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GIFTED & TALENTED EVENT PUTS STUDENTS INTO TOP 10 IN

THE COUNTRY!

During the penultimate week of term we hosted a series of events for potential ‘Gifted and Talented’ students. Year 11s who have applied to the College and have predicted grades of 100% A*-B were invited to attend, along with some of our current Year 12s. We worked with the company Thinkers in Education who run highly recommended STEM events. Alongside these events students also attended a day at the College where they were introduced to our own in-house Gifted and Talented Programme. Day One: Dead on Time ‘When a dead man is found in a secluded car park on the outskirts of a town, the death is treated as suspicious and must be investigated by teams of players representing crime scene investigators, forensic scientists and detectives. Teams must analyse the scene, conduct forensic tests, interpret evidence and scrutinise statements made by witnesses and suspects. Players will use techniques spanning the ages of detection, from powder fingerprinting through to the latest DNA fingerprinting tests. They will need to apply their best problem solving skills if they are to uncover the twists, turns and shock revelations. ’ (Thinkers in Education). The students said: “It was really interesting and each activity intrigued me into the case that we were studying, opening my mind to new and alternative ideas.” “It was great. I really enjoyed today—being able to mix with new people.” “I liked the fingerprint analysis and working together to figure out a conclusion and piece together clues.” “An awful lot of fun. Proved quick thinking and deductive powers. One of the best alternative learning days I’ve done.” Day Two: DSFC Gifted & Talented The aim of the second day was to

Crime Scene Investigation introduce students to various aspects of our ‘stretch and challenge’ agenda. 22 students representing 6 different feeder schools attended the event and learnt about: the LA Higher Education Scheme; internal support and guidance and opportunities at the College; the ‘super curriculum’; and our tutorial programme. They also attended ‘taster’ lessons in 4 key facilitating subjects. On top of that, Year 11s had the chance to talk with current Year 12/Year 13 and ex-students who are at Oxbridge, holding places for Oxbridge or thinking of applying to Oxbridge. We currently have 6 Year 13 students who are holding places for Cambridge or Oxford! Phyllis O’Grady, College Director, said “An excellent day where prospective students were able to work with tutors. It was fantastic to see new students quizzing current and ex-students about their experiences in the College and going through the application and interview process for top selecting universities.” Day Three: Target: Mars ‘The race is on to colonise Mars! Participants represent different nations in an international mission. They will need to collaborate to ensure success but only one team can claim final glory! Teams must invest their funds wisely and determine which of their team members have the skills required to successfully complete each of the

challenges faced. They will live the adventure in a ‘reality game-like’ experience! Success in experiments and problem-solving tasks is essential. Players will use techniques and equip-ment used in research laboratories around the world as they learn to analyse Martian rock samples, engineer prototype vehicles, survive dangerous Mars landings and arrange life-saving blood transfusions! The programme includes the use of micro-chemistry, engineering and biotechnology.’ (Thinkers in Education) The students said: “It was interesting throughout and there was always something happening.” “It was all good fun and it tested my memory and intellect.” “Playing with other people from different schools was great. I think this should be done more!”

Designing transport buggies

How to cut a hole in an A4 sheet big enough for a full grown student to fit

through!

Thinkers in Education score performance in their events and our groups produced scores for both events which put them in the top 10 for the UK this year! Well done to everyone who took part!

THE SIXTH FORMER Dereham Sixth Form College—a vibrant learning community where we aim to

provide the highest possible standards of teaching and learning alongside a rich and varied extra-curricular experience.

Summer 2016

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IT’S ON THE BALL

YEAR 11 TASTER DAYS On 30th June and 1st July, we held two Taster Days for Year 11 students who have applied to study at Dereham Sixth Form College. Day One began with a welcome from Phyllis O’Grady and Dave Brook, the College’s Director and Deputy Director. Each student then followed an individual and personalised timetable allowing them to experience ‘taster’ lessons in the subjects in which they have expressed an interest. Alongside these lessons the students also attended the following sessions:

Tutor talk

Tour of the College

Edmodo (our Virtual Learning Environment) and

communications

Enrichment, work-related learning and ULAS

Independent learning resources

Extended Project Qualification On the first day teaching was suspended and our current Year 12s took on the role of student ambassadors as they delivered tours of the College, helped to deliver sessions and generally looked after the Year 11s. On the second day their teaching resumed and they got to share taster lessons with the lower year. Lorren Woodgett commented: “It was rewarding to attend the ethics taster session two years in a row, it

made me appreciate how much I’ve learnt over the year. It made me reflect on how little I knew before coming to College, things that I struggled with so much on the first taster day had become such apparent knowledge by the second. It was even more rewarding to share my knowledge with the Year 11s who were in the same position that I, myself, had been in a year earlier.” Matt Hartley, a current Year 12, also attended the A Level Philosophy and Ethics taster session: “Participating in the ethics taster lesson was a vastly different experience for me one year into the course. Last year I felt like I was sure of myself and my moral code and could articulate my opinion well. This year I felt supremely more confident and was not only changed in the way I approached the scenarios in terms of my ethical opinion, but I was able to reason them out using theories we studied to give a full and detailed argument. This fully highlighted how my passion for the subject has grown.” The two Taster Days gave prospective Year 11s an excellent chance to get to know the College, learn more about the subjects they are considering and get a head start on developing the independent learning skills and motivation required for the next level in their education.

On Monday 11th April, charity It’s On The Ball visited and ran an assembly to raise awareness of testicular cancer. Although rare, testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in young men aged between 15-40. The charity also ran a drop-in stand where they had information leaflets, wrist bands and pens. The event was held as part of our aim to promote health and wellbeing amongst our students.

Lisa Pedro (Oncology Nurse) & Vince Wolverson (Charity Chairman)

As this edition of The Sixth Former is published we are enjoying the final two days of term. Monday 18th July is Health & Wellbing Day at the College. A number of events have been organised. The local Police are talking about safe driving; representatives from The Matthew Project are discussing their work supporting those who are affected by drug and alcohol issues, service users and their carers; students will be completing an online Health Survey; Fleximed are delivering First Aid training and the Terrence Higgins Trust are discussing sex and relationships. Alongside this are drop-in sessions on yoga and mindfulness and giving blood, plus the chance to create your own drink on Edward and Blake’s smoothie- producing bike in the Café!

Our final day of term is being devoted to our Sports Day and end of term BBQ. An opportunity for Year 12 to let their hair down post exams as well as getting some fresh air and exercise—this event, which proved enormously popular with past students, has been resurrected after a two year hiatus. Unlike a traditional school sports day, we have given students the chance to sign up to different activities:

Mixed rounders

Mixed football

Walking

Ten pin bowling

Tennis

Ultimate Frisbee After building up an appetite with all that exercise students will be treated to a free BBQ provided by Edwards & Blake.

HEALTH &

WELLBING DAY

SPORTS DAY

INSIDE THIS EDITION EVENTS Gifted & Talented Event 1 Year 11 Taster Days 2 It’s On The Ball 2 ENDING THE YEAR Health & Wellbeing Day 2 Sports Day 2 Year 13 End of Year BBQ 3 Year 13 Leavers’ Ball 3 COURSE NEWS Spanish Exchange Trip 3 BTEC Music Perform 4 Geographers in Aberystwyth 4 Work On Display with Open Studios 4 British Art Show 8 4 Textiles in the City 5 LIFE AFTER SIXTH FORM Careers in Social Care 5 Careers Day 6 ENRICHMENT NEWS EPQ Day at The University of Essex 6 NEWS FROM YOUR LIBRARY Shelf Help & New Library Catalogue 6 World Book Night 7 New Resources This Term 7 NEW DEVELOPMENTS New DSFC Website 7 RAISING MONEY Quiz & Chips Night 7 OUT & ABOUT Law Residential in Cambridge 8 Students Win Dance Challenge 8 VOLUNTEERING PROJECTS Ladies Pamper Evening 8 PHOTO GALLERY 9-11 DSFC IN THE NEWS 12

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SPANISH EXCHANGE TRIP From 16th to 23rd March, seven of our Year 12s when to Spain. Two of them describe their experience: “During our time in Zaragoza my A Level Spanish class and I visited El Pilar de Zaragoza. The Pilar is a Roman Cathedral in the heart of Zaragoza. It was said that the Virgin Mary blessed the Cathedral. We also visited Barcelona. Whilst there we had the chance to take a glimpse at the astonishing Nou Camp, home to the Barcelona Football Team. Sadly, we didn’t get the chance to venture inside but it nevertheless was a marvel, even from the outside. Along with the 20 Spanish students we ventured to the Pyrenees to the Castillo de Loarre, which was built in the 12th century between the Christian and Muslim lands. But of course, most importantly during our time in the city, we had the glorious opportunity to submerge into churros con chocolate, a donut type confectionary with a thick, hot

chocolate, which was sensational … While in Zaragoza we stayed with our host families. They were patient with my severely broken Spanish at the beginning of the week, and by the end of the week we were enjoying (nearly) full, accurate conversations. I believe this exchange has helped my Spanish course without a doubt; in particular my listening. The speed at which the Spaniards spoke was so much faster than our listening file, and now that I am used to hearing the language at speed, listening to the file is almost like hearing it in English.” Alice Watts “In Spain I was able to go to loads of different places, including the organised trips that we all went on, for example to Barcelona and the Pyrenees, but also to Puerto Venecia which was huge compared to any shopping mall that I’ve ever been in before! The town Zaragoza itself was beautiful and I was lucky enough to visit

it many times over the week, even at night when all of our exchange partners took us out for the evening. I stayed with a lovely family in the top floor of an apartment block not far from the school that my exchange partner went to, and it was extremely different to what I’m used to as it was so high and had cars driving past all the time! It was amazing to be part of a Spanish family for a week and my Spanish speaking and listening has improved vastly; the voices in the Spanish exam sound so slow now because people in Spain talk very rapidly—I had to get used to that. It was such an incredible experience and, even though I’ve been on the exchange before, I feel like I was able to appreciate it more this time round because of how much better I understand the language, and because I knew how hard it was to leave last time I knew that I had to enjoy every second of my time there!” Nesta James

YEAR 13 LEAVERS’ BALL On Thursday 7th July ,Year 13 and staff descended on Caistor Hall, Nor-wich for our annual Leavers’ Ball to cel-ebrate the end of the exam year and to wish the year group well in their future endeavours. The evening started at 6pm with a drinks reception and canapés while Year 12s Alex Turner and Ross Woodrow acted as our official photographers and organised group photos in the beautiful grounds. (You can see all their photos from the event on our Facebook page.) Next we moved to Caistor’s outdoor marquee for dinner, speeches from Gill Meigh (Head of Year 13) and Phyllis O’Grady (College Director) and the student awards, delivered by Lucy Spinks and Chloe Matkin. Chosen and voted for by the whole of Year 13 the awards were as follows: Best Male Teacher; Best Female Teacher; Biggest Chav; Biggest Drama Queen; Worst Driver; Best Driver; Cutest Couple; Most likely to get ID’d when they’re 30; Most likely to win the Lottery but lose the ticket; Most likely to appear on the Jeremy Kyle Show; and Most likely to be Prime Minister. The evening then moved to the Coach House where the rest of the night was danced away. It was wonderful to end

the year with such an enjoyable event and we look forward to seeing the year group again on Results Day when there will no doubt be celebrations again as all of their hard work through the past two years will have paid off and they achieve some great results.

YEAR 13 END OF

YEAR BBQ

As we began Half Term in May Year, 13 went on study leave for their final exams. To celebrate the College hosted a BBQ for them:

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WORK ON DISPLAY

WITH OPEN STUDIOS

In June we welcomed students, parents and members of the public to DSFC for a viewing of work from our AS and A2 art and design students. Work from A Level Art, Craft and Design, Fine Art, Graphics, Textiles and Photography has been on display around the College buildings for all to enjoy. We combined the event with Norfolk and Norwich Open Studios, opening up the celebration of our students’ work to a much wider audience. Examples of work can be viewed here: http://tinyurl.com/zgtm4ce

BRITISH ART SHOW

8 EXHIBITION

Our first year Photography students worked with students from the Norwich School on a collaborative exhibition on the theme of ancestry as part of the British Art Show 8 exhibition. DSFC teacher Lou Chapman explains, “The students had a series of workshops, hosted by the Norwich School, where they worked as a team on their concepts and techniques within the theme. They then went away and fine-tuned their ideas. The final workshop was a group critique where feedback from all of the team was given and the students decided which photographs they would like to put in the exhibition. The students produced some excellent work.” The Head of the Arts Faculty at Norwich School, Ian Passam, said that

the work displayed was “the most professional exhibition the Norwich School had held…” This is high praise indeed for all of the Dereham Sixth Form College students involved: Molly Mayo, Eloise Thompson, Ross Woodrow, Freya Tovey, Ash Chaudhri, Alex Turner and Morgan Read. The exhibition ran as part of the British Art Show 8 which is a touring exhibition of contemporary artists in conjunction with the Hayward Gallery in London.

Ian Passam and Lou Chapman

BTEC MUSIC PERFORM AT

THE HARBOUR ROOMS, BLAKENEY

On 5th May, our BTEC Music students had the fantastic opportunity to rehearse and record their solo and ensemble performances at The Harbour Rooms in Blakeney. This is a popular venue for professional performers, mostly folk and blues, and we were very lucky to be able to have the venue all day and in the evening, including the services of sound engineer and peripatetic for Norfolk Music Hub, Mark Fawcett. The day started with Mark giving a safety briefing to the group followed by a morning spent on rehearsals and recording. After further rehearsals and recording in the afternoon the group performed a showcase in the evening to parents, staff and friends. Year 12 Demi Fossitt describes her experience: “We began the day by getting a mini-bus to Blakeney Harbour Rooms and making sure that ensembles and solo pieces were well rehearsed before we started to record. It’s such a good experience actually getting a chance to record your own songs with a recording engineer and being able to perform songs that you’ve worked on for so long. I recorded four songs and performed one solo and an ensemble on the night. It was great having parents and even a few local people

from the town centre come to watch you perform. There are 10 of us in the class and getting to create performances with others is something I really enjoyed and thanks to Mr Brook and Mrs Brooks we’re given opportunities to do things like this.”

GEOGRAPHERS IN

ABERYSTWYTH

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CAREERS IN

SOCIAL CARE

TEXTILES IN THE CITY On Tuesday 14th June, five students from our Textiles A Level course travelled to East London to gain creative inspiration for their future work and to gain information from prospective graduate fashion and textiles courses/universities. Our students first attended Graduate Fashion Week – ‘the world’s leading event celebrating the creativity of students and graduates within fashion. Graduate Fashion Week is a charity organisation founded in 1991 by Jeff Banks CBE, Vanessa Denza MBE and John Walford to unify both UK and International universities and create a stronghold for the creative industries. Showcasing the work of over 1,000 of the very best students and graduates from the most influential and inspiring universities around the world, Graduate Fashion Week represents the future of creative design talent. Attracting 30,000 guests each June, the annual event features 22 catwalk shows, exhibitions from over 40 universities and an acclaimed Gala Award Show alongside a packed live talks and workshops schedule featuring leading names from the fashion industry. An unrivalled platform for the promotion of new talent, Graduate Fashion Week bridges the gap between graduation and employment and is

responsible for launching the careers of some of the most successful designers of our time including Christopher Bailey … Stella McCartney, Giles Deacon, Matthew Williamson and Julien Macdonald.’ (Graduate Fashion Week). On the Tuesday that our students visited they got to see the catwalk show from the University of Brighton along with the exhibition of graduate work from all the exhibiting universities. Rebecca Reeve found watching the catwalk show the best part of her day: “It was really interesting to see other people’s designs in a more professional environment.” Afterwards, the group visited Prism’s Art Textiles Exhibition. ‘Founded in 1999 by the late Julia Capara, the Prism exhibition group has exhibited annually in central London. From 2009 Prism has entered a new independent phase, retaining a focus on showcasing high quality fine art textile practice and craftsmanship. It is our aim to bring to the public work of the highest quality both to highlight the breadth textile practice can extend to, but also to challenge notions of the textile as decorative and domestic. Members of Prism are drawn from across the world, representing all regions of the UK. It is this wide range of cultural and geographical contexts

that brings to our exhibitions exciting interpretations of our annual themes.’ (Bruce, A. and Langfeld, Prism Chairs, 2016). The theme of this year’s exhibition was “fracture”. Year 12 Emily Fox found the work particularly motivating: “The street art was really inspirational because the bright colours suited the theme of my project.” Maddison Palmer sums up her experience of the day: “I really enjoyed looking around the universities because I looked at others which I might not have considered before. Also, it was great to see the trends and styles on the streets of East London with people watching”. Despite being caught in a torrential downpour(!) this proved to be a very worthwhile trip.

Year 12 students (the majority studying A Level Health and Social Care) received a talk in May from Sarah Steele (Norfolk and Suffolk Care Support) and Paul Stacey (Thera East Anglia) which explored some of the myths and stereotypes surrounding careers in social care and which highlighted some of the positive aspects of working in the sector. Sarah began by explaining how the concept of ‘health and social care’ encompasses helping people to live their lives. She then asked the group if they could identify the skills and qualities involved in social care and spoke about the sector identifying the number of social care workers currently in England and how that number is likely to grow. Sarah highlighted some of the different job roles available and the types of settings and environments

that you could work in. She then went on to dispel the following myths that often surround work in social care: It’s all about working with older people; It’s a job only for middle-aged women; It has anti-social hours; It’s just a job where you wipe bottoms and feed people; Work in care in just a dead-end job. Sarah finished by describing the different routes into social care and the training available, including apprenticeships, along with expected pay. Paul explained the role of Thera East Anglia and what they do. He described the type of people they employ and potential career paths through the organisation. He then highlighted some of the individuals that Thera East Anglia support and explained what the support workers who care for them do. The event provided a valuable insight for our students into a possible career sector and helped to emphasise the range of job roles and settings that work in the area could provide.

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SHELF HELP

NEW LIBRARY

CATALOGUE

This year a new national reading scheme was launched to support young people’s mental health. Called ‘Shelf Help’ the scheme has created a book list of titles that young people can access free of charge in their local public library to help support their mental well-being. The titles cover topics such as stress, eating disorders, depression and anxiety, self-harm and bullying. We wanted to show our support for the scheme in the College Library. Educational Resource Manager Rachel Chávez enlisted the help of the College’s student Welfare and Learning Committee. The Committee looked

through the books on the list and identified those they thought most appropriate for the College age-group. Rachel then selected titles from their list to buy.

“The Committee chose a number of titles covering stress, eating disorders and depression. The books will be on display in their own section of the

College library, labelled ‘Shelf Help’. Along with the new titles will be flyers and information to help direct students to the wider range of titles available to borrow from either Dereham Library, or their local public library.” From September, students will have access to a new, online Library Catalogue. This will give everyone the ability to search across all the books and journal articles held in the Library from home, as well as inside College. The plan is also to enable students to use it to reserve and renew their loans online.

EPQ STUDY DAY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX On Monday 13th June, 22 students travelled to the University of Essex for the day. The purpose of the visit was for the group to have Higher Education support for their Extended Projects and to inform their current thinking about university applications. Students attended sessions focussing on suitable areas for EPQs, ways to carry out advanced research and how to write an academic report. They also had a tour of the campus at Essex and an opportunity to hear about student life from current undergraduates. Year 12 Maddison Palmer describes her experience: “The day consisted of extremely helpful information on how to develop our EPQ question/title, as well as aspects to consider in the

process, such as positives and negatives of our chosen subject and how the negatives can become avoidable. I found critical feedback the most helpful as it enabled me to become aware of flaws in my technique — such as enthusing too much expressive and emotional language into practice paragraphs; I have learnt to be more factual. The worst part of the day was the typical English weather as the tours of the Uni were occurring (unsurprisingly)! This trip was extremely helpful with recognising flaws and issues which may occur in my EPQ process, allowing me to plan more precisely and carefully to avoid awkward challenges.” Teacher Judy Bewick, who

coordinates the Extended Project Qualification at the College, praised the group: “There was an excellent range of contributions from students in lectures which impressed the lecturers by their mature, considered input. The day allowed students to move on in their thinking and planning of their EPQ. The University were also impressed by the topics our students had selected which were diverse as fracking, fashion blogs, online banking security and bovine TB!” The bulk of the work for their EPQs will now take place over the summer, ready to submit in September. Results will be released in January.

CAREERS DAY On Friday 24th June, Dereham Sixth Form College welcomed around 32 speakers from across 22 organisations for Careers Day for Year 12. Organised by teacher Gill Swain and Sue Downing (the College’s Careers Advisor from Beacon East) the day was timetabled into 60 sessions and included speakers from three universities, local businesses/organisations (including Larking Gowen, KLM, social care and mental health organisations) the RAF and Army as well as STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) ambassadors plus representatives from the NHS, the computing and business sector, the police/National Crime Agency and the environmental and agricultural sciences.

Students were asked to sign up to different sessions so that they had a full day of inspirational talks. They had the opportunity to hear about: careers in different sectors; courses at university plus how to choose your course and write a good personal statement; managing money and student finance; how to maintain and inspire motivation; Gap Year Project Trust opportunities; the interview process;

alternatives to university; how to identify your skills and strengths; apprenticeships; and being your own boss. Whilst the Careers Day is a regular feature on the College calendar, DSFC are increasing links between the College and local enterprises/employers. We have been invited to join the Dereham Working Group of the new Anglia LEP Enterprise Adviser project which provides funding to deliver business and education partnership events in the region. Furthermore, we shall also be working with the Anglia Enterprise Adviser Network; this aims to link a network of senior business leaders with local education providers as ‘Enterprise Advisers’ to help enhance business engagement with the local community.

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NEW RESOURCES

THIS TERM

To support revision the following titles were added to stock: A-Level physics: OCR A: complete revision and practice; AS-Level mathematics: AQA: complete revision and practice; and A2-Level mathematics: AQA: complete revision and practice; along with AQA A-Level psychology 1: for A Level year 1 and AS. Heap 2017: university degree course offers has been purchased to help those thinking about university and The selfish gene and The richness of life have been added to support reading list recommendations. New titles purchased as part of Shelf Help are: Stop thinking start living; Fighting invisible tigers: stress management for teens; Mind your head; Teenage guide to stress; Can I tell you about depression?; and Can I tell you about eating disorders? Finally, new titles from the Issues series cover: Human rights, Business and trade, Domestic violence, Sexuality and gender, Drugs and The internet of things.

NEW DSFC WEBSITE Over the summer you will notice that we will be switching to a new College website. The new design has a fresh, clean look and has been re-structured to make access to the key information that prospective and current students and parents need.

QUIZ & CHIPS

NIGHT

The student Welfare and Learning Committee of the College Senate hosted a Quiz & Chips Night on Thursday 24th March. It was primarily held to raise awareness of the charity Young Minds who deal with issues of mental illness and difficulties that young people may face, i.e. stress and/or depression. The Committee felt that this charity in particular is appropriate to open up the issues which many ignore or pretend are not there. “We have realised the pressures we face both in and out of college and we

feel students should not feel alone in dealing with mental illness and most importantly, students should not feel they have to hide them.” Student Eleanor Cappuccio and the Committee would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part in the Quiz and Chips night. A total of 95 people signed up to take part and a grand total of £225 has been raised for the charity. Well done to everyone who won a raffle prize and congratulations to the quiz winners and runners up. The winning team consisted of Ms O’Grady, Mr Brook, Mrs Ball and Mr Ball. The Committee would also like to thank Rembrandt Restaurant who supplied the chip suppers.

WORLD BOOK

NIGHT

On 23 April 2016, UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day, Shakespeare’s birthday and also the 400th anniversary of his death, people around the country celebrated World Book Night. Copies of 15 specially printed World Book Night titles and titles selected by individuals were given by a network of volunteer reading enthusiasts and institutions around the UK focussing on reaching the percentage of the population who don’t read for pleasure. Since it began in 2011, World Book Night has created an extraordinary group of 56,000 volunteers, giving books away to over 2.25 million people. ‘Reading for pleasure is a globally recognised indicator in a huge range of social issues from poverty to mental health’ (DCMS, 2015 cited by The Reading Agency, 2016). Staff, parents and students of Dereham Sixth Form College were encouraged to take part by Rachel Chávez (the College’s Educational Resource Manager). “We wanted to help instil a love of reading across all our students and staff at the College. I contacted parents, College staff and

all our students asking them to donate one book to our World Book Night collection.” All the donated books were then left around the College from Friday 22nd April for anyone to take, whether that be for themselves, a friend or a relative. Each book came with a bookmark explaining that it had been donated as part of World Book Night. Twenty-one books were donated in total and the plan was to leave them around the College for a week, with any not taken being given to worthwhile/charitable causes in Dereham for them to give away to their users. “However, the event proved so popular amongst our students”, says Rachel, “that all twenty-one books were taken by Tuesday!”

Some of the donated books There has been some really positive feedback from students who felt genuinely grateful that someone had

given them a book for free with no expectations attached. Titles linked to TV and film proved popular, particularly one book – My family and other animals by Gerald Durrell – as a TV adaptation had been shown on ITV and students have said they will loan the book they took to friends or pass it on to other students or relatives once they have read it. “Unlike World Book Day, which is targeted at younger pupils, World Book Night provides an excellent opportunity to promote reading for pleasure amongst our 16+ cohort. I have been really impressed at the interest students have shown in the event and will definitely repeat it next year. It would be great to get local supermarkets on board to donate some books too!”

One printer user will get a surprise!

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LAW RESIDENTIAL IN CAMBRIDGE One of our A Level Law students recently went on a law residential held at Cambridge University. Here they share their experience: “From the 28th to the 29th June, I took park in a two day law residential at Trinity College, Cambridge. When I first arrived, I was shown to the room in which I’d be staying in the new Wolfson accommodation block. During the residential I took part in a variety of lectures, workshops and tours around the College which gave me a true experience of studying law at the University of Cambridge. The first workshop was entitled ‘Feral Wrongdoers’, which was led by law fellow Dr Matt Dyson. During the workshop, we were given a scenario, of which included a particularly curious cat and a smashed antique plate, and told to discuss in groups who was to blame for the damage caused. The workshop extended my previous knowledge of tort law which I had learnt in class, as it made me consider how tort deals with animals and the issues raised in cases involving animals, rather than just humans. After this workshop was a free lunch in the Hogwarts-esque dining hall, during which current Cambridge law students were available to answer questions prospective students had regarding study at the university.

After lunch came a tour of the College led by Trinity undergraduates and a brief explanation of the history of the College, founded in 1546 by Henry VIII. Then came a lecture from 4 of the law fellows at the College, discussing studying, learning and living law at the College, including tips and pointers for the prospective law student. Following this came a second workshop entitled ‘Criminal and Crimes’ which again enabled me to expand on the criminal law I had already learned at Sixth Form. We were once more presented with a scenario, however this time were asked in groups to create our own statute regarding the crime of criminal damage, which was then critiqued by one of the law fel-lows. This workshop helped greatly with to-the-point, concise writing, and made me realise just how few words are necessary to effectively convey a point. After a 45 minute break in the student bar (complete with free drinks) we made our way to another lecture regarding interviews, the mandatory Cambridge Law Test and UCAS applications. This lecture gave invaluable information concerning writing personal statements and other application essentials and included a mock interview with a current student.

After this came dinner once again in the hall, where current law students happily mingled with residential students in order to answer any questions we might have. The final session after dinner was a Q&A session with students regarding what it’s like to be a law student at Cambridge, which provided a student’s insight into studying law. The first day ended with a film night, which proved to be a far better alternative to the originally promised rounders game, which was cancelled due to heavy rain. After this, we headed up to our rooms and relaxed. In the morning, we had a full English breakfast in the hall and then made our way to the Law Faculty building for the Open Day. Current students then gave us a tour of the Law Faculty, which included an enormous library dedicated purely to law. After the tour, we returned to Trinity to receive a final address from Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe, a Supreme Court judge who was involved in the ‘Factortame’ case, which you will research in depth if you choose to study A Level Law at Dereham Sixth Form. Following the address, the law residential came to an end, and I began to make my way home with his advice to prospective law students replaying in my mind:

LADIES PAMPER EVENING We have a team of intrepid students who are raising money to support their volunteering experience in Borneo next summer with Camps International.

To help, the College hosted a Ladies Pamper Evening with student Tabi Street on 15th July. On offer were a wide range of stalls including candles,

soaps, jewellery and home gifts along with a nail bar and chocolates and cakes. The team—Dereham2 Borneo— are often fundraising so look out for them around Dereham!

STUDENTS WIN

DANCE CHALLENGE

Rambert is Britain’s oldest dance company. This academic year they launched a new nationwide choreographic challenge for secondary schools and colleges. ‘The initiative aims to raise the profile of choreography in schools and colleges and provide a national programme of professional support for students and teachers, to support the development of choreographic practice in future generations.’ (Rambert, 2015). Thirty-six groups in total took part in regional events held across the country and students from the College were selected as part of Dereham Neatherd

High School’s group to represent the Norfolk region and take part in the final showcase event at The Peacock Theatre on 28th June. Maddison Palmer describes the experience: “The recent dance trip to The Peacock Theatre was an absolutely exceptional experience for our dance troop Ignite. We worked with Miss Harris on our dance piece towards the Rambert Elements Choreography Challenge until 7pm every Monday for 8 months and winning the challenge made all of that time seem worthwhile! Dancing on a West End stage was a thrilling experience, a dream many of us have had for many years. The choreographer Mark Baldwin

remarked on our dance, after the performance, expressing how impressive and professional he found the dance. Not only was the performance astonishing, but the Rambert studios tour was also unbelievable; getting to watch the Rambert dancers practice and learn about the history of the company was an astounding experience, which was topped off with being able to practice in one of the Rambert dance studios. The trip overall was an outstanding way to thank Miss Harris for all of her commitment to the group, as well as one of the greatest experiences we have had together as a group, performing to a West End audience!”

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PHOTO GALLERY Here are a selection of photos from events and activities that have taken place throughout this year. You can find these and more on our College website—either as part of news items, or within the Photo Galleries section.

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You can find details of all our news, including media coverage, by visiting our website at www.dsfc.org.uk. You can also follow us on Facebook—search for Dereham Sixth Form—and on Twitter by looking for @DSFC1.

EDITOR: Rachel Chávez (Educational Resource Manager/Communications Officer)

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