Students and staff at Bishop Laney Sixth Form are celebrating today, following another excellent set of results and a 100 per cent pass rate for its vocational courses.

Bishop Laney Sixth Form opened its doors in 2017 as a new collaboration between Ely College and Soham Village College to provide excellent post-16 education for students across East Cambridgeshire.

Currently the Sixth Form offers predominantly vocational and technical study programmes and therefore has no A Level results to report today. However, from this September, Bishop Laney Sixth Form will also be offering a suite of A Levels, alongside its successful suite of professional and vocational qualifications.

The Sixth Form achieved a 100 per cent pass rate for its vocational courses, with 56 per cent of results awarded at Distinction or Distinction* level and 93 per cent awarded at either Merit or Distinction level.

Principal of Ely College, Richard Spencer, said: “We are delighted with these results, which reflect a great deal of hard work from students and staff. We’d like to congratulate all of the students on their achievements. We are also very pleased that so many of our students have secured excellent university, employment or further training opportunities and we wish them all well for the future.

“These results demonstrate that Bishop Laney Sixth Form is already delivering excellent outcomes for students locally, and we are looking forward to expanding the curriculum to include some A Levels this year. Students in East Cambridgeshire deserve to be able to access excellent sixth form provision without the cost and stress of a long journey. We are delighted that Bishop Laney Sixth Form is successfully delivering that opportunity.”

A number of students achieved particularly high results including Holly Cole and Ewan Evans, who achieved Distinction* grades in Media, with Louisa Bennett and Brandon Ransome also attaining the top grade in their achievements; Louisa in Business and Brandon in Sports Science.

Within the Media department, all the grades achieved were at either distinction or distinction* levels, with Sports Science also performing noticeably well; 80% of the grades achieved were at the top two levels.

Our Business & Finance students also performed well, with all of our Level 3 Accounting students, completing the AAT Advanced Diploma at Merit level. The Personal Finance course, which is a core part of the Bishop Laney offer for Level 3 students, also added to the high achievers group, with over 20% students achieving an A grade.

Every year, the Cambridge Evening News host the prestigious Cambridge Evening News Education Awards, where schools and individuals can be nominated for a variety of awards, celebrating excellence across the county.

We are pleased to announce that two CMAT schools were shortlisted for the Secondary School of the Year award this year. Ely College and North Cambridge Academy were both shortlisted, along with one other school, with Ely College taking the award home on the night. This is the second time North Cambridge Academy have been shortlisted for the award since joining the Trust, with them taking the title in 2016.

To be shortlisted, secondary schools needed to demonstrate that their pupils have been not only academically successful but have developed more broadly, through an inspiring range of activities, subjects and experiences.

In their full report, the Cambridge News said: “Ely College has had a challenging few years, with changes in leadership and a poor reputation – but what hasn’t changed is the unwavering dedication of the staff and the desire to support the children.

“Under Richard Spencer’s leadership the school has now completely changed, and is thriving. Results are massively improved but more importantly, the school is a place children want to go to, where they feel supported, valued and part of a very special community.

“The smart new uniforms, the massive improvements in exam results and the community opinions of the college have been fantastic. It’s great to see so many families making their community school their first choice again.”

Ely College’s science department were also shortlisted for the ‘Science Project of the Year’ award for their Science Festival earlier this term. It was a fantastic collaborative event which invited primary schools and parents to visit and celebrate the hard work students had put into their science projects.

It is fantastic to see the hard work and dedication of our schools being recognised regionally for their excellence and the opportunities we provide to their students. Huge congratulations to all our staff and students!

Ely College dedicate their final PLEDGES day of the year to reflect on the world around us and the communities we support together as a city.

Students at Ely College celebrated their final PLEDGES and Futures Day before the summer break, preparing them for future challenges and opening their eyes to their own potential to drive environmental and social change.

Ely College students continued to build on their PLEDGES this week, earning points for their HOUSE teams (Scott, Turing, Etheldreda and Franklin) as they took part in a range of workshops. The last in a series of off-timetable days dedicated to PSHE lessons and experiences, the event saw them focus on diverse environments and their futures.

Year 8 and Year 9 both focused on their Environmental and Service PLEDGES, exploring the impact of single use plastics and the importance of recycling. Inspired by current political issues in the media, they made a start on an art installation using plastic waste, with a hope to depict a shared unity expressed and inspired by the MP Jo Cox #MoreInCommon trend.

Later in the day, they explored themes focusing on mental health, first aid training and personal resilience. Student showed amazing empathy when they met with external speakers to discuss the homelessness crisis.

Year 7 students were given the opportunity to travel to London to visit the Neasden Hindu Temple and work towards their Diversity PLEDGES. Year 7 student Ben Convine said: ‘The sounds and colours of the midday Arti ceremony were so calming and the building itself was amazing and very peaceful! Everyone was so welcoming to us.’

Year 10 students focused on the ‘Futures’ aspect of the day, as they launched into their UCAS applications and planned for their July work experience placements with a number of careers and safety workshops.

They joined the rest of the students at the end of the day for some forward-planning as students brainstormed their Inter-House competitions and big House events coming up and the end of the year. With students leading their own learning and PLEDGES achievements, it was clear some excellent ideas have been sent in motion, so watch this space for our House Charity Day 2018!

Lantern Community Primary School, Ely, rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted, officially joined CMAT on 1^st June 2018. The school had already been working closely with the Trust since the start of the year while the plans were approved by the Department for Education.

CMAT was formed in 2011 and enabled Swavesey Village College – an outstandingly successful secondary school – to convert to academy status, sponsor other academies, and help spread good education practice throughout the region. All the Trust’s schools united by a shared vision and values – to provide high quality and dynamic education for all at the heart of its communities. With the two new additions, the Trust now includes 11 schools who work in close partnership, with brand new schools planned to open in the next few years in Northstowe and Corby.

Mark Woods, Chief Executive of CMAT, said: “We’re really pleased to welcome Lantern Community Primary School to CMAT. The new school will strengthen our primary school expertise and mean that the Trust is now working with five primary schools throughout the region.

“Lantern Community Primary School have chosen to be part of CMAT, which is testament to the Trust’s excellent reputation within Cambridgeshire. The fact that it is rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted shows that not only can CMAT have an impact on the schools needing additional support, but also that our Trust can learn from the already great practice taking place.”

Paul Baddeley, Headteacher at Lantern Community Primary School, said: “Lantern Community Primary School is committed to ensuring that each of our students receives a successful education within a safe and nurturing environment. We are very excited to be part of CMAT and have been working closely with Ely College and Downham Feoffees Primary Academy for some time. I believe that together we can continue to promote and inspire high quality educational provision in our school and the children in our community.”

For more information about CMAT, visit: www.cmatrust.co.uk or for more about Lantern Community Primary School, visit www.thelanternschool.net.

Our current Year 10 Drama groups are creating a piece of theatre for their GCSE devised unit, which will be performed this June.

Their themes and topics include identity, body image and current affairs including the national surge in acid attack crimes. Many of the students were keen to explore the use of masks as part of their performance to communicate these themes; so their teacher Ms Seymour invited Lee Griffin an experienced mask workshop Practitioner to introduce the students to the theatre of mask.

The session was a great success with the students going away with lots of ideas. Megan Godfrey was so inspired she spent the half term making her own mask for her performance piece!

Exciting new course offered at Bishop Laney Sixth Form. Find out more: