BNews: February 2016
February 2016
Welcome to a new half-termly edition of BNews! A digital publication dedicated to bringing you the news from Barton Peveril Sixth Form College.
Mosaic Collaboration
Students and staff proudly unveiled a striking piece of artwork recently that celebrates the diversity and inclusiveness of the College community.
The ambitious and collaborative effort by staff and students to create one of the College’s biggest works of art to date was initially steered by the College’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion Committee who wanted to find a way of encompassing one of Barton Peveril's key values to ‘Respect and value others; advance equality, diversity and inclusion’. From this first proposal, the idea grew into a project of imposing size.
The photographic mosaic, which pans an entire wall in the College’s reception area, invited students and staff to submit images on the theme of ‘identity’ that represent themselves and their lives. A small team of staff and students worked on the overall design and layout after the submission of photos. Key motifs were chosen to symbolise the concept of community both locally and globally; and hands were felt to be effective to portray the intrinsic link between individuality and teamwork.
The creation of the mosaic itself was left in the safe hands of Artist Davina Wilby of DWM (Davina Wilby Mosaics) who is also the subject leader for photography at the College. Having worked on both private and corporate commissions across her career, she thinks that one of the many attractions about the concept of photographic mosaics is that they are an unusual and fascinating blend of art and technology, the mosaics themselves are made using specially designed software and each piece of work is hand finished.
The importance of collaborative projects such as these to celebrate and promote great causes is something she feels strongly about,
“Raising awareness of Equality and Diversity is very important in any community - so an environment as diverse as Barton Peveril College is a great forum to reach out and involve everyone - openly celebrating the similarities and differences of all individuals. It was a lot of fun to work with the EDI committee on the project, and I hope that the finished artwork provides a visually thought-provoking piece that will promote awareness and discussion of a topic that is hugely important.”
Record Number of Oxbridge Offers
It’s been a record year for Oxbridge applicants at Barton Peveril – 19 students at the college have received an offer from the prestigious universities of Oxford or Cambridge for 2016.
If they achieve the required grades, the 19 students will embark on a wide range of subjects at various colleges this September including traditional degree courses like Maths, Biology, History and English as well as Veterinary Medicine, Art, Law and Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and Norse.
One of the students who has been offered a place at Peterhouse College to study Maths at the University of Cambridge is Aled Powell. The 17-year-old former Bitterne Park student said:
“My aim is to study at the best UK University for Mathematics. To be able to work alongside other world-class students would be both enticing and humbling. Opening my offer letter was a great moment, and the reality of how hard I’ve now got to work this year is fuelled by my desire to make it to the famous city of Cambridge.”
Aled and the other students who received offers celebrated their achievements with their teachers, mentors and Barton Peveril Principal Jonathan Prest at a special lunch where he spoke of how proud he is of them. Many of the students cited the college as being pivotal in the Oxbridge application process including helping with personal statements, preparing for interviews and providing unprecedented levels of support. The students who have received offers came to Barton Peveril from 14 Hampshire schools including The Mountbatten School, Swanmore College, Brookfield Community School and Thornden School.
This year’s offers follow on from the student success of 14 Oxbridge offers at the college in 2015.
Twilight Chemistry
A Level chemistry students had the opportunity to get hands-on experience of studying their subject at degree level when they attended twilight chemistry sessions at the University of Southampton.
The applied sessions gave students an insight into the kind of research facilities and state-of-the-art equipment they might use if they continue their studies in chemistry at university. Students carried out a range of practical techniques in the teaching laboratories under the guidance of postgraduate demonstrators. Part of their time was spent completing a multi stage extraction of an organic material from the common spice nutmeg, purifying it, and analysing results to measure the experiment’s success.
As well as gaining some hands-on experience, they also had the opportunity to find out about the wide variety of chemical research activities of current PhD students in the department.
With over a third of all university applicants at Barton Peveril accepting places on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) related degree courses for the past two years, it’s no wonder that the chance to gain an understanding of studying a science at a top Russell Group university was speedily taken up by a number of current students. Anna McQueen (Toynbee) who plans to study medicine or nursing at university, said:
“The whole session was really enjoyable. It was very informative – both about the science we were doing, and about what university labs are like. The supervisors were incredibly helpful and knowledgeable and it’s made me look forward to studying science at university even more.”
Tech Talks
Two Barton Peveril students were privileged to share the stage with international inspirational leaders in the tech world at this year’s BETT Show.
Speaking on the subject of Technology for Education, Jack Corbett and Chris Toward, formerly from The Mountbatten School delivered an exciting and engaging speech on the Google stage at the event, held at London’s ExCel venue.
The annual British Educational Training and Technology (BETT) Show is the world’s leading education technology event which saw four days of international content, education tech innovations and inspiration from around the world of education technology.
Attended by NASA’s Chief Scientist Dr Ellen Stofan, MP Secretary Of State RT Hon Nicky Morgan and Computer Laboratory Research Associate at the University of Cambridge Sam Aaron, both Jack and Chris felt privileged to be part of such a unique opportunity.
Standing alongside current Mountbatten students and their Director for Technology, the experience has inspired the 17-year-old students to pursue their career paths when they finish their studies at college. Jack said:
“Speaking on the Google stage to an audience about apps like Google Docs and Google Classroom was such a surreal experience. Being able to work with cutting edge innovation at school and college is fantastic and I’m so pleased our lessons are now taught with this type of technology. I want to work in the tech industry and this event has inspired me to study Computer Science at University.”
Jack is hoping that this event and the impact he had on a work experience placement at Oracle, a global computer technology corporation, will help him achieve his aspirations. He spent a week at the companies UK headquarters where he met clients in Northampton, helped with sales pitches in Reading, and learned about Public Relations and Business Management in London. Chris is hoping to work in the Foreign Office when he finishes university.
Maths and Computing Success
The Maths and Computing Department are celebrating after a string of successes in multiple competitions over the past few months.
54 of our mathematicians took part in this years UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Senior Maths Challenge and between them achieved a remarkable 14 gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze awards. The Barton Peveril Senior Maths Challenge Team also came 6th place after competing alongside 20 schools and colleges. The national event tests mathematical, communication and teamwork skills and gold accolades are awarded to the top 10% of competitors.
Subsequently, high fliers are invited to take part in follow-on rounds, one of which is the British Mathematical Olympiad. Three students; Dom Carey (Brookfield), Curtis Clement (Sholing) and Dom Dux (Gregg) went on to compete, whilst Tamsin Newlove (Bitterne Park), Ben Woodley (Gregg), Jared Fry (Crestwood), Michael Hale (Toynbee) and Oliver Lugg (Swanmore) took part in the Senior Kangaroo follow-on round. Tamsin and Ben were awarded a merit for being in the top 25%.
Flying the flag for girls in STEM were Tamsin Newlove (Bitterne Park), and former Wildern students Chloe Plumley and Naomi Hirst who took part in the British Maths Olympiad for girls.
Elsewhere, codebreakers Zach Bull and Joshua King formerly of Upper Shirley High School, took part in the National Cipher Challenge, run by the University of Southampton. Red Walters (Wyvern) and Sam Costly (Bitterne Park) made it to the finals of the UK Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge at the University of Oxford whereby only 25 students from the entire country were invited to compete.
Zach Bull (Upper Shirley High) and Sam Silvester (Brookfield) participated in the British Informatics Olympiad, an annual competition in computer programming which involves solving problems against the clock, using nothing more than pen, paper and a computer. They are now awaiting the outcome to see whether they've made it to the next round. Watch this space!
Global Entrepreneurs
Students had the chance to pitch their business ideas to a ‘Dragons’ Den’ of senior staff at Barton Peveril recently as part of their annual Global Entrepreneurship Competition for a prize of £100 to invest in their businesses.
The competition aims to help student’s business dreams become a reality and showcase the enterprises already being run by 17 and 18-year-olds at the College. Five projects reached the final stages of the competition and ranged from website design, education app development, the manufacture and retail of luxury candles, and the retail of headphones.
The judging panel faced a tough decision when choosing the winner, but Jordan Gibbons (Wildern) took the £100 first prize for his shoe customisation and restoration business. Chair of the judging panel, Assistant Principal Mat Chart said:
“It’s been great to see the range of skills the students were applying whilst judging the competition. The whole panel were really impressed with their business acumen, marketing awareness and the progress they’ve already made in building up a business. They’ve all demonstrated fantastic business skills, and with over 600,000 new business start-ups in the UK in 2015, the student’s entrepreneurial prowess will stand them in good stead for the future.”
Hampshire and Germany Perform for Peace
A special concert commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War I bought together students and staff from Barton Peveril, Hampshire schools and Germany to perform for peace in Winchester.
Around 300 musicians and singers joined forces to perform the challenging and wide-ranging musical score at Winchester Cathedral. Members from The Hampshire County Youth Orchestra, the Giessen Choir from Germany and a massed choir with young people from Henry Beaufort School, Kings' School, Perins School, Wyvern College and Barton Peveril Sixth Form College performed pieces by Britten, Brahms, Mauersberger, Shostakovich, Mozart and Beethoven to mark the occasion.
Organised by Hampshire County Council's Music Service, and hosted by the County Council's Chairman, Councillor Jonathan Glen, the performances comprised of songs sung in both English and German which aimed to portray issues of war, peace and humanity through music.
The performance followed an exclusive choral workshop with Barton Peveril music students and the BBC Singers in New Hall at Winchester College. The students worked collaboratively with Hampshire schools on Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’, the fourth movement of his final symphony, to perform at the cathedral. Gary Williams, Subject Leader for Music at Barton Peveril was privileged to perform at the event. He said:
“The highlight of the evening was to see our most able musicians experience such a rare opportunity to perform. Nearly 300 performers delivered Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, which is such a monumental piece of music. It was a very memorable performance and I am very proud of all who took part.”
Holocaust Memorial Day
A tree of solidarity, the planting of a Pin Oak and a poignant reading at a commemorative event. Just some of the ways a group of Barton Peveril students helped to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
After visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau where over one million people were murdered, Eleanor Cawte (Swanmore), Jacob Palmer (Wyvern), Joshua Prest (Henry Beaufort) and Alex Yeo (Henry Cort) became members of the Holocaust Educational Trust which has seen them develop as Ambassadors by completing a wide range of memorial activities.
The four Barton Peveril students form part of 21,000 young people taking part in the Lessons From Auschwitz Project nationwide which has seen them hear the first hand testimony of a Holocaust survivor and subsequently share their experiences within the college community.
Alex Yeo delivered a reflective reading at the Southampton Holocaust Memorial Day at Southampton Solent University. Joshua Prest and Jacob Palmer gathered a group of students to help plant a Pin Oak tree in the quad area of college which will grow alongside a commemorative plaque. And Eleanor Cawte developed a poster and PowerPoint campaign across college as well as setting up the Tree of Solidarity. Eleanor said:
“By writing a message on a ribbon and tying it to the tree, we are all helping to unite Barton Peveril against prejudice and discrimination and celebrate the diversity of our own vibrant college community, which focuses on the contemporary lessons learnt from the Holocaust.”
All four students will use their experiences of Holocaust Memorial Day to enhance their studies in A Level History at college.
Conserving the Community
A group of Barton Peveril students have been helping to return a derelict garden centre to its former glory through their work experience programme every week.
Since the beginning of the Autumn term, students have been working hard at the 3.16 acre Riverside Community Garden Project in Bishopstoke – once known as Ashtrim Garden Centre, to help restore it into a sustainable community garden. They’ve braved the cold weather every week, and have made great inroads in helping transform what was an unused overgrown chaos, into something the whole community can enjoy.
Students have been kept busy constructing a fence from twigs and branches to create a nesting habitat for birds, clearing areas of wild overgrowth, cutting down trees and bushes, reinstalling once forgotten fences and discovering and reclaiming materials back from nature - such as old railway sleepers which were once part of the garden centres water feature display.
The group is made up of students from all years and numerous subject areas with many of them currently studying either A Level Environmental Studies or Geography. A number of participants also hope to pursue a career in the conservation and environmental fields. Elaine Hooton, Geography teacher at the College, who facilitates the weekly project said:
“The students have enjoyed the chance to work as a team and get their hands on various tools of the trade. They have gained understanding about why and how conservation areas are managed - for example, the removal of some trees appears destructive but they now appreciate that this allows light to get to the woodland floor and promotes the growth of wildflowers. This has really helped those in the group who are studying ecosystems for geography, biology and environmental studies courses. We've had a lot of fun and they can see they've made a real contribution as the community woodland takes shape.”
The project is run by Solent Youth Action, and is part of their ‘ReCharge’ scheme, a supported volunteer scheme for young people aged 13-25. It provides a range of opportunities to engage in horticulture, conservation & construction based activities.
The College’s work experience programme benefits from excellent business links with local employers and volunteer organisations who provide challenging and constructive placement opportunities. Students are able to sign up to different types of work experience when they enrol as a student, and conservation is just one of many choices.
Thanks for reading!
The next edition of BNews will arrive in your inbox just before the Easter Break with more fantastic news from Barton Peveril Sixth Form College.
