News Autumn 2012

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

Design & Technology students display their work

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Contents

2 College News

3 New Student Centre / Lifebox / Exam results and Induction Day

4 Science and Technology news

6 Design and Technology Showcase

7 Art Extended Diploma students visit Cambridge Museums

8 Spotlight on Sport

10 Students have their say

12 Careers news

13 Expressive Arts round-up

14 Politics and Sociology Roadshow

15 Business students rise to Britvic Challenge / News of former students / Cakes and a splash

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.

We are pleased to welcome Christine Sherwin. Christine joins us from Cambridge Regional College where she has been Vice Principal - Learning and Achievement since February 2004. As well as accumulating a substantial amount of senior management experience during her time at Cambridge Regional College, Christine has had extensive experience teaching, developing, managing and examining both A level and vocational courses. Christine aims to ensure students at Long Road continue to receive high quality education and successful progression.

Mike Bryant, Vice Principal, explains.Mark came to Long Road as part of a programme of visits to find out more about the work and key issues facing sixth form colleges. Our discussions with him included support for further building work, the impact of changes to college funding, how OFSTED inspections are carried out and up-coming changes to the curriculum.

He took time to tour the College to talk to staff and heard from students about their reasons for choosing to study at a sixth form college. Mark was also able to find out about the building work that has taken place over the last two years to upgrade the College’s facilities and hear about recent successes including the introduction of new courses, the excellent examination results achieved this August and awards

won by a number of former Long Road students over the last twelve months.We were very pleased to have been able to host a visit from a senior member of staff at the Association of Colleges and that our students had the opportunity to talk directly to him about their experiences.

The College carries out regular self-assessment to improve the experience of our students while at Long Road and to continue to improve their results. The aim of the most recent self-assessment afternoon was for staff to develop and share understanding of students’ experiences including recent feedback.

College newsIntroducing Christine Sherwinnew Principal of Long Road Sixth Form College

Visit by Mark Bramwell Associate Director at the Association of Colleges

Self assessment involves College students

Mike Bryant, Vice Principal of Long Road (left) and Mark Bramwell, Associate Director, Association of Colleges (right)

Daniel Ruddock, president of the student community (left) with Gary Woolley, Estates Manager’ at the Self-assessment afternoon

Main cover photo features Amelia Stephenson modelling the dress she designed.

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There were lots of smiling faces on exam results day in August.

College celebratesexcellent exam results

Katherine Lang (left) achieved Grade A* in History and Grades A in Geography and Sociology. Sophie Shelley (second left), who is going to the London School of Economics to study Maths, achieved A* in Maths, Further Maths and History, and A in Psychology. Joe Maltas (second right), who is going to study Biology at the University of Liverpool, gained a Distinction in the 12-unit Sport National Diploma, A* in Biology A level, and A* in the Extended Project. Jerome Moody (right) achieved a Grade A* in Biology and A grades in Chemistry and Economics, and Grade A in the Extended Project.

Allegra Scales, who is planning to study English and Creative Writing at Warwick University

Williette Kissi (photographed with her proud mother) achieved

Grade A in both Biology and English Language and Literature

and Grade B in Chemistry.Williette is going to Bath

University to study Pharmacy

Andrea Joyce, Assistant Head of Studies, who is

organising the event

Richard Allitt is studying Computing and Natural Sciences at Robinson College, University of Cambridge

The new Student Centre

Welcometo our new students

By the time you read this, our brand new Student Centre will be open – and photos of the opening ceremony on 19th November will be on the College website and Facebook page. The Student Centre provides a communal area for students between classes and has been designed by architects rh partnership and built by contractors SDC. Students and staff were asked what they wanted from the new space, and the result is a bright, friendly area with different zones for chatting and for social networking. There is wi-fi access throughout the building.

Induction Day in September was as ever a vibrant and friendly event with Peer Mentors and Equality Champions on hand to help everyone find their way around. There was also a Reflection Tent where students could take a breather and reflect on their experiences.

One of the first events in the new Student Centre will be Lifebox, which aims to provide students with a ‘tool-kit’ of skills and approaches to help them to maintain a healthy mind and body.

Lifebox is on 12th December, and will include organisations such as MIND, CASUS, Relate, the British Heart Foundation and Centre 33. There will be talks, relaxation and yoga sessions and a counselling ‘taster session’.

Lifebox

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Science and Technology

ICT Diploma student wins Sony Bloggie 3D camcorder at IT Trade Show

Nuffield Bursary Student asked to present work

Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Further Maths A2 student Zac Goodwin knows that he wants to study Chemistry at university. “I decided that if I carried out some work experience in the summer between Year 1 and Year 2, it would support my application,” he says, “so I asked the Long Road Careers

Department for some help finding a place.”The result was a successful application for a Nuffield Bursary.

Nuffield Foundation Science Bursaries offer up to 1000 bursaries a year for post-16 students in the first year of a STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) course to work alongside professional scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians.

“I was really pleased to get a placement in the Unilever Centre for Molecular Informatics, which is based in the University of Cambridge Chemistry Department,” says Zac. “I was there for four weeks, and most of my work was pc-based. Most people imagine that scientific research is carried out in laboratories, but a lot is based on computers, so this gave me useful experience of this different approach.”

Zac’s project was titled “Structural Analysis of Substrates and Inhibitors of Molecular Transportation.” The aim of the project was

When Richard Cowley, ICT teacher, arranged to take his Level 3 Diploma students to the MISCO Expo 12 Trade Show in Old Billingsgate, London, little did he know that one, James Barrett, would be bringing home a state-of-the-art camcorder.

“We were very lucky to get tickets for the trade show,” explains Richard, “as it isn’t generally open to the public. Over 75 leading IT manufacturers had stands at the show, which is attended by IT professionals from all over the world.”

“The Long Road students were talking to the people on the Sony stall. The Sony experts were obviously impressed by our students as they asked us to wait for a few minutes. Then one of them came back with the Bloggie and asked our students to put all their trade show ID badges in a box. One was pulled out – it was James Barrett’s – so they donated the Bloggie to him!”

“I was really pleased to win it,” says James. “We had no idea that they were going to give us the camera. It was a great day, and we learnt lots about the IT industry.”

to differentiate between molecules which could possibly bind to a molecular transport protein (substrate molecules) and molecules that are unlikely to do so. The structure of these substrate molecules are then compared with potential drug molecules to see if the drug molecules will bind to a particular protein and be transported. “This could lead to more efficient drug evaluation in early stages of drug development,” explains Zac.

“I had a database of molecule structures and devised my own workflow program to analyse them. I found four really good matches for each structure then predicted how each molecule would be transported round the body.”

Zac is hoping to study Chemistry at either Imperial College or Bristol University.

Zac was one of seven Nuffield Bursary recipients, out of a total of 40 local candidates, to be asked to present his findings at a special award ceremony in early November.

The training room at Unilever where Zac carried out his research

Students at the MISCO IT Trade Show

Zac with a copy of his final report

James Barrett, lucky winner of the Sony Bloggie 3D

Photo by Nathan Pitt

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Applied Science students need to learn how to examine forensic evidence as part of their course. Huw Williams, Course Team Leader, explains.We wanted to make it as realistic as possible for them so we acquired a dummy of a partially-decomposed body, buried it in woodland at the edge of the College grounds, planted clues, and our students, wearing protective clothing, set to work. To make it even more realistic, we invited students from the Media Diploma course to film the events as they unfolded.

The students, under the command of ‘First Attending Officer’ Billie Ayling, carefully exhumed the ‘body’, taking care not to damage any evidence. They had to collect and record chemical, biological and physical evidence which could be analysed to help solve the crime.

Course Team Leader Huw Williams (right) with, from left to right, students Billie Ayling, Thomas Stead, Jake Duffy, Rhys Cooke, Victoria Loach and Matt Coldrick.

Media students were on site to capture the news as it happened

If you go down to the woods today….Applied Science students on the case

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Design and Technology students have a choice of three pathways: architectural design, resistant materials and textile design.

Design and Technology Showcase

Two students, Kit Wong and Nick Cassidy, who are both studying architectural design, took part in an Architecture Summer School organised by Anglia Ruskin. The aim was to give students an inside look into the world of Architecture at university. Kit and Nick report on the event:We stayed in a hall of residence for three nights, which gave us an idea of what it’s like being a university student! We visited William Morris’ ideal house, The Red House, and the RIBA Stirling prize-winning Salvation Army citadel. At the end there was a competition to design a chair using only recycled cardboard! We really recommend this week to anyone who is studying architecture.

Stuart Deering, Design Technology Course Team Leader, comments: “This was an excellent way for our Architecture students to find out more about both Architecture at university and as a career. Having their portfolios inspected by members of the Department of Architecture will also give Nick and Kit’s university applications a boost.

Architecture summer school

Nick Cassidy and Kit Wong

Some of Nick andKit’s sketches during the week

Kit and Nick’s draft report

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As part of our Foyer Gallery, photographs of work by students of all three specialisms have recently been on display. Here is a selection.

Design and Technology on display

Art Diploma students visit Museum of Zoology and Sedgwick MuseumThe Museum of Zoology in Cambridge has an extensive collection of both recent and fossilised animals, ranging from delicate shells to Charles Darwin’s collection of ‘Beetles, Finches and Barnacles’. The Sedgwick Museum in Cambridge meanwhile exhibits fossils, rocks and minerals from the distant origins of the planet, including the world’s largest spider (50cms in

diameter) and a complete iguanodon skeleton. Where better to go to inspire the work of our art and design students?

This is what student Jali Parris had to say about the visit:

“The trip we took to the Zoology and Sedgwick museums was a great opportunity for us to draw from natural life forms. It allowed me to work using

my observational skills rather than from a photograph. I could see every detail, which meant that the results were much better. It also meant that I had to adjust life-size forms to a smaller composition whereas normally I copy straight from the photo. I am looking forward to taking more trips like this as it really helped my art skills and understanding.”

Charlotte Poynton Graeme Beck

Holly Birch

Jess Parsons Owen Munby Zoe Kefford

Daisy Cookson

Temi Fajobi

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Spotlight on SportStudents take to College Sportivate Schemes College works with the Cambridge 99 Rowing Club and the Cambridgeshire Golf FoundationLong Road Students have been getting sporty this autumn in both Rowing and Golf through the College’s ‘Sportivate’ schemes, which began in early September. Sportivate is a £32 million Lottery-funded Sport England programme that gives students access to six-week courses in a range of sports. The programme will support them to continue playing sport in their community after the six weeks is up.

“With interest still strong it’s really important that we capitalise on the Olympic feel-good factor”, Chris Bryden, Sport Development Manager at Long Road explains. “As Rowing and Golf are also both Olympic sports for Rio 2016, this provides the perfect platform to generate interest in sport amongst the students. Our students were very lucky to be able to work with James Burton, the Golf Professional at the Cambridge Lakes Golf Club, and with coaches from the Cambridge 99 Rowing Club.”

Anna Ross Olympic Volunteer ......

Anna Ross, Course Team Leader for Psychology, is also a top-level Taekwon-Do practitioner. She explains how her sporting links took her to the Olympics. The call for volunteers for the London Olympics went out to Taekwon-Do practitioners in early 2011, via governing bodies nationwide. According to LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games), 240,000 people applied, from whom they interviewed 85,000. 70,000 Games Makers were then recruited, and I was one of them.

My role at the Games involved looking after the athletes, behind the scenes. LOCOG employed people who knew the sports to work in the ‘Athlete Services’ role, because we would be both motivated and sensitive to what they were doing. I worked in an area comprising a warm-up area, changing areas, an athletes’ lounge and the technical area, where the competitors’ electronic scoring body-armour was put on and removed, first aid and the mixed-zone, which players passed through to be interviewed by journalists and news-crews.

My job was mainly a security role, to keep the athletes safe, by

Student Josh Cooper with James Burton, Golf Professional at the Cambridge Lakes Golf Club

Anna Ross with Terrence Jennings

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Paralympics round-upHarriet Lee wins Bronze medal in S9 100m breaststroke

Sport students visit Paralympics

Congratulations to former Long Road student Harriet Lee on winning a bronze medal in the Paralympics. Just a few months ago Harriet, who has Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, was in intensive care with little hope of making it to London 2012, but she fought back and was rewarded not only with the medal but also by beating her own British record by finishing in 1min 19.53sec.

Long Road has followed the preparation of the Paralympics ever since Lord Coe visited the College in May 2010 and watched a Wheelchair Basketball demonstration.

“We were delighted to be able to get tickets for our Sport Diploma students to watch the Wheelchair Basketball event in the Basketball Arena,” says Sport Diploma Course Team Leader Lynne Little.

monitoring who was coming and going within this restricted area, as teams were limited to four people. We had to keep an eye out for journalists and others who tried to get in as Taekwon-Do began to hit the headlines.

We had some fun, trying to work out how to say hello to all the teams in their respective languages. The obsession with swapping Olympic-related pin badges stimulated quite a few conversations, and I gained a few nice little mementos. One of the best moments was when an American medallist from the previous day, Terrence Jennings, took the time to chat and posed for photos with his bronze medal.

The excitement in the arena was incredible whenever the British competitors appeared. I was able to stay and take a seat in the arena the day Lutalo Muhammed won the bronze medal for Team GB in the 80kg class. One of the biggest challenges for the competitors in this event was the sheer endurance of keeping themselves going from the first round at 9am to the end, at around 10pm.

I missed the day that Jade Jones won her gold medal - but that was because we had tickets for the Athletics Stadium and were lucky enough to see Usain Bolt in the 200m.

The rest of my Olympic experience was a complete contrast. Dealing with competitors and coaches was very different to being outside the venue, coming and going with the spectators and general public on my journey to and from London each day. I didn’t get through a single train journey without someone approaching me and ending up chatting, from the man studying his map for the route to my venue to the Cambridge family on their way home from a day at the Olympic park. It was like being in a big club. London was indeed a very different place for those few weeks.

I feel pleased and proud to have played a part the Olympic experience, and to have contributed to the success of the Taekwon-Do event.

.... and Sport Psychologist for the Long Road Basketball Academy

The 2012-3 Squad

Canada, winners of the Men’s Gold Medal

Photo by Lynne Cameron/PA

The Long Road Basketball Academy, the Lions, has its own secret weapon - Anna Ross gained her MSc in Sport and Performance Psychology two years ago and is now working towards a qualification as a Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist under the supervision of the University of Loughborough.

“My MSc has been extremely useful in my work in Psychology A level,” she explains, “in particular because there is a unit on Sport Psychology. I also realised that I could work with our Basketball Academy. As part of my training from Loughborough, I have

worked with Olympic teams and the English Institute of Sport, and have been able to apply my experience to our squad.”

Head Coach Pete Charlwood comments: “Our team are really enjoying working with Anna. Sporting success and Psychology go hand in hand, and we are seeing excellent results.”

The Basketball Academy has made a good start to the season with a win against the South Essex College and a narrow defeat against the highly-experienced Colvic.

“The Lions have massive potential,” says Pete. “We have some exciting fixtures on the calendar - and a trip to Barcelona next spring, so there’s all to play for!”

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Students have their sayLong Road students express their opinions through essays, poetry, video or reviews

Why take Philosophy A level? Muhammed Aliinspires Aukash to write poetryHolly Robinson (left),

who is studying English Language, English Literature and Philosophy at A2, explains.First of all, I would like to address the stereotypes people often hear about Philosophy as a subject.

For starters, people often assume that Philosophy is a subject you can take

because it’s easy. Anyone who says or believes that couldn’t be more wrong. To be brutally honest, Philosophy is hard. And I mean really hard.

Secondly, Philosophy requires an inordinate amount of brain-power, and a Philosophy student will need to question everything – including their own existence. It is not a subject for the faint-hearted.

That said, Philosophy is actually my favourite subject for the single reason that it is the most interesting subject I’ve ever taken. There is nothing too weird, too mind-boggling or too outlandish in Philosophy. You need to be able to think ‘outside the box’ and be prepared to learn things that may completely destroy everything you’ve ever known. For instance, you will have to question what is a dream and what is “real-life” because we can’t prove that what we consider to be “real” is real at all!

Initially, I chose Philosophy because I wanted to carry it on for my Grandad after he died because he used to share his Philosophical insights, which never failed to fascinate me. But after I started the course I realised that this subject was so much more than I expected. There are so many levels to each topic and there is always something new to learn. It also gave me a new insight to life, and I could use my newly-gained critical skills in any essay writing - especially Literature.

There is, admittedly, a lot of writing, and it requires a lot of hard work on your part but, honestly, it could not be more rewarding. Everything you learn is a wonderful new insight to the world and you can never ask too many questions. Plus-there are no wrong answers in Philosophy!

The majority of people I know who study Philosophy A level are carrying it on further at University or, like me, going on to study a similar subject.

My final word would be that I could not recommend Philosophy A level highly enough, and it was one of the best decisions I made to study it and I would encourage anyone with an interest to take it up - I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed!

Aukash (Mujthaba) Zahid (left) has had his work published on a website, given lectures and readings at a local primary school and has read his works to our local MP – not bad for someone who only started writing last December. He explains how he got started and his successes to date.

Muhammed Ali was the greatest boxer ever and also a poet, but I believe that he was treated badly because of his background and his beliefs. It was this that inspired me. I would like to challenge people’s attitudes and put them on the spot. I started by looking at his poetry and editing it, then moved onto creating my own works.

I found a website, United Press, which specialises in judging and featuring works of poetry. My poems have been selected every month since I started, and I have been rated as in the top 50 in the country. I had a poem published in the Cambridge News, and after that, Julian Huppert, MP for Cambridge, heard of my poetry, and asked me to go the Guildhall in Cambridge to hold a poetry reading.

I was also asked to go back to my primary school in Arbury in July to talk to the children there and inspire them to read and

write poetry. I really enjoyed doing that, and am hoping to visit other schools in the area.

I have my own website where I publish my works, but I am now hoping to develop an App and make my poems downloadable onto Kindle.

You can read more of Aukash’s poetry in the Student Showcase on the College website or on Aukash’s own website.

JusticeThe face of justice is open,

The eyes of justice are bright,

The lips of justice are never closed,

And the spine of justice is upright.

The breast of justice stands forward,

The gaze of justice is straight,

Justice has no fear nor doubt,

Justice has patience to wait.

The soul of justice is flaming,

The heart of justice is warm,

The mind of justice is clear,

And firm through rain and storm.

The life of justice is eternal,

Immortal is its past,

The power of justice shall endure,

And justice shall hold to the last!

By Aukash Zahid

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Students filmed talking about their courses

Psychology students review and write for - Psychology periodicalStudents at Long Road are always encouraged to read periodicals related to their subject, but our Psychology students have been invited to go one better – to review an edition of Psychology Review, which is aimed at both students and the general reader.Krystyna Jaworska-Wood, Psychology teacher, comments: “This is an excellent way of getting students to focus in depth on a range of topics from their course. It also helps to develop their essay-writing skills as they focus on how well each article is structured to best convey information. Psychology Review was very grateful for our students’ assistance and printed a ‘thank you’ on the inside front cover.”

Leah MisonWe were given a table to complete to rate each article in the September edition of the magazine and then asked to comment on how helpful it was, how clear its intentions and how easy it was to read. I particularly liked the articles on amnesia, sport psychology and autism.

I am going to carry out research and then write an article about multiple personalities for the magazine. People with this syndrome often don’t realise that they are switching from one personality to another in different situations.

Josie MelvinI am going to review a later edition of the magazine, but am already thinking of possible articles to write. One is repression of memory after a trauma. I have a relative who is a child psychologist and find all the different aspects of the subject very interesting.

Afua AcheampongI enjoyed reviewing the magazine. What was really helpful was the advice about how to achieve higher marks in your exam – each section explains what level of details and analysis in your answer gives higher marks. The feature on Stanley

In the run-up to Open Evening, students from across the College have expressed their views on video about the courses they chose. Two freelance film makers, Alex Oliver and Christian Lapidge, arrived with cameras and sound equipment, and students soon found themselves answering questions.“We wanted our students to share their knowledge of the courses they chose to study here with Year 11 pupils. Alex has already made a brilliant short film for us. The students featured in that were unscripted, and spoke enthusiastically about Long Road and their experiences here and we wanted to extend this to focus on individual courses,” says Heather Chambers, Vice Principal.

Milgram will be extremely interesting as we study his research into obedience. There’s a Psychology trip to Auschwitz and Krakow which helps us learn more about this theme. The article provided a very good summary as a starting point.

Madeleine Dicker-StevensThe magazine was very relevant to our A level studies, was easy to read and understand and had some useful pointers for essay-writing. My favourite article was the one about autism. It talked about the character of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, who shows many of the characteristics of Asperger (although the writers of the series say that he doesn’t in fact have the syndrome). It went through the various theories as to why some people are on the autistic spectrum.

Visit to the University of NottinghamYear 1 Psychology students are visiting the Department of Psychology at the University of Nottingham to talk to current students about both the subject and life at the university. They will also attend a mini-lecture on Psychology, tour the campus and see what student accommodation is like.

Josie Melvin andLeah Mison

Madeleine Dicker-Stevens and Afua Acheampong

Harry Thompson and Yasmin Ryles, Physical Education students

Jacob Cook, Phiosophy student

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Careers talk forPerforming Arts BTEC Level 3 Diploma students

Andy in the Independent

Careers news

Andy Goodwin, Careers Manager, recently featured in an article in the Independent. The article looked at all the options available to students post-A level, in particular alternatives to going to university. Andy was asked for his views

on internships and commented that: “… a lot of employers are offering internships as an excellent way of gaining an insight into potential candidates.”

Long Road students can get a wealth of careers information not only from the College careers department but also from the College Virtual Learning Environment, Moodle. The autumn edition of the Student Careers Bulletin is now available: visit the College website and go to Current Students / Careers Information.

Careers Assistant Jolene Barrett and Performing Arts Diploma Course Team Leader Wendy Frost recently invited Victoria Willingale, Marketing and Education Officer at the Cambridge Arts Theatre to come to talk to the Performing Arts Diploma group. Victoria Willingale is the Marketing and Education Officer at the Cambridge Arts Theatre. Victoria’s role includes organising programmes, access (British Sign Language, captioned and audio description performances), events, marketing shows, schools resources and schools engagement. The main theme of her talk was about marketing the theatre: why they do it and what it involves.

Andy Goodwin, Careers Manager

Performing Arts student learn more about ‘behind the scenes’ roles in theatre

Stethoscopes, Physiotherapy and Midwifery careers talk for Health & Social Care students

Health and Social Care students found out more about career options available to them during a talk by Papworth Hospital physiotherapist Helen Woollard.Helen started by talking about the types of careers allied to medicine, including pharmacy, dietetics, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, paramedics and midwifery. She explained what university entry procedures are like for many of these, with group rather than individual interviews being common.

She talked about her own career, stressing that interpersonal skills and empathy are even more important than academic ability.

Then it was time for some practical work with stethoscopes: students listened to each other to check lung function and to test for phlegm! Finally, students had a chance to think about which allied careers went with which main medical profession.

Jolene Barrett, Careers Assistant, who organised the talk, commented: “This was an excellent opportunity for students on our Health and Social Care Diploma course to find out more about the options available to them. Many of them have already given some thought to the path their careers may take, such as midwifery, child nursing and mental health nursing, but this opened their eyes to a huge range of opportunities. We are extremely grateful to Helen for giving up her time to come and talk to us.”

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Expressive Arts round-upPerformance Studies and Drama students see Hedda Gabler at the Old Vic

Joss Arnott workshopleads to Mumford performance

As part of their Performance Studies and Drama &Theatre Studies AS courses, students went to London to see Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen. Emily Banner and Lauren Russell report:

LaurenFor Drama students it is important to watch as much live theatre as possible, as this is part of the ‘Analysing Live Theatre’ unit. I am currently studying Drama AS so took detailed notes during the performance for discussion during our lessons. I thoroughly appreciated this opportunity. The show was remarkable: shocking and hilarious throughout. The part of Hedda Gabler was played by award-winning actress Sheridan Smith, her husband by Adrian Scarborough (Gavin & Stacey and The King’s Speech), and other famous actors were featured, which made the show even more enjoyable.

Hedda Gabler is a realistic play set in the late 1800s. The set was extraordinarily detailed and the lighting was incredible. I would definitely recommend watching the performance, especially if you have taken Drama AS, and I would love to watch the show again.

Performance Studies students also took part in a Dance workshop led by the Joss Arnott Dance Company – a workshop which led to a performance at the Mumford Theatre at Anglia Ruskin. Emily Banner and Lauren Russell report again.

EmilyThe full-day workshop consisted of learning and rehearsing a dance that would later be performed. Our hard work in the workshop left most of the class with achy muscles for a least a couple of days, but it was all worth it when we stepped on stage at the Mumford Theatre. I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. The chance to perform on stage alongside a highly experienced company was unforgettable, and I loved every minute of it!

LaurenThe workshop was inspiring and definitely a challenge. To learn from a professional dancer was amazing, the dance itself was well-structured, and it was great fun to dance alongside other students in the class. The performance at the Mumford Theatre was exhilarating. Before going on stage we watched a part of the Joss Arnott Dance Company perform. This motivated us to do well and as a group we tried hard and did ourselves proud.

If I had another chance to work with this company, I definitely would. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and the workshop improved my understanding of preparing a dance because I have to devise my own piece as part of the A level.

EmilyWe took notes on all aspects of the play, the acting, directing and the design of the whole performance. By doing this we were able to discuss the different meanings and interesting points of the play in our lesson afterwards, I really enjoyed doing this! I have always loved going to watch plays, musicals and so on, but I wasn’t aware of how interesting it is to analyse the performance until joining both the Performance and Drama & Theatre Studies courses!

Emily(left) and Lauren (right)

Adrian Scarborough (George Tesman) and Sheridan Smith (Hedda Gabler) Photo by Johann Persson

And that’s not all…..Also on the calendar for Expressive Arts students this term:• Frantic Assembly workshop • Splendid Theatre Company workshop on Berkoff• TripstoLondontoseeOne Man, Two Guvnors at the

Theatre Royal, Haymarket and Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre

• Ghost Punting Tour for Performance Studies students as part of their work on myths and legends

• Musical Mash-up in December by The Company – Long Road’s own Expressive Arts company

• Christmas Concert on 19th December – see our website for details of tickets

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Politics and Sociology roadshowPolitics and Sociology students have had an opportunity to put politicians on the spot – and to see where the decisions that affect us are made – in some recent visits.

Nick BolesMinister for Planning

Liverpool and Manchester: visit to key sites in political history

Dave Evans, Head of Sport and Social Science, reports on a visit to the College by Nick Boles, MP for Grantham and Stafford.Politics and Sociology students met newly appointed government minister Nick Boles in a thought-provoking meeting. Nick Boles was at Long Road as part of the Speakers to Schools initiative, which was set up by the BBC’s Economic Editor – Robert Preston. Nick started with a brief speech on the history of education in the UK to give students the context of recent changes such as the academies and the introduction of University Technology Colleges. This was followed by a question and answer session where students asked a lot of questions on the nature of the education system. There was then time for more wide-ranging questions where students challenged the minister on issues ranging from “Plebgate” to young people and politics. All the students enjoyed the chance to question a government minister, and Nick Boles said afterwards: “I was really impressed with the sharpness of the questions from Long Road students”.

Politics and Sociology students visited Liverpool and Manchester for the first time in the summer of 2011, and the trip was such a success that it was offered to Year 1 students again in 2012. The trip was based in Liverpool, where they visited the University of Liverpool, and stayed in a hall of residence to get a true taste of student life.

In Liverpool they visited the Albert Dock, the Slavery Museum and Port Sunlight, built by the philanthropic capitalist William Hesketh Lever for his Sunlight soap factory workers in 1888. One evening they also visited the Slaughterhouse Comedy Club.

The students also visited Manchester, where they looked around the city and visited the Manchester People’s Museum, which focuses on the history of working people. They also met Politics and Sociology lecturers at Manchester Metropolitan University. On the final morning of the four day trip they visited Formby beach to look at Another Place by Antony Gormley.

Nick Boles with students

Trip to Westminster No Politics course is complete without a visit to Westminster. Students had a tour of the Houses of Parliament and went to Downing Street before enjoying the sunshine on the Embankment.

Students in Westminster

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… and we end with cakes and a splash!No-one can say that Long Road staff and students don’t give their all to help raise money - so when Vice Principal Heather Chambers agreed to have wet sponges thrown at her in the quad – if three other staff members would join in, there was soon an eager set of volunteers, including Steve Picton (Health & Social Care Level 3 Diploma Course Team Leader), Nigel Ballard (Sport teacher and Enrichment Manager) and Mike Bryant, Vice Principal. Students who weren’t throwing sponges were busy selling cakes, all in aid of Cancer Research. The final sum raised was £150.

Meet our AlumniWe are always keen to keep in touch with our former students. Here are two alumni with very different careers, who have recently made contact. If you studied with us, whether recently or many years ago, please let us know. There is a list of alumni on our website.

Dr Natalie ThurtleNatalie (Nat)Thurtle studied Chemistry and Biology A level and Physics AS at Long Road. She took the MBChB (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae – hence the abbreviation) at the University of Liverpool.

She then took a Diploma in Tropical Medicine, again at the University of Liverpool, before joining Médecins Sans Frontières in 2008, most recently working on the Zamfara Heavy Metal Poisoning Outbreak project in Northern Nigeria. She has worked as an Emergency Medicine Advanced Trainee with Australian College of Emergency Medicine at Alice Springs Hospital, Northern Territory, Australia and is a member of the WHO guidelines committee for lead poisoning.

Nat is currently back in the UK, and is working in Oxford until May 2013.

Tom HornTom is Senior Broadcast Journalist with Heart FM Cambs and recently interviewed Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. Tom studied Broadcast Journalism at the University of Leeds, and made full use of his holidays to gain work experience and freelance work at local commercial stations and the BBC in Leeds. After a post-graduate stint at Global Radio – the UK’s largest commercial radio group, he joined Heart FM.

Students riseto Britvic ChallengeBusiness Studies students took part in a thirst-quenching challenge at the end of last summer: to design and present a new drink that Britvic could add to their product portfolio. Alan Dixon, Business Studies Course Team Leader explains how it worked.This is the third year that we’ve run this competition. Each of the nine Year 1 Business Studies classes produced their own winner, which then represented that group in the Grand Final. In front of an invited panel of guest judges, each group presented their new drink idea and answered searching questions about their product concept. The winning group of Stevie Leeks, Olivia Waghorn, Lily Windsor and David Nicoll was judged to have the best overall idea with their Stargo brand, a star fruit and mango energy drink. There was also a certificate and prize for the best individual presenter, which went to Molly Ripsher, as part of the Infuse group. Stevie, Olivia and Lily are pictured receiving their certificates and prizes from Vice Principal, Mike Bryant. Molly Ripsher is pictured receiving her certificate and prize for being the best individual presenter, as part of Infuse.

The Stargo team members had this to say:StevieThe Britvic Challenge was a superb way to create a new, innovative product, which helped me to use the skills I have learned in the classroom in a real situation.OliviaIt was a positive and enjoyable experience, and a great opportunity to work as a team and develop a better understanding of launching a product.LilyThe Challenge was a great opportunity to win a business competition within the College and has allowed us to develop our skills in business. This positive experience was a great way to put our knowledge into practice.

Mike Bryant, Vice Principal, presents the Stargo team, Lily Windsor, Stevie Leeks and Olivia Waghorn with their prizes and certificates

Molly receives her individual prize

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