Private School News

New scholarship for pupils from CAMBRIDGE CENTRE FOR SIXTH FORM STUDIES

Cambridge Centre for Sixth-form Studies (CCSS), one of the UK’s leading independent colleges, has announced a new scholarship for pupils from the maintained sector schools in Cambridge.

The new scholarship for the 2008/9 academic year is aimed to pupils who wish to study AS and A-Levels at CCSS with the aim of entering a UK university. The scholarship is worth 100% remission of fees, currently £5060 per academic term (£15180 annually), over two years of study.

The scholarship is named after one of the college’s founders, Paul Redhead, whose vision along with the joint founders, Hilary Kirby and Alan Dawson, helped establish CCSS in 1981.

The applicants are encouraged to apply through the school where they currently study.

More information about the college and how to apply can be found on www.ccss.co.uk.

SIXTH FORM CENTRE AT NOTTINGHAM HIGH SCHOOL GETS GO-AHEAD

Nottingham High School has been granted planning permission for a new state-of-the-art Sixth Form centre and Senior School dining hall.

Located in the West Quad area at the heart of the school’s buildings, the three-storey centre has been designed by Nottingham architects, Maber, and will provide spacious and modern facilities for both Senior School and Sixth Form pupils.

A 500 capacity dining hall with new kitchen facilities will be situated on the ground floor, leaving the current dining hall free for Junior School pupils. The first and second floors will be given over to Sixth Formers, housing a coffee bar / brasserie and large, bright social areas. A bridge link will also connect the social area to the library.

The materials for the new facilities will include timber wall panelling, glazed balustrades and a striking white painted mezzanine which will both contrast with, and complement the existing buildings. The roof enclosing the west quad will be covered in translucent cushions. Perimeter glazing between the existing high level walls and the underside of the new roof will allow it to visually ‘float’ above the new walls.

To ensure that the new development is as environmentally friendly as possible, the proposals for the enclosed quad maximise the opportunities for natural light and natural ventilation. It will also have under floor heating which is able to run at a lower water temperature than more conventional radiators and long life construction materials will also be used.

Kevin Fear, Nottingham High School Headmaster, said: “Sixth formers at Nottingham High School achieve outstanding academic results. The expansion of Nottingham High School’s facilities with this new centre will ensure that our Sixth Form pupils can benefit from a high quality social and learning space. This will, I hope, inspire all generations of the School to aspire to lead it in the sixth form.”

Simon Middlecote of Maber said: “At the design stage we were careful to ensure the new centre respected the existing buildings by keeping it in proportion and by selecting a palette of materials that will serve to complement them. The building’s design is distinct and contemporary and will provide a vibrant new heart for the school that students can enjoy.”

The detailed design work will now be completed in order to tender for contractors as soon as possible. The centre is due for completion by September 2009.

Ten RGS WORCESTER pupils win Oxbridge offers

Ten pupils from RGS Worcester & The Alice ottley School have won Oxbridge offers so far this year, with one candidate still in the Cambridge pool.

Chris Bellamy, Engineering, Homerton, Cambridge
James Burton, English, Jesus, Cambridge
Tom Crane, Engineering, Girton, Cambridge
Chris Davis, Economics and Management, St Hilda’s, Oxford
David Harries, Mod Langs and Linguistics, Merton, Oxford
Andrew James, Law, Magdalen, Oxford
Alice Mantle, Law, Oriel, Oxford
Ben Mason, German and Philosophy, Trinity, Oxford
Chris Morgan, Biochemistry, Brasenose, Oxford
Daniel Scott. Natural Sciences, Trinity, Cambridge

Headmaster Andy Rattue said: ‘These results are a great credit to the young people themselves, and also to their teachers, who have devoted a great deal of time and energy to their preparation beyond the confines of the ordinary curriculum. RGSAO pupils have been offered an impressive total of just under fifty Oxbridge places in the last four years. Our acceptance rate of 59% is a long way above the independent school average. I am also delighted to report that large numbers of the Upper Sixth have received offers from other top universities, as well as Dental, Medical and Veterinary Schools.’

PEAK PERFORMANCE FROM NEWCASTLE CHURCH HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS

Girls at Newcastle Church High School swapped their school books for walking boots during the trip of a lifetime, trekking through Northern Peru.

The determined group of 15 pupils from one of Jesmond’s leading independent schools went on the trip to fulfil the requirements for their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Exhibition. After trekking to the remote Peruvian village of Huaraz they all rose to the challenge of restoring a local school, helped build a drainage system and teaching English to local children.

The trip was organised as part of Church High’s challenging programme of extra curricular activities, aimed at nurturing and developing girl’s whole potential and preparing them for all aspects of life.

As part of the project the sixth formers spent 18 months planning and fundraising ahead of the month long expedition into the Andes, along with two Church High teachers.

Charlotte Raymond,17, from Morpeth was one of the sixth form students who took part in the expedition. She said: “The trip was fantastic. Peru is a fascinating country with incredible scenery. The highlight for me was the five day trek, an experience I’ll never forget. It was pretty tough at times and very tiring but so worthwhile when we reached the top – after this, I think I can do anything in life!”
And Alex Forth, 17, from Sunderland said she found the teaching aspect of the trip very rewarding. She said: “I couldn’t believe how little some of these children had and they spoke very little English so they found it hard to understand us. But over time, we began to build relationships with them and they could see that we were trying to help them – it was a really fulfilling experience.”
After successfully completing the project in Huaraz, the girl’s continued their challenge with a trek to Alpamayo base camp – high up in the Andes – where they set up a base camp for a five day climb up to the Punta Union Pass at 4,750 metres.

Jeanne Gordon is responsible for the Duke of Edinburgh Award at the school and led the expedition. She said: “Every other year we organise an overseas trip for pupils to experience different cultures, societies and traditions. Although we place great importance on academic success, at Church High we also believe it vital to develop our pupils through opportunities outside the curriculum like the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.

“This year the expedition to Peru presented the girls with some exciting and stimulating challenges, not only during the trip, but also in terms of planning and fundraising beforehand. I was really impressed to see that at each stage of the project all the girls remained really motivated and worked together to reach their goals. From a personal perspective I think the trip has helped develop the girl’s confidence and I am very proud of their achievements.

“The trip has given them a great insight into how other people live, many of whom own less than the girls were carrying in their rucksacks – their help has made a real difference to the people living in Huaraz.”

For many pupils the trip followed a year of hard work towards A Levels. Church High students received outstanding academic results in 2007 at all levels and abilities, with the most able girls achieving the best academic results and all candidates achieving grades well above those predicted by external benchmarking.

Cottesmore pupils enjoy ski trip in France.