HC Around the World! – Reach Cambridge Part 1
September 3rd, 2011 by IT Director36 students.
3 teachers.
2 weeks.
REACH CAMBRIDGE SUMMER SCHOOL
Taking on a variety of courses, which ranged from Chemistry & Medicine to International History, the thirty-six of us delved head on into our courses over the span of two weeks. Our time spent in Cambridge was not for naught, as we all managed to learn valuable information about the subjects that we were interested in.
The Law course (which Kylie took) covered a range of modules, which included criminal law, international law, human rights law, and constitutional law. The law students also had the opportunity to have a moot trial, visit law courts and witness actual court cases (assault, theft… etc). This gave the law students a glimpse of what it was like to practice law in real-life, outside of what could be learnt from books and in a classroom setting. The Economics course (which Lauren took) featured both micro and macroeconomics. The Economics course employed the lecture-tutorial system, giving students the opportunity to clarify concepts learnt in smaller groups. We explored a wide range of topics, which included market failure, competition, international trade, labour economics, political economics and game theory. We also dedicated one afternoon to learning the basics of hands-on econometrics. During our day trip to London, we had the opportunity to visit the Bank of England and the HM Treasury, both of which were eye-opening experiences. All in all, the economics course proved itself to be a highly enriching one.
The Economics students with Mr. Richard Povey (our tutor) and Ms. Genevieve Tan in King’s College
Other courses also proved to be equally exciting, with Biotechnology students learning about genetics, drug resistance, oncology and pharmaceutical science, amongst other fascinating subject matters. That being said, Reach Cambridge was as much a cultural experience as well as an academic experience. We were given ample time to experience the sights and sounds of beautiful Cambridge. Many of us spent our weekends and evenings exploring the town, visiting the beautiful colleges or just simply relaxing on one of the many sprawling lawns that Cambridge offers. Some evenings, we were given the opportunity to watch ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ open-air in Cambridge itself, good experiences for those who went.
Biotechnology students in the lab
As part of our courses, we all had the chance to go punting on the lovely river Cam – an Oxbridge tradition and visit places of interest such as the Fitzwilliam Museum. All the courses also took a day trip to London and whilst on that trip, half of us got to watch Much Ado About Nothing at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre in London.
Leah & Jia Xi (Physics students) on a punt
At the end of the day, however, the trip would have been nothing without the great company we all enjoyed. We were blessed with great teachers-in-charge, Mr. Teo Ming Ern, Ms. Genevieve Tan and Mrs. Serene Jeffrey, who not only looked out for our welfare at all times, but were also extremely fun to be around. On one instance, the teachers even treated us to a great lunch at the Eagle’s Pub (where Francis Crick and James Watson announced the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA)! As the song goes, “we were strangers starting out on a journey, never dreaming what we had to go through”. We embarked on this journey as strangers, but came back as good friends. That was truly the highlight of our trip – to be able to interact closely and bond with our newfound friends. Indeed, Reach Cambridge was an almost-magical learning experience for the two of us, and we’re sure, for all of us that went on the trip.
Lunch at the Eagle’s Pub (Treat by the Teachers)
Reach Cambridge 2011
Kylie Tora Basuki Liu (11A15) and Lauren Fu (11S7N)
Note from the ITDs : This is a Part 1 of a Reach Cambridge Series. Part 2 will be uploaded next week featuring an article written by Nicholas Chuan. Do look out for it!