T H E L A T I N wwwwww
Issue 81
www.royallatin.org
January 2024
From the Headteacher - David Hudson
Dear Parents & Guardians I am delighted to introduce the first edition of The Latin for 2024 and would like to wish you all a very happy new year. January is a good time to provide a reminder of the school’s overarching aim - ‘to develop the skills and qualities necessary to enable all students to be happy and achieve their academic and personal potential’. This focus on happiness is fundamentally important to what we do at the Latin and you will see this shining out of the pages which follow. In the school context, one of the areas which brings so much happiness to students and staff is extracurricular activities. These can come in the form of academic extension and subject enrichment - either way it is heartening to see how our students are making the most of the vast array of opportunities made possible by staff. And, just to show that we’re thinking of the whole family, if you’re looking for a structured way of increasing your own activity (and happiness) levels then join our annual 600 minute challenge for February (details available next week) - good luck!
Bar Mock Trials
REGIONAL CHAMPIONS!
RLS are regional champions! The Bar Mock Trial Competition helps young people understand how the law touches every aspect of their lives, gaining an insight into how the legal justice system works. All schools are given access to resources, including specially written criminal cases, to help teams prepare legal arguments. After preparation that began in the summer, the RLS team took part in the Birmingham regional heat going head-to-head with other schools to prosecute and defend the cases. Students who take part are encouraged to think critically, build arguments and boost their confidence. Through enabling students to interact with legal professionals, the competition helps develop employability skills. The experience will help students develop a sound knowledge and understanding of the role of law and the justice system in our society. Our Bar Mock Trial team overcame opponents from 11 other schools in the regional finals in November and qualified for the National Finals which will be held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. It should be noted that our team was the youngest team taking part in a competition that is open to Years 10-13. As well as preparing for the national final, where the cases deal with ‘Causing a public nuisance’ and ‘Committing unauthorised access to computer material’, these students are also volunteering to mentor our junior team who are preparing for the Magistrates’ Mock Trial local heat in March.
Buckingham Town Council Workshop
by Geography Captains Hannah and Libby
"On the afternoon of 13th December, we had a very useful and interesting workshop with the local Buckingham Town Council. The workshop was a great opportunity for both geography and other A-Level students, in addition to the 40 students from KS3 and KS4 that attended the workshop later the same afternoon, to engage in activities that involved the future development of our local community. The Planners introduced the three scenario extension plan, that was to either take place across the southern section of Buckingham, the west, or both. They explained how each potential regeneration project would involve the redevelopment of brownfield sites, which built on concepts we had already learnt. We were able to write our opinion on each scenario, taking either a positive, negative or neutral stance on each possible extension, and having to then further justify our perspective, which helped our ability to evaluate a regeneration project by weighing up both its potential strengths and drawbacks. We were then given a map of the town, and asked to place lego pieces, each representing different infrastructure or services, such as schools, on the map. This allowed us to provide our own input as to what services we thought the community lacked, and created an interesting debate when using a budget to prioritise the need for structures like housing, new sports facilities or shops. Thus, giving us a greater insight into the complexity of being a town planner when having to think about what the town needs and where best to place it. Overall the workshop was especially beneficial for A-level Geographers who were able to make links between the components of the extension project and our own prior knowledge on local scale regeneration."
R L S MATHS
Left: James being congratulated by Mr Mr Hudson
Above: Finn, Ayush and John being congratulated by Mr West
Last term some of our A level students took part in the Ritangle competition, run by MEI. Ritangle is pronounced like ‘right angle’ or ‘wry tangle’. They had to answer a series of questions which were released between October and December, in three stages. The use of technology; spreadsheets, graphing software and programming is encouraged and can be particularly useful. Any use of online resources/search engines was also permitted. Every correct answer revealed a piece of information that helped them to solve the Final Task. Congratulations to Finn, Ayush and John in Year 12 who completed all three stages of the competition and made it onto the list of Commendable teams. Also last term, James was selected to take part in Round 1 of the British Mathematical Olympiad following his excellent performance in the Senior Maths Challenge. This is a 3½-hour paper with 6 challenging problems to solve. Congratulations to James on achieving a Distinction certificate, this is an outstanding achievement.
Year 12
Here is what some of our Year 12 students had to say about this fantastic trip:
12th - 15th December 2023 Computer Science - MFL - History
BERLIN
Henry Hill: At an absurdly early time, we set off from the Latin, bleary-eyed and mostly asleep. I found the trip immensely enjoyable. The schedule was packed but never felt overstuffed, with uniquely memorable and fun experiences on each day. The sense of history in the city was fascinating and the multiple guided tours through both the capital itself, as well as several monuments were truly one of the most enriching and interesting parts of the entire trip. I would highly recommend this trip, and am sure it will remain a particular highlight of my time at The Latin. Emme Kok: Going on the Berlin trip was such an amazing experience for me, as it allowed me to learn so much about the history of the Berlin Wall and talk to the locals, which was incredibly valuable to me as an A-level German student! It felt so surreal being able to see the wall in person as I had only seen pictures of it during class, and it really does make a difference when you speak to the people who had personally experienced this event in history. Even though the trip was only 4 days, we visited many different museums and beautiful historical buildings, while still leaving time for shopping and roaming around the Christmas markets. I could say without hesitation that it was one of the best trips during my time at the Royal Latin, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is fortunate enough to get the opportunity! ADITYA AGGARWAL: I really liked the trip, and in particular the freedom we had throughout the duration of the trip. In comparison to other school trips I have been on, this was the most fun one I've had.
Parineet Vernekar: The Berlin trip was one of the most interesting trips I’ve been on. I had an amazing experience. I really enjoyed the Computerspielemuseum, since I saw some incredibly interesting devices such as the original GameBoy and the Apple II and the arcade games were very interesting. I found the Pain Machine intriguing - it was definitely fun…for a couple of minutes. I enjoyed taking the opportunity to navigate Berlin’s public transport - an intricate and well-developed system. Additionally, the Christmas Markets were truly unique and that atmosphere was unforgettable. At The German Spy Museum I enjoyed learning about the history of encryption and ciphers. I also liked seeing the spy machinery and we all enjoyed the laser maze. I found it really fascinating to be inside the The Bundestag building. My favourite part of the trip was the BMW Plant Tour. I loved seeing the plant and seeing the production process in building a motorcycle. Berlin truly is a unique place, with its rich history and culture, it really is an amazing place to visit! Emma Williams: I really enjoyed the trip. I had never been to Berlin previously, so going in itself was exciting, however I also thoroughly enjoyed the activities that were planned by the teachers. The Christmas markets were certainly a highlight of the trip as we had the chance to wander around by ourselves as well as soaking in all the atmosphere. Our visit to the Olympic Stadium particularly stood out for me because it was a breathtaking experience. The tour guide was extremely factual and interesting especially as for History we are learning about the 1936 Olympic Games. I found our visit to Sachsenhausen Memorial to be fascinating, upsetting, but also an extremely interesting experience. Places visited: Christmas Markets • TimerideVR • Berlina Dome • Planetarium • Berlin Wall Memorial • Computerspielemuseum • Jewish Museum • German Spy Museum • Bundestag • Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church • BMW Plant tour • Olympic Stadium • TV Tower • River Spree Boat Cruise • Deutsches Technik Museum • Berlin Underworld Tour • Sachsenhausen National Memorial and Museum • The Science Centre Spectrum
Science Club News BY Shaunak 7V In my first term at RLS, I joined the Science Club. This is a club every Friday lunchtime in S1 for science enthusiasts in KS3 to come along and do fun science demonstrations and experiments. Some of the interesting experiments we do include: - Floating methane bubbles - Catapults - Elephants toothpaste - Observing organisms under the microscope - Marble roller coasters - Pinhole cameras - Chemical testing - Chromatography - Aerodynamic planes You earn house points and sweets as well by attending the club. Every session is a great way to socialise with friends and other students passionate about science, all while learning science in a fun and engaging way. The club is led by Dr. Pye, the KS3 Science lead, who always finds new experiments to do each week. Overall, the Science Club is a great experience. I would highly recommend it to anyone keen on exploring the pathways and intersections of science.
Organ Tuition starts at RLS From Mr Tucker, Head of Music In partnership with Viscount Classical Organs and the Royal College of Organists, we have received delivery of an instrument on loan for organ teaching. This is the first time our music department has been able to offer an organ programme, and it is generating plenty of excitement amongst students. Mr Thomas, one of the RCO's accredited teachers is pictured below, giving a lesson on the new Viscount digital organ, donated to the RCO by Andrew Gillett, RCO Trustee. RLS now offers one-to-one organ tuition for students whether beginner, intermediate or advanced. Students can work towards any objective agreed with their organ teacher, Mr Thomas, for example a church service, the attainment of a certain standard, fluency with their feet, a concert or an examination. We offer organ tuition, support and guidance for all forms of examination. For graded examinations we recommend those of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music because of its carefully composed syllabus, thorough administration and ongoing moderation of standards. To ensure you consistently move towards your personal objectives we carefully monitor your progress with our teacher. Applicants should have reached a reasonable level of proficiency on the piano first. For further information, contact rtucker@royallatin.org
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CloudyIT Foundation welcomes RLS students Sixteen innovative RLS students have signed up to the next programme of IT activities offered by local IT experts CloudyIT. Over 8 weeks, students will get to experience designing and creating a Microsoft PowerApp under the guidance of tutors, partners and sponsoring businesses. They will also be able to tap into the expertise of educational mentors (including Microsoft, The Peter Jones Foundation, QA, and Bucks Skills Hub). It is no surprise that students are looking forward to developing their business, digital and interpersonal skills in what is surely a fantastic opportunity. The CloudyIT Foundation has an impressive track record of being community-minded and helping young people develop essential skills, boosting their CVs and confidence. To volunteer or partner with the CloudyIT Foundation, please see: https://cloudyfoundation.org.uk/ The CloudyIT Foundation are hosting a Charity Black Tie Dinner on March 23rd. Tickets are available
If you like the book above, try this: The perfect read for the winter months, this magical fantasy from the author of Twitch and the Adventures on Trains series sees children transformed into ice statues by sinister forces.
This month's recommendation is 'Skandar and the Unicorn Thief' by A.F. Steadman Fiction - Young Adult - Fantasy
Welcome to our January reading article
Thirteen-year-old Skandar Smith has only ever wanted to be a unicorn rider. To be one of the lucky few selected to hatch a unicorn. To bond with it for life; to train together and race for glory; to be a hero. But just as Skandar's dream is about to come true, things start to take a more dangerous turn than he could ever have imagined. A dark and twisted enemy has stolen the Island's most powerful unicorn - and as the threat grows ever closer, Skandar discovers a secret that could blow apart his world forever... Get ready for unlikely heroes, elemental magic, sky battles, ancient secrets, nail-biting races and ferocious unicorns, in this epic adventure series that will have your heart soaring.
From the English Department
Family - Adventure - Fantasy
Update from the Development Office In 2023, the Royal Latin School celebrated its 600th anniversary – a truly momentous year, filled with nostalgia, tribute and celebration. This significant milestone provided us with a really special opportunity to welcome lots of visitors into the school, to reflect on the school’s values, culture and heritage, and to plan for the future. Now that our anniversary year is over and 2024 is here, everyone is keen to know what else the Development team is focusing on – so here’s a flavour! Alumni The 600th anniversary underlined just how much the school means to people, and that our students carry meaningful memories of their school days for the rest of their lives. Former students are always warmly welcomed back to the Royal Latin, and we will continue to listen to their memories and experiences. We’ll continue to encourage Old Latins to stay in touch with the school, and with each other, and to enable them to contribute to school like today through sharing expertise, talks, volunteering and mentoring. As we head into our seventh century, supporting these relationships with our alumni community will remain at the forefront of what we do. 600 Campaign: Phase Three We’ll continue to improve the teaching and learning environment too. It has long been our intention to build an Arts Centre at the school, and we’ll develop those exciting plans much further during the course of 2024. We’ll share our plans – both for the building and for the ambitious fundraising campaign required to fund it – as soon as we can. In the meantime, we’ll continue to build partnerships and welcome donations to the school, whether to departments or buildings or to our archive, so that we can both conserve our heritage and ensure that we can continue to innovate and improve what we can offer in our classrooms day to day. Community & Charter The anniversary enabled us to restate our commitments to the community and to looking after our local environment and planet, and we will continue to fulfil these pledges into 2024 and beyond through our anniversary Charter. Students and staff logged a spectacular 5,823 hours of volunteering during 2023, and volunteering will remain an important part of school life moving forwards – something we’ll celebrate through our annual Extraordinary People Awards scheme. So – our remit, and the scale of the challenge before us, remains as large as ever! Needless to say, please do get in touch with me direct if you’d like to know more or want to get involved in the months ahead. In the meantime, a heartfelt thank you from the Development team for all of your encouragement and enthusiasm during our anniversary year, we really do appreciate it! Jo Ballantine Director of Development jballantine@royallatin.org Find out more about the Development Office activities by clicking on the links below: 600th Anniversary Alumni & Archive 600 Campaign Community & Charter
The Buckingham Partnership SCITT continues to thrive at The Royal Latin. We believe in recruiting excellent future teachers to meet local needs, ensuring our young people have the very best opportunities in their schools. We work with over 40 schools in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes. We are proud to be based at The Royal Latin and we are able to take advantage of the excellent skills and knowledge of staff at RLS. Many staff deliver training days or support our trainees as Mentors or Subject Tutors. This year we have 39 trainees covering a range of subjects and phases. recruitment for 24-25 is already underway and numbers are looking good so far. If you know anyone who might be interested in a career in teaching, we hold regular 'Teacher Taster Days' where you can come along and find out more. Our next event is Tuesday 20th February in the morning. The Eventbrite link to sign up is here.