Principal's 11-18 Newsletter - May 2022

Principal’s

11 18 NEWSLETTER

May 2022 Edition 5

Rock School Gig

stephenperse.com

St Barnabas Boarding House

Cambridge is our campus

May 2022 Edition 5

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A word from the Principal

Richard Girvan The longer daylight hours, sunshine and warmer weather afforded by the summer term are such a boon for all kinds of school activities. Students at Stephen Perse have already enjoyed a number of competitive afternoons on the cricket field and at the athletics track, and we are all really looking forward to the upcoming outdoor concert Jazz on a Summer’s Evening on 17 June.

Later in the term, students will celebrate the end of Year 11 at their prom ahead of a relaxing summer beyond GCSEs, while Year 13 will enjoy their Leavers’ Service at Gonville and Caius College, and a poignant farewell dinner with their parents and teachers.

Richard Girvan

Indeed, Cambridge seems to really come into its own during these summer term months, with the River Cam abuzz with activity and the summer sun showing College buildings and the Fens at their very best. Our unique setting and the warmer summer climate combine to give those of our students who are preparing for public exams the chance to study outdoors at local cafes or to take a restorative break from their studies with a pleasant walk along the river, a visit to the botanic gardens, or a cycle ride among the historic buildings of our University city.

Our Stephen Perse community of students and staff recognise how fortunate we are to have all of this on our doorstep, with our Senior Schools and Boarding accommodation located in the heart of such a beautiful and lively city. As this month’s edition of our Newsletter sets out, we realise the importance of making the very most of all of the opportunities provided by our unique geography of local places and people. Teachers and students have, as ever, been busy across the academic and extracurricular gamut.

Flexibility is so important to a happy and successful day and boarding environment.

In this regard, our senior staff has worked over recent years to ensure we can provide a variety of boarding options available to all of our students to suit their own specific needs. While many of our boarders do so full-time throughout the term, we are also now seeing an uptake of more flexible boarding options among day students from Year 10 upwards. We are proud to have such a diverse and vibrant boarding community of local and international families from all over the world.

I am reminded that, as well as academic learning, time spent at school is about learning to live in, and contribute to, a community. I am glad that our own community has such an international aspect, and that all of our students have the chance to learn with, and from, one another in a place of such historic significance, architectural inspiration and contemporary dynamism.

Richard Girvan Principal

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Stephen Perse Boarding Houses Interview with Year 13 Boarding Student Paphon What country are you from and when did you join Stephen Perse?

I’m Paphon and I’m from Thailand, I first joined Stephan Perse at Year 12. The first two terms of my study was online due to COVID, it worked well but I would have loved to be in the actual classroom. I arrived in Cambridge two terms later at Easter and I have been here a year and a month.

What are you studying?

I am studying A levels in Physics, Maths, Further Maths and Chemistry.

Which boarding house do you live in?

I live in Scholars Boarding House, it was my first boarding house experience. I adapted really quickly, I enjoy the freedom and independence and being in the heart of Cambridge and everything it has to offer.

How do you feel about the boarding house rules?

Rules in the boarding house are common sense, there is a good balance between checking that we are happy and safe and allowing us independence. For example, after school there is a welfare check at 6pm, and then study time from 7pm to 9pm.

Have you found it easy to make friends?

It has been really easy to make new friends in the boarding house, there are lots of common rooms where we can meet up to chat, eat snacks, play games and my favourite is watching football! We have so many great times, a highlight was watching the Euros.

Tell me about your room in the boarding house

My room in the boarding house is cosy and is my own personal space. There is everything that you need, a comfortable bed, storage, a work table and an en-suite bathroom.

Do you feel that staying in the boarding house is good preparation for university?

with the added benefit of having structure and support. The boarding house staff are always there when you need them but it’s not intrusive. For example, you see boarding staff three or four times a day when they come to check that we are ok but you also then learn to manage your own time around that, when to work and when to relax. I feel I am independent, self-motivated and organised.

Tell me a bit about Cambridge, what do you enjoy doing?

Living in central Cambridge has the right balance, it’s not too busy like London, it has cinemas, loads of shops and restaurants, parks, the colleges, museums and it is really safe.

I really like all the different restaurants and the variety of cuisines.

What enrichment events do you take part in?

Personally I really enjoy enrichment and the main highlight has been taking part in the MUN conference which was really fun. I also take part in badminton sessions.

What are you going to study at university?

I am going to study Physics with a focus on Astrophysics at university.

I feel it has been really good preparation for university, and has taught me to manage my own life and to take responsibility

@SPFschools

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May 2022 Edition 5

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Interview with Year 12 Boarding Student Tiffany What year are you in and how old were you when you joined Stephen Perse?

I am in Year 12 and I was 16 years old when I joined Stephen Perse. I am studying A levels and live in St Barnabas Boarding House. I have never lived in boarding before.

How did you find adjusting to boarding?

Meeting new friends was very important to me. It was easy to fit in and to feel at home and there is a mix of nationalities.

Boarding staff look after us, both day and night, and I feel very safe.

What is your room like and what other facilities are there in the boarding house?

I have a single bed and desk to study and an en-suite bathroom. We have lots of other facilities at the boarding house including a large common room, Kirby’s Dining Room where we have our meals and a table tennis table. I also often visit my friends in the other boarding house which is nearby.

What happens for supervised study?

Supervised study is from 7pm to 9pm from Monday to Thursday in my own room. It’s more efficient for me to work at the same time each night so that I can set time boundaries for myself, when to work and when to rest.

What extracurricular things do you take part in?

Usually I go to badminton after school on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and also play at the weekend. For Enrichment at the moment I am doing paddle-boarding one day and rowing the other.

What do you like to do in your free time in the evening or at weekends?

I like to play mahjong with my friends and I like watching football. At the weekends we often go out to eat at restaurants.

How do you feel boarding is preparing you for future life and university?

It helps me to be more independent, to solve problems on my own and has improved my time management. I have to tidy my room, and decide when to work and when to rest, and I have to do my laundry at the onsite facilities.

"Meeting new friends was very important to me. It was easy to fit in and to feel at home and there is a mix of nationalities."

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Principal’s 11-18 Newsletter

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Music Department Update

The first half of the summer term has already seen our musicians perform a diverse range of concerts both in and out of school.

The Years 7-9 Soloists’ Concert featured 35 different solos on a whole range of instruments, and it was incredibly encouraging to see such enthusiasm and talent at the younger end of the school. Many of these students were performing a solo for the first time in the Senior School, and we look forward eagerly to hearing them again as the years go on.

A huge highlight was the Rock School gig at the Portland Arms, Cambridge’s premier live music venue. Rock School is a thriving activity in which very large numbers of students participate, forming bands and learning both classic rock and pop songs, and increasingly writing their own material. After a pandemic-enforced absence of two years, it was good to be finally back at the Portland Arms; ten bands performed a total of 17 songs, and students from throughout the Senior School and Sixth Form performed with incredible energy.

One of the defining features of our music department is the sheer variety of styles that our students perform in, and just a few days after the Portland Arms concert a group of Year 9 and 10 students performed a lunchtime concert at Great St Mary’s, consisting of chamber music and solos, and then a combined performance of Telemann’s rarely played but fabulous Water Music. Our termly Great St Mary’s concerts allow us to perform an extended programme, and are attended by a large and appreciative audience.

@SPFschools

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Rock School gig at the Portland Arms, Cambridge

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Modern Languages Department Update

MFL Eastern Region Debating Competition

Year 11 Celebration Dinner

We are extremely proud of our French and Spanish Year 12 students' performance at The Perse Upper School's Eastern Region Debating Competition. Our linguists worked hard outside of lessons to prepare for this prestigious event and demonstrated excellent research and analytical skills. They argued for and against three challenging motions and showed great resilience throughout the different debating rounds.

French and Spanish participants discussed controversial topics such as "Les parents devraient être autorisés à choisir le sexe de leur bébé" and "Las redes sociales son responsables de lo que aparece en sus plataformas" with great skill and confidence.

Our Sixth Form linguists were praised by the judging panels, students and teachers from other schools in the region for their performance, range of language and the near-native quality of their language.

@SPFschools

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Year 11 students have celebrated the end of their Chinese GCSE course with a meal at a local Chinese restaurant. They tasted a wide variety of dishes such as dumplings, crispy duck, spring rolls, mapo tofu, stir fried rice, noodles and a selection of other popular Chinese dishes. Students also enjoyed trying a traditional Chinese tea and the added challenge of eating with chopsticks! This was an excellent way to round off the year before their exams.

Spanish Meme Competition Our Year 10 Spanish students had an internal ‘Spanish meme competition’ on the IGCSE topic of House Chores and showed that they can be very funny in a different language. Year 12 IB Spanish students followed suit and came up with some rather controversial and political memes on IB topics such as Che Guevara, Frida Kahlo and gender inequality.

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May 2022 Edition 5

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Translating and adapting Molière for English-speaking audiences organised by the Alliance Française in Cambridge On 18 March, some of our students attended an online talk on Molière, a famous French playwright of the 17th century. This year is his 400th anniversary! The talk examined the popularity of Molière's plays outside of France. Molière wrote many comedies such as Tartuffe, L'Avare and Le Misanthrope.

Year 13 IB student Marco said: “Molière in translation was intriguing in a number of ways. The presenter not only expanded on the broad range of Molière plays but also talked about the numerous interpretations of his works. The timeless quality of Molière's works have encouraged modern adaptations of his plays - like Shakespeare in Britain. It was also interesting to learn about the inevitable difficulties which arise from translating his works as well as the words and phrases Molière coined which have even influenced the English lexicon. Overall I think it was a very enriching talk.”

Kreativität im Deutschunterricht Year 8 have been creative with their German on the topic of daily routine, including times and opinions. The results were splendid. Superb video diaries of their pets, beautiful storyboards with personal artwork.

Competitions Year 10 French, German and Spanish Joutes Oratoires competition coming up!

Our Year 10 students are looking forward to entering the Joutes Oratoires debating competition. We have 18 students from our school who will be competing against different schools in Cambridgeshire. They are working hard at preparing their for and against arguments on topics connected to French, Spanish and German societies. Here are examples of the stances students will have to debate: “Faut-il arrêter de manger de la viande pour sauver la planète?” “Ferien mit Freunden sind besser als mit Eltern!”pupils across Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4.

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Principal’s 11-18 Newsletter

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Duke of Edinburgh’s Award - Gold The Easter break saw two teams of Year 12 students travelling to the Lake District by train to undertake their Gold practice expedition run by our provider The Adventure Element. This is what the students had to say about their experience.

Dr Mark Woodward Award Manager

Team one Annabel, Cecily, Charlotte, Fiyin, Jess and Katy After an early start to catch the train we arrived in the Lake District. It would be an understatement to say we were unprepared for the conditions that met us at Keswick.

With winds that reached -15°C and torrential nights spent below 0°C, our rather optimistic sliders were quickly unpacked and discarded to lighten our load. This expedition was nothing like what we had done before.

As the silver salmon team (aptly named due to our bag covers), we kept our morale high through lots of hot chocolate, flapjacks and repeated Beyoncé renditions (credit to Jess!).

Luckily the conditions didn’t detract from the beautiful surroundings of Derwent Water and it was a true pleasure to experience the natural scenery, particularly when the sun came out!

There were parts of the journey that were challenging, after all, living in Cambridge can make you particularly unaccustomed to the size of hills, but our teamwork meant that we were always able to overcome them. It’s safe to say that dehydrated meals and sleeping bags don’t quite compare to a nice, warm bed and hot meal, but the skills and memories we developed were definitely rewarding.

@SPFschools

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"There were parts of the journey that were challenging living in Cambridge can make you particularly unaccustomed to the size of hills."

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Principal’s 11-18 Newsletter

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Duke of Edinburgh’s Award - Gold Team two Amogh, Mark, Adam, Leo The Gold DofE practice expedition was an incredible experience - exciting and equally challenging, but we all came back from the experience with knowledge and proficiency in a range of survival skills, developing a strong sense of independence while also forming stronger relationships with our teammates.

Our expedition took place in the Lake District, which was an absolutely stunning setting by the valleys, woodlands and pristine waters. Nonetheless, we were all stretched to our limits as we spent five days and four nights, sleeping in tents in the relentless rainy and windy conditions. The expedition was also composed of nearly 20km long walks with heavy rucksacks on our backs, testing our physical strength and stamina. But at the end of the day, the journey was a wonderful learning experience and under the guidance of supervisors we all learned to work together and support the team, and eventually, we all overcame the challenges and thrived.

One key value instilled in us through the practice expedition journey was teamwork. Our particular team of four was one of the few teams that had come into this expedition with barely any experience doing DofE expeditions and teamwork was the critical skill that allowed our group to succeed, despite our lack of experience. Teamwork was crucial in various activities throughout the trip, from setting up tents at the campsite, to preparing meals for the team and even in packing our kits as we moved from one campsite to another.

We managed to minimise the time wasted each morning by splitting up the tasks which allowed us to work efficiently, without any single person having to take charge of all the work. While some of us were cooking breakfast, others were busy folding up tents and packing rucksacks.

Another important value that we took away from this experience was resilience. I remember one of the days on the expedition being particularly challenging - we had planned a route that was around 19 kilometres and each of us was carrying nearly 20 kilogram rucksacks as we went up steep hills, climbed over boulders and navigated through the forests. As the day progressed, we were running out of snacks to keep us going and we felt drained. We even had a few confusions in the navigation which led us in the wrong direction up unusually steep cliffs, which was even more exhausting! At this point, we all felt the mental and physical strain and it felt impossible to keep walking without stopping for breaks. This is when we all had to push our limits and be resilient to keep going till the end point. Eventually, we ended up boosting each other's morale by singing marching songs and sharing our snacks between the group, which helped us keep going.

The practice expedition was instrumental in helping prepare us for our qualifying expeditions in the summer but it also allowed each one of us to learn something new about ourselves. I do believe I speak for the group when I say that it was truly an experience to remember!

@SPFschools

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"I do believe I speak for the group when I say that it was truly an experience to remember!"

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Principal’s 11-18 Newsletter

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Inspire and Guide Update Whilst Year 7 students learnt to navigate and utilise the Unifrog careers platform to build foundations for their future educational choices the Year 8 students have researched how to utilise labour market information and the skills that careers of the future may require.

Our Year 9 and Year 10 students have made full use of the Morrisby psychometric educational programme to assist with subject choices both as they choose their GCSE options and then A level and IB subject choices preparing for Sixth Form.

Guided by in-house professional expertise, preparation around these assessments focuses on how we approach decision making and exploring new opportunities in the world of work rather than being confined by stereotypes and preconceptions.

Alison Curry Head of Guidance

It has been a busy spring and summer term so far for the 11-18 Inspire and Guide (I&G) programme hosting a range of speakers, visits and the core careers education events that underpin this spiral cross year programme across the Senior School and Sixth Form.

Our Year 11 students completed their final ‘launch me’ project by surmising their educational guidance and careers education throughout the senior school (I&G lessons, Morrisby, Unifrog and speakers) in preparation for the next stage in their educational journey.

Our Year 10 and 11 I&G weekly programme hosts a range of inspirational speakers including (amongst many) a current medical student from Cambridge who is also president of the Cambridge United Football Club, Ms Katie Benbow from the BBC alongside captain George Lord, an ex-teacher of the Foundation who students were delighted to see return.

We have been delighted to restart our Sixth Form speaker programme post COVID using the lunchtime break to hear from Sarah Coates (Penningtons Manches Cooper) and Sophie Costello (Costello Medical). We look forward to expanding this into our 2022-23 programme.

Our full Year 12 to Year 13 programme of Inspire and Guide events that prepare students in Year 12 for university (and other post 18 education routes) recently hosted workshops on work experience, CV preparation and skills for degrees and university choices; it now continues with personal statement writing support, employability rights, mock interviews, aptitude test preparation as well as the UCAS application itself.

If you would be interested to engage with either our Inspire and Guide speaker or work experience programmes please contact acu@stephenperse.com

@SPFschools

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May 2022 Edition 5

Cambridge Assessment ‘100 Global Leaders’ Form the Future Event We were also delighted to secure places at the Cambridge Assessment ‘100 Global Leaders’ Form the Future event in April for a select number of Year 10 and Year 12 students.

This was a unique opportunity for students to question global leaders from far afield on the finer details of their career paths, current positions whilst networking and exploring work experience opportunities.

"Overall I thought the event was very informative and amusing. I really enjoyed talking to people working in different industries and environments.

Hearing about their experiences really helped me think about my future as well as considering what job might suit me best. An event I was particularly inspired by was the career carousel, where we had the chance to talk to people from different backgrounds and learn about their jobs. What made it even better was how we were allowed to ask questions face-to-face and hear about what they did to get to the position they’re in today.

In addition the staff were also very friendly and welcoming and I thoroughly enjoyed participating in this event."

Xindi - Year 10

“The event at Cambridge Assessment was an excellent experience. The organisation is so large and diverse that the range of professionals we got to talk to was vast. During the event we got to speak to a range of people each who gave us personalised support on our queries as well as providing an insight into their own journey to their position. Also included in the event was a section on online learning, which made me feel that my voice was being heard and may actually have an impact on the problems students faced during COVID. Speaking to people showed me the wide range of jobs available as well as a greater insight into how people get into careers, even if they are not directly linked to their university choices.”

Alistair - Year 12 Sophie Costello

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Moving forward

Careers and University Day May 11th saw our annual Careers and University Day with a mixture of plenary sessions by Nottingham, Newcastle and Lancaster universities on student finance and tips for choosing and making successful applications to competitive universities.

We are grateful to alumni at various stages in prestigious careers who joined parents and local colleagues online to provide 75+ virtual breakout sessions throughout the packed programme. These enabled students to discuss both degree and career aspirations from alternative perspectives whilst also understanding more about the decision making process that we all face during change and moving forward.

An evening parent and university ‘question and answer’ panel session addressed concerns facing students currently in their applications and allowed us to further dissect how universities, parents and the school can mutually support students in the sometimes daunting university admissions process.

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May 2022 Edition 5

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Sixth Form University Destinations

Beth Shriever MBE

As our Sixth Form students finalise university choices through UCAS we congratulate them on the wealth and range of offers from a broad range of Oxbridge, Russell Group and overseas universities. Congratulations to the seven students who have received offers from Oxford and Cambridge this year.

The students have until 9 June to choose their firm and insurance place offers and just over half the students have already made their selections.

The highest number of offers have been received from: • University College London (UCL) • The University of Edinburgh • University of Nottingham • King's College London • University of Warwick • University of Exeter The courses with the largest number of offers are: • Classics (inc. Classical Archaeology and Ancient History) - 21 • Engineering (inc. Mechanical, Aerospace, Electronic) - 19 • Biochemistry/Biological Sciences (inc. Marine Biology) - 17 • Psychology (inc. Psychology of Fashion) - 13 • English (inc. Language, Literature, Linguistics, Film, Creative Writing) - 13 • Medicine and Veterinary Medicine - 10 • Economics/Economics and Management - 8 • Modern Languages (inc. French, Spanish, Russian) - 8

Forthcoming Events 15 June

Inspire Me Talk Beth Shriever MBE

May

Degree Apprenticeship Workshop and Interview Practice May

Year 12 sign up to UCAS

• Law - 7 International applications are also increasingly popular.

This year students have applied to the US, Canada, Hong Kong, The Netherlands, Eire and Japan.

Congratulations go to Jonah who, after rounds of gruelling interviews, was offered a UCAS degree apprenticeship with Price Waterhouse Cooper at both Leeds and Birmingham universities.

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May 2022 Edition 5

Sixth Form Success

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Young Enterprise Company Scheme

Young Enterprise (YE) is the leading charity empowering young people to develop personal and business skills.

This year students in Year 12 formed their own company: MySelf - a social enterprise with a mission.

Deputy MD Amogh, sums up their experience so far.

to destigmatise periods and encourage conversations about menstrual cycles in order to ensure that a taboo does not prevent people from getting the support that they deserve.

MySelf is a unique social enterprise that aims to promote period awareness. We provide menstruators with a personalised care package. The MySelf movement is driven by our website and social media presence which is central to our mission of dismissing period stigma. We decided very early in the Young Enterprise journey that we wanted to make a contribution towards tackling a significant global issue through our business rather than using a traditional profit-making business model. Period stigma was agreed to be a huge social problem, even in 2022. It was generally felt that menstruators needed greater support in dealing with their periods and related issues, and the whole subject needed to be better 'opened up' for discussion with typically reserved males.

The judges decided to present us with the Best Company Award for the innovation, social motive and bold nature of our business offering. We are extremely proud of our achievement and we look forward to improving our presentation for the regional finals later in May.

At the current stage of the company, our product is a menstrual care package containing pads, tampons, and sanitary products but also chocolates, teas and hot drinks as supplementary care products during a period. We truly believe that the product is an embodiment of the MySelf mission

The MySelf team received the prestigious award for Company of the Year for the Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk area at the local finals, held in the Business Faculty at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. We went through three stages of assessment including producing a company report, answering questions in a formal interview with judges and finally describing the essence of the business in a presentation to all the participants and judges at the event.

The MySelf team received the prestigious award for Company of the Year for the Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk area.

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Drama Department Update

Tales of Oscar Wilde Year 7 Production A cast of 58 very keen and enthusiastic students recently took part in our Year 7 production of ‘Tales of Oscar Wilde’.

The script was adapted from three of Wilde’s short stories by director Helene Barrell: ‘The Selfish Giant’, ‘The Birthday of the Infanta’ and ‘The Happy Prince’ all have fabulously sombre, thought-provoking or moral endings and plenty of scope for individual roles and for ensemble movement sequences.

Original songs composed by alumna Anna Wills and sung live by members of the cast were used to link the stories together.

The production was very visual and incorporated a range of different disciplines. Puppets featured in all three of the tales, representing a flock of swallows flying South for the winter in ‘The Happy Prince’, songbirds in ‘The Giant’s Garden' and snakes being charmed out of a container in ‘The Birthday of the Infanta’.

Spring and Winter were both personified and their entrances were highlighted by elegantly choreographed Snowflake and Spring Flower movement sequences.

As with all of our shows, many of the costumes and puppets were created by students in backstage clubs and enrichment classes. Year 9-10 backstage club members designed and made the costumes for Spring and Winter, whilst Year 12-13 theatre enrichment students made the Swallow outfits and a golden suit of armour for the statue of The Happy Prince. We were also delighted to be able to repurpose a Cyclops headpiece as part of the Selfish Giant’s costume - this wonderful artefact was made many years ago for a production of ‘The Odyssey’ he is far too good to keep hidden in a cupboard!

Members of the cast choreographed some really lovely movement and ensemble routines for all three stories including a moving mirror sequence in which The Little Dwarf discovers he is in fact hideous and a scene in which The Little Swallow distributes gold leaf to the poor townsfolk.

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Many thanks must also go to the wonderful Drama Department for their support in making this production such a success.

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Meet the Theatre Technical Team

Mrs Charlotte Cooper

Miss Liberty Wright

As the Theatre Technical Manager I help bring some magic to our students and audiences through our Drama and Music events. I’ve got over 15 year experience of playing in bands and studied at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music. I went on to teach Music Technology at Huntingdon Regional College then to the Ideal World and Create and Craft shopping channels before joining the Stephen Perse Foundation as a Lighting and Audio Technician four years ago. I have recently been promoted to the role of Theatre Technical Manager which allows me to get involved in events across the whole Foundation. There is a lot of satisfaction in seeing an event come to life but the best times are with the students that help on the events through our Theatre Tech Clubs. While the actors are on stage, there can be up to eight students in the wings and control room doing a range of roles from putting microphones on the cast, operating the lighting and making sure the audience can hear everything clearly. We use our club times each week to learn about different equipment, build sets or come up with solutions for interesting problems, like how to light a giant cyclops costume in a scary way.

I’m the Theatre Tech Intern so you’ll see me running around backstage during productions, up a ladder rigging lights, or in the control room helping cue the show.

I was first exposed to Theatre Tech in Year 9 (here at Stephen Perse), when I joined the Tech Club. I found a great group of friends and a shared interest in all the exciting technological advances in theatre, video, audio and lighting. I worked my way up through school shows, taking different roles with increasing responsibility. I think I made a bit of a nuisance of myself, volunteering for everything I was allowed to.

Later I was able to get involved in theatre outside school, getting opportunities to work on amateur dramatics productions, in theatres across Cambridge.

I took a year out before university - I’ll be going to Imperial to study Design Engineering - and was offered an internship back here at Stephen Perse, a role that enabled me not just to improve my tech skills but, in a small way, to take on an educational role, passing on skills by teaching the same clubs that got me started in the first place.

I love what I get to do here at the Stephen Perse Foundation and hope to keep helping our plays and concerts become better and better.

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Behind the scenes

Tech Clubs and Theatre Tech Enrichment Students of all ages from Year 7-13 have the opportunity to get involved behind the scenes as technicians for our shows. Younger students can join year group specific clubs whilst students in Years 10-13 can opt to take timetabled enrichment classes.

All of these activities are coordinated by our wonderful Theatre Technical Manager Mrs Cooper and our Tech Intern Liberty Wright.

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Sustainability Update

Rollout of Recycling Bins

The Stephen Perse Foundation has had recycling in place for many years now, however over the course of the past two terms this recycling effort has been strengthened.

Chris Woodey Head of Sustainability

Through an extensive Foundation-wide audit it was evident that our recycling efforts required renewed focus. With an initial focus on the Senior School and Sixth Form, all classrooms and offices now have recycling bins and information to assist students (and staff) in determining what can be recycled.

Providing the conduit for recycling, the Foundation chose recycled cardboard recycling bins that required assembly.

The Student Sustainability Committee volunteered to bring this project together and assisted in the construction of a sizable number of bins.

It is anticipated that Foundation recycling rates will increase as stakeholders become more aware of what the Foundation is able to recycle.

The Foundation is also excited to announce the enrolment into the Taylors of Harrogate Coffee Pouch recycling programme, facilitated by Terracycle. This initiative currently allows for the organisation and staff to recycle coffee pouches; if you would like to know more or to participate, please contact sustainability@stephenperse.com.

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It is anticipated that Foundation recycling rates will increase.

May 2022 Edition 5

The Art Department

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Meet the Art Department In my teaching career I have been fortunate to work in a number of wonderful schools in the UK and Australia, where I have been able to teach a wide range of art and design specialisms and where the value of creativity has been highly regarded. Christ’s Hospital in West Sussex, The Royal Masonic School in Hertfordshire, Pymble, Kambala and Queenwood in Sydney, Australia, where I lived for ten years. I was recently telling a colleague about how lucky I have been with my work commutes which include ferry rides across Sydney harbour, a five minute walk up a blossom lined avenue and of course cycling in Cambridge.

Mrs Rachel Bloomfield-Proud Head of Visual Arts I studied Textile Design at the University of Leeds and then worked as a Textile Designer for a company designing for M&S, Next and Mothercare. Despite presenting collections to buyers and being sent to fashion centres around the world at the age of 21, I decided I would actually have more creative freedom and career fulfilment as a teacher, so following a gap year in the USA, I completed my postgraduate teacher training in London and enjoyed my main placement at Chelsea School of Art. In the early stages of my teaching career I managed to continue my studies part time gaining an M.A. in Art and Design Education at the Institute of Education, University of London.

In my first teaching position I worked alongside artists in residence which encouraged me to develop my own work in the area of textile art using print and mixed media, exhibiting in the UK and Australia and being a member of exhibiting textile groups. My own artistic practice and my passion for teaching go hand in hand. I am inspired by my travels, visiting art galleries and have a love of cultural textiles.

Having been part of the Senior Leadership team alongside running a department at my last school, it is refreshing and energising to focus and concentrate solely on leading such a creative Visual Arts department at Stephen Perse, where the staff balance and combine working in their specialist fields or studying, alongside being dedicated teachers and technicians, all working together to nurture the students’ creativity.

Stephen Perse students are individuals, full of energy, interest and intellect and I am loving that. I am excited to instil my passion for textiles and fashion and next year sees an endorsed textiles GCSE being introduced.

My start at Stephen Perse was rather surreal. It began with remote interviews and starting the role in January 2021 staring at a screen in lockdown, never actually meeting any staff or students. Students in what was 9A had to get used to a teacher they had never met and were so patient with me, so thank you 10A! That actually seems ages ago now, as I feel so settled in my new role and enjoying the creative vibe of the wonderful Visual Arts Centre (VAC).

"Stephen Perse students are individuals, full of energy, interest and intellect and I am loving that."

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Principal’s 11-18 Newsletter

26 Meet the Art Department

Mrs Emma Wilshaw

Jo Whitmore

Teacher of Visual Arts

Teacher of Visual Arts

I suppose creativity ran in my family as my father was a blacksmith, crafting objects such as an eight foot shaman sculpture from iron - my mother made clothes. I did Art Foundation at West Suffolk College in Ipswich and studied a degree in Combined and Media Arts (BA Hons) at Sheffield Hallam University. There I worked with sculpture, photography and film processes, and it included a short work placement at an Arts Farm which taught art to school children. I knew then that I wanted to teach but I was young and not quite ready.

After completing an Art Foundation course at The Surrey Institute of Art and Design, I studied a BA (Hons) in Graphic Arts at what is now Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, achieving a First Class Honours Degree. Following on from this, I completed a full time one year Postgraduate MA in Printmaking at Camberwell College of Arts, London. I then spent most of my late twenties working as an interior Design Consultant in Cambridge before taking time out to travel in Australia. After completing a PGCE at Homerton College, Cambridge University, I began my teaching career at Saffron Walden County High School which gave me an excellent grounding within education and teaching and learning, really igniting my passion for teaching at both secondary level and sixth form. After taking a career break to start a family, I began my relationship with The Stephen Perse Foundation by becoming Artist In Residence which gave me the ideal opportunity to develop my own practice alongside teaching printmaking techniques to sixth form students. I subsequently began teaching here in 2017, continuing to evolve as a printmaking artist in conjunction with teaching. There’s never a day goes by where I don’t feel so extremely lucky and privileged to be able to combine my two passions. I absolutely love all things print related so having the opportunity to teach everything from year seven basic polyblock printing to the more sophisticated reduction printmaking techniques with lino and silk screen further up the school is so exciting. I love being inspired by the energy and ideas created by young people and feel so privileged to be part of such a wonderful department here at the Stephen Perse Foundation.

After a photographer post with Camp America in New York State my first job was with Apex Television, a small producer of corporate videos in Cambridge. Here, I started as a helper, moving through various roles; sound recordist, video editor, camera operator and director. After six years the work dried up so I nervously moved on to do a teacher training PGCE in Brighton for Art. I held my first teaching post at Tunbridge Grammar School for Girls and in 2003 I started work at The Perse School for Girls and loved it! The atmosphere was great and teaching art is a privilege because art is personal for each maker, allowing for a strong understanding of the unique personality of each student. I have led trips abroad, taken part in creative projects with international schools and been to countless art galleries to enjoy exhibitions with students over the years - I feel very blessed!

@SPFschools

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Jane Short

Miss Cooper

Visual Art Teacher

Visual Arts Teacher

In 1997 I took part in the Camp America programme. It was an experience that changed my life and encouraged me to direct my career towards my enjoyment of teaching, and love of art.

I have worked as a Camp Counsellor/Arts & Crafts Specialist as well as Arts Director at three camps over eight summers in both Pennsylvania and Illinois. This experience also led to employment with the American Institute for Foreign Study as a Camp America Interviewer.

I am passionate about art. I believe strongly in visual communication. When I was at college I used to wonder why all the subjects except art used only written language as their medium. Why couldn’t you study psychology and make a film instead of a dissertation?

I completed my degree in Visual Arts at Bolton Institute for Higher Education, achieving a First Class Degree in 2003.

Continuing with a Masters Degree in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design - University of the Arts London, and a PGCE in Secondary Education at Anglia Polytechnic University. During my studies I worked in a range of media, including Painting, Photography, Film/Video, Ceramics and Graphic Communication.

I feel strongly that artistic creativity can be relevant and useful to any subject. I did my foundation at Wimbledon School of Art, my BA in Fine Art at Sheffield Hallam University where I became passionate about film.

My first job was as an associate producer and editor for a TV channel and after my MA at the Royal College of Art I became an Animation Director. I now teach part time and most of the week I run my own animation studio, working on films, documentaries, adverts and music videos.

I started my professional teaching career in 2007 working at Cambridge Centre for Sixth Form Studies as a Teacher of both GCSE and A level in Photography, Fine Art, Graphic Design and iMedia. I also have 10 years’ experience of working as a Boarding House Manager, providing support to students who live away from home while at school. In 2018 I became part of the Stephen Perse Foundation and with it the opportunity to teach the younger students and watch as they develop their creative skills through the years.

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Principal’s 11-18 Newsletter

28 Meet the Art Department

Richard Swift

Tracy Dilorenzo

Visual Arts Teacher

Art and DE Technician

I always knew I wanted to go into art and history of art.

I studied both these subjects at Reading and some years later at the Courtauld. After leaving Reading I moved to the East End of London where I joined with thirty visual artists to convert a derelict veneer factory in London’s Mile End into Chisenhale Art Place. Chisenhale contained a wide variety of artists: painters like myself; sculptors, performance and installation artists.

After completing my Art Foundation course at what is now Bournemouth University I decided I needed a change so joined the Police Force. I was a constable in Surrey Police for four years before I married an American Military man and we started a life of travel. I have lived in Wiesbaden in Germany, Colorado and Georgia in the USA and various places in England.

In 1995 I moved with my young family from Mile End to Cambridge. I had been teaching art and history of art part time at lots of different colleges across London and East Anglia, including Epsom School of Art & Design, Thurrock Technical College and Basildon College. With my move to Cambridge I found local work at CCSS and later, the Stephen Perse Foundation.

I found work whenever we moved, usually art based, teaching in private schools and adult education. I also sold my own work and won prizes at art shows. I set up my own businesses first in mural painting which was very successful until we moved, then a cleaning company which again was successful until we moved again.

One of the things I most like about teaching art is nurturing individual creative talent: every student is different and has their particular voice, and everyone has something to express through their art. I also love introducing students to the work of other artists, and, before COVID, enjoyed organising multi-disciplinary cultural trips to the major art centres such as London, Rome and Istanbul. These trips are profoundly memorable and life enhancing, particularly for our young people.

@SPFschools

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I have now been in England for over ten years and have been an Art Technician at Huntingdon Regional College and Long Road Sixth Form College before starting at the Stephen Perse Foundation. I still practise my art but recently have been super busy with my new venture. I have started a degree in Mathematics with the OU. I am now in my third year of a part time course over six years. Maybe I’ll consider teaching maths in the future but with a creative twist.

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"Events at the London Aquarium were always fun to install, as sharks swam past!"

Lindsay Davison Visual Arts Support Manager I studied Decorative Arts at Nottingham Trent University.

I enjoyed the variety and experimental approach to working with different materials especially glass, textiles & printed surfaces. After graduating I worked in retail for a time, in fashion, millinery then as a florist. I learnt my trade as a florist on the job, for three years in a local flower shop. Then went to work for a London event florist 'Simply Flowers'.

I worked as their Production Manager for three years, working as a recommended supplier at The Historic Royal Palaces, the V&A, The Wallace collection, The Tate Modern to name a few.

I have worked on creative outreach projects with the local nursing home, state schools, foreign exchanges & open days. I like the caring & nurturing atmosphere of the school. We have a strong teaching & support staff team.

I loved the comradery of working in a small team and working creatively with the colour and structure of flowers. Projects that I was most proud of were creating aerial orchid displays for the re-opening of the Greenwich Observatory and the Christmas decorations at Kensington Palace. Events at the London Aquarium were always fun to install, as sharks swam past!

In the last few years Cambridge Contemporary Art has been selling my artworks and cards. I appreciate the balance between being able to come into school and support and be supported. Then being able to work on my own creative practice.

My art practice has grown slowly & organically since having my son, I now work at the school part time. I've been an associate member of the Artist co-operative called 'Craft Co.' in Southwold for the last eight years. I've recently had an exhibition of my work there.

I came to work at Stephen Perse in 2009, as Visual Arts Support Manager. Since working here I have helped develop the glass fusing module we offer to the Sixth Form students. I have been involved with Oscar Murillo's 'Frequencies' project.

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Principal’s 11-18 Newsletter

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Student President Team Meet the New Student President Team

The summer term sees the handover of the leadership reigns from Year 13 to Year 12 in many ways in the Sixth Form.

The outgoing Student President Team has just one last event to organise, their Leavers’ Dinner at the end of May. After holding this for a number of years at Homerton or Girton College, and of course having to cancel during the COVID pandemic, this year we have a new venue; the Manor Barn in Harlton

Danika “Hello, my name is Danika and I’m the new student president as well as co-chair of the Sustainability Committee. I’m doing the IB Diploma with Biology, Geography, and Maths as my higher level subjects. As student president, I hope to grow the sense of community within the Sixth Form through a Year 12-13 buddy scheme and as a chair of the Sustainability Committee, I plan to continue leading projects and encouraging students to develop their interest in sustainability.

I look forward to being the new student president!”

This is our opportunity to celebrate all that the students have achieved and to award the Leavers’ Prizes. There are both academic and service awards and I can confirm that with such a strong year group, there has been much discussion. The student president team of Daisy, Anna, Polly, Cici, Nadia, Nick and Sammy have been a credit to themselves and the Sixth Form and will be a difficult act to follow.

The incoming student president team have been asked to introduce themselves:

Jacqueline Paris

Head of Sixth Form

@SPFschools

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"I hope to grow the sense of community within the Sixth Form through a Year 12-13 buddy scheme."

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Amogh

Hannah

“I'm Amogh, a dedicated and enthusiastic member of the 2021-2023 IB cohort at Stephen Perse. As a student myself, I recognise the immense stress and pressure that sixth form brings upon students, so as a part of the president team, I hope to take up a piece of responsibility for the wellbeing of students. I am also an eloquent speaker and I look forward to being a representative of the student voice within Stephen Perse. Outside school, you are likely to find me playing cricket, tennis or doing a bit of photography.

“I’m Hannah, and I’m currently studying A level English Literature, German and DT. I’m so glad to be a part of the team, and look forward to sharing and hearing everybody’s ideas.

Over the next year, I’m keen to improve the social aspects of school life - I believe it’s important to have opportunities to socialise with the rest of the year group outside of lessons, as it would be a shame to not make the most of getting to know new people before we all go our separate ways.”

As part of the 2022-2023 student president team, I have been given the privilege of being one of the representatives for the Sustainability Committee as well as the student lead for clubs and societies. In both these roles, my central focus will be based on placing the spotlight on the student voice in the school community by driving change through encouraging greater student engagement in the Sustainability Committee and greater individual initiative in introducing new clubs and societies that students want to get involved in. I look forward to all the amazing opportunities that this role brings!”

"I believe it’s important to have opportunities to socialise with the rest of the year group outside of lessons."

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Principal’s 11-18 Newsletter

32 Meet the New Student President Team

Georgia

Katy

“Hello, I’m Georgia, and I take English, French and RS A Level.

As the co-chair of the charities committee, I will be organising events across the Sixth Form, and hopefully with the Senior School too, to raise money for important causes which we want to make an impact upon. I have already helped organise events such as the Staff Panto, and been part of the team working with a school in Malawi, and I know that this kind of school-wide initiative can have such a significant effect, as well as being really enjoyable.

“Hi, I’m Katy and I will be co-chairing the charities committee with Georgia. I currently study IB with Maths, Biology and Chemistry at HL, and Spanish, Geography and English at SL. I’m really excited by the prospect of widening the charitable connections between students and the local community so hope to incorporate a wide range of opportunities that involve helping improve the lives of those living in Cambridge. There is no doubt we will be organising much-loved bake sales to raise money, but I am also interested in establishing more long-term fundraising schemes/events too such as the possibility of an annual quiz night. I can’t wait to get started working with such a fantastic group of people and look forward to seeing our growth as a team.”

In the coming year, we are planning to increase our involvement with the local community, such as doing music performances in local care homes, as well as organising some fun events in school, such as a quiz night, to help raise money for the charities which we want to support. I am also excited for the launch of our charities newsletter, which will contain information about the charities we are supporting, and the events being planned. Last but not least, we obviously can’t wait to hold a number of charity bake sales!”

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"I’m really excited by the prospect of widening the charitable connections between students and the local community."

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Katie

James

“Hi I’m Katie, I’m an A level student and I study Politics, Sociology and Art. As part of the Well-being Committee I aim to be dedicated to creating and maintaining a safe, welcoming, inclusive and diverse community that nurtures a culture and atmosphere of mutual respect, consideration and openness.

Over the year, the aim of this committee will be to enhance our community, making it as safe and comfortable for every student, teacher and member of our Sixth Form.”

“I am James and I am very much thrilled to be a member of the Student President Team for the upcoming school year. As an international student and boarder, I will strive to bring in other boarders to join in on the activities that we hope to create.

My objectives for this post are to facilitate all kinds of work in the president team, and to make sure boarders have a greater sense of belonging to our school community.”

"As an international student and boarder, I will strive to bring in other boarders to join in on the activities."

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Principal’s 11-18 Newsletter

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Reflection

Outgoing Student President Team The outgoing Student President Team were asked to reflect on their tenure. They said: “We have all enjoyed our time on the Student President Team immensely. Although we were restricted by COVID in many ways, we managed to organise events and act upon the requests from the student body to improve our sixth form experience.

We were fortunately able to organise many fundraising events throughout the year. We raised over £500 for Emmaus, a local homelessness charity, through bake sales, dress-up competitions and a second-hand book sale. Before the Easter holidays, the Charities and Well-being Committees joined forces to run a well-being fair for the Year 13 students in support of Centre 33, a local mental health charity. We also ran a (surprisingly lucrative!) Harry Potter-themed stall at the Big Give fete and helped run the parents’ quiz night.

Our Well-being Committee has worked hard to improve the sixth form experience in many inventive and effective ways.

We published a monthly newsletter, placed encouraging posters around the school and provided sanitary products in the toilets.

The Sustainability Committee started many new initiatives: second-hand clothes exchanges and a successful ‘turn-thelight-off’ campaign. And our Boarding House representative, Clubs and Societies representative and the representatives of the Social & Outreach Committee kept everything running smoothly for the Sixth Form students.

We are all extremely grateful for the opportunity we had to take on responsibility, work as a team (we were a great team, if we do say so ourselves!) and to serve our school. Some of us have been at Stephen Perse since Junior School, or even Kindergarten, and some joined at the start of Sixth Form but we all feel very close to Stephen Perse and hope that we’ve been able to contribute to making it the great school that it is.”

Polly said: “Being in the Student President Team has been an invaluable experience. I am most proud of the creation of the compliments form which promoted simple acts of kindness and the uplifting of others. Working with the other individuals in the team has been beneficial to me for building my confidence and it has also taught me that I am capable of turning my thoughts into constructive actions in both a social and professional setting.”

@SPFschools

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"Being in the Student President Team has been an invaluable experience. I am most proud of the creation of the compliments form which promoted simple acts of kindness and the uplifting of others."

Tara offers the following reflections on her time at Stephen Perse: “I’ve been with Stephen Perse for 15 years, starting in Kindergarten in Madingley and so as I come to the end of my time with this school I can’t help but feel sad to know I’m leaving. This school is such a huge part of who I am today and I couldn’t be more grateful for all the support given to me from my teachers throughout the years. It’s difficult to choose the best memories from my time at Stephen Perse but I would probably have to say the school trips have been a great

highlight, especially back in Year 4 when we visited the Harry Potter Studios in Watford as part of our Harry Potter week.

My best memories from Sixth Form will definitely be the time spent with my friends, in and outside of the classroom, from having a laugh to helping each other with a particularly tricky maths question. If I could give advice to my younger self it would be to enjoy every minute and don’t stress yourself out too much because 15 years goes by surprisingly fast. Goodbye Stephen Perse and thank you!”

We are incredibly proud of the outgoing Student President Team and of Year 13 as a whole. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s quote comes to mind; "There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings." We wish Year 13 all the best as they fledge.

Jacqueline Paris

Head of Sixth Form

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Year 8 RS & Philosophy Update

Trip to Cambridge Central Mosque After our plans to visit the mosque shortly after it opened in spring 2019 were put on hold due to COVID, we were delighted to be finally able to take Year 8 students to see what is the first purpose-built mosque in Cambridge.

We were all - both staff and students - thoroughly impressed with how successfully the building is able to fulfil a range of different aims. Not only does it fit into and enhance the local area, and provide a welcoming environment for the public, but it also manages to be practical (being able to accommodate 1,500 worshippers at one time) and eco-friendly (for example, by using rainwater to flush toilets and irrigate the grounds), whilst also creating a wonderfully tranquil space for reflection and prayer.

The Cambridge Central Mosque opened its doors to the public in 2019. It is held up by tall timber columns that represent trees. The first thing you’ll notice when approaching the mosque is the beautiful garden that is open to everyone.

The garden contains a gentle and refreshing fountain surrounded by an octagonal design which you will see carried on throughout the mosque. The building has a low roof so it doesn’t stand out too much compared to its surroundings.

Both outside and inside the mosque you will see amazing repeated Arabic calligraphy made of red bricks. If looked at from a side angle you will notice the beautiful golden dome with a crescent and star at the top. The dome is a symbolic representation of heaven, helps carry hot air up and cool air down as well as carrying voices throughout the prayer room.

Next we entered the indoors of this mosque, which flowed nicely from the finely designed outdoor space. As you enter the mosque, what may stand out to you is the well thought and nicely planned wall design of Arabic calligraphy. At the entrance, there would be a part of the flooring made of carpet in which you may take off shoes before stepping on the smooth floor of this mosque. As you walk further into this amazing architecture you will find yourself face to face with the seven clocks representing the prayer times in which Muslims will pray here, with the one in the middle being the actual time it is at the moment.

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Octagons will be found all over the mosque, on walls and floors, this is as they represent the Islamic Star, which is two overlapping squares, and has great importance in their belief and culture. Further in, we will find the ablution room.

Ablution is the act of washing before prayers begin. Muslims believe that while praying, they must be clean and pure, therefore the washing must commence. The washing will not have soap, this is because this washing is a cleansing of spirit, not a wash of any physical kind. The ablution room is an octagonal shape that holds marble stumps in which one can sit on and wash themselves with the tap that is installed on the wall.

Walking further in brings us to the prayer room, a room designed to be spacious and facing in the direction of Mecca.

There will be a niche in the wall pointing to Mecca to show the direction of prayer. This is a carve out in the wall which has many symbols and geometric shapes. Once again, you may find multiple octagons placed all around this room with timber pillars holding up this area. No pictures of any human or Allah himself can be found in any mosque, neither can they be in this one; this is because any image of a human may be mistakenly worshipped which then would be considered either idolatry or shirk.

Looking to your left, you will find a piece of Kiswah hung in a frame on the wall. The Kiswah is a piece of black cloth that covers the Kaaba every year for Hajj, and amazingly this mosque has one piece. Finally, the platform for the Imam will also be found here. It is a place where the Imam, who is the leader of prayers, will stand to deliver sermons. This leads to the end of our journey through a wonderful mosque.

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Sport Update

Daisy Eventing Achievement Daisy B, Year 13 student and international event rider.

Member of the Team GB Development Squad for European Championship team selection. Competed at Cirencester Park, Cirencester in the advanced section on Mexican Wave known as Jack on the 30 April. This is the highest level of National eventing. This was the first time at the level for both horse and rider. It was a great result with a double clear competing against Olympic riders. Later this year the aim is to step up to the international 4* level.

U13 Girls Football Team IFSA South Central Champions

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The U13 Girls Football Team have progressed through to the quarter final of the Sisters in Sport Plate Competition, having beaten The Forest School 3-1 in a thrilling match. Goals were scored by Alice, Juliet and Sophie.

Cricket Update

The U13 girls took part in the ISFA South Central 7-a-side competition at Forest School. They played brilliantly throughout the tournament, winning all three pool games to qualify in first place in Group C. A win on penalties in the semi-final against Bishops Stortford College was followed by a comfortable victory over Belmont Mill Hill in the final making them ISFA South Central champions! This is a fantastic achievement and means the girls qualify for the National Finals taking place at St. George’s Park in June. @SPFschools

U13 Girls Football Team Sisters in Sport Plate Competition

We’ve had a busy half term of cricket training and matches and our teams have been progressing their skills. Many of the younger students in Year 7 and Year 8 have enjoyed playing for the first time in competitive matches. It has been particularly pleasing to have 75 students in Year 7 participating in the school cricket club - a fantastic turn out! Earlier this term Stephen Perse were able to field a boys First XI for the first time in the school’s history. It was a cup match against The Perse where our U16 team were up against a strong U17 side. It was great to see our team give their best in a strongly fought match.

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Year 10

Rylan’s Karting Success Year 10 student Rylan is an up and coming star in the world of karting, Rylan said: "I had my first karting experience 7 years ago when my mum took me to an ‘Arrive & Drive’ session at Red Lodge," he explains. "I then joined the Young Starz club based at this track, but still using hire karts.

It was a good bit later when I obtained my own Honda powered kart. My first race was an IKR event at Red Lodge back in 2018. After that, I decided to take my ARKS test on the Bayford Meadows circuit, which is where my first MSA race took place. I competed in their club championships for Honda Clubman Cadet, which proved to be a very popular category. I finished up by winning the title that year and it encouraged me to set my sights further afield. For 2019, we entered the MSUK British Championships in Honda Cadet. It was a big step forward for me, coming up against top drivers like Kean Nakamura-Berta, Connor Duncan, Zac Drummond, Ethian Symonds, Sony Smith and many more.

Being classified 12th out of 60 entrants wasn't a bad result for me."

In 2020 Rylan moved up to the larger and faster Mini X30 Kart and Classified 7th in the British Kart Championships.

2021 was cut short with a broken wrist but he still classified 5th in the LGM Series national championship despite missing one race.

This year Rylan has moved up to faster still Junior X30 and has had a great start to the year. In this new, very competitive class he came 6th in the first LGM race in Larkhall, Scotland; 3rd in the second race at PF International, Grantham and 5th at Warden Law, Sunderland. Rylan now sits joint 4th out of 55 top drivers. There are three more races to complete the championship. The first round of the British Championships last month at Shenington was mixed with strong qualifying and heats taking him to 11th, moving up to 10th in the pre-final, and moving up to 5th place in the final before being hit off. Rylan now sits 11th in this Championship after one of six rounds.

Well done Rylan we are all very proud of your achievements and wish you further success for your future races.

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Sport Update Tennis Sport scholar Sophie has been super busy this year and we have asked her to tell us about her most recent tennis achievements, Sophie said: “In this school year I have competed in two tennis Europe tournaments. I’ve won an U14s Grade 3 (regional) tournament and reached the final of seven Grade 3 tournaments in singles. I represented Cambridgeshire in the U18s County Cup in Newport.

I also represented Cambridgeshire in the U14s County Cup, playing as number 1 for Cambridgeshire and winning seven out of my eight matches. I’m currently ranked number 1 in Cambridgeshire and my highest national ranking has been 56.”

An impressive account and testament to all the time and effort she puts in. Well done Sophie!

Year 7 and 8 Running Club

Netball Success

Summer clubs have been really well attended with students working hard to develop their skills. It was great to have lots of Year 7 and Year 8 students pushing themselves at the running club.

A very well done to Juliette in Year 10 on being selected to play for Saracens U15 development squad recently.

Fantastic to see our students chosen to be playing at such a high level.

@SPFschools

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Track and field

Athletics Update

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A strong contingent of Stephen Perse students competed at the Cambridgeshire County Athletic Championships on the 14 March at the Wilberforce Road Athletics track.

This event is also used as the Schools District Trials so the level of competition is always exceptionally high. All 10 of our students did fantastically well on the hottest day of the year so far.

We had three individual winners and therefore county champions in their respective events:

1st place: Cecily H Pi CF Oliver J

U20 women’s 1500m U17 boys high jump U15 boys javelin

2nd place: Stella C Anna L

U13 girls long jump U13 girls shot putt

3rd place: Imogen T Stella C

U13 girls 1500m U13 girls 200m

4th place: Arjumand B

U15 girls 1500m

Michelle H

U13 girls 200m

Cecily

Pi

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Parent Events June 16 June

Year 10 Parents Information Evening - Sixth Form Experience Day

17 June

Jazz on a Summer’s Evening

17 June

Art and Design Summer Exhibition

22 June

Year 12 Parents Evening

24 June

Lunchtime Concert St Paul’s Church, Hills Road, Cambridge

30 June

Year 8 Production - Performance

July 1 July

Year 8 Production - Performance

Full school calendars can we viewed and subscribed to through our website here

@SPFschools

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What’s on at Saffron Hall Sunday 12 June, 4pm

Rodgers & Hammerstein: Some Enchanted Evening Stars from the West End perform songs from The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, Carousel and The King & I Musicals

Free shuttle bus service

Book now +

Friday 1 July, 7.30pm

National Youth Jazz Orchestra celebrate Amy Winehouse NYJO present an emotionally charged tribute to one of their greatest alumna, Amy Winehouse Contemporary

Free shuttle bus service

Book now +

Monday 11 July, 7.30pm

London Community Gospel Choir In association with 8 Day Weekend, this legendary gospel choir performs on The Common as part of the Saffron Walden Round Table Carnival Contemporary

Book now +

Friday 5 August, 7pm

NYO Open Up: Free Spirits!

The National Youth Orchestra brings its trademark exuberance and vitality to Saffron Hall again this summer. All under 25s go free!

Classical

Book now +

Stephen Perse Foundation (Main Office) Union Road Cambridge CB2 1HF t: 01223

454700 e: office@stephenperse.com stephenperse.com

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