BHASVIC
wins national funding to research the teaching
of mathematics Press release Monday 29th
November 2010
Teachers from BHASVIC recently won funding from
the prestigious National Centre for Excellence
in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) to
carry out research into effective teaching
methods in maths education.
The department carried
out a project over one year, using the Japanese
method of collaborative lesson planning called ‘Lesson
Study’, to trial various approaches to
improving motivation and achievement in their
students. The results have been impressive
and the department consistently achieves A Level
results in the top 10% of the country.
The NCETM supported
the College in its work and Regional Coordinator
Fiona Allan said “We are very impressed
by the way in which BHASVIC made the most of
this valuable opportunity to develop their knowledge
of mathematics teaching and learning. The impact
has been remarkable and is helping transform
their students’ experience of learning
mathematics, with all the benefits that will
bring to their lives.”
Mr Chris Thomson,
Principal at BHASVIC, said, “I am just
delighted with this work and full of admiration
for Ronnie George and all her colleagues in the
Maths Department. Ofsted have for some time regarded
our curriculum provision as outstanding and this
instance of outstanding initiative and achievement
clearly shows why.”
NCETM Director Celia
Hoyles added: “Taking part in research
projects or ‘teacher enquiry’ is
a very effective way for teachers of mathematics
to reflect upon and develop their skills in the
classroom and helps ensure that learners reach
their full potential in this important subject.
We are delighted that NCETM funding is having
such a powerful impact in BHASVIC, as it is across
the country where other similar projects are
taking place. For those involved, this is just
the beginning of a journey in professional development
that will continue to pay dividends in our schools
and colleges over the months and years ahead.”
BHASVIC
student scoops big award in House of Lords
ceremony Press release Thursday 18th
November 2010
A
BHASVIC student has been presented with a highly
sought after Helena Kennedy Foundation award
in a ceremony at the House of Lords. Christine
Aziz received her award from human rights lawyer
and peer Baroness Helena Kennedy QC in recognition
of her achievements in reaching higher education.
The Helena Kennedy
Foundation supports students who face serious
disadvantage, studying at Further Education colleges,
to access higher education through bursaries,
mentoring and work placements to support their
ongoing success in education.
She will receive a £1500 bursary to support
their costs while studying at university and
have access to mentoring and work shadowing opportunities.
Baroness Helena Kennedy
QC, President of the Foundation, said:
“I am delighted
to have presented Christine Aziz with one of
our awards in recognition of her huge achievements
in reaching university against the odds. Each
student who receives an award has been selected
because they are special and have shown real
talent and determination.”
Wes Streeting, Chief Executive of the Helena
Kennedy Foundation, said:
“Making the
leap from college to university can be a big
step and we know there are so many talented people
out there who have the ability to succeed in
higher education, but still miss out on the opportunity.
Our Foundation works with colleges across the
UK to support students to overcome real disadvantage
to ensure that the doors of our universities
are genuinely open to all with the ability. BHASVIC
should be justifiably proud of the talented student
they have produced and we look forward to working
with Christine Aziz to help her get the most
out of studying at university.”
Students
Walk to Celebrate Community Spirit Press release Monday 20th
September 2010
BHASVIC are staging a whole College sponsored
walk on Thursday 30th September to raise
funds for a local charity Brighton Housing
Trust and IT Skills 4 Rural Kenya. At least
six hundred students and staff will be walking
with the aim of raising at least £6,000
for the nominated charities.
Students and staff will walk a
10 kilometre route starting from Devil’s
Dyke and following public footpaths along the
Downs. The first walkers are setting off at phased
intervals from 9 am until 11.00 am on Thursday
30th September. BHASVIC would like to thank BHASVIC’s
Student Union for their help in organising the
sponsored walk.
Walk organiser Matt Peake
said: ”This whole college event is not
just about raising money it is also an important
celebration of BHASVIC’s community spirit.
Our sponsored walk will give us an opportunity
to appreciate our local Downland environment
and its history as well as promoting a healthy
lifestyle for all our students and staff.”
BHASVIC
students achieve excellent results in 2010 Press release Thursday
19th August 2010 Click
here to see more images
Yet again, BHASVIC students have achieved excellent
results at A level. 754 students sat
A level examinations in June 2010, with an
outstanding pass rate of 98%. 59.5%
of all grades were at A*, A and B grades.
199 A* grades were obtained at
A level (10% of A level entries at BHASVIC).
100 students gained at least 3 A grades at A
level, 17 of whom achieved 4 A grades. Two students
achieved 4 A* grades, 16 students achieved 3
A* grades and a further 25 students 2 A*
grades at A level. Many will be reaping the rewards
of their success as they move on to top universities
in September.
Students taking AS levels in 2010
also achieved excellent results. The overall
AS level pass rate was 92.4%. 1327 students took
1 or more AS levels at BHASVIC this summer. 10
students achieved 5 A grades at AS level and
45 students achieved 4 or more A grades at AS
level.
BHASVIC prides itself on being ‘open
access’ – prospective students can
study A levels here if they have achieved 5 or
more grade Cs or above at GCSE.
Chris Thomson, BHASVIC’s
Principal, praised the outstanding achievements
of the students. “Yet again, BHASVIC students
have achieved outstanding results and I would
like to congratulate everyone involved: schools,
parents and above all our excellent staff and
students.”
Recreating
the Oscars Press release Monday
21st July 2010
Screenwriter
and film director John Hillcoat visited BHASVIC
at the Duke of York cinema in Brighton – on
Monday 21 June at 6pm. Oscar style awards were
handed out to students by BHASVIC’s Media,
Film, Communication & Culture Studies Department
at The Duke of York’s cinema at their annual
film show and award ceremony, ‘THE BHASVICTORS.’
John Hillcoat, acclaimed Australian screenwriter
and film director presented the highest achieving
Media, Film or Communication and Culture student
with a prize from the renowned London Film
Academy. Hillcoat’s most recent film ‘The
Road’ is based on Cormac McCarthy’s
novel: it premiered at the 2009 Toronto Film
Festival, and was released in the U.S. in November
2009. He has repeatedly worked with Nick Cave,
and a number of other bands, including Depeche
Mode. Other awards categories include: Best
Short Film, Best Music Video and Best Reality
/ Documentary TV show. The BHASVICTORS also
showcased the best print and multi-media work
in Communication and Culture and Interactive
Media.
Alison
Cousens, Head of Media, Film and Communication
Studies, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity
for our students to have their films shown in
a real cinema. Many of them have a bright future
ahead in the industry – their films range
from the exotic and dramatic to the amusing and
surreal. They include ‘Brighton Sound City’ which
explores the local music scene, ‘More for
Less’, a Gok Wan style make-over show,
and ‘Emotional Bankruptcy’, which
explores the idea of emotions as a taxable commodity.
Come along and join us in celebrating our students’ highly
professional achievements.”
John Hillcoat - BHASVICTORS
interview
John Hillcoat - Latest
TV interview
15
members of BHASVIC staff took part in the inaugural
Brighton Marathon Press release Sunday 18th
April 2010
15 members of BHASVIC staff took part in the inaugural
Brighton Marathon on Sunday 18th April. All of
them completed the course and were in College
the next day in a very happy state of mind (if
not body). Our fastest woman was Dance teacher
Tamsin Dyke at 4 hours 10 minutes and fastest
man was Student Services Manager Nick Herbert
at 3 hours 38 minutes. Congratulations to everyone,
and thanks to all who came out to support our
runners and donated to their charities.
GORDON
BROWN VISITS BHASVIC Press release 16th April 2010
Gordon
Brown is welcomed by BHASVIC Principal, Chris
Thomson to a question-time with students hosted
by Eddie Izzard in BHASVIC’s main hall.
Pictured below: Gordon
Brown and Eddie Izzard are greeted by Routa Mansi
and Callum Hubbard - BHASVIC student union presidents.
Eddie Izzard paid tribute to the £11,000
BHASVIC has raised for charity so far this year.
Sixth
Form Colleges' Forum
celebrates launch of Sixth Form Colleges' new,
unique status Special event showcases
talent and achievements of the sector Press release 21st April 2010
Students Becky Dale-Evrett
(left), Sophie Newton (right) meet broadcaster
and academic Marcus de Sautoy
BHASVIC is delighted to have been one of the
eight Sixth form colleges nationally to be
invited to provide a display and attend the
celebratory launch of event of the Sixth
Form Colleges’ Forum on April 21st
at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre,
London in recognition of their exceptional
and distinctive contribution to 16-18 education.
On April 1st Sixth Form Colleges became unique
institutions, entirely distinct both from
schools and colleges of further education.
The celebration was hosted by academic and broadcaster
Marcus de Sautoy, Sixth Form College alumnus
and now Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public
Understanding of Science. Keynote addresses
were provided by Sir David Melville, Chair of
LLUK, Les Walton, Chair of YPLA and John Freeman,
Director of React, LGA.
Performances and displays by sixth form students
illustrated the breadth of student talent, pastoral
life and curriculum which are the hallmarks of
a Sixth Form College education.
Announcing the event, Mark Bramwell, the Forum’s
Chair, said: “This event signifies both
a looking-back and a looking-forward. As
we celebrate our sector’s exceptional academic
and pastoral achievements, we also prepare for
a new phase in our history, working with central
and local government to consolidate the mission
of Sixth Form Colleges and to spread the word
about their many academic, vocational, community
and economic benefits.”
Chief Executive David Igoe added: “We hope
our many friends in government, education and
media join our celebration. Designation
as a Sixth Form College signifies a coming-of-age,
a sector-wide recognition of the outstanding
work of our Colleges in improving the life opportunities
for the thousands of students who pass through
Sixth Form College doors every year.”
The
Doctor and the Actress
Two local youngsters have reached their respective
pinnacles in education and career
Press release April 2010
Simon Cook , 28 and Emily Cook , 24 , both attended
St Lawrence C of E primary school in Hurstpierpoint
followed by Downlands in Hassocks where they
each attained 11 GCSE’s and Emily was head
girl in 2001-2002 . Both Simon and Emily moved
on to BHASVIC in Brighton where they attained
4 A levels each with A grades.
Simon continued his education at Imperial College
London and attained a Msc in Geology and after
a spell of work for civil engineers on projects
like the Brighton outfall, he returned to study
for his Phd at University College London.
Emily attended Magdalene College Cambridge studying
English, Drama and Education. Emily had fostered
her love of performance in Hurstpierpoint as a
founder member of Shine Theatre company and at
Downlands school productions. She went on to achieve
a first class degree at Cambridge and continued
to Central School of Speech and Drama in London
, the prestigious college where Sir Laurence Olivier
and Dame Judy Dench studied.
After graduating with a Master of Arts in Community
theatre last year Emily worked with Kevin Spacey
at the Old Vic. She has recently taken up a job
at English National Opera organising participation
events. In 2010 Emily started her own London theatre
company ' Starling Arts ' with her CSSD colleague
Anna Shields and had their launch production last
Friday , 26 March . Starling Arts already have
around 100 performers on their books and are continually
looking for new and innovative ways of bringing
performance to the community , including a summer
childrens project in Devon. Details can be found
at starlingarts.com.
Last week Simon completed his Phd in Environmental
Engineering - studying pollution in drinking water
in Southern England. Simon lives in Burgess Hill
with Sarah his wife, also a hydrogeologist. Dr
Simon Cook has now accepted a one year post doctoral
research project into ground water problems at
UC Davis in California , a post which he is due
to take up in mid April 2010.
Jasmine
D’Costa read extracts from her
book
‘Curry is thicker than water’ to
students
Press release 23rd March 2010
At
the talk students discovered that Jasmine is
very much a modern Indian and modern woman. Born
in Bombay she pursued her career as a senior
banker for the State Bank of India in Bombay.
Later Jasmine gave up corporate life and emigrated
to Canada where she immediately landed a major
role in Canadian indy film ‘The Limits’.
After this she decided that her life path should
veer again, this time to the role of author.
Jasmine’s first book, a collection of short
stories set in India, is ‘Curry is thicker
than water’.
Cambridge
11 Oxford 2 Press release 20th January
2010
Nine of the thirteen students
from BHASVIC (pictured here) have been offered
places at the universities of Oxford or Cambridge
in this year’s round of applications.
Eleven students were offered places
at Cambridge: Madeleine Avery to
study History; Katherine Bewlock to
study Law; Jack Cranfield to
study Archaeology; Eleanor Earl to
study Geography; Adela Grant Ryle to
study History; Eleanor Harley to
study Law; Verity Jackson to
study Natural Sciences; Stefan Karakashian to
study Maths; Claire Nichols to
study Natural Sciences; Neel Patel to
study Maths; ChrisRosier to
study Engineering.
Two students were offered places
at Oxford: Claire Robertson to
study Biological Sciences and Thomas
Beamont to study History and French.
“Our students have done outstandingly
well and made really effective use of the full
support offered by their teachers and I congratulate
them all” said College Principal, Chris
Thomson.
Divide Press release 15h January
2010
BHASVIC’s production
of ‘Divide’ is based on Harold
Pinter’s plays ‘New World Order’, ‘Party
Time’ and ‘Mountain Language’.
Performances on Tuesday 9th, Wednesday 10th
and Thursday 11th February will begin at 7.30pm
outside BHASVIC’s Drama Studio so the
audience is advised to bring clothing suitable
for wet and or cold weather conditions.
The plot revolves around
the divide created in society by the contrast
between those who enjoy the comforts of a rich
privileged life and those who are excluded
to the harsh realities of poverty.
The audience see streets
overtaken by a sinister military presence and embark
on a journey in which they find themselves in a hostile
environment in which cruelty and lack of humanity is
the norm. In one room two interrogators harass a man
for questioning the social order and in a corridor
a women pleads for the life of her husband. Eventually
the audience witnesses an elegant cocktail party in
which the privileged elite, dance, discuss clubs, eat
oysters and drink champagne – the elite remain
protected from the streets below from the unmentionable
horrors of poverty, squalor and any threat to their
absolute power.
Tickets are priced at £5/£3.50
(concessions) and are available from the College Cash
desk or are available by calling 01273 - 552200. Groups
of ten or more are charged at £4 per ticket and
are available by e-mailing e.griffin@bhasvic.ac.uk
