on route - Coulsdoncoulsdon.ac.uk/sites/default/files/reigatecollege/downloads/CC... · on route Issue 1December 2014 ... mance poet, novelist, playwright, actor, singer and a regular

on routeIssue 1December 2014

This Issue

Welcome to the first edition of Coulsdon College’s On Route newsletter.

After our excellent inspection back in February, the College has been going ‘full steam ahead’ with its mission to align itself with Reigate as an ‘outstanding’ College.

The College achieved a superb 99.3% pass rate at Advanced Level in the summer (more on page 3) and is forging ahead with enhancing its enrichment provision – including developments to our new Young Leaders of Tomorrow programme, additions to our already flourishing, nearly 40 strong Activities Programme and a broader offer of trips and visits.

Enrolments of students going into our Lower Sixth increased by 25% back in August and we have high hopes that these students will achieve at the highest level when they move into the Upper Sixth in September 2015. With our stringent entry requirements and one-to-one interview process, we’re more confident than ever that we’re getting the right students onto the courses that best match their interests, abilities and career aspirations.

Applications are up significantly against the same time last year, so word seems to be getting out that Coulsdon College is fast-becoming one of the best

Colleges in the area. Despite this, the College intends to limit the number of students going in to the Lower Sixth to ensure we maintain the right balance of small class sizes and a caring, commu-nity culture, that many students and visitors regularly comment on.

As for key areas of focus this year, our talented body of teaching and support staff are honing in on four key areas: Progression, Literacy, Assessment and Independent Learning.

As well as building closer links with universities and employers, so that students see first-hand a reason to work hard, we’re all working hard to increase general levels of literacy across the College.

Students are now expected to ‘own’ the comments on their marked work and take responsibility for their own learning (i.e. learning to be self-directed and proud of what they achieve for them-selves and for others). When embraced in full, this ethos will put all our students ‘On route to success.’

Enjoy the Christmas break and go easy on the mince pies!

Brett Freeman, Principal

On route to successPage 2 Benjamin Zephaniah visits Coulsdon College

Page 3 Results roundup 2014

Page 6 Meet footballer Tom Skilton

On Thursday 6th November students and staff welcomed ‘dub’ and perfor-mance poet, novelist, playwright, actor, singer and a regular on Question Time, Benjamin Zephaniah to the College.

Benjamin kicked off the morning with a candid talk about how he became the man he is today. Students listened with great interest while he told stories of his early life growing up in Birmingham, including the struggles he experienced and the events that helped shaped his views today.

He said he always knew he wanted to be a poet but inevitably many people didn’t take him seriously. While a youngster, he said his mother made up poems that she recounted as she went about her daily routine - poems that he and his siblings knew by heart.

Being National Dyslexic Awareness Week, Benjamin spoke of his strug-gles with dyslexia and how he used poetry to express himself. He recalled performing with no notice, on the request of his mother, to a congrega-tion in church. With nothing prepared, he found his voice in poetry.

He described how he left school at 13, entering into a life of crime until one day, finding himself as a gang leader, sleeping with a gun under his pillow, he realised he wanted more from life. He left Birmingham and travelled to London. It was there that he was lucky

enough to fall in with a group of crea-tive, inspiring people, that included Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. His life turned around and started on a new journey that eventually led him to appearances on programmes such as Question Time. He relishes those appearances, as he says it enables him to voice his opinions and concerns as a ‘free spirit’.

After a great speech he performed two of his poems, ‘Rong Radio Station’ and ‘What Stephen Lawrence taught us’. The poems were full of life and very entertaining. The audience was sucked into his rhythm, really feeling the essence of the poems from not only the words spoken but also the performances he gave.

After a book signing, supported by high street retailer Waterstones, Benjamin stayed on to speak to A Level English students who had been studying his poems in class.

Karyn Storey, an A Level student at the College said of the visit, “Benjamin is such an inspirational man. I feel he helped to broaden our perspectives on literature and made it much more modern. He also addressed issues such as racism and politics which we were all keen to listen to.”

Thanks to Adrian Price, Head of English, for organising this excellent visit.

Mocktails all roundIn October 2014 a group of both Travel & Tourism and Hospitality students took part in the Mocktail Apprentice Project run by Horsham District Council.

This summer, Coulsdon College celebrated the biggest improvement to date of its A Level and BTEC National results. A Level and BTEC pass marks were at 99%, with 73% achieving high grades.

Principal Brett Freeman was a very happy man on Results Day back in August, especially as these results were on the back of an 11% rise in the number of students who success-fully completed courses. Commenting, at the time, he said, “These much improved results put us way above the national average. We have achieved this whilst maintaining high retention rates, which means that those who join us in the Lower Sixth, stay with us, working hard to ensure they reach their full potential. I am particularly proud of that. 330 students have successfully achieved nearly 1,000 qualifications this year.”

Executive Principal of the Reigate and Coulsdon Federation, Steve Oxlade said that he “couldn’t be more pleased with this year’s results” and that “all the work by staff from both

colleges means that students have achieved the results which will act as their springboard to a successful future.”

For a full break down of this summer’s results see www.coulsdon.ac.uk/results

Destinations 2014This September 86% of the Upper Sixth who started their UCAS forms, progressed to University (6% higher than the previous year). As you’d expect the range of courses applied for was wide and varied.

Universities included those from the highly respected Russell Group: Birmingham, Queen Mary’s, UCL and Leeds; London Universities such as Goldsmith’s, Royal Holloway and St George’s and all of the home counties: Surrey, Essex, Sussex, Kent; while others chose to travel further afield for example to Coventry, Leicester, Huddersfield, Portsmouth, Cornwall and Nottingham.

For a full breakdown see: www.coulsdon.ac.uk/destinations

2 3

Coulsdon’s recipe for success: The ‘Mix and Match’ curriculumUnlike many school sixth forms, students at Coulsdon College have the option to study a) all A Levels, b) all BTEC courses or c) ‘mix and match’ A Levels with BTEC courses. This means students can tailor-make their study programmes to best suit their interests and abilities, which in turn gives them the best opportunity of gaining the highest possible grades.

BTEC Level 3s (A Level equivalent) are assessed mainly through coursework and projects, so ‘mixing and matching’ BTECs with A Level courses can ease the pressure around A Level exam time, and result in students achieving higher grades in the fewer number of A Levels they’re focusing on.

BTECs are now recognised by virtually all institutions as an alternative entry route onto degree courses.

and betterResults get better

visit by Benjamin Zephaniah

An inspirational

Smiles all round for students this summerA collaboration of Art and Business studentsIn November, students from the Art Department took part in ‘The Big Draw’ - an event run by ‘The Campaign for Drawing’ involving the production of individual A5 canvases on the theme ‘It’s our World’.

The result? A stunning collection of canvases that show off the range of disciplines practised at the College - Fine Art, Textiles, Graphics and Photography.

The plan is for the canvases to be auctioned off in April, with the help of students from the Business Depart-ment. All proceeds will be given to a nominated charity.

English A Level students were in awe of guest speaker Benjamin Zephaniah

The project encourages young people to explore safe, responsible alterna-tives to alcohol, whilst developing key employability skills.

Students were challenged to create a Mocktail of their own and present it to a panel of experts as a micro business concept. “It was quite challenging, but great fun,” explains Joshua Alviar, Upper Sixth Travel & Tourism student. “It wasn’t just a matter of mixing drinks, we had to incorporate an alcohol awareness message.”

Donna Hollick, Head of Travel & Tourism and Hospitality added, “The project was hugely relevant to our BTEC courses, as students had to work well as a team, think creatively, and then execute and present a real-life marketing plan.”

Helvin HoolashPrevious School: Addington High

Subjects: Chemistry, Maths, Science (Engineering)

I’m now in my second year at Coulsdon, studying subjects that I hope will lead me on to a university degree course in Aerospace Engi-neering .

It’s tricky trying to work out what to do as a career, but I’m interested in science and planes, so I guess Aero-space Engineering became an obvious choice! My love of planes came from watching films like Star Wars and Star Trek, and I’ve always been fascinated by how planes are produced.

Keeping on top of the work load at College isn’t always easy. I struggled a bit last year, with getting through my Engineering assignments, but my teachers helped me enormously, and everything was eventually completed on time. I’ve got some great teachers - really supportive and always there to help you get through the difficult times!

If you’re planning on going to university, it’s essential to attend the ‘Enhancement Tutorials’ at College, as they’re a great place to find out about what different univerisities offer and the differences between courses. A big focus of these sessions is completing a UCAS (university) application, including help with writing your personal statement.

The Careers advice at College has been good. The dedicated Careers team is great at helping to steer you, and the support isn’t just centred on Higher Education. If you want to go straight into work, you can get help with putting CV and job applications together, as well as help with developing good interview techniques.

I’m enjoying my time at Coulsdon College and although I’ll be sad to leave next summer, I’m looking forward to moving on to university.

Matilda LinesPrevious School: Shirley High

Subjects: Fine Art, English Litera-ture, Psychology

I was really happy with the way my first year at College went. I enjoyed all my subjects and really grew as a person. All my teachers were supportive and any time I had a worry about coursework or subjects in general, they were there to help me.

The Careers team at College has been really supportive. I’ve known for a while that I want to go to university but have been less sure about which subject to study. I love Fine Art - especially portraiture, but

I also enjoy Literature from a variety of genres. After a lot of thought I’ve decided to study English Literature and keep drawing as a hobby because I find it so relaxing and enjoyable. I’m particularly interested in Exeter, UAE and Kent universities and now know exactly what grades I need to get in to each of them.

There’s always something going on at College and plenty to get involved in when you’re not working! I’m the Activities Co-ordinator on the Students’ Union and a member of the ‘London Citizens’ club. London Citizens is great because you get to discuss issues effecting the world outside, particularly issues effecting Londoners.

I’m starting a Book Club in College after Christmas, for students to share book recommendations and review books they’ve read - and not just the ones we’re studying in class. I’m really excited about getting started with it!

4 5

The who’s who of Coulsdon College’s Students’ Union 2014/15Union President Pius Ofori

Vice President Patrice Belfon

Finance Officer Giselle Baretto

Media & Comms Andrea Tarasheva

Secretary Ntimi Mwalugelo

Student Liaison Alexandre Costa

Events Officer Yasmin Caldeira

Events Team Temi Alao Jade Lungu

Charity Officer Asheika Rhoden-Richards

Charity Team Elizabeth Rumsey Bianca Powell Edna Nheta

Arts Officer Hannah Waters

Sports Officer (M) Todd Phillips

Sports Officer (F) Anna Navicka

Activities Officer Matilda Lines

Equality & Diver-sity Officer

Leah Kennedy

Disabilities Officer Amran Mohamed

LGBTQ Officer Jade Whitewood

Welfare Officer Nicola Mattocks

To contact members of the SU, please email [email protected]

It’s been a busy term for Coulsdon College’s Students’ Union. The first event of the year, Mental Health Day, focused on raising awareness of some of the mental health issues facing young people today.

An information point was set up in the atrium for disseminating informa-tion about local and national sources of help, plus a pledge wall proved popular. Students got the chance to show their support for stopping

Pius talks about London CitizensStudents’ Union President Pius Ofora is an active member of ‘London Citizens’ which is one of the many clubs offered through the College’s busy Activities Programme.

London Citizens is a powerful alliance of London-based community groups that works together for the common good. The organisation holds the belief that when communities come together and work towards a shared goal, they are more powerful and more likely to succeed.

Pius commented,“Deciding to be part of London Citizens is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made as it’s helped me develop as a leader and a person. As well as giving young people a voice, it gives us opportunities to network

MattersUnion

example by being more realistic in the demands we make. The whole experi-ence has helped me aim high when I leave Coulsdon College.”

Pius is in the Upper Sixth and is studying for a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (the equivalent to 3 A Levels) in Applied Science (Medical). He is planning on studying Biomedical Science at university.

with all sorts of people, including those who are often extremely influential in the community, including employers. I’ve been able to join the youth leader-ship team which is a group of young leaders who come together from all over London to discuss what we can do to make our various communities better for everyone.”

“Through London Citizens, I’ve worked on a range of issues, from small local campaigns such as City Safe Haven (making Croydon town centre into a safe haven for anyone who feels threatened) to large national campaigns such as Living Wage, a campaign that sets out to ensure employers pay their workers a reasonable wage.”

“I’ve attended LC’s Community Organising Training and Development Programme, which has helped me develop the skills needed to participate effectively in democratic debates, for

mental health discrimina-tion by adding their names to the board. Campaigns will continue throughout the year to raise even more awareness for this extremely important issue.

Children In Need on the 14th November saw students and staff coming to College dressed in ‘onesies’ or as superheros. Buckets were rattled and funds were raised to support what has become one of the main national fundraising events of the year.

to successOn Route

Onesie day for Children In Need

Pius Ofora, Student Union President, (bottom row, second from left) with other students from the London Citizens group

The ‘pledge wall’ set up by the Students’ Union on Mental Health Day

Two students talk to ‘On Route’ about their chosen routes to success

[email protected]

On Route: Tell us about yourself

Tom Skilton: I did my GCSE’s at Warlingham School, but when I was deciding where to do my sixth form, I looked for the place which offered the

best sporting facilities, and that was Coulsdon. I also needed to re-take my Maths GCSE, so wanted to go some-where where I was going to get really good support with that.

OR: What are you studying at Coulsdon?

TS: As well as Maths, I’m doing a BTEC Diploma in Sport. I’m in my second

year and really enjoying it. I’ve always been into sport so it’s great to study it further and to look into things like Anatomy and Physiology.

SP

OR

TS

RO

UN

D-U

P

6 7

Get active with the College Activities ProgrammeAll students are encouraged to get involved in some kind of extra-curriculum activities while at College. “It widens students’ horizons, as well as broadening their CVs,” explains Thirza Legg, LEAP co-ordinator. “Whether students are applying for a job, or to university, they need more

OR: What sports do you do?

TS: I cycle, but my main sport is Football. I play for the Coulsdon College Football Academy which is run in partnership with Redhill Football Club. The Academy provides 6 hours of free football training a week, plus the opportunity to be selected for the Redhill Under 18 team.

OR: What are your sporting ambitions?

TS: I’d love to be a professional foot-baller one day – playing for Redhill’s first team would be a good start. If that doesn’t work out, I’d like to be a personal trainer – that would really utilise all the stuff I’m learning here at College. I’m currently studying to become a gymnastics coach, so that’ll be another string to my bow if my football career doesn’t take off.

OR: Do you have any free time in your busy schedule?

TS: No, not much really. I’m training three times a week and then there’s the matches. I do fitness training too. I’ve had some ligament injuries in the past so now I’m learning the impor-tance of keeping fit and healthy. I just concentrate on that and keeping up with my studies. I’m determined to do really well and make good use of my time here at Coulsdon.

OR: So you think you made the right decision coming here?

TS: Definitely! I’m progressing well with my studies and the College’s Football Academy is giving me the opportunity of playing at a much higher level than I ever dared to imagine. I think the facilities are amazing, not just the sporting facili-ties, but also the ILC (library). There are loads of computers so you know you’ve got somewhere to work between lessons and the staff are always on hand to help. I think I’ve got a much better deal than my mates who stayed on at school.

Activities Programme. Students get to decide the timetable and the sports they take part in. Currently you can practice Yoga on Monday lunchtimes in the Dance Studio, Trampoline on Thursday lunchtimes in the Sports Hall and work out in the Gym on Wednesday lunchtimes.

Rush Hockey

Rush Hockey is a modified sport based around Hockey (no surprise there!). The club is new to Coulsdon College and runs on Tuesday lunchtimes. Come along to find out more.

than qualifications on their application form to help them stand out from the crowd. Students can sign up to do all sorts of activities and many discover they have a natural talent for some-thing which they had no idea about!”

This term’s programme has included a mix of sporting activities from Archery and Golf, to Tennis and Trampolining. Plus students can get involved in team sports such as Football, Rugby, Volley-ball and Hockey.

Other activities this term have included Conversational Italian, various Music clubs and Young Enterprise.

A new programme will be published at the beginning of the Spring Term - so look out for information on the LEAP noticeboards around College.

Tennis

The awesome mixed doubles partner-ship of Daniel Pietruszewski and Jialin Zhang, played in the LTA Senior Schools group stage versus Kingston College at Coulsdon College on Wednesday 12th November. They beat both Kingston College pairs 6-2 and will now meet South Thames College in the group stages. Regional and national knock out stages await the winners of the group.

Golf

Coulsdon College finished top of the Surrey FE and HE Community Golf League for the Autumn Term. Well done to all the students who took part.

Boys’ Football

Coulsdon College’s First Team were awarded a ‘bye’ against Varndean College from Brighton in the third round of the EFSA cup. The game was stopped abruptly and points awarded to Coulsdon College after a player from the other team became abusive

to the referee. Coulsdon’s team members were commended for their behaviour, showing good sportsman-ship and discipline throughout the match. They beat Worthing in their next match and are now through to the quarter finals; these are played nationally in knock out phases. In other matches, the First Team beat Reigate College 4–3 in the Surrey College League.

5 a-side Football

Lots of the College’s footballers take part in a weekly 5 a-side football

tournament every Friday after College. All are welcome - either as players or spectators!

Rugby

The Rugby 7’s season has started with training in preparation for forthcoming matches. The RFU ran a ‘Young Offi-cials’ workshop at the College for all those interested in officiating.

Cricket

Despite it being wintry outside, weekly Cricket Club sessions run by Surrey County Cricket Club are taking place

every week at College. This should put College students in a strong position ahead of playing fixtures later in the year.

Touchtennis

Touchtennis is the latest craze of modi-fied traditional sports that has come to Coulsdon College! Weekly sessions take place on Tuesdays between 1 and 1.50pm. Come along and give it a go!

MeFit

MeFit is a new female focused activity offered as part of the College’s

spotlight In the

Interview with footballing star Tom Skilton

Placehouse Lane Old Coulsdon

Surrey CR5 1YA Tel 01737 551176 Fax 01737 551282

[email protected]

www.coulsdon.ac.uk8

Duke of Edinburgh’s AwardThis year fifteen Lower Sixth students have taken on the challenge of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Silver Award.

The Award is designed to develop young people’s skills in four different areas: Volunteering, Physical Recrea-tion, Skills and Expedition.

For the first three parts, students are expected to get involved in regular voluntary work and sporting activi-ties, plus learn a new skill (and this could be anything from knitting to absailing!).

www.coulsdon.ac.uk/calendar

Diary dates

For the Expedition part, students have been spending this term brushing up on their map reading, navigation, camp craft and expedition planning skills, and these will be put to the test during a two night expedition in the Spring Term. Fingers crossed for good weather!

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a nationally recognised qualification and is, without doubt, a great one to have on any CV or application form.

For more information please contact [email protected]

Black History Month was celebrated in style this October with various events taking place across the College campus.

As well as an impressive display of posters highlighting the milestones and contributions of black people to communities all over the world, College musicians entertained the crowds in the atrium, every Wednesday lunchtime with specially selected African and Caribbean

Black History Month

What When Where

Music Students playing at the Coulsdon Yulefest

Saturday 6th December 2014 11.30 – 12.15

Brighton Road, Coulsdon Town Centre

Alice in Wonderland Panto Tickets priced at £1 are available form Student Reception

Thursday 11th December 2014 6.30pm

Bonsier Theatre

End of Term Friday 19th December 2014

Spring Term Starts Monday 5th January 2015

Final UCAS submission deadline Thursday 15th January 2015

Information Evening for prospective students currently in year 11 and their parents

Tuesday 10th February 2015 5pm – 7pm

Coulsdon College

Information Evening for prospective students currently in year 11 and their parents

Wednesday 25th March 2015 5pm – 7pm

Coulsdon College

Open Event for prospective students in years 10 and 11 and their parents

Wednesday 6th May 2015 5.30pm – 8pm

Coulsdon College

themed pieces. Even the Refectory staff got involved dishing up some delicious ‘Black History Month’ themed lunches.

The ILC (Independent Learning Centre) organised a quiz for staff and students to test their knowledge of black role models and the English Department secured a visit from top poet and author Benjamin Zephaniah (see page 2 for more information).

Students at a team building day