Medal haul at Physics Olympiad>> Luca Fraser

Congratulations to five Hills

Road students for their recent

efforts in the national Physics

Olympiad. James Breen-Norris

(silver medal winner), Fiona

Llewellyn-Beard (silver),

Matthew Lowdon (silver),

Lorna Redford (bronze),

Nathan Whitaker (bronze)

were the proud recipients of

medals in one of the country’s

most prestigious science

competitions.

The British Physics Olympiad

aims to encourage the study of

physical sciences in the United

Kingdom. The competition is

designed to test a student’s

basic understanding of the

principles of physics taught

at the A2 and GCSE levels

and enable them to compare

their attainment with those

of students from all over the

United Kingdom.

Matt Lowdon, speaking of

his experience, said “I’d

recommend the Physics

Olympiad to anyone

considering taking physics at

degree-level, as the different

types of questions provide

valuable experience. Given the

benefits of taking part, I’m sure

the Olympiad was worthwhile.

I was glad to represent the

College”.

>> Ilana Fernandes-Lassman

Whilst most students will be looking forward rather than back this term, in anticipation of summer exams, the collaborative efforts of Sculpture and Dance students back in October 2008 are well worth a mention.

Over the autumn term, students of both Art and Dance came together to produce innovative art installations, combining students’ best efforts in the two

subjects. Staging a production in which Dance students responded to work of Hills Road sculptors, choreographers and artists worked together during their artistic processes and drew inspiration from each other’s work.

Such collaborative links have not been the only cause for celebration in the Dance Department at Hills Road. Bryony Garner, an A2 Hills Road student, has passed the

first round of a choreography competition run by Youth Dance England. Bryony and her four dancers (including three other Hills Road Dance students) will be dancing in the second round of this “Young Creatives” competition on 15th March. It will be held in a studio at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. If successful, they will be part of a public performance to be shown at the Royal Opera House in July.

Links across the Arts

>> Graham Vale

Students returning to College this February after half term were bombarded with election

poster after election poster, signalling the beginning of election week for new Student Council representatives.

In what has become an annual event at Hills Road, election-week fervour arrived with particular enthusiasm this year. Unprecedented interest meant a record number of lower sixth students applying for the Council positions, including Student Chair, Charities officer and Social Events officer. Campaign slogans appeared everywhere, with varying degrees of seriousness

and success, but must have hit home, as record voting over the two-day period, with over one thousand students taking part, was decisive. As pictured, the public hustings in the quad caused quite a stir.

Taking over the role of Chair is Katy Dean, with Rachel Young as Secretary, Ellie Davies as Treasurer, and Kat Cheng as Charities Officer. Neaty Soopaul, Tom Wilshere and Rachel Mills Powell were also popular with the electorate.

Student elections take College by storm

HAZEL FRANCOMBYU

MIN

G M

EI

Still from the collaborative performance that took place last year

S P R I N G N E W S L E T T E R

M a r c h 0 9 Hills Reviewi s s u e 0 2

Hills Road students promote Fair Trade

>> Sian Batra

Hills Road students have

been continuing to show

their commitment to the

global community taking

part in global celebrations as

part of Fairtrade Fortnight.

During late February, early

March, Hills Road has

hosted an array of events

and initiatives with a fair

trade theme. With Young

Enterprise groups running

stalls, students have been

able to purchase anything

from chocolate to Kenyan

beads. The money raised

from the stalls will go

directly to the Fairtrade

Foundation.

With the College’s Africa

Link in mind, students and

staff were also able to

take part in a quiz night on

Tuesday 10th March, which

raised money to support a

craft training programme

for disabled young people at

the Ihkwezi Lokusa Centre

near our sister school in

Mthatha, South Africa.

The great news is, even

though Fairtrade Fortnight

is over, it’s easy to help out

all year round, with our very

own Café Direct being an

outlet of Fairtrade food.

This also helps to emphasise

the College’s continuing

commitment to Fairtrade in

the long run.

>> Jeremy Smith

Hills Road students could soon be gracing the airwaves, starting up their very own radio station and record label at the College. The culmination of nearly two years of planning and hard work, the launch of Hills Road Records and Hills Radio station is set to take the College by storm over the next few weeks when the project goes live.

Facilitated by staff in the Music Department, the radio station will allow students and the public to listen to online ‘webcasts’ of pre-recorded radio shows via the web. Armed with a complete artistic license, students will be able to feature their own music and commentary on the shows to produce fully-fledged professional broadcasts.

Listeners will also be able to access broadcasts ‘on demand’,

with choice from previously recorded shows. These will include highlights from the College’s external concerts from the past few years including all music enrichment activities.

The starting line-up is set to include a techno, electro and drum & bass show by Harry Wriggly and Graham Norman, as well as Adam Shilton’s rock show.

Alongside the radio station, the College is also set to benefit from its own record label, Hills Road Records. Having been in the pipeline for two years, the project has now come to fruition.

Speaking about the record label, member of staff Alex Hough had the following to say, “The project will allow us to reach a wider audience, with more people being able to experience the rich

and diverse events that are put on by the Music Department. We believe that producing a live CD of some of the highlights will mean all the hard work put in by the students and staff lives longer in the memory”.

The first CD from Hills Road Records will be available to purchase for £8 from Friday March 13th, and will feature musical highlights from the 2008 winter term.

Hills Road students to establish radio station

>> Matt Barnes

There will be high hopes for success on the courts later this month as Hills Road’s Men’s Tennis team compete at the National Finals, for the 3rd year running.

The team will be representing the East of England at the Bolton Arena on March 20-21st, having been crowned regional champions in February.

In doing this, they first topped their local league, and then progressed through two knockout rounds. Their final

match (against Copleston High School, Ipswich) proved to be a very tight encounter, eventually decided 10-8 on a tie-break by captain Greg Clowes and doubles partner Ramil Shah, after it had finished 3-3. Resham Sagoo, Martin Hulme and Sam Pickup complete the squad heading to Bolton.

Sagoo, who played last year too, said: “We’re probably not

as strong as last year, but we know the format and that should help, so I think we have a good chance of winning. I’m pretty confident.”

Hills Road are currently the holders of the national title, having been victorious at the same venue last year.

Sporting success as students make Tennis finals

The finalists: Resham Sagoo, Sam Pickup, Greg Clowes, Romil Shah, Martin Hulme

COURTESY OF HILLS ROAD RECORDS

CLA

IRE

DAV

IS

Valentines at Hills Road

>> Serena Saini

Whilst Valentines is traditionally

celebrated on the 14th of

February, celebrations came early

for Hills Road students this year.

Across the College, Friday 13th,

a date synonymous with bad

luck, not romance, marked the

commencement of the annual

celebrations with students

getting into the romantic spirit.

Facilitated by the Student

Council, many students took

the opportunity to express

their feelings for their fellow

classmates by sending

‘Valentines secret messages’.

Ranging from the amorous to

the just plain bizarre, messages

were posted on the Student

Council’s website for all to view.

Valentines also represented a

great opportunity for Eclipse, one

of the College’s resident Young

Enterprise groups, which sought

to cash-in on events. Offering

admirers the opportunity to

purchase roses which could

then be delivered to a chosen

recipient, it proved an excellent

way of raising funds whilst

getting into the Valentines spirit.

The Young Enterprise competition

takes place annually, and involves

a number of students competing

on a local/regional level. One

of Hills Road’s other Young

Enterprise groups, Viaticus,

have been offering students

the opportunity to purchase

customised Hills Road hoodies.

>> Zosia Krasodomska-Jones

It’s been a busy term for many Hills Road language students, with exchanges to Montpellier and Hamburg, and a trip to Venice.

Thirty-eight students left for Montpellier, where they stayed with host families and students from the Lycée Jean Monnet. The ten days were packed full of lessons and lectures, trips

to nearby towns of Nimes and Aigues-Mortes, a guided tour of the centre of Montpellier and even a trip to a ‘Seaquarium’.

The German exchange to Hamburg was particularly challenging as not only did students stay with host families, but they also undertook work experience at a variety of places, including schools, solicitors and research laboratories. There are now just a few short weeks until

the return visits, which should hopefully prove to be just as successful! The first ever trip to Venice fell during the weeks of the Carnival, probably the best time to visit this wonderful city. Students, staying with host families, were able to experience the festivities, as well as enjoy the usual sights. The exchange partners all got on so well that an unofficial return visit is in the pipeline!

From bottle tops to bicycles: fundraising at Hills Road

Bon voyage to foreign language studentsREBECCA WILKINSON

French students pictured on the Montpellier exchange

>> Sophie Dawson

Ask someone to think about fundraising and they’re likely to list events such as Comic Relief and Children in Need - the last thing you’d expect to hear about is collecting bottle tops for charity.

However, such has been the case at Hills Road over the past two terms. Keith Whalley, a member of staff at the College has been organising an ongoing appeal to collect plastic bottle tops for a disabled child living in St Neots.

After a company based in the town agreed to provide a wheelchair free of charge if the amount of bottle tops equivalent to the weight of the child could be collected, the challenge was set. Two months later, enough bottle tops had been collected to meet the target.

Building on the sucess of this campaign students and staff are now collecting for a new Air Ambulance. This time the challenge is a little

harder, with only plastic milk bottle tops being collected. Thanks go out to those who made Keith’s aims a reality! Keep collecting!

News of a former student’s plans to raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust’s £1m appeal was also welcomed earlier this term, with many current students pledging sponsorship for the intrepid Hills Roadian.

Cancer survivor Sean McCann will pedal 2,000 miles to Rome in mid-March, in a bid to raise vital funds for the cancer charity.

Diagnosed at 18, he spent nearly three months on an adult ward rather than with his peers. Now he wants to raise funds to ensure others benefit from a dedicated TCT unit at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

Hills Road wishes him all the best for what is sure to be a marathon of a cycle ride!

Music Department celebrates success>> Alex Challans

This term has been a busy and

successful one for students of

Music at the College.

An unprecedented number of

students have recently received

some exciting news, including

ten offers to study instruments

at Music Colleges and to read

Music at Oxford & Cambridge

Universities.

Amongst them, Xiaotian Shi has

been offered a scholarship to

study Composition at the Royal

Academy of Music. Helen Lilley

has been offered a choral award

at Clare College Cambridge, and

fellow students Sam Johnstone

and Jake Howarth have been

offered places to read Music at

Worcester College Oxford and

Robinson College Cambridge

respectively. Both Sam and Jake

have also had success in the

Cambridge Young Composer of

the Year competition. Jake won

the competition and Sam was

highly commended.

In addition to such outstanding

individual musicianship, music

of all types and styles continues

to thrive at the College. The

College is already well known

for its more traditional music

making, and is now developing

a series of innovative projects

including concert recordings

both in CD and online formats,

podcasts and DJ workshops.

>> Georgina Chivers

A play in a day? Impossible!

Well, this was the task set for 10 Theatre Studies and Performing Arts students on March 1st this year.

Organised as a fundraiser to enable the intrepid group of students to attend the Edinburgh Fringe this year, Play-in-a-day represented one of the more ambitious and challenging events of the term.

Arriving at eight in the morning, an early start given this was a Sunday morning, the ten students were joined by Rich Rusk, a former Performing Arts Assistant at the College, and two former Hills Road students, Tom Penn and Javan Hughes, forming the perfect team to create a production.

Christian Clarkson, one of the students involved said, “The

whole thing was so much fun - Rich, Tom and Javan are geniuses at coming up with brilliant ideas! We’re so grateful to them, Richard Fredman, and everyone who came for giving us such a hilarious experience and helping us on our way to the Fringe”.

Equally as impressive was the Drama Enrichment group’s staging of The Trial earlier this term. The play, written by Stephen Berkoff, adapted from the novel by Franz Kafka tells the tale of a character named Josef

K, who awakens one morning and, for reasons never revealed, is arrested and prosecuted for an unspecified crime.

Directed by Lucy Edevane, The Trial was a thrilling and thought-provoking production with notable performances from Daisy Thurston-Gent in the lead role as Joseph K and the rest of the all-female cast. Special mention goes out to Ben de Vries and Jason Uttridge, for their respective contributions for the play’s music and lighting.

Innovative invention from Hills Road student

Performing under pressure

>> Jeremy Smith

The spring term has got off to a great start in Art and Design. One of this year’s most notable sets of work has been produced by Alex Worsfold who has made a series of ‘drawing machines’.

These are mainly hand powered devices which enable the user to generate drawings automatically. They tend to work rather like a more physical, very rough and unpredictable version of a Spirograph®, and they can be loaded with different types of drawing material and paper. The most complex machine requires the artist to pedal in order to produce the drawing.

PRODUCTION NOTES

All material featured in Hills Review has been written and produced by Hills Road students, unless stated otherwise. Publication produced by The Phoenix Newspaper, Hills Road’s independent student newspaper. Edited by Jeremy Smith.

CAMERON CARR

The cast pictured on stage during The Trial

Alex pictured with his drawing machine ALE

X W

ORS

FOLD