ISC Winter Celebrations

Last week the students from the International Study Centre started off the Winter Celebrations by performing their annual Pantomime. All of the students were involved in one way or another, whether it being a main acting role, singing in the choir, performing in the band or part of our backstage crew. The students had less than 4 weeks preparation for this event which was held at the Old Fire Station Theatre in Oxford City Centre. Every Tuesday and Thursday after lessons, the students split into their groups to rehearse scenes or practise music or paint some scenery. There were even some additional rehearsals on a couple of Sundays as the students wanted to ensure they put on a good show. The pantomime was a complete sell out within days!. The audience was made up of supportive host families, student guardians , friends and staff. Iskandar and Fatima’s parents even flew over from Azerbaijan to watch this memorable performance. It was a fun filled evening of live music from our d’Overbroeck’s band, traditional Irish dancing and dancing toad stools! Not forgetting the leprechaun, fairies and elves, our fabulous dame Widow Twanky and our evil villain Lord Lir.

Student profile: Mattei Moreno-Gomez

Mattei in make-up ready for his role as Evil Lord Lir in the International Study Centre's pantomime.

Mattei joined us age 14 from France. He chose to study at d’Overbroeck’s College because he felt there was “a real community feel and pleasant atmosphere that I didn’t pick up from visiting any other schools.”

Mattei is currently living with one of our host families in Wolvercote and says that the family “cares for him and makes you feel comfortable and at home.” Along with participating in many of the ISC trip and activities, Mattei enjoys spending his time at music and drama clubs in Oxford. Mattei’s future ambition is to perform on stage and/or become a music composer.

Mattei recently starred as the villain, Evil Lord Lir, in the ISC’s Annual Pantomime, whilst also playing Bass Guitar in the band. “Being involved in the pantomime was extremely fun. Everyone worked together really was and as a team we produced great results. The Old Fire Station was a great location.” Mattei enjoys studying at the International Study Centre which he calls “his own little family.”

Mattei plans to return to France once he has finished his GCSEs to complete his French International Baccalaureate and then hopes to attend a Music or Drama College.

At the moment Mattei is studying GCSE Biology, History, English as a Second Language, Geography, Maths, Citizenship, P.E and PSHE

Student focus: Ingrid Marin

In the coming weeks we will be featuring some of our GCSE students to give you an insight into life at the International Study Centre. We start with Ingrid Marin.

Ingrid joined us at the age of 15 from Romania. Ingrid chose to study with us because she felt it was ‘a College that would fit my needs and provide a better education and a better future.’ She says that "d'Overbroeck's is an amazing school. The thing I like most is how the teachers make you love the subjects as much as they do and make you study because you want to not because you have to."

Ingrid is currently living at Bensons, our all-girls boarding accommodation and says she especially enjoys the "great food and environment."

 Along with participating in many of the ISC trip and activities, especially Dance Club, Ingrid enjoys spending time with her friends in Oxford, which she describes as a ‘very beautiful city’. She also likes that "it is filled with students just like me, from all over the world."

At GCSE Ingrid is studying Maths, English as a First Language, English as a Second Language, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, German, Citizenship, PSHE and P.E.

Ingrid is thinking of taking Sociology, Economics, Maths and Politics at A level and hopes to go to study at UCL later on.

National costumes on display at assembly

 

 

 Kostya Tropillo, 15 from Russia

 

 

The ISC assembly today was organised by students belonging to King Alfred (one of the student houses at the International Study Centre). It involved students discussing their own countries and comparing national cultures.

 

Kostya delighted us as he came dressed as a Cossack in traditional Russian costume.

Kostya has managed to inspire all the other students to follow suit as they have all said that they will bring examples of their national costumes after they return home from the Christmas holidays.

We are very much looking forward to seeing all their outfits and learning more about different cultures next term at our International Arts Festival.

 

 

Latest photos from the ISC

We have just had some new photos taken of some of this year's ISC students in their lessons and thought you would be interested in seeing some of them.  More on their way soon!

 

Thorpe Park

 The students from the International Study Centre and the Sixth Form recently took part in the annual trip to Thorpe Park.

The total combined number of students reached nearly 80 students including 8 members of staff from across the College.

During the journey our in-coach entertainment consisted of various renditions of Happy Birthday directed at one of our ISC students, Lera, who was celebrating her 15th birthday.

Within seconds of entering the park, our students rushed to be the first ones in the queues for the rides!



The students enjoyed a fun filled 8 hours of adrenalin pumping rollercoasters, head-to-toe drenching water rides, arcades and amusements!

Despite Britain's unpredictable weather in the week leading up, we were blessed with not a single drop of rain and sunshine and clouds - what more could we have asked for?

All the students showed an exceptional punctuality throughout the day and were a credit to the College.

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.