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Bassingbourn’s Virtual Trek to Colombo

As part of our drive to encourage our students to be physically active during the current lockdown we are inviting all students to take part in a sponsored walk/run/cycle. The event will run between Monday 8th February and Sunday 21st February to allow students to participate over half term and we would like the students to be active each day, recording how far they have travelled. We have a current goal to cover a collective distance of around 7000 miles, which equates to approximately a mile a day for student over the fortnight. We feel that this is a realistic minimum target for all students but would be delighted if they were able to do more. To allow the students to see how far they have walked collectively, we have chosen a destination of Colombo in Sri Lanka, which is approximately 7000 miles away, and will update our progress each day. This event is part of our intercollege competition programme and students will earn points for their college with each mile travelled. Your child will know which college they are in as they complete the weekly quiz in these colleges and will also find the information on their Google Classroom dashboard. We would like the students to upload their distances to Google Classrooms at the end of each day so that we can have a running total of miles covered. We will be updating our website and social media each day to show the progress being made along our virtual trek and how the different…

Heron Autumn 2020

Our latest Autumn Term Newsletter can be found HERE

Mathematical Triumph

Recently, BVC Mathematicians took part in the UKMT Maths Challenge competitions which provide a great enrichment opportunity; allowing students to hone their problem solving skills through a 60 minute challenge. We are delighted that a number of our students witnessed success with many receiving a Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates. A massive well done to our Gold winners who are now through to the next round in the competition known as The Pink Kangaroo.

Spelling Bee Success

Congratulations to the young linguists in Year 7 who have been taking part in the annual BVC Spelling Bee. Students had to learn a selection of common words in French or Spanish and then were tested on how many they could spell correctly within a time limit. The top 20 in each language will now go through to the next round when they have to learn a further 50 words. Bonne chance everyone!

Stunning Cathedral trip

As part of Curriculum Day, Year 9 students went on a humanities trip to Ely to take part in a variety of activities based on Art, RE, History or Geography. Lottie Bond describes the trip: After a coach ride from Bassingbourn to Ely, each group started the morning differently - my group began in the stained-glass museum that was inside the Cathedral. We began by learning centuries-old techniques used by monks to create the windows, how they made different colours and why they were made. After the workshop we began touring around the museum. On every wall were stunning patterns and designs displaying pictures depicting anything from biblical stories to images of monarchs commissioned by kings themselves. Art students took particular interest in the museum as their next scheme of learning will be incorporating some of the art styles and techniques seen there, but everyone else still enjoyed the experience. My group next ventured downstairs, into the main part of the Cathedral. With ceilings as higher than they were wide, it is an understatement to say we, including the staff, were amazed with the beauty of it all. As we entered, both the ceilings and the walls were decorated with intricate designs showing biblical stories, including the Nativity, the Easter story and the Ascension. While we were all stunned at the cathedral itself, we were kept interested by our tour guide, who not only taught us about common Christian teachings but also opened up theological discussions into the nature of God, which I, as an…

Dance Show gallery

BVC students Talking Aloud

Year 9 students Amelia Peace and Elliot Perkin represented Bassingbourn Village College at the inaugural Cambridge Talking Aloud competition. The public speaking competition was organised by Amber-Page Moss, of Peterhouse College, University of Cambridge, and attracted state schools from across Cambridgeshire. Amber visited Bassingbourn last term to deliver a workshop to our Year 9 students and to explain the competition to them. Amelia and Elliot were supported by a group of their BVC friends (above) and English teacher Mrs Rebecca Boxall. The Bassingbourn B team (right) had a last minute substitution at this week's Cambridge area final of the ESU's Churchill Public Speaking Award. Year 9 student Lottie Bond stepped in at the last minute to compete alongside Matt Gilliland and Fraser Clapham. Fraser once again won the evening's Best Speaker award and the trio were awarded second place overall, narrowly missing out on a place at the semi finals which will be held at Magdalene College, Cambridge, next month.

Curriculum Day activities

The normal timetable was suspended on Tuesday to allow students to enjoy extended activities related to specific curriculum areas. Year 7 enjoyed classroom-based activities related to poetry and performance while Year 8 covered wellbeing in PSHE, seeing first-hand how to deal with worries and the power of listening to each other chat over a simple cup of hot chocolate. A trip to Ely saw Year 9 enjoy a Humanities trip to Ely where they were able to visit the Oliver Cromwell Museum, Ely Cathedral, the stained glass museum looking at religious art and a geography field study within the city. The PE and Science departments joined forces with Year 10 to look at how we process food and burn calories – literally! Activities ranged from chocolate tasting to fitness sessions, all linking to wellbeing and healthy eating. The Year 11 pastoral team took students on a day-trip to the O2 to recognise their hard work so far this year. The students voted to visit the Oxygen Freejumping Park where they were able to take part in a number of activities including virtual reality games, bowling, watching a film and a visit to the interactive Sky Studios. BVC Principal Vickey Poulter said: “It takes a lot of planning to run a Curriculum Day and the whole day was particularly busy - including an impromptu fire alarm at the end of the day! “I spoke to a number of students across year groups and they all said how much they had enjoyed the day so I’d like…

Bonjour et bienvenue!

Our third annual French exchange has started with the college playing host to over 70 students from our partner school, Collège Joseph Bédier. Year 10 students Evelyn and Imogen describe the visit: "On Monday 27th January, we finally got the chance to meet our French exchange partners for the first time. They arrived after a long journey from the south of France by coach, and they had stopped on the way at Windsor castle and Grantchester for a cream tea! We picked them up from school and took them home where we gave them a tour of the house, bonded over activities such as watching films, playing games and answering their questions. "The next day the students came to our school, travelling with their partners by bus or car. Firstly, we had a presentation by students lead by college captains, which involved performances on the trumpet, piano, singing, GCSE dance students and a performance from some of the Matilda cast. The French students were really impressed! During the rest of the day the French students participated in activities such as a tour of the school, games in the library, PE and a short English and Maths lesson. They also shared a traditional English lunch in our canteen. "In the evening we took our partners out to enjoy bowling and a meal out. This was a great way to learn more about them. "Overall it was a great experience which has improved our French, our communication skills and we can’t wait to go to stay with…

Student voice is loud and clear

The tradition of producing good public speakers from BVC has continued with another of our students being awarded a Best Speaker award. The English Speaking Union's Churchill school's public speaking competition attracts entries from over 400 schools in England each year, with the Cambridge branch competition being hosted at Bassingbourn this week. Seven teams from four schools competed against each other - Bassingbourn and Bottisham Village Colleges, St Mary's, Cambridge and St Bede's Inter-Faith school - with teams from Bassingbourn and St Bede's winning their way through to the branch final. Bassingbourn fielded two teams, photographed above with English teacher and public speaking coach Mrs Rebecca Boxall. BVC team A comprised Katie Cheeseright, Ciara Free and Archie Lievesley with Katie choosing to speak on the proposal that 'The #MeToo movement has instilled fear rather than empower people'. Special mention must be made of Ciara who stepped in with just 20 minutes notice and impressed the judged with her confidence and calm manner. BVC team B - Jon Cheeseright, Matt Gilliland and Fraser Clapham - won through to the next round with Fraser speaking on the controversial proposal that 'Recycling is a waste of time'. Following in the footsteps of former BVC students Ed Evans and Iain Lynn, Fraser also scooped the main award of the evening - Best Speaker. This is the third consecutive year that BVC has won this award. The Churchill district final will be held at Hills Road Sixth Form College on Thursday, 6th February. Year 9 students showed great promise at…

Bassingbourn Village College

South End, Bassingbourn, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 5NJ

01763 242344

office@bassingbournvc.org
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