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!