Learning Opportunities Newsletter October 2018

October, 2018
Welcome to the eleventh edition of the
Cotswold School Opportunities newsletter.
The aim is to celebrate and advertise some of the many learning opportunities in which you
may wish to get involved. We hope that a few things might take your interest and spark
some thinking and discovery. Enjoy!
October is Black History Month in the UK and this is celebrated with numerous
events across the country...
‘Black History Month, also known as African-American History Month in the U.S., is an
annual observance in Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United
States. It began as a way for remembering important people and events in the history of
the African diaspora.’
Visualising Portraits—Black is the new Black—25th October, 2pm
Be inspired by contemporary Britons who have achieved greatness and explore
these stunning new photographs by Simon Frederick. Click on the link below
for more details: Visualising Portraits
Explore the BBC’s resources for Black History
month based around black history, heritage, culture
and achievements. Click on the link to take you to the
BBC’s webpage: BBC Black History month resources
1
Shortlisted for the Wolfson History prize, 2018 ,
Black Tudors by Miranda Kaufmann
‘Enlightening and constantly surprising… Far too
many popular studies of the Tudors return the same
faces. To its great credit, Black Tudors presents fresh
figures, and challenges the way we look at them.'
- Jessie Childs, Financial Times

Continued
Library
Mrs Williams recommends: Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
Winner of the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year
London is on the rampage again, pursuing a small mining town across the driedup
bed of the North Sea… Tom embarks on a journey to return to the city that
has abandoned him.
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve was first released 17 years ago in 2001—
this is when I first read the book. Its quirky, and highly original creation of the
dystopian world the story is set in, immediately grabbed my attention— well worth
a try.
Read the book before the forthcoming film version is released on 8th December,
2018
Try these websites for booky ideas too: World Book Day Young
Adult page CILIP Carnegie website BookTrust
And if you are into Graphic novels try this website for inspiration:
Excelsior Award for Graphic Novels
And for informative and entertaining book ideas try these vloggers:
Image from the film, Mortal Engines
PBE
Mrs Holland suggests you check
out: Deity of the Day and look up
any of the 4,000 Gods, Deities or
Spirits!
Click on the link: Deity of the Day
Epic Reads— Epic Reads
Little Book Owl— Little Book Owl
Benjamin of Tomes— Benjamin of Tomes
Tessa Roxxx— Tessa Roxx
Do you enjoy creative writing? Are you stuck for ideas,
or have writers block? Then this App’ maybe just the thing
to kick start that creativity again: Write About This
Maths
2
A maths conundrum to solve:
How do you get to the total number, 24
from these numbers: 3,3,8 and 8? You can use multiplication, division,
subtraction and addition. If you need some help, see Mr Pascoe in the
library before registration on a Wednesday or Friday.

Continued
Watch!
Maths
5 Maths tricks that will
blow your mind!
Click on the link below
to take you to the
video
5 Maths Tricks
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery
Exhibition: Fabric Africa: Stories told through
Textiles—30th June to 19th May, 2019
Fabric Africa is a stunning snapshot of the diversity
of modern and historic textiles across the
continent of Africa
Click on the link below for more information:
Fabric Africa
D.T/Textiles
Interested in photography? here are some photo ideas
provided by Mr Edwards (history) you might like to try:
The Alphabet challenge—take 26 photos, in order, to show the 26
letters of the alphabet.
The one spot challenge—stand in one spot and take as many contrasting and different images as
you can. Perhaps return to that spot at different times and lights.
The Abstract challenge—take images of objects around the house from strange and unusual angles
or positions. Try to look for lines, shadows, angles or interesting contrasts.
Mr Edwards would love to see the photos you create
Run the Solar system is back!
Science/P.E.
The British Science Association have relaunched their hugely popular initiative, Run the Solar
System. The virtual race is an immersive tour of the solar system, featuring each planet as a distance
marker. This was first available exclusively during British Science week in March, 2017 when thousands
of people from all over the world participated.
Due to the huge success of the App’, and in response to popular demand, the BSA (British Science Association)
have decided to make Run the Solar System permanently available.
Please click on the link for more information on how to take part: Run the Solar System
Thought-provoking current affairs articles. In their own words, ‘academic rigour,
journalistic flair’. Do feel free to share what you have learnt with us – maybe a quiz or
presentation you design for your tutor group.
Please let Mrs Newby or Mr Edwards (History) know if you take this extra step.
Click here to enter the website: The Conversation
3

Continued
Competition: The Tower Poetry competition, 2019 is now open for entries:
Every year, six young people scoop a total of £5000 in prize-money for writing a poem. The first prize is
£3000, second, £1500 and third £500, with three runner up prizes of £250 each. And all this for a poem on
a set theme, judged each year by a panel of successful contemporary poets.
The theme this year is ‘Underwater’. The winners come to a presentation event in Oxford, in the splendour
of Christ Church.
For more details on how to enter click the link: Tower Poetry competition
History
Visit the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and see their Exhibition, SPELLBOUND
‘Explore the history of magic over eight centuries in this immersive and thought-provoking exhibition. The
intriguing objects on display show how our ancestors used magical thinking to cope with the unpredictable
world around them.’ Click on the link for more information: Spellbound exhibition
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery
Art & Culture
Exhibition: Masters of Japanese prints: Hokusai and Hiroshige
Japanese prints—22nd September to 6th January, 2019
Bristol museum and art gallery has a collection of some 500 floating
world pictures (ukiyo-e) which celebrate the pleasures of life in Japan.
The collection ranks in the top five regional UK collections.
Click here for more details: Hokusai and Hiroshige exhibition
4
Over Half Term & beyond
Stroud Book Festival—7th to 11th November
The Mshed, Bristol—exhibition: Wildlife Photographer
of the Year, 2018—20th October to 24th February
Hound of the Baskervilles at The Barn Theatre,
Cirencester—24th October to 24th November
Othello at The Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham—
16th to 20th Of October
An exhibition to commemorate the end of WWI at
The Wilson, (Open Archive) museum in Cheltenham—
The National Cypher challenge is back…
The National Cipher Challenge, is a nationwide,
online codebreaking competition, which will run again
from October 4th 2018 to January 9th 2019.
Who is the competition for?
The competition is aimed at students who have a particular
interest in maths and computer science.
Mr Lord says: “ The University of Southampton
and GCHQ created the competition which requires
students to crack 8 encrypted message challenges”
“This is a great opportunity for anyone wanting to
challenge their cyber security skills”
Click here for further information: Cypher Challenge