We are pleased to welcome 23 students from L'Alcudia de Crespins, Valencia, along with Oscar and Pao, their teachers. They arrived on Friday at 4pm in the traditional English weather of pouring rain and swirling winds. The weather however does not seemed to have dampened their spirits and all seem to be enjoying the English way of life with their host families. They will be joining in some of our classes and enjoying trips around the area before returning on Thursday back home.

Take a look at what the students have been doing in this special photo gallery

Four Kingsbridge Community College students excelled at the National Individual Judo Championships this weekend, bringing home three medals.

Hayley Foster, Year 9 got Bronze, Ben Clayton, Year 9 Silver and Samuel Westlake in the Year 12/13 category a major Gold, from a highly competitive group of twelve other competitors, many of whom came from sports based colleges or course. Isaac Westlake, Year 8 also did extremely well, coming 6th out of 18, a large age/weight group.

Are Kingsbridge Science and Maths departments glitzy and glamorous?

The resounding answer following the ‘Maths and Science go to Hollywood’ event is yes! Students who had won ‘Oscars’ for science films made over the last few months were guests of honour at a two hour special Kingsbridge Oscar Evening.

James White from Year 10 won Best Picture award for his animation “Professor Stubbs” and was picked up from home in a stretch limo. On arrival at College he received red carpet treatment with Hollywood Hall of Fame Science Stars emblazoned on the carpet. 

After a meal with mathematical entertainment provided by students, 130 guests settled down to a spectacular show.

The evening also included other Oscar winners and their films and a special ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get me out of here’ with Mr Carpenter, Mr Snell and Ant and Dec alias James Grant and Scott Tytheridge.

Dance and gym displays with a maths film clip competition also featured. Dr Pemberton should have earned an award for his Impossible Science Effects and Adam Hart-Davis made a guest appearance bringing stardom, science and maths together.

At the end of the star studded show James received his Oscar statuette in true Hollywood style from Oscar himself alias Mr Major.

An evening to remember!

As part of the BTECH music course seven students were set the task of organising a concert and performing to an invited audience and for many this was their first taste of performing to an audience.  Having thrilled us with their music they now have to evaluate and write about their experience.
Ben Malley introduced the proceedings and kicked off the evening with a stunning piano solo entitled ‘Butterflies and Hurricanes’ followed by a vocal solo by John Clarkson with ‘Favourite Things’.   Hannah Reeve enchanted us with her flute solo ‘Jeune’ and Rosie Johnson rounded the first half of the evening with a breathtaking solo of ‘Tonight’, which was full of expression and perfectly pitched.

The second half of the evening stepped up a gear with an electric guitar solo  of ‘Parisienne Walkways’ from Ali Moss, fabulous entertainment from Harry Hunt and Ted Taylor on acoustic guitars and a grand finale of ‘Aeroplane Improvisation’ from Ben Malley on electric bass accompanied by drums.
It was a truly noteworthy occasion and I felt privileged to be one of the invited spectators

Norman Dilley

Friday 12th March saw two performances of the Kingsbridge Community College annual ‘Dance Preview Show’ take place. This is a showcase of GCSE and A-level Dance coursework. All dancers rehearse hard to perfect both performances in groups, solos and duets and also their own choreographies. The twist to this showcase is that they are assessed for their GCSE and A-level marks live in front of an audience of friends and family.

“The showcase gives them a chance for their closest friends and family to experience an examination live and the dancers try harder for it” says Miss West, Head of Dance. “Every single dance is given self worth and a professional touch. The students deserve to have a really glamorous conclusion to all of their hard work. For some it is the last time they dance at KCC before they move onto further training. I am always so proud of them when I watch and what’s great is that every year we get more and more support from increased audience numbers.”

This year the showcase programmed senior and junior youth dance companies based at KCC too; Tanz and E-Scape both create and perform their own work within the county. The GCSE Year 10 Students have also been working with Year 6 students to create a joint performance piece based on’ Singing In the Rain’. As well as the Year 6 students getting a performance opportunity at their forthcoming school, the Year 10 students gain experience for their Arts Award when they teach the dance workshops. The Preview Show gives students the opportunity to experience every stage, from first ever performances, first ever independent compositions, next leadership challenge and last assessment.

On Thursday 18th March, over 220 students from Kingsbridge Community College will hear testimony from Holocaust Survivor, Rudi Oppenheimer as part of a visit organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET).
The testimony will be followed by a question and answer session to enable students to better understand the nature of the Holocaust and to explore its lessons in more depth. The visit is part of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s extensive all year round Outreach Programme, which is available to schools across the UK.
Caroline Walmsley, Religious Education Teacher at Kingsbridge Community College, said:
 “It is a privilege for us to welcome Rudi Oppenheimer to our school and his testimony will remain a powerful reminder of the horrors so many experienced for our students. We are grateful to the Holocaust Educational Trust for co-ordinating the visit and we hope that by hearing Rudi’s testimony, it will encourage our students to learn from the lessons of the Holocaust and make a positive difference in their own lives.”

Karen Pollock, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust added:
“The Holocaust Educational Trust educates and engages students from across the UK, from all communities about the Holocaust and there can be no better way than through the first-hand testimony of a Survivor. Rudi’s story is one of tremendous courage during horrific circumstances and by hearing his testimony, students will have the opportunity to learn where prejudice and racism can ultimately lead. 
At the Trust, we impart the history of the Holocaust to young people, to ensure that we honour the memory of those whose lives were lost and take forward the lessons taught by those who survived.”