Post on 16-Mar-2016
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Students and staff run 4.5km for cancer charity
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April 2008 saw the start of what promises to be a great tradition at Hills Road with the our first college-wide charity run - the HR4.5. This year, the event was held in sup-port of local charity, Wallace Cancer Care.
The run was open to both staff and students. The opportunity to do something amazing for this worth-while cause was well received by all, and places soon filled up, resulting in over 250 people taking part.
The event was well advertised in college, so much so that when the day arrived many turned up to par-ticipate and support. The event itself was a huge success, with a warm up and a band playing beforehand. The participants were seen by many, which equally helped to advertise the event as people ran, walked or dressed up for the HR4.5. All involved wore their very own spe-cially designed blue HR4.5 t-shirts.
The principal was extremely happy with the turnout, congratulating all involved and confirming that this will become an annual event. One student said; ‘it’s really great that this is becoming a yearly event as it is worthwhile. It’s also really great to be a part of the first ever HR4.5’
There were many ways to sponsor and donate to the fun run and thanks to all the hard work and contribu-tions over £5000 was raised. Many thanks and congratulations must go to the three members of Hills Road Staff who made all this possible, Ms Sarah Buckley, Mr Robert Leslie and Dr Tonia Schofield who put in hours of hard work and spent many days organising, advertising and making the event possible.
The Wallace Cancer Care is a local centre which helps unfortunate can-cer sufferers and their families to be informed about what is happening to them and helps to maintain the best physical and mental health possible whilst undergoing treatment
New Principal at Hills Road
The end of the summer term
brought with it the end of an
era for Hills Road Sixth Form
College. Dr. Rob Wilkinson,
College principal for 6 years,
made the decision to step
down from his post and retire,
with effect from August 2008.
Following his decision, a search
was launched for someone
new to take on the role, but
the College needed look no
further than Mrs Linda Sinclair,
Deputy Principal since 2003,
a role which, Dr Wilkinson
emphasises, she performed
with ‘great distinction.’
Mrs Sinclair has been a dedi-
cated member of staff at Hills
Road for a number of years;
before becoming Deputy
Principal she held the roles
of both Curriculum Director
and Head of the Department
of Economics and Business
Studies.
Speaking about her new
role, Mrs Sinclair said “It is
an exciting opportunity and a
real privilege. I have the great-
est affection for the College
and am totally committed to
ensuring a continuation of
the success that the College
has enjoyed under the out-
standing leadership of Rob
Wilkinson.”
HillsReview01 Y E A R LY N E W S L E T T E R
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Students speak for-eign languages to help Oxfam
This year on September 26th
a number of students across
the sixth form gave up speak-
ing English for a day and
spoke a foreign language,
all in aid of Oxfam European
Day of Languages. Students
were speaking languages
from across the world from
French to Greek and some
even daring to try languages
from other regions, such as,
Cantonese.
Both teachers and students
enjoyed the day immensely
and seeing teachers try to
remember their secondary
school languages was amus-
ing to say the least. One
student told us; ‘I have par-
ticipated in this day for the
past two years and the high-
light has to be seeing my
economics teacher trying to
speak to me in French, it was
definitely worthwhile.’
In total, the event raised
over £920, every penny
of which has gone to help
Oxfam projects.
Friday 20th June was marked by
celebrations for students at Hills
Road Sixth Form College, who
reached the finals of the presti-
gious national Newsday student
journalism competition.
Competing against students from
700 other schools, the team from
Hills Road came out joint-second
along with Luton Sixth Form
College, only narrowly beaten by
the competition’s winners from
Whitby Community College.
Despite missing out on top prize,
the runners up were celebrating
their success, this year marking
the first time a Hills Road entry
has been shortlisted for the top
prize, having participated in the
competition for nine years, and
being awarded a ‘Distinction’ for
our entry eight times.
The aim of Newsday is for stu-
dents to produce a newspaper
or a news website in just one
day, simulating what it is like to
work in the real media industry.
“You are all here because you
succeeded,” said Brian Robinson,
the organiser of Newsday. “You
worked as a team and you com-
pleted your paper or website. It’s
a real achievement.”
The competition was set up
by Robinson in 1990 with a
mere nine schools taking part
in this first year. The competi-
tion has come a long way since,
the numbers participating this
year at 700, including 12 from
abroad. A grand total of 400,000
pupils have now participated in
Newsday over the course of its
lifetime. Newsday 2008, in asso-
ciation with learnnewsdesk from
The Guardian, was sponsored by
AlphaSmart and Softease.
Montpellier Exchange a resounding success
Just before February half term,
about 20 intrepid linguists made
the first step in an exchange to
Montpellier in order to perfect
their French. Although slightly
intimidated as they were first
paired with their partners on
French soil, the group of stu-
dents soon settled down to their
stay with French families and
were immediately plunged into
an exhausting, although thor-
oughly rewarding, week and a
half.
There were a great variety of
activities throughout the week,
including trips round castles,
museums and, naturally, the
shops with plenty of café breaks
in between.
The constant need to speak and
think in French was of immeasur-
able benefit to all the students,
all of whom felt their fluency and
vocabulary increased greatly, as
well as really enjoying the life-
style of another culture for a
short period of time.
Students make the finals of national newspapercompetition
Clockwise from left: Lizzy Quinlan, Jeremy Hughes, Jeremy Smith, Lucy Oates & Zosia Krasodomska-Jones - just 5 members of this year’s successful Newsday Team
Moonlighting for charity
Every day, 6 teenagers between
the ages of 16 and 24 will be
diagnosed with cancer. The
Teenage Cancer Trust makes its
top priority building specialised
centres in NHS hospitals specifi-
cally to deal with these victims.
After her brother Nick was diag-
nosed with Ewing’s sarcoma in
his heel, 16-year-old Lizzy Kostov
determinedly donned her train-
ers and took part in the annual
Magical Moonlight Walk in July.
She raised £300 towards the £1
million needed to establish a
specialist unit at Addenbrooke’s,
and was top fundraiser
out of 400 participants. In
total, the Walk raised £9000.
Nick, 20, is currently being
treated in an adult ward at
Addenbrooke’s. He said he was
“so proud” of his sister, adding
that “it was a cause that did hit
close to home as she has seen
me every day during my chemo-
therapy. We have had a history
of cancer in our family, which
made her even more deter-
mined to take part in the walk.”
As a charity, the TCT wel-
comes any help you can give.
Visit https://www.teenage-
c a n c e r t r u s t . o r g / h o w - y o u -
can-help/ to get involved.
Three award winning businesses,
two terms of hard work and one
Business Woman of the Year. In early
September 2007 three groups of 15
students met for the first time, much
like in the real business world. They
soon began to work as a team and
after much debate and democratic
voting 6Teen, Diversify and Flare
were born.
The purpose of Young Enterprise
was to operate as a real business, so
the first job was to raise capital by
selling shares to friends and family
and each person needed a position
such as Managing Director. With
a firm amount of starting capital,
the teams needed to start raising
revenue and lots of it! There was
fierce competition between each
group, as Diversify bought and sold
products ranging from candles to
Pashmina scarves. 6Teen and Flare
went into the services sector, Flare
held a “Battle of the DJs” concert
at a local venue and 6Teen created
a “Speed Meeting” event at Hills
Road, which was their own twist on
speed dating.
In February 2008 an event was held
at a local shopping centre where all
the teams, alongside other Young
Enterprise groups from other
schools, were judged by local busi-
ness men and women. 6Teen, Flare
and Diversify each came away with
a variety of awards ranging from
“Best Customer Service” to “Best
Trade Stand”.
Even though each business had their
own problems, the teams learnt to
solve them quickly and efficiently and
each of achieved a great amount. For
example, Diversify raised revenue of
over £3000 and Serena Saini, their
Marketing Manager was awarded
Business Woman of the Year for
Cambridge.
For two days earlier this year, Hills Road Sixth
Form played host to some of the most eminent
historians in the country. July 16th and 17th saw
the presence of a number of scholars, includ-
ing Professor Eric Evans, Dr. Robert Mallet and
Dr. Richard Evans, each an expert in their field.
Organised by students and teachers of the
Hills Road History Society, the conference
is an annual event, aimed at providing an
alternative perspective for students study-
ing History, and an opportunity to quiz some
of the best minds in the business. Of par-
ticular interest this year were lectures cover-
ing the reform of British government (very
useful for coursework!) and the uneasy rela-
tionship between Italy and Nazi Germany.
As usual, the event was a resounding suc-
cess, with all 11 lectures generating a large,
eager audience. Every historian gave a fas-
cinating talk, and managed to make even
some of the more boring topics interesting!
History students are now keen-
ly awaiting next year’s conference.
Hills Road Engages with History
Young Enterprise - Learning by Doing
Students make the finals of national newspapercompetition
Young Enterprise group Eclipse are just some of the students hoping to prove their business skills in this year’s event.
The ball tradition at Hills Road
As a reward, for working
so hard, at the end of each
half term, the school council
organises a “ball” for stu-
dents across the Colldge.
They are often held at local
venue “The Junction”.
These occasions promise to
be evenings of dancing and
socialising, an opportunity
to wind down after a busy
term.
Often there is a theme, such
as Christmas and Easter
which entails dressing up
or winning Easter eggs. The
music rangers from old clas-
sics like the Spice Girls to the
latest club anthems.
As the 2007-08 academic
year drew to a close, the
summer ball was held at the
college. It was a chance for
girls to wear cocktail dresses
and guys to wear tuxedos.
As well as a dance floor, in
other areas of the college,
a mechanical bull and an
unlimited supply of freshly
made candyfloss.
The annual exchange with Liceo
Marconi in Parma was again hugely
successful this year, with new friend-
ships being made and already several
return trips from both groups since
the fist trip in March. As well as a
fantastic opportunity to perfect the
language skills of students of Italian,
the exchange is open to Lower 6th
History students who study Fascist
Italy as part of their course. Parma was
a centre of Fascist resistance from the
beginning, and the ‘parmigiani’ are
very proud of their heritage.
The History students went on a walk
around the city looking at the sites of
the barricades and everyone attended
a conference on the resistance at the
Istituto Storico della Resistenza.
As well as the cultural aspect, the
exchange was an excellent opportu-
nity for English students to experi-
ence Italian youth culture. The Italian
school system bares little resemblance
to the English one, with students stay-
ing in one classroom and studying
about 10 subjects up to the last year of
the Liceo. Lessons were very different
too; there is nearly no class discussion
and the traditional blackboard and
chalk are still very much in use.
The trips to Florence and Mantua
were highly successful, despite rather
grim weather, and the students saw
many of the famous cultural sights;
the Uffizi, Michelangelo’s David in the
Accademia Gallery, the Ponte Vecchio
and the Palazzo Ducale of Mantua.
The return visit was equally suc-
cessful, despite Cambridge suffer-
ing gale-force winds and heavy rain.
For many of the students, their first
trip to England did little to dispel the
stereotype of our typical weather!
Nevertheless, armed with raincoats
and with frequent coffee breaks, all
the top sights of Cambridge were
visited, including: Kings College
Chapel, Trinity College, the Fitzwilliam
Museum and the Backs, as well as
visits to London and Norwich.
One of the musical highlights last year was
the Cambridge Young Musician of the Year
Competition. Hills Road musicians did espe-
cially well, with Sharzad Shini (right) and
Emma Fowler joint winning the Piano 16-18
age category. Sharzad, who has been play-
ing the piano for 12 years, loves to play music
from the Romantic period. Other Hills Road
students were highly commended in the
competition, including violinist Helen Lilley.
Students winners of local music award
Viva Italia!
The students who took part in the exchange to Parma
Students head for the Antarctic…
....or its nearest equivalent in the
form of Cambridge’s own Scott
Polar Research Institute, where
a group of intrepid Performing
Arts students from Hills Road
Sixth Form College staged
the voyages of the Endurance
(Shackleton) and the Terra Nova
(Scott) using dance, drama and
music back in January this year.
Project leader, Lucy Edevane,
praised the generosity of the
Institute, saying “it’s a fantas-
tic experience, being allowed
to perform at the institute
surrounded by artefacts from
the actual expeditions them-
selves – the sledges, the skis,
the clothing, Wilson’s paint-
ings – they even have a polar
bear and Amundsen’s Flag”.
The group composed fresh
music using the styles of the
period mixed with haunting
modern melodies to conjure
up the wide open spaces of
the world’s largest continent.
The piece entitled “To seek, to
strive, to find and not to yield”
and formed an important part of
both the College’s desire to tack-
le relevant local material and the
Institute’s plans for increased
public awareness and access.
Members of the Cambridge City
Council recycling team were at
Hills Road Sixth Form College
on 7th April to help students
launch an initiative to recycle
plastic bottles.
A new society for recycling the
College’s waste was launched
by the students and on the day
students were asked to sign up
to the society.
Vicky Kelso from the Council’s
recycling team said: “We’re real-
ly pleased that students are tak-
ing such an active role in promot-
ing recycling. Recycling plastic
bottles not only saves rubbish
going to landfill, it saves energy
too. This will help to lower the
College’s carbon footprint. It’s
also important to try to reduce
the amount of plastic bottles we
use in the first place, before we
come to recycling them. That’s
why we’ll be giving away refill-
able sports bottles to students
on the day.”
Approximately 1,800 full time
students, 280 adult students and
over 200 staff are on the College
site in any one day and large
numbers of plastic bottles are
generated as waste. The recy-
cling initiative has also extend-
ed to the Hills Road Sports and
Tennis Centre where members
of the public, students and staff
use the sports facilities. Natalie
Moss, the Sports and Tennis
Centre manager, said: “I think
that the students’ idea is bril-
liant. People using our facili-
ties generate large numbers of
empty plastic bottles. By starting
this initiative, the College will be
making a contribution to sustain-
ability and the environment.”
The College has been recycling
paper for some years and, more
lately, cardboard. If this latest
venture proves successful, the
College will consider further
recycling projects in the future.
Students give blood
During a visit by the National
Blood Service (NBS) on Tuesday
25th September a milestone
was reached. A student at Hills
Road Sixth Form College, Cara
Lawrence, 17, donated the 400th
unit at the College since the re-
launch of blood donor sessions
held on site. In total, approxi-
mately 450 units have now been
donated by staff and students at
the College.
Gareth Bell, Communications
Officer for the NBS, said,
“This is a fantastic landmark,
with each donation being bro-
ken down it to its component
parts – red cells, platelets and
plasma, students and staff can
lay claim to saving 1200 lives!”
“Every year around 15 per cent of
blood donors in Cambridgeshire
can no longer give due to age, ill
health, or relocation so we need
more people to become blood
donors to help replace them.”
“It’s great to see that so many
students at Hills Road are willing
to come forward and make a real
difference to the lives of others.
continued overleaf...
Plastic bottles recycling launch by Hills Roadstudents
Just some of the eager studetns who attended the launch of the College’s new recylcing scheme back in April
cont. from previous page...
Linda Pike, Student Guidance
Officer at the College, said,
“Sessions at the College are
always very well attended
and I am delighted to see
so many young people once
again taking part.
“Giving blood is an essential
task and it really does save
lives.”
The NBS is constantly look-
ing for new blood donors.
In most cases anyone aged
17 to 59, who weighs more
than 7st 12lbs (50kg), in gen-
eral good health can become
a blood donor.
For further information, and
to book an appointment
(strongly recommended)
please contact the NBS hel-
pline on 0845 7 711 711 or visit
our website at www.blood.
co.uk.
Hills Road Sixth College has been
working recently with Ndamase
School, near Mthatha, in the Eastern
Cape to fight HIV/Aids and other
STI’s.
Tutors at Hills Raod have been look-
ing at the situation both in the UK
and in South Africa as regards STI’s
and discussing the steps that we all
need to take to protect ourselves
from them.
The Global Citizenship Enrichment
group and others exchanged mes-
sages of support and Christmas cards
with the ACTIVE group of students at
Ndamase.
Then, on November 30th the College
got behind the Red and Alive
Campaign being run by Dhiverse, our
local HIV/Aids charity, and supported
the work of the Bethany Place of
Safety like our friends at Ndamase.
Staff and students wore the red rib-
bon. Red cakes were sold. And the
College gathered at break time in
the quad to pause and remember all
those fighting HIV/Aids both in this
country and in South Africa before
letting off a cloud of red balloons
over Cambridge.
In all we raised £296.41 – a sum which
was divided between Dhiverse and
the Bethany Place of Safety.
Students at Hills Road Sixth Form College held
a ‘talk like a pirate’ day on 25th September.
Members of the Hills Road student council
were delighted to raise £226.10 for the Royal
National Lifeboats Institution, an organisation
funded completely by donations. To find out
more about the RNLI visit the RNLI website
The students not only dressed up as
pirates, but spent the whole day talk-
ing like a pirate. They even raised the Jolly
Rodger on one of the College’s flag poles!
A competition was held for the top three best
pirates, judged by some members of the students
council. The winners were awarded free tickets to
the College freshers’ ball, as well as stage passes.
‘Students ahoy!’ at Hills Road
College works with its partner school in South Africa
Photograph shows Hills Road students releasing the red balloons in the College quad as part of World Aids Day
The three winners; (left to right) Jess Blake 17, Emily Loombe 17 and Rob Wilkin, 17