School_Matters_Issue_35

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PVI AND UVI SUMMER SCHOOL With no public examinations for GCSE, Pre-U or A-level cohorts this year, a change to the structure of the second half of the Summer Term was possible. This meant that arrangements for our traditional Summer School offering for PVI pupils could be extended to include UVI pupils too. As well as comprising numerous visits to destinations out of School, the activities and sessions organised by teachers drew on an extensive and fascinating range of staff interests, pursuits and passions. We thank all those who contributed their expertise to another highly impressive and successful IPS Summer School.

A DAY OUT IN WESTMINSTER Ms Francis spent the day with pupils taking in the beautiful views of St James’s Park, Buckingham Palace, Horse Guard’s Parade, Westminster Abbey, and the Houses of Parliament. They enjoyed a picnic in Green Park, where the highlight was encountering a herd of life-sized, hand-carved elephants from India. The elephants will raise funds for organisations that aim to allow people and wildlife to coexist in a peaceful way.

AQUA ADVENTURE On a blisteringly hot afternoon, pupils were able to cool off and release assessment stress at Thorpe Water Sports Lake led by Miss Middleton- Smith. This beautiful lake setting offers open water swimming, and many aquatic activities. Pupils clambered over a course of inflatables and swam through the crystal clear water to complete their races. Much laughter was heard from all activities, and they returned to School with a sense of happy exhaustion.

ACTING THROUGH SONG Mr Bartlett was delighted to welcome Jenna Innes, currently covering Eponine in Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, to coach pupils in song interpreta- tion. After taking the singers through a warm-up and establishing the room as a ‘safe space’ where singers were free to make mistakes and experiment, Jenna took each song and singer apart, equipping them with a set of dramatic tools to enhance their performance, harnessing nerves, fidgeting and shaky breathing to direct energy towards characterisation.

ALCHEMY OF SOURDOUGH Pupils enjoyed learning about the art and science of sourdough. They mixed up their own starter, used a bubbling levain to create a dough, and produce everything required to raise their own loaf. Dr Cairns explained the impact on the starter of different milling processes; demonstrated the stretch and fold technique; and explained the importance of creating a ‘steam trap’ in the oven. Pupils left ready to bake fresh loaves with which to delight their family!

ART CURIOUS A committedly curious cohort of pupils gathered for Art Curious, a session led by Mrs Farnum-Ford exploring the weird, wonderful, deeply unsettling and down-right dazzling in art history. From an exploration of the life and work (and untimely early demise) of Cuban artist Ana Mendieta, to the subtle and captivating messaging in a recent music video by Beyonce and Jay Z, discussion and learning ranged across a broad and fascinating series of foci.

ART OF TARTE TATIN Pupils in Mr Diaz’s cookery session took great pleasure in baking their own Tarte Tatin. This dish, which is a delicious tart of caramelised apples, presented some challenges for the novice chefs including making the caramel which coats the apples. The apples are then cooked under a lid of pastry and served with the pastry underneath and the fruit on top. However, everyone went home with their own scrumptious dessert!

BLACKSMITHING Under the tutelage of Mr Tatchell, pupils spent a very warm afternoon in front of the forge, hammering away and creating coat hooks as an introduction to the ancient art of the blacksmith. They all showed a huge amount of enthusiasm, learning how to use the shoulder of the anvil to create an edge to flatten the metal, to draw the bar down to a point, and how to introduce a decorative twist to their work.

CAR MAINTENANCE The ever-popular session for novice drivers run by Mr Collins and Mr Peel covered standard procedures from opening the bonnet of a car to changing a tyre, jump-starting a dead battery, topping up windscreen washer fluid, as well as checking and changing oil. We hope that pupils are now a little more informed with what to do when they own their own car as well as being able to help their parents.

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE Mr Diaz led this introductory course for pupils on British Sign Language (BSL). He gave an overview of BSL in the UK before covering a range of vocabulary, including greetings, the alphabet, colours, numbers, and verbs. Ten million people have a hearing loss in the UK and more than 800,000 are either severely or profoundly deaf. However, there are only 150,000 deaf people who can communicate in BSL.