Abingdon News No. 60

Abingdon News www.abingdon.org.uk 7 On 1 February 2022, Chinese New Year, 14 Chinese class pupils went to the Ashmolean Museum to see some treasured Chinese objects. The pupils then spent a memorable evening practising the language they had learned in class while enjoying a traditional hotpot meal! This experience enriched their understanding of the Chinese language and culture, beyond what can be achieved in a classroom. Celebrating the culture of China Greekist visit to the Ashmolean In December, the 4th and 5th Year Greekists visited the Ashmolean Museum to see authentic Greek script on the pottery and inscriptions on display there. They also explored the History of the Greek language and script, looking at the Linear B tablets from the Minoan culture on Crete, and generally enjoyed the artwork on display. Going for Gold On the first weekend back after the start of the Lent term, a number of students completed a challenging Duke of Edinburgh’s training expedition for their Gold Award. They faced foul, wet weather on the Saturday with good spirits and, undeterred by a night in sub-zero temperatures, woke to a frosty and beautiful sunrise on the Sunday before completing the expedition. They will now go on to prepare for their Duke of Edinburgh Gold practice expedition in the Yorkshire Dales. Fantastic at Physics We are incredibly proud of our four Upper Sixth students who participated in the British Physics Olympiad competition at the end of the term. This three hour long paper includes questions which cover content both within, and beyond, the A-Level syllabus. All four students obtained awards with Cameron Eilbeck achieving a Bronze 1, Nicholas Owen and Dominic Wood achieving Silver certificates and Alexandre Peuch being awarded a Top Gold. Well done to all of them. The 1st Year academic award holders met with some pupils from St Helen and St Katharine in January for a Joint Thinking Supper. The topic up for discussion was Artificial Intelligence and much detailed debate took place on the pros and cons of its use. Joined up thinking Our CCF spent an amazing weekend at the Bramley training area in March. Not only were the cadets given the opportunity to practice patrolling and contact drills, supervised by active soldiers and experienced staff to ensure they were carried out to the highest standard; but they also got to see the night vision capabilities of the RAF Reserve Regiment first hand; as well as experience an ambush situation which included mass amounts of blank rounds! All in all, a truly extraordinary experience. CCF