Open document - Royal Alexandra and Albert School

ISSUE07Summer TermJune 2013Sixth Form NewsFounders’ DayThe Founders’ Day Prize Giving Ceremonytook place on Saturday 11th May.The morning’s proceedings included abreathtaking piano solo from Year 10 pupil,Georgina Butler, followed by the addressby Ian Davenport who is Chief Executive ofthe Springboard Bursary Foundation.Prize giving followed with a total of 22awards going to Upper Sixth students. Someof these were subject prizes but many wereindividual awards. The photo shows someof the students receiving their awards. Theyare George Bradbury (PE and Service to theSchool Community), Dylan Semmelhaack(Physics, Connaught Medal), JessicaVincent (Art, English and French), ChloeRutherfoord (Chemistry, Connaught Medal,Headmaster’s Medal for Leadership),Oliver Phillips (Drama) and Lizzie Hudson(History). Dylan Semmelhaack, who plansto study Mathematics and BusinessManagement at University of Exeter, saidof his awards, “It’s great that the school isrecognising our efforts andhard work throughout theyear.”New NeighboursNew neighbours havemoved in! A flock of a sheepnow lives in the field nextto the Sunley Sixth FormCentre.George Bradbury running a rugby club for younger pupils.CommunityStudents in the Sixth Form are encouragedto participate in community activities aroundSchool, such as running sports clubs, assistingteachers in lessons or helping in the boardinghouses. Not only do they gain a great senseof fulfilment in helping others but they alsohave something to add to their university orjob application.George Bradbury, an Upper Sixth student,was awarded the Pepper Voysey Prize forService to the School Community at thisyear’s Founders’ Day for his work with therugby club for the younger pupils. George,who plays rugby for the school, uses his skillsto coach the younger children. He dedicateshis spare time to the club and has made ita real success. Mr Jones comments, “EveryWednesday he is always there withthe junior school and they idolisehim! He has done a great jobwhen no one else would commitregular time to the club”.The Year 9 film club has also provedpopular. Twenty Year 9 studentsattend the after-school club everyWednesday afternoon to watcha variety of films, including TheHobbit and Life of Pi. It is run by three Year12 students, Paula Tudela Molina, ChristianaAmao and Leonie Odelga-Tschernev. Theystarted by helping Mr Pawson, Head of SixthForm, with the club and have now becomevery involved with running it. Christiana says,“It makes you feel like you’re helping, and youget to meet new people every term”. The clubis held in the Sunley Sixth Form Centre, whichChristiana thinks is a good thing. “It meansthat the younger students can come and seewhat the Sixth Form is like”. Although notalking is allowed when the film is on (youdon’t get popcorn if you do!), the club hasbeen a way for Year 9 students to get to knowmembers of the Sixth Form and talk to themabout A Levels and school life in general.RoyalAlexandra& AlbertSchool

Rag WeekWith over £1600 raised, Rag Week has beena huge success this year. The Sixth FormCommittee organised and ran many eventsand all the students got involved and dressedup in costumes to raise money. There was adifferent theme of fancy dress every day anda very successful Krispy Kreme doughnut sale.The money raised will be split evenlybetween the three charities chosen bySixth Formers: Cancer Research, GreatOrmond Street and Rethink Mental Health.Global IssuesEach Sixth Form tutor group was asked tochoose a global issue and then present theirfindings to the rest of the Sixth Form. The aimwas to give students the opportunity to practiceand gain experience of public speaking, aswell as working in a team. All presentationswere of a high standard with some studentsin particular exhibiting extremely good publicspeaking and presenting skills.The students delivered their presentations ontopics that they considered to be importantissues including world hunger, the deathpenalty and malaria. They carried out researchin their teams and them produced thoughtprovokingmulti-media presentations. Theirwork showed that the students in the SixthForm have a good awareness of the challengesfaced by countries around the worldRag WeekMotivational talk fromKevin MincherThe Sixth Form enjoyed a talk from KevinMincher, a teen performance coach andmotivational speaker. Kevin was very engagingand inspirational, and talked about a numberof issues important to teenagers, such asself esteem, how to build confidence andmotivation. The talk also helped studentswith study skills, interview techniques anddeveloping youth leadership qualities.Jacob SayersWhile many Sixth Formershave yet to decide what theywant to do to at university,Jacob Sayers, a Year 12 pupil,has already chosen medicineas the career he wants topursue.Jacob is currently working asa clerk at East Surrey Hospitalon Wednesday afternoons,and has been offered a jobthere during university holidays. He hasbeen getting work experience in hospitalsfor two years, with the School helping himget a placement at Epsom Hospital. “TheSchool has been very supportive. Theyhelped me find a placement, and theyhave given me time off to attend lectures”,Jacob explains. He has been in contact withprofessors at both UCL and Oxford and hasmade frequent trips to attend lectures andshadow doctors at both institutions.He hopes to get a place at Oxford Universityand already has plans for what specialityhe wants to focus on. “I want to go intorespiratory medicine. Being a long distancerunner has made me interested in the sciencebehind the sport.” In addition to his studiesand work experience, Jacob continues to beinterested in running and plans to take partin the Brighton Marathon next year.

HIV TalkSixth Form students attended a talk about HIV/AIDS by Emma Cole who has herself lived withHIV for over 20 years.Emma explained how HIV has affected her.She talked about the treatment she needsto keep her healthy and about the bouts ofserious illness she has suffered. She spoke,very movingly, of the reactions she has hadfrom family and friends and how they copedwith the news.Move-Up DayThe Sixth Form hosted its 3rd annual Move-Up Day in March with around 80 prospectivestudents attending. The day started off with aformal presentation given by the Sixth Formteam in which students were informed aboutthe many opportunities that will be availableto them during their time here. At the end ofthe presentation they were able to ask existingYear 12 and Year 13s about their experiencesin the Sixth Form – which were all verypositive! During the afternoon there was aseries of teambuilding events run by the Armyand this enabled new and existing studentsDeputy Head of Sixth Form Emma Kemp-Geeexplained “There is still a lot of ignoranceabout HIV and AIDS and it was helpful forstudents to get the facts from someone whohas first-hand knowledge. Emma has a greatgift for communication and students werereally interested in what she had to say. Theynow have a much better understanding of theillness.”to get to know each other. The day finishedwith a BBQ in the spectacular setting of thegrounds outside the Sixth Form Centre.Elevate Exam PreparationA representative from an organisation calledElevate Education came to speak to all Year 12sand Year 13s recently about how to prepare forexams effectively. Students got useful informationfrom the presentation as Adam (a recent graduatefrom a university in Australia) went through studytechniques that included effective preparation,fixing mistakes and allocation of time.Extended Project Qualification(EPQ)Thirty five Sixth Formers are working on EPQswhere they explore a subject in depth and presenttheir findings in a written report. By completingan EPQ the students will not only earn valuableUCAS points but will develop skills that will beuseful to them whatever they do after leavingschool. One student is writing an EPQ on thesubject ‘How well does the British legal systemunderstand the psychology of a murderer?’,and other students have focused their essays onoil, drugs and cultural heritage. There is an EPQgroup that meets on Wednesday afternoons tosupport students with the development of theirpresentation and writing skills. Students willpresent their reports to other Sixth Formers inGatton Hall in October.Drama ShowcaseIn May Drama studentsperformed in a showcase ofthe productions they had beenworking on for their final exams.The result was a selection ofpolished performances whichdelighted the audience of family and friends.Year 12 student Emmanuel Biver commented“The play was challenging as there was a lot tolearn and remember. The fact that I have neverperformed like this in front of an audience addedto the stress. However, thanks to my classmatesand teacher’s advice I was able to play my role tothe best of my potential.”“The past year in drama has been really enrichingas I have learned so much about the technicalaspects of play scripts and how to prepare anddeliver a show.”

HorseRidingI’m a Sixth Formstudent at St.Bede’s studyingmy subsidiarydiploma in horsemanagementat the RoyalAlexandra andAlbert School. While studying my riding unitsI rode a horse named Jammy Dodger, whohas been my project horse for the year. Hehas helped my riding improve so much and isalways willing to try his hand at anything I ask.He has also helped me regain my confidence asI fractured my back in a riding accident a littleover a year ago. He has been very good to putup with me!On 21st of April I rode JD in a dressage showat the RAAS. I rode him in the walk & trot testin which we got 74.5% and came 1st! I wasreally happy as I have never ridden in or evenbeen to a dressage show before and the highscore shows all the hard work we have put inthe previous months. Ceandice DavisonCareers AdviceThere are many options available to studentswhen they leave school. Some plan to go touniversity; others will go straight into work or onto further training. Whatever a student plans todo when they leave school it is important thatthey have as much information as possible sothat they can make the right choices.The school has arranged for students to haveaccess to careers advice from Heidi Legg,a Career Advisor from Prospects, the UK’sleading provider of information, advice andopportunities to students. Many Year 12students have already started to consult Heidiregarding their university choices, furthereducation options and intended future careers.RugbySport in the Sixth Form is expanding andin September we look forward to havingcompetitive fixtures not only in rugby andfootball but also in netball and ultimatefrisbee. The establishment of the rugby teamhas yielded some impressive results andperformances this year, culminating in afantastic win in a recent rugby 7s competitionBarista TrainingFifteen students in the Sixth Form haveattended sessions on how to make baristastyle coffee. A qualified barista from a localcoffee shop, Urban Kitchen, has been spendingtime working with students explaining howto make coffee and allowing students tohone their skills through hands-on practice.involving some very good local schools. Theteam went undefeated throughout thetournament and only conceded five triesin the seven games played. Team member,Dylan Semmelhaack, attributes the greatresult to the team’s strong players andthe good structure set by the coaches, MrWarnock-Smith and Mr Truter.Students have recently received training at thecoffee shop in Reigate which made the wholeexperience come alive! It is hoped that someof them will now be able to work part-time atone of the chain’s three coffee shops duringweekends and holidays.Design by Matthew Van-Noort-Pendleton