Life at Bellerbys College

Farewell To Bellerbys (Part 2)

Posted by David, studying Engineering Foundation at Bellerbys Brighton

Hello Readers!



Yes, this will be my final penning for the college as a student blogger.

As mentioned previously, I would like to thank a few other people who have made my stay in Brighton such a pleasure.

Mr Nigel Addison
Thank you for making yourself so approachable. Also, for supporting the student body, being open-minded enough to welcome feedback for the betterment of the college. Not to forget, audaciously dressing up as a clown for our annual ball. Definitely the coolest principal!

Mr Peter Corcut
I am deeply grateful for the opportunities you have given me throughout my course and for listening to my issues. It has been great dealing with you and Mr Addison as part of the May Ball’s organising committee. I have learnt quite a bit from you!

Mr Alan Beer
Thank you for the constant words of encouragement. You make me strive harder to achieve my goals. I am very thankful for all your help and advice in terms of university applications or simply about the course.

Mr Trystan James
I must thank you for being equally helpful to me despite being solely in charge of the Business Foundation students. I really appreciate your help!

Ms Kerry Hartley
You have been assisting us students so well with our university applications.I cannot express enough gratitude for all your thoughtful help in these matters Thank you so much!

Mrs Chris Arulraj
What would new students do without you? You are like the mother figure of us students, helping us deal with the most trivial matters, prioritising our satisfaction during the length of stay. We love you very much!

Supervisors Marianna, Pauline, Scott, Isaac, Toby
Thank you for all the knockings in the evening to check on me when I was 17. It gives me a sense of security. It almost seems like my parents tucking me into my bed! I will really miss all of you.

Ms Pat Peers
You are one resourceful librarian! Thank you so much for getting me amazing architecture books to read from. I would dearly miss you!

Student Services
College would not have been as lively if not for the plethora of activities organised. Also, for the services provided, catering to all our needs. We really appreciate the hospitality!

Canteen People
Thank you for the lively atmosphere in the canteen. I can’t believe you guys are so friendly! It is great meeting all of you!

Classmates and Friends
Thank you for the amazing company. You guys have been a great bunch of people to hang out with, to share my highs and lows with. We have all made! I hope these bonds will be maintained though we are going to different universities.

Room Cleaners
Every Mondays, I come back to a spotlessly clean room. Thank you so much for your service!

And finally,

Ms Louise Courtney
Thank you for this privilege in becoming the student blogger of Bellerbys Brighton. It has been an amazing experience working with you.

Not to forget,
my dear readers, I appreciate this opportunity in sharing my experiences with you. It has been a great ride.

To me, this is simply an ending just before another beginning. University life awaits for me and I cannot wait for this new chapter. I am pleased to say that I have been given the privilege to continue as a graduate blogger for the college.

Sheffield, here I come!

Until then!

Signing off for the last time as a student blogger!

Farewell To Bellerbys

Posted by David, studying Engineering Foundation at Bellerbys Brighton

I came to Bellerbys with no idea what to expect in my Engineering Foundation course. But throughout my stay of 8 months in the UK, the people in Bellerbys have made my life without my family much easier. They became my British family with their conviviality. With that said, now that I am officially graduating, I feel obligated to thank these people.

TUTORS

Mr. Oliver Bentham
Thank you for your extremely systematic teaching system, providing us with superb notes as well as a wholesome approach to Mechanics and Pure Maths. We really appreciate your sense of humour with us chaps! It makes your classes so captivating!

Ms Lorna Jenkins
On behalf of the Engineering class, thank you for making our English classes so enjoyable. You always manage to make us learn yet have a good time. We really appreciate your compassion and your willingness in assisting us not only for English, but other matters.

Mr Ben Kershaw
IELTS could have been such an issue and a boring occasion to prepare for, if not for your lively classes. You make us look forward to English classes, not to mention obtaining the grades we needed for IELTS.

Mr Dominic Rhys
English in Term 3 has definitely been very fun with the countless debates and lectures that we went through. Thank you for giving us a taste of university life, helping us prepare ourselves for the future. We have learnt a lot from you. Referencing is our expertise now!
 
Dr Jackie Grant
My deepest appreciation for your patience in dealing with us engineers! You always explain the subjects (Matters & Waves, Electricity & Fields) clearly to us, with extra information. Graduating from your teachings, we all learn to read and understand questions carefully before attempting them.

Mr David Jepps
It has been a pleasure learning Pure Maths from you, especially seeing that you are a Cambridge graduate. It makes me all the more inspired and motivated to be as successful as you! Thank you for your guidance.

Dr Howard Cameron
Albeit learning Mechanics for barely a month, it has been a great experience. You are such a responsible teacher who never fails to keep up with the learning schedule, keeping us on the right pace. Thank you for everything!


Dr Ken Butcher
Thank you for the sky-high pile of past year Mechanics papers. Besides the profusion of exercises you have been lavishing us with, you make great notes and taught us to understand concepts clearly.

Ms Sarah Witherby
I love IT classes with you because of your bubbly personality. You have totally injected life and energy in your classes which makes them such a pleasure. I must admit that I am hopeless in computers, but you helped me gain confidence in my computer skills. Thank you!


Mr Tim Hewson
I could not believe that I could make leaflets and web pages on my own, Thank you for all your guidance and teachings in these Microsoft applications. I am rather certain that they would come in handy in the future.

Mr David Nix
It is rather unfortunate that I could not have proper Art classes with you since I am in the Engineering Foundation. And yet, you have agreed to help me out in preparing my architecture portfolio. My time with you may have been very brief, but in that short period of time, I have learnt so much about architecture. I appreciate all the encouragement given. I really am thankful for your help.

Mr Fraser
Thank you for assisting me when Mr Nix is busy. You have certainly helped me a lot, with the editing and formatting of my pieces before they are proper enough to be sent to the universities. Would have loved be one of your actual students.

The list could go on and on. In fact, it is so long that the list would continue in the next and final penning of mine as Bellerbys student blogger.

Keep reading!

This Is It!

Posted by David, studying Engineering Foundation at Bellerbys Brighton

Term 3. Final term. Last 2 months in Bellerbys. This is it. Downside of this term? We got to stay through the summer holidays, just after bidding farewell to our fellow mates from A Levels and graduates from the September intake Foundation Program. 

I sighed to myself, wondering how I could survive this last two months without the usual liveliness of Bellerbys. I was horrified to picture the place I usually sit in for breakfasts, with all my friends occupying the whole row of tables reduced to a pathetic measly few. OH boy! How different would things be?

I slugged down the residence area for my first breakfast in Term 3, with a much weaker punch of enthusiasm. Then startled to sight a mob of new students, queueing up for food. They were the new Embassy students; also known as my life-savers for Term 3. Finally, a glimmer of hope that this final term would not be as lonely as I’d thought it would be.

Mrs Chris immediately introduced me to my first Sweden friend, Dennis. He is genuinely charming, not to mention a natural clown! It was admirable that he has come here all by himself to study English and stayed very optimistic about everything, albeit suffering from partial blindness. Getting to know him has made me record his name in my personal ‘People I Respect’ list. Definitely learnt a lot from him. 

Not only have I met Dennis, I soon got to meet a few more new students, most being older than me, already with a degree!

Things just kept getting better as I went to pick up the weekly activities schedule and saw a plethora of activities prepared for us for this summer. Field trips, clubbing nights, beach parties, sports like volleyball and bowling and salsa dance classes! Yes, we can officially forget about what I wrote earlier! The college has definitely catered to our needs, being as considerate as always.

2010. June to August. How can I forget the epic FIFA World Cup? Just this could occupy quite some time in my daily routine. As we all know, Spain emerged victorious. Another occasion that brought back the vivacious ambience in Bellerbys. The flags of all qualified teams were hung all around our cafeteria to get us in the mood of the prestigious event. 

And did I mention that we happened to go to the Brighton Kite Festival? It was spectacular as I never knew that kites could actually ‘dance’ besides having a stellar yet innovative outlook.

There are so many things in store for us that I have forgotten to tell you the main aspect of this term: academics. I study FES III, Mechanics II and CIT. As teachers would have to leave for their summer break as well, we have two teachers for some modules, each teaching half the course. My teachers include: Mr Dominic Rhys (FES III), Dr Cameron and Dr Butcher (Mechanics II) and Ms Sarah Witherby and Mr Tim Hewson (CIT). They were kind enough to spend part of their summer with us!

A bit more about the modules? FES III is all about preparing ourselves for university life, teaching us how to do researches without plagiarising etc. In other words, to score in this module, plain hard work is needed as we are required to submit a ‘mini-thesis’ of 1500 words. Also, we would occasionally have debates, note-making practices from listening to lectures and presentations. 

Mechanics, on the other hand, is rather nasty in my opinion. It was slightly tougher than the former module. But I shall strive through it. CIT, I would say, is a subject that complements FES III as we learn to use basic Microsoft Office programs, conduct proper research and professional presentation as well as designing our own blog/webpage.

With our term exams lurking around the corner, the annual prize giving ceremony was organised to acknowledge outstanding students in their respective fields. I was fortunate enough to bag the ‘Best Engineering Foundation Student’ award. A few of my other friends also managed to receive awards! 

Bellerbys also presents awards to most improved students so as to motivate all the other students to work as hard to our own betterment. With this ceremony over, all that is left is the term exams. I am lolling now in my room that has grown to become my home, counting down the days before I officially spread my wings from this pleasant college to university life.

Indeed, how time flies! This is really it. My final chapter in Bellerbys. It has been a great journey so far and I hope that this last run would be as terrific.

Stay tuned!