Last week the History department, had the pleasure of taking a group of Year 9 students into Ely for a rare shared cultural experience; to meet up with the London based 'Jewish Free School' and learn more about the Jewish evacuees who came to Ely during the Blitz to escape the heavy bombings in the East End. Their own Year 9 students along with staff were visiting the City and the rural communities that hosted Jewish Free School evacuees during WW2.

The day started with a workshop at Ely Museum where students gained an insight into our shared heritage, hearing in-person, the experiences of evacuee Michael Cohen, and considering the challenges faced by JFS students. 

   

For the Jewish children of the East End back then, it was the first time they had left London and lived outside of their community.  For the people of Ely, a largely Christian community at the time, It was the first time that many of them had ever met a Jew. What followed was a story of friendships forged across the barriers of religion and class.

Later in the day the Jewish Free School students enjoyed a walking tour of the city. They visited the Countess Free Church hall that was given over to act as a Synagogue; which Michael clearly recalls as the venue of the Pesach Seder he experienced during evacuation. They also visited Oliver Cromwell's House which at the time was the home of Mrs Knowles, the vicar's wife, who was instrumental in setting up the Jewish boys' hostel for 70 refugees, as well as the schoolhouse near St Mary's Surgery.

  

The village of Isleham also welcomed students to view the Menorah that JFS students handcrafted in 1940 and donated to the community as a gift of gratitude. It is still displayed and used in the village church. Today, many members of the Ely community remember the children they knew, and it is wonderful to welcome a new generation of students from the Jewish Free School to maintain a link between our communities.

Being reminded of the importance of 'welcoming the stranger' and how the actions of individuals, such as Mrs Knowles can make a difference seems pertinent given current events. Those at Ely College look forward to continuing the tradition of building a relationship between our two communities, widening horizons and breaking down prejudice and misconceptions about different faiths.

The BBC documented the day as part of a news item marking the commemoration of VE Day on 8th May. We hope some of you manage to see it. The highlights on BBC Breakfast News are no longer on IPlayer.

  

  

 

Lucy Frazer MP welcomed students from South East Cambridgeshire to Parliament last week as part of her annual schools debating competition. 

Ely College Debating Club, joined students from Linton Village College, Witchford Village College, Soham Village College and Impington Village College to take part in two debates as part of the competition. 

The first was ‘This House believes that Scotland should remain part of the UK’ and the second ‘This House believes that animal testing is unnecessary’. 

  

Having previously visited Ely College for the earlier rounds, it was a momentous occasion for our students to visit Westminster for the final debate.

The competition was judged by Alex Chalk, MP for Cheltenham and solicitor general who offered students practical advice on giving a speech, including how to construct persuasive arguments and the importance of the concluding parts of a debate. 

Year 11 Charlotte was selected as one of the winners, for their overall high standard of debate. Huge congratulations to her, the Ely College Debating Club and all those from local schools who took part.

A big thank you goes out to Mr Burke and Ms Clark-Hope for coaching and organising this regular Session 6 club and accompanying them to London.

Lucy Frazer MP said: “It was fantastic to welcome students and teachers back to Parliament."

“This is the highlight of my parliamentary year, and the arguments and standard of debate by those taking part were very convincing.” 

The winners of Lucy Frazer MP's annual schools debating competition were Reece (L - Witchford Village College,) Charlotte (M - Ely College) and Phoebe (R - Impington Village College). - Credit: Lucy Frazer MP

 

Read the full local news article here: https://www.elystandard.co.uk/news/local-council/lucy-frazer-mp-hosts-schools-debating-competition-8924636

Just before the Easter break a group of year 7 students visited Cambridge University as part of the Insight Discover program. The day introduced the ‘All about me’ project that encourages the students to start thinking about their futures. Throughout the day there were team building activities, including blindfolded Lego tower building. They had a Q&A session with 3 current Cambridge University students which included questions such as ‘How many lessons do you have?’ and ‘ Do you get much homework?’. The day finished with a trip to the Museum of Cambridge.

Find out more about this exciting programme here: https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/find-out-more/widening-participation/insight-discover. Big thank you to Mr Fricker for organising this trip and working closely with Cambridge University to offer our students exciting opportunities beyond the classroom.

In the latest in our series of guests for our Year 7 to 9 students we were treated to a fantastic virtual presentation and discussion from Dr Mandisa Green.

Mandisa is a prominent veterinary surgeon and the Former President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Her interest in animals was sparked when a young child living in Trinidad. Mandisa recalls helping her family to take care of their chickens, one breed kept for eggs, and another for their meat; as well as a whole host of pets that included cats, dogs and a tortoise.

Her parents supported her on her journey to becoming a vet. Mandisa’s career began when she moved back to the UK aged 18, ready to start vet school. Mandisa didn’t find university easy but her determination and tenacity got her through. She qualified from the University of Edinburgh Royal School of Veterinary Studies.

Mandisa’s philosophy, that she told the students, is “If you really, really want something in life you have to face any adversity that comes along, but what you mustn’t do is give up on your dream.”

Mandisa was elected to the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons 2014-2022 and became its President in 2020. A theme of Mandisa’s presidential year was Diversity and Equality, to champion a more diverse and inclusive profession with renewed intention.

We thank Mandisa for taking the time to inspire our students to think about their GCSE choices and future options and CMAT for another fantastic Trust-wide livestreaming event!

It was a pleasure to welcome Lucy Frazer MP to Ely College on Friday as she surprised four of our staff with Parliamentary COVID Community Champions Awards!

Whilst they themselves were keen to express the 'team effort' over the last few years, we were delighted to recognise their hard work & dedication to the various aspects of our COVID response.

Taking this time to reflecting on the collective efforts, from 'safe & well' checks in homes during lockdown to whole school testing with our wonderful team of volunteers & speedy compliance; we celebrate them as they have inspired as well as safeguarded our students!

#aboveandbeyond #PLEDGES #communitychampions

  

 

Ely College participated in a range of events to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, which occurs annually on 27th January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Across the tutor groups, students were given the chance to reflect on genocides, both historical and more modern. Each tutor group was invited to reflect on the theme of ‘One Day’, that one day we may enjoy a future free from prejudice, hate and discrimination. Students were invited to anonymously write down a message to their future self about the Holocaust, or a reflection on the topic. We took these and created a collage, made up of the many messages of hope for the future.

In our Year 9 history classes, we had the opportunity to view an interview with a Holocaust survivor,Eva Clarke BEM. We all found the experience very moving, and at times extremely difficult and challenging. Students had the following reflections after the lesson:

“I found this very moving and would most certainly be interested in studying this in greater detail. I was struck by the fact that similar stories as to what happened to that family, the grief, the pain and the hardships, happened several million times. I found it astounding that one group of people was so determined to exterminate an ethnicity”

“It’s scary that any person could do those things to another human being”

“I wish we found out more from Eva Clarke such as how does life compare from the Holocaust to the present day”

“It was very moving and revealed all the hardships people went through at that time. It also showed how evil humans can be, and why something like that should never happen again”

“The details shared were so specific and personal that it allowed me to understand the Holocaust in a new way”