Private School News

NOTTINGHAM HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICS ACE IN CHALLENGE AT CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY

Nottingham High School pupil, Daniel Lin,17, has just returned from Cambridge University where he took part in the annual five day Senior Physics Challenge.

Daniel was put forward to take part in the prestigious event, for which places are highly competitive and selective, by his Physics teacher Peter Hortor, after he achieved excellent AS results, and demonstrated a superb attitude towards his physics studies. He also took an online maths and physics test.

The challenge consisted of a range of lectures, practical lab activities and ‘life in Cambridge’ experiences such as punting. Daniel also met top physics students from around the country.

“Only top physics pupils from around the country are eligible to take part in the five day event” says Peter Hortor “and Daniel thoroughly deserved his place in this select group.”
The Senior Physics Challenge, SPC, is a university access initiative directed at AS physics students, or equivalent, in schools across the UK. It aims to demystify and make physics more accessible to a wider range of students.

NOTTINGHAM HIGH SCHOOL, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE – SCHOOL CELEBRATES FOUNDER’S DAY

Nottingham High School and city dignitaries have celebrated Founder’s Day, an annual event to commemorate the founding of the school by Dame Agnes Mellers in 1513.
Founder’s Day, Nottingham’s oldest tradition after the Goose Fair, is held each year at St Mary’s Church in the Lace Market and the Council House and is attended by pupils, staff, and the city’s dignitaries.
The service at St Mary’s began with a procession symbolising the ancient links that the School has with the Crown, the City and the Church. The procession was led by Kevin Fear, Nottingham High School headmaster, who was followed by the Director of Finance and Estates, the School governors and their clerk, clergy, civil dignitaries and the Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire.
This year’s sermon was given by The Reverend Richard Coldicott, Curate of St Margaret’s Church, Aspley, and the collection will be given in equal shares to St Mary’s Church and to the Teenage Cancer Trust in remembrance of the life of a former pupil who died in September 2009.
The event continued at the Council House, where, in accordance with the ancient custom, the governors of the school laid out the sum of 20 shillings to the Lord Mayor and his Clerk, the Vicar of the Church, members of the Parish clergy, and others, with the balance – now represented by the handing over of a single groat – going to a representative of the School, known as the ‘representative scholar’. This year the representative scholar was Matthew Glendening from Year 7.

NOTTINGHAM HIGH JUNIOR SCHOOL AWARDED ARTSMARK

Arts Council England has awarded its Artsmark to Nottingham High Junior School in recognition of the school’s commitment to, and excellence in, arts education.

“I’m delighted that the Arts Council has recognised Nottingham High Junior School’s dynamic arts education programme,” said Ed Jones, Deputy Head at Nottingham High Junior School. “Our pupils have really enjoyed working in art, drama, dance and music activities and I’d like to thank all our staff for their hard work in achieving this award.”

“Artsmark is more than simply a mark of distinction to us; taking part in the scheme has enabled us to develop our arts provision and see the pupils who take part become more self confident, engaged and excited about learning. Our focus is on creating well rounded individuals, so we view the arts as just as important as sports and other academic subjects,” added Ed Jones.

Alan Davey, chief executive, Arts Council England, said: “Arts Council England believes that the earlier children are creatively inspired, the more likely they are to have a lifelong engagement with art – something that can transform lives and give young people a voice for their thoughts and feelings.”

“Artsmark, now nationally recognised as a prestigious and coveted award, sets the standard for an outstanding arts provision in schools and it’s great to see so many new schools attaining the Artsmark Award this year. This award recognises Nottingham High Junior School’s commitment to providing exciting art experiences and their belief in the power of creativity.”

GIVING TO A WORTHY CAUSE

Giving blood is one of the most worthwhile things we can do, and one Year 13 student from Trent College in Long Eaton has made it her goal to get as many of her teachers and peers involved in blood donation as possible.

Katie Schwarz, 18, who is coming to the end of her A Level studies at the School, organised a ‘blood bus’ from the National Blood Service to come into Trent College on Wednesday 12th May. She was encouraged to take up the challenge following an inspiring talk during a PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) lesson. Keith Sudbury came in to talk to students about his son Adrian, who died of Leukaemia last year. Adrian, a talented journalist, was famous for setting up ‘Baldy’s Blog’, through which he shared his experiences during his illness, and which has now been turned into a book. He also wanted to educate the public about bone marrow donation, even taking his campaign to Downing Street.
Katie says: ‘Mr Sudbury told us that when his son was dying, his last wish was to try and encourage as many young people as possible to donate blood and bone marrow. After the lecture, lots of people were really interested but due to our busy lifestyle at school, many people would probably not have the time to find somewhere to go and donate. Head of Sixth Form, Miss Matthews, mentioned that there are mobile buses that visit different places so I thought it would be really great if we could get one to come into School.’
It was no mean feat; Katie had to liaise with the National Blood Service, complete health and safety assessments, ensure that appropriate facilities were in place and gain enough interest for the bus to visit the School. ‘I’m really pleased that we had such a great response; everyone has been very enthusiastic and supportive about this cause. I already give blood whenever I can and it’s something I feel quite strongly about. I realise the importance of it as my Granddad had Leukaemia, and I know it requires many blood transfusions. Apart from encouraging as many people as possible to give blood now and in the future, an important outcome of the day will be making younger students aware of what is happening, so they might consider giving blood when they are old enough.’

PUPILS EXPERIENCE EXTREME PHYSICS IN NATIONAL COMPETITION

Physics students from Nottingham High School have been taking part in a national Extreme Physics competition over the Easter holidays at Rugby School in Warwickshire.
The Nottingham High School team of Peter Hardwidge, 15, Ben Gates, 14, Christian Cummings, 15, and Chris Brenchley, 15, came fourth in the competition, which involved 24 schools from around the country. Over the course of the three days, the boys took part in a range of team and individual challenges based around various areas of physics. These included building an accurate timing device, making and launching paper rockets and measuring an unknown mass without any scales. The undoubted highlight of the competition, however, was the opportunity to experience sky diving in a wind tunnel.
The competition aimed to inspire year 10 students from around the East Midlands to study Physics beyond GCSE level. It was sponsored by the Institute of Physics and The Ogden Trust and also included lectures in the evening by the heads of science at Rugby and Oakham.
“The boys thoroughly enjoyed the experience and performed really well,“ said Peter Hortor, a physics teacher at Nottingham High School. “There was a lot of tough competition and to be placed fourth is no mean feat. It was relevant to their GCSEs, but also encouraged them to consider A Level physics as a useful and interesting course.“
Peter Hardwidge, one of the pupils commented: “I knew I wanted to work in science, but now I am sure I want to be a physicist.“

CLARINET STAR AT NOTTINGHAM HIGH SCHOOL

Nottingham High School pupil and professional clarinet player, Jake Hinson, 15, has gained a professional clarinet performing diploma – an almost unprecedented achievement for a person of his age.
Jake, to gain the diploma, performed a recital which included the Stamitz Clarinet Concerto No 3, Weber Concertino and Finzi’s 5 Bagatelles. He was marked on his presentation and professionalism.
Now an associate of Trinity College of Music London and Junior Exhibitor at the Royal Academy of Music, Jake has been taken under the wing of Paul Harris, the UK’s leading clarinet educator and mentor while he focuses on preparing for further diplomas including a Diploma of The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music DipABRSM in November.
“I am thrilled that all my hard practice has paid off and I am reaching my goals,” said Jake. “I can’t thank my parents enough for their support.”
Jake, who has played the clarinet since the age of eight, has secured a number of other notable achievements including coming runner up in the Nottingham Musician of the Year competition in 2009 and winning a prize at the Royal Academy of Music in a major woodwind category in 2010.
In addition, Jake, along with fellow pupils from Nottingham High School, will be travelling to New York in October as part of a Big Band Tour. There he will play Artie Shaw’s clarinet concerto on the well known jazz musician’s original clarinet to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of this great musician’s birth in the spiritual home of Jazz and Big Band.

TRENT COLLEGE ART STUDENTS EXHIBIT AT CHATSWORTH HOUSE

On Sunday 7th March, Trent College’s Year 12 Art students held a Private View exhibition of their work in the Carriage Restaurant at Chatsworth House.

After an onsite educational visit in the Autumn to Chatsworth House, which involved drawing and painting in the house and grounds, artwork was then developed in the department’s studios at Trent College. It was a wonderful opportunity for the students to use the architecture and landscape of the Chatsworth Estate as a source of inspiration for their drawing, painting and printmaking.

The private view was a great success and was well attended by students, parents, alumni, governors and staff. It was also a great privilege to have owner of the Chatsworth Estate and President of Trent College, His Grace The 12th Duke of Devonshire CBE attend, spending time talking to the students about their work and techniques used. He was very impressed by the standard and accepted our gift of one of the exhibited pieces of his own choice.
From Sunday 14th March, a selection of the work will be on display for several weeks to the public within the Conservatory of the Carriage House Restaurant.

Big Bang Fair 2010

Students from Nottingham High School Design Technology Department have been celebrating following a victorious weekend at the Big Bang Fair in Manchester, which featured the finals of the National Science and Engineering competition and Young Engineer for Britain competition.
Adam Robbins (16) won the Integration and Application of Electronics prize in the Young Engineer for Britain competition. Adam won £500 for himself and £250 for the school after submitting his ‘Fishometer’ – an automatic environment monitoring and control system for fishkeepers. This controls the temperature, lighting and automatic feeding of an aquarium in an integrated hood. Continuing to innovate and develop his product, Adam has recently added a feature that allows fishkeepers to monitor and feed their pets remotely over the internet via an integrated webserver connected to an automated feeding system.
The school’s Young Engineer’s Club, led by Jack Westhoff (16) with support from Sam Wheelhouse (16), Simon Crowther (16) and Dylan Mistry (14), also won a special award for Project Management in the National Science and Engineering competition. The team showcased a number of projects they have been working on recently, including remote controlled cars designed and built by students for the Formula School’s competition, robot buggies built by club members and also automatic and solar powered boats. The £500 prize money will be used to fund club activity.
The team also showcased their recent collaborations with Arno Vale Junior School and Nottingham High Junior School where they have mentored students and helped them enter competitions at Silverstone and Nottingham Trent University.
“The boys performed fantastically at the competition and thoroughly deserve their awards,” said Paul Gray, head of design technology at Nottingham High School, who accompanied the boys to the competition. “The calibre of the projects entered in the competition were of an extremely high standard and these wins are testament to the boys engineering skills and knowledge. We are proud of them all.”
In addition, Anthony Brown (17) also exhibited his electronic home security system that allows the doors of a house to be opened and locked via a wireless system similar to a car’s central locking system.

NEW NOTTINGHAM BISHOP VISITS NOTTINGHAM HIGH SCHOOL ON PILGRIMAGE

The new Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham – the Rt Revd Paul Butler, paid a visit to Nottingham High School as part of a personal seven hour ‘pilgrimage’ of Nottingham city centre.

Riding the tram from the Nottingham suburbs into the city, Bishop Paul’s journey of discovery involved a visit to a weekly market, various community projects and a supermarket before arriving at the school for a well earned lunch. He was joined by headmaster Kevin Fear and deputy headmaster Dr Paul Sibly as well as other members of staff, sixth formers and a number of boys, representing the Community Action Group.

Over a fish and chip lunch, Bishop Paul discussed the community initiative that students organise which range from school trips to charity food appeals. He was also interested in what the boys were studying, what they were hoping to do after A levels and what they liked best at the school.

“It was a great honour have to have Bishop Paul come and visit us,” said Kevin Fear, headmaster at Nottingham High School. “He was very interested in what life is like here at the school and the work we do. He was also thought it was clever how we were able to match the colour of the napkins with his robes. It was nice to meet him.”

Revd Caldicott, a member of the Bishop’s entourage used to be a teacher at the school – he also enjoyed revisiting scenes from his past.

The pilgrimage finished with a ride on the Nottingham Big Wheel with the Lord Mayor of Nottingham and then a visit to the new Nottingham Contemporary Gallery.

TRENT COLLEGE WIN FIRST GIRLS’ NATIONAL HOCKEY TITLE

Trent College in Long Eaton are celebrating after their Girls’ Hockey Team were crowned Under 16 Champions at the National Schools Finals, held in Staffordshire. This achievement was a milestone in itself for Girls’ Hockey at the School, being the first time Trent had a team in the National Finals, and what a debut it turned out to be.
The tournament proved to be a very tough competition; Trent took ten out of a possible twelve points from their group stages; beating Ipswich and Wakefield by a single goal to none, beating Millais 7-1 and drawing two a piece with a tough Millfield side.
They met St George’s College in the final 1-0, with Harriet Livesey scoring the winning goal. Kim Leiper led the way for Trent throughout the tournament, scoring four of the seven goals against Millais.
Peter Shuttleworth, their coach, was delighted as Holly Rainford stepped up to lift the salver: ‘This will hopefully be the first of many years we will be here with the girls’ teams to challenge for the national title. This triumph was not a complete surprise as it had been obvious for a number of years that we had a talented and committed group of players, and indeed the whole squad deserve a mention. The potential was there, but they have had to work very hard to achieve their success. They had a setback at the Midlands Championships when they were beaten by a robust Oundle team, but in hindsight, perhaps this helped to keep the girls focussed and to take nothing for granted.’
This is not the only achievement for this year group; Trent’s U16 boys continued their fine hockey season at Cannock Hockey Club by winning the Midlands Schools title. This was the 7th time in eight years that Trent has won this title, an impressive achievement considering the strength of the competition in the region. This success means that the team now goes forward to play in the National U16 Tournament, due to be played on 19th/20th April.

TRENT RUGBY TITANS TACKLE READING

Rugby players from Trent College in Long Eaton have discovered a novel way to fit more reading into their school day.

Books and reading play a large role in life at Trent College and its Junior School, The Elms, with all pupils encouraged to read for pleasure. With this in mind, the School’s Rugby Titans, consisting of students from Years 11 to 13, have organised a Book Club, which is held before their weekly training session. Coach Guy Hope said: ‘It’s a bit of fun and the Titans really enjoy talking about the books they’ve read.’

Keep it up, boys!

‘SPY DOG’ VISITS ELMS PUPILS

Pupils from Years 2-5 at The Elms, Junior School to Trent College, were in for a treat this week, when award winning author Andrew Cope and his dog Lara came to visit, creating a perfect start to the School’s World Book Week activities.
Lara is the inspiration behind Andrew’s bestselling Spy Dog novels, in which a specially trained secret agent dog has many adventures, chasing mega-baddy ‘Mr Big’. The real Lara cannot play computer games or drive a car like her counterpart in the books but she was very patient with the pupils who all wanted to stroke her.
Andrew, from Derby, gave an inspirational talk to the children about books and stories, explaining why reading is so important today and explained to pupils that reading encourages the imagination and makes your brain work harder than watching T.V. The pupils went away with signed copies of the Spy Dog books (Andrew even gave out some free copies) and were inspired to take part in a competition, designed to fire their imagination and improve their writing skills, by writing their own story about a pet gorilla. As an extra incentive all entries stand a chance of winning a special Spy Dog t-shirt!
Andrew’s incredibly popular books have won several awards, including a Nottingham Book Award and Redhouse Children’s Book of the Year.
Both The Elms and Trent College believe that reading is an important factor in ensuring the well-being and happiness of our children and The Elms’ wonderful new library promotes reading for pleasure in a variety of ways, one of which is through meeting an author. All pupils at The Elms have now met a writer this academic year, which has further inspired them to read and to use their imagination. And they have had a lot of fun, too!

WORLD BOOK DAY CELEBRATED IN STYLE AT TRENT COLLEGE

World Book Day is always a day to remember for Trent College and its Junior School, The Elms, and this year was no exception.
Held on Thursday 4th March, World Book Day is the biggest annual celebration of books and reading in the UK and Ireland. One of its main aims is to encourage children to read for pleasure, something which is actively promoted all year round by Trent College through events, book clubs and author visits. To celebrate the day, the School’s Library Services team organised a number of fun activities involving all children from 3 – 18 years old.
At The Elms, staff and pupils came to school dressed as their favourite characters from books; there were princesses and fairies, secret agents and superheros, even the Gruffalo made an appearance! ‘Wally’ from Where’s Wally was also spotted in the crowd.
At Trent, the School Bookshop, based in the Warner Library, had some special offers for the day and long queues were forming as early as 8.30am, with children eager to spend their £1 World Book Day token on a wide selection of books. At lunchtime, live music, drinks and biscuits ensured that the library was buzzing with enthusiastic students of all ages.
With a literary theme in mind, the Trent College Catering Department prepared a magnificent lunch based on Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes book, including ‘bird pie’ complete with ‘birds legs’! Across the School, tutors devoted their PSHE lessons to reading and discussing books.
The school day ended with a literary quiz held in Warner Library. Seven teams took on the challenge of answering questions about books, authors and films and impressed the experts with their knowledge. The winning team from Year 8 went home with a big box of chocolates and even bigger smiles on their faces.
Talking about the success of the day, Annike Dase, Head of Library Services said: ‘It was a fantastic day, celebrating books and reading across both Schools. Literature plays a big part in children’s development, from language learning to higher thinking skills, and it is important to foster a love of reading from an early age. That is why Trent College and The Elms embrace World Book Day every year and make it a memorable event for everyone.’

SPEEDY SKATER GLIDES TO SUCCESS

A Year 8 pupil from Trent College in Long Eaton has earned her place in the top eight speed skaters in Western Europe, one of only two British girls to do so.

Last month, Jennifer Pickering, 13, took part in the final Star Class competition in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, finishing in 6th place. The Star Class is an international competition for elite short track Speed Skaters residing in Western Europe and the grand final, the ‘Future Champions Trophy’, will be held at the beginning of March in Budapest. Jennifer and her fellow Western European skaters will be competing against the top eight from Eastern Europe, and she is one of only five British skaters to have reached the finals of this prestigious competition.

Jennifer started skating when she was just nine years old and spent a year working her way to the highest level, from where she could concentrate on one of the four disciplines; ice dance, figure skating, synchronised skating or speed skating. After gaining gold awards in two of these disciplines, an excited Jennifer was able to start speed skating, a long term ambition. She will finish what is only her second year of competitive racing in April, and has gone from strength to strength in a very short space of time.

In her first year she won the award for most improved skater and finished the season by achieving a qualifying time that enabled her to enter the Star Class competitions. This year, Jennifer won the first international open competition in the skating calendar at Mont Blanc, following this up at home by winning almost all of the domestic competitions she entered. Also, along with three team mates, Jennifer broke the British 2000m relay record, which was a proud moment as she was the captain of the team.

From the beginning of the season it was Jennifer’s goal to make the Star Class grand final, and talking about her achievements, Jennifer’s father, James Pickering said: ‘We are very proud of Jennifer’s determination to succeed in her chosen sport, and everyone comments on her good sportsmanship and positive attitude. It has taken a lot of hard work and dedication to get where she is today and she still strives to improve. She has a long road ahead of her, but I’m sure she’s going to love every minute of it!’

COMMUNITY SPIRIT AS TRENT COLLEGE TEAMS UP WITH WEST PARK

As the cold weather continues, students at Trent College have been in need of a warm and dry place in which to enjoy their traditional outdoor sporting activities. A collaboration with Erewash Borough Council means that this is now a reality!
Students from all year groups are now able to make use of the covered tennis courts in West Park, Long Eaton, located behind the School Campus. The process began in February 2009, when the possibility of purchasing the structures and relocating them onto Trent soil was looked into, but this presented many engineering difficulties and it was decided not to proceed. However, a solution was found, which will benefit both Trent College and the local community, as James Gregory, Director of Estates Services explains:
‘In July 2009 we met with the council and investigated the possibility of leasing the structures in their current position. We are delighted that seven months later we have now secured the use of the spaces, they certainly proved valuable throughout the recent snowy weather! Our own Estates Services team have been working to bring the structures back to a suitable condition to allow unlimited tennis, netball and hockey to be enjoyed by children from Trent College and our Junior School, The Elms. The structures cover two tennis courts and effectively provide two large indoor spaces. It is hoped that the local community can also benefit from our arrangements with the council as local tennis and sporting groups have already shown an interest in using the structures.’
Councillor Mike Wallis, Erewash Borough Council’s Lead Member for Culture and Leisure, has welcomed the link-up between the Council and Trent College: ‘We are very happy to be working with Trent College, which is a well-known and respected school within the borough, and we are delighted that the covered tennis courts at West Park are now up and running again for the benefit of the Erewash community.
‘This is partnership working at its best, which has produced an improved and excellent new leisure facility within our flagship park for both the students at Trent College and for the local residents outside of school hours. It is equally good news that the tennis ‘bubble’ – as it is known locally – will not just be used for tennis. It will provide an all-year-round, covered facility for a whole range of sports activities’
Trent College has a very strong sporting tradition and an enviable record of sporting achievement. The use of the West Park tennis courts will add to the excellent facilities already available at the school, including an indoor swimming pool, sports hall, squash courts, floodlit Astroturf and extensive playing fields.

TOUGH GUYS AT TRENT COLLEGE

Eight brave teachers from Trent College in Long Eaton have taken part in what is said to be the world’s most demanding one day survival ordeal, all in the name of charity.

Teachers Geoff Thompson, James Prince, Max Stevens, Guy Hope, Dan Brown, Kevan Taylor, James Marriot and Ben Ward competed in ‘Tough Guy’ during the last weekend in January to raise money for the Haiti Earthquake Appeal.
Tough Guy is an annual charity event run in Perton, South Staffordshire and claims to be ‘The World’s safest, most dangerous taste of mental and physical pain, fear and endurance’. The Tough Guy charity operates a horse sanctuary for retired/injured racehorses, which is used as a rehabilitation centre for young offenders.
The event, which was first staged in 1986, consists of an eight mile cross county run, followed by a two mile assault course consisting of 21 obstacles including high rope-climbs, barbed wire crawls, electrified obstacles, icy underwater tunnels, walls of fire, and lots of mud! Competitors even sign a ‘Death Warrant’ before the event, accepting full responsibility for their own recklessness.
Around 5000 people entered this year’s event, with just over 4000 completing the course. Design and Technology teacher Ben Ward, who organised Trent College’s participation in the event, came in a magnificent 150th place, with a time of just over 1 hour and 40 minutes. This is the fourth time Trent College have entered a staff team and they are looking to compete again next year.
Ben said: “Tough Guy is unlike any other event; the freezing temperatures really add another dimension to what is already a very challenging course. There is a fantastic camaraderie between competitors that shows just how well people can pull together when the going gets tough!”

TRENT COLLEGE GEARS UP FOR WORLD BOOK DAY

Trent College in Long Eaton always makes a real effort for World Book Day, and this year will be no exception. In preparation for the day on Thursday 4th March, pupils at Trent College’s Junior School, The Elms, have enjoyed a visit from a local children’s author, who inspired them to get reading!

On Tuesday 9th February, children from The Elms Nursery, Reception and Year 1 classes had an exciting morning with a visit from Nottingham based picture book author and paper engineer Jonathan Emmett. Mr Emmett, who is well known for his colourful and captivating pop up books, shared a selection of his books with the children, including Emergency Rescue, Someone Bigger, Tom’s Clockwork Dragon and The Santa Trap. They even had a sneak preview of two brand new books which aren’t available in book shops yet!
After reading his stories to a captivated audience, where it was compulsory for the children to join in at the appropriate moment with animal sounds, Mr Emmett signed the story books bought by the children, resulting in happy faces all round. Both the children and the teachers had the opportunity to learn more about Mr Emmett’s job as a ‘paper engineer’ with a demonstration of how to create their very own pop-up frogs, which is not as easy as it seems.
Still to come this term, the Elms are looking forward to a visit from Andy Cope, another established, talented author who is best known for his ‘Spy Dog’ books, which are beloved by children between 6 and 10 years old. Years 2-5 will have the opportunity to take part in some creative writing with him and best of all: he’ll bring his dog!
Talking about the visit and the importance of reading at both Schools, Annike Dase, Head of Library Services said: ‘At The Elms we know how important reading for pleasure is for happiness and success in life and every pupil in the school will be meeting an author during every academic year. The libraries at The Elms and Trent College work together to encourage all of our students to read for pleasure and enjoy literature from the very first picture book up to Booker Prize winners. It has now become traditional for pupils from both Schools to join together to celebrate reading on World Book Day, and we’re looking forward to another fun day full of book related activities.’

TRENT COLLEGE CHEMISTS VISIT THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM

Chemistry students from Trent College in Long Eaton have had the opportunity to use state of the art equipment, which they would normally only read about in their textbooks.

Year 13 students, who are in the final year of their Chemistry A Level course, visited The University of Nottingham this month for a spectroscopy masterclass. Spectroscopy is used in, for example, the analysis of chemical samples, for forensic analysis purposes and for checking purity in the manufacture of new pharmaceuticals.
Head of Chemistry at Trent College, Dr Carrie-Ann Wakerley commented: ‘The visit really enhanced our students’ A2 studies as it allowed them to use apparatus that otherwise they would only read about in books. They made up discs to use on an infra red spectrometer, toured the nuclear magnetic resonance suite (where each machine cost approximately £750,000) and the mass spectrometer suite. Our thanks go to the University of Nottingham for allowing the students to experience this technology for themselves.’

Trent College students have plenty of opportunities to extend and enhance their knowledge of various subjects; English students take part in an annual Creative Writing Residential, Economics and Business students put their skills to the test in a national stock market investment competition, ‘Shares 4Schools’ and A Level artists showcase their work in an exhibition at Chatsworth House. Additionally, all students have the opportunity to take part in a range of cultural trips to locations in the UK and beyond.

ROOSEVELT VISITS NOTTINGHAM HIGH SCHOOL

Haven Roosevelt, the grandson of former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, has visited Nottingham High School to speak to its History and Politics Societies.
Mr Roosevelt, discussed his younger days, particularly those associated with his grandparents, including his grandmother Eleanor’s active work in social and welfare reform in the United Nations in the aftermath of the Second World War. He also talked about ‘Conflict or Consensus’, questioning which approach is the better method to adopt in the political arena when pushing through reforms. To illustrate this, he chose examples of his own grandfather introducing reforms as part of the ‘New Deal’ to combat depression in the United States after 1933 and also drew parallels with modern day American politics where President Obama is currently attempting to push health reforms through Congress.
“It was great to have Mr Roosevelt to come and speak to the boys”, said Peter Cramp, head of economics and politics at Nottingham High School. “Both the pupils and teachers found it fascinating to hear stories of his childhood as well as his opinions and views on current politics. It was an extremely valuable experience.”
Mr Roosevelt was on a visit to Nottingham as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations of the creation of the Nottingham Roosevelt Travelling Scholarship – a unique programme which enables men and women aged between 21 and 30, living and working in Nottinghamshire, to visit the USA for between four weeks and three months to investigate a work related topic of their choice.

UNESCO DECLARES FORMER TRENT COLLEGE PUPIL ‘HISTORIC ICON’

A former pupil of Trent College in Long Eaton, who attended the School in the 1920s, has been honoured by an international organisation.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has honoured The Honourable Mom Rajawongse (Mr) Kukrit Pramoj, by declaring him to be a ‘Great Personality.’ Mr Kukrit, a member of the Thai Royal Family, attended Trent College from 1927 – 1929, and went on to Oxford University where he gained a first in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
The announcement of the ‘Anniversaries of Great Personalities and Historic Events for 2010-2011’ was made at the 35th UNESCO general assembly in Paris, with the 100th anniversary of Mr Kukrit’s birth in 2011 announced as one of the anniversaries which will be celebrated. There will be commemorative events held in Thailand throughout that year, including cultural shows and a mobile exhibition of his life and work.
Mr Kukrit was named as an historic icon by UNESCO through his contributions to education, culture, society and media. He served as the thirteenth Prime Minister of Thailand, was the founder of the Siam Rath newspaper, and writer of the classical novels Si Pan Din and Phai Daeng. In a career with incredible breadth, he also appeared with Marlon Brando in the Hollywood film ‘The Ugly American’, and was named National Artist for Literature in 1985 in Thailand, ten years before he died aged 84.
His elder brother, Mr Seni Pramoj, who attended Trent in the 1920s, was also a former Prime Minister of Thailand, as well as receiving the prestigious ‘Birkenhead Prize’ when serving at the English Bar. Perhaps down to his education at Trent and whilst he was Ambassador to Washington in 1942, Mr Seni refused to deliver the declaration of war against America and Britain, as it did not reflect the will of the citizens.
The Thai Lecture Theatre, a room that all Trent pupils are very familiar with, is named in recognition of the many fine Thai ‘Old Tridents’ and the contribution they have made to the School. The Old Tridents’ Society was formed in 1903 by a Trent College housemaster, as a way for former pupils to keep in contact with each other, and the school, long after they had left. Over 100 years later, the Society is still going strong, arranging a variety of events, reunions and activities for alumni of Trent College