Hot, tropical conditions, fascinating history and day after day of exciting new experiences are just some of the wonders that greeted 30 IWEF students on their once-in-a-lifetime trip to Vietnam last week.

Students from Carisbrooke College, Medina College and the Island VI Form, all part of the Isle of Wight Education Federation, spent ten days travelling from North Vietnam to the South via key locations in the central regions. Some of the highlights included visiting the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, exploring the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and the 17th Parallel, journeying up the Mekong river while avoiding snakes and giant spiders and spending a night with a local family deep in the rainforest.

Joe Briscoe, trip leader and Mandarin teacher said: “To visit these places by yourself is one thing, but to undertake such an adventure with 30 eager and attentive young people behind you who are all willing to push themselves outside of their comfort zone and run towards scary new experiences, brings a whole different level of satisfaction as a teacher. We certainly encountered both the weird and the wonderful out there and I’m certain that as a result every student will have grown in countless ways.”

Lewis Chambers, 14, said: “Going to Vietnam taught me so many things, but the most important thing that it taught me was to try something new, no matter how nervous you may be”.

Amelia Strickland, 15, said: “This trip has made me a lot more adventurous in many different ways. For example I tried food I wouldn’t have been able to try here and I now have the courage to go to other places like this. I have learned so much about how the Vietnamese honour their dead. They use incense as they believe that when the smoke reaches the sky it connects them to those in heaven.”

While the adventurous aspects of the trip were fun, there was a very serious point behind it. Joe Briscoe said: “Interacting with the people of Vietnam and talking to them about their experiences during the war was a real eye-opener and, as students walked around the War Remnants museum in Saigon, you could see the shocking reality of the war hit home to them.”

We are so proud of the young people who went on this trip. They showed maturity beyond their years and grew in confidence each and every day. Our thanks go to Mr Briscoe, Mr Burnett, Miss Bracegirdle and Miss Lee for accompanying the students and for planning the trip meticulously, assessing for every eventuality. In giving up their time and taking on such a responsibility, they brought history lessons to life and enabled these students to make memories that will stay with them forever. 

Could you be an IWEF governor? We’d love to hear from you!

A recent survey of governors in the UK found that 89% of them would recommend becoming a governor – we hope that you might be interested in joining us!

You don’t need to be an education expert to volunteer as a governor. Schools require a combination of hard and soft skills to ensure their boards operate effectively. In return you will be supported through training and mentoring. The work and life experience parents bring to the role is valuable in contributing to a diverse Governing Board. Although you need to be a parent at the start of your time as a governor, you can continue even if your child/children have left the school.

“I became a Governor after being involved with Carisbrooke College Parent Voice group. I have now been a governor for nearly 8 years! It is very rewarding. I have learnt a lot of new skills. The reason I am a governor is because all children should have a good education and I feel that we are helping this to happen in our schools.” – Vanessa

This week we have sent out a letter inviting nominations from parents who would like to join the Governing Board. If you would like to find out more, please contact the Clerk on 01983 526523 or email emma.shambrook@iwef.org.uk. If there are more applications than vacancies a ballot will be held. Application forms must be returned by 12.00 noon on 20 October.

A copy of the Federation’s governor recruitment information can be found at https://www.iwef.org.uk/iwef/governor-recruitment/. This includes more information about the work of the Governing Board, who can be a governor and what to expect. If you would like to talk to a governor before applying, please contact the Clerk. You can also find information about the role of governor online at:
https://governorsforschools.org.uk/courses/introduction-to-school-governance/

Please note that, for the protection of children, all governor appointments are subject to an identity and DBS check.

On Thursday 20 July, we held our annual Isle of Wight Education Federation Summer Concert at the Island VI Form. The sun shone as audience members gathered outside to enjoy ice creams from The Plaza Ices and further refreshments were served indoors by our Parent Voice members.

The concert began at 7.00 pm and featured a variety of musical performances from students across the Federation. Our IWEF Sing group opened the evening’s programme with a lively performance of ‘Circle of Life’ from Disney’s The Lion King followed by the energetic ‘Royals’ by Lorde. Various ensembles from Carisbrooke College’s School of Rock club performed a variety of songs from Blur, Blondie, George Ezra and Pulp, collaborating on some with the Carisbrooke College Ukulele Club, KS4 Music students from Medina College and A-level Music students from The Island VI Form.

Over the course of the evening we heard 3 impressive original compositions from Olivia M with her catchy song ‘Take a Hint’, imaginative piano solo ‘Dreams’ from Oliver K and touching acoustic number ‘A different time’ from Tilly G. Olivia H wowed the audience with her powerful rendition of ‘Freddy, my love’ from the musical Grease, fresh from her appearance as ‘Marty’ in the recent IOW Theatretrain production.

The Island VI Form students and Medina College’s Year 11 came together to perform ‘70s classic ‘Go your own way’ by Fleetwood Mac with some impressive guitar solos from Jake C. Hannah C delivered a flawless performance of Sam Smith’s ‘The Writing’s on the Wall’ with an emotional depth and musical expression well beyond her years. Carisbrooke College’s vocal trio of Annelise, Olivia and Lucy mastered some stunning harmonies and gave a nod to chart sensation Taylor Swift with their performance of ‘Love Story’. The Island VI Form’s Tilly and Rufus were joined by Lennon to give the concert some jazzy flavour with French Jazz standard ‘J’attendrai’.

The concert concluded with all of our performers coming together to perform a spectacular concert finale of The Rembrandts’ ‘I’ll be there for you’, having learnt and workshopped the song earlier in the day.

The concert raised funds for our IWEF Creative Arts Faculty to support future events and productions. Thank you to all the students, staff, parents and governors who came along to support this lovely evening, and to our Creative Arts Faculty for organising this fantastic event. We are thrilled to see our students performing with such skill and confidence, and look forward to all the exciting opportunities 2023/2024 will bring! All students are warmly encouraged to take part in our musical clubs and activities: please see your Music teacher for more details about how you can get involved this year.

During the week commencing 10 July, 60 year 7 students from Carisbrooke and Medina Colleges had the fantastic opportunity to take part in a project called ‘Wavelength’ with a local arts-based charity, Independent Arts. 

“Wavelength sets out to inspire and awaken our community to the very special geographical and coastal settings of the Island which have lent themselves to top-level, epoch-making design and testing firsts. 

In bringing the arts together with the sciences, we hope to help Island children understand how both disciplines have strong links and can inform one another, and to try to dissolve barriers that have arisen in recent times between the sciences, technology and the arts.” (Kerry Tindall, Programmes Manager, Independent Arts)

The project which was based at The Island VI Form, focused on the work of Robert Hooke, an Island scientist who is best known for his invention of the microscope. Independent Arts designed a number of workshops in response to the work of Robert Hooke, ranging from Suminagashi ‘floating ink’ to wire and stained acetate molecular cloud sculptures inspired by the work of  Minjung-Kim.

Students also had the opportunity to visit our science laboratories to gain experience of using the larger microscopes that we have available.

We were incredibly proud of all the students involved as they managed to produce some beautiful final outcomes that fuse the worlds of Science and Art together.

We are excited to announce that the work produced by our students will be on display at The Independent Arts Hub in Newport town centre from Wednesday 16 August – late September.