European Youth Parliament España - Madrid Regional Session, 2017

Six pupils from 4º ESO and 1º Bachillerato have participated in our school's second appearance at the prestigious European Youth Parliament team-work and debating session in Madrid. 

Preparation for the event involved practice at the Debating Society (from which the participants were selected) and plenty of topic research by each participant into his or her selected area. For more information on the concept and format of the event, click here to read the article on this blog about our EYPE debut last year.

For more information about the session, click here to hear our school's participants talk about their experiences at the EYPE, while following this link will allow you to get a taste of the team-building, committee work and General Assembly in the official video!

2ºESO history presentations

Here are some more history-themed presentations for you to enjoy, this time from 2ºESO. Click on the links to hear the presentations. The pictures follow the order of the discourse.

Ana & Alexandra - Columbus

          

Elena & Gabriela - the Pilgrimage of Santaiago, "St. James' Way"

          

          

1ºESO prehistory presentations

Check out these fascinating presentations about prehistory, done by our 1ºESO pupils. Click on the links to hear the presentations. The pictures follow the order of the discourse.

Daniela & Marta - paleolithic tools

          

          

Sofía, María & Clara - megaliths

          

          

Environmental campaigns

In the English Workshop at the moment 3º ESO pupils are learning about and discussing environmental problems and their possible solutions. Click here to listen to an audio recording of three mini-presentations about environmental campaigns designed and presented by the pupils themselves. Thanks to Alejandra, Adriana, Carlota, Gabriela, Gonzalo and Victoria for their input!

A year in the Midlands

Here is another account of a pupil who spend last year living and studying abroad. This is from Nicolás, now back here studying 3º ESO, who will tell us about his year in the Birmingham area, in the UK.

Last year I went to England to improve and develop my English. I went to a town near Birmingham called Stourbridge. The school was called Old Swinford Hospital and owned nearly the whole village, so going to the shops included a very big discount, mainly in WH Smith's or Poundland, where the discount was about half the original price.

At a boarding school, not being a boarder would be a disadvantage for your social life or your relationship with the older boarders or sixth formers*. Each house has a housemaster (who is a member of staff) and a head of house (who is a sixth former, who were the most important. A matron was in charge of laundry and acted as the "house's tailor", fixing trousers and shirts like there was no tomorrow.

At school we had very well thought-out breaks placed at the second hour in the morning and at 12 o'clock for lunch. The school was huge and had two different fields, five boarding houses, and a building for each subject, plus administration and the headmaster's office.

The worst experience was playing rugby in December in the rain wearing shorts and losing my gumshield**. The best thing was having a natural grass football pitch next to my house.

In conclusion, it was a great experience. The best tip I can give is to respect the older pupils and get on well with them and the rugby players of your age. And of course to enjoy yourself!


*Sixth form is the last two years of education, the equivalent of Bachillerato.

**Also called a mouthguard. You put it into your mouth in contact sports to protect your teeth.

Advertising workshop with Little Big Kids (1ºESO)

What's a green screen?

Who writes a slogan?

How do you make an ad?

These were some of the questions that pupils of 1ºESO hoped to have answered before their trip to the Little Big Kids advertising workshop last Friday.

In preparation for the trip, we learned and played games with some of the new vocabulary that they would be using at the Little Big Kids studios. 

Here, some of the pupils tell us about their experience.

Sonia & Rocío:

In the Little Big Kids workshop there are 3 activities that consist of:

1. Making a TV ad
   
   
   

2. Creating an ad for the radio
   

3. Inventing an ad for a magazine
   

We learned that you can do a lots of different types of ads. I learned that an ad needs music and a slogan. I learned that making an ad is more difficult than people think.

Marta & Bea:

In the television ad our group made an ad for Doctor Pepper. The teachers that were in that class were Timisha and David. The other groups did other advertisements for trainers, cookies and sun cream. We have learned a lot of vocabulary and how people make ads.

In the radio ad our group had to make an advertisement for a car (Ferrari). The other groups did other things like perfume, supermarket, gym and an energy drink. The teachers that were in that class were Edmund and David. We have learned how people work and how to write a radio advertisement.

In the magazine activity we advertised cereals. All the group did different kinds of cereal like Corn Flakes, Choco Krispies, and Frosties. We did the pictures on a blackboard and wrote slogans. The teachers that were in that class were Timisha and David.

Carla & Lola:

We liked the experience because it was very fun. We liked all the activities and the best part was when we did the slogans.

Guille & Claudio:

All three activities were fun but the best one was the TV ad.

A year in the south of England

Here is the latest in our series written by our pupils who have returned from spending a year abroad. Here, Soledad (3ºESO) tells us all about her time near Bath, in the south of England.

Last year I went to study abroad. I went to the United Kingdom, to the south of England. It was a school called Warminster, in the town of the same name, near the city of Bath. I lived in the school, as a boarder.

The school was really big; all the different subjects, dining halls, boarding houses and speech rooms had their own entire building with many classrooms in some cases. There were five boarding houses: two for older boys, one for younger boys, one for older girls and one for younger girls. I lived in the one for the younger girls but I was one of the oldest in the house.

On school days we woke up at 7am, got dressed into our uniforms and walked to the dining hall to have breakfast. Then we came back, packed our bags and went to school. We got registered and sent to lessons. We had one lesson and a break, two lessons after and then lunch break from 1pm to 2.15pm. Then we got registered again and had two more lessons with a break in the middle before finishing school at 5 o'clock. When we got back to the house we got changed into normal clothes, which we called 'mufti', and went to have supper. Then we came back, got registered again, and had to do homework, which we called 'prep', and had free time that we normally used to cook or watch movies. We went to sleep at half past nine.

On weekends, we woke up at 8am on Saturdays, did prep and played sport matches against other schools, and then went to town to buy things and hang out in the different shops. It was small but we enjoyed town. Then we had a free evening. We didn't have a fixed bedtime. On Sundays we woke up at 9am, went to church and had lunch. Then we usually had trips, for example to the cinema, and a free evening again. 

I really liked my year there because I made a lot of friends and got very good grades too. The food was great as well. The lessons were different and I liked them a lot. Also, boarding was great, it was like a pyjama party every day! The only thing I didn't like was coming to Spain so often because I don't enjoy packing suitcases and bags!