The Clapton Review
In this issue:
Future Leaders Bikes to Gambia Ski Austria Hairspray 1
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April 2016
Welcome from the Headteacher The front cover of this Clapton Review really sums up last term’s amazing performance of Hairspray. Students and staff did brilliantly well to perform three sold-out nights with such enthusiasm and joy.
This Clapton Review also shows how fantastic our students and ex-students are in all sorts of ways, in all parts of the world!
Well done to them all
Achievement for All Quality Mark Award We have been awarded a national accolade for quality for our work in improving the well-being, resilience and selfesteem of students vulnerable to underachievement. The Quality Mark Award recognises the impressive work done to improve progress in reading, writing and maths for all students, particularly those with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities. It focuses on a variety of categories such as strategic planning, quality of teaching and learning, effective use of interventions, pupil progress and community relationships. The award has been developed by leading education charity Achievement for All (AfA), which offers support programmes to schools and settings to help them improve outcomes in the lowest achieving 20 per cent. CGA has been working in partnership with AfA since 2012 and has seen a sustained improvement in many areas, including collaborative working between the academy, parents and external agencies to ensure positive outcomes for all students. AfA works closely with parents, carers, teachers and individual children to secure the best outcome and attainment for students through personalised and specific targets. 2
Anna Feltham, Associate Headteacher said: ‘Working with AfA has been a really positive experience. The programme has helped us ensure an even sharper focus on attainment and progress for all students and has provided exciting new ideas to build on existing good practice in working in partnership with parents.’ Kris Wodehouse, Regional Director at AfA, said: ‘Clapton Girls’ Academy has shown outstanding leadership and teamwork, and most importantly, their target groups have made better than expected progress and are quickly closing the gap with their peers.”
Proud students with the Achievement for All Quality Mark Award
Pupil Premium Awards Clapton Girls' Academy has received an award in the Key Stage 4 category of the Pupil Premium Awards 2016 for being one of the highest achieving schools in the country in terms of the attainment and value added progress of its disadvantaged pupils since 2012. Also, an above average percentage of these pupils achieved the EBacc in 2015. Sam Gyimah MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Childcare & Education said, ‘It is clear that Clapton Girls’ Academy have proivded its disadvantaged pupils with a good start in life and prepared them well for further study, training or employment.’
Girls achieve better GCSE results in single sex state schools Girls at single-sex state schools in England get better GCSE results, according to education data experts SchoolDash. In mixed schools, 55% of students got five good GCSEs including English and maths, while in single sex schools the proportion was 75%.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to Economics In February, recent CGA graduate Beth Foster-Ogg chaired an economics talk ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Economics’ delivered by former Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis at the Round Chapel. Over a thousand people came to the free panel event, the second in a series of lectures and workshops for People’s PPE, a new initiative across Hackney and Tower Hamlets designed to empower the grassroots and engage ‘ordinary people’ in philosophy, politics and economics.
Event organiser, Imad Ahmed, an English teacher at CGA said, “Democracy cannot function without knowledge. We can educate ourselves to make better informed choices.” Beth said, “It was a privilege to chair an event that gave people in my community the opportunity to question experts in the field of economics and share their own local insights. It was particularly important to see so many local young people seeking to understand some of the vital and complex questions our society needs to ask.”
#1 Future Leader Former CGA Head Girl Chrisann Jarrett has been placed at the top of the ‘Future Leaders’ table of the UK’s 100 most outstanding African and African Caribbean students and new graduates. Her achievements since leaving CGA make her a more than worthy number one. Chrisann, currently in the first year of a law degree at the London School of Economics (LSE) was born in Jamaica but has been living in the UK since the age of eight. Despite having legal residency Chrisann discovered she was not eligible for a student loan when she was first offered a place at LSE due to changes to immigration rules in 2011. In response to her situation she founded the Let Us Learn campaign in January 2014
which fights for policy change to the rules regarding student finance. Let Us Learn started with just four young people lobbying universities and MPs, liaising with media agencies and delivering workshops in schools to teach students their rights. Under Chrisann’s leadership it has grown to a team of fifty. Let Us Learn has been instrumental in a Supreme Court case that will eventually lead to a change in the law, affecting the lives of thousands of young men and women for the better. Amazingly, Chrisann also finds the time to mentor three A level students on the Pathways to Law programme, a programme which set her on her own journey into law when she was a student at CGA.
Stay Connected! Graduated from CGA? Tell us where your career has taken you.
Inspire the next generation of graduates by signing up to our Future First scheme:
https://networks.futurefirst.org.uk/former-student/clapton 3
Debating Success Eve Fox and Tahia Ahmed make it through to the national final at Oxford in the International Competition of Young Debaters competition. Katia Bennamane, Maisie Smith and Matilda Mendick also broke through to the final rounds of PiXL’s Up for Debate competition, placing CGA in the top four schools out of thirty six.
Art Suzhou 2016 Our Head of Art, Mr Purday was in China in January to take part in Art Suzhou 2016, a UK/China exchange exhibition conceived in collaboration with Ye Qinlan, director of LanGallery, PanArts in the city of Suzhou and the British Council. The programme takes place every three years with artists from around the world; this year it featured fourteen artists from China and five from the UK. The programme included ancient and contemporary dance, singing and music performances, an artist’s award ceremony and press and TV interviews. An artist seminar also took place, where the differences between eastern and western art production was discussed. Mr Purday described the trip as an ‘unforgettable experience’.
Bikes to Gambia In February, Jodine Clarke 10N became the youngest team member ever to go to The Gambia with charity Bikes2Gambia. This opportunity was made possible by being a volunteer police cadet. In the run up to the trip Jodine had collected books that CGA no longer needed, asked around her community for old bikes that could be donated and raised money by selling Bikes2Gambia wristbands. Once in The Gambia she was kept busy in heat of up to 37 degrees fixing 120 bikes; sanding, gluing and sticking punctures! As well as working on the bikes the team visited primary and secondary schools to deliver the books and distribute the repaired bikes to students to help with their difficult journeys to school. The programme for the two weeks included experiencing some of the rich Gambian culture in the local market where the art of bartering was learnt and the joy of a trip to an eco lodge to live without wifi and flushing toilets for a weekend! Jodine said, ‘It’s an amazing feeling to know that I have helped children who have nothing and to make something out of stuff that is worthless in our country.’
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Bett Awards 2016 Over sixty educators attended Ms Yusuf’s #teacher5aday session championing teacher wellbeing at BETT (the world’s leading educational technology event) in January, learning how to use social media to enhance their work life balance.
Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon
Digital Leaders This term we launched our Digital Leaders scheme with Year 12 students: Eirni Zompou 12A; Safiya Patel 12A; Kevser Killinc 12C; Zoe Sunu 12D and Sara Meriouma 12B.
“I completed my first ever long distance event - the Silverstone half marathon on Sunday 13th March to raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. It was incredibly tough but I was determined to go all the way and did!”
The students will be pioneering the use of technology within education by putting the latest educational apps to the test, giving tips on how to use devices safely and as an aid to learning and revision.
Ms Gakungu Head of Progress Year 8
So far, the Digital Leaders have presented an assembly to other sixth formers on how to stay safe online. They are also producing a video, which will be available on CGA’s Youtube channel and Sixth Form website, to share their advice and tips on this subject more widely.
International Women’s Day Each year CGA marks International Women’s Day with an assembly for the whole school where prestigious speakers share their stories and successes as women in today’s world. This year, in addition to this assembly, our Parent Association, Friends of Clapton Girls’ Academy hosted an International Women’s Evening to celebrate the success of women around the world. The VIP guest speaker was exstudent Beth Foster-Ogg who emphasised the continuing goal to secure education, equal rights and equal pay for females.
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Year 8 students presented their take on women who have inspired them, including Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Hamilton and Jessica Ennis. Entertainment was provided by an invigorating hula-hoop workshop but the real stars of the show were the cakes made for the baking competition. Our talented students had baked fantastic works of art, to the theme of inspirational women. The winning prize of a cake decorating masterclass was awarded to all students who entered as it was impossible to choose a favourite.
Ski Austria The February half term ski trip to Austria was exhausting but exhilarating. Staff and students perfected their skiing on perfect snow with four hours of skiing a day. By the end of the week everyone could ski down the mountain! Here’s what the students’ had to say: “The best thing was the mind-blowing new experiences.” “Succeeding, failing and never giving up sums up the ski trip.” “I loved the trip. I made many new friends in different year groups.” “We had laughs in the dorm room and fun on the slopes. Learning and improving together.” 6
“It was 100% fun for everyone with loads of laughs. Our group was like one huge family.” “I made new friends as well as learnt how to ski and do parallel turns.” “Very motivating and encouraging. The mountains were amazing with brilliant views.”
Juniper Hall Field Studies Kitted out from head to toe in vivid blue waterproofs, the A level geography class set off to conquer uncharted waters, measuring staff in hand for a three day residential at Juniper Hall Field Studies Centre, Surrey.
straight into the chilly water.
On day one, we were introduced to the North Downs and the course of the River Tillingbourne. We were shown how to accurately measure the changing features of the river such as the width, depth, velocity and gradient.
Despite the wind and rain from Storm Imogen and with the help of the instructors we had managed to stay afloat and follow a smooth course!
On day two, now having the tools and skills to carry out a thorough investigation, we confidently waded 7
Day three, the last day entailed statistical analysis and the consolidation of our hard work, resulting in a set of data for our final exam.
Stella Smith 12C & Hajrah Anis 13A
Hairspray in numbers The Hairspray cast comprised of 16 actors, 9 dancers, 12 backing singers, 6 musicians, 21 students working in art on the set and 11 students working in technology on the costumes.
Sketching the Sights Over the February half term A level art students had the opportunity to visit Paris to see a diversity of past and contemporary art work. Some of the sights included The Centre Pompidou, Musée d’Orsay and Sacré-Cœur. Head of Art, Mr Purday kept a comic book style sketchbook documenting their trip.
It’s 1962 – the ‘50s are out and change is in the air. Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, is transformed into a teen celebrity on the local TV dance programme The Corny Collins Show. Can she win the love of heartthrob Link Larkin and integrate the television show without denting her ‘do’? With her striking stage mother Edna at her side, Tracy and her friends triumphantly tell us to be proud of who we are. Auditions were held at the start of the Autumn term and over a hundred students signed up to prove they could dance, sing and act in CGA’s Hairspray production. Isobel Hardcastle 8P did well to beat off the fierce competition for the title role of Tracy Turnblad!
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The whole process from rehearsals to performances was a real CGA community effort. For students cast and staff directing, producing and supporting it was a hard graft of dance, acting, singing and band rehearsals every week. The soloists even came in on Saturdays, rehearsing musical numbers and perfecting choreography. Ex-students volunteered their time to choreograph (Sobelema Atemie), manage the stage (Victoria Smith) and do hair and make-up on the night (Atlanta Thomas). The Technology and Art departments were also a-buzz with students working on set designs, costumes and prop building. At last, in early March, full-scale rehearsals saw the amalgamation of all the production aspects and you could see how impressive the show would be – the
pressure was really on! Bursting with energy and foottapping tunes, performance nights saw the incredibly enthusiastic cast perform to sell-out crowds. They brought the house down on the last night with a final rendition of ‘You Can’t Stop the Beat’. If you missed it you definitely missed out! Isobel Hardcastle will be receiving a Jack Petchey award as a result of her amazing performance work in Hairspray and for promotion of the arts within CGA. She has chosen to spend the £250 award on developing the work of the Expressive Arts faculty.
Jumpers for refugees A mountain of jumpers was donated to Oxfam by students and staff last term which will be distributed to refugees.
Take Note We took part in the London Symphony Orchestra’s (LSO) Take Note project. It was an amazing opportunity to spend time with other Hackney schools and a professional orchestra. We played fun music games and composed our own rhythms with a member of the LSO. Together with three primary schools we made our rhythms and melodies into a song. The LSO players bought their instruments to join in too, such as a double
bass and xylophone. We had a final rehearsal in the Round Chapel where all the schools shared their work and ideas to create a ten minute piece. The grand finale was a performance in Stoke Newington Town Hall the next day. Saskia McCollough 8N & Tanice Knight 7L
Fright Night
The Year 12 drama enrichment students took part in a spooky project, in conjunction with Hoxton Hall. After learning about the history of the hall, during the Victorian era, they devised a short, site-specific drama piece which they performed at the venue. The piece they created was inspired by the ghosts of the amazing women who used the venue in the late 1800s as a place to help and educate the local community. Many of the Year 12 students came to support the girls and were very impressed with the range of free arts activities on offer at Hoxton Hall. Visit: www.hoxtonhall.co.uk for more details. 9
Supporting Autism Awareness Week Year 10 bake sale raised £114.19 for The National Autistic Society.
Booklinks ignites imaginations The Booklinks programme connects awesome books and inspirational authors with thousands of children in hundreds of classrooms every year through a specialist whole-school literature programme. This year every Key Stage 3 English student read a book, discussed it in lessons, wrote about it and then met the author. “On Monday 7th March author Anthony McGowan came to CGA to talk about his amazing book, ‘Brock’. He said so many interesting things about the book and everyone enjoyed listening to him.
My favourite bit was when he told us what had inspired him to write this story and how he decided what his stories should be about. Before the end of the talk we got to ask our own questions about the book. He really helped me to understand the book properly.” Veronika Matjusenoka 7N
Throughout the week other students were treated to authors Miriam Halamhy, Polly Ho-Yen, Niama B Robert, Nicky Singer and Juno Dawson giving insights into their latest books, as well as an illustration workshop with Tom Clohosy Cole.
STEM Showcase Visitors from the state education system in Uruguay have visited CGA to see our outstanding practice in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths). Staff and students in technology and science showcased their work and the guests went away very impressed with the students and the quality of teaching, as well as plenty of innovative ideas. On their return home they hope to use what they have learnt to make a variety of changes, from improvements in their teaching methods to potential contributions to public policy.
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Hot shots
It’s official! CGA U14 basketball team is second best in London. Our Youth Games U14 final, up against reigning champions Greig City. T it to the final.
Slam Dunk Year 9 students Alecia Mansell & Aaliyah Samuels-Campbell have passed their Level 3 Basketball England table officials course. Well done!
Sport Relief Throughout the week leading up to Sport Relief (14th - 18th March) our School Council organised a range of activities each day in order to raise money for the charity. Activities included a bake sale, skipping, tennis, rowing, basketball, non-uniform day and the first ever staff vs student football match. It was close game at first, but the teachers took the lead towards the end and were victorious with an 8 - 6 win. All for a very good cause!
girls represented Hackney in the London This is the third year running CGA has made
Boat racing Fifteen students from Years 7 to 10 competed against 3,000 other students in the National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships at the Lee Valley Athletics centre. Congratulations to Jamila Marius Cover 10P, Zemzem Kilinc 10N, Falak Mustafa 10P, Abigail Cameron 10N, Jehlani Asantewa-Philip 10T and Lydia Oguah 10T who showed outstanding grit, determination and team work in the senior boat race. Special congratulations to Jamila Marius Cover who came third in her race group. 11
Hackney Champions! CGA’s U14 & U16 basketball teams are Hackney champions for 4th consecutive year.
Mini Marathon Trials
Scouting for Talent
CGA’s runners were in action in the London Mini Marathon trials in Finsbury Park in March. Students from East and North London ran the course hoping for a place in the big race on 24th April. One student who will not have to wait to see if they qualify for the team is Loula Paizi 11C who came first in Hackney and second overall in the trials.
A running scout came to CGA last term to check out the talent and select runners to represent the borough, with the potential for them to also join the Middlesex running team and go onto the national team. Elodie Curtis 7P, Olivia Scott 7C, Pearl Ukairo Morris 8C, Evie Ukairo Morris 8A, Mara Ukairo Morris 8L, Maddy Diggins 9T and Esta Mac Innes 9N were all successful.
On the map
Parent Govenor Vacancy
Year 11 GCSE PE students completed a challenging orienteering course at Lee Valley for their final exam.
Are you committed to the education and achievement of young women in Hackney? Do you have professional skills? Can you devote three evenings and a day per term to our academy?
Working individually they had to use their maps to navigate across fields, thick and open woodland and course terrain in search of sixteen different control points.
The Articles for the Academy Trust provide for parents/carers of registered students to be Parent Governors on the governing body. A vacancy currently exists and you are invited to put your name forward should you wish to stand for election. Please contact the academy at pforde@clapton. hackney.sch.uk by 29th April and enclose a brief factual statement about yourself. If a number of candidates come forward the appointment will be determined by an election. All parents are entitled to vote in the election.
Young Coaches Well done to Zoe Sunu 12D, Lydia Oguah 10T and Xazal Ozcan 11P who were selected from hundreds of applications nationally for Youth Sport Trust’s Young Coach Academy last term.
Handball Our U13 and U15 handball team have done exceptionally well in their first year in this sport. They represented Hackney in the London Youth Games’ final 5 playing four matches back to back. The U13’s were placed fourth and the U15’s fifth out of thirty two boroughs in London.
Clapton Girls’ Academy is committed to working together to celebrate and promote inclusion.
Upcoming dates Apr 21
Apr 26
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Y8 Parents’ Evening 4.00 - 7.30pm
May Half Term 30 30th May - 3rd June
New Families Evening 6.30 - 7.30pm
Jun 13
Jun 29
New Year 7 interviews (all week)
Y11 Achievement Event 5.30 - 7.00pm
Jul 1
Y9 Achievement Event 1.50 - 2.50pm
Jul 8
Y13 Graduation 6.30 - 10.30pm
Jul 12
Please visit our website for a full calendar of events and holiday dates.
Sixth Form Induction Day
Jul 13
Old Girls’ Event 6.30 - 8.00pm
Jul 14
Summer Arts Festival