Campsmount Technology College

In July 2011, the 24 Cheerleaders who won the 2011 Eurovision Dance Contest were given the opportunity to go on a full days’ trip to the City Limits Dance Studio in Sheffield, which is owned by the” Bennett Brothers” (Darren Bennett famous for his appearances on Strictly Come Dancing).

The girls started off the day by having a Salsa session in the upper ballroom; they had the pleasure of a Latin/Ballroom specialist teacher who was all the way from Russia. The girls partnered up and learnt some specialist Salsa moves. They then had a short break and followed this session with a lesson in the Jive. This was very fast paced and the girls found this very energetic. They then had a dance competition at the end, where they were split in half and had to compete against each other.

Following lunch, the girls finished off with a session on Street Dance/Hip hop, which was great to watch. The girls learnt very fast hand and arm movements and then put together their own piece to a selected piece of music.

This was great treat for the girls to experience, they had such an array of dances to learn all within one day and one which I am sure they won’t forget.

C.Knowland (Campsmount School Sports Co-ordinator)

On Thursday 7^th April 2011, the CTC girls departed Campsmount ready for the Netball tour of their lives. We had the amazing privilege of flying out from Manchester with the airline Emirates, where our girls experienced a choice of over 1200 channels.

After landing in Dubai in the early hours of the morning, we were swiftly taken by our fabulous bus driver who we had for the week, Arshad aka “Our Shed” to the Flora Creek Apartments, which would be our base for the next 6 nights/7 days. After a quick change and checking out our HUGE apartments, we spent our first morning/afternoon at the Deira City Centre Mall, where the girls checked out the enormity of shopping malls over in Dubai. Late afternoon we then departed for the girls training session over in Dubai at the Sevens Emirates Stadium, where the girls completed a 2 hour training session working on developing their skills and tactical awareness within the game. We were well looked after at the venue and were supplied with ice cold water free of charge, which was a lovely treat in the 40 degree heat. Following this everyone enjoyed a well earnt soft drink in the players’ lounge and some of the girls enjoyed dipping their feet in the pool. We then returned to our apartments to get changed and enjoy a Pizza Party, utilising Pizza Hut across the road. Then early to bed after a long 24 hours, ready for our first game in the morning.

Our first fixture was against English College, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Prior to the game the CTC girls put on a great Cheerleading display, which they had learnt prior to going out to Dubai and Gordon the mascot got his place at the front of the Netball courts! The results of this first fixture was the U14’s lost 8-16, however they played some of the best netball they have ever played and the U17’s also lost 9-19, however this score does not reflect the game, there was some brilliant centre court play. The Players of the Match were for the U14’s Becky Greaves and U17’s Hollie Ellison. Both were awesome in their circle defence play. The hosts were lovely to us putting on a great BBQ following the game and the girls enjoyed socialising with the English College girls. That evening we enjoyed a trip on the metro to Dubai Mall, where the girls sampled some shopping and indoor Ice Skating, followed by an evening meal at Nandos.

The following day we were up bright and early ready for a morning at Jumeirah Beach, “Our Shed” the bus driver dropped us off so were situated in front of the famous 7 star Burj Al Arab Hotel. We all had a great time at the beach, where the girls enjoyed performing their Cheerleading routine in the shallow waters and sunbathing in the hot sun. We then departed at lunch, to enjoy a nice buffet in the hotel before being taken to our second fixture against the Dubai British School. This fixture was one of the highlights of the tour and the U17’s who played their game first won 10-8. What a fab close game, it was 6-6 going into the last quarter and did the girls gave it everything they had in the last quarter to win this. Some excellent shooting and player of the match went to Billie Canning-Birtles. Following this game the U14’s lost 4-8, this was a close game to start however in the last quarter the Dubai British School took the lead and we couldn’t catch up. We unfortunately missed quite a few shots, which could have made this a much closer and tighter game. The Player of the match went to Rosie Ward for grit and determination and never giving up. We then went back to the apartments that evening to enjoy a great Birthday Party for Rosie Ward, celebrating her 14^th birthday with a nice big Birthday cake.

The next day we were free from any fixtures or training, so we enjoyed a relaxing morning around the hotels pool, which was hilarious when the girls discovered they had to wear swimming caps. They enjoyed pool volleyball/netball and synchronised swimming, followed by fun relay races. We then went back after lunch to the apartments to get changed for a great excursion Dune Bashing in the desert. This afternoon/evening was fantastic and the girls had such a laugh driving very fast around in the desert in 4 x 4 vehicles and then following this we all experienced camel riding, sandboarding, a moonlight BBQ and Belly Dancing show.

The following day, in the morning we went to our final fixture at Dubai College, where we had very tough opposition renowned for being one of the best over in Dubai. The results of the games were the U14’s lost 2-17. This was a tough game against a very high standard. However the CTC girls never gave up fighting and their play down centre court was lovely, some excellent spatial awareness. We had 14 missed shots, which at the end of the day lost this game massively for us and this was the main difference between the two sides. The player of the match went to Charlotte Viggars.  The U17’s lost 4-11 and this game had a very unfortunate accident, our star shooter Billie Canning-Birtles took an ankle injury and had to have a trip to the hospital. However, she was all checked out and nothing was broken, but badly sprained. The girls however came fighting back after this and won the last quarter for her, some excellent fighting spirit from the CTC girls as always.The U17 Player of the Match went to Kelly Sayles for playing out of position as centre.  In the afternoon we then went to The Mall of the Emirates to experience the Indoor Snow Dome at Ski Dubai, the girls had a go at Tubing and going on the Indoor Bob Sleigh run. To complete the evening we went to Apres Restaurant overlooking the slopes for a great 2 course meal.

Our final day was spent at The Atlantis Hotel, where we enjoyed a Shallow Water Interaction Dolphin swim, followed by an afternoon at Aquaventure waterpark. What an experience for everyone swimming with dolphins in Dubai and then riding the Leap of Faith. We then completed our last evening with a visit to the Dubai Mall, where we enjoyed the magnificent views at the top of the Burj Khalifia, followed by a lovely 3 course meal at the Italian restaurant Urbanos overlooking the famous fountain display.

On our last morning we enjoyed a short trophy presentation before completing our trip to the airport to board our late afternoon emirates flight back to Manchester airport. We arrived back at Campsmount on Thursday 14^th April after experiencing an amazing 7 days in the wonderful City of Dubai. Our girls were truly a credit to the school and I am sure they will all say that this definitely was a tour of a lifetime!

C.Knowland (Campsmount School Sports Co-ordinator)

  In March 2011, a selection of our CTC Dance Academy and Cheerleading Club attended the Doncaster Dance Showcase at Danum Upper School, to showcase the work that they have been doing in the academy.

They performed 2 routines, firstly a piece they had recently performed in the Grease Production at Campsmount and secondly they performed a Cheerleading routine to Insomnia by Faithless, consisting of also a Contemporary duet by Emily Ball and Ebony Kitts.

The girls put on a fantastic display as always for the audience and it was great to see two performances typically away from the street dance trend that has become so popular these days. The audience were very appreciative of the students work and it was commented upon by Doncaster Dance Coaches what talent we have at Campsmount.

An enjoyable evening had by all the staff and students!

C.Knowland (Campsmount School Sports Co-ordinator)

As part of our reward to our students for working hard all year to compete in the Eurovision Dance Contest the school paid for the winning group to attend a taster day at City Limits Dance Studio in Sheffield. This dance studio is owned by Dale Bennett, the twin brother of Darren Bennett, one of the stars of Strictly Come Dancing.

The students all got to experience a range of different dance styles from Street Dance, Cheerleading through to Latin and Ballroom styles. It was a great day out and all students were a credit to Campsmount working really hard in all 3 workshops that were on offer to them.

C.Knowland (Campsmount School Sport Co-ordinator)

In May this year, a decision was made to take 2 of the school’s Netball Teams on a tour abroad. However, we didn’t want to do things lightly, so we decided to offer the students a fantastic cultural experience as well and tour the United Arab Emirates and visit the fabulous city of Dubai.

To ensure the tour took place a lot of hard work has occured from 3 staff members and we have had to look at various fundraising initiatives to raise enough money for the students to go. We have now reached our goal and the tour is all booked and finalised ready to depart over the Easter Holidays in 2011.

The 7 day tour will include the girls playing 3 Netball fixtures whilst over in Dubai, training sessions at Dubai College and a whole range of excursions, with examples being a Jeep Desert Safari experience and a visit to the famous Atlantis the Palm Aquadventure Waterpark.  This will be a tremendous life experience for our girls, not only will it massively develop their netball skills, but it will hopefully educate our students about the diverse cultural experiences in the world today!

C.Knowland (Campsmount School Sports Co-ordinator)

On Tuesday 7^th July 2009 the Campsmount Football Academy departed for Toronto in Canada to start the first leg of their tour over there. This followed over a year of fundraising and sponsorship quests to gain enough money to assist the 45 students, consisting of girls and boys in achieving a dream opportunity. The students played 2 games whilst in Toronto, which gained our school varying results against clubs of a very high standard.

All students also had the opportunity to visit Wonderland Theme Park, watch an American Football Game supporting the Toronto Argonauts Team and visit the CN Tower. Then the students moved on to Niagara, where they had an opportunity to go on the famous Maid of the Mist and experience Niagara Falls.

Here in Niagara the students played their last game of the tour, where the year 11 boys completed 3 wins out of 3, which was a fantastic achievement. This was a great experience for all of the students who attended the tour and gave them different life skills, which will be valuable to them in the future.

C.Knowland (Campsmount School Sports Co-ordinator)

As part of the “Study Support Activities Programme”, our school was invited, to take part in the ‘Pro-Excel’ Move It dance and media holiday programme, where students had the opportunity to audition for a place to perform as “gameday” entertainment at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Sunday 3^rd May 2009.

A large number of students attended the auditions and 8 students from Campsmount Technology College were successfully selected to take part in the event.  The bulk of the project took place in the first week of the Easter holidays between Monday 6th April and Thursday 9th April at The Keepmoat Stadium, where students attended set workshops to learn a full routine to perform at the event. 

In addition to the dance workshops the project was filmed by a professional crew including interviews with the dancers, and coverage of the whole project right through the final show. The project offered an incredibly valuable experience to all students, offering them involvement in one of the world’s most high profile sporting events and the chance to perform in front of many thousands of people.  The event also offered a chance to implement skills into a real-life performance, an event that each participant will never forget!

C.Knowland (Campsmount School Sports Co-ordinator)

Following the success of our very own dance contest this year, various Camspmount dancers attended the Doncaster Dance Showcase at Danum School on Thursday 19^th March to showcase their dance skills.

Two groups were selected to perform two routines which had appeared in our Eurovision Dance Contest, showcasing different styles of dance, ranging from Street Dance to Turkish dancing. All students performed to a high standard and they were a pleasure to watch – Well done girls!!

C.Knowland (Campsmount School Sports Co-ordinator)

On Friday 21st November 2009, 12 students from Camspmount Technology College’s new Street Dance Club attended a dance project called ‘Get Doncaster Dancing’ which was held at The Point in Doncaster, the home of DARTS (Doncaster Community Arts).

This was organised by DARTS and funded by Doncaster’s Primary Care Trust to try to encourage more students to participate within dance, regardless of their age and ability and to decrease the risk of health problems and promote a healthier lifestyle. In the morning the students were booked onto a contemporary dance workshop, which was aimed at giving our students a taste of this style of dance and give them an insight into how dance can be choreographed quite spontaneously. The students thoroughly enjoyed this and it was great to watch their smiling faces while they took part. Faye, a professional dancer from DARTS led this workshop and she was absolutely fantastic with the girls and the work they produced was excellent.

The students were then asked to perform part of their performance piece they had prepared ready for the afternoon session on Calendar and due to this they had the opportunity to meet Strictly Come Dancing star Darren Gough. Three students were interviewed and they were asked to comment on what they felt the benefits of dance were and why they participated in dance. Darren Gough then gave the students some lessons on how to perform the Jazz & Waltz and answered any questions they had.

Following this the students then performed a street dance piece which they had worked on during their after school club to C+C’s version of “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now”). This was great to watch & gave the students an opportunity to perform in a professional dance studio.

This was a fantastic trip and well organised by DARTS. The students who attended were a credit to the school, their attitude was amazing and the staff commented on how mature they had been. Comments like “I feel like Cheryl Tweedy” and “I feel like I’m in Britannia High” showed how much fun the students were having. The girls have asked if this is going to be a regular occurrence as they enjoyed this experience so much and I feel this has encouraged the girls to continue dancing and believe this has been a huge success!!

Well done girls you all did me proud!!!!

C.Knowland (Campsmount School Sports Co-ordinator)