The Maasai- a very different way of living....

Our first Siena society talk of the term saw King’s College Geography post-graduate Briony Turner give a fascinating account of the time she has spent living and working with the Maasai tribe on the Tanzania/Kenya border in Africa.

Her particular area of research concerns the effect of agricultural expansion on the livelihood of the Maasai and how it affects these people who lead a semi-nomadic lifestyle. To help her gain a deeper understanding she went to visit them in person. A self-taken video on the day she left ‘civilisation’ in the town of Arusha before heading out to meet the Maasai showed us how much trepidation she was feeling: how many of us have met a group of tribal warriors on their turf and on their terms, without the comfort-blanket of western-based ideals to look after us if it all goes wrong?!

In the event we got the impression that Briony had nothing to fear, apart from the disgusting cup of ‘tea’ she was obliged to drink on arrival as part of the welcoming ceremony, overseen by the chief. Most of her tales described the stark differences in culture: the typical marital age for a Maasai is between 15 and 18 with young girls growing up simply copying their mothers, walking for miles just to collect water for their families. The young boys in contrast grow up tending their herds of cattle before being trained up as warriors between the ages of 16 and 30. We got the impression that when he gets to a certain age, the average Maasai male simply spends his days drinking mead (a honey-based alcoholic drink).

It was quite apparent that ceremony, tradition and rites of passage play an integral part in this people’s way of life, with rigid rules concerning the sacrifice of the precious cows and whether men can eat meat in sight of a woman (he can’t!) It was also clear that Briony forged a profound appreciation and love for these people and it was a privilege to hear her account first hand.
For another opportunity to see this lecture please click on this link.

Careers Fair gets girls thinking....

On Saturday, 9^th March St Catherine’s hosted its own Careers Fair in the Main Hall. The event was compulsory for all Years 9 to 13 and proved to be a real success. It was clear that for many girls this was the first time they had had an opportuity to meet adults from a wide variety of professions and discuss with them what the career involved in depth. We are very grateful to all the stand holders (many of them either parents or representatives of companies with close links to the school) who had clearly taken a great deal of time and effort over their displays and material. Whilst we had 24 stand holders, we are aware that not all professions were represented but hopefully if word gets around, the event will expand so that in two years’ time we can have nearer 50 stands.

We are particularly grateful to our two speakers, Ms Nadia McCarthy from BP and Mr Rob Dykes from UBS for delivering such informative and inspiring talks; the points they raised were especially relevant.

If you did have any suggestions on how the event could be developed please do email them to apearson@st-catherines-twickenham.org.uk

Careers Fair at St Catherine's- this Saturday!!

Don't forget that this Saturday from 10am until 1pm St Catherine's is hosting its Careers Fair in the Main Hall. 

There will be 30 or so stands representing numerous professions and 2 key-note speakers:

10.45am               Ms Nadia McCarthy (Resourcing Manager, BP)

12.00pm               Mr Robert Dykes (Director, UBS)

Ms McCarthy will talk about:

·         Her role in sourcing the best possible graduates, giving an idea of the global reach and scope of BP

·         The types of disciplines, roles and scarce skills required for a career in the oil and gas industry

·         What job applicants should look for when researching a leading global company

·         How to use social media as a means of researching the top jobs

·         How to make a strong job application and planning your career

Mr Dykes will talk about:

·         Interview techniques for job interviews

·         The selection process for graduate employers

·         Internships and other routes into employment

Year 12 visit UCAS convention at Olympia

Last Friday all Year 12 went with Mr Pearson to Olympia to attend the UCAS convention in order to speak to representatives from hundreds of different universities. Few of us were prepared for the sheer size of the event and the number of universities that actually exist in the UK! Not only did we have the opportunity to ask pre-prepared questions of all the universities we have been considering but we also had the opportunity to attend seminars on personal statement writing, student finance and Oxbridge applications.

After 3 hours we all felt exhausted and daunted by the prospect of the journey home laden with bags full of university prospectuses. All together it was a really useful day and has got our minds fully focused on UCAS!

Matt Dickinson returns with tales of harrowing voyage

A year ago, Matt gave a fascinating account to the Siena Society of his adventures climbing Mount Everest. On Thursday February 14^th, the renowned explorer and author returned to present a riveting lecture about an exhibition he organised to Antartica in which he and 8 others planned to trace his own father’s footsteps from half a century earlier. We learnt that Dickinson Senior had been posted out to Antarctica as a naïve 19 year old to set up one of the first stations in this most inhospitable part of the world. Matt planned to sail from the southern-most tip of South America, around Cape Horn to Antarctica with the particular aim of climbing the highest mountain down there; a feat his father never sadly accomplished.

Matt punctuated his lecture with video clips and some of the images we saw of the voyage across the Southern Ocean in their 60 foot yacht, Pelagia, were truly terrifying! Not being a sailor himself, Matt found this aspect of the journey especially exhilarating and demanding. As the expedition neared Antartica they came across widespread evidence of the old whaling industry. The black and white footage we were shown illustrated very vividly what a brutal and efficient industry this was, out of the sight and mind of most humanity. It was good to hear that whale stocks in the region have since recovered from near extinction but it was a startling reminder of how close to annihilation these remarkable creatures were. One particularly striking video shot, was of one of the crew-members standing on deck playing his clarinet to the whales in sub-zero temperatures! The whales were clearly very appreciative!

What must have been a particularly poignant moment for Matt was when they came across his father’s camp, abandoned 50 years earlier; tins and debris lying undisturbed for all that time. With abandoned toxic material threatening the local wildlife, especially the penguins, Matt was fortunate to be able to call on the goodwill of the Royal Navy to come and clean up the mess!

As always with Matt, he passed on much good advice to the girls; this time he recommended that any girl interested in a career in journalism, should find something meaningful to campaign for and then write articles in support.

And yes they did manage to climb the highest mountain in Antarctica and sail safely back!

UEA admissions tutor highlights the key requirements for a student applying to university

On Thursday, 24^th January, the Siena Society hosted a talk by the University of East Anglia’s admission tutor, Jess Smith. The older sister of a girl currently studying GCSEs, Jess was ideally suited to speak to the girls at their level about entry to university.

She gave good advice as to what questions a girl should be asking when researching a degree course and university: 

What is the reputation of the course?

What are the entry requirements? (An applicant must be realistic about her academic potential)

What is the content and structure of the course?

How is the course taught and assessed?

Why do you think you would enjoy the course?

Do you want to move away from home?

Do you want a city or campus university?

Do you want to be part of a large (eg 40,000 students) university or a small one (6000 students)?

What will the living costs be like? (Accommodation at the UEA ranges from £59 per week for a shared room to £110 per week for a single en-suite room)

What is there to do nearby the university?

Further excellent advice that Jess offered centred on the 3 key areas university admissions tutors look for in a student’s application:

1.       Academic ability (evidenced by GCSE and AS results)

2.       Motivation (evidenced by relevant reading, experience and skills)

3.       Research- the applicant needs to demonstrate an understanding of what the course will involve.

The earlier the girls at St Catherine’s grasp the importance of this advice, the simpler will be their task in Year 12 when they actually have to make the decision as to which course they want to apply for and at which 5 universities they will apply to read it.

Our next Siena Society lecture sees David Rice from Birmingham University also present a talk on university admissions; it will be interesting to compare his advice to Jess Smith’s.