CLUBS & ACTIVITIES //
CROCHET CLUB
This was the inaugural year for Crochet Club – and what a way to start ! Thinking perhaps there would only be one or two students interested , I have been delighted to welcome a regular dozen or more each week . Some students come to learn the basics – slip knot , chain , frog it all and start again …
Until tension is perfect , they have a neat row of stitches and we move on to the next steps . Learning to make a granny square is the first project to master , but once they have achieved that , it is on to trickier techniques like the dreaded Magic Circle !
Some students are old hands and like to use this time to be amongst like-minded crafty people , and work on their own projects . We have students who have made book covers , bunting , stuffed toys , leg warmers , and even a dress !! And they are always happy to help each other out , sharing a handy tip or two .
It is wonderful to see the tenacity on display – getting to grips with making the yarn and hook do what you want can be incredibly frustrating when first starting out , but the students keep going and keep going , even if it takes them weeks to get the hang of it . Oh , and to see the sense of achievement on their faces when it finally clicks !!
STEM GIRLS ’ CLUB
The STEM Girls ’ Club has been a new addition to the co-curricular programme this year , with the aim to inspire and enthuse girls with an interest in STEM subjects . We have looked at one-off topics , as well as bigger projects which can feed into national competitions .
The girls especially enjoyed looking at ciphers and the different ways in which a message could be coded and decoded , with the techniques used becoming more refined and complex over time making them harder to crack . Using a Caesar wheel was a particularly fun topic . They were given some pre-selected messages to code and decode , and then it was over to the girls to create their own secret messages to send to each other .
OXBRIDGE CLUB
“ Ladybirds are red , and strawberries are red – but why ?” “ If you could meet one person from history , who would it be and why ?” “ Why don ’ t animals have wheels ?”
These are just some of the questions that students have been tackling in our Oxbridge Club , which takes place every Tuesday at 1.30pm . The club is open to any Lower Sixth students ( and 5th Year students , from the second half of Lent Term ) who are interested in applying to Oxford or Cambridge University in the future .
Each session explores a new Oxbridge-style interview question , tailored so that all students have the opportunity to express their opinions and ideas , no matter their specialism . Time is also given to discuss the Oxbridge process , as well as upcoming webinars , lectures and interview practice offered by both universities .
70 THE POCKLINGTONIAN