After a relaxing and sophisticated candlelit dinner last night at Downing College formal hall, we’re sure our students were feeling newly motivated when they headed to class this morning! As you can see on our Instagram story, the pre-lunchtime slot was dedicated to a study skills workshop. ‘Study skills’ can sound like a bit of a wishy-washy lesson, but without core skills in the practicalities of revision, reading and essay writing, your academic progress can be severely stunted. Just as well Marlis was here this morning to provide an informative session!
Sadly, the weather in Cambridge today was not the sunny Spring delight we saw at the weekend. At least the rain was considerate enough to hold off until the students got back from lunch in the city centre. Then it was back to the Coach House classroom space for their afternoon session on Community Outreach. It was a joy to welcome back Annmarie, Reach teaching veteran (and always a firm favourite among our students!). She began the session by explaining her background as a prison security officer, and how this job sparked a desire to address some of the shortcomings of the punitive system as it currently stands. Annmarie now runs an award-winning social enterprise called ‘Rainmakers Worldwide’, which specialises in training and developing business and leadership skills in young people and women from typically ‘hard to reach’ backgrounds. The students were well on board with the message of social responsibility, and spent the latter half of the session making posters and educational materials about homelessness in Cambridge, with a view to making their own contribution to this local community by the end of the week.
Just as ‘inspired’ is the right word to describe the students after Annmarie’s class, ‘bemused’ is probably the appropriate word for how they felt about their next cultural experience: traditional fish and chips! As this lovely group of international teenagers is not yet entirely acclimatised to UK weather, we didn’t think it would be fair to ask them to eat this English delicacy in the grey and drizzling rain (as British natives commonly do!). Instead, we huddled inside where it was dry to enjoy the quintessential seaside treat – straight out of the wrapper, of course.
From fish and chips to spaghetti and marshmallows… No, don’t worry, that isn’t another culinary Cambridge custom! The evening’s activity was food-themed, as the students discussed what we should pair with good nutrition to live a healthy life: another essential realm of knowledge for those soon to start university! The food theme then extended into some engineering and team building games: namely, to see which team could form the tallest tower using only dry spaghetti and marshmallows. Click through the photos below to see how that turned out…
A little snap from our Instagram story today
Community Outreach with Annmarie
Fish and chips
