MVC News

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Summer 2021

The News Magazine of Melbourn Village College, an Academy of The Cam Academy Trust

Year 11 Bounce out of MVC — Page 2

iPads for newcomers MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE

Learning for pupils starting education mean this is just at Melbourn Village College not possible and we will still is set to be enhanced by be investing significantly to the planned rollout of enable this to go ahead.” iPads to the new Year 7.

He added: “The Trust Following the success of a carried out extensive similar project at Cambourne research into the most Village College, like appropriate device which is Melbourn part of The Cam why we are using iPads.

Academy Trust, all new They need to be robust and pupils in the youngest year fit for purpose.” group will be given the Although there have been opportunity to lease the some concerns over the Apple devices to use in cost, more than 92% of school and at home. parents who responded to a Those joining Year 7 will get survey by the college are in iPads on a three-year lease favour of the project. for a voluntary contribution of “No student will miss out and £11 a month and it is hoped we hope that even those to be able to roll this out to who don’t sign up to the other year groups in future. project will be able to use an PART OF THEIR SCHOOL EQUIPMENT: All students at Cambourne Village Principal Simon Holmes said: iPad in school,” said Mr College now have access to iPads.

“We are very excited about Holmes. “We have kept the this project. Whilst it is not without cost, we are committed to giving every pupil contribution as low as possible, and it is voluntary, although we do need a the best education possible and believe that technology can play a crucial role in significant proportion to sign up. All contributions will go directly towards the cost transforming learning opportunities and preparing pupils for their future careers. of the scheme.”

“Nobody will miss out due to financial constraints and there will be financial All students at Cambourne Village College now have iPads and from September support for all those who need it, not only those who are disadvantaged or in iPads are being rolled out to students in Key Stage 3 at Comberton Village receipt of Pupil Premium.

College, meaning students will have similar experiences at all three of the South “We would love to be able to pay the full cost but the current levels of funding for Cambridgeshire secondary schools in the Trust.

And too soon Year 11 were gone . . .

The last day of the first half term was the final day in school for our Year 11 pupils, although their official leaving day was 25th June.

In the morning, they had their group and individual photos taken, with a final English assessment during period 2.

Fortunately there was fantastic weather for the ‘leavers event’ in the afternoon.

Pupils had fun on a bouncy castle, and enjoyed ice cream and games on the back field as well as the traditional shirt-signing.

They also have a Yearbook packed with wonderful memories of their time at MVC. We wish them all the best for GCSE results day on 12th August.

q New Sensory Room — 3 q Supporting Mental Health — 3 q Pupils Rise to Challenge — 3 q Mandarin Takes Off — 4 q Visiting China — virtually — 4 q Into the Final — 4 q A Steep Learning Curve — 5 q History on the Doorstep — 5 2

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

q Help with Moving On — 5 q Young Carers in Focus — 6 q Flocking to Enrichment — 6 q Staff Move On — 6 q ‘Believe in Yourself’ — 7 q New Book Award — 7 q Safety Newsletter Launch — 7 q GCSE Art goes Online — 8 & 9

MAKING MEMORIES: Year 11 mark their last day at Melbourn VC.

q Range of Work on Show — 10 q Group Initiate Change — 11 q Pupils Raise Awareness — 11 q Top Marks for Caterers — 11 q Trust News — 12 q SCSSP Latest — 13 q Sport — 13-15 q Melbourn Sports Centre — 16

New room is popular

Work on the new sensory room in the Student Support Centre is nearing completion.

Staff and parents donated paint, other supplies and equipment from a ‘wish list’ created by pupils and SSC staff.

Mrs Patel has been leading the project and is proud of her first attempt at blending paints using calming colours of the sea.

Mrs Patel said: “The space is aimed to stimulate the senses, promoting deescalation and encouraging engagement.

“Sensory experiences can be hugely beneficial to children, promoting a range of developmental skills, such as colour recognition, hand-eye coordination, fine and gross motor skills.

“The sensory room is still a work in progress but it is wonderful to see how

MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE

SENSORY ROOM: A new calming space for pupils. popular the space has become with pupils who are using it more on a daily basis.”

Patrick, in Year 9, has been fundraising to buy equipment for the room.

He held a cupcake sale for staff and has been selling vegetables that he has grown himself in the school garden. He has raised over £100 so far and has put the money towards buying a projector which can display different lighting and shapes on the walls and ceiling.

Supporting mental health is key

One of MVC’s main priorities during the pandemic has been to support the mental health and wellbeing of pupils.

A number of provisions have been put in place to help with this: l Wellbeing Wednesdays where tutors deliver a short session in the morning focusing on a key aspect of wellbeing such as “Building Resilience”. l Year 11 pupils received a talk from MACK (Motivation, Aspiration, Confidence, Knowledge) about coping with stress and anxiety. l Year 8, 9 and 10 pupils received sessions

Pupils rise to challenge

every few weeks from ‘Directional CIC’ on being positive, reflecting on their skill set and thinking about their future. Directional aims to ‘Inspire the Next Generation’ through engaging them in sports, positive activities and providing relatable role models, working with pupils via 1-1 work, group activities and open sessions.’ l Year 7 pupils received several sessions from MACK exploring emotional resilience. l Enrichment activities were back up and running: being part of an afterschool club or group can really help young people’s wellbeing.

MACK ran some after-school sessions on

Wednesdays for Year 7s, based around friendships and communication and, on Thursdays, Directional gave all Year 8 fun sessions on confidence and resilience. l During Mental Health Awareness Week in May, tutors challenged pupils to do something to promote positive mental health. The challenges have included saying ‘hello’ or asking ‘how are you?’ to someone they do not know very well, or noticing the environment around them more — appreciating social time at school with their friends.

To celebrate what would have been Captain Sir Tom Moore’s 101st birthday and his amazing legacy, pupils took part in the Captain Tom 100 Challenge.

They supported the challenge by doing different activities such as 100 squats, lunges and burpees in PE and Mrs Bentley’s maths class did 100 multiplications.

Pupils were allowed to wear non-school uniform for a £1 contribution to the charity.

MVC is delighted to have raised nearly £400 via ParentPay with additional donations made online.

HUNDREDS OF WAYS TO RAISE MONEY: Students took on different challenges as part of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s legacy.

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MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE

Mandarin takes off . . .

THEN AND NOW: Frank Fan introducing Mandarin in 2016 as a newly-qualified teacher and as Head of Languages in 2021.

It has been five years since Mandarin was Mandarin teacher Frank Fan reflects on The now highly-successful progress of introduced at MVC in 2016, the year I finished Cambridgeshire’s first in-school Mandarin course the five years since Melbourn Village my PGCE teacher training course and was was shared on different platforms such as the Times College became the first school in offered the opportunity to be the first Mandarin Educational Supplement, the British Council, the teacher not only at MVC but also in the whole of Cambridgeshire to make the language Institute of Education and even BBC News. We Cambridgeshire. were on the move. part of the curriculum It was a radical change for MVC; it was also a At MVC, pupils are not only learning Mandarin as a challenge for a newly-qualified teacher to start the subject from scratch. language, but also experiencing the Chinese culture.

However, with the support of the staff and Principal at the school, Mandarin was We offer all kinds of opportunities to pupils, which include the Beijing exchange successfully set up with many positive comments from pupils, parents and programme, an MEP trip to China and an English experience at MVC for Chinese governors, which were echoed in our Ofsted report in 2017. students.

Mandarin had taken off.

All these events help our pupils to understand more about the subject and its Considering that only 77 Year 7 pupils were learning Mandarin in the September background. of 2016, I was thrilled to find 26 chose to pursue Mandarin at GCSE in 2019 — no I feel very lucky to work at MVC because the school offers me such a great easy task. professional opportunity.

From then on, the number of pupils who choose Mandarin GCSE has grown year Five years ago, I was a newly-qualified Mandarin teacher; now I am the Head of on year.

Languages.

From September we are offering A-level Mandarin to a number of students at While the Mandarin Department will have two new members of staff in Comberton Sixth Form.

September, I am also enjoying working collaboratively with our great Spanish In addition, the Mandarin Excellence Programme was successfully launched at teaching team; it is their fantastic work that brings so much extra colour to my life MVC in 2017 with the rigorous and challenging ‘hurdle tests’ each year. here. Thank you all for your support.

Visiting China — virtually

DIFFERENT TIMES: Melbourn students experiencing Chinese culture in person in 2019 The Mandarin Excellence Programme’s trip to China has not been possible for 2020 or 2021 due to Covid.

However, the MEP team worked with partners in China to provide Year 9 and 10 pupils with a twoweek enjoyable educational virtual visit to China.

The event, earlier this month, included thematic virtual tours of different locations in China and live events and activities as part of a large national activity with other UK schools.

The highlights included: l ‘Behind the scenes’ virtual visits to important cultural and tourist sights and locations l Opportunities to virtually meet and talk to Chinese people l Relevant language revision and new learning relevant to the themes to help students prepare and get the most out of the visit l A Chinese “buddy” group/language partners to help with language practice.

The themes and cities chosen for lessons, virtual

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visits and live panel discussions with Chinese experts were: l A Panda Zoo, Chengdu l The Winter Olympics, Beijing l A Chinese School, Xi’an l Renewable Energy and Climate, Shanghai– linked to COP26.

The structure of the online event is that students attended for the full two weeks to participate in the whole programme, which was designed to be interactive.

Students still enjoyed the activities, however, with Esther commenting: “It is very fun and engaging because you learn lots about China as well as new vocabulary. I like that it tests our knowledge.”

Lucy added: “I love how it allowed us to interact with other schools’ work. It’s interesting to see each school’s unique take on the range of tasks we’ve been given.”

Abigail said: “I have learnt a lot about tourism in Chinese. It has been very fun to do.”

Into the final!

MANDARIN EXCELLENCE: National finalist.

Congratulations to Samuel (8H) for getting through to to final stage of the 2021 British Council Mandarin Speaking Competition together with eight pupils from different schools across the country.

This is a fantastic achievement. l Mr Fan’s Year 11 GCSE Mandarin class enjoyed a final fun session of ‘Students vs Teacher’ on their last day as he tried to ‘catch them out’ with a vocabulary quiz, but they were too quick with the answers!

MVC is very proud that this group of pupils are the first to have taken the full Mandarin GCSE test paper.

They have really worked very hard, even during the lockdown, and we wish them all the very best.

A steep learning curve!

MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE

INTERESTING FIRST YEAR: At MVC for new Assistant Principal Euan Willder.

My first year at MVC has been interesting to say the least!

Starting at a new school is a challenge at the best of times, getting used to new systems, routines, pupils and staff.

Add to that the return from lockdown 1 for most pupils and new rules and regulations to navigate certainly kept me on my toes!

MVC is a fantastically unique place and being a smaller school it has been great to get to know a large proportion of the pupils very quickly.

Pupils at Melbourn are polite and are a joy to work with. I have been very impressed with their resilience and commitment in playing their part in engaging well with lessons both at school and at home this year.

Their willingness to reflect on their progress and personal development is a real strength.

I have had the pleasure of teaching Physics to Year 11, Year 10 and Year 8 classes.

We have had less time to engage with practical work but when we have the pupils have responded well and are able to discover more about the key concepts they are studying.

Having previously been a Head of Department in my old school, I was very subject and curriculumfocused.

Now I fully appreciate the hard work, dedication and skill with which all support staff, from Teaching Assistants to reception, the exams team and pastoral team put in day in day out behind the scenes to safeguard our pupils and ensure the school runs smoothly.

We have implemented some new procedures and practices in whole school attendance, mental health and well being and our approach to how we get pupils to think about their future careers. Year 11 pupils did themselves proud with their Post-16 college and apprenticeship applications; lots of really strong applications to a wide variety of courses such as A-Levels, hairdressing and the motor industry.

Pupils and staff will really deserve their summer break to recharge and come back raring to go next year.

I look forward to continuing to work hard to ensure MVC pupils do the best they possibly can at school.

Euan Willder, Assistant Principal

Exploring history on the doorstep

CLOSE TO HOME: Students visited All Saints Church and the war memorial in Melbourn for their History studies.

Year 7 students are studying the impact of the Medieval Church on every day life in England.

Having studied the terrible Black Death of 1348, where many peasants believed that God was punishing the people for their wicked behaviour, students have now gone on to look at how ordinary people were influenced by the Church.

The role of the Christian Church will be a key part of the Year 8 course, where students learn about Henry

VIII and his infamous clash with the Roman Catholic Church over the issue of his divorce.

They visited All Saints Church in Melbourn as part of their studies.

Students asked very intelligent questions about how the Church controlled people’s behaviour for fear of going to Hell and this was one of the root causes for the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.

One student commented that ‘this little Church has

so many interesting features’, another felt that ‘the gargoyles are the best part’ with a third who realised that there were a lot of names around the Church site still connected to Melbourn’s community today.

It was also interesting to see the memorial to the men of the village who fought and died for their country in the First and Second World Wars.

George Tobutt, Head Department

Help with moving on

With the usual transition events unable to take place this year due to Covid restrictions, staff at MVC have been working hard to ensure pupils joining Year 7 in September — and their parents and carers — feel as prepared as possible.

Head of Year Cat Nicholls, John Barnes (the member of the Senior Leadership Team responsible for transition) and Anna Ghale (SENDCo) have been visiting Melbourn’s partner primary schools to help youngsters be ready for their switch to secondary school in September.

In addition, various teachers have been giving taster lessons at the primary schools, rather than the pupils visiting Melbourn.

Frank Fan, Head of Languages, was a big hit at Harston & Newton Primary, where he introduced Year 6 to Mandarin (left), and David Wilson kept Thriplow pupils on their toes with some Chemistry and Physics (right).

Parents and their children had a virtual meeting with their form tutor last week and a meeting with subject leaders is scheduled for September.

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Young carers in focus MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE

Young Carers were in the spotlight as Melbourn highlighted Carers Week in June as individuals, organisations and communities across the country came together to celebrate carers and to make caring visible and valued.

Assistant Principal Euan Willder presented a whole school assembly about young carers.

A young carer is anybody under the age of 18 with caring responsibilities for a family member or friend.

This can be a big role or it can just be helping with a few extra things around the house.

The responsibilities of a young carer can make it hard for them to keep up with school.

Access to resources, time to do schoolwork/attend clubs/see friends, and even attending school, can be challenging.

Flocking back to enrichment clubs

Young Carers still have to study for exams, do homework, look after themselves, and not lose sight of their dreams.

As a result of the pandemic, there are an increased number of young carers with more than 30 pupils at MVC classed as Young Carers.

MVC celebrates and supports Young Carers in school by offering one-to-one support with Mrs Daly, The Young Carers Champion, or any other member of the Pastoral Team.

Pupils can speak to their Form Tutor or Head of Year.

More information is available from: https://centre33.org.uk/help/caring-secondary-age/ and https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/information/young-people/well-being.

Enrichment activities started again after Easter in Covid-secure groups and it was great to see a large number of pupils taking part in a wide range of activities, including Pottery, Steel Band, Choir, Rounders/Cricket, Table Tennis/Tennis, Squash at Melbourn Squash Club, Football, Netball/Basketball, Running, Minecraft and EcoGroup.

Six staff move on to pastures new

GETTING INVOLVED: Students have enjoyed the resumption of enrichment activities after the enforced Covid break.

At the end of this year, Melbourn bids farewell to six members of staff — Bryan Chen (Mandarin), Tom Fung (Computer Studies), Sophie Bryce (Pottery), George Trump (TA), Anne Rice (Science Technician) and Karin Doyle (Principal’s PA).

Principal Simon Holmes said: “In the true spirit of our motto, Everybody is Somebody, they have each made their own individual and valuable contributions to life at MVC. “We will miss them all and wish them well in their new ventures. Good luck for the future.”

Mrs Rice has been at MVC for 13 years and Head of Science Simon Callow said: “Anne has worked tirelessly to support the science department by efficiently preparing lessons and organising equipment, as well as performing countless essential admin tasks.

“She has been an amazing colleague, whose calm and cheerful manner and methodical work ethic will be greatly missed (as will her knowledge of the latest cricket scores!)”

Mr Fung leaves after two years in which he not only shared his computing knowledge but also ran the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.

Head of Maths John Holder said: “In this time Tom has become a valued member of staff, appreciated by students as well as colleagues.

He has made significant contributions to school life; running the Duke of Edinburgh scheme and

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being a part of the after school running club are only a couple of highlights.”

Mr Chen was Melbourn’s second Mandarin teacher and said: “It’s been my pleasure to work with professional colleagues, lovely children and supportive parents for the past three years.

Whilst looking forward to my new adventure in the next chapter of teaching career, I will miss the good old days we had here.”

Pottery was part of the KS3 Art curriculum and pupils loved getting creative with clay. Head of Art Sarah Heeks said: “Sophie Bryce will be missed. Pupils really enjoyed her pottery lessons, being able to work with clay and make quality outcomes.”

Mr Trump worked with pupils with additional needs and SENDCo Anna Ghale said: “George has been an extremely professional and perceptive member of staff who is well liked by all students. He is adaptable, knowledgeable and a natural teacher. He exudes calm and reassures pupils with his good-humoured nature. He will be really missed by pupils and staff.”

Principal Simon Holmes said of his PA: “Karin quickly established herself as an important part of the college administrative infrastructure.

Having unexpectedly found herself in a position to make a significant lifestyle change, we wish her all the best for the future. We will miss her enthusiasm, positivity and hard work.”

FOND FAREWELLS: Several staff are leaving MVC at the end of term.

MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE

‘Believe in yourself!’

After leaving MVC in 2015, Tom Jackson completed his A-levels at Long Road Sixth Form, graduated from Solent University with a firstclass degree in Sports Journalism and now works in his dream job at Royston-based motorsport management firm, MB Partners — led by former Formula One driver, Mark Blundell.

Tom, who was Head Boy in his final year at Melbourn, is keen to share his experiences and tips to help those who are set to embark on a similar journey in the years ahead. His first tip starts from within.

“My absolute first tip is to just believe in yourself,” said Tom. “Whatever you think you can’t do, you absolutely can. So go and do it.

“For a long time I really struggled with my confidence, and sometimes still do, but I now have this inner belief that I know I’m good enough.

“We all go through moments of feeling like we’re out of our depth or we don’t deserve to be where we are and no matter what others may say to you to convince you otherwise, the thought never leaves

your mind. That’s human nature.

“But when you take a step back and really think about where you are and what you’re doing, you’ll soon realise that you belong a lot more than you think.”

An avid motorsport fan since he was three years old, Tom knew he wanted to work in the sport from a very early age. This meant he knew exactly what he needed to do to reach his goals and how to go about getting there.

“I was very fortunate in knowing very early on what it was that I wanted to devote my life to.” he said. “I know lots of people aren’t that lucky and can spend a lot of time thinking about what they might want to do and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

“It’s an age-old societal problem that people think we’re all bound by the same schedule but that simply isn’t the case.

“Success isn’t measured by time, so you don’t need to rush.

“For me, it meant I could work on my goal right from GCSEs, choosing the right subjects that I knew

New award for book lovers

would help push me closer through sixth form and at university — which it all did.

“But that doesn’t mean my path is correct for everyone so don’t despair if you don’t know what you want to do.

“Your teens and early twenties are the time to push yourself and try new, different and interesting things.

Some may stick, some may not, but at some point you will find your calling.”

Following ten years of hard work, Tom was rewarded with his childhood dream of becoming an F1 journalist and working in the paddock.

During his time there, he got the chance to interview the likes of Lewis Hamilton — an experience he will never forget.

His final tip is to work as hard as possible and take any opportunity that comes your way. l We are always keen to hear from our former students, so if you attended MVC and have a story to share, please contact Hilary Forrester on hforrester@melbournvc.org or fill in the alumni form on our website.

TOP REVIEWERS: The Spring and Summer term winners of the best book reviews.

The English Department have set up an award for the best book review contributions to the Year 7 Book Guide every term.

Well done to the spring and summer term winners who were presented with a certificate of achievement, Book Token and points for their Form: l Gold certificate: Oscar (7H), Abigail (7D) l Silver certificate: Evelyn (7H), Samuel (7D)

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE: Tom Jackson has his dream job of working in Formula One.

l Bronze certificate: Lily (7H), Ben (7H) Oscar also won a prize for outstanding contribution throughout the year.

You can read their reviews and other recommendations on the Book Guide at: https://mvcy7bookguide.wordpress.com/ Pupils in Year 7 can email their book reviews to: mbacon@melbournvc.org

Safety newsletter launched

Our new monthly Online Safety Newsletter started in May and is being prepared for us

by Knowsley City Learning Centres.

The content is topical and we can tailor it to any issues as needed.

The newsletter is sent out to parents and is available on our website: https://www.melbournvc.org/parent-carer-andpupil-information/safety-and-safeguarding Recent issues included advice on parental controls, safety tips and reporting tools, social networking, SEND Online Safety Hub, screen time devices, apps and programmes such as Nintendo Switch, Snapchat, Discord and Houseparty, YouTube, Omegle, Your Digital Footprint and The Dove Self-Esteem Project, which includes a video about retouching apps and the pressure to post the perfect selfie.

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GCSE artists are able to MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE

Students taking GCSE Fine Art at Melbourn Village College have been exhibiting their final pieces of work to the public online.

Covid restrictions curtailed the annual Year 11 exhibition hosted at The Plough in Shepreth. Instead every final piece has been framed and displayed in the main corridor of the school for staff and other students to enjoy.

To give the amazing work a wider audience, including proud parents and other relatives, the Art Department has turned the work into a virtual exhibition, which can be viewed via the college website: https://www.melbournvc.org/news/article/MVC-Virtual-Art-Exhibition-2021 Head of Art, Sarah Heeks said: "I am truly amazed by the pupils’ resilience and the creative energy displayed throughout this difficult time and feel their work

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celebrates the outstanding achievement of the 2021 Art class. I will miss them all and wish them the very best in the future.

“We hope to hold the annual summer MVC GCSE exhibition at The Plough in Shepreth again next year if Covid restrictions and other issues allow.

“We appreciate the support we have received for many years from everyone at The Plough, allowing the local community to see MVC students’ artwork in such a professional setting.”

Principal Simon Holmes added: “Every year I am hugely impressed by the artwork produced by MVC pupils and this year is no exception.

“To produce this level of work whilst facing the challenges they did is a fantastic achievement. Congratulations to all the pupils and to our dedicated Art teachers.”

ONLINE EXHIBITION: GCSE Fine Art pupils’ final pieces as well as examples from their sketchbooks are available to view online via the college website.

exhibit best work online

MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE

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Range of work on show MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE

Art themes this term included Illuminated Lettering (Year 7), Collections including Robots and Sweets & Treats (Year 8) and Pop Art (Year 9).

Students have been doing research and mixed media work in lesson time and also rotating to pottery in small groups in Years 7 and 8, to be taught by Mrs Bryce.

There the Year 7s have worked on letter pottery designs to go alongside artwork on Illuminated Manuscripts and Gemma Black Art Calligraphy work.

Year 8 have been working on robot-based and sweets and treats pottery design and mixed media illustrations.

Meanwhile, Year 9 looked at Pop Art research pages and completed observational drawings of cans. Year 10 have produced some amazing artwork on the subject of Faces of Humanity and Wonders of Nature.

Enrichment classes with Mrs Ward have been using Acrylic to develop higher level skills for their Pop Art work.

ART THROUGH THE YEARS: Year 7 letters, Year 8 sweets, Year 9 Pop Art and Year 10s faces and nature work.

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MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE

Eco group initiate change

VISIBLE CHANGES: Melbourn has new fountains and Eco Group pupils and staff have been ‘greening up’ outside.

The MVC Eco Group has been going from strength to strength over the last two years.

In 2020 we were able to install seven new water fountains with bottle refilling facilities around school, with the aim of reducing single use plastic by refilling water bottles. This was the result of funding from the South Cambridgeshire District Council Zero Carbon Emissions Community Grant.

In March, pupils had an online talk about recycling in South Cambridgeshire from Birgitta Laurent, the recycling co-ordinator for the area.

They learnt about what happens to the waste from our blue, black and green bins when it arrives at the Amey Waste management park at Waterbeach. Inspired by this, the Eco Group established recycling points for empty crisp packets, used pens and board markers to send off for recycling through TerraCycle, who specialise in hard-to-recycle waste products.

The next focus for the Eco Group was ‘greening-up’ the school by adding some pot plants inside and some pollinator-friendly plants outside. Following a request, we were delighted to receive donations of plants from friends and parents.

Pupils spent their lunchtimes repotting and propagating. After school, they did some planting around the school grounds, assisted by Mrs Neville and other members of staff.

Other changes that the Eco Group have initated include ‘tweaking’ the grass cutting plan around school to do our bit to help insects and wildlife.

The hedge boundary is being left to grow long.

The charity Bug Life has created a map of B-Lines, which are wildlife corridors specifically for pollinators.

Allowing wildflowers and grass to grow anywhere helps, but the charity aims to focus on creating corridors of pollinating plants to help insects move from one area to another more easily.

It turns out that Melbourn Village College is on one of these B-Lines!

Going forward the Eco Group has lots in the pipeline. Discussions are under way to look at how we might be able to introduce Meat-free Mondays in the canteen, and a ‘wildflower meadow’ has been planted in an area at the edge of the field.

We look forward to enjoying this when it comes into flower next year.

There are also plans to set up an Eco Committee (with at least one member from each year group) with a view to working towards an EcoSchool Green flag award for Melbourn VC. In September there will be a call out to join the all -student committee, which will carry out a survey and create an action plan for eco-action around the school.

Anybody interested can talk to Mrs Neville.

Pupils raise awareness

Top marks for catering team SPECIAL EFFORT: MVC has places to

dispose of those hard-to-recycle items.

REPRESENTATIVES: MVC pupils were the

only UK students at the live discussion.

After returning from the Easter break, we were delighted to be informed that MVC have once again retained our outstanding Food Hygiene Rating Level 5.

Ratings provide a snapshot of the standards of food hygiene found at the time of inspection including: l handling of food l how food is stored l how food is prepared l cleanliness of facilities l how food safety is managed Well done to our fantastic team of catering staff.

TOP RATING: For MVC’s caterers.

Nine pupils from Year 7 took part in Earth Day 2021, joining other schools internationally in an online activity named ‘Protect the earth, our common homeland’.

This event was supported by Natural Sciences Sector Coordinator of UNESCO with the Congratulation Speech by Mr Plea.

The aim of this online activity is to help pupils to raise environmental awareness with an international perspective.

There were around 10 schools from different countries such as China, Philippines, Indonesia, Finland and Canada taking part.

MVC was the only UK school to join the live discussion.

Our pupils did a presentation covering two topics: l The effect of the pandemic on pupils in the UK l Environmental awareness and environmental protection activities in the UK Pupils made the following comments: “This event helps us to learn about environmental awareness.”

“It has a good message that people are ruining the world. It needs to be saved before it is too late.”

We are very proud of our pupils for researching their presentation and sharing their views with the world.

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Primary wants to link up THE CAM ACADEMY TRUST NEWS

Bourn Primary Academy, a church school in the catchment of Comberton Village College, is looking to join the community of The Cam Academy Trust.

We have been working on an associate model that can work appropriately for the school with the intention that this will be ready for this September.

We very much look forward to this possibility happening, enabling a school local to others in the Trust to join the educational community of our group of schools.

Sixth forms will work more closely

Ways to support mental health

SHARING EXPERTISE: Melbourn’s specialist teachers will teach A Level Mandarin at Comberton Sixth Form.

The Trust’s new Framework for supporting Mental Health and Well Being in all schools in the Trust has been launched.

This is seen as a clear priority in all our schools moving forward and the framework clarifies commitments to this and how it can work out in practice.

It was viewed as an important area for all schools before the pandemic and the need has strengthened through the past year.

Included in this is the important role of the Mental Health and Well Being Lead in each school in the Trust and a strong commitment to staff training in all schools to strengthen staff understanding and capability in this territory.

The starting point for this has been to audit the specific training needs and priorities for each school. Full training will then start taking place from the beginning of next term.

PRIORITY: The youngest pupils learn mindfulness as part of the Trust’s commitment to mental health and well-being.

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Careful planning has been taking place to enable the Sixth Forms within the Trust to work together much more significantly moving forward.

St Peter’s Sixth Form and Comberton Sixth Form will look to offer certain courses jointly between the two Sixth Forms and make use of the effective practice learned and used recently with virtual education.

Students in one Sixth Form will be able to access certain lessons in the other Sixth Form via logging on and receiving the lessons live.

This can strengthen the curriculum offer available to students in the Sixth Forms.

Combined with the use of virtual teaching to offer more possibilities

CLOSER CONTACT: Bourn Primary Academy could become an associate member of the Trust.

to students is the introduction of Mandarin as a subject at Comberton Sixth Form.

From September, a group of students will study Mandarin at A Level within the Trust for the first time.

This is a direct result of the innovative and extremely successful initiative to introduce the teaching of Mandarin as a foreign language at Melbourn Village College.

Pupils from Melbourn have completed their GCSE programme and some are keen to continue studying the language at Sixth Form.

Teaching for this will be provided by the expert specialist staff at Melbourn.

New role

The Trust sees effective, high-quality continuing professional development (CPD) for staff working in all of its schools as crucial to provide the best possible education for all pupils.

So we are pleased that the new Trust CPD policy comes in to force from this September and Matt Mannas, who works at Comberton Village College, will be seconded for one day a week to help to oversee the policy and its suggested programmes within our schools.

Pioneering project

MATT MANNAS: Seconded.

For several years, the Trust has been working with Cambridgeshire County Council and Buoyges to seek to improve the energy efficiency in all of its Cambridgeshire schools.

This makes both environmental and financial sense. Forms of insulation, lighting and boilers have been changed in many of our schools to enable this.

We are now embarking on the most significant project to date in this territory.

Following the successful acquisition of a grant in excess of £1.8 million from central government to support major energy efficiency projects, coupled with some financial assistance from Cambridgeshire County Council, a major Ground Source Heat Pump system is to be installed at Comberton Village College.

This will be a significant piece of engineering that will seek to provide for all of the future heating needs of the school.

The school will cease to be reliant on all of its oil-fired boilers as is currently the situation.

We hope that this might blaze something of a trail for other such notable energy efficiency developments across public buildings in our country.

We are recruiting new Trustees and Members. Visit www.catrust.co.uk for information

Olympics with a twist!

Round-up of the latest news from the South Cambs SSP

On 22nd June, Year 4 pupils in the South Cambs Schools Sports Partnership were asked to ‘give it their best’ at our annual Mini Olympics Event.

In ‘pre-Covid times’ this would have been a day where we all came together at the Cambridge University Athletics Ground to enjoy a range of different sporting activities run by sports leaders from eight local secondary schools.

For obvious reasons we were not able to do this, however we were able to adapt the event so schools could still take part but on their own school premises.

A total of 31 schools and more than 1300 children joined in on the day.

The day was started with a recorded welcome video from Partnership Manager Claire McDonnell, followed by a short video from a special guest, former professional tennis player Jade Windley.

Jade proudly represented Great Britain DANCE MOVES: Pupils learn the dance routine at the Mini Olympics. throughout her career and won 19 celebration, coming together and having fun. Schools were also given some professional titles as well as achieving her lifelong dream of competing in the cross-curriculum ideas to break up the day, ranging from designing their own main draw of the Championships at Wimbledon. mascot to learning about the history of the Olympic or Paralympic Games.

Jade encouraged all the youngsters taking part to give all the activities a go and We have heard lots of positive feedback from the day and although we were not give it their best. The children were then able to join in a high energy Olympic able to all come together in one place, it has been great to hear how schools themed ‘this or that’ warm-up video with the brothers from Tanzii TV. have enjoyed being part of a bigger event.

We provided resource cards for seven sporting activities including Boccia, One school commented: “we have missed playing with other schools, so it was standing long jump, throwing, cricket, target throw, golf and netball. also a great opportunity to feel part of something bigger than our school”.

We also arranged for the children to learn a dance routine presented via video by When we asked for feedback, another replied: “the children loved everything and professional street dancer, Junior Russell, which focused on friendship, want to do it again!”

Fixtures finally restart The first fixtures for more than a year saw MVC take on King James Academy, Royston at netball and football.

Year 10 footballers had a see-saw match, leading through Joe then trailing 3-1 before a flowing move from Ryan, Joe and Louie and an equaliser from player-of-the-match Alfie levelled the scores. King James eventually won on penalties.

Year 9 were beaten 4-0 but felt the result was not a true reflection of the effort and endurance shown.

The team have been taking part in enrichment football sessions throughout the term and have created a fantastic team spirit.

Mr Barnes said: “It was lovely seeing such a range of

individuals taking part — this is what sport is all about.” The player-of-the-match award went to Charlie for a fantastic performance.

The Year 8 girls also had an enjoyable afternoon of football against King James. There was a fantastic team effort during 7-a-side practice matches and lots of individual improvements resulting in some strong performances. Players of the match were Lulu, Isla S, Maddie, Tilly and Isabel H. The Year 9 girls also faced King James in their first 11-a-side football match. Although they didn’t win, there was some great play and amazing team work in mixed weather conditions. Charlie was named MVC’s player of the match. Well done to both teams.

Lily steps up COMMITTED: To cricket.

ON PITCH: Several MVC teams played fixtures at last.

Lily is the only girl in Year 7 who has transitioned to hard ball cricket this year.

Many girls will have played lot of kwik cricket at primary school, but Lily has shown great commitment to join a local team (Reed) and continue her development as a player.

She has done so well this year that she is playing up a year for them with the Under-13 team!

She was also the only girl to represent the school at the recent Under-13 tournament in Cambourne taking some wickets there with precise bowling.

Well done Lily, keep up the good work.

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Fun at Para Games MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE

Six pupils travelled to Cambourne VC for the first Para Games.

Melbourn had hoped to take more, but unfortunately some were isolating!

Pupils from Cambourne VC and Melbourn VC were in teams of three and they worked their way around eight sporting stations.

They had 15 minutes at each station to practise the event and then compete. Cambourne VC provided the sports leaders at each station. They gave hints and tips on how to succeed, partnered pupils and kept score.

Pupils from MVC said that some of their favourite stations were seated volleyball, boccia, javelin through a hoop and new age curling.

The pupils worked towards the six sporting values which are determination, respect, teamwork, honesty, belief and passion and at the end of the day pupils were awarded certificates and medals around these values.

Head of PE Kelly Coghlan said: “The pupils had a great day and they all worked very hard and were very successful; it was a joy to see them having so much fun and enjoying themselves.

“A big thank you to Mrs Patel and Mrs Rolt who supported the students on the day.

“We are looking forward to more Para Games in the future.”

GOOD TO GO: Melbourn’s team at Cambourne VC and (below) action from the Para Games.

MELBOURN SPORTS CENTRE

HHOLIDAY ACTIVITIES

SUMMER HOLIDAYACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN AGED 4-14 YEARS.......

SWIMMING CRASH COURSE These 5-day crash courses are ideal for children either just starting lessons or for those finding it difficult to progress to the next level.

Dat Date:

Time: T ime: Price: Pr

Monday 26th July ² Friday 30th July Monday 2nd August ² Friday 6th August Monday 9th August ² Friday 13th August Monday 16th August ² Friday 20th August Monday 23rd August ² Friday 27th August

See groups below Members £23.75 / Non-Members £28.75

10.30 ± 11.00 / 11.40 ± 12.10 RED stage 1a/b (Shallow) ± RED Stage 1a/1b ± Entrants to this class may be using armbands and will be learning basic movement skills and water confidence. Ideal for children at full-time school who have had little water experience or are weak swimmers.

11.05 ± 11.35 ORANGE stage 2 / YELLOW stage 3a (Shallow) ± Entrants to this class will be water confident and capable of independent movement with/without aids. They will be able to demonstrate basic floatation skills and have the ability to swim 5 - 8 metres, all without aids.

10.30 ± 11.00 YELLOW stage 3b / GREEN stage 4a (Deep) ± Suitable for confident swimmers who can swim comfortably in deep water over a distance of 2 widths (15-20m) without aids. Lessons will take place out of swimmers¶ depth.

11.05 ± 11.35 GREEN stage 4b / BLUE stage 5 (3/4 Depth) Entrants to this class will be able to show all three basic strokes with breath control and a good understanding of basic technique.

To book then please call us on 01763 263313 or email info@mc-sport.co.uk

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Melbourn Sports Centre, The Village College, The Moor, Melbourn, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 6EF 01763 263313 / www.mc-sport.co.uk / info@mc-sport.co.uk

Trio’s awards for success

Congratulations to Daisy (11N), Ed (11N) and Ryan (11F), who have received the prestigious Cambridge and District Secondary Schools Roy Burrell Award for sporting excellence throughout their time at secondary school and gaining recognition at District level and beyond.

Ryan and Ed are linked with Norwich City and Histon Football Clubs, while Daisy has represented Cambridge MARK OF SUCCESS: A Roy Burrell Award. and County at swimming.

Tasters prove popular

BEST FOOT FORWARD: Football with guidance from Norwich City Visits from specialist football and rugby coaches this term have given pupils the chance to have a go at these sports with expert tuition.

Norwich City sent regional development coaches to MVC to give Year 8 and 9 girls a taster session designed to improve existing skills as well as learn to take feedback then apply new skills in a match at the end of the session.

There were some great skills on display as well as lots of smiles as pupils really engaged with the opportunity.

Adam, from Shelford Rugby Club, ran training sessions for Year 7 and 8 boys and girls as they enjoyed an energetic introduction to the game.

The coach was impressed with how quickly pupils picked up the basic skills — everything from tag ruby to rucking — as well as their enthusiasm, particularly in the matches at the end of the session.

MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE

Pupils clamour to get on snow LAST TIME OUT: MVC’s ski trip in 2020.

Melbourn Village College’s first overseas trip for two years has had more than double the number of applicants than spaces.

And now staff preparing the college’s 2022 ski trip to Austria are already planning for 2023 to ensure nobody who wants to go misses out as the clamour for travel builds again after the pandemic.

Forty students currently in Years 7-10 will head for a week’s skiing in Saalbach Hinterglemm in February half-term, with another 45 on the waiting list for a similar trip 12 months later.

Teacher Cat Nicholls, who is organising both ski trips, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the response. We usually only run ski trips every other year — we got back from the last one just weeks before the first lockdown — but now we are planning to go in 2022 and 2023.

“Students will enjoy six hours a day of full ski instruction as well as evening activities. This learning opportunity outside of the classroom allows students to experience a different culture as well as learning a brilliant skill.

“We are all already looking forward to next February as it’s been such a long time since we’ve been able to give our students these amazing experiences.”

Third for MVC COMPETITION: For Year 7 and 8 cricketers.

Taking the knee

GETTING INTO RUGBY: With help from Shelford Rugby Club.

Some Year 8 pupils celebrated the end of their football unit with a gesture against all forms of racism.

This was a student-led idea and took teacher Richard Barlow by surprise.

“I have been promising the Year 8s a big game for a while as they’ve improved their organisation and attainment. I didn’t expect them to do this though,” he said. “Many have obviously been watching teams doing it before games recently and we spoke as a

GESTURE: Against racism.

group about why players have chosen to do it.”

Melbourn sent a mixed Year 7 and 8 team to play in a cricket tournament at Cambourne Village College.

They started brightly and defeated Impington VC comfortably, but the next two games were a lot tougher.

They ran Cambourne very close in game two but found eventual winners Comberton very difficult.

MVC finished a credible third and there were lots of positives, one being able to play in a sports tournament again after so many have been cancelled due to the pandemic.

PE teacher Richard Barlow was very philosophical. He said: “For two thirds of today we have been very competitive.

“The goal for our pupils who represented the school is to continue to improve in this sport, and for those who don’t play for a club to consider joining the teams local to us.

“Foxton, Thriplow, Royston and Reed all have youth teams.”

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MELBOURN VILLAGE COLLEGE

MELBOURN SPORTS CENTRE news )RU WKRVH RI \RX ZKR GRQ¶W DOUHDG\ NQRZ ZH KDYH

Fitness suite offering a variety of membership schemes A 20-metre swimming pool (kept ever so slightly warmer than most!)

A comprehensive swimming lesson programme, catering for all ages and abilities Upgraded multisport courts for hire including tennis, football and squash courts Water sports courses and activities Traditional and modern exercise classes Access to Melbourn Village College sports hall and gymnasium for activities such as trampolining, badminton and basketball Supervised sports and pool parties

SUMMER 2021 ± /(7¶6 +23( 7+( 6800(5 7,0( %5,1GS SUNNIER TIMES TO US ALL!

GET FIT WITH MSC THIS SUMMER :H KRSH WR KDYH SOHQW\ WR RIIHU HYHU\RQH WKLV 6XPPHU HYHQ LI LW¶V ZLWK &29,'-19 safety measures! So why not come along and get fit and healthy ± both mentally and physically ± at your local sports FHQWUH" 7KHUH¶V ZDWHU DHURELFV DQG Swim Clinic to enjoy DORQJ ZLWK WKH XVXDO VZLPPLQJ VHVVLRQV ,I µGU\¶ DFWLYLWLHV DUH PRUH \RXU WKLQJ WKHQ ZH KDYH RXU full Fitness Suite open for business with pocket-friendly payment options to suit all users. There are also badminton courts available to hire, and with the warmer months now upon us, tennis courts too!

ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN ,W¶V QRW WRR HDUO\ RU WRR ODWH WR ERRN WKRVH summer school holiday activities, which we anticipate will be very popular, so please ensure you get your places booked as early as possible to avoid disappointment. We are hoping to be able to offer a variety of activities to choose from, including our Ofsted Registered Playscheme (The Kidz Factor) and Swimming Crash Courses.

You may like to bring the children along to our Family Fun sessions in the swimming pool (pre-booking essential at present). With restrictions easing, we are hoping to be able to return to our pre-COVID pupil numbers for our popular swimming lesson programme, so if you are looking to enrol your child (or yourself!) in this, then please get in touch for further details.

THE PERFECT PRESENT! Looking for something a little different to buy a loved one or friend? Then how about the gift of fun and fitness? We have some great offers on for the facility in general or just our competitively priced membership schemes for the MSC Fitness Suite, which houses the latest in gymnasium equipment, including CV machines fitted with audio visual technology. Or you could just treat yourself (we all deserve it!!!)

COMING IN 2021 ± A BRAND NEW ASTRO TURF FACILITY! With the wonderful news that Melbourn Village College have secured funding for a new full-sized Astro Turf pitch, we are looking forward to helping this become operational in 2021 and arranging bookings for this brilliant facility. For more details or to book your slot, please contact the centre. :H¶G OLNH WR HQG ZLWK D KXJH WKDQN \RX IRU \RXU VXSSRUW WKURXJK WKLV WRXJK WLPH $OO OHLVXUH IDFLOLWLHV SDUWLFXODUOy smaller ones, are struggling to survive, but with your help and patronage, we will continue to thrive!

We look forward to seeing you this Summer!

For further details on memberships or any of our activities, please call 01763 263313 or go online at www.mc-sport.co.uk. You can also follow us on our Facebook page (melbournsports).

Melbourn Sports Centre, The Village College, The Moor, Melbourn, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 6EF 01763 263313

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