Congratulations to Year 10 student Elinor Farrell, above, who was recently presented with a School Science Prize at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory – for 'outstanding effort and achievement in Year 9 Science'.
Around 30 schools from across the country were represented at the award ceremony, which was organised by the Oxfordshire Independent and State School Partnership (OISSP).
Elinor described the event as follows:
'I was pleased when I was nominated for the award. We went to the Rutherford Appleton Labs where we listened to some very interesting lectures. The first speaker talked about laser research and fusion energy. The second talked about space exploration and how in trying to reach their ultimate aims, they often come across discoveries such as the hole in the ozone layer. I then received my award and the group had several photos taken before we left. I am very grateful for the opportunity to visit this fascinating and pioneering research centre and I found the whole experience unforgettable.'
Our recent Year 7 and 8 trip to the Isle of Wight provided an opportunity for students to experience and enjoy a wide range of outdoor activities, while staying at the Kingswood Centre.
One of the main functions of the trip is to help new Year 7 students to get to know one another and cement their membership of the Leckford 'family' – as well as creating new relationships between Year 7 and Year 8 pupils. A residential trip helps pupils to move out of their comfort zone and fully embrace all aspects of being away from home whilst trying new activities.
... and these activities were numerous – including quad biking, climbing, fencing, nightline, orienteering, balance beam, caving, go-karting and archery. Pupils also took part in evening activities: the 'Scrap heap challenge'; a task to design and build a container that would protect a water balloon when dropped; and a Murder Mystery evening.
The trip was a huge success and all the students enjoyed themselves and were a credit to the school.
As part of the ongoing partnership between d'Overbroeck's College and Creation Theatre, we're delighted to announce that students, parents and staff at the College will receive a 25% discount on tickets for Creation's Christmas show: Beauty and the Beast.
How to book
The first of our special d'Overbroeck's Evenings will be Wednesday 2 December (we'll announce another date in future). So all d'Overbroeck's parents, pupils and staff will receive 25% off Premium and Band A tickets for that night.
To claim your discount, please telephone the Creation Theatre Box Office on 01865 766266 – and when you give your name, remember to say that you are from d'Overbroeck's.
Book early to guarantee a ticket – no later, please, than Friday 6 November.
The Spiegeltent, in which the performance will take place
More about Beauty and the Beast
This Christmas, join Creation for a fresh magical retelling of the timeless fairytale Beauty and the Beast. Forget cartoons, panto and Disney, this Beauty will engage you with magic, music and comedy in the amazing Spiegeltent at Oxford’s MINI Plant. Suitable for ages 6-96 years, you can also enjoy delicious gourmet crepes at your cabaret style table.
“This colourful slice of storytelling should hook both children and adults alike” (Oxford Mail)
“For two heart-melting hours, they banish all cares.” (The Daily Telegraph)
In celebration of National Book Week, pupils and staff came into school on Tuesday 6 October dressed as characters from fiction.
The costumes were impressive, and at break time all of the characters assembled for photographs in the Hall – with prizes awarded to some of the most imaginative creations.
On September 23, years 7 and 8 visited the hands-on science centre @Bristol. They explored and interacted with numerous science exhibits, as well as visiting the planaterium. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the visit, which was characterised by the concept of learning through ‘play’: @Bristol is a very special place, and really brings Science to life. Here are some of the comments made by the students:
Cole reports that ‘the journey was long, but luckily she had her friends to joke around with.’
Meelie says that ‘as soon as she walked into the building, she heard people already going wow.’ She would definitely go again and thought it was an amazing trip.
Anand was excited as he arrived at Bristol and ‘was rushing to get inside and use the amazing scientific equipment.’
James found that ‘the first thing most people went to was the water works. Here there were a series of handles, levers, cogs and tanks which played a vital part in keeping the water moving. If you didn’t, the big tank at the top overflowed. This was one of my favourite parts.’
Jesse says she really enjoyed it and particularly ‘liked the TV studio where you did some filming. Someone acted and other people were on the stage changing the background, adding music and writing captions. I also liked the mini tornado. You could walk through a tornado without getting blown away.’
Cassandra can recommend the ‘comfy seats in the Planetarium.’
Joseph thought that ‘the only problem was time. It would have been perfect if we were there for another 48 hours.’
And – neatly summing up a most successful trip – Katie simply tells us that she ‘had a fantastic time.’
Another year; another Drama competition. This annual event, where each English group selects and performs part of a text that they have studied during the year, was a celebration of enthusiasm and team effort. The presentations included excerpts from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, Animal Farm, Much Ado about Nothing, Pygmalion, The Importance of being Earnest, A View from the Bridge and a play called Orphans, which started with a speech by Pip from Great Expectations.
As you can see, we were treated to a wide range of material. The pupils rose to the occasion.
With only two weeks of English lessons devoted to perfecting their performances, the students worked hard, deciding on their roles, learning lines and creating props. We were lucky to secure the services of two members of the Creation Theatre Company: Connor McReynolds came to give valuable advice on performance, during the dress rehearsals, and Jessica Bridge judged the competition, giving detailed and most encouraging comments in her adjudication.
The winners were a year 10 group, who performed a couple of extracts from Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge – a text they studied for GCSE coursework. Particularly memorable were the performances of Will Cronk as Eddie, the troubled Brooklyn longshoreman; his almost too realistic fight with Rodolpho (aka Humza); Vinay Bahl’s demonstration of physical dominance as he lifted a chair with one hand, from the base of one leg (try it – it’s far more difficult than it seems) and really convincing performances from the rest of the cast.
The winner of the contemporary presentation was a year 8 group, who performed their own version of Animal Farm. Although based largely on the novel, they added a contemporary touch of dance, music and humour. The overall effect, however, was extremely chilling and gave a real insight into the dangers of the abuse of political power.
Both year 7 groups won the Shakespeare award for their lovely interpretations of different sections of The Dream. The judge was very impressed by the understanding which under-pinned the delivery of quite difficult lines. They also conveyed the humour of the play.
There were many other individual commendations and prizes, but the biggest reward was a day of real entertainment and enrichment.
Towards the end of term, a thronged Leckford Place hall was treated to the jamboree of performing arts that is the Summer Soiree.
Guitar, recorder, euphonium, viola … Leckford’s instrumentalists showed off their skills – and the range of genres was similarly eclectic: from baroque to britpop, soul to showtunes. Many of the musical performances were clearly pupil-led – testament to the fertile school music scene.
And what a variety of voices! Whether it was Lydia Hassan’s captivatingly pared-down delivery of her own song, Skinny Jeans, Tal Fineman’s assured cover-versions of classic rock numbers, or Flora McGivan’s strikingly intense performance of All That Jazz, it was a pleasure to hear so many different styles and interpretations.
The whole evening was shot through with doses of comic surrealism, meanwhile, thanks to a series of year 9 performances – imaginative pieces that demonstrated the expressive possibilities of puppetry.
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