FEB 2020 - JULY 2020
College Connection
CELEBRATING 150 YEARS • 1868 - 2018
An Historic Year The second term of YEARS the academic year- started CELEBRATING 150 • 1868 2018 in January with joy, enthusiasm and eagerness from the College community as they looked forward to all the exciting learning, trips and campus developments set to take place. As the term progressed, we saw many sports matches take place in both the Prep and Senior Schools, the return of the delightful United Reformed Church Lunchtime Recitals, a visit from the Life Bus for Pre-Prep pupils and a ‘terrifyingly-good’ Shell play. Little did the College community know that the calendars and end of term festivities would be brought to an abrupt halt. On 20th March, until further notice, all schools were told to close by Her Majesty’s Government due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The whole country went into lockdown; shops closed, our roads emptied, we all stayed at home, public examinations were cancelled and everyone got to grips with ‘social distancing’ and ‘Zoom’.
Needless to say, with the need for the children of key workers to be cared for whilst schools were closed, the College swung into action with an overwhelming voluntary effort by staff to work through their Easter holidays and care for those children. As the Easter holidays drew to a close, the College switched to a digital learning environment and a comprehensive programme of classes, meetings and assemblies went online. College pupils and staff quickly adapted to new ways of teaching and learning, whilst continuing to thrive and enjoy their learning. Parents also had to adapt, to sharing devices, bandwidth and their day to day routines. Although apart physically, the closure of the College did not dampen the spirits of our community as pupils enthusiastically shared photos and videos of their work, continued to hold charity days and events in a virtual format, cheered each other on in virtual Sports Days and made heart-warming video messages for both friends and staff to keep up morale. This wonderfully positive and supportive attitude continued throughout the summer months until June when the Government allowed pupils in Reception, Year
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1 and Form 2 to resume their teaching in school. By the end of the Summer term the College community was well-versed in the use of Zoom, had smoothly mastered the transition into virtual learning environments and those pupils who had been able to return to a newly socially distanced campus were thankful for being able to see their friends once again.
After a rollercoaster few months, and bringing the Summer term to a close, virtual Speech Days celebrated the various and many achievements and accolades of pupils throughout the year and gave an opportunity for the whole community to come together once again, albeit virtually, to say farewell to those pupils and staff leaving the College, most notably College Headmaster, Jeremy Gladwin. Leading the most ambitious building project in the history of the College and his genuine care and passion for the well-being of staff and pupils are just a couple of the highlights from his incredible 9-year career as College Headmaster. The College community extends a fond farewell to Mr Gladwin, wishes him all the best for the future and looks forward to the furthering prospering of the College under the new Headship of Kathy Crewe-Read. Heading into September the College is busy preparing for an active and lively campus once again with the hope all pupils will return to school for the new academic year but for now, it has certainly been an unprecedented few months.
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Outstanding A Level Results In a year when the global pandemic caused the cancellation of public examinations for GCSE and A Level pupils, Bishop’s Stortford College is delighted to report that the vast majority of their Upper Sixth have gained places at a university of their choice. Of the 118 strong cohort, 44 students achieved 3 or more A*/A grades, over 60% of grades awarded were A*-A and 86% were awarded A*-B, with a 100% pass rate. This year, 34 students also took an Extended Project Qualification, the highest number to undertake the additional qualification to date with 44% of grades being awards A*, 76% A*-A and 88% A*-B. These students, instead of preparing for and sitting their A Levels, spent the Summer term undertaking an intensive preparation course for university. They attended university style seminars on undergraduate material, upskilled their research, IT and presentation skills and completed in-depth research investigations on a topic studied in their course. Some of our leavers’ destinations include: Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London Law and Criminology, University of York Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, University of Cambridge Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Warwick Mathematics, Durham University
79% of GCSE Results Graded 9-7* 115 Bishop’s Stortford College Upper Fifth (Year 11) pupils and their teaching staff celebrated at the end of August as 79% of all examinations were graded 9-7 (or A*-A using the old system). Of the 1116 examinations, 341 of them were awarded the top grade of 9; 640 being graded 9 or 8. As a result, 48 pupils were awarded the coveted College Ten Club tie for achieving 10 or more grades at 9 -7 with a total of 431 grade 9s and 8s between them. Top performers were Jonah B-C, Will C, Charlie H, Samuel M, Vibha M, Arnav P and Florence S who all achieved at least 9 grade 9 examinations. College Head, Kathy Crewe-Read commented, “This is an excellent set of exam results and I am so pleased to be joining the College at this time. I look forward to seeing these very talented pupils progress through the Sixth Form as they set their sights on university and the next stage of their academic career.” *England average 25.9% (Ofqual)
The College Welcomes Kathy Crewe-Read Kathy Crewe-Read, the first female head in the 152-year history of the College, has already began to settle in comfortably. With a passion for mathematics, Kathy’s fondest memories of her own childhood learning began back in primary school when she would return home from school and beg her father, a university lecturer, to write sums for her to solve. After earning a degree in Pure Mathematics, Kathy continues to enjoy the subject and has felt privileged to be able to pass on her enthusiasm to many of her pupils. As a Head, Kathy is motivated by the spirit and enthusiasm of young people; “[they] are the next generation of entrepreneurs, leaders and parents: the future of the world will lie in their hands.” Determined to equip pupils with the wherewithal to make wise choices, thus influencing the course of theirs, and others, lives for the better, Kathy looks to create an atmosphere in which such learning can take place. Drawn to the College by its “reputation for unpretentious excellence”, warm and open community, academic results and the quality of on-site facilities, Kathy is keen to get stuck into College life and is ready to “equip [pupils] with the intellectual dexterity to understand and adapt to that which is new and moral strength that enables them to make good decisions which are of benefit to themselves and society.” Having safely visited the College on several occasions throughout the Summer, Kathy has already been warmly welcomed into the College community and the College looks forward to many exciting years ahead with her at the helm. Bishop’s Stortford College | COLLEGE CONNECTION
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Sleeping Beauty’s Castle Year One pupils turned into Princes, Princesses and a variety of mystical creatures for their Fairy Tale Castle Day in March. Leading up to this day, the pupils had been learning about all the different aspects of a castle and read the tale of Sleeping Beauty. Full of enthusiasm, pupils took part in a selection of ‘magical’ activities in Sleeping Beauty’s ‘castle’ (Pre-Prep Hall) to help prepare for a special banquet.
Valentine’s Day Festivities In celebration of Valentine’s Day this year, Grimwade boarders let their creativity take over as they designed special cards, made some edible ‘love bugs’ from Oreos and dried strawberries and baked shortbread hearts. Pupils later placed their Valentine’s Day cards in lockers or in the post to be opened by their lucky Valentines on 14th February!
Checkmate
Pupils Rise to Maths Challenge
Just before all schools closed, 48 Prep School pupils battled it out on the chessboard in the knockout stages of the prestigious Courtman Cup Chess Competition. Form One had impressed, holding their own against Form Two and the Lower Third participants, equally, gave the Upper Third competitors some suspenseful matches. Although unable to play the final matches, well done to all those pupils who took part in a great knockout series!
This year, 71 4th Form, Lower Fifth and Upper Fifth pupils took part in the UK Maths Challenge. The competition, which promotes the development of problem solving, teamwork and other mathematical skills, receives over 700,000 entries each year in the junior, intermediate and senior categories. Out of the 71 who entered from the College, an incredible 48 were awarded certificates; 18 bronze, 21 silver and 9 gold with 12 pupils qualifying for the second round known as the Kangaroo. Well done to all who took part and many congratulations to those who advanced to the next round.
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The ‘Romans’ Invade! Earlier in the Spring term, Pre-Prep was ‘invaded’ by the ‘Romans’, later discovering they were actually Lower Shell pupils! Based on their learning and understanding of their Roman history topic, Lower Shell pupils spent the morning practicing their Roman military strategy including the ‘testudo formation’, a type of shield wall, and later marched up the hill to PrePrep shouting battle cries and commands such as ‘impetus’ (attack) and ‘silentium’ (silence). After successfully ‘conquering’ the Year 2 ‘barbarians’ in their own building, ordering them to turn their jumpers inside out and put their shoes on the wrong feet, the Lower Shell‘legionaries’ put their ‘testudo formation’ to the test as the ‘barbarians’ attacked! Both sides battled courageously, and the exercise gave Lower Shell pupils a real insight into the life of Roman soldiers and how it would feel to be part of a trained Roman army.
Reliving the Past
Linguistic Debates
Throughout the Spring term, Year Two learned all about World War II in their ‘Step Back in Time’ project. Pupils began the topic by reading books to discover interesting facts, created an informative display using their new-found knowledge, made Anderson Shelters in Forest School and even received a visit from a World War II evacuee. Although unable to celebrate their learning with the scheduled World War II Day due to the school closure, pupils did not let their superb outfits go to waste and dressed up at home instead!
Upper Fifth and Sixth Form French, Spanish and German pupils applied their speaking, writing, listening and debating skills in a series of Debating Competitions against several other schools in early February. A new experience for some; many had never taken part in a debate before or discussed exam topics at length in a different language, the teams did exceedingly well in the competition. The Senior French debating teams should be very proud of a valiant effort, narrowly missing out on a place in the semi-finals. Many congratulations to the junior teams who achieved Silver Awards in the French and Spanish categories and a Gold Award, for the third year in a row, in the German debate.
Life-Saving Skills During the Spring term, Reception pupils were trained in the basics of First Aid by two of the College Nurses. After watching demonstrations of how to give CPR, position their hands and learning how long the compressions should be given for, pupils took it in turns to have a go themselves using the ‘Flat Stan’ simulators.
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Community Spirit In an effort to help the more vulnerable members of our wider Bishop’s Stortford area as they faced the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the College Community rallied together, whilst apart, and took part in various charitable activities. Prep School pupil Luke ran and cycled over 68 miles raising over £1,000 for the Bishop’s Stortford Food Bank; Form 2 pupil Olivia put out a collection box on her drive for neighbours to donate spare food and toiletry items and Catering Manager, Gary Law, donated all surplus food items from the College kitchen including cereals, crisps, biscuits and sauces to the Bishop’s Stortford Food Bank. Several Pre-Prep pupils also decided to let their local community workers, including refuse and postal workers, know how much they are appreciated by creating lovely posters which they stuck on their doors and dustbins.
Prep School ‘Steps Up’ for Local Charities In September 2019, Prep School pupils launched their fundraising objectives for the academic year and over the following 10 months, spearheaded various events and activities. Determined not to let the COVID-19 pandemic interrupt their fundraising goals, the Prep School community came together virtually during the final weeks of term for one final burst of fundraising in their Community Charity Week. Pupils took part in a range of events including ‘Make a Minute’s Noise for Local Charities’, ‘Steps for Samaritans’ (where pupils were challenged to climb as many stairs or steps as possible in 30 minutes), House Quizzes, bring a pet to a Zoom lesson, dress-up as a rainbow or a ‘Community Superhero’ and many more. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed spending time with one another again, albeit virtually, whilst raising the profile of many local charities. With the collective total of the year’s charitable activities exceeding all expectations, the proceeds were distributed amongst seven local charities. Well done to the Prep School community for a fantastic year of fundraising!
Going the Extra Mile
Putting the Fun into Fundraising
Upper Sixth student James went the extra mile during lockdown to help those in his local community by delivering newspapers to his elderly neighbours. Although only 3 houses, James delivered the papers every day from the start of lockdown and his journey consisted of a 10km cycle to the nearest shop to collect the papers before cycling onto each house.
Pre-Prep pupils were also inspired to help the local Bishop’s Stortford community during the COVID-19 pandemic and devised their own fundraising activities; Mason performed some sponsored exercise on his bike, scooter and on foot, raising over £200; Sofia walked 4-5km every day in aid of the Princess Alexandra Hospital, raising over £600; and Siena set up a sports day activity circuit in her garden involving boules, quoits, a sack race, sprint and hopscotch. She completed it 10 times in just under 1 hour and 30 minutes and raised over £130. Well done to the pupils for their incredible fundraising initiatives and community spirit!
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Contributing to the National Effort
Grow a £2 Coin Challenge
Like many schools and organisations across the country, and with community at our heart, the College wanted to ‘do our bit’ to support the NHS, Emergency Services and other key workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of pairs of gloves, goggles and face shields were donated by both the Science and Design & Technology Departments to the Bishop’s Stortford Police and Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge respectively. The Design & Technology Department also set up a small production line making face shields. Working in tandem with Upper Sixth student, Alex P, the PPE produced was donated to local organisations, such as care homes and dental practices, who had struggled to acquire the equipment they needed.
During the Spring term, Prep School pupils embarked upon their ‘Grow a £2 Coin’ charity challenge. The challenge, which required pupils to think creatively about how they might increase the value of their coin and raise funds for local charities, produced some remarkable fundraising ideas. Sponsored silences, modelmaking, plant-selling, bunting-making and dog walking are just a few of the inventive challenges pupils set themselves to grow their £2 coin. Benefitting local charities including the Salvation Army, Bishop’s Stortford Food Bank, Grove Cottage, Samaritans and the Winter Night Shelter, the pupils raised over £2,000! Well done to all for going above and beyond to help those in need in the Bishop’s Stortford community.
A Lockdown Ironman Relay During the lockdown, three Senior School teachers took it upon themselves to raise money for the College’s chosen charity for the year, Transforming Lives for Good (TLG), by tackling their own version of an Ironman triathlon relay. With a fundraising target of £1,000 and adhering to social distancing throughout their training and the ‘event’, the trio took on the challenge individually through a combination of indoor and outdoor exercise. Unable to participate in the usual swimming section of the triathlon, the team added a little extra to their running stages of the challenge and managed to complete a total of 169 miles worth of running and cycling in 11.3 hours. Many congratulations to Miss Michell, Mr Crolla and Mr Murley for accomplishing such an amazing feat for a very worthy cause!
Colours of the Rainbow Whilst embracing their distance learning, understanding more about the COVID-19 pandemic, and allowing their artistic skills to run free, Pre-Prep pupils showed their support for the NHS and key workers by drawing and painting beautiful rainbows which they later stuck in their windows at home.
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Messages of Thanks As part of their Summer term Wednesday afternoon activities sessions, pupils in Lower Shell designed and made a gorgeous string of bunting in various colours of the rainbow to thank NHS and key workers for their hard work during the pandemic. As well as bunting, pupils also decided to gather as many pebbles as they could find, decorated them with thank you messages and left them outside in public view to help cheer up the community.
Community Art-Attack In May, Senior School pupils were asked to produce a postcard-sized piece of artwork using just one colour from the rainbow by the Art Department as part of their ‘Quarantine Challenge’. By the end of term, 45 splendid individual pieces had been submitted and were combined by the Art Department staff to create a giant community rainbow in support of the NHS and key workers.
Grimwade House Donates Furniture With the absence of pupils from the campus during the Summer term, the College brought forward phase 2 of the Grimwade House boarding refurbishment plan. Determined not to let the old furnishings go to waste, Grimwade House Tutor, Lorraine Short, reached out to Recover, a local charity which up-cycles furniture to either sell on or donate to homeless shelters. The furniture, including 18 wipe-clean mattresses, was collected by the Recover team and the College was thrilled to discover the furniture was later gifted onto Resolve’s Night Shelter in Hatfield.
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Kenya Although the annual Lower Sixth trip to Ungana Academy in Kenya had to be cancelled due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kenya team continued their fundraising throughout the Summer term. Up until Friday 20th March, when all schools were closed by the Government, the Kenya team had been working hard on their fundraising ideas. Their fundraising began back in October 2019 with the ultimate aim of helping to purchase the land which the Academy currently rents. The team held a plethora of cake and drink sales at drama productions and House events, produced and sold Christmas cards, delivered candy canes with messages to fellow pupils and staff, held a ‘decorate your own gingerbread man stall’ at the Prep School Christmas Fayre, sold hand-made bears at music concerts, set up a Sixth Form café and delivered Valentine’s notes and love-hearts. The Busking Five also continued to support the Kenya initiative and performed at various concerts throughout the school year to help raise money. The Sixth Form House Football competition, which saw both boys’ and girls’ Houses competing for separate trophies, was the final group fundraising activity that took place before the school had to close. Although this year’s Kenya Quiz night had to be postponed, the team are confident the event will see a bigger and better return when the opportunity arises. After such a wide range of awe-inspiring Autumn and Spring term fundraising activities, the team decided to donate £600 of the money raised early to assist Ungana Academy in the supply of badly needed food parcels for families of the pupils at the school. During lockdown, the team of 20 Lower Sixth students continued to think of ways in which they could support the Ungana Academy from home. A recently launched social media challenge, which asked for donations of £3 and for donors to then nominate 3 others to do the same, aimed to raise £300. The team smashed their target and have so far raised over £490 from this initiative. Ending the year’s fundraising on an incredible high, three Senior School teachers, also known as the Bishop’s Stortford College IronClan, swam, cycled and ran the equivalent distance from the College to Kenya during lockdown covering a combined total of 4,410 miles between them. With a total of almost £2,500, the Kenya team should be incredibly proud of all their fundraising achievements this year.
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Celebrating 100 Days In early March, Reception pupils marked their 100th day in Pre-Prep with a day of maths related activities and challenges. Each element focussed on the number 100: pupils built enormous towers using 100 cups, constructed models with 100 sticks, drew pictures of what they imagined they will look like in 100 years’ time and a long line of 100 dominoes covered the classroom floor. Using their mathematical knowledge and careful strategy, the pupils ended their day of activities with a 100-step challenge to find a hidden treasure chest. They successfully completed the challenge and claimed their prize of 100 gold coins!
Thought-Provoking Workshops Form 2 pupils were delighted to experience a Buddhist Workshop towards the end of March. During the 70-minute workshop pupils learned about the different aspects of Buddhist worship and beliefs including the ‘Bathing of the Buddha’ ceremony. Learning was brought to life as the pupils interacted with a wide range of Buddhist artefacts including prayer wheels and singing bowls, as well as dressing up in authentic Indian costumes as characters from the story of how Prince Siddhartha became Buddha. In the same week Lower Shell pupils took part in a variety of workshop activities to further their learning about Judaism. Pupils listened to an assembly which focussed on the Torah, they made candles, had a go at writing Hebrew, designed their own challah covers and tasted some of the traditional foods eaten during Passover. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the Jewish faith, asked lots of thoughtprovoking questions and engaged enthusiastically and sensibly in all the activities.
‘A Pirate’s Life for Me’
All hands were on deck when Year One pupils enjoyed a swashbuckling Pirate Day in the Spring term. After an enlightening assembly from the Hedgehogs class, the pupils played pirate-themed games including pin the eye patch on the pirate. They also crafted various pirate-themed items. The pupils were even visited by a notorious pirate who came ashore just for them to share his pirate jokes and sea-shanty tales!
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An Exchange of Cultures After Fifth Form German pupils had stayed with their exchange partners in Germany in the Autumn term, in March it was the turn of sixteen German exchange students and two teachers from the Heinrich-Heine Gymnasium in Keikendorf to be welcomed to the College for a week’s stay with their host families. Marking the 21st anniversary of the German Exchange programme with Heinrich-Heine Gymnasium, the exchange students experienced the best of what the College has to offer, played a game of netball, taught some basic German vocabulary to Pre-Prep pupils and ventured to Cambridge and London for some sight-seeing.
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World Book Day Classes in Shell, Forms 1 and 2 and Lower and Upper Third put their artistic skills to the test for this year’s Prep School Library World Book Day Challenge. Tasked to turn their classroom door into a book cover, classes began the challenge with careful consideration and discussion over which book to choose. The pupils’ imaginations and creative skills then kicked into gear as they embraced the challenge and adapted the original book cover designs beautifully. Congratulations to Lower Shell RH, Form 2 MS and Lower Third NC classes for winning with their designs of ‘Tiddler’ by Julia Donaldson, ‘Read the Book Lemmings!’ by Ame Dyckman and ‘Winnie the Pooh’ by A. A. Milne respectively!
Junior Debating
An Ode to Shakespeare
Although this year’s series of matches for the Junior Debating Competition was cut short and the final, sadly, could not take place, Senior School pupils battled it out marvellously in the preliminary, quarter final and semi-final matches. Debating motions such as ‘The Days of the Royals Are Numbered’, ‘Charity Begins at Home’ and ‘Zoos Do Not Promote Animal Welfare’, pupils presented their well-researched arguments and spoke with passion and confidence in their matches. Hopefully the final can be held in the Autumn term instead!
Prep School pupils tackled their Shakespeare Library Challenge with force and submitted lots of imaginative and varied submissions in the Spring term. Challenged to create a model of the Globe Theatre, present ‘10 facts about the Globe’ in any form they wished or illustrate Shakespeare’s family tree, the submissions were artistic, original and diverse. The challenge generated some excellent and thorough research into Shakespeare’s life and the Globe Theatre and some simply outstanding projects. Well done to all who took part!
Storytime in Pre-Prep Reception pupils revisited the classic children’s story ‘We’re Going On A Bear Hunt’ as part of their remote learning during the Summer term. After refreshing themselves of the story, pupils created bears, made a bear cave and even conducted their own bear hunts in and around their homes! Year 2 pupils also read lots of stories during the Summer term, including the Tale of Robin Hood. They used their creativity and imaginations to complete a storyboard with illustrations, and then moved onto a more practical task to design and construct their own version of the Sheriff’s castle. The pupils proved to be extremely resourceful by creating their castles out of a variety of different materials including cardboard boxes, bed sheets and pillows and Lego.
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Art at Home
Miss Callow’s Challenges
During the Summer term, 4th Form and Lower Fifth artists turned their homes into art studios and continued to produce some fantastic pieces of art. Whilst the 4th Form delved into their Henry Moore topic, creating some exquisite drawings of his famous sculptures, experimented with media including coffee and were challenged to produce some observational drawings using coloured pencils on black paper, Lower Fifth artists completed the portraiture project they had begun in the Spring term.
To spark the imaginations of the Pre-Prep pupils and get their creative juices flowing, Head of Pre-Prep, Miss Callow, issued a number of challenges to the pupils to complete over the Easter holidays, such as ‘What can you do with an A4 piece of paper?’ and ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. What can you repurpose?’. Inspired by their challenges, the pupils submitted many excellent entries including origami, an entire recyclable ‘village’ and some even went a step further and re-created some famous pieces of art using items in their homes.
Picturesque Photography Competition Prep School pupils demonstrated amazing natural talent and a keen eye for photography in this year’s Prep School Photography Competition. The photos illustrated a wonderful use of colour, line, symmetry and focus on a variety of subject matter. With so many outstanding submissions, the judges had a very difficult job to narrow down the entries, but congratulations to Grimwade House who were declared this year’s overall winners!
Edible Artwork Pre-Prep pupils had great fun learning about the artist Arcimboldo during the Summer term and combined their ideas on food and art to create some magnificent portraits using fruit and vegetables. As well as thinking carefully about the colours and shape of the various fruit and vegetables and where best they would be placed on the portrait, pupils also learned all about the different parts of a plant that can be eaten in certain fruits and vegetables.
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‘TED’ Talks
A Lesson on the Lifebus
In response to the cancellation of GCSEs, Upper Fifth pupils undertook a ‘Preparing for Sixth Form’ course during the Summer term. As part of their learning, pupils were asked to research and produce their own three minute ‘TED-style’ talks based on topics linked to their A Level curriculum. Projects covered a wide range of subjects and titles varied from ‘Ageing: What it is and how to reverse it’ to ‘Being morally good will always lead to happiness’. Following the submission of their completed projects and videos, the work was assessed on the quality of research, communication skills and pupils’ ability to effectively edit their research into a three-minute talk aimed at an audience of non-specialist peers. Well done to all Upper Fifth pupils for producing some informative and simply outstanding ‘TED-style’ talks.
Towards the end of the Spring term, Reception, Year 2 and Upper Shell pupils took part in some engaging and insightful sessions on the Life Bus. Expanding upon their PSHE lessons, the pupils asked thought-provoking and interesting questions whilst learning all about the human body and what makes people unique. Having participated fully in the interactive activities whilst learning many new facts, the pupils finished their sessions with a surprise visit from Harold the Giraffe who praised them for their enthusiasm and excellent learning!
Forensic Scientists Form 1 and 2 pupils became Forensic Scientists for the day whilst celebrating National Science Week from 16th - 20th March. Science was brought to life as pupils discovered who had broken into the ‘school safe’ and ‘stolen the cake sale money’. Practising their observation, exploration and analytical science skills, the pupils worked together in small groups to identify which areas of the crime scene needed to be taped off to protect evidence before carefully and thoroughly investigating the area.
Diplomats of the Future Senior School diplomats of the future travelled to Felsted School on Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd March this year for the annual Model United Nations Conference. Joining 18 other schools at the conference, our pupils debated a wide range of issues related to climate change whilst representing France, Albania, Angola and Kuwait, and produced a fantastic set of resolutions including the introduction of tax on palm oil. Well done to all the delegates but many congratulations to Fifi D who won a ‘highly commended delegate’ award for her representation of France on the Health Committee.
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Stars in their Eyes Senior School pupils shone in the spotlight when a dazzling array of musical acts, including Bruno Mars, Lewis Capaldi and Sia to name a few, owned the stage in this year’s 10th anniversary Stars in Their Eyes concerts. In what is always one of the most anticipated events of the year, once again, the Memorial Hall was packed full of staff, pupils and parents eager to watch Senior School pupils sing and dance their hearts out in this musical extravaganza. Well done to all the performers but particular congratulations to the winners of each night, Evie G with her rendition of ‘Defying Gravity’ and Adarsha G as George Michael, performing ‘Careless Whisper’. The pupils managed to raise over £500 for two very worthy charities; the Niemann Pick Research Foundation and The Turner Syndrome Support Society.
An Evening of Ensembles
Dracula Rocks
Prep and Senior School musicians assembled for a variety of harmonious performances in the Spring term Ensembles’ Concert. Held in the Memorial Hall, the concert showcased a magnificent repertoire of music and included the Prep School Strings, Band and Orchestra as well as the Senior School Orchestra, Concert Band and Big Band. The pupils blew their audience away with their entertaining performances of songs such as ‘Eye of the Tiger’, a Star Wars medley and ‘Just the Way You Are’ whilst demonstrating an excellent level of skill and talent in their playing.
Shell pupils performed their terrifyingly successful play, ‘The Dracula Rock Show’ with confidence and flair in mid-March. The pupils’ hard work and rehearsal efforts paid off as they all remembered their lines, sang beautifully and danced with enthusiasm.
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Musical Church Recitals Prep and Senior School musicians delighted audiences throughout the Spring term with their lunchtime recital performances at the United Reformed Church in Water Lane. Pupils showcased their talent, skill and control in a wide variety of instrumental and vocal performances including the harp, flute, clarinet, and a special Valentine’s Day concert.
Virtual Lunchtime Concerts Following the success of the Spring term Water Lane Lunchtime Recitals, Pre-Prep, Prep School and Senior School musicians continued to share their musical talents virtually with the local community. Launched in May, pupils wowed viewers with their ‘at home’ performances covering a range of instruments including the piano, French horn, violin and trumpet. The concerts proved to be so popular amongst the pupils that an extra concert was added to the schedule before the end of term! Well done to all for a wonderful series of virtual lunchtime concerts.
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Justin Wows with Musical Success Senior School pupil Justin M had a fantastic run of musical successes throughout the Spring and Summer terms representing the College at the Stratford & East London Music Festival, where he was awarded 1st place in both the Piano Solo U16 and U17 categories, and the Rotary Club District Finals, where he achieved 1st place and was awarded the title of Young Musician of the Year. Following the success of his first ever composition, which made it to the semi-finals of the 2019 International Song Writing Competition, Justin has also been interviewed several times on the BBC Radio Essex show ‘Evenings with Helen Scott’ and has had his original pieces ‘Let’s Fly, ‘Solar Bounce’ and ‘Feels’ played live on air. Congratulations to Justin for these incredible achievements!
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Made in Lockdown The Bishop’s Stortford College community was busy developing new skills and revisiting old ones to pass the time whilst staying at home during lockdown. To celebrate the creativity of pupils, parents and staff, Senior School Head of Design & Technology, John Trant, reached out to the College community and curated a wonderful ‘Made in Lockdown’ virtual exhibition showcasing the incredible items made since the end of March. Here is a small selection of some of the fantastic creations submitted by pupils. The full exhibition can be viewed on the ‘News’ section of the College website:
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Run for Heroes Sutton House pupils and staff came up with an innovative way to keep their minds and bodies healthy during lockdown and held a 5K Challenge whilst raising money for the Run for Heroes charity. After running 5km, ‘Suttonites’ took it in turns to nominate each other to complete the challenge. Over 20 pupils and 3 members of staff took part raising over £100 for the charity. One pupil even decided to complete the run every day from the start of lockdown!
A Showjumping Sensation Congratulations to Prep School pupil Tilly D-G who qualified for the National Schools Equestrian Association (NSEA) Championships back in March after competing in her first ever NSEA County Schools qualifier. Facing more than 40 other competitors from schools across Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Hertfordshire, Tilly and her pony Alfie won the 70cm class and came 3rd in the 80cm class, whilst Tilly also placed 2nd in the 80cm class on her other pony, Cariad Mam (Carrie). With such fantastic results, Tilly also qualified on both ponies for the 80/90cm classes at the National Showjumping Championships that were due to take place in Summer and have now been postponed. Well done Tilly on these incredible achievements!
Dylan Runs 100km in Lockdown Inspired to continue with exercise during lockdown and face a challenge, Prep School pupil Dylan D completed the Great Run 100km Solo Challenge. Challenged to run 100km within 28 days, Dylan actually ran a breathtaking total of 111km in 20 separate runs ranging from 3km to 11km each time. Well done Dylan for an incredible achievement; a great use of time and a wonderful show of commitment and determination.
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Sports Day in the Garden Although this year’s Sports Day, sadly, could not go ahead in school, Pre-Prep pupils were determined to have their own Sports Days at home. Participating in a range of events including running, throwing, egg and spoon races and a standing long jump, not only did the events test the pupils’ sporting abilities but also their mathematics skills as they were required to measure their final distances and times themselves. Well done to all those who took part, the results were very close!
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Thrilling House Table Tennis At the end of February, Senior School pupils rallied together for the inaugural House Table Tennis Competition. Playing on 2 courts, the boys’ and girls’ Houses played alongside each other creating a competitive yet good-spirited atmosphere. The standard of play was very high, and the pupils all showed fantastic enthusiasm and spirit whilst cheering on their peers and teammates. After a wonderful set of matches, which saw each of the Houses play for 8 minutes against their opponents, Alliott and Rowe Houses were declared the winners of the girls’ and boys’ competitions respectively. Well done to all who took part in this first ever House event and many congratulations to the winning Houses!
Prep School Pupils Make History Shell and Prep School pupils made history in June as they took part in the first ever virtual Shell and Prep School Sports Days. Expertly led by the PE Department over Zoom, Shell pupils went first on 12th June and participated in a variety of disciplines from home including a standing long jump, target throw, holding a plank position and speed bouncing, whilst the children of key workers joined in from the Sports Hall. A few days later it was the turn of over 220 Form 1 – Upper Third pupils who threw themselves into the events with the addition of toilet roll ‘keepy uppies’ and star jumps. The pupils should all be very proud of themselves for giving their all in the hope of winning those all-important points for their Leagues and Houses. Congratulations to Canterbury League and Monk-Jones House who were declared the overall champions of this year’s historic Shell and Prep School virtual Sports Days!
Fun in the Sun In an effort to cool off on one of the hottest days of the year so far, Pre-Prep pupils slid their way down a water chute donated for the afternoon by one of the pupils. Whilst remaining socially distanced, and with lots of sanitising gel, water and fairy liquid added onto the slide in between turns, the pupils could not stop smiling and laughing.
Bishop’s Stortford College | COLLEGE CONNECTION
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CELEBRATING 150 YEARS • 1868 - 2018
LOOKING AHEAD
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BRATING 150 YEARS • 1868 - 2018
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Excite your child’s curiosity!
Open Mornings Please join us
Open Morning for all stages of entry in 2021 For all stages of entry Saturday 19th September 9.30am - 1.00pm
Sixth Form Open Morning For Sixth Form entry in 2021 Saturday 10th October 10.15am arrival
Prep School Open Morning For 7+ to 11+ entry (Years 3 to 7) Saturday 7th November 9.45am arrival
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To register for an Open Morning please visit the‘Admissions and Open Mornings’ section of the College website.
150th History Book Copies of The History of Bishop’s Stortford College, a limited-edition book published for the 150th anniversary of the College, is available for purchase via the College website. For more information please visit the Celebrating 150 Years page on the College website. www.bishopsstortfordcollege.org/9568/celebrating-150-years
Keeping in Touch Don’t forget to visit our website, like our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram, thebishopsstortfordcollege and Twitter, @BSCollege, @BSCollegeSport and @BSCFestLit to keep in touch with all the latest news from the campus. thebishopsstortfordcollege Pre-Prep: 01279 838626 Prep School: 01279 838607 Senior School: 01279 838575 www.bishopsstortfordcollege.org CELEBRATING 150 YEARS • 1868 - 2018
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