A charity bake sale, a Maths challenge and our first Interview/Taster mornings are just some of the events and activities that have taken place within our Sixth Form this term. Please read on to find out more!
Interview and Taster Mornings
Over the course of this term we have started interviewing all the students who have applied to join our wonderful Sixth Form. All our internal applicants were interviewed back in January and then in February we held our first Interview/Taster morning for our applicants from other schools. We have had well over 100 applications from external students and we have thoroughly enjoyed meeting some of them during our taster mornings. Due to the high number of applications, this year our taster mornings will continue after the Easter break, so if you have applied and not yet been invited in please do not worry!
Makaton Group
This term one of our Year 12 Students (Emma) offered to teach her fellow students Makaton, the response was fantastic and so the Makaton Group was formed!
Makaton is a language programme that uses signs together with speech and symbols, to enable people to communicate. It supports the development of essential communication skills such as attention, listening, comprehension, memory and expressive speech and language.
Here, Emma tells us more about why she started the group:
‘I started the Makaton group as I thought that it was something which should be available for people to learn. So many people around us will use it whether they’re deaf/non-verbal, have other additional needs or simply know someone who needs to use it. I was inspired by my younger brother who is deaf, we used it to communicate with him when he was little as he couldn’t hear or talk very well. Everyone in the group is doing really well at learning it!’
Emma Ashley-Cox Yr 12
‘What If…?’ Roadshow
In March our Year 12 students attended a thought-provoking event called the ‘What If…?’ Roadshow. The event is hosted by the Police and Crime Commissioner, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, Gloucestershire Constabulary and the South West Ambulance Service. With support from the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity, the South Western Ambulance Service, the Servern Major Trauma Network and Gloucestershire University.
The students were shown a film detailing the story of two young men involved in a crash in the Forest of Dean, they also heard on-stage testimonies from professionals who have attended road traffic collisions and how this has affected them.
The event was hard-hitting and thought-provoking; its aim is to shatter the ‘illusion of invincibility’ held by many young drivers and passengers, and empower all of us to be safe and sociable road users.
Media Studies
It’s been a busy term in our Media Department!
Film Studies/Graphics Masterclass
In March some of our Yr 12 Media students stayed after school to attend the following Masterclass:
Film Studies/Graphics: Vertigo – Title Sequence & Graphics – Enduring Classics Masterclass With Creative Director, Richard Morrison, Feature Film Editor, Mick Audsley and Solent University.
The students (and Mrs Edmunds!) learned about Lissojous curves and the work of Saul Bass – ‘It was really informative and great to interact with others and Solent University.’ Mrs Edmunds
Visit from Tom Ware – USW
All our Media Students (as well as students from other subjects) attended talks by Tom Ware who is the director of Performance and Production Courses at the University of South Wales. He delivered a number of presentations about the creative arts degrees available at USW as well as bespoke question and answer sessions. His knowledge and experience meant that the sessions were really insightful and many of the students were enthused by the new information about the variety of courses on offer.
Congratulations Madeleine!
Year 12 Media and Art student Madeleine Turner had a lot to celebrate after a piece of her artwork was published in MM, a magazine aimed at students studying Film and Media Studies. Madeleine’s fantastic portrait of acclaimed feminist author, activist and academic ‘bell hooks’ was used in the magazine alongside an article all about hooks who passed away in December.
Sixth Form Ambassadors
Our brilliant Sixth Form Ambassadors have had a very busy term. Year 12 students have planned and delivered a Royal Institution Masterclass series to primary children and some of our own Year 7 students in a range of Coding, Chemistry and Space afterschool clubs. The masterclasses have been inspiring and the younger students have really enjoyed the practical workshops which extend and enhance the curriculum. The sessions have included guest speakers from the Royal Institution and all of the students involved have been invited to national celebration events at the Royal Institution in London in the summer term.
Our Ambassador scheme has also been recognised internationally recently. A project involving our Year 13 Climate Ambassadors which involved running virtual masterclasses with primary children in Yorkshire during lockdown was awarded the European STEM Award for Sustainable Goals in Education at The Science on Stage Conference in Prague last week!
Blasts from the past!
This term we have had the pleasure of inviting back a number of past students to talk about their experiences since leaving CCS. We are always so grateful to any ex students who give up their time to talk to our current Sixth Formers; their presentations are always incredibly informative and insightful, and often have a huge impact on helping our current students learn about the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead ahead after Sixth Form. Over the last few weeks we have welcomed back Daisy who spoke about her apprenticeship with GE Aviation, James who detailed his journey from leaving Sixth Form to securing a job working for British Airways, Hannah who shared her experiences of working abroad during two Ski Seasons and also gave lots of advice and tips on how to apply, CV’s, covering letters and how her experiences provided her with invaluable skills and confidence. Finally, we welcomed back Ben who spoke about his journey from leaving school, attending Loughborough University, his experience during his Gap year travelling to finally securing his job at JP Morgan in London which he starts in July. What all our past students highlighted through their presentations was the need for hard work, perseverance, resilience and an open mind; we’d like to take this opportunity to extend a big thank you to Daisy, James, Hannah and Ben for inspiring and motivating our students.
European Youth Parliament
On the 23rd March eight Year 12 students along with Year 13 student Florence (who was one of the organisers of the event) attended the regional final of the European Youth Parliament at Sir Thomas Rich’s School in Gloucester.
Here, Year 12 student Sienna describes how the day went:
HET Programme
A huge congratulations to the seven A Level History students who completed the Holocaust Educational Trust Ambassador Programme: Lessons from Auschwitz. The programme consisted of a series of online modules, hearing Holocaust survivor testimony; they are now working on a Next Steps project which will include leading assemblies with Year 9. Year 12 student Joshua deserves a special mention for reading the poem ‘The Jewish Shtetl’ at the commemoration ceremony.
Senior Maths Challenge
Congratulations to Year 13 student Jo who achieved what no other Sixth Former was able too….. progressing to the ‘Kangeroo Round’ in the Senior Maths Challenge.
A Helping Hand
Year 13 students Francesca and Amelie recently received a welcome donation towards their planned trip to Thailand this summer from the trustees of the Hilda Terry Award. The trustees generously support a number of post-16 students each year, enabling groups and individuals to gain a whole range of life experiences. Francesca and Amelie will be spending 4 weeks in Thailand where they intend to teach English to some of the local children; both girls received £1000 each to help support and fund their trip.
And Finally…. A Helping Hand of a Different Kind
Like many of us, Year 12 student Emma wanted to try and help and support the Ukrainian people in any way that she could. She decided to organise a bake sale and produced posters to display around school to advertise the event. It proved to be a great success raising £260 for the Ukrainian Crisis.
‘I wanted to do something to help the people of Ukraine and I knew, like me, many others wanted to help too. As there wasn’t a lot we could do other than raising money and awareness, I thought a bake sale would be a great idea and it was very successful! Thank you to everyone who donated/baked and bought.’
Emma Ashley-Cox Yr 12
