Sri Lankan Careers Visit

We were very proud to welcome visitors from the Sri Lankan National Education Commission and the British Council to the College this week. The visitors came to find out about our careers provision and they were most impressed with our pupils who spoke very eloquently about their experiences. One guest commented that our young people and programme was truly inspiring!

The delegates were in the UK to work on a project based around appraisal of National Policy Proposals for School Based Career Guidance.

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Cultural Trip to Valencia

Last weekend, a group of sixth formers from Spanish and Art went to Valencia to experience the culture and art in Valencia:

As soon as we arrived we came across a demonstration for International Women’s Day through the streets of the city. Men and women were wearing purple-shirts with 8-M printed on them. We noticed some signs saying “quien ama, no mata ni humilla ni maltrata” which translates as “somebody who loves does not kill, humiliate or mistreat women”. In the afternoon we did a tour of the Old Town and had a lovely dinner that consisted in Spanish delicacies, such as “paella”, “patatas bravas” and the delicious “buñuelos con chocolate”.

The next day we had breakfast in the market and took the bus to the Science Museum, the Aquarium and the cinema. In the Aquarium the highlight was the dolphin show, the walruses, the flamingos, the penguins and the jelly fish. We also voted for the best “ninot” to be saved from the fire during the famous Fallas Festival this week. On Saturday night we saw the midnight “mascletá” where a combination of fireworks and rockets were displayed in the skies of the city.

On Sunday we went for a bike ride and watched Levante play against Villarreal in the afternoon. We returned very early in the morning the next day, exhausted but exhilarated following the action-packed weekend in sunny Valencia. Thanks to Mrs Gimeno and Ms McWatt for an unforgettable school trip!

By Beth G, Rhys H, Dan W and Delfina M

On an early Friday morning, we departed Manchester Airport for our combined Spanish and Art trip to Valencia. We arrived around mid-day and sat down for post-flight paella. After relaxing for a bit we unpacked at the hostel, which was located near the city centre. The first day consisted of Mrs Gimeno taking all nineteen of us on a tour of the old town as well as the Cathedral. Some of us opted to walk up the 287 step cathedral tower, which most of us ended up crawling up instead. After the jaunt we attempted to have a good night’s sleep, however, locals celebrating the amazing Fallas Festival had other ideas as they were chanting through the city centre all night.

The second day included taking public transport to the “Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias” (which is the Arts and Science Museums of Valencia) as well as the aquarium (L’Oceanogràfic) where we saw a range of sea creatures, from penguins to dolphins. The “ninot” (puppet) showcase in the museum was amazing, showcasing some of Valencia’s finest artwork in the form of puppets which were voted on to see which were burned or saved during the festival.

On a penultimate day, we started off with a bike ride around the riverbank and the city centre, which was eventful… This was preceded by spectating la Mascletà that was a spectacle to watch.

The final day was a good time to reflect and reminisce about the amazing events which had happened on the trip. The city of Valencia helped make the group bond together through countless dishes of patatas bravas and breath-taking architecture throughout the trip. Overall, the excursion was a memorable one where we embraced Spanish culture, art and cuisine and we would all like to thank Mrs Gimeno and Ms McWatt for this fantastic trip.

By Alex W

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Sports Science Workshop

On Wednesday, all Year 11 pupils interested in possible careers in Science were given a superb opportunity to visit the state of the art facilities at Liverpool Hope University in Health and Sports Science. The pupils were able to participate in four highly engaging, hands-on workshops during their visit including:

• The Physiological testing of athletes workshop which provided an insight into how athletes are tracked during training sessions using the latest equipment, such as live heart rate monitoring and jump measurement.
• Introduction to biomechanics workshop where students participated in a series of interactive demonstrations giving an insight into how human movement and function is analysed in sport, including: 3D motion capture, muscle activity and impact forces.
• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation workshop(TMS)workshop: This is a relatively new technique of using electromagnetic induction to transfer electricity in the brain to affect neuronal processing and stimulate the homunculus to increase sporting performance.
• Echocardiography workshop: the session explored cardiac structure and function at rest and the acute responses to exercise. This involved using an ultrasound machine to scan and measure the heart and how this changes following exercise both in the short and long term.

The pupils were fascinated by the degree of scientific examinations and expertise required in the Sports Science field. Liverpool Hope have invited the pupils to return in the near future to continue their exploration of this intriguing scientific field of research.

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Engineering Careers Talk

On Thursday 14 March, Dr Ian Sandall came into Liverpool College to deliver a highly engaging talk to pupils in Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 who are interested in Engineering.

Dr Sandall is a lecturer at the University of Liverpool, specialising in Electrical Engineering and Electronics. Dr Sandall started the talk by defining what was meant by Engineering. This was best depicted by quoting the Duke of Edinburgh: “Everything not put on Earth by God was made by an engineer.” He then revealed examples of how engineering impacts upon our everyday lives, ranging from light emitting diodes in children’s shoes, the use of thermal imaging to monitor babies temperature in incubators and chips within formula one cars and mobiles phones. Dr Sandall very effectively used the visual aid of bags of sugar to demonstrate the ever reducing side of transistor chips within modern technology and how this is impacting upon the size of devices and performance of modern technologies.

The impact of electrical engineering on a range of fields was also discussed, such as using plasma in antimicrobial resistance, adaptive optics to improve photography, autonomous cars, drone technology, virtual reality, robotics and the impact of grapheme in transistor design in increasing computational power, and how this impacts upon quantum mechanics.

Finally, Dr Sandall shared his own research using increasing the efficiency of optical based bio-sensing and diagnostic techniques to enhance the speed of blood work analysis in the medical field.

Our thanks to Dr Sandall for his incredibly interesting talk – it undoubtedly opened pupils’ eyes to the fascinating world of possibilities if they were to pursue a career in Engineering.

Mrs Doran

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Y8 Magistrates Court Law Project

Pupils in Year 8 interested in law were given the superb opportunity to participate in a National Law competition called Magistrates Court. This ‘Mock Trial Competition’ is part of the Young Citizens citizenship experiences and helps to improve young people’s life skills, their understanding of the justice system and the legal system, and helps them to understand that the law touches every aspect of their lives. Pupils are asked to take on the various roles in a trial and try a case against another school.

In order to assist the students with preparation for this trail, which will take place on Saturday March 30, Mr Richard Baker, a practising solicitor, came into the school on Tuesday to work directly with our school’s magistrates, legal advisers, court staff, witnesses, prosecutors and defence lawyers. Mr Baker clarified legal definitions relevant to the case they will be trying such as ‘dishonestly’, ‘appropriation’, ‘Standard of Proof’ and ‘jurisdiction’. He also explained the ‘Turnball Guidelines’ which lie at the heart of the case they will be trying. Our sincere thanks to Mr Baker for his time and incredibly valuable advice.

Mrs Doran

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U12 Hockey Team, Plate Runners-Up at AKS Lytham

Last Saturday, the U12 Hockey team took the long journey to AKS Lytham to participate in the Jean Torrance Memorial Hockey Tournament.

Liverpool College were put into a difficult group versus special guests Ashford School, Kent, Chase High School, Malvern and Ripley St Thomas. Could the College battle their way out of the group and into the knockout stages or would it be a quick journey home? Thankfully, it was the knockout stages with the College producing three amazing performances to progress. Could the College progress any further, the answer was yes, as the College won their semi-final and eventually finished as runners up, losing in the final 2-1.

What an amazing experience for the pupils, who played against North West club players of a very high standard. Special thanks must go to acting coach Mrs Walsh, who supervised the pupils brilliantly and was full of praise for the team.

Mr Cook

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