28th March 2011 - Forwards a week. Back a week.

Our S6 options process for 2011/12 is reaching finalisation and the excellent news is that only very few students have not been able to study their preferred options.

This week beginning 28th March we welcome a group of 16 Headteachers from Denmark and Mr Andrew Nyangu, Head Teacher, Mutende Basic School in Kitwe, Zambia.

ES Culham is building a Global Schools Partnership with the Mutende Basic School and some of pupils will return there this summer. Mr Nyangu will be attending a Zambia Evening at 19:00 in the Drama Studio on Wednesday 30th March. So please do come and meet him, enjoy Zambian food/music and contribute to a fundraising evening in aid of the Funsani Orphanage.

Our Eurosports team will leave on Wednesday to participate in the biennial event held at ES Frankfurt and on Friday another 8 pupils from FS4 will head to France to participate in a maths seminar MATh.en.Jeans organised http://mathenjeans.free.fr/amej/accueil.htm.

We have contacted parents and discussed with pupils our interest to support a University of Oxford research project on meningitis. On Monday 28th and Tuesday 29th March during the lunch break there will be an information help desk set up in the Chapel for anyone interested. Please report to reception if you would like to attend. For more information, contact: Oxford Vaccine Group, Centre for Clinical Vaccinology and Tropical Medicine, Churchill Hospital, Oxford OX3 7LJ Tel/Fax: 01865 857420 Email: ovg@paediatrics.ox.ac.uk .Website: www.meningitisswabbingstudy.org. Throat swabbing begin for volunteers next week.


Last week the school was buzzing with just as many activities. Over 80 people turned out to support an Egypt quiz evening. On Friday night there was a school disco and this was followed on Saturday by  all nations Rugby & Live Music. Both events were supporting the school’s link with Zambia.

We hosted a visit from our two Dutch Inspectors, Mrs De Graaf and Mrs Wijgh who spoke positively of the Dutch lessons they observed as well as developments in the Discovery of the World and Music programmes of study.

So that this vibrancy lives on and on, parents groups CESPA and CEF (Culham European Freeschool) met last Wednesday with representatives of the school and ETEE (English Trust for European Education) to discuss efforts to revive a strong, viable plan/application to the DfE to set up a parallel school to ES Culham which would take over from the European School when it closes in 2017.  Local M.P. John Howell  http://www.johnhowellmp.com/news/the-european-school-culham/132 is helping to rally efforts to save European education at Culham now that Lord Jay and CLASS have withdrawn.  An application submitted by CEF to the DfE for a Free School in September 2011 was referred back for re-submission for a 2012 start, although CEF campaigners have met with Lord Hill, Government Minister responsible for Free Schools and Academies, and have not given up all hope of having their application for a 2011 start reviewed. CESPA have nearly completed a full parent survey of opinions and ideas concerning a new school operating alongside ES Culham.