Latest News Stories from Brooke Weston Academy
Students are incorporating techniques they learned in a theatrical workshop into practical work for their GCSE coursework. Students from Brooke Weston and Corby Technical School had a workshop with renowned theatre group Frantic Assembly.
This week saw the launch of the Year 7 boys' premier league reading challenge. Introduced by Librarian Wendy McCabe, the students split themselves into teams of five, with each team representing a football team in the premier league.
Every student needs to read as many books as possible before the end of season. Each book equates to a goal and the more goals scored the higher up the league table the team goes. A review sheet about the book has to be completed before a goal is awarded, with stickers given for the goal and put on display on the league table in the library.
A group of Year 12 and 13 students travelled to Worksop College for a two day philosophy conference.
The event, ‘in the pursuit of knowledge’ was a mixture of exciting interactive workshops and innovative seminars and lectures where ideas were challenged and explored.
Year 12 student Advone Katesande said ‘I really enjoyed this experience. It’s not something you can learn in a classroom. It was interactive and it challenged you to engage. I learnt a lot more as you can interpret the information into your own words which gives you more of an open mind.’
Two groups of high achieving students from Years 10 and 11 visited Pembroke College Cambridge for an introduction to university life.
They met current undergraduates, toured the college and visited Sedgwick Museum. It was useful for those who aspire to study at Oxbridge and was a great way to boost their knowledge of what university study entails..
Computer science teacher Ray Chambers is being interviewed by national media about the imminent release of an educational version of Minecraft. The game, which allows users to construct virtual structures, is already popular with students, but the new release is specifically aimed at school use. Mr Chambers has been approached by The Sunday Times and TV show Good Morning Britain to talk about how the software can be used to enhance lessons.
The telephone interview with the Sunday Times should appear in this weekend’s paper and Mr Chambers is due to be live on ITV some time between 06:30 and 08:30 on Tuesday morning.
In celebration of the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme’s Diamond Anniversary DT technician Mr Darren Hooper has recently completed a 12 hour mountain bike race plus a separate cycling expedition up Mount Snowdon to raise funds for local D of E projects.
Mr Hooper completed the gruelling 12 hours of mountain biking around Minley Manor in Reading, only stopping for one or two minutes every lap, and later went on to bike to the top of Mount Snowdon, raising £150. He said ‘I didn’t get the chance to do D of E when I was at school. So when I heard about the Diamond D of E challenge I knew it was something I wanted to do. I love challenging myself and pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone.
Year 9 students took on practical challenges including building bridges out of paper and level crossings from Lego during a STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) day run as part of Tomorrow’s Engineers Week.
This is a nationwide initiative where companies from across the country visit schools to set challenges and practical activities. Network Rail led STEM days at ten schools across the region and students from each will visit their headquarters in Milton Keynes later this month for more challenges, including a programming session on level crossing control.
After 14 years at Brooke Weston Academy art technician Susan McAlpine is retiring. She has been fundamental in helping teachers organise their lessons, makes sure students have the equipment they need and carries out a host of other duties that she has been doing so long that it’s just second nature to her.
Susan, originally from Glasgow, moved to Corby 44 years ago. This meant that she had to leave her apprenticeship as a window dresser with House of Fraser that she had started aged just 14 and a half.
She came to Brooke Weston as a part time cleaner and four years later went on to the role of technician.
Welcome to the trainee teachers who are just starting their placements at Brooke Weston as part of the School Direct programme. The year-long course combines university study and school experience and successful candidates will be awarded a PGCE qualification next summer.
The trainees, specialising in English, maths, science, French and history, are a mix of recent undergraduates and those who have had jobs in other sectors but who want a career change to teaching.
Kelsey Fordyce and Sam Tran have recently been appointed as Brooke Weston’s first ever Head Boy and Girl. Head of Sixth Form Mrs Smith asked for written applications and the top candidates were interviewed with Sam and Kelsey being awarded the prestigious roles.
Kelsey joined Brooke Weston in Year 12. She had previously attended CBA but liked the look of Brooke Weston during a tour.
As part of a national initiative to increase awareness of STEM careers, science teacher, Ms Reynolds, recently took part in a trip to Iceland.
Organised by the National Science Learning Centre, 15 teachers nationwide applied to go to Iceland to learn about its diverse landscapes and provide their students with varying contexts when teaching.
During the trip they took part in a 185-mile golden circle tour, when they experienced waterfalls, lava fields, volcanoes and geysers, where the power of the water and steam erupting from the ground due to the extreme heat is incredible.
Three of our students recently took part in a competition at the iconic Sadler’s Wells theatre with one of their teams winning a title in the hard-fought contest.
Charlotte Smith, Cameron Pickering and Caoimhe Magee all perform with Starlight Dance & Musical Theatre School. Several of its teams took part in the Mardi Gras dance competition at Sadler’s Wells where around 60 teams compete in different categories. Caoimhe was delighted when her team came third:
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