Principal's 11-18 Newsletter - Edition 8 - October 2022

volunteers

Yush volunteers at the Rama Foundation

In July 2022, Year 8 student, Yush D, joined his parents as a volunteer on a three week charity trip to India for Rama Foundation, a UK registered charity with a mission to build the capacities and the skills of socially and economically unserved communities in India.

The organisation works in partnership with Cambridge Global Health Partnerships part of Cambridge University Hospitals and is a member of Cambridge based development network, the Centre for Global Equality.

Rama Foundation works with these organisations to provide volunteers to support its partner charities in India who are serving disadvantaged communities so that they are better able to participate equitably in society. Since 1996, Rama Foundation has run multiple programmes in India focused on the transfer of skills and knowledge in education and health. Several cohorts of volunteers have volunteered their time and expertise and unlocked multiple benefits for the most disadvantaged communities in the world. These experiences have enabled volunteers to develop themselves as articulated by our volunteer Claire following her trip to India in 2019.

Guided by recommendations from volunteers during these visits, Rama Foundation has introduced a number of supportive initiatives. For example fortifying the diets of up to 300 children in schools with a daily glass of milk and providing food parcels for families of cancer patients from disadvantaged backgrounds.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, due to restrictions on travel, the charity pivoted to providing support through a series of webinars which were accessed by >300 healthcare professionals in India. Rama Foundations next project is to set up a regular women’s health clinic for women who don’t have access to medical support.

During the visit, Yush worked with local volunteers to review the impact of the Rama Foundation initiatives on the ground and was in charge of interviewing key members of the partner organisations and beneficiaries. He took a lead in capturing these moments on camera and recorded his experiences in this short video.

You can follow and support Rama Foundations progress via its website, on LinkedIn and on Twitter.

www.ramafoundation.org.uk www.cambridgeghp.org

stephenpersefoundation stephenpersefoundation

Stephen Ward

It has been a typically busy start to the new academic year, and the first half of term has certainly flown by. Among the many events and activities over the last few weeks, I wanted to single out the Senior School Open Day and the Sixth Form Open Evening and express again my thanks to all those who did such a wonderful job of representing the school to prospective students and parents at these occasions.

The second half of term promises to be even busier in the run-up to Christmas. It’s difficult to pick out highlights but the biennial musical (which this time is this Addams Family) and the carol service at Great St Mary’s, the University Church, Cambridge in the final week of term are firm fixtures in the calendar and are always very popular.

A more recent addition, which is now well established as an annual event is the Big Give Christmas charity week. A series of fundraising events will take place between Tuesday 29 November and Tuesday 6 December with all money raised going to support places at the Stephen Perse for students displaced by conflict (more details on page 6). Fundraising and charitable giving are a huge part of the school’s ethos and we are very proud of all that our students, parents and staff do in this area throughout the year.

I hope you all enjoy the half-term break, and look forward to seeing many of you at events later this term.

Stephen Ward Head (11-18)

Stephen Ward Head (11-18)

A word from the Head (11-18)

Art Department Update

Art scholars photo workshop/ talk with East Anglian young photographers

To continue to develop the provision for the Art scholars at Stephen Perse, the Art Scholars Programme aims to provide a variety of experiences that move beyond the normal school provision offering one experience per half term for the Art scholars in Years 9-13. It also aims to cater for those individuals who may have shown an interest in the experience on offer.

This kick-started in the second half of the summer term when a young local East Anglia photographer Harry Wheeler-Brand, Lead Tutor at ‘Harrybehindthelens’ met with and talked about his work with the scholars. The students were able to see examples of his work and ask questions about how he works and how he set up his business. He also generously donated a few of his books to the department to benefit students interested in photography.

Alex in Year 11 who has his own interest in photography commented: “It was inspirational seeing a young person doing so well in their own business, the talk opened my eyes to the fact that something which is a hobby can become a career pathway and it can lead to an exciting career.” www.harrybehindthelens.com

Harry Wheeler-Brand

Protein Data Bank (PDB) Art Project 2021-22

Year 12 Art A Level and enrichment group students have been learning about the relationships between Art and Science as part of the PDB Art Project, run by the Protein Data Bank of Europe.

Scientists gave a live online presentation to explain the work that the PDB does and how students could help communicate visual ideas about scientific theory through their artwork. Students selected proteins of interest making multimedia work that aimed to express the effects or functions of specific biomolecular structures. Work by Siqi, Aimee, Hayley and Thanatpohn was selected for the PDB 2023 calendar. In addition, work by Daria, Jemima, Claire, Eden, Kathryn, Siqi, Aimee and Willow was also chosen for the annual exhibition of student work. Congratulations to Siqi who won a £50 gift voucher for art materials by winning the over-16 prize.

It is important for these children and young people to feel settled and supported in the UK and to regain some sort of normality in their lives, including continuing their education and the wider enrichment and development that school life can provide.

The Stephen Perse Foundation has been approached by numerous families urgently seeking places in recent months and some students have already been successfully placed across our schools.

As a Foundation, we recognise the part that we can play in responding to humanitarian crises by offering school places to a number of young people in need of international protection, where we are satisfied that we can meet their needs, and that this can potentially transform lives. We recognise the moral imperative and desire to contribute to the national effort to provide education, stability and pastoral care at a time of such enormous challenge in the lives of so many young people.

“I am so thankful for Stephen Perse’s support. I felt nervous on my first day, but everyone was so welcoming - I quickly made friends and settled in. I really enjoy the style of teaching at Stephen Perse. The school has been fantastic at looking out for me and made such a difference to my life after a traumatic time.” Quote from our first Ukrainian student.

Donations made online via the Big Give website between noon on #GivingTuesday, 29 November 2022 and noon on Tuesday 6 December 2022 will be doubled!

More information may be seen at www.stephenperse.com/ BigGive or you can contact Helen Cornish on development@ stephenperse.com if you would like to have a conversation about making a gift.

Gifts of all sizes will make a very real difference to the support that we are able to provide to children and young people displaced by conflict.

Please look out for the challenge launch on 29 November, make a gift if you are able to before noon on 6 December, and encourage family, friends, colleagues and contacts to give and see their donations doubled. Thank you for your support!

Many children, young people and families have fled from the war-torn Ukraine and are currently living in the UK under the Ukraine scheme.

The Stephen Perse Foundation’s 2022 Big Give Christmas Challenge will raise essential funds to support places at Stephen Perse Foundation schools for children and young people displaced by conflict.

Support the Stephen Perse Big Give Christmas Challenge to help children and young people escaping from conflict

Success in the Oxford Choral Scholarship Trials

We are delighted to announce that Georgia (Oriel College) and Nadia (Pembroke College) have been successful in the recent Oxford choral scholarship trials.

The prestigious choral scholarships are awarded by some of the chapel choirs of Oxford and Cambridge universities, to students who will join the choirs and sing regular services. Choral scholars experience a variety of benefits in addition to the honour of the award - this could include singing lessons, music tours, and free dinner after chapel!

Students at the Stephen Perse Foundation have a long tradition of successfully gaining choral scholarships to these (and other) universities. As a school without a chapel, the music department aims to give students in our choirs experience of singing in services and understanding what is involved in becoming a choral scholar.

This happens via various means; during their time in choir, students are likely to sing a joint evensong service with a Cambridge college choir (most recently at St John’s, pictured), singing our own services in college chapels and at Great St Mary’s, and preparation sessions and advice for auditions. We wish both students well with the next stages of their applications to Oxford University.

Students at the Stephen Perse Foundation have a long tradition of successfully gaining choral scholarships to these (and other) universities.

History Department Update

WW1 Year 9

History event

The term began for Year 9 in martial fashion with a presentation from Corporal Knight, AKA Dickie Knight of Anglia Tours. There was to be no sauntering or slouching in the Corporal’s company, and woe betide anyone whose shirt was not tucked in. Volunteers were kitted out with various elements of a private soldier’s uniform and equipment from the First World War.

The first volunteer was struck by the weight of the items to be worn and carried, especially given the prospect of twenty miles marching per day. Students rather liked the animal skins that replaced the ever waterlogged greatcoats, but no one was keen on the prospect of a urine soaked sock as protection against a chlorine gas attack. We heard about the development of grenades from improvised jam jars to highly effective explosives, and enjoyed a demonstration comparing British and German rifles from the beginning of the war.

We are grateful to Dickie and Anglia Tours for getting Year 9 history off to such an exciting start, and hope that his presentation encourages students to look forward to the Year 9 History curriculum as well as the 2023 battlefields trip to France and Belgium.

History enrichment ‘Cambridge is our Campus’

We have had a great start to the History enrichment 'Cambridge is our Campus' this term, enjoying the amazing experiences on our doorstep.

We started by investigating the Dinky Doors of Cambridge and the Corpus Clock. It was particularly gratifying to hear students exclaiming “I can't believe I've never seen this before!” Students also enjoyed visiting the Botanic Gardens, where we looked particularly at plants which are good at surviving in drought conditions.

The Fitzwilliam Museum was, of course, too big to investigate in one afternoon but we couldn't resist a picture next to the portrait of Kate and William and are looking forward to going back in November to the Fitzwilliam's ‘Defaced! Money, Conflict, Protest’ exhibition.

Sport Update

There has been a great buzz throughout all of the sports clubs, and students have been committed and enthusiastic. We have had lots of fixtures, with some wins, draws and losses. We have learnt from them all and continue to work hard and develop skills, tactics and techniques.

Many thanks to parents for your support at home in ensuring students are prepared for lessons, clubs and fixtures. It is vital to our success, to have commitment and attendance. Wet weather attire is essential too as rain does not stop play!

Basketball

The Basketball season is in full swing and is growing in popularity with good attendance at clubs from Year 8 right through to Sixth Form. Recently, our sixth formers played a fixture against St Andrew’s Sixth Form College. It was a close game with the lead see-sawing throughout but in the last few minutes St Andrew’s surged ahead to secure a win. The seniors continue to train hard at the practice sessions and we are looking forward to more fixtures against local schools this term.

Football

Our boys’ and girls’ football teams have had an extensive fixture list to start off the year including both ISFA and ESFA National Cup Competitions as well as some friendly matches.

There have been successes for the U16, U15 and U12 boys and the U14 girls, the attitude and application has been superb across the board. We look forward to more fixtures in the coming weeks where we hope to see the students making further progress and continuing to enjoy their football.

Student named U15 Cambridgeshire cricketer of the year

Congratulations to Year 11 student Pi who was named the U15 Cambridgeshire cricketer of the year. Pi has worked really hard on his game and deserves this accolade. Well done and we look forward to seeing more on field success from Pi in the summer.

Cambridgeshire District Schools

Rugby Sevens Festival

The school’s first rugby sevens competition exceeded expectations recently as the combined Year 10 and Year 11 boys team came away with two good wins against Bottisham Village College and The Perse School.

The boys came within seconds of reaching what would have been our first rugby final, eventually losing out in an incredibly tight game to St Bede’s Inter-Church School. The team deserves to be very proud of the effort and application on display.

Congratulations to all.

Year 11-13

Drama Trip to London

Our Year 11-13 Drama students spent a day at The National Theatre on the Southbank in London.

For the first time since 2019 we were able to take our students on a backstage tour of this amazing theatre during which we learned a little about the history of the building and gained an insight into how the National Theatre stages over twenty world class productions every year. We visited all three auditoria, each of which is designed to suit different styles and genres of theatre productions, and we were able to observe the workshop area where props and sets are constructed for each show.

After lunch we watched a matinee performance of Arthur Miller’s historical drama ‘The Crucible’, performed in the Olivier, the largest of the National Theatre’s three venues.

Lyndsay Turner’s compelling production included extracts from Miller’s essays about the Salem witch trials, which helped to remind the audience that the characters are based on real people, whilst Es Devlin’s stark set design with real water cascading down onto the stage from a suspended water tank created a bleak and dramatic setting for the play.

Overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip that will enrich our students’ understanding of how live theatre is created and hopefully inspire their own work as theatre makers.

Erin Doherty as Abigail Williams and Fisayo Akinade as Reverend Hale in The National Theatre’s production of ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller

Sixth Form

Facilities Extension

We are delighted to report that all of the internal refurbishment work to our additional sixth form accommodation at Rosedale House has been completed over the summer, together with the first phase of landscaping work around the building.

The building provides a contemporary counterpoint to the handsome and historic facilities on Bateman Street, increasing the amount of communal indoor and outdoor space for students. The new facilities include a new dining room and two large student common rooms, as well as 14 new classrooms. There is also additional cycle parking and outdoor recreational space, with a netball/five-a-side court, table tennis, lounge areas and picnic tables.

We are currently seeking planning consent to create a hole in the wall and a canopied walkway and seating area between the Rosedale House site and the Bateman Street buildings, to better connect the two sixth form buildings and create some useful covered outdoor social space for students.

Once planning consent is obtained we will progress this remaining work. It won’t be disruptive to teaching and it should be able to be completed relatively quickly.

Images show the recently refurbished Bateman Street cafe.

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First year at Cambridge University

Reflections of a Stephen Perse alumna Elizabeth Eaton-Banks

I was going to be attending the University of Cambridge to study Classics and I was feeling excited and terrified. Would I make any friends? Did I actually know enough Latin and Greek to cope? Had it all been a computer error and I would turn up to discover they didn’t have me on the list?

Well, I have now completed my first year and I can honestly say it’s been the best year of my life so far. Cambridge’s collegiate system meant that I made friends easily with a group of 7 other first years living on the same corridor as me. We each have our own bedroom with en-suite shower, but share a block of toilets and a kitchen where we can chat, work and cook together. There is the option either to cook for ourselves or go over to the dining hall for meals that are ready cooked and sold at reasonable prices. Weekend brunches are particularly noteworthy! We also have the bar which is a cafe during the day and serves cakes, pizzas, coffee, smoothies etc – whatever you need to sustain you through an essay crisis! There is also a 24/7 library with really good places to study, music rooms, a chapel, laundry room and completely free gym. All colleges claim to be friendly, but Fitzwilliam surpasses itself – we even had a ‘stroke a guinea pig’ day in the run up to exams! The porters will help you with anything from a lost key to a broken bike and the student-run JCR does everything it can to make student life fun and easy: from keeping room

rents low to running events for freshers to meet each other. This year I was elected Vice President of the JCR and one of my jobs is organising the college family scheme – where each first year is paired up with a ‘parent’ in the year above them doing their subject as well as another pair so that they have a couple of mentors and friendly faces to make the first few weeks less scary. As part of my role, I also get to attend college meetings with the staff and fellows where decisions are made about finances, buildings etc – it has been really interesting to see how this side of the college works and this has provided me with valuable experience for when I enter the world of work.

The academic side of things has also been surprisingly fine. I think everyone at Cambridge suffers from a hint of imposter syndrome and I was honestly worried that I would be the most stupid person to have ever sat in one of Mary Beard’s lectures. The Classics department at SPF prepared me really well for being organised to be on top of vocab and grammar. I have weekly vocab tests and one-toone supervisions to trouble shoot any individual areas I’d like help with. In first year, for students who already have A level Latin and Greek, the majority of the course is pretty much set with Latin and Greek language, set texts and literature papers. There are then four other modules (philosophy, history, linguistics and philology and art and archaeology) from which you choose the two that you are most interested in after the first term. I have around 8-10 lectures per week as well as language classes and supervisions and then one supervision every week where I pre-write and submit an essay. There are 3 of us in most of my supervisions – enough to have discussions and share ideas, but a small enough group for even the quieter members to get heard. I share with students from other colleges and have had supervisions at several colleges including Magdalene and Kings where is also the voluntary option to study prose composition, which I enjoyed at A level and is a great way to improve your understanding of how a language works. If you do well at this in the summer exams it can increase your overall grade; if it’s a disaster, they ignore it! In some ways, the essay writing is very different to A level – quite often the title is about something we haven’t covered at all in lectures and so I am expected to use the suggested reading to basically learn about the topic

Back in August of 2021 I picked up my results from school and then headed down the road to buy my Fitzwilliam College gown.

"I have now completed my first year and I can honestly say it’s been the best year of my life so far."

from scratch independently. However, I found that once I had done some of the reading I was able to use my pre-existing knowledge to form an opinion about the subject and the structure of writing the essays is extremely similar to what I learnt at SPF. I found that often the supervisors like when you approach the question in a unique way that shows you have really thought about it and applied it to your own individual areas of interest and knowledge, and the essay questions are usually quite vague because of this, so I quickly learnt not to worry too much about not being able to regurgitate out a textbook answer about the topic. Most essays are about 2000 words long and I can now write one in about 3-4 days’ work (although it took me a bit longer at the beginning!), leaving me just enough time in the week for vocab, grammar, translations, composition etc and of course having some fun as well. I would say it’s busy but doable and I’ve really enjoyed being able to choose my own modules at the same time as having the strong foundation of language and literature which everyone does.

Of course, university isn’t all about essays and exams and the rumours are true that Cambridge students like to work hard and play harder! I decided back in the autumn that I would give rowing a go having never tried it before. After a term of learning the basics, I ended up as captain of the Third Women’s boat, and then made my way up to stroke of the Second Women’s boat in time for Bumps! Having something that gets

me out of bed and provides me with fresh air, exercise and the chance to socialise has been great for my mental health and I’ve made friends with so many people from all years that I would never have met otherwise. We also get to travel for races to places like Bedford and even Henley which has been super exciting. Aside from sports, there are lots of other amazing things to do at Cambridge. Formal halls are a great chance to dress up with your friends and celebrate with 3 courses of delicious food for about £12. We even have special themed ones – such as Valentine’s Day and Halloween where people wore fancy dress.

I’ve also had the opportunity to attend two balls – think ball gowns and DJs but then add dodgems, ball pits and roller discos! Cambridge itself is a great place to live as there are always things going on – festivals, concerts, plays to watch (I even went to see ‘Medea the Musical’ before its official opening in Edinburgh), punting and picnics at Grantchester and of course late night trips for an ice cream at Jack’s Gelato. Cambridge is a beautiful city and even though I went to school there for 11 years, I have found that since living there as a student I have discovered lots of new parts and seen the familiar through new eyes.

So now I have finished my first year which is ridiculous as it feels as if I’ve only just arrived! I feel confident that I can cope with the work, I have a great set of friends and I will definitely be carrying on with rowing next year though I may pop along to the society fair to see if anything new also takes my fancy. I will be returning to Fitz a little early in order to prepare for welcoming the new freshers, and as they move into their college rooms I will be moving my stuff in to a house nearby that I am sharing with my 5 friends. I can’t believe that this time last year we didn’t know each other and were sitting at our homes around the country wondering whether we would make the grades to meet our offers. My first year at university has been everything I dreamed of and more – if you are considering where to apply for university, then I can’t recommend Cambridge enough, especially for Classics!

Elizabeth Eaton-Banks

"Of course, university isn’t all about essays and exams and the rumours are true that Cambridge students like to work hard and play harder!"

What’s on at Saffron Hall

Saturday 15 October, 7.30pm

Pasadena Roof Orchestra

Flapper dresses and spats at the ready: the Pasadena Roof Orchestra is all set to sweep us off our feet and back in time to the Roaring Twenties.

Book

Sunday 16 October, 7pm

Anoushka Shankar + Manu Delago with Britten Sinfonia

Boundary-crossing, multi-Grammy-nominated sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar joins forces with Britten Sinfonia.

Contemporary

Book

Thursday 20 October, 7.30pm

Jay Rayner: My Last Supper

It’s your last meal on earth. What are you going to have? Award-winning restuarant critic and MasterChef judge Jay Rayner has set out to answer.

Friday 21 October, 8pm

Foyer Folk: The Magpies

Based on a deeply felt musical friendship, The Magpies work collaboratively, arranging material led by powerful vocals and glittering instrumental ornamentation.

Sunday 23 October, 7pm

London Philharmonic Orchestra with Karina Canellakis

Following her sensational concert last season, we welcome back the LPO and their Principal Guest Conductor Karina Canellakis.

Wednesday 26 & Thursday 27 October

Project Handel

Sign up now to take part in English Touring Opera’s exciting free two-day opera project in October halfterm, open to young people in Y9-13!

Friday 28 & Saturday 29 October, 7pm

English Touring Opera: Agrippina & Tamerlano

English Touring Opera present two thrilling produc tions of Handel Operas, plus an afternoon recital for members and ticket holders in St Mary’s Church.

Sunday 30 October, 4pm

Quatuor Agate

Quatuor Agate brings together four passionate young musicians who regularly dazzle audiences with their fresh and energetic performances.

What’s on at Saffron Hall

Friday 4 November, 8pm

Karine Polwart & Dave Milligan

Multi-award winning Scottish singer, songwriter and sto ryteller, Karine Polwart collaborates with Dave Milligan for a sumptuously intimate collection of songs.

Sunday 6 November, 4pm

A4 Brass

Comprising principal players from some of the UK’s top brass bands, playing together in a unique configuration.

Friday 18 November, 7.30pm

Sir Michael Parkinson

After several sell-out tours, Sir Michael Parkinson is heading back out on the road to celebrate the publication of his latest book, My Sporting Life

Saturday 19 November, 7.30pm

Dunedin Consort

Celebrating its 25th anniversary season this year, Dunedin Consort is Scotland’s foremost Baroque ensemble, recognised the world over for its vivid yet nuanced performances.

Friday 25 November, 7.30pm

Courtney Pine: Spirituality Tour

The legendary jazz hero takes to the stage with his bass clarinet accompanied by the Mercury nominated and MOBO award-winning pianist Zoe Rahman.

Sunday 27 November, 3pm

London Philharmonic Orchestra

The London Philharmonic Orchestra return to Saffron Hall to perform Tippett’s oratorio A Child of Our Time under the baton of Edward Gardener.

Thursday 1 December, 7.30pm

Lemn Sissay: My Name is Why

This is Lemn’s life story: a story of neglect and determination, misfortune and hope, cruelty and triumph.

Saturday 3 December, 7.30pm

Cory Band

The mighty Cory Band - nine times National Champions and seven times European Championsbring their spine- tingling, blockbuster brass sound from the Welsh Valleys to Saffron Hall for the first Big Band