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Cambridge Students' Spectacular End of Year Newsletter

Students at Bellerbys Cambridge prove once again what a hard-working and creative bunch they are with the latest edition of Bellerbys Times - the Bellerbys Cambridge newsletter.

Not only did they manage to put this issue together in the run-up to the exam season, but they have also produced the biggest issue ever, running to a total of fourteen pages.

They have covered everything from surviving the exams, to health and beauty advice, sports reports and reflections on friendships made over the past year - a befitting way to welcome the summer holidays.

Take a look at the latest newsletter below!

Read past issues of Bellerbys Times

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Cambridge AS Level Student Awarded Richard Ryde Scholarship

We are pleased to announce that Kevin Surya WIDJAJA from Indonesia has been awarded the Richard Ryde Scholarship for 2010. Each year an AS student from one of the four Bellerbys Colleges is chosen in competition with his/her peers, and this year it is a Cambridge student who was successful.

Kevin is an extremely accomplished young man who wishes to become a Chemical Engineer.  His academic achievements both in the UK and Indonesia mark him out as an outstanding student and we feel he has a good future.

In his CV he states: "In my future I have set my goal to make an impact in the renewable energy and energy storage field.  I believe in a sentence that has inspired me the most, "the most renewable energy is our passion and our potential", written by Roz Savage."

by John Rushton, Bellerbys Cambridge Principal

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Cambridge Wins First Prize in Student Film Competition

Well, what an unexpected surprise, Cambridge won the first Bellerbys student film competition! This outcome was a surprise to us, for two reasons. Firstly because of the stiff competition from the other Bellerbys colleges, and second because of the demands that academic life is currently making on our Media students.

The Cambridge entry was devised, filmed and edited by three A Level Media students; Anar Yuldasheva (from Kazakhstan), Xu Danfeng & Xia Yinqing (both form China), from an original idea by Anar. They all have aspirations to follow their dream and study film and media production at undergraduate level.

Recently the Cambridge media department has been blessed by creative, talented and hard working students. Not only have this year's intake worked on their own production coursework at Foundation, AS and A Level but they have also come together to help out on each others projects. This has given the Cambridge media department a unique relaxed creative feel.

In the words of the competition winners Xu Danfeng:
"It has been great fun working on something with people with similar dreams. Our Media Studies teacher, Peter, brings a positive mood and keeps everyone excited. There is a magic chemistry in the Cambridge Media group and atmosphere which lets your inspirations soar. After some brainstorming - we created the competition entry. We love and enjoy what we do and worked really hard on it."

And Xia Yinqing:
"I signed up to the competition without hesitation because it's a great opportunity to practice our media skills. We put a lot of effort into getting a unique idea to make our project stand out, so we decided to have animations in between the scenes rather than normal dissolve transitions. The greatest part is that we learned a lot of editing skills that we don't normally get the chance to practice in our normal studies. I hope there will be more competitions like this, so future students can enjoy the experience."

This project would not have been possible, without Cambridge Head of Centre, Ross Wainwright’s continued support and willingness to invest in the Cambridge Media department.

All three winners are planning to study Film and Media following their studies at Bellerbys College. Indeed, Anar has been accepted to study film production at Columbia University in Chicago, USA, whilst Danfeng has applied to Royal Holloway to study Media Arts and Xia Yinqing has applied to the University of Nottingham in the UK to study Film and Television production.

We wish them all the best for the future. Now watch the winning film below!

Report by Peter Jenkins, Media Studies teacher

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Bellerbys Cambridge Spring Newsletter

Students at Bellerbys Cambridge were recently busy putting together the March - April edition of the student newsletter Bellerbys Times.

This newsletter has a distinct Spring-time theme -with articles about local Cambridge events such as the Daffodil and Lambing weekends as well as articles on the significance of painted Easter eggs and an article looking back over the recent Chinese New Year festival. Read or download the newsletter below.

Open publication

Download the Bellerbys Cambridge Mar 2010 Newsletter

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Bellerbys Cambridge Raises More than £1000 for School Charity

The Bellerbys Cambridge Student Representative Committee recently held a college football tournament, which attracted more than 120 students, staff, family and friends to Manor Campus. The event raised over £1,000 for the school charity Building Futures, with a company contribution added to the funds raised.

The eight students on the committee planned and organised the event, with support from various staff teams.  It was an extremely enjoyable and successful day, with refreshments, food and face painting to add to the fun.

Eight teams registered to play: an alumni team, staff team, and six student teams.  The alumni team were far too skilful and fit, winning the tournament.  Runners-up were the staff, somewhat less fit and less skilful - and they spent the next few days nursing their tired limbs.

At the end of the day awards were presented to Highest Goal Scorer, Winning Team and Most Valuable Player.  This was followed by singing and acoustics from the Music Club and finally a roast meal organised by the catering team.  Finally a disco, led by our student DJ Kevin Widjaya from Indonesia, playing tunes for students and staff well into the evening.

by John Rushton, Principal

Learn about the work of the Bellerbys College school charity Building Futures

 

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Bellerbys Cambridge February Newsletter

The demands of a new term hasn't stopped the Cambridge Newsletter Team from putting together their most colourful and informative newsletter yet.

In the January - February 2010 edition of Bellerbys Times you will find articles about the Chinese New Year, Valentines Day, the Haiti Earthquake and orchard planting - along with the usual mix of sports reports, recipes and college news.

Download your copy of the Bellerbys College February 2010 newsletter (PDF, 4.5MB)

Join the Bellerbys Cambridge Facebook group to find out what else is happening at the college.

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Get the Bellerbys Cambridge December Newsletter!

Students at Bellerbys Cambridge recently released the December issue of their school newsletter 'Bellerbys Times'. The colourful ten page paper -features, news, reviews, recipes, interviews, and sports reports alongside guides to events taking place both at the school and in the city.

You can finally see the people behind the newsletter, as this issue opens with an introduction to each of the newsletter contributors. The ten page November issue also includes reviews of the musical 'Wicked' showing in London's West End; the new film 2012 and a technology review of the Windows 7 operating system.

Sports reports from Bellerbys Cambridge's fixtures in the local schools' football league are provided by Michael from Nigeria. A new section for this issue is a recipe of hearty meatballs with fried peppers. The issue closes with a guide to help students make new friends at the school. Why not download yourself a copy below?

Download your copy of the Bellerbys Cambridge December 2009 newsletter 'Bellerbys Times' (PDF, 4.3 MB)

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Vera Gysin - Much Loved Teacher at Bellerbys College Cambridge

With regret I have to report the passing of Vera Petrovna Jedusch Gysin, who was teacher of Russian and Counsellor to Russian-speaking students at Bellerbys from 2001 until the end of October this year.

She is remembered fondly by students and staff, and many former students will recall how she helped them with their work and sometimes their personal relationships.  I remember once, when she had consoled a very upset girl whose boy friend had rejected her, turning to me and with a wink in her eye saying “I was young once.”

Vera was 84 years old when she died, which probably made her the oldest employee of Bellerbys in the UK.  She had two children, each of whom paid wonderful tributes to her at the funeral, which was held in Cambridge on 27th November.  From what they said, and other information it has been possible to put together a brief outline of her life – although even the family says that Vera’s childhood in Russia is not known by them in any detail.

Vera was born in Russia in 1925, and by all accounts had a happy childhood.  However all that changed when the Nazis invaded and Vera was captured and spent the next four years in a prison camp doing forced labour.  At the end of the war she was released from captivity and found a job as an interpreter for the British Military in Berlin.  She never spoke of her time in captivity, but we do know that she was lucky to survive; the rest of her family was killed by the warfare.

After her spell working for the British she was able to come to the UK.  This was fortunate for her, as so many former Russian prisoners of the Nazis were sent back to almost certain death as they were considered to have collaborated with their captors, even though they had been captured.  Once in the UK she met her future husband, and on marriage they lived in Surrey.  Vera’s son Peter and daughter Carol both spoke of their own idyllic childhood, no doubt an attempt by Vera to give them something she either did not have herself, or was lost when she was captured.

However, the marriage did not last and Vera brought up the children to adulthood by herself.  She returned to Russia for the first time since she was captured, in 1979, and began working for a British chemical company in Moscow, again as an interpreter.  She later found jobs as a teacher in the UK, and in Cambridge spent many years as Head of the Russian Department at the Perse School for Girls.  When the Cold War ended in 1989, Vera began taking groups of students to Russia, even smuggling in warm clothes for those of her countrymen unable to afford them.

She came to Bellerbys very much into retirement, but would always respond to a request for help, perhaps translating when parents came who could not speak English, or counselling an upset student.  Vera was utterly selfless, an institution, famed for her warmth and hospitality.  She enriched many lives and the world is poorer for her passing.

Bellerbys Cambridge Principal, John Rushton

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Bellerbys Cambridge Keeps in Touch with Bellerbys Times

Students at Bellerbys Cambridge are exercising their journalistic and design skills by producing a monthly newsletter called 'Bellerbys Times'. The colourful newsletter features, news, reviews, interviews, and sports reports alongside guides to events taking place both at the school and in the city.

With the students of Bellerbys Cambridge being based at two campuses the newsletter is also a great way for all the students to keep in touch and up-to-date with events taking place across the school.

The ten page November issue includes a guide to 'Adapting to a New Life in Cambridge' (written with new students in mind), reviews of shows and musicals currently playing at the Cambridge Arts Theatre, football reports of Bellerbys Cambridge's recent matches and a even a guide advising on how to keep happy! All of this, along with a variety of news items and notices.

If this wasn't enough the Bellerbys Cambridge Art department have also started to produce a 'limited edition' two page comic sheet simpy titled 'Bellerbys Comic'. The November issue features three comic strips written and drawn by students, using the artist monikers MaiQ, Chigi-one-way and Ash-D!

Download the Bellerbys Cambridge Novemeber 2009 newsletter 'Bellerbys Times' (PDF, 4.7 MB)

Download the Bellerbys Cambridge November 2009 comic (PDF, 815 KB)

 

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Three Media Foundation Students Secure First Choice Places at Goldsmiths, Uni of London

Three Bellerbys Cambridge students on the Media Foundation course have gained a place on the same degree course, at the same prestigious college.

Thi Huong Giang Nguyen, Zi Ying Zhan and Alina Sycheva (pictured right with Cambridge Principal, John Rushton) all achieved the required Foundation grades to join the Media and Communications degree at Goldsmiths, University of London - their first choice university.

Their Media Studies teacher, Peter Jenkins, said that he was delighted for the students as they had worked hard on their studies at Bellerbys and thoroughly deserved their places at Goldsmiths.
 
Find out more about studying Media Foundation

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Former Bellerbys Cambridge Student Awarded a First from Cambridge University

We are very pleased to hear that Ting Hui Lau has recently completed her Land Economy degree at Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge and been awarded a First.

Ting Hui, pictured right receiving her Bellerbys gradudation certificate from then Principal, Eric Squires, is from Limbang in Sarawak and was one of the top Bellerbys A Level students in 2006.

We send our congratulations and wish Ting Hui well for her bright future.

Read more about studying A Levels at Bellerbys College

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Bellerbys Cambridge Student Receives High Praise From Exam Board For Media Coursework

A British A Level examination board, WJEC, has described a piece of Media Studies coursework by a Bellerbys Cambridge student as one of the most sophisticated pieces of moving image coursework that they had ever received.

Blanka Myszk from Dansk, Poland, submitted the film named Lumen Angeli as part of her AS coursework.  Blanka did all the pre-production work (initial idea, narrative development, screenplay and storyboard) at Bellerbys Queens Campus last year and shot the raw footage in Poland during the Christmas holiday.  She then brought the footage back to Bellerbys for post-production editing.  Blanka was, of course, awarded an A grade for the coursework.

The film went on to be used at a WJEC national inset day to train media teachers where her Media Studies tutor, Peter Jenkins, gave a commentary of the production process to the assembled audience in London.  Blanka's film was then distributed to all media teachers that use the board in England and Wales.

Blanka has since completed her A Level studies her at Bellerbys Cambridge and hopes to study Directing and Cinematography at the Paris campus of The New York Film Academy.

See more films made by Media students on the Bellerbys YouTube channel

Read about studying A Levels or Media Foundation at Bellerbys

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Yury is the 2009 Richard Ryde Scholarship Candidate for Bellerbys Cambridge

Each year, the best AS student from each Bellerbys school is invited to apply for the Richard Ryde Scholarship.  The four students are then interviewed by the Principals of each of the schools along with James Pitman, the UK Managing Director.  They are asked questions about their academic background, academic plans for the future, their extracurricular interests and their views about studying in the UK.  The successful student is awarded free tuition for their second year of study at Bellerbys worth over £17,000.

This year's candidate for Bellerbys Cambridge was Yury Petrunin from Russia.

Yury is following the six-term A Level course and studying Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Computing, as well as Maths at AS level.  Prior to studying at Bellerbys he completed his final two years of High School study in Russia in just one year and was honoured with a golden medal “For Highest Achievements and Endeavour” from Russian Ministry of Education.  He was even offered a place at Moscow State University of Pedagogy Department of Biology following his success in the Municipal Biology Olympiads 2006-8!

Yuri has participated in a wide range of extra curricular activities.  In Russia he took part in different cultural activities in his school, such as student skits and poetry competitions.  At the International Arts Conference he also presented his project “Great Britain through the eyes of poets of different nations and epochs”. He believes his greatest contribution to the social life of Moscow was as a representative of his school in Municipal Parliament of Teenage Deputies for which he obtained a letter of thanks from Moscow City Government.  The role also equipped him with the important skills of administrating management and teamwork.

In addition to these actitivites, Yuri also enjoys various hobbies including badminton, studying music, playing the piano, filming and editing short movies, studying technology and computing, researching and writing books and playing chess!  Yuri has achieved success here too, winning two medals for victories in regional and municipal contests.

A truly inspiring student who will surely go on to great things!

Find out more about studying A Levels at Bellerbys

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Student Artwork Now on Flickr

Students on Art & Design Foundation and Art A Level courses at Bellerbys Cambridge go on to great things.  In 2008 Cambridge Art students secured conditional offers on exciting degree courses such as Architecture, Fashion Design, Fashion Wear, Civil Engineering with Architecture and Structural Engineering with Architecture.

Throughout their course, students at the college enjoy sampling a wide range of art specialisms including life drawing, t-shirt design and printing, printmaking, painting and drawing, model making and 3D design, architecture studies, comic book design and artist book making, photography, Adobe Photoshop training, textiles and history of art.

Take a look at some of the student artwork on the Bellerbys College Flickr page to see the kind of thing you might get up to.

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Bellerbys Cambridge Graduate Now Working for Nestlé Says 'Thanks!'

Dear Principal, Bellerbys Cambridge

I studied the Foundation course in Business at Bellerbys Cambridge and graduated in 2002. 
I am really grateful to Bellerbys College.  It gave me the essential base for my future development.

Upon successful completion of this program in 2002 I entered one of the top-rated UK business schools the University Of Nottingham Business School where I studied Management for three years. 

Now I am building my career in one of the largest food companies, Nestlé.  Currently I work
in Moscow in Trade Marketing as Sales Development Manager.
 
I really enjoyed the time I spent at Bellerbys. The pace of studies was intense on Foundation program, but they were really helpful in preparation for university in seven months.  The program was constructed carefully and professionally.  It involved a broad range of subjects in business.
 
Overall, the level of knowledge I gained in Bellerbys gave me a very good kick-start in life and I am very thankful for that.
 
Best Regards,
Dmitry Gusev

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Snow Comes To Cambridge!

Occasionally it snows in England, but not very often and not for very long.  February saw some of the heaviest snow in England for 18 years. 

Being unaccustomed to such snowfall we weren't very well prepared, so it caused quite a lot
of disruption to daily life.  The college was closed for one day as staff and teachers were unable to make it into work due to blocked roads and cancelled buses and trains. 

It's not all bad news though - lots of our students had never seen snow so were delighted to get the day off and enjoy the weather.

 

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Busy Start to the New Year at Bellerbys Cambridge

Lots of new students joined Bellerbys Cambridge in January 2009 bringing student numbers to 426.  Both campuses and both residences are now completely full. 

Each year the student nationality mix gets more and more eclectic.  This year, 62% of our students are from the Far East , 21% from Eastern Europe, 2% from Europe and 15% from
a mix of other countries.

A welcome party was organised for all students at the start of the term.  It was held at
Queens Campus in the new wing.  Students and staff enjoyed a lovely buffet provided by the catering team plus two chocolate fountains – milk and white chocolate!  Students organised the music for the party and watched films produced by Bellerbys Cambridge Media students.

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Bellerbys Cambridge Welcomes New and Returning Students

On 10th September, Bellerbys Cambridge welcomed the first students of the new academic year with a combined induction held at Manor Campus.  Here, students spent their first day meeting staff and sorting out administration, such as doctor and police registration, bank accounts and internet access.  Once again, thanks to great organisation by the Student Services team, things ran very smoothly.

On the Thursday, students settled in at their respective campuses and met with the heads of their programmes and their personal tutors.  Friday was free for students to explore the city.  The following week all new and returning students started their classes and the term began
in earnest. 

This year, over 350 students will be studying at Bellerbys Cambridge – 161 at Manor Campus and 197 at Queens Campus.  As a result of the growing interest in studying in Cambridge, five new classrooms have been acquired at Queens Campus - known as the West Wing.  The brand new classrooms are kitted out with the very latest teaching techonology including two with interactive whiteboards.  The new premises also includes a first aid room and administration office.

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Cambridge A Level Student Volunteers at the Olympic Games in China!

Hundreds of volunteers, including over 27,000 from overseas countries, ensured that the recent Olympic games in China ran smoothly by providing a range of services for the many visitors, officials and competitors.  We were delighted to hear that a student from Bellerbys Cambridge was one of only two volunteers from the UK to take part!  

Dongri Jin, who is studying A Levels at Bellerbys Manor Campus, was a representative of
the overseas volunteers and was interviewed by some of the major newspapers in China.  Part of one of the translated interviews is below:

After the strict eliminations, interviews and training, this Bellerbys College in Cambridge student is able to join the other 27,546 volunteers, from 239 different countries to represent the Beijing Olympics, and the Beijing Paralympics.  According to requirement, only 338 will be chosen for the final events.  Dongri Jin feels she is extremely lucky.  Amongst the thousands of candidates, only 17 are overseas Chinese and only two are from Britain.  Their job is to help with the media broadcasting and assisting the foreigners.

‘I am really pleased, that my dream can come true.  The Bird Nest is so magnificent,’ she said, after her first visit in the National Stadium.  Starting on the 7th August, Jin and her friends started their intense Olympics training.  After hours of education about the basic knowledge of Olympics, the history and culture of China, first aids and emergencies, Jin realised that to become a volunteer in the Olympics is not about honour, but a job with great responsibility.

‘Before, I was an individual, but this time, I was able to do something for other people. Even though there is no reward, I was able to be part of this community, this family; it let me experience the power of unity.’ Jin said excitedly, ‘Learning about socialisation, responsibility, trust, and understanding what the ‘authority’ is the best reward I can hope for.’

Courtesy of Xinhua net, Beijing, 15th August / Xinhua News Agency: LIU Gang

Download some interviews with Dongri Jin: English & Chinese, Chinese only

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New Classrooms for Queens Campus, Bellerbys Cambridge

Work is progressing very quickly on the planned new classrooms and facilities at Queens Campus. 

There will be five new large classrooms, two of which will have dividers allowing them to be opened into larger rooms which will be useful for exams.  All five rooms will have interactive white boards.  In addition, there will be an administrative office and first aid room.

The rooms are now complete and being decorated and will be ready in plenty of time for the start of the new term in September.

Find out about courses starting in September 2008 and January 2009

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Celebrating the Olympic Games at Bellerbys Cambridge

China’s historic capital of Beijing is the host of the 19th Olympic Games.  The breath-taking opening ceremony took place at 08.08.08 pm local time and students at Bellerbys Cambridge were eager not to miss any of the action.

To celebrate the Games, Manor Campus was suitably decorated.  Students painted the flags
 of their home countries and televisions were set up in each campus so that students could watch the opening ceremony. There were also lots of Olympic-themed activities which everyone took part in.  Everybody could feel the excitement!

Now, let’s go back a ‘few’ years and talk about the history and the meaning of Olympic Games.  The Olympic Games are supposed to unite the world through sport.  The very first modern Olympic Games opened in the first week of April 1896 and took place in a capital city of Greece – Athens, in Panathenaic stadium.  The Panathenaic stadium was built in 330 BCE and was restored in white marble for the first Olympic Games.  Since the games were not well publicised internationally, contestants were not nationally chosen but came individually at their own expense and some of the contestants were actually tourists who were visiting Greece at that time.

In 1913 Baron Pierre de Coubertin adopted the idea of Olympic Rings from an artefact in ancient Greece.  The five rings symbolise the five continents of the world; Blue ring – Europe, Black ring – Africa, Red ring – America, Yellow ring – Asia and Green ring– Australia.

Olympic Games used to take place every four years. The year 1992 was the last year when Summer & Winter Olympic Games took place in the same year.  Since then Summer and Winter Olympic games are two years apart from each other.  The next Winter Olympic Games will take place in Vancouver, Canada, in February 2010 and of course, the next Summer Olympic Games will take place in London, UK in July 2012.  We are very much looking forward to that date!

By Marcela Papworth, Welfare and Social Activities Officer

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Bellerbys College Cambridge Graduation Party 2008

This year, the Bellerbys Cambridge Graduation ceremony was split into three parts.  At around 2pm the official ceremony was held in Queens Campus library, where John Rushton, Bellerby Cambridge Principal, awarded each graduating student with a certificate. When the official part was over, everybody rushed out of the building and made the most of the
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to walk on the college lawn.  Everybody had their own cameras with them and “Can we please take a picture together?” soon became the most common phrase of the day.

Refreshments were available in the Masons Hall throughout the ceremony, and at the same time a small art exhibition organized by Bellerbys students was held in the same hall.  Hundreds of pictures, hundreds of smiles and hundreds of hugs were the results of the first part of the Bellerbys Graduation.

Soon after everybody was satisfied with the amount of photos taken, both students and staff members wandered off to get ready for the Graduation Ball which was scheduled to begin at 7pm in Crowne Plaza hotel in the heart of Cambridge.  By around 8pm the Orchard Suite of Crowne Plaza was full.  It seemed that there were more people than sitting places available but everybody managed to find their spot and get ready for, not precisely flawless, but nevertheless a very enjoyable performance by a rock band, called Exclamation Mark, consisting of Bellerbys students Anthony Awanis, Shaun Ashley Chin and Ardhito Gitoyo Hendranata.

Then food and drinks were served and everyone went to grab a bite.  A DJ then took on the responsibility of entertaining the crowd, and that’s never an easy job with such a mixed community.  People soon started to slowly move onto the dance floor, bravest ones first, and in no time the dance floor was packed with dancing students and staff members.

Then, all of a sudden it was announced that Artur Meyramgluants was ready to perform his break dance, and without any hesitation he showed everybody what can really be done on the dancefloor.  The crown went berserk and as soon as his performance was over everyone rushed onto the dancefloor with even more energy, inspired by Artur’s breathtaking moves.

In the meantime, votes were collected from everyone to determine who should get the title
of the Prom Queen and Prom King.  Marta Peicova was voted to be the Prom Queen and Chan Hang Wai was the Prom King. They were invited to dance together, while Musata Matei occupied the piano and the King and Queen danced to the music from Titanic motion picture.  They were soon joined by other couples, and dance floor was full once again, and the party went on.

Great music, food and drinks, all of your friends at the same place and the same time, together with the fact that this is The Graduation Party… To me, it’s an equation with only one answer: a perfect party!

The party at the Crowne Plaza went on for hours and nobody could stop, people were just dancing, jumping around and were having the time of their lives, but at about half past 11,
it was announced that, as planned before, all students over the age of 18 were invited to continue the partying at the Soul Tree club. 

Parties like these are always fantastic and it was no exception this year.  It’s a shame Graduation Party only happens once every year (and, for some, once in a lifetime), and everyone made the most of each second of their evening.  It was absolutely fantastic and I can assure you that every single person who was lucky enough to be there, had the time of their lives!

Visit the Bellerbys College Flickr pages for more graduation ceremony photos, including some great shots taken by graduating Russian A Level student, Stanislav Savelyev.  Thanks to Stanislav for allowing us to share them!

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Bellerbys Cambridge Graduation Day 2008

This year the Cambridge graduation ceremony took place on Friday 30th May in Queens Library, followed by refreshments in the Masons Hall.

Principal, John Rushton, presented awards for the best students to: 

Wai Hung Chiang - Business Foundation Achievement
Zhao Li - Business Foundation Effort & Progress
Ezinwanyi Uwa - Law Foundation Achievement
Yan Hei Li - Humanities Foundation Achievement
Chak Ham Chiu - Media Foundation Achievement
Sin Wai Yen - Law/Humanities/Media Foundation Effort and Progress
Weiya Li - Engineering Foundation Achievement
Damir Mirbulotov - Science Foundation Achievement
Josemar Da Costa - Art & Design Foundation Achievement
Ding Zhou Li - Engineering/Science/Art Foundation Effort and Progress
Tina Tayebi, Fung Xian Chin, Yeung Tse - IGCSE Achievement
Thi Thien Huong Vu - IGCSE Effort & Progress
Ziyu Zhou, Musata Matei - AS Level Achievement
Robert Shulcs, Shirin Golpayegani - AS Level Effort & Progress
Eva Niculiu, Tsz Hon King, Pamela Partana - A Level Achievement
Talaal Habib, Shu Chen Zhang, Siavash Rostami - A Level Effort & Progress
Tingting Wang - ELP Achievement
Oksana Merena - ELP Effort and Progress
Arsen Akhatov - Contribution to College Life
Pamela Partana - Student of the Year Award

In the evening, the Graduation Ball took place at The Crowne Plaza hotel in Cambridge.

Visit the Bellerbys College Flickr pages for more graduation ceremony photos, including some great shots taken by graduating Russian A Level student, Stanislav Savelyev.  Thanks to Stanislav for allowing us to share them!

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Celebrating Diversity at Bellerbys Cambridge

This interesting photo and comment comes from one of our students – Evelyn Yu.  The photograph shows Bellerby Cambridge Economics Teacher, Chris Woolley, with Nigerian Law Foundation student, Halima Buhari. 

Evelyn says:

"On a day with pouring rain,
a priest and a Muslim girl;
a tutor and a student;
an Englishman and an African... came together under an umbrella.

This photograph is a wonderful reflection showing the diversity of beliefs and values.  Mutual respect is dedicated to every individual at the college which leads to harmonious co-existence.  There, we also see the genuine joy of the friendly bond between student and tutor; race and religion... the very best of what Bellerbys stands for and in reality, achieves."

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New Art Teachers Bring Wealth of Experience to an Active Art Department

The Bellerbys Cambridge Art Department is excited to inform prospective students of the recent
arrival of two new Art Teachers; Fernando Feijoo and Siobhan Martin.  Both are well known artists in their fields of expertise and have exhibited all over the world.  We are delighted to welcome them to the college.

It's an exciting time to join the Cambridge Art Department on the GCSE Art, A Level Art and Art & Design Foundation courses.  Over the last six months students have experienced many varied aspects of art including life drawing, t-shirt design and printing, printmaking, painting and drawing, model
making and 3D design, architecture studies, comic book design and artist book making, photography, Adobe Photoshop training, textiles and history of art.

Over time, it is expected that a student's artistic skills will develop and that this progression be exhibited in a portfolio.  When a student receives an interview at a university it is important that they can visualise their artistic development in such a way.

The Department encourages visits to London and Cambridge art museums to see collections of work and to enhance the learning experience.  A weekly Art Club also offers students the chance to work on a group comic project which will be published and exhibited around the school.

On occasions, lecturers from the professional world visit the department to talk to the
students about their field of expertise. There are also opportunities to visit renowned architect’s studios to see how real projects are developed from ideas into final constructions which receive awards.

As a result of this broad and exciting study plan, we are delighted that current Art students at Cambridge have achieved the following conditional places for degree courses starting in September
2008:

• Cardiff University - Architecture
• Oxford Brooks University- Architecture
• University of Portsmouth - Architecture
• University College of London - Architecture
• Newcastle University - Architecture
• University of Liverpool - Architecture
• University of Edinburgh - Architecture
• Kingston University - Architecture
• University of Greenwich - Architecture
• University of Sheffield - Structural Engineering with Architecture
• University of Southampton - Civil Engineering with Architecture 
• Central St Martins College of Art & Design - Foundation in Fashion Wear
• London College of Fashion - Foundation in Fashion Design

Read more about new Art Teacher Fernando Feijoo.

 

 

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A Trip to Blenheim Palace and Oxford

Wind and rain were our main companions during the trip to Blenheim Palace and Oxford on Saturday the 19th of April.  However discouraging it may sound, surprisingly, we still had a very good time.

Blenheim Palace welcomed us with its splendour early in the morning.  Many of us enjoyed
the Churchill exhibition and then were amazed with the beautiful gardens surrounding the Palace.  However, most of us were really pleased with one another place - the cafeteria,
which served delicious selection of freshly prepared hot food and drinks!

After sumptuous lunch we left the Palace and made our way to Oxford.  Since it was Saturday afternoon the town was busy with shoppers and tourists.  Our tour guide, Matt, showed us around the most interesting attractions of the university town at the same time keeping us away from the high streets as much as it is only possible. 

We saw Christ Church College, known to many as Harry Potter college, the Bodleian library, the Radcliffe Camera reading room and the Ashmolean museum.  We also visited the
Victorian market in the town centre.

Afterwards we had a few hours of free time to explore the town, famous sights, shops and local cafeterias by ourselves.  The day finished quite late and we arrived back in Cambridge around 7pm and some of us brought back something more than just memories, namely 'a cold'!

By Agnieszka Tytus, Welfare and Social Activities Officer

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Donut Party!

On Saturday 26th April we went to Bassingbourn for a 'Donut party' - sliding down a hill whilst sitting in an inflatable ring!  The weather that day was really nice, the sun was shining and the temperature rising.  Unfortunately for us, due to health and safety requirements, we had to wear winter gloves and any bit of our skin must had been covered - so no sunbathing.  But that really did not matter as the amount of fun which followed did worth it.

When we saw the artificial ski slope for the first time the initial thought was: Wow, that is steep, and my second thought was: I am not going up there!!  I wonder what students must have been thinking….!! 

On arrival we were taken through what to do and not to do on the ski slope by our instructors.  Now we were ready to start donuting.  Students got hold of donuts and made their way up the hill.

It was just great; students sliding down one by one screaming all the way down.  We were doing different things like going down backwards, spinning whilst sliding down or sliding down in a chain.  The longest chain involved 24 of us.  Students took a break for some snacks and drinks then the fun just continued.  Unfortunately some things must come to the end and after three hours of fun we had to go home.

Students have enjoyed the afternoon and spoke about it on the bus all the way home. When they were asked if they wanted to do it again the answer was YES!  So I guess we will have to go again and I must admit Agnieszka and I cannot wait!!

By Marcela Papworth, Welfare and Social Activities Officer

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A Trip to Stonehenge and Bath

Together with a group of students, and a tour organiser from a local travel company, we headed off to Stonehenge, excited to see that magical place.  Before taking the tour we listened to a history of the construction of the stone circle, which took hundreds of years, and interesting hypothetical theories about its origin.  It served as an excellent introduction and, curiosity driven, we went off to see the famous ‘rock ring’, grabbing the audio tour
guides on the way.

It was the first visit to Stonehenge for most of the people in our group and everyone
was truly amazed with the size of the rocks.  Some of them are nine meters long, weigh
 four tonnes and were dragged to the spot by 500 men using only sledges and ropes!  We wandered around a path taking photographs and listening to the fascinating stories related to the place.  Afterwards we bought some souvenirs.

The second destination of our trip was Bath, just an hour's drive away from Stonehenge.  The city, even though it was a rainy day, welcomed us with a bright look, thanks to the light yellow colour of stone bricks that all the houses in Bath have to be built from. 

The first spot we visited were the Roman Baths, continuously flowing with the natural hot springs from the ancient times.  This magnificent temple and bathing complex is beautifully preserved and presented.  You can almost feel as if you were in a completely different world and century.  The whole city has that unique charm.

When we finished sightseeing Roman Baths we had a little stroll around the shops in the city and ate some lunch.  Afterwards, we met up with our tour guide and explored various places around Bath.  We admired the architecture of Georgian stone crescents and listened to a number of intriguing stories related to the city and its history.  Everyone loved Bath and as
a result were reluctant to leave and enormously happy to visit that definitely unforgettable place.

By Kasia Michalowska, Receptionist/Student Services, Queens Campus, Bellerbys Cambridge

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Students Go Paint Balling With Teachers!

One Saturday in March, a group of Cambridge students met at Manor Campus to go paint balling.  There were two members of staff accompanying them as well as our recently departed IT technician, Kevin Papworth.  Our destination was a venue just eight miles south
of Cambridge.  Being the only current member of staff who would be participating in the shooting, a first timer to boot, it suddenly dawned on me that I would be 'out-gunned' from
the start!

On arrival, I breathed a sigh of relief; more targets!  There were approximately 40 others there already and we were divided into two teams, indicated by the colour of our ammunition 'hopper'; Black on one team and Red and Blue together as another.  For the first of six games, Bellerbys students and staff teamed up with the locals to shoot the other team. 

The all important safety information was given out at the beginning and then it was onto pick up our overalls.  Worryingly, they weren't very thick and I had heard that the paint balls can leave one or two bruises if they don't burst on contact.  Some of our students appeared very disturbingly professional as well with their hats, thick coats and tubes ammunition strapped to their overalls.

Each of the six games centred around a theme or task, each lasting approximately 20-30 minutes depending on how long you could stay 'alive'.  The games involved the use of different locations on the site; woodland, open scrub land, a mock village and a 'hideout'. 
One game was just called 'President'; a team had to shoot the 'President', whilst the other team had to protect him.  We were on the aggressor team and some of our students showed an incredible amount of ingenuity in getting close to their targets; using me, the Exams Officer, as a 'meat shield' was quite popular.

After each game it was back to the Safe Area for some refreshments before suiting up again for another game.

The last game, I think is what the students really came for.  Our own team was divided in two, standing back to back, we took 15 paces, turned and fired.  Foundation Exams were just a week away, summer A Levels were and still are looming, and as the Exams Officer it was time for me to face the music, well a lot of paint actually. 

I'll never forget one of the students shouting at the top of his voice, "Gibbon, I kill you!!"  I don't think his Foundation English Skills teacher would be too impressed with his choice of sentence structure, but I understood the meaning, perfectly!

It was a fantastic day and another opportunity for students to come together, forget the pressures of the academic world and enjoy themselves.  I'll definitely be going again; I just need a thicker shirt!

By Bill Furness Gibbon, Examinations Officer, Bellerbys Cambridge

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Bellerbys Teachers Visit Tartarstan to Train Russian Teachers

Earlier this term, a team of five teachers from Bellerbys Cambridge and Oxford flew to Tartarstan in Russia, to deliver a 10-day teacher training programme to secondary school and university teachers.  Here, Belinda Hardisty who teaches Key Skills and Foundation English
at Bellerbys Cambridge tells us about her exciting trip.

"I saw this as an exciting opportunity, particularly as I had never been to Russia before, so, despite reports of snowstorms and temperatures as low as minus 30, I was eager to go.  We flew to Kazan, arriving late at night, and after a morning of sightseeing there, three of us set off for the different towns where we would be based, leaving two colleagues behind in Kazan.

My town was Naberezhnye Chelny (a place I still can’t pronounce!), a modern town which, everyone assured me, was beautiful in spring time.  Even covered in snow, I could see that it was well-planned, with wide roads laid out in a grid system, as well as plenty of open spaces and trees.  However, what impressed me most was the people I came into contact with. 

The staff at the institute were friendly and helpful.  They also took it in turns to bring in home cooked food for lunch and I suspect that I was treated to several dishes that would normally only be prepared on special occasions. Anyway, the food was wonderful, especially as we generally washed it down with Russian champagne!  (I really was treated like a princess.) 

In spite of the fact that some of the administrative staff only spoke Russian, we managed to communicate and even crack jokes in a mixture of broken English, German (not a language I have ever studied!), sign language and, by the end of my stay, the three words of Russian I had managed to pick up (not very impressive, I know!)

The 26 teachers in my class were also lovely people who seemed to be extremely dedicated to their profession.  Although my experience with Russian speaking students at Bellerbys suggests that their teaching methods are very successful, these teachers were interested in learning about more communicative techniques and were keen to get hold of as much new teaching material as possible.  One of them invited me to her school to meet her students and watch her teach. 

I was impressed by how smartly the students dressed and by how confidently they interacted with me – most of them had never met a British person before.  They were very interested in life in the UK, but were surprised when I told them that most of their favourite Russian bands would be unknown to teenagers in this country.

Other teachers persuaded me to go ice-skating one evening.  It took me a while to prise myself away from the security of the fence surrounding the rink but, with a bit of hand-holding, I eventually found the courage to cross the ice.  I’m proud to report that I didn’t fall over once; however, I think it’s fair to say that I’m no Jane Torvill: someone else will have to represent Britain in the next Winter Olympics, I’m afraid!  I have to say, skating outside at night was one of the few times that I actually felt the cold.  In fact I was very disappointed with the Russian winter – the lowest temperature I experienced was minus 17 and I now know what people mean when they say that
it’s a different type of cold.  Still, I’m sure all the thermal clothing I bought will come in useful in Cambridge!

Finally it was time to leave and thanks to the generosity of the Russian teachers I returned to Kazan laden with gifts.  I couldn’t wait to meet up again with the rest of the team and swap stories.  We also had a meeting with the Minister for Education who wanted our ideas about improving English language teaching in Tartastan.  The next day we flew to Moscow where we were greeted by the same agent who had met us there on the outward journey.  She took one look at our exhausted group and exclaimed: “This is the effect of Extreme Teaching!”  Although we were on our last legs, we had all been looking forward to a quick guided tour of Moscow before flying home.  We took in Red Square and saw famous sights like St. Basil’s as well as visiting the Pushkin Art Gallery – what a fantastic experience!

I returned to Cambridge tired and spoilt (what do you mean, I have to do my own photocopying?) and it took about a week to regain my energy and return to reality.  Would I do it again?  You bet- just don’t ask me to go any time soon!"

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Young Enterprise Trade Fair at the Grafton Centre

All four Cambridge groups took part in the Young Enterprise trade fair at the Grafton Centre
in Cambridge on the weekend of 2nd and 3rd February.

M@C and Fellowbys had to share on the Saturday, but showed excellent team work by showing their products on a 6 foot table!  Oh My Goods and United Nations had their own tables on the Sunday.  Among the products being sold were Russian chocolate, Russian and Chinese jewellery, hair products and Russian dolls. One group translated people’s names into Chinese on very pretty cards.  United Nations came second on the Sunday for Best Young Enterprise made products, selling hand-made jewellery. 
 
The Young Enterprise Development Manager for Peterborough and Cambridge said of the
day, "The Trade Fair was a success, with the Bellerbys teams putting up good stands and showing excellent selling skills and humour.  So very well done to all the teams."

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Students Celebrate at Chinese New Year Party in Cambridge

On Friday the 1st of February a large group of Bellerbys student, mainly from China and Vietnam, celebrated the Chinese New Year Party at the Chinese Community Centre in Cambridge. We started the evening with a Chinese style buffet.  Prawn crackers, spring rolls and chicken wings disappeared quickly from the hot plates, followed by traditional hot green tea.

The dinner was followed by an evening of dancing, competitions and fun.  One of our Russian students, Artur, put on an amazing break dance show. Students then joined in on a number of games including with musical statues and musical chairs.  Next, pairs of students were competing against each other while dancing on a newspaper and dancing with a balloon between their heads!  The winners of each competition were offered free vouchers for bowling, Chinese buffet and Romeo & Juliet theatre performance, i.e. activities that were going to take place later on in February.  A good time was had by all!

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Student vs. Staff Football Tournament

Student from the two Cambridge campuses have come together to form the Bellerbys Cambridge Football Team.  The team currently has 40 members with approximately 20 members practising and training each week for two hours.  It has proved to be one of the College’s most popular and successful activities on the social programme.

On Sunday 3rd February, the College Welfare Team and IT Teacher/Warden Aliyu Yahaya organised a staff versus student tournament at Hills Road Sports Centre, Cambridge. It was a fiercly fought compeition but youth triumphed over wisdom and the student team were crowned overall winners and were presented with prizes.  The results of the matches are as follows:

Match 1: Staff 3, Students 5 (students won)
Match 2: Staff 2, Students 3 (students won)
Match 3: Staff 4, Students 2 (staff won)
Match 4: Staff 3, Students 2 (staff won)
Match 5: Staff 3, Students 4 (students won)
Match 6: Staff 2, Students 2 (draw)

Thanks to all of the staff and students who participated or supported the tournament.  It was fantastic to see so many staff and students at the event.  This shows that staff and students can work together to produce fantastic results in non-academic activities.

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Cambridge Welcomes New Students, Staff and Classrooms!

Cambridge welcomed a larger than usual intake of students onto courses in January.  Induction took place at Queens Campus where the students were taken on a tour  before talks were held in the library. On the second day they were taken on a walking tour of the city after they had made their subject choices.  Returning students had already started their classes and by the Wednesday morning all students were hard at work.

Student numbers currently stand at 350 and we would like to welcome the new members of staff that have resulted from the rise in numbers – Elizabeth Xiang, Tom Birch, Eve Regas, Chris Thomas, Robert Farrell and Siobhan Martin.

With ever growing numbers of students, Bellerbys has taken on two further buildings on Bateman Street, just along from Queens Campus.  This will be the new base for Business Foundation students, plus several teachers and the administrator, Esme Page.  A grand opening is planned in the coming weeks.

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Principal Visits Ghana and Nigeria

Cambridge Principal John Rushton recently visited Nigeria and Ghana to meet with representatives of local schools, plus parents and prospective students.  Here, he tells us of his first trip to Africa:

"Together with a colleague from Brighton, I received a good reception from the schools we visited in Accra, Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna.  We are trying to establish links between our schools which could lead to Bellerbys staff visiting those schools and academic scholarships at Bellerbys for gifted students who want to study in the UK.  I look forward to taking the projet forward in the coming months.

One of the highlights of my visit to Accra in Ghana was the Alumni Dinner to which some 15 former Bellerby students were pleased to attend.  Of the 15, nine had attended Bellerbys Cambridge.  They told me about how much they appreciated all the help and support they had received throughout their time in Cambridge.  For two in particular, Farida Abdallah and Frank Okyere-Boateng, Cambridge has particularly fond memories, for they first met and fell in love here, and are now married with two children! Farida has her own business sourcing materials for the construction industry, and Frank also works in construction for a major Ghanaian company."

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Young Enterprise Groups Update

There are four groups of Cambridge students taking part in the Young Enterprise initiative this year, one from Manor Campus called M@C, and three at Queens Campus called Fellowbys, United Nations and OhMyGoods.

Groups hold weekly board meetings where Link Teachers (Michael Voice at Manor and Mandy Gage at Queens) are on hand to offer advice.   The Young Enterprise board also provide an external Business Advisor who also comes to the meetings in an advisory capacity.
 
The companies are planning to sell a mixture of items, from confectionary to jewellery.  One group is also considering a party in January.  In February the Grafton Centre in Cambridge hosts a trade fair where the Young Enterprise groups take a stall and sell to the public.  The stalls are judged and awards go to the best and area heats are held in April.  Bellerbys groups have done well in the past and hope for similar success this year.

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Students Celebrate Halloween at Bellerbys

Queens Campus Receptionist, Katarzyna Michalowska (Kasia), reports back from the Cambridge Halloween party.

"The Cambridge Halloween Party held on 30th October 2007 was certainly a spiritual and a magical event!  The unique ambience was created thanks to the efforts of our students from all over the globe, wearing fancy dress.  There were a few witches, a zombie woman, a police woman, a couple of devils and many others.  The majority of students and staff were wearing costumes or Halloween makeup. 

The main part of the evening was the best costume competition.  The winner was a Manor Campus student called Shirin who dressed up as a Venetian diva.  When the contest finished everyone enjoyed a wonderful buffet tastefully prepared by the Manor kitchen staff.  Then the dancing started.  Our extremely talented Salsa teacher (and Psychology Teacher), James Richardson, and his equally gifted pupils conquered the dance floor.  Most of the students and staff joined in and had fun dancing the night away.  It was, without a doubt, an unforgettable night of fun and excitement!"

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Bellerbys Cambridge Students Form UN Society

For the second year running, Bellerbys Cambridge students have formed a United Nations Society, led by teacher Janet Smith.  The group, who are electing a leader this month, will meet once a week for debates and talks from various guests.

The UN Society is now an official member of the UNYSA, the United Nations Youth and Student Association.  The group are also hoping to form some links with Cambridge University’s United Nations Association (CUUNA).  CUUNA have already invited the Bellerbys UN Society to some of their events and they are hoping to welcome the CUUNA President to Bellerbys Cambridge in the near future. 

The group have some interesting plans for their first meetings in October.  On the 17th they debated “The State versus the family: Should the state provide welfare or should it be down to the family?”.  The 24th October was UN Day and the group were invited to a talk by Sir Brian Heap on “Consumption and Happiness” at Cambridge University.  Finally, on 31st October, Isaac Ayamba (Head of Business) gave a talk on “The Economy in Africa”.  We look forward to hearing more from the Cambridge UN Society.

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Cambridge Students Visit London

On Sunday 30th September a group of Cambridge students went on a trip to London.  Agnieszka Tytus, Welfare and Social Activities Officer at Queens Campus led the group.

"The trip to London was a great success.  We had beautiful weather, though chilly to start with, which put everybody in the right mood. 

We arrived in the capital early in order to allow as much time as possible to explore the city.  Our first stop was in Greenwich where we made our way to the Royal Observatory, followed by a visit to the Greenwich market.

Next, during a ferry cruise to central London we had a chance to learn more about the historical sites from a Cockney speaking tourist guide.  After visiting Trafalgar Square everybody had a chance to explore places of their own interest. Groups of students made their way to Westminster, Buckingham Palace, London Eye, and of course Oxford Street.  We arrived back in Cambridge after 7pm. Even though it was a long day - it was an enjoyable one."

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Three Groups from Bellerbys Cambridge Join Young Enterprise

Young Enterprise is a national charity movement which seeks to promote and develop enterprise in young people in the UK.  Each year Bellerbys Cambridge supports groups of students joining the local branch of the charity, Cambridgeshire Young Enterprise.  This year the college is pleased to be entering three groups.

This is a great opportunity for students to gain personal experience of how business works, understand the role it plays in providing employment and creating prosperity and be inspired to improve their own prospects.

What does it involve?  Firstly, groups of students get together to form a company to run over the course of an academic year.  They then decide upon a product or service for their company to sell to the public at trade fairs, write a brief business plan and raise share capital to finance the company.  At the end of the year each company reports back to Young Enterprise panel and winners go on to County, Regional and National Finals.  Good luck to the three Bellerbys Cambridge companies!

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Life on the English Language Preparation Course at Bellerbys Cambridge

Studying in a new country and getting used to a new culture can be a daunting prospect.  Here, our Cambridge summer 2007 English Language Preparation students tell us how they have been adapting to their new life with Bellerbys in England.

Olga:
"Bellerbys is a wonderful place to study in Cambridge.  It’s a nice place with intelligent, kind teachers and students and a friendly atmosphere.  On the ELP course we have very interesting lessons and a lot of school trips with our teachers.  We go to the cinema, museums and pubs.  Cambridge is a nice city.  There are lots of beautiful buildings, shops, museums.  I've made friends from many different countries.  Bellerbys Cambridge is a very good choice."

Hebe:
"I thank my parents as they have given me the chance to come to Cambridge to study.  Coming here was my idea as I wanted to improve my English.  I have always loved foreign culture and buildings and I felt that Cambridge had just the atmosphere to make me happy.

I live in a warm homestay with a couple.  They always make me delicious food and in the evening we take the dog for a walk – it is like they are my family. 

At Bellerbys I am preparing to start GCSE so I have a course of ELP that will give me a good IELTS result.  I was astonished on my first day as I only have 10 students in my class.  In China there are 40-50 in a class!  Although only 10 students they come from different countries such as Qatar and Vietnam.  So I will make many friends and learn some foreign languages there.  Sometimes teacher takes us to see a film, go to the museum or her home. 

Overall I have already had a good experience in my life because I can see and learn many things.  I am very lucky.  I will work hard because I don’t want to disappoint my parents."

Maggie:
"I have been learning ELP for the last 2 months.  The teacher is very friendly and funny and study in the class is very interesting.  Everyone feels happy and enjoys the class. 
At the weekend we often go to the city centre and to restaurants.  Sometimes we go to the cinema to see a film or boating on the Cambridge river.  There are also many Cambridge colleges we can visit and some museums.  I am very happy studying at Bellerbys."

Cecil:
"I’m studying in Bellerbys Manor Campus, Cambridge.  It’s a nice place.  It’s quite difficult to adapt to a new place and a new culture so I have had to work hard.  You face many different problems, but you learn how to deal with these and become more self confident and successful."

Steve:
"Cambridge is a beautiful city and Bellerbys is a beautiful school.  We all enjoy the time in ELP lessons.  Mark is my favourite ELP teacher.  He refuses to give in to old age and always tells us he is 24 years old.  His class is very interesting.  Full of laughs, full of frolic and full of happiness.  Our teachers take us out of the classroom to enjoy real life in Cambridge."

Tran Huy Hoang:
"Why did I decide to come to Cambridge?  A good question.  First, I thought Bellerbys was good for international students.  Second, because Cambridge is a very good city for students and has some good colleges.  There are a lot of students from many different countries."

Steven:
"I am very happy living in Cambridge and studying in Bellerbys.  Everyone, teachers and students are very friendly and kind. 

As an overseas student generally speaking it is difficult for me to live alone.  Sometimes I have problems and I am not sure what to do about them.  So I talked with my teachers and my host mother.  They tell me what I should do.  I am really happy with that.  They make me feel like I am living in my real home.

Last term, Luke and Maureen were our teachers.  Maureen sometimes gives us some hard work about English skills and is very patient with us if we do not understand.  Once she took us all to her house for a barbeque.  It is very different from when I was living in China.  I’m very happy with that.  Luke is a very kind man as well. His classes are very funny.  We can study very well.  I love them and everyone!"

Nguyen Ting Lam:
"Bellerbys College is a good school for your study.  There are many facilities and good accommodation for your living and study. Also, the teachers and staff are very friendly and kind.

You never get bored in class because in each lesson the teachers do different things that are exciting, like listening to music, playing games or going out.  After school they can become your friends as you listen to music together or play sport.  On the other hand, the staff look after you very carefully; they give you all the information you need. They usually make a tour or party for students to relax after their examinations.

Cambridge is also a great city; there are many entertainment areas. It is very clean and quiet.  Bellerbys College in Cambridge is a fantastic place for you to reach your dream."

Meet some more students at Bellerbys Cambridge

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Summer of Fun in Cambridge, Despite the Weather!

Though there are fewer students around during the summer, Bellerbys Cambridge still has
a varied programme of events and clubs.  The four regular clubs, basketball, football, badminton and table tennis, were all well attended.

There were some great extra activites in July which were fun, despite the less than perfect weather.  First up was a trip to the cinema to see Shrek The Third.  There is a cinema trip at least once a month and this was as popular as ever. The green ogre proved to be a success!

Then students went on a punting trip to Grantchester, although the novice punters
didn’t quite manage to get all the way to Grantchester!  Being a weekend, the river Cam was full of punts all trying to go in different directions, making progress difficult but at least it
didn’t rain!  Afterwards there was a picnic and several students learned a new game – frisbee!

In mid July, a coach load of students made their way to Alton Towers, the UK's best loved theme park, and home to the Nemesis and Oblivion rides. The weather wasn’t perfect, but
that didn’t spoil a fun and active day for all.

The month was rounded off with a pizza night.  College ‘Food Nights’ always prove popular. 
In the previous months, students have enjoyed Mexican and Japanese food and the pizzas were just as much of a draw!

Read more about activities at Bellerbys Cambridge

 

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Bellerbys Cambridge Graduation Day – 25th May 2007

Despite the rain on the days leading up to it, Graduation Day in Cambridge dawned bright
and sunny and the students made their way to a marquee on the grass at Queens Campus
for the official ceremony.

John Rushton, Principal, presented certificates to students leaving the college in June, with the assistance of John Carey, Rima Page, Richard Loader, Andrew Davis and Denise Tarczynski.  Special awards were presented to three students:

• Ning Xiao from China - Student of the Year
• Shang Ming Tan from China - Contribution to College Life, Manor Campus
• Valentina Permyakova from Russia - Contribution to College Life, Queens Campus

After the ceremony, refreshments were served by our catering team led by Barry Blakesley, Facilities Manager.  In the evening, the students met up at The Garden House by the River Cam for a Graduation Party.

The following is a report from one of the departing students, Sergey Rachkov.

"25th May, one of the most important days of my life – graduation!  Graduation for most students means that we can all progress to our chosen universities and continue to further our education. Also it means that we have to leave and say a few goodbyes.

The Graduation Party was a great opportunity to say goodbye to our friends and members of staff at Bellerbys College.  The Graduation Party was awesome and I really did enjoy it. Everything was just great – the place, music, food, people..."

Thanks to Peter Jenkins, official College Photographer for taking the photos on the day.