3 / 20
PASTORAL / ACADEMIC 3
Eating Disorders Workshop
Soumya Krishna Kumar, U6E
This November, three of my close friends (Isabella Lock,
Anisha Choda and Anissa Patel) and I, presented a
workshop on eating disorders to the Fifth Form. We ran
eight group ‘sessions’, each lasting half an hour. Our aim
during these sessions was to raise awareness of a topic
that we felt needed to be spoken about more - the
reality of eating disorders, their prevalence, symptoms
and how to deal with them. All four of us have personal
experience with eating disorders, whether it be
ourselves or helping a friend go through them, and we
wanted to share our advice and thoughts on how to
deal with situations that can be scary and extremely
difficult to navigate, with little to no experience. It is a
subject that has hugely impacted our own lives, and we
hoped that by sharing our stories we could help others.
When planning the sessions, we felt nervous yet determined.
Nervous, because we wanted to treat the issue with the sensitivity
it deserved, whilst still remaining informative; not wanting to
scaremonger or upset anyone, yet wanting to convey the very real
impacts eating disorders have upon individuals. Determined, because
we wanted to make a real change - despite the daunting idea of
standing up in front of over one hundred relative strangers and
sharing your struggles, we knew the benefits would outweigh our
own nerves. Completely vulnerable, we put our faith in the Fifth Form
that they would be respectful and engage with us.
All four of us agreed afterwards that it was one of the most rewarding
things we had ever done. The day went off without a hitch - the
pupils were attentive and thanked us for our candour, and it truly felt
worth it when people reached out to us on social media and in person
telling us that we had inspired them, or helped them find the courage
to ask for help. We all feel that mental health is something that it is so
important to talk about, and hope to continue sharing our stories.
We would like to thank Mrs Scurfield and Mrs Channer for making this
day possible, helping us plan and organise it, and supporting us from
the outset.
Oxbridge 2019
We are delighted at the Oxbridge success of our Upper
Sixth pupils. Around 10% of this year group have
achieved offers from Oxford or Cambridge colleges
this year. Once again there is a healthy mix of subjects
amongst those who received offers, but it is a good year
for historians and engineers (with three successes each).
Eight pupils have received offers from Cambridge and three from
Oxford. The full breakdown is as follows:
Head, Simon Marshall, writes, “Every year sees increased
competition for places and it is good to see Bancroftians competing
successfully for places on the most popular courses. It is also worth
noting that a number of excellent students unfortunately missed
out on this occasion – they worked equally hard and we are equally
proud of their ambition and efforts.” It is also pleasing to see that
so many other Bancroftians are holding offers from their first choice
universities and from Russell group institutions.
The Head went on to note, “Once again, a common characteristic of
those applying is a commitment to all aspects of life at school and
they provide great evidence for the importance of engaging fully
with everything the school has to offer and inspiration for future
Oxbridge aspirants.”
Cambridge
Alex Agedah
Natural Science
Selwyn
Anisha Choda
History
Trinity
Milo Lammin
Economics
Downing
Oscar Saharoy
Engineering
St John’s
Jathavan Thevarajah
Engineering
Fitzwilliam
Zac Tiller
Chemical Engineering
via Natural Science
Queen’s
Rashida Uddin
History
St John’s
Charlotte Wyatt
Medicine
Newnham
Oxford
Busola Femi-Gureje
History
Keble
Jaya Rana
English
Brasenose
Zoe Webb
Biochemistry
Trinity