Today the Medical Research Council 'Science Bus' rolled up to Ely College!

As part of the #MRCFestival of Medical Research, our KS3 students enjoyed interactive learning with real University of Cambridge researchers as they showcased their work! The summer festival is now in its fifth year, travelling across the UK and areas of Africa, sharing their science to educate and inspire by involving the community to gain new perspectives.

The teams offered up some fascinating insights into DNA, genetics, biomarkers & so much more! They were impressed by students level of knowledge and how they engaged with the activities. Part of the festivals mission is to attract and inspire new talent to the field and event's like these for young adults really helped them gain a glimpse into a researcher's world. Ambitious Ely College students were keen to ask career-related questions to explore their future options. 

Ely College feel exceptionally lucky to have built links with the Medical Research Council and be on the doorstep of some world class science! A huge thank you to MRC Epidemiology Unit and MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit for sharing their knowledge with our students!

How a fun business simulation run by The Skills Service helped local students to develop vital employability skills, such as teamwork, problem-solving, leadership and entrepreneurship. 

Jo and Rebecca from Enterprise East Cambridgeshire recently spent time working with students at Ely College and Witchford Village College, judging balloon armchairs and origami paper ducks.

At first glance that might seem like a very strange thing for an Economic Development team to be doing, but read on to find out how this fun business simulation helped local students to develop vital employability skills, such as teamwork, problem-solving, leadership and entrepreneurship. 

Ducks Enterprise Challenge

Year 7 students (age 11 to 12) took part in The Skills Service’s Ducks Enterprise Challenge, making and selling origami ducks to a team of ‘buyers’ from the local business community.  One of the aims of Enterprise East Cambridgeshire is to help establish links between local schools and businesses, so off we set to participate in the Ducks Challenge.

Students participated in a manufacturing simulation, running a virtual business with each group member assigned a role in their company: 

Managing Director: leading the team

Accountant: managing finances

Buyer: purchasing materials for making ducks

Sales executive: negotiating the best prices for the ducks with external buyers (us)

Production workers: making paper ducks and responding to supply restrictions and changes in buyer demand

Each team then competed with the other teams to see who could make the most profit.  The aim was to run a virtual business in teams, using skills that you would find in the business world.  The teams had to source stock material (coloured paper) from a supplier using a start up loan. Once they had bought the raw materials they then set up production of their origami ducks.  This stock was then sold on to a team of buyers - us.   More money was paid for excellent and original ducks whilst less for poor quality. 

This process is repeated over five virtual working days, each lasting around 15 minutes, and various problems or challenges are introduced at different stages to reflect real business life and encourage team working skills.  Imagine having spent your budget on pink paper only to find the next day that pink is soooo yesterday and nobody will buy the ducks you spent ages making!  There were, most definitely, lessons learned.  Fines and bonuses were issued at the end of each day to penalise or reward certain behaviours.  Winners were duly crowned, with their team having made the most profit.

Balloon Armchairs Challenge

As part of Ely College’s 'PLEDGES and Futures Day', the Balloon Armchairs challenge also tests the teamwork, communication, planning and lateral thinking of groups of students. Armed with only 20 balloons and a roll of sellotape, each team has to make a balloon armchair, with a base, back and arms. The final challenge involved all teams testing their armchair. The last bottom remaining off the ground, firmly on their balloon based armchair is the winner! The grand finale can be quite a noisy one with some chairs robust, others, well...just bust. 

You can only imagine the noise level of so many students during such an energetic and fast paced activity, and the event was a huge success with students all really engaged, gaining confidence and using skills they might not have realised they have.  We can highly recommend getting involved with The Skills Service and contributing your business skills to benefit local students.  We had a great time and will be back again next year.

For more information on the Skills Service visit www.theskillsservice.co.uk 

Congratulations to four of our amazing Creative Writing #Session6 students who entered a Young Writers competition and were selected from 8,000 entries to be published!!!

The POETRY ESCAPE competition inspired students to express themselves through poetry, providing them with a platform to voice their opinions, thoughts & feelings, to break down barriers, destroy stereotypes and liberate their creativity. A fantastic #PLEDGES achievement!

Well done to Emily, Eloise, Esme and Jenna!

"The students really responded to the idea that their voices can be used to speak of injustice. Each student is able to home in on what they truly care about and what they would like to see change in the world. Breaking the silence had sparked debates and conversations that extend beyond poetry. We look forward to reading all the entries in the published anthology."

Last Friday, Ely College held a Dance and Gymnastics Festival for two of our local primary schools, Millfield and The Lantern. With the help of staff, the day saw our dedicated Sports Leaders plan and deliver an exciting warm up dance and stretch routine before the primary pupils showcased the dances that they had been working on with our older students.

The afternoon finished with a performance from our Year 7 and 8 gymnasts who performed a stunning routine to The Greatest Showman OST. The gymnastics team are hoping to show their routine again at the Level 3 School Games competition for the opening ceremony if their application is successful.

Well done to all involved! True PLEDGES spirit shown, as they not only participated but took on leadership qualities, excelling as they offered a service to younger students. Building strong bonds with our partner primaries so younger pupils feel confident around the college site and can interact with staff and older students is an important part of the primary transition and vertical tutoring process. 

To celebrate British Science Week, Year 7 & 8 students from Ely College hosted their second annual Science Fair last week. Inviting parents and local primary schools, who attended over the two days, this year’s event was enjoyed by over 300 members of the community.

Using their lessons to plan, test and prepare presentations for the public, science students did a superb job of showcasing a range of experiments. The Ely College Science Fair is a fantastic opportunity for parents and pupils of all ages in the area to be inspired by science and STEM learning (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). Working in partnership as part of the CMAT Trust, this year saw Year 5 & 6 pupils from the Lantern join in, as their mini scientists explaining their class investigations into the effects of gravity.

   

With everything from mobile phone holograms and up close dissections to air cannon footie and the ever-popular slime recipes, the range of experiments on display was impressive. Sam Craven, Curriculum Leader at Ely College applauded students for their commitment to putting on an engaging and inspirational event: “We are so proud of the hard work and enthusiasm of our Year 7 and 8 students during this year’s science festival.  We are delighted that two primary schools, Lantern and St Mary’s, also had children present work from their science lessons. Harlequin Nursery enjoyed the fair as well. Something for all ages! This year was bigger than last and we are already planning and looking forward to next year.”

   

Last year this fantastic event gained recognition, as it was nominated and shortlisted at the Cambridge News Education Awards for ‘Science Project of the Year’. While our young scientists just missed out in 2018, it is clear this year they have gone the extra mile and are proud to call their college ‘Secondary School of the Year’; an award Ely College and our community gained last year in acknowledgement of the vast improvements made at the College in recent years.

Ely College students were awarded Science Fair commendation rosettes and PLEDGES awards, with some invited to Cambridge University to repeat their experiments for the public as Science Ambassadors at the Cambridge Science Festival School Zone on Saturday 23^rd March. “This was another fantastic event and our students were commended for their maturity, science knowledge and enthusiasm.”

For more photos from our science fair, take a look at the Ely College Facebook page here.