More GCSE art work — Page 6

MVC NEWSThe News Magazine of Melbourn Village College, an Academy of the Comberton Academy Trust

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Why we back homes plan

SUPPORT:SimonHolmesbelieves newhousing inMelbournwouldbenefit thecollege’sexistingstudents.

ON THEROAD:Melbourn’snewminibus.

MVC News

Inside this Issueq Caring and Sharing — Page 3q Chain Reaction — Page 3q Better Together — Page 5q Primary Pupils Travel Back inTime — Page 5q Spreading Christmas Cheer —

Page 6

q Flower Power — Page 6q A Celebration of Ages — Page 8q Record-breakers Back — Page 7q The Art of Success — Page 8q Global Outlook is Key — Page 9q Deeper look at Maths andPuzzles — Page 10

q ACTivities — Page 11q CAT News — Page 12q Looking into William’s Rule —

Page 13qq SCSSP Update — Page 14q Sports Round-up — Page 16

Melbourn’s Principal says the propsal for200 new homes in the village would benefitall the college’s students.And while Simon Holmes sympathises with localresidents, the majority of whom oppose the plans, hesaid the college would not be acting in the students’best interests by responding negatively.He believes that the development would potentiallyincrease the number of students at the college – andthat crucially this would benefit those already there.However, nearly 1,500 residents – 86% of those whoresponded - opposed the major development off NewRoad, in response to a public consultation.Mr Holmes said: “There has been some misinformationconcerning the college in that people were saying thatwe are full, which we are not.“The college is funded according to the number of

students. Put simply, each additional student brings£4,000 of funding per year to the college. If, forexample, an additional four children came into our Year7, the classes would increase by one each, and yetwould still be in the low 20s on average. Since no extrateachers would be needed there would be very littleadditional cost to the college.“Therefore, the additional £16,000 would benefit all thestudents, new and existing. If this were replicatedacross the college then the additional income andbenefit for existing students could be significant with nodetriment to their education. Whilst I fully understandthe concerns and views of Melbourn residents our firstresponsibility is to our students and having been askedto take part in the consultation, the college musttherefore support a development which would benefitthem.”

The whole community is set to benefit from MelbournVillage College’s new top-of-the-range minibus.The 64-plate Ford Transit, with full Melbourn livery, wasrecently delivered to the college as part of a two-yearlease deal secured through its membership of theComberton Academy Trust.A similar bus has also been secured for the newsecondary school at Cambourne, which along withComberton Villabge College and The Voyager Academymake up the schools in the Trust.The new-model Ford Transit minibus replaces the 1997vehicle which was traded in for £1,500!Melbourn Principal Simon Holmes said: “It’s fantastic tohave this new minibus which will not only benefit ourstudents, but the pupils from our feeder primaries andlocal community groups as well.”

The finishing touches are being made to twonew films for Melbourn Village College.A short insight into life at college should beavailable to view on the websitewww.mvc.org.uk before Christmas while anextended version to show to parents, pupilsand prospective pupils and on the screensaround the school will be up and running inthe new year.Both films are being made by two formerMelbourn students, Rachel Clarkstone andTom Norris, who, with Jack Joy from Harlow,set up As A Button Productions in Shreprethtwo years ago.It is their first venture into educational film-making although they have worked onprojects such at the UK Festival Awards –which involved filming at both the Leeds andLatitude festivals – and for major company, Greenwich Leisure among others.Tom, now 24, said: “For me the strangest thing has been going back and calling

teachers who taught me by their first names.Being allowed in the staff room was weirdtoo.“But it’s also been really good filming in aschool for the first time. The buildings areeasy to make look good and the lessons wehave filmed have been interesting andinteractive.“We like doing different films and we’veenjoyed being at Melbourn. We’d definitelylike to do more films in schools.”Jack, 22, who attended Cambridge RegionalCollege, added: “It’s not that long since we’vebeen at school so we haven’t forgotten whatit’s like and can still relate to the pupils,especially Rachel and Tom as they were atMelbourn.”The trio are hoping their film will lead to

further work at the other academies in the Comberton Academy Trust, of whichMelbourn is a member, as well as other schools in the area.

Wheely good news

Former students look at MVC through lens

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: The making of Melbourn’s newvideo.

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Students from Melbourn started a chain reactionaround the Cambridge Guildhall in the name ofscience and technology.The Year 7 and 8 members of the college’s@STEMClubMVC (Science,Technology, Engineering andMaths) were competing in theannual Chain Reactioncompetition – and this year it wasMelbourn’s creation that theMayor of Cambridge used to startthe ball rolling.The pupils had spent weeksdiscussing and building their partof the machine, deciding whetherNewton’s Cradle or a swingingball would be the best start,whether to incorporate a marblerun and whether squash ballswould stay on their runners longenough to counter-balance thebung balanced on the see-saw.It all came together in time for the

big day where each school’s link in the chain isset off by the previous one and each offering isjudged. Although the judges were impressed bythe Melbourn build, it didn’t win.

Nobody minded too much as they had all enjoyedbuilding it – and it marked a successful farewellfor Science Technician Mandy Curtis, who hasrun the weekly club for the past four years.

She has now moved on to the CambridgeScience Centre, a link which came aboutthrough her involvement with STEM clubat Melbourn.“Over the last few years, we have takenpart in several competitions, attended theBig Bang fair at Duxford, carried outinvestigations into the effectiveness ofhand washes, the effect of different fizzydrinks on mentoes and used chocolate tomeasure the speed of light, and muchmore!” she said. “I have thoroughlyenjoyed it and I think the students have,too.“It is with very mixed emotions that I haveleft MVC to work more days at theScience Centre, but I will always lookback on my time at MVC, and especiallySTEM club, with great fondness.”

The Comberton Academy Trust is oneof only 7 groups of schools nationallythat have been working witheducational experts at the Centre forBritish Teaching (CfBT) in co-creatingand piloting a school-based peer reviewsystem. CfBT have used their extensive experience of theeducational sector and international research todevelop a framework for reviews which schools willbe able to purchase in the future. The criteria used align with OFSTED where relevant,but extend beyond this in terms of the aspects whichcontribute to successful education. As one of the original pilot organisations, CAT seniorstaff have contributed to that framework and receivedtraining as peer reviewers. Over the past year teams of Senior managers, eachled by a Head of School, have visited each CATschool and conducted a review of various aspects oftheir practice. Evidence has been gathered from a range of sourcesincluding exam data, lesson observations, meetingswith staff and students. OFSTED standard criteriahave been used to feed back findings to staff andGovernors and the whole process has beenextremely valuable in moving all the schools forwardwith schools offering support to each other in theirown areas of expertise.In addition to the benefits for the school being

reviewed, the experience of finding out about how a

school works has led to each team taking back ideasto their own school. For example, MVC’s effective use of Go4Schools inproviding assessment data to parents and the waythat SEN provision and intervention is mapped haveled to these systems being adopted at other Trustschools. MVC has also benefited in a similar way,with senior staff bringing back ideas from the reviewsof the other schools.MVC had their review in October and found the whole

experience particularly useful. The visiting team, ledby Cambourne Head of School Claire Coates andassisted by senior staff from Voyager and Combertonspent two days at the college. Their report, presented to Governors at the college,confirmed the high quality of provision in areas suchas English and Maths and the positive views of thestudents. The report stated that: “Members of thepupil panel, and all other students spoken with, areproud of their school and very loyal in the way theypresent it to visitors. “The pupils spoken with appreciate the range ofcultural and sporting opportunities that are on offer tothem.”The team were also impressed by the strength ofcommunity evident within the college: “In theassembly viewed, and through conversations withstaff and students, it is clear that MVC has strongmoral purpose. “Students report that there is very little bullying andthat ‘this is a very caring school.’ “Support systems for students are strong and well-planned; vulnerable students are cared for very well.”Melbourn Principal Simon Holmes said: “The majordifference for me between this review and anOFSTED visit is the feeling of co-operation andsupport. “Difficult and challenging questions were, quite rightly,asked, but at the end of the process there is awillingness to work together to help move the collegeforwards. “This sense of mutual support is one of the mainbenefits of joining the Trust.”

MVC News

Caring and sharing . . .

MVC students set off a chain reaction

FIRST LINK IN THE CHAIN: Melbourn students with their creation.

CLAIRE COATES: The Cambourne Headof School led the team visiting Melbourn.

4 MVC News

Primary School pupils and MelbournVillage College are benefitting from arange of new links across thecurriculum.Staff organised by the college are working withstudents at a number of Melbourn’s feeder primaries inart, maths and French as well as many PEopportunities through the South Cambs School SportPartnership (see Page 11).At Hauxton and Barrington, art teacher Nick Juett hasbeen using a variety of techniques to enthuse pupilsand has reported that the knowledge he has gained ishelping shape the Melbourn curriculum.Rhian Bateman, who has a Year 5/6 class at Hauxton,said: “ACTIONart has already inspired the children inmy class to produce some excellent pieces of art.“The children enjoyed the challenge to engage with atask initially designed for Year 9 students at Melbourn.“The children loved meeting a ‘real’ artist and areenthusiastic about our upcoming projects.“As a teacher in a local priamry school, it is great todevelop this link with MVC and it has provided theopportunity to plan class and whole school projectswith an aexperienced artist and art teacher.”It is a similar story for languages where VeroniqueSanders is helping Fowlmere, Foxton and Barrington

meet the now-compulsory requirement of teaching aforeign language in primary school.In a venture funded jointly by Melbourn and theprimaries involved, she is teaching French in allthree schools on a weekly basis.Barrington are also among the schools whose mostable mathematicians are being stretched by extrasessions in an other Melbourn-led initiative called‘Explore Maths’.Sue Southward, who works for the CombertonAcademy Trust, is also helping push the boundariesat Harston & Newton, Melbourn, Thriplow, Hauxtonand Meldreth. She has been working mainly with Year 6, but alsosome Year 5, on problem-solving and investigation.Some of the solutions the children have come upwith have been sent to the NRICH website, run byCambirdge University and they are waiting to see ifthey will be put on-line.Currently each school get a block of three one-hourweekly visits twice a year and there are plans toinvite all those involved to a special event atMelbourn in the summer term.Melbourn Principal Simon Holmes said: “We arelearning which areas the primaries are strong in andwe are adapting our curriculums accordingly. Havinginvolvement at primary level means our Year 7s will

get a better experience as we know the areas theyhave already covered. “Other feeder primaries wanting to get involved with anyof these initiatives are invited to contact Mr Holmes atMVC.

MVC News

Better together

Around 130 youngsters were transported back intime for a taste of life 50 years ago.The nine and 10-year-olds from Melbourn’s feederprimary schools spent a day at the college for athemed 1950s event.The event was spread over two days toaccommodate all the Year 5 children fromMelbourn, Meldreth, Barrington, Harston andNewton, Hauxton, Fowlmere and Foxton primaryschools.They looked at rock and roll and jazz whileworking in the dance and music departments,while drama were focusing on key events of the1950’s, including sweet rationing, Sir EdmundHilary’s Everest conquest and the Queen’scoronation.The art activity was based on the artist VictorVasarely and the Art Movement Op Art. The pupilsworked with watercolours and had the opportunityto design their own example of Op Art. Half the children attended on each of two days, butafter the final day all were invited to perform andshow off their work at a special gala evening for

parents.Melbourn’s Primary Co-Ordinator, Kelly Coghlan,

said: “All the pupils were fantastic and a credit totheir primary schools, parents and themselves. Formost, this was their first time experiencing asecondary school environment, but this didn’tseem to faze them.“The step up to a secondary education is often adaunting one, but days like this can make thatprocess easier. It was great to give these youngpupils a taste of secondary education and thegreat opportunities that will be provided to them.“Melbourn is a school that takes pride in knowingeach of its students and events like this are vital instarting off that learning process, and connectionbetween school and student.”The successful Year 5 event followed on from awell-received Year 4 day earlier in the term whereyoungsters from the same schools took part in arange of activities including creating a mood boardbased on a popular William Blake poem, anintroduction to algebra and learning how to greeteach other in a variety of languages.

WORKS IN PROGRESS: Youngsters involvedin ACTion Art get their creative juicesflowing.

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Primary pupils travel back in time . . .

FOCUS: Year 5 students concentrating.

LEARNING FRENCH: Foxton pupils with Veronique Sanders.

Melbourn students have helped to bring Christmas cheer tofamilies and the elderly in some of the poorest corners ofEurope.The school joined forces for the first time with Link To Hope, a charity whichinitially worked only in Romania, but is now committed to rebuilding lives andcommunities in Moldova, Albania and Ukraine as well.Staff and pupils collected more than 30 shoeboxes not just for children, asanother high-profile charity does, but for families and elderly people, who areincreasingly being left alone as their children move to try to find work.Family shoeboxes are given to those who often have to choose betweenbuying food or fuel at Christmas with presents a low priority or distant dream.Many of these families do not have running water, heating or electricity andthe whole family lives in one or two rooms. These boxes include toiletries(including liquids up to 300ml), sweets and chocolate, games and toys, solarpowered and wind-up calculators, toches etc, first aid, sewing and small toolkits as well as hats, scarves and gloves.Elderly shoeboxes are similar but target the older generation with suggestionsincluding candles, reading glasses playing cards and dominoes and sensoryitems like a small wind chime.“We wanted our students to think about the whole community, not just one

section of it, which is why we liked the idea of helping Link To Hope,” saidorganiser Marta Gunner, the Head of Humanities at Melbourn.“This was an excellent start, and we are looking forward to next year where weare aiming to exceed this total” she said. “We would like to thank CountryGardens and the businesses within it who helped advertise and collect boxesfor us as well as everybody who donated a box.”

MVC News

Spreading

Xmas cheer

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BOXES OF HOPE: The shoeboxes full of gifts bound for EasternEurope.

POPPIES IN PRODUCTION: Melbourn students and members of the Royal BritishLegion make poppies together.

A commemoration of the 100th anniversary of theoutbreak of World War I was marked by acollaboration between Melbourn students and theRoyal British Legion.A group of students, working in conjunction withthe RBL, ensured more than 150 poppies adornedthe Book of Remembrance table and lectern in AllSaint’s Church, Melbourn, to mark the start of theGreat War.Some students spent the day with the RBLcreating poppies while others were made in Art,Citizenship and RE lessons.The poppies, painted, paper and knitted, werecombined with those made by the RBL to create adisplay reminiscent of the Tower of London art.Marta Gunner, the teacher in charge of the charityprojects, said: “There was a lovely community feelto this project with those students involved

working with the ladies’ division of the RoyalBritish Legion. “And with the help of Miss Heeks in the ArtDepartment, I feel the students really understoodwhat we were commemorating.”

Flower power!

RED REMEMBRANCE: The poppies at StAndrew’s Church, Melbourn.

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A celebration of ages Christmas came early for more than 150older people and students at MVC.In fact, it was a month early, which meant the latestCelebrating Ages meeting was this week’s Boxing Daylunch on Wednesday November 26!Celebrating Ages is a collaboration between thecollege’s Food Technology Department, catering staff,the ACT project and Melbourn Parish Council.Melbourn residents aged over 60 are able to put theirnames down for the get-togethers which take placetwo or three times a year. And once they have been toone, they receive a personal invitation to the nextevent.

Already this year they have had a World War Icommemoration and a tea party and this week youngand older got together for a traditional post-Christmaslunch.Students in Years 10 and 11 welcomed their guestsand served cold cuts of meat, roast potatoes andbread and butter as well as mince pies made by pupilsin food technology lessons and a miniature Christmascake each.With backing from the Music Department, theafternoon was rounded off with community carol-singing.Ann Woods, Melbourn’s Head of Food technology,

said: “This is our first Boxing Day lunch but the thirdyear we have been running this project with the ParishCouncil.“We try to have different themes so as well as the FirstWorld War one in the summer, we’ve had a cream teaand another time we had sandwiches and cakes onstands.“We can cater for around 160 villagers over the age of60 and we are always fully booked.”Principal Simon Holmes said: “These events are afantastic way of bringing our students and the localcommunity together to share an experience and buildunderstanding and respect.”

PARTY TIME: Staff and students at theBoxing Day lunch.

FOOD,GLORIOUSFOOD: D of Eparticipantscook dinneron Trangiastoves.

BACK TOSCHOOL:Formerstudentsreturn tocollect theirGCSEcertificates.

MVC News

A dozen Melbourn students completed their assessed expedition for their Duke ofEdinburgh bronze awards earlier this term.The Year 11 participants were the latest contingent from the college to benefit fromMelbourn being part of the Comberton Academy Trust as they joined more than 150Comberton Village College students on the expedition to the Chilterns inBuckinghamshire.Melbourn joined the Trust a year ago but joint DofE expeditions have been on-going forthree years, allowing Melbourn students to participate alongside Comberton, who refuseto restrict the numbers who take part and offer free places to those on Free SchoolMeals.The students were all bleary-eyed before they even started with their first night’s sleepconstantly interrupted by a building alarm going off regularly throughout the night, butspirits were still high.After a rainy start on Saturday, Sunday’s weather was much nicer, and the studentswere pleased to start the second day of hiking if only to warm up. They were veryrelieved to limp (in some cases) up to the finishing point on Sunday, and they showedreal strength of character to keep going all weekend under challenging conditions, whichincluded cold rain, lack of sleep and some minor injuries.Amelie Bowers, one of the DoE co-ordinators at Melbourn, said: “They should definitelybe feeling proud of their accomplishment, and should be congratulated too on theirexemplary behaviour and attitude throughout the weekend. They are a real credit toMelbourn Village College and the Trust.”

The Class of 2014 celebrated record achievements at their recentPresentation Evening. An impressive 76% of the year group achieved at least five A*-C grades,with progress rates in English and Maths both above 80%. Students received GCSE certificates and subject prizes to reward their hardwork over the past five years. In a first for the college, the Governor’s prize for achievement was splitthree ways — Lucy Hanlon, Eliie Dixon and Mia Brown sharing the honouras all they swept the board with A*s in all their GCSEs.In his address to the year group, Principal Simon Holmes told the studentsto be proud of their achievements, but also to remember all the other skillsthey had learnt during their time at the college. To succeed, he told them they needed to: “work hard, think inside andoutside the box, and know when to follow or rewrite the rules”, citingexamples such as the Dyson Vacuum cleaner and the changing world ofmusic formats, form vinyl through CD to virtual.The formal part of the evening ended with a celebration of the WorldChallenge trip to Ethiopia which a number of the year group undertook. Anexperience which, according to Mr Holmes, “had enormous value inshaping the young peoples’ lives but which could never be measured byraw exam results. It is these experiences and skills which will enable thestudents to succeed in whatever career or path their results open up.”

Record-breakers return

Expedition is a success

MVC News

MVC had a very creative GCSE exhibition in which theexcellent work of MVC art students was displayed toboth the moderator and the public. A selection of the work was then put on display at Melbourn Primary school. The work was both creative and skillful and represente the very best of Artstudents' creative output. As a school we take great pleasure in showing off the work of all individualstaking GCSE art and are very proud of all the students' hard work anddedication.

Sarah Heeks, Art Teacher

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The art of success

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Global outlook is keyMelbourn are waiting to hear if they haveachieved an International Schools Awardfor their multi-national work.The college has just applied for the IntermediateCertificate with a view to developing to full accreditationlevel over the next couple of years.Success for Melbourn and CambourneVillage College,who have also just applied, will mean all the academiesof the Comberton Academy Trust will have some level ofISA accreditation as Comberton have the full level andVoyager were recently awarded Foundation level.Applicants have to evidence all the international workthey undertake and there is no shortage at Melbourn.Possibly the more extensive is the on-going CommonTerritory project, the 5m Euro ACT initiative. This is aninnovative cross-border collaboration between a dozenleading arts and education partners from France andEngland of which MVC is the only school. It has already enabled Melbourn students to go to theWorld War One battlefields and take part in a variety ofmusical concerts in France at no cost. Students werealso present at a ceremony in Picardy where a new roseto commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of WorldWar One was unveiled.A Rose of Peace is now growing a Melbourn.Melbourn’s languages department has establishedexchanges and visits with Modellschule andGesamtschule, Bad Hersfeld, Germany and studentshave also undertaken immersion, as well as workexperience trips to Cantabria, Spain in conjunction withComberton.Melbourn also has a newly-developed link with theCollège Angèle Vannier in Brice-en-Coglès, nearRennes.In addition students have had the opportunity for otheroverseas visits to Ethiopia, Belguim and Austria, all ofwhich can be evidenced to help with the awardapplication.Assistant Principal, Regina Lawrence, herself alanguages teacher, said: “At Melbourn Village Collegewe expect every student to learn to take his or her placeas a responsible citizen in our local and global society.As such, we are currently seeking to become an‘International School’. This is a highly regardedachievement and would be in recognition of the widevariety of opportunities open to the students.”

TEA AND PUZZLES: Teamwork is key to finding the solution.

MVC News

Earlier this term the Mathematics Departmenthosted an evening with the Happy PuzzleCompany for students in Years 6-8 and theirparents. During the session participants were shownoptical illusions, magic ‘tricks’ with handcuffs,and had the opportunity to tackle a number of

challenging puzzles. Finally they were shown how to balance 12regular nails on top of a single nail mounted on aplinth. Quite some feat. All those who attendedhad a very enjoyable time and we look forward tohosting a similar event in the future.

Able mathematicians from Melbourn have been flockingto lessons on Saturdays this term.An unprecedented number of Gifted and Talentedstudents in Year 8 have attended Saturday morninglectures run by the Royal Institute at the University ofCambridge. Topics have ranged from chaos theory, origami and themathematics of music. Head of maths John Holder said: “These sessions enrichstudents’ understanding and appreciation of the widerapplications of the subject and I hope will stimulate themto want to study maths at a higher level.” Melbourn have also been running a Year 7 BoosterMaths Project for Year 7 and it will continue tthis schoolyear to provide a little extra support for students aimingto improve their core maths skills.Mr Holder said: “Thank you to all the Year 7 studentstaking part in this programme. Thank you also to theirYear 11 buddies for helping out. “This project will continue throughout the year providinga little extra support for our Year 7 students; hopefully toenable them to accelerate their progress.

A deeper look

into maths

Solving puzzles with a little ‘magic’

INTERNATIONALTRIPS: ToEthiopia (above)and the WorldWar Onebattlefield areevidence ofMelbourn’s globaloutlook.

MVC News10

MVC News

Animals went in two by twoRehearsals are under way for an ambitious internationalperformance of a Benjamin Britten opera – starring studentsfrom Melbourn Village College and three of its feeder primaryschools.The 27 Melbourn pupils along with 17from Foxton, Harston & Newton andHauxton Primary Schools are makingup the cast of animals going intoNoah’s ark. They will be joiningFrench counterparts to performNoye’s Fludde, a one-act BenjaminBritten opera written largely foramateurs, especially children.It is due to be performed in twocountries next year as part of the ACTproject, an innovative cross-bordercultural heritage and educationalexchange programme between 12arts and education partners fromFrance and England and backed bythe European Regional Development Fund. The opera, based on the biblical story of Noah, the ark and flood, will see sixsoloists from Melbourn and taking roles as Noah’s sons and their wives. They will

joinfour Southend YMCA young people as The Gossips, as well as professionalsopera singers as Noah and Mrs Noah.Musicians from the Orchestre de Picardie, one of the lead partners in the ACTproject, will be joined by a French youth orchestra.

The South Cambridgeshire students,aged 10-15, will spend a week inFrance in early January at the end ofwhich Noye’s Fludde will be performedin Amiens and Compiegne. The English performances will takeplace at Comberton Sports and ArtsPerformance Hall – Britten was keenthat performances should be held inhalls and community spaces – in earlyMarch.Following auditions in the autumn, theEnglish cast spent their first rehearsalsexperiencing workshops with both thedirector, Amy Lane, and lightingdesigner Tine Bech, from theUniversity of Creative Arts.

The children are also making their animal headdresses and are working withanother ACT partner, the Royal Opera House Education Team, to help realise thedesigns.

Bryony Graham, Melbourn VC’s ArtsDevelopment Manager, said: “The ACTproject is truly an amazing project thatMelbourn Village College is immensely proudto be part of.“Putting the idea of community at the heart ofthe project we and our partners are interestedin learning with and from each other about ourdifferences and similarities, exploring ourculture and heritage together and using thearts to create inspiring shared experiences forall involved.“Being involved in the ACT project’sproduction of Noye’s Fludde is set to be anextraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime experience formany of our students. “There is a lot of hard work to be done byeveryone, it is exciting and inspiring to learntogether in this way – this is partnershipworking at its best.”For more information on about MelbournVillage College and the ACT project visitwww.mvc.org.uk/ACT-A-Common-Territory orhttp://act-acommonterritory.eu/

INTO THE LIGHT:Students at TineBech’s lightingdesign workshop atComberton.

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Musicians from two Frenchorchestras were at Melbourn thisterm performing to thecommunity and working withstudents at the college.The strings sections of theOrchestre de Picardie and theOrchestre Symphonique deBretagne presented an eveningof chamber music at the collegein November in a free concert.Guests were treated toMendelssohn’s String quartet No2 in B flat major Opus 87 andMozart’s string quartet No 4 in GMinor K516.They also gave specialperformances to various groupsof students throughout theschool. EXCLUSIVE CONCERT: For Melbourn Village College students.

French musicians share their work

HEADSTART:FoxtonPrimarySchoolpupilswork ontheir head-dresses.

12 News@Com

Two new top-of-the-range minibuses have just been delivered to the CombertonAcademy Trust.The 64-plate 16-seat Ford Transits have been given the livery of Cambourne andMelbourn Village Colleges after Finance Manager Mark Norman secured a veryattractive two-year lease deal for the new model.He even managed to get £1,500 for each of the old buses - Melbourn’s 1997 vehicleand a Comberton hand-me-down which has served Cambourne since it opened inSeptember 2013.

Rainbow Home and School is ananti-bullying initiative funded by theFundamental Rights and Citizenshipprogramme of the European Union. The best practice of Trust studentsin preventing bullying has beencelebrated and acknowledged by ina conference in Brussels. Two films made by students werepremiered to an audience ofeducators, activists and MEPs andthe ideas are to be taken up acrossorganisations from countries asvaried as Bulgaria, Basque Country,Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK.Voyager Academy students havedesigned and started a programme

where students, families and schoolcan really work together. They are taking their film andprogramme into the primary schoolsbefore transition. As one studentremembered: “The first day it waslike you were an ant, somethingsmall, and walking around withgiants!” Comberton Village College sharedtheir experience of Pupils’ EqualOpportunities Means Learning forEveryone, PEOPLE People, in peersupport and restorative practice. Students explained their passion forequality and respect for diversity anddifference.

NEW WHEELS: Cambourne’s minibus

Driving a hard bargain

The Comberton Academy Trust has a new logo to start the new year.It has been designed by Comberton’s Head of Art and Design Greg Dean, who alsodesigned the logo for Cambourne Village College, Comberton Sixth Form andVoyager Sixth Form as well as revamping Comberton’s logo.He explained: “When the Comberton Academy Trust began I received an email thatasked me to stick the school logo next to the name. By lunchtime! “This rather hasty logo stood for a while and was appropriate given that the firstschools to become part of the Trust were very much 'Comberton'. “As the Trust grew however, it became clear that simply having the CVC logo next tothe name was less appropriate due to the evolving relationship of the Trust and itsschools.“ The new logo aims to provide a flavour of the Comberton brand while alsoprojecting some different values. The three heads are now overlapped and re-shaped into crescents, hopefully reminiscent of both the Comberton Sixth Form andCambourne logos. “The position of this new shape is placed to suggest sails along the top of the logo.

This provides the idea of the movement and direction that the Trust provides. Theposition also suggests the over-arching nature of the Trust.“The logo has been through many designs over the last few weeks but we havefinally ended up with something that everyone appears to be happy with. Luckily Ihadn’t agreed to finish this one by lunch!”

A symbol of identity

Students from all four schools have been part of a new way ofworking together.It is designed to create the conditions for meaningful discussionand deep conversations, both by creating games to structure deepengagement in a marketplace of ideas and in the Space forDialogue alternative to conference. At a series of cross-Trust events facilitated by URock Artspractitioners (dance theatre and creativity) young peopleexperienced partnership working, co-creating a sustainable modelto allow them to work out what the meaningful questions are, aswell as find answers to the questions that are meaningful in theirlives in school. Implicit in that is improving their confidence and risk-taking as theyare being challenged beyond their comfort zones in new settings.This is being supported by Norfolk and Norwich Festival Bridge andthe model is being used in schools across Norfolk. Students fromthe Trust are designing and running a student-led consultationevent with health service, local authority and business leaders inPeterborough.There will be a chance for students from Trust schools to also rollthis out, inviting students from their primary schools to participate intheir own event. One participant said: “Head Teachers should know that studentscan take control of their learning and do it effectively. “Seminars and conferences like this are useful for buildingteamwork, life skills that can be transferable in the rest of your life.”Another commented: “When we work together we can create ‘lifeas a subject’ – students writing the curriculum,” while a third said:“Lessons with an octopus would be swimming, but how would youunderstand the teacher?”

Working together Moving on

TEAMWORK ISKEY: Games withmeaning forstudents from allthe academies ofthe CombertonAcademy Trust.

Partnership Leader RosalindScott is leaving to pursue herpolitical ambitions after fouryears in the Trust promotinginclusion and partnershipworking. She will continue to work with allfour schools, coordinatingschools-led partnership forschool improvement andleadership development with theCfBT Education Trust. Rosalind would like to thank allstaff, students and their familiesand say how much she hasenjoyed all the opportunities andthe joy of working together. Shesaid: “I firmly believe a school isat the heart of its communityand now I am ready to take on adifferent role in my localcommunity, as a politician.”

CENTRALROLE:Using apipecleaner‘person’ tohelp voicefeelings.

Trust ideas go global

13

Looking into William’s ruleYear 7 have been studying King William II.Who is that? You might well ask - an obscure king tomany and overshadowed by his famous father Williamthe Conqueror but an interesting man in his own rightand certainly an interesting point in England history. Heruled the nation from 1087 to 1100. Daniel Pattman found William II worth studying becausehe sent forces to deal with his brother Robert but didn’tkill him although his brother had plotted to take Englandfrom William then failed in the attempt. Megan Thrower commented: “William II was a reallyclever king who knew sneaky ways to win battles just likehis dad, William of Normandy.”Millie Rowland felt that “I think William II is interestingbecause he went to war with his brother just to prove hewas more important; that is the reason William theConqueror left the crown of England to him.”Nick Taylor said: “William II was good at defeating hisenemies and killed them very effectively.”Faith Crockford added:. “It was all battles it seems duringhis 13-year reign. William certainly had his father’s tastefor warfare. His war with the Scots saw the death of King

Malcolm III of Scotland whom he came to hate with avengeance. “With his brother Robert of Normandy also under controlno one else dared rebel against him. “Perhaps more controversially William II stole moneyfrom the church and this forced his archbishop to travelto Rome to seek an audience with Pope Urban II. Duringhis absence William confiscated the archbishop’s landsand property. His reign ended with a hunting party in the New Forest.The king and a Norman knight, Walter Tirel, were alonewhen an arrow from Tirel’s bow struck William and killedhim. Daniel Pattman felt this was most likely a deliberate actas it led to another member of the hunting party,William’s brother Henry, taking the throne as King HenryI a few days later. These were dangerous but interesting times andsometimes it’s those lesser known historical figures thatare worth looking at.

Faith Crockford, Daniel Pattman, Megan Thrower,Nick Taylor and Millie Rowland,

Year 7 Historians.

WILLIAM II: A Norman king killed inthe New Forest and the subject ofYear 7 history studies.

News@Com

14 MVC News

Ace coaches’ national callFour teenagers have been chosen for theYouth Sport Trust National Talent Camp2014 at Loughborough University from19-22 December. Liam Hunt, Harmony Hennessy and Laura Mott fromComberton Sixth Form and Jack Bevis, from HillsRoad Sixth Form College, were chosen after beingrecognised as talented young coaches through theirinvolvement in the County Young Coach Academy(CYCA) programme and the local Leadershipacademy programme before that.They have shown huge commitments to their sports

of swimming, athletics and football undertakingcountless hours of voluntary coaching in communityclubs and demonstrating the drive to pushthemselves further. The National Talent Camp is a unique four -dayresidential , bringing together 350 of the mosttalented young athletes, coaches and officials fromacross England. The camp will see 200 coaches,100 athletes, and 50 officials participate in a multi-sport, multi-role camp, to increase individualaspiration and ambition, and develop empathy.

Through the camp, young people will be stretchedand challenged to be ambitious and achieve theirsporting best.Claire McDonnell, Manager of the South CambsSSP and the CYCA said, “I am absolutely delightedfor them, it is such an exciting and uniqueopportunity. I would have loved to have hadsomething like this when I was their age. They have

all put so much into their leadership, coaching andvolunteering work over the last few years they utterlydeserve this. I know they will have a great time, itwill be four long and testing days but they will learnso much from it, it will definitely be worthwhile.”The Youth Sport Trust said: “Working with NationalGoverning Bodies of Sport, sports coach UK andSports Officials UK, the camp, which is funded bySport England, and presented by LoughboroughUniversity, will offer our most promising youngcoaches, athletes and officials the opportunity tolearn and share valuable experiences in their pursuitof sporting success. “The seven NGBs who will each have a range ofyoung coaches, athletes, and officials representingthem at the camp include athletics, boccia, cycling,football, swimming, table tennis and volleyball.Throughout the camp, young people will be activelyencouraged to dream and be ambitious on wheretheir talent can take them, develop a holistic view oftheir own performance and understand how they willdeliver when they are back in the environment oftheir own sport.“

CHOSEN: The Comberton Sixth Formers.

Schools in the South Cambs areaare celebrating after being awardedfor their commitment to PE andschool sport.Ten schools have received SchoolGames Mark accreditation as part ofa national scheme run by the YouthSport Trust. Those schools thatallocate two hours a week tocurriculum PE, demonstrate a highlevel of involvement in inter-schoolcompetitions, develop young leadersand show a commitment to thedevelopment of school sport acrosstheir school and into the communityare rewarded.Comberton Village College andHarston and Newton Primary Schoolachieved the gold standard, withMelbourn Village College amongthose recognised with silveraccreditation.Claire McDonnell, manager of theSouth Cambs School SportsPartnership, said “I’m delighted thatthese schools have been recognisedand rewarded for the commitment tothe development of PE and schoolsport and I hope they will inspiremore to apply for similar awards inthe future. It’s fantastic that Harstonand Newton have been able tomaintain the gold standard theyachieved last year; they are one of ahandful of schools in the county toachieve this level of award.”

On the mark

Change for good

A record number of primary schools from across SouthCambridgeshire took part in the district round of the English

Schools FA under-11 football competition for small schools,girls’ teams and an open 7-a-side.The competition, organised by South Cambs School SportsPartnership, attracted 35 teams. In the small schoolscompetition, last year’s runners up Harston and Newtonqualified from Pool 1 ahead of Meldreth and in the final theycame up against Elsworth, who scored a’golden goal’ in extra-time to snatch victory.Ten teams contested the girls’ competition with Histon &Impington and Coton topping the groups. Last year’s countychampions from Histon edged a competitive final with a singlegoal to reach the county final for the second year running. Swavesey and Willingham made it to the final of the 13-teamopen event with the former winning 2-0.The three winning schools now represent South Cambs in theCounty Finals in January where they will compete against theother districts’ winners for the chance to reach the ESFAregional finals.

ON THE RUN: Action from Meridian (blue)against Jeavons Wood.

Three teams win through to county round

The Change 4 Life club at Meridian Primary school isrun before school on a Tuesday and has targeted amix of children who lack a bit of self-confidence, whoneed help focusing , who can’t access other out-of-school sports or who are learning about teamwork.A typical meeting sees the the children gather in thehall in their school uniform and trainers to do a warmup, followed by some dynamic stretches to waketheir bodies up. They then discuss what exercisethey had done in the previous week to help thembecome healthier. A homework task might be to tryand think of healthy food that they like. Games follow to increase heart rates and boostteamwork before a cool down and discussion aboutthe importance of stretching muscles after exercise. Participants are those who wouldn’t necessarily mixin the classroom or playground. Asked what theyliked best about C4L, one said: “working togetherwith different children and becoming a team” All weresmiling and succeeding and it set them up for abetter day at schoolIf you would like to run a club in your school or wouldlike to attend a deliverer’s workshop on January 82015, 4-6:30pm at Comberton Village College, youcan find further details here at www.scssp.co.uk

Coton Primary School claimedtheir place in theCambridgeshire & PeterboroughSainsbury’s School GamesSpring Finals by winning theSouth Cambs SSP ‘SmallSchools’ tag rugby competitionin some style. Their mixed team of Year 4, 5and 6 pupils played five, andwon five matches, scoring 18 tries along the way. More than 250children took part in the event at Melbourn Village College with 10schools competing in the new ‘small schools’ competition, open toschools with fewer than 120 pupils in Key Stage 2, and another 12teams in the open competition. Both competitions were split into twopools with teams playing each other and the winners of each groupprogressing through to a final, which saw Coton edge Fowlmere 3-2. Both finalists will represent South Cambs at the Cambs andPeterborough Sainsbury’s School Games Spring Finals.In the open competition Steeple Morden beat Harston & Newton 6-2 toreach the SSP finals on March 5 at Swavesey Village College.Organiser Claire McDonnell said: “It was a fantastic afternoon of rugby.Congratulations must go to all of the players who took part as well asthe leaders from Melbourn Village College and Comberton Sixth Formwho did a great job in officiating”

WINNERS: Coton pupils

Coton top it

Round-up of the latest action from the South Cambs SSP

11MVC News

16

District title

for Year 9s

A last-minute converted trywon Melbourn the Year 9District rugby title.They beat Linton 14-12 to earn aplace in the county championships,where they will now playPeterborough side Nene ParkAcademy in the first round.Melbourn, who had finished fourth andthird in previous two years, took thehonours after Dylan Miller’s last-gasptry, which Stuart Dingwall convertedwith the last kick of the game.The final had see-sawed with HarryGee’s try, also converted by Dingwall,

giving Melbourn the lead. Lintonlevelled with a well-worked try downthe wing then took the lead in thesecond half, scoring early but cruciallymissing the conversion.Then Dylan made the break andalthough he was tackled half a metreout, his managed to stretch his armand the ball over the line to level thematch. Stuart’s conversion sealed victory.Earlier Melbourn beat Netherhall thenParkside to set up a semi-final againstChesterton, who they beat 28-7 toseal their final spot.

The new cohort of sports leadersstarted their year with a conference atComberton Village College with morethan 60 sports leaders from otherschools.They had an introductory meetingthen went outside for practicalsessions in netball, hockey, rugbyand football so they could officiate inup-coming South Cambs SchoolSports Partnership (SCSSP) festivals.The sports leaders have also hadopportunities to help the PE staff inlunchtime clubs and after schoolfixtures. They helped run Melbourn Primaryschool clubs and the SCSSP tagrugby festival.We have also run after-school

competitionsat MVC for High Fivenetball A teams and an indoor 5-a-side football competition. The netball B-team competition hadto be abandoned due to poor weatherconditions.The LA will continue to help run,organise and officiate in many otherevents next term.They have made an excellent start tothe year and have logged manyvolunteering hours on the on-linepassport.Alderney Smith applied to be a YoungAmbassador and representedMelbourn at the county conference atthe end of term.Fiona Humphrey, PE Department

MVC News

TOP TEAM:Melbourn’sYear 9 wonthe Districttitle.

LEARNING: Members of the Leadership Academy in training.

BATTLING IT OUT: Action from this term’s inter-form events.

Leading the way

Darwin and Franklin are neck andneck after this term’s inter-form sportscompetitions.After the cross-country, followingcompetitions in hockey and rugby,Darwin, with 39, are just one pointclear of Franklin after each housecollected two victories.Year 7 and Year 10 went to Darwinwith Franklin taking top spot in Years8 and 9.Newton are currently third 10 pointsbehind the leaders with Lewis afurther four behind.

Hot competition for top spot