CR June 2008 by Cranford Community College

Cranford Community College, High Street, Cranford, Hounslow. TW5 9PD - Tel: 020 8897 2001 - www.cranford.hounslow.sch.uk

EP ETIW N D O W N REHHE ET CRANFORD

REVIEW

June 2008

Cranford Community College hosts BBC Radio 4 Any Questions?

pilot project On Wednesday 2nd April 2008 Cranford Community College staff, parents and governors shared with a delighted audience from the entertainment and publishing world, the creative writing stories by fourteen sixth form students who made up Cranford’s First Story writing group. They have been working alongside author William Fiennes and former history teacher and writer, Katie Waldegrave since November 2007. In weekly after school workshops the group have been using creative exercises to develop their writer’s voices and their prose style. The pieces presented were born from memory and imagination through tireless editing and redrafting over a four month period. The panel of judges were: William Fiennes, author of The Snow Geese, the actress, Alice Patten whose roles include Eugenie in Vincent in Brixton and the film Rang De Basanti (2006) and lastly, the writer and documentary film maker, Jon Ronson, who began as an award winning columnist for Time Out and is now acclaimed for his work in a variety of programmes including a series for Channel 4, Secret Rulers of the World and Tottenham Ayatollah to name but a few. First Story is a new initiative to bring writers into British schools. William and Katie said of the students, “Cranford has been the pilot project and if every school can produce students even half as dedicated, humorous and talented, there is no doubt it will be a great success. It has been an enormous pleasure and privilege to work with them”. Four students will go on to read their work in a national forum at the O2 Arena in the autumn; Esther Nicoll, Jay Badricha, Bhavin Bhatt and Satvinder Sangra.

On Friday 8th February 2008 Cranford Community College opened its doors to BBC Radio 4 ‘Any Questions?’ and to a 250 strong audience of interested stakeholders. The guest list included: the Director of Children’s Services, the Mayor, numerous councillors from Hayes, Hillingdon and Hounslow, local M.Ps, local residents, staff and students who all had a desire to pose a question, have a voice and be heard. Jonathan Dimbleby chaired the panel whose members were Inayat Bunglawala, Assistant Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain, Jim Knight, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, Susan Kramer, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Families and the Cabinet Office and David Willetts, Shadow Secretary of State for Innovations, Universities and Skills. Ten questions were selected by the BBC for broadcast two of which were presented by students from Cranford, Randeep Matharu and Angit Kumar. Jonathan Dimbleby commented upon the lively and passionate debate on a range of topics including, Sharia law, the success of education in Finland and the very hot subject of a third runway at Heathrow airport. The evening concluded with light refreshments and an opportunity to reflect upon the topics for debate. The evening was a huge success.

B a i s a k h i C e l e b r at i o n s

Ja ck Pe t ch e y A wa r d s E ve n i n g

The first ever Jack Petchey Awards Presentation Evening for Hounslow was held at the Paul Robeson Theatre in the Treaty Centre on Thursday April 3rd 2008. Nine students from Cranford Community College were there to receive their boxed medallions for a variety of achievements throughout 2007. Each winner also received a framed certificate and a cheque for £300 to spend on the school. There was a variety of reasons for these students’ being nominated for these awards ranging from their support for other students, improvement in work, “excellence” in attitude, to an outstanding contribution to the sixth form prefect committee. Some of the students have spent the money on resources for different departments, year books, the sixth form centre and other school projects. There is also an adult leader award given once a year to an adult who has shown outstanding commitment to the school or community. In 2006 the award went to Mr. McKeever for his amazing contribution to music and all the extra work that he does with events and assemblies.

On Thursday 3rd April 2008, Cranford Community College staged its first Baisakhi celebrations led by Ms Narinder Kaur, Head of Community Languages. The evening celebrated the festival of Baisakhi through cultural dance, traditional music, festival song, a display of Gatka and a detailed presentation by students outlining the history of the Sikh festival. Parents, staff, governors and guests enjoyed sharing in the celebrations with performers from the school and from the community. The event was compered both in English and Panjabi. Many highly respected representatives from various Gudwaras attended as well as Mr Dubey from India House. The evening concluded with everyone sharing in a buffet of Baisakhi foods and sweets. It was a great success and enjoyed by everyone who attended.

On Wednesday 19th March 2008, Cranford Community College helds its second Sports Presentation evening.

The adult leader gets £1000 to spend and Miss Lowdon used the money to purchase new Apple computers to help with video editing in the school.

Applause

Te a ch F i r s t A wa r d fo r C r a n fo r d Community College

The evening was attended by 250 including governors, parents, students, staff and guests. The evening was run by the PE department with last year’s recipients presenting the awards to this year’s winners. Musical entertainment was provided by Mr McKeever and the successful ski trip during half term was celebrated with a slide show presentation.

Throughout the evening a range of awards were presented to delighted and talented sports men and women. The full lists of winners from the evening were: Most improved Male – Sean Walters Most improved Female – Kyannah Charles Team Of the Year – Year 11 Football team Club Link Award – Harlequins RLFC Community Coach of the Year – Andy Flint, Harlequins Sportswoman of the Year – Laila Hanifa Sportsman of the Year – Mark Shipperly Overall achievement of the Year – James Barrett Community Sports Club of the Year – Babel School of Dance Coach of the Year – Ms Fiddes Sports Personality of the Year - Female – Zoe Mills Sports Personality of the Year - Male – Maninder Bhambra PE student of the Year – Nit Pak Samy Sports Leaders Awards – Lamin Ferguson Duncan, Abdi Aden, Abdoul Dahir, Abu Fazalzadeha, Asif Akram

The evening opened with a excellent dance performance by Cranford Junior School pupils and this was followed by a range of sports entertainments, including a stunning martial arts display by James Barrett and trainer, Indy Sangherra. This was a wonderful evening of celebration for all.

In 2007 the adult leader award went to Ms Lowdon, for all the outstanding work that she does around the school and in particular the work that she has done in producing school videos.

Applause

S p o r t s P r e s e n t at i o n E ve n i n g

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Cranford Community College received well deserved recognition for its work in partnership with Teach First supporting top graduates wishing to join the teaching profession. The award presented to Head teacher Kevin Prunty and Chair of the Governing Body, Roger Owen, on Tuesday 25th March 2008, acknowledged that during the last five years, many of the highest achieving graduates from top universities who came to train at Cranford remain with us and have gone on to become highly successful teachers. In September 2008, six more graduates will join us at Cranford to train in a range of subjects across the curriculum.

C r a n fo r d Pa r k C o n s e r v at i o n Throughout the spring term eight key stage 3 students visited Cranford Park to tend to their allotments under the guidance of Simon, the Cranford Park Ranger. The students are growing broad beans, peas, radishes, coriander, sunflowers, beetroot, strawberries and many more fruit and vegetables. Scarecrows have been erected and potatoes are being grown in recycled car tyres. Once the green fingered gardeners have harvested their produce they will be selling it at school. All money raised will be given to the Lord Mayor’s charity for “Cancer Research”. The students taking part are Joseph Pentony, Peter James Smith, John McDonagh, Summar Hunjan, Sujanya Natarajan, Sundeep Sahota, Marie McCauley and Simranpreet Sidhu. Well done to all the students for taking part !

Awards...

On 13th February 2008, a large group of sixth form students embarked on an educational journey to Prague and Berlin, as part of their Media Studies and History course. Although they were travelling alongside one another, the media studies and history “crews” were actually separate, visiting completely different places and doing completely different tasks which were course-specific. However they joined together in the evenings and shared with each other all the interesting and amusing events of the day. The first phase of their journey centred on Prague. The visit began with meeting the Chief Editor of The New Presence Magazine (the Czech quarterly equivalent to Newsweek). Here students learnt about the magazine, journalism and the history of Czech Republic. Following this introduction to journalism, students were given a guided tour around a major Czech radio station called ‘Cesky Rozhlas’, where they learnt the technical ins and outs of radio broadcasting. This was followed by more radio learning, but this time in a heavily guarded location with immense international significance, the famous ‘Radio Free Europe’. The students were given a lecture on the radio station’s role in the international community, achievements and reputation. They then visited the main Czech television station and walked out with a new found appreciation for British television.

S k i Tr i p t o A u s t r i a

In February 2008 Cranford Community College PE department and 26 students aged 12 -18 embarked on a week long journey of discovery through the mountains of Tirol in Austria. For some, this was the first time they had ever tried to ski and for others it was an opportunity to find out if they could still cope with the slopes. After a long journey through France and Germany, they arrived at the family run Hotel Pension Kern. They each received boots and skis and much needed instruction from an expert instructor. For some students and staff, the learning was slow whereas others adapted quickly and confidently. For 5/6 hours a day they all ventured out onto the Austrian slopes to ski and much fun was had by all. Each evening, after a hearty dinner, everyone joined in a range of fun team building activities and then had an early night exhausted from the demands of the day. This was truly a trip to remember and the first of many ski trips to come.

The second phase of their journey was in Berlin where they visited the Alex Springer Publishing House which is responsible for producing many German newspapers. They visited a highly acclaimed German theatre where they were given an insight into German theatre production finishing with an invaluable visit to The Berlin Film Museum. Navjeet Matharu year 13 wrote; “I believe that this trip is one of a kind; it managed to educate as well as keep students entertained. I sincerely hope that future generations of history and media students at Cranford get to experience what we have; there is no better way to enlighten and bring out the best in students than opportunities like this”.

BBC Bitesize pr og r amme

Simran

Cecil

On Wednesday 1st March 2008, two year nine students, Simran Sahota and Cecil Hughes were delighted to be chosen to represent Cranford in a revised Bitesize programme for Key stage 3 English at the BBC. This opportunity arose in response to the changes in the English curriculum and would support students in preparation for their SAT’s. Cecil and Simran had a great time being chauffer driven to and from the TV studios and taking part in the programme.

gher i H In Aim Y r. 9 February 2008 the AimHigher Roadshow rolled into town. A 60ft trailer containing a 42 inch LCD screen and 15 laptops housed groups of year 9 students throughout the day. The purpose of the day was to raise student awareness and aspirations of getting to university. The day was split into hour long activities in which the students were given an insight, by the Hounslow Co-ordinator, of the reasons why students go to university, the benefits of qualifying with a good degree and the difference in earnings between degree and non-degree holders. The students enjoyed the activities very much. One student said “I never thought about going to university before, but now I definitely do.” This was an excellent day thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Berlin and Prague trip