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Bassingbourn Bookworms compete in book quiz

What was the vegetable that caused such discomfort for the princess? Which God wears winged sandals? Who is the hero of Tomorrow Never Dies? These are just some of the questions faced by our students in the regional final of Kids Lit UK, held this week at Comberton Village College. The BVC team - Bassingbourn Bookworms - comprised year 8 students Eli Curtin, Cara Button, Emma Rosevear and Matthew Crafter who acquitted themselves well, coming an impressive 7th place out of 32 schools taking part. Cara describes the experience: "We had a jam-packed afternoon filled with challenging but fun questions, books and biscuits. Our favourite moments was when Eli saved the day with his enviable botanical knowledge that Rapunzel is actually a vegetable! "We would alos like to thank our English teachers for teaching us the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner as we were the only team that got that one right. "We worked really well together and were very pleased with our result." Mrs Lynn, BVC librarian added: "This is the fifth year that I have taken a BVC team to the regional finals and I have to say that this year's team was by far the best. I was really impressed by their focus and commitment to competing - well done to them!" The Kids Lit Quiz is an annual literature quiz for students aged 10 - 13 years. Quizzes are held in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom and USA. The winning team from each country…

Paying their respects

Brother and sister Benjamin and Lottie Bond represented BVC at the annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Bassingbourn. The duo read aloud during the exhortation and then laid a posy of poppies at the war memorial. Poppies made by BVC students were also made into a wreath and hung in the church during the service. Students had their own opportunity to remember those who have died in warfare with assemblies taking place during mentor time on Monday.

Jon’s vision for improved third world hygiene

Senior BVC student Jon Cheeseright has been shortlisted to win a national Industrial Cadet Award. The ceremony will take place at the Institution of Engineering and Technology in London next month, followed by a celebration reception at the Savoy Hotel. Jon's participation was part of an outreach program run by the Cambridge-based technology company ARM, which saw him spend a week working with other school students from across the region. Here he explains: "At the start of the week, we were given a presentation by UNICEF, who gave us problems such as how to keep track of refugees and improving access to clean water in slums and then challenged us to find effective solutions. My group’s idea was to attach a light to a tap that would highlight the dirt and grime on people’s hands, which could be used in slums to try and improve hygiene. "Each of us then became independent ‘investors’ and were able to ‘invest’ up to 750,000 imaginary dollars into other groups, based on which group would do the best when their idea would be bought to market. All groups pitched their ideas, and my group managed to achieve the greatest amounts of investment, which meant we had the most money to develop our product. "Finally, all the groups presented their business solutions to a group of Arm employees, and everyone else in the program, who rated how likely our idea was to succeed in the real world. In the end, my team’s idea was considered objectively the ‘most likely to…

BVC turns yellow!

#HelloYellow was the theme at BVC as our students dressed in sunshine colours to raise awareness of Young Minds UK, a charity that works with young people who are struggling with their mental health. As part of World Mental Health Day, students were encouraged to wear yellow and donate £1 for the privilege of doing so. Almost £200 was raised. Mental health and student well-being is a key focus for the college. In a bid to address students needs we have a YMCA councillor in college each week offering support for self-esteem, emotional management, social skills and transitions. Mrs Piggott also runs a drop-in session in The Hive, our student support centre, on a Friday lunchtime for students who would like to talk about any emotional concerns they might have. In addition, all students are encouraged to Think Pink and fill out (anonymously) a pink slip if they feel a friend needs some support.  

An evening of Christmas Sparkle!

Students from across the school are planning a charity fund-raising extravaganza which will take place on the evening (7-9pm) of Friday, 6th December. Raising funds for the Year 11 Prom, alongside Meningitis Research, Camsight, Jimmy's Night Shelter and the Garden House Hospice, the evening will feature pampering stalls and Christmas shopping opportunities, with festive entertainment and lots of sparkling refreshments. Tickets are available from Reception or through Wisepay. £10 for Prosecco & Pud ticket; £5 for just Puds. BVC students go free.

Team building for Year 7

All our year 7 students took part in a team building day at Lambourne End. Despite unfavourable weather, a great time was had by all, new friendships were made and they all returned home wet, muddy and happy. Trinity Robinson describes the trip: "It took us about an hour to reach Lambourne End which is an activity centre in Essex with many activities such as crawling through underground tunnels, an obstacle course over water and so much more. I didn't mind the journey because I slept most of the way there. "We had been given numbers before we left school - it turns out those were the groups that we had to work in. I was with Mr Brock. "My favourite activities were the marble run - we each had to get a piece of guttering and set them in a straight line, one under the other, so the marble could travel along it. The aim was to get the marble into a bucket without it falling on the floor. That was for 5 points, however if you managed to go through a tunnel at the same time then you won 15 points. Our team did really well to get 45 points. "The other activity I enjoyed the most was called Swamp Crossing - we had to get our whole team across a swamp using just five tyres. At first my team wasn't doing too well, but after a while we thought of a plan and we got across just in time and bagged ourselves…

Open Evening

Almost 200 potential students and their families visited Bassingbourn Village College’s annual Open Evening. Our staff and students pulled out all the stops to give demonstrations in all their favourite subjects – Science, English, Maths, Spanish, French, Latin, Dance, Drama, Music Technology, Craft, Fashion, Catering, History, Geography and RE - the very best of what BVC has to offer. Principal Vickey Poulter addressed a packed hall with her Principal’s Talk after families heard first hand from students Eddie Cook (yr 7) and Katie Cheeseright (yr 11) just what life is like studying at BVC. Music was provided by young pianist Eleanor Murfitt. Year 8 students (below) acted as tour guides. For those who missed the event, we have Open Mornings taking place this week on 25th and 26th September 2019. To book a place please call Reception (01763) 242344.

Creative Careers Day

Careers within the Creative Arts were the focus of an event at Cambridge Junction this week - all eagerly sampled by a group of BVC students. A coach-load of our senior students attended the event which gave them an insight into such behind-the-scenes activities as stage lighting, sound engineering, song writing and improvisation. A question-and-answer session with staff from the Junction allowed students to gain further information about courses and apprenticeships available to them.

Thai trip of a lifetime

This summer saw a group of our students celebrate the end of their BVC journey – by making the trip of a lifetime to Thailand. For the 19 former Year 11 students, the World Challenge expedition was the culmination of two years of planning and fundraising. After flying into Bangkok, the students spent some time there experiencing the vibrant markets and Grand Palace before trekking in the Erawan National park which is home to the famous 7 tiered waterfalls and the infamous Hellfire pass, the name given to the largest of 1000m series of cuttings allied POWs were forced to work on during WW2. During their project phase students worked with a local organisation which has been supporting local communities in Singbun since 2008. Based close to the village of Tha Tham, the students worked on a local community construction project. Student Meg Hollidge summed up the trip in three words: “Sweat, tears and sunshine! “For me the highlights were seeing the King of Thailand, snorkelling, the food, the beaches and building a temple. It was really exciting learning a about a new culture and meeting different people.” Fellow traveller Ed Evans added:” What surprised me was that within a matter of days the entire team ceased being students, and became young, mature adults. We were no longer a group of teens, but a team of level headed explorers. “My personal highlight of the trip was swimming with in Erawan falls, a cool off in the pools was just what we all needed after a…

Art Exhibition

Work from our top young artists can be seen in a Cambridge art exhibition. Platform 19 is a collection of art by pupils from the four secondary schools and sixth form of Anglian Learning. Showcasing the artistic talent of our GCSE and A level pupils, the exhibition is being held in the Michaelhouse Centre, Trinity Street, Cambridge from 16 to 28 September 2019. Jonathan Culpin, CEO said: “We are proud of the artwork that our pupils have created to be on display at our ‘Platform 19’ exhibition at the Michaelhouse Centre.  The Arts are important to Anglian Learning, we actively seek to work with others, the Arts Council England, for example, to further enhance our Arts provision.”  

Bassingbourn Village College

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

01763 242344

office@bassingbournvc.org
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