What’s New? School News

Students at DLD College, London have been inspired to succeed by a keynote speaker who has worked alongside Nelson Mandela. Chris Lubbe spoke on the topic of discrimination. The informative and interactive session left the audience spell-bound, inspiring them to take action and bring about change to find solutions to many of life’s challenges.  Determination, courage, perseverance and the power of forgiveness were key themes of the motivating message. The principal of DLD College, Irfan Latif, commented: ‘Chris delivered a deeply thought-provoking and engaging speech emphasising a philosophy and core values that run parallel with those of the college.’

Year 4 boys from Papplewick School, Ascot, visited ‘Rosie’s Chocolate Factory’ at Sheeplands Farm in Berkshire. The trip was part of the ‘Geography of Chocolate’ scheme of work for their geography course. The boys looked at the cacao bean and where it grows and studied the process of getting from ‘bean to bar’ and were given the opportunity to see first-hand what goes into the production of chocolate. Headmaster Tom Bunbury said:  “Geography became a very popular subject for the day!”

A King Edward’s School, Bath team of aspiring engineers have won the South West regional final of the Land Rover 4×4 in Schools Technology Challenge, securing themselves a place in the UK National Final in March. The Land Rover 4×4 in Schools Challenge, which requires teams to build a radio controlled four-wheel drive (4×4) vehicle which can successfully navigate and complete obstacles on an off-road test track, thereby emulating the capabilities of a full size 4×4 vehicle, attracted teams from across the region.

Talented vocalists fifteen year old Tansy Adam and sixteen year old Sophia Adderley will be representing Heathfield School, Ascot, at this year’s regional heat of the RIBI Young Musician of the Year Competition to be hosted in St Mary’s Theatre at Heathfield. Tansy – who will be taking her Grade 8 this year and is also a talented flautist – will be singing Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen, Ill Wind by Flanders and Swann and also By Strauss by Gershwin. Sophia Adderley – who only started singing lessons in September 2017 and will be taking her Grade 7 this term – will be singing Laudate Dominum by Mozart, Le Violette by Scarlatti and Popular by Stephen Schwartz. Sophia is also a talented violinist.

Kings Monkton School is the first school in Wales to have introduced a mental health support programme. The Restorative Approach in Schools (RAIS) programme launched on Blue Monday this year and is part of the school’s wider initiative to support the mental health of young people in Wales. Marie Sidoli, assistant head at Kings Monkton School, said ‘As educators, we need to be proactive when approaching the topic of mental health at school.  Around 10% of young people in the UK experience problems with their mental health or wellbeing, and yet there seems to be little focus on talking about that at school – particularly within the independent sector.’