Culture Day
Celebrating the amazing community at Long Road was so much fun. A massive well done to the students of the Multicultural Society, Charlotte from enrichment, and all the sports students for organising. Well done to both teamswhowonthebasketballandfootballtournaments.
Health and Social Care Event
Year 2 Health and Social Care students successfully finished their studies by running a health promotioncampaignforthecollege.Topicsincludedcyberbullying,healthyrelationships,veganismand drugs awareness. Students got creative by making their own resources and devising activities for participants to get involved in. The event was hosted on the field in the beautiful May sunshine and provided plenty of opportunity for students (and staff!) to learn and experience small changes that couldmakeabigdifferencetothemindividually.Congratulationstothestudentsfortheirhardwork andthankyoutoeveryonewhoattended.
Duke of Edinburgh
Hugecongratulationstothe7studentswhocompletedtheirDofEGoldAwards thisSpring:Leo,Jo,Heidi,Sam,Isobel,PerdyandEmmeline.Theywereinvitedto celebrate their success at the Gold Award Celebration, Buckingham Palace Gardens, on Friday 22 May. They enjoyed the gardens, tea and cupcakes, chatting to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, brass bands, and motivational speeches from Hugh Bonneville (Actor and Humanitarian Activist), Lucy Shepherd(Explorer),TabithaStoecker(OlympicChampion)andmanymore. nd
A real highlight was a passionate, (and very funny) speech by Evie, a DofE Youth Ambassador who has recently completed her gold expeditioninawheelchair.Everyoneleftfeelingveryinspired.
by Daisy Brooks (student) & Connor Astran (staff) & Connor Astran (staff)
Our wonderful Yolanda B Botham will be retiring Bfrom Long Road Sixth FForm at the end of this academic year. Yolanda served as PPrincipal and later CCEO expertly for over 8 8 years, and has been an i invaluable colleague, and even moreso friend, to both students and staff alike in that time.
Daisy Brooks and I sat down with her to reminisce, muse about what makes Long Road special, and discuss why wiggly routes are more interesting.
CA: So is that where the progress coach role was kind of created?
YB: The progress coach role already existed, and they were already doing a fantastic job before, what we did was just change the focus a little bit They are of course looking at every single student, but also for the teachers. There’s so many other things. The UCAS workshops with The Perse was because I went to meet the headteacher there and I said, “Hey, we ’ re neighbours What can you do to support Long Road” And so they helped us with doing our Oxbridge applications In summary, we looked at our estate and thought what can we add to make it better for students and staff. For staff it’s important too, for example out the back of the staff room there is an outside seating area That was Jason Dear that suggested that We also said that for teachers, if you ’ re not teaching you don’t have to be in first thing. You’re a professional and we trust you, and some colleges are only just starting to introduce that now and for others it just doesn’t exist And we looked at our students and we want to treat them as individuals We don’t want them to be disadvantaged, and that was already being done but we just reinvigorated it. One thing that I think is really important to remember is that the core of Long Road has stayed the same. We might have a new teaching block and front entrance, we might have focused on using the data slightly better, but the fundamentals about what makes Long Road distinct, is achievements, breadth, care. It’s defined by what students want to do. And I would gently point out that our BTEC results have been good for a while, but our A Level results last year were the best in 25 years Chris Childs likes to say it’s the best we ’ ve had this century which is also true. And it hasn’t come at the expense of students, our retention numbers are very high
“One thing that I think is really important to remember is that the core of Long Road has stayed the same. We might have a new teaching block and front entrance, we might have focused on using the data slightly better, but the fundamentals about what makes Long Road distinct, is achievements, breadth, care. It’s defined by what students want to do.”
Yolanda Botham
CA: When you were in sixth form, what subjects did you take and what would your teachers say about you?
YB: Guess!
CA: I know you went on to teach Politics so I’m going to guess politics is probably one of them. That’s a little bit cheating
YB: Well done, yes that is one of them
DB: I don’t know, maybe History?
CA: I thought that as well.
YB: Nope, good guess.
CA: I was thinking Art because you were talking about the importance of art earlier
YB: Nope I did French and Spanish alongside Politics. And I had to do both of those exams on the same day!
CA: So does that mean you ’ re bilingual?
YB: Yes, my mother was Spanish, she was from Madrid After my A Levels I went off to do a degree at Hull University, and I was thinking what shall I do now? I had previously volunteered at a primary school and it was a lot of fun, so I thought I can go and do my PGCE. I did that at the Institute of Education in London And then I got my first job at in a sixth form in Horsham, West Sussex
CA: And what about your teachers, what would they have said about you?
YB: They would say lively and talkative.
CA: I can absolutely see that!
YB: I also remember when I was in sixth form there was some concern about universities not accepting my CSE in maths because this was before GCSEs, so I didn’t have to do it but I opted to retake maths. It wasn’t the most joyous experience but I had a fabulous teacher called Major Edey
CA: Did you say Major Edey?
YB: Yes, he’d retired out of the army but despite of every stereotype you have in your head now, he was the opposite.
CA: That’s funny because that was exactly my first thought, like one of the teachers from the movie Kes or something.
YB: No, he was very kind and empathetic, exactly what a good teacher should be and he helped me succeed
DB: If you were coming to Long Road now, which subjects would you choose to study?
YB: This was really hard to think about, I’d be really interested in Psychology. I can’t remember if it existed as an A Level when I was studying, but that would really interesting. I love crime novels, so I would be lured by Criminology so I might have done that I would love to do the BTEC Applied Art, but if you could do just a 60-credit version so I could mix it with my other subjects, I would love that.
DB: What makes Long Road unique compared to other colleges?
YB: We were talking about this earlier, I would say that it has a magic blend. Long Road is doing what a lot of other colleges are doing, and Daisy you will be the best judge of this, but it really does recognise that students are different and it values diversity OFSTED, whatever you may think of them, came in and said that support for students with learning needs is brilliant. We’ve always supported pride and LGBTQ+ students and trans rights, we ’ ve been very keen to say to young people “be yourselves” Think about Culture Day, that’s something that has evolved through Charlotte Smith’s brilliant work I saw that there was this youth social action apprenticeship and I said to Harriet hey, this would be really good and we could really use someone like this at Long Road So Harriet w
wrote the winning bid and now we have Charlotte, and thanks to her and the students we now have Culture Day as well as a number of other fantastic things. I think we also value different routes. Daisy, you said earlier that you were interested in doing an apprenticeship and maybe a degree apprenticeship, I think that’s what makes Long Road special is that all routes are valued, not all students are forced into the same box. I don’t know if you would agree, Daisy.
DB: Yeah I would, when we had Tutorial just yesterday we were talking about university and apprenticeships and all the options in between those
YB: Exactly, and it matters because if you only talk about one, all the other people who for lots of good reasons do not want to go down that route, how do they feel about that? I didn’t design it, but interestingly Long Road’s current logo is thanks to me and our brilliant Marketing Lead Abby Futter. When you look at the logo, although it might give you a headache, there’s a lot going on. It’s a star of course, which you know in education represents achievement, well done, that sort of thing It’s also got triangles which are points of a compass So that represents the different routes and places that Long Road go, and it’s the vibrant colour because that reflects the diversity of our college community.
CA: In the four years I’ve worked here I’ve not thought particularly deeply about what the logo represents but you ’ re right I think that is a great representation of what Long Road is.
YB: Yes, we went through a lot of iterations and I really hope Angela, the new CEO, keeps it!
CA: I remember the previous logo and it didn’t look quite as good as this one
YB: Logos are funny things because we don’t want to spend money on these sorts of things, we want to spend money on students But on the other hand, it is your signature to the world and if it looks tired, flat, old fashioned, that’s how people will perceive you
DB: Tell us something about yourself that would surprise people.
YB: I love Dolly Party and country music. I love the Bee Gees, I know they’re not cool but I love them
CA: I like Dolly Parton as well, that whole Jolene album is amazing
YB: She’s just fantastic, and I listen to country radio and although it’s a bit formulaic (I don’t own a pickup truck, I’m never going to wear cut-off jeans, I’m not going fishing or driving down dirt roads) but I really quite like it Chris Stapleton singing Tennessee Whiskey, I like Teddy Swims.
CA: I’ve never heard of Teddy Swims.
DB: I like Teddy Swims too.
YB: He’s extraordinary, he’s a bit more modern but he’s got a raspy, fabulous voice I also like a bit of R’n’B Marvin Gaye, stick him on
CA: I grew up listening to Motown, so I love that kind of stuff.
YB: Yes, Motown! I do a lot of driving and I sometimes listen to 1970’s radio, so yes a lot of that sort of stuff
CA: Could you tell us about some of your favourite or most rewarding memories from Long Road?
YB: What I will remember is that every day is different. One of the things I’ll think about is Open Evenings, we changed the format to allow visitors more time to get to go around the site. There are some people who think I’d like to hear from the principal and I said look, we’ll do it a bit more modern, we’ll record something, hey if you want to ask me a question you can come and find me! So I’ve done the Open Evenings in the brilliant sunshine and the pouring rain There’s nothing better than showcasing the brilliance of Long Road For the same reason I will really remember Welcome Days Daisy, do you remember the first time you came for your Induction Day?
DB: Yes I do.
YB: My colleagues would all be running around very busy like worker bees, and I had the superb luxury of staying out the front and welcoming students as they came in. And every single year there are poor souls who have misjudged the travel, got it wrong, and they’re late and absolutely petrified And it’s so rewarding to say “it’s all going to be fine, it’s your first day it will be fine” And then to see those same people come out at the end of the day excited, and it might be downhill from there. No, I’m only joking of course. In the old days we used to have results day and everyone used to come in, now it’s a few people that come in but it’s always rewarding to see them with their parents, carers, grandparents, uncles, aunties, whoever is important in their life to celebrate their achievement. Abby is of course getting the gold curtains and balloons ready for their celebration Then of course there is the pandemic, which wasn’t rewarding per se, but it’s certain seared onto my memory. I remember sitting in my office with my leadership colleagues, because we knew it was coming, watching Boris Johnson tell us there were a couple of days before lockdown And what you might not know is that when we were in lockdown, we operated a system where students were in one week, and online one week. Hills Road was the same, we worked together Jo Trump and myself, because the government guidance at the time didn’t work for sixth form colleges like us You can’t put students in bubbles, it doesn’t really work We worked out what was the most sensible approach. We had pressure f
from the government to change our model and they were quite stroppy, and we said no we ’ re not going to. And we were supported by the director of health for Cambridgeshire and the director of education. So we as a college didn’t have to close completely That all took a lot of collaborative work to keep people safe.
CA: I wasn’t here at that time but I can imagine that it was a time where people would really pull together because that’s all you can do
YB: Yes, and of course bad things can also generate positive things, as they say never waste a crisis It makes you realise “why are we doing that? We should have done away with that years ago ” . Things like the use of Teams, putting things online instead of printing things
CA: This is a bit of a long-winded question so you’ll have to bear with me, but I found online that in 2019 you were quoted by Cambridge Labour MP Daniel Zeichner in the House of Commons. Did you know about this and how did it feel having your words represent a need for greater school funding to improve social mobility?
YB: It was brilliant because that’s my job Part of the job of being principal or CEO is to lobby government and other decision-makers in the interests of students. If you go back in time, that particular government wanted to axe all BTEC privision and just have A Levels, apprenticeships, and T Levels And there’s a group of students who that would have left high and dry. And it was an unbelievable political decision and dangerous for a whole group of people. What’s important is that it’s more likely that those students had come from disadvantaged backgrounds or had lower qualifications on entry and they were going to be disadvantaged. Not everyone develops at the same stage. So one of the roles is to get ahold of your politicians and bend their ears. Of course Daniel Zeichner is a Labour MP and he was quite happy to hear criticism of the then Tory government so he could go up and speak. I was very pleased that he was lobbying because all of the collective lobbying of the principals around the country got that delayed and changed So we contributed to a stay of execution on those qualifications and some of those are still here at the moment like Health and Social Care Although the curriculum reform juggernaut is coming, it’s been slower and more students have had the benefits of the other qualifications and we have time to adapt to the new ones I was also quoted by Peter Aldous who is the conservative MP for Lowestoft who was contributing towards a similar debate about funding at the time. So I was really pleased by both of them, it’s not party specific, it’s working with whichever politicians are local One of the things people don’t realise is that whilst we ’ re running the college we ’ re also thinking about the contextual risks and opportunities around us, so for example the US Iran war we ’ re thinking about that, whether it’s going to affect supply for food and all kinds of stuff that might impact the college At the minute we ’ re of course worrying about heat
DB: You’ll sadly be leaving us at the end of this academic year. What are your plans after leaving Long Road?
YB: I’m going to travel. I know that I’ll need to find another brilliant community but I don’t know what that is yet. So I’m going to give myself some space to think about it
CA: That’s a great answer What’s on your bucket list for places to travel to?
YB: Well, I’ve already booked Iceland because I don’t like the heat. Iceland is pretty chilly! Vietnam and Japan I’d be really interested
CA: When you leave, what do you hope/ feel your legacy will be?
YB: I don’t like that question and it’s only because I feel that it’s not for the individual to say I don’t think it’s healthy to think about legacy because people who do think about it sometimes do things so that they will be remembered. And that can lead people into making peculiar choices I am comfortable in knowing that Long Road is financially better off, has maintained fantastic teachers, and the legacy is always students. They go out there and say “hey Long Road was brilliant and I loved it.” I was on my way to London on a train literally the other day and I got onto the carriage and this young man came up to me and said “hey, Yolanda!” He said he was at Long Road and now he’s training to do physiotherapy and it made me really happy.
CA: I really like stuff like that too. Sometimes exstudents will come in and do talks for the current students and it’s always interesting to see what they’re doing now
YB: Yes, exactly! So yes, just knowing that Long Road is strong for the future.
VIETNAM
JAPAN
DB: Where do you see Long Road going in the future?
YB: I think it will evolve, because one of the changes we didn’t go into detail earlier is that we ’ ve created a multi-academy trust, so that’s working with Colchester and that’s still young. I see that maybe in the next 5 or so years the trust gets bigger where another college will join and add to the richness of the partnership. Long Road also has a fantastic opportunity with the new railway line because that will make it easier for young people to come to Long Road. The curriculum will change because the government is changing that. How we support our students with learning needs will evolve because that is a real focus of the current government But most importantly the fundamentals won’t change, that’s why Long Road has been so successful for so long. That’s probably something I would also underline is that I wanted people to realise the importance of all the roles in the college The teachers are of course important but so are all the other roles that help to hold things together
CA: That’s something that I was going to mention at the end is that in the time the I’ve been here, I’ve always felt that Long Road has not just an excellent student community but also staff community too And I don’t like to think of community being hierarchical, I think everyone within it is responsible for the community, but I think that the people at the top do a lot to dictate those things and being here has been an amazing experience in my life and I think people like yourself and Steve do a great job helping to maintain that And I think that translates to the student experience.
YB: That’s lovely to hear, Connor. Small things like cakes at meetings, trying not to have too many meetings, doing things online to make it easier for people I would be so excited to see Long Road in 10 years time because I think it will be even better than it is now.
DB: Do you have any advice or words of wisdom you’d like to share with the students here looking to the future?
YB: Who’s going to listen to that?! There’s only one thing I would say, have you seen the Baz Luhrman “Wear Sunscreen”? It’s about an older person giving advice to a younger person And what I would say is there are lots of ways to get to where you want to go Not everybody has a linear path to this golden land. The people who take wiggly routes, they are more interesting and they learn more on those wiggles. They might decide they want to go somewhere else rather than the simple and linear route that some people are lucky enough to have Don’t give up, everyone gets knocked down and rejected, some of the most successful people will point to the fact that it wasn’t easy Trying to find those people who encourage you Hopefully it’s your parents, but it might not be It could be friends, it could be other people. Just remember that wiggly paths are great.
“Just remember, wiggly paths are great.”
Yolanda Botham
