11 Summer 2009 - Greenhead College

GreenheadnewsChemistry Olympiad 2009Ten A2 Chemistry students entered the 2009 Chemistry Olympiad, aninternational competition designed to find the best sixth form chemistrystudents in the world. This year we had the best results ever, with twogold awards, four silver, three bronze and one commendation.Gold awards:Silver Awards:Bronze Awards:Commended:Christopher Ramsden, Jonathan HartshornMatthew White, Andrew Mellor, Joshua NazarethAndrew Baldock, Damian Armitage, Saad Azhar,George PidgeonJenny BradleyCongratulations to all on a first class achievement. MBAFive Biology students have been successful in theBritish Biology Olympiad this year. They gainedSilver and Bronze medals or Highly Commendedcertificates. Medal winners can attend an awardpresentation in London hosted by the Institute ofBiology and presented by Professor Steve Jones,a writer of several biology books and Professorof Genetics at the University of London. Thiscompetition has been running since 1996 and sinceNEWSLETTER ISSUE 11 SUMMER 2009Students at their certificate presentation. From left to right: Back row: Christopher Ramsden, DamianArmitage with Mr Rostron and Chemistry teachers: Richard Pember, Karen Woolven and Mary BarberFront row: Andrew Baldock, Matthew White, Jonathan Hartshorn, Joshua Nazareth, Andrew MellorDamian’s FundraisingCeilidhAn A2 student, Damian Armitage, wasselected by an organisation calledProject Trust to teach Science andMaths in Guyana for his gap yearbefore going to Cambridge to studyNatural Sciences. To raise funds forthis, Damian organised a ceilidh atGreenhead. Over a hundred students(and a few teachers!) supported theevent and enthusiastically joined inthe dances.The band (English Rebellion) includedDamian’s Chemistry teacher, MaryBarber.White Rose Morris Men gave anexcellent display of dancing andstudents performed a couple ofmusic sets, which was very wellreceived.Damian raised over £400 which willgo towards the cost of his gap year.MBAB I O L O G Y O LY M P I A D 2 0 0 91998 selects a team for the International BiologyOlympiad. These students were competing withmany top schools and colleges nationally and theirsuccesses demonstrated outstanding knowledgeand commitment to the subject. They were requiredto study some topics independently as the questionpapers go beyond what is required for their AS andA level qualification.Students: Chris Ramsden, Rachel Holdsworth, Matthew White, and Liam Gabb with Martin Rostron and their Biology teachers.2www.greenhead.ac.uk

GreenheadnewsNEW FACES“Friendly andHardworking”Usman Anwar iscompleting his firstacademic year atGreenhead teaching Chemistry. Usman’simpressions of the college communityso far are that students and staff are“friendly and hardworking.” Priorto joining Greenhead’s Chemistrydepartment, Usman has establishedan international professional profile. ABSc and PhD were completed at theUniversity of Leeds which then led toworking at the University of Florida. Thiswas followed by three years experiencewithin the Pharmaceutical Industry.Outside college, Usman enjoys playingfootball and travelling.“Welcoming andHelpful”Katie Lea-Smith has“now completed a fullacademic year as teacherof Psychology” and has“very much enjoyed” the experience. “Ihave found the staff in my departmentand the rest of the college verywelcoming and helpful. I feel that I havesettled well - indeed I feel like I havebeen at Greenhead for longer than ayear.” Katie’s previous professionalroles involved teaching at Oldham andJohn Leggott Sixth Form Colleges. “Istudied Psychology at the University ofLiverpool, where my degree focused alot on Psychology and Crime which isthe favourite area of my subject. Outsideof Greenhead I enjoy travelling, cinemaand seeing various musicals and playsat the theatre.”Education at HeartA warm welcome toGreenhead’s new TransitionMentor, Diane Beaven.Diane’s role “involvespreparing and supporting studentsduring the move from High School toCollege, and helping them to settleonce they are here. At the moment I’mNEWSLETTER ISSUE 11 SUMMER 2009building up links with local schools andgetting to know prospective students.”Diane’s impression of the collegecommunity to date is that it is“supportive, ambitious, energetic andfriendly.”Prior to joining the staff Diane “studiedEconomics at the University ofNewcastle upon Tyne and completeda PGCE. Since then I have worked inthe investment sector and the careof families affected by traumaticdeath. I was also involved in providingprofessional training and mentoring tothe police and the health care workersinvolved with these families. My hearthas always been in education though, soit is great to be back.”Outside of College Diane’s “mainpassion is marathon running. I adoretravel, so I am able to combine this withrunning by competing in marathonsaround the world. In May 2009, I ranthe Prague marathon and gained myqualifying time to compete in theprestigious Boston Marathon next year.My ultimate ambition is to complete the5 World Marathon Majors and to run thePolar Marathon in Greenland.” Diane’sother sporting passion is “LiverpoolFootball Club, the greatest team on earth(well almost….!)Eclectic TalentsWelcome back to PeterSylvester who returns toGreenhead as an IT teacher.Peter ran the Greenheadcomputer networksbetween 1993-1997 and notes that in2009 “it is still a positive vibrant placeoffering the students the highest qualitysubject teaching and opportunitiesto widen/continue their interests viaEnrichment.” Peter “was the ComputerManager at Rastrick High School until2002. In 2003 I completed my MScin Information Systems (HuddersfieldUniversity) by undertaking a project toproduce a multimedia marketing CDfor ASAP Avionics based on VancouverIsland, BC, Canada. This advertised akit (designed and patented by ASAP)to totally rewire a Dehavilland DHC-2Beaver. The CD went out to all DHC2aircraft owners in America and Canada.”“From 2003-2004 I undertook aproject to completely renovate a largefour bedroom semi-detached house,including all building joinery andelectrical work.” This was “an enjoyableif time-consuming six months or so.From 2004 to the present, I have beeninvolved with adult education and ampresently the manager of a small centreat Crosland Moor that delivers ICT,Literacy and Numeracy including ESOLand life skills for example, Childcarecourses.”Peter enjoys “playing sport, especiallyrugby (semi-retired), football and cricket.I like music and going to gigs bothsmall and large. I can quite often beseen in Holmfirth at the Picturedrome. Ihave witnessed many talented acts forexample Joe Bonamassa (the best bluesguitarist I have ever seen – better thanClapton!), Nils Lofgren and Eric Bibb.”Pleasurable WorkA warm welcome toJulie Linley who has asplit professional roleat Greenhead College.“I spend two days on reception anda day in the general office. As I havea daughter getting ready to leaveGreenhead, I had already visited ona number of occasions and was veryimpressed with the warm friendlyatmosphere the college radiates. Asexpected it’s a pleasure to work here!Prior to having time out to spend withmy kids I was PA to the MD of a localcompany. On returning to the workplacesome years later I ran my own smallbusiness for several years but it startedto encroach too much on my familylife so I accepted a position with alarge medical practice as Receptionist/Medical Secretary. I trained at HarfieldBusiness College in Nottingham andhave upgraded my skills over the years.I enjoy going to the gym, walking andspending time with my family.”4www.greenhead.ac.uk

GreenheadnewsNEW FACESSmooth AssistanceJo Tattersall joined the college “after Easter this year” as ExamsAssistant. Jo’s role involves “helping Kath Longbottom and KathGittins with the smooth running of the exams department.” Thisproves “very busy at times, but satisfying.” Jo has found that“Greenhead has a great feel to it” and already positively recallsthat it is as though “I’ve been here for ages.” “My last role was as a GraduateRecruitment Assistant in a large European law firm in Leeds - so still working withstudents, but after they started at Uni. We looked after them through to qualifyingas solicitors, which is a four year cycle to qualification. We got to know themreally well.” Jo’s interests include “white wine, chocolate, lipgloss, music and oldschool comedy (my comedy hero is Ronnie Barker.) I like nothing better than agood night out, and to laugh until my eyes water.”Spanish Exchange- ¡Viva España!This March, 24 intrepid Greenhead Spanish students visited SanJuan, near Barcelona, staying with Spanish host families for a week.We spent a day sight-seeing in Barcelona, visiting the historic Gothicquarter, the unique Park Guel and the breath-taking Sagrada Familia.We also visited a Cava winery, walked up a very large mountain inMonserrat and spent timewith our partners in theirschool and the nearby townof Manresa. Everyone learntlots of Spanish and enjoyedliving in a different culture.It was a brilliant experience!We all look forward to nextyear when the Spanishstudents visit Greenhead!Jessica ParkinsonInvitation to a Private ViewGreenhead’s Art department have produced anincredibly exciting show. John and his dedicatedteam provide a creative environment wherestudents work with sustained enthusiasm wellabove A-level standard.This is not just education for education’s sake.It’s a passion for creativity that students willengage in throughout their life. There is a diverserange of work which includes large abstract expressionist work byLewis Appleby confidently produced with a maturity beyond his yearsto Emily Robinson’s work which has a unique & sensitive vision. JessicaHulton’s installations created a strong presence which are inspired byRauchenburg & Stephs photographs that challenge mainstream society.As a new member of staff I would like to thank everyone in the Artdepartment for their warm welcome and lovely humour.Sarah SheardNEWSLETTER ISSUE 11 SUMMER 2009Artist: Limara BoyleImportant Diary DatesJUNE30 Oxford Open Day Visit (& 1 July)JULY2 Cambridge Open Day Visit (& 3July)9 College closesAUGUST20 AS/A-level results published27 GCSE results publishedAUTUMN TERMSEPTEMBER1 Enrolment Day for new students(Day 1)2 Enrolment Day for new students(Day 2)3 Optional trip to Alton Towers fornew students4 AS lessons commence7 A2 lessons commenceMeeting for all A2 Oxbridgeapplicants at 12.40pmSampling week for Enrichment9 Voluntary Service in theCommunity meeting at 12.45pm14 Enrichment Enrolment at11.05am (6 period day)w/c 14 A2 assembliesw/c 21 AS assemblies28 Governors meeting29 New Parents’ Evening at 7.30pmTerm Dates for 2009/2010Autumn Term 2009Tuesday 1 September – Friday 18 DecemberHalf term holiday:Monday 26 October – Friday 30 OctoberSpring Term 2010Monday 4 January – Thursday 1 AprilHalf term holiday:Monday 15 February - Friday 19 FebruarySummer Term 2010Monday 19 April – Thursday 16 JulyHalf term holiday:Monday 31 May - Friday 4 Junewww.greenhead.ac.uk 5

TownGreenheadNEWSLETTER ISSUE 11 SUMMER 2009newsA strong all female cast, reinforced by an innovativeand imaginative design team and a live bandpresented a thoughtful, considered and entertainingEnrichment Drama: “Town.” This was an excellentproduction of “verbatim theatre” where all the wordsspoken were actually those of Huddersfield peopleresearched, recorded and edited by students andstaff, a process which began in September. With theuse of four large boxes, live music and projectedimages, the audience enjoyed a kaleidoscope ofcharacters,images andsoundsprovidinga moving,engaging andamusing feelof what it hasbeen like overthe last fiftyyears, to bea citizen ofHuddersfieldTown.Project & WorkShadowing Week 2009Engineering Education SchemeAs part of their Enrichment programme, studentsstudying Maths and Physics can opt to participate in theEngineering Education Scheme, a national organisationaimed at promoting Engineering as a career. This year,two teams of four students from Greenhead have beenworking with BorgWarner, a Bradford based companywhich manufacture turbochargers. They were givena real engineering problem to work on which involveddesigning, building and testing their chosen solution.They spent three days working on their design at YorkUniversity, wrote a report and presented their findingsto a team of assessors at Huddersfield University andto the managers and engineers at BorgWarner. Bothteams produced excellent reports, gave confidentpresentations and all eight students achieved GoldCrest Awards. Well done to them all.One team, with teacher Mary Barber and Engineer RobDaniels designed a device for applying lubricant to aturbocharger component.The week 15-19 June was a busy timefor all Al students as they participated inthis year’s PaWS week. Despite the tougheconomic climate, over 570 students went on a hugevariety of placements locally, nationally and internationally,including nine students in Besançon and 30 in London.With a choice of over 40 projects to select, 370 studentsparticipated in a wide range of projects organisedinternally and externally, including trips to Barcelona andAmsterdam.From left to right: Oliver Durrant, Kameldip Sohal, MohammedLunat, Josh Cowlam.The other team, with teacher Tom Flynn and EngineerSimon Harrison designed a system to error proof theapplication of the compressor wheel locknut on aturbocharger. If the locknut is incorrectly tightened itcan lead to turbocharger and engine failure.New projects this year included a three-day hike to tacklethe Lakeland 3000m peaks and a residential projectsponsored by Huddersfield Lions enabling our students toaccompany a group of Downs Syndrome students on anoutward bound course.Our thanks go to the placement providers, project leadersand all the staff at Greenhead College for their hardwork and support to enable us to provide such greatopportunities to our students. CB/HBFrom left to right: Tom Flynn, Simon Harrison, Jack Riley, ElleBarrett, Chris Hoyle, Tom Purdy6www.greenhead.ac.uk

GreenheadNEWSLETTER ISSUE 11 SUMMER 2009newsSPORT NEWS SPORT NEWS SPORT NEWSRugby UnionThe College Rugby Union squad have had anextremely successful inaugural season. After alate start they were entered into the North EastColleges 10’s tournaments in both Novemberand April winning each one quite emphatically.Outstanding contributions from leaving secondyears Billy Dempsey, Mo Shaath, James Kidd,Tom Bolland and Tom Fleming led to the team,captained by Tom Mason, being crownedYorkshire Colleges’ champions. ASWLoughborough ChampionshipsThe college once again took a group of 40students who had qualified to represent the NorthEast Colleges squad to the British Colleges’Sports Championship at Loughborough University.The sports represented by the students includedTrampolining, Girls’ and Boys’ Hockey, Swimming,Badminton, Girls’ Rugby Union and Tennis.Congratulations to all students who qualified andparticipated in these prestigious championships.Special mention to Matthew Marshall who gaineda team gold medal in the Boys’ swimming,Rebecca Green and Katie Venters who gainedteam silver medals in the Girls’ swimmingchampionships, and Max Oscroft who gained abronze in the Boys’ Trampolining. ASWFootballThe 1st X1 have had another fine season, winningthe Yorkshire section of the BritishColleges with a 100% record. In the WestYorkshire league play-off they defeatedWoodkirk 3-2 to win the Championship and PaulDay, Oliver Taylor, Jack Garrety, Alex Kemp, SteveStewart, Ed Flint and Ben Burnett all representedthe County with distinction. We have a core ofplayers who will be A2s next season and we arehopeful of a good intake next September. RFMore debating successesGreenhead teams have been involved in two competitionsduring 2009.The English Speaking Union ran ‘The Mace’ competition and our team of Roger Foxand Jack Tindale were winners of the area round in Wakefield and then the regionalround in Leeds. The North of England final was held in Liverpool and the pair ofthem did very well but unfortunately missed out on the national finals. The team thatwent to London were the eventual runners-up. Well done to them both as this is thefurthest we have got in this very competitive national competition.The other competition was organised by NorVIc, the association of the 16 sixthform colleges in NE England. This is different from other competitions as it involvesa team of 10 and the panel of six judges mark not only the main speakers but allcontributions. The southern round was held in Pontefract and the Greenhead teamwent through to the finals in the Old County Hall in Wakefield. The standard of debatewas high. Teams were marked out of 300 and Greenhead came 2nd with only 1%fewer marks than the eventual winners. Everyone enjoyed the occasion and for mostit was their first taste of competitive debating. Well done! ABBwww.greenhead.ac.uk 7

GreenheadnewsNEWSLETTER ISSUE 11 SUMMER 2009Schools’ Analyst Competition 2009On Wednesday April 29th threeteams of A1 chemistry students werechosen to represent the college atthis year’s RSC School’s AnalystCompetition. The three teams for thisyear’s competition were:Team A: Dominic Ballard, HeatherPlumpton and Thomas SanfordTeam B: Fern Hopkinson, StephenWest and Dan BestTeam C: Jenny Day, MatthewSpriggs and Euan MutchThe competition, held at Huddersfield University, involves working as a team to solve a chemical problemusing analytical techniques and equipment not generally available in schools and colleges.All three teams performed extremely well and gained a lot from the afternoon. Team B scored full marks fortheir practical work winning the Huddersfield division of the competition. All marks from across the North Eastregion were collated and Greenhead Team B were among the top three teams selected to take part in thenational final at the University of Plymouth on the 29th and 30th June. Congratulations to all involved! RFATennisGreenhead have hada very successfulyear so far withthe boys’, girls’and mixed teamsall reaching theNational finals in the Senior Schools’ British Tennis Competition. The finals were heldin March at the Bolton tennis arena and involved playing against schools/colleges fromall over the country. Over the three days Greenhead produced some fantastic tennisand the girls’ team were unlucky to lose in the girls’ final coming a worthy second inthe country.Currently both the boys’ and girls’ teams are still involved in playing in the cupcompetitions with both reaching the final stages of their region and hoping to go on towin through to the grand finals held in London. Both the Abedare cup and the Glanvillcup are great competitions to be involved in as any player with any LTA rating can playso the standard of competition can be extremely high. Good luck to the players ontheir next match.Players who have been involved are Tom Bolland (Captain) Chris Prince, SamLockwood and Ian Poole. Claire Kershaw (Captain), Hannah Wightman, CharlotteBaldwin and Jessica Banks. KLUThank you to Fred Lodge for his excellent range of photographswhich have featured in Greenhead News across the academic year.8www.greenhead.ac.ukWhat’s Ahead?Between the examinationseason and the holidayseason, young peoplehave time to consider theirfutures: our annual “What’sAhead?” conference onFriday June 12th initiatedthe decision –makingprocess. Forty expertsin the fields of HigherEducation, Employmentand Gap Year Projectsinformed, stimulated andentertained the entirestudent cohort. Thiswas followed by anothersuccessful week of workshadowingand projectswhere many career ideaswere consolidated. Forthose still undecided, werecommend a careersinterview – free and opento all! RBDesign & Production by Marketing for Education 01282 612222 (ref 0000 - 06/09). Produced on site in the UK.