Summer cooking and inspired teaching

The following article was first published in the Oxford Times Educational Supplement on September 15th 2011.
 
Sami Cohen, the Principal of d'Overbroeck's, reflects on the essential ingredients that make for outstanding teaching and learning.

Not an avid TV watcher, I was nonetheless captivated by Jamie Oliver’s recent programme on summer cooking. Working outdoors with no kitchen in sight, it was fascinating to watch him crush fresh ripe avocadoes till they oozed through his fingers, squeeze juicy lemons with great gusto, turn a holey old bucket into a serviceable fish smoker and whip up a cake out of hastily cooked pancakes and the enthusiasm of a bunch of three-year olds. With the most makeshift of equipment and the minimum of pretension – but with passion, flair, a deft touch and plenty of joie de vivre, he was able to bring the best out of his ingredients and to turn out exquisitely succulent results.

It struck me that good teaching had much in common with this. Good teaching comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes; there is no single recipe for it. Nevertheless it seems to me that the best teachers are often not those who revel in convoluted teaching strategies or who aspire to create beautifully conceived model lesson plans. The best teachers are those who have a rich reservoir of energy and passion, who enjoy their subject and love to communicate it; those who make a point of really getting to know each and every one of their students and who aspire to kindle in each of them a combination of inquisitiveness, enthusiasm and a desire to think for themselves to want to know more.

Such teachers are often passionate, driven people who are motivated by a desire to inspire and to draw the best out of every one of their students. The result is usually a very special kind of ‘dedication’; a dedication that is shared by both students and teacher – and, where the alchemy really works, such dedication need by no means be earnest or sanctimonious. It is usually more robust and runs deeper than that. ‘Where there’s laughter, there’s learning’, as our founder was fond of saying. When students are comfortable and at ease, that is when they are most prone to be receptive and engaged. And the benefits are mutual: students can bring the best out of their teachers, just as much as teachers can bring the best out of their students.

Every school has to have, and to publish, a ‘statement of aims and ethos’. You are most welcome to find ours on our website. It starts as follows: ‘We aim to maintain a lively, close-knit yet relatively liberal community in which pupils feel engaged, happy and at ease with themselves and with their school environment; in which the relationships between staff and students are ‘comfortable’ and built more on mutual respect than on imposed formality; in which pupils are encouraged and stimulated to develop academically and personally, and to grow into themselves as confident, thoughtful and considerate people who are ready to move on to the next stage of their lives.’

In my view, outstanding teaching sits at the very core of this and none of the rest would be possible without it.

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New work by artist and former d’Overbroeck’s student Emmie van Biervliet

One of our past students Emmie van Biervliet is presently exhibiting some of her art work at the Sarah Wiseman Gallery in Oxford. Inspired by her travels, her partial upbringing in France and historic sites in Oxford, Emmie's exhibition runs from now until the beginning of October. For more information, please visit her website.

After studying her A levels with us, Emmie graduated in 'Applied Arts' in 2006. Her work has been inspired by her travels in South America and Cuba where she feels that life within the buildings is far more visible and ‘on display’ than in Northern Europe. Houses appear to have been constructed in a very creative way with a variety of materials and it’s this idea that Emmie wants to reflect in her work. She uses a variety of media including coffee, spices, circuit boards and gold leaf as well as paint to built up intricate layers.


Amber Light on Broad Street by Emmie van Biervliet

Recently, Emmie has been commissioned by ‘The Apprentice’ runner-up Saira Kahn, to create a piece of work for her newly adopted daughter, Amara. The work tells the story of Amara's journey from Karachi, Pakistan to her new home in the UK. The experience was filmed for a documentary, ‘Saira Kahn Adopts Abroad’ recently broadcast on BBC2.

Emmie's painting is in the style of a storyboard and uses images to tell a story, echoing the ancient medieval tradition of icon painting. Birds represent Saira’s family members and the river Indus, which dissects Pakistan, winds through the work down to the huge port city of Karachi and the sea, representing the ups and downs of life. Buildings from both London and Karachi signify the huge journey, both physical and emotional, made by Saira and Amara.

Emmie has exhibited in London, New York and Chicago. She will exhibit in Singapore later this year. Emmie was also winner of the Diana Brooks Award at the Art for Youth exhibition at the Royal College of Art in 2010.


Amara's Journey by Emmie van Biervliet

Activities Fair

With over 30 clubs to choose from, Sixth Form students have been busy selecting their activities for the forthcoming year. From Art to Chess, Music to Tennis, Spanish, Rugby and Yoga, students have every opportunity to indulge their passions whether creative, intellectual, linguistic or sporting. Cookery club is new on the menu, along with Trampolining, Textiles, Bridge and Running; so as well as the prospect of a stimulating academic year ahead, students are sure to be just as stimulated outside the classroom.

Looking forward to another year of creativity, fun and outstanding achievement!

Today was the start of another exciting year at d’Overbroeck’s College with over 130 students joining, meeting teachers, making friends and receiving timetables helped by our team of new student mentors (pictured above). Lessons begin tomorrow when there’ll also be time to find new hobbies or develop existing interests at the Activities Fair.

With d'Overbroeck's students achieving such great results this summer, new and returning students will have a lot to live up to. Amongst the many achievements by students last year were the fantastic performances in the College Musical and Winter Concert, a Maths Gold Olympiad triumph, a top entry in the Royal Economics Society national essay competition, a successful Target 2.0 team, 5 distinctions in the AQA Baccalaureate and two students selected for the Goldman Sachs management course ‘Women in Business’.

When you add to these successes events such as the annual ski trip, a History and Politics visit to the USA, charity events for the Japanese tsunami, the College ball and numerous social and sports activities it was a truly busy and fulfilling year, one we’re looking forward to repeating this year!

Shakespeare, foolish men and sheep: this year's AQA Baccalaureate results

This year's results for our students in the AQA Baccalaureate Diploma included an impressive 5 distinctions and 6 merit awards.

A Distinction, the top award, requires an A grade in all of the AQA Baccalaureate components (the extended project, enrichment and critical thinking) as well as in three A level subjects.

Distinctions were awarded to:

• Fame Cheerapatanakom for his project entitled " How original are Shakepeare's Roman plays?"
• Susannah Cohen: "Men are fools: why is so much male behaviour seen as foolish and irrational by women?"
• Edward Hornsby: "An assessment of water quality at a sewage outlet point in the Oxford area; an ecological investigation"
• Madeleine Hurry (pictured above) "The biological basis of HIV and its connection to the development continuum"
• Bella Maine: " Is the stratification of the UK sheep industry beneficial to flock health?"

Students achieving a Merit award were:

• Praise Izinyon: "Should patients completely trust their GPs?"
• Grace Kirby: "What can explain the criminal punishment of animals in early modern Europe?"
• Rebecca Love: "How legitimate is the classification of Shakespeare's final plays as romances?"
• Chrystal Pereira: "The Tunisian revolution- was it inevitable?"
• Charlie Richards: "The causes and impact of the deforestation of the Amazon"
• Charlie Skegg: "The Seven Deadly Sins- a photographic portfolio"
• Noel Thompson: "A comparison of a selection of fossil fuels"

In its feedback the Board commented that "the centre should be applauded on such an interesting array of projects". On the Enrichment part of the qualification the feedback stated that" the centre clearly participated in a range of valuable and meaningful enrichment activities" which students have "clearly enjoyed". Well done to all those involved.

Williams and McCartney

Congratulations to one of our past students, Jack Williams, who has just graduated with a 2:1 from The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts and shook Sir Paul McCartney's hand in the process! Jack has been in the studio recently recording an EP and is due to sign a record deal in the near future.We'll keep you posted.

A level results 2011 — 85% A*–B

This year's Upper Sixth succeeded in achieving our highest ever tally of A*–B grades (an impressive 85%) with 19% of all grades received being A*s.

More than a quarter of our students gained all A/A* grades, and subject highlights included:

• 100% A*/A in Ancient History, Classical Civilisation, German, Japanese and Russian
• 82% A*/A in Economics
• 65% A*/A in Maths
• 63% A*/A in Art and Physics
• 63% A*/A in Biology

The photograph above shows Femi Gibson celebrating his results — AAB in Economics, Sociology and Business Studies — securing his place at York University to study Sociology.