UCTC newsletter March 2017 Uckfield Community Technology College, Downsview Crescent, Uckfield TN22 3DJ

Inside this issue:

01825 764844 www.uctc.org.uk

Trip to European Parliament Report by Lucy OWENS (year 13 Politics student)

● Sport round-up

Monday 28th November, 2016. Agenda:

● Geography field trips

This morning I got up at 4:45am to catch the 5:20am from Uckfield, a time of day I will

● Drop-down Day

admit I am not and will never be used to. I got the 8:04 Eurostar train, arriving in Brussels at 11:05 CET to be met by Joost and Jess, two of Catherine Bearder’s lovely assistants.

● Drama

Jess is from Kent, right next door to Sussex, so it’s nice to

● 20th Century Fox trip

meet someone who feels close

● Auschwitz trip

to home as well as Joost and

● Girls Coding event

two Dutch visitors (Romy and

● World Book Day

Merve),

all

interesting

people

incredibly already.

● Careers Fair

After dropping our stuff at the

● Holocaust Day

hotel, we all headed off to the

● Past student success

European Parliament for a lunch with the other young

● Art trip to Amsterdam

visitors and Sophie in ‘t Veld,

● Dance Show

the MEP that organises the Young

● Dan Manvell in the news

Visitors Programme

who is a member of the

● Battlefields trip

Alliance

of

Liberals

and

Democrats for Europe (ALDE) party, a left, pro-European party who currently have 68 elected MEPs in the European Parliament. She’s so welcoming and interesting, listening to her talk about the EU and about the programme was fascinating. The European Parliament (EP) is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU). Together with the Council of the European Union (the Council) and the European Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU. The Parliament is currently composed of 751 (previously 766) members, who represent the second largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world (375 million eligible voters in 2009)

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The other young visitors are all incredibly lovely people, and to my surprise all speak excellent English, which is a wonderful surprise with a somewhat embarrassed note at my own appalling language skills.

We went to the Parliament Museum and played a role play Parliamentarian game, which was both amazingly informative and a very fun and friendly activity, which allowed us all to get to know each other in a bit more of a relaxed space. It was useful in explaining that the European Parliament are the ones who debate and vote on legislation proposed and the amendments individuals and parties wish to make so that it may eventually become European law. We then headed back to the hotel and ate pizza together whilst listening to small presentations about each other’s countries, all of which have such rich and diverse histories that were fascinating to hear about. We exchanged all manner of different foods from our countries, chatted for awhile, and then all headed up to bed. I think we were all a little tired from the early starts and some still rather jet-lagged. Nevertheless, an amazing first day already filled with information and new friends.

What I Learnt: Whilst people do tend to group “Europeans” together, the amount of diversity just in this group of 18 young people is amazing. We all have our own set of languages, ideals, political outlooks and interests, and yet despite this there has never been a moment of conflict, only interesting and thoughtful discussion coupled with a really friendly atmosphere with a lot of laughter.

Tuesday 29th November, 2016. Agenda: Today we got the chance to chat more in smaller groups, since we were split up for the photo competition, the theme being “European Identity and Diversity”. My group specifically had people from Estonia, Sweden and the Czech Republic, both countries I was fascinated to learn more and more about.

Our group took a lovely photo of a group of people standing outside the Parliament, and whilst we did not end up winning we were nevertheless proud of the photo we had taken. We then had one of the most interesting talks of the week, in my opinion, from an MEP named Damian Draghici. He was a Romanian man who had been homeless in Greece for a time, then getting a scholarship to Berklee music college in America, winning some Grammys, and then becoming an MEP. He was very quick witted, honest and upfront with us, and had some wonderful insight into both the world and the European Union. The subsequent individual lunch with Catherine Bearder and her team was also a highlight. They gave me some valuable insight into the real workings of the Parliament, and specifically Catherine’s work on both human and wildlife trafficking prevention was just amazing to learn about.

Our teambuilding activity was so much fun, attempting to build models with nothing but spaghetti pieces and marshmallows. Out meeting with Angelika Mlinar was unfortunately quite short because of how busy she is, but so interesting nonetheless. We then had some of the famous Brussels fries to bring an end to an amazing second day.

What I Learnt: Whilst there is a common misconception that MEPs do nothing and spend all day having fancy lunches and meetings, this could not be more wrong. I couldn’t even begin to fathom trying to do all of the things these people do in one day, and all with only two to five assistants trying to help them coordinate this. They are busy, important people with a real want for change and powerful spirits, at least the ones I’ve met. The European Parliament is massive. Too big to even try and comprehend even pretending to know my way around. Even following people around I somehow feel lost.

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Wednesday 30th November, 2016. Agenda: The first thing we did was attend the ALDE group meeting in the parliament (which meant a much earlier start), in which we listened to them talk about who they were going to put forward as a candidate for the position of President of the European Parliament once Martin Schulz steps down. The overwhelming majority was for Guy Verhofstadt, a former Prime Minister of Brussels. We then had some group photos done together with the MEPs involved before meeting with the ALDE press team to discuss what they do and how they do it. It was impressive to hear how strategize every post on every social media is, how much thought goes into it, but ultimately how unpredictable the reaction of the public can be. After some lunch we met with a man from COC Netherland, a group that advocates all around the world for the rights of members of the LGBTI community. He provided us with a lot of information about the history of LGBTI rights in the European Parliament, and an informative map of Europe that demonstrated the most equal and safe countries for LGBTI people, and

adversely

the

worst

too.

It

was

both

heartwarming and disheartening, both to learn about how such great strides had been made, but also to learn how far this community still has to go. We then got to watch a plenary session primarily focused on debating a proposed trade link with Ghana, and whilst there were few MEPs actually in session it is still an experience I will never forget.

What I Learnt: The translators in the European Parliament are some of the most incredible and important people in the whole building. The sheer speed and accuracy of the translations - done basically in real time as the person is speaking - is just incredible, I was in absolute awe of all that they do. Without these translations, there is little chance of such fruitful and interesting debate, and their efficiency just amazed me. The LGBTI community have come so so far all over the European Union. However, there is so much inequality that nobody really talks about, and unfortunately there are not enough people inside the Parliament focusing on this. There definitely needs to be.

Thursday 1st December, 2016. Agenda: Although we had to get up incredibly early again (somehow I’m still not used to the hour difference) meeting Helga Stevens was so worth it. She’s a Flemish MEP, who also happens to be deaf. She was so coherent, and the strong relationship she has with her translation team was so amazing to witness. She was consistently so interesting, talking of her experiences as somebody working in politics with a disability, and campaigning for these rights for others as much as she can. There was then a much different atmosphere when we heard from the European Humanist Federation, a non-governmental organisation that campaigns for secularism within the European Union, mostly to ensure those with a secular view are represented as much as those with a religious one. The atmosphere was more uncomfortable since it had been, since I think there was much disagreement with the views of this particular group, much more than there had been in comparison to the rest of the week. Although they were still very interesting and informative. However, any tension was quickly forgotten when we went on a Brussels City Tour to explore around a bit more.

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The city is beautiful and vibrant, with a rich history, especially architecturally. The atomium was a lot bigger in person, an incredibly impressive structure. The bus had a busted tire but other than that we had managed to get 18 young people around the city with no major incident. We then went to the Christmas market in the evening near the Grand Place, which was gorgeous and vibrant and allowed us to just walk around the city as we pleased. Not to feed any type of stereotype, but the waffles in Belgium are one of the most delicious foods I have ever tasted. A great last evening for all of us.

What I Learnt: The European Union is so much more involved in our lives, including in religious communities, than it first presents. They do have meetings with many religious leaders, and although there is little religious influence it was interesting to hear how restricted their communication is to protect this secularisation of legislation. There is a lot of emotion within the debate around religious involvement within the European Parliament. Groups trying to campaign for change within the European Union face so many obstacles and challenges. Brussels has so much more history than I ever knew. It surprised me how little I knew about a country so close and important.

Friday 2nd December, 2016. Agenda: We all met in the hotel lobby to go to the European Parliament to say some final sad goodbyes. I ended up saying to basically everyone to contact me if they’re ever in the UK, since I’m definitely going to stay in contact with all of these new and interesting people as much as I can. We all took one last group picture and headed our separate ways after an amazing and inspiring week that will surely stay in my memory for the rest of my life.

What I Learnt: The European Union is a vibrant and powerful institution that is just amazing to bear witness to. It is a shame that we are leaving, since I believe (whilst the EU has its problems) we have so much potential to make this world a better, stronger place. Everyone really does love the English accent. It’s not a just a stereotype. Everyone wants to know about Brexit! It was definitely the hot topic for me once people found out I was English. Everyone wanted to know my own opinion, as well as what the UK was like now that Brexit had occurred. Everyone had such excellent knowledge about it and were so keen to learn even more.

This was an absolutely incredible week in which I made so many new friends who were just fascinating to spend the week with. The whole Parliament is filled with inspiring individuals who work so hard every single day to make the change they want to see, and I am in awe of the whole institution and the amazing people it houses.

Dan Manvell in the news Dan Manvell, from our sixth form, is currently in the news again. Having recently led a successful campaign to reverse cuts to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme, proposed by East Sussex County Council, Dan was asked by the BBC for his views on yesterday's budget. Read the full story on the BBC News site

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Sport Roundup March 1st 2017 MIXED HOCKEY V HEATHFIELD Having had such a good regular turnout of players to hockey club all season we invited Heathfield to bring a minibus full of players to join in with our regular club session.

On July 13th,

Year 10 GCSE PE. Rock Climbing Taster Day at Blacklands Farm on Drop Down Day - Thursday 9th March 2017

The Sussex U13 and U15 squash team travelled to Warwick in January, where they played Lancashire, Essex and Warwickshire in the Inter County Squash Championships. UCTC students Leesha Daniels and Troy Southall were key members of the team winning all of their matches.

They brought 2 teams of mixed year 7-9 while we managed to form five teams of year 7-10. So with 7 teams in the mix we ran a round robin competition where all teams had one game sitting out and managed to play 5 rounds each.

Cross Country Success Our Cross Country runners performed really well at the Sussex Schools Cross Country Championships on Wednesday, 18th January. Both Joss Pope and Jasper Baker qualified to represent Sussex at the Inter-county championships. On Thursday 2nd March the yr7 and yr8 cross country runners participated in the Sussex Schools Cross Country Championships at Christs’ Hospital school. The athletes ran brilliantly and did themselves, and the school, very proud indeed. There were over 170 competitors in both the yr7 boys and yr7 girls event, with 115 competitors in the yr8 boys race. The following students finished in the top 30 in their race: Bethany Blackford, Hannah Chevassut and Henri Bedwell. Huge congratulations to Troy Southall who finished in the top 20, securing his place in the Sussex team. We wish Troy the very best of luck when he races for Sussex at the Inter-Counties cross country event later in March. Team members: Bethany Blackford, Hannah Chevassut, Bibi Prevost, Henri Bedwell, Louis Wood, Freddie Savage, Troy Southall, Rupert Jones, Evan Lester, Benny Owens, Oli Burchett and Leo Stott.

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There was some great play from all of the UCTC teams which were a mix of ages and boys and girls too many names to mention but a great turnout of 37 players from UCTC.

Auschwitz Trip Having been warned by BBC Weather that the UK was about to have an especially cold, bleak spell of weather coming from Poland which, upon further investigation, revealed predicted temperatures in Krakow of minus 1 to minus 9, our trip preparations included raiding the lofts of friends and relatives for skiwear, boosting the sales of hats, and the high street will report a surprise spending surge on thermals. It was certainly worth the preparation and, in spite of the fact that we spent many hours out of doors walking around in sub zero temperatures, we were all equal to the challenge; Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing would have been impressed! The focus of our trip was to visit Auschwitz, to think about how the work of Milgram could be viewed in the context of the Nazi atrocities and to discover more about what life was like at this time in Europe from a psychologist and sociologist perspective.

The initial impact upon arriving at Auschwitz does not accord with the emotional expectations: a neat, seemingly benign collection of buildings, surrounded by trees and fields; a wrought iron sign greeting at the entrance: “Work sets you free”. It is the explanation of how the buildings were used, how the people at the concentration camps were treated, that reveals the horror of Auschwitz. Our guide, Damien, gave us an incredibly thought-provoking view into the past, and into the complexities of human behaviours and political, social and economic pressures which impact on them. He did not spare us when retelling the full extent of the cruelty and injustice which befell the inmates of Auschwitz; we were spellbound and appalled by the range of horrors seen and perpetrated within that camp, yet he frequently repeated that not all guards and Nazis were bad people and not all the victims were good people and that evil can bring out evil in others. Auschwitz was originally opened in 1940 as a detention centre for political prisoners, but it evolved into a concentration and death camp for Jewish people and perceived enemies of the state. Some were also the subjects of medical experiments by Josef Mengele. From Auschwitz we went on to visit the nearby camp of Birkenau, a vast expanse with the skeletal remains of the many buildings, which had housed so many unfortunate victims. The descriptions of the vast numbers of people sharing small spaces, the lack of hygiene, food, water available, the terrible dehumanising treatment and deliberate cruelty vested upon so many, the disease and death and rats, the disposal of those who were deemed to be of no value, have stayed with us all, powerfully bringing a familiar history topic to life. Our next visit was to Schindler’s factory, now used as a museum about the war. We learned that Schindler too was a complex character, and had initially exploited the Jewish people who worked in his factory for his own financial benefit, as they had to work for no pay. Here our guide Cuba, known as “Jimmy”, reiterated the messages from the Auschwitz tour, that people are complex and we have to make sure what happened in the war is remembered, if we are to avoid it happening again. We learned about the Jewish ghetto, and how the Nazis put up a wall around it to enclose and segregate the Jewish people, with walls which mimicked Jewish tombs, representing that they were facing living death. Jewish people who could not work were exterminated, those who could work received no pay, and woefully small food rations, barely enough to stay alive. We also learned that when the Russians liberated Poland, they stayed and then oppressed the people; they killed three times as many people as the Nazis had done. Poland lived under a regime of oppression for decades. The final room of our tour was made of wax like a candle as a symbol of reflection, thought, prayer, hope; the walls are covered in grey writing, reflecting that life and people are complex and not black and white. We ended our day on a lighter note with an evening tour of the old city, accompanied by Jimmy. He showed us the building where Pope John-Paul II would lean out of the window and talk to people on his frequent visits to Krakow. John-Paul had been in Krakow during the war and had been educated in the secret underground schools, as education had been banned and all the teachers and lecturers taken to concentration camps; uneducated people were deemed to be easier to control. He had also had all his training and previous posts in the Catholic church in Krakow. Along the bank of the river we saw a statue of the Wawel dragon, symbol of Poland, and heard the legend of the how it was destroyed, its bones still on show at the cathedral. We ended in the main market square, by St Mary’s Basilica, where a bugle plays every hour, cut short to commemorate the bugle player who had been alerting the people of Krakow to the invasion of the Mongols in 1241, when he was shot in the throat as they besieged the city. It was an amazing trip with a really personal view of how Poland and its people are still deeply affected by World War ll and its aftermath. Krakow is a lively, beautiful city and makes, we found, incredible chocolate. The fantastic group of students on this trip quickly gelled into a cohesive and supportive group and showed great insight, intelligence and sensitivity to all that they experienced. Our visit into past events was powerful, upsetting, thought-provoking; we were all utterly absorbed, and conversations about the experience and implications for life today and in the future continued long after the visit.

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Auschwitz trip 13-15th Feb 2017

The Class of

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County Badminton 2017 Our KS4 teams travelled to Haywards Heath on Wednesday 8th Feb to compete in the County Round of the National Schools Badminton Competition.

The Boys team: Josh Hendra, Joe Irwin, Jacob Doherty & Johnrod Espejo The Girls team: Leesha Daniells, Olivia Poole, Emily Gordon & Katie Crouch On arrival the girls found out that one of the opposition had dropped out so they only had 2 group matches to play and then the winner of the group would go straight to the final. We played Ormiston first and despite a nervy start won comfortably 5-0. We then watched Ormiston beat Oriel from Crawley so went into our second match feeling pretty confident. Nerves settled, a more than comfortable 5-0 win saw us cruise into the final! Here we met a different kettle of fish in the shape of Warden Park. They had a very strong number 1 & 2 player who dominated the singles despite Katie & Olivia’s best efforts, Katie losing 21-14 to one of the top County players. Emily & Leesha held their nerve against their doubles pair with a solid win. So 2-1 down with 2 doubles games left to play. These games could have gone either way but the 1& 2 from Warden Park used their experience to overpower our girls who fought right to the end and were more than pleased with their silver medals, well done girls! The girls were presented with their medals & certificates by Tanya Woodward, ex England player and now coach and Badminton England Representative. The boys looked to be in a very strong group so settled in for a good day of badminton and not expecting much in the way of medals or prizes. They began against a weaker team from Oriel, which settled their nerves winning 5-0. We then watched Rye College beat Willingdon and having thought Willingdon to be the stronger in the group didn’t hold out much hope as we took on Rye College but… Josh destroyed their first singles player 21-12 with a very strong performance. Jacob & Joe then kept up the momentum and took the doubles comfortably. Johnrod then came up against a strong second singles player so we were 2-1 up with two more doubles games to play. We then took the match by winning the last doubles matches. Things were looking up as we took on Willingdon. Josh had a really tough singles opponent and lost 21-19 in a nail biting game with some excellent rallies. Jacob & Joe kept their cool and took the first doubles with sensible tactics, sussing out the opposition and really putting them under pressure from the word go. Johnrod again then had a really tough giant of a player and again with great rallies couldn’t get ahead and was just edged out in a nail biting game. So we had to win the last two doubles games to win the group and head into the final. Josh & Joe again employed sensible tactics and outplayed and outwitted their opposition. So the pressure was now on Jacob & Johnrod - no messing - they took them apart 21-11 showing great passion & determination. Into the final it was against St Andrews from Worthing. Josh had another amazingly close battle losing 20-21 to their number one singles player. Jacob & Joe took the doubles in a close fought battle. Johnrod played some great rallies but couldn’t quite get the better of their number 2 singles player which again left the doubles to decide the match. St Andrews proved just too strong for both pairs so we sadly lost the match 1-4. Not expecting to get anywhere near the final, the boys were delighted with their silver medals. Well done to both teams for a fabulous day’s play. Well deserved medals. A very proud, Mrs Meacher 8

Girls computer coding hack event On Friday 21st January the Computing lab at UCTC was a hive of activity as girls from across Years 7-13 took part in an immersive coding hack evening. The session was led by the very engaging Alan O'Donohoe and supported by two of our own expert UCTC Computing teachers: Rebecca Turner and Dan Tweed. Our girls worked together enthusiastically to crack a range of creative computer coding challenges, using both block and text based programming languages installed on raspberry Pi computers.

.

During the session the girls all shared their ideas, inventions and

solutions;

encouraging

each

other

to

take

their

computational thinking and programming as far as they could. Computer Science underlies most innovation today, across disciplines from biotechnology to cinematography to national security. It is about making a difference in the world, creating new things, and helping others. Girls and women are avid users of technology, but they are significantly underrepresented in its creation. Girls' lack of participation in this important and growing area has serious consequences, not only for them but for the future of technical innovation. With computing jobs among the fastest-growing and highest-paying, more women should benefit from these occupations. Our Coding Hack event is just one of many events we will be running to inspire and prepare our girls to innovate and create the new technologies of the future. Holly Mankelow Year 7, wrote about the event: "I really enjoyed Friday afternoon as I have always felt like the odd one out around my brother and his computer coding friends. I love to do what they do but I'm the only girl. This was the first time that I have met other girls in my local area who are into the same things. Thank you for the great opportunity!"

On Wednesday 1st March the Media department took 14 AS film students to 20th Century Fox's European HQ in London. Whilst there we met with Todd Huntley the Senior Vice President for Europe who talked us through the marketing strategy for their Oscar nominated film - Hidden Figures, and then we had an exclusive viewing of the film in their private screening room.

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Geography Field Trips Eastbourne 2017

UCTC took Students attend On Monday 6th February the Geography department 30 year 9 and year 10

On Tuesday 14th March 40 Year 12 AS level Geography

students to the University of Brighton to take part in a series of fieldwork workshops. These workshops were ran by Geography graduates who devised highly engaging activities, based on our GCSE specification. This provided a great opportunity for our students to get out and about and discover how to apply their classroom knowledge in the real world. Fieldwork has become an integral part of the new GCSE and the workshops run by the graduates gave our students a critical perspective on geographical methodologies and analysis.

students spent the day exploring coastal processes, landforms and change. With the weather smiling upon them, they spent the morning measuring beach profiles and sediment change in Hollywell, using a variety of data collection methods. Further along the coastline adjacent to

the

Eastbourne

bandstand,

students

collected more beach profile measurements, drew comparisons and assessed

the

effectiveness coastal

of

the

management

strategies in the area.

Fieldwork

is

a

fundamental aspect of the

new

A

Level

curriculum,

it

contextualises

geographical learning, providing an opportunity for students to apply their theoretical knowledge in the real world.

The

data

collection techniques students used during

The whole day was a great success and our students thoroughly enjoyed the workshops they attended:

the

“I went to Sussex and Brighton University and collected data from both campuses to see which was more environmentally friendly. I found it to be very helpful because it gave me a feel for what GCSE work would be like. My highlight of the day has to be discovering new places, I otherwise wouldn’t have seen.” Josh Grogan, year 9.

trip

further

developed

their

geographical

skills

and

forms

important

part

an in

getting them prepared "The trip was a great learning experience, and an important tool in learning about fieldwork in geography". Lewis Westwood Flood, Year 10

for the demands of

“Each group did a different activity which were all orientated around fieldwork. For the year 9 students this was to enhance their ideas as to what GCSE Geography would be like and hopefully help them decide whether or not it would be the right subject for them. Whereas, for the year 10 students, like myself, the trip was to help us with what to expect when it comes to the fieldwork section of our course.

Geography exam.

their

UCTC values outdoor geography learning very much because it enriches the learning experience and helps students

My group and I went around the local woodland and park area following a map to do random sampling. We were to throw a frisbee and using a quadrat we would count the percentage of species in that area. For example; we went into the woodland surroundings and in the specific area we studied we found the percentages of; grass, moss, bare ground, dog mercury, plantain, fern, dandelion and unidentified species. We also counted and listed the types of trees around us. When we got back to the university we collated our data and found out the average percentage of different species in the different areas we went to. This taught us the way in which fieldwork happens and what data we should collate. Our knowledge was enhanced for both fieldwork in physical and human geography. Overall, the day was a successful day in terms of both enjoyment and education and I personally took a lot of information away from it. The highlight of the day was being able to work as a team to learn new skills that will help us with our future. As a group I feel we are now feeling more confident towards our fieldwork and this trip will help us excel later on.” Olivia Poole, Year 10

10

summer

to

consolidate

their

knowledge

and

understanding of geographical processes. Importantly it is also a great way for our students to collaborate and learn together.

Year 13 Drama On Thursday 16th March our year 13 drama students wowed the audience with exam performances of their student devised pieces and scripted work, including a section of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar named Desire. Despite one student recovering from Appendicitis and another suffering from Laryngitis the show had to go on and after two intensive days of final rehearsals the students did themselves proud. Andrew Wright, Deputy Head and parent of one of the students said he found the whole evening 'Superb! Theatre level production values, powerful performances and passion.' Well done to all involved!

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Dropdown Day

Year 7 travel back in time at UCTC - A medieval experience

On Tuesday January 31st all of our Year 7 students were transported back in time into the Medieval period. Our students enjoyed an immersive day filled with music, dancing, food, costumes, games and crafts; all from the medieval era.

Over the course of the school day, every student made their own wet felt fabric, whilst learning all about the traditional fulling process used to make wool fabrics. All stomach muscles clenched as they imagined the intense smells involved with treading for endless hours on wool in a barrel of human urine and explored some of the smelly science behind the process. Preparing for battle, students explored the purposes, materials and symbolism in the designs for shields. Then armed with just their imaginations (oh and their very 21st Century Chromebooks!) they designed their own personal shields to represent their individual styles, personalities and ambitions.

Having worked up a grand appetite, our medieval students headed to the food technology labs where they learned all about the constituent parts of a medieval feast and then faced the challenge of making their own Gingerbread. Hungry bellies made for great baking! When comparing modern day gingerbread recipes with those of the Medieval era, the overwhelming consensus was that modern was definitely best! Over in the gymnasium our very own UCTC medieval strictly come dancing competition was underway. Student groups had only a short time to learn new dance moves and to choreograph their final performances ready for the harsh judging by Mr Topping, Mr Levett, Mrs Levett and Miss Chilvers. Our intrepid medieval era year 7 students were not phased by this challenge; seemingly they are a year group of extraordinary dancing talent providing little for the judges to criticise.

Medieval day had its quiet moments and in a little known corner of the school students were playing a range of medieval games. The gamblers amongst our year 7 populations were engaged with the games of 'Gluckhaus' and 'Shove Groat' whilst those who like to show off their more kinesthetic talents played the games of 'Hoopla' and 'Pick up Sticks'.

A medieval experience would not have been complete without an exploration into the legend of the sword in stone and a visit from King Arthur. He made an appearance in a Disney Movie snippet and students explored research questions about the legend before writing their own creative poetry. They wrote their own version of the Sword in the stone. Our students were of course impressive writers, utilising a range of poetry styles in their creative writing endeavours.

A superb time was had by all involved in the day. It was designed to give the students an opportunity to reinforce their learning about this historical period in a fully cross curricular and memorable way. Email received from Imgoen year 7 at the end of the Medieval day: "Thank you for a fantastic day at school today. I really enjoyed it! All of the lessons were great fun and I learnt a lot of new things. All of the lessons were different so it made it exciting. I got to experience what it was like in the medieval day."

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Past student success

Dance Show

Ruby Shute, who left Sixth Form last year, is currently exhibiting as part of The Royal Society of British Artists 300th Anniversary Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. After having a triptych of portraits entered into the National Student's Art Exhibition last year she was awarded a lifetime scholarship to the Society.

On July 13th, Image by Ron Hill

Uckfield Community Technology College proudly hosted a thrilling Dance Show on Thursday 9th and Friday the 10th March. Over 80 fabulously talented dance students put on an exceptional performance across two evenings; stunning audiences with beautifully choreographed performances.

Below is the painting, of her father, currently in the exhibition.

The UCTC dancers aged between 11 and 19 performed a dazzling mix of solos, duets and group dance routines; featuring some gorgeously sophisticated sequences. The meticulous routines were mixed beautifully with passionate and powerful GCSE and A level exam performance pieces, whilst keystage 3 students showed off their impressive creativity, precision and timing. Early indications are that the Dance Show has raised more than £1000 for You Raise me Up!

Art trip to Amsterdam Freezing temperatures, enough cheese and chocolate to sink a ship, glow in the dark golf and a trip to La La Land ... 'what was this?' I hear you ask, well obviously an Art and Photography GCSE/A' Level trip to Amsterdam! 31 students, 4 staff, with a shared love of Art and Photography set off very early from UCTC on an epic (maybe a little creative writing here) journey across land and sea to visit the amazing galleries, museums and national parks of Amsterdam whilst also to soak up the culture that Amsterdam had to offer. A packed trip that stimulated the creativity in us all whilst allowing us to view some incredible pieces of art and photography. In just one day, a visit to the Van Gogh museum allowed us to explore the worlds largest collection of his work whilst learning of his fascinating life and the impact this had on his work. Just across the path lay a fascinating few hours in the Stedelijk museum which focused on modern and contemporary art. Whilst we were there we were lucky to enjoy a beautiful photography exhibition of one of Ed van der Elsken, a Dutch photographer renowned for his street work. Then the snow not only fell but also began to settle, perfect for a bike ride around De Hoge National park and a visit to Kroller- Muller museum and sculpture park, home to the 2nd largest collection of Van Gogh work and more than 160 iconic sculptures from a variety of artists. Time spent in Foam (photography museum), visits to the Amsterdam Dungeons, a canal boat trip, speedy tour of Amsterdam, a visit to the most beautifully retro cinema to watch the equally most beautiful La La Land (some may and did disagree with this review) and a thoroughly heart wrenching trip to Anne Franks house, all made for a most memorable trip. At times we felt lucky to survive the cyclists coming at us from every direction (not to mention the Trams) but all could have happily stayed longer and many of us can't wait to return...oooh, when is the next Art and Photography trip please?!

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Battlefields Trip Student reflections from the recent trip to the battlefields on the Western Front.

Lily Larkin “Personally, overall, I really enjoyed the trip and found it extremely rewarding. For me the most interesting visit, was to the site of an enormous crater which managed to be heard from London when the mine detonated. Not only did this put the whole experience into perspective, but it truly showed the devastation of it all. Seeing the pure size of the crater was harrowing and left everyone in silence. The heavy snowfall also created quite the atmosphere to represent the pain and freezing temperatures the soldiers had to persist through. I felt extremely upset, but bewildered by the whole experience. One thing that I will always take with me from the trip was the heavy snowfall and how it created an atmosphere among us students. Of course amongst these sad experiences we were able to visit a Belgian Chocolate Shop which certainly kept everyone’s feelings high! To anyone who is considering the trip I would definitely advise it not only because you get to experience new cultures and places, but you get to visit places that represent how devastating the War was. Places that you may not ever normally visit.”

Zac Haghighat “The Battlefields Trip was extremely fun but harrowing at times. We visited many graves and memorials including : Vimy Ridge, Thiepval and Tyne Cot. All these three sites were extremely moving to look at due to the fact that you get a sense for the amount of loss of life during the war, but also the fact that these sites are just a few of many around the world. I have to admit the one point where I felt extremely overwhelmed was when we went to the German War Cemetery, where a grave held around 25,000 men. This really did affect me as you get put into perspective of what it would of been like to be a soldier mourning the loss of one of their comrades, who could've even been their family. Overall I do not have a most moving moment, as to be honest they are all very dark and emotional places. I learned a lot on this trip and one location where I extended my knowledge was the Flanders Fields museum, they had very distressing images at times and lots of information ; You could even look to see if your ancestors fought in the war! There was not one wall not covered with any piece of equipment or pictures so the whole exhibit was very gripping. Apart from this we also visited a Canadian Memorial at the Somme where they would of fought. The youngest Newfoundland soldier was just 14 years old! Sadly they only managed to advance 25 metres. Finally, I completely advise going on this trip if you are interested in war, history or neither! It is a great place to expand your perception of the war, but to also visit the places soldiers would have fought and died. Yes this is very sad but at the same time also interesting and rewarding.”

More images of the trip may be viewed at https://tinyurl.com/battlefieldsuctc2017

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World Book Day 2017

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UCTC Careers fair We held our annual Careers Fair on Wednesday 1 February and what a bustling success it was! Our 6th Form and Key-stage 4 students dropped in throughout the day to find out about both national and local employment, apprenticeship and further college based-study opportunities. Companies and organisations who came along and contributed to the success included: TR Fastenings, Buxted Park Hotel, Candlelight HomeCare, CPJ Field Funerals, The Youth Employability Service, NHS Careers, Sussex Police, Sussex Apprenticeships, The Armed Forces, Ibstock, Plumpton College, Hadlow College and Sussex Downs College. During the event our students picked up detailed information and advice and had the opportunity to chat one to one with people from this wide range of organisations. Although the majority of UCTC students progress onto study in our sixth form and then move onto University, we are dedicated to ensuring that all of our students take the career pathways most appropriate to them. Our Careers fair is part of the ongoing package of careers advice and support that we provide. For some students work-based apprenticeships or further study in local specialist colleges is the best next step for them after UCTC, and we want to make sure they have lots of opportunities at UCTC to become fully informed about all of the options open to them.

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UCTC Term/INSET Dates•- September 2016 to July 2018

September 2016 to July 2017 INSET days Monday 5th September 2016 Thursday 22nd September 2016 Friday 25th November 2016 Tuesday 3rd January 2017 Friday 28th April 2017

Uckfield Community Technology College, Downsview Crescent, Uckfield TN22 3DJ

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01825 764844 www.uctc.org.uk