The Perse School Cambridge

As National Youth Rocketry Champions, The Perse Rocketry Team took part in the International Fly-off event on Futures Day at Farnborough International Airshow 2012, competing against the winning teams from France and the United States.

The winning team from The Perse, consisting of team leader Ivo Dawkins, Thomas Myers, William Drake, Thomas Read and Pratap Singh was accompanied by Keith Wilkin, Head of Technology. The team enjoyed the many sights and sounds of the airshow and looked around at many of the world class aerospace companies exhibiting in the trade show. Included in this all expenses-paid visit was evening dinner with the US Naval Aircrew.

This competition consisted of a presentation by the team and a single launch against the same rules as used in the National Finals back in May (launch 2 eggs to 800ft in a time between 43-47 seconds). Whilst the Perse team won the presentation session, they were beaten by the French team in the launch who then won overall.

Whilst is was disappointing to not win this event, the team had a fabulous time at Farnborough and are looking forward to their trip to NASA in Florida.

Many thanks to ADS, the organisers and the sponsors Chemring and Rolls Royce.

At the start of July, staff members Emma Sandwith and Paul Baker flew out to India to work in Bangalore for ten days at a local school, one of our partner schools in the Christel House charitable school foundation. Pupils are taken from the very poorest surrounding communities and are given a free education along with all of the other necessities to help them flourish. These include uniform, food (two meals a day), medical assistance, school equipment, transport, counselling and learning support services. Over their time at the school, pupils are taught to lift their sights and to help break the cycle of poverty by continuing into good further education and employment placements, with which the school assists them in their applications.

The children arrive at Kindergarten level knowing no English and knowing very little of the structure and routine that they will need in a school environment. This, like everything else, the school has to provide. Emma Sandwith was working with the English Department with their schemes of work, teaching methods and resource organisation, progression and planning. Paul Baker spent his time with the Maths and ICT Departments, again helping with schemes of work, working closely with the Head of Department and running a number of teacher workshops on child-centred and activity-based learning.

The selection of photos below give a flavour of the inspiring nature of the school, its teachers and its work. The Perse School is committed to further deepening its relationship with Christel House Schools worldwide. Following this visit, a successful Art sketchbook exchange earlier this year and a planned student Enrichment programme visit to South Africa, we are actively looking for ways to bring our students and teachers togheter in further common projects that strengthen us both and help share our understanding of our different countries, cultures and communities.

More information about Christel House Schools can be found on their website at http://www.christelhouse.org/

Following on from the Junior Maths Challenge, 11 of our Year 7 and Year 8 pupils sat the testing Junior Maths Olympiad. Our congratulations go to Patrick Bevan who was awarded a gold medal (only about 30 are awarded each year). Jaehyeon Kim, Thomas Read and Pratap Singh gained silver medals, and Year 7 pupils Jong-Ihn Chung and Robert Thomson did exceptionally well to be awarded bronze medals. All the pupils who took part have done very well to reach this level: typically only 1,200 out of approximately 250,000 pupils who take the Junior Challege are eligible to sit the Olympiad.

On Thursday 12th July, eight Year 7 girls competed in the inter-cricket county competition held at Fenners Cricket Club. The Perse started well, beating Linton Village College convincingly with strong performances from Catherine Mace and Claudia Baldelli. The second game versus Neale Wade School was a lot closer with the game going to the very last ball of the match. Lucia Forber batted well but Neale Wade ended up eventual winners by 1 run, which was heartbreaking for the girls. However, they picked themselves up quickly and put in another good display against Parkside. Lucy Galbraith-Olive, Sofia Baldelli, Laura Dementiev and Anna Traherne all batted well, with The Perse crusing to victory batting last.

The win meant that The Perse finished 2nd in the group, enough to qualify for the Final where they played Neale Wade once again. Some tight bowling and efficient running between wickets from the opposition put them in control early on, but captain Annabel Follows and Anna Traherne had other ideas, with Anna dispatching the ball to all parts of the ground. The game once again came to the last ball of the match but it was The Perse who this time came out on top, resulting in jubilant scenes from the girls!

Every member of the team contributed significantly throughout the day but the player of the tournament was Anna Traherne for her hard hitting batting performances. Well done to all concerned.

Seven Cadets from The Perse CCF have won Gliding Scholarships this year. Gliding Scholarship courses are an opportunity for cadets to undergo further training and achieve Gliding Scholarship wings. A course consists of up to 40 launches in a Viking or 8 hours in a Vigilant to achieve GS wings. Cadets showing the necessary aptitude are invited to progress to 'solo' standard and hopefully achieve the GS Solo Wings.

Gliding Scholarship (GS)

The Gliding Scholarship is aimed at cadets over 16 years old. The training is more advanced than the GIC with cadets instructed in the core skills of a glider pilot. Cadets completing the course receive the blue GS wings.

Gliding Scholarship – Solo (GS)

Cadets on the Gliding Scholarship who show aptitude for further training and a strong motivation for gliding will be invited for more training to allow them to go solo. Any cadet also completing a solo flight will receive the silver solo wings.

Of the cadets that have been on the course, Tom Mann, Alex Fanourakis and Edmund Smith have earned Silver Wings, and Tom Myers and Alex West have earned Blue Wings. Daniel Agar will go on his course in August.

The Lower School Boy's Tennis team had a fantastic season, with the 1st XII recording a 100% record in 10 matches. In the process they achieved qualification for the knock-out rounds of the AEGON Year 8 Team Tennis Schools National Championships, in which they will compete in the Autumn. Their strength lies in some talented Year 7s (AEGON Competition specialists Alex Wardley, Ben Cameron and Callum Thornton), along with a real depth in Year 8, with James Cheng and Franklin Nelson leading the regular season team, supported by Samir Chirnavis, Millan Suri, Tom Burton, Felix Newport-Mangell, Chris Norwood, Louis Bartlett, James Irvin and Henry Waugh. Also key to the squad were Year 7 pupils Kassim Mughal and Lewis Naughton.

As part of the Global Studies programme, Year 7 pupils learn about the language, culture, history, geography and food of Japan.  As an end of term treat, the pupils were able to taste basic Japanese ingredients such as green tea, seaweed, tofu, rice crackers, ginger, miso soup, green peas and natto (fermented soya beans).  For some, this was their first experience of eating with chopsticks as they tried to pick up marshmallows, fruit jelly and candies.

Year 11 pupils have been placed at a wide variety of interesting and worthwhile Careers Experience opportunities this summer, and more Perse students than ever before will be enjoying some fascinating placements across a diverse range of workplace environments: from banks, legal and financial services, international trade and global business, to publishing, architecture and advertising, together with scientific, dental, medical, veterinary, aircraft conservation and engineering.

Medical placements include the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Addenbrooke's Department of Surgery, Royal Brompton Hospital, King's Lynn Hospital and Newnham Walk Surgery.

Students will experience the financial services world in the City at Capital Economics and Allianz Insurance and in Cambridge at Deloitte. Legal placements have been accessed at Mills and Reeve and Taylor Wessing, and at a number of corporate law firms in London.

Scientists have been made welcome at the Toshiba Research Laboratories at the Science Park, at GSK in Stevenage and at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University.

A student who attended a London-based advertising agency sums up the value of Careers Experience, "the placement has really helped me to understand and evaluate my options properly and has left me with a much clearer view of my career aspirations".

Thank you to all Year 11 pupils and parents for their input into Careers Experience for 2012. We are also enormously grateful to all host providers for the excellent opportunities afforded to Perse pupils this year and we are keen to hear from anyone who may be able to assist in the future.

The photos below show Christopher Baish on the helicopter flight simulator during his two weeks with the Royal Navy Engineering at HMS Sultan in Portsmouth and Ben Cowley at the Cambridge University Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience.

Two Perse pupils have been awarded prestigious scholarships to attend a month long programme at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Upper Sixth students Sam Kleeman and Oliver Zolman were handpicked from over 30 applicants, with only 10 being awarded the final scholarships.

Sam and Oliver will spend three weeks working with Weizmann Institute scientists on current research across the faculties of Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Physics, or Mathematics and Computer Science. Their time at the institute will be followed by a week of travelling around Israel.

Our congratulations go to Sam and Oliver for having been awarded the scholarships, and we wish them the best of luck during their time at the Weizmann Institute.

Local artists Andrew Tanser and Andrea Bassill ran several adventurous workshops during the Summer Term, introducing pupils to a variety of sculptural methods. Each workshop had a specific theme relating to a curriculum area. Pupils explored methods such as soap stone carving and breeze block carving, as well as soft sculpture, driftwood boat making and fimo modelling, and enjoyed developing conceptual ideas and translating these ideas into forms. Andrew Tanser will be running more innovative and exciting workshops during the Michaelmas Term.