Year 11 students had an amazing evening on Friday 7 July at their glamorous James Bond themed Prom night at the Albert Cottage Hotel. Students made grand entrances, arriving in sports cars, classic cars, a tractor, on horseback and with the Hell Angels! They then took to the red carpet and walked through the historic corridors to the dining room where they were each given welcome (soft) drinks before being served a BBQ style buffet.
Awards were presented to students for a variety of fun categories, voted for by the students, before Fin Gilbert and Grace Argyle were crowned Prom King and Queen. Year 11 took to the dancefloor and lit up the room with their dance moves and singing!
The students all looked glamorous and it was a perfect evening, in a beautiful setting, for the most wonderful group of young people. We couldn’t be any more proud of them!
Huge thanks to Mrs King for her support and organisation of the event.
On Wednesday this week, 20 Year 9 students from Carisbrooke College and 18 Year 9 students from Medina College gathered together at our Island VI Form for induction and training on our Peer Education Programme (PEP). This is a secondary school-based educational project developed by the Mental Health Foundation that aims to give young people the skills and knowledge they need to safeguard their mental health and that of their peers. These students will then use their training and knowledge to deliver lessons on Understanding Mental Health to Year 7 tutor students later in the year. We will also be looking to encourage these PEP students as active Mental Health Ambassadors in our school community, providing peer support to our younger students at break/lunchtimes and school events. At Carisbrooke College, students will also be helping out in the new Wellbeing Room.
Embedding this crucial mental health knowledge within the curriculum supports our whole-school approach to positive mental health and wellbeing and creates a unique learning opportunity for our older students. Our new PEP cohort demonstrated outstanding effort and enthusiasm in the day’s training and we are very excited to see them in action next year at Carisbrooke and Medina!
Last week, we saw a great level of competition down on the field as we embarked on our annual sports day. The year 8s kickstarted the day with a superb display of athleticism, enthusiasm and sportsmanship.
The track session began with the middle distance events, which were tightly contested between 8B and 8D, with 8D taking the overall lead on points. 8A made a comeback in the sprint events to take 59 points for their team, but out in the field, 8D were scoring highly in both the throwing and jumping events. Going into the relay there were just 4 points separating the top two finishers. 8D won both the girls and boys relay to take victory and bring home the trophy for Mr Gloyn and their tutor group.
Year 8 Results: 1st place – 8D (188 points) 2nd place – 8B (181 points) 3rd place – 8A (178 points) 4th place – 8C (130 points)
Well done to all of our students who demonstrated excellent sportsmanship and resilience, and a huge thank you to our fantastic year 11 students who came back to support the PE department run the events.
In the afternoon, sports day turned serious with the year 7 tutors arriving in their sports kit ready to battle. Rewards were on offer for any year 7 who broke Miss McArthur’s sports day record for the 1500m, but sadly the record still stands for another year. There were some excellent displays of pacing as the middle distance races got underway, with 7A maximising points early doors. 7A continued to dominate in the sprints, but out in the field 7D were vanquishing the field events, capitalising on the points for both throwing and jumping events. 7B came first in both relays but unfortunately it was not enough to knock 7A and Miss Peckham off the top of the podium.
Year 7 Results: 1st place – 7A (221 points) 2nd place – 7D (209 points) 3rd place – 7B (184 points) 4th place – 7C (166 points)
On the first day, the students set off from the Brockenhurst station and headed out into the wilderness of the New Forest. They were immediately faced with unforeseen route closures but the students used their navigational skills to find their way to the first checkpoint and were pleased to discover that they were making good time. However, as they continued on their journey, the weather became even more challenging and the students had to work harder to stay on course.
As the day progressed, the students faced several difficult obstacles. At one point, they even got a little lost, but they quickly regrouped and found their way back on track. Finally, after a long and gruelling day, the students arrived at the camping site where they would spend the night. Despite the challenging conditions, the students were in high spirits, and they enjoyed a well-deserved rest.
Over the past two weeks, 18 students from across the federation have been completing their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Expedition section. This all started on the 15th and 16th June where the students put their skills to the test on the Isle of Wight. The weather was glorious sunshine with students having to navigate around Brighstone forest and camped at Calbourne Watermill. Good navigation prevailed as all the students successfully put their navigation skills to good use preventing them from getting lost.
After their successful practice the students were then taken to the New Forest for their final expedition. A new environment to get lost in but the students were up for the challenge.
The second day of the expedition was no less challenging than the first. The students set off early in the morning and continued their journey. The weather had not improved, and the students were once again battling the sun. Around lunchtime, the student took a rest in the shade to avoid the baking midday sun on the Beaulieu heathland. However, they remained focused and determined, and they were able to navigate their way back to camp.
The final day saw all the students up at 5:30 am ready and raring to race to the ferry. Thankfully on this day the sun’s relenting gaze had been broken by the light cloud cover allowing for a cooler and much more pleasant temperature. After several hours of trekking, the students arrived at the ferry with aching shoulders, legs and feet but proud of what they had achieved.
Overall, the Duke of Edinburgh expedition was a fantastic experience for all involved. The students learned valuable skills such as navigation, teamwork, and perseverance. They also had the opportunity to challenge themselves physically and mentally and to experience the beauty and wonder of the great outdoors. We are incredibly proud of all the students who participated in this expedition. We would like to thank Mr Jager and Mrs O’Callaghan for their help on this expedition and we look forward to having more adventures in the future.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) celebrated International Women in Engineering Day by inviting girls from Medina and Carisbrooke Colleges to an interactive day of science, technology, engineering, and maths-related (STEM) activities as part of its dedication to inspire and attract young talent.
The fun-filled day was held at the RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Centre in East Cowes where students were able to learn more about the incredible world of engineering with the aim to inspire young women and girls to consider careers in engineering.
The students were given a tour of the engineering facilities and shown every stage of the lifeboat building process which is all done in-house. As well as this, the girls participated in hands-on activities including learning to tie knots, electronics and how to make a lifeboat float.
Huge thanks to the RNLI for providing this inspiring opportunity!
Once again, another year has flown by and it is sadly time to say goodbye to Mr Zeng who has completed his time here at Carisbrooke and returns to China next week.
Mr Zeng has spent a lot of time working with all year groups, both in lessons and across the school, and has helped to facilitate a lot of genuinely meaningful speaking activities in China club – something the year 11s have benefited greatly from in the run up to their GCSE exams. Earlier in the year, Mr Zeng led an interesting assembly on the Chinese Spring Festival, accompanied an exciting trip to London to the BFI Mandarin study event and has remained a cheerful and encouraging presence around the school.
Just last week, Mr Zeng prepared and delivered a session that revisited colour vocabulary, introduced the basics of traditional Beijing Opera, and gave students a chance to make and paint their own Beijing Opera mask.
Mr Zeng said: “Our students always have great patience when learning Mandarin. As we all know, language is a bridge to communicate with the world and culture is a window for people to learn about a country. As Mandarin and Chinese culture are so closely connected, it is always necessary for students to learn more about it.”
We are all going to miss Mr Zeng and his contributions to our lessons, and anyone that is lucky enough to have had him cook for them will definitely miss his exceptional food!
All the best, Mr Zeng. Good luck for whatever comes next from everyone at Carisbrooke College, and have a safe journey back to China. 再见!
Each morning our students started the day with a fun physical activity challenge in tutor time, which they and their tutors fully embraced. There were some exceptional performances in the Sally squat and cha cha slide plank challenge, and an incredible show of core control from Zach in the shoe challenge.
At lunch time our students enjoyed playing ultimate frisbee, 3 v 3 basketball, kwik cricket, rowing and skipping.
What a great week of physical activity we have seen at Carisbrooke College for National School Sports Week! We joined the pledge ‘to play for fun, play for 60’ in a bid to fulfil the government’s target of an hour of physical activity a day for young people.
Looking at the activity planners in tutor time it is clear to see that so many of our year 7 students achieved this.
I would just like to pass on a huge thank you to the year 10 Young Ambassadors for helping lead the tutor and lunchtime activities; the feedback has been really positive. Although it is the end of National School Sports Week, I challenge you to continue seeking ways to achieve 60 minutes of physical activity a day to experience the many physical, mental and social benefits which physical activity brings. Well done to everyone involved.
32 students from Carisbrooke College, Medina College and The Island VI Form had the amazing opportunity of performing at this year’s Isle of Wight Festival!
Our students have rehearsed endlessly and shown incredible effort and enthusiasm in putting these performances together and gathering the confidence needed to stand up in front of a field full of people cheering them on. Students performed on the stage in the busy KidZone on Sunday afternoon and had the unique opportunity to see first hand how stage managers and sound technicians operate; learning all about set logistics, scheduling, soundchecks and life backstage.
Students from Carisbrooke College’s ‘School of Rock’ group opened our set with hits from 3 of this year’s festival headliners: George Ezra, Pulp and Blondie. Following this, The Island VI Form’s Olivia McC performed her own catchy original song ‘Take a Hint’, supported by fellow VI Form musicians. Our IWEF Stage Band (comprising students from all three sites) then wowed the crowd with REM’s ‘Shiny Happy People’ followed by Medina and Carisbrooke’s ‘Sing’ choirs uniting to perform ‘Royals’ by Lorde. The set was finished with a rousing rendition of Sunday headliner Robbie Williams’ iconic hit song ‘Angels’.
We are incredibly proud of our students. The time and energy invested into preparing for this event is highly commendable. We look forward to seeing our musical project at the IOW Festival go from strength to strength in the coming years.
If you would like to get involved in any of these musical activities please speak to your Music teacher – all students are welcome!
Mrs. Peckham, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Wiseman, Mrs. Brear and Mr. Turner
Year 7 student Matthew C recently went on a humanitarian aid trip to Moldova with Island-based charity, MAD-Aid, which his parents work with.
Matthew told us this about his trip, “I liked helping to deliver food, medical aid, children’s clothes and even toys to people at some of the many projects that MAD-Aid supports.
We visited the Mother and Child Institute – a hospital in Chisinau – where MAD-Aid has pledged to raise money to renovate two neonatal wards which haven’t been upgraded since 1986 and are in a bad state. At the hospital, I met British ambassador for Moldova, Steven Fisher, as well as Gabriel Nebunu, a famous Moldovan pop star who was born at the hospital. My mum and dad were interviewed by a television crew too!
One of the things MAD-Aid does is collect medical equipment which is no longer needed from across the UK and deliver it to those in need in Moldova – this includes wheelchairs, mobility scooters and much more. We delivered a mobility scooter to a young man in a village who had never had one before – he was so excited, and it means he can leave his home and go to the local shop!
We also did two food shopping trips and delivered the food to families in need, as well as to a Ukrainian refugee centre in Mihaileni in northern Moldova. Here I met two Ukrainian children, and I offered them a choice of toys and other items. The little boy gave me the biggest smile as he ran off with a packet of sweets and the girl chose colouring pens – when we went to leave, she gave us each a drawing she had done.
I visited MAD-Aid’s Phoenix Centre in Riscani, which includes a day centre for children with special needs. I enjoyed a concert and a craft workshop with the children. I was also able to have a swimming lesson with some of the children who have disabilities.
The trip has made me appreciate how lucky I am and how different life is in Moldova, which is one of the poorest countries in Europe.”
Matthew did some sight-seeing too – he visited the National Theatre in Balti, as well as the monastery and caves of Orhei Vechi and several orthodox churches.
During the last school holiday, Matthew joined Ukrainian families on a visit to Cineworld in Newport, as part of MAD-Aid’s work to help Ukrainian refugees living on the Isle of Wight.
Well done Matthew! Hard work for a very worthy cause.
Following training, a group of Year 10 students recently took on the role of Peer Educators for year 7, which saw them deliver six lessons focusing on mental health and wellbeing as part of The Peer Education Project, a programme devised by The Mental Health Foundation. This secondary school-based educational programme aims to give young people the skills and knowledge they need to safeguard their mental health and that of their peers.
The programme supports the Five Ways to Wellbeing framework adopted by the federation which promotes and encourages a healthy mindset for students and staff. It is the first time that the federation has taken part in the programme and it was a big success, with the Peer Educators and year 7 students gaining an understanding of how to protect and improve their mental health in order to lead fulfilling and happy lives.
Some of our Year 10 Peer Educators gave us an overview of the project and told us what they had learnt from it. “Last year, in June, a selection of students volunteered in a project to help younger students with their mental health, this was the Mental Health Peer Educator Project. We did training at The Island VI Form with Medina College, and from this training we planned out the lessons we would present to our given year 7 tutor groups. This project not only allowed us to help students, it also allowed us to view learning from a teacher’s perspective. Through this experience we learnt a lot about mental health ourselves and are extremely grateful to have the opportunity to engage with a class about such an important topic in our lives”.
We are already looking ahead to next year and are asking current year 9 students to consider becoming Peer Educators for our new year 7’s. All interested students should see Mrs Peckham.
Our Peer Educators are pictured below with the certificates that they received for completing their training and undertaking the role of Mental Health Peer Educators for year 7.
