Hills Road Sixth Form College has won the national final of a business game organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants. The team of six beat off competition from 22 other schools to be crowned winners of the 2010 Business, Accounting and Skills Education (BASE) competition.
The national final, at Aston University in Birmingham, followed 23 regional heats earlier in the year, in which 175 schools competed. Aimed at 16 to 18-year-olds, BASE links schools, students and employers in a bid to make accountancy an alluring career choice. Assuming the role of chartered accountants, the students have two hours to analyse, discuss and decide on the next steps of fictional organisations before presenting their ideas to a panel of businesses professionals.
Sarah Buckley, head of Economics, Business Studies and Accounting at Hills Road, said: "The business game brings out the best in students, giving them an opportunity to really shine. By working with mentors from accountancy firms they learn things that can't be taught in the classroom. Presenting their ideas to a panel of business professionals also gives them practical experience of the world of work and enables them to learn by doing."
Chris Johnson, a student at Hills Road, said: "We really enjoyed working together and have learnt that teamwork is essential. Everyone in the group had different strengths that we were able to draw on in the competition. We've never done anything like this before and we still can't believe we've won." In addition to being crowned National BASE Champion 2010 Hills Road Sixth Form College will receive a cash prize and visit to Chartered Accountants Hall.
Students showed their creative flair at an annual fashion show and exhibition of students' work in Art, Design and Photography.
Garments designed by A level students at Hills Road Sixth Form College included a brown feathered leotard, while 18-year-old Kay Li has made two outfits based on armour and using aluminium. One outfit featured gloves inspired by Edward Scissorhands, while other outfits were created from wicker, as well as a jacket made from Spanish fans and a torn flag.
Many students were involved in the event, attended by students, teachers, parents and professional artists. Adele Sanderson, 18, who will be studying at the London School of Fashion next year, made a lipstick dress.
AS level Art and Design students were also invited to take part and wore wicker garments, a dress made from Spanish fans and a torn flag jacket.
Head of Art and Design Jonathan Sansom said: "It was an extraordinary show and the culmination of the past year's work."
Talented teenagers will display their artwork in Cambridge on Saturday 3rd July. About 160 students at Hills Road Sixth Form College will exhibit work from their final year Art and Design A level course between 10am - 4pm.
The show will include photography, painting, drawings, architectural designs, prints, sculptures and fashion garments. Head of Art Jonathan Sansom said he was hugely impressed by this year's Art and Design show. He said: "It's and extraordinary show and the culmination of all the work that has gone on in the past year.
Staff and students from a sixth form college raised more than £10,000 in a fun run for the Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT). More than 450 Hills Road Sixth Form College students and staff took part in the HR4.5, a 4.5km run through the city's streets. Tonia Schofield, Sarah Buckley, Rob Leslie and Lee Steele, staff at the College, organised the run in april which benefited the TCT's appeal for a new unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital for the second year running.
Among the runners was College Principal Linda Sinclair and Dr Helen Hatcher, lead consultant for teenage and young adult oncology at Addenbrooke's, who took part with her 7-year-old son Theo.
Participants ran, jogged or walked the route and their efforts raised £10,059. TCT fundraiser Laura Woodcock visited the College to collect the money on Tuesday.
The run was sponsored by Napp Pharmaceuticals and several local companies gave donations and prizes.
The unit will treat cancer patients aged 13 to 24 from East Anglia and beyond and is due to open in December.
A student's dream came true when he acted alongside Hollywood stars as the youngest stunt extra in the new summer blockbuster Robin Hood.
Hills Road Sixth Form pupil James Dilley, 17, was only 16 when he found himself standing on a beach in Pembrokeshire dressed as a French pikeman in full battle gear as 150 horsemen charged at him, wielding swords and hammers.
The student then switched sides and stood his ground as an English archer, firing flaming arrows into the air as several hundred extras helped star Russell Crowe as Robin Hood besiege a castle in the dead of night.
James, who won the title of Young Archaeologist of the Year when he was 15, landed the role in the £130 million project after Britannia, a professional 5th century historical re-enactment group of which he is a member, was recruited by director Ridley Scott last summer to add authenticity to the film’s battle scenes.
James, from Barkway Road, Royston, said: “Working on the film was fantastic. It was quite an experience when 150 cavalry charged up the beach at me. I got hit a couple of times, it was a rubber hammer but it still hurt quite a lot, especially as our chain mail was really made of plastic.
“I also really enjoyed being an English longbow man shooting arrows at people in a castle which looks amazing, but was made out of plaster and wood. They poured fake boiling oil at us and we rammed the doors down, the whole experience was a dream come true.”
The A level student, who watched the film with friends last weekend, revealed famously hot-tempered Crowe did not live up to his fiery reputation on set.
“Russell is a really nice guy – as long as you let him have his way. He is a tough bloke but was friendly to all of us.” James added: “Ridley was great too.”
It was the second time the 73-year-old director called on the Britannia history buffs to help him out, as more than 100 “soldiers” were used in the grisly opening battle scene in the Oscar-winning Gladiator, also starring Crowe.
Students at Hills Road Sixth Form College put down their pens, pencils and laptops on Wednesday afternoon to hold a major charity fun run. The fun run is known as ‘HR4.5’ due to the 4.5km distance involved. It is now in its third year and the current event was a great success. The staff who organised it were delighted with the contribution made by the students and staff.
Four members of Hills Road staff worked as a team to plan and coordinate the event. Sarah Buckley, Robert Leslie, Tonia Schofield and Lee Steele spent many long hours organising the details for the afternoon’s activities as they attempt to meet their financial target for Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT).
Also taking part was Dr Helen Hatcher, lead consultant for Teenage and Young Adult Oncology at Addenbrooke’s and her 7 year-old son Theo! A number of representatives from TCT also joined the run. They all clearly enjoyed themselves and were most thankful for the support given by Hills Road.
Helen Bearfield-Smith from TCT said “It is fabulous that the students and staff at Hills Road Sixth Form College have chosen to support Teenage Cancer Trust again this year, as we are still working hard to raise the funds needed for the local TCT unit at Addenbrooke’s. This is all about healthy young people coming together to help young people with cancer, and it not only raises vital funds but also raises awareness of teenage cancer to this age group.”
The involvement of more than 450 students and staff was impressive. They were seen by many drivers and passers by as they ran, jogged or simply walked around the route, wearing their bright green HR4.5 T-shirts, sponsored by Napp Pharmaceuticals Limited. T-shirts, badges and wristbands were sold to those not directly involved in the run, to raise even more for the charity. A number of local sponsors were also very supportive, giving prizes and donations to the charity. The College and TCT were most appreciative of this gesture, which included sponsors such as Bella Italia, Cineworld, Core Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, Iceni Waters, Jordans Cereals, Pizza Hut, Savills, Subway and Cambridge Tenpin Bowling.
Hills Road Principal, Linda Sinclair, took part in the fun run and congratulated all those who took part. She was particularly grateful to Rob Leslie and Lee Steele this year because two colleagues in the planning team, Sarah Buckley and Tonia Schofield were unable to get back to the College in time for the run and are stranded at holiday locations due to the volcanic dust disruption to international flights!
Teenage Cancer Trust recently estimated that with the specialist teenage cancer care units currently around the UK, half of the teenagers diagnosed with cancer now have access to the dedicated, specialist support they need. The aim of TCT is to build enough units so that by 2012, every teenager in the UK will be treated on one. If you would like to find out more about TCT in Cambridge, please visit the TCT website and if you would make a donation please go to the Virgin Money website:
A talented teenager from Cambridge beat hundreds of hopefuls to reach the semi-final of the BBC’s national Young Musician of the Year competition.
Lucy Landymore, 17, from Harston in Cambridge, wowed the judges with her percussion pieces when she played the Marimba, a xylophone instrument, to a packed audience on Friday 14th May.
The A level student at Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge, might have narrowly missed out on the coveted £2,000 top prize, but she is already thinking to the future after winning a full scholarship to study, at the prestigious Royal College of Music in London, to fulfil her dream of becoming a professional musician.
She said: “Playing in the Young Musician competition was just the most amazing feeling. “People do not see percussion as a solo act, they think of one bang on the triangle or drums as an accompaniment. It’s as much a musical instrument as anything else and in my opinion the most fun to play.
“It was great for everyone to see how brilliant it can sound just by itself. I can’t wait to study it full time.”
Lucy, who started playing the piano at the age of 6, was inspired to take up percussion instruments after seeing her dad play in his big band, 78RPM.
Lucy’s former music teacher at Melbourn Village College, Paul Belbin, head of performing arts, taught the musician for five years and called her “an astonishingly talented, fabulous Marimba player.”
This is a new course for Hills Road Professional Counselling Training and is designed to follow on from a combination of the successful completion of the Intermediate Certificate in Counselling Skills (AQA) and the Advanced Certificate in Counselling Skills (AQA) or their equivalent. It is the fourth and qualifying year of Professional Counselling Training. Entry requirements include: Meeting the academic criteria; a personal evaluation and evidence of having gained an approved supervised placement.
The course starts on Wednesday 8th September 2010 4.45 – 9.00pm and will cover: theoretical study for 37 weeks and 9 Saturday workshops and professional practice with supervision and personal development.
For an application pack, please telephone the Adult Education Office on 01223 278002. Deadline for applications is 5.00pm on Monday 17th May and interviews will be held at the College by appointment on Saturday 22nd May.
Hills Road Sixth Form student group The Arrangement wowed judges on hit TV show Britain's Got Talent by performing pop hits by the Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga - in a classical music style.
Boasting three violins, a cello, drums, keyboard and bass guitar, the band got three 'yes' votes from the variety show's judges - Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden - to win a place in the next round of the competition.
Singer Jono Miles, 18, said the band had been lapping up the “surreal” attention so far.
The group has already attracted more than 5,000 fans on Facebook, and was welcomed by Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on to the sofa of ITV1’s This Morning.
The group of 17 and 18 year-olds said they wanted to bring classical music into the 21st century. They now face an anxious four-week wait until the auditions have finished to see if they have made it through to the semi-finals.
Jono, from Great Shelford, said: “It’s been very surreal. Our friends have been very supportive, especially the Hills Road posse. It’s going to interrupt my A-levels, and it’s hard to juggle these two really important things in our lives.”
His fellow band members are from Cambridge, Buckden, Burwell, Lolworth and Peterborough.
Amanda Holden said the performance had been “just genius” while Piers Morgan said it was “a brilliant idea, brilliantly executed”.
Simon Cowell expressed his disapproval of the group by pressing his buzzer just seconds into the act – but was eventually won over after hearing the audience’s reaction.
Jono added: “The students in college were quite annoyed because Simon buzzed early, but they are very proud of how well we’ve done.
“It started off a year ago when we were in a class listening to classical music. We started playing Dizzee Rascal on the piano, so I started singing along in an operatic style with these cool gangster lyrics.
“We thought it was funny and played at a few concerts, and it went down really well.
“Some said they thought we should go for Britain’s Got Talent, so we got the girls in on the strings to make it sound a bit more classical.”
On Sunday 21st March the 12 strong cast of this year's Edinburgh Fringe production gathered in the College theatre to create an entire play with original storyline, text, songs and choerography.
They were ably assisted by director Rich Rusk, musical director Tom Penn and movement specialist Javan Hughes, all currently preparing a national tour of Rich's production The Lamplighter's Lament.
The company met at 8am and put story ideas down. A tender love story in the midst of a bloody war between gnomes and garden vegetables began to emerge, leading to an urgent dash to the shops for props. The next 12 hours saw a frenzy of creation, with three songs written and learned and a number of high energy dance sequences skilfully choreographed. Finishing touches were still being applied as the audience began to arrive for the 8pm premiere performance of this brand new work entitled This Time it's Personnel.
When Carrot was sent by Sergeant Pepper to spy on the Gnomes and gather intelligence he had no idea that he would fall spontaneously and madly in love with a beautiful Gnome called Fiona, nor that he would go on to have romantic experiences normally denied to a humble root vegetable such as himself.
The College's full Edinburgh production will be up at the Fringe from the 15th to the 22nd August 2010 and shown back at Hills Road on the 15th September.