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Marple Sixth Form College Magazine
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Spring 2015
Career Academy Crew Hits London
SAY YES TO SUCCESS!
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Contents
Deputy Prime Minister visits
The Cheadle College
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On the campaign trail Nick Clegg
with Cheadle MP Mark Hunter
Welcome aboard
Royal Cheadle airlines training day
“Just like the movies and more”
Students experience life in the big apple!
We mean business
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Career Academy Crew Hits London
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Barcelona Visit
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AS Geography students
Mexican Expedition
Students join academic scientists and
university undergraduates in Opwall, Mexico
Marple student announced as
digital champion
After a nation-wide search
Young Apprentice Event
AS Business Studies students took part in the
annual Stockport Young Apprentice Event
Day Trip to Dublin
Early start for Cabin Crew students on a day
trip to Dublin
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hether you still think of us as The
Ridge, or even The Willows, Marple
Sixth Form College has been at the
heart of the local community for over 80 years.
W
In either case we look to help our students
maximise their full potential and equip them
to pursue whichever pathway they choose to
take in the future.
Throughout this time we have upheld a
tradition of high academic standards, excellent
student guidance and an inclusive approach
to learning which helps prepare young people
for the next stage of their lives.
from at Marple Sixth Form College. Whether
it be tackling scorpions in Mexico or absorbing
the sights, sounds and smells of New York
life as a student at the college should never
be dull.
For the vast majority of our students this
means progressing to university – and many
have gone on to study at Oxford, Cambridge or
Russell Group institutions. For others a more
vocational route may be preferred - which
is why we also offer an exciting and diverse
programme of courses and extra-curricular
activities linked to business, careers and
enterprise.
C o l l ege
I hope you enjoy sharing some of the wonderful
experiences that students have had in recent
months.
Chris Salt
Marple Sixth Form College
Campus Manager
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O
ur sister college The Cheadle College was
pleased to host a visit from the Leader of the
Liberal Democratic Party and then Deputy Prime
Minister, Nick Clegg. Mr Clegg was in Cheadle to
support the campaign of local MP Mark Hunter and to
launch what was then latest of his election messages,
highlight the issue of a potential right wing alliance of
Conservatives, UKIP and the Democratic Unionist
Party.
After a short speech Mr Clegg answered a series of
questions from local constituents and representatives
from the local and national press before conducting
a walkabout around the campus with senior staff and
taking questions from A level Politics students in the
new Media Centre.
The visit came only a day after the launch of the Liberal
Democrat Manifesto which promised an education policy
4
from ‘cradle to grave’. When quizzed on post 16
education the then deputy Prime Minister acknowledged
that funding for colleges had been reduced and that the
sector had borne the brunt of cuts in education.
Although arranged at short notice, staff and students
and nationally recognised political celebrity. The former
Deputy Prime Minister mingled freely with students on
the campus before returning to the Lecture Theatre to
record an interview with the BBC’s Liberal Democrat
correspondent.
The visit was broadcast live on BBC News 24 and on
early evening and later news bulletins on BBC, ITN,
and Sky News, as well as featuring on major national
and local newspaper websites on the day, followed by
accounts in print the following day.
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Cabin Crew students
gained valuable experience
after spending the day at
the
Training Centre.
T
he NCFE Level 2 Air
Cabin Crew students took
the opportunity to put into
practice what they had learnt in
the classroom when they visited
the Thomas Cook training centre
in Woodford.
Under the guidance of two
experienced cabin crew trainers,
the students had the opportunity
to take part in ‘live’ demonstrations
on-board the training aircraft.
Sessions included conducting
safety demonstrations, emergency
Tutors Julie & Hayley said: “The
day helped the students put into
practice what they have learnt in
the classroom as well as allowing
them to gain experience of what
they can expect when they start
working as cabin crew.
The students found the day really
the hands-on experience.”
Aimee Morgan.
Throughout the day the students
were assessed on a number of
activities, which went towards a
section of their coursework.
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students wore smoke hoods and
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aircraft cabin where they were
assessed on how they would
cope, locating and dealing with
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also assessed on completing the
safety demonstration that most
travellers will be familliar with.
Julie continued: “The students
experience.”
“It was great to see the students
answering questions and actively
participating - and even better to
watch them answering questions
from the trainers, which shows
that that have really developed
their knowledge and skills whilst
studying.”
“It was great to see the students
answering questions and actively
participating - and even better to
watch them answering questions
from the trainers, Mark and Sam,
which showed that they had
developed their knowledge and
skills whilst studying.”
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emergency evacuation.
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The students found the
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evacuation.
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The party packed a lot in to its visit, taking in museums, parks, iconic sites such as
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Familiar to many of the students from television and the
movies, the city did not disappoint, providing what Annie
Rudd from Glossop described as a “great experience”.
Lucy Thorp from New Mills viewed the trip as a “brilliant
opportunity” to visit a O+
Q. Times Square
left a particular impression on Jennifer Robb from
Chinley and she echoed the thoughts of all members
of the party when she thanked the college for providing
such a marvellous opportunity “to experience the city
and its culture”.
Party leader Mark Crilly believes that such experiences
:=
8 both educationally
and personally, Central
Park, Broadway and the Rockerfeller Centre brings
to life images previously only seen on television or at
the cinema. The students realise that this is not a giant
some 9 million people. The New York trip has been
plans
are already being made for 2016
the enrichment opportunities that we provide for our
students, all of which contribute to individual personal
and social development.”
As the students boarded the plane at G each took
with them memories of what is thought to be the most
photographed city in the world. Some are already saving
for a return visit!
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Career Academy Crew Hits
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London
This year 19 Year 12 students across The
Cheadle College and Marple Sixth Form
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application to be Career Academy members.
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London where four senior managers provided students
with an insight into their individual career journeys and
an overview of ING.
The Communications Director praised our students for
their smart appearance and prior research evident from
the questions asked at the end of the presentation.
The afternoon event held at the Dominion Theatre was
the Career Academy Annual Convention “SAY YES
TO SUCCESS” comprising inspirational speakers and
attended by a large number of Career Academy students
from colleges around the country.
We ended the day with a tour of Covent Garden. All
had a great time and found the day both exciting and
rewarding.
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Manchester Airport
and on arrival an orientation tour to see the main
sights in central Barcelona such as The Sagrada
Familia and the viewpoints from H
. Our hotel
was located on the seafront in Sitges, 20km south of
Barcelona.
and light visitor use on the dune succession.
Day two was a coastal management focus on the
defences and development of Sitges from the outskirts
to the centre.
The following three days involved data collection during
the day followed up by analysis in the evenings. This will
help the students in their upcoming unit 2 exam in May.
Day three involved a study of the impacts of rebranding
in the El Raval inner city area of Barcelona, close to
the famous Ramblas. On the way home we also visited
Camp Nou – the home of FC Barcelona.
Day one was a sand dune investigation
In Gava contrasting the impacts of heavy
The trip was a great success and the students have been
following up and sharing their data in class this week.
Main picture from L to R
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This was our third trip with Opwall.
These conservation trips are run by
academic scientists and university
undergraduates, whose aim is to
assess the biodiversity in an area
and then to work with the locals to
make sure they manage their
environment in a sustainable way.
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n arriving in Cancun, the disappointment of
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fact that none of the students had even heard of Speedy
Gonzales. However, the pool bar was a good place to
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a 4-metre crocodile cruising in the lagoon behind us!
After a night in a nice hotel we met up with 5 American
girls from Manchester High in Georgia and drove 7
hours down the coast to a remote camp in Calakmul,
surrounded by pristine forest and Mayan ruins. It was
a ’minimal impact’ camp, so we had no running water,
no electricity (apart from an hour a day for lectures),
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sawdust. The showers consisted of a plastic bottle with
holes, suspended from the roof. We were limited to
one bucketful of rainwater a day. A local Mexican family
cooked for us.
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can’t see each other properly. It’s a bit like clubbing!
The forest activities included trapping birds with mist
nets and setting pitfall traps for reptiles, amphibians
and invertebrates. Each evening one group went out
to catch bats by mist net, and for many this was the
most memorable part of week one. Individual bats
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before being released. We saw howler monkeys, spider
monkeys, Brockett deer, peccaries, agoutis, toucans
and hummingbirds. There were tracks of puma and
ocelot but big cats are very elusive. We found many
different species of tree frog and some huge tarantulas,
some seven inches from front to back.
At our welcome meeting Martin spotted a scorpion in
the rafters of the dining hall/shed. Later that week a >>
The camp was on the shore of an aguada – a small
lake populated by various terrapins, Larry the Limpkin
(a dopey-looking water bird) and Monty the crocodile,
who failed to put in an appearance. The noise at night
had to be heard to be believed. The chainsaw buzzing
of the crickets by day was replaced by a chorus of a
dozen frog species croaking at different frequencies, all
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scorpion fell into Dan Caiger’s lap while having his lunch
(Dan’s lunch that is, not the scorpion’s). That wasn’t on
the risk assessment. A word about Martin Royle here. I
taught Martin at the Cheadle campus in 2000-02 before
he went to Manchester to do Zoology. Since then he
has worked with great white and tiger sharks and now
runs his own bespoke safari company, where he takes
small groups of people virtually anywhere in the world
to view animals of their choice. If you want to see snow
leopards in Bhutan, jaguars in Brazil or pandas in China
Martin will take you to the best possible place, at the
best time of year and use the best local guides. He was
a great asset to this trip, with a wealth of genuine and
engaging stories, backed up with photos and videos.
The students were inspired
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divers and so we could participate in reef ecology
dives, among the turtles, sting rays and barracuda.
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which is remarkable – there’s usually at least one who
decides that it isn’t for them.
In the second week we transferred to the coastal
resort of Akumal – bay of the turtle. This was a much
more comfortable week when we slept in dorms with
mattresses, and the chairs had backs. This was reef
The students, past and present, were superb throughout
the trip and were a credit to the college.
Each night a group of students was taken by the research
team to watch green and loggerhead turtles lay their
eggs. We were able to watch, but not to photograph, as
the turtles hauled themselves ashore, dug a hole, laid
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the beach there were nests marked with the species
and date. Unfortunately, there were no hatchings during
our week.
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student has been named as a national digital champion.
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A-Level programme of ICT, Chemistry, Maths and
Physics, applied to the scheme before Christmas.
A supporting statement by the College, expressed
how the knowledge and support of technology could
help to improve the overall College experience. Jake
submitted a high-calibre application, with the full support
of E-Learning team in College.
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demonstrations of the latest
technology and its potential,
support and collaboration
by industry experts and
references to support
employment or university
applications.
We are delighted CAE
has selected Jake as one
of its national Student
Digital Champions. His
application had been
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and adudicators were
‘extremely impressed with the enthusiastic approach
to utilizing technology in Further Education’. We know
Jake will be brilliant at representing the Cheadle and
Marple College Network.
CAE Technology Services is a leading service
company of technology solution experts providing a
wealth of knowledge and expertise to support global
businesses and their day-to-day IT operations.
introduced by CAE to allow the chosen college
and their Digital Champion access to exceptional
resources and an exclusive community whilst
helping colleges to deliver the best outcomes from the
use of technology.
Funded and delivered by CAE with the support of
the world’s leading ICT manufacturers, and directly
addressing recommendations from the G&%)$
report, the Digital Champion Programme is a new and
innovative approach to engaging students.
A full range of benefits
delivered for Jake through
the programme include a
chance to win the annual
award and prize for the
Digital Champion, awarded
to the individual who has
made the biggest impact in
their college as judged by
a guest panel. In addition,
the opportunity offers
the potential to work with
CAE on projects to deploy
and support technology
in College, IT vendor visits to CISCO systems near
Heathrow and +in Reading. Jake also attended
the * in Birmingham in April and is writing
a report as part of the project.
We look forward to welcoming the CAE Education
Team to explore the programme in more depth. This
is a great opportunity for Jake to further develop his
skills and experience within the IT sector and hopefully
progress into a digital leader of the future.
The Student Digital Champion Programme was
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Digital Champions 2015
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AS Business Studies students
from both campuses took part
in the annual Stockport Young
Apprentice Event at Edgeley
Park.
Both teams were exceptional and made me very proud.
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strong competition from other local colleges and school
sixth forms – a cheque for £1000 was given to the
college.
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trip to Dublin.
On arrival in Dublin the students experienced the
delights of local sites and attractions, visiting the
National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology, Government
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Molly Malone” statue which is synonymous with Dublin
so it was only right that we paid her a visit.
This fantastic day out enabled the students to see for
themselves why Dublin is one of Europe’s most vibrant
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Cabin Crew in action assessing the duties that the
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future career aspirations. Throughout the visit students
were fabulous ambassadors for the Travel & Tourism
department and the college.
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THE C&M
COLLEGE
NETWORK
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The Cheadle & Marple College Network draws
Marple Sixth Form College
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Marple
Stockport
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on a range of organisations working together
to ensure the delivery of high quality
education and training for people from
Stockport and beyond.
Previously operating as a combined
institution, Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form
College, The C&M College Network continues
to be underpinned by two learning hubs The
Cheadle College and Marple Sixth Form College
and further includes employers, universities,
schools, local and central government,
policymakers, other colleges,support agencies,
Ofsted and additional partners.
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The C&M College Network visit
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