allitt is celebrating his offer of a place to study combined Maths and Computer Science at the University of Cambridge. Richard, who formerly attended Newmarket College, is taking Maths, Further Maths, Computing and Physics at Long Road.

“I moved to LRSFC for my A levels, mainly because I wanted to study Further Maths, but also because I wanted to make a fresh start and get to know new people,” he explains. “My teachers at Long Road encouraged me to apply for Cambridge, and I decided to give it a go. I’m really glad I did, and I am extremely grateful to all my Long Road teachers for their support.”

Richard has been interested in Maths and Computing for as long as he can remember. “My mother says I used to count the carrots in the supermarket when I was a toddler,” he says, “and I taught myself to do computer programming.”

As part of his A level course, Richard has designed a game to help teach primary school children directions using a rabbit on a grid. “We use Python to program at the college, which is really good,” he says. “I am also learning to use Java at home to program Android. I really like web development as well.”

Richard was one of two Long Road students who won £1000 for the college at the Microsoft Think Computer Science during his first year at the college. “That was fun,” he says.

“I am really looking forward to my studies at Cambridge. We start by studying Maths and Computer Science 50/50 but can then specialise in one or the other by choosing particular units. I might continue to take a 50/50 approach though. I haven’t

yet decided what to do in the future, but working in Computer Science will be part of it.”

Richard’s Maths teacher, Stephen Warr, says, “We are delighted that Richard has got a place at Cambridge. It is very well deserved as he is a brilliant mathematician who is enjoying the challenge of tackling questions from STEP II and III papers. We hope that he will come back and visit us to talk to our students.”

Adam McNicol, Richard’s Computer teacher, says, “Richard is an excellent example of a student who has both the ability and application to do well. We are very pleased that he has thrived at Long Road. With the greater emphasis on computing in schools and colleges, there should be some top-class computer scientists in the country in the future, and we are sure that Richard will be one of them.”

Richard (centre) with Computing teacher Adam McNicol, left, and Maths and Further Maths teacher Stephen Warr, right

College first to useDNA analysis equipmentLong Road College is the first college in Europe to be loaned specialist equipment to carry out gene transfers. Staff at the college attended a two-day training course at Homerton College and are now advising students on the processes.

The equipment is on loan from the East of England Science Learning Centre.

Chris Graham, Biology course team leader explains: “We have the equipment to do a gene transfer to make a genetically modified organism. This gives us the ability to transfer a gene from one organism into another, different, organism such as from a human into a bacterium: this is exactly the same process that is used to modify bacteria to make human insulin for diabetics – we are transferring a gene that makes a coloured compound (so that we can see that we have succeeded – you can’t see insulin!).

Students will be able to cut DNA using specific enzymes then separate the fragments using electricity run through an agarose gel.

Mathematics is a rewarding subject to master, especially when students start to achieve success. Recently, the Mathematics Department launched a revision day for the Core 1 module in conjunction with the Further Mathematics Support Programme. The event was hosted by the Faculty of Mathematics, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, at the University of Cambridge. Around 100 Long Road students attended the day as well as another 50 students from other schools and colleges.

Many students commented that the day helped them to feel more prepared for the examination. “Four sessions were designed to ensure that the entire syllabus was covered during the day”, explains Stephen Warr, Maths and Further Maths Course Team Leader. “Students were kept busy throughout the day and we plan to offer future revision days on a regular basis”.

Students represent collegeon county-wide websiteThree Long Road students have been videoed for the Cambs Coursefinder website. The website contains information about all the schools, colleges and training providers in Cambridgeshire and will be used for online applications. Part of the website includes videoed interviews with students saying how they decided where to study for their sixth form education and what advice they would give year 11 students.

“We were asked to find students who previously attended three particular schools,” explains Assistant Principal Heather Chambers. “Jade Laurie, who studies the Health and Social Care National Diploma and Sociology, came to us from Chesterton Community College, Kian Derakhshan, who studies Mathematics (Statistics), Politics, Economics and History, was at Bottisham Village College, while Alec Yates, who is taking English Literature, History and Drama, formerly attended St. Ivo School in St Ives.”

To see what the students have to say about their post-16 decision-making process, visit www.cambscoursefinder.com and go to the Help and Advice / Making Decisions section.

Stephen Warr, Maths and Further Maths course team leader at Long Road with the students

Heather Chambers, Assistant Principal at Long Road, leads a session

Mathematics students benefit from revision day atthe University of Cambridge

Kian Derakhshan

Jade Laurie

Alec Yates

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Enterprising D&T Textiles studentstake part in high level work placements

Rose Marroncelliworks at Next head office

Rose Marroncelli, who is studying Business Studies and Sociology in addition to D&T, decided to write to top fashion brands to organise work experience.

“I knew that I needed the best work placement possible to help me with my university application. I didn’t really think I’d get a positive reply from anyone, but to my amazement I got an offer from Next, which is based in

Leicester. Even better: when I explained that I would find it hard to commute to Leicester, they offered me accommodation in their graduate house.”

Rose spent a week at Next in October half term. “While I was there, I shadowed one of the junior fashion buyers in womenswear. It was the jerseywear department so we were focusing on t-shirts, long-sleeved tops and leggings. I went to meetings and worked with both Next and freelance designers so I got a broad overview. We talked about colours and styles for the forthcoming seasons.”

Next has told Rose that they would be happy to have her back. “I would love to be a fashion buyer,” she says. “This work placement has given me lots of ideas for the future. I have also taken an Extended Project at Long Road. I researched and designed a dress based on 1950s fashions. I knew it had to be yellow as I had seen something similar in a magazine.”

Rose is hoping to study Fashion Buying or Fashion Management at university.

Rose in the D&T Textiles room

Rose models her yellow dress

Daisy Dunnettworks at John Lewis head office

Daisy Dunnett, who is studying Business Studies and ICT in addition to D&T, already works at the weekend in Womenswear at John Lewis Cambridge.“I would like to be a fashion buyer, so I applied for a work experience placement through the John Lewis personnel department. I was delighted to be given a place in women’s shoes at head office in Victoria Street, London.”

Daisy’s placement involved her looking at new ranges for spring and summer 2012. “I was working with the assistant buyer. I saw how products are logged on the product hub system and also found out how items are selected for Clearance. Another area was visual merchandising: seeing how shoes are displayed in stores. We visited John Lewis Oxford Street to see how the layout was working. There are both self-selection stands and ones where an assistant is needed.”

Daisy went back to John Lewis Oxford Street during the Christmas holidays. “I worked with visual merchandising putting the spring and summer shoes on display.”

Daisy is hoping to study Fashion Buying and is investigating a one-year Fashion Retail Academy course as an alternative to going directly to university.

Daisy Dunnett

Daisy in one of her creations

Former Long Road student Rosie Ball in line for a BAFTARosie Ball, who studied Art, Art History and Media Studies at Long Road, is in line for a BAFTA award in Video Games and will be at the awards on 16 March at the London Hilton in Park Lane.

Rosie teamed up with five students from Norwich University College of the Arts and Abertay University to compete in the Dare to be Digital competition in the summer of 2011. Their team, Swallowtail, designed an iPad game ‘Tick Tock Toys’. Rosie explains “Fifteen teams from all over the world each make a game in nine weeks and then the best three are nominated for a BAFTA, which one team wins. Industry professionals are on hand to help while the games are being built, and it’s a really valuable experience.”

Tick Tock ToysTick Tock Toys is a 3D puzzle/maze game which takes place inside a cluttered toy box. The aim is to alter the position of the objects inside to clear a path for the clockwork robot to reach his frisbee goal.

All of the objects are there to be played with. Some will help you solve your puzzle while others will hinder you. As you play, these toys form an orchestra to aid and accompany you.

As an iPad game there is an emphasis on tactile exploration and the freedom of ‘pick up and play’. The levels are short but vary in difficulty. Layering the central mechanics can create a complex maze which may take longer to solve.

Rosie has just graduated with a BA (Hon) Games Art and Design and is embarking on a one-year paid internship at Disney in London. She is also featured on page 101 of the 2012 Norwich University College of the Arts prospectus.

For more information, and to see how the team gets on at the BAFTA finals, visit the Swallowtail website

Rosie (centre, in green) with her winning Swallowtail team

Nicole Norman candidate for the UK Youth ParliamentEconomics, Geography and D&T Architecture student Nicole Norman is standing as candidate for Hertfordshire in the UK Youth Parliament Elections.

Nicole formerly attended Fearnhill Mathematics and Computing College in Letchworth, and is one of 33 candidates competing for six MYP (Member of Youth Parliament) seats and six deputy (DMYP) seats.

“When I was in year 10,” explains Nicole, “I wrote to an organisation called Youth of Today to see how the government is tackling youth crime. I was then able to spend a day with David Hanson MP, who was Minister of State for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing in the previous governmnent and attend an event at IBM on sustainability.”

As a result, Nicole was persuaded to stand for UK Youth Parliament. “If I’m elected, I will have a chance to improve my debating skills – we visit the Houses of Parliament to see how they do it! We will meet twice a month and will be able to make proposals.”

Nicole is hoping to work in urban regeneration in developing countries and is planning to study Town Planning at university.

Nicole

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Religious Studies studentsvisit Buddhist monastery

Holocaust Memorial Day History studentsvisit the SommeLong Road History students had a chance to see at first hand the impact of World War I when they visited the French battlefields. Here are some of their comments:“The Somme trip was great as the cemeteries gave me a real insight into how large scale the deaths were in World War I.” Tyler Denyer

“The best part of the trip to the Somme was visiting the crater made by a bomb in World War I. I had no idea of how big an impact a bomb could have. It gave me a new insight into the level of destruction caused by World War I and the ways in which it changed the landscape of Northern France.” Austin Hill

“I enjoyed the Canadian Cemetery, the crater and the remains of the trenches on the Somme trip.” Sarah Pallet

“The Somme Trip brought the course to life. The students gained a deeper understanding of the events that we had studied in History.” Robin Bunce (History teacher)

Students from A level Religious Studies gained insights into life as a Buddhist monk when they visited Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in Hemel Hempstead.

Religious Studies teacher Nicola Van Leeuven explains:

“The monastery follows the Theravadan Thai Forest Tradition. The monks aim to live their lives simply and in accordance with the Buddha’s teachings. Our guide was Ajahn Ariyasilo, a Theravada monk, who explained the daily routine of the monastery.

“We arrived for lunch, eaten early at 11am, as the monks are not allowed to eat after midday. This is so that they can be mindful in the afternoons when they meditate. Students took part in ‘Dana’, food offerings that would traditionally be made to the monastic Sangha to gain positive karma/merit. This is partly symbolic to reflect that in Thailand and other Theravada Buddhist countries the monastic and lay Sangha support one another: the monks provide religious guidance to the people in return for the laity providing for their material needs when the monks go on their alms round. As the Hemel Hempstead monks are also not allowed to handle money, they are also reliant on the community to bring them food daily.

“We watched them chanting blessings and saw how they took time to talk to and teach the members of the local community who had also come to give Dana and visit the monks. We visited the main temple with the golden statue of the Buddha, and the Bodhinyana Hall, and were given the opportunity to take part in a session of guided meditation led by our monk guide.”

After the trip, students made the following comments:

“Meeting the monks and nuns was really interesting and inspirational. I’ve learned a lot about their way of life, and have enjoyed the opportunity to talk to the monks about their experiences and reasons for choosing this way of life.”

“The trip was very informative. It was really interesting to meet a real life monk and hear his life story, and also see how they actually live this lifestyle”.

“It was very enjoyable and helped to confirm what I’ve learnt about Buddhism from real people who have made the choice to become monks and nuns.”

“The monks and nuns were very welcoming, and the temple was so calming and beautiful. I really enjoyed the meditation and the sense of peace it gives you.”

Shoes and cages

Talk by Eva Clarke

Heidi Gjertsen, Equal Opportunities Co-ordinator and Philosophy teacher explains:“We wanted to bring home to students the numbers involved in and the impact

of the Holocaust. At Auschwitz-Birkenau there is a glass cage containing 25,000 pairs of shoes. This represents the number of people gassed each day at the height of the Holocaust. To replicate this on a smaller scale we asked students and staff to bring in old pairs of shoes, which were placed in a wire cage in the college quad. At the end of the event, the shoes were taken to a shoe bank to be recycled or reused.

“The theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day was ‘Speak Up Speak Out’, so we also gave students an opportunity to state out loud different portrayals of the Holocaust: a poem, the statistics and, finally, a message of hope.”

Eva Clarke, who was born in a concentration camp, came to talk to students about the experience of her parents, her early life and how she and her family coped with what happened to them. Eva was accompanied by Mike Levy from the Holocaust Memorial Trust, who set up a stall in the college reception after Eva’s talk to provide students with further information about the Holocaust.

Long Road staff and students commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th January in an unusual but thought-provoking way.

During the course of the day, the cage was filled with discarded shoes to represent

those who lost their lives.

Eva Clarke with some of the students who attended her talk

Mike Levy from the Holocaust Memorial Trust talked to staff and

students in the college reception

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Sports round-up Chanceto DanceLong Road Sixth Form College has invited dance school Sin Cru to run a series of classes.“We want to offer our students as wide a range of ways of keeping fit as we can,” explains Chris Bryden. “Sin Cru came to the college when we held our Sport Roadshow in December and proved a huge hit, so it made sense to ask them back in as part of the Cambridge City Council Chance to Dance programme.”

The classes run for six weeks from 20 February. Each of the first three classes focuses on one dance style: bboyin, hip hop and poppin. Students will then decide which of the three styles the class should focus on for the last three weeks.“It will be great!” says Chris.

Sin Cru dancers at the Sport Roadshow day

London 2012: the Gold ChallengeThe Gold Challenge matches fund-raising and Sport. Teams of Long Road students have chosen to raise money for the Arthur Rank Hospice in Cambridge, and will be setting up JustGiving accounts.

Chris Bryden, Sport Development Manager explains: “The target for each team is to clock up 2012 kms of running, cycling or rowing in any combination they choose, and of course to get as much sponsorship as possible. Students who complete the challenge can win tickets to take part in a national event at

the Olympic Stadium on 1st April. There’s a tour of the stadium and entry to a prize draw to be the first people to run the 100m at the stadium.

“I am confident that our students will rise to the challenge and raise lots of money for the Arthur Rank Hospice.

Sport MakersLong Road Sixth Form College students were the first in the region to take part in the national 2012 London Olympics volunteering initiative, Sports Makers. The lottery-funded campaign is part of Sport England’s national strategy (Places People Play) to recruit tens of thousands of volunteers to organise and lead community sporting activities across the country.

“Although the campaign is running until September 2013, we have asked our students to volunteer for 10 hours by March 2012,” says Chris Bryden. “This means that we’ll be able to enter our students into a national draw for Olympics tickets. More importantly, the skills that the students gain from this programme will stand them in good stead for whatever career path they choose to take in the future.”

Chris Bryden,Sports Development Manager

Long Road students at a Sport Makers training session

Student focus: Jade Hills PE, Psychology and SociologyJade Hills, who studies PE, Psychology and Sociology, has made the most of all the sports opportunities available to her. Jade decided to come to Long Road because she liked the work ethic of the students she met at Open Evening. “I felt there was a very positive vibe in the college. The teaching is really good, and we always look at contemporary issues, relating them to the media. We have been looking at recent press coverage of racism in football.”

“I play football with the Great Shelford Women’s Team. We have won every game so far this season and are hoping to be promoted to the Premier Division of the Eastern Region’s Women’s Football League.”

“I am enjoying my PE A level because we learn about how your lifestyle affects everything else in your life. We look at social differentiation to see how different groups of people participate

in sport. I also enjoy the work we do on coaching and I help to coach an U12 boys’ football team. I took the Level 1 Sports Leadership qualification at my school, Comberton Village College, and took Level 2 here at Long Road.

“I decided to take Sociology and Psychology because they relate to much of the work we do in PE: Sport Psychology for example. These will also be useful in the future. I would like to work with children in the future and have applied to study Sport and Physical Education at university.”

Health and Social Care students raise money for EACHHealth & Social Care National Diploma students got to work to bake an amazing array of cakes for their Christmas tea party. To go with their delicious snacks, the students also served steaming cups of tea and coffee (complete with whipped cream).The event had a serious side: to raise money for the EACH (East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice) in Milton’s playground appeal.

“Last week we handed a cheque to Sophie Horsford from EACH, totalling £310 (and a few pence)!” says Health and Social Care teacher Sue Dulgarn. “Well done to all my lovely, lovely students!!”

“We encourage students to study and volunteer to work for registered charities both as part of their coursework and for extension activities,” adds Steve Picton, Course Team Leader. “EACH is particularly relevant as an example of a care setting for children, and we are very pleased that our students decided to carry out a fund-raising activity for the charity.”

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1 Rachel West

2 Lisa Scott

3 Roisin Young

4 Bobby Claxton and teacher Sue Dulgarn

Forthcoming eventsLook on our website for details of two college-wide events:Annual Careers Day:Wednesday14 MarchCompanies, representatives of education and training organisations and gap year specialists will be in college to talk to all students

Road Safety Day:Wednesday 21 March Emergency and safety advisors will be in the college on this day.

Long Road Sixth Form College Long Road Cambridge CB2 8PX

Long Road Sixth Form College 2011/12 LR6FC