Gabby and Julia – a talk with our Lithuanian students at our International Study Centre

"A couple of weeks before they took their GCSE exams, I had a chat with our two Lithuanian students about life in Oxford and studying at d’Overbroeck’s College. Both Gabby and Julia joined the International Study Centre (ISC) in September 2011 and have been fantastic students to have studying with us.

Their choice to come and study in the UK was based on recommendations and an appreciation that Britain is highly regarded in Lithuania and around the world for its great education system. So the next step was to choose a college and with the help of an educational advisor and some online research they decided to apply to d’Overbroeck’s because of its position within the top independent schools in the country and the immense support given to international students.

When asked to compare d’Overbroeck’s to their previous schools in Lithuania, the girls told me that they were impressed with how organized our College is and with the huge amount of information they absorb in the lessons. They love the fact that, here, they are only about 10-12 students in a class compared to 30 or more in Lithuania – and they both agree that this factor contributes a lot to their successful learning. They also love their teachers at the ISC because they are truly interested in the students and give them a lot of support in and outside of the classroom - something they didn’t use to have back at their schools in Lithuania.

Gabby (left) and Julia outside d'Overbroeck's College International Study Centre

Gabby and Julia are both hard-working girls, and very intelligent as well. We spent some time talking about politics in their country and the differences between Lithuania and the UK, and I was pleased to find two teenage girls that are very aware of the world they live in. They also seem to enjoy being in Oxford, and when asked about it they both agreed that it is a great city to study in because it is not too busy and not too big. They like the fact that they can easily meet up with friends for a walk or for lunch in the weekends, or even after doing their homework after dinner. They don’t have to travel far and everybody is within easy reach.

One important question that I was really looking forward to hear the answer to was how they felt about studying in the International Study Centre as opposed to studying with British students. Gabby and Julia confessed that at first they weren’t entirely sure what it would be like but now they cannot imagine having studied anywhere else. They thought that studying with other international students at this stage made their transition easier and a much richer experience in overall.

It was a very good chat, though it had to be quite a short one as they had to head back to class for their exam preparation. However, I am sure I will be seeing them a lot still as they have both been accepted to our Sixth Form. They will be starting their A levels this September, joining in with other successful students from our ISC as well as many new day and boarding British and international students.
Since our meeting, Gabby and Julia have graduated from our ISC with excellent grades all across the board. And, they both joined the ISC’s end-of-year exploration trip to Naples – something we will look to hear more on one of our next blog entries. "

Debora Brand

Trial by Jury!

As part of a Citizenship Studies field trip to the Royal Courts of Justices in London, two students from the ISC were put on mock trial. For the event, students played the parts of defendants, witnesses, barristers, jury and judge - all in a real courtroom.

After the hearing, the jury decided that the two defendants, played by Larry Wang and Dmitry Zharkov, were guilty as charged. Judge William Edwards passed down the maximum sentence possible for the charge: a two year supervision order, with day release for schooling.

The event was organised by the NCCL, a charity dedicated to raising awareness of the law among young people. Johanna Gummel, NCCL Co-ordinator, said of the trial: 'There was definitely a split jury. Although most assumed the defendants were guilty, a few thought the evidence did not suggest that this was beyond reasonable doubt and took a long time to be convinced.'

After the trial, students then went on to a variety of other locations, depending on their subject choices. Art students visited Tate Modern, History students went to the British Museum and Business Studies students checked out the new Museum of Brands.

ISC Bowling Night

Wednesday was our annual bowling trip. 28 students and 3 staff journeyed to the Ozone Centre to take part in this tense, winner takes all tournament.

Unfortunately, some contestants fell at the first obstacle: acquiring shoes. Of course, you can't borrow those silly shoes that you have to wear for bowling unless you are already wearing socks! Fortunately, the bowling alley rents socks just in case of such emergencies.

 
World class athletes require high energy food to maintain muscles and replace energy burned during intense athletic pursuits. And so do lazy, 'couch potato' students. So our first stop was the snack counter, where we were shocked to be told, after ordering our nacho cheese Doritos, that we would have to wait half an hour to collect them. To kill time, we decided to start bowling.

Various interesting  techniques were on display. Some of them were controversial, such as Dmitri Zharkov's 'rolling thunder' approach, whereby the ball is hurled as hard as possible in order to ensure maximum kinetic energy upon impact. Another unconventional technique was Amy Wan's 'dribble bowl', in which the ball is actually bounced down the alley, causing the maximum possible damage to the expensive, polished wooden floor.

Ultimately, 'rolling thunder' proved the most effective approach, as Dmitri won the highest score of the evening – a total of 97 points. Well done, Dima! Coming in second was Sai Chananithitham, with 82 points. Congratulations to Sai for attaining the highest score for a girl on the night.

Unfortunately, there are still some members of the team still in need of further training, as Yuyang Zhang only managed to attain 27 points. Punishment for Yuyang was being forced to wear those silly bowling shoes to school for the rest of the week! Dima, can you teach her 'rolling thunder' next time?

Out and About Club 2

Wildlife Photographer of the Year - a trip to Science Oxford

The 'Out and Abouter’s' all trundled off to St Clements to be inspired by the best of the best in wildlife photography. Science Oxford is currently hosting this year’s exhibition in Oxford - a fantastic display of amazing photography which made us feel as though we had travelled to the ends of the ends of the earth. 

Here is a sample of just a few highlights from the trip, the exhibition continues until the 10th March, and is well worth a visit!

'The Charge'

This charging herd of Muskoxen were captured on Victoria Island, Canada – Highly commended

'Pelican Perspective'

Bence Mate took this in Lake Kerkini in Northern Greece, winning the Eric Hosking portfolio award 2011

'Sleeping Infant'

Chimpanzees in the Mahale Mountains national park in Tanzania – Highly commended

Out and About Club

On Thursday afternoons, Annie and a small group of students from the ISC go out and about in Oxford, to discover all of the cultural delights the city has to offer.

Recently they all went to The Ashmoleon Museum to visit the Kabuki Art Exhibition featuring work by Japanese artists Kunisada and Kunichika.

Kabuki is a popular theatre from Japan, which has been captivating audiences since the early 1600s. Kabuki theatre involves singing, dancing and colourful costumes. It has often been considered as being rather ‘bizarre’ and ‘avant-garde’.

Kabuki artists Kunisada and Kunichika have brought the sense of this theatre to life by portraying the famous actors in their elaborate costumes and make-up.  The woodblock prints are brilliantly coloured, and really capture a sense of the main characteristics of each persona. The fine differences between characters are defined by the contrast in the tonality of colours used, as well as the diversity of clothing and especially their facial expressions.

ISC student Jack Hu decided that his favourite print was The Catfish Priest by Kunisada (1852)

Another favourite was 'The actor Nakamura Shikan IV as a fisherman' (below).

ISC Student Dasha Zhukova writes:

"'The actor Nakamura Shikan IV as a fisherman' shows an amazing actor who could play any role whether a villain or brave man or even beautiful heroines. This print expresses all Shikan’s roles, his eyes glow abnormally, and the picture presents us with the actor and helps us to be involved in this play. The print is a half-length portrait, not a traditionally full-length portrait. Its background is black, the artist shows us just the shoulders and the head of the actor. This print shows the best way of expressing the actor’s performances and also these new-format prints brought fans much closer to their favourite stars. "

Doctor Beauty & Sleeping Who

A review of the ISC Pantomime by Debora Brand

The ISC Pantomime, performed at the end of 2011, was a 10th anniversary celebration written by ISC Director Helen Wood. With the hilarious plot, great direction from David Wareham and wonderful performances from ISC students, 'Doctor Beauty & Sleeping Who' was an undoubted success!

The venue was quickly filled with parents, host families, teachers and staff – among them the college principal Sami Cohen, registrar Bridget Norton and bursar Peter Talbot. As the lights dimmed and the stage lights rose, we could see that this was going to be no ordinary production. Live music played by our talented school musicians accompanied the most hilarious fairies - played by Pavel Kutsenko, Abay Amangeldin and Yuang Zhang - who took centre stage to initiate a night of constant laughter, great performances, audience interaction and singing... lots of singing!

Every student participated in this great production; most as actors, few as part of a small choir, some as musicians and others backstage. The ever changing set and diverse range of props and costumes were also designed and built by the students and ISC staff.  The plot itself could not have been a better mish-mash of well-known pantomimes and famous stories like Dr Who, Red Riding Hood, and Snow White.

I could easily write thousands of words describing the whole night, but I will leave it instead to the memories of those who participated and to the imagination of those who couldn’t be there.

Congratulations to all ISC students and staff. I think that it's safe to say all of us present had a brilliant time and could easily have watched at least another hour.

The Magic of Electricity

It may seem a million miles away from Didcot, but the steam billowing out of Hogwart’s express as it thunders over majestic railways bridges is also what lights our schools, roads and homes. And like  the speed with which Harry can summon light using the magic words ‘luminous’, electricity is available to us at the flick of a switch.

The seemingly magical process of producing electricity was explained by kindly volunteers at Didcot power station on a recent visit.  With Visual aids akin to a 1970’s game show, all was revealed, and if comprehension required a decent amount of brain power of our own, staff were on hand with biscuits and squash to recharge our batteries.

After the theoretical explanation, it was our chance to see the power station in action, but before setting off, some safety regulations had to be met. Waiting on the table in front of us was a canary yellow industrial hardhat, an innocent looking packet and some lab glasses. As the realisation dawned that we were expected to don these, reactions varied: some giggled, others sighed; a deathly hush fell over a table of trendies.

All looking the part, we were ferried to our next stop by mini bus, which gives an idea of the scale of facility, to our next destination: the control room. Many commented on how it lent itself to comparisons with a NASA mission control centre; however, in place of frenzied activity by short-sleeved shirt and tie wearing astronautical engineers, the area was populated by blue boiler suit clad technicians reclining in swivel chairs. The relaxed pace can be explained by the fact the power station was standing idle. Day-shift workers were holding the fort, ready to hand over to their colleagues, who would, our guide informed us, respond to the increased nocturnal demand for power by firing up the boilers.

Having infiltrated the nerve centre of the operation, the next stage approached, but entering a working power station’s beating heart would require further safety precautions. Those innocuous little packets were carefully opened and Madeline, our guide, explained how to fit the ear plugs effectively.  Fortunately, the turbine room was a visually stimulating experience. Walking along a gangway to the muffled din of heavy machinery in use, Madeline pointed out diagrams labelling the various pieces of equipment. Focusing on the tiny pictures- much like those in GCSE text books-then refocusing on the humongous boiler brought home how privileged we were to be witnessing physics in action.

All in all, the visit was a fascinating insight into the energy industry and the production we all take for granted: electricity.


Text by English teacher Anna Irvine and Physics teacher Angus Roberts