Program 1: Summer 2018 – Day 10

Today marked a particularly exciting day for students and teachers at Reach, with several classes taking trips out to sites around Cambridge, seizing learning opportunities outside the classroom. The staff team even joined in on the fun with a group workout after our morning meeting! The English Literature class were lucky enough to experience not one, but two exhibitions this morning, visiting both the Fitzwilliam Museum and Kettle’s Yard. While Kettle’s Yard offered a range of modern works, the Fitzwilliam museum gave a more historical perspective, giving students the opportunity to travel all the way back through time with its broad range of artefacts and artworks. A particular favourite at Kettle’s Yard was the brand-new exhibit by Anthony Gormley called ‘SUBJECT’, designed especially for the new spaces which have recently been created at the gallery. The exhibition encouraged students to think about how sculpture shapes our sense of space and of self. Law students also enjoyed a trip out this morning to observe a local court case. The opportunity to watch real barristers in action, and see proceedings unfold in real time, was invaluable for these budding future lawyers! The case will provide lots of material for future classes, in which students will be able to dissect the arguments made and evidence presented in order to hone their own skills. The psychology class, joined by SAT prep students, also enjoyed learning outside the classroom this morning, solving investigations of a different kind at Cambridge’s escape rooms. Over the course of an hour, the students put their skills in problem solving, group working and performing under pressure to the test in their attempts to escape. Throughout the day, excitement was building to a fever pitch for what some were calling the sporting event of the year: England facing off against Croatia at 7pm. Excited fans (supervisors and members of the senior team amongst them) gathered in the Trinity Hall lecture theatre to watch the match together. Confidence hit a high with England scoring just minutes into the first half, but a late equaliser from their opponents and some nail-biting extra time action eventually ended in the defeat of the English team. Meanwhile, fans looking to relieve some of the tension of the match hit the dance floor of Ballare for the weekly Wednesday summer schools’ disco. It was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new people attending other Cambridge summer schools to the tune of everyone’s favourite pop classics, and a good time was had by all. Even the supervisors couldn’t resist throwing some shapes…