Sixth Formers to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau

Later this term Mr Pearson will accompany two Year 12 students to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. The visit is part of an accredited course run by the Holocaust Educational Trust.

The day visit to Poland is just one part of the course: before and after the visit the students will take part in seminars in which they hear first-hand testimonies from holocaust survivors  and discuss the lessons that can be learnt from the atrocities.
On completion of the course the students are considered to be 'Ambassadors' for the programme and will themselves give talks and assemblies to the school and the local community.

Should compulsory academic education finish at 14, not 16?

In an effort to deal with a shortage of young people with good vocational skills, the current government is planning to permit children to leave school at 14, should they then wish to study a vocational course at one of 12 specialist colleges.

According to the Tory Peer, Lord Baker of Dorking, former Education Secretary, 14 is a good age to be making career choices: 'Eleven is too soon to chose, 16 is too late;14 is the right age of transfer'.
However, Christine Blower, the General Secretary of the NUT disagrees, stating: 'It is not acceptable that at the age of 14 pupils may be forced into specific learning routes which could restrict their education or career choices. Attempting to separate technical or vocational education from mainstream schools is socially divisive and will lead to a 2-tier system with technical schools being seen as the poor cousin.'

This proposal from the coalition government comes after the former Labour Education Minister, Estelle Morris, claimed that more students would stay in education if GCSEs were sat at 14, not 16, with those who wanted to pursue non-academic, vocational skills, having the opportunity to study relevant courses at a younger age.

Some will say that such a proposal will give those children who are more practically minded, a better chance of securing a career earlier in life, rather than encouraging them to stay on in 'main-stream' academic education and end up with a 'fluffy and worthless' degree from a half-baked 'university'. Whilst others will say this will widen class divisions even more than they are at present. What do you think?

St Catherine's Students excel at the Sport of Kings

As an antidote to an intensive day of mock examinations, the Sixth Form visited Hampton Court Palace today, home to one of the few Real Tennis Courts in the country, to receive an introductory masterclass from the resident professional, Nick Wood.

It was soon abundantly clear that droopy net aside, Real Tennis bares little resemblance to its cousin, Lawn Tennis. For a start the court is housed in a substantial chamber, with high ceilings, netted 'galleries' around 2 sides and a series of strange numbered lines drawn on the floor. We could have spent our hour simply learning the floor plan but Nick soon had us wielding our asymmetrical old-fashioned wooden rackets at the heavy, rather misshapen hand-stitched balls and before long whoops of delight were ringing round the galleries as balls were dispatched with glee along the Penthouses, into the Grille and with any luck, into the Dedans (visit www.royaltenniscourt.com for further explanations!)

Why the Sport Of Kings? Legend has it that the sport was originally played by monks with bare hands, originally in France. Later, rackets were introduced and Henry V was the first English monarch to show interest in the game. It remained a favourite pastime for later kings, with Henry VIII being especially gifted. Rumour has it that Anne Boleyn was watching a game when she arrested.

Dare I say it, but this less than sporty group of students, really enjoyed their first taste of Real Tennis and when Nick happened to drop the fact that in his opinion we were better than the Yr13s he coaches from some serious St Catherine's rivals, have we now found the Sport For Our Queens??!

AS Mocks this week.

I'm sure you don't need reminding but Mocks begin this week on Wednesday, 8th December.

All exams will be held in the Sixth Form Study Area.

Don't forget your PE kit for Real Tennis at Hampton Court on Wednesday (after the exams)!!

General Studies takes a Culinary Turn...

Wednesday afternoons for Sixth Formers are reserved for our General Studies programme and usually involves high-brow discussions on such things as Study Skills, CV writing or which universities are best for which courses. But today we learnt a serious 'survival' skill- How To make A Chocolate Roulade. Getting the grades to get into university is one thing but to survive on student grub once you're there, is quite another!
Under the immensely patient eye of our tutor, Chef Saddler, even Mr Pearson couldn't remain incompetent for long and the class were swiftly into their stride: separating eggs, whisking in sugar, sieving chocolate and (amazingly) washing up as they went along.
Even when it got to the tricky stage of rolling up the log without tearing the cake, Chef's clear instructions meant that the final products wouldn't have looked out of place on a Ritz cake trolley. It was a wonderfully entertaining afternoon and like all great lessons, involved learning new skills with little heart-ache.

Above: Nishma, Megan and Mr Pearson show off their efforts.


Left: Marianne caught red-handed licking the spoon!

Sixth Form Invite Year 11 into the Inner Sanctum

The new Sixth Form Common Room is currently the envy of the rest of the school- for pupils and staff alike!
But for the next 3 Fridays until the end of term, each Year 11 class has been invited in for coffee and pain au chocolat and a chance to test out the comfy sofas and enjoy the view from the terrace.
This morning 11C lost no time in giving their suggestions on how they might decorate and furnish the Common Room...Another 8 months and you can hang those fairy lights up yourselves!!

Time To Consider US Universities?

With university tuition fees in the UK set to rise from the current rate of just above £3000 to anywhere between £6000 and £9000, is now the time to consider a post-18 education over the pond?
Historically for British students an Ivy League education has been the preserve of the very wealthy but now the gap in fees seems so much narrower that perhaps it's worth considering...
Tuition fees at a US College can be anywhere between £12000 for a public college to £20000 for a private one.
Benefits of studying in America include studying a range of subjects in the first year before deciding later on a single subject in which to 'major' as well as the furthering of your own personal development by living in a different culture. Career opportunities in the US may well be improved too by having a 'home-grown' degree. For further information visit the Fulbright Commission website: www.fulbright.co.uk