Life at Bellerbys College

Today is gonna be a great day!!!

Posted by Autumn

Hello Bellerbys blog readers,

It's been a hectic and totally awesome fortnight for me, and I couldn't find some free time to calmly sit down and write some decent writings for our beloved blog until now. My apology :p

In retrospect, the past two weeks have proved to be so educational, superb, and full of excitement. That's why I can't help but dedicating my second post to sharing with my exceptional experiences with my readers.

The introductory post of mine was written during my half-term break, and since then, so many things have happened. 

I spent three days of my short holiday wandering around Oxford. Before I came to the UK, many people often told me that Oxford is sooo… not interesting. That's totally wrong in my viewpoint.

Having been in this magnificent city for almost three months, whenever I take my time to stroll leisurely in Oxford, the breathtaking views of many stupendous colleges of the University of Oxford, as well as many remarkable museums here never cease to impress me deeply.

I take tremendous pleasure in enjoying the charming scenery and the placid, tranquil atmosphere that Oxford is able to offer. Just by admiring the staggering towers of Christ Church or the vast collections of artefacts in Ashmolean museum, I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to study in such a wonderful city.

Speaking of view and scenery, the trees have been changing colour for the past few weeks. The view from Trajan House is now even more fascinating, as you can see the golden leaves falling from the trees, creating so beautiful a scene for one to behold.

My teachers were all so pleased that while I was enjoying myself I didn't forget to spend some time doing my holiday homework. And I had such a great time doing my assignment (believe it or not), as our teachers had done their best to make the assignment appeal the most to us.

Jane Mansell, my Maths teacher, asked us to research for a function whose graph was interesting, and whoever could find the most interesting one would win a prize (a box of chocolates)!!! It's a pity I didn't win, but I have learnt more about the true beauty of Maths while doing this assignment (or so I believe).

Coming back to school after half-term break, I immediately threw myself into the process of preparing for the first issue of Bellerbys Oxford's brand new magazine: The Trajan Mail. 

With the greatest help of Sharon, Psychology teacher/Trajan Mail's director, and Sharlene, English teacher/Trajan Mail's advisor, the autumn issue of Trajan Mail was published on November 9th, 2010. Thank you very much, Sharon and Sharlene ^^ your indefatigable dedication has prompted us to finish our fabulous magazine. And cheers to our Trajan Mail's devoted reporters and writers ^^, whose effort and contributions will never ever be forgotten.<

Being greatly encouraged by Carol - my tutor and Head of Maths, and Jane, I took part in the UK Maths Challenge on Thursday November 4th, 2010. Befitting its name, the competition was as challenging as it could possibly be. There were many problems that I hadn’t seen before in my (academic) life, but I did the best I could. The result is expected to come out next week, so I still have to wait agonizingly.

Everyday, I go back home at around 5pm, completely exhausted but utterly happy. I simply enjoy each and every day in Oxford, studying, experiencing and having the best time of my life. I know that I have made the most of my time, that I haven’t wasted any seconds, and that I have every right to be proud of what I have achieved.

That’s why every morning, I wake up and tell myself: Today is gonna be a(nother) great day.

PS: Today Is Gonna Be A Great Day (Theme Song from ‘Phineas and Ferb’) – by Bowling For Soup

"This could possibly be the best day ever!
And the forecast says that tomorrow will likely be a million and six times better.
So make every minute count, jump up, jump in and seize the day,
And let’s make sure that in every single possible way,
Today is gonna be a great day!"

Posted by Autumn, studying A Levels at Bellerbys Oxford

THIS IS ME ^^ the one and only......

AUTUMN!!!

Hello, readers of Bellerbys Blog!

My name is Bich Thu HOANG (which can be nicely translated into Blue Autumn in English, hence my nickname), and it’s a huge honour of mine to become a Bellerbys Blogger :D

Like the other Bellerbys bloggers, I will start a year of blogging with a short entry introducing me.

I come from in Ho Chi Minh City, the place where Western cultural meets its Eastern counterpart, where the modern world intertwines with what was left from a dim and distant past.

Being one of the most important economic and cultural centres of the country, Ho Chi Minh City is an area of fascinating cultural and ethnic diversity.  Born and bred in such a wonderful city, I have soon come to realize the true beauty of diversity, thus developing an interest in being exposed to different cultures and countries. That is one of numerous reasons why I chose Bellerbys College, an international school, where I have a chance to meet and befriend many people from all over the world.

I started my A Levels a few months ago, after choosing four subjects: Mathematics (a superb subject; everyone in my course chose this subject, by the way, and Ms.Carol - my tutor and Bellerbys Oxford’s Head of Maths- was simply jubilant), Economics (an excellent choice; the sublime beauty of Economics has captured my heart at the very beginning), Politics (so amazing a subject that my mind was completely blown away), and Accounting (who can resist the alluring fascination of numbers???).  

Back in my old high school, we did not have subjects like Economics or Accounting. These new subjects therefore intrigue me, as I am always ready to face and conquer new challenges. Not that other subjects are not interesting; on the contrary, I am not prepared to be showered with their awesomeness :D . One of the factors that make all the subjects so captivating is my amiable, considerate and dedicated teachers. A standing ovation for all of them!  *clap clap*

About my hobbies….I actually have many hobbies, ranging from normal ones (reading books, listening to music, facebook-ing etc.) to slightly abnormal (wandering around the city, collecting tonnes of books, blah, blah, blah) to completely weird ones (counting the number of vehicles parking near the school; again, numbers, without intricate mathematical formula, interest me ^^). 

I am in fact a bibliophile (someone who adores books). I believe that books are our best friends, since books can entertain us, can grant us knowledge, thus broadening our horizon considerably. Therefore, books deserve to be valued and treated with care. That’s why I can spend hours standing in front of a bookshelf in Waterstones just to choose a version (of a particular title) that has the best-looking cover. I spend the same amount of time crying over one book that I have accidentally broken the spine.  I may appear to be rather strange, but this is me!

Being quite an adaptable person, I have settled down quickly and started enjoying myself in a brand new environment, with soon-to-be-family strangers. I am staying with a lovely British family in Kidlington, Oxfordshire. It takes me roughly 40 minutes to get to Trajan House, Bellerbys Oxford’s new building. As our school is expanding, Trajan House has certainly met our requirements.  The new building has more spacious classrooms (Boswell House’s rooms were much smaller!) with state-of-the-art facilities (although malfunctions do occur, our student service are always there to help). We also have a new cafeteria just for ourselves. Isn’t that great? I am really thrilled to be able to study in this newly-built school.

I sincerely hope that I haven’t bored you to tears with my ramblings…… My next post will be much better, I promise.

Until then, keep checking the blog for more posts from my fellow Bellerbys Bloggers.

Best wishes,

Autumn

PS: If you happen to visit Bellerbys Oxford, do look for a black-haired Asian girl wearing purple coat, purple scarf (hopefully) and purple nail polish (I <3 purple!).  If you are lucky, she might treat you to lunch in the new River Café!

PPS: This Is Me – by Demi Lovato
                “….I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be now….”

Posted by Autumn, studying A Levels at Bellerbys Oxford

A New Blogger for Bellerbys College Oxford Called Autumn - How Apt!

We are very pleased to welcome a new student blogger to represent Bellerbys College Oxford.

Say hello to Hoang Bich Thu, also known as Autumn, from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Autumn is in her first year studying A Levels at the fabulous new Bellerbys Oxford building which opened in September this year.

She is studying Maths, Economics, Politics and Accounting and hopes to go on to a degree in Economics & Management, Philosophy, Politics & Economics or International Relations. Autumn has set her sights high and would like to study at University of Oxford, City, UCL, LSE or York.

Outside of the classroom Autumn has many hobbies including, "reading and collecting books, playing the piano when I have time, Facebook-ing (whenever I can), listening to music (mostly Alternatives, Pop, and Classical Music), shopping (for shoes, purses, bracelets, earrings and more books :D), wandering around the city, drinking coffee (Latte or Frappuccino), and visiting the Library :D

Visit the blog again soon to read her first post about her very busy life studying A Levels at Bellerbys College Oxford.