It sounds a bit gushy, but everyone who watched this opera production – superbly directed and produced by Lianne, and cast entirely from 7-11 students – was simply bowled over by the skill, passion, commitment, musicality, comic timing and sheer bloomin’ professionalism of this young and incredibly talented cast. Not only did the look great; they sounded great, whether in poignant solos, lyrical and comic duets, trios and quartets, and in gutsy, full-blooded choruses. Who will ever be able to see anyone but Emmie Bailey as the wide-eyed, hormone-driven adolescent lad Cherubino, leaping off the stage to sing to the audience? Who could compare with Agnes’s Countess, Will’s Count, with Bea and Theo as Susanna and Figaro, and with Emily, Daisy, Tabby and Nieve as sweet Barbarina, Antonia the gardener, Dr Bartolo and the many-named Marcellina? And that is without even getting to Eliza as the music teacher, and all of our wonderful chorus, to Dom and George on the lighting desk and Cara and Arabella backstage, battling with the wedding arch in near total darkness and generally orgainising everyone. What a team! Just so good.

As I said to some prospective students and parents at Open Morning, when a rehearsal was going full-tilt in the Music Room, this opera production sums up what the Music Department, and in a broader sense d’Overbroeck’s, is all about: providing opportunities for all to excel, being utterly inclusive, stretching our amazingly talented students, creating an atmosphere of mutual support and positivity, and harnessing the enthusiasm of our students to achieve something truly special and memorable. That’s d’Overbroeck’s, right there. We should bottle it.

We were proud to work with such a dedicated and lovely cast, who gave not one but two mighty performances in one evening, and then came in to school the next day! This production, and the people in it, will take quite some bettering. Thanks also go to Sandy Mackenzie and Rose Poyser for playing so wonderfully in the band, to Lianne for directing, producing, writing the script, arranging the music and generally improving on Mozart and Da Ponte’s effort, to Rachel for preparing the singers, and to all who helped set up the stage and turn the hall into a world-class opera hall!

A few quotes from our audience:

“I reckon ‘Dare to Aspire’ should be Lianne’s motto! And what a brilliant way it is to go beyond what may seem possible; and to continue, year after year, opening new horizons for students, enabling them to reach for the best in themselves while also discovering music they may not otherwise have come across or thought remotely of interest. Figaro was a joy – from the vibrant, uplifting overture (was it really only three musicians?!) and all the way through.”

“What a wonderful evening we had at the opera last night!  It was hilarious and brilliant, all your performers were superstars and we felt thoroughly spoilt sipping champagne and being so beautifully entertained.”

“That was fantastic! Great casting too. Very good job.

How about Cosi next time?”

Richard Poyser, d’Overbroeck’s Director of Music

This year we’ve had 160 students apply to study at a British university. Every day the offers are coming in thick and fast, with 88% of our students having received at least one offer by the start of February.

The courses and universities selected by our students reflect their wide-ranging interests and talents. Here are just a few of the many highlights: Law at Oxford, Structural Engineering with Architecture at Edinburgh, Mathematics at UCL, Fashion Business at Istituto Marangoni London, Psychology & Behavioural Sciences at Cambridge, Computer Science (Game Engineering) at Newcastle, International Relations at Kings College London, PPE at Oxford, Mechanical Engineering at Bristol, Film, Photography & Media at Leeds, English & History at Oxford, Sports & Exercise Science at Loughborough, and Classics at Cambridge.

The international outlook of our students has led to a number of them applying to universities in other parts of Europe, North America and Asia. Current offers include Political Science at the University of Leiden, and Computer Science & Engineering at Delft University of Technology.

We are enormously proud of each and every one of our students, as they take their next steps on their journey to create successful and fulfilling futures. Their hard work and dedication, alongside the support of all members staff, is to be celebrated.

Alex Coburn, Head of Careers and Higher Education

23^rd February 2020

The daily weather forecast under-sold nature’s fickle complexity on the first of our biannual pilgrimages to Somerset last weekend – the weekend we had decided to take the lower sixth geographers to do pilot surveys for their NEA project work. ’Showers’ in Oxford means a grey day with a bit of drizzly, vertical, misty stuff. In the west country it means brief spells of gorgeous blue sky interspersed by intense horizontal sleet, snow or rain for up to ten minutes followed by a return to blue, repeating enough times to soak you. Add in the wind chill and it felt closer to zero degrees. I’ve learned over the years that a fieldwork sense of positivity in students is directly related to the weather conditions. Show them the back end of a Moroccan market garbage dump on a gorgeous sunny day and they rave about it.

And yet our intrepid, resilient lower sixth weathered all that mother nature threw our way and even found the energy to work super-hard in evening classes and then sing, dance and enjoy their evenings afterwards, get up and make packed lunches, eat breakfast and do it all again –twice! No really – ask them!

I realise though, that this extended time together as a department and whole cohort of students is a luxury to the geographers – time to focus attention only on our subject, to iron out misunderstandings from the textbook  with real-world scenarios, to get to know each other and, hopefully, have some fun.  We do this as to focus on essential background study skills in preparation for the final research in September of Year 13 worth 20% of final A-level grade.  It’s no holiday – unless of course your holidays are 10-hour, weather-beaten days, studying geographical landforms and observing aged-human interactions in Minehead with many miles of walking in between.

Well done geographers and to staff Jen Skym, Jo Hall and ‘gappie’ Georgina Sargent. Thanks for a really great trip – we’ll soon be there again!

JP Davies, Head of Geography

Back by popular demand, Neuroscientist and Professor of Medicinal Sciences, Dr Guy Sutton, joined Upper Sixth Psychology students on Friday for a day of science, thought-provoking lectures and brains!

Neuroscientist and Professor of Medicinal Sciences, Dr Guy Sutton

The morning session began with a recap of content covered in the A-level Biopsychology unit, such as the main brain regions, before quickly moving beyond the curriculum to topics such as the effects of drugs on the brain, open-brain surgery, epigenetics, AI interfacing with the brain and the brain after death. This included information on the most recent, cutting-edge research, some of which are not even in textbooks yet. A highlight of the day was dissecting a sheep’s brain. Dr Sutton pointed out the brain regions which we had covered so far, as well as introducing us to new areas, allowing those who wanted to the opportunity to hold brain parts such as the cerebellum, the pineal gland and the corpus callosum.

The afternoon session emphasised the role of the brain in crime, supporting our current study of Forensic Psychology in lessons. Dr Sutton explored with us the various roles of psychologists in the forensic domain other than offender profiling, including forensic entomology and odontology. We spoke about trauma – its effects on people and their brains – in conjunction with terrorist incidents such as the 9/11 attacks and the Lockerbie bombing. We also discussed the complexities of the nature-nurture debate when applied to legal situations, looking at case studies such as Donta Page, Oscar Pistorius and the assassination of John Lennon.

Dr Sutton’s infectious enthusiasm for everything we covered made the day interactive, engaging and a valuable insight into the wider context of our A-level content. It was an equally enjoyable, fascinating and thought-provoking day!

d’Overbroeck’s Upper Sixth Psychology Students Dissecting Brains!

We are very excited to announce the launch of the d’Overbroeck’s Tennis Academy which is coming in September 2020.

The Academy has been created to nurture talented players through a fully supportive tennis programme, whilst allowing them to get a fantastic d’Overbroeck’s education.

This is primarily aimed at students applying for our Sixth Form, but we would consider exceptional younger players too. Successful applicants will receive over 10 hours of coaching a week led through our partners at North Oxford Tennis Club as well as access to indoor tennis courts for additional practice, strength and conditioning programmes, and discounted access to sports massage and injury rehabilitation programmes.

The programme is for academically able students who meet our minimum entry requirements with an LTA rating of approximately 4.2 or higher (or country equivalent)

If you would like to apply, please contact our Admissions team: sixthformadmissions@doverbroecks.com

For more information about the programme, please contact Johny Richards, Director of Sport: jonathan.richards@doverbroecks.com

Educating our students about life outside of d’Overbroeck’s on topical events is something we take seriously. With the General Election in Westminster, the excitement within the school was palpable as political fever hit Leckford throughout last week when our Years 7-11 Mock General Election took place.

The next time some of our students will vote might well be for a real election, therefore what better practice to understand the ins and outs of the process than by becoming involved in the mock event at d’Overbroeck’s?

Proceedings kicked off on Monday when each of the parties gave a one-minute introductory speech, followed by the candidates getting grilled by the students whose votes they were seeking. Students from across the school had submitted questions in form time last week, and the most popular topics were chosen to be put to the candidates these included:

“What is your party going to do to help solve the climate crisis?”

“How is your party going to address overcrowding in our hospitals?”

“How are you going to pay for your spending plans?”

“How does your party plan to deal with Brexit?”

“How does your party intend to address the gap between rich and poor in this country?”

Each Party was impressively well-prepared, and the level of detail in the debate was superb. In fact, such was their enthusiasm for debate that the candidates asked to put on another Hustings event on Wednesday lunchtime.

The all-important results were…

Total Votes: 189 Spoilt ballots: 5
Brexit Party: 26 (13.8%)
Conservative Party: 9 (4.8%)
Liberal Democrat Party: 54 (28.6%)
Labour Party: 23 (12.2%)
Green Party: 72 (38.1%)

Congratulations to Isaac G and Thomas J, the candidates for the Green Party!

A huge well done to all involved in the campaigning for a very respectful and carefully researched election campaign.

Our staff respond quickly to the interests and potential they can see in each of our students, so that’s why they give students as many opportunities to learn in unique ways as possible. For instance, on Wednesday Year 10 held a Christmas Fayre in Leckford Hall. They were asked to create a ‘business’ and run a stall to raise as much money as possible for a charity of their choice. Stalls included waffle making, Christmas cakes and treats, jewellery, hot chocolate with marshmallows, a candy cane delivery service, Christmas decorations, “guess the sweets in a jar”, Christmas goody bags, friendship bracelets, and a variety of fun Christmas games.

Some of the chosen charities selected by the students were: The British Hen Welfare Trust, Macmillan, Silver Star, Helen and Douglas House, Sumatran Orang-utan Society, Blue Cross and Team Trees! In January students will write hand-written letters to their chosen charities explaining how they raised the money and these will be sent alongside the cheques. With Corporate Social Responsibility being such an important consideration for businesses in the current climate, initiatives such as this help our students to gain an understanding that will serve them well later in their careers.

At the end of November, Years 7-11 officially moved well into the Top 150 schools in the Parent Power Sunday Times Schools Guide for the first time. The tables saw us move from 164^th in 2018 to 123^rd this year, a fine achievement reflective of our excellent staff and student body. The guide recommends 2,000 schools across the UK based on exam performance so to be recognised for our academic achievements is something of which we should all be extremely proud. Congratulations, and thank you to all those involved, this is a genuine reflection of the fantastic teaching and leadership within Years 7-11, great news to round off 2019.

The end of term is on the horizon, but we are already excited for what will be happening upon our return in the New Year. For our Sixth Form in particular there will be many events taking place as our Lower Sixth continue to think about their university applications and our Upper Sixth prepare for life beyond d’Overbroeck’s.

Here is a sneak peek at some of the events that we have in store:

23rd January 2020 (11am-1.30pm): Students will have the opportunity to have a one-to-one consultation with David Hawkins MA (Oxford), an independent college counsellor, specialising in supporting students who are interested in making university applications to the USA, UK, Canada and Europe.

5th February 2020 (4.30pm-5.15pm): Information talk on “Studying Abroad”. Perhaps you’d like to know more about summer school opportunities or you’d be interested in doing a semester abroad as part of your degree? Or perhaps you’d like to apply to international institution for the duration of your time at university. This talk will be a great introduction into the sort of opportunities that are available.

13th February 2020 (6pm-8pm): “An Introduction to the UCAS Process: A Talk for Lower Sixth Parents” (students will have the opportunity to hear the talk during an enrichment session).If any parent is interested in attending, please contact Alex Coburn to book your place.

When it comes to ensuring that our students are prepared for their lives after they leave d’Overbroeck’s, we’ve got them covered with our range of careers and university advice. One example is giving them links to useful resources such as the Student Budget Calculator Tool to help them think about the likely cost of living at their chosen universities.

We also signpost our students to apprenticeships that might be of interest as we understand that sometimes university is not always the destination for everyone. For example, we encourage some students to consider options like the legal Apprenticeship at Deloitte. This is a six-year Level 7 programme offering the opportunity to gain qualifications equivalent to a Master’s degree and a permanent position at Deloitte as a solicitor. The deadline for applications is January 6^th 2020 so anybody still interested should make sure they apply soon.

This is just a snapshot of the opportunities and resources available to our students as they plan their future endeavours and certainly isn’t an exhaustive list. We pride ourselves on the range of material and initiatives that our students have access to as they think about their next steps, whether that be studying at university or pursuing an alternative such as an apprenticeship.

Alex Coburn, our Head of Careers and Higher Education is always happy to answer any questions about the higher education initiatives we have at d’Overbroeck’s, please contact him at alex.coburn@doverbroecks.com