The Italian Job (ISC Style)

At the end of last term, 30 students and five teachers journeyed to the Bay of Naples and Amalfi Coast region of Italy for the International Study Centre's first ever trip abroad. Our base was the tourist Mecca of Sorrento, but unlike the thousands of idle sun-worshippers,  we were there to take part in an academically rigorous study trip. Our itinerary featured daily excursions to an exhausting range of historical and geological sites (and it was entirely incidental that a stunning beach was located only five minutes from the hotel!).

Apart from enjoying a quick dip in the Mediterranean every evening, we also managed to enjoy some incredible scenery, including the bizarre sulphur vents of Solfatara, where our geography teacher Jill Partridge lead us past jets of steam hissing from underground fissures. She also led us to the top of Vesuvius to enjoy an awesome vista of Naples and the archaeological wonders of Pompei and Herculaneum. While taking in the view, we had to keep one eye on the crater behind – Vesuvius is an active volcano and due to erupt again at any time!

Fortunately, we also had the opportunity to see Herculaneum up close the next day. Although smaller than Pompei, it is extremely well preserved and still large enough to keep you busy for hours. We then stopped at the Flavian Amphitheatre.  Although it was closed, we could still get an excellent view from outside - luckily, ISC director Helen Wood was well informed enough to act as an unofficial guide.
Our final excursion was to the island of Capri, where we took a Riva ('the Ferrari of the boat world') trip to the rugged, limestone cliff formations. When the temperature got as high as forty, we were forced to take refuge in the cooling waters of a beautiful, blue cove. Definitely the highlight of the trip. Next year? Well, we never did make it to Pompei, so maybe we should just go back. On the other hand, I've heard that the South of France is pretty nice, too. And what about Spain? Wherever we go, it will be hard to beat the Bay of Naples.

Open doors & cream tea!

On the first trip of this academic year our new students at the ISC took part in the Oxford Open Doors event on Sunday 9th September.


Students had the opportunity to see beyond the doors of some of the most famous University Colleges including Magdalen, Merton, New College, Queen's & All Soul's.

 

A walk around Christchurch College meadow and seeing the geese down by the river was also part of the fun on this sunny Sunday afternoon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

After an afternoon of visiting Oxford colleges time for some cream tea at Brown’s where students got to learn the etiquette of how to eat those lovely scones!

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. "