Summer 2023: Program 2 - Day 11

Even as the program draws to its end, the students’ enthusiasm for their studies continues unabated and our teachers continue to be so impressed by their attention and intelligence. We have had so many positive reports from our teachers from day 1, who have all noticed growing and impressive confidence, kindness and dedication. Today, our Maths andSTEM students went to the Centre for Computing History and everyone was really amazed by what they got to see. The entrance itself has a huge Mega Processor. They were able to explore and look at every single computer and operating system that was created from the 60s until today. One of the highlights of the morning was definitely the video game zone, where everyone was able to play vintage games, like Tetris, Pac Man and Space Invaders. There was a replica of a 70s office, with 70s books, magazines and clothes. One of the highlights of the trip was seeing what a typical 80s computer science classroom looked like and our students were even able to try out coding on one of the computers there! Our students were so grateful for this experience and appreciated that we had an opportunity to study in a fun environment!

 

Our English Literature & Creative Writing students incurred a LOT of jealousy across the school (and staff!) with their trip to the cinema to see the sensational Barbie film! They have been thinking about feminism and have been discussing the topic of gender throughout this week and they are now really excited to talk about the film later on in class. As well as lots of trips, the Politics students sensitively discussed the topic of war, and the SAT class tried a practice test. We also had some fantastic taster courses running today, including Music Composition: our excellent and dedicated teacher worked one-on-one with her student and they collaborated together and developed transcription skills to produce a really structured and elegant composition.

 

After a busy morning of lessons, some students wanted to keep the academic spirit alive and lots attended the personal statement workshop. This was run by current Cambridge students who have lots of experience in the admissions process for Oxbridge and their advice was of a really high quality and I think everyone left really well informed and confident. This was especially helpful for those students who are soon going to university – not very long now! Other students decided to go charity shopping. Cambridge has so many little, tucked away gems and it is so satisfying to find really unique pieces as well as being considerate for the environment. On the way over, it was great to hear students discussing the fast fashion industry and what little steps they could take to make it better. We also found several little vintage shops on our way!

 

In the evening, all our students assembled for their corridor dinner, where they all chose what they wanted to eat and had a lovely, relaxed evening as they ate with their friends. It’s so nice to see the bonds that have been made between students in such a short time – a testament, we think, to their wonderful, considerate natures! Later on, we attended a very topical lecture about Problems Facing Mainstream Media and students were really interested and asked a lot of insightful questions.

 

Finally, an event we have really been looking forward to, it was time for the World Fair! Our students have been preparing presentations about their different cultures and backgrounds to show and educate their peers. It was a really fun evening (with lots of dancing!) and we were so grateful that students from all over the world were so eager to share about their lives.

As usual, don’t hesitate to check out our Instagram and tiktok (@reachcambridge) to have a look at what our students are up to!