Category Archives: Bedales

6.1 biologists hear from leading scientists

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Venki-Ramakrishnan

By Mary Shotter, Biology Technician

Biologists in 6.1 travelled to the Apollo Theatre in London to hear a series of lectures by some of the country’s leading scientists as part of A Level Biology Live.

First was 2009 Nobel Prize winner and President of the Royal Society, Professor Sir Venki Ramakrishnan (pictured above), whose many scientific contributions include his work on the atomic structure of ribosomes. Ribosomes exist in their millions in every cell, and are the site where genetic information is read to synthesise proteins from amino acids. He began work on ribosomes in the late 1970s and eventually discovered their complex three-dimensional structure in 2000, with the aid of X-ray crystallography.

Next, Professor Robert Winston – who was the Bedales Eckersley Lecture speaker in 2013 – spoke about manipulating human reproduction, from his work in vitro fertilisation, through to regenerative medicine such as stem cell research and epigenetics, which may turn out to be the most important biological development in the years to come. However, he warned that manipulating the human will always be dangerous, uncertain and unpredictable.

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Hands-on week in Classics

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It’s been a hands-on week in Classics classes this week. Block 4 students have been putting the finishing touches to their miniature triumphal arch (pictured above), which they made last week from the same sand and cement mix that was made to use the Pantheon and Colosseum in Rome. The class has been studying major monuments – from Stonehenge to the Romans – and this was an opportunity to try their hand at the Roman technique of making a mould and filling it. It seemed a fitting way of wrapping up this module of study before they produce their extended essays.

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Bedales votes in mock general election

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Bedales-votes

By Clare Jarmy, Head of Able, Gifted & Talented, Oxbridge, Academic Scholars & PRE

On 27 November, Bedales held a mock general election. We began with short speeches, outlining parties’ manifesto commitments. Five parties were represented: the Brexit Party (candidate: Alex Campbell, 6.1); the Conservative Party (candidate: Eben MacDonald, Block 4); the Green Party (candidate: Caitlin Nugent, 6.1); the Labour Party (candidate: Theo Sheridan, 6.2); and the Liberal Democrat Party (candidate: Connie Gillies, 6.2). Congratulations should be offered to all the candidates for an extremely high quality of speaking.

Following this, students and teachers came to vote. We had a proper electoral register, with student registrars signing off ballots, and there were no spares. Anyone who spoiled their ballots couldn’t vote. Students voted on paper, in booths. The ballot boxes then made it to our crack team of counters. Each tutor group was a constituency, each group of tutors was its own constituency, and house staff were another. Twenty-five constituencies were needed to make it ‘past the post’.

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Block 5 students bring creativity to philosophical deliberation

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Creative-Response-Expo

By Clare Jarmy, Head of Head of Able, Gifted & Talented, Oxbridge, Academic Scholars & PRE

Project-based learning is getting lots of attention at the moment, with films such as Most Likely to Succeed proving highly influential.

Such interdisciplinary, creative approaches are not new at Bedales, though. For nine years, Block 5 Philosophy, Religious Studies & Ethics (PRE) students have studied core topics in the philosophy of metaphysics and mind, and from that, have had to pick one area on which to build a creative response.

We do not stipulate what medium it must be, so students can play to their strengths. We have had many wonderful projects in the past, but for the first time this year, we made the exhibition open to parents and other students as well.

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New Sport BTEC Level 3 Diploma launching September 2020

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First-XI-Hockey

By Spencer Leach, Director of Sport

Sport BTEC Level 3 Diploma is set to be introduced in September 2020, extending the Sport department’s offer to Bedales’ Sixth Form students.

The course will provide an introduction to the sport and active leisure sector by developing a broad range of knowledge and skills in a variety of sport related areas. BTECs are made up of a number of units that have a practical focus with supporting knowledge and understanding that is assessed through ongoing coursework. This allows students to build their qualification in stages and take responsibility for their own learning by planning their work, completing research and reviewing their progress under the supervision of departmental staff.

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Students visit the National Portrait Gallery

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By Eloise Cooper, 6.1

Last Saturday, a group of students – accompanied by Mary-Liz Houghton and Jo Mayhook-Walker – to see the Pre-Raphaelite Sisters exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

There, we were blown away by the richness of the art and the stories behind the famous paintings that defined the Pre-Raphaelite era of 1850-1900. Seeing the women of the Pre-Raphaelite movement’s stories being focused on was both a moving and fascinating experience. The realisation of how much poetry, art and inspiration these women contributed to the movement was incredible.

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Christmas gifts and produce now available from Outdoor Work

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By Andrew Martin, Head of Outdoor Work

Now the end of term is only four weeks away, Christmas is very nearly upon us. As ever, we have been busy creating a whole range of homemade products to help your celebrations go with a bang.

Last Friday, 6.2 students made 97 Christmas puddings in the Bakehouse, plus a hundred or so mince pies to keep us going on the night. Our traditional fire-pit and singalong enhance the festive mood, in fact we’re sure you’ll be able to taste all the extra goodwill in these very special puddings! They are available now in the shop, so please do call in as soon as you can, as they fly off the shelves.

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‘Unforgettable’ Global Awareness trip to India

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Global-Awareness-India

By Georgie du Boulay, Block 5

The 10-day Global Awareness trip to India at half term was one that will stay with the 17 students and three teachers who attended for the rest of their lives.

For the first three days, we were immersed in the dusty air and sun-baked atmosphere of Delhi sightseeing, which was jaw-dropping itself – yet nothing could compare to the timeless and unforgettable experience we had in McLeod Ganj, a suburb of Dharamsahla in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India. It was a brilliant introduction to volunteering! From the mass clean-up of the streets, to the eye-opening mutual learning with the Tibetan Refugees programme, each day was full of exciting activities that we had never done before.

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Putney School exchange – postcard from the halfway point

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Putney-Hostel

By Alastair Harden, Teacher of Classics and Day Housemaster

For this year’s exchange visit to the Putney School in the United States, Chloe Hamill and I have escorted eight intrepid Bedalians as they shrug off a week’s recuperation in the October half term for a fortnight of honest toil in the Vermont countryside. The trip is part of an annual programme which places our students in a setting that draws enlightening points of comparison with what we offer at Bedales.

The Putney School’s entire structure is built around student responsibility, from washing the dishes to milking the cows, raking the leaves and sorting the recycling, in an educational environment where the onus is clearly on the students to manage their education alongside the smooth running of the community. Each year we look forward to this quiet hive for inspiration, and each year the students bring home big questions and big ideas.

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Memorable third annual Three Schools’ Concert

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Three-Schools-Concert

By Neil Hornsby, Head of Contemporary Music
Photo by Abby Hilton, 6.1

The Thursday before half term saw a wonderful musical collaboration between Bedales, Dunhurst and Dunannie in the third annual Three Schools’ Concert. A packed Lupton Hall witnessed a night like no other with 83 students taking part, ranging in age from seven all the way up to 18.

There were performances featuring each school, including Head Girl Lara Rippinger’s take on Esperanza Spalding’s I Know You Know, Group 3 Dunhurst student Eliot Santos’ show-stopping performance of Karl Bohm’s Perpetual Motion and the Dunannie Year 3 choir’s wonderful performance of Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid.

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