novus winter14

A round-up of news and events from Casterton Business & Enterprise College and Rutland County College

Winter 2014

CBEC events Post 16 events Sport News

Casterton Celebrates Student Success at Presentation Evening

On November 13th the College celebrated the achievements of last year’s Year 11 at our Annual Presentation Evening.

It was delightful to see the students again and they were able to meet up with old friends.

Our guest speaker this year was Adam Frost. Adam is a multi-gold medal winner at the Chelsea Flower Show and he spoke of the development of his career from his early days with Geoff Hamilton at Barnsdale through to his Chelsea successes, which he assured us, involved some very early mornings.

Adam has been appointed as the Royal Horticultural Society’s ‘Ambassador for Youth’ so his talk to the students of 2014 had a particular resonance and encouraged the students to be passionate about the interests that they love and to give their all.

This year a new feature was the introduction of the Subject Leaders talking about their award nominations. This was particularly well received by the audience, with emotion very evident!

After the formalities the parents and students gathered in the Courtyard for refreshments with the staff. There was also the chance for some students of a ‘selfie’ with Adam!

Turn to page 2 for the list of prize winners >

Ms V Crosher- Principal

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CBEC NEWS

Presentation Evening - Awards

English, Film Studies and Modern Foreign Languages Achievement Awards

Val Glover Trophy for Academic Achievement in Megan WaitesEnglish Language

The Buxton Prize for Academic Achievement in Jenny MatthewsEnglish Literature

English Prize for Effort Kieran Wood & Lewis Bryan

English Literature Prize for Progress Dana Merrill_______________________________________________________________________

Academic Achievement in Film Studies Megan Oswald

Progress in Film Studies Olivia Jacobsen___________________________________________________________________________

Cottesmore Parish Council Prize for Excellence in Foreign Languages Morgan King

Languages Prize for Academic Achievement Anthony Copeman

German Prize for Effort and Progress Alexandra Gardner

French Prize for Effort and Progress Jasmine Higgins ___________________________________________________________________________

Mathematics and Science Achievement Awards

RAF Cottesmore Trophy for Excellence in Maths Anthony Copeman

Maths Award for Academic Achievement Rachel Pickard

Progress in Maths Prize Alex Burden

Effort in Maths Prize Charlie Birch _________________________________________________________________________ Castle Cement Trophy for Excellence in Science Noa Rogers

Stamford Burghley Rotary Club Prize for Hannah FyallOutstanding Progress in Science

New College Stamford Award for Science Anthony Copeman

Progress in Science Award Luke Young________________________________________________________________________

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CBEC NEWS

Business and Information Technology Achievement Awards

Lions Club of Rutland Prize for Effort and Progress in Hannah BarberBusiness Studies

Jenkinson Prize for Academic Achievement in Oliver StephensonBusiness Studies

__________________________________________________________________________

Cope Trophy for Academic Achievement in Amy BeecheyInformation Technology

Progress in ICT Prize Roseanne Maiden ___________________________________________________________________________

Humanities Achievement AwardsJean Williams Trophy for Academic Achievement in History Noa Rogers

E G Bolton Prize for Effort and Progress in History Thomas Butler

J R W Holt Prize for Academic Achievement in Geography Polly Cutmore

Progress in Geography Joseph Taylor __________________________________________________________________________

Rebecca Vowles Memorial Trophy for Religious Education Megan Waites

Religious Education Prize for Effort and Progress Courtney Bittlestone____________________________________________________________________

Design and Expressive Arts Achievement Awards

Art Prize for Academic Achievement Morgan King

Progress in Art Prize Joanne Merry

The Margaret Walker Prize for Expressive Arts Megan Anderson

Drama Prize for Effort and Progress Megan Waites

_________________________________________________________________________

Vic Couzens Award for Design Technology Patrick Mills

Eric Walton Prize for Academic Achievement in Design Technology Lucy Blackburn Norrie Trophy for Textiles Bronte Couzens

The Inner Wheel Prize for Progress in Textiles Dannii Powell

Smith Ogden and Barbara Taylor Memorial Trophy for Food Technology Lianne James & Alicia Bailey

Progress in Food Technology Katie Burke

Effort and Progress Award in Health and Social Care Jessica Nairn

Presentation Evening - Awards

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CBEC NEWS

Presentation Evening - AwardsPhysical Education Achievement AwardsEdward Barclay Shield for Rugby Thomas Durrans Progress in Football Prize Alfie Winters

Frank Hinch Prize for Cricket Ben Peck

Boys’ PE Prize Jovi Atkinson

Girls’ PE Prize Megan Anderson

Halliday-Pegg Award for Sportsmanship Steven Coleman

Mitchell Award for Progress in Netball Sascha Smith

Rutland Schools Sports Award for Leadership Hannah Barber

________________________________________________________________________

General Awards

Haslam Award for Outstanding Attendance Samantha Pocock

D H Wright Award for Contribution to school Emma Youngs

Breeze Award for General Progress Francesca Dooley

M W Blankley Award for Outstanding Achievement Hannah Fyall

________________________________________________________________________

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze AwardsMegan Anderson Alex Burden Anthony Copeman

Rachel Pickard Samantha White

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GCSE Certificates

Rhianna Aspinall Alex Brompton Kyle Chalk

Elizabeth Coates Thomas Davey Chloe Dawson

Luke Jelley Georgia Lindley Samuel Peace

James Pearce Kayna Penrose-Toms Michael Ransome

Eva Roke Callum Rowley Zechariah Seekins

Gregory Spencer Ranvir Sunner Ellen Szulc

Lucy Taylor-Simpson Ellis Watkinson Benjamin Waldron

Max Watkinson Holly Wright

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CBEC NEWS

Emma Hearn, a Year 8 student from Casterton Business & Enterprise College, was delighted to learn that she has been awarded the highest grade possible after sitting her IGCSE Spanish exam in the summer term.

Emma lived in Spain for five years where she became fluent in the language. On joining Casterton, Emma was encouraged to sit the exam and gain an early qualification. She plans to sit her Spanish A level exams in Year 8 with the aim of studying at either Oxford or Cambridge University in the future and hopes this accomplishment is the first stepping stone towards that goal!

Principal Victoria Crosher commented ‘At Casterton and Rutland County College we aim to encourage and celebrate individual achievements, skills and qualities. When a child has a particular skill, as Emma did, it makes sense for us to support them in a route that will maximize their achievements.’

Mrs D Scott – Library & Communications Coordinator

Year 7 Student Achieves A* in IGCSE Spanish

In the summer, Year 11 students were celebrating their GCSE results and the College is pleased to announce that 63% of students achieved both their English and Maths GCSEs.

Casterton remains well above the national on a number of fronts: nationally the number of A*-C grades for 2014 stands at 68.8% however students at Casterton well exceeded this with 74% A*-C grades achieved. Both English and Maths saw results well above the national average with 82% of student achieving A*-C grades in Maths (62.4% nationally) and 65% in English (61.7% nationally).

At the highest level of achievement 26% of students gained 3 or more A* and A grades with just under half the cohort achieving A* and A grades.

The Business & Enterprise specialism of the College continues to be a strength with 92% achieving A*-C in Business and ICT.There were exceptional performances by Noa Rogers and Megan Anderson with 11 A* and A grades and 12 GCSEs overall. Megan Waites and Eva Roke achieved 10 A* and A grades with 12 overall GCSEs. The top performing boys included Oliver Stephenson and Anthony Copeman with 8 A* and A grades.

Principal of the College Ms Crosher said “I’m really pleased with the students’ results; this shows that their hard work and determination has paid off even in an environment where the goal posts have moved repeatedly during their GCSE studies. A record number of Casterton students have stayed on with us to take A Levels at Rutland County College”.

Ms V Crosher, Principal

GCSE Results for Casterton above the National Average!

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CBEC NEWS

Voices from the Past

In partnership with Carl Smith – Vice Principal and History teacher at Casterton Business & Enterprise College, Pearson Publishing has adapted a soldier’s recorded memoir into an educational app, Walter Hodgson Voices from the Past.

As a teenager in the 1980s, David Hodgson recorded an in depth interview with his grandfather, WW1 veteran Walter Hodgson. The tapes remained unheard outside the family, until now. Walter’s recordings have been transferred from tape to tablets, and given new life with the historical expertise of Carl Smith. Using the app, produced for the nimbl mobile learning system, students can listen to Walter’s story and learn about the conflict through read-along audio features, videos and quizzes.Walter gives a personal and candid spoken account of his experiences in the trenches and upon returning home. Poignant tales of Walter’s fellow soldiers, alongside Carl Smith’s historical depiction of the war, bring the heroism of ordinary men to light. Casterton Business & Enterprise College hosted the launch event on 7th November 2014 with a special World War 1 lesson for Year 9 History students. The students were able to try out the app on their personal mobile devices, including mobile phones and tablets.

Student, Beth Rowell, took part in the lesson, “I really enjoyed looking at the new app and learning about Walter’s early life;

how he worked at the mill and what life was like in the trenches for Walter. I also enjoyed the quizzes on the app. Finding out about somebody who was alive during WW1 on a mobile or tablet is great as we all use them as a source of information and being able to hear Walter’s voice rather than just reading facts makes it all so real!”

Ewan Brookes also enjoyed using the app, “The videos of Walter talking are really good; you get to hear the perspective of someone who actually fought in the war.”Students were also treated to a visit from three members of the 7 Regiment RLC. Major Nathan Smith brought two soldiers with him, Privates Greg Watts and Gavin Evans, to demonstrate the differences between WW1 equipment, uniforms and weapons and those used today. He explained that some of the kit from WW1 was still a fantastic piece of kit and incredible for its time and how some kit had been improved as modern technology had progressed. Students had the opportunity to look at body plates and the two different helmets worn by the modern day and WW1 soldier and learned many fascinating facts such as how the bayonet was originally designed to keep the cavalry away during WW1!

Elsie Holmes said “It was really interesting to see how things had changed since WW1 and how little the WW1 soldiers had to protect them compared to now.”

Walter’s grandson, David Hodgson, also attended the launch bringing medals and photos belonging to Walter for the students to study. Speaking of the app David said, “Grandad would have been pleased that the endeavours and sacrifices of those who fought, those heroes, are being acknowledged.”

Students left the lesson with a greater insight into life for a soldier during WW1 and soldiers currently serving in the armed forces. Staff and Year 9 students are very grateful for the contributions of all those who made the lesson possible which was made more poignant knowing Remembrance Sunday would follow at the weekend. Please visit the website www.nimbl.uk/learn or Twitter @nimbl_uk to find out more.


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CBEC NEWS

Be nimbl

Towards the end of the summer term Rhian Tracey visited Casterton Business & Enterprise College. Rhian, who is the author of various teenage novels, including the soon to be published ‘The Boy who drew the Future’, ran some creative writing workshops for some of our Year 9 students.Rhian began with a brief recount of her own journey into print, giving an insight into how the publishing industry works along the way. She led the students through the professional way to create a character for a story; the students then had the opportunity to sketch out and developed their own fictional characters. The workshops were a success – students picked up hints and tips along the way to help them create their own creative stories and enjoyed the opportunity to ask questions of an author. Rhian said how much she enjoyed working with our students and is looking forward to returning again soon.

Mr P Lengthorn – English

Author Visit

The new Year 11 English app is here!@school @home #onthego

The English department are pleased to announce that all Year 11 English students now have access to a new and exciting app to help them revise for English Language and English Literature. All students have been introduced to the app during their English lessons and have their own username and password. All they have to do is download it and start revising!

The app, GCSE English Revision, from ‘nimbl’ enables students to revise at home, at school and on the go. Visually engaging , rich in quizzes, lessons, text examples and suggestions for revision activities, the app is designed to help students work effectively on their own.

The app is available on all android phones and tablets and Apple iPhones and iPads as well as the web. There is also a ‘being nimbl’ app that is free to download; this enables parents to see exactly how it works and how it can help their children.

Mr P Lengthorn – English

The beginning of July saw Casterton’s first ever Reading Festival; a week-long celebration of all things reading. There has been a plethora of activities going on from a visit by children’s author Rhian Tracey to an inspirational quotation trail, ‘Recommended Reads’ flyers to lessons on the art of reading. One of the most successful aspects has been staff sharing their reading with students in the form of ‘What I’m reading…’ posters displayed on classroom doors and the ‘DEAR’ initiative. DEAR- Drop Everything And Read- will not be new to many as it is very popular at primary school but all Casteron teachers have spent the first fifteen minutes of lessons reading with their classes, be it ‘Never Let Me Go’ in GCSE Biology or ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ in Maths. Children, aged 3 & 4, from Casterton Childcare Centre also visited the College library. A group of key stage 3 students really enjoyed reading some classic children’s books to the little visitors. ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’ were popular crowd pleasers!Mrs Rawes, Subject Leader in English, believes that ‘As teachers, our most important role is to spark the passion and interest in the act of reading both inside and outside of the classroom. Asking questions, discussing texts, encouraging and recommending other books for young people creates a shared experience of the written word. There can be no better way of fostering imagination, inquisitiveness and empathy than by being absorbed in a great book.’

Mrs C Rawes – Subject Leader, English

The Reading Festival

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CBEC NEWS

Brazilian football has been admired by many people over the years, and to meet someone English that went over there to play was a real privilege.

Seth Burkett played for local team Stamford AFC, the same team I currently play for, before going over to Brazil. With Seth being the only English player ever to play professional football in Brazil, it shows the scale and difficulty of what he faced to succeed. Seth decided to write about his unique experience and I bought his book – ‘The Boy in Brazil’. I am about half way through reading it and have found it very inspirational.

Playing football in Brazil would be mind-blowing, but the conditions there are so different to Britain. Seth came into College, to talk about his experiences in assembly. He told us about living in poor conditions, which must have been hard to start with; he then told us about

other things we didn’t expect such as the poverty, the Brazilian players strong faith in God, the diet, strict curfews with locked doors and the type of medical facilities they had. Life for a professional footballer in Brazil is very different to here! Students had the opportunity to buy Seth’s book and learn more about his adventures in Brazil. To the delight of the students, Seth signed each book purchased with a personal message. The assembly was really interesting and Seth said “I enjoyed coming into the school. I recognised many faces from the football club, and I hope I’ve inspired many people with my book to keep working hard with their football skills.”I would definitely recommend ‘The Boy in Brazil’ as it is a very interesting read!

Kieran Bonsall – Year 10

The Boy in Brazil

Joining the likes of Stephen Fry, Dawn French and Sebastian Faulks, alongside thousands of people from around the country, a group of Year 8 students marked the centenary of Armistice Day by each writing a letter to the Unknown Soldier. The Unknown Soldier is a bronze statue which stands at Paddington Station and holds a letter in his hand.

The students (who are now in Year 9) were asked to contribute to a national memorial run by the British Library and the 1418-Now organisation which invited anyone who wished to take part, to take a moment to think and then write to the soldier. The website opened on 28th June 2014, the centenary of the Sarajevo assassinations, and closed at 11pm on the night of 4 August 2014, the centenary of the moment when Prime Minister Asquith announced to the House of Commons that Britain had joined the First World War. Letters could be real or imagined, modern or historical; what was important was that all the letters were collected together to form a memorial of words. All the letters written, including those by our students, have been published by the British Library for all to read. So please, take a moment to have a look. Go to http://www.1418now.org.uk/letter/ and read their words. If you would like to find a spe-cific letter, you can do so (Casterton or Stamford are helpful search words) though some students did wish to remain anonymous.

\Mrs C McLaren – English

Letters to the Unknown Soldier

Year 11 and 12 Engineering students have been learning about the amount of fossil fuelled energy used in manufacturing and the engineering industry.

They decided to think of ways to engineer a sustainable power generator. When they were happy with the theory, they decided to put their thinking into practise and have engineered two bicycle generators.

The students connected 12 volt devices, including lamps, buzzers and fans, to the generators. Then in true ‘competitive student style’, they went on to connect a model train set and a Scalextric completely powered by the bikes with the aim of racing against each other.

Planned future projects will include harnessing wind power. Maybe one day engineering students will provide sustainable power to CBEC and RCC!

Mr A Shirley - Design and Technology

Cycle Power

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CBEC NEWS

Casterton Students Celebrate with the Red Arrows!

As part of celebrations marking the Red Arrows’ 50th display season, students from Casterton Business & Enterprise College joined 300 other students from across Lincolnshire to attend an event at RAF Scampton. Aimed at inspiring the next generation of engineers and scientists, the day focused on the importance of studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – known as STEM subjects. After some exciting words from Jason Bradbury (TV presenter, The Gadget Show) and Professor Brian Cox, students were able to take part in various workshops covering rocket science, aircraft technology and Formula 1 racing. Student, Danielle Colwell, said “We designed and

made our own rockets. We then learned Morse code and sent our own messages!”Other activities included building bridges with straws, an assault course with a remote control Landrover and flying paper airplanes.Companies such as Rolls Royce, BAE

Systems and Mercedes Formula 1 demonstrated how the STEM subjects are a core part of their businesses and what skills are required to pursue a career in design and production. Hopefully events like this can stimulate interest in the STEM subjects and encourage future generations to consider a career within this area.

Miss J Winterbourne – CEIAG & Enterprise Coordinator

Year 11 Mathematics Intervention

On the 15 October a group of Year 11 Science and Engineering students were invited to attend the annual ‘Isaac Newton’ lecture at RAF Cranwell.

Keynote speaker, Philippa Davies of Reaction Engineers, told us how she had attended the lectures when she was a student.The lecture was about the development of a new reusable spacecraft named the Skylon that is being created in Britain. This would allow a jet-engine propelled vehicle to take off from a runway, travel into space, deposit its payload (satellites or astronaunts to the International Space Station) and return to earth landing on a runway just like a conventional aeroplane. Philippa explained how she got interested in engineering and how her career started with a placement at Rolls Royce Aero Engines. Philipa is part of the team developing the revolutionary jet engines that will work in space as well as the earth’s atmosphere.Our students agreed they have seen history in the making and are eagerly awaiting the Skylon’s first test flight in 2020!


Isaac Newton Lecture at RAF Cranwell

Last term many students benefited from additional help in Maths. Mr Pitselis provided additional mathematical support to 12 students during Elective time and there have been numerous after-school sessions on top of this. Our focus has been to ensure that we provide additional support where it is needed the most; therefore students are selected to attend the extra sessions. It is great to see that our students take these sessions seriously by putting in the effort needed as they progress towards their Maths GCSE

Mr S Free - Subject Leader, Mathematics

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CBEC NEWS

World Skills Show at the NEC

In November forty five Year 9 students travelled to the NEC at Birmingham to take part in the biggest Skills Show in the UK. The students were given an insight into an amazing array of careers, skills and companies., from Virgin Media, the BBC, Siemens, Jaguar, O2, National Express, Costa Coffee, McDonalds, NHS and Next.

The aim was to inspire and encourage students to think about the many opportunities available to them once they leave school and for our Year 9 students to consider what option subjects they may like to take that will help them in their future careers pathways.


Casterton Business & Enterprise students observed the two minute silence on Tuesday 11th in a very special way, befitting the centenary of the outbreak of WW1. The students always observe the silence in their classrooms, but this year, because of the centenary, students asked the staff if they could mark the occasion as a whole school by coming together. The school hosts a number of Forces children and with the return from Afghanistan, the anniversary is especially poignant this year.

After the students assembled on the playground, English teacher and musician, Mrs Jenny Smith played the ‘Last Post’. This was followed by the silence and an extract from ‘For the Fallen’ read by the Principal.

Principal, Ms Crosher, said ‘I could not be more proud of the young people. This was their idea and as a result it was a very moving occasion. Our Forces families can be assured that they are often in our thoughts as well as those who lost family members in all the recent conflicts’. Ms V Crosher, Principal

Casterton Students Remember our Fallen

Industry Day

On a very hot summer day Year 9 students had a taste of what a career would be like in 6 different sectors. The Army, Police, Cummins Technologies, RPC, Greenwoods Solicitors and the NHS visited Casterton to speak to the students and provide various activities for the students to take part in. This was a great opportunity for students to get hands on experience in the various sectors, learn what qualifications and skills were needed to enter those career paths, what opportunities were available within those areas and get first hand answers to their questions.

Each student was able to experience four sessions throughout the day, giving them invaluable insight into the world of work. The College would like to thank everyone who contributed to a very informative experience for the students.


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CBEC NEWS

For the first time, in the summer term, the RE department hosted a ‘Breathe’ event for all Year 9 students.

Breathe is an art installation that enables students to think about life’s ‘big questions’. Based on a large floor mat, Breathe has 12 stations where students are given space and structure to think about themselves, other people, the planet and God. It explains how Christians try to answer some of these big questions in life, but encourages students to reflect and make up their own minds. This engaging and interactive event was a perfect complement to the GCSE course that Year 9 students follow at Casterton. We are very grateful to Matt Wild and his team at CROPS in Peterborough for running the event.

Mr J Watts – Subject Leader, Philosophy & Ethics

Breathing Life into Philosophy and Ethics

Beavering Away in IT/Computing!The UK Beaver Computing Challenge is a problem solving contest with a focus on computational and logical thinking.

It is a competition that began in Canada, hence the use of the beaver in many of the problems. It took place nationwide during the week beginning November 10th. All key stage 3 students and Year 10 GCSE IT students took part in a variety of levels from Junior to Higher. It is a great challenge to get students thinking before learning to write code.

Year 9 student, Jacob Smith, said “I found the Beaver challenge difficult and frustrating sometimes when I could not figure out what was happening but I thought it was very challenging and got me thinking about the various problems.”Leah Keegan in Year 7 really enjoyed the problem solving, “I thought that the challenge was fun, yet difficult at the same time, which is great, I think that the Beavers challenge should be done more often, since it is an enjoyable stimuli to the brain. Generally, problem solving tends to be boring and seemingly impossible to complete. However, this one was different. It sheds a new light on problem solving. Also they present the problems in a more child suited way, as a result I loved the Beaver Challenge!”

Miss L Goddard – Subject Leader, IT

During the summer term Year 7 put their Scratch skills to the test by designing and creating their own computer game.

These ranged from maze games to platform games and included instructions, levels and game over screens. There was plenty of head-scratching as they debugged the code they had written to solve errors and the end results gave everyone a lot of pleasure. Overall there was an increased understanding of the process of creating a computer game and more understanding of why games are expensive to buy. Year 7 ended their unit by designing and making covers for their computer games.


Year 7 Games Creation

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CBEC NEWS RCC* NEWS

160 people attended a new style awards evening at Rutland County College where the guest speaker, Gladys Rhodes OBE, told successful students to ‘walk tall’ with pride.

Gladys gave an inspirational address on how self-belief and hard work are key to success in life and no-one should carry a negative view of themselves through life.

Main prizesMale Student of the Year Tom RadleyFemale Student of the Year Caitlin QuinnOutstanding Achievement from Oakham Caitlin QuinnOutstanding Achievement from Melton Alice ColesOutstanding Achievement from Rutland and Stamford -Thomas KilkennyLord Lieutenant’s Prize for Endeavour Judith RichardsonSpecial mentions for Endeavour Athina Agrafioti Katherine Ellis Sohna MbyeBest Traineeship Courtney Ravenscroft Teia VerrasoFootball Development Scheme Outstanding Player Daniel Watkins

‘The Lord Lieutenant’s Endeavour’ prize was presented by the Lord Lieutenant, Dr Laurence Howard who attended with Mrs Howard. The award for ‘Outstanding Achievement – Oakham’ was awarded by Town Mayor, Jayne Woodcock’Prizes were also won for Art (Caitlin Quinn and Bethany Dams), Biology (Melissa Dolby, Sophie Marshall and Abbie Geeson), Business (Katherine Ellis), Chemistry (Tom Radley and Sophie Marshall), English (Tom Kilkenny and Bronte Pleasants), French (Evie Humberstone, Katherine Ellis, Amanda Hemmings and Magda Stroinska), Geography (Evie Humberstone), Health and Social Care (Hannah Brown, Bethan Whitiker and Rachel Taylor), History (William Yallop, Daisy Cutmore, Bronte Pleasants, and Tommy Wilkinson), Maths (Tom Radley and Dominic Askew), Media (Amanda Hemmings and Charlie Sketch), Physics (Tom Radley and Sophie Marshall), Politics (Chloe Burke), Sociology (Tara Reed), Textiles (Daisy Cutmore), Sport (Melissa Dolby) and Theatre (Kelly Davies).

Carl Smith, Head of Centre, said “25% of our university applicants have been offered places at Oxbridge and Russell Group Universities this year due to our Russell Group University Entry Programme led by Mrs Simpson which has been hugely successful. Credit to our wonderful students and their teachers”

Mr C Smith – Head of Centre, RCC

Rutland County College Awards Evening a Huge Success

Hundreds of prospective students and their parents attended the Rutland County College Open Evening in November. They heard how the percentage passing 3 A Levels is now 5% above the national average and the college has grown by 30% in 3 years. The was followed by several articulate Rutland County College students sharing their experiences with parents about how they feel both successful and happy at the college.Head of Centre, Carl Smith, was delighted with the evening saying “We are going from strength to strength as a College and applications this year are once again well above previous years. Huge credit must go to our wonderful and highly experienced staff.” In 2014 22% of the university students secured a place at a Russell Group University.


Rutland County College Open Evening

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CBEC NEWSRCC* NEWS

During the summer I took part in the National Citizen Service (NCS), a government funded programme which lasts 4 weeks and offers 16-17 year olds whole new experiences.

The first week of the programme was spent at PGL Caythorpe. PGL is an activity centre where we took part in various outdoor activities such as kayaking and abseiling. This was challenging but highly enjoyable as it meant getting to know my group and working together as a team. In my group there were thirteen of us with eight of us from Casterton, so even though most of us knew each other there were still some new faces to get to know.

The second week of the programme was spent at Nottingham University, where we took part in a range of activities and projects aimed at improving confidence and giving an insight into university life. One of the activities my group took part in was the Coca-Cola challenge; a board member of Coca-Cola came in to brief us on the challenge which was to make our own energy drink and create an advertising campaign aimed at the rest of the NCS Cohort. This was highly enjoyable and gave me a great experience into a business market such as the soft drink industry.

In the last two weeks of the programme, my group took part in a social action project; we decided to raise money for two charities and promote them in our local area. When taking part in this project, we had to, as a group, promote our event

to the public as much as possible. This meant leaflets, flyers, posters and sometimes word of mouth. This was a very interesting part of the project as it required confidence and determination throughout; skills that enabled us to raise over £600!

At the end of it all, we were presented with a certificate, signed by the Prime Minister, for taking part in the programme and we then watched a video of our time on NCS at a Graduation Evening. When thinking over my time at NCS, I realise just how rewarding it is. It gives you a new group of friends, it boosts your confidence and it is a whole new experience. I’m proud of taking part in the service and I hope people continue to take part in it in the future.

James Pearce – Year 12

National Citizen Service

In November BTEC Level 3 Business students from Rutland County College took part in an Enterprise Challenge Day.

Following a series of workshops around event management, the teams had to come up with an event concept, business plan and marketing campaign which they would pitch to the other groups and a panel of judges.

The winning idea was an interactive e-gaming tournament event to raise money for the Free Kicks Foundation. The judges were impressed with their innovative concept, attention to detail, scalable business plan and, what they all agreed, was a great brand. All teams really engaged with the activity, which was a valuable ‘real-life’ addition to their studies.

The panel was made up of Rebecca Jackson of The Skills Service and Nucleus Events and Ben Timberley of Egality Communities.

The winning team: Jonathan Wright, Nathan Harper and Ashley Barber (pictured) created the idea from a love of football and playing computer games. The judges particularly liked the fact that this concept could be applied to any sport and that it could also raise money for charity.

All three teams involved won free tickets and back stage passes to the Willow Festival in June, however the winning team has the additional prize of a free weekend camping at the festival!

Enterprise Challenge

Ms S Jenkins – Business Studies

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CBEC NEWSRCC* NEWS

In October Year 13 Geography and Geology students travelled to Glasgow and then took the last leg of the train journey to the ferry terminal at Ardrossan; finally arriving at the field centre on the island in time for supper.

The Geographers, helped by Mrs Simpson, spent the first day

looking at vegetation on a salt marsh and carrying out a pilot study to determine the best quadrat and sample size to use in the investigation. The next day the Geographers looked at the pebble size distribution along a shingle beach just around the corner from the centre and despite the sunshine we were very glad we brought woolly hats and gloves as it was jolly cold!

Meanwhile, the Geologists were getting to grips with the Dalradian greywackes which had been lightly toasted and turned into metasediments before being turned upside down. The students soon got the hang of rock descriptions and the correct use of the compass-clinometer. The following day it was deserts all the way – interrupted by tropical sequences on a

delta. During the course of the day they started in the southern hemisphere and ended in the northern hemisphere having crossed the equator all in the space of 100 million years or an afternoon’s work.

On Wednesday the Geologists had to do their assessment whilst the Geographers were busy looking at soil profiles and vegetation.

Thursday was the long trip home, and although tired, everyone agreed the trip was both enjoyable and worthwhile with much learning and practical experience taking place during the trip.

Many thanks to Mrs Simpson for her unflagging support.

Mr G Parsons – Geography & Geology

The AS Geographers went to Edale in the second week of term to do fieldwork on rivers. The students measured all sorts of river characteristics which meant they had to go paddling. This was fine until Laura Seymour found she had a hole in her wellies! The sun shone all day which was a surprise, and we managed to collect lots of measurements.

The fieldwork is done as early as possible as it is a good introduction to the course and helps people to get to know each other a little better. It gives them practical experience of carrying out fieldwork which is good in itself; it also helps with the exam-if you do it you are more likely to remember it! The students were measuring different characteristics of three different streams – each one larger than the last - to see what sort of changes were taking place. Some of these were straightforward like the width, but others like the wetted perimeter (the actual part of the bed and banks that were in contact with the water) were a little more demanding and you got a lot wetter doing it. When we got back we did a lot of ‘number crunching’ to see if the river did conform to expected models, which it did as far as bedload (the large stones on the bed of the river channel); these got smaller downstream. The day was a huge success giving the students hands-on experience outside the classroom.

Mr G Parsons – Geography

Arran Trip

AS Geography Students Visit Edale

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CBEC NEWSRCC* NEWS

Memorial Garden OpeningThis year, Janet Moynihan, a valued colleague, teacher and friend passed away. Janet worked at both Casterton and Rutland County College but her main role was working with the Foundation Learning students at Rutland. She was incredibly committed to her teaching role and the students, which was evident to all who came in contact with her. Janet always went above and beyond; nothing was too much effort. Her lessons were innovative and fun and she really played to the students’ strengths helping them achieve great results. Upon hearing that Janet had passed away, the students wanted to create something to remember her by and decided, with permission from Mr Smith, to create a memorial garden. The students drew designs that had meaning and linked with Janet’s roots in both Ireland and Australia; then the fundraising began! Every plant in the garden has been bought from the money raised or donated by family, friends and staff. The garden was personalised further with Miss McLeod and her art students painting tiles, making bunting, foraging for sticks to paint in an aboriginal design and creating amazing artwork to put in all the windows that framed the garden. Jessica Mahase designed the invitations to the opening, Miss Kear made the fabulous vintage themed ‘thank you for coming’ cards and Mr Gillespie and Jamie Scopes produced the PowerPoint for the opening. Mr Shirley made a beautiful oak plaque and Mrs Bebbington painted a slate featuring all Mrs Moynihan’s favourite flowers .We decided to host the Macmillan Big Coffee Morning on the day of the opening as it was a fitting charity to fundraise for and raised almost £300. In true Foundation Learning style we had more cakes than we knew what to do with! The sun shone for the opening and the garden looked stunning!We would like to thank all those that could attend, those that sent their best wishes and Ms Crosher for her kind words. We were honoured that Mrs Moynihan’s sons, Connor and Dylan, came with their Dad and officially opened the garden. A final thanks to all those students, parents and staff that contributed in a myriad of ways to make the day a true celebration of Mrs Moynihan’s life. Mrs C Darroch - Head of Foundation Learning

On 14th October more than twenty Rutland County College students from the Public Services and Health and Social Care BTEC courses took part in ‘Exercise Blue Water’ at the Whitwell Rescue Centre.

The exercise was run by Anglian Water and involved Leices-tershire Police, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, East Midlands Ambulance Service (Hazardous Response Team) plus members of the Army from St. George’s Barracks, North Luffenham.

The scenario for the exercise was centred around a major fire and power failure on the Rutland Belle. Our students and the Army personnel played the roles of passengers on the boat. During the exercise students were involved in an emergency evacuation of the Rutland Belle, scrambling into life-rafts, assisting the emergency services in locating passengers in distress on Rutland Water and playing the part of injured passengers. The weather could have been kinder, however, nobody let the rain dampen their spirits.

Exercise Blue Water

Mr D Grieve – Public Services

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CBEC NEWS

We did it!Following a very challenging process of application the Expressive Arts Department is extremely proud to announce that we were awarded Artsmark Status at the beginning of the year. Due to the fantastic creative work of the students devised and delivered by the staff, we have now been recognised for the high quality exposure to the Arts that Casterton and Rutland County College provide for young people. Artsmark is Arts Council England’s flagship programme to enable schools and other organisations to evaluate, strengthen and celebrate their Arts and Cultural provision. It is a real testament to the College showing that we truly do go beyond normal expectation to provide a very varied and far reaching Arts programme that benefit young people in terms of both academic achievement and life skills.Well done Casterton and Rutland County College!

Mrs C Nicklin – Subject Leader, Expressive Arts

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

On an autumn day Mrs Nicklin and Mrs Kato took 65 Years 10, 11 and 12 Art students to Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

The purpose of the trip was to gather resources to support students’ course work and the day proved to be an invaluable experience that I am sure will become an annual event. The students gained a lot from the experience quoting the following….

‘Not only did we think that the art work was vast and inspirational but the landscape and setting truly captured natural beauty’ Year 12 Art students

Not only were the students able to gather additional material for their portfolios, they also managed to experience a bit of exercise because the park was so big!


We do like to be besidethe Seaside!

A-level Art students from Year 12 travelled to Wells-Next -the-Sea to carry out a day of drawing to kick off their Unit 1 theme.

The students really applied themselves and gathered some really considered observations through both drawing and photography.

‘Our Cromer trip was a fantastic start to exploring our theme of ‘Surroundings’. There was a great contrast between the seafront and town centre.’

This trip always proves to be a success for the students, as it enables an opportunity to record observations of life from coastal views to the town centre.


Ho! Ho! Ho! Rutland County College were privileged to be visited by the High Sheriff of Rutland in the summer term to view our new Gallery space at the College.

During his visit he was so impressed by the quality of the work that the students had produced he asked the students to design his official Christmas card for 2014. The High Sheriff provided us with a specific design brief that required the designs to reflect commemorating World War 1, the Flying Corps and also obviously some festive spirit. The winning design was created by Tamara Hardy in Mrs Nicklin’s Year 12 A-level Art group,“Having my design selected by the High Sheriff has come as a great surprise, I can’t wait to see the final product!” Tamara Hardy

We would like thank High Sheriff Miles Williamson-Noble for taking the time to come and see the Art work at the College and asking us to design his official card. We are looking forward to seeing the card professionally printed.


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CBEC NEWS

The IT/French Exchange is a 12-day cultural exchange offering an excellent opportunity to travel to a different country and participate in a wide range of new activities, whilst making new friends and improving language skills. It is aimed at current Years 7, 8 and 9 students and takes place in two legs: the visit to France in October 2015 and the visit of the French to England in June 2016.

This year the French and English schools have introduced a theme to run throughout both the exchange visits. The theme chosen is the environment and sustainability. We have chosen this because it is an issue that affects all young people and will continue to affect their lives long into the future. It is also a topic that recurs in both English and French syllabi. It is also a topic in GCSE French, IT, Science and Geography.

In addition, there will be an increased focus on the use of IT during the exchanges.

The goals of the exchange are:• To increase confidence in speaking and understanding every-day French• To increase French vocabulary, including words to do with environmental issues• To improve knowledge and understanding of environmental issues• To improve the safe use and understanding of IT for collaborating, creating and sharing content.

The programme has been put together in conjunction with our partner school in France and we believe we have created something that will be hugely enjoyable and highly educational.

If you are interested in finding out if there are any spaces available on this trip, please email Miss Goddard, Subject Leader for IT : [email protected]


IT/French Exchange 2015-16

The Expressive Arts Department have recently launched a new initiative creating an opportunity for current Year 11 students to become Arts Leaders and create an Arts Committee that provides students across the College with the opportunity to be involved in the process of Arts in a more active way.

We are very pleased to announce the appointments of:Art Leader to Jenny Eva and Deputy to Leona SelbyMusic Leader to Kate Chapman and Deputy to Charlie Green.Drama Leaders will be appointed shortly.

This is a great leadership opportunity for the students and hopefully will provide them and the Committee with more of a voice and involvement in their Arts education.

If a student would like to be involved in the Committee it is open to all years and they should look out for the next meeting.


New Arts Leaders Opportunity

Modern Foreign Languages Able, Gifted and Talented Day

In the summer term thirty-six pupils from Casterton, Uppingham Community College and Catmose College took part in a Modern Foreign Languages Able, Gifted and Talented Day, held at Casterton. The aim of the day was to stretch and challenge the able linguists and to promote multiculturalism.

All students had the opportunity to produce a French magazine, working together with students from all three schools in order to produce a creative piece of work written in French. Students were also introduced to some introductory Italian in which they learnt to introduce themselves and how to say the colours. During the German session pupils learnt the parts of the body, matching them with the English translations in preparation for a conversation at the doctor’s. In the afternoon our expert linguists used their knowledge of language to translate a Dutch poem and then tackled a variety of fairy tales in French. The Casterton students involved were Hannah Lewis, Ryan Sharp, Bethany Tambling, Sam Younger, Abby Harnden, Molly Bartram, Amelia Haspinall, Leah Gregory, Lorna Bicker, Anthony Diaz-Munoz, Lauren Burke and Harry Howells. Well done to all of those students involved; it was a fantastic day!

Miss Pettitt – Modern Foreign Languages

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CBEC NEWS

With the aim of promoting ‘reading for pleasure’ Casterton once again entered every Year 7 student into the ‘Bookbuzz’ programme, run by the National Trust.As part of the programme the College Librarian, Mrs Scott, visited every Year 7 English group to introduce the students to 12 exciting titles and give them the opportunity to choose one of those titles to take home as a gift from the College. The range of books available meant there was something to suit every ability or preference including a fiction book with an underlying conservation message from Steve Backshall, a book full of scientific facts about the human body and a collection of poems for children, compiled by Carol Anne Duffy; there really was something for everyone!A film containing a brief outline of each book, presented by the authors of the books, helped the students make their decision.Mrs Scott said “The idea is to create excitement about books, promote reading for pleasure and encourage students to broaden their reading material”. BookBuzz has been a huge success each year since the launch in 2012. As part of the programme the College also receives 2 additional sets of the 12 titles, a special library pack (containing further books) and a number of very useful literacy resources.This year’s students were very excited at the prospect of getting a book for free; Year 7 were definitely buzzing about books, especially when Father Christmas delivered them in the last week of term!


Free Bookfor Every Year 7 Student

Coming Soon!

In the summer term Mr Monteforte took a selected group of Year 10 students to visit Bletchley Park; the site where men and women worked to decipher enemy ciphers during World War Two.

The day began with a brief history of Bletchley Park followed by a demonstration of the Enigma machine. We also worked in groups to try and crack our own codes using cipher wheels. Following this, we were able to view and use an enigma machine. The same machine that was used to crack the codes the Germans used to encrypt their messages. Later in the day we were given a tour of the picturesque grounds where we saw the stunning Bletchley mansion where the first ciphers were cracked and the ‘huts’ where the workers were later moved to as the number of code breaking personnel increased. The day ended with a visit to the colossus machine, the world’s first computer, which left us all in awe of its sheer complexity and size.

All in all, the day was an experience we won’t forget; we all had a fantastic time and learnt a significant amount.

Adam Turner – Year 11

Casterton has invested in the SIMS Learning Gateway (SLG) which allows parents to view information regarding their children via a secure website.

The SLG gives you access to attendance information and assessment summaries, your child’s homework and regular updates regarding events and school news. The aim is that during 2015 all parents will be able to receive this information by logging on to SLG. Students will be trialling the website over the coming months.

We plan to launch this to all parents in January 2015. You will receive usernames and passwords at around this time. Please look out for these details in the next term. There will also be information about the SLG available at subject evenings and academic tutorials. Please ensure that all personal details for yourself and your child are up to date ready for when we go live. Once SLG has launched you will be able to update personal details via the website which will in turn inform us of your changes.

If you have any questions regarding SLG please contact Mrs Jackson via email [email protected]

Mrs L Jackson – Performance Data Assistant

SIMS Learning Gateway

Tickets will be on sale after Christmas for our next exciting production – Little Shop of Horrors! Make sure you get your tickets early to avoid disappointment as they are sure to sell out fast! A range of merchandise and programmes will also be available to purchase.

Date for the diary: 5th & 6th February 2015

Bletchley Park

19

CBEC NEWS

A Trip That Made Us Smile!

Hair and Beauty Elective

At the beginning of term 2 the students in the Hair and Beauty elective learnt how to perform a hand massage.

This involved differentiating several massages: effleurage, petrissage and friction techniques.Parents, carers and family members were invited to the College as a client to receive a hand massage. This enabled the students to gain additional experience in communicating in a workplace, interacting with and providing a service to clients and assisting colleagues. The afternoon was both successful and enjoyable with students making their clients feel relaxed and tension-free. This was followed with a little glamour as the clients then had their nails painted! At the end of the session feedback from both students and clients was very positive.

Client comments included:‘I’ve had a lovely afternoon; it was so nice to be able to see what my daughter is doing at school.’‘I could do with this being done every day!’ ‘I feel fantastic now; she has done a very good job and made me feel really relaxed.’

Year 7 student, Lauren Maiden, said “It’s really fun being able to have our mums in to show them what we are learning.”

Mrs C Johnson – Hair & Beauty

During the summer term CSI Elective students were able to learn about and practice various CSI techniques such as: taking fingerprints, finding fingerprint patterns, lifting finger prints, preserving shoe imprints and tool marks, using microscopy to compare hair and fibres samples and finding out what blood types there are and how to test for them.

The scientific reports produced by the students were submitted to the British Science Association for the Science CREST AWARD.

Well done to the following students for achieving the Bronze CREST Award in CSI Techniques:

Daniel Bland BCBLottie Broadley BLDAlice Carpenter BMHMaisy Cooper GBLFinlay Grice GPTJoshua Jordan BWFCiara Leonard GPTEllie Maguire-Watts BLDQynton Meyer YDGGianni Watkinson YDGCavan Westerdale BWF

Mr A Mangham – Science

In September, Mr Monteforte organised a trip to Alton Towers for a group of Years 9, 10 and 11 students.

The trip was insanely thrilling! With white-knuckle roller coasters, clothes-soaking rapids and the ‘all new’ world record breaking 14 loop rollercoaster - The Smiler, the day was bound to be an unforgettable one; jam packed with adrenaline fuelled excitement from the first ride to the last. With the sheer drop of Oblivion and the 70 mph speeds on Rita it was hard to catch your breath.

We all enjoyed ourselves and without Mr Monteforte we wouldn’t have had such an amazing and hilarious time.

Harriet Harvey and Emma Reeds - Year 11

CSI Students Achieve Bronze Award!

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CBEC NEWS

On Tuesday 30th September, Lucy Wise, Jenny Blackwell, Glen Meagre and I volunteered to assist in catering for Rutland Food Banks one year anniversary at Oakham Castle.

Earlier in the day we prepared the food for the guests that would be attending the celebration. Once the guests began to arrive, Lucy and I served tea and coffee whilst Glen and Jenny served the food. Throughout the evening, we all got the chance to speak to the guests and discuss how they have helped the food bank. Amongst the guests was Rutland Radio DJ Rob Persani who is part of the organisation. We all thoroughly enjoyed this experience as we were able to give back to our community and be involved in such a fantastic charity.

Lillie Carter – Year 11

Students Give Back to the Community

As part of the Human Lifespan Development Unit Year 10 Health and Social Care students learnt about all stages in an individual life. Learning through play is an important part of a child’s development and Miss Green, Manager of Casterton Childcare Centre, visited the Year 10s to explain the many different approaches to children’s play used at the Childcare Centre.

Miss Green had prepared a ‘messy play’ session so they could experience one of the activities a young child would be able to play with and learn from. The Year 10s were allowed to play around for a little while and, despite their ages, actually had fun!

The session was very useful and the students learnt how simple things such as cornflour and water, shaving foam, food colouring or pasta could enhance the human senses and contribute to learning via smell, touch, taste. Everyone would like to thank Miss Green sharing her expertise and allowing the Year 10s to have a ‘hands on’ experience!

Mrs K Bryjova – Health & Social Care

Messy Play

During Term 1, Year 9 Health and Social Care students learnt about the importance of healthy diet and hygiene routines.

The overall task was for students, from two groups, to create a healthy salad that was suitable for their age group. Student were able to create their salads in the Food Technology room and used the opportunity to put into practice the hygiene routines they had learnt. All the students were then asked to vote on each other’s salads based on presentation and taste. The two students with the highest scoring salads from each group were then informed that their salad would be made and sold in the Courtyard during Term 2. Huge congratulations to the winners: Jake Walker, Molly Bartram, Katie Alexander and Matthew Croft.

Miss B Lees - Health and Social Care

Healthy Competition

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CBEC NEWS

Following the success of the Drama Roadshow last year, with sponsorship from NADFAS, Mrs Ball and Mrs Richey took a group of Year 9 Drama students on tour across the Primary Schools of Rutland.

This year the project took ‘Education Through the Decades’ as its theme, to knit together with the college’s 75th anniversary. This project began with an Art Workshop for each of the Primary Schools involved. Professional artists went into each primary school to produce pieces of theme-related art work based on toys and games from the seven decades. These were drawn together into an exhibition that was on display in Oakham Library over the summer. Using the same theme, the drama show took sketches from ‘Daisy Pulls it Off’, ‘Our Day Out’, ‘Kes’ and ‘Teechers’. The entertaining and humorous collection of school based scenes showed how education had changed over the 75 years. “The response from the primary school students was fantastic” said Drama teacher, Mrs Ball, “It is such a worthwhile activity to take Drama out into the county instead of expecting audiences to come to us; a brilliant project!”

The culmination of the project was not only an exhibition of the resulting art work, but also a competition that required the primary students to do a five minute presentation about their work in front of a judging panel. Students, staff, parents and NADFAS committee members all joined together for an evening to round off the project. The worthy winners were Cottesmore Primary School, who spoke eloquently about their art work and how it related to the decades theme. Ketton Primary School were not able to attend, but very creatively chose to send along a filmed presentation which was very entertaining. Ryhall Primary School students had completed some very detailed 0research to talk with great authority about the development of toys across the years. It was a very enjoyable evening, and tied all the various threads of work together. Congratulations and thank you to everyone involved.

Mrs S Ball – Drama

Drama Roadshow

Our Year 11 GCSE Drama students went to see Woman in Black, notoriously one of the scariest plays in theatre.

True to form, there was much jumping and even a little bit of screaming! The students all really enjoyed the performance as they are studying the play for their GCSE Drama work. The timing was brilliant as it fitted in with start of their controlled assessment and the trip was a great success.


Woman in Black at the Royal & Derngate Theatre

Stamford Senior Youth Theatre

Year 10 Drama students had a brilliant day at Stamford Arts Centre with Stamford Senior Youth Theatre (SSYT) for their annual workshop event. The Year 10s watched SSYT’s inventive and thought-provoking piece entitled ‘Frank Lee Speaking’. The story revolved around a fifteen year old boy, Frank Lee, as he prepares for his GCSE exams. The play examined how the pressure of exams affects students, parents and staff in different ways. Recent headlines have grabbed the news such as ‘Our children are growing up in a toxic climate of stress and pressure, the main culprits being exams and never being able to switch off’. After the show, SSYT cast members worked alongside our Year 10 drama students through a series of drama activities, exploring the issues raised in the performance. Mrs Ball, drama teacher said “I was really proud of the way our drama students threw themselves into every activity, and showed great enthusiasm for every aspect of the day. We were all exhausted by the end of a very enjoyable workshop”. Mrs S Ball – Drama

That is All You Need to Know!Earlier this term Year 11 GCSE Drama students travelled to Uppingham Theatre to see ‘That is All You Need to Know’. This stunning piece of visual theatre tells the story of Bletchley Park and the untold secrets of the remarkable men and women who cracked the enigma code. Idle Motion Theatre Company took the audience back to 1940s England, to the eccentric country house whose grounds, filled with chess champions, Oxbridge graduates and young debutantes, was the melting pot of Britain’s greatest minds. Among these were the visionary Alan Turing, the

exceptional Gordon Welchman and the thousands of dynamic women whose work was the hidden heroism of the war.With their trademark inventive staging and captivating storytelling, Idle Motion created a textured landscape of personal testimony and multimedia on a stage busy with filing cabinets and typewriters. The students were fascinated by all the visual effects in the show, and really enjoyed the after show chat with the cast.


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CBEC NEWS

Record numbers of families came through the doors of Casterton Business & Enterprise College on Thursday night to see the College in action at its Annual Open Evening. The visitors, including Years 5 and 6 pupils, were treated to a range of activities, themed around ‘I love CBEC’.James, 10, from Oakham said ‘I love the feel of the school –it’s so friendly and happy’. Mr and Mrs Smith from Stamford visited with their three children Alex, Eleanor and Lydia. They said ‘We have always wanted our children to attend Casterton. We know that they really look after young people and care about them on an individual level.’The school has benefitted from recent Government funding to refurbish the Main Hall and the ‘Courtyard’ restaurant so the school looked at its best!’

Open Evening at Casterton

During one of our Health and Social Care lessons we tried out yoga with a trained instructor; our very own Graphics teacher, Mrs Ditchburn.

At first we were slightly apprehensive as we have never attempted yoga before but we all found it to be a really relaxing and an enjoyable experience. Yoga tested our flexibility and some of us found that we had issues with our balance, however Mrs Ditchburn assured us that there are always other alternatives, therefore yoga is an exercise for everyone. This experience showed us that no matter what age, body shape, balance or flexibility, yoga can be fun for all. Not only did she teach us yoga but she explained how certain positions can improve or prevent particular conditions such as arthritis. This was an interesting practical lesson which definitely helped us to understand how complementary therapies work and the ways they contribute to improvements of individual’s health and wellbeing.We would like to thank Mrs Ditchburn for giving up her free time to run a yoga session for us.

Jess Lindley and Emily North - Level 3 HSC students

Yoga

Good attendance is crucial in enabling your child to achieve to their full potential.

New government guidelines have been introduced to deal with poor attendance, including lateness, and these procedures involve sending out a letter to all parents whose child’s overall percentage attendance falls below 96%. In some cases this letter is sent by the College as we have to follow these guidelines, but in most cases it is because we have concerns over your child’s attendance and how this is going to affect their chances of achieving. These students will attend a meeting with the Attendance Manager to discuss ways in which the College can support them in improving their attendance and to discuss what they can do to sustain this improvement. Their attendance will then be monitored over the term and if no improvements are made, the Local Authority will be informed and there is the possibility of a fixed penalty notice being issued for continued poor attendance. Please note that if your child’s absences are due to illness the College will need medical evidence if these exceed 5 days of absence at any time (these absences do not have to fall consecutively).

With regards to holiday requests, a request for leave of absence form must be completed and returned to the College (at least 2 weeks prior to the holiday) notifying us of your intention to take your child out of school. However, the absence will not be approved and the holiday will be coded as unauthorised. As the parent/carer, you may be liable to a fixed penalty notice of £60 per child per parent/carer. If the penalty is not paid within 21 days, the amount will increase to £120 per child per parent/carer. This ruling applies to each child taken out who is on roll at the College. Failure to pay the fine may result in court action being taken. Holiday will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances and with prior agreement from the Principal. Please note that this is a ‘once in a lifetime’ special circumstance. This means that the College will only authorise one period of absence during your child’s time at Casterton. Attendance Manager

Important Information Regarding Attendance Procedures and Holiday Requests

Ms V Crosher - Principal

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CBEC NEWS

Learner Support Update

During the summer term seven Primary schools from the surrounding area attended an event at Casterton.

The students, all Year 6 students who joined us this September, took part in a STEM activity - The Knex Challenge!

The students had to design and build a trebuchet from the Knex, working in mixed teams of two. They worked with Science ambassadors who came in for the day and four year 10 Engineering students, Charlie Green, Connor Orlowskyj, Ethan Orlowskyj and Fraser Simmons, who volunteered to help.

To be successful in the Knex challenge and make their designwork the Year 6 students had to use various Maths and Technology skills and demonstrate good team work with new people.

It was a fun day and the students left with a real sense of achievement.

Miss J Winterbourne – Enterprise Coordinator

Year 6 Knex Challenge

As ever it has been a busy start to the new academic year in Learner Support. Following on from the end of year testing in Key Stage 3, all of the different types of literacy intervention are up and running whether students are following the progress pathway, small withdrawal intervention or short booster courses everyone is concentrating on making their own individual progress in Literacy. Key Stage 3 students have been introduced to our new ‘Lexia’ Programme; a programme that provides individualised, targeted reading practice in order for each student to master their reading and spelling skills. Various levels of difficulty provide extensive practice in everything from very basic to advanced level reading skills. This programme can be used at home and be incorporated as part of Study Extra.

Learner Support would like to welcome four new Teaching Assistants that have joined us this year: Mr Ellis, Miss Gibney, Miss Mayes and Mr Mcleod, we know that they are enjoying working with our students.

As you will be aware, Mrs Karen Abrahams sadly passed away after courageously battling cancer. Mrs Abrahams was extremely passionate about improving literacy across the College and supporting students that may find College a challenging place, all of which she did with huge success. Mrs Abrahams was valued by staff, parents and students and we intend on celebrating her memory. In the coming months, with the help of students, we will be deciding on the most fitting tribute to her.

Mrs C Bell – HLTA

Congratulations to Year 8 pupil, Bryony Cutforth, who won a bronze medal at the British Judo Championship 2014 at Under 15s, U52kg this December.


Congratulations to Y8 pupil

Year 8 student, James Duell, has been raising money for Thorpe Hall Hospice after staff there helped to look after his Mum in her final weeks. James said “They were there for us when we needed them.”James and his little brother, Dylan, set themselves a target to raise £1000, organising a number of activities to help achieve their goal. Casterton Business & Enterprise College hosted a ‘Lights of Love’ Christmas tree which included a bauble from each tutor group, James sold Christmas Cards that had kindly been donated and towards the end of term James also organised ‘Tinsel Day’ for students to ‘bling’ up their uniform with tinsel.So far James has raised £426.01 in college which, when added to the money his little brothers has raised, brings the overall total to more than £600.James is very grateful for the generosity of students and staff in the college. “Everyone at school has supported me.” James’ Tutor, Miss Goddard, said “He’s a real inspiration to us all and it’s something that touches everyone - seeing how well he is dealing with it.”In the new year James is planning a sponsored bike ride “I think my Mum would think it’s awesome; she would be proud.”If you would like to help James reach his £1000 goal please visit http://michelle.beniston.muchloved.com/


Lights of Love

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CBEC NEWS

Year 9 students from Casterton Business & Enterprise College, working towards their BTEC qualification in Teamwork, Personal Skills and Citizenship with CVQO, spent 24 hours at the outdoor adventure centre at Whitwell. They were able to show off their skills in a multitude of exciting and challenging activities. Great fun whilst learning was the priority and the students, who were joined by members of the Year 7 team during the daytime hours, had the opportunity to learn lots of new leadership skills whilst simultaneously building upon their own self-confidence. Map reading, navigational and orienteering skills were all part of their course work. Personal challenges and goals were achieved using the Rockblock, high ropes, and cycling; fitness levels were certainly tested to the max. In the evening the older students used their newly acquired skills to pitch up several large tents, light their own fires to cook

on, and build shelters which came in useful for the torrential rain that night! Mrs Kato, Assistant Principal at the College said, ‘This first overnight activity was a pilot for the CVQO programme and we are delighted that CVQO chose our students to demonstrate their qualities as leaders. CVQO has continued to provide endless support to the college since January and to give our students opportunities that we couldn’t otherwise offer. We look forward to developing our partnership further in the next academic year as CVQO reaches out to students at Rutland County College’.

Year 9 CVQO Camping Trip

Our Year 7 students took part in our annual teambuilding event in September. The change in the weather did not dampen the spirits of the youngsters as they took part in a number of workshops. The workshops were designed to build their self-confidence, develop their listening and communication skills, as well as experiencing teambuilding activities. After the event the students feedback was really positive; they had enjoyed the whole day. Many of them made new friendships and felt they had bonded as a year group.

Mrs Quigley, Year 7 Manager, was very pleased with the outcome of the day; “The day gives our Year 7 students the opportunity to make new friends and enhance their social communication skills. This all helps in adapting to the larger educational environment”.

Mrs K Quigley – Year 7 Manager

Year 7 Teambuilding

As Year 10 students look towards their final year at Casterton Business & Enterprise College their thoughts are turning to the next steps in their education and to this end they were given a ‘Sixth Form experience’ at Rutland County College. Post 16 education and training (now compulsory) is changing rapidly and Year 10 are the first cohort affected so it is vital that they and their parents come to understand the options available, for example, students now understand that the new A Level entry criteria is 6 A*-C grades with a B in the nearest relevant GCSE to the chosen A Levels (making a B in English virtually a necessity to progress to A level study). Students also understand that getting a grade C may not be enough. Others found out about options such as traineeships and apprenticeships.

Students took part in taster lessons and had a chance to see what it takes to succeed in a sixth form environment. It was an excellent day and they acquitted themselves very well.


Year 10 Enjoy ‘Sixth Form Experience’ Day at Rutland County College

Mrs Katy Kato – Assistant Principal

Year 9 Design Museum Trip

Sixty Year 9 Design students from Casterton Business & Enterprise College visited the Design Museum in London to get a greater insight into design and link in with the exciting new Product Design course that will be offered as an option for Year 10 in September 2015.

The students took part in one of two workshops, the Mystery Product and The Lighting Project. Year 9 student, Max Lindley, found the experience really interesting, “We saw lots of really unusual designs at the museum. We were surprised when we were told that the design of the item was often more important that the functionality of the product. During the workshop we had to draw one of the products; I had to draw a juicer that we all thought looked like an alien! We then analysed the form, material and aesthetics of the product. I really enjoyed the day and would recommend going to the museum if you get the opportunity.”

The Year 9s then spent time looking around the Museum to gain influence for their Design & Technology projects back at Casterton.

The day was fascinating and demonstrated how exciting the world of Design can be.


In September Casterton Childcare Centre started to offer Forest School sessions for our Pre-School children.

We have 16 children who take part in the sessions at Grimsthorpe Castle estate. Rachel, the Forest School Teacher, has devised a 6 week programme of activities; these include: searching for mini beasts, making a bug hotel and creating a headdress out of natural materials. Forest School is primarily about engaging children in stories which then incorporate nature and natural play resources. The children love it!

Casterton Childcare Centre Have a Busy Start to the Autumn TermForest School

All of our children participated in fun times this Halloween; the Nursery was decorated from floor to ceiling; children and staff dressed up and took part in a variety of different activities, from messy play to making biscuits.

Halloween

In October the children dressed in pink and took part in numerous pink activities to help support breast cancer awareness. Together the staff, children and parents raised £30!

Miss S Clipston – Childcare Assistant

Dress Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness

A fantastic night was had by all, with students arriving in the usual variety of random types of transport, including a horse drawn carriage, a plumber’s van, a tractor and even a wheelbarrow!

One of the favourite features of the evening is the Prom Oscars, with students voting for the winners of awards such as “Most Likely to be Prime Minister” and “Biggest Diva”, which is all done in good humour, and the students certainly enjoy it! In addition, students voted for their choice of Prom King and Queen, with this year’s winners being Sam Peace and Emma Youngs.

The staff were very proud to see all attendees looking stunning, a wonderful evening was had by all!

Miss G Form - HLM

In early December 37 Years 10 and 11 students travelled to Birmingham for the Clothes Show Live. We were all excited about this trip as couldn’t wait to get there.The Clothes Show had a vast amount of stalls with a range of clothes, make-up, perfume and accessories and several fashion shows within the hall.

Handpicked by a panel of industry experts, the Graduate ASOS Marketplace is a platform for talented young designers who are nurturing and growing new fashion businesses. We met the designers behind the brands and shop collections from the next generation of fashion.

Vintage Avenue displayed vibrant and eclectic fashion from times gone by; whether it’s the flirty 30s, fabulous 40s or swinging 60s that hold a place in your heart, you were guaranteed to find that unique ‘must-have’ piece.

The fashion shows were amazing but the best fashion show was in the award-winning ‘Alcatel Onetouch Fashion Theatre’. Set to a backdrop of the Big Apple with designer collections infused with impressive choreography, the 45-minute catwalk spectacular featured international models and dancers, celebrity presenters and top music acts. This year’s show included new girl band - Neon Jungle, British music talent - Jetta, onscreen favourite - Rick Edwards, fashion designer - Henry Holland and the cheekiest chap in Chelsea - Jamie Laing.

We were spoilt for choice on celebrities including; Lauren Goodger, Joey Essex, Tom Pearce, Spencer Matthew’s, Lauren Pope, Amy Childs, Charlie Barker and even Miss Mistry’s favourite - Peter Andre. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take ‘selfies with celebrities’.

An essential part of our day at Clothes Show Live was in fashion career seminars led by British Fashion Communicator and Clothes Show Live Education Ambassador Caryn Franklin MBE.

Students heard about the career journey of leading fashion and beauty experts including stylists, editors, designers and buyers. Each session was a valuable insight into the breadth of careers on offer.

We attended the ‘Let’s Talk: Fashion & Body Confidence’ seminar which was brand new for 2014. Students took part in a body confidence discussion related to images and fashion, hosted by a panel of media insiders. This was particularly worthwhile as in our GCSE Textiles lesson we have had many SMSC discussions on body image and body confidence and we have concluded that teenagers do need help and support with self-image and self-confidence.

The day was a good experience because we were able to attend educational seminars which inspired us for the future, meet celebrities and fashion icons and, of course, do some serious shopping!

Alex Cutforth, Heather Newton, Amara Gamble and Jessica Howe – Year 11

Clothes Show LiveThe Year 11 Prom

In July, Casterton Business & Enterprise College held their annual Year 11 Prom at Greetham Valley Golf Club.

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CBEC NEWS

This term nearly 40 students have chosen Ice Skating as part of the electives programme. The students (and teachers)have had a fantastic time and really improved over the 5 weeks. Students are able to enjoy the freedom of the Ice but have helpers on standby to assist them. Several of the students have learnt advanced skills including different turns and how to skate backwards. The students have also been great at teaching and supporting each other.

Mr T Weller - PHF

Congratulations to Year 11 student Emma Philip; Emma won Young Sportswoman of the Year at the Active Rutland Sports Awards for her achievements in judo this year - she is currently ranked 10th in the country!

Ice Skating Elective Casterton did very well in the tennis leagues during the summer term. The courts were full every lunchtime with many students making huge improvements. Stand out performers this year were Jacob Smith, Archie Woolcott, Oscar Davey, Landing Badjie and Zac Treweek.

Mr T Weller - PHF

Tennis

The Casterton u15 boys’ Volleyball team won the Rutland Volleyball tournament and have qualified to take part in the School Games at Loughborough University in April 2015.

Zac Treweek, Harley Riches, Isaac Pyne and Harry Peasgood were all selected to play and were outstanding on the night. A great achievement and a fantastic opportunity to now play at one the country’s premier sporting venues.

Mr T Weller - PHF

Volleyball

The Rutland School Sport Partnership hosted their annual Primary Schools Rounders tournament at Casterton Business & Enterprise College towards the end of the summer term.

Twenty one teams entered the competition and all arrived at the school in high spirits. Twelve young Sports Leaders from the College were assigned to the six pitches and they took charge of all the matches as the teams played each other in the group stages of the competition.Tournament organiser Chris Thomas said “It was fantastic to see so many teams enter this competition which reflects the passion and enthusiasm among Rutland schools for competition and school sport. The leaders that helped run the event were extremely professional and mature in their approach to their role and ensured the tournament ran smoothly and to time. Congratulations to all children who participated in the event and particular congratulations to Langham for winning the tournament overall.”


Primary Schools Rounders Tournament

Once again students and staff have been busy donating toys, sweets and treats to our shoebox appeal in aid of Operation Christmas Child. Students were shown videos of children receiving their shoeboxes last year and witnessed the joy these gifts can bring to a child whose life has been haunted by poverty, disaster, disease or war. The students were then given the option of contributing if they wished. As always, the students at Casterton and Rutland County College demonstrated how kind, caring and generous they are by donating 40 shoeboxes; a fantastic number and an increase on last year’s total of 25.

In November, my young son, Caspar, and I delivered the shoeboxes to Peterborough Cathedral. From there, the boxes will make their way to children in Uganda, Serbia, Haiti and many other countries.

Thank you to all students and staff for their generous dona-tions Mrs C Rawes – Subject Leader, English

Operation Christmas Child 2014

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CBEC NEWS

Spotlight on Zac Treweek Zac is a student with outstanding all-round ability and a great enthusiasm for sport. Zac has represented the College in a wide range of sports over the last four years; his main sporting areas are cricket, rugby and tennis.

As well as captaining the school cricket team he also plays adult cricket for Ketton 1st team in Cambs Div 1 and has been rewarded by being selected for Leicestershire junior cricket team for the last two years. Over that time he has really improved his swing bowling.

Zac is a skilful rugby player who plays fly half for the College. He has also played for Stamford Rugby Club every Sunday since he was 7 years old and has volunteered to be a Rugby Ambassador for which he has recently attended a training course.

Finally Zac is an outstanding tennis player and has represented the College at the Leicestershire schools’ finals in Leicester and has been asked to play for the Ketton 1st team.

Mr D Ramshaw – Subject Leader, PHF

Casterton’s annual Sport Day was held in July this year and once again there was a high

level of participation from students either as competitors or as marshals and score keepers. We were blessed with a lovely day and some great competition.

The following athletes achieved new school records on the day:Jasmine Hammond u13 Girl’s High Jump 1.37mLanding Badje u14 Boy’s 100m 11.52s, 200m 24.64s, Long Jump 5.63mDaniel Johnson Junior Boy’s Long Jump 5.57m

The following students won medals for collecting the most points in the Junior and Senior Competitions.

Junior Competition:Landing Badje 36 pointsJasmine Hammond 31 points

Senior Competition:David Raffan 36 pointsClaudia Dooley 29 points

Overall Results Table

Junior ResultsBlue Green Red Yellow4th 2nd 1st 3rd

Senior ResultsBlue Green Red Yellow4th 2nd 1st 3rd

Overall ResultsBlue Green Red Yellow4th 2nd 1st 3rd

Mr D Ramshaw – Subject Leader, PHF

Sports Day 2014

Netball

Casterton’s Years 7-10 netball teams competed in the Rutland and Melton Varsity League in term 1.

They played games at home and away against the five other schools. The Year 10 team were particularly successful and achieved joint 1st place in the league. The team has been playing together since Year 7 and has had a new member, Freya Jones, join them this year. Players that have stood out this year have been Brit Ellis with her consistent shooting skills and Hannah Jordan with her intercepting skills in defence. Rebecca Want in Year 11 has also been a great help this year by umpiring some of the games.

The teams have also been showing off the new netball kit which was kindly funded by Casterton PTFA. We now have 20 netball kits to loan out for all of the girls’ sporting fixtures. The girls are really pleased with the kit which now matches their high level of performance. We would like to say a big thank you to the PTFA for supporting the PHF department at Casterton.

Miss G Bates - PHF

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CBEC NEWS

Casterton Business & Enterprise College Wins 6 Awards

Football

14 students from the college were nominated for awards at the Rutland Schools Sports Awards. The categories were:• Sporting Achievement Key Stage 3 and 4• Sporting Commitment Key Stage 3 and 4• Sporting Talent Key Stage 3 and 4• Best Team Key Stage 3 and 4• Contribution to School Sport through Sports Leadership - Secondary Key Stage 3 and 4

Winners Pa Landing Badje Sporting Talent Key Stage 3Ethan Orlowskjy Sporting Achievement Key Stage 4James Reseigh Sporting Talent Key Stage 3Jordan Brown Sporting Achievement Key Stage 4George Tyler Sporting Commitment Key Stage 4Charlie Tyler Sporting Commitment Key Stage 4Hannah Barber Contribution to School Sport through Sports Leadership

This success reflects the hard work and dedication by the students which was clearly recognised by the judges. It is also a reward for the PHF staff at Casterton for all the opportunities they provide after school, weekends and lunchtimes.

Trampolining

On Monday 10th November, eight students represented Casterton at the Rutland and Melton trampolining competition in Oakham.

Both key stages had to perform five set skills and a set routine in front of the judges who marked them on their form, height and skills. The key stage 3 team: Katie Coleman, Archie Pyne, Molly Bartrum and Amelia Haspineall achieved 2nd place as a team. Amelia Haspineall also achieved individual 2nd place out of 12 competitors; a fantastic achievement!

The key stage 4 team: Jodie Whitehead, Hannah Jordan, Eloise Brett and Courtney Phillips achieved an amazing 1st place, with Jodie Whitehead getting individual 1st place and Eloise getting 2nd place. The key stage 4 team proceeded through to the County Championships in Market Harborough on 2nd December and earned 2nd place; a fantastic achievement!

Miss G Bates - PHF

The Year 7 boys’ football team had an excellent debut season in the league and have qualified for the County Cup after finishing as the top Rutland team.

For the first time, due to changes made nationally, the Year 7 team played 9 a side on a reduced pitch. The boys started really well and beat a strong John Ferneley side and finished with a really solid win against Belvoir High School. I look forward to seeing how the Year 7s progress in the County Cup this term. Josh Whaley, Archie Pyne and Leon Kavanagh all caught the eye with some excellent performances. Will Haspineall is currently top goal scorer.

The Year 10 football team narrowly missed out on qualifying for the County Cup after a real mixture of performances in the league. The Casterton boys beat a strong Uppingham side very convincingly and also gained a 1-0 victory in a tight game against John Ferneley. It was all to play for in Casterton’s final game away at Belvoir High School. Unable to defend against the long throw, Casterton found themselves 4-1 down, despite being the better team. They showed great character in pulling the game back to 4-4 but then cruelly lost in the last minute which ended their season. The boys performed well in the National cup but unfortunately lost out in a penalty shoot-out at Deepings. Reece Darby and Liam Harper were the two players that stood out for the u15s.

Mr T Weller - PHF

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CBEC NEWS

Casterton Business & Enterprise College, Ryhall Road, Great Casterton, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 4ATT +44 (0)1780 762168 F +44 (0)1780 766628 E [email protected] W www.rutlandcountycollege.com

Rutland County College, Barleythorpe Road, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6QHT +44 (0)1572 722863 W www.rutlandcountycollege.com

COLLEGE TERMS & HOLIDAYS2014-2016

CastertonBusiness &EnterpriseCollege

Request to parentsWe understand that dropping off and collecting your child from school can at times be difficult, these are very busy times at the college and parking is limited. However please can we ask that you park considerately both on the nearby roads and in Visions car park where other users are also trying to arrive, park or leave?Thank you

Ms. V Crosher - Principal

CBEC & RCC* NEWS

College Terms & Holidays 2015/2016

Student days 190TERM 1Teacher Training Day Tuesday 25 August 2015Teacher Training Day Wednesday 26 August 2015College open Thursday 27 August 2015 Summer Bank Holiday Monday 31 August 2015College close Friday 16 October 2015 36TERM 2College open Monday 2 November 2015College close Friday 18 December 2015 35TERM 3Teacher Training Day Monday 4 January 2016College open Tuesday 5 January 2016College close Friday 12 February 2016 29TERM 4College open Monday 22 February 2016College close Thursday 24 March 2016 24TERM 5College open Monday 11 April 2016May Bank Holiday Monday 2 May 2016College close Friday 27 May 2016 34TERM 6College open Monday 6 June 2016College close Thursday 19 July 2016 32


Message for MotoristsWe ask that parents and carers do not drive into the staff car park at the beginning or the end of the day. Students are crossing the car park to access buses or to get to Ryhall Road. Our first priority is the health and safety of our students.

Please Note: CBEC closes the whole school at 2:05 when Academic Tutorials take place.

College Terms & Holidays 2014/2015

Student days 190TERM 1Teacher Training Day Tuesday 26 August 2014Teacher Training Day Wednesday 27 August 2014College open Thursday 28 August 2014 College close Friday 17 October 2014 37TERM 2College open Monday 3 November 2014College close Friday 19 December 2014 35TERM 3College open Monday 5 January 2015College close Friday 13 February 2015 30TERM 4College open Monday 23 February 2015College close Friday 27 March 2015 25TERM 5College open Monday 13 April 2015May Bank Holiday Monday 4 May 2015College close Friday 22 May 2015 29TERM 6College open Monday 1 June 2015College close Thursday 16 July 2015 34


Photo Consent At Casterton Business & Enterprise College and Rutland County College we would like to celebrate our students’ achievements and bring you the latest College news in Novus, on our website and through the local press. We will assume that parent/carer consent is given regarding the publication of photographs containing your youngster’s image unless you provide written instructions to the contrary. We will then update our system. In addition to this please make your child aware that if asked to be included in a photo which will be used in the aforementioned ways, they should make it clear they do not wish to be photographed. No reason needs to be given.


novus winter14

Documents

buxton prize

parish council prize

maths prize alex burdeneffort

maths prize charlie

science award luke young

progress dana merrill

progress jasmine higgins

film studies olivia