Mock Election

Seniors are holding a mock election today, alongside the general election. In their assembly this morning they filed past voting stations to vote and put their ballot papers in the ballot box for counting. We look forward to announcing the winner tomorrow (Friday) morning!
Our mock election started three weeks ago. Mr Burden explained the rules. All Senior were put into groups to discuss an agenda for the nation. Mr Burden then re-organised the groups so that those with similar concerns were together. Each group then had to invent their own party name and clarify their manifesto. We insisted they invent new party names to keep them focussed upon issues and not tribal family loyalties!
At our assembly two weeks ago, eight parties put forward their manifestos and we held a vote at the end of the assembly to narrow down a short-list of four parties. Pupils were not allowed to vote for their own party. Then, last week, the four party leaders put forward their manifestos in advance of today’s vote. They were asked to identify about five key policy goals. Here is the choice our pupils face…
Blue Party, led by Holly Webb, Y10: remain in the EU; refocus spending in the NHS toward prevention and mental health; free transport for young people and students; reduce university costs and aim to make them free again; eliminate single use plastics.
Green Liberal Socialists, led by Maxwell Buchanan, Y10: stop Brexit to help trade and national security; net zero emissions by 2035; increase funding for the NHS; increase tax on those earning over £150,000 per year to invest in state schools and fund environment plans.
Democratic Republicans, led by William Lauga, Y10: stop Brexit; increase funding to the NHS; more funding to various charities like Cancer Research; increase taxes on the very wealthy; make all public busses electric by 2025 and reduce fares; more bike lanes; ban single use plastics.
Bureaucratic Socialist Union, led by Peter Graham, Y11: labour front to employ those with lower skills or those becoming bankrupt; higher taxes on those earning over £60,000; poll tax of £2,000 per year; 40,000 more police officers; 20,000 more nurses and pay increase for nurses; ban private health care; pay increase for state school teachers; cheaper, cleaner more reliable public transport; nationalise industries to help manage environment better; extradition of prisoners to outer Scotland to work in the labour front.
Pupils did a fantastic job of thinking about and presenting their manifestos to their peers! We will leave you to decide whether their manifestos fill you with hope for the future or make you recoil in fear! We will add the winner of the election to this news piece after it is announced on Friday morning.

Troy: Myth and Reality

Year 7 and Year 8 pupils spent a wonderful day at the British Museum exploring their major Autumn exhibition: Troy, Myth and Reality. The galleries are full of stunning art, artefacts and sculpture which tell the story and reflect changing responses to the great Trojan War through the ages.  Having examined The Origins of the War pupils were amazed by the replica of the wooden horse that led to The Capture of Troy . The reconstruction of Heinrich Schliemann’s trench then beckoned the group on to  The Excavation of Troy  before the final gallery containing many pieces of modern art sparked a lively discussion about what really constitutes art at all!

Year 7 then went on to look at the Parthenon sculptures while Year 8 looked at the ‘Top Ten items to see at the Museum’ and voted on the Aztec Double Headed Serpent as their favourite.

INSPIRE 2020

Heritage is thrilled to have had work chosen for this exciting exhibition showing in The Octagon Gallery of The Fitzwilliam Museum, from 10 December 2019 – 22 March 2020. The museum invited local schools across Cambridgeshire to respond creatively to one painting, Cupid and Psyche by Jacopo del Sellaio.  Led by Mrs Robertson, Heritage pupils from Year 4 – Year 7 have been inspired by the costumes, the textures, the colours and the figures in the painting to create an amazing array of artwork including miniature pieces of Renaissance furniture to fill a 3D Renaissance bedroom.  Using recycled materials, pupils have been making beautiful chairs, beds, wedding chests filled with tiny clay pots, miniature portraits and paintings for the walls depicting details from Sellaio’s original painting. (The Heritage bedrooms on display will contain work from across the classes.)  We hope that you will be able to visit the exhibition to see the imaginative and collective response of so many children to this wonderful painting.

Environment Awareness Day

Infant and Junior pupils took part in an Environment Awareness Day. The purpose of the day was for the children to have a chance to think about the wonderful world we live in and how we can all be part of a mission to take care of it. School Council decided that for one day only, pupils could come to school dressed in recycled materials or as something in our environment that we need to think about taking care of.
The children came in many different kinds of costumes including endangered species, jewellery made out of recycled materials, the ocean and many more. We were able to enjoy looking at the tremendous effort everyone put into the day as we gathered for an assembly together. The School Council announced that funds raised would be used for purchasing owl boxes for The Cam Conservancy to put up around our local area.  Many of their old boxes have been damaged in the recent weather so the new boxes will provide a safe and warm place for owls such as Barn Owls to nest and hunt from in the winter months.
We are very excited to be able to contribute to our local environment in this way and to continue as a school to think about how we can be faithful stewards of this earth. (Miss Owens)

Much Ado!

As the strains of Widor’s Toccata thundered through Panton Hall, Year 8 embarked on the performance of their lives. Taking on Shakespeare’s classic comedy, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ was a demanding challenge, with some characters having to learn pages of 400-year-old English wit.

Who can forget the horror of the wedding scene, where Claudio (Ben K) callously cast aside his would-be bride, Hero (Livia L-H) in utter humiliation, or the witty banter between Benedick (Edmund R) and Beatrice (Emma L).  The Watch, led by the inimitable Dogberry (Lissy S) and Verges (Taylor T) had everyone in stitches with their nonsensical speeches and horse-play.

Many thanks to the audience, who understood the jokes and laughed in all the right places. Every single member of the class excelled themselves, each playing their part with aplomb, and contributing to an enjoyable evening’s entertainment.