Abbey College Manchester - Independent College | A-Levels | GCSEs

An educational way to help end world hunger

Pupils at Abbey College are so concerned about world hunger that a ‘freerice’ event was set up last month. The aim was to donate 1 million grains of rice to those who most need it by 18th April. This was achieved 3 days early, which meant that even more rice was planned was donated!

‘Freerice’ is an online vocabulary quiz so pupils were able to develop their English language skills. For each word the pupils got right, 20 grains of rice was donated, through the United Nations Food Programme, to help end world hunger. Various events were organised by the pupils themselves including group ‘riceathons’ over break and lunch periods. Prizes were awarded to all pupils that individually donated 5,000 grains. An after-school event in itself, attended by over 50 pupils, donated 100,000 rice grains on its own. The final total raised was 1,200,000 by the end of the 30 days.

Throughout the month of ‘freerice’, the pupils also raised the profile of Fairtrade products. Coffee, tea, milk and sugar were sold to fellow students, teachers and parents with all monies going to local charities.

A Level pupil, Mash’aal Choudary, helped to organise the events and comments: “Rice is the staple diet of millions of people all over the developing world and it’s getting more and more expensive. ‘Freerice’ aims to make a difference and is perfect for schools like Abbey College as it’s really educational. My classmates are now more aware of the world hunger problem and also why it’s better to buy Fairtrade goods. So are the teachers! “It’s really good to think that somewhere in the world, a person is eating the rice that we at Abbey College have provided”

Scholarship Day

The sixth form scholarship is awarded to one outstanding candidate each year. This year is no exception. It comprises a maximum of 50% towards the fees associated with the two-year A Level courses.

The exam takes place on
Saturday 9th February
9.30am to 11.30am

It is in three parts:

A short interview with the Principal
Multiple choice questions
Two short essays from a choice of 5 topical subjects

The exam is designed to ensure that students have no need for preparation beyond their expected GCSE revision. Please note the scholarship is only open to students who are currently in Year 11 and completing their GCSEs.
For more information, ring on 0161 817 2700, email admin@abbeymanchester.co.uk or request a callback.
You can also download, fill in and send us, the scholarship application form.

GCSE Revision Workshops

Open to pupils of all schools, our one-day revision workshops are designed to prepare candidates for the mock GCSEs they will be taking this December:
Saturday 24th November 2007 at 10.00am to 4.00pm
Maths (higher tier or foundation)
Dual Science (higher tier or foundation)
The cost for this revision workshop is £75
We are also running another GCSE revision workshop, as below:
Saturday 1st December 2007 at 10.00am to 12.45pm

English
The cost for this revision workshop is £37.
The workshops cover syllabus essentials, past papers, exam technique, organising notes and advice and tips on revision.
For further information, telephone us on 0161 817 2700, email admin@abbeymanchester.co.uk or request a callback.

Local media bonanza on A-level results day

Sky News visited Abbey College Manchester at the crack of dawn on A-level results day. A mixture of unbridled joy and happiness, as well as possibly a bit of relief, was shown by the cameras as some of the students opened their envelopes to reveal their successes.An interview was conducted with Jenny Thomas, Principal of Abbey College Manchester.
In this she explained the supportive environment the college offers where students take responsibility for their own learning and personal development. She also reiterated, to the national TV audience, the importance of retaking A-levels should results for students not be as good as hoped. Going through clearing invariably means not doing the course of choice, less commitment and a highly likelihood of dropping out.

A couple of students were also invited to local radio station, Century FM, before and on results day. At both they explained to Greater Manchester listeners their feelings, expectations, excitement and praise for all at Abbey College Manchester. Both students came out with fantastic results and are off to university where bright futures await them.

Showgirl to Metrogirl
Stockport Times 31/1/08

Being black and white, and green all over, Metro Newspaper already encourages its readers to recycle newspapers wherever possible. However, it decided to go a step further with an unusual competition – recreate something out of used Metro copies. It attracted 120 entries from all over the country, including one from local Marple pupil who rose to the challenge brilliantly.
Gemma Ford is in the first year of her A Levels at independent school, Abbey College Manchester, one of which is Art. Combining her interests in art and pop music, she decided to recreate the Showgirls dress worn by Kylie Minogue on her last world tour and more recently featured in ‘Kylie – The Exhibition’ at Manchester Art Gallery. She says: “I’ve always been a fan of Kylie so when the exhibition came last summer I went as soon as possible. I loved the costumes and accessories on display and lost count of the number of times I went back to visit. When I saw the competition advertised it just seemed logical to tie it in with something from the exhibition. I designed the dress plus plumed hat from two of the Showgirls outfits on display.
Some of the design work was really intricate and messy, and the whole thing took me ages. I didn’t win but I was really pleased with what I did. However, it was a bit embarrassing posing for the photograph on Cross Street in Manchester as passers-by were cheering and it was freezing!”

Abbey College Manchester Art teacher Saira Knowles comments: “I am so proud of Gemma. Her finished piece was brilliant and was highly praised by the judges for its innovativeness. It has to be remembered that she was one of the youngest entrants and was competing against university art and design students who had much more experience than her, many of whom were in their final year.”

Sky News coverage
Broadcasting live from the college from 7.00am on 14th August.
Sky News have confirmed that as part of their Level Results Day coverage, they will be broadcasting live from Abbey College. It is due to start at 7.00am and is likely to continue until early afternoon.
Students will be filmed opening their results envelopes and asked about their results, where they plan to go to university and what course they intend studying. The Prinicipal, Jenny Thomas, will be interviewed and asked about her reactions to the results as will other members of teaching staff.

If you have Sky, tune in and learn about Abbey College first hand.

Return to the news