After a busy year studying (and globetrotting!) at Teesdale Sixth Form, Year 12 Nina Holguin gives us her own personal account of her experiences so far...
From the very beginning, the opportunities available to me at Teesdale School have been exceptional. I realise these opportunities wouldn’t have been so easy to attain elsewhere. I am exceedingly fortunate for the accommodating and enthusiastic staff who have encouraged and enabled me to further my learning outside the classroom. It has only been a year, yet the change that I have undergone has been enriching and unbelievable.
During one of my first Year 12 history lessons with Dr Henderson, he told us about the possibility of joining the Lessons from Auschwitz Project. As I loved history, I wanted to join it, and as there were just two of us who applied for the two places, I got in. I went to three seminars in Newcastle, all based on perceptions and facts about the Holocaust, including one about a woman who was born on a train from a concentration camp. The pinnacle of the project was actually visiting Auschwitz. The experience was deeply moving, and a day I shall never forget. After the visit, I presented an assembly with my fellow students to a group of Year 7 students. I sent my presentation as well as some written work to the Lessons from Auschwitz Project and now I am an ambassador for it.
When the school became a part of Newcastle University’s Freedom City 2017, a project celebrating Martin Luther King's visit to Newcastle University and his legacy, I immediately clocked a personal connection. In 1967, Martin Luther King was at Newcastle University waiting for the ceremony where he would receive his honorary doctorate to begin. My grandmother was asked, along with other students, to go and talk to him. After telling Dr Henderson, we organised for professional made video interview of myself and my grandmother to be made about her experience. This was created and shown at our school's Freedom City event in Durham. It was totally unlike anything I had done before but really brought me closer to the history that tied my grandmother to our area.
I had heard about Euroscola in Year 11, but it wasn’t until autumn 2017 when I was approached by a Year 13, who had previously won the competition, that I decided to get involved. It was an international affairs competition with instructions to make a fake newsreel script on the question of free movement; it also had to include more than one language. We worked on a script and in the winter we found out that we were one of the winning teams from the North East. Our prize was awarded in two parts; the first was actually making our newsreel with the help of a local filmmaker (which caused great hilarity and amusement as we attempted to dress up as the many characters we created!); and the second was to go to the European Parliament itself in Strasbourg to debate with students from 27 other countries who had competed in similar competitions. We were elated and travelled to France with Miss Flint in March to receive this, the second part of our prize. Being inside the European Parliament was breath-taking and poignant with the Brexit result being just two years ago. We met people from hundreds of backgrounds and countries and it was greatly humbling. To see the past and future merge in a pot of youth and intelligence was encouraging and inspiring to say the least.
On the train back from Euroscola, Miss Flint told me about a historically-based seminar in Berlin organised by the UK-German Youth Connection. After having such a fantastic time in France, I eagerly applied. Despite not having any knowledge of German, but with a passion for history, I was accepted for a place on the programme. It was based on a book about a house in the 20th century and its occupants, as Germany changed from a thriving democracy to a fascist regime, and then a communist one. I went to Berlin in early June with students from the very far reaches of the UK; one boy was even from the Orkneys! Along with some German students, we participated in seminars and debates about identity, history and reconciliation; while clichéd in premise, they were fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed my time which has made me more independent and confident but also driven. I am still in contact with some of the other students from the trip and it has really made me develop intellectually, mentally and socially.
In May, my other history teacher, Miss Theaker, told us about a Cambridge competition covering many subjects; for history is was an 'object biography'. She encouraged us, if we were interested in pursuing history, to take part. After spending a long time debating which object to investigate, I wrote about a small stone Peruvian llama that was given to my father. While it was for a competition (that I will later find out the results), the independent, personal research that I have undertaken has been a great practice for a university environment - even down to the referencing. I am now proud of the piece that I have written which will stay with me longer than any class piece. Thanks to Miss for suggesting it, I have become much more knowledgeable about a subject that interests me, and that will help me when applying to university and beyond.
Teesdale School was informed about a North East Oxford residential to encourage students from the North East to apply for Oxbridge as it is the area least represented in the country. Dr Henderson encouraged me to apply for the trip, and fortunately I was accepted. In late June, I travelled down to stay in Trinity College to attend seminars, talk to some North East students studying at Oxford and meet people like myself who are also considering Oxbridge. It was very reassuring and encouraging to meet and talk to them to break down the stereotype of Oxford and its applicants. I had an enjoyable couple of days, including an open day at Oxford, after which I attended a taster day on ancient history and classics. It was an invaluable experience to get a feel for Oxford and consider it as a legitimate option for me in the future.
When I look back at the year, I can scarcely believe the programmes I have been involved with. It has made my first year at Teesdale School Sixth Form unforgettable, and I am very fortunate to be here. Without the school, I would not have been able to do all these exciting things that are going to shape my future path. I feel European despite never living outside of Teesdale! I feel like a historian despite only studying my A levels and I feel mature despite only being 17. But most of all I feel thankful, and that is all thanks to Teesdale School.