Month: June 2015

Roaring to go at London Tigers

1/4 done…nearly! I am currently in the process of designing and putting together  a sponsorship brochure to send out to corporate firms. This then can be used to obtain sponsors for the Annual Achievement Awards as well as for pitch side banners.

So, what is London Tigers?

UK Asian Community Cup 2014
UK Asian Community Cup 2014. Annual festival organised by LT in partnership with professional football clubs to promote Asian talent and tackle racism in sport.

LT is an award-winning charity based in London that targets young people aged 9-25 from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities who are socially or economically disadvantaged. They engage with young people through sporting activities, youth clubs and offer employment and training to young people. They are also involved in international development programmes having opened two cricket centres, a football Academy and fund a school in Bangladesh.

London Tigers in Bangladesh
London Tigers on tour in Bangladesh

I decided to carry out my four-week internship with the Tigers because it’s a community based charity and there’s nothing better than seeing your work having a monumental impact on people around you first-hand. I do have a soft-spot for the organisation for a number of reasons – one being the excuse to come back to the area of West London I grew up in! Any excuse to reminisce, I know.

Anyway…

It’s nothing new when we hear about the negative press of young people for whatever reason, so it’s immensely rewarding working for a charity that keeps young people busy and engaged. As with any charity, they need funds to carry out their aims so I hope by working with the Business Development Director, we are able to secure sponsorships and increase awareness and support for the big cats!

 

20 students taking part in Charity Insights 2015!

After a competitive application and interview process, we’re delighted to announced that 20 Charity Insights bursaries are being awarded to students this year! With a very high standard of entries, successful students will be heading out to complete a 4-week project with their chosen charity over the summer vacation. Yesterday saw a number of the students going out on Charity Insights attend a preparation workshop to meet fellow participants and to learn more about making the most of the experience (plus just a little bit of admin).

This year’s participants are:

  • Albert Miquel (Computing, 1st Year) – Lambeth Elfrida Rathbone Society
  • Alhasan Al-Habib (Life Sciences, 2nd)  – Kensington and Chelsea Foundation
  • Anna Lawson (Chem Eng, 1st) – The Long Well Walk
  • Benedict Conway-Jones (Earth Sciences, 1st) – Collegiate Academy Trust
  • Chris Worsfold (Physics, 2nd) – Sense About Science
  • Daniel Gordon (Medicine, 3rd) – Samaritans
  • Farzana Islam (Biology, 1st) – London Tigers
  • Hossein Rezaei (Civil Eng, PhD) – Birmingham Friends of the Earth
  • Jodie Denmark (Chemistry, 2nd) – Rosa
  • Jonathan Dong  (Chem Eng, 2nd) – Wild Hearts
  • Mollie Gupta (Life Sciences, 2nd) – Bedfont Lakes Country Park
  • Nathan Cheetham (Physics, PhD) – Carbon Disclosure Project
  • Philip Sayer (Mech Eng, 2nd) – Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability
  • Ryan Sandhu (Civil Eng, 2nd) – FitzRoy
  • Sandra Okala (Medicine, PhD) – Public Health England
  • Scott Tyler Hobbs (Chemistry, 2nd) – YMCA LSW
  • Stephanie Mellor (Physics, 2nd) – Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI)
  • Vaibhav Krishnakumar (Computing, 1st) – Asha for Education
  • Visakan Balakumar (Physics, 3rd) – Centre for Community Development / Tamil Women Development Forum
  • Xenia Karlsson (Life Science, 2nd) – Pro-Cancer Research Fund

Finally, I’d just like to issue a well done and good luck to all our participants!

Barnaby
Placement & Internship Adviser

Attendees at this year's preparation workshop for Charity Insights.
Attendees at this year’s preparation workshop for Charity Insights.

Week 1&2 at the Collegiate Academy Trust

I came into the CAT (Collegiate Academy Trust) wanting to inspire young minds and show them that there is a world behind the geography and geology they study, and I have left everyday with the same urge. My time at the CAT, based at their flagship school, is to be spent creating resources and developing connections with the geological community; as well as getting a feel for teaching on a day to day basis.

I spent my first few days being introduced to the latest resource creating software and settling into life in a school. Once I got over the novelty of seeing a school (and teachers) from the other side, its a place I felt right at home. With everything set up, I began work on creating resources for GCSE and A-level students. A week later and my first couple are finished; polished revision tools and tests which I am (and my department are) proud of. Many skills are being called into play, from graphics and coding to simply remembering my GCSE geography – I feel like its a fantastic consolidator for what I’ve learnt over the past few years.

resource

My plan for a rock loaning scheme has just begun. I soon found that GCSE and A-level students have barely enough time to cover the specification, never mind diverting to look at rocks. However, I am currently in talks with teachers of lower years (7&8), and hopefully from here the scheme will begin to take shape.

I have spent some time immersing myself in the school. I have been put in charge of the rock collection, which is in desperate need of sorting, with which I will also produce and provide resources. I have been assigned a group of gifted and talented students with the task of ‘stretching their minds’ next week – a chance to trial run my resources, as well as getting my first taste of solo teaching. Had a fantastic experience so far – roll on the next few weeks.