Easter

Another end to another term - it's been a long one, as Easter falls so late this year, so staff and students are ready for a break, to rest, rejuvinate and REVISE! Two weeks off, then two more weeks of lessons, then the AS exams begin! So while we teachers are planning some great lessons to help students be fully prepared for the exams with their writing techniques, the students - AS and A2 alike - will be revising everything over the break.

So, once we come back after Easter, there are lessons in May, then that's virtually it for another year!

Unlike some schools which force students to come back to 4 or even 6 weeks of lessons after the exams, we give our students more freedom. Our students will come back for just a week after the exams, when we do an introduction to A2, a trip to Alton Towers, and start UCAS applications.

But for now, it's just Easter, none of that excitement just yet. But it's interesting becuase we are interviewing lots of potential students over the holiday period, which is an enjoyable process. It's good for us to meet a few of the people we'll be teaching in September, and good for our future students to meet us, so that when they arrive for Enrolment, there are a few familiar faces. :D

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A Level and Applied Business students visit Meadowhall

Loughborough College A Level and Applied Business students visited  Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield on Tuesday 5^th April 2011. Here are some of the comments from the students...

“Truly blew my socks off! The talk was informative and enabled me to see some of the theory in practice at such a large organisation. I really enjoyed the trip.”  - Jake McEnery (AS Business)

“I enjoyed the trip, it was fun! The conference was really informative and interesting and covered all the topics we learn in class. Moreover, the shopping was excellent! Plus it’s always nice to have a day off.” Dany Panus (AS Business)

“I think the trip was beneficial, not only from the point of view of learning, but also for bonding with class peers and lecturers. The conference was easy to understand, and interesting; putting our knowledge into a context.” Cornelia Musteata (AS Business)

Science at the Space Centre

In March, a group of ten AS and A2 Physics students spent a day in the Space Centre in Leicester.

We launched paper rockets, which go nearly 100 metres:

 

  

We made model asteroids out of dry ice

We looked at ourselves on Infra-Red cameras.

Not to mention handling a sample of rock from a meteorite from Mars, and watching a flilm in the biggest planetarium in the UK - and we also managed to learn quite a lot of science.

Parents' Evening

It was the A-Level Parents' Evening yesterday; thankfully, there was no snow, like there was last time! It's always nice to speak to the parents of students who you teach, and it can give us teachers another way of understanding where our students are coming from.

Because we tend to prefer a more relaxed atmosphere (compared to schools) the majority of parents come along with the students themselves, and it's great when parents, students and teachers are all 'singing from the same hymn sheet'.

It's only six weeks now until the AS exams start (how did it happen so fast?!), so all the students are trying to make sure they are prepared nice and early so they can get the very best grade they're capable of.

Helicopter flights!

 

Entrepreneur Richard Harpin, chief executive of the domestic insurance company HomeServe, visited the college recently, inspiring A-Level Business and Applied Business students with his practical tips on how to become a successful entrepreneur. Richard’s first business was selling conkers in the school playground and now he runs an international business worth £16 billion, so would-be entrepreneurs, take notice!

Ten Top Tips for budding entrepreneurs from businessman Richard Harpin

1.      Never give up.

2.      Every ‘no’ is really a ‘yes’.

3.      Failures are just learning points along the way.

4.      It’s not the idea, it’s making it happen.

5.      Stick with it and think big.

6.      Find an opportunity in every problem.

7.      Get the right people into the right business.

8.      Speed is undervalued.

9.      People who are busiest get the most done.

10.    If it isn’t making money, don’t persevere.

The visit ended with Richard flying his personal helicopter around Loughborough with four lucky students on board – what an experience!



Results Day

It's Results Day a week today (Thursday 10th March), when our AS and A2 students will be finding out what grades they got in the January exams - a very exciting time of year!

The AS students will discover how they have fared in the step up from GCSE, and if they have done as well as we are all hoping. We know that the vast majority of our students are happy here and they're pleased that they left their schools behind for a more mature atmosphere, but that isn't the only reason they come here; they also want all their hard work to translate into improved grades! We are quietly confident that the good grades will be forthcoming, and that bit of extra independence and responsiblity will have enabled our students to excel.

It's an important day for the A2 students too, who are now only six months away from university, and they will be keen to find out if they are on track for getting the grades they need for their first choice of uni. *drum roll*

Undoubtedly there will be plenty of success stories - several of our students have been predicted straight 'A's so it will be great if they have managed to reach their potential. I won't write their names here as I don't want to tempt fate, but you know who you are!

Good luck!!

Welcome to Loughborough College

This is a blog for students wishing to study A-Levels at Loughborough College, and for current students to keep up with the developments and exciting things which are going on here.

The blog will be written by teachers and students, about the fun, interesting things which happen within the Sixth Form Academy - some common, some out-of-the-ordinary.

Enjoy!