Year 12 student Jake Turner has been trying out life as a Cambridge undergraduate, as one of 420 participants in the 2015 Cambridge University Students’ Union (CUSU) Shadowing Scheme.

Organised annually by CUSU, the scheme aims to give bright young people from non-university backgrounds the opportunity to experience life at a top university.

Jake studies at Bungay High School Sixth Form. At Cambridge he teamed up with a student from Jesus College, attending lectures, supervisions, practical’s and social events, for a taste of what undergraduate life at the University is really like.

Jake who is interested in studying Natural Sciences (Physics) at university, said that his experience as a shadow really reinforced his ambitions to apply and attend Cambridge university. The shadowing scheme also helped to consider which of the 29 colleges to apply to as they are all so different..

Helena Blair, Access Officer for CUSU and one of the organisers of this year’s scheme, explains:

“The Shadowing Scheme gives bright students from state schools the chance to experience university life, and really helps to break down the myths surrounding Cambridge.

“We know that some students may be put off applying to Cambridge by misconceptions and negative stereotypes, while others just may not have considered Cambridge or Higher Education as a viable option at all.

“There’s no better insight into being at University than shadowing a student for a few days during term-time, and we hope the experience students like Jake get from the Shadowing Scheme will help them to make an informed choice about their options post-sixth-form.”

This year’s Shadowing Scheme was the biggest yet, with priority for places given to young people with a strong academic track record, but who attend schools with little experience of sending students to Cambridge or Oxford, and who have few family members with experience of Higher Education.

‘Shadows’ stay in a Cambridge college, attend lectures with their undergraduate mentors, and try out social activities with the University’s student societies. Cambridge’s 700 societies cover almost every interest, from journalism to American football, and theatre to debating.

On Thursday 26^th February, 80 students from Year 12 and 13, along with members of staff from Bungay High School and Sixth Form welcomed Holocaust survivor Susan Pollack to share her testimony as part of a visit organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) and Sixth Form student and Regional Ambassador for the Trust, Lewis Wright. Read more here

The end of last week saw two wins for the sixth form centre.  The first was the Netball team beating Lowestoft College, 16 – 12.  Amy Lockwood and Daisy Beaumont leading the scoring, ably supported by the other team members, Nina Bircham, Annie Howland, Lauren Howe, Jasmine Hood and May Bowden.

The football team travelled to play at  Wroxham FC’s ground against Open Academy who run a football academy and we won 2-0!  It was a tough game. Goals came from Joeper (of all people a 25 yard screamer!) and Lee Mortier. All of them were superb. Team was  as follows. Joeree C, joeper C, Seb G, max Taylor, George Collins (man of the match and not a footballer!) Elliot Patrick, Brandon Pickess, Lee Mortier, Sam Hills, Connor Peck, Alex Perrin and Ollie Read.

It has been a busy time at the sixth form centre, two students have had a very thought provoking time when they visited Auschwitz, Rachel Pendered and Tom Parsons had a very long day as they travelled to Krakow and back in a day.  Thanks to Miss Kutesko for sorting out the arrangements with the Holocaust Survival Trust.

The new prefect team have been selected, and we are pleased to say that 15 year 12 students are prefects, and we are really looking forward to working with them over the next year.  The chosen students are: Bea Prutton, Lauren Howe, Hannah Barnes, Gemma Allison, Charlotte Sayer, Evvia Gonzales, Ocean Meadows, Megan Nicholls,  Rachel Pendered, Tom Pointon, Callum Green, Jack Hales, Rhys Brown, Felix Prutton and Jake Turner.

Year 12 are now on exam leave for the next two weeks as they complete their AS examinations, and Year 13 start their exam leave on June 1st.  We say goodbye to them officially at the leavers’ ball on the 22nd May.

On 22^nd May over 100 students and staff met to say goodbye to the current year 13 at Bungay High School. The evening marked the end of 5 years of education and is a highlight of the Sixth Form calendar. The students were vibrant and very glamorous in their finery and they were a credit to themselves and the school. The evening was held at High Lodge Darsham where the students shared a meal, received awards from both Nathan Brunsdon and Jo Somerfield, and danced the night away. The formal end to the evening concluded with an emotional farewell from the head boy and girl Lewis Wright and Anna Wildmore. The evening was tinged with sadness as we said goodbye to a lovely year group and also to Louise Metcalfe who is retiring from her role as Director of Sixth Form.

It was an absolute pleasure to spend the evening with the students, and we wish them well for their exams, and for whatever they will do in the future whether that is university or employment.

Plans are already in place for working with the new year 12 students who will be joining us in September. If anyone is interested in finding out more, please do get in contact with the school.

So as we come to the end of another busy academic year, it is good to remember all that we have done, there have been successful trips both abroad and in the UK, as well as much success in the world of sport.  We are really proud of all that our students have achieved.  We look forward to celebrating with them on exam results day as they have all worked so hard.

This years new prefect team are up and running and have already published the first copy of the sixth form newspaper “Noodle” which we hope will become a regular publication in the years to come.

We have welcomed both year 10 and year 11 to come and taste what it is like to be at the sixth form centre, and we hope to continue these events during the next academic year.

Dr Metcalfe has decided that now is the time for her to have a change of focus, and she has decided to retire from her position as Director of Sixth Form.  She will continue to teach part time for the next academic year. She has left a huge legacy in the sixth form centre and we will all miss working with her.

The sixth form is going to be led by a new team, headed up by Jo Somerfield, and supported by Nathan Brunsdon, Chris Webster and Sophie Myers.

We are really excited about working with the students when they come back after their summer break.

Dr Matt Davey an ex Bungay High student who now works as a Senior Research Fellow at Cambridge University talked to A level Biology students about his recent trip to Antarctica. He described his career path and how he has managed to combine both his enthusiasm for adventure with cutting edge science. He explained the research he was doing into Antarctic algae. He talked about how scientists are using their understanding of processes such as photosynthesis to enable the sustainable mass production of chemicals such as vitamins which are more traditionally sourced from materials such as fish oils.

The students also had the opportunity to try on various bits of essential Antarctic survival equipment under very unusually hot Suffolk skies

I am delighted to announce the following have been selected to be Head Boy and Head Girl for the next academic year.

Head Boy – Rhys Brown

Deputy Head Boy – Jack Hales and Felix Prutton

Head Girl – Beatrice Prutton

Deputy Head Girl – Evvia Gonzales and Hannah Barnes

Congratulations to them all

A huge congratulations to two year 13 students who have been awarded prizes in the Armourers and Brasiers Tata Sixth Form Materials Prize.  This is a competition designed to support schools in encouraging students to develop a sustained interest in STEM careers.

Four students were selected to attend the awards ceremony from 3 different schools.  The day included presentations for Tata Steel apprenticeships and a talk from Harry Bhadeshia, Tata Steel Professor of Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge.   Jake Turner was awarded a prize of £500 for the best portfolio and also won the same amount of money for the school, and Evvia Gonzales was awarded the top prize for the combination of her portfolio and presentation.  She was awarded £1500 for herself and £1000 for the school. Included in the prize is a visit from the institute of materials and a loan of a materials box for a week.  Many thanks to Mr Thomas for facilitating this competition.

It has been a busy couple of months at the sixth form centre.

First off congratulations to Evvia Gonzales and Felix Prutton for gaining offers from Cambridge University.  They both have places to read Natural Sciences, Evvia at St Johns and Felix at Downing College.

The majority of our year 13 students have heard about their university applications and are in the process of making their final choices about where they want to continue their studies.  We are very proud of all your achievements.  Their next job is to make their finance applications which need to be done by 31st May.

Half term saw year 13 students embarking on trips.  30 Geography students went on a trip of a lifetime to Iceland for four days, they were able to experience a vast array of geographical phenomena, and were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights. Other highlights included a glacier walk and a visit to the blue lagoon.  Many thanks to Miss Myers, Mr Webster and Mr Stubbs for the organisation of the trip.  15 science and history students went on a combined trip to Berlin, and experienced many historical and scientific sites, highlights being the science museum and the sausage museum, and the remaining section of the Berlin Wall.  Many thanks to Mr Thawley and Miss Kutesko for organising and taking the students.

Congratulations goes to Lauren Howe who was the first Suffolk and Norfolk student home in the English Schools National Cross country final.  This was Lauren’s last chance to compete and she had her best ever finish, coming 82nd out of 307 finishers.  She commented that this was a good race to finish her cross country career at Bungay High School.

Students are gearing up for sports relief on the 18th March where we are having a planking competition, a staff vs student volley ball match and wear your team strip for the day.

It has also been a busy time for the sixth form team, interviewing the prospective candidates both those from Bungay High and other local schools, and we look forward to welcoming them into year 12 in September.

As exam time is looming, students are working really hard at their course work and preparing for their exams.  The centre is open from 8am until 5.30pm on most days if students find it easier to work here.  We wish them well with the final few months hard work a head.

As the academic year draws to a close, there are a number of different activities happening at the Sixth Form during the final few weeks.

On Wednesday 15th as the Female Tour of Britain cycle ride practically passes the doorstep, the students will have an opportunity to see the peleton go past.

We will also on Wednesday be selecting the new Head Boy and Head Girl and their respective Deputies, good luck to those being interviewed.

On Thursday 16th students are able to go to Minsmere to see the filming of “Springwatch unsprung” and be part of the show, a great experience not just for Geography and Biology students, but for Media Studies as well as they get to see how the BBC film this successful show.

The following week, sees Careers Day, on Tuesday 21st June,  where year 12 students will be able to consider their options post sixth form be it university, apprenticeships or full time employment.  We are really grateful for all the different organisations coming in to explain the different options to students.  Representatives from UEA, Lowestoft College, National Citizenship Volunteers and Barclays Bank are all coming in to run sessions with students.  This will then be followed by an introduction to the university application process to parents on Wednesday 22nd June starting at 6pm.

On the 23rd June there is an opportunity to come and see all the fantastic art, photography and textiles work that has been produced by the year 12 and year 13 students during the year.  Please do drop in 5 – 7pm.

On the 29th June there is a BAFTA’s style award ceremony for the media studies students, so we are expecting lots of glamorous students as they walk up the red carpet.

We are also welcoming visits from year 10 students on 5th July to start to think about where they might carry on their education once they have finished year 11.  On the 7th July we have the induction day for the new year 12 students who will be starting with us in September. We look forward to welcoming both groups of students and hope that they have a great time exploring all the possibilities that Sixth Form has to offer them.

We finish the term with the enrichment week which includes a trip to Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University, Westfield shopping centre and visit to the Olympic park and the legendary sixth form BBQ.

It has been a really busy year and there are of course still exams going on.  We look forward to celebrating with the students when they get their exam results in August.

Bungay High Sixth Form held its annual year 13 leavers’ ball on May 27^th to say a fond farewell to the students.   Dressed to impress, over 100 staff and students celebrated the event held at High Lodge Darsham.  The evening included a meal, presentations by the Sixth Form Team, and speeches by Head Girl Bea Prutton and Head Boy Rhys Brown. The students then danced the night away.  The event, which is a highlight in the sixth form calendar, marked the end of the students’ time at Bungay High School and is always tinged with sadness, as a school we will miss them and the contribution they have made to the school community. Once they have completed their A level exams, the students will be entering the next stage in their lives either at university or in full time employment.

It was an absolute pleasure to spend the evening with them, they were a credit to themselves and the school, and we wish them well in their future endeavours.

The year 13 students did fantastically in their A level exams and we achieved the best ever results, 79% of students gained  A* – C grades and 50% gained an A* – B grades.  We were so proud of all of their achievements.  The majority of students gained places at their first choice university and will be starting their courses in the next few weeks.

It has been great this week to welcome the new year 12 students, and to have the year 13 return.

We are delighted that the following students have been appointed in leadership roles in the sixth form:

Head Girl – Zoe Smith Howell

Head Boy – Jack Allison

Deputy Head Girl – Abigail Pipes

Deputy Head Boy – Edward Dolden

We are looking forward to working with them over the next academic year.