July 2015
NEWSLETTER
Dates for your diary
20 July
Heritage Project
celebration evening
22 July
End of term
27-31 July
Sonic Pi holiday club
4 August
Sawston Film School
course 1
5-6 August
Sawston Film School
course 2
17-21 August Summer School
2 September
Staff training day
(school closed
to pupils)
3 September
Term starts for
Year 7 and 11 pupils
Year 7 photos
4 September
Term starts for
Year 8, 9 and 10
pupils
17 September Sawston Cinema:
Testament of Youth
18 September Sawston Cinema:
The Battle of Britain
at 75
24 September Sawston Cinema:
The Beaux’
Stratagem (NT Live
Encore)
26-27
September
Year 10 DofE bronze
assessed weekend
29 September Sawston Cinema:
The Lego Movie
Welcome to the last
newsletter of the academic
year. In response to the
feedback from our
consultation with parents
earlier this year we have
developed a fresher, more
visually interesting newsletter
which is also accessible on
mobile phones. We hope
you like it. If you have
any feedback (good or
constructively critical) then
please do let us know.
In this issue:
• Staff Leavers
• Journeys Intertwined –
a WW1 heritage project
• Lower School Concert
• Towards the vertical house
system
• Birdsong – Our sculpture
commemorating WW1
• Message from LA Education
Transport
• GCSE Results Day 20th August
• Careers Information – ECLIPS
• The Fountain is a winner
• Outdoor Gig
• Uniform
Staff Leavers
Sadly, the end of the academic year brings with it the departure of staff
who are leaving to continue their career elsewhere or who are retiring.
We say goodbye to Miss Anderson, Mrs Warnock and Mrs Lloyd of
our TA team, all three to begin training as teachers. Ms Dzbenska,
Mrs McGovern, Mr Diggory, Ms Lavis and Miss O’Malley are leaving
to take up new posts in other schools, while Mrs Hastings, Mrs Gordon
and Mrs Howell-Youngs are retiring. My thanks go to all those colleagues
for their contribution to the school.
A special mention, however, must go to one particular retiring teacher.
Brian Higgins has been teaching at Sawston Village College since 1978,
during which time he has been a teacher of English, a Careers Guidance
Adviser and of course, more recently, Head of Drama. To describe Brian
as an SVC legend does not do him enough justice. Generations of young
people have been influenced by his creativity, dedication and skill as a
teacher and tutor, while the quality of the performances he produced and
directed would grace any youth theatre in the country. And all this with
a mischievous wit and ability to tell the most wonderful anecdotes, most
of which could not be reproduced here…
We thank Brian for his huge contribution over so many years to the College
and our pupils, and we wish him all the best for the future.
Mr Culpin
New Road, Sawston, Cambridge, CB22 3BP • Telephone: 01223 712777 • Fax: 01223 712754 • www.sawstonvc.org
Community Education: 01223 712424 • Email: [email protected] • Company Reg. No. 7627138
NEWSLETTER July 2015
Journeys Intertwined – a WW1 heritage project
Journeys Intertwined is a Heritage Lottery-funded project which has been
running in the school over the past 12 months and which culminates in a
multi-media performance in the Marven Centre on 20 July. The project
has followed the experiences of three soldiers, all of whose stories arose
from people in the local community, and one of whom is German with
a descendant living locally. These three men almost certainly never
encountered each other during the war, but through common themes,
their stories have ‘intertwined’.
The performance brings together different art forms; film, music, drama
and dance, as well highlighting, through documentary footage, the findings
of the research conducted by pupils in the school.
This project relates to the commemorative sculpture project, also
highlighted in this newsletter.
Ms Morgan, Arts Development Manager
Towards the vertical
house system
With the end of term fast
approaching, the final elements
of the vertical house system are
falling into place. Thanks to the
recommendations of the pupil
working party and a school wide
vote, we now have our four house
names: Mandela, Earhart, Turing
and da Vinci. As the senior
members in their house, Year 10
had the privilege of being the first
to hear the results and spending
time on PSHE day generating ideas
on how to develop a unique, house
identity. A particularly hot topic
here was the question of ‘super
league’ nicknames. Will it be the
Earhart Earwigs or Eagles; the da
Vinci Dolphins or Vipers? Watch
this space in the autumn.
Another development has been
the opportunity for pupils to meet
with their mentors and to see
their mentor base for September.
These meetings enabled pupils to
hear more about the system and
how it will provide them with
greater levels of personalised
guidance and support.
Pupils working on Journeys Intertwined
with 83 year old Bryan Howe
Lower School Concert
One of the most enjoyable events in the Music
Department calendar is the concert given by our
younger musicians in Years 7, 8 and 9.
We were entertained, astonished, impressed and moved this year
by some large groups (the Junior Choir, the Brass Band and the
Orchestra), some smaller ensembles (Saxophone Quartet and Flute
Choir), a rousing Klezmer duo and a number of accomplished soloists
(Persephone Bell, Matthew Noble, Kate Rainsford, El Mayo and
Eugenie Dalgleish). We were particularly pleased to hear Eugenie
play to us before she takes up her place at the Purcell School (a
specialist music school in London) in September.
Finally, and as part of this
programme of support, we have
revamped the procedures for the
first day of term, Thursday 3
September. The day has been
set aside for Year 7 and Year 11
pupils only. Whilst the new Year
7s are being helped to orientate
themselves around the school site,
every Year 11 pupil will receive a
one to one learning conversation
with one of their mentors. These
meetings will help pupils to identify
the challenges they face and the
steps needed to ensure success in
the year ahead. This is a level of
support that we could never offer
previously and with the Year 11s into
lessons by period 2, it will ensure
that they start the year positively
and as they mean to continue.
Mr Wallace, Deputy Principal
New Road, Sawston, Cambridge, CB22 3BP • Telephone: 01223 712777 • Fax: 01223 712754 • www.sawstonvc.org
Community Education: 01223 712424 • Email: [email protected] • Company Reg. No. 7627138
NEWSLETTER July 2015
Birdsong – Our sculpture commemorating WW1
A new sculpture is about to be installed in the Principal’s
Garden, commissioned by the South Cambs Decorative
and Fine Arts Society and commemorating those locally
who died in the First World War.
SCDFAS selected Neil Jones as the artist for the project. Now
London-based Neil, a former pupil of Sawston Village College, was,
however, able to build the sculpture in Stapleford, allowing pupils
the opportunity to see the work in progress.
Pupils were keen to be involved in the design of the sculpture, and
decided to base their design on a tree, influenced by having seen
Paul Nash paintings on a visit to the Imperial War Museum in London.
However, in contrast to the barren trees and the desolation and
dehumanisation of war that they conveyed, their tree would suggest
hope by having regenerative leaves at the top. Also, the trunk would
be formed of the names of all the local people who had died in this
conflict. For this, the young people also decided to use first names
only, personalising the commemoration by addressing those who lost
their lives as they might have been addressed by their families. At the top
of the tree there is a bird, giving the sculpture its name, ‘Birdsong’. This,
again, looks to regeneration and also references reports from soldiers of
the time of hearing birdsong above the noise of battle.
The school is indebted to SCDFAS and the other individuals, organisations
and companies that supported this project. In particular, we would like to
thank Neil Jones, who worked tirelessly to complete the work within a
very limited timeframe.
Ms Morgan, Arts Development Manager
Year 11 Ball
Message from LA Education Transport
Artist Neil Jones at work on
the Birdsong sculpture
GCSE Results
Day 20th August
GCSE results are available on
Thursday 20 August. Year 11
pupils only are invited to come
to the Henry Morris Hall
between 10.00 am and
midday to collect their results
statement. Any results
statements which are not
collected by midday will be
posted to the home address
using first class mail so that
they arrive on Friday morning.
Pupils may ask someone else
to collect results on their
behalf but they need to
provide that person with
written, signed consent, which
they will be asked to produce
before the results envelope is
handed to them. Year 10
pupils will receive their results
when they return to school in
the Autumn Term.
Mrs Martin, Exams Officer
Following the withdrawal of transport from Stapleford and Shelfords,
parents are advised to contact Stagecoach on 01223 423578 for timetables
and prices. The LA will no longer have the capacity to sell spare seats on
the remaining contract services from September 2015.
New Road, Sawston, Cambridge, CB22 3BP • Telephone: 01223 712777 • Fax: 01223 712754 • www.sawstonvc.org
Community Education: 01223 712424 • Email: [email protected] • Company Reg. No. 7627138
NEWSLETTER July 2015
Uniform
A final reminder to all parents
about the need for their child
to be in correct uniform in
September.
We were delighted to welcome a group of
Taiwanese students to the College this month
Careers
Information –
ECLIPS
Sawston has recently renewed
its subscription to ECLIPS,
which is a fantastic resource
for anyone who wants to know
more about a job or career, or
find out what jobs individual
subjects could lead on to. If
you want to know information
such as: what qualifications or
subjects you might need for a
certain career; what are the
main routes in; how much you
might earn; are there many
jobs in this industry; etc.; then
visit www.eclips-online.co.uk
and enter the password:
village85. There is a handy A-Z
index where you can look up a
specific job/career or subject.
Outdoor Gig
Every year the Music
Department organises an
outdoor concert in the
Fountain Court and pretty
well every year, the sun
shines for us. I’m pleased
to report that we got it
right again this time!
A large audience, armed with rugs,
deckchairs and picnics, basked in
the evening sunshine, listening to
performances from the Senior and
Junior Concert Bands, the Jazz
Band, the Brass Band and the
Samba Band. It was a perfect way
to round off a very successful
year’s music –making!
We have made some minor
changes to the uniform code, in
particular in relation to shoes and
trousers. The code contains some
additional guidance about what
constitutes appropriate fabric and
style, to help parents to buy the
correct items over the summer
holiday. The new uniform list 201516 can be found on the front page
of our website, under News, and
there will also be links to images
showing appropriate shoes and
trousers as worn by current pupils.
Pupils will also be informed as to
the action the school will take from
the first day in September onwards
to ensure that the uniform code is
upheld, which after two initial
warnings will involve sanctions of
increasing severity.
Heads of House
Mrs Macleod, Head of Music
Mrs Burr, School Librarian
The Fountain is a winner
Our magazine The Fountain has won Best College Magazine at the
Cambridge Building Society Community Magazine Awards, beating off
stiff competition from other schools and colleges in the area. Congratulations
to the pupils and staff who work so hard to produce such a high quality
publication. We would also like to thank the team at Red Graphic for their
invaluable support. Look out for the next edition early in the Autumn Term.
Mrs Rogers, Principal’s PA
Design and print www.redgraphic.co.uk 4253
And finally…
A reminder that we finish at 12.00 on Wednesday 22 July. Whatever you are doing over the summer period,
we wish you a relaxing and enjoyable time and we look forward to working with you in September at the start
of the new academic year.
New Road, Sawston, Cambridge, CB22 3BP • Telephone: 01223 712777 • Fax: 01223 712754 • www.sawstonvc.org
Community Education: 01223 712424 • Email: [email protected] • Company Reg. No. 7627138