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GC takes LA!

Posted on by Emily Thompson

During the Easter Holidays, our Film Studies students jetted off across the Atlantic to spend the week in Los Angeles.

Below is a write up of the trip, written collaboratively by Molly James, Molly Stevens and Merryn Hobson.

LA Trip

Day One

We kickstarted our trip with a coach tour of Los Angeles. Firstly, we were mesmerised by the magnificent view of LA from the Griffith Observatory, as seen in the famous ‘La La Land’ Planetarium scene, as well as a close up viewing of the Hollywood sign. We then travelled back down to the Hollywood walk of fame as our brilliant tour Guide, James Berry, told us some interesting facts about LA. On the Walk of Fame, we stopped off at the TCL Chinese theatre and then The Dolby Theatre, where the Oscars ceremony is held every year. For lunch, we visited The Original Farmers Market, as well as The Grove shopping centre. To end our coach tour of LA, we visited Los Angeles Plaza, the central point of Los Angeles historic district, as well as Los Angeles Union Station. We then said goodbye to our tour guide James and made our way back to the hotel. Everyone then enjoyed some free time in the evening with many trying out some American fast food and looking around Hollywood some more. Overall, it was brilliant start to the trip!

Day Two:

At 10am we bustled on to the coach for a day of exploring the world of film making! Our first stop: The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures! A huge museum packed full of interesting facts and displays of the history of film. Each level held something different, from ‘Star Wars’ memorabilia, the costumes from ‘The Godfather’, and looking into the work of different directors, composers and producers- even a model of Bruce from ‘Jaws’ was on display! The experience immersed us in film making, showing us the stories of moviemakers and cinema, and to top it all off, we had a rooftop view overlooking the city.

After a quick stop at the Farmer’s Market for lunch, we were able to experience the Warner Bros Studio Tour. Split into groups, we were given a tour around the lot where we were guided through the places where films had come to life. We stood on the backlot that was modified into becoming ‘Gotham City’ for the ‘Batman’ films, and for films such as ‘La La Land’ and ‘Annie’. We even stood in the place where the famous ‘Spiderman’ kiss was filmed between Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst (who played Spiderman and Mary Jane). Our guides took us around the set of ‘Gilmore Girls’, and we were given a photo opportunity in front of the ‘Friends’ fountain, sat on the iconic orange couch. We were also able to go into one of the huge soundstages which are used to create the sets indoors and produce effects such as stormy weather, which they are unable to do outside in sunny California. After this, was a self-guided tour, where we took photos on the remade sets of ‘Friends’ and ‘Big Bang Theory’, and saw costumes from DC films, and even the Bat Mobile! We were also sorted into our ‘Harry Potter’ houses by the sorting hat and took photos in Harry’s bedroom under the stairs!

After a long but very exciting day we headed back onto the Walk of Fame for food and some further exploring of our own. Although the exploring was mainly reduced to places such as Target!

Day Three:

The big day had arrived! 10-9 at Universal Studios. Some students however managed to sneak in a quick trip to the incredible Hollywood Bowl concert venue before setting off! The venue was awe-inspiring with the huge legacy behind it, from The Beatles to Frank Sinatra.

Bright eyed and bushy tailed we rocked up at Universal ready to take on the rides. From Harry Potter themed rides to Springfield and a studio tour involving a King Kong/Jurassic Park crossover. Fast forward 8 hours and some of us slightly burnt and most of us tired, we met back up in the evening to recount our fun filled day before heading for some tea at the CityWalk. It was a brilliant day.

Day Four:

It was our last day 🙁 The week had flown by and suddenly we were on the coach to Santa Monica for a relaxing morning by the beach. Everyone headed out along the famous Santa Monica Pier, dancing with a busker or getting ready to go on the Ferris Wheel. Some students headed down towards Venice Beach and some headed up the shops, while others took on a dip in Santa Monica Bay (Pacific Ocean)! The sun was shining, and it was a lovely end to our fantastic time away. Early afternoon the time came, and we got on the coach to LAX, bracing ourselves for the 11-hour flight home!

A2 Student Alexandra awarded 3 scholarships to study at leading Music Conservatoires

Posted on by Emily Thompson

We are over the moon for A2 student Alexandra Harrison as she is offered places at 4 leading Music Conservatoires, with 3 of them offering her scholarships. This is truly a remarkable achievement.

Alexandra has been student at juniorRNCM for five years, studying viola and violin.  She is also a member of the National Youth Orchestra and has just returned from a winter residency where she performed in various concert venues including the Barbican, Nottingham, Warwick and Liverpool.  She was also a member of The Halle Youth Orchestra and Musica Kirklees, before joining juniorRNCM. She really is an immensely talented individual!

Alexandra applied to study an undergraduate Bachelor of Music at Conservatoire at the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Following a tough application process, which involved an earlier submission deadline for her personal statement, an audition process (playing set repertoire and a contrasting piece, sight reading, aural exercises and musician questions), and an in person interview with the audition panel, Alexandra was offered places at all 4 Conservatoires, and scholarship offers from the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music and Royal Northern College of Music.

I feel very proud and honoured to be offered a place at all four Conservatoires I applied for as well as being offered financial support to study there. Greenhead has ensured I was prepared and organised for the application process as well as being encouraging for the auditions and supportive with the amount of time I have had to be absent through the Autumn.

Quote from Alexandra

Well done Alexandra on this outstanding achievement, we are so proud of you and can’t wait to follow your musical journey in the future.

Chemistry Department win prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry Education Prize

Posted on by Emily Thompson

Greenhead College Chemistry Department has been named the winner of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Team Prize for Excellence in Secondary and Further Education.

Nominated by their peers, the team was chosen by the RSC’s prestigious panel of judges as one of the most inspirational, innovative and dedicated people in education.

The team has now become a winner of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Team Prize for Excellence in Secondary and Further Education, for enhancing and enriching the chemistry learning of a huge and diverse group of students by offering a high quality and broad chemistry education and through effective outreach.

Ruth Farnell, Head of Chemistry at Greenhead College said:

“Working with young people can be incredibly rewarding. However, the extent of the work that teams like ours put into ensuring that every student receives not only an outstanding education but also so much more in the way of enthusiasm for and opportunities in chemistry isn’t often recognised. Receiving an accolade like this where our efforts are publicly acknowledged, valued and celebrated means so much to everyone in the team.”

The chemistry team at Greenhead College use their skill, expertise and passion to bring chemistry to life for the almost 1000 students studying in the department. The team have developed an interesting and varied scheme of work that is enhanced and enriched by work outside the classroom.

Students in the department are given opportunities to work with local primary schools to share their love and passion for chemistry with Year 6 children whose enthusiasm for putting on a lab coat and using a Bunsen Burner is infectious. If the students are considering a future in chemistry or research, then there is also the chance to work alongside researchers at the University of Huddersfield to conduct a project as part of our Real World Chemistry enrichment, the results of this work are presented both in the college and at the University using PhD style poster presentations.

The team supports all learners to make the most of their chemistry education whilst at the college. Additional support comes in many forms such as peer mentoring, 11 staffed support sessions a week, a dedicated classroom where students can work quietly in their free time, student study groups and video tutorials covering the entire course. Enhancement in the form of the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge, RSC Schools’ analyst competition, RSC Chemistry Olympiad, Cambridge HE+ scheme, Alumni interactions, University outreach talks and trips to Huddersfield University and a residential to the Chemistry department at Oxford all enrich the chemistry curriculum.

Dr Helen Pain, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said: 

“It’s of vital importance that we recognise the crucial role that educators play in the advancement of the sciences. And that we commend their ability to inspire and nurture the next generation of bright young minds, so that they can go on to make new discoveries and innovations.

“Society faces many challenges, and educators give us the tools we need to advance our understanding of the world around us and solve many of the problems we encounter. The team’s work demonstrates an outstanding commitment to chemistry education, and it is our honour to celebrate their considerable contribution.”

Gill Reid, President of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said:

“For many of us as chemists our teachers were our inspiration – their influence in driving the next generation of amazing scientists cannot be underestimated. That’s why I’m so proud of the winners of the Education Horizon Prizes, each of whom demonstrates an infectious passion for learning that sparks young minds to do amazing things.

“This year’s winners set exemplary examples of the impact this can make; it’s no exaggeration to say their successes will be felt for generations to come ”

The Excellence in Education Prizes celebrate inspirational, innovative, and dedicated people working in primary, secondary, further education and higher education – including teachers, technicians and more. These prizes recognise a wide range of skills – from curriculum design to effective teaching, and from personal development to working culture. This category includes specific prizes for teams and for those in the early stages of their career.

The Royal Society of Chemistry’s prizes have recognised excellence in the chemical sciences for more than 150 years. In 2019, the organisation announced the biggest overhaul of this portfolio in its history, designed to better reflect modern scientific work and culture.

A trio of medals in National Sporting Championships

Posted on by Emily Thompson

The Association of Colleges Sport National Championships took place in Nottingham last week, with Greenhead College representing the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Our Mixed Hockey Captains, Jono Perrot and Georgie Westwood, pictured below, were invited to be flag bearers for the region.

33 students from Greenhead College took part, competing in Cross Country, Netball, Tennis, Badminton, Table Tennis and Mixed Hockey.

We are delighted to report that we had medal success in the following sports:

Badminton – Lucy Walker, Louise Hutchinson and Gemah Fletcher achieved a team Bronze Medal.

Table Tennis – Kamran Amin won both the individual and team Bronze Medals.

Mixed Hockey achieved a Gold Medal. The team, pictured below, had fixtures against all opposing regions, winning every match except one which was a draw. Going into the final game against Richard Huish College, both colleges needed a win to be champions. Greenhead won 2-0 against a team that had not let in any goals!

Adele Crowther, Teacher of PE at Greenhead College said:

“What a fantastic weekend of sport! It was great to be back at the AoC Sport National Championships after a two year break due to covid. All 33 students that represented the College and the Region performed magnificently, demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship, teamwork, athleticism, and resilience.  

We are extremely proud of all the students who competed over the weekend, they were a credit to us. Coming home with bronze in badminton and table tennis and gold in the mixed hockey was the icing on the cake!”

In terms of skill, sportsmanship and teamwork, our College was exceptional. At the end of the tournament, we were commended by the officials with regard to our students’ attitude and team ethos. All our students performed magnificently and were a credit to Greenhead College and the region.

Alumna Brogan goes from Greenhead to Team GB

Posted on by Emily Thompson

We’re thrilled to reveal that Greenhead College alumna, Brogan Crowley, has been selected to represent Team GB in the women’s skeleton event at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Brogan attended Greenhead College from 2010-12 and studied A Levels in English Language, Law and Physical Education, and an AS Level in Psychology.
Whilst at Greenhead, Brogan competed in the Heptathlon and won the English Schools 100m Hurdles. Brogan’s motto is ‘Don’t Give Up!’, which is amazing advice and has certainly served her well throughout her sporting career.
We send Brogan all our best wishes for success in Beijing!

A ‘national double’ for Greenhead Netball!

Posted on by Emily Thompson

We are extremely proud of our netball team who have now achieved a ‘national double’ as they reach the national finals in two separate championships.

Having previously qualified for the AoC National Championships taking place in April 2022, on Sunday 30 January, the team stormed ahead at the regional round of the National Schools Championships in Sheffield winning each and every game and qualifying them for yet another national final. The National Schools Finals will be held at Oundle School, Peterborough on Sunday 13th March. 

A huge congratulations to the team whose attitude throughout has been exemplary and a real credit to the College. Good luck at both finals, we will be cheering you on all the way!

Pictured are: back row L-R – Holly Burnip, Bella Cook, Abi Conway, Isabelle Kowalczyk, Grace Wragg and Charlotte Margetson.

Front row L-R – Grace Spurr, Jess Head, Ella Dibden and Maisie Reading.

Greenhead College Art Exhibition 2021

Posted on by Emily Thompson

16th September 2021 saw our A Level Art Exhibition finally return, albeit on a smaller scale than usual. The college invited its A2 leavers to return and celebrate their outstanding achievements with their families, friends and staff members, following its cancellation back in June.

The Art students have faced two extremely difficult years, and online learning has been far from ideal for creative courses. Despite this, the students have stayed positive in the most testing times, and their resilience and ambition has shone.

Head of Art, Rachel Lumb commented:

We are really proud of the work they have produced under such
testing conditions and how they have shown such independence and ambition.
It has certainly been an extraordinary first year for me at Greenhead but
these students have really pulled me through with their joy and resilience.
Staff have worked particularly hard to ensure students have achieved their
very best and we have all loved working with this group of students so
much.

We welcome you to watch our Art Exhibition via video and our online gallery below:

Student Miles Kelly wins Greenhead College’s New Music Competition

Posted on by admin

Congratulations to A1 student Miles Kelly, who has been announced as the winner of the Greenhead College New Music Competition 2021

Open to all students across West Yorkshire aged 18 or below, the Music Competition was designed by the Greenhead College Music Department to create an opportunity for students to be creative during lockdown.  To enter, students were asked to write a piece of music – anything at all from a song, to a piece of music for a string quartet.  

The competition received an outstanding number of entries and the following students made the shortlist: 

  • Jerome Dodd (Greenhead College) 
  • Xiana Harron (Greenhead College) 
  • Miles Kelly (Greenhead College) 
  • Oliver Bates (Greenhead College) 
  • Tobias Cooper (Greenhead College) 
  • Joshua Ellwood (Shelley College) 
  • Nathan Webster (Honley High) 

Judging the competition was London based composer, musician and producer Paul Silver, who chose Miles’ song ‘Buzzy Bees in Poppy Fields’ as the winner.  

Paul said: 

“This piece of music really made me smile, took me on a journey and overall gave me the best feel emotionally.”  

Miles’ prize for winning the competition is a £50 Amazon Voucher which he has decided to spend towards an Audio Interface. 

Commenting on his win Miles said: 

“I originally wrote the song as a Valentines Day gift for my girlfriend, Poppy (hence the title and lyrics). Both of us are really pleased with the win and the money will go towards my future music through an audio interface.  

I think I’d like to study physics at university and do something in that field if possible, but if a music career takes off I’ll follow that in a heartbeat. Music and physics are my two big passions and I’ll continue to do both to some degree no matter what I do in the future.”

Simon Jacobs, Head of Music at Greenhead College commented: 

“We were delighted with the response to the New Music Competition, we received a great number of entries in a wide variety of genres. Congratulations to Miles on his outstanding entry, when shortlisting the finalists for judging from Paul Silver I had already privately tipped Miles to win- it is a lovely feel good piece of music.”

Congratulations to Miles, and well done to all students involved.  

Listen to Miles’ song ‘Buzzy Bees in Poppy Fields’ below.  

Congratulations to Emily Brierly – our ‘Student of the Year’

Posted on by admin

Greenhead College has an excellent record of success at the British Education Awards, winning the ‘A Level Student of the Year’ category for the north of England three years in succession.

We were hugely disappointed to hear that this year’s awards ceremony had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as we had nominated a superb candidate in Emily Brierley, who we hoped would win us the award for the fourth year in a row!

Undeterred, we decided to present Emily with our own ‘Student of the Year’ award. 

Emily left Greenhead in the summer of 2020 with A Levels in Philosophy, Religion & Ethics, Psychology and Sociology.  She is a Youth Ambassador for the Mindfulness in Schools Project and has used this as a platform to promote mindfulness to young people.  During her time in College, Emily devoted her time and energy to developing and delivering mindfulness to College students.

Emily said:

“I have always been passionate about helping others by using the tools which have helped me so much. Mindfulness is something that is so important, especially for young people and so to bring this into Greenhead College was an exciting opportunity for me.

“It’s an absolute honour to receive this award and it means a lot to me that I was able to make an impact upon the College and the students there.”

College Principal Simon Lett said:

“As the British Education Awards aren’t running this year, we thought we should find a way to commemorate Emily’s impressive achievements.  This award is richly deserved and Emily has an amazing future ahead of her.”

Emily is currently studying Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester.  

GC Alumna Nicole celebrates national journalism success

Posted on by admin

Our very own GC Alumna, Nicole Bower, is celebrating as her heartwarming news article is published in the national press. 

Her article shares the story of a 7 year old boy, Stanley, who was inspired by Marcus Rashford’s Free School Meals campaign, fighting for underprivileged children to have access to food during the holidays. Stanley, who starred in a recent advert for cadbury’s, has hand-written letters and delivered to his neighbours asking them to donate food.

Nicole, who studied English Literature, Politics and Modern History at Greenhead College from 2018-2020, is delighted to be able to share Stanley’s story and we are so proud of her success.  Click here to read the full story.

Commenting on the article, Nicole, now a student at the Manchester School of Journalism, said:

“I saw a post on Facebook about the little boy sending letters to his neighbours for food in aid to help the free school meals campaign and spoke to his mum only thinking it would be a little story but the national paper ended up wanting it! Even though I don’t have a by-line I can still proudly say that I sourced, interviewed and wrote the story!”

“The advice I’d give to other students wanting to get into journalism would be just to be confident and know your stuff. This will come in really handy when wanting to interview people, even if you aren’t a employed journalist tell them that you are a journalist because anyone can actually be one, they will be more likely to speak to you then. You also have to show you are interested not just for the title but show that you are interested because you love doing it, write articles and stories on things you like, hobbies, reviews, this will all show to employers or universities that you really really want to do it. And especially, no story is too small, you never know where it might end up or who likes it!”

A huge congratulations Nicole, we can’t wait to see even more of your stories hit the headlines in the future!