Beauchamp Autumn Term Newsletter
Content
beauchamp Autumn
NEWSLETTER 2012
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Beauchamp Newsletter
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Autumn 2012
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
Movember
Nick Tennear, Teacher of English
This year’s Movember saw a rise in participants; as well as male staff members, female staff
also made an effort to support their hirsute lipped colleagues.
Starting from a clean shave on the first of November, staff grew a range moustaches; from
the long and bushy to the sparse and gingery. Staff and students rewarded these efforts with
sponsorship money for the Coping with Cancer charity, a cause that supports people affected
by cancer. Hair and Beauty students provided the follically challenged with painted on moustaches.
On the final day Feel Good Friday stickers were replaced by stick on moustaches for all staff
to show some bristly solidarity and votes were cast for best in show. Penny Armstrong won
an award, largely for her endurance in the face of an itchy top lip but the prize for best moustache went to Ben Bannister.
Money is still coming in, Joe Jordan has reported a figure nearing £500, but any other help is
appreciated. Joe Jordan will take donations or they can be directly made to www.c-w-c.org.
uk
Movember is a campaign to raise funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate
cancer and testicular cancer.
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
Mock Oxbridge Interviews
Tony Cutting, Oxbridge Coordinator
2O Year 13 Beauchamp students went
to Uppingham School on November 6th
to be given mock Oxbridge interviews
in preparation for the real event that
happens in early to mid December.
While Uppingham staff interview
our candidates - and provide very
supportive feedback - Beauchamp
teachers interview Uppingham
candidates. It’s a reciprocal arrangement
that is beneficial all round. The day
before the mock interviews we had a
very helpful session with Kate Burn
from Oxford University who gave us
some very helpful insider tips, and
the next day Noor Asif, a former
Beauchamp student now studying
medicine at Leicester University, gave
advice on interviews to the students
who are applying for medicine. All this
help is extremely beneficial to students
as they undertake these gruelling
assessment procedures.
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
Black History Month: Guest Speakers
[from Leicester Mercury]
Singer, actress, author and Ska legend Pauline Black
gave teenagers the benefit of her wisdom during a
school visit.
The 58-year-old lead singer of late 70s/early 80s Ska
revival band – The Selecter – dropped in to talk to
youngsters at Beauchamp College, in Oadby.
Her visit was organised as part of the school’s Black
History Month. It was arranged by Eddie Dublin from
the school’s pastoral team.
“I’m was a big fan of The Selecter and Pauline was one
of my heroes as a younger man,” he said. “I got her
e-mail address from a friend and thought she would
be ideal to talk to the youngsters about her career. I
sent her a message, not really expecting a reply, so was
delighted when she got back to me and said yes. It was
very kind of her – I couldn’t believe it.”
The History department and
Eddie Dublin were very pleased to
welcome guest speakers to address
our year 12 and 13 students on
issues relevant to ‘Black History
Month’
The speakers covered issues on
racism and far right extremist
groups. Students studying History,
Politics, Law, Sociology and
Philosophy attended. The speakers
were informative and very moving.
We were certainly given a lot to
think about.
Pauline took part in a question-and-answer session
with the students.
“She spoke about her time with 2 Tone records and
The Specials in Coventry, which many of the children
had heard of through their parents, and what it was
like being a woman of mixed race in that scene, as well
as her later experiences dealing with music industry
bosses,” said Mr Dublin. “We have pupils from many
different backgrounds and cultures and they were
captivated by what Pauline had to say.”
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Black History Month: Live Lounge
Nilesh Champaneri, Teacher of Music Technology
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The Black History Live Lounge was an amazingly vibrant and successful event in which a
diverse range of student and staff performers took to the stage and performed songs and
dances of black origin.
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
Senior Mathematics Challenge 2012
Lee Robinson, Teacher of Maths
On November 6th a hundred of our year 12 and 13 students tackled this year’s SMC paper.
This is a challenging multiple choice paper taken by 100,000 students nationally with the
ultimate goal being to select four students to represent the UK in the World Mathematics
Olympiad. Students who finish in the top 60% nationally are awarded a bronze certificate,
top 30% silver and finally top 10% gold.
Congratulations to all of our students who took part this year and well done to the sixty
students , listed below, who achieved certificates for their papers. Good luck to James Twigg,
Jovia Gao and Alistair Brown who have been invited to tackle the next stage the Senior
Kangaroo paper on the November 30th.
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Gold
Silver
Bronze
James Twigg 12CMR
Alistair Brown 12AJO
Jovia Gao 12SED
Hannah Kockelbergh 12SLU
Oliver Masters 12SKC
Michael Smith 12GLH
Niam Kalyan 12EAT
Ben Hughes 12AF
Jack Hancock 12BDH
Feiyu Fang 12PHH
Simran Sandhu 13ADA
Jennifer Watts 13AB
Matthew Scase 13PA
Abdul Gabbar 13
Ewan Ferguson 13AB
Harneet Sangha 13AJF
James Gath 13AK
Aaron Chand 13MJB
Krishka Vora 13AJD
Mo Jussab 13LKH
John Stafford 13JMW
Jay Radia 13GLN
Robert Watson 13PDE
James Ozel 11TT
Keva Rughani 13CBA
Ellis Jeffrey 13LLY
Bhavik Godhania 13WJM
Abigail Parmar 13
Divya Patel 13SCV
Vedanta Menzes 13AB
Matthew Richmond 13GLN
Shivang Keshvala 13ACY
Richard Jackson 13AP
Neel Parmar 13AKK
Akshay Thadeshwer 13NT
Serayna Solanki 13CBA
Sarthak Mahapatra 13GP
Vimal Chauhan 13JCM
Chandni Parmar 13KAF
Dan Whitesman 12LLY
Ben Farhand 12LKH
Marium Sabir 12DS
Joe Sansome 12HAN
Nayan Patel 12MER
Devinder Atwal 12PDE
Hardeep Lotay 12AK
Kieran Fay 12APM
Rikesh Mistry 12AJD
Farhanah Mogra 12SBH
Payal Kotecha 12SP
Farhan Ali 12RLA
George Bettsworth 12SGL
Samantha Singla 12WJM
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
Salon International & Alternative Hair Show
Hair and Beauty Students
DAY 1:
DAY 2:
The mid morning coach journey began by
giving Teleah a surprise birthday present and very emotional she was too. About 3.00
pm we arrived at the Jury’s Inn, Croydon
and, as our rooms were not yet ready, went
for a break at Pizza Hut.
After an early start we went to Salon
International and happily browsed the stalls
selling a range of hair and beauty products,
There was even a stall offering free scissor
sharpening service.
We then set off for the Alternative Hair Show
at the Royal Albert Hall, the presentation
starting at 8.00 pm. With seats up in the
gods we didn’t get much of a view, but
were intrigued to see avant garde hairstyles
created by some famous stylists from across
the world. There was then a competition for
junior stylists - we strongly disagreed with
the judges over the winner - and enjoyed the
enormous creativity of the contestants and
how they paid great attention to matching
fashion to the hair.
Next we watched the fashion catwalks and
saw some fascinationg demos from famous
hair stylists. After lunch we had a last look
around the stalls returning to the coach with
products such as Orofluido - shampoo, hair
oil and glitter all in one - and Maroccan oil
paddle brushes with Amika hair oil.
The visit taught us a great deal, especially
about avante garde hairstyles and the latest
hair trteatment products. The trip was really
enjoyable and we learnt a lot about the career
we are going into.
Towards the end a host of famous stylists
came on stage and a standing ovation was
given to Vidal Sassoon.
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
Jag älskar Sverige!
Jovia Gao
In October, six students from Beauchamp College
took part in an International Student Leadership
Conference held at the Gymnasieskolan Spyken in
Lund, Sweden. A week of learning about learning
followed and the delegation returned inspired.
At 5am on Sunday 30th September, it was cold, dark
and windy. To us, the six students and two teachers
huddled outside Beauchamp College, the chill and
the hour seemed not to matter, for we were Swedenbound in a state of high excitement to attend the 7th
International Student Leadership Conference. It
was held first at Beauchamp in 2005, the brain-child
of Nadia Hussain, a teacher at the college, and has
inspired dozens of students from across the globe in its
time. This year, for the first time, the conference went
to Sweden and we got a lifetime opportunity.
From the moment we crossed the Öresund Bridge
connecting Copenhagen and Malmö, we were
immersed in Swedish culture. The traditions, the
language, the people – and we would get to know all of
them a lot better over the course of the week. Staying
with the wonderful host families in and around the
city of Lund gave us the chance to learn about and
experience daily life in Sweden and also to ask as many
questions as we could!
The conference began on Monday morning at the
Spyken Academy, where we met the delegations from
Sweden, Germany and South Africa. We hardly
needed the ice-breaker activities before we were all
on our feet playing a huge game of Ninja together in
the basement! There we were also introduced to the
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
Swedish fika: a coffee-and-snacks-break
which we were to see many times during
the week. But, of course, the main event
of the day was being put into teams and
given our missions for the week: to teach an
inspirational lesson.
Each day, we were taught about a different
means of inspiration so Tuesday found the
group sheltering from the rain in Malmö
for a day of learning about (and doing)
physical activity. We were greeted by this
rapidly modernising city with the view of the
traditional red-brick of Swedish architecture
on the right and the blue-green glass façade
of Malmö University on the left. And it was
for the University we were headed for an
enlightening lecture on the uses of physical
activity in education, which really caused us
all – even the most inactive – to reconsider
the benefits of this medium of teaching in a
classroom setting. Naturally, the day was not
all about learning so, when the sun finally
decided to show his face, there was time for
a tour of the city, shopping and, even after all
of that, some of us still had enough energy to
rack up top scores in bowling!
Science was Thursday’s theme so the
Wednesday was based around music and
lecture was about the designing of a science
there was a brilliant lecture on the differences exhibition. The lecturer impressed us not
in learning music between Western and
only with her dedication to her project
African cultures. What interested a lot of
and her incorporation of different learning
us was how much culture could have an
types into her exhibition but also with her
influence on the way in which we learn.
incredible PowerPoint skills! We also had
We saw this in effect over the course of the
a session on Supplementary Instruction – a
day because we observed lessons in Spyken
class run by students for students to help
and this really highlighted the diversity in
them with their courses – from students at
educational systems that we came from,
Lund University, which really got us all very
which was fascinating. And, as the day’s
thoughtful. It was very enjoyable discussing
ideas with each other to come up with an
answer. In the afternoon, we visited the
University for a Science Challenge in teams.
It was really wonderful to be able to work
together to solve problems with everyone
able to have an input; what really intrigued
me was the variety of ways that each of us
went about working on a task and how these
ways came together to form a neat solution.
After the brain-workout, we were given a
very special fika of cinnamon buns as, in
Sweden, 4th October is Cinnamon Bun Day.
Friday dawned and nervous teams waited
tensely before going in to teach the lessons
that they had so lovingly planned in the
week. But there was nothing to worry about:
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theme was music, it could not have finished
in any other way than having the group
dancing and singing to Swedish folksongs!
each lesson was a great success and everyone
had a lot of fun teaching and taking part.
Each team presented its lesson plans to the
conference. There was such a range of truly
inspirational ideas from everyone – not to
mention the truly crazy ones too! Then, all
too soon, the last fika was served and there
was a very emotional farewell to all of the
incredible people we met on the conference.
It was a week filled with experiences
both personal and academic, all utterly
unforgettable. It is difficult to avoid using
clichés to finish this article so I will end by
quoting one of my fellow delegates: “It was
really nice to go on an educational trip and
for once actually learn something.”
Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
South Africa Trip: October 2012
South Africa, once a country ridden with
inequalities towards the black and coloured
race is, after apartheid, moving towards a
richer, more equal nation. South Africa is
now the richest country in Africa and is well
on its way to becoming an MEDC (1st world
country).
South African schools have improved
drastically since the end of apartheid and the
harsh, tough education system has resulted
in more children progressing to higher
education and gaining highly skilled jobs.
For the children to progress onto higher
levels of education, it is key that students
learn and understand the English language
from an early age. Although children in
South Africa learn English from an early
age many do not have enough books in
school to further improve their skills. Also,
what became apparent to me was that
the teaching of English was by rote and
understanding the language was difficult due
to lack of books and the pressures placed on
the education system to make children speak
English rather than understand it.
The situation prompted Mr Richard Parker,
former head teacher of Beauchamp College,
and Mr Michel Wood also a former head
teacher to set up a system in South African
schools by which books no longer used
in England are taken over for all different
age ranges to enable the opportunity for
children to read and enjoy the pictures
created by their imagination from reading a
book.
The school we visited was called Lower
Tugela primary school situated 45 minutes
from the city of Durban. It has 1200 students
rainging from pre-school to age 14. Our
aim was not only take over as many books
as possible but to open their world into a
different kind of teaching and learning to
help improve the reading and understanding
of the complex English language through
English lessons which included not only
one to ones and group work, but football
sessions as well.
After a long and somewhat boring two
flights over the weekend we woke at 6.30
the following morning to be greeted to
the warm, succulent, familiar smell of a
full English. We wolfed down the meal,
knowing that we had to be onto the coach
and off by 7.10 to arrive by eight o’clock.
We arrived and were welcomed by the vice
and head principal Hans Tulsee, after which
we were taken for a tour of the school and
to our teaching quarters for the week. It
was a lovely school with lush green tropical
vegetation running through the centre and
a view of the surrounding countryside.
As soon as we arrived there was a buzz of
excitement in the air and every child we
walked past was hesitant but ecstatic to see
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us.
Our first group of children was at 8.30. The
group was of 24 which were divided into
two groups of 12. The 12 of us were spilt
into two and one half took one half of the
other group, the other half the other. One
group taught football for half an hour and
the other group taught English. All of the
children were very nice and enthusiastic
about taking part and achieve the tasks that
we set and the football was a real hit. The
children all got involved, despite the heat,
and couldn’t wait to show us some of the
tricks they had learned as well as the tricks
James showed off. After a successful first
day at the school we travelled to the Luthuli
Museum in which we got a talk about him
and his life, working to gain Black and
coloured rights, along with a tour of his
house. We took five groups a day and we did
this for the rest of the week with the same
groups each day.
Over the week, everyone developed a special
bond with each individual child and none of
us wanted the week to be over so soon.
The hospitality from the children and the
staff had led to a real affection for Lower
Tugela primary school. Performances, gifts
and a final farewell on the final day capped
off a wonderful experience.
On the Tuesday afternoon we travelled to
the Moses Mabida football stadium which
hosted one of the semi finals of the world
cup. The aim was to travel on the sky ride,
above the stadium and get a fantastic view
of Durban. Unfortunately, much to Miss
Cunningham’s annoyance, we had to settle
for a (well won by Miss Cunningham)
refund and dinner at an Italian restaurant.
The evenings also consisted of bowling and a
whale tour. Many of us were sceptical about
seeing a whale but half an hour into a cold,
wet, miserable boat ride we spotted our first
whale, a giant humpback and her young calf.
So far we had had excellent dry, warm
weather during the day time. However,
Saturday brought rain and when it rained it
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Beauchamp Newsletter
rained heavily. On this day we travelled to
the Shakalandzulu cultural centre in which
we experienced the taste of some (yeasty)
beer and Zulu cultural dancing in which I
and Louis had a go at.
On the Sunday our hopes of another dry
day whilst going to Usharka water land
were not high when we awoke to a grey
sky, and windy conditions. However we
carried on with the day and, although it was
cold and damp, eight of us got a wonderful
opportunity to swim with tropical fish in the
aquarium.
The Monday was the day we visited two
secondary schools. Although we had seen
what a school was like (in Lower Tugela)
today gave us an opportunity to take part
and see how children of a similar age are
taught and the pressures placed on them. We
enjoyed a quick lunch and departed for the
hotel to pack for our safari experience.
The next two days were the days I was
looking forward to the most, an opportunity
to see animals, which many of us had only
seen in a zoo, in their natural habitat. Once
in the reserve we didn’t have to travel far
to see animals, even from the bus we saw
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zebras, warthogs, inyala, water buffalo and
rhinos. Even if I had just seen these animals
I would have been happy BUT, wrapping
up warm to escape the effects of the chilly
breeze we set off for our evening safari. We
firstly only saw rhinos and zebras, animals
we had already seen, but well spotted by
James as the evening was turning into night,
our jeep came across a giant bull elephant.
It was only 10 metres away and stayed there
quite content, allowing us to get some great
pictures and view of such a wonderful
creature. We continued into the night and,
following a well deserved break giving us a
chance to regain blood circulation, we set off
back to the hotel. On the way we bumped
into the other group who were at a stand
still. We drew up alongside and were very
excited to discover what they were looking
at. It was a group of three hyenas scavenging
the area, searching for food. That night our
jeep also saw a sleepy baboon and a tiny,
cute bush baby, its wide eyes like little gems
staring right into our spot light. After a
lukewarm, dispirited meal we retired for the
night trying to get as much sleep before a 5
o’clock morning safari.
Many of us wanted to see the tall, familiar
giraffe. However, it was not looking good
when our guide took us to the
spot he thought was going to be
the most likely place to spot them.
Our hope was fading but soon after
our break we spotted a lone male
wandering, quite contently through
the bush. Everyone seemed to
forget the cold and concentrated
with beady eyes on the huge figure.
The safari had been a success
and we on our way to collect our
suitcases.
Later that day we boarded the
plane, reflecting on our wonderful
experience , upset to say goodbye
(apart from Mr. Wright who was
ready to leave the previous Friday,
partly because he couldn’t face
losing another game of pool) from
such an enriching country.
The week and a half had been an
invigorating experience; one which
I think will draw many of us back
to the country in the future.
I would just like to write a special
notice about Miss Cunningham
who organised the trip superbly to
make the trip one which we will
never forget.
Chris Parkes- Bowen 13MCW
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
Beauchamp’s Got Talent
On 29th November 2012,
Beauchamp successfully hosted
yet another ‘Beauchamp’s Got
Talent.’ After the rigorous selection
process, the judging panel
announced the ten talented acts
that went through to the final. This
list consisted of singers, dancers,
musicians and stunt performers,
highlighting the incredible array of
talent amongst students within our
college.
The banner was up, buzzers were
at the ready and the audience
was streaming through the door.
Last year’s winners, ‘The AfriCans’ opened the show with
a magnificent dance and act
performance which was loudly
applauded by the audience. The
hosts, Craig Heffernan and Alisha
Kakar (Student Governors)
then ignited the stage with their
entertaining (and relatively awful)
jokes. They introduced the judges,
Ms Morgan (Teacher), Mr Ardley
(Teacher), Roshni Popat (Student
Governor), and Holly Bevins
(Performing Arts Captain).
The first act was Zenith, a band
consisting of a singer, two
guitarists and a drummer. The
judges commented that it was a
‘fantastic performance’ and that
‘the drummer was absolutely
amazing.’ They had set the
standards high. The second act
was Becky Ashmore, a talented
singer, who even won Mr. Ardley
over (aka the ‘Simon Cowell’ of the
judging panel) he remarked that
she had a ‘beautiful voice.’ Next was
Milan, a solo guitarist, who played
an instrumental. The audience
watched in awe as his hands
intricately plucked the strings that
were producing the melody of the
song. The judges were amazed and
said that ‘it takes a great deal of
concentration and effort to be able to perform that the
way you did – simply amazing!’
Rosie Brocklehurst was the next act on stage. She
sang Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’ and the whole audience was
captivated by the way she put her own spin on such a
well-known song. The judges loved her performance
and remarked that ‘it was a pleasure to hear’ and thus,
it was no surprise that she won 2nd place – Nice one
Rosie! The next act must have had a lot of energy as
he was engaging in backflips, jumps, spins, headstands
and much more. Indeed, Aiman, the talented gymnast,
certainly impressed the judges who exclaimed that
he was ‘incredibly cute and ridiculously talented!’
Jack Warner, the sixth act, took a multi-dimensional
approach to present his talent. Through using his
voice, the microphone, a tambourine and a playback
device simultaneously, he produced a mind-blowing
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performance that was highly
commended by the judges. Jake
came 3rd in this year’s Beauchamp’s
Got Talent – Congrats Jake!
Malkeet, a solo singer, was the
next act. He sang a song which
‘touched’ the audience and the
judges thought that it was a ‘wow
performance.’ The troublesome
pair, ‘Navdeesh and Dhruv’ were
next on stage. Their rap about
relationships inspired Mr. Ardely
to stand up and show off some of
his own rapping skills, which many
said, was ‘very amusing’ and ‘the
highlight of the night.’
Sade Wheatley-Holmes was the next act, who gracing
the stage with her delicate voice. She sang Adele’s ‘First
Love’ and the judges remarked that ‘you sang Adele
and you did it justice – you should be very proud!’
The final act, ODD consisted of two senior dancers
Ashton and Darshan who combined their skills of
dancing, acting and comedy to produce an incredible
performance. They went on to win 1st place that night
- Congratulations ODD!
After an eventful evening filled with talent and fun,
Beauchamp College successfully managed to raise
over £1,191.07 for Children in Need – Well Done
Beauchamp!
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
The Robert Mitchell Distinguished Awards
International School Award
Yvonne Rooney, International Links Coordinator
We are delighted to announce that the following students are the first recipients of
The Robert Mitchell Distinguished Award:
Beauchamp College was
first awarded the prestigious
International School Award by
the British Council in recognition
of its success in introducing a
Global Dimension to teaching and
learning in 2003.
Retaining the award would not be
possible without the hard work and
effort of both staff and students.
Therefore everyone who has been
involved over the years deserves
our thanks and congratulations.
The international programme has
developed considerably since then
and in September 2012 the college
was reaccredited for the third time.
Lauren Davies - a talented
cyclist who will travel to
Australian in 20133 to take
part in the Cycle Speedway
World Championships and
represent Great Britain.
Bradley Foster will attend
a National Youth Theatre
course as part of his aspiration to develop his skills in
drama.
Lana Summad will study
Classical Voice at the Birmingham Junior Conservatoire, as well as full time level
3 courses at Beauchamp.
We wish them all the best and look forward to hearing more about their progress and
achievements.
To find out more about the award visit our website:
www.beauchamp.org.uk/student-services/rm-awards
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Beauchamp Newsletter
The Lionheart Challenge: National Finals
Phil Leech, Teacher of Business Studies
The Lionheart Challenge journey began for all the Year
10 students back in March. 250 contestants per day
in the main hall, some keen, others unsure and some
definitely reluctant, went through the challenge of
conceptualising, devising and creating a product on a
theme they were given at the start of the day.
The winning team from each day won through to
the Regional Final, held at the Reebok Stadium in
Bolton in June. The team comprising Chloe Bibby,
Phoebe Morgan, Jaimini Shiyal, Rajiv Daxini, Connor
Marlow, Ben Akroyd, Kieran Keane, Jaskarn Dhillon
and Mahesh Ruparelia performed brilliantly to win
the regional title and book their place at the National
Finals.
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time to the council chambers at Lancaster Castle for
the presentations. We were faced with a panel of eight
judges including the Deputy Chief Constable of the
Manchester Metropolitan Police, the Chair of the
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and
the Managing Director of a software company, not
to mention a room filled with 100 fellow contestants
from around the country. Chloe and Rajiv delivered a
very professional presentation, reflecting the quality of
the work produced by the whole team.
After the presentations it was back on the bus, and off
to the town hall for a black tie dinner and the awards
ceremony. A good night was had by all, no prizes this
time but the feedback from the judges indicated that
they had been very impressed with the teamwork and
commitment of our students.
We travelled to Lancaster after school on Thursday
8th November. After a meal at Pizza Hut we settled
down for the night in preparation for an early start
on the big day. After breakfast we braved the rush
hour traffic and arrived at Morecombe Football Club
for the working part of the day. The challenge for the
team was to come-up with a product that would help
combat the threat posed by cyber-crime.
Five and half hours of focussed, intense work later
the team had researched the market, devised a new
product, costed the proposal and created a marketing
plan, a truly impressive feat. They had also put
together a 3D graphic image of the product and a
powerpoint presentation.
A quick trip back to the hotel to relax for 1 hour and
change for the evening, and we were off again, this
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Autumn 2012
UCAS, Careers, Next Steps
Art and Design Exhibition
Health and Social Care Staff
Design Staff
It has been a busy term for the Health and
Social Care department yet again.
This term the Health and Social Care
department have been dedicated to
preparing students for their university
applications and post 16 options. Students
have been offered a variety of opportunities
in order for them to make informed
decisions for their future.
In October 2012, the department held its
first Next Steps event. The event hosted a
variety of workshops and guest speakers
who delivered information on NHS careers,
apprenticeships, steps to university, working
in child care and writing an impressive CV.
Over 80 Health and Social Care students
attended the event which ran over the course
of the morning. The feedback received was
positive and students felt that they had a
clearer understanding of the decisions they
had to make in choosing the best pathway
for their future.
in helping students plan for the future and
the importance in doing so. All events were
well attended and parents and students felt
confident in the support received.
Year 10 students took part in a Dragons’ Den
style task earlier this term. Their task was
to design a new food product that would
benefit all. The winning product was called
‘Frogo’, a frozen yoghurt suitable for all ages.
The students have had the opportunity to
make the product with our catering staff and
will be launched in the school later this year.
A big congratulations to Georgia Bennett,
Maisie Green, Summer Helps, Mateenah
Katib, Meghan Muir and Ellen Smith.
The department has also held personal
statement surgeries, which involved one
to one feedback, to ensure successful
applications to university. A careers talk
for parents and students has also been
offered this term, explaining the advantages
and disadvantages of the options available
to students. Exploring work experience
opportunities was another successful session
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The Art and Design Year 12 Exhibition was a fantastic
evening celebrating the first 6 weeks of our new Year12
students’ work, displaying some excellent quality of
work.
The staff provided a professional and friendly
atmosphere and were on hand to meet parents and
other guests and answer any queries.
We had an excellent turn-out and are grateful to all
parents, carers and staff for their support in making
this event a huge success.
We received some wonderful comments from both
parents and students:
“Great work guys. Keep it up. All students are very
talented.”
“Wonderful to share the creativity of these young and
so imaginative people. Thank you for inviting us to
participate and appreciate their growth.”
“Very impressive! I want to come to Beauchamp now!”
“Always a pleasure to visit the college again after
leaving many years ago in 2006. Great to see how the
college has developed into such a wonderful space,
particularly Art & Design!”
“Absolutely fantastic exhibition, loved every second of
picture viewing, eating and the cool, hip music, and
the DJ!”
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Autumn 2012
European Day of Languages
Target 2.0 competition
There are over 6000 languages
spoken in the world. And behind
each and every one of them
lies a rich and diverse culture.
That’s what the European Day of
Languages aims to celebrate, by
showing people across Europe how
important languages are, and what
fun learning them can be.
Congratulatons to Poonam Lodhia,
Ekta Mehta, Roshni Popat and
Oscar Djama Tuckett who came
second in a very closely contented
competition in the regional heats
of the Bank of England’s Target 2.0
competition.
Beauchamp students had the
opportunity to take part in many
activities, enter the prize draw and
sample various dishes from around
the world.
It was a great day and we are
certain we got many students
excited about languages.
The team have been preparing for
the competition since September.
They have devoted a lot of time
to researching complex economic
data and using this to put together
a proposal about what the Bank of
England should do with monetary
policy (the use iof interest rates to
control inflation).
Their presentation was detailed
and professional and the Bank of
England committee commented
about how impressed they
had been with their economic
understanding.
They did themselves and
Beauchamp proud. Most
importantly, they thoroughly
enjoyed the day and got so much
out of being involved.
Well done!
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Desmond Tutu Lecture
Leicestershire Chorale
Francesca Root, Nabil Easat, Mandi Maripise & Taboka Ncube
Anthony Anderson, Head of Music and Suzanne Challacombe, HSU
The inspirational lecture by the humorous
Desmond Tutu was not what one would
expect from an Archbishop.
In an increasingly secular age, the
Archbishop told the audience not to fear,
encouraging cooperation between the
church and secular communities, holding
that the values we all possess remain the
same. It was heart-warming to hear a figure
so high up in the Church encouraging
inter-faith relationships, continually
referencing to Ubuntu – a Southern
African philosophy which follows that the
only reason we are human is because of our
relationship with other human beings.
This term the Music Department at Beauchamp worked with Youth Find a Voice on a dynamic choral project celebrating ten years of choral projects in schools. The project, set up
and run by the Leicestershire Chorale, included a vocal workshop for Beauchamp students
led by Leicestershire Chorale’s inspirational musical director, Tom Williams, who combines
vocal coaching with an international career as a singer. The project culminated in a performance of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms at De Montfort Hall when Beauchamp students
joined student singers from across the county, the Leicestershire Chorale and the Bardi Symphony Orchestra – in all, over two hundred performers contributing to what was an exciting
and unforgettable musical experience.
As well as strongly supporting the
idea of women bishops in the church,
Tutu also bought up the debate around
homosexuality. His slant on this topic was
not traditional to say the least, arguing that
Jesus chose to embrace “all men”, and this
includes homosexuals. The Archbishop
proposed that, like your gender, sexuality
is never a choice – highlighting that no one
would choose a life of persecution. In this
way he then concluded that one God would
never persecute someone for something
that is not their fault, nor should we in
society.
Autumn 2012
For more information about YFaV, the Leicestershire Chorale and our choral scholarship
scheme, see leicestershirechorale.org.uk.
finished with the issue of Global Warming,
with all the students agreeing that it was
deeply worrying to see a man with so much
faith completely despairing at what we may
have done to the world. This is indeed a
man with vision and the day will be without
a doubt, fondly remembered by any who
attended the lecture, how could we forget
that laugh of his!
Beauchamp Students singing in the YFaV project at the De Montfort Hall, Sunday 4th November 2012.
In the foreground, counter tenor soloist Tim Morgan, former choral scholar.
The ‘Public Faith in a Secular Age’ lecture
can be viewed on youtube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVZsni2WHjg
While this part of the lecture was deeply
enlightening and wonderful, the end of the
lecture was more sombre. The Archbishop
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Dates for your diary
Monday 7 January
Thursday 10 January
Wednesday 16 January
Monday 4 - Friday 8 February
Monday 11 - Friday 17 February
Staff Training Day. College closed for students
Adult and Community courses commence
Duke of Edinburgh enrolment evening and
Volunteering Fair 6.30 p.m. - 8.00 p.m.
Year 9 Transition: Final Option Evening
Manor High School
4.30 p.m. - 5.30 p.m.
Gartree High School
5.30 p.m. - 6.30 p.m.
Eton Exchange Week
Half Term
Monday 25 February
Fair Trade Fortnight commences
Saturday 2 March
Duke of Edinburgh Training Day
Monday 18 March
Monday 25 March - Friday 5 April
Monday 8 April
Monday 27 - Friday 31 May
Friday 12 July
Enterprise Week
Easter Break
College opens after Easter break
Half term
End of academic year
Thursday 15 August
A Level Results Day
Thursday 22 August
GCSE Results Day
Beauchamp College
www.beauchamp.org.uk
facebook.com/beauchampcollege
NEWSLETTER 2012
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
Movember
Nick Tennear, Teacher of English
This year’s Movember saw a rise in participants; as well as male staff members, female staff
also made an effort to support their hirsute lipped colleagues.
Starting from a clean shave on the first of November, staff grew a range moustaches; from
the long and bushy to the sparse and gingery. Staff and students rewarded these efforts with
sponsorship money for the Coping with Cancer charity, a cause that supports people affected
by cancer. Hair and Beauty students provided the follically challenged with painted on moustaches.
On the final day Feel Good Friday stickers were replaced by stick on moustaches for all staff
to show some bristly solidarity and votes were cast for best in show. Penny Armstrong won
an award, largely for her endurance in the face of an itchy top lip but the prize for best moustache went to Ben Bannister.
Money is still coming in, Joe Jordan has reported a figure nearing £500, but any other help is
appreciated. Joe Jordan will take donations or they can be directly made to www.c-w-c.org.
uk
Movember is a campaign to raise funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate
cancer and testicular cancer.
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
Mock Oxbridge Interviews
Tony Cutting, Oxbridge Coordinator
2O Year 13 Beauchamp students went
to Uppingham School on November 6th
to be given mock Oxbridge interviews
in preparation for the real event that
happens in early to mid December.
While Uppingham staff interview
our candidates - and provide very
supportive feedback - Beauchamp
teachers interview Uppingham
candidates. It’s a reciprocal arrangement
that is beneficial all round. The day
before the mock interviews we had a
very helpful session with Kate Burn
from Oxford University who gave us
some very helpful insider tips, and
the next day Noor Asif, a former
Beauchamp student now studying
medicine at Leicester University, gave
advice on interviews to the students
who are applying for medicine. All this
help is extremely beneficial to students
as they undertake these gruelling
assessment procedures.
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
Black History Month: Guest Speakers
[from Leicester Mercury]
Singer, actress, author and Ska legend Pauline Black
gave teenagers the benefit of her wisdom during a
school visit.
The 58-year-old lead singer of late 70s/early 80s Ska
revival band – The Selecter – dropped in to talk to
youngsters at Beauchamp College, in Oadby.
Her visit was organised as part of the school’s Black
History Month. It was arranged by Eddie Dublin from
the school’s pastoral team.
“I’m was a big fan of The Selecter and Pauline was one
of my heroes as a younger man,” he said. “I got her
e-mail address from a friend and thought she would
be ideal to talk to the youngsters about her career. I
sent her a message, not really expecting a reply, so was
delighted when she got back to me and said yes. It was
very kind of her – I couldn’t believe it.”
The History department and
Eddie Dublin were very pleased to
welcome guest speakers to address
our year 12 and 13 students on
issues relevant to ‘Black History
Month’
The speakers covered issues on
racism and far right extremist
groups. Students studying History,
Politics, Law, Sociology and
Philosophy attended. The speakers
were informative and very moving.
We were certainly given a lot to
think about.
Pauline took part in a question-and-answer session
with the students.
“She spoke about her time with 2 Tone records and
The Specials in Coventry, which many of the children
had heard of through their parents, and what it was
like being a woman of mixed race in that scene, as well
as her later experiences dealing with music industry
bosses,” said Mr Dublin. “We have pupils from many
different backgrounds and cultures and they were
captivated by what Pauline had to say.”
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Black History Month: Live Lounge
Nilesh Champaneri, Teacher of Music Technology
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The Black History Live Lounge was an amazingly vibrant and successful event in which a
diverse range of student and staff performers took to the stage and performed songs and
dances of black origin.
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Autumn 2012
Senior Mathematics Challenge 2012
Lee Robinson, Teacher of Maths
On November 6th a hundred of our year 12 and 13 students tackled this year’s SMC paper.
This is a challenging multiple choice paper taken by 100,000 students nationally with the
ultimate goal being to select four students to represent the UK in the World Mathematics
Olympiad. Students who finish in the top 60% nationally are awarded a bronze certificate,
top 30% silver and finally top 10% gold.
Congratulations to all of our students who took part this year and well done to the sixty
students , listed below, who achieved certificates for their papers. Good luck to James Twigg,
Jovia Gao and Alistair Brown who have been invited to tackle the next stage the Senior
Kangaroo paper on the November 30th.
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Gold
Silver
Bronze
James Twigg 12CMR
Alistair Brown 12AJO
Jovia Gao 12SED
Hannah Kockelbergh 12SLU
Oliver Masters 12SKC
Michael Smith 12GLH
Niam Kalyan 12EAT
Ben Hughes 12AF
Jack Hancock 12BDH
Feiyu Fang 12PHH
Simran Sandhu 13ADA
Jennifer Watts 13AB
Matthew Scase 13PA
Abdul Gabbar 13
Ewan Ferguson 13AB
Harneet Sangha 13AJF
James Gath 13AK
Aaron Chand 13MJB
Krishka Vora 13AJD
Mo Jussab 13LKH
John Stafford 13JMW
Jay Radia 13GLN
Robert Watson 13PDE
James Ozel 11TT
Keva Rughani 13CBA
Ellis Jeffrey 13LLY
Bhavik Godhania 13WJM
Abigail Parmar 13
Divya Patel 13SCV
Vedanta Menzes 13AB
Matthew Richmond 13GLN
Shivang Keshvala 13ACY
Richard Jackson 13AP
Neel Parmar 13AKK
Akshay Thadeshwer 13NT
Serayna Solanki 13CBA
Sarthak Mahapatra 13GP
Vimal Chauhan 13JCM
Chandni Parmar 13KAF
Dan Whitesman 12LLY
Ben Farhand 12LKH
Marium Sabir 12DS
Joe Sansome 12HAN
Nayan Patel 12MER
Devinder Atwal 12PDE
Hardeep Lotay 12AK
Kieran Fay 12APM
Rikesh Mistry 12AJD
Farhanah Mogra 12SBH
Payal Kotecha 12SP
Farhan Ali 12RLA
George Bettsworth 12SGL
Samantha Singla 12WJM
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Autumn 2012
Salon International & Alternative Hair Show
Hair and Beauty Students
DAY 1:
DAY 2:
The mid morning coach journey began by
giving Teleah a surprise birthday present and very emotional she was too. About 3.00
pm we arrived at the Jury’s Inn, Croydon
and, as our rooms were not yet ready, went
for a break at Pizza Hut.
After an early start we went to Salon
International and happily browsed the stalls
selling a range of hair and beauty products,
There was even a stall offering free scissor
sharpening service.
We then set off for the Alternative Hair Show
at the Royal Albert Hall, the presentation
starting at 8.00 pm. With seats up in the
gods we didn’t get much of a view, but
were intrigued to see avant garde hairstyles
created by some famous stylists from across
the world. There was then a competition for
junior stylists - we strongly disagreed with
the judges over the winner - and enjoyed the
enormous creativity of the contestants and
how they paid great attention to matching
fashion to the hair.
Next we watched the fashion catwalks and
saw some fascinationg demos from famous
hair stylists. After lunch we had a last look
around the stalls returning to the coach with
products such as Orofluido - shampoo, hair
oil and glitter all in one - and Maroccan oil
paddle brushes with Amika hair oil.
The visit taught us a great deal, especially
about avante garde hairstyles and the latest
hair trteatment products. The trip was really
enjoyable and we learnt a lot about the career
we are going into.
Towards the end a host of famous stylists
came on stage and a standing ovation was
given to Vidal Sassoon.
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
Jag älskar Sverige!
Jovia Gao
In October, six students from Beauchamp College
took part in an International Student Leadership
Conference held at the Gymnasieskolan Spyken in
Lund, Sweden. A week of learning about learning
followed and the delegation returned inspired.
At 5am on Sunday 30th September, it was cold, dark
and windy. To us, the six students and two teachers
huddled outside Beauchamp College, the chill and
the hour seemed not to matter, for we were Swedenbound in a state of high excitement to attend the 7th
International Student Leadership Conference. It
was held first at Beauchamp in 2005, the brain-child
of Nadia Hussain, a teacher at the college, and has
inspired dozens of students from across the globe in its
time. This year, for the first time, the conference went
to Sweden and we got a lifetime opportunity.
From the moment we crossed the Öresund Bridge
connecting Copenhagen and Malmö, we were
immersed in Swedish culture. The traditions, the
language, the people – and we would get to know all of
them a lot better over the course of the week. Staying
with the wonderful host families in and around the
city of Lund gave us the chance to learn about and
experience daily life in Sweden and also to ask as many
questions as we could!
The conference began on Monday morning at the
Spyken Academy, where we met the delegations from
Sweden, Germany and South Africa. We hardly
needed the ice-breaker activities before we were all
on our feet playing a huge game of Ninja together in
the basement! There we were also introduced to the
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Autumn 2012
Swedish fika: a coffee-and-snacks-break
which we were to see many times during
the week. But, of course, the main event
of the day was being put into teams and
given our missions for the week: to teach an
inspirational lesson.
Each day, we were taught about a different
means of inspiration so Tuesday found the
group sheltering from the rain in Malmö
for a day of learning about (and doing)
physical activity. We were greeted by this
rapidly modernising city with the view of the
traditional red-brick of Swedish architecture
on the right and the blue-green glass façade
of Malmö University on the left. And it was
for the University we were headed for an
enlightening lecture on the uses of physical
activity in education, which really caused us
all – even the most inactive – to reconsider
the benefits of this medium of teaching in a
classroom setting. Naturally, the day was not
all about learning so, when the sun finally
decided to show his face, there was time for
a tour of the city, shopping and, even after all
of that, some of us still had enough energy to
rack up top scores in bowling!
Science was Thursday’s theme so the
Wednesday was based around music and
lecture was about the designing of a science
there was a brilliant lecture on the differences exhibition. The lecturer impressed us not
in learning music between Western and
only with her dedication to her project
African cultures. What interested a lot of
and her incorporation of different learning
us was how much culture could have an
types into her exhibition but also with her
influence on the way in which we learn.
incredible PowerPoint skills! We also had
We saw this in effect over the course of the
a session on Supplementary Instruction – a
day because we observed lessons in Spyken
class run by students for students to help
and this really highlighted the diversity in
them with their courses – from students at
educational systems that we came from,
Lund University, which really got us all very
which was fascinating. And, as the day’s
thoughtful. It was very enjoyable discussing
ideas with each other to come up with an
answer. In the afternoon, we visited the
University for a Science Challenge in teams.
It was really wonderful to be able to work
together to solve problems with everyone
able to have an input; what really intrigued
me was the variety of ways that each of us
went about working on a task and how these
ways came together to form a neat solution.
After the brain-workout, we were given a
very special fika of cinnamon buns as, in
Sweden, 4th October is Cinnamon Bun Day.
Friday dawned and nervous teams waited
tensely before going in to teach the lessons
that they had so lovingly planned in the
week. But there was nothing to worry about:
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theme was music, it could not have finished
in any other way than having the group
dancing and singing to Swedish folksongs!
each lesson was a great success and everyone
had a lot of fun teaching and taking part.
Each team presented its lesson plans to the
conference. There was such a range of truly
inspirational ideas from everyone – not to
mention the truly crazy ones too! Then, all
too soon, the last fika was served and there
was a very emotional farewell to all of the
incredible people we met on the conference.
It was a week filled with experiences
both personal and academic, all utterly
unforgettable. It is difficult to avoid using
clichés to finish this article so I will end by
quoting one of my fellow delegates: “It was
really nice to go on an educational trip and
for once actually learn something.”
Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
South Africa Trip: October 2012
South Africa, once a country ridden with
inequalities towards the black and coloured
race is, after apartheid, moving towards a
richer, more equal nation. South Africa is
now the richest country in Africa and is well
on its way to becoming an MEDC (1st world
country).
South African schools have improved
drastically since the end of apartheid and the
harsh, tough education system has resulted
in more children progressing to higher
education and gaining highly skilled jobs.
For the children to progress onto higher
levels of education, it is key that students
learn and understand the English language
from an early age. Although children in
South Africa learn English from an early
age many do not have enough books in
school to further improve their skills. Also,
what became apparent to me was that
the teaching of English was by rote and
understanding the language was difficult due
to lack of books and the pressures placed on
the education system to make children speak
English rather than understand it.
The situation prompted Mr Richard Parker,
former head teacher of Beauchamp College,
and Mr Michel Wood also a former head
teacher to set up a system in South African
schools by which books no longer used
in England are taken over for all different
age ranges to enable the opportunity for
children to read and enjoy the pictures
created by their imagination from reading a
book.
The school we visited was called Lower
Tugela primary school situated 45 minutes
from the city of Durban. It has 1200 students
rainging from pre-school to age 14. Our
aim was not only take over as many books
as possible but to open their world into a
different kind of teaching and learning to
help improve the reading and understanding
of the complex English language through
English lessons which included not only
one to ones and group work, but football
sessions as well.
After a long and somewhat boring two
flights over the weekend we woke at 6.30
the following morning to be greeted to
the warm, succulent, familiar smell of a
full English. We wolfed down the meal,
knowing that we had to be onto the coach
and off by 7.10 to arrive by eight o’clock.
We arrived and were welcomed by the vice
and head principal Hans Tulsee, after which
we were taken for a tour of the school and
to our teaching quarters for the week. It
was a lovely school with lush green tropical
vegetation running through the centre and
a view of the surrounding countryside.
As soon as we arrived there was a buzz of
excitement in the air and every child we
walked past was hesitant but ecstatic to see
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us.
Our first group of children was at 8.30. The
group was of 24 which were divided into
two groups of 12. The 12 of us were spilt
into two and one half took one half of the
other group, the other half the other. One
group taught football for half an hour and
the other group taught English. All of the
children were very nice and enthusiastic
about taking part and achieve the tasks that
we set and the football was a real hit. The
children all got involved, despite the heat,
and couldn’t wait to show us some of the
tricks they had learned as well as the tricks
James showed off. After a successful first
day at the school we travelled to the Luthuli
Museum in which we got a talk about him
and his life, working to gain Black and
coloured rights, along with a tour of his
house. We took five groups a day and we did
this for the rest of the week with the same
groups each day.
Over the week, everyone developed a special
bond with each individual child and none of
us wanted the week to be over so soon.
The hospitality from the children and the
staff had led to a real affection for Lower
Tugela primary school. Performances, gifts
and a final farewell on the final day capped
off a wonderful experience.
On the Tuesday afternoon we travelled to
the Moses Mabida football stadium which
hosted one of the semi finals of the world
cup. The aim was to travel on the sky ride,
above the stadium and get a fantastic view
of Durban. Unfortunately, much to Miss
Cunningham’s annoyance, we had to settle
for a (well won by Miss Cunningham)
refund and dinner at an Italian restaurant.
The evenings also consisted of bowling and a
whale tour. Many of us were sceptical about
seeing a whale but half an hour into a cold,
wet, miserable boat ride we spotted our first
whale, a giant humpback and her young calf.
So far we had had excellent dry, warm
weather during the day time. However,
Saturday brought rain and when it rained it
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rained heavily. On this day we travelled to
the Shakalandzulu cultural centre in which
we experienced the taste of some (yeasty)
beer and Zulu cultural dancing in which I
and Louis had a go at.
On the Sunday our hopes of another dry
day whilst going to Usharka water land
were not high when we awoke to a grey
sky, and windy conditions. However we
carried on with the day and, although it was
cold and damp, eight of us got a wonderful
opportunity to swim with tropical fish in the
aquarium.
The Monday was the day we visited two
secondary schools. Although we had seen
what a school was like (in Lower Tugela)
today gave us an opportunity to take part
and see how children of a similar age are
taught and the pressures placed on them. We
enjoyed a quick lunch and departed for the
hotel to pack for our safari experience.
The next two days were the days I was
looking forward to the most, an opportunity
to see animals, which many of us had only
seen in a zoo, in their natural habitat. Once
in the reserve we didn’t have to travel far
to see animals, even from the bus we saw
Autumn 2012
zebras, warthogs, inyala, water buffalo and
rhinos. Even if I had just seen these animals
I would have been happy BUT, wrapping
up warm to escape the effects of the chilly
breeze we set off for our evening safari. We
firstly only saw rhinos and zebras, animals
we had already seen, but well spotted by
James as the evening was turning into night,
our jeep came across a giant bull elephant.
It was only 10 metres away and stayed there
quite content, allowing us to get some great
pictures and view of such a wonderful
creature. We continued into the night and,
following a well deserved break giving us a
chance to regain blood circulation, we set off
back to the hotel. On the way we bumped
into the other group who were at a stand
still. We drew up alongside and were very
excited to discover what they were looking
at. It was a group of three hyenas scavenging
the area, searching for food. That night our
jeep also saw a sleepy baboon and a tiny,
cute bush baby, its wide eyes like little gems
staring right into our spot light. After a
lukewarm, dispirited meal we retired for the
night trying to get as much sleep before a 5
o’clock morning safari.
Many of us wanted to see the tall, familiar
giraffe. However, it was not looking good
when our guide took us to the
spot he thought was going to be
the most likely place to spot them.
Our hope was fading but soon after
our break we spotted a lone male
wandering, quite contently through
the bush. Everyone seemed to
forget the cold and concentrated
with beady eyes on the huge figure.
The safari had been a success
and we on our way to collect our
suitcases.
Later that day we boarded the
plane, reflecting on our wonderful
experience , upset to say goodbye
(apart from Mr. Wright who was
ready to leave the previous Friday,
partly because he couldn’t face
losing another game of pool) from
such an enriching country.
The week and a half had been an
invigorating experience; one which
I think will draw many of us back
to the country in the future.
I would just like to write a special
notice about Miss Cunningham
who organised the trip superbly to
make the trip one which we will
never forget.
Chris Parkes- Bowen 13MCW
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
Beauchamp’s Got Talent
On 29th November 2012,
Beauchamp successfully hosted
yet another ‘Beauchamp’s Got
Talent.’ After the rigorous selection
process, the judging panel
announced the ten talented acts
that went through to the final. This
list consisted of singers, dancers,
musicians and stunt performers,
highlighting the incredible array of
talent amongst students within our
college.
The banner was up, buzzers were
at the ready and the audience
was streaming through the door.
Last year’s winners, ‘The AfriCans’ opened the show with
a magnificent dance and act
performance which was loudly
applauded by the audience. The
hosts, Craig Heffernan and Alisha
Kakar (Student Governors)
then ignited the stage with their
entertaining (and relatively awful)
jokes. They introduced the judges,
Ms Morgan (Teacher), Mr Ardley
(Teacher), Roshni Popat (Student
Governor), and Holly Bevins
(Performing Arts Captain).
The first act was Zenith, a band
consisting of a singer, two
guitarists and a drummer. The
judges commented that it was a
‘fantastic performance’ and that
‘the drummer was absolutely
amazing.’ They had set the
standards high. The second act
was Becky Ashmore, a talented
singer, who even won Mr. Ardley
over (aka the ‘Simon Cowell’ of the
judging panel) he remarked that
she had a ‘beautiful voice.’ Next was
Milan, a solo guitarist, who played
an instrumental. The audience
watched in awe as his hands
intricately plucked the strings that
were producing the melody of the
song. The judges were amazed and
said that ‘it takes a great deal of
concentration and effort to be able to perform that the
way you did – simply amazing!’
Rosie Brocklehurst was the next act on stage. She
sang Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’ and the whole audience was
captivated by the way she put her own spin on such a
well-known song. The judges loved her performance
and remarked that ‘it was a pleasure to hear’ and thus,
it was no surprise that she won 2nd place – Nice one
Rosie! The next act must have had a lot of energy as
he was engaging in backflips, jumps, spins, headstands
and much more. Indeed, Aiman, the talented gymnast,
certainly impressed the judges who exclaimed that
he was ‘incredibly cute and ridiculously talented!’
Jack Warner, the sixth act, took a multi-dimensional
approach to present his talent. Through using his
voice, the microphone, a tambourine and a playback
device simultaneously, he produced a mind-blowing
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performance that was highly
commended by the judges. Jake
came 3rd in this year’s Beauchamp’s
Got Talent – Congrats Jake!
Malkeet, a solo singer, was the
next act. He sang a song which
‘touched’ the audience and the
judges thought that it was a ‘wow
performance.’ The troublesome
pair, ‘Navdeesh and Dhruv’ were
next on stage. Their rap about
relationships inspired Mr. Ardely
to stand up and show off some of
his own rapping skills, which many
said, was ‘very amusing’ and ‘the
highlight of the night.’
Sade Wheatley-Holmes was the next act, who gracing
the stage with her delicate voice. She sang Adele’s ‘First
Love’ and the judges remarked that ‘you sang Adele
and you did it justice – you should be very proud!’
The final act, ODD consisted of two senior dancers
Ashton and Darshan who combined their skills of
dancing, acting and comedy to produce an incredible
performance. They went on to win 1st place that night
- Congratulations ODD!
After an eventful evening filled with talent and fun,
Beauchamp College successfully managed to raise
over £1,191.07 for Children in Need – Well Done
Beauchamp!
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
The Robert Mitchell Distinguished Awards
International School Award
Yvonne Rooney, International Links Coordinator
We are delighted to announce that the following students are the first recipients of
The Robert Mitchell Distinguished Award:
Beauchamp College was
first awarded the prestigious
International School Award by
the British Council in recognition
of its success in introducing a
Global Dimension to teaching and
learning in 2003.
Retaining the award would not be
possible without the hard work and
effort of both staff and students.
Therefore everyone who has been
involved over the years deserves
our thanks and congratulations.
The international programme has
developed considerably since then
and in September 2012 the college
was reaccredited for the third time.
Lauren Davies - a talented
cyclist who will travel to
Australian in 20133 to take
part in the Cycle Speedway
World Championships and
represent Great Britain.
Bradley Foster will attend
a National Youth Theatre
course as part of his aspiration to develop his skills in
drama.
Lana Summad will study
Classical Voice at the Birmingham Junior Conservatoire, as well as full time level
3 courses at Beauchamp.
We wish them all the best and look forward to hearing more about their progress and
achievements.
To find out more about the award visit our website:
www.beauchamp.org.uk/student-services/rm-awards
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Beauchamp Newsletter
The Lionheart Challenge: National Finals
Phil Leech, Teacher of Business Studies
The Lionheart Challenge journey began for all the Year
10 students back in March. 250 contestants per day
in the main hall, some keen, others unsure and some
definitely reluctant, went through the challenge of
conceptualising, devising and creating a product on a
theme they were given at the start of the day.
The winning team from each day won through to
the Regional Final, held at the Reebok Stadium in
Bolton in June. The team comprising Chloe Bibby,
Phoebe Morgan, Jaimini Shiyal, Rajiv Daxini, Connor
Marlow, Ben Akroyd, Kieran Keane, Jaskarn Dhillon
and Mahesh Ruparelia performed brilliantly to win
the regional title and book their place at the National
Finals.
Autumn 2012
time to the council chambers at Lancaster Castle for
the presentations. We were faced with a panel of eight
judges including the Deputy Chief Constable of the
Manchester Metropolitan Police, the Chair of the
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and
the Managing Director of a software company, not
to mention a room filled with 100 fellow contestants
from around the country. Chloe and Rajiv delivered a
very professional presentation, reflecting the quality of
the work produced by the whole team.
After the presentations it was back on the bus, and off
to the town hall for a black tie dinner and the awards
ceremony. A good night was had by all, no prizes this
time but the feedback from the judges indicated that
they had been very impressed with the teamwork and
commitment of our students.
We travelled to Lancaster after school on Thursday
8th November. After a meal at Pizza Hut we settled
down for the night in preparation for an early start
on the big day. After breakfast we braved the rush
hour traffic and arrived at Morecombe Football Club
for the working part of the day. The challenge for the
team was to come-up with a product that would help
combat the threat posed by cyber-crime.
Five and half hours of focussed, intense work later
the team had researched the market, devised a new
product, costed the proposal and created a marketing
plan, a truly impressive feat. They had also put
together a 3D graphic image of the product and a
powerpoint presentation.
A quick trip back to the hotel to relax for 1 hour and
change for the evening, and we were off again, this
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
UCAS, Careers, Next Steps
Art and Design Exhibition
Health and Social Care Staff
Design Staff
It has been a busy term for the Health and
Social Care department yet again.
This term the Health and Social Care
department have been dedicated to
preparing students for their university
applications and post 16 options. Students
have been offered a variety of opportunities
in order for them to make informed
decisions for their future.
In October 2012, the department held its
first Next Steps event. The event hosted a
variety of workshops and guest speakers
who delivered information on NHS careers,
apprenticeships, steps to university, working
in child care and writing an impressive CV.
Over 80 Health and Social Care students
attended the event which ran over the course
of the morning. The feedback received was
positive and students felt that they had a
clearer understanding of the decisions they
had to make in choosing the best pathway
for their future.
in helping students plan for the future and
the importance in doing so. All events were
well attended and parents and students felt
confident in the support received.
Year 10 students took part in a Dragons’ Den
style task earlier this term. Their task was
to design a new food product that would
benefit all. The winning product was called
‘Frogo’, a frozen yoghurt suitable for all ages.
The students have had the opportunity to
make the product with our catering staff and
will be launched in the school later this year.
A big congratulations to Georgia Bennett,
Maisie Green, Summer Helps, Mateenah
Katib, Meghan Muir and Ellen Smith.
The department has also held personal
statement surgeries, which involved one
to one feedback, to ensure successful
applications to university. A careers talk
for parents and students has also been
offered this term, explaining the advantages
and disadvantages of the options available
to students. Exploring work experience
opportunities was another successful session
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The Art and Design Year 12 Exhibition was a fantastic
evening celebrating the first 6 weeks of our new Year12
students’ work, displaying some excellent quality of
work.
The staff provided a professional and friendly
atmosphere and were on hand to meet parents and
other guests and answer any queries.
We had an excellent turn-out and are grateful to all
parents, carers and staff for their support in making
this event a huge success.
We received some wonderful comments from both
parents and students:
“Great work guys. Keep it up. All students are very
talented.”
“Wonderful to share the creativity of these young and
so imaginative people. Thank you for inviting us to
participate and appreciate their growth.”
“Very impressive! I want to come to Beauchamp now!”
“Always a pleasure to visit the college again after
leaving many years ago in 2006. Great to see how the
college has developed into such a wonderful space,
particularly Art & Design!”
“Absolutely fantastic exhibition, loved every second of
picture viewing, eating and the cool, hip music, and
the DJ!”
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Autumn 2012
European Day of Languages
Target 2.0 competition
There are over 6000 languages
spoken in the world. And behind
each and every one of them
lies a rich and diverse culture.
That’s what the European Day of
Languages aims to celebrate, by
showing people across Europe how
important languages are, and what
fun learning them can be.
Congratulatons to Poonam Lodhia,
Ekta Mehta, Roshni Popat and
Oscar Djama Tuckett who came
second in a very closely contented
competition in the regional heats
of the Bank of England’s Target 2.0
competition.
Beauchamp students had the
opportunity to take part in many
activities, enter the prize draw and
sample various dishes from around
the world.
It was a great day and we are
certain we got many students
excited about languages.
The team have been preparing for
the competition since September.
They have devoted a lot of time
to researching complex economic
data and using this to put together
a proposal about what the Bank of
England should do with monetary
policy (the use iof interest rates to
control inflation).
Their presentation was detailed
and professional and the Bank of
England committee commented
about how impressed they
had been with their economic
understanding.
They did themselves and
Beauchamp proud. Most
importantly, they thoroughly
enjoyed the day and got so much
out of being involved.
Well done!
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Beauchamp Newsletter
Beauchamp Newsletter
Desmond Tutu Lecture
Leicestershire Chorale
Francesca Root, Nabil Easat, Mandi Maripise & Taboka Ncube
Anthony Anderson, Head of Music and Suzanne Challacombe, HSU
The inspirational lecture by the humorous
Desmond Tutu was not what one would
expect from an Archbishop.
In an increasingly secular age, the
Archbishop told the audience not to fear,
encouraging cooperation between the
church and secular communities, holding
that the values we all possess remain the
same. It was heart-warming to hear a figure
so high up in the Church encouraging
inter-faith relationships, continually
referencing to Ubuntu – a Southern
African philosophy which follows that the
only reason we are human is because of our
relationship with other human beings.
This term the Music Department at Beauchamp worked with Youth Find a Voice on a dynamic choral project celebrating ten years of choral projects in schools. The project, set up
and run by the Leicestershire Chorale, included a vocal workshop for Beauchamp students
led by Leicestershire Chorale’s inspirational musical director, Tom Williams, who combines
vocal coaching with an international career as a singer. The project culminated in a performance of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms at De Montfort Hall when Beauchamp students
joined student singers from across the county, the Leicestershire Chorale and the Bardi Symphony Orchestra – in all, over two hundred performers contributing to what was an exciting
and unforgettable musical experience.
As well as strongly supporting the
idea of women bishops in the church,
Tutu also bought up the debate around
homosexuality. His slant on this topic was
not traditional to say the least, arguing that
Jesus chose to embrace “all men”, and this
includes homosexuals. The Archbishop
proposed that, like your gender, sexuality
is never a choice – highlighting that no one
would choose a life of persecution. In this
way he then concluded that one God would
never persecute someone for something
that is not their fault, nor should we in
society.
Autumn 2012
For more information about YFaV, the Leicestershire Chorale and our choral scholarship
scheme, see leicestershirechorale.org.uk.
finished with the issue of Global Warming,
with all the students agreeing that it was
deeply worrying to see a man with so much
faith completely despairing at what we may
have done to the world. This is indeed a
man with vision and the day will be without
a doubt, fondly remembered by any who
attended the lecture, how could we forget
that laugh of his!
Beauchamp Students singing in the YFaV project at the De Montfort Hall, Sunday 4th November 2012.
In the foreground, counter tenor soloist Tim Morgan, former choral scholar.
The ‘Public Faith in a Secular Age’ lecture
can be viewed on youtube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVZsni2WHjg
While this part of the lecture was deeply
enlightening and wonderful, the end of the
lecture was more sombre. The Archbishop
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Dates for your diary
Monday 7 January
Thursday 10 January
Wednesday 16 January
Monday 4 - Friday 8 February
Monday 11 - Friday 17 February
Staff Training Day. College closed for students
Adult and Community courses commence
Duke of Edinburgh enrolment evening and
Volunteering Fair 6.30 p.m. - 8.00 p.m.
Year 9 Transition: Final Option Evening
Manor High School
4.30 p.m. - 5.30 p.m.
Gartree High School
5.30 p.m. - 6.30 p.m.
Eton Exchange Week
Half Term
Monday 25 February
Fair Trade Fortnight commences
Saturday 2 March
Duke of Edinburgh Training Day
Monday 18 March
Monday 25 March - Friday 5 April
Monday 8 April
Monday 27 - Friday 31 May
Friday 12 July
Enterprise Week
Easter Break
College opens after Easter break
Half term
End of academic year
Thursday 15 August
A Level Results Day
Thursday 22 August
GCSE Results Day
Beauchamp College
www.beauchamp.org.uk
facebook.com/beauchampcollege
