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pictures: Chris Christodoulou
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Proms fly the flag
for Cambridge
THE BBC PROMS celebrated the 800th Anniversary of the
University of Cambridge with a sold-out concert on 22 July
at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
More than 5,000 music lovers and Cambridge alumni,
including His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, enjoyed the
performance. At the end of the concert the conductor Andrew
Davis was called out for several curtain calls to a cheering
audience and a sea of waving Cambridge flags.
Some 240 singers from 16 college choirs were joined onstage
by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew
Davis, baritone Simon Keenlyside and organist Thomas Trotter,
all of whom studied at Cambridge. The evening’s repertoire
was by composers associated with the University, including
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Charles Villiers Stanford and Ryan
Wigglesworth. Outside the Royal Albert Hall, people were
queuing up for tickets as early as 6am. The ‘Prommers’, as they are
known, are a close-knit group, many of whom have been coming
to the Proms for most of their lives.
NVQ courses offer chance
to learn at work
Sam McGrath-Thompson has had some
interesting experiences with the public
as Head Attendant at the Museum of
Archaeology and Anthropology.
One day during the Cambridge
Science Festival he saw a bunch of
heads bobbing around under a table. He
investigated further and found a family
having a picnic in the middle of one of
the galleries.
He says he gets a tremendous buzz
from dealing with the public, and that
enthusiasm has been deepened after he
took part in the University pilot for an
NVQ Level 2 in Museums, Galleries and
Heritage.
Sam, who has been Head Attendant
for about six years, says the course, which
he took alongside his work, helped him to
see his job in the context of the museum
as a whole. “It looked at how the museum
functions and how each part is separate
but important,” he says. “It made me
understand how important gallery staff
are. A lot of what I do every day is done
on autopilot, and this made me look at
the wider context of my job.”
Sam, 56, was given an Endeavour
Award by Cambridge Regional
College, who supervised the NVQ. The
qualification was funded by the Centre
for Personal and Professional
Development (CPPD).
He was in a group of five staff from the
Archaeology and Anthropology Museum,
as well as the Fitzwilliam Museum.
The course focused on areas such as
Hauser Forum now complete
A topping out ceremony has marked
the completion of the main structure of
the £15.7 million Hauser Forum at West
Cambridge.
Dr Hermann Hauser and Dr Pamela
Raspe joined Chris Goldsmith of
Turnstone Estates, Mike Hart of Willmott
Dixon and, from the University, Director
of Estate Management Michael Bienias
and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research
Professor Ian Leslie.
communications, over-the-counter work
and dealing with the public.
Sam says he decided to go on the
course because he wanted to see if
it would be useful to his staff. He will
definitely be recommending it to his
colleagues. “You can never have enough
education,” he says.
For further information, phone Jenny
Tootal, Vocational Development Adviser
at CPPD on (3)32345 or email
jmt37@admin.cam.ac.uk
The participants in the pilot group NVQ Level 2
Museums, Galleries and Heritage, all of whom
achieved the qualification. Left to right are:
Amy Brady, Fitzwilliam Museum; Sue Foakes,
tutor Cambridge Regional College; Peter
Rooley, Archaeology and Anthropology
Museum; Siobhan Lee, Fitzwilliam Museum;
Colin Yaxley, Fitzwilliam Museum; Sam
McGrath-Thompson, Archaeology and
Anthropology Museum.
The development, due for completion
this December, will comprise a home for
Cambridge Enterprise, an “idea space” for
emerging companies, a seminar centre,
a café, and the Broers Building – named
after former Vice-Chancellor Lord Broers –
for rent to commercial companies.
The Hauser Forum has been made
possible thanks to a generous £8 million
donation to the University’s from the
Hauser-Raspe Foundation.
16 | september/october 2009 | UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE Newsletter