New College Mirror
Dear students,
New College Worcester (we call it NCW) is a school for children and young people with low vision. Students come from all over the UK. Our school is residential and students live here during the school terms. Below is a picture of the front of the school with Will and JiSeok next to a fountain.
Alfie, Ali, JiSeok and Will are studying Citizenship and as part of their course they have decided to form a link with a culture and country different from their own. NCW has a link with a school for the blind in Marburg, Germany, and we think that you too have a link with the Marburg school. Also, NCW is planning a trip to Krakow in October 2017 and so the students decided to write this newsletter to tell you about NCW. Perhaps you might write back, and tell us about your school, so that we can begin to get to know each other. We have got some questions for you as we would like to learn about your school.
We hope you enjoy our newsletter!
Learning
The lower school by Will
The students in year seven to year nine (age 11 to 14)are called the lower school. Lower school students all study the same subjects: Maths, Science, English, ILS (Independent Living Skills), Geography, History, French, and Music, and there are exams in these subjects each year.
When we get to the end of year nine, it is time for us to choose some subjects that we would like to study in the middle school.
We must choose five subjects, and then, depending on what you end up studying once you get to year ten, your five options, +the subjects you have to do (English, maths, science etc) are the subjects you will be studying for GCSE (year 10 and 11). The subjects I chose for GCSE were French, geography, ITQ (IT qualification), business studies and music.
In the classroom by Alfie
There are lots of different courses at NCW. Some of the students at NCW do BTEC courses, for example, Money and Finance and Jamie Oliver. I do both of these courses. In Jamie Oliver we cook Jamie Oliver’s famous recipes, for example, I have cooked home-made pasta in tomato sauce. My favourite recipe I have cooked on Jamie Oliver has been the Chilli Con Carnes. I have two lessons a week of Jamie Oliver.
We also have a mobility department and have mobility lessons. In the mobility lessons we learn routes, for example, learning the route to travel independently to Waitrose. Waitrose is a shop near NCW and students go down and do their shopping in the week. You have to pass the route to be able to travel independently to Waitrose. Waitrose have two cafes, a sushi bar, wine bar and they sell food and other items. We also learn routes into town and learn bus and train travel.
I also do a course called Activities and Daily Living (ADL). In ADL I learn how to make beds, put pillow cases on, fold washing, sorting clothes out into drawers and cupboards and hanging up clothes. I have learnt how to use the one cup which is like a kettle that pours water to make tea or coffee. This course helps me with my independent living skills, we practice these skills over in the houses.
My curriculum by JiSeok
In the sixth form you can study different subjects which you can choose.
The class in the sixth form is small, compared to classes in the lower years. In years 7 8 and 9 you have the whole year group in one class.
In the sixth form the maximum number of students is about five. I generally work in a smaller class and the subjects I do are Citizenship, English, Numeracy, Sociology, and a course called ASDAN. I also have mobility, ADL (Activities for Daily Living) and IT support to help me use the computer or the braillenote or the ipad or any other device.
In ASDAN is a basic learning thing. It’s an award scheme and it doesn’t have exam. You can get bronze, silver and gold awards. I did a unit on information and communication technology, for environment I went to the recycling centre in Worcester. I also learnt about the Chinese New Year, World War 2 particularly the Home Front. I did an in depth study of the story Carrie’s War and a country study of Vietnam. I learnt about Earthquakes and did a decision making activity as to who should get help after an Earthquake.
Where we live by JiSeok
I live in a house called Fletcher House. It is a sixth form house that people go to live in if they need more support with independence.
Below is a picture of the kitchen in Fletcher House. There is a big table, with a laundry basket, chairs for everyone, a microwave, and lots of cupboards for food. The room is brightly decorated with bunting and the walls are bright green.
It is similar to the school the younger students live in, and you would go there if the sixth form environment was too challenging for you. It is more of a family environment. Ten students live in the house.
There are bedrooms, there’s the sleep-in room for staff who sleep overnight in case there’s an emergency. There’s a lounge, a kitchen and an office as well as accommodation for the senior houseparent.
You are allowed to go back to the house in the afternoons from school if you are in year 13.
Louise is the senior houseparent. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday she is there and she works at weekends as well. Louise sometimes takes students out to town or for drink or dinner.
At the weekends we mostly cook for ourselves. Sometimes we all eat together round the table, and one of the houseparents will cook.
We have to learn skills. I have learnt how to expand on my cooking skills, I can almost use the oven independently.
Where we live by Will
The sixth form hostel is very different from the house and the lower houses, because of the fact that it is laid out like university accommodation.
The hostel consists of different units, from one to seven, and students live in these units, except for unit seven, which is used for studying, gatherings etc. Each unit has its own kitchen, lounge and a number ofbedrooms. In my unit, inunit 4, there are four rooms with five students, as two share one room.
Below is a picture of Will and JiSeok sitting on the bed in Will’s room:
Since being in the sixth form hostel, I have grown in confidence and independence, and I feel I am more flexible in terms of socialising.
Youth club by Alfie
The youth club has just open as a new after school club.The club is held in a room next to the dining hall which is separate from the main school building. It was set up by Alan and Jan, who are House parents, which means they live in a residential house with younger students and organise their care. There is a pool table, Air hockey, video games, music corner and television corner and you can also buy food and drinks. It runs on a Monday and Wednesday evening with younger students attending 18.30 to 19.45 and older students attending 20.00 to 21.15. In the future activities are planned, such as ‘guess the pudding’ and ‘treasure hunt’ and ‘Nerf gun target shoot off’.
Below is a picture of the Youth Club. There is a coffee bar, a snooker table and table football.
Rugby by Ali
(Rugby is a popular ball game played in the UK.)
I want to tell you about rugby; game which blind and visually impaired people have not been able to play up until now. We at NCW have been working on making a new version of rugby. Rugby unlike many other sports such as football remains inaccessible so NCW along with the Rugby Football Union are working on making a game which blind and visually impaired people can play in. At the moment we are working out what blind and VI people can do in order to add these things to a game of rugby. We are currently working out the amount of contact which should be allowed.
Your ideas, thoughts and recommendations would be welcomed.
Sounds for Pounds Concert by Will
The charity concert is a fundraising concert to raise funds for developments to the new youth club.
I am in charge of the organisation and promotion of it, as part of a BTEC music unit I am studying, as part of my music course. The types of music that will be performed at the concert will be rock and pop, and the majority of acts will be solo.
The concert will take place on April 1st at 7pm in the New College Worcester chapel
And now, here are some questions for you!
How long has your college been running?
Is it a residential school? If it’s residential, what is the accommodation like?
Do you have different staff for the school and the accommodation?
How many students are there? How old are they?
What is the timetable like? What subjects are taught? How long is the school day?
Do you have to take exams?
What is the campus like? How big is the school?
Are there any after-school clubs or activities at weekends?
What sports do you enjoy?
What’s the food like in your canteen? What’s the menu like?
Does your school have a dress code?
Does your school cater for boys and girls?