News from Bellerbys Oxford

Oxford ELP Student Runs 10K Race For Charity

Many congratulations to Bellerbys Oxford student, Artem Kolyev, who who completed The British 10K London Run on July 1st! 

Artem, from Ukraine, is studying currently English Language Preparation and will join the GCSE programme in September.  He ran the race in aid of Helen & Douglas House, a local hospice in Oxford providing care for children and young people.

The London Run has some fantastic sights along the way including Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and St Paul's Cathedral.  Artem had never run that kind of race before but he knew how important it was to train up to the level required to undertake such a big task! 

The school is very proud of his achievement.

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Bellerbys Music Society by Bijan Pasban Hazrat, Radio East drummer

Bijan Pasban Hazrat, from Iran, is studying A Levels at Bellerbys Oxford and is the drummer of the college band, Radio East.  Here he tells us a little about the Bellerbys Oxford Music Society.

"The Music Society of Bellerbys College consists of Dr. Jamal Ibrahim (Head of Science) as
the General Advisor and the guest guitarist on some of the songs, Yeung Yan Chung as the President and the lead guitar player, Sergey Badikov as the Music Director and the bass player, myself on the drums, Steven as the second guitar player and Karina as the lead singer.

The musical tastes of the members vary, but we play music which can be appreciated by all students and staff.  For example, I like melodic death metal and Sergey likes funk music which is closer to the popular or pop music which is acceptable to all the students who have different likes and dislikes.

One of the main benefits of having members from different countries, is that they bring their cultural and traditional music backgrounds as well as their own experiences.  For example, some of the members already have experience of playing in a band and taking responsibilities during sessions but some of them have not, so they learned how to deal with problems in different situations.

“Radio East” is the name that we have chosen for the band.  RADIO as the metaphor of music and EAST as the metaphor of East part of the world because most of the members are from that region. 

Our first concert was at the International Student Party.  Students were looking forward to seeing us and hearing good music. The Party was a great success and students began to support us. After that event the band played at the Host Family party and finally we played the Summer Ball.  We knew that playing one or two songs would not be enough for the Summer Ball so we prepared eight songs from Red Hot Chilli Peppers, System Of A Down, U2 and Green Day.  It was another great success. At the moment most of the members are on holiday but the band will start its sessions again as soon as possible."

See Radio East videos on YouTube! 

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Bellerbys Oxford Student Wins Richard Ryde Scholarship

We are pleased to announce that the Richard Ryde Scholarship for 2007 is being awarded to Umi Nursheila Nur Ibrahim Masilamani (Sheila) from Malaysia, who is studying at Bellerbys Oxford. 

The Scholarship board, consisting of the Principals of all Bellerbys Colleges along
with the UK Managing Director, James Pitman, were unanimous in awarding her the 2007 scholarship.  The prize comprises of tuition for her second year of A level study at Bellerbys Oxford to the value of £14,000. 

About Sheila - by Yasmin Hurrell, A Level Programme Manager

Sheila started the A level course at Bellerbys College Oxford in January 2007 after completing her SPM examinations in Malaysia.  For these exams she was awarded
11 A1 grades and one A2 grade.  From the start it was clear to us all that she is a student of exceptional academic ability as well as a delightful young person.  She is taking A Levels in Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics and will take up AS Psychology from September.  Her predicted grades are straight As and so far all her mock exam grades have been in the high A band.  Sheila is hoping to study Medicine at university and making plans to do a summer internship back home over the summer.

Sheila’s teachers are unanimous in their praise: 

The science teachers say that she is an unusually bright and engaged student, who is a pleasure to have in the class.  The level of effort that goes into both her class work and homework consistently exceeds expectations and her work is always thoughtful, insightful and immaculately presented.  She has a very flexible mind, quickly grasping new concepts and asking perceptive questions.

She has the makings of an outstanding scientist - her ability to extrapolate facts and ideas to solve unknown problems is impressive and she enjoys this style of learning, often commenting that is more fun than the rote learning she has sometimes experienced in the past.  As a consequence, Sheila is often able to progress beyond the AS level syllabus.  She particularly enjoys the human aspects of Biology, which bodes well for her ambition to become a doctor.  Her practical science skills are excellent and she is interested in exploring the wider impact of the science subjects, particularly looking at recent advances in medicine and their ethical implications. 

Her Mathematics teacher describes her as a very talented student who undoubtedly has the ability to take Further Maths but, unfortunately, was not able to join the class because of the January start.  She is extremely hardworking, has a very enquiring mind and a real desire for success.  She has a logical, very precise mind and all the qualities needed to excel in this subject.

She has reached a highly advanced level of English.  She has just received her IELTS result which is 8.5 overall.  Her English is very fluent and she can use language most imaginatively.  She applies complex grammatical structures, advanced vocabulary and idiomatic phrases creatively and successfully at native competence.  In discursive compositions, she always tackles and interprets the question well while constructing a well-balanced argument, conveying an intelligently argued assessment.
 
Sheila is a very engaging young person, highly intelligent but modest.   She is kind to other students and her teachers.  She has done voluntary work for Oxfam every Saturday since she arrived here and hopes to join a local drama group.  She has joined the school Music Society, attends the students’ debates and hopes to take up badminton again.

At high school in Malaysia Sheila took a very active part in the theatre club and performed in many plays and musicals as well as appearing in two children’s games shows on TV.  She led the parades for her house team before major school events and spent two months doing voluntary work in a shelter for abused women.

She is mature, articulate, and always polite and cheerful.  Her attendance and punctuality are without fault.  She has a great sense of humour and very wide-ranging interests.  For a scientist her interest in the arts is unusual.  We believe that she has a very bright future ahead of her and that she would be a credit to the highest ranking UK universities.  For these reasons, we strongly recommended Sheila for a scholarship.

Find out more about the A Level course

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Выпускная церемония Bellerbys в Оксфорде

7го июня этого года в Bellerbys Oxford прошла торжественная церемония выпуска студентов программ Foundation и A level. Церемония была организована в Старой Библиотеке церкви Святой Марии.   Нельзя было придумать лучшего места для проведения торжества: в самом центре старого города, с окнами, выходящими на бывшее здание научной библиотеки Radcliffe Camera.  В прошлом эта комната использовалась для проведения выпускных торжеств Оксфордского университета.

Директор, Julia Southby, поздравила  студентов с достижениями в учебе и пожелала успехов на будущее.  Менеджеры программ Foundation и A Level, Jackie Eadie и Yasmin Hurrell, вручили награды за академические достижения и исключительные результаты нашим победителям, которые не ожидали сюрприза награждения, и были очень этому рады.

Erik Karabayez, на фотографии справа, был награжден почетной наградой Студент Года.  Эрик, студент из Казахстана, сначала учился на программе Подготовки английского языка, а затем A Levels в течении пяти триместров в Bellerbys Оксфорд.

Особенно хотим отметить Nursheila Masilamani, студентку первого курса из Малайзии, выдающиеся успехи которой позволили ей получить стипендию Richard Ryde Scholarship; эта награда присуждается наиболее обещающим студентам первого курса A level в Bellerbys.   Мы все очень гордимся достижениями Nursheila.

После фотосъемок студенты и работники угощались клубникой со сливками и отведали традиционный английский напиток Пиммс.   Это торжественное празднество завершило пребывание студентов в Bellerbys в стиле, подобающем настоящему событию.  Удачи, класс 2007, мы будем скучать без вас!

Читайте дальше о программах A Level и Foundation

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Oxford Spring Ball

This year’s Spring Ball was a sell-out event, held in the hall of a local hotel in Oxford.  Over 150 people attended, mainly from Bellerbys College but with a small but welcome contingent from sister college Embassy CES too.  Everyone made a real effort to look their best, with some students even winning an award! 

After the formal dinner, three Bellerbys students performed a dance to showcase their skill (pictured right) ; it was a mixture of Latin dance moves and ballet and had the crowd shouting for more.

As well as a disco, the crowd was also entertained by the school band ‘Radio East’ playing a set including songs by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2 and Green Day.  The band were amazing and impressed all the students and staff with their professionalism and their enthusiasm for their art. 

To round off the whole evening, awards were given for the best dressed couple, the cheekiest boy, the best dancer, and more.  The party finally ended at midnight and everyone agreed that it was a great night out.

See Radio East videos on YouTube! (including a special guest appearance on lead vocals by Dr Jamal Ibrahim, Head of Science!)