Interactive science at the Royal Institution in London

A trip was arranged by Dr Tuncel Tack, the chemistry teacher at the ISC to the Royal Institution in London. This included the opportunity to work in their laboratories for half a day and an exploration of the museum for the other half of the day.

The students assembled bright and early and following a coach journey through Henley to London we arrived on time at Albemarle Street. The 38 students from the ISC were then split in to two groups and given their tasks for the day.

The work in the laboratory fascinated all the students. They were able to extract strands of their own DNA. This involved chewing the inside of their cheeks to release some cells and then using the fluid from their mouth. They then had to use very carefully measured amounts of various chemicals to breakdown cells walls and then using heat they were able to finally using very cold water to isolate the tiny strands of DNA on the interface between the two fluids. It was amazing to see our own DNA without a microscope. The students were then able to take home a vial of fluid with their DNA strands. It was a memorable experiment.

Museum Tour


The museum at the Royal Institution has examples of the wok of many of the scientists attached to the Institute. We learned that 10 of the elements on the periodic table were discovered by scientists at the Institute. There was an interactive activity to find these based on the Elements song by Tom Lehrer which is a parody of the Major General's song from Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. There was much to see at the museum and we had a questionnaire to help us to find out as much as we could.

It was a good day for staff and students alike and many thanks to Tuncel for organising it.

Student profile: Anna Steiner

Over the coming weeks and months, we'll be interviewing and profiling students at the International Study Centre – getting their take on school life and finding out about their achievements and ambitions. The first in this series is Anna Steiner.


Anna joined the International Study Centre in September 2008. Having wanted to study abroad since the age of 10 – and following on from two previous visits to the UK – she came to d'Overbroeck's to improve her English whilst also studying other subjects, such as Science, Maths, French and Geography.

She's particularly appreciated discovering a liking for Biology – a subject she'd not enjoyed before: 'I really love Biology now ... In lessons we don't only talk about Biology, we also look at plants and organisms ... It's really interesting and interactive.'

Obviously, the quality of English teaching is very important to Anna. And she feels she's made a great deal of progress in her language skills. 'The way English is taught is very different [from Germany] ... Soon after being in England I started thinking in English, which is true for most other students as well.'

Anna lives close to the College, as part of a host family. How has she found this experience? 'I find it really amazing! My host family has three other children from the ISC, so we can do our homework together and help each other, or go out together.' She's also enjoyed living in Oxford: 'Even though it's a city, it has many green places and there are many facilities like sports centres ... As there are a lot of international students you feel like you're part of the community, here.'

And how would she describe the atmosphere at d'Overbroeck's? 'Very friendly and communicative ... If somebody has a problem, everyone's trying to help. We have a lot of fun, but of course we also work hard.'

Outside classes, Anna has taken part in the Study Centre's busy activities programme, and played a main part in the annual pantomime – a great success, and one of the most memorable experiences of her year.

Sadly, Anna will be leaving us at the end of this academic year, to study the European Baccalaureate, in order to return to the same system used in Germany. Ultimately, her ambition is to work in the travel business – so that she can continue to use the language skills she's so enjoyed acquiring.

Next year's GCSE course outline

As ever, the aim of our GCSE course is to develop strong English language skills, whilst also allowing students to take GCSE qualifications in a range of core academic subjects.

We have further improved our programme for next year, offering students three possible 'routes', each containing a variety of subjects.

Depending on the options students take, they may study a total of up to 9 GCSEs. Subjects on offer include Art, Business Studies, French, Geography, Citizenship – as well as English, Maths, Sciences and students' own languages.

See a diagram showing the course outline in more detail (pdf)