News from Bellerbys Brighton
Circus Themed Treats at the 2010 Brighton May Ball
Big hair, dazzling colours and a clown suit were all on show for this year's May Ball.
by David Kam
After the ladies had fretted about clashing outfits and the men had made sure they were 'dressed to impress', all the students of Bellerbys Brighton returned to the college last Friday evening. When they arrived they found the Brighton campus had been transformed into a brilliantly classy yet quirky circus, with splashes of bright colour covering every surface! Yes, it was that time of year again, time for the much anticipated annual May Ball, organised by Student Services, with this year's theme of ‘Cirque du Soleil’.
Guests made their grand entrance into the college, welcomed by a pair of life-size horses, walking on hind-legs, whilst grandiose decorations were hung around the school building, including swinging trapeze artists, lions, flaming hoops and comical photo-booth screens, not to mention the colossal legs of a harlequin jutting from the library ceiling!
All of this work was planned and executed by the Bellerbys Brighton Art Foundation students and teachers. The quirky ambience was made even more surreal with the bizarrely mellifluous tunes being played from the Cirque du Soleil soundtracks.
The 'Bellerbys family' in attendance were treated to an impossibly wide range of food : BBQ, sushi, kebabs, burgers, fairy cakes, popcorn, ice cream, candy floss and the 'oh-so-irresistible' chocolate fountain complemented with cream puffs, honeycomb and fruits. The serving team had certainly impressed us, specially clad in smart attire with absolutely convivial hospitality.
As in previous years, winners from the Bellerbys Extra Factor competition were invited to perform at the start of the event. This year, we have Wand Nguyen and Yoshino Hirota playing the piano, Emin Afandi and Veronika singing and a band showcase by Samy and Takuya. Shortly after that, the dance floor was opened and guests were prompted to flaunt their moves. A lady was spotted wiggling her hula hoop with effortless poise and grace. Teachers or students, everyone all had a blast!
For the first time at the annual ball, students and teachers were lavished with Best Dressed Awards and a prize-winning raffle. Fifty pounds were generously given to the winners: Anastasiya Stepovyk donning an ethereal blue dress, while Boris Volovsky and Vladislav Dorokhin sporting an Afro and bright suits took the prize for the male students. Winning teachers were even more impressive as Ms Alix Dryden hand-made her outfit whilst Mr Dominic Pates fearlessly wore a bright red suit. The fortunate victor of the raffle, on the other hand, was Ling Chu.
Much kudos to the whole committee; Student Services, Student Council, Catering Team, Art Department and paramountly, Mr Addison and Mr Corcut. Ms Alix Dryden commented : "All the art department (teachers and students) worked extremely hard creating wonderful displays for the ball that were a huge success. I was very inspired by all the effort, enthusiasm and ingenuity from the department and have enjoyed being a part of such a creative team!"
By 11.30pm, the ball came to an end with guests reluctantly leaving yet entirely sober. All thanks to the limit of alcoholic drinks! What a sensible college! Another closing of a superbly incandescent chapter filled with great memories in Bellerbys Brighton 2010 and more to come!
Bellerbys Brighton GCSE Award Winners 2008
A special ceremony was held recently to present awards to students graduating from GCSE courses. Top students include:
Ekaterina Romanenko from Russia - Best GCSE Student 2008
Tsz Yin Wong from Macau - GCSE English Student of 2008
Kristina Kolotova from Russia - GCSE Business Studies Student of 2008
Anna Samygina from Russia - GCSE Art Student of 2008
Adam Khamidov from Russia - Progress Award for GCSE Student of 2008
Anastasia Monogarova from Russia - Best Pre-GCSE Student 2008
Akinyet Baimakhanova from Kazakhstan - Endeavor Award
Hei Hung Chan from Hong Kong - Endeavor Award
Xinxi Du from China - Endeavor Award
Inzhu Ykymzhanova from Kazakhstan - Endeavor Award
After a well deserved summer break we'll welcome many of these students back to Bellerbys in September to start Foundation or A Level courses. See you then!
See more photos from the ceremony on the Bellerbys College Flickr pages
Brighton Foundation Award Winners 2008
Aya Sadayuki from Japan - Best Business Foundation Student
Sau Ching (Steve) Lee from Hong Kong - Best Engineering Foundation Student
Yuen Tung (Mandy) Fong from Hong Kong - Best English Foundation Student
Mario Ernesto Escorcio Gomes from Angola - Best IT Foundation Student
Hoi Lam (Karen) Cheng from Britain - Best Humanities Foundation Student
Yin Chun (Terry) Wong from Hong Kong - Best Law Foundation Student
Katerina Siakka from Cyprus - Best Science Foundation Student
Yong Tong (Kristol) Guo from China - Most Improved Foundation Student
Habeeb Alao from Nigeria - Best Overall Contribution to the Foundation Programme
Ka Shing (Brian) Lin from Hong Kong - Best Foundation Student
John (Toks) Fatona from Nigeria - Most Active Participation and Contribution to Class Discussion, Humanities
19 students also were presented with awards for 'Contribution to the Foundation Programme'.
See more photographs of graduating Foundation students on our Flickr page
Bellerbys Brighton A Level Graduation Ceremony 2008
The annual A Level Graduation Ceremony was held in the Hall at Bellerbys Brighton at the
end of May. Principal, Nigel Addison, presented awards for the best students to:
Saman Alavifard from Iran - Best A2 Level Student competing in June
Zhibo Wang from China - Best AS Level Student
Jia Rong Chang from Malaysia - Best A2 Level Student, Science
Xiyin Li from China - Best AS Level Student, Science
Kirill Veretinsky from Russia - Best A2 Level Student, Business
Nanxi Tong from China - Best AS Level Student, Business
Zhi Yuan Ivan Ann from Singapore - Best A2 Level Student, Humanities
Yuliya Suleyeva from Belarus - Best AS Level Student, Humanities
Alexandros Morochovski from Ukraine - Best A2 Level Student, Mathematics
Yu Chen from China - Best AS Level Student, Mathematics
Li Zhou from China - Best A2 Level Student, Art & Design
Thanh Hang Diep from Vietnam - Best AS Level Student, Art & Design
Alexandra Smirnova from Russia - Best A Level Student, English
Fatema Salimi from Iran - Library Award
Jessica Julia Kwannandar from Indonesia - The Principal's Award
Ksenia Rotislavleva from Russia - Richard Ryde Memorial Award
See more photographs from the ceremony on the Bellerbys Flickr page
Two Bellerbys Students Achieve Firsts at University of Cambridge
We are delighted to announce that two former Bellerbys Brighton students have achieved
First Class awards on their courses at the University of Cambridge.
Julia Artamonova from Russia, who studied A Levels at Brighton from 2002-2004, has this month been awarded a First Class degree in Economics by Trinity College, University of Cambridge.
Dmitriy Myelnikov from Ukraine, who left Bellerbys last year with five A Levels at grade A,
has achieved First Class in his first year examinations on his Natural Sciences (Biological) degree. Dmitriy, who is studying at Emmanuel College at the University of Cambridge, has also been awarded the College Prize and a Senior Scholarship for his second year of study.
Many congratulations to both students!
Read more about Dmitriy's time at University of Cambridge
Bellerbys Brighton Awards Ceremony & May Ball 2007
The Bellerbys Brighton Awards Ceremony took place on Friday 1st June. Staff and students alike enjoyed this great formal occasion which recognised the hard work and success of all
the students who were presented with their certificates by the Principal, Nigel Addison.
Prizes for the best students were awarded to:
Agnes Wan from China - Principal's Prize
Huyen Tram Ngo from Vietnam - Best A Level Student
Elizaveta Ermolemko from Russia - Best Foundation Student
Ksenia Rostislaveva from Russia - Best GCSE Student
Dzmitry Hryshkevich from Belarus - Best Degree Level Student
Yang Qinjie from China - Best English Language Preparation Student
Agnes Wan, who won the Principal's Prize and has a conditional offer to study Law at Cambridge University, gave a speech to thank the teachers and all the staff at the college for their excellent teaching, care and guidance during her course, on behalf of all the students.
After the Awards Ceremony, students celebrated their graduation at the May Ball which this year had the theme of 'Arabian Nights'. The Hall was decorated with exotic silks and shapes and Music Society students provided the entertainment. Later in the evening, three brave students - Fatima Jafarova, Yasodhaa Ganesan and Ambika Bhartia, provided an exciting Indian and Arabic dance routine which was much appreciated by the audience.