News and blogs from Embassy Oxford

Blogs

Interested in what life is really like at Embassy Oxford?

You can get the latest news and read about goings-on at the school on the Embassy Oxford blog.

News

Here are the recent news stories from Embassy Oxford:

International Food Day at Embassy Oxford

Students brought in examples of their national dishes, and had a fabulous time tasting them all! Like to see more? We've added loads more photos from this even to our Embassy Oxford Facebook gallery.

Goodbye Aga... and your cakes.

Read the full story on the Embassy Oxford blog.

Student-centered lessons

Staff and students at Embassy Oxford enjoyed a training session on lessons with a student-centred approach, using the technology of interactive whiteboards (which are now found in all Embassy schools). Andrea Paschoal, Head of Teaching writes:

The workshop was very hands-on and using the laptops was a great idea. Thankfully, everything worked well without any technical hiccups and teachers were engaged and motivated.

Interactive whiteboards are a big part of most teachers' lessons nowadays and it's not often we get an opportunity to reflect on how efficient they actually are as a tool, and how to use them in order to make our lessons more student-centred.

Not sure what an interactive whiteboard is? This video should make everything clear.

Fantastic exam results

Congratulations to our latest Cambridge exam preparation students, who have achieved an amazing 100% pass rate.

Staff and students celebrate at Venice Ball

Staff and students at Embassy Oxford recently joined with Bellerbys Oxford students to enjoy a fantastic Venice Ball at the Halkwell House Hotel.

Fabio Da Silva Moore, the Social Programme and Extra Curricular Activities Organiser for Embassy Oxford was one of the main people behind the event, and writes: ‘Finally, after a lot of hard work and effort from myself and the committee members, we managed to put on a fantastic event. There were beautiful decorations, posters of Venice, mask decorating activities and even a gondola!

The Venice ball was a successful event and all the students and staff members enjoyed a great night dancing and singing. This event gives us more incentive to make next year’s Ball even better!’

Visit the Embassy Oxford Facebook gallery to see more photos of this fabulous event, or visit the Embassy Oxford activities and excursions page to find out more about the other activities available to our students after class.

Creative Fundraiser Raises Money for Charity

The staff and students at Embassy Oxford school gathered recently for a fundraising event in aid of our chosen charity - Building Futures. The theme was to dress only in traffic light colours - red, yellow and green.

The event itself was a photo shoot in the common room of Boswell House, Oxford. Some members of staff collected money for the whole day, others just came for the photo taking. Several students donated money in order to be able to take a picture!

It was a great event with staff and students enjoying the opportunity of doing something fun together to raise money and awareness of the charity. The event raised £57, which was doubled by Study Group to make a total of £115. Definitely a success, but the organisers have one plea, "If we do it again we need more yellows!"

• You can keep up with what's going on at Embassy by following us on Facebook or Twitter.

Embassy Oxford awards Student of the Year

'Congratulations' go to Camilo Cogua, 27, from Colombia, who has recently been voted Student of the Year 2009 at Embassy Oxford School. The annual award recognizes those students who have not only worked hard in their studies, but have also demonstrated good interaction and participated in the local community.

This year the standard of entry was extremely high. It was evident from all those students who applied that so much of their time and energies had been invested into fully participating in all aspects of student and social life. However there can only be one winner.

Camilo’s entry was exceptional and clearly illustrated all his efforts and hard work both in his classes and in the local community: his involvement in courses and events outside the school was unparalleled and he worked hard to use his skills to share his passion and insights with others through projects and video websites. As a prize, we were delighted to present him with a £100 gift voucher for Amazon.com.

• Meet some of the staff and students of Embassy Oxford.

Embassy Oxford Summer Ball

Thursday 18th May 2009 was a night to remember when over one hundred staff and students attended this year's May Ball graduation party. The excitement had been growing in the school during the previous weeks, due to the promotional efforts of the Ball Committee.

It was a beautiful summer evening in Oxford, as the graduation party got underway at Hawkwell House Hotel, a lovely venue, with helpful staff and a big garden. The evening kicked off with a wonderful musical performance from students Andres and Leo. They each sang a few solo numbers and then came together for a duet. The crowd sang and clapped along enthusiastically. What a great way to get the party started!

No sooner had the last piece of chocolate cake disappeared than the students headed for the dance floor. The theme for this year's ball was ‘All Around the World’ and it was perfectly reflected in an enthusiastic, multi-national performance of La Macarena!

School Principal Julia Southby attended the Spring Ball too, she said, "I thoroughly enjoyed the evening; our students made such an effort and looked wonderful. It is one of those lovely events where you can truly appreciate the integration of nationalities and cultures - especially watching around 15 different nationalities dancing at the same time! The evening shows how friendships have grown over the past academic year. It was a truly diverse evening!"

• See more pictures from the graduation party on our Facebook page.

Party to thank our Host Families

Embassy Oxford recently held a party to give thanks to the families who host students in their homes.

Students at Embassy have options to live in a student residence, to find their own accommodation, or to choose 'Homestay' where they live with a local family who also provide food. The benefit of living with a host family is that you get to practice your English and see another aspect of life during your stay in the UK.

At the party, delicious food and entertainment were provided, along with musical offerings from Peter and Steve on guitar and piano (our very own lounge crooners). The highlight of the event was definitely 'Magic Martin' (pictured) who did his magic show for the children aided by his white rabbit.

• Find out more about the accommodation options at Embassy Oxford.

Summer begins with May Day festivities

In Oxford, May 1st is ceremonially acknowledged as the beginning of summer time. As the ancient British holiday of Beltane, May Day was historically designated as a holiday to promote and celebrate fertility. It was also a chance to celebrate the end of the cold winter months, as the first day of May was also the official beginning of summer.

An old custom in Oxford is to gather on the High Street at first light on May 1st and listen to choirboys singing from the Magdelene College Tower. For a few moments there is complete silence as the singing begins and the choirboys welcome in the summer. Thereafter the crowds retreat to pubs and cafes to eat breakfast and watch colourful Morris Men (pictured below) and people dressed up as the Green Man doing their dances. It really is a special moment in the Oxford calendar, which has become renowned around the world.

• Find out more information about events and traditions on our Oxford local information page.

Preparations Underway for Summer Ball

Every year at the end of May, the staff and students at Embassy Oxford let down their hair for a special party, the Summer Ball. This year, it is taking place on 28th May and the preparations are under way. The Ball Committee have been meeting once a week to work out the all-important details. They've decided the theme and designed the posters and tickets.

Now the tickets are on sale, they'll be very busy selling tickets and promoting the event. Made up of dedicated students, the Ball Committee have willingly given up their free time to help make this year's Summer Ball an event to remember!

• See pictures of Embassy Oxford events at Facebook